World News
Flights restart at Hong Kong airport as protesters apologize
USA Today – Flights resumed at Hong Kong’s airport Wednesday after two days of disruptions marked by outbursts of violence that highlight the hardening positions of pro-democracy protesters and the authorities in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
About three dozen protesters remained camped in the airport’s arrivals area a day after a mass demonstration and frenzied mob violence forced more than 100 flight cancelations. Additional identification checks were in place, but check-in counters were open and flights appeared to be operating normally.
Protesters spread pamphlets and posters across the floor in a section of the terminal but were not impeding travelers. Online, they also circulated letters and promotional materials apologizing to travelers and the general public for inconveniences during the past five days of airport occupations.
“It is not our intention to cause delays to your travels and we do not want to cause inconvenience to you,” said an emailed statement from a group of protesters. “We ask for your understanding and forgiveness as young people in Hong Kong continue to fight for freedom and democracy.”
‘Hong Kong is not safe any more’: Millions affected by crisis – Crisis stemming from crackdown on protests over pro-China laws has spread across border.
Al Jazeera – Millions of people have been affected by the protests in Hong Kong. But it is not limited to those inside the territory.
The effects of the ongoing protests are spreading across the border, particularly to one city just next to Hong Kong, inside the border of mainland China.
China State Media Present Their Own Version Of Hong Kong Protests
NPR – As anti-Beijing protests in Hong Kong enter their third month, China’s leaders face a new challenge: managing perceptions of the protests at home.
China is anxious the protests might inspire similar dissent on the mainland, where huge swathes of territory — including the regions of Xinjiang and Tibet — have also seen numerous instances of opposition to Beijing’s governance.
To inoculate itself, Beijing has turned to a raft of disinformation tactics to stir up nationalist support at home, creating a very different narrative of what is happening in Hong Kong by levying its control over the flow of information.
“The [protest] movement is so complicated, unpredictable and unprecedented, with a very diverse group of participants,” says Fang Kecheng, a communications professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).
“But what we see within the Great Firewall of China is actually simplified and distorted,” he says. “That is because nationalistic content is politically safe and highly popular among the Chinese public and internet users.”
Official state media pin the blame for protests on the “black hand” of foreign interference, namely from the United States, and what they have called criminal Hong Kong thugs. A popular conspiracy theory posits the CIA incited and funded the Hong Kong protesters, who are demanding an end to an extradition bill with China and the ability to elect their own leader.
China: Pelosi, McConnell Instigating ‘Chaos’ in Hong Kong
Newsmax – Chinese officials say there is “powerful evidence” that the United States has been involved in the massive protests and violence in Hong Kong, pointing to recent comments from lawmakers including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“The U.S. denied on many occasions its involvement in the ongoing violent incidents in Hong Kong,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said, reports CNBC. “However, the comments from those members of the U.S. Congress have provided the world with new and powerful evidence on the country’s involvement.
Philadelphia and VW ads banned for gender stereotyping
BBC – Television advertisements from US food giant Mondelez and German carmaker Volkswagen are the first to be banned under new UK gender stereotyping rules.
A ban on ads featuring “harmful gender stereotypes” or those which are likely to cause “serious or widespread offence” came into force in June.
The first banned ad, for Philadelphia cheese, showed two fathers leaving a baby on a restaurant conveyor belt.
The other, VW ad, showed men being adventurous as a woman sat by a pram.
Some 128 people complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about the Mondelez advert for its Philadelphia cheese which featured two dads leaving a baby on a restaurant buffet conveyor belt as they were distracted by the food.
Complainants said the advertisement perpetuated a harmful stereotype by suggesting that men were incapable of caring for children and were so incompetent they would place youngsters at risk.
Meanwhile, three people complained about an ad for the Volkswagen eGolf car.
It showed a sleeping woman and a man in a tent on a sheer cliff face, two male astronauts floating in a space ship and a male para-athlete doing the long jump, before cutting to the final scene showing a woman sitting on a bench next to a pram.
Complainants said that the ad perpetuated harmful gender stereotypes by showing men engaged in adventurous activities in contrast to a woman in a care-giving role.
Jess Tye, investigations manager at the Advertising Standards Authority, told the BBC that gender stereotypes in advertising could cause “real-world harms”.
“Ads that specifically contrast male and female stereotypes need to be handled with care,” she said.
“It’s about thinking about what the cumulative effect of those gender stereotypes might be.”
