Today's News: September 07, 2018

World News

G20 underscores need to place education at the centre of the global agenda
The G20 Education Ministerial Meeting declaration addresses personal development, innovation, and the Sustainable Development Goals, among other topics.
The declaration of the G20 Education Ministerial Meeting held in Mendoza today reaffirms the unique role of education as a key driver of fair and sustainable development, acknowledging the need to place education “at the centre of the global agenda.”
Agreed by all G20 member countries, the document stresses the “transformative power and cross-cutting nature of education,” an essential tool to address global challenges and contribute to the pursuit of dialogue, consensus, cooperation and collaboration.
Education ministers believe education lays the groundwork for personal development, as “it provides children, young people and adults with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes necessary to reach their full potential.” It also helps to reduce poverty and promote active citizenship, thus contributing to peace, inclusion and prosperity.
Representatives from G20 member and guest countries once more reiterated their commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in particular to Sustainable Development Goal 4 – to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”

The Latest: Iran, Russia, Turkey presidents meet in summit
Fox – The presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey meet in Tehran to discuss the war in Syria, with all eyes on a possible military offensive to retake the last rebel-held bastion of Idlib.
The summit Friday, the third between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, may determine whether diplomacy halts any military action.

Washington Post Reports that Trump Reverses His Position Syria: Regime Change Is Back on the Table

Edward Griffin – An exclusive Washington Post report says that President Trump has expressed a desire for a complete 180 policy shift on Syria that includes an indefinite US military presence there, despite his promise only a few months ago to remove US troops from Syria. The primary justification for being in Syria was the destruction of ISIS, which no longer holds any significant territory and has been driven underground. The Post also reported that Trump has made a commitment to pursuing regime change as a final goal. The report says that “the administration has redefined its goals to include the exit of all Iranian military and proxy forces from Syria, and establishment of a stable, nonthreatening government acceptable to all Syrians and the international community.”

Obama Slams Trump by Name for First Time Since Leaving Office as ‘Symptom’ of Divisive Trends in Politics
Washington Free Beacon- Former President Barack Obama mentioned his successor by name in public for the first time since leaving office on Friday, saying Donald Trump was the “symptom” of a trend of resistance to positive progress.
Returning to a familiar theme of speeches in his presidency, Obama said at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign that the price of progress toward “our founding ideals” sometimes meant taking two steps back for every step forward.
“The status quo pushes back,” he said. “Sometimes the backlash comes from people who are genuinely, if wrongly, fearful of change. More often, it’s manufactured by the powerful and the privileged who want to keep us divided and keep us angry and keep us cynical because it helps them maintain the status quo and keep their power and keep their privilege.”

U.S. News, Politics & Government

Levi’s Jeans Co. Declares War on Second Amendment
Infowars – Blue jeans manufacturer Levi’s Strauss & Co., a symbol of rugged individualism for many Americans, announced this week it’s taking a stance against the Second Amendment.
The company revealed Tuesday it’ll be teaming up with notorious anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg to form a new gun control alliance for business leaders, as well as donate to groups working to “end gun violence in America.”
In a statement released on the company’s website, Levi’s revealed they will give $1 million in grants to various gun control groups, in addition to encouraging employees to volunteer at anti-gun non-profits.

US Navy Developing Wetsuits for Arctic Warfare
Newsmax – The United States Navy along with researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have invented a new way of treating wetsuits to dramatically increase how long divers can stay in freezing waters, Defense One reports.

Police arrest suspect in murder of North Carolina mayor
The Hill – One man has been charged and another is in custody after the mayor of Leggett, N.C., and his wife, were found shot to death in their home on Thursday night, according to local reports.
Keith Earl Williams, 25, and a second man whose name has not been released were arrested in connection with the killings, Edgecombe County Sheriff Cleveland Atkinson said Friday, according to the Raleigh News & Observer.
Williams has been charged with first-degree murder in the case, according to the report.

Trump: Mueller interview would be a ‘waste of time’
The Hill – President Trump told reporters Friday he would be open to sitting down with special counsel Robert Mueller under specific circumstances, but is wary of landing in a perjury trap.
“I’d do it, but under certain circumstances,” he said on Air Force One.
“It’s a big waste of time. There was no collusion,” Trump added.

NFL Ratings Crash in Season Opener, Total Audience Numbers Lowest Since 2009
Breitbart – The NFL season opener between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons did not impress either on the field, or in the television ratings.
The Eagles managed to do enough to survive the challenge from Atlanta and win by a final score of 18-12. However, in a game that saw the defending champs booed by their own fans, viewers nationwide turned out to be equally disappointed.

Economy & Business

Banks turn to robots and refreshments at the branch to build brand loyalty
Christian Science Monitor – As customers increasingly use their smartphones for their banking needs, branches are offering everything from art exhibits to free wifi to keep up the foot traffic. While branches are costly to maintain financial institutions feel they are vital for customer service.

