Month: September 2014

The Black Sphere – by Kevin Jackson

Mexico celebrated its independence the other day, and I wondered, “Independence from what?”

Mexicans are so proud of their country that many of them are LEAVING it.

In a recent poll, 33 percent of Mexicans believe they would be better off in America, and 60 percent disapprove of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto’s economy.   Continue reading “Mexico celebrated independence…from what?”

RT

The US Air Force is changing the instructions for its reenlistment pledge after an atheist airman was initially denied the ability to re-enlist because he refused to use the word “God” in his oath of office.

On Wednesday, the Air Force instructed force support offices across the service to allow enlisted members and officers to omit the words “so help me God” from enlistment and officer appointment oaths if the airmen so chooses, the branch said in a statement. The US Air Force requested an opinion from the Department of Defense General Counsel, addressing the legal parameters of the oath. The Counsel concluded that removing the words was permissible.   Continue reading “US Air Force to allow atheists to omit ‘God’ from reenlistment oath”

Natural Society – by Christina Sarich

While many of us rely on grass-fed beef as a source of healthful, properly raised meat, that option of healthy eating may just move down a peg? Why? Not because cattle may have to switch to GM grain, but rather because cattle may be forced to indulge in genetically modified grass.

The Scotts ‘Miracle-Gro’ Company which created genetically modified RoundUp-Ready Kentucky Bluegrass has announced that it will conduct field trials at the homes of Scotts’ employees. What’s more, they can do so without any government oversight because there are no laws that prohibit or limit the planting of GMO grass.   Continue reading “Kiss Your Grass-Fed Beef Goodbye! GMO Grass About to Be Approved”

The Organic Prepper

When a ship from an Ebola-plagued nation docks on American shores with a crew full of sick passengers, by all means, we should bring them into the country and treat them.

But don’t worry – the CDC figured it was probably fine.

According to a release from the CDC, the ship was reported to have traveled to a port in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and others in Africa. Officials immediately downplayed the likelihood that the sickness was related to an outbreak of Ebola in that part of the world. Continue reading “Ship from Liberia with Sick Passengers Docks in Louisiana…But Don’t Worry”

Seattle Times – by Hal Bernton

David Winter is a Gulf War veteran who depends on the Puget Sound VA to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder, neck pain and other ailments. In a town-hall meeting Wednesday evening called by the Department of Veterans Affairs, he spoke in stark detail about his difficulties trying to see his health providers and to get medications in a hospital system struggling under an expanding patient load.

Though he was supposed to have a 20-minute PTSD counseling session once every six weeks, he’d been to only three this year.   Continue reading “VA gets an earful from Veterans at town hall”

Boston Globe – by Michael Birnbaum

KIEV, Ukraine — President Petro Poroshenko will arrive in Washington on Thursday with a simple request: more economic and military aid for a nation that is reeling from an insurgency in the east.

But amid concerns about Ukraine’s commitment to anticorruption efforts and Western caution about escalating a military conflict with Russia, it remained far from clear that Ukraine’s president would leave Washington with a substantial new pledge of support. The candy-magnate-turned-politician plans to talk with President Obama at the White House and will address a joint meeting of Congress.   Continue reading “Ukraine president to make case for aid in US”

The Anti-Media – by Cassius Methyl

Several documents were released recently by the Peaceful Streets Project detailing how the Austin Police Department, The Austin Police Association, and several figures of authority conspired against The Peaceful Streets project, Cop Block, Oath Keepers, and several other peaceful organizations in an attempt to slander American activists as a whole. Police tried to draw conclusions backed with zero evidence in an attempt to gain the power to incarcerate activists who have broken no laws. Continue reading “Police Claim Cop Block, Peaceful Streets Project and Activists of America are an Imminent Threat”

ABC News – by KRISTEN GELINEAU Associated Press

Police on Thursday said they thwarted a plot to carry out beheadings in Australia by supporters of the radical Islamic State group. They detained 15 people and raided more than a dozen properties across Sydney, though nine of those brought in were freed before the day was over.

