Free Republic

While the western United States is facing a serious drought combined with heat waves at the moment, the situation in China makes America’s woes seem almost trivial by comparison. China is currently in the midst of the worst drought that’s been seen since they began keeping official records in the fifties. River levels have fallen drastically during this period, which is particularly bad for the rural, agricultural regions of the country such as Sichuan province for two reasons. First of all, they rely heavily on hydroelectric power, but the rivers are too low in many areas to spin the turbines....

In his latest weekly letter to client, One River Asset Management CIO, Eric Peters, attached a letter that a small US supplier of industrial chemicals sent to all its customers earlier this month, in which they apologize for their 70% price hikes. It forecasts additional price hikes. Dear Customer: I hope that you and your business are doing well. New price sheets are enclosed. I have been working at xxxxxxxxxx Industries for over 50 years. I have never seen anything like the current supply problems. Not with COVID-19 in 2020, not during Nixon’s presidency in 1968 and 1969. Raw materials...

It’s one of the strongest opioids in circulation, so deadly an amount smaller than a poppy seed can kill a person. Until July, when drug users in the United States started overdosing on carfentanil, the substance was best known for knocking out moose and elephants — or as a chemical weapon. Despite the dangers, Chinese vendors offer to sell carfentanil openly online, for worldwide export, no questions asked, an Associated Press investigation has found. The AP identified 12 Chinese businesses that said they would export carfentanil to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium and Australia for...

Multiple Jan. 6 defendants were taken out of their cells on stretchers on Thursday, according to a court filing. The situation started when one of the defendants refused to wear a mask, family members of Kelly Meggs, who is being held in the D.C. Jail, told Meggs lawyer. Prison guards began spraying a chemical substance described as “some kind of mace or pepper spray, according to a filing in federal court. “They sprayed mace or some type of gas at an inmate and kept missing so it went into an intake that fed into other cells and the lady with...

SNIP A new study out Tuesday reports that far too often, small amounts of industrial chemicals called phthalates (pronounced THA-lates), which are used to make plastics soft, have been found in samples of food from popular outlets including McDonald's, Pizza Hut and Chipotle. George Washington University researcher Lariah Edwards, professor Ami Zota and their colleagues purchased 64 fast-food items from national burger chains McDonald's and Burger King; pizza chains Pizza Hut and Domino's; and Tex-Mex chains Taco Bell and Chipotle, all around San Antonio, Texas. The study found harmful chemicals in a majority of samples collected. Phthalates are linked to...

In an apparent effort to rally the base, House Leadership has jammed an environmental activist project, the PFAS Action Act of 2021, into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) -- a move that threatens military readiness and supply chains. The bill “establishes requirements and incentives to limit the use of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS, and remediate PFAS in the environment.” PFAS can be found in a wide variety of products like non-stick pans, weatherproof clothing, carpets, belts, food packaging and various other usages. Without PFAS chemicals we wouldn’t have smartphones since they help stabilize them...

FOLLOWING AUG-4-2020 BLAST OF CHEMICALS IN BEIRUT PORT THAT KILLED OVER 200.AUG-OCT 2020* Public anger unleashed.* Exposure again of Hezbollah's eliberate stockpiling dangerous chemicals, part of it's strategy of using civilians (human shields).* These kind of chemicals were used by Hezbollah murderers before, including in the 1984 massacre, targeting Jews in Argentina (AMIA building).* Hezbollah's fakery and its blaming of "bias" is debunked.* Hezbollag's chief Nasrallah threatens those who blame it.SEP 2021* Hezbollah threatens judge.* Judge struggles to get witnesses to testify.OCT 14, 2021* Hezbollah armed fight with Christians at protest against the judge who dared to summon Hezbollah persons...

An explosion at a northern Illinois chemical plant Monday morning sparked massive fires that sent flames and huge plumes of thick black smoke high into the air and debris raining onto the ground, prompting evacuations. After 7 a.m., emergency crews rushed to the scene of the fire near Rockton, near the Wisconsin border, at Chemtool Inc., a company that manufactures lubricants, grease products and other fluids, and is, according to the company, the largest manufacturer of grease in the Americas. Rockton Fire Department Chief Kirk Wilson said about 70 employees who were at the plant when firefighters arrived were evacuated...

A lot of speculations surround John Sullivan who uses aliases such as “Activist X,” “Activist John,” and “Jayden X.” He is a left-wing activist who openly documented and discussed his involvement in the pro-Donald Trump rally which turned into an insurrection at the Capitol and is now facing criminal charges. Sullivan, 26, founder of protest group Insurgence USA, recorded himself entering through a Capitol window that had been broken out by the rioters before roaming the halls of Congress during the January 6 attack. Sullivan, of Utah, told authorities that he was in Washington D.C. that day as an activist...

