Legalise Freedom Dot Com

LF8 Scott Tips – Codex Alimentarius and the Threat to Health Freedom

National Health Federation president Scott Tips on Codex Alimentarius and the threat to health freedom. Increasingly draconian restrictions are being placed on vitamins and other food supplements at a time when a growing number of people are beginning to take health care and illness prevention into their own hands. Avoidance of institutionalized healthcare is likely to increase as long as corporate influence on government continues and the medical establishment holds the interests of pharmaceutical corporations and other related businesses over those of the individual.
BackgroundThe Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), based inRome,Italy, is an international organization jointly created by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) of the United Nations. The Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Use (CCNFSDU) is responsible for Dietary Supplements and Medical Foods and is one of some 27 separate Codex committees. The CCNFSDU meets annually and the National Health Federation is a Codex-recognized organization with the right to attend and speak out at these meetings. Established in 1955, the National Health Federation is an international nonprofit, consumer-education, health-freedom organization working to protect individuals’ rights to choose to consume healthy food, take supplements and use alternative therapies without government restrictions.
The purpose of Codex is to provide a forum to facilitate global trade in foods and promote consumer food safety by developing science based standards and guidelines for use by member countries. Codex guidelines and standards are automatically implemented by the General Agreement on Trade & Tariffs (GATT) of the WHO and become binding for all international trade among GATT signatory countries.
The National Health Federation opposes the current Codex member states who wrongly believe that consumer health will be enhanced by: (1) denying that dietary supplements can benefit normal, healthy people; (2) incorrectly defining dietary supplements as only those vitamins and minerals that the body cannot manufacture itself; (3) restricting the upper-limit amounts of vitamins and minerals, particularly by referring to currently-crude and archaic medical beliefs about nutrients; (4) restricting any physiological benefit information for consumers; (5) restricting the lower-limit amounts of vitamins and minerals that may be consumed by individuals; and (6) creating ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ lists of dietary supplements.
The current direction of Codex is off course and is unfortunately driven by a statist and elitist mentality that thinks it knows what is best for consumer health and protection. This mindset comes from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s kind of ‘brave new world’ thinking that elevated central planners into a form of God on Earth. That kind of out-dated thinking has caused more misery, death and disease than can possibly be imagined.
With the doubling time of knowledge constantly accelerating, mankind cannot afford the ‘luxury’ of getting stuck in health standards established in the 20th Century while new health knowledge and products are discovered almost daily. The best way to ensure such progress and advancing health is to keep the planners and bureaucrats from straitjacketing dietary supplements with medievalist thinking and restrictions.
National Health Federation USNational Health Federation UK
Bumper music: Cliff Martinez ‘Traffic OST’Tangerine Dream ‘Underwater Sunlight’

LF7 John Michael Greer – The Long Descent

John Michael Greer on peak oil and the end of the industrial age.
In his compelling book The Long Descent, John presents a challenging new vision of the future, traces the decline and fall of an industrial society fatally out of balance with planetary limits and shows how personal change and local action can shape a better tomorrow.
Topics discussed include: peak oil, the energy crisis, nuclear power, the myth of progress, the myth of apocalypse, the global financial crisis, population growth, technology, societal collapse, survivalism, getting rid of your TV and – the good news – beer.
BackgroundThe world is finally beginning to wake up to its critical dependence on oil and the vitally important issues associated with it such as rapidly rising energy prices and the threat of climate change. Unlike the energy crisis of the 1970s, however, there is a lurking fear that now the times are different and the crisis may not easily be resolved.
The Long Descent examines the basis of such fear through three core themes:
1. Industrial society is following the same well-worn path that has led other civilizations into decline, a path involving a much slower and more complex transformation than the sudden catastrophes imagined by so many social critics today.
2. The roots of the crisis lie in the cultural stories that shape the way we understand the world. Since problems cannot be solved with the same thinking that created them, these ways of thinking need to be replaced with others better suited to the needs of our time.
3. It is too late for massive programmes to implement top-down change; the change must come from individuals.
Hope exists in actions that range from taking up a handicraft or adopting an ‘obsolete’ technology, through planting an organic vegetable garden, taking charge of your own health care or spirituality, and building community.
John Michael Greer is a certified Master Conserver, organic gardener, and scholar of ecological history. The current Grand Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA), his widely-cited blog, The Archdruid Report deals with peak oil, among other issues.
Bumper music: Cliff Martinez ‘Traffic OST’Dead Can Dance ‘Spleen And Ideal’

