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from The Conversation US
Media/News Company in Boston
Is it unethical to give your cat catnip?
As the Christmas season gets underway thoughts turn to buying gifts for the entire family. For some, companion animals are on the gift list, particularly cats and dogs who share our homes and hearts. Whether they’ve been naughty or nice matters not, as the more than US$1 billion pet toy industry has everything from the whimsical to practical to keep Fluffy and Spot occupied and caretakers entertained. Many of the go-to items for cats contain catnip. This herb, which goes by the botanical name of Nepeta cataria, induces changes in cat behavior. In my view, it’s worth considering whether giving a mood-altering substance to a pet is ethical.
As the Christmas season gets underway thoughts turn to buying gifts for the entire family. For some, companion animals are on the gift list, particularly cats and dogs who share our homes and hearts. Whether they’ve been naughty or nice matters not, as the more than US$1 billion pet toy industry has everything from the whimsical to practical to keep Fluffy and Spot occupied and caretakers entertained. Many of the go-to items for cats contain catnip. This herb, which goes by the botanical name of Nepeta cataria, induces changes in cat behavior. In my view, it’s worth considering whether giving a mood-altering substance to a pet is ethical.
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from HumanProgress.org Education Website
Ausubel: We Must Make Nature Worthless
High incomes, great longevity, and large population concentrations have been achieved in every class of environment on Earth. We manufacture computers in hot, dry Phoenix and cool, wet Portland. We perform heart surgery in humid Houston and snowy Cleveland. Year round we grow flowers in the Netherlands and vegetables in Belgium. The metro in Budapest runs regardless of the mud that slowed Hungarians for a thousand years. In Berlin and Bangkok we work in climate-controlled office buildings. We have insulated travel, communications, energy generation, food availability, and almost all major social functions from all but the most extreme environmental conditions of temperature and wind, light and dark, moisture, tides, and seasons.
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from Orthodox Christianity - orthochristian.com
Organization in Moscow, Russia
Address of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, December 17, 2018
+ ONUPHRY, METROPOLITAN OF KIEV AND ALL UKRAINE
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from The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper in Spokane, Washington
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FBI Memo Implies Dossier on Trump Russian Collusion Funded by Clinton
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released a two-page summary the agency used to brief Obama and Trump on the so-called Russian Dossier. On Friday, the FBI declassified a part of a memo it used to brief then-US President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump on the so-called Russian dossier compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele — the very dossier that put forward the notorious "golden shower" allegations against Trump. The memo has been declassified in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by a Politico reporter. The interesting part is that the memo excerpt remains vague as to who paid for the dossier, saying it was sponsored by "private clients." The Republicans and Trump himself have repeatedly bashed the agency for obfuscating the fact that the dossier was paid for by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee, according to Politico's report.
‘Creepy Porn Lawyer’ Michael Avenatti Now Representing Ukraine Collusion Suspect
Michael Avenatti, the infamous attorney whose failure in court led to his client, adult film actress Stormy Daniels, being forced to fork up nearly $300,000 in legal fees to President Donald Trump, is now representing yet another political opponent of the president: one Alexandra Chalupa. Avenatti, who has been dubbed the "creepy porn lawyer" by conservative media, also represented Julie Swetnick, a woman who alleged that Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh had participated in a gang rape of her (a claim that was never substantiated). Chalupa was revealed as a key player in the Ukrainian government's interference in the US presidential elections of 2016. She was a little-known figure until a Politico investigation entitled "Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump backfire" was published in January 2017, revealing her role in the meddling campaign.
Clashes Erupt in Al Hudaydah Minutes After Ceasefire Took Effect - Reports
A ceasefire between the Yemeni government forces and the Houthi movement in the port city of Al Hudaydah officially came into force at midnight on Tuesday, Arab media reported, citing UN sources. The ceasefire was agreed upon by the warring sides during the UN-led consultations in Sweden earlier in December. In a process overseen by a UN-chaired committee, troops from both sides are supposed to withdraw from the entire area. The sides to the Yemeni conflict also agreed to exchange war prisoners and establish humanitarian corridors in Hudaydah. Meanwhile, a pro-government official told AFP that sporadic clashes have erupted minutes after a ceasefire deal took effect in the country's port city of Al Hudaydah.
