Real Scientist – by Alice Klein

New Zealand is continuing to shake after being hit by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake, and there are fears the underground stress could set off even bigger tremors nearby.

“We currently calculate a 12 per cent probability of a magnitude 7 or larger earthquake within the next day, and 32 per cent within the next 30 days,” says John Ristau at GNS Science, New Zealand’s geoscience research and consultancy firm. “An earthquake like this can increase the risk of a major earthquake nearby, although it can also decrease stress on a nearby fault and lessen the risk.”   Continue reading “New Zealand’s latest earthquake could trigger a mega-quake”

RT

The FBI has gained access to Twitter-linked analytics tool Dataminr, citing the use of Twitter by terrorist organizations. But that appears to violate Twitter’s fine print, which forbids its data from being used to “investigate, track, or surveil” users.

The bureau hired Dataminr last week to provide an “advanced alerting tool” to over 200 users, The Verge reported.   Continue reading “FBI gains access to tweet-mining app despite Twitter snooping ban”

Mail.com

MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday urged the United States to respect the “irreversible” Paris Agreement on climate change, and said France will lead a dialogue on the topic with President-elect Donald Trump “on behalf of the 100 countries that have ratified” the deal.

Speaking to a U.N. climate conference in Morocco, Hollande praised U.S. President Barack Obama for his role in getting the landmark pact adopted in the French capital last year. “The United States, the most powerful economy in the world, the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, must respect the commitments that were made,” he said. “It’s not simply their duty, it’s in their interest.”   Continue reading “Hollande: US must respect ‘irreversible’ climate deal”

Mail.com

BEIRUT (AP) — Russia launched new strikes in Syria on Tuesday involving carrier-borne jets and long-range missiles as opposition activists on the ground reported that the first airstrikes in nearly a month struck the besieged, rebel-held parts of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo.

According to activists, between four and 10 people were killed in the strikes on Aleppo, raising concerns of a return to daily deadly bombardment in Syria’s largest city. The Russian blitz began hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump discussed Syria over the phone and agreed on the need to combine efforts in the fight against what the Kremlin called their No. 1 enemy — “international terrorism and extremism.”   Continue reading “Russia launches new offensive, airstrikes hit Syria’s Aleppo”

Mail.com

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — After pulling his lifeless son from the car where the toddler had been left sweltering and alone for hours, Justin Ross Harris insisted it had been a fatal accident. Police found the death suspicious — from the short drive during which Harris said he forgot about his son to the fact he returned to his SUV once without noticing the boy.

After a month-long trial and four days of deliberations, a jury Monday sided with authorities and convicted 35-year-old Harris of malice murder — concluding not only that he should be held criminally responsible, but that he left his 22-month-old son, Cooper, to die on purpose.   Continue reading “Verdict: Georgia man deliberately killed son left in hot car”

Liberty Blitzkrieg – by Michael Krieger

More disappointing than the Obama administration itself (which was very disappointing), were the seemingly endless hordes of fake liberals constantly justifying and making excuses for his well documented litany of civil liberties abuses. Naturally, I likewise expect countless Trump supporters to instinctively make similar excuses for Trump if he should end up naming former Goldman Sachs Partner, and overall finance miscreant, Steve Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary. This is a huge part of our problem as a nation. Rather than having well defined principles and defending them, we tend to pick personalities we like and then cheer them on as uncritically as our favorite sports teams.   Continue reading “President Obama Leaves Behind a Deplorable Civil Liberties Legacy”

Reason – by C.J. Ciaramella

A group of Detroit police officers executing a narcotics search warrant knocked on Nikita Smith’s door on January 14, 2016. The only fact that both Smith and the officers agree on after that point is that, a short while later, Smith’s three dogs were all shot dead.

What really happened in the moments between could be a costly question for the city of Detroit. In a federal civil rights lawsuit filed in May, Smith says the Detroit police executed her three pit bulls, Debo, Mama, and Smoke, without provocation. Essentially, they acted as a “dog death squad.”   Continue reading “Why Are Detroit Cops Killing So Many Dogs?”

MassPrivateI

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Big Brother is tracking your purchases. What should surprise you, is how Big Brother is using ‘rewards card’ purchases to spy on every purchase you make.

Big Brother is spying on everyone’s ‘rewards card’ purchases   Continue reading “Big Brother is spying on everyone’s ‘rewards card’ purchases”

Bloomberg – by Meenal Vamburkar

The Obama administration has yet again delayed a decision on the controversial Dakota Access crude pipeline, even as President-elect Donald Trump vows to speed up reviews of such projects.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Monday that it’ll hold more talks with a Native American tribe potentially affected by the pipeline before deciding on a permit that’s key to finishing the $3.8 billion project spanning four states. The news came just a day before environmentalists planned to protest at Army Corps offices nationwide, calling for a permanent rejection of the project.   Continue reading “Obama administration delays decision on Dakota Access Pipeline”

Amerika, You have been Trumped

Definition of Trump Card

1:  a card from the suit that has been chosen as the most valuable for a particular card game
2:  something that gives someone an advantage <The prosecution’s trump card is the evidence linking the defendant to the murder weapon.> <He played/used his trump card during the negotiations>    Continue reading “The Trump Card has been Played”

This article provides a great breakdown of voter numbers.

Anti-Media – by Nick Bernabe

“Nobody for President, that’s my campaign slogan,” Nick Cannon asserted in “Too Broke to Vote,” his viral criticism of the American electoral process from March of this year. Now, it turns out nobody for president won the 2016 election in a landslide.

According to new voter turnout statistics from the 2016 election, 47 percent of Americans voted for nobody, far outweighing the votes cast for Trump (25.5 percent) and Hillary (25.6 percent) by eligible voters.   Continue reading “Actually, ‘Nobody’ Won the 2016 Presidential Election — and It Was a Landslide”

Daily Mail

The nation’s three largest cities are vowing to maintain their ‘sanctuary’ status in defiance of President-elect Donald Trump’s call to deport up to 3 million undocumented ‘criminal’ immigrants who came here illegally.

The chief of the Los Angeles Police Department said Monday the department had no plans of departing from its policy of not stopping people based on suspicion of their immigration status.   Continue reading “Mayors vow to keep ‘sanctuary’ status as Trump vows crackdown on immigrants”

Fox News

A driver who attacked a Florida sheriff’s deputy Monday morning was shot and killed by a bystander who warned him to stop beating the officer, according to a report.

The incident began at around 9:30 a.m. when the Lee County deputy tried to make a traffic stop on Interstate 75 in Estero. Instead of complying, witnesses said the driver took off, reaching speeds of more than 100 miles per hour.    Continue reading “Passerby shoots, kills motorist assaulting deputy after traffic stop”