From the Trenches World Report

Of Two Minds – by Charles Hugh Smith

When a big advertiser pulls its online adverts and its sales remain unchanged, that tells everyone who’s paying attention something important.

It’s an article of widespread faith that data-mining enables advertisers buying online adverts to target consumers with laser-like precision. Vast warehouses of servers grind through billions of records of consumer profiles and transactions and with a bit of algorithmic magic, distill all this data down to the prime target audience for whatever good or service you’re selling: probiotic goo, battery-powered back-scratchers, Zombiestra(tm), investment newsletters based on darts tossed by monkeys, etc.   Continue reading “Hey Advertisers: The Data-Mining Emperor Has No Clothes”

Anti-War – by Jason Ditz

‘Temporary’ State of Emergency Seems Increasingly Permanent

President Trump has become the third president over the course of 16 consecutive years to extend the “temporary state of national emergency” which was imposed in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks.

The state of emergency gives the president considerable leeway to bypass legal limits surrounding the military and the use of the National Guard and reserve troops. Exactly how much this power is used is itself unclear, as presidents have for years ignored a legal requirement to offer reports to Congress every six months on the matter.
Continue reading “Trump Extends Post-9/11 State of Emergency”

Moonbattery

An independent judiciary helps protect us from tyranny. But it works better when judges take their jobs seriously, unlike recently retired federal appeals court Judge Richard Posner:

“I pay very little attention to legal rules, statutes, constitutional provisions,” Posner told the New York Times in an interview published Monday. …
Continue reading “Retiring Appeals Court Judge Admits That He Couldn’t Care Less About Constitution”

Yahoo News

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) – A Missouri judge on Friday found a white former St. Louis police officer not guilty of murder in the shooting death of a black man, stirring feelings of anger and frustration in the black community.

The National Guard was placed on standby by Missouri Governor Eric Greitens with officials fearing the verdict could set off violent protests, as in similar incidents involving police and minorities around the United States in recent years.   Continue reading “St. Louis braces for protests after murder acquittal for ex-cop”

BBC News

A furore over a paedophile’s links to Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson has triggered the collapse of Iceland’s ruling coalition.

The Bright Future party announced it was withdrawing from the three-party coalition after nine months in office.

It blamed a “serious breach of trust within the government”.   Continue reading “Iceland government collapses over paedophile furore”

SHTF Plan – by Mac Slavo

Almost half of Florida’s citrus crops were destroyed during the hurricane and when Florida farmers survey the damage caused by Hurricane Irma, and most are saying it’s the worst destruction to their farms that they’ve ever seen.

When the worst of Irma’s fury had passed, Gene McAvoy hit the road to inspect the citrus groves and vegetable fields in Florida. McAvoy is a specialist on vegetable farming at the University of Florida’s extension office in the town of LaBelle. LaBelle is located in the middle of one of the country’s biggest concentrations of vegetable and citrus farms.   Continue reading “Florida Farmers Say Irma’s Damage Is The Worst They’ve Ever Seen”

Baltimore Sun – by Jeff Barker

Gone are the days when sports-team giveaways were limited to T-shirts, bobbleheads, free-sandwich coupons and the like.

The Ravens on Sunday are adopting a unique approach: The tens of thousands of fans entering M&T Bank Stadium for the NFL team’s home opener against the Cleveland Browns will receive free DNA test kits.   Continue reading “Ravens fans will get DNA test kits Sunday in unusual NFL promotion”

KHOU – by Scott Noll

The scenes? Catastrophic.

Houston? Underwater.

Thousands were rescued from their homes.

But at the height of Hurricane Harvey’s flooding, thousands of Houston firefighters were told not to report to work.   Continue reading “As Harvey flooded the city, thousands of Houston firefighters were told to stay home”

The Intercept – by Alice Speri

IT’S NOT UNCOMMON for residents of America’s most heavily policed neighborhoods to describe their local cops as “an occupying force.” Judging by where many U.S. police forces get their training, the description seems apt.

Thousands of American law enforcement officers frequently travel for training to one of the few countries where policing and militarism are even more deeply intertwined than they are here: Israel.
Continue reading “Israel Security Forces Are Training American Cops Despite History of Rights Abuses”

Yahoo News

SPOKANE, Wash. (Reuters) – The teenager accused of opening fire at his Washington state high school, killing a student, told police he took the firearms from his father’s gun safe and wanted to teach his classmates a lesson about “bullying,” court papers showed on Thursday.

An affidavit filed by a police detective following 15-year-old Caleb Sharpe’s arrest stated that the suspect said he had been picked on by the slain boy, identified only by his initials, S.D.S., who told Sharpe: “I always knew you were going to shoot up the school.”  Continue reading “Student accused in Washington school shooting blamed ‘bullying’”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Popularized in recent years by people like Gary Vaynerchuk, the “side hustle” has quickly become a preferred mentality for aspiring entrepreneurs to make additional money on the side.

As Visual Capitlsist’s Jeff Desjardins explains, the gist of it is: by working hard outside the traditional hours of a 9-to-5, a side hustle allows you to build a business around what you are truly passionate about. And if that endeavor is successful, it can also help you make the full transition into permanent entrepreneurship later on.  Continue reading “Visualizing The Side Hustle Economy: 25 Ways To Make Extra Dough”

The Organic Prepper

The government of South Korea is making every effort to turn its citizens into a country of survivalists. With the ever-increasing threats from the North, South Korean preppers are becoming mainstream, instead of a quirky fringe element.

Just last night, Kim Jong Un fired yet another ballistic missile over Japan, spitting in the face of international pressure. It seems difficult to imagine that he’s going to just eat a Snickers and chill out. So wisely, his closest neighbors are preparing for the worst.   Continue reading “South Korean Preppers: Government Instructs Citizens How to Get Ready for War”

Activist Post – by Derrick Broze

Will the ongoing transition to self-driving cars come at the cost of passenger privacy?

On September 6 the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill which spurs on further development of autonomous vehicles, but civil liberties advocates fear the further erosion of privacy. The so-called “SELF DRIVE Act” has been hailed as an opportunity to improve traffic safety and reduce vehicle deaths. If the bill passes the Senate and becomes law it would prevent states from passing certain laws to regulate the technology. The Hill reports the bill would also “allow car manufacturers to deploy up to 100,000 self-driving cars a year that don’t meet normal safety standards. In the first year, however, that number will be capped at 25,000.”   Continue reading “The Self-Driving Vehicle Future Will Be The End Of Privacy”

Daily Mail

The Japanese government has issued a warning to its citizens after North Korea fired a missile over the country.

It was launched from the Sunan district of Pyongyang, South Korea’s military said.

The missile flew over Japan, NHK television said, and the government is warning citizens to avoid touching anything that looks like debris.   Continue reading “North Korea fires missile towards Japan”