From the Trenches World Report

The Federalist – by Christopher Jacobs

Just when you think the move for government control of health care couldn’t get any worse, somehow it manages to. Last Wednesday, the District of Columbia City Council approved a requirement for all DC residents to purchase health insurance. The mandate would take effect in January, right when the federal mandate penalty drops to $0, as per last year’s tax law.

The D.C. mandate contains three elements that make it just as bad as, if not worse than, the federal mandate it is intended to replace. Continue reading “DC Passes Law Requiring People To Buy Health Insurance Or Have Their Property Seized”

The New Observer

H2 “temporary worker” visas—granted to central and South Americans to work as farmhands in Arizona have doubled in the past year—exactly the same time that there has been a record outbreak of E.coli infections resulting from “contaminated water” in the state’s agricultural irrigation canals.   Continue reading “Arizona: H2 Farm Worker Visas Double as E.coli Outbreaks Reach Record Levels”

Jerusalem Post

Israel has taken steps that could lead to the formal annexation of the West Bank, UN legal expert Michael Lynk said in advance of Monday’s United Nations Human Rights Council meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“After years of creeping Israeli de facto annexation of the large swathes of the West Bank through settlement expansion, the creation of closed military zones and other measures, Israel appears to be getting closer to enacting legislation that will formally annex parts of the West Bank,” Lynk said.   Continue reading “U.N. Expert: Israel Moving Closer to Formal West Bank Annexation”

Free Thought Project – by Matt Agorist

Millville, NJ — For those who doubt the existence of blue privilege and the ability of cops to escape accountability for unspeakable crimes, the following case should serve as proof it is real. When an officer of the law is caught exploiting and abusing society’s most vulnerable — children — and they can escape jail time, this is definitive proof of blue privilege.

Millville police officer Samuel F. Brozina was caught with a trove of child porn on his computer and his cell phone. According to prosecutors, the horrifying images depicted the sexual abuse of small children. For possessing these images and videos, an average citizen would and should go to jail — but not a cop.   Continue reading “Sicko Cop Gets NO JAIL After Admitting to Possession, Distribution of Horrific Images of Child Abuse”

Oil Price – by Tsvetana Paraskova

U.S. gasoline prices are at a four-year-high this year as a result of the higher price of oil which has reached a three-and-a-half-year high in recent weeks.

The increased pump prices are now eating into the disposable income of the average American household that will have a total of $440 less to spend this year on other goods and services because this money is expected to go for buying higher-priced gasoline.   Continue reading “This Is How Much U.S. Households Lose As Gas Prices Rise”

Breitbart – by Ben Kew

Local residents in Venezuela staged further protests on Monday as the failed socialist country now appears to be running out of clean water. Multiple groups of demonstrators blocked highways around the capital of Caracas to protest the lack of clean water supplies.

On the Avenida Baralt in central Caracas, protesters complained that they had not received water for two days and, as a result, were forced to use stagnant water, exposing them to infectious diseases.   Continue reading “Venezuela: Further Protests as Country Begins Running Out of Water”

CNBC News

One solution to income inequality is giving out free cash, according to the British billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson.

“A basic income should be introduced in Europe and in America,” Branson told David Gelles of The New York Times.

Branson was responding to the question, “What do you think those in positions of power should do to address social problems like income inequality?”   Continue reading “Billionaire Richard Branson: America should give out free cash to fix income inequality”

Fox News

In a midterm season marked by primary upsets and the prospect of Democrats claiming a congressional check on President Trump’s power, another sensational development has been the momentum behind a ballot measure to split up the unwieldy, high-tax state of California.

The California secretary of state last month verified almost a half-million signatures collected by Cal3 initiative backer Tim Draper, qualifying it for the November ballot.  Continue reading “Bid to split California into 3 states gains traction – could it really happen?”

Free Thought Project – by Rachel Blevins

On July 3, 1988, the United States killed 290 innocent Iranian civilians when it shot down Iran Air Flight 655—a tragic event that is not mentioned in history textbooks in school, and that is widely ignored in the context of current relations between the U.S. and Iran.

The scheduled flight was traveling from Tehran to Dubai, and there were 66 children on board, all of whom were killed, as no passengers or crew members survived the attack. The plane was shot down by the USS Vincennes, which was operating within Iranian territorial waters. It targeted the large Airbus A300 and then insisted that crew members mistook it for an F-14 fighter jet, despite the obvious difference in size.   Continue reading “30 Years Ago Today, U.S. Shot Down a Passenger Plane Killing 290 Civilians and Covered It Up”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

For the first time since Nov 2014, WTI Crude futures front-month contract has topped $75.   Continue reading “American “Consumers Held Captive” As WTI Crude Tops $75, Gas Prices Highest Since Nov ’14″

RT

As Iran is suffering from severe drought, its officials are struggling to explain the disastrous weather conditions. An Iranian general believes Israel is behind the cloud and snow theft, but meteorologists cast their doubts.

Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali, head of Iran’s Civil Defense Organization, accused the Islamic Republic’s old regional adversary, Israel, of taking the lead in “suspicious” climate change in the country. The general says researches have proof that Tel-Aviv, with some allies, are putting a crimp in precipitation on Iranian soil.   Continue reading “Did Israel steal Iran’s clouds? Tehran looks for source of ‘suspicious’ climate change”

RT

China’s state-owned banks have reportedly been buying US dollars in forwards on behalf of the central bank (PBOC) and immediately selling them on the spot market for yuan to support the domestic currency.

PBOC deputy governor and head of the foreign exchange regulator Pan Gongsheng said China was confident it could keep the yuan basically stable and at a “reasonable” level.  Continue reading “Major Chinese banks ditching US dollar to prop up domestic currency”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Maryland police investigating America’s latest mass murder say Jarrod Ramos, the man charged with the slayings, sent three threatening letters on the day of the attack, including one that said he was on his way to the Capital Gazette to “kill as many people” as he could.

Sgt. Jacklyn Davis, a spokeswoman for Anne Arundel County police, said the letters were received Monday. Hours later, an overflow crowd gathered to remember journalist Rob Hiaasen and his four colleagues who were shot to death by a gunman who blasted his way into the Capital Gazette’s newsroom. They tried to focus on how they lived, rather than their senseless deaths at the hands of a gunman twisted by hate and festering rage.  Continue reading “Police: Shooter sent “kill” letter before newspaper attack”

Mail.com

NANTERRE, France (AP) — French investigators believe a team of four or five loyal accomplices carried out the brazen prison helicopter escape of one of France’s most notorious criminals. The armed, masked men took a helicopter pilot hostage, forced him to land Sunday in Reau Prison’s yard, used power tools to break through the prison yard’s doors and hustled Redoine Faid to freedom.   Continue reading “Escaped French criminal had small team of loyal accomplices”