Right now I am going to share with you the number one piece of advice that I give to everyone who asks about preparing for the great storm that is ahead.

Build up a financial cushion.

When things get bad, you are going to need money.

I know that sounds exceedingly simple, but obviously most of the country is choosing not to do this.

Instead, most of the country is surviving from month to month with barely any money in their bank accounts, and so when disaster strikes they are going to be looking for someone else to rescue them.

We have had more than a decade since the crisis of 2008 to prepare for the next one, but most people are acting as if the next one will never arrive.

Unfortunately, the truth is that the next crisis has already started, and businesses all over the nation are going bankrupt.

via theeconomiccollapseblog Not Ready For Economic Collapse: Only 41 Percent Of Americans Have $1000 To Cover An Emergency

Did NASA Wreck the Jet Stream? 🚀 | flying cuttlefish picayune

Every time a space shuttle was launched, the solid rocket boosters released 240 tons of HCl gas, 26 tons of chlorine gas, 7 tons of nitrogen dioxide gas, and 304 tons of aluminium oxide into the atmosphere. The resulting hydrochloric acid dissolved eight inches of concrete on the launch pad during a Space Shuttle launch, raising the concentration of hydrochloric acid in nearby lakes to 3 M, producing massive fish kills in the ocean, and destroying the paint on cars. Leading chemists to believe that HCl is a major contributor to the holes in the ozone layer.”
“. . . We are launching rockets into space all day and every day around the world. Every time these rockets are launched they punch a hole in our ionosphere dumping massive amounts of particulates into our atmosphere.”

via Did NASA Wreck the Jet Stream? 🚀 | flying cuttlefish picayune

https://youtu.be/RaMSW_1xqPE

via (1) Trump Fan-Boy Matt Gaetz Left Off The President’s Team Of GOP Impeachment Warriors – YouTube

https://youtu.be/bDKHoX0izGE

via (1) Jet Streams WIDEN and FILL Most of Southern Hemisphere – YouTube

The Trump Coup to Come

Trump may win the 2020 election. If that happens, it would be due in no small part to another key form of American political authoritarianism—the centrist, corporate-financial and imperial neoliberalism fueling the Democratic Party and most of the corporate media. The “inauthentic opposition” Party of Fake Resistance’s (PFR’s) leading funders, operatives and media would rather lose to the evermore fascist, right-wing GOP than to the leftish Bernie Sanders wing of their own party. So what if only Sanders can mobilize the voters required to defeat Trump, the wannabe president for life?

Meanwhile, the media more closely aligned with Democrats does everything it can to ignore and demean the Sanders candidacy, failing to cover his rallies and dismissing his platform and “electability.” The Democratic establishment and loyal media outlets refuse to respectfully transmit and take seriously his strong critique of American class inequality and plutocracy. Nor does it highlight his urgent calls for action to confront capitalogenic climate change before the planet is cooked beyond repair. The elite Democrats and their many media allies also smear Sanders’ popular call for single-payer health insurance, declaring it “too radical,” “too expensive” and—to use the contemptuous language of Amy Klobuchar—a “pipe dream” hopelessly untethered from the real world here on earth.

via Truthdig The Trump Coup to Come

If the DNC rigs the primaries again, like they did in 2016, count on Trump winning the 2020 election, and becoming dictator for life.

Fascism rising.

Condo Insurance Premiums Are Spiking In Canada, Threatening Resale Prices | HuffPost Canada

British Columbia condo buildings are facing insurance premium hikes of between 50 per cent and 300 per cent, Condominium Homeowners Association executive director Tony Gioventu recently said.

On top of that, “deductibles are going from the conventional $10,000 or $25,000 to $100,000, $250,000 or $500,000,” Gioventu said in a Global News article.

One core reason is an increase in unexpected weather-related events that have caused insurance payouts to spike, explained Pete Karageorgos, director of consumer and industry relations at the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

via Condo Insurance Premiums Are Spiking In Canada, Threatening Resale Prices | HuffPost Canada

The Great American Shale Oil & Gas Bust: Fracking Gushes Bankruptcies, Defaulted Debt, and Worthless Shares | Wolf Street

Following the sharp re-drop in oil and natural gas prices in late 2018, bankruptcy filings in the US by already weakened exploration and production companies , oilfield services companies, and “midstream” companies (they gather, transport, process, or store oil and natural gas) jumped by 51% in 2019, to 65 filings, according to data compiled by law firm Haynes and Boone. This brought the total of the Great American Shale Oil & Gas Bust since 2015 in these three sectors to 402 bankruptcy filings.

