Top Headlines
Supreme Court gives victory to Planned Parenthood in Medicaid case
NBC – Three of the court’s conservatives said the court should have taken up the case, but Justice Kavanaugh and Chief Justice Roberts voted with the majority.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday left lower court victories intact for Planned Parenthood in a legal battle with states over access by Medicaid patients to the group’s services.
The dispute did not involve abortion, but the action by the justices keeps a hot-button political issue off the docket. Three of the court’s conservatives said the court should have taken the case.
After an anti-abortion group released videos in 2015 that purported to show officials from Planned Parenthood talking about selling fetal tissue, several states immediately terminated Medicaid provider agreements with the group’s affiliates.
>> Related Article: Kavanaugh Joins Liberals To Protect Pro-Planned Parenthood Ruling
The Supreme Court declined to review three cases relating to Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood at the state level Monday, over a vigorous dissent from Justice Clarence Thomas.
The dissent was significant because it indicates that Justice Brett Kavanaugh sided with the high court’s liberal wing to deny review of a lower court decision that favored the nation’s largest abortion provider.
NaturalNews – Even though Robert Mueller is repeatedly indicting former Trump associates for lying to the government — a “process crime” – James Comey just gave testimony to Congress in which he lied hundreds of times. Yet nothing has happened to James Comey (yet).
President Trump may soon be indicted for “campaign finance violations,” warn lawless Democrats, yet Hillary Clinton pre-sold White House influence to foreign oligarchs for hundreds of millions of dollars on the assumption that Democrats had successfully stolen the 2016 election. Why are there no arrests of Clinton Foundation associates or Hillary Clinton herself?
Robert Mueller’s entire appointment to special counsel was based on a LIE and an illegally leaked memo from James Comey himself, a friend and associate of Robert Mueller, who served as the FBI director when Hillary Clinton’s Uranium One scandal was deliberately swept under the rug, allowing U.S. uranium resources to be funneled to Russia and Iran. Yet, somehow, Robert Mueller, James Comey, Hillary Clinton and even Barack Obama — who carried out massive international money laundering to fly actual pallets of cash to the Iranian regime — are all apparently immune to scrutiny or prosecution. Only Trump associates are accused of crimes, while the real criminals of America — the deep state — appear to be immune to any prosecution or investigation.
The deep state Democrats, it turns out, have criminalized politics. No crimes committed by Democrats are investigated or prosecuted, yet Republicans are condemned as criminals merely for engaging in conservative, pro-America politics. (Read the book The Russia Hoax by Gregg Jarrett, or Spygate by Dan Bongino, for an astonishing overview of the damning evidence against the deep state.)
How the deep state could be exposed and dismantled
Soon, that situation may be turned on its head. President Trump is holding all the cards right now, sitting on mountains of currently classified evidence that reveal a pattern of deep, deliberate criminality and treason among deep state operatives like Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, James Comey, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Brennan and others. At the right moment, President Trump is likely to declassify and release a tsunami of once-secret documents that reveal the truth about the FISA warrant fraud, Obama’s abuse of government power, Hillary’s treasonous corruption and selling of government influence, treason within the DOJ and FBI, and much more.
This will be the most significant document dump in the history of the Republic. It will reveal a pattern of astonishing criminality, deception and lawlessness by deep state operatives like Mueller, Comey, Obama and Clinton.
But are there enough honest people still remaining in the bureaucracy to call for the arrest and prosecution of those deep state criminals when the truth comes out?
Perhaps there are. The evidence will be damning. Huber and Horowitz have not been idle, and now that a new Attorney General is on the way, the “good” people inside the FBI and DOJ who have been silenced for years have an actionable channel to pursue the criminal indictments of bad actors who have committed numerous felony crimes, including treason. But regardless of what happens at the federal level, Trump has another card to play as a last resort if the deep state criminals somehow avoid arrest: Activating the citizens to defend the Republic by confronting and defeating the deep state.
How President Trump could call upon the citizenry to defend America against an illegal political coup run by a lawless anti-America mafia
President Trump may already be aware of this, but there are millions of patriotic citizens ready to aid in his defense of America. They are unlikely to act without authorization, however. To take action, they will need to be granted presidential authority.
