From the Trenches World Report

DeSmog Blog

On the Friday before Labor Day — in the form of an age-old “Friday News Dump“ — the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) handed a permitto Enbridge, the tar sands-carrying corporate pipeline giant, to open a tar sands-by-rail facility in Flanagan, Ill.by early-2016.

With the capacity to accept 140,000 barrels of tar sands product per day, the company’s rail facility serves as another step in the direction towards Enbridge’s quiet creation of a “Keystone XL Clone.” That is, like TransCanada’s Keystone Pipeline System sets out to do, sending Alberta’s tar sands all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico’s refinery row — and perhaps to the global export market.   Continue reading “FERC Hands Enbridge Permit for Tar Sands by Rail Facility”

PennLive – by John Luciew

A 51-year-old Camp Hill man, described as a summer resident of the upstate island region of New York, has been identified as the victim of a weekend DUI accident that took his life, according to New York media reports.

Stations 7News and Fox28 are reporting that Tod Edwards of Camp Hill, was operating a utility task vehicle (UTV) on Grindstone Island over the weekend when it was struck by a pickup truck driven by Shannon McEwen, 38, of Kingston, Ontario.   Continue reading “Another banker pushing up daisies”

Indian Country

Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is known as one of the poorest areas of one of British Columbia’s best-known cities, its reputation one of forgotten souls. But a pile of sockeye salmon changed all that on Saturday August 23, when a First Nations fisherman donated 500 of the fish to organizations and a homeless encampment in the downtrodden neighborhood.

“It’s been a long time for a lot of those people to have salmon in East Vancouver and a lot of those people are First Nations,” said Joshua Duncan, a commercial fisherman with R.A. Roberts Fishing Ltd. in Campbell River, to The Province. “I was doing this as a gesture to people who really would like and appreciate the fish, and are trying to make a stand for themselves in their small part of the world.”   Continue reading “First Nations Fisherman Donates 500 Sockeye to Vancouver Homeless”

AOL

As immigration debates continue on the U.S.-Mexico border, the most infamous and oldest hate group in the country appears to be using the issue as a platform to step up its recruitment across the country.

Multiple CNN affiliates report the Ku Klux Klan has been spreading its message using flyers and candy stuffed in zip-lock bags to attract new recruits.     Continue reading “Ku Klux Klan steps up recruitment, focuses on immigration”

Mail.com

WALDO, Fla. (AP) — The north Florida town of Waldo has long had a reputation as a speed trap, and it’s no wonder. A small segment of highway that runs through Waldo requires drivers to speed up and slow down six times: 65 mph becomes 55 mph; 55 becomes 45; then goes back to 55; then back down to 45; to 55 again and eventually, 35 mph.

AAA named the tiny town between Jacksonville and Gainesville one of only two “traffic traps” nationwide and even placed an attention-getting billboard outside the limits of the town to warn drivers to slow down before entering.   Continue reading “Infamous speed trap town investigated over tickets”

RT

Hundreds of US fast food workers from MacDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and KFC are planning a big protest on Thursday in an effort to boost the minimum wage to $15 per hour. The rally will include acts of civil disobedience.

The rally was announced by Fight For 15, a union of fast food and retail workers, which is seeking a $15/hour living wage.   Continue reading “#FightFor15: Fast food workers to strike for higher wages across US”

RT

A “ghost ship” oil tanker carrying approximately $100 million of disputed Iraqi Kurdish crude oil has reappeared on satellite imagery near the US coast Monday, after disappearing for several days. The tanker seems not to have offloaded its oil.

According to the US Coast Guard and Reuters, the tanker, United Kalavrvta, is still 95 percent full and has not yet unloaded its cargo. The vessel was anchored Monday in the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area, close to its previously known position.   Continue reading “Kurdish ‘ghost’ oil tanker reemerges near Texas – with $100mn cargo”

RT

Cuba’s former president Fidel Castro compared NATO’s recent statements to that of Nazi SS and accused US and its allies of igniting conflicts abroad. Castro slammed John McCain for backing Israel and accused both of being involved in the creation of ISIS.

