Author: NC

New York Times – by KATRIN BENNHOLD

STEENOKKERZEEL, Belgium — For Kurt Ryon, the mayor of Steenokkerzeel, a Flemish village 10 miles northeast of Brussels, watching the Scottish independence campaign in the final days before the referendum is like watching a good soccer match. “They were losing for the first half and most of the second half,” he said, “but now we’re in the 85th minute and they could be winning.”

Mr. Ryon, who wants his native Flanders to split from Belgium, is rooting for Scotland to do the same from Britain, and like a faithful soccer fan he has all the gear: a T-shirt from the Scottish pro-independence “yes” campaign, a collection of “yes” pins on his denim jacket and copious amounts of a beer specially brewed by Flemish nationalists to express their solidarity. The label says “Ja!” next to a Scottish flag, Flemish for yes.   Continue reading “From Kurdistan to Texas, Scots Spur Separatists”

EAG News – by Kyle Olson

HERSHEY, Pa. – If Derry Township School District board member Andrea Abruzzo had her way, kids would celebrate their birthdays with carrots.

Abruzzo’s district is putting a greater emphasis on “non-food rewards,” including birthday treats.

To that end, Derry Township schools have banned cupcakes or “other snacks.”   Continue reading “School bans birthday cupcakes: ‘Bring carrots’”

Yahoo News – by Cathy Bussewitz

HONOLULU (AP) — The Honolulu City Council approved several measures Wednesday aimed at moving homeless people out of tourist hotspots in Hawaii, including one that bans sitting and lying down on sidewalks in the popular Waikiki area.

But a separate push to prevent homeless people from resting on sidewalks throughout the rest of the island failed.

The council has been under pressure from the tourism industry to act, with hotel representatives saying visitors complain often about safety and human waste.   Continue reading “Honolulu to move homeless people from tourist hubs”

News.AU

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has been forced to apologise for accidentally leaving behind a suitcase at Sydney Airport containing 230 grams of a plastic explosive after a dog training exercise.

The bomb had been hidden in an unclaimed suitcase during the training, which took place last month. It wasn’t live, according to a statement released on the AFP website.   Continue reading “AFP accidentally leaves explosives at Sydney airport, force to apologise to public”

Washington Post – by Pamela Constable

All summer, Central American children caught at the U.S.-Mexico border have been trickling into the Washington area, sent to live with relatives in Latino communities. Now, they are descending en masse on the region’s public schools, bringing an array of problems that school officials are scrambling to address.

Ripped from distant worlds, most of the new students speak no English, and some are psychologically scarred from abuse by gangs or smugglers. Reunited with parents or other relatives they barely know, and still grieving for family and friends back home, they may feel depressed and resentful.   Continue reading “Area schools scramble to meet the emotional needs of undocumented children”

Even Hollywood is feeling the massive unemployment sting. Seems extremely strange since the unemployment rate is only 6.1% (sarcasm)

Variety – by Dave McNary

The U.S. economy has seen a steady erosion of jobs in the motion picture and sound industries, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Preliminary statistics from the BLS show that employment in those two industries has dropped to 298,000 in August — marking the first time in the past decade that the number has dropped below 300,000, and representing an 8% decline from 324,600 jobs in August 2013, and a 19% slide from 366,300 jobs in August 2012.   Continue reading “Showbiz, Music Industry Jobs Drop 19% in Two Years”

Yahoo News – by Julie Pace

WASHINGTON (AP) — Opening a new military front in the Middle East, President Barack Obama authorized U.S. airstrikes inside Syria for the first time Wednesday night, along with expanded strikes in Iraq as part of “a steady, relentless effort” to root out Islamic State extremists and their spreading reign of terror.

“We will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are,” Obama declared in a prime-time address to the nation from the White House. “This is a core principle of my presidency: If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.”   Continue reading “Obama to deepen America’s military role in Mideast”

KRVG

McALLEN – Authorities in McAllen arrested a suspect linked to a murder in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

The suspect is accused of taking part in a gang-style hit in the community of Southlake.

The murder happened on May 22, 2013, near a shopping mall. The victim, Jesus Guerrero Chapa, was a lawyer with drug cartel ties.   Continue reading “Suspected Cartel Hit Man Arrested in McAllen”

Breitbart – by Warner Todd Huston

Advocates for illegal immigrants are eyeing Arizona, where a movement that encourages churches to shield illegal aliens from federal authorities is quietly growing. It is a movement advocates hope could serve as a model for illegals across the nation seeking to stay in the United States.

So far this year, three illegals have taken refuge in Arizona churches, refusing to submit to ordered deportations. Church officials who hope to launch a nationwide effort of like-minded churches are shielding these immigrants.   Continue reading “Arizona Churches Breaking the Law by Harboring Illegal Immigrants”

Breitbart – by Bob Price

HOUSTON, Texas — A militia member who was fired upon by a U.S. Border Patrol agent who was pursuing illegal immigrants could face federal or state charges. John Frederick Foerster was in the possession of a firearm at the time the Border Patrol agent fired on him and has since been discovered to be a convicted felon.