“Goods were being transported from one country to another, and they ended up in a third country with nobody owning the goods. Why did they end up here?” said Ghassan Hasbani, a former Lebanese deputy prime minister and opposition figure. Those linked to the shipment and interviewed by Reuters all denied knowledge of the cargo’s original owner or declined to answer the question. Those who said they didn’t know included the ship’s captain, the Georgian fertilizer maker who produced the cargo and the African firm that ordered it but said it never paid for it.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued a finding that could – and certainly should – undermine some of the most outrageous lawsuits and jury awards in American history. Bolstered by San Francisco area juries that have given multi-multi-million-dollar awards to clients who claim glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup weedkiller) caused their cancer, jackpot justice lawyers have recruited some 20,000 additional “corporate victims” who hope to reap their own fortunes.Their cases are based on the assertion that: (a) Bayer-Monsanto negligently or deliberately failed to warn consumers that the glyphosate it manufactures is carcinogenic; (b) the plaintiffs used Roundup...

'Jackie Kennedy of China' at Center of Political Drama By JEREMY PAGE, BRIAN SPEGELE and STEVE EDER The wife of sacked Communist Party official Bo Xilai made quite an impression when she showed up in Mobile, Ala., 15 years ago with her young son in tow. Denver lawyer Ed Byrne, whom she had hired to represent Chinese companies embroiled in a legal mess in U.S. federal court, was struck by her brains, charm and beauty. Gu Kailai, he says, seemed like the "Jackie Kennedy of China." Gu Kailai was close to a British businessman who died mysteriously. . The business...

A massive explosion has ripped through a region in China. (snip) The explosion was seen and heard in the industrial zone of Lijin, Dongying City of Shandong, just before 11.30pm local time.

Warren’s legal work for Dow Chemical, first exposed by Legal Insurrection during the 2012 Senate campaign, was not to help the women, as Warren claims: “Warren’s expertise was used by a company fighting in court to limit its liability and payments to the women.” Timing is everything in politics, and Elizabeth Warren received a huge break when a devastating Washington Post investigation of Warren’s legal practice when she was a law professor was published on Monday, July 15, 2019. That was the day after Trump’s tweets telling four congresswomen “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested...

The common weed killer Roundup (glyphosate) is back in the news after a US court ruled it contributed to a man’s terminal cancer (non-Hodgkin lymphoma). Following the court’s order for manufacturer Monsanto to compensate the former school ground’s keeper US$289 million, more than 9,000 people are reportedly also suing the company. In light of this, Cancer Council Australia is calling for Australia to review glyphosate’s safety. And tonight’s Four Corner’s report centres around Monsanto’s possible cover-up of the evidence for a link between glyphosate and cancer. Juries don’t decide science, and this latest court case produced no new scientific data....

Rutgers-led study demonstrates low-cost technology for security screening at public venues like stadiums, theme parks and schoolsOrdinary WiFi can easily detect weapons, bombs and explosive chemicals in bags at museums, stadiums, theme parks, schools and other public venues, according to a Rutgers University–New Brunswick-led study. The researchers’ suspicious object detection system is easy to set up, reduces security screening costs and avoids invading privacy such as when screeners open and inspect bags, backpacks and luggage. Traditional screening typically requires high staffing levels and costly specialized equipment. “This could have a great impact in protecting the public from dangerous objects,” said...

Good Catch Foods, the Pennsylvania-based startup which makes seafood out of plants, closed an $8.7 million Series A funding round yesterday. This ups their Series A from the $5.5 million the company announced in April. The round was led by New Crop Capital with participation from Stray Dog Capital, the PHW Group, Blue Horizon, and others. Founded in 2016, Good Catch Foods is developing plant-based alternatives to shredded tuna, crab cakes, and fish patties. They’re aiming to bring their fish-free tuna, which comes in three flavors and has roughly half the protein of “real” tuna, to market by 2019. According...

A California jury on Friday found Monsanto liable in a lawsuit filed by a man who alleged the company’s glyphosate-based weed-killers, including Roundup, caused him cancer and ordered the company to pay $289 million in damages. The case of school groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson was the first lawsuit alleging glyphosate causes cancer to go to trial. Monsanto, a unit of Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) following a $62.5 billion acquisition by the German conglomerate, faces more than 5,000 similar lawsuits across the United States. The jury at San Francisco’s Superior Court of California deliberated for three days before finding that Monsanto had failed...

Eating a lot of hot dogs, beef jerky, salami and other processed meats could do more than just add a few extra pounds — it could cause a serious mental condition called mania. That’s according to a new study from scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine published July 18 (National Hot Dog Day) in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. The study found a link between consumption of nitrates, which are chemicals used to cure and process meat snacks, and episodes of mania, “a serious neuropsychiatric condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality.” Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article215089580.html#storylink=cpy

In June, a California groundskeeper will make history by taking company to trial on claims it suppressed harm of RoundupAt the age of 46, DeWayne Johnson is not ready to die. But with cancer spread through most of his body, doctors say he probably has just months to live. Now Johnson, a husband and father of three in ( California), hopes to survive long enough to make Monsanto take the blame for his fate. On 18 June, Johnson will become the first person to take ( the global seed and chemical company) to trial on allegations that it has spent...