WORLD NEWS
Paris shooting: Three dead and several injured in attack
A gunman has opened fire in central Paris, killing three people and wounding three others.
The attacker targeted a Kurdish cultural centre and shot members of the local community. A possible racist motive is being investigated.
A suspect, aged 69, was quickly arrested and it soon emerged he had been freed from prison recently.
Authorities appealed for people to avoid the area in Strasbourg-Saint Denis in the 10th district of Paris.
The Kurdish Democratic Council in France (CDF-K), which runs the centre that was hit, condemned the attack in a short statement. It also said there would be a vigil on Friday evening to pay tribute to those killed.
There is no confirmed motive for the shooting, but Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the suspect had previously been charged with racist violence.
That incident – in which he attacked tents at a migrant camp in Paris with a sword – took place at Bercy on 8 December 2021. It was not clear why he had recently been released.
Deaths Among CCP Elites Rise as COVID-19 Wave Hits China
It started with a high fever, a telltale sign of COVID-19, that soon led to a positive test result. Yang Lianghua, formerly a senior reporter for the Chinese communist regime’s official mouthpiece People’s Daily and the chief editor of the newspaper’s international edition, then had to wait in the emergency room for a bed in Beijing’s top hospital, which was already beyond packed.
With intervention from the state media’s senior executives and the hospital director, Yang was eventually admitted to the intensive care unit, where he died hours later. The cause of his death was a bacterial lung infection.
Yang was one of a long list of prominent figures tied to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) who died amid a surge in Omicron sweeping China, after the regime abruptly loosened its years-long draconian COVID-19 restrictions that had shuttered businesses, crippled China’s economy, and made it a challenge for the Chinese population to sustain their basic lives.
The abrupt U-turn in direction, however, was made without the provision of resources and policies to help the populace deal with the mounting cases of infections.
The country’s health system has been ill-prepared. As the virus spread across households, chaos has erupted in hospitals and crematoriums, and even Chinese elites, known for the privileges they enjoy, haven’t been immune from the whiplash.
Long Queues, Higher Fees for Cremations in China Amid Recent Spike of COVID
Crematoriums across China are being overwhelmed as the country experiences a flare-up of the pandemic following the relaxing of zero-COVID rules.
In Shenyang, in China’s northeastern Liaoning Province, residents say deaths have spiked since the government decided to lift lockdowns and mandatory testing. However, it is difficult to confirm that the deaths are due to COVID-19 because official numbers don’t reflect the long lines at crematoriums. The official death toll in the province since the recent outbreak stands at two deaths.
W.H.O.’s Tedros ‘Very Concerned’ About China Coronavirus Disaster
World Health Organization (W.H.O.) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared on Wednesday that he is “very concerned” about the coronavirus situation in China, where the Communist Party lifted some of its draconian lockdown measures with seemingly minimal preparation, resulting in large numbers of infections and potential deaths.
The Chinese government announced in early December it would “optimize” its “zero-Covid” strategy, which for nearly three years relied on city-wide impositions of house arrest rules and the imprisonment of thousands of people in quarantine camps, including both those infected with Chinese coronavirus and those suspected of having been exposed. The strategy resulted in at least dozens of deaths – most recently several killed in a late-night bus crash en route to a quarantine camp, but more commonly, as the result of starvation, neglect, lack of medication, or suicide – and triggered a wave of protests nationwide.
Following the protests in late November, authorities announced an end to “large-scale” lockdowns, reserving the right to impose house arrest of residential complexes or neighborhoods, and a new policy that allowed asymptomatic carriers to avoid the quarantine camps. Some three weeks later, reports out of China’s major cities warned that funeral homes and crematoriums are overwhelmed with bodies, even as China documents a very low number of coronavirus-related deaths.
Tedros – whose tenure at the helm of the W.H.O. has been a friendly one to the Chinese Communist Party – addressed the situation during the agency’s last press conference of the year on Wednesday. Tedros began his remarks with optimism about the general state of the pandemic, noting that omicron variant cases peaked globally in January and, since then, “the number of weekly reported [Chinese coronavirus] deaths has dropped almost 90 percent.” Tedros predicted the coronavirus pandemic, as a global emergency, would end in 2023.
Britons Told to Not Get Drunk as Socialised Healthcare Cannot Handle Strain – NHS Chief
Britons should try and avoid getting drunk as the country’s NHS socialised healthcare service will struggle to look after them, a chief from the organisation has agreed.
Matthew Taylor, the head of the National Health Service Confederation in the UK, has agreed in an interview that Britons should avoid getting drunk as the country’s socialised healthcare service will struggle to look after them.
Churches in Paris and Bordeaux Attacked Leading Up To Christmas
Two churches in the cities of Bordeaux and Paris were attacked this week, with the latter seeing the vandals write far-left anarchist slogans on the doors.
On Tuesday, the Church of the Trinity in Bordeaux was found with at least 17 “impacts” found in the windows of the church, with six steel balls found near the windows which managed to impact but not break the glass.
