Today's News: November 13, 2018

Top Headlines

Georgia Election Fraud: With Stacey Abrams’ Sister Presiding Over Campaign Lawsuits, This Can’t End Well
DC Clothesline – Of course, all of this is an attempt to force a runoff between what is arguably one of the most incompetent gubernatorial candidates, Stacey Abrams, and her Republican opponent, Brian Kemp. Kemp has tried to get her to concede defeat after losing last Tuesday. However, look at how Democrats are manipulating and engaging in what is clearly vote manipulation and voter fraud, and in Abrams’ case, even having a sister as the judge presiding over the campaign lawsuits in Georgia. Talk about corruption and a conflict of interest!
First, Peter D’Aborsca reported:
Friday, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia granted the Georgia Democratic Party’s request to allow absentee ballots trickling in from Dougherty County to be counted, as long as they were postmarked on or before Nov. 6 or received by Friday. The county’s election results now will not be certified until Tuesday.
Abrams’ sister, Leslie Abrams, happens to be an Obama-appointed District Court Judge on that same circuit, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. Any lawsuit filed by the campaign in this court will face result in this obvious conflict of interest.
Of course, the Abrams campaign is in full campaign mode as the engage in robocalls, texts and emails to gin up support, and I mean that in terms of money and making a fuss to try and advance her ludicrous claims that there needs to be a runoff.

US judge delays certification of Georgia election results
Al Jazeera – A US federal judge has ordered the state of Georgia to take steps to ensure provisional ballots are not improperly rejected and to wait until Friday to certify the results of the midterm elections that include an unsettled race for governor.

Palestinian groups agree to Egyptian-brokered truce with Israel
Al Jazeera – Factions in the besieged Gaza Strip say they have agreed to a ceasefire to end flare-up of violence.

Democrats Introduce Bill Banning Sales and Advertisements for Gun Parts Kits
Breitbart – Democrats in the House quietly put forward a ban on 80 percent frames and gun parts kits while Americans were focused on voting and watching the outcome of the midterm elections.
The legislation, HR 7115, is sponsored by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and has 16 Democrats as co-sponsors.
The states purpose of “the legislation is to prevent the sale, possession, or advertising, of 80 percent receivers, gun parts kits, etc.

Brexit: UK and EU ‘agree text’ of draft withdrawal agreement
BBC- UK and EU officials have agreed the draft text of a Brexit agreement after months of negotiations in Brussels.
A cabinet source told the BBC that the document has been agreed at a technical level by officials from both sides after intensive discussions this week.
A special cabinet meeting will be held at 14:00 GMT on Wednesday as Theresa May seeks ministers’ backing.
The PM is meeting ministers in Downing Street for one-to-one talks as they are given sight of the draft agreement.
The pound surged against the dollar and the euro – but analysts warned it could be short-lived, with the cabinet and Parliament yet to agree to the plans.
The EU said it would “take stock” on Wednesday, and the Irish government said negotiations were “ongoing and have not concluded”.

World News

US Calls for Ceasefire, Keeps Attacking Yemen
Global Research – In case you missed it, US efforts to prolong the world’s most serious humanitarian crisis in Yemen continue to succeed spectacularly. US military support enables the Saudi coalition to continue to bomb markets, docks, mosques, hospitals, school buses, weddings and funerals, and other civilian targets with impunity. The Saudis’ Yemeni enemy, the Houthi rebels, have no effective air defenses.
The US and the coalition are the main attackers of most of the Yemeni people. The best defense for the Yemeni people is for the attackers to stop attacking, since the Yemenis remain well within their own borders. The only part of Yemen under actual Yemeni control is the northwest, where the native Houthis have governed since 2014. Southeastern Yemen is titularly under the control of the “legitimate” Yemeni government (based in Riyadh), but is effectively under a military dictatorship run by the United Arab Emirates. Eastern Yemen, which is thinly populated, is under fragmentary control of multiple forces, including ISIS and al-Qaeda, whose fortunes have been greatly enhanced by the US-Saudi obsession with preventing the Houthis from controlling their own country.
Mattis is trying to put rouge on a monster and call it beautiful. US policy in Yemen continues to be based on profound lies with no moral justification. Oh look, Mattis seems to say, we’re washing our hands of refueling bombers committing war crimes. Even in its narrow truth, this does nothing to support life or peace, and US hands remain drenched in blood.

