From the Trenches World Report

Huffington Post – by Ryan J. Reilly

WASHINGTON — A Wisconsin man who, for one minute, took part in an Anonymous-sponsored effort to overwhelm the website of Koch Industries has been sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay the company $183,000.

Eric J. Rosol, a 38-year-old truck driver from Black Creek, Wis., was sentenced on Monday in federal court in Wichita, Kan., where Koch Industries is headquartered. He pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of accessing a protected computer, admitting that he used a software called Low Orbit Ion Cannon Code to participate in a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on Kochind.com for approximately one minute back in 2011. As a result of the attack, the website was down for about 15 minutes.   Continue reading “Loading Koch Industries Website Too Many Times In 1 Minute Just Cost This Truck Driver $183,000”

GOP USA – by Times Record (Fort Smith, AR)

Gun ammunition is in higher demand now than ever.

While the once-scarce .223 and 5.56 rounds have come back into readily available stock, the humble little .22 caliber bullet has become the most sought-after projectile.

The Walmart Supercenter locations in Fort Smith, as well as Academy Sports, Dicks Sporting Goods and the Tackle Box, all report high demand for .22 LR “longs” to the point they are bought up as soon as shipments arrive.   Continue reading “Ammo In High Demand”

USA Today – by Susan Jaffe, Kaiser Health News

Dorathy Senay’s doctor had some bad news after her last checkup, but it wasn’t about her serious blood disorder called amyloidosis. Her Medicare Advantage managed care plan from UnitedHealthcare/AARP is terminating the doctor’s contract Feb. 1.

She is also losing her oncologist at the prestigious Yale Medical Group — the entire 1,200 physician practice was axed.   Continue reading “UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage cuts doctors”

And Still I Persist… – by BF Webster

Stephen Covey was fond of saying, “You teach what you are.” Regardless of what platitudes you speak, all you really teach is what you actually live and practice. It should not be surprising, then, that the same political and philosophical mindset that produced the Affordable Care Act and pushed it through Congress in spite of fierce opposition and public disapproval would then seek to implement it with a vast, complex IT system that reflects much of the same hubris and many of the same fundamental flaws.   Continue reading “Obamacare and Healthcare.gov: How We Got Here”

Reuters – by STEVE SLATER AND AASHIKA JAIN

(Reuters) – Royal Bank of Scotland has neglected its technology for decades, the state-backed bank’s boss admitted on Tuesday after a system crash left more than 1 million customers unable to withdraw cash or pay for goods.

The problem for three hours on Monday, one of the busiest online shopping days of the year, raised questions about the resilience of RBS’s technology, which analysts and banking industry sources regard as outdated and made up of a complex patchwork of systems after dozens of acquisitions.   Continue reading “RBS admits decades of IT neglect after systems crash”

Yahoo News – by Jack Kim and Ju-min Park

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is believed to have dismissed a powerful uncle, a man key to his rise to power, from his posts, South Korean lawmakers said on Tuesday, a move that could help consolidate his power base with a younger guard of aides.

Jang Song Thaek was likely sacked as vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission and as a department head of the ruling Workers’ Party, lawmaker Jung Cheong-rae said, citing a senior South Korean official with the National Intelligence Service (NIS).   Continue reading “North Korea’s Kim seen behind sacking of powerful uncle”

NJ.com – by Mike Davis

ROBBINSVILLE — Robbinsville Mayor David Fried today declared in an open letter to township residents that he would proudly hold a “Christmas” tree lighting ceremony and criticized any politically correct or secular terms for the event.

A secular “tree lighting ceremony” had been advertised for the township, but Fried said he was upset the township could identify the “Hanukkah Menorah” and not the Christmas tree.   Continue reading “‘Holiday tree celebration?’ Robbinsville mayor says not in his town – Will proudly host ‘Christmas tree lighting’”

World Events and the Bible

WEB Notes: This is a pretty big deal. Precious metals are also being manipulated just like everything else. However, precious metals have always had a monetary value and it might be wise to have some on hand before the financial collapse occurs.

