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from Competitive Enterprise Institute
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS
The Obama-era Environmental Protection Agency cranked out so many bad major rules that it was hard to pay attention to all the also-bad, but relatively small, rules. One such measure set emissions standards for wood heaters. Thankfully, the Trump administration has proposed some useful revisions. As discussed previously, wood heaters are the most economical source of heat for many low-income households in rural America, and their manufacturers are important employers in the small towns where most are based. EPA’s emissions restrictions had two steps—the first reduced emissions by 90 percent beginning in 2015, and the second would go after most of the remaining emissions in 2020. It’s the 2020 standards that are proving to be a big problem.
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from Le Monde diplomatique in English
Paris-based monthly paper
Moqtada al-Sadr, Iraq’s savvy strategist
The populist, Islamist, Shia leader is not just looking for short-term gains. He’s playing the long game. He appears to be bridging the gap between the need to be seen as a strong populist and nationalist, while managing reasonable relations in the region and internationally. To paraphrase another senior Iraqi politician, he understands that a nationalist cannot be an isolationist and must accept outside influence – but not outside interference. Not from Iran, and not from Washington. He is willing to parlay and ally with outside forces, but on his terms, not theirs. So Washington will have to determine a more robust policy than merely ‘speaking to Sadrists’ for any alliance to develop.
The populist, Islamist, Shia leader is not just looking for short-term gains. He’s playing the long game. He appears to be bridging the gap between the need to be seen as a strong populist and nationalist, while managing reasonable relations in the region and internationally. To paraphrase another senior Iraqi politician, he understands that a nationalist cannot be an isolationist and must accept outside influence – but not outside interference. Not from Iran, and not from Washington. He is willing to parlay and ally with outside forces, but on his terms, not theirs. So Washington will have to determine a more robust policy than merely ‘speaking to Sadrists’ for any alliance to develop.
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from The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper in Spokane, Washington
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Airbnb Rejects Rumors Israeli Settlement Ban Was Lifted
Airbnb, the internet accommodation-finding service for travelers, refuted earlier reports that the company had lifted its ban on listing properties in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying the reports were "inaccurate." "The reports issued earlier today are inaccurate," the company said in a Monday statement. Last month, Airbnb announced it would no longer list housing in Israeli settlements in the West Bank on its website, saying it believes "companies should not profit on lands where people have been displaced."
Mount Sinai Where Moses Met God Could Be Located in Saudi Arabia - Scholar
While the historicity of the Bible remains a thorny issue, many are still trying to match biblical descriptions with real figures and place-names. The holy Mt. Sinai, for instance, has been identified in various locations, including several on the Sinai Peninsula, as well as in the Negev Desert and Jordan. Dr Charles Whittaker alleges that the biblical Mount Sinai, the sacred site where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God in the Book of Exodus, is actually located in Saudi Arabia, east of the Sinai Peninsula. He claims in a dissertation that Jabal al Lawz, a 2,580-metre peak in northwest Saudi Arabia, fits the description of the scriptural Mount Sinai "better than other" contenders.
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from Sputnik
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, MIXED, Broadcasting & Media Production Company out of Moscow, Russia
Airbnb, the internet accommodation-finding service for travelers, refuted earlier reports that the company had lifted its ban on listing properties in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying the reports were "inaccurate." "The reports issued earlier today are inaccurate," the company said in a Monday statement. Last month, Airbnb announced it would no longer list housing in Israeli settlements in the West Bank on its website, saying it believes "companies should not profit on lands where people have been displaced."
While the historicity of the Bible remains a thorny issue, many are still trying to match biblical descriptions with real figures and place-names. The holy Mt. Sinai, for instance, has been identified in various locations, including several on the Sinai Peninsula, as well as in the Negev Desert and Jordan. Dr Charles Whittaker alleges that the biblical Mount Sinai, the sacred site where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God in the Book of Exodus, is actually located in Saudi Arabia, east of the Sinai Peninsula. He claims in a dissertation that Jabal al Lawz, a 2,580-metre peak in northwest Saudi Arabia, fits the description of the scriptural Mount Sinai "better than other" contenders.
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from Vox
The case against billionaire philanthropy
A philosopher explains how megadonors can undermine democracy.
These days, when philanthropists announce massive donations, they are hailed as heroes. “With one stunning gesture, Bill Gates has moved from the realm of boy genius to real mensch,” one philanthropist told the New York Times as Gates began donating billions to his foundation in 1998. When Warren Buffett announced he’d give his fortune to Gates to disperse, Fortune’s Carol Loomis called the move “typical Buffett: rational, original, breaking the mold of how extremely rich people donate money.” Just this past month, when Michael Bloomberg gave $1.8 billion to implement need-blind admissions at his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, he received rapturous praise from bigwigs in higher ed. It was not always this way. When John D. Rockefeller in 1909 proposed the Rockefeller Foundation, he encountered fearsome opposition. Former President Teddy Roosevelt and then-President William Howard Taft denounced the idea, with Roosevelt declaring, “No amount of charities in spending such fortunes can compensate in any way for the misconduct in acquiring them.”
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]
A philosopher explains how megadonors can undermine democracy.
These days, when philanthropists announce massive donations, they are hailed as heroes. “With one stunning gesture, Bill Gates has moved from the realm of boy genius to real mensch,” one philanthropist told the New York Times as Gates began donating billions to his foundation in 1998. When Warren Buffett announced he’d give his fortune to Gates to disperse, Fortune’s Carol Loomis called the move “typical Buffett: rational, original, breaking the mold of how extremely rich people donate money.” Just this past month, when Michael Bloomberg gave $1.8 billion to implement need-blind admissions at his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, he received rapturous praise from bigwigs in higher ed. It was not always this way. When John D. Rockefeller in 1909 proposed the Rockefeller Foundation, he encountered fearsome opposition. Former President Teddy Roosevelt and then-President William Howard Taft denounced the idea, with Roosevelt declaring, “No amount of charities in spending such fortunes can compensate in any way for the misconduct in acquiring them.”
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