March 29, 2024

The Power Hour

Knowledge is Power

Today's News: December 16, 2019

World News

Catholic Church Moves Toward Gay-Affirmation As German Bishops Declare Homosexual as a “Normal Form” of Sexuality

Daily Mail -German bishops have said homosexuality is ‘normal’ as the country’s Catholic Church begins a controversial review of its teachings on sexual morality.
They agreed being gay is a ‘normal form’ of human sexual identity, the chairman of the Marriage and Family Commission announced after discussions in Berlin last week.
It comes ahead of a two-year ‘Synodal Process’ by the Germans which will see a national reform consultation despite warnings from the Vatican.
Berlin’s Archbishop Heiner Koch said in a statement seen by the Catholic News Agency: ‘The sexual preference of man expresses itself in puberty and assumes a hetero or homosexual orientation.
‘Both belong to the normal forms of sexual predisposition, which cannot or should be be changed with the help of a specific socialization’.
He said the move had been made possible by Pope Francis’s book on marriage and family called Amoris laetitia.
He said the move had been made possible by Pope Francis’s book on marriage and family called Amoris laetitia.

U.S. Senate Unanimously Recognizes Armenian Genocide, Rejects Turkey’s Gag-Rule against American Remembrance of this Crime

ANCA – The U.S. Senate struck a historic blow today against Turkey’s century-long obstruction of justice for the Armenian Genocide, unanimously adopting S.Res.150, an Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)-backed measure that locks in ongoing U.S. recognition of this crime.
The resolution, identical to a measure (H.Res.296) adopted 405 to 11 in the U.S. House in October, officially rejects Turkey’s denials of its genocide against Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other Christian nations.  Passage of the resolution – spearheaded by Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) – marks the first time that the Senate has recognized the Armenian Genocide.
“The Senate today joined the House in rejecting Ankara’s gag-rule against honest American remembrance of the Armenian Genocide – overriding the largest, longest foreign veto over the U.S. Congress in American history,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “Today’s unanimous Senate action shines a spotlight on the President, who continues – against all reason – to enforce Erdogan’s veto against honest American remembrance of Turkey’s extermination and exile of millions of Christians.  It’s time for the Executive Branch to join Congress in ending any and all American complicity in Ankara’s lies. Together, the President and Congress should put in place a sustained and pro-active policy that rejects Turkey’s lies, challenges Ankara’s obstruction of justice, and works with Armenian and Turkish stakeholders toward the international reparations and other remedies required of this crime.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

Trump impeachment: House releases report showing ‘little doubt’ of bribery – live

The Guardian – The Supreme Court decided this morning not to review a lower court’s ruling blocking an Idaho ordinance trying to keep homeless people from sleeping on the street.
The AP reports:
The justices on Monday did not comment as they left in place a ruling that struck down a Boise, Idaho, ordinance. The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals applies across several Western states where cities are struggling with homelessness brought on by rising housing costs and income inequality. Many have similar restrictions that aim to keep homeless people from sleeping on their streets.
The appeals court held that Boise could not make it a crime for homeless people to sleep on the streets when no alternative shelter is available. The decision the justices refused to review found that the Boise ordinance violated the constitutional ban on ‘cruel and unusual punishment.

At war with the truth – U.S. officials constantly said they were making progress. They were not, and they knew it, an exclusive Post investigation found

Washington Post – Confidential trove of government documents obtained by The Washington Post reveals that senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable.
The documents were generated by a federal project examining the root failures of the longest armed conflict in U.S. history. They include more than 2,000 pages of previously unpublished notes of interviews with people who played a direct role in the war, from generals and diplomats to aid workers and Afghan officials.

Officials say Trump to announce withdrawal of more than 4,000 troops from Afghanistan soon

The Hill – White House Officials say that President Trump is expected to announce the withdrawal of over 4,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan soon, NBC News reports.
Currently, the U.S. has between 12,000 and 13,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan. It’s unclear when the withdrawal would begin, but officials told the network that it would take place over a couple of months.
On Thursday, Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzadsaid reportedly said that the U.S. was “taking a brief pause” in peace talks with the Taliban after a Wednesday attack by Bagram Airfield killed two Afghan citizens and wounded 70 more.\
“U.S. Forces-Afghanistan has not received orders to reduce troop levels in Afghanistan,” a spokesperson for U.S. Forces-Afghanistan told NBC.

