From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
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”
AT&T has announced that it will begin selling customers’ smart phone data to the highest bidder, putting the telecommunications giant in line with Verizon, Facebook and other competitors that quietly use a consumer’s history for marketing purposes.
The company claims its new privacy policy, to be updated within “the next few weeks,” exists to “deliver more relevant advertising” to users based on which apps they use and their location, which is provided by GPS-tracking. Apparently recognizing the natural privacy concerns a customer might have, AT&T assured the public that all data would be aggregated and made anonymous to prevent individual identification. Continue reading “AT&T joins Verizon, Facebook in selling customer data”
SAN FRANCISCO — The CEO of Asiana Airlines on Sunday ruled out engine or mechanical problems in the crash of a Boeing 777 at San Francisco airport that killed two 16-year-old Chinese students and injured more than 180 people after it appeared to touch down tail-first short of the runway.
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday that the black boxes from the Boeing 777 had been recovered were already en route to Washington, D.C. Continue reading “Asiana CEO rules out mechanical failure in deadly crash”
Scientists have discovered more than 3,500 unique gene sequences in Lake Vostok – the underground Antarctic water reservoir isolated from the outside world for 15 million years – revealing a complex ecosystem far beyond anything they could have expected.
“The bounds on what is habitable and what is not are changing,” said Scott Rogers, Bowling Green State University professor of biological sciences, who led a genetic study of the contents of half a liter of water brought back from the lake after it was drilled by Russian scientists last year. Continue reading “Lake Vostok mysteries: Biologists find over 3,500 life forms in isolated Antarctic basin”
In Lac-Mégantic, Québec, over 1,000 people were evacuated with several missing children after a train carrying over 2,000 tons of crude oil exploded in a sleepy Canadian town. Many residents are feared dead.
Early reports indicate this is the second time in two years that an oil tanker derailed, spilling massive amounts of toxic oil in the picturesque village. Both oil-tanker trains are owned and operated by Montreal Maine & Atlantic (MM Rail). Continue reading “Shocking Video Of Quebec Train Explosion: Is an American Firm to Blame?”
Washington Examiner- by Michal Conger
State Department officials spent $630,000 to get more Facebook “likes,” prompting employees to complain to a government watchdog that the bureau was “buying fans” in social media, the agency’s inspector general says.
The department’s Bureau of International Information Programs spent the money to increase its “likes” count between 2011 and March 2013. Continue reading “State Department bureau spent $630,000 on Facebook ‘likes’”
Police in northern Brazil say one man has been arrested after a referee who fatally stabbed a player during a match was decapitated by spectators who stormed the field.
Local reports said the incident, which took place on 30 June in the remote Brazilian town of Pio XII, escalated when the player, 30-year-old Josenir dos Santos, became involved in an argument with the referee, Octavio da Silva. Continue reading “Brazilian referee beheaded by spectators after he fatally stabs player”
As Washington officials continue to grapple with the fallout from the NSA scandal, it has been revealed that the US Postal Service photographs the outside of every piece of mail it processes each year – around 160 billion pieces annually.
At the request of law enforcement agencies, postal workers take pictures of the letters and packages before they are delivered, the New York Times reported. Continue reading “US Postal Service Photographing 160 Billion Letters Annually”
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s new president moved to assert his authority and regain control of the streets Saturday even as his Islamist opponents declared his powers illegitimate and issued blood oaths to reinstate Mohammed Morsi, whose ouster by the military has led to dueling protests and deadly street battles between rival sides.
But underscoring the sharp divisions facing the untested leader, Adly Mansour, his office said pro-reform leader Mohamed ElBaradei had been named as interim prime minister but later backtracked on the decision saying consultations were continuing. A politician close to ElBaradei said the reversal was due to objections by an ultraconservative Islamist party with which the new administration wants to cooperate. Continue reading “Egypt’s new president asserts authority”
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Popocatepetl volcano just east of Mexico City has spit out a cloud of ash and vapor 2 miles (3 kilometers) high over several days of eruptions, and Mexico City residents awoke Saturday to find a fine layer of volcanic dust on their cars.
