World News
Deadly Russian submarine rushed to border as WW3 tensions reach BREAKING POINT
Daily Star – The Kilo-class submarine, dubbed the “Black Hole” due to its ability to disappear suddenly, has been snapped leaving the major Black Sea port of Sevastopol.
The vessel is a diesel-electric attack submarine made in Russia, specially designed for missions in shallow waters.
The photo was taken by Twitter user “Capt” then spotted by US Submarine Veteran and expert, Eric Moreno who believes it could be heading to the Kerch Strait – which separates the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov where Russia captured Ukrainian sailors.
No US military build-up in Cyprus, island’s FM says
RT – Cyprus’ Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides has rejected statements that the US is looking to set up a military base on the east Mediterranean island as a bulwark against expanding Russian influence in the region. Christodoulides said Friday that he called his Russian counterpart to convey Cyprus’ “grave concern” over the remarks from the Russian Foreign Ministry, AP reports. “They don’t correspond with reality,” Christodoulides told Sigma TV station.
No-deal Brexit: Disruption at Dover ‘could last six months’
BBC – Dover and other Channel ports face disruption for up to six months if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, ministers have said.
The “worst case scenario” warning comes after analysis of likely traffic flows, if customs checks are delayed.
Lorries carrying medicine could get priority at ports and planes used to fly in drugs, ministers said.
But Tory Brexiteer Andrew Bridgen said it was “Project Fear on steroids,” ahead of Tuesday’s big Brexit vote.
He told the BBC: “It’s the last throw of the dice from the prime minister who is desperate to get MPs to vote for her withdrawal agreement.”
The prime minister’s claim that the alternative to the withdrawal agreement she has negotiated with the EU is a no-deal Brexit, has so far failed to convince many of her own MPs.
‘Great Violence’ in Paris Anticipated as Police Staff Join Macron Protests
Breitbart – The French government expects the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vest) protests in Paris this weekend could be more violent than ever, despite President Emmanuel Macron buckling on fuel tax hikes.
The Élysée Palace, seat of President Emmanuel Macron, announced to French media they are expecting “great violence” on Saturday as Yellow Vest protestors have announced “Act IV” of their nearly four-week-long protest against the Macron regime that was initially sparked by a rise in fuel taxes, franceinfo reports.
According to the Élysée, they expect “a hard core of several thousand people” to arrive in Paris on Saturday with the intent to “break and kill.”
Norwegian politicians reject UK’s Norway-plus Brexit plan
The Guardian – Norwegian MP says it is not in either country’s interest for UK to use trade agreement
Senior Norwegian politicians and businesses figures have rejected Norway-plus, the increasingly touted British cross-party plan for the UK to leave the EU but join Norway in a free trade trade area inside the EU single market.
They attacked the idea as “neither in Norway nor the UK’s interest”. The UK would need Norway’s permission to join its Efta club.
U.S. News, Politics & Government
He died in the attack 77 years ago. Today his family buries him.
CNN – he Dorr family had been waiting for Carl to come home from the Navy for 77 years. This week, he finally did.
About 15 relatives on Wednesday walked onto the tarmac of South Carolina’s Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. They watched as a flag-draped coffin was lowered from the plane into a hearse.
“There was nothing but dead silence,” Carl’s 70-year-old nephew, Thomas Dorr, who lives in St. Johns, Florida, told CNN. “I knew that what I was experiencing was history.”
Carl David Dorr, one of the 429 sailors and Marines killed on board the USS Oklahoma when it was sunk in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, will be laid to rest on Friday — the attack’s anniversary.
Only 35 people on the ship were positively identified and buried in the years immediately following the December 7, 1941, military strike, according to the Defense Department. The unidentified remains were buried as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, which fills the Punchbowl crater in Honolulu.
The Defense Department — following a push by a Pearl Harbor survivor — in recent years has been working to exhume those bodies. Using modern advances in technology, it is identifying the remains to give family members the closure and commemoration they have long awaited.
n Wednesday, the Dorr family took three limos and a hearse back to a funeral home in Greenville. Police and the Patriot Guard escorted them, Thomas Dorr said. The processional passed law enforcement and fire officials who offered a salute as they directed traffic.
