From the Trenches World Report

RT News

Despite being subpoenaed by Congress to testify on the 2012 Benghazi attack later this month, US Secretary of State John Kerry will not appear before the House of Representatives’ oversight committee as demanded.

The announcement was made Monday by State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf, who stated that instead of going before Congress n May 21, Kerry will instead continue with his initial plans to travel to Mexico. Although the Telegraph reports that Harf called the subpoena “a waste of time and taxpayer dollars,” she suggested the department would work something out with the House.   Continue reading “Kerry rejects congressional subpoena over Benghazi”

Eyes Open Report

The California legislator is considering a voluntary program to ‘tax’ every mile residences drive to replace state revenue being lost due to a more frequent use of high miles per gallon vehicles.

The program would reflect similar models used in Washington State and Oregon.

“We want to do as Washington and Oregon have done in a much bigger state with much longer commutes…to make sure that we find out whether it would work, whether the public would like it or not,” Californian Senator Mark DeSaulnier told CBS Los Angeles.   Continue reading “California considers asking residents to voluntarily pay tax on every mile they drive”

End of the American Dream – by Michael Snyder

Virtually everything that you do is being watched.  Do you drive a car?  Do you watch television?  Do you use a cell phone?  As you do any of those things, information about you is being recorded and tracked.  We live at a time when personal privacy is dying.  And it is not just governments that are doing this.  In fact, sometimes private companies are the biggest offenders.  It turns out that gathering information about all of us is very, very profitable.  And both government entities and private companies are going to continue to push the envelope when it comes to high tech surveillance until people start objecting to what they are trying to do.  Continue reading “10 Examples Of How “Big Brother” Is Steadily Creeping Into Our Daily Lives”

Before It’s News – by Julie Brinker

As the American Psychiatric Association commenced its annual convention on May 3 in Manhattan, featuring over 65 sessions on psychiatric diagnosis and treatment of military personnel, Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) launched a petition requesting the U.S. House of Representatives Veterans Affairs Committee to investigate with public hearings the role of psychiatric drugs in veteran suicides, sudden deaths and recent shootings at Fort Hood and the Washington Navy Yard.    Continue reading “Citizens Commission on Human Rights Launches Petition for Congressional Investigation Into Psychiatric Drugs Behind Military Suicides and Sudden Deaths”

The Daily Bell – by Tibor Machan

It is individualism that the American Founders elevated into political prominence and it is individualism that most politicians and governments, including America’s, find most annoying because it is the bulwark against arbitrary power.

If, as the Declaration of Independence states, individual human beings have unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, no one may violate these rights. Every adult individual is sovereign, a self-ruler and not subject to the rule of others. (This is why Americans are referred to as citizens, not as subjects, like so many around the globe.)   Continue reading “Individualism, The Collectivists’ Nemesis”

Daily Mail

Employees of a fast food restaurant in Texas fled the service counter and locked themselves inside a freezer, convinced they were being held up, after a group of armed men walked in last Thursday.

But the band of gun-toting ‘bandits’ turned out to be members of Open Carry Texas, the pro-gun group, who were on their way to a peaceful demonstration.

The police were equally as convinced they were dealing with a robbery, with at least a dozen officers showing up at the Jack in the Box in Fort Worth.   Continue reading “Terrified Jack in the Box staff lock themselves in the freezer after heavily armed pro-gun group come in for dinner”

Live Science – by Becky Oskin

Mile for mile, there are almost as many earthquakes rattling Oklahoma as California this year. This major increase in seismic shaking led to a rare earthquake warning today (May 5) from the U.S. Geological Survey and the Oklahoma Geological Survey.

In a joint statement, the agencies said the risk of a damaging earthquake — one larger than magnitude 5.0 — has significantly increased in central Oklahoma.   Continue reading “Rare Earthquake Warning Issued for Oklahoma”

Business Insider – by Dylan Love

We’ve previously reported on the realistic potential for malicious artificial intelligence to wreak havoc on humanity’s way of life. Physicist Stephen Hawking agrees it’s worth worrying about.

