With protesters thronging the streets of Chicago demanding police accountability and clamoring for the resignation of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the city's police union is frantically trying to destroy decades of records documenting police misconduct. As is always the case, the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) sees "officer safety" as the highest priority - including protection from legal accountability.

"I protect all my members, and I will continue to do that," Dean Angelo, president of the Chicago FOP, explained to CNN.

Since the War on Drugs began in earnest under Nixon and Reagan, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has ruined millions of lives for nonviolent, victimless behavior. The DEA's drug crusade is not limited to the homeland either, as it also has sole responsibility for pursing international drug investigations.

After 9/11, among the many travesties of the Patriot Act was a little-known section that gave the DEA powerful new abilities, under the guise of "narco-terrorism." The agency says that these new pursuits are promoting national security, and it uses the purported success to lobby Congress for more funding.

However, according to ProPublica, these narco-terrorism cases are merely staging threats, not stopping them. Many targets of the DEA have no actual involvement in terrorist groups and are the hapless victims of entrapment.

Quentin Tarantino made headlines last week when he was interviewed by Entertainment Weekly and Howard Stern. During those interviews, Tarantino stuck to his guns about his recent comments about police by saying he "completely rejects" the "bad apples" argument that only a small number of police officers behave inappropriately on the job.

Is Tarantino right? Are there any good cops left?

Here is a quick two-question quiz for you to try on anyone you know in law enforcement, to see if he is one of those rare, possibly mythical creatures known as a "good cop." These are people you know and feel comfortable asking - we at The Free Thought Project do not advise speaking to police officers if not necessary:

1) Have you ever witnessed a fellow officer committing a crime?
2) If so, what did you do about it?

The honest answers, for almost every cop in the country, are "yes" and "nothing." There are a few—very, very few—former cops who can say "yes" and "I reported it." And that's why they are former cops: because they "betrayed" the Bullies in Blue, because they still had some affinity for truth and justice. And if, as a cop, your loyalty to your fellow gang members—no matter what they do—doesn't outrank silly things like principles, then you're toast. If you're lucky, you'll merely be fired.

Is there any cop in the country who can honestly say that he has never witnessed a fellow officer committing a crime? Frankly, no. The seriousness of the crimes may vary, but absolutely all cops break the law (just as almost everyone else does). For example, how often do you see cops driving the speed limit? And how often do you see state troopers doing 20 over the limit? While speeding may be a relatively trivial offense, it does show the mentality of the badge-wearers. If they catch you doing it, they will turn on those red and blue lights (which, as everyone knows, means "stop or we will hurt you"), and then they will rob you by way of a "citation." Meanwhile, when they speed, or drive like idiotic maniacs, they know that no one is going to ticket them.

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has recently voiced concerns that children are not receiving the proper brand of brainwashing and indoctrination from the government. Morgan called for a review of homeschooling and suggested that thousands of children are being "radicalized" by their parents.

"There has always been the freedom in this country for people to educate their children at home. Many people do it very well, but we need to know where the children are and to be certain that they are safe. For every parent doing a brilliant job, there may be someone filling their child's mind with poison. We just don't know. We don't have reliable figures,"a Department of Education spokesman said

The Department said that they were also concerned about what was being taught in private Muslim schools, and that they were intending to crack down on those as well.

"We have provided Ofsted with extra inspectors to eradicate extremism in education. We are working with them to address their concerns about home education being exploited, while safeguarding the rights of parents to determine how and where to educate their children," the spokesperson said.

The government in any country is not concerned with the health and well-being of children, and they do not spend billions on education for the good of the children or the parents. They invest so much in schools, and care so much about them, because they want to be able to train children to be obedient citizens and indoctrinate them into the system of control that they are living under. In most schools, whether they are in Europe, America or North Korea, students are presented with a skewed, biased and nationalistic view of history. Generally, the historical curriculum in government school is skewed to portray the establishment in a positive light. History lessons make warmongers look like martyrs because the warmongers have control over the formation of these lessons.

Okinawa officials on Friday filed a lawsuit against the central Japanese government in a new bid to block the slated construction of a U.S. military base in the prefecture's Henoko region.

"We will do whatever it takes to stop the new Henoko base," Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga said during a press conference Friday. "Okinawa's argument is legitimate, and I believe that it will be certainly understood."

Residents and officials charge that the Japanese government's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism illegally intervened in Onaga's order earlier this year that halted preliminary work on the base. The prefecture said that the ministry acted unlawfully when it suspended Onaga's permit cancellation for work needed to move the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to its slated spot in Henoko.

