Common Dreams – by Sarah Lazare

Amid an escalation of fighting in war-torn Iraq, the Obama administration announced Monday it will accelerate the shipment of Hellfire missiles and surveillance drones to the Nuri al-Maliki regime, a move critics charge will only worsen the cycles of violence set in motion by the U.S. invasion.

“The last thing Iraq needs right now is more weapons,” said Phyllis Bennis, senior fellow at Institute for Policy Studies, in an interview with Common Dreams.   Continue reading “US Rushes Weapons to Iraq Crisis It Unleashed”

haz suitsBen Swann – by Joshua Cook

Last summer, the Clerk of Court in Franklin County, N.C., Patricia Chastain discovered documents dating back to 1840 in their courthouse basement. After organizing a project with the local historical society to reserve these valuable documents, the government intervened. And now the documents have been destroyed. Lost forever.

Some records were ruined by the mold, but most were completely viable.   Continue reading “Government seizes and destroys 160-year-old historical documents; genealogists and historians are outraged”

Blacklisted News – by Lee Rogers

In the midst of the holiday season Congress decided to pass the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 or NDAA.  The bill was later signed into law by President Obama with little if any fanfare.  When this happened much of the corporate media was focusing in on invented news stories like the Duck Dynasty garbage.  What’s really sad is that it is doubtful that many members of Congress have even read the bill at all.  If they did in fact read it and voted for it knowing what was in it than there is little doubt that they have violated their oath of office and should be held accountable.  The NDAA contains a number of highly questionable sections that run contrary to the principles articulated in the United States Constitution.  Specifically, language contained in the bill appears to authorize cyber warfare operations against the American people.   Continue reading “National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 Authorizes Cyber Warfare against American Citizens”

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Breitbart – by MANUEL VALDES, AP

A former community college professor who won a surprising citywide election was sworn in Monday as the first socialist City Council member in Seattle’s modern history.

Kshama Sawant of the Socialist Alternative party took her oath and served in her first hearing, then gave a speech to throngs of supporters in a ceremonial swearing-in at a packed City Hall.   Continue reading “Socialist Sworn in as Seattle City Council Member”

Gun Owners of America

GOA prepares legislation to block implementation

In a “Friday media dump” designed to conceal its actions by releasing them after the press has left town, the Obama administration last week announced its intention to push two regulations which would massively expand the federal gun bans imposed on Americans.

“SEE A SHRINK; LOSE YOUR GUNS”   Continue reading “Obama Proposes Massive Gun Ban by Regulation Fiat”

This undated photo provided by Kentucky Department of Corrections, Robert Vick is shown. Authorities say Vick, an inmate, escaped from a minimum security facility in Lexington on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014. As temperatures dropped into the low single digits Monday, they say he walked into a motel and asked the clerk to call police. Lexington police spokeswoman Sherelle Roberts says 42-year-old Vick of Hartford told the clerk he wanted to turn himself in and escape the arctic air. Roberts says Vick was checked out by paramedics and returned to Blackburn Correctional Complex. Wind chill readings were 20 below zero Monday in Lexington. (AP Photo/Kentucky Department of Corrections)Yahoo News

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Just how cold is it in Kentucky? Apparently cold enough for an escaped prisoner to decide to turn himself in.

Authorities said the inmate escaped from a minimum security facility in Lexington on Sunday. As temperatures dropped into the low single digits Monday, officials say the man walked into a motel and asked the clerk to call police.   Continue reading “Police: In cold, escaped inmate turns himself in”

Photo Courtesy of Jesus GomezStoryLeak – by Mikael Thalen

Following continued news of disturbing sea life occurrences off the West Coast, scientists in Mexico’s Scammon’s Lagoon, also known as Laguna Ojo de Liebre, have discovered what appears to be the first ever documented case of conjoined gray whale calves.

Discovered last Sunday, the calves, which did not survive, measured in just under seven feet long, much smaller than the average newborn length of 12 to 16 feet.   Continue reading “Scientists Discover Conjoined Gray Whale Calves Dying Near West Coast”

Utah gunmaker turns down $15 million from PakistanThe Daily Caller – by Christopher Bedford

A gunmaker based in Utah turned down $15 million last week, refusing to sell high-precision sniper rifles to Pakistan for fear that U.S. troops could end up in their firearms’ sites.

