5 Big Cover-ups of the Last 5 Years
Some years, it feels like the media and the government are colluding against the people they serve. Despite claims of free press and public office transparency, the most powerful engines of news in the United States still seem to seal away crucial information.
While conspiracy theorists continue to obfuscate real and fantasy, it cannot be denied that the last decade has brought to light more than a handful of true plots to keep secrets from the general public. If you need more ammunition in the war against government and media secrecy, here are five cover-ups from the last 15 years.
1. NSA Surveillance
Snowden outing of the NSA – One of the Big cover-ups of the last 5 years
photo donkeyhotey donkeyhotey.wordpress.com
In 2013, Edward Snowden’s leaked documents about the National Security Agency’s massive surveillance program on American citizens dealt a massive blow to the trustworthiness of the American government. Snowden’s reports raised questions about the validity of harvesting data on the public to thwart terrorism as well as the scope of government power over private information. During the aftermath, the NSA and other government agencies scrambled to legitimize their previous actions and once again distract the populace from their secret carryings-on.
2. GMOs
The potential danger of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is just beginning to breach the public consciousness. The truth is that humans have been eating genetically modified food almost since the beginnings of agriculture. In selecting the best crops to harvest and replant, humans have been subtly manipulating the genetics of our food to yield the most desirable results.
The modern problem with GMOs is that big corporations are lab-producing plants and animals that have resistance to certain diseases and poisons to make crops and livestock heartier to withstand pesticides, herbicides, and more. Then, they are said to be flooding crop fields with proven poisons to make the job of farming easier. Unfortunately, in the United States, GMO food is in almost everything you eat, and there are not yet any government regulations regarding GMO food labels.
3. E-Cigs
There is ample proof that traditional cigarettes are almost wholly toxic. The poisons used in tobacco processing and the dirty smoke inhaled into the lungs cause untold damage to virtually every bodily system. This is why so many smokers have made the switch to electronic cigarettes, which eschew tobacco in favor of a clean water vapor to deliver doses of nicotine. While the patent has been around for decades, e-cigs are only starting to gain real traction with the public, and there aren’t many studies regarding their impact on health — until recently. It appears that various national health organizations are struggling to hide crucial data on the benefits of e-cigarettes in a transparent attempt to dissuade the public from partaking in any form of nicotine.
4. Fukushima Effects
Most people vaguely remember the nuclear disaster that occurred on the coast of Japan after a devastating tsunami in 2011. While the ruins have been cleared and the power plant rebuilt, the media and health organizations around the world are failing to address the dreadful effects of the released radiation, including:
- Skin contamination that causes endocrine issues and superficial skin damage.
- Psychological disorders resulting from exposure to radiation, like PTSD, depression, and anxiety.
- Thyroid problems that impact hormones, energy levels, and body weight.
- Pregnancy complications, like frequent miscarriage and stillbirth.
- Cancers all over the body.
If these health problems continue to be left unnoticed, they will continue to plague people around the world.
5. Big Water
Since grade school, you’ve been told that we are slowly running out of the world’s stores of fresh water. Sadly, the problem runs much deeper than that. Not only is the overabundance of human life rapidly depleting the freshwater lakes, rivers, groundwater, and more, but corporations are capitalizing by pumping the Earth dry and selling the water in bottles at an exorbitant mark up.
While bottled water is handy, tasty, and seemingly clean, supporting bottled water companies damages the environment and the future of humanity in concrete ways. More than 86 billion barrels of oil are used every year in production and shipping of bottled water around the United States alone, and the American public spent more than $10.6 billion which is 1,000 times more expensive than tap water. What’s more, bottled water isn’t necessarily safer than tap: Strict government regulations monitor the sterility of tap water, but more than 38 contaminants were discovered in various brands of bottled water.
Guest Author: Paul Smith
photo D. Sharon Pruitt from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, USA
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