From the Trenches World Report

RT

Washington has expended a whopping $5.6 trillion on wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Pakistan since 2001, according to a new study. That figure is more than three times what the Pentagon has claimed in official estimates.

Research from the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University found that as of late September, the US wars combined with “additional spending on Homeland Security and the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs” had totaled more than $4.3 trillion since the 9/11 attacks in 2001. That number surged to $5.6 trillion once likely costs were added for fiscal year 2018, along with estimated future spending on veterans.    Continue reading “US spent $5.6 trillion on wars since 9/11 – study”

RT

Facebook is teaming up with four countries to test a preemptive system to detect and defend against “revenge porn.” Users are being asked to upload nude photos of themselves to Messenger.

The Australian Office of the eSafety Commissioner announced they were partnering with the social media giant last week on a pilot scheme that will allow anyone to report sensitive images being shared online without their permission.   Continue reading “Send nudes: Facebook asks users for naked photos to combat ‘revenge porn’”

The Hill – by Jordain Carney

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on rules regulating firearm accessories and the national background check system in the wake of mass shootings in Texas and Las Vegas. 

Sen. Chuck Grassley‘s (R-Iowa) office announced on Tuesday that they will hold a hearing in one week on “firearm accessory regulation and enforcing federal and state reporting to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).”   Continue reading “Senate panel to hold hearing on bump stocks, background checks”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Ever since President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping shared a slice of chocolate cake at Mar-a-Lago in April, many have speculated about the burgeoning “bromance” between two of the world’s most powerful men.

Well, if anybody had any doubts about thelr “special relationship”, the opulent welcome that the Trump’s received upon landing in Beijing should put them to rest.  Continue reading “Trump Receives Hero’s Welcome In Beijing As Chinese Roll Out The Red Carpet”

Free Thought Project – by  Matt Agorist

On November 1, Chuck Norris and his wife Gena Norris announced a massive lawsuit against eleven different drug companies, including McKesson and Bracco, claiming they are responsible for nearly killing Gena.

“Unfortunately, litigation is the only course of action we can take to hold the drug companies accountable for threatening the lives of so many innocent people who undergo MRIs,” Gena said.
Continue reading “Chuck Norris Files Massive Lawsuit Against Big Pharma After Popular Drug Nearly Killed His Wife”

Syria plans to join the Paris climate accord, an official from the war-ravaged country said Tuesday, a move that leaves the United States as the only United Nations member state not supporting the agreement, according to Associated Press.

While the United States ratified the 2015 Paris Agreement last year, President Donald Trump announced in June that he wants to pull out unless the U.S. can get a better deal.  Continue reading “Syria Express the Willingness to Join Paris Climate Accord to Discredit U.S.?”

LA Times – by David Montero

A federal judge Tuesday delayed opening statements in the trial of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy amid defense allegations that there may be recorded video related to the 2014 standoff at his Bunkerville ranch that the government failed to turn.

U.S. District Court Judge Gloria Navarro pushed opening statements back to Nov. 14 to give prosecutors time to track down the surveillance footage — though she agreed it was unclear whether the equipment had, in fact, recorded anything at all.   Continue reading “Nevada standoff trial postponed as judge orders search for surveillance video”

Baltimore Sun – by Kevin Rector

Baltimore Police Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. was found not guilty Tuesday of all 21 administrative charges against him in the 2015 arrest and death of Freddie Gray.

The verdict absolves Goodson once and for all in the case, and allows him to continue his career on the city police force.

Goodson, 48, the driver of the police van in which Gray was found with severe spinal cord injuries in April 2015, was charged with neglecting his duty by failing to ensure Gray’s safety by securing him in a seat belt or calling a medic when he requested one. He was also charged with making false statements to investigators.   Continue reading “Baltimore police van driver Caesar Goodson not guilty on all 21 administrative charges in Freddie Gray case”

RT

NATO needs civilian infrastructure in Europe to meet its growing military requirements, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said ahead of a meeting in Brussels. This will mean coordination with national governments and the private sector, he added.

Defense ministers from the 29 NATO states arrived in Brussels to begin discussions on a “revision” of the NATO Command Structure. What is envisioned is a new command to protect sea lines between North America and Europe, and another to “improve the movement of troops and equipment within Europe.”   Continue reading “NATO wants Europe’s civilian infrastructure ready for war”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Tuesday blocked Democratic efforts to secure bigger tax benefits for parents’ costs of raising or adopting children, as they drove toward wrapping up their tax overhaul by week’s end.

The daylong debate by the Ways and Means Committee came as the Senate’s tax bill started to take shape. That version is expected to completely repeal the federal deduction for state and local taxes, a flashpoint of contention for Republican lawmakers from high-tax states like New York and New Jersey, as well as Democrats. Concessions were made in the House bill with a partial repeal.   Continue reading “GOP blocks Dem efforts to boost tax benefits for parents”

Mail.com

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Residents in this rural state grappling with a heroin epidemic and an aging population voted Tuesday to deliver a rebuke to Republican Gov. Paul LePage and join 31 other states that have expanded Medicaid under former President Barack Obama’s health care law.

The referendum represents the first time since the law took effect that the question of expansion had been put in front of U.S. voters. Some 11 million people in the country have gotten coverage through the expansion of Medicaid, a health insurance program for low income people.   Continue reading “Maine OKs Medicaid expansion in first-of-its-kind referendum”

Mail.com

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A transgender candidate defeated an incumbent Virginia lawmaker who sponsored a bill that would have restricted which bathrooms she could use. Democrat Danica Roem, a former journalist, is set to make history as the first openly transgender person elected and seated in a state legislature in the United States. She unseated Republican Del. Bob Marshall, one of the state’s longest serving and most socially conservative lawmakers. The race was one of the year’s most high profile, drawing international attention and big money to the northern Virginia House of Delegates district outside the nation’s capital.   Continue reading “Transgender woman makes history in Virginia House seat win”

Times of Israel – by Marissa Newman

Ministers on Sunday lent their support to a bill that would allow Israeli companies to sue boycott activists for up to NIS 100,000 ($28,500) without proof of damage.

The proposal, brought by Likud MK Yoav Kisch and backed by Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan, seeks to bypass a High Court of Justice ruling that disqualified portions of Israel’s anti-boycott law.   Continue reading “Ministers back bill for companies to sue Israel boycotters”