June 28, 2014

Syrian ‘moderates’ aren’t so moderate in Iraq

Well, God bless Barack Obama – he’s found some “moderate” rebels in Syria. Enough to supply them with weapons and training worth $500m. Congress wants to arm these brave freedom fighters, you see. And Obama, having sent his 300 elite Spartan lads to Iraq to help Nouri al-Maliki fight the rebels there, needs to send help to the rebels in Syria – even though most of them are on the side of the rebels in Iraq whom Obama wants Maliki to defeat.

Confusing? You bet. So first steps first. Who are the “moderate” rebels whom Obama wants to train and arm? He doesn’t name them – and he can’t, because the original “moderates” whom America swore to arm (with the help of the CIA, the Brits, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey) were the so-called “Free Syrian Army”, mostly composed of deserters from Assad’s government forces. But the FSA – briefly beloved of John McCain until he discovered a pro-al-Qa’ida fighter sharing a photo-op with him in northern Syria – has decomposed.

Its men have gone home, switched to the bearded Islamists of the Nusrah or Isis – or Isil if we heed the latest acronym – or re-deserted to the government army and taken up arms for Assad again. Some freedom fighters! They weren’t given enough weapons, we are told. Now they’ll get more. And no doubt sell them – as they did the last lot. For it is a sad fact of war that whenever a gun crosses a border, it represents not loyalty but cash.

Give an FSA man – if you can find one – an anti-aircraft missile and it will be sold to the highest bidder. In all the civil wars I’ve covered, I’ve never seen a weapon in the hands of a militia which hasn’t bought it from someone else. In a humiliating interview on Channel 4, our own Defence Secretary admitted that weapons given to Syrian rebels had fallen into the hands of the bad guys. How do you monitor all the guys whom you give a gun to? Send them off with a personal drone to make sure they don’t sell it?

Read More: http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/syrian-moderates-arent-so-moderate-in-iraq-9569548.html?printService=print

June 28, 2014

DEA Asks FDA To Consider Rescheduling Marijuana From Schedule I Drug

In another sign that the 2014 is turning out to be a watershed year for marijuana drug reform, the federal Department of Drug Enforcement (DEA) has sent up the first of what undoubtedly will be the first of many white flags.

After a historic House vote to defund the DEA's operating budget for marijuana enforcement in the states earlier in the month passed (with a similar one now in the Senate), the government agency has now asked the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to consider removing marijuana from the list of Schedule I drugs as defined by the Controlled Substances Act.

This classification is, most reform advocates say, a major step forward to reform required at this juncture. It is, however, just the first step of many that still lie ahead for marijuana just on a legal and policy level to allow broader medical and continued encouragement for commercial development across the country.

"It is a good sign that the DEA is starting to walk back its policy of interfering with marijuana research and rescheduling," said Morgan Fox of the Marijuana Policy Project, a drug reform focused group. "Unfortunately, this is a very tiny step."

http://www.mainstreet.com/article/family/family-health/dea-asks-fda-consider-rescheduling-marijuana-schedule-i-drug?page=1

June 27, 2014

Barack Obama seeks $65 billion in war funds

President Barack Obama asked Congress on Thursday for more than $65 billion to support the war in Afghanistan and global security programs, but key members of Congress say they won’t rubber-stamp the request and are frustrated at having been kept out of its preparations.

The president sent lawmakers a series of budget amendments requesting $58.6 billion for the Pentagon — well short of a nearly $80 billion “placeholder” submitted with its regular budget earlier this year — and $7.3 billion for the State Department.

That total includes new requests to support European security over the short term and a new counter-terrorism fund that Obama says is necessary to help combat terrorists across the Middle East and Africa.

Part of the new fund would go toward directly supporting rebel groups fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, handing Congress the political hot potato of determining whether to support arming and training the rebels.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/barack-obama-afghanistan-war-108364.html?hp=l5

June 24, 2014

Most Latino Workers Are US-Born And Not Immigrants, New Study Finds

Alright, here are the facts: The United States has over 40 million immigrants and the U.S. Census Bureau projected that there will be no single racial or ethnic group will constitute a majority of children under 18 and in three decades, no single ethnic group will be a majority in the country.

And of the American population, there are almost 52 million Hispanics/Latinos in America and the Hispanic/Latino community is the fastest growing minority group in the United States. As such, the Latino influence in the United States is undeniable -- Latinos buy 25 percent of all movie tickets in the United States and The NPD Group found that Latinos will be changing food culture in America and according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth, the purchasing power of Hispanics in 2012 was $1.2 trillion. 

Now, the Pew Research Center is reporting an interesting finding about the majority of Hispanic workers in the United States: they are not immigrants. 

"In 2013, 49.7% of the more than 22 million employed Latinos were immigrants," explains Pew Research Center. "This share was down sharply from the pre-recession peak of 56.1% in 2007. Although Latinos have gained 2.8 million jobs since the recession ended in 2009, only 453,000 of those went to immigrants. Moreover, all of the increase in employment for Latino immigrants happened in the first two years of the recovery, from 2009 to 2011. Since then, from 2011 to 2013, the employment of Latino immigrants is unchanged."

