Friday, February 24, 2017

In the news, Friday, February 3, 2017


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FEB 02      INDEX      FEB 04
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Information from some sites may not be reliable, or may not be vetted.
Some sources may require subscription.

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from Anglican Communion News Service

Bishop Philip Huggins of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne has called on the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, to bring asylum seekers still languishing in offshore detention to Australia – following days of speculation surrounding a US resettlement deal which had been struck with the Obama administration last year. Australia has refused to accept the refugees – most of whom are men from Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq – and instead holds them in offshore detention centres on two Pacific islands.

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from Asia Times Online

India and the UAE: Tackling terrorism together
A strong strategic partnership between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which once seemed impossible given the latter’s close ties with Pakistan, is taking shape. India and the UAE have formally advanced their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, with the two sides signing a framework agreement during the just-concluded visit of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

FBI employee gets two years for giving data to China
Kun Shan Chun, aka Joey Chun, is convicted for acting as an agent for the Chinese against American interests, not espionage, but case raises flags

Uber CEO quits Trump’s business advisory group
Ride hailing firm's Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick, facing criticism from immigration advocates quit President Donald Trump's business advisory group

What’s good for the US is good for Samsonite, CEO says
Luggage maker explores the possibility of establishing a production base on home soil, but Ramesh Tainwala is worried about a lack of skilled workers and poor infrastructure

Gentiles in fight to save Kerala’s rare Jewish monuments
Construction works have been temporarily stopped in India’s largest Jewish cemetery thanks to tireless campaigns against violation of a 1955 deed

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from The Babylon Bee  [Satire]

Church Surveys Community To Discover Which Doctrines It Should Abandon To Get Them In The Door

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from The Baltimore Sun

Amid storm of Trump developments, a call for calmer, more centrist media
It isn't as though the press has been flipping out over nothing since Donald Trump took office. Every day, something contentious, unconventional and culture-wars combustible seems to come out of Washington. There is nothing ho-hum about any of that. They all have potentially huge implications for the kind of country we, our children and grandchildren will live in. But the operative phrase here is flipping out. Too many in the mainstream press are responding to the big, bold, in-your-face actions of the White House with over-the top rhetoric, historical ignorance, an utter lack of proportion and, in some cases, just plain bias.

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from BBC News (UK)

Iceberg lettuces and broccoli rationed as vegetable crisis hits supermarkets
Some supermarkets are rationing the number of iceberg lettuce and broccoli customers can buy - blaming poor growing conditions in southern Europe for a shortage in UK stores.

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from Breitbart

Former Chaplain to the Queen: Church of England Dying, UK Cities Could Soon Be Islamic
Britain could be an Islamic nation in a few generations and the Church of England is facing extinction, a former chaplain to the Queen has said.

Ann Coulter: Trump Should Withdraw Funding from Any School with Speech Codes
In an interview broadcast Friday on Breitbart News Daily, author Ann Coulter talked about the violent demonstrations left-wingers have employed to shut down speech they dislike, notably Milo Yiannopoulos of Breitbart News at UC Berkeley this week.

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from Christian Today

Fancy Applying To Be The Next Bishop Of London? Here Are 50 Tips To Help You Decide
Now the Bishop of London has said "goodbye", the Church will soon advertise the job. Christian Today has decided to help out. Here are 50 vital tips to help you decide whether you have the gifts to be the next Richard Chartres.

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from CNSNews.com (& MRC & NewsBusters)

Sierra Club Exec: Abortion Helps the Environment by Controlling the Population
On Thursday evening’s edition of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Michael Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club, came on the show to talk about how his organization’s environmentally-focused message relates to other liberal talking points that the club has taken a stance on since Brune has been in charge. Carlson asked Brune how the club taking positions on immigration, transgender bathrooms and abortion correlate to the organization’s mission of protecting the environment. Brune was particularly emphatic about the club’s decision to wholeheartedly support the baby-killing machine known as Planned Parenthood.

Minority-Killing Planned Parenthood ‘Honors’ Black History Month
In a move that tests the very boundaries of hypocrisy, the taxpayer-subsidized abortion giant Planned Parenthood issued a press release Wednesday commemorating the start of Black History Month, despite the group’s long track record of genocide against black children.

Tom Brokaw Slams Rioting Liberals at Berkeley as ‘Outrageous,’ Anti-Free Speech
Even NBC's Tom Brokaw can't defend the Berkeley riots.
It'll be funny when the radical left responds by calling him a "fascist."

