Today's News: October 24, 2018

World News

Former Interpol President Meng Hongwei’s Wife Believes He Is Dead Following His Arrest by Chinese Officials
G Edward Griffin –
Mr. Meng disappeared on September 29 while on a trip to China from France, where he and his wife live and where Interpol’s headquarters are located. Beijing officials announced they arrested him on charges of accepting bribes. Meng spent decades in Chinese law enforcement before moving to Interpol. His wife, Grace Meng, is determined to speak out against the Chinese government, relaying that if her husband, who occupied a high station in an international institution, can be arrested and disappeared, then all Chinese citizens are in danger. Chinese authorities began to turn on Meng after Interpol rescinded an arrest request for Dolkun Isa, the head of the World Uyghur Congress, a human rights activist, and a critic of the Chinese government. Chinese leaders have labeled Dolkub Isa a terrorist.

Migrant Invasion Force Doubles and Another From El Salvador Starts
The New American – The “migrant caravan” headed toward the U.S. border through Mexico now number over 14,000, news reports say. It shows no signs of stopping, and even worse, another caravan has begun in El Salvador.

I overheard how reporters talk about Tommy Robinson
By Andrew Lawton – Before he walked into the Old Bailey for what was supposed to be a contempt of court hearing, Tommy Robinson said the media were the “enemy of the people.”
It was a line that got uproarious applause from the growing crowd of supporters.
I was inside at the time, with a front row seat to how some members of the press talk about Robinson when they think everyone agrees with them.
To be clear, and as I wrote Sunday, my working visit to the United Kingdom this week is out of a commitment to facts and fairness, not a support for Tommy Robinson. That open-mindedness wasn’t shared by at least two members of the media covering the case.
While I was preparing my own coverage before the judge’s arrival, two reporters were conversing behind me.
Both reporters—a man and a woman—were from the Press Association (PA), a British wire service. They aren’t columnists, but news reporters whose work fills the pages of publications across the United Kingdom.
I would normally not share details of private conservations—especially those in which I was not a part. In this case, the conversation was taking place surrounded by people, with no attempt to be discrete. The reporters just assumed everyone around them shared their worldview.
They mocked and chuckled at the “enemy of the people” comment, even asking a couple of arriving journalists from other outlets if they knew they were enemies of Britons.
Over the next few minutes, the bias became even more apparent.
The male reporter had seen commentator Ezra Levant outside and remarked to his colleague that Levant had apparently broken an unspecified law.
“He needs to be arrested,” he said in a markedly non-jovial tone. “He’s whipped up hate.”
The reporter didn’t extrapolate and his colleague didn’t respond.
Moments later, the female reporter said there was no ambiguity about Robinson’s guilt.
“He is in contempt of court,” she said. “There’s not really any doubt.”
Of course, when the presiding judge made the decision to refer the case to the attorney general, it was because he thought there actually was enough doubt and complexity to warrant a fuller hearing.
As the two reporters discussed the size of the crowd outside, they openly agreed to downplay it.
One of the reporters had been told by a member of the law enforcement team that there were at that point 1,500 people outside.
After some banter, the PA reporters agreed they would say “hundreds.” The reason was to not “give it credit,” the female said.
These quotes are direct and were transcribed either while they were being uttered or seconds later. They also didn’t come to be secondhand—I heard them myself.
A Press Association spokesperson said they are “inaccurate” and “misheard.”
“The Press Association is held to the highest standards on all aspects of its journalism by customers across the UK and the world. Fairness and accuracy are the cornerstones of PA reporting, and our coverage of the Tommy Robinson case today is another example of these standards,” it said. “We decline to comment further on inaccurate and misleading accusations based on fragments of misheard, private conversations.”
Members of the media aren’t allowed to record court proceedings, so all I have to go on is my word. But a recording does exist. The courtroom’s official recording device had been turned on, so I will be working to get a copy of that audio.

UK revoking visas of Saudi suspects in Khashoggi murder: PM May
AFP – Britain will revoke the visas of Saudi Arabian suspects involved in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday.

