From the Trenches World Report

Reuters – by HARRIET MCLEOD

Attorneys in South Carolina say they have fresh evidence that warrants a new trial in the case of a 14-year-old black teenager put to death nearly 70 years ago for the murders of two white girls.

George Stinney Jr. was the youngest person to be executed in the United States in the last century, and attorneys say the request for another trial so long after a defendant’s death is the first of its kind in the state.   Continue reading “New trial sought for South Carolina teen executed for 1944 murders”

AlterNet – by Alan Farago

A recent report by the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development) underscores the health care crisis in the world’s most exceptional democracy. The U.S. spends two and a half times per capita more on health care than any other developed country. How does this happen? Take a look at a key player in the paradox: sugar growers. In Florida it is called, Big Sugar. In other states it is beets, maple syrup and most ubiquitous of all: high-fructose corn syrup extracted from an unlimited corn crop heavily subsidized by taxpayers.   Continue reading “Killer Fact: 30-40 Percent of Health Care Spending in the U.S. Is Tied to Excess Sugar Consumption”

SOTT – by wallaceb06

Enbridge Energy has just reported that their Alberta Clipper tar sands pipeline is being shut down because they have spilled over 5000 gallons of oil. The spill happened in Saskatchewan, Canada, and it is not yet clear what has caused the leak. Enbridge has reported that the spill occurred at one of their pumping stations but some of the oil has sprayed onto nearby private property.

This latest spill is yet another example on why Enbridge should focus a lot more time on pipeline safety instead of rushing and pushing through massive amounts of pipeline expansion projects throughout Canada and the US.    Continue reading “Oil leak on massive pipeline pushing tar sands through the Great Lakes”

Raw Story – by Scott Kaufman

In an interview with David Remnick published in The New Yorker on Sunday, President Obama equated smoking marijuana with “a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life. I don’t think it is more dangerous than alcohol.”   Continue reading “Obama: Pot is ‘a bad habit’ that is no ‘more dangerous than alcohol’”

The Free Patriot – by Allison Martinez

Texas home school families need to take note of this case. While the parents won, and should never have had their children taken, it is still an lesson in how the attitudes and beliefs of social workers can override the law. It seems to me that these judges and case workers need some kind of in-service training on home school laws.

Mr. and Mrs. Tutt are a Christian family who has their own children and foster children. They home school.  Unlike most couples, they are equipped to handle special needs children who are particularly difficult to place. They recently had a temporary placement, a small child with autism, who wondered off.     Continue reading “Texas judge orders home schooled children removed from Christian parents’ home”

Intellihub – by  John Vibes

SOUTH CAROLINA (INTELLIHUB) — The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) recently confirmed that a plume of radioactive Tritium is moving off the Barnwell Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility, in Barnwell, South Carolina.

This is the first public announcement on this topic, but many environmentalists claim that this has been going on for years.

“The plume started moving off the Barnwell site years ago. In fact, they dug up the adjacent church because there was contamination of soil and groundwater and that was ten years ago. Just like every other low-level nuclear waste site in this country, they have all leaked,” Susan Corbett, Chair South Carolina Sierra Club, told Atlanta Progressive News.   Continue reading “A Radioactive Plume in South Carolina is leaking into the Savannah River”

Common Dreams

Japanese media is reporting yet another mysterious and previously undetected leak inside one of the crippled nuclear Fukushima reactors this weekend.

According to Asahi Shimbum, citing an announcement from the Tokyo Electric Power Company, a “new water leak, possibly from the effort to cool a crippled reactor, has been detected on the first floor of a reactor building at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.”

It remained unclear whether the leak was coming from water coolant pipes being pumped into the containment unit or if radioactive water from the cooling pools themselves was leaking out.    Continue reading “Crippled Fukushima Reactor Springs Another Mysterious Leak”

Before it’s News

Reuters ran article (16 January) about the U.S.  Justice department’s Inspector General claiming that the head of the Philadelphia gun “buy back” gave himself unauthorized raises totaling $82,000 over four years.  From kfgo.com:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The head of a Philadelphia gun buyback program gave himself unauthorized pay raises and failed to hold down other expenses paid from federal grant money, the U.S. Justice Department’s inspector general said in a report on Thursday.    Continue reading “Head of Philadelphia Gun turn in “buy back” Deep in Scandal”

Activist Post – by Brandon Turbeville

In keeping with the ever increasing trend of military and law enforcement cooperation and the growing prevalence of civilian police forces conducting drills with military forces, South Carolina’s Richland County Sheriff’s Office has announced that it will be engaging in joint training exercises on Monday and Tuesday with unidentified units from Ft. Bragg.

The exercises are scheduled to take place on Monday and Tuesday and will run up to midnight on both days and will take place largely in Lower Richland, near Eastover and Hopkins.   Continue reading “Upcoming Military Drill Off Limits to Reporters”

The Weather Space

The air-mass is starting to become much colder again as a deep trough carves into the region starting the end of the weekend, maximizing Monday and Tuesday … and lasting for a couple days thereafter, before lifting near the weekend.

While not as cold as the record breaking event earlier this month, this bout of arctic air will get as cold as -40 to -45F as far as wind chills are concerned … for parts of Minnesota.  The coldest period will be Monday night through Wednesday morning for the entire region.  Here are some of the city readings for wind chills during this event.   Continue reading “Arctic Air Blast To Return To Midwest to Northeast Early This Week”

WND – by Aaron Klein

JERUSALEM – In response to outrage from the U.S. over comments made by Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, Israeli diplomatic sources here said they are aware of statements that are “far worse” uttered by Obama administration officials against Israeli leaders, including remarks attacking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Some of the sources accused the U.S. of focusing on Yaalon’s statements to deliberately prompt a diplomatic crisis in U.S.-Israeli relations.   Continue reading “Israel Accuses U.S. of Generating Artificial Crisis”