Monthly Archives: July 2013

Christie accepts $4.5M donation from United Arab Emirates for Sandy relief

"The United Arab Emirates Embassy has donated $4.5 million to the Hurricane Sandy relief organization founded by Gov. Chris Christie’s wife to upgrade computer technology for schools in areas hardest hit by the storm. The money will be divided among 30 schools in nine school districts most affected by Sandy to upgrade their computer technology and position them for the new statewide standardized testing to start in the spring of 2015. The announcement was made Monday by Christie, his wife Mary Pat and Yousef Al Otaiba, United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the United States, at the Highlands Elementary School, one of the recipients of the funding." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChristie accepts $4.5M donation from United Arab Emirates for Sandy relief

A Citizens Protest Movement Builds in Kuwait

"'Bedoun,' literally 'without,' are stateless people, without citizenship and without the right to education, health care and other civil rights held by Kuwaiti citizens. There are more than 100,000 of these stateless people living a life without rights in Kuwait, most of them because they or their relatives didn't bother to get the necessary documents when the State of Kuwait was established in 1961. After all, they likely reasoned, things had gone just fine for centuries without such documentation. The Bedoun, the non-citizens, were the first in Kuwait to take to the streets demanding equality and dignity, concurrent with the Arab Spring." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Citizens Protest Movement Builds in Kuwait

Shocker: Only 1% of So Called Terrorists Nabbed by the FBI Were Real

"An undercover informant or agent posing as an Al-Qaeda operative gives them everything they need… gives them the transportation, gives them the money if they need it, and then gives them the bomb and even the idea for the terrorist attack. And then when that person pushes a button to detonate the bomb that they believe will explode—a bomb that was provided to them in whole by the FBI—agents rush in, arrest them and charge them with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and then parade that person out to the public saying, 'Look at us. We caught a terrorist. This is us keeping you safe.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingShocker: Only 1% of So Called Terrorists Nabbed by the FBI Were Real

The Case for Abolishing the Department of Homeland Security

"On Friday, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano resigned to take up a post running California’s university system. With her departure, there are now 15 vacant positions at the top of the department. That suggests it would be a particularly humane moment to shut the whole thing down. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security was a panicked reaction to the Sept. 11 attacks. It owes its continued existence to a vastly exaggerated assessment of the threat of terrorism. The department is also responsible for some of the least cost-effective spending in the U.S. government. It’s time to admit that creating it was a mistake." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Case for Abolishing the Department of Homeland Security

Justin Amash amendment to defund the NSA may be circumvented by House leadership

"House Republican leaders are considering limiting amendments to the defense bill out of concern for proposals that Amash and other lawmakers might bring forward. Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) wrote to his colleagues last week that the panel might limit amendments, a departure from the open amendment process that’s been used on the defense bill since Republicans took over in 2011. In addition to amendments on the NSA, there are concerns about amendments tying President Obama’s hands in Syria and Egypt, according to defense sources." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJustin Amash amendment to defund the NSA may be circumvented by House leadership

Propaganda Ban Repealed As Government-Made News Floods U.S.

"For decades, a so-called anti-propaganda law prevented the U.S. government’s mammoth broadcasting arm from delivering programming to American audiences. But on July 2, that came silently to an end with the implementation of a new reform passed in January. The result: an unleashing of thousands of hours per week of government-funded radio and TV programs for domestic U.S. consumption in a reform initially criticized as a green light for U.S. domestic propaganda efforts. The law, the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012, was passed as part of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act. The repeal of the propaganda ban went into effect this month." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPropaganda Ban Repealed As Government-Made News Floods U.S.

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden applies for temporary asylum in Russia

"Fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has applied for temporary asylum in Russia, a pro-Kremlin lawyer said Tuesday, after President Vladimir Putin accused Washington of 'trapping' him in the country. Snowden, wanted by the United States for revealing sensational details of its vast spying operations, is now spending a fourth week in the transit lounge at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport without crossing the Russian border. Washington has reacted sharply to the possibility that Moscow might offer Snowden a safe haven and accused it of providing him with a 'propaganda platform.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA whistleblower Edward Snowden applies for temporary asylum in Russia

Seniors attacked, beaten by NYPD in their home awarded $300K

"Breast cancer survivor Elaine McCarthy, now 71, was reading a Bible in her Canarsie bedroom, and partially paralyzed stroke victim Egbert Thomas, 73, was watching a John Wayne flick on TV when at least five Emergency Service Unit cops rammed through a basement door on Sept. 6, 2008, and began their rampage. The cops — led by an officer who would later commit suicide after another allegation of excessive force, court papers show — weren’t in hot pursuit of a perp, which could have explained why they tossed the seniors aside like rag dolls. In addition, the couple’s pit bull, Trouble, was whacked by a cop with his heavy ballistic shield and died three days later." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSeniors attacked, beaten by NYPD in their home awarded $300K

Seniors attacked, beaten by NYPD in their home awarded $300K

"Breast cancer survivor Elaine McCarthy, now 71, was reading a Bible in her Canarsie bedroom, and partially paralyzed stroke victim Egbert Thomas, 73, was watching a John Wayne flick on TV when at least five Emergency Service Unit cops rammed through a basement door on Sept. 6, 2008, and began their rampage. The cops — led by an officer who would later commit suicide after another allegation of excessive force, court papers show — weren’t in hot pursuit of a perp, which could have explained why they tossed the seniors aside like rag dolls. In addition, the couple’s pit bull, Trouble, was whacked by a cop with his heavy ballistic shield and died three days later." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSeniors attacked, beaten by NYPD in their home awarded $300K

Florida Mom Gets 20 Years For Firing Warning Shot After Attack

"The case is receiving renewed media attention after the Zimmerman verdict, because Marissa Alexander pled self-defense under Florida's stand your ground law. She claims that her ex-husband attacked her and made her fear for her life. She had already taken out a protective order against him after he had assaulted her, including one incident that put her in hospital. She had never been in trouble with the law before her arrest. Alexander was offered a three year sentence if she pled guilty to aggravated assault, but she rejected the deal because she believed she'd done nothing wrong." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFlorida Mom Gets 20 Years For Firing Warning Shot After Attack