Year: 2015

Sputnik

The White House has refused to release information about a secret policy that permits the Department of Homeland Security to unilaterally shut down private cellphone service in the event of a national crisis.

Enacted almost ten years ago without public notice or debate, Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 303, often referred to as the cellphone kill switch, has been shrouded in secrecy from its inception and has been targeted by civil liberties groups looking to make the policy public.   Continue reading “White House Refuses to Disclose Secret Cellphone Kill Switch Order”

Middle East Post

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the execution of 15 people this year, including several top officials, South Korean intelligence says.

The agency told a parliamentary meeting on Wednesday that they were executed by firing squad on spying charges.   Continue reading “North Korea ‘executed 15 people’”

TODAY I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing. As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.   Continue reading “At the end of the day”

It Ain’t Holy Water

ABC News – by Jeffrey Collins

Two former small town police officers in South Carolina were sentenced to prison time Monday for unnecessarily shocking a mentally disabled woman with a Taser at least eight times.

Franklin Brown, 35, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and his fellow Marion police officer Eric Walters, 39, was sentenced to a year and a day. Brown’s sentence was longer because he shocked 40-year-old Melissa Davis while she was already handcuffed in April 2013.   Continue reading “Officers Who Used Taser 8 Times on Disabled Woman Get Prison”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

And so the Atlanta Fed, whose “shocking” Q1 GDP prediction Zero Hedge first laid out nearly 2 months ago, with its Q1 GDP 0.1% forecast was spot on. Moments ago the BEA reported that Q1 GDP was far worse than almost everyone had expected, and tumbled from a 2.2% annualized growth rate at the end of 2014 to just 0.2%, in a rerun of last year when it too “snowed” in the winter.  This was well below the Wall Street consensus of a print above 1.0%.   Continue reading “US Economy Grinds To A Halt, Again: Q1 GDP Tumbles Below Expectations, Rises Paltry 0.2%”

Fox News

A charity tied with the Clinton Foundation reportedly failed to reveal the identities of at least 1,100 donors, in the latest detail to emerge about the group’s finances following days of intense public scrutiny.

The Canada-based Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership could be a potential gateway for anonymous Clinton Foundation donations from foreign business leaders because Canadian law prohibits charities from disclosing individual donors without their permission.   Continue reading “Clinton Foundation reportedly failed to disclose identities of 1,100 donors”

Reuters – by SCOTT MALONE AND IAN SIMPSON

The streets of Baltimore were largely quiet overnight, with only scattered arrests reported during a curfew imposed after the latest wave of rioting fueled by anger against U.S police killings of black men.

Shortly after the curfew began late on Tuesday night, police in riot gear fired rubber bullets and lobbed gas canisters at a few hundred protesters who stood in front of a pharmacy that had been burned out.   Continue reading “Baltimore streets quiet after first night of curfew enforcement”

Curry Coastal Pilot – by Jayati Ramakrishnan

Passing through the north end of Brookings, Oregon, it’s hard not to notice Ira Tozer. He’s the one waving at cars as they go past — with a big, beaming smile on his face.

Parked at the corner of Highway 101 and Parkview Drive, Tozer sits on a bright blue scooter adorned with ribbons and flags, grinning and waving excitedly at passersby. He tips his hat at some, and throws a salute to all police officers.

Tozer, 72, became a community icon about 15 years ago, when he started walking up and down Highway 101. Though hip troubles prevent him from walking and waving like he used to, Tozer continues to spread positive energy.   Continue reading “The waving, riding man”

Examiner – by Paul Bedard

Most foreign visitors come to America to ride the elevator to the top of the Empire State Building, tour Washington’s Lincoln Memorial or feast on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf.

But there are possibly 36,000 pregnant women who arrived in 2012 to give birth to a little American citizen, according to a new report.

It’s called “birth tourism” and is used by foreigners to receive U.S. citizenship for their offspring under U.S. law.   Continue reading “Report: 36,000 foreign ‘birth tourists’ here to make U.S. babies”

BATR – by James Hall

Once upon a time, the famous criminal Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, and his response was simple, eloquent, and humorous: “Because that’s where the money is.” Well, soon that adage may be proven untrue. What exactly is the meaning of legal tender?  In order to place money in its proper perspective, examine what the U.S. Treasury says.

“The pertinent portion of law that applies to your question is the Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled “Legal tender,” which states: “United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues.”   Continue reading “The Banksters War on Cash”

Economic Collapse – by Michael Snyder

Why did the Baltimore riots seem like they were perfectly staged to be a television event?  Images of police vehicles burning made for great television all over the planet, but why were there abandoned police vehicles sitting right in the middle of the riot zones without any police officers around them in the first place?  Why was the decision made ahead of time to set a curfew for Tuesday night and not for Monday night?  And why are Baltimore police officers claiming that they were ordered to “stand down” and not intervene as dozens of shops, businesses and homes went up in flames?  Yes, the anger over the death of Freddie Gray is very real.  Police brutality has been a major problem in Baltimore and much of the rest of the nation for many years.  But could it be possible that the anger that the people of Baltimore are feeling is being channeled and manipulated for other purposes?  The following are 12 unanswered questions about the Baltimore riots that they don’t want us to ask…   Continue reading “12 Unanswered Questions About The Baltimore Riots That They Don’t Want Us To Ask”

Huffington Post – by David Lohr

Lucia Morejon cannot escape the haunting memory she has of the final desperate words spoken to her by her teenage son after he was shot by police: “Mommy, Mommy, please come, please come.”

Hector Morejon, the youngest of five children, made that plea for help after he was shot by a Long Beach, California, police officer, who allegedly thought the 19-year-old was in possession of a firearm Thursday afternoon.   Continue reading “Hector Morejon, Unarmed Teen Shot, Killed By Police, Cried For His Mother: ‘Mommy, Mommy, Please Come’”

Continue reading “Our daily dosing of chemicals-Iowa”

Statesman

In the wake of intense vocal opposition to a series of military exercises planned for this summer in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott has instructed the Texas State Guard to monitor the operation dubbed Jade Helm 15.

Abbott sent a letter Tuesday to Maj. Gen. Gerald “Jake” Betty, commander of the Texas State Guard, directing him to provide regular updates to the governor to ensure that residents’ “safety, constitutional rights, private property rights and civil liberties will not be infringed” during the eight weeks of training from July to September.   Continue reading “Abbott directs Texas State Guard to monitor Jade Helm 15 exercises”