Spanish MPs greenlight easier gender change
Under a bill passed by lawmakers, children as young as 12 can change their legal gender with a judge’s sign-off
Spain’s lower house of parliament on Thursday passed a bill allowing anyone over the age of 16 to change their gender on official documents without the approval of a medical professional, a judge or a parent. The legislation requires Senate approval to become law.
If approved, the measure will also allow individuals as young as 12 to legally transition with the authorization of a judge, while only the signature of a parent or guardian will be required for those aged 14 to 16.
The controversial legislation replaces previous regulations, which required anyone seeking to change the listed gender on their ID documents to present a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria and proof of receiving hormonal treatment or of living as the target gender for two years, or judicial approval if under 18.
BREAKING: Christmas Counter-Coup? Bolsonaro Signs Order to Sideline Corrupt Supreme Court
Brazilian President Bolsonaro has signed the order to elevate the Superior Military Court STM over the corrupt left-wing Supreme Court, in a move that many believe may pave the way for a military intervention before Jan. 1, when corrupt Communist convict Lula da Silva is scheduled to take office as President.
China’s foreign minister warns US not to cross its ‘red line’
Wang Yi accuses the US of ‘salami slicing’ tactics and ‘bullying’ in a call with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Grandmother charges her family £180 for their Christmas dinner
Some think I’m a bit of a Scrooge, says teaching assistant who can afford to give everyone turkey and all the trimmings
A grandmother has come up with a way to ease the financial burden of having the family round for Christmas: charge them all for dinner.
Caroline Duddridge devised a tiered fee system for her relatives that brought in about £180 this year to help cover the cost of turkey and all the trimmings for her five adult children and their families.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Senate Passes $1.8 Trillion Spending Bill, Rejects Saving Title 42
A round-robin series of crucial last-minute decisions by senators anxious to wrap up their work before Christmas resulted in a decisive 68–29 vote to approve the controversial $1.85 trillion omnibus spending bill to keep the federal government open well into the New Year.
The vote represented a major victory for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and the appropriations panel’s top Republican, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala).
The bipartisan group began meeting behind closed doors weeks ago, seeking to assemble the massive spending measure that ultimately included more than 5,000 pages when all of the supporting documents are included. The bill was made necessary by the fact the Senate failed to act earlier in the year on the 12 major appropriation bills that together constitute the federal budget. The House of Representatives approved its version of the bill earlier this month.
Full List: How Senators Voted on the $1.8 Trillion Omnibus Package
The Senate on Dec. 22 passed a mammoth $1.8 trillion spending package in a bipartisan vote.
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) said Thursday on Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow” that Republican support of giant omnibus spending bills “should never happen” again.
Anchor Larry Kudlow said, “Senator Lee, just the last point here. I think Sen. Rand Paul put his finger on it. He was on our show a couple of nights ago. He said the GOP has lost any power of the purse, and he said the GOP has emasculated itself. This is not a good episode for the Republican Party, is it?”
Lee said, “No, not at all.”
He continued, “One of the reasons that this sort of thing can happen and not get much attention in the process – and Republicans can still go through the motions and vote for it, devastatingly – is because it’s folded into a 4,155-page bill. One that was negotiated in secret by four or five members of Congress.”
Lee added, “There’s not a human alive who can digest 4,155 pages of legislative appropriations text in that short a period of time. That’s one of the reasons why this should never happen. Republicans, in particular, who do this should be asked to never, ever do it again. We will self-destruct as a party if this ever happens again.”
First Witnesses Testify on Opening Day of Lake-Hobbs Election Trial
The first of a two-day-trial began Wednesday in Maricopa County in an election lawsuit filed by Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake against Democratic Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs in her capacity as the current Arizona secretary of state, in an attempt to challenge the Nov. 8 election and schedule a new vote.
The suit also names Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, and others as defendants.
Earlier this week, Judge Peter Thompson allowed two of the claims in the lawsuit—alleging intentional interference with ballot printers and chain-of-custody problems—to go forward while dismissing eight other claims in the lawsuit, including the allegation that Hobbs and Richer had targeted election-related Twitter posts for removal.
More than 2,000 U.S. Flights Delayed; 1,500 Canceled
The number of delayed and canceled flights is piling up as a winter storm sweeps the U.S., bringing freezing temperatures to areas as south as Texas and Florida as the country braces for the pre-Christmas blizzard.
According to 11:00 a.m. Eastern data from FlightAware, 2,282 flights have been delayed within, into, or out of the U.S., Thursday specifically.
Census: Mass Legal Immigration Drives U.S. Population to 333 Million in 2022
The United States population now stands at more than 333 million residents, driven to the highest level in American history mostly as a result of the nation’s decades-long mass legal immigration policy.
This week, the U.S. Census Bureau revealed that in 2022, the U.S. population hit about 333.3 million residents — a 0.4 percent increase compared to 2021 — with growth in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Mollie Hemingway Insists Republicans Will Not Be Successful Until Mitch McConnell Is Gone
Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell is not a very popular guy on the right at the moment.
Conservatives are unhappy about the way that McConnell handled the midterms, as well as his willingness to work with Democrats on spending for Ukraine.
Conservative analyst Mollie Hemingway is now saying that Republicans are going to keep having problems until McConnell is no longer in office.
