From the Trenches World Report

Petroleum World

In a sign Venezuela’s food shortages could be worsening, restrictions on the sale of 20 basic items subject to price controls, including toilet paper and chicken, are set to begin next week in its most populous state, officials said Tuesday.

A spokesman for President Nicolas Maduro’s government said it is incorrect to call the plan rationing because it is meant to fight smuggling of price-controlled food across the border into Colombia. He said there are no plans to extend the program nationally.   Continue reading “Food rationing to begin in oil rich Venezuela”

Living Not Surviving – by Ahmed Serag

A Food lobbyist could be deciding what goes on your dinner plate right this minute. And the Diet Police of tomorrow are getting ready to make sure the decision of a food lobbyist is law. 

With the opportunity of government and the power of money, corporations and individuals can lobby government to impose taxes, laws, regulations, subsidies, bailouts, and special contracts that make specific products winners, and other products losers. Through what will be explained below, you will get the idea of how a food lobbyist could be deciding what’s on your plate, and utilizing the opportunity of BIG government to decide how much it costs and make sure diet police are there for enforcement.   Continue reading “How BIG government Recruits Food Lobbyists to Make Diet Police & Decide What You Eat”

Motherboard – by Daniel Stuckey

If you’ve been reading the headlines about the NSA mining intelligence data from the world’s largest data mongers, and haven’t already burnt down your house with everything you own in it and set sail for a libertarian expat community in Chile, then there are some less dramatic suggestions in store for you. Evading the NSA’s comprehensive surveillance system is no simple task, especially as we only know snippets of the agency’s capabilities. But we’re going to try our best.   Continue reading “The Motherboard Guide to Avoiding the NSA”

Huffington Post

A Manhattan condo board is doing everything it can to keep a proposed Denny’s from moving into its building. After all, the board says, wild types visit those sort of establishments.

The condo board of the building, which is located in the city’s Financial District, has gone as far as to file a $10 million lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court to keep stop the restaurant from moving into the building’s retail space, according to the Real Deal, a New York City real estate news site.   Continue reading “Denny’s New York City Plan Backfires After Condo Board Rips ‘Drunk’ Culture, ‘Party Atmosphere’”

The Guardian – by Glenn Greenwald

We followed Wednesday’s story about the NSA’s bulk telephone record-gathering with one yesterday about the agency’s direct access to the servers of the world’s largest internet companies. I don’t have time at the moment to address all of the fallout because – to borrow someone else’s phrase – I’m Looking Forward to future revelations that are coming (and coming shortly), not Looking Backward to ones that have already come.   Continue reading “On whistleblowers and government threats of investigation”

Common Dreams – by Norman Solomon

Dear Senator Feinstein:

On Thursday, when you responded to news about massive ongoing surveillance of phone records of people in the United States, you slipped past the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. As the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, you seem to be in the habit of treating the Bill of Rights as merely advisory.   Continue reading “The Bill of Rights Exists: An Open Letter to Dianne Feinstein”

Canada Free Press -by Douglas J. Hagmann

Washington, D.C.—Something quite unexpected happened just hours ago, in the dark of night, during a two-day layover in Washington, DC. My son and I are scheduled to take part in a seminar outside of Raleigh, North Carolina this weekend, so we combined our travels to include a side-trip to DC for a business meeting we had previously arranged. It was during this layover that something seemingly ripped from the pages of a spy novel took place.   Continue reading “DHS Insider: It’s About to Get Very Ugly”

The New American- by Jack Kenny

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (shown) has been named Reason magazine’s “Nanny of the Month” for May, marking the third time the controversial thee-term mayor has earned that distinction, the libertarian publication said. The latest “award” is based on the city’s regulation of the sale of toy guns and the $60,000 fine levied against the owner of a Manhattan tourist shop for selling cigarette lighters shaped like tiny pistols.   Continue reading “Mayor Bloomberg Named “Nanny of the Month” — Again”

The Free Beacon – by Bill Gertz

Russia conducted the first flight test of a new inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) that Russian officials say is designed to defeat U.S. missile defenses.

