World News
Trudeau appears to blame Trump, USA for downing
New York Post – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday appeared to cast blame on President Trump and the US for the downing by Iran of a Ukrainian jetliner that was allowed to take off from Tehran following an Iranian airstrike on US troops in Iraq just hours earlier.
“I think if there were no tensions, if there was no escalation recently in the region, those Canadians would be right now home with their families,” Trudeau told Global News television.
All 176 people – including 57 Canadians — aboard Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 were killed when the Revolutionary Guard mistakenly fired a missile at the Boeing 737 just after takeoff from Tehran.
“This is something that happens when you have conflict and war. Innocents bear the brunt of it and it is a reminder why all of us need to work so hard on de-escalation, moving forward to reduce tensions and find a pathway that doesn’t involve further conflict and killing,” Trudeau continued, appearing to reference Trump’s order of a drone strike that killed Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on Jan. 2.
His remarks come ahead of a meeting being hosted by Canada on Thursday in London in which members of the International Coordination and Response Group plan to look at ways to demand justice.
Cuba warns citizens to prepare for cooking-gas shortages
AP – The Cuban government is warning citizens to prepare for shortages of cooking gas due to Trump administration sanctions on the island.
State media announced Tuesday morning that cylinders of liquid petroleum gas would be scarce for Cubans who buy state-subsidized gas at about 30 cents per cylinder as well as for customers who buy gas at market prices more than 10 times higher.
Many homes in Cuba depend on bottled gas because they are not connected to municipal gas lines. Electric stoves and hotplates are relatively rare and expensive to use due to high electricity prices.
Iraqi Prime Minister Backs Off Expelling US Troops
The Anti-Media – After repeated threats from President Trump to sanction Iraq, to seize its primary bank account, and cut all military aid, Iraqi PM Adel Abdul-Mahdi has backed away from calls to expel US troops from Iraq.
Iraq’s parliament voted 170-0 earlier this month on the ouster, though US officials have said they don’t intend to leave, and have denied actually being asked. Following the threats, Abdul-Mahdi now says he wants to leave the question up to the next government.
That could take some time. Abdul-Mahdi nominally resigned last month, and there is meant to be work on reforming election law and holding fresh elections, meant to placate the anti-government protesters. There is no timetable for any of this, however, and efforts seem to have all but stopped since the US attack on Baghdad Airport.
The US had cut joint operations with Iraq shortly thereafter, fearing they’d quickly get into fighting after that. The US has announced they are resuming cooperation starting Wednesday, however.
U.S. News, Politics & Government
Northam declares state of emergency, Capitol weapon ban ahead of gun rights rally
NBC – Fearing a repeat of the deadly violence that engulfed Charlottesville more than two years ago, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam declared a temporary emergency Wednesday banning all weapons, including guns, from Capitol Square ahead of a massive rally planned next week over gun rights.
The governor, a Democrat, announced the plans at a news conference Wednesday afternoon because of credible threats of potential violence and extremism, one official said.
“Let me be clear. These are considered credible threats by law enforcement agencies,” Gov. Ralph Northam said.
Northam’s announcement comes days after Democratic leaders used a special rules committee to ban guns inside the Capitol and a legislative office building. That ban did not include Capitol grounds, which are under the governor’s control and are where thousands of gun-rights advocates are expected to rally Monday.
Northam decided to ban all guns from the grounds of Capitol Square after receiving reports for weeks about inflammatory online postings by out-of-state pro-gun and militia groups who are promising to attend Monday’s rally.
“No weapons will be allowed on capitol grounds. This includes everything from sticks and bats to chains and projectiles,” Northam said.
Gun rights group files emergency appeal on weapons ban at Virginia rally
The Hill – A pair of gun rights groups on Friday filed an emergency appeal of a judge’s ruling that upheld the governor of Virginia’s ban on firearms at a pro-gun rally scheduled at the state’s Capitol on Monday, The Associated Press reports.
The emergency appeal from Virginia Citizens Defense League and Gun Owners of America came after Richmond Circuit Judge Joi Taylor rejected the initial injunction filed by the groups.
In their appeal, the groups argue: “Without relief from this court, petitioners and thousands of other rally participants will be irreparably denied their right to bear arms.”
Clinton prosecutor Ken Starr to defend Trump in impeachment
BBC – President Donald Trump’s defence team in his Senate trial will include special prosecutors from President Bill Clinton’s impeachment.