She writes at The Federalist:
GOP Can’t Be Successful Until Mitch McConnell Is Gone
Comments Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made on Tuesday show why he has become the single biggest obstacle to GOP success.
The Kentucky Republican claimed giving more money to Ukraine is “the No. 1 priority for the United States right now, according to most Republicans.” The new $1.7 trillion Democrat spending bill he enthusiastically supports would give Ukraine another roughly $45 billion in assistance, bringing the total over the past eight months to more than $100 billion, a staggering figure even if it weren’t happening during a time of inflation, looming recession, and other serious domestic problems.
The comment about Republican priorities is so false as to be completely delusional. Among the many concerns Republican voters have with Washington, D.C., a failure to give even more money to Ukraine simply does not rank.
A large coalition of conservative groups, including the Heritage Foundation and the Conservative Partnership Institute, publicly opposed ramming through more Ukraine support during the lame-duck session before Republicans take over control of the House on Jan. 3, 2023. Strong pluralities and majorities of Republicans have told pollsters they want decreases, not increases, in foreign spending and global military involvement.
Many Republican voters support helping Ukraine fight Russia’s unjust invasion, but it is absolutely nowhere near their top issue, contrary to McConnell’s false claim.
Lots of conservatives are tired of feeling betrayed.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Home Affordability Worsens Across U.S. During Fourth Quarter of 2022 Despite Declining Home Prices
ATTOM, a leading curator of real estate data nationwide for land and property data, today released its fourth-quarter 2022 U.S. Home Affordability Report showing that median-priced single-family homes and condos are less affordable in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to historical averages in 99 percent of counties across the nation with enough data to analyze – far above the 68 percent of counties that were less affordable in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The report further shows that the portion of average wages nationwide required for typical major home-ownership expenses has risen to 32.3 percent this quarter. That figure – considered unaffordable by traditional lending standards – is up from 29.6 percent in the third quarter of this year and from 23.8 percent a year ago. It now stands at its highest point since 2007.
Here are the airlines and airports that treat customers the best — and worst
Ask anyone what the most important considerations are when they travel and they’ll tell you customer care. One bad experience with an airline could taint that company’s relationship with a person forever.
To demonstrate which carriers cater to consumers with all their love and which ones don’t, all one needs to do is look at air passenger rights experts AirHelp’s 7th annual ranking of best service, fly on time, and treatment of passengers if and when problems occur.
To calculate the scores, AirHelp uses its own database of flight statistics, thousands of customer poll responses and its own experience in helping 1.3 million passengers around the world receive compensation following flight disruption.
Federal Court Releases Bankman-Fried, but His Parents Are on the Hook
Former FTX crypto exchange CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, just extradited to the United States from a prison in the Bahamas, was freed on $250 million bail pending his trial on criminal fraud and money laundering charges.
Bail was posted by Bankman-Fried’s parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, who put up their house as collateral. Bankman and Fried are compliance attorneys and professors at Stanford University, and are well-connected within the Democratic Party.
According to an official at the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York, where the charges were brought, the bail bond was posted in the form of a property bond, according to which the parents would forfeit their home to federal authorities if their son fails to show up in court. In addition, Bankman-Fried would owe the difference between the equity value of the forfeited house and $250 million.
When facing federal charges, defendants have two options to get out of jail before the trial. One option is to post a signature bond, which is a promissory note to pay the total amount of bail if the defendant skips trial. This is simply the defendant promising that he or she will show up in court.
According to Prison Professors, which provides expertise about the bail process, the signature bond is “now a widespread practice in federal court, replacing the need to pay bail bondsman ‘bailing’ someone out of jail.” While the waiving of cash bail has become commonplace today and increasing credence is given to the personal integrity of the accused, in Bankman-Fried’s case, the posting of physical collateral was considered prudent. However, since it can take time to get real estate titles pledged and liens established, federal courts often release a defendant based on his signature or the signature of some responsible person, until the paperwork for posting the property bond gets finalized.
Meta settles Cambridge Analytica scandal case for $725m
Facebook owner Meta has agreed to pay $725m (£600m) to settle legal action over a data breach linked to political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.
The long-running dispute accused the social media giant of allowing third parties, including the British firm, to access Facebook users’ personal data.
The proposed sum is the largest in a US data privacy class action, lawyers say.
Meta, which did not admit wrongdoing, said it had “revamped” its approach to privacy over the past three years.
In a statement, the company said settling was “in the best interest of our community and shareholders”.
“We look forward to continuing to build services people love and trust with privacy at the forefront.”
Tech author James Ball told the BBC it was “not a surprise” that Meta has had to agree to a serious pay-out but that it was “not that much” money to the tech giant.
“It’s less than a tenth of what it spent on its efforts to create ‘the metaverse’ last year alone,” he said.
“So Meta probably won’t be too unhappy with this deal, but it does stand as a warning to social media companies that mistakes can prove very costly indeed.”
The suggested settlement, which was disclosed in a court filing late on Thursday, is subject to the approval of a federal judge in San Francisco.
“This historic settlement will provide meaningful relief to the class in this complex and novel privacy case,” lead lawyers for the plaintiffs, Derek Loeser and Lesley Weaver, said in a statement.