The debt involved in these bankruptcies in 2019 doubled from 2018 to $35 billion. This pushed the total debt listed in these bankruptcy filings since 2015 to $207 billion. The chart below shows the cumulative total debt involved in these bankruptcies since 2015.

via The Great American Shale Oil & Gas Bust: Fracking Gushes Bankruptcies, Defaulted Debt, and Worthless Shares | Wolf Street

Scientists move Doomsday Clock closer to midnight

Scientists warned Thursday that Earth is inching closer to disaster.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the hands of its symbolic Doomsday Clock closer to midnight, indicating that the likeliness of a human-caused apocalypse has increased since last year.

The Bulletin adjusted the clock to reflect looming threats from nuclear weapons and accelerated global warming.

The clock is now set at 100 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been to symbolic doom and the first time the hands have been within the two-minute mark.

via Scientists move Doomsday Clock closer to midnight

Fair Trial Law and Legal Definition | USLegal, Inc.

A fair trial hears before it condemns. The trial proceeds on inquiry and renders judgment only after trial. In a fair trial, jurors are to be entirely indifferent as to the parties at the outset. The necessary elements of a fair trial are an adequate hearing and an impartial tribunal, free from any interest, bias, or prejudice. A fair trial presupposes full justice within human limitations. [Box v. State, 74 Ark. App. 82, 88-89 (Ark. Ct. App. 2001)].

via Fair Trial Law and Legal Definition | USLegal, Inc.

‘With me, there’s no lying,’ Trump says as he lies and lies and lies and lies about impeachment

“Now, with me, there’s no lying,” Donald Trump said Wednesday about impeachment. You know what happened next, right? Yup, Trump unleashed a barrage of lies about impeachment. Trump made 14 false claims Wednesday spread out between the press conference in which he said “Now, with me, there’s no lying” and interviews with CNBC and Fox Business.

CNN’s invaluable Daniel Dale has the tally: Trump repeatedly claimed, in different ways, that House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff misled Democrats about what Trump said in his July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and that once the White House released the call summary, “all hell broke out with the Democrats, because they say, ‘Wait a minute. This is much different than Shifty Schiff told us.’” In reality, Schiff’s comments on the call came after the White House released the summary, and the only way Democrats were taken aback by the contents of the call is that it was kind of unbelievable how blatantly Trump worked to extort Zelensky.

Trump also claimed that “I never see them talking about the transcription. I never see them talking about the call, because there’s nothing to say.” This is false. He has been impeached as a direct result of the call, and it is still being discussed constantly. Sections of the call were read out on Wednesday as part of the impeachment trial.

via Daily Kos ‘With me, there’s no lying,’ Trump says as he lies and lies and lies and lies about impeachment

Jay Sekulow makes a fool of himself in the Senate, so of course the Trump team doubles down

Republicans were not allowed to witness “secret” House depositions, they insisted. They not only were allowed, but did. Donald Trump was not allowed to present a defense, they shouted to senators. The House invited the White House to send a legal team, produce a defense, and produce documents for that defense; Trump’s legal team refused. Republicans were not allowed their own witnesses, they claimed; House Republicans produced multiple witnesses, who were questioned and cross-examined on live television. These were not mischaracterizations. They were lies about recent, extremely televised, extremely reported-on public happenings that we all witnessed.

While Republican senators prattle on about the supposed dignity of their chamber, the Trump legal team lying to the Senate outright about matters in clear public view has resulted in exactly zero outrage from those lawmakers. We can infer from that that they both expect to be lied to and, in fact, are counting on it. It doesn’t matter what Trump’s “legal team” comes up with during their own presentations. Jay Sekulow can simply invent new words and phrases and scream at the Senate about the outrage they represent, and most of the Republican senators will nod their heads and vote … exactly like they intended to from the first moment.

via Jay Sekulow makes a fool of himself in the Senate, so of course the Trump team doubles down

Fascism rising 😦

So Justice Roberts. About that statement you made…

World’s greatest Deliberative Body is the U.S. Senate you said, or words to that effect. That sound about right? You’re absolutely certain about this and willing to put your own personal ass out on the line on this statement as it is looking like this may well end up on your gravestone.

