From the Trenches World Report

Herald Scotland

I am a leavemethef#@kaloneafarian when are they going to allow me to practice my religion?

Huffington Post – by Carol Kuruvilla

When it came to her driver’s license photo, one Oklahoma woman had no problem taking her glasses off to give the camera a clear shot of her face.

But her spaghetti strainer? No way.   Continue reading “Pastafarian Wears Spaghetti Strainer In Oklahoma Driver’s License Photo”

The New American – by Bob Adelmann

News from North Carolina marks another milestone toward developing an informed, politically active citizenry familiar with the basic fundamentals of the American Republic.

Homeschooled students now outnumber private-school students in North Carolina. This represents an increase of more than 14 percent from the year before, and a 27 percent increase from just two years ago. The state estimates that there are nearly 100,000 homeschoolers in North Carolina, while private school enrollments have been dropping ever since the beginning of the Great Recession. According to the Charlotte News Observer, this extraordinary growth is due to parental concerns about school violence, the lack of a religious focus in public schools, and the large classroom size.   Continue reading “Homeschoolers Outnumber Private-school Students in North Carolina”

Gold Core – by Mark O’Byrne

Russia-Iran Oil-for-Goods Contracts
Representatives of the Russian and Iranian governments met in Tehran yesterday for the 11th meeting of the Iran-Russian Trade Council, where details of a ground breaking oil-for-goods swap between the two heavily sanctioned countries were revealed.

With both countries now sanctioned by the West, Russia and Iran have been in extensive negotiations on how to facilitate Iranian oil exports without breaching the UN Security Council nuclear deal that was agreed between Iran, Germany and the five UN Council permanent last January.   Continue reading “Russia And Iran Put Oil-For-Goods Deals Into Motion As Iran Signals Similar Arrangements Coming With China”

Shark Tank – by Javier Manjarres

Put down the bong, and step away from the counter.

A recent Public Policy Poll (PPP) is showing that Florida’s medicinal marijuana amendment, which will be on the November ballot, has lost significant support among voters.

The ‘Vote No on 2′ initiative, which has implemented a very effected media campaign outlining the cons against legalizing pot, can be credited for the downtick in support for the legalization of medicinal marijuana.   Continue reading “Push To Legalize Pot In Florida Could Be Going Up In Smoke”

The Sedalia Weekly Observer

A recount was conducted Tuesday at the Pettis County Courthouse involving the results of the co-called “Right to Farm” Amendment to the Missouri Constitution.

On Aug. 5, Amendment 1 passed by 2,490 votes, or about a quarter of a percentage point.

Losers of a Missouri ballot initiative are permitted to request a recount if the margin is a half percentage point or less. A coalition of Amendment 1 opponents — including Missouri’s Food for America, the Missouri Farmers Union, and the Missouri Rural Crisis Center — formally called for a recount. A total of 497,091 people voted no on the proposal.   Continue reading “Recount on Missouri’s “Right to Farm” Amendment Conducted”

Nunez Report

Russia does not rule out the possibility that it might close its airspace in response to new Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, prime minister Dmitry Medvedev said Monday.

“If there are sanctions connected with energy or further restrictions on our financial sector, we will have to strike back in an asymmetric way, such as restrictions in the transport sphere,” Medvedev said in an interview with Vedomosti, a business daily.   Continue reading “Russia mulls closing airspace in response to new Western sanctions”

ProPublica – by Lois Beckett

The morning after the Sandy Hook shootings, Shannon Watts, a mother of five and a former public relations executive, started a Facebook page called “One Million Moms for Gun Control.” It proved wildly popular and members quickly focused on renewing the federal ban on military style assault weapons.

“We all were outraged about the fact that this man could use an AR-15, which seemed like a military grade weapon, and go into an elementary school and wipe out 26 human beings in less than five minutes,” Watts said.   Continue reading “Why Gun Control Groups Have Moved Away from an Assault Weapons Ban”

New York Daily News – by Don Kaplan

The routine surgical procedure Joan Rivers was supposed to undergo turned deadly when a doctor who arrived at the clinic with the legendary comic’s entourage performed an unplanned biopsy on her vocal cords, a medical source who was briefed on the case told The News.

