Year: 2016

Counter Punch – by Ted Rall

We’re not supposed to question juries. They’re our peers. They put in long hours, working hard essentially for free. Most of all, they see all the evidence. We don’t. We have to assume that they know what they’re doing.

Sometimes, however, a jury verdict relies on so many false assumptions, baseless assignments of privilege and twisted logic that you have to call it out. The decision of a Cleveland grand jury not to indict the cop who shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice to death is one such time.
Continue reading “Cops: Too Crazy to be Trusted With Guns”

The Organic Prepper

Did you ever wonder why our country seems to be getting sicker by the year?

Given the huge leaps in medical technology and the scientific discoveries made over the past decades, doesn’t it seem as though people in civilized countries would be leading longer, healthier lives?

In reality, it’s just the opposite.   Continue reading “Home Detox: How to Rid Your Environment of the Sources of Chronic Illness”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Despite a bloodbath in US equities, gun stocks are soaring this morning (Smith & Wesson up 7% and Sturm, Ruger up 3%) as ABC News reports, as we detailed yesterday:

• *OBAMA MAY TAKE GUN CONTROL EXECUTIVE ACTION TOMORROW

With the Oregon standoff continuing, it appears “the world’s greatest gun sales-man” has done it again.   Continue reading “Gun Stocks Soar Ahead Of Obama’s Gun-Control Executive-Action Tomorrow”

Breitbart – by John Hayward

Bahrain and Sudan have joined their ally Saudi Arabia in formally severing diplomatic ties with Iran, while the United Arab Emirates has “downgraded” its diplomatic team, recalling its ambassador from Tehran and announcing that it would reduce the number of diplomats assigned to Iran.

In response to the sacking of the Saudi embassy in Tehran, Bahrain gave Iranian diplomats 48 hours to vacate the country. Bahrain’s state news agency described the embassy burning as a “sinful, cowardly attack” which “confirms a determination to spread devastation and destruction,” as reported by NPR.   Continue reading “Bahrain, Sudan, UAE Join Saudi Arabia in Diplomatic Action Against Iran”

AL.com – by Conner Sheets

Every week, several members of the University of Alabama’s Sigma Nu fraternity chapter are randomly chosen to report to a cluster of dingy offices on the bottom floor of the school’s Russell Hall and urinate in a cup.

Though the compulsory exercise sounds like a rush-season hazing ritual, it is in fact a central component of a strict new anti-drug effort launched at the start of the fall semester.   Continue reading “University of Alabama quietly testing fraternity brothers for drugs”

Huffington Post

JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — A Jacksonville man is facing a 120-year sentence for firing two shots that caused no injuries, The Florida Times-Union reported on Sunday.

The trial of Army Veteran Randal Ratledge, 58, is scheduled to start with jury selection on Monday. Defense attorneys have asked the judge to waive the mandatory guidelines, but court officials said Judge Jack Schemer is bound by the state law.
Continue reading “Army Veteran Faces 120-Year Sentence For Firing 2 Shots Into Air”

Shark Tank – by Javier Manjarres

After filing and voting on dozens of bill to replace the disastrous Obama healthcare law, the  newly-minted Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and the Republican-led Congress is finally unveiling an actual replacement for the law.

Ranking congressional democrats like Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz have ridiculed GOP leaders as being simple “obstructionists” every time one of these “repeal Obamacare” bills has come to the floor vote.   Continue reading “Republicans Plan To Unveil “Replace Obamacare” Legislation”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is slated Monday to finalize a set of new executive actions tightening the nation’s gun laws, making his first order of business in 2016 a clear signal the president in his final year doesn’t intend to go quietly.

At a meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch, FBI Director James Comey and other top law enforcement officials Obama is expected to sign off on a package of proposals aimed at curbing gun violence and cracking down on unregulated gun sales.   Continue reading “Obama starts 2016 with a fight over gun control”

Mail.com

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (AP) — With executions on hold in California and a death penalty appeals process that can take years, many inmates on the nation’s largest death row say they spend little time worrying about the lethal injection that may one day kill them.

“It’s almost like it’s not even a real punishment for a lot of people,” said Charles Crawford at San Quentin State Prison, where the vast majority of the state’s nearly 750 condemned inmates are held.   Continue reading “California grants rare look inside largest death row”

Mail.com

GAUHATI, India (AP) — A strong earthquake damaged buildings, killed at least eight people and injured more than 100 in India’s remote northeast region early Monday.

The death and injuries were caused by falling debris. Manipur state’s home minister, G. Gaikhangam, said several areas suffered extensive damage, especially the capital, Imphal. He did not give details but told reporters the situation was still being assessed.   Continue reading “Strong quake kills at least 8 in India’s remote northeast”

Fuel Fix

BEMIDJI, Minn. — Enbridge Energy will pay the Red Lake Nation in northern Minnesota $18.5 million to settle a nearly decade-long dispute over unauthorized use of a small parcel of tribal land.

In a split vote, the Red Lake Tribal Council accepted the Enbridge settlement in late December. The settlement pays for less than a half-acre of land and restitution for 65 years of unauthorized use, Minnesota Public Radio News reported.   Continue reading “Enbridge settles pipeline dispute with Red Lake for $18.5M”

Middle East Rising – by Charlotte Silver

Brazil’s government has excluded an Israeli “security” company from working at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro following a campaign by Palestine solidarity activists.

In October 2014, the Israeli firm International Security and Defence Systems (ISDS) announced it had won a $2.2 billion contract with the Brazilian government to coordinate security at the huge sports event. The Times of Israel described the deal as “an unprecedented achievement for Israel,” while senior figures from the company stated it had already begun work.   Continue reading “Brazil Cancels $2 Billion Contract with Israeli Security Firm for 2016 Olympics”

Washington’s Blog

In 2015, there were 385 terrorist incidents around the world according to Wikipedia. Of these, 94% were attributed to Muslim perpetrators or occurred in Muslim countries surrounding the world’s most resource-rich region. The geographic pattern behind these and previous attacks suggests that terrorism is more a function of the need to seize resources than it is about religious or political beliefs. The terrorist events of 2015 continue to fuel speculation that most terrorism is government-sponsored and focuses on achieving political objectives.   Continue reading “Terrorism in 2015: Following a False Flag Formula”

New York Times – by SHAILA DEWAN and TIMOTHY WILLIAMS

What was once a rarity has now become increasingly common: police officers facing criminal charges in the deaths of civilians. In Albuquerque, two officers will stand trial in the death of a homeless man. In Cincinnati, a campus police officer has been charged in the fatal shooting of a man during a traffic stop. In Chicago, where a video captured the death of Laquan McDonald at the hands of the police, an officer was charged with murder.

But even as high-profile police shootings have attracted more scrutiny over the past year, one thing remains clear: The law gives the police the benefit of the doubt.   Continue reading “More Police Officers Facing Charges, but Few See Jail”