WH Press Sec. on Iran Sanctions: This President ‘Is Not Going to Sit Back and Take It’

Matt Lauer Invites Caroline Kennedy to Bash Trump’s Foreign Policy
At the top of Friday’s NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer touted an exclusive: “Caroline Kennedy speaks out in her first interview since stepping down as the U.S. Ambassador to Japan. This morning, her take on the Trump administration's very different approach to foreign policy and her own future. Is she planning a run for office?”

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from Coeur d'Alene Press

A GRAND PLAN FOR AN OLD BUILDING
A landmark building in downtown Coeur d’Alene is poised for a grand makeover. Craig and Debbie Ward of Harrison, the new owners of the Dingle Building, 402 E. Sherman Ave., propose to turn the property into a boutique hotel with an added fourth story and 40 to 60 hotel rooms.

CRAWFORD FOUND NOT GUILTY
A jury found Heather L. Crawford not guilty Thursday of murdering 22-month-old Ezra Wilson.

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from Communities Digital News, LLC

Trump Derangement Syndrome: Opponents lack common sense
Donald Trump is catching plenty of heat from the opposition every time he opens his mouth. Not just from the media, which appears to only be a watchdog now that Barack Obama is out of office, but from everyone else who disagrees with him as well. If even one-tenth of one percent of the Muslim community is involved in some element of jihad, the numbers of those wishing us ill are staggering.

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from Competitive Enterprise Institute

I've Had A Green Card Since 1999 - Trump's Executive Order Shows The Overreach Of Presidential Power
How does President Trump's executive order on immigration demonstrate that Congress needs to stop delegating its power to the Executive and instead claw it back?

Smart Move for White House to Push Back on Fiduciary Rule, Dodd-Frank
President Trump’s forthcoming executive actions—expected to halt the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule and call for review of Dodd-Frank regulations—will greatly benefit middle-class investors, entrepreneurs, and consumers.

Encouraging Job Report Suggests Deregulation Will Get America Back to Work
Is the better than expected jobs report a sign that employers are starting to respond to the promise of substantial deregulation by the new administration?

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from EUobserver

EU leaders forced to unite in new Trump reality
EU leaders pledged the need for unity and for Europe to stand on its own two feet at their meeting in Valletta on Friday (3 February), during a discussion on how to handle US president Donald Trump, whom EU council chief Donald Tusk described earlier this week as a "threat" to the EU. "We have our destiny in our own hands," Merkel said after EU leaders discussed Trump, who seems to have galvanised European unity at the Valletta summit on Friday.

EU to extend free CO2 pass to intercontinental flights
The European Commission has proposed to continue exempting flights coming in and out of the EU from its carbon credit scheme because it expects a global deal on tackling CO2 emissions from aviation. If the legislative proposal is not adopted by April 2018 airline companies will be forced to pay into the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS).

Italy and Libya cut migrant busting deal
Italian premier Paolo Gentiloni and his Libyan counterpart Fayez al-Serraj signed a deal in Rome to curb migration flows and crack down on people smuggling ahead of an EU summit in Malta.

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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

"Buy Local" Is a Slogan for Starvation
I’ve got nothing against local food for local people. But as an actual mode of general organization, we’ve stopped doing it and for very good reason: people used to starve. Food security isn’t created by growing food here. It’s created by having many sources of supply.

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from First Things

GORSUCH AND THE WASHINGTON SCRIPT
A familiar Washington script exists for Republican Supreme Court nominations. Once the president announces his choice, Democrats and advocacy groups on the left start issuing dire warnings about the threat the nominee poses to the Constitution, the law, and the American way of life. The words are always the same: The nominee is “extreme,” “outside the mainstream,” “radical,” and “far-right wing.” Attempts to portray Neil Gorsuch as an extremist are bound to fail. If anything, his background suggests that liberals will find him more congenial than other nominees they could have faced.

ISLAM AND AMERICA
Muslims in America are vulnerable. I’ve heard a number of people express hostility and the conviction that Muslims cannot be loyal American citizens. Trumpian hyperbole during the campaign stoked those suspicions.

VETTING THE EXECUTIVE ORDER
There has been a lot of misinformation circulating about the Executive Order signed last Friday on terrorism, immigration, and refugees (“Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States”). Misinformation confuses people, confuses the debate, and deprives legitimate opposition of credibility. There is much to criticize about the EO, and I will discuss some of those things. It is unhelpful, however, for people to be spreading falsehoods.

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from Fox News (& affiliates)

Obama's last money shower for the UN: some $9.2 billion
In its last year in office, the Obama Administration showered at least some $9.2 billion on the United Nations and its sprawling array of organizations, according to a document recently posted on the State Department website.

