NOVEMBER 2016

Wednesday - November 30, 2016

Today In History:
1782 - The United States and Britain signed preliminary peace articles in Paris, ending the Revolutionary War.
1803 - Spain completed the process of ceding Louisiana to France.
1804 - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase went on trial accused of political bias. He was later acquitted by the U.S. Senate.
1838 - Three days after the French occupation of Vera Cruz Mexico declared war on France.
1853 - During the Crimean War, the Russian fleet attacked and destroyed the Turkish fleet at the battle of Sinope.
1858 - John Landis Mason received a patent for the first pepper shaker with a screw-on cap.
1897 - Thomas Edison's own motion picture projector had its first commercial exhibition.
1949 - Chinese Communists captured Chungking.
1954 - In Sylacauga, AL, Elizabeth Hodges was injured when a meteorite crashed through the roof of her house. The rock weighed 8½-pounds.
1956 - CBS replayed the program "Douglas Edward and the News" three hours after it was received on the West Coast. It was the world's first broadcast via videotape.
1962 - U Thant of Burma was elected secretary-general of the United Nations, succeeding the late Dag Hammarskjold.
1971 - ABC-TV aired "Brian's Song." The movie was about Chicago Bears' Brian Picolo and his friendship with Gale Sayers.
1981 - The U.S. and the Soviet Union opened negotiations in Geneva that were aimed at reducing nuclear weapons in Europe.
1982 - The motion picture "Ghandi" had its world premiere in New Delhi.
1986 - "Time" magazine published an interview with U.S. President Reagan. In the article, Reagan described fired national security staffer Oliver North as a "national hero."
1989 - PLO leader Yasser Arafat was refused a visa to enter the United States in order to address the U.N. General Assebly in New York City.
1993 - U.S. President Clinton signed into law the Brady Bill. The bill required a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases and background checks of prospective buyers.
1995 - President Clinton became the first U.S. chief executive to visit Northern Ireland.
2010 - Pentagon leaders called for scrapping the 17-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" ban after releasing a survey about the prospect of openly gay troops.

Syrian Army Prevents Major Terrorist Attack in Christian District of Aleppo
Sputnik News - The Syrian army forces on Tuesday managed to prevent a major terrorist attack in the residential areas of Aleppo, plotted by Jabhat Fatah al-Sham militants, media reported. According to Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen news channel, the military forces discovered a mine-studded underground tunnel, leading to one of the churches located in a Christian quarter of Aleppo. The total length of the tunnel was about 200 meters (0.12 miles), while the explosive device was placed directly underneath the church building. Tens of civilians could have been injured in case of a blast.... On Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Syrian government forces had cleared almost half of Aleppo from militant strongholds, liberating some 80,000 residents.

Erdogan: Turkish forces are in Syria to end Assad's rule
RT - “We entered [Syria] to end the rule of the tyrant al-Assad who terrorizes with state terror. [We didn’t enter] for any other reason,” the Turkish president said at the first Inter-Parliamentary Jerusalem Platform Symposium in Istanbul, as quoted by Hurriyet daily. Erdogan said that Turkey has no territorial claims in Syria, but instead wants to hand over power to the Syrian population, adding that Ankara is seeking to restore “justice.”.... Erdogan said that Turkey could not “endure” the unending killing of civilians and “had to enter Syria together with the Free Syrian Army.”.... Turkish troops entered Syria on August 24, launching operation Euphrates Shield. Turkey deployed ground troops and air power to northern parts of its neighboring country, with the stated goal of retaking areas held by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). However, many observers have said that Ankara aims to suppress Kurdish forces in Syria and prevent them from connecting three de facto autonomous Kurdish areas into one enclave south of the Turkish border. In October, Turkey’s air forces killed between 160 and 200 fighters of the Kurdish YPG militia group in 26 airstrikes conducted in just one night.... Ankara was forced to halt air support for its ground incursion into Syria on October 22, after Damascus vowed to shoot down Turkish Air Force planes in Syrian skies, accusing Turkey of violating its national sovereignty.

Filipino troops battle Islamic State-loyal forces for town
Long War Journal - The group, dubbed the “Maute Group” in local media, is also called the Islamic State in Lanao. The jihadist group captured the town of Butig on Nov. 24 after raising its flag over the town hall. The Filipino military has stated that around 300 fighters are occupying the town. Over the weekend, up to 35 members of the jihadist group and several troops were purportedly killed in clashes near the town. According to local reports, troops from the Philippines’ elite Joint Special Operations Group have been deployed near Butig to assist regular army troops in battling the jihadist forces for control over the town.... Earlier today, a convoy containing Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte was struck by an improvised explosive device in Marawi, the capital of Lanao del Sur. 11 people, including nine within Duterte’s security team, were wounded in the attack. Filipino authorities have stated that this attack was likely a diversionary tactic by the so-called “Maute Group.”.... Videos and reports of Filipino groups pledging bayah (allegiance) to the Islamic State have emerged since 2014, shortly after Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State, claimed the creation of a “caliphate”.

Syria: Egypt Joins the Fray to Support Russia-Backed Coalition
Strategic Culture - Speaking on the Portuguese TV network RTP on November 22, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi publicly affirmed his support for the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In response to the question of whether Egypt will send troops to Syria or not he stated: "Our priority is to support our Army in issues such as controlling some parts of Libya and dealing with extremist forces for establishing peace, including in Syria and Iraq." President al-Sisi restored diplomatic relations with Syria after coming to power in 2013.... Egypt’s open support of the Russia-backed coalition in Syria is a game changing event of fundamental importance. In the West, the war in Syria has been widely believed to be a conflict between Sunni and Shia forces - the 1400 old Islam schism. Now the largest Arab Sunni state has taken the side of the Syria’s government to become a coalition ally with Russia. The sectarian interpretation of the conflict is not valid anymore. The conflict is about fighting terrorists. As the Egyptian president noted he believes that the national army the Syrian government forces are best positioned to combat extremists and restore stability in the war-torn nation.

German Intelligence Officer "Arrested In Islamist Plot" To Blow Up Spy Headquarters
Zero Hedge - In the latest scandal set to rock Germany, Spiegel reports that a German intelligence officer has been arrested over a suspected Islamist plot to bomb the agency's headquarters in Cologne, raising fears that the spy agency itself has been infiltrated. The 51-year-old official had made a "partial confession" to the plot, Spiegel reports. The suspect attempted to pass on "sensitive information about the BfV (Germany's domestic security agency), which could lead to a threat to the office", an official told the newspaper. The spy agency first became aware of the man's activities about four weeks ago according to Der Spiegel. A spokesman for the Bundesverfassungsschutz (BfV) declined to provide details on the man's position at the agency or say when he joined. He also declined to comment on a report in Die Welt newspaper that the 51-year-old had planned to explode a bomb at the agency's central office in Cologne. "The man is accused of making Islamist remarks online under a false name, and offering internal information during chats," the spokeswoman told AFP.... The alleged mole also offered to share sensitive data about the BfV which could have endangered the agency's work, the spokesman said.... Online chats were apparently found between the suspect and other Islamists in which he attempted to recruit them to the intelligence agency to mount an attack on "non-believers".

Afghan Taliban offer security for copper, gas projects
Daily Mail - The Afghan Taliban on Tuesday offered to protect major government projects, such as the mining of a big copper deposit and an international natural gas pipeline project, to allow them to get off the ground after years of delay. The Taliban have been behind much of the violence over the last 15 years that has frightened off investors, leaving Afghanistan unable to tap natural resources and build the infrastructure necessary to wean itself off foreign aid. The militants, who calls themselves the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, maintain their fight is against foreign forces and the foreign-backed government, not ordinary Afghans.... The militants identified the $3 billion Mes Aynak copper deposit in Logar province, near Kabul, as one project they would protect. A Chinese company was awarded the mining contract nine years ago but has yet to start production because of poor security and a lack of transport infrastructure. The Taliban also mentioned the $10-billion Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) gas pipeline project and a regional electricity generation project linking Central Asia and South Asia, known as CASA-1000.

Pentagon Plans to Replace Afghan Air Force With US-Made Helicopters
Antiwar.com - Having dumped hundreds of millions of dollars over the last decade-plus creating an air force for Afghanistan, the Pentagon is looking to virtually re-do the entire scheme, proposing another $814 million to replace the Russian-made helicopters the US bought with American-made Black Hawk helicopters.... With Afghanistan’s limited pilots more experienced at flying Soviet planes, the US bought a number of Mi-17 helicopters from Russia and the Czech Republic, forming the backbone of the Afghan Air Force to this day. The Pentagon is now arguing that they should replace the entire fleet of helicopters with UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, citing “legal barriers” in the acquisition of additional Russian-made helicopters and parts over the past couple years of hostility. It is noteworthy that the Pentagon is pushing this plan before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, as Trump is said to plan a rapprochement with Russia which would likely resolve these concerns, at least in the near term. While the Pentagon is presenting this primarily as a one-off expense that will make it easier to procure parts and replacement helicopters in the future,... it ignores the substantial difficulty of retraining the entire Afghan Air Force in using this totally different style of helicopter. Retraining is an obstacle which was previously seen as so insurmountable that it was why the US bought Russian helicopters for them in the first place.

Ohio State Attacker Posted Anti-US Screed to Facebook Moments Before Ambush…
Breitbart - Abdul Razak Ali Artan reportedly attacked students at Ohio State University with a knife and car, leading to 11 people being hospitalized for injuries on Monday. Shortly after Artan’s identity was revealed, many people began researching his background, discovering that he was a Somalian refugee that had come to the university to study. ABC News reports that Artan posted to Facebook just minutes before the attack, saying, “I can’t take it anymore. America! Stop interfering with other countries, especially the Muslim Ummah. We are not weak. We are not weak, remember that.” He also mentioned the recent trend of “lone wolf” attacks carried out by sole Islamic terrorists. “If you want us Muslims to stop carrying lone wolf attacks, then make peace,” the post reads. “We will not let you sleep unless you give peace to the Muslims.” The post also mentions by name Anwar Al-Awlaki, an American-born al-Qaeda cleric killed in 2011 who Artan describes as a “hero.” Artan was shot and killed at Ohio State University by police, ending the rampage.
* Related: Islamic State Claims Credit: Abdul Razak Ali Artan Was a ‘Soldier’

Short Straw: Senior WH Aide Ben Rhodes Will Attend Fidel Castro’s Memorial
Breitbart - A senior White House aide to President Barack Obama will attend Cuba dictator Fidel Castro’s service, according to the White House press secretary Josh Earnest. The White House decided against sending an official delegation to represent the United States at Fidel Castro’s memorial, but will allow senior aide Ben Rhodes to attend as an informal symbol of his work to normalize relations with the communist country…. Rhodes’ trip, Earnest explained, would show the appropriate amount of respect for the Cuban people, but without the honor of an official delegation. Rhodes angered Washington reporters back in May after he dismissed them as being ignorant about foreign policy. “The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old, and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns,” he told the New York Times Magazine. “That’s a sea change. They literally know nothing.”

CALL TO ACTION: Oath Keepers Pledge to Protect Electors from Terrorist Death Threats
Stewart Rhodes - Oath Keepers is hereby issuing a standing offer of volunteer protection to any of the Electoral College Electors who may feel threatened or in danger from leftist radicals attempting to coerce them into changing their vote as Electors. Any Elector who wants our assistance may contact us at: electors@oathkeepers.org…. All communications and requests from electors will be kept in the strictest confidence, and only vetted, trusted, qualified Oath Keepers members will be dispatched to provide security. That protection can be overt or covert, or a combination of those two postures, at the discretion of the Elector after consultation with our security team leaders, and will consist of our unpaid volunteer retired police officers and experienced combat veterans with personal security detail training and experience. We can, and will, provide this protection from now through their vote on December 19. 2016, and even thereafter if they still feel threatened by terrorists seeking reprisal and punishment for the Electors not bending to their will. Due to the gravity of the threat to our Republic from terrorists attempting to steal the election through coercion, this is also a call to action to our state and local leaders, and in particular to our Community Preparedness Team (CPT) leaders, to prepare security details in each of the targeted states to be on standby for immediate deployment if a request for protection comes in from an Elector.

Accused South Carolina church shooter, acting as own lawyer, helps pick jurors
Reuters - The man accused of killing nine people at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, last year helped choose jurors on Tuesday for his federal death penalty trial after being allowed to serve as his own lawyer. Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against 22-year-old avowed white supremacist Dylann Roof, who is charged with acts of hate crimes, obstruction of religion and firearm use that resulted in death. U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel said he was not inclined to let Roof's former lawyers email prosecutors in the case on Roof's behalf despite the prisoner not having email access. "Mr. Roof chose to represent himself and that choice has consequences," Gergel said, adding he would give the request more thought. The judge also said the lawyers, appointed by him to serve as standby counsel, could no longer speak for Roof in court. "You are not Mr. Roof's co-counsel," Gergel said. "That is off the table. I told you, Mr. Roof, that I thought this was a bad idea, self-representation." Roof has not said publicly why he wants to defend himself against charges stemming from the shooting attack, carried out during a Bible study session at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in June 2015. His lawyers previously said he wanted to plead guilty if federal prosecutors agreed to a sentence of life in prison without parole. They refused.

Murder charge dropped in New Mexico cop's killing of homeless man
RT - The murder charge filed against one of two former Albuquerque police officers accused of killing a mentally ill homeless man has been dropped by a special prosecutor. James Boyd was shot by police following an hour-long standoff in 2014. Special Prosecutor Randi McGinn filed a notice to dismiss the charge of second-degree murder against former Officer Dominique Perez on Monday. The notice to dismiss comes more than a month after a three-week jury trial for Perez and the other officer ended with a judge declaring a mistrial because jurors could not agree on a verdict…. The video on Perez’s helmet cam showed a cop opening firing on Boyd while his back was turned to the police in March 2014. The clip was widely circulated online and led to protests, and caused the local police force to become the target of widespread condemnation. Perez was charged along with now-retired Detective Keith Sandy. Sandy was also charged with second-degree murder. He was offered a plea deal for a lesser count before the trial, which he declined. His attorney argued the shooting of Boyd was justified and Sandy did not commit a crime. It was also the first time he had fired his weapon on duty. His retrial is tentatively scheduled for July.

Thanksgiving Weekend: 70 Shot in Gun-Controlled Chicago
Breitbart - According to the Chicago Tribune, the Thanksgiving holiday weekend violence brings Chicago to nearly 4,000 shooting victims for the year. That figure includes fatal and non-fatal shootings. The number of fatal shootings alone is 710; a figure which is even more startling when you consider that there were 492 homicides for the whole of 2015. There have 710 homicides through the first 11 months of 2016. Chicago has long been a gun control experiment gone awry. The city enacted a ban on handgun ownership in 1982 and the Tribune reported that the next 10 years witnessed “murders [jump] by 41 percent, compared with an 18 percent rise in the entire United States.” And this jump made sense. After all, when bans are enacted only the criminals remain armed. The ban was overturned in 2010 via the Supreme Court ruling in McDonald v Chicago, but city leaders have worked diligently to preserve the vestiges of the ban at every turn in road. And municipal and county limits on the number of gun stores allowed in Chicago, together with rules on the locations of those stores and a ridiculous amount of regulation on acquiring and carrying guns for self-defense, have coalesced to guarantee that criminals maintain an advantage similar to what they enjoyed when the ban was in place.

Trump’s ‘Thank You Tour’ Said to Start in Ohio on Thursday
Bloomberg - President-elect Donald Trump will begin a "Thank You Tour" on Thursday in Cincinnati, replicating the arena events that powered his surprise campaign, three of his transition officials said. The Republican has credited his rallies as a central component of his victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton. The events at times drew tens of thousands of people and were often broadcast live and in their entirety on cable news networks, affording him a practically unfiltered channel to voters. His post-election tour may take him to "swing states we flipped over," George Gigicos, Trump’s director of advance, told reporters on Nov. 17. Trump won Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Florida, all states President Barack Obama won twice. He corrected reporters who called it a "victory tour.”… The Cincinnati event will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday at US Bank Arena, a previous venue for a Trump rally. Stops after Cincinnati will be announced once venues are booked, the officials said. His second event tentatively is scheduled for Des Moines, Iowa.

Furious Democrats Blast Stein's Recount Effort As Nothing But A "Scam"
Zero Hedge - Now, even prominent democratic strategists are turning on Stein as Joe Trippi described her efforts as a "waste of time and money." Worse, in an accusation that may have more substantial consequences, some Democrats have gone so far as to echo Trump’s charge that re-tallying votes from the presidential race is just a “scam” being advanced by Stein, who has raised more than $6 million to fund potential recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, three states critical to the Republican nominee’s win.... Meanwhile, the practical and logistical hurdles to success are starting to mount for Stein. In order to get a state-wide recount in Pennsylvania, Stein needed affidavits from three residents in each of Pennsylvania's 9,000 precincts to be filed by 5pm EST...something she apparently just thought about earlier today. Moreover, this afternoon the state of Wisconsin released their official "Presidential Election Recount Cost Estimate" which came in at $3.5mm, or a mere 3x more that the $1.1mm that Stein had originally estimated and more than half of the $6.4mm she's raised so far.

Trump Reaches Deal To Keep 1,000 Jobs In US
The Daily Caller - The incoming Trump administration has reached a deal with Carrier to keep about 1,000 jobs in the U.S. rather than outsourcing them to Mexico, CNBC reported Tuesday night.... President-elect Donald Trump specifically pledged to reverse Carrier’s outsourcing plan if he were elected.... On Thanksgiving, Trump announced he was negotiating with Carrier to keep at least some of its jobs in the United States. Now, those negotiations appear to have borne fruit. CNBC reported Tuesday night that a deal has been struck to keep about 1,000 jobs in the U.S., representing about half of the 2000 Carrier jobs that were to be outsourced from two different facilities. The deal, CNBC said, was spearheaded by vice president-elect and outgoing Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, and will be officially announced Thursday during a visit by Trump to the state.... It’s not clear how extensive the public inducements will be, but United Technologies has ample reason to please Trump. The company is a major defense contractor, and could lose billions of dollars if the Trump administration took a hostile position toward it.

North Dakota Police To Block Supplies From Entering Camp of Pipeline Protesters
Sputnik News - North Dakota law enforcement announced Tuesday that they will be blocking supplies from entering the Standing Rock Camp at Cannon Ball, where protesters have been attempting to halt construction on the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline. However, Governor Jack Dalrymple's office said that no blockade is planned for the camp. The move comes after Dalrymple gave an "emergency evacuation" order that will effectively expel protesters from the site. The Army Corps of Engineers, who have given demonstrators until December 5 to leave the camp, has said that it does not intend to remove the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and their supporters by force, but rather hopes to facilitate a "peaceful and orderly transition to a safer location.".... Phyllis Young, Standing Rock Sioux spokeswoman, told a news conference Monday that "We have lived for generations in this setting. That is our camp. We will continue to provide for our people there…This is Lakota territory. This is treaty territory, and no one else has jurisdiction there."

Wildfire sweeps through Tennessee resort town with a population of 4,000 that's next to Dollywood as residents evacuate
Daily Mail - Thousands of residents and visitors in the Gatlinburg area were evacuated from the Great Smoky Mountains, and hundreds of structures have been damaged and destroyed by the fire which is the worse to hit the area in decades as of Tuesday.... 'The center of Gatlinburg looks good for now,' Newmansville Volunteer Fire Department Lt. Bobby Balding told the Knoxville News Sentinel on Tuesday. 'It's the apocalypse on both sides (of downtown).'.... He [Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller] added that about 14 buildings remain ablaze in the city, as most of them are smoldering. Firefighters are going door to door in the city to make sure no one has been overlooked. Officials say about 14,000 residents and visitors were evacuated from Gatlinburg alone, and portions of Dollywood have been evacuated as wind speeds top 70 miles per hour in some parts of Tennessee, which has been hit by the worst drought in nearly a decade.... The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) says hundreds of firefighters as well as local and state personnel and National Guard troops have been sent in to help fight the blaze and check on people. TEMA estimates that more than 150 homes and structures have also been destroyed or damaged by flames, as they say there is 'little hope' for relief anytime soon.... Storms approaching the the nearly 28,000-acre Rough Ridge Fire in north Georgia and the nearly 25,000-acre Rock Mountain Fire burning on both sides of the Georgia-North Carolina line have signaled some hope for firefighters who are trying to put the blaze out Tuesday.

Elite Prepare to Hole Up in Luxury Underground Bunkers: "They Know Something The Rest of Us Do Not"
Michael Snyder - Without a doubt, something is going on among the elite. Earlier today, WND published an article that discussed the fact that wealthy people “are quietly moving away from major cities” all over the globe because of concerns about security.... And just a few weeks ago a Hollywood Reporter article entitled “Panic, Anxiety Spark Rush to Build Luxury Bunkers for L.A.’s Superrich” talked about how “Oscar winners, sports stars and Bill Gates are building lavish bunkers” because of their anxiety about what is coming next.... This is all very odd, because among the general population interest in “prepping” has hit a multi-year low. In fact, sales of emergency food and supplies are way down at the moment across the entire industry.... I really like what Carl Gallups had to say about this. Carl is the author of Be Thou Prepared, and this is what he told WND about the preparations that the elite are making... “I think that the rich and elite are becoming increasingly aware of the dangerous and potentially unstable world in which we now reside,” he warned.... Gallups noted “the rich usually have deeper connections to reliable information and prediction sources, and most of them have the means to take immediate action.” I believe that Carl Gallups is right on the money.

The Throwaway Organ You Can't Live Without
Green Med Info - The gallbladder is a muscular pear-shaped organ located just beneath your liver whose purpose is to store, concentrate and eject bile when needed. Without this infusion of bile, you can’t absorb your fat-soluble nutrients, vitamins A, D, E and K, and those all-important essential fatty acids…. The problem is, many gallbladders have become lazy, congested, and even blocked with sludge and bile stones. When bile stagnates in an underworked gallbladder, it thickens and begins to stick to itself and form gallstones. Decades of processed foods and nutritionally bankrupt low-fat and non-fat diets, compounded by increased toxic exposures, have created a gallstone epidemic. Quite literally, your gallbladder is a use-it-or-lose-it organ. Cholecystectomy (surgical gallbladder removal) is now the most common “elective” abdominal surgery in America with more than 750,000 operations performed each year…. If you have symptoms of poor fat digestion such as nausea, bloating, constipation or pale stools, or if you’ve had your gallbladder removed, then it’s wise—I might even say critical—to increase your intake of bile-building foods… 1.Beets - Beets contain betaine which thins the bile and helps prevent gallstones. Betaine is also a rich source of hydrochloric acid, which is critical for digestion and triggers your gallbladder to release bile. Beetroot protects your liver from chemical toxicity. 3.Bitters - Bitter greens such as arugula, endive, dandelion and radicchio offer wonderful benefits—as well as horseradish, which is also anti-cancer. Orange peel, gentian root, bitter artichoke and Angelica root are also excellent bitters. 4.Choline - Choline is an essential nutrient that acts as an emulsifier, assists fat digestion, reduces cellulite, decongests the liver, improves nerve and brain function, and builds hormones. Ninety percent of us are choline deficient. 5.Lecithin - Lecithin is one of the primary emulsifying agents in bile, containing significant choline. Lecithin breaks down fats making them more digestible. 6.Apple Cider Vinegar - I call apple cider vinegar a “miracle in a bottle!” ACV contains malic acid, which helps your body digest protein and thins the bile. Take one tablespoon of raw ACV in a glass of water before meals….

The Best Natural Remedies for Hypothyroidism (#3 Is a Must)
Natural News Blogs - There are lots of different factors that can cause hypothyroidism. Autoimmune disease, certain medications, and even nutrient deficiencies can be to blame…. Fatigue, dry skin, thinning hair, sensitivity to cold, constipation, weight gain, muscle weakness, and joint pain are just a few of the things that result from hypothyroidism. 1. Take a probiotic - Studies have found that supplementing with probiotics can prevent immune-mediated diseases by stimulating and strengthening the immune system…. Fermented foods like sauerkraut or dairy-free yogurts with added probiotics are great ways to enhance your gut health. Or, try adding a probiotic supplement into your daily routine to see the thyroid-boosting benefits for yourself. 2. De-stress - When we get stressed out, our stress hormones – like cortisol – can shoot up. When cortisol is elevated, it can cause another hormone known as thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) to increase too. High levels of TSH coupled with reduced thyroid hormone levels can signify hypothyroidism. 3. Go gluten-free - The problem is that the proteins in gluten have a very similar protein structure to that of thyroid tissue. When you eat lots of gluten from refined carbs, cereals, and pastas, it can set off an immune response and basically cause your own immune system to target and attack your thyroid gland…. 4. Get in enough nutrients - The two big ones are iodine and selenium, both of which are required by the thyroid gland to produce enough of the hormones needed by our body. Iodine is found in seaweed, eggs, potatoes, cranberries, and navy beans while selenium is plentiful in fish, chicken, turkey, beef, and Brazil nuts…. 5. Ditch the dairy - Much like gluten, loading up on the dairy products can set off an immune response, diminishing thyroid function, and intensifying the negative symptoms that come with hypothyroidism….

Your Body Needs These Minerals if You Crave These Kinds of Junk Food
Natural News Blogs - Most folks don’t realize that mineral deficiencies make them crave junk food. They’re only aware of the common causes of food cravings like hunger, food addiction and low blood glucose levels. If your cravings don’t end after eating the foods you crave, you may have mineral deficiencies. And different deficiencies trigger cravings for different foods. Below are foods most people crave and the mineral deficiencies that cause these cravings. 1. Chocolate cravings: If you find yourself craving chocolate all the time your body probably needs magnesium. Research shows that low magnesium levels cause chocolate cravings. Eat magnesium-rich foods like spinach, citrus fruits, and nuts. 2. High-fat or oily food cravings: Calcium deficiency makes us crave high-fat foods. Milk, cheese, broccoli, and turnip greens are great sources of calcium. 3. Sugar cravings: Sugar or sweet cravings can be triggered by different deficiencies. They include, Sulphur, carbon, chromium, phosphorus, and tryptophan deficiency. Foods rich in these minerals include fish, broccoli, poultry, liver, raisins, eggs, sweet potatoes and cranberries. 4. Bread cravings: Nitrogen deficiency is known to cause bread or toast cravings. You can fight these cravings by eating nuts, fish, and nuts….

What one food vegetarians should avoid when battling Lyme
Lyme Disease Research Database - You may be a vegan or vegetarian who eats soy products to increase your protein. Nurse Jean Reist has treated Lyme patients in her Pennsylvania clinic. She explains the importance of protein in the diet. Think of it as your weekly tasks of stocking your fridge with healthy foods and taking out the garbage. That’s similar to what occurs inside the lymph nodes on a regularly basis. Critical trace minerals are transported by protein through the lymph system. If the patient’s diet lacks protein, the lymph system cannot properly do its job of delivering nutrients to the cells and taking out the toxins. So she suggests vegetarians help out by adding a small amount of animal protein to their diet while battling the Lyme bacteria. Eggs, whey, fish okay — but not soy. Reist cautions against soy products because soy is high in copper. Lyme patients must also try to rid our bodies of an overload of metals, among them lead, aluminum, mercury, and copper.

Video: Follow Up After The Bombing - This Guy Is Saving Cats In War-Torn Syria
The Dodo - When everyone left war-torn Syria, this guy stayed to take care of their cats. Now his sanctuary's been bombed, and he is doing all he can to get the animals to a safer place

Better Than Black Friday: ASPCA Sees ‘Record-Breaking’ Number Of Cat Friday Adoptions!
The Catington Post - The organization held its sixth annual “Cat Friday” event on Friday [Nov. 25th] in Manhattan. On this special day, the ASPCA Adoption Center waived all fees for cat adoptions! Every kitty adopted from the ASPCA comes spayed or neutered, up-to-date on vaccines and microchipped. Plus, any new pet parents who adopted a cat over one-year-old on “Cat Friday” also got a free hard carrier! Needless to say, the event was a HUGE hit – resulting in what the ASPCA says is a “record-breaking number of adoptions” in a single day. This was the rescue’s 6th annual event, and the most popular to date. On Friday, 89 cats, plus a dog, found homes, and 44 animals who aren’t ready to go home yet were placed on adoption holds…. While lots of cats got homes in time for the holidays, there are still many that are still available and looking for their own humans. See the ASPCA’s available cats and dogs here.

Tuesday - November 29, 2016 - Today In History:

1864 - The Sand Creek Massacre occurred in Colorado when a militia led by Colonel John Chivington, killed at least 400 peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians who had surrendered and had been given permission to camp.
1890 - Navy defeated Army by a score of 24-0 in the first Army-Navy football game. The game was played at West Point, NY.
1929 - The first airplane flight over the South Pole was made by U.S. Navy Lt. Comdr. Richard E. Byrd.
1939 - The USSR broke off diplomatic relations with Finland prior to a Soviet attack.
1947 - The U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution that called for the division of Palestine between Arabs and Jews.
1963 - U.S. President Johnson named a commission headed by Earl Warren to investigate the assassination of President Kennedy.
1967 - U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced that he was leaving the Johnson administration to become president of the World Bank.
1975 - Bill Gates adopted the name Microsoft for the company he and Paul Allen had formed to write the BASIC computer language for the Altair.
1982 - The U.N. General Assembly voted that the Soviet Union should withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.
1987 - A Korean jetliner disappeared off Burma, with 115 people aboard.
1987 - Cuban detainees released 26 hostages they'd been holding for more than a week at the Federal Detention Center in Oakdale, LA.
1990 - The U.N. Security Council voted to authorize military action if Iraq did not withdraw its troops from Kuwait and release all foreign hostages by January 15, 1991.
1996 - A U.N. court sentenced Bosnian Serb army soldier Drazen Erdemovic to 10 years in prison for his role in the massacre of 1,200 Muslims. The sentence was the first international war crimes sentence since World War II.
1998 - Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected legalizing heroin and other narcotics.
2001 - Rock musician George Harrison of the Beatles died at age 58 following a battle with cancer.
2008 - In China, construction on the Shanghai Tower began.

IDF strikes ISIS compound in Syria after militants’ 1st cross-border attack
RT - On Sunday, an IDF [Israel Defense Forces] patrol came under small arms and mortar fire from across the border on Israeli part of the Golan Heights at around 8:30am local time, according to the Jerusalem Post. The gunmen were said to be from the IS-affiliated grouping called ‘Shuhada al-Yarmouk’. None of the soldiers, all members of IDF’s elite Golani Brigade, was injured, the Israeli military said. In retaliation, the Israeli Air Force scrambled aircraft which spotted and then destroyed a car on the other side of the border, armed with a heavy machine gun.... The clash is the first of its kind between Israel and IS-linked militants located in Syria, Israeli media report. The fact that the terrorist group has not staged attacks against Israeli before has given birth to numerous speculations about alleged links between the two sides. In March, the Times of Israel quoted an article published by IS-run newspaper Al-Naba, which strongly rejected prospect of attacking Israel and lambasted an idea that Palestine was “the Muslims’ primary cause.” The stunning article argued that “jihad in Palestine is equal to jihad elsewhere,” suggesting there is nothing outstanding in the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Instead, the IS mouthpiece pointed out to the necessity to capture two holy Islamic cities of Mecca and Medina governed by the “tyrannical” Saudi royal family.

Obama Just Expanded the Global War on Terror to Somalia
The AntiMedia - With just over a month left in office, President Obama has once again expanded America’s global war on terror, announcing that he has formally added Somali militant faction al-Shabaab into the “perpetrators of 9/11” war authorization from back in 2001. Passed on September 14 of 2001, the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) was intended to authorize the war against al-Qaeda, but officials have used as the legal justification of myriad unrelated American wars around the world, of which al-Shabaab is just the latest. The AUMF authorized war against any nations or organizations involved in 9/11. Al-Shabaab didn’t exist until years later, with the group forming in 2007 and becoming a US-listed terror group in 2008. President Obama, however, seems comfortable continuing to abuse the AUMF for any war that strikes his fancy. The timing is particularly unusual, with Obama previously saying he didn’t want to start any new wars this late in his term to leave for the next president. While Obama has been attacking al-Shabaab for years anyhow, the reason behind the official declaration is unknown.

Iraq Sending Shia Militias to Mosul, Directly Violating Promise to Turkey
Breitbart - Iraq’s parliament on Saturday voted overwhelmingly to allow Iran-backed Shia militias to take part in the military operation to recapture Mosul from the so-called Islamic State (IS or ISIS or ISIL or Daesh). The vote was apparently 208 to zero. That is because all the Sunni lawmakers boycotted the vote in protest, while all the Shia lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favor. The parliament has 328 seats. Mosul is a city of close to a million people, mostly Sunni Muslims. They’re well aware that Shia militias are accused of atrocities committed against Sunni residents of towns that Shia militias have previously liberated from ISIS.... For this reason, Turkey has predicted a sectarian war if Shia militias are part of the force sent to liberate Mosul, and has demanded that the Iraqi army alone liberate Mosul, a condition to which Iraq has previously agreed. But now Iraq has apparently reneged on that commitment. Mosul is a historically Sunni city and was part of the Ottoman empire, and any attempt to change is demographic composition would be a direct threat to Turkey’s security. The concern is that the population would be diluted by Kurds or by Shia Muslims coming from Iran. Turkey would consider that to be a threat to its security.

Netanyahu Thanks Abbas For Help Battling Blazes Across Israel
Breitbart - The Palestinian Authority sent 40 firefighters and eight fire trucks to help douse the fires, alongside firefighting equipment sent by Israel’s neighboring Arab allies. The prime minister also told Abbas of his appreciation for the cooperation between Jews and Arabs on the ground, many of whom opened their homes to those in need of temporary shelter. Jordan and Egypt joined Croatia, Turkey, Italy, Russia, Cyprus, Bulgaria and the U.S. in the firefighting efforts, sending trucks and helicopters. The Muslim-majority nation of Azerbaijan announced over the weekend that it sent BE-200CS amphibious aircraft to Israel. The solidarity came as a welcome counter to multiple reports alleging that many of the fires were nationalistically-motivated arson and the celebratory battle cries sweeping Arabic-language social media in which “Israel is burning” became the highest trending hashtag in recent days.... Palestinian firefighter Muhammad Amayra praised his Israeli peers for their response to the help. “The Israeli firefighters welcomed us very nicely,” Amayra told Army radio. “They helped us with everything, and always asked if we needed anything. Israeli firefighters are excellent firefighters. Maybe they lack big things like planes or supertankers but they are excellent firefighters.” Amayra said he was moved when Israeli parents with children came out to shake hands with the firefighters, thanking them for their efforts “in Hebrew and Arabic and all the languages.” “That gave us a great feeling and it gave me hope that in the future we will be alright,” he said.

Russia launching new 'nuclear trains' that can fire SIX ballistic missiles which are hidden inside carriages
The Mirror - Russia is strengthening its military arsenal by bringing back "nuclear trains" which can launch intercontinental missiles that are hidden in carriages. Plans for the Barguzin "railway-based combat rocket system" are moving to the next stage as escalating tensions between Russia and Nato countries have sparked fears of a new war. Military sources told Russian news agencies that the trains will be able to carry up to six Yars or Yars-M thermonuclear ballistic missiles and launchers. Once the system is fully operational the roof of a carriage will open and a missile will be raised vertically into the air before it is fired at its target. Once the system is fully operational the roof of a carriage will open and a missile will be raised vertically into the air before it is fired at its target. Plans for the mobile missile system were announced around two years ago, and early testing has been hailed as a success. The missile trains could enter service as early as 2018 once further tests are completed…. Last year the government-owned daily newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported that the trains could travel up to 600 miles a day and be hidden in tunnels so they couldn't be detected by planes or satellites.

Victory for hardline Fillon is not all bad news for Le Pen
The Local - ... opinion polls, granted they are not that reliable these days, ... suggest that given the lack of an outstanding, unifying candidate on the French left, Le Pen will probably face François Fillon after he beat Alain Juppé in the second round of the rightwing primary on Sunday. In the post-Trump, post-Brexit world, experts say a Le Pen victory in next year's presidential election is no longer a far-fetched idea.... Le Pen’s team have openly admitted that they had not even planned for the scenario of facing Fillon, but they will have to now.... Many analysts believe next year's election campaign will revolve around the issues of French identity and security where Le Pen may struggle to differentiate herself from a hardline Fillon.... Just like Le Pen, Fillon promotes a hardline on political or totalitarian Islam in France.... And on the hot-button issue of security, Fillon’s desire to strip jihadists of their French nationality has long been the preferred policy of Le Pen’s party.... He voted against gay marriage when it was introduced by Socialist President Francois Hollande and has said he wants to amend the 2013 law.... Le Pen will be buoyed by the fact Fillon's planned free-market liberal economic reforms are the kind have been credited for the popularity of Donald Trump among disaffected and disadvantaged American working class voters as well as the anti-EU feeling in the UK that drove many poor working class voters to buy into Brexit. The populist will try to persuade French voters that Fillon will simply lead France, where globalization has also created losers and lost communities, down the same path as Britain and US and it will end in tears. After Fillon's victory on Sunday Le Pen wasted no time to attack him arguing: "Never has any candidate gone so far in submitting to the ultra-liberal demands of the European Union."

Jean-Claude Juncker pleads with EU leaders not to hold 'in-out' referendums
Daily Mail - Jean-Claude Juncker has urged EU leaders not to hold referendums on their membership of the bloc because he fears their voters will also choose to leave. The European Commission president said giving people a vote would be 'unwise' as they could seek to replicate Brexit. His remarks come as one of the contenders to become Austrian president has threatened to hold a referendum if the EU integrates further.... Mr. Juncker, who has faced blame for the Brexit vote, insisted 'the existence of the EU is not in doubt'. He claimed the EU's weakness was a 'lack of love' rather than because of the actions of Brussels.... Asked about whether Britain would be made an example of to discourage other countries from leaving the EU, Mr. Juncker said: 'It is not really a question of that. I am not looking for revenge when it comes to the UK.

Australia to pay women’s prison operator $11k for every inmate who avoids reoffending for 2yrs
RT - The program is focused on western Australia’s newest women's prison, which is one of three private prisons in the state and is run by international conglomerate Sodexo. The company has a two-decade record of providing detention services for the UK government. The operator will receive 15,000 Australian dollars (US$11,000) for every inmate who stays on the right side of the law for two years after release, provided that the number of such women is above a specified level. At present, a third of all women prisoners in Australia end up reoffending. According to Rebecca Hamilton, director of strategic policy at western Australia’s Department of Corrective Services, the initiative may solve overcrowding issues in the state penitentiary.... She says the UK has had notable success with a similar program, and Australia aims to follow its lead. "So basically what we're saying to Sodexo is if you can successfully provide programs for a woman so she doesn't reoffend then we'll pay you more for that than we will for a woman who comes back into the system,” she explains.... Sodexo won the contract to run the 256-bed facility in June.... The government’s pick of yet another private operator over a public sector bid was criticized by trade unions at the time, which claimed the decision was partially motivated by ideology, according to Business News Western Australia.

6 Dead and 8500 Hospitalized in Australia Due to "Rare Thunderstorm Asthma"
The Daily Sheeple - The official story on this just sounds totally made up. More than 8,500 people were hospitalized last week and six have now died in Australia due to what is being reported as a rare phenomenon known as “thunderstorm asthma”.... Here’s the “official story”. What officials are suggesting happened is that pollen grains from rye grass fields surrounding Melboune were blown across the city just before a sudden downpour. Once the rain hit, the pollen grains absorbed the moisture and burst in the air, releasing thousands of much smaller allergen nanoparticles that were inhaled and became trapped in people’s lungs. Once the rain stopped, thousands of people began suffering asthma symptoms all at once, everything from breathing issues to cardiac problems. Some people suffered heart attacks. Six people have died so far. One girl died in her family’s arms in their front lawn after waiting more than half an hour for an ambulance. The system was completely overloaded. Apparently in Melbourne they ran out of ambulances and had to resort to every other emergency and even non-emergency vehicles they could find to help get people to the hospital. More than 60 people are still in the hospital, some in critical condition fighting for their lives.... The official story sounds fishy to say the least, which is why speculation has risen that some kind of biological warfare agent is being tested. Sure, that’s conspiracy talk, but for once the conspiracy sounds a hell of a lot more plausible than the official narrative of “thunderstorm asthma”.

Fukushima cost estimates nearly double, approaching $200 billion
Ars Technica - Yesterday, the Nikkei news service reported that the Japanese government is expecting the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns to cost nearly double its earlier estimates. Citing government sources, the report says the total expenses will run at least $176 billion and are likely to rise even further in the future.... The government's previous official estimates were generated in 2013 and continued to be used in official statements, even though the scale of the challenges became more widely appreciated since. The new estimates include more than $70 billion for compensation payments to citizens affected by the meltdowns, an increase of nearly 50 percent. Decontamination of the region around the Fukushima site is now pegged at over $40 billion, roughly double the previous estimate. But the big increases come from interim storage of radioactive materials and the decommissioning of the reactors themselves.... Simply holding that material until it was processed had originally been estimated to cost about $10 billion, but it's now recognized that this figure will be woefully insufficient. Decommissioning the reactors had originally been pegged at $18 billion, but that's now also recognized as being inadequate. It is likely the costs of doing so will ultimately exceed $2 billion a year, and the process is expected to take 30 to 40 years. All of this assumes that nothing goes wrong in the meantime.

Federal agencies push flurry of 'midnight' rule-making under Obama
CS Monitor - The White House was reviewing as many as 98 final regulations, as of Nov. 15, that could be implemented before Mr. Trump takes office, including 17 with an estimated annual economic impact of $100 million or more, Politico reported. But lawmakers have warned agency heads to avoid rushing to finalize rules or regulations before Obama leaves office.... Several of the new rules slated for installation before Trump assumes office include environmental protections that critics argue hamper business interests and economic potential. Although some offices had initially delayed implementation of their rules, expecting Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to win on Election Day, the offices have pivoted to promulgate the rules quickly after Trump's unexpected win – and faced criticism. "We're looking at the stack of regulations and the fact that the agencies are just as ill-prepared to make these new regulations work as we are confused on how we can possibly comply in such a short time," Kathleen Sgamma, vice president of government and public affairs at the Western Energy Alliance in Denver, told The Hill.... Republicans who hope to undo segments of Obama's legacy have a powerful tool to do so in the Congressional Review Act of 1996. The law will enable Congress in January to repeal, with a simple-majority vote, any agency rule completed after May 30, 2016, as Politico reported. After blocking any rule with that mechanism, the agency would be barred from enacting anything that is "substantially the same."

WikiLeaks Releases More Than 500k US Diplomatic Cables
The Daily Caller - WikiLeaks released Monday more than half a million U.S. diplomatic cables from the year 1979. “If any year could be said to be the ‘year zero’ of our modern era, 1979 is it,” WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said in a press release. “In the Middle East, the Iranian revolution, the Saudi Islamic uprising and the Egypt-Israel Camp David Accords led not only to the present regional power dynamic but decisively changed the relationship between oil, militant Islam and the world,” Assange added. The total number of documents in the WikiLeaks’ diplomatic cable collection is now 3.3 million, with the addition of these new 531,525 cables. Some of the events covered in the new leaks are the Iranian Revolution, Saddam Hussein taking power in Iraq, multiple coups, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Terrorism Suspected in Car-and-Knife Attack at Ohio State
CNS News - A Somali-born college student plowed his car into a group of pedestrians at Ohio State University and began stabbing people with a butcher knife Monday before he was shot to death by a police officer. Police said they are investigating whether it was a terrorist attack. Eleven people were hurt, one critically. The attacker was identified as Ohio State student Abdul Razak Ali Artan. He was born in Somalia and was a legal permanent resident of the U.S.... The details emerged after a morning of confusion and conflicting reports that began with the university issuing a series of tweets warning that there was an "active shooter" on campus near the engineering building and that students should "run, hide, fight." The warning was apparently prompted by what turned out to be police gunfire.Ohio State Police Chief Craig Stone said that the assailant deliberately drove over a curb outside a classroom building and then got out and began attacking people with the knife. A campus officer who happened to be nearby because of a gas leak arrived on the scene and shot the driver in less than a minute, Stone said.... Most of the injured were hurt by the car, and at least two were stabbed, officials said. One had a fractured skull. Asked at a news conference whether authorities were considering the possibility it was a terrorist act, Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs said: "I think we have to consider that it is." Surveillance photos showed Artan in the car by himself just before the attack, but investigators were looking into whether anyone else was involved, the campus police chief said.

How Fake News Spreads: Corporate Media Run Story of “Active Shooter” During a Knife Attack
Activist Post - For all the noise out of the mainstream corporate media about “fake news,” it didn’t take long for a mass knife attack at Ohio State University on Monday morning to morph into widespread reporting of an “active shooter.” Initial reports, echoed across the corporate media landscape, described the attack as a shooting — when in reality law enforcement sources later confirmed it was a knife attack. This phenomenon highlights exactly how the “fog of war,” and rush to be the first to report on a story, can result in a story being reported fallaciously. Of course, the narrative sold by the mainstream is that alternative media is unreliable and, thus, corporate media must be relied upon as the standard bearers of “truthful and legitimate” information. Obviously, this type of wildfire reporting of false information across the whole of mainstream media calls into question the veracity of the reporting and fact checking done by these mainstream outlets that are so quick to call independent news “fake.” Unsurprisingly, only minutes after news broke that there was an alleged active shooter, calls across the social media universe for stronger gun control began, due to the false reports of an active shooter. Liberal opportunists on Twitter were quick to blame the knife attack on lackluster laws gun control laws.

Texas Governor Abbott to Sign Law Banning Illegal-alien Sanctuary Cities
The New American - Texas Governor Greg Abbott has said he’ll sign a law banning sanctuary cities in the Lone Star State. In a November 27 reply to an inquiry from a Twitter user who asked whether he would respond to overtures from political candidates who want Travis County to stop cooperating with ICE agents and make Austin a sanctuary city, Abbott tweeted back: “I'm going to sign a law that bans sanctuary cities. Also I’ve already issued an order cutting funding to sanctuary cities.”.... On November 15, Texas State Senator Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) filed a bill (S.B. 4) to end “sanctuary cities” in Texas and force compliance with Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers. Courthouse News Service (CN) reported on November 18 that S.B. 4 requires local law-enforcement officers to provide notice to a judge or magistrate that an arrested person is in the country illegally if he or she cannot prove a legal right to be in the country within 48 hours. The law would allow people to file complaints with the Texas attorney general if local authorities carry out sanctuary city policies that discourage enforcement of federal immigration laws. The attorney general would then have authority to pursue the alleged violations in court, and the local municipality would be denied state grant money for the following year.

Putin Winning TIME Person Of The Year In A Landslide
InvestmentWatch - Putin has opened up a huge lead in the 2016 poll, currently sitting on 38% of the vote. Donald Trump is in second place with 13%, Julian Assange has 3% and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both have less than 1%. The Russian president, who has a massive 25% lead over second place, appears certain to win the public poll in a landslide. But will the establishment allow TIME to crown Putin as the Person of the Year for 2016 – or will they disregard the voice of the people and choose their own winner?... But the TIME Person of the Year poll results shows that Americans have started to wake up and notice, and they are not falling for the propaganda. Real people, unswayed by mainstream media, are backing Putin in their droves.

Pennsylvania State Department says Stein missed recount deadline
Washington Examiner - Stein missed Pennsylvania's deadline to file for a voter-initiated recount. That blown deadline is a huge blow for Democrats who have pinned their hopes on recounts in the Keystone State, Michigan and Wisconsin. "According to Wanda Murren, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of State," the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Monday, "the deadline for a voter-initiated recount was Monday, Nov. 21." Allied with Clinton's camp, Stein can still mount a legal challenge. While the chances of litigation are uncertain, the vote tally is clear. Trump beat Clinton in Pennsylvania, a feat not accomplished by a Republican since Ronald Reagan in 1984. While it wasn't a landslide, it wasn't close either. Trump carried the state with 70,000 votes, a significant margin that will be hard to overcome. And even if Stein manages a recount in Pennsylvania, nothing's guaranteed. Of the thousands of statewide races in the last 15 years, only 27 have been decided by recounts and only three challengers have pulled off an upset.

Wisconsin Insider on Recount: Expect MASSIVE DNC Voter Fraud to be Exposed
The Gateway Pundit - The Wisconsin Elections Commission set a timetable Monday for a recount of the presidential election but rejected a request for a hand recount. The commission is made up of three Democrats and three Republicans. It adopted the recount plans unanimously. Meanwhile a Wisconsin insider on 4Chan said to expect the recount to expose massive DNC fraud. The Anonymous “insider” says the recount will reveal people out of state voting, non citizens voting, people voting numerous times, and nursing home violations. Be ready for Trump to improve his margin of victory. Trump won Wisconsin by 27,506 votes.

McDonald’s Response to $15 Minimum Wage: Automation in Every Store
The New American - It’s official: McDonald’s says that every one of its 14,000 stores nationwide will be replacing cashiers with automated touch-screen kiosks. They’re starting with stores where minimum-wage laws mandate the highest rates, such as Florida, New York, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Seattle.... It’s all about the math. If a store can replace a $15 an hour employee with a robot that costs $35,000, it will not only improve that store’s operating margins but will actually enhance customer experience: robots don’t get sick, they don’t have attitudes or get pregnant, they don’t go on strike, they always show up for work on time, and, as software improves, will provide a friendly, interactive interface with the store. McDonald’s decision will also answer, finally and forever, the question that economics textbooks and economics professors have been raising and then trying to answer for decades: What impact will raising the minimum wage have?... Here’s the math: a worker being paid $15 an hour costs his employer $38,500 a year, including unemployment insurance and the employer’s part of Social Security. If [former McDonalds CEO Ed] Rensi is right, and the average robot in a McDonald’s costs $35,000, in less than a year that store has paid for it in reduced wages, and eliminates that $15 an hour cost forever after.

Army Corps Says It Won't Forcibly Evict Standing Rock Water Protectors, But Refuse To Elaborate
The Free Thought Project - In a follow-up of its letter to leaders of the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a statement Sunday clarifying it has no plans to forcibly evict water protectors from camps north of the Cannonball River on December 5.... Army Corps Omaha District Commander Col. John Henderson claims the supposedly non-forceful eviction is necessary to protect the safety of those presently camped north of the Cannonball River, as well as law enforcement officers.... Henderson did indeed express concern about the violent clashes between water protectors and police in the letter to the Tribes — but said the primary impetus was “due to the harsh North Dakota winter conditions.” If Henderson’s honest consideration in the choice to close the camps pertained to winter weather, how would a new location just across the river into a designated “free speech zone” — obviously experiencing the same bitter conditions — alleviate worries about the weather?

Sheriffs Across US Refusing to Send Police and Equipment to DAPL as Outrage and Costs Grow
Activist Post - In response to an increasingly furious public outcry, sheriffs from around the country have refused to send personnel and equipment to assist the Morton County Sheriff’s Department in guarding construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. A massive campaign of angry phone calls and indignant emails to departments planning to travel to North Dakota succeeded in persuading multiple sheriffs — elected officials — the brutal tactics used against peaceful Standing Rock Sioux and other water protectors have been a gross abuse of power. That law enforcement have employed disproportionate force against water protectors is irrefutable; and while Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier might technically be tasked with ensuring Dakota Access can proceed where legally permitted, he is indisputably responsible for protecting people exercising their First Amendment rights.

Complaints grow over whites turning Dakota Access protest into hippie festival
Washington Times - “Need to get something off my chest that I witnessed and found very disturbing in my brief time there that I believe many others have started to speak up about as well. White people colonizing the camps,” said Alicia Smith on Facebook. “They are coming in, taking food, clothing etc and occupying space without any desire to participate in camp maintenance and without respect of tribal protocols,” she said. “These people are treating it like it is Burning Man or The Rainbow Gathering and I even witnessed several wandering in and out of camps comparing it to those festivals.” Her Nov. 14 post, now making the rounds on social media, said outsiders are “literally subsisting entirely off the generosity of native people (AND YOUR DONATIONS if you have been donating) who are fighting to protect their water just because they can.”.... Standing Rock Sioux chairman David Archambault II, who is leading the protest, raised concerns about sanitation in a Nov. 23 interview with Vice, saying activists are “digging pits out there for their human waste.” “That’s a flood zone,” said Mr. Archambault, referring to camps on federal land along the Cannonball River. “So when the floodwaters come up, that waste is going to be contaminating the water. We’re no different than the oil company, if we’re fighting for water. What’s going to happen when people leave? Who has to clean it up? Who has to refurbish it? It’s going to be us, the people who live here.” As many as 3,000 people have moved in and out of the southern North Dakota camps since Aug. 10. Some protesters belong to the Standing Rock and other tribes, but many are students, environmental activists and agitators with criminal records who have ignored Mr. Archambault’s repeated calls for peaceful demonstrations. “Before this entire movement started, that was some of the most beautiful land around,” Mr. Archambault said. “There was a place down there where eagles, over 100 eagles would come and land. There were game down there—deer, pheasants, elk, geese. Now, it’s occupied by people. And when masses of people come to one place, we don’t take care of it.”

Ransomware locks up San Francisco public transportation ticket machines
Ars Technica - Black Friday was a dark day for San Francisco's Municipal Transportation Agency, as an apparent crypto-ransomware infection spread across the Muni system's networks, taking down ticketing for Muni's train stations and systems used to manage the city's buses. The operator of the ransomware demanded $73,000 in exchange for restoration of Muni's data, according to a report from the San Francisco Examiner.... On Friday and Saturday (November 25 and November 26), Muni train stations' gates were open—with ticket machines displaying "out of order" messages, passengers were allowed to ride for free. The Examiner reports that bus drivers were given hand-written route assignments. By Sunday, many of Muni's systems were apparently restored.... It isn't clear if SFMTA paid the ransom demanded or if systems were restored from a backup.

Nikola Motors Receives $2.3 Billion In Pre-Order Sales For New Electric Truck
True Activist - Earlier this year, Nikola Motors (which was named after physicist Nikola Tesla) unveiled its new electric truck. The ‘Nikola One’ is equipped with a 320 kWh battery pack that enables it to travel up to 1,200 miles when combined with the natural gas range extender…. The truck is a revolutionary vehicle, which is why consumers have been happily setting aside money to reserve their own. In fact, the electric truck – which will be available in about three days – has already received over $2.3 billion in pre-orders. Says Trevor Milton, CEO of Nikola Motors: “Our technology is 10-15 years ahead of any other OEM in fuel efficiencies, MPG and emissions. We are the only OEM to have a near zero emission truck and still outperform diesel trucks running at 80,000 pounds. To have over 7,000 reservations totaling more than 2.3 billion dollars, with five months remaining until our unveiling ceremony, is unprecedented.”… The company wants to create a special lease program for truck drivers to rent the vehicle. Truckers will be able to pay $5,000 / month to lease the vehicle, and the contract will include unlimited miles, unlimited fuel, warranty and maintenance. A truck driver would also be able to trade-in his Nikola One for a new electric truck every 72 months or 1,000,000 miles at no additional cost. To ensure the startup succeeds, the company will need to install natural gas CNG refueling stations around the nation.

All About The Health Benefits Of Watercress
Natural News Blogs - Watercress, also known as common cress or garden cress, is a dark, leafy and aquatic plant grown in the natural spring water or the slow – moving streams. As of being a brassica member of plant genus (along with broccoli, arugula, and Brussel sprouts), watercress’ health benefits are inherited from another Brassica…. Watercress contains a high level of dietary nitrate which has been shown to lower the blood pressures, decrease the amount of oxygen needed during exercise and enhance the athletic performance. Moreover, according to the scientists, watercress consists of a higher amount of vitamin C than orange, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach and more folate than a banana. Watercress has a low level of calories but comprises phytonutrients like isothiocyanates and antioxidants with a plethora of disease-preventive properties which are all required for a healthy body. It is shown by the studies that a compound of cruciferous vegetables known as 3,3′-diindolylmethane (DIM) has protective effects against cancer; however, these recent studies provide hope for cancer patients for using it as a shield to defend the healthy tissues all along the cancer treatment. Cruciferous vegetables are shown to lower the risk of lung and colon cancer…. Watercress also consists of a great amount of chlorophyll, which might be beneficial at impeding the carcinogenic effects of heterocyclic amines generated while grilling foods at a high temperature. Those who consume diets which have a low level of magnesium, calcium, and other mineral elements might bear a higher chance of having high blood pressure. By releasing the sodium out of the body and helping the arteries dilate, these mineral are thought to bring the blood pressure down…. It is proved that low intake of vitamin K is one of the highest likely reason leading to bone fracture. With approximately 212% of vitamin K in two cups of watercress, it is highly recommended to take adequate vitamin K which acts as a modifier of bone matrix proteins, to improve bone health, calcium absorption and lowering urinary excretion of calcium.

21 Simple Tricks You Had No Idea Could Get Rid Of A Cough
Healthy Holistic Living - Here are some home remedies that seem to be effective at reducing or eliminating coughing…. 1. Salt Water Gargle - To make a disinfectant solution that soothes an inflamed throat and relieves a cough, just dissolve a half teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water. 2. Steam Inhalation - Inhaling steam before bed clears up nasal and chest congestion… Eucalyptus oil or menthol is sometimes added to the boiling water for extra effect, but it’s not necessary. Just plain water brought to a rolling boil can provide enough steam for the next 10-15 minutes. Cover your head with a towel and inhale the vapors from a safe distance to avoid burns….3. Fresh Ginger - The strong anti-inflammatory action of ginger helps relieve a sore throat and airway inflammation whether it’s from allergens or infections. You can extract ginger juice from a fresh rhizome and mix it with an equal amount of honey to make a cough syrup. Take just a few drops at a time to soothe the throat and suppress a cough… 4. Lemon and Honey - Mix in the juice of a small lemon and two tablespoons of honey in warm water and drink it. It helps lighten the mucus and makes it easy to bring it up. Make several cups of this drink and use it as and when you need it. 5. Dry Ginger and Pepper - Dry ginger and black pepper powdered together is a traditional Ayurvedic remedy for a cough. It’s a handy mixture to carry about for instant relief…. You need only a tiny pinch of the mixture on your tongue, but it is extremely spicy and pungent…. 6. Turmeric Milk - Since turmeric can fight both bacteria and viruses, besides relieving inflammation, it is very effective in treating coughs due to a throat and respiratory tract infection. To make turmeric milk mix one to two teaspoons of turmeric powder in a cup of hot milk and drink it twice a day. Traditionally, goat’s milk is recommended as cow’s milk is thought to increase phlegm. Alternatively, you can boil turmeric in water and add a tsp butter or coconut oil since fat enhances the bioavailability of curcumin.
 

Monday - November 28, 2016 - Today In History:

1919 - American-born Lady Astor was elected the first female member of the British Parliament.
1922 - Capt. Cyril Turner of the Royal Air Force gave the first public exhibition of skywriting. He spelled out, "Hello USA. Call Vanderbilt 7200" over New York's Times Square.
1925 - The Grand Ole Opry made its radio debut on station WSM.
1943 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Leader Joseph Stalin met in Tehran to map out strategy concerning World War II.
1963 - U.S. President Johnson announced that Cape Canaveral would be renamed Cape Kennedy in honor of his assassinated predecessor. The name was changed back to Cape Canaveral in 1973 by a vote of residents.
1964 - The U.S. launched the space probe Mariner IV from Cape Kennedy on a course set for Mars.
1983 - The space shuttle Columbia took off with the STS-9 Spacelab in its cargo bay.
1989 - Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci arrived in New York after escaping her homeland through Hungary.
1990 - Margaret Thatcher resigned as prime minister of Britain.
1992 - In Bosnia-Herzegovina, 137 tons of food and supplies were to be delivered to the isolated town of Srebrenica.
1994 - Jeffrey Dahmer, a convicted serial killer, was clubbed to death in a Wisconsin prison by a fellow inmate.
1995 - U.S. President Clinton signed a $6 billion road bill that ended the federal 55 mph speed limit.
2010 - WikiLeaks released to the public more than 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables. About 100,000 were marked "secret" or "confidential."

First U.S. service member killed in Syria fighting the Islamic State
Washington Post - A U.S. Navy bomb disposal technician was killed by an improvised explosive device in northern Syria on Thursday, the Pentagon announced in a statement. Senior Chief Petty Officer Scott C. Dayton, 42, of Woodbridge, Va., was killed near Ain Issa, a town roughly 35 miles northwest of the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa. The death marks the first time a U.S. service member has been killed in the country since a contingent of Special Operations forces was deployed there in October 2015 to go after the extremist group…. Dayton entered the Navy on Feb. 17, 1993, and received 19 awards, including the Bronze Star and the Combat Action Ribbon, during his time in the service, according to a Navy release. He also served multiple previous deployments to Iraq…. Dayton was assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 2 based in Virginia Beach and was also a qualified surface warfare specialist. While Dayton was the first American to die fighting against the Islamic State in Syria, he is the fifth U.S. service member killed in combat since the U.S.-led campaign to rid the region of the Islamic State began in 2014…. There are roughly 500 U.S. troops in Syria, mostly operating in a support role to a coalition of Arab and Kurdish fighters fighting the Islamic State and known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF. Earlier this month, Carter announced that the SDF had begun initial operations to isolate and eventually retake Raqqa.

Russia tells US 'If you cannot fight ISIS don’t get in the way'
Daily Mail Online - The US has been accused of hampering efforts to tackle ISIS in Syria, as a war of words broke out between Washington and Moscow. Russia's military reacted with fury after the US State Department urged other nations to deny port access to its oil tankers. Major General Igor Konashenkov said the call was an attempt to hamper Russia's efforts to 'fight international terrorism in Syria'. The remark came after US State Department Mark Toner said countries in the region should not support Russian tanker ships carrying fuel to be used in airstrikes on civilians. He said yesterday: 'While the decision to allow a port call is a national determination, we believe that states in the region should not support any Russian tanker ship carrying fuel to be used in ongoing air strikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Syria.' Konashenkov said the US call was intended to 'conceal the failures of the US policy' in Syria. He said Russia has achieved much more with its air campaign in Syria than the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group. Konashenkov added: 'So if you cannot or do not want to fight Daesh and al-Nusra Front — do not get in the way, at least. 'Our air group is Syria is sufficiently equipped to fight international terrorism in this region.' And he said: 'Such statements, unfortunately, only confirm our earlier estimates that fighting terrorism in Syria has never been on the outgoing administration's agenda.'

Japan scrambles jets as Chinese warplanes fly near Okinawa
RT - On Friday, Chinese military planes flew through the Bashi Channel that separates Taiwan and the Philippines. Later on Saturday, the planes passed through the Miyako Strait near Japan's Okinawa island, which hosts a large portion of the US military troops stationed in the country. The Chinese Air Force said the annual drills went as scheduled and “are not aimed at any specific country, region or target.” “Organizing the air corps to carry out exercises far at sea is a normal thing to do for the air forces of countries which border the ocean,” the Chinese military statement said.... According to the Japanese military, the exercise near Okinawa involved two Su-30 fighters, two H-6 bombers, and two signal intelligence aircraft. The two fighters entered the passageway from the direction of the South China Sea, met the bombers and surveillance aircraft returning from the Philippine Sea, and convoyed them back to China, Tokyo reported. A similar exercise was conducted by China in September.... China is asserting its influence in the region by investing into military assets and projecting power towards its neighbors. In 2013, it declared an air defense identification zone over the East China Sea, drawing rebuke from nations opposing its ambitions.

Japan prepares for NUCLEAR war with North Korea by warning citizens to shelter in underground shopping malls in event of Kim Jong-Un bomb attack
The Sun - For the first time since North Korea began a series of nuke tests, people in Japan are being issued with terrifying instruction on how to deal with nuclear war. A downloadable pamphlet is now available on the island nation’s civil defence website. Called “Protecting Ourselves against Armed Attacks and Terrorism,” it outlines emergency measures in the event North Korean missiles are fired at the country. It bears similarities to the creepy Protect and Survive documents issued in Britain and Northern Ireland during the early 1980s following the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. Like the UK’s booklet it give top-tips on how to avoid being fried and radiated. It urges people to take shelter indoors behind thick walls to avoid blast injuries but also radiation. Underground shopping malls would be an ideal place to take cover, it advises…. Already anti-missile batteries have begun appearing in parks in Tokyo, which is expected to be a primary target. Japan’s Defence Ministry’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency is also mulling whether powerful lasers could defending against missile attacks…. Meanwhile in the UK, it has emerged that the Government will warn people of an impending nuclear strike by text message.

Fillon Wins France's Conservative Presidential Primary
The Epoch Times - Francois Fillon won France’s first-ever conservative presidential primary Sunday after promising drastic free-market reforms and a crackdown on immigration and Islamic extremism, beating a more moderate rival who had warned of encroaching populism.... Fillon campaigned on promises of slashing public spending, capping immigration, support for traditional family values and friendlier ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Fillon enjoyed a surprise surge in popularity in recent weeks over longtime front-runner Juppe, who also previously served as the country’s prime minister.... Fillon’s toughest challenge ahead is likely to be far-right leader Marine Le Pen. Le Pen is running an anti-establishment campaign that particularly targets immigrants, France’s large Muslim minority, and the European Union.... All French citizens over 18—whether they are members of the Republicans party or not—were eligible to vote in the primary, if they paid 2 euros in fees and signed a pledge stating they “share the republican values of the right and the center.”

Merkel Rows Back After Announcing Re-Election Hopes: ‘I’ll Deport 100,000 Migrants Next Year’
Breitbart - The Chancellor, who welcomed “no upper limit” of migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa last year, said Saturday: “It can not be that all the young people from Afghanistan come to Germany.” “The most important thing in the coming months is repatriation, repatriation and once more, repatriation”, she added. The startling change of tone came at conference of conservative MPs in Neumünster yesterday, just days after she announced she would be seeking a fourth terms as Chancellor. According to Handelsblatt, Mrs. Merkel said she expects a third of the deportations to be forced or compulsorily, and around 60,000 migrants to return to their home nations via voluntary repatriation programs. “If state governments refuse to forcibly deport migrants, then of course everyone will say, ‘I will not do this voluntarily, because they will not do anything anyway’”, she explained. The change comes after Mrs. Merkel’s Christian Democrat Party (CDU) suffered their worst election result ever in the German capital of Berlin this September. Meanwhile, Alternative for Germany (AfD), an insurgent, anti-mass migration populist party, has been making significant gains. They currently poll at around 14 per cent of the vote in the notorious liberal and ‘diverse’ city.

These Are The 48 Organizations That Now Have Access To Every Brit's Browsing History
Zero Hedge - In a move right out of the Soviet Union's darkest days..., the law requires telecommunications companies to store for a year the web histories known as internet connection records — a list of websites each person has visited and the apps and messaging services they used, though not the individual pages they looked at or the messages they sent. The government has called that information the modern equivalent of an itemized phone bill. But critics say it's more like a personal diary. Julian Huppert, a former Liberal Democrat lawmaker who opposed the bill, said it "creates a very intrusive database." "People may have been to the Depression Alliance website, or a marriage guidance website, or an abortion provider's website, or all sorts of things which are very personal and private," he said. Officials won't need a warrant to access the data, and the list of bodies that can see it includes not just the police and intelligence services, but government departments, revenue and customs officials and even the Food Standards Agency. "My worry is partly about their access," Huppert said. "But it's much more deeply about the prospects for either hacking or people selling information on." Even worse, the new law also makes official — and legal — British spies' ability to hack into devices and harvest vast amounts of bulk online data, much of it from outside the U.K. In doing so, it both acknowledges and sets limits on the secretive mass-snooping schemes exposed by Edward Snowden.... Renate Samson, chief executive of the group Big Brother Watch, said it would take time for the full implications of the law to become clear to the public. "We now live in a digital world. We are digital citizens," Samson said. "We have no choice about whether or not we engage online. This bill has fundamentally changed how we are able to privately and securely communicate with one another, communicate with business, communicate with government and live an online life. And that's a real, profound concern." It remains to be seen if the UK's citizens will be able overturn the law once it does become clear to the public what has just happened.

