Image source: GunDigest.comOff the Grid News – by Tara Dodrill

The Chicago crime rate has finally shown some signs of decreasing – and a debate has broken out over the reasons behind the drop.

City officials credit better police work with the drop in violent crime and theft in the city, but one major crime-deterring factor appears to have been summarily dismissed by Chicago leaders – a new concealed carry law.

Since Chicago began issuing concealed carry permits last year, robbery arrests have declined 20 percent, burglary arrests are down by the same percentage, and vehicle thefts have decreased by a total of 26 percent, The Washington Times reported. During the first quarter of 2014, homicides in the Windy City reached a 56-year low.   Continue reading “Gun Grabbers Are In Denial Over The Latest Concealed Carry-Crime Data”

Jon Rappoport

“In any major covert op, there are always multiple objectives and levels of opportunity, and they are not wasted. The interesting thing is, 99.99% of the players who benefit don’t even realize the whole thing is a planned op.” (The Magician Awakes, Jon Rappoport)

This is not a complete list of benefits from the Ebola op. However, it does cover a significant amount of territory.   Continue reading “The Ebola covert op: 30 answers to “who benefits?””

Jon Rappoport

Let’s see. Dr. Craig Spencer comes back from Guinea, where he’s been treating patients. In NYC, he takes the subway, he goes bowling, he eats at restaurants, he jogs.

He begins feeling fatigued, he takes his temp. 100.3.

He makes a call. The hazmat army arrives and rushes him to Bellevue.

The doctors announce: Ebola.   Continue reading “Dr. Craig Spencer: Ebola? Flu? Hospital food? Nothing?”

ZME Science – by Tibi Puiu

An American national study that looked at hospital emergency department visits for opioid overdoses found that 67.8% of the cases involved overdosing on prescription opioid drugs, including methadone. Next in line were heroin, other unspecified opioids and multiple opioids. It’s estimated that the treatment costs for the hospitalized overdosed patients in 2010 alone was $2.3 billion.

Recreational use of prescription drugs is a serious problem with teens and young adults. National studies show that a teen is more likely to have abused a prescription drug than an illegal street drug. Actually, according to the  National Institute on Drug Abuse an estimated 48 million people (aged 12 and older) have used prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons in their lifetime or roughly 20% of the US population. The three most commonly abused prescription drug classes are:   Continue reading “Prescription painkillers cause 67.8% of opioid overdoses. Heroin a distant second at 16.1%”

gun lawsThe Sleuth Journal – by Stephen Gutowski, Free Beacon

Pennsylvania Democrats are outraged after a bill was passed that allows gun rights groups like the NRA to sue localities for passing gun control measures that violate state law.

Many such Democrats said a provision forcing localities that lose lawsuits to pay the legal fees of the plaintiffs is particularly objectionable.

“This is a dangerous provision that threatens municipalities’ financial stability,” Rep. Madeleine Dean (D., Montgomery) told the Philadelphia Inquirer.   Continue reading “Pennsylvania Democrats Angry They Can Now be Sued For Passing Illegal Gun Laws”

Image source: DaleysFruit.comOff the Grid News – by JD Lara

What would American life be without coffee? In the world of coffee consumption, Americans sip more than a third of the total coffee produced on the entire planet, yet none of it is grown in the continental United States. At least, not commercially.

Yes, there are vast plantations in Hawaii, and there’s an increasing number of growers in southern states like California, Florida and Georgia. But there are success stories of home-growing in northern regions, too, from Minnesota to Vermont. Don’t you think the rest of the states should be trying to grow coffee in their homes and greenhouses, too? If you’re up for the challenge, read on.   Continue reading “Simple Steps To Growing Coffee – Even Where You Live”

Prevent Disease – by Karen Foster

Getting ready for a halloween party or night of trick or treating with the kids or grandkids? The ghoulish evening of fright with thousands of different costumes, accessories, decorations and party favors also bring with them chemicals linked to asthma, birth defects, learning disabilities, reproductive problems, liver toxicity and cancer. Here’s what to look out for.

After dozens of costumes and accessories were tested, chemicals found included lead, bromine from flame retardants, chlorine from vinyl or PVC plastic, phthalates, arsenic, tin, lead, chromium, cadmium and mercury. The products were purchased from such retailers as CVS, Kroger, Target, Walmart, Walgreens and Party City.   Continue reading “5 Toxic Exposures You Need To Know About This Halloween”

David Swanson

The U.S. Air Force says it is not halting its use of Depleted Uranium weapons, has recently sent them to the Middle East, and is prepared to use them.

