From the Trenches World Report

Bloomberg – by Daryna Krasnolutska and Scott Rose

Ukraine said its troops attacked and partially destroyed a column of armed vehicles that had crossed the border from Russian territory, while Russia said it was concerned about an attack on another convoy carrying aid.

Ukrainian government troops engaged the vehicles that had arrived overnight through a rebel-held section of the border, Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the country’s military, told reporters in Kiev today. Ukrainian soldiers continue to come under shelling, including rounds fired from Russia, he said.   Continue reading “Ukraine Says It Destroyed Part of Armed Convoy From Russia”

Raging Elephants Radio – by Brian Kolfage

A Marine Corps Scout Sniper who battled his senior leadership in a public legal battle was found dead in his home Wednesday night.

Retired Cpl. Robert Richards was 28 years old and was found dead inside his home in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

A Marine Corps combat veteran who endured a long, public legal battle with the service’s senior leadership was found dead Wednesday night. According to his attorney, an autopsy is being conducted to determine the cause of death, but they are ruling out a self-inflicted suicide.   Continue reading “Marine sniper involved in controversial Taliban video found dead”

Breitbart – by Kerry Picket

A leaked document from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis predicts increased “anti-government violence over the next year.” The document says the inspiration for violence is Cliven Bundy’s Bunkerville standoff with the Bureau of Land Management from earlier in the year.

DHS’s seven-page report entitled Domestic Violent Extremists Pose a Threat to Government Officials and Law Enforcement points to the recent murders of two Las Vegas law enforcement officers as evidence that there is a “growing trend of anti-government violence compared to the previous four years and inspired by perceived government overreach and oppression” and the “perceived victory at Bunkervile” will “likely prompt more violence.”   Continue reading “Document: Homeland Security Predicts Rise of ‘Anti-Government’ Violence”

Shark Tank – by Javier Manjarres

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has taken a hard-line stance against medicinal marijuana here in Florida.

Unlike Senator Marco Rubio, who favors the “noneuphoric strains” of medical marijuana, and other possible 2016 Republican presidential candidates, who support broader medicinal marijuana use, Bush is strongly urging voters in Florida to defeat the marijuana amendment that is on the ballot this coming November.   Continue reading “Jeb Bush Urges Floridians To Vote Against Medical Marijuana”

Reuters

The U.S. Energy Department has finalized a plan to revamp its process for approving liquefied natural gas exports, and as originally proposed the changes eliminate conditional approvals for LNG projects.

Beginning Thursday, the department will only issue final rulings on whether exports are in the public interest after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or another authorized agency, has completed an environmental review of the project.   Continue reading “U.S. Energy Dept finalizes overhaul of natural gas export reviews”

Daily Mail – by LOUISE BOYLE

Police in Ferguson named Officer Darren Wilson as the one who fatally shot unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in the St. Louis suburb.

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson revealed the officer’s name on Friday morning.

Officer Wilson is a six-year veteran of the Ferguson Police Department and has no history of disciplinary action.    Continue reading “Ferguson police name Officer Darren Wilson as cop who shot dead unarmed teenager Michael Brown”

USA Today

WASHINGTON (AP) — Images of police outfitted in paramilitary gear clashing with protesters in suburban St. Louis after the weekend shooting death of unarmed black teenager is giving new impetus to efforts to rein in a Pentagon program that provides free machine guns and other surplus military equipment to local law enforcement agencies.

Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., says he plans to introduce legislation when Congress returns in September to curb what he describes as an increasing militarization of police agencies across the country.   Continue reading “Congressman wants to curb military surplus program”

The Guardian – by Shaun Walker

The white trucks of humanitarian aid rumbled through Russia in a convoy stretching for miles, moving slowly southwards on the M4 highway, amid a landscape of fertile fields and Ladas stopped at the roadside – their boots overflowing with watermelons for sale.

But, while the trucks came to a halt well short of Ukraine‘s border, a different Russian convoy did make the crossing into Ukrainian territory late on Thursday evening.   Continue reading “Aid convoy stops short of border as Russian military vehicles enter Ukraine”

Militia News – by Gary Hunt

Who will fire the first shot? Who can fire the first shot? Contemplation of these questions causes me to recall a situation, many years ago, when I was first confronted with the thought of aiming, squeezing, and taking the life of another human being. It is not difficult to recall that memory, as it is one that will stay with me the rest of my life; that thought and that first time that I did aim, squeeze and fire.   Continue reading “Liberty or Laws? Jealously Guard Our Liberties”

Militia News – by Gary Hunt

Prior to the Constitution, under the Articles of Confederation, each State (nation) had a right to defend its borders. The Articles created a collective pursuit of defense of borders against the British.

With the ratification of the Constitution, there was a greater consolidation of the collective into a Union. It also imposed upon that Union an obligation to protect each State against invasion, first, within the Powers of the Congress:   Continue reading “The American Militia in Defense of the State”

Mail.com

BAGHDAD (AP) — The decision by Iraq’s embattled Nouri al-Maliki to step down as prime minister revived hopes on Friday for the formation of a new government that could take on a growing insurgency by Sunni militants that has engulfed much of the country.

The move, which followed weeks of international and domestic pressure, defuses a political deadlock that has plunged Iraq into uncertainty at a time of the nation’s greatest turmoil since the 2011 withdrawal of U.S. troops.   Continue reading “Iraq’s al-Maliki steps down, backs rival for PM”