LF6 Chris Cole - Drone Wars: The Future of Combat and Surveillance

Chris Cole of Drone Wars UK on the growing use of drones in combat and surveillance. As governments and military increasingly engage in warfare and spying by remote control, who – or what – is really in charge? Aerial drones and ground-based robots are becoming ever more intelligent and autonomous. Once they become self-aware, will humans finally be removed from split-second, life-and-death decisions?
Topics covered include the development and deployment of drones, risks and rewards of the technology, legal and ethical objections, Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, terrorism, extrajudicial assassinations, autonomous and self-aware drones, non-military use of drones, robots and other land-based systems, and how drones are shaping the future of war and surveillance.
Background:Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS), also known as drones, are aircraft either controlled by ‘pilots’ from the ground or increasingly, autonomously following a pre-programmed mission. While there are dozens of different types of drones, they basically fall into two categories: those that are used for reconnaissance and surveillance purposes and those that are armed with missiles and bombs.
Use of drones has grown quickly in recent years because unlike manned aircraft they can stay aloft for many hours (Zephyr, a British drone under development, has just broken the world record by flying for over 82 hours non-stop), they are much cheaper than military aircraft and they are flown remotely so there is no danger to the flight crew.
While the British and US Reaper and Predator drones are physically in Afghanistan and Iraq, control is via satellite from Nellis and Creech USAF base outside Las Vegas, Nevada. Ground crews launch drones from the conflict zone, then operation is handed over to controllers at video screens in specially designed trailers in the Nevada desert. One person ‘flies’ the drone, another operates and monitors the cameras and sensors, while a third person is in contact with the ‘customers’, ground troops and commanders in the war zone. While armed drones were first used in the Balkans war, their use has dramatically escalated in Afghanistan, Iraq and in the CIA’s undeclared war in Pakistan.
The US has two separate ‘squadrons’ of armed drones – one run by the US Air Force and one run by the CIA. Using drones, the US Air Force has increased the number of combat air patrols it can fly by 600 per cent over the past six years; indeed at any time there are at least 36 American armed UAVS over Afghanistan and Iraq. CIA Director Leon Panetta has recently said that drones are ”’the only game in town.’ The CIA have been using drones in Pakistan and other countries to assassinate ”’terrorist leaders’. While this programme was initiated by the Bush Administration, it has increased under Obama and there have been 41 known drone strikes in Pakistan since Obama became President. Analysis by an American think tank The Brookings Institution on drone attacks in Pakistan has shown that for every militant leader killed, 10 civilians also have died.
Military drone manufacturers are looking for civilian uses for remote sensing drones to expand their markets and this includes the use of drones for domestic surveillance. Drones will make possible the dramatic expansion of the surveillance state. With the convergence of other technologies it may even make possible machine recognition of faces, behaviours, and the monitoring of individual conversations. The sky, so to speak, is the limit.
www.dronewars.net
Bumper music: Cliff Martinez ‘Traffic OST’Brad Fiedel ‘Terminator 2’ OST

LF5 Andy Thomas – 2012: Destiny Or Disaster?

