Attorney General William P. Barr Remarks at White House Roundtable on Housing Assistance Grants for Victims of Human Trafficking, Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-william-p-barr-remarks-white-house-roundtable-housing-assistance-grants
Department of Justice Awards Over $35 Million to Provide Housing to Victims of Human Trafficking
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-awards-over-35-million-provide-housing-victims-human-trafficking
Democrats Up Stimulus Demand To $3.4 Trillion In Odd Negotiating Tactic
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just revealed that Congressional Democrats not only won't budge on their $3 trillion stimulus package passed by the House in May - she's upped the demand to $3.4 trillion in order to 'settle' on a deal.
Asked by CNN's Manu Raju if she still wants a stimulus deal this week, and if she has a price tag she'd be willing to settle on, Pelosi replied "Yeah, $3.4 trillion."
“We are just right now identifying the justification for what we're saying it costs – how the money would be spent," Pelosi said. "And we're asking the same for some of the things they are talking about, so that we have a clear understanding. So it's productive in that regard.“
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) August 4, 2020
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany described Pelosi's new demand as 'a mockery' of the process.
.@PressSec on the administration working with Democrats on coronavirus relief: "It is Nancy Pelosi, it is Chuck Schumer, that are making an absolute mockery of this process." pic.twitter.com/lmOCwJvfXZ
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 4, 2020
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) - who has called the $3 trillion Democratic proposal "another big laundry list" - has flat out rejected the left's package, and has instead defended the Senate GOP's $1 trillion stimulus bill.
The top Democratic and White House negotiators have held hours of talks this week in hopes of reaching a deal on another round of stimulus spending as key deadlines on extending a federal eviction moratorium and federal unemployment benefits have come and gone.
Pelosi, when asked if it's really feasible to get a deal this week given how far apart the two sides are, said, "At some point you just have to freeze the design." -CNN
The Speaker said she hopes lawmakers can reach a bipartisan agreement this week in order to hold a vote in the House by next week - which will require a Rules Committee meeting to determine the parameters for debate over the bill on the House floor.
"We are just right now identifying the justification for what we're saying it costs – how the money would be spent," said Pelosi. "And we're asking the same for some of the things they are talking about, so that we have a clear understanding. So it's productive in that regard. And now we just have to negotiate what comes next."
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/democrats-stimulus-demand-35-trillion-odd-negotiating-tactic
Over 500 Kashmir Gov't Employees Under Scrutiny for 'Anti-National’ Activities, Sources Claim
Over the last several years, the Indian government has been keeping an eye on miscreants involved in anti-national activities in the country. The government is taking measures to ensure law and order.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has initiated a process to terminate the services of employees involved in anti-national activities.
Sources in the Jammu and Kashmir authority told Sputnik that between 500 and 1,000 government employees, “posing threat to security and integrity of the State”, could be dismissed in the next two or three months.
"It has been learnt that several government employees are proactively participating in promoting anti-India hatred, assailing Indian Government's decision on Article 370, trolling and threatening politicians, government officers and business tycoons on social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and others", the official told Sputnik.
On 30 July, the General Administration Department (GAD) of Jammu and Kashmir invoked Article 311(2) (c), a special provision of the Constitution of India, for the purpose of terminating the services of the employees or reducing their ranks without holding an inquiry, but on the basis of relevant records and other collateral evidence.
The article was not applicable to Jammu and Kashmir earlier when it enjoyed the special status granted to it under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.
Dispensing with some of the previous checks and balances, the GAD order reads: “The recommendations in respect of such cases shall be supported by relevant records which may include a copy of the interrogation report and other collateral evidence to justify dispensing with the holding of an inquiry in the interest of security of the State”.
According to the official, the Law Department and GAD would process and scrutinise the cases, but the opinion of the Home Department and police would be pivotal in taking a decision.
“Concrete and tangible evidences collected by different agencies against employees who are promoting anti-India narrative and soon their termination orders from their services will be given out to them”, the official added.
He said that the Jammu and Kashmir government is determined to take tough action against such employees who are fanning violence and creating law and order troubles on the ground by their physical participation.
As per officials, there are currently 450,000 government employees in Jammu and Kashmir. In a preliminary inquiry, the investigation agency has found evidence that several employees were involved in mocking law and order issues.
An official stated that several employees have been found involved in raising anti-India slogans, stone pelting, and other unlawful activities frequently.
https://sputniknews.com/india/202008041080055474-over-500-kashmir-govt-employees-under-scrutiny-for-anti-national-activities-sources-claim/
Military Situation In Syria On August 4, 2020 (Map Update)
A brief overview of the recent developments in Syria:
A Turkish soldier was found dead in the city of Ras Al-Ayn in Hasakah province;
The Israeli army targeted SAA positions in Quneitra province in response to alleged suspicious activities near fences in the Golan Heights;
Israeli army targeted SAA positions in Quneitra province in response to alleged suspicious activities near fences in the Golan Heights
Syrian Army artillery shelled militant positions in the Kabani and Tufahiya areas;
Syrian Army artillery shelled militant positions in the Kanasfara and Muzarra areas;
Demonstration took place in Hawaij village calling on the international coalition forces to uncover the perpetrators of the assassination of Sheikh Mutashar Al-Hafel, one of the Akidat elders;
Turkish-backed militants shelled SAA positions near the town of Kafr Nubl.
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-syria-on-august-4-2020-map-update/
Pentagon vow to use artificial intelligence for good is ‘HIGHLY SUSPECT & should not be believed’
In the first episode of the Keiser Report’s annual Summer Solutions series, Max and Stacy discuss the latest global economic, monetary, financial and cultural trends; as well as solutions to problems which may occur as a result.
