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Crooked Corruption Circles Cylindrically through Congress

Crisis in Evidence-Based Medicine

From Project Censored Crisis in Evidence-Based Medicine the ideology that larger organizations such as the FDA and other influential federal and private corporations that claim to protect people through medicine do not actually do so. The American people deserve to have accurate information about what they are being fed in the name of health. Being given a choice and understanding of different treatments should be valued over the go to drug of profit. However lobbyists sway political factors in the name of money. Essentially making a profit off of the misinformation of the public. Agencies that claim to protect the public have a responsibility to do so. Instead of pushing their own interests in front of their duties. The pharmaceutical companies are endangering humanity. Damages from these companies can spread throughout many aspects of life.

https://ethics.harvard.edu/pharmaceutical-industry-institutional-corruption-and-public-health

The Harvard article discusses how pharmaceutical companies will give their employees incentives to collude the information about side effects of drugs being pushed. Money and political incentives above the best interest of the American people, and a media that won’t rightfully inform the public, uproots our current medical system. This needs to be put into the mainstream somehow as the American people are suffering from serious health problems due to this corruption. This article discusses the ethical fallacies involved with what is currently going on. Physicians often feel torn after pharmaceutical companies tell them to push one drug, when their knowledge tells them to prescribe another. Putting doctors in that situation is wrong. Causing moral dilemmas for people in charge of saving another's life is not a good choice for society in the long run.

Source:

The Article The Pharmaceutical Industry, Institutional Corruption, and Public Health published by Harvard University’s Center for Ethics describes Professor Marc Rodwin’s research project about corruption in the pharmaceutical industry. This is a very reliable source as it is from the Harvard University website. It ties in very well with the article from Project Censored.

Rising Carbon Dioxide Levels Threaten to Permanently Disrupt Vital Ocean Bacteria

The source from Project Censored covers the rising levels of CO2 in the ocean. This is caused by climate change and is altering the conditions in the ocean to cause difficulties for bacteria that is vital for the food chain. This causes shortages all the way up the food chain. With the argument of climate change's existence still rampant on the right side, there is a lot of progress that needs to be made. With micro-organisms unable to strive the entire food chain is at stake. If there is no foundation then a building cannot stand. This is true for the delicate structure of the natural food chain. Understanding that climate change is real and needs to be dealt with is the first step to sustainability.

http://oceancrusaders.org/pharmaceutical-ocean/

The secondary article discusses the high levels of chemicals in the ocean from pharmaceutical waste. From flushing pills down the toilet to improper disposal by just throwing them in the trash the ocean is showing very high levels of drugs. This also alters the food chain. Dangerous chemicals can even make their way back to humans through fish caught in contaminated parts of the ocean. These articles call for a very serious look at how to battle against climate change is not over. Human behaviors can be damaging to the environment without humans even being aware. It is very important for mainstream new to pick this story up to help make people aware of the damage they are doing. It is such an easy fix, yet it is being ignored.

Source:

While there are advertisements on this website, I still find it to be reliable. It offers proper methods of prescription disposal and is concerned with getting important information out to the public. This .org shows similarities to the ideal of Project Censored. Overall it is very informative and flows well with this project so far.

Search Engine Algorithms and Electronic Voting Machines Could Swing 2016 Election

The article from Project Censored discusses how the spread of information is differentiated between different people across the world. With globalization our world has gotten much smaller. However if the information presented is altered throughout different regions then our unitedness does not mean we are powerful. In these volatile times we place our fate in technology quite a bit. Different search results could sway opinions on presidential candidates. On top of the possibility of unreliable results from electronic voting machines, our future is placed very deeply in the grasp of technology. Regarding previous failure of the media industry to inform its citizens of the dangers of prescription drugs, a state of fear arises when pondering the controllers of the media. Their motives are most definitely above the health and safety of the American people.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-election-hacking-nothing_us_5905f3b7e4b0bb2d086f397b

The American people bound behind a wall of misinformation watched helplessly as a president that the majority voted against slipped into office. Allegation of Trump’s collusion with Russia further exemplify the avid corruption in our society. Donald acknowledges that the hacking of Hillary Clinton helped him win the election. While he does not say he worked with any particular country, the American people are completely at the will of his lies. The fear addressed in the previous entry is made concrete from this source. A man that many people originally thought was running as a publicity stunt, lost the election, and still ended up in office. Humiliated by the results of my first election I truly question the solidarity of our nation. While some good people may still be in the mix, those in power are truly crooked.

