WORLD NEWS
Food Imports: Poor Countries On The Brink Of Crisis
A shocking new report via the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) revealed the world food import bill jumped to nearly $2 trillion in 2022 amid soaring inflation due to several factors, including currencies depreciating against the US dollar, the war in Ukraine, and La Nina-related climate change.
FAO’s Food Outlook expects the tab for imports of wheat, rice, maize, vegetable oils, and all other farm goods will jump to an all-time high and about 10% increase over the record level of 2021, although the agency expects demand destruction in response to elevated food prices and depreciating currencies against the US dollar.
Food-import bills are skyrocketing for developing countries, with most already in insurmountable debt. Many of these countries are quickly burning through dollar stockpiles at the fastest pace in two decades to defend their currencies against a rallying dollar.
Cost of Living Crisis: Food Prices Up 40 Per Cent on Last Year as Potato Costs Rise Over 70 Per Cent
Food prices in Germany have spiked by just under 40 per cent over last year, with items such as potatoes spiking by as much as 70 per cent in 12 months.
The German general public is facing a massive surge in the price of food — a considerable contributor to the ongoing cost of living crisis — with government statistics released on Monday indicating that the overall price of groceries in the country has risen by nearly 40 per cent within the last 12 months.
Yellen Says Some Russia Sanctions Could Remain Even If Ukraine War Ends
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced that some sanctions on Russia would likely remain in place even if the war in Ukraine ends.
Yellen, who is attending the annual G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, said that any eventual peace agreement would generally involve a review of the sanctions that the United States and its allies have imposed on Russia. However, how comments indicate the Biden administration is leaning towards continuing its pressure campaign on the Russian economy in the long-term.
“There really hasn’t been any effort on Russia’s part to want to undertake negotiations with Ukraine on any terms that are acceptable to Ukraine,” Yellen said in a Nov. 14 interview at the G-20, reported The Wall Street Journal.
“I suppose in the context of some peace agreement, adjustment of sanctions is possible and could be appropriate.
“We would probably feel, given what’s happened, that probably some sanctions should stay in place,” she said.
U.S. Men’s Soccer Changes Crest to LGBTQ Colors to Logo for Qatar World Cup
The United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) has redesigned its World Cup team logo to add rainbow LGBTQ color stripes in response to host nation Qatar’s stance against homosexuality.
The USMNT’s previous logo featured a white shield with red stripes hanging down from “USA” which is situated at the top. But now the team’s logo will feature rainbow-colored stripes in place of the all red ones, according to the Daily Mail.
World Cup Warning: Pork, Porn, Sex Toys, and LGBT Flags Could Get Fans Arrested in Qatar
As the soccer world prepares for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, many are warning fans of the things that could get them arrested while attending the games in the strict Muslim country.
British authorities, for instance, recently released a list of items that fans should leave home as they pack for Qatar, the New York Post reported.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Relationship Among FTX, Ukraine, and Democrats Sparks Speculation
News Analysis
Is there a questionable relationship between Sam Bankman-Fried’s bankrupt FTX, Ukraine, and the Democrats? In the aftermath of the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange, new questions are being raised surrounding these connections, from crypto partnerships to the billionaire’s contributions to Democrats.
But is there something behind the curtain or was it a group of young people in over their heads?
Republican Party Doomed to Be Extinct If It Backtracks: Mike Huckabee
The Republican Party must stick to the working class or face the fate of becoming extinct, a former governor warned.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t go back to the days of globalists, the days of just basically being servants to the big multinational corporations, that we become the party of the country clubs and the swells. Because if we do that we are destined to become extinct. And we should be,” former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican, said during an interview with Fox Business.
The former governor said the Republican Party must care about the American people.
“We’ve got to be the party of the working class. The party that cares about America, the party that believes that patriotism is okay, that it’s fine to want to make sure that Americans and the American Dream is alive and well,” he said. “If we focus on that, I still think that’s a winning message.”
3 Dallas Air-Show Collision Victims Identified, Investigation Underway
At least three people who died over the weekend when two World War II-era planes collided mid-air during an air show in Dallas, Texas, have been identified.
Keller Mayor Armin Mizani said in a statement that Terry Barker, a former city councilman and U.S. Army Veteran, was one of the six people killed when a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber and a P-63 Kingcobra fighter plane collided before crashing to the ground in a ball of flames at the “Wings Over Dallas” event on Saturday.