Comey admits he was wrong about Carter Page wiretap: ‘There was real sloppiness’

CNBC – “I was wrong,” Comey said in an interview with Fox News Sunday. “I was overconfident in the procedures that the FBI and Justice had built over 20 years. I thought they were robust enough.”
During congressional testimony last week, Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said his inquiry found 17 inaccuracies and admissions in the four applications to conduct surveillance against Page.
Former FBI director James Comey admitted on Sunday that he was “overconfident” in the process used by the bureau to obtain a court-ordered wiretap of a former Trump campaign aide.
The Justice Department’s Inspector General found serious errors with the FBI’s investigation into links between Russia and Trump campaign aides in a report last week.
Michael Horowitz, who led the watchdog probe, found that the FBI had sufficient justification to open the investigation and conducted the inquiry without political bias, though he noted that the bar is set low to open such investigations.

Buttigieg Slams Hallmark For Removing Lesbian Ads: ‘Being “Family Friendly” Means Honoring Love’

Daily Caller – 2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg spoke out against the Hallmark Channel on Sunday for removing ads depicting lesbian couples.
Buttigieg commented after the Hallmark Channel pulled four ads Thursday in which lesbian women are shown kissing one another at the altar. The ads were part of a series of six ads created for the wedding planning website Zola, first featured on the Hallmark Channel on Dec. 2.
A spokesman for Hallmark told The New York Times the ads violated Hallmark’s rules on “public displays of affection.”
“The decision not to air overt public displays of affection in our sponsored advertisement, regardless of the participants, is in line with our current policy, which includes not featuring political advertisements, offensive language, R-rated movie content and many other categories,” the spokesman told The NYT. (RELATED: More Than A Million People Sign Petition Bashing Netflix Movie Implying Jesus Christ Is Gay)
The decision came after the group One Million Moms posted a petition to Hallmark to “please reconsider airing commercials with same-sex couples.” One Million Moms is part of the American Family Association, an organization dedicated to fighting “indecency.” As of Sunday afternoon, the petition garnered more than 27,000 signatures.

Hallmark reverses position on same-sex couple ads after public outcry

One America News Network  – The chief executive officer of Hallmark Cards apologized on Sunday night and said the company would reverse an earlier decision to pull television advertisements featuring same-sex couples from the wedding registry and planning website Zola.
In a statement, CEO Mike Perry said cable television’s Hallmark Channel “will be reaching out to Zola to reestablish our partnership and reinstate the commercials.”

Christians rip GOP’s ‘dangerous’ compromise on religious and LGBTQ rights

WND – A coalition of Christian organizations is opposing a bill that purports to resolve the conflict between religious rights and new rights established by the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling.
The Fairness for All Act, introduced by Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, promises to “ban discrimination against LGBTQ people” and also “protect religious institutions that uphold traditional beliefs about marriage and sexuality.”
“But does it?” asks the non-profit MinistryWatch.
John Stonestreet, president of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, said the act “would enshrine into law something that simply is not true, and for Christians that’s got to be a non-starter: that sexual orientation and gender identity are equal to race, that they are somehow immutable, something someone is born with.”
LGBT activists have demanded Christian florists, photographers and bakers affirm same-sex marriage through their work, in violation of their faith. On one of many lawsuits, the U.S. Supreme Court scolded Colorado officials for hostility toward the Christian faith of baker Jack Phillips.
The Fairness for All Act is the result of several years of work “to bridge the divide between LGBTQ people and religious conservatives,” MinistryWatch said.