Source:

The Huffington Post is a popular press news website that does have a leftward point. However the information is from interviews with President Trump. This means that while his words may have been framed differently he still said what he said. The Huffington Post is generally more renowned and trustworthy.

Over 1.5 Million American Families LIve on Two Dollars Per Person Per Day

This Article covers the media’s failure to cover the amount of food insecure people in the United States. Failed past attempts by the government show that the solution is not a quick fix. Just creating more jobs is not the answer. When supporting a family life becomes far more difficult. Making progress almost seems like it is negatively reinforced. A person trying to support a family may qualify for a SNAP program but if a parent gets a job they lose vital benefits. This flaw inadvertently keeps people down. In order for the american dream to exist there needs to be a welfare reform.

https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/snap-failure-food-stamp-program-needs-reform

This article gives statistics that show the failure to start upward mobility for people after SNAP. The article questions if the growth of the SNAP program is the best solution. The administrative cost to run SNAP is vastly inefficient. It is written in the constitution that is a section of the government is not doing its job, it is the right of the people to abolish and replace it. The Snap program currently cost taxpayers over seventy billion dollars per year. The loopholes in SNAP’s fine print allows the system to be abused. The media coverage of the SNAP program seems to be opinionated between our bipartisan system. It is time for SNAP to be revised.

Source:

This source is from Cato Institute. The article is short and concise as it makes clear points. It is very in favor of welfare reform. The validity of this website can be shown through the lack of advertisements in the margins.

No End in Sight for Fukushima Disaster

The 9.0 Earthquake that sparked the malfunction of the nuclear power plant was regarded as “the biggest industrial catastrophe of humankind”. The effects are still being reaped on the environment. TEPCO, the company in charge of the faulty power plant, is still allowing massive amount of contamination of groundwater. This is years after the original incident. The media is failing to cover the true gravity of this situation. While there has been some coverage around the fifth anniversary, there has been no serious coverage of the skyrocketing radiation levels. These effects have reached all the way to San Francisco. Radiation levels off the coast of California have skyrocketed. These corporations were accused of being negligent.

http://time.com/4241443/fukushima-disaster-food-safety/

Time explores the radiation from the Fukushima disaster’s effects on fish. Due to heavy sanctions imposing regulation of radiation exposure to fish sold for human consumption, Americans will remain relatively unaffected by radiation in fish sold as food. However internationally this is a huge problem. A shift to fish farms in freshwater environments has taken place over the past few years due to these regulations. For independent fishermen, this has created a huge problem. A scientist not involved with these findings said that radiation is everywhere. We are all still insulated in our atmosphere. Excess radiation will still reach everyone eventually.

Source:

Time is a renowned internationally recognised news source. This article presented two points of view. I am willing to overlook the adds on the side of the page because of Times reputation. The information in this article answers questions raised by the original Project Censored article.

Big Pharma Political Lobbying Not Limited to Presidential Campaigns

Pharmaceutical companies are becoming more and more evil the more research I do. These companies donated over fifty million dollars to certain campaigns during the election for the president of 2012. In 2014 these companies spent 7 times the amount on lobbying than electoral donations. While this is shady, it is still legal. These lobbyist immorally lobby for the prolonging of their patents. Instead of allowing the price of their drug to slip. Once again corporate media fails to bring these issues to the public. The collusion between these powerful corporation and the large mainstream media companies is becoming evident. This makes it very unlikely for the public to get a clear message about what is going on.

https://trofire.com/2017/04/11/big-pharma-owns-corporate-media-americans-waking-fighting-back/

This article claims that americans are starting to understand the corruption of big pharma. These companies spend five billion a year on advertising. This means that they are so much of the advertising business’ profit that if big pharma does not want a story to run, there is a good chance it won't. The article references a specific case where it took 32 days for a warning from the FDA to run on a new station about a prescription called Invokana. These companies are essentially covering up murder, or at least manslaughter. People are losing their lives every day due to the negligence of big pharma. Media corporations do not want to strain the relationship between prescription companies and media companies. Soon studies will come out exposing the true injustices of these organizations. In the years to come a falling out must take place.

Source:

Trofire makes a lot of points that I agree with. The design of the website does lead me to question the facts presented. However the facts parallel my concurrent research. Overall this was well written and I would end up trusting it.