If activated by the President in defense of the nation, they would rally in Washington D.C. and assist Trump-appointed Federal Marshals (or other law enforcement officials) in locating and arresting deep state traitors throughout the bureaucracy, including those currently committing treason inside the FBI, DOJ and DHS.
Trump would merely need to reactivate all former federal officials and former military personnel, all of whom have sworn an oath to “protect and defend the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” That oath is a lifetime oath; it does not expire just because you retire or leave federal service. Further, the limitations of posse comitatus do not restrict the deployment of active duty military personnel on U.S. soil if defending the nation against enemy combatants operating within the United States. Thus, Trump could also deploy Military Police or even active duty military personnel to seek out and arrest enemy combatants who are operating inside the U.S. government.
For the record, those “enemy combatants” must include a long list of currently-serving U.S. Senators and House Representatives who are anti-America communists. Almost all of them pretend to be “socialists” or “democratic socialists,” but they all have the same goal: The overthrow of the American republic and a sweeping new authoritarian, communist government in charge of everything. See the film “Enemies Within” by Trevor Louden for a detailed list of who needs to be arrested, indicted and prosecuted.
Rand Paul Calls Trump’s Nomination Of William Barr For Attorney General ‘Very Troubling’
The Kentucky senator also spoke out against Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination, but ultimately voted to confirm.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Sunday bashed President Donald Trump’s nomination of William Barr to lead the Justice Department, calling the corporate attorney’s views on surveillance “very, very troubling.”
The Republican lawmaker lambasted Barr, who previously served as attorney general from 1991 to 1993 under President George H.W. Bush, for being in favor of expanding the government’s ability to spy on Americans.
“Uh-oh is right,” Paul told NBC’s “Meet The Press” when asked if he was concerned about Barr’s nomination.
“I’m concerned that he’s been a big supporter of the Patriot Act, which lowered the standard for spying on Americans,” he continued. “And he even went so far as to say, ‘You know, the Patriot Act was pretty good, but we should go much further.’”
Paul said he’s also “disturbed” over Barr’s support of civil asset forfeiture, which allows law enforcement officials to seize someone’s property if they allege it is involved in a crime. The person does not need to be arrested or convicted of wrongdoing.
“I’m disturbed that he’s been a big fan of taking people’s property ― civil asset forfeiture ― without a conviction,” Paul told NBC. “Many poor people in our country have cash taken from them and then the government says, ‘Prove to us where you got the cash and then you can get it back.’ But the burden is on the individual.”
Despite his concerns, Paul did not say he would vote against Barr’s confirmation.
World News
France yellow vest protests: Macron promises wage rise
BBC – France’s President Emmanuel Macron has promised a minimum wage rise and tax concessions in response to weeks of violent protests.
France has seen four weekends of violent protests against fuel tax rises, living costs and other issues.
Speaking in a televised address, Mr Macron condemned the violence but said the protesters’ anger was “deep, and in many ways legitimate”.
The minimum wage would increase by 100 euros per month from 2019, he said.
A planned tax increase for low-income pensioners would be cancelled, overtime pay would no longer be taxed, and employers would be encouraged to pay a tax-free end of year bonus to employees, he added.
However, he refused to reinstate a tax on the wealthy, saying “this would weaken us, we need to create jobs”.
G. Edward Griffin – There was more rioting in France, 1,385 people were arrested, and armored vehicles with EU flags painted on them were deployed, raising concerns that the EU has an army and that it will be used against its own unarmed citizens.
Half of Honduras, El Salvador, Domincan Republic want to leave; USA top target
Washington Examiner – Some 158 million, or a population far larger than all of Russia, want to move to the U.S., about 21 percent of all those in the world seeking a new home.
In a worldwide survey, Gallup found that 15 percent of the world, or 758 million, want to move, most for jobs.
The list:
158 million chose the U.S.
147 million Canada.
42 million Germany
36 million France or Australia.
34 million United Kingdom.
24 million Saudi Arabia.
21 million Spain.
17 million Japan.
15 million Italy.
105 Criminal Illegal Aliens, Including Child Sex Offenders, Arrested in Raid
Breitbart – About 105 illegal aliens, including convicted child sex offenders, were arrested in a widespread Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid across the state of New Jersey.
The ICE raid, conducted a couple weeks ago, resulted in the arrest of more than a 100 illegal aliens, 80 percent of which had prior criminal convictions or pending criminal charges.
