US sanctions three North Korea top officials

The US Treasury has imposed new sanctions on three top North Korean officials, including a close aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Choe Ryong Hae, the Director of the Workers' Party of Korea, Jong Kyong Thaek, the North Korean Minister of State Security and Pak Kwang Ho, the director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department for the Worker's Party have all been added to the sanctions list.

Imposing the new sanctions, the US said they would “serve as a reminder” of North Korea’s “brutal treatment” of US citizen Otto Warmbier who was detained in the country in 2016 for attempting to steal a propaganda poster and was later allegedly tortured, dying shortly after he was returned to the US.

The Treasury department said the new sanctions were imposed on individuals “who direct departments that perpetrate the regime’s brutal state-sponsored censorship activities, human rights violations and abuses, and other abuses.”

At the G20 summit in Argentina in November, US President Donald Trump reportedly said that if North Korea fully denuclearizes, he would "make what Chairman Kim wants come true,” but decided in conjunction with South Korea President Moon Jae-in that existing sanctions against North Korea will remain in place until that happens.

The development comes amid reports that Kim may meet with Moon in Seoul some time in the coming months, a potentially historic visit and the first time a North Korean leader will have visited South Korea. Trump himself has also floated the idea of meeting Kim again in the near future, suggesting that it might happen as soon as January or February — and even suggesting the North Korean leader could visit the US at some point.

https://www.rt.com/news/446103-us-sanctions-north-korea/

EU will launch financial mechanism with Iran by year-end: Mogherini

The European Union will establish a mechanism to facilitate non-dollar transactions with Iran in the near future in an attempt to circumvent sanctions imposed by the United States against Tehran, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini says.

“I will expect this instrument to be established in the coming weeks before the end of the year as a way to protect and promote legitimate business,” Mogherini told reporters in Brussels on Monday.

The top EU diplomat did not offer any other details following a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers in Brussels, but said work on creating the mechanism was "advancing well."

US President Donald Trump withdrew his country in May from the landmark Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and decided to re-impose unilateral sanctions against Tehran.

Under the deal, reached between Iran and six major powers – the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China – Tehran agreed to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions.

The Trump administration announced early in November the re-imposition of the “toughest” sanctions ever against Iran's banking and energy sectors with the aim of cutting off the country's oil sales and crucial exports.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/12/10/582552/Mogherini-Iran-Brussels-mechanism-SPV

Too Much Partisanship In Washington? No, Ron Paul Says, Too Much Bipartisanship!

Washington is once again gripped by the specter of a government shutdown, as Congress and President Trump negotiate an end-of-year spending deal. A main issue of contention is funding for President Trump’s border wall. Sadly, but not surprisingly, neither Congress nor the administration is fighting to cut, or at least not increase, spending.

Federal spending has increased from 3.6 trillion dollars to 4.4 trillion dollars since Republicans gained control over both chambers of Congress in 2014. Some may try to defend congressional Republicans by pointing out that for two years the Republican Congress had to negotiate spending deals with President Obama. But federal spending has increased by 7.5 percent, or over 300 billion dollars, since Donald Trump become President.

A big beneficiary of the Republican spending spree is the military-industrial complex. Republicans have increased the “defense” budget by eight percent in the past two years. President Trump and congressional Republicans claim the increases are necessary because sequestration “decimated” the military. But Congress, with the Obama administration’s full cooperation and support, suspended sequestration every year but one, so the planned cuts never went into full effect. Congress and Obama also “supplemented” the official military budget with generous appropriations for the Pentagon’s off-budget Overseas Contingency Operations fund. Spending on militarism increased by as much as 600 billion dollars over the amounts allowed for under sequestration.

President Trump has proposed reducing the projected military budget for fiscal year 2020 to 700 billion dollars. This would be a mere two percent cut, yet the usual voices are already crying that this tiny reduction would endanger our security. If history is any guide, the military-industrial complex’s congressional allies and high-priced lobbyists will be able to defeat the president’s proposed reductions and convince President Trump to further increase the military budget.

