From the Trenches World Report

Liberty Blitzkrieg – by Michael Krieger

Yesterday afternoon, I happened to read a seemingly innocuous enough article in Time by Justin Lynch titled: Bloggers, Surveillance and Obama’s Orwellian State. The article covered the usual bases. Such as the fact the Obama Administration is the least transparent ever, how it has attacked whistleblowers and journalists more than all other Presidents combined, and how citizen journalists pose a threat to the corrupt and dying status quo. All things that we already know.   Continue reading “Pentagon Correspondent for the New York Times Refers to American Citizens as “Children””

My Budget 360

Over the last decade the U.S. has entered into a low wage economic trend impacting the overall economy. The result has been for many once middle class familiesto fall one or two rungs lower on the economic ladder. Many corporations have boosted their bottom line by using slack in the labor force to cut wages, slash benefits, and ultimately filter more profits away from workers. This is how you achieve a record level in the stock market yet wages have been stagnant for well over a generation adjusting for that pesky background “noise” of inflation.   Continue reading “How the US is Creating a Low Wage Workforce”

Mail.com

RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) — A Greyhound bus headed from St. Louis to New York City collided Sunday with a car on an eastern Indiana highway, killing one person and injuring at least 18 others, an official said.

The accident happened Sunday morning on Interstate 70 near Richmond, which is about 70 miles east of Indianapolis and 35 miles west of Dayton, Ohio, where it planned to make a stop. Authorities temporarily closed all lanes of the highway before reopening them about three hours later.   Continue reading “Bus, car collide in Indiana, 1 dead, 18 hurt”

RT News

Prototypes of the US Navy’s much vaunted electromagnetic railguns were unveiled this week. The new technology, capable of firing projectiles at up to 5,600 miles per hour, is set to revolutionize naval warfare.

The Navy demonstrated two working railgun prototypes aboard the USS Millinocket in San Diego, developed by the Office of Naval Research. The high-tech weapons function by using an electrical pulse which creates an electromagnetic force to propel a projectile   Continue reading “US Navy unveils electromagnetic railgun prototypes”

Opposing Views – by Sarah Fruchtnicht

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman and Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk say the White House is sending undocumented immigrant children to their states without any notice.

Kirk, a Republican, told Fox News that 748 unaccompanied minors were transferred from areas bordering Chicago. He said the exact locations of the facilities housing the children are unknown and speculates that the White House did not want the children’s living conditions made public.   Continue reading “Nebraska, Illinois Claim Undocumented Children Being Sent There Without Notice”

The Free Thought Project – by Cassandra Rules

Jason Shuck, a Springfield, Missouri, police officer is being charged with only a misdemeanor after shooting a fleeing pan handler in the back on May 9th, which means he may be eligible to return to the force after his paid leave.

His victim, Eric Butts, has been diagnosed with mental illnesses including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and was unarmed and fleeing when the officer shot him.

Butts was seriously injured and kept in the hospital for a week.  He now has 31 staples in his stomach and must use a colostomy bag.    Continue reading “Cop Mistakes GUN for TASER; Shoots Unarmed Man and May Keep Job”

Mail.com

VIENNA (AP) — The United States and Germany put a brave face on an escalating espionage dispute, stressing on Sunday the importance of their cooperation to solving several global crises but offering little indication they’ve fully mended ties.

After a meeting on the sidelines of nuclear talks in Vienna, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry each extolled the value of the two NATO allies’ work together on issues such as Iran and Israeli-Palestinian violence.   Continue reading “US, Germany vow cooperation despite espionage spat”

Mail.com

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York-bound Delta Air Lines flight from Israel declared an emergency and returned to Tel Aviv early Sunday after developing a mechanical problem, vexing passengers already on edge as Palestinian militants launched rocket attacks on the city.

