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Dan Simmer

The influence of ceremonial settings on mystical and challenging experiences occasioned by ayahuasca: A survey among ritualistic and religious ayahuasca users

Recent studies have recognized the importance of non-pharmacological factors such as setting to induce or promote mystical experiences or challenging experiences among ayahuasca users.

Brazil: Candidates Should Address Human Rights

(São Paulo) – Candidates running for president, Congress, state legislature, and governor in the October 2022 Brazil elections should put forward proposals to address the country’s serious human rights problems. The issues should include police abuse, violence against women and forest defenders, the impact of environmental destruction, and the

Zambian Woman Footballer Sex Tested Because FIFA Allows It

Football authorities blindsided Barbra Banda, a top player on the Zambian women’s team, when they announced she was ineligible for competition in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations last week after a “gender verification procedure” that determined her testosterone levels were “too high” to compete as a woman.

Whitening Strips or Soda? Which Is Worse for Your Teeth?

STORY AT-A-GLANCE This article was previously published May 11, 2019, and has been updated with new information.

REVIEW: The Assassination and Mrs. Paine

Human duplicity is a marvel to contemplate. This riveting documentary is an excellent example of such cunning in action, not on the part of the filmmaker who is eminently fair, perhaps overly so, but on the part of some of those who appear in the film. It demands that viewers

Farmers Snub Government, Continue to Protest EU Green Agenda

Farmers protesting the EU’s green agenda in the Netherlands have turned down a meeting with their country’s government over poor terms.

Afghanistan: Taliban Execute, ‘Disappear’ Alleged Militants

(New York) – Taliban security forces have summarily executed and forcibly disappeared alleged members and supporters of an Islamic State offshoot in eastern Afghanistan, Human Rights Watch said today.

Indonesia: Make Draft Criminal Code Public

(Jakarta) – The Indonesian government should release the latest draft of the proposed criminal code to ensure a full and informed public discussion of its provisions, Human Rights Watch said today.

The Cost of Speaking Up in Rwanda

The UK’s decision to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda and the much-awaited Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which took place in the capital Kigali in June, have triggered much-needed scrutiny of Rwanda. The legal challenge against deportations, set to be heard in the UK courts this month, presents another

More Evidence Vitamin D Is Effective in Preventing COVID-19

STORY AT-A-GLANCE Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, it became apparent that vitamin D played an important role and could help reduce incidence of positive tests, infection severity and the risk of hospitalization and death. The evidence of benefit was so clear, I published a scientific review in the journal

South Africa: Abandoned Coal Mines Risk Safety, Rights

(Johannesburg) – The South African government’s failure to ensure that abandoned coal mines are rehabilitated puts communities at risk of injury and death and risks polluting resident’s water sources, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 45-page report, “The Forever Mines: Perpetual Rights Risks from Unrehabilitated

Have You Seen This Warning Hidden Inside Your Cellphone?

STORY AT-A-GLANCE This article was previously published March 16, 2019, and has been updated with new information.