Category Archives: News

The News

OBAMA TO SIGN UN GUN TREATY THIS MONTH WHILE CONGRESS IS ON VACATION

Barack Obama is reportedly going to sign the treaty this month while Congress is on vacation.

Ammoland reported:

You heard it straight from the horse’s mouth. Jay Carney said Obama will sign the UN Arms Trade Treaty “before the end of August…We believe it’s in the interest of the United States.”

This is very strategic timing considering Congress is on a 5 week vacation lasting thru the month of August!

via Obama to Sign UN Gun Treaty This Month – Will Lead to National Registry | The Gateway Pundit.

OVER 100 DEAD IN PROTESTS IN CAIRO

The Egyptian capital Cairo erupted in violence today, as both pro-and anti-Morsi protesters held huge rallies in the city.

The ousting of the elected President Mohammed Morsi has left the county divided and today’s violence has raised the speculation the country is heading towards civil war.

The military is being accused of killing over 100 pro-Morsi protesters. The clashes have also left around 1,500 people injured.

There has also been violence in Egypt’s second city Alexandria, leaving around 10 dead.

Morsi is currently under arrest, accused of plotting jail breaks during the overthrowing of President Mubarak, as well as conspiring with Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has strong links to the Muslim Brotherhood. It is believed Morsi is soon to be moved to the same prison Mubarak is currently being held.

Read More: BBC News

FELON ALLEGEDLY PULLS GUN ON SANTA MONICA PIER VISITORS

PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY — A convicted felon from Washington state was in custody Monday for allegedly pointing a loaded firearm at people visiting the Santa Monica Pier.

Officials said that Tony Andre Andrade, 33, pleaded not guilty July 18 to attempted murder, assault with a firearm, evading police, carrying a loaded firearm and receiving stolen property. He was being held at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility on a bail of $1.23 million.

Santa Monica Police Lt. Jay Trisler said Andrade refused to stop for officers on July 16 just shortly after 1 a.m. after police received a report of a man matching his description pointing a gun at random people. He led police on a car chase along Pacific Coast Highway toward Malibu, eventually crashing near the Ventura County border. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.

Andrade was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries.

Police received a report of a man pointing a handgun at people along the 200 block of the pier. One witness told officers that Andrade pointed the gun and pulled the trigger at least twice, but the gun did not fire. He then fled to a vehicle and left. Officers located the car near Lincoln and Pico boulevards and tried to stop Andrade. That’s when the pursuit began.

A spokesperson with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Andrade has four prior felony convictions out of Adams and Spokane, Wash. for possession of a firearm, theft and possession of stolen property.

His next court date is scheduled for Aug. 1.

– See more at:

DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE ANNOUNCE THE BIRTH OF THEIR SON

The world has early been awaiting the news of the birth of the Duchess of Cambridge’s first child. At 4:24pm Catherine Middleton gave birth to a baby boy.

The baby, who will be known as the Prince of Cambridge, is the third in line for the British throne.

The Duchess gave birth 11 hours after being admitted to the St Mary’s Hospital in London. Mother and baby are said to be doing well.

The news was greeted with jubilant scenes in the streets on London.

Read More: The Telegraph

WITNESS IN BULGER TRIAL FOUND DEAD

A possible witness in the Whitey Bulger case, Stephen “Stippo” Rakes, has been found dead at the side of a road. Rakes, 59, had no obvious signs of trauma on his body, and detectives are awaiting autopsy results to discover the cause of death.

Rakes accused Bulger, the notorious Boston mobster, of taking over his liquor store in order to provide a legitimate front from which to operate his criminal activities from. Rakes, also claimed that Bulger had threatened his family at gun point. However, earlier this week prosecutors had informed Mr Rakes that his testimony would not be needed, something that had apparently left him feeling “despondent”, he had been waiting many years to have his day in court.

Read More: ABC News

TEENAGERS GO ON RAMPAGE IN LOS ANGELES

Teenagers went on a crime spree in Los Angeles and 12 arrested, as Hollywood was hit by roaming bands of robbers on Wednesday night, causing mayhem when approximately 40 young people rampaged through the area.  Eight robberies have been reported, and police are investigating how the groups formed, probably using social media to send out information to the swarming groups.

