March 28, 2024

The Power Hour

Knowledge is Power

Today's News: September 24, 2018

World News
 
Vietnam Set to Increase Legal Pressure on Monsanto for Millions of Agent Orange Victims
Sustainable Pulse – Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry has stated that they will re-visit legal channels in an attempt to receive damages for over one million people, from a group of chemical companies including Monsanto and Dow Chemical, which produced the deadly herbicide Agent Orange for the U.S. military during the Vietnam War.
 
US Prepares For ‘Action’ Against Venezuela In Coming Days
SHFTPlan – The United States is preparing to take “action” against socialist Venezuela, while simultaneously going down the same path. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that in the coming days, the US’s “series of actions” will put pressure on the Venezuelan government.
“You’ll see in the coming days a series of actions that continue to increase the pressure level against the Venezuelan leadership folks, who are working directly against the best interest of the Venezuelan people,” Pompeo said according to Reuters. “We’re determined to ensure that the Venezuelan people get their say.”
The Trump administration has been steadily increasing sanctions against officials in the leftist socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro, accusing it of “stifling democracy” by jailing opposition leaders. Although Pompeo did not say what actions specifically would be taken, it appears the US seeks to somehow “punish” Venezuela while continuing to take America down the same path.
 
Russia says Israeli role in Syria plane downing was premeditated
Al Jazeera – The Kremlin has accused Israel of “premeditated actions” over the downing of a Russian plane in Syria last week, warning it will harm relations between the two countries.
 
Hong Kong government bans pro-independence party
BBC – It is the first time the territory has banned a political party since it was returned to China.
 
Italy migrant crisis: Government passes tough bill
BBC – The Italian government has passed a decree which will make it easier to deport migrants and strip them of Italian citizenship.
Migrants could now be expelled if they are found guilty of serious crimes such as rape and assault.
Previously, this was only possible at the end of a lengthy appeals process.
 
Indonesian teenager survives 49 days adrift at sea in ‘fishing hut’
BBC – An Indonesian teenager who looked after a fishing hut survived for 49 days at sea by cooking fish over wood taken from his vessel, it has emerged.
Aldi Novel Adilang was on the hut 125km (77 miles) off the Indonesian coast in mid-July when heavy winds caused its moorings to snap, casting the 18-year-old adrift.
He ended up thousands of kilometres away near Guam, where he was eventually picked up by a Panamanian vessel.
The 18-year-old, from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, worked on a “rompong” – a floating fish trap without any paddles or engine.
 
Sunken remains of 400-year-old ship found off Portuguese coast
The Guardian – Vessel and its cargo could also help clarify the importance of Cascais on the spice route
Archaeologists in Portugal have discovered peppercorns, fragments of Chinese porcelain and bronze cannon among the sunken remains of a 400-year-old ship that once sailed the spice route between Europe and India.
The wreck of the still-unidentified vessel was found at the beginning of September by a team of experts surveying the area around the town of Cascais, about 26km (16 miles) west of Lisbon.
The wreck site, which sits about 12 metres below the surface, is about 100 metres long and 50 metres wide.
The teams say the discovery will shed light on both Portugal’s trading past and Cascais’s place within it. “We found the ship on 4 September, using a geophysical survey and divers, and spent four days working on the site,” said Jorge Freire, a maritime archaeologist and scientific director of the underwater archeological survey.
He said divers had also come across cowrie shells, which were used in the slave trade.
“We don’t know the name of the ship, but it’s a Portuguese ship from the late 16th or early 17th century,” he said, adding that the team had been able to put a rough date on the wreck as the cannon bore the Portuguese coat of arms and the porcelain belonged to the Wanli period (1573-1619).
 
U.S. News, Politics & Government
 
Rosenstein has not resigned, still U.S. deputy attorney general: source
Reuters – Rod Rosenstein has not resigned and is still serving as U.S. deputy attorney general, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. Rosenstein had a previously scheduled meeting at the White House at noon on Monday, according to a person familiar with the matter. He is still the deputy attorney general and he attending a “substantive meeting” in that capacity, the person said.
The person confirmed that the topic of resigning did come up in discussions with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly over the weekend, but said the Axios report that Rosenstein had officially resigned was incorrect.
 
Previously Reported:Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is reportedly on the way out
CNBC – Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is resigning Monday, according to Axios,
Bloomberg later reported that the White House accepted Rosenstein’s resignation, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Rosenstein’s expected resignation will immediately raise questions about the fate of the ongoing investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is probing Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and possible obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump.    Rosenstein oversees the special counsel investigation, and has appointed Mueller to run the Russia probe last year, after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the case.    The special counsel’s office declined to comment on the report.
 