Four of the 105 illegal aliens had Interpol warrants, meaning they were wanted in other countries for violent crimes, drug charges, and fraud. At least four of the illegal aliens arrested were either convicted child sex offenders or convicted child abusers.
EU court cites union goal to let UK stop Brexit
Reuters – The European Union’s top court ruled on Monday that the British government may reverse its decision to leave the bloc without consulting other member states, a decision welcomed by those campaigning to stop Brexit.
In an emergency judgment delivered just 36 hours before it expected the British parliament to vote on a Brexit deal agreed with the EU by Prime Minister Theresa May, the Court of Justice (ECJ) said: “The United Kingdom is free to revoke unilaterally the notification of its intention to withdraw from the EU.”
May later postponed that vote in the face of defeat, setting up tense new talks with EU leaders she will meet at a summit on Thursday and Friday.
Beijing Threatens “Severe” Retaliation Against Canada If Huawei CFO Is Not Released
The Duran – China’s warning marks an escalation in Beijing’s rhetoric as investors worry that the arrest could cause the shaky trade detente between the US and China to devolve into acrimony.
Canada’s extraordinary arrest one week ago of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei founder and billionaire executive Ren Zhengfei, and its decision to charge her with “multiple” counts of fraud – a preamble to her likely extradition to the US to face charges of knowingly violating US and EU sanctions on Iran – has elicited widespread anger in Beijing, which declared Meng’s detention a “violation of human rights” during a bail hearing for the jailed executive on Friday.
That anger has apparently only intensified after the hearing adjourned without a decision (it will resume on Monday, allowing Meng’s defense team to argue for why she should be released on bail, contrary to the wishes of government attorneys who are prosecuting the case).
U.S. News, Politics & Government
EAGNews.org – Manchester Elementary School Principal Jennifer Sinclair just landed on Santa’s naughty list, which means she probably won’t get any presents from the big man this year.
The Nebraska educator apparently tripped on a “big rock” and fell on her face, all the while attempting to rob her students of the joyous Christmas season.
It’s like a bad Hallmark movie come to life, happy ending and all.
“It seems that I have stumbled upon a ‘big rock’ that I hadn’t anticipated,” Sinclair wrote to her legion of teachers in her “week ahead” newsletter for Dec. 3-7.
“I know that you are all very kind and conscientious people. I know all of the things that you’d like to do, have done, want to do are coming from such a good place. I come from a place that Christmas and the like are not allowed in schools as over the years in my educational career, this has evolved into the expectation for all educators,” she wrote.
Bah humbug.
Apparently, some teachers like Christmas, and want to share it with their students.
“I have unknowingly awoken a ‘sleeping giant’ with many of you. I apologize for the stress that ‘Christmas/holiday/Grinch/Santa/tree’ emails and conversations have caused you,” Sinclair wrote. “I will do my best to communicate the expectation from here on out, which aligns with my interpretation of our expectations as a public school who seeks to be inclusive and culturally sensitive to all our students.”
“I feel uncomfortable that I have to get this specific, but for everyone’s comfort I will,” she wrote.
The principal included two very detailed lists, of “acceptable practices” and “not acceptable” practices during the Christmas season. The directive banned Santa and Christmas trees, Elf on the Shelf and Christmas songs.
Other “not acceptable” items listed included:
Making a Christmas ornament as a gift – This assumes that the family has a Christmas tree which assumes they celebrate Christmas. I challenge the thought of, “Well they can just hang it somewhere else.”
Candy Cane – that’s Christmas-related. Historically, the shape is a “J” for Jesus. The red is for the blood of Christ, and the white is a symbol of his resurrection. This would also include different colored candy canes.
Red/Green items – traditional Christmas colors
Reindeer
Instead, teachers should focus on snow, different holidays, winter activities, and imaginary creatures.
“Acceptable” practices listed included:
Snowmen, snow women, snow people, snowflakes
Gingerbread people
Holidays Around the World – purposeful presentation of information to teach about different cultures
Sledding
Hot chocolate
Polar Bears
Penguins
Scarves, boots, earmuffs, and hats
Yetis
Olaf – Frozen
“Please reflect on what you’ve already copied, prepped, and posted. I’m hopeful we can avoid the discomfort of me directly questioning something you’ve copied, posted, and had your kids do,” Sinclair wrote to teachers. “That makes me uncomfortable, and I know it doesn’t feel good.”