Flight 469 — a Boeing 747 with 370 passengers and 17 crew members aboard — landed safely back at Ben Gurion Airport around 2:30 a.m. local time after flaps on the jumbo jet failed to retract properly on takeoff about two hours earlier, the airline said.   Continue reading “Israel-NYC flight makes safe emergency landing”

Mail.com

VIENNA (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and fellow foreign ministers are adding their diplomatic muscle to try and advance troubled nuclear talks with Iran, with a target date only a week away for a pact meant to curb programs Tehran could turn to making atomic arms.

Deep differences separate the two sides and six world powers and Iran appear set to extend their talks past July 20. That would give more time to negotiate a deal that would limit the scope of such programs in exchange for a full lifting of nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Tehran.   Continue reading “Kerry in Vienna; extension of nuclear talks likely”

Mail.com

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — A rookie police officer responding to an armed robbery call at a 24-hour drugstore was fatally shot early Sunday by a suspect who had snatched a gun from an armed security guard inside, officials said.

Jersey City Officer Melvin Santiago, 23, was shot in the head while still in his police vehicle as he and his partner responded to a call at a Walgreens at about 4.a.m., Mayor Steven Fulop said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.   Continue reading “Jersey City officer killed during armed robbery”

International Solidarity Movement

Israeli airstrikes bombed a major water line and sewage plant west of Gaza City, last Wednesday afternoon, which provides water to tens of thousands of citizens and is regarded as the main water line for al-Shati refugee camp west of the city.

The director of the Water Department in the Municipality of Gaza, Saad Eddin Al-Atbash stated, “Israeli aircraft targeted a sewage plant west of the city, which serves the areas of al-Shati Camp, Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, Sheikh Ajlin, and the western areas of Gaza City, which pumps 25,000 cubic meters of waste water daily to the public treatment plant.” He continued, “While the city is working on improving the water supply systems for the citizens in Gaza, Israeli forces are working on the destruction of water wells in order to increase the suffering of the citizens during the summer.”   Continue reading “Israel airstrike bombs major water line, sewage station and water wells in Gaza”

RT News

The Indiana State Department of Health has been collecting babies’ blood and DNA without their parents’ permission since 1991, according to an investigation by a local news station. Now the state wants to know what to do with the blood samples.

When a baby is born in Indiana, as with other states, the state conducts a newborn screening test. A nurse or midwife takes a few drops of blood from the heel of each infant. The blood is collected on a specialized filter paper, which is then sent to the state’s Newborn Screening Lab in downtown Indianapolis.    Continue reading “Indiana stored babies’ DNA, blood for research without parental consent”

RT News

An artillery shell from Ukraine has hit a private house in the Rostov region of Russia, killing a citizen and leaving two more injured. The Russian Foreign Ministry promises heavy consequences.

Reportedly up to six mortar shells exploded on Sunday in the small Russian town of Donetsk, which has the same name as the Ukrainian city and is situated right on the Ukrainian border.   Continue reading “1 killed, 2 injured: Russia vows response to Ukraine shelling Russian city”

RT News

Israeli navy commandos made the first ground incursion into the Gaza Strip early on Sunday to carry out a raid on a missile launch site, Israel Defense Forces said.

The mission was accomplished, IDF said.   Continue reading “Israeli navy commandos enter Gaza to raid missile launch site”

Police State USA

ABILENE, TX — The town of Abilene has instituted a ‘zero tolerance’ crackdown on private property owners whose grass does not meet government-mandated length requirements.

Code enforcers literally drive around with measuring sticks to determine which lawns have been deemed too long by the town.   The property owners are then threatened with letters and are ultimately given Class C Misdemeanors if they do not comply.   Continue reading “Texas town enforces ‘zero tolerance’ policy on grass length requirements”

Police State USA

DURHAM, NC — A dubious police tactic has come to light, in which officers used falsified information in order to gain ‘consent’ to search private properties without a warrant.

Officers in Durham have apparently discovered that they can create the legal pretext for a search by lying about calls to 9-1-1 emergency services that never actually took place.  The tactic is apparently legal — and commonplace — according to an officer’s sworn statements.  WTVD-TV explains:   Continue reading “Police faked 9-1-1 phone calls to warrantlessly search homes”