From the Trenches World Report

EFF – by NADIA KAYYALI

If you’ve been imagining NSA surveillance as something distant, with analysts sitting in remote data centers quietly analyzing metadata—stop now. NSA surveillance has become a part of day-to-day law enforcement fabric in the United States. The Snowden disclosures that were made public as part of Glenn Greenwald’s book No Place to Hide drive this point home, and they emphasize why we need real change to government surveillance, not minor reforms.

There are two key points necessary to understand the domestic aspect of NSA surveillance: the integral role of the FBI in helping the NSA spy on Americans, and the acceptance of usage of NSA material for domestic and traditional law enforcement purposes. These are contingent, of course, on the fact that the NSA’s procedures allow widespread targeting of Americans.   Continue reading “How the NSA is Transforming Law Enforcement”

Militant Hippies

The President of These United States violates the law daily. He signs executive orders that take away our God Given Rights whenever he feels like it. He disregards our Constitution because he considers it outdated. All we ever hear from Congress is complaints that he is breaking the law. They say the word impeachment, but are too scared to start proceedings. They have the authority and justification to stop what is happening. The House of Representatives has the power to impeach the president and the Senate has the power to convict and punish him, yet they do nothing.   Continue reading “The Republic is Dead! Prepare to fight.”

The Hill – by Alexander Bolton

Harry Reid has become the most powerful Senate majority leader in history.

Congressional experts say the Nevada Democrat has used more strong-arm tactics than his predecessors, has a firm grip on his Democratic colleagues and has played a major role in changing the once-collegial Senate.

Republicans, eyeing a return to the majority in the upper chamber, are alleging an abuse of power by Reid as well as President Obama. They call the majority leader “a dictator” and have labeled the Obama era an “imperial presidency.” Continue reading “An imperial majority leader?”

CBS Miami -by Jim DeFede

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – When asked why he would risk his job and speak publicly, Detective Thomas Fiore considered the question carefully before answering.

“People are dying,” he finally said, “and there are so many things that are going on there that people need to know about.”   Continue reading “Miami VA Whistleblower Exposes Drug Dealing, Theft, Abuse”

Zero Hedge – by George Washington

Amnesty International conducted a global survey to find out how afraid people were of being tortured by their own governments if they are taken into custody.

The survey shows that the British, Australian, Canadian – and even Chinese people – are less afraid of being tortured than Americans.

Specifically, Amnesty asked whether people agreed with the following statement:   Continue reading “Americans Are More Afraid of Being Tortured By Our Government than British, Australians, Canadians … Or Even Chinese”

Continue reading “Call (of Duty) Waiting”

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?”