Apparently referring to the pressure the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been trying to exert on Moscow in connection with the Ukrainian crisis, which coincides with calls for the ramping up of military budgets of NATO member countries, Cuba’s iconic leader accused Western politicians of hypocrisy and aggression.   Continue reading “Castro compares NATO to Nazi SS, slams US, Israel for ‘creating ISIS’”

Mail.com

BAGHDAD (AP) — An international rights group accused the extremist Islamic State group on Tuesday of carrying out a systematic campaign of “ethnic cleansing” in northern Iraq that includes mass killings, abductions and other war crimes.

In a new report, Amnesty International said militants have abducted “hundreds, if not thousands” of women and children who belong to the ancient Yazidi faith. The extremists also have rounded up Yazidi men and boys before killing them, the London-based group said.   Continue reading “Group accuses extremists of war crimes in Iraq”

Mail.com

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A member of the Somali group al-Shabab says its leader was traveling in one of two vehicles hit Monday night in a U.S. military strike but the spokesman would not say if the leader was among the six militants who were killed.

Abu Mohammed told The Associated Press on Tuesday that six militants were killed in the attack. He said the two vehicles were heading toward the coastal town of Barawe, al-Shabab’s main base when they were hit. He said al-Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane was in one of the vehicles.   Continue reading “6 Militants Killed in US Somalia Strike”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — For the second time this year, President Barack Obama will travel to Russia’s backyard to assure nervous nations of his ironclad commitment to their security. But his objectives will be clouded by the West’s inability to halt the Russian aggression in Ukraine that has stoked fears in other former Soviet republics.

Fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russia rebels continued in eastern Ukraine as Obama prepared to fly to Estonia for meetings with Baltic leaders and to Wales for a NATO summit. The Ukrainian government, NATO and Western nations say Russia has already sent troops, artillery and tanks across Ukraine’s southeast border to reinforce the separatists, a claim Russia has denied.   Continue reading “Russia’s gains cloud Obama’s assurances to Baltics”

Mail.com

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago children will walk past even more guards on their first day of school than last year, when concerns about safety prompted the city to line the streets with 1,200 adults every day.

Thanks to an infusion of $1 million from the city, another 100 “Safe Passage” workers will be on routes that students walk through crime-ridden neighborhoods to get to school when classes resume on Tuesday. And after Gov. Pat Quinn pledged $10 million, officials said another 600 of the workers would be hired and on the streets over the next several weeks.   Continue reading “School to begin in Chicago with more safety guards”

Mail.com

DETROIT (AP) — Lawyers for Detroit will attempt to convince a federal judge at the city’s bankruptcy trial that its plans to wipe out billions of dollars in debt should be approved.

After some delays, the start of the trial Tuesday in U.S. District Court comes just over 13 months after Detroit became the largest U.S. city to file for bankruptcy. Detroit expects to cut $12 billion in unsecured debt to about $5 billion, which is “more manageable,” according to Bill Nowling, a spokesman for emergency manager Kevyn Orr.   Continue reading “Detroit’s historic bankruptcy trial to begin”

MassPrivateI

General Motors (govt. motors), the largest US auto manufacturer by sales, is preparing to launch the world’s first mass-produced cars with eye- and head-tracking technology that can tell whether drivers are distracted, according to people with knowledge of the plans.

Seeing Machines, an Australian group listed in London, has signed an agreement with safety-goods maker Takata to supply GM with tracking devices for up to 500,000 vehicles over the next three to five years.   Continue reading “Warning: GM to install sensors in cars that measure eye movement”

OC Register – by Eric Hartley

The family of a man shot and killed by Anaheim police in a Walmart parking lot can sue the city and four of the officers who fired their weapons, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

The decision came more than two years after a judge dismissed the family’s lawsuit, ruling in favor of the city and the officers without a trial.

Five officers shot Caesar Ray Cruz, 35, on Dec. 11, 2009, firing about 20 times in a few seconds, according to the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.   Continue reading “Court revives lawsuit in fatal police shooting in Anaheim”