Officers Ricardo Cordova and Frank Cho were responding to a call concerning a presumed drug deal in a parking lot, when they came under fire from members of a local street gang. The policemen rapidly found themselves in a perilous situation, being inferior to their attackers in both numbers and firepower.

Fortunately for them, 79-year old Wendy Robinson was watching the events from her kitchen window and decided to intervene. The elderly woman equipped herself with her personal bulletproof vest and an AK-47 assault rifle, and ran to the officers’ rescue, firing more than 160 rounds in the direction of the assailants, injuring two of them.

Elections in the US seem to be a form of entertainment, a mere distraction, more so than a real process of democracy and election. Every time elections come around, we are witnessing the illusion of democracy, and it’s not a secret.  Politics, elections, and government policy are not controlled by the politicians; they seem to be the ‘fall’ people.

They too take orders, and have a ‘boss.’ Above the government sit the corporations, and above them the big banks. This is the current power structure of modern day global dominance.

Apart from corporate sponsors like big oil and energy companies, it’s not a secret that Hillary [Clinton] has the backing of those who literally control the supply of money, those who basically created this entire system. A great example comes from a $100,000 a head fundraiser at the home of Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a prominent New York businesswoman, and a member of the famous Rothschild banking family. A family that has been accused of, as Jay Syrmopoulos from The Free Thought Project  puts it, “pulling the strings of many different governments through their control of various economic systems throughout the world.” Prior to this fundraiser, the Wikileaks Clinton emails release shed further light on Hillary’s relationship with the Rothschild family.

Politicians are for sale. A 2014 study from Princeton University revealed that the United States is not a democracy or a republic, but rather an oligarchy where the balance of power and control of global resources lies within the hands of a very small, tight-knit group of people, and that these groups of people basically control and dictate government policy.  You can see corporate influence in so many areas; the TPP is one out of many great examples .

Afghanistan: A planned drawdown of troops in 2015 was curtailed by President Obama to leave more troops for combat and advisory missions. This week, US forces were forced to abandon military equipment that then fell into the hands of ISIS.

Iraq: After a removal of major combat forces in 2011, Iraq has become a battleground once again. President Obama has sent roughly 4,600 troops in for combat and advisory roles and built a new base in northern Iraq called “Firebase Bell.”

Syria: Though the US had been supporting Syrian rebel groups, including jihadists, since 2013, US troops have entered the fighting in the country. In January of this year, US special forces took control of a military base in northern Syria.

Libya: In 2011, the US assisted in the overthrow of the Gaddafi government in Libya. In the aftermath, Libya has fallen into total chaos, making it ripe for ISIS to establish a significant presence. Now, according to the Pentagon, US forces are fighting on the ground to drive ISIS out.

This excludes all of the off-the-books special operations in over 100 countries, and the major role the US is playing in supplying weapons for Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen. Among those weapons are controversial cluster bombs, which are banned by many countries for their impact on civilians.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said when it comes to any political issues. In that realm, Snopes is visibly liberal, constantly taking the side of leftist politicians and actively avoiding the whole truth when it comes to controversies surrounding the Democratic Party. So if you’re getting your “facts” from their website, be prepared to read lie after lie after lie.

Most recently, the website attempted to cover up the truth surrounding the Obama administration paying $400 million to Iran as ransom money for the American citizens being held prisoner.

As Conservative Tribune reports, “Here’s the problem: Snopes completely ignores several major factors, including that Iran’s own government insisted that the payment was a ransom for the men.” All evidence points to the exchange of money being ransom pay — but Snopes just can’t admit it.

They’ve been this way in regards to a number of political issues, though, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, unfortunately. If you’re curious as to whether or not an urban legend from the 1960s is based on fact, Snopes is your friend. If you’re trying to confirm political rumors, avoid the website like the plague.

Via Christian News Wire:

Satanist and registered sex offender Adam Daniels announced that he will invoke Satan through a blasphemous Black Mass followed by a bloody ritual called “The Consumption of Mary,” all performed on city property.

“Every American should oppose this hateful attack against God,” said TFP [Tradition Family Property] Student Action Director John Ritchie, who hopes to collect 200,000 petitions against the Black Mass by the end of the week…

TFP’s argument is that “Sacrilege is simply NOT free speech.” Dakhma of Angra Mainyu, the group behind the black mass, claims this ritual will “educate the public on the practice of ahrimanism.”

The Christian-Democrat added: “Countries that don’t respect EU laws, or countries that don’t participate enough in the resettlement of migrants or the registration of refugees, should be deprived of funds.”

Vice president of the European Parliament Alexander Graf Lambsdorff accused Poland and Hungary of flouting EU values. He told German media: “The federal government must ensure, when the EU budget is reviewed this fall, that EU countries that are net recipients, such as Poland and Hungary, show more solidarity in the issue of refugees and also respect European values.” The scathing remarks come as Hungary gets set to hold a referendum on October 2 on whether it will participate in the EU migration relocation scheme.

Karoly Kontrat, the Minister of State of the Ministry of Interior, did not hold back on his criticism as he insisted there are hundreds of terrorists in Europe as a result of migration.