Such a procedure is not supposed to be performed outside of a hospital, according to medical experts.   Continue reading “Joan Rivers had surprise throat biopsy that cut off her air supply, source claims”

All Gov – by Noel Brinkerhoff

Mired in the drought that has dried up so much of the Southwest, Texas is losing patience with Mexico, which owes the state millions of gallons of water.

Under the terms of a 1945 agreement, Mexico and Texas are supposed to send each other a certain amount of water. Texas’ share comes from the Colorado River, while Mexico’s originates along the Rio Grande.   Continue reading “Mexico Owes Water to U.S.”

AlterNet – by Steven Rosenfeld

The federal bureaucratic pipeline that has pumped billions in surplus military weapons and battle gear into thousands of police departments across America does not train cops to use them, does not track when the weaponry is used and does not screen police for history of civil rights abuses. It also does not want to decide whether it is even appropriate to be sending local police weapons as esoteric as rifle bayonettes and combat knives.

These were just some takeaways from a lengthy hearing in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday, where top officials from the Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Justice described programs that funneled upwards of $50 billion in gear and grants in recent years to local police. The hearing is expected to prompt a major revamping of these programs, as almost every senator who spoke up, both Democrat and Republican, slammed militarized policing.   Continue reading “The Shocking Militarization of America’s Police Finally Catches the Interest of the US Senate”

RT

The Mayor of Philadelphia has agreed to endorse legislation that decriminalizes the possession and public consumption of marijuana, making it one of the largest American cities to turn back punitive drug laws.

The bill, which Mayor Michael Nutter said he will endorse, was proposed by the city council, and – with the latest amendments – would levy fines of $25 on people caught possessing small amounts of the drug, and $100 for smoking it in public. In neither case would an offender face a criminal charge or arrest.    Continue reading “Philadelphia set to decriminalize marijuana possession”

RT

A fourth American aid worker stricken with the Ebola virus arrived early Tuesday in Atlanta for treatment at Emory University Hospital. Two Americans were successfully treated for Ebola at Emory last month.

The patient, whose identity was not released, will be housed in a special isolation unit, according to hospital officials. No additional details were offered.   Continue reading “Fourth American with Ebola treated in Atlanta”

RT

A Pentagon investigation of the “kill vehicle” warhead, part of a weapons system plagued with years of failed tests, found dozens of quality control problems, according to a new report.

The Pentagon’s inspector general said in the report released Monday that the “kill vehicle,” a warhead meant to intercept missiles, fell short of quality standards in 48 specific cases, including issues with software testing, supply chain demands, and design changes, making the kill vehicle “susceptible to quality assurance failures.”   Continue reading “Pentagon: Missile defense ‘kill vehicle’ still plagued with problems after years of failure”

RT

The American fast-food giant witnessed a sharp decline in global profits in August, hit by the closure of its restaurants across Russia and a “rotten meat” scandal in China.

McDonald’s earnings slid with stores open at least 13 months taking a worse-than-expected hit in August, falling 3.7 percent, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based hamburger chain said in a statement on Wednesday. This is the biggest monthly drop since 2003, according to Bloomberg. Market analysts had expected a 3.1 percent drop in earnings.   Continue reading “​McDonald’s suffers worst monthly decline in more than a decade”

National Park Service

Giant Living Flag Created to Honor Bicentennial of The Star-Spangled Banner

BALTIMORE – In a spectacular show of red, white and blue today at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, more than 6,600 Maryland students, teachers and chaperons created the largest 15 stars and 15 stripes Star-Spangled Banner Living Flag ever assembled.    Continue reading “Living Flag Makes History at Fort McHenry National Monument”

Mail.com

Thirteen years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, this was supposed to be a season of relief, with Iraq managing on its own and most U.S. troops finally ending their combat duty in Afghanistan. Instead, Americans are bracing for another upsurge of military engagement in a region where one war blurs into another. Across the world, a generation has now grown up amid this continuous conflict, and there’s no end in sight.

“The Cold War took 45 years,” said Elliott Abrams, a longtime diplomat who was top Middle East adviser to President George W. Bush. “It’s certainly plausible that this could be the same. … It’s harder to see how this ends.”   Continue reading “No end in sight for America’s Mideast war duties”