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from The Guardian (UK)
[Information from this site may be unreliable.]

Former Norway PM held at Washington airport over 2014 visit to Iran
Kjell Magne Bondevik describes shock after being held and questioned at Dulles hub under new US entry controls. “I was surprised, and I was provoked,” he said. “What will the reputation of the US be if this happens not only to me, but also to other international leaders?”

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from The Heritage Foundation

One Way Neil Gorsuch Will Carry Scalia’s Legacy on the Supreme Court
If confirmed to the bench, Gorsuch would carry on Scalia’s legacy of respect for the rule of law and his keen awareness of how federal criminal law has been misused to punish Americans for minor mistakes that don’t warrant federal prosecution.

How Congress Is Reclaiming Constitutional Authority and Saving Jobs
The Obama administration pulled out every stop to block energy and resource development on federal lands—under the guise of environmental protection. Congress has the chance to reset the clock, to go back to a time when policies helped people and where regulations were not used to pursue ideological aims. This is exactly what the Congressional Review Act was designed to help ensure.

Polls Show Personal Experience With Obamacare Increases Opposition
As Congress comes closer to repealing Obamacare, proponents of the law have mounted a vocal defense of it, touting both its necessity and popularity among those it has helped. But public opinion polls tell a different story.

It’s Time to Reel in the Obama-Appointed Ambassador Who Meddled in Macedonian Politics
Macedonia has a population smaller than Queens and is roughly the size of Vermont. It is stuck in the southern Balkans, wedged between a hostile Greece and sometimes revanchist Albania and Bulgaria. It is not the center of the universe. So why are some members of Congress having to ask our Macedonian ambassador, Jess Baily, to explain reports that he’s been acting as the bullying sovereign of the country, shoehorning political parties into forming a “red-green” coalition between leftist and Islamic-based parties? And is it true, they also want to know, that the ambassador is siphoning off government money to groups founded by the left-wing billionaire activist George Soros? The situation has gotten so bad that congressional hearings and congressional delegations to the small Balkan country are being contemplated.

When Sending People to Jail, Criminal Intent Matters
Can a person go to jail for a crime that he had no intent to commit, and that the government admits he did not know would occur? Jack and Peter DeCoster, father and son executives of the Quality Egg business, have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider their jail sentences for a crime committed by someone else without their knowledge: selling eggs contaminated with salmonella.

Trump’s Executive Orders on Financial Regulation Are a Great First Step
President Donald Trump has vowed to dismantle the Dodd-Frank Act, and on Friday he signed two executive orders to get that process moving. All Americans should be encouraged by this start, especially since the president is only two weeks into his administration.

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from Intellihub
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

TEPCO operator: ‘Radiation levels of up to 530 Sieverts per hour now in Reactor 2’
In the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu lies the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant which was decimated by a large tsunami which formed following the Tōhoku earthquake which struck on March 11, 2011. The damage was so great that the entire region was listed as a radioactive zone. As of Thursday radiation levels reached ” 530 Sieverts per hour” inside of Reactor No. 2.

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from LifeZette (& PoliZette)

Senate Shoots Down Obama Coal Regulation
Republicans target 11th-hour energy rules rammed through by previous administration

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from The Living Church

NO END TO SACRIFICE: ANGLICANS ON ‘OFFERING’
Anglicans have been reticent about any explicit material offering from the beginning — anything beyond our praise, prayer, and thanksgiving, along with ourselves in a spiritual sense.

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from Miami Herald

Yes, I know what the mirror says. And yes, I’ve always known African Americans face challenges — discrimination in health, housing, hiring, and a racially biased system of “justice,” to name a few. But I think at some level, I had also grown comfortable in a nation paced by Oprah, LeBron, Beyonce and Barack. The old mantra of black progress — two steps forward, one step back — had come to feel … abstract, something you said, but forgot to believe. So when we hit this season of reversal, I was more surprised than I should have been. I had forgotten about being black. Meaning, I had forgotten that for us, setback is nothing new.

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from The Mirror (UK)
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

The White House's most dangerous man: Donald Trump's 'puppet master' is an alleged wife beater with KKK links
From giving the green light to the Mexican border wall to imposing a travel ban, every announcement can be traced back to one man - Steve Bannon

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from Mises Institute
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

A New Front in the War on Payday Lenders
Google joins forces with government regulators to rob low-income people of one of their few choices for quick and easy loans. 