Russia Orders Evacuation of Village Near Site of Nuclear Explosion After Radiation Spike
Activist Post – Russia is evacuating civilians in the area of Nyonoksa village in the far northern region where a nuclear-powered experimental rocket exploded during tests last Thursday, which had killed seven, Interfax reports.
So far it appears a “recommendation” and not an ordered evacuation, which officials advise should be accomplished by Wednesday, after radiation levels in the vicinity of Severodvinsk spiked to 20 times normal last week in the blast’s aftermath. The local governor is insisting its not an “ordered” evacuation but is merely highly recommended.
Russian media reports say authorities are offering for a train to take Nyonoksa residents to safety, which might be due either to further clean-up and decontamination of the site or possibly to conduct some kind of new test. Work is still reportedly being carried out on the rocket engine that exploded.
Russia belatedly admitted on Monday that the mystery explosion which released radiation into the air last Thursday, triggering warning alerts across towns near the northern port cities of Arkhangelsk and Severodvinsk, involved a “small-scale nuclear reactor.”
US Walks Away from Southeast Asia Summit Empty-Handed
Global Research – A recent meeting of the 10 member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) convened in Bangkok, Thailand and attended by representatives from China, Russia and even the United States, provides us with a clear indicator of how power and influence are being shaped across wider Asia and even globally.
Headlines like the Associated Press’, “Pompeo ends frustrating Bangkok visit,” gives a good feel for how, at least for Washington, the meeting went and how the region responded to Washington’s “plans” for it.
The article would note:
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo left Thailand on Saturday with his hopes for resuming nuclear talks with North Korea dashed, while facing an escalating trade war with China and a potentially devastating breakdown in relations between key American allies Japan and South Korea.
Another article published just ahead of the meetings would better frame US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s (and Washington’s) agenda. The LA Times’, “Pompeo seeks to restore U.S. influence in Southeast Asia amid China’s rise,” would report:
Against a backdrop of China’s rising economic and military power, Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo arrived in the Thai capital of Bangkok this week with a difficult mission: Try to win back lost ground in Southeast Asia, a region once dominated by the U.S.
U.S. News, Politics & Government
Judge overseeing key Jeffrey Epstein case dies Adding another twist to drawn-out legal saga
Politico – An elderly federal judge presiding over a key lawsuit relating to financier pedophile Jeffrey Epstein died Sunday, adding another twist to the drawn-out legal saga and to efforts to unseal still-secret details about the conduct of Epstein, his enablers and one of his accusers.
Manhattan-based U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet passed away Sunday at age 96, the court announced. Sweet was appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, confirmed that same year and continued to hear and rule on cases through the last few months.
Jeffrey Epstein’s Death Was Reported on 4chan Before Anywhere Else
Activist Post – Just under 40 minutes before ABC News reporter Aaron Katersky tweeted the first media announcement of Jeffrey Epstein’s death, someone posted about it on 4chan – saying “[D]ont ask me how I know, but Epstein died an hour ago from hanging, cardiac arrest. Screencap this,” reports BuzzFeed.
Later in the thread, the anonymous user posted: “Was called out as a cardiac arrest at the manhattan federal detention facility. Worked asystole for 40 mins”
As other 4chan users cast doubt, the user said: “worked asystole arrest for 40 minutes, als intubated in the field/epi/2 liters NS infused. Telemetry advised bicarb and D50 in field. Pt transported to Lower Manhattan ER and worked for 20 minutes and called. Hospital administrator was alerted, preparing statements.”
“Telemetry implies the paramedics were in contact with a medical control hospital who then gave orders to give Sodium Bicarbonate, bicarb which is designed to reverse the acid buildup in the blood from prolonged cardiac arrest,” according to Dr. Keith Wesley, author of several EMS textbooks and articles.
According to the FDNY’s Frank Dwyer, the fire department says it’s reviewing the incident, but there is no investigation.
Oren Barzilay, the president of the union for EMT workers Local 2507 in New York, said, “our members do not release this type of confidential information, this looks like a 3rd party info.” Barzilay also told BuzzFeed News the union would investigate the potential breach of confidentiality “if such a claim came forward.”
“There’s serious consequences for those violations. Discipline. Suspensions. Civil penalties, etc,” Barzilay said in an email. – BuzzFeed
In short, a 4chan user with inside medical information scooped the media.
Sen. Cotton: Red Flag Laws Should Fall Under State, Local Rule
Newsmax – Red flag laws that have come under debate in the wake of the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton should be a state or local matter, rather than fall under the federal government, Sen. Tom Cotton said Wednesday.