Suddenly Everyone Is Hunting for Alternatives to the US Dollar
Tired of a too-strong and newly weaponized greenback, some of the world’s biggest economies are exploring ways to circumvent the US currency.
Smaller nations, including at least a dozen in Asia, are also experimenting with de-dollarization. And corporates around the world are selling an unprecedented portion of their debt in local currencies, wary of further dollar strength.
No one is saying the greenback will be dethroned anytime soon from its reign as the principal medium of exchange. Calls for “peak dollar” have many times proven premature. But not too long ago it was almost unthinkable for countries to explore payment mechanisms that bypassed the US currency or the SWIFT network that underpins the global financial system.
Now, the sheer strength of the dollar, its use under President Joe Biden to enforce sanctions on Russia this year and new technological innovations are together encouraging nations to start chipping away at its hegemony. Treasury officials declined to comment on these developments.
“This will simply intensify the efforts in Russia and China to try to manage their part of the world economy without the dollar,” said Paul Tucker, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England in a Bloomberg podcast.
Writing in a newsletter last week, John Mauldin, an investment strategist and president of Millennium Wave Advisors with more than three decades of markets experience said the Biden administration made an error in weaponizing the US dollar and the global payment system.
“That will force non-US investors and nations to diversify their holdings outside of the traditional safe haven of the US,” said Mauldin.
TikTok parent company fires workers over US users’ data tracking
Those affected by inappropriate personal information access include two journalists, an internal email seen by the NYT shows
ByteDance – the Chinese parent company of
TikTok – announced on Thursday that it had conducted an internal investigation that discovered several of its employees had inappropriately accessed the data of US users, including two journalists.
In an internal company email seen by the New York Times, the company said it had tasked four employees with finding the source of a suspected leak of internal communications this summer. During their search, the workers decided to gain access to the IP addresses and other data of a number of US citizens via their TikTok accounts but ultimately failed to find any leaks.
Among those whose data was accessed were journalists Emily Baker-White, who works for Forbes, and Cristina Criddle of the Financial Times, according to the company email, which did not disclose the identities of other affected TikTok users.
300,000 People Moved Out of California from 2021 to 2022, Most of Any State
The U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday that 300,000 people left California in 2022, more than left any other state, amid a general slow increase in the U.S. population as the country recovered from COVID-19.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Boston Dynamics’ Creepy Robo-Hounds Decorate A Christmas Tree
Netflix’s post-apocalyptic drama Black Mirror featured a terrifying vision of robot dogs hunting humans. The quadruped robot resembles the actual real-life robot design by Boston Dynamics.
Over the years, videos published by Boston Dynamics’ remind us that robot dogs aren’t fantasy but reality. The US-based company’s “Spot,” a 70-pound robo-hound, is already out in the field. It has already been hailed by the New York Police Department as a high-tech crime-fighting sidekick and even used during field training exercises by the French military.
While Boston Dynamics can post all the cute and fun-loving videos of Spot, and even festive ones, like three robo-hounds decorating a Christmas tree, these machines are still creepy.
As previously noted, Boston Dynamics has pledged not to weaponize its robots and asked others in the industry to do the same. But China could care less and has equipped robo-hounds with machine guns.
Scientists create protein-based gel that can absorb supersonic projectile impacts
Scientists have created and patented an innovative shock-absorbing material that could bring both the defense and planetary science sectors a notch higher.
The breakthrough study conducted by United Kingdom’s University of Kent researchers, led by Professors Ben Goult and Jen Hiscock, indicated that the protective material known as talin could ensure the safety of military and police personnel, as well as guard airplanes and spacecraft against flying debris.
Named TSAM (Talin Shock Absorbing Materials), this novel protein-based family of materials represents the first known example of a synthetic biology material capable of absorbing supersonic projectile impacts.
The research titled “Next generation protein-based materials capture and preserve projectiles from supersonic impacts” adapted the ends of three switches and then linked them together using water and a gelling agent to form a mesh. When something hits it, the energy unfolds the modified talin rather than converting into heat.
A piston fired tiny particles of basalt and larger pieces of shrapnel at a sample placed in front of an aluminum plate during the experiments. They found that even at supersonic speeds of a mile a second, twice as fast as firearm bullets, the gel stopped them in their tracks.
The recent discovery opens the door for the development of next-generation bulletproof armor and projectile capture materials to enable the study of hypervelocity impacts in space and the upper atmosphere.
“Each molecule has 13 ‘switches’ that can unfold when force is applied,” Goult said in a statement. “These refold after the force is removed – enabling shock absorption…protecting our cells from the effects of large force changes.”
The team compared the armor that could be developed with TSAM with the traditional body armor.
The current one has a bulky ceramic face with a fiber-reinforced composite backing, which may be ineffective against kinetic energy and can cause physical trauma to the body behind the armor. Also, the existing version of body armor frequently sustains permanent damage after a hit, preventing continued usage due to reduced structural integrity.
On the other hand, a possible talin-based armor “offers a lighter, more durable armor shielding the wearer from a wider spectrum of injuries – including those brought on by shock,” Goult said.
