From the Trenches World Report

Mail.com

JERUSALEM (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews rallied Sunday in the streets of Jerusalem, blocking roads and paralyzing the city in a massive show of force against plans to require them to serve in the Israeli military.

The widespread opposition to the draft poses a challenge to the country, which is grappling with a cultural war over the place of the ultra-Orthodox in Israeli society. The issue of army service is at the core of that struggle. Since Israel’s founding in 1948, the ultra-Orthodox, who make up about 8 percent of Israel’s 8 million citizens, largely have been allowed to avoid military service, compulsory for most Jewish men, to pursue their religious studies. Older men often don’t work and collect welfare stipends while continuing to study full time.   Continue reading “Ultra-Orthodox rally in Israel against draft bill”

Mail.com

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A freshwater channel that separates Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas is a premier Midwestern tourist attraction and a photographer’s delight, offering spectacular vistas of two Great Lakes, several islands and one of the world’s longest suspension bridges.

But nowadays the Straits of Mackinac is drawing attention for something that is out of sight and usually out of mind, and which some consider a symbol of the dangers lurking in the nation’s sprawling web of buried oil and natural gas pipelines.   Continue reading “Sunken Great Lakes oil pipeline raises spill fears”

The Free Thought Project

A picture is worth 1000 words, but a video is worth millions, and could even be worth lives. On-officer cameras are not some new space-age technology, but cops using them is very new.

Cops in Rialto, California have implemented this technology and have had some heartening results. They’ve seen a 60% reduction in use of force instances and an 88% reduction in officer complaints!   Continue reading “LAPD to Be Equipped with Lapel Cameras by the Summer”

Police State USA

TAOS, NM — A Tennessee family on vacation in New Mexico ended up being shot at by by state troopers after a vehicular moving violation went awry.  What’s more, the trooper who opened fire on them is facing no charges, and has many supporters demanding he be put back on the streets with a badge and a gun.   Continue reading “Trooper opens fire on minivan full of kids; faces no charges”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Minutes after Russia denied it had issued an ultimatum to the Ukraine navy, Ukraine’s acting president has just denied the denial.

• UKRAINE’S TURCHYNOV SAYS SHIPS THREATENED IF ARMS NOT LAID DOWN   Continue reading “Ukraine Denies Russia’s Denial, Claims Ships Threatened With Seizure”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Just released from Vedomosti, google translated for most linguistic impact:

Russian Defense Ministry denies reports appeared that the Ukrainian military in Crimea delivered an ultimatum .   Continue reading “Russia Denies It Has Given Ukraine An Ultimatum, Calls It “Utter Nonsense””

Fox News

Ukraine says Russian forces controlling the disputed peninsula of Crimea are demanding that the crew of two Ukrainian warships must surrender – or face capture.

Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Maksim Prauta said four Russian navy ships were blocking Ukraine’s anti-submarine warship Ternopil and the command ship Slavutych in Sevastopol’s harbor.   Continue reading “Russia sets deadlines for Ukrainian warships, forces to surrender in disputed Crimea region”

Reuters – by EMILY STEPHENSON

Police arrested hundreds of young people protesting the Keystone XL project on Sunday, as demonstrators fastened themselves with plastic ties to the White House fences and called for U.S. President Barack Obama to reject the controversial oil pipeline.

Participants, who mostly appeared to be college-aged, held signs reading: “There is no planet B” and “Columbia says no to fossil fuels,” referring to the university in New York City.   Continue reading “Hundreds of Keystone protesters arrested at White House”

Dissident Voice – by Brian J. Trautman

The Pentagon’s budget proposal for next year was announced last week by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. In an interview with the New York Times, Hagel argued that to meet today’s national security needs, the Department of Defense (DoD) must shift its focus and capabilities away from “fighting grinding ground conflicts” and towards “new arenas of combat.” To achieve these ends, the budget calls for a realignment of the military that would reduce the total number of ground troops to its lowest level since 1940 and discontinue some military equipment deemed obsolete or unnecessary. According to Hagel, current levels of both assets are “larger than we can afford to modernize and keep ready.” The proposed budget also includes reductions in personnel benefits and base services, as well as base closings. The targeted cuts, however, are only one aspect of the budget. The other involves the new sources of priority spending.   Continue reading “Budget Realignment Reflects Pentagon’s Vision of Covert and Endless War”

Cryptogon

Via: BBC:

Muslim children who risk radicalisation by their parents should be taken into care, Boris Johnson has said.

Writing in his weekly Daily Telegraph column, the London mayor said such children were victims of child abuse.   Continue reading “Mayor of London: The State Should Abduct Children of Thought Criminals”

The Daily Caller – by Betsy Rothstein

Flip-flopping isn’t just for politicians any more. Consider the case of Breitbart News chairman Steve Bannon.

Bannon runs a website that loudly and adamantly opposes immigration reform. Rarely a day passes without Breitbart News editorializing against the Washington establishment’s plans to allow illegal aliens to remain in this country. It is the site’s signature issue.   Continue reading “Breitbart News chief ‘absolutely’ said he supports amnesty”

SOTT – by Jeff Jamison, CBS DFW

If there was ever any doubt Texas weather can turn on a dime, it was crushed under the weight of thundersleet today.

After two balmy days in the 80s, temperatures crashed Sunday into the 20s. A precipitous drop with, yes, precipitation to go with it.     Continue reading “Texas weather turns on a dime: Spring one day, thundersleet the next”

CenturyLink – by KIM CHANDLER

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Like most preschoolers, the 3-year-old girl who lives in Montgomery is a whirl of energy. She sings and dances through the house and loves the cartoons “Sofia the First” and “Doc McStuffins.” She parrots back letters as her caretaker spells her name.

About once a month a relative takes her to visit at Alabama’s Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women where her mother, Monica Washington, is serving a 20-year sentence for robbery. Her father was an officer at the prison and pleaded guilty in 2011 to custodial sexual misconduct after a DNA test showed he had gotten Washington pregnant, said Charlotte Morrison, a senior attorney with the nonprofit Equal Justice Initiative.   Continue reading “Former Ala. prison inmates describe abuse”