Obama administration to create new task force to hunt terrorists worldwide – report
RT - The outgoing administration is reportedly seeking to create a new special operations task force that would use the elite Joint Special Operations Command’s experience to carry out clandestine activities all across the globe as an independent entity. The proposal includes transformation of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) from being a strike tool employed by US Army’s regional commands into a key part of a new multi-agency intelligence force, Washington Post reported. Referred to as the ‘Counter-External Operations Task Force,’ or Ex-Ops, the new organization would act globally with the stated goal of targeting terrorists beyond conventional conflict zones like Syria or Libya, according to Obama administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Ex-Ops task force could also share intelligence as well as deliver recommendations and advice to Western militaries and security forces, or even conduct joint operations, the report said. It will report to the Pentagon through the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), according to the military officials, creating a “hybrid command system” that can bypass the Army’s regional commands to speed up preparations for covert operations. In the past, the US military’s Special Forces deployed under the regional commands, according to Stars and Stripes, but the creation of the Ex-Ops would mean handing Army General Raymond Thomas first in command when sending the task force into combat missions. “Now [Thomas] can request whatever he wants and... unless there's some other higher competing priority, the combatant commanders have to cough it up,” said a former senior defense official.

US House Seeks Syria-War Escalation
Consortiumnews - Late in the day, on Nov. 15, one week after the U.S. elections, the lame-duck Congress convened in special session with normal rules suspended so the House could pass House Resolution 5732, the “Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act” calling for intensifying the already harsh sanctions on Syria, assessing the imposition of a “no fly zone” inside Syria (to prevent the Syrian government from flying) and escalating efforts to press criminal charges against Syrian officials. HR5732 claims to promote a negotiated settlement in Syria but, as analyzed by Friends Committee for National Legislation, it imposes preconditions which would actually make a peace agreement more difficult.... There was 40 minutes of “debate” with six representatives (Ed Royce, R-California; Eliot Engel, D-New York; Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida; Dan Kildee, D-Michigan; Chris Smith, R-New Jersey; and Carlos Curbelo, R-Florida) all speaking in favor of the resolution. There were few other representatives present, but the House Foreign Affairs Committee stated that the resolution was passed “unanimously” without mentioning these special conditions.... The motivation for bypassing normal rules and rushing the bill through without meaningful debate was articulated by the bill’s sponsor, Democrat Eliot Engel: “We cannot delay action on Syria any further.... If we don’t get this legislation across the finish line in the next few weeks, we are back to square one.” The current urgency may be related to the election results since President-elect Donald Trump has spoken out against “regime change” foreign policy. As much as neoconservatives and their liberal-interventionist allies are critical of President Obama for not doing more in Syria, these Congressional hawks are even more concerned about the prospect of a President who might move toward peace and away from war.

The Pentagon Is Now Deploying Reservists Without Granting GI Bill Benefits - Task and Purpose
A relatively new and obscure deployment code, a measure the Pentagon created in 2014 to scale back spending on benefits, is the reason. By law, reservists involuntarily mobilized under Title 10, section 12304b, do not receive credit for the GI Bill while they are activated. The Post-9/11 GI Bill is paid out by the amount of active-duty time racked up. Reservists say deployments are in high demand in part because education benefits will grow much faster than relying on drill time. Nearly a million reservists have deployed since Sept. 11, 2001, according to data from the Pentagon’s Defense Manpower Data Center.... The issue of the 12304b authority starts with the Pentagon. Guard and reserve troops saw repeated deployments during operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, and were mobilized with benefits like pre- and post-deployment Tricare health insurance and GI Bill accrual time, similar to active duty troops. As combat deployments slowed, the Pentagon looked to create mobilization authorities that would fill operational needs worldwide, but also trim the budget, [director of legislative and military policy at the Reserve Officers Association, Susan] Lukas said. The 12304b authorization was included in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act and stripped most mobilization and deployment benefits, Lukas said, including the accumulation of GI Bill benefits. The Pentagon started activating reservists under the authorization in 2014, she said.... The Pentagon’s 2017 budget called for doubling reserve mobilizations, in part to ease the strain of operations across the globe, from the fight against the Islamic State group to ramped-up deployments in Europe in the face of growing Russian aggression. That means the use of 12304b is certain to increase in 2017 and beyond, Lukas said.

Washington Post Disgracefully Promotes a McCarthyite Blacklist From a New, Hidden, and Very Shady Group
The Intercept - The article by reporter Craig Timberg — headlined “Russian propaganda effort helped spread ‘fake news’ during election, experts say” — cites a report by an anonymous website calling itself PropOrNot, which claims that millions of Americans have been deceived this year in a massive Russian “misinformation campaign.” The group’s list of Russian disinformation outlets includes WikiLeaks and the Drudge Report, as well as Clinton-critical left-wing websites such as Truthout, Black Agenda Report, Truthdig, and Naked Capitalism, as well as libertarian venues such as Antiwar.com and the Ron Paul Institute.... In casting the group behind this website as “experts,” the Post described PropOrNot simply as “a nonpartisan collection of researchers with foreign policy, military and technology backgrounds.” Not one individual at the organization is named. The executive director is quoted, but only on the condition of anonymity, which the Post said it was providing the group “to avoid being targeted by Russia’s legions of skilled hackers.” In other words, the individuals behind this newly created group are publicly branding journalists and news outlets as tools of Russian propaganda — even calling on the FBI to investigate them for espionage — while cowardly hiding their own identities. The group promoted by the Post thus embodies the toxic essence of Joseph McCarthy, but without the courage to attach individual names to the blacklist. Echoing the Wisconsin senator, the group refers to its lengthy collection of sites spouting Russian propaganda as “The List.” The credentials of this supposed group of experts are impossible to verify, as none is provided either by the Post or by the group itself. The Intercept contacted PropOrNot and asked numerous questions about its team, but received only this reply: “We’re getting a lot of requests for comment and can get back to you today =) [smiley face emoticon].” The group added: “We’re over 30 people, organized into teams, and we cannot confirm or deny anyone’s involvement.” Thus far, they have provided no additional information beyond that.

Trump’s Brutally Honest Castro Statement Proves He’s No Obama
Daily Caller - President-elect Donald Trump called now deceased former Cuban president Fidel Castro a “brutal dictator” whose legacy represents decades of death and oppression. That’s a stark contrast from President Barack Obama’s statement on the passing of the long-time Cuban overlord. “Today, the world marks the passing of a brutal dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades,” Trump said in a statement released on the news of Castro’s death Saturday. “Fidel Castro’s legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights,” Trump said. “While Cuba remains a totalitarian island, it is my hope that today marks a move away from the horrors endured for too long, and toward a future in which the wonderful Cuban people finally live in the freedom they so richly deserve,” Trump said. “Though the tragedies, deaths and pain caused by Fidel Castro cannot be erased, our administration will do all it can to ensure the Cuban people can finally begin their journey toward prosperity and liberty,” Trump said. “I join the many Cuban Americans who supported me so greatly in the presidential campaign, including the Brigade 2506 Veterans Association that endorsed me, with the hope of one day soon seeing a free Cuba.” Trump won overwhelming support from Cuban-Americans during the 2016 election for his opposition to Obama’s normalization of relations with the Castro regime. Obama’s statement on Castro’s passing was one of sorrow and arguably obscured Castro’s record of oppression and murder.
* Related: Photos: Miami’s Cubans Celebrate Death of Dictator Fidel Castro

The numbers are in: Trump wins Michigan by 10,704
Detroit Free Press - The Michigan Secretary of State posted results Wednesday that were submitted by the state's 83 county clerks on Tuesday after the votes were reviewed and certified by each county. Before that compiled count, Trump held a 13,107-vote lead over Clinton. But after each county certified its results, the lead shrunk to 10,704, with the biggest chunk coming from Wayne County, which showed that Clinton had gotten 565 more votes than originally tallied by the county. The state's Board of Canvassers will officially certify the results on Nov. 28. The electoral college in all the states, including Michigan's 16 electors, will cast their votes on Dec. 19…. The vote totals that will be submitted to the state Canvassers Board on Nov. 28 are: Donald J. Trump, Republican: 2,279,543, Hillary Clinton, Democratic: 2,268,839
* Related: Green Party pushes for recount in key states

Hillary Clinton’s Team to Join Wisconsin Recount Pushed by Jill Stein
The New York Times - Nearly three weeks after Election Day, Hillary Clinton’s campaign said on Saturday that it would participate in a recount process in Wisconsin incited by a third-party candidate and would join any potential recounts in two other closely contested states, Pennsylvania and Michigan. The Clinton campaign held out little hope of success in any of the three states, and said it had seen no “actionable evidence” of vote hacking that might taint the results or otherwise provide new grounds for challenging Donald J. Trump’s victory. But it suggested it was going along with the recount effort to assure supporters that it was doing everything possible to verify that hacking by Russia or other irregularities had not affected the results. In a post on Medium, Marc Elias, the Clinton team’s general counsel, said the campaign would take part in the Wisconsin recount being set off by Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate, and would also participate if Ms. Stein made good on her plans to seek recounts in Michigan and Pennsylvania.... The Clinton campaign had assailed Mr. Trump during the election for refusing to say he would abide by the results if he lost. On Saturday, Mr. Trump responded to the campaign’s decision to join the recount with a statement calling the effort “ridiculous” and “a scam by the Green Party.” He suggested that most of the money raised would not be spent on the recount. “The results of this election should be respected instead of being challenged and abused, which is exactly what Jill Stein is doing,” Mr. Trump said. In Wisconsin, Mr. Trump leads by 22,177 votes. In Michigan, he has a lead of 10,704 votes, and in Pennsylvania, his advantage is 70,638 votes.

The Mysterious Case Of Jill Stein's Surging Recount Costs
Zero Hedge - ... today a new mystery has emerged in Stein's fundraising efforts. Apparently, the more money she raises the more expensive the recount effort becomes. Courtesy of the Wayback Machine we have the following snapshots from her fundraising page over the past couple of days: November 24, 2016 at 3:46AM - In the beginning, Stein figured she needed a total of $2.5mm to fund her recount efforts. That figure included $2.2mm for the actual filing fees and presumably another $0.3mm for legal fees and other costs.... November 24, 2016 at 1:20PM - Then, just 12 hours later, after the cash just kept flowing in, Stein figured she needed at least another $2mm as her fundraising goal was raised to $4.5mm in total. Of course, the filing fees of $2.2mm didn't change but the "attorney's fees" apparently surged by about 300% and the total costs of the effort skyrocketed to $6-7mm.... November 25, 2016 at 6:11AM - Now, just this morning as Stein approaches $5mm in total donations, her overall fundraising goal has surged once again and now stands at $7mm.... So, with nearly $5mm raised so far, the question is no longer whether recounts will occur in WI, MI and PA but just how much Jill Stein will be able to drain from the pockets of disaffected Hillary supporters to fund her long-shot efforts. All that said, here is Jill Stein admitting to CNN that she has absolutely no evidence of election hacking....even though she asks that you please keep sending your money anyway.

The Democrats’ real strategy in launching recounts
The American Thinker - The recount in Wisconsin, and the coming ones in Michigan and Pennsylvania will not change the outcomes in any of the states. No recount ever changes thousands of votes. I do not think that is the purpose. The recounts, if done by hand, which can be demanded, may take longer than the last day for completing the official counts in a state and directing Electoral College voters. If all 3 states miss the deadline, Trump is at 260, Hillary at 232. No one hits 270. Then this goes to Congress, where the House voting 1 vote per state elects Trump, and Senate selects Pence. This would be first time this happened since 1824, but in that case, John Quincy Adams won in the House, though he had fewer electoral college votes than Andrew Jackson. If this goes to the US House and Senate, and the result is the same as result from the Electoral College without the recounts, why do it? The answer is to make Trump seem even more illegitimate, that he did not win the popular vote (he lost by over 2.1 million), he did not win the Electoral College (did not reach 270), and was elected by being inserted into the presidency by members of his own party in Congress.

Electoral voters 'deluged' with death threats in multiple states
One of Michigan’s 16 electors who will be called upon to cast a vote validating the election of Donald Trump in the Electoral College has testified on video that he and others in the state are receiving “dozens and dozens of death threats” from Hillary Clinton supporters urging them to switch their votes to Clinton. On Dec. 19 the Electoral College will convene to cast their votes for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, with each state’s electors pledged to vote for the candidate elected on Nov. 8 in their state. But more than a dozen states have no laws making it illegal for the electors to change their vote while others have only a minor penalty such as a fine for doing so. If Clinton’s supporters can get enough of the 163 electors from states where Trump both won and votes can be legally switched on Dec. 19, Hillary Clinton becomes the next president of the United States.

Who Pays What Taxes In The US
Zero Hedge - Every presidential election brings with it a renewed debate on taxes: should tax rates be increased or decreased (which in turn forces economists to break out their textbooks to brush up on their Laffer curve definitions)? Traditionally, the question eventually boils down to one thing: what should the tax treatment of the "rich" be: should the wealthy pay more or less in taxes? Why the particular focus on the rich? The answer is simple: while those American who declare $500,000 and above in income represent less than 1% of total tax returns, they account for a quarter of taxable income and - more importantly - are responsible for 37% of government revenues collected through individual income taxes. And with approximately $1.55 trillion in individual income tax expected to be collected in 2016, this means that less than 1% of US taxpayers will be responsible for more than a third, or roughly $575 billion in government revenue, nearly double what corporate income taxes ($300 billion) are expected to bring in.

US Housing Market In Peril As "Increase In Mortgage Rates Has Shocked Consumers"
Zero Hedge - As the Wall Street Journal points out, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage refinancings are set to drop 46% in 2017. And with many American's funding their daily expenses with "cash-out" mortgage refi's, pretty much everyone selling goods to consumers, which happens to represent about two-thirds of the economy, has reason for concern.... While mortgage applications have risen in recent weeks as people have rushed to lock-in rates, eventually the MBA expects rising rates will take their toll on new mortgage originations as well with estimates calling for a 16% drop in volume in 2017. Of course, with American's linking "affordability" solely to monthly mortgage payments, it would stand to reason that rising rates would put pressure on home prices over the coming months/quarters.... Meanwhile, as the MBA points out, as refinancings sink, volume levels of the good ole "adjustable-rate mortgage" have surged in recent weeks as lenders/buyers scramble to salvage existing purchase contracts by maintaining monthly mortgage payments despite higher rates.... As a reminder, on Friday, housing market expert Mark Hanson pointed out something similar when he calcualted that to buyers who are in need of a mortgage, "houses have never been more expensive."

Hundreds Of Veterans Heading To Standing Rock To Defend DAPL Protesters From Police
Zero Hedge - According to a Facebook event the two men created called “Veterans Stand for Standing Rock,” those who join the effort will arrive at the protest site on December 4, where they will stay until December 7. The event description reads: “Come to Standing Rock Indian Reservation and hold the line with Wes Clark jr, Michael Wood Jr, Tulsi Gabbard and hundreds of other veterans in support of the Sioux nation against the DAPL pipeline. Bring Body armor, gas masks, earplugs AND shooting mufflers (we may be facing a sound cannon) but no drugs, alcohol or weapons.”… Over 250 veterans have already committed, but organizers hope to have a group of 500 or more by the time they head to Standing Rock. Once there, the veterans intend to engage in a traditional native healing ceremony with protesters, with whom they have been coordinating, according to the veterans. Then, protective gear like gas masks and body armor will be issued to anyone who needs it. The soldiers will march to bagpipes and Sioux war songs as they head to the banks of the Missouri River to meet police…. Though the veterans have adopted a strict policy of nonviolence, they refuse to back down and apparently hope to use their military status to spotlight the egregious behavior of the police…. Veterans Stand for Standing Rock is accepting donations to cover food, transportation, and supplies for those who travel to North Dakota. You can donate here. You can also donate directly to the water protectors.

Army Corps Announces Eviction of Water Protectors, Corps-Managed Land to Be Emptied
DC Clothesline - ... the Army Corps of Engineers will be evicting everyone from Corps-managed land north of the Cannonball River on December 5 — just one day after a delegation of veterans plans to arrive to defend Standing Rock Sioux water protectors and their supporters opposing construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. A letter dated yesterday, November 25, from Army Corps District Commander Col. John W. Henderson to Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Dave Archambault II reads, in part... : “Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 327.12, I am closing the portion of the Corps-managed federal property north of the Cannonball River to all public use and access effective December 5, 2016. This decision is necessary to protect the general public from the violent confrontations between protestors and law enforcement officials that have occurred in this area, and to prevent death, illness, or serious injury to inhabitants of encampments due to the harsh North Dakota winter conditions....." Although the Corps so graciously established what is laughably termed a “free speech zone” south of the Cannonball River, the letter makes undeniable the fact it plans to evict everyone from the camps already in place.... None of the details for how the Army Corps plans to effect this mass eviction were evident in the brief letter — but to imagine water protectors willingly giving up their massive campaign against Dakota Access and just pick up and move to a designated area is laughable at best. On December 5, the whole world will be watching to see how the U.S. government handles itself in an action directly affecting Indigenous peoples whose only goal is to protect the water from contamination — because that track record isn’t exactly good.
* Related: ‘We stand strong’: Standing Rock water protectors defy Army Corps’ threat of camp eviction (Video)

New federal guidelines seek to lock out apps on drivers’ phones
Ars Technica - "Distracted driving" has been getting more attention because the government calculates that it is prevalent and is causing more car crashes. Today, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration published guidelines calling on smartphone makers to create a "Driving Mode" that shuts down app-use while a car is in motion. The 96-page voluntary guidelines, intended to reduce "driver distraction," also call for cars to be more easily "paired" with mobile devices so that drivers can access them through an in-vehicle interface.... The "driver mode" envisioned by NHTSA would lock out things like typing out text messages, as well as displays of images or video not related to driving maps. It would also block most text content, like displays of most webpages, social media, books, and periodicals. The NHTSA says it's looking forward to developing technology that enables better "driver-passenger distinction," presenting the possibility of a future in which phones automatically lock into some type of "driver mode" without needing the driver to initiate it. Neither device makers nor vehicle manufacturers are required to meet any NHTSA guidelines, which are voluntary and non-binding. However, when state or national lawmakers are considering new laws related to driving, they often rely on NHTSA data and recommendations. The NHTSA report includes sobering statistics about distracted driving. In 2015, some 10 percent of the 35,092 traffic fatalities involved one or more distracted drivers, resulting in 3,477 fatalities. That's an 8.8 percent increase over 2014. The proposed guidelines now enter a 60-day public comment period before the agency decides whether or not to put some version of them into place.

Delete yourself from the internet by pressing this button
The Next Web - Swedish developers Wille Dahlbo and Linus Unnebäck created Deseat.me, which offers a way to wipe your entire existence off the internet in a few clicks. When logging into the website with a Google account it scans for apps and services you’ve created an account for, and creates a list of them with easy delete links. Every account it finds gets paired with an easy delete link pointing to the unsubscribe page for that service. Within in a few clicks you’re freed from it, and depending on how long you need to work through the entire list, you can be account-less within the hour. If you’re getting tired of social media and internet-induced stress in general, it’s the quickest way to get back to a state of tranquility — and to be honest, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

Simple Lavender Dryer Sachets That Ease Tension
The Alternative Daily - Looking for a simple way to help ease tension? This is such an easy and inexpensive project. Anyone can make these little sachets filled with the wonderful aroma of lavender, which is great for busting stress and bringing you a sense of calm during your busy day. These sachets work great with any of your clothes, but they have the most benefits for bedding. When drying your sheets, try tossing these dryer sachets into the load of laundry. When your sheets are dry, you’ll end up with a nice, comforting smell that will help you fall asleep faster at night…. 1. Gather muslin bags and lavender buds. 2. Fill dryer sachets 3/4 full with the lavender buds. Pull drawstrings tight. 3. Toss the dryer sachets into your laundry for a light lavender scent. If you want a stronger scent, add another lavender-filled dryer sachet.

Selenium supplementation found to decrease risk of death from cancer by 50 percent
(NaturalHealth365) An organic compound of selenium (Se), L-selenomethionine, has been shown in studies to literally halve your chances of dying from cancer, slashing the risk of cancer by an amazing 50 percent. L-selenomethionine is one of three forms of selenium shown to play a role in preventing, and even halting, cancer in humans…. Selenium is an essential mineral and trace element utilized by the body as a co-factor. It works to recycle and re-use disease-fighting antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione, which neutralizes damage from free radicals. Selenium is also necessary for proper thyroid function. Studies have supported the role that adequate levels of selenium play in helping protect against two of the most common forms of cancer: prostate and colorectal cancer. Low selenium levels are associated with a two to threefold increase in overall cancer risk, particularly cancers of the bladder, esophagus, lung, stomach and liver. Inadequate levels of selenium can cause a shocking 8-fold increase in risk for thyroid cancer.

Health Hazards of DWR Water Repellant Coatings
Section Hiker - The DWR (Durable Water Repellent) that rain gear manufacturers put on waterproof/breathable rain gear and hard shells […] contain flourcarbons or PFCs that have been shown to be a hormone disruptor, like BPA. These chemicals are persistent, and break down very slowly in the environment. They also bioaccumulate, meaning their concentration increases over time in the blood and organs when you eat foods that contains them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that every single person in the United States has PFCs in their blood. At high concentrations, certain PFCs have been linked to health problems such as low birth weight, delayed puberty onset, elevated cholesterol levels, and reduced immunologic responses to vaccination…. The European Union has banned the use of PFOS and a future restriction of the use of PFOA is under review. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has initiated a voluntary industry phase-out of PFOA in cooperation with the outdoor industry. But outdoor apparel manufacturers are in no rush to remove PFCs from the DWR coatings they use on waterproof/breathable jackets and are only making halting steps in their phase-out…. The only way to speed up that process is by public outcry and pressure. Take the microwave popcorn industry as an example. When consumers found out that PFCs were present in microwave popcorn bags, food manufacturers were quick to eliminate them. Same with Teflon and Scotchguard. Next time you shop for waterproof/breathable clothing, I suggest you contact the manufacturer and ask about PFCs in their DWR coatings.

Wednesday - November 23, 2016 - Today In History:

1804 - Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, was born in Hillsboro, N.H.
1889 - The jukebox made its debut, at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco.
1903 - Singer Enrico Caruso made his American debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, appearing in "Rigoletto."
1936 - The first edition of "Life" was published.
1943 - During World War II, U.S. forces seized control of Tarawa and Makin from the Japanese during the Central Pacific offensive in the Gilbert Islands.
1945 - The U.S. wartime rationing of most foods ended.
1954 - The Dow Jones industrial average finally surpassed it's pre-crash high - 25 years after Black Tuesday - when it closed at 382.74.
1971 - The People's Republic of China was seated in the U.N. Security Council.
1980 - A series of earthquakes devastated southern Italy, killing some 2,600 people.
2001 - An Israeli helicopter fired two missiles at a van in the West Bank, killing Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, a leading member of the Islamic militant Hamas group.
2006 - Former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko died in London from radiation poisoning after making a deathbed statement blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Angela Merkel: Obama’s choice for German Chancellor
The Duran - Despite Angela Merkel being US President Obama’s preferred choice to continue as German Chancellor in order to protect his foreign policy legacy, her ability to do so and her capacity to remain Chancellor is limited…. Merkel is the only world leader with whom Obama has established a relationship that could be called close. In his long series of interviews earlier this year with The Atlantic, Obama admitted that Merkel is the only European leader he feels any genuine connection to. Obama’s friendship and trust has in turn shaped many of Merkel’s policies. Her sanctions policy against Russia, her sudden decision to go against German Finance Minister Schauble’s policy of ejecting Greece from the Eurozone during peak of the Grexit crisis last year, and her equally sudden decision to throw open Germany’s and Europe’s doors to the flow of refugees from the various Middle East wars, strongly mirrored Obama’s positions on these questions. Merkel’s remaining as German Chancellor therefore ensures for Obama that a close political ally committed to continuing his policies remains in place after Donald Trump – elected to follow a very different agenda to Obama’s – becomes President. This explains Obama’s critical statements about Russia following his meeting with Merkel, his talk of ‘shared values’ (obviously a dig not just at Putin but also at Trump), his warnings against conducting a foreign policy based on ‘Realpolitik’ towards Russia, and his extraordinary decision together with Merkel to persuade the European leadership to extend the sanctions against Russia, a matter where Trump is widely believed to have a contrary view, and which Obama arguably ought to have left to the next President. It is surely what also lies behind the strange media talk of Obama ‘passing the baton’ of leadership of the ‘free world’ to Merkel. It is highly likely that Obama – or individuals close to him – have inspired it. In reality, Merkel’s ability to continue Obama’s policies once Obama is no longer on the scene, is open to doubt. Certainly, Merkel cannot do this without US support. Germany has a large economy and is politically dominant in Europe. However, it is not remotely a global superpower like the US, and cannot possibly conduct an anti-Russian foreign policy against US opposition.

UN chemical watchdog refused to send experts to Aleppo under Western pressure - Lavrov
RT - The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons refuses to send its experts to Aleppo to check substances used by rebels in attacks. The move was "seemingly done under pressure from our Western colleagues," Russia's foreign minister said. "Russian specialists found that militants in east Aleppo used ammunition with poisonous substances, with the ammo targeting west Aleppo. The collected samples leave no doubt that it's a toxic agent," Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference with his Belarusian counterpart in Minsk, as cited by Interfax. However, when the Russian Ministry of Defense addressed the leadership of the UN watchdog OPCW “with the demand to urgently send its experts to Aleppo to participate in the sample analysis,” the organization “refused to carry out this simple task, citing security issues.” The underlying reason behind this, Lavrov said, seemed to be “tremendous pressure from our Western colleagues,” because “our and Syrian sides guaranteed security [for the experts].” Russia is now working on the possibility of delivering the samples for analysis to The Hague, Lavrov added.

National security breach? French prosecutors probe Hollande’s alleged mishandling of classified docs
RT - A scandal surrounding a book called ‘A President Shouldn’t Say That’ is seeing a new twist. French prosecutors are investigating a potential national security breach, after Francois Hollande allegedly left secret files right in front of reporters. French prosecutors launched an investigation into whether documents lying in front of reporters on President Hollande’s desk posed a threat to national security, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Monday. The probe is related to an article, published by Le Monde newspaper on August 24, in which two reporters describe a meeting with Hollande in August 2013. The reporters described piles of documents, including ones bearing a “classified” stamp, lying on the presidential desk right before their eyes. It was a tense period, when the French president waited for the US to allow strikes on Syria, and the reporters saw the notes, prepared for Hollande by his military advisers for future telephone talks with US President Barack Obama…. It remained unclear, however, how the reporters managed to acquire a copy of the classified documents. Several extracts from the document in question were published in the article, describing an operation prepared by the French military, awaiting the US president’s approval. French aircraft were allegedly ready to take off from the base in Abu Dhabi and launch five Scalp missiles on Syrian Arab Army bases. The strike however was never carried out.

As TPP Dies, Asian Nations Salute Their New "Free Trade" Leader: China
Zero Hedge - Over the weekend we reported that as Obama was speaking at the APEC summit in Peru, hoping to salvage his global trade legacy, the TPP, China's President Xi Jinping officially called for the launch of the Free Trade Area of Asia-Pacific for "institutional guarantee of open economy", a move many had expected would take place as China was eager to fill in the void left by the US in any trans-Pacific trade treaty…. Then, overnight, China got a present when Trump announced in a brief video statement that his first executive order upon becoming president would be to remove the US from the TPP. That's all Beijing needed to hear and this morning China said it hoped to conclude an Asia-wide trade pact as soon as possible, in what the WSJ dubbed was "a sign of Beijing’s intent to broaden its regional influence amid the apparent collapse of the U.S.-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership." A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday that Asian leaders are pressing ahead with talks for the 10-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership that China has backed as an alternative to the U.S.-led deal, and “hope that such negotiations can achieve early results.” As a result, the shift in regional support has been abrupt: Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, a TPP booster, is now calling on Asian Pacific nations to boost trade by backing the China-led pact and other initiatives. “There are still other pathways to free trade in the Asia-Pacific,” Mr. Lee said this past weekend…. In short, China wins by materially expanding its sphere of influence through a "free-trade" agreement, whose terms it will define from day one. Indeed, the TPP would cut or reduce some 18,000 tariffs for a group of Pacific Rim nations in the Americas, Asia and Oceania—an area accounting for 40% of the global economy. The China-led pact is less ambitious in reducing tariffs; it will likely be far more ambitious on setting terms that benefit its own companies that engage in trade. As for China's counterparts? Since China is the dominant power, they have to accept the terms or be "nudged" out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and into the cold, protectionist world outside.

‘Sharia police’ didn’t break law by trying to impose Muslim rules in German town – court
RT - A German court has ruled that a group of Islamists did not break the law when forming a ‘Sharia police force’ in 2014. The group caused public outrage after patrolling a western city in orange vests, instructing residents to abide by the strict Muslim code. The group's vests had ‘Sharia Police’ printed on them in large block letters, but this did not breach the countrywide ban on political uniforms, the judges ruled. Under German law, a uniform has to be "suggestively militant" or have an "intimidating effect” to constitute a violation…. The court also noted that police in Wuppertal did not find anything criminal about the men wearing the vests, which were not seized by officers at the time…. The men, all aged between 25 and 34, sparked anger by patrolling the streets of Wuppertal in 2014, telling nightclub goers to refrain from drinking alcohol and listening to music, and arcade customers not to play games for money, so as not to contradict the strict Muslim religious code of conduct known as Sharia law.

Fukushima hit by 5.7-magnitude aftershock
RT - An aftershock measuring up to 5.7 on the Richter scale has struck Fukushima in Japan a day after the area experienced a 7.3-magnitude offshore earthquake…. No damage has been reported following the quake which comes after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake caused the cooling system of a reactor at the Fukushima nuclear power plant to stop operating. The system was back working 90 minutes after the failure.

Ron Paul: ‘Shadow Government May Pull False Flag To Get Trump Into War’
Steve Watson - Former Congressman and Libertarian icon Ron Paul has warned that ‘shadow government’ neocons could orchestrate a ‘false flag’ incident in order to drag new president Donald Trump into a fresh war. “I don’t how anybody can say they know what is going to happen,” Paul told The Daily Caller, referring to Trump’s foreign policy. “All we need is a false flag and an accident and everybody will be for teaching them a lesson,” Paul said, warning that such an event could trigger new foreign entanglement. “The neocons always talked about it before 9/11 they kept saying, ‘we aren’t going to get our program in until we have a Pearl Harbor event,’” the former congressman stated, stopping short of saying he believes those attacks were staged. “I think other countries could use false flags.” Paul also added. Paul also warned that a shadow government will continue to operate when Trump is president, just as it did during Obama’s time in office. “Obama probably was much more attune to a different foreign policy of less aggression but why then does he do it?” Paul said. “I think there’s the shadow government, the military-industrial complex, the CIA, and all the things that can be done because they just melt away and they do exactly what the establishment says.” the former Congressman added. Paul warned that those within the shadow government are seeking to influence Trump now. “He’s very friendly with a lot of them right now, he’s talking to them,” Paul said, adding that “We don’t have a final answer, we have to wait to see who get’s appointed.” “He doesn’t talk about blowback and coming out of these countries. He has a better policy with Russia but I think he still is talking with the neoconservatives.” Paul also stated. “The deep state is very very powerful and they have a lot of control,” Paul said, adding “That is one of my big issues about how shadow government is so powerful in all administrations.”

Leaked Document Shows Trump Does Actually Plan to Build a Wall
Paul Joseph Watson - A document inadvertently leaked after it was caught on camera proves that Donald Trump does plan to rapidly build a border wall, confounding pundits who have claimed it was all just rhetoric. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, an expert on border security and legal immigration, met with Trump on Sunday in New Jersey. Kobach was holding a file of papers, one of which was snapped by a media photographer from a distance. It is entitled “Department of Homeland Security Kobach Strategic Plan For First 365 Days”. When zoomed in, the paper reads that “in addition to 386 miles of existing wall” there is a further “1989 miles planned for rapid build.” According to Trump’s past statements, the total length of the wall wouldn’t need to run the whole 2,000 miles of the border due to natural barriers. It now appears that his border wall plan will cover the entire length of the border and may even overcompensate.

Ben Carson offered HUD post, will consider it: Carson spokesman
Reuters - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has offered the post of secretary of housing and urban development to former presidential candidate Ben Carson, who will consider it over the Thanksgiving holiday, a Carson spokesman said on Tuesday. "The president-elected asked him to consider it and he's considering it," Carson spokesman Armstrong Williams said. Carson, a retired surgeon, dropped out of the 2016 presidential race in March and backed Trump.

Trump: No 'big' vacations, no salary as president
USA today - Donald Trump is pledging no long vacations and no presidential salary during his time in the White House. "There's just so much to be done," Trump told CBS' 60 Minutes in an interview broadcast Sunday. "So I don't think we'll be very big on vacations, no." As for the president's $400,000-a-year pay, the New York businessman said: "No, I'm not going to take the salary. I'm not taking it." Republicans have regularly criticized President Obama for his fondness for playing golf and his family vacations in Hawaii.

Judicial Watch: Obama Travel Cost Taxpayers over $79.5 million
Judicial Watch - Judicial Watch announced today [July 13, 2016] that it has obtained records from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security revealing the Obama family’s August 2015 vacation on Martha’s Vineyard cost taxpayers $465,420.49 in Secret Service expenses alone. This included $457,310.33 in hotels, $271.56 in car rentals, and $7,838.60 in air/rail travel…. The First Family’s Martha’s Vineyard vacation, their sixth in the past seven years, was spent at the lavish Blue Heron Farm in Chilmark, a seven-bedroom, nine-bath, 8,100-square-foot estate, sitting on 10 acres of farmland. The estate features 17 rooms, expansive water views of Vineyard Sound, an infinity pool, and a tennis-basketball court. It rents for $50,000 a week. Judicial Watch previously reported that the First Family’s travel aboard Air Force One for this trip cost taxpayers $619,011. The current grand total of known Obama travel-related expenses now stands at $79,630,433.93 “Taxpayers should be incensed that the Secret Service’s resources on wasted to provide security for endless golf excursions, political fundraisers, and luxury vacations,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “President Obama’s travel is a scandal. It’s about his abuse of the office and his abuse of hard-earned taxpayer dollars.”

Melania and Barron Trump Won’t Immediately Move to White House
NY Times - President-elect Donald J. Trump’s wife, Melania, and their 10-year-old son, Barron, will not immediately move to the White House after Mr. Trump takes office in January, out of concern for uprooting Barron in the middle of the school year, transition officials said on Sunday. Ms. Trump and Barron will remain in New York for at least another six months, the officials said. Speaking to reporters on Sunday at his golf course in Bedminster, N.J., Mr. Trump said they would join him “very soon — after he’s finished with school.”… Jason Miller, a spokesman for Mr. Trump, said, “No official statement has been released by the Trump family regarding transition timing, but like any parents, they are concerned about pulling their 10-year-old son out of school in the middle of the year.”

Obama Admin Fines Police Department For Not Hiring Non-Citizens
Daily Caller - From the beginning of 2015 through last March, the Denver Sheriff Department went on a major hiring binge, adding more than 200 new deputies. But those jobs ended up only going to citizens, because the department made citizenship a stated requirement on the job application. The department admitted as much in a new settlement with the U.S. government, which requires it to pay a $10,000 fine. The department will also have to comb through all of its job applications from the past two years, identifying immigrants who were excluded from the hiring process and giving them due consideration. “Eliminating this unlawful citizenship requirement will help ensure that the Denver Sheriff Department hires the best and most qualified individuals to protect and serve,” DOJ Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement. “The entire community will benefit from these reforms.”

State Regulators Deny The Homeless A Free Meal
Zero Hedge - The American Royal’s World Series of Barbecue is a longstanding tradition for community members of Kansas City, Missouri. Since 1899, the event has attracted the most talented barbecue chefs from all corners of the state, who gather annually to show off their skills. With so many BBQ experts in one place, there tends to be a fair amount of leftover food once the festivities come to a close. Hating to waste such a vast amount of quality barbecue, some of the event’s BBQ gurus got together and founded the charitable group, Kookers Kare. Partnering with the Harvesters Community Food Network, Kookers Kare has made a tradition of donating the leftover food to local homeless shelters at the end of each annual event. This year, the two groups collected over 3,000 pounds of meat and 1,200 pounds of sides, all bound for a local nonprofit organization called Hope City, where it was to be served to over 3,000 homeless citizens in need. However, the Kansas City Health Department put the kibosh on Kookers Kare’s attempts to feed the homeless before anyone was even able to enjoy the food. Claiming they had no fore knowledge of this charitable tradition, the health department forbid the food from being served to the needy. Suspiciously, the inspectors just happened to be doing a random inspection of Hope City the day the BBQ arrived. “All of that food was uninspected, so that makes it from an unapproved source, it cannot be served to the public,” Kansas City Health Department Operations Manager Joe Williamson said in response to the department’s decision to stop the food from being consumed. The health department did not stop at simply forbidding the food from being served, they demanded that it be destroyed immediately. Those who had worked diligently to collect the food were forced to douse over 3,000 pounds of award-winning barbecue food with bleach, in order to ensure its destruction and appease the local health department. Meanwhile, 3,000 homeless individuals went without a meal that day. After receiving negative feedback when this story surfaced in the news, the health department doubled down on its decision by saying, “3,000 people a year die of foodborne illness, so this is nothing to play with, it’s very serious.”

Scientists Find "Persuasive Evidence" Of Vote Hacking, Demand Clinton Recount In 3 States
Zero Hedge - Between the so-called 'Hursti Hack', questions over Soros-linked voting machines, some peculiarities in Texas, and the media furore over Trump's democracy-threatening questioning of the election outcome; it is perhaps ironic that, after being soundly beaten across the vast majority of counties in America, NY Mag reports, a group of prominent computer scientists and election lawyers are urging the Clinton campaign to call for a recount in three swing states won by Donald Trump after allegedly finding "persuasive evidence" of vote hacking.

Check out Gematria for the name Donald Trump
Breaking Israel News - Donald Trump’s upset victory in the presidential race over Hillary Clinton, who was heavily favored in virtually all the pre-election polls, seemed to defy the laws of nature, reason and sense. Several rabbis have an explanation, however: it was, quite simply, the will of God. As the rabbi who oversees the final resting place of King David on Mount Zion, Rabbi Yosef Berger is intimately connected to the spirituality of kingship. For him it was clear what tipped the scales in favor of the Republican underdog…. As Rabbi Berger pointed out, the gematria for Donald Trump in Hebrew (דונלד טראמפ) is 424, which is equal to the gematria of “Messiah for the House of David” (משיח בן דוד). The Ben Ish Chai, an authority on Jewish law and master kabbalist who lived in Baghdad 150 years ago, interpreted the number 212 as a difficult time for Israel before the Final Redemption. Trump’s gematria is twice that, signifying an ongoing Messiah process…. Rabbi Berger was clear on how this election fit into the process of Messiah. “As the spiritual descendant of the Biblical nation of Edom, America has a very important role to play in the Messiah. But in order to be suited for that role, America had to be humbled,” Rabbi Berger stated.

Obama Legacy Already Crumbling As Federal Judge Blocks Overtime Rule
Zero Hedge - …back in May of this year Obama and the Department of Labor implemented a new overtime regulation that was set to take effect on December 1st. The rule change called for increasing the minimum salary threshold at which employers would have been required to pay overtime to workers from $23,660 to $47,476, or a mere 101%. The rule would have required employers to pay time-and-a-half to salaried workers making less than $47,476 per year for any time worked in excess of 40 hours per week. According to the Wall Street Journal, the new regulation would have cost employers about $2BN per year. But, all that changed today when a federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas signed a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the rule from taking effect next week to allow more time for litigation. Of course, the delay will be viewed by the Plaintiffs, and many employers around the country, as an outright victory as it likely postpones any final decisions until Trump takes over over the White House in January. And with Trump already signaling his intentions to roll back many of Obama's "job-killing" regulations we suspect this one will get moved to the top of his list. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) praised the court's decision as a huge victory for small business owners, 44% of which they claim would be directly impacted by the rule change.

Inside the Dakota Access pipeline protesters' campground: Burning Man-style photographs capture everyday life for the hundreds of activists fighting to save Standing Rock Reservation
Daily Mail - Aerial images show the stunning scope of the Dakota Access pipeline protests and the hundreds of people who have gather in an attempt to save Standing Rock Reservation. After a night of clashing with police, protests continued into Monday. Sunday night saw about 400 demonstrators mounted the Backwater Bridge and attempted to force their way past police. Hundreds were injured by rubber bullets and others were doused by water cannons in the 15 degree weather.

Police threw grenade at DAPL protesters - father of activist who faces amputation
RT - A Dakota Access Pipeline demonstrator may lose her arm after a direct hit from a concussion grenade used by law enforcement officers at the protest site, according to her father. Authorities have denied using any weapons that could have caused such damage. Pipeline protester Dallas Goldtooth identified the woman as fellow demonstrator Sophia Wilansky, saying she was "struck directly by a concussion grenade" during the Sunday protest on a bridge near Cannon Ball, North Dakota…. Speaking outside the Hennepin County Medical Center on Tuesday, Wayne Wilansky confirmed his daughter was facing 20 or more surgeries in hope of saving her arm. Wilansky said that witnesses clearly saw law enforcement officers throwing the concussion grenade. “This is not Afghanistan, this is not Iraq… we don’t throw grenades at people,” he said, blaming the local and state authorities for Sophia's injury…. A GoFundMe page for Wilansky says she was handing out bottles of water to protesters when she was struck by the concussion grenade. However, a spokeswoman for the Morton County Sheriff's Department has denied accusations that local authorities used concussion grenades during the protest, contradicting several reports from activists.

Video: Robert Kennedy Jr, "Trump Has A $2 Million Stake in the Dakota Pipeline"
RT - Big Picture Politics Panel: Robert Kennedy Jr., Waterkeeper Alliance. As protests continue over the Dakota Access Pipeline - the looming shadow of President-Elect Donald Trump threatens to inflame the entire movement. Are the next two months the last chance we have to stop a pipeline that threatens the drinking water of 18 million people? Robert Kennedy Jr. - just back from North Dakota - weighs in...

Not Just Bees, Trees Are Dying Off At An Alarming Rate With Little Public Attention
Natural Blaze - A new crisis is now happening all around us affecting trees. It appears that millions, hundreds of millions even, of trees are dying in North America and around the world from a basket of reasons, promising to completely and permanently alter the landscape and environment around us…. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that the U.S. Forest Service has identified an additional 36 million dead trees across California since its last aerial survey in May 2016. This brings the total number of dead trees since 2010 to over 102 million on 7.7 million acres of California’s drought stricken forests. In 2016 alone, 62 million trees have died, representing more than a 100 percent increase in dead trees across the state from 2015. Millions of additional trees are weakened and expected to die in the coming months and years…. Some speculate that the widespread loss of trees due to such a wide conflagration of issues is a sign that trees, the most rugged of all plants, are in general weakened from an environment under complex attack by pollution and even climate engineering projects.

Big Pharma Reaches into the Womb
Alliance for Natural Health - If vaccinating pregnant mothers weren’t bad enough, now the vaccine companies would like a twofer by also going after the child in utero…. 21st Century Cures [bill] passed the House last year. The Senate has broken up the bill into over a dozen separate pieces, which could be considered any day now. One extremely worrisome provision seems to put structures in place for amending the current vaccine schedule and including more vaccinations for pregnant mothers. Senate bill S. 2742 (the “Promoting Biomedical Research and Public Health for Patients Act”) contains the following language: Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes of this subtitle, both a woman who received a covered vaccine while pregnant and any child who was in utero at the time such woman received the vaccine shall be considered persons to whom the covered vaccine was administered and persons who received the covered vaccine. This may have been written for liability reasons. Perhaps Big Pharma is concerned that the child would be eligible to sue for damages, unlike anyone vaccinated after birth. Perhaps the thinking is that doctors tend to have more control over mothers before birth, so why not force vaccines on them then, rather than after birth? Then again, this provision may be intended simply to increase vaccinations given to pregnant mothers. If a developing child is considered a “person” eligible to receive vaccinations, the vaccine industry could begin to develop more vaccines intended specifically for children in utero…. Other parts of the legislation provide for lower standards for drug and device approval and safety. They also encourage the development of new antibiotics for “limited populations” that do not need to meet standard criteria for safety and effectiveness. On top of it all, they give more funding to the National Institutes of Health for the development of experimental drugs and other products, probably to hand over to Big Pharma. After all, one of the principle architects of the bill, Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), was the top recipient of pharmaceutical industry money in 2013-14.

The Awful Side Effects of Scented Candle Ingredients (Infographic)
Dr. Axe - The dangers of synthetic scents aren’t always evident, but we have the science to prove that everyone, regardless of age or health, needs to make avoiding fake fragrances a major priority. A National Academy of Sciences points out some vital facts: About 95 percent of chemicals used in synthetic fragrances are derived from petroleum (crude oil). They include benzene derivatives (carcinogenic), aldehydes, toluene and many other known toxic chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects, central nervous system disorders and allergic reactions. (1) Unfortunately, 30 years later, toxic ingredients continue turn up in products we use and breathe in on a daily basis. Some of the worst toxic ingredients used in lotions, shampoos, laundry detergents, cleaning products and so much more include synthetic scents, often listed as on labels as the elusive “fragrance.” And many on the list are known or suspected endocrine disruptors, compounds that tinker with hormonal health that can trigger weight gain and even set you up for diseases decades down the line…. When a company puts “fragrance” on the label, don’t be tricked. This is a catch-all term actually can stand for thousands of different ingredients (literally, at least 3,000). And when you use a product containing “fragrance” or “parfum,” all of those mysterious ingredients are absorbed right into your bloodstream. These ingredients are predominantly made from chemicals and are just outright toxic for your health in so many ways.

The Central Nervous System Responds to Toxins
Natural News Blogs - Research has proven disrupting chemicals that target our central nervous system can upset the communication between our endocrine and metabolic systems and organs including our skin and microbiome…. Here are 8 toxic exposures that can be found to be disruptive… 1-Caffeine is undeniably a central nervous system stimulant and disrupts microbiome.” It stimulates the brain, increases the secretion of adrenaline and boosts heart rate. It can cause “adrenal fatigue.” Long-term use in excess of 250 to 300 mg daily may cause numerous health problems… “Caffeine depletes the body of B Vitamins, which you need for proper brain and nervous system functioning and for converting food to energy, says Michael Murray, N.D., a naturopathic physician in Seattle… 2-Breathing in toxic scents can harm our central nervous system. These toxic scents include petroleum candles, incense or perfumes. These scents can cause internal toxicity within our brain, microbiome, liver and heart heath. 3-Exposure to mercury can cause negative effects to our central nervous systems, kidneys, microbiome, and cardiovascular health. According to Environmental Health Sciences Center,”the nervous system is the principal target for a number of metals. Inorganic compounds of aluminum, arsenic, lead, mercury, and thallium are well known for their neurological and behavioral effects in humans.” 4-Gluten related products have a negative effect on good gut bacteria, our immune system, digestive system and nervous system and therefore affects the brain cells. Gluten also adds to an acid internal environment….

These products claim to contain aloe vera — they don’t
The Verge - Skin gels said to contain aloe vera at Walmart, Target, and CVS were found to have no evidence of the plant, according to a Bloomberg News investigation. The store-brand products were tested in a lab for aloe’s chemical markers; the chemicals were absent, indicating that no actual aloe plant is in the skin gels…. The US market for products that say they contain aloe accounts for $146 million, an 11 percent increase in the past year, Bloomberg News reports. The US Food and Drug Administration, however, doesn’t approve cosmetic products before they’re sold, so the agency doesn’t check whether claims on packaging are accurate. The aloe gel samples analyzed by Bloomberg News all listed aloe leaf juice as their main ingredient, or the main one after water. However, when they were tested for the plant’s three chemical markers — acemannan, malic acid, and glucose — the products were found to have no evidence of aloe. None of the samples contained lactic acid, either, which would indicate degraded aloe vera. Instead, they contained maltodextrin, a sugar used as a food additive that is sometimes used to imitate aloe and is much cheaper. (Bloomberg News also analyzed an aloe gel from Walgreens; it contained one aloe marker, meaning that the plant’s presence can’t be confirmed or ruled out.) Several law firms have filed lawsuits against Walmart, Target, CVS, and Walgreens, after separate tests also found that no aloe is present in the retailers’ store-brand gels. “No reasonable person would have purchased or used the products if they knew the products did not contain any aloe vera,’’ attorneys wrote in a complaint filed in September, according to Bloomberg News.

Put an End to Tormenting Itchy Skin and Incessant Scratching
Dr. Becker - Both cats and dogs can develop itchy, inflamed skin, but often the underlying cause is different. Dogs tend to itch as a result of allergies, whereas the root cause of your cat’s itching is just as likely to be something other than an allergy. Skin conditions that commonly cause itching in cats include pemphigus foliaceus, ringworm, chin acne, eosinophilic granuloma complex and parasites. Helping your itchy cat means getting an accurate veterinary diagnosis of the underlying cause, coupled with an effective wound healing protocol. An itchy cat’s diet should be anti-inflammatory (low in grains and potato-free), and should be supplemented with a fish body oil and coconut oil.

Tuesday - November 22, 2016 - Today In History:

1718 - English pirate Edward Teach (a.k.a. "Blackbeard") was killed during a battle off the coast of North Carolina. British soldiers cornered him aboard his ship and killed him. He was shot and stabbed more than 25 times.
1935 - The first trans-Pacific airmail flight began in Alameda, CA, when the flying boat known as the China Clipper left for Manila. The craft was carrying over 110,000 pieces of mail.
1942 - During World War II, the Battle of Stalingrad began.
1943 - U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek met in Cairo to discuss the measures for defeating Japan.
1963 - U.S. President Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, TX. Texas Governor John B. Connally was also seriously wounded. Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson was inaugurated as the 36th U.S. President.
1967 - The U.N. Security Council approved resolution 242. The resolution called for Israel to withdraw from territories it had captured in 1967 and called on adversaries to recognize Israel's right to exist.
1972 - U.S. President Richard M. Nixon lifted a ban on American travel to Cuba. The ban had been put in place on February 8, 1963.
1974 - The U.N. General Assembly gave the Palestine Liberation Organization observer status.
1977 - Regular passenger service on the Concorde began between New York and Europe.
1983 - The Bundestag approved NATO's plan to deploy new U.S. nuclear missiles in West Germany.
1985 - 38,648 immigrants became citizens of the United States. It was the largest swearing-in ceremony.
1986 - An Iranian surface-to-surface missile hit a residential area in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, wounding 20 civilians.
1986 - Attorney General Meese's office discovered a memo in Colonel Oliver North's office that included an amount of money to be sent to the Contras from the profits of weapons sales to Iran.
1990 - U.S. President George H.W. Bush, his wife, Barbara, and other congressional leaders shared Thanksgiving dinner with U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia.
1990 - British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher announced she would resign.
1993 - Mexico's Senate overwhelmingly approved the North American Free Trade Agreement.
1998 - CBS's "60 Minutes" aired a tape of Jack Kevorkian giving lethal drugs in an assisted suicide of a terminally ill patient. Kevorkian was later sentenced to 25 years in prison for second-degree murder.
2005 - Angela Merkel was elected as Germany's first female chancellor.
2013 - The discovery of Siats meekerorum was announced. The dinosaur skeleton, more than 30 feet long, was found in eastern Utah.

Russia Deploys Nuclear Missiles In Retaliation To NATO "Threats"
Zero Hedge - ... a highly placed defense official said on Monday, Moscow will deploy S-400 surface-to-air missiles and nuclear-capable Iskander systems in the exclave of Kaliningrad in retaliation for NATO deployments, confirming previous media reports of Russian intentions to once again blanket central Europe with potential nuclear ICBM coverage. While Russia has previously said it periodically sends Iskanders to Kaliningrad, until now it has always said these were routine drills. Moscow has not linked the moves explicitly with what it says is a NATO military build-up on Russia's western borders.... Viktor Ozerov, chairman of the defense committee in the Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament, said in remarks reported by RIA news agency that Russia was forced to react to the planned U.S. missile shield in eastern Europe. "As response measures to such threats we will have... to deploy additional forces... This reinforcement includes deployment of S-400 and Iskander systems in Kaliningrad," the Reuters quoted Ozerov as saying. Additionally, Vladimir Putin also on Monday was quoted talking about how Russia has to respond to what it perceives as a threat from U.S.-led forces in eastern Europe. "Why are we reacting to NATO expansion so emotionally? We are concerned by NATO's decision making," RIA quoted him as saying in an interview for a documentary that will be broadcast by Russian TV later on Monday. "What should we do? We have, therefore, to take countermeasures, which means to target with our missile systems the facilities, that, in our opinion, start posing a threat to us," Putin said.

ISIS suicide bomber kills at least 32 including women and children at a mosque in Afghanistan's capital
Daily Mail - An ISIS suicide bomber has killed 32 including women and children worshipping at a crowded mosque in Afghanistan's capital. The attacker was mingling in the crowds inside the Baqirul Olum mosque in the west of Kabul when he detonated a massive bomb. More than 60 were injured in the blast, the latest sectarian attack claimed by ISIS in the city.... The worshippers were gathering for the major Shiite ceremony of Arbaeen marking the end of a 40-day mourning period after Ashura, which commemorates the death of Imam Hussein. Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, was assassinated in the year 680. His fate laid the foundation for the faith practised by the Shiite community, a minority in mainly Sunni Muslim Afghanistan.... ISIS claimed the attack in a statement via the jihadist-linked Amaq news agency.... Mosques in Kabul generally do not have any security - though police patrols can be seen near some on Fridays - and some eyewitnesses criticised the government over the lack of protection.... Fighters from ISIS, which controls territory across Syria and Iraq, have been making steady inroads in Afghanistan, challenging the Taliban on their own turf, primarily in the country's east. The Taliban, who are waging a bloody war to topple the US-backed Afghan government, said they were not involved in Monday's attack.... Millions of Shiite Muslim pilgrims gather each year in the holy Iraqi city of Karbala for the Arbaeen pilgrimage, one of the world's largest religious events. The pilgrimage is seen as a major potential target for sectarian attacks.

Amid Anti-globalist Outcry, New Push to Grant UN Tax Powers
The New American - The most recent globalist demand for greater UN powers over taxation came from UN “human rights expert” Alfred de Zayas, a Cuban-born “international lawyer,” who demanded “an international Tax Body to fight tax evasion and corruption, phase-out tax havens, stop competition among tax jurisdictions and abolish secrecy.” Translated into plain English, Zayas called for a new globalist UN bureaucracy with draconian law-enforcement powers, a full-blown assault on self-government and democratic principles, a UN effort to harmonize and rig taxation policy worldwide in favor of oppressive Big Government, and a total end to privacy. The policies would undoubtedly produce a collapse in prosperity, in addition to crushing liberty and self-government. Despite the use of Orwellian double-speak aimed at concealing the totalitarian nature of the demands, Zayas was blunt in his demands, treating the UN as if it already were (in the words of the UN's outgoing secretary-general) the “Parliament of Humanity.” “The United Nations must no longer tolerate the scandal of secrecy jurisdictions that facilitate tax evasion, corruption and money-laundering,” complained the UN “Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order,” appointed by the dictator-dominated UN Human Rights Council, in a presentation to the dictator-dominated UN General Assembly about his report on the subject. “Concerted action must be taken to counter criminal abuses by individuals, speculators, hedge funds and transnational enterprises who skirt taxes and loot governments,” Zayas claimed. “Corruption, bribery, tax fraud and tax evasion have such grave effects on human welfare that they must be exposed, prosecuted and punished nationally and internationally.”.... The ultra-far-left bureaucrat also claimed that “the UN provides the most effective way to achieve an equitable global tax system, increase domestic resource mobilization and reduce intra-State and inter-State inequality.”

7.3 quake off Fukushima triggers imminent tsunami
RT - A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake has struck Fukushima Prefecture in Japan, USGS reported. A three meter tsunami wave alert was issued for Fukushima. The quake struck 67km northeast of Iwaki, a city located in the southern part of the Hamadori coastal region of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency the quake struck at 5:59am JST at a depth of 10km. “Tsunami warnings or advisories are currently in effect,” the agency said. Residents near the coast are being told to evacuate and seek higher ground. Tsunami waves are expected to hit repeatedly and are expected to arrive imminently in the Fukushima area, the JAM warning said. “Damage due to tsunami waves is expected.Evacuate immediately from coastal regions and riverside areas to a safer place such as high ground or an evacuation building. Tsunami waves are expected to hit repeatedly. Do not leave safe ground until the warning is lifted,” JMA warned. Meanwhile the Pacific Tsunami Warning center has issued “a tsunami threat message for other parts of the Pacific located closer to earthquake,” while stressing that there is no tsunami threat for the US state of Hawaii. According to the latest estimates by Japan's authorities, waves of up to three meters high will arrive ashore by 6:30am local time…. NHK News Japan warned those living on the coastline in Fukushima to “hurry up and run away.”

Fukushima reactor cooling system stops following quake & tsunami
RT - The cooling system of the third reactor at the Fukushima nuclear power plant has stopped circulating water following a powerful 7.3 offshore earthquake. TEPCO said it managed to restart the system some 90 minutes after the failure. The cooling system servicing the Unit 3 spent fuel pool was not able to circulate water to cool the nuclear fuel because of a broken pump, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Agency. The temperature in the pool went up to 28.7 degrees Celsius. It takes up to seven days for temperatures to rise to 65 degrees Celsius, which is the upper operational limit, Japan’s national nuclear agency said.
* Related: Fukushima quake & tsunami- Live updates

Report: Trump TRASHES Media In Off-The-Record Meeting
The Daily Caller - “The TV execs and anchors went in there thinking they would be discussing the access they would get to the Trump administration, but instead they got a Trump-style dressing down,” the source told the Post. Another source said the meeting contained about thirty to forty leading news figures, including “the big news anchors from all the networks.” But if they expected Trump to respect them more as president-elect than he did as a candidate, they were sorely mistaken. “Trump kept saying, ‘We’re in a room of liars, the deceitful dishonest media who got it all wrong,'” the person said. “He addressed everyone in the room calling the media dishonest, deceitful liars. He called out Jeff Zucker by name and said everyone at CNN was a liar, and CNN was network of liars … It was a horrible meeting.” If Trump did in fact single out CNN for ridicule, he had reason to do so. Emails leaked by Wikileaks revealed that DNC chair Donna Brazile used her role at CNN to forward debate questions to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. The network also reached out to Clinton’s campaign to solicit potential questions to ask when interviewing Trump and Ted Cruz during the Republican primary. According to the Post, Trump also directed ridicule towards Martha Raddatz, who helped moderate the second presidential debate and also broke down in tears on election night due to Hillary Clinton’s defeat. Since the meeting was off-the-record, only anonymous accounts of it are trickling out. While the Post claims the meeting was deeply hostile, though, CNN’s own description of the meeting suggests it was more professional and subdued. A source told CNN that “real progress” was made in the meeting and that media members were able to express to Trump the importance of having a press pool around him. Last week, Trump outraged the media by sneaking out of Trump Tower to visit a nearby steakhouse without alerting the pool.

Video: Donald Trump Releases Video Update on Transition Team’s Progress
The Gateway Pundit - Donald Trump produced the video sometime between meeting with potential cabinet members and his private thrashing of media elites. Here is the transcript from Donald Trump’s Monday video…

Google Is Funding a "Ministry of Truth" With Corporate Media Outlets Known for Deadly Deception
The Free Thought Project - MSM outlets such as NYMag, LA Times and the Independent immediately picked up on a list of “False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and/or Satirical “News” Sources” produced by a university professor. Without providing reasoning or examples to back up the claim that this list should be taken seriously, it was held up as a blacklist to be avoided. That may have been only the first salvo, as far greater plans are in the works, represented by something called the First Draft Coalition. Funded by Google News Lab, this coalition of “over thirty major news and technology organisations” aims to “tackle issues of trust and truth in reporting information that emerges online.” Notable members include the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and BBC. They have anointed themselves as a sort of Ministry of Truth, as Robert Parry describes in his examination of the “fake news” subject “So, who are the “responsible” journalists who should be anointed to regulate what the world’s public gets to see and hear? For that Orwellian task, a kind of Ministry of Truth has been set up by Google, called the First Draft Coalition, which touts itself as a collection of 30 major news and technology companies, including the Times and Post, tackling “fake news” and creating a platform to decide which stories are questionable and which ones aren’t.” However, these self-appointed deciders have their own dubious history with accuracy in journalism.... Parry believes that if this “Ministry of Truth” called the First Draft Coalition existed during Iran-Contra and the Iraq invasion, the voices of dissent that ultimately exposed government and MSM lies would have been quashed. U.S. intervention in Syria and the nurturing of the Salafist sect that went on to become ISIS — as well as the McCarthyist aggression against Russia — all could not have happened without the support of Washington think-tanks and MSM cheerleaders toeing the government line.

Elites Staying Away From Clinton Foundation
The Daily Caller - Clinton Foundation officials were able to attract only five new donors between July 1 and September 30 — the controversial charity’s third quarter — The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group has learned. Foundation officials delayed release of the quarterly report of its latest donors on its website until the after the Nov. 8 presidential election, which former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lost to Republican rival Donald Trump. The low number of new donors may indicate potential contributors were frightened away by repeated news reports that the Clinton charity is under FBI investigation regarding multiple allegations of “pay-to-play” influence-peddling schemes involving both Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, as well as their key political aides. “A lot of questions have been raised, and I think donors are understandably cautious about getting involved with this deeply troubled charity,” Charles Ortel, a Wall Street analyst and philanthropy expert, told TheDCNF. Cleta Mitchell, a Washington, D.C., attorney who specializes in nonprofit foundations, told TheDCNF, “Since the Clinton Foundation was all built on influence peddling with, by and for the Clintons, in order to enrich them, the question is: who will the Clintons now be able to influence? What will the influence seekers now get for their money?”

THOUSANDS Of Green Cards Are Missing
The Daily Caller - “It appears that thousands of green cards have simply gone missing,” DHS Inspector General John Roth said in a news release. “In the wrong hands, green cards may enable terrorists, criminals, and undocumented aliens to remain in the United States. It is vital that USCIS ensure better tools and procedures are in place to mitigate such risks.” The USCIS [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] in the last three years received more than 200,000 reports from approved applicants claiming their cards were never delivered, the IG found. Monday’s audit — a follow-up to a March IG report saying USCIS officials sent hundreds of green cards to the wrong addresses — revealed “the problem was far worse than originally thought,” the IG said. But the actual number of missing cards is unknown, as USCIS relies on reports from applicants, the IG said. The number of reports about missing cards increased from 44,519 in fiscal year 2013, to 67,247 in fiscal year 2014, to 92,645 in fiscal year 2015, partly because of technical problems with the agency’s immigration database and partly due to U.S. Postal Service issues, according to the IG. The IG also found USCIS produced at least 19,000 cards with incorrect information or were duplicates. USCIS, in addition, gave cards with 10-year expiration dates to 2,400 immigrants approved only for two-year conditional residence status. USCIS hasn’t recovered the majority of those incorrect cards.... The USCIS questioned the fairness of the IG’s finding on cards sent to the wrong addresses, claiming USCIS uses the last known address of the applicant and the 200,000 figure includes people who call multiple times for service.

Drugs Are Killing More Americans Than Road Crashes
Zero Hedge - So much for the so-called 'war on drugs'... The United States has been gripped by a heroin and opiate epidemic with user numbers recently hitting a 20 year high. In 2014, the number of U.S. heroin users passed the million mark with deaths from overdoses rising steeply. And as Statista's Niall McCarthy writes, drugs are now killing substantially more Americans every year than car crashes. In 2004, 30,711 deaths were drug related compared to 42,836 in motor vehicle accidents. A decade later, drug-induced deaths reached 49,714 while road crash deaths fell to 32,675. As well as the cheap suppy of heroin, legistlation aimed at eliminating prescription opioid abuse has actually added to the problem. It involved changing the texture of the pills to make them more difficult to crush and inject into the bloodstream. That move made people shift over to heroin in droves. New and deadlier drugs such as Fentanyl are also adding to the overdose epidemic. 50 times more potent than heroin, Fentanyl has created an overdose spike in several north-eastern states and has been named as the drug that killed pop singer Prince earlier this year.

Casualties Stack Up in the War on Cops
LifeZette - Four police officers have been shot in four separate cities in the last 24 hours - and at least two of those shootings appear to have been intentional ambushes, authorities report. Benjamin Marconi, a detective in San Antonio, Texas, was shot to death on Sunday while writing a traffic ticket in his squad car. It was parked in front of police headquarters. A driver in another vehicle pulled up behind to the unsuspecting officer and opened fire. A police sergeant in St. Louis, Missouri was hospitalized after being shot twice in the face Sunday night during an ambush. The suspect was killed early Monday during a shootout with police. “This officer was driving down the road and was ambushed by an individual who pointed a gun at him from inside of his car and shot out the police officer’s window,” said St. Louis police chief Sam Dotson. Also in Missouri, a Gladstone Police Department officer was shot near Kansas City while trying to take a suspect into custody for a traffic violation, and in Sanibel, Florida, an officer was shot during a routine traffic stop.... The San Antonio detective murdered on Sunday is at least the 13th law enforcement officer to be murdered in an ambush-style attack since 2014.... Perhaps even more disturbing than this epidemic of anti-police violence is President Obama's apparent indifference to it. Obama has made no public appearance nor issued any statement in response to the horrific attacks on our nation's finest - despite the fact that it has been nearly 24 hours since Detective Marconi was assassinated.

College Teaches Founding Fathers Were ‘Terrorists,’ CEOs Should Be in Prison
Breitbart - A report by The College Fix revealed that two professors at a public Colorado university are indoctrinating students with a heavy dose of Marxist revisionism. The course, which is entitled “Resistance and Revolution,” is co-taught by two professors, history lecturer Jared Benson and sociology instructor Nicholas Lee, who collaborated together on the course. In the course, Benson and Lee argue that ideals upon which America was founded were “merely a fabrication for a social movement.” Lee argues that they participated in tarring and feathering in effigy, thus qualifying them as a “terrorist organization.” Despite their claims, there is little to no evidence that the Founding Fathers participated in such activities.

EpiPen maker refuses to testify to Senate on $465mn settlement
RT - EpiPen maker Mylan is declining to show up in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee to address its potential $465 million settlement with the federal government for defrauding Medicaid. A hearing titled, "Oversight of the EpiPen Crisis and Settlement: Where is the Federal Government in Looking out for Taxpayers and Patients?” has been slated for November 30. However, Pennsylvania-based Mylan NV has opted to “respectfully” turn down the invitation and attend the hearing. “Given the stated focus of the proposed hearing, the fact that it involves a pending matter, and that the government agencies in question will not be able to send a witness to testify or provide further information, Mylan respectfully declines the invitation to testify,” Mylan's lawyers, Latham & Watkins, said in a letter sent to the US Senate committee on November 18. “Given the stated focus of the proposed hearing, the fact that it involves a pending matter, and that the government agencies in question will not be able to send a witness to testify or provide further information, Mylan respectfully declines the invitation to testify,” Mylan's lawyers, Latham & Watkins, said in a letter sent to the US Senate committee on November 18. “Taxpayers have paid and based on reports, continue to pay hundreds of millions of dollars more for the EpiPen than they have to pay. This happened because either the agencies in charge dropped the ball, the company gamed the system, or both,” Grassley said in a statement. “One way or another, I intend to get answers for patients and taxpayers,” he added.

