Ray Kelly to join Council on Foreign RelationsSalon – by ELIAS ISQUITH

Ray Kelly is soon to leave his post as NYPD commissioner, but that doesn’t mean he’ll fade from the public eye. Not only is he planning to soon cash-in on the public speaking circuit, but according to a release from the venerable think tank, the Council on Foreign Relations will soon add Kelly to its roster of thought leaders, bestowing Kelly with the title of distinguished visiting fellow.  Continue reading “Ray Kelly to join Council on Foreign Relations”

nvcw.jpgFox News – by Stephanie McNeal

When budget woes reduced the sheriff’s department in one rural Oregon county to a bare-bones force, residents decided to take matters into their own hands — creating armed patrol groups in defiance of local officials.

Their decision has raised safety concerns with the county government, which would prefer residents instead hike their own taxes to fund the hiring of trained deputies. But despite the risks, the move stands as a unique, some would say innovative, response to one of the country’s most severe local budget crunches.    Continue reading “Citizens take law into own hands after cash-strapped Ore. county guts sheriff’s office”

AZ Central – by Dennis Wagner

A federal agent who exposed the Justice Department’s flawed gun-trafficking investigation known as Operation Fast and Furious says the FBI played a key role in events leading to the 2010 murder near Nogales, Ariz., of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

John Dodson, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, contends that the bandits who killed Terry were working for FBI operatives and were sent to the border to do a drug rip-off using intelligence from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.   Continue reading “Agent: FBI key in border agent Terry slaying”

Harvest Moon

This is a proposal of how Atheism has become a religion.  I am speaking of a specific kind of atheist, not a buddhist atheist, but an atheist who has faith in science, the scientific method, and worships these entities.  Simply being an Atheist does not make one a religious-atheist according to this proposal.

Some religions have worshiped statues and objects as their god. I am proposing Atheism is not impervious to Idolatry.   Continue reading “Atheism As A Religion”

US army soldiers stand guard as a US army aircraft remains on the runway awaiting the arrival of American nationals who are being evacuated due to recent unrest and violence in South Sudan, on December 21, 2013, in Juba. (AFP Photo / Samir Bol)RT News

A small team of US Marines was deployed to Uganda on Tuesday to prepare for more evacuations of Americans from the escalating turmoil in South Sudan.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Steven Warren said a “platoon-sized” team of Marines and a C-130 aircraft would be detached from a deployment in Djibouti to travel to Entebbe, Uganda, AFP reported.   Continue reading “US sends Marines to Uganda to aid South Sudan evacuations”

All Gov – by Noel Brinkerhoff

Even after months of stories exposing the breadth and depth of National Security Agency (NSA) spying on Americans’ communications, the Obama administration insists federal courts should stop hearing cases challenging the agency’s warrantless surveillance on grounds that they might expose the existence of this spying.

Last week, federal lawyers asked a judge, Jeffrey S. White, in Northern California to dismiss cases that could lead to a ruling on the constitutionality of warrantless surveillance programs authorized during the George W. Bush administration.   Continue reading “Obama Administration Tries to Stop Courts from Ruling on Constitutionality of Warrantless Spying”

Observation Deck IO9

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a movement permit to S. Claus to “allow reindeer to enter and exit the United States between the hours of 6 PM December 24, 2013 and 6 AM December 25, 2013, through or over any northern border port.”

Since this is a government agency, things are not quite that simple:   Continue reading “USDA allows Santa’s reindeer to enter the country”

South sudan army offensive rebelsGlobal Post

As South Sudan’s army signaled Monday that it was poised for a major offensive against rebel forces, the leaders of both sides said they were ready to talk.

President Salva Kiir told US special envoy Donald Booth that he was ready for talks with rival Riek Machar “without preconditions.”   Continue reading “South Sudan president and rebel leader signal willingness to talk”

CNN – by Holly Yan

(CNN) — A compounding pharmacy at the center of a fungal meningitis outbreak last year has agreed to a preliminary settlement that would create a $100 million fund for victims.

The fund will also be used to pay off creditors of the bankrupt New England Compounding Center, attorneys in the case said. A judge will have to approve the plan before it goes into effect.   Continue reading “Pharmacy owners agree to $100 million settlement after meningitis outbreak”

The Motley Fool – by Bob Ciura

The United States becoming a net exporter of natural gas is an idea that seemed virtually impossible just a few years ago. The increase in domestic natural gas production has been dramatic, thanks to technological developments that have made previously untapped resources suddenly viable. Due to new ‘fracking’ technologies, the vast ocean of natural gas the United States is currently sitting on may hold the keys to our national energy independence.   Continue reading “Natural Gas Storage Tanks are Drying Up With Exports on the Horizon”

FILE - In this Tuesday, June 2, 2009 file photo, former South African President Nelson Mandela reacts at the Mandela foundation, in Johannesburg, South Africa, during a meeting with a group of American and South African students as part of a series of activities leading to Mandela Day on July 18th. Israel's state archive has published a 50-year-old letter stating that the Mossad spy service unwittingly offered paramilitary training to a young Nelson Mandela in 1962, and released a number of other documents showing a tense relationship between the Jewish state and apartheid-era South Africa. The release of the documents in the wake of Mandela’s death appear to be aimed at blunting criticism of Israel's close alliance with South Africa's apartheid rulers. (AP Photo/Theana Calitz-Bilt, Pool, File)Yahoo News – by JOSEF FEDERMAN

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s state archives has published a 50-year-old letter from the Mossad spy agency claiming it unknowingly offered paramilitary training to a young Nelson Mandela, along with documents illustrating the Jewish state’s sympathy for the anti-apartheid struggle in the 1960s.

The release of the documents on the archives’ website in the wake of Mandela’s death appear to be aimed at blunting criticism of the close alliance Israel later developed with South Africa’s apartheid rulers.   Continue reading “Document: Israeli Mossad trained Mandela”

Homeland Security News Wire

Last Friday, Mississippi joined forty other states and announced it would comply with the REAL ID Act, according to the U.S.Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Coalition For A Secure Driver License(CSDL). Forty-one states and territories are fully or partially compliant withREAL ID – of which twenty states are fully compliant.

The Examiner reports that the deadline for other states to adopt the measure has been postponed until 2016.   Continue reading “Mississippi to comply with REAL ID”

imagePoor Richard’s News

President Obama wants you to know that he’s just like you! He signed up for health insurance, just like he’s forcing you to do. The only difference that while the little people are stuck getting error messages on the Obamacare website or getting the runaround by a navigator on the phone, Obama is on vacation while his staffers work to enroll him in a “symbolic” plan that he won’t even use.   Continue reading “Privilege: Obama vacations as staffers bypass Obamacare site to enroll him in “symbolic” insurance”

People take shelter Sunday at a makeshift camp at a U.N. compound in Juba, SouthSudan.CNN – by Marie-Louise Gumuchian. Barbara Starr and Antonia Mortensen

(CNN) — About 150 U.S. Marines are poised to enter turbulent South Sudan to help evacuate Americans and provide security for the U.S. Embassy, two U.S. military officials said Monday.

The troops are moving from Spain to Africa, probably to the nation of Djibouti, the officials told CNN’s Barbara Starr on Monday.   Continue reading “U.S. Marines poised to enter South Sudan”