TSAM may also replace gels used in the industry, which are prone to melting due to temperature increases brought on by projectile impact. The team is already working with a company to develop the material as a component of body armor.
US probing automated driving system use in 2 Tesla crashes
The U.S. government’s highway safety agency says it’s sending teams to investigate November crashes in California and Ohio involving Teslas that may have been operating on automated driving systems
US probing automated driving system use in 2 Tesla crashesBy TOM KRISHERAP Auto WriterThe Associated Press
HEALTH
VIDEO: Nanotechnology in your food? OMG!
Nanotechnology Used in mRNA Vaccines and 2,000 Food Items Goes Unlabeled
See:
- FDA’s Approach to Regulation of Nanotechnology Products
- Nanotechnology—Over a Decade of Progress and Innovation
Despite HPV Vaccine, Cervical Cancer Rates Keep Rising Analysis by Dr. Joseph MercolaFact Checked
More than 200 strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) have been identified, and about 40 of them can cause cancer, including cervical, penile, oral, vaginal, vulvar and anal cancer. Of these, cervical cancer is the most common type of HPV-related cancer in the U.S.
The first HPV vaccine, Gardasil, was licensed in 2006. The vaccine was hailed as a breakthrough that would slash cervical cancer rates, but in the real world, it has largely failed to deliver. The original vaccine contained four HPV strains. The latest version contains nine
Since 2006, cancers associated with the four HPV strains included in the original quadrivalent vaccine have declined by 88% among 14- to 19-year-olds and 81% among women aged 20 to 24
However, when looking at cervical cancer in general, there’s now a “troubling spike” in rates. Between 2001 and 2018, cervical cancer rates have increased by 1.3% per year. The primary cause for this continued rise appears to be because cancers associated with non-vaccine strains are going up
Evidence suggests HPV vaccination makes women more susceptible than their nonvaccinated peers to HPV genotypes not covered by the vaccine. So, essentially, women who got the vaccine have traded one risk for another
Spicing Up Your Meals to Build Your Gut Health
Adding about 1 teaspoon of herbs and spices to your meals daily led to improvements in the gut microbiome after just four weeks, research from Penn State revealed
The blend of blend of herbs and spices evaluated included cinnamon, ginger, cumin, turmeric, rosemary, oregano, basil and thyme
After four weeks of consuming herbs and spices, diversity of gut bacteria increased in the study participants, particularly after three-fourths teaspoon- or 1.5-teaspoon daily doses
Decreased diversity in the gut microbiome is considered unhealthy and has been linked to chronic conditions such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes
Consuming a diet high in herbs and spices, including basil, thyme, cinnamon and turmeric, for four weeks was previously found to lower systolic blood pressure
As of 2019, an estimated 200 million to 500 million people around the globe were meditating regularly. Considering its many psychological and physical benefits, this is good news. There is a large body of evidence demonstrating the mind-body connection is real, and that your mind has a direct impact on your physical health
Brain imaging has revealed meditation alters your brain in a number of beneficial ways, such as increasing gray matter volume in brain regions involved in the regulation of emotions, memory, learning and self-referential processes
Meditation has also been shown to alter the expression of 2,209 different genes. Examples of genetic effects include the down-regulation of genes involved in inflammation and stress
Clinically, mindfulness-based meditation practice has been demonstrated in randomized trials to improve depressive symptoms in women with fibromyalgia and to have lasting anti-anxiety effects after only eight weeks of group practice
Studies suggest meditation can help a wide range of health problems, including cardiac arrhythmias, bronchial asthma, cold sores, cough, ulcers, diabetes, constipation, infertility, high blood pressure, psoriasis, pain and much more
Is there a best time during day to exercise? Science settles the debate
Doing physical activity daily helps keep the body healthy, but does the time of day when exercise is done matter? According to one study, it does – especially when it comes to heart health.
A Nov. 14 study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology elaborated on this. The study authors evaluated the data of almost 87,000 men and women in the U.K. Biobank, including physical activity and heart health, for a six-year period. All participants in the study were between the ages of 42 and 78, with women comprising more than half.
All the participants, who were healthy at the start of the observation period, wore activity trackers to determine the times of day they did physical activity. The researchers sought to determine whether the time of day people exercise played a role in heart health.
Of the study participants, over 3,000 of them developed cardiovascular health issues. Those who exercised in the late morning, primarily between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., appeared to have a lower risk of heart disease and stroke. Participants who did physical activity during that window period experienced up to 24 percent lower risk of heart disease and 35 percent less risk of stroke.
The findings of the Nov. 14 study suggested that physical activity at certain times of day is linked to greater heart-protective benefits. It also noted that the increased benefits of morning exercise against cardiovascular diseases were only observed in women. No such difference was seen among men who participated in the study.
Benefits of morning exercise
Meanwhile, other studies showed the benefits of morning exercise.
A February 2019 study in the Journal of Physiology suggested that a morning exercise habit can shift the circadian rhythm, making the body naturally more alert in the morning and tired in the evening. Exercising early in the day has a beneficial effect on energy levels, alertness, focus and decision-making, which translates to a more productive workday. (Related: Animal study finds that morning exercise improves metabolic response, while night exercise increases energy expenditure.)
