THIS WEEK IN REVIEW

The U.S. government has instructed all public school districts to allow transgender students to use bathrooms that match their gender identity rather than their actual sex. The letter, signed by officials from the Education and Justice departments, does not have the force of law but contains an implicit threat that schools that do not abide by the directive could face lawsuits or loss of federal aid. Reuters 2016 May 13 (Story) (Cached)

The Confessions of Congressman-X is a new book written by an anonymous U.S. Congressman that provides a close-up view of corrupt politicians who are interested only in re-election and who are the willing servants of lobbyists. Voters are described as gullible, know-nothing jerks, while the only people who count are the big donors who pour billions of dollars into lobbying. He calls the federal government a casino that receives over $3-billion in bribes every year to stack the deck against honest players. NY Post 2016 May 13 (Story) (Cached)

Kentucky: Purdue Pharma lost its legal battle to keep secret its records about the painkiller drug OxyContin. In December, 2015, Purdue paid $24-million to settle a suit against its alleged fraud, conspiracy, and negligence in the development and marketing of the drug. LA Times 2016 May 11 (Story) (Cached)

Three million Syrians refugees have fled to Turkey, and the children are being forced to work as sweatshop laborers. Europe has closed its borders to the refugees. CBS News 2016 May 11 (Story)

Human Rights Watch has accused Turkish border guards of shooting and abusing Syrian refugees who are crossing into the country. The rights group, citing the deaths of several asylum seekers, has called for an investigation. RT 2016 May 10 (Story)

Judicial Watch is demanding a special counsel to investigate Hillary Clinton’s private e-mail server after it was discovered that the presidential candidate received nearly $75,000 in campaign contributions from Department of Justice employees. Newsmax 2016 May 10 (Story) (Cached)

A Wyoming farmer was hit with $16-million in fines by the federal EPA for building a stock pond for which he already had received a permit from the State. After standing his ground, his case went to a federal court that ruled in his favor. Under Supreme Court precedent, the federal government can regulate waters only if they have a “significant nexus” to navigable waters, which was not the case for this pond. [It’s nice to see reason prevail once in a while.] Fox News 2016 May 10 (Story) (Cached)

US: Illegal aliens receive more welfare per person than Americans on welfare. Newsmax 2016 May 9 (Story) (Cached)

Wall Street Analyst Charles Ortel has discovered that the Clinton Foundation’s contribution disclosures do not match up with individual donors’ records. He also found that the Foundation is not in compliance with state laws regarding fundraising registration, disclosure requirements, and auditing rules. Nations that have donated to the Foundation have been rewarded handsomely by the State Department. Allen B West 2016 May 9 (Story) (Cached)

A recent study by Shir Hever, an Israeli economist, shows that at least 78% of all humanitarian aid intended for Palestinians ends up in Israel’s coffers. Hever says that donors are indirectly subsidizing up to a third of Israel’s cost to occupy Palestine. The World Bank estimated that the Palestinians lose at least $3.4 billion a year in resources diverted to Israel. Mondoweiss posted 2016 May 9 (Story) (Cached)

UK: The Department for International Development reported that, since 2011, as much as $7.35 million in British aid to supposedly moderate rebels in Syria was diverted to ISIS. In 2013, the DFID admitted that almost $720,000 of its aid and equipment had reached the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militants based in Somalia. [Do you see a pattern here – similar to US aid reaching terrorists “accidentally”?] Your News Wire 2016 May 8 (Story) (Cached)

Alex Jones interviews Dr. Toni Bark, MD, an expert on vaccine injury and autism. She reveals a shocking history of corruption and criminal activity within the vaccine industry. If this doesn’t make you angry, nothing ever will. InfoWars 2016 May 7 (Story)

US: Twenty-seven lawmakers are urging Obama not to supply Syrian rebels with shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, known as MANPADS, that are designed to target helicopters. There is a history of US weapons “accidentally” falling into the hands of Al Qaeda and ISIS. Subterranean Homesick Newsposted 2016 May 7 (Story) (Cached)

Turkey: Two journalists were sentenced to five years in prison on charges of espionage. The actual “crime” was publication of a story on how Turkey was supplying weapon to jihadists in Syria. RT 2016 May 7 (Story)

US Army Captain Nathan Michael Smith, 28, filed a lawsuit against President Obama claiming that the war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria is illegal. The basis for that claim is that the war was not authorized by Congress within 60 days of military action, as required by law. WPR posted 2016 May 7 (Story) (Cached)

Former FDA chief Margaret Hamburg suppressed information about the danger of ‘deadly’ drug, suit alleges. LegalReader posted 2016 May 7 (Story) (Cached)