From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
US President Barack Obama confirmed plans to dramatically increase the American troop presence in Syria by deploying an additional 250 personnel, bringing the total to 300. He said the troops would help drive out the Islamic State terrorist group.
The move, which was first reported by the media, will once again contradict Obama’s 2013 promise of not putting any“American boots on the ground in Syria.” Continue reading “More boots on the ground: Obama sends 250 more US troops to Syria”
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oil exporting countries in the Middle East lost a staggering $390 billion in revenue due to lower oil prices last year, and should brace for even deeper losses of around $500 billion this year, the International Monetary Fund said Monday.
The fund had projected in October that oil exporting countries in the region would see revenue losses of $360 billion in 2015, but oil prices took a tumble by year’s end and the drop in revenue amounted to $30 billion more. Continue reading “IMF expects $500B revenue loss for Mideast oil exporters”
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Brian Nelson’s years in solitary confinement left him terrified of other people, and he says he can still taste the concrete dust from his cell, even though he’s been free since 2010.
The 51-year-old is afraid to ride the bus, he takes five psychotropic drugs and sees a psychiatrist every week. Even when he’s at a park surrounded by grass, he says everything starts turning gray and he remembers how tiny air pockets in the walls kicked up dust whenever he would clean his cell at a now-shuttered maximum security prison in Tamms, in Illinois’ southern tip. There he was confined for the final 12 years of a 26-year sentence for murder and armed robbery. Continue reading “Illinois seeks to limit use of solitary confinement”
ANTIGO, Wis. (AP) — An 18-year-old man opened fire with a high-powered rifle outside of a high school prom in northern Wisconsin, wounding two students before a police officer who was in the parking lot fatally shot him, authorities said Sunday.
Investigators did not say whether they believe the two students were specifically targeted or discuss a possible motive for the shooting outside Antigo High School late Saturday. But a school administrator said it appeared that the gunman — identified by police as Jakob E. Wagner — intended to go into the dance and start shooting randomly. Continue reading “Gunman wounds 2 outside Wisconsin prom before cops kill him”
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Marijuana growing operations were discovered at some of the crime scenes where officials said eight family members were killed in a “pre-planned execution,” raising more questions as authorities scrambled to find a suspect or suspects in the slayings in a rural southern Ohio community.
The killings at four homes near the small community of Piketon on Friday was “a sophisticated operation,” Attorney General Mike DeWine said at a news conference Sunday. Seven adults and one teenage boy were found shot in the head; three young children were not harmed. Continue reading “Authorities: Pot operations found in homes where 8 died”
Sent to us by Galen.
The recent media frenzy over Saudi Arabia’s possible role in the September 11, 2001 attacks is aimed at distracting people from much deeper involvement of Israel as the truth would endanger the Tel Aviv regime’s existence, an analyst in Idaho says.
Mark Gelnn made the remarks in an interview with Press TV over US Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders’ recent calls on the American government to expose Saudi Arabia’s role in the 9/11 attacks that killed some 3,000 people.
Continue reading “9/11 truth poses ‘existential threat’ to Israel: Analyst”
The mother of a Swedish woman allegedly stabbed to death by an asylum seeker last night declared her country was ‘not safe’ any more.
Sweden is one of the main destinations for migrants entering the EU and police have warned they cannot cope with the tide of migrant-related crime.
Chimene Mezher described her daughter Alexandra, 22, as an ‘angel’ devoted to helping some of the hundreds of migrant youths who have come to her home of Molndal without parents. Continue reading “Dead Swedish refugee worker Alexandra Mezher’s mum says Sweden is no longer safe”
This photograph was taken with all permissions needed from Klamath Tribal Chief and Governor of Chiloquin, Don Gentry.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – by Torsten Ove
Ten jurors had been chosen to hear the case Tuesday of George Biegenwald, accused of killing one girlfriend and trying to kill another while the body of the first was still in his beer refrigerator, but he chose to enter a plea at the last minute.
Biegenwald, 58, of Shaler, pleaded no contest to third-degree homicide and related offenses in the 2015 death of Donna See, whose body he stuffed into the refrigerator and then buried, and an assault on Patricia Johnston, another girlfriend he’d met online. Continue reading “Man accused of killing, burying girlfriend skips trial, pleads no contest”
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At first blush, it sounds like your typical sports celebrity meet and greet. Avi Herman, 10, and his brother, Jonah, 7, were waiting patiently for Odell Beckham, Jr. to arrive. Before the New York Giants wide receiver came, there was a football clinic where a few NFL coaches gave throwing pointers to the some 100 kids gathered around. After about two hours, Beckham—he, of the now-iconic meme catch—finally showed up and was promptly mobbed, by both children and their parents alike. The NFL pro then spent the next two hours signing footballs and posing for photos with his fans. Both got signed footballs, baseball caps and jerseys. Continue reading “Passover for the rich: Inside the lavish getaways where you might run into Odell Beckham, Jr.”