Trump’s top choice for chief of staff not taking job; other candidates in running
Town Hall – Nick Ayers, Donald Trump’s top choice to be his next chief of staff, is no longer in the running and the U.S. president is now considering at least two other candidates, sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday, the latest sign of a chaotic White House staff shake-up.
Texas Sonic employees, manager arrested after allegedly lacing kid’s meal with ecstasy
ABC – Three employees at a Sonic Drive-In in Texas were arrested after an ecstasy pill was found in a kid’s meal.
According to police, an 11-year-old sister was unwrapping her 4-year-old brother’s hamburger and found the pill.
“When she opened the wrapping, she noticed a pill,” Taylor police Chief Henry Fluck said at a press conference. “Being an 11-year-old, she asked her parents if this was candy.”
The parents took the entire meal to the police station, where a field test came back positive for ecstasy.
Officers arrested 30-year-old manager Tanisha Dancer along with two workers, 35-year-old Jonathan Roberson and 22-year-old Jose Molina.
Authorities said Dancer, who had an outstanding warrant for a parole violation, was found to have three more of the pills hidden in her clothing when corrections officers booked her at the Williamson County Jail.
She now faces felony charges of delivery of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and endangering a child.
Alabama: Police Shot and Killed a Legally Armed Black Man at a Mall on Thanksgiving Night
G. Edward – Hoover, Alabama: An armed black male, Emantic Bradford Jr., 21, was shot by police at a mall as officers responded to reports of gunshots on Thanksgiving night, but they appear to have shot an innocent man. Bradford was reported to be legally carrying a handgun and directing shoppers to safety. Initially, law enforcement authorities publicly identified him as the gunman and then changed their story the next day. Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for the family of Bradford said a forensic examination that was commissioned by the family showed that Mr. Bradford was shot in the back of his head and body while running away and posed no threat to the police. A judge ordered the police officer’s body-cam video and mall surveillance video to b released, but it is being withheld from the public pending a criminal investigation by law enforcement.
Erron Martez DeQuan Brown, has been charged in the initial shooting of an 18-year old man and a 12-year old girl that drew the police to the mall, but claims that he did not instigate the violence.
Economy & Business
Dow sinks 500 points as Britain’s Brexit mess fuels investor angst
Washington Post – U.S. markets deepened their losses Monday as Britain’s political crisis around Brexit clouded investors’ outlook, with British Prime Minister Theresa May putting off a key parliamentary vote on her country’s exit from the European Union.
Investors are also on edge about developments in the U.S.-China trade dispute.
In a grim turn in morning trading the Dow Jones industrial average dropped more than 500 points — or 2 percent. By midafternoon, it had pared its losses and was down less than 100 points, or 0.4 percent.
Markets were dragged lower by banks and Apple. The iPhone maker was ordered by a Chinese court to stop selling some of its late-model phones in the country after a ruling that it had infringed on patents held by Qualcomm.
By afternoon, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was off 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq composite had pulled into positive territory, up 0.4 percent. The Dow, S&P and Nasdaq are all in correction territory.
Global stocks extend sell-off on growth and Brexit worries
Reuters – A gauge of global equities stumbled on Monday, as losses in Europe and Asia extended to Wall Street on new signs the U.S.-China trade spat was impacting world economic growth, but rebounded from an initial drop as Apple Inc shares recovered.
EU will soon establish alternative payment channel allowing Iran to bypass US sanctions – Mogherini
Brussels will create an alternative payment channel to facilitate financial transactions between the European Union and Iran in the near future to bypass US sanctions, the EU’s top diplomat, Federica Mogherini, has announced.
“I will expect this instrument to be established in the coming weeks before the end of the year as a way to protect and promote legitimate business,” EU’s foreign policy chief told reporters on Monday.
The 28-nation bloc has been considering ways to continue doing business with Tehran and bypass US economic restrictions after Washington pulled out from the Iran nuclear deal and reimposed economic sanctions.
Chinese court bans sale of most iPhones
CNBC – A Chinese court ordered a ban on most iPhone sales in the country as part of two preliminary injunctions.Qualcomm sought the injunctions, alleging Apple violated two of its patents. Apple denies violating the patents and says the scope of the iPhone ban in China goes beyond what the injunction calls for.
