“Mexican transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) remain the greatest criminal drug threat to the United States; no other group can challenge them in the near term,” says the 2015 National Drug Threat Assessment released on Wednesday by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“These Mexican poly-drug organizations traffic heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana throughout the United States, using established transportation routes and distribution networks,” the report says.
The Mexican TCOs serve primarily as wholesale suppliers, and they work with thousands of local, U.S.-based gangs to distribute the drugs at the retail level.
And these Mexican criminal enterprises may be coming to a neighborhood near you:
“Law enforcement reporting indicates some Mexican trafficking organizations within the United States are relocating from major metropolitan areas to establish bases of operation in suburban or rural areas,” the DEA said. (Read more from “DEA: Mexican Gangs ‘Remain Greatest Criminal Drug Threat to the United States'” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-11-07 00:53:432016-04-11 10:56:27DEA: Mexican Gangs ‘Remain Greatest Criminal Drug Threat to the United States’
The Federal Communications Commission said Friday that it will not seek to impose a requirement on Google, Facebook and other Internet companies that would make it harder for them to track consumers’ online activities.
The announcement is a blow to privacy advocates who had petitioned the agency for stronger Internet privacy rules. But it’s a win for many Silicon Valley companies whose business models rely on monetizing Internet users’ personal data.
It’s also the latest move in an ongoing battle to defend the agency’s new net neutrality rules, which opponents warned would result in the regulation of popular Web sites and online services. By rejecting the petition, the FCC likely hopes to defuse that argument. The rules, which took effect this summer, allow the FCC to regulate only providers of Internet access, not individual Web sites, said a senior agency official.
Consumer Watchdog, an activist group, petitioned the FCC in June to support a technology that would allow consumers to signal to Web sites that they did not want to be tracked. By clicking a button in their browser settings, users would have been able to send a “do not track” message to Web site operators when they surfed the Internet.
Some Web sites have committed to honoring those requests voluntarily, but many do not. If it had succeeded, the petition could have made Do Not Track a U.S. standard. (Read more from “The FCC Says It Can’t Force Google and Facebook to Stop Tracking Their Users” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-11-07 00:53:002016-04-11 10:56:27The FCC Says It Can’t Force Google and Facebook to Stop Tracking Their Users
A total of 583 small earthquakes have shaken San Ramon, California, in the last three weeks or so – more than five times the record set 12 years ago, according to the latest US Geological Survey updates.
“It’s the swarm with the largest number of total earthquakes in San Ramon,” said USGS scientist David Schwartz, who is more concerned about the size of quakes than he is the total number of them. Still, the number tops the previous record set in 2003, when 120 earthquakes hit over 31 days, with the largest clocking in at a magnitude of 4.2.
The largest magnitude earthquake in the current swarm, which began on Oct. 13, is a magnitude 3.6. (Read more from “Nearly 600 Earthquakes Within Three Weeks in California” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-11-07 00:52:192016-04-11 10:56:27Nearly 600 Earthquakes Within Three Weeks in California
By F. Peter Brown. Barack Obama recently announced plans to move up to 50 American special forces troops into Syria to function as advisers to rebels who are fighting ISIS.
However, a recent poll indicates that the American public is becoming more and more displeased with Obama’s Middle East strategy.
According to an Associated Press-GfK poll, more than 6 in 10 Americans now oppose Obama’s handling of ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
One Obama administration official stated in August that ISIS remains “as strong as it was a year ago” when U.S. airstrikes against the group began . . .
Patty Watson, a Democrat from Portland, Oregon took a different view. She said: “I feel concerned that we’re getting pulled into that quagmire that just never seems to end.”
Obama had hoped to disentangle the U.S. from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but will most likely leave three military conflicts ongoing when he leaves office. (Read more from “Obama Just Got Bad News Straight From the American People- His Response Will Say It All” HERE)
_______________________________
Obama Is Leading Us to War in Syria
By Pat Buchanan. “The United States is being sucked into a new Middle East war,” says The New York Times. And the Times has it exactly right.
Despite repeated pledges not to put “boots on the ground” in Syria, President Obama is inserting 50 U.S. special ops troops into that country, with more to follow.