“I think in Washington, what we should do is provide support for states that want to adopt those laws,” the Arkansas Republican told Fox News’ “Fox and Friends.” “It’s beyond the capabilities of federal law enforcement to try to monitor every single person in this country who might be a danger to others or a danger to themselves. That’s why we have local police and sheriff’s departments.”
Study: 8 States to Use Paperless Voting in 2020
Newsmax – At least eight states are not expected to use any type of paper ballots during the 2020 elections, according to a study by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.
Details of the center’s study, released Tuesday, came in a report by The Hill.
Some states using paperless machines have committed to replacing equipment in 2020, the study noted.
”Consequently, we expect the number of states using paperless equipment as primary systems will drop to no more than eight,” the study said.
The study noted that some counties and towns in Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky, and New Jersey will likely use some form of paperless voting in 2020.
It said experts warn paperless voting machines are a security risk because they do not allow officials to confirm electronic voting totals.
CNN Article Says Intel Agencies Are Recruiting Teens In High School
Activist Post – A recent article in CNN tells the tale of teens whose friends think they are spying on their phone conversations because they work for the National Security Agency (NSA) at the complex at Fort Meade in Maryland.
CNN expresses that three 18-year-old teens who graduated from high schools in Maryland — Summer, Brianna and Simon — are among more than 150 high schoolers in a work study program at the NSA. These students are then given TS/SCI or Top Secret security clearance access to U.S. secrets.
“Recruiters at the NSA (and other intelligence agencies, like the CIA, have similar programs) know that when it comes to hiring smart, driven, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)-minded young people, they are competing with the flashiness and deep pockets of Silicon Valley. So, they aim young and try to dazzle the teens with the work, rather than the paycheck,” CNN wrote.
Overstock CEO Turned Over Docs To DOJ “In Greatest Political Scandal In US History”
Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne delivered to the Department of Justice a number of documents, including emails and text messages, in April, regarding both the origins of the Russian investigation, and an FBI operation into Hillary Clinton with which he was personally involved during the first months of 2016, according to a U.S. official who spoke SaraACarter.com.
Byrne has also confirmed the account.
Byrne claims the documents, which have not been made public and are currently under investigation by the DOJ, are allegedly communications he had with the FBI concerning both the Clinton investigation and the origins of the Russian investigation. SaraACarter.comdid not review the documents, which are now under review by law enforcement.
He approached the DOJ and met with lawyers on April 5th and 30th. The first meeting was without counsel in Washington D.C. A source directly familiar with the interviews confirmed Byrne’s account of the meetings.
DOJ officials said they could not comment on Byrne’s allegations.
“I gave to the DOJ documents concerning both the origin of the Russian probe and the probe into Hillary Clinton, both of which I was involved in, and both of which turned out to be less about law enforcement than they were about political espionage,” Byrne told SaraACarter.com Monday.
Byrne claims the documents, which have not been made public and are currently under investigation by the DOJ, are allegedly communications he had with the FBI concerning both the Clinton investigation and the origins of the Russian investigation. SaraACarter.comdid not review the documents, which are now under review by law enforcement.
He approached the DOJ and met with lawyers on April 5th and 30th. The first meeting was without counsel in Washington D.C. A source directly familiar with the interviews confirmed Byrne’s account of the meetings.
DOJ officials said they could not comment on Byrne’s allegations.
“I gave to the DOJ documents concerning both the origin of the Russian probe and the probe into Hillary Clinton, both of which I was involved in, and both of which turned out to be less about law enforcement than they were about political espionage,” Byrne told SaraACarter.com Monday.
He noted that the communications will prove that the FBI also had an operation into Clinton Foundation that he was directly involved in.
“This is going to become the greatest political scandal in US history,” he said.
“If we survive it, and if Rule of Law returns to America, it will be due to one man: Bill Barr.”
Several weeks ago, FBI officials told SaraACarter.com that they declined to comment on Byrne’s allegations.
Byrne said the investigation into Clinton was one of the main reasons he came forward. This reporter first published Byrne’s story about his relationship with now convicted Russian gun right’s activist Maria Butina. She pleaded guilty in 2018 for failing to register as a foreign agent in the U.S. and is now serving out her sentence, which ends in October.
Harry Reid Says Filibuster Should Be Abolished
Newsmax – The legislative filibuster in the U.S. Senate should be abolished, former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wrote in an op-ed appearing in The New York Times.
