March 29, 2024

The Power Hour

Knowledge is Power

Today's News: August 19, 2019

World News

 

Hong Kong protesters flood city streets for largest rally in weeks

AFP – A sea of democracy activists flooded the streets of Hong Kong Sunday under torrential rains in a peaceful demonstration to city leaders that their movement still draws wide public support, despite mounting violence and increasingly stark warnings from Beijing.

Hundreds of thousands of umbrella-carrying protesters poured across the heart of Hong Kong island, defying both the downpour and a police order not to march from a park where they had gathered earlier for a rally.

Weeks of demonstrations have plunged the financial hub into crisis, with images of masked, black-clad protesters engulfed by tear gas during street battles against riot police stunning a city once renowned for its stability.

Sunday’s action, billed as a return to the peaceful origins of the leaderless protest movement, drew more than 1.7 million people, making it one of the largest rallies since the protests began about three months ago, according to organisers the Civil Human Rights Front.

It ended a weekend of protests that, as of early Monday, saw no major confrontations with police for the first time in weeks.

“It’s been a long day and we’re very tired, but to see so many people out in the rain marching for Hong Kong gives strength to everyone,” said Danny Tam, a 28-year-old graphic designer.

Police said only that the approved rally in the park reached an estimated 128,000 people, not including those packed into the many surrounding streets.

 

Chinese Social Credit Score Prevents 2.5 Million “Discredited Entities” From Buying Plane Tickets

Infowars – The Communist Chinese government is bragging about its social credit system preventing 2.5 million “discredited entities” from purchasing plane tickets and 90,000 people from buying high speed train tickets in the month of July alone.

“China restricted 2.56 million discredited entities from purchasing plane tickets, and 90,000 entities from buying high-speed rail tickets in July,” tweeted the Global Times, a Chinese government mouthpiece.

As I document in the video below, Chinese citizens are punished by having their social credit score lowered for engaging in a number of different behaviors, including;

– Bad driving.

– Smoking on trains.

– Buying too many video games.

– Buying too much junk food.

– Buying too much alcohol.

– Calling a friend who has a low credit score .

– Having a friend online who has a low credit score.

– Posting “fake news” online.

– Criticizing the government.

– Visiting unauthorized websites.

– Walking your dog without a leash.

– Letting your dog bark too much.

 

Trump confirms he is considering attempt to buy Greenland

The Guardian – Donald Trump has confirmed he is considering an attempt to buy Greenland for strategic reasons, though he said the idea is “not No1 on the burner”.

The US president’s interest, reported earlier this week, was greeted internationally with widespread hilarity but with indignation in Greenland and Denmark.

The government of the semi-autonomous Danish territory insisted it was not for sale. The Danish prime minister called any discussion of a sale “absurd”.

Nonetheless, on Sunday White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow first confirmed the story in an interview, before Trump spoke to reporters as he left New Jersey to return from vacation to Washington.

Saying the “concept came up” and he was “looking at it”, the man who runs a notoriously leaky White House also questioned how the idea found its way to the press.

Trump sought to tie the idea of a US purchase of the world’s largest island – not including the continent of Australia – to his own area of professional expertise, saying it would be “essentially a large real estate deal”.

“Denmark essentially owns it,” he said. “We’re very good allies with Denmark, we protect Denmark like we protect large portions of the world. So the concept came up and I said, ‘Certainly I’d be.’ Strategically it’s interesting and we’d be interested but we’ll talk to them a little bit. It’s not No1 on the burner, I can tell you that.”

 

Turkey removes pro-Kurdish mayors, arrests more than 400

Al Jazeera – The Turkish government has removed three mayors from office over alleged links to a Kurdish armed group as the government arrests more than 400 people amid a deepening crackdown on the opposition.

The mayors of Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van provinces in eastern Turkey – all members of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) elected in March – were suspended on Monday.

The Ministry of the Interior said it had active cases against them for “spreading propaganda” or being members of a “terrorist” organisation.