Rod Rosenstein Will Meet With Trump to Discuss His Fate
NY Times – President Trump will meet with Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, on Thursday to discuss reports that Mr. Rosenstein talked about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump from office, Sarah Sanders, the press secretary, said on Monday.
The announcement came just hours after the revelation that Mr. Rosenstein was considering resigning, which set off a flurry of speculation about who would replace him at the Justice Department, where Mr. Rosenstein oversees the Russia investigation.
Ms. Sanders, in a statement, said that Mr. Rosenstein and Mr. Trump had “an extended conversation” about the reports — including the fact that Mr. Rosenstein had discussed secretly taping the president. She said the two men will meet on Thursday when the president returns to Washington from New York, where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly.
Over the weekend, Mr. Rosenstein called a White House official and said he was considering quitting, and a person close to the White House said he was resigning. On Monday morning, after again calling John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, to discuss the prospect of his resignation, Mr. Rosenstein headed to the White House to meet with Mr. Kelly.
 
Solicitor General Noel Francisco to oversee Robert Mueller probe under DOJ succession plan
Washington Times – With Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s ouster, Solicitor General Noel Francisco is slated to oversee the Robert Mueller probe under the Justice Department’s succession plan.
Mr. Rosenstein’s departure immediately throws Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russian collusion probe into chaos. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation leaving Mr. Rosenstein in charge.
Typically, the investigation would fall to the number three spot at the Justice Department, but Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand resigned earlier this year.
That leaves Mr. Francisco in line to oversee the probe, which President Trump has deemed a “witch hunt.” He hasn’t publicly addressed the probe, but has had harsh words for Mr. Mueller’s close friend, ex-FBI boss James Comey.
Mr. Francisco was confirmed by the Senate in September 2017 on a narrow 50-47 vote, that fell largely along party lines. He once clerked for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, whom he referred to as his “dear mentor,” during his Senate confirmation.
 
EMERGENCY REPORT: Signed Executive Orders reveal Trump is planning mass arrests, military tribunals for deep state traitors like Comey, Clinton and Obama – UPDATE
NaturalNews – As the documents cited here clearly show, President Trump is planning to carry out mass arrests of deep state traitors, including Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, James Comey and even Barack Obama. This is fully covered, with accompanying documentation from the U.S. Federal Register, in the links and video below. (This author is fully supportive of this effort to save America and arrest the traitors.)
The confirmation of Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court is the key to getting this done in a timely manner, which explains why the deranged Left is going to such outrageous extremes to fabricate false allegations against Kavanaugh and stage coordinated, well-funded protests to try to block the U.S. Senate from confirming him.
Once Kavanaugh is on the court, it will add the necessary support for constitutional “emergency powers” that concentrate power in the executive branch of government (currently headed by President Trump) during times of war and national emergencies.
President Trump, I believe, has decided to go to bat for America and utterly destroy the anti-American deep state crime ring that has been working for years to destroy this nation and end its national sovereignty. This will be Trump’s legacy. He may not even run for re-election after 2020, since his entire plan to arrest the traitors and restore the rule of law in America will require him to step aside once certain goals are accomplished (see detailed explanation below).
Note that in order to accomplish this, President Trump will need to declare temporary martial law. (UPDATE: See clarification about “martial law” in the video appended to the end of this article.) He will need our support during this time to maintain order and civility across the nation as the arrests and trials of deep state traitors are under way. We should all expect mass violence and chaos from the Left, which is following the “Rules for Radicals,” a blueprint for communist revolts and violent overthrow attempts of governments.
Here are the links to the documents cited in this comprehensive video:
Document #1: Executive Order 13818, signed December 20, 2017. “Blocking the Property of Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse or Corruption”
 
New law would give federal government the right to shoot down private drones inside U.S.
NBC – Buried in an FAA bill that comes to the House floor Wednesday is language that lets the FBI and DHS shoot down “credible threats.”
The federal government may soon have the authority to shoot down private commercial drones flying inside the U.S.
The 1,200-page FAA Reauthorization Bill posted by the House early Saturday morning includes a section titled “Preventing Emerging Threats” that would give the Department of Homeland Security and FBI the right to track and down drones that they deem a “credible threat” to a “covered facility or asset.”
The bill, which goes to the House floor Wednesday, also establishes a bipartisan Syria Study Group to provide the first comprehensive strategic review of U.S. policy in Syria.
Buried in an FAA bill that comes to the House floor Wednesday is language that lets the FBI and DHS shoot down “credible threats.”
 