South Korea vows to arrest citizens who smoke cannabis in Canada
The Independent – South Korean residents who smoke cannabis in Canada will be “punished” on their return home, the country’s authorities have warned. The North American nation became the second country in the world after Uruguay to legalise recreational marijuana last week, a move that has triggered global debate around decriminalisation of the drug. Korean police also said they plan to hold workshops in Canada and Uruguay to make clear the risks of smoking cannabis in the two countries, The Korea Times reported.

Iran: Riyadh would not have murdered Khashoggi without U.S. protection
Reuters – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia would not have murdered prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi without American protection, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday Saudi authorities staged the “worst cover-up ever” in the killing of Khashoggi in Turkey this month, as Washington vowed to revoke the visas of some of those believed to be responsible. “No one would imagine that in today’s world and a new century that we would witness such an organized murder and a system would plan out such a heinous murder,” Rouhani said, according to IRNA.

Trump says Saudis staged ‘worst cover-up ever’ on Khashoggi; U.S. revokes visas of some Saudis
Reuters – Trump spoke hours after Turkey’s president, Tayyip Erdogan, dismissed Saudi efforts to blame Khashoggi’s death on rogue operatives. Erdogan urged Riyadh to search “from top to bottom” to uncover those behind Khashoggi’s death in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, an incident that has sparked global outrage and strained relations between Riyadh and Washington. For Saudi Arabia’s allies, the question will be whether they believe that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has painted himself as a reformer, has any culpability.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

‘BOMB’ SPREE SCARE’ Pipe bombs’ sent to Hillary Clinton, Obama and CNN studios day after George Soros’ house targeted
The Sun – The ‘rudimentary but viable’ devices were described as similar to the packages sent to the anti-Brexit billionaire as day earlier
PIPE bombs were sent to CNN’s studios, Hillary Clinton’s New York home and Barack Obama’s DC residence this morning.
All devices were similar to the one sent to Democratic donor George Soros’ home yesterday.
he Secret Service says the package was identified during routine mail screening procedures at the Clinton home early this morning.
Hillary Clinton was campaigning for the Democrats in Florida when the “functional explosive device” was sent to her home, but her husband Bill was at the targeted home in Chappaqua, New York.
A similar device was also sent to the Washington D.C. home of Barack Obama.
The Secret Service says neither Clinton nor Obama received the packages, and neither was at risk of receiving them because of screening procedures.
It was earlier reported that a similar package was sent to the White House but later turned out not to be suspicious.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement: “These terrorising acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
“The United States Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies are investigating and will take all appropriate actions to protect anyone threatened by these cowards.”
Donald Trump Jr echoed the White House response tweeting: “As someone whose family has directly been the victim of these mail threats I condemn whoever did this regardless of party or ideology.
“This crap has to stop and I hope they end up in jail for a long time. ”
Note from George Freund: Sounds like an election ploy by the democrats to get the sympathy vote.

Trump says transgender policy seeks to ‘protect the country’
Reuters – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that transgender issues were in flux and he aims to protect the country after a report that his administration was considering defining gender as male or female based on genitalia at birth drew widespread condemnation.
“We have a lot of different concepts right now. They have a lot of different things happening with respect to transgender right now,” Trump said amid a protest outside the White House and outpouring of criticism on social media about the proposal.
Asked about a campaign promise to protect the LGBT community, Trump said: “I’m protecting everybody. I want to protect our country.”

Paid Protest Firm ‘Crowds On Demand’ Sued in $23 Million Extortion Plot Threatening Harassment and Defamation

Edward Griffin – Crowds On Demand (COD), a firm that provides paid protesters to feign outrage or fake support, is being sued by a Czech investor who claims a business rival hired the company to run a smear campaign against him involving a staged protest at his home, spreading misinformation about him, and organizing a phone and email campaign, urging the Aspen Institute and Dartmouth College to cut ties with him. He says the business rival threatened to ramp up the Crowds On Demand smear campaign unless the Czech investor paid $23 million.