27 Percent of California Teens Are Gender Nonconforming

The Williams Institute – According to a new study out of UCLA, more than a quarter of California adolescents feel comfortable enough to dismiss societal pressures to identify with one gender or another.
Researchers out of the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research analyzed data from the 2015-2016 version of the California Health Interview Survey, which collected data from 1,300 households. For the first time ever, the survey included a question for young people (ages 12-17) about gender expression. Participants had to answer how they thought their classmates viewed them in terms of their appearance, style, dress and/or the way they walk or talk; the answers ranged from “very feminine” to “very masculine.”
The study’s authors took these answers and analyzed them in context with what gender/sex adolescents chose in the survey. With this information, researchers identified two groups of gender-nonconforming youth: “highly gender-nonconforming (GNC)” and “androgynous.” Young women who thought people at school saw them as “mostly masculine” or “very masculine,” and young men who chose “mostly feminine” or “very feminine” were categorized as highly GNC. Young people who said they were “equally feminine and masculine” were categorized as androgynous. The remaining youth were categorized as gender conforming.
Ultimately, the study’s authors found that 27 percent, or 796,000, of California’s youth, are GNC. Of the two sub-groups, 21 percent were classified as androgynous, and 6 percent as highly GNC.

Democrat Party Chief: Claiming Detroit Registers Dead People to Vote Is ‘Direct Attack on People of Color’

Bretibart – Michigan’s Democrat Party chairwoman says to claim that the city of Detroit registers dead people to vote is a “direct attack on people of color.”
The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) filed a lawsuit in federal court this week against the city of Detroit for allegedly failing to maintain their voter rolls, including keeping more than 2,500 dead Americans aged 85 and older on the rolls, as Breitbart News reported.
In response, Michigan Democrat Party Executive Director Christy Jenson said the lawsuit’s allegations that dead people are registered to vote in Detroit are racist and that there is no evidence of voter fraud:
“This lawsuit is about making a clickbait headline,” said Christy Jenson. “To make voters have less confidence in what is happening in their communities, their clerk’s office. And it is really a direct attack on people of color.” [Emphasis added]
Jenson, the Michigan Democratic Party Executive Director, said the lawsuit does not allege any voter fraud. [Emphasis added]

“They try to purge the [voter] rolls where there are many people of color that vote,” she said. [Emphasis added]
PILF researchers discovered that a number of registered voters in Detroit had either “impossibly old” or “disqualifying young” date of births after analyzing voter data from the state of Michigan.
One case, for example, revealed that a registered Detroit voter listed their birth date as “1823,” which would make them 196 years old.

Destruction Of The Family: The U.S. Has The Highest Rate Of Children Living With A Single Parent In The Entire World

Michael Snyder – The family unit is one of the fundamental pillars of any society, and so the weaker our family units become the weaker our entire nation is going to become.  For decades, the traditional family unit has been under assault in America, and the consequences have been absolutely catastrophic. Today, the marriage rate has dropped to levels that we have never seen before, we continue to have one of the highest divorce rates in the entire world, and more couples than ever are choosing not to get married at all.  As a result, the number of single parents has been steadily rising, and at this point the United States actually has the highest rate of children living with a single parent of any country on the entire planet. The following comes from Pew Research
For decades, the share of U.S. children living with a single parent has been rising, accompanied by a decline in marriage rates and a rise in births outside of marriage. A new Pew Research Center study of 130 countries and territories shows that the U.S. has the world’s highest rate of children living in single-parent households.
Almost a quarter of U.S. children under the age of 18 live with one parent and no other adults (23%), more than three times the share of children around the world who do so (7%).
You would think that with how rapidly modern notions of “morality” are spreading around the globe that someone out there would be worse than us, but sadly we are dead last on the list.

Jerry Nadler Spins Possible Jump by Democrat Van Drew to the Republican Side

LifeZette – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said on Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” hosted by former top Clinton aide George Stephanopoulos, that the possibility of Rep. Jeff Van Drew’s (D-N.J.) defection to the GOP was because the Garden State Democrat was “reacting to public polling.”
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“What he’s reacting to is public polling that shows he can’t get renominated,” said Nadler. “His [Van Drew’s] electorate in his district is 24 percent to renominate him and 60 percent to nominate somebody else.”
No doubt Van Drew’s refusal to support the impeachment of a president of the United States over non-existent evidence has cost him politically with the far-Left in his swing district — a district that President Donald Trump won in 2016 by a margin of 4.6 points.
Nadler says that lack of support could cost Van Drew renomination.