It has been years since the center of the nation’s capital has seen a noticeable ash fall because prevailing winds usually blow the volcanic dust in other directions. Ash fell earlier this week in some neighborhoods on Mexico City’s south and east sides. Continue reading “Mexico volcano spits 2 mile-high ash cloud”
Century Link – by FRANCES D’EMILIO – Associated Press
ROME (AP) — A fugitive Italian mobster, who allegedly arranged major shipments of South American cocaine to Europe each month and was one of the world’s most powerful drug brokers, has been captured in a Colombian shopping mall, authorities said Saturday.
Roberto Pannunzi “at the moment is the most important broker for cocaine trafficking from South America to Europe,” Gen. Andrea De Gennaro, an Italian anti-drug customs police official, was quoted as saying by the Italian news agency ANSA. Continue reading “Top fugitive Italian cocaine boss nabbed in Bogota”
President Barack Obama is looking for a new ride.
Not that his current limousine – dubbed “The Beast” or “Cadillac One” – isn’t faring well, but it’s a 2009 model, which he takes wherever he travels, and the Department of Homeland Security says it’s time for an upgrade. Continue reading “Obama’s limo: Heavy armor, blood bank, night vision”
Cop Block – by Dustin McCaskill
Nearly three months later, the investigation into police murdering Chris and Stacey Stout has been completed.
Eight law enforcement agencies have turned over their reports for the D.A. to decide what should be done. Continue reading “Oklahoma Police Kill Two, Investigation Complete”
Before It’s News – by Deborah Dupre
While Nicaragua and Venezuela presidents on Friday offered asylum to Edward Snowden, more Latin American countries have said they aim to do the same, pitting South America against North America over “persecution by the empire,” as Venezuela head of state called the U.S. abuse of the human rights global violation whistleblower.
One day after South American leaders gathered to denounce the skyjacking of Bolivian President Evo Morales’ plane over Europe and searching it for surveillance abuse whistleblower Edward Snowden, Nicaragua and Venezuela presidents offered asylum to Snowden. Continue reading “S. America Countries Uniting For Snowden’s Escape From ‘Empire Persecution’”
Before It’s News – by Monica Davis
The US has been at war with Third World countries for more than 60 years. Used as proxies for wars with larger communist realms, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Nicaragua, El Salvador and countless stood as surrogates for larger communist regimes.
Now, the ideologies have turned toward free trade, market manipulation and resource acquisition. China is making inroads on the Monroe Doctrine, setting up mining operations in South America. And the US is looking to acquire African resources via manipulating military might through AFRICOM. Continue reading “Will US And Germany Go To War Over Free Trade Spying?”
BEIRUT (AP) — A former Syrian political prisoner with close links to Saudi Arabia was picked Saturday to lead Syria’s main Western-backed opposition group, filling a post long vacant due to divisions among President Bashar Assad’s opponents.
Inside Syria, government troops advanced into rebel-held areas of the central city of Homs, pushing into a heavily contested neighborhood after pummeling it with artillery that drove out opposition fighters, an activist said. Continue reading “Ex-prisoner chosen to lead Syria opposition group”
Is anyone else sick and tired of the government parading around this shill and her husband? She wants sympathy as if she were as immobilized as Stephen Hawking, yet she’s more than able to fire guns at a firing range? What gives her the right to fly all over the country with number of guns but not the rest of us? This piece of fiction from the Twilight Zone really makes my blood boil! Continue reading “On tour, Giffords’ actions speak on gun control”
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — An Asiana Airlines flight from Seoul, South Korea, crashed while landing at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday, forcing passengers to jump down the emergency inflatable slides to safety. It was not immediately known whether there were any injuries.
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown said Flight 214 crashed while landing on runway 28 left at the airport at 11:26 PDT. A video clip posted to YouTube shows smoke coming from a silver-colored jet on the tarmac. Passengers could be seen jumping down the inflatable emergency slides. Television footage showed debris strewn about the tarmac and pieces of the plane lying on the runway. Continue reading “NTSB to investigate San Francisco Crash”
All Gov – by Noel Brinkerhoff
Natural News – by J. D. Heyes
RT News
USA Today
RT News
PolicyMic – by Kat Robinson
Guardian
RT News 
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NBC News – by Michael Strong
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