From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
The minimum wage will rise in 21 states in 2015, putting it above the federal pay floor in more than half the USA and highlighting the impact of a national movement to boost the earnings of low-paid workers.
The increases will lift the hourly wages of 2.4 million workers by up to $1 to an average of $8 and a high of $9.15, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The federal hourly minimum is $7.25. Continue reading “Minimum wage to rise in 21 states this week”
LA Times – by SOUMYA KARLAMANGLA
Three days before Los Angeles lawmakers voted on a proposal to ban genetically modified crops, the world’s largest biotechnology trade group hired three top City Hall lobbyists to stop it.
The matter had sailed through a meeting weeks before with only one City Council member expressing doubt. Continue reading “City Council panel backs away from GMO ban it previously supported”
CREVE COEUR, Mo. (AP) — Fifty-one years ago, Arthur Lampitt of Granite City, Illinois, smashed his 1963 Thunderbird into a truck. This week during surgery in suburban St. Louis, a 7-inch turn signal lever from that T-Bird was removed from his left arm.
Dr. Timothy Lang removed the lever Wednesday during a 45-minute operation. Lampitt, now 75, is recovering at home. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1EOtGa6 ) reports that the accident broke Lampitt’s hip, drawing attention away from the arm, which healed. Continue reading “51 years after wreck, 7-inch car part found in arm”
Breitbart – by ILDEFONSO ORTIZ
REYNOSA, Tamaulipas — Mexican investigators beat and tortured a prostitute in order to get her to confirm their version of events regarding the alleged execution of a group of cartel members in the town of Tlataya. The version that the Mexican government wanted was that the soldiers fought off an attack and killed the 22 gunmen.
The other version of the June 30 shooting, as told by a self-admitted prostitute and the mother of a female teenage gang member in the group, was that the cartel gunmen had surrendered and the military had executed 12 to 15 of them, the Associated Press reported. Continue reading “Mexican Investigators Covered Up Execution of Cartel Gunmen by Soldiers”
Breitbart – by ADELLE NAZARIAN
For the first time in 12 years, violent crime in Los Angeles has climbed to a stunningly high rate, driven by an increase in reported aggravated assaults.
Crimes in the four categories that account for Los Angeles’s violence are robberies, homicides, rapes, and aggravated assaults.
According to the Los Angeles Times, while the percentage of robberies and homicides saw a slight increase, rape saw a 12.4 percent spike. Aggravated assaults shot up by 24.2 percent, compared with the rate of assaults in 2013. The Times posits that the increase correlates with a gross understatement of the city’s true level of crime. Continue reading “LAPD: Violent Crime at Highest Rates in 12 Years”
Breitbart – by ILDEFONSO ORTIZ
MCALLEN, Texas – A Mexican man who is in the U.S. illegally remains behind bars and stands accused of assaulting his girlfriend and kidnapping her baby.
Edinburg Police arrested 23-year-old Victor Soriano on the charge of kidnapping, and assault/family violence, information released by Edinburg Police to Breitbart Texasshows.
While a municipal judge set bond for Soriano, he remains behind bars on an immigration detainer. Continue reading “Illegal Immigrant Accused of Choking Woman, Tying Her Up with Extension Cord and Kidnapping Baby”
Breitbart – by Warner Todd Huston
President Barack Obama’s approval rating has hit 48 percent as 2014 came to a close.
In fact, the Obama’s 23 quarter approval fell even below his late December rating, ending in the middle of October at 41.5 percent, among the lowest quarterly averages of his entire presidency thus far.
Just after the November election, where the Democrat Party suffered a historic defeat, Obama’s approval rating began to surge. Many of his signature polices were funded in the “CRomnibus”–including executive amnesty and Obamacare–which was passed with bipartisan support. The president also announced landmark changes to U.S./Cuba relations before heading to Hawaii for vacation. Continue reading “As Year Ends, Obama Approval Rating Approaches 50%”
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in a New Year’s speech Thursday that he is open to more talks or even a summit with his South Korean counterpart, a statement welcomed by Seoul, which in turn urged the North to take concrete steps toward normalization of relations.
Kim’s call for improving inter-Korea relations comes as Pyongyang is facing heightened criticism over its human rights record and souring ties with Washington over allegations it was involved in the massive hacking attack on Sony Pictures linked to “The Interview,” a dark comedy that portrayed an assassination attempt on Kim. Continue reading “North Korean leader open to summit with South”
ACCOKEEK, MD –-(Ammoland.com)- Benelli’s ETHOS has been on the market for just a few months, and rave reviews are coming in as fast as the shotgun swings on a game bird or target.