Fifty three (53) deeply flawed, corrupt, compromised, or just flat out astoundingly fucking stupid people are part of that group which numbers currently 100 people. I must submit Justice Roberts that I am absolutely convinced that a minimum of 50 of all those members are incapable of rendering a reasoned and unbiased verdict In the case being currently presented to this august body of dimwits, charlatans, thieves, idiots, liars and traitors or some or all in some cases of the previous.

And it’s a QED Justice Roberts. The House is merely going through the motions again on shit that is already known. And known to be absolutely positively against the law. So I guess what I want to know is this. Are you going to preside over the resurrection of democracy and cement you legacy in the cannons of U.S. History? Or you Going to be a Brutus and shiv Lady Liberty in the heart from behind in her hour of need.

Glory or infamy. And yes it really is that simple. Best find those big boy pants with out any shit in them and get’em on. You’re going to really fucking busy either way. Come up with a better statement for one. Any “body” Deliberative or otherwise cannot be great when 50% of it is made of screeching idiot shit flinging baboons with carrots for brains.

via Daily Kos So Justice Roberts. About that statement you made…

Fascism rising… 😦

Vaccinated vs. Unvaccinated—Part 7 • Children’s Health Defense

The Netherlands survey was completed and paid for by the Nederlandse Vereniging Kritisch Prikken, an independent association of Dutch therapists, doctors and parents, and others. The cumulative data from all these studies strongly suggests that unvaccinated children are far healthier than their vaccinated peers by nearly every metric. Thanks Dr Brian Hooker for rendering the graphs.

(See full-sized Part 7 slides or see the complete Vaxxed-Unvaxxed presentation, Parts 1-7.)

Survey Citation:
Rumke, HC and Visser, HK. [Childhood vaccinations anno 2004. I. Effectiveness and acceptance of the Dutch National Vaccination Programme].Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2004 Feb 21;148(8):356-63.

Slides and Summaries from Part 7:

Slide 1 and Summary:

In episodes of various illnesses per 100 children over the first five years of life, ear infections, throat inflammation, aggressive behavior, and convulsions were all markedly elevated in fully vaccinated children compared to unvaccinated peers.

via Vaccinated vs. Unvaccinated—Part 7 • Children’s Health Defense

Bombshell Study Questioning HPV Vaccine Efficacy Appears as the UK’s Cervical Cancer Rates Rise in Young • Children’s Health Defense

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines hit the global marketplace in the mid-2000s. From the start, public health agencies enthusiastically promoted HPV vaccination as the “best way to protect [young people] against certain types of cancer later in life.” However, a blistering new study by British researchers—and new data showing that cervical cancer rates are surging in British 25- to 29-year-olds—raise numerous questions about officials’ inflated claims. The study’s results indicate, instead, that the jury is still out on whether HPV vaccination is effective.

The question is far from academic because, prior to Britain’s introduction of HPV vaccination in 2008, cervical cancer rates had been trending sharply downward. In fact, between the late 1980s and mid-2000s, cervical cancer rates halved. Now, Britain’s leading cancer research charity (Cancer Research UK) reports a steep 54% rise in cervical cancer in one of the very age groups that first received the vaccine.

The trials’ questionable methodology generated “uncertainties” so significant that they undermine claims of efficacy.

via Bombshell Study Questioning HPV Vaccine Efficacy Appears as the UK’s Cervical Cancer Rates Rise in Young • Children’s Health Defense

Sanders Takes Double-Digit Lead in New Hampshire Poll After 14 Point Jump Since December | Common Dreams News

Sen. Bernie Sanders jumped out to a double-digit lead over his 2020 Democratic presidential rivals in a poll of likely New Hampshire primary voters released Thursday—less than three weeks ahead of the state’s Feb. 11 primary.

via Sanders Takes Double-Digit Lead in New Hampshire Poll After 14 Point Jump Since December | Common Dreams News

Trump administration scraps organic food regulations

“Consumers trust that the Organic seal stands for a meaningful difference in production practices,” huffed the Organic Trade Association. “It makes no sense that the Trump Administration would pursue actions that could damage a marketplace that is giving American farmers a profitable alternative, creating jobs, and improving the economies of our rural areas.”

via NYPost Trump administration scraps organic food regulations

Yes, every past impeachment trial included witnesses. Baldwin hits mark with Trump-related claim | PolitiFact Wisconsin

Democrats say avoiding witnesses would be tantamount to a cover-up.

