Kim Jong-un is testing new warheads loaded with ANTHRAX

Kim Jong-un is testing new warheads loaded with ANTHRAX for his intercontinental ballistic missiles, South Korea warns
(Source dailymail.co.uk)

North Korea is conducting biological weapons experiments to test the possibility of loading anthrax-laden warheads on its intercontinental ballistic missiles, it has been reported.

Japan’s Asahi newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing an unidentified person connected to South Korean intelligence, that North Korea was conducting biological weapons experiments to test the possibility of loading anthrax-laden warheads on its intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The Asahi report said the U.S. government was aware of the tests, which were meant to ascertain whether the anthrax bacteria could survive the high temperatures that occur during warheads re-entry from space. North Korea vehemently denied the allegation and said it will ‘take revenge’ on the US for saying it is developing biological weapons. In a statement issued via the state Korean Central News Agency, the regime said it is party to the Biological Weapons Convention and as such ‘maintains its consistent stand to oppose development, manufacture, stockpiling and possession of biological weapons’.

It went on that the more the US ‘clings’ it its anti North Korea stance ‘the more hardened the determination of our entire military personnel and people to take revenge will be’.

The news that North Korea may have been testing anthrax-laden warheads comes as  South Korean President Moon Jae-in is seeking to soothe relations with China and the North before the Winter Olympics in South Korea in February.

He suggested on Tuesday he was prepared to postpone military drills with the United States.

Pyongyang sees the joint exercises as preparation for war, while Beijing is still angry about the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system, commonly known as THAAD, by South Korea. China believes the system’s powerful radar can see far into its territory, but Seoul argues it needs it to guard against the threat posed by North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs. Seoul has proposed the potential delay in drills to Washington, which was also discussed during a summit last week between Moon and Chinese President Xi Jinping, an official from the presidential Blue House in Seoul said on Wednesday.

Nestle CEO: Water Is Not A Human Right, Should Be Privatized

Nestle CEO: Water Is Not A Human Right, Should Be Privatized (Source megafargo.com) Is water a free and basic human right, or should all the water on the planet belong to major corporations and be treated as a product? Should the poor who cannot afford to pay these said corporations suffer from starvation due to their lack of financial wealth? According to the former CEO and now Chairman of the largest food product manufacturer in the world, corporations should own every drop of water on the planet — and you’re not getting any unless you pay up.

The company notorious for sending out hordes of ‘internet warriors’ to defend the company and its actions online in comments and message boards (perhaps we’ll find some below) even takes a firm stance behind Monsanto’s GMOs and their ‘proven safety’. In fact, the former Nestle CEO actually says that his idea of water privatization is very similar to Monsanto’s GMOs. In a video interview, Nestle Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe states that there has never been ‘one illness’ ever caused from the consumption of GMOs. The way in which this sociopath clearly has zero regard for the human race outside of his own wealth and the development of Nestle, who has been caught funding attacks against GMO labeling, can be witnessed when watching and listening to his talk on the issue. This is a company that actually goes into struggling rural areas and extracts the groundwater for their bottled water products, completely destroying the water supply of the area without any compensation. In fact, they actually make rural areas in the United States foot the bill. As reported on by Corporate Watch, Nestle and former CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe have a long history of disregarding public health and abusing the environment to take part in the profit of an astounding $35 billion in annual profit from water bottle sales alone.

 

Regulators abolish ‘net netruality’ rules in heated hearing that was stopped

Regulators abolish ‘net neutrality’ rules in heated hearing that was stopped because of a BOMB threat as protesters rallied outside (Source dailymail.co.uk)
Net neutrality is the principle that internet providers treat all web traffic equally. Obama-era 2015 rules prohibited telecom companies from blocking or slowing down apps that rival their own services.   Now the FCC’s Trump-appointed majority has repealed the rule along party lines, and protesters descended on Washington to oppose the plan

One Democratic commissioner said Republicans were ‘handing the keys to the Internet’ to a ‘handful of multi-billion dollar corporations’. The Republican chairman said of the time before the rule was adopted, ‘The Internet wasn’t broken in 2015. We weren’t living in a digital dystopia’. The hearing room was cleared briefly following a phoned-in bomb threat so explosive-sniffing dogs could be brought in. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted along party lines on Thursday to repeal landmark 2015 rules that intended to ensure a free and open Internet, as protesters gather to oppose the change. The 3-2 ruling sets up a court fight over a move that opponents fear will recast the digital landscape.