Thanksgiving: Pennsylvania Man Anonymously Leads Effort to Feed 150 Families
Breitbart - A mystery man in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania has delivered Thanksgiving meal preparations for 150 families in the borough of Ambler, local officials report. It is the ninth year in a row this unknown donor has helped needy Pennsylvania families. The donor, who has remained anonymous for almost a decade, told Philadelphia’s Fox 29, “We started the first year in 2008 with 30 families… this year we’re at 150 families, 3,000 pounds of turkey, $22,000 worth of groceries.” This year’s meals were donated to the Kelly Anne Dolan Memorial Fund, an effort which serves underprivileged families, many with sick children. Mary Berlin, a worker at n Easter Seals school in Lansdale, was thrilled with the donations when she came by the Wissahickon Fire Company in Ambler to pick up some of the meals. “It means everything to them,” she said of the needy families she serves. “Otherwise, they’d be going to a soup kitchen… this way they can actually have a really nice dinner at home with their kids.” Thanksgiving and Christmas are ideal times to donate to a local food bank to help those in need. But needy families need help all year around. If you would like to help, you can find a local food bank near you at the Feeding America food bank search site or a similar search tool hosted by AmpleHarvest.org. And don’t forget your local church as every church has groups they work with, as well.

Dallas Bankruptcy Threat
Economic Policy Journal - Dallas has the fastest economic growth of the nation’s 13 largest cities. Its streets hum with supersize cars and its skyline bristles with cranes.... Hundreds of multinational corporations have chosen Dallas for their headquarters, most recently Jacobs Engineering, which is moving to low-tax Texas from pricey Pasadena, Calif. But under its glittering surface, Dallas has a problem that could bring it to its knees, and that could be an early test of America’s postelection commitment to safe streets and tax relief: The city’s pension fund for its police officers and firefighters is near collapse and seeking an immense bailout. Over six recent weeks, panicked Dallas retirees have pulled $220 million out of the fund. What set off the run was a recommendation in July that the retirees no longer be allowed to take out big blocks of money. Even before that, though, there were reports that the fund’s investments - some placed in highly risky and speculative ventures - were worth less than previously stated. What is happening in Dallas is an extreme example of what’s happening in many other places around the country. Elected officials promised workers solid pensions years ago, on the basis of wishful thinking rather than realistic expectations. Dallas’s troubles have become more urgent because its plan rules let some retirees take big withdrawals. Now, the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System has asked the city for a one-time infusion of $1.1 billion, an amount roughly equal to Dallas's entire general fund budget but not even close to what the pension fund needs to be fully funded.

U.S. Citizens Now Hold About $1.3 Trillion in Student Loan Debt
Financeography.com - Officially, the nation owes $1.26 trillion in student loan debt. Realistically, we are probably over the $1.3 trillion mark when taking into account the fact that the Fall semester has just started and many Spring graduates are still in the grace period. Just one year ago, student loan debt was at $1.19 trillion. About $70 billion worth of student loans have been added in the last 365 days. Student loan debt has been the largest sector of non-mortgage debt since March 2010 and it seems to be growing at what might be an untenable pace. At the beginning of 2004, the nation owed about $260 billion in student loan debt and default rates were relatively low. In the past 12 years, we have added a trillion dollars to that amount and gained about 4% in the overall college graduation rate. While an educated populous is a good thing, the number of those not making payments on their student loan debt as soared. Approximately 40% of those who owe money on student loan debts are not making any payments on them at all, either from defaults, forbearance, deferment, or being delinquent. Some analysts have predicted that student loans are the next bubble ready to pop, much like the (albeit much larger) housing bubble in 2008. What has many people on the fence is the fact that you can get rid of a home loan in bankruptcy proceedings, but your student loans are likely stuck with you except in extreme cases.... In addition, federal student loans are going to stick on a credit report for years past the standard 7 year reporting statute of limitations.

Standing Rock protest: hundreds clash with police over Dakota Access Pipeline (Video)
The Guardian - Law enforcement officials in North Dakota have deployed tear gas and water hoses against hundreds of activists protesting against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Protesters also reported being hit with rubber bullets and percussion grenades on a bridge just north of the encampments established by indigenous and environmental activists in opposition to the controversial pipeline. “They were attacked with water cannons,” said LaDonna Brave Bull Allard, a Standing Rock Sioux tribe member and founder of the Sacred Stone camp. “It is 23 degrees [-5 °C] out there with mace, rubber bullets, pepper spray, etc. They are being trapped and attacked. Pray for my people.” The Morton County Sheriffs Department described the incident as an “ongoing riot” and described the protestors as “very aggressive”. A spokesman for the sheriffs department said that law enforcement was spraying water because protesters were lighting fires on and around the bridge. One person was arrested, according to the sheriffs department. “As medical professionals, we are concerned for the real risk of loss of life due to severe hypothermia under these conditions,” the Standing Rock Medic & Healer Council said in a statement posted on Facebook. One hundred sixty-seven people were injured and seven were taken to the hospital, according to Jade Begay, a spokeswoman for the Indigenous Environmental Network. The incident is the latest violent clash between the unarmed anti-pipeline activists, who call themselves “water protectors”, and a highly militarized police force. More than 400 activists have been arrested since the protests began, and law enforcement has deployed pepper spray, teargas, rubber bullets, Tasers, sound weapons, and other “less-than-lethal” weapons.

Hackers Force "Bank ATMs to Spew Cash": Grid Vulnerabilities System-wide
With everything online, nothing is safe from criminals. Every ATM and every device is potentially hackable, and now a string of banks in Asia is learning the hard way that many people will go to great lengths in order to hit jackpot. via WSJ: "Cybercriminals who once earned millions by breaking into individual online bank accounts are now targeting the banks’ own computers, with often-dramatic results. In Taiwan and Thailand earlier this year, the criminals programmed bank ATMs to spew cash. Gang members stood in front of the machines at the appointed hour and collected millions of dollars. Earlier this month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned U.S. banks of the potential for similar attacks. The FBI said in a bulletin that it is “monitoring emerging reports indicating that well-resourced and organized malicious cyber actors have intentions to target the U.S. financial sector.” The FBI bulletin cited software used by a Russian gang known as Buhtrap. Sometimes the hackers break into the systems that process transactions on banking payment networks; other times they have hit ATM networks directly.... “These guys, who could have been in the past just going after consumers…are breaking into financial institutions,” said Eric Chien, technical director of Symantec Corp.’s Security Technology and Response division. The computer code to carry out the attacks was released earlier this year by a disgruntled Buhtrap member”…. It seems that ample evidence exists that the powers that be shouldn’t be wrapping everything up in the grid, and yet they are. While these kinds of events reinforce the reasons that we shouldn’t invest everything in the banks, or trust the system to be there when we need it, but rather to hedge into cash, commodities, barter and as much self-reliance as one could muster.

Big Dairy Beware: Donald Trump Drinks Raw Milk!
Healthy Home Economist - Whatever you may think about President-elect Donald Trump, you have to admit one thing. The guy sure has a ton of energy for 70 years old! I know plenty of 40-somethings who couldn’t keep up with The Donald’s busy schedule. You probably do too. Not many people could juggle the many businesses comprising his $10 billion empire along with running for President of the United States. How does Trump do it? It doesn’t seem to be a rigorous fitness regimen. By his own admission, he is technically overweight and needs to lose a few pounds. Maybe it’s a steady supply of coffee. But, perhaps it is actually his predilection for one of the most nutrient-dense and traditional of foods: unpasteurized raw milk!… The great news for the traditional foods community is that the country now has a President-elect and First Lady who are more than a little sympathetic to their cause. They are fans! Will the President-elect roll back the decades long ban on interstate sales of raw milk in the United States? My bet is that he will at least consider it, although he certainly has much more pressing issues to deal with first. The ban on state-to-state raw milk commerce is the single greatest impediment to unpasteurized dairy sales in the United States. Given that the President-Elect is a businessman, he will undoubtedly understand the positive implications of eliminating such a regulatory obstacle. How would Trump accomplish this given that the federal ban is the result of a court order, not a Presidential executive order as widely believed? One way would be lack of enforcement action by the FDA. You see, there is a loophole in the ban that allows shipment of raw dairy as long as it is not in final package form. Hence, it could be argued that raw milk products that are frozen or not labeled are not in final package form which opens up shipments between states. Since the FDA is part of the Executive branch of government, of which the President of the United States is the head, Trump could potentially allow the loophole to be used by raw dairy farmers to legally ship across state lines.

Probiotics could reverse diabetes as link to gut discovered
What Doctors Don't Tell You - Diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which encompasses diabetes, obesity and heart disease, come about when the ‘cross-talk’ between the immune system, gut bacteria and glucose metabolism breaks down. Gut bacteria play an essential role in regulating glucose metabolism, and diabetes, obesity and heart disease can be the outcome when the interplay between them and the immune system is interrupted. Diabetes is the body’s inability to properly break down glucose from carbohydrates. That means that diabetes could be reversed with probiotics, which help the gut restore ‘good’ bacteria. Right now, this is a whole new area of research, called immunometabolism, says Dr Natalia Shulzhenko, at the Oregon State University. “We’re discovering that in biology there are multiple connections and communications, what we call cross-talk, that are very important in ways we’re just beginning to understand,” she said.

Ginseng Can Help Treat and Prevent Influenza
Healthy Holistic Living - Scientists from Georgia State University’s Institute for Biomedical Sciences partnered with a university in South Korea for a study. They found that ginseng can help treat and prevent influenza A. They also found that ginseng may be effective to treat and prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages. RSV affects millions of people. It’s the leading cause of inflammatory bronchiolitis pneumonia and viral death in infants and in some elderly adults…. The researchers found that red ginseng extract improves the survival of human lung epithelial cells infected with the influenza virus. They also found that it reduced the expression of genes that cause inflammation. The author believes that red ginseng extract’s beneficial effects may result from its antioxidant powers and its ability to modify immune response. A related study by the same author found Korean red ginseng extract improved the survival of human lung epithelial cells against RSV infection. It also inhibited the virus from replicating, or multiplying, in the body.

Purina Beneful Walks Away from Accountability
Susan Thixton - A lawsuit against Purina linking the illness and/or death of 1,400 dogs to Beneful Dog Food has been dismissed. Another pet food…walks away, responsibility free. The FDA began receiving a concerning number of consumer complaints of Beneful Dog Food in 2012, an average of three complaints of sick or dead pets per month. In 2013 the FDA had received so many complaints against Beneful the agency initiated an investigation/inspection of three Beneful pet food manufacturing plants. The FDA found… Six samples of Beneful Dog Food tested above legal limits for cyanuric acid and melamine (the very same poisonous combination responsible for the 2007 pet food recall). Six samples of Beneful Dog Food tested to contain ethoxyquin which was not listed on the label (it is illegal for a pet food to include an ingredient but not list it on the product label). Purina refused to provide FDA with copies of records. Purina refused to disclose the safety tests the company performs on ingredients to FDA. Purina refused to disclose the actual contents or weights of individual ingredients that went into lots of foods consumers had reported killed or sickened their pet. Purina refused to allow FDA to take photographs of manufacturing plants. Even though the FDA found sound scientific and legal reasons for a recall (melamine and ethoxyquin), the agency ended their investigation into Beneful with a ‘talk’ with Purina; no recall, no accountability to the families of dead pets…. The court’s dismissal order states two expert witnesses – veterinarians – were not qualified as experts and their testimony was not taken into consideration.

Monday - November 21, 2016 - Today In History:

1620 - The Mayflower reached Provincetown, MA. The ship discharged the Pilgrims at Plymouth, MA, on December 26, 1620.
1789 - North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
1922 - Rebecca L. Felton of Georgia was sworn in as the first woman to serve as a member of the U.S. Senate.
1942 - The Alaska Highway across Canada was formally opened.
1963 - U.S. President John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, arrived in San Antonio, TX. They were beginning an ill-fated, two-day tour of Texas that would end in Dallas.
1973 - U.S. President Richard M. Nixon's attorney, J. Fred Buzhardt, announced the presence of an 18½-minute gap in one of the White House tape recordings related to the Watergate case.
1979 - The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, was attacked by a mob that set the building afire and killed two Americans.
1980 - Millions tune in to find out who shot J.R.
1980 - 87 people died in a fire at the MGM Grand Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas, NV.
1985 - Former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard was arrested after being accused of spying for Israel. He was later sentenced to life in prison.
1986 - U.S. Attorney General Meese was asked to conduct an inquiry of the Iran arms sales.
1992 - Senator Bob Packwood, issued an apology but refused to discuss allegations that he'd made unwelcome sexual advances toward 10 women in past years.
1993 - The U.S. House of Representatives voted against making the District of Columbia the 51st state.
1994 - NATO warplanes bombed an air base in Serb-held Croatia that was being used by Serb planes to raid the Bosnian "safe area" of Bihac.
1995 - France detonated its fourth underground nuclear blast at a test site in the South Pacific.
2000 - The Florida Supreme Court granted Al Gore's request to keep the presidential recounts going.
2002 - NATO invited Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to become members.
2013 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 16,000 for the first time.

Putin Vows to “Choke” NATO if it Continues Encirclement of Russia (Video)
Paul Joseph Watson - During a live question and answer session, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to “choke” NATO if it continued to encircle Russia by interfering in Ukraine and Georgia. Although many are expecting an easing of tensions between the United States and Russia after the election of Donald Trump, Putin made it clear that there is no love lost between Moscow and the NATO alliance. Putin was asked a question by TV host Dmitry Kisiliov, the man who previously expressed his fear that Donald Trump would be assassinated before he became president. Kisiliov also asserted that the Obama White House may stage a provocation to go to war with Russia and Syria. “I feel like out country is encircled within a ring, I personally feel a certain suffocation, like someone is strangling me, I feel it is NATO,” said Kisiliov. Claiming that NATO was “spreading like a cancerous tumor” and was preparing to swallow up Ukraine and Georgia, Kisiliov asked Putin, “So where is the red line? How do you feel about it?” “We can choke everyone, why are you so afraid?” responded Putin, to widespread applause from the audience. “We are not fearful, I have no fear and nobody should,” added the Russian president. Putin’s statement follows a fiery exchange between U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby and RT reporter Gayane Chichakyan during which Kirby asserted that he was not, “going to put Russia Today [RT] on the same level with the rest of [the journalists] who are representing independent media outlets.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded by calling the incident “outrageous” and “revolting”.

Syrian Rebels Fret Over Trump’s Plan To Cancel Funding
The AntiMedia - President-elect Donald Trump is planning a major overhaul to US policy in Syria, and that’s got the putative “moderate” rebels that have been getting US funds and weapons fretting, as the CIA program responsible for smuggling that gear in is set to be cancelled. The CIA has been eager to regularly increase the amount of weapons provided to the rebels, and has sought to shift the focus of US policy in Syria toward imposing regime change, and to dial down efforts to go after ISIS. Trump campaigned on the oppose, moving away from the regime change efforts and focusing on fighting ISIS. Some of the rebels are hoping Trump’s opposition to arming them directly might actually work out in their favor, theorizing that without direct US involvement, Trump will be more ambivalent about what the Saudis give the rebels, allowing Saudi forces to throw ever more advanced arms at them. While President Obama continued arming the rebels despite their ineffectiveness on the battle field and growing signs that they were aligning with Islamist factions within Syria, he limited the types of weapons the Saudis could smuggle in to them, particularly anti-aircraft weapons that might end up used against civilian aircraft, or given to Islamist groups that might attack US planes.

Queen Elizabeth to Invite Trump to Britain for State Visit
Breitbart - Citing two ministers and a senior official close to Downing Street, the Sunday Times reported that discussions between British officials and Trump’s team would start soon to ensure that a date could be agreed for June or July next year. Britain is keen to reinforce its “special relationship” with the United States as the government of Prime Minister Theresa May prepares to leave the European Union, a divorce that will shape the country’s standing in the world. Trump invited May to visit him as soon as possible during their first telephone call since his election victory, the British prime minister’s office has said. Aides for May have said as yet there is no date for the trip. The Sunday Times said the British government hopes that an official state visit will be its “secret weapon” for cementing ties after Trump met leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage earlier this month – the first British politician to do so.

Monkey snatching schoolgirl’s headscarf sparks clashes in Libya, leaving 16 dead
RT - Four days of clashes between rival tribal militias in the Libyan city of Sabha have left at least 16 people dead and 50 injured. The violence was reportedly triggered by a monkey that snatched the headscarf off of a tribal girl. The monkey, which belonged to a shopkeeper from the Gaddadfa tribe, pulled the headwear off a schoolgirl from the Awlad Suleiman tribe who was passing by with a group of other girls, reported Reuters, citing locals. Awlad Suleiman fighters retaliated in response, killing three members of the Gaddadfa tribe along with the monkey in a wave of violence involving heavy weapons. “There was an escalation on the second and third days with the use of tanks, mortars and other heavy weapons,” a local resident told the agency by phone, adding “there are still sporadic clashes and life is completely shut down in the areas where there has been fighting.” Sabha is located in a tribal part of southern Libya. Like other parts of the country, it remains plagued by violence amongst rival factions. The region is also a major hub for arms smuggling, refugee trafficking, and other illegal activities. The Gaddadfa and the Awlad Suleiman are the two most powerful factions in the Sabha region.... Once one of the richest countries in Northern Africa, Libya was plunged into chaos after a NATO-assisted uprising toppled strongman Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The country is now a major hub for human smugglers who transport refugees from across the region to Europe.

Marine Le Pen Takes "Huge Lead" In French Presidential Election Poll Just Days After Being Written Off
Zero Hedge - The pollsters have done it again. Just four days after the Independent reported that pollsters said Marine Le Pen has "next to no chance" of winning the French presidency... today we learned that contrary to previous polls, the leader of National Front leader Marine - the person whose surge in the past few years has been most equated to the French populist revolt that has taken place in the UK and US - has taken a commanding lead in the latest French presidential election poll.... In 2012, Le Pen came third in the first round of the French presidential race with 17.9% of the vote, behind Mr Sarkozy with 27.18% and eventual winner Mr Hollande with 28.63%. Four year later she is, as of this moment, an undisputed winner in all three head-to-head match ups.... And so Europe is panicking again: the latest French polls are "likely to add to growing fears that the rise of global populism could see Ms Le Pen on course to clinch the French presidential win, in the wake of the UK’s Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s victory in the US election" according to the Independent.... For those unfamiliar, Le Pen has led the far-right National Front since 2011, when she succeeded her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, the party’s founder.... Just like Trump, critics have frequently branded Marine Le Pen a "fascist" and accused her of exploiting growing anti-immigration sentiment. Le Pen was among the first world leaders to congratulate Donald Trump on his victory two weeks ago, and said that "Americans have rejected the status quo" with their vote, an outcome she hopes to repeat in France.
* Related: Ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy concedes defeat in French vote

1,000s rally for tolerance in Indonesia amid blasphemy probe of Christian governor
RT - The peaceful rally came in response to a government investigation into a Chinese-Christian governor who is alleged to have insulted Islam. Saturday’s event in downtown Jakarta saw people dressed in red and white – Indonesia’s national colors. The crowd included people from all walks of life – religious clerics, members of human rights groups, lawmakers, and concerned citizens – as they held up posters and chanted for unity among their country’s diverse peoples.... Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, also known by his Chinese nickname Ahok, has been crucified [figuratively, not literally] for insulting Islam by some members of the public, as well as opposition politicians, since he accused his rivals of “lying” about the meaning of a Koranic verse. Apologies haven’t helped, nor did the revelation that his comments had been inaccurately subtitled. Islamists from near and far, including members of Al-Nusra Front in Syria, used the opportunity to pounce on the Christian-Chinese politician, accusing him of twisting the Koran and issuing calls for violence at a recent rally demanding his removal. This has opened up old wounds, and the country now finds itself in the throes of a fresh ethno-religious upheaval that culminated in Wednesday’s decision to prosecute Purnama for making his remarks. He will now have to stand trial on the charge of blasphemy and could face up to five years in prison over the confusion. Saturday’s counter-rally was called to demonstrate that there are opposing voices in Indonesian society.... Although it subscribes to a moderate form of Islam, Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation and occasionally grapples with intolerance toward its religious and ethnic minorities, which include Buddhists and Christians. However, religious attacks are typically rather mild and often aimed at denying senior government positions to non-Muslims.... The governor’s remarks referencing the Koran drew over 100,000 people into the streets of the Indonesian capital earlier this month to demand his removal and call for the city not to vote for him in the upcoming February elections.

Merkel admits Europe-US free trade deal is dead
RT - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has acknowledged the EU's new free trade agreement with the US is no longer possible with the election of Donald Trump, who opposes the deal. “The EU and the US are the two largest trading regions and I have always been very committed to the conclusion of a trade agreement with the USA. We have done well, the negotiations cannot be finished now, but we will stick to what we have achieved. I`m sure we`ll come back to it someday,” the chancellor said following the meeting with US President Barack Obama during his valedictory European tour. The US president-elect has criticized international trade agreements, campaigning on a promise to scrap them once he is elected. International trade deals take jobs away from American workers and hurt the country's competitiveness, according to Trump.

Clinton Foundation Donations Plummeted by 37 Percent
Breitbart - Donations to the Clinton Foundation tanked in 2015 amid allegations that Hillary Clinton used the billion-dollar charity to siphon seven-figure donations from foreign governments and corporations, who received favorable government actions while Clinton was Secretary of State. The Clinton’s troubled charity received $108 million in donations in 2015, down from a $172 million haul in 2014, according to the organization’s tax records. The Clinton’s seven-figure speech income collapsed, too, from $3.6 million in 2014 to $357,500 in 2015, the New York Post reports.

House passes bill targeting ‘midnight’ Obama regs
The Hill - The House on Thursday passed legislation that would allow Congress to overturn in a single vote any regulations finalized in the last days of the Obama administration. Despite Democratic opposition, the Midnight Rule Relief Act passed largely along party lines, by a 240-179 vote. The bill would amend the Congressional Review Act to allow Congress to overturn many rules all at once by way of a resolution.... House Republicans are doing everything in their power to keep the Obama administration from enacting any new rules in its final days. Earlier in the week, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) warned the federal agencies in a letter not to finalize any pending rules or regulations from now to the inauguration. Those that are, he assured, will be scrutinized and - if appropriate - overturned. While the bill targets rules finalized in the lame-duck period between Election Day and President-elect Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) argues its reach is much further. Despite the bill’s colorful title, he said the legislation allows Congress to overturn rules finalized as far back as May.... The administration has already threatened a veto if the bill were to make it to the president’s desk. In a statement, the Executive Office of the President said the bill is unnecessary because the Congressional Review Act already allows for Congress to disapprove rules on a case-by-case basis.

NPR BANS Live Interviews With Conservatives
The Federalist Papers - National Public Radio has apparently decided that they’re no longer going to conduct live interviews of conservative commentators who may have “controversial views.” This comes after an interview with Breitbart’s Joel B. Pollak. The news site’s editor-at-large was defending his former boss (and Trump Administration appointee) Stephen Bannon from claims of antisemitism and “white nationalism.” Things got difficult for the taxpayer-funded radio network when Pollak turned the tables and reminded them that NPR has their own “racist programming” including a story that called the 2016 results “nostalgia for a whiter America.” Listeners to the interview were apparently outraged that anyone from Breitbart had been given the opportunity to defend the website or its chairman. The station’s ombudsman, Elizabeth Jensen, is recommending that the news service ban future live interviews of conservatives. She said that the live format allowed Pollack to “get the better” of host Steve Inskeep. Future interviews should be taped, she said. “In addition, in my opinion, these interviews should not be done live. Inskeep is an excellent live interviewer, but live interviews are difficult, especially when there is limited time. A little contextualizing never hurts.” By “contextualizing,” Jensen means selective editing. She means explaining what someone is saying, or declaring it racist or anti-Semitic. Breitbart reports: Jensen went on to argue that “contextualizing” had worked for a similar interview with former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, as well as for an interview Nov. 17 with white nationalist Richard Spencer.

Ron Paul reveals hit list of alleged ‘fake news’ journalists
RT - Former congressman Ron Paul revealed a list of “fake news” journalists he claims are responsible for “bogus wars” and lies about Hillary Clinton’s chances of winning the election. Journalists from CNN, the New York Times, and the Guardian are included. “This list contains the culprits who told us that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and lied us into multiple bogus wars,” according to a report on his website, Ron Paul Liberty Report. Paul claims the list is sourced and “holds a lot more water” than a list previously released by Melissa Zimdars, who is described on Paul’s website as “a leftist feminist professor.” “These are the news sources that told us ‘if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor,’” he said. “They told us that Hillary Clinton had a 98% of winning the election. They tell us in a never-ending loop that ‘The economy is in great shape!’” Paul’s list includes the full names of the “fake news” journalists as well as the publications they write for, with what appears to be hyperlinks to where the allegations are sourced from. In most cases, this is WikiLeaks, but none of the hyperlinks are working at present, leaving the exact sources of the list unknown. CNN is Paul’s biggest alleged culprit, with nine entries, followed by the NY Times and MSNBC, with six each. The NY Times has recently come under fire from President-elect Donald Trump, who accuses them of being “totally wrong” on news regarding his transition team, while describing them as “failing.”.... So-called ‘fake news’ has been recently attacked by US President Barack Obama, who claimed that false news shared online may have played a role in Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election. Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg has now said that the social media site may begin entrusting third parties with filtering the news.

Trump Effect: Ford Plant Is Staying in Kentucky
LifeZette - “Just got a call from my friend Bill Ford, Chairman of Ford, who advised me that he will be keeping the Lincoln plant in Kentucky — no Mexico,” Trump tweeted [Thursday evening]. Trump was apparently talking about the Lincoln MKC small sport-utility vehicle. It is made at an assembly plant in Louisville. The media immediately pounced on Trump, saying Ford has never said it was moving the MKC assembly to Mexico. And they were merciless, digging through Google and the web to find proof that Ford never said it was closing its assembly line in Kentucky and moving it to Mexico. But according to Bloomberg News, Ford confirmed late Thursday it told Trump its Lincoln SUV will stay in Kentucky. That didn't stop Jesse Singal, a New York Magazine writer, from freaking out about Trump's tweet. In a late-night tweet-storm, Singal said the claim was "post-truth," using one of the Left's cutesy new terms to describe Trump's election and his communication methods. Still, Ford and Trump spoke. Something was said that led Trump to believe Ford is listening. Ford had previously said it was shifting some production to Mexico. Now Ford is under tremendous pressure to keep jobs in the United States. The "Trump Effect" is underway — whether the media elites like it or not.

Newborn Seized Because Mom Opposed Vaccination (And, Yes, She’s Suing)
Off the Grid News - A case that might dramatically expand parental rights has been appealed to one of the highest courts in the land. If the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals rules in favor of Jodi and Scott Ferris, it might restrict the power of social workers and medical professionals to take children and make decisions for families. A lower court ruled against the couple earlier this year without giving them the trial their Home School Legal Defense Association attorneys had requested. In October, the case was appealed to the Third Circuit. In 2010, a social worker and police officers seized Jodi Ferris’ newborn baby at the Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pa., just hours after birth, allegedly because the mom refused to let the baby get a vaccination and because she preferred natural childbirth over hospital delivery. The workers reportedly kept the baby girl for around 48 hours and only let Ferris see the infant every few hours. The baby was eventually returned to Ferris and her husband, Scott, but only after a court order. “That afternoon a social worker and two police officers came to the hospital and took our baby and kicked us out of the hospital,” Ferris said in an HSLDA podcast. Ferris thinks the infant was taken from her because she refused to let the child be vaccinated for Hepatitis B, according to The Minot Daily News. The baby was born in an ambulance in the medical center parking lot after Ferris was rushed there in premature labor. Ferris had wanted to give birth at home but couldn’t because her midwife could not arrive in time. Jodi also said she thinks her belief in alternative medical care and natural child birth caused staff to take action against her…. The HSDLA filed a civil rights complaint against doctors at the medical center and a social worker in federal court in March 2012, claiming that the couple’s Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated.

Obama Blames “Geography” for Hillary’s Thumping (VIDEO)
After the November 8th election Republicans hold their largest majorities of power since the founding of the party in the 1800s. In 2010 Democrats lost the House to Republicans. In 2014 Democrats lost the Senate to Republicans. In 2016 Democrats lost the presidency to Republicans. Republicans increased their control in state legislatures leaving Democrats with their lowest level since the Civil War. Obama blamed “geography” for the loss. Rich Edson from FOX News was the first reporter since the election to ask Barack Obama about the historic losses suffered by the Democrat Party under his leadership. Obama responded: “Some of that is the nature of our system and geography. As long as Wyoming gets the same number of senators as California there’s going to be some tilt toward Republicans when it comes to representative races. The fact that a lot of Democrat voters are bunched up in cities and a lot of Republican voters are spread out.”

At APEC Obama Blames “Fake News” for Hillary’s Drubbing (Video)
The Gateway Pundit - On Sunday Barack Obama continued to rail against “fake news” in Lima, Peru. Democrats want to blame fake news sites for Hillary’s shellacking. “As I’ve said before the concern I have has less to do with any particular misinformation or propaganda that’s being put out by any particular party and a greater concern about the general information from all kinds of sources, both domestic, foreign, on social media, that make if very difficult for voters to figure out what’s true and what’s not… In general if we have elections that aren’t focused on issues and are full of fake news and false information and distractions then the issue is going to be… what are we doing to ourselves from the inside.”

Recalled 'Madam President' Newsweek Magazine Leaked Online (Photos)
Blacklisted News - Someone leaked a full copy of Newsweek's recalled "Madam President" magazine -- it's hilarious. Newsweek licensee Topix Media, who created the magazine, said 125,000 copies with Hillary Clinton on the cover were printed and shipped, though only 17 were actually sold. What a perfect example of "fake news." Every lying media narrative wrapped in a bow before the outcome had even been determined. Check out the full magazine on imgur courtesy of moochie228 on r/The_Donald.

Percolator protest! Republican voters fight election backlash by telling Starbucks baristas their name is 'Trump' so they have to shout the name when their cup of Joe is ready
Daily Mail - The protest is allegedly against people 'discriminating against Republicans' and was started by Trump supporter and actor Scott Baio, according to Yahoo News. The protest is allegedly against people 'discriminating against Republicans' and was started by Trump supporter and actor Scott Baio…. A hashtag #TrumpCup began to circulate on Twitter and a video of a barista calling the police after a man asked for Trump's name to be written on his cup went viral, causing the phenomenon to increase. Another video of a man shouting 'Trump' at a barista when he felt his drink order was taking too long added fuel to the fire. Now, dozens of people are taking pictures of their Starbucks drink with the name 'Trump' written on it in protest of the alleged discrimination. But many have pointed out the protest is actually just padding the wallets of Starbucks and their CEO Howard Schultz, who openly backed Hillary Clinton.

Gold Star family of slain California soldier booed on flight
Stockton Record - The father of a soldier who was killed last weekend in Afghanistan was disappointed and hurt after airline passengers booed him and his family as they flew to meet his son’s remains…. His son, Sgt. John Perry, was one of two killed in an explosion at a United States airbase on Nov. 12. He was honored at a memorial service in Lodi on Thursday and will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. John Perry, 30, and Pfc. Tyler R. Iubelt of Tamaroa, Illinois, died from their injuries after the attack by an apparent suicide bomber at the Bagram Airfield at about 5:30 a.m. local time. The Department of Defense said this week that the blast also took the lives of two U.S. contractors working on the base. Sixteen other U.S. service members and one Polish soldier participating in a NATO mission were wounded. Perry was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Sustainment Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. He was at the base supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel…. Stewart Perry said he, his wife, Kathy, and daughter were flying on an American Airlines flight from Sacramento on Monday to Philadelphia, with a quick transfer in Phoenix. From Philadelphia, they traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to receive his son’s remains. For unknown reasons, Perry said, the flight to Phoenix was 45 minutes late. The crew feared the delay might cause the Perrys miss their connecting flight. So, when the plane landed in Phoenix, the captain made an announcement for all passengers to remain seated and to let a “special military family” exit the aircraft first, Perry said. Several passengers in first class began to boo and complain, Perry said. “Some people were saying ‘This is just baloney,’ and ‘I paid for first-class for this?’ ” He said American Airlines “did everything they could” to accommodate his family. Perry and his family made their connecting flight, and the pilot in Phoenix stayed at the gate for 40 minutes to make sure they made it on board…. “It was just disgusting behavior from people in first class; it was terrible to see,” Perry said. “You could see the disappointment from the flight crew.”

San Fran Home Sales Crash To Lowest Level Since 2008 As Pricing Reset Gets Underway
Zero Hedge - With home prices now implying that only 10-20% of residents can afford the "median" priced home, it's certainly not difficult to understand why demand may be waning. According to HousingWire and a new report from PropertyRadar, home sales in the Bay Area are finally starting to rollover with Q3 YTD volumes down 10.3% YoY, reflecting the fewest number of homes sold over that same time period since 2008. Perhaps even more staggering is that distressed property sales fell 35.7% YoY so far in 2016, to the lowest level since 2001, as "low-priced" inventory dried up and buyers have found it financially impossible to move up to higher price tiers.... Of course, none of this should be terribly surprising in light of the fact that median San Francisco home prices have surged 86% over the past 4 years to a mere $1.4mm. As Paragon Real Estate points out, the only question left to answer now isn't whether San Fran real estate will crash, but rather just how deep the crash will be.

Facebook Reveals Seven Point Plan To Eradicate "Fake News"
Zero Hedge - ... [Facebook CEO Mark] Zuckerberg has rejected the notion that Facebook influenced the outcome of the election or that fake news is a major problem on the service. "Of all the content on Facebook, more than 99 percent of what people see is authentic," he wrote in a blog post on Saturday. "Only a very small amount is fake news and hoaxes." Which is why we found it odd that since such "a very small amount" of Facebook is "fake", why the left-leaning CEO would draft up his 7-point plan for eradicating "misinformation" from the social network.... "1. Stronger Detection. The most important thing we can do is improve our ability to classify misinformation. This means better technical systems to detect what people will flag as false before they do it themselves. 2. Easy reporting. Making it much easier for people to report stories as fake will help us catch more misinformation faster. 3. Third party verification. There are many respected fact checking organizations and, while we have reached out to some, we plan to learn from many more. 4. Warnings. We are exploring labeling stories that have been flagged as false by third parties or our community, and showing warnings when people read or share them. 5. Related articles quality. We are raising the bar for stories that appear in related articles under links in News Feed. 6. Disrupting fake news economics. A lot of misinformation is driven by financially motivated spam. We're looking into disrupting the economics with ads policies like the one we announced earlier this week, and better ad farm detection. 7. Listening. We will continue to work with journalists and others in the news industry to get their input, in particular, to better understand their fact checking systems and learn from them".... So to clarify, Facebook will make it easier for any Tom, Dick, Or Harriet to complain about a story that will necessarily cut the revenues from that entity and will rely on 'fact-checking' organizations, establishment 3rd parties, and the mainstream media for input.... the move is yet another step on a slippery slope, one which begins with determining just what is considered "fake news" and ends with blanket internet censorship along ideological lines. Which we find especially ironic considering much of the "pro Clinton" press was terrified that it would be Trump who would be the one to hint at or enforce censorship.

It's official: NASA's peer-reviewed EM Drive paper has finally been published
ScienceAlert - After months of speculation and leaked documents, NASA's long-awaited EM Drive paper has finally been peer-reviewed and published. And it shows that the 'impossible' propulsion system really does appear to work.... In case you've missed the hype, the EM Drive, or Electromagnetic Drive, is a propulsion system first proposed by British inventor Roger Shawyer back in 1999. Instead of using heavy, inefficient rocket fuel, it bounces microwaves back and forth inside a cone-shaped metal cavity to generate thrust. According to Shawyer's calculations, the EM Drive could be so efficient that it could power us to Mars in just 70 days. But, there's a not-small problem with the system. It defies Newton's third law, which states that everything must have an equal and opposite reaction. According to the law, for a system to produce thrust, it has to push something out the other way. The EM Drive doesn't do this. Yet in test after test it continues to work. Last year, NASA's Eagleworks Laboratory team got their hands on an EM Drive to try to figure out once and for all what was going on.... There's a lot more work to be done before we can say for sure whether the EM Drive is really producing thrust – the team notes they that more research is needed to eliminate the possibility that thermal expansion could somehow be skewing the results. And even once that's confirmed, we'll then need to figure out exactly how the system works.... The next step for the EM Drive is for it to be tested in space, which is scheduled to happen in the coming months, with plans to launch the first EM Drive having been made back in September.

Board nixes use of carrageenan in organic food production
Center for Food Safety - The National Organic Standards Board has voted 10-3, with one abstention, to remove carrageenan from the list of substances approved for use in food items labeled “USDA Organic.”…. The debate about whether carrageenan, an FDA-approved additive made from red seaweed, can safely be used in human food has been going on for years. Carrageenan is commonly used as a thickener and stabilizer in infant formula, dairy products, non-dairy “milk” analogs, meats and drink mixes. Concerns have been raised about the risk of inflammation and possibly colon cancer in humans and animals from ingesting carrageenan in food products. However, there is a lack of consensus about whether the scientific studies done to date are conclusive about the effect on human health of consuming carrageenan. Along with several other substances, it was scheduled to sunset from the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances in November 2018.

6 Fasting-Growing Indoor Vegetables You Can Harvest Within 2 Months
Off the Grid News - With the help of grow lights, you can provide fresh vegetables to be harvested during the cold months of winter. And if you get started soon, you can be eating your vegetables in January. All of these vegetables can be grown in two months or less: 1. Microgreens are a delicious choice for an indoor garden. The leaves are harvested when young and tender, which makes a wonderful addition to salads and winter dishes. They can grow as quickly as two to three weeks…. 2. Bok choy or Pak choi. These greens need lots of water but are fast growers. Plant them in large pots so they will obtain moisture better. The plants reach harvesting stage at about four weeks. Clip only the outer leave, allowing the plant to continue producing on the inside. Or, you can harvest the whole plant at baby size if you want it for stir frying. 3. Beans can be grown under grow lights, and bush beans are the best choice for indoor use. Supports aren’t necessary, and harvesting is a lot easier, too…. Beans can be picked between 50-60 days after planting. 4. Radishes. From seed to actual radish takes about one month. If you plant them back to back, you can have a continuous supply of radishes all winter…. 5. Spinach & lettuce grow well under grow lights. If harvesting for baby greens, you can harvest when the leaves are about three to four inches tall at about 20-30 days. If you’re harvesting for a larger plant, then harvest between 45-60 days. 6. Arugula is a plant that has an even higher yield when grown under grow lights. The more you cut it, the more it grows, giving an unending supply of leaves. It can be harvested about 30 days from when it’s planted. Pick only the outside leaves of the plant.

What Is Going On With This Dangerous New Flu Vaccine?
Natural Blaze - Now, here’s a warning to you all. There have been disturbing reports describing the ill-effects of a new flu vaccine. In the USA, on a scale never seen before, the illnesses caused, including thousands of paralyzed children or even deaths by the new flu vaccine has not been explained. To make matters worse, it coincides with a recent Obama signed Presidential Executive Order promoting a policy ‘Advancing Global Health Security Agenda to Achieve a World Safe and secure from Infectious Diseases.’ The global medical establishment are more demanding than ever in their guidelines to get vaccinated as part the advancement of the agenda related to this quietly signed Executive Order. Developed for the 2016/2017 flu season, the flu vaccine comes with a number of new features as documented by the CDC. There is a recommendations list, recommending people suffering from allergies such as an egg allergy to get vaccinated. This recommendation hasn’t been made before because the vaccine’s adjuvants (ingredients) contain egg traces. However, this perfect rationale for not getting vaccinated because of a potential life-threatening egg allergy has now been tossed out through the window. Furthermore, in the list, there is only an injected form of this vaccine (no nasal spray) and higher doses for the elderly with a different adjuvant, making it something to be suspicious about. Is this FLUAD (influenza vaccine with adjuvant) vaccine a stealth attack on the elderly??… Flu shots have been linked to increasing the likelihood of Alzheimer’s disease, different cancers, narcolepsy, Guillain Barre syndrome where the body’s immune defense attacks its peripheral nervous system and neurological disorders. They contain a number of highly dubious adjuvants including flu strains, formaldehyde and squalene MF 59 linked to Gulf War syndrome.

Sugar Doesn’t Just Feed Cancer Cells it May Even CREATE Them
REALfarmacy - First realize that even without being diagnosed with cancer, we all have at least a few cancerous cells floating around in our “inner terrain”. A decent immune system residing in a slightly alkaline or neutral pH inner terrain is able to fend them off and keep them from colonizing into tumorous masses. On the other hand, those who indulge primarily in the SAD (Standard American Diet), which includes lots of factory farmed meat and junk foods saturated with refined sugars or high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which processed foods use even with their non-sweet products to keep you addicted, along with all those refined carbs in refined grain baked products, are adding fuel (literally) to the fire of cancer. Mainstream oncology ignores this 1930s Nobel Prize discovery by Otto Warburg, aka the “Warburg Effect”: When normal cells begin to lack oxygen respiration to utilize glucose and nutrients metabolically for cellular energy, they depend on fermenting sugar to thrive without oxygen and become cancerous. Instead oncologists administer chemo IV therapies while giving their patients ice cream and cookies as the poison is injected into them. Big profits from the treatment and selling those toxic drugs at a profit also. “Cancer cells consume sugar about 19x faster than healthy cells.” – Dr. Murray Susser, MD. Mainstream medicine refuses to look into diet as a function of potential metabolic dysfunction that helps promote and maintain cancer while asserting genetic disposition as a primary cause of cancer.

Family Favorite Pumpkin Pie Recipe (Dairy & Gluten-Free)
Wellness Mama - If your family considers pumpkin pie a part of the Thanksgiving feast, consider this healthier option this year! It has all the same flavors of traditional pumpkin pie but can accommodate those who are gluten free and dairy free. This recipe also uses natural sweeteners in place of the sugar or corn syrup used in many pumpkin pies…. Ingredients: For Crust- 1 cup of almonds or pecans, finely ground in blender until flour like (or almond flour). 3 TBSP of coconut oil plus some to grease pie pan. 1 egg. Cinnamon powder (1/4-1/2 tsp or to taste). For Filling- 1 (15 ounce) can of pumpkin (nothing added) or approx 2 cups of homemade pureed pumpkin with excess liquid drained. 3 eggs. ¼ cup of honey or maple syrup (or to taste) - can substitute stevia, but the honey actually helps it hold better. 1 Tablespoon of pumpkin pie spices or about 2 teaspoons cinnamon and ¼ tsp each of cloves, ginger and nutmeg. 1 teaspoon natural vanilla. coconut milk to thin (no more than about ⅓ cup)…

Shelter Pets Get a Taste of Freedom With 'Field Trip' Programs
Dr. Becker - If you have a few hours of time and a love of animals, you can take a shelter pet out for a day of fun. Field trip programs for shelter pets exist in Hawaii, Maui and Kauai, as well as on the U.S. mainland. Some volunteers even end up finding a forever friend to share their home with.

Friday - November 18, 2016 - Today In History:

1820 - Captain Nathaniel Palmer became the first American to sight the continent of Antarctica.
1865 - Samuel L. Clemens published "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" under the pen name "Mark Twain" in the NY "Saturday Press."
1883 - The U.S. and Canada adopted a system of standard time zones.
1903 - The U.S. and Panama signed a treaty that granted the U.S. rights to build the Panama Canal.
1916 - Douglas Haig, commander of the British Expeditionary Force in WW I, called off the Battle of the Somme in France. It began on July 1, 1916.
1966 - U.S. Roman Catholic bishops did away with the rule against eating meat on Fridays.
1969 - Apollo 12 astronauts Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr. and Alan L. Bean landed on the lunar surface during the second manned mission to the moon.
1983 - Argentina announced its ability to produce enriched uranium for use in nuclear weapons.
1987 - The U.S. Congress issued the Iran-Contra Affair report. The report said that President Ronald Reagan bore "ultimate responsibility" for wrongdoing by his aides.
1988 - U.S. President Reagan signed major legislation provided the death penalty for drug traffickers who kill.
1993 - The U.S. House of Representatives joined the U.S. Senate in approving legislation aimed at protecting abortion facilities, staff and patients.
1993 - Representatives from 21 South African political parties approved a new constitution.
1997 - First Union Corp. announced its purchase of CoreStates Financial Corp. for $16.1 billion. To date it was the largest banking deal in U.S. history.
2001 - Nintendo released the GameCube home video game console in the United States.

Japanese PM says he has 'great confidence' in Donald Trump after first meeting with President-elect
The Independent - The Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he believes Donald Trump is a “reliable leader” in whom he can have “great confidence”, after he became the first foreign leader to meet the US President-elect face-to-face.... The President-elect’s aides had earlier emphasised the informal nature of the meeting, which was organised at the last minute after Mr Abe reportedly called Mr Trump to congratulate him on his shock election win, and suggested he drop by Mr Trump’s New York home on his way to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, Peru. It was not clear that Mr Trump had any time to seriously prepare for the meeting, with the US State Department saying it had not been asked by anyone in the transition team to provide the President-elect with background papers on US-Japan relations. “Any deeper conversations about policy and the relationship between Japan and the United States will have to wait until after the inauguration,” Mr Trump’s presidential campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told CBS before the meeting. Mr Abe was said to be keen to clarify some of the more controversial remarks on foreign policy that Mr Trump had made on the campaign trail, including a pledge to make US allies pay more for US military assistance, and the suggestion that Japan and nearby South Korea should acquire their own nuclear weapons. Mr Trump has also promised to tear up the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, of which Mr Abe has been a staunch advocate.... Other world leaders will be looking to Mr Abe for hints on how Mr Trump is likely to approach foreign affairs when he reaches the White House, given the unorthodox and controversial methods he used taken to get there.

Syria ready to open communication channels with US – Assad adviser
RT - Syria is prepared to open lines of communication with the US, according to President Bashar Assad’s political and media adviser, Bouthaina Shaaban. She added that the “signs are good” for the step. Speaking at the First Media Forum at Damascus University on Wednesday, Shabaan said there had been no secret talks with the US, but expressed “Syria’s readiness to open channels of communication” with Washington, the SANA news agency reported. The adviser also expressed hope that the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump would be “balanced and sensible.” “We are currently observing and studying… and we are not making any judgments now, but the signs so far are good,” Shaaban said. However, there is still doubt within the Syrian government about opening up lines of communication, meaning the step is far from certain.... Syrians are primarily concerned that “no one interferes in their affairs,” the adviser said, as cited by TASS.... Her comments come shortly after President Assad told Portuguese TV channel RTP that the US and Syria could become “natural allies” in the fight against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) once Trump takes office.

Le Pen says her joining forces with Putin & Trump as France’s leader would be ‘good for world peace’
RT - Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right National Front, says that if she wins the presidential elections, the world will become a safer place, as France will cooperate with both US President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Le Pen, who saw in a largely unpredicted triumph of Donald Trump an encouraging sign in the run-up to the French presidential elections, said Wednesday that anti-establishment sentiment has been gaining ground all over the world. She believes it also enabled Brexit and may propel her to the presidential office in France come May.... Outlining the first steps she would take as the president, Le Pen said she would stage a referendum on France’s membership in the EU, paving the way for repeat of the British scenario, as well as reintroduce border checks. Reflecting on what impact her victory could have on a global scale, Le Pen said that a possible alliance between Russia, US and France “would be good for world peace.” .... Le Pen, who was among the first politicians and only a few in the West to congratulate Trump with victory, praising “the free American people” for their choice, said she would also strive to improve strained relations with Russia.... The chances of Le Pen becoming a president looking dim at the moment, as according to the latest BVA polls she is expected to pass the first round in April only to be defeated in the run-off by a center-right Republican party candidate. The poll by BVA names former Prime Minister and Bordeaux mayor Alain Juppe and former President Nicolas Sarkozy the most likely candidates for the spot, with the former gaining 37 percent and the latter 29 percent respectively.... However, after Trump’s victory, which was not predicted in the opinion polls, any such forecasts should be treated with extreme caution, Le Pen said in a BBC interview on Monday, adding that Trump “made possible what had previously been presented as impossible.”

Bagram suicide bomber reconciled with Afghan government in 2008
The Long War Journal - The Taliban suicide bomber who killed two American soldiers and two contractors at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan’s central province of Parwan on Nov. 12 had joined the Afghan government’s “peace process” and reconciled in 2008. He then received a job at Bagram Air Base, which he then used to execute his attack.... It is unclear if the suicide bomber remained a Taliban plant at Bagram for the eight years since he joined the peace process, or if he was recently persuaded by the Taliban to rejoin its ranks and execute the attack. The Taliban does have a department, known as “Call and Guidance, Luring and Integration,” which encourages Afghan security personnel and workers to defect. This department was created by the Taliban’s founder and first emir, Mullah Omar, and has been instrumental in getting Afghan security personnel to attack US and NATO troops. The Bagram attack is worrisome as the base is one of the most secure facilities in Afghanistan, and is a major hub for US air operations in Afghanistan. The US and NATO are both heavily reliant on local Afghans to provide key services as the number of troops near an all-time low (the US has less than 10,000 troops on the ground in Afghanistan). Afghans who work at US facilities will increasingly come under more pressure to help the Taliban as the group continues to make gains across the country.

London’s Muslim Mayor Urges Anti-Trump Migrants to Flock to UK
Breitbart - Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has invited Americans who are annoyed at the election of Donald Trump to migrate to London. Referencing rumours that such a phenomenon caused Canada’s immigration website to crash, Khan said Trump haters with U.S. citizenship should look into migrating to the UK. “Millions of people, I’m told, used Google’s search engine post the election on Tuesday – we know millions use it every single day,” he said. “I heard one of the most googled things since Wednesday has been ‘how do you emigrate?’ “If talented people based in the US want to come here to London, my message is simple – London is open,” he told the audience. Khan’s appearance follows the announcement that Google confirmed plans for a new, 10 story expansion to its Kings Cross headquarters, which currently promises 3,000 jobs in Britain.

Britain has passed the 'most extreme surveillance law ever passed in a democracy'
ZDNet - The law will force internet providers to record every internet customer's top-level web history in real-time for up to a year, which can be accessed by numerous government departments; force companies to decrypt data on demand -- though the government has never been that clear on exactly how it forces foreign firms to do that that; and even disclose any new security features in products before they launch. Not only that, the law also gives the intelligence agencies the power to hack into computers and devices of citizens (known as equipment interference), although some protected professions -- such as journalists and medical staff -- are layered with marginally better protections.... The bill was opposed by representatives of the United Nations, all major UK and many leading global privacy and rights groups, and a host of Silicon Valley tech companies alike. Even the parliamentary committee tasked with scrutinizing the bill called some of its provisions "vague".... There are some safeguards, however, such as a "double lock" system so that the secretary of state and an independent judicial commissioner must agree on a decision to carry out search warrants (though one member of the House of Lords disputed that claim). A new investigatory powers commissioner will also oversee the use of the powers.... But the government has downplayed much of the controversy surrounding the bill. The government has consistently argued that the bill isn't drastically new, but instead reworks the old and outdated Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA). This was brought into law in 2000, to "legitimize" new powers that were conducted or ruled on in secret, like collecting data in bulk and hacking into networks, which was revealed during the Edward Snowden affair. Much of those activities were only possible thanks to litigation by one advocacy group, Privacy International, which helped push these secret practices into the public domain while forcing the government to scramble to explain why these practices were legal.

'Million Cancer Deaths From Fukushima Expected in Japan,’ New Report Reveals
Green Med Info - According to the new report, data provided by a group of esteemed Japanese medical professionals and TEPCO, confirm a direct link of numerous cancers in Japan to the triple meltdown. As transcribed by Enenews.com, Arnie Gundersen, chief engineer at Fairewinds stated, Nov. 4, 2015: "It's been almost 5 years from the Fukushima Daiichi meltdowns, and the news from Japan is still not good. Two reports recently released in Japan, one by Japanese medical professionals and the second from Tokyo Power Corporation – TEPCO – acknowledged that there will be numerous cancers in Japan, much greater than normal, due to the radioactive discharges from the triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi... I believe, as do many of my colleagues, that there will be at least 100,000 and as many as one million more cancers in Japan's future as a result of this meltdown... [T]he second report received from Japan proves that the incidence of thyroid cancer is approximately 230 times higher than normal in Fukushima Prefecture... So what's the bottom line? The cancers already occurring in Japan are just the tip of the iceberg. I'm sorry to say that the worst is yet to come.”… The content of the new report defies what are chronically underestimated radiation exposure levels and effects produced by the International Atomic Energy Agency, TEPCO, and the Japanese government.
Related: Mystery cancers are cropping up in children in aftermath of Fukushima

Obama Sets New Record for Regulations - 81,640 Pages in 2016
Planet Free Will - The Obama Administration has just shattered the previous record for pages of regulations and rules published by the Federal Register in a single year. According to a report by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Obama’s presidency produced 81,640 total pages of regulations and rules for 2016, surpassing the previous record the administration set in 2010 by 235 pages.... Obama is the only president to ever surpass the 80,000 mark of regulatory pages produced in a year, achieving the feat four times. President Obama’s Federal Register added 572 pages on Thursday (Nov. 17) alone! Clyde Wayne Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute warns that Obama’s manufacturing of regulations is not over. With the amount of time left in the year, the current pace of rule passage could bring many thousands of more pages. “No one knows what the future holds, but at a pace of well over 1,000 pages weekly, the Federal Register could easily top 90,000 pages this year. The simple algebra says that at the current pace we’ll add 11,190 pages over the next 44 days, to end 2016 at around 92,830 pages,” said CEI’s Wayne Crews. “This is astonishing and should be of great concern, and intolerable, to policymakers.” Said Wayne Crews. “It is remarkable enough that the all-time record has been passed before Thanksgiving.” Crews called on President-elect Donald Trump to make good on campaign promises and cut regulations. “President-elect Donald Trump could take a page from President Reagan, who brought page counts down from Carter’s 73,258 to as low as 44,812. We don’t need a pen and phone, we need a meat axe,” he said.

Missing: Secret Service Guns, Badges
The Daily Caller - Thousands of sensitive assets belonging to U.S. Secret Service agents, including firearms, computer laptops, work badges, telephones and even motor vehicles, have been lost during the past 15 years, according to documents obtained by nonprofit government watchdog Judicial Watch.... Secret Service agents reported 11,780 lost or stolen assets between fiscal years 2001 and 2016, according to the data Judicial Watch received, although the agency didn’t distinguish between lost and stolen items. A total of 121 “weapons/pistols” were lost or stolen from 2001 through 2016, including 69 in 2002 alone. The Secret Service also reported 736 cell phones, 571 badges and six vehicles as lost or stolen in that same period. But uncategorized or “all remaining” assets account for 4,644 of the 11,780 lost or stolen items. More assets were lost or stolen in fiscal year 2004 than any other year — 1,362, most of which were uncategorized. This new information suggests that sporadic news reports in recent years about the Secret Service agents losing cell phones and guns were snapshots of a larger problem.... The Secret Service took nearly a year to answer Judicial Watch’s December 2015 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documentation on all assets reported missing since 2001. Judicial Watch made the request as a part of a larger investigation.

Boeing Shifts SoCal Jobs in Preparation for Huge Military Buildup
Breitbart - With President-elect Donald Trump promising a huge military expansion, Boeing is moving half the jobs out of its sprawling Huntington Beach facility as the company streamlines in preparation for huge manufacturing orders coming to Southern California. Expecting that a Hillary Clinton presidency would be a continuation of the Obama administration’s shrinking the number of military personnel and weapons procurement, Boeing was consolidating its Defense, Space & Security division, while dramatically expanding its Commercial Aircraft division. In an effort to keep its skilled defense industry workforce, Boeing announced that 2,800 of the current 4,300 jobs in Huntington Beach facility would be transferred to other locations. Their Seal Beach facility will pick up 300 transfers; 1,600 positions will move to plants in Long Beach and El Segundo; 500 jobs will be sent to St. Louis, Mo.; and 500 will be reassigned to Huntsville, Ala…. Boeing’s Southern California Defense units are positioned to gain substantial contracts for new attack aircraft, helicopters and missiles from Trump’s military restructure…. Trump wants to raise military attack aircraft purchases from 25 per year to 200. Boeing has the edge for obtaining new orders for its highly-reliable F-15 and F-18 tactical fighter jets, because they cost about $30,000 an hour to operate. That compares to the unreliable fifth-generation F-35, costing $42,000, and the F-22, costing $59,000 an hour to operate. More tactical fighters mean more high-tech Boeing missiles, satellites and other weaponry that will likely be produced in Southern California.

Zero Hedge Included On Liberal Professor's Targeted List of "Fake News" Sources
Zero Hedge - We have a confession to make, everything we've said over the past ~7 years has been fake. Well, not really, but that's what the ultra-liberal, Assistant Professor of Communications at Merrimack College, Melissa "Mish" Zimdars, would like for you to believe. While it's unclear exactly what prompted Zimdars to publish a list of "fake news" sources, we have a sneaking suspicion it was a coping mechnism cleverly employed by the New England, liberal arts snowflake to deal with the stunning defeat of her chosen Presidential candidate. Or, perhaps she was simply trying to help the folks at Google and Facebook who have vowed to censor "fake news" sources by cutting off their access to advertising. But, no matter the reason, below is the full list of information resources that Zimdars, the ultimate arbiter of credibility, has deemed "fake." Notice that while the list includes numerous conservative news sources like Breitbart, Infowars, Twitchy, The Blaze and Bizpac Review, it excludes the beacon of impartiality known as The Huffington Post. Moreover, Zimdars even provided the following helpful categorization guidelines to help you determine the level of "fakeness" exhibited by each site. Zero Hedge has not yet been assigned a category, which we find kind of hurtful. [Read more…]
* Related: Video: The Truth About Fake News

Mysterious white plane spotted circling Denver metro area
Fox News - A white plane spotted over the Denver metro area Wednesday morning left many wondering where it came from and where it was going. The Denver Channel reported that the flight named IRON99 was flying from California and it was heading over the Pacific Ocean until it veered back toward the west and eventually over Denver. As the flight approached the city, it began circling and flight tracking showed the plane making an oval over the city. It made a few loops and then took off for Oklahoma without any notion of it stopping. Officials at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora told the station that it never checked in with radar towers and didn’t land at the base despite circling over it a few times. Denver International Airport officials also told the station that the flight. According to the station, northeastern U.S. military bases give out the title of IRON to military flights and it usually reserved for T-38 aircraft, which the station says are usually black. The particular IRON99 flight only communicated with the U.S. Army and there was no public communications record available. U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Strategic Command neither confirmed or denied the flight existed or the location of where the flight was seen, the Denver Channel reported. The North American Aerospace Defense Command said there were only two “high-profile” flights in the air at the time.

Electoral College voters ‘deluged’ with death threats
WND - Michael Banerian, 22, of Oakland County, Michigan, is one of that state’s 16 official electors who will meet in the state capital of Lansing on Dec. 19 to cast their votes for Trump. He told the Detroit News Thursday he has received threatening emails, lots of them, from people telling him to vote for Democrat Clinton instead of the GOP victor he is pledged to support. Trump won Michigan’s popular vote and should be able to count on the 16 electoral votes in that state. But Clinton supporters have “deluged Banerian and other GOP electors with pleas and nasty emails to reverse course and cast their ballots for Clinton,” the Michigan Republican Party is reporting.... He said that while many of the emails are clearly death threats, others would fall into the category of “death wishes.”.... The Detroit News verified one message containing a death wish and another containing a death threat, in which the person told Banerian he would “put a bullet” in his mouth. Banerian said he deleted the rest of the emails and messages “because as you can imagine they’re clogging up my email.”.... Another Michigan elector, Kenneth Crider, told the News he hasn’t received any death threats but has gotten more than 300 emails from people in other states asking him to vote for Clinton instead of Trump on Dec. 19.... BuzzFeed reported Thursday that the #NotMyPresident Alliance, a national anti-Donald Trump protest group, has released the personal information of dozens of Electoral College members in states that voted Republican. A spreadsheet distributed to supporters Wednesday included the electors’ personal phone numbers, addresses, religions, races, genders and candidate preference. The group hopes its members and citizens around the country will contact electors and pressure them to change their vote from Trump to another candidate before Dec. 19.

San Francisco Teachers’ Union Provides Anti-Trump Curriculum
Breitbart - The United Educators of San Francisco, the union that represents teachers in the city’s public schools, released a controversial guide Wednesday to teaching public school children about Donald Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton in the recent election. The guide, called the “Lesson Plan on the November 2016 Election,” informs teachers that “a racist and sexist man has become the president of our country by pandering to a huge racist and sexist base,” and suggests they teach children the same. In fact, the lesson plan urges teachers not to tell students that Hillary Clinton lost the election (original emphasis): “DO NOT: Tell them that we have LOST and that we have to accept this. We do not have to accept ANYTHING except that we must and will fight for justice against an unjust system and against unjust people.” The guide also recommends that teachers allow students to use profanity when expressing their feelings about the election, because “you would too if you have suffered under the constructs of white supremacy or experienced sexism, or any isms or lack of privilege.” The Associated Press reports that the union “posted the plan on its website and distributed it via an email newsletter to its more than 6,000 members. The school district has more than 57,000 students.”

Hillary Re-Emerges Looking Like Death Warmed Up
Paul Joseph Watson - Hillary gave a speech at a gala for the Children’s Defense Fund, which is somewhat ironic given that she once laughed about defending a child rapist who she knew was guilty. However, some of the people in attendance might have thought they’d accidentally stumbled onto the set of a re-make of Dawn of the Dead and that Hillary was one of the extras. Hillary looked gaunt and exhausted, with huge bags under her bloodshot eyes. The Daily Mail was a little more polite, reporting that Hillary was “weary-looking”. That’s odd given that she just had a week off and spent most of her presidential campaign sleeping or AWOL…. Her dreadful appearance once again validates concerns voiced by what the media called “conspiracy theorists” throughout her failed campaign that Hillary was in ill health following a number of falls, stumbles and other bizarre behavior.

Mortgage Rates Explode Higher
Zero Hedge - Because last week’s election fell in the middle of FreddieMac survey week, it was impossible to determine how closely the mortgage rate would track the post-election sell-off in the Treasury market. This week, however, the verdict is in: over the last two weeks the 30-year mortgage rate jumped by a whopping 40 basis points to 3.94 percent, almost identical to the 39 basis point increase in the 10-year Treasury yield, and sending the average 30 year mortgage to levels last seen at the start of the year. In its press release, FreddieMac had a favorable spin on the data: "If rates stick at these levels, expect a final burst of home sales and refinances as ‘fence sitters’ try to beat further increases, then a marked slowdown in housing activity." We disagree: as we showed yesterday, in the last few months, as The Fed has jawboned a rate hike into markets, mortgage applications in America have collapsed 30% to 10-month lows - plunging over 9% in the last week as mortgage rates approach 4.00%.

Obama Tears Up Drilling Permits to Stop Gigantic Energy Boom in Colorado
Breitbart - Sally Jewell, the U.S. interior secretary, just cancelled leases to drill for natural gas on federal land in Colorado, in a last-ditch effort to stop an energy boom bigger than Bakken Shale discovery in North Dakota. Jewell’s Bureau of Land Management claimed that the 25 “Mancos” energy drilling leases now being cancelled were just a non-performing portion of 65 leases on “lands managed by the White River National Forest” and “amount to less than ½ of 1 percent of the active leases on public lands in the state of Colorado.” But the 25 properties were “non-performing” only because they have been tangled in red-tape since President Barack Obama took office in 2009, even though they were leased in 2005 during George W. Bush’s administration. The BLM manages nearly 700 million acres of federal lands in the United States. Because of tight restrictions, the “onshore” oil and gas wells on BLM lands accounts for just 11 percent of the natural gas supply and five percent of the oil supply in the United States. BLM leases generated just $5.4 billion in lease payments during 2013, with the majority of funds going to the U.S. Treasury to reduce deficit spending. Despite the agency’s congressional mandate to maximize the value of public property, the agency website reveals the BLM has reduced issuing drilling permits every year since 2011. To justify the sudden cancellation of the decade-old Mancos drilling permits, the BLM worked with the Thompson Divide Coalition of environmentalists to commission a resource report that appeared to exist for the sole purpose of undermining energy exploration in the Mancos Shale formation, according to the Western Energy Alliance, an industry group. The timing of the cancellation of Mancos leases is especially egregious, because the United States Geological Survey just announced in June that the gas resources in the Mancos Shale formation that covers much of Northwestern and Western Colorado, has 40 times more natural gas than the USGS had projected.

FBI secrecy over biometric dragnet prompts lawsuit
Privacy SOS - The FBI has been steadily amassing fingerprints, face images, voiceprints, iris scans, palm prints, and other biometric identifiers on tens of millions of people, pouring these sensitive records into the world’s largest biometric database, known as Next Generation Identification (NGI). Many of these records come from police and sheriffs departments nationwide, but others come from people never charged with—let alone convicted of—a crime. Despite the danger such a database poses to the privacy and well being of the tens of millions of people caught up in the FBI’s biometric dragnet, the Obama administration has exempted the database from Privacy Act requirements that it be accurate, up to date, and transparent. Worse still, the FBI has entered into a secret agreement with the Department of Defense, presumably to grant the military access to some or all of the data. In an attempt to pry the agreement out of the FBI’s hands, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a privacy group, has filed suit. “The FBI Director has shown a ‘reckless disregard’ for the privacy rights of Americans,” said Marc Rotenberg, President of EPIC. “Operating in secret, Director Comey has built a massive biometric database that places the privacy of all Americans at risk. And he has removed Privacy Act safeguards intended to ensure accuracy and accountability for the record system.”

iPhones Secretly Send Call History to Apple, Security Firm Says
The Intercept - Russian digital forensics firm Elcomsoft has found that Apple’s mobile devices automatically send a user’s call history to the company’s servers if iCloud is enabled — but the data gets uploaded in many instances without user choice or notification. “You only need to have iCloud itself enabled” for the data to be sent, said Vladimir Katalov, CEO of Elcomsoft. The logs surreptitiously uploaded to Apple contain a list of all calls made and received on an iOS device, complete with phone numbers, dates and times, and duration. They also include missed and bypassed calls. Elcomsoft said Apple retains the data in a user’s iCloud account for up to four months, providing a boon to law enforcement who may not be able to obtain the data either from the user’s phone, if it’s encrypted with an unbreakable passcode, or from the carrier.... It’s not just regular call logs that get sent to Apple’s servers. FaceTime, which is used to make audio and video calls on iOS devices, also syncs call history to iCloud automatically, according to Elcomsoft.... And beginning with Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 10, incoming missed calls that are made through third-party VoIP applications like Skype, WhatsApp, and Viber, and that use Apple CallKit to make the calls, also get logged to the cloud, Katalov said. Because Apple possesses the keys to unlock iCloud accounts, U.S. law enforcement agencies can obtain direct access to the logs with a court order. But they still need a tool to extract and parse it.

High Tech Automobiles Are Making Some People Sick
Natural Blaze - Years ago the “new car smell” was found to cause people to experience a sick feeling. The odor that causes the new car smell is made up of volatile organic compounds and other toxic chemicals from glues, paints, vinyl and plastics inside new cars. Those ‘gas out fumes’ can cause headaches, sore throats, nausea and drowsiness—some folks even can experience dizziness or lethargy…. Fast forward to the newer cars with all their electronic technology, which apparently emits electromagnetic frequencies, and we find that new car occupants experience equally-distressing symptoms such as vertigo, nausea, headaches and migraines—those ‘killer-type’ headaches…. I think if you have an older car without technology updates, you may want to hang on to it and take good care of it so it can last ‘forever’, since all the new technology in today’s cars just may not be worth the price you have to pay not only in hard-earned cash, but health-wise.

