Bayer Loses Again: Supreme Court Upholds $87 Million Award in Roundup Cancer Case
June 30th, 2022Via: The Defender:
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday dealt another blow to Bayer AG’s effort to defend itself against ongoing litigation over allegations that Roundup herbicide causes cancer, denying the company’s request for a review of a California trial loss.
In declining to take up the case, the court let stand an $87 million award won by Alva and Alberta Pilliod. The jury originally ordered more than $2 billion in damages for the married couple, but the award was later cut by the court.
Each of the Pilliods alleged they developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma after extensive use of Monsanto’s Roundup products.
Bayer inherited the liability for that case and tens of thousands of similar lawsuits when it bought Roundup-maker Monsanto in 2018.
The lawsuits allege that Roundup causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma and that Monsanto long knew of the cancer risks but failed to warn its customers.
U.S. To Establish Permanent Base in Poland as Part of Europe Military Expansion
June 30th, 2022Via: AntiWar:
President Biden announced Wednesday during the NATO summit in Madrid steps that the US will take to increase its military presence in Europe, including the establishment of a permanent base in Poland.
The base in Poland will mark the first time the US will establish an official permanent military facility in the area known as NATO’s “eastern flank.” The US military presence elsewhere in Eastern Europe and in the Baltic states is technically on a rotational basis, although Washington has no plans to scale back its presence in the region.
Under the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act, NATO agreed not to establish a permanent military presence east of Germany. US officials insist the base in Poland does not violate the act since it is only a permanent facility, and the troops will be deployed rotationally, but it’s unlikely Moscow will see it that way.
Does Questioning Reality Lead You to Madness?
June 30th, 2022Via: Don Hoffman on Lex Fridman:
Related: The Case Against Reality – Prof. Donald Hoffman on Conscious Agent Theory
The Media Experimented with Television Hypnosis Back in 1946
June 29th, 2022Via: Truthstream Media:
NATO to Increase Troops on High Alert by More Than Sevenfold
June 29th, 2022Via: Reuters:
NATO will boost the number of troops on high alert by more than sevenfold to over 300,000, its secretary-general said on Monday, as allies prepared to adopt a new strategy describing Moscow as a direct threat four months into the Ukraine war.
…
Stoltenberg said NATO in future would have “well over 300,000” troops on high alert, compared to 40,000 troops that currently make up the alliance’s existing quick reaction force, the NATO Response Force (NRF).
The new force model is meant to replace the NRF and “provide a larger pool of high readiness forces across domains, land, sea, air and cyber, which will be pre-assigned to specific plans for the defence of allies,” a NATO official said.
NATO Formally Invites Finland, Sweden to Join Alliance
June 29th, 2022Via: New York Post:
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has formally extended an invitation to Finland and Sweden to join the alliance after weeks of negotiations, expanding its membership to 32 countries.
“Today, we have decided to invite Finland and Sweden to become members of NATO, and agreed to sign the Accession Protocols,” the NATO Heads of State and Government participating in the Madrid Summit wrote in a declaration issued Wednesday.
North Carolina’s Biggest Hospital Systems Made Record Profits While Taking Billions in COVID-19 Relief Funds
June 28th, 2022Via: Epoch Times:
North Carolina’s largest hospital systems made billions of dollars in profits during the pandemic, while simultaneously taking $1.5 billion in taxpayer-funded COVID-19 relief funds, according to a report released Wednesday by the state treasurer’s office.
The report, titled, “North Carolina Hospital Systems Profit During COVID” was published by State Treasurer Dale Folwell who called on the hospital systems to “use their profits to lower costs for patients” or “return unnecessary, taxpayer-funded relief dollars.”
According to the report, Atrium Health, Cone Health, Duke Health, Novant Health, UNC Health, Vidant Health, and WakeMed made a combined $5.2 billion in net profits in 2021 and recorded $7.1 billion in growth in cash and financial investments from 2019 to 2021.
Six of those hospital systems enjoyed higher net profits than in the years before the pandemic, the report states.
That growth came as the seven hospital systems reportedly took $1.5 billion in taxpayer-funded COVID relief meant to help support hospitals who were struggling through the pandemic, as well as another $1.6 billion in Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payments from 2020–2021.
Serious Adverse Events of Special Interest Following mRNA Vaccination in Randomized Trials
June 28th, 2022Via: SSRN:
Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were associated with an increased risk of serious adverse events of special interest, with an absolute risk increase of 10.1 and 15.1 per 10,000 vaccinated over placebo baselines of 17.6 and 42.2 (95% CI -0.4 to 20.6 and -3.6 to 33.8), respectively. Combined, the mRNA vaccines were associated with an absolute risk increase of serious adverse events of special interest of 12.5 per 10,000 (95% CI 2.1 to 22.9). The excess risk of serious adverse events of special interest surpassed the risk reduction for COVID-19 hospitalization relative to the placebo group in both Pfizer and Moderna trials (2.3 and 6.4 per 10,000 participants, respectively).
Drug Traffickers Arrested in California with 150,000 Fentanyl Pills Released After Just Days in Jail
June 28th, 2022Via: Fox:
Two drug traffickers in California who were arrested last week for being in possession of 150,000 fentanyl pills — enough to kill millions of people — were released back onto the streets, officials said.
Jose Zendejas, 25, and Benito Madrigal, 19, both from Washington, were arrested during a traffic stop-turned-drug bust in Tulare on Friday. They were booked into the Tulare County Pre-Trial Facility on charges of possession, transportation and selling of illegal drugs, officials said.
In a surprising twist of events, the two inmates were released just days later.
“The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office received a court order to release both suspects from custody on their own recognizance,” officials said.
“Suitcases Full Of Drug Money”: Credit Suisse Found Criminally Guilty in Money-Laundering Case Tied to Cocaine Ring
June 28th, 2022Via: ZeroHedge:
Another day, another dismal development for the 2nd largest (but most damned) Swiss bank.
On Monday, Credit Suisse Group was convicted of failing to prevent money laundering by a Bulgarian cocaine trafficker, in the first ever criminal conviction of a major Swiss bank in the country’s history. The verdict, in which a former relationship manager at the bank was also convicted on money laundering charges, was handed down by Switzerland’s top criminal court on Monday afternoon.
The former employee, who prosecutors said regularly accepted suitcases of cash from one of the ring members that went beyond allowed limits, was given a 20-month suspended sentence. A person from another bank and two members of the crime ring were also found guilty of money-laundering charges.