And Wisconsin’s Democratic senator, Tammy Baldwin, said it would also be breaking with centuries of tradition.

“Every other impeachment trial the Senate has ever had, including those for other federal officials aside from the two presidential impeachments … has included witnesses,” Baldwin said in a Jan. 19, 2020, appearance on WISN-TV’s ‘UpFront’ program.

Have witnesses really been called in every other Senate impeachment?

Let’s break out the history books.

Senate has held 15 impeachment trials
The Senate has held just two prior impeachment trials against presidents — Bill Clinton in 1999 and Andrew Johnson in 1868. Both included witnesses.

The Senate heard testimony from 41 witnesses in the Johnson proceeding, and three for Clinton, including Monica Lewinsky. In the Clinton case, House managers obtained depositions from the witnesses and excerpts of that testimony were shown to the Senate, the Washington Post reported.

via Yes, every past impeachment trial included witnesses. Baldwin hits mark with Trump-related claim | PolitiFact Wisconsin

Lindsey Graham Unveils New Absurd Trump Defense: He ‘Did Nothing Wrong In His Mind’

“All I can tell you is from the president’s point of view, he did nothing wrong in his mind,” Graham claimed.

Asked about calling Joe Biden and his son Hunter as witnesses, Graham said that he preferred to “end this thing sooner rather than later.”

“There are bunch of people on my side who want to call Joe Biden and Hunter Biden. I want to end this thing sooner rather than later,” Graham said, explaining he will not vote for witness and documents.

via theguardiansofdemocracy Lindsey Graham Unveils New Absurd Trump Defense: He ‘Did Nothing Wrong In His Mind’

A trial with no witnesses and no evidence..

Hmm, that sounds fair in a country ruled by a dictator, with a kangaroo court.

Fox News Legal Analyst: ‘Ample’ Evidence To Remove Donald Trump From Office

In a new op-ed, Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano debunked President Donald Trump’s “hoax” defense in his Senate impeachment trial and argued that there was “ample” evidence to remove the president from office.

“It is deadly serious business based on well-established constitutional norms,” the former New Jersey Superior Court judge wrote of the trial in a column published on the conservative news network’s website Thursday.

via Fox News Legal Analyst: ‘Ample’ Evidence To Remove Donald Trump From Office

Destructive Effects – AtomicBombMuseum.org

. “Black rain”
The Hiroshima and Nagasaki explosions yielded some 200 different kinds of radioactive isotopes, that is, nuclear fission particles of uranium and plutonium that escaped fission. Following the explosions, these and other materials irradiated by neutrons from the bomb, were carried high into the atmosphere.

The mixing of enormous amounts of airborne irradiated materials combined with heat and thermal currents from the firestorms led to rainfall in both cities within 30-40 minutes of the bombings. As the fallout particles were mixed with carbon residue from citywide fires, the result was the awesome—and injurious—“black rain.”

*Atmospheric dispersion begins in Hiroshima. (HIMAT)

This “black rain” reached ground level as sticky, dark, dangerously radioactive water. It not only stained skin, clothing, and buildings, but also was ingested by breathing and by consumption of contaminated food or water, causing radiation poisoning.

via AtomicBombMuseum.org – Destructive Effects

https://youtu.be/W9JBcx_QBJk

via (1) Trump Brags About Obstructing Congress By Withholding Ukraine Evidence – YouTube

John Roberts Has the Power to Allow Impeachment Witnesses | Time

The most prominent question today, is shall the Senate hear witnesses? Precedent suggests the answer is “yes”– there have been 15 prior impeachment trials in the Senate (two involving Presidents) and all have had witness testimony in the Senate. And there is no Constitutional bar against witnesses in what the Constitution refers to as an impeachment “trial.” But Mitch McConnell, the Majority Leader in the Senate, is clearly willing to ignore precedent and has thus far refused to commit to calling witnesses. He even considers that his constitutional oath to do “impartial justice” permits him to coordinate every aspect of trial management with counsel for the President, who objects to witnesses.

But wait a minute. While McConnell is not mentioned in the Constitution, Chief Justice John Roberts is. Indeed, it is the Chief Justice of the United States who shall “preside” over the trial, not the Majority Leader. So why isn’t it up to Roberts to decide whether witnesses shall appear?