China’s silent invasion of Western universities
The Star – Waterloo, Toronto and McGill universities are touting their ranks among the best universities in the world.
They also have the dubious distinction of ranking in the top 10 universities outside of China for collaboration with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) — the armed wing of the Communist Party of China — as measured by the number of peer-reviewed publications co-authored by PLA researchers between 2006 and 2017.
According to the PLA Daily, the National University of Defence and Technology (NUDT) and similar institutions have been “picking flowers in foreign lands to make honey in China.” Since 2007 they have sponsored over 2,500 military scientists and engineers to infiltrate universities abroad, leverage overseas expertise, research and training and strategically develop relationships with researchers and institutions in technologically advanced countries to improve military technology.
According to Australia’s Strategic Policy Institute, the PLA’s collaboration is greatest in the United States and the United Kingdom (about 500 each), Canada and Australia (300 each) and Germany and Singapore (about 100 each) — and is often unwittingly supported by taxpayers.
Operatives actively disguise their military affiliations, such as claiming to be from non-existent academic institutions, to work in areas such as hypersonic missiles, navigation technology, quantum physics, signal processing, cryptography, and autonomous vehicles.
PLA scientists sent abroad are Chinese Communist Party members who return to China. Western universities and governments seem ignorant of what the PLA refers to as “civil-military fusion” to modernize the PLA. Clear government policy direction is lacking on what President Xi Jinping has described as a cornerstone of People’s Republic of China national defence reform to build strategic capabilities and a strong military.

Trump Reminds French President: You’d Be Under Nazi Rule If Not For US
Infowars – The war of words between President Trump and his French counterpart has heated up again with Trump reminding Emmanuel Macron that if it were not for the US, France would be a German speaking nation now.
“They were starting to learn German in Paris before the US came along,” Trump tweeted, adding “Pay for NATO or not!”
Trump’s initial tweet touches on the fact that the proposal of a European-wide army, and even an empire, as suggested Monday by France’s finance minister, led directly to two world wars.

Breaking: Leaked Documents Show Mueller Investigation Found No Russian Collusion
Infowars – Editor’s note: As we’ve reported a month ago – and in Trump’s own statements – the fact is, the investigation is essentially over and nothing substantial has been found – that’s the FBI’s very own findings. They found no concrete evidence of any collusion by anyone in the Trump administration, and this was leaked exclusively to One America News Network. The president has already signaled this but the investigation is going to want a couple of dubious indictments at the end using process charges to give the appearance of at least some criminality.
One America News has been extended unprecedented first-hand knowledge into the inside workings of Robert Mueller’s Russian collusion investigation, and the latest status after a year and a half ongoing efforts.
One America staff reporters have spent over five hours reviewing detailed, behind close doors, investigation questioning from those in the room.
Our sources tell us:

Mueller’s investigators have been focused on determining whether there was direct or indirect communications with WikiLeaks and Russian sources loosely associated with the 2016 Trump campaign.