This huge military budget has little or nothing to do with America’s legitimate security needs. In fact, as candidate Trump recognized, America’s military interventions in the Middle East have endangered our security by empowering terrorist groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda.

While the warfare state has been a big beneficiary of the Republican spending spree, the GOP has hardly neglected the welfare state. Domestic spending has increased seven percent since 2016. Except for a half-hearted attempt to repeal Obamacare and some food stamp reforms that were included in and then dropped from this year’s farm bill, Republicans have not made any effort to roll back or even reform the welfare state.

The farm bill, which Congress is expected to pass this week, will spend as much as 900 billion dollars over the next ten years. Much of that spending will be on taxpayer subsidies for wealthy farmers and even “farmers in name only.”

Trump’s budget deals have been supported by the majority of Democrats. Even those who have called for the president’s impeachment are more than happy to vote with him when it comes to increasing spending and debt. These Democrats are the mirror image of 1990s Republicans who made a big spending deal with President Clinton while simultaneously trying to impeach him.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-10/too-much-partisanship-washington-no-ron-paul-says-too-much-bipartisanship

>>4246882

more a betrayal by an ally, probably gives Trump an out of NATO and support for the EU can be revoked. Almost as if Iran is in on it just like Q said in May: "Today, POTUS took control of Iran.".

WWG1WGA

M.E.G.A

MAKE EARTH GREAT AGAIN

WW

WWG1WGA

Godspeed!

Glyphosate Discovered in School Breakfast Foods Across America

A new report by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) found high levels of the toxic weed killer glyphosate in over 70 percent of the oat-based breakfast foods commonly served in K-12 schools across the U.S..

Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, the world’s most widely used herbicide, is applied on farms that grow corn, soybeans, oats, and hundreds of other crops. From there, it can make its way into our food, especially popular breakfast cereals and nutrition bars.

CEH tested 13 popular breakfast foods served to school children. The report prioritized school districts with high rates of participation in the National School Breakfast Program since low-income children are already disproportionately exposed to toxic chemicals. Items containing the highest levels of glyphosate include Quaker Maple, Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal, and Quaker Old-Fashioned Oats. CEH did not find glyphosate residues in any of the certified organic cereals tested.

The World Health Organization identified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen in 2015 and last year California’s state environmental protection agency listed it as a chemical known to the state to cause cancer.

Glyphosate is also an endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC). EDCs interfere with the body’s hormones, and as such have been linked to cancers, diabetes, stroke, and reproductive problems, health issues which can even be passed onto future generations. EDCs can also be harmful in low, long-term exposures, the kind of dose one would be exposed to by eating foods containing trace amounts of glyphosate.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that exposure to glyphosate residues in our food has increased four times over the past quarter-century, with children more likely to be exposed than adults. Recent biomonitoring studies have detected it in the urine samples of 70 to 93 percent of the U.S. population.

“Our findings are particularly alarming for children’s health because their bodies are still developing, which makes them more vulnerable to these toxic chemicals than adults,” said Caroline Cox, CEH’s Research Director. “School children shouldn’t be exposed to Monsanto’s toxic herbicide, and school nutrition providers and parents shouldn’t have to worry about whether school foods are contaminated with a chemical linked to cancer and hormone disruption.”

The report follows the historic jury ruling in August that Monsanto had caused a man’s terminal cancer and ordered it to pay $289 million in damages (A judge later reduced the award to $78.5 million, citing statutory limits). The decision has paved the way for thousands of other cancer patients and families to seek justice and compensation in court.

CEH’s findings corroborate a growing list of recent studies demonstrating the presence of glyphosate in children’s foods, including preliminary findings by CEH in August, as well as those by Environmental Working Group, Moms Across America, The Detox Project/Food Democracy Now, and the Food and Drug Administration.

https://www.naturalblaze.com/2018/12/glyphosate-discovered-school-breakfast-foods.html

The Agricultural Pesticide Damaging Kids’ Brains

Scientifically, it’s been documented children continually are exhibiting lower IQs, aka the Flynn effect, decade after decade.