CISA: The Internet Surveillance Act No One is Discussing

Passed by president Obama, CISA allows for information to be passed from private corporations to government agencies in the name of cybersecurity. The bill was criticized as invasive. In the process of passing the bill a loophole was found that would allow the surveillance of a person without a warrant. This is alarming as it takes constitutional rights into question. The inner workings of our government seem to be just as shady as some of the other corporations. The CIA allows the loophole to be used for law enforcement activities not involved with cybersecurity. These organisations that claim to protect the public are blatantly corrupt, yet the public is oblivious. The law is currently in action.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance

Edward Snowden brought a lot of attention to the topic of surveillance. He exposed classified material that led to the public finding out about what The Patriot Act actually was. The government uses people's personal information to try to catch America's enemies. However a man with a cozy five figure salary, a family, and a home in Hawaii, was willing to risk all that to show the American people to the deception of their privacy. If someone is willing to risk that much for a cause it is very important. Snowden claimed he was disillusioned by the way the intelligence world really works. Snowden feared the power of the government so much that he spent weeks preparing to hide out of the United States jurisdiction. The government would have persecuted and silenced him if they found him before the story got out. Fear of doing the right thing should not be a characteristic of American people.

Source:

The Guardian is a well known leftward leaning news corporation. With a very minimal amount of advertisements this website established that it has a strong backing. The topic is controversial but besides the framing, the narrative of Snowden’s whistleblowing generally fits the model of what other stations covered as well. This leads me to believe that this source if credible.

CIA Warned Bush Administration of Terrorist Attack Prior to 9/11

This article discusses an interview with a former head of the CIA. This former agent said that he warned the bush administration of a terrorist attack months in advance. The Bush administration ignore the warnings from its Central Intelligence Agency. Bush's administration had an outdated perception of who terrorists where. This lead to a difficulty believing that Al-Qaeda was a serious threat. When a government is unwilling to work within its own organisations, a negative statement is made about the leadership. Thousands of deaths that could have been prevented, a war that did not need to start, all could have been prevented with willingness to think. “The white house's inaction remains incomprehensible.”

http://www.belfercenter.org/publication/preventing-terrorist-attacks-challenging-conventional-wisdom

It is unnervingly common for terror attacks to be known about before their happening. This article suggests that evidence shows an increase in surveillance and improving on our protection agencies existing strategies will not lead to more success. Instead an increase in receptivity to warning signs. However this does not mean to break down doors every day in search of a few. This means that precision should be an emphasis on profiling suspects. In order for this to happen the system needs to get rid of its many bureaucratic restrictions. Right now there is too much of an emphasis on what is called tactical intelligence. Using multiple sources is a way to get around this emphasis. The more sources the more ways a situation can be framed.

Source:

The Belfer Center is a publication from the Harvard Kennedy School for Science and International Affairs. The article talks a lot in the abstract as this is a theory. Some of the language is confusing but I believe that it makes good points. This article seems reliable enough. ��

FBI’s New Plan to Spy on High School Students Across the Country

The FBI is trying to prevent internal extremism by gathering a basis of knowledge on thoughts and behavior. The government seems to have a cultural lag describing “high schools as hotbeds of extremism.” The article compares this kind of investigation mimics the cold war era tactics used by the government. These tactics are making red flags for extremism so broad that any teenager would qualify. Then the government is free to target whoever they please. In recent years this has been the muslim population. Just as the government was unnecessarily scared of the Russians, the Islamic threat referred to so much is never fully established in the american population. This affects innocent muslims who are being detained or profiled. Islamophobia is not necessary for the government to provide security.

http://www.scholarsstrategynetwork.org/brief/targeting-muslim-americans-name-national-security

9/11 Sparked a culture of Islamophobia among americans. Especially at airports where Muslims are looked at as dangerous. Airport security hassles Muslims much more than their white counterparts. Often times Islamic people feel a pressure to prove they are not the stereotype. It is a large burden when a quarter of the citizens in the United States have negative views towards muslims. This culture is unnecessary and unwarranted. It is brought on by a state of fear from a tragedy that happened more than 10 years ago. Coupled with a crooked media who wanted to find a scapegoat. This is “outright prejudice” rather than security.

Source:

The Scholarly Strategy Network published this article. It was very informative and put the facts on the table. No advertisements and the .org domain give me a good feeling about the validity of the source. It is speaking to what discrimination is not being covered by mainstream media. This begs the question what does the media gain from keeping a group of people oppressed.