 

US in secret talks with Venezuela socialist boss Diosdado Cabello

Al Jazeera – The United States has opened up secret communications with Venezuela’s socialist party boss, as members of President Nicolas Maduro‘s inner circle seek guarantees they would not face retribution if they cede to growing demands to remove him, a senior US administration official has told the Associated Press news agency.

Diosdado Cabello, who is considered the most powerful man in Venezuela after Maduro, met last month in Caracas someone who is in close contact with the Trump administration, said the official. A second meeting is in the works but has not yet taken place, according to the report published late on Sunday.

 

U.S. News, Politics & Government

 

Congressional Testimony From Clinton Era Reveals Pedophile Blackmail Network– A history and expose of mind control, government-sanctioned child abuse, and pedophiliac blackmail

Infowars – This video explains the dark history and purpose of the use of mind control and pedophilia as a means of government espionage and blackmail.

At its heart is unearthed video of congressional victim testimony, given before a Bill Clinton advisory committee in 1995. How this video testimony has escaped the pubic discourse for over twenty years is a prime example of how deep the corruption runs in our society

In 1995, President Bill Clinton’s advisory committee on Human Radiation Experimentation included testimonies before congress from child victims involved in the experiments who claimed they were tortured, kept in cages, and used to sexually blackmail powerful politicians when they were only nine years old.

They claim to have been undergoing these experiments in government run laboratories along with several other young children.

The 1995 Human Radiation Experiment’s final report can still be found on the C-SPAN archives, but there is no archive of the child victim testimony.

Fortunately, the victim testimony was uploaded in 2015 to the YouTube “kollyvades” channel, entitled: “Mind Control Hearings from the President’s Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experimentation.”

And the written transcripts are still available at the National Security Archive.

This information is crucial to understanding the depths of corruption that has infected our society for several decades. Please share this link everywhere.

 

Portland police keeping far-right protesters, antifa groups apart; violence avoided during rallies

USA Today – A heavy police presence largely kept members of the Proud Boys and other far-right groups separated from far-left, anti-fascist activists at a downtown park Saturday, mostly avoiding violent clashes that have marred earlier confrontations.

At least 13 people were arrested, and four people have minor injuries, according to Portland Police. Although the day was largely peaceful, police said they seized weapons such as metal and wooden poles, bear spray and shields from demonstrators.

At one point, the far-right organizers asked for police to escort them from the area.

Joe Biggs, a former InfoWars staffer who organized the far-right rally along with the head of the alt-right Proud Boys, told KGW that his side made their point with a show of strength in Portland.

“We came in, we just did a march peacefully, we came in, planted our flag and came out, and they’re chasing us right now,” he said. “We had a good time, said a prayer, said the national anthem and rolled out. That’s always been the plan.”

 

Scaramucci assembling team of former Cabinet members to speak out against Trump

The Hill – Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said on Monday that he’s assembling a team of former Cabinet members to speak out against President Trump in an effort to find a Republican challenger to the president in 2020. 

“I’m in the process of putting together a team of people that feel the exact same way that I do. This is not a ‘Never Trump’ situation, this is not just screeching rhetoric. This is, ‘OK, the guy’s unstable, everyone inside knows it, everyone outside knows it, let’s see if we can find a viable alternative,’” Scaramucci said Monday on CNN’s “New Day.”

“Moreover, I’ve got to get some of these former Cabinet officials in unity to speak up about it.” 

Scaramucci would not reveal names of former officials that he said feel that Trump is unstable. But he said he expects more to come out publicly in upcoming months. 

“I predict in middle or late fall there will be a trove of people that will come together in unity to say this is what’s going on. This is how the person’s acting. This is why there’s nobody inside the White House he’s taking any advice from,” Scaramucci said. 

He also did not disclose names of possible candidates he’s looking to back along with the team he’s looking to assemble. 

“I don’t think it’s fair to those people,” he said. 

Around the same time Scaramucci spoke on CNN, Trump renewed an attack on his former staffer. He tweeted that Scaramucci is a “nut job” that he “barely knew.”

“He was a mental wreck. We didn’t want him around. Now Fake News puts him on like he was my buddy!” Trump tweeted. 

Trump also tweeted that there is “great cohesion” inside the Republican Party.