Energy & Environment
Australia releases rare marsupial bilby into the wild in NSW
BBC – A rare marsupial that once ran wild in Australia’s New South Wales has been reintroduced into the state for the first time in more than a century.
Bilbies – small nocturnal mammals with long, rabbit-like ears – were last recorded in the state in 1912.
But now 30 captive-bred animals were released into a large predator-free enclosure near the town of Narrabri, northwest of Sydney.
This is seen as a major victory in efforts to save them from extinction.
Wintry storm ices roads across much of US Southeast
Richmond.com – The Latest: Storm dumps heavy snow in West Virginia
Science & Technology
Screen Time Changes Structure of Kids’ Brains, ‘60 Minutes’ Says
Bloomberg – Smartphones, tablets and video games are physically changing the brains of adolescents, early results from an ongoing $300 million study funded by the National Institute of Health have shown, according to a report by “60 Minutes.”
Scientists will follow more than 11,000 nine- to 10-year-olds for a decade to see how childhood experiences impact the brain and affect emotional development and mental health. The first bits of data suggest that the onslaught of tech screens has been transformative for young people — and maybe not for the better.
In brain scans of 4,500 children, daily screen usage of more than seven hours showed premature thinning of the brain cortex, the outermost layer that processes information from the physical world. Though the difference was significant from participants who spent less screen time, NIH study director Gaya Dowling cautioned against drawing a conclusion.
“We don’t know if it’s being caused by the screen time. We don’t know if it’s a bad thing,”
Dowling said, according to an advance transcript provided by CBS network. “It won’t be until we follow them over time that we will see if there are outcomes that are associated with the differences that we’re seeing in this single snapshot.”
Early results from the study, called Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD), have determined that children who spend more than two hours of daily screen time score lower on thinking and language tests. A major data release is scheduled for early 2019.
Activist Post – Droid Life recently published an article, “5G Is Really Starting to Sound Awful” and 5G opponents couldn’t agree more with these excerpts:
The thing is, mmW doesn’t travel that far, is easily blocked, and is typically thought of as a high-traffic coverage product. In other words, we’re going to need a lot of mmW small cell cites installed in cities on every damn corner of the block, so that you almost always have a direct line of sight to it.
After blanketing cities, carriers will use other 5G spectrum to branch out. T-Mobile plans to first use their 600MHz spectrum to reach further than mmW networks. That network won’t be that fast compared to 4G LTE, so I’ll let you decide if you want to be excited or not.
[…]
The current carrier-friendly FCC thinks we need to be faster to win a made-up race to 5G. That if we don’t get innovation in this country from 5G before the rest of the world, life will stop and we’ll all fail, or something.
[…]
But yeah, with a new wave of cellular towers about to enter your town, the concerns are back. We probably need someone to do a 5G health study pretty damn soon, one that isn’t just on rats.
Droid Life is incorrect, though, in declaring that someone needs to do a 5G health study pretty damn soon. Studies (plural) have already been done. 1, 2
It also has already been reported that people and animals have already been suffering from exposure to 5G. Residents in Gateshead, England even won a court case against their city council for installing it.
MKULTRA Docs: The CIA Made Remote-Controlled Dogs With Brain Surgery
Activist Post – The Central Intelligence Agency made six remote-controlled dogs as a part of their MKULTRA “behavior modification” or mind control program. Using brain surgery, newly requested documents show that the dogs were “field operational” and controlled by human beings.
The CIA marked the 65th anniversary of the launch of Project MKULTRA. And the public is finally getting a more broad and detailed look at just how far those attempting these gruesome experiments were willing to go in order to gain control of our thoughts.
The documents were provided under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by The Black Vault founder, John Greenewald. According to a report by Newsweek, The Black Vault specializes in declassified government records. In one declassified letter (released as file C00021825) a redacted individual writes to a doctor (whose name has also been redacted) with advice about launching a laboratory for experiments in animal mind control. The writer of the letter is already an expert in the field, whose earlier work had culminated with the creation of six remote-controlled dogs, which could be made to run, turn, and stop.