Over Three-Quarters of Freedom of Information Act Requests Not Fully Answered

President Obama’s campaign was based on the idea that he would be transparent with the public. Hypocritically the title to this article is a 12% increase in opaqueness over president Obama’s first year. The leader of the free world thinks that it's ok to spy on anyone deemed necessary, but will not share information legally entitled to the public. As this project goes on the government seems to become more and more twisted. What does American have to gain by being so secretive? With the largest military in the world it seems silly that our country lives in so much fear. The government attributes the delay in fulfilling requests for information to an overworked staff. However a student would get punished for late work, but the government is above its people so there's not really much to do.

http://www.businessinsider.com/obamas-approval-rating-final-2017-1

Even after going back on some of his words president Obama’s approval rating climaxes as he leaves the office. In fact for the majority of his presidency he had an approval rating of above fifty percent. His healthcare reform made progress, and his retraction of troops from the middle east both boosted his overall ratings as a president. President Trump does not fare so well in approval. This can be attributed to how to president carries himself in representation of the United States. Obama was calm and collected, while Trump seems childish and arrogant. The two differ in many ways, and time will tell who will have a more positive impact.

Source:

Business Insider is a well known Conservative magazine directed to a wealthier audience. This article was rather uninformative but did make a useful comparison of President Trump, and Ex-President Obama. Business Insider is a more honest rightward leaning publisher. Providing valuable information about the corporate world to any who read.

Deadly Medical Neglect for Immigrants in Privatized U.S. Jails

The prison system has long been regarded as broken. The negligence of care in prisons dedicated to immigrant are the cause of death for over 100 people in the privatized prison systems. These cases were revealed through a review of the prisons records. Federal Prison holds higher standards than private prisons. These people's lives are being devalued as the regulation lacks due to cost cutting. A recurring theme in Project Censored is that the media fails to report on these injustices. If a controversy where to start, attention drawn, live could have been saved. These Prisons are killing people to save money.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/247926-obama-calls-for-criminal-justice-reform

President Obama believed that there was a lot wrong with the prison and rehabilitation system. One argument is that the excessive incarcerations are costing the government a lot of money. America is roughly five percent of the world's population. Holding twenty five percent of the world's incarcerated people is a horrifying statistic. How can the United States claim to be a free country with a statistic like that. President Obama took steps to “build momentum” for a prison reform. Working with the NAACP, the path has been outlined. Now it is up to President Trump to continue to reform.

Source:

The Hill is a news source that offers other tabloid like stories in one margin and advertisements in the other. This is a hopeful article that could hopefully build confidence in the prison reform movement. However this news publisher does not always seem to be straightforward. Overall this article is usable but is most definitely not going to make it into the research paper.

Women’s Movements Offer Global Paradigm Shift Toward Social Justice

Throughout the world women have been fighting for their rights. Globalization and access to the internet allows the spread of progressive ideas to generally sheltered areas. Sparking movements all around the world. With these movements making progress people are becoming more accepting of these ideals. However oppression is far from over. Every day people of the LGBTQ comunity have to deal with discrimination. Many of the movements for these groups are also making solid ground in many areas. There has been a political correctness movement in the U.S. In Russia there has been lashing out at the opression LGBTQ people are subjected to.

http://www.iapss.org/wp/2015/03/30/globalization-and-its-impact-on-women-in-developing-countries/

The region where feminism needs most progress is sub-saharan africa. Here women have no rights to disunion, representation, and education. Women from developing countries who are traveling are more likely to become a victim of human trafficking. Females in this region are exploited out of everything. Female farmers often times are bought out of their land against their will. Their society does not allow women to be self-sufficient. The leading factors in changing this are called NGOs (Non-government Organisations). However while they do a lot of good it is important to make sure that they do not push a corrupt agenda.

Source:

The International Association for Political Science Students published this article. Its information is very important and needs to be covered. However the actual point of the article was hard to determine. The lack of advertisements gives off a good vibe about the source.