 

The case of the missing tattoos: Altered photo lineup by Portland police draws objection

Oregon Live – There’s no mistaking the elaborate tattoos that cover Tyrone Lamont Allen’s forehead and right cheek.

But when Portland police suspected Allen was involved in four bank and credit union heists, and none of the tellers reported seeing tattoos on the face of the man who robbed them, police digitally altered Allen’s mugshot.

They covered up every one of his tattoos using Photoshop.

“I basically painted over the tattoos,’’ police forensic criminalist Mark Weber testified. “Almost like applying electronic makeup.’’

Police then presented the altered image of Allen with photos of five similar-looking men to the tellers for identification. They didn’t tell anyone that they’d changed Allen’s photo.

Some of the tellers picked out Allen.

The practice came under fire this week in a federal courtroom in Portland as Allen’s attorney argued that the manipulation allowed police to “rig the outcome” of the photo lineup.

The standard law enforcement tool is under ongoing scrutiny. This example floored Jules Epstein, a law professor at Temple University and leading national authority on eyewitness testimony.

In his 40 years as a lawyer and law professor, Epstein said he’s never heard of something so blatantly suggestive.

Mistaken eyewitness identifications remain a consistent thorn in the criminal justice system’s side. They have contributed to about 71% of the more than 360 wrongful convictions in the United States overturned by post-conviction DNA evidence, according to the Innocence Project.

 

Deepfake evidence so realistic ‘innocent people will go to jail’ warns expert

Daily Star – Deepfake material including fabricated evidence will become so realistic it will land innocent people in jail, an expert has warned.

Shamir Allibhai, CEO of video verification company Amber, believes content including CCTV and voice recordings will be subject to gross manipulation.

e spoke amid alarming concerns over deepfake technology raising eyebrows online, including a recent viral video of comedian Bill Hader morphing into actor Tom Cruise.

And Shamir warns it is only a matter of time before the technology creeps its way into the global judicial system.

He told Daily Star Online: “Initially, deepfakes will be manipulations of existing audio/video evidence, such as that from CCTV, voice recorders, police body cams, and bystanders’ cell phones.

“Humans have notoriously weak hearing as compared to our sight: I would bet that we get fooled by fake audio first.

“It is also much easier to create believable fake audio than it is to create believable fake video.

“In the future, video will be generated from scratch, with no basis in actual footage.”

What’s more, Shamir believes the technology will become readily available and easy to use.

 

Cuomo’s New York: 64-Year-Old Shoots, Kills Burglars in His Home; Gets Charged With Gun Crime

Second Amendment – A 64-year-old man’s home was burgled early in the spring, so when two people came into his house in May of 2019 and threatened him, the homeowner feared for his life.

Ronald Stolarczyk lived in his late father’s house and had inherited his father’s gun collection.  He was in the kitchen when he heard people coming up the stairs from the garage.

He shouted at them to stop and to leave, but one of them charged towards him, instead.

Stolarczyk quickly grabbed the handgun his father used to carry and shot the two intruders.

57-year-old Patricia Talerico was killed in the house and her nephew, 27-year-old Nicholas Talerico died later at the hospital.

After he shot them, Stolarczyk called 911, went outside and placed the gun on the driveway and waited for police.

Further police investigation found that the Talerico’s house was filled with what appears to be stolen property, including several guns not registered to their names, bicycles, televisions, and more.

The two dead thugs could even be responsible for the previous burglary at Stolarczyk’s house, but police are still identifying the items recovered, and haven’t verified if any of them belong to Stolarczyk.

So we have two dead thugs with their house full of stolen property, and more than 20 arrests in 57-year old Patricia Talerico’s past.

Contrast that with an older homeowner with no criminal record of any kind who acted in self- defense after two thugs broke into his house and threatened him.

Should be open and shut, right?

Not in Cuomo’s New York.

You see, Stolarczyk had inherited his father’s gun collection after his father, a life-long firefighter, had passed away.

While his father had legally owned his guns, Stolarczyk hadn’t filled out the paperwork to transfer ownership of the guns from his dead father’s name to his own.

