From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
HERSHEY, Pa. – If Derry Township School District board member Andrea Abruzzo had her way, kids would celebrate their birthdays with carrots.
Abruzzo’s district is putting a greater emphasis on “non-food rewards,” including birthday treats.
To that end, Derry Township schools have banned cupcakes or “other snacks.” Continue reading “School bans birthday cupcakes: ‘Bring carrots’”
Yahoo News – by Cathy Bussewitz
HONOLULU (AP) — The Honolulu City Council approved several measures Wednesday aimed at moving homeless people out of tourist hotspots in Hawaii, including one that bans sitting and lying down on sidewalks in the popular Waikiki area.
But a separate push to prevent homeless people from resting on sidewalks throughout the rest of the island failed.
The council has been under pressure from the tourism industry to act, with hotel representatives saying visitors complain often about safety and human waste. Continue reading “Honolulu to move homeless people from tourist hubs”
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — The judge in Oscar Pistorius’ trial ruled out a murder conviction for the double-amputee Olympian Thursday in the shooting death of his girlfriend but said he was negligent, raising the possibility he’ll be convicted of culpable homicide.
The verdict in the case that has riveted much of South Africa and the world is expected on Friday when Judge Thokozile Masipa reconvenes the judgment phase, climaxing the trial that began in March. If Pistorius is acquitted of murder, he could still be sent to jail for a maximum of 15 years if convicted of culpable homicide, which is the killing of someone through reckless or negligent behavior, although five years in prison is a guideline when a firearm is used. Continue reading “Judge: Pistorius can’t be found guilty of murder”
IT sounds like a scene from a Police Academy movie.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has been forced to apologise for accidentally leaving behind a suitcase at Sydney Airport containing 230 grams of a plastic explosive after a dog training exercise.
The bomb had been hidden in an unclaimed suitcase during the training, which took place last month. It wasn’t live, according to a statement released on the AFP website. Continue reading “AFP accidentally leaves explosives at Sydney airport, force to apologise to public”
Washington Post – by Pamela Constable
All summer, Central American children caught at the U.S.-Mexico border have been trickling into the Washington area, sent to live with relatives in Latino communities. Now, they are descending en masse on the region’s public schools, bringing an array of problems that school officials are scrambling to address.
Ripped from distant worlds, most of the new students speak no English, and some are psychologically scarred from abuse by gangs or smugglers. Reunited with parents or other relatives they barely know, and still grieving for family and friends back home, they may feel depressed and resentful. Continue reading “Area schools scramble to meet the emotional needs of undocumented children”
The United States could provide offensively geared weapons to the Japanese military within five years, Tokyo officials say. The discussions between the two countries come as Japan’s rivalry with China intensifies and alliances shift among Pacific powers.
The talks with the US cover what Japan regards as a “strike capability,” and are still preliminary. As such, they do not cover specific hardware at this stage, three Japanese officials involved in the process told Reuters. US officials said there were no formal discussions between the two countries, but did not rule out the possibility that informal talks on the issue had taken place. One American official said Japan had approached the US informally last year about the matter. Continue reading “Japan may receive offensive military weapons from US amid rising tensions with China, N. Korea”
How to Survive It – by Jeremy Knauff
Tear gas can be a valuable tool to keep crowds away from your home during civil unrest. At the moment, it can be legally purchased, but during a grid-down scenario or in the event that laws are changed, that may not be an option so learning how to make your own can be a valuable skill.
Everything you need to make tear gas is available at any grocery store, and with these instructions, it’s easy to make. Continue reading “How to Make Tear Gas”
CATO Institute – by Trevor Burrus, Forbes
This week, the Senate voted on and debated a proposed constitutional amendment that would give Congress and the states nearly unlimited power to regulate election spending. The 79-18 vote was only a cloture vote to advance the resolution to the floor, and the proposed amendment stands almost no chance of passing the high hurdle needed to become part of our Constitution–that is, a two-thirds vote from both houses of Congress and ratification by three-fourths (38) of the state legislatures.
Yet, even despite the resolution’s poor political prospects, there is one word to best describe it: Terrifying. Even though this resolution can be properly classified as a political stunt, and even though some Senators (including some Republicans) only voted for it just to score political points, it is terrifying that this proposed amendment can even score political points. Continue reading “Terrifying Senate Democrats Vote to Give Political Speech Less Protection than Pornography”
It can be hard to choose the right gun for you. Gain some gun insights in the infographic below fromReadyHolster.com and discover the ten best guns for women. Continue reading “The 10 Best Guns for Women”
The Free Thought Project – by Mike Sawyer
A blood boiling video of a Covina, CA police officer, K. Counts, was recently uploaded to youtube by Damon Enz. In the video officer Counts proceeds to trample Enz’s rights demanding that he answer questions.
“Honestly, I am going to detain you if you do not answer my questions,” says officer Counts. Apparently officer Counts swore an oath to an abridged version of the Constitution, which does not contain the 5th Amendment right of the citizen to remain silent. Continue reading “Attention Police Officers, This is How NOT to React to a Person Filming on a Public”
Yesterday, when Gazprom was supposedly “troubleshooting its systems”, we reported that in what was the first salvo of Europe’s latest cold (quite literally, with winter just around the corner) war, Poland complained that up to 25% of its usual gas deliveries from Russia had been cut. Russia indirectly hinted that this was also a result of Ukraine using “reverse flow” to meet its demands, with Europe allowing Kiev to syphon off whatever gas it needs without paying Gazprome for it. It also led Poland to promptly admit it would halt reverse flow to the civil-war ridden country. Fast forward to today when Polish financial website Biznes reports that things are going from bad to worse in Russia’s energy retaliation war, after Poland claimed a 45% shortfall in Russian natgas imports as of Wednesday. Continue reading “Poland Says Russian Gas Deliveries Tumble By 45%; Europe To Launch Sanctions On Friday, Russia Will Retaliate”
The notion that certain rights are guaranteed to citizens is being proven false every day. For instance, you have the First Amendment right to film police officers and other public officials, but it often takes an official policy change (usually prompted by lawsuits) before these public servants will begrudgingly respect that right.
You also have certain rights guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment, but even these aren’t innate. You can’t simply remain silent while detained or arrested. You have to invoke these rights (often repeatedly) or risk having your silence (things you didn’t say) used against you. Continue reading “Cop To Cameraman: ‘If You’re Invoking Your Rights, You Must Be Doing Something Wrong’”
EAG News – by Kyle Olson
Mail.com
News.AU
RT
Survival Spot
Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden
Tech Dirt – by Tim Cushing