“Barker was beloved by many. He was a friend and someone whose guidance I often sought,” Mizani wrote. “Even after retiring from serving on the City Council and flying for American Airlines, his love for [our] community was unmistakable.”
Appeals Court Rules Against Biden Administration’s Student Loan Forgiveness Program
A federal appeals court on Nov. 14 entered a ruling against the student loan forgiveness program announced by President Joe Biden’s administration earlier this year.
Erasing student loan debt would be “irreversible,” a panel of the St. Louis-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit ruled, entering an injunction against the administration pending an appeal.
The panel consisted of U.S. Circuit Judges Bobby Shepherd, a George W. Bush appointee; Ralph Erickson, a Donald Trump appointee; and Steven Grasz, another Trump appointee.
They sided with Missouri and five other Republican-led states that had sued Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona after the announcement of the program, alleging that it was illegal for the executive branch to enact such widespread loan relief.
Biden administration officials have said that the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 grants the authority for the relief, which is expected to cost about $400 billion and apply to tens of millions of Americans.
The appeals court ruling came after U.S. District Judge Henry Edward Autrey, a George W. Bush appointee, rejected the states’ suit, finding that they lacked standing to sue on behalf of the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA).
Supreme Court Allows January 6 Committee to Pursue Arizona GOP Leader’s Telephone Records
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissent, would have blocked congressional subpoena
The Supreme Court gave a green light on Nov. 14 to the congressional committee investigating the breach at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to obtain the telephone records of Kelli Ward, head of the Arizona Republican Party.
Ward had asked the court to hold back the congressional subpoena, arguing that her First Amendment rights would be chilled if investigators were to learn whom she communicated with while she tried to aid former President Donald Trump’s efforts to stave off defeat in the 2020 election.
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit voted 2–1 last month to deny Ward’s request to block her cellular provider from complying with the committee’s demand for records leading up to the election and through January 2021.
Ward argued in a document (pdf) filed with the Supreme Court that the Democrat-controlled committee was engaged in an evidentiary fishing expedition against political rivals. Trump and his supporters characterize the committee’s work as a political witch hunt.
“This is an unprecedented case with profound precedential implications for future congressional investigations and political associational rights under the First Amendment,” the document reads.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
ESG Endangering America’s Farms and Your Food: State Treasurers
‘The attack has already begun,’ says Nebraska State Treasurer
The latest threat to farming can be identified in three familiar letters.
State treasurers at the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) told The Epoch Times on Nov. 14 that the United States’ agricultural base could be jeopardized by the top-down push for environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) scoring.
“It’s a real threat,” Nebraska State Treasurer John Murante said.
Farming is critical to the Cornhusker State’s economy, as that nickname suggests. The University of Arkansas reports that Nebraska produced over $21 billion in agricultural cash receipts during 2020.
During a panel discussion with Louisiana State Treasurer John Schroder and SFOF CEO Derek Kreifels, Murante warned that ESG criteria in the financial sector pose a real risk to agriculture as we know it.
Many asset managers and leading banks have committed to “Net zero by 2050,” often through participation in United Nations-linked entities such as the “Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero” and “Climate Action 100.”
If those powerful institutions decide farming and ranching are excessively harmful to the climate, the flow of capital to agriculture could slow to a trickle—well before consumers feel the impact at their dinner tables to know the impact of the ESG efforts.
FBI Had Up To Eight Informants In Proud Boys On Jan. 6, Court Docs Show
The FBI had up to eight informants within the Proud Boys in the months surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, recent court filings suggest, according to The New York Times.
Defense attorneys for former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four members of the group, who are scheduled to stand trial in December for seditious conspiracy and other charges related to Jan. 6, filed court documents in the past several days revealing the informants’ presence in the Proud Boys’ ranks, the outlet reported. The defense contended that the prosecution had, until recently, improperly withheld some information the government received from the informants that was favorable to the accused.
Report: At Least $1 Billion in Investor Assets Are ‘Missing’ After FTX Collapse
Following the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, at least $1 billion in investor assets seems to be missing according to multiple reports.
Reuters reports that according to two anonymous sources who formerly worked at FTX and claim to have been privy to the company’s finances, FTX is missing at least $1 billion in client funds. The sources claimed that the funds were part of $10 billion in client funds that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried purportedly siphoned off to Alameda Research, the hedge fund he owns.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Elon Musk’s Twitter Fires 80% of Contract Workers
Elon Musk’s Twitter has slashed its contract workforce by 80 percent with none of the company’s internal teams being notified in advance.
