March 28, 2024

The Power Hour

Knowledge is Power

Today's News: January 18, 2019

Top Headlines

De Blasio Orders Confiscation of Private Property from New Yorkers Who Don’t ‘Respect’ Residents

Western Journal – Barack Obama’s infamous “you didn’t build that” line defined his presidency. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio may have just one-upped him with an alarming message to residents: You don’t own that.

During a Thursday speech called the “state of the city” address, the liberal mayor unveiled a new plan that threatens to seize privately-owned property and hand it over to “community nonprofits” if the owners don’t do what the city government says.

The executive order is being billed as a way to punish bad landlords, but it seems to be only a few steps away from outright socialism.

The mayor “announced he wants to take action against landlords who try to force tenants out by making the property unliveable,” Fox News reported. “He said that in the event the government intervenes, the buildings would then be controlled by a ‘community nonprofit.’”

In basic terms, if the city decides that a building owned by a landlord isn’t being managed the way bureaucrats want, the government will impose a series of sanctions all the way up to taking the privately-owned property by force.

Oregon Could Become the First State to Require In-Home Surveillance of Newborn Babies

PJMedia – If Oregon Governor Kate Brown has her way, the Beaver State will become the first to require universal home visits for newborn children in the care of their own parents.

Senate Bill 526, introduced this month in the Oregon Legislative Assembly as part of Brown’s budget, orders the Oregon Health Authority to “study home visiting by licensed health care providers.” Lawmakers went so far as to declare that SB 526 is an “emergency” measure — one that requires a resolution by the end of the year. The intro to the bill, the language of which has not yet been crafted, reads:

The Oregon Health Authority shall study home visiting by licensed health care providers in this state. The authority shall submit findings and recommendations for legislation to an interim committee of the Legislative Assembly related to health care not later than December 31, 2019.

Moreover, the 18 sponsors of the bill claim that its passage is “necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety,” and therefore “an emergency is declared to exist.”

What’s the big emergency? Apparently, the state of Oregon is concerned that some parents are raising their children without the watchful eye of Big Brother monitoring their every move — a big no-no in the view of the progressive left.

Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority, told the Beaverton Valley Times that he’s enthusiastic about the idea of universal inspections for newborns. “This isn’t something for people in trouble. This is stuff all kids need. Stuff my kids needed,” Allen said.

According to the Beaver Valley Times, “When the program is complete, every new parent — this includes adoptions — would receive a series of two or three visits by someone like a nurse or other health care practitioner. The visits could include basic health screenings for babies; hooking parents up with primary care physicians; linking them to other services; and coordinating the myriad childhood immunizations that babies need.”

The program has been piloted in Lincoln County but has not been tried statewide.

Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward (D-Beaverton), who sits on the powerful Ways and Means Committee that will hammer out the language of the legislation, has said that universal home visits are a priority for her.

And Oregon is not alone in the push for “universal” home visits. Washington Governor Jay Inslee tweeted earlier this month, “My budget would also offer universal home visits. This gives every new parent the opportunity to get a visit from a nurse during the first few weeks back home with their newborn to share important information and build confidence.”

House Republicans Told Not to Promote March for Life from Official Accounts

Breitbart – Friday, House Republican communication staffers were told not to use official U.S. House of Representatives accounts to promote the pro-life March for Life currently underway in Washington, D.C.

The advisory was sent out by House Republican Conference telling members an early email with promotional March for Life materials was in violation of House rules per the Democratic Party-controlled Franking Commission.

Hi all —

Please disregard the March for Life materials sent out yesterday. After consulting with the Franking Commission, we would like to share updated materials for Friday. Per franking rules, all member office communications must be focused on our pro-life agenda, without mention of the event or organization.

The email goes on to offer members some acceptable imagery for use in their correspondence.

World News

Second Trump-Kim summit planned in February – White House

RT – US President Donald Trump will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the end of February, the White House has announced after talks with the North Korean envoy in Washington.

North Korea’s Vice Chairman Kim Yong Chol visited Washington on Friday and reportedly spent almost two hours at the White House.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

Exclusive: Washington Post Working With Mueller Inquisition to Frame Roger Stone & Alex Jones

Infowars – The Washington Post is set to publish a false story claiming that Jerome Corsi was hired by Infowars at the behest of Roger Stone as part of a “hush money” operation and that this is a line of inquiry for the Mueller investigation into Russian collusion.

Donald Trump Addresses March for Life: Vows to Veto Pro-Abortion Bills

Breitbart – President Donald Trump addressed March for Life activists on Friday, vowing to continue protecting the unborn despite Democrats taking a majority in the House of Representatives.

“Today I have signed a letter to Congress to make clear that if they send any legislation to my desk that weakens the protection of human life, I will issue a veto,” Trump said. “And we have the support to uphold those vetos.”

The president addressed the crowds gathering for the March for Life in Washington, D.C., via a pre-recorded video address.

Florida Governor Suspends County Elections Supervisor

Newsmax – Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is suspending a county elections supervisor who failed to meet deadlines during recounts after November’s election.