The latest report by noted outdoor personality and author Ron Spomer on his Ron Spomer Outdoors YouTube channel spells out in no uncertain terms the superb functionality and shootability of the brand’s newest semi-auto. Continue reading “Shotgun of the Year ‘Benelli ETHOS’ takes center stage in Ron Spomer Outdoors’”
Police militarization continues and actually increased in the aftermath of Ferguson.
Via The Washington Times:
The federal government shipped nearly 4,000 more assault rifles to local law enforcement agencies in the three months following the Ferguson riots, marking a huge surge in the amount of lethal firearms being doled out to police and sheriff’s offices. Continue reading “Astronomical Increase: Feds ship 4,000 more assault rifles to local law enforcement in 3 months after Ferguson”
End of the American Dream – by Michael Snyder
In Russia, shopping malls are putting out American flag doormats for people to wipe their feet on, and there are stores that are selling toilet paper with the American flag imprinted on it. Surveys show that Russian attitudes toward the U.S. are now even worse than they were during the end of the Cold War, and ordinary Russians are blaming America for everything from the overthrow of the Ukrainian government to the collapse of the ruble. The Russian government has just authorized a new military doctrine which identifies the United States as a top threat, and commentators on Russian television are using extremely strong language to condemn the United States. In fact, one of the most prominent Russian commentators has referred to the United States as “the kingdom of the Antichrist“. To the Russians, a new Cold War has erupted, and they very clearly view the United States as enemy number one. Continue reading “This Is How Much Russians Hate America…”
A crackdown on Cuban dissidents caused a rift with the United States on Wednesday. It was the first major diplomatic commotion between the two countries since diplomatic ties were restored earlier in December last year.
According to the head of the officially banned Cuban Human Rights Commission, Elizardo Sanchez, the communist authorities arrested more than 30 dissidents on Tuesday in an attempt to stop them from attending an open mic session which was held for Cubans to speak out about their future. Continue reading “Arrests of Cuban Activists Revives Tensions With U.S”
Wall Street Journal – by JAMES T. AREDDY
SHANGHAI—Family and friends rushed to hospitals Thursday looking for loved ones among the dozens of people who died in a New Year’s Eve stampede, with some asking whether city officials had provided adequate security on a night when thousands gathered to greet 2015.
Online video and photos of the event—an annual tradition in Shanghai—showed what appeared to be thousands of people in the glittery Bund district, along the banks of the Huangpu River. There were shouts and then screams as the crowd surged and people fell underfoot, smartphone screens flickering in their hands. Continue reading “Shanghai Stampede Death Toll Rises to at Least 36; Accounts Differ on Cause”
Israeli security experts have said before that the fence around the White House does not stop intruders.
Now, a homeland security panel says that a taller fence for the White House is the most important immediate step in ramping up protection for the president. Continue reading “Homeland Security panel recommends taller fence for White House”
The United States is planning to deploy about 150 tanks and armored vehicles to Europe in 2015, with a third of them to be sent to Germany, the commander of the U.S, Army in Europe, Lieutenant General Frederick Ben Hodges has said, Ukrainian newspaper ZN.UA reports.
According to Lt. Gen. Hodges, the decision to increase the number of armored vehicles in Europe was made two years ago and has no relation to Ukrainian conflict. Continue reading “US preparing deployment of 150 armored vehicles to Europe”
The New American – by Alex Newman
Under the guise of advancing what the United Nations refers to as “human rights,” the dictator-dominated global body is waging a full-blown assault on free-speech rights by pressuring governments to criminalize so-called “hate speech.” Indeed, working alongside radical government-funded activist groups and anti-liberty politicians around the world, the UN and other totalitarian-minded forces have now reached the point where they openly claim that what they call “international law” actually requires governments to ban speech and organizations they disapprove of. Critics, though, are fighting back in an effort to protect freedom of speech — among the most fundamental of all real rights. Continue reading “UN Seeks to Criminalize Free Speech, Citing “Human Rights””
Sent to us by the author, Gary Bertnick
As the sun rises faithfully
And dramatic colors streak across the sky
Eyes brighten as the day becomes suddenly richer and fuller
A breath of fresh air fills the lungs
While a light breeze moves around the body
New strength invigorates
The mind so much clearer
Creative thoughts easily move and laugh Continue reading “A New Man”
USA Today – by Paul Davidson
Mail.com
Yahoo News
AmmoLand
Bluegrass Pundit
Vision – by Ben Maloney
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