CNBC reports that according to internal communications from full-time Twitter employees sent to outlet, more than 4,000 contract workers had their jobs terminated this weekend after losing access to Slack and other work systems. According to Platformer, which first reported on the terminations, about 4,400 of the 5,500 Twitter contractors were fired.
HEALTH
New Study Sheds Light on Stroke Recovery
Stroke occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery or blood vessel, cutting off blood flow to your brain. As a result, brain cells die and brain damage can occur. Without proper and timely treatment, a stroke can be lethal
Estimates suggest 10% of all strokes occur in people under the age of 50, and 2.5% of strokes occur in those under the age of 20
Studies have shown that, surprisingly, blocking inflammation after a stroke isn’t beneficial. Recent research demonstrates brain inflammation following a stroke actually plays a beneficial role in neuroplasticity and recovery of function
It’s imperative to rapidly implement neurocognitive training after a stroke, as your brain circuits need the proper stimulus to reroute
Education appears to play a role in stroke recovery by acting as a cognitive reserve against post-stroke cognitive impairment. Getting the proper nutrition after a stroke is also crucial for optimal recovery
Amazon Launches Virtual Healthcare Clinic for Common Ailments
Amazon.com Inc on Tuesday launched Amazon clinic, a virtual platform where users can connect with healthcare providers to help treat common ailments like allergies and skin conditions.
Amazon has for years sought to expand its presence in healthcare. It bought online pharmacy PillPack in 2018, underpinning a prescription delivery and price-comparison site it later launched as Amazon Pharmacy, which lets users buy over-the-counter drugs via Prime memberships.
Amazon said its new service would operate in 32 states, where customers who seek treatment, will be connected to healthcare providers. The service does not include health insurance and pricing will vary depending on providers, it added.
EPA continues to turn blind eye to link between pesticides and breast cancer
In 1962, scientist Rachel Carson published the book “Silent Spring” which turned the environmental movement upside down and was instrumental in pushing the United States to place a ban on DDT. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also sprang up in the wake of the groundbreaking publication.
Despite the extraordinary evidence Carson’s book offered concerning the dangers of pesticides and their link to certain cancers and other serious health issues, the EPA has chosen to ignore it all. To date, the EPA is still approving pesticides strongly linked to breast cancer. The reason for this is found in a recent peer-reviewed study on the subject.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Another Giant Solar Farm Company Goes Bust
Solar farms as a business model, ironically, are proving to be unsustainable. As energy prices rise because of the war on traditional energy, solar and wind turbine farms are finding that its still a rough business and would not likely even exist if it were not for government subsidies and other favors.
EU Raises Climate Target, Continues To Drive Europe Into Energy Poverty
The UN climate summit, European Commission Vice President Franz Timmermans on Tuesday announced that the EU is ready to update its climate target for 2030, with a new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) that climbs two points — from 55 to 57 per cent, which, despite showing a modest improvement, would still not be in line with what the bloc’s equitable contribution to the Paris Agreement should be: at least 65 per cent emission cuts.
Timmermans, embracing implementation, said: ‘The EU stands ready to update our NDC reflecting this higher ambition.’
However, CAN Europe, supported by strong scientific evidence, has for long asked the EU to honour the Paris Agreement with at least 65 per cent emissions reductions and removals accounted additionally and separately.
This goal is not utopian and contributes fairly to limiting temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as the EU has historically emitted much more greenhouse gases compared to many countries in the Global South, that are the most impacted by a problem they have little contributed to create.
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
Couple Turn Rocky Hillside Into Mega Food Forest, Provide Homegrown Food to Community
‘Our kids have been involved in the project since day one. They were the inspiration for it.’
Two years ago, a California family took up a huge garden project to beat the pandemic blues. Together, they transformed a scrubby hill into a food forest that’s now providing plenty of fresh food and fruits to their friends and neighbors.
Mom-of-two Taylor Raine Koutroumbis and her husband, Stelios, worked hand in hand during the 2020 lockdowns, making their dream project come to fruition. It wasn’t just any old makeover. The half-acre area of their property was set on a hillside and was completely overgrown. So much so, that their neighbors had taken to calling their home “the jungle.”