New Brett Kavanaugh accusation has a bunch of flaws, but Democrats already using it against him anyway
Washington Examiner – The second allegation of sexual misconduct leveled against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is farcically flimsy. But that won’t stop Democratic lawmakers from trying to use it to sink his confirmation, claiming there is now a pattern of abusive behavior.
Mark my words: That’s 100 percent how this is going to play out this week. Democrats and their allies in the press are going to cite this extremely dubious new allegation to demand the Senate Judiciary Committee halt everything related to Kavanaugh’s confirmation. They’ll demand that the judge withdraw. It doesn’t matter that there are major, gaping holes in the new story. All that matters is that they can now say there two alleged Kavanaugh victims.
In fact, it has already begun.
>> Related: ‘Totally political’: Trump defends Kavanaugh amid sexual assault allegations
 
Devon primary school to walk-out over phone mast and fears of ‘excessive radiation’
DevonLive – Dartington Primary School want the mast moved at least 1km away
Parents and students at a Devon primary school are planning a mass walk-out in protest of a controversial mobile phone mast.
The 10m high structure is located just 50 metres away from Dartington Primary School, Totnes, which has worried parents over suggested radiation readings at the school which apparently show the highest reading of ‘excessive radiation.’
Those involved in the protest want the mast located at least 1km away from the school, as well as the outdoor pool, a children’s playground and a school for children with additional needs that fall within a 100m radius of the Vodafone mast.
Dr David Carpenter, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Albany, USA said:
“Children are more vulnerable to RF/MW radiation because of the susceptibility of their developing nervous systems.
“Children are largely unable to remove themselves from exposures to harmful substances in their environments. Their exposure is involuntary.
“There is a major legal difference between an exposure that an individual chooses to accept and one that is forced upon a person, especially a dependent, who can do nothing about it.”
Michelle McHale, Director of Attachment Parenting UK whose girls attended Dartington Primary said she is astonished at the lack of precaution or care in siting the mast.
 
North Carolina: Good Samaritan Facing Possible Charges for Saving Animals During Hurricane Without a Permit
DC Clothesline –  Tammie Hedges, an animal rights activist, attempted to be proactive and protect animals as Hurricane Florence enveloped the NC coast and her home town. She and her group of friends began rescuing animals they found in danger of dying by the rising flood waters. Each animal’s exact location was documented so the owners could be informed following the floods caused by Florence.
All the animals were then transported to a warehouse complete with cages, food, water, pee pads, and litter boxes. Volunteers even slept in the warehouse to make sure rising flood waters didn’t threaten the rescue operation.
Some two dozen animals were rescued before Wayne County Animal Control demanded the animals be turned over to them. The officers who arrived to transport the animals to the state-approved animal shelter reportedly told Hedges she was running an illegal animal shelter without a permit. Hedges disputes such allegations and says she and her group were just trying to defend the animals’ rights to life.
Hedges may now be facing criminal charges if the resulting investigation concludes she committed criminal acts. Frank Sauls, animal services manager for Wayne County, defended his county’s actions saying:
If we didn’t feel like anything was being done wrong, we would not have taken (the animals)…But that is for the courts to decide…All that will come out, if the case goes to court…But at this point, it’s very early in the investigation.
 
Big Tech Has Defined Conservatism as “Hate Speech”
Infowars – By corralling basic conservative opinions and beliefs under the umbrella of “hate speech,” social media giants have invented a new ploy to censor conservatives while claiming they are not censoring conservatives.
Nationalism, patriotism, populism, and Christianity are all now being treated as “hateful” by Big Tech.
These companies then engage in a form of legalese where they assert they are not banning people for their personal or political opinions, but because of violations of terms of service.
But the truth is that merely holding and expressing nationalist, populist, patriotic or Christian opinions and beliefs is deemed a “violation” because such beliefs have been subjectively defined as “hateful”.
For example, PayPal announced it was banning Infowars last week because Infowars had “promoted hate and discriminatory intolerance”.
In real terms, this meant that we had opposed the teaching of transgenderism to young children in schools and criticized political Islam.
Alex Jones was also deplatformed by every major Big Tech firm over spurious claims of “hateful” content that were never specifically quantified.
 
Economy & Business
 
China accuses US of trade bullying as new tariffs imposed
BBC – China has accused the US of trade bullying after a new round of US tariffs on Chinese goods kicked in.
The US imposed tariffs on a further $200bn ($152bn) worth of Chinese products, the largest round yet in the escalating trade war between the economic superpowers.
The tariffs are in response to what the US says are unfair trading practices by China.
Beijing has retaliated with tariffs on $60bn of US goods.
In an official white paper, as reported by Xinhua news agency, China said the US was employing “trade bullyism practices”, “intimidating other countries through economic measures”, and hurting the global economy.
China has also accused the US of starting the “largest trade war in economic history”.
 
