Wednesday, August 16, 2017

In the news, Thursday, July 27, 2017


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JUL 26      INDEX      JUL 28
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from The Catholic Herald (UK)

Why Rome is doing battle with American culture
The Pope's advisors have taken aim at US Christianity. Here's why this matters.

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from CNET

California, home to Silicon Valley, ranks third in developer survey
HackerRank looked at average coding scores on its platform to find out who performed best. The result may surprise you. You may be inclined to guess California since, y'know, it's home to Silicon Valley and all. But a new new survey by tech recruiting company HackerRank places the state third, after Washington and Wyoming.

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from Country Living Magazine

Rocky and Bullwinkle Show's June Foray Has Died At 99
Foray was the voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel and his nemesis Natasha Fatale.

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

Why Smaller Is Better for Europe
The European countries of today are the result of centuries of war and conquest of power over minorities. The formation of nation-states has often had to create processes of homogenization that destroy important cultural differences in order to establish the authority of their governments. But the original city-states were more free-market oriented, open to other cultures, and less protectionist than their bigger neighbors. Returning to that independent form of government would do wonders for Europe's economy and culture.

Jeff Sessions is Wildly Wrong on Civil Asset Forfeiture
Widespread condemnation of civil asset forfeiture (which basically allows the government to steal property from people who have not been convicted of a crime) led to a tiny step in the right direction by the Obama Administration. There have also been positive reforms at the state level. However, the Trump Administration and Justice Department are now pushing in the wrong direction.

The AlphaBay Shutdown Will Be as Futile as the Drug War Itself
Recently, two major darknet markets, AlphaBay and Hansa Market, were seized by the FBI, DEA, EUROPOL and European Union member states. AlphaBay was the largest darknet market totaling about 40,000 vendors and 200,000 customers. For comparison, AlphaBay was about ten times bigger than Silk Road, another darknet market seized in 2013.

Why First World Countries Have Third World Cities
As I avoided the potholes, ignored the sound of guns, and passed numerous people begging on the street, I could not help but be reminded of my travels in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. With their mass poverty and crumbling infrastructure, the two cities differ in one key area: Phnom Penh is in a developing country and the other, New Orleans, is in a developed country. Throughout the United States, I frequently come across what I call "third world cities in first world countries" - whether it is Detroit, Baltimore, or even my beloved New Orleans. These third world cities all have one thing in common: an absence of free and open markets.

Insurance Cartel Holds Back Life-Saving Therapy from Thousands of Small Children
It would be easy to blame insurers. Yet it’s not the individual insurance companies that cause the problem, but rather our regulatory system which protects these companies from competition. Burdensome regulations and concentrated market power among just four companies create an absurd system that perpetuates uncertainty.

The EU Is Keeping Poor Countries Poor
The EU likes to present itself as a global force for good, fostering aid and development in the world’s poorest societies. It boasts of its £12 billion aid program and calls itself “the most generous donor in the world.” It truly believes itself to be a kindlier world power than the United States, Russia, or China. As ever with the EU, the truth is much uglier.

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

Archbishop demands no stone left unturned in Grenfell Tower fire inquiry
John Sentamu delivers sermon at service in memory of five victims of North Kensington blaze. The archbishop of York has demanded that no stone be left unturned in the public inquiry and police investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire, saying there can be no reconciliation without truth and justice. He also called on the community to turn its anger into a creative force to be reckoned with.

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from The Heritage Foundation
[Information from this site may be unreliable.]

Removing Restrictions on Liquid Natural Gas Exports: A Gift to the U.S. and Global Economies
U.S. export of liquid natural gas (LNG) exports would benefit both the domestic and global economies. Increased LNG exports will increase supply diversity, providing greater choices for consumers and creating a more mobile natural gas market. The Department of Energy’s (DOE) role in permit authorization is unnecessary. Congress should remove the DOE from the export-permitting process altogether.

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from The Hill

Conway: Scaramucci leak shows ‘somebody doesn’t want him here’
White House aide Kellyanne Conway on Thursday said it appears somebody doesn't want communications director Anthony Scaramucci working in the White House. "I think the most important part of Anthony's tweet was when he talked about the FBI and the [Justice Department]. He's making clear that even though these documents are eventually procurable publicly, that somebody doesn't want him here," Conway said on "Fox & Friends." Conway said on Thursday that there are many qualified men and women who wanted to serve President Trump. She added, though, that many potential administration staffers have been "completely demoralized and completely, I think, disinclined to do so based on the paperwork that we have to put forward."

American Medical Association calls 'skinny' ObamaCare repeal bill a 'toxic prescription'
The American Medical Association (AMA) blasted the Senate GOP's newly released "skinny" ObamaCare repeal bill Thursday evening as a "toxic prescription that would make matters worse."

Two GOP senators back ObamaCare repeal after Ryan call
Five GOP senators — Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), David Perdue (Ga.), Ron Johnson (Wis.), Mike Rounds (S.D.) and Ted Cruz (Texas) — spoke with Ryan via phone in Sen. John Cornyn's (Texas) leadership office outside of the Senate floor. "Yes, he said, listen why would we want to own a bill that increases premiums and doesn't fix ObamaCare — that's all I wanted to hear from him," Graham told reporters when asked if Ryan guaranteed the House wouldn't pass a paired down Senate repeal bill. Pressed if he would vote "yes" on the Senate GOP healthcare bill after his conversation with Ryan, Graham said he would. Johnson added that "of course" the talk with Ryan was enough to assuage his concerns.

