The Daily Beast – by Nancy A Youssef

Iraqi militias who once fought ISIS with U.S. help are now working with Russian and Iranian forces to crush American-backed rebels in the strategic Syrian city of Aleppo, two defense officials have told The Daily Beast.

At least three Shia militias involved in successful battles against ISIS in Iraq—the Badr Brigade, Kata’ib Hezbollah, and the League of the Righteous—have acknowledged taking casualties in fighting in south and southeast Aleppo province. U.S. defense officials confirmed to The Daily Beast that they believe “at least one” unit of the Badr Brigade is fighting in southern Aleppo alongside other Iraqi militia groups. Those groups are backed by Russian airpower and Iranian troops—and all of whom are bolstering President Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian Arab Army.nn

Continue reading “U.S. Allies Now Fighting CIA-Backed Rebels”

ABC 12

FLINT (WJRT) – (2/9/16) – At just a year-and-a-half old, Fire Engine 61 is the newest in the Flint Fire Department’s fleet, but look a little closer and you’ll see it…

“The intake valve, we see rust around it. We also have rubber that seals [the valve]. Those are being destroyed by whatever is in the water,” said Fire Chief David Cox Jr.   Continue reading “Flint Fire Chief: Water damaging fire engine water pumps”

The New American – by Alex Newman

Big Brother wants to be an “equal partner” with American parents in the raising of their own children, starting before they are even born. He wants to send his agents to your house for “home visits,” too. Believe it or not, two powerful arms of Obama administration, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), explicitly say so themselves.

In a draft policy statement on “family engagement,” the two unconstitutional bureaucracies openly state their joint position: families are “equal partners” in everything from children’s “development” and “education” to their “wellness across all settings.” Virtually no area of family life, including the health and “mental health” of parents, as well as a family’s “attitudes” and even its “housing,” would be free from government intrusion under the government’s Orwellian vision. Even vague notions of “family wellness,” as defined by bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., would be put under a government microscope. “Parenting interventions” will be used to ensure compliance.      Continue reading “Feds Seek Home Visits, Calling Parents “Equal Partners””

Tech Dirt – by Tim Cushing

All in all, this motion to suppress evidence worked out for the plaintiff, but it does little to address concerns that drug dogs are basically blank permission slips for inquisitive cops.

The defendant — Emile Martin — was in a vehicle driven by another person (simply referred to as “Montgomery” in the opinion). This vehicle crossed the centerline multiple times and was pulled over by Deputy Brandon Williams. The driver could not produce registration or proof of insurance, which led to the issuance of a citation… eventually. But the citation process was unnecessarily prolonged to provide the deputy with a chance to have a K9 unit brought in to sniff the car for drugs. Continue reading “Drug Dogs Don’t Even Have To Be Right Half The Time To Be Considered ‘Reliable’ By The Courts”

Washington’s Blog – by David Swanson

U.S. military recruiters are teaching in public school classrooms, making presentations at school career days, coordinating with JROTC units in high schools and middle schools, volunteering as sports coaches and tutors and lunch buddies in high, middle, and elementary schools, showing up in humvees with $9,000 stereos, bringing fifth-graders to military bases for hands-on science instruction, and generally pursuing what they call “total market penetration” and “school ownership.”   Continue reading “How to Counter Recruitment and De-Militarize Schools”

Pacific Justice

San Diego, CA–Just in time for President’s Day, the City of San Diego is warning its employees that even mentioning the Founding Fathers could get them in trouble.

That’s one of many startling conclusions reached by a new manual the city has issued for written and oral communication by its employees. In a section on “Bias-Free Language,” the City instructs workers to eliminate from their vocabulary a number of words and phrases considered gender biased, including “the common man,” “manmade,” “man up” and many others. As one example, the guidelines note that “founding fathers” is also problematic and should be replaced with “founders.”   Continue reading “San Diego Tells Staff Not to Mention Founding Fathers”

Union Leader – by Kimberly Houghton

NASHUA — School officials are expecting more students to participate in the district’s English Language Learners program next year, prompting a request to hire an additional teacher.

“The reality is, this is the fastest-growing segment of the population within American schools today,” Superintendent Mark Conrad told the Nashua Board of Education’s budget committee recently.   Continue reading “English as a second language program expected to increase in Nashua”

Washington’s Blog

The government is already spying on us through spying on us through our computers, phones, cars, buses, streetlights, at airports and on the street, via mobile scanners and drones, through our credit cards and smart meters (update), television, doll, and in many other ways.