Absent anything in the Constitution to the contrary, it seems obvious that the witness dispute should be resolved by the ruling of the constitutionally appointed “Presiding Officer” of the trial. This is especially true if we were to abide by the conservative element of our judiciary that insists on the strict construction of the words of any constitutional or statutory provision.

via John Roberts Has the Power to Allow Impeachment Witnesses | Time

Donald Trump’s crony capitalism is making America more like Russia

Russia is corrupt and autocratic. It ranks 138th out of 180 countries for corruption (where a higher ranking means more corrupt) and 149th for freedom of the press (where a higher ranking means less freedom). In Russia, government policies benefit the ruling party’s allies and punish its opponents.

America used to condemn countries like Russia. Now, President Donald Trump openly expresses his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin and other corrupt autocrats. Even worse, Trump and the GOP want America to become more like Russia.

via usatoday Donald Trump’s crony capitalism is making America more like Russia

Trump Administration Moves To Loosen Radiation Rules, Says It’s Good For You

The government’s current, decades-old guidance says that any exposure to harmful radiation is a cancer risk. And critics say the proposed change could lead to higher levels of exposure for workers at nuclear installations and oil and gas drilling sites, medical workers doing X-rays and CT scans, people living next to Superfund sites and any members of the public who one day might find themselves exposed to a radiation release.

The Trump administration already has targeted a range of other regulations on toxins and pollutants, including coal power plant emissions and car exhaust, that it sees as costly and burdensome for businesses. Supporters of the EPA’s new proposal argue the government’s current no-tolerance rule for radiation damage forces unnecessary spending for handling exposure in accidents, at nuclear plants, in medical centers and at other sites.

via mavenroundtable Trump Administration Moves To Loosen Radiation Rules, Says It’s Good For You

It Sure Does Sound Like Trump Just Bragged About Obstructing Congress

From Esquire

“Honestly, we have all the material,” said the President of the United States. “They don’t have the material.” It was some typical New York real-estate bluster: I’ve got it, you don’t, fuck you. Except Donald Trump isn’t in real estate anymore, or even in the branding business he pivoted towards later on. He’s been the president for three years, and he’s been impeached, and the trial is underway in the Senate, and he just appeared to admit to one of the charges against him. He just bragged about obstructing Congress, the second of two articles along with abuse of power.

via Yahoo News It Sure Does Sound Like Trump Just Bragged About Obstructing Congress

Historically, only three Presidents have been impeached. All of these previous Presidents were taken to trial in the Senate, where the case for impeachment was investigated further, witnesses were called and testimony was taken, plus more digging was done to go where the trail of evidence would lead. There is no trial, if no evidence or witnesses can be called.

The Senate impeachment trial is really about a clean, fair, ethical, and impartial election process, which leads to a just, democratic election in the USA. If senators do not care about foreign interference in US elections, they will vote to hold Trump innocent.

via Senate Trump Impeachment Trial Is Really About Whether Americans Want A Clean, Fair, Ethical And Impartial Presidential Election Process, Free Of Foreign Influence, Or If They Are Ok With Pay To Play Politics, Legal ‘Bribery’, And A Despotic Dictator As Leader, Which Then Leads To Fascism | A Green Road Journal

After 8 days of taking to the streets, Poles took back their country and repealed the FASCIST mandatory vaccine law that was imposed on the population against their will.

via Assoc. of American Physicians/Surgeons (AAPS), Physicians for Informed Consent, Medical Nurses Are ALL Against Mandatory Vaccines, Violate Human Rights – Dr Mercola; Why Do People Endure 92 Percent Failure Rate With Flu Vaccines? Poland/Sweden Ban Mandatory Vaccinations | A Green Road Journal

Australia wildfires unleash millions of tons of carbon dioxide

The historic wildfires in Australia likely unleashed about 900 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, equivalent to nearly double the country’s total yearly fossil fuel emissions, according to scientists.

Although some of the emissions could eventually be offset by forest regrowth, researchers worry that the uptick in the heat-trapping greenhouse gas could accelerate climate change and portend a “new normal” for yearly emissions, particularly as global warming intensifies wildfires and lengthens fire seasons.

