From the Trenches World Report

The Guardian

President Barack Obama will announce a new plan next week to help Americans who continue to struggle to find jobs even as the economy recovers from recession, his senior adviser, Dan Pfeiffer, said on Saturday.

Obama’s efforts to help the long-term unemployed are part of an economic strategy he will lay out in his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday and expound upon during a four-state tour, Pfeiffer said in a mass email from the White House. Earlier President Obama had used his weekly address to pledge action to tackle sexual violence, including in the military and at colleges.   Continue reading “Obama to unveil help for long-term unemployed in State of Union address”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Following research last week suggesting that HSBC has a major capital shortfall, the fact that several farmer’s co-ops were unable to pay back depositors in China, and, of course, the liquidity crisis in China itself, news from The BBC that HSBC is imposing restrictions on large cash withdrawals raising a number of red flags. The BBC reports that some HSBC customers have been prevented from withdrawing large amounts of cash because they could not provide evidence of why they wanted it. HSBC admitted it has not informed customers of the change in policy, which was implemented in November for their own good: “We ask our customers about the purpose of large cash withdrawals when they are unusual… the reason being we have an obligation to protect our customers, and to minimise the opportunity for financial crime.” As one customer responded: “you shouldn’t have to explain to your bank why you want that money. It’s not theirs, it’s yours.”   Continue reading “Bank-Run Fears Continue; HSBC Restricts Large Cash Withdrawals”

Diogenes’ Middle Finger

(MFNS) Washington – The president today took an important step, without congressional approval, in forwarding the agenda he set for his second term. Sighting a study by Manchester Metropolitan University on food safety, Obama ordered the FDA to extend the 5 second rule for food that has hit the floor.

“The government is to tackle food poverty by officially doubling the five allowable seconds for food dropped on the floor to ten seconds” Obama told a small group gathered at the White House. “The action could see millions of pounds worth of pizza slices, nachos and ice cream reclassified as edible”.   Continue reading “President Signs Executive Order to Extend 5 Second Rule”

Yahoo News

Columbia (United States) (AFP) – Three people were killed in a shooting at a popular shopping mall in a suburb of the US capital, authorities said Saturday.

Howard County Police, which announced the fatalities via Twitter, said the suspected shooter at the Columbia Mall was among the dead.

“Police are in mall to clear people out safely,” it tweeted. “Mall is believed to be secure, but people inside should wait for police.”   Continue reading “Three killed in mall shooting outside Washington: police”

Continue reading “Welcome to Iceland”

RT News

It was only a year ago that JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon was getting his pay docked by millions of dollars. Now, though, the company is giving their chief executive a raise.

Despite the fact that JPMorgan was hit with $20 billion worth of fines during 2013, Dimon will receive $1.5 million for the year. That base salary is virtually unchanged from the year before, but the company will also pay him an additional $18.5 million in restricted stock, according to a public filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.   Continue reading “JPMorgan gives CEO Jamie Dimon a raise despite shelling out $20 bln in fines”

BankRate – by Janna Herron

The whodunit of stolen credit cards

Gone are the days of the good old-fashioned purse snatcher. With little brute and more skill, thieves only need a minute, sometimes a second, to pilfer your credit card data.

“Back in the beginning, they got the imprint of credit cards from the carbon copies they dug out of the trash,” says William Noonan, assistant special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s criminal investigative division. “Technology has changed things.”   Continue reading “5 ways thieves steal credit card data”

Mail.com

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The head of Ukraine’s police says protesters on Saturday released two officers they seized and tortured, but a protest leader called the claim a provocation aimed at justifying a crackdown.

Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko, one of the government figures despised most by protesters, said the two officers were released with the help of negotiations by foreign embassies. He said they had been hospitalized, but did not give details of how they allegedly were abused.   Continue reading “Ukraine says 2 captured police released”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — The dueling faces of a conflicted political party were on display for all to see at the just-concluded Republican National Committee meeting.

One was younger, more diverse and tech-savvy, part of the RNC’s carefully crafted plan to inspire confidence that the GOP is trying to grow beyond its shrinking, older, largely white base. The other — one that hasn’t evolved since the GOP’s back-to-back presidential losses — lurked in the hallways, occasionally taking center stage at the Washington hotel where party delegates from around the country met to discuss party business.   Continue reading “RNC showcased update, while losing image remains”

World Events and the Bible

(RT) – A new report describing the bizarre and dangerous side effects of the sleep aid Ambien has once again raised questions about one of the United States’ most popular prescription drugs.

In a story by the Fix, Allison McCabe chronicled the numerous cases in which Ambien has caused individuals to commit unsafe, and sometimes deadly acts.   Continue reading “America’s most popular prescription sleep medication linked to mass shootings”

Online Paralegal Degree

There are 2.3 million people living behind bars in the United States
● The US prison system costs the federal government $55 billion every year

PRISON VS. JAIL

● Jails are locally-operated facilities that hold inmates for a short period of time
● Prisons are long-term facilities run by the state or federal government   Continue reading “Prison Inc.: The Secret Industry”

CNS News – by Michael W. Chapman

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spent approximately $900 million over the last 5 years for behavior detection officers to identify high-risk passengers but, so far, according to the General Accountability Office (GAO), only 0.59% of the passengers flagged were arrested and among those not one was charged with terrorism – zero.

In 2003, the TSA started testing its Screening of Passengers by Observation Technique (SPOT) program, which was then fully deployed in 2007. About 3,000 behavior detection officers (BDO) “had been deployed to 176 of the more than 450 TSA-regulated airports in the United States” by fiscal year 2012 (Oct. 1, 2011 – Sept. 30, 2012), according to the GAO.    Continue reading “TSA Spent $900 Million on Behavior Detection Officers Who Detected 0 Terrorists”

Daily Mail

A 70-year-old man in Washington D.C. has spent more than 40 years locked away in a D.C. hospital for the criminally insane. His crime: stealing a necklace worth $20.

Franklin H. Frye was sent to the psychiatric wing of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in 1971 after he was found not guilty by reason of insanity for stealing the necklace.

Six years ago, a public defender filed a motion asking a federal court to grant Mr. Frye an unconditional release. In the motion, attorneys for Mr. Frye cited his recovery over the last four decades he spent in psychiatric captivity as grounds for his release.     Continue reading “Thief, 70, has spent 43 YEARS locked up in psychiatric hospital for stealing a necklace worth $20”