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from NBC News (& affiliates)

9 Bad manager mistakes that make good people quit
Managers tend to blame their turnover problems on everything under the sun, while ignoring the crux of the matter: people don't leave jobs; they leave managers.

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from The New Yorker

STEVE BANNON AND REINCE PRIEBUS’S WAR FOR THE WHITE HOUSE
President Donald Trump’s first two weeks in office have produced what seems like a year’s worth of drama, but he has made essentially two consequential decisions. He issued a ban on immigrants from seven majority-Muslim countries and he nominated Neil Gorsuch, a federal appeals-court judge, to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant after Antonin Scalia’s death, last year.

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from The Seattle Times

Judge in Seattle halts Trump’s immigration order nationwide; White House vows fight
A federal judge in Seattle on Friday ordered a national halt to enforcement of President Trump’s controversial travel ban on citizens from seven predominantly Muslim nations. The White House vowed to appeal the decision immediately. Meanwhile, a contradictory decision came earlier Friday from a federal judge in Massachusetts, who sided with the Trump administration. U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton ruled that the president had the authority on national-security grounds to bar citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, according to The Boston Globe.

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from The Spokesman-Review

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from Sputnik
(Russian government-supported propaganda channel)

Giving 'Significant Autonomy' to Eastern Ukraine to Resolve the Crisis
An agreement that will see Kiev provide "significant autonomy" to the people's republics in Donbass will be enough to end the Ukrainian crisis and bring lasting peace to the war-torn country, political analyst John Quigley told Radio Sputnik, commenting on the latest spate of violence in the region.

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from UPI News Agency - United Press International

Overeating during sporting events leads to medical problems
People who overeat during national sporting events and holidays are more likely to need emergency medical attention, according to a new study.

Trump signs executive order to scale back Wall Street regulation
President Donald Trump on Friday signed two executive orders, one with the goal of scaling back the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act to ease regulation on Wall Street. The executive order directs the Department of Treasury to consult with regulatory agencies and report to the president about what could be done to eliminate what the administration considers "overreaching" aspects of Dodd-Frank affecting Wall Street.

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from The Washington Post

Patriots owner on Trump: ‘In the toughest time in my life, he was there for me’
President Trump rarely shows a soft side, but Patriots owner Robert Kraft did it for him Friday during an appearance on Fox News. Kraft said that after his wife, Myra, died in 2011, Trump was a loyal and thoughtful friend. “In the toughest time in my life, he was there for me,” Kraft told “Fox & Friends” host Brian Kilmeade. “He came to the funeral with Melania. He'd visit me at my home. … He called me once a week for a year. 'How are you doing?' I was really depressed, and he invited me to things, and he looked out after me.” Few other people were as devoted as Trump during that period, Kraft added.

USDA abruptly purges animal welfare information from its website
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday abruptly removed inspection reports and other information from its website about the treatment of animals at thousands of research laboratories, zoos, dog breeding operations and other facilities. In a statement, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service cited court rulings and privacy laws for the decision, which it said was the result of a “comprehensive review” that took place over the past year. It said the removed documents, which also included records of enforcement actions against violators of the Animal Welfare Act and the Horse Protection Act, would now be accessible only via Freedom of Information Act Requests.

Bureau of Indian Affairs sending agents to help clear Dakota Access protesters from site
The federal government announced Friday that it was dispatching Bureau of Indian Affairs agents to help clear Dakota Access Pipeline protesters from the Standing Rock Sioux reservation.

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In the news, Thursday, February 2, 2017


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FEB 01      INDEX      FEB 03
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Information from some sites may not be reliable, or may not be vetted.
Some sources may require subscription.

________

from Asia Times Online

Canada at 150: Hate crimes and the Chinese question
As it turns 150 years old in 2017, Canada faces a surge in hate crimes amid growing nativist anger against Chinese migrants, Muslim refugees, and public officials for their alleged role in worsening the country’s socio-economic conditions, said community leaders and analysts. After years of hibernation, extremism and xenophobia in Canada are waking to the new fiery anti-globalisation tide that has swept Donald Trump into the US White House and Britain to vote to leave the European Union. As in other parts of the world, a new generation of Canadian politicians and activists is riding on populist anger fuelled by a mix of declining public trust in elected officials, past ethnic animosities, and unbalanced media reporting.

Could Elaine Chao as Trump transport secretary open doors in Beijing?
Elaine Chao is Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s wife.
US President Donald Trump has chosen an ambitious overachiever in overdrive in picking Elaine Chao as his transport secretary and the US Senate seemed to have no problem with that in confirming her nomination on Tuesday. She began her public career as a White House Fellow during the Reagan administration, later to serve as deputy secretary of transportation under George H.W. Bush and then George W. Bush’s labor secretary. The latter job made her the first woman of Asian descent to be appointed to a US presidential cabinet.