Because he never registered the guns in his name, he now faces a charge of criminal possession of a firearm which is a class E non-violent felony.

For this, he faces up to four years in prison, as well as all the issues that come along with a felony conviction.

Before you think, “Oh, the court will be reasonable, they’ll see the injustice here!” you need to remember that this is New York under Cuomo.

Rather than do the hard work of getting MS-13 members behind bars, they’ll likely throw the book at this older man so they can boost their conviction rates and show how many terrible criminals they’ve gotten off the streets.

This is why gun registration laws are criminal and dangerous!

 

NYC Mayor’s Wife Nixes Popular Saint to Honor Drag Queens

Breitbart – New York City Mayor de Blasio’s wife has rejected the results of a public vote calling for a statue of Mother Cabrini, a Catholic saint, and instead opted to honor other “women,” including two drag queens.

 

Economy & Business

 

Dollar Towers Above Rivals, Posing Fresh Threats to Financial Markets

WSJ – A  prolonged dollar rally is pressuring U.S. corporate earnings, hitting commodity prices and threatening to deepen a selloff in emerging markets.

 

Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple to testify in Washington against French digital tax

RT – US tech giants are set to testify at a US government hearing over the French digital tax imposed last month in an attempt to level the playing field between big companies and local businesses.

[The French tax] represents a troubling precedent, unnecessarily departs from progress toward stable long-lasting international tax policies and may disproportionately impact US-headquartered companies,” Jennifer McCloskey, vice president for policy at the Information Technology Industry Council representing Amazon, Facebook, Apple Inc, Google and other digital firms, stated in her prepared testimony ahead of the US government hearing on Monday.

While France has become the first country to impose a digital tax, the US tech giants all voiced concerns in their testimonies that the move will make way for other countries to impose similar measures.

Alan Lee, Facebook global tax policy head, said the tax is likely to “hinder growth and innovation in the digital economy,” while Google trade policy counsel Nicholas Bramble blasted the French tax as it “uniquely targets a subset of businesses” and is “likely to generate disputes on whether specific digital activities were ‘supplied in France’ or in another region.”

All testimonies noted that the cost of the tax may be passed down the supply chain and negatively affect consumers. For instance, in order to level the losses from the new tax, Amazon recently announced that it would be raising seller fees by three percent for small and medium-sized French businesses that operate via the company’s online stores starting in October.

 

LA residents fed up with officials, demand change after homeless crisis spirals in city

Fox – It’s the stale stench of liquor and human waste that hits you first. Then it’s visual — row after row of dirty tarp tents crammed together on the sidewalk next to piles of rotting trash and broken appliances. There are half-dressed, drugged-out shells of people wandering aimlessly in the middle of the street. Some curse at cars. Others just stare. There are fights, prostitution and rodent burrows. This is the fabled Skid Row in Los Angeles and it’s a disaster.

Like several West Coast cities Fox News visited, Los Angeles is dealing with a homeless crisis. However, unlike the East Coast, LA can’t hide all of its homeless in shelters or low-income housing.

Failed liberal policies coupled with decades of neglect and mismanagement have turned an old problem into a modern-day nightmare. Some fear the City of Angels is at the point of no return and are angry at elected officials who talk a big game but rarely deliver.

Across the state, officials have long lamented the horrors of homelessness while failing to pass any meaningful legislation. Homeless advocates accuse those in charge of using the crisis to further their own political aspirations and manipulating an environment that allows them to dodge accountability.

California accounts for most of the country’s homeless population. Despite throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at the problem, the number of homeless in Los Angeles County has risen for the third time in four years. The most recent count released in June by the Los Angeles County Homeless Services Authority shows that there are nearly 60,000 homeless people living without permanent shelter on any given night. In the city of Los Angeles, the number of homeless in 2019 jumped 16 percent, to 36,000, while the number of chronically homeless — those who have been living on the streets for more than a year — rose by 17 percent. A staggering three-quarters of the city’s homeless population is unsheltered.

The sobering statistics come after two voter-approved tax hikes and a $619 million effort last year to tackle the problem through social services and new housing.