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from The Independent (UK)
LEFT-CENTER BIAS

Scientists edit human genes for the first time ever in the US
The research could allow people to snip away the genes that cause inherited diseases and other problems

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from Indian Country Today Media Network
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Forgotten Outlaw Rufus Buck Had a Dream
Rufus Buck's gang had a 13-day reign of terror that marked the end of the Indian Territory. Rufus Buck was the notorious leader of the Buck Gang that terrorized the Indian Territories (what is now Oklahoma and Arkansas) during the summer of 1895 in an attempt to stop whites from encroaching on Native American land. His gang included five teenagers of African American and Native American ancestry.

Bering Land Bridge, Mastodon Bones and Creation Beliefs: Seeking to Know the Unknowable
Thing About Skins: All the basic scientific thoughts are metaphorically represented in most Native stories of creation and origin.

Airline Security: Why I Am Considering Not Flying Anymore
Being accused of running from airline security to cover for their mistake was just one moment in a nightmarish experience.

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from Intellectual Takeout
Nonprofit Organization in Bloomington, Minnesota

Why is There So Much Bullying in Schools?

Boston College psychology professor Dr. Peter Gray says bullying occurs when people "have no political power and are ruled in top-down. In other words, if people are placed in environments where they have little freedom and control, this can trigger bullying behaviors; and if those who are being bullied can’t freely leave, then hostility may continue indefinitely.

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from KID Newsradio (Idaho Falls)

A Facebook post containing alarming warnings about the upcoming eclipse in East Idaho is getting shared widely on the social media platform in the region. The post purports to contain information shared at a community information meeting held at the Civic Auditorium on Wednesday, July 26th. KID NewsRadio was present at the meeting, and says the latest posts have an element of truth, but plenty of patently false information.

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from LifeSiteNews.com
Nonprofit Organization

Planned Parenthood’s new sex-ed: ‘Your genitals don’t make you a boy or a girl’
Planned Parenthood is now teaching parents “how to know if your kid is transgender.” The nation’s largest and most lucrative abortion conglomerate issued online “guidelines” some two months ago for parents to talk about sex and gender with their three to four-year-old preschoolers. On a page titled, How do I talk with my preschooler about identity? Planned Parenthood tells parents to teach their children that genitals and gender are interchangeable.

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from The Living Church

ON OBEDIENCE: WE NEED AN ABBOT
Obedience is a choice to take responsibility for our life. An abbot keeps us accountable.

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from Los Angeles Times

The DNA of ancient Canaanites lives on in modern-day Lebanese, genetic analysis shows
The Canaanites lived at the crossroads of the ancient world. They experienced wars, conquests and occupations for millennia, and as a result evolutionary geneticists expected that their DNA would become substantially mixed with incoming populations. Astonishingly, new genetic analysis shows that scientists were wrong. According to a new study in the American Journal of Human Genetics, today’s Lebanese share a whopping 93% of their DNA with the ancient Canaanites.

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from NPR (& affiliates)

Songs We Love: Myrkur, 'Ulvinde'
"Yes, destroy evil with evil," Amalie Bruun sings in her native Danish at the beginning of "Ulvinde," her latest song as Myrkur. In the accompanying music video, Bruun crawls through mossy roots and stumbles over frigid rock outcroppings. Occasionally, she spits up blood. At one point in the video Bruun stands accompanied by three young women representing the Norns, the three fate goddesses of Norse mythology. In "Ulvinde," as elsewhere on Mareridt, Bruun is writing music about controlling her own fate. In another person's hands, this song could be mythopoetic escapism. With Bruun's voice it is a prescription: Go into the wild, take an evil sound, bend it to a positive end.

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from Open Culture

People Who Swear Are More Honest Than Those Who Don’t, Finds a New University Study
A study published last year with the cheeky title “Frankly, We Do Give a Damn: The Relationship Between Profanity and Honesty,” notes, “the consistent findings across the studies suggest that the positive relation between profanity and honesty is robust, and that relationship found at the individual level indeed translates to the society level.” It’s true, some research shows that people who swear may be likely to violate other social norms, god bless ‘em, but they are also less likely to lie during police interrogations.

Watch 50 Hours of Nature Soundscapes from the BBC: Scientifically Proven to Ease Stress and Promote Happiness & Awe

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from The Oregonian (oregonlive.com)

OHSU scientist successfully modifies DNA in human embryos, report says
An Oregon scientist known for breaking barriers has done it again, successfully modifying DNA in human embryos, according to a report in Technology Review. Shoukhrat Mitalipov of Oregon Health & Science University targeted a gene associated with a human disease, surpassing work done in China, the report said.

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from The Spokesman-Review

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from Tribal Tribune (Nespelem, WA)

A new program from the Colville Tribes’ Youth Development is aiming to pair knowledge keepers with youth in order to study the relationship of places on both the tribes’ reservation lands and in traditional territories around the region. Monday, Colville tribal member Doug Marconi Jr. guided a group of tribal youth on a tour that ran from Nespelem to Gold Lake, Gold Lake to Moses Meadows and Moses Meadows to Lost Creek. Along the way, the group made stops at each location and a few in-between to discuss the importance of the place.

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from The Washington Post

If you could ‘design’ your own child, would you?
Human gene editing has just become possible. Are we ready for the consequences?
Scientists in Portland, Ore., just succeeded in creating the first genetically modified human embryo in the United States, according to Technology Review. A team led by Shoukhrat Mitalipov of Oregon Health & Science University is reported to “have broken new ground both in the number of embryos experimented upon and by demonstrating that it is possible to safely and efficiently correct defective genes that cause inherited diseases.”

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