Link: https://www.rt.com/business/419840-russia-wheat-sold-half-world/

Food exports from Russia, dominated by wheat and fish, soared to a record $19 billion last year, according to the Russian Export Center. Shipments of Russian food have reportedly grown by 25 percent since 2012. The country also boosted exports of products such as sweets and sugar.

The country has managed to capture more than half of the wheat market in recent years, becoming the world’s biggest exporter of the grain, thanks to bumper harvests and attractive pricing. The exports are reportedly set to beat another record this season. Russia is expected to sell 36.6 million metric tons of wheat overseas, according to Moscow-based agriculture consultancy SovEcon and the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR).

Nearly half of the world’s nations purchase wheat from Russia, which has been improving yields year after year in an attempt to curb its dependence on agricultural imports. In 2014, Moscow barred purchases of some foods from Western exporters in retaliation for sanctions.

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/419816-su-57-syria-trial/

New details have emerged on the deployment of Russia’s most-advanced fighter jets to Syria. The state-of-the-art Su-57s are in the region to test their electronic warfare and radar capabilities. Last week, the Russian Defense Ministry reportedly moved four Su-57s, which have been built for trials, to Khmeimim Airbase in Syria. The deployment was seemingly confirmed by Israeli satellite images and footage taken from the ground, but neither the Russian military nor the producer of the advanced warplane would comment on the move.

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/419871-turkey-special-forces-afrin/

Ankara has sent police special forces units to the northern Syrian region of Afrin in anticipation of a new phase of its campaign against the Kurdish militias. It also says the UN-backed ceasefire does not affect its operation.

The special forces units crossed into Syrian territory from the southern Turkish provinces of Kilis and Hatay, local media reported.

Link: https://sputniknews.com/europe/201802251061986366-blast-rocks-leicester/

Six fire engines have been deployed to what police called a "major incident" in the city of Leicester, UK.

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue is reportedly treating the incident as search and rescue operation. Several media cited witnesses reports of a large explosion on Hinckley Road.

Leicestershire police later reported a "major accident" in the area, and that the roads had been closed. The police also asked people to avoid the area.

Medics reported that four people have been hospitalized in critical condition

Link: http://govtslaves.info/2018/02/african-countries-ban-secondhand-clothes-imports/

Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda have agreed to ban second-hand clothing, mostly imported from the US and UK, in order to support their own textile industries.

They hope local factories will create much-needed jobs and increase exports. The three countries are now facing threats of trade sanctions from the US who says the ban violates free-trade agreements.

Link: https://www.dailywire.com/news/27472/seattle-residents-complained-about-confederate-emily-zanotti

Over the weekend the Seattle Times jumped at a news tip: there was a Confederate flag flying beneath the American flag in the city's Greenwood neighborhood, and residents were very concerned.

Only, it turns out, it wasn't the Confederate flag at all. It was the state flag of Norway, a group of friendly Norwegians were just trying to show support for their Olympic Team when their very concerned neighbors contacted local media.

Link: https://www.dailywire.com/news/27440/what-percentage-mass-shootings-happen-gun-free-amanda-prestigiacomo?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=062316-podcast&utm_campaign=mattwalsh#

According to the Crime Prevention Research Center, "gun free zones" (areas where guns are prohibited) have been the target of more than 98% of all mass shootings. "According to the Crime Prevention Research Center, only a little more than 1% of mass public shootings since 1950 have occurred in places that were not considered to be a gun-free zone," only two mass shootings in the U.S. since 1950 have occurred in an area where citizens were not prohibited from carrying a gun."

Link: http://www.thedailysheeple.com/trumps-federal-reserve-pick-wants-to-put-metal-chips-in-cash-to-track-every-dollar-and-tax-it_022018

Marvin Goodfriend was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill one of the vacancies on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. He was then confirmed by the U.S. Senate Banking Committee to advance. Goodfriend’s idea was to insert magnetic strips into the bills. Each time the cash was returned to a bank, the money would be taxed at a pre-determined rate. That would discourage individuals from hoarding cash.