He will be represented by Ken Starr and Robert Ray, who investigated Mr Clinton, and Alan Dershowitz, whose past clients include OJ Simpson.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Mr Trump’s personal lawyer Jay Sekulow will lead the team, US media report.
Opening statements in the Senate trial are expected next week.
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has also reportedly been tapped to join the team.
Mr Starr, Mr Ray and Mr Dershowitz will have speaking roles in the trial, according to Politico.
Mr Dershowitz told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner that he had spoken with the president on Wednesday about the case.
“I agreed to do it as an independent constitutional scholar,” Mr Dershowitz said. “I take no position on the politics – just on the Constitution.”
He added he was “very, very concerned” about the precedent this impeachment could establish.
“It could weaken the presidency and weaponise impeachment as a partisan tactic.”
South Dakota GOP Gov Kristi Noem Signs Executive Order Banning Boycotts of Israel
Information Liberation – Though Republicans won’t lift a finger to protect the free speech rights of their own constituents on social media they’re more than happy to violate their rights by outlawing boycotts of the foreign state of Israel.
From Middle East Monitor, “South Dakota governor signs anti-BDS executive order”:
The Republican governor of South Dakota signed an executive order on Tuesday prohibiting state offices from conducting business with companies boycotting Israel.
The recent move made by Republican, Kristi Noem, has made South Dakota the 28th state to have adopted the anti-BDS law.
“Israel is one of our nation’s closest allies, and their success is critical to American national security,” Noem announced in a statement. “Today, we reaffirm that South Dakota stands with Israel and will only contract with businesses who agree to fairly compete. Our state will not stand for any discrimination based on race or religion.”
The executive order requires vendors seeking contracts with state agencies, authorities, commissions, departments or institutions of the State of South Dakota not to engage with companies that participate in boycotts of Israel.
It also applies to companies or contractors with more than five employees, and on contracts of $100,000 or more, according to the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz.
Noem signed the order in the capitol in Pierre an hour before her State of the State address, which marked the beginning of the state legislature’s 2020 session.
Note, it was Noem’s first order of business.
Ukraine police investigating possible surveillance of Yovanovitch, Russian hacking
ABC – Ukrainian police are now investigating two major cases related to the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, one around possible illegal surveillance of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and the other around a suspected attack by Russian military hackers targeting a company where the son of former Vice President Joe Biden sat on the board.
NC Election Board threatens to call cops on members for reciting Pledge of Allegiance.
BladenOnline – The Bladen County Board of Elections held a regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, January 14, 2019 at the local office located at 301 S. Cypress Street in Elizabethtown. The meeting ended with threats of law enforcement being called to the next meeting.
Once the meeting was called to order and Commissioner Arthur Bullock gave the invocation Election Board member Emory White asked for the Pledge of Allegiance to be added to the agenda.
Chairperson Louella P. Thompson, Patsy Sheppard, and Deborah Belle voted against the Pledge of Allegiance being added to the agenda. Board members Michael Aycock and Emory White, both Veterans of the United States military voted for the pledge to be added to the agenda.
When Chairperson Thompson was asked why she would vote against the Pledge of Allegiance by a fellow board member she did not respond. When she was asked the same question again by BladenOnline.com staff she responded by saying, “That’s my right and I exercise it.”
After the approval of the minutes Chairperson Thompson asked for individuals wishing to address the board to speak. After some passionate objections from members in the audience about the board voting against placing the pledge to the flag, Dwight Sheppard, husband of board member Patsy Sheppard rose to his feet and voiced his opinion on why the board should not add the pledge to the agenda.
As Sheppard stood he said, “…That is every single State board in the State of North Carolina does not say the Pledge of Allegiance before their meetings it is not allowed in State meetings.” He closed in reference to the pledge in State board meetings saying, “Never, never, never quoted.” (Mr. Sheppard, sued Bladen Community College some years ago. Mr. Sheppard also made threats to sue Bladen County in October, 2019 when the Bladen County Board of Commissioners voted not to pay for his wife, Patsy Sheppard’s attorney. The request for the county to pay for Mrs. Sheppard’s attorney stemmed from a formal complaint filed against her with the North Carolina Board of Elections.)
After Sheppard spoke, Bladen County resident and business owner, Daine Smith stood to address the board. Smith explained he was unaffiliated and the issue did not have to do with party affiliation, but about respect for the flag and others’ rights. Smith then announced he would be citing the pledge if anyone would like to join him. As the majority in attendance stood and recited the pledge, the three democratic board members: Chairperson Thompson, Sheppard and Ms. Bell remained seated.