The full impact of the unprecedented fires in southeastern Australia is not yet known, but Rob Jackson, a professor of Earth system science at Stanford University, said their emissions could hit 1 billion tons by the end of the season. For comparison, Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions from electricity, transportation, agriculture and industry collectively totaled about 540 million tons from March 2018 to March 2019.

via NBC Australia wildfires unleash millions of tons of carbon dioxide

Will Launch Nuclear Attack US Pacific Fleet Commander

Admiral Scott Swift, US Pacific Fleet commander, has said that he would launch a nuclear strike against China if asked to do so by the US President Donald Trump.

Admiral Swift’s comment came during an Australian National University security conference after a major joint US-Australian military exercise off the Australian coast. The entire exercise was being monitored by a Chinese intelligence-gathering ship off northeast Australia, reported AP.

The top US Navy official was responding to a question raised by an academic in the audience on whether he would launch a nuclear attack on China next week if Trump ordered it, Swift replied: “The answer would be: yes.”

via Will Launch Nuclear Attack US Pacific Fleet Commander

21 GOP Senators Left During Schiff’s Speech | Law & Crime

A large bloc of Republican Senators reportedly skipped large portions of Wednesday’s impeachment trial, flouting Senate rules requiring them to remain in their seats at all times during the proceedings, according to journalist Michael McAuliff.

“Just counted 21 empty seats on the GOP side of the Senate, 2 on the Dem side, a couple hours into [Adam] Schiff’s presentation. Some are just stretching their legs, but most are not in the chamber. Some of them have been out of there for a while,” McAuliff said.

Attorneys Bradley P. Moss (Zaid’s law partner) and Susan Hennessey (Lawfare’s Executive Editor) also noted the absurdity of those acting as “jurors” not being in attendance during the presentation of arguments.

via 21 GOP Senators Left During Schiff’s Speech | Law & Crime

2020 State Primary Election Dates

The dates for state primaries are listed below. These primaries are used by political parties to determine which candidates for legislative seats will go on the general election ballot on Nov. 3, 2020. These include legislative seats in 46 states along with U.S. senators and representatives, governors and statewide officials. (For presidential primary dates, see below.)

via 2020 State Primary Election Dates

Trump outright brags he’s withholding ‘all the material’ to beat impeachment

President Trump probably should’ve kept quiet on this one.

After the first day of impeachment arguments in the Senate, Trump told a press conference at the World Economic Forum that he’s pretty sure he’ll end up being acquitted. “Honestly, we have all the material. They don’t have the material,” Trump said of his impeachment defense team and of the House Democrats prosecuting him, making it clear there’s some information he’s holding back.

via Yahoo Trump outright brags he’s withholding ‘all the material’ to beat impeachment

https://youtu.be/jFv5yY7pMgQ

via Returning to Fukushima | Explorer – YouTube

Callers urged to flood the Senate switchboard to demand witnesses and evidence. – voices4america

Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat of Hawaii, on Tuesday urged people to flood the Senate switchboard with calls demanding that senators allow new witnesses and evidence to be considered as part of the impeachment trial of President Trump.

“202-224-3121 is the number and ask for witnesses and documents,” Mr. Schatz wrote on Twitter.

via Callers urged to flood the Senate switchboard to demand witnesses and evidence. – voices4america

Adam Schiff dismisses calling Hunter Biden in exchange for Trump impeachment witnesses – Axios

Despite “tough” U.S. sanctions, Russia’s economy is picking up steam, and its financial markets are delivering massive rewards to investors.

Why it matters: In an era in which the U.S. has made economic punishment its foreign policy weapon of choice, Russian President Vladimir Putin and others continue to defy the U.S. and are finding the consequences to be quite bearable.

Driving the news: Far from crumbling under the weight of sanctions, Putin recently introduced a set of constitutional reforms that the New York Times suggests “could create new avenues for him to rule Russia for the rest of his life.”

via Adam Schiff dismisses calling Hunter Biden in exchange for Trump impeachment witnesses – Axios

Adam Schiff dismisses calling Hunter Biden in exchange for Trump impeachment witnesses – Axios

“Trials aren’t trades for witnesses. We offered last night to have the chief justice of the Supreme Court rule on a question of materiality for any of the witnesses. Not surprisingly, the president’s team was vehemently opposed. Not because the president’s team doesn’t trust the chief justice to make an impartial decision, but because they do. … They want to effectuate the scheme that they were unable to do when they tried to get Ukraine to smear the Bidens. They want to use this trial to smear the Bidens.”

via Adam Schiff dismisses calling Hunter Biden in exchange for Trump impeachment witnesses – Axios

Trump: Travel ban expansion coming, nations aren’t yet final

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday the U.S. would soon be imposing visa restrictions on more countries — though it’s not clear yet how many nations will be affected by his expansion of the travel ban.