Specifically, Mueller’s team has been aggressively drilling down to determine if there was any advance knowledge of anyone remotely associated with the Trump campaign, and advanced notice of the leaked DNC documents and hacked John Podesta’s email.
Mueller”s investigation team has thoroughly investigated all known possible individuals with potential advanced knowledge of the leaked documents. A number of individuals have been interrogated, some multiple times to date. Documents in at least the hundreds of thousands have been reviewed. Computer equipment has been reviewed by top electronic forensic teams, and a long list of individuals have been subpoenaed and interrogated.
The list includes well known names such as Steve Bannon, Dr. Jerome Corsi, Tandy Credico, Theodore “Ted” Roosevelt Malloch, Sam Nunsberg, and Roger Stone.
Our sources tell us that Mueller’s investigators have aggressively interrogated these individuals and have used common coercion tactics with the threat of perjury charges unless unfettered cooperation was extended.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

CNN sues President Trump and top White House aides for barring Jim Acosta
CNN has filed a lawsuit against President Trump and several of his aides, seeking the immediate restoration of chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s access to the White House.
The lawsuit is a response to the White House’s suspension of Acosta’s press pass, known as a Secret Service “hard pass,” last week. The suit alleges that Acosta and CNN’s First and Fifth Amendment rights are being violated by the ban.
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday morning.

State of Maryland asks judge to declare Rosenstein acting attorney general
NBC – Trump bypassed Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who is overseeing the special counsel investigation, in favor of Matt Whitaker for acting AG.

California Fire Death Toll Now at 44 With Discovery of 13 More Bodies
NYT – As emergency workers picked through fire-ravaged communities in Northern California on Monday, they recovered 13 more bodies, turning the largest wildfire in the state’s history into its deadliest as well.
Forty-four people have died since three wildfires broke out late last week. And countless other residents narrowly escaped with their lives, their close calls never to be forgotten.
Allyn Pierce was trapped by a wall of fire as he tried to flee the flames coming closer and closer to his truck. Chris Gonzalez counted the ever-narrowing escape routes from his home as the highlands around him erupted into flames. Rebecca Hackett was engulfed by a red-orange hellscape as she sped toward safety in her car.
“I was like, ‘I think I’m done,’” said Mr. Pierce, a registered nurse who was trapped in traffic in Paradise, Calif., where most of the community was burned. “I just kept thinking, ‘I’m going to die in melting plastic.’”

Trump Reportedly Plans to Fire Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen
Splinter – Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen will be the next Trump Administration official on the chopping block, according to a report from the Washington Post. Trump has reportedly told advisors that he will fire Nielsen in the next few weeks if not sooner, five current and former White House officials told the Post.
Trump has apparently spent months complaining about Nielsen’s performance, and is particularly critical of her border enforcement strategy.
It’s possible that Trump could change his mind—we heard for months that he was considering firing former Attorney General Jeff Sessions before finally forcing him to resign last week. Aides told the Post that Chief of Staff John Kelly is trying to convince the president to keep Nielsen, or at least postpone her departure.

Trump considers a cabinet reshuffle, eyes new DHS secretary & chief of staff – reports
RT – US President Donald Trump is again preparing to shake up his administration, eyeing removal of the Homeland Security secretary and the Chief of Staff, US media reports, citing anonymous sources within the White House.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen might lose her job as soon as this week, according to the Wall Street Journal. Trump has cancelled a planned trip with Nielsen to visit troops at the US-Mexico border, telling his aides that he wanted her out as soon as possible, five former and current White House officials told the newspaper.
Nielsen has reportedly been disgruntled with her job, as Trump has berated her during Cabinet meetings and branded her a “Bushie” months ago, as she used to serve under President George W. Bush. However, she is supposedly reluctant to leave the post before reaching the one-year mark.
The DHS dodged requests for comment on the secretary’s rumored departure, releasing only a vague statement.
“The Secretary is honored to lead the men and women of DHS and is committed to implementing the President’s security-focused agenda to protect Americans from all threats and will continue to do so,” the DHS said on Monday.
The rumors of Nielsen’s imminent departure were reinforced by ABC’s reporting on Tuesday.

Soros-Funded Groups Defended Broward’s Brenda Snipes in Lawsuit Alleging Inaccurate Voter Rosters
Breitbart – Broward County Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes was recently assisted by two organizations financed by billionaire activist George Soros in response to a lawsuit from a conservative group accusing her of maintaining inaccurate voter rolls.