Destroying America: It Is Being Projected That The U.S. National Debt Will Hit 99 Trillion Dollars By 2048
Economic Collapse – Temporary prosperity that is created by exploding levels of debt is not actually prosperity at all.  At this moment, the U.S. government is 21.4 trillion dollars in debt, and we have been adding an average of more than a trillion dollars a year to that debt since 2009.  And if we stay on the path that we are currently on, the trajectory of our debt will soon accelerate dramatically. In fact, as you will see below, the Congressional Budget Office is now projecting that the U.S. national debt will reach 99 trillion dollars by 2048 if nothing changes.  Congressional Budget Office projections always tend to be overly optimistic, and so the reality will probably be much worse than that. Of course we will never actually see the day when our national debt reaches 99 trillion dollars. Our government (and our entire society along with it) will collapse long before we ever get to that point.  In our endless greed, we are literally destroying America, and emergency action must be taken immediately if we are to survive.
 
Deutsche Bank warned over money-laundering as auditor appointed
The Guardian – German watchdog brings in KPMG to ensure the bank does more to uncover hidden cash
Germany’s financial watchdog has ordered Deutsche Bank to do more to prevent money-laundering and “terrorist financing,” and has appointed an independent auditor to assess progress.
The regulator, BaFin, said on Monday that this was the first time it had made such an appointment related to money-laundering. The move comes as European regulators step up their scrutiny of banks’ dealings with their customers following a series of scandals.
The head of Danske Bank, Denmark’s biggest, resigned last week after an investigation showed that many of the €200bn (£180bn) of payments through its small Estonian branch were suspicious.
 
Energy & Environment
 
Mud volcano erupts in Azerbaijan
BBC – A mud volcano has erupted in Azerbaijan, sending plumes of black smoke and flames up to 300m (980ft) into the sky.
Government officials say cracks up to 40m deep have appeared in the area after the Otman-Bozdag volcano became active on Sunday.
 
Science & Technology
 
‘Orwellian’ move: Facebook teams up with US government to police ‘fake news’ in foreign elections
RT – Facebook has teamed up with two US government-funded think tanks as part of a new initiative to bolster the social media giant’s “election integrity efforts” around the globe.
The new partnership with the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) was revealed by Facebook in a call with reporters last week and reported by Reuters — but the company’s choice of partners has since raised a few eyebrows. Both think-tanks are funded by the US government, through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
Tweeting about the initiative, Mark Weisbrot, a co-director at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, called Facebook’s decision to work with the US government-funded organizations “Orwellian” and said that they “specialize in overseas propaganda.” Weisbrot also criticized Reuters reporting of the news which focused on Facebook’s supposed fake-news busting efforts and seemed lacking in “any awareness” of who the two groups were.
 
Scientists Unnerved Over Dark Matter
Astronomy – Dark matter research is unsettling. Scientists were unnerved when they first noticed that galaxies don’t rotate by the same physics as a spinning plate. The stars at a galaxy’s edge rotate faster than expected. And their motion can only be explained by a lot of invisible matter that we can’t see.
That was exciting more than unsettling when the field was new and ideas were plentiful and had yet to be proven wrong. Researchers consolidated the possibilities into two main camps, complete with clever acronyms: MACHOs (Massive Compact Halo Objects) and WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles).
 
Health
 
Is Apple Cider Vinegar Good for You? A Doctor Weighs In
EcoWatch – As a practicing physician and professor of medicine, people ask me about the benefits of drinking apple cider vinegar all the time. I enjoy those moments, because we can talk about the (extensive) history of vinegar, and then distill the conversations to how it could, maybe, benefit them.
A cure for colds, the plague and obesity?
Historically, vinegar has been used for many ailments. A few examples are that of the famous Greek physician Hippocrates, who recommended vinegar for the treatment of cough and colds, and that of the Italian physician Tommaso Del Garbo, who, during an outbreak of plague in 1348, washed his hands, face and mouth with vinegar in the hopes of preventing infection.
Vinegar and water has been a refreshing drink from the time of Roman soldiers to modern athletes who drink it to slake their thirst. Ancient and modern cultures the world over have found good uses for “sour wine.”
While there is plenty of historical and anecdotal testimony to the virtues of vinegar, what does medical research have to say on the subject of vinegar and health?
The most reliable evidence for the health benefits of vinegar come from a few humans studies involving apple cider vinegar. One study demonstrated that apple cider vinegar can improve after-meal blood glucose levels in insulin-resistant subjects. In 11 people who were “pre-diabetic,” drinking 20 milliliters, a little more than one tablespoon, of apple cider vinegar lowered their blood sugar levels 30-60 minutes after eating more than a placebo did. That’s good—but it was only demonstrated in 11 pre-diabetic people.
Another study on obese adults demonstrated a significant reduction in weight, fat mass and triglycerides. Researchers selected 155 obese Japanese adults to ingest either 15 ml, about one tablespoon, or 30 ml, a little more than two tablespoons, of vinegar daily, or a placebo drink, and followed their weight, fat mass and triglycerides. In both the 15 ml and 30 ml group, researchers saw a reduction in all three markers. While these studies need confirmation by larger studies, they are encouraging.
Studies in animals, mostly rats, show that vinegar can potentially reduce blood pressure and abdominal fat cells. These help build the case for followup studies in humans, but any benefit claims based only on animal studies is premature.
 