Creation of Kosovo Army Violates UN Security Council Resolution - Russian Envoy
Russia regrets that the European Union has failed to adequately respond to Kosovo's decision to transform the Kosovo Security Force into a national army, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council on Monday. "We've been very disappointed by the position of the European Union. On the one hand, it claims to play the role of an objective mediator," Nebenzia told the Security Council on Monday. "On the other hand, it disregards the illegal creation of the Kosovo army. The reaction of the EU to the latest decision of Pristine can only be called toothless." Moreover, the decision to transform the existing security forces in Kosovo into an army is in blatant violation on UN Security Council resolution 1244, Nebenzia said.
US Stocks Dive Again, Worst December Since Great Depression Projected
Stocks plummeted once again on Monday, driven largely by fears the Federal Reserve is planning to raise interest rates later this week. At this rate, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 are on track for their worst December since the Great Depression in 1931. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 505.56 points on Monday, a decline of 2.10 percent; and the S&P 500 fell by 2.5 percent to its lowest level of the year at 2,530.6. The stocks of UnitedHealth, Johnson & Johnson and Goldman Sachs and Amazon helped drag the markets lower. Microsoft's stocks declined by 3.6 percent.
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from Sputnik
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, MIXED, Broadcasting & Media Production Company out of Moscow, Russia
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released a two-page summary the agency used to brief Obama and Trump on the so-called Russian Dossier. On Friday, the FBI declassified a part of a memo it used to brief then-US President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump on the so-called Russian dossier compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele — the very dossier that put forward the notorious "golden shower" allegations against Trump. The memo has been declassified in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by a Politico reporter. The interesting part is that the memo excerpt remains vague as to who paid for the dossier, saying it was sponsored by "private clients." The Republicans and Trump himself have repeatedly bashed the agency for obfuscating the fact that the dossier was paid for by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee, according to Politico's report.
Michael Avenatti, the infamous attorney whose failure in court led to his client, adult film actress Stormy Daniels, being forced to fork up nearly $300,000 in legal fees to President Donald Trump, is now representing yet another political opponent of the president: one Alexandra Chalupa. Avenatti, who has been dubbed the "creepy porn lawyer" by conservative media, also represented Julie Swetnick, a woman who alleged that Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh had participated in a gang rape of her (a claim that was never substantiated). Chalupa was revealed as a key player in the Ukrainian government's interference in the US presidential elections of 2016. She was a little-known figure until a Politico investigation entitled "Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump backfire" was published in January 2017, revealing her role in the meddling campaign.
A ceasefire between the Yemeni government forces and the Houthi movement in the port city of Al Hudaydah officially came into force at midnight on Tuesday, Arab media reported, citing UN sources. The ceasefire was agreed upon by the warring sides during the UN-led consultations in Sweden earlier in December. In a process overseen by a UN-chaired committee, troops from both sides are supposed to withdraw from the entire area. The sides to the Yemeni conflict also agreed to exchange war prisoners and establish humanitarian corridors in Hudaydah. Meanwhile, a pro-government official told AFP that sporadic clashes have erupted minutes after a ceasefire deal took effect in the country's port city of Al Hudaydah.
Russia regrets that the European Union has failed to adequately respond to Kosovo's decision to transform the Kosovo Security Force into a national army, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council on Monday. "We've been very disappointed by the position of the European Union. On the one hand, it claims to play the role of an objective mediator," Nebenzia told the Security Council on Monday. "On the other hand, it disregards the illegal creation of the Kosovo army. The reaction of the EU to the latest decision of Pristine can only be called toothless." Moreover, the decision to transform the existing security forces in Kosovo into an army is in blatant violation on UN Security Council resolution 1244, Nebenzia said.
US Stocks Dive Again, Worst December Since Great Depression Projected
Stocks plummeted once again on Monday, driven largely by fears the Federal Reserve is planning to raise interest rates later this week. At this rate, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 are on track for their worst December since the Great Depression in 1931. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 505.56 points on Monday, a decline of 2.10 percent; and the S&P 500 fell by 2.5 percent to its lowest level of the year at 2,530.6. The stocks of UnitedHealth, Johnson & Johnson and Goldman Sachs and Amazon helped drag the markets lower. Microsoft's stocks declined by 3.6 percent.
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