From the Trenches World Report

Military News – by Raymond Foster

NORFOLK (NNS) — The guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) departed Naval Station Norfolk, May 20, for a two-month deployment to the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea.

“It is an honor to command USS Oscar Austin as we set sail to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations to enhance maritime security and conduct exercises with our allies in the spirit of Partnership for Peace,” said Cmdr. Brian J. Diebold, the ship’s commanding officer. “My crew is trained, motivated, and ready to execute all missions to enhance regional interoperability with our partner nations.”   Continue reading “Oscar Austin Departs Norfolk for U.S. 6th Fleet”

RT News

Bus ads linking “Islamic Jew-hatred” with Adolf Hitler are rolling through the streets of Washington, DC, with First Amendment protections guaranteeing they will remain a regular sight on the beltway for some time to come.

The 15-foot-long (4.6m) ads have been plastered on the elongated broadsides of some 20 buses in the DC metro area. The bus add features a photo of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler seated alongside his “staunch ally” Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Palestinian nationalist and grand mufti of Jerusalem who allied himself with the Third Reich before and during World War II.   Continue reading “‘Islamic Jew-hatred’ ads with Hitler adorn DC buses”

Mail.com

TAMPA, Florida (AP) — In the 2008 movie “Iron Man,” the main character becomes a superhero after building a suit of armor with an exoskeleton that gives him incredible strength.

Today, elite U.S. special operations forces may be a few short years away from donning a similar suit, one that can monitor the user’s vital signs, give him real-time battlefield information and be bulletproof from head to toe. The suit might eventually have other features unheard of only a few years ago, including an exoskeleton made of liquid armor, smart fabrics that could help stop hemorrhaging, enhanced sensory capabilities and Google Glass-like visuals.   Continue reading “Special Operations Forces may get ‘Iron Man’ suit”

RT News

Santa Cruz County has become the first county in California to implement a “permanent” ban on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in addition to all other onshore oil and gas development.

The county’s Board of Supervisors voted 5 to 0 on Tuesday to pre-emptively outlaw fracking in the county.   Continue reading “Santa Cruz becomes first California county to ban fracking”

RT News

After 10 years of negotiations, Russia’s Gazprom and China’s CNPC have finally signed a historic gas deal which will provide the world’s fastest growing economy with the natural gas it needs to keep pace for the next 30 years.

The total value of the contract is $400 billion, Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller said. However, the price of gas stipulated in the document remains a “commercial secret.”   Continue reading “Russia and China seal historic $400bn gas deal”

Mail.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Jace projected the image of a doting, hands-on father and husband to neighbors, but authorities are now trying to determine what prompted the veteran actor to tell police he shot and killed his wife while his young sons were in the home.

According to police, Jace shot his wife multiple times after she returned home with their children Monday evening. He called 911 and told a police dispatcher what he did and stepped out of the home just as officers arrived to find April, his wife of nearly 11 years, dead in the hallway. The handgun, which detectives believe belonged to the actor, was recovered from the home, and the couple’s sons were handed over to relatives after Jace was taken into custody.   Continue reading “Veteran actor tells police he shot and killed wife”

Heritage Action – by Katherine Rosario

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) has threatened another rules change in the Senate in response to Republicans’ alleged use of delaying tactics on nominations.  Republicans say the change would serve to further sour relations between Republicans and Democrats:

“I’m not interested in changing the rules now. But now is a relative term,” the Nevada Democrat told reporters Tuesday. Continue reading “Another ‘Nuclear’ Rules Change from Harry Reid?”

AltMarket – by Brandon Smith

On the surface, the economic atmosphere of the U.S. has appeared rather calm and uneventful. Stocks are up, employment isn’t great but jobs aren’t collapsing into the void (at least not openly), and the U.S. dollar seems to be going strong. Peel away the thin veneer, however, and a different financial horror show is revealed.

U.S. stocks have enjoyed unprecedented crash protection due to a steady infusion of fiat money from the Federal Reserve known as quantitative easing. With the advent of the “taper”, QE is now swiftly coming to a close (as is evident in the overall reduction in treasury market purchases), and is slated to end by this fall, if not sooner.   Continue reading “Who Is The New Secret Buyer Of U.S. Debt?”