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from azcentral (The Arizona Republic)

Why does the GOP want Arizona out of the California-based 9th Circuit? Politics.
Seeking a court system more in line with Arizona's politics, the state's Republican lawmakers are making a new push to move the state out of the federal appeals court that includes California. The effort led by U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs to exit the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has gotten little traction in Washington in years past but the issue could find greater support at a time of newfound GOP dominance. Arizona's four other Republicans in the House of Representatives have signed on as co-sponsors of the measure, which is similar to a bill sponsored in the last Congress by Sen. Jeff Flake.On Thursday, Flake and Sen. John McCain introduced another version of the circuit-splitting bill that both backed last year. The Biggs bill would move Arizona, Alaska, Idaho, Montana and Nevada into a 12th Circuit. It would leave the 9th Circuit with California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Arizona has been part of the 9th Circuit since 1912. Flake and McCain would put Washington in the 12th Circuit.

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from The Babylon Bee  [Satire]

Joel Osteen Sees Own Shadow, Predicts Another Year Of Taking Bible Out Of Context
Taking his luxury golf cart from the front door of his large Houston home down to his mailbox to fetch the paper Thursday morning, prosperity preacher Joel Osteen reportedly looked down to see his own shadow, a traditional sign indicating that he will be preaching the Bible out of context for yet another year.

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from BizPac Review

Dem boycott foiled again! GOP Senate overrides crybaby no-shows and approves Trump’s pick to head EPA
If their stunt didn’t work the first time, what made them think it’d work if they gave it one more try? Senate Democrats once again boycotted a committee hearing on a Trump cabinet nominee, and just like the last time, Senate Republican waived committee rules and approved the nominee. On Thursday morning, when Committee Chairman Sen. John Barrasso gaveled the meeting to order, all 10 Democratic chairs stood empty. So the remaining 11 Republicans voted unanimously to suspend the rules requiring the attendance of at least two minority party members to be present in order to conduct business. “Scott Pruitt will be voted out of committee today,” the Wyoming Republican said. “He will get to the floor of the United States Senate and he will be confirmed as the next administrator of the EPA.”

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from CNSNews.com (& MRC & NewsBusters)

CNN's Hill Equates Left-Wing Rioters to Right Wing, Struggles for Examples
Appearing as a guest on Thursday's CNN Newsroom, guest hosted by Pamela Brown, to discuss violent riots by left-wing protesters at UC Berkeley, far-left CNN political commentator and Morehouse College professor Marc Lamont Hill tried to claim that there have similarly been riots by right-wingers on college campuses, but repeatedly failed to come up with any examples when fellow guest Ben Ferguson kept pressing him.

CNN's Louis Falls for Fake Story That a Mother Died from Muslim Ban

Lady Gaga: Super Bowl Halftime Show Will Celebrate 'Inclusion'
Think the Grammys were too political? You ain't seen nothing yet!
Lady Gaga said she hopes her Super Bowl halftime show will celebrate "inclusion" and the "spirit of equality" during a time of national division.

O’Reilly: 'Arrogant' Dems 'Harming the USA' with Their Blind Opposition to Pres. Trump
With every step President Donald Trump has taken since he assumed the Oval Office, Democrats have put up a fight – whether it be by holding up the confirmations of his cabinet nominees, attempting to overturn his executive orders, or challenging his selection of Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court. Bill O’Reilly on “The Factor” Wednesday night argued that the Democratic Party is harming the country by devolving from a democratic “loyal opposition” into plain opposition.

Business Federation Meets with Trump on Gorsuch: 'Regulatory Overreach Is Killing Small Business'
National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) President and CEO Juanita Duggan met with President Donald J. Trump in a small meeting at the White House on Wednesday to explain why small business owners are enthusiastically supportive of the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch for the United States Supreme Court.

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from Communities Digital News, LLC

Trump’s detractors galvanize his growing legion of supporters
After just two weeks in office, President Trump’s actions have sparked angry protests, but are viewed favorably by his supporters. The media coverage is overwhelmingly negative, but Trump’s supporters remain unfazed. Trump delivers with his nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. The Democrats need a more positive message, but the country has yet to hear it.