Crowds on Demand now is accused of being involved in the extortion the investor and threatening him with further harassment and defamation. The company boasts on its website that it was hired by a business rival to “cripple the operations” of a manufacturing business owned by a convicted child molester, which resulted in the rival company buying the molester-owned business for “5 percent of its previous value.”

PETA Claims White Milk is a Symbol of White Supremacy
Eagle Rising – he animal-loving radicals from PETA are now exclaiming that white milk is a symbol of white supremacy. No, they are serious. Quit laughing.
In a risible new statement released by the animal rights group, PETA claimed that the dairy industry is the same as white supremacy.
According to ABC 10 News:
“Aside from ‘lactose-tolerant’ white supremacists, cow’s milk really is the perfect drink of choice for all (even unwitting) supremacists, since the dairy industry inflicts extreme violence on other living beings,” the organization said in part.
“PETA is trying to wake people up to the implications of choosing this white beverage and suggesting that they choose something else pronto,” the statement continues.
The release further claims that the dairy industry has “control over your mind.
This lunacy was recently echoed by an absurd piece in The New York Times entitled, “Why White Supremacists Are Chugging Milk (and Why Geneticists Are Alarmed).”
The Times article is replete with hyperventilating about “white supremacists” who have begun saying that being able to drink milk somehow proves a “pure” European heritage.
The claim is that cattle herders in Europe developed the ability to tolerate milk whereas other nationalities have not. So, if you can tolerate milk you are a pure-bred, white European.
This ridiculous concept is worrying geneticists and other scientists.
The article went on to say that scientists are alarmed that their science is being used to fuel hate.

Tomi Lahren: Democrats Using Migrant Caravan ‘Invasion’ to Get Votes
Fox – Fox Nation host Tomi Lahren called out Democrats for staying silent and prioritizing illegal immigrants above legal immigrants and American citizens.

Judge Rejects Monsanto’s Bid to Overturn Glyphosate Conviction but Reduces Punitive Damages from $250 Million to $39 Million
Health Impact News – Earlier this week (October 2018) San Francisco Superior Court Judge Suzanne Ramos Bolanos rejected Monsanto’s appeal to overturn the jury verdict which found that glyphosate in the herbicide RoundUp causes cancer.
Judge Bolanos had earlier hinted that she might overturn the jury’s verdict, and eliminate the $250 million in punitive damages. See:
Judge Says She Will Overturn Jury Conviction of Monsanto and Nullify $250 Million Award in Damages Over Glyphosate Injuries
While denying Monsanto’s attorneys their request for a new trial, Judge Bolanos did reduce the punitive damages from $250 million to $39 million, the same amount (39 million) that was awarded to the plaintiff, Dewayne Johnson, who is not expected to live much longer due to his cancer diagnosis.
Judge Bolanos also stated that if Dewayne Johnson and his attorneys did not accept the reduction in punitive damages, that she would order a new trial.
Johnson’s lawyers said in a statement that the “reduction in punitive damages was unwarranted” and that his legal team, Baum Hedlund and the Miller Firm, was “weighing the options.” (Source.)
Bayer, now the parent company for Monsanto, stated that they would file another appeal of the jury’s verdict

Economy & Business

Dyson chooses Singapore over Britain to build electric car
Reuters – James Dyson, the billionaire British inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, has chosen to build his electric car in Singapore to be close to Asian customers, supply chains and a highly skilled workforce. The 71-year-old entrepreneur, who backed Brexit in the 2016 referendum, already manufactures products such as hair dryers, air purification systems and bladeless fans in Asia, while the company’s research and development remains in Britain. Dyson said last year that a 400-strong, British-based engineering team had been secretly working for more than two years on a $2.6 billion project to build an electric car.

US economy about to collapse, taking down dollar & American standard of living – Peter Schiff
RT – Tuesday’s US stock plunge following a massive selloff on global markets is seen by some analysts as a sign of more bad things to come.