A fire truck parked on an overpass draped a flag above them.
Once they arrived at the funeral home, the family sent Thomas in first to see Carl’s casket. He had studied Pearl Harbor, and he felt like he had a close connection with his uncle because of his love for his grandmother.
Thomas knelt down next to the coffin, put his hand over it and wept, he said. He wept for Carl, who belonged back at home. He wept for Carl’s parents, who missed him so much.
“I was crying tears for them,” Thomas said.
Judge orders new review of Clinton email scandal
WND – A federal judge has issued a scathing decision that orders a new review of Hillary Clinton’s email scandal – her use of a private and unsecure email system for classified national secrets while she was secretary of state.
The ruling from Judge Royce Lamberth comes in a case brought by Washington Watchdog Judicial Watch over information regarding the terror attack on an U.S. outpost in Benghazi that left four Americans dead.
The ruling instructs the U.S. Departments of State and Justice to work with Judicial Watch on a proposed schedule for discovery into whether Clinton tried to evade the federal law, the Freedom of Information Act.
It also must be determined whether the State Department acted in “bad faith.”
Calling Clinton’s use of that private email “One of the gravest modern offenses to government transparency,” the judge didn’t label the participants “Deep State,” but the reference to federal bureaucrats was clear.
“His [Barack Obama’s] State and Justice Departments fell far short. So far short that the court questions, even now, whether they are acting in good faith. Did Hillary Clinton use her private email as secretary of state to thwart this lofty goal (Obama’s ‘transparency’]? Was the State Department’s attempt to settle this FOIA case in 2014 an effort to avoid searching – and disclosing the existence of – Clinton’s missing emails? And has State every adequately searched for the records in this case?”
“The historic court ruling raises concerns about the Hillary Clinton email scandal and government corruption that millions of Americans share,” stated Judicial Watch Tom Fitton. “Judicial Watch looks forward to conducting careful discovery into the Clinton email issue and we hope the Justice Department and State Department recognize Judge Lamberth’s criticism and help, rather than obstruct, this court-ordered discovery.”
Trump names Heather Nauert as US ambassador to UN
Al Jazeera – US President Donald Trump said he will nominate State Department spokeswoman and ex-Fox TV news anchor as UN envoy.
Trump picks William Barr as next US attorney general
Al Jazeera -If confirmed, Barr, who served as attorney general under George HW Bush, will oversee Mueller’s Russia investigation.
Economy & Business
This Banking Scandal is Awful … Even for Wells Fargo
Activist Post – Our old friends at Wells Fargo are involved in yet another banking scandal. And this one is really bad… people wrongfully lost their homes and ended up on the street.
But before I get into the details of this particularly atrocious mishap, let’s have a quick recap of Wells’ “greatest hits.”
Back in April, Wells was hit with a $1 billion fine for selling 570,000 clients auto insurance they didn’t need and also charging mortgage borrowers erroneous fees.
By the bank’s own estimates, as many as 20,000 of those clients may have had their cars repossessed as a result of their inability to pay for the insurance Wells Fargo illegally stuck them with.
On the topic of repossessing vehicles, last November, the bank came under fire for illegally repossessing vehicles owned by members of the military.
Consider Wells Fargo’s latest scandal…
This week, the bank said a “computer glitch” caused 545 of its customers to lose their homes.
The “glitch,” according to papers the bank filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, caused the bank to incorrectly deny 870 loan modifications (around 60% of which went into foreclosure).
Basically, people asked the bank to change their mortgage to make it more affordable, and requests that should have been approved weren’t… with the process taking months before the borrower got the final “no.”
Seriously?
“Oh… sorry about that. Sorry you lost your house, your family and your job. Our bad… computer glitch, you know how it goes. Real sorry.”
Marlboro owner invests $1.8B in cannabis
CNN – Altria hopes pot is the key to help it grow beyond its stagnant cigarette business.
Tobacco giant Altira is investing $1.8 billion in Canadian cannabis company Cronos Group. That will give Altria a 45% stake in the company, with an option for Altria to increase its stake to 55% over the next five years.