The Nevada Democrat said the Senate has become “an unworkable legislative graveyard” and that removing the procedure would help stop the “era of obstruction and inaction” in the legislative body.
Reid stressed that “The Senate is now a place where the most pressing issues facing our country are disregarded, along with the will of the American people overwhelmingly calling for action.”
He continued that “The future of our country is sacrificed at the altar of the filibuster… [and] that is why I am now calling on the Senate to abolish the filibuster in all its forms. And I am calling on candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for president to do the same.”
San Fran Sues Over Green Card Rule; Calif. to Follow Suit
Newsmax – The city of San Francisco and nearby Santa Clara County sued President Donald Trump’s administration Tuesday, seeking to block a new rule that would drastically reduce legal immigration by denying visas to poor migrants.
Also, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra confirmed Tuesday night the state also plans to file its own lawsuit against the green card rule.
“We think it’s un-American and unlawful, and we believe it would destroy good portions of our economy if we allowed a rule like this to take effect,” Becerra told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “We rely on the hard work of people who understand what it means to toil and to somehow overcome to be able to have a state like California that’s become the number one state economically for this country, and the fourth- or fifth-largest economy in the world.
Economy & Business
US stocks crash after bond market flashes strong recession warning
RT – US markets opened in the red on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing more than 400 points, after the US bond market sparked new fears about a looming recession.
After Tuesday’s gains on the decision to postpone tariffs on Chinese imports, US stocks saw another huge selloff. The Dow was down around 1.5 percent, while S&P 500 fell 1.4 percent to 2.885.42 points. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.55 percent to 1.892.23 points after the opening bell.
Michael Snyder – We haven’t seen anything like this since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Leading up to this year, farm incomes had been trending lower for most of the past decade, and meanwhile, farm debt levels have been absolutely exploding.
So U.S. farmers were desperate for a really good year, but instead, 2019 has been a total disaster. As I have been carefully documenting, due to endless rain and catastrophic flooding millions of acres of prime farmland didn’t get planted at all this year, and the yields on tens of millions of other acres are expected to be way, way below normal. As a result, we are facing the worst farming crisis in modern American history, and this comes at a time when U.S. farms are drowning in more debt than ever before. In fact, the latest numbers that we have shown that the average U.S. farm is 1.3 million dollars in debt…
Debt-to-asset ratios are seeing the same squeeze, with more farms moving into a ratio exceeding 80%. Barrett notes each year since 2009 has seen an increase in the average amount of total debt among farmers, and 2017 was no exception. Average debt rose 10% to $1.3 million. The biggest increase was in long-term debt, such as land.
Farming in the 21st century has become an extraordinarily risky business, and countless U.S. farmers were already on the verge of going under even before we got to 2019.
Now that this year has been such a complete and utter disaster, many farms will not be able to operate once we get to 2020.
Energy & Environment
It’s raining plastic: microscopic fibers fall from the sky in Rocky Mountains – Discovery raises new questions about the amount of plastic waste permeating the air, water, and soil virtually everywhere on Earth
The Guardian – permeating the air, water, and soil virtually everywhere on Earth
Plastic was the furthest thing from Gregory Wetherbee’s mind when he began analyzing rainwater samples collected from the Rocky Mountains. “I guess I expected to see mostly soil and mineral particles,” said the US Geological Survey researcher. Instead, he found multicolored microscopic plastic fibers.
The discovery, published in a recent study (pdf) titled “It is raining plastic”, raises new questions about the amount of plastic waste permeating the air, water, and soil virtually everywhere on Earth.
“I think the most important result that we can share with the American public is that there’s more plastic out there than meets the eye,” said Wetherbee. “It’s in the rain, it’s in the snow. It’s a part of our environment now.”
Rainwater samples collected across Colorado and analyzed under a microscope contained a rainbow of plastic fibers, as well as beads and shards. The findings shocked Wetherbee, who had been collecting the samples in order to study nitrogen pollution.
A major contributor is trash, said Sherri Mason, a microplastics researcher and sustainability coordinator at Penn State Behrend. More than 90% of plastic waste is not recycled, and as it slowly degrades it breaks into smaller and smaller pieces. “Plastic fibers also break off your clothes every time you wash them,” Mason said, and plastic particles are byproducts of a variety of industrial processes.