The latest uptick in numbers prompted dramatic press releases, anguished editorials and a ton of finger-pointing by elected officials. In the merry-go-round of blame, local officials claim the state isn’t doing enough. California’s governor says it’s Washington’s fault for slashing federal funds and President Trump responds by taking aim at the Democrats’ governing skills.

“California is a disgrace to our country,” Trump said during an August campaign rally in Ohio. “It’s a shame. The world is looking at it. Look at Los Angeles with the tents and the horrible, horrible disgusting conditions.”

 

Energy & Environment

 

Earthquake cluster slams Kansas county with 11 quakes in 5 days

Kansas City Star – A county in central Kansas experienced a pretty shocking uptick in seismic activity last week — 11 earthquakes in five days.

It started with a magnitude-2.4 earthquake Wednesday morning just 2 1/2 miles southwest of Hutchinson, Kansas, in Reno County, according to the United States Geological Survey.

There would be 10 more before the week was out.

The second came just before 8 a.m. on Friday. The magnitude-4.2 shook the area, centered less than a mile southwest of Wednesday’s temblor. More than 1,000 people reported feeling the quake across Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri, according to the USGS.

 

This Isn’t Normal: Kansas And Oklahoma Have Been Hit By 65 Earthquakes Within The Last 7 Days

Michael Snyder – What are we supposed to think when rather large earthquakes start happening in places that aren’t supposed to have large earthquakes?  2019 has been quite a year for seismic activity already, and I understand that we should expect to see earthquakes in diverse places, but if someone told me that the U.S. was just hit by a significant quake one of the last places that I would check would be Kansas.  The state of Kansas is certainly known for a lot of things, but earthquakes are not one of them, and that is why what we just witnessed is so startling. According to the Kansas City Star, one county in central Kansas alone has been hit by 11 quakes within the past five days…

Further south, Oklahoma has experienced even more earthquakes than Kansas has over the past seven days.  Overall, there has been a total of 65 earthquakes between the two states over the past week.

That definitely isn’t normal, and we should keep a close eye on this.

 

Cape Cod’s New Normal: Sharks Are Everywhere

WSJ – During a recent morning surf at a town beach here, Andy Jacob spotted a dark shadow in the water just a few feet away. He assumed it was a gray seal because they are everywhere these days—until he got a better view. “As clear as day, it was a great white shark,” said the 40-year-old Wellfleet resident, who had been surfing around the same spot where a great white killed a boogie boarder last September. He said he warned others nearby and that a lifeguard temporarily ordered people out of the water, standard protocol after a sighting. “Any person could be attacked at any moment,” said Mr. Jacob, an artist and oyster farmer. It is peak shark season on Cape Cod, and this summer, the huge animals lurking just offshore are an inescapable presence to the people on dry land.

 

Alligators caught climbing fences and swimming across roads in Florida

CNN – Most people know alligators get just about everywhere in Florida, but now they’ve really leveled up.

Videos from last week show one swimming in the middle of a busy road — and another climbing a fence.

One of the intrusive reptiles was filmed on Thursday swimming in a giant puddle in the middle of an intersection during a downpour in St. Petersburg. Facebook user Roger Light Jr. caught it on video.

Another gator in Jacksonville took a cue from a viral “Storm Area 51” Facebook post. Someone caught this animal climbing the fence at the naval air station in the city, and, no, we didn’t know they could climb fences either.

 

Science & Technology

 

Your New Heart Could Be Made in China – The country’s researchers are racing to grow replacement organs for humans in animals. 

Bloomberg – Recently, a Chinese startup named Qihan Biotech raised $20 million to develop replacement organs for humans. The smallish deal would hardly have rated a headline, except for the fact that the Hangzhou-based gene-editing company is aiming to grow those organs in pigs and other animals. If successful, such transplants could well transform medicine. And, thanks to a unique confluence of need, money, timing and culture, China is poised to lead the way in developing them.

The history of using animal tissues to replace damaged or diseased human tissues, known as xenotransplantation, dates back at least to 16th century Europe. Science-based efforts gathered momentum in the 19th century, but stalled out as practitioners and patients discovered how strongly the human body rejects foreign organs. Medicine achieved a breakthrough only in the mid-20th century with the advent of immuno-suppressing drugs.