NASA Voyager 2 Leaves Solar System, Enters Interstellar Space
CBS – Eleven billion miles from Earth, NASA’s long-lived Voyager 2 probe, still beaming back data 41 years after its launch in 1977, has finally moved into interstellar space, scientists revealed Monday, joining its sister ship Voyager 1 in the vast, uncharted realm between the stars
Health
Ashwagandha root for effective anxiety and stress relief, improved immunity
NaturalNews – Ashwagandha is a widely used herb in Ayurvedic medicine. It is perhaps most well known for its relaxing effects on the nervous system. However, this herb has numerous other important health benefits that can be a great addition to any natural health supplementation regimen
Natural adaptogen for effective stress management
The reason ashwagandha helps promote relaxation and anxiety reduction is that it is a natural adaptogen which protects the nervous system and enhances our ability to minimize the effects of stress and anxiety. It has also exhibited superior protective qualities which help reduce the degenerative effects of stress on the immune system.
Chronic stress has incredibly destructive effects on all of the cells in the body. By reducing these destructive effects, the herb is thought to help slow the aging process. It is also known as a powerful antioxidant since it has protective benefits which help prevent early cell death, mutation and oxidative stress.
The herb has performed as well as or better than some common anxiety medications in studies. Recommended dosage is usually 300-500 mg once or twice a day depending on need. In one study, participants reported an enhanced sense of well-being, more restful sleep and lower levels of perceived stress. It has also demonstrated impressive benefits in reducing the level of the highly destructive “stress hormone” cortisol.
Other compelling benefits of ashwagandha
In addition to powerful stress and anxiety control, this herb offers several other health and wellness benefits. Perhaps the most compelling is its immunity-building effects, which is still a common use for the herb in modern ayurvedic medicine.
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Study: Almost ALL our genes are influenced by the food we eat
NaturalNews – The Francis Crick Institute News reported that the food we consume could affect nearly all of our genetic data.
This yeast model was constructed by researchers from the University of Cambridge as well as the FCI. It indicated that the relationship between metabolism and genes are mutual.
Gene activity regulates our metabolic processes. In turn, metabolism produces nutrients that affect the genes in our cells. And when they act together, these two things control the behavior of our cells.
Researchers can learn a lot about an organism after viewing the genome that contains its DNA blueprint. However, the genes can be affected by external factors.
Other genes could control the gene in question. Epigenetic modifiers can attach to DNA and turn the gene on or off. And finally, the metabolic network itself could also regulate gene activity
Yeast experiment sheds light on links between metabolism and genes
Metabolism turns food molecules into energy that can be used by bodily processes. But the metabolic network also manufactures the critical parts needed to build cells and ensure their functionality.
The biochemical reactions of metabolism depend on the availability of nutrients. These amino acids, fatty acids, sugars, and vitamins come from the food we consume.
The Cambridge-FCI research team investigated how metabolism could affect the basic functions of a cell. They used yeast cells to model the cells of more complex organisms. Yeast is easy to manipulate, and many of its genes and cellular behaviors are similar to those of humans.
n their large-scale experiment, the researchers fiddled with the levels of metabolites produced by metabolic reactions in the yeast cells. Then they looked at the activity and products of the genes based on the available metabolites. They found that 90 percent of the genes and genetic products responded to changes in cellular metabolism.
“Nearly all of a cell’s genes are influenced by changes to the nutrients they have access to,” explained Cambridge researcher Markus Ralser. “In fact, in many cases, the effects were so strong, that changing a cell’s metabolic profile could make some of its genes behave in a completely different manner.
The World Is Now Facing The Second Deadliest Ebola Outbreak In Human History
SHFTPlan – The second deadliest Ebola virus outbreak has now spread to a major city. This spread is complicating already strained attempts at containment in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC.)
There has been a “significant increase” in Ebola infections there over the past three weeks, with a total of 25 confirmed cases thus far, according to Thursday’s bulletin from the country’s health ministry. ABC News reported that the virus has now spread to a major city, Butembo, which is home to almost 1 million people. Butembo is also a key trading and transport hub with links to other major cities in the country as well as to the neighboring country, Uganda. It’s about two times the size of the city of Beni, the outbreak’s epicenter, and is located just 35 miles away. The health ministry said the “high density and mobility” of Butembo’s population presents new challenges to containment efforts, already complicated by sporadic rebel attacks on remote villages in and around Beni.