After the pledge was said Smith was reprimanded by Chairperson Thompson and then Sheppard called for a short recess. After the board returned the agenda items were addressed.
Almost 40% of world will witness civil unrest in 2020, research claims
NBC – Almost a quarter of the world’s countries witnessed a surge in protest and unrest last year and that figure is set to rise further in 2020, according to a new study.
There are 195 countries in the world, if the Vatican and Palestine are included, and a newly released index of civil unrest has claimed that 47 of those states witnessed a rise in civil unrest in 2019.
The data model, published Thursday by socio-economic and political analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft, has also predicted that in 2020, the number will balloon to 75 countries.
The U.K. consultancy identified Hong Kong and Chile as the two flashpoints suffering the largest increases in unrest since the beginning of 2019. Neither country is expected to find peace for at least two years, according to the research.
Other areas now considered hotbeds of civil protest include Nigeria, Lebanon and Bolivia. Beyond these three, countries dropping into a category labeled “extreme risk” include Ethiopia, India, Pakistan and Zimbabwe.
Since the previous index release, Sudan has overtaken Yemen to become the highest risk country globally.
Sudan has been locked in crisis since ruler Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in April. The country has been beset by protests and killings as military forces battle pro-democracy supporters to control the country.
Conflict in Yemen has been raging since 2015 as Shia and Sunni Muslim forces wrestle for power.
Trump updates school prayer guidance: ‘We will uphold religious liberty’
Fox – As his impeachment trial was getting underway in the Senate, President Trump gave a hat tip Thursday to his evangelical base by updating the federal guidance on prayer in public schools — an action that came on National Religious Freedom Day.
The order is similar to a 2003 guidance on school prayer, but it establishes a state-mandated filing process for complaints against local schools and school districts.
States must then send the federal government a list each year of local schools and districts that have “a policy that prevents, or otherwise denies participation in, constitutionally protected prayer,” in public schools. States are also required to report local schools that do not certify to the state that they don’t have unconstitutional prayer policies.
WV Lawmakers Invite VA 2nd Amendment Sanctuary Counties to Secede And Join Their State
Information Liberation – West Virginia lawmakers introduced a resolution on Tuesday inviting Virginia’s Second Amendment sanctuary counties to legally secede and “be admitted to the body politic of the State of West Virginia.”
House Concurrent Resolution 8 reads:
Whereas, Article VI, Section 11 of The Constitution of the State of West Virginia explicitly permits additional territory to be admitted into, and become part of this state, with the consent of the Legislature and of a majority of the qualified voters of the state; and
Whereas, In a spirit of conciliation, the Legislature of West Virginia hereby extends an invitation to our fellow Virginians who wish to do so, to join us in our noble experiment of 156 years of separation from the government at Richmond; and, we extend an invitation to any constituent county or city of the Commonwealth of Virginia to be admitted to the body politic of the State of West Virginia, under the conditions set forth in our state Constitution, specifically, with the consent of a majority of the voters of such county or city voting upon such proposition; and we hereby covenant that their many grievances shall be addressed, and, we further covenant with them that their firearms rights shall be protected to the fullest extent possible under our Federal and State Constitution.
Economy & Business
Fed Pumps $82 Billion more
WSJ – Big banks’ demand for longer term Federal Reserve liquidity flared up again on Tuesday.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said it intervened twice via repurchase agreements, or repos. Eligible banks draw $47 billion in overnight liquidity from the central bank, less than the $120 billion the Fed was willing to provide. But the 14-day repo saw banks offer the Fed $43.2 billion in securities, against the Fed’s $35 billion cap. Collectively, the Fed added $82 billion in temporary liquidity to the financial system.
Energy & Environment
Philippine volcano trembles more, spews lava half-mile high
AP – A volcano near the Philippine capital spewed lava into the sky and trembled constantly Tuesday, possibly portending a bigger and more dangerous eruption, as tens of thousands of people fled villages darkened and blanketed by heavy ash.
Government work was suspended and schools were closed in a number of towns and cities, including Manila, because of health risks from the ash. Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed, affecting tens of thousands of passengers.
The restiveness of the Taal volcano and several new fissures in the ground nearby likely mean magma is rising and may lead to further eruptive activity, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
Science & Technology
SMART LENS PUTS SCREEN ON YOUR EYE
Wired – The California-based company, which has been quiet about what it’s been working on for five years, has finally shared its plan for the world’s “first true smart contact lens.” But let’s be clear: This is not a product you’ll see on store shelves next autumn. It’s in the research and development phase—a few years away from becoming a real product. In fact, the demos I tried did not even involve me plopping on a contact lens—they used virtual reality headsets and held up bulky prototypes to my eye, as though I was Sherlock Holmes with a magnifying glass.