Investigators are also looking into whether the group was made up of some of the same youths who were attacking people and vandalizing stores in the Crenshaw district earlier this week, when demonstrators protested the George Zimmerman murder trial verdict.

READ MORE…..

DETROIT FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY

Detroit has become the latest city to file for bankruptcy, and will be the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history.

Rick Snyder, the Governor of Michigan, had been trying to broker a deal with Detroit’s creditors to restructure it’s debt, estimated to be around $18.5 billion.

However, Mr Snyder’s plans received stiff resistance from some creditors, most notably from Detroit’s two pension funds.

Mr Snyder said, “it is clear that the financial emergency in Detroit cannot be successfully addressed outside of such a filing, and it is the only reasonable alternative that is available.”

Read More: The Telegraph

U.S. REPEALS PROPAGANDA BAN, SPREADS GOVERNMENT – MADE NEWS TO AMERICANS

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. So what just happened?

Until this month, a vast ocean of U.S. programming produced by the Broadcasting Board of Governors such as Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks could only be viewed or listened to at broadcast quality in foreign countries. The programming varies in tone and quality, but its breadth is vast: It’s viewed in more than 100 countries in 61 languages. The topics covered include human rights abuses in Iran; self-immolation in Tibet; human trafficking across Asia; and on-the-ground reporting in Egypt and Iraq.

The restriction of these broadcasts was due to the Smith-Mundt Act, a long standing piece of legislation that has been amended numerous times over the years, perhaps most consequentially by Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright. In the 70s, Fulbright was no friend of VOA and Radio Free Europe, and moved to restrict them from domestic distribution, saying they “should be given the opportunity to take their rightful place in the graveyard of Cold War relics.” Fulbright’s amendment to Smith-Mundt was bolstered in 1985 by Nebraska Senator Edward Zorinsky who argued that such “propaganda” should be kept out of America as to distinguish the U.S. “from the Soviet Union where domestic propaganda is a principal government activity.”

Zorinsky and Fulbright sold their amendments on sensible rhetoric: American taxpayers shouldn’t be funding propaganda for American audiences. So did Congress just tear down the American public’s last defense against domestic propaganda?

A former U.S. government source with knowledge of the BBG says the organization is no Pravda, but it does advance U.S. interests in more subtle ways. In Somalia, for instance, VOA serves as counterprogramming to outlets peddling anti-American or jihadist sentiment. “Somalis have three options for news,” the source said, “word of mouth, Al-Shabaab or VOA Somalia.”

This partially explains the push to allow BBG broadcasts on local radio stations in the United States. The agency wants to reach diaspora communities, such as St. Paul Minnesota’s significant Somali expat community. “Those people can get Al-Shabaab, they can get Russia Today, but they couldn’t get access to their taxpayer-funded news sources like VOA Somalia,” the source said. “It was silly.”

Lynne added that the reform has a transparency benefit as well. “Now Americans will be able to know more about what they are paying for with their tax dollars – greater transparency is a win-win for all involved,” she said. And so with that we have the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012, which passed as part of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, and went into effect this month.

But if anyone needed a reminder of the dangers of domestic propaganda efforts, the past 12 months provided ample reasons. Last year, two USA Today journalists were ensnared in a propaganda campaign after reporting about millions of dollars in back taxes owed by the Pentagon’s top propaganda contractor in Afghanistan. Eventually, one of the co-owners of the firm confessed to creating phony websites and Twitter accounts to smear the journalists anonymously. Additionally, just this month, The Washington Post exposed a counter propaganda program by the Pentagon that recommended posting comments on a U.S. website run by a Somali expat with readers opposing Al-Shabaab. “Today, the military is more focused on manipulating news and commentary on the Internet, especially social media, by posting material and images without necessarily claiming ownership,” reported The Post.

But for BBG officials, the references to Pentagon propaganda efforts are nauseating, particularly because the Smith-Mundt Act never had anything to do with regulating the Pentagon, a fact that was misunderstood in media reports in the run-up to the passage of new Smith-Mundt reforms in January.

One example included a report by the late Buzzfeed reporter Michael Hastings, who suggested that the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act would open the door to Pentagon propaganda of U.S. audiences. In fact, as amended in 1987, the act only covers portions of the State Department engaged in public diplomacy abroad (i.e. the public diplomacy section of the “R” bureau, and the Broadcasting Board of Governors.)

