Month: August 2014

LA Times – by JOHN M. GLIONNA

James Perkins sees the federal Bureau of Land Management more as a belligerent occupying army than a government agency serving U.S. citizens, including those like him in south-central Utah.

Perkins is the sheriff of Garfield County, a rural bastion the size of Connecticut with only 5,500 residents, where 90% of the land is maintained by the BLM. The relationship between local law enforcement and often heavily armed federal officers has always been tense, and now threatens to reach a breaking point.   Continue reading “BLM, local law enforcement tensions near breaking point in the West”

Boston Herald – by O’Ryan Johnson, Colneth Smiley Jr.

A Dedham cop was arrested and placed on leave yesterday after he was charged as an accessory in the kidnapping of an Avon man who is presumed dead, authorities said.

Michael Schoener, 40, pleaded not guilty to a charge of accessory before the fact of kidnapping. He was held on $5,000 cash bail and ordered to be placed on a GPS tracking bracelet if he is released, Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey said in a statement.   Continue reading “Dedham cop charged in kidnapping case”

Sovereign Man – by Simon Black

In an unbelievable display of arrogance and self-importance, the Australian government recently announced the most sweeping changes to their national security legislation since 9/11.

The new laws will give the Australian government more powers to monitor all types of communication, both phone and internet.   Continue reading “Here’s the dumbest thing you’ll hear all week”

RT

US President Barack Obama is reportedly considering options to move on immigration reform via executive action despite protests from disapproving members of Congress.

The Obama administration has offered little in the way of details as a review of potential options by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security continues. But according to The Washington Post, the Obama administration is considering “temporary relief for law-abiding undocumented immigrants who are closely related to U.S. citizens or those who have lived in the country a certain number of years.”As many as five million migrants could be affected by such a move.   Continue reading “Obama considering immigration reform with executive actions, Congress readies to sue him”

RT

The US dollar, the dominant global currency since 1944, may lose some of its luster due to the American-led sanctions against Russia over the turmoil in Ukraine. The greenback has been fading in favor since the global financial crisis in 2008.

The US-led sanctions against Russia may have backfired on the US because it threatens to “hasten a move away from the dollar that’s been stirring since the global financial crisis [in 2008],”Rachel Evans at Bloomberg wrote. In an unexpected turn of events, Hong Kong’s central bank has bought more than $9.5 billion since the start of July “to prevent its currency from rallying as the sanctions stoked speculation of an influx of Russian cash,” she noted.   Continue reading “Unintended consequences: Sanctions on Russia hurt US dollar dominance”

RT

One of the Department of Homeland Security’s key contractors says a “state-sponsored” cyber attack is responsible for stealing the personal information of numerous government employees.

In the wake of the attack, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has put its work with the contractor on hold while the FBI investigates the situation.   Continue reading “Key Homeland Security contractor hacked, govt employee data likely stolen”

Cop Block – by Pete Eyer

Mah-hi-vist Goodblanket was experiencing what his parents liken an “episode.” His parents called 911, hoping the presence of police would help to deescalate the situation. Yet shortly after those with badges arrived, Mah-hi-vist was shot seven times, including once to the back of his head, by two Custer County Sheriff employees – Dillon Mach* and a still-unnamed second shooter.

*Dillon Mach had previously worked for Clinton police outfit and was about to be fired but did a lateral transfer to Custer County Sheriff before that happened. I wonder if he’s a ‘Brady Cop‘?   Continue reading “Parents of Teen Slain by Oklahoma “Authorities” Still Seeking Justice”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Veterans are expected to have an easier time getting government-paid health care from local doctors under a bill that President Barack Obama is set to sign into law Thursday.

The $16.3 billion measure also allows the Veterans Affairs Department to hire thousands of doctors, nurses and other health professionals at the VA’s nearly 1,000 hospitals and outpatient clinics nationwide.   Continue reading “Obama to sign veterans’ health care overhaul”

Mail.com

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A woman who took a Southwest Airlines flight from San Jose to Los Angeles without a ticket tried at least three times that day to breach airport security before she managed to board the plane, federal law enforcement officials said Wednesday.

It was the San Jose airport’s second security breach in recent months, after a teenage Somali immigrant stowed away in the wheel well of an April flight from there to Hawaii. Marilyn Jean Hartman bypassed an agent who was screening boarding passes Monday at Mineta San Jose International Airport by sneaking through with a family, said the law enforcement officials, who would speak only on condition of anonymity because the security breach is being investigated.   Continue reading “Officials: Woman sneaked onto flight after 3 tries”

USA Today – by Jim Michaels

Former president Jimmy Carter called on the West to recognize the U.S.-designated terrorist group Hamas as a legitimate “political actor” that represents the bulk of the Palestinian population.

Carter made the comments in an article he co-wrote with former Irish president Mary Robinson in a new issue of Foreign Policy magazine. It was published as a cease-fire took hold Tuesday after four weeks of fighting between Israel and Hamas, which governs Gaza.   Continue reading “Jimmy Carter calls for recognizing terror group Hamas”

Gear Fuse – by Chad Felix

2014 marks 152 years since the first flickers of the commercial giant we now call a television, first made an appearance in the mid-19^th century. Since then, it has not only won itself status as an unparalleled source of entertainment but has also emerged as one of contemporary society’s favourite mediums for advertising, information and news.  Read on for a fascinating overview that will help you grasp just how far television sets have come.   Continue reading “The History of Televisions”

RT

US missile cruiser Vella Gulf has entered the Black Sea in what the American Navy described as a move to “to promote peace and stability in the region.” Moscow has considered any such acts as “offensive.”

The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) entered the Black Sea on Wednesday as part of the effort to “strengthen the collective security of NATO allies and partners in the region,” according to a statement by the US 6th Fleet.    Continue reading “US missile cruiser enters Black Sea again ‘to promote peace’”

The Guardian

US Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Afghanistan late Thursday on an unannounced visit to press the country’s two feuding presidential candidates on the urgency of ending a bitter dispute over June elections and forming a new government by early September.

Kerry’s visit comes as the election results are being audited in a process that he brokered last month. Senior officials traveling with Kerry said the U.S. wants to see the ultimate winner inaugurated — and a new “chief executive officer” chosen by the loser under the terms of a national unity government compromise — before the upcoming NATO summit in Wales Sept. 4.   Continue reading “John Kerry makes unannounced visit to Afghanistan after death of US general”

Survivopedia – by Theresa Crouse

When SHTF, it won’t be long before modern medicines are hard to come by, so you need a back-up plan. That’s OK though because there’s a form of medicine that can be just as effective and has been in use for millennia: herbs and plants.

That’s right. Eastern medicine, as well as Native Americans and many other cultures, used natural cures long before Western medicine even thought about a pill.   Continue reading “Top 30 Medicinal Plants To Learn For Survival”