Global Epidemic of Electronic Waste

The United States creates millions of pounds of e-waste a year. With only forty percent being recycled, a third goes to developing countries. This waste is toxic and difficult to dispose of. Much of the exportation of this waste to developing countries is believed to be against the law. E-waste contains toxins such as lead and mercury. Putting this e-waste in countries, that cannot deal with these dangerous chemicals safely, is immoral. The e-waste that is recycled often travels a lot of distance to be fully reused. This is incredibly inefficient.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurelmoglen/2017/04/26/what-if-you-carved-out-five-minutes-to-meditate/#221d7a064158

Technologies usefulness over time can be measured with a term called The Velocity of Obsolescence. This also is the title of the article. Over the past 15 years technology has taken a journey. 15 years ago technology became outdated after three to five years, today technology will become outdated in fourteen to eighteen months. As technology gets more advanced, it progresses exponentially. This is an exploit for tech companies that can then justify building products to only last that long. This creates more profit for the companies and more e-waste for the developing countries. With technology accelerating, will it get too fast, or plateau?

Source:

Forbes is a renowned news source for rightward leading entrepreneurial minded folk. It is fairly reliable for popular press. However there is a presence of advertisements on the website. Forbes is a known name in mainstream news and therefore I trust it.

The Walmarting of American Education

Walmart plans to spend a billion dollars on resources for charter schools. Ronald Reagan’s administration started an education reform allowing for privatization of education. The ideology that schools were businesses and students where customers was adopted in the 1980s. This generates a lot of profit for the higher ups. The education system reform would be built on private investors funding charter schools in lower income areas. This is a good plan on paper. However the current education system still has a long way to go. The government funding methods have caused a lot of disruption in the learning of students. Studying for tests instead of for knowledge.

http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/public-private-charter-schools/

The differences between public, private, and charter schools can give parents a lot of choices depending location. Public schools run by the government are more diverse, while private schools draw people who equate a higher cost with better education. The mix of the two are called charter schools. These schools can either be government funded or run by private for profit companies. These schools often require an application due to limited space. There are pros and cons to each option. Public schools rigid curriculum exemplifies the controversy. Some say that it is inflexible, while others say the benefit of quality control is important.

Source:

GreatSchools.Org clearly outlines pros and cons comparing three types of schools. It was very informative and well organised. There was only one small add in the corner. Overall this article addressed many relevant questions about the education system.

Modern Day Child Slavery: Sex Trafficking of Underage Girls in the U.S.

The public is unaware of this epidemic. At Least half of the victims of domestic sex trafficking are minors. It runs rampant through almost every major city in the United States. Depending on the nature of the operation either local authorities or the FBI pursue the johns, also known as pimps. Victims are often targeted if they come from an unstable family situation. Almost three-quarters of the girls working with authorities after breaking free have been in the foster system. Prostitutes are persecuted like criminals, instead of treated like victims. This exploitation is in our own backyards.

http://www.equalitynow.org/traffickingFAQ

Sex trafficking reaches every corner of the world. There are many organisations fighting the commercial sex industry. Human trafficking is heavily tied with the sex industry. This article provides the statistic that at least 80 percent of the people who have been trafficked have been involved in the sex industry. This industry strives on violating human rights. Hawaii was the first state to make a law to specifically criminalize sex tourism. There are coalitions in major cities like New York that have task forces specifically for fighting human trafficking. This is an epidemic all around the world. However it changes and adapts for the particular society it infects.

Source:

I agree heavily with this source. The website contains no ads and is dedicated to the fight for human rights. The article is informative, and has a good cause. This source is very valid and the mainstream media needs to run this story to help expose this epidemic.

NYPD Editing Wikipedia on Police Brutality

Allegations of the NYPD headquarters altering wikipedia to shed a more favorable light on the department paint the department in a negative light. This was quite a bit of activity too, upwards of 80 ip addresses were involved. This is a recurring incident, with multiple separate acts of abuse of power. Multiple officers have done wrong and multiple people are trying to cover their tracks. Organisations that are meant to protect and serve the public should not have to cover their tracks. The police are supposed to represent the protection America provides. Not the corruption that America is. It seems that every aspect of American society is at least a little bit crooked.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/16/nypd-wikipedia-edits-punishment_n_6880020.html

The Officers that edited the information on their department's use of excessive force will not face repercussions. The reason for avoiding punishment is that it is their first amendment right. It is still unknown the extent of the edits. While I do not believe that the individual officers should be punished, it is unprofessional for an organisation to run in such a manner. NYPD is one of the top ranked police forces in the United States. If this is how the best represents themselves I would be afraid to see the worst. If the officers were ordered to change the page that would add another level of corruption. One must question if the culture in a police department is so self protective that these actions were warranted without orders.

Source:

Huffington Post