From the Trenches World Report

Gear Fuse – by Chad Felix

2014 marks 152 years since the first flickers of the commercial giant we now call a television, first made an appearance in the mid-19^th century. Since then, it has not only won itself status as an unparalleled source of entertainment but has also emerged as one of contemporary society’s favourite mediums for advertising, information and news.  Read on for a fascinating overview that will help you grasp just how far television sets have come.   Continue reading “The History of Televisions”

RT

US missile cruiser Vella Gulf has entered the Black Sea in what the American Navy described as a move to “to promote peace and stability in the region.” Moscow has considered any such acts as “offensive.”

The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) entered the Black Sea on Wednesday as part of the effort to “strengthen the collective security of NATO allies and partners in the region,” according to a statement by the US 6th Fleet.    Continue reading “US missile cruiser enters Black Sea again ‘to promote peace’”

The Guardian

US Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Afghanistan late Thursday on an unannounced visit to press the country’s two feuding presidential candidates on the urgency of ending a bitter dispute over June elections and forming a new government by early September.

Kerry’s visit comes as the election results are being audited in a process that he brokered last month. Senior officials traveling with Kerry said the U.S. wants to see the ultimate winner inaugurated — and a new “chief executive officer” chosen by the loser under the terms of a national unity government compromise — before the upcoming NATO summit in Wales Sept. 4.   Continue reading “John Kerry makes unannounced visit to Afghanistan after death of US general”

Survivopedia – by Theresa Crouse

When SHTF, it won’t be long before modern medicines are hard to come by, so you need a back-up plan. That’s OK though because there’s a form of medicine that can be just as effective and has been in use for millennia: herbs and plants.

That’s right. Eastern medicine, as well as Native Americans and many other cultures, used natural cures long before Western medicine even thought about a pill.   Continue reading “Top 30 Medicinal Plants To Learn For Survival”

Fox Carolina – by Jennifer Phillips

INMAN, SC (FOX Carolina) – A Spartanburg County business owner is upset after he says SunTrust Bank closed his business accounts because he runs a pawn shop.

Even as a boy, Morris Williams often had a gun in his hands.

“I grew up hunting with my dad,” Williams said.   Continue reading “South Carolina Store Owner Says Bank Accounts Closed Because He Sells Guns”

Eric Peters Autos – by Eric

In Virginia, they’re both Class 1 Misdemeanors  – along with animal cruelty and larceny. One small notch below a felony. They’ll put you in jail for it. The speeding, I mean. Sexual battery? Meh. Give ‘em a fine, maybe an ankle bracelet, send ‘em on their way.

But Johnny Cochran help you if you get nabbed doing over 80 in Virginia. Or more than 20 MPH faster than any speed limit – no matter how preposterously under-posted.   Continue reading “Sexual Battery . . . and Speeding”

Alternet

ST. LOUIS (CN) – St. Louis police falsely arrested a woman, claiming she was someone who was already dead, and continued to hold her in jail and give her the runaround after acknowledging that the warrant was for a dead person, the woman claims in court.

     Shannon Renee McNeal sued the St. Louis Division of Corrections, the City of St. Louis, all of the members of the St. Louis City Police Board, St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson, several police officers and St. Louis Circuit Clerk Jane Schweitzer, on Monday in Federal Court.   Continue reading “Insane Case of Mistaken Identity: Woman Arrested, Told She Is Actually Dead, Held Anyway”

Huffington Post

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Two Tulsa police officers who are married have been arrested in the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old man who was walking with their daughter, authorities said.

Jeremy Lake was found shot to death Tuesday night on a street near downtown, Tulsa police department spokeswoman Jillian Roberson said.   Continue reading “Married Tulsa Police Officers Arrested After Fatal Shooting”

New York Post – by Larry Celona and Laura Italiano

The NYPD is offering a sweet deal to its retirees, asking hundreds of them to consider part-time, nonpatrol jobs with the department while still collecting their pensions, according to a survey sent out Wednesday and obtained by The Post.

The returning retirees would work as recruiters and instructors, and might also be called on to scrutinize applicants and make verification visits to cops who call in sick.   Continue reading “NYPD offers its retirees on pensions part-time jobs”

ABC News

The U.S. Border Patrol says it arrested a 42-year-old Rwandan citizen at the border of Maine and Canada who is wanted for war crimes.

A Canadian warrant says Jean Léonard Teganya is wanted for deportation for violating human rights under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act related to the Rwandan genocide in the 1990s.   Continue reading “Rwandan Sought for War Crimes Stopped at US Border”

RT

Edward Snowden has received a residence permit in Russia, which is valid for three years, starting on August 1, the former NSA contractor’s lawyer announced.

“On the first of August he received a three-year residence permit,” lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told reporters.

He added that Snowden had not asked for political asylum.   Continue reading “Snowden granted 3-yr residence permit – lawyer”

Business Insider – by SAM RO AND MICHAEL B KELLEY

Russia just announced a ban on food imports from the U.S., the European Union, Canada, Australia, and Norway.

Russia is specifically banning all beef, pork, fruit, vegetable, dairy, cheese, and fish imports from the U.S. and the E.U.

The ban will last one year from Thursday.   Continue reading “IT’S OFFICIAL: Russia Bans Food Imports From The US And The EU”

CNN – by Euan McKirdy

Two former top leaders in Cambodia’s notorious Khmer Rouge, which ruled the Southeast Asian country between 1975 and 1979, were found guilty of crimes against humanity by a specially-convened Cambodian court Thursday.

Before the verdict, only one person had been brought to justice over one of the 20th century’s great atrocities.

Nuon Chea, the former Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, and Khieu Samphan, the one-time President of Democratic Kampuchea both received life sentences.   Continue reading “Top Khmer Rouge leaders found guilty of crimes against humanity, sentenced to life in prison”

The Last Refuge – by Sundance

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has activated emergency response containment status to Level 1 – CDC central command center (pictured below) now activated.   WHO in emergency meeting considering declaration of “P.H.E.I.C” (Public Health Emergency Of Immediate International Concern)   Continue reading “CDC Activates Defcon 1 – Nigerian Ebola Patient Was Not Initially Quarantined”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bank of America is nearing a $16 billion to $17 billion settlement to resolve an investigation into its role in the sale of mortgage-backed securities before the 2008 financial crisis, a person directly familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

The deal with the bank, which must still be finalized, would be the largest Justice Department settlement by far arising from the economic meltdown in which millions of Americans lost their homes to foreclosure. It would follow earlier multibillion-dollar agreements reached in the last year with Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase & Co.   Continue reading “AP source: BofA nears $16-$17B settlement with US”