Eight Important Health Screens Commonly Overlooked
Mercola – While studies suggest the health of Americans suffers due to excessive, unnecessary and/or ineffective medical tests and treatments, certain lab tests can offer truly important clues about your health. Unfortunately, some of the most valuable tests are rarely ordered by conventional physicians.
What’s more, the reference ranges provided on lab test reports are often misleading, as what’s considered “normal” is not necessarily ideal for optimal health. So, which lab tests are really worth getting on an annual basis, and what are the ideal reference ranges you’re looking for?
I wrote this chapter for my new book on partial fasting that is coming out in the spring, but it was so important that I wanted to give it to you now for free. So, below is a list of eight of the most important lab tests that are frequently overlooked.
No. 1 — Vitamin D
No. 2 — Omega-3 Index
No. 3 — Fasting Insulin
No. 4 — Serum Ferritin
No. 5 — High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP)
No. 6 — RBC Magnesium
No. 7 — Homocysteine
No. 8 — NMR Lipoprofile
 
Good News
 
After 20 Month Old Son Dies from Vaccines Professional Fighter with Nurse Wife Put Up Billboards as Warning
Health Impact News – Nick Catone is a professional MMA martial arts fighter, and his wife, Marjorie Catone, is a registered nurse who works in an intensive care unit at a local hospital where they live.
17 days after their 20 month old healthy and active son, Nicholas, was vaccinated with the DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis) vaccine, his parents found him dead in his bed one morning.
In the interview below with Del Bigtree, Marjorie comments about how her nursing education never trained her in the possible adverse reactions to vaccines, and she never bothered to check the ingredients of the vaccine, even though as a wife of a professional MMA fighter and mother she was meticulous to check ingredient lists of foods to make sure her family was eating healthy.
The autopsy report of their son listed the cause of death as “sudden unexplained” (SIDS) and “natural,” as medical authorities apparently refused to consider their son’s vaccines as a contributing factor to his death, and they allegedly did not conduct a thorough exam during the autopsy.
Nick and Marjorie now want to warn others about the dangers of vaccines, so that parents can be informed before making a decision to vaccinate their children, before it is too late and they find themselves in the same situation as they are, grieving over the death of their formerly healthy child. They are putting up billboards in several states in an effort to educate the public on the risks of vaccines.
 
When Man in Wheelchair Can’t Get into Shop, Barber Happily Cuts His Hair on the Sidewalk
Good News Network – When a man in a wheelchair approached a barbershop in hopes of getting a haircut, this barber was not about to turn him down just because their building was not wheelchair-accessible.
Victor Burgos is a barber at Joe’s Upscale Barber Shop in Webster, New York. Earlier this week, he was working at the shop when he noticed a man in an electric wheelchair out in front of the store.
The shop phone rang and Burgos heard an electronically-assisted voice asking if they accepted walk-ins – and he knew that it had to be the man outside.
Burgos, who has worked at the barbershop for the last three and a half years, says that because they’re based out of an older building, it has not yet been made wheelchair-accessible.
Instead of turning the man away, however, Burgos grabbed his tools and offered to give the man a haircut right there on the sidewalk.
 
Entertainment  
 
Scrabble gets 300 new words in US dictionary revamp
BBC – Scrabble players will now be able to use words such as “OK” and “ew” after US dictionary company Merriam-Webster announced it was adding 300 new words in the latest edition of the game’s dictionary.
 
Facing Shouts and Profanity, Bill Cosby Arrives to His Sentencing for 2004 Sex Assault
People – Bill Cosby arrived to court on Monday morning for a scheduled two-day sentencing hearing following his conviction for drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand.
 

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