From the Trenches World Report

The Dissenter – by Kevin Gosztola

An “insider threat” program launched by President Barack Obama encourages a culture of snitching among federal government employees and establishes a work environment where managers can be punished for failing to report suspicious activity, according to a feature story by McClatchy Newspapers. 

Marisa Taylor and Jonathan Landay detail the “unprecedented initiative” is “sweeping in its reach.” It “extends beyond the US national security bureaucracies to most federal departments and agencies nationwide, including the Peace Corps, the Social Security Administration and the Education and Agriculture departments. It emphasizes leaks of classified material, but catchall definitions of ‘insider threat’ give agencies latitude to pursue and penalize a range of other conduct.”   Continue reading “Obama’s ‘Insider Threat’ Program: Discourages Whistleblowing, Treats Leaking as Aiding the Enemy”

Huffington Post

More than 22,000 pounds of beef are feared contaminated with E. coli, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Tuesday.

A recall spanning at least 13 states concerns 22,737 pounds of ground beef packaged by National Beef Packing Co. of Liberal, Kan., and affects 10-pound packages of the following products:   Continue reading “National Beef Recall: E. Coli Possibly Contaminated 22,000 Pounds Of Ground Meat, USDA Says”

PJ Tatler – by HOWARD NEMEROV

Yesterday, a small group of supporters congregated in Concord, New Hampshire to support Mayor Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns. They read off a list of people “killed by guns” while standing before their “No More Names” bus.

In the rush to demonize gun owners, the New Hampshire Union Leader chose to focus on one “gun rights supporter” arrested when he “placed his hand on an officer.” If this man indeed assaulted somebody, that’s a criminal act, and all reasonable people will condemn it. However, a much more interesting assault occurred that received no coverage: the Mayors Against Illegal Guns consider self-defense to be “gun violence.”   Continue reading “Bloomberg’s Real Agenda: Self-Defense is ‘Gun Violence’”

Washington Examiner – by PAUL BEDARD

A preliminary analysis of the list of shooting “victims” New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s group Mayors Against Illegal Guns is reading at rallies for new gun control laws finds that one in 12 are crime suspects killed by police or armed citizens acting in self-defense.

The review of 617 killings found that 50 were suspects in crimes ranging from assault to murder, not the type of violence Bloomberg’s group suggests in its “No More Names” campaign to draw attention to the estimated 6,000 gun death “tragedies” since the mid-December Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newton, Conn.   Continue reading “1 in 12 on Bloomberg’s gun victims list are crime suspects”

Alaska Media – by Daysha Eaton

Governor Sean Parnell signed a package of bills and resolutions today supporting gun rights. The signing took place at the Matanuska Valley Sportsman’s Shooting Range, near Palmer. Parnell says he wants to send message.

“The resolutions, the legislation we sign today are our declaration that we are strong supporters here in the last frontier of our second amendment,” Parnell said.   Continue reading “Parnell signs bills, resolutions supporting gun rights”

Think Progress – by Kiley Kroh

As the Obama administration’s decision regarding whether to approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline draws nearer, the latest disaster is raising serious concerns about the safety of Canada’s rapidly expanding pipeline network.

A massive toxic waste spill from an oil and gas operation in northern Alberta is being called one of the largest recent environmental disasters in North America. First reported on June 1, the Texas-based Apache Corp. didn’t reveal the size of the spill until June 12, which is said to cover more than 1,000 acres.   Continue reading “‘Every Plant And Tree Died’: Huge Alberta Pipeline Spill Raises Safety Questions As Keystone Decision Looms”

Washington’s Blog

Whistleblower Says Spy Agency Targeting Top American Leaders

NSA whistleblower Russel Tice – a key source in the 2005 New York Times report that blew the lid off the Bush administration’s use of warrantless wiretapping – told Peter B. Collins on Boiling Frogs Post (the website of FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds):   Continue reading “NSA Whistleblower: NSA Spying On – and Blackmailing – Top Government Officials and Military Officers”

LA Times – by Andrew Blankstein

The Los Angeles Police Department said there appears to be no foul play in the one-vehicle accident that killed journalist Michael Hastings.

News Forage

The US military has destroyed more than 77,000 metric tons of military equipment – including mine-resistant troop transport vehicles – as it prepares to withdraw from Afghanistan in late 2014, the Washington Post reported today.

More than 7-billion-dollar worth of military equipment is no longer needed, or would be too expensive to ship back to the United States, and much of it is being shredded and sold locally as scrap metal, the Post reported, citing US military officials.   Continue reading “The US military has destroyed more than 7-billion-dollar worth of military equipment before leaving Afghanistan: “This is the largest retrograde mission in history.””

