From the Trenches World Report

RT News

The US Department of Justice is investigating the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for using invasive surveillance techniques, including wiretapping and logging telephone records into a database, to track Americans connected to illegal drug activity.

It comes after Reuters published a Monday report revealing that a shadowy DEA unit known as the Special Operative Division (SOD) – made up of officials from the FBI, CIA, NSA, IRS, and Department of Homeland Security – funnels information gathered by the DEA to those and other police agencies. Information from DEA wiretaps, informants, and the database of telephone records is passed on, often to investigations bearing no relevance to national security.    Continue reading “US drug agency unit to be investigated for wiretapping, lying about evidence sources”

Judicial Watch

After mocking U.S. law, a group of illegal immigrants who self-deported in a publicity stunt will get a crack at asylum because the Obama administration has determined they have a “credible fear of persecution or torture” in their native Mexico.

It would be laughable if it wasn’t so enraging. This new fear of persecution and torture was notably absent a few weeks ago when the group of illegal immigrants, known as the “Dream 9,” voluntarily flew across the border into Mexico to protest the deportations of thousands of their comrades. A group known as National Immigrant Youth Alliance organized and promoted the event and the mainstream media quickly labeled it a “brazen protest.”   Continue reading “U.S. May Give Self-Deported “Dreamers” Asylum”

World Events and the Bible

(Weekly Standard) – President Obama tells comedian Jay Leno that “We don’t have a domestic spying program.” He made the comment during a taping of Leno’s TV show.

Obama also says the U.S. is not overreacting by closing some U.S. embassies for a week. The president tells Leno, “The odds of dying in a terrorist attack are a lot lower than they are of dying in a car accident, unfortunately.”   Continue reading “Obama: ‘We Don’t Have a Domestic Spying Program’”

Consumerist – by Chris Morran

Even though Bank of America execs appear to have avoided criminal prosecution for their part in the recent economic collapse, BofA continues to be slapped upside its head with civil suits for its bad behavior. The latest comes from the U.S. Dept. of Justice, which sued BofA and a number of its affiliates, alleging the defendants misled investors by telling them that mortgage-backed securities were A-OK, when in fact they were more toxic than a house full of lead paint and asbestos.   Continue reading “DOJ Sues Bank of America For Lying About Sketchy Mortgage-Backed Securities”

Real Currencies – by Anthony Migchels

In the autumn of  2011 an already legendary study by a number of Swiss scientists revealed that a small number of banks controlled a decisive stake in the globe’s economy. The idea that the banks are a cartel and that this cartel controls the economy is now a scientifically quantified matter of record.     Continue reading “The Few Banks that Own All”

Virtual Threat – by Chris Dougherty

When it comes to online privacy we generally think of things like our favorite social networking sites,mobile phones, chat records, email, etc. Now, experts have uncovered a new security flaw that makes toilets vulnerable to hackers.

Trustwave, an information security company, recently published a security advisory reporting a vulnerability in the Satis  ”smart” toilet, manufactured by LIXIL Corporation.  The Satis toilets are controlled with an Android app called “My Satis”, which communicates with the toilets over Bluetooth. The vulnerability lies in the fact that the Bluetooth PIN is hard-coded to “0000.” With that information, a hacker would only need to download the “My Satis” app, then pair his mobile device to the toilet using the default code of “0000″ and he would have full control of the toilet’s functionality.   Continue reading “Security Flaw Makes Smart Toilets Vulnerable to Hackers”

Continue reading “The most honest 3 minutes of television, EVER…”

A Lightening War for Liberty – by Mike

Some analysts and Congressional officials suggested Friday that emphasizing a terrorist threat now was a good way to divert attention from the uproar over the N.S.A.’s data-collection programs, and that if it showed the intercepts had uncovered a possible plot, even better.

– NY Times article from August 2, 2013: Qaeda Messages Prompt U.S. Terror Warning   Continue reading “NY Times Admits: Al-Qaeda Terror Threat Used to “Divert Attention” from NSA Uproar”

BizPac Review – by Tom Tillison

When the actions of the federal government succeed in riling up the normally stoic Fox News host Greta Van Susteren, you can be sure that something sinister is afoot.

And she is so ticked by the current reign of lawlessness she could just vomit!   Continue reading “Greta: What Congress just did ‘will make you want to throw up’”

AlterNet – by Nicole Flatow, Think Progress

As law enforcement officers continue to ramp up use of a controversial practice known as civil forfeiture, police are seizing cash, cars, houses, and other assets in the name of drug enforcement without ever having arrested or charged their owners with a crime. Funds collected from these seizures frequently go directly back into law enforcement, creating a dangerous profit incentive for police and other law enforcers.   Continue reading “Shocking Stories of Police Taking Cash, Cars, Even Infants from People Never Accused of a Crime”

WND – by CHELSEA SCHILLING

A 95-year-old man who served his country during World War II is now dead after police stormed his retirement home with riot shields, Tasered him and shot him with bean bag rounds – all because he adamantly refused to undergo high-risk surgery.

U.S. Army Air Corps veteran John Wrana, who was honorably discharged as a sergeant after he served in the India-Burma campaign, used a walker because family members said he was “wobbly” on his feet, according to the Chicago Tribune. The elderly veteran was shot down by enemy fire during the war.   Continue reading “Why did cops kill this 95-year-old in walker?”

New York Times – by Ron Nixon

WASHINGTON — As hundreds of commuters emerged from Amtrak and commuter trains at Union Station on a recent morning, an armed squad of men and women dressed in bulletproof vests made their way through the crowds.

Natural News- by Jonathan Benson

A newly-published study has revealed that Merck & Co., the corporate mastermind behind the infamous Gardasil vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV), conveniently forgot to research the effects of this deadly vaccine on women’s reproductive systems. And at least one young woman, in this case from Australia, bore the brunt of this inexcusable failure after discovering that her own ovaries had been completely destroyed as a result of getting the vaccine.   Continue reading “Young woman’s ovaries destroyed by Gardasil: Merck ‘forgot to research’ effects of vaccine on female reproduction”

CNN –  by Elise Labott and Mohammed Tawfeeq

A pair of suspected U.S. drone strikes killed four al Qaeda militants in Yemen as the United States maintained a heightened security alert in the country and urged all Americans to leave immediately.

Security sources told CNN about the strikes but didn’t offer additional details. A Yemeni official said four drone strikes have been carried out in the past 10 days.   Continue reading “Drone strikes kill militants in Yemen; Americans urged to leave”