This is my buddy! Boxing legend Mayweather and Chechen leader Kadyrov

‘This is my buddy!’ Boxing legend Mayweather and Chechen leader Kadyrov talk Russian citizenship (Source RT)

Ramzan Kadyrov seemingly has a knack for rubbing shoulders with sporting greats, with undefeated retired boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. the latest big personality to engage with the Chechen leader.

Both men possess sizeable fortunes, and it appears the pair bonded during Mayweather’s visit to Grozny and Kadyrov let slip that the US boxing legend has intentions of gaining Russian citizenship. In a video posted to Telegram, the pair joked around, with Mayweather Jr. no doubt enjoying retirement after defeating UFC superstar Conor McGregor in their Hybrid fight in August, inducting Kadyrov into his exclusive ‘Money Team’. Referring to their exchanges, Kadyrov said the pair swapped stories about boxing and sports development in Chechnya.

Kadyrov, who earlier this year shared the field with Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldinho, also let boxing fans in on the revelation that Mayweather is apparently considering setting up camp in Russia. Although it’s unclear for how long.

 

Putin Is Preparing for World War III

Putin Is Preparing for World War III—Is Trump? (Source Newsweek) Russia, surrounded by enemies, is readying to fight an epic war for survival. At least that’s what Vladimir Putin wants his countrymen to think. Nearly every evening, Russian state-controlled television leads news broadcasts with video of Russian planes in action over Syria, interspersed with images of NATO tanks and troops menacing Russia’s borders. On 60 Minut, Russia’s top-rated political talk show, analyst Nikita Isayev recently spoke of Russia’s “great victory” in Syria heralding the country’s return to “superpower status.” And in late November, Putin put Russian business on alert: “The ability of our economy to increase military production and services at a given time is one of the most important aspects of military security,” he told a meeting of top military brass in Sochi. “All strategic and simply large-scale enterprise should be ready.”

In Syria, a single squadron of around 36 Russian combat aircraft serviced by 4,751 personnel based mostly at the Khmeimim airfield has been in action since September 2015. And in eastern Ukraine, Russian regular soldiers in unmarked uniforms have been spotted patrolling alongside rebel irregulars—most recently in the middle of November, when several hundred anonymous troops known as “little green men” showed up in the rebel city of Luhansk to prevent a bloody power struggle between separatist leaders who broke away from Kiev in the summer of 2014.

With Russia’s actual military engagements so small, why is Putin building up the idea that his country is on the verge of a cataclysmic conflict that will require full-scale mobilization of all Russia’s resources? The most obvious reason is the oldest ruse in the politicians’ book—unite a country behind an imagined external enemy to distract from domestic problems. “He will be running his re-election campaign [in 2018] on a national security basis, presenting Russia as a country under siege, under attack.”

But there’s another, more worrying reason for the Kremlin’s belligerent rhetoric—it is convinced war is imminent. As long ago as 2013, even before the conflict in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry’s annual strategic plan, titled “The Defense of Russia,” predicted a serious global or regional conflict involving Russia before 2023.

“Russia is engaged in a strange sort of unilateral arms race,” says one former British ambassador to Russia, who did not wish to be quoted on the record, as he now has a different brief. “Historically, every previous arms race has ended in war. Except in Russia’s case, nobody is quite sure who they are preparing to fight and where.” The most likely scenario for a clash, says Monaghan, is that Moscow and Washington find themselves on opposite sides of a regional conflict that “creates a wider conflagration—for instance, North Korea, or Iran vs. Saudi.” Having scored an easy strategic victory in Syria, the temptation for Russia to get involved in another conflict is great.