The raids involving 800 federal and state police officers — the largest in the country’s history — came in response to intelligence that an Islamic State group leader in the Middle East was calling on Australian supporters to kill, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said.   Continue reading “Australia Raids Thwarted ISIS Beheading Plot”

Huffington Post – by Rebecca Klein

Pinellas County School District in Pinellas County, Florida, is one of over 20 districts around the country with a police force or public safety department in possession of former military supplies, thanks to the Department of Defense’s Excess Property Program, or 1033 program. Since 1997, the initiative has provided excess military equipment to state agencies like local and public university police forces, but it has come under renewed scrutiny in the weeks following the Ferguson demonstrations.   Continue reading “These Are The School Districts Around The Country With Military Supplies”

Reuters – by Ros Krasny

Hackers associated with the Chinese government have repeatedly infiltrated the computer systems of U.S. airlines, technology companies and other contractors involved in the movement of U.S. troops and military equipment, a U.S. Senate panel has found.

The Senate Armed Services Committee’s year-long probe, concluded in March but made public on Wednesday, found the military’s U.S. Transportation Command, or Transcom, was aware of only two out of at least 20 such cyber intrusions within a single year.   Continue reading “Chinese hacked U.S. military contractors: Senate panel”

CNS News – Ali Meyer

Although the overall Consumer Price Index dropped by 0.2 percent in August, the price index for food rose 0.2 percent, with the average price for a pound of ground beef rising to $4.013 per pound–the first time it has ever topped $4 per pound.

In July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price for a pound of ground beef had been $3.884 per pound—which was the record price up to that point.  From July to August, the average price jumped 12.9 cents, an increase of 3.3 percent in one month.   Continue reading “New Record: Pound of Ground Beef Tops $4 for First Time”

Mad World News – by Brandon Walker

In a letter delivered to “the politicians” of the United States, an active duty Army Special Forces soldier delivers a jaw dropping assessment of the situation at hand.

Anyone familiar with me knows that after my time in the service I have a soft spot for the Army Special Forces. So when a triple amputee, who was charged by the VA for services, finds a letter from an active duty Special Forces soldier to the US politicians, it is enough to peak my interest.   Continue reading “Army Special Forces Soldier Delivers Jaw Dropping Letter to US Politicians”

ABC News – by Elliot Spagat, AP

The U.S. Border Patrol purchased body cameras and will begin testing them this year at its training academy, two people briefed on the move said Wednesday, as new leadership moves to blunt criticism about agents’ use of force.

R. Gil Kerlikowske, who has led the Border Patrol’s parent agency since March, announced the plans Tuesday to a small group of activists who have pressed for cameras, according to a person who attended the briefing and spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussion was intended to be private. Testing will occur at the Border Patrol academy in Artesia, New Mexico.   Continue reading “APNewsBreak: Border Patrol to Test Body Cameras”

Signal Corps – Sparks 31

Antenna analyzers are useful for adjusting and tweaking antenna systems for the best match at the frequency you are operating at.  Z-Man and I showed the models we use at the classes in Wisconsin and Wyoming.  They are different from an SWR meter as they don’t require you to key up your radio into an unknown antenna system, and risk blowing up the transmit final amplifier in your rig.  If you are working with improvised and field expedient antennas, your commo section needs one of these.   Continue reading “As Seen At Wyoming & Wisconsin Classes: Antenna Analyzers”

Mashable

In 1810, you could buy three gallons of whiskey for just a dollar. Today that will get you a shot from a bottle you bought yourself. Inflation sucks, right?

While you can get a snack or download an app for a buck, one dollar used to go a lot further — we’re talking 10 cans of soup, an ounce of silver, four pounds of sirloin steak and two pounds of coffee.   Continue reading “What $1 Used to Get You vs. What It Buys You Today”

Guerilla Warfare Tactics

One of the most enduring explanations for why the confederacy lost the Civil War asserts that the Rebels were too democratic. First proposed by David H. Donald as a variation on a theme by Frank L. Owsley, it has survived, with some modification by recent scholars, as a viable part of most multicausal explanations of Confederate defeat. To date, the argument has rested largely on the supposed political blunders of the central government, in its indelicate handling of issues that infringed on personal liberties or that injured the sensibilities of powerful state politicians, to demonstrate the disruptive effect of Confederate individualism. Continue reading “Guerrilla Warfare, Democracy, and The Fate of The Confederacy”