Mojo Vision is all about “invisible computing.” The company, whose founders include industry veterans from the likes of Apple, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, wants to reduce our reliance on screens. Instead of pulling out your phone to check why it buzzed in the middle of a conversation, look to the corner of your eye to activate an interface that will tell you in a split second.
“We want to create a technology that lets you be you, lets you look like you; doesn’t change your appearance; it doesn’t make you act weird walking down the street,” said Mike Wiemer, cofounder and chief technology officer at Mojo Vision. “It’s very discreet and frankly, substantially, most of the time it doesn’t show you anything.”
NSA Discovers Flaw in MICROSOFT Windows
Endgaget – The IT world was waiting on pins and needles today for a high-profile Microsoft Windows 10 security patch, and now we know why. The US National Security Agency (NSA) acknowledged it has discovered a serious flaw in Windows 10 that could expose users to surveillance or serious data breaches, as reported initially by the Washington Post. That was backed by Krebs on Security, which reported that the NSA confirmed that it did find a major vulnerability that it passed on to Microsoft.
In the past, the NSA might have kept the security hole to itself, using it to spy on adversaries. The best examples of that are WannaCry and EternalBlue, Windows 10 vulnerabilities discovered and exploited by the NSA for years. The agency developed hacking tools to exploit those holes, but some of them were uncovered and released by a suspected Russian hacking group called Shadow Brokers. EternalBlue is still used to this day on unpatched systems for ransomware, theft and other types of attacks.
The NSA confirmed (PDF) that the vulnerability affects Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016. It said that it flagged the dangerous bug because it “makes trust vulnerable.” However, it wouldn’t say when it found the flaw and declined to discuss it further until Microsoft released a patch.
The US Space Force Just Swore in Its First “Chief of Space Operations”
Activist Post – This week, Air Force Gen. John “Jay” Raymond was sworn in as the chief of Space Operations for the new United States Space Force. While it was initially reported as somewhat of a joke when Donald Trump first announced it, the U.S. Space Force is a very real thing and is now the seventh military branch of the Pentagon.
On Tuesday, Raymond was sworn in by Vice President Pence at his ceremonial office.
“It is President Trump’s belief that the United States must remain as dominant in space as we are on land and sea and the air. And your charge is to see to that mission with the United States Space Force,” Pence said during the ceremony.
Robots Takeover Domino’s New Supply Chain Center
Activist Post – Domino’s has started the construction on a 59,000-square-foot facility in Texas that will be the source of creating pizza dough for hundreds of regional stores, and there’s one major issue: the new high-tech supply chain center will be completely automated.
The new facility, located at 900 Igloo Road in Katy, Texas, will produce enough pizza dough for 300 stores across the region. The production of the dough will be entirely completed by robots and artificial intelligence systems for maximum productivity.
The company said because they will eliminate humans from the production line, the facility can create upwards of 20,000 trays of pizza dough balls per day.
Health
U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff Sued by Physicians Group for Censoring Vaccine Debate
Health Impact News – On Jan 15, 2020, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, along with Katarina Verrelli, on behalf of herself and others who seek access to vaccine information, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Plaintiffs allege that Defendant Adam Schiff has abused government power and infringed on their free-speech rights.
“Who appointed Congressman Adam Schiff as Censor-in-Chief?” asks AAPS General Counsel. “No one did, and he should not be misusing his position to censor speech on the internet.”
In February and March 2019, Rep. Schiff contacted Google, Facebook, and Amazon, to encourage them to de-platform or discredit what Schiff asserted to be inaccurate information on vaccines. He then posted the letters and press release on the House.gov website.
Within 24 hours of Schiff’s letter to Amazon dated Mar 1, 2019, Amazon removed the popular videos Vaxxed and Shoot ’Em Up: the Truth About Vaccines from its platform for streaming videos, depriving members of the public of convenient access.
Under a policy announced in May 2019, Twitter includes a pro-government disclaimer placed above search results for an AAPS article on vaccine mandates: “Know the Facts. To make sure you get the best information on vaccination, resources are available from the US Department of Health and Human Services.” The implication of this disclaimer is that if information is not on a government website, then it is somehow less credible.
