Is The FDA Being Compromised By Pharma Payments?Basically, Light is saying that pharma paid congressmen to sponsor legislation that results in the FDA being beholden to pharma for funding for its work. Implicit in this is that, as a result of these large “contributions”, the grateful FDA is rapidly approving medicines that are harmful.

Review of Sam Harris’ Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion(reprinted in the Institute for Ethics & Emerging Technologies, June 2, 2015) I recently finished Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion, and found it a welcome addition to the literature on mindfulness. It also adds to the growing literature that tries to find alternatives to the antiquated religions which are slowly losing their appeal for millions of people.

‘Total hero:’ Apple co-founder says Snowden gave up his life to reveal NSA surveillanceApple co-founder Steve Wozniak gushed over former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, calling him a “total hero” and saying he “gave up his life” to reveal the agency’s surveillance programs. In a wide ranging interview with Arabian Business, Wozniak spoke about surveillance, hacking, privacy and security, in addition to Snowden.

250+ Tech Companies and Digital Rights Groups: TPP Could Criminalize Journalism and WhistleblowingHundreds of tech companies and digital rights groups – including Imgur, DreamHost, Namecheap, AVG, Mediafire, Internet Archive, BoingBoing, Piwik, Private Internet Access, and more than 200 others – signed a letter to Congress today stating: Criminalizing Journalism and Whistleblowing: TPP’s trade secrets provisions could make it a crime for people to reveal corporate wrongdoing “through a computer system.”

Robert Reich Demolishes Myth that College Is Gateway to the Middle ClassI know a high school senior who’s so worried about whether she’ll be accepted at the college of her choice she can’t sleep. The parent of another senior tells me he stands at the mailbox for an hour every day waiting for a hoped-for acceptance letter to arrive. Parents are also uptight.

Trade and TrustOne of the Obama administration’s underrated virtues is its intellectual honesty. Yes, Republicans see deception and sinister ulterior motives everywhere, but they’re just projecting. The truth is that, in the policy areas I follow, this White House has been remarkably clear and straightforward about what it’s doing and why.

Why We Have an Oversupply of Almost Everything (Oil, labor, capital, etc.)The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article called, Glut of Capital and Labor Challenge Policy Makers: Global oversupply extends beyond commodities, elevating deflation risk. To me, this is a very serious issue, quite likely signaling that we are reaching what has been called Limits to Growth, a situation modeled in 1972 in a book…

EU drops controls on dangerous chemicals after TTIP pressure from US – reportEU proposals to regulate hormone-damaging chemicals linked to cancer, fertility problems and diabetes were allegedly dropped following pressure from US trade officials amid talks on the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

‘Deflation’ in UK for first time on recordConsumer prices in Britain fell 0.1 percent in April in annual terms, which marked the first deflationary reading in more than half a century. However, the Bank of England says it should be short-lived and prices will pick up soon.

2004 Gulf of Mexico oil spill could leak another 100 years – reportAn oil leak that occurred when an offshore platform toppled during Hurricane Ivan in 2004 has continued to spill oil into the Gulf of Mexico – and could keep leaking for another 100 years, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

​Psychiatric drugs kill 500k+ Western adults annually, few positive benefits – leading scientistPsychiatric drugs lead to the deaths of over 500,000 people aged 65 and over annually in the West, a Danish scientist says. He warns the benefits of these drugs are “minimal,” and have been vastly overstated. Research director at Denmark’s Nordic Cochrane Centre, Professor Peter Gøtzsche, says the use of most antidepressants and dementia drugs could be halted without inflicting harm on patients.

Tesla aims at household energy bills with wall-mounted batteriesElectric car producer Tesla Motors has adapted battery technology for household and business applications. The wall-mounted batteries will make solar power more accessible and throttle grid consumption to diminish loads and bills. Talked of earlier in April, the home battery products were officially presented this week by Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk.

Enter the Sand-man: Socialist Bernie Sanders blasts billionaires, corporations in presidential bid announcementNoted critic of economic inequality, corporations and the rich, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said he was running for president to buck the system in which billionaire families were able to buy elections and candidates. The Supreme Court’s ” disastrous” decision in Citizens United created the situation in which ” billionaires are literally able to buy elections and candidates,” Sanders argued.

​US introduces $30 mn bill to target ‘Russian propaganda’, ISIS threatUS legislators have introduced a new bill which proposes adding $30 million to target ‘Russia’s propaganda,’ which they claim “pose[s] a challenge to the NATO system.” The House Armed Services Committee’s bill also targets the Islamic State activities.

Why the Future of Religion Is BleakReligion has been waning in influence for several centuries, especially in Europe and North America. There have been a few brief and local revivals, but in recent years the pace of decline has accelerated. Today one of the largest categories of religious affiliation in the world-with more than a billion people-is no religion at all, the “Nones.”

‘Unparalleled’ public interest: US media unite to demand classified Petraeus case docsUS media outlets are demanding that a federal court unseals documents related to the sentencing of former CIA Director David Petraeus. Last week, he received two years of probation and $100,000 fine after pleading guilty to leaking classified documents.

Have Fossil Fuels Officially Lost to Renewables?Photo credit: Gencho Petkov/shutterstock.com We’ve passed the turning point! As a planet, we’re adding more capacity for renewable energy each year than for coal, natural gas, and oil combined, Bloomberg Business reports.

Unions, activists look to derail Trans-Pacific Partnership fast-trackTrade unions, populist activists and many Democratic lawmakers are rallying against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. They say the secretive treaty is harmful to US workers, the economy and environmental policies. Social justice activists from more than 30 states marched in downtown Washington, DC, on Monday, chanting ” This is what hypocrisy looks like!”

Princeton Study: U.S. No Longer An Actual DemocracyAsking “[w]ho really rules?” researchers Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page argue that over the past few decades America’s political system has slowly transformed from a democracy into an oligarchy, where wealthy elites wield most power.

The rise of the working poor and the non-working richThe ranks of the working poor are growing because wages at the bottom have dropped, adjusted for inflation. With increasing numbers of Americans taking low-paying jobs in retail sales, restaurants, hotels, hospitals, child care, elder care and other personal services, the pay of the bottom fifth is falling closer to the minimum wage.