From the Trenches World Report

Washington Examiner – by Paul Bedard

In a new report that warns that the electric grid is the “prime target” of terrorists, Americans are being urged prepare for the up to six months without electricity, transportation, fuel, money, and healthcare.

“People no longer keep enough essentials within their homes, reducing their ability to sustain themselves during an extended, prolonged outage. We need to improve individual preparedness,” said a just-published report to President Trump.   Continue reading “Start prepping! Electric grid ‘prime target’ of terrorists, ‘profound threat,’ says council”

Sputnik

The network is suspected of operating in a spate of Colombian cities, including the capital Bogota, the second-largest city of Medellin as well as Cartagena and Santa Marta. All of the suspects were wanted by Interpol on suspicion of pimping and soliciting minors for prostitution.

Six Israel citizens have been arrested after they were suspected of running a child sex trafficking ring in Colombia, according to the Latin American country’s attorney general’s office.   Continue reading “Police Nab Israeli Suspects in Colombia Child Sex Trafficking Ring”

Boston.com

For drivers traveling on northwestern Vermont’s Route 128 through Westford, it’d be hard not to notice a rather outsized, impolite gesture.

But don’t worry, Ted Pelkey says the 700-pound wooden middle finger sculpture on his front lawn isn’t for them. Rather, Pelkey says the sculpture — which sits on top of a 16-foot pole — is the product of an “uphill battle” more than 10 years in the making with local town officials over a garage he wants to build on his property.   Continue reading “Here’s why a Vermont man put up a giant, illuminated middle finger sculpture on his front lawn”

RT

One of the world’s largest silver producing countries, China, has announced the discovery of a huge deposit with estimated reserves of at least 1,500 tons.

The deposit was discovered by geologists in Henan Province. It is part of the Zhonghe deposit area, which boasts 280,000 tons of lead and 320,000 tons of zinc, according to the Henan Bureau of Geo-exploration and Mineral Development.   Continue reading “Large silver deposit discovered in central China”

NBC 5

ESSEX, Vt. — Andrew Robert Black, 23, died Thursday, Dec. 6, in his home in Essex, Vermont.

His mother, Alyssa Hughes Black, told NBC5 he purchased a firearm earlier that day and took his own life hours later.   Continue reading “Family calls for ‘cooling off period’ law after son buys gun, ends his life”

TASS

WASHINGTON, December 11. /TASS/. Russia calls on Washington not to turn a blind eye on active military buildup by the Ukrainian forces and right-wing extremists along the contact line in Donbass that could trigger the implementation of a bloody scenario, the Russian Embassy to the US said.   Continue reading “Russia calls on US not to turn a blind eye on Kiev’s preparations for Donbass offensive”

Breitbart – by Charles Hurt

Back during the formation of the European Union in the 1990s, there was a joke going around among those who prefer to remember history — mainly hoping to avoid repeating it. The last time folks worked this hard to unify Europe, the joke went, things didn’t turn out so well.

Indeed, the graveyards above the beaches of Normandy, the snuffed-out gas chambers and shuttered concentration camps in the East, and all the ugly, modern “post-war” construction all over Berlin and parts east stand as pretty dreadful reminders of that last failed effort to bring Europe together as one.   Continue reading “The Nuclear Option — Political Fallout: Macron Agrees to Murder Mother Earth (by His Own Definition)”

Electronic Intifada – by Nora Barrows-Friedman

US lawmakers could rush two bills into law that aim to silence and criminalize Palestine rights advocacy.

The legislation – the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act – could be tacked on to a spending bill, evading debate on the House and Senate floors.  Continue reading “Israel lobby bills may pass through Congress by stealth”

KCTV 5

ELMWOOD, KS (KCTV) — A Kansas family is warning others that Medicaid can take your house.

It’s a lesson learned the hard way after a grandmother battled cancer and spent her final years in a nursing home.

“People need to know they are going to do this. People need to know they can take away your homes if they help your parents,” Janie Lucas warns.   Continue reading “Kansas family warns others that Medicaid can take your house”

PJ Media – by Toni Airaksinen

A student club at the University of London is requiring that all comedians sign a “behavioral agreement” as a condition of performing at a January comedy night.

According to emails reviewed by PJ Media, the UNICEF on Campus chapter at the University of London sent five local comedians — including Russian-born free speech advocate Konstantin Kisin — a request to perform.   Continue reading “Students Demand Comedian Sign ‘Safe Space’ Contract Ahead of Charity Event”

Breitbart

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. this week will begin withdrawing many of the active duty troops sent to the border with Mexico by President Donald Trump just before the midterm election in response to a caravan of Central American migrants, U.S. officials said Monday.

About 2,200 of the active duty troops will be pulled out before the holidays, the officials said, shrinking an unusual domestic deployment that was viewed by critics as a political stunt and a waste of military resources.  Continue reading “Military to Begin Troop Reductions at U.S.-Mexico Border”

WTAE

WILKINSBURG, Pa. — A man identified as an elected constable faces a citation and potential fine of up to $600 for allegedly trying to buy guns from people on the street as they were entering the Wilkinsburg Police Department for its annual gun buyback program.

Wilkinsburg police say Michael Cornell, of Harmony Township, Butler County, is being sent the citation by mail for allegedly violating Wilkinsburg’s peddling ordinance. Police say they will notify and consult with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine whether any other charges should be pursued. Police will also review surveillance video to see if it appears Cornell was successful in purchasing any guns on the street.   Continue reading “Street corner competition for Wilkinsburg police gun buyback program; constable from Harmony Township cited”

WCAX

BVURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) Washington County prosecutors this week employed a new legal tool — part of the new gun laws that went into effect earlier this year.

It’s called an extreme risk protection order. It stems from the case of the Harwood Union High School custodian, Dick Peck, who is accused of writing a threat on the boy’s bathroom mirror.   Continue reading “Vermont prosecutors put new ‘red flag’ law to the test”

Fox News

French President Emanuel Macron, his political career in peril and his country engulfed in increasingly violent protests, pleaded with the country’s employers Monday to give their workers a bonus and also promised a reduction in taxes in a bid to restore order after demonstrations have deeply shaken the nation during the past month.

In a pre-taped address broadcast on television, Marcon criticized the “inadmissible violence” of the protests and promised to use “all means” to restore calm.   Continue reading “Macron promises ‘all means’ to restore calm after Paris riots, pledges to speed up tax relief”