Since the outbreak was declared on Aug. 1, a total of 471 people have reported symptoms of hemorrhagic fever in the country’s eastern provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, which share borders with Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan. Among those cases, 423 have tested positive for Ebola virus disease, which causes an often-deadly type of hemorrhagic fever, according to the health ministry. –ABC News
Mercola – Among most people in the U.S., cassava could be called a fairly unfamiliar vegetable, but it’s viewed as an important staple in diets of millions of people around the world. Visually similar to sweet potatoes, this root vegetable has its own unique and beneficial set of nutrients, and several other advantages, as well, not always for food.
Easy to grow in areas warm enough to avoid frost, cassava roots consist of four to eight individual tubers at the base of the stem, each around 12 inches long and roughly 2 or 3 inches wide. It’s propagated via stem cuttings. Beginning with the nutritional aspects and adding others, here are five of the top benefits of cassava.
1. Cassava has a wide array of nutrients — The content of the root itself is essentially pure carbohydrates, and in fact may be the highest-calorie tuber known, but it does have its benefits, especially in areas of the world where calories are at a premium. Another way to put it is that it has a wide variety of nutrients, but not a lot of any one thing.
According to MedicalNewsToday,6 cassava is a source of resistant starch, which scientists say resistant starch may boost a person’s gut health by helping nurture beneficial gut bacteria. Resistant starch is beneficial because it feeds the friendly bacteria in your colon and turns them into important short-chain fatty acids.
It also improves your gut bacteria and, as a bonus, may lower your blood glucose levels. Resistant starches remain relatively unchanged as they pass through your digestive trac
2. Cassava: A crop that can feed the world — Cassava is one of the ancient foods that sustained generations of people who lived along the banks of the Amazon River in South America. In fact, not just the roots but the leaves of the cassava plant were consumed long before Columbus ever arrived.
In addition, it’s known as one of the most drought-resistant crops in the world,9 without much need for fertilizer.
3. Cassava is useful for manufacturing and livestock purposes — Cassava is used to feed animals on a gigantic scale, primarily in South America, the Caribbean and Europe. Its leaves are harvested when the plant is still young and sun-dried for a few days, then the hay is used to feed cows, buffalo, goats and sheep.10
4. Cassava is extremely versatile — Published in 1988, a comprehensive book called “Cassava in Food, Feed and Industry”12 lists a number of different drinks and fermented foods that cassava is used in after being peeled, soaked, cubed, grated or “riced.” Cassava may also be roasted, boiled, steamed into a paste, dried, baked and crumbled.
Cassava is often mixed with other foods such as coconut and bananas to change its texture and flavor. As a carbohydrate, cassava can be mashed, made into chips or french fries, and used in dishes both sweet and savory, like the latter for a Cuban dish known as yuca con mojo, combining cassava with citrus juices, garlic, onion, cilantro, cumin and oregano.
5. Cassava is gluten-free — This means it doesn’t contain the protein gluten, like wheat, that can cause potentially serious adverse reactions. What does “gluten-free” mean in terms of food manufacturing?
Caveat Concerning Cassava Consumption: Don’t Eat It Raw
There’s a really big caveat to eating cassava: Avoid eating it raw, because it’s toxic in this form. One study15 notes that as a root crop, it accumulates two cyanogenic glucosides: linamarin and lotaustralin. It’s the linamarin, found in all parts of the cassava plant but primarily concentrated in the root and leaves, that produces the toxic compound hydrogen cyanide (HCN). As Mother Nature Network observes:
“When properly soaked and dried, and especially when people have protein in their diet, bitter cassava is OK; but when any of the process is skimped on, problems arise. Due to correct food processing and strict regulations, cyanide-laced cassava poses little threat to Americans who eat the root.
But, in Africa, where cassava has become a major part of subsistence diets, many poor people suffer from a chronic and crippling form of cyanide poisoning known as konzo.”16
Only soaking the cassava roots and leaves and cooking them at high temperature render the toxic compounds harmless. Otherwise, side effects can be serious and range from intoxication and extreme pain to nausea and death.17 Along with dangerously decreased levels of iodine comes an increased risk of developing goiter, a thyroid condition, all due to cyanide poisoning.18
If they happen to ingest raw cassava, children can experience irreversible paralysis in their legs, and the elderly can develop a condition known as tropical ataxic neuropathy (TAN), resulting in a loss or distortion of sensation in the hands and feet, weakness, poor vision and difficulty walking.19
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