The Deep State imprisons another good guy
WND – Democrats are gloating over the sentencing of former Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas, last week. He was ordered to serve 10 years in prison for the vague charges of mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. Whenever prosecutors want to get someone who hasn’t actually committed a crime, they use those vague but scary-sounding charges. He was also ordered to pay $1,014,718.51 in restitution, to be divided between him and two other co-defendants.
What did Stockman actually do to warrant this? He facilitated four donations from two donors totaling $915,000 to two nonprofits he was associated with. One of the nonprofits spent some of the money on a campaign mailer showing the differences between Stockman and the senator he was running against. It is a (c)4, and its purpose was to educate voters. The mailer did not endorse Stockman or tell people how to vote, so it did not run afoul of campaign laws. The donors were fine with how their money was used, which was mostly for youth education.
But prosecutors said it constituted fraud. They said Stockman stole charitable contributions and used them for personal expenses. The truth is, he never benefited personally but took some pay before he ran for office. He was a fundraiser for the nonprofits before he was in office. The nonprofit merely chose to spend some of the money later on a campaign mailer. Stockman’s charitable efforts were ignored. He was recognized for hiring the handicapped including the deaf, blind and mentally handicapped. Gallaudet University, the first school of higher education for the deaf, gave him an award for his efforts.
Stockman was charged with money laundering and wire fraud in part because Wells Fargo opened a new savings account for him. But this was a well-known scandal that was the fault of Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo opened up millions of fraudulent savings and checking accounts on behalf of Wells Fargo clients without their permission. They ended up paying a fine of $185 million.
The case against Stockman was so weak it took prosecutors four grand juries to finally get an indictment. It took four years to investigate what should have been a six month investigation. It cost $15-20 million to go on a fishing expedition, which included intimidating witnesses.
Benjamin Wetmore, a key witness for the prosecution and an attorney for one of the nonprofits, says Stockman is completely innocent. He described what happened, “If you can get away with the lie to exert maximum political and personal damage on someone, it doesn’t matter if a correction gets printed later, or if an appeal succeeds; all that the masses remember is the original hit.

Kyrsten Sinema Declared Winner in Arizona Senate Race
NYT – Representative Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat and former social worker, scored a groundbreaking victory in the race for a Senate seat in Arizona, defeating her Republican opponent after waging a campaign in which she embraced solidly centrist positions.
Ms. Sinema’s victory over Martha McSally, a Republican congresswoman and former Air Force pilot, marks the first Democratic triumph since 1976 in a battle for an open Senate seat in Arizona. Ms. Sinema takes the seat being vacated by Jeff Flake, a Republican who is leaving the Senate after repeated clashes with President Trump.
Ms. Sinema’s victory guarantees the Democrats at least 47 Senate seats. Republicans control 51, with two still undecided: Florida, where there is a recount, and Mississippi, where there is a runoff.

Economy & Business

Bezos vs. the working class: Amazon’s new headquarters meets public backlash
RT – Amazon has named New York City and Crystal City, Virginia, as the locations for its second and third headquarters. While the move will bring billions of dollars to these areas, locals fear spiralling rents and displacement.
The online retail giant made the announcement on Tuesday, putting an end to a year of competition between more than 230 cities, who sought to lure the megacorporation with tax breaks and promises of infrastructural development. Each of the locations can now expect to take a share of 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in investment.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was ecstatic when discussing the then-unfinalized move on Monday night. “We’re talking about the single biggest economic development deal in the history of New York City,” he said.
Locals in Long Island City – the proposed location for the HQ – aren’t exactly thrilled. The area has seen rents skyrocket in recent years, a problem that they fear Amazon’s arrival will exacerbate. More rental units have been added here between 2010 and 2016 than in any other neighborhood nationwide, many of them luxury condos and high-rise apartments. Prices in this area have climbed almost ten percent since rumors of Amazon’s decision began circulating earlier this month.
Local realtor Patrick Smith told CNN that “buyers are asking if they can make an offer without seeing the apartment.”
Newly-minted congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described socialist, said that Amazon’s move will price the area’s long-term working class residents out of the area. She said that many of these residents have contacted her with their concerns.