(ZeroHedge) – As we showed back in April, the marginal cost of production of gold (90% percentile) in 2013 was estimated at between $1250 and $1300 including capex.Which means that as of a few days ago, gold is now trading well below not only the cash cost, but is rapidly approaching the marginal cash cost of $1125…   Continue reading “Gold Drops Below Cash Cost, Approaches Marginal Production Costs”

MassPrivateI

There have been numerous, recent examples of this threat nationally and internationally, including the active shooter incident this month at the Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus, NJ which garnered national attention. The persistent nature of this threat and the expectation that it will continue to rank as the most likely scenario public safety officials will have to contend with in the foreseeable future,highlights the need for law enforcement and private sector security personnel to share information and best practices to better prevent and respond to similar, future incidents. (Mall security is spying on us & encouraging citizens to spy on us while sharing their paranoia with police.)   Continue reading “DHS to retail malls: You could be a mass murder/terrorist if you take pictures in a mall”

MassPrivateI

TX – Eighteen months ago, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper making a routine traffic stop of two men driving on a highway northeast of Houston noticed both were chewing on a wad of green leaves. His subsequent search of the car launched a yearlong investigation involving local, state and national law enforcement agencies that has so far resulted in more than a half-dozen arrests in the Houston area.   Continue reading “WTF? Police arresting anyone chewing olive-shaped leaves known as khat”

MassPrivateI

The second highest in Ohio decided on Wednesday that police have no business searching a motorist during a routine traffic stop for being too polite. The Court of Appeals suppressed the evidence that allowed police to seize a .40 caliber Sig Sauer and a small bag of marijuana from Joshua A. Fontaine at 2:27 am on December 12, 2012.

On that day, Ohio State Highway patrolman Jared Haslar was running a speed trap on Pearl Road in Strongsville, where the speed limit is 35 MPH. Patrolman Haslar claims his radar gun clocked Fontaine at 45 MPH, so he pulled him over. In the course of the stop, Fontaine cheerfully handed over his license, proof of insurance, and registration. This caused the officer to suspect criminal activity.   Continue reading “Court throws out conviction of a man who was searched because he was too polite”

BBC News

Hong Kong has confirmed its first case of the new strain of the H7N9 bird flu in a domestic worker from Indonesia.

The worker, 36, recently travelled to Shenzhen in the mainland and came into contact with live poultry. She is in critical condition, officials say.

H7N9 has infected more than 100 people since it emerged earlier this year.   Continue reading “Hong Kong confirms first case of H7N9 bird flu”

WND – by Bob Unruh

The headlines have been appearing sporadically for months.

“Why is it so hard to find a doctor?” the Boston Globe asked in October. PBS reported six months earlier, “Access to doctors shrinks for some Medicare patients.” And the New York Daily News suggested only two weeks ago it was “Obamacare vs. American doctors.”   Continue reading “‘Those of us who can escape the Obamacare noose will’”

WND – by Alan West

Former U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., is joining the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights groups to warn about a back-door attack on the Second Amendment by the Obama administration’s Environmental Protection Agency.

In a column posted on his website Sunday, West wrote about the Doe Run company’s lead-producing plant in Herculaneum, Mo., which is being forced to close after the EPA required it to spend up to $100 million on upgrades.   Continue reading “Obama’s ‘clandestine’ plan to make bullets vanish”

Mr. Conservative

An anonymous New York psychiatrist (Dr. X) who works for the VA has come forward to state that “things have been getting a little bit uneasy . . . for veterans.” That’s an understatement. We already know that New York State is going after veterans who have sought any kind of treatment for mental health. Dr. X reveals that, when veterans come to the VA for help, they’re often treated by ultra-liberal interns and residents who think of them as baby-killers; the VA actively seizes guns from any veterans treated for mental health issues, not matter how minor or stable the problem; veterans who refuse to give up their weapons are institutionalized; and psychiatrists get a $3,000 incentive whenever a veteran loses his guns.   Continue reading “Your Government: Now Paying Shrinks $3,000 For Every Veterans Gun They Confiscate”

Haazretz – by Amos Harel

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned that Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu‘s aggressive quarrel with the Obama administration over the agreement with Iran signed in Geneva endangers Israel, and panned Netanyahu for “losing his head.”

Olmert accused the prime minister of “declaring war on the United States” and of attempting to incite the Congress against U.S. President Barack Obama.   Continue reading “Ehud Olmert: Netanyahu tried to interfere in U.S. elections”

Mother Jones – by Dana Liebelson