From the Trenches World Report

ABC News – by JOHN SEEWER Associated Press

A review of a deadly police chase in Cleveland nearly a year ago has led to suspensions for 63 patrol officers who violated orders and department rules, the city’s police chief said Tuesday.

A fleeing driver and passenger were killed when officers fired 137 shots at them in the 23-minute chase that involved five dozen cruisers and wove through residential neighborhoods before ending in gunfire.   Continue reading “Ohio Police Suspend 63 Officers Over Deadly Chase”

The Washington Times – by Kellan Howell

After months of anguished debate over mass shootings, gun control and Second Amendment rights, the Justice Department finds itself on the defensive after a training manual surfaced that suggests federal agents could face a firing squad for leaking government secrets.

The online manual for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — complete with a photo of a turn-of-the-century firing squad — was obtained by The Washington Times from a concerned federal law enforcement official, and it immediately drew protests from watchdogs who said it showed a lack of sensitivity to gun violence and the continuing hostile environment toward whistleblowers.   Continue reading “Sacrebleu! ATF threatens French-style firing squad for agents who leak secrets”

Information Clearinghouse – by Mary, homeless in New York

Passers-by mainly ignore me, a homeless woman sitting on the sidewalk or a bench. The people who do speak to me are either curious, or harpies who give me unsolicited and useless advice, or the more irritable who chastise me. I try to explain by example that there are good, decent, employable but destitute people in New York City.   Continue reading “What You Learn About Humanity From Living on the Streets”

Mondoweiss – by Humna Bhojani

Dear President Obama,

Thank you for your meeting with an impressive young lady from my country, and for showing concern over the citizens of Pakistan. In the picture from the White House, you are all smiling. This is almost heart-warming, and almost does not look like political point-scoring or a publicity ploy.

Almost.   Continue reading “Dear President Obama, What have you fixed by meeting Malala?”

Global Research – by Prof Michel Chossudovsky

The “shutdown” of the US government and the financial climax associated with a deadline date, leading to a possible “debt default” of the federal government is a money making undertaking for Wall Street. 

A wave of speculative activity is sweeping major markets.

The uncertainty regarding the shutdown and “debt default” constitutes a golden opportunity for “institutional speculators”.  Those who have reliable “inside information” regarding the complex outcome of the legislative process are slated to make billions of dollars in windfall gains.     Continue reading “The Speculative Endgame: The Government “Shutdown” and “Debt Default”, A Multibillion Bonanza for Wall Street”

RT News

The Pentagon’s inspector general has found that Boeing repeatedly charged the United States military for “new” helicopter parts even as it installed used parts instead.

Since 2008, Chicago-based Boeing, the military’s second-largest contractor, has overcharged the United States on four separate occasions, to the tune of $16.6 billion.   Continue reading “Boeing caught selling used parts as new to Pentagon”

RT News

Almost half a million deaths in Iraq between 2003 and 2011 were caused by war and occupation, according to new research. The figure is around four times bigger than most previous estimates.

An estimated 460,000 deaths in Iraq from March 2003 to mid-2011 were caused by violence during the war with the US and the subsequent occupation by coalition forces, according to a statistical research published in PLOS (Public Library of Science) Medicine journal, an open access source.    Continue reading “2003-2011: Half million Iraqis died in war, occupation”

Mail.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A baggage handler has been arrested following a police investigation into two dry ice explosions at Los Angeles International Airport.

Dicarlo Bennett, a 28-year-old employee for the ground handling company Servisair, was booked Tuesday for possession of a destructive device near an aircraft. He is being held on $1 million bail. Police had stepped up patrols and increased its checks on employees after the blasts took place Sunday night and then again Monday night.   Continue reading “Ground employee arrested in LA airport ice blasts”

Mail.com

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner was subdued from the moment he strode into the courtroom alone to answer charges that he put a woman in a headlock, kissed another against her will and grabbed the buttocks of a third.

“Guilty,” he told a judge three times during a brief hearing before making a quiet exit and avoiding a throng of reporters. It was a sharp contrast to a fiery resignation speech less than two months ago in which the city’s first Democratic mayor in 20 years said he was the victim of a lynch mob and denied that his actions amounted to harassment.   Continue reading “Ex-San Diego mayor pleads guilty to felony”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hold the champagne.

Even if Congress reaches a last-minute or deadline-busting deal to avert a federal default and fully reopen the government, elected officials are likely to return to their grinding brand of brinkmanship — perhaps repeatedly.   Continue reading “Short-term debt deal won’t mask big barriers ahead”

The Atlantic Wire – by ALEXANDER ABAD-SANTOS

Erin Cox is a senior honor student at North Andover High School and was captain of her school volleyball team until she was punished and suspended for five games. The crime? She gave her drunk friend a ride home.

“A North Andover High School honor student, Erin was cleared by police, who agreed she had not been drinking and was not in possession of alcohol. But Andover High told Erin she was in violation of the district’s zero tolerance policy against alcohol and drug use,” CBS Boston reported.   Continue reading “Honors Student Gave a Drunk Friend a Ride Home, Gets Punished By School”

Testosterone Pit

Now we have a number, limited as it may be: the amount in public assistance received by families of people who worked as cooks, cashiers, and in front-line jobs in the fast-food industry – workers who’re dogged by low wages, part-time work, and scarce employer-provided health benefits – amounted to nearly $7 billion per year. This, in essence, is a way for the $200 billion-a-year industry to do something our corporate welfare queens excel at: shuffle off part of the costs of doing business to the hapless taxpayer.   Continue reading “Corporate Disease: Workers are a Cost not a Productive Resource”

Be Your Own Leader – by Dana Gabriel

Some of the corporate interests that are steering the U.S.-Canada Beyond the Border integration agenda are not quite satisfied with its progress so far and they would like the implementation process to be accelerated. The bilateral initiative which was launched almost two years ago promotes a shared vision for perimeter security. It seeks to improve information sharing between security agencies. Under the agreement, both countries are moving towards a coordinated entry/exit system and are developing a harmonized cargo security strategy. In addition, the U.S. and Canada are strengthening integrated cross-border intelligence sharing and law enforcement operations. Canada’s own electronic eavesdropping agency is also working hand and hand with the NSA. They are both increasing data collection and surveillance in the North American Homeland.    Continue reading “Increasing Data Collection and Surveillance in the North American Homeland”