A randomized controlled trial, the results of which were published May 2015 in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, zoomed in on the effects of morning exercise on deep sleep. It found that physical activity early in the day appeared to boost deep sleep compared to when exercise is done in the evening. Moreover, sleep also helps facilitate muscle growth.
A September 2016 study in the British Journal of Nutrition, meanwhile, looked at morning exercise on an empty stomach and doing exercise later in the day when the stomach contains food. It found that physical activity in the “fasted state” (i.e. an empty stomach) burns more fat than exercising in the “fed state” (i.e. after a meal).
It explained that this phenomenon occurs as the body is forced to utilize already-existing fat stored in the body for energy while in the fasted state, compared to exercising in the fed state where recently-consumed food is used to fuel the body.
While doing exercise in the morning may have more health benefits, doing it consistently is more important. Those who exercise everyday see better weight loss and fitness results in the long term. Combining physical activity with a healthy diet and lifestyle will help keep the body at the peak of health.
How the Wrong Dietary Fat Can Wreck Your Health
It’s a far greater contributor to chronic and degenerative disease and mortality than sugar, yet most people get 25 times more of it than they need. This is how to eliminate it from your body.
- Omega-6 linoleic acid (LA) is the most common fat in the American diet. Most people get 25 times more LA than they need. At most, you need about 2 grams a day, but the average American gets about 50 grams a day, thanks to the fact that most processed foods and condiments are loaded with omega-6 seed oils
- LA gets incorporated into your cell membranes where it causes inflammation. Its half-life is nearly two years, so ridding your body of stored LA completely can take up to seven years
- Eliminating LA is a marathon, not a sprint. Ineffective and potentially harmful ways of eliminating LA include extended fasting and overtaxing your body with strenuous endurance exercise
- To stop the accumulation of LA in your cells, eliminate seed oils from your diet. Cook with beef tallow, butter, ghee or coconut oil, and avoid all processed foods, restaurant foods, condiments, and animals raised on grains, such as chicken and pork
- Vitamin E, in a dose of about 2 IU – 3 IU for every gram of PUFA (not just linoleate) consumed daily may also be able to provide some protection against the inflammatory and endocrine (estrogenic, pro-cortisol) effects of linoleate and PUFA in general
- To safely encourage the elimination of LA from your body, focus on building muscle and maximizing lean muscle mass with concentric exercise, and eat a balanced diet with a ratio of 2-to-1 healthy carbs to protein
90% Of Americans Don’t Get Enough Of This Vital, Sleep-Supporting Nutrient
According to the CDC, 35% of U.S. adults do not get the recommended amount of sleep (i.e., seven hours) each night. That’s one in three American adults!
With this shocking statistic, it’s no wonder people are on the hunt for tools and tips that can help them get adequate shuteye. Luckily, we’ve discovered one unexpected, yet minor change in your diet can make a big difference in sleep health: Upping your intake of omega-3s.
Seafood for sleep?
Eating more omega-3 laden oily fish (think: salmon, tuna, anchovies, sardines, mackerel, and herring) is associated with better sleep quality
Unfortunately, fish isn’t a staple food in the U.S. In fact, over 90% of Americans are failing to consume enough omega-3s. Simply put, Americans aren’t eating enough fish to reap omega-3’s sleep (and many additional) benefits.
Not to fear, you don’t have to actually eat fish to get a good night’s rest (although adding more oily fish to your diet certainly doesn’t hurt!). Evidence shows that an omega-3 supplement rich in EPA and DHA is an effective strategy to support healthy omega-3 levels and whole-body health (including your sleep life3).*
How an omega-3 supplement promotes deep, restful sleep.
In a 2021 Nutrients study, researchers tested the effects of EPA- and DHA-rich omega-3 supplements on sleep quality in healthy adults with inadequate fish consumption.
Compared to the placebo, participants that took DHA-rich fish oil saw a significant increase in sleep efficiency (the amount of time in bed spent sleeping) and a significant decrease in sleep latency (the amount of time taken to fall asleep). Participants that took EPA-rich fish oil saw a significant increase in sleep efficiency and reported feeling rested, energetic, and ready to perform.
Overall, the study results showed that an omega-3 supplement (particularly, a fish oil rich in DHA and EPA) can have a beneficial effect on overall sleep quality in individuals that don’t get enough oily fish in their diet (most of us).*
In other words? If you don’t eat fish on a regular basis, upping your EPA and DHA intake through supplementation is a fantastic way to ensure healthy omega-3 levels are established in your body, for overall health (including helping you fall asleep faster and get more restorative sleep with fewer disruptions).*
—> Power Mall Product of Interest: OPTIVIDA SUPER KRILL OIL – 100% Pure Antarctic Krill Oil. Next-generation Omega-3 with no fishy aftertaste. Significantly increases the omega-3 index*
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Afghan Refugees Leave Defense Department with $270M Repair Bill
A $270 million repair bill has been left with the Defense Department after it hosted refugees that landed on U.S. soil following President Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Broken tables, chairs, and cots used by guests alongside tents and cots ruined by spray paint, human biological matter, and holes, are just some of the repair requirements the Defense Department listed in estimates contained in a report released Wednesday.
