From the Trenches World Report

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”

RINF – by Stephen Lendman

Israel is the only nation without fixed borders. It wants them expanded. It wants territory not its own stolen.

It has no constitution. Basic Laws substitute. Netanyahu is a world class thug. He shames the office he holds.

He heads the most ruthless regional regime. It’s one of the world’s worst. It threatens its neighbors. It mocks democratic governance. Days earlier Netanyahu said:    Continue reading “Proposed Basic Law Declares Israel a Jewish State”

Reuters – by JULIE STEENHUYSEN AND SHARON BEGLEY

A healthcare worker who had traveled to Saudi Arabia was confirmed as the first U.S. case of Middle East Respiratory Virus (MERS), an often fatal illness, raising new concerns about the rapid spread of such diseases, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday.

The male patient traveled via a British Airways flight on April 24 from Riyadh to London, where he changed flights at Heathrow airport to fly to the United States. He landed in Chicago and took a bus to an undisclosed city in Indiana.   Continue reading “First U.S. case of deadly MERS virus confirmed: CDC”

Christian Mercenary – by T.L. Davis

America has been on the brink of implosion for several years, even decades. Only those who were active during the Ruby Ridge and Waco actions of the federal government against the lives and liberties of their targets know how close America was to outright rebellion in the 1990’s. 

Bunkerville will go down as another event in the counter-revolution. Yes, of course, the revolution has already taken place overthrowing the U.S. Constitution in favor of judicial dictate: a cooperation of high political office and the judiciary has sanctioned the overthrow. It is now an oligarchy where a few high offices and corporate leaders steer the nation toward control and away from individual liberty.
Continue reading “Consider This, Mr. Federal Agent”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

$250 Million homes in Europe, $150 Million homes in the US, and as Bloomberg notes Million-dollar homes in the U.S. are selling at double their historical average while middle-class property demand stumbles, showing that the housing recovery is mirroring America’s wealth divide. As CoreLogic notes, “the real estate market is the ultimate reflection of confidence, wealth and income,” as purchases costing $1 million or more rose 7.8% in March, while sales of homes costing less than $250k plunged 12%, as “the same factors driving the income stagnation in the middle are driving the income momentum at the top.” The luxury markets are indeed on fire as foreign (and domestic) super-wealth floods into real estate but as NewEdge’s van Batenburg notes, echoing ur very words, “The American Dream is dead for everybody but the happy few who have enjoyed the tailwinds of the appreciating stock market.”   Continue reading ““The American Dream Is Dead For Everyone But A Happy Few””

Mail.com

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli archaeologist says he has found the legendary citadel captured by King David in his conquest of Jerusalem, rekindling a longstanding debate about using the Bible as a field guide to identifying ancient ruins.

The claim by Eli Shukron, like many such claims in the field of biblical archaeology, has run into criticism. It joins a string of announcements by Israeli archaeologists saying they have unearthed palaces of the legendary biblical king, who is revered in Jewish religious tradition for establishing Jerusalem as its central holy city — but who has long eluded historians looking for clear-cut evidence of his existence and reign.   Continue reading “Israeli says he has found King David’s citadel”

Staight Line Logic – by Robert Gore

If you were offered a glass of poison to drink, you would refuse. How about a “compromise” at half a glass? Why is compromise extolled as a political virtue? If smart meets stupid halfway on an issue, then does it again and again, after the fifth iteration smart is 96.875 percent of the way to stupid. If you are on the stupid side of an issue and cannot win an immediate victory, nothing serves your purposes so well as compromise, which is how statists usually serve up their poison. By even the second iteration (75 percent), smart is beyond retrieval.   Continue reading “Cheer Up, You’ll Be 1.5625 Percent Free!”

Bushcraft and Survival Skills – by GunsmithG

There are many variables to consider when choosing a cartridge for a personal protection handgun. Skill level, recoil tolerance, and cost all come into play. Staying within a budget and allowing for monthly or bi monthly trips to the range, and ammunition for practice can become a burden if a hard to get or expensive cartridge is chosen. Certain cartridges, like the .357 Sig or 10MM for example, are harder to find and usually more expensive when it is found. High cost of ammo equals less rounds for practice, and as a new shooter, practice is extremely important. That’s one of the reasons why I recommend a quality .22LR handgun, either semi-auto or revolver to learn the basics with. Recently, because of consumer fears over gun laws and ammunition restrictions, .22LR has gotten a lot more expensive and less available, so that is something to consider also.   Continue reading “Choosing a Handgun for Personal Protection: Part 2 Cartridge Selection”

US Crow – by David Black

Why do we have Aid and Litter teams? There is only one medic for every Platoon sized element. 4 squads with 2 fire teams per squad and 2 buddy teams per fire team. That is 1 or 2 (if you are lucky) medic/s or for 32+ people. My bag and treat 2-4 heavily wounded casualties.

Does anyone else see a problem here? If the medic goes down… If more than 4 people are heavily injured everyone is fucked. More than that I can’t carry everything. My fighting load weighs about 35 pounds. My aid bag weights another 35 pounds. So I am carrying 70 pounds. Read the Book “A Soldier’s Load and Mobility of a Nation” and you will see why that is a problem. Because that is not inclusive of survival or bugout gear. So as a Medic I need to distribute some of that load. Not only in terms of resources but of training and responsibility.   Continue reading “Special Teams: Aid and Litter Survival Training”

Tech Dirt – by Tim Cushing

“Fixing” bullying through rushed, stupid, reactionary laws does nothing to address the issue and generally just makes things worse. Carson, CA, Mayor Jim Dear thinks he’s going to beat bullying and he’s going to use a new law to do it. His plan is a real gem, though, requiring only a one-paragraph summary to encompass its utter vapidity. (via Adam Steinbaugh)   Continue reading “California City Achieves New Lows In Anti-Bullying Laws, Makes Public Entirely Subject To Other People’s ‘Feelings”

New York Post – by Selim Algar and Frank Rosario

He’s been dead for eight years, but try telling that to the NYPD.

Cops have barged into James Jordan Sr.’s family home looking for him more than a dozen times since he died in 2006 — prompting his exasperated relatives to finally post his death certificate on the front door.

“I tell them over and over, ‘James isn’t here! He’s dead! It’s that simple. What’s so difficult to understand about that?’ ” the Brooklyn security guard’s widow, Karen, told The Post on Monday.   Continue reading “‘Ghostbuster’ cops keep raiding dead man’s home: suit”

The Economic Collapse – by Michael Snyder

Is Detroit destined to become a Chinese city?  Chinese homebuyers and Chinese businesses are starting to flood into the Motor City, and the governor of Michigan is greatly encouraging this.  In fact, he has formally asked the Obama administration for 50,000 special federal immigration visas to encourage even more immigration from China and elsewhere.  So will Detroit be the first major city in the United States to be dominated by China?  It could happen.  Once upon a time, Detroit was the greatest manufacturing city in the history of the world and it had the highest per capita income in the entire country.  But now it is a rotting, decaying, bankrupt hellhole that is in desperate need of a savior, and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder appears to be fully convinced that China can be that savior.   Continue reading “Will Detroit Be The First Major Chinese City In The United States?”