Science & Technology

Cybersecurity Experts: Stop Sending Troops Into Combat With Personal Tablets, Smartphones
Washington Free Beacon – Special operators and other troops must stop taking their unsecured personal tablets and smart phones into combat after an internal Navy investigation found that mapping applications can be hacked by hostile actors, cybersecurity experts warn.
U.S. special operators and other troops have been using advanced war-fighting mapping applications for the last several years to reduce the time it takes to call in airstrikes and for better situational awareness and communication between ground forces and overhead aircraft.
However, a non-public Navy Inspector General investigation earlier this year found that two of these widely used mapping applications produced by the U.S. Navy have serious vulnerabilities, the Washington Free Beacon first reported earlier this week.
The mapping applications in question are known as known as KILSWITCH and APASS. KILSWITCH is an acronym that stands for Kinetic Integrated Low-cost Software Integrated Tactical Combat Handheld. APASS stands for the Android Precision Assault Strike Suite.
The IG’s findings were cited in a Marine Corps force-wide message in late June warning commanders that the applications are only used on military-issued “hardened” hand-held devices that are not connected to cellular or civilian Wi-Fi networks, not personal devices troops purchased commercially that are far more susceptible to malware and hacking.

Health

FDA Decision to Approve Gardasil Vaccine for Adults Will Likely Increase Cervical Cancer Rates
Health Impact News – For women who have already been exposed to certain strains of the HPV virus, vaccination can actually increase the risk of precancerous lesions by 44.6%.
That’s right: if you are already infected with HPV, getting vaccinated could increase your risk of getting cancer.
To put this in perspective, 79 million Americans are thought to be infected with HPV, and about 14 million are newly infected each year, making HPV the most common sexually transmitted infection.
Often there are no symptoms. The CDC says that “HPV is so common that almost every person who is sexually active will get HPV at some time in their life.”
A large, government-backed push to get more people vaccinated for HPV could actually increase many people’s risk of getting cancer.

Overdose deaths in US from opioid epidemic levels off
Christian Science Monitor – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting a decline in overdose drug deaths nationwide. Health Secretary Alex Azar lauds bipartisan efforts and progress made on treatment, but stresses the epidemic still continues.

Probiotic Wipes Out Dangerous Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
Mercola – Research has demonstrated your gut microbiome plays a significant role in your immune system and in the development of many diseases and health conditions, including obesity and difficulty maintaining weight loss after dieting, depression and multiple sclerosis, just to name a few.
Most recently, a study from National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists and colleagues have demonstrated a balance of beneficial bacteria in your digestive tract may help protect you against antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus.
There are other significant benefits to maintaining a balanced gut microbiome. For instance, scientists in the U.K. took a hard look at the introduction of probiotics to the gut microbiome and found it may help prevent the formation of tumors and even treat existing ones.
In their research,18 they wrote gut bacterial Lactobacillus has the potential for treating colon cancer, the third most common cancer in the U.S. other than skin cancer. Several studies have found factors increasing the incidence of colorectal cancer include lack of exercise, low vegetable and fruit consumption, being overweight or obese and being diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease.
In short, your gut microbiome plays an impressive role in your overall health, including the potential development of colorectal cancer. Researchers have also found differences in gut microbiota between those who suffer from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and lean individuals.19
Those with NAFLD are more likely to have bacterial overgrowth in the small intestines along with increased intestinal permeability. Although there is no way to change the fact certain foods increase your risk for packing on pounds, bacteria also play a major role in facilitating the process.
Foods known to produce metabolic dysfunction and insulin resistance, such as processed foods, fructose, sugar and artificial sweeteners, also decimate beneficial gut bacteria. This may in fact be a mechanism by which these foods promote obesity.
Other research has found a functional link between certain gut microbiota and the onset of Parkinson’s disease. Their data20 demonstrate specific chemicals produced by certain bacteria will worsen the accumulation of proteins in the brain associated with Parkinson’s disease.