From the Trenches World Report

CenturyLink – by DAVID ESPO

WASHINGTON (AP) — A defiant House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi declared firmly Thursday that the health care law looms as a political winner for her party this fall, despite ceaseless Republican attacks and palpable nervousness among some of her rank and file who fear their re-election may be in jeopardy because of it.

“We just couldn’t be prouder” of the legislation, Pelosi told a news conference where she said the law already has resulted in “better coverage, more affordable, better quality” insurance for nearly 12 million people.   Continue reading “Pelosi says health law a winner for Dems”

Sipsey Street Irregulars – by Mike Vanderboegh

To the legislators of the states of New Jersey and Rhode Island, upon the approach of your votes for firearm confiscation:

The firearm owners of your respective states tell me that you are busy men and women with short attention spans so I will try to make this brief, beginning with an instructive story from the history of my adopted state, Alabama. Some still tell it with pride in the hills of north Alabama. Like all the best stories, it has the advantage of being true.   Continue reading “An Open Letter to the Legislatures of New Jersey and Rhode Island: Are you seriously proposing to have your own skulls turned into soap dishes?”

RT News

Treatment of radioactive water at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant might be indefinitely suspended after malfunctions crippled the water purification process and recontaminated thousands of tons of partially purified water, Japanese media report.

The failure in the system, known as the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), is the latest setback in Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s (TEPCO) uphill battle to stockpile radioactive water, which is ballooning at a rate of 400 tons per day.   Continue reading “Fukushima water decontamination suspended indefinitely”

RT News

Maintaining good dental health may not seem like it’d be a top priority for soldiers, but the US military is hard at work developing a new kind of chewing gum that can battle cavities.

Simply dubbed “Combat Gum,” the new product is currently under development at the Army Institute of Surgical Research. Featuring a synthetic collection of anti-microbial peptide – the same naturally-occurring molecules in human saliva that kill bacteria – the gum can potentially help reduce plaque and tooth decay, as well as prevent cavities.   Continue reading “Pentagon developing combat chewing gum”

Mail.com

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — The Army general at the center of a sexual misconduct case that put the military justice system itself on trial was spared prison Thursday and sentenced to a reprimand and a $20,000 fine — a punishment legal experts, a women’s group and members of Congress decried as shockingly light.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair, 51, immediately announced his retirement, capping a humiliating fall for the battle-tested commander once regarded as a rising star in the Army. A disciplinary board could still bust him in rank and severely reduce his pension.   Continue reading “US general spared prison in sexual misconduct case”

Mail.com

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Fred Phelps did not care what you thought of his Westboro Baptist Church, nor did he care if you heard its message that society’s tolerance for gay people is the root of all earthly evil.

By the time you saw one of his outrageous and hate-filled signs — “You’re Going to Hell” was among the more benign — you were already doomed. Tall, thin and increasingly spectral as he aged, the Rev. Fred Phelps Sr. and the Westboro Baptist Church, a small congregation made up almost entirely of his extended family, tested the boundaries of the free speech guarantees by violating accepted societal standards for decency in their unapologetic assault on gays and lesbians. In the process, some believe he even helped the cause of gay rights by serving as such a provocative symbol of intolerance.   Continue reading “Phelps tested free speech with anti-gay protests”

Mail.com

NEW YORK (AP) — A teenage thrill-chaser slipped through a fence, eluded a security guard and climbed to the top of 1 World Trade Center, authorities said Thursday as concerns swirled about the audacious breach at what is supposed to be one of the world’s most secure sites.

Justin Casquejo, a New Jersey 16-year-old described by a friend as an adventure-seeker who loves to climb precarious places, spent about two hours early Sunday atop the symbolic and as-yet-unfinished 1,776-foot tower, authorities said. He apparently just wanted bragging rights and perhaps some photos, but the alleged escapade stirred what-ifs about the notion of someone with a more sinister agenda infiltrating the nation’s tallest skyscraper.   Continue reading “Cops: Teen eludes guard, reaches skyscraper spire”

 

Continue reading “Lots of Good Memories”

RT News

Unknown vandals have painted red graffiti, with anti-religious “Neither God, nor master, nor state” and rebellious “Down with the authorities” slogans on the doors of the 19th-century Sacré-Coeur basilica atop Montmartre in Paris, France.

The marble entrance of the one of the world’s most famous attractions has also been tagged in red and black paint, saying “F*** tourism” and “Set fire to chapels.”   Continue reading “‘F**k tourism’: Vandals deface Paris’ Sacré Coeur basilica”