Today's News: October 05, 2018

World News

French police probe disappearance of Interpol president
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French authorities have opened an inquiry into the disappearance of Meng Hongwei, the Chinese head of international police agency Interpol, after he returned to his home country, a person familiar with the situation said. Mr Meng travelled to China in September, according to the person, who added that Mr Meng’s wife had reported him missing to the authorities. The investigation has been opened by the prosecutor’s office in Lyon, the French city where Interpol is based.

Feds beef up bill to prevent foreign interference in Canadian elections
The Canadian Press – he Trudeau government is beefing up legislation aimed at making it easier for Canadians to vote and harder for foreign entities to interfere in federal elections.
It has sponsored a number of amendments to Bill C-76, including one that would ban advocacy groups from ever using money from foreign entities to conduct partisan campaigns.
When the bill was introduced last spring, the government proposed only to prohibit the use of foreign money by so-called third parties during the weeks immediately prior to an election being called and during the actual campaign, known as the pre-writ and writ periods.
It is now proposing a blanket ban on the use of foreign funds at any time for the purpose of supporting or opposing a political party or candidate.

UK Primary School Teacher Has Children Write Love Letter From Prince to Male Servant to Teach ‘Diversity’
Christian News – A primary school teacher was featured in a recent BBC video as she gave an assignment to six-year-old children to write a love letter from a prince to his male servant, convincing him to “marry” him. The controversial assignment has received mixed reaction from viewers, as some support the idea and others find it wrong to present such concepts to impressionable minds.
The video, posted to the BBC’s social media page on Sept. 18, features Sarah Hopson of Bewsey Lodge Primary School in Warrington, as she explains to the children that she wants them to write the love letter as if they were the prince.
“You’re Prince Henry. You’re going to tell Thomas why it’s a brilliant idea for him to marry you,” she explains to the students.
The video shows the children sitting at their desk with lined paper bordered with hearts, writing “Dear Thomas” letters.

Bolton: World Court ‘Allowed Iran to Use It as a Forum for Propaganda’
Breitbart – National Security Adviser John Bolton on Wednesday strongly denounced the International Court for Justice (ICJ) ruling in favor of Iran against U.S. sanctions.
Speaking from the White House, Bolton said Iranian support for terrorism “made a mockery” of the 1955 treaty cited as the basis for the ruling and the U.S. is disappointed the court “allowed Iran to use it as a forum for propaganda.”
Bolton is a longtime critic of international courts, having noted their propensity for rendering politicized judgments and allowing themselves to be abused by authoritarian regimes. In September, he blasted the International Criminal Court for threatening to charge U.S. intelligence officers in Afghanistan with war crimes.

Russia to supply India with 5 S-400 systems, defying Washington sanctions
RT – A contract for the delivery of five S-400 systems, one of Russia’s most advanced anti-aircraft weapons, has been signed between Moscow and New Delhi, the Kremlin has confirmed.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

Senate votes to advance Kavanaugh nomination, setting up final vote for Saturday
Fox – The Senate voted Friday to end debate on Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination, moving the chamber to a final vote Saturday evening amid a rancorous fight over decades-old sexual assault allegations against him.

Sen. Jeff Flake indicates he will vote yes to make Kavanaugh a Supreme Court justice
Washington Post – The Senate advanced Brett M. Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination in a key procedural vote Friday morning, putting him one step closer to confirmation and ending a deeply partisan and rancorous fight that has resonated well beyond Washington.
The chamber voted 51 to 49 to advance the nomination after Republican leaders secured the votes of two GOP senators and one Democrat who had not publicly announced their intentions before arriving to vote. A final confirmation vote could come Saturday.

Murkowski: Kavanaugh ‘not the right man for the court’
Politico – The Alaska Republican calls her decision to oppose him ‘the most difficult’ of her Senate career.
Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she arrived at her decision to vote against Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court at the last possible moment Friday before opposing him on the Senate floor.
“The truth is that none of this has been fair,” Murkowski said, including to Kavanaugh. Murkowski called Kavanaugh “a good man” but added that he’s “not the right man for the court.”
“I did not come to a decision on this until walking into the vote this morning,” Murkowski said.
Murkowski was the lone Republican to oppose advancing Kavanaugh’s nomination on Friday morning. She described a long attempt to grapple with “what is fair and what is right.” And she said that she had weighed the “credibility of our institutions” as part of her thought process. She also called it “the most difficult” decision she’d had to make as a senator.

2018 Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to Yazidi Activist and Congolese Doctor
New York Times – The award went to Nadia Murad, 25, who became the voice and face of women who survived sexual violence by the Islamic State, and to Dr. Denis Mukwege, 63, who has treated thousands of women in a country once called the rape capital of the world.
They have worked through grave risks to their own lives to help survivors and bring their stories to the world.

