Month: November 2014

LA Times – by TINA SUSMAN, MARIA L. LA GANGA

A wooden cross on a narrow, tree-lined road marks the spot where Samantha Ramsey died a violent death.

Passersby might think the marker, etched with the 19-year-old’s name and a yellow smiley face, is a memorial to a car crash victim. They would be wrong.

In April, Ramsey was killed when a sheriff’s deputy fired four bullets through her car windshield as she left a party on the banks of the Ohio River. Ramsey, who did not have a gun, was dead before her mother got to the hospital. A grand jury took one day to review evidence — including the deputy’s testimony that he feared for his life — before declaring the shooting justified.   Continue reading “Police killing, beating of civilians raise issue of reasonable force”

USA Today – by Susan Page

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s plan to sign an executive order on immigration, expected as early as this week, will meet more resistance than support, a new USA TODAY Poll finds. Close to half of those surveyed, 46%, say he should wait for the new Republican-controlled Congress to act, and another one in 10 are unconvinced either way.

Just 42% of Americans say he should take action now, findings that reflect a familiar partisan divide between Democrats and Republicans. The president is considering an order that would prevent as many as 5 million people from being deported.   Continue reading “Poll: Resistance to Obama order on immigration”

RT

Almost 18,000 people were killed in terrorist attacks in 2013, a 61 percent increase from the 2012. Four terrorist groups, the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and Boko Haram were responsible for two thirds of all such deaths around the globe.

Almost 18,000 people were killed in terrorist attacks in 2013, a 61 percent increase from the 2012. Four terrorist groups, the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and Boko Haram were responsible for two thirds of all such deaths around the globe.   Continue reading “Global terrorism on rise: Fivefold increase in terror-related deaths since 2000”

Mail.com

JERUSALEM (AP) — It has been a difficult year for Israelis and Palestinians, with the failure of peace talks and a string of violent incidents that shows no signs of ending. Here is a look at some key recent events:

April 24: Nine months of U.S.-mediated peace talks collapse. May 15: Two Palestinian teens killed in a West Bank clash with Israeli troops on the day that Palestinians mark their uprooting during the Mideast war over Israel’s 1948 creation.   Continue reading “Chronology of Israeli-Palestinian violence”

Mail.com

JERUSALEM (AP) — Two Palestinians stormed a Jerusalem synagogue on Tuesday, attacking worshippers with meat cleavers and a gun during morning prayers and killing four people before they were killed in a shootout with police, officials said.

The attack, the deadliest in Jerusalem in years, is bound to ratchet up fears of sustained violence in the city, already on edge amid soaring tensions over a contested holy site. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel will “respond harshly,” describing the attack as a “cruel murder of Jews who came to pray and were killed by despicable murderers.” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he spoke to Netanyahu after the assault and denounced it as an “act of pure terror and senseless brutality and violence.”   Continue reading “4 Israelis killed in Jerusalem synagogue attack”

ABC News – by Eric Tucker, AP

Fabian Barrera found a way to make fast cash in the Texas National Guard, earning roughly $181,000 for claiming to have steered 119 potential recruits to join the military. But the bonuses were ill-gotten because the former captain never actually referred any of them.

Barrera’s case, which ended last month with a prison sentence of at least three years, is part of what Justice Department lawyers describe as a recurring pattern of corruption that spans a broad cross section of the military.   Continue reading “Prosecutors Troubled by Extent of Military Fraud”

BATR

How is your life going under the Global Empire? If you answer honestly, for non billionaires, the response must reflect disappointment if not immense distress. Middle America stands on the precipice of oblivion. While the recent past decades have shown steep declines in financial security and net wealth, the future looks much more ominous. The link between the shift to an internationalist de-industrialization economy and open border immigration has hit the United States hard. This harsh reality is routinely denied in the financial press, but the social chaos that engulfs society is largely caused by this betrayal mindset. Corporatists are waging war against the American public.   Continue reading “Globalism Free Trade Immigration Connection”

ZD Net – by Charlie Osborne

Chinese hackers have managed to break into US weather systems and disrupt satellite transmission, leading to US Rep. Frank Wolf scolding the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for covering up the incident.

Four websites belonging to NOAA were allegedly broken into by cybercriminals from China in October 2014, as reported by the Washington Post. The hack, it is claimed, caused not only disruption to satellite feeds which carried weather data and high-profile websites, but forced the US federal agency to shut down services — in order to stop the cybercriminals before they caused additional damage.   Continue reading “Feds ‘covered up’ Chinese hack on US weather systems”

Yahoo Finance

PROSSER, Wash. (AP) — Washington state’s first marijuana auction brought in about $600,000.

Fireweed Farms of Prosser sold about 300 pounds of pot to state-licensed processors and retailers Saturday, the Tri-City Herald reported (http://is.gd/JsJp6T ). Bidding took place under a black tent fronted by tall heaters, and the event was monitored by at least two representatives of the Washington Liquor Control Board. Bidders could smell plastic bags of buds before offering a bid.   Continue reading “Washington’s first pot auction brings in $600,000”

The Organic Prepper

Things are about to get real in Ferguson, Missouri, regardless of the decision of the Grand Jury in the Michael Brown case.

So real, in fact, that the governor of Missouri has already declared a State of Emergency and called in the National Guard.

So real, in fact, that at least some of the local cops believe citizens need to arm themselves, because they know they won’t be able to protect them from the chaos that is sure to ensue.   Continue reading “Ferguson Cop Advises Residents to Get a Gun: “We will not be able to protect you or your family””

Guns Save Lives – by Dan Cannon

In nations around the world, the United Nations Small Arms Treaty will take effect on Christmas Eve of this year.

Of course, the United States is not one of those countries as the the Senate hasn’t even voted on the treaty yet, let alone actually ratified it by the 2/3 majority vote required. The strong Republican majority which will convene in 2015 makes it even less likely that this treaty would ever pass the US Senate.

However, some gun rights advocates are worried that the Obama administration, who has made it clear that the president plans to act executively on several other issues, may use the treaty as an excuse to attempt to impose further gun regulations via executive order. This could especially hold true in regards to import/export restrictions, something the president has already acted on in recent years. According to TheBlaze:   Continue reading “United Nations Small Arms Treaty Will Take Effect on Christmas Eve”

Zero Gov – by Chris Dates

How does a person come to hold the belief of absolute nonviolence? What about this belief draws people to it? Is nonviolence the logical conclusion of non-aggression? These are the question that I have been asking myself as of late, because there is a growing number of people within the liberty movement who are latching onto the belief of absolute nonviolence. I’d like to explore this idea, and try to lay out an argument as to why I think it is not only wrong, but also dangerous to adopt this belief.   Continue reading “Non-Aggression or Non-Violence?”

Mail.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The largest solar power plant of its type in the world — once promoted as a turning point in green energy — isn’t producing as much energy as planned.

One of the reasons is as basic as it gets: The sun isn’t shining as much as expected. Sprawling across roughly 5 square miles of federal desert near the California-Nevada border, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System opened in February, with operators saying it would produce enough electricity to power a city of 140,000 homes.   Continue reading “Huge solar plant lags in early production”