Link: https://www.rt.com/usa/419783-vegas-airport-weed-disposal/

Las Vegas airport introduced weed disposal boxes so tourists enjoying the state’s legal marijuana don’t smuggle drugs across the border. Nevada legalized recreational marijuana but, it’s still illegal under federal law, it isn’t okay to bring legally purchased weed across state lines. Under federal law, marijuana is classed as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, the same as heroin.

McCarran International Airport has installed 13 “marijuana amnesty drop boxes,” the Las Vegas Sun reports, so travelers can offload their stash before they go through security. Ten of the "Disposal for Prescription and Recreational Drugs” boxes are located outside the airport, and three are outside the McCarran Rent-a-Car. The green boxes are bolted to the ground and are designed in such a way that it’s impossible to put your hand in, meaning no one can collect some free ganja at the airport. It isn’t clear what happens to all the disposed drugs when the boxes are emptied. In Nevada, it’s legal to possess up to an ounce (28.34g) of marijuana and an eighth of an ounce of edible marijuana products

Link: https://www.rt.com/business/419158-switzerland-embraces-bitcoin-cryptocurrencies-ico/

While financial regulators across the world are cracking down on bitcoin, Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has decided to encourage digital currencies by issuing guidelines on initial coin offerings (ICOs).

According to the regulator, Switzerland has recently seen a sharp growth in the number of upcoming ICOs planned to be launched in the country, as well as numerous enquiries about cryptocurrency regulation. In an attempt to encourage the ICO market and blockchain technology, FINMA has clarified how standards around anti-money laundering and securities regulations could be applied to virtual currencies.

Link: https://www.rt.com/usa/419127-fbi-trump-russia-florida/

US President Trump has accused the FBI of being too obsessed with Russian interference to see the clues that could have prevented the recent mass shooting in a Florida school. Seventeen people died in Wednesday’s massacre. Trump: Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable. They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign - there is no collusion. Get back to the basics and make us all proud!

Link: https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/63774/fannie-mae-wants-another-taxpayer.html

Fannie Mae incurred a net loss of $6.5 billion in the final quarter of 2017 and announced Wednesday it is in desperate need of a taxpayer bailout.

Fannie Mae said Wednesday the Federal Housing Agency (FHA) is seeking a $3.7 billion infusion of taxpayer money from the U.S. Treasury to make up for the loss, which reportedly stemmed from the changes Republicans made to the corporate tax code.

Link: https://www.rt.com/politics/418739-communists-draft-nationalization-bill-in/

A group of Communist Party lawmakers is pushing for a nationalization drive in a bid to boost the Russian economy and strengthen national security.

In a draft document sent to the State Duma and published on the Russian parliament’s website on Wednesday, the group describes nationalization as a forced but compensated confiscation of private property. It says that turning assets over to the federal state would help meet public needs, increase the general effectiveness and social orientation of the national economy, and strengthen Russia’s national security and sovereignty. A group of Communist Party lawmakers is pushing for a nationalization drive in a bid to boost the Russian economy and strengthen national security. Assets that would be subject to nationalization include land plots, mineral deposits, forests, natural bodies of water, and enterprises in strategically important branches of the economy, such as energy, transport and heavy industry.

Link: https://medium.com/hult-business-school-draft/73-mind-blowing-implications-of-a-driverless-future-58d23d1f338d

Uber announced it ordered 24,000 self-driving Volvos. Tesla released an electric, long-haul tractor trailer with self-driving capabilities UPS preordered 125.. Google ordered thousands of Chryslers for its self-driving fleet already on the roads in AZ. Vehicles (being electric) will be able to provide portable power for a variety of purposes (which will also be sold as a service) — construction job sites (why use generators), disaster/power failures, events, etc. Traffic lights and signs will become obsolete. Demand for taxi and truck drivers will go down, eventually to zero. Cities will lose revenue from traffic tickets. Traditional petroleum products (and other fossil fuels) will become much less valuable as electric cars replace fuel powered vehicles. Movement of goods will become cheaper. Autonomous vehicles will create new jobs and opportunities off-set by job losses by nearly everyone in the transportation chain today.