Reports of an Altria-Cronos deal first surfaced earlier this week. The decision by Altria to go ahead with an investment in Cronos shows that Altria is serious about investing in marijuana as a new growth area as sales of traditional cigarettes slow.
Altria’s stock has fallen nearly 25% this year and the company is expected to report revenue growth of only about 1% this year and in 2019.
“Investing in Cronos Group as our exclusive partner in the emerging global cannabis category represents an exciting new growth opportunity for Altria,” said Howard Willard, Altria’s CEO, in a statement.
Shares of Altria (MO) rose 2% in early trading Friday while Cronos (CRON) soared more than 30%.
The Economic Collapse Blog – Things are sure getting wild on Wall Street. On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted almost 800 points before roaring back and recovering nearly all of those losses. The Dow closed just 79 points lower for the day, and if you only looked at the final number you would be tempted to believe that there is not much reason for concern. But these wild swings up and down are precisely what we witnessed back in 2008, and they are a sign that the stock market is literally teetering on the precipice of disaster. And it almost certainly would have been a historically bad day for stocks on Thursday if not for a very well-timed article in the Wall Street Journal. Once news broke that the Federal Reserve is considering “a wait-and-see approach to rate hikes”, stock prices immediately began to rebound…
Stocks closed well off their session lows on Thursday after news broke that the Federal Reserve could tighten monetary policy at a slower pace than previously expected.
The Wall Street Journal reported the central bank is considering whether to signal a wait-and-see approach to rate hikes at its upcoming meeting this month. The report said Fed officials do not know what their next move on rates will be after December.
This just shows the immense power that the Federal Reserve possesses.
Energy & Environment
EPA moves to roll back coal regulations
Mercury News – The Environmental Protection Agency moved Tuesday to further ease rules on the sagging U.S. coal industry, this time scaling back what would have been a tough control on climate-changing emissions from any new coal plants.
The latest Trump administration targeting of legacy Obama administration efforts to slow climate change comes in the wake of multiplying warnings from the agency’s scientists and others about the accelerating toll of global warming.
In a ceremony at the agency, acting EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler signed a proposal to dismantle a 2015 rule that any new coal power plants include cutting-edge techniques to cap the carbon dioxide from their smokestacks.
Wheeler called the Obama rules “excessive burdens” for the coal industry.
“This administration cares about action and results, not talks and wishful thinking,” Wheeler said.
Science & Technology
Investmentwatchblog – The 22 rogue titles included Sparkle Flashlight, a flashlight app that had been downloaded more than 1 million times since it entered Google Play sometime in 2016 or 2017, antivirus provider Sophos said in a blog post published Thursday. Beginning around March of this year, Sparkle Flashlight and two other apps were updated to add the secret downloader. The remaining 19 apps became available after June and contained the downloader from the start.
By the time Google removed the apps in late November, they were being used to click endlessly on fraudulent ads. “Andr/Clickr-ad,” as Sophos has dubbed the family of apps, automatically started and ran even after a user force-closed them, functions that caused the apps to consume huge amounts of bandwidth and drain batteries.
I don’t have much experience with Android, so I’ll have to ask Instapundit readers how an app steals permission to continue running after a force-close.
Health
Study: Lavender essential oil protects the liver and kidneys
NaturalNews – Volatile compounds give lavender its pleasant scent and healing properties. They can also protect the kidneys and liver from being harmed by oxidative stress from toxic chemicals. This led Tunisian researchers to test the essential oil of Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas) for its hepaprotective and nephroprotective activity against malathion.
Malathion is a synthetic organophosphate. It is one of the most common insecticides, being used in both agricultural areas and homes.
Although touted to be the safest among organophosphates, malathion remains a highly potent neurotoxin. Even though it was intended to kill insects, it can still cause significant damage to the liver and kidneys of mammals like humans.
When ingested, malathion will be broken down into malaoxon, a metabolite that is even more deadly than the base chemical. If it reaches the liver and kidney, it causes oxidative stress that damages the cells of those vital organs.
Antioxidants can prevent oxidative stress. These beneficial substances can naturally be found in the body and increased by consumption of the right foods. (Related: Judge affirms “guilty” verdict against Monsanto’s glyphosate herbicide, reduces punitive damages to $39 million.)
