Clemson Prof. Calls for Human Extinction to Protect Environment

A Clemson philosophy argued recently that he wants all humans to die off as a punishment for their treatment of animals and the environment. Since his article was published in the New York Times, he has refused to defend his opinion.

According to a report from The College Fix, Clemson University Professor Todd May recently called for the end of human existence and has refused to defend his argument. May argued that humans do far more bad than good. What are humanity’s worst crimes according to the professor? These include oppression of animals and destruction of the environment.

The New York Times column, which was titled “Would Human Extinction Be a Tragedy?” was published in late December. In the column, May weighs humanity’s positive contributions to the world against its negative contributions.

First, human contribution to climate change is devastating ecosystems, as the recent article on Yellowstone Park in The Times exemplifies. Second, increasing human population is encroaching on ecosystems that would otherwise be intact. Third, factory farming fosters the creation of millions upon millions of animals for whom it offers nothing but suffering and misery before slaughtering them in often barbaric ways. There is no reason to think that those practices are going to diminish any time soon. Quite the opposite. Humanity, then, is the source of devastation of the lives of conscious animals on a scale that is difficult to comprehend.

And then May hit his readers with his conclusion. “It may well be, then, that the extinction of humanity would make the world better off and yet would be a tragedy. I don’t want to say this for sure, since the issue is quite complex,” May wrote. “But it certainly seems a live possibility, and that by itself disturbs me.”

Students at Clemson University have tried to reach out to May to speak about his column. May has refused to defend or comment on the piece since it was published.

One New York Times commenter bashed May for his “ultimate liberal fantasy” perspective on humanity.

“This is the ultimate liberal fantasy belief, that humans are “bad” because they are “destroying the planet”, and we don’t deserve to survive, that we’ve ruined the beautiful peaceful earth, that the earth would be “better” without us,” the commenter wrote. “Such utter nonsense. We have changed the earth, mostly for the good, we are the first species to have that capability.”

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/01/26/clemson-prof-calls-for-human-extinction-to-protect-environment/

Lobbying spending reaches $3.4 billion in 2018, highest in 8 years

After several straight years of modest spending, 2018 was a banner year for lobbying firms.

Clients spent $3.42 billion on lobbying in 2018, the largest sum since the all-time peak in 2010, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Spending nearly $95 million, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce comes in as the top spender, as it has every year since 2000. The group spent nearly $26 million in the fourth quarter, hammering home its priority of getting steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico removed.

The National Association of Realtors finished in second place with a record spending total of nearly $73 million. The group spent $26.4 million in the third quarter, more than any other group, and $19 million in the fourth quarter as the group battled for realtor-friendly tax and mortgage reforms.

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) surpassed its 2009 lobbying record, shelling out $28 million in 2018. The trade association spends heavily, but so do its members, including Pfizer ($11.3 million) Johnson & Johnson ($6.6 million) and AbbVie ($6.1 million).

Pharmaceutical groups are spending heavily to influence public opinion and policy as rising drug prices become an increasingly mainstream political talking point. The industry claimed the top spot among lobbying spenders in 2018 — roughly $280 million — with no other industry coming close.

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/01/lobbying-spending-reaches-3-4-billion-in-18/

A research center at University of Toronto that exposed an Israeli company of selling surveillance tools to authoritarian governments is being targeted by the Israeli company

The researchers who reported that Israeli software was used to spy on Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s inner circle before his gruesome death are being targeted in turn by international undercover operatives, The Associated Press has found.

Twice in the past two months, men masquerading as socially conscious investors have lured members of the Citizen Lab internet watchdog group to meetings at luxury hotels to quiz them for hours about their work exposing Israeli surveillance and the details of their personal lives. In both cases, the researchers believe they were secretly recorded.

Citizen Lab Director Ron Deibert described the stunts as “a new low.”