Current artificial intelligence is nowhere near advanced enough to actually be of sci-fi-movie-style harm, but its continued development has given rise to a number of theories about how it may ultimately be mankind’s undoing.    Continue reading “Stephen Hawking Is Worried About Artificial Intelligence Wiping Out Humanity”

Aljazeera – by Jason Leopold

Fox News

The head of the American Legion called Monday for Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and other top VA officials to resign over a series of scandals that have rocked the agency.

Decrying what he described as “poor oversight and failed leadership,” the group’s National Commander Dan Dellinger said the problems with the department need to be addressed at the “highest level,” starting with new leadership. He said this is the first time the organization has called for such resignations in more than 30 years.    Continue reading “American Legion calls on VA secretary to resign amid scandals”

AmmoLand

New Jersey –-(Ammoland.com)- As you may already know, the New Jersey Second Amendment Society (NJ2AS) is engaged in litigation against the State of New Jersey Division of State Police in an effort to receive a copy of the “New Jersey State Police Firearms Applicant Investigation Guide” (I know, try saying THAT three times fast).

Three years ago we began a quest to obtain a copy. It started out simply enough. We wrote to the then head of the NJSP Firearms Unit and asked for a copy. We were denied.   Continue reading “New Jersey Second Amendment Society Suit Against The NJ State Police Continues”

Mail.com

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — A man suspected of shooting an Ohio veterans hospital housekeeping employee in the ankle was scheduled for a federal court hearing on Tuesday.

Neil Moore, 59, was to appear before a U.S. magistrate in Dayton on possible charges, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office said. Authorities said 61-year-old Paul Burnside was shot Monday in a struggle over a gun with Moore. Authorities say the gun went off as the two fought over it in a hospital break room.   Continue reading “Suspect in Ohio vets hospital shooting in court”

RT News

The Syrian Opposition Council’s offices in the US will become formal diplomatic missions after receiving approval from the Obama administration on Monday. This comes ahead of high-level talks between the US and opposition leaders in Washington.

The administration first recognized the Syrian Opposition Council as the legitimate representative of Syria in December 2012, but did not suspend the Syrian embassy – representing the Assad government – until this March. The opposition offices were considered informal liaison offices until Monday’s announcement, where they will become “foreign diplomatic missions” under US law, the Associated Press reports.   Continue reading “Obama administration offers $27 million in additional help for Syrian rebels”

Mail.com

DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian troops tightened a security cordon around a major insurgent-held eastern city Tuesday, but pro-Russia militia acted with impunity elsewhere in the turbulent region bordering Russia, surrounding a major Interior Ministry base.

Thirty pro-Russia insurgents and four government troops were killed Monday in operations to expunge anti-government forces around the city of Slovyansk, Ukraine’s interior minister reported Tuesday. Rebels said 10 people — fighters and civilians — were killed by Ukrainian troops during clashes Monday. They would not elaborate and there was no immediate way to reconcile the figures.   Continue reading “Ukraine tightens cordon around rebellious city”

RT News

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration seems to have accidentally mailed parts of a $350,000 drone to a Massachusetts college student, according to evidence posted online by its lucky recipient which was verified on Monday.

A Reddit user known only Seventy_Seven posted images to the online forum early Monday afternoon, quickly attracting thousands of viewers and nearly 3,000 comments wondering where the package originated and what, exactly, it is supposed to be used for. The user did not reveal his or her name but did say he is a college student who found a large box waiting for him in his UPS storage container.   Continue reading “$350k govt drone mistakenly sent to Mass. college student”

RT News

A Pennsylvania activist, who has been battling fracking companies in her town for five years, told RT how the court’s decision to bar her from extraction sites interfered with her private life – and why this does not matter for her relentless campaign.

“I don’t want to live with this and I don’t want it for future generations,” Vera Scroggins, an anti-fracking activist, told RT.   Continue reading “‘I don’t want it for my kids’: Anti-fracking activist in PA battles gas giant”

Mail.com

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — The girls in the school dorm could hear the sound of gunshots from a nearby town. So when armed men in uniforms burst in and promised to rescue them, at first they were relieved.

“Don’t worry, we’re soldiers,” one 16-year-old girl recalls them saying. “Nothing is going to happen to you.” The gunmen commanded the hundreds of students at the Chibok Government Girls Secondary School to gather outside. The men went into a storeroom and removed all the food. Then they set fire to the room.   Continue reading “Nigerian girl describes kidnap, 276 still missing”