Read More: http://www.latintimes.com/most-latino-workers-are-us-born-and-not-immigrants-new-study-finds-184938

June 23, 2014

Greenpeace executive flies 250 miles to work

One of Greenpeace’s most senior executives commutes 250 miles to work by plane, despite the environmental group’s campaign to curb air travel, it has emerged.

Pascal Husting, Greenpeace International’s international programme director, said he began "commuting between Luxembourg and Amsterdam" when he took the job in 2012 and currently made the round trip about twice a month.

The flights, at 250 euros for a round trip, are funded by Greenpeace, despite its campaign to curb "the growth in aviation", which it says "is ruining our chances of stopping dangerous climate change”.

One Greenpeace volunteer on Monday described Mr Husting's travel arrangements as "almost unbelievable".

Read More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/10920198/Greenpeace-executive-flies-250-miles-to-work.html

June 23, 2014

Jindal Says 'Rebellion Brewing' Against Washington

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Saturday night accused President Barack Obama and other Democrats of waging wars against religious liberty and education and said that a rebellion is brewing in the U.S. with people ready for "a hostile takeover" of the nation's capital.

Jindal spoke at the annual conference hosted by the Faith and Freedom Coalition, a group led by longtime Christian activist Ralph Reed. Organizers said more than 1,000 evangelical leaders attended the three-day gathering. Republican officials across the political spectrum concede that evangelical voters continue to play a critical role in GOP politics.

"I can sense right now a rebellion brewing amongst these United States," Jindal said, "where people are ready for a hostile takeover of Washington, D.C., to preserve the American Dream for our children and grandchildren."

The governor said there was a "silent war" on religious liberty being fought in the U.S. — a country that he said was built on that liberty.


http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jindal-says-rebellion-brewing-against-washington-n137881

June 23, 2014

US student is rescued from giant vagina sculpture in Germany

More than 20 firefighters free exchange student from the artwork Chacán-Pi (Making Love) by Fernando de la Jara in Tübingen

In the space of 24 hours last week, two spectacular rescue operations were carried out in southern Germany.

Both involved men who had become trapped deep inside cave-like structures, and a large team working to set them free. But if explorer Johann Westhauser is expected to soon tell the world how he got trapped inside Germany's deepest cave, an anonymous exchange student might prefer to keep quiet about the story of how he got into a tight spot.

On Friday afternoon, a young American in Tübingen had to be rescued by 22 firefighters after getting trapped inside a giant sculpture of a vagina. The Chacán-Pi (Making Love) artwork by the Peruvian artist Fernando de la Jara has been outside Tübingen University's institute for microbiology and virology since 2001 and had previously mainly attracted juvenile sniggers rather than adventurous explorers.

According to De la Jara, the 32-ton sculpture made out of red Veronese marble is meant to signify "the gateway to the world".


http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/23/us-student-rescued-giant-vagina-sculpture-germany

June 19, 2014

Obama to Congress: I don't need new permission on Iraq

I'll let you know what's going on, but I don't need new congressional authority to act, President Barack Obama told congressional leaders Wednesday about his upcoming decision on possible military intervention in Iraq.

The White House meeting sounded more like a listening session for the top Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate about options for helping Iraq's embattled Shiite government halt the lightning advance of Sunni Islamist fighters toward Baghdad that Obama is considering.

According to a White House statement, Obama went over U.S. efforts to "strengthen the capacity of Iraq's security forces to confront the threat" from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters, "including options for increased security assistance."

Earlier, spokesman Jay Carney spelled out one limit to any U.S. help, saying: "The President hasn't ruled out anything except sending U.S. combat troops into Iraq."

Read More: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/18/politics/us-iraq/

June 18, 2014

Boy discovers mummified body hanging in Ohio home

DAYTON, Ohio – A child exploring a vacant home in an Ohio neighborhood makes a gruesome discovery.

The terrified boy stumbled across the homeowner’s mummified remains.

Michelle McGrath says her 12-year-old son is adventurous.

When he saw an overgrown house in Dayton, he ventured inside.

However, what he saw may have scarred him for life.


http://kfor.com/2014/06/17/boy-discovers-mummified-body-hanging-in-ohio-home/

June 18, 2014

Reporter’s purse swiped from TV truck – near police HQ - Crime Scene

It’s happened again. Another reporter has been victimized by criminals in Oakland, only this one takes the cake.

KTVU reporter/anchor Heather Holmes had her purse stolen from a TV truck on Monday night — while she and a camera operator were parked near Oakland police headquarters. The subject of her live report? A violent daylight robbery of a woman in North Oakland.

Holmes and a photographer were standing near the corner of 7th Street and Broadway in the city’s downtown for their report. Their van wasn’t locked, because the crew had only recently arrived at the corner, and the vehicle was only steps away. Someone used Holmes’ bank card at a nearby Chevron gas station on Castro Street within 20 minutes of the theft.

Read More: http://blog.sfgate.com/crime/2014/06/17/reporters-purse-swiped-from-tv-truck-at-police-hq/

TV reporters have been robbed repeatedly in Oakland, getting security guard escorts and in one case robbed on the air.