On Facebook, a search for an AAPS article on vaccines, which previously would lead directly to the AAPS article, now produces search results containing links to the World Health Organization (WHO), the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Visits to the AAPS website have declined significantly since March 2019, both in absolute terms and relative to the decline that would result from a story’s losing its recency.
“The internet is supposed to provide free access to information to people of different opinions,” stated AAPS Executive Director, Jane Orient, M.D.
Dr. Orient continues, “AAPS is not ‘anti-vaccine,’ but rather supports informed consent, based on an understanding of the full range of medical, legal, and economic considerations relevant to vaccination and any other medical intervention, which inevitably involves risks as well as benefits.”
AAPS argues in the complaint against Rep. Schiff: “The First Amendment protects the rights of free speech and association. Included within the right of free speech is a right to receive information from willing speakers. Under the First Amendment, Americans have the right to hear all sides of every issue and to make their own judgments about those issues without government interference or limitations. Content-based restrictions on speech are presumptively unconstitutional, and courts analyze such restrictions under strict scrutiny.”
1st malaria vaccine tried out in babies in 3 African nations
PBS – A pinch in the leg, a squeal and a trickle of tears. One baby after another in Malawi is getting the first and only vaccine against malaria, one of history’s deadliest and most stubborn of diseases.
The southern African nation is rolling out the shots in an unusual pilot program along with Kenya and Ghana. Unlike established vaccines that offer near-complete protection, this new one is only about 40% effective. But experts say it’s worth a try as progress against malaria stalls: Resistance to treatment is growing and the global drop in cases has leveled off.
With the vaccine, the hope is to help small children through the most dangerous period of their lives. Spread by mosquito bites, malaria kills more than 400,000 people every year, two-thirds of them under 5 and most in Africa.
Flame Retardants and Pesticides Overtake Heavy Metals as Biggest Contributors to IQ Loss
NaturalBlaze – Adverse outcomes from childhood exposures to lead and mercury are on the decline in the United States, likely due to decades of restrictions on the use of heavy metals, a new study finds.
Despite decreasing levels, exposure to these and other toxic chemicals, especially flame retardants and pesticides, still resulted in more than a million cases of intellectual disability in the United States between 2001 and 2016. Furthermore, as the target of significantly fewer restrictions, experts say, flame retardants and pesticides now represent the bulk of that cognitive loss.
NYU Grossman School of Medicine researchers found that IQ loss from the toxic chemicals analyzed in their study dropped from 27 million IQ points in 2001 and 2002 to 9 million IQ points in 2015 and 2016.
While this overall decline is promising, the researchers say, their findings also identify a concerning shift in which chemicals represent the greatest risk. Among toxin-exposed children, the researchers found that the proportion of cognitive loss that results from exposure to chemicals used in flame retardants, called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PDBEs), and organophosphate pesticides increased from 67 percent to 81 percent during the same study period.
“Our findings suggest that our efforts to reduce exposure to heavy metals are paying off, but that toxic exposures in general continue to represent a formidable risk to Americans’ physical, mental, and economic health,” says lead study investigator Abigail Gaylord, MPH, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone. “Unfortunately, the minimal policies in place to eliminate pesticides and flame retardants are clearly not enough.”
The substances analyzed are found in household products from furniture upholstery to tuna fish, and can build up in the body to damage organs, researchers say. Heavy metals, lead and mercury in particular, are known to disrupt brain and kidney function. In addition, they, along with flame retardants and pesticides, can interfere with the thyroid, which secretes brain-developing hormones. Experts say exposure at a young age to any of these toxins can cause learning disabilities, autism, and behavioral issues.
In their investigation, the researchers found that everyday contact with these substances during the 16-year study period resulted in roughly 1,190,230 children affected with some form of intellectual disability. Overall childhood exposures cost the nation $7.5 trillion in lost economic productivity and other societal costs.
Eating This Nut Every Day Can Improve Gut & Heart Health, Study Finds
MindBodyGreen – Don’t underestimate the humble walnut just yet. Already recognized for heart-healthy qualities, new research shows walnuts are also good for the gut—and the two might even be related.
A study published in the Journal of Nutrition found changes in the gut bacteria that occur when people eat walnuts might be improving heart health, once again confirming that the gut rules the mind and the body.
With the onslaught of information surrounding the gut microbiome, researchers wanted to better understand the walnut’s fat and lipid properties and their impact on gut health.
“We wanted to see if changes in gut health with walnut consumption were related to improvements in risk factors for heart disease,” said one study author Penny Kris-Etherton, Ph.D.
And that’s exactly what they found.
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