From the Trenches World Report

Weird Republic – by Thomas Clough

The last of the Halloween candy has been eaten. The harvest moon is a radiant memory. The family festival of Thanksgiving has drawn us closer together. All of these warm seasonal memories can mean only one thing: It’s time for the Christmas haters to shift into high gear.

Who are the Christmas haters? Well, if we are to draw a conclusion from the hundreds of heartfelt and articulate commentaries currently on display on the Internet, they fall loosely into these self-identified groups: Jews, atheists, secular humanists and pagans. Continue reading “Trashing Christmas”

Reuters

North Korea announced on Monday the dismissal of Jang Song Thaek, the once powerful uncle of leader Kim Jong Un, for what it described as a string of criminal acts including corruption, womanising and drug-taking.

South Korea’s spy agency last week said it believed Jang, long regarded as the second most powerful man in the secretive state, had been relieved of his posts in November.   Continue reading “North Korea says Kim’s uncle dismissed for ‘criminal acts’”

Huffinton Post

Last year, the U.S. Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) made over $500,000 in loose change that travelers left behind at airport checkpoints. Now, there’s a legislative battle over who gets that half million in funds.

In its “Unclaimed Money At Airports” report, which was released earlier this year, the travel safety agency announced that it had collected a whopping $531,395.22 in pocket change from harried travelers. The amount represented a $44,000 increase from 2011, according to USA Today.   Continue reading “The TSA Found More Than $500,000 In Loose Change. Now What?”

NBC News – by Mike Brunker and Noelle Walker

SAN FRANCISCO — An 85-year-old American war veteran detained for more than a month in North Korea arrived in the United States on Saturday, a day after he was unexpectedly released by Pyongyang for “humanitarian” reasons.

“I’m delighted to be home,” Merrill Newman said in a brief statement to reporters after arriving in San Francisco on a flight from Beijing shortly after 9 a.m. local time (noon ET). “It’s been a great homecoming and I’m tired, but ready to be with my family now — and thank you all for the support we got and I very much appreciate it.”   Continue reading “American veteran detained for a month in North Korea arrives home after ordeal”

NJ.com

PRINCETON — Princeton University is getting ready to administer the first doses of a vaccine against meningitis.

The Ivy League school has experienced an outbreak of type B meningococcal disease, which is sometimes life-threatening.

The vaccine for that particular strain is only licensed for use in Europe and Australia but not in the U.S.   Continue reading “Princeton to begin meningitis B vaccinations”

Huffington Post – by Alissa de Carbonnel and Pavel Polityuk

KIEV, Dec 8 (Reuters) – Crowds toppled a statue of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin in the Ukrainian capital and attacked it with hammers on Sunday in the latest mass protests against President Viktor Yanukovich and his plans for closer ties with Russia.

The statue’s felling – a symbolic rejection of Moscow’s power – came after opposition leaders told hundreds of thousands of demonstrators to keep up pressure on Yanukovich to sack his government.    Continue reading “Kiev Protesters Toppled Lenin Statue”

Continue reading “Veteran’s Day”

I recently spent $6,500 on a young registered Black Angus bull. I put him out with the herd but he just ate grass and wouldn’t even look at a cow. I was beginning to think I had paid more for that bull than he was worth. 

Anyhow, I had the Vet come and have a look at him. He said the bull was very healthy, but possibly just a little young, so he gave me some pills to feed him once per day.    Continue reading “My Farm Bull”

Alalam

Germany plans to sell two battleship destroyers to the Israeli regime for one billion euros ($1.3 billion), a German-based daily reports.

The Daily Caller – by Eric Owens

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has promised to improve education quality vastly by pushing for the implementation of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

This year, 45 states and the District of Columbia have implemented the Common Core standards and curricula based on those standards.   Continue reading “Is this Common Core math question the worst math question in human history?”

Before It’s News – by Monica Davis

People are under the delusion that if guns and weapons are banned, or when buyers have to go through background checks and licensing, that all the evil people will be without guns and life in the United States will return to the peaceful days of a century ago.

Not..

Thieves steal guns. They steal them from pawnshops. They steal them from homeowners. They steal them from national guard armories. They buy and sell them through crooked soldiers. And–drum roll, please: they steal them from SWAT.    Continue reading “Gun Control? Gangs And Thieves Target Law Enforcement To Steal Weapons”