“We condemn these sinister, underhanded activities in the strongest possible terms,” he said in a statement Friday. “Such a deceitful attack on an academic group like the Citizen Lab is an attack on academic freedom everywhere.”

Who these operatives are working for remains a riddle, but their tactics recall those of private investigators who assume elaborate false identities to gather intelligence or compromising material on critics of powerful figures in government or business.

Citizen Lab, based out of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, has for years played a leading role in exposing state-backed hackers operating in places as far afield as Tibet , Ethiopia and Syria . Lately the group has drawn attention for its repeated exposés of an Israeli surveillance software vendor called the NSO Group, a firm whose wares have been used by governments to target journalists in Mexico , opposition figures in Panama and human rights activists in the Middle East .

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/70576/a-research-center-at-university-of-toronto-that-exposed-an-israeli-company-of-selling-surveillance.html

More:

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/apnewsbreak-undercover-agents-target-cybersecurity-watchdog-2/

Civilians storm & burn Turkish military base in northern Iraq

A mob of angry civilians has attacked a Turkish military camp near the Iraqi city of Dohuk, burning equipment and vehicles. The incident comes in response to the deaths of civilians during Turkish airstrikes, local media reports.

The incident occurred in northern Iraq on Saturday, when a large mob of civilians attacked a Turkish military encampment located in the predominantly-Kurdish region of Dohuk.

Footage from the scene which surfaced online shows civilians at the military encampment with Turkish military vehicles and tents burning in the background. At least one person died and 10 were reportedly wounded during the incident. It remains unclear if the Turkish Army sustained any casualties - servicemen are nowhere to be seen in the footage.

According to local media, the attack on the encampment came in protest to Turkish airstrikes and shelling, which have repeatedly hit the vicinity of Dohuk. Earlier on Saturday, at least two civilians were reportedly killed in an airstrike and the incident at the base might have been prompted by the attack.

The incident was acknowledged by the Turkish Defense Ministry, which blamed it on activities of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara considers to be a terrorist group. The Turkish military, however, did not confirm that it was the encampment in Dohuk that was attacked.

“An attack has occurred on one of [the] bases located in northern Iraq as a result of provocation by the PKK terrorist organization. There was partial damage to vehicles and equipment during the attack,” the ministry tweeted, adding that it has been “taking necessary measures” regarding the incident.

https://www.rt.com/news/449836-turkish-base-iraq-clashes/

Confirming US Orchestration, Report Details Pence's Key Phone Call to Venezuelan Opposition Leader

"The U.S. had been planning this coup in Venezuela. It was the Trump administration that told the little-known opposition leader Juan Guaidó to declare himself (unelected) 'president.'"

As U.S. lawmakers, civil society leaders, and Latin America experts continue to warn against American intervention in Venezuela's internal political affairs, the Wall Street Journal on Friday confirmed suspicions that opposition leader Juan Guaido's move to declare himself "interim president" of Venezuela this week was highly coordinated with the Trump White House and Republican lawmakers.

"The U.S. is not just 'behind' this coup; the U.S. is openly leading the coup."

—Ben Norton, The Real News

According to the Journal, Vice President Mike Pence called Guaido the night before his announcement and "pledged" that the Trump administration would support him "if he seized the reins of government from [elected President] Nicolas Maduro by invoking a clause in the South American country's constitution."

"That late-night call set in motion a plan that had been developed in secret over the preceding several weeks, accompanied by talks between U.S. officials, allies, lawmakers, and key Venezuelan opposition figures, including Mr. Guaido himself," the Journal reported, citing an anonymous administration official. "Almost instantly, just as Mr. Pence had promised, President Trump issued a statement recognizing Mr. Guaido as the country's rightful leader."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/01/25/confirming-us-orchestration-report-details-pences-key-phone-call-venezuelan

Pelosi Aghast - Stone Indictment Proves That Trump Campaign Deliberately Campaigned For Trump

On Friday Roger Stone, a political consultant who in 2016 publicly supported the Trump campaign, was arrested on criminal charges filed by special counsel Robert Mueller. He has since been released on bail. Stone is indicted (pdf) in five cases for making false statements, one attempt of influencing a witness and an obstruction of a proceeding.