Huffington Post – by John Celock

A New Hampshire state legislator who drew fire for claiming the Boston Marathon bombing was an inside job has resigned from office.

State Rep. Stella Tremblay (R-Auburn) sent a letter of resignation to House Speaker Terrie Norelli (D-Portsmouth) Thursday, just before lawmakers convened to pass the state budget, WMUR reports. The move comes a day after Tremblay emailed the entire 424-member legislature to reiterate her claims and suggest the need for more investigation into the April attacks.   Continue reading “Stella Tremblay Resigns From New Hampshire Legislature”

Information Clearinghouse – by Bill Quigley

Thanks to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden many more people in the US and world-wide are learning about extensive US government surveillance and spying. There are publicly available numbers which show the reality of these problems are bigger than most think and most of this spying is happening with little or no judicial oversight.   Continue reading “Spying by the Numbers: Hundreds of Thousands Subject to Government Surveillance and No Real Protection”

Freedom Outpost – by Publius Huldah

During August 2010, the People of The State of Missouri approved Proposition C and nullified key parts of “Obamacare.”  As a matter of constitutional principle, may the People of the States lawfully do this?  Or must they submit to every law made by Congress whether it is constitutional or not?  Are federal judges the final authority?   Continue reading “Why States Must Nullify Unconstitutional Acts of Congress: Instructions from Hamilton, Madison, & Jefferson”

CNN- by Dana Bash, Ted Barrett, and Tom Cohen

A border agent every 1,000 feet, every hour of every day, supported by 700 miles of fencing along the Mexican frontier.

No green cards for the 11 million immigrants living illegally in America until those steps and others to enhance border controls are taken. And none of it increases the federal deficit or debt.   Continue reading “Senate immigration deal includes tougher border security”

USA Today – by Karl Gelles

Congress may let student loan interest rates double July 1, but some federal workers and congressional staff likely are protected from the impact by a taxpayer-funded benefit that provided more than $20 million last year for them to pay down their college debts.

Congress created the benefit more than 10 years ago to make government jobs more appealing to job candidates who could get higher-paying jobs in the private sector. Meanwhile, a 2007 law that cut student loan interest rates in half will expire July 1, and Congress has been unable to reach a deal to extend it.   Continue reading “Federal Workers Get Millions In Student Loan Relief”

World Events and the Bible

WEB Notes: Make no mistake about it, the failure of the rebels is by design to literally bring the world powers into this conflict. We see that happening with each passing day. Now the powers of the world are openly arming the rebels and taking steps to intervene with their own military.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday, June 20, that Moscow will honor its controversial contract to deliver S-300 air defense missile systems to Syria. He spoke the day after the announcement that two warships carrying 600 Russian marines were heading for Syria “to protect the Russian citizens there” along with air force cover as needed. Lavrov told Russian TV: “We respect all our contracts and are honoring all our contractual obligations.”    Continue reading “World War By Proxy: Russia’s Lavrov says, ‘will honor its S-300 missile contract with Damascus’”

McClatchy – by Lindsay Wise and Jonathan S. Landay

Blacklisted News – by Stephen Benavides, Truth Out

Passed in 1978, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) set the groundwork for surveillance, collection, and analysis of intelligence gathered from foreign powers and agents of foreign powers, up to and including any individual residing within the U.S., who were suspected of involvement in potential terrorist activity. On October 26, 2001, a little over a month after 9/11, President George W. Bush signed the USA Patriot Act into law. Two provisions, Sec. 206, permitting government to obtain secret court orders allowing roving wiretaps without requiring identification of the person, organization, or facility to be surveyed, and Sec. 215 authorizing government to access and obtain “any tangible thing” relevant to a terrorist investigation, transformed foreign intelligence into domestic intelligence.   Continue reading “Indefinite Surveillance: Say Hello to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014”

Activist Post- by Brandon Turbeville

As the secular Syrian government continues to mop up the mobs of death squads made up of mercenaries, religious fanatics, and the criminally insane (as well as cannibals), the second phase of destabilization is quickly taking shape – that is, the establishment of “no-fly zones” and the arming of the death squads by the West with even heavier weapons than they have previously been given. The destruction of Syria is thus apparently scheduled to take exactly the same form as that of Libya.   Continue reading “Next Phase of Syrian Invasion Begins — The Central Bank Connection”

Yahoo News -by HANNAH DREIER

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The nation’s mayors are expected to ask Congress to push anew for strongerbackground checks for gun buyers.

Dozens of city leaders will consider a resolution demanding gun control legislation during the 81st annual U.S. Conference of Mayors conference, which begins Friday in Las Vegas.   Continue reading “Nation’s mayors meet in Vegas amid gun debate”