Jun 14, 2018 – IQ scores have been steadily falling for the past few decades for those born after 1975. [Paraphrased from 1]

Fluoride exposure in drinking water has been blamed, as have neurotoxic chemicals in vaccines. Both can be classified as epigenetic effects, not genetics!

However, not much exposure has been given to a certain classification of agricultural pesticides known as Chlorpyrifos, first manufactured in 1965 by Dow Chemical Co., now known as DowDuPont after a 2017 merger with DuPont.

The chemical Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate pesticide that affects the nervous system of insects by inhibiting acetyl cholinesterase, a key enzyme for neurotransmission. It apparently can have similar effects in children’s brains, especially during gestation, i.e., pregnancy.

Question: Will the chlorpyrifos saga go the route of Monsanto’s Roundup® after Bayer merged with Monsanto, who apparently got a “pig in a poke” with all the thousands of lawsuits being filed against Roundup? That remains to be seen.

However, the following information should convince consumers to avoid chlorpyrifos-treated crops and opt for organically-grown food.

According to Earth Justice,

Chlorpyrifos is used on a wide variety of crops including apples, oranges, strawberries, corn, wheat, citrus and other foods families and their children eat daily.

In fact, over half of all apples and broccoli in the U.S. are sprayed with chlorpyrifos. USDA’s Pesticide Data Program found chlorpyrifos residue on citrus and melons even after being washed and peeled. By volume, chlorpyrifos is most used on corn and soybeans, with over a million pounds applied annually to each crop. [2] [CJF emphasis]

Other food crops include almonds, cotton [seed oil used in processed foods], grapes, broccoli, sugar beets, peaches and nectarines, according to the Organic Consumers Association. [3]

Beyond Pesticides adds, “It is also commonly used for mosquito-borne disease control, and on golf courses.” [4] Additionally, Beyond Pesticides says, “[As] a neurological toxicant, chlorpyrifos damages the brains of young children: impacts of exposure, even at very low levels, include decreased cognitive function, lowered IQ, attention deficit disorder, and developmental and learning delays.” One more reason to purchase organically-grown baby food!

https://www.naturalblaze.com/2018/12/the-agricultural-pesticide-damaging-kids-brains.html

What science is confirming about the benefits of CBD oil

CBD oil is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after supplements on the market, but what do you really know about it? Scientists have been studying cannibidiol (CBD) for many years now, working to unravel the myriad of benefits afforded by this medicinal plant compound. CBD is one of hundreds of cannabinoid compounds found in the cannabis plant, and is now known to be a powerful, medicinal compound with a wide array of uses and benefits.

Unlike the more infamous tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), CBD is a non-psychoactive compound, meaning it does not produce the psychedelic effects that are characteristic of cannabis. Proponents of medical cannabis say that CBD is useful for an array of conditions, including cancer, seizure disorders, pain relief and more — and now science is backing up many of these claims, as well.

Science-backed benefits of CBD oil

Pain relief is one of the most well-documented uses for the cannabis plant. In fact, people have been using marijuana to treat pain since 2900 B.C. — and modern science is just starting to understand how. As Healthline reports, CBD is one of a few medicinal compounds found in the cannabis plant that are associated with pain relief.

Studies have shown that CBD interacts with the body’s endocannabinoid system, and it is through this bodily system that CBD is able to exact its pain-relieving effects. It’s posited that CBD can help mitigate chronic pain by influencing endocannabinoid receptor activity, interacting with neurotransmitters, and by decreasing inflammation.

In addition to pain management, studies have also shown that CBD can offer relief from depression and anxiety. As Eco Watch explains, scientists have surmised that CBD can help relieve these conditions through its effect on serotonin receptors in the brain. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter responsible for regulating mood, appetite and sleep. In a small study, participants given a CBD supplement before a public speaking test displayed substantial reductions in anxiety compared to those were given a placebo.

https://www.naturalnews.com/2018-12-10-science-confirming-benefits-of-cbd-oil.html