Xenotransplantation has since become a recognized branch of medicine. Heart valves from pigs, for instance, are commonly used to replace faulty human ones.

However, transplanting a complete, functioning animal organ such as a heart presents far more formidable barriers, the most crucial being the need to suppress or fool the human body’s immune response. China’s scientists have become world leaders in editing the pig genome to do just that. The hope is to produce organs that can help people with a range of illnesses, from heart disease to blindness.  

Interest in the field may be higher in China than anywhere else in the world. Thanks to an aging population, and rising income levels that now allow patients to manage chronic conditions and diseases, demand for organs is rising fast. The supply isn’t close to keeping up. According to the most recent estimates, there are approximately 300,000 Chinese patients awaiting transplants every year and only 10,000 donors.

 

FRANKENSWINE: Pig hearts could be used in human transplants ‘within just three YEARS’ says surgeon who performed first ever op 40 years ago

The Sun – PIG hearts could be used for human transplants within just three YEARS, according to the surgeon who performed the first op in Britain 40 years ago.

Sir Terence English said his protege from the UK’s first successful heart transplant in 1979 will first try to replace a human kidney with a pig’s this year.

And the pioneer believes this could pave the way for more complicated animal-human organ transplants – a process called “xenotransplantation”.

Sir Terence, 87, told the Sunday Telegraph: “If the result of xenotransplantation is satisfactory with porcine kidneys to humans then it is likely that hearts would be used with good effects in humans within a few years.

“If it works with a kidney, it will work with a heart.

“That will transform the issue.”

The demand for donor organs far outweighs supply – with 280 people in the UK on the waiting list for a new heart.

It has led to scientists pursuing other options to supply donor organs – including taking them from animals or growing them in the lab.

Pig organs are seen as the best hope for a successful human transplant as they are similar in size to ours.

Sir Terence led the team that successfully operated on Keith Castle at Papworth Hospital near Cambridge 40 years ago today.

Mr Castle went on to live for another five years following the op.

Professor Christoper McGregor, who was the senior registrar for Sir Terence, has gone on to make two “knock-out” genes that may allow pigs organs to be used in humans.

The University of Alabama professor thinks his team’s method could work for a kidney transplant within just a few months.

Sir Terence added: “There will be animal rights people who will say it’s entirely wrong.

“But if you can save a life isn’t that maybe a bit better?”

 

The quantum revolution is coming, and Chinese scientists are at the forefront – China’s drive to dominate a field with big economic and military applications outpaces some U.S. strides

Washington Post – More than a decade ago, Chinese physicist Pan Jian-Wei returned home from Europe to help oversee research into some of the most important technology of the 21st century.

At a conference in Shanghai this summer, Pan and his team offered a rare peek at the work he described as a “revolution.”

They spoke of the hacking-resistant communications networks they are building across China, the sensors they are designing to see through smog and around corners, and the prototype computers that may someday smash the computational power of any existing machine.

All the gear is based on quantum technology — an emerging field that could transform information processing and confer big economic and national-security advantages to countries that dominate it. To the dismay of some scientists and officials in the United States, China’s formidable investment is helping it catch up with Western research in the field and, in a few areas, pull ahead.

Beijing is pouring billions into research and development and is offering Chinese scientists big perks to return home from Western labs. China’s drive has sparked calls for more R&D funding in the United States, and helped trigger concerns in the Trump administration that some types of scientific collaboration with China may be aiding the People’s Liberation Army and hurting U.S. interests.

“The United States must be prepared for a future in which its traditional technological predominance faces new, perhaps unprecedented challenges,” the Center for a New American Security wrote in a recent report about China’s quantum ambitions.

 

Health

 

Zinc Health Benefits: Healthy Skin, Immune Support, & More

Dr. Group Healthy Living Blog – Today, zinc continues to be an essential mineral used to support healthy eyes, skin, and hair. But that’s not all. Today, we know that zinc strengthens the immune system, promotes hormonal balance, boosts energy levels, and protects cells from damaging free radicals.