Andy Thomas on the predictions and prophecies surrounding 2012, a time rife with both danger and opportunity. Will this year bring disaster to our planet, or will some positive shift in the Earth’s energy or human consciousness take place? Topics covered include: ancient prophecies, apocalypse culture, astrology, astronomy and cosmic cycles, the sun and solar activity, individual and collective consciousness, terrorism, the police state, and the symbols and significance of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics.
Andy Thomas is one of England’s most prolific authors and lecturers on unexplained mysteries, and speaks widely in the UK and abroad.
Andy’s latest – and most major – investigation into the mystery realms, The Truth Agenda: Making Sense of Unexplained Mysteries, Global Cover-Ups and Prophecies for Our Times, was first published in 2009, and a revised and updated edition was issued in 2011. The book has been very successful in both alternative and mainstream circles, and has recently been adopted as a sociology textbook at Canada’s Vancouver Island University.
Andy is author of seven other books exploring the unexplained, including the acclaimed Vital Signs: A Complete Guide to the Crop Circle Mystery (1998, revised 2002), which has been described by many as the definitive guide to the subject and was nominated for Kindred Spirit magazine’s 2002 Best Book award.
Andy’s other books include Fields of Mystery: The Crop Circle Phenomenon in Sussex (1996), Quest For Contact: A True Story of Crop Circles, Psychics and UFOs (1997, with Paul Bura), Swirled Harvest: Views from the Crop Circle Frontline (2003), A Oneness of Mind: The Power of Collective Thought and Signs of Our Times (2003), and An Introduction to Crop Circles (2004, revised 2011). Andy has written for many other publications, including Kindred Spirit, and regularly contributes to the popular alternative journal Nexus Magazine.
Andy is the founder of Vital Signs Publishing, which in 2005 produced Geoff Stray’s greatly influential and acclaimed book Beyond 2012: Catastrophe or Ecstasy (which Andy edited), exploring the many prophecies, ancient and modern, predicted to follow the year 2012. Andy is also founder of the Changing Times organisation, which holds events to spread alternative views on important political and social issues.
A busy lecturer, Andy is renowned for his striking presentations on the unexplained and global cover-ups. He speaks extensively in England and has also lectured in many parts of the world, including America, Australia, Peru and several European countries. Andy is also co-presenter of The Glastonbury Symposium, one of the UK’s biggest and longest-running alternative events, which takes place across three days each summer.
Andy has made numerous radio and TV appearances, including major UK television spots on Richard and Judy, Esther, GMTV, The One Show and Sky’s hit series Pineapple Dance Studios. He has also featured in many programmes in countries around the globe, as well as in the US theatrically-released Crop Circles: Quest For Truth.
www.truthagenda.orgwww.vitalsignspublishing.co.uk
Bumper music: Cliff Martinez ‘Traffic OST’Amber Asylum ‘Still Point’

LF4 Anthony Peake – The Labyrinth Of Time

Anthony Peake on his brand new book The Labyrinth of Time in which he explores the relationship between consciousness and reality and in the process puts forward an amazing hypothesis that can explain many enigmatic phenomena, including déjà vu, precognition, near-death experience and altered states.
Central to his hypothesis is a new understanding of the nature of time and a radical updating of the theories of two of the twentieth century’s most original thinkers, Peter Ouspensky and J.W. Dunne. Anthony then looks at the concepts of time and how they have shaped our thinking as individuals through the prism of science, philosophy and literature. The book features a cutting-edge account of modern time theory, covering time-slips, precognitive dreams and the elasticity of time during moments of extreme stress, near-death experiences and certain stages of hypnotic trance. The Labyrinth of Time is as compelling and persuasive as Anthony’s previous books Is There Life After Death? and The Daemon.
Topics covered include: the nature of time and reality, the mystery of consciousness, quantum physics, life after death, reincarnation, precognition, Groundhog Day, déjà vu, science Vs spirituality and some of the concepts shaping Anthony’s next book The Gateway to Infinity.
Anthony grew up on the Wirral, near Liverpool. He was educated at Wirral Grammar School, Warwick University and the London School of Economics. He is a member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams, The Scientific & Medical Network and the Society for Psychical Research. In January 2011 he was offered, and accepted, a research fellowship at the Giordano Bruno Global Shift University. He has also recently been listed as one of the 200 ‘Visionaries’ for the 21st Century.
Anthony has written a series of widely acclaimed books that focus on altered states of consciousness such as Near-Death Experience, the Out-of-Body Experience, Lucid Dreaming and Time Perception. In his work he is developing a model of consciousness that he terms ‘The Introsomatic Experience’. This suggests a radical new way of describing the relationship between conscious experience and the external world.
His next book, The Gateway to Infinity will continue developing this theme. In this book Anthony will be reviewing the role of the pineal gland as both a generator of conscious experience and as a facilitator for contact to alternate dimensions of reality.
Anthony’s website is www.anthonypeake.com
He is also very active on Facebook
Bumper Music: Cliff Martinez ‘Traffic’ OSTTangerine Dream ‘Zeit’