 

 

 

Army issuing more waivers for recruits who used marijuana

Army issuing more waivers for recruits who used marijuana (Source pbs.org) As more states lessen or eliminate marijuana penalties, the Army is granting hundreds of waivers to enlist people who used the drug in their youth — as long as they realize they can’t do so again in the military.

The number of waivers granted by the active-duty Army for marijuana use jumped to more than 500 this year from 191 in 2016. Three years ago, no such waivers were granted. The big increase is just one way officials are dealing with orders to expand the Army’s size. “Provided they understand that they cannot do that when they serve in the military, I will waive that all day long,” said Maj. Gen. Jeff Snow, head of the Army’s recruiting command.

The marijuana use exclusions represent about one-quarter of the total misconduct waivers the Army granted in the budget year that ended Sept. 30. They accounted for much of the 50 percent increase overall in recruits who needed a waiver for some type of misconduct. Snow said the figures probably will rise further as more states legalize or decriminalize marijuana.

 

American Drug Overdoses Hit Record High

American Drug Overdoses Hit Record High (Source thetrumpet.com) Last year, drugs killed more Americans than the Vietnam War. Powerful painkillers such as fentanyl are contributing to a drug-overdose epidemic in the United States, according to a report released on October 27 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report specifically details how fentanyl is one of the strongest opioids on the market, considered 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin. It was responsible for over half of the approximately 20,000 opioid overdoses in America last year, yet is easily and legally obtainable with a prescription.

Drug abuse is rapidly growing to become one of the deadliest problems in this country. Overdosing has already outpaced deaths caused by motor vehicle crashes, suicide and homicide. Now, the White House is declaring opioid addiction to be a “public health emergency.”

An opioid is any chemical compound that affects opioid receptors in the brain. Synthetic opioids like fentanyl are engineered to mimic the effects of opiates, which are drugs derived from the dried latex of poppy flowers. Due to the ability of opioids to numb the sensation of pain, they are what manufacturers use to produce such pain-killing drugs as morphine, oxycodone and codeine.

Beginning in the late 1990s, doctors began prescribing painkillers to their patients with increasing frequency. Due to deliberate misrepresentation by drug companies, many people were unaware that the pills they were taking were forming addictive habits in their brains.

In the decades since this trend began, painkillers have become a fixture in society, with access becoming more and more readily available.

An independent review looking into the potential side effects of heavy opioid use has found that not only is this drug addictive but it also has other negative effects. They concluded that prolonged use of opioids can produce “profound analgesia” and “mood changes,” indicating effects both physical and psychological.

However, it is the addictive qualities that truly make these drugs dangerous. Ignorant of the addictive nature of their prescription, many have fallen for the promise of quick relief from discomfort. While stifling their pain on prescription meds, thousands of people are forming chemical dependencies. Once the cause of their pain has ended, the effects of the drugs linger. Unable to access the more powerful painkillers, many are abusing over-the-counter medication. Some even follow the path of addiction to street drugs like heroin, which produce the same euphoria-inducing high, only with much more severe side effects.

 

De-Dollarization Continues: China, Iran To Eliminate Greenback from Bilateral Trade

De-Dollarization Continues: China, Iran To Eliminate Greenback From Bilateral Trade (Source Zero Hedge)

The more Washington lashes out in anger at those who will not bow to the unipolar world order, the more the rest of the world fights back. As the launch of its Yuan/Gold-settled oil futures looms, China is escalating its de-dollarization scheme further by seeking a bilateral rial-yuan agreement with Iran.

The World Bank’s former chief economist wants to replace the US dollar with a single global super-currency, saying it will create a more stable global financial system.

“The dominance of the greenback is the root cause of global financial and economic crises,” Justin Yifu Lin told Bruegel, a Brussels-based policy-research think tank.

“The solution to this is to replace the national currency with a global currency.” The writing is on the wall for dollar hegemony. As Russian President Vladimir Putin said almost two months ago during the BRICs summit in Xiamen,

“Russia shares the BRICS countries’ concerns over the unfairness of the global financial and economic architecture, which does not give due regard to the growing weight of the emerging economies. We are ready to work together with our partners to promote international financial regulation reforms and to overcome the excessive domination of the limited number of reserve currencies.”