According to numerous news reports Foerster was in possession of an AK-47 rifle at the time of the shooting. He told Breitbart Texas’ Ildefonso Ortiz, “I had a weapon for my protection,” during an interview which was published on Tuesday. The militia group’s spokesman, K.C. Massey told Ortiz, “After five years he is legal to have a weapon in private property.”   Continue reading “Militiaman Fired on by Border Patrol Agent Could Face Charges”

NBC Chicago – by Rob Elgas

Four suburban Chicago firefighters say they were suspended after refusing to remove patriotic stickers posted on their helmets and lockers.

The Maywood firefighters say they were ordered to go home for refusing to remove stickers of American flags after their fire chief implemented a ban on all stickers.   Continue reading “Firefighters Say They Were Sent Home for Refusing to Remove Patriotic Stickers”

My Fox Detroit

ROCHESTER, Mich. (WJBK) –Lieutenant Colonel Sherwood Baker says he is just a father who was trying to help his daughter find her way at her new high school.

Sherwood, who has served in the Army for 24 years, was told by Rochester Adams High School security that if he wanted to get into the school with his daughter he was going to have to go home and change his clothes.   Continue reading “Army officer is told not to enter his daughter’s high school because he’s wearing his uniform”

National Journal – by Brendan Sasso

The Federal Communications Commission is eyeing an expansion of its net-neutrality rules to cover cell-phone service.

In a speech Tuesday, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said that Internet access on smartphones is a “key component” of the investment and innovation that net-neutrality regulations are intended to protect.   Continue reading “FCC May Expand Net Neutrality to Cell Phones”

Fusion – by FIDEL MARTINEZ

Time to change your password again. A database containing nearly 5 million Gmail user accounts and passwords was leaked on Bitcoin Security, a popular Russian website devoted to the cryptocurrency.

The text file was published on Tuesday night by user tvskit, according to CNews, the Russian news outlet that first broke the story. The leaker claimed that the majority of the accounts belong to users who speak English, Russian, or Spanish, and that approximately 60 percent are active. The passwords not only give access to Gmail, but a slew of other Google services such as Drive and the mobile payment system Google Wallet.   Continue reading “Millions of Gmail accounts hacked, was yours one of them?”

Yahoo News – by Lisa Marie Garza

BROWNSVILLE Texas (Reuters) – With binoculars in hand, an assault rifle slung over his chest and a Glock pistol on his hip, a man named Will scans the banks of the Rio Grande looking for anyone trying to cross from Mexico into Texas.

Will is a member of the Patriots, a group of heavily armed private citizens who use displays of force to intimidate people attempting to cross the border illegally. Since early summer the Patriots have patrolled an area near Brownsville, Texas.   Continue reading “‘Armed patriots’: the private citizens out to secure the U.S. border”

Fox News

The company that runs the conservative Breitbart.com news site says the IRS has selected the network for an audit, in a move company executives suggest is politically motivated.

Breitbart News Network, a California-based company which runs several conservative websites, says the IRS recently audited its 2012 financial information.

“The Obama administration’s timing on this is exquisite, but try as they might through various methods to silence us, we will only get more emboldened,” Stephen K. Bannon, executive chairman of Breitbart News Network, said in a written statement.

The audit comes as the agency faces sustained complaints that it targeted conservative groups for extra scrutiny as they sought nonprofit status, before the agency ended the practice last year.    Continue reading “Breitbart News says IRS targeted company for audit”

Breibart 

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today sent the following letter to the Internal Revenue Service regarding its decision to audit Breitbart News Network, LLC.

The full text of the letter is available here.

Dear Commissioner Koskinen:

I write to express deep concern over the recent announcement by Breitbart News that the Internal Revenue Service recently notified the Breitbart News Network, LLC that it would be subject to a far-reaching, burdensome, and open-ended audit.    Continue reading “Cruz Letter: Why Is The IRS Auditing Breitbart News?”

The Economic Collapse – by Michael Snyder

Are you ready to have your veins scanned every time you use your bank account?  Are you ready to use a “digital tattoo” or a microchip implant to unlock your telephone?  Once upon a time we read about such technologies in science fiction novels, but now they are here.  The era of widespread biometric identification and microchip implants is upon us, and it is going to change the way that we live.  Proponents of these new technologies say that they will make our private information and our bank accounts much more secure.  But there are others that warn that these kinds of “Big Brother technologies” will set the stage for even more government intrusion into our lives.  In the wrong hands, such technologies could prove to be an absolute nightmare.   Continue reading “The Era Of Widespread Biometric Indentification And Microchip Implants Is Here”