Gardasil Fully Exposed: HPV Vaccine Being Tested on Infants Has Killed, Permanently Injured Thousands
Natural Blaze - Although Gardasil is considered one of the most dangerous vaccines on the market, trials for Gardasil are being conducted on infants. Merck & Co is trying to sell infants Gardasil. Gardasil is an HPV vaccine approved by the FDA on June 8, 2006, produced by Merck & Co out of research done on “virus-like particles” at the University of Queensland, Australia. HPV is a relatively new concern as an STD, discovered in 1956 but brought to the public’s attention in 1984 when a researcher attributed cervical cancer to HPV. The 80’s saw a rise of concern with HPV’s alleged link to cervical cancer. However, little evidence of this link actually exists, and it is a major point of debate. Some viruses do in fact cause cancer, such as the SV40 “cancer virus” that contaminated Salk’s polio vaccines in the 1950’s. The link between cervical cancer and HPV remains obfuscated. Further, evidence suggests Gardasil might cause cervical cancer, and has caused a wide variety of injuries in young girls from cervical cysts, to crippling conditions such as autoimmune disorders and chronic fatigue. Some have died immediately after receiving the vaccine. Gardasil is responsible for thousands of cases of severe vaccine injury and even death. Considered one of the most dangerous vaccines, some make the case that it is the vaccine with the highest rate of injury. Although mainstream science and media cite studies claiming Gardasil is safe, thousands of stories of injury and death say otherwise.

Aluminium Adjuvants Have Never Been Approved For Use In Vaccination
Natural Blaze - Within the first year of life, the CDC recommends that children receive a total of 29 vaccinations, many of which contain the adjuvant aluminum, a substance used in vaccinations to increase the immune response to the antigen (the component of the vaccine that stimulates the immune system to make antibodies). According to Professor Christopher Exley’s recent research, there are currently two main aluminum adjuvants commonly used in vaccinations today. These are AlHydrogel, a semi-crystalline (boehmite) form of aluminium oxyhydroxide and AdjuPhos, an amorphous salt of aluminium hydroxyphosphate. The sulphate salt of the latter is also listed as being one component of an adjuvant system used in vaccinations against HPV. AlHydrogel™ and AdjuPhos™ are commonly referred to as clinically-approved aluminum adjuvants, and yet this is not the case. There are no aluminum adjuvants that have been approved for intramuscular or subcutaneous injection into humans. There are no requirements for their approval; they are only “approved” as part of vaccine preparations.

CoQ10 found to help stop the spread of melanoma
(NaturalHealth365) A recent melanoma study looked at the inclusion of daily CoQ10 (400 mg) along with the immune boosting drug alpha interferon. Researchers found an incredible ten-fold lowered risk of metastasis in those who were taking CoQ10. Coq10 benefits were even stronger in patients with advanced cases of melanoma – these individuals had a 13 times lower risk of metastasis. Alpha interferon normally induces extremely severe side effects, but those taking CoQ10 had substantially fewer side effects from the immune system drug. However, one wonders is CoQ10 was actually doing most of the immune system boosting. CoQ10 has also been found to slow tumor growth in cancer patients. Researchers believe this is due to its reduction of inflammation in the body, its suppression of vascular mechanisms in tumors, and its overall positive effects on the immune system. CoQ10, short for Coenzyme Q 10, is made naturally in the body and helps essential enzymes (proteins) to do their job. It is found throughout the body, but exists in higher concentrations in organs like the heart, kidneys, liver and pancreas. It is also an antioxidant that helps to protect cells from harmful, DNA-damaging free radicals. Unfortunately, levels of CoQ10 in the tissues and organs tend to diminish as people age. Low levels of CoQ10 have been linked with cancers of the breast, lung, pancreas, prostate, kidney, colon, neck, and head. Myeloma and lymphoma sufferers have also been found to have low blood levels of CoQ10.

7 Foods That Will Naturally Cleanse Your Liver
REALfarmacy - Since the liver is also responsible for producing bile, another form of detoxification that is metabolically necessary for the breakdown and assimilation of fats and proteins from your food, it is exceedingly important that your liver be properly maintained. Without a well-functioning liver, your body will be unable to cleanse itself and absorb nutrients, which is a recipe for a health disaster…. So here are seven important foods you may want to begin incorporating into your diet in order to maintain a healthy liver. 1. Garlic contains numerous sulfur-containing compounds that activate the liver enzymes responsible for flushing out toxins from the body. This bulbous relative of the onion also contains allicin and selenium, two powerful nutrients proven to help protect the liver from toxic damage, and aid it in the detoxification process. 2. Grapefruit is rich in natural vitamin C and antioxidants, two powerful liver cleansers. Like garlic, grapefruit contains compounds that boost the production of liver detoxification enzymes. It also contains a flavonoid compound known as naringenin that causes the liver to burn fat rather than store it. 3. Green tea is loaded with catechins, a type of plant antioxidant that has been shown in studies to eliminate liver fat accumulation and promote proper liver function. This powerful herbal beverage also protects the liver against toxins that would otherwise accumulate and cause serious damage. 4. Leafy green vegetables such as bitter gourd, arugula, dandelion greens, spinach, mustard greens, and chicory also contain numerous cleansing compounds that neutralize heavy metals, which can bear heavily on the liver. Leafy greens also eliminate pesticides and herbicides from the body, and spur the creation and flow of cleansing bile. 5. Turmeric, one of the most powerful foods for maintaining a healthy liver, has been shown to actively protect the liver against toxic damage, and even regenerate damaged liver cells. Turmeric also boosts the natural production of bile, shrinks engorged hepatic ducts, and improves overall function of the gallbladder, another body-purifying organ.

Shelter Dogs See New Life as K9 Units
Amazing News - Traditionally police K9 units have been hand selected dogs from very specific breeds, and while that still remains true for many k9 units it is starting to change in some areas. Specifically, one K9 trainer in Texas is making waves by introducing his latest group of trainees, all of which were picked from shelters in the area. No longer do trained K9 units need to be purebreds trained from birth, now police forces can begin adopting dogs from shelters to do the job as well. Brad Croft, the creator of Universal K9, says that he started the whole program because he wanted to make a difference and save lives of dogs from shelters. He picked out a group of dogs and gave it a shot and the results he saw were overwhelming, he successfully trained a group of shelter dogs to detect bombs, drugs, and other contraband. He’s continued with the process and is on track to save and train upwards of 100 dogs this year, all of which will go into service with police forces around the United States. One of the biggest benefits to police forces is that it costs nothing at all, Croft’s group donates the dogs to any unit in need.

It’s Coming…Pet Food made with Crickets
Susan Thixton - Would you buy a dog food or cat food with “crickets” or “cricket meal” listed in the ingredient panel? A ground cricket treat for your cat or dog? Get ready…it’s coming. The press release on the new company – Dockside Pet Products and Services – states “an innovative new pet food company serving North America with a mission to deliver the best in pet nutrition using rescued fresh food and environmentally sustainable ingredients to craft delicious treats, meal mixers, and meal toppers for dogs and cats.” Dockside Pet Products plans to source “fresh seafood, vegetables, and fruits that don’t make it to retail market and are otherwise wasted for cosmetic or other reasons that don’t negatively impact their nutritional value.” And the company plans to source crickets…. My concern is though the nutrient numbers sound good for use of cricket meal in pet food (amino acids, magnesium, etc.) – I am not aware of any cat or dog food feeding trial proving such. Crickets or Cricket Meal is not an AAFCO approved pet food ingredient, and it is not considered GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) for use in pet food by FDA. (Cricket meal would be the ground dry version of crickets used in pet food.) How can this pet food company even be promoting this product without going through the proper steps to use the ingredient?

An Odd Sign of Heart Disease You Won't Want to Ignore
Dr. Becker - In dogs, coughing can be a sign of several different problems, some more serious than others. A common cause of coughing in dogs is something stuck in the throat. If the object isn’t expelled by coughing, you should make an appointment with your veterinarian. Other causes for a dog’s cough can include a respiratory infection (kennel cough), pneumonia and heart disease. A potentially serious cause of coughing, especially in small breeds, is a collapsing trachea. Many dogs also “reverse sneeze,” which is a respiratory event that sounds more like coughing or choking. Coughing is unfortunately also a symptom of heart disease in dogs. Other signs include a bluish color to the tongue, loss of appetite, fatigue, weakness, decreased exercise endurance, a too-fast or too-slow heartbeat and difficulty breathing. If your dog has been diagnosed with a heart condition and coughs mainly while he’s resting, lying down or at night, it could be a sign the disease is progressing. Treatment of heart disease in dogs depends on a variety of factors including the severity of the problem, the age and health of the animal, cost of treatment and other considerations. A visit to a board-certified veterinary cardiologist can provide more information about the severity of your dog's condition. There are a variety of natural therapies that can support a weakened cardiovascular system, so consult your holistic veterinarian for the best options for your pet’s individual situation. Other conditions that can cause coughing in your dog include chronic bronchitis, heartworm disease and some types of cancer. If your dog’s cough doesn’t resolve quickly on its own, it should be investigated, and the sooner you make an appointment with your veterinarian, the better your pet’s chances for either a full recovery or a well-managed condition.
 

Thursday - November 17, 2016 - Today In History:

1800 - The U.S. Congress held its first session in Washington, DC, in the partially completed Capitol building.
1869 - The Suez Canal opened in Egypt, linking the Mediterranean and the Red seas.
1903 - Russia's Social Democrats officially split into two groups - Bolsheviks and Mensheviks.
1904 - The first underwater submarine journey was taken, from Southampton, England, to the Isle of Wight.
1913 - The steamship Louise became the first ship to travel through the Panama Canal.
1962 - Washington's Dulles International Airport was dedicated by U.S. President Kennedy.
1970 - The Soviet Union landed an unmanned, remote-controlled vehicle on the moon, the Lunokhod 1. The vehicle was released by Luna 17.
1979 - Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the release of 13 female and black American hostages being held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
1982 - The Empire State Building was added to the National Register of Historical Places.
1988 - Benazir Bhutto became the first woman leader of an Islamic country. She was elected in the first democratic elections in Pakistan in 11 years.
1990 - A mass grave was discovered by the bridge over the River Kwai in Thailand. The bodies were believed to be those of World War II prisoners of war.
1990 - The Soviet government agreed to change the country's constitution.
2010 - Researchers trapped 38 antihydrogen atoms. It was the first time humans had trapped antimatter.

Bombs strike rebel-held Aleppo and northern Syria, 54 dead
(AP) - Bombs rained down on rebel-held eastern Aleppo for a second straight day Wednesday, pounding a district that houses several medical facilities, including the central blood bank, and forcing Syrian staff and patients in the only remaining pediatric hospital to cower in a basement as buildings collapsed around them. At least 54 people were killed in airstrikes and artillery shelling across northern Syria, part of a long-anticipated offensive against rebel-held areas announced by Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The bombardment hit in besieged neighborhoods of Aleppo, as well as the surrounding countryside and the nearby rebel-held province of Idlib. Russia said its air raids were only targeting Idlib and the central province of Homs to root out militants of the Islamic State group and Syria's al-Qaida affiliate. But Syrian warplanes were pounding rebel-held districts of Aleppo, home to nearly 275,000 people. Residents said the aerial campaign intensified Wednesday. Syria's Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, recorded at least 150 raids, more than double the number of attacks on Aleppo on Tuesday.

Hundreds protest against militants in E. Aleppo, rallies brutally dispersed – Russian MoD
RT - Resistance against the terrorists and rebels controlling eastern Aleppo has been growing amongst the civilian population trapped in the city, Russia's Defense Ministry said. Eleven protests have been staged in militant-controlled areas since the beginning of the week. In the past 24 hours alone, some 1,500 civilians in four Aleppo districts have risen up against the militants, ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov reported on Wednesday, citing intelligence data. The demonstrations were violently suppressed by the jihadists, his statement said, adding that dozens of people were killed and hundreds injured in eastern Aleppo on Tuesday, when militants opened fire at those protesting the occupation. The mood for protests and resistance is apparently sweeping across larger militant-controlled areas in Aleppo, RT's Murad Gazdiev reported from Syria…. Unrest is growing at the rebel presence in parts of the city, as the population is deprived of food and is not being allowed to leave. There has also been an attempt by desperate civilians to seize a food storage depot used by the militants, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. Any routes out of eastern Aleppo are extremely dangerous, as terrorists have mined the streets leading to humanitarian corridors. Not only civilians, but also militants who decided to quit the resistance are being shot at and killed, according to local reports, which also say that punitive actions are being staged on a daily basis.

Images of Hezbollah ‘parading US armored vehicles’ emerge online, sparking controversy
RT - Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, recognized as terrorist organization by the US, has been allegedly spotted parading a vast number of US-made military vehicles in Syria, triggering questions about how they ended up in the militants’ hands. The photos of Hezbollah’s military parade allegedly featuring US-made armored vehicles in the Syrian city of Qusayr published by media close to the organization raised questions the US State Department had to confront during a daily press briefing on Tuesday…. “Our embassy in Beirut is working with the Lebanese armed forces to investigate the images circulating on social media purporting to show Hezbollah displaying US military equipment in Syria,” State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said…. The US equipment on the photos appear to be the M113 armored personnel carriers that have been in service since 1960 and “are extremely common in the region,” Trudeau noted.

Protesting soldiers teargassed, hit with water cannon by Belgian police (Video)
RT - Riot police in Brussels turned water cannons and tear gas on scores of angry military personnel protesting government plans to raise the retirement age from 56 to 63. According to local reports, an 8,000-strong crowd of servicemen and women took to the streets of the Belgian capital to express their disapproval at the proposal. Trouble broke out as unions met with Minister of Defence Steven Vandeput and resulted in nearby roadways and tunnels being closed off for a number of hours, according to HLN Nieuws. The protest culminated in violence close to the residence of Belgium’s Minister of Defence on Mont St Lambert street, where protesters reportedly threw lemons and other projectiles at police officers. Police deployed water cannon to disperse the demonstrators…. In Belgium, members of the armed forces are barred from going on strike but are permitted to protest or participate in demonstrations on holidays. Under government plans, the retirement age will rise to 63 years in 2030 and the conditions for being granted a military service pension will change from 2019, De Tijd reports.

War on Cash Intensifies: Citibank to Stop Accepting Cash at Some Branches
Blacklisted News - Less than a week after India’s surprise move to scrap its highest denomination cash notes, another front in the War on Cash has intensified down under in Australia. Yesterday, banking giant UBS proposed that eliminating Australia’s $100 and $50 bills would be “good for the economy and good for the banks.” This isn’t the first time that the financial establishment has pushed for a cashless society in Australia (or anywhere else). In September 2015, Australian bank Westpac published its “Cash Free Report”, suggesting that the country would become cashless by 2022. In July 2016, Australian payments firm Tyro published an enormously self-serving blog post touting the benefits of a cashless society and saying, “it’s only a matter of time.” Most notably, two days ago, Citibank announced that it was going cashless at some of its Australian branches.

Barcelona Joins Social Currency Revolution, Proposes Own Bank Notes
Sputnik News - Barcelona is about to join the likes of Girona, also in Catalonia, Spain and the city of Bristol in the UK and introduce its own "social currency." But the move by the Catalan community has infuriated the Bank of Spain which has told the Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau not to press ahead with the new money. Mr. Colau has responded and says the currency will be "informal." Yet for the independent currency to survive, it needs the backing of the city and a formal financial institution. But it works in Girona, where it has apparently benefited many companies that have joined the single currency program. And it works in Bristol, home of the famous anti-establishment street artist, Banksy. Bristol also goes one step further and lets its citizens pay taxes — and some energy bills with the Bristol currency. The mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson, takes 100 percent of his salary in Bristol Pounds. The adoption of a municipal style currency has been pretty successful in the Spanish cities of Bilbao, Seville, Toulouse in France and parts of Bavaria in southeast Germany, as well as in Switzerland. Brixton, in south London, also has it's own Brixton Pound and 50 Lambeth council employees take some of their wages in the currency as well.

Defcon Nuclear Threat REDUCED To Safest Level Following Donald Trump Victory
UK Express - The Defcon Warning System, a private organization which monitors world events and estimates the nuclear threat against America, is now at Level 5 – its lowest possible state. Just weeks ago the warning was accelerated to Level 3 following increased tensions between US and Russia, with insiders fearing the West was creeping closer to nuclear war. Level 3 means US troops could be mobilized in as little as 15 minutes. But the group, made up of experts claiming to have contacts within the US security industry, have seen Donald Trump’s election win as a pacifier for Russian relations. The group wrote on its website: “The United States took a tentative step toward a more isolationist policy with its recent presidential election. "While it will take several months to see how the US reforms its foreign policy, already some world leaders have expressed hope that relations could improve, including Russia and Syria. “If the new US President keeps to his previous statements, look for the United States to withdraw somewhat from military confrontations in the Middle East and possibly European theatre, though it is highly unlikely it will abandon NATO commitments, and the Ukraine will likely pop up again in the near future. "Russia, however, will probably wait to see what the new President does, as well as now being hampered by the coming winter.” Donald Trump's election as president of America was welcomed by Vladimir Putin, leader of the US' biggest rival Russia. … “Meanwhile, more troops are to be sent to Europe in 2017 to bolster defences against Russian movements and NATO continues building up forces in Poland and surrounding areas to protect against a potential Russian assault.”

Flying Fortress: US Urgently Seeking New Air Force Ones
Sputnik News - The White House is urgently looking to replace the presidential aircraft, as the in-use pair of Air Force One Boeing 747-200s are nearly three decades old. The Boeing jets have a life expectancy of 30 years, and will hit that milestone in 2017. "The real challenge and the challenge that is forcing us to buy newer aircraft for the president is to overcome the fact that there are heroics going on every day to keep the current aircraft flying and it's becoming way too expensive and way too difficult to do that," Kevin W. Buckley, program executive officer of mobility programs, headquartered at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson, told the Dayton Daily News. Buckley is planning to replace the airplanes by 2024 with two or three Boeing 747-8s — which are larger but more fuel-efficient than the White House’s current jets. According to Buckley, the Air Force will often fly their planes far past the 30-year mark, but they are not willing to take chances with the fleet that transports the president. “We grit our teeth and bear it in the US Air Force,” he said. “We can’t do that with the presidential air (fleet). They need 100 percent reliability.” Each 747-8 costs roughly $370 million, before the presidential modifications, which include an airborne command post, complete with communications gear and defensive equipment such as anti-aircraft missiles. The US Air Force has budgeted $1.65 billion from 2015 to 2019 for the new Air Force One planes.

Feds Warn Gun Dealers to Stop Sales to Suspected Cannabis Users
The Daily Sheeple - Even though the US Department of Health and Human Services holds a patent on the the use of cannabinoids for medical treatment, Patent No. 6630507: “Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants”, cannabis is still classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance which, according to the FDA and DEA, means that it has no approved medical use and has a high potential for abuse. Regardless of the fact that cannabis is now legal in 8 states and the District of Columbia, there is still a federal prohibition on gun ownership to those who use the substance legally. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms have alerted gun dealers that it is their responsibility to halt a transaction if they have any reason to believe that the customer is a cannabis user…. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) says that nobody should have to give up their Second Amendment rights to use cannabis. After all, why should an epileptic person who uses cannabis to stop seizures faster than any other medication, with no side-effects, have to relinquish his ability to defend himself in his own home? Is his life less important because he chooses to use a certain medicine that is not an “approved” medical treatment? On October 31, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 that a ban preventing firearms sales to medical marijuana users does not violate their Second Amendment rights.

School District Pressures Homeschoolers To Teach Common Core
Off the Grid News - A California school district recently sent a letter to homeschooling parents implying that they must use the controversial Common Core curriculum in order to comply with state law. The letter originated from the Morongo Unified School District’s child welfare and attendance coordinator. “This is to inform you,” the letter said, “ … Education Code § 48290 directs us to make an investigation of compliance with California private school education requirements should we receive a complaint ….” It added: “In California, the State Board of Education decides on the standards for all students …. These standards are called the Common Core State Standards.” The letter was made public by the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). It suggested that parents enroll their children in independent study programs and online instruction “available through state charter and private schools.” HSLDA President Mike Smith wrote a letter to the school district, saying it had mangled state law. “This school district is implying: ‘We determine whether your teachers are qualified, whether your attendance records are adequate, and whether you’re teaching the correct subjects,’” Smith wrote. “But they don’t have the authority to evaluate private school programs.” According to HSLDA, the California Board of Education “does not set education standards for students in home-based private schools or campus-based private schools.” “State law restricts the authority of public school districts to oversee private schools—including those conducted by parents teaching at home. Once parents properly set up the private school in their home, the district’s authority ends,” according to HSLDA.

Texas Bill Would Expand Raw Milk Sales; Set Foundation to Nullify Federal Prohibition Scheme
Tenth Amendment Center - Legislation introduced in the Texas legislature for the 2017 session would expand raw milk sales in the state. Passage of the bill into law would help the process of nullifying the federal prohibition scheme in practice. en. Bob Hall (R-Dist 2) filed Senate Bill 95 (SB95) on Nov. 14. Rep. Dan Flynn (R-Dist 2) filed a companion bill (HB57) in the House the same day. The legislation would expand raw milk sales in Texas, authorizing permit holders to sell unpasteurized milk and raw milk products in a retail setting. Under current law, raw milk may only be sold on the farm. If passed SB95/HB57 would open the door for unpasteurized milk sales at the permit holder’s place of business, the consumer’s residence, or at a farmer’s market. The legislation also includes regulations for storage, labeling and testing of raw milk and related products. FDA officials insist that unpasteurized milk poses a health risk because of its susceptibility to contamination from cow manure, a source of E. coli. “It is the FDA’s position that raw milk should never be consumed,” agency spokeswoman Tamara N. Ward said in November 2011. The FDA’s position represents more than a matter of opinion. In 1987, the feds implemented 21 CFR 1240.61(a), providing that, “no person shall cause to be delivered into interstate commerce or shall sell, otherwise distribute, or hold for sale or other distribution after shipment in interstate commerce any milk or milk product in final package form for direct human consumption unless the product has been pasteurized.” Not only do the Feds ban the transportation of raw milk across state lines, they also claim the authority to ban unpasteurized milk within the borders of a state.

Video: George Soros Funding "Paid Protesters"
The recent release by DCLeaks of hacked emails from billionaire financier George Soros' Open Society Foundations (OSF) paints a picture of a man with little regard for the sovereignty of nations, and a man who actively promotes open borders as a means to manipulate political scenes the world over, like a kid playing a game of Risk. With Europe struggling with the migration crisis, Soros' foundations have sensed opportunities to “shape conversations about rethinking migration governance.” Soros himself wants to make it easier to admit migrants into Europe. In fact, he has encouraged the EU to admit at least 300,000 migrants annually and called for allocating at least 30 billion euros a year to the asylum plan. And now he is caught again, funding the chaos taking place within the United States.

Obama’s Brother Calls for Boycott of CNN, MSNBC, New York Times
Adan Salazar - Americans should boycott biased news sources such as CNN and MSNBC, President Barack Obama’s half brother, Malik Obama, tweeted on Wednesday. Malik’s latest tweets follow statements over the weekend concerning unfair coverage from the New York Times and other establishment outlets still hellbent on publishing negative stories about President-Elect Donald Trump. Regarding weekend coverage, the president-elect himself slammed The Times specifically on Twitter Sunday…. Obama made his support of Trump clear earlier this year when he told the New York Post he liked the businessman’s tell-it-like-it-is approach…. Amid accusations of anti-Trump bias, The New York Times last week wrote a letter to readers regarding its slanted election coverage, promising subscribers it would “rededicate” itself to honest journalism after horrifically inaccurate predictions of a Hillary Clinton win.

'My life goal is to assassinate Trump': Ohio man is first to be charged for sending threatening election night tweet
Daily Mail - A 24-year-old man from Ohio has been charged in a federal court after tweeting a threat to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump on election night. Zachary Benson, from Fairview Park in Cleveland, posted the remark on Twitter a few minutes before the Republican nominee was declared the winner of last week's election. Benson tweeted: 'My life goal is to assassinate Trump. Don't care if I serve infinite sentences. That man deserves to decease (sic) existing.' Seconds earlier he tweeted: '...I want to bomb every one of your voting booths and your general areas.' Benson was arrested a few hours later and interviewed by the Secret Service…. After the results were announced, many of those who opposed Trump rushed to Twitter to call for his assassination. But Benson is believed to be the first person to be charged in connection with one of those tweets…. Benson made his first appearance in court yesterday and is thought to be in custody, pending a bail hearing.

AT&T And NASA Are Developing A Nationwide Drone Tracking System
Activist Post - AT&T is currently working with NASA to develop an Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management program that will enable agencies across the country to monitor drone activity. According to a statement released by AT&T, this program is supposed to assist drone operators in monitoring flight paths and navigating drones as well as using them for surveillance. The company says that its main goal is to protect against cyber attacks on drones. Both drones used commercially and those used by government agencies have vulnerabilities that expose the aircraft to hackers who may want to divert the flight path or render the device unusable. AT&T is concerned that hackers could use a drone connected to wireless internet to gain access to the network of the agency operating the drone.

Google, Corporate Press Launch Attack On Alternative Media
Brandon Turbeville - On November 15, U.S News and World Report released an article by Rachel Dicker providing a list of “fake sites” to “avoid at all costs.” On the list, Activist Post was prominently noted as being “fake” or, more accurately to the point of the article, a “propaganda” site. This article comes shortly after an announcement by Google that it would be prohibiting “fake” and “misrepresentative” sites from using its AdSense program. The company stated to Reuters that, Moving forward, we will restrict ad serving on pages that misrepresent, misstate, or conceal information about the publisher, the publisher’s content, or the primary purpose of the web property. This policy includes fake news sites, the spokesperson confirmed. Google already prevents its AdSense program from being used by sites that promote violent videos and imagery, pornography, and hate speech. And, of course, the definition of the Orwellian-named “hate speech,” violence, misrepresentation and “fake news” is all going to be determined by Facebook and Google. War, for instance, is extremely violent but there is a necessity to cover it and even produce images from the battlefield in the process. Police shootings and other forms of violence against citizens is also violent but a necessary issue to cover. “Hate speech” is incredibly subjective and, in 2016, speech has come to be labeled as “hate” even when it merely respectfully disagreed with a protected identity group. But the new Google policy and the intent to remove what is for many websites a main source of revenue has obvious political implications and is about much more than a desire to prevent unpleasant images, violence, and hate from being shown to Americans.

SPLC Celebrates Twitter’s Free Speech Purge After ‘Alt-Right’ Accounts Banned
Paul Joseph Watson - The Southern Poverty Law Center is celebrating Twitter’s new free speech purge after numerous accounts belonging to members of the ‘Alt-Right’ were banned. After Trump’s election victory, Twitter initiated an “unprecedented” mass culling of ‘Alt-Right’ accounts, with even verified users being swiftly removed for holding unauthorized opinions. The mass bans arrived in tandem with a new Twitter policy that prevents “hate against a race, religion, gender, or orientation”. In the world of permanently offended social justice warriors, “hate” is having a different opinion to them, while “harassment” is replying to their idiocy on Twitter. The SPLC, which is currently embroiled in an effort to force Trump to ditch Breitbart’s Stephen Bannon as his White House strategist, celebrated the news, tweeting “good riddance” in response to a user who tweeted, “Alt-right Twitter says Twitter has mounted a coordinated effort to wipe it out.” The SPLC’s claim of being an impartial operation that merely exists to monitor and counter “hate speech” has been debunked time and time again.

DIY: A Heal-Anything, Indoor Herbal Tea Garden
Off the Grid News - Growing and blending your own herbal teas is also a wonderful way to express your creativity using various parts (leaves, flowers and buds) of different herbs. Herbs may be used fresh or dried – and homemade herbal teas also can make a great gift. While the herbs discussed below may be grown either outdoors or indoors, growing your own indoor herbal tea garden has the advantage of allowing you access to fresh herbs during the coldest months of the year – which is often the time we crave a nice hot relaxing beverage the most!… Below are just a few of the different herbs that you may want to consider growing: 1. Lavender – easy to grow on a sunny windowsill, lavender is well-known for its beautiful fragrance. It has a spicy floral flavor and has a calming effect. 2. Chamomile – these tiny, white flowers are wonderful as a sleep aid and help calm an upset stomach. They will give a slight apple scent to your homemade teas. 3. Mint – mint tea is excellent for soothing an upset stomach or even helping with menstrual cramps. It will give your tea a refreshing and peppery flavor. 4. Bergamot – the herb that gives Earl Grey tea its distinctive flavor, this plant produces purple flowers with a citrus taste. It is also easy to grow indoors since it can do well in either full side or partial shade. 5. Rosemary – while you may think of this herb as one to flavor savory dishes with, it can also be used in herbal teas. Rosemary has been used as a medicinal plant for thousands of years as has been proven to be effective in aiding indigestion and recently has shown promise in boosting brain function. 6. Lemon verbena – this plant can do well indoors, assuming it has very good drainage. Lemon verbena is said to be excellent in helping with weight management, reducing inflammation and clearing up congestion…..

New Transmissible Vaccine Spreads Like Virus, No Consent Necessary
Brandon Turbeville - As governments move forward in their attempts to force their citizens into vaccination, whether they want it or not, researchers are now moving forward with what may become the future of forced vaccination – transmissible vaccines…. The idea behind these vaccines are that they would themselves be infectious, passing along the vaccine from one person to another as if it were a virus. Thus, it would be possible to vaccinate a small number of people manually, but as a result of the vaccine’s self-transmission, actually vaccinate a very high number of people. According to PNAS (Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America), several recombinant, transmissible vaccines are in development for wild animal populations, including one to protect wild rabbits against a fatal viral infection and another to prevent deer mice from carrying a virus responsible for a deadly human pulmonary disease. But transmissible vaccines pose a special risk, essentially, they could become a virus themselves and spread rapidly amongst the population that was vaccinated. This has already happened with the oral polio vaccine and both the 1960s and the 2000s, but with a transmissible vaccine, the danger of spread of a disease would become even more dangerous since spread and transmission are what the vaccines are designed to do.

Chaga: The Superfood You Should Know About
REALfarmacy - Chaga, otherwise known as Inontus Obliquuus, is a wild mushroom that grows on birch trees in extremely cold regions. Chaga can be found in the Baltic regions, Scandinavia, Siberia, Alaska, and northern Canada where temperatures fall bellow -30 F for over 2 to 3 months per year. The chaga conk grows in cooperation with the birch tree over a seven to twenty year period, absorbing life-sustaining nutrients from the tree. This medicinal mushroom’s DNA structure is 30% more human than it is plant. Chaga has been used medicinally for centuries. …Siberian tribes who used chaga had a lifespan of ninety to over one hundred years. Indigenous Siberians would grind it and put it in stews, soups, and daily beverages. The Siberians found that, despite their harsh climate, the regular consumption of chaga prevented the onset of various degenerative diseases. Contemporary Russians have found that the districts that regularly used chaga had no traces of cancer…. Here are only a few of chaga’s health benefits… Supports Immune System: An abundance of Beta-D-Glucans are found in chaga. These help balance the response of the body’s immune system. This means chaga can help boost the immune system when it is necessary, while also having the ability to slow it down when it is overactive. This makes chaga a natural Biological Response Modifier (BRM). Cancer Fighting: Medical researchers have gone to Siberia to learn about the effects of chaga on the indigenous people of the region. The medical team found that although there was a lot of talk about cancer, not a single cancer patient was admitted to any of the hospitals in the region. They also found that these people were brewing chaga instead of coffee in order to save money. Researchers found that these people were unwittingly treating themselves for cancer prevention….. Normalize Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Levels: The betulinic acid found in chaga is able to break down LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) in the bloodstream. Anti-Aging: SOD performs vital anti-aging functions by neutralizing oxygen free radicals, and preventing oxidative damage to cells, and tissue. For this reason, chaga is supremely healthy for the skin. It has proven to be highly anti-aging as well as therapeutic for skin disorders. You can make a face cream with chaga, raw beeswax, and spice oils….

Cat Sanctuary In War-Torn City Just Got Bombed (Videos) (Photos)
The Dodo - A cat sanctuary where hundreds of animals and dozens of people have found refuge and love in the midst of war and disorder has been bombed, according to an update on social media today. "I'm so sorry to tell you that today our shelter was bomb[ed]," Alessandra Abidin, who runs the private Facebook group for Il Gattaro d'Aleppo, a cat sanctuary in Aleppo, Syria, wrote today. From her home in Italy, every day, Abidin updates fans of the sanctuary across the world. "Some cats and our beautiful dog Hope is dead," she said. The cat sanctuary made international headlines when Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel, an ambulance driver also known as the cat man of Aleppo, was discovered feeding and taking care of as many stray cats as he could…. Alaa started out with about 20 cats who were left behind as people ran for their lives, in addition to the strays he'd taken in. A year later there were over 100 — and Alaa started the sanctuary. Now, after today's bombing, it is uncertain what the future of the sanctuary will be…. The extent of the damage is still unknown. We will update you when we have more information. To donate to the sanctuary, a few steps are involved: Request to join the private Facebook group and request PayPal details via message. Recently, when a bomb fell near the sanctuary, The Dodo asked what people could do for the Alaa and the sanctuary, and Abidin replied: "For now just pray and support him."

RECALL ALERT: Spot On Flea & Tick Drops for Dogs and Cats
Dogington Post - A recall has been issued after flea and tick treatments for dogs – containing permethrin – were distributed in packaging labelled as flea drops for cats. Even slight exposure to permethrin can be fatal to cats. Armitage Pet Care Flea and Tick Drops for Dogs 702 mg spot-on solution (Vm 20205/4003) [and] Armitage Flea Drops for Cats and Kittens. After a packaging mix-up, an unknown quantity of the Armitage Pet Care Flea and Tick Drops for Dogs containing permethrin has been distributed in packaging labelled Armitage Flea Drops for Cats and Kittens. Exposure to even small quantities of concentrated permethrin can cause severe and fatal poisoning in cats. Armitage is the largest independent supplier and distributor of branded pet accessories and treats in the UK.
Related: Spot-On Flea and Tick Products Are Dangerous to Your Pets

People Are Saying This Bird Is Trump's Hair Twin
The Dodo - Regardless of where you stand on the policies of President-elect Donald Trump, there is one thing we can probably all agree on: Never before has a head of hair so unique graced the hallowed halls of the White House. But as iconic as Trump's wispy, yellow coif may be, he's actually not the first one to have adopted such a distinctive look — and people have started to notice.

Wednesday - November 16, 2016 - Today In History:

1776 - British troops captured Fort Washington during the American Revolution.
1907 - Oklahoma was admitted as the 46th state.
1915 - Coca-Cola had its prototype for a countoured bottle patented. The bottle made its commercial debut the next year.
1933 - The United States and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations for the first time.
1966 - Dr. Samuel H. Sheppard was acquitted in his second trial of charges he had murdered his pregnant wife, Marilyn, in 1954.
1969 - The U.S. Army announced that several had been charged with massacre and the subsequent cover-up in the My Lai massacre in Vietnam on March 16, 1968.
1973 - Skylab 3 carrying a crew of three astronauts, was launched from Cape Canaveral, FL, on an 84-day mission.
1973 - U.S. President Nixon signed the Alaska Pipeline measure into law.
1981 - A vaccine for hepatitis B was approved. The vaccine had been developed at Merck Institute for Therapeutic Research.
1982 - An agreement was announced on the 57th day of a strike by National Football League (NFL) players.
1985 - Colonel Oliver North was put in charge of the shipment of HAWK anti-aircraft missiles to Iran.
1998 - In Burlington, WIsconsin, five high school students, aged 15 to 16, were arrested in an alleged plot to kill a carefully selected group of teachers and students.
1998 - It was announced that Monica Lewinsky had signed a deal for the North American rights to a book about her affair with U.S. President Clinton.
1998 - The U.S. Supreme Court said that union members could file discrimination lawsuits against employers even when labor contracts require arbitration.
2000 - Bill Clinton became the first serving U.S. president to visit Communist Vietnam.
2001 - The movie "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" opened in the U.S. and U.K.
2004 - A NASA unmanned "scramjet" (X-43A) reached a speed of nearly 10 times the speed of sound above the Pacific Ocean.

Russian carrier takes part in massive strikes on terrorists in Syria’s Idlib & Homs provinces – MoD
RT - The Russian military has launched a large-scale operation against terrorists stationed in Homs and Idlib provinces of Syria, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday…. "The main targets of the strikes are warehouses with ammunition, [terrorist] gatherings and terrorist training centers, as well as plants for the production of various kinds of weapons of mass destruction of the population," Shoigu detailed. He stressed that terrorists had actual factories, not merely workshops, for weapons production. "They are factories, not workshops, more specifically the plants for the production of all sorts of rather serious means of mass destruction." "Clearly, this is a well-established industrial production, these are the targets for today's strikes. And they will continue," the minister stated.

US should sanction Soros & Poroshenko for destabilizing Ukraine, says Russian MP
RT - A Russian lawmaker suggests that if the United States really wants to punish those responsible for the continuing crisis in Ukraine it should slap sanctions on billionaire George Soros, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and a number of US officials. Andrey Kozenko (United Russia) made the comment soon after the US Treasury Department announced that it was introducing sanctions against several Russian lawmakers representing the Crimean Republic, including Kozenko himself on the grounds of their alleged input in destabilizing Ukraine. “If this is the real reason behind the sanctions, I would advise that clerks in the Treasury Department slap sanctions on Nuland, Soros and Biden before January 20 [the end of the current US administration],” he said. Victoria Nuland is an assistant to the US secretary of state, whom the mass media describe as a mastermind behind the Ukrainian regime change in 2014. Joe Biden is the current US vice-president, who has a deep involvement in Ukrainian affairs (Biden’s son Hunter heads the largest private energy company in that country). George Soros is a US billionaire known for his involvement in international politics, in particular the backing of the so called ‘color revolutions’ – the seizing of power from nationalist-inclining regimes in favor of pro-globalist forces. Kozenko added that in his view sanctions for de-stabilizing Ukraine should be applied to the top Kiev officials, including President Petro Poroshenko, former PM Arseny Yatsenyuk and Interior Minister Arsen Avakov.
* Related: Flashback: Prosecutors ban Soros Foundation as ‘threat to Russian national security’

Saudi’s Issue Warning To Trump: Don’t Stop Saudi Oil Imports
OilPrice.com - President-elect Donald Trump jeopardizes the global economy through his promises to block Middle East oil imports for the purpose of creating an energy independent United States, according to petrostate Saudi Arabia. Over the course of the two-year American election process, Republican nominee Trump promised on the campaign trail to divest U.S. interests from “our foes and the oil cartels,” referring mainly to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), of which the KSA is the largest producer and de facto leader. “At his heart President-elect Trump will see the benefits and I think the oil industry will also be advising him accordingly that blocking trade in any product is not healthy,” Khalid al-Falih, chairman of Aramco and Saudi Aramco Oil Minister, told the Financial Times in Marrakesh, where world leader’s are currently negotiating the nuts and bolts of the landmark 2015 climate change agreement. Saudi Arabia is the U.S.’ largest Middle Eastern oil supplier, though the North American country gets most of its energy from domestic and Canadian sources. Al-Falih added that the free trade energy culture currently in place benefits the United States because it has created a refining industry and ignited a job-hungry shale revolution…. Critics of American foreign policy say the U.S.’ hunger for energy played a role in encouraging the country’s political entanglements in the Middle East. Reaching energy independence would supposedly free leaders from the economic risks of intervening or stepping back from conflicts in the region, according to proponents of energy independence.

Greek police clash with demonstrators protesting Obama’s visit to Athens (Photos, Videos)
RT - Leftist demonstrators protesting against US President Barack Obama’s visit to Athens have clashed with police, who used tear gas to disperse the crowd as people tried to break through cordons. Some 7,000 people took to the streets of central Athens on Tuesday to protest Obama’s visit to the Greek capital, Reuters reports. The demonstrators initially planned to walk all the way to the US Embassy located in another part of the city, but the procession was disrupted as protesters clashed with police officers. “We don't need protectors!" one of the banners carried by the demonstrators read. Some could be heard exclaiming: “Yankees go home!” One protester was seen setting an American flag on fire…. More than 5,000 police officers were deployed in central Athens to maintain order. Nearly 1,000 people took part in a similar protest in Greece’s second biggest city, Thessaloniki. Protesters are rallying against US policy that is “creating tensions” with various countries around the world, starting with China and Russia, as well as against the US attempts to “overthrow the government in Ukraine,” Greek journalist Aris Chatzistefanou told RT. Apart from that, protesters are blaming the US for supporting“Islamic extremists”which led to“well-known consequences.”… “The government was trying to present to the Greek public that Barack Obama will come and help with the austerity policy that was imposed by the Troika,” Chatzistefanou said, also adding that there is “no direct connection” between Obama’s promises and what the IMF is planning to do.

Stockholm defends 'gender-equal' snow-clearing
The Local - Stockholm’s ’gender-equal’ snow-clearing policy is not to blame for the traffic chaos which has engulfed the Swedish capital, the architect of the policy has claimed. “Gender equal snow-cleaning is not to blame here,” Daniel Helldén, the city’s Green Party transport head told the Expressen newspaper, stressing that the policy, which prioritises cleaning pavements and cycle lanes over roads, did not even appear to have even been followed. “There is a lack of gender equal snow-clearing now, according to the reports I’m getting,” he said. “It’s still difficult to walk on the pavements — and it is important that snow-clearing prioritises walkways, public transport and cycle paths.” Stockholm’s municipal government, a coalition of the Social Democrats and the Green Party, brought in gender equal snow cleaning last year, pledging to make moving around the city on icy winter days just as safe for women as it is for men. Men are statistically more likely to be drivers, while women are more likely to use pavements, cycle paths, and public transport. But on Thursday and Friday, the policy came under renewed criticism after the city was thrown into chaos by the unusually heavy snow dump, with buses and trains cancelled, and major motorways blocked.

House Republicans Unanimously Re-elect Paul Ryan As Speaker
Zero Hedge - If there was any speculation about the fate of House speaker Paul Ryan following his acrimonious relationship with Donald Trump over the past few months, that can now be forgotten because moments ago House Republicans unanimously reelected Ryan as speaker for the next Congress. As Bloomberg reports, Paul Ryan can thank Donald Trump for helping shore up his hold on the job. The president-elect’s appointment Sunday of Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus to be his White House chief of staff was a key signal to House Republicans that Trump plans to try working with Ryan, a man he attacked bitterly on Twitter several times in the final months of the campaign. "Welcome to the dawn of a new, unified Republican government," Ryan told reporters Tuesday after House Republicans’ weekly closed-door meeting. "This will be a government focused on turning President-elect Trump’s victory into real progress for the American people."

New Orleans PD Won’t End ‘Sanctuary City’ Policies
Breitbart - The New Orleans Police Department will continue “sanctuary city” policies that protect illegal immigrants from deportation despite stricter immigration policies at the forefront of President-Elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration…. Under NOPD’s sanctuary city policies, officers are barred from looking into the immigration status of anyone they come into contact with, including victims of crimes or suspects related to the same. Even if NOPD officers learn that an individual is in the country illegally, they are not allowed to share that information unless they are under court order. Aside from criminal investigations, NOPD is not allowed to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). For instance, the city’s sanctuary city policies forbid the NOPD from aiding ICE in any way with operations such as raids, whereas the law enforcement agency once helped with traffic control. The NOPD will also continue to ignore ICE detainers unless they are for criminal charges, with an NOPD spokesman not mentioning any change in policy to Breitbart Texas. Similar sanctuary cities, like Los Angeles, have recommitted to their sanctuary policies, telling the news media that they too do not plan on changing course on policies that have been criticized for keeping illegal criminals safe while putting Americans in harm’s way.

Los Angeles Police Chief: LAPD Will Not Aid in Deporting Illegal Immigrants
Breitbart - Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said Monday that the LAPD will not change its stance on deporting illegal immigrants, despite President-elect Donald Trump’s position on the matter. “I don’t intend on doing anything different,” he said to the Los Angeles Times. “We are not going to engage in law enforcement activities solely based on somebody’s immigration status. We are not going to work in conjunction with Homeland Security on deportation efforts. That is not our job, nor will I make it our job.” The LAPD has been historically against deporting illegal immigrants. During Beck’s tenure as police chief, the department has stopped turning over illegal immigrants arrested for low-level crimes to federal authorities for deportation and has not honored federal requests to detain inmates who might be deportable past their jail terms, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Democratic Senator Introduces Bill To Abolish The Electoral College
Zero Hedge - According to the LA Times reports, retiring California Democratic senator Barbara Boxer filed legislation Tuesday to abolish the Electoral College altogether in light of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton winning the popular vote but still losing the election. Boxer announced in a statement that the bill, which she introduced later on Tuesday afternoon, would determine the winner of presidential elections by the outcome of the popular vote. She cited President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the Electoral College despite Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's apparent popular vote advantage. "In my lifetime, I have seen two elections where the winner of the general election did not win the popular vote," Boxer said in a statement. "The Electoral College is an outdated, undemocratic system that does not reflect our modern society, and it needs to change immediately. Every American should be guaranteed that their vote counts."
Related: Trump Wins Popular Vote With Michigan’s Final Results

4 Million Sign Petition Begging Electors To Flip, Pick Clinton
Off the Grid News - Millions of Americans fear a Donald Trump presidency so much that they’ve signed a petition asking the electoral college electors to choose Hillary Clinton, despite the fact that Trump won more electoral college votes on Election Day. As of Tuesday, more than 4 million Americans – including Lady Gaga – had signed the petition at Change.org. The electors are scheduled to cast their votes on Dec. 19. “We are calling on the Electors to ignore their states’ votes and cast their ballots for Secretary Clinton,” the petition states. “Why? Mr. Trump is unfit to serve. His scapegoating of so many Americans, and his impulsivity, bullying, lying, admitted history of sexual assault, and utter lack of experience make him a danger to the Republic.”… “Hillary won the popular vote,” the petition reads. “The only reason Trump ‘won’ is because of the Electoral College,” the petition says “But the Electoral College can actually give the White House to either candidate.

Report: Hillary Became “Physically Violent” After She Realized She Had Lost the Election
Paul Joseph Watson - Hillary Clinton reportedly became “physically violent” towards her own campaign staff after she realized she had lost the presidential election, according to radio host Todd Kincannon. “CNN reporter tells me Hillary became physically violent towards Robby Mook and John Podesta around midnight; had to be briefly restrained,” tweeted Kincannon. It was Podesta who was sent out to talk to Hillary’s dejected supporters shortly before Hillary called Donald Trump to concede, with Clinton nowhere to be seen until the following day. When asked about rumors that Hillary was drunk on election night, Kincannon responded, “She was. I posted about that too. She was in a “psychotic drunken rage” according to my reporter friend. Doctor added sedatives to the mix.” Kincannon then claimed that CNN blocked the reporter from publishing what would have been a bombshell story. Secret Service officials and other staff who worked closely alongside Hillary have previously reported her problems with angry tantrums on numerous occasions. Last year it was also reported that Clinton’s own campaign staffers feared she could have a serious meltdown and that Hillary had “been having screaming, child-like tantrums that have left staff members in tears and unable to work.” In addition to claims that she became irate, author Ed Klein said a source told him Hillary cried inconsolably to a friend after the results came in, blaming FBI director Comey and President Barack Obama for not doing enough to stop the FBI investigation into her email scandal.

Report: Majority Arrested in Portland Anti-Trump Protests Didn’t Vote
Breitbart - More than 50 percent of the anti-Trump protesters arrested in Portland, Oregon, in the days following the election did not bother to vote. A search of state election records was conducted by a Portland television station which reported that of the 112 protesters that were arrested, 69 of them could not be found to have turned in a ballot or were not registered to vote in the Beaver State. The local NBC affiliate in Portland took the names and ages of those arrested to Multnomah County election officials who did a search on the state’s voter files, reported KGW-NBC. Only 25 of those arrested voted in 2016 in the state. As of the remaining 17 arrested by the Portland Police Bureau, KGW reported that it is still trying to verify their voting records.

Report: Anti-Trump Protesters Block Ambulance; Father of 4-Year-Old Girl Dies
Paul Joseph Watson - The father of a 4-year-old girl died after anti-Trump protesters blocked roads and delayed an ambulance from reaching the hospital, according to an anguished message posted on Facebook. “I have to unfacebook for a few days. I had a patient die during a transfer last night because our ambulance was stopped by protesters and had to drive an extra 45 minutes around the blocked roads,” the anonymous post reads. The report of anti-Trump protesters blocking an ambulance has not been verified, but it’s not unlikely given that anti-Trump demonstrators have blocked roads in numerous cities and states, including the I-94 in Minneapolis, the I-5 in Portland, numerous freeways in Los Angeles, a major highway in Phoenix, and the I-95 in Miami. During the DNC-sponsored violent shut down of Donald Trump’s rally in Chicago back in March, anti-Trump agitators were caught on camera blocking an ambulance outside the UIC Arena. In some instances, irate motorists are refusing to be stopped. One video shows an anti-Trump protester on the ground after being clipped by a car traveling at high speed.

Trump Supporters Call For Boycott Of Pepsi, Macy’s, Dreamworks And Netflix
ThomasDishaw.com - In a campaign to “drain the swamp” and shrink the wallets of government elites, supporters of President-elect Donald Trump urged one another Monday to boycott a variety of corporate behemoths in support of Hillary Clinton and general liberal ideals. The list posted on Reddit included PepsiCo, Macy’s, Dell, Dreamworks and Netflix, and also featured companies to support, such as several mass-market breweries and fast food restaurants, the National Rifle Association, Nascar, World Wrestling Entertainment and “cars made in America.” Some business leaders were critical of Trump before and after Election Day. PepsiCo, which owns Mountain Dew, Lipton, Lays, Ruffles and Doritos, among other popular snacks, angered some conservatives after CEO Indra Nooyi said Trump’s victory had made people feel unsafe because of his stances against Muslims, immigrants and LGBT rights. Macy’s dumped Trump brand merchandise last year after he called immigrants from Mexico and other countries “killers and rapists.”
Related: Official List of Companies to Boycott and to Support Pepsi STOCK Plummets After CEO Tells Trump Supporters to “Take Their Business Elsewhere”

Student Kicked Out Of Class For Disagreeing That Trump Election Was As Bad As 9/11
Zero Hedge - When Republican Donald Trump was elected president last week, the intelligent, determined young women of Converse College – along with their esteemed instructors – lost their minds. They posted video of themselves crying on Snapchat. They walked around campus in tears, and the administration set up “safe zones” where students weren’t allowed to discuss the election results. One of my professors pushed back a midterm “given recent upsetting events,” and students planned to organize “silent protests” on Thursday. If this sounds like the typical college reaction to Trump’s victory, there’s a twist: Converse is a women’s liberal arts college. From President Krista Newkirk on down, the Converse community invested a huge part of its identity in Democrat Hillary Clinton shattering the last remaining glass ceiling in America. The only acceptable sentiments to express since Wednesday have been grief and outrage. Feelings are so raw that the few contrarians on campus have become targets. One student even claims she got kicked out of class after she challenged her professor’s comparison of Trump’s election to the September 11 terrorist attacks. ‘Never been so disgusted in my life’ Before she was ejected from class by her professor, the student wrote a Facebook post scolding those who were “comparing 11/9 to 9/11”: You are comparing today to a day that killed thousands of people in MY HOME. You are disrespectful, you are unintelligent and you should think before you post things on social media. I am disgusted. That comparison continued in the student’s class, she said. (The student requested anonymity to share her story, so The College Fix is not naming the professor either.) The professor told the class “I haven’t felt this way since 9/11” and called Nov. 9 the second worst day in American history, according to the student. That spurred her to disagree and tell her professor it was disrespectful to those who lost their lives on 9/11.

Boeing Shutters Two Plants After United Continental Delays $5BN Worth Of 737 Orders
Zero Hedge - Earlier this morning, Boeing's shares dropped after United Continental Airlines said it would delay orders for 61 Boeing 737 jetliners, worth roughly $5 billion, and instead order the newer 737 MAX models for delivery in later years. Boeing, of course, downplayed the impact of the decision saying it would not affect its plan to increase production rates of 737s, and stressed that it continues to have orders for more 737s than it can produce. Given that, it does seem to be curious timing that Boeing has just announced an operational restructuring that will result two site closures in El Paso, Texas and Newington, Virginia. While we're sure there are "efficiency gains" to be generated from the consolidation of sites, cutting 4.5 million square feet of facility space in just 4 years seems like there may be a bit more behind the cuts.

Strike called for by 98% of UPS aircraft workers over health benefits
RT - Essential UPS workers have voted, nearly unanimously, to strike against the shipping giant, threatening to halt delivery services globally. Employees are demanding fair healthcare as UPS cut benefits amid revenue growth and far reaching expansion plans. “In total, 80 percent, 950 of the company’s 1,200 maintenance employees, participated in the strike vote, and 98 percent of those workers voted in favor of a strike,” Teamsters Local 2727, a union representing UPS workers, said Monday. With a reputation of being among the world’s leading delivery companies, United Parcel Service Inc’s success in shipping essentially lies in the hands of mechanics who maintain hundreds of its aircraft daily, working “sometimes up to 39 hours straight.” This holiday shopping season alone, the company is expected to ship some 700 million packages worldwide. It has been three years of negotiations between the Teamsters and UPS over its massive reductions in healthcare and benefits for retirees, who dedicated most of their time working for the company. Yet UPS wants a price tag of more than $19,000 on health coverage for a retiree and his or her dependent in the first year and increase that each year thereafter, according to the union. While cutting benefits, UPS has been adding to its revenue, in the third quarter earning $14.9 billion, up 4.9 percent over the same period of time in 2015.

Big Oil: Feds Call West Texas Deposit ‘Largest’ in History
Breitbart - A western Texas oil and natural gas shale formation was labeled the “largest” of its kind by the U.S. Geological Survey on Tuesday. Federal surveyors announced that the Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin portion of Texas’ Permian Basin now holds the record for most oil, natural gas, and gas liquid deposits that are “undiscovered, technically recoverable resources.” The USGS notes that within its survey spanning from north of Lubbock to remote regions southwest of San Angelo, an estimated and previously unaccounted for 20 billion barrels of crude oil; 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas; and 1.6 billion barrels of natural gas liquids are able to be extracted by means typically involving slant drilling and hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as “fracking”.

Anti-DAPL protesters hold ‘Day of Action’ across US (Video) (Photos)
RT - Protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline are happening across the country as the construction company has sought relief in court. With more than 200 demonstrations planned, the Day of Action is expected to be the largest anti-DAPL protest in months. Shortly after 6:00pm EST in New York City, protesters were arrested. Video of the final police warnings was shared on Twitter by Candace Bryan, who reported 36 arrests. The demonstrations are targeting offices of the US Army Corps of Engineers and the banks that are financing the project. The purpose is to elevate the issue and to encourage the Army Corps to exert its power to stop this pipeline,” said Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) spokesperson Dallas Goldtooth, according to Reuters…. In San Francisco, California, thousands of protesters blocked off parts of Market Street before settling in outside the Army Corps offices, where they linked arms. The demonstration also blocked employees of Uber, Square and other companies from entering the shared building…. Protests are continuing at the camp in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, near the construction site. Riot police have advanced on the water protectors, many of whom are members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, whose reservation is extremely close to the planned pipeline. Law enforcement used mace and arrested several protesters, Reuters reported. The ‘Day of Action’ comes just one day after the Army Corps of Engineers and Department of Interior delayed a decision on whether to allow a tunnel to be built under the Missouri River reservoir, Lake Oahe – the source of water that is the focus of the protests. The Army Corps of Engineers said it wants input from the Standing Rock Sioux before making a decision.

Big Brother is spying on everyone's 'rewards card' purchases (Video)
BlackListed News - It shouldn't surprise anyone that Big Brother is tracking your purchases. What should surprise you, is how Big Brother is using 'rewards card' purchases to spy on every purchase you make. Big Brother is spying on everyone's 'rewards card' purchases Big Brother, or in this case the King County is spying on everyone's pet food purchases. An article in the Seattle Times, warns how Seattle's Regional Animal Services of King County is spying on resident's pet food purchases. King County, Seattle is paying a mailing company named Lacy & Par to track residents' purchases via rewards card purchases. Lacy & Par gave the county a list of prospective pet owners based on their pet food purchases. The county then compared that list it against an internal database of licensed pets owners and sent out warning letters, to suspected violators. “The following is a reminder notice that King County Code Title 11, Section 04.030 and City Municipal Codes require a King County pet license for all dogs and cats kept, harbored or maintained in your jurisdiction, failure to license could result in fines of up to $250 per pet.” Direct Mailing companies provide detailed information on "ideal targets" "DirectMail.com's in-house Production & Distribution capabilities span the spectrum of fulfillment methods, from enhancing online engagements to producing millions of personalized and compelling direct mail pieces, hand-delivered to your ideal targets.”…. Think about the implications of using a rewards card, debit card or credit card. Every time you choose not to use cash, you're giving direct marketers and big brother a treasure trove of personal information. Things are about to get worse... Direct mailing companies are creating real-time worldwide databases of everyone's purchases, using Webtrend's Infintity Platform.

Gardasil Vaccine Given without Consent and Ruins Life of 14 Year Old Girl
Health Impact News - The VAXXED film crew continues interviewing people who are vaccine damaged around the country. In this interview in Nebraska, 14 year old Savannah Snyder is interviewed along with her mother Sarah. Savannah talks about her experiences in receiving her 7th grade required vaccines. Her mother Sarah explains that she only gave permission for Savannah to receive the required vaccines. Gardasil, the HPV vaccine, is an optional vaccine. Sarah explains that she had been warned about this vaccine and wanted to investigate it further. But Savannah was given the Gardasil vaccine anyway, without their original knowledge. She immediately started suffering some side effects, such as a headache, almost fainting, and skin rashes breaking out. She soon developed pneumonia and other infections. As time went on, things got worse. She started experiencing seizures, including grand mal seizures. She was hospitalized many times for severe pain. Her mother tearfully explains that Savannah would wake up in the middle of the night and state that she was dying. Like many other parents of children with Gardasil injuries, Sarah relates how they had little support, and that most people just thought it was all in Savannah's head. But after a trip to the Mayo clinic, Savannah was diagnosed with POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), a known side effect of Gardasil that affects the heart. Savannah explains that before the Gardasil shot, she was very active and athletic. She was in the process of joining a gym. Now, she has difficulties speaking and walking and needs a feeding tube.

Not Diabetic? Take a Diabetes Drug Anyway!
Alliance for Natural Health - That’s what the medical establishment is scandalously recommending. There are billions of dollars to be made, even if the drugs are harmful even for actual diabetics. “Prediabetes” refers to a condition of abnormal but not pathological blood sugar levels. People with “prediabetes” are considered to be at risk to develop type 2 diabetes. One in three Americans are said to be prediabetic. That is a lot of people, and it has Big Pharma salivating: $322 billion is already spent annually caring for people with diabetes and prediabetes. The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) has obliged by recommending diabetes drugs for “prediabetes.” It should come as no surprise that the list of the AACE’s corporate sponsors includes the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world: Novo Nordisk, Merck, Sanofi, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and many others. Some of the worst diabetes drugs have by now been taken off the market. But current diabetes drugs are still both ineffective and involve enormous risks, especially for the heart.

First Cases of Drug-Resistant Candida Auris Spreading in US Hospitals
Natural Society - Thirteen people in the United States have been infected with a potentially deadly, drug-resistant fungal infection since 2009, health officials say. Of those infected, 4 individuals died; but it is not clear whether they died from the infection or from other underlying health problems. Dr. Tom Chiller, who is chief of the mycotic diseases branch of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), said: “I am worried. I think this is a real threat.” The infection, Candida auris, is a growing global health threat and appears to spread within hospitals and other healthcare facilities, CDC officials said…. The 13 cases were reported in Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. All the individuals were hospitalized for underlying health problems an average of 18 days before being diagnosed with C. auris. Two individuals who had been treated in the same hospital or care facility were diagnosed with nearly identical fungal strains. This fact is what leads health officials to believe that patients are acquiring the infection in hospitals and healthcare facilities. The CDC sounded the alarm about the worldwide spread of C. auris back in June and asked laboratories to report cases and send patient samples to state and local health departments, as well as to the CDC. In the months since issuing the alert, the CDC has been investigating reports of the fungal infection with several state and local health departments. Health officials expect more cases to emerge as knowledge of C. auris grows and investigators dig through patient samples.
 

Tuesday - November 15, 2016 - Today In History:

1777 - The Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation, precursor to the U.S. Constitution.
1806 - Explorer Zebulon Pike spotted the mountaintop that became known as Pikes Peak.
1926 - The National Broadcasting Co. (NBC) debuted with a radio network of 24 stations. The first network radio broadcast was a four-hour "spectacular."
1939 - U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC.
1940 - The first 75,000 men were called to Armed Forces duty under peacetime conscription.
1969 - In Washington, DC, a quarter of a million protesters staged a peaceful demonstration against the Vietnam War.
1988 - The Palestine National Council, the legislative body of the PLO, proclaimed the establishment of an independent Palestinian state at the close of a four-day conference in Algiers.
1993 - A judge in Mineola, NY, sentenced Joey Buttafuoco to six months in jail for the statutory rape of Amy Fisher. Fisher was serving a prison sentence for shooting and wounding Buttafuoco's wife, Mary Jo.
1995 - Texaco agreed to pay $176 million to settle a race-discrimination lawsuit.
1999 - Representatives from China and the United States signed a major trade agreement that involved China's membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO).
2000 - Three police officers from the Rampart division of the Los Angeles police department were convicted on several counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice. One other officer was acquitted. The case was the first major case against the anti-gang unit.
2006 - Andy Warhol's painting of Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong sold for $17.4 million. At the same auction "Orange Marilyn" sold for $16.2 million and "Sixteen Jackies" sold for $15.6 million.

Russia prepares heavy bombers, Syrian Army gives Jihadis 24 hours to surrender
The Duran - The Syrian army has been broadcasting messages to the trapped Jihadis in eastern Aleppo via loudspeakers all day giving them just 24 hours to lay down their arms. There are also reports of more elite Syrian troops from the Tiger forces and the Desert Hawks Special Forces units being concentrated in Aleppo. They are apparently being reinforced by well trained Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon. There is also an indeterminate number of Shiite militia fighters brought to the area of Aleppo from Iraq, though it seems that they are being given secondary support roles, and that most of the fighting on the front line will be carried out by the Syrian army. In addition there are also reports of Russian and Iranian staff officers arriving in the city to help coordinate the fighting. Meanwhile the captains of the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and the nuclear powered missile battle cruiser Pyotr Veliky have both been talking to the Russian media. Sergey Artamonov, the Admiral Kuznetsov’s captain, is reported to have confirmed that aircraft from the carrier have been flying over Syria for four days. He described the reason for their flights as follows “The flights are performed from the deck of the aircraft-carrying heavy cruiser. Interaction with a coastal airfield is being worked out.” The “coastal airfield” is clearly Russia’s Khmeimim air base in Syria’s Latakia province, which is the air base the Russians mainly use for the strikes they carry out in Syria. The Russians do not have any experience of carrying out air strikes on ground targets from aircraft carriers, or of coordinating such strikes with ground bases. It seems that they have been using the last four days to work out systems of coordination between the two separate services involved (the Russian Aerospace Forces in Khmeimim and Russian Naval Aviation on board the Admiral Kuznetsov) and to iron out any resulting communications and coordination problems before they go jointly into action.

As Venezuela's Currency Loses 40% In One Month, Maduro Dances
Zero Hedge - Reuters reports that the country's massively unpopular president, Nicolas Maduro, who presided over Venezuela's terminal collapse and is only in power thanks to the army's support, is now trying his hand at salsa music to cheer up his broke countrymen. According to Reuters, Maduro, a music aficionado who used to play in a rock band, debuted "Salsa Hour" this month and has broadcast four episodes from a radio booth specially installed in the Miraflores presidential palace, with each episode lasting several hours.... Though Venezuela's 30 million people adore music, especially salsa, Maduro's show has fueled criticism that he is disconnected from reality in a country where millions are skipping meals amid shortages and rising prices. "Maduro's program is like a mockery," said [opposition leader Henrique] Capriles, who narrowly lost to him in the 2013 presidential vote and has championed a drive for a referendum to recall Maduro. "He should have a bit more respect for the Venezuelan people. He is not an entertainer." That however won't stop Maduro who appears to have taken a page right out of the Hillary Clinton book on how to become more popular with the poor: "Maduro wants to connect with the poorest who, despite the crisis, still get together and listen to music," said Andres Canizales, a media scholar and spokesman for the Citizens' Monitor group. We don't have high hopes for Maduro's radio show, but we can safely say that the modern equivalent of Nero fiddling while Rome burns, is Maduro dancing salsa while Venezuela's currency - and economy - disintegrates.

Chernobyl reactor cover slowly moved into place
Deutsche Welle - A giant arch to contain radioactive waste at the site of the world's deadliest nuclear accident has begun to be moved into place. Fallout from the Chernobyl disaster reached across a large swathe of Europe. The massive, arch-shaped, steel cover began moving into place on Monday over the cement-encased nuclear reactor at Chernobyl in Ukraine…. The ill-fated reactor is currently being protected by a concrete dome that was hastily built by Soviet rescue workers in the months after the accident occurred. It is in danger of leaking nuclear waste. The new cover, made of corrosion-resistant steel, is being financed primarily by The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) at a total cost of $1.6 billion (1.5 billion euros). The installation is due to be completed on November 29, which is the 30th anniversary of the destroyed reactor being covered by the original concrete sarcophagus. The EBRD called the construction and sliding of the arch "one of the most ambitious projects in the history of engineering."

Vladimir Putin Holds Phone Talks With US President-Elect Donald Trump
Sputnik News - Putin reportedly congratulated the president-elect on his victory, and wished him success. The Russian president reportedly told the US president-elect that Russia is ready to maintain constructive dialogue with the new US administration, based on principles of equal rights, mutual respect, and non-interference in the international affairs of one another. According to the Kremlin, both stressed the importance of building a strong foundation for bilateral ties through economic development.... They agreed to maintain phone contacts, and to plan a meeting in person soon. Following Trump's victory, he had stated that he received a "beautiful letter" from the Russian president. The letter reportedly expressed hope that the administrations could work together to better the strained state of Moscow-Washington relations. “We understand and are aware that it will be a difficult path in the light of the degradation in which, unfortunately, the relationship between Russia and the US are at the moment,” he added. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had also expressed hope of working with the new president-elect. “The current US-Russian relations cannot be called friendly. Hopefully, with the new US president a more constructive dialogue will be possible between our countries,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping Agree to Meet 'at an Early Date' After Friendly Call
Breitbart - According to Chinese state media outlet Xinhua, the call between Xi and Trump was a cordial once in which Xi “expressed his willingness to work with him.”.... Xinhua quotes Xi as stating. “I attach great importance to China-U.S. relations and am ready to work with the U.S. side to carry forward bilateral ties and to better benefit the two peoples and the rest of the world.” Xinhua reports that Trump “voiced his readiness to work with Xi to strengthen U.S.-China cooperation and expressed his belief that U.S.-China relations will witness even greater development.” The statement from Trump’s White House transition team reflected the same tone as the remarks in Xinhua. “During the call, the leaders established a clear sense of mutual respect for one another, and President-elect Trump stated that he believes the two leaders will have one of the strongest relationships for both countries moving forward,” the transition office said.... Chinese state television reported that the two leaders agreed to meet “at an early date” in person. Trump has scheduled one meeting with a world leader – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday – so far, but has said he intends to establish personal relations with as many U.S. allies and world leaders as he can.

Canada PM says ready to renegotiate NAFTA with Trump
Yahoo News - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday he is willing to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which US President-elect Donald Trump has said he wants to change or scrap.... "I think it's important that we be open to talking about trade deals," Trudeau - a fierce defender of free trade, which helps bolster the Canadian economy - told reporters. "If the Americans want to talk about NAFTA, I'm more than happy to talk about it," he said, adding that it was important to periodically reassess trade deals to ensure that they continue to be of benefit to Canadians.... Bilateral trade crossing the US-Canadian border amounts to US$1.8 billion daily. Thirty-four US states rely on trade with Canada, which supports nine million American jobs, while exports to the United States represents 20 percent of Canada's GDP.