The Top 5 Zinc Health Benefits:

Every cell in your body uses this crucial micronutrient.Let’s explore some of the health benefits of zinc and how it contributes to your physical and mental well-being.

  • Boosts Your Immune System
  • Promotes Glowing Skin & Healthy Hair
  • Keeps Your Cells Healthy
  • Supports Sexual Health
  • Balances Hormones for Men & Women

Power Mall Products of Interest:

 

The health benefits of lemon water

NaturalNews  – You can find lemon water in restaurants and day spas as an alternative to tea or coffee. It’s a refreshing drink that offers a multitude of health benefits.

Lemons are rich in vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin C. While water is vital for hydration, combining the two will ensure that you are adequately hydrated while still getting the health benefits associated with lemons.

Here are just some ways that lemon water helps boost your overall health.

Improves digestion

In Ayurvedic medicine, lemons are believed to help stimulate “agni” – a state where the digestive system can digest food much easier, preventing toxin buildup.

Lemon water can also help stools move more quickly through the digestive tract, thanks to its laxative effect.

Drinking a cup of warm lemon water first thing in the morning isn’t only relaxing – it can also get the digestive tract moving.

Eliminates kidney stones

Drinking lemon water can help prevent the formation of large kidney stones.

Lemons contain a compound called citric acid, which helps dissolve stones or break large stones into smaller sizes. This way, kidney stones can be eliminated from the body through urination.

Promotes weight loss

Lemon water contains substances that can help prevent weight gain. Animal studies have shown that the antioxidants found in lemon helped prevent excessive weight gain in overfed mice. Moreover, lemon water improved insulin resistance and slowed down the adverse effects of excessive sugar in the blood.

Often, a person may feel hungry, but when they really are just thirsty. This type of hunger can be quenched by drinking lemon water.

 

Good News

 

Top Court Rules Cops Can No Longer Stop People After Claiming to Smell Marijuana

Activist Post – In case after infuriating case, the Free Thought Project has reported on instances of horrifying rights violations all stemming from a police officer claiming to smell a plant. We have seen both women and men sodomized and raped — often times in public — as cops search for this smell. We have seen entire families held hostage, women and children beaten up, rampant sexual assault, and all of it stemming from a plant smell. Apparently, the violence has gotten so out of hand that one top court in Maryland is doing something about it.

The Court of Appeals of Maryland, the highest-ranking court in the state, said in a ruling this week — which opened by quoting Bob Dylan singing “the times they are a-changin’” — that police are not justified in searching a person based solely off of the smell of marijuana, according to a report in The Hill.

The ruling was unanimous and common sense prevailed among all seven judges. The ruling came from a case that unfolded in 2016 in which Michael Pacheco was searched and subsequently arrested because police claimed to smell weed in his car.

As The Hill reports:

During the incident, two officers, identified in court documents as Groger and Heffley, were conducting a “routine foot patrol” in Wheaton, Md., when they noticed Pacheco alone in a “dark parking spot” behind a laundromat, the court’s 27-page opinion states.

After growing suspicion of the idea of someone sitting “in his or her car rather than in the laundromat, which was open at the time,” the officers decided to approach the vehicle.

Upon approaching Pacheco’s car, the officers said that they smelled “fresh burnt” marijuana.

Court documents said that shortly after, Heffley noticed a “marijuana cigarette in the vehicle’s center console, which he testified he knew immediately was less than ten grams.”

Despite a 2014 law which decriminalized possession of marijuana of up to 10 grams, police used the marijuana smell as justification for a warrantless search and subsequent arrest for both marijuana and cocaine which police would later find. Pacheco would then go on to challenge the arrest as illegal, based on this unlawful search.

This ruling is a major boon for freedom and will only serve to improve police and citizen interactions by removing one of the ways police can harass individuals. Hopefully, it will spread to other states.

 

Pitbull fights off shark to save owner after beast sinks teeth into his leg

Daily Star – Keen fisherman James White was enjoying a day at sea when a shark sunk its teeth into his leg.

Thankfully, James’ Pitbull Darby was on hand to fight back and lunged at the sinister sea monster. 