Footage appears to show a man gesticulating at Egyptian forces to stop shooting at man in the sea, who had severe mental-health issues

Footage has emerged appearing to show Egyptian forces shooting dead an unarmed man who had strayed a few metres over its border with Gaza.

Ishaq Khalil Hassan, 26, reportedly had severe mental health issues and was completely naked when he walked through the sea close to the shore, passing under a fence that marks the border between Egypt and Gaza.

The incident took place on Thursday near the Egyptian border town of Rafah. Hassan, who also suffered from learning difficulties, had previously received treatment at hospitals in Egypt, his family told Al Jazeera Arabic.



Hassan's nephew said on Saturday that his uncle, from the south of Gaza, had been suffering from a mental-health crisis and decided to attempt to get into Egypt for further treatment, Al Jazeera Arabic reported. According to Hassan's relative, he was unable to cross over legally due to the Egypt-Palestine border crossing at Rafah being closed. Egyptian forces stationed at the border reportedly fired 15 shots at Hassan without prior warning.

FAR-RIGHT parties are on the march across Europe as the unprecedented migrant crisis gripping the continent fuels a surge in support for nationalist movements.
This shocking map shows how anti-immigration campaigners have enjoyed huge gains in this year's elections, whilst thousands have taken to the streets to protest against the overwhelming influx of migrants and refugees.

From Greece to Germany and Switzerland to Sweden, far-right protestors and parties have stormed the mainstream of European politics as voters rebel against years of predominantly socialist rule.

In France Marine Le Pen's controversial Front National came within a whisker of winning control over swathes of the country, whilst the traditionally liberal societies of Scandinavia turned their backs on moderates amid unprecedented migratory pressure.

As 2015 draws to a close, Express.co.uk has taken a look at the worrying shift towards the far-right and the inept responses of mainstream politicians which could see the continent once more gripped by fear and intolerance.

Twenty-seven passengers were injured when a Khon Kaen-bound tour bus from Chiang Mai crashed while nearing Muang district of this northern province early on Sunday, police said.

Pol Capt Noppadol Mai-ngam, a Muang district police investigator, said the accident happened at 1.25am on Sukhothai-Phitsanulok road between kilometre markers 220 and 221, when the bus with about 40 passengers slid across the road median to the other side, rammed into a power post and overturned.

Twenty-seven passengers received minor injuries in the accident. They were admitted to Phra Phutthachinnaraj Hospital in Phitsanulok town. Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

The residents of Syria's Golan Heights will soon set up a united resistance front against Israel, a provincial official stated on Sunday.

"We will see the integration of popular resistance in both the free and occupied territories of the Golan Heights," member of Syria's Quneitra Provincial Council Ra'afat al-Bokar told FNA on Sunday.

Al-Bokar reiterated that the residents of the Golan Heights have continued their popular resistance ever since the occupation of some parts of the strategic heights by Israel in 1967.

"I confidently say that the people have and will never halt their resistance; we will soon witness integrated efforts by popular resistance forces throughout the Golan Heights against Israel," the provincial official added.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the Six-Day War of 1967, when it also took control of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It annexed the Golan Heights in 1981, although the move was never recognized by the international community and was labeled as a blatant violation of international law.

A freight train carrying 200,000 liters of sulphuric acid has derailed in northeast Australia. Acid and diesel fuel have spilled. The locomotive and all its 26 carriages derailed at 10:20am local time east of the outback town of Julia Creek.

The perimeter around the spillage was immediately sealed off, to contain the toxicity. Locals told ABC they could smell the acid immediately. A state of emergency has been declared in a two-kilometer radius.

"Two drivers have been released and the third is expected to be released later today," said the spokesperson for Aurizon, Australia's largest freight rail operator. "At this early stage, the cause of the incident is not known. Both Aurizon and Queensland Rail will investigate the incident and determine its cause," he added. "At this time the focus is on recovery of the incident site."

The Flinders Highway has been shut in the vicinity of Julia Creek and Richmond. Queensland Rail says it doesn't know how long it might take before the line opens again. Authorities can't assess the damage, as wet roads from recent rains have made it difficult to get to the site. The rail operator says it's looking for different ways to reach it.

"Passenger rail services have been canceled. The Inlander has been canceled today and tomorrow from Townsville to Mount Isa," a spokeswoman said. The status of the derailed carriages remains unknown. Aurizon says it has put temporary site safety measures in place before the damage can be further assessed.