Seven additional nations were listed in a draft of the proposed restrictions — but the countries were notified by Homeland Security officials that they could avoid being included if they make changes before the announcement is made, according to two administration officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations.

The tentative list featured Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania, according to the officials and a person familiar with the draft proposal.

via Yahoo Trump: Travel ban expansion coming, nations aren’t yet final

White House Refuses to Release 20 Emails About Ukraine Aid Freeze

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration disclosed on Friday that there were 20 emails between a top aide to President Donald Trump’s acting chief of staff and a colleague at the White House’s Office of Management and Budget discussing the freeze of a congressionally mandated military aid package for Ukraine.

But in response to a court order that it swiftly process those pages in response to a Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, lawsuit filed by The New York Times, the Office of Management and Budget delivered a terse letter saying it would not turn over any of the 40 pages of emails — not even with redactions.

via Yahoo White House Refuses to Release 20 Emails About Ukraine Aid Freeze

The Quiet Crisis: Deaths Caused By Alcoholism Have More Than Doubled | Zero Hedge

Opioid overdoses may have leveled off last year after soaring over the last ten, but Americans are still dying in droves from another, far more popular substance: alcohol.

According to a series of studies cited by MarketWatch, the number of Americans drinking themselves to death has more than doubled over the last two decades, according to a sobering new report. That far outpaces the rate of population growth during the same period.

Researchers from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism studied the cause of death for Americans aged 16 and up between 1999 and 2017. They determined that while 35,914 deaths were tied to alcohol in 1999, it doubled to 72,558 in 2017. The rate of deaths per 100,000 soared by 50.9% from 16.9 to 25.5.

Over that 20-year period, the study determined that alcohol was involved in more than 1 million deaths. Half of these deaths resulted from liver disease, or a person drinking themselves to death, or a drug overdose that involved alcohol

via The Quiet Crisis: Deaths Caused By Alcoholism Have More Than Doubled | Zero Hedge

Soybean Oil Linked to Obesity and Neurological Problems – Chemical Free Life

The results of this most recent study investigating the health effects of industrialized soybean oil in processed foods revealed that it has pronounced effects on the hypothalamus–the area of the brain that regulates hormones responsible for body weight, metabolism, stress responses and reproductive functioning.  While much more research is needed, in the recent animal study conducted on mice the researchers discovered over 100 genes adversely affected by soybean oil in the diet. The scientists believe this discovery could have ramifications not just for energy metabolism and weight control, but also for proper brain functioning and diseases such as autism and Parkinson’s disease.  The takeaway from their findings, according to the researchers is: “The observed effects of soybean oil on hypothalamic gene expression could have important public health ramifications.”  It should be noted that this latest study was conducted by the same researchers who previously discovered that soybean oil induces obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, and fatty liver in mice.

via Soybean Oil Linked to Obesity and Neurological Problems – Chemical Free Life

W.H. considers classifying Bolton testimony to conceal it: WaPo

Rachel Maddow shares a report from the Washington Post that the Trump White House is so concerned about the possibility that the public will hear testimony from John Bolton that they considered the idea of moving his testimony to a classified setting so it can’t be revealed to the public.

via W.H. considers classifying Bolton testimony to conceal it: WaPo

Tulsi Gabbard sues Hillary Clinton for $50M, claims defamation over ‘Russian asset’ remark

Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against Hillary Clinton seeking $50 million in damages, claiming the former Democratic presidential nominee “carelessly and recklessly impugned” her reputation when she suggested in October that one of the 2020 Democratic candidates is “the favorite of the Russians.”

via NBC Tulsi Gabbard sues Hillary Clinton for $50M, claims defamation over ‘Russian asset’ remark

Trump’s former pastor is slamming him on Twitter as a liar & hypocrite / LGBTQ Nation

Donald Trump’s former pastor is speaking out after the President started proclaiming his support for forcing children to study the Bible in public schools.

