From the Trenches World Report

Tech Spot – by Shawn Knight

The Federal Communications Commission earlier this year – from April 27 to August 30 – allowed members of the public to weigh in on the subject of net neutrality. Millions of comments were submitted electronically and posted online for review and almost immediately, it was clear that something wasn’t quite right.

A study from consulting firm Emprata funded by industry lobbyist group Broadband for America that came out shortly after the public comment period closed found a high level of form use and bots. Now, we have another source weighing in on the matter.   Continue reading “The FCC’s public comment period on net neutrality was ripe with fraud, Pew analysis concludes”

New York Times – by Farhad Manjoo

The internet is dying.

Sure, technically, the internet still works. Pull up Facebook on your phone and you will still see your second cousin’s baby pictures. But that isn’t really the internet. It’s not the open, anyone-can-build-it network of the 1990s and early 2000s, the product of technologies created over decades through government funding and academic research, the network that helped undo Microsoft’s stranglehold on the tech business and gave us upstarts like Amazon, Google, Facebook and Netflix.    Continue reading “The Internet Is Dying. Repealing Net Neutrality Hastens That Death.”

The Hollywood Reporter – by Mike Barnes and Duane Byrge

The Alabama native with the rich baritone voice also had his own CBS variety show and recorded several hit albums.

Jim Nabors, who starred as Gomer Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show and on his own sitcom before retiring the wide-eyed, countrified character at the height of his popularity, has died. He was 87.    Continue reading “Jim Nabors, the Cheerful Gomer Pyle on Two TV Series, Dies at 87”

21st Century Wire

As the US and its E.U. partners continue to levy punitive sanctions on Russia, the BRICS are responding with new financial initiatives to help their members break-out of the US and European financial trading monopoly.

Currently, both China and Russia are surging ahead as the world’s top Central Bank buyers of gold, further consolidating their position to be able to weather a global dollar crisis which many expert believe is inevitable. When exactly that happens is still anyone’s guess.   Continue reading “BRICS Planning Its Own Gold Trading System”

The Star – by Bruce Demara

Citing complaints of anti-Semitic content on a Nov. 11 episode, Corus Entertainment has fired veteran broadcaster Gary Bell, ending his weekly Saturday night radio show on AM640.

“I can confirm that Mr. Bell has been terminated from his employment with AM640 and Corus Entertainment,” said company spokesperson Rishma Govani.   Continue reading “Corus fires AM640 late-night host, citing complaints of anti-Semitic content”

The Organic Prepper

The last time American consumer debt was this high was.. well…NEVER. But now, it seems we are engaged in a high stakes game of consumer debt roulette. And the House is the only one who will win this game.

Last summer, it was reported that people owed more on loans, credit cards, and payment plans than ever in history. The country surpassed the spike that led to the crash of 2008 back in March when debt reached a mind-boggling $12.73 trillion in the first quarter of the year.   Continue reading “Consumer Debt Roulette: Debt Is Up $605 Billion BEFORE $682 Billion Is Spent on Christmas”

RT

At least 800 civilians have been killed by US-led coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria since 2014, a coalition report says. It adds that the group holds itself accountable for “unintentional injury or death to civilians.”

“To date, based on information available, [the coalition] assesses at least 801 civilians have been unintentionally killed by Coalition strikes since the start of Operation Inherent Resolve [in 2014],” Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF–OIR) said in statement on Thursday.   Continue reading “US-led coalition acknowledges killing 800+ civilians in Iraq & Syria airstrikes”

Mail.com

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Protests were growing in Honduras as incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernandez emerged with a slim lead Thursday for re-election following a reported computer glitch that shut down vote counting for several hours.

Challenger Salvador Nasralla has alleged fraud and said he won’t respect the official results. He’s watched an initial five-point lead diminish in recent days as official results have trickled out. By early Thursday, Hernandez was ahead by about 22,000 votes, with about 88 percent of Sunday’s votes processed. He had 42.4 percent of the vote to Nasralla’s 41.7 percent.   Continue reading “Protests rise as vote count in Honduras drags on”

Mail.com

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — While U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi faced criticism for not being more strident in responding to sexual harassment allegations, back in her home state of California her daughter is throwing verbal hand grenades, alleging state lawmakers are protecting rapists at the Capitol.

At a hearing Tuesday on the California Legislature’s sexual harassment policies, Christine Pelosi produced gasps when she said “everybody here knows we have rapists in this building” as well as “enablers.” While many others testified, sometimes angrily, about a dysfunctional system they say protects the powerful and encourages silence from victims, Christine Pelosi’s comments stood apart with their bare-knuckle boldness.  Continue reading “Pelosi’s daughter: California lawmakers enable harassment”

US Customs and Border Protection

Yuma, Ariz. – Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents were involved in a shooting incident November 28, 2017, at approximately 2:00 a.m. at the westbound rest area on Interstate 10 near milepost 51, west of Phoenix, Arizona.

Earlier this morning, Border Patrol agents responded to a call for assistance from the La Paz County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Public Safety in an attempt to locate a suspect in a fleeing vehicle reportedly involved in an earlier shooting. The suspect was located and the vehicle stopped near milepost 51 on Interstate 10. Several agents arrived on scene in a backup role and subsequently discharged their firearms. The suspect sustained serious injuries and was transported via air ambulance to a local hospital.
Continue reading “Yuma Sector Border Patrol Agents Involved in Shooting”

Jan 28, 2017 … Psychologist Michal Kosinski developed a method to analyze people in minute detail based on their Facebook activity. Did a similar tool help propel Donald Trump to victory? Two reporters from Zurich-based Das Magazin went data-gathering. (source)   Continue reading “Data That Turned the World Upside Down”

MassPrivateI

Imagine police knocking on your door because you posted a ‘troubling comment’ on a social media website.

Imagine a judge forcing you to be jailed, sorry I meant hospitalized, because a computer program found your comment(s) ‘troubling’.

You can stop imagining, this is really happening.   Continue reading “Facebook’s new suicide detection A.I., could put thousands of innocent people behind bars”

It’s no wonder that an estimated 200,000 Puerto Ricans have fled to Florida.

Miami New Times

For weeks, Donald Trump gleefully boasted about the job his administration had done in helping Puerto Rico weather the monstrous Hurricane Maria, particularly noting that only 16 people had supposedly been killed. “Look at a real catastrophe like Katrina and… you look at what happened here,” Trump said of the death toll in New Orleans while visiting San Juan in October. “Sixteen people [dead] versus in the thousands. You can be very proud of all of your people and all of our people working together.”  Continue reading “Hurricane Maria Killed More Than 1,000 in Puerto Rico, New Study Suggests”