Vitamin D and Omega 3s Help Prevent Cancer Deaths and Heart Attacks
Care2 – Fish oil, Vitamin D, and every other mineral, vitamin, and herb has been touted to have a slew of health benefits. Unfortunately, most of the time the research is lacking or inconsistent. Researchers have had to rely on observing trends in certain cultures over long periods of time or on anecdotes. Recent studies, though, have helped shed light on the health benefits of supplementing with Omega 3 and Vitamin D.
One of the new studies doesn’t prove the primary endpoints that the researchers were aiming for, which were the reduction of cardiovascular disease and the prevention of cancer. Instead, secondary endpoints were achieved:
- Vitamin D decreases mortality from cancer.
- Omega 3 fatty acids reduced the incidence of myocardial infarction and death from heart attacks.
The second study shows promising effects on the reduction of risk for heart attacks and strokes.
Vitamin D and Cancer
Vitamin D has consistently been regarded as a powerful supplement for cancer prevention. In vitro studies have shown that Vitamin D suppresses cell proliferation, which is the driving factor in the spread and severity of cancer. On top of that, tons of observational data points to individuals who have lower levels of Vitamin D having a higher chance of getting cancer. Despite these exciting findings and observations, Vitamin D has consistently failed to hold true to the claim that it prevents cancer.
What the latest research shows instead is that vitamin D lowers the mortality rates from cancer. Participants saw a 25 percent reduction in their risk of dying from cancer when they supplemented with vitamin D.
Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Heart Attacks, and Stroke Risk
The VITAL study did not prove that omega 3s are effective at decreasing general cardiovascular disease. Instead, it showed that omega 3s specifically help reduce the incidence of myocardial infarctions (heart attacks).
Participants had a 28 percent lowered risk of heart attacks compared to those who took the placebo or vitamin D. They were also less likely to die from a heart attack. In this same study, African Americans saw the greatest benefit, at a 77 percent reduction in the risk for heart attack.
What Juuling Does to Your Body (It’s Not Pretty)
Dr. Axe – In 2003, the first commercially successful electronic cigarette debuted in China. Today, millions of consumers regularly use “electronic nicotine delivery systems” (ENDS), especially electronic cigarettes (also called e-cigarettes). Juul e-cigarettes, apparently created to help adult smokers quit smoking more easily, are now the most popular “vaping device” among teens and young adults.
While the vast majority of adults can’t identify a Juul and report never trying one, the same can’t be said about most teens. Studies suggest that Juul devices and “vaping” can lead to problems with brain development, lung damage, increased risk for high blood pressure and increased risk for nicotine/smoking addiction.
In November 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its plans to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes, including Juuls, as early as late 2018. The FDA’s decision will be based on whether or not several e-cigarette manufacturers can prove that they are capable of keeping their products away from minors.
The FDA’s move comes on the heels of some startling new statistics: e-cigarette use among high-school and middle-school kids rose from 77 percent and 50 percent, respectively, from 2017 to 2018. The estimates show that more than 3.5 million minors vaped at least once in 2018. (1) If the ban goes through, convenience stores and gas stations will no longer be able to legally sell flavored e-cigarettes in the U.S. The hope is that buying the products online will become much more difficult, too.
What Is a Juul?
If you don’t yet know much about e-cigarettes, you’re probably wondering, “What is a Juul vape, and what does Juuling mean?”
A Juul is a type of e-cigarette (short for electronic cigarette). According to the National Cancer Institute, it’s “a device that has the shape of a cigarette, cigar or pen and does not contain tobacco. It uses a battery and contains a solution of nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals, some of which may be harmful.” (2)
Juuling is a type of vaping, another way to describe the use of e-cigarettes that causes a nicotine solution to turn into an inhalable mist. E-cigarettes like Juuls contain heated nicotine extracted from tobacco, but they don’t contain tobacco itself.
