From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
Sovereign Man – by Simon Black
Last week, in a very, very quiet release, the US Federal Court system published its annual Wiretap report to Congress.
This is something that is required by law; the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO) must annually report the number of federal and state applications for court orders to “intercept wire, oral, or electronic communications.” Continue reading “Average cost per ‘official’ wiretap in the United States: $50,452”
If you are a billionaire former Goldman Sachs CEO, ex-governor, and one of Obama’s biggest donors and steal $1.2 billion directly from the accounts of your customers and cover-up that theft, then you are not a criminal. If you reveal the un-Constitutional spying on all American citizens by the government, you are a traitor and face life imprisonment. This is your American Republic in a nutshell. Anyone that doesn’t believe we are a corporate fascist oligarchy run by the ultra-wealthy for the benefit of the ultra-wealthy, just isn’t thinking. And the beat goes on. Continue reading “Jon Corzine will not face criminal charges over MF Global: report”
The nation’s top special operations commander ordered military files about the Navy SEAL raid on Usama bin Laden’s hideout to be purged from Defense Department computers and sent to the CIA, where they could be more easily shielded from ever being made public.
The secret move, described briefly in a draft report by the Pentagon’s inspector general, set off no alarms within the Obama administration even though it appears to have sidestepped federal rules and perhaps also the Freedom of Information Act. Continue reading “Bin Laden raid files reportedly purged from Pentagon computers, sent to CIA”
Unemployment benefits took a sizable hit when the sequester federal spending kicked in on July 1. The 11.7 million Americans still unemployed are seeing a cut in their unemployment benefits, with some states feeling it more than others, according to “Fox and Friends” live on Monday, July 8, 2013.
CNBC reports that other business have seen this sequester trickle in, but the unemployed will perhaps feel the first big “jolt” as their wallets are going to be a bit lighter when their benefits are doled out this month. Continue reading “Unemployment benefits cut big time by sequester: Wallets of unemployed hit hard”
Washington’s Blog – by Carl Herman
(Satire): President Obama announced at a White House press conference today that a national video game contest would produce 100 US child winners to become Air Force “guest pilots” to kill real terrorists with Hellfire missiles from MQ-9 Reaper drones. Press conference excerpts:
President Obama: At our last press conference, we celebrated America’s 30 millionth war kill since WW2, moving past Hitler’s Nazis to #3 on the all-time kill list by governments (press members applaud). We said we’d put Abdul Al-Awlaki’s picture on Hellfire missiles for a “special occasion,” and here it is: we’re awarding 100 young Americans a 2-week terrorist-killing spree, with their families, just outside Las Vegas at Creech Air Force Base to remotely fly Reaper drones on real combat missions (“Ooh, ahh!” from press). Continue reading “Obama launches video game contest: 100 child winners to drone-kill real terrorists”
End of American Dream – by Michael Snyder
Did you know that the U.S. government considers the U.S. border to be a “constitution-free zone”? Did you know that customs officials can take your computer away from you, keep it for 30 days or more, and make a copy of everything that is on your hard drive? Sadly, this is actually true. According to the government, when you choose to cross the U.S. border you temporarily give up your constitutional rights. They can look at anything on your computer that they want to, and if they find anything that violates any law, they can use it against you in court. You may think twice about taking your computer out of the country after you read the rest of this article. Continue reading “The U.S. Border: A Constitution-Free Zone Where Officials Can Grab Your Computer And Copy Your Hard Drive”
When Customs and Border Protection (CPB) first got its drones, the rationale for the acquisition was that the unmanned aircraft would help improve monitoring and surveillance along the U.S.-Mexico border.
But now, CPB may be thinking about arming its Predator drones with “non-lethal weapons.” Continue reading “Border Patrol Set to Weaponize Drones”
As a junior U.S. senator from Illinois, Barack Obama used his brief career to essentially snipe at President Bush and others in his administration over what he believed were a series of legal and constitutional abuses.
Most ironically Obama, in 2006, blasted Bush over his approval of warrantless domestic spying by the National Security Agency – spying that has not only continued since then but which was expanded exponentially under Obama. Then as now, both presidents claim authority to do so as commander-in-chief, in defense of the country, and under provisions of the USA Patriot Act. Continue reading “Top 20 Obama scandals: The list”
KLAS-TV Las Vegas – July 05, 2013 8:30 AM PDT
LAS VEGAS — A neighborhood on the westside of the valley has been on lockdown since 10 p.m. Thursday.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department tells 8 News NOW that someone was firing gunshots into the air Thursday night on the 6200 block of Ilanos near Lake Mead Boulevard and Torrey Pines Drive. That person was arrested but the gun was not found. Continue reading “Las Vegas Neighborhood on Lockdown After Shots Fired”
MIT Technology Review – The Physics arXiv Blog
Analysts believe that insurgents in Afghanistan form similar networks to street gangs in the US. So the software for analyzing these networks abroad ought to work just as well at home, say military researchers.
In the last 10 years or so, researchers have revolutionized the way military analysts think about insurgency and the groups of people involved in it. Their key insight is that insurgency tends to run in families and in social networks that are held together by common beliefs. Continue reading “How Military Counterinsurgency Software Is Being Adapted To Tackle Gang Violence in Mainland USA”
Egypt’s Support for Intervention in Syria Was the Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back
The protests in Egypt against president Mohammed Morsi were – according to the BBC – the largest in history. Continue reading “What REALLY Caused the Coup Against the Egyptian President”
A woman in Toledo has fallen in a sinkhole in central Toledo at 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday. The hole in the ground opened up near Bancroft Street.
According to the Toledo Blade, the 10-foot (3-meter) deep sinkhole on North Detroit Avenue was formed because of a collapse in the storm and sewage system. Continue reading “Toledo Sinkhole Accident: Woman’s Car Swallowed, Driver Escapes Uninjured”
Huffington Post – by Amanda Terkel
WASHINGTON — Expect fewer patriotic displays this July 4, thanks to federal budget cuts.
Around the country, military bases are extinguishing fireworks displays and towns are canceling appearances by military bands due to sequestration’s $85 billion in across-the-board spending reductions. Continue reading “Happy July 4! Sequestration Cancels Celebrations Nationwide”
The Burning Platform 
Fox News 
Examiner – by Roz Zurko
All Gov – by Noel Brinkerhoff
Natural News – by J. D. Heyes
Washington’s Blog
Softpedia