They talk about the Pentagon’s decision to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) while promising to use the technology for good, not evil.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) paid $1 million for an AI app that can predict an enemy’s emotions.
“They are always looking to control the population,” Stacy says, adding that this has always happened – since the Middle Ages and “through memes of the time.”
Max says “the Pentagon then would be a major American institution that is now having a problem of loss of faith – whether it’s [in] the central bank, the Pentagon, or government in general.”
He explains that the population is losing faith in the prevailing institutions, like it was in the 1500s in Florence with a loss of faith in the Church, or in the 1960s in America with a loss of faith in the American political system, or the 21st century “when we have loss of faith in the Federal Reserve bank, the Pentagon and other political institutions.”
According to Max, “the idea of the Pentagon using AI for good is, of course, highly suspect and no one should take that at face value and believe that that is their intention.” He points out that the technology relies on encryption which is right now beyond the reach of the Pentagon.
https://www.rt.com/business/497034-pentagon-ai-use-highly-suspect/
Dozens of Pesticides Linked with Mammary Gland Tumors in Animal Studies
In an analysis of how regulators review pesticides for their potential to cause cancer, researchers at Silent Spring Institute identified more than two dozen registered pesticides that were linked with mammary gland tumors in animal studies. The new findings raise concerns about how the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approves pesticides for use and the role of certain pesticides in the development of breast cancer.
Several years ago, a resident on Cape Cod in Massachusetts contacted researchers at Silent Spring looking for information on an herbicide called triclopyr. Utility companies were looking to spray the chemical below power lines on the Cape to control vegetation.
“We know pesticides like DDT increase breast cancer risk, so we decided to look into it,” says co-author Ruthann Rudel, an environmental toxicologist and director of research at Silent Spring. “After examining pesticide registration documents from EPA, we found two separate studies in which rodents developed mammary gland tumors after being exposed to triclopyr, yet for some reason regulators dismissed the information in their decision not to treat it as a carcinogen.”
When manufacturers apply to register a pesticide, EPA reviews existing studies and based on those studies assigns the chemical a cancer classification–for instance, how likely or unlikely the chemical is to cause cancer. After reviewing triclopyr, Silent Spring researchers wondered if evidence of mammary tumors was being ignored for other pesticides as well.
Reporting in the journal Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, Rudel and Silent Spring scientist Bethsaida Cardona reviewed more than 400 EPA pesticide documents summarizing the health effects of each registered pesticide. They found a total of 28 pesticides linked with mammary gland tumors, yet EPA acknowledged only nine of them as causing mammary tumors and dismissed the evidence entirely for the remaining 19.
Rudel and Cardona also found that many of the pesticides in their analysis behaved like endocrine disruptors, for instance, by interfering with estrogen and progesterone. “Breast cancer is highly influenced by reproductive hormones, which stimulate the proliferation of cells within the breast, making it more susceptible to tumors,” says Rudel. “So, it’s important that regulators consider this kind of evidence. If they don’t, they risk exposing people to pesticides that are breast carcinogens.”
https://www.naturalblaze.com/2020/08/dozens-of-pesticides-linked-with-mammary-gland-tumors-in-animal-studies.html
Increased Global Mortality Linked to Arsenic Exposure in Rice-Based Diets
Rice is the most widely consumed staple food source for a large part of the world’s population. It has now been confirmed that rice can contribute to prolonged low-level arsenic exposure leading to thousands of avoidable premature deaths per year.
Arsenic is well known acute poison, but it can also contribute to health problems, including cancers and cardiovascular diseases, if consumed at even relatively low concentrations over an extended period of time.
Compared to other staple foods, rice tends to concentrate inorganic arsenic. Across the globe, over three billion people consume rice as their major staple and the inorganic arsenic in that rice has been estimated by some to give rise to over 50,000 avoidable premature deaths per year.
A collaborating group of cross-Manchester researchers from The University of Manchester and The University of Salford have published new research exploring the relationship, in England and Wales, between the consumption of rice and cardiovascular diseases caused by arsenic exposure.
Their findings, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, shows that – once corrected for the major factors known to contribute to cardiovascular disease (for example obesity, smoking, age, lack of income, lack of education) there is a significant association between elevated cardiovascular mortality, recorded at a local authority level, and the consumption of inorganic arsenic bearing rice.
Professor David Polya from The University of Manchester said: “The type of study undertaken, an ecological study, has many limitations, but is a relatively inexpensive way of determining if there is plausible link between increased consumption of inorganic arsenic bearing rice and increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Professor Polya from The University of Manchester said “The study suggests that the highest 25 % of rice consumers in England and Wales may plausibly be at greater risks of cardiovascular mortality due to inorganic arsenic exposure compared to the lowest 25 % of rice consumers.
“The modelled increased risk is around 6 % (with a confidence interval for this figure of 2 % to 11 %). The increased risk modelled might also reflect in part a combination of the susceptibility, behaviours and treatment of those communities in England and Wales with relatively high rice diets.”
While more robust types of study are required to confirm the result, given many of the beneficial effects otherwise of eating rice due to its high fibre content, the research team suggest that rather than avoid eating rice, people could consume rice varieties, such as basmati, and different types like polished rice (rather whole grain rice) which are known to typically have lower inorganic arsenic contents. Other positive behaviours would be to eat a balanced variety of staples, not just predominately rice.
https://www.naturalblaze.com/2020/08/increased-global-mortality-linked-to-arsenic-exposure-in-rice-based-diets.html