DeSantis announced Friday that he is replacing Palm Beach elections supervisor Susan Bucher, a former Democratic state representative who has held the position since 2008.

Lawmaker starts packing pistol to send message to potentially violent protesters

Fox – A Virginia state senator this week began openly carrying a .38-caliber revolver strapped to her hip, calling it a “deterrent” against confrontational protesters and other potential threats.

Sen. Amanda Chase, a Republican freshman legislator, said she became concerned for her safety Monday after a group of immigration activists confronted her colleague, state Sen. Richard H. Black, over his bill to ban sanctuary cities.

The next day, Chase — who claims she has long held a concealed carry permit — was seen in the Virginia state Capitol in Richmond, visibly wearing a revolver.

“I’ve had people get in my face. I’ve had people come up and try to touch me inappropriately,” Chase told reporters. “I’ve had threats. I’ve had stalkers since I’ve been in the General Assembly.”

But Chase insisted she would not “be intimidated by people who would try to physically harm me.”

Prominent Democratic donor Terry Bean indicted on sex abuse charges

Fox – Prominent Democrat donor Terry Bean was indicted earlier this month on two counts of sodomy and one count of sex abuse for allegedly having sex with a teenage boy.

Bean was arraigned Thursday on the charges, TV station KGW8 reported. He pleaded not guilty and was taken into custody at Lane County jail in Oregon. He was released Thursday and told KGW8 he was “innocent.”

The indictment was filed on Jan. 4 but made public following the arraignment.

Economy & Business

Russia Surpasses China in Gold Holdings

RT – The Central Bank of Russia reported purchasing 8.5 million troy ounces of gold in January-November 2018. With its 67.6 million ounces of gold Russia is now the world’s fifth largest holder behind the US, Germany, France and Italy.

China dropped to sixth place as it reported an increase in gold reserves just once in more than two years – to 59.6 million ounces in December 2018 from 59.2 million ounces in October 2016.

Industry sources told Reuters that Western sanctions against Russia lifted the country’s gold buying to record highs in 2018. One of the reasons Russia’s Central Bank was betting on the yellow metal was because it could not be frozen or blacklisted, sources explained.

Stocks rally on trade hopes, dollar set for first positive week of 2019

Reuters – Major stock indexes rose worldwide on Friday and the dollar was on track for its first positive week this year, boosted by optimism that the trade conflict between the United States and China may come to an end.

China Exploits U.S. Waivers for $3 Billion Oil Development Deal with Iran

Breitbart – China is taking advantage of waivers from Iran sanctions granted by the United States to pitch a $3 billion oil field development to Iran, even as European nations are halting their purchases of Iranian crude.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday an offer from the China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (also known as Sinopec) to the state-run National Iranian Oil Company to develop the Yadavaran oil field in western Iran. The proposal envisioned doubling the output of the field to 180,000 a day within six months.

Insiders reportedly described the deal as China driving a “hard bargain” with “stringent demands” because Iran’s position is so desperate. With European customers backing away from the Iranian market under U.S. sanctions, the Chinese believe Iran has little choice but accepting a deal that includes buying all-Chinese equipment for the oil field and squeezing immediate reimbursement for testing costs out of the Iranians. The Journal suggested Iran would never accept such a deal under less stressful circumstances.

Science & Technology

Govt UFO Program Funded Studies on Extra Dimensions

Newsmax – The government funded research on wormholes, dark energy, invisibility cloaking and the manipulation of extra dimensions, Motherboard is reporting.

The website said the funds came through the Department of Defenses’ Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification program.

The Defense Intelligence Agency released a list of the funded research titles on Wednesday. The release came after Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

The titles included:

  • “Traversable Wormholes, Stargates and Negative Energy,” led by Eric David of EarthTech International.
  • “Invisibility Cloaking” headed by Ulf Leonhardt, a professor of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.
  • “Warp Drive, Dark Energy, and the Manipulation of Extra Dimension” led by theoretical physicist Richard Obousy.

“The list of research papers tells us something more than previous reporting did about this odd program,” Aftergood told Motherboard. Now we have a better idea of exactly what the Defense Intelligence Agency was up to, and what it produced.”

Scientists Finally Know What Time It Is on Saturn

NASA – Using new data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, researchers believe they have solved a longstanding mystery of solar system science: the length of a day on Saturn. It’s 10 hours, 33 minutes and 38 seconds.

The figure has eluded planetary scientists for decades, because the gas giant has no solid surface with landmarks to track as it rotates, and it has an unusual magnetic field that hides the planet’s rotation rate.

The answer, it turned out, was hidden in the rings.

During Cassini’s orbits of Saturn, instruments examined the icy, rocky rings in unprecedented detail. Christopher Mankovich, a graduate student in astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz, used the data to study wave patterns within the rings.

His work determined that the rings respond to vibrations within the planet itself, acting similarly to the seismometers used to measure movement caused by earthquakes. The interior of Saturn vibrates at frequencies that cause variations in its gravitational field. The rings, in turn, detect those movements in the field.