The prototype ICBM was launched yesterday from Moscow’s Kapustin Yar missile range, a spokesman for Russian Defense Ministry told state media.   Continue reading “Russia Conducts Test of New ICBM Designed to Defeat U.S. Defenses”

The Wall Street Journal – by Erica E. Phillips

SANTA MONICA, Calif.—A man opened fire in the streets here Friday in a rampage that also included a house fire, leaving seven dead, including the suspect, and several others injured, police said.

The series of violent events culminated at Santa Monica College, where the suspect was shot and killed by police. Students at the two-year college were escorted from the campus by SWAT officers who swarmed the area, just a few miles from where President Barack Obama was speaking at a fundraising event.   Continue reading “Seven Dead in California Rampage”

Sure, then they’ll take their guns.

NORML – by Paul Armentano

Democrat Gov. John Kitzhaber on Thursday signed legislation, Senate Bill 281, into law to allow patients with post-traumatic stress to be eligible to engage in the therapeutic use of cannabis.

The new Oregon law expands the state’s existing medical marijuana program, initially enacted by voters in 1998, to include post-traumatic stress as a state-qualified illness for which marijuana may be recommended.   Continue reading “Oregon: Governor Signs Measure to Expand State’s Medical Cannabis Program to Include Patients With Post Traumatic Stress”

Before It’s News – by Mort Amsel

The Russian president saw his opportunity to pluck the fruits of Moscow’s success in backing the Syrian-Hizballah forces’ advances in major battles against rebels, notably at al Qusayr, and position Russian troops face to face with the Israeli army. They would constitute a barrier against any military intervention being mounted against the Assad regime from Israel.

UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Hak said: “The UN would welcome Russia’s contribution to peacekeeping efforts in the region.”   Continue reading “Putin Offers Russian Peacekeepers In The Golan Heights”

Breitbart – by Mike Flynn

A new Fox News poll shows Obama’s disapproval rating among registered voters has spiked to 51%, up from 45% last month. The poll shows an 8-point swing against Obama since April. Another shocking finding, undoubtedly linked to recent scandals, is that 68% of voters think the federal government is “out of control.”

Last month, 47% of voters approved of the job Obama was doing, while 45% disapproved. Disapproval of Obama has jumped 6 points since the latest scandal revelations. Among Independents, only 40% approve of Obama, while 52% disapprove. At this time 4 years ago, 60% of voters approved of Obama and only 30% disapproved.    Continue reading “Poll: Obama Approval Drops, 68% Think Government ‘Out of Control’”

No Lawyers, Only Guns and Money – by John Richardson

The House of Representatives passed an amendment to HR 2217 – the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2014 – that forbids DHS from purchasing any more ammunition until they report to Congress on their previous ammunition purchases. The amendment passed Tuesday with a bi-partisan majority of 234-192. The amendment was proposed, I’m happy to report, by my Congressman, Rep. Mark Meadows (D-NC11).   Continue reading “Make Them Buy Their Ammo At Walmart”

Guardian – by Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill

Barack Obama has ordered his senior national security and intelligence officials to draw up a list of potential overseas targets for US cyber-attacks, a top secret presidential directive obtained by the Guardian reveals.

The 18-page Presidential Policy Directive 20, issued in October last year but never published, states that what it calls Offensive Cyber Effects Operations (OCEO) “can offer unique and unconventional capabilities to advance US national objectives around the world with little or no warning to the adversary or target and with potential effects ranging from subtle to severely damaging”.   Continue reading “Obama orders US to draw up overseas target list for cyber-attacks”

Mail.com

IOTO, Japan (AP) — Iwo Jima is a training site like no other. The rugged volcanic crag was one of the most iconic battlegrounds of World War II, and is so isolated and barren it has almost never been inhabited by anyone other than military troops. But from the perspective of U.S. Navy fighter pilots who regularly train on the island’s one functioning airstrip, it is unique in another way.

If a plane finds itself in serious trouble and for some reason that lone airstrip on the island isn’t viable, the only alternative is to eject and ditch in the Pacific. It’s a problem that the U.S. Navy, which is now conducting training on the island to prepare pilots for deployment to the USS George Washington aircraft carrier, has been trying to fix for nearly 25 years.   Continue reading “Amid safety fears, US Navy jets train on Iwo Jima”