Jerry Nadler Spins Possible Jump by Democrat Van Drew to the Republican Side

LifeZette – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said on Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” hosted by former top Clinton aide George Stephanopoulos, that the possibility of Rep. Jeff Van Drew’s (D-N.J.) defection to the GOP was because the Garden State Democrat was “reacting to public polling.”
“What he’s reacting to is public polling that shows he can’t get renominated,” said Nadler. “His [Van Drew’s] electorate in his district is 24 percent to renominate him and 60 percent to nominate somebody else.”
No doubt Van Drew’s refusal to support the impeachment of a president of the United States over non-existent evidence has cost him politically with the far-Left in his swing district — a district that President Donald Trump won in 2016 by a margin of 4.6 points.
Nadler says that lack of support could cost Van Drew renomination.

Tazewell County Forms Militia in Response to New Virginia Gun Laws

Firearmsnews – In response to the wave of proposed anti-gun legislation in Virginia, many of its cities and counties have declared themselves Second Amendment Sanctuaries. One county, in particular, took it a step further at their December 3rd County Board of Supervisors Regular Meeting.
In addition to passing their Second Amendment Sanctuary Resolution, the county also passed a Militia Resolution. This resolution formalizes the creation, and maintenance of a defacto civilian militia in the county of Tazewell. And to get a better understanding why the council members passed this resolution, Firearms News reached out to one of its members, Thomas Lester. Mr. Lester is a member of the council, as well as a professor of American History and Political Science.

VA National Guard Issues Statement Over Calls To Enforce Gun Control

Bearing Arms – Democrat Congressman Donald McEachin’s comments about using the National Guard to enforce Governor Ralph Northam’s proposed gun control laws in Virginia has caused a storm of controversy in the state, to the point that the Adjutant General of the Virginia National Guard has issued a statement, after scores of phone calls and emails from concerned citizens and curious media figures. WSLS-TV in Roanoke was the first to report on the comments by Major General Timothy P. Williams.
“We have received multiple questions regarding proposed legislation for the 2020 General Assembly session and the authority of the Governor of Virginia to employ the Virginia National Guard in a law enforcement role. Please make sure you share this message with your all of your personnel.
We understand and respect the passion people feel for the U.S. Constitution and 2nd Amendment rights. We will not speculate about the possible use of the Virginia National Guard. I encourage everyone to be patient while we allow our elected officials to work through the legislative process.
We have not received any requests from the Governor, or anyone on his staff, about serving in a law enforcement role related to any proposed legislation.
I expect our Soldiers, Airmen and members of the Virginia Defense Force to be professional and respectful in their discussions about this subject. As private citizens, our personnel are free to express their opinions to their elected officials, but they should not engage in any political activity while in a uniformed status.
We will provide regular updates when appropriate during the General Assembly session. Please utilize your chain of command to direct any questions or concerns to my office, and we will do our best to address them.”
For those who were hoping that Maj. General Williams was going to come out swinging with a “Hell no we’re not taking anybody’s guns”, it wasn’t going to happen. Even if that’s how the adjutant general feels, he’s not going to pick a fight with the governor if he doesn’t have to. He can kick this can down the road, at least until and if Northam actually requests that the National Guard go into rural counties to look for people who are allowing their 17-year old daughter to hunt unsupervised on their property, or to try to catch someone transferring a firearm without a background check.

Rashida Tlaib wrongly claims ‘white supremacy’ behind Jersey City slaughter

NYP – Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib appeared to blame the Jersey City shooting on “white supremacy” Thursday — even though the attackers have been identified as members of an extremist “anti-white and anti-Semitic” movement.
The Democratic congresswoman retweeted a photo of one of the victims of Tuesday’s shooting, 24-year-old Moshe Deutsch, an Orthodox Jew, with the caption: “This is heartbreaking. White Supremacy Kills.”
Twitter users were quick to call out Tlaib.
“Um, @RashidaTlaib the shooters were black…,” wrote conservative political consultant @CalebJHull.
Shooters David Anderson and Francine Graham were followers of the Black Hebrew Israelites, a fringe religious movement, not affiliated with mainstream Judaism, that’s been labeled a hate group by experts who track extremists in the US.
The tweet, which was posted to her personal account, had been deleted by Thursday afternoon.