U.S. A-10 “warthog” attack planes have been moved into Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, close to Syria. Hillary Clinton, who has called for arming Syrian rebels to bring down Bashar Assad, is urging Obama to establish a no-fly zone inside Syria. Citing Clinton and Gen. David Petraeus, John McCain is calling for a no-fly zone and a safe zone in Syria, to be policed by U.S. air power. “How many men, women and children,” McCain asks, “are we willing to watch being slaughtered by the Russians and Bashar al-Assad?”
Yet, if we put U.S. forces onto sovereign Syrian territory, against the will and resistance of that government, that is an act of war.
Would we tolerate Mexican troops in Texas to protect their citizens inside our country? Would we, in the Cold War, have tolerated Russians in Cuba telling us they were establishing a no-fly zone for all U.S. warplanes over the Florida Strait and Florida Keys? (Read more from “Obama Is Leading Us to War in Syria” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-11-06 00:48:402016-04-11 10:56:28Obama Just Got Bad News Straight From the American People- His Response Will Say It All; Obama Leading Us to War in Syria
The 18-year-old freshman who stabbed four people on the University of California Merced Wednesday intended to shoot people, attack a police officer, and target a specific person who kicked him out of a study group, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office announced late Thursday.
The findings come after a coroner performing an autopsy on Faisal Mohammad found the suspect’s manifesto on his body, according to Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke.
Mohammad listed the intended targets by name in the manifesto, and planned to tie students to desks while drawing out police to steal a gun and shoot people, Warnke said . . .
Mohammad, who was killed by campus police, was described by at least one witness as smiling as he slashed at victims, called a loner by a fellow dorm resident and drew praise Thursday from a Twitter account associated with ISIS, which just last week released a series of videos calling for lone wolf stabbing attacks . . .
“May Allah accept him,” read a tweet in Arabic from a Twitter account that terrorism experts say has carried previous ISIS propaganda, just minutes after Mohammad’s name was divulged by campus authorities. (Read more from “Details From the Horrific Stabbing by Muslim College Student Emerge” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-11-06 00:45:582016-04-11 10:56:28Details From the Horrific Stabbing by Muslim College Student Emerge
When the Republican presidential hopefuls take the stage in Milwaukee on Tuesday night for their fourth debate, familiar faces will be missing from the prime-time lineup — Mike Huckabee and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey.
On Thursday, Fox Business Network, the host of the debate, announced on “Lou Dobbs Tonight” the qualifiers for the main stage, and Mr. Christie and Mr. Huckabee — who had been slipping in recent polls — did not quite make the cut.
Then lineup for the main stage debate will be Donald J. Trump, Ben Carson, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Gov. John R. Kasich of Ohio and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.
To qualify for the prime-time debate based on the network’s criteria, candidates needed to score at least 2.5 percent or higher in an average of the four most recent national polls through Nov. 4. Those below the 2.5 percent average in the polls could qualify for the so-called undercard debate, as long as they hit at least 1 percent in at least one of the four most recent national polls.
Dropping off the main stage is a huge blow to Mr. Christie, who has struggled to gain the traction for which he’d hoped ever since announcing his bid, and who saw his “tell it like it is” message inadvertently usurped by Mr. Trump’s freewheeling, tell-it-like-it-is campaign. (Read more from “These Two GOP Candidates Have Been Cut From Main Debate Stage” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-11-06 00:45:092016-04-11 10:56:28These Two GOP Candidates Have Been Cut From Main Debate Stage
Now of course, I have no cause to go to Starbucks, although I can happily admit to shoving a Royale with Cheese into my gob after a particularly frivolous night out.
But I did go this morning, after seeing a Facebook post by a colleague of mine pointing out what Starbucks’ newest “Red Cup” looks like. For those unfamiliar: one of Starbucks’ greatest marketing gimmicks is changing the colour of their cups from white to red every Christmas. I myself remember excitedly declaring to an ex-girlfriend how red cups heralded the beginning of Christmas (sorry, Peter Hitchens) . . .
And what I found was deeply disappointing to 17-year-old, macchiato-chugging me. The Red Cups (do I need a trademark symbol after that?) are now an anti-Christmas symbol, with Starbucks declaring their formerly Christmassy cups to be “holiday beverages” and shedding any sign of Christmas from them . . .