Opposition to utility “smart” meters (electric, gas, and water) is worldwide. Utilities encourage or sometimes force consumers to accept these dangerous devices (see 1, 2, 3) in order to remotely control and/or ration energy use (see 1, 2) as well as collect consumer usage data 24/7 to sell and/or share with 3rd parties including government and law enforcement agencies. In the U.K., “smart” meter complaints and issues continue to be reported (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), and at least one journalist has recommended that consumers refuse them. Unfortunately, ½ million of UK’s poorest households are not being given that option and being forced to accept even more despicable prepayment smart meters. Of course, many also cannot afford to prepay for their energy use.
From MSN:
Energy supplier Ovo stops forced prepayment meter installations over Christmas
Story by Rebecca Speare-Cole, PA & Catherine Addis…
Ovo has put a halt to forced prepayment meter (PPM) installations over Christmas in a bid to help customers through the cost-of-living crisis.
The energy supplier confirmed that the measure, which is already in place, will last until December 31. It means that customers who have fallen into debt on a credit meter and face having their supplier install a pay-as-you-go replacement will have respite over the festive period.
In a statement issued on Thursday, an Ovo spokesperson said: “Over the Christmas period we have paused all mode switching to ensure that we take every reasonable step to contact and support our customers.” The supplier’s chief executive Raman Bhatia said in a letter to campaigners that it is one of a series of measures introduced by Ovo to help customers this year.
The move comes amid calls from campaigners to ban compulsory PPM installations, which are made under court warrants. PPMs require regular top-ups and charge at a higher rate, which means customers who are already in debt may struggle to keep up with payments.
Mr Bhatia wrote: “I would like to reassure you that we understand the critical role and responsibility that we have in supporting and protecting consumers this winter and beyond.” He added that Ovo “will not disconnect any household for non-payment throughout winter” – but stopped short of committing to a longer-term ban on forced PPM installations.
“Unfortunately we are unable to commit to ending all customer transfers to PPMs for the entire winter period because we believe that it would be irresponsible of us as a business to leave any arrears unaddressed and allow them to build up into an unmanageable amount, given the critical role and responsibility that we have to support and protect our consumers this winter and beyond,” he said.
Campaigners reacted to the news by calling on more energy suppliers to act, as well as putting pressure on the Government to ban PPMs completely. Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “Even the energy firms are now waking up to the reality that prepayment meter customers are struggling in cold, damp homes this winter.
“Research for the Warm This Winter campaign has shown that these customers are likely to be vulnerable or have health conditions made worse by being unable to stay warm. Many will have been forced on to a prepayment meter against their will. The Government must act urgently to ban any further forced installations of prepayment meters either by court warrant or by smart meter.”
Forget Oil. Now They Are Coming for the Cows
First, they came for the oil, now they’re coming for the cows. Environmentalists have no shame or sense and farmers around the world are, forget the pitchforks, “setting hay bales ablaze and dumping manure on motorways,” report April Roach, Tracy Withers, Jen Skerritt, and Agnieszka de Sousa for Bloomberg.
Never mind that food prices have spiked around the world. For instance, grocery prices are up 13 percent in the US this year. The Dutch government said it would buy out as many as three thousand of the biggest emitters (farmers) in a voluntary one-time offer. While the weather turns cold and gas supplies become scarce the green gang in Holland is setting aside €24.3 billion ($25.6 billion) to fund the transition. “Those who refuse will be forced out of business,” reports Bloomberg.
Bloomberg’s quartet of reporters doesn’t say what the government will do with the land once they seize it, but you can detect their point of view with this, “Intensive farming—and decades of official inaction—have devastated biodiversity in the Netherlands, forcing the government to impose drastic measures.”
“Devastated biodiversity?” This is food we’re talking about. Something humans require. Mother nature deals farmers enough bad hands, what with droughts, floods, fires, and pests. Now, the heavy hand of government believes it must get rid of cows because, well, they fart and urinate.
“From farm to fork, the food system generates about 31 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions,” the Bloomberg quartet explains. “Cows and sheep emit planet-warming methane simply by digesting food; their manure and urine are a source of nitrogen oxide which, in large volumes, throws ecosystems off kilter.”
Having millions of people go hungry sounds more “off kilter” to me. “If action isn’t taken fast, researchers estimate that food-related emissions alone would push the Earth past 1.5C of warming that world leaders set as a target in the 2015 Paris Agreement.” Oh no.
In heavily farmed New Zealand, where agricultural exports account for half the country’s exports, the government passed a law in hopes that net agricultural emissions will be reduced 24 per cent by 2050, with farmers being forced to cut emissions 10 percent in just three years, when the emissions levy comes into force.
“The so-called ‘fart tax’ will be reinvested in the industry through incentives, research and technology so New Zealand can reposition itself as a leader in ethically produced, higher-value food, a market that’s growing as consumers become more climate and health conscious,” Bloomberg reports.