Obama Administration Agrees to Take Mideast Refugees Refused by Australia
CNS News - A little over two months before President Obama leaves the White House, Australia’s prime minister has disclosed that the U.S. has agreed to resettle an unspecified number of refugees, mostly from the Middle Eastern region, who are currently housed in offshore detention centers after being prevented from reaching Australia by boat. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull would not say Monday how many migrants would be taken by the United States or be drawn on what would happen once President-elect Donald Trump is in the Oval Office.... Asked why he hadn’t raised the matter during a congratulatory phone call to Trump on Thursday, Turnbull replied, “You don’t discuss confidential matters with one administration with a future administration.”.... Turnbull told a press conference Sunday that a “one-off” agreement had been struck with the Obama administration some months ago, and that the resettled refugees would fit within, and not be in addition to, the existing U.S. refugee quota. The outgoing administration’s FY 2017 refugee admission target, laid out in a report to Congress last September, is 110,000, an almost 30 percent increase from the FY 2016 target of 85,000. Turnbull also said the offer of applying for resettlement in the U.S. would only be available to those already housed in the offshore facilities – not to any future asylum-seekers who attempt to reach Australia by boats operated by people-smugglers.

Trump: Criminals will be deported first
Politico - Donald Trump will begin tackling the issue of illegal immigration by rounding up and deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal records, a group that he estimates at 2 million to 3 million people, the president-elect said in an interview to air Sunday night. "What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people, probably 2 million, it could be even 3 million, we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate," he said in the interview, to air on "60 Minutes" on CBS. "But we're getting them out of our country; they're here illegally."

Trump: Vaccines Cause Autism And Will Be Investigated (Video)
Your News Wire - Trump dismissed the official claim that there is no link between vaccines and autism, claiming there has been a cover up to suppress the truth and that “nay-sayers will understand soon.” “[W]e’ve had so many instances, people that work for me. Just the other day, two years old, two and a half years old, a child, a beautiful child went to have the vaccine, and came back, and a week later got a tremendous fever, got very, very sick, now is autistic.”… During a GOP a primary debate with Trump, Dr. Ben Carson claimed there is no “documented proof” that vaccines are responsible for autism, however Dr. Carson, a neuroscientist, conceded that “it is true that we are probably giving way too many in too short a period of time.” Trump’s response echoes one he gave on Fox News in April 2012, in which he also related the story of a child of one of his employees who was damaged after receiving vaccines. “I’ve gotten to be pretty familiar with the subject,” Trump told Fox News’ Fox & Friends. “You know, I have a theory — and it’s a theory that some people believe in — and that’s the vaccinations. We never had anything like this. “This is now an epidemic. It’s way, way up over the past 10 years. It’s way up over the past two years. And, you know, when you take a little baby that weighs like 12 pounds into a doctor’s office and they pump them with many, many simultaneous vaccinations — I’m all for vaccinations, but I think when you add all of these vaccinations together and then two months later the baby is so different then lots of different things have happened. I really — I’ve known cases.”

George Soros Sued For $550 Million By Dead Cop’s Father
Your News Wire - The father of Patrick Zamarripa filed a lawsuit in the US District Court in Dallas on Monday against George Soros, Black Lives Matter and other groups for allegedly “inciting a war on police” that led to the death of his son. “While Defendant Black Lives Matter claims to combat anti-black racism,” the lawsuit said, according to the Fort Worth Star Telegram, “the movement has in fact incited and committed further violence, severe bodily injury and death against police officers of all races and ethnicities, Jews, and Caucasians. Defendant Black Lives Matter is in fact a violent and revolutionary criminal gang.” Dallas police officer Patrick Zamarripa, 32, was on patrol July 7 this year when hundreds of people marched through downtown Dallas. Toward the end of the march, a sniper, Micah Johnson opened fire, ambushing the crowd and killing five police officers – four from the Dallas Police Department, including Zamarripa. The lawsuit lists leading activists involved in organizing the protests, including George Soros, Malik Zulu Shabazz, leader of the New Black PantherS, Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network, Black Lives Matter organizer Rashad Turner, Opal Tometi, Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, Deray McKesson and Johnette Elizie…. News of the lawsuit comes after George Soros was revealed as a driving force behind the organizing of nationwide protests against the election of Donald Trump — exposing the protests to largely be an organized, top-down operation — and not an organic movement of concerned Americans taking to the streets as reported by the mainstream media.

University of Virginia professors ask president to stop quoting Thomas Jefferson
Washington Times - Hundreds of students and faculty at the University of Virginia have asked the president to stop quoting the university’s founder, President Thomas Jefferson, because of his slave-owning past. The letter garnered 469 signatures before being sent to University President Teresa Sullivan on Friday, The Cavalier Daily reported. It was prompted by an email sent last week by Ms. Sullivan promoting unity in light of Donald Trump’s presidential victory. “Thomas Jefferson wrote to a friend that University of Virginia students ‘are not of ordinary significance only: they are exactly the persons who are to succeed to the government of our country, and to rule its future enmities, its friendships and fortunes,’” Ms. Sullivan wrote in the email. “I encourage today’s U.Va. students to embrace that responsibility.”.... Professors argued that Ms. Sullivan should refrain from quoting the late president due to his owning of slaves and other racist beliefs, The Cavalier Daily reported.... The university has not yet responded to the letter.

Two presidential electors encourage colleagues to sideline Trump
Politico - Bret Chiafolo, a Washington State elector who has already declared his opposition to Hillary Clinton, and Micheal Baca of Colorado have launched what they’ve dubbed “Moral Electors,” an attempt to persuade 37 of their Republican colleagues to bail on Trump - just enough to block Trump’s election and leave the final decision to the House of Representatives. They have the support of a third elector, Washington State’s Robert Satiacum. “This is a longshot. It’s a hail Mary,” Chiafolo said in a phone interview. “However, I do see situations where - when we’ve already had two or three [Republican] electors state publicly they didn’t want to vote for Trump. How many of them have real issues with Donald Trump in private?” Chiafolo, a self-described “regular nerdy dude who works for Microsoft” and Baca, a grad student and Marine Corps veteran, insist they’re not seeking the election of Clinton — or even a Democrat. Both, in fact, had already been considering voting against her when the Electoral College meets in five weeks. Rather, they intend to encourage Republican electors to write in Mitt Romney or John Kasich. If enough agree, the election would be sent to the House of Representatives, which would choose from among the top three vote-getters. Both men acknowledge that their effort is unlikely to succeed. Electors throughout American history have rarely broken ranks.

Report: Three Million Votes in Presidential Election Cast by Illegal Aliens
Paul Joseph Watson - Three million votes in the U.S. presidential election were cast by illegal aliens, according to Greg Phillips of the VoteFraud.org organization. If true, this would mean that Donald Trump still won the contest despite widespread vote fraud and almost certainly won the popular vote. “We have verified more than three million votes cast by non-citizens,” tweeted Phillips after reporting that the group had completed an analysis of a database of 180 million voter registrations. According to current indications, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by around 630,000 votes, although around 7 million ballots remain uncounted. Virtually all of the votes cast by 3 million illegal immigrants are likely to have been for Hillary Clinton, meaning Trump might have won the popular vote when this number is taken into account. Vote fraud using ballots cast in the name of dead people and illegal alien voters was a huge concern before the election. On the morning of the election there were 4 million dead people on U.S. voter rolls. Although some states require some form of ID before voting, California, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Washington, D.C. all require no identification before voting.

Soros bands with donors to resist Trump, 'take back power'
Politico - George Soros and other rich liberals who spent tens of millions of dollars trying to elect Hillary Clinton are gathering in Washington for a three-day, closed door meeting to retool the big-money left to fight back against Donald Trump. The conference, which kicked off Sunday night at Washington’s pricey Mandarin Oriental hotel, is sponsored by the influential Democracy Alliance donor club, and will include appearances by leaders of most leading unions and liberal groups, as well as darlings of the left such as House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chairman Keith Ellison, according to an agenda and other documents obtained by POLITICO.... and, if the agenda is any indication, liberals plan full-on trench warfare against Trump from Day One. Some sessions deal with gearing up for 2017 and 2018 elections, while others focus on thwarting President-elect Trump’s 100-day plan, which the agenda calls “a terrifying assault on President Obama’s achievements — and our progressive vision for an equitable and just nation.” Yet the meeting also comes as many liberals are reassessing their approach to politics — and the role of the Democracy Alliance, or DA, as the club is known in Democratic finance circles.... “The DA itself should be called into question,” said one Democratic strategist who has been active in the group and is attending the meeting. “You can make a very good case it’s nothing more than a social club for a handful wealthy white donors and labor union officials to drink wine and read memos, as the Democratic Party burns down around them.”

Portland Authorities – Night Five of Violent Leftist Protests: 20 Arrested, News Crew Attacked
Breitbart - Police arrested more than 20 people in the fifth consecutive day of rioting and clashes with police by mobs of leftist protesters who say they are furious about the election of Donald J. Trump as the 45th President of the United States. The revolutionaries hurled bricks and rocks at police and fought with a news crews in the latest street battle during an hours-long standoff that began shortly before 7 p.m. local time.... [Portland Mayor Charlie] Hales’ and other local authorities’ statements that “peaceful protests” are being marred by a few fringe players stands in stark contrast to the protest organizers’ refusal to rule out the use of a ‘diversity of tactics,” a term that leftist protesters use to describe a spectrum of action from peaceful protests to outright violence.... As local TV Station KOIN reported on the comments of Portland Police Chief Mike Marshman, the Chief doesn’t appear to recognize that many leftists view battling the police as a valid form of protest: “I don’t think they’re out there to protest. I think they’re out there to battle the police,” Marshman said. “We’re taking rocks and bottles and flares.” Law enforcement officers from other agencies in the metro area have been called in to help Portland Police. Marshman said they have limited resources at PPB [Portland Police Bureau] and the long days take their toll on officers. “They were confronted with real provocation and they met it with appropriate force,” Hales said. “Yes they had to use distraction devices, yes they had to use tear gas — those were the right things to do when they were having rocks and bottles thrown at them.”

Video: Blocks Of Anti-Trump Protest Buses Caught On Tape
Zero Hedge - Earlier today we showed that, contrary to USA Today’s claims that the anti-Trump protests across the nation are “spontaneous, involving people from all walks of life”, according to Wikileaks documents at least two of the people profiled by USA Today have a history of being professional agitators for the Democratic party, whose task is to stir up popular protests and – in extreme cases – unleash rioting… Now, courtesy of a Zero Hedge reader, we have visual confirmation of how a substantial portion of these professional, paid protesters arrive at the site of the protest, in this case Chicago. As our reader notes, “I have a video of 5 city blocks on the West side of Chicago lined with busses from Wisconsin (Badger Bus Lines) bringing in protestors. The Sears tower is visible in the background.” The video was taken at 3:30pm on South Canal Street in Chicago on Saturday. As our reader points out, hundreds of the participants that took part in the downtown Chicago protests from November 12 were bused in using these vehicles. Other arrived by train.

Company Places Its Own CEO on Leave After He Threatens to Assassinate Trump
Paul Joseph Watson - Matt Harrigan is the CEO of PacketSled, a risk management company. Harrigan caused alarm when he took to Facebook to angrily announce his plan to kill Trump after the Republican was elected president. “I’m going to kill the president. Elect,” wrote Harrigan, adding, “Bring it secret service.” “Getting a sniper rifle and perching myself where it counts….” Harrigan later issued an apology on Facebook, claiming his words were a “joke,” but his colleagues at PacketSled failed to see the funny side. “PacketSled takes recent comments made by our CEO, seriously. Once we were made aware of these comments, we immediately reported this information to the secret service and will cooperate fully with any inquiries,” the company announced on its website. “These comments do not reflect the views or opinions of PacketSled, its employees, investors or partners. Our CEO has been placed on administrative leave.” Social media websites have been flooded with death threats targeting Trump in the aftermath of his election victory, while riots and attacks against Trump supporters have also taken place in numerous different cities.

Film Director Paul Schrader Calls For “Violence” to Stop Donald Trump
Paul Joseph Watson - Schrader, who was involved with hit films Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and The Last Temptation of Christ, responded to Trump’s election with an alarming rant on his official Facebook page. “I have spent the last five days meditating on Trump’s election. Upon consideration, I believe this is a call to violence. I felt the call to violence in the 60’s and I feel it now again,” wrote Schrader. “This attack on liberty and tolerance will not be solved by appeasement. Obama tried that for eight years. We should finance those who support violence resistance. We should be willing to take arms. Like Old John Brown, I am willing to battle with my children. Alt right nut jobs swagger violence. It’s time to actualize that violence, Like by Civil War Michigan predecessors I choose to stand with the black, the brown and the oppressed,” he concluded.

Maryland high-school walkout protesting Trump began as school-authorized function: Report
Washington Times - “More than 100 students from Montgomery Blair High School, in Silver Spring, walked out in a planned protest at about 10 a.m.,” Washington, D.C. newsradio station WTOP reported on its website Monday. “Montgomery County school officials said Montgomery Blair High approved a plan allowing students to protest on the football field on school grounds.” “After an hour in the stadium, students decided to leave campus with the objective of receiving more media attention,” reported Montgomery Blair’s student-run newspaper Silver Chips.... “Spoke w/some students from Montgomery Blair - they say they’re not protesting against democracy, but in solidarity w/immigrants, Muslims etc,” tweeted Carmel Delshad, a news producer for WAMU radio, an NPR affiliate. Students from other area high schools similarly walked out of their respective school campuses, and the various groups converged at an area shopping mall before resuming their march to Veterans Plaza in downtown Silver Spring, a large pavilion often used for concerts in the summer months and the location of a popular skating rink in the winter. “Per @blairprincipal, students who left campus will face disciplinary consequences,” reported the official Twitter account for the student-run Blair Network Communications. For her part, however, Montgomery Blair Principal Renay Johnson has not personally tweeted about the walkout or its possible disciplinary consequences. Similarly there is no such pronouncement from the school’s website or official Facebook page. In reliably blue Maryland, Montgomery County is among the state’s most stalwart Democratic bastions, and at least two local politician have taken to praising the students for their walkout.

Hanjin Bankruptcy Is Disrupting The U.S. Supply Chain In Critical Holiday Season
ThomasDishaw.com - The last Hanjin Shipping vessel dropping off goods in California has set sail from the Port of Long Beach, finally clearing the many ships left stranded by the company’s sudden collapse two months ago. But in its wake, the giant shipping line has left a mess that retailers across the country will be sorting out for weeks. The South Korean company’s bankruptcy is forcing big chains to spend piles of cash to get their goods through ports to warehouses in time for the busy holiday shopping season. Some mom-and-pop shops will have less to offer this year…. Ashley Furniture, which supplies couches, beds and dressers to the likes of J.C. Penney, Target and Wal-Mart, had the misfortune of being on the receiving end of 900 containers set to be transported by Hanjin. For weeks, Hanjin vessels idled as port operators refused to touch the cargo without certainty of how they would be paid. When the ships finally began to offload containers, Ashley, along with several other retailers, learned that Hanjin had canceled its promised “port-to-door” delivery. Ashley executives hustled to fill the gap, hiring trucking companies to haul the wares from ports and contracting with new vessels to bring containers stranded in Singapore. In October, the company asked a New Jersey judge overseeing the shipping line’s U.S. bankruptcy proceedings to subtract Ashley’s costs from the fees it owes Hanjin. So far, Ashley has spent more than $1 million to retrieve stranded containers and get the ones that have arrived in Los Angeles out of the ports.

Trump Tech Meltdown Hits Fourth Day With Amazon Cut by $35 Billion
Bloomberg - The stock market’s post-election bifurcation sharpened Monday as technology shares extended their worst performance since the start of the bull market on speculation Donald Trump’s trade and immigration policies will translate into lower earnings. Apple Inc., Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc. led the S&P 500 Information Technology Index down 1.7 percent for the biggest retreat since September. The group stands out as the only industry that normally benefits from a rising economy not to rally on speculation Trump’s policies will stoke domestic growth. Tech stocks in the benchmark equity gauge have slumped 3.1 percent over four days, trailing the S&P 500 Index by 4.2 percentage points, the most since May 2009. Small caps in the Russell 2000 Index surged 1.2 percent to an all-time high. No single fact explains the tech rout though everything from trade and immigration policy to industry rotation to flat-out campaign retaliation have been cited…. The industry, which largely supported Hillary Clinton during her presidential campaign, may also face higher hurdles for expanding their footprints after some high-profile business leaders including Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos clashed with Trump during the election. Trump, responding to negative coverage in the Washington Post, which is owned by Bezos, maintained Bezos purchased the news organization to gain political influence and avoid antitrust scrutiny. Shares of the online retailer have lost more than $30 billion in value since Tuesday’s vote.

‘Trial of the millennium’: Judge rules kids can sue US government over climate change
RT - An Oregon federal court has paved the way for young people in the US to fight climate change through the courts, ruling against the government and fossil fuel companies’ attempts to dismiss a case brought against them. Federal Judge Ann Aiken ruled that the lawsuit brought against the US government by a group of 21 young people aged between nine and 20 can move forward as it “adequately alleged infringement of a fundamental right.” Our Children’s Trust has filed lawsuits in each state accusing the government of failing to adequately address the issue of climate change. The lawsuit says the government's inaction is endangering young people by permitting greenhouse gas pollution to continue over 50 years despite knowing it was “destabilizing” the climate. While the government and a number of fossil fuel companies attempted to have the suit dismissed, Aiken found the case to be valid.... The case is shaped around the issue of public trust, which calls for the government to protect common elements, like water and coastlines for the people.

FBI Signs Key Contract For Social Media Surveillance
The Daily Caller - It’s set to sign a contract with Dataminr in order to obtain its Indicators and Warnings capability, “which will permit the FBI to search the complete Twitter firehose, in near real-time, using customizable filters,” according to the Federal Business Opportunities official government page. The FBI apparently wants the capacity to scan Twitter in a more expeditious and effective way so it can detect any terrorist communications or signs of a terror attack. This will likely set up the perennial security versus privacy debate.... But the FBI will purchase roughly 200 licenses for Dataminr’s Advanced Alerting Tool in order to revamp its intelligence collecting capabilities. Twitter originally blocked intelligence agencies from using Dataminr services in May, according to nextgov.com, but this contract only provides access to a portion of the analytics.

Google will soon ban fake news sites from using its ad network
The Verge - Today, Google announced that its advertising tools will soon be closed to websites that promote fake news, a policy that could cut off revenue streams for publications that peddle hoaxes on platforms like Facebook.... It’s thought that, given the viral aspects of fake news, social networks and search engines were gamed by partisan bad actors intending to influence the outcome of the race. "Moving forward, we will restrict ad serving on pages that misrepresent, misstate, or conceal information about the publisher, the publisher's content, or the primary purpose of the web property," a Google spokesperson said in a statement given to Retuers. This policy includes fake news sites, the spokesperson confirmed.... The issue of fake news on social media grabbed national attention earlier this summer, when Gizmodo reported that the team at Facebook responsible for its Trending Topics news list was suppressing links from conservative sources.... Google appears to be taking a more active role, and for good reason. Just this past weekend, a fake news link rose to the top of Google search results for the question “who won the popular vote,” falsely claiming the answer to be President-elect Donald Trump.

NASA Prepares for Asteroid Impact Within the Next 2 Decades: “It’s Going To Happen” (Video)
Mac Slavo - NASA is preparing for the big one, as many astronomists have found several major rocks that will be headed straight for earth in the next 10-15 years and beyond. The threat of a destructive asteroid event encroaching upon our life has become an increasing concern, and it is gaining serious attention. In the long run, it is an inevitability. Though major asteroids big enough to wipe out life across the entire planet are rare, scientists believe they have taken place and reset entire epochs. Moreover, smaller asteroids, comets or meteors can all do major damage, even if they aren’t record breaking hunks of space rock.

Magnesium a must for Lyme patients
Lyme Disease Research Database - If you have Lyme disease, you have silent inflammation. It is highly likely that you are also deficient in magnesium, because the Lyme bacteria, Borrelia, unlike other bacteria that require iron to survive, has evolved to use magnesium to complete its own life cycle. The Lyme bacteria steals magnesium from our cells to survive. Another factor contributing to the problem, for Americans at least, is that our farming topsoil has been depleted in magnesium which is not replaced. So our foods tend to be deficient in magnesium, which is problematic. Magnesium supplements have been clinically proven to reduce pain and inflammation from fibromyalgia and other autoimmune diseases. As Lyme is an inflammatory disease, it makes sense to pay attention to something as simple as adding in a vital mineral. Increasing magnesium levels through diet or supplements may be even more crucial for people with Lyme, because not only does the Lyme bacteria rob us of magnesium, so does stress—both physical and psychological or emotional—as well as the use of antibiotics.

Alarming Levels of Glyphosate Contamination Found in Popular American Foods
Sustainable Pulse - Glyphosate, the world’s most widely used herbicide linked to Monsanto’s Roundup Ready genetically engineered crops, has been found at alarming levels in a wide range of best-selling foods across the U.S., Food Democracy Now! and The Detox Project announced Monday…. These newest findings also come as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) postponed hearings last month, which were due to explore glyphosate’s link to cancer in humans. Last year, 17 leading global cancer experts from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) sparked a firestorm when they classified glyphosate as a class 2A “probable human carcinogen”. On the heels of the growing controversy surrounding glyphosate’s safety, this unique testing project that started in 2015, has so far found alarming levels of glyphosate in General Mills’ Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Raisin Bran and Frosted Flakes and PepsiCo’s Doritos Cool Ranch, Ritz Crackers and Stacy’s Simply Naked Pita Chips, as well as many more famous products at levels that present significant risks according to the latest independent peer-reviewed science on glyphosate.

Eliminate flu symptoms with these great home remedies
(NaturalHealth365) If you do come down with the influenza virus, an entire arsenal of natural remedies awaits, all with the power to prevent or banish your uncomfortable symptoms – safely and effectively. Vitamin C: n a study published in 1999 in Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapy, researchers found that megadoses of vitamin C – 1,000 mgs hourly for the first six hours, then 1,000 mgs three times a day thereafter – cut the severity of cold and flu symptoms by a stunning 85 percent. Oregano oil: Oregano oil’s key ingredients – thymol and carvacrol – have antiviral, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory qualities. Loaded with natural immune system-boosters, including potassium, zinc and manganese, oregano oil can soothe nausea and vomiting and alleviate diarrhea. For maximum benefit, opt for P73 oregano to ensure that the beneficial polyphenols in the oil will not be under 73 percent. Natural health experts advise adding 3 to 10 drops to a tablespoon of water, swishing the mixture around in the mouth, swallowing and then repeating the process. Oregano oil can be used four times a day until the cessation of symptoms. Olive leaf extract: Olive leaf extract’s active ingredient, oleuropein, has potent antiviral properties that allow it to interfere with the reproduction and replication of viruses. In addition, olive leaf extract has powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial qualities. Its ability to enhance phagocytosis – a process in which immune cells called phagocytes surround, engulf and destroy pathogens – can help your body clear the influenza virus rapidly. Ginger root: To treat intestinal flu symptoms, you may need to look no further than ginger root. Clinical studies have shown that it reduces nausea and vomiting – so successfully that it is often used to alleviate nausea resulting from chemotherapy. Elderberry extract: Elderberry extract, scientifically known as Sambucus nigra, effectively inactivates viruses. Its antioxidant properties allow it to target free radicals that impair immune system function, while its immune system-enhancing qualities help increase production of disease-fighting lymphocytes…..

Common ice cream additive may cause colon cancer
STEPin2 - …Dr. Emilie Viennois, assistant professor at the Georgia State University Institute for Biomedical Sciences, believes that there is a likely link between a common food additive and colon cancer. “The incidence of colorectal cancer has been markedly increasing since the mid-20th century. A key feature of this disease is the presence of an altered intestinal microbiota that creates a favorable niche for tumorigenesis,” Viennois said. Previous studies have shown that emulsifiers are linked to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which is a group of intestinal disorders that cause prolonged inflammation of the digestive tract. Two emulsifiers in particular – carboxymethylcellulose and polysorbate-80 – have been associated with IBD…. The study press release reported the following: Researchers observed that consuming emulsifiers drastically changed the species composition of the gut microbiota in a manner that made it more pro-inflammatory, creating a niche favoring cancer induction and development. Alterations in bacterial species resulted in bacteria expressing more flagellin and lipopolysaccharide, which activate pro-inflammatory gene expression by the immune system. In other words, the emulsifiers changed gut bacteria in a way that promoted inflammation, and also increased the chance of tumor development. The study showing that a common ice cream additive may cause colon cancer was published in the journal Nature.
 

Monday - November 14, 2016 - Today In History:

1832 - The first streetcar went into operation in New York City, NY. The vehicle was horse-drawn and had room for 30 people.
1851 - Herman Melville's novel "Moby Dick" was first published in the U.S.
1881 - Charles J. Guiteau's trial began for the assassination of U.S. President Garfield. Guiteau was convicted and hanged the following year.
1935 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed the Philippine Islands a free commonwealth after its new constitution was approved. The Tydings-McDuffie Act planned for the Phillipines to be completely independent by July 4, 1946.
1940 - During World War II, German war planes destroyed most of the English town of Coventry when about 500 Luftwaffe bombers attacked.
1969 - During the Vietnam War, Major General Bruno Arthur Hochmuth, commander of the Third Marine Division, became the first general to be killed in Vietnam by enemy fire.
1979 - President Carter froze all Iranian assets in the U.S. and U.S. banks abroad in response to the taking of 63 American hostages at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran.
1983 - The British government announced that U.S. made cruise missiles had arrived at the Greenham Common air base amid protests.
1989 - The U.S. Navy ordered an unprecedented 48-hour stand-down in the wake of a recent string of serious accidents.
1991 - After 13 years in exile Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk returned to his homeland.
1994 - U.S. experts visited North Korea's main nuclear complex for the first time under an accord that opened such sites to outside inspections.
1995 - The U.S. government instituted a partial shutdown, closing national parks and museums while most government offices operated with skeleton crews.
2012 - The game Candy Crush Saga was released as a mobile app for smartphones.

Modi’s currency “round up” leads to queues, chaos
MattersIndia.com - Large crowds were again gathered at banks across the country trying to change 500 and 1,000 rupee bills, demonetized by the government on Tuesday, in an effort to crack down on corruption.
** Related Article: India raises cap on bank cash withdrawal to ease public anger
** Related Photos from India sent to us by a Power Hour Listener!!

4 Americans killed in suicide bombing at US base in Afghanistan
Fox News - Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the explosion inside Bagram Airfield took the lives of two U.S. servicemembers and two U.S. contractors working on the base and wounded 16 other U.S. servicemembers and one Police solider.... The State Department announced the U.S. Embassy in Kabul would close Sunday as a precaution. An earlier statement from NATO's Resolute Support mission said the blast happened around 5:30 a.m. (8 p.m. Friday EST) and that "force protection and medical teams are responding to the situation." The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the insurgent group, said the attack had been planned for four months. The Taliban regularly fire rockets at Bagram from outside its perimeter. Abdul Wahid Sediqqi, spokesman for the governor of Parwan province, where the air field is based, said laborers employed at the base line up at the gates around dawn. He said it was possible the attacker could have been among the men entering the base Saturday. The base houses the largest contingent of American troops and contractors in Afghanistan.... Saturday's attack brings to 11 the number of Americans, including two CIA paramilitary officers, who have been killed in action in Afghanistan since early October.

As many as 5,000 ISIS recruits to return to Europe – Belgian minister
RT - Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon estimates between 3,000 and 5,000 surviving Europeans among Islamic State’s dwindling ranks, but admits that the continent's intelligence agencies can only watch and wait to see how many of them return.... With its previously under-powered security services, location in the heart of the EU, and a large contingent of Muslim immigrants concentrated in neighborhoods like Molenbeek in Brussels, Belgium is considered a hotbed of European Islamism.... Last year’s Paris attacks, and the bombing of a train station and an airport in Brussels in March, were both plotted in Belgium, which the UN says has a higher number of Islamist militant recruits per capita than any other European country.... Over 30,000 people have travelled to the Middle East to help Islamic State and other Islamist militias over the past half-decade. With its dream of building a supranational Islamic Caliphate, IS purposefully cultivated an international appeal, attracting thousands of fighters from Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Russia’s Islamic regions, and the immigrant communities of Europe. How many remain under ISIS’ command is unclear, with the US estimating that the group had fewer than 5,000 fighters left to defend Mosul when the assault on the city began last month, and perhaps as many in its unofficial capital of Raqqa in Syria.

Jean-Claude Juncker mounts fresh call for European army
Daily Mail - The president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, voiced his concerns after the Republican's surprise victory was announced. He said a 'community of defence' is required. Juncker said: 'We need more security in Europe, and I do not mean just the anti-terror fight. 'Talking about security we need a different way of organizing a European defense.' He said that the French National Assembly prevented a proposed European community of defence being created in 1954 - a move that could have seen an army created, but was rejected amid concerns about national sovereignty. Juncker said: 'We need it now. The idea that the Americans will eternally see to... European security is not true. 'Independent of the outcome of the US election, the Americans will not see to Europe’s security forever. We have to do it ourselves. 'And this is why we need a new approach to the European community of defense, including a European army.' In July, Trump cast doubts over his commitment to Nato agreements, telling the New York Times: 'We have many Nato members that aren’t paying their bills.' And he added: 'You can’t forget the bills. They have an obligation to make payments. 'Many NATO nations are not making payments, are not making what they’re supposed to make. That’s a big thing. You can’t say forget that.'

Trump-Putin alliance sparks diplomatic crisis as British ministers demand assurances from US over Russia
The Telegraph - Britain is facing a diplomatic crisis with the US over Donald Trump’s plans to forge an alliance with Vladimir Putin and bolster the Syrian regime.... His views are in stark contrast with those of Theresa May, who has accused President Assad’s regime of perpetrating “atrocious violence” and said that the long-term future of Syria must be “without Assad”.... The dramatic shift in US policy has prompted significant concern in the Foreign Office, and Britain will use the next three months before Mr Trump enters the White House to try to convince him of the importance of removing President Assad.... The Government had hoped that Mr Trump would be prepared to soften his stance on the issue after winning the election, as he has with several other flagship plans including his pledge to repeal Obamacare. However his [Wall Street Journal] interview signaled that he will pursue the alliance with Russia. Foreign Office officials believe that it will be “incredibly difficult” but emphasized that Britain will not change its position.

Putin Begins Banning Clinton Cabal From Russia
Your News Wire - Vladimir Putin has begun banning members of the corrupt Clinton cabal from Russia, just days after Vladimir Putin told President-elect Donald Trump he hopes the two nations can rebuild their relationship. Michael McFaul, a close Clinton ally and former US ambassador to Moscow under President Barack Obama, is the first of many to be banned from entering Russia, according to Russian Foreign Ministry sources. Mr McFaul, US ambassador in Moscow from 2012-2014, said he had learnt of the ban when applying for a visa to Russia last week. Asked what the purpose of his visit was, McFaul said it was to help presidential candidate Hillary Clinton prepare for what he assumed would be her transition to the White House. Now McFaul, currently a Stanford University professor, is banned from Russia and Kremlin sources say he is the first of many Clinton allies to be banned.... He was not banned because of his support for President Obama, a Foreign Ministry source told the TASS and RIA news agencies, but because of his “active participation in the destruction of the bilateral relationship and relentless lobbying in favour of the Clinton campaign to destabilize Russia.”.... Russia is hoping for a “new understanding” and “restored Russian-American relations” according to Kremlin sources, with President Putin said to be “encouraged” by the American people voting to back themselves and reject the prospect of a New World Order totalitarian world government.

Colombian govt, rebels reach new peace deal after referendum rejection
RT - Six weeks after a peace deal between the Colombian government and FARC rebels was rejected in a referendum by a margin of less than one percent, the two parties have proposed a new deal aiming to end 52 years of strife. The new agreement between Bogota and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia [FARC] unveiled on Saturday incorporated suggestions from Colombian opposition groups, religious leaders, and other stake holders.... The revised accord is expected to be sent to parliament rather than being put to a new referendum. The new deal keeps a controversial part that gives FARC 10 seats in Colombia’s parliament through 2026. It does not include a ban on FARC leaders holding political offices, which some people demanded.... But it does have stronger clauses for holding FARC accountable for crimes and paying compensation to victims. Special tribunals would review cases related to the rebels for a period of 10 years. Concerns over lenient sentences for FARC fighters confessing to crimes was one of the major reasons Colombians voted against the deal in October.... Copies of the new accord are to be made public on Sunday.

New Zealand earthquake: Two dead following powerful tremor
BBC News - Two people have died after a powerful magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck New Zealand's South Island. Prime Minister John Key said further details were not yet known. The US Geological Survey said it hit just after midnight (11:02 GMT on Sunday), some 95km (59 miles) from Christchurch. A tsunami arrived about two hours later. Officials warned everyone along the eastern coast to head inland or for higher ground. A gauge at Kaikoura, 181 km (112 miles) north of Christchurch, measured a wave of 2.5m (8ft 2ins) in the early hours of the morning, according to Weatherwatch.co.nz. At one point, the ministry of civil defence suggested tsunami waves as tall as five metres could hit the eastern coast. But by just after 08:00 local time (19:00 GMT), the warning was scaled back to a "marine and beach threat" with waves of just one metre along a small stretch of coast, including the Chatham Islands, an archipelago 423 miles (680km) south-east of the mainland.... New Zealanders are used to earthquakes. The country lies on the notorious Ring of Fire, the line of frequent quakes and volcanic eruptions that circles virtually the entire Pacific rim.

6.2 quake strikes off Japan
RT - A 6.2 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of the Japanese island of Honshu, according to USGS data. TEPCO said the quake did not affect the integrity of its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, located relatively close to its epicenter. The quake struck around 9:43pm GMT on Friday, some 65 km east-northeast of the city of Sendai. The Japan Meteorological Agency measured the quake at the lower magnitude of 5.8. No tsunami warning was issued by the JMA. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also said that “a destructive pacific-wide tsunami is not expected.” Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc., the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, checked whether the quake had any impact on the facility but did not find any irregularities, Reuters reported citing Japanese broadcaster NHK.

Crippled Fukushima reactor fully exposed for first time since meltdown
RT - Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) used an industrial crane to lift the last of its 18 protective panels Thursday. Each of the panels weighs around 20 tons and measure 23 by 17 meters. The protective cover was erected in October 2011 as a temporary measure to halt a radiation leak following a meltdown caused by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. The dismantling of the panels started in July 2015 and was concluded on Thursday. At Unit 1, rubble from the damaged building caused by the hydrogen explosion remains scattered and needs to be removed. The entire site is highly contaminated and will now be covered with tarpaulins to avoid the spread of radioactive waste. TEPCO is using anti-scattering agents to keep the dust down. Small pieces of rubble that can create dust are being vacuumed up while mist sprinklers are being used inside the building to keep radiation under control. TEPCO next plans to remove 392 fuel assemblies from the spent pool and clean out the melted nuclear fuel from inside the building, NHK news reported. The utility company is assessing the level of radiation before continuing the cleanup process. Scientists are also installing the necessary equipment to complete fuel extraction which will only start in four years. Fuel removal from Unit 1's depleted fuel pool is scheduled to begin around March 2021, according to TEPCO’s Mid- and Long-Term Roadmap that was revised in June 2015.

Obama Quietly Signs Executive Order to Achieve Global Vaccination Agenda
Activist Post … Friday, November 4th, Obama quietly signed an Executive Order titled Advancing the Global Health Security Agenda to Achieve a World Safe and Secure from Infectious Disease Threats. "It is the policy of the United States to advance the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), which is a multi-faceted, multi-country initiative intended to accelerate partner countries’ measurable capabilities to achieve specific targets to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats (GHSA targets), whether naturally occurring, deliberate, or accidental." So basically, the agenda is to push vaccines and normalize quarantine procedures across nations during outbreaks. GHSA Immunization Agenda states that participating countries must have: - A functioning national vaccine delivery system—with nationwide reach, effective distributions, access for marginalized populations, adequate cold chain [temperature-controlled supply chain], and ongoing quality control, - At least 90% coverage of the country’s 15-month-old population with at least one dose of measles-containing vaccine. Some notable “Five Year Action Items” include: Conduct routine immunization activities, Implement case-based surveillance, Achieve and document vaccination of health care workers. Bill Gates provided the CDC with a surveillance tool that helps identify “district-level measles risk” based on immunization records.... What’s more, the HHS recently proposed giving the CDC the power to detain and quarantine people without due process.

Feds Pull Agents Off Open Border to ‘Process’ Alien Surge
Breitbart - The reassignment of U.S. Border Patrol agents to the Rio Grande Valley Sector announced on Saturday will leave other areas of the border less secure. Agents are being reallocated to assist with a growing surge of immigrants from Mexico and Central America. Border Patrol officials in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector announced that 150 agents will be temporarily be transferred from the Tucson, San Diego, and Del Rio Sectors to the McAllen and Weslaco Centralized Processing Centers. Their duty will be to increase the screening and processing of the unauthorized immigrants with a focus on UACs (unaccompanied Alien Children) and FMUAs (Family Unit Aliens), according to information obtained from Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Marlene Castro by Breitbart Texas. The move amounts to “robbing Peter to pay Paul” as officials take agents off the line from sectors with their own immigrant surges. The sectors are being robbed of agents are having their own surge of illegal immigrants as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials try to make it look like they are doing something in response to the renewed humanitarian crisis along the southern border…. Several Border Patrol agents have expressed their frustration at being used as “babysitters” to Breitbart Texas. They stated that Mexican cartels have learned they can tie up Border Patrol agents by flooding a region with these children, mostly from Central America. They are then free to move their drug cargo and other “higher value” human cargo through other locations.

Meet @VP @JoeBiden’s HIT & RUN VICTIM: Single Mom Of 5 w/ Possible Brain Injury & No Help From #ObamaCare
GotNews - Vice President Joe Biden’s motorcade sped through an intersection on Halloween and hit a single mother of five, who was on her way to work and is now incapacitated and unable to work, with a possible brain injury — with no help from ObamaCare or Joe Biden! The incident was lightly covered by The Delaware News Journal, but did not interview the victim, Gina Cherwaty. Cherwaty was left with custody of all five of her children after the father was found murdered several months ago.... Cherwaty says she had the right of way and Biden’s motorcade sped through without any warning: “When the vehicle came through the intersection they did not have their sirens on, or their lights on to indicate they were coming. We had no way of knowing the vehicle was coming, and the light was green. We had the right of way. It was a red light for them. There was a Secret Service guy standing by my car after the accident. I tried to look at the damage that had been done, but I was told I could not and I had to sit. I was holding the left side of my neck I was in pain. They made me sit down, and a fireman and EMT came to me and they called an ambulance.” Cherwaty says no one in the motorcade stopped or got out to help. At the hospital, she was refused care because she couldn’t afford medical insurance under ObamaCare: “I was in the hospital all day and they did a CAT scan and an MRI. They recommended I see a neurologist, so they gave me a doctor’s name and number to contact.... I called the office the next day and they turned me away because I do not have medical insurance. “.... The injuries to Gina Cherwaty include damages to multiple disks in her back and possible brain injury. Neither Joe Biden nor the White House have offered concern, comment, or help to Gina so far.

Reince Priebus named Trump chief of staff
Washington Times - Reince Priebus, the man who navigated treacherous GOP political waters over the last two years to emerge with a victorious presidential candidate, will be the new White House chief of staff, the Trump transition team announced Sunday. President-elect Donald Trump also said Steve Bannon, the former head of Breitbart News who helped stabilize the Trump campaign, will be his senior counselor and strategist. “Steve and Reince are highly qualified leaders who worked well together on our campaign and led us to a historic victory,” Mr. Trump said. “Now I will have them both with me in the White House as we work to make America great again.” Mr. Priebus spent years rebuilding the Republican National Committee’s elections operation after disastrous losses in 2008 and 2012. He managed to tame the presidential debate process, pulled off a successful convention against strong headwinds, and built a turnout operation that some analysts have credited with helping Mr. Trump over the finish line Tuesday.

Trump transition team launches website
thestar.com - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has begun trying to fulfill his pledge to “Make America Great Again” by launching a new website Thursday morning. The website, GreatAgain.gov, offers information about how members of the public can apply to join Trump’s presidential transition, executive office or a federal department under Trump’s future administration. An online application form asks potential candidates to submit a resume and cover letter, description of why they hope to be part of Trump’s administration, information such as geographic and political party affiliation, as well as any additional qualifications they wish to disclose. Trump’s transition team is looking to fill 4,000 presidential appointee positions. “More than 4,000 political appointees, many of whom hold important leadership and policymaking positions, will be heading out the door next year with the change in administrations,” a notice on the website states. “Finding qualified people to fill these jobs is an enormous undertaking, but it is critically important to making the federal government work effectively for the American public.”

Ron Paul on Trump's Election: Beware of Shadow Government
The Daily Sheeple - Former congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul ... voiced major skepticism on whether Trump will actually follow through on many of his campaign promises. Paul referenced Trump’s independence as being a political outsider and that this possibly could have a more favorable outcome than we might have seen with Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office. However, he notes that we cannot determine what plans for Trump’s presidency the shadow government might have.... Paul is not particularly pleased with the war-driven neoconservatives who are beginning to surround Trump. “Unfortunately, there has been several neoconservatives that are getting closer to Trump. And if gets his advice from them then I do not think that is a good sign,” he said. “During the campaign, he did talk a little bit about backing off and being less confrontational to Russia and I like that. He criticized some of the wars in the Middle East at the same time. He believes we should accelerate the war against ISIS and terrorism.” Paul thinks that the Wikileaks release of the nearly 60,000 hacked Podesta emails is what ultimately secured Trump to the presidency, but he thinks that the hidden power structure is brewing something in the background to maintain their dominion over the US presidency. “Yes, Trump is his own guy, more so than most of those who have ever been in before. We hope he can maintain an independence and go in the right direction. But I fear the fact that there is so much that can be done secretly, out of control of our apparent government and out of the view of so many citizens,” he cautioned. Paul does not have high hopes that Trump will follow through on his campaign promise to disengage from the NATO alliance. He expects that Trump’s intentions as president will become clear once we see who he appoints to his cabinet.

FEDERAL AGENCIES: Tears, angst as workforce braces for Trump takeover
E&E News - U.S. EPA employees were in tears. Worried Energy Department staffers were offered counseling. Some federal employees were so depressed, they took time off. Others might retire early. And some employees are in downright panic mode in the aftermath of Donald Trump's victory. "People are upset. Some people took the day off because they were depressed," said John O'Grady, president of American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, a union that represents thousands of EPA employees. After Election Day, "people were crying," added O'Grady, who works in EPA's Region 5 office in Chicago. "They were recommending that people take sick leave and go home." EPA employees stand to see some of the most drastic changes under the Trump administration, and they may be taking things a bit harder than other government workers. The president-elect has vowed to repeal some of the rules they've toiled on for the last eight years during the Obama administration, including the Clean Power Plan rule to cut power plants' greenhouse gas emissions.... Government workers have expressed worry about a Trump victory in the past. A poll by the Government Business Council released earlier this year found that 14 percent of responding federal employees said they would consider leaving government service if the GOP nominee won, while another 11 percent answered "maybe".

Giuliani: Anti-Trump Demonstrators Are ‘Professional Protesters,’ Not Hillary Supporters (Video)
Breitbart - Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said the demonstrations over the election are being carried out by “professional protesters,” not “Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama supporters.” Giuliani said, “I feel very bad about that, but if those were Donald Trump people doing that after a Hillary Clinton election, I think a lot of people would be — a lot more anger in the media at the fact that they’re protesting a legitimately decided election. Having said that, I think we understand their frustration. We certainly don’t want to make it worse. I think they’re exaggerating the fears of a Donald Trump presidency because they’re coming off a campaign where they’re very disappointed. I’m sure our supporters would have been very disappointed had Donald Trump not won. And I just hope it is calming down. Now where it goes into violence, I have a zero tolerance for riots.” He continued, “You know, I want to amendment my statement a little bit. I’m not sure these are even Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama supporters. I think these people are, you know, kind of like professional protesters more. they didn’t look to me like…they didn’t look to me like people who were, you know, carefully studying political science and were all upset about, you know, the ideology of the election.”

Craigslist Ad Exposes Paid Anti-Trump Protesters Being Recruited for STAGED Event
TruthFeed - Here’s an example of a Soros employee literally “posing” as a protester. Not all that “grass roots.”

Trump Protest Disrupted by Troll Changing the Facebook Invite
Breitbart - A “Houston Against Trump” protest is getting trolled by a hacker that keeps changing the time of the event. Quite a few watching the cyber trolling are getting some laughs out of it. Organizers are trying to coordinate an event for Sunday, November 20, but now there is talk of taking the Facebook event down…. The event is being organized on a Facebook page branded by the same name. The event organizers keep re-urging, the time for the event is 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. One organizer said the event was once changed to 1 a.m.

Authorities Investigate Mom Who Kicked Out 7-Year-Old Son for ‘Voting’ Trump (Video)
Breitbart - A Houston area mother is under investigation after posting a video of her kicking her seven-year-old out of the house…. The young boy starts to sob and his mother responds, “Uh-Uh, the suitcase is packed by the door. Been packed since this morning. Bye!” She then hands him a sign and says the sign will tell people why he is standing out at the curb. The sign says, “my mom kicked me out because I voted for Donald Trump.” The little boy’s crime – he voted for Donald Trump in his elementary school’s mock election…. The mother shouted at her son, “You want to vote for him, I’m gonna show you.” She keeps telling him “Bye!” “We don’t do Donald Trump here, get your suitcase.” “Bye, Donald Trump lover,” she says sarcastically. She tells the little boy he is going to be out at the curb from now on. The video, posted on Facebook, has caused shock and anger among those who have viewed it. At least one woman said she notified the police. Those viewing it have spread what they think is the name of the mother, and, have even posted what is supposed to be her address and phone number. They have also posted what they think is the grandmother’s name…. The boy is now in the possession of Child Protective Services after the video came to the attention of the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Department. KHOU reported that a detective said that the mother has apologized for the video but also said she was just joking. Law enforcement authorities were reported to say that the video is disturbing but her actions are not a crime under the penal statutes.

The Clintons And Soros Launch America's Purple Revolution
Zero Hedge - On the morning after her surprising and unanticipated defeat at the hands of Republican Party upstart Donald Trump, Mrs. Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, entered the ball room of the art-deco New Yorker hotel in midtown Manhattan and were both adorned in purple attire. The press immediately noticed the color and asked what it represented. Clinton spokespeople claimed it was to represent the coming together of Democratic «Blue America» and Republican «Red America» into a united purple blend. This statement was a complete ruse as is known by citizens of countries targeted in the past by the vile political operations of international hedge fund tycoon George Soros. The Clintons, who both have received millions of dollars in campaign contributions and Clinton Foundation donations from Soros, were, in fact, helping to launch Soros’s «Purple Revolution» in America. The Purple Revolution will resist all efforts by the Trump administration to push back against the globalist policies of the Clintons and soon-to-be ex-President Barack Obama. The Purple Revolution will also seek to make the Trump administration a short one through Soros-style street protests and political disruption.

Thousands Gather At Fifth Anniversary Of Unique Veterans Memorial In Arizona
Western Journalism - The memorial, designed by Renee Palmer-Jones, is a monument comprised of a row of five pillars that increase in size. Each pillar has a large hole in the middle. The five pillars represent the five branches of the U.S. military and the unity between them as they serve together. The pillars sit on a circle of red bricks that are engraved with the names of American servicemen and women, which is a symbol of support for the Armed Forces. The bricks are red, the pillars are white, and the sky is blue to represent the colors of the American flag. Each year on Veteran’s Day — Nov. 11 — at exactly 11:11 a.m., light from the sun’s rays pass through the holes in the pillars forming a perfect solar spotlight of the Great Seal of the United States, which is located on a mosaic on the ground just in front of the pillars.

Veterans Day Demonstrators Counter Anti-Trump Protests
Breitbart - Supporters of President-elect Donald Trump gathered on Veterans Day to wave signs in support of veterans and the incoming Commander-in-Chief at the entrance to San Diego’s Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. Of the more than 20 people there supporting veterans and of Trump, one of the organizers told Breitbart News that there was one Marine who said he was going to reenlist because of Trump’s election. Among those that came out were veterans and legal immigrants, according to one of the organizers. Women and men of a variety of backgrounds held up signs and flags on the side of the road just ahead of the entrance to the north San Diego County military base. Some wore Make America Great Again hats. A Marine Corps flag, Gadsden flag, American flags and a Trump flag waved in the air held high by the demonstrators…. Retired Marine Jeff Schwilk worked with other Trump supporters to plan the action in less than two days. Schwilk told Breitbart News: We were honored to rally for the Marines and Veterans at the main gate of Camp Pendleton today and to celebrate Veterans Day and the election of our new, strong Commander in Chief, Donald Trump. We were able to talk to several active duty Marines at the rally who told us that Trump had and has overwhelming support among active duty Marines. They know he will put veterans first in his new administration. They are thrilled at his election and one Marine even told he had decided to reenlist due to Trump’s election this week.

California Want to Outsource Manufacture of High Speed Rail Trains
Breitbart - California officials now plan to outsource the production of high-tech trains for their hugely expensive fast-rail network, and have quietly dumped their commitment to buy American-made trains. Gov. Gerry Brown released the news one day after the Nov. 8 elections, when the California High-Speed Rail Authority issued a request to the federal government for an exemption from the “Buy America” requirements of federal law. That law requires that taxpayer subsidies and funds be used to buy U.S.-made products, and the exemption would allow the taxpayer funds to be used to buy foreign trains from foreign factories…. The real reason for outsourcing the work appears to be the exploding cost of the program that is revealed in the “2016 CHSR Business Plan.” Originally estimated to cost $33 billion when voters approved Proposition-1A in 2008, the rail network’s expected cost has now skyrocketed to $64.2 billion…. According to construction project finance expert Bruce Lawrence, he conservatively estimated that with the inflation rate for construction running at least 5.5 percent annually, the four-year-delay would add another $15 billion. That would bring the total project’s sticker-shock to $79.3 billion.

Aldi to Go Full Organic, Bans Pesticides and Rivals Whole Foods as Healthiest Grocery Store
Living Traditionally - German retailer Aldi has announced that as of January 1st they will be removing 8 pesticides from all products on its U.S. stores shelves.The food chain is making a name for itself as a health-focused supermarket in recent times. With low prices AND a focus on health, Aldi is gaining a reputation as the food conscious shoppers go-to store. They are expanding their organic food brands, removing some artificial ingredients from products and adding more gluten-free items. They have removed certified synthetic colors, partially hydrogenated oils, and MSG from their private-label products (which make up 90% of sales). They have expanded their sales of fresh and organic meat and produce, including the “Never Any!” brand of meats that contain no added antibiotics, hormones, animal by-products or other additives. The chain will also expand the SimplyNature line (which is free of more than 125 artificial ingredients) and their gluten-free liveGfree brand. Their milk was free of artificial growth hormones, but now its yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, and other dairy products will be as well. They have begun to offer more high-end foods like artisan cheeses, smoked salmon, quinoa, and coconut oil. There are currently 1,500 Aldi stores in the U.S and the plan to open 500 more by 2018.

Video: How is This Allowed?! Wild Buffalo Rounded Up and Kept Without Food or Water to Protect Dakota Access Pipeline Construction Site
One Green Planet - This video shows a group of wild buffalo that has been corralled and isolated inside a razor wire wall that is surrounded by a deep trench. In a post on Facebook, Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) wrote, “It has been reported that wild buffalo are being corralled and held behind razor wire fencing without food or water near the Dakota Access Pipeline – and that there have been threats of killing the buffalo by the construction company.” The ALDF is currently investigating the legality of the treatment of these animals. If seeing this makes you angry, we encourage you to learn more about what is happening at Standing Rock and share this and other stories with everyone you know to raise awareness. We cannot ignore this blatant disregard for the basic rights of people, and animals, that is occurring all in the interest of building a profit-generating oil pipeline.

New Jellyfish Looks Like an Alien Spacecraft
LiveScience: - Using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), marine scientists dove to the deepest part of the world’s oceans, called the Mariana Trench, east of the Mariana Islands near Guam in the western Pacific Ocean; they were exploring the so-called Enigma Seamount (named for the lack of information scientists have on it) when they came upon this surreal-looking creature. Video captured of the jellyfish reveals a stunning sight: The organism sports two sets of tentacles, long and short, that extend from its pulsating bell. When the long tentacles are extended outward, the jellyfish’s bell remains still. That feature, the researchers noted in a statement by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), suggests the jellyfish is an ambush predator.

Big Pharma's chemical warfare on humanity dwarfs the number of victims killed by all world wars and acts of terrorism combined...
pharmadeathclock.com - While drug companies profit billions, people are dying by the millions. Total deaths in the United States since January 1, 2000…Chemotherapy16,881,720, Adverse Drug Reactions 1,789,462, Hospital Errors 7,427,958, Medical Error 1,654,408, Hospital Infections 1,266,129, SSRIs 675,269, SuperBugs 388,279, Prescription Drugs 384,346…

Walnuts Are Drugs, Says FDA
REALfarmacy - Seen any walnuts in your medicine cabinet lately? According to the Food and Drug Administration, that is precisely where you should find them. Because Diamond Foods made truthful claims about the health benefits of consuming walnuts that the FDA didn’t approve, it sent the company a letter declaring, “Your walnut products are drugs” — and “new drugs” at that — and, therefore, “they may not legally be marketed … in the United States without an approved new drug application.” The agency even threatened Diamond with “seizure” if it failed to comply. Diamond’s transgression was to make “financial investments to educate the public and supply them with walnuts,” as William Faloon of Life Extension magazine put it. On its website and packaging, the company stated that the omega-3 fatty acids found in walnuts have been shown to have certain health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease and some types of cancer. These claims, Faloon notes, are well supported by scientific research: “Life Extension has published 57 articles that describe the health benefits of walnuts”; and “The US National Library of Medicine database contains no fewer than 35 peer-reviewed published papers supporting a claim that ingesting walnuts improves vascular health and may reduce heart attack risk.” This evidence was apparently not good enough for the FDA, which told Diamond that its walnuts were “misbranded” because the “product bears health claims that are not authorized by the FDA.”…. This kind of bureaucratic tyranny sends a strong signal to the food industry not to innovate in a way that informs the public about foods that protect against disease. While consumers increasingly reach for healthier dietary choices, the federal government wants to deny food companies the ability to convey findings from scientific studies about their products.

Diabetes drug shown to promote bladder cancer
(NaturalHealth365) The drug pioglitazone, brand name Actos, is promoted as a substance to help control and regulate blood sugar – in people with type 2 diabetes. However, some of those people – that use this toxic drug – end up getting bladder cancer. A study, published by The British Medical Journal (BMJ), has confirmed those taking the drug have a higher risk of bladder cancer among other Actos side effects. The findings also show that the risk of negative Actos side effects – like bladder cancer – gets higher with higher doses of the drug and the longer diabetes patients take it…. The connection between bladder cancer and Actos side effects was first detected unexpectedly in 2005. Persons taking the drug were being studied in a trial and were found to have a much higher incidence of bladder cancer compared with the study participants who were taking a placebo. However, these results and others like it had been considered “controversial,” as other studies since 2005 have reported differing results about the drug…. Those who took pioglitazone were found to have an average of 63 percent higher risk of bladder cancer than those not taking a thiazolidinedione drug. The risk of getting bladder cancer while on the diabetes drug seemed to increase with higher doses and longer periods of use.

Top Benefits of Turmeric Essential Oil! How to Prepare it?
Natural News Blogs - Turmeric is a perennial plant with roots or tubers. Curcumin is the active ingredient of turmeric. The health benefits of Turmeric has been known for thousands for years. There are various ways one can use turmeric, using turmeric essential oil (obtained from turmeric root) is one of them. Turmeric essential oil uses abound in traditional medicine and aromatherapy for the health and cosmetic benefits. Turmeric essential oil uses derived from this oil. Homemade DIY Turmeric Essential Oil Recipe: Ingredients: 2 cups of pure coconut oil, Turmeric roots, Instructions: Rub turmeric roots on a coarse stone with drops of water which form a smooth paste. Collect at least two spoons of turmeric paste. In a pan add coconut oil and heat on low flame. Add the turmeric paste to the pan and heat for a minute by continuous swirling. Switch off the flame and allow cooling. Remember not to burn turmeric while heating. Allow the oil to attain room temperature. Transfer to the clean bottle and avoid the moisture contact. Aromatic homemade turmeric essential oil is ready…. Both turmeric and turmeric oil are now recognized to have got anti-cancer qualities. Turmeric essential oil can fight against the free radicals in the body and act as an excellent antioxidant, antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory agents. Also find the aromatic turmerone (ar-turmerone) in turmeric essential oil as well as curcumin, the main active ingredient in turmeric, both displayed the ability to fight colon cancer. Turmeric essential oils contain 60-65% alpha-curcumin. This is also the main constituent in turmeric root which gives turmeric its anti-inflammatory properties. Turmeric oil has been used with other essential oil such as Frankincense for preparing anti-inflammatory and pain relieving formulas….

CBD-Infused Cannabis Milk Soothes Anxiety And Is Hitting London Stores Soon
Natural Blaze - Whereas THC – the component in marijuana responsible for getting you ‘high’ – is illegal in most U.S. states, cannabidiol (CBD) is not. In fact, CBD oil is renowned for its many medicinal effects. One of the many chemical compounds found within cannabis, CBD is non-psychoactive and has been proven in studies to benefit anxiety. Though science has not yet confirmed this, CBD is also reported to benefit one’s mood, sleep, pain, immune response, and hormone regulation. CBD is also widely used as a natural treatment for seizures. Because CBD oil is even listed on the U.S. National Cancer Institute’s website as a potential ‘cure’ for cancer, the company Rawligion (based in London) included it in its new 100% organic hemp drink. The drink Relax consists of 100% organic hemp milk containing CBD, hemp seeds, cashews, dates, coconut oil, vanilla, and water. Created by Michael Isted, a psychotherapist and development consultant for Rawligion, the drink is intended to help people feel calm and well-nourished. Cannabidiol seeds do not get one high and are very nutrient-rich. Research shows that cannabis seeds contain a healthy 3:1 balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (too many omega-6 fatty acids contribute to inflammation), as well as a rich source of nutrients including calcium, magnesium, manganese, potassium, zinc, and vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, D, and E. Additionally, the cannabis seed is a complete protein, meaning it contains all essential amino acids…. Rawligion and LoveHemp – a UK-based CBD oil distributor, is expected to hit stores in the London area soon.
 

Friday - November 11, 2016 - Today In History:



1620 - The Mayflower Compact was signed by the 41 men on the Mayflower when they landed in what is now Provincetown Harbor near Cape Cod. The compact called for "just and equal laws."
1831 - Nat Turner, a slave and educated minister, was hanged in Jerusalem, VA, after inciting a violent slave uprising.
1889 - Washington became the 42nd state of the United States.
1918 - World War I came to an end when the Allies and Germany signed an armistice. This day became recognized as Veteran's Day in the United States.
1921 - The Tomb of the Unknowns was dedicated at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia by U.S. President Harding.
1938 - Kate Smith first sang Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" on network radio.
1942 - During World War II, Germany completed its occupation of France.
1972 - The U.S. Army turned over its base at Long Bihn to the South Vietnamese army. The event symbolized the end of direct involvement in the Vietnam War by the U.S. military.
1984 - The Reverend Martin Luther King Sr. died in Atlanta at age 84.
1984 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan accepted the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as a gift to the nation from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.
1990 - Stormie Jones, the world's first heart-liver transplant recipient, died at a Pittsburgh hospital at age 13.
1991 - The U.S. stationed its first diplomat in Cambodia in 16 years to help the nation arrange democratic elections.
1992 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin told U.S. senators in a letter that Americans had been held in prison camps after World War II. Some were "summarily executed," but others were still living in his country voluntarily.
1992 - The Church of England voted to ordain women as priests.
1993 - In Washington, DC, the Vietnam Women's Memorial was dedicated to honor the more than 11,000 women who had served in the Vietnam War.
1996 - The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund unveiled "The Wall That Heals." The work was a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that would tour communities throughout the United States.
2002 - Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates pledged $100 million to fight AIDS in India.

Iraqi forces preparing advance on south Mosul
Reuters - Iraqi security forces are preparing to advance toward Mosul airport on the city's southern edge to increase pressure on Islamic State militants fighting troops who breached their eastern defenses, officers said on Thursday. The rapid response forces, part of a coalition seeking to crush the jihadists in the largest city under their control in Iraq or Syria, took the town of Hammam al-Alil, just over 15 km (10 miles) south of Mosul, on Monday. Officers say they plan to resume their advance north, up the western bank of the Tigris River towards the city of 1.5 million people who have lived under the ultra-hardline Sunni Islamists for more than two years. More than three weeks after the U.S.-backed campaign to retake Mosul was launched, the city is almost surrounded by the coalition of nearly 100,000 fighters. But troops have entered only a handful of neighborhoods in the east of the city.

Attack On Libya Stopped by Trump Win
Libyan War The Truth - The Libyan tribes called yesterday to express their great happiness in the election Donald J. Trump to be the next President of the USA. They also wish to thank all the American people for standing up against corruption and evil. They, the people of Libya know first hand the evil that this woman is capable of by her war crimes and lies committed in 2011 to destroy their country. They have suffered for over 5 years with her "behind the scenes" support of the illegal occupation of their country by her radical Islamic mercenary proxy army, her support of the 4% of Libyans that are radical Islamic terrorists and their forcibly installed puppet governments. The tribes of Libya have spies in every sector of Libya. They informed me that they knew there was to be an attack on their country this coming week-end (Nov 12th & 13th). The attack was to target oil fields and the Libyan National army now fighting the radical Islamic terrorists. They know that the attack was to be staged out of Qatar directed by Hillary Clinton. They stated: "When Donald Trump won the election, all attacks ceased to exist, they have all stopped". They knew about the transfer of $1.8 billion dollars to Qatar by the Clinton Foundation a few weeks ago (this was reported here in the US). They said that Qatar agreed to shelter $1.5 billion of Clinton Foundation money for the Clinton's and that $200 million would be used to buy arms and pay the mercenaries in Libya to attack the legitimate Libyan National Army. Since the Clinton'[s have basically been de-fanged, it appears Qatar is in a position to keep the $1.8 billion of blood money. Second, the tribes told me with joy that the militias made up of the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda, Ansar Al Sharia, LIFG, etc., occupying their country, are all in MOURNING. These radicals all say that no matter what they will stand with their sister, Hillary. Why is this? Because Clinton has been the one arming and funding them ILLEGALLY for the past 5 years. These so called militias are the criminals made up of less than 4% Libyans (the rest are mercenaries) who continue to destabilize Libya.

President Assad: Syria is ready to co-operate with Donald Trump
The Independent - Embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is “ready” to cooperate with the US President-elect Donald Trump, one of Mr Assad’s advisers has said. Speaking to US media group National Public Radio on Thursday – just after Mr Trump’s seismic victory in the US general election – Bouthaina Shaaban said any collaboration on Syria’s almost six-year-long civil war will depend on “whether Mr Trump’s policies meet expectations.” “I think the American people have sent a great, a very important message to the world,” she added…. Mr Trump has indicated that his foreign policy stance will be less interventionist than his predecessors'. He has stated in the past that regime change only causes more instability in the Middle East and while Mr Assad is not exactly a welcome partner, shoring up his regime is the best way to stem the extremism that has flourished in the chaos of Syria’s civil war. Mr Trump has suggested withdrawing support for the Syrian rebels still fighting in east Aleppo, neighbouring Idlib province and the south of the country, which could prove to finally tilt the war in the Syrian government's favour.

Gold Price Skyrockets In India After Currency Ban
Zero Hedge - …the morning of 9th November 2016, there are huge lines forming outside gold shops in India — and gold traded heavily until late into the night yesterday. Depending on who you ask, the retail price of gold has gone up between 15% and 20% within the last 10 hours. At some places, it was sold for as much as US$ 2,294 per ounce. That is, if you can actually find physical gold — gold inventories at stores are rapidly depleting. All of this happened well before the international price started to move up because of the election results coming out of the US. Last night (8th November 2016), India’s government banned the use of Rs 500 (~$7.50) and Rs 1,000 ($15) banknotes. This pretty much made most currency-in-use illegal. Banks and ATMs are closed today. The government believes that doing this will help eradicate corruption and push counterfeit money out of circulation. According to the Indian government, the counterfeit money tends to come from Pakistan and helps finance terrorism…. In the morning no opposition against the government was in sight. But there was some animosity detectable between people. Forgetful that they had lined up until late into the night yesterday trying to get cash out of ATMs before midnight, had fought at gas-stations to get their gas tanks filled, and had suddenly been trapped with unusable currency, people exchanged congratulations on what Modi had done…. Those who find themselves stuck with high denomination bills today, must accept as little as Rs 700 in usable currency for every Rs 1000 of banned currency.

Japan’s parliament approves TPP deal, labeled ‘disaster’ by Trump
RT - Japan’s Lower House of parliament has passed the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement, despite the fact the deal is likely doomed after Donald Trump’s US presidential election victory. The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito backed the agreement, while most of the opposition boycotted the vote.The bill was sent to the Upper House for final approval, with the ruling coalition expecting it to be signed into law by November 30. TPP has been one of the key points in the economic program of Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, who wanted to boost the country’s exports. However, experts view the TPP approval by Japan as a more of symbolic gesture, as the deal is unlikely to ever get a green light under Trump.

John Bedini, Noted Free Energy Researcher, Died Unexpectedly on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, 4 Hours After His Brother Gary Had Died
Related: John Bedini – You will be missed!

Make America Great Again!
This website is for we the people to make America Great Again.
There are links to apply for a job (serve on the transition team - "President Elect Trump has promised to change Washington, DC") and to share your story - how to make America Great...
Related: "Tell us your story" "How do you want to Make America Great?"

Obama Asks Congress for $11.6Bln More for Anti-Daesh Push, Afghan Efforts
Sputnik News - Obama’s supplementary spending includes an additional $5.8 billion, earmarked for the Department of State and the US Agency for International Development, to support the administration's anti-Daesh and counterterrorism objectives. Among these are efforts in diplomatic engagement, governance and stabilization, and for strengthening US embassies’ security as well as humanitarian relief and recovery. “These amendments would provide $5.8 billion for [US Department of Defense] activities to support the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, and to degrade and ultimately defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), including through military operations as part of Operation Inherent Resolve,” Obama said in letter. Responding to the request, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said that Obama’s $5.8 billion budget amendment would help fund additional US troops in Afghanistan.,,, Secretary of State John Kerry said some of the funds would be used to increase security at US diplomatic missions threatened by Daesh.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is dead, Schumer tells labor leaders
Washington Post - The Senate’s soon-to-be top Democrat told labor leaders Thursday that the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the trade deal at the center of President Obama’s “pivot” to strengthen ties with key Asian allies, will not be ratified by Congress. That remark from Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is expected to be the incoming Senate minority leader, came as good news to the AFL-CIO Executive Council, which met Thursday in Washington. Schumer relayed statements that Republican congressional leaders had made to him, according to an aide who confirmed the remarks. Obama’s signature global trade deal had been on life support for months as both Democrats and Republicans campaigned against unfair trade policies ahead of the Nov. 8 election. And Donald Trump’s triumph in the presidential race cemented its fate. “There is no way to fix the TPP,” Trump said in a June economic address. “We need bilateral trade deals. We do not need to enter into another massive international agreement that ties us up and binds us down.”