Signed by the Governor: Alabama Eliminates Marriage Licenses; Foundation to Nullify Federal Control in Practice

Tenth Amendment Center – Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has signed a bill into law abolishing marriage licenses in the state. This will effectively nullify in practice both major sides of the contentious national debate over government-sanctioned marriage.
Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Bay Minette) introduced Senate Bill 69 (SB69) on March 5. The new law abolishes all requirements to obtain a marriage license in Alabama. Instead, probate judges will simply record civil contracts of marriage between two individuals based on signed affidavits.
According to the bill summary, SB69 will “eliminate the requirement for solemnization of a marriage for it to be considered valid” and “specify that the judge of probate would have no authority to reject any recording of a marriage, so long as the affidavits, forms, and data are provided.”
On May 23, the House passed SB69 by a 67-26 vote. The Senate passed SB69 by a 26-0 vote. With Gov. Ivey’s signature, the law will go into effect 90 days after the signing date.
While this change in the law may seem like semantics, it is quite significant. It ends the requirement to get state permission before getting married. The state will now record signed contracts between consenting individuals. In effect, it removes the state from the approval process and relegates it to a mere record-keeper.
The law will maintain a few state requirements governing marriage. Minors between the ages of 16 and 18 still must obtain parental permission before marrying, the state will not record a marriage if either party was already married, and the parties cannot be related by blood or adoption as already stipulated in state law.
Civil or religious ceremonies will have no legal effect on the validity of the marriage. The state will only recognize the legal contract signed by the two parties entering into the marriage.
In practice, the state’s role in marriage will be limited to recording marriages that have already occurred.

Dept. of Ed. Investigation Uncovers Over a Billion in Unreported Foreign University Funding

Betsy DeVos suggests in the story below that this just scratches the surface.
The Washington Examiner reports:
‘Scratching the surface’: Education Department uncovers $1.3B in foreign university funding
An Education Department investigation revealed universities failed to report more than a billion dollars in foreign funding, which officials believe is only a sliver of the unreported overseas donations flowing onto campuses.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told the Washington Examiner she had launched a preliminary investigation into six universities but already turned up an alarming $1.3 billion in foreign funding over the past seven years from nations such as China, Russia, and Qatar that the schools hadn’t told the federal government about, despite their legal requirement to do so.
“It is already a reporting requirement for schools to report all foreign contributions. From my perspective, it’s a simple requirement: Report all foreign money you get.” DeVos said. “We’re going to continue to raise the flag on this, and we think, just given what we’ve seen scratching the surface, there’s a lot there that has gone undetected.”
DeVos said foreign funding is an administration-wide national security concern.

Economy & Business

FED PUMPS ANOTHER $86 BILLION

WSJ – The Federal Reserve Bank of New York added $86.4 billion in liquidity to financial markets.
In two operations carried out Monday, the Fed injected $36.4 billion in overnight liquidity and $50 billion in 32-day liquidity extending into the coming New Year.

China suspends tariffs on US-made cars, corn and other goods amid new trade truce

CNN – China on Sunday called off additional tariffs set to kick in on some US goods as the two countries pull back from a trade war that has roiled financial markets and damaged global economies.
The suspension covers additional tariffs on products including corn and US-made cars and auto parts, the State Council’s Customs Tariff Commission said on its website. Tariffs already in place on other US goods will remain, the council’s statement said.
The announcement comes two days after China and the United States agreed to a phase 1 trade deal after more than 18 months of escalating tensions. The two sides agreed to halt additional tariffs on almost $160 billion of Chinese consumer electronics and toys that were set to take effect December 15 and reduce economic penalties on goods that were imposed in September by half. They also unveiled new commitments by the Chinese to buy US farm goods and other products.
But details of the agreement remain largely unknown, leaving some US-China watchers wondering what exactly is included in a first-round trade war pact among the world’s two largest economies. President Donald Trump was first to levy tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of unfair trade practices and theft of intellectual property.