American Bar Association reopens Kavanaugh evaluation
PBS – The nation’s largest legal organization is reopening its evaluation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh based on his performance during a Senate hearing last week.
The American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary said Friday it’s revisiting its evaluation based on “new information of a material nature regarding temperament.” It said it was unlikely the process will conclude before the Senate votes on Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Kavanaugh touted his “well-qualified” rating from the ABA committee during angry, emotional testimony last week, in which he denied sexual misconduct allegations.
The ABA was among the organizations that had called for an FBI investigation of allegations against Kavanaugh. That probe was completed this week.
Friday’s letter says the original “well-qualified” rating stands, for now.

US swimming authorities to let athletes choose to compete as male or female
RT – The US swimming authorities have voted to introduce a new “stated gender” section for registering athletes who want to choose which gender they compete as.
The proposal, known as R-1, was voted on by USA Swimming’s annual House of Delegates (HOD).

Officer convicted of killing black teenager Laquan McDonald
News & Observer – white Chicago police officer was convicted of second-degree murder Friday in the 2014 shooting of a black teenager that was captured on shocking dashcam video that showed him crumpling to the ground in a hail of 16 bullets as he was walking away from officers.
The video, some of the most graphic police footage to emerge in years, stoked outrage nationwide, and the high-stakes trial gripped the nation’s third-largest city for nearly three years. The shooting also led to a federal government inquiry and calls to reform the Chicago Police Department.
Jason Van Dyke, 40, was the first Chicago officer to be charged with murder for an on-duty shooting in more than 50 years. He was taken into custody moments after the verdict was read.

Economy & Business

Unemployment rate falls to 3.7 percent, lowest since 1969
Washington Post – The unemployment rate fell to 3.7 percent in September, its lowest level since 1969, the Labor Department reported Friday. President Trump quickly celebrated the news on Twitter, and many forecasters predict the jobless rate will decline even more in the months to come.

Science & Technology

The Wifi Alliance, Coming Soon to Your Neighborhood: 5G Wireless
Global Research – Just as any new technology claims to offer the most advanced development; that their definition of progress will cure society’s ills or make life easier by eliminating the drudgery of antiquated appliances, the Wifi Alliance was organized as a worldwide wireless network to connect ‘everyone and everything, everywhere” as it promised “improvements to nearly every aspect of daily life.”
“5G small cell antennas will unleash round-the-clock millimeter, mini and micro wave radiation immensely more powerful than the current EMF wireless system and will no doubt be sold to a gullible American public as an economically beneficial national jobs program.“

China Snuck A Tiny Microchip Inside Servers Used By The DoD And CIA
By Jared Keller – The Chinese military surreptitiously inserted tiny microchips no larger than single grains of rice into servers on local assembly lines in order to gain access to data networks run by U.S. government agencies ranging from the Department of Defense to the Central Intelligence Agency, according to an explosive investigation from Bloomberg.

Scientists unveil plan to stave off global pandemics with a Noah’s Ark… of bacteria
RT – A Noah’s Ark of germs may not sound like the most appealing doomsday plan, but scientists believe such a collection could help save us from the threat of out of control pandemics caused by the effects of industrialization.
A group of researchers have warned that we are facing “a growing global health crisis,” as the microbes that live in our bodies and help us fight illness are being erased due to growing urbanization, increased dependency on antibiotics, and processed foods.

Defensive bioweapon? DARPA wants insects to spread genetically modified viruses… to ‘save crops’
RT – A US military program dubbed ‘Insect Allies’ could be used as a biological weapon, a group of European scientists warns. The Pentagon’s research arm claims they are intended to defend crops, but doesn’t deny ‘dual-use’ potential.
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology and the University of Freiburg in Germany, as well as the University of Montpellier, France, have published a critique of the program, dubbed “Insect Allies,” in the October 5 edition of Science.
They argue that “the knowledge to be gained from this program appears very limited in its capacity to enhance US agriculture or respond to national emergencies” and therefore the program “may be widely perceived as an effort to develop biological agents for hostile purposes and their means of delivery,” which would mean a breach of the Biological Weapons Convention.

Health

Excessive inflammation linked to rapid and severe bone loss, according to study
NaturalNews – One day, you’re walking in the park without a care in the world. The next day, you’re bound to your chair and unable to walk because of swollen feet and ankles – all because of joint inflammation.
The results of a recent study, however, do not just limit the effects of inflammation to immobilizing a person. The study, published in the Journal of Dental Research, indicated that too much swelling destroys bones. The University of Buffalo research team explained that the absence of the protein tristetraprolin (TTP), which controls inflammation, makes even healthy mice develop the bones of its much older counterparts. In the span of nine months, mice without TTP lost almost 20 percent of their oral bone.
In the same study, researchers revealed that mice without the gene for TIP aged faster than the rest. They had periodontitis, an inflammatory illness that damages gums, destroys the jaw bone and even causes tooth loss. The mice also had arthritis, eczema and other inflammatory problems.
Beating inflammation
So, how do you beat this enemy called chronic inflammation before it destroys your bones forever?

