Up to 50,000 Jewish federal employees affected by shutdown

WASHINGTON – Approximately 50,000 Jewish federal workers face weeks or months without pay due to a government shutdown over funding for US President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico, the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington told The Jerusalem Post this week.

But those struggling to pay their bills are being thrown a lifeline. The Hebrew Free Loan Society of Greater Washington will offer interest-free emergency loans to those affected by the shutdown, offering essential aid to workers and their families entering an interminable period of financial instability.

Trump has embraced the shutdown and warned Democratic congressional leaders he is willing to drag the impasse on for months– or even years– unless he is granted $5.6 billion in border wall funding.

Democrats are refusing to budge, characterizing the wall as practically useless for border security, symbolically hateful and antithetical to American values.

“We estimate at least 50,000 Jewish federal employees have been impacted,” said Gil Preuss, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. “In terms of community response, we are currently working with local human service agencies to track incremental needs and address them as they arise. Over the course of this week, we expect to see a growth in demand for services as employees seeks financial assistance as well as other support.”

The president of the local Hebrew Free Loan Society, which has chapters across the nation and around the world, said the organization held a conference call on Christmas Day and agreed to make an exceptional offer of emergency assistance.

https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Up-to-50000-Jewish-federal-employees-affected-by-shutdown-576543

Neighbor Refutes Attorney: Ed Buck Victim “Seemed Just Fine” and “Wasn’t Stumbling” When He Entered Buck’s Apartment (VIDEO)

As previously reported, a black gay escort named Gemmel Moore died of a meth overdose at Ed Buck’s West Hollywood home in July of 2017.

The LA County District Attorney’s Office previously declined to prosecute Ed Buck saying the evidence is “insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that (Buck) is responsible for the death of Gemmel Moore,” which sparked an outrage from family members and others in the community.

Ed Buck’s lawyer defended his client in an interview with the media and said Ed Buck did nothing wrong, he just has a huge heart and was trying to counsel people with drug problems.

“An old time friend of Ed’s came over and–and — was reluctant to have him come over. The individual came over, had already been partying, apparently had already taken some substances,” the lawyer said.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/01/neighbor-refutes-attorney-ed-buck-victim-seemed-just-fine-and-wasnt-stumbling-when-he-entered-bucks-apartment-video/

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Drug Companies Hit By Massive Lawsuits Target Ohio GOP Gov.-Elect For Statements On '60 Minutes'

Drug makers targeted in a massive number of lawsuits against them launched by numerous municipalities asked the federal judge in Cleveland overseeing the lawsuits to sanction GOP governor-elect Mike DeWine and two other lawyers for statements in recent television interviews that the drug companies insist taint the prospective jury pool.

The motion filed by the drug companies, including Cardinal Health, Endo, AmerisourceBergen and Purdue Pharma, accuses DeWine, Mike Moore and Burton LeBlanc of making statements on “60 Minutes” that were part of a "concerted campaign … to taint potential jury pools through misleading, inflammatory, and improper public statements." They added that the statements represented "a flagrant violation of their ethical obligations as attorneys practicing before this Court and threatens defendants' rights to a fair adjudication of the claims asserted against them."

As reported by clevscene,com, the case against the drug companies arose because of what started in the early 2000s, when doctors often prescribed opiates while major pharmaceutical companies which funded academic studies, educational programs and medical groups, some of which condoned the use of opiates. The New York Times reported, “All the defendants say the drugs were approved by the Food and Drug Administration and prescribed by doctors.”

An article in the 2015 Annual Review of Public Health stated:

To overcome what they claimed to be "opiophobia," physician-spokespersons for opioid manufacturers published papers and gave lectures in which they claimed that the medical community had been confusing addiction with "physical dependence." They described addiction as rare and completely distinct from so-called "physical dependence," which was said to be "clinically unimportant." They cited studies with serious methodological flaws to highlight the claim that the risk of addiction was less than 1 percent.

In December, U.S. District Court Judge Dan A. Polster from the Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division in Cleveland rejected a motion from drug companies to dismiss the lawsuit, writing, “It is accurate to describe the opioid epidemic as a man-made plague, twenty years in the making. The pain, death, and heartache it has wrought cannot be overstated.”

After his decision, plaintiffs’ attorneys celebrated, issuing this statement:

This ruling is a major step forward for the more than 1,500 communities across the country who have been battling the opioid crisis and demanding accountability from the opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies that are responsible for creating the epidemic. In 2019, we expect opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies will finally be held to account for the public crisis they wrought when they fraudulently marketed and over distributed addictive and dangerous opioids.

Polster is judging three test cases involving two Ohio counties and the city of Cleveland; his decision may indicate how the 400-plus lawsuits will be decided.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, four out of five heroin addicts said their addictions started with prescription opiates.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/41948/drug-companies-hit-massive-lawsuits-target-ohio-hank-berrien

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Foreign Consulates Evacuated in Melbourne, Australia

Emergency services responded to multiple reports of suspicious packages found at multiple international consulates across Melbourne, Australia.

Police in Australia reported that they were investigating suspicious packages sent to multiple embassies and consulates.

"The packages are being examined by attending emergency services," the Australian Federal Police said in a short statement without providing further details.

The police did not identify the embassies, however, according to media reports, the packages were sent to at least nine international missions in Melbourne including the U.S. and British missions as well as German, Swiss and Indian embassies.

The police noted that they were investigating the circumstances surrounding the incidents.

https://sputniknews.com/asia/201901091071317669-foreign-consulate-melbourne-australia/