Tax reform passes after last-minute changes that give checks to Utahns

Desert News – Utahns will pay less in income tax but more in sales tax on food, gas and some services under a massive tax reform bill passed by lawmakers in a special legislative session Thursday night following last-minute changes that include sending out checks to low- and moderate-income residents.
Some Republican lawmakers joined Democrats in the House and Senate in voting against SB2001, but the bill passed the Senate 20-7 and then the House, 43-27 after the version advanced Monday at the final meeting of the Legislature’s Tax Restructuring and Equalization Task Force was substituted on the Senate floor — twice.
Because the bill was amended in the House to make a technical clarification, it had to go back to the Senate for a final vote, where it passed again, 19-7. Because the bill didn’t reach a two-thirds majority in either the House or Senate, it won’t take effect for 60 days and is also vulnerable to a citizen’s referendum.
Utahns with dependents will see a one-time check for as much as $200 early next year — and many will also receive a grocery tax credit in mid-2020, after the full sales tax is restored on food sales April 1.

Congress clinches sweeping spending deal, putting off shutdown threat

CNN – Top congressional negotiators clinched a “deal in principle” to fund the US government, an agreement that comes a little more than a week before the deadline and likely takes the threat of a government shutdown off the table.
The bipartisan foursome of the top appropriators reached the agreement after meeting in the Capitol on Thursday, capping a day of harried negotiations, proposals and counter proposals that will significantly curtail the threat of a government shutdown. Staff will work through the weekend to produce the final legislation, which will likely move in two separate packages that receive House floor votes on Tuesday, according to an aide.
The $1.37 trillion agreement includes all 12 spending bills and came after a day of last-minute negotiations and shuttle diplomacy between Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican, and his House counterpart Nita Lowey, a New York Democrat, along with the two ranking members on their committees, Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat of Vermont, and Rep. Kay Granger, a Texas Republican. At various points meetings included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, the Trump administration’s point person on the negotiations.

Sources: Repealing health care taxes in play on spending deal

Roll Call – Congressional leaders were discussing a permanent repeal of three major health care taxes — on medical devices, health insurers and high-cost “Cadillac” insurance plans — as part of the final appropriations measures advancing this week, according to sources familiar with the talks.
The tentative development follows some skepticism about whether leaders would even be able to agree to attach an extension of expiring tax cuts and other tax policy changes to the package — and little expectation that the costly taxes would be repealed altogether.
Together with potential renewal of some 30 tax “extenders” through at least 2020, many of which lapsed at the beginning of 2018, the 10-year cost of the tax provisions attached to the spending measures could top $400 billion.
The tax talks appear to have picked up steam over the weekend after lawmakers had expressed pessimism late last week. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had been pushing for a package of refundable tax credits to help lower-income-workers and families, which Republicans said were a deal-breaker. But Democrats didn’t want to swallow the business tax breaks without getting something in return.

Energy & Environment

U.N. climate talks end with hard feelings, few results and new doubts about global unity

WP – Global climate talks lurched to an end here Sunday with finger-pointing, accusations of failure and fresh doubts about the world’s collective resolve to slow the warming of the planet — at a moment when scientists say time is running out for people to avert steadily worsening climate disasters.
After more than two weeks of negotiations, punctuated by raucous protests and constant reminders of a need to move faster, negotiators barely mustered enthusiasm for the compromise they had patched together, while raising grievances about the issues that remain unresolved.
The negotiators failed to achieve their primary goals. Central among them: persuading the world’s largest carbon-emitting countries to pledge to tackle climate change more aggressively beginning in 2020.
“We are not satisfied,” said Chilean Environment Minister Carolina Schmidt, who chaired the conference. “The agreements reached by the parties are not enough.”