Spying in the U.S. is worse than under Nazi Germany, the Stasi, J. Edgar Hoover … or Orwell’s 1984.   Continue reading “The Whole POINT of the Internet of Things Is So Big Brother Can Spy On You”

RT

The prosecutor’s office in Berrien County, Michigan, has released a highly dramatic dashcam video from a police cruiser that hit a female pedestrian crossing the street. The police car was speeding, and had neither lights nor siren activated, witnesses said.

“I need an emergency unit to my location. I think I hit a person,” Benton Township patrol officer Eugene Anderson informs radio dispatchers on the video just moments after the sound of smashing glass and a loud bang is heard as his police cruiser hits a woman.   Continue reading “‘I think I hit a person’: Speeding US patrol officer in dashcam video”

The Newspaper

The Obama administration is looking to close down the automotive aftermarket. Tucked deep within a proposed rulemaking governing diesel truck engines, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) introduced language that would prohibit any changes to an automobile’s engine or exhaust after it leaves the factory. The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) raised the alarm Monday after discovering the hidden provision.   Continue reading “EPA Rule To Ban Car Modification”

AlterNet – by Sarah Lazare

Over the past year and a half, the United States and other military coalition members have launched nearly 10,000 strikes in Iraq and Syria.

Zooming out, the United States military has spent nearly the entire 21st century engaged in an amorphous war on terrorism, in which the whole world is a potential battlefield, from Yemen to Somalia to the now-expanding war in Afghanistan. Lurking beneath the surface of the seemingly endless series of military campaigns is the contradictory U.S. historical legacy of direct support for some of the very extremist combatants the war on terror is allegedly predicated on fighting.   Continue reading “Major Investigation Reveals Disturbing Connection Between U.S. Intelligence and Al Qaeda Since 9/11”

HSLDA

What should you do if a local portfolio reviewer asks you to bring your child with you to an annual homeschool portfolio review? The best answer for almost everyone is, “no thank you.” Here’s why.

The homeschool regulation COMAR 13A.10.01.01.E which says a parent “shall agree to permit” a portfolio reviewer to “observe instruction” is unconstitutional. The Fourth Amendment prohibits government agents from coming into your home without a warrant. A portfolio reviewer who might seek to come into your home (where instruction normally occurs) would have no warrant. Nor would she have grounds for a warrant. Forcing you to allow a government agent into your home to observe instruction violates your Fourth Amendment rights.   Continue reading “Protect Your Right to Keep Kids Home during Portfolio Review”

Huffington Post – by Christian Farias

A federal appeals court on Monday ruled it is not unconstitutional for law enforcement to set up a camera on a public utility pole and record a suspect’s moves for 10 weeks straight.

Such warrantless recording is permitted, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit said, because people have “no reasonable expectation of privacy in video footage recorded by a camera that was located on top of a public utility pole and that captured the same views enjoyed by passersby on public roads.”  Continue reading “Cops Recording Your Every Move For 10 Weeks Doesn’t Violate The Constitution”

Activist Post – by Brandon Turbeville

For years, many in the alternative media have been warning that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), complete with its grope downs and naked body scanners, will eventually be expanded from airports and begin conducting operations on the “streets” of America.

These warnings generally suggested that the TSA would first be conducting operations like bag checks in non-transportation-related areas such as sporting events, concerts, and theaters and, eventually, be expanded even further.   Continue reading “TSA Conducting “Bag Checks” At Donald Trump Event”

News 4 San Antonio – by Michael Locklear

SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Observer said Sunday it has no plans to publish the names and addresses of every police officer in the city. The clarification followed an announcement a day earlier that drew criticism from across the country.

Stephanie Zarriello, the publisher and editor-in-chief of the weekly tabloid, said Saturday that the staff of the Observer “are looking into the future prospects of publicizing the names and the addresses of all San Antonio Police Department officers in order to protect our community.”   Continue reading “SA tabloid publisher: No plans to print police officers’ names, addresses”

MuckRock – by Beryl Lipton

In the beginning, private prisons seemed almost natural.

A private prison is one run, and typically owned, by the private sector – ideally, for the operator, at a profit. By the time the idea was under consideration by the United States Department of Justice, correctional bits and pieces were already being run privately.   Continue reading “The Private Prison Primer: How is this even legal?”