EUROPE - The EU is preparing a new sanctions regime and wants to impose coercive measures on human rights violators - both presumed and real - throughout the world. It will be equivalent to two US sanctions laws Washington uses to penalize undesirable persons from Russia and other countries. Those listed under the US law can no longer travel to the United States and any assets they may have in the USA would be frozen. The EU foreign ministers have now instructed the European External Action Service to prepare a corresponding law for the EU, the 'European Magnitsky Act'. "This will be a tangible step reaffirming the EU's global lead on human rights," the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell declared. An EU diplomat was quoted saying that the aim is to show that "we have muscles." It is therefore an instrument of power draped in a humanitarian disguise.

USA - Politicians and media use “non linear” warfare to confuse the public. They propagate countless stories, many that conflict each other, making it impossible for the public to know what is real and what is true. Through this brand of psychological warfare the public is rendered helpless in creating change because they cannot pinpoint who the enemy is and what exactly is the problem.

USA - Coconut oil is nature’s richest source of lauric acid, long known to be a powerful antimicrobial. As a saturated fat, coconut oil is almost 50% lauric acid. Nature’s next most abundant source of lauric acid, human breast milk, comes in a distant second. For years now, research (primarily outside of the US) on coconut oil has focused on the use of lauric acid as an adjunct or replacement for antibiotic drugs that have lost their effectiveness due to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Fortunately for those of us living in the US, virgin coconut oil is now available in abundance.

EUROPE - Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party on their "victory" in the general election and outlined the next phases of the Brexit process. The President of the European Commission said the EU want their relationship with Britain to be "as close as possible" and said they were aiming for a "zero tariff, zero quota, zero dumping" arrangement. She revealed that the European Council has again tasked the European Commission to be the European Union's negotiator with Britain. Ursula von der Leyen also declared the European Union will be prepared from February 1 to "go to work" regarding the Brexit process.

EUROPE - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has issued a stark warning to Boris Johnson as EU negotiations revealed details of an “uncompromising” bullying approach to the trade talks next year. The European Union will unleash a flurry of red lines within the next month, as Brussels prepares to bully Boris Johnson into compromising on a trade deal during 2020. Boris Johnson’s thumping victory was initially greeted with statements of relief among EU leaders at a European summit yesterday. However, the well wishes did not last long as leaders like Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron revealed the hardline approach that Boris Johnson will have to deal with next year.

EUROPE - European leaders warned Friday that Britain could become a formidable rival, just hours after a big victory by Prime Minister Boris Johnson's conservatives all but sealed the UK's Brexit divorce. But the EU chiefs, meeting in Brussels, also expressed relief that British voters had sent a clear message, bringing to an end the first phase of a crisis that has dogged Europe for more than three years.

USA - House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (Democrat for California) on Tuesday indicated that Democrats must impeach President Trump quickly in order to stop him from prevailing in the 2020 presidential election. Democrats on Tuesday unveiled two articles of impeachment against the President: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Notably, neither allege a high crime or misdemeanor. Noticeably absent was the Democrats’ longheld appeal to bribery, extortion, or treason. Schiff briefly addressed critics who say that Democrats should simply wait for the American people to judge the president in the 2020 election. Democrats, Schiff suggested, cannot allow that, because it would essentially allow Trump to “cheat” in one more election. His remarks echo the Democrats’ longheld belief that the Trump campaign “colluded” with Russia in 2016, despite the fact that the Mueller report debunked the narrative, finding no evidence of collusion or conspiracy between the two.

USA - The House Judiciary Committee voted 23 to 17 along party lines on Friday to approve two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.

1.) Abuse of power

2.) Obstructing Congress

The Supreme Court granted the petition by President Trump’s legal team for a writ of certiorari. The high court confirmed it will hear cases related to the Democratic-controlled Congress’ attempts to gain the president’s financial records and tax filings.

USA - The trucking “bloodbath” of 2019 is taking another remarkably dire turn as the year draws to a close. Indianapolis-based Celadon, a truckload carrier that grossed $1 billion as recently as 2015, filed for bankruptcy on December 9. It’s poised to be the largest truckload bankruptcy in history, leading industry publication FreightWaves reported on Friday. While the Chapter 11 filing implies that Celadon will restructure, the company is in fact shuttered. “We have diligently explored all possible options to restructure Celadon and keep business operations ongoing. However, a number of legacy and market headwinds made this impossible to achieve,” CEO Paul Svindland said in a statement. Nearly 4,000 employees are suddenly jobless, weeks before the holidays.