Rudy Giuliani Addresses Hillary Pardon - "President Obama Should Leave It To The System”(Video)
Zero Hedge - Rudy Giuliani, the man that many believe Trump will tap for Attorney General, walked a very fine line this morning in responding to a question about whether or not the Obama administration should pardon Hillary Clinton for her numerous alleged crimes. While noting the obvious intricacies around potentially prosecuted a former political foe, Giuliani noted that "there are deep and disturbing issues there" and that "President Obama should leave it to the system that we all believe in to determine, is she innocent or is she guilty.” Per The Hill: “I don’t like to see America become a country in which we prosecute people, you know, about politics. On the other hand, there are deep and disturbing issues there in which if you don’t investigate them -- ” “That’s why I don’t think President Obama should pardon her,” Giuliani added. "I think President Obama should leave it to the system that we all believe in to determine, is she innocent or is she guilty?” Giuliani added that declining to probe the Clinton Foundation’s questionable finances could set a poor precedent for similar investigations. “It’s hard to investigate other people,” said Giuliani. “What do you say to a foundation where you have a fraud of $50,000 when you haven’t looked at a foundation of where there is an alleged fraud in the millions or hundreds of millions of dollars? Now, it may be true that it’s not true. But it hasn’t been investigated.”… The questioning of Giuliani this morning came after the White House Press Secretary offered the following cryptic answer yesterday to a question about whether or not Obama would pardon Hillary. Of course, by refusing to offer a denial, many have since speculated that a pardon is at least under consideration.

6 Corporations Control 90 Percent Of American Media
True Activist - Unless you go out of your way to seek truthful news from reputable sources, chances are you – like the majority of the populace – are fed regurgitated current events received from a small pool of corporate sources. Indeed, the majority of popular news channels – including FOX, CNN, and ABC – are owned by just six companies which more often than not deliver propaganda, social programming and perpetuate crisis narratives to the public. The main conglomerates are General Electric, News Corp., Disney, Viacom, Time Warner and CBS, and each has their own shady history… Like Vic Bishop of Waking Times points out, the corporations have the power to influence the public’s mind with subliminal messaging, so-called ‘reality’ television, and bombardment of negative happenings. And if you tune into mainstream media often, that’s the gist of what’s usually offered. This is a big deal, considering that the media people consume largely affects their mentality, purchasing habits, and apathy toward what is taking place in the world. This and more is presented in the Infographic below, which was created by FrugalDad.com in 2011. As Business Insider notes, a lot has changed since the guide was initially shared with the public. For example, GE does not own NBC (or Comcast or any media) anymore and the 6th company is now Comcast. Additionally, Time Warner doesn’t own AOL, so Huffington Post isn’t affiliated with them. Though some facts have changed, the Infographic offers some important insight on what can be deemed the ‘illusion of choice’.

Video: Trump, Obama Meet at The White House: Full Press Conference
ABC News - President Elect Donald Trump Meets with President Obama for the First Time at the White House | President Barack Obama called his conversation today with President-elect Donald Trump excellent. The two spent roughly an hour and a half together in the Oval Office. Obama invited his successor in order to facilitate a "successful transition between our presidencies." "As I said last night my No. 1 priority in coming two months is trying to facilitate, transition that ensures our president-elect is successful," Obama said. "I have been very encouraged by the, I think, interest in President-elect Trump’s wanting to work with my team around many of the issues that this great country faces. And I believe that it is important for all of us, regardless of party, and regardless of political preferences to now come together, to work together."
* Related: Video: Full White House Press Briefing after Donald Trump's meeting with President Obama

Trump Reveals Policy Goals: "Building That Wall", End "War On Coal", Repeal Obamacare, Dismantle Dodd-Frank
Zero Hedge - On his transition website GreatAgain.gov, the Trump team has laid out the framework of his initial policies with policies focused i) on American Security including as Defense and National security, Immigration Reform and Building That Wall, and Energy Independence; ii) Getting America Back to Work Again including Tax Reform; Regulatory Reform; Trade Reform; Education; Transportation & Infrastructure and Financial Services Reform; and iii) Government for the people including Healthcare Reform (Obamacare), Veterans Administration Reform and Protecting Americans' Constitutional Rights….

Now it's DEMOCRATS who won't accept the election result! Plot to impeach President Trump has already begun
Daily Mail - Within hours of the Republican’s unexpected win over Hillary Clinton, people were calling for him to be impeached over claims of sexual abuse, fraud and racketeering. Online searches for ‘How to impeach a president’ surged hours after the result, with the question seeing a 4,850 per cent rise on Google. One of the seven petitions to contest his presidency amassed more than 13,322 signatures in a matter of hours as furious protests across the US intensified. A number of professors have thrown their weight behind the movement, saying there is a ‘strong case’ to impeach Trump and stop him from taking the top job. Speaking on Newsnight on Wednesday, English historian Simon Schama said: ‘It is not a moment for calm, it is a moment for contesting what seems to be a very dangerous point in American history.,,, University of Utah Law professor Christopher Peterson said he found evidence to charge Trump with fraud and racketeering - felonies within state and federal law. He claimed that Trump University was unaccredited and taught students get-rich-quick schemes. Trump is set to go on trial in three weeks over his now-defunct Trump University, potentially taking the witness stand weeks before his inauguration. The lawsuit, filed in 2010, claims Trump University gave seminars across the country that were like infomercials, pressuring people to spend $35,000 for mentorships. In a 23-page article, Professor Peterson laid out why Congress should impeach Trump over these claims.

Video: NBC Predicts Race War; Tells Americans They Have No Hope
Steve Watson - In a remarkable broadcast Wednesday night, NBC appeared to predict a full on race war in America now that Donald Trump is to become the 45th President. Anchored by Lester Holt, the most bias debate host in history, the broadcast featured a report that used a phrase coined by Van Jones earlier in the week, ‘Whitelash’. “While Donald Trump’s many supporters are basking in his victory, many others woke up this morning feeling disillusioned by the headlines,” a clearly despondent Holt moaned. “Time and time again critics accused Trump of running a campaign with undercurrents of racism and those concerns persist now that the election results show a sharp racial divide,” Holt continued. Holt then threw to reporter Ron Allen who had prepared a fearmongering race war report. “Outside the nation’s African-American history museum, there’s deep worry about president-elect Donald Trump’s victory and the huge turn-out by rural working-class white voters.” Allen stated. The reporters then suggested that Trump was able to capture the White House because rural Americans are inherently racist and afraid of diversity. “They see what’s been called a ‘white-lash.’ White Americans feeling left out and deep resentment as the nation grows more diverse.” Allen suggested. “Rallied by a candidate who promised to ban Muslims, wall out Mexicans, and who challenged the very legitimacy of the nation’s first black president.” he added. The broadcast also focused on Latino voters and how “this election seems more like an eviction” for them.
* Related: Anti-Trump crowd smashes windows & police cruiser in streets of Oakland (Video)

Figures. Anti-Trump Protesters Were Bussed in to Austin #FakeProtests (Photos)
The Gateway Pundit - They must have spent a lot of Soros money on this operation. There was a whole string of busses. It figures. Everything they do is fake or paid for.

Trump Tower is a no-fly zone: Massive security operation springs up around The Donald’s Manhattan home after his election victory (Photos)
Daily Mail - Donald Trump's transition from a flashy businessman and reality TV star to the President of the United States is keeping the security services busy. A no-fly zone was imposed over his home and workplace, Trump Tower, on Fifth Avenue in New York on November 9. The Federal Aviation Administration edict bans any aircraft in a two mile radius within 3,000ft of the 58-story building, which was the setting of the NBC television show The Apprentice and is not only Trump's main residence but is also a tourist hotspot. The flight ban will re-route many helicopter tours of the city, limit the work of media helicopters as well as re-routing commercial aircraft. Drones are also banned…. Flights are also limited over Vice President Mike Pence's Indianapolis home. The no-fly zone will be in play until Trump's inauguration on Friday 20 January, 2017, when he will move into the White House…. Meanwhile, on the ground, police officers have helped to install concrete barriers around the Tower. A row of sanitation trucks filled with sand have been acting as barricades along Fifth Avenue between 56th and 57th streets since Monday in order to protect the tower against car bombs…. An NYPD checkpoint is also in operation outside the building while 56th street between Fifth and Madison is closed to traffic. On Thursday, heavily-armed officers could be seen around the president-elect's home while Trump himself visited the White House. People who work and live inside Trump Tower will also now be vetted by the Secret Service, the New York Daily News reports.

Edward Snowden Addresses The US Election Result In Public Webcast
Zero Hedge - Edward Snowden, courtesy of RT, is delivering a public address on the US election result from Russia where he is a "temporary resident", and taking questions via social media on privacy concerns, his pardon and other issues of public concern. A campaign has been launched to secure Snowden a presidential pardon before Obama leaves office in January 2017.

What He Donald Trump Did Next is Amazing! (Video)
The Political Insider - While candidates have been open about sharing their faith in recent decades, true Christians act as Christians at all times… even when no one is watching. The two and a half hour meeting about faith was constructive, and all reports are that Trump asked the Lord for wisdom and knowledge during his campaign. They all prayed for God’s protection over America, as our country faces serious risks from the rise of Islamic terrorism and the rebirth of a Cold War-style Russia.

Study: Texas Cities Rank Among Best for Vets
Breitbart - WalletHub, the personal finance website, released its annual Veteran’s Day survey which ranks U.S. cities from best to worst places to live for former service men and women. Overall, Texas placed favorably in the rankings with several of its municipalities getting high marks. Analysts compared 100 of the nation’s largest cities based on 21 indicators of veteran-friendliness, percentage of military skill-related jobs, and the availability of VA health facilities, all catalogued into four broad categories–employment, economy, quality of life, and health. Overall, the best U.S. city for veterans to live was Scottsdale, AZ. Last year, it took second place and Irvine, CA, which had the nation’s highest veteran income growth and lowest veteran poverty rate, topped the list…. The bottom five were Boston, MA (#96); Memphis, TN (#97); Cleveland, OH (#98); Newark, NJ (#99); and Detroit, MI (#100)…. On the plus side, homelessness has declined for veterans nationwide. Also, the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans plummeted to a near-historic low in February, dropping to 4.7 percent, a full point down from January’s figures, according to Military Times. However, veteran benefits are not evenly distributed across the country. In many cities, vets often wait too long to see a medical professional, despite a $10 billion effort to expand their access to such care. Also, thousands lost their GI Bill education benefits as a result of for-profit school closures.

Everything Is Soaring As Trump Makes Buying Stuff Great Again
Zero Hedge - The global repricing of inflation expectations continues at a feverish pace in the aftermath of the Trump victory, leading to another surge in US equity futures, up 15 points or 0.7% to 2175 at last check, with Asian and European stock market all surging after the initial shock of Trump’s election victory gave way to optimism for fiscal stimulus will provide a boost to the global economy. Commodity metals soared with copper surging the most since May 2013.

Trump Win Means FCC’s ‘Net Neutrality’ Regulation is Dead
Breitbart - The biggest impact on Silicon Valley tech companies from Donald Trump’s election as the 45th President will be the killing off of what Breitbart News called the “Best Net Neutrality Silicon Valley Money Can Buy.” President-elect Trump has promised “a temporary moratorium on new agency regulations.” For Silicon Valley tech firms, his biggest target will overturning the “Net Neutrality” regulation passed on a straight-line party vote by the three Democrat members of the Federal Communications Commission on February 26, 2015. The Obama administration claimed the new FCC regulation would enhance consumer welfare and protect the public interest by requiring Internet service to enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoring or blocking particular products or websites. Although that sounded noble, the real objective of “net neutrality” was to force Internet service providers to be regulated as “utilities” and be forced to provide free search engine access. And with Google accounting for 64 percent of all Internet searches, net neutrality was essentially a huge transfer of wealth to Google.

Sonoma County Vote Success Leads to Largest GMO Free Zone in US
Sustainable Pulse - Sonoma County in California has passed Measure M to ban GMO crop cultivation – YES 55.9% to NO 44.1%. The successful vote on Measure M, which took place on the same day as the U.S. presidential election, means that the largest ever U.S. GMO Free Zone has now been formed. Sonoma County joins Humboldt, Marin, Mendocino, Santa Cruz and Trinity Counties, and bridges the largest GMO Free Zone in the United States – an amazing 13,734 square miles. The success of the vote came despite a concerted effort by the Biotech Industry to block Measure M. In October documents filed with the Sonoma County Clerk revealed that Biotech companies funded the committee named ‘No on M- Sponsored and Opposed by farmers, ranchers, and agricultural technology companies’. Karen Hudson, Yes on M campaign manager stated; “The fact is, more and more people want non-GMO food, and our local farms have a right to grow without contamination. It’s that simple.” Measure M, also known as The Sonoma County Transgenic Contamination Ordinance, was a simple measure to protect local farms, pastures, and cover crops from contamination by genetically modified plant pollen by prohibiting the growing and raising of genetically modified organisms in Sonoma County. Sonoma County has a reputation for pure agricultural products. Organic and traditional farms that are non-GMO represent a critical sector of the local economy, with 80% of Sonoma County dairies being certified organic.

US EPA Approves Toxic Dicamba Herbicide for Use on GMO Crops
Sustainable Pulse - Ignoring the legal requirement to examine threats to endangered species, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved Wednesday the use of the dangerously toxic herbicide dicamba on crops genetically modified to tolerate the chemical. Dicamba has been around for decades, but this new EPA decision allows the herbicide to be sprayed directly on genetically modified (GM) cotton and soybeans — opening the door for dicamba use to jump from less than 1 million pounds to more than 25 million annually on these two crops. The scandalous decision comes on the heels of the agency’s recent decision to expand approval for a new pesticide called Enlist Duo, made for use on GM corn, cotton and soybeans. “Once again the EPA is allowing for staggering increases in pesticide use that will undoubtedly harm our nation’s most imperiled plants and animals,” said Nathan Donley, a scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Iconic species like endangered whooping cranes are known to visit soybean fields, and now they’d be exposed to this toxic herbicide at levels they’ve never seen before.” In recent months dicamba has made headlines because its illegal use has caused extensive damage to crops in the Midwest due to spray drift.

5 Essential Oils That Defeat Depression & Insomnia
David Wolfe - 1. Chamomile is a popular ingredient in candles, tea and many aromatherapy products. It’s one of the best herbs for alleviating stress and promoting relaxation. Research has shown that inhaling chamomile vapors using chamomile oil is a natural remedy for both anxiety and depression. Chamomile soothes the mind and relaxes the body to promote a better night’s rest. If you’re struggling with insomnia, try applying a few drops of roman chamomile oil to the bottom of your feet before bed. You can also add a few drops to your shampoo, conditioner or skin moisturizer. 2. Lavender oil has been used for years to help battle depression and insomnia. Research has proven that it has amazing effects on mood. One study conducted on people suffering from PTSD found that the daily use of lavender oil helped decrease depression by 32.7%. It also drastically decreased sleep disturbances and moodiness in those suffering from PTSD. To help relieve stress and fight insomnia, place a diffuser next to your bed and diffuse lavender oil while you sleep. You can also rub a few drops of lavender oil behind your ears before bed. 3. Bergamot oil is known for being an antidepressant. It works by improving blood circulation and stimulating feelings of joy and energy. A 2011 study found that pairing bergamot essential oil with lavender essential oil helps treat depression. Participants in the study experienced relaxation, calmness, attentiveness, mood and alertness. Try rubbing bergamot oil on you feet and stomach to relieve feelings of depression. 4. Orange essential oil naturally helps to reduce anxiety to promote a better night’s sleep. The citrus notes in orange oil has uplifting properties that also help with feelings of sorrow and depression. The best time to use orange oil is at night. Place a few drops of on your stomach before falling asleep, or create a soothing cream by mixing 1/2 cup of coconut oil with 15 drops of orange oil. Moisturize your skin before bed to fight anxiety and insomnia….

MMR can cause skin problems and ulcers if your immune system is compromised
What Doctors Don't Tell You - The MMR vaccine can cause serious adverse reactions, researchers have admitted this week. The rubella (German measles) component of the jab increases the risk of infection from the rubella virus itself, and can cause serious skin inflammation and ulcers in anyone whose immune system is compromised…. Although the risk for people with compromised immune systems has been known, and is even included in the package inserts supplied with the vaccine, it was theoretical, say researchers from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who say they have uncovered “genuine evidence of harm.” The researchers analysed the health profile of 14 people—four adults and 10 children—who suffered some form of a PIDD. Seven of them still had the rubella virus in their tissues, suggesting that their immune systems were too weak to get rid of the virus in the vaccine. The virus can damage skin cells and cause ulcers, and makes the person more susceptible to the actual rubella virus, the researchers say. People with a poor immune system already have compromised T-cells—which are responsible for clearing viral infections—and the MMR makes the problem worse.

Here is Why You Should Take a Ginger Shot a Few Minutes Prior to Eating
Living Traditionally - A “ginger shot” or ginger elixir is a fantastic digestive system aid. Simply take about one ounce (a shot) of this Aryurvedic formula a few minutes prior to eating. The lemon/ginger combination delivers quite a punch which is perfectly tempered by the raw honey used in the formulation. This addictive elixir has components which both warm and sooth the stomach as well as stimulate the release of gastric juices. How to Make a “Ginger Shot” Elixir for Digestion: Five lemons, 3 pieces of ginger root, 1/4 cup of raw organic honey, 1/4 teaspoonful of Black pepper, 1 cup of purified water… For added benefit, add just a touch of heat (cayenne/turmeric/etc.).

Thursday - November 10, 2016 - Today In History:

WISHING OUR MARINES A HAPPY 241st BIRTHDAY!

1775 - The U.S. Marines were organized under authority of the Continental Congress. The Marines went out of existence after the end of the Revolutionary War in April of 1783. The Marine Corps were formally re-established on July 11, 1798. This day is observed as the birth date of the United States Marine Corps.
1951 - Direct-dial, coast-to-coast telephone service began when Mayor M. Leslie Denning of Englewood, NJ, called his counterpart in Alameda, CA.
1954 - The Iwo Jima Memorial was dedicated in Arlington, VA.
1969 - Sesame Street debuts
1970 - The Great Wall of China opened for tourism.
1975 - The Edmund Fitzgerald, an ore-hauling ship, and its crew of 29 vanished during a storm in Lake Superior.
1976 - The Utah Supreme Court gave approval for Gary Gilmore to be executed, according to his wishes. The convicted murderer was put to death the following January.
1982 - In Washington, DC, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was opened to visitors.
1984 - The U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
1993 - John Wayne Bobbitt was acquitted on the charge of marital sexual assault against his wife who sexually mutilated him. Lorena Bobbitt was later acquitted of malicious wounding her husband.
1993 - The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Brady Bill, which called for a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases.
1994 - Iraq recognized Kuwait's borders in the hope that the action would end trade sanctions.
1997 - A judge in Cambridge, MA, reduced Louise Woodward's murder conviction to manslaughter and sentenced the English au pair to time served. She had served 279 days in the death of 8-month-old Matthew Eappen.
1998 - "The Virtual Wall" website (www.thevirtualwall.org) was unveiled. The site allows visitors to experience The Wall through the Internet.
2009 - John Allen Muhammad, mastermind of the 2002 sniper attacks that killed 10 in the Washington, D.C. region, was executed.

NATO launches maritime operation Sea Guardian in Mediterranean
RT - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has officially announced the immediate start of a new maritime operation Sea Guardian which aims at increasing security amid an anti-terror fight in the Mediterranean…. The first round of naval patrols will be conducted by “the Italian frigate ITS Aviere, the Bulgarian frigate BGS Verni, the Turkish frigate TCG Gemlik.” The group will be also beefed up by a Greek and a Spanish submarine. Back in September Germany announced its readiness to back the mission, with the country’s cabinet approving the involvement of up to 650 troops. “Sea Guardian” also envisions air support, which will be provided on a rotating basis by aircraft from Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey. First such flights are said to run through the November 17. The respective mission with the command in Northwood, UK is mainly focusing on three objectives which are “maritime situational awareness, counter-terrorism and capacity building.” According to NATO that would imply an “accurate picture of daily activity” in the Mediterranean, to spot any potential “security concerns.”

Philippines to reduce number of joint drills with US
RT - The Philippines is set to change the format of its joint military drills with the US, reducing the number of exercises and excluding mock assaults altogether, defense officials say. President Rodrigo Duterte agreed to further military exercises with the US armed forces, but they will lack mock assaults and their number is to be reduced, Philippines Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Wednesday, according to AP. The US-Philippines drills are part of a 2014 defense agreement with Washington that allows US troops, warships and planes to be stationed in the Philippines. However, at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday defense officials enumerated the benefits received from these exercises. The changes are still to be discussed at meeting with American military officials headed by US Pacific Command chief Harry Harris Jr. on November 22 in Manila. The victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential election is not predicted to affect the treaty, Lorenzana noted.

Soldiers go home’ – Italians protest American base on US Election Day
RT - Protesters against a US military base in Italy used firecrackers, with police responding with tear gas. Demonstrators rallied on the day of the US presidential election saying no matter who wins, American soldiers should “go home.” Up to 200 people gathered in the Italian town of Vicenza on Tuesday calling on Washington to “free” their soil from the US military presence. Vicenza, located in north-eastern Italy, is home to the US “Dal Molin” Army base. Some demonstrators carried banners saying 'Clinton or Trump? Soldiers go home!’ as the rally was staged on the day of the US election with the winner then not known…. Italy has one of the highest numbers of US foreign bases in the world, and is the second-largest state in Europe after Germany which hosts an American military presence.

Putin on Trump victory: Russia is ready to restore relations with US (Video)
RT - Russia is ready and looks forward to restoring bilateral relations with the United States, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, commenting on the news of Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election. “We heard [Trump's] campaign rhetoric while still a candidate for the US presidency, which was focused on restoring the relations between Russia and the United States,” President Putin said, speaking at the presentation ceremony of foreign ambassadors' letters of credentials in Moscow. “We understand and are aware that it will be a difficult path in the light of the degradation in which, unfortunately, the relationship between Russia and the US are at the moment,” he added. Speaking about the degraded state of relations between the countries, the president once again stressed that “it is not our fault that Russia-US relations are as you see them.” Earlier today, in a message to Donald Trump the Russian President expressed confidence that the dialogue between Moscow and Washington, in keeping with each other’s views, meets the interests of both Russia and the US. The Russian leader noted in the message that he hopes to address some “burning issues that are currently on the international agenda, and search for effective responses to the challenges of the global security,” RIA Novosti reported. On top of it, Putin has expressed confidence that “building a constructive dialogue between Moscow and Washington, based on principles of equality, mutual respect and each other's positions, meets the interests of the peoples of our countries and of the entire international community.”

Hungarian PM Orban Hails Trump Victory as ‘Great News’
(Reuters) – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban congratulated U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on his election victory on Wednesday, with the words “What a great news. Democracy is still alive” posted on his Facebook page. Orban said in July that Trump’s plans on migration and foreign policy were “vital” for Hungary, whereas those of rival Democrat Hillary Clinton were “deadly”. Orban was then the first European head of state to express a clear preference for either of the two candidates. Orban has in the past upset fellow members of the European Union over policy, most recently with his tough stance on Europe’s migrant crisis, objecting to EU resettlement plans and having a fence built along Hungary’s southern border. “The migration and foreign policy advocated by the Republican candidate, Mr. Trump, is good for Europe and vital for Hungary,” Orban said in July.

Mexican President Peña Nieto Congratulates Trump
Breitbart - Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto took to Twitter early Wednesday morning to celebrate the U.S. electoral process and congratulate President-Elect Donald J. Trump on his victory. “The American people have chosen their next President,” Peña Nieto wrote in Spanish on Twitter. “I congratulate USA on their electoral process and reiterate my disposition to work together with Donald Trump in favor of a bilateral relationship.” Mexico and the U.S. are friends, partners and allies that must continue collaborating for competitively and the development of North America, the president said. “I trust that Mexico and the U.S. will continue strengthening the bond of cooperation and mutual respect,” Peña Nieto said.

OPEC Just Knocked $20 Off Its Oil Price Outlook
Zero Hedge - OPEC warned in newly released report that oil prices might not rise above $60 per barrel until the end of the decade, in an acknowledgement that an array of bearish forces will conspire to keep a lid on any price rally. OPEC’s new World Oil Outlook (WOO) offers medium and long-term predictions for the oil market. OPEC’s Reference Basket (ORB) price will average $40 per barrel this year, and the group projects that the price will rise by $5 per barrel each year through the rest of the decade. That only takes ORB prices up to $60 per barrel in 2020. That is a remarkable prediction from a group of oil-exporting countries, often known for a much more bullish outlook for oil. There are a few reasons that OPEC is more resigned to a “lower for longer” mantra. OPEC admitted that things have not gone according to plan since it decided to abandon market intervention in November 2014. The group, led by Saudi Arabia, thought that low oil prices would stoke demand and also push out high-cost producers, two predictions that did not play out, at least to the degree that top OPEC officials predicted…. U.S. gasoline demand did hit a record high this year, but it took two years of low prices to reach that level and oil consumption lagged behind the huge spike in miles traveled, an indication that fuel efficiency blunted the impact of more driving. Meanwhile, China’s demand has continued to soften even as oil prices languished at record lows…. As always, projections like those found in OPEC’s new report should be taken with a large grain of salt, but for an oil cartel like OPEC to be releasing relatively bearish figures for oil over the next five years is a bad sign for those hoping for a rally in prices.

Panama Papers: UK probe launched into 22 suspected tax evaders
RT - The government’s Panama Papers taskforce has opened criminal and civil investigations into 22 people suspected of tax evasion based on information contained in the Mossack Fonseca leaks. Another 43 “high net worth individuals” have been placed under special review while their links to the leak are investigated, Chancellor Philip Hammond said in a written statement to MPs. The cross-agency taskforce was established by former Prime Minister David Cameron in April to analyze the 11.5 million documents leaked from the secretive Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The taskforce has also established links between information uncovered in the leaks and eight active Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigations, Hammond said. “This intelligence will ensure that the UK remains uniquely placed to contribute to the international effort to uncover, and take action, on wrongdoing, regardless of how deeply hidden the arrangements are, as well as identify those jurisdictions where regulatory oversight requires improvement,” his statement read. Shadow treasury minister Rebecca Long-Bailey however expressed doubt over the government’s commitment to combating fraud and tax-dodging. “The fact that the government has sneaked this out in a written statement just before recess probably says all you need to know about how seriously they are really taking the issue of tackling tax avoidance. “And you can see why they are trying to hide this statement, when you consider that back in April they claimed they were looking into 700 leads but today they are saying they're only investigating 22 individuals – that is a 3 percent rate of following down these leads,” she said.

White House Doesn’t Rule Out Pardoning Hillary Clinton
The Daily Caller - White House press secretary Josh Earnest did not rule out the possibility of President Barack Obama pardoning Hillary Clinton before he leaves office in January on Wednesday. “Donald Trump during the campaign pledged to jail Hillary Clinton if he was elected over the federal investigations that are underway. Some legal experts have said President Obama could close of that opportunity if he pardons Hillary Clinton. Is that something that the president is considering doing,” a reporter asked Earnest at the daily White House press briefing. “As you know, the president has offered clemency to a substantial amount of Americans who were previously serving time in federal prisons and we didn’t talk in advance about the president’s plans to offer clemency to any of these individuals,” Earnest replied. He added, “That’s because we don’t talk about the president’s thinking, particularly with respect to any specific cases that may apply to pardons or commutations.” Obama has granted 944 commutations and 70 pardons.

Schools offer counseling to help students process Trump win
Campus Reform - Virginia Tech will be offering counseling to its students who are “waking up with fear, anxiety, concern, questions, and confusion” over the election of Donald Trump. In an email to “students, colleagues, [and] friends,” VT’s director of intercultural engagement center, Tricia Smith, writes that she wants all members of the school community “to hear clearly that you are loved.” “I hope that every person will take extra time today to consider this context and care for those around them. The strength of the Hokie community has long been notable but not every member of our community has felt they belong,” she wrote, adding that “today, this may feel almost insurmountable.” “I want you to hear clearly that you are loved. You deserve wellness. You deserve to thrive. You deserve community,” she continued. Smith then provided a list of “spaces” where students can congregate to grieve over the outcome of the election, even listing several counseling services that students and faculty can avail themselves of post-election…. Similarly, Georgetown University’s dean of students, Mitch Bailin, sent an email to all students to inform them several offices would be available to help students process the results of the election.

BITTER: Hillary campaign turning supporters away from concession speech
American Mirror - A bitter Hillary Clinton’s final act as a candidate is to surround herself with elite donors and paid staffers, and to block out average Americans. “Supporters/general public who have showed up at New Yorker hotel to see HRC are being turned away,” ABC’s Liz Kreutz reports. “Appears event is just for staff/donors, etc.” Meanwhile, her most ardent supporters, er, reporters, have gathered outside the hotel in anticipation of her 10:30 a.m. likely concession statement.
* Related: Hillary Clinton's full concession speech

President Obama calls to congratulate Trump and invite him to White House
Daily Mail| - President Barack Obama called to congratulate Donald Trump after his surprise victory, and invited him to a meeting at the White House. A White House spokesperson said on Wednesday morning that the two men had spoken, and that President Obama had asked to president elect to travel to Washington DC on Thursday so they could begin to discuss the transition on power. It appears that the two men spoke shortly before 4am on Wednesday. The White House said in a statement: ‘Ensuring a smooth transition of power is one of the top priorities the President identified at the beginning of the year and a meeting with the President-elect is the next step.’ That call came after President Obama’s somber election night speech on Wednesday, during which he told Americans: ‘No matter what happens, the sun will rise in the morning’…. White House press secretary Josh Earnest had told reporters traveling aboard Air Force One last week that the president was leaving his schedule open on Wednesday and Thursday for a possible meeting with the president-elect.

Video: CNN’s Baldwin: Trump ‘Crushed Two Political Dynasties’ — the Bushes and Clintons
Breitbart - Wednesday on CNN Brooke Baldwin said President-elect Donald Trump “crushed two political dynasties,” by beating former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) in the Republican primary and defeating Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in the presidential election. Baldwin said, “This history that was made and one thing I think it’s important pointing out is that through this election cycle, Donald Trump crushed two political dynasties in the Bush family and the Clintons.”

Video: Donald's son Barron, 10, takes center stage behind his newly elected father - but can barely keep his eyes open for 3am speech
Daily Mail - The youngster could barely keep his eyes open as his father made his acceptance speech after being voted the 45th President of the United States on Tuesday evening. Eagle-eyed viewers spotted president-elect Trump's youngest child rubbing his eyes, and swaying as he attempted to keep awake during the lengthy speech at 3am. Barron Trump, one of the youngest children of a president-elect after Sasha Obama, may only be ten years old but that didn't stop him being crucified on Twitter for his sleepy antics.

Video: Go Trump Go | Trump Fight Song
From Infowars emergency transmission where Owen Shroyer made a Trump song based off of "Go Cubs Go"

General Motors announces plans to lay off 2,000 employees at two US plants just hours after Donald Trump wins the election
Daily Mail -Trump criticized the manufacturer after reports that it would shift some of its production to Mexico and vowed during his campaign to prevent layoffs in the auto industry. But on Wednesday, the company announced that it would lay off more than 2,000 workers indefinitely at two assembly plants in Ohio and Michigan - two swings states that Trump won - starting in January. The company said it will suspend the third shifts at factories in Lordstown, Ohio, near Cleveland, and in Lansing, Michigan, because customers are shifting from cars to SUVs and trucks. About 1,250 workers will be furloughed at the Lordstown plant, which makes the Chevrolet Cruze. US sales of the compact car through October were down 20 percent. Another 840 will be idled at the Lansing Grand River factory. The Lansing Grand River plant builds the Cadillac ATS and CTS, whose sales were down 17 percent through October. The automaker also announced it would invest more than $900 million at a Toledo, Ohio, transmission plant, the Lansing Grand River factory and a casting plant in Bedford, Indiana, to prepare for future new vehicles.

Dakota Access Is Pushing Pipeline Forward, Will Drill Under Missouri River Within Weeks
EcoWatch - As water protectors dig in for the winter near construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), many rumors have been circulating about whether DAPL was in fact going to halt construction, as had been requested by the Department of Justice and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in September. Many claims have been made that the Army Corps of Engineers, in negotiations with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, had ordered a 30-day pause on DAPL construction. As we reported on Sunday, the Army Corps has in fact clarified that the 30-day halt was "only a proposal" and no work stoppage has been implemented. On Nov. 7, Unicorn Riot documented active DAPL construction that could be seen from the main Oceti Sakowin encampment. The afternoon of Nov. 8, as the U.S. presidential election was well underway, Dakota Access, LLC released a statement denying recent claims from the Army Corps of Engineers that they had agreed to a slowdown in pipeline construction…. Below you can see drone footage [video] of Dakota Access machines building Hesco barriers, normally used to protect U.S. military bases in war zones like Iraq or Afghanistan, to protect an area believed to be the drill box site from water protectors. According to the release, Dakota Access expects to have fully mobilized all equipment needed to drill under the Missouri River within 2 weeks. Once all the equipment is in place at the construction site, Dakota Access plans to immediately commence horizontal drilling underneath the river.

Astaxanthin Reduces Mental and Physical Fatigue And Enhances The Body's Antioxidant Defenses
Karen Foster - Daily supplements containing astaxanthin, the pink pigment that gives salmon its color, have already been found to boost the body's antioxidants defenses. Now a Japanese nutraceutical firm says astaxanthin has been found to be simultaneously effective against both mental and physical fatigue in a new published study…. Its main health benefits are eye and skin health although it has also been linked to joint health and central nervous system health and is said to have an antioxidant payload 500 times that of vitamin E.

7 Reasons to Drink Echinacea Tea Daily
Natural News Blogs - Echinacea is an herb which is native to eastern and central North America and was used by Native Americans to help cure many ailments. Echinacea tea is used as a traditional herbal treatment for relieving ailments from immune system problems. Both the roots and the above-ground parts of the plant have been found to contain substances that stimulate our immune system and help fight off infections…. 1. Studies have demonstrated that echinacea tea has powerful natural anti-inflammatory properties that can help deal with the issue. A study published in 2009 showed that consuming echinacea tea could help ease numerous types of inflammation. 2. There’s some evidence that taking echinacea may reduce your risk of catching colds. According to study people who took echinacea reduced their risk of contracting a cold by as much as 58%. 3. The anti-inflammatory capacity of echinacea extends to the respiratory tracts, so for those patients who regularly suffer from conditions like bronchitis, echinacea can help to reduce the irritation and mucus deposition in those tracts, thereby helping you to heal faster. 4. Consuming echinacea tea has powerful effects against a range of infections. It can help treat infections ranging from gum disease to malaria and syphilis. When applied topically studies show that it is effective against recurring vaginal yeast infections while it is often prescribed for infections of the urinary tract. 5. Drinking echinacea tea activates T-cell renewal and helps with the production of antibodies and interferon, known for blocking viral infections….

If you want to reap health benefits from baking soda, DO NOT use this popular brand
Living Traditionally - Baking soda is a white crystalline powder, known as bicarbonate of soda or chemically known as sodium bicarbonate, and is very versatile and effective. One of the most marvelous qualities of baking soda is that it’s extremely powerful for reducing or balancing acid in the body. Bicarbonate is an alkaline substance naturally produced in the body that buffers acids and helps keep pH in check. The pH of your blood is closely regulated by a complex system of buffers that work continuously to maintain a range of 7.35 to 7.45, which is slightly more alkaline than pure water. However, the closer you can get to 7.45, the better your body will be in a state to prevent and cure disease. Most of us probably use Arm&Hammer baking soda. However, it turns out that Arm & Hammer is chemically created. It uses a chemical reaction process through which trona ore is mined, then heated until it turns into soda ash…. A brand like Bob’s Red Mill are mined directly from the ground in their natural sodium bicarbonate state. They mine the soda directly from the ground in the form of nahcolite (hint: nahcolite is already baking soda). In the form of nahcolite there are no chemical reactions. There is nothing added, or altered. It is just pure baking soda straight from the ground, the way mother nature made it!
 

Wednesday - November 9, 2016 - Today In History:

1857 - The "Atlantic Monthly" 1st appeared on newsstands and featured the 1st installment of "The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table" by Oliver Holmes.
1872 - A fire destroyed about 800 buildings in Boston, MA.
1906 - U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt left for Panama to see the progress on the new canal. It was the first foreign trip by a U.S. president.
1923 - In Munich, the Beer Hall Putsch was crushed by German troops that were loyal to the democratic government. The event began the evening before when Adolf Hitler took control of a beer hall full of Bavarian government leaders at gunpoint.
1938 - Nazi troops and sympathizers destroyed and looted 7,500 Jewish businesses, burned 267 synagogues, killed 91 Jews, and rounded up over 25,000 Jewish men in an event that became known as Kristallnacht or "Night of Broken Glass."
1965 - The great Northeast blackout occurred as several states and parts of Canada were hit by a series of power failures lasting up to 13 1/2 hours.
1976 - The U.N. General Assembly approved ten resolutions condemning the apartheid government in South Africa.
1979 - The United Nations Security Council unanimously called upon Iran to release all American hostages "without delay." Militants, mostly students had taken 63 Americans hostage at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, on November 4.
1984 - A bronze statue titled "Three Servicemen," by Frederick Hart, was unveiled at the site of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.
1989 - Communist East Germany opened its borders, allowing its citizens to travel freely to West Germany.
1992 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin, visiting London, appealed for assistance in rescheduling his country's debt, and asked British businesses to invest.
1998 - A federal judge in New York approved the richest antitrust settlement in U.S. history. A leading brokerage firm was ordered to pay $1.03 billion to investors who had sued over price-rigging of Nasdaq stocks.
2004 - U.S. First Lady Laura Bush officially reopened Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to pedestrians.
2005 - Three suicide bombers carried out nearly simultaneous attacks on three U.S.-based hotels in Amman, Jordan, killing 60 victims and wounding hundreds.

World in shock as Trump surges to victory in U.S.
Reuters - Governments from Asia to Europe reacted with stunned disbelief on Wednesday to the victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election, while populists hailed the result as a triumph of the people over a failed political establishment. German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen, an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, described the result as a "huge shock" and questioned whether it meant the end of "Pax Americana", the state of relative peace overseen by Washington that has governed international relations since World War Two. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault pledged to work with Trump but said his personality "raised questions" and he admitted to being unsure what a Trump presidency would mean for key foreign policy challenges, from climate change and the West's nuclear deal with Iran to the war in Syria. "Looks like this will be the year of the double disaster of the West," former Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt said on Twitter, pointing to Britain's vote in June to leave the European Union. "Fasten seat belts," he said. Meanwhile, right-wing populists from Australia to France cheered the result as a body blow for the political establishment.

Russian Carrier Group Arrives Next To Syria, To Launch Aleppo Air Strikes "In Hours"
Zero Hedge - Having travelled for the past three weeks from its base in Severomorsk, the Russian naval group in the Mediterranean, headed by the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, dubbed by Reuters the "Largest Naval Force Since The Cold War" has arrived in Syria, and as RT reports, is preparing an offensive against militants on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, according to reports citing a source in the Defense Ministry. The strikes will be launched "in the nearest hours" and will target the distant outskirts of Aleppo, the source said, adding that there are no civilian-populated areas nearby. Jets from the Admiral Kuznetsov, the Peter the Great battle cruiser and other military ships in the battle group equipped with precision weapons will take part in the operation, Interfax and Gazeta.ru reported on Tuesday, citing a source in Russia’s Defense Ministry. The reported operation is aimed at preventing more militants from entering the city, which has become a terrorist stronghold in Syria, Interfax quoted its source as saying. The most advanced weapons, including Caliber cruise missiles, might be used, Gazeta.ru reported. The missiles will probably be launched from Russian submarines that could also be in the area, it added. Ahead of the battle group’s arrival into the waters close to Syria, Russia increased its reconnaissance in the region, the source said. Drones and radio intelligence, as well as data gathering from satellites have reportedly been intensified, allowing the exact locations of the terrorists to be determined, as well as their planned routes to break into Aleppo.

16 US soldiers killed, 27 wounded since start of Mosul op – military source
RT - The ongoing operation in Mosul, Iraq, is taking its toll on US troops, with 16 killed and 27 wounded, according to a military source in Moscow cited by TASS. The US Department of Defense has told RT America it is only aware of one casualty…. In certain cases, however, poor coordination between ground troops and air support was reportedly to blame for those killed or injured. “Two special operations soldiers died following airstrikes by US B-52H jets on Mosul suburbs,” the source said. RT contacted the Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF–OIR) for comment, which in response stated that it only has information on one casualty. We are unaware of these reports but can confirm that one US Service member was killed Thursday, Oct. 20. Chief Petty Officer Jason Finan was advising the Peshmerga behind the forward line of troops when he was killed by an IED blast,” CJTF–OIR's public affairs office said in an e-mail to RT. The operation to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city and the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) capital in the country, started on October 17. Tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers, police, special forces and various militias are taking part in the advance on the stronghold. Their mission is being supported by the US-led international coalition.

Angela Merkel Warns Russia May Interfere In German Election Next
Zero Hedge - It appears it's not just the US voting system that has been allegedly penetrated by Vladimir Putin (at least if Trump is winning). German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that Russia could try to influence Germany's general elections next year through cyber attacks or disinformation campaigns, following similar accusations by Washington, which also accused the Kremlin of meddling in the US vote. Germans are scheduled to go to the polls in September 2017. Merkel has yet to announce her candidacy but is widely expected to run for a fourth term. It is unclear if Merkel's warning suggests that confidential German emails have also been hacked and are about to be released. "We are already, even now, having to deal with information out of Russia or with internet attacks that are of Russian origin or with news which sows false information," Merkel, said at a press conference alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg. Dealing with that was already "a daily task", she told reporters in Berlin. "So it may be that this could also play a role during the election campaign." That, or perhaps what Merkel is more concerned about is her collapse in the polls as a result of her hugely unpopular "open door" policy which has allowed approximately 1 million middle-eastern refugees to enter the country, much to the displeasure of her countrymen.

‘Unacceptable’: Moscow slams US for 'barring Russian diplomats from observing election'
RT - Moscow has blasted the US for limiting Russian diplomats’ access to polling stations to observe the presidential election, calling the move “unacceptable.” The US embassy in Moscow denied that Russian diplomats are barred from observing the vote. "The US administration's law enforcement officials stop at nothing to cut off Russian representatives from an opportunity to assess the provisions of holding the upcoming elections," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told RIA Novosti. The deputy foreign minister’s statement comes hours after the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, wrote on Facebook that “things went as far as open intimidation of Russian diplomats. The State Department recommended them not to approach the polling stations on their own, and authorities in some states went further and threatened [the diplomats] with criminal prosecution.”

Feeling The Oil Crunch: Saudi Arabia Cancels $266 Billion In Projects
Zero Hedge - Saudi Arabia’s governing economic body called the Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA) has cancelled $266.7 billion in projects, the Saudi Press Agency said, and announced it would be settling much-delayed private-sector payments by year end. The projects that have been canceled are the ones that are not expected to accelerate the kingdom’s growth or improve the living standards for its people. The cancellations were first considered in September, but at the time, it was noted that only $20 billion in projects would be considered to put on the chopping block. The size of the delayed payments—mainly due to severe hits to the kingdom’s oil revenue—remains undisclosed, but it includes delayed payments to construction firms, medical establishments, and foreign consultants. One analyst, according to Reuters, estimated that the amount still owing just to construction firms was US$21 billion.

US General says we plan on “governing Raqqa” after takeover. Set up safe zones to train Al Qaeda
The Duran - Mixed messages as to what happens after Raqqa is liberated is coming out of Washington. What are the real motivations behind America’s push to take over Raqqa. For public consumption, the Raqqa, Syria offensive will be branded as an operation to rid the area of ISIS. Behind the curtain, Raqqa may potentially be used as part of a larger safe zone area where America, Turkey and Saudi allies continue to train “moderate rebels” also known as Al Qaeda / Al Nusra jihadist terrorists. The end goal…to keep the war in Syria alive, and keep the diminishing hopes of overthrowing Assad in play, irregardless of the inevitable fact that the legitimate government in Damascus will soon control the major urban western hubs of the fractured nation. It’s a sinister plan that is certain to lead to more problems than solutions…but so is American foreign policy when it comes to Syria, Iraq and the wider Middle East. It’s also a plan that the US State Department appears to not be onboard with. US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a daily press briefing… “How the liberation takes place, how we get local governance re-established after the liberation: our expectation, as has been elsewhere, is that outside forces would then withdraw.” “We don’t want to see semi-autonomous zones. The reality is, though, as territory is liberated from [Islamic State], you’ve got to get some kind of governance back into these areas, but by no means are we condoning… any kind of semi-autonomous areas in northern Syria.” “Ultimately, we want to see a sovereign, intact Syria.”

Wikileaks Election Day Special: Part 35 Of Podesta Emails Released
Zero Hedge - Yesterday, when Wikileaks released its second dump of Podesta emails, the so-called Part 34, we assumed that was it. We were wrong. Moments ago Wikileaks released an "election day special", dumping another 1,793 emails in Part 35 of its ongoing release, bringing the total to 58,375, and one which we can only assume is the definitive final release of Podesta emails.

Clinton Concedes: Donald Trump Becomes 45th U.S. President (Video)
Zero Hedge - It's over... And NBC News reports that Hillary is said to have conceded on phone with Trump. Watch Donald Trump’s Victory Party Speech… [Speech begins at the 3:20:00 mark]. Fox reports Hillary Clinton will not be coming to The Javits Center - so not accepting the results of the election - "she will not be conceding." Trump's former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is calling Clinton's decision not to speak tonight "outrageous" on CNN…. Having won Wisconsin's 10 votes, moments ago Trump, who had 254 votes, was declared by AP the first Republican since 1988 to win Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral votes, which effectively pushed him above the 270 threshold, and with a total of 274, Donald Trump is now poised to become the 45th US President.

John Podesta Refuses to Concede, Hillary Clinton Fails to Show
Breitbart - New York — Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton failed to show up at her own victory party at the Jacob K. Javits center, while campaign chairman John Podesta spoke after 2:00 a.m. and declined to concede the election. Despite trailing to Trump 254-218, and with the Associated Press already calling Pennsylvania for Donald Trump, Podesta struck a defiant posture, urging Hillary Clinton’s supporters to go home and “get some sleep,” insisting that every vote be counted. During the third presidential debate, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was challenged as to whether he would accept the results of the election if he lost. (He had already answered that question in the affirmative in the first debate.) When he left the question open, Democrats and media critics suggested that his position was a threat to American democracy. Now, however, the tables have been turned. With virtually no path to victory, Clinton not only refused to concede, but refused to appear.

Obamacare Is Over: Republicans Retain Senate
Zero Hedge - With incumbent Pennsylvania senator Pat Toomey's successful in fending off challenges, and incumbent Lisa Murkowski regaining Alaska's Senate seat, the Republicans have retained control of the Senate. That would leave Republicans controlling the House, the Senate, and the Presidency, meaning that Obamacare is over... and perhaps the 4-4 Supreme Court too…. Republicans win PA Senate race, giving them enough seats to retain control of chamber in new Congress and overcoming odds that had looked stacked against the party. Both sides poured tens of millions into Pennsylvania as the battle for the upper chamber tightened, making it the most expensive Senate race in the country, according to Open Secrets. Outside groups spent nearly $118 million, with both sides spending more than a combined $13 million on ads in the final week. Republicans also held tightly contested seats in Ohio, Indiana, Florida and North Carolina.

2016 Election Day: Live Updates
Breitbart News’s live coverage of Election Day, 2016. Check this page for updates on candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, how the rest of the media is covering the vote, and stories from polling stations across the country….
* Related: President Election Results by State

Evacuation Launched at Florida Polling Location Amid Bomb Fears - Reports
Sputnik News - A polling location in Orange Country, Florida was evacuated on US Election Day amid concerns over a potential bomb threat, local media report. Police evacuated people from Winter Park Christian Church, at 760 N. Lakemont Ave., as authorities were concerned about an unattended backpack, Fox 35 Orlando said.

Louisiana Voting Machine Logged Votes Before Poll Opened
Breitbart - A voting machine in Louisiana reportedly counted votes at a polling site before any residents had even voted on the machine. In the southeast region of Tangipahoa Parish, resident Brandon Allen filmed what he reported were votes being counted on a machine that had not been used yet by residents. Allen wrote on his Facebook page “Here in Tangipahoa Parish I just witnessed a voting machine that they had to turn off and call the commissioner in because when it was powered it on this morning and already had votes on the machine for the Democratic Party.”… A spokeswoman with the Secretary of State’s Office said the voting machine confused poll workers when they noticed alleged votes cast on the device. However, after being investigated by the state, the spokeswoman said the issue was a matter of misunderstanding, as technical difficulties led poll workers to believe there were ballots cast on the machine. Documented proof shows that no votes were on the device before it was activated by poll workers.

Voting Machine "Irregularities" Reported in Utah, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, & North Carolina
Zero Hedge - In Utah, voting machine problems in the southern part of the state forced poll workers to use paper ballots, with some residents sent to alternate voting locations. Machine issues were reported in Wilson County, Tenn. — and at one point all of the county’s machines went down, according to local reports. Voting later resumed manually. In Texas, a computer used by election clerks malfunctioned at a polling place, so officials briefly diverted voters to another polling place more than two miles away. In Louisiana, some early voters were forced to wait as correct machines were installed. In Durham County, N.C., paper poll books were being used Tuesday due to “tech problems at a few sites.” In Georgia, one voter reported that "half the machines" were down at one location. Two polling places in Gwinnett County opened late, officials told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Machine issues were also reported by voters in Rahway, N.J., as well as Philadelphia…. And as InfoWars reports, video footage posted on Twitter shows an African-American man attempting to vote for Donald Trump in Pennsylvania but the voting machine refusing to select any other option than Hillary Clinton.

Nevada Judge Tosses Trump's Lawsuit Over Nevada Ballots
Zero Hedge - Update: after a rather quick hearing, the Nevada judge rejected the Trump legal team's request for a lawsuit over allegedly illegal balloting, saying "I'm not going to issue any order. I'm just not going to do it." Which means that if Trump had hoped to use Nevada as an anchor to contest the election, he will have to find some other opportunity…. Headlines are starting to come in that the Trump campaign has filed a lawsuit against the Clark County Registrar’s Office in Nevada for keeping polls open for multiple hours beyond their closing time. According to NBC, Nevada law allows for people in line at the time the polls close to vote, but the Trump campaign is alleging that others were also allowed to vote even though they arrived well after the polls closed.

Marco Rubio Wins Re-Election to Florida Senate Seat
Breitbart - Marco Rubio failed in his bid to end up in the White House, but he’s still going back to Washington. Florida voters elected him to a second term in the Senate on Tuesday. He had wavered for months before deciding to run for re-election. He beat back a challenge from Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy, who has repeatedly tried to link Rubio to Donald Trump…. Rubio held onto had a narrow lead in polling going into Election Day over Murphy, who was abandoned by his own party after Democratic bosses decided to pull ad money from expensive Florida and invest it in Missouri, North Carolina and Indiana, instead.

Review: Agent Orange Linked to Bladder Cancer, Hypothyroidism, Parkinson’s
Natural Society - Monsanto and Dow were 2 of the 9 wartime contractors hired by the US government to create Agent Orange, a combination of the toxic chemicals 2,4-D, and 2,4,5-T, just over 40 years ago. The damage these chemicals have perpetrated on our health and environment did not end with the Vietnam War though. Aside from the long-term poisoning of soil and crops, a new review of Agent Orange research has found evidence that bladder cancer and hypothyroidism are more strongly linked to exposure to Agent Orange than was previously assumed. Although the new information does not support a previously-held belief that spina bifida, a birth defect, occurs more often in the offspring of exposed veterans, a report released by the Institute of Medicine on the health effects of Agent Orange recommended the Veterans Affairs Department grant service-connected presumption to veterans with “Parkinson’s-like symptoms,” not just those diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease related to Agent Orange exposure. In addition cancer, endocrine disease, and neurological impairment still loom large in the shadow of Agent Orange’s use. Government agencies and their contractors who made these chemicals claim they dissipated shortly after being sprayed in the air, but two-thirds of these herbicides were contaminated with TCDD, a form of dioxin, a highly toxic substance linked to at least 15 classes of cancer and other medical conditions, as well as several birth defects…. The 1,115-page review is the last of a series conducted by the IOM (part of the National Academies) on health problems related to Agent Orange and other herbicide use during the Vietnam War.

Dollar, Mexican peso, stocks topple as Trump heads for White House
Reuters - The U.S. dollar sank and stocks plummeted in market mayhem on Wednesday as investors faced up to a shock win for Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election that could upend the global political order. European shares looked set to follow with losses of more than 4 percent as every new TV network projection in the U.S. election showed the race to be far closer than anyone had thought, sending investors stampeding to safe-haven assets. [.EU] Sovereign bonds, the Japanese yen and gold surged while the Mexican peso went into near free-fall in chaotic trading as once again polls and betting markets proved woefully wrong. "Markets are reacting as though the four horsemen of the apocalypse just rode out of Trump Tower," said Sean Callow, a forex strategist at Westpac in Sydney. "Or at least 3 of them - it might be 4 when the prospect of a clean sweep of Congress sinks in." As of 0742 GMT, news networks were calling the election for Republican candidate Trump and CNN reported that his Democrat rival Clinton had conceded. U.S. stock futures dived 5 percent at one point, worse than the carnage caused by the British vote to leave the European Union in June that wiped trillions of dollars off world markets. Investors fear a Trump victory could cause global economic and trade turmoil and years of policy unpredictability, which among other things will discourage the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates in December as long expected. Fed fund futures were even starting to toy with the idea of a cut in rates next year and it was possible the Bank of Japan and European Central Bank might be forced to ease policy yet further. With FX markets reeling, South Korean authorities were thought to have intervened to steady their currency, and dealers wondered if central banks globally would step in to calm nerves. Japan's top currency diplomat signaled Tokyo's readiness to intervene if necessary as the surging yen threatened to snuff out its fragile economic recovery. The scale of the scare was clear in the Mexican peso, which plunged more than 13 percent against the dollar at one point in the biggest daily move in two decades.

U.S. Completes 22 Straight Years of Merchandise Trade Deficits With Mexico
CNS News - The United States ran a merchandise trade deficit of $5,243,300,000 with Mexico in September, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau. That completes 22 straight years in which the United States has run monthly merchandise trade deficits with Mexico. The last time the United States ran a merchandise trade surplus with Mexico was September 1994—when the U.S. ran a $4,700,000 bilateral surplus with its southern neighbor. The U.S. Census Bureau has published monthly figures on the export and import of goods to and from Mexico going back to January 1985. In the 31 complete calendar years that have passed since then (1985 through 2015), the United States has run merchandise trade surpluses with Mexico in four years and deficits in 27 years. Three of those years that the U.S. ran a surplus—1991,1992,1993—were before the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect. The fourth year the United States ran a merchandise trade surplus with Mexico—1994—was the first year NAFTA took effect.

Deceptive Pesticide Ads Land Bayer in Hot Water
Natural Society - Bayer CropScience LP has agreed to pay Massachusetts $75,000 and caved in to the state’s demand that it stop saying that its neonicotinoid pesticides are like “giving a daily vitamin” to plants, when the chemicals have been linked with honeybee colony collapse disorder. The moves settle allegations by the state’s attorney general that the agritech giant misled the public about the risks its lawn and garden products pose to bees and the environment. The products in question include: Bayer Advanced All-in-One Rose and Flower Care, Bayer Advanced 12 Month Tree & Shrub Protect and Feed II, [and] Bayer Advanced Season Long Grub Control Plus Turf Revitalizer. All of the lawn and garden products contain the neonicotinoids imidacloprid and/or clothianidin…. The agreement between Bayer and the Massachusetts attorney general is thought to be a first-of-its-kind enforcement action aimed at halting false advertising claims by a manufacturer of pesticides containing neonicotinoids…. Encouraged by the action taken by Massachusetts, the consumer group Beyond Pesticides fired off a letter to the other 49 state attorneys general urging them to take similar action to stop the use of what it called “misleading and fraudulent” pesticide advertising.

Explore the Health Benefits of Cedarwood Essential Oil
Natural Blaze - Do you know any essential oil which is derived from the wood of a tree and is praised all around the world for maintaining physical and emotional well-being? Well, cedar wood oil is one among those essential oils that are known for their sedating, calming, soothing, and relaxing effect on the mind and body. So, it is not a surprise why Cedar wood trees were mentioned most in the Bible, symbolizing a source of abundance, wisdom, and protection. These days, the essential oil of Cedar wood is widely used all across the globe for the production of numerous natural hair and skin care products…. Cedar wood essential is so beneficial because it comprises numerous therapeutic components and properties to the health of individuals. It comprises antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, antiseborrheic, antispasmodic, astringent, fungicide, diuretic, and sedative properties which is proven to be so beneficial in alleviating varieties of health conditions that affect the mind and body. Let’s read to uncover the benefits of using cedar wood essential oil….

Shockingly Healthy Vegan Chocolate Pudding Recipe
Dr. Edward Group - This pudding is full of healthy ingredients and makes a great dessert or snack. You can even pack a container with the kids’ lunch for a healthy alternative to the prepackaged pudding cups. Whatever you do, try to eat it up within a day. Fresh bananas and avocados taste best when they’re fresh…. Ingredients: 3 organic 7” bananas with just a few brown spots, peeled and cut into ½ inch slices, 1/2 medium organic avocado, cut horizontally from the stem, peeled and pitted, 4 tbsp creamy, raw almond butter (for people with tree nut allergies, sunflower seed butter is a great alternative), 4 ½ tbsp raw, organic, unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tsp organic vanilla extract, ¼ tsp pink Himalayan Crystal Salt or fine sea salt.
 

Cops Do The Nicest Thing For A Bird Who Built Her Nest On Their Car
The Dodo - Officers from Ohio's Parma Police Department recently discovered that one of their backup patrol cars had been commandeered by the little bird who, evidently, decided it was a perfect place to build her nest. But rather than evict the feathered squatter from her cozy spot, they did quite the opposite…. Since the spot the dove had chosen to lay her eggs doesn't have much protection from the elements, the officers even adhered an umbrella to the windshield to keep her nest dry in the rain and shady in the sun. Then, just to be sure the dove wouldn't be bothered by anyone who might be unaware that the cruiser was now a bird nursery, they went ahead and taped off the entire parking spot with police tape. But their good deeds don't end there. The cops have even taken to digging up worms for her so she stays well-fed while incubating her babies. Parma Police spokesperson Kevin Riley told news station Fox 8 that, while all this effort on behalf of a bird isn't necessarily crucial to their work in law enforcement, it's part of a higher calling: "Our officers are human beings just like anyone else. We care for all lives human and animal so the officers took a carrier to this bird, which they nicknamed Gerty, is taken care of and can take care of her young in the cruiser."

Tuesday - November 8, 2016 - Today In History:

1805 - The "Corps of Discovery" reached the Pacific Ocean. The expedition was led by William Clark and Meriwether Lewis. The journey had begun on May 14, 1804, with the goal of exploring the Louisiana Purchase territory.
1889 - Montana became the 41st U.S. state.
1892 - Former President Grover Cleveland beat incumbent Benjamin Harrison, becoming the only president to win non-consecutive terms in the White House.
1933 - The Civil Works Administration was created by executive order by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The organization was designed to create jobs for more than 4 million unemployed people in the U.S.
1942 - The U.S. invaded Morocco and Algeria.
1942 - During World War II, Operation Torch began as U.S. and British forces landed in French North Africa.
1950 - During the Korean conflict, the first jet-plane battle took place as U.S. Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brown shot down a North Korean MiG-15.
1956 - After turning down 18,000 names, the Ford Motor Company decided to name their new car the "Edsel," after Henry Ford's only son.
1966 - Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California.
1979 - The program, "The Iran Crisis: America Held Hostage", premiered on ABC-TV. The show was planned to be temporary, but it evolved into "Nightline" in March of 1980.
1979 - U.S. Senators John Warner (R-VA) and Mac Mathias (R-MD) introduced legislation to provide a site on the National Mall for the building of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
1985 - A letter signed by four American hostages in Lebanon was delivered to The Associated Press in Beirut. The letter, contained pleas from Terry Anderson, Rev. Lawrence Jenco, David Jacobsen and Thomas Sutherland to President Reagan to negotiate a release.
1990 - U.S. President George H.W. Bush ordered more troop deployments in the Persian Gulf, adding about 150,000 soldiers to the multi-national force fighting against Iraq.
2000 - Waco special counsel John C. Danforth released his final report that absolved the government of wrongdoing in the 1993 seige of the Branch Davidian compound in Texas.
2000 - A statewide recount of presidential election ballots began in Florida.
2004 - Thousands of U.S. troops attacked strongholds of Sunni insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq.
2010 - An engine fire aboard the Carnival Splendor cruise ship left nearly 4,500 aboard without electricity during a three-day tow to San Diego.

NATO places 300,000 troops on high alert, ready to attack Russia over fictional “cyber attacks” and “propaganda”
The Duran - With each passing day, the constant NATO activity is looking more and more like a preparation for full scale conflict with Russia.... Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg announced that NATO member nations are at this very moment putting hundreds of thousands of troops in a state of high alert, in an effort to deter the fantasy threat from Russia.... In summary, NATO justifies its military build up around Russia as a response to: - Alleged Russian cyber attacks to influence the US elections…allegations made by the honest and trustworthy Clinton campaign, and half heartedly commented on by US Intelligence Czar James Clapper, a man who lied under oath to the American public. - Russia’s military exercises in its own country. I repeat, military exercises within its own borders. - Russia sending hundreds of paratroopers to long time ally Serbia. - “Russia using propaganda in Europe among NATO allies”. Whatever that means? Its cryptic and nonsensical…and of course we know the US and NATO allies never ever engage in propaganda against Russia, or other nations for that matter.

"The Money Has Vanished": Tesco Bank Halts Online Payments After Cash Taken Out Of 20,000 Accounts
Zero Hedge - ... thousands of British citizens were unable to access their money today when Tesco Bank, the lending arm of the U.K.’s biggest grocer, said it suspended online transactions after about 20,000 customers had money fraudulently taken from their accounts. Tesco Bank has more than 7 million customer accounts in total across a range of products like insurance and mortgages. According to Bloomberg, about 40,000 of the bank’s 136,000 checking account holders experienced suspicious transactions over the weekend, Tesco Bank Chief Executive Officer Benny Higgins told BBC Radio 4’s Today program. Roughly half, or 20,000, had money taken from their account. The problem has only affected checking accounts, a representative for the bank said. Customers can still use their account to withdraw money from cash machines or to pay for goods at a retailer, Higgins said. Any financial loss will be borne by the bank and customers are not at financial risk, he said.... All Tesco Bank will say is that it has been the victim of "online criminal activity" so there was little detail on the nature of the attack, the BBC noted. But what is different is that it involves tens of thousands falling victim in a 24 hour period to what appears to be an automated process, rather than individuals clicking on links in phishing emails or having their details stolen after downloading malicious software. That could involve the attackers exploiting a vulnerability in the bank's website - or even gaining physical access to a branch and then the central systems. Whatever has happened, the damage to trust in Tesco Bank and online banking in general will be greater than the financial cost.... The crime was committed at a time “when banks are typically understaffed and will respond more slowly,” Cliff Moyce, global head of financial services at consultant DataArt, said by e-mail. “Automated fraud detection systems appear to have worked well, but a lack of people at desks will not have helped.

Democracy could get in the way of war if High Court Brexit ruling stands, warn generals
RT - Former senior military officers are afraid the High Court ruling which allows MPs to vote on triggering Brexit could set a precedent that would hinder future wars by undermining the government’s royal prerogative powers. Two former generals – Sir Richard Dannatt and former admiral Lord West – say the High Court’s Article 50 ruling could bring into question the archaic measure known as the royal prerogative. The powers effectively allow the prime minister to circumvent democracy in order to make quick decisions. It includes a range of vaguely defined powers including those relating to the “control, organization and disposition of the armed forces.” The generals fear the ruling could therefore force governments to hold a democratic debate before engaging in a war. Dannatt told the Telegraph the judgment “should not be allowed to impact on the future use of the royal prerogative as far as authorizing military action is concerned.” “I fear it might, but it is up to the government now to make it quite clear that that linkage is not legitimate and should not be made.” Former First Sea Lord West told the paper: "There are people who don’t like the ability to use the royal prerogative to react and go to war rapidly if you need to as a nation and I’m afraid they are wrong. “There may an occasion where you have to take action because the time to act is so little. You can’t go and have a debate in Parliament about it."

New Warship’s Big Guns Have No Bullets
Defense News - Barely two weeks after the US Navy commissioned its newest and most futuristic warship, armed with two huge guns that can hit targets 80 miles away, the service is moving to cancel the projectiles for the guns, citing excessive costs that run up to $800,000 per round or more. The Long Range Land-Attack Projectile (LRLAP) is a guided precision munition that is key to the DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class’s mission as a land-attack destroyer, able to hit targets with such accuracy that, in the words of manufacturer Lockheed Martin, can “defeat targets in the urban canyons of coastal cities with minimal collateral damage.” The LRLAP is the only munition designed to be fired from the DDG 1000’s Advanced Gun System (AGS), a 155mm/62-caliber gun with an automated magazine and handling system.... But the LRLAP’s unit price has jumped steadily as the numbers of Zumwalt-class destroyers were cut. From a total of 28 ships, to seven, and finally to three, the class shrank and costs did not. “We were going to buy thousands of these rounds,” said a Navy official familiar with the program. “But quantities of ships killed the affordable round.”.... Even at $800,000 a copy, the LRLAP’s price could go higher. “That’s probably low,” the Navy official said. “That’s what the acquisition community wanted to get it down to.” The official added that there was no sense the contractor was “overcharging or anything.” The decision to accept the LRLAP cancellation is part of the Program Objective Memorandum 2018 (POM18) effort, the Pentagon’s annual budget process. Although the Navy made a presentation to the Office of the Secretary of Defense on Nov. 2, the decision has yet to be signed off on.

The Empire Files: Abby Martin Exposes John Podesta (Video, 24 min.)
Activist Post - With the Wikileaks release of thousands of emails belonging to John Podesta, very little is known in US society about Podesta himself. While he’s maintained a low profile, John Podesta is actually considered one of Washington’s biggest players, and one of the most powerful corporate lobbyists in the world. In this episode of The Empire Files, Abby Martin explores John Podesta’s political rise, his vast network of corporate connections and his think tank “Center for American Progress.” Learn why the Podesta's and the Clintons are a match made in ruling class heaven.

Police Union Rallies Against New Standards In Firearms Test
The Daily Caller - Yale University police officers rallied against a new firearms policy, alleging that the latest standards could potentially put their jobs at risk.... The new firearms policy would let YPD officers get fired if they cannot pass a firearms test within 30 working days of failing it twice. Previously, the policy allowed them to train and retake the test as many times as they needed. Many of the officers feel that the new policy threatens their job, as they do not have an adequate amount of time to prepare for it. According to a spokesperson for the officers union, the shortage of ranges forces officers to travel further distances to train.... [spokesman Mike] Hall argued that officers should have 90 days to re-take the test, instead of 30 working days.... University spokesman Thomas Conroy argued that Yale police officers will be able to use the New Haven Police Department’s shooting ranges once renovations are completed. “Yale officers are provided with ample opportunity to qualify with their service weapons,” Conroy said. He also pointed out that the policy change allows officers 30 working days to retake the test, rather than 30 calendar days.

Calif. Proposition Requires Permit to Buy Bullets
CNS News - California residents will be voting tomorrow on a measure that would require individuals to purchase a permit to buy bullets and for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to regulate the purchases.... According to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, the measure: Requires individuals to obtain a four-year permit from DOJ to buy ammunition and for ammunition dealers to check with DOJ that individuals buying ammunition have such permits. Requires DOJ to revoke permits from individuals who become prohibited. Allows DOJ to charge each person applying for a four-year permit a fee of up to $50 to support its various administrative and enforcement costs related to ammunition sales.... Proposition 63 also adds new felony charges for stealing firearms, broadens a ban on large capacity magazines and requires ammunition dealers to purchase a license each year in order to sell bullets, among other requirements. The NRA is opposed to the measure, saying it will make California residents less safe. “Only bureaucrats would believe that criminals and terrorists would jump through these hoops to buy ammunition. The enormous expense and time to enforce this proposition will fall on the taxpayers. Fact is, this proposal is nothing more than an anti-gun power grab,” the NRA Institute for Legislative Action says.

Los Angeles County Sued for Millions in Medical Kidnapping Case
Health Impact News - After a six-year court battle, a mother in Los Angeles who lost custody of her 15-month-old baby through false abuse charges won a major battle for parental rights last week. When Rafaelina Duval’s son Ryan was seized by L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in 2010, she was falsely accused of intentionally starving him. He had been diagnosed by a pediatrician with “failure to thrive,” but the doctor at the time also noted that the child was in no immediate danger, according to Duval’s attorney, Shawn McMillan. In a stunning blow to Los Angeles County, the jury found that its DCFS social workers “intentionally and willfully” seized her child without a warrant, and did so “with malice.” Additionally, the jury found that the county DCFS had “an official custom and/or practice of seizing children from their parents without a warrant” and failed “to enact an official policy or procedure when it should have done so.” The jury awarded Duval $2.94 million in compensatory damages, plus $165,000 after finding in a separate verdict that she was the victim of discrimination.

Single Mom Charged with Multiple Crimes, Faces a Year in Jail for Participating in Facebook Food Group
The Free Thought Project - For years, Mariza Reulas and others enjoyed the fine recipes and food trading in the social media group called 209 Food Spot on Facebook. According to Reulas, this group was a place where people could share recipes, organize potlucks, and, on occasion, sell some of their food to willing neighbors.... According to court documents, authorities squandered taxpayer dollars in an elaborate undercover sting operation to bust members of 209 Food Spot — because they did not pay the government the proper extortion fees, via permitting, to sell their food. Reulas, along with a dozen other entirely innocent community food traders, was targeted by authorities and charged with two misdemeanor crimes — operating a food facility and engaging in business without a permit — for trading homemade dishes. Everyone else who was charged pleaded down to three years of probation. However, Reulas, rightfully so, refuses to be bullied by these bureaucratic thugs and is taking her case to trial.... “Food prepared in a facility that does not inspect it creates a risk to the public,” said [San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Kelly] McDaniel. However, Reulas was not operating a restaurant here. She was not distributing mass quantities of food nationwide. No, she was trading, and occasionally selling, a single dish at a time to people who loved food as much as she does.... Reulas’ case comes on the heels of another ridiculous example of statist food control. Over the weekend, the Free Thought Project brought you the story of a Kansas City charity who was forced to bleach and throw away thousands of pounds of food destined for the plates of 3,000 homeless people.

SPECIAL REPORT: Texas elections integrity in question - As voters head to the polls this election cycle, an unprecedented number of Texans have been questioning the validity of our state's voting process. Here is a special report done tonight in Tyler, Texas. It covers the Secretary of State, electronic voting machines in Texas, missing backup records, etc. It is a good summary of what is going on in Texas.
  * http://www.easttexasmatters.com/homepage/election-night-2016
  * http://www.easttexasmatters.com/election/special-report-texas-elections-integrity-in-question

Live: RSBN Election Night Coverage w/ Dennis Michael Lynch
Right Side Broadcasting - Tuesday, November 8, 2016: Tune in at 5:00-5:30 PM ET and 8:00-11:00 PM ET for our Election Day Coverage featuring Dennis Michael Lynch. Watch the pregame broadcast at 5:00 PM ET Below…

Watch: Donald J Trump Victory Party In New York City Live Stream
Right Side Broadcasting - Tuesday, November 8, 2016, New York: The Donald J. Trump for President Campaign will hold its Victory Party on Election Night in New York City at the New York Hilton Midtown. The event is invitation-only for friends and supporters of the Trump-Pence campaign. RSBN special live stream coverage begins at 7:00 PM ET.

Video: Trump’s Final Rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan (Full Replay)
The Gateway Pundit - Donald Trump held five rallies in five battleground states Monday on the final night of the campaign– Sarasota, FL 11AM, Raleigh, NC 3PM, Scranton, PA 5:30PM, Manchester, NH 8PM, Grand Rapids MI 11PM. There was a two-mile long line to get into the arena to see Donald Trump in Grand Rapids.

Exit polls under siege
Politico - Slate and Vice News have partnered with Votecastr, a company helmed by Obama and Bush campaign veterans, to provide real-time projections of how the candidates are faring in each state throughout the day. They expect to begin posting projections at 8 a.m. Eastern time on Election Day — a dramatic departure from current practice, where representatives from a consortium of news organizations (The Associated Press, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News and NBC News) huddle in a quarantine room without cell phones, poring over the earliest exit poll data but declining to release anything that points to an election result until all the polls have closed.... That gives some pause to Election-Day veterans, particularly those in the media, who worry that collecting and reporting this data while votes are being cast could impact the outcome.... Votecastr won’t be the only new data source for interested observers on Election Day itself. POLITICO is partnering with Morning Consult to conduct a survey of voters after they have cast ballots.... Voters will complete the interviews over the internet, beginning one hour after the polls open in their state. Respondents will be asked whether they have voted, and how they voted: either using early voting, by mail or on Election Day in person. POLITICO and Morning Consult will report on some of the results during the day — but, like with the traditional network exit polls, those reports won’t include anything that characterizes the outcome of the race.

DOJ to Monitor Election Day Polls in 28 States
Breitbart - The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced it is deploying more than 500 personnel to monitor Election Day polls in 28 states, including three counties in Texas…. The Civil Rights Division of the DOJ announced it will be “on the ground in 67 jurisdictions for compliance with the federal voting rights laws.” The statement from the Department does not disclose how these jurisdictions were selected…. A complete listing of jurisdictions named to be monitored can be found at this link on the Department of Justice website…. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said her staff would be manning phone lines on Tuesday, November 8, “to enforce federal statutes related to voting.” The DOJ says it has been regularly monitoring elections since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of of 1965. Lawyers in the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section will staff the Election Day hotline starting early in the morning. Lynch said that federal voting statutes are enforced by the Department in many ways, “including filing our own litigation when the facts warrant, submitting statements of interest in private lawsuits to help explain our understanding of these laws, and providing guidance to election officials and the general public about what these laws mean and what they require.” U.S. Attorneys in 94 offices across the nation handle questions regarding election irregularities. Complaints may be directed to any of the local U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the local FBI offices or the Public Integrity Section at 202-514-1412. A list of U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and their telephone numbers can be found at www.justice.gov/usao/find-your-united-states-attorney. A list of FBI offices and accompanying telephone numbers can be found at www.fbi.gov/contact-us.

Latest Project Veritas Bombshell: Undercover Journalist In Full Burka Offered Huma Abedin's Ballot In NYC (Video)
Zero Hedge - As democrats and George Soros continue to funnel millions of dollars into lawsuits to fight voter ID laws around the country, Project Veritas continues to reveal just how simple it is to take advantage of the current system to commit voter fraud. The latest example comes from New York City as an undercover Project Veritas journalist walks into a polling station wearing a full burka and requests the ballot of one Huma Abedin. Election Official: “But your name is not in the book. For some reason it's not here, but that doesn't mean you can't vote by paper ballot. You just can't vote by machine." Project Veritas Journalist: “So I can vote as Huma Abedin, but just with the paper ballot?” Election Official: “Whatever you want.”

Reports: Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Cancels Election-Night Fireworks Show
Breitbart - Hillary Clinton will NOT light up the sky over NYC if she wins the Presidency -- her campaign is calling off a planned fireworks show ... TMZ has learned. The Clinton campaign had contacted the Coast Guard for permission to pull off a 2 minute long fireworks display over the Hudson River when the election results went final. The fireworks would be visible from the Jacob Javits Center, where she's holding her election night party. But the Coast Guard tells TMZ ... Clinton's camp reached out on Thursday -- 2 days after her fireworks plan was uncovered -- to say it wouldn't be shooting off the 10" aerial shells, after all. The Coast Guard says the campaign offered no explanation for the about-face. We've reached out to the Clinton campaign ... no word back yet. Looks like it'll be strictly sparklers for Hillary Tuesday night ... IF she wins.

REPORT: Team Hillary Surrendering Ohio, Florida and North Carolina
The Gateway Pundit - Website DC Whispers notes that – Internal polling data is showing a remarkably strong trend in Donald Trump’s favor over the last week. So much so, that Team Trump has been quietly coming to terms with the remarkable prospect of this country’s first 3rd Party candidate winning the presidency. (That’s right, Donald Trump is as much a 3rd Party/Independent candidate as he is a Republican.) The Hillary camp has pretty much given up on Ohio, and is near to doing the same in Florida, with North Carolina looking suspect for Team Clinton as well. Here’s why – First, the black vote is down considerably over 2012 numbers – numbers many of the Mainstream Media polls have been using as a template for their polling samples. Hillary Clinton was never going to get out the black vote like Barack Obama, and yet the polling firms continued to sample as if she were which resulted in Hillary polling better than she actually is. Second, the white voter turnout is said to be up – BIG-TIME, and Trump leads among white voters over Hillary – BIG TIME. Third, Trump continues to show well among independent voters. Fourth, Trump is doing better among female voters than some of the Mainstream Media polls have indicated. Lastly, Trump is doing better among Hispanic voters than some of the Mainstream Media polls have indicated. The Trump campaign is also looking strong in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Virginia.

‘American Comeback Story’: Watch Unbelievable Story of How Donald Trump Changed Boxer William Campudoni’s Life
Breitbart - A video, provided exclusively to Breitbart News Network ahead of its public release, shows the story of boxer William Campudoni and how a billionaire real estate tycoon, now running for president, Donald J. Trump, changed his life. “I was a young pro Puerto Rican boxer,” Campudoni said in the short film, about five minutes long, as it opens over footage of him boxing on television. “One of the originals the legendary Cus D’Amato took in. I worked and trained with the best: Tyson, Holyfield, and George Foreman. But before I could rise in boxing, someone gave me a chance like nobody else would.” Campudoni was struggling, having grown up “very poor” in Spanish Harlem in New York, when he stumbled one night into Trump Tower asking for a job after leaving St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Donald Trump himself hired Campudoni the next day. “I walked inside, and I said, ‘I’m looking for work,’” Campudoni said. “The next day, Trump hired me off the streets. He gave me five navy blue suits. He shook my hand and said, ‘Welcome to the family.’”…. [read more]

$6 Million Later: North Dakota Police Can’t Afford The Pipeline Protest
REALfarmacy - Law enforcement in North Dakota is running out of money protecting the Dakota Access oil pipeline. A legislative committee will be reviewing an emergency request to borrow more money from the Bank of North Dakota to cover the cost of law enforcement’s involvement in the Dakota Access pipeline protests. The department has used an increasing amount of money since the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which was supposed to be saved for natural disasters, but is now used to protect the pipeline that is planned to go through 1851 treaty land. To fight for companies behind the DAPL, officers from at least 6 states have been deployed. North Dakota is responsible for reimbursing out-of-state police agencies for costs that have to do with wages, overtime, officer benefits, meals while on duty, a per diem while off duty, lodging and mileage for the communities that sent vehicles. overnor Jack Dalrymple will vote on Tuesday, November 8th on whether to borrow $4 million from the state-owned bank. The panel has already borrowed and spent $6 million from the bank in September. North Dakota officials have also requested federal officials to reimburse the state for the additional law enforcement costs. All of this money going towards the police brings a lot into question. How much taxpayer money will be used to protect the investment of a company over investments on human health? How much money is given to law enforcement, military, and corporations in order to silence the people fighting for justice?

5.0 Earthquake Rattles Oklahoma Oil Town of Cushing
EcoWatch - A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck Oklahoma Sunday night, damaging buildings in the heart of the oil hub town of Cushing. Schools are closed and parts of the downtown area are cordoned off, as the latest in a string of 19 quakes were recorded in Oklahoma last week, an area where such events were virtually unknown prior to the fracking boom.,,,, The quake was felt as far as Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas. Oklahoma has become the world capital of earthquakes. In neighboring Kansas, injection of wastewater from fracking was determined as the cause of the state's largest-ever earthquake in 2014. A study published in Science determined a link between wastewater injection and earthquakes in Texas. And earlier this year, a study confirmed a causal relationship not only between wastewater injection and fracking, but to the process of hydraulic fracturing itself.

Feds to Dish Out $1.7 Billion to Ranchers, Farmers to Leave Land Fallow
CNS News - The United States Department of Agriculture announced it will “invest” $1.7 billion in 500,000 ranchers and farmers to stop production on “sensitive agricultural lands.” “The investment, part of the voluntary USDA Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), will allow producers to protect almost 24 million acres of wetlands, grasslands and wildlife habitat in 2016,” the Oct. 28 announcement said. The ranchers and farmers “enroll” in the program to have access to the funding. “CRP provides financial assistance to farmers and ranchers who remove environmentally sensitive land from production to be planted with certain grasses, shrubs and trees that improve water quality, prevent soil erosion, and increase wildlife habitat,” the announcement said. “In return for enrolling in CRP, USDA, through the Farm Service Agency (FSA), provides participants with rental payments and cost-share assistance. Landowners enter into contracts that last between 10 and 15 years.” "We have seen record demand to participate in this important program," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in the press release announcing the funding.... “More than 1.3 million acres were newly enrolled in CRP in fiscal year 2016 using the continuous enrollment authority, double the pace of the previous year,” the announcement said. “In fiscal year 2016, FSA also accepted 411,000 acres through its general enrollment authority, plus 101,000 acres in the new CRP-Grasslands program, which balances conservation with working lands.”

5 States That Grow the Most Organic Food Per Acre
EcoWatch - A new report has found that U.S. land for organic farming reached 4.1 million acres in 2016, a new record and an 11 percent increase compared to 2014. As of June 2016, the number of certified organic farms in the U.S. reached 14,979, a 6.2 percent increase of 1,000 farms compared to 2014 survey data. The Mercaris Organic Acreage Report found that the top five states in organic cropland are California, Montana, Wisconsin, New York and North Dakota. California leads the U.S. with 688,000 acres. However, Montana has seen a 30 percent increase in organic farmland, reaching 417,000 acres in 2016, an increase of 100,000 acres since 2014 and adding 50 new organic farms. The report also estimates that North Dakota, Colorado and New York all increased their organic farming acres by more than 40,000 since 2014. North Dakota has surpassed Oregon as the fifth leading state in organic acreage. Oregon is sixth followed by Colorado and Texas.

Tiny Homes Banned In U.S. At Increasing Rate As Govt Criminalizes Sustainable Living
Activist Post - These dwellings, typically defined as less than 500 square feet, are a way for people to break free of mortgages, taxes, utility bills and the general trappings of “stuff.” They’re especially attractive to millennials and retirees, or those seeking to live off-grid. But government and corporations depend on rampant consumerism and people being connected to the grid. Seeking actual freedom through minimalist living should seem like a natural fit for the American Dream, but the reality is that many governments around the country either ban tiny homes or force them to be connected to the utility grid. Some of the more recent examples of explicit bans include Etowah, TN and Wasilla, AK, which don’t allow homes less than 600 square feet and 700 square feet, respectively. Boise, ID doesn’t allow homes less than a few hundred square feet, as Shaun Wheeler of Wheeler Homes found when he built a perfectly good and safe 310 sq. ft. home. Lawmakers spout slippery slope fallacies, saying that allowing tiny homes will lead to decay and “unsightly little cabins plunked down next to traditional homes.” Using government force to stamp out societal change in response to financial factors is this councilman’s idea of conservatism.

4 Simple, All-Natural Steps To Rebuilding Your Gums (That Don’t Involve The Dentist)
Off the Grid News - In the past 12 years, I’ve had many patients in my nutritional practice that have had gum issues. Once the overall nutrition is upgraded, the gum problems disappear. This gives evidence to the idea that when you provide everything the body needs to heal, the gums heal. And the beauty of this strategy is that not only will the gums heal, but so will other areas of the body. Your body loves to heal many things simultaneously…. Below is a step-by-step strategy for healing your gums that I use with many patients. Obviously it is not specific to every case, so results are variable depending on what’s happening in your mouth. However, most people will be able to see rapid improvement quickly. 1. Cut the sugar - Stop eating sugary foods and beverages laced with corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup. Sugar directly damages your teeth, causing cavities. It alters your body pH so that minerals are pulled out from tissues like the gums just to keep the pH constant in the blood. It’s your choice: Either you want healthy teeth and gums or you want sugar. 2. Eat enough protein - Protein is a requirement for life. If you provide enough of it, your body can start to repair itself. If you don’t provide enough, little by little your body’s protein stores will be depleted. Since the gums aren’t high priority, you can expect their structure to fall sooner before other tissues in your body…. 3. Take your vitamin C supplements - A minimum of 1,000 milligrams per day is helpful. In many cases, 2,000 milligrams daily is better. Vitamin C is especially important to prevent bleeding at the gum line. 4. Use diatomaceous earth (DE) as a dietary supplement - This is a source of dietary silica, which rebuilds gums fast. Get the USDA food & chemical grade version of this, which does not contain any insecticides or other chemicals. The food and chemical grade DE is not the same as the pool grade DE, which is toxic. Always remember food and chemical grade. Take one heaping tablespoon twice daily and also do a mouth rinse with one teaspoon of DE and water twice daily. You’ll notice a difference quickly. In each tooth are approximately three miles of tubules that rebuild your teeth. The DE goes directly into the tubules and starts rebuilding the teeth from the inside out while it’s also working directly on your gums.

Bee propolis has 9 surprising health benefits
(NaturalHealth365) If you love natural cures, you should know about bee propolis. Propolis benefits are ... 1. Cancer cell death - Propolis seems to suppress numerous types of cancer, including prostate and colon cancer. It does so by triggering cell death and necrosis. Unlike chemotherapy, propolis only targets cancer cells, not healthy cells. 2. Healthier bones - Propolis also helps to build and maintain bone tissue. It suppresses the inflammatory response and halts bone deterioration. 3. Food poisoning relief - The antimicrobial effects of bee propolis make it effective against food poisoning. It effectively fights the microorganisms C. jejuni, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterobacter faecalis, three of the most common types. 4. Reduces inflammation - Complications from mouth or tooth injuries often include inflammation and infection. The anti-inflammatory propolis benefits were found to improve oral health outcomes. This offers promise for other conditions characterized by inflammation, including arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, and heart disease. 5. Lower blood pressure - Nitric oxide is crucial to heart health, and the TH (Tyrosine hydroxylase) enzyme can limit its production. Bee propolis decreases TH activity, leading to better blood pressure and relief from hypertension. 6. An effective wart remover - Plantar warts can be particularly difficult to treat, but propolis has been found highly effective when applied topically. Apply daily for two weeks for best results….

MUST SEE: Cats Totally Destroy a Holiday Wonderland in This Hilarious Commercial
The Catington Post - Cats and Christmas. While separately both are loved, those two words together strike panic and fear among the humans who share their homes with a cat. How many of us forgo even putting up a tree because we just know our feline friends will seek to destroy it? (raises hand) This Christmas ad featuring twenty-two adorable cats and kittens speaks directly to anyone who’s had a cat attempt to tear down the tree. The horde of hungry, destructive felines are unleashed upon a sweet Christmas wonderland that includes a tree adorned with decorations, a delicious spread, a holiday train, and yes -presents! Anyone who has a cat can imagine the hilarious cat-tastrophe that occurs!
 

Monday - November 7, 2016 - Today In History:

1811 - The Shawnee Indians of chief Tecumseh were defeated by William Henry Harrison at the Battle of Wabash (or (Tippecanoe).
1874 - The Republican party of the U.S. was first symbolized as an elephant in a cartoon by Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly.
1893 - The state of Colorado granted its women the right to vote.
1895 - The last spike was driven into Canada's first transcontinental railway in the mountains of British Columbia.
1914 - The "New Republic" magazine was printed for the first time.
1916 - Jeanette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress.
1917 - Russia's Bolshevik Revolution took place. The provisional government of Alexander Kerensky was overthrown by forces led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.
1918 - During World War I, a false report through the United Press announced that an armistice had been signed.
1944 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first person to win a fourth term as president.
1967 - Carl Stokes was elected the first black mayor Cleveland, OH, becoming the first black mayor of a major city.
1967 - U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a bill establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
1967 - The U.S. Selective Service Commission announced that college students arrested in anti-war demonstrations would lose their draft deferments.
1973 - Congress over-rode President Nixon's veto of the War Powers Act, which limits a chief executive's power to wage war without congressional approval.
1983 - A bomb exploded in the U.S. Capitol. No one was injured.
1995 - In a Japanese courtroom, three U.S. military men admitted to the rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan schoolgirl.
2000 - Hillary Rodham Clinton made history as the first president's wife to win public office. The state of New York elected her to the U.S. Senate. (New York)
2001 - After a 16-month stoppage the Concorde resumed flying commercially.

Russia demands Washington explain after reports say US military hacked into Russian networks
RT - Russia expects Washington to provide an explanation after a report claimed that Pentagon cyber-offensive specialists have hacked into Russia’s power grids, telecommunications networks, and the Kremlin’s command systems for a possible sabotage. “If no official reaction from the American administration follows, it would mean state cyberterrorism exists in the US. If the threats of the attack, which were published by the US media, are carried out, Moscow would be justified in charging Washington,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, according to the ministry’s website. NBC News said earlier in an exclusive report that US military hackers have penetrated crucial infrastructure in Russia, “making them vulnerable to attack by secret American cyber weapons should the US deem it necessary.”. The report was based on the account of a senior US intelligence official and top-secret documents. NBC said the hack was carried out in preparation for waging a full-scale cyberwar with Russia.

US-backed Syrian militia move to retake ISIS ‘capital’ Raqqa with American air cover
RT - The Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, said some 30,000 fighters are to take part in the operation.... The operation, called Angry Euphrates, was announced earlier Sunday by SDF commanders at a press conference in the Syrian town of Ain Issa, about 60 kilometers northwest of Raqqa.... According to the group, the goal of the operation is to "isolate and then topple the capital of international terrorism" Raqqa, meaning that the city will, first, be surrounded by SDF forces before they to capture it.... The SDF is a militia alliance formed in 2015 with the goal of battling Islamic State. The Syrian YPG Kurdish force, one of Syria’s most powerful militias, is regarded as the backbone of the alliance. Announcing their offensive, the group urged Raqqa civilians to avoid area where Islamic State militants are present and move to "liberated territory." Reports say that militants within the city have begun putting up fortifications in preparation for the SDF assault and have reportedly forbidden the residents from leaving. They have also mined the approaches to the city and set up a network of checkpoints along them.... Since it was formed in early 2015, the SDF has seized large swathes of territory along the Syria-Turkey border and pushed IS back to within 30 kilometers (18 miles) of Raqqa, a provincial capital on the Euphrates River in Syria’s largely desert east. Several hundred US Special Forces operatives were sent into Syria earlier this year to “advise and assist” the SDF. The United States considers the YPG the most effective force against IS, but Turkey has repeatedly said it will not accept a role for the Kurds in the liberation of Raqqa. Ankara, a key US ally in the region, regards the Syrian Kurds as terrorists allied with Kurdish insurgents inside Turkey.

Iraqis Near Mosul in 'Smoke-Filled Hell' as ISIS Burns Oil Wells
NBC News - Thousands of families are living in a "smoke-filled hell" in Iraq after ISIS set fire to oil wells and created a black cloud bigger than Los Angeles, a charity said Friday. The extremists have torched more than a dozen wells near Mosul during their retreat into the city in the face of a massive U.S.-backed offensive. The disruptive tactic mirrors that used by Saddam Hussein, whose forces torched oil wells to mask their retreat from Kuwait during the Gulf War in 1991. The fires lit by ISIS have produced thick black smoke that "blocks out the sun and turns children's faces grey with oily soot," Oxfam said in a report published…. ISIS has also set fire to a sulfur plant, which NASA said was emitting "tremendous quantities of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere" and has caused at least 1,000 people to be treated for breathing problems. The main worry, according to Oxfam, is that the smoke from the oil wells will cause bronchitis among a population that has scant access to medicine.

"The People Made Their Choice" - Theresa May Vows To Deliver "Full" EU Exit Despite Court Challenge
Zero Hedge - In the aftermath of last week's surprising decision by a UK High Court to force a parliamentary vote on Article 50, a hard - or even soft - Brexit suddenly has been put in question, having thrown the government's plans to launch a two-year divorce process by the end of March into disarray.... So in her first public statement since the vote, British Prime Minister Theresa May, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, said she is confident of overturning the ruling and vowed that she would deliver a full exit from the European Union, hitting back at critics of her Brexit strategy who have threatened to try to block the process in parliament. In her op-ed, May signaled she would resist any attempt to force her to change her approach to leaving the EU: "The people made their choice, and did so decisively. It is the responsibility of the government to get on with the job and to carry out their instruction in full," May wrote. She said members of parliament who regretted the referendum result "need to accept what the people decided"..... Meanwhile, the head of Britain's opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, said in a newspaper interview that he would try to block the commencement of divorce talks with the EU if the government does not agree to his Brexit demands. Adding to the confusion, arch-eurosceptic and the man who led the UKIP's successful Brexit campaign, Nigel Farage said there was a growing movement to keep Britain within the EU's tariff-free single market - a scenario he called a "half-Brexit" that went against the referendum result. "If the people in this country think that they're going to be cheated, they're going to be betrayed, then we will see political anger the likes of which none of us in our lifetimes have ever witnessed in this country," he told the BBC. Echoing commentary from Deutsche Bank, Farage also told ITV that Theresa May should call an early general election to avoid a "betrayal" of the public over Brexit.

France to collect personal data of 60 million with controversial database
France 24 - The massive database, known as Secure Electronic Documents (Titres électroniques sécurisés or TES), was decreed by the government on October 30 in an effort to crack down on identity theft.... The TES will affect 60 million people and marks the first time the country has collected population data on such a scale since the start of the Nazi Occupation in 1940. The database will include all the same information included on a French identity card or passport, depending on which a person holds: The first and last names, address, eye colour, weight, marital status, a photograph and the fingerprints of nearly everyone in France (with the exception of children under the age of 12) will be compiled into a single centralised system. The information taken from passports will be stored for 15 years while identity card information will be kept for 20.... The TES... can only be accessed by authorities to verify an individual’s identity. But the government’s decision to issue a decree on the system instead of submitting a bill for parliamentary approval has raised questions over the database’s legality. “One could think that the government is trying to circumvent the Constitutional Court by issuing a decree, because the only way to contest it now is to go to the State Council [Conseil d’état, France’s highest administrative court],” [lawyer Antoine] Cheron said.... Critics fear that the increased security it promises will come at the expense of individual civil liberties and privacy.... “Despite the government’s denials, the database’s contents could eventually be paired, for example, with information collected from surveillance cameras,” Cheron explained. Authorities might then someday be able to cross-reference ID photos with video footage to geolocate any individual in France at any given time, in a scenario worthy of an Orwell novel. Back in 2012 [Justice Minister Jean-Jacques] Urvoas wrote a blog post entitled, “Against the honest people’s file”, in which he warned against another possible risk of creating a database like TES: hacking. “No computer system is impenetrable. Any database can be hacked. It’s just a question of time,” he wrote.

Obama FBI’s 11th Hour Shocker: Comey Says No Charges for Hillary
Breitbart - UPDATE: Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus reacts to this breaking news, with a statement reaffirming that the Clinton’s charity, which has raised billions of dollars, is still under FBI investigation: “The FBI’s findings from its criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton’s secret email server were a damning and unprecedented indictment of her judgment. The FBI found evidence Clinton broke the law, that she placed highly classified national security information at risk and repeatedly lied to the American people about her reckless conduct. None of this changes the fact that the FBI continues to investigate the Clinton Foundation for corruption involving her tenure as secretary of state. Hillary Clinton should never be president.” The original story… FBI director James Comey tells Congress review of additional Clinton emails does not change conclusion she should not face charges. Comey says that agents have “reviewed all of the communications that were to or from Hillary Clinton” that were part of newly discovered emails. Comey sent a letter to Congress Sunday informing them that the FBI has “not changed our conclusions” from earlier this year that she should not face charges. The emails were found on the computer of Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin. Comey’s brief letter did not indicate how many emails were reviewed or what sort of material was found in Abedin’s emails.

Clinton Directed Her Maid To Print Out Classified Materials
NY Post - Clinton entrusted far more than the care of her DC residence, known as Whitehaven, to [Marina] Santos. She expected the Filipino immigrant to handle state secrets, further opening the Democratic presidential nominee to criticism that she played fast and loose with national security. In fact, Marina Santos was called on so frequently to receive e-mails that she may hold the secrets to E-mailgate — if only the FBI and Congress would subpoena her and the equipment she used. Clinton entrusted far more than the care of her DC residence, known as Whitehaven, to Santos. She expected the Filipino immigrant to handle state secrets… Clinton would first receive highly sensitive e-mails from top aides at the State Department and then request that they, in turn, forward the messages and any attached documents to Santos to print out for her at the home. Among other things, Clinton requested Santos print out drafts of her speeches, confidential memos and “call sheets” — background information and talking points prepared for the secretary of state in advance of a phone call with a foreign head of state…. Santos also had access to a highly secure room called an SCIF (sensitive compartmented information facility) that diplomatic security agents set up at Whitehaven, according to FBI notes from an interview with Abedin. From within the SCIF, Santos — who had no clearance — “collected documents from the secure facsimile machine for Clinton,” the FBI notes revealed. Just how sensitive were the papers Santos presumably handled? The FBI noted Clinton periodically received the Presidential Daily Brief — a top-secret document prepared by the CIA and other US intelligence agencies — via the secure fax…. Yet it appears Clinton was never asked by the FBI in its yearlong investigation to turn over the iMac Santos used to receive the e-mails, or the printer she used to print out the documents, or the printouts themselves. As The Post first reported, copies of Clinton’s 33,000 allegedly destroyed e-mails still exist in other locations and could be recovered if investigators were turned loose to seize them. Higher-ups at the Justice Department reportedly have blocked them from obtaining search warrants to obtain the evidence. It also appears the FBI did not formally interview Santos as a key witness in its investigation.

Wikileaks: Clinton Campaign Chairman Practices Aleister Crowley Black Magic
Paul Joseph Watson - In what is undoubtedly the most bizarre Wikileaks revelation to date, Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta was invited to a “spirit cooking dinner” by performance artist Marina Abramovic, to take part in an occult ritual founded by Satanist Aleister Crowley. In an email dated June 28, 2015, Abramovic wrote, “I am so looking forward to the Spirit Cooking dinner at my place. Do you think you will be able to let me know if your brother is joining? All my love, Marina.” Tony Podesta then forwarded the email to his brother John Podesta (Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman), asking him, “Are you in NYC Thursday July 9 Marina wants you to come to dinner.” Spirit cooking refers to “a sacrament in the religion of Thelema which was founded by Aleister Crowley” and involves an occult performance during which menstrual blood, breast milk, urine and sperm are used to create a “painting”. According to Marina Abramovic, if the ritual is performed in an art gallery, it is merely art, but if the ritual is performed privately, then it represents an intimate spiritual ceremony.

Egyptian Government Favors Trump, Fears Clinton Will Support Muslim Brotherhood
Breitbart - TEL AVIV – Egypt favors Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in the race to become the next president, fearing that a Democratic victory will be a “catastrophe” for the region as it will “arouse” the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic State, an examination of the government press shows. Even though the Egyptian government has officially said it has “nothing to do with” the outcome of the election, there have been abundant statements made by Egyptian President Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi and senior officials that reflect the regime’s strong preference for Trump. Following Al-Sisi’s meetings with both presidential candidates, media reports from the Egyptian government press translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) indicate that the president’s meeting with Trump was a warmer, friendlier and more open encounter than his appointment with Clinton. Trump was praised for commending Egypt on its tough stance on terror and promised that under a Trump administration, the U.S. would be “a loyal friend to Egypt” and not simply an ally. Trump’s foreign policy adviser Walid Phares described the meeting as “historic” and said that Trump was committed to “restoring the warmth to U.S.-Egypt relations, which are presently in a very difficult phase,” Egypt’s Al-Masri Al-Yawm noted. Al Watan reported that Trump also promised Al-Sisi to promote legislation designating the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. This is in stark contrast with Clinton, who is viewed with suspicion due to her past support for the protests against Hosni Mubarak’s regime and her disapproval of Al-Sisi’s ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood figure Muhammad Morsi in 2013. The government daily Al-Ahram claimed that Clinton’s personal aide, Huma Abedin, is a member of the Brotherhood and serves as Clinton’s liaison with the organization.

Assange: Clinton & ISIS Funded By Same Money, Trump Won’t Be Allowed To Win (Video)
RT - In the second excerpt from the John Pilger Special, to be exclusively broadcast by RT on Saturday, courtesy of Dartmouth Films, Julian Assange accuses Hillary Clinton of misleading Americans about the true scope of Islamic State’s support from Washington’s Middle East allies. In a 2014 email made public by Assange’s WikiLeaks last month, Hillary Clinton, who had served as secretary of state until the year before, urges John Podesta, then an advisor to Barack Obama, to “bring pressure” on Qatar and Saudi Arabia, “which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL [Islamic State, IS, ISIS] and other radical Sunni groups.” “I think this is the most significant email in the whole collection,” Assange, whose whistleblowing site released three tranches of Clinton-related emails over the past year, told Pilger in an exclusive interview, courtesy of Dartmouth Films.“All serious analysts know, and even the US government has agreed, that some Saudi figures have been supporting ISIS and funding ISIS, but the dodge has always been that it is some “rogue” princes using their oil money to do whatever they like, but actually the government disapproves. But that email says that it is the government of Saudi Arabia, and the government of Qatar that have been funding ISIS.”

Obama: Latinos Should Vote to Give Undocumented Family Members a Voice
Breitbart - In an interview with Latino star Gina Rodriguez, President Barack Obama urged all American Latinos to vote, specifically Latino citizens who knew illegal immigrants or had illegal family members living in the United States. Rodriguez asked Obama whether “undocumented citizens” should vote, specifying that she calls illegal immigrants “citizens” because they contribute and work in the United States. Obama ignored her question, specifying that all Latino citizens should vote and that fears of them getting deported if they did were “not true.”

Florida Elections Worker: "I Was Fired For Witnessing Possible Absentee Ballot Fraud"
Zero Hedge - Per a new report from NewsMax, the 2016 election cycle may be among the most controversial yet as a temporary worker for the Broward County Supervisor of Elections office has been fired after reporting what she thought to be "election fraud." In a sworn affidavit presented to the Florida State Attorney General, this temporary worker claims that she witnessed "four Supervisor of Elections employees sitting at the same table actively filling out election ballots." Further, according to the affidavit, each of the four workers "had a stack of blank ballots to the right of them … and a stack of completed ballots to their left.".... According to Brenda Snipes, the Broward County Supervisor of Elections, what this terminated employee witnessed was workers simply transcribing faxed paper ballots from the men and women of our armed forces from overseas. According to Snipes, those faxed ballots are a different size than regular ballots and thus have to be converted to the official forms in order to be counted.... Of course, there is just one small issue with that explanation as the sworn testimony of the terminated employee specifically notes that the completed and blank ballots were the same size. Moreover, if this was all just a simple misunderstanding then why was the whistle blower fired? .... With reports like these flowing in from all over the country and the latest polls indicating extremely tight races in multiple important swing states, Tuesday night is looking to be a very interesting evening.

Nate Silver warns Clinton is 'one state away' from losing Electoral College
Business Insider - Statistician Nate Silver warned on Sunday that Hillary Clinton's path to capturing the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House now appears narrower than President Barack Obama's path at this point in 2012. In an appearance on ABC's "This Week," the FiveThirtyEight chief claimed Clinton is a "2-to-1 favorite," but noted that recent polls show Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump with a slight edge in electoral college-heavy states like Florida, Ohio, and North Carolina. "The electoral college math is actually less solid for Clinton than it was for Obama four years ago, where four years ago we had Obama ahead 320-some electoral votes. Clinton has about 270," Silver said. "So she's one state away from potentially losing the electoral college. You'd rather be in her shoes than Donald Trump's, but it's not a terribly safe position." While other polling aggregators like the New York Times' Upshot and HuffPost Pollster have put Clinton's chances of winning around 84% and 98% respectively, Silver's model gives Trump a greater chance of winning.

Newsweek To Ship Thousands Of Clinton Victory 'Special Edition'
Your News Wire - Stacks of boxes with the Special Edition ‘Madam President’ cover depicting Hillary Clinton winning the U.S. presidential race next week were secretly photographed by a Newsweek employee who says that there were no Trump versions made. The find proves that the media, in collusion with the Clinton campaign, have planned for a Hillary victory all along. According to the Newsweek insider, printing large numbers of magazines declaring the winner ahead of the results is unheard of due to the high cost and risk associated. Normally draft versions of both candidates winning would be made in a PDF (offline) version, with printing and distribution only happening after the results have been called. According to author Jim Stone: The fact it is already in print,complete with barcode when it should only be in PDF, or other computer file form says it all. Your argument is “well they have both candidates in print as winning so they are ready to go.” Here is the problem with that theory. In 2012 the only candidate leaked magazine and tv polls showed winning was Obama. No one else! That kills that theory. There are those who are saying this release of photos by a Newsweek employee is a Psyop to make people give up and not vote. I say take it as confirmation that you had better get out and vote Trump.

BREAKING POLLS: Trump +8 in OH, +16 in FL with Election Day Voters
The Gateway Pundit - Donald Trump and Hillary are nearly tied with early voting in Florida. Trump is not campaigning in Ohio today. The campaign believes this is a safe state.

Donald Trump Takes Nearly 6 Point Lead over #CrookedHillary in Latest LA Times Poll
The Gateway Pundit - Donald Trump holds his largest lead yet in the LA Times-USC Dornsife poll. Trump now leads Hillary Clinton by 5.6 points. 48.2 to 42.6…. Donald Trump is nearly tied with Crooked Hillary with the Latino vote. Trump has 42.4% support. Hillary has 45.8% support.

Emergency! Hillary Clinton Sends Obama to Save Michigan
Breitbart - According to CNN’s Jeff Zelany, campaign sources said that President Obama wanted to go back into Iowa but was told that it was “out of reach” and to go to Michigan instead. The Clinton campaign appears worried about upper mid-west states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota that are traditionally safe Democratic states. Clinton also made a last minute stop in Detroit on Friday to encourage voters to go to the polls. Obama will travel aboard Air Force One on Monday morning to campaign in Ann Arbor, Michigan before jetting back to Philadelphia to hold a final event with his wife Michelle Obama and Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump is rushed off the stage by Secret Service while speaking during Reno rally after a 'Republicans against Trump' protester causes chaos in the crowd over fears he had a gun (Video, Photos)
Daily Mail - Secret Service agents rushed Donald Trump offstage on Saturday evening during a rally in Reno, Nevada, after they determined a protester in the audience might pose a threat to the Republican presidential candidate. 'Go! Go!' agents shouted as they whisked Trump away and a combination of local police and private security wrestled Austyn Crites, 33, to the ground in the front of the crowd. Crites identifies as a Republican who supports Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, according to his Facebook page. A senior Trump campaign official told DailyMail.com that the suspect, whom rally-goers already identified as an anti-Trump protester, caused a panic when he reached into his waistband. At that point, the campaign official said, a voice called out: 'He's got a gun!' Trump's protective detail sprang into action, pulling him offstage as a sea of bodies scattered, screams rang out and authorities dragged Crites away as he kicked and strained. he U.S. Secret Service said in a statement that 'a commotion' had occurred 'in the crowd immediately in front of the stage' and 'an unidentified individual shouted, "gun".' 'Secret Service agents and Reno police officers immediately apprehended the subject. Upon a thorough search of the subject and the surrounding area, no weapon was found,' the statement added…. One witness told DailyMail.com that a holstered gun was spotted on the hip of a plainclothes officer, adding to the confusion…. A short time after the fracas, Trump returned onstage and addressed the audience as he continued his rally speech, appearing unrattled by the scuffle and spoke with his usual self-confidence.

No One Tried To Assassinate Donald Trump … But Austyn Crites Shows Up In WikiLeaks 7 Times
Activist Post - Although it doesn’t appear that Austyn Crites was trying to assassinate Donald Trump, it’s very interesting that he does appear in the WikiLeaks dumps…not once but SEVEN TIMES. Each of those leaks contains an Excel file, and Crites’ name and address in Reno is in each of those Excel files. However…these aren’t the Podesta Emails. These are the Global Intelligence Files. On Monday February 27th, 2012, WikiLeaks began publishing The Global Intelligence Files, over five million e-mails from the Texas headquartered “global intelligence” company Stratfor. The e-mails date between July 2004 and late December 2011. They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal’s Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defence Intelligence Agency. The emails show Stratfor’s web of informers, pay-off structure, payment laundering techniques and psychological methods.... And the man who disrupted the Trump rally is in them. To find his name, you have to open the Excel files attached to each leak.... But… Things aren’t as they first appeared. First off, no gun was found, even though two eyewitnesses claim to have seen one. Secondly, Crites didn’t try to kill anyone. He was there, apparently, voicing his dissenting opinion and protesting Trump. He was quickly released by police after being questioned.... When you put this all together, it’s pretty hard not to think about the Project Veritas videos. The Project Veritas videos put Scott Foval and Doug Creamer in the spotlight, and both had FEC complaints filed against them due to their unscrupulous methods of “helping” the Clinton campaign.... Gosh, is that sort of like an “innocent” guy with a sign getting beaten up because someone yelled “gun”? Because it kinda sounds like that.

Gunshots Hit Trump Sign Outside of North Carolina Home
Breitbart - The incident happened late Saturday outside of James Powers’ home in Cary, where the gunman fired 20 shots at the sign hanging on his front porch, WRAL reported. No injuries were reported from the shooting, but a few bullets hit the home. Powers believes the only motive the shooter had to shoot at his house was due to the campaign signs on his porch…. Powers said he won’t take down his Trump sign despite the damage, and noted that there have been similar incidents in his neighborhood where other Trump signs were destroyed. Trump signs aren’t the only things that vandals have destroyed. Reports of vandalism against Trump’s campaign offices have peppered the news over the past few days, with campaign offices in Denver attacked twice in the span of 24 hours. In the first attack, anti-Trump slogans and words such as “pervert” and “thief” were painted on the brick wall as well as the windows of the office. In the second attack on the same office, a rock was thrown through the office’s front window. A Republican campaign office in Alamance County, North Carolina was also vandalized earlier this week from a spray paint attack, WTVD reported. Last month, a Republican Party office in Hillsborough, North Carolina was firebombed and spray-painted with the phrase “Nazi Republicans” on a nearby wall.

VIDEO: Trump Supporter’s Truck Torched Because of Bumper Sticker
Breitbart - A California man says his truck was set on fire after a stranger saw his pro-Donald Trump sticker on his truck and yelled expletives against Trump, Sacramento-area Fox affiliate KTXL reported. Hao Lee took his 2-year-old son fishing in Sacramento and parked his truck, a white Dodge Ram that displayed two Trump stickers on its bumper, across the street…. Lee and his son were near the edge of the river, only 50 yards away from where his truck was parked. Lee and his son were near the edge of the river, only 50 yards away from where his truck was parked. Lee didn’t move from his spot near the water, because he wanted to make sure his son was safe. By the time Lee approached the truck, the commotion and voices were gone and his truck was up in flames.,,, There have been several recent cases of vandalism against Trump campaign offices. An office in Denver was vandalized twice in the same day on Friday, according to CBS News.

Since 2014 The US Has Added 547,000 Waiters And Bartenders And Lost 36,000 Manufacturing Workers
Zero Hedge - As another month passes, the great schism inside the American labor force get wider. We are referring to the unprecedented divergence between the total number of high-paying manufacturing jobs, and minimum-wage food service and drinking places jobs, also known as waiters and bartenders. In October, according to the BLS, while the number of people employed by "food services and drinking places" rose by another 10,000, the US workforce lost another 9,000 manufacturing workers.... Yet while we would be the first to congratulate the new American waiter and bartender class, something does not smell quite right. On one hand, there has been a spike in recent restaurant bankruptcies or mass closures (Logan's, Fox and Hound, Bob Evans), which has failed to reflect in the government report. On the other hand, as the National Restaurant Association's Restaurant performance activity index showed last month, overall industry sentiment is the worst since the financial crisis, due to declines in both same-store sales and customer traffic, suggesting that restaurant workers should now be in the line of fire for mass layoffs. Putting this divergence in a long context, since the official start of the last recession in December 2007, the US has gained 1.7 million waiters and bartenders, and lost 1.5 million manufacturing workers. Worse, while the latter series had been growing, if at a slower pace than historically, it has now clearly rolled over, and in 2016, some 58,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost. Like last month, we remain curious what this "data" series will look like after it is revised by the BLS shortly after the NBER declares the official start of the next recession.

Here Is The Reason Why 82% Of American Workers Don't Feel Any Wage Growth
Zero Hedge - There is a simple reason why the vast majority of American workers, some 82% of them, are not feeling any wage growth: there simply isn't any. As a reminder, today [Friday] the BLS [Bureau of Labor Statistics] reported that average hourly earnings for all workers rose by 0.4% on a monthly basis, slightly more than consensus expectations. In part due to upward revisions to earlier months, the year-over-year rate accelerated to +2.8%, which was a new cyclical high and will be welcomed by the Fed as confirmation that its policies are working to boost worker income, and thus, inflation is just around the corner. There was just one problem with that: that number is for all workers, however when one looks at the subset of production and nonsupervisory private workers, which in October amounted to 101 million, or just over 82% of the entire private workforce, their wage growth story is very different. According to the BLS, these particular workers made on average $21.72 per hour, up only 2.4% from $21.21 a year ago, which as the chart below shows is where wage growth for this group has been all year, and after a modest dip in late 2014, has been largely unchanged since the start of 2014.... In other words, for the vast majority of American workers, real wage growth is still anemic, barely outrunning official measures of inflation, which was 1.5% in September, according to the most recent CPI report, and was 2.2% for core items, effectively eliminating any nominal wage growth. So where did the wage growth go? Simple: the 18% of supervisory, managerial workers... that are excluded from the above grouping, but make up the balance of America's 122.7 million private workers. It is this group that saw a surge in their implied average wages, which soared by an all time high 4.7% in October.

Real Unemployment Rate: 9.5%
CNS News - Although much of the major media are reporting the national unemployment rate for October as 4.9%, the "real unemployment rate," as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and which includes part-time workers and those marginally attached to the work force, is 9.5%.... The "total unemployed" rate, or U6 number, is defined by the BLS as, "total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of all civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers," seasonally adjusted, workers 16 years old and over. The Gallup survey group explains the incomplete nature of the "national unemployment rate." "Widely reported unemployment metrics in the U.S. do not accurately represent the reality of joblessness in America," says Gallup. "For example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not count a person who desires work as unemployed if he or she is not working and has stopped looking for work over the past four weeks. Similarly, the BLS does not count someone as unemployed if he or she is, for instance, an out-of-work engineer, construction worker or retail manager who performs a minimum of one hour of work a week and receives at least $20 in compensation."
* Related: HHS: 73,137,154 Enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP

BLM To Lease Ohio’s Only National Forest To Fracking Interests
Natural Society - The Bureau of Land Management plans to hold an online auction next month which will grant fossil fuel companies the right to frack Ohio’s only national forest. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) claims to manage public land for the “common good.” However, their actions as a federal agency consistently show that they really serve private interests, particularly those of the fossil fuel industry. The BLM and their controversial land leasing program lease hundreds of thousands of acres of land that belongs to the collective US citizenry to private interests, who exploit and, in some cases, permanently destroy that land. In the latest example of such “in your face” corruption, the BLM has moved to auction the rights to lease Ohio’s only national forest, which will be bid on by fracking companies. Following its final environmental assessment of the effects of fracking on Wayne National Forest, the BLM found that “no significant impact” would take place if fracking was allowed to occur in the area. However, the environmental assessment ignored fracking’s threat to drinking water, as well as its effect on air quality and climate. The assessment also fails to consider the cumulative effects of fracking in the forest and the assessment’s findings are based on research that is over 11 years old. Though many opponents of the BLM’s decision were shocked at the assessment’s inadequacy, this is standard procedure for the BLM, which gains a hefty profit from leasing the public land entrusted to them out to private interests. The BLM is now planning an online auction on December 13th, which will lease the first 1,600 acres of the forest. 40,000 additional acres will be leased in the coming months. The auction will lease the land for the specific use of oil and gas development and the acceptable minimum bid will likely be as low as $2 acre, the great benefit of fossil fuel companies.

FEMA Housing Not Expected in Flood-Ravaged Louisiana Until 2017
Breitbart - Victims of Louisiana’s largest and most disastrous flood since Hurricane Katrina were told by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials that they will not see temporary housing units arrive until 2017. Despite over 100,000 homes damaged and another 60,000 homes completely destroyed, the federal agency said they are so backlogged by temporary housing units, commonly referred to as FEMA trailers, that flood victims would have to wait at least until the next year. FEMA said some 5,300 Louisiana flood victims qualified for trailers, but they cannot get them shipped and brought to residents fast enough…. “It is a big joke, all of it,” Lavone Hatch told WBRZ in an interview, saying she applied for a FEMA trailer months ago but still has not heard a word from the federal agency.

Nestle Seeks More Groundwater to Expand Michigan Plant
Natural Society - The state of Michigan has given a preliminary go-ahead for food and beverage maker Nestle to nearly triple the amount of groundwater it will pump from beneath the state, to be bottled and sold at its Ice Mountain plant, approximately 120 miles from Flint. Nestle Waters North America asked the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to allow the company to increase pumping from 150 to 400 gallons-per-minute at 1 of its production wells north of Evart. The company already increased the well’s pumping rate last year and earlier this year, but needs the DEQ’s approval to max out the withdrawal capacity under the Section 17 of the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)…. Many Michigan residents feel Nestle has a lot of nerve asking for the increase, in light of Flint’s years-long nightmare over lead contamination in their drinking water. Many people in Flint still rely on bottled water for cooking, cleaning, and bathing as the government continues to drag its feet in replacing the corroded pipes. Nestle representatives defended the company’s efforts to pump more groundwater, saying the “U.S. market for bottled water in general is driving the bid for more Michigan groundwater.” That’s right, America. Nestle says it’s your fault. If that’s not infuriating enough, Nestle gets to pump that water for free. Under state law, private property owners may withdraw from the aquifer under their property for free. The only cost is $200 in annual paperwork.

Crack In Earth's Magnetic Shield Greater Than Expected
Opposing Views - The GRAPES-3 muon telescope [a dense EAS array operating with ~400 scintillator detectors and a 560 m2 tracking muon detector :-)] in Ooty, India, detected a spike in cosmic ray levels in Jun. 2015, but the severity of the event wasn’t revealed until Nov. 2016 through a study published in the scientific journal Physical Review Letters. The study reports for two hours on Jun. 22, 2015, particles from a giant cloud of fast-moving plasma penetrated the Earth’s atmosphere at approximately 1.6 million mph. The particles, originating from the surface of the sun, caused the Earth’s magnetosphere to shrink from 11 times to 4 times the earth’s radius -- allowing harmful solar winds to breach the Earth’s surface. Earth’s magnetosphere acts as the first line of defense between the Earth and the flow of galactic cosmic rays, which shield life on the planet from harmful ultraviolet radiation. It has a radius of over 620,000 miles, according to Wired.... "This vulnerability can occur when magnetized plasma from the Sun deforms Earth’s magnetic field, stretching its shape at the poles and diminishing its ability to deflect charged particles," Katherine Wright explains on the American Physical Society's website. The solar wind triggered a severe geomagnetic storm at the time of the event, generating vivid aurora borealis -- also known as "northern lights" -- and radio signal blackouts in many high-altitude countries.

EPA Accused of Withholding Documents in Lawsuit Alleging Breach of Pesticide Regulation
AllGov - Lead plaintiff Jeff Anderson, a beekeeper who owns honey farms in California and Minnesota, sued the EPA this past January, claiming a guidance document the agency issued in 2013 illegally widened exemptions for pesticide-coated seeds and their resulting dust-off. Anderson says a particularly toxic strain of pesticides known as neonicotinoids has killed hundreds of thousands of bees in recent years, poisoned birds and contaminated large swaths of soil and water. He says the EPA has failed to regulate neonicotinoids in the form of coated seeds and seed dust-off, even though it is required to under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). During a summary judgment hearing Thursday, plaintiffs' attorney Adam Keats said the EPA only turned over 200 pages of internal emails and documents, many of which were "riddled with redactions," and withheld an additional 5,000 pages of germane material. "The administrative record is woefully incomplete," Keats said. "It left us in the dark on many issues we feel would be relevant to the case." After the plaintiffs moved to compel the EPA to produce more documents in September, U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered the agency to turn over 5,000 pages of court-sealed files for him to review behind closed doors.... Alsup suggested Thursday that the government could be withholding relevant documents, based on his prior experience as a Justice Department attorney in the 1970s. During his time there, Alsup said he routinely witnessed government lawyers try to exclude pertinent files from disclosure in lawsuits. "I was jaded by that experience," Alsup said.

Newly Approved GM Potatoes Have Potential to Silence Human Genes
Natural Society - Late last week, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved two new strains of genetically engineered potatoes. … Though GM crops often use gene splicing, recombinant DNA, and similar techniques, these potatoes are the first plant product using a new technique to advance beyond the experimental stage. The technique, known as double-stranded (ds) RNA, reprograms and silences the genes of the organism. Essentially, a small molecule of RNA is inserted into the potato cells, which reprograms and silences genes in certain pathways. Yet, scientists around the world are aware that these “interfering” RNA molecules can find matches within human DNA, similarly reprogramming and silencing genes in the people who consume these potatoes. Other studies have confirmed this, such as a 2012 study which showed that dsRNA can transfer from plants to humans and other animals through food. In addition, dsRNA can silence the genes of other organisms who interact with the potato plant, such as honeybees. A study from 2013 found that dsRNA changed the expression of over 1400 genes in honeybees, 10% of their entire genome. The changes in gene expression occurred when the bees were exposed to a single needle containing dsRNA. The affected genes were involved in important developmental and metabolic processes associated with RNA processing and transport, hormone metabolism, immunity, and response to external stimuli and stress. Other scientists and concerned citizens have also noted that the dsRNA found in the potatoes targets several complex pathways, namely those involved in blight resistance and another involved in browning. This means that there is also the possibility that these modifications could interact with each other, creating new surprise side effects. Also, one of the substances suppressed by the dsRNA plays a vital role in the potatoes’ chemical makeup, and its absence is expected to negatively impact its ability to fight pests, something which will likely benefit pesticide companies much more than consumers. With such potential for disaster and so many unknowns, why were these GM potatoes given the green light?

Low vitamin C levels linked to higher blood levels of lead
(NaturalHealth365) The researchers [from the University of California at San Francisco] found a direct correlation between high levels of vitamin C and lower blood levels of lead. These results have major public health implications for combating lead toxicity, especially in developing children. The study looked at data from a national analysis of 19,000 persons ranging from adults to children six years of age. Children in the top one-third of vitamin C blood levels had a stunning 89 percent lowered incidence of lead toxicity. Adults were shown to have blood lead levels reduced by up to 68 percent with high vitamin C intake. While lead use has been banned for over 20 years, it had been included in gasoline, paint, products and building components. Despite the ban, people can still come into contact with it in older buildings and products. Lead has been linked with mental retardation in children exposed at a young age. Lead exposure can come from deteriorating paint, dust and contaminated soil…. The current ‘Recommended Daily Allowance’ of vitamin C of 60 mg (the amount in an average sized orange) is far too low. In many cases, at least 1,000 mg per day will be required to experience health benefits…. However, this is important to understand, doses as high as 25,000 mg daily (and often much greater) are usually required to be effective in fighting major issues like, cancer and systemic infections.

5 Best Prebiotic Foods – Because Probiotics Need to Eat Too
Natural News Blogs - The “good” bacteria strains are also known as probiotic bacteria. It is essential to keep probiotic bacteria flourishing in your body so that those “bad” bugs don’t take over the microbiome population. If “bad” bacterial strains take over, many different health problems can result including: constipation, intestinal gas, diarrhea, bad breath, candida infections, anemia, respiratory problems, Vitamin B deficiency, loss of good sleep and more! “Bad” bugs LOVE to eat sugary drinks, high fat foods and artificial ingredients, and they will communicate that to your brain. Scientists have called this the gut-brain connection…. Scientists have found that the strains of friendly little buggers living in and on your body love to eat foods called “prebiotics” (a classification of certain types of fiber). Here is a list of the 5 best natural food sources of prebiotics: GARLIC. This flavorful food contains approximately 11% inulin fiber, and 65 % of a naturally occurring prebiotic called fructooligosaccharides (FOS). The “good” bugs love to eat it and studies have shown that consuming garlic may help to prevent specific disease promoting bacterial strains from growing. ONIONS. 10% of the total fiber in onions is a prebiotic fiber called inulin and 6% is made up of FOS – known to strengthen “good” bacterial strains. DANDELION GREENS. These fiber-rich greens can be collected from just about anywhere, as they grow like weeds. In fact, most people would consider them just that but if you see dandelions don’t toss them. Add them to your salad! They not only provide about 7% prebiotic fiber (4 grams of fiber per 100-gram serving) but they also help to detoxify the body by cleansing the kidneys and liver. CHICORY ROOT. This food is easily added to main dishes and lends itself to many flavors. It is one of the most effective prebiotic foods and provides about 76% inulin fiber. APPLES. They aren’t just delicious – apples also keep the doctor away! Eating just one of these tasty fruits provides a short-chain fatty acid that feeds the “good” bacteria and helps kill off the “bad” bugs that can cause health problems. They also contain large amounts of a specific type of prebiotic fiber called pectin…. Get to know other prebiotic foods friendly bacteria strains like to eat including: chicory root, Jerusalem artichoke, leeks, asparagus, bananas, oats, cocoa (dark chocolate… yep!), flaxseed, and seaweed.
 

Thursday - November 3, 2016 - Today In History:

1796 - John Adams was elected the 2nd U.S. President.
1900 - The first automobile show in the United States opened at New York's Madison Square Garden.
1903 - Panama proclaimed its independence from Colombia.
1911 - Chevrolet Motor Car Company was founded by Louis Chevrolet and William C. Durant.
1941 - U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Grew warned that the Japanese may be planning a sudden attack on the U.S.
1952 - Frozen bread was offered for sale for the first time in a supermarket in Chester, NY.
1979 - 5 members of the Communist Workers' Party are shot to death in daylight at an anti-Ku Klux Klan rally in Greensboro, NC. 8 others were wounded.
1986 - The Ash-Shiraa, pro-Syrian Lebanese magazine, first broke the story of U.S. arms sales to Iran to secure the release of seven American hostages. The story turned into the Iran-Contra affair.
1987 - China told the U.S. that it would halt the sale of arms to Iran.
1991 - Israeli and Palestinian representatives held their first-ever face-to-face talks in Madrid, Spain.
1994 - Susan Smith of Union, SC, was arrested for drowning her 2 sons. Days earlier she claimed that the children had been abducted by a black carjacker.
1995 - U.S. President Clinton dedicated a memorial at Arlington National Cemetery to the 270 victims of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
1998 - Minnesota elected Jesse "The Body" Ventura, a former pro wrestler, as its governor.
2014 - In New York City, One World Trade Center opened for business.

NATO builds up offensive capability on borders of Russia & Belarus, Moscow to respond – MoD
RT - The US and NATO are building up their offensive capabilities on the Western borders of Russia and its ally Belarus, prompting Moscow to take reciprocal measures, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu told the two countries’ top military brass. “Those actions undermine strategic stability and are forcing Russia to take reciprocal defensive measures, including some in the Western theatre,” the defense minister said. NATO “has not abandoned attempts to dictate its will to other countries through economic and political means, as well as by military force,” he said, noting that “an information war is in full swing.” Confronted with a complex security environment, Russia and Belarus will join forces to strengthen their mutual security, Shoigu added. Advanced bilateral cooperation and a common stance on major global and regional security challenges allow us to successfully tackle strengthening our defense capabilities,” he stressed, adding that this approach appears to be necessary at this point, “as international crisis response mechanisms have stalled, while hotspots are already near our borders.” In order to address the security challenges, Russia is now supplying state-of-the-art armaments and weapons systems to the army units guarding the Western borders, as well as ramping up combat training for the troops, the Defense Minister said.

Iraqis in Mosul Find US Missiles at Captured Islamic State Base
Kurt Nimmo - The Iraqis found missiles at an Islamic State base in Mosul stamped with USA and DOD. The discovery did not warrant a headline on CNN or The New York Times. "Several US-made missiles were found in al-Shoura region to the South of Mosul," reports Iran’s al-Alam News Network, citing a local source. "The ISIL terrorists have sent US-made TOW anti-tank missiles to Tal Afar and it is quite evident that they are preparing for a long-term war," an Iraqi security official told an Arabic-language media outlet. In early 2015 Qasim al-Araji, the head of the Badr Organization in Iraq, told parliament he had evidence the US armed the Islamic State, according to a report carried by the Arabic language Almasalah. Iranian media and other sources claim US military aircraft dropped weapons in areas held by the Islamic State…. Iraqi intelligence claimed in December, 2014. “What is important is that the US sends these weapons to only those that cooperate with the Pentagon and this indicates that the US plays a role in arming the ISIL.” In January 2015 Iraqi MP Majid al-Ghraoui said American aircraft delivered weapons and equipment to ISIS southeast of Tikrit, located in Salahuddin province…. If Hillary Clinton is elected next week the restocking of the Islamic State’s arsenal and the war in Syria will continue. “Secretary of State Hillary Clinton waived restrictions at the State Department on selling weapons to Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Qatar, all states that had donated to the Clinton Foundation. Saudi Arabia had chipped in at least $10 million, and Boeing added another $900,000 as Secretary Clinton made it her mission to get Saudi Arabia the planes with which it would attack Yemen,” writes David Swanson. Clinton is well aware the Gulf Emirates arm and provide logistical assistance to the Islamic State.

Lavrov: US will have to negotiate with Russia, can’t act alone on global issues
RT - The US will have to negotiate with Russia on finding solutions to international issues as no state is now able to act alone, the Russian foreign minister said, adding that problems in bilateral relations began to mount long before the Ukrainian crisis broke out in 2014. The international community should not play by Washington’s rules despite the US being a great power, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday, referring to a recent statement by President Vladimir Putin. “Two or three months ago US President Barack Obama said it is they who set the rules,” Lavrov said, following a meeting with his Greek counterpart, Nikos Kotzias. “If our American partners think so, they will go through quite painful periods of realizing [the fact] that no one in this world could act alone any longer,” he added. Both Washington and Moscow are destined “to negotiate anyway,” the foreign minister said, adding “the sooner it happens, the better.” US-Russia relations are now at their lowest point since the Cold War, according to many observers, including the Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak. Lavrov added that, contrary to widespread opinion, the problems did not surface overnight, but rather began long before the 2014 ‘Euromaidan’ coup in Ukraine that toppled the elected president, Viktor Yanukovich.

Putin Warns European Countries Have “No Future” if They Continue to Accept Migrants (Video)
Paul Joseph Watson - Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his bewilderment at why European countries were taking in so many migrants given the increasing number of rapes sweeping the continent, asserting that a society which cannot protect its children “has no future”. In remarks made earlier this week, Putin made reference to a story out of Austria where an Iraqi migrant was not punished for raping a 10-year-old boy at a swimming pool in Vienna after he claimed it was a “sexual emergency” and that he didn’t understand the boy didn’t want to be raped. “It doesn’t fit into my head what on earth they’re thinking over there,” said Putin, adding, “This is the result of the dilution of national values.” “I can’t even explain the rationale – is it a sense of guilt before the migrants?” he asked. “What’s going on? It’s not clear.” “But a society that cannot defend its children today has no tomorrow, it has no future,” warned Putin, adding that he would not look to Europe for advice on Russia’s immigration policy given the situation that is unfolding there. Putin’s warning arrives as pictures emerge of a huge migrant brawl on the streets of Paris. The French capital is still being inundated with migrants who are sleeping on the streets after the razing of the Calais camp. A video that went viral last month shows the state of Paris in the aftermath of accepting thousands of asylum seekers. Some areas of the city now resemble open air migrant camps with filth and litter strewn everywhere.

Migrant battle on the streets of Paris: Large gangs of men armed with makeshift clubs fight each other after Calais Jungle camp is destroyed (Photos)
Daily Mail - This is the moment a mass brawl broke out as migrants in Paris attacked each other with sticks - hours after authorities moved in to smash up an illegal city centre camp. Pictures show men lunging at each other with makeshift clubs last night next to a row of tents in the Stalingrad district of the French capital. Amid chaotic scenes, gangs of men were seen brandishing pieces of wood and squaring up for a street battle. The violence unfolded just hours after demolition workers supported by riot police began smashing up an illegal camp full of UK-bound migrants in Paris. It also came in the wake of the destruction of the Calais Jungle which saw refugees transported around the country…. While some 5000 Jungle residents agreed to be bused to resettlement centres around France, many others headed off independently, saying they still wanted to get to Britain. Up to 3000 set up tents on the pavements around the Stalingrad Metro station, which is close to the Gare du Nord Eurostar hub in the north of Paris.

Israeli paper claims ‘paranoid’ Netanyahu feared US super-software was rigging votes on election day
RT - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu allegedly told a reporter via phone on the day of parliamentary elections that there was a US-led conspiracy to remove him from power by means of “super-software” to locate voters, Haaretz reported. According to the paper, Netanyahu spoke with “a senior Israeli journalist” on Election Day, March 17, 2015. “I want to tell you that what’s happening today is election stealing,” the PM reportedly told the journalist on the phone. “Nothing like this has ever happened in any democracy anywhere. Because you’re in the press, you didn’t report on this scandal here. I’m about to lose the election,” he added. The reporter allegedly tried to assure Netanyahu that he was going to remain prime minister after the election, but Netanyahu replied: “I’m not.” “The V15 movement [opposition group], backed by the American administration, brought software programs here… You know what I’m talking about. I don’t want to elaborate over the phone, OK? Super-software that locates voters,” he said, according to Haaretz. “I want you to know that this is what happened,” the PM added. Before hanging up, Netanyahu blasted the journalist and the whole Israeli media for turning its back on him. “You won’t touch it. You aren’t handling [the story.] That's why I'm going to lose the election,” the PM reportedly claimed. Haaretz noted that the reporter sensed “paranoia” in the Israeli leader’s words about a Washington-led conspiracy against him. Netanyahu has had a strained relationship with Obama’s administration, with Israel strongly opposing the US push for a Palestinian state and the lifting of sanctions on geopolitical rival Iran after the signing of a nuclear deal. However, Netanyahu’s Likud party won the election, taking 30 seats in the Knesset, and later formed a coalition government, with Netanyahu remaining PM.

Podesta Part 26: Wikileaks Releases Another 1,135 Emails, Total Is Now 43,104
Zero Hedge - In the final stretch of the presidential race which has just a few days left, Wikileaks continues its ongoing broadside attack against the Clinton campaign with the relentless Podesta dump, by unveiling another 1,135 emails in the latest, Part 26 of its Podesta release, bringing the total emails released so far to exactly 43,104.

Senior FBI officials were told of new emails in early October but wanted more information before renewing Clinton probe
Washington Post - Senior FBI officials were informed about the discovery of new emails potentially relevant to the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private email server at least two weeks before Director James B. Comey notified Congress, according to federal officials familiar with the investigation. The officials said that Comey was told that there were new emails before he received a formal briefing last Thursday, although the precise timing is unclear. The information goes beyond the details provided in the letter that Comey sent to lawmakers last week declaring that he was restarting the inquiry into whether Clinton mishandled classified material during her tenure as secretary of state. He wrote in the Friday letter that “the investigative team briefed me yesterday” about the additional emails. The people familiar with the investigation said that senior officials had been informed weeks earlier that a computer belonging to former congressman Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) contained emails potentially pertinent to the Clinton investigation. Clinton’s top aide, Huma Abedin, shared the computer with her husband, from whom she is now separated. Comey did not notify Congress as soon as he learned about the emails because officials wanted additional information before proceeding, the officials said.