Animals and humans consume microplastics via water and food, and we likely breathe in micro- and nanoplastic particles in the air, though scientists have yet to understand the health effects. Microplastics can also attract and attach to heavy metals like mercury and other hazardous chemicals, as well as toxic bacteria. “Plastic particles from furniture and carpets could contain flame retardants that are toxic to humans,” Krause said.
Because we are all are exposed to hundreds of synthetic chemicals as soon as we’re born, it’s difficult to say how much longer we’d live if we weren’t exposed, said Mason. “We may never understand all the linkages between plastics and health.”
Yellowstone Supervolcano Mantle Extends All the Way to California and Oregon, Scientist Claims
Newsweek – The mantle rock that feeds Yellowstone supervolcano extends all the way to California and Oregon, a scientist has claimed. Victor Camp, a geologist from San Diego State University found there are “finger-like conduits” of mantle that extend westwards, providing magma to distant sites including the volcanic fields of Newberry and Medicine Lake.
Camp also said the mantle rock that sits beneath Yellowstone today appears to have come from the core-mantle boundary that sits deep beneath present-day San Diego. His findings are published in the journal Geology.
Earth is made up of three main layers—the crust, which is the thinnest layer, the mantle, which extends from 62 miles under the surface all the way down to over 1,600 miles, and finally the core. The mantle is made of hot molten rock.
Mantle plumes rise up because they are hotter and lower-density than the surrounding rock. The plume feeding Yellowstone rose up and met the base of the North American tectonic plate, where it was blocked. At this point, the plume melted and started spreading west.
Camp said the findings can help scientists better understand how mantle rock moves around deep beneath the surface of supervolcanoes. “Since the plume is not controlled by plate tectonics, it can rise and emerge anywhere on earth, depending on where it manages to break through the earth’s surface,” he said in a statement. “So, knowing this will help us understand supereruptions that have occurred before, and those that will occur in the future.”
Not everyone is convinced of Camp’s findings, however. Volcanologist Rebecca Williams, from the U.K.’s University of Hull, said the idea that volcanism in Central Oregon is linked to the Yellowstone-Snake River Plane is not new. “There is much scientific discussion around the YSRP plume, its migration and its relation to broader volcanism in the region,” she told Newsweek.
Japan urges more than 300,000 to evacuate as tropical storm Krosa nears
RT – Japan advised more than 300,000 people to evacuate their homes on Wednesday as a tropical storm bore down on the archipelago, NHK broadcaster said.
Airlines also cancelled hundreds of scheduled flights as Tropical storm Krosa, packing maximum winds of 108kph (68mph), was heading north toward southwestern Japan by 1100 GMT, Reuters reported. The storm is expected to make landfall on Thursday morning, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Evacuation advisories were issued for 310,000 residents, and about 350 flights scheduled for Thursday had been cancelled.
India floods, landslides kill more than 270
Al Jazeera – Heavy rains in parts of four Indian states – Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat – cause widespread damage.
Science & Technology
Microsoft May Be Listening To Your Skype Calls
Off The Grid News – When you have what you think is a private conversation with Alexa, or the Google Assistant, or Siri, numerous reports have emerged in recent weeks revealing that other humans might be listening too (although Apple has since revised its policy).
Now it turns out that Microsoft is probably listening to some of your Skype calls if you’re using a tool called Translator. Skype launched the clever feature in 2015, offering near-real-time audio translations during phone and video calls. But a new report from Motherboard reveals that Microsoft sends some Skype recordings to its contractors to review how the translation services worked, according to a cache of “internal documents, screenshots, and audio recordings” obtained by the site’s reporters.
Audio conversations include “people talking intimately to loved ones, some chatting about personal issues such as their weight loss, and others seemingly discussing relationship problems.”
Whistleblowers Report New Cars Are Vulnerable To Hacking And Thousands Could Die Because Of It
Activist Post – The world would undoubtedly be a better place if there was never ever another impaired driver on the road. But what about when vehicles are impaired due to hacking?
Older vehicles weren’t able to be hacked, and studies continue to warn about the potential for new vehicles to be hacked and how this could lead to massive traffic gridlocks as well as people dying.
From Consumer Watchdog:
A consumer advocacy group has warned that automakers are rolling out new vehicles increasingly vulnerable to hackers, which could result in thousands of deaths in the event of a mass cyberattack.
In a new report entitled “Kill Switch: Why Connected Cars Can Be Killing Machines And How To Turn Them Off,” Los Angeles-based Consumer Watchdog said cars connected to the internet are quickly becoming the norm but constitute a national security threat.
