From the Trenches World Report

Courier Mail – by DANIEL PIOTROWSKI

Bruno Druchen, the national director of the Deaf Federation of South Africa, said the man, seen next to the US president and other world leaders, “was moving his hands around but there was no meaning in what he used his hands for.”   Continue reading “Deaf community outraged sign language interpreter for Barack Obama at Nelson Mandela memorial service was a ‘fake’”

RT News

The US National Security Agency has quietly subverted the tools used by online advertising companies in order to track surveillance targets and improve its monitoring ability, according to a report based on documents obtained by Edward Snowden.

Presentation slides passed from the NSA whistleblower to the Washington Post reveal that the tracking method used by websites and advertisers, known as ‘cookies,’ also serves government snoops by identifying potential targets to hack.   Continue reading “NSA uses advertisers’ cookies to track specific web browsers – report”

Wall Street Journal

CENTRAL VALLEY, N.Y. — Law enforcement counter-terrorism teams will be on patrol at shopping malls and commuter trains stations in a three-county area north of New York City.

New York State Police say Counter-Terrorism Action Teams will be conducting random checks Wednesday in Orange, Rockland and Sullivan Counties.   Continue reading “Counter-terrorism patrols set for 3 NY counties at Malls, Train Stations”

MassPrivateI

Sometimes a single story has a way of standing in for everything you need to know.  In the case of the up-arming, up-armoring, and militarization of police forces across the country, there is such a story.  Not the police, mind you, but the campus cops at Ohio State University now possess an MRAP; that is, a $500,000, 18-ton, mine-resistant, ambush-protected armored vehicle of a sort used in the Afghan War and, as Hunter Stuart of the Huffington Post reported, built to withstand “ballistic arms fire, mine fields, IEDs, and nuclear, biological, and chemical environments.”  Sounds like just the thing for bouts of binge drinking and post-football-game shenanigans.   Continue reading “How every part of Americans lives became a police matter”

WND – by Aaron Klein

A senior progressive strategist and former chief of staff for President Bill Clinton who specializes in the use of executive authority to bypass Congress is reportedly joining the White House.

The New York Times is reporting John Podesta, founder of the Center for American Progress, has agreed to serve as counselor to President Obama for a year.   Continue reading “Now Obama gets ‘Executive Power’ Czar”

Activist Post -by Heather Callaghan

Will the Hershbergers enjoy Christmas with their family at their Ohio home?

The last news report about the Ohioan Amish Hershberger family trying to avoid court-ordered chemotherapy showed that they were back in the US but still hiding. It did appear, at that time, that the hospital was not backing down. Even though reports said law enforcement and child protective services weren’t on the search, those parties had been out at the Hershbergers’ residence throughout the past few months.   Continue reading “Ohio Ends Stand-Off Over Amish Girl Forced Chemo Case”

Fox News – by Perry Chiaramonte

Not only could you “shoot your eye out, kid,” you might also go to jail for owning that BB gun in certain states.

New Jersey and other jurisdictions make little or no distinction between Daisy’s classic Red Ryder BB gun immortalized in the film “A Christmas Story,” and real guns. They must be registered and are subject to the same laws as any firearms.   Continue reading “BB gun control: In New Jersey, kids’ rite of passage could mean felony”

Breitbart – by John Sexton

A Kentucky M.D. named Stephen Kiteck is shutting down his medical practice and citing Obamacare as the reason.

Dr. Kiteck published an ad in the local paper saying his office will close Dec. 31, 2013 because of Obamacare. He invites his patients to drop by prior to that date to pick their charts.   Continue reading “Kentucky Doctor Closing Practice, Cites Obamacare as Reason”

Reuters – by RICHARD COWAN AND DAVID LAWDER

Budget negotiators in the Congress have reached an agreement on Tuesday that, if approved by the House and Senate, could restore some order to the nation’s chaotic budget process and avoid another government shutdown on January 15.

The chief negotiators, Democratic Senator Patty Murray and Republican Representative Paul Ryan, were to announce details at a news conference at 6 p.m. ET (2300 GMT).   Continue reading “Budget deal reached amid conservative opposition”