Since May 2017 the former FBI chief Mueller investigates an alleged collusion between Trump, his campaign and something Russian with regards to the 2016 election. No evidence has been produced so far that substantiate any such collusion. The people who fanatically claim that there must have been such a connection are now disappointed. The long awaited Stone indictment was one of their last straws. But there is absolutely nothing in it that hints at any collusion.

All these alleged crimes were committed in relation to an appearance of Stone before a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) investigation.

During the 2016 election Stone publicly claimed that he was in direct communication with Wikileaks and its editor Julian Assange. Steve Bannon, then part of the Trump campaign, asked Stone to ask Wikileaks at what time it would release new batches of emails that had been obtained from the Democratic National Committee. The Trump campaign was naturally interested in using these releases to attack the competing candidate Hillary Clinton.

Wikileaks and Assange denied that they had any relations or communications with Roger Stone. It later turned out that Stone had two contact persons, the New Yorker comedian Randy Credico and the conservative writer Jerome Corsi, who he MIGHT have had some contact or insight into Wikileaks. The indictment says nothing about their relations to Wikileaks.

During his appearance in front of the HPSCI Stone misremembered, contradicted or lied about several details related to his earlier false claim. He also asked Randy Credico to lie to the committee. Those are the only issues the indictment is about. It is about the lies of a notorious liar which became process crimes when he repeated them during an investigation. Stone himself denies emphatically that he committed any crime and promises to defend himself in court.

Nowhere does the indictment say that this has anything to do with the Trump campaign, Russia, Wikileaks or the not existing relations between them.

But some media will not tell you that. The New York Times falsely headlines:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/25/us/politics/roger-stone-trump-mueller.html

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2019/01/putin-asks-and-trump-delivers-here-is-a-list-of-all-the-good-things-trump-did-for-russia.html

https://stonecoldtruth.com/wall-street-journal-recycles-old-news-in-smear-attempt/

https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthelper/586-roger-stone-indictment/d34c762c3e142f844c2b/optimized/full.pdf

https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/12519-4/

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2019/01/pelosi-aghast-stone-indictment-proves-that-trump-campaign-deliberately-campaigned-for-trump.html

Scientist Tells World Leaders at Davos MDMA and Magic Mushrooms Should Be Legal

Talking Psychedelics

It’s not the kind of topic you would expect to be discussed at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. It’s when world leaders, business moguls, and economists meet to discuss the pressing issues facing the world.

During an interview with Business Insider, Robin Carhart-Harris, head of psychedelic research at Imperial College in London, said that “the climate’s looking good” for turning psychedelics into approved medical treatments.

The interview took place at a Wednesday session called “The New Science of Psychedelics,” led by Carhart-Harris, that discussed the “untapped potential of psychedelic drugs” according to WEF’s official website.

Magic Mushrooms and the Law

The debate surrounding the potential and ability of psychedelics like MDMA, marijuana and LSD to treat medical disorders and illnesses has been heating up as of late.

While there is some evidence that the active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms called psilocybin has the ability to help people with anxiety, depression, and even alcoholism, the exact effects — and side effects — are still being actively studied.

Cashing in on Psychedelics

Some for-profit companies have been trying to get ahead of the trend of selling it as a medical treatment. They argue that substances like psilocybin should be reclassified from a Schedule 1 drug (no known medical benefits) to a Schedule IV (conventional prescription drugs) by the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S.

The FDA has approved a small number of trials involving psilocybin, but the medical science behind it is still in its early stages.

However, with a strong enough push from the private for-profit sector (including Silicon Valley) psychedelics might just end up following the footsteps of medical marijuana.

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/70591/scientist-tells-world-leaders-at-davos-mdma-and-magic-mushrooms-should-be.html