Today's News: August 29, 2018

World News

As Land Confiscations Loom, South Africa Rules 300,000 Gun-Owners Turn Over Their Weapons
Infowars – This judgement came in response to the North Gauteng High Court’s ruling in 2017 which said Section 24 and Section 28 of the Firearm’s Control Act were unconstitutional.
A report from The Citizen explains what Section 24 and Section 28 entail:
“Section 24 of the Act requires that any person who seeks to renew a licence must do so 90 days before its expiry date Section 28 stipulates that if a firearm licence has been cancelled‚ the firearm must be disposed of or forfeited to the state. A 60-day time frame was placed on its disposal, which was to be done through a dealer.”
Now that the High Court’s initial ruling has been overturned, gun owners who failed to renew their firearms licenses must hand in their firearms to the nearest police station, where authorities will then proceed to destroy them.
Many naïve political observers will paint this event as a casual gun control scheme, but any astute student of politics will recognize that the floodgates are now open for further encroachments – not only on the gun rights of South Africans, but also on others facets of theirs lives.

Top Cartel Lieutenant Captured in Central Mexico
Breitbart – An anonymous tip apparently led to the capture of a cartel lieutenant responsible for terrorizing parts of southern Mexico.
This week, the Mexican Army and Navy captured Cesar “El Boto or El Marrueco” Sepulveda Arellano, in the central Mexican city of Cuernavaca, Morelos. El Boto is considered a top lieutenant with the Los Viagras Cartel, the dominant organization operating with impunity in the state of Michoacan.

Nikki Haley: U.S. Will Introduce More UN Resolutions Condemning Hamas
Breitbart – U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Tuesday that on behalf of the Trump administration, she plans to introduce additional resolutions at the world body that condemn the terrorist group Hamas.

More Than 150 Undocumented Workers Arrested in Texas Raid
Newsmax – In one of the largest work site enforcement operations at one location in the past decade, agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arm arrested more than 150 people Tuesday for immigration violations at Load Trail trailer manufacturer in North Texas, authorities said, according to an NBC News report.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

Hollywood Elites Gush over Socialist Andrew Gillum’s Victory in Florida
Breitbart – Hollywood elites gushed over the victory of Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum in Florida’s Democratic primary for governor on Tuesday, after the socialist-backed candidate scored an upset victory over his more moderate opponents.

Source: Chinese front company hacked Hillary’s server
WND – The private email server through which Hillary Clinton transmitted classified information as secretary of state was hacked by a Chinese-owned company, according to sources briefed on the matter who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The private email server through which Hillary Clinton transmitted classified information as secretary of state was hacked by a Chinese-owned company, according to sources briefed on the matter who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The FBI failed to act when the Intelligence Community Inspector General warned of the problem, Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, said at a July 12 House Committee on the Judiciary hearing, as WND reported.
A former intelligence officer with expertise in cybersecurity who spoke to TheDCNF on condition of anonymity said two members of the ICIG, investigator Frank Rucker and attorney Janette McMillan, met repeatedly with FBI officials to warn them of the Chinese intrusion.
Among the officials who chose not to act was Peter Strzok, then the bureau’s top counterintelligence official. Strzok, who led both the Clinton and Russia investigations for the bureau and was a member of Robert Mueller’s special counsel team, was fired this month in the wake of his anti-Trump texts to his mistress and co-worker, and testimony before Congress.
The source said the Chinese state-owned firm linked to the hacking served was a “front group” for the Chinese government based in a Washington, D.C. suburb in Northern Virginia.
TheDCNF sought comment from Hillary Clinton’s team, which dismissed the claim.
“This is the most combed over subject in modern American political history,” Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill said. “The FBI spent thousands of hours investigating, and found nothing.

Trump tasked multi-agency committee with countering pro-marijuana message: report
The Hill – The White House has tasked a multi-agency committee with countering pro-marijuana messaging, according to a Wednesday report from BuzzFeed News.
The Marijuana Policy Coordination Committee reportedly has asked 14 federal agencies and the Drug Enforcement Administration to forward “data demonstrating the most significant negative trends” about marijuana and the threats it poses to the country.
The information is reportedly intended for briefings with President Trump and to fight a perceived biased narrative about marijuana.

More local governments raise smoking age to 21
Christian Science Monitor – In July, Massachusetts became the sixth state to boost its legal smoking age to 21. While two dozen other states considered similar bills this legislative session – and many likely will do so again in 2019 – much of the groundswell of activity isn’t happening in state capitols.
A growing number of local governments are acting on their own to ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone under 21. At least 340 towns, cities, and counties in 21 states have taken action, compared with about 200 in 14 states in 2016.

CONFIRMED: FL Shooter Prescribed Psychiatric Drugs Linked to Violent and Suicidal Behavior
Free Thought Project – David Katz, was a 24-year-old male who lost his temper Sunday morning after losing a video game and began shooting up an e-sports tournament. He killed two innocent people and wounded 10 others before her turned the gun on himself and took his own life. Now, we have learned that Katz had been on the types of psychiatric medications known to cause violent thoughts and that are linked to many of the worst mass shootings in recent history.
According to family divorce records, Katz had been in and out of treatment for psychiatric issues since as early as the age of 12. According to a 2006 letter from the father’s attorney, as reported by CNN, Katz was prescribed a number of psychiatric medications, including an antipsychotic, and saw “a succession of psychiatrists.”
What’s more, a separate 2006 court filing states that a therapist said he had experienced a “psychiatric crisis” while prescribed these medications.
On top of the psychiatric crisis and the reported drug cocktail, CNN also obtained police records that show 26 calls for service to the police from the Katz family home in Columbia, Maryland, from 1993 to 2009, for issues ranging from “mental illness” to domestic disputes. At least two of those calls involved Katz arguing with his mother, though none of the reports provided to CNN show any physical violence. The Howard County Police Department declined to release the reports from a number of the incidents, citing statutory restrictions.
David Katz’ past is eerily similar to that of Nikolas Cruz, except that his parents were both feds.

