From the Trenches World Report

The Daily Caller – by Robby Soave

Annie Dookhan, a chemist for the Massachusetts police, was sentenced to three to five years in prison after committing a fraud so extensive that her crimes call into question the validity of over 40,000 convictions.

Dookhan worked in a laboratory examining evidence in drug cases. She was a go-to analyst for law enforcement and prosecutors, thanks to her rapid turnaround time and penchant for delivering much-needed drug evidence to score convictions.   Continue reading “In doubt: 40,000 convictions, thanks to police chemist’s unbelievable fraud”

MassPrivateI

A February 2012 document called ‘SIGINT Strategy 2012-2016’ outlines exactly what the NSA plans to “dominate” the world’s Internet and telecom networks.

1. Strong commercial encryption works — and the NSA is trying to destroy it. A major goal outlined in the blueprint is to “Counter the challenge of ubiquitous, strong, commercial network encryption.” One of the ways it plans to do so is by using human spies to influence and weaken encryption standards at tech companies. Or in NSA speak, it plans to “counter indigenous cryptographic programs by targeting their industrial bases with all available SIGINT and HUMINT capabilities.” (HUMINT means ‘human intelligence’, or spies.) Continue reading “The NSA’s plans to “dominate” the world’s Internet and telecom networks”

Washington Post – by Tim Craig and Karen DeYoung

KABUL — Efforts by the United States and Afghanistan to finalize a long-term security arrangement appeared on the brink of collapse Monday as Afghan President Hamid Karzai made a new set of demands, and the Obama administration said it would be forced to begin planning for a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces at the end of 2014.In a two-hour meeting here, Susan E. Rice, President Obama’s top national security adviser, told Karzai that if he failed to sign the bilateral security agreement by the end of this year, the United States would have “no choice” but to prepare for withdrawal, according to a statement by the National Security Council in Washington.   Continue reading “Karzai tells Susan Rice of more demands for accord extending U.S. troop presence”

MassPrivateI

The presentation lists license plate readers, facial recognition and field fingerprint scanning as potential uses of the Bay Area Regional Interoperable Communications System Authority (BayRICS) network.

The East Bay Regional Communications System Authority (EBRCSA) was officially created on September 11, 2007 with the formation of a Joint Powers Authority (JPA).  In California State Statute, a JPA is viewed as an independent governmental agency with the same powers that accrue to one of the member agencies. Currently there are 43 member agencies consisting of both counties, 30 cities, 6 special districts, 3 Colleges, Dublin-San Ramon Services District and the California Department of Transportation serving a population of over 2.5 million people.  The Board of Directors is made up of 23 representatives consisting of Elected Officials, Police Chiefs, Fire Chiefs, and City Managers who will be responsible for the overall development, operations and funding of the system.   Continue reading “The San Francisco Bay Area Regional Interoperable Communications Systems Authority (BayRICS) Facial Recognition Presentation”

New York Times – by KEN STERN

WASHINGTON — BY all outward indications, the U.S. Navy Veterans Association was a leader in the charitable community. Founded in 2002 to provide support to Navy veterans in need, the charity recorded astonishing financial success. In its first eight years, it raised around $100 million in charitable contributions, almost all of it through a direct marketing campaign. The organization, headed by Jack L. Nimitz, boasted of 41 state chapters and some 66,000 members.

This would be a great story of charitable success, except for the fact that virtually everything about the association turned out to be false: no state chapters, no members, no leader with the name redolent of naval history. Instead, there was one guy: a man calling himself Bobby Thompson who worked from a duplex across the street from the Cuesta-Rey cigar factory in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa.   Continue reading “The Charity Swindle”

RT News

In the early stages of the ‘War on Terror,’ CIA agents at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility turned detainees into double agents, helping the US to track and kill terrorists, according to US officials.

For some Gitmo detainees, held prisoner on a US military base in the middle of shark-infested waters, the promise of freedom in return for helping the CIA root out terrorists back home may have proven too much of a temptation.    Continue reading “Welcome to Penny Lane: CIA secret Gitmo camp for recruiting double agents”

Eric Peter’s Autos – by Eric

Every once in awhile, some good news.

Maybe.

The Environmental Protection Agency – usually strident, ideological and unreasonable – has suggested doing something reasonable: It has proposed reducing the total amount (and the percentage) of ethanol adulteration of gasoline.