Link: http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=57920

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said immigration is a "social bomb ready to explode" and pledged to deport 600,000 illegal immigrants after a Nigerian migrant brutally murdered an 18-year-old girl and triggered a retaliatory attack where six African migrants were shot and wounded should his centre-right coalition enter government after elections on 4 March

Rather than repeat platitudes about how "our diversity is our greatest strength," Berlusconi called for a return to sanity.

Link: http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=57934

Former president George W Bush said Thursday that America needs illegal immigrants to "pick cotton at 105 degrees," because Americans won't.

Bush was speaking at a summit in Abu Dhabi put on by the Milken Institute (founded by convicted felon and financier Michael Milken.)

As the Gateway Pundit notes, "Americans have not picked cotton by hand in decades."

It's performed by machines. Most menial jobs are being eliminated thanks to technological advancements.

Link: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/02/12/585130274/trump-administration-wants-to-decide-what-food-snap-recipients-will-get

The Trump administration is proposing a major shake-up in one of the country's most important "safety net" programs, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. Under the proposal, most SNAP recipients would lose much of their ability to choose the food they buy with their SNAP benefits.

The proposal is included in the Trump administration budget request for fiscal year 2019. It would require approval from Congress.

Under the proposal, low-income Americans who receive at least $90 a month — over 80 percent of all SNAP recipients — would get about half of their benefits in the form of a "USDA Foods package." The package was described in the budget as consisting of "shelf-stable milk, ready to eat cereals, pasta, peanut butter, beans and canned fruit and vegetables." The boxes would not include fresh fruits or vegetables.

Link: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-02-12/trump-proposal-end-food-stamps-sends-dollar-stores-tumbling

Shortly after 1pm ET, the shares of Dollar General and Dollar Tree tumbled after it was unveiled that President Donald Trump's budget was proposing to effectively abandon food stamps, slashing the program's traditional cash payments and substituting them with packages of "100% American grown food" for recipients. According to Bloomberg, this would represent "one of the biggest shakeups of the US food stamp program in its five decade history."

The reason why deep discount dollar chains were sold off on the news is because they are particularly vulnerable to changes in the food stamp program as they largely cater to less affluent shoppers

Link: https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/63705/woman-dragged-out-of-hearing-for-exposing-big-energy-donations.html

A candidate for the West Virginia House of Delegates was dragged out of a hearing after listing the donations received by state lawmakers from fossil fuel companies. She was testifying on a bill on oil and gas drilling rules.

Lissa Lucas was criticizing a proposed bill, HB 4268, which would allow oil and gas companies to drill on private land with the consent of just 75 percent of the landowners. Energy companies are currently required to have 100 percent approval from landowners before they can extract gas and minerals from land. As part of her testimony, she read out the list of names of lawmakers who received sizeable donations from fossil fuel companies.

Lucas was ordered by House Judiciary Committee members to desist from making “personal comments” about members. As Lucas persisted, her microphone was cut off.

Link: https://www.rt.com/politics/418544-internet-should-not-be-accessible/

Russian Communist Party MP and Nobel Prize-winner Zhores Alferov has urged restrictions on internet access, saying unlimited access to information can harm people’s morals and mental health.

“The internet must have limitations and it must not be available to everyone,” Alferov stated in a recent interview with Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily. He went on to explain that in his opinion the total lack of control and restrictions of the net can affect people’s behavior and damage publicly-accepted moral guidelines. Alferov is a world-renowned physicist, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics. He is also a State Duma MP representing the largest opposition party, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF).