From the Trenches World Report

New York Daily News – by JOHN MARZULLI

A NYPD cop and two goons — including a reputed gangster who was involved in a fatal stabbing of a groom-to-be — were arrested Tuesday with extorting monthly “protection” payments from an Albanian restaurant in Queens, federal authorities said.

The cop, Besnik Llakatura, conspired to shake down the restaurant owner with Llakatura playing the role of the good cop with the victim who was his friend, authorities said.   Continue reading “NYPD Cop and reputed gangster arrested for shaking down Queens restaurant owner: prosecutors”

New Haven Register News

WEST HAVEN >> Police and the University of New Haven confirm that a person is in custody after a report of a possible armed man sent the campus into lockdown Tuesday afternoon.

Police said the man in custody is the only suspect and that he was apprehended walking near campus.   Continue reading “University of New Haven says person in custody, ‘shelter in place’ still in effect”

Real Science

Global sea ice area increased from the 1970′s until the late 1980′s. Then it decreased until 2007, and has since grown very rapidly back to 1970′s levels. The global warming scam is on its last legs.   Continue reading “Global Sea Ice Area Highest Since 1994 – Fifth Highest On Record”

Institute for Responsible Technology – by Jeffrey M. Smith

On May 19^th, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) called on “Physicians to educate their patients, the medical community, and the public to avoid GM (genetically modified) foods when possible and provide educational materials concerning GM foods and health risks.”[1] They called for a moratorium on GM foods, long-term independent studies, and labeling. AAEM’s position paper stated, “Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food,” including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system. They conclude, “There is more than a casual association between GM foods and adverse health effects. There is causation,” as defined by recognized scientific criteria. “The strength of association and consistency between GM foods and disease is confirmed in several animal studies.”   Continue reading “Doctors Warn: Avoid Genetically Modified Food”

Huffington Post – by Murray Weiss

MANHATTAN — Investigators believe the motorman at the controls in the deadly Metro-North Railroad derailment in the Bronx Sunday dozed off for a few fateful moments and woke up too late to stop the speeding train from hurtling off the tracks, DNAinfo New York has learned.

Veteran engineer William Rockefeller all but admitted he was falling asleep as the train came roaring to a curved section of track north of Spuyten Duyvil in statements made shortly after four people were killed and dozens were injured in the wreck, sources said.   Continue reading “William Rockefeller, Metro-North Engineer, Fell Asleep During Fatal Train Derailment: Report”

Global Times – by Yang Jing

Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd has exited the US market in order not to affect Sino-US relations, Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of Huawei, said in an interview in Paris, news portal 163.com reported Sunday.

As a private enterprise, Huawei has no political stance and has done well after retreating from the US market, Ren said in the interview when he was asked about Huawei’s relationship with the Chinese government, according to the report.    Continue reading “Huawei exiting US market: CEO”

SF Gate – by Phillip Matier And Andrew Ross

It turns out that the mysterious high-tech barge that Google is building at Treasure Island is just the first of three floating wonders the company plans to launch, at a total cost of $35 million.

In a confidential budget report we obtained, barge builder Turner Construction Co. says the idea is to construct the vessels at Treasure Island, then dock them in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York.   Continue reading “Google plans ‘floating retail store,’ builder says”

Video Rebel’s Blog

Alasdair Macleod said recently that Gulf State billionaires are sending their .995 pure 400 ounce gold bullion bars to Switzerland to have them cast into .9999 pure gold kilogram bars. Dr Jim Willie has said that the one kilogram gold bar will be the center piece of the new system of international trade designed by China to replace the dollar. Dr Willie has said he was told that the price of gold will be set at $7,000 an ounce. Jim Rickards who is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a corporate insider has separately said it would take $7,000 an ounce for a gold exchange standard to work.   Continue reading “Arab Gulf States Join Chinese Campaign To Dump The Dollar”

Bloomberg – by Hugh Son

Bank of America Corp. agreed to pay $404 million to Freddie Mac in a deal that caps the lender’s efforts to resolve repurchase claims from government-sponsored enterprises on mortgages sold before the financial crisis.

The accord covers about 716,000 loans created by Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America from Jan. 1, 2000, to Dec. 31, 2009, and sold to Freddie Mac, the firms said today in separate statements. The payment, minus credits of $13 million that the bank already paid Freddie Mac, is covered by current reserves, the lender said.   Continue reading “BofA Reaches $404 Million Mortgage Deal With Freddie Mac”

Dr. Kevin R. Campbell, MD, FACC

During this last week of Thanksgiving, I began to reflect on the last year and the many good things that we have all been blessed with in healthcare.  I have the opportunity to serve patients and their families every single day.  I have the privilege of making a difference in the lives of others.  However, As I reflect, I am greatly troubled by what looms in the year ahead for physicians and their patients.   Continue reading “Unsustainability: Obamacare, Medicaid Expansion and the Destruction of the “Art” of Medicine”

Med Page Today – by David Pittman

Roughly half of the states are allowing health plans that do not conform to Affordable Care Act requirements to continue in 2014, following concerns that insurance companies were canceling policies for untold numbers of consumers.

At least 19 states intend to allow people with policies canceled as a result of ACA regulations to renew them, according to researchers at the Commonwealth Fund. However, 18 states and the District of Columbia have stated they will not implement the policy fix announced by President Obama last month.   Continue reading “Pay and Practice: ACA Policy Fix a Toss-Up Among States”

RT News

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Detroit, Michigan is indeed eligible for bankruptcy protection, giving the go-ahead to the once booming Motor City to move forward with plans to restructure more than $18 billion in debt.

Amid reading excerpts from a lengthy decision of more than 140 pages, United States Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes announced during Tuesday morning’s historic hearing that he approved of Detroit’s Chapter 9 filing, in turn authorizing the largest municipal bankruptcy ever in the US to proceed.   Continue reading “Federal judge lets Detroit move forward with largest bankruptcy in US history”

All Gov – by Noel Brinkerhoff, Danny Biederman

Among the thousands of patents reviewed and approved each year by the federal government, a select group is kept secret from the public—a group that has grown in number lately.

During the previous fiscal year, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) approved 139 new “secrecy orders” on patent applications, according to data obtained by Secrecy News.   Continue reading “Secret Patent Applications on the Rise”

AOL –  by FOSTER KLUG and HYUNG-JIN KIM

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – Six decades before he went to North Korea as a curious tourist, Merrill Newman supervised a group of South Korean guerrillas during the Korean War who were perhaps the most hated and feared fighters in the North, former members of the group say.

Some of those guerrillas, interviewed this week by The Associated Press, remember Newman as a handsome, thin American lieutenant who got them rice, clothes and weapons during the later stages of the 1950-53 war, but largely left the fighting to them.   Continue reading “US Vet Detained in N Korea Oversaw Guerrilla Group”

High Times – by Mike Adams

While every stoner dreams of having a badass ride made entirely out of weed, one automotive company has brought that concept one step closer to reality by developing a new hemp-based product that industry experts say will change the way automobiles are made by 2016.

Faurecia, which has become a major player in the global automotive market, ever since it hit the ground running in 1997, recently introduced a new hemp-based plastic called BioMat, which serves as a more environmental sound alternative to traditional injection-molded plastic.   Continue reading “Marijuana Motors: Automobiles Could Soon Be Made of Weed”