Pastor David Lewicki took to Twitter to clarify that while Trump likes to claim he’s a member of Marble Church is New York City, he never actually stepped foot in the building to attend a service or Bible study.

After nationwide outcry, Trump and his evangelical supporters have now suggested the studies should be optional, allowing parents to “opt in” to the lessons. The Bible class would replace a civics course if a proposed bill in North Dakota passes.

via Trump’s former pastor is slamming him on Twitter as a liar & hypocrite / LGBTQ Nation

Pentagon Racks Up $35 Trillion in Accounting Changes in One Year – Bloomberg

The Pentagon made $35 trillion in accounting adjustments last year alone — a total that’s larger than the entire U.S. economy and underscores the Defense Department’s continuing difficulty in balancing its books.

The latest estimate is up from $30.7 trillion in 2018 and $29 trillion in 2017, the first year adjustments were tracked in a concerted way, according to Pentagon figures and a lawmaker who’s pursued the accounting morass.

The figure dwarfs the $738 billion of defense-related funding in the latest U.S. budget, a spending plan that includes the most expensive weapons systems in the world including the F-35 jet as well as new aircraft carriers, destroyers and submarines.

via Pentagon Racks Up $35 Trillion in Accounting Changes in One Year – Bloomberg

https://youtu.be/LyeRC08UkeY

via Trump Has Lied 16,241 Times – YouTube

https://youtu.be/8llxefPibig

via Trump’s Legal Team Insists That “Abuse Of Power” Is Not Impeachable – YouTube

Heroin Dealer in Chief. Afghanistan, Source of 90% of The World’s Heroin – Centre for Research on Globalization

 

Opium Wars I & II were British troops forcing farmers in India and Pakistan, colonies of Britain then, to grow opium which Brits pushed on the Chinese to try to make China a colony of Britain too. In the 1980’s, CIA grifters flew weapons to Contras in Nicaragua and flew crack cocaine back to the USA . The DEA did nothing to stop CIA felons from dealing crack in the USA.

CIA organized, trained and armed the Mujahideen (later re-named Taliban) to fight a 1979 Soviet invasion into Afghanistan and to push heroin on Russians. CIA contracted NLC trucks to send weapons through Pakistan to Afghanistan and to bring heroin back. After Soviet withdrawal, Taliban took control of Afghanistan’s government.

CIA organized, trained and armed the Mujahideen (later re-named Taliban) to fight a 1979 Soviet invasion into Afghanistan and to push heroin on Russians. CIA contracted NLC trucks to send weapons through Pakistan to Afghanistan and to bring heroin back. After Soviet withdrawal, Taliban took control of Afghanistan’s government.

US government installed Hamid Karzai, CIA agent, as Afghanistan’s President in 2002 to restore the drug trade. Ahmed Wali Karzai, heroin dealer, was Hamid’s brother. “The Afghan narcotics economy was a carefully designed project of the CIA”. “A convicted heroin trafficker, Izzatullah Wasifi, was appointed by Karzai to head an anti-corruption agency.” US government made Afghanistan into a narco state. By 2006, LA Times reported Afghan heroin flooding in, but wouldn’t investigate how. 1,000,000 people worldwide have been killed by heroin from US-occupied Afghanistan.

189,000 Americans were heroin addicts in 2001. White House reported 1,500,000 US heroin addicts by 2010. That figure shot up (2010-2015) to 2,500,000 heroin addicts.

Afghan opium spread from 7,600 hectares (2001) to 224,000 hectares (2014). US heroin deaths skyrocketed 1,779 (2001) to 10,574 (2014) and are on track to hit 16,500 in 2016.

via Heroin Dealer in Chief. Afghanistan, Source of 90% of The World’s Heroin – Global ResearchGlobal Research – Centre for Research on Globalization

Roger Stone found guilty on all 7 counts – ABC News

President Donald Trump’s longtime friend and onetime campaign adviser, Roger Stone, was convicted in the only remaining case from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

Jurors have returned a guilty verdict on all of seven counts including five counts of lying to Congress, one count of witness tampering and one count of obstruction of a proceeding. Stone had pleaded not guilty and maintained his innocence throughout his trial in Washington, DC.

Prosecutors asked that Stone be remanded pending sentencing, citing his issues with abiding by court orders since his indictment. Stone’s defense pushed back, arguing he has not broken the condition of his release.

via Roger Stone found guilty on all 7 counts – ABC News