Seemorerocks: Global headlines

## Got food? ##
Florida grapefruit growers make bold move to help save industry
Florida grapefruit growers are trying to help preserve the industry with new plantings, taking a bold step in the face of disease and storms that continue to decimate their groves.

Banana republic: Israel faces killer fungus that can destroy the crop nationwide

Drought, saltwater intrusion loom in the Mekong Delta

Flour Recall 2019: Another Flour Recall Issued For E. Coli Contamination

## Environment/health ##
104 pieces of plastic found in baby sea turtle that washed ashore in Florida

Bayer says Oct. U.S. glyphosate trial delayed until further notice

Florida is in for more dead corals, sea rise and floods, says new UN climate report

September 4th month in a row to break or tie global heat records

STD rates in U.S. reached all-time high in 2018, CDC says

## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##
China’s surveillance tech is spreading globally, raising concerns about Beijing’s influence

I suspect that Western competitors are more concerned about losing market share. -- RF

Working With The Private Sector And Hundreds Of Law Enforcement Agencies, ICE Has Assembled A Massive Surveillance Network

Trump meddled in Ukraine, and he’s not alone

## Japan ##

Fertility crash: Japan's births headed below 900,000 this year
Japan to tighten screws on big acquisitions by Big Tech

3 workers sustain burns while inspecting maglev train

Average monthly wage in Japan continues to decline

SoftBank Damaged After WeWork Implosion, Losses Could Exceed $5 Billion

## China ##
Who Wins in China’s Great Central Asia Spending Spree?

Chinese Buy Gold In Volume In Holiday Week as Gold Jewellery Sales ‘Soar’

Meet the mainland Chinese who are living in fear in Hong Kong

China’s service sector growth slows to seven-month low in September, despite increase in new orders
U.S. widens blacklist to include China's top AI startups ahead of trade talks

China rejects Donald Trump’s call to investigate Democrat rival Joe Biden and son

## UK ##

UK economy starts to show cracks under Brexit and global strains
Britain’s economy is increasingly showing signs of strain as the Brexit crisis and the global slowdown intensify, with the loss of momentum appearing to spread to areas which have hitherto been sources of growth.
Parts of Cornwall which could be completely under water due to climate change

Extinction Rebellion: 280 arrested in central London protests

MI6 drive to recruit working class spies sees it named one of UK's best employers for social mobility

Trade department would lobby for government to accept Trump's demands for weaker food hygiene standards after Brexit, Whitehall memo says
Lowering food safety regulations to US standards would mean allowing sale of products containing rodent hair, animal faeces and maggots

Britain’s Secret Saudi Military Support Program
By mistake, the U.K. recently revealed the budget size of multibillion-pound program that it manages to support the royal family’s de facto protection force, which is also active in the devastating war in Yemen.

## US ##

Charleston coastal flooding reaches record in 2019 with 58 events so far this year

Banks increasingly unload flooded-out mortgages at taxpayer expense

Privatization of profits, socialization of losses. See following article. -- RF
What's Holding Up the Market?
The Fed's nearly free money for financiers policies in support of the Super-Rich do not exist in a vacuum--the disastrous consequences are already baked in.

U.S. economists wrestle with how to help 'left behind' areas

US Economy: Federal Reserve Reports $17.9 Billion Increase In Consumer Borrowing For August

Study: Up to $935B spent on healthcare in U.S. may be wasted

4 reasons the corporate pension is on its deathbed

GE to freeze pension plans for about 20,000 US employees in a bid to cut debt

The Relentless Road to Recession

Producer Price Inflation is Unexpectedly Negative, Huge Intermediate Declines

800,000 Californians may have power cut to help prevent wildfires

California Could Be 100 Years Late In Meeting 2050 Emissions Target

California heading to a majority renter state

Following the Greater Depression on eBay

Onward Christian Soldier: Imagining a Pence Presidency
Be warned, the Vice President's foreign policy positions invoke a messianism not seen since the Bush Administration.

And finally...

Pat Robertson: Trump could risk 'losing the mandate of heaven' with Syria decision

Homeowner finds naked man singing in kitchen, drinking milk