A 2017 survey conducted by the Schroeder Institute at Truth Initiative found that 25 percent of teens aged 15 to 17 and 29 percent of young adults aged 18 to 24 recognized a Juul device. Between 10 and 12 percent reported both recognizing and having ever used a JUUL, and 8 to 10 percent reported recognition and past 30-day use. Overall, the survey found that young adults aged 18 to 24, especially males, were most likely to recognize and use Juuls regularly. (3)
Juul Labs first released Juuls in 2015, stating that the company’s mission was to “eliminate cigarettes and help the more than one billion smokers worldwide switch to a better alternative.” (4) But while Juuls may be intended to serve as part of a “harm reduction strategy” — a public health strategy that intends to reduce the negative effects of addictive substances, including nicotine/tobacco — there’s evidence that Juuls may be doing more harm than good.
Experts on the dangers of nicotine tell us: “It is not yet known whether electronic cigarettes are safe or if they can be used to help smokers quit smoking.” There’s still debate over whether Juul devices and other similar products offer more benefits to smokers than they cause harm. What we do know is that evidence suggests they aren’t totally harmless, especially when used by teens or young adults or for long periods of time.
Is Juuling Bad for You? 4 Dangers of Juuling
So is Juuling bad for you, or is it a safer alternative for smokers and a helpful companion in the battle to quit? Many seem to believe that the use of e-cigarettes is less harmful than smoking cigarettes, but the health effects of long-term use are still not known. And according to some study findings, there is reason to believe that e-cigarette use causes as much or more damage as conventional cigarettes.
Whether or not future research shows that Juuling is favorable compared to smoking cigarettes, dangers of Juuling still include:
1. Consumption & Addiction Among Teens/Young Adults
In May 2016, the FDA banned the sale of vaping products to children under 18 years old. But there’s still concern that teens are using e-cigarettes and Juuls in growing numbers. Juuls can be purchased at gas stations, convenience stores and smoke shops. (8)
Experts also believe that young e-cigarette users face an increased risk for both starting to smoke and becoming long-term users of cigarettes and/or other combustible tobacco products. (9)
2. Higher Risk for Cardiovascular Disease
Juuls contain nicotine, a stimulant that can increase heart rate and raise blood pressure. It’s also a risk factor for developing heart disease. (10) That being said, certain health authorities feel that nicotine use via Juuling/vaping does not increase the risk for suffering from a heart attack.
One study found that e-cigarette exposure narrows arteries by 30 percent and decreases the blood vessels’ ability to widen. (11) Additionally, vaping/Juuling can stiffen the aorta, the main artery in the body that supplies oxygenated blood to the circulatory system. Aortic stiffness is considered an early warning sign of cardiac and vascular-related diseases, such as atherosclerosis, stroke and aneurysm.
3. DNA Damage
Recent research shows that vaping may modify genetic material/DNA in the oral cells of users. (12) In one study run by the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota, researchers recruited five e-cigarette users and collected saliva samples before and after a 15-minute vaping session to analyze them for chemicals that are known to damage DNA.
Increased levels of DNA-damaging compounds, including formaldehyde, acrolein and methylglyoxal, turned up in the saliva after vaping. Compared with people who don’t vape, four of the five e-cigarette users showed signs of increased DNA damage. The researchers believe this may increase the risk of developing into cancer.
4. Respiratory/Lung Damage
Surveys show that it’s the flavors of Juuls and similar vaping products that draw young users in. (13) In fact, research conducted at the Yale University School of Medicine found that teenagers preferred sweet-flavored e-cigarettes that didn’t contain nicotine over e-cigs with nicotine but no sweetness. Unfortunately, these flavors change chemistry when combined with vape fluid and are capable of creating undisclosed chemicals.
In order to create unique vaping flavors, manufacturers use flavoring compounds such as diacetyl, acetoin and 2,3-pentanedione. Studies show these chemicals can wreak havoc on the respiratory system and contribute to health problems like bronchiolitis, severe respiratory illness and irritation to the eyes, skin, mucus membranes and lungs.
According to a 2018 report published by the American Physiological Society (APS), these chemical components seem to be capable of becoming embedded in the lungs, causing inflammation and leaving the lungs vulnerable to infection. (14) Recent research showed an increase in markers of inflammation, mucus production and altered lung function in people using e-cigarettes containing propylene, propylene plus nicotine and flavoring groups for three days.
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