USA - One might postulate that the United States is regularly supporting so-called allies whose very nature will eventually generate blowback that will do terrible damage to actual American interests. The recent example of the mass shooting at the Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida by Saudi Second Lieutenant Mohammed Alshamrani is illustrative. Alshamrani killed three American sailors while three other Saudi students filmed what was taking place, presumably for posting on social media. All of which means that the United States is training and arming people who just might turn their training and weapons against Washington if the al-Saud royal family cannot stay in power. The situation is somewhat comparable to that in Afghanistan, where so-called “green-on-blue” incidents in which Afghan army recruits kill their foreign trainers occur on a regular basis. The chief difference is that should the Saudi dissidents gain power, they would have a huge and much more lethally sophisticated arsenal to play around with.

GERMANY - Germany's new submarine is as stealthy as any nuclear-powered sub. The German Navy was a pioneer in large-scale submarine warfare, its U-boats able to contest the United Kingdom’s superior navy in ways that German surface warships could not. While modern-day Germany no longer has the ocean-spanning naval ambitions of its predecessors, it has become a global leader in designing small, stealthy submarines that can effectively patrol littoral waters at a fraction of the cost of nuclear-powered submarines.

RUSSIA - Earth enters unknown as magnetic north pole continues push toward Russia, crosses Greenwich Meridian. "The WMM2020 forecasts that the northern magnetic pole will continue drifting toward Russia, although at a slowly decreasing speed – down to about 40 km per year compared to the average speed of 55 km over the past twenty years,” the US agency said in a press statement. Scientists have previously expressed concerns about the fluctuations in the magnetic north pole and its possible impact on the magnetic field protecting Earth. Without the field, Earth would be left vulnerable to solar flares, which could cause damage to everything from spacecraft to power grids. Even with the magnetic field intact, the planet remains vulnerable. In 2011, the US National Academy of Sciences calculated that a repeat of a solar storm like the one which hit the planet in 1859 could cause as much as $2 trillion in initial damage, and take a decade to repair.

UK - Boris Johnson's colossal victory in the General Election was splashed over front pages across the world today as the Prime Minister's historic win cleared the way for Brexit. German tabloid Bild went with 'Landslide victory for Brexit Boris!', while Italy's La Repubblica summed up its reports with, 'Europa bye-bye,' and referenced the Tories' biggest win since Margaret Thatcher in 1987.

Others spoke of 'Hurricane Boris,' the Brexit 'earthquake' and a Tory 'avalanche.' Like the British press, the European papers were largely relying on the exit polls, but it became clear early on Thursday night that Mr Johnson was to deliver a thumping victory. The Conservatives have so far taken 364 seats, a gain of 47, while Labour sits on 203, a loss of 59. There is just one more seat left to declare its result.

EUROPE - "Finally, there is clarity," declares Germany's Die Zeit, under the headline "Winning power unscrupulously" and a picture of a triumphant Mr Johnson. "The United Kingdom and the EU should be relieved that the turmoil of a minority government and a parliamentary blockade are finally over. The past three years have brought democracy in the UK to the brink of its ability to function - and have strained the EU's patience," it says. "Economically, leaving the EU for the UK is of course still harmful. But that's not been the point for a long time. Most Britons have long known that they have been lied to."

UK - Ady Mowles, a remain-supporting debt collector with centre left politics who objected to Corbyn because of his supposed IRA links, said: Dozens and dozens of people I know who always voted Labour voted Conservative. I have a big feeling of acceptance. At last it’s been emphatic. This was the referendum. The last one was shrouded in mystery. People think they know a bit more now.

Brexit-supporting builder Martin Allpress said he voted Labour all his life, but abstained citing Corbyn’s “weakness”, antisemitism and a suspicion he would not have delivered Brexit. Labour’s appeal was also eviscerated by the Conservatives’ simple “Get Brexit Done” campaign message. A mere 100 people turning out for a Nigel Farage rally early in the campaign. Meanwhile bruised Labour voters awoke to a realisation their party’s social reform programme had been irrelevant.