“We don’t know that those guns would’ve went somewhere bad, but with the unrest we just ended up not feeling right about it,” Desert Tech sales manager Mike Davis told KTVX-TV.   Continue reading “Utah gunmaker turns down $15 million from Pakistan”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Workers at a tire plant in Northern France have taken two managers hostage until Goodyear (the firm that owns the plant and has been trying to shutter it for years) meets the mabor unions demands. WSJ reports, as Goodyear winds down operations with the plant almost idle, French labor law requires the company to keep all workers employed, which means many of them don’t work more than a couple of hours a day while still getting full salary. The situation is why Titan International’s Maurice Taylor blasted that he “would be stupid” to operate the plant on that basis.   Continue reading “Angry French Union Workers Take Two Bosses Hostage”

TSA guns 1.jpgFox News – by Perry Chiaramonte

The TSA confiscated 20 percent more guns at airports in 2013, with the Atlanta airport having the most seizures at 110, according to a new report.

An average of five guns per day was seized in airports across the nation last year according to the report by the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative. Some 1,828 were confiscated in all, making it the third straight year of an increase in confiscations. Last year also marked the largest increase to date, with a 20 percent jump.   Continue reading “TSA confiscated 20 percent more guns in 2013, findings show”

Photo credit: Tom GillFlavorwire- by Tom Hawking 

As you’ve undoubtedly read unless you’ve been under a rock (or in Florida) for the last few days, this week it’s going to be insanely cold across the US. Here in NYC it’ll be well below freezing tomorrow, but still a whole lot warmer than it’ll be in places like Minnesota and North Dakota, where it’s apparently going to be something like -50ºF. It’s a serious business, but if nothing else, winter landscapes provide stark and occasionally otherworldly beauty. As such, it seems like a good time to present these crazy photos of frozen lighthouses on Lake Michigan (which, incidentally, is steaming this morning.) They’re the work of photographers Thomas Zakowski and Tom Gill, and come courtesy of BoredPanda.   Continue reading “Spectacular Photos of Frozen Lighthouses on Lake Michigan”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Some may have forgotten, or not be aware, that the Federal Reserve system has its own police force. Well, it does: “The U.S. Federal Reserve Police is the law enforcement arm of the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States…. Officers are certified to carry a variety of weapons systems (depending on assignment) including semi-automatic pistols, assault rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, less-lethal weapons, pepper spray, batons and other standard police equipment. Officers also wear bullet resistant vests/body armor. On October 12, 2010 President Barack Obama signed into law S.B. 1132 the “Law Enforcement Officers’ Safety Act Improvements Act”, which states that law enforcement officers of the Federal Reserve are “qualified law enforcement officers” and thus are authorized to carry a firearm off-duty.”   Continue reading “The Federal Reserve Is Hiring: Lots Of Cops”

Forbes – by Brian Soloman

On Monday afternoon, the Senate confirmed Janet Yellen, 67, as new chairperson of the Federal Reserve — the first woman to take over the top spot in the 100-year history of the U.S. central bank, or any major central bank.

Second to Ben Bernanke since 2010, Yellen was Barack Obama’s pick for the Fed Chair. “Too many Americans still can’t find a job and worry how they’ll pay their bills and provide for their families,” she said at her White House nomination. “The Federal Reserve can help if it does its job effectively.”   Continue reading “She’s Confirmed: Janet Yellen Is First Woman Federal Reserve Chair”

Buzz Feed – by Jon Passantino

Chicago’s strictest-in-the-nation law banning gun sales within the city is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Monday, saying the ban went “too far.”

The judge delayed the effect of the ruling to give the city time to file a response to the decision, Bloomberg reported.   Continue reading “Chicago’s Ban On Gun Sales Ruled Unconstitutional By Federal Judge”

The Verge – by Russell Brandom

The Federal Bureau of Investigation may have bigger things to worry about than law enforcement. Foreign Policy is reporting a change in the bureau’s latest fact sheet, in which the agency’s primary mission has changed from “law enforcement” to “national security.” It’s in keeping with the bureau’s post-9/11 duties as the nation’s primary domestic counterterrorism agency, but the timing has many FBI-watchers scratching their heads. What’s changed in the last year to make the bureau shift away from law enforcement?   Continue reading “The FBI drops ‘law enforcement’ from its mission statement”

Loved ones say they called police for help and officers shot Keith Vidal.WECT 6 News

BOILING SPRING LAKES, NC (WECT) – Emergency crews responded to the scene of an officer involved shooting at a home in Boiling Spring Lakes Sunday afternoon.

The State Bureau of Investigation has been called to the incident at the request of District Attorney Jon David, according to a spokesperson for the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office. She said sheriff’s deputies were assisting BSL police with the initial response to a home on President Drive.   Continue reading “Family says officers shot and killed son”