USA Today

In his 1968 song Mama Tried, Merle Haggard sang of turning 21 in prison. Haggard, who died Wednesday in California at age 79, had done just that, though not, as he sang in the song, “doing life without parole.”

Haggard’s youth of petty crime, financial insecurity and freight-car hopping eventually informed songs that spoke plainly but not predictably of social outcasts, blue-collar concerns and persistent restlessness.   Continue reading “Merle Haggard dead at 79”

OPB

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office released video footage Tuesday shot from Ryan Bundy’s cellphone in the moments before and after police shot wildlife refuge occupier Robert “LaVoy” Finicum.

Ryan Bundy, the brother of Ammon Bundy, was one of the leaders of the occupation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The footage is shot from inside Finicum’s truck during a fatal Oregon State Police traffic stop Jan. 26.   Continue reading “Finicum Shooting Investigators Release Bundy Cellphone Video”

RT

A seven-month-old baby is among 15 American Muslims named in two lawsuits being brought against the US government by the Council of American-Islamic Relations for placing the plaintiffs on the so-called terror watch list without due process.

“The terrorism watch lists are premised on the false notion that the government can somehow accurately predict whether an innocent American citizen will commit a crime in the future based on religious affiliation or First Amendment activities,” said Lena Masri, legal director for the Council of American-Islamic Relations, Michigan, in a statement released on Tuesday.   Continue reading “‘Bigoted and misguided’: American Muslims file twin lawsuits over terror watch list”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

With media attention squarely falling on the foreigners exposed by the Panama Papers offshore tax haven scandal, everyone has been asking for more information on who are the Americans involved in this biggest data leak in history. After all, as we showed, Mossack Fonseca had over 400 American clients. But who are they?

Today, courtesy of McClatchy, we get some answers: while there are no politicians of note are in files but plenty of others. Among them: Retirees, scammers, and tax evaders, all of whom found a use for secrecy of offshore companies.   Continue reading “Here Are Some Of The Americans In The “Panama Papers””

Fellowship of the Minds – by Dr. Eowyn

Americans didn’t know about a curious species of fakery called Crisis Actors until the Dec. 14, 2012 Sandy Hook false-flag shooting massacre. (See “Remarkable resemblance of Sandy Hook victims and professional crisis actors“)

Located in Denver, Colorado, a business that calls itself VisionBox Crisis Actors provides professionals (“trained players and actors”) who impersonate real-life people in simulations of mass casualty events, such as government drills, shootings and bombings, to help “schools and first responders create realistic drills, full-scale exercises, high-fidelity simulations, and interactive 3D films.” As an Oct. 31, 2012 feature story on the Crisis Actors website which I found on January 1, 2013, once boasted:   Continue reading “New breed of crisis actors: Fake political protesters”

RT

A Syrian Su-22 jet has been shot down by a surface-to-air missile in Aleppo Province. The pilot ejected and was reportedly captured.

“The plane wasn’t striking any targets, but was carrying out airborne surveillance. It was hit by a surface to air missile to the south of Aleppo, and now we’re looking for the pilot who ejected from the aircraft,” Syrian Army press service head General Samir told RT on the phone.   Continue reading “Syrian jet shot down in Aleppo, pilot reportedly captured by Al-Qaeda affiliate”