Most of the 32 cases of fireworks believed to have been stolen in transit have now been recovered thanks to a tip, officials said Saturday, although no arrests have been made in the case.
A senior law enforcement official said Friday 32 cases of commercial grade fireworks were reported missing and were believed to be stolen from a CSX train shipment that originated inChicago and ended in Detroit. The train went through Ohio, where officials believe the fireworks may have been stolen. The explosive material was discovered missing Thursday and was reported to authorities. Continue reading “Most Fireworks Recovered After Apparent Theft From Train”
Authorities say four federal agents suffered non-life-threatening injuries after being shot while trying to make an arrest at a Kansas motel.
Police say two U.S. marshals and an FBI agent were shot and suffered non-life-threatening injuries Saturday night in Topeka. A fourth federal agent also suffered the same injuries, but it was not immediately clear to which agency the officer is assigned. All four were taken to hospitals. Continue reading “4 Federal Agents Injured During Shootout at Kansas Motel”
(Reuters) – General Motors (GM.N) said on Friday it will close four North American plants that primarily make cars and not SUVs or trucks, for two weeks due to a parts shortage linked to the recent earthquake in Japan.
GM looked at parts availability and its North American plant operations and decided that these four plants would close to ensure adequate parts supply, a company spokeswoman said. Continue reading “GM to temporarily idle four North American auto plants”
Mother Jones – by Bryan Schatz
The Pentagon airlifted Italian goats to Afghanistan as part of a failed $6 million project aimed at boosting the country’s cashmere industry.
That’s one of the latest findings from John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, who testified at a Senate hearing yesterday on the Defense Department’s efforts to boost the Afghan economy at a cost of more than $600 million. SIGAR, Sopko said, “has not been able to find credible evidence showing that TFBSO’s [Task Force for Business and Stability Operations] activities in Afghanistan produced the intended economic growth or stabilization outcomes that justified its creation.” Continue reading “How the US Blew Millions of Dollars Airlifting Cashmere Goats to Afghanistan”
LAS VEGAS (AP) — There won’t be a federal trial next month in Las Vegas for rancher Cliven Bundy and 18 other defendants in an armed confrontation with government officers two years ago.
In a written ruling issued following a two-hour hearing in a courtroom crowded with defendants, attorneys, U.S. marshals and audience members, U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Leen essentially called a May 2 trial date unrealistic. Continue reading “No May court date for federal Bundy standoff case in Nevada”
Breaking Israeli News – by Jesse Lempel
Hundreds of bottles of Trump Vodka were seized by Israeli police for bearing phony “Kosher for Passover” labels in advance of the upcoming holiday, a police spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Police raided the storage room of “a known alcohol distributor in downtown Haifa” and found hundreds of Trump Vodka bottles with forged Passover-friendly stickers on them, the spokesperson said. Three people were detained for questioning on suspicion of having pasted the phony labels on the drink. Continue reading “Trump Vodka Bottles Seized in Passover Scam”
Today on Survival Saturday, we have a series of stories that could all be headlined, “What could possibly go wrong?” Do you remember the reality show by that name, where a couple of guys apply science and logic to ill-conceived ideas and explain exactly what could go wrong when you power a skateboard with homemade rockets? Perhaps our future doom won’t be caused by some kind of epic disaster, but by the unwillingness of the people to actually accept reality and apply logic to it.
Survival Saturday is a round-up of the week’s news and resources for folks who are interested in being prepared. Continue reading “Survival Saturday: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?”
Tax forms reveal that the controversial billionaire Koch brothers are throwing money into an effort to stop conservation efforts in the Grand Canyon.
Amid rumors that Charles and David Koch will be withdrawing their presence at the Republican National Convention, it has been revealed the billionaires have been funneling money into an Arizona-based group fighting a plan to ban uranium mining around the Grand Canyon, which would also protect 1.7 million acres of land.
Continue reading “Koch Brothers Look West, Set Sights on Mining the Grand Canyon”