The attack happened at Bodega Bay in Sonoma County California where the fisherman got a nibble on his line.

Not knowing it was a 180cm long shark, James spent 10 minutes reeling the catch in.

Impressed with his find, he went to unhook the seven-gill beast, when the shark fell to the ground.

The deep sea monster twisted round and sunk its teeth into the fisherman.

Of the bite, James told NBC: “Immediately there was blood everywhere, the first bite punctured an artery.

“The pressure was intense.” 

James’ 45kg dog Darby heard the commotion, lept through a gap in the window and raced to his owner’s side.

Darby then sank his own teeth into the shark’s gills in a bid to loosen the beast’s grip.

James said: “I told him, no back off and then Darby repositioned and grabbed it by the tail. 

“He literally ran up the hill with it and pulled it off my leg.”

Eventually, James caught up with Darby and put the shark back into the ocean.

Speaking about the courageous pup, James said: “If it wasn’t for him I would have been a lot worse… He’s been a part of the family from day one.

“Just now a little more.”

 

Entertainment

 

Fan who signed with A’s, Nathan Patterson, strikes out side in minor league debut

USA Today – Nathan Patterson’s fairy tale story has added another chapter. Because as far as debuts go, this is as good as it gets.

Patterson, the right-hander who drew notice after throwing 96 mph at a speed-pitch radar booth at a Colorado Rockies game this year, made his professional debut in the Oakland A’s organization Thursday in the Rookie-level Arizona League and struck out all three batters he faced.

“Last night was incredible and truly a blessing as I made my first professional outing. 

I’m not gonna lie, the nerves were flowing until I threw strike one. After that, I took a big deep breathe (sic) and realized all the hard work over the last year has prepared me for this moment,” the 23-year-old wrote on Instagram the day after his outing. “It could not have gone any better and I cannot thank my family, friends, teammates, and coaches enough for the love and support.”

The 23-year-old’s journey Hollywood-esque journey is off to a strong start.

 

How Hard Will #BoycottMulan & Hong Kong Protests Hit Disney?

Deadline – As pro-democracy protests continued in the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday despite threats of Beijing’s military force, the Walt Disney Company could find itself caught between the two sides, on and off-screen.

Disney has continually demonstrated a forward-thinking approach when it comes to doing business in China and Asia, even propelling properties like Black Panther and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which were originally thought to be challenged in the region, to great box office heights.

But what happens when the star of a potential $1 billion-grossing 2020 movie voices her support of those allegedly violating human rights?

On Thursday, Chinese-born Mulan star Liu Yifei exclaimed on blogging site Weibo that she stands with the Hong Kong police who since June have been engaged in an oppressive crackdown on anti-government demonstrators and journalists. The civil unrest was triggered by potential legislation which would have allowed suspected criminals to be extradited to territories where it doesn’t have formal extradition deals. Next to the previous riots that have occurred, 1.7 million protesters turned out today in the Hong Kong streets to brave the rain in a situation which media reports like CNN’s have described as peaceful.

”I support Hong Kong’s police, you can beat me up now. What a shame for Hong Kong. #Ialsosupporthongkongpolice#,” wrote Yifei last week. Suddenly, Disney has found themselves to be in the middle of a global human rights maelstrom, one which, at the moment, they’re currently waiting out. Deadline reached out to the Burbank, CA lot on Friday to get their take on #BoycottMulan and they did not respond to requests for comment. RelishMix reports that the Twitter hashtag #BoycottMulan spiked to a global 75K on Friday.

From what we gather at this point in time, the current #BoycottMulan social media outcry isn’t expected to impact Mulan‘s release, which is March 27 in U.S./Canada (typically these big tentpoles will go day and date with the U.S).  Mulan has not been dated yet in China or Hong Kong. A title such as Mulan, with a release in Q1 would be submitted to the government’s China’s Propaganda Department in late January, which assesses all releases including imported pictures and homegrown product. Typically, mainland China lets a Hollywood studio know about a month prior what a pic’s release date will be.

Social Share Buttons and Icons powered by Ultimatelysocial