It seemed impossible—especially alongside the challenge of homeschooling their two children—but the couple succeeded in turning their wild patch of land into a bountiful food forest, full to the brim with trees, plants, and flowers. Their food forest became a real family affair and the perfect classroom for their children. Today, their kids are not only top-notch fruit pickers and eaters, but they also enjoy spending time in the lap of nature.
Koutroumbis says their food forest is a “constant reminder” of all the beautiful things God has created in the world, helping to deflect their attention away from the negative. She says the family dreams of having a larger property to create a really massive food forest—a place where people could come and learn about “the joys and benefits” of growing their own food.
COVID RELATED NEWS
Dr. Flavio Cadegiani, a Brazilian endocrinologist, suspects that the worst has yet to come for spike protein-induced diseases in the endocrine system.
The endocrine system, colloquially known as the hormone system, is critical for our health. It regulates growth and development, mood, metabolism, reproduction, immunity, and functions of other organs through the secretion of hormones.
Hormones are one of the three biggest messengers in the body. Compared to the two other messengers—neurotransmitters and cytokines—hormones are slower in responding, and have systemic functions across the body rather than localized actions.
While cells can usually respond to neurotransmitters in milliseconds and cytokines in minutes to hours, cells that respond to hormones can take hours or even weeks.
Since hormones can have slow and systemic actions, a dysfunctional or damaged endocrine system will generally be slow in its symptom onset and recovery.
Studies have shown that spike proteins from COVID-19 infection and the vaccines can damage endocrine glands, including pituitary, thyroid, and adrenal glands, as well as reproductive organs, and many more.
Weaponizing COVID to Promote Collectivism
The fallout from destructive federal COVID response policies on the mental health, child development and economic stability of our nation is still being assessed
In October 2022, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention once again extended the COVID pandemic public health emergency declaration, this time until January 11, 2023
The mRNA COVID shots are associated with many ugly side effects, especially ones that compromise the blood and heart and can cause death
With vaccine-induced immunity off the table and vaccine adverse reactions viewed as a good thing, by the end of October 2022 the global mass vaccination campaign had convinced about 70% of the world’s population to get at least one COVID shot
The Lancet published a report in September 2022 called “The Lancet Commission on lessons for the future from the COVID-19 pandemic;” it calls for “prosociality” reorientation so global populations can be controlled by a central authority, especially during global pandemic responses
PET NEWS
Beware of Rock Salt and Other Ice-Melting Products
If you live where roads and sidewalks are treated with ice-melting rock salt or other chemicals, you need to protect your dog’s paws!
ICYMI
Country Music Legend Dolly Parton Awarded $100 Million by Jeff Bezos for Charity Work
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos awarded country music star Dolly Parton with $100 million over the weekend as part of the Bezos Courage and Civility award.
Bezos and his partner Lauren Sanchez presented the award to Parton, 76, on Saturday evening for her philanthropic work.
The award “recognizes leaders who aim high, find solutions and who always do it with civility,” and awards them with $100 million to direct to charities of their choosing, Sanchez said Saturday before announcing the recipient.
Before presenting the award to Parton, Bezos said: “The woman you’re about to meet embodies these ideals so thoroughly. She gives with her heart. What she’s done for kids, literacy and so many other things is just incredible.”
Video footage of the event posted to Twitter by Bezos showed Parton walking on stage to collect her award and saying: “Wow! Did you say $100 million dollars?”
“When people are in a position to help, you should help, and I know that I’ve always said I try to put my money where my heart is. I will do my best to do good things with this money,” she added.
Judge Orders Fauci, Other Top Officials to Testify Under Oath
In the summer of 2022, a lawsuit was filed by the attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana against the federal government, including Dr. Anthony Fauci
The lawsuit alleges that the U.S. government colluded with Big Tech giants Twitter, Meta (Facebook), YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn to censor certain viewpoints by labeling them “misinformation” or “disinformation”
In September 2022, a federal judge ordered Fauci and other officials to turn over emails with five social media firms
Now, a federal court has taken it a step further, ruling that Fauci and other officials must testify under oath at depositions about whether they colluded with Big Tech to censor certain users
The suit gives multiple examples of Fauci’s roles in the suppression of free speech, including that related to the lab leak theory of COVID-19’s origin, COVID-19 shots and the efficiency of masks and COVID-19 lockdowns
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