Washington Post – by L.J. ZIGERELL

The U.S. Supreme Court provides one of the more ironic dynamics in politics: people calling for the retirement of justices with whom they agree. Pressure to retire has been directed at Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer by some who fear that the 81- and 75-year-old justices will not survive a potential Republican presidency that begins in 2017. Some want Ginsburg and Breyer to retire before the end of Barack Obama’s second term, or possibly even sooner, in case Democrats lose control of the Senate in the midterm election. But the behavior of past justices indicates that this pressure may be for naught.  Justices rarely hasten their retirement.   Continue reading “Waiting for Ruth Bader Ginsburg to retire? Keep waiting.”

Vocativ

It’s becoming increasingly commonplace to record every part of your life. Not only birthday parties and beautiful sunsets, but also all the events and non-events in between. But as with many modern, tech-driven behaviours, the law hasn’t progressed as fast as the technology, leaving people exposed to arrest for behaviour that seems natural and innocuous to them.   Continue reading “The States Where You Can Get Jailed for Recording the Cops‏”

Yahoo News – by Tom Hayes

NEW YORK (AP) — A police officer, a paramedic, a rabbi, a nurse and a Boy Scout leader were among at least 70 people arrested in the New York City area in recent weeks as part of a sweeping investigation into the anonymous trading of child porn over the Internet.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which led a five-week investigation ending last week, planned to announce Wednesday that it resulted in charges against at least 70 men and one woman. Officials call it one of the largest local roundups ever of individual consumers of child porn, and a stark reminder that they come from all segments of society.   Continue reading “Dozens charged in child porn case in NYC area”

It Ain’t Holy Water

CBS Philly

CHERRY HILL, N.J. (CBS) – A Camden County Police Lieutenant has been removed from duty after he was accused of masturbating inside of a Starbucks in Cherry Hill.

Lt. Benito Gonzalez Junior has been charged with a disorderly persons lewdness offense.

An employee from a store on Route 70 reported the incident to authorities on May 7.

Officials say the officer was not on duty at the time.   Continue reading “Camden County Officer Removed From Duty For Alleged Lewd Act In Starbucks”

Colin Todhunter

The GMO biotech sector is involved in a multi-pronged campaign to influence governments and the public about the benefits of its products. It uses various means.

It sets up or infiltrates institutions and co-opts prominent political and scientific figures to do its bidding (1). It hijacks regulatory and policy making bodies (2,3). With help from the US Government, it assumes strategic importance in international trade negotiations and is then able to set a policy and research agenda, as has been the case in India with the Knowledge Initiative on Agriculture and the funding of agricultural research within the country (4,5). It is shaping ‘free’ trade agreements to its own advantage (6). It mounts personal attacks on and tries to discredit key scientists who question its claims (7,8). And it arguably regards contamination as a means of trying to eventually render the whole debate about GMOS meaningless (9).   Continue reading “The Double Standards And Crumbling Myths Of The GMO Biotech Setor”

KATU 2 News – by Chelsea Kopta

VANCOUVER, Wash. – A third-grade teacher at Mill Plain Elementary school was “out of the classroom” Monday as the district investigated two complaints about whether that teacher’s policy, which requires students to pay fake money to go to the bathroom, led to students wetting themselves in class.

KATU first revealed the controversial classroom policy last week after Jasmine Al-Ayadhi complained that her 9-year-old daughter, Reem, had an accident in class as a result of the “pay to potty” policy.  The story prompted the Evergreen Public Schools investigation.   Continue reading “Pay to potty teacher ‘out of the classroom’ while district investigates”

Human Events – by Army Staff Sgt. Shelman Spencer

FORT BRAGG, N.C. ( USASOC News Service, April 9, 2014) – Sniper teams from around the globe converged on the Special Forces Sniper Course to put their skills to the test in this year’s United States Army Special Operations Command International Sniper Competition.Twenty-two teams, including three foreign teams, competed for one year of bragging rights to say they are the best in their business. Each team in the competition was comprised of one shooter and a spotter.   Continue reading “Snipers from around the globe muster for Fort Bragg tourney”

Phantom Report – by UPI

The first batch of surplus Leopard 2A5 main battle tanks sold by Germany to Poland have been delivered to a Polish cavalry brigade.

The tanks — 11 in all — arrived in Zagan, Poland, by train last Friday, with more due this year and next, according to the publication Dziennik Zbrojny.   Continue reading “Germany delivers Leopard 2A5 battle tanks to Poland”