As Pepe Escobar recently noted, ‘to overcome the excessive domination of the limited number of reserve currencies’ is the politest way of stating what the BRICS have been discussing for years now; how to bypass the US dollar, as well as the petrodollar. Beijing is ready to step up the game. Soon China will launch a crude oil futures contract priced in yuan, and now, as RT reports, Tehran and Beijing are determined to find ways to avoid using the US dollar as a settlement currency in trade, according to a report by Iranian economic daily Financial Tribune.

The billionares, lobbyists, and Christian extremists behind Trump’s Jerusalem move

The billionaires, lobbyists, and Christian extremists behind Trump’s Jerusalem move (Source qz.com)

Hours after US President Donald Trump declared that the US would move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem, US allies from Malaysia to Indonesia to France to Britain, condemned the move. The unpopular decision reverses decades of American policy in the Middle East. Americans in Turkey, Germany, and through the region were warned by local US embassies to be cautious after the decision, and American children in Jordon told not to go to school. At least 22 were wounded during protests in Gaza and the West Bank, and militant group Hamas called Trump’s announcement a “declaration of war. The decision is not popular at home, either. Trump’s own Department of Defense and Secretary of State tried to talk him out of it, according to multiple reports. Just 16% of Jewish-Americans favor unilaterally moving the embassy to Jerusalem, which Palestinians also claims as their capital, according to a survey of “American Jewish Opinion” taken in September. Overall, 63% of Americans oppose the move.

Trump’s decision is a “profound mistake,” Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J-Street, a “pro-peace, pro-Israel” lobbying group in Washington DC said Wednesday, echoing the words of French president Emmanuel Macron and many others.

So how did it happen? Trump’s decision is the latest example of how special interest groups, rather than US voters or long-term American diplomatic goals, can drive policy. Analysts say wealthy donors, influential lobby groups, and a far-right Christian fringe put pressure on a president eager to show he’s fulfilling his campaign promises.

 

North Korea Says Nuclear War on the Peninsula Is Inevitable

North Korea Says Nuclear War on the Peninsula Is Inevitable and an ‘Established Fact’ (Source Time)

North Korea says a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula has become a matter of when, not if, as it continued to lash out at a massive joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea involving hundreds of advanced warplanes. In comments attributed to an unnamed Foreign Ministry spokesman, North Korea also claimed high-ranked U.S. officials, including CIA Director Mike Pompeo, have further confirmed American intent for war with a series of “bellicose remarks.” Pompeo said that U.S. intelligence agencies believe North Korean leader Kim Jong Un doesn’t have a good idea about how tenuous his situation is domestically and internationally. The North’s spokesman said Pompeo provoked the country by “impudently criticizing our supreme leadership which is the heart of our people.”

“We do not wish for a war but shall not hide from it, and should the U.S. miscalculate our patience and light the fuse for a nuclear war, we will surely make the U.S. dearly pay the consequences with our mighty nuclear force which we have consistently strengthened,” the spokesman said.

The comments were carried by the official Korean Central News Agency late Wednesday, hours after the United States flew a B-1B supersonic bomber over South Korea as part of a massive combined aerial exercise involving hundreds of warplanes. North Korean propaganda is often filled with extreme claims and threats, and the spokesman’s comments were consistent with the tone of previous statements condemning Washington and Seoul.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the Guam-based bomber simulated land strikes at a military field near South Korea’s eastern coast during a drill with U.S. and South Korean fighter jets. “Through the drill, the South Korean and U.S. air forces displayed the allies’ strong intent and ability to punish North Korea when threatened by nuclear weapons and missiles,” the South Korean military said in a statement.

B-1Bs flyovers have become an increasingly familiar show of force to North Korea, which after three intercontinental ballistic missile tests has clearly moved closer toward building a nuclear arsenal that could viably target the U.S. mainland.