Monsanto pleads guilty to illegally spraying banned pesticide in Maui

CNN – Agrochemicals company Monsanto, a unit of Bayer AG, has agreed to pay $10.2 million in fines and plead guilty to spraying a banned pesticide on research crops in Maui, Hawaii, the US Department of Justice said.
Monsanto Co., also the maker of weedkiller Roundup, will pay the fines for storing the pesticide Penncap-M, an “acute hazardous waste” at sites in Maui and Molokai, Hawaii, according the DOJ press release late Thursday.
Monsanto agreed to the misdemeanor offense of using Penncap-M in 2014, even though the company knew that its use was prohibited after 2013. Penncap-M is considered an “acute hazardous waste.” The company also told employees to reenter the area only seven days after the spraying, when it knew that years earlier, 31 days was set as the required amount of time, according to court documents.
“The illegal conduct in this case posed a threat to the environment, surrounding communities and Monsanto workers,” said United States Attorney Nick Hanna.
Monsanto parent company Bayer apologized in a statement, saying, “we did not live up to our standards or the law,” but that Monsanto had reported the spraying to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture.
“We accept responsibility and are deeply sorry,” Darren Wallis, Bayer vice president of communications, North America, said in a statement

Study Suggests That Planting More Hemp Could Help Maintain Bee Populations

Truth Theory – According to a study published in the journal Biomass and Bioenergy earlier this year, planting more hemp could help to maintain bee populations which have become dangerously low in recent years. The study was conducted by researchers at Colorado State University, who set up harm-free traps for bees at large hemp farms throughout the state. They spent about five days during peak growing season collecting bees from the various farms to see how many were attracted to the hemp crops.
The researchers noted in their study that since hemp plants produce large amounts of pollen, bees are often attracted to them. Hemp plants are especially attractive to bees because they are “wind pollinated, dioecious and staminate.”
The abstract of the study explained that, “A total of 23 different genera of bees were collected of which the European honeybee, Apis mellifera at 38% of the total abundance was the most dominant followed by Melissodes bimaculata at 25% and Peponapis pruinosa at 16%. These three genera made up nearly 80% of the total abundance. “
Essentially, hemp plants produce a large amount of pollen, which means that the crop could be a great benefit to bee populations as the industry continues to grow.

Science & Technology
It’s science: Giving experiences instead of toys boosts your kid’s intelligence + happiness

Motherly –  It’s a fact: Happiness on Christmas morning isn’t measured by the number of presents under the tree, even with little ones in your home who might have a long wishlist. Studies have found that giving your kid too many toys can result in the opposite of the desired effect—they can actually be less happy.
Childhood development researcher, Clair Lerner, suggests that when kids are given an abundance of toys and games, they play less. Too many toys can be distracting and overwhelming to children, leading them to lose the e concentration needed to learn from those toys.
Ms. Lerner’s findings are echoed by Michael Malone, a professor of Early Childhood Education at the University of Cincinnati. His research showed that fewer and better toys lead to increased sharing and cooperation, both valuable life skills. Moreso, too many toys encourage more solitary play, while causing a sense of unproductive overload.
So what does that mean, mama? There’s no need to stress about getting them everything on their wishlist. Spending time with your kids is far more valuable.
In a study of 3,000 3-5-year-olds at Oxford University, it was found that children’s academic success was more dependent on their home environment and parent’s involvement than the toys or electronic devices they are given. Those who had fewer toys and no electronics, but had parents who spent more time with them, did better in school and in many areas of social and emotional development, suggesting that parents’ attention is better than any toy or screen.
And if we need one more reason to cool it on the toy giving, researchers have discovered that gratitude and generosity increase when experiences are given instead of objects. Thomas Gilovich, a psychology professor at Cornell University, conducted many studies over many decades and found that happiness is derived from experiences, not things.
Bottom line: The happiness derived from a childhood experience is far more significant than the fleeting excitement of toys under the Christmas tree. Giving experiences that involve spending time together instead of gifting toys brings greater and longer-lasting joy. Don’t stress about the number of toys, mama. Focus on making memories.