Drink more water. Without this cleansing agent, your body can’t flush toxins out of its system. Your ever-alert immune system triggers an inflammatory response. Besides, water is always available and a lot cheaper than soda.
Prepare food properly. Soak nuts and seeds before eating to take out anti-nutrients. Cruciferous vegetables usually fight inflammation. But they can stress out your digestive system if not properly cooked. Simmer, saute, bake, or steam these greens to get the most out of it.
Stay away from potential allergens. Avoid food that brings you allergies because they can cause inflammation.
Relax. Don’t stress yourself out at home, at work or in school. Stress raises the level of cortisol, which in turn leads to inflammation.
Get your daily fix of clean air. Shun toxins like polluted air, radiation, strong chemicals, nicotine and others that cause inflammation.
Slow down on sugar. High sugar levels rev up the immune system and cause inflammation. So stay away from sugary drinks, pastries, candy and others that are rich in inflammation-causing sugar.
Stay away from processed foods. Too many chemicals from processed foods put stress on your detoxification system. Replace them with fruits rich in antioxidants like apples, blueberries, cherries, pineapple, raspberries, and strawberries.
Get rid of trans fats in your diet. French fries, fried, fatty foods, cake, crackers, cookies, pies, and others that contain lots of trans fats do nothing good for your body.
Take more omega-3. Add more omega-3-rich foods to your diet, such as salmon, walnuts, sardines, chia seeds, mackerel, flaxseeds and other natural sources that fight inflammation.
Avoid barbecues. es, they’re great for sharing with friends and family, especially on a warm summer day, but burnt, blackened foods cause inflammation.

Valerian Root for Anxiety
Valerian root (Valeriana officinalis), which was prominent as early as the time of the ancient Greeks,1 is one of the many herbs you can utilize if you’re experiencing sleep and anxiety-related problems. Learn more about valerian root today, including growing tips and side effects to watch out for.
If you’re having trouble sleeping or just want to improve your sleeping patterns, consider using valerian root since this is one of its main health benefits. This herb’s reputation as a sedative goes back about 2,000 years, as traditional medicine has highlighted valerian root’s capabilities to induce relaxation and sleep.
Valerian root is also known for its benefits in fighting anxiety. Studies have suggested that valerian root may help address generalized anxiety disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), whose main symptoms include anxious behaviors,18,19 and may aid in alleviating anxiety caused by stressful situations
Ancient Greeks and Romans used valerian for medicinal purposes, and well-known Greek physicians like Hippocrates and Galen highlighted the plant’s possible health-boosting effects. During the 16th century, health concerns such as nervousness, trembling, headaches and heart palpitations were also alleviated using valerian root.
The Scottish used valerian root to address indigestion, while the Irish utilized the plant to combat tuberculosis.31 Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners also relied on valerian root to help relax smooth muscles and target gastrointestinal hyperactivity.
The book “A Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs” highlights that valerian root can also be utilized as a nerve tonic and may assist in addressing headaches, irritability, depression or despondency.33 Valerian root extracts and essential oil are utilized to flavor foods and beverages, too.

Valerian Root Tea Recipe
Ingredients:

1 teaspoon of valerian root per cup (approximately 3 grams)
Hot water

Procedure:

Pour the hot water onto the valerian root.
Leave to infuse for 15 minutes.

How Scientists Are Treating Breast Cancer Using the Immune System
Time – The immune system mounts the body’s defense and offense against unwanted intrusions: bacteria, viruses and even cancer cells. Cancer, however, poses a tricky problem. Malignant cells develop from normal cells that start to grow out of control, and the immune system is specifically programmed not to attack the body’s own cells.
But scientists have found ways to retrain the body to recognize and destroy tumor cells, making immune-based treatments the newest, most promising weapon against many types of cancer. The first of these immunotherapy drugs approved to treat cancer began in the labs of James Allison of MD Anderson Cancer Center and Dr. Tasuku Honjo of Kyoto University in the 1990s. They independently discovered different ways in which the immune system is blocked from attacking tumor cells, which just earned them the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Their finding led to a new class of drugs, called checkpoint inhibitors, that allow the immune system to see cancer cells as the disease-causing rogues they are and attack them, drastically improving remission rates. In the past five years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a dozen new cancer drugs and therapies that exploit the immune system. “All cancer patients will likely receive [immunotherapy] in five years, so it’s going to be curative for a lot of them,” Allison says.