Year: 2014

Reuters – by PHIL STEWART AND ROBERTA RAMPTON

President Barack Obama has approved sending up to 1,500 more troops to Iraq, roughly doubling the number of U.S. forces on the ground to advise and retrain Iraqis in their battle against the militant group Islamic State, U.S. officials said on Friday.

Obama’s decision greatly expands the scope of the U.S. campaign and the geographic distribution of American forces, some of whom will head into Iraq’s fiercely contested western Anbar province for the first time to act as advisors.   Continue reading “Obama to send 1,500 more troops to Iraq as campaign expands”

I hope I didn’t cause too much concern with my last email.
We have had people calling and asking if they need to come to the ranch.

We do not need anyone to come to the ranch.  There is nothing to do here
except work the ranch.  We are not expecting anything to happen here.

We are asking for you to send some letters and emails.   Continue reading “Carol Bundy: We don’t need anyone to come to the ranch”

Mail.com

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s prime minister blamed “militant Islamic incitement” for growing tensions in Jerusalem, especially at a contested holy site that was ringed Friday by hundreds of Israeli riot police as about 15,000 Muslims performed weekly prayers there.

The prayers ended peacefully, though clashes erupted again later in the day between Palestinian stone-throwers and Israeli troops in an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem, at the main Israeli checkpoint on the outskirts of the city and at several locations in the West Bank.   Continue reading “Heavy security at contested Jerusalem shrine”

Mail.com

SEATTLE (AP) — FBI Director James Comey says an agent impersonated an Associated Press reporter during a 2007 criminal investigation, a ruse the news organization says could undermine its credibility.

In a letter Thursday to The New York Times, Comey said the agent “portrayed himself as an employee of The Associated Press” to help catch a 15-year-old suspect accused of making bomb threats at a high school near Olympia, Washington. It was publicized last week that the FBI forged an AP story during its investigation, but Comey’s letter revealed the agency went further and had an agent actually pretend to be a reporter for the wire service.   Continue reading “FBI says agent impersonated AP reporter”

The Economic Collapse – by Michael Snyder

This is the big problem with fiat currency – eventually the temptation to print more of it when you are in a jam becomes too powerful to resist.  In a surprise move on Friday, the Bank of Japan dramatically increased the size of the quantitative easing program that it has been conducting.  This sent Japanese stocks soaring and the Japanese yen plunging.  The yen had already fallen by about 11 percent against the dollar over the last year before this announcement, and news of the BOJ’s surprise move caused the yen to collapse to a seven year low.  Essentially what the Bank of Japan has done is declare a currency war.  And as you will see below, in every currency war there are winners and there are losers.  Let’s just hope that global financial markets do not get shredded in the crossfire.   Continue reading “It’s Currency War! – And Japan Has Fired The First Shot”

Wolf Street – by Wolf Richter

The employment situation in the US has been outright rosy. Initial unemployment claims have been bumping along near record lows. Whether or not companies are hiring, at least they’re not axing people in massive numbers. The unemployment rate of 5.8% is practically comfort inducing. OK, we can smell the odor of the details underneath, but hey. And for September, the Challenger Job Cut Report raved about 2014 being “on pace to be the lowest job-cut year since 1997.”

Got it. Things are good.   Continue reading “Layoffs Explode In America’s Big Old Tech Companies”

Next Gov – by Aliya Sternstein

Law enforcement officials nationwide now have the ability to search multiple sensitive databases, including spy agency intranets and homeland security suspicious activity reporting – with a single login.

The breakthrough in interconnectivity is expected to close information gaps that, among other things, have contributed to the rise in homegrown terrorism and school shootings.    Continue reading “Rap Sheets, Watchlists and Spy Networks Now Available With Single Click”

Breitbart – by John Nolte

According to the Weather Channel, its 6am “Wake Up with Al Roker” beat both CNN’s New Day” and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”this month:   Continue reading “Weather Channel Morning Show Beats CNN, MSNBC”

Breitbart – by Jonathan Strong

The first battle over the direction of the GOP since Tuesday’s tidal wave election is quietly building as conservatives race to construct a plan to stop President Obama’s executive amnesty.

Huddling in Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) office Wednesday, top conservative aides sketched out a plan to include language prohibiting Obama from issuing employment permits to illegal aliens in an upcoming “omnibus” spending bill – and settling for a four-week stopgap bill if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid balks in the last days of his rule.   Continue reading “The Conservative Plan To Stop Obama’s Executive Amnesty”

Time – by Laura Lorenzetti

Unemployment rate drops to lowest level since July 2008

The Labor Department released last month’s employment figures Friday morning, and the report shows that the U.S. labor market has continued to post steady gains while some stubborn weak points still exist. Here are some key points from the October jobs report.

What you need to know: October was the 56th straight month of private-sector job gains in the U.S., and monthly gains have averaged about 227,000 so far this year. The job market has been steadily improving, which is good news. However, on the downside, hourly wages have struggled to make gains and the number of long-term unemployed is still almost 50% higher than it was before the recession hit.   Continue reading “Economy Adds 214,000 Jobs in October, Unemployment Rate Drops to 5.8%”

Voice of America – by Sok Khemara

A leaked ASEAN document, a draft of the chairman’s statement for next week’s summit, notes progress on a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea and urges the group’s members to peacefully resolve their maritime disputes with China.

A senior government source from an Association of Southeast Asian Nations member, who did not want to be named, gave the document to VOA this week.  The statement is a draft of the communique that would typically be released at the end of an ASEAN summit, such as the one being held in next week in Myanmar, also known as Burma.   Continue reading “ASEAN Document Pushes Talks on South China Sea”

Resister in the Rockies – by Ironwill III

So the Republicans have seized the Senate, giving them control of Congress. What do these election results mean for you?

Not much.

Øbamacare won’t be repealed. Your taxes won’t be cut. Alphabet Agencies won’t shrink. The debt won’t get fixed. The wars won’t end. LEO’s won’t stop conducting No-Knock warrant raids on the wrong homes. You’ll still go to jail for selling raw milk. You still don’t ‘own’ your home. You’ll still have to pay for welfare. TSA will still violate you when you fly. The border is still wide open. Your assets can still be confiscated. Etc….    Continue reading “Mid-Term Elections – What To Expect Now”

CBC – by Jody Porter

A First Nations woman in Northern Ontario faces thousands of dollars in fines and a stop-work order on the cabin she is attempting to build in the place where she grew up.​

Darlene Necan is a member of the Ojibways of Saugeen First Nation, but she’s been unable to acquire housing in that community, about 400 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, since the reserve was created in the late 1990s.    Continue reading “Homeless woman fined for building her own home”

The Smoking Gun

NOVEMBER 6–A police report detailing a fight last month between members of Michael Brown’s family over the sale of commemorative t-shirts identifies the late teenager’s mother as one of the “attackers” who beat and robbed vendors selling the merchandise from a tent in a Ferguson, Missouri parking lot.

A copy of the Ferguson Police Department report was provided yesterday by city attorney Stephanie Karr. When TSG requested the document two weeks ago, Karr noted that Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, was “described in the report” and had “specifically requested that the report be withheld from the media.”   Continue reading “Michael Brown’s Mother Named As Robbery Attacker”