From the Trenches World Report

RT News

Secret units within the ‘Five Eyes” global spying network engage in covert online operations that aim to invade, deceive, and control online communities and individuals through the spread of false information and use of ingenious social-science tactics.

Such teams of highly trained professionals have several main objectives, such as “to inject all sorts of false material onto the internet” and “to use social sciences and other techniques to manipulate online discourse and activism to generate outcomes it considers desirable,”The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald reported based on intelligence documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.  Continue reading “Western spy agencies build ‘cyber magicians’ to manipulate online discourse”

Mail.com

TOKYO (AP) — A major bitcoin exchange has gone bust after secretly racking up catastrophic losses, other virtual currency companies said Tuesday — a potentially fatal blow for the exotic new form of money.

The website of Tokyo-based Mt. Gox was returning a blank page Tuesday. The disappearance of the site follows the resignation Sunday of Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles from the board of the Bitcoin Foundation, a group seeking legitimacy for the currency, and a withdrawal ban imposed at the exchange earlier this month.   Continue reading “Major bitcoin exchange is insolvent”

Mail.com

For Cherie Lash Rhoades, an appeals hearing was her last chance to keep her small house on a tiny American Indian reservation in the high desert of northeastern California. During the eviction meeting at tribal headquarters, the former Cedarville Rancheria chairwoman is accused of killing four people, including three relatives.

Court documents allege she opened fire with a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol at the building in Alturas, Calif., on Thursday, killing four and wounding two. She was arrested as she stabbed one of the wounded, whom she had chased into the parking lot with a kitchen knife, the documents say. She stopped when a man tackled her and the undersheriff of Modoc County handcuffed her, authorities said.   Continue reading “Ex-tribal chair accused of killings faces hearing”

Christianity Today – by Ruth Moon

Seven Egyptian Christians have been shot execution-style on a beach outside Benghazi, security officials in Libya announced Monday.

The bodies were found with gunshots to the head in an area where kidnappings and assassinations are common and Islamist militants are active, Reuters reports.   Continue reading “Seven Egyptian Christians Executed on Benghazi Beach”

The Daily Caller – by Patrick Howley

Employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) destroyed veterans’ medical files in a systematic attempt to eliminate backlogged veteran medical exam requests, a former VA employee told The Daily Caller.

Audio of an internal VA meeting obtained by TheDC confirms that VA officials in Los Angeles intentionally canceled backlogged patient exam requests.   Continue reading “Department of Veterans Affairs employees destroyed veterans’ medical records to cancel backlogged exam requests”

Common Dreams – by Juan Cole

Researchers on online behavior have shown that internet trolls (people who use insincere techniques to disrupt conversations) really are psychopaths, marked by narcisssism, sadism, Machiavellianism. Professors Eric Buckels, Paul Trapnell, and Delroy Paulhus administered surveys to students and found that about 6 percent of them enjoyed messing with other people’s heads on the internet, or trolling. This same group scored high on the four most vicious personality traits, known as the dark tetrad. They agreed when asked questions like this:   Continue reading “4 Darknesses: Internet being Manipulated, Deceived by Western Intel Trolls”

Smell the Truth – by David Downs

Hundreds of thousands of Americans are using medical marijuana to treat symptoms of depression each day, but the search for the right strain is often a very personal one.

Cell and animal studies, as well as limited human studies and countless anecdotal reports, show the molecules in cannabis can interact with the human nervous system to cause feelings of well-being.   Continue reading “The Best Marijuana Strains for Depression”

WND – by COLIN FLAHERTY

Is Detroit now America’s safest city?

It’s a thought.

In the last week, three different Detroit residents have used their guns to fire at home invaders. The toll after seven days: Two dead, one wounded, three arrested and a whole lot of people rethinking the idea that Detroit homeowners are soft targets for hardened criminals.   Continue reading “Unload: Homeowners Open Fire On Invaders”

The Guardian – by Patrick Kingsley

Egypt is braced for its sixth government since the start of the 2011 uprising, after the prime minister announced the early resignation of the entire interim cabinet on Monday afternoon.

Hazem al-Beblawy, appointed in the days following the removal of Mohamed Morsi last July, was meant to head Egypt’s government until the election of a new president, but resigned on Monday after weeks of mounting criticism.   Continue reading “Egypt’s prime minister and cabinet resign”

Natural Society – by Christina Sarich

If pesticides and herbicides worked so well, we should be able to use less of them, not more, right? It just isn’t the case, though. On American farms and gardens, we have gone from using around 100 million pounds annually to over 404 million pounds of pesticides each year. That’s a whole lot of toxic junk on our foods and in our ecosystem.   Continue reading “Pesticide Use Soars: 100 Million to 400 Million Pounds Annually in Less than a Decade”

SHTF Plan – by Mac Slavo

A couple of weeks ago President Barack Obama joined Bob Costas in an interview during the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympic games being held in Sochi, Russia. The President, who didn’t attend the ceremony or games with other world leaders, chalked off his absence to his busy schedule. Obama sent a delegation in his stead that consisted of various gay and lesbian members, which was an obvious political move intended to highlight America’s outrage over Russia’s recent anti-gay legislation.   Continue reading “It’s On: Putin Deploys Troop Battalion: Russians Raise Flag Over Ukranian Republic of Crimea”

Washington Post – by JAIME FULLER

Today, Michigan Rep. John Dingell announced that he was retiring from Congress after serving 29 terms and nearly 60 years. That’s a long time. Let’s look at how much things have changed since 1955, when 29-year-old Dingell won a special election to replace his father, who had died in September 1955.   Continue reading “What’s changed in Washington since John Dingell got elected in 1955? A lot.”

Video Rebel’s Blog 

Let’s compare what China’s leadership has actually done to what America’s elite dreams it can get away with. Alasdair Macleod of Gold Money said China has cornered the gold market. Macleod said the total Money Supply of the 50 largest nations is $67 trillion. Outside the public banking system is the Shadow Banking System which academics recently estimated to be $100 trillion. The Shadow Banking System includes Hedge Funds, Special Investment Vehicles, Money Market funds and others.  That is $167 trillion in paper promises used to construct a House of Cards.    Continue reading “China Corners The Gold Market. US Pokes The Bear.”