Confirmed: US Intel Operatives Leaked Clinton Campaign Emails, Not Russia
Paul Joseph Watson - It’s now clear from numerous sources that the Podesta hack, which led to Wikileaks releasing tens of thousands of Clinton campaign emails, as well as other hacks targeting the Democratic Party, were the work of U.S. intelligence operatives attempting to save America from a Clinton presidency. The Clinton campaign has repeatedly insinuated that Russian agents were responsible for the release of the emails, but the reality is far different. The hackers were concerned individuals who were alarmed at Hillary Clinton’s rampant corruption and mishandling of classified material as far back as 2009, when officials with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) became aware of violations of record keeping procedures at the Department of State under Secretary Clinton. Sources who have spoken privately to Alex Jones but don’t want to be named have confirmed that government and intelligence operatives worked in tandem to provide Julian Assange’s organization with the Podesta emails. This is backed up by former British ambassador Craig Murray, who was told by security insiders that the email leak “comes from within official circles in Washington DC.”

Leaked Documents Reveal A New Clinton Scandal — And More Corruption
American Patriot Daily - Guccifer 2.0 released new documents that show Big Banks that received TARP bailout money donated a percentage of the funds back to the Clinton Foundation, as well as to other Democrats. Was this payback for Hillary supporting the TARP bailout? Was it a down payment on future influence peddling? When the Clintons are involved, no theory can be taken off the table. At the time of the release, Guccifer 2.0 authored a blog post claiming the documents were obtained through a hack of the Clinton Foundation: “Many of you have been waiting for this, some even asked me to do it. So, this is the moment. I hacked the Clinton Foundation server and downloaded hundreds of thousands of docs and donors’ databases. Hillary Clinton and her staff don’t even bother about the information security. It was just a matter of time to gain access to the Clinton Foundation server.” However, Donna Shalala, President of the Clinton Foundation, said there was no evidence of a hack.

Once Above Politics, State Supreme Court Seats Now the Target of Big-Money Political Campaigns
AllGov - Wealthy powerbrokers. Special interest groups. Millions of dollars pouring in to elect conservatives or liberals. It sounds like a typical election-year contest for Congress or a state legislature, but it's actually a high-stakes battle for institutions that were once considered above politics: state supreme courts. Political groups view control of the high courts as essential to either defending or thwarting state laws. And they are more and more willing to spend big to gain the advantage.

Feds Ramp Up REAL ID Bullying Tactics
Activist Post - On Oct. 13, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sent letters to five states denying their request for a time extensions to bring their driver’s licenses in compliance with REAL ID. That means that in 2018, residents of Oklahoma, Kentucky, Maine, Pennsylvania and South Carolina may find themselves on a virtual no-fly list. They will need to have alternate ID, such as a passport, in order to clear TSA screening. The five states join Minnesota, Missouri and Washington, already under the DHS gun. The agency denied those states extension requests late last year. In practice, REAL ID co-opts the states into creating a national ID system. The federal government has no constitutional authority to mandate such a thing. The feds resurrect these bully tactics every couple of years, and has done so since Pres. George W. Bush signed REAL ID into law in 2005. Instead of following through on threats the feds simply keep extending their deadlines. Under the act, all 50 states were supposed comply with the federal law by 2009. But, states rebelled against REAL ID for several reasons, including privacy concerns and the fact that Congress didn’t provide any funding for the mandates it expects states to implement. Some states passed laws expressly prohibiting implementation of the act. To date, 27 states remain non-compliant, nullifying the national ID system in effect.

Pizza Hut Employee Given ‘Leave of Absence’ After Shooting Robbery Suspect
Breitbart - A Pizza Hut employee who shot and killed an armed robbery suspect early Sunday morning has been given a “leave of absence” over the incident. The incident occurred after hours — around 1:40 a.m. — Sunday in Charlotte, North Carolina. According to CBS News, “Police say their initial investigation indicates three people entered the restaurant… Sunday and were in the process of robbing it when one of the employees used his personal handgun to shoot one male thief.” The wounded suspect died and the other two suspects fled the scene. The deceased suspect was 28-year-old Michael Renard Grace. WBTV reports that police confirmed Grace had a gun on him at the time of his death. Pizza Hut released a statement in which they indicated that “the local franchisee is cooperating with the police department.” The company also used the statement “to stress that the security of its staff is of the utmost concern.” The employee who shot the robbery suspect has been given a “leave of absence.”

Report: Ballots Stolen, Forged in Florida
Breitbart - The Orlando Sentinel reports that a few voters in Seminole County thought their absentee ballots were taking too long to arrive in the mail: By mid-October, Susan Halperin became concerned that she and her husband hadn’t received their absentee ballots in the mail. So Lawrence Halperin called the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Office to find out what was going on. He was stunned to learn their ballots had already been cast. Someone had stolen the Halperins’ ballots, faked their signatures and voted. “He was just floored,” said Susan Halperin, a registered Democrat. “To think that someone would actually steal my ballot and fill it out is creepy.” The Halperins, who live in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Altamonte Springs just south of State Road 436, weren’t the only victims. Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel said they were among five voters in three homes in Spring Valley whose absentee ballots were stolen and then fraudulently submitted with votes cast by someone else. Seminole County’s Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel wouldn’t say which candidate the forged ballots were cast for. This is the first time such a case has happened since he assumed his role in 2005, he said. Both registered Republicans and Democrats had ballots stolen and their signatures forged. Registered Republicans have a slight edge on registered Democrats in Seminole County, outnumbering them by roughly 15,000 voters. Victims were allowed to re-submit their ballots.

Texas Woman – Who Is Not a US Citizen – BUSTED for Voting 5 Times in Texas
The Gateway Pundit - BizPac Review reported: A Texas woman, who is not a citizen of the United States, was arrested Friday for having illegally voted in Dallas County — five times. Rosa Maria Ortega, 35, is presently a resident of the Tarrant County Jail, where she is being held on a $10,000 bond, according to the Dallas-Fort Worth NBC affiliate Channel 5 News, which reported: Ortega is married to an American and is living legally in this country, but is not a citizen and therefore, not qualified to vote, said Harry White, who supervises public integrity and white collar crime investigations for the Tarrant County District Attorney. Ortega applied to vote in Tarrant County and acknowledged on the application form that she was not a citizen, White said. The county rejected her application and notified her she was not qualified to vote.

Video: Amish Voters Rally for Donald Trump in Pennsylvania
The Gateway Pundit - Thousands of voters lined up in the rain to see Donald Trump in Mannheim, Pennsylvania on Saturday. Including Amish voters…

Gold Tops $1300 As Peso Pounding Continues
Zero Hedge - Gold prices are now up over 2.2% since Comey's bombshell on Friday (and stocks down over 1.6%) as the Peso pounding continues. Following silver's surge yesterday, gold has spiked back above $1300.

Someone Just Donated $2.5 Million to Bail Out Everyone Arrested at Standing Rock
Activist Post - Following the recent mass arrests of 141 people at the Dakota Access Pipeline construction site located near Standing Rock, North Dakota, an anonymous donor just donated $2.5 million to bail out everyone who was arrested at the protests. The news came after Tamara Francis-Fourkiller, a tribal leader from the Caddo Nation tribe in Caddo County, Oklahoma, was arrested at Standing Rock. Francis-Fourkiller was released after spending two days in jail, but her family says she was just an innocent observer in the clashes between militarized law enforcement and Native American activists, or “water protectors.”

Tell the USDA Growing in Factory Farm Fish Waste/Conventional Soybean Slurry, under Artificial Lighting, is not Organic!
Cornucopia News - A few years ago, the organic community was shocked to find out that the USDA’s National Organic Program was quietly allowing the certification of hydroponic operations despite the law! Organic regulations clearly state that nurturing the fertility of the soil is an integral part of organic management. Unlabeled, it is impossible for organic consumers to tell what fruits and vegetables are grown in nutrient-rich soil (impacting flavor and our health) or grown in a liquid fertilizer solution, in industrial conditions, and imported from countries like Canada, Mexico and Holland — where it cannot legally be labeled as “organic”! Much of the hydroponic or “container” grown fruits and vegetables are produced inside sealed warehouse-sized buildings under artificial lighting — with liquid fertilizer that could come from a myriad of different waste products or even highly processed GMO soybeans. Currently more than 100 facilities are supplying U.S. consumers with “organic” hydroponic fruits and vegetables, including the giant berry producer Driscoll’s. The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) will be voting in mid-November on whether or not to allow hydroponic/container operations to be certified organic (at their semi-annual meeting in St. Louis, Missouri).
* Related: Industry Watchdog: USDA Allowing Illegal “Organic” Produce Production

A Dozen Uses Of Probiotics That Will Surprise You
Green Med Info - 1. HAPPINESS - This surprising triple-blind study gave either probiotics or a placebo to 40 healthy people for 4 weeks. The probiotics actually significantly reduced negative thoughts associated with a sad mood compared to placebo. The positive effect was mostly because of reduced rumination and aggressive thoughts. 2. DEPRESSION - In the first ever study of probiotics and psychological conditions, people with more depression had significantly better improvement in mood on a probiotic than on a placebo. A second study found that a month of probiotic supplementation significantly improved depression and anger. 3. ANXIETY & STRESS - The same study also found significant improvement in anxiety. An earlier study had already hinted at an antianxiety effect for probiotics. A placebo-controlled study of people with chronic fatigue syndrome found that probiotics significantly reduced their anxiety scores. 4. ADHD & AUTISM - A remarkable double-blind study gave either probiotics or a placebo to 75 pregnant women, beginning 4 weeks before their due dates and then continued giving the probiotics to the infants, or to the mothers if they were breastfeeding, for 6 months. The children were then followed for 13 years. What the study discovered was astonishing. 17.1% of the children in the placebo group developed ADHD or Asperger’s. Not one child in the probiotic group did. 5. COLIC - A double-blind, study gave 52 infants with colic either a placebo or a probiotic for 21 days. Crying and fussing time was significantly shorter in the probiotic group who cried and fussed for 60 minutes a day versus 102 minutes a day in the placebo group. Significantly more infants responded to the probiotic than to the placebo. 6. CONSTIPATION & DIARRHOEA - It is well known that probiotics treat the common antibiotic side effect of diarrhoea. Less well known is that probiotics can help diarrhoea and constipation from other causes too. 7. ALLERGIES & HAY FEVER - Several double-blind studies have shown that probiotics improve the symptoms of hay fever… When women supplement with probiotics while they are pregnant and give it to their babies for the first 2 years, at the age of 6, the babies are significantly less likely to suffer from eczema and have significantly improved allergies… Probiotics may also be able to reverse allergies to milk in infants….

Nearly Half Still Believe This Painful But Persistent Dog Myth - Do You?
Dr. Becker - Tail docking and ear cropping are banned in much of Europe and Australia. Unfortunately, the procedures continue to be routinely performed in the U.S. and Canada, despite the fact that the American and Canadian veterinary medical associations have taken a stand against them. In the U.S., it is the American Kennel Club (AKC) and breeders that refuse to see the light. Many AKC breed standards call for docking and cropping, and any dog of those breeds that has been allowed to keep his ears and tail might as well not show up for AKC-affiliated events. He either won't be allowed to compete, or he'll have no chance of winning. The arguments for ear cropping and tail docking don't hold up under scrutiny, especially since most dogs in the U.S. today live in family homes and aren't used for hunting or burrowing. These days, these painful procedures are done for one of three reasons: as a cosmetic "enhancement," for the sake of "tradition" or to make a dog look intimidating. Tragically, as much as people love their dogs and view them as members of the family and best friends, at the same time, many also see them as material belongings that can be bought, sold, traded, ignored, mistreated, "surgically enhanced" or abandoned. Until that perspective changes among the general public, and certainly among breeders and kennel clubs, humans will continue to breed and surgically alter dogs for appearance, rather than preserving and protecting their natural design.
 

Wednesday - November 2, 2016 - Today In History:

1776 - During the American Revolutionary War, William Demont, became the first traitor of the American Revolution when he deserted.
1783 - U.S. Gen. George Washington gave his "Farewell Address to the Army" near Princeton, NJ.
1889 - North Dakota and South Dakota were admitted into the union as the 39th and 40th states.
1920 - The first commercial radio station in the U.S., KDKA of Pittsburgh, PA, began regular broadcasting.
1948 - Harry S. Truman defeated Thomas E. Dewey for the U.S. presidency. The Chicago Tribune published an early edition that had the headline "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN." The Truman victory surprised many polls and newspapers. (Illinois>
1959 - Charles Van Doren, a game show contestant on the NBC-TV program "21" admitted that he had been given questions and answers in advance.
1962 - U.S. President Kennedy announced that the U.S.S.R. was dismantling the missile sites in Cuba.
1966 - The Cuban Adjustment Act allows 123,000 Cubans to apply for permanent residence in the U.S.
1983 - President Ronald Reagan signed a bill establishing a federal holiday on the 3rd Monday of Jan. in honor of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
1986 - American hostage David Jacobson was released after being held in Lebanon for 17 months by Shiite Muslims kidnappers.
1993 - The U.S. Senate called for full disclosure of Senator Bob Packwood's diaries in a sexual harassment probe.
1998 - U.S. President Clinton gave his first in-depth interview since the White House sex scandal to Black Entertainment Television talk show host and political commentator Tavis Smiley on the network's "BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley."
2004 - President George W. Bush was elected to a second term.
2010 - Republicans won control of the House of Representatives, picking up 63 seats in midterm elections, while Democrats retained a majority in the Senate; Republican governors outnumbered Democrats after gaining six states.
2010 - Californians rejected a ballot measure that would have made their state the first to legalize marijuana for recreational use.

Iraq Threatens Turkey With War After Erdogan Deploys Tanks To Iraqi Border
Zero Hedge - In the latest provocation between Turkey and Iraq, the Turkish military begun deploying tanks and other armored vehicles to the town of Silopi near the Iraqi border, in a move the defense minister said on Tuesday was related to the fight against terrorism and developments across the border…. The army deployment, disclosed by military sources, came after President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkey was aiming to reinforce its troops in Silopi. As Reuters reports, the deployment coincides with an Iraqi operation to drive Islamic State from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and after Iraqi Shi'ite militias launched a related offensive to push the jihadists out of the town of Tal Afar further west. Erdogan said on Saturday Ankara would have a "different response" for Shi'ite militias if they "cause terror" in Tal Afar, home to a sizeable ethnic Turkmen population with historic and cultural ties to Turkey. Sinjar, where Ankara believes the PKK is developing a presence, is situated some 50 km west of Tal Afar. Additionally, Sirnak province, where Silopi is located, is also one of the main areas of conflict between Turkey's army and the PKK, whose main bases are in the mountains of northeast Iraq. Iraq's response, as expected, came fast, and in a tweet by the official Twitter account of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units fighting ISIS in Iraq, the PMU said that "Any Turkish invasion of Ezidi Sinjar will face the full force of the Iraqi PMU to defend our lands from Turkey", effectively threatening Turkey with war should Turkey's tanks cross the border.

Russia says Syria peace talks halted indefinitely
The Guardian - Peace talks over the fate of Aleppo are on hold indefinitely because rebels backed by western governments have been attacking civilians in the west of the Syrian city, the Russian defence minister has said. Sergei Shoigu’s remarks came as he confirmed that Russia’s naval convoy, led by its aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, had reached the eastern Mediterranean to strengthen Moscow’s attack capabilities, despite the refusal of Nato countries to help with refuelling and supplies. Shoigu said the lack of cooperation by the Spanish and Maltese governments showed the west was not interested in combatting terrorism in Syria. The west, he added, had failed in its paramount duty to separate legitimate opposition fighters in rebel-held eastern Aleppo from Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the al-Qaida-linked group formerly known as the Nusra front. The US secretary of state, John Kerry, acknowledged the US needed help in this area during remarks made in London on Monday.

US calls for ‘end to Saudi-led airstrikes’ in Yemen, but keeps selling arms to Riyadh
RT - The US envoy to the UN has called on the Saudi-led coalition to “refrain from taking steps that escalate violence” in Yemen. Her appeal contradicts Washington’s actions, with the Pentagon continuing to supply arms and provide military support to Riyadh. First, the United States calls on the parties to recommit immediately to the cessation of hostilities, which means halting all military actions on the ground, in the air, and at sea. That includes an end to shelling and an end to airstrikes,” Ambassador Samantha Power said at a UN Security Council briefing on Monday. “There is very little good news in Yemen, but one small piece of good news is that we have seen that the parties can reduce the violence in Yemen when they show the will to do so,” she noted. Power slammed missile attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia, noting that “every country has a right to defend itself, and the United States remains fully committed to the security of Saudi Arabia.” It is also incumbent on the Saudi-led coalition and the forces of the Yemeni government to refrain from taking steps that escalate this violence and to commit to the cessation of hostilities,” she added. “After 19 months of fighting, it should be clear that there is absolutely no military solution to this conflict. Airstrikes that hit schools, hospitals and other civilian objects have to stop. In many cases these strikes have damaged key infrastructure that is essential to delivering humanitarian aid in Yemen,” Power concluded.

Libya on brink of economic collapse - World Bank
RT - The Libyan economy is facing collapse as the civil war is disrupting the country's main source of income oil production, warns the World Bank…. As a result of falling crude prices and low output, Libya's foreign reserves have shrunk from $107.6 billion in 2013 to a projected $43 billion by the end of this year. Over the first half of 2016, the country managed to produce an average of 335 thousand barrels per day, down 20 percent from last year. Libya's daily oil production before the 2011 uprising stood at 1.6 million barrels. The Libyan economy has shrunk by an estimated 8.3 percent, leaving the country in recession since 2013, with GDP per capita dropping by nearly two-thirds of its pre-revolution level, the bank says. In the first seven month of 2016, Libya’s state income of 3.2 billion dinar ($2.28 billion) was just a tenth of what it was during the same period last year. The Libyan dinar has dropped 73 percent against the dollar on the black market.

Zika causes testicles to shrink & infertility in mice, alarming sign for humans – study
RT - The mosquito-transmitted Zika virus that is responsible for some irreversible birth defects in babies could also be harmful to male fertility, a new study suggests. Infected mice had shrunken testicles and lower levels of testosterone. The virus hits male mice’s reproductive system hard, said a study published Monday in Nature magazine. The lab tests run on mice infected with Zika have shown low sperm counts and testicles reduced 90 percent by weight. That’s not yet a reason for men to panic, but already a matter for concern and further studies. “I think this is an important finding [in mice], but this has to be tested in humans… This virus is from a class of viruses that causes cell death in a lot of cells, so it’s not hard to extrapolate that if you had a lot of virus in a tissue for a long period of time, then cells would die. That said, we absolutely don’t know what the extent of this will be in humans… The only way to find out is to track men longitudinally,” Dr Michael Diamond, of the University of Washington, said in an interview with The Scientist. “Don’t jump to the conclusion right off that this is definitely what is happening to the human,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland, told AP. But the mouse finding is a “red flag you need to pursue.”

Video: The Hillary Clinton Takeover of the United States
Steve Pieczenik - Hillary and Bill Clinton are attempting a takeover of the United States and will stop at nothing. A coup d'état of this magnitude has never been affected in such a subtly calculated way.

Podesta Part 25: Wikileaks Releases Another 2,460 Emails, Total Is Now 41,969
Zero Hedge - In the final stretch of the presidential race which has just a few days left, Wikileaks continues its ongoing broadside attack against the Clinton campaign with the relentless Podesta dump, by unveiling another 2,458 emails in the latest, Part 25 of its Podesta release, bringing the total emails released so far to exactly 41,969. The release comes one day after Wikileaks warned that it was launching its "Phase 3" of election coverage this week, raising questions what else - if anything - Julian Assange has up his sleeve.

‘Dump all those emails’: Latest WikiLeaks tranche reveals #Podesta advice
RT - Yesterday’s emails revealed that Anthony Weiner was a cause for concern within the Clinton campaign as far back as 2011. Emails from the former congressman’s laptop are key to the FBI’s decision to reopen an investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server…. 'Dump all those mails' “We are going to have to dump all those emails,” Podesta tells Clinton aide Cheryl Mills in an email dated March 2, 2015, a week before Clinton addressed the email scandal at a press conference, claiming there was no classified material sent via the private server. It’s not clear which emails Podesta is referring to in the thread, but Podesta tells Mills: “better to do so sooner than later”. Mills replies: “Think you just got your new nick name.” ‘The power of torture’ “There is something to be said for the power of torture,” Clinton aide Neera Tanden tells Podesta in a July 2015 email showing her frustration over Clinton’s use of a private email server. Tanden had previously told Podesta that whoever told Clinton she could use the server should be “drawn and quartered”. Ground Bernie ‘to a pulp’ Podesta is told “Bernie needs to be ground to a pulp” in an email advising him of tactics for dealing with Clinton’s rival for the Democratic nomination, Bernie Sanders. The mail from campaign consultant titled ‘Friendly advice. No mercy’ was sent in February 2016, and tells Podesta to “Crush him as hard as you can.” Meanwhile, just one month earlier, columnist Brent Budowsky wrote to Podesta to strongly advise the campaign against using Chelsea Clinton as a “political attack dog attacking Bernie over healthcare of anything else”. “It is a sign of a campaign that is totally out of touch with what is happening in 2016,” he added in the January 12, 2016 email. “Chelsea should be the best salesperson for Hillary to next generation voters, young voters, and voters who want change.” “Campaign needs to calm down, get a grip, think clearly and not panic.” [Read more]

Huma's Lawyer Makes First Public Statement, Blames Weiner
Zero Hedge - In her first public statement since Friday's FBI bombshell, the lawyer for top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, Karen Dunn of Boies, Schiller said Monday that Abedin did not know that her emails were on a computer that belonged to her estranged husband, disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner. In a statement on Monday night, Dunn, a former lawyer in the Obama White House and a former communications director for Clinton’s Senate office, said that Abedin "only learned for the first time on Friday, from press reports, of the possibility that a laptop belonging to Mr. Weiner could contain emails of hers." “She only learned for the first time on Friday, from press reports, of the possibility that a laptop belonging to Mr. Weiner could contain emails of hers. While the FBI has not contacted us about this, Ms. Abedin will continue to be, as she always has been, forthcoming and cooperative,” Dunn said in her statement. “From the beginning, Ms. Abedin has complied fully and voluntarily with State Department and law enforcement requests, including sitting for hours-long interviews and providing her work-related and potentially work-related documents,” lawyer Karen Dunn said in a statement Monday night. Dunn said that the FBI had not contacted them about the issue, though she added that "Ms. Abedin will continue to be, as she always has been, forthcoming and cooperative.”… Meanwhile, as Hillary Clinton continues her last week campaign rounds across America, Huma is keeping a low profile. A campaign source told the Post Abedin has been seen at Clinton’s Brooklyn headquarters since the news broke, working as usual.

FBI Unexpectedly Releases Documents Related To 2001 Probe Into Clinton Foundation
Zero Hedge - Update: According to NBC's Tom Winter, the FBI Vault twitter account "released all files pertaining to Donald Trump's father, Fred Trump, a few weeks ago. That was response to FOIA" and adds that "the release of WJC FBI files was sent by the FOIA office under normal guidelines. A proper requested was made -Pete Williams rpts.... The account, @FBIRecordsVault started tweeting several days ago after not tweeting for a year. The first tweet.... about Fred Trump's files." And now, it is tweeting about the Clinton Foundation…. As the Washington Examiner notes, it was not immediately clear what prompted the FBI to publish the files Tuesday. However, the bureau posted the documents on the section of its website dedicated to records released through the Freedom of Information Act. Is this the FBI engaging in a covert mutiny against the Clintons and the political affiliated Department of Justice? We hope to find out soon. The full document is shown below…

5 Separate FBI Cases Are Probing Virtually Every One Of Hillary's Inner-Circle FBI Finds No Links Between Trump And Russia, Probing Manafort Instead
Zero Hedge - Law enforcement officials say that none of the investigations so far have found any link between Mr. Trump and the Russian government. And even the hacking into Democratic emails, F.B.I. and intelligence officials now believe, was aimed at disrupting the presidential election rather than electing Mr. Trump.

Feds to Award $200 Million in Grants to Feed and Educate Children – in Other Countries
CNS News - The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced grants totaling $200 million “to improve the education, food security, and health of school-age children, especially girls in developing countries.” The Foreign Agricultural Service grant, announced late last month and open for applicants until Jan. 21, 2017, further states that the funds can cover “food for education, food assistance, school feeding, child nutrition, teacher training and gender equity.” The grants are part of the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program “that provides for the financial and technical assistance to improve the education, food security, and health of school-age children, especially girls in developing countries.”

Poll: Donald Trump +7 over Hillary Clinton in North Carolina, Now at 51 Percent
Breitbart - A new WRAL/SurveyUSA poll shows that Donald Trump is now leading North Carolina by seven points ahead of Hillary Clinton — 51 percent to Clinton’s 44 percent. That means that Trump has shockingly flipped his numbers in the state in just one month. Three weeks ago, Clinton was leading Trump by two points in the same poll – 46 percent to 44 percent. Trump has now passed the 50 percent threshold, according to the poll, making it unlikely that Clinton will be able to bounce back. The poll was conducted after the news that the FBI would revisit the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server.

Texas Poll: Trump Lead Swells to 12
Breitbart - The KTVT-CBS 11/Dixie Strategies Poll reveals that if the election for president was held today, 52 percent of likely voters said they would vote for Trump, and 39 percent said they would vote for Clinton, reported CBSDFW. The Dallas CBS affiliate wrote, the poll result “casts doubt on any Democratic victory on November 8.”

Desperate Dems’ Final Act: Hysteria
Breitbart - Citing shifting polls and bad news for Hillary Clinton as the investigation into her email scandal was reinvigorated this week, Pat Caddell told Breitbart News Daily SiriusXM host Alex Marlow on Tuesday that Clinton “looks kind of hysterical, out there making wild attacks now and going crazy.” Clinton began claiming that there are ties between Republican nominee Donald Trump and Russia while on the stump after a story broke via Slate; however, the New York Times quickly debunked the item. Caddell continued, “I think they don’t know what to do,” also pointing out that Hillary Clinton’s unfavorables appear to be “at their highest” in the latest polling. He then stated that he turned on his television Tuesday morning to find that the “hysteria on MSNBC was palpable,” seemingly in response to the same news.

Pennsylvania Police Raid Democrat "Advocacy Group" Office Over Alleged Voter Fraud
Zero Hedge - Pennsylvania state police have raided offices of a democrat "public advocacy" group, FieldWorks, LLC, seeking evidence of possible voter-registration fraud. The Inquirer Daily News, cited court records in a report published earlier today noting that police were seeking templates that were "utilized to construct fraudulent voter registration forms." The office being investigated is located in the city of Norwood in Delaware County, PA. FieldWorks describes itself as "a nationally recognized grassroots organizing firm founded to help progressive organizations, advocacy groups, and members of the Democratic family take their public engagement and electoral strategies to the next level." Yes, we would also confirm that committing voter fraud is indeed "taking things to the next level." Meanwhile, the FieldWorks website notes that the organization utilizes "innovative grassroots strategies" to "target the right voters in the right places, and using the right tactics at the right time." The website also lists its core competencies as "vote-by-mail, early voting, voter registration..." Somehow, we wouldn't be surprised if they also specialized in helping dead voters as well...though it would be a little reckless to put that directly on a website...that's more of a message that should be communicated in person or over the phone.

Early Voters in Minnesota, Wisconsin Allowed to Change Ballots
Breitbart - However, other swing states do not give voters this option. In Florida, Ohio, Iowa, North Carolina and Colorado voters cannot change their ballots. Pennsylvania does not have early voting. The question about whether or not voters can change their early votes arose after the FBI announced on Friday it was renewing its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server — just 12 days before the general election. As of Friday morning, more than 12.6 million Americans were estimated to have already cast their ballots, according to CNN.

Oil Tanks After API Reports Biggest Build To U.S. Crude Stocks Since March
OilPrice.com - This week’s American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a massive 9.3 million barrel build in United States’ crude oil supplies – the largest increase since March of this year. Experts polled by ZeroHedge expected a seasonally consistent 1.54-million-barrel build, but instead, API figures show the largest jump in inventories for eight months. Distillate supplies saw the sixth straight week of declines, but supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma saw the largest spike in three months. Gasoline supplies experienced the largest decline in two months, down 3.5 million barrels against the more modest one-million-barrel drop that was forecasted. West Texas Intermediate crude prices sank 1.13 percent with the report’s release, stabilizing at $46.33. Brent prices traded down 1.42 percent at $47.92 at the time of this article’s writing. Oil had rallied earlier in the day on a slipping dollar, and after Colonial Pipeline had to shut down its main pipeline for a second time in as many months following an explosion. WTI had reached as high as $47.35 on Tuesday. ZeroHedge noted that domestic crude inventories are still 29 percent higher than the seasonal average.

Wind Farms Cause Sleep Loss, Stress and Anxiety, Government Review Finds
Breitbart - The report, commissioned by the former Department for Energy and Climate Change last year, found a “clear link” between the amount of noise emitted by a wind farm and the irritation nearby residents experience. If turbines exceed 40 decibels, there is an “increased risk” of sleep deprivation, thus in turn leading to stress and anxiety. However, the sleeplessness was caused more by the frustration evoked from living near a loud wind turbine than the turbine itself, the report added. It recommends that “excessive” noise should be curbed, citing the possibility of modifying turbine blades to stop disturbances. However, it is not just noise that causes irritation. The report also says that flickering shadows caused by revolving turbine blades, as well as the general “appearance in the landscape” of wind farms can be equally irksome Conservative MP Glyn Davies told the Sunday Telegraph: “Where there are noisy wind farms they are hugely disruptive. Noisy wind farms should be shut down unless they can be changed. They would need to be shut down permanently.” In 2014, a senior Irish health official warned of so-called “wind turbine syndrome”, saying that infrasonic vibrations emitted by the turbines can potentially lead to “fatigue, dizziness, headache, difficulty concentrating, and insomnia.”

San Francisco Lab Launches New Era of Glyphosate Testing in Food
Sustainable Pulse - Anresco Laboratories, working in coordination with The Detox Project, has started a new era of transparent, accurate and affordable glyphosate testing, which enables consumers to find out the truth about the levels of glyphosate in their food. High detection (20 parts per billion ‘ppb’ and above) glyphosate testing has been available to the food industry in the U.S. for many years, however, the chemical is hardly ever tested for in our food despite being the World’s most used herbicide.

Tylenol During Pregnancy Linked to Autism
Alliance for Natural Health - A recent study found that boys exposed to acetaminophen (Tylenol) before birth were more likely to have symptoms of autism during childhood. This isn’t the first time that scientists have reported a connection between using this drug during pregnancy and brain and behavior abnormalities in children. Other studies show that exposure to acetaminophen raised the risk of developing ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) by 40%. Another study found that women taking it increased the risk of their child having behavioral problems by 70%. Pregnant mothers aren’t the only ones who should avoid acetaminophen and other common painkillers like NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)—a class that includes drugs like Advil, Celebrex, and Aleve. Consider the following: By the FDA’s own calculation, acetaminophen was the leading cause of liver failure in Americans between 1998 and 2003, and there’s no reason to think that this has changed in the years since. Every year, 78,000 people go to the emergency room from acetaminophen overdose, whether accidental or intentional. The problem is so bad that the FDA asked doctors to stop prescribing any medication that has more than 325 mg of acetaminophen per dose. Of course, this ignores the fact that if people feel the prescribed dose isn’t cutting the pain, many think nothing of taking an extra tablet or two. NSAID pain relievers like aspirin or ibuprofen are similarly problematic: One study conservatively estimated that 107,000 people are hospitalized each year for NSAID-related gastrointestinal complications and “at least 16,500 NSAID-related deaths occur each year among arthritis patients alone.” Another study showed that patients who take NSAIDs have a 90% greater likelihood of dying from all causes. Daily or long-term use of aspirin doubles the risk of internal bleeding and does not reduce heart attack risk for people with no history of heart problems.

Why Calcium Supplements Will Actually Increase Your Risk of Heart Disease
Prevent Disease.com - …new research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) has again found that that the use of calcium supplements may actually increase the risk for incident CAC and therefore jeopardise heart health. In fact when considering supplement use, the risk of developing CAC was 22% higher in those who used calcium supplements compared to those who didn't. These conclusions were based on the study of 5,448 adults free of clinically diagnosed cardiovascular disease aged between 45 and 84. The research came in response to recent data suggesting calcium supplements may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease events. The dairy industy has been hard at work the last 50 years convincing people that pasteurized dairy products such as milk or cheese increases bioavailable calcium levels. This is totally false. The pasteurization process only creates calcium carbonate, which has absolutely no way of entering the cells without a chelating agent. So what the body does is pull the calcium from the bones and other tissues in order to buffer the calcium carbonate in the blood. This process actually causes osteoporosis. Moreover, it has been found that magnesium, not calcium is the key the healthy bones and many other processes in the body. Type of Calcium Ingested Is Key: Most supplements on the supplement market today contain calcium carbonate which is an inferior form of calcium and manufacturers attach a simple chelating agent like citric acid to make it more absorbable, however the end product is inferior to other calcium supplements such as calcium orotate, which is the only known form of calcium which can effectively penetrate the membranes of cells.

20 Foods That Naturally Unclog Arteries and Prevent Heart Attacks
Natural News Blogs - 1. Pomegranate: Pomegranate is rich in antioxidants which prevents the arteries from being damaged. Research also shows that pomegranate improves heart health by reducing bad cholesterol. 2. Spirulina: Spirulina is regulates fat levels in the blood. And it’s rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which studies show prevents heart disease. 3. Asparagus: This vegetable is rich in vitamins and minerals that prevent blood clots and lower blood pressure. 4. Turmeric: Inflammation is one of the main causes of arteriosclerosis, and as you may know, turmeric fights inflammation. 5. Cranberries: The potassium in cranberries can lower blood pressure and reduce risk of heart disease by up to 40 percent. 6. Watermelon: One study found that L-citrulline (found in watermelon) can widen blood vessels and lower blood pressure. This can actually benefit men with mild erectile dysfunction. 7. Avocado: Research shows that eat avocados every day can clean your arteries, lower bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol. 8. Broccoli: Broccoli contains vitamin K which prevents calcium from damaging the arteries. It’s also rich in soluble fiber which lowers cholesterol. 9. Cinnamon: This spice unclogs the arteries of plaque build-up. Its antioxidant properties also improve cardiovascular health. 10. Green tea: This powerful herb contains catechins which prevent absorption of cholesterol. This consequently prevents blockage of arteries. Drink 2-3 cups a day. 11. Coconut oil: Taking coconut oil regularly can unclog the arteries and even convert bad cholesterol to good…..

Tuesday - November 1, 2016 - Today In History:

1765 - The British Parliament enacted The Stamp Act in the American colonies. The act was repealed in March of 1766 on the same day that the Parliament passed the Declaratory Acts which asserted that the British government had free and total legislative power of the colonies.
1800 - U.S. President John Adams became the first president to live in the White House when he moved in.
1864 - The U.S. Post Office started selling money orders. The money orders provided a safe way to payments by mail.
1870 - The U.S. Weather Bureau made its first meteorological observations using 24 locations that provided reports via telegraph.
1894 - "Billboard Advertising" was published for the first time. It later became known as "Billboard."
1904 - The Army War College in Washington, DC, enrolled the first class.
1911 - Italy used planes to drop bombs on the Tanguira oasis in Libya. It was the first aerial bombing.
1949 - In Washington, 55 people were killed when a fighter plane hit an airliner.
1950 - Two Puerto Rican nationalists tried to assassinate U.S. President Harry Truman. One of the men was killed when they tried to force their way into Blair House in Washington, DC.
1952 - The United States exploded the first hydrogen bomb on Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
1963 - The USSR launched Polyot I. It was the first satellite capable of maneuvering in all directions and able to change its orbit.
1968 - The movie rating system of G, M, R, X, followed by PG-13 and NC-17 went into effect.
1973 - Leon Jaworski was appointed the new Watergate special prosecutor in the Watergate case.
1979 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini urged all Iranians to demonstrate on November 4 and to expand their attacks against the U.S. and Israel. On November 4, Iranian militants seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 63 Americans hostage.
1994 - The Amazon.com domain name was registered.
1995 - In Dayton, OH, the Bosnian peace talks opened with the leaders of Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia present.
1998 - Nicaraguan Vice President Enrique Bolanos announced that between 1,000 and 1,500 people were buried in a 32-square mile area below the slopes of the Casita volcano in northern Nicaragua by a mudslide caused by Hurricane Mitch.

● The Lab at Sunrise
● How is Fukushima’s cleanup going five years after its meltdown? Not so well.

Estonia Prepares To Fight An Insurgency War With Russia
The Daily Caller - Estonian citizens compete in weekend competitions intended to teach them the skills necessary to mount an insurgency war. The events are held nearly by the Estonian Defense League, a government-sponsored militia group, nearly every weekend. Estonia’s military is comprised of around 6,000 active forces, a tiny sum in comparison to the massive Russian military stationed near the country’s eastern border. The government knows it would not survive long in a conventional fight with Russia, so it instead plans to engage in a nation-wide insurgency.... Many eastern European countries witnessed Russia’s invasion of Crimea and worry they could be next. In response, Estonia is encouraging its citizens to learn tactics similar to those used by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, particularly the use of IEDs.... The Estonian government encourages defense league members to keep stashes of clothes, canned foods and ammunition ready in case of a Russian invasion. Around 15,500 people currently participate in the militia organization. The league also sponsors boy and girl scout organizations, adding another 9,000 potential insurgents.... Several eastern European countries are preparing for a potential insurgency against Russia, including Poland. While both Estonia and Poland are NATO members, neither country is operating under the assumption that the U.S. and the rest of Europe will come to their aid should the Russians invade.

Chemical Attack in Syria's Aleppo Leaves 2 Dead, Dozens of Civilians Injured
Sputnik News - The attack has killed two Syrian servicemen and left at least 37 civilians injured, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. "On October 30, illegal armed groups fired shells fitted with a poisonous substance against Dahiyat Assad and Hamdaniyah areas of Aleppo city from the territory of 1070 quarters," the ministry said on its website. "Two Syrian military servicemen were killed. Not less than 37 civilians were injured." A statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry earlier on Monday condemned the attacks, saying "this instance of combat use of chemicals by the terrorists against the civilians is not, unfortunately, an isolated case… Al-Nusra Front terrorists and some Syrian rebel groups, allied to the group, launched an offensive in Aleppo's south-west on Friday. For more than three days, terrorists have been attacking Syrian Arab Army's units, as well as residential areas in western and central parts of Aleppo.
Related: Armed opposition groups must end unlawful attacks in western Aleppo

Russia, Japan May Finally Sign Peace Deal to Officially End WWII Conflict
The AntiMedia - Russia acquired the Southern Kurils, which the Japanese have traditionally called Shikotan, Kunashiri, Etorofu, and the Habomai islet group, following the fall of Japan and its subsequent signing of an agreement to give up the territory. Japan signed the agreement out of necessity but has always held that the islands are traditionally Japanese. Now, the administrative rights to those islands are once more being revisited by both Russian and Japanese officials.... “Russia won’t agree to hand over (the islands) unless the possibility of stationing the U.S. military there is ruled out,” sources told The Japan Times.... The territory is highly strategic for Russia, as it faces the Sea of Okhotsk. A foreign military force, like the United States, occupying those islands, “could hamper both essential military drills and the use of a major access route to the Pacific Ocean.” While Japan still very much follows the lead of its longtime ally, the U.S.— even to the extent of going along with continued sanctions against Russia over Ukraine — the fact remains Japanese-Russian ties are warming. It’s also clear this is something the Japanese want — for a variety of reasons.... It would seem that on the surface, both Japan and Russia each have something the other wants. Japan wants control of its islands back, and Russia wants to prevent the U.S. from positioning itself militarily at such a crucial access point to the Pacific. If such a deal is reached, it would mean far more than a simple transference of territorial control. It would mean one of the primary obstacles to an official Russian-Japanese peace treaty would be eliminated.

French riot police begin destroying camps full of UK-bound migrants in Paris
Daily Mail - Demolition workers supported by riot police today began smashing up an illegal camp full of UK-bound migrants in Paris. There were scuffles as mainly Afghans and Eritreans tried to save their possessions during the raid, which started soon after 8am. It followed thousands of migrants arriving in the French capital following the razing of the Calais Jungle refugee camp last week.... Up to 3,000 set up tents on the pavements around the Stalingrad Metro station, which is close to the Gare du Nord Eurostar hub in the north of Paris. Shortly before today’s clearance French president Francois Hollande said: ‘We won’t tolerate the camps any longer.’ Referring to the Paris clearance, Mr Hollande said: ‘We are going to carry out the same operation as in Calais.’ CRS [Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité (English: Republican Security Companies)] riot police around Stalingrad said there would be a ‘gradual operation’ which is likely to go on all week until all the camps are gone.

Australian taxpayers charged over $88 million for donation to corrupt Clinton Foundation
Hang The Bankers - The Australian taxpayer shovelled at least $88 million into the Clinton Foundation and associated entities from 2006 to 2014, reaching a peak of $10.3 million in 2012-13, [former Prime Minister Julia] Gillard’s last year in office. On the Clinton Foundation website, AusAID and the Commonwealth of Australia score separate entries in the $10 million-plus group of donors, one rung up from American teacher unions. In 2009-10 [former Prime Minister] Kevin Rudd handed over another $10 million to the foundation for climate research, part of $300 million he squandered on a Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute. Gillard also donated $300 million of our money to the Clinton-affiliated Global Partnership for Education. Lo and behold, she became chairman in 2014 and has been ­actively promoting Clinton as president ever since — in a campaign video last December slamming Trump, in opeds trumpeting the next woman president and in appearances with Clinton spruiking girls’ education. The Abbott government topped up the left-wing organisation’s coffers with another $140 million in 2014, bringing total Australian largesse to $460 million, according to a press release from Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. And yet, apart from the beautiful friendship with Gillard, what did Australia get from the Clintons for all that cash? A whole lot of trouble is what. The latest treasure trove of Wikileaks emails released last week shows that Australian green groups have been secretly funded to destroy our coal industry by environmental activists connected to the Clinton campaign.

John Podesta's Best Friend At The DOJ Will Be In Charge Of The DOJ's Probe Into Huma Abedin Emails
Zero Hedge - Now that the FBI has obtained the needed warrant to start poring over the 650,000 or so emails uncovered in Anthony Weiner's notebook, among which thousands of emails sent from Huma Abedin using Hillary Clinton's personal server, moments ago the Us Justice Department decided to also finally join the probe, and as AP reported moments ago, it vowed to dedicate all needed resources to quickly review the over half a million emails in the Clinton case…. In the letter to Congress, the DOJ writes that it “will continue to work closely with the FBI and together, dedicate all necessary resources and take appropriate steps as expeditiously as possible,” assistant attorney General Peter J. Kadzik writes in letters to House and Senate lawmakers. So far so good, even if one wonders just how active the DOJ will be in a case that has shown an unprecedented schism between the politically influenced Department of Justice and the FBI. And yet, something felt odd about this. Kadzik... where have we heard that name? Oh yes. Recall our post from last week, "Clinton Campaign Chair Had Dinner With Top DOJ Official One Day After Hillary's Benghazi Hearing" in which we reported that John Podesta had dinner with one of the highest ranked DOJ officials the very day after Hillary Clinton's Benghazi testimony? It was Peter Kadzik. In other words, the best friend of John Podesta, Clinton's Campaign char, at the DOJ will be in charge of a probe that could potentially sink Hillary Clinton…. Kadzik's role at the DOJ, where he started in 2013, is particularly notable Kadzik, as helped spearhead the effort to nominate Lynch, who was heavily criticized for her secret meeting with the former president. It gets better because, as we further revealed, if there is one person in the DOJ who is John Podesta's, and thus the Clinton Foundation's inside man, it is Peter Kadjik. Kadzik represented Podesta during the Monica Lewinsky investigation. And in the waning days of the Bill Clinton administration, Kadzik lobbied Podesta on behalf of Marc Rich, the fugitive who Bill Clinton controversially pardoned on his last day in office. That history is cited by Podesta in another email hacked from his Gmail account. In a Sept. 2008 email, which the Washington Free Beacon flagged last week, Podesta emailed an Obama campaign official to recommend Kadzik for a supportive role in the campaign. Podesta, who would later head up the Obama White House transition effort, wrote that Kadzik was a “fantastic lawyer” who “kept me out of jail.”

EXCLUSIVE — Immigration Officer: Border Deluge of Illegal Aliens ‘Is The Worst We’ve Ever Seen’
Breitbart - The illegal aliens, mostly from Central America, are using President Barack Obama’s policies to request asylum, work permits and green cards. Whereas unlawful aliens traditionally sought to evade border agents in hopes of reaching U.S. cities where they could illegally fill American jobs, reports document how many of these new migrants are now turning themselves in to border patrol agents believing they’ll be allowed to stay permanently. This 2016 influx of migrants from Central America had exceeded 117,000 by Oct. 1, marking a new record… In the 12 months up to October 2016, 271,000 illegal immigrants were caught trying to sneak across the border—but many others escaped arrest and made their way to U.S. workplaces and cities…. Although the surge has been largely ignored by corporate media and unacknowledged by the administration, “the public’s safe is in jeopardy,” the [ICE ] agent warned. Migrants with histories of prior criminal offenses, plus “would-be perpetrators or terrorists whose intent is to harm Americans or our country as a whole” could be among those being released from ICE’s custody, the agent said. The officer said he believes the reason corporate media refuse to cover the crisis is because “it’s an election year and [the media] have a politically-driven agenda. I don’t know why else it wouldn’t be covered—this is the worst we’ve ever seen it,” the agent said.
* Related: Leaked Images Show Illegals Casually Strolling Across Open Border

No Prayer, No Deal – Mission Rejects USDA Food Donations Over Regulations
CNS News - “The USDA revised regulations regarding this food distribution to say that no religious services or religious activities could occur during the distribution of the food,” Executive Director of the Bethesda Mission, Chuck Wingate tells CNSNews.com. “Well, we pray before meals, so if there’s a meal being served – and we serve 3,000 meals a week – if there’s a meal being served with USDA food somewhere in it, then we would be prohibited from praying. We just said ‘nope’ that’s too onerous for us and we’re not going to continue to accept the food if that’s a condition of receiving it.” The USDA issued its final rule on religious liberty protections to beneficiaries of federally funded programs earlier this year. Among the final rules, “The organization may not require a beneficiary to attend or participate in any explicitly religious activities that are offered by the organization, and any participation by the beneficiaries in those activities must be purely voluntary.”.... Wingate says concerns over the regulations led to Bethesda Mission asking for clarification. The response they received from The Pennsylvania Food Bank, which is the pass-through organization for surplus USDA food donations, informed them that prayer before a meal is specifically prohibited. The USDA food that was used by the Bethesda Mission amounted to roughly 1,000 pounds a month. Wingate says since the news of rejecting the USDA program has come out there has been an increase in both cash and food donations. The organization is optimistic that it will be able to continue offering its services uninhibited by the loss of the USDA food donations.

Wikileaks Warns It Is Launching "Phase Three" Of Its Election Coverage
Zero Hedge - On Sunday night, Wikileaks enigmatically tweeted that it would launch “phase 3 of [its] US election coverage" in the coming week. The site put politicians on notice Sunday evening in a tweet that also included a plea for donations. “We commence phase 3 of our US election coverage next week. You can contribute: https://shop.wikileaks.org/donate @WLTaskForce" the whistleblower website announced moments ago.... Wikileaks supporters, now including a number of disgruntled GOP nominee Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders supporters, promptly replied with tweets expressing hope that phase three would ultimately damage Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign.... A new archive of Clinton-related documents would further irk a campaign still reeling from FBI director James Comey's announcement on Friday that new emails related to the Clinton server probe had been discovered. But there is at least some reason to believe Wikileaks could release material that is not solely Clinton related. Julian Assange, the head of Wikileaks, has stated that he would publish information from Trump if the site were sent any.

New Wikileaks: Donna Brazile Gives Hillary ANOTHER Debate Question in Advance
Paul Joseph Watson - A new email released by Wikileaks as part of the Podesta dump reveals that former CNN commentator and current chairperson of the DNC Donna Brazile gave Hillary Clinton another question the day before a major debate. “One of the questions directed to HRC tomorrow is from a woman with a rash,” the email is titled. It was sent on March 5, the day before Clinton debated Bernie Sanders in Flint, Michigan. “Her family has lead poison and she will ask what, if anything, will Hillary do as president to help the ppl of Flint,” reads the body of the email. According to debate commission rules, no candidate is supposed to be given any questions in advance of a debate. This is not the first time that Wikileaks emails have revealed how Brazile tipped off Hillary’s campaign with debate questions in advance. A previous email entitled, “From time to time I get the questions in advance,” gave Clinton the nod that a question would be asked about the death penalty. The latest email completely demolishes Brazile’s claim, made during a fiery exchange with Megyn Kelly, that she didn’t receive debate questions in advance. During the interview, Brazile appeared rattled, at one point suggesting that the email was fake or doctored, with no evidence, while claiming she was being “persecuted.” This latest revelation provides yet more bombshell evidence of collusion between the media, specifically CNN, and the Clinton campaign.
Related: CNN severs ties with Donna Brazile

Desperate Hillary to Release ‘Racist’ Trump Tape?
Paul Joseph Watson - Speculation is rife that Hillary Clinton – backed into a corner by the FBI’s decision to re-open its investigation into her email scandal – will give the go-ahead for the release of new tapes that feature Donald Trump making racist remarks. Hillary now faces at least three different forms of attack over the next week – more damaging revelations from the Podesta emails, more undercover videos from James O’Keefe and Project Veritas, in addition to the newly re-opened FBI investigation of her email scandal. O’Keefe has indicated that he is about to release a video that shows Clinton operatives making disparaging racial remarks. Speculation has also raged that the Clinton camp is sitting on unreleased audio tapes of Donald Trump making lewd, and possibly racist, remarks. As the Daily Caller reported earlier this month, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael D’Antonio, who wrote a biography on Donald Trump, contacted the Clinton campaign back in March to offer them 9 hours of taped conversations with Trump free of charge…. Nine hours of taped conversations with Trump – who is notorious for speaking off the cuff – are almost certain to contain something that can be overhyped or taken out of context. While some believe the tapes will be released early this week, others like Ben Shapiro think the behavior of Clinton campaign operatives suggest that they are out of ammo.

Former Clinton Pollster Doug Schoen Withdraws Support for Hillary Over Renewed FBI Investigation (Video)
The Gateway Pundit - Democrat pollster Doug Schoen, who advised President Bill’s Clinton’s 1996 reelection campaign and worked on Hillary Clinton’s failed 2008 presidential bid, has withdrawn his endorsement of Hillary Clinton for the presidency following the renewal of the FBI investigation into Clinton and her her top aide Huma Abedin. Schoen said he fears a constitutional crisis should Clinton be elected and sworn into office while under investigation… Schoen’s bio reads in part: Douglas E. Schoen has been one of the most influential Democratic campaign consultants for over thirty years. A founding partner and principle strategist for Penn, Schoen & Berland, he is widely recognized as one of the co-inventors of overnight polling. Schoen was named Pollster of the Year in 1996 by the American Association of Political Consultants for his contributions to the President Bill Clinton reelection campaign. His political clients include New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Indiana Governor Evan Bayh, and his corporate clients include AOL Time Warner, Procter & Gamble and AT&T. Internationally, he has worked for the heads of states of over 15 countries, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and three Israeli Prime Ministers…”

Video: How America’s Elections Are Hacked, Missing Link Discovered
Infowars - Author Bev Harris became known for groundbreaking work on electronic voting machines, which can remove transparency of the vote count. With voting machines, all political power can be converted to the hands of a few anonymous subcontractors…

A increased employee bonuses in 2015 to $177 million
Washington Times - Despite more problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the agency handed out more than $177 million in bonuses in fiscal 2015 to nearly 189,000 employees. More than 300 senior executives of the troubled agency received $3.3 million in bonuses, for an average payment of about $10,000 each, USA Today reported Monday. Bonuses for non-executives averaged about $900. The report comes in the wake of an aborted attempt by the Pentagon to recoup enlistment bonuses paid to National Guardsmen who served in Iraq. Critics said the VA bonuses raise fresh questions about the agency’s system for evaluating employees.... Among the managers receiving bonuses, the newspaper reported, was the former top VA official in Ohio who retired the same day he received a termination notice. Another bonus went to the chief of staff at the scandal-ridden Phoenix VA Medical Center, who got the cash award four months before he was fired.... USA Today said the list of those paid bonuses included Dr. Darren Deering, who was fired as chief of staff of the Phoenix VA Health Care System last June for what the agency said was “negligent performance of duties and failure to provide effective oversight.” He received a $5,000 bonus in February. The Phoenix system was ground zero in 2014 of a scandal involving veterans dying while waiting for appointments, delays that were covered up with phony wait lists. Jack Hetrick, formerly the top VA official in Ohio, received a $12,705 bonus last January. An investigation by WCPO-TV and Scripps News showed that Barbara Temeck, acting chief of staff at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, was prescribing medication to Mr. Hetrick’s wife without a proper license. Ms. Temeck was paid a $5,000 bonus in January.... In all, more than half of all VA employees received a bonus, an increase of about 20 percent from fiscal 2014. The total amount paid in bonuses rose about 24 percent, up from $142 million in fiscal 2014.

Veteran with PTSD sues American Airlines over service dog incident
McClatchy DC - An Army veteran who suffers from PTSD says in a federal lawsuit American Airlines agents subjected her to two days of humiliation and stress when she tried to fly home from Kansas with her service dog, a Labrador retriever named Jake. Lisa McCombs said she flew without incident to Manhattan, Kansas, on Oct. 25, 2015, but was stuck there for two days because American regional carrier Envoy refused to let her board a return flight with Jake, even though he was wearing his service vest and met criteria to board the plane.... The lawsuit describes in detail what followed. An American agent walked up to her and, in a condescending tone, said, ‘Ummmm, you’re not trying to fly with that?’ gesturing toward Jake. The agent demanded documentation for Jake, but did not say what kind was needed. Soon enough, a supervisor got involved and American employees confirmed McCombs could not fly with Jake, saying she would need to pay $125 for the dog to travel as cargo, or resubmit identification for a flight 48 hours later.... An American customer-service representative McCombs contacted by phone seemed confused about why she was being prevented from boarding the flight. After McCombs missed her flight, the airline employees started grilling her about why she needed a service dog, the lawsuit says, a violation of the ADA.... People in the airport tried to comfort her, asking why she was being treated so rudely. Police arrived, but merely observed the scene until airline employees kicked her out of the airport.... [senior manager of Military and Veterans Programs at American — a pilot and U.S. Army veteran] Capt. Palmersheim called the next day, saying things such as, “We are owning this,” “We are sickened and embarrassed,” “Our airline really sucked when it came to your experience” and “We are going to make it right, whatever that means for you.”

Wells Fargo agrees to $50 million settlement over homeowner fees
Reuters - Wells Fargo & Co has agreed to pay $50 million to settle a racketeering lawsuit accusing it of overcharging hundreds of thousands of homeowners for appraisals ordered after they defaulted on their mortgage loans. The proposed settlement, which requires court approval, was disclosed in a filing on Friday in an Oakland, California federal court. If approved, it will resolve nationwide claims that Wells Fargo charged much more than it paid for third-party appraisals, exploiting borrowers who could least afford it and driving them further into default. Wells Fargo's settlement of the lawsuit comes as the bank is still recoiling from a scandal over sales targets that drove employees to create unauthorized accounts for customers. Multiple lawsuits over those practices are pending…. Wells Fargo typically charged $95 to $125 for the type of expedited appraisal at issue, when the actual cost was $50 or less, the complaint said. The charges added hundreds or thousands of dollars to borrower's mortgage loans over time, the lawsuit said. Customers did not know they had been victimized because the charges were described on statements with cryptic labels such as "other charges," the lawsuit said.

U.S. Trucking Companies Slash Fleets Amid "Tepid Shipping Demand"
Zero Hedge - it should come as little surprise that large trucking companies in the U.S. are being forced to slash fleets amid slumping demand and slack capacity. According to the Wall Street Journal, several U.S. trucking companies, including Swift, Werner and Covenant, have all been forced to cut 1,000s of trucks from their fleets as "overcapacity has driven down pricing." Of course, all this means that class 8 truck manufactures are unlikely to see an uptick in new orders anytime in the near future with Werner promising it won’t add trucks “until they see meaningful improvement in the freight and rate markets.”.... That said, we wouldn't hold our breath waiting for demand and pricing to rebound. As Barclays points out, consumer goods imports have continued to remain very weak in 2016 which they think could "presage a slowdown in household demand." Moreover, Barclays points out that amongst durable goods orders only autos have held up over the past several months amid overall declines for the larger basket though even autos have seemingly "reached a plateau."

Alabama gas line explosion leaves several injured, others missing
RT - A gas line explosion in Shelby County has left at least seven people severely burned and 10 acres of land are on fire. Nearby residents have been evacuated without incident, but two pipeline contractors are still missing. An explosion on a Colonial gas pipeline occurred as “eight or nine” subcontractors were trying to flush one of the lines on Monday, the Birmingham News reported. So far, seven have been reported to be injured and two workers are possibly missing. The fire’s intense heat has hindered the search. Eight or nine workers were injured, according to the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, while another four to six were being treated at UAB Hospital, WBMA reported. The mainlines have been shut down in Shelby, according to a press release from Colonial Pipelines. While flames from the blaze have reached 50 feet high, no damage has been reported in the nearby town of Helena. The only homes in the vicinity have been evacuated with no injuries.

220 ‘Significant’ Pipeline Spills Already This Year Exposes Troubling Safety Record
The Liberty Beacon - Three major U.S. pipeline spills within the last month are just a small part of the 220 significant incidents reported so far this year—and 3,032 since 2006—that provide a stark reminder of the environmental hazards of an aging pipeline infrastructure carrying fossil fuels. The costs of these leaks since 2006 has amounted to $4.7 billion…. Some 55 percent of the U.S. network of 135,000 miles of pipeline is more than 45 years old. Technology designed to detect pipeline leaks is highly unreliable, even though companies like Colonial Pipeline tout their use as a way “to insure safe operations.” But a recent Reuters report found that these technologies are “about as successful as a random member of the public” finding a leak. Of 466 incidents studied by Reuters, only 22 percent, or 105, were detected by advanced detection systems. The others were found in different ways, with the public finding 99 of the leaks.

Doctors Orders: Stop Fracking Pennsylvania
EcoWatch - The Pennsylvania Medical Society—the state's largest medical group—is calling for a moratorium on the controversial natural gas extraction method and is urging the state legislature to fund an independent health registry and commission research studies on the health effects of fracking. The Pennsylvania Medical Society—the state's largest medical group—is calling for a moratorium on the controversial natural gas extraction method and is urging the state legislature to fund an independent health registry and commission research studies on the health effects of fracking…. Pennsylvania sits on one of the country's most active and notorious fracking regions—nearly 10,000 fracking wells have been drilled in the gas-rich Marcellus shale in the past decade, turning the state into a fracking powerhouse. However, this activity has come at a cost to human and environmental health. One study linked Pennsylvania's unconventional natural gas development to migraine headaches, fatigue, and nasal and sinus symptoms. In another study, researchers combed through years of health records from 40 counties in north and central Pennsylvania and determined that people who live close to fracking wells have a higher risk of asthma attacks among asthma patients. Last week, the Yale School of Public Health published a study determining that 55 unique chemicals could be classified as known, probable or possible human carcinogens. They also specifically identified 20 compounds that had evidence of leukemia/lymphoma risk. Furthermore, the resolution highlights how fracking has been associated with significant environmental harm…. However, Jeffrey Sheridan, who is Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf's spokesman, told the newspaper that a statewide moratorium is unlikely.

New leak may show if you were hacked by the NSA
Ars Technica - Shadow Brokers—the name used by a person or group that created seismic waves in August when it published some of the National Security Agency's most elite hacking tools—is back with a new leak that the group says reveals hundreds of organizations targeted by the NSA over more than a decade. "TheShadowBrokers is having special trick or treat for Amerikanskis tonight," said the Monday morning post, which was signed by the same encryption key used in the August posts. "Many missions into your networks is/was coming from these ip addresses.".... According to analyses from researchers […] Monday's dump contains 352 distinct IP addresses and 306 domain names that purportedly have been hacked by the NSA. The timestamps included in the leak indicate that the servers were targeted between August 22, 2000 and August 18, 2010. The addresses include 32 .edu domains and nine .gov domains. In all, the targets were located in 49 countries, with the top 10 being China, Japan, Korea, Spain, Germany, India, Taiwan, Mexico, Italy, and Russia.... The dump also includes various other pieces of data. Chief among them are configuration settings for an as-yet unknown toolkit used to hack servers running Unix operating systems. If valid, the list could be used by various organizations to uncover a decade's worth of attacks that until recently were closely guarded secrets.

Genetically Modified Crops in U.S. Fail to Deliver on Promise of Greater Crop Yield and Diminished Pesticide Use
AllGov - The controversy over genetically modified crops has long focused on largely unsubstantiated fears that they are unsafe to eat. But an extensive examination by The New York Times indicates that the debate has missed a more basic problem — genetic modification in the United States and Canada has not accelerated increases in crop yields or led to an overall reduction in the use of chemical pesticides.... An analysis by The Times using U.N. data showed that the United States and Canada have gained no discernible advantage in yields when measured against Western Europe, a region with comparably modernized agricultural producers like France and Germany. Also, a recent National Academy of Sciences report found “there was little evidence” that the introduction of genetically modified crops in the United States had led to yield gains beyond those seen in conventional crops. At the same time, herbicide use has increased in the United States, even as major crops like corn, soybeans and cotton have been converted to modified varieties. And the United States has fallen behind Europe’s biggest producer, France, in reducing the overall use of pesticides, which includes both herbicides and insecticides. One measure, contained in data from the U.S. Geological Survey, shows the stark difference in the use of pesticides. Since GM crops were introduced in the United States two decades ago for crops like corn, cotton and soybeans, the use of toxins that kill insects and fungi has fallen by a third, but the spraying of herbicides, which are used in much higher volumes, has risen 21 percent. By contrast, in France, use of insecticides and fungicides has fallen 65 percent and herbicide use has decreased 36 percent.

16 Popular Foods You Didn’t Know You Could Freeze
Off the Grid News - Freezing is an easy and convenient way to preserve food. By freezing leftovers and foods that will spoil before you use them, you can save money and reduce food waste. As a general rule, you can keep fruits and vegetables in the freezer for up to a year, poultry for six to nine months, fish for three to six months, and ground meat for three to four months. Use resealable freezer bags or freezer-safe plastic containers and label them with the date of storage. But you can freeze many more food items than you probably realized. Here is our top 16 list of foods you didn’t know you could freeze…. 1. Garlic – You can freeze whole garlic, garlic cloves or chopped fresh garlic. Frozen garlic does lose some of its texture, but the flavor remains intact. 2. Corn – You can freeze fresh-picked corn on the cob for up to one year. Pack it in freezer bags — husk and silk and all. For store-bought corn, husk and blanch it before freezing. 3. Avocados – The bad news is that frozen avocados lose their consistency. The good news is that they do not lose their taste, so you can use them for guacamole or dressing. Wash and halve them before peeling. Freeze as halves, or puree them with lime or lemon juice and then store for up to eight months. 4. Mushrooms — You can freeze raw button, creminis and portabellas mushrooms for later use. Chop and slice mushrooms and then spread them on a cookie sheet. Freeze. Then transfer the pieces to bags or containers. 5. Onion – You can save chopping time – and tears – by freezing onion for cooking later. Store peeled, chopped onion in plastic freezer bags. The best part is you can just toss them into your recipes without thawing them first. 6. Hummus – Scoop your fresh hummus into plastic containers. Then drizzle a thin layer of olive oil on the top to keep it from drying out. Thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours before mixing and serving….

Johnson & Johnson Loses Yet Another Multimillion Dollar Case Over Baby Powder
Natural Blaze - In the latest development in the Johnson & Johnson talcum powder saga, a St. Louis jury has awarded a California woman over $70 million dollars as a result of her lawsuit claiming that years of using Johnson & Johnson’s caused her to be stricken by cancer. The trial began on September 26th and ended on October 27th. The plaintiff, Deborah Giannecchini of Medesto California was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. The lawsuit accused Johnson & Johnson of negligent conduct in the manufacture and marketing of its product. Giannecchini’s lawyer told the Associated Press, “We are pleased the jury did the right thing. They once again reaffirmed the need for Johnson & Johnson to warn the public of the ovarian cancer risk associated with its product.” The corporation is planning to appeal the decision, however, as Carol Goodrich, Johnson & Johnson spokesperson said, “We will appeal today’s verdict because we are guided by the science, which supports the safety of Johnson’s baby powder.”

Enzyme in Broccoli, Cucumbers and Avocados Reverses Aging In Cells
April McCarthy - Much of human health hinges on how well the body manufactures and uses energy. For reasons that remain unclear, cells' ability to produce energy declines with age, prompting scientists to suspect that the steady loss of efficiency in the body's energy supply chain is a key driver of the aging process. Researchers have zeroed in on an enzyme -- found in natural foods like broccoli and cucumbers -- that can slow the chronic conditions that come with age. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that supplementing healthy mice with a natural compound called NMN can compensate for this loss of energy production, reducing typical signs of aging such as gradual weight gain, loss of insulin sensitivity and declines in physical activity…. The compound, called nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), is involved in producing another compound that is critical for energy metabolism. When they gave normal aging mice infusions of NMN, they made more of that energy-fueling compound and some of the biological problems associated with aging went away. The NMN-treated animals did not gain as much weight, they were able to convert food into energy more efficiently, their blood sugar was better--even their eyesight improved. The mice receiving NMN were also able to prevent some of the genetic changes associated with aging.

Thousands Of “Organic” Beauty Products Found Containing Banned Chemicals
True Activist - The FDA does have some regulations that are overseen by the USDA via the National Organic Program, but the policing efforts when it comes to cosmetics are seriously lacking. By looking at EWG’s Skin Deep database, it was determined that over 5,000 products use the word “organic” in their brand name, product name, product label or list of ingredients. Depending on the placement of the word, certain regulations can be bypassed, and that’s why most of these products are actually horrible and receive the lowest Skin Deep score possible despite claiming to be “organic.” The use of chemicals is still allowed even in these seemingly wholesome products and some of these chemicals are so poor for your skin that they are banned in many countries. When a beauty product claims to be “made with 100% organic or natural ingredients,” it can be misleading because they are often referring to a single ingredient that is organic or naturally-derived rather than all of their ingredients. Other tactics used to confuse consumers include using the terms like “eco-friendly” or “vegan,” both of which are even less regulated than using organic on a label. Unless there is a third-party company that you trust backing these claims, they are likely a farce and have no substance. Since there is so much confusion surrounding these loaded words, consumers should be wary when they encounter products that make bold claims like this. Instead of taking their labels at face value, simply take a look at the ingredients and research a few to see what they really are. If the majority of them are things you cannot pronounce, it’s likely that most are made with synthetic chemicals and far from being “natural” or “organic.”
* Related: EWG’s Skin Deep Database

Trump Arrests Crooked Hillary In Outrageous Halloween Costume
Infowars - Best costume of the season? Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is handcuffed wearing a striped prison jumpsuit and led around by Republican opponent Donald Trump in a costume shared by Twitter users celebrating Halloween. The couples costume embodies one of the major themes of the presidential campaign, especially after Trump promised to prosecute the former secretary of state during the second US presidential debate….