LF3 Ross Ashcroft – Four Horsemen

Director Ross Ashcroft discusses his new documentary film Four Horsemen which reveals the fundamental flaws in the global economic system which have brought our civilization to the brink of disaster.
As the global economy continues to veer from crisis to catastrophe, many more people are looking for ideas on how to reshape the Western Economy. Four Horsemen brings together 23 global thinkers – many of them marginalized by the mainstream media – to explain how the world really works. Their views transcend mainstream and short-term political explanations to describe in simple terms what needs to be addressed in our universities, governments and corporate structures. We will not be returning to ‘business as usual’. Four Horsemen doesn’t get involved in banker bashing, criticising politicians or conspiracy theories. The film looks at the systems that we have chosen to live under and suggests ways we could change them.
Four Horsemen pulls no punches in describing the consequences of continued inaction, but its message is ultimately one of hope. If more people can equip themselves with a better understanding of how the global economy functions, then the systems and structures that condemn billions to poverty or chronic insecurity can at last be overturned. Solutions to the multiple crises facing humanity have never been more urgent, but equally, the conditions for change have never been more favourable.
With events veering out of the control of democratic governments and the global economy on life support for the foreseeable future, Four Horsemen is a catalyst to begin a debate around the solutions we urgently need.
To view Four Horsemen online now follow this link http://muvi.es/1162/25229
Four Horsemen website http://www.fourhorsemenfilm.com/
Bumper music: Cliff Martinez ‘Traffic’ OSTTangerine Dream ‘Thief’

LF2 Andy Duncan – Democracy: The God That Failed

Andy Duncan on the ideas contained in Hans-Hermann Hoppe’s book Democracy – The God That Failed, a radical debunking of the political system widely considered to be the best framework that society has developed around which to structure itself. Democracy and democratic ideals are being aggressively exported worldwide by the US and its allies, but in reality, democracy itself may be leading us to disaster.
Andy Duncan is an Austrian economist in the tradition of Mises, Rothbard and Hoppe, and runs the educational website, http://TheGodThatFailed.org. He can occasionally be heard running his own podcast, Radio Free Market World Report, which can be found at http://www.radiofreemarket.com/world-report. He also works within the global banking industry as a freelance private educator, teaching many varied clients about derivatives pricing, securities analysis, and finance in general.
Hans-Hermann Hoppe, author of Democracy – The God That Failed, is a prominent Austrian school economist and libertarian anarcho-capitalist philosopher. He is a Professor Emeritus of economics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. http://www.hanshoppe.com/
Bumper music: Cliff Martinez ‘Traffic’ OSTKlaus Schulze ‘Goodwill’

LF1 Alasdair Macleod – World Economic Meltdown 2012

Alasdair Macleod on the ongoing implosion of the global economy. Areas covered include: the financial crisis of 2008, sound money vs. paper money, inflation and interest rates, quantitative easing, GDP and economic growth, Greece and the Eurozone, and gold.
Alasdair has a background as a stockbroker, banker and economist and now devotes his time as an educator, helping people understand current economic opportunities and dangers, so that they can best protect their assets. He runs www.FinanceAndEconomics.Org, a website dedicated to sound money and demystifying finance and economics. He is also a Senior Fellow at the GoldMoney Foundation and writes regularly for GoldMoney.com. Visit his author page at http://www.goldmoney.com/author/alasdair-macleod
Bumper music: Cliff Martinez ‘Traffic’ OSTTangerine Dream ‘Thief’