Major Currencies All Over The World Are In “Complete Meltdown” As The $63 Trillion EM Debt Bubble Implodes
Economic Collapse – The wait for the next global financial crisis is over. Major currencies all over the planet are in a “death spiral”, many global stock markets are crashing, and economic activity is beginning to decline at a stunning rate in quite a few nations. Over the past 16 years, the emerging market debt bubble has grown from 9 trillion dollars to 63 trillion dollars. Yes, you read that correctly. Now that emerging market debt bubble is imploding, and as a result emerging market currencies all over the globe are in “complete meltdown”. In fact, at least 20 different currencies have fallen by double-digit percentages against the U.S. dollar so far in 2018, and nobody is quite sure what is going to happen next.

Energy & Environment

Scientists invent way to create ‘unlimited renewable energy’
Fox – Scientists have reached a “milestone” in a technique of semi-artificial photosynthesis that could eventually create an “unlimited source of renewable energy,” according to a new study.
Artificial photosynthesis has been around for decades, but scientists haven’t been able to develop it on a scale large enough to support an industrial level, or that could operate without the use of expensive or polluting devices.
Semi-artificial photosynthesis, a relatively new field of study, aims to address those concerns by combining manmade technologies with biological processes in order to mimic nature’s method of splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen.

In the latest study, researchers at the University of Cambridge focused on an enzyme found in algae called Hydrogenase – which has lied dormant for millennia. Their findings were published Sept. 3 in Nature Energy.

Science & Technology

Cutting Edge Tech Allows Pilot to Control Drones With His Mind
Newsmax – New research funded by the U.S. military has found a way for a drone pilot to control a whole swarm, or possibly advanced fighter jets, with a brain-computer interface that bypasses traditional controls, Defense One reports.
Officials from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, announced on Thursday that they had successfully improved upon technology that allowed a paralyzed woman to pilot a virtual F-35, allowing a pilot to steer multiple jets simultaneously.
“As of today, signals from the brain can be used to command and control … not just one aircraft, but three simultaneous types of aircraft,” Justin Sanchez, the director of DARPA’s biological technology office, said at an event for the agency’s 60th anniversary.

Gardening, Farming & Homesteading

Health

Hospital groups launch own company to make generic drugs
Fox – Several major hospital groups Thursday launched their own generic drug company to tackle chronic shortages and high prices.
The new company, Civica Rx, plans to start with 14 widely used hospital drugs long in short supply. The company isn’t disclosing the drugs’ names for competitive reasons, but they include a mix of generic pills, patches and injectable drugs for treating infections, pain and heart conditions, board chairman Dan Liljenquist said.
“The mission of Civica is to make sure these drugs remain in the public domain, that they’re available and affordable to everyone,” he said.
Drug shortages have been widespread for more than a decade, particularly for inexpensive generic drugs, due to manufacturers consolidating, stopping production of low-profit medicines and having to fix manufacturing problems.

Study: Medical Cannabis Cures Inflammation in Gut – Hope for IBS, Crohns, Celiac Sufferers
Health Impact News – A recent animal and human cell line culture study published August, 2018 confirms the anecdotal reports of healing inflammatory bowel and gut conditions with cannabis. Health Impact News has previously published many of these reports.
Surprisingly, the study did not initially use cannabis. Its original purpose was to investigate the mechanics of inflammation in the gut using mice.
They inadvertently discovered that impaired or insufficient internal endogenous cannabinoids known as endocannabinoids in the gut allowed inflammation to occur in the mice.
The researchers concluded that adding cannabinoids from cannabis plant sources such as marijuana could be why so many IBS (inflammatory bowel syndrome) and Celiac Disease sufferers experience powerful relief from cannabis.

New Splenda Studies Confirm Its Dangers
Mercola – Sucralose (sold under the brand name Splenda) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1998 as a tabletop sweetener and for use in products such as baked goods, nonalcoholic beverages, chewing gum, frozen dairy desserts, fruit juices and gelatins.
It’s also permitted as a general-purpose sweetener for processed foods. (In the European Union, sucralose is known under the additive code E955.) The approval was given after the FDA supposedly reviewed more than 110 animal and human safety studies, but of these 110 studies, only two were done on humans, and the longest one lasted just four days.
I knew the approval of sucralose was a nearly identical mistake that the FDA made with aspartame, which is why I wrote my book, “Sweet Deception,” in 2006, despite the fact Johnson & Johnson threatened to sue me if I published it. It is certainly vindicating to see the studies confirm what I wrote about in my book over 12 years ago. And the video I made above was shot over seven years ago.
Artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose may have zero calories, but your body isn’t fooled. When hit with a “sweet” taste, your body expects calories to follow, and when this doesn’t happen, it causes biochemical distortions that can result in weight gain, metabolic dysfunction and other health problems.