But the news circulated regardless, much to the displeasure of Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), a sponsor of the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012. “To me, it’s a fascinating case study in how one blogger was pretty sloppy, not understanding the issue and then it got picked up by Politico’s Playbook, and you had one level of sloppiness on top of another,” Thornberry told The Cable last May. “And once something sensational gets out there, it just spreads like wildfire.”

That of course doesn’t leave the BBG off the hook if its content smacks of agitprop. But now that its materials are allowed to be broadcast by local radio stations and TV networks, they won’t be a complete mystery to Americans. “Previously, the legislation had the effect of clouding and hiding this stuff,” the former U.S. official told The Cable. “Now we’ll have a better sense: Gee some of this stuff is really good. Or gee some of this stuff is really bad. At least we’ll know now.”

COMPLETE ARTICLE:

ENERGY CRISIS IN EGYPT; CONSPIRACY THEORIES BEGIN

Since the Muslim Brotherhood came to power, Egypt had been blighted by petrol and water shortages and power outages. As soon as Egypt’s first democratically elected President was ousted from power the petrol supplies returned to normal, and there have been no power outages since.

Egyptians are delighted, one taxi driver from Cairo told reporters, “For a year, life was very difficult. There were water shortages, power outages, no fuel. But now, everything has returned to normal.”

A local petrol station owner, Achraf Hader, said “Before the demonstrations on June 30, I had to send two employees to negotiate all night in order for us to have enough petrol, and that didn’t always work. Tonight, both pumps are full. And the petrol supplier called to ask if I wanted more!”

Many Egyptians believe the Muslim Brotherhood were blocking supplies to stop protesters from reaching Cairo.

However, many believe the sudden return of power and petrol are signs that supporters of former President Hosni Mubarak’s regime, free market economists and the military are behind the shortages. They believe they created unrest within the civilian population, by blocking supplies so as to create the correct atmosphere for protests to begin.

Read More: France 24

SIMI VALLEY, CA, USA – FIREWORKS INJURE 36 AT 4TH JULY CELEBRATIONS

Simi Valley 4th July firework celebrations turned to disaster as fireworks exploded into the crowd.  Some reports say the staging holding the display collapsed, others say the fireworks were set off by accident, shooting burning darts of fire into the audience.  People ran for cover and paramedics attended the scene quickly.  Investigations continue but foul play is not suspected.

An estimated 10,000 people were watching the event, following appeals to attend professional pyrotechnic displays rather than light fireworks of their own, for safety reasons.

16-year-old Josh Antonucci, was in a large group of spectators about 500 feet from the fireworks stand, close enough to see part of the staging area tip over and see fireworks begin shooting into the crowd.

Antonucci turned to run and a projectile struck him in the back. “It felt like a punch,” he said. “I knew I just had to get away.”

The Independence Day celebration took place at the Rancho Santa Susana Community Centre and Park in Simi Valley, California, on Thursday. 36 people were reported injured, with at least 20 requiring hospital treatment.

Read more……

EGYPT’S PRESIDENT MORSI DEPOSED IN MILITARY COUP

Egypt’s first democratically elected President, Mohammed Morsi, has been removed from power in a military coup. Morsi had been President for less than a year, however the people were becoming increasingly unhappy with Morsi, leading to mass protests in Cairo. The army had given President Morsi an ultimatum to enter into a greater dialogue, however he refused, so on Wednesday the army seized power. Egypt’s top judge is now acting as leader of the nation.

Tensions had been increasing in Egypt after Morsi granted himself sweeping powers late last year. Religious leaders from the Muslim as well as the Coptic Christian communities have backed the coup with Ahmed al-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University, and Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Church saying that the military was taking up it’s “patriotic duty to the Egyptian masses” by removing President Morsi from power.

Mohammed Morsi was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Brotherhood have been linked to al-Qaeda, and with Morsi in power the Christian minority had seen a significant increase in persecution.

Today authorities have moved to arrest prominent members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Despite the jubilant scenes on the streets of Cairo, there are concerns that the country could see further violence with Muslim Brotherhood supporters vowing to die to defend Morsi’s “legitimate” right to power.

Read More: The Telegraph