“Particles throughout the rings can’t help but feel these oscillations in the gravity field,” Mankovich said. “At specific locations in the rings these oscillations catch ring particles at just the right time in their orbits to gradually build up energy, and that energy gets carried away as an observable wave.”

Mankovich’s research, published Jan. 17 by Astrophysical Journal, describes how he developed models of Saturn’s internal structure that would match the rings’ waves. That allowed him to track the movements of the interior of the planet — and thus, its rotation.

The rotation rate of 10:33:38 that the analysis yielded is several minutes faster than previous estimates in 1981, which were based on radio signals from NASA’s Voyager spacecraft.

The analysis of Voyager data, which estimated the day to be 10:39:23, was based on magnetic field information. Cassini used magnetic field data, too, but earlier estimates ranged from 10:36 all the way to 10:48.

Scientists often rely on magnetic fields to measure planets’ rotation rates. Jupiter’s magnetic axis, like Earth’s, is not aligned with its rotational axis. So it swings around as the planet rotates, enabling scientists to measure a periodic signal in radio waves to get the rotation rate. However, Saturn is different. Its unique magnetic field is nearly perfectly aligned with its rotational axis.

This is why the rings finding has been key to homing in on the length of day. Saturn scientists are elated to have the best answer yet to such a central question about the planet.

“The researchers used waves in the rings to peer into Saturn’s interior, and out popped this long-sought, fundamental characteristic of the planet. And it’s a really solid result,” said Cassini Project Scientist Linda Spilker. “The rings held the answer.”

Facebook Refuses Ads for ‘Roe v. Wade’ Film

Breitbart – Social media giant Facebook has allegedly refused to allow the upcoming Roe v. Wade film to run advertisements on its platform under the new “issues of national importance” rule, treating the movie as if it were a political ad.

The producers and writers behind the upcoming film Roe v. Wade starring Jon Voight and Stacey Dash, which tells the story surrounding the landmark legal case legalizing abortion, recently attempted to advertise the film on Facebook but were denied under Facebook’s new “issues of national importance” rules.

The ad that Loeb and Allen attempted to run was simply a link to a Hollywood Reporter article about the film. The ad featured a link to a post featuring a picture of actor Jon Voight along with the hashtag #BringRoevWadeToLife.

Health

Ibuprofen Alters Human Physiology

Mercola – Taking 1,200 mg of ibuprofen for six weeks, commonly used in chronic pain, induced compensated hypogonadism, a condition in which a reduction in luteinizing hormone causes the body to work harder to produce testosterone, a situation which may lead to overt hypogonadism where testosterone levels drop.

Data demonstrates human sperm count and concentration is dropping worldwide, likely related to multiple factors, including exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals, temperature, lifestyle factors and weight, to name a few.

Many take ibuprofen in amounts higher than recommended on the bottle, in spite of multiple studies demonstrating it is associated with heart, muscle, kidney and liver damage.

Drug-free pain control is possible in many cases; begin with ensuring you get at least eight hours of quality sleep each night and radically reduce your grain and sugar intake to minimize inflammation; optimize your vitamin D level and try the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)

Researchers see possible link between opioids, birth defect

Fox – Health officials are looking into a possible link between prescription opioids and a horrific birth defect.

When a baby is born with its intestines hanging outside the stomach, due to a hole in the abdominal wall, it’s called gastroschisis. Most are repaired through surgery.

Health officials are looking into a possible link between prescription opioids and a horrific birth defect.

When a baby is born with its intestines hanging outside the stomach, due to a hole in the abdominal wall, it’s called gastroschisis. Most are repaired through surgery.

Also Thursday, the CDC’s director and two other agency officials wrote a commentary in the journal Pediatrics urging more study of the possible connection between opioids and birth defects.

Cucumbers prevent memory loss

NaturalNews – If you’re looking to improve your diet, one of the things that you should consider including in it are cucumbers. These are among the healthiest foods in the world and yet a lot of people overlook their nutritional value. Before tossing away the cucumbers in your salad or sandwich because they taste a bit plain, consider their many health benefits, which includes preventing memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease.

This effect of cucumbers was determined by researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. In their study, they used mice as animal models for Alzheimer’s and its associated symptoms, such as memory loss. They found that mice that were given a daily dose of the flavonol called fisetin, which is found in cucumbers and other plant-based foods, exhibited a delay in the development of memory loss and Alzheimer’s symptoms. In some cases, these symptoms were even prevented completely.

Another astounding discovery that the researchers made was that these improvements could be observed even if the mice continued to develop amyloid plaques, which are believed to be the major contributors to the progression and development of Alzheimer’s. Moreover, mice that did not have the neurodegenerative disorder still exhibited memory improvements after receiving fisetin.

Fisetin is believed to improve memory by triggering a cellular pathway that involves the part of the brain that retrieves memories. Additionally, this flavonol has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that are effective on brain cells, thereby preventing them from aging and its associated effects.

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