Iran looks to triple trade with Iraq after US sanctions
CS Monitor – For Iranian companies, the annual Baghdad International Fair is a major event, as exporters in carpets, foodstuffs, and heavy equipment look to score sales in Iraq’s import-dependent economy.
But this year’s edition, running this week, is an even bigger deal than usual: Iran, already feeling the bite of newly re-imposed unilateral United States sanctions, is turning to its neighbor to soak up its exports in agriculture, manufacturing, and energy.

Science & Technology

China and Russia suspected of hijacking Google internet traffic in ‘war game experiment’
South China Morning Post – Service interruptions lasted for nearly two hours and ended about 5.30pm New York time, network service companies said. In addition to Russian and Chinese telecommunications companies, a Nigerian internet provider was also involved.
The diversion “at a minimum caused a massive denial of service to G Suite (business collaboration tools) and Google Search” and “put valuable Google traffic in the hands of ISPs (internet service providers) in countries with a long history of internet surveillance”, the network-intelligence company ThousandEyes said in a blog post.
A Google status page noted that “access to some Google services was impacted” and said the cause was “external to Google”. The company offered little more information.
The type of traffic misdirection employed, known as border gateway protocol hijacking, can knock essential services offline and be used in espionage and financial theft. It can result either from misconfiguration – usually due to human error – or from malicious action.
Most network traffic to Google services – 94 per cent as of October 27 – is encrypted, which shields it from prying eyes even if diverted.
Alex Henthorn-Iwane, an executive at ThousandEyes, called Monday’s incident the worst affecting Google his San Francisco company has seen.

Health

Sucralose: 5 Reasons to Avoid This Artificial Sweetener
Dr. Axe – Many of our friends and family members have been duped to believe that artificial sweeteners like Splenda® are saviors to prevent diabetes and obesity. However, nothing is further from the truth. The health risks associated with the ingredients in Splenda, or sucralose, are extensive and downright scary. As research continues to investigate the details, more negative effects are surfacing!
Sucralose is one of the top artificial sweeteners that’s used globally in reduced-calorie and diet foods and beverages. Although it’s marketed as a better alternative for your figure, the health profile for sucralose has raised concerns among researchers. The many sucralose side effects and dangers can’t be ignored. Don’t buy in to the marketing scheme that this fake sweetener is better for your health.
Instead of grabbing those yellow packets of Splenda and turning to “sugar free” products in hopes of cutting calories, opt for healthier sugar substitutes that give your recipes a natural sweetness and provide antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and even fiber.
Sucralose Side Effects and Dangers

May Cause Diabetes
Increases Risk of IBS and Crohn’s Disease
Linked to Leaky Gut
May Generate Toxic (and Carcinogenic) Compounds When Heated
Associated with Weight Gain

Baobab: the Anti-Inflammatory, Antiviral, Antimicrobial & Antioxidant Superfood Fruit
Dr. Axe – Looking for another incredible superfood to add to your life? Look no further than baobab! Baobab, also known as “the tree of life,” has been as a food and a medicine (and more) for centuries. Every part of the tree can be used, and it’s an excellent source of key nutrients, including vitamin C, potassium and iron.
Baobab fruit and powder are believed to have anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. Traditionally, baobab leaves, bark and seeds have been employed as a “panacea,” as in something to treat almost any disease. We’re talking about diseases ranging from serious concerns like malaria, tuberculosis and microbial infections to more common health problems like toothaches, diarrhea and fevers. (1)
With a tangy citrus-like flavor, you can add baobab powder to smoothies, homemade healthy desserts, salad dressings and more to reap the highly desirable baobab benefits. And not only is baobab an incredible health food, but baobab tree facts are quite astonishing from its ability to store large amounts of water in its trunk to its extremely long life of hundreds to even thousands of years!
5 Health Benefits of Baobab