“The troubling issue for industry technologies is that these vehicles’ safety-critical systems are being linked to the internet without adequate security and with no way to disconnect them in the event of a fleet-wide hack,” the report said.
It said industry executives were aware of the risk but were nonetheless pushing ahead in deploying the technology in new vehicles, putting corporate profit ahead of safety.
The report was based on a five-month study with the help of more than 20 whistleblowers from within the car industry.
The group of car industry technologists and experts speculated that a fleet-wide hack at rush hour could leave about 3,000 people dead.
“You can control all sorts of aspects of your car from your smartphone, including starting the engine, starting the air conditioning, checking on its location,” said one of the whistleblowers, who were not identified.
“Well, if you can do it with your smartphone anybody else can over the internet.”
Health
NY Lawsuit to Repeal Denial of Religious Exemptions to Vaccines Starts – 26,000 Families Wait to See if Children Can Start School – Judge to Hear Oral Argument on the Repeal of the Religious Exemption to Vaccination for New York Children
Health Impact News – by the Children’s Health Defense Team
After the Wed., Aug. 14th, 10: 00 a.m. hearing, Attorneys Michael H. Sussman and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will answer questions on the Albany County, NY Courthouse steps, 16 Eagle Street
Albany, NY—On July 10, attorneys Sussman and Kennedy filed a lawsuit in New York State (NYS) Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the legislature’s repeal of the religious exemption to vaccination. Suing on behalf of 55 NYS families who held lawful religious exemptions, Sussman and Kennedy requested that the court enjoin the repeal temporarily, preliminarily and permanently.
The Honorable Denise Hartman, Supreme Court judge, will hear oral argument Wednesday, August 14th.
With school only three weeks away, plaintiffs present their case that on June 13, 2019, NYS halted more than fifty years of lawful religious exemptions from vaccination for those with genuine and sincerely-held religious beliefs.
The law, which became effective immediately, threw more than 26,000 NYS families into chaos, barring their children from school and daycare. A representative group of affected families, from different regions and diverse faiths, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam, challenged the repeal as constitutionally defective and unlawful.
They seek judicial intervention to enjoin the repeal and permit their children back to school and camp throughout the state. The ruling will not only affect the 55 plaintiffs but the thousands of other similarly situated families.
Since 1963, New York has provided religious exemptions to vaccination. Yet without a single public hearing, and at the very end of the legislative session, the Assembly, Senate and Governor rushed through the repeal bill in one day with expressions of overt hostility towards those holding religious beliefs against vaccination. Many families will attend the hearing and press briefing afterwards.
In an earlier statement, Kennedy, Chief Legal Counsel for Children’s Health Defense, stated:
“Religious rights are fundamental. It is unconstitutional for the state to deprive people of such important rights when religious animus has played a key role. To enact such harsh legislation without any legislative fact-finding, and with the legislators’ open display of prejudice towards religious beliefs different than their own, is simply un-American; it is essential that we fight this.”
Researchers are working on a pill for loneliness, as studies suggest the condition is worse than obesity – For some, the idea is just another sign of the creeping medicalization of everyday human woes: Is it really the best we can do to fix the loneliness ‘epidemic’?
National Post – The volunteers at the University of Chicago’s Brain Dynamics Laboratory, all otherwise young and healthy, were tied together by really only one thing: nearly off-the-chart scores on the most widely used scale measuring loneliness.
Asked how often they felt they had no one they could turn to, how often they felt their relationships seemed superficial and forced, how often they felt alone, left out, isolated or no longer closer to anyone, the answer, almost always, was “always.”
The volunteers agreed to be randomly dosed over eight weeks with either pregnenolone, a hormone naturally produced by the body’s adrenal gland, or a placebo. Two hours after swallowing the assigned tablet, the university’s researchers captured and recorded their brain activity while the participants looked at pictures of emotional faces or neutral scenes.
Studies in animals suggest that a single injection of pregnenolone can reduce or “normalize” an exaggerated threat response in socially isolated lab mice, similar to the kind of hyper vigilance lonely people feel that makes them poor at reading other people’s intentions and feelings.
The researchers have every hope the drug will work in lonely human brains, too, although they insist the goal is not an attempt to cure loneliness with a pill.
Help ease stress and anxiety with holy basil
Mercola – Holy basil is revered in India as one of the most sacred herbs because of its perceived effects on spiritual, mental and physical health,
Studies show that holy basil may provide various benefits to your health, such as supporting the immune system and relieving anxiety
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