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from Daily Kos
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Sen. Bob Casey understands the resistance. Other Democrats should follow his lead
Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey is not a progressive firebrand. While he’s usually been a reliable Democratic vote, there’s no question he hails from the quieter, more moderate wing of the party. And seeing as he’s up for re-election next year—in a state that Trump carried—you might expect Casey to shy away from public fights and distance himself from the white-hot resistance movement that’s sprung up on the left. The exact opposite has happened. Over the weekend, as spontaneous protests unfurled at airports nationwide, Casey charged off to lend his support at Philadelphia International Airport—ditching a formal event and showing up, remarkably, in white tie and tails.

Trump has another 'new plan' that was used by the Nazis against Jews in the 1930s
On the White House website, inside of the press releases concerning Trump/Bannon executive actions you will find this “Executive Order: Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States.” In it, a list of immigrant crimes to be made and updated regularly and given to the public for consumption is ordered.

There's no recording of Trump's talk with Putin—because Trump's team turned off the recorder
One of the great questions of the Donald Trump "presidency" has been to what extent members of his campaign team worked with Russian officials or go-betweens in their attempt to get the already-unstable, already-incompetent authoritarian-minded bumbler elected to the lead the most powerful democracy in the world.

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from EUobserver

EU leaders to discuss migration, in Trump's shadow
New US president Trump overshadows the Malta summit of EU leaders on Friday, as they discuss the bloc's future amid new geopolitical realities, and step up efforts to stop migration via Libya from North African countries.

EU commission drops anti-corruption report
Transparency campaigners are livid after the EU commission scuppered plans to publish an EU anti-corruption report amid unfolding corruption scandals in Romania and France.

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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Why Sessions Is Sailing and DeVos Is Struggling
The Attorney General has the power to enact fundamental changes to freedom, and there's no doubt Trump would support Sessions in this endeavor. On the other hand, DeVos could only do limited, temporary damage as Secretary of Education. So why has DeVos faced much more opposition than has Sessions? Maybe people just don't care very much about human liberty in general. But a better answer comes from the theory of interest group politics.

Frederick Douglass and the Right of Migration
The right of migration belongs to no particular race, but belongs alike to all and to all alike.

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from Fox News (& affiliates)

Coffee Company Takes on Starbucks' Refugee Plan, Pledges to Hire 10,000 Veterans
The Black Rifle Coffee Company, which is veteran owned, responded to Starbucks' refugee pledge and announced their own plan to hire 10,000 veterans. “We want to shift the conversation away from foreign policy to domestic issues that hit closer to home," the company wrote.

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from The Heritage Foundation

Americans Should Not Have to Subsidize Campus Lawlessness
In 1964, students at the University of California, Berkeley joined together to fight for their right to free speech. Last night, a group of over 1,500 protestors showed up on that same campus to shut down a speaker with whom they disagreed, and about 150 of them started a riot. Clearly, the culture of tolerance on college campuses has changed quite a bit since 1964. Last night, Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos stopped by the UC Berkeley campus on his college tour to talk about the importance of free speech, yet was met with shocking hostility that led to violence.

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from The Hill

The alt-left’s cyber jihad against Trump and his supporters
Intolerant tolerance-loving people are threatening the very safety of Americans, fomented by irresponsible Democratic Party leaders who refuse to accept the election results of 2016, fear-mongering “social justice warriors” who behave as if they are on the set of the “Hunger Games,” the movie about a “resistance” against a tyrannical dictator, and reckless social media outlets, media companies and alt-left “fake news” sites that amplify the “agit prop,” or agitation propaganda, of these political leaders and activists.

Trump taps CIA veteran for agency's second in command
President Trump has selected Gina Haspel to be the deputy director of the CIA, making her second in command behind Mike Pompeo. Haspel is the second woman to ever hold the position, which does not require Senate confirmation.

Russian official: Was Nikki Haley reading Samantha Power's speech?
A Russian official on Thursday blasted the new U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations for her forceful condemnation of Moscow's actions in Eastern Ukraine. Russian Senator Alexey Pushkov drew parallels between Nikki Haley's remarks and the strong anti-Kremlin statements often made by the former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power.

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from If You Only News
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from The Independent (UK)
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Children inherit their intelligence from their mother not their father, say scientists
A mother's genetics determines how clever her children are, according to researchers, and the father makes no difference. Women are more likely to transmit intelligence genes to their children because they are carried on the X chromosome and women have two of these, while men only have one. But in addition to this, scientists now believe genes for advanced cognitive functions which are inherited from the father may be automatically deactivated.

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from The Inlander

Why House of Charity refuses to feed most panhandlers
Giving money to panhandlers, Catholic Charities Director Rob McCann says, condemns them to living in addiction.

