The Sun

CHINA has today unveiled its largest rise in defence spending in three years as it bids to dominate the world with a vast superpower military.

The 2018 defence budget will be 1.11trillion yuan (£127billion), according to a bombshell report issued at the opening of China’s annual meeting of parliament.

The defence spending figure is closely watched around the world for clues about China’s strategic intentions as it develops new military capabilities, including stealth fighters, aircraft carriers and anti-satellite missiles.   Continue reading “China hell bent on becoming the world’s most powerful country as it boosts military spending to a whopping £127billion”

Anti-War – by Jason Ditz

A US war in North Korea would be bloody, with tens of thousands of US soldiers killed and millions of civilians on the Korean Peninsula. A recent US exercise projected brutality “beyond the experience of any living soldier,”according to Army chief Gen. Mark Milley.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) tried to sum that up in two words – “worth it.” The notoriously bellicose senator insisted that the disastrous number of deaths would definitely be worth it to the US government as a boost in “long-term stability.”  Continue reading “Sen. Lindsey Graham: North Korea War Would Be ‘Worth It’”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Trump resumed his now daily trade war and tariff tweetstorm, blasting on Twitter that “we have large trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. NAFTA, which is under renegotiation right now, has been a bad deal for U.S.A. Massive relocation of companies & jobs.” Specifically, the president added that “Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed.”

Trump also warned Canada that it “must treat our farmers much better. Highly restrictive.”   Continue reading “Trump Slams Canada, Mexico: “Tariffs Will Only Came Off If New, Fair NAFTA Is Signed””

The Guardian – by John Harris

For the past couple of years a big story about the future of China has been the focus of both fascination and horror. It is all about what the authorities in Beijing call “social credit”, and the kind of surveillance that is now within governments’ grasp. The official rhetoric is poetic. According to the documents, what is being developed will “allow the trustworthy to roam everywhere under heaven while making it hard for the discredited to take a single step”.   Continue reading “The tyranny of algorithms is part of our lives: soon they could rate everything we do”

Fox News

A sweep of Northern California by federal immigration officials this week, which was partly thwarted when the Oakland mayor sounded the alarm, nabbed a number of illegal immigrants convicted of a variety of serious and violent crimes.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials announced this week that the four-day raid led to the arrest of 232 illegal immigrants in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Continue reading “Violent criminals among illegal immigrants caught in California raid derailed by Dem mayor”

ABC News

Six months ago, when he announced he was ending the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, President Donald Trump picked March 5 as the deadline for Congress to work out a solution to prevent DACA recipients from facing deportation.

But the president’s plans were thwarted by multiple court challenges, rendering Monday’s deadline all but meaningless. Now, as Congress and the Dreamers await a resolution in the courts, lawmakers have paused their legislative efforts and some 700,000 DACA recipients have been plunged into a constant state of uncertainty.   Continue reading “Dreamers deferred as Congress lets DACA deadline pass”

RT

The Russian military has said allegations of “hospital bombings” in Eastern Ghouta are false, in a statement issued in response to accusations from the White House that Russia is “killing innocent civilians” in Syria.

Washington’s claims came after the Syrian Army repelled an attack of the US-backed groups, the Russian Defense Ministry said.  Continue reading “False ‘hospital bombing’ claims in Ghouta came after Syrian troops repelled pro-US forces – Russia”

Mail.com

CHERRY HILL, N.J. (AP) — Resistance to the Republican tax overhaul comes with an ideological twist for some Democratic state officials: They’ve styled themselves as champions of the working class but are pushing hard for measures that would reduce taxes mostly for the wealthy.

Democratic governors and lawmakers in a handful of high-income, high-tax states are promoting policies that are intended to spare their residents the pain of the new $10,000 cap on deductions for state and local taxes. Connecticut, New Jersey and New York are even planning to sue the federal government over the new cap, which was a key provision of the Republican tax overhaul adopted in December.   Continue reading “Democrats’ seek to help wealthy in response to tax changes”

Mail.com

DETROIT (AP) — David Gavitt spent 26 years in prison for the deaths of his wife and two daughters before a prosecutor agreed that the evidence behind his arson conviction was no longer credible. The case helped inspire a Michigan law aimed at compensating the wrongfully convicted.

Yet the state now is vigorously resisting Gavitt’s request for money, going so far as to question whether he’s really innocent. He would qualify for more than $1 million. “My reaction? I don’t know how to put this — anger,” said Gavitt, 59, who works the midnight shift at a tub manufacturer. “It’s like a slap in the face. … I thought we lived in America where the accused doesn’t have to prove innocence. They’re judging me all over again.”  Continue reading “Michigan man cleared of murder now fights for compensation”

Mail.com

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Taking a cue from the fight over immigration, some states that have legalized marijuana are considering providing so-called sanctuary status for licensed pot businesses, hoping to protect the fledgling industry from a shift in federal enforcement policy.

Just hours after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Jan. 4 that federal prosecutors would be free to crack down on marijuana operations as they see fit, Jesse Arreguin, the mayor in Berkeley, California, summoned city councilman Ben Bartlett to his office with a novel idea.   Continue reading “States mull ‘sanctuary’ status for marijuana businesses”

Independent

The National Rifle Association has released a video containing a threatening message to journalists, warning them “your time is running out”.

In a video posted on Twitter by NRATV, conservative political activist and TV host Dana Loesch tells “every lying member of the media” that they have “had enough”.

Set to a backing track of ominous-sounding guitar music, the NRA spokeswoman appears on screen dressed in black with an hourglass by her side.   Continue reading “NRA issues threatening video warning journalists ‘your time is running out’”

World Events and the Bible

WEB Notes: Just last week we said there must be something wrong with this guy after he made the statement to take firearms from people without due process, now this. I do not care if it was “just a joke”. Listen to the audio clip below. It is quite obvious Trump likes the communist. There is no room for a communist or socialist in our form of government. More and more it leaks out what kind of man really sits in the Oval Office.

Donald Trump has celebrated Xi Jinping’s bid to shepherd China back into an era of one-man dictatorship, suggesting the United States might one day “give that a shot”.  Continue reading “‘Maybe We’ll Give That A Shot’: Donald Trump Praises Xi Jinping’s Power Grab”

ACLU – by Rashida Richardson

The TSA and Amtrak Police are trying out new see-through body scanners in New York City’s Penn Station that raise serious constitutional questions. And as is so often the case, the government is not being sufficiently transparent about the devices, how they will be used, on whom, and where they will eventually be deployed. We also don’t know who will have access to the information they collect or for how long.

There is also reason to believe the technology may not work as well as the TSA says it does.  Continue reading “TSA Tests See-Through Scanners on Public in New York’s Penn Station”