Bryce McKenzie has reduced his herd by 50, but that’s not enough. “We don’t want a country planted in pine trees and then not be able to grow food,” says McKenzie. “We want food security for the future.”
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
Coppicing Trees for Sustainable Firewood
You can grow firewood by coppicing trees for firewood in a fraction of the time it takes to raise a tree from seed.
Of all the forestry techniques available to woodland owners, few methods are as underutilized as coppicing. Coppicing is a reproduction method wherein a tree is cut back periodically to stimulate new growth through dormant buds on the living stump, or “stool.” In turn, these buds develop into sprouts, also called “shoots,” capable of growing firewood in approximately half the time it would take to grow the same amount of wood from seed.
Coppicing as a management technique dates back to the Neolithic period, when people used coppice wood for a variety of purposes, ranging from beanpoles and lath to firewood and fence posts. Even into the 16th century, the economic importance of wood obtained through coppicing was so significant in England that King Henry VIII mandated the construction of fences around coppice forests throughout the country to protect them from browsing animals.
Tips for Properly Seasoning Firewood
Keep these tips in mind while seasoning firewood to heat your home.
Chickens can handle very cold temperatures. Some experts say chickens don’t really start suffering until the temperature inside their coop falls to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit. They’ll start suffering earlier if it’s damp inside the chicken house, or if they haven’t become inured to the cold (which is why some people think using heat lamps for hens is a bad idea unless it gets incredibly cold).
The lowest temperature we’ve had at my place is 8 degrees. My chickens didn’t mind this low temperature at all, and they live in wide-open, tumbledown coops, with all feeding and watering done outdoors.
Even if your chickens are all right in the cold, you need to make sure they have access to water in below-freezing temperatures. As for waterers, if your coop has electricity, I’d suggest getting a couple of galvanized feed pans and using them for waterers on top of a heated stand. If they freeze up, swap in a replacement and take the frozen one inside to thaw. Open pans get messier than real waterers and have to be dumped out all the time, but they’re the best choice in freezing weather.
Build a Solar Livestock Water Tank
When winter rolls around, our reliable solar power livestock water tank heater will save you money watering your animals and time and effort chopping ice.
COVID RELATED NEWS
McCullough and Malhotra: More Doses of mRNA Vaccines, More Likelihood of Cardiac Harm
Cardiologists Dr. Peter McCullough and Dr. Aseem Malhotra say the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have done more harm to the public than good. A large percentage of patients have been injured by the mRNA vaccines, with harms including a broad range of injuries to the heart, the doctors said.
CANCEL CULTURE
Musk Signals Support for Congressional Probe Into FBI’s Alleged Censorship Efforts
Following the latest revelations from the “Twitter Files,” Twitter owner and CEO Elon Musk indicated on Dec. 20 that he would support a congressional investigation into the FBI’s alleged efforts to censor social media users.
On Monday, author Michael Shellenberger presented the seventh installment of the Twitter Files exposé, sharing internal documents from the social media company that he said described as an “organized effort” by intelligence officials to discredit leaked information about Hunter Biden both before and after the New York Post published content from the younger Biden’s laptop on Oct. 14, 2020, in the lead up to the presidential election.
Commenting on those revelations on Tuesday, former PayPal COO David Sacks suggested the creation of a “new Church Commission” to investigate the alleged censorship initiatives of the FBI and intelligence community, referencing a congressional committee that investigated abuses of the intelligence community in the 1970s.
Musk, sharing that tweet, responded, “Hear, hear!!”
PET NEWS
11 Reasons Why Your Dog May Be Struggling With Ear Issues
Ear inflammation is an extremely common problem in dogs; inflamed ears often progress to a stubborn or recurring ear infection
Signs of a problem include a dog who shakes his head a lot and scratches at his ears; his ear canals may appear red and have an unpleasant odor as well
There are many potential causes for ear problems in dogs, for example, allergies, moisture in the ears, wax buildup, and foreign material in the ear canal
Ear infections in dogs are commonly bacterial rather than fungal, though fungal infections (e.g., yeast) do occur
Preventing ear infections involves checking the ears daily, cleaning them as often as necessary and addressing any changes in the ears as soon as you notice them
Are Avocados Good for Your Pets?
Avocados are one of the trendiest fruits these days. More and more studies are coming out showing that they can benefit human health.1,2 But what about your four-legged pal? Can they benefit from avocados, too? It turns out, they can — and you shouldn’t be worried about the claims that these fruits are “poisonous” to pets, with some caveats.
What’s more, the majority of avocados sold in the supermarket are free from pesticides, according to a report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG). In fact, avocados are at the top of EWG’s “Clean Fifteen” list for 2020.3 However, it’s still better to purchase organic avocados from certified producers whenever possible. This will help lower your and your pet’s exposure to agricultural chemicals whenever avocados are consumed.
ICYMI
January 6 Committee Releases Final Report; Nearly 850 Pages
The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol released its final report on Thursday evening. The document, nearly 850 pages long, is the work of dozens of authors.
The document is available here — at least until it is likely removed by the new, Republican-led Congress that takes office in January, just as the Biden administration removed the 1776 Commission Report on its first day.
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