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from Jews News
[Information from this site may be unreliable.]

from KIRO 7 Eyewitness News (CBS Seattle)

Seattle assisted living residents told to move because of apartment conversion
"On Tuesday, Lycett and 47 other residents were told the assisted living center will close March 31. Leisure Care, Sagebrook's management company, told KIRO 7 the building owner is converting the building to regular apartments and those who need assisted living, about half the current residents, must move out..."Where we go from here is the problem'...Twenty-six employees are also affected by this closure. (Building is owned owned by ACP Ballard LLC)"

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from Lew Rockwell  Author

Lower Conduct Standards for Liberals
Walter E. Williams: One can only imagine the widespread media, political and intellectual condemnation of Republicans and conservatives if, after the inauguration of Barack Obama, they had gone on a violent and vicious tear all over the nation as did Democrats and liberals after the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

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from LifeZette (& PoliZette)

Morgan Freeman: Trump Is ‘A Guy Who Will Not Lose’
Actor changes his tone quite a bit on the 45th president
Previously a vocal Hillary Clinton supporter, actor Morgan Freeman is now spreading a message of hope when it comes to President Donald Trump’s time in office. Freeman had positive things to say about the new president in a recently published interview in AARP: The Magazine.

Pelosi Rage: Calls Bannon a ‘White Supremacist’
Democrats continue to employ slanderous, racially charged rhetoric to stoke anti-Trump anger
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump’s chief strategist and former editor of Breitbart News, a white supremacist on Thursday.

Bill Targets Countries Refusing to Take Back Criminals
Nearly a quarter-million foreigners have deportation orders — but their home countries won't take them. President Donald Trump has vowed to go after countries that refuse to accept their citizens under deportation orders in the United States. Legislation by a Texas congressman would give him new tools to deliver on that pledge.

Trump Aide: China Engaged in ‘Economic Warfare’
Gorka says U.S. administration represents 'new dawn' of international relations
China is not a normal country and will not be treated as such by President Donald Trump, an administration official said Thursday.

Tillerson Puts State Employees on Notice
Federal diplomats gently told to get on same page with the new president
Rex Tillerson, the newly confirmed secretary of state, gently told State Department employees Thursday to unite under the new president. Tillerson, sworn in on Wednesday, had to address the issue in his first speech to employees because of the leaks of President Donald Trump’s transcripts made to the media, leaks ostensibly committed by federal employees.

Trump Warns Mexico About ‘Bad Hombres’
President gets blunt on massive cost imposed on U.S. by brutal drug cartels

Polls Show Americans Support Trump Migration Actions
Media push false narrative of mass opposition to immigration restrictions

Breitbart Editor Triggers Berkeley: Violence and Mayhem Ensue
Leftist outrage turns to riots in protest of provocative journalist Milo Yiannopoulos
Riots erupted at University of California, Berkeley, Wednesday night in response to a scheduled speech by Breitbart News Senior Editor Milo Yiannopoulos.

Biden Offers Obama a Lesson in Post-White House Decorum
Early into their retirement from public office, Biden exudes class while Obama goes crass
Former Vice President Joe Biden and former President Obama are taking two very different approaches to retirement, and these two approaches speak volumes about the former executives’ respective characters.

How Trump Can Deal with Rogue Federal Workers
Government employees planning 'civil disobedience' may face consequences
Approximately 180 federal employees have enrolled in an upcoming workshop this weekend to discuss the ways in which they can resist President Donald Trump’s agenda and practice civil disobedience. The only problem? Engaging in “civil disobedience” could get them fired.

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from The Living Church

Chartres Has Led London Well
This evening the Diocese of London says farewell to the Rt. Rev. and Rt. Hon. Richard Chartres, its bishop since 1995. St Paul’s Cathedral will host the event. Chartres officially retires on Shrove Tuesday, February 28. Upon taking office he found a diocese in a downward spiral and almost paralyzed by cumbersome procedures. The bishop leaves it, 21 years on, in a much more confident frame of mind. London is looking to grow rather than retrench. It is one of the few English dioceses experiencing numerical growth.

NO END TO SACRIFICE: THE LEGACY OF GREGORY DIX
Gregory Dix published his famous “Green Book,” The Shape of the Liturgy in 1945, and it exercised an influence over all of the Anglophone liturgical scholarship that was to follow. Dix made the following claim about the Christian Eucharist in an early article: "It has four momenta only—Offertory, Thanksgiving Prayer (Canon, Anaphora), Fraction, Communion—and nothing else. It thus reproduces exactly the “took bread—gave thanks—brake—gave” of the Gospels."

