From the Trenches World Report

The Smoking Gun

A New Yorker who was arrested near his Brooklyn home for possession of several Ecstasy pills was actually carrying breath mints, a discovery that forced prosecutors to drop a criminal charge against the man, who is now suing for false arrest.

Robert Hankins, 46, was arrested on April 2 at 2:30 PM by NYPD Officer Sean Nurse, according to a Criminal Court complaint. Nurse reported observing Hankins in possession of “a plastic bag containing a quantity of” Ecstasy.   Continue reading “NYPD Busts Man After Mistaking Mints For Ecstasy”

New York Daily News – by Rocco Parascandola , Erin Durkin AND Larry Mcshane

Former New York top cop William Bratton, bounced from One Police Plaza in 1996, is returning as the city’s new police commissioner.

Bratton, 66, was announced Thursday as the new commissioner at the Red Hook Justice Community Center by incoming Mayor Bill de Blasio.   Continue reading “William Bratton named NYPD commissioner by Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio”

A walk through the many fields of this life

Beauty easily seen, woven into such mystery

Flowers and butterflies

Men and women and children, ourselves,

A hummingbird sips from a backyard feeder on a cold, frosty morning.

The heart tugs at purpose and deepest meaning   Continue reading “Hidden Treasure – A Gift”

New York Times – by JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.

An unarmed, emotionally disturbed man shot at by the police as he was lurching around traffic near Times Square in September has been charged with assault, on the theory that he was responsible for bullet wounds suffered by two bystanders, according to an indictment unsealed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Wednesday.

The man, Glenn Broadnax, 35, of Brooklyn, created a disturbance on Sept. 14, wading into traffic at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue and throwing himself into the path of oncoming cars.   Continue reading “Unarmed Man Is Charged With Wounding Bystanders Shot by Police Near Times Square”

RT News

The American Studies Association (ASA) leadership is pushing a plan to boycott Israeli universities, saying that Palestinian students and scholars currently face severe obstructions to their right to education “due to the occupation.”

The resolution was passed unanimously by the association’s 20-member national council – composed of elected representatives from the general ASA membership.    Continue reading “American Studies Association backs academic boycott of Israel”

RT News

Fast-food employees are conducting a nationwide strike in the US on Thursday, December 5, demanding a $15 dollar minimum wage.

Orchestrated by the National Fast Food Workers Campaign, the organization is hoping workers in more than 100 cities across the United States will join the effort by walking out and protesting low wages in fast-food restaurants.   Continue reading “Fast-food workers walk off”

RT News

A number of female Army privates at Fort Hood military base in Texas were allegedly pressured to prostitute themselves to superior officers, with the senior-most officer being the one in charge of sexual assault prevention for the unit.

The news originated in the court-martial trial of Master Sergeant Brag Grimes, who, after a two day trial, was found guilty of conspiring to patronize a prostitute and solicitation to commit adultery. He will receive a letter of reprimand and remain in the service, although he was demoted to sergeant first class.    Continue reading “Female army members allegedly pressured into prostitution by officers at Ft. Hood”

Bloomberg – by William Pesek

The buzz in Japanese cyberspace is that Chinese President Xi is wagging the dog by declaring a controversial “air-defense identification zone” across the East China Sea. The move has drastically ramped up tensions with Japan and the U.S., both of which have blatantly disregarded Beijing’s unilateral edict. According to one prevailing theory, Xi is whipping up an international storm to change the subject domestically away from income inequality, official corruption and China’s blackening skies.

The leader benefiting most from the controversy, though, may be Japan’s Abe. With his own populace furious over China’s unilateral decree, the prime minister is seizing the opportunity to rush a chilling official-secrets bill into law.   Continue reading “Japan’s Secrets Bill Turns Journalists Into Terrorists”

Fox News – by Shannon Bream

President Obama has repeatedly pledged, “If Congress refuses to act, I’ll do everything in my power to act without them,” and as he makes good on his promise it’s sparking criticism from both the right and left.

At a House Judiciary Committee hearing this week, GOP lawmakers repeatedly expressed frustration with the president’s end-runs around Congress on everything from non-enforcement of immigration laws to massive re-writes of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).     Continue reading “Obama’s end-runs around Congress spark bipartisan criticism”

Infowars – by Paul Joseph Watson

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) fears that the Obama administration’s refusal to enforce immigration laws could lead to Obama himself failing to enforce election laws, a concern voiced amidst calls by some for Obama to run for a third term in office.

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing yesterday, Gowdy asked Simon Lazarus, senior counsel to the Constitutional Accountability Center, “If the president can fail to enforce immigration laws, can the president likewise fail to enforce election laws?”   Continue reading “Congressman Fears Obama Could Suspend Election Laws”

Well I guess guns weren’t enough to go after so now they are going to want crossbows to. Something stinks about the cause of death if you ask me.

Fox News

WESTON, FLA. –  A South Florida man used a crossbow to kill his wife and teenage son in their townhouse, tried to kill a second son who is a student at Florida State University and wound up dead in a motel bathroom, authorities said Wednesday.   Continue reading “Florida man kills wife, son with crossbow, sheriff says”

Fox News

Chick-fil-A says it’s removing high-fructose corn syrup from its white buns and artificial dyes from its sauces and dressings as part of a push to improve its ingredients.

The fast-food chicken chain says the reformulated buns are being tested in about 200 Georgia locations, while the sauces and dressings will be tested starting early next year. It says it also removed a yellow dye from its chicken soup and that the new recipe should be in all restaurants by the end of this month.   Continue reading “Chick-fil-A removing artificial dye, high fructose corn syrup”

MassPrivateI

The National Security Agency is gathering nearly 5 billion records a day on the whereabouts of cellphones around the world, according to top-secret documents and interviews with U.S. intelligence officials, enabling the agency to track the movements of individuals — and map their relationships — in ways that would have been previously unimaginable.

The records feed a vast database that stores information about the locations of at least hundreds of millions of devices, according to the officials and the documents, which were provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. New projects created to analyze that data have provided the intelligence community with what amounts to a mass surveillance tool.   Continue reading “NSA is tracking 5 billion cellphone calls everyday”

Tom’s Guide – by Marshall Honorof

With little more than a week left until the PlayStation 4 launches in North America, Sony has updated the device’s Software Usage Terms. Those who preordered the machine are in for a few nasty surprises: By using the system, you are giving Sony permission to spy on you through the PlayStation Network (PSN), and game publishers permission to control the content you buy.

The information comes by way of Sony itself, which outlines the upcoming console’s restrictions in sections dealing with reporting and resale.   Continue reading “PS4 Can Spy On You and Prevent Used Game Sales”

MassPrivateI

Just because a person can see the outside of your home on a public street doesn’t mean you’ve surrendered all your privacy expectations in the home. However, that seemingly obvious concept is being put to the test in a federal criminal case in Washington state, which involves the constitutionality of using a camera mounted on a pole outside a house to allow the police to watch the home for almost a month. Senior District Court Judge Edward Shea invited EFF to submit an amicus brief in the case and Monday we filed our brief, arguing prolonged warrantless video surveillance violates the Fourth Amendment.    Continue reading “Video surveillance of a home for a month without a warrant violates 4th. Amendment”