He said: "It is clearly demonstrable and can be stated as a fact that there is a connection between immigration and terrorism.

"Other consequences of the migration crisis are health care implications as well as implications of a social, cultural and economic nature. More than 300 people have died in Europe as a result of terrorist attacks since mass illegal immigration started, and these attacks were committed by terrorists, with an immigrant background."

Cited by Reuters, Turkey foreign minister Mevlut Cavusolgu told Turkish's NTV television on Thursday that the country "may seek other options outside NATO for defense industry cooperation, although its first option is always cooperation with its NATO allies." Translation: if Russia (and/or China) gives us a better "defensive" offer, we just may take it.

The sharply worded retort came on the same day that Turkey said it will resume airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Syria, and asked Russia to carry out joint operations against its “common enemy.”  Ankara halted strikes after the downing of a Russian plane by Turkish forces last year.

In the same interview, Cavusolgu said that Ankara “will again, in an active manner, with its planes take part in operations” against Islamic State targets. Cavusolgu also said that Ankara has called on Moscow to carry out joint operations against the “common enemy” of IS. "Let's fight against the terrorist group together, so that we can clear it out as soon as possible," Cavusolgu said, adding that otherwise IS will continue to expand and spread into other countries.

To be sure, coming from the nation which directly engaged in oil trade with the Islamic State, this is at least a little ironic, however, what is notable is the significant pivot Turkey has made vis-a-vis military engagements, rotating not toward the US alliance, but toward the Kremlin.

But perhaps the most notable development was reported today by Turkey's Gunes newspaper, which said that as part of the discussion between Putin and Erdogan on Tuesday, the Turkish president suggested to abandon the US dollar in bilateral trade between Turkey and Russia, and instead to transact directly in lira and rubles. This would "benefit both Russia and Turkey", Erdogan allegedly said in his August 9 meeting in St Petersburg, adding that this would relieve the lira from the USD's upward pressure.

Six per cent come from the Netherlands and five per cent from Belgium, while 19 per cent have been bought from a combination of countries. While some of the bonds are strong investments, the ECB is gambling with European Union (EU) cash by purchasing bonds deemed risky. The ECB has promised to reach a two per cent level of inflation by March next year, but with inflation at 0.2 per cent this month, the end goal is looking unlikely.

The figures come as damning new research reveals Europe faces a "bleak" economic future, with countries such as Spain, Italy and Portugal destined for disaster. A survey of voters in Eurozone nations has revealed how there are stark differences between the prosperous north and impoverished south as the gulf between the winners and losers of the single currency experiment grows ever wider.

In booming Germany, whose exports have been propped up by the relatively weak value of the Euro, three quarters of people feel optimistic about the state of the economy and the country’s future. But at the other end of the scale there is Greece, where only an abysmal two per cent of the population feel that the financial system is working in their interests. When mapped, the results of the poll reveal how Europe has been split into two continents by the Euro, with growing bitterness over the divide between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’.

The survey also found confidence in the Euro economy was fragile even before the Brexit vote, with most voters already depressed about the state of the continent’s finances. An astonishing 86 per cent of French people feel their floundering economy is doing badly - the same figure as for Spain, while two-thirds of Italians are dissatisfied with sluggish growth. The survey was carried out between April 4 and May 29 this year - before Britain’s historic vote to leave the EU.

The country is trying largely on its own to accommodate migrants fleeing war and poverty, with most other European Union members refusing to contribute, Georg Pazderski - co-leader of the AfD in Berlin - said in an interview with Bloomberg Television broadcast on Tuesday.

“We have to put our heads out of the clouds and put our feet down to earth just to find solutions to this problem,” said Pazderski, a retired German army officer who worked for several years with General David Petraeus at US Central Command in Tampa, Florida. “Even the British went out of the EU because of this refugee crisis, which means we have to make realistic policy, we have to look to Realpolitik to what we can do.”

Two-thirds of Germans oppose the chancellor’s handling of the refugee crisis, according to an Infratest dimap poll for ARD public television published last week. Voter support for Merkel slumped 12 percentage points to 47 percent in July, the second-lowest of her third term that started in 2013, after attacks committed by refugees unsettled the public and sparked political opposition.

Germany's economy will be affected more than other Eurozone countries due to its reliance on exports, according to staggering new research by the group. A spokesman said: "Even after two years, the gross domestic product will still be below the level it would have been without the shock of this uncertainty."

Economic analyst Marc Biese has urged Angela Merkel to keep close ties with the UK, because a staggering 750,000 jobs rely on cross-Channel exports. Speaking last month, he said: "In Germany there is a very strong industrial sector that maintains intensive trade deals with the UK. These are very crucial industries, 750,000 jobs are connected to these. This includes the entire car industry, we sell an incredible amount of cars to Britain.

"It includes mechanical engineering, the pharmaceutical industry, IT, the food industries. So very big areas in which a lot of money is turned over." Speaking to a Bavarian newspaper, he added: "If you have trade ties this close, you need to be very careful that doors remain open and are not being shut. This is why we can't, for economical reasons, give in to rage, be angry, be offended, we just can't afford to. We need to maintain the dialogue with Britain."