Probably because it’s unavoidably necessary – to cover up a burgeoning debacle (think Obamacare and the delayed rollout of certain aspects of it).   Continue reading “The Corn Lobby Loses One . . . Maybe”

Gun Owners of America

Last Thursday, November 21, is a day that will live in infamy.

Harry Reid pulled the trigger on the “nuclear option” — a process whereby 52 Senate Democrats voted to change the Senate rules by brute force.  (See the vote here, where “YEA” was the pro-gun vote.)

He did this for the ostensible purpose of packing the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals with three anti-gun judges — one of which (Robert Wilkins) has held that the Second Amendment doesn’t protect the right to purchase firearms, just the right to possess them.   Continue reading “A Day That Will Live in Infamy”

The Guardian – by Harriet Sherwood

The Hollywood producer behind box office hits including Fight Club, Pretty Woman and LA Confidential has spoken about his life as an Israeli secret agent and arms dealer, saying he was proud of working for his country.

Arnon Milchan gave a lengthy interview to the Israeli documentary programme Uvda, broadcast on Monday on Channel 2, confirming claims made earlier in an unauthorised biography that he worked for an Israeli agency which negotiated arms deals and supported Israel‘s secret nuclear weapons project.   Continue reading “Arnon Milchan reveals past as Israeli spy”

USA Today – by Tom Vanden Brook

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is fortifying bases in the Pacific and looking to revive World War II-era air bases as part of an effort to survive a Chinese missile attack that could wipe out critical installations on Okinawa and elsewhere, military records, interviews and congressional testimony show.

The strategy indicates the evolution of the administration’s shift toward Asia, which includes the creation of a growing base in northern Australia. Chinese missiles have been a preoccupation of Pentagon planners who worry they could be used as a threat to deny access to the region by U.S. ships, planes and troops.   Continue reading “Pentagon builds forces in Pacific, eyes China”

Freedom Outpost – by Michael Snyder

There is a hot new game being played in cities all over America, and it is very simple. You pick out a defenseless person on the street and you try to knock them out. In most areas, it is known as “the knockout game”. In some communities it is called by other names such as “point-em-out, knock-em-out” and “polar bear hunting”. In many instances, the perpetrators don’t even try to steal anything from the people that they knock out. The goal is just to “have fun” by brutally attacking an innocent victim. Well, if this is what young thugs in America will do for fun when times are still good, what will they be willing to do when our economy really starts falling apart? Yes, the U.S. economy has definitely been steadily declining, but the truth is that what we are experiencing right now is rip-roaring prosperity compared to what is coming in the years ahead. So what will the streets of America look like when things get really bad?   Continue reading “Knockout Game Is Just A Preview Of The Chaos That Is Coming To The Streets Of America”

The Australian – by John Stapleton

Far from being an obscure health food with dubious healing qualities, new research has shown the honey kills every type of bacteria scientists have thrown at it, including the antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” plaguing hospitals and killing patients around the world.   Continue reading “Honey, I killed the superbug”

Before It’s News – by N. Morgan

When first seeing this story, I almost didn’t write about it, but upon further investigation, I changed my mind. This is information that needs to really get out there, far and wide! This could have been any one of us. The crimes they are alleging against this man aren’t 30 years worth. He didn’t shoot at a cop, he just had his gun out. They came onto his property and he felt he needed to defend himself. As we all know, who wouldn’t be defensive, with these psychopaths showing up at your house. If you disagree with this regime they hunt you down. They will silence you by any means necessary and do it hidden under the cloak of the law.   Continue reading “Who Is Next? Anti-Government Newsletter Publisher Gets 30 Years”

RINF – by Archie Stone and Toby Reese

Nearly one million Californians have received cancellation letters informing them that their health insurance will end effective December 31, 2013. As a result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), certain “essential benefits” must now be a part of every insurance plan.

Those currently on plans not meeting the new requirements will be cut off and, if ineligible for Medi-Cal, the California Medicaid program, will be forced to purchase a new plan on the Covered California exchange or through another plan that meets the regulations of what is commonly known as Obamacare. If not signed up for qualified insurance by March 31, 2014, individuals and families will be forced to pay a penalty at the time of their tax filing.   Continue reading “Obamacare: Nearly a million Californians receive cancellation letters”

CNS News

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”