Economy & Business

Canada Jumps Into NAFTA Talks
Reuters – Canada said an agreement to salvage the trilateral North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is possible by a Friday deadline, but it will be hard work to resolve specific issues as talks with the United States entered a second day.

US Files Lawsuit Against Russia in WTO Over Tariffs on Imports of US Goods – WTO
Sputnik – Earlier, Russia has introduced new rates of import duties on a number of the US goods in response to previously imposed US duties on steel and aluminum.
The US authorities have requested the WTO Dispute Settlement Body to arrange consultations with Russia over Russia’s imposition of additional duties with respect to certain products originating in the United States, the World Trade Organization said Wednesday.
The request for consultations is the first step in filing a lawsuit in the framework of the organization.

Bitcoin Roller Coaster Dominates Crypto Market
Market Watch – Digital currency prices fell Wednesday, throwing some cold water on the recent rally.
Bitcoin, which made a fresh three-week high above $7,100, slumped back elow the psychological $7,000 level with a single bitcoin BTCUSD, -1.24% last changing hands at $6,959.25, down 1.7% since Tuesday at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the Kraken crypto exchange.
After breaking higher out of the $6,000 to $7,000 range Tuesday, industry participants are looking at a key technical indicator as the next target for the worlds No. 1 digital currency. “Now we have confirmation above $7,000 and a break of the 50-day moving average we should start to see momentum build,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets U.K.

OIL NEWS: India to OVERTAKE China as global oil driver – PM scrambles to cut dependency
Express.uk – INDIA is expected to have the world’s greatest demand for oil by 2024, replacing Chinas as the biggest global oil driver.
A new report by energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said India’s demand for oil was set to outpace China’s.
Research director Sushant Gupta said the growing demand would present challenges for India.
He said: “This is clearly an uphill task, unless domestic refiners can commit to their planned capacity additions.
“We think the most likely situation is that India would need between (3.2 million and 4.7 million barrels per day) of new capacity out to 2035 to remain self-sufficient in transport fuels.

Energy & Environment

‘Weather models have flipped the switch’: Hurricane season coming to life in the Atlantic
USA Today – The sleeping giant may be about to awaken.
Hurricane activity in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico is forecast to ramp up over the next couple of weeks. “Weather models have flipped the switch on the Atlantic hurricane season and see multiple areas of development possible starting mainly this weekend,” weather.us meteorologist Ryan Maue said.

Science & Technology

Toyota Joins Uber on Its Tortuous Journey to Self-Driving Cars
Wired – This week, Uber found a friend. Toyota, which has worked with the ride-hailing giant in some form or another since 2016, will invest $500 million in the company, along with plenty of engineering manpower. The result, the companies say, will be self-driving Toyota Sienna minivans, which by 2021 will combine the Japanese carmaker’s carmaking expertise with Uber’s autonomous tech. As for putting those cars into the streets and filling them with passengers, well, someone else will do that. Toyota and Uber are on the hunt for a third partner, job description to come.

Health

Mounting evidence proves that higher vitamin D levels reduce the risk of breast cancer
NaturalNews – When the New York Times recently published an article attacking a well-known doctor for being a vitamin D proponent, it was clear to many observers that Big Pharma likely had a hand in the piece. Now, there’s even more reason for pharmaceutical companies to be worried about this vitamin’s powers as a new study shows that higher levels of vitamin D reduce a person’s risk of breast cancer – and by extension, their need for expensive chemotherapy, pills and surgeries.
In a study carried out by researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, the data of more than 5,000 female participants from prospective studies and randomized clinical trials was analyzed. The participants’ average age was 63.
The study found that far higher amounts of vitamin D are needed than previously believed in order to gain its protective health benefits.
The study’s lead author, Dr. Cedric F. Garland, reported that participants who had blood levels higher than 60 ng/mL had just one fifth of the breast cancer risk noted by women whose levels fell below 20 ng/mL. Garland said the finding is the “strongest association yet” between a reduced breast cancer risk and vitamin D levels.
It may be the strongest evidence so far, but it’s hardly the first study to find a connection between vitamin D and breast cancer. For example, researchers have shown that those who take a vitamin D supplement four times a week or more can reduce their risk of cancer by 11 percent. The reduced breast cancer risk climbs to 17 percent among postmenopausal women.

Colloidal Silver’s Advantage Over Pharmaceutical Antibiotics
Health Impact News – Could the use of colloidal silver, a natural antibiotic that has been used for thousands of years, be a key answer to today’s problem of pharmaceutical antibiotic overuse leading to drug-resistant pathogens?
Colloidal silver is not only an antibiotic, it is also anti-viral and anti-fungal. Antiviral pharmaceuticals tend to be ineffective and dangerous with huge side effects or long-term lowered immunity and sub-clinical issues created by upsetting the intestinal microbiome balance.
So why aren’t MDs recommending it? Why has the EU banned colloidal silver sales even as a supplement from January of 2010 on?
In the USA, after the FDA failed to ban colloidal silver sales as a supplement, the agency made it clear that colloidal silver products could not be promoted to cure anything. The FDA has a cooperating relationship with the pharmaceutical industry.

Action Item: URGENT: Sign the White House petition demanding protections for online speech
A White House petition has been launched, demanding free speech protections across the ‘net. With Google, Facebook, Twitter and other tech giants now engaged in blatant, malicious and selective censorship against pro-America voices (conservatives and libertarians), a new “digital Bill of Rights” needs to be signed into law to protect us all from the evil tech giants like Google and Facebook.