I asked Starbucks why, but they just sent me a “factsheet” with their latest flavours and a link to their website where they’ve talked about wanting “to usher in the holidays with a purity of design that welcomes all of our stories” . . .
You can see what’s going on here. More open? You mean, you’re trying not to “offend” anyone. (Read more from “War on Christmas: Starbucks Red Cups Are Emblematic of the Christian Culture Cleansing of the West” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00kathleenhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngkathleen2015-11-06 00:43:322016-04-11 10:56:28War on Christmas: Starbucks Red Cups Are Emblematic of the Christian Culture Cleansing of the West
Ben Carson’s wholehearted endorsement of pro-gay-marriage and pro-abortion candidate [was] utterly heart-breaking . . .
As it turns out, Carson is just another Judas who has no problem throwing lip-service to the preborn and to marriage and simultaneously endorsing pro-gay-marriage and pro-abortion candidates for office. He even gave a speech to lobby for Monica Wehby for the U.S. Senate. His justification of his unconscionable endorsement is what is most troubling to me. The GOP, according to Carson, needs to be big enough for pro-abortion Republicans. He doesn’t have a “litmus test” – not even when it comes to the slaughter of innocent babies. Fully aware of her public positions, Monica Wehby, according to Ben Carson, has “a very good value system.”
Ben Carson assures us she’s “personally pro-life”, but, she justifies abortion in cases of rape and incest and for the health of the mother. She goes further and says, “I believe this is a personal decision between a women and her family, not a woman and the federal government.” Isn’t that a justification of all abortion as long as it is a personal decision of the mother? (Read more from “FLASHBACK FRIDAY: Ben Carson Endorses a Pro-Gay, Pro-Abortion Candidate in 2014” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00kathleenhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngkathleen2015-11-06 00:42:542016-04-11 10:56:28FLASHBACK FRIDAY: Ben Carson Endorses a Pro-Gay, Pro-Abortion Candidate in 2014
Military retirees are outraged that Congress will start voting Thursday on a budget deal that trims military pensions, calling the move “an egregious breach of faith.”
The Military Coalition, some 27 military groups, wrote to leaders in Congress and President Obama late Wednesday about their “strong objection” and “grave concern” over the budget deal.
The deal cuts pension cost of living raises by 1 percentage point for military retirees who aren’t disabled and not yet 62 years old. Cost of living hikes are automatic raises intended to keep up with inflation.
The problem is, most military retirees are a lot younger than private sector retirees. They enlist in their 20’s and retire in their 40’s. Very few stay on till they are 62 — those who may be lucky enough to escape major injuries at war, or rose to higher echelons in the military system . . .
The average cut in pension payouts, including compounding interest, for a retiring Army Sergeant first class, would be about $3,700 each year, according to the Military Officers Association of America. Over 20 years, the total losses could balloon to more than $80,000. (Read more from “Military Retirees: You Betrayed Us, Congress” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-11-06 00:42:262016-04-11 10:56:28Military Retirees: You Betrayed Us, Congress
“What we are witnessing is the destruction of Western civilization, not by an armed invasion, but by envelopment,” Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) said Wednesday during a hearing on Capitol Hill on the growing refugee crisis in Europe.
“What we have seen over the past few months is unsustainable, and if not checked, will change the fundamental nature of European countries which are now being inundated,” said Rohrbacher, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats.
“What we are witnessing is the destruction of Western civilization, not by an armed invasion, but instead through envelopment. The effects of this will not soon disappear, but instead could well turn out to be an historic change in the nature of many European countries.”
“Migrants fleeing to Europe have been an issue of humanitarian concern for several years, but a wave of immigration erupted into a tsunami this summer when the German government announced it would ignore the Dublin Rules and accept all Syrian refugees that made it to the German border,” Rohrbacher said.
The Dublin Rules are a European Union (EU) law that establishes which EU member states are responsible for taking in refugees from outside the EU. (Read more from “California Rep: What We Are Witnessing Is the Destruction of Western Civilization” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-11-06 00:41:492016-04-11 10:56:29California Rep: What We Are Witnessing Is the Destruction of Western Civilization [+video]