Health

Mass Sterilization of Millions of African Girls through Tetanus Vaccine Scandal Broadens as Kenyan Laboratory Attacked

Health Impact News – According to a growing number of reports, Agriq-Quest Ltd, the Nairobi based testing laboratory appointed by the Kenyan Ministry of Health and the Catholic Health Commission to carry out analysis on selected vials of the tetanus toxoid vaccines to determine whether or not they contained the anti-fertility hormone hCG, have had their license suspended.
Interestingly, the allegation that their license was suspended came a full two years after they had presented their findings, and representatives from the laboratory have told Health Impact News that their license is still intact.
A Brief Background: African Girls Become Infertile through Tetanus Vaccine
In 2014, doctors from the Kenyan Catholic Doctors Association discovered that the tetanus vaccinations that had been administered to 2.3 million girls and women by the World Health Organization and UNICEF had been contaminated with the anti-fertility hormone hCG.
Human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, is a hormone produced naturally in pregnancy to encourage the development of the growing fetus. However, when hCG is combined with the tetanus toxoid carrier in tetanus vaccinations, it causes a pregnant woman to produce antibodies against the pregnancy and leads her to miscarry.
In September of 2017 APA News in Kenya reported that at least 500,000 young girls and women may be infertile, following a tetanus vaccine administered by the government in 2014 and 2015:
“Today, we can confirm to the country that the Catholic Church was right. Hundreds of thousands of our girls and women, aged between 14 and 49, from the fastest growing populations in the country will not have children, because of the state-sponsored sterilization that was sold to the country as tetanus vaccination,” Odinga declared.
Odinga further charged that they accessed the analysis from four highly-regarded institutions, such as AgriQ Quest Ltd, the Nairobi Hospital Laboratories, the University of Nairobi and Lancet Kenya.

Science Says Moms Need Massages

Moms need massages on the regular. Science promises that we’ll be a lot less prone to screaming into a pillow because the toddler flushed a stuffed animal than we would otherwise.
As moms, we’ve got to learn to be good to ourselves. Why is it so hard to treat ourselves at least as kindly as we treat others? Moms need to understand that being kind and loving to our own bodies and minds positively affects our family lives at least as much as it affects us. Depression and crying kiddos make for a woman who is at her wit’s end.
Okay, so Moms need massages. But, what does a massage actually do?
The first word you think of when you imagine getting a massage is probably relaxing. The weird, wonderful soft music that we only hear when we’re getting a massage. The smell of rich oils and scented candles. The masseuse who hopefully doesn’t talk to you the entire time. Relaxing.
But, there’s so much more to it. Massage actually increases serotonin and dopamine, those delightful feel-good hormones that we wish we could experience all day, every day. That’s why you feel so relaxed and chill after a nice, long massage.
Let’s not forget all the endorphins a massage helps release because that’s the really good stuff. From pain relief to a happy mood, endorphins are the rockstars among hormones. That feeling after you laugh so hard you almost shoot coffee out of your nose? Thanks, endorphins.
It’s unhealthy to experience the flight or fight response every minute of every day, or you’ll be sick and grumpy and your kids will be forced to experience that same negative reaction. You control the weather in your home, which is why they say ‘if Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.‘ If you’re storming because your stress level is so high, everyone else in the house is dodging the lightning and hiding from the thunder booms.

How Licorice Root Benefits & Balances Candida Overgrowth

Dr. Group – n ancient Egypt, if you wanted something sweet to quench your thirst, you couldn’t grab a sports drink at a local convenience store. Instead, Egyptians made a liquid drink from licorice root that looked like tea. Pharaohs and prophets alike drank the tea not only as a thirst quencher but also as a natural remedy for stomach ulcers and canker sores.
Today, you’re more likely to think of licorice as candy, but it does more than soothe your sweet tooth. There are many licorice root benefits, and we’re going to focus on its ability to balance Candida overgrowth.
What Licorice Root Can Do
So how does licorice root balance yeast? First, licorice root can deter harmful organisms.[4] Lichochalcone-A, a natural compound found in licorice, is responsible for some of these properties.[9] It can disrupt the growth of harmful organisms and bring balance to the natural microbial ecosystem in your body. Likewise, glycyrrhizic acid has a powerful ability to deter harmful organisms.[2, 5]
Licorice promotes mucus formation, which is responsible for its stomach-soothing properties.[10, 11] The mucus soothes and protects the esophagus and stomach from excess acid. The mucus itself may deter harmful organisms.

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