A type of airplane, the A-10, deployed this month to the Middle East by the U.S. Air National Guard’s 122nd Fighter Wing, is responsible for more Depleted Uranium (DU) contamination than any other platform, according to the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons (ICBUW). “Weight for weight and by number of rounds more 30mm PGU-14B ammo has been used than any other round,” said ICBUW coordinator Doug Weir, referring to ammunition used by A-10s, as compared to DU ammunition used by tanks.   Continue reading “U.S. Sends Planes Armed with Depleted Uranium to Middle East”

Mirror – by Alex Wellman

A flock of sheep were left feeling a little woolly-headed after getting high feasting on the wrong sort of grass.

The animals began stumbling around after eating through thousands of pounds of cannabis dumped in their field.

Police revealed that seven bags of the intoxicating plant, worth around £4,000, were eaten by the sheep who had tucked into their illegal meal completely unaware.   Continue reading “Cannabis-munching sheep left high as a kite after eating through £4,000 worth of drugs”

The New American – by Bob Adelmann

PEN America is using the alleged use of excessive force by the police in restraining crowds and journalists trying to cover the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, last August to call for federal guidelines to be applied to every local police force in the country.

The group — part of the PEN American Center, whose motto is “Protecting Free Expression” — published its summary of 52 instances of Ferguson police allegedly overreacting to real and perceived threats to public safety in the aftermath of the shooting of Brown by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. Calling them “alleged” violations, PEN America said on Monday that they “contravene a right that is protected under the U.S. Constitution and international human rights law.”   Continue reading “Calls for National Police Guidelines After Ferguson”

The New American – by Dave Bohon

A longtime North Carolina judge has resigned his position rather than be forced to perform same-sex marriages against his Christian convictions. Swain County Magistrate Judge Gilbert Breedlove, in office since 1990, resigned October 20, citing the October federal court ruling that struck down North Carolina’s voter-passed constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between a man and a woman.

“It was my only option,” the 57-year-old Breedlove told the Asheville, N.C., Citizen-Times newspaper. “We were directed we had to perform the marriages, and that was just something I couldn’t do because of my religious beliefs.”   Continue reading “N.C. Judge Resigns Rather Than Perform Same-sex “Marriages””

The New American – by Alex Newman

Already under fire for seeking to usurp new powers to control the Internet, the United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is facing intense criticism after appointing a Chinese Communist to lead the controversial UN agency starting next year. Even more alarming, perhaps, is that the new ITU boss claims censorship is in the eye of the beholder. On October 23, at an ITU summit in Busan, South Korea, member governments and dictatorships overwhelmingly selected Houlin Zhao (shown) of mainland China — where the dictatorship operates among the most Orwellian censorship regimes on Earth, currently working on overdrive to spin and conceal the uprising in Hong Kong — to serve as the UN outfit’s secretary general. Zhao joins a growing roster of Chinese Communist operatives in charge of powerful UN agencies.   Continue reading “Chinese Communist to Lead UN Agency Seeking to Control Internet”

ronald_mcdonald_gets_bustedPolitical Blindspot – by Ezekiel Adams

Imagine a huge multinational corporation making products that your town considers so unhealthy they decided not to let the company open up shop. Imagine only 59 people in your town (4%) actually wanting the company to come in, demolish local landmarks, and open their doors. Now imagine that company taking your community to court, to sue for the right to sell their unhealthy products right across from an elementary school, in spite of your town almost unanimously opposing it.

That is exactly what has happened in the Australian town of Tecoma.   Continue reading “McDonald’s Is Suing Town That Rejects Their Restaurant”

Medical-Marijuana-Sales-Begin-in-ConnecticutMedical Marijuana Blog

Medical marijuana patients living in Connecticut have been waiting for a long time to get safe access to their medicine. It looks like their wait is finally over. Last week, an announcement was made that the first crop of legal medical marijuana is ready for shipment around the state. This happens almost two years after the state legalized the use of medical marijuana. Connecticut has six licensed dispensaries to sell medical marijuana and all have reported that as soon as they get the shipment, they will start selling it the next day.   Continue reading “Medical Marijuana Sales Begin in Connecticut”

ABC News

A 5-year-old boy who returned home from Guinea Saturday is being tested for Ebola at New York City’s Bellevue Hospital, officials said today. Preliminary results will be available within the next 12 hours.

The boy was transported to Bellevue Hospital Sunday night because of his travel history and initial reports that he had a fever, but he actually had no symptoms when he first arrived at the hospital, officials said.   Continue reading “5-Year-Old Boy Being Tested for Ebola at NYC Hospital”