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from Newsmax

Army: Dakota Access Pipeline Construction to Resume
The Army is allowing construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline to continue, after it’s been a topic of concern for thousands of protesters for months. Acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer “has directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with the easement needed to complete the Dakota Access Pipeline,” Sen. John Hoeven said on Tuesday, according to CNN. Speer’s decision is set to put the finishing touches on a $3.8 billion project that came to a halt months ago. While the easement “isn’t quite issued yet,” it’s reportedly within days of being approved, according to Hoeven’s spokesman, Don Canton, The Associated Press noted.

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from NPR (& affiliates)

Bogus 'Bowling Green Massacre' Claim Snarls Trump Adviser Conway
Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, is under fire after making the false claim that Bowling Green, Ky., was the scene of a massacre carried out by Iraqis. Conway made the claim in an MSNBC interview that aired Thursday night, in which she argued in favor of President Trump's immigration and refugee ban.

House Votes To Overturn Obama Rule Restricting Gun Sales To The Severely Mentally Ill
On Thursday the GOP-controlled House voted to overturn an Obama administration rule designed to keep firearms out of the hands of some people deemed mentally ill. The action was the latest move by congressional Republicans to undo several of President Obama's regulations on issues such as gun control and the environment through an arcane law called the Congressional Review Act.

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from Open Culture
from The Political Insider

Former Obama Pentagon Official Calls for Military Coup Against President Trump
President Donald J. Trump has been in office for approximately 2 weeks, but that hasn’t stopped the left from trying to sabotage his presidency in every way possible. From falsely claiming his Executive Orders are unconstitutional to insisting his victory was illegitimate due to outside interference from Russia, the left is in full-out panic mode over President Trump’s victory. Now, it’s gone to the fullest extreme. A former Obama Pentagon official, writing in one of America’s most prestigious establishment outlets, has just suggested the most ridiculous way to stop Trump: a military coup. Yes, you read that right, a military coup. The author of the piece entitled “3 Ways to Get Rid of President Trump Before 2020” is named Rosa Brooks, and she worked as a counselor to the U.S. Defense Undersecretary for Policy from 2009 to 2011.

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from Reuters

Trump adopts aggressive posture toward Iran after missile launch
The White House put Iran "on notice" on Wednesday for test-firing a ballistic missile and said it was reviewing how to respond, taking an aggressive posture toward Tehran that could raise tensions in the region. While the exact implications of the U.S. threat were unclear, the new administration signaled that President Donald Trump intended to do more, possibly including imposing new sanctions, to curb what he sees as defiance of a nuclear deal negotiated in 2015 by then-President Barack Obama.

U.S. military probing more possible civilian deaths in Yemen raid
The U.S. military said on Wednesday it was looking into whether more civilians were killed in a raid on al Qaeda in Yemen on the weekend, in the first operation authorized by President Donald Trump as commander in chief.U.S. Navy SEAL William “Ryan” Owens was killed in the raid on a branch of al Qaeda, also known as AQAP, in al Bayda province, which the Pentagon said also killed 14 militants. However, medics at the scene said about 30 people, including 10 women and children, were killed.

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from The Spokesman-Review

Italy: Mafia stronghold of Corleone has new ‘godfather’ saga
The Mafia stronghold of Corleone has produced another godfather saga, but this one is unlikely to end up as a movie. A bishop in Sicily is contesting a parish priest’s decision to allow the son of Italy’s most notorious mobster to become his niece’s godfather during a baptism ceremony in December.

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from UPI News Agency - United Press International

Trump vows to 'destroy' federal law banning political action by nonprofits
The Johnson Amendment bars nonprofits from actively supporting or opposing a political candidate.
If Trump succeeds, churches, charities and universities would be allowed to endorse candidates and get active in political campaigns without fear of losing their 501(c)3 tax exempt status.
Trump says the change is needed because freedom of religion "is under serious threat."

Invasive wild pig populations continue to grow, spread through United States
According to the new report, $1.5 billion is spent in the United States each year to repair and prevent damage done by wild pigs.


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from USA Today

Washington State councilwoman arrested for outburst at Sessions hearing
Bremerton City Councilwoman Leslie Daugs was arrested Tuesday for shouting an expletive at a confirmation hearing for one of President Trump's cabinet nominees. As the Senate Judiciary Committee debated the merits of U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general, Daugs, a Democrat and critic of the Trump administration, said she yelled, "This is bull----," attracting the attention of the Capitol Police. She was escorted out, cuffed and taken to a station. After about four hours, she was released.

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