From the Trenches World Report

Richard Silverstein

The respected publication, Intelligence Online, reported today that Samir al-Sheikh, the Syrian general responsible for intelligence operations in the southern sector bordering the Golan Heights, was assassinated on April 13th.  The publication notes that the typical Syrian resistance means of assassination are booby-trapped cars or grenades.  This killing was committed with a gun fitted with a silencer, indicating a different likely author of the crime.

The Hezbollah-aligned Al Akhbar noted that no Syrian resistance groups took responsibility for the killing.  It also said:   Continue reading “Israel Assassinates Syrian General”

The Diplomat – by Zachary Keck

On Monday China and Iran agreed to deepen defense ties, according to Chinese state media. The announcement was made following a meeting between Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Dehqan.

According to Reuters, which quoted a report in Xinhua News Agency, China said that bilateral relations “remained positive and steady, featuring frequent high-level exchanges and deepened political mutual trust.”Reuters also quoted Chang as saying that he is personally “confident that the friendly relations between the two countries as well as the armed forces will be reinforced” as a result of “increased mutual visits and personnel training cooperation between the armed forces.”   Continue reading “China Calls Iran a ‘Strategic Partner’”

Bob’s Blog

So hypothesizes Dick Morris here.

The record shows Clinton had already used the same text that Rhodes used 36 hours later. So, how did Rhodes pick up Clinton’s words? By reading the newspaper? Continue reading ““Either the White House sent the script to Clinton, or Clinton sent it to the White House.””

WND – by Bob Unruh

The publisher of “The O’Leary Report,” Brad O’Leary, warned America five years ago that the end goal for some key players in the Obama administration was the evisceration of the First Amendment, so that conservative speech could be shut down.

In “Shut Up, America! The End of Free Speech,” he noted talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh talks about a core constituency in Congress that does not believe the “free market of ideas” is good for America.   Continue reading “‘2nd American revolution’ looming over free speech”

Now The End Begins

Harvard University – A Satanic Black Mass reenactment is scheduled to take place at the Queen’s Head Pub in Memorial Hall at Harvard University on May 12, with the Mass performed by The Satanic Temple, which is being hosted for the event by the Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club. A non-consecrated communion host will be used in the reenactment, according to Lucien Greaves, spokesman for The Satanic Temple.   Continue reading “Harvard Ubiversity to Conduct Satanic ‘Black Mass’ on Campus”

RT

The House Judiciary Committee voted 32-0 to advance legislation that would put a halt to the National Security Agency’s controversial bulk collection of internet and telephone records, exposed last year by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Amendments to the USA Freedom Act aim to block the NSA’s ability to siphon and store the so-called metadata on domestic and international communications, instead keeping the information in the hands of telephone and internet companies.    Continue reading “Anti-spying NSA bill wins first round in US Congress”

RT

A worker at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has filed the first lawsuit from an employee against plant operator TEPCO due to high levels of radiation he was exposed to during the initial days of the plant’s 2011 disaster.

“I wish [the utility] had informed us of possible risks in advance,” Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun cites the 48-year-old man as saying at a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday. “I want [operator Tokyo Electric Power Company] to create safer conditions for workers because the decommissioning of the reactors will not finish anytime soon.”    Continue reading “Fukushima worker files historic lawsuit over radiation exposure”

RT

The US Department of Transportation has issued a safety advisory pleading with companies that transport crude oil by train to discontinue old railcars, a request that comes after a string of high-profile derailment accidents.

The advisory is non-binding, meaning it does not require companies to follow it, as an emergency order would. Yet it does apply to approximately 20,000 old tanker cars that companies rely on to carry Bakken crude from oil fields in North Dakota throughout the continent. The Transportation Department (DOT) recommended that only the sturdiest cars available are put to use, and that cars that cannot be destroyed should be updated.    Continue reading “Oil companies transporting crude by rail issued govt safety plea”

RT News

The Missouri House has advanced a bill that would broaden the definition of who may use deadly force in self-defense. The bill aims to allow babysitters to use force if threatened, yet the law could be interpreted to include any guests of private spaces.

Missouri HB 2126 would extend the state’s Castle Doctrine – an individual’s right to protect their home against intruders – to include anyone in a residence with direct permission from the resident. The bill is portrayed as an attempt to authorize deadly force by a babysitter or nanny “in the event of a home invasion.”   Continue reading “Missouri House approves broad deadly-force bill intended to arm babysitters, guests”

Mail.com

BEIRUT (AP) — Carrying their rifles and small bags of belongings, hundreds of exhausted Syrian rebels withdrew Wednesday from their last remaining strongholds in the heart of Homs, surrendering to President Bashar Assad a bloodstained city that was once the center of the revolt against him.

For Assad, it is a powerful victory ahead of presidential elections. For the rebels, the dramatic exit after two years of enduring grueling assaults and siege captures their sense of abandonment amid world reluctance to help shift the balance of power on the ground.   Continue reading “Syria rebels surrender strongholds in Homs”

Mail.com

DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia has pulled back its troops from the Ukrainian border and called for Sunday’s referendum on autonomy in Ukraine’s restive east to be postponed.

There were no immediate signs, however, that either move was truly happening or that they would cool Ukraine’s worst crisis in decades. NATO and Washington said they saw no evidence of a Russian pullback and the pro-Russia insurgents behind the referendum haven’t agreed to go along with Putin’s proposal.   Continue reading “Putin: Troops have pulled back from Ukraine border”

Mail.com

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Chinese ships have been ramming into and firing water cannons at Vietnamese vessels trying to stop Beijing from putting an oil rig in the South China Sea, according to officials and video footage Wednesday, in a dangerous escalation of tensions over waters considered a global flashpoint.

Several boats have been damaged and at least six Vietnamese on board them have been injured, officials said. The U.S. said it was strongly concerned by “dangerous conduct” in the area. Elsewhere in the sea, the Philippines arrested 11 Chinese fishermen for catching endangering turtles, angering Beijing and further exposing regional strains.   Continue reading “Vietnam: Chinese ships ram vessels near oil rig”

The Daily Caller – by Robby Soave

A 17-year-old was killed after a confounding police encounter during which the cops slammed him on the ground, shattered his ribs, pepper-sprayed him and shoved a sharp object down his throat, according to his family’s lawsuit.

The teen, whose first name is not given in the lawsuit, allegedly died at the hands of Huntsville, Alabama, police during an attempted drug bust. His mother, Nancy Smith, filed the lawsuit.   Continue reading “Lawsuit: Cops Shoved A ‘Sharp Object’ Down Teen’s Throat, Killing Him”

MassPrivateI

Big brother style self-service check-outs which socially profile customers to stop shoplifters are in development. 

Symbol Technologies, a part of Motorola helped develop self-scan checkouts for Tesco and Asda, has lodged a patent for a program which monitors a lot more than your shopping. Continue reading “Big Brother to socially profile every shopper at checkout lines”

Review Journal – by Steve Tetreault

WASHINGTON – With the proposed Interstate 11 connecting Southern Nevada and Phoenix on a path to reality, Nevada leaders are setting their sights on the next stretch, north from Las Vegas.

Sens. Dean Heller and Harry Reid are looking to insert wording into an upcoming federal highway bill that would designate an Interstate 11 corridor through Northern Nevada. While studies still are ongoing and substantive work might be a decade or more out, favorable mention in the bill would effectively plant an early flag for a project that must compete for billions in federal dollars.   Continue reading “Congressional delegation to jump-start Interstate 11’s Nevada stretch”