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 | February 6, 2015 |
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| POLITICAL NEWS |
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Washington Post: Critics Pounce After Obama Talks Crusades, Slavery At Prayer Breakfast
President Obama has never been one to go easy on America. As a new president, he dismissed the idea of American exceptionalism, noting that Greeks think their country is special, too. He labeled the Bush-era interrogation practices, euphemistically called “harsh” for years, as torture. America, he has suggested, has much to answer given its history in Latin America and the Middle East. His latest challenge came Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast. At a time of global anxiety over Islamist terrorism, Obama noted pointedly that his fellow Christians, who make up a vast majority of Americans, should perhaps not be the ones who cast the first stone. “Humanity has been grappling with these questions throughout human history,” he told the group, speaking of the tension between the compassionate and murderous acts religion can inspire. “And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ.” Read more..
ABC News: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's Administration Facing New Criminal Investigation
Federal authorities have launched a criminal investigation into New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, as well as members of his administration, a man at the center of the investigation told ABC News. The U.S. attorney’s office in New Jersey has interviewed former Hunterdon County Assistant Prosecutor Bennett Barlyn, who claims he was fired because he objected to Christie officials dismissing indictments against political allies of the governor. Barlyn confirmed the investigation to ABC News. It was first reported by the International Business Times. “It is true,” Barlyn told ABC News, saying he was interviewed by federal authorities at his Pennsylvania home this week. “I also provided the investigators with names of people I thought could furnish firsthand information.” Read more..
BuzzFeed: Aaron Schock Adviser Resigns Over Racially-Charged Comments On Facebook
A senior policy adviser to Republican Rep. Aaron Schock of Illinois made more racially charged comments on Facebook than previously reported, according to posts obtained by BuzzFeed News. Benjamin Cole, who serves as a senior adviser for policy and communications to Schock, said a mosque should be built on the White House grounds for President Obama and said he was doing “[his] absolute best” to put “as many Black Criminals who live and loiter on [his] street behind bars.” The website Think Progress reported Thursday on other racially charged comments from Cole. The website in one instance showed a Facebook post from Cole, which had a video allegedly showing a black woman arguing with someone off the screen. “So apparently the closing of the National Zoo has forced the animals to conduct their mating rituals on my street. #gentrifytoday Pt. 1,” Cole wrote in that post in 2013. Cole resigned Thursday following the revelations. Read more..
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| ISLAMIC STATE LATEST |
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NBC News: U.S. Repositions Rescue Teams Closer To Syria After ISIS Killing
U.S. search-and-rescue teams have been moving to northern Iraq after the killing of a Jordanian pilot who was burned to death in an ISIS video, U.S. officials said Thursday, a day after NBC News reported that the United Arab Emirates had suspended all combat air missions over Syria because of inadequate rescue capability. ... The UAE is part of a coalition with Jordan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia that has conducted 79 airstrikes in Syria. U.S. officials said the UAE military wanted search-and-rescue assets in northern Iraq — which could include combat air cover, helicopters and Osprey tilt-rotor helicopters — moved closer to Syria. Read more..
BBC: Female Jihadist 'Guide' To Life Under ISIS
Just what exactly is life like for a female jihadist living amongst the extremists of Islamic State (IS)? A lengthy treatise has been published online in Arabic by female IS supporters in Iraq and Syria, calling themselves the Khansaa Brigades. Aimed primarily at attracting female recruits from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, it sets out to answer questions and debunk myths. Now it has been translated into English and published by the London-based counter-extremism think-tank, Quilliam. "It is considered legitimate," says the document, "for a girl to be married at the age of nine." "Most pure girls," it adds, "will be married by 16 or 17". From this time onwards she should remain hidden from view, supporting the Caliphate from behind closed doors. Women, it says, should not be backward, in fact they should be educated, especially about all aspects of the Islamic religion, but only from the ages of seven to 15.Read more..
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| POPE FRANCIS TO ADDRESS CONGRESS & OTHER STORIES FOR THIS FRIDAY MORNING... |
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TIME: Pope Francis To Address U.S. Congress
Pope Francis will become the first leader of the Catholic church to address the United States Congress. Francis will stop off in the Capitol on Sept. 24 during his week-long tour of the U.S., and speak to a joint session of Congress. House Speaker John Boehner announced the news in a Thursday morning tweet. ... Along with his visit to the Capitol, Pope Francis will be making stops at the White House, the U.N. General Assembly and Ground Zero in New York City, among other destinations. He is set to be in the United States from September 22-27. Read more..
WSJ: Investigators Eye China In Anthem Data Breach
Investigators see links to China as they probe a data breach in which tens of millions of Social Security numbers were taken from Anthem Inc., the second largest U.S. health insurer. The probe, which includes teams from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and FireEyeInc., remains in its early stages. Anthem discovered the incident last week. But people close to the investigation say some of the software and techniques used are similar to tools used almost exclusively in attacks linked to China. The malicious code is part of a software family researchers call “Sakula,” which has been linked to China in the past, they said. The hackers appear to be after personal information, such as Social Security numbers, and not financial information, like credit cards. Anthem said credit-card information, and medical information, weren’t at risk from the hack, in which 80 million customer records were exposed. Read more..
USA Today: Amy Pascal To Exit As Sony Co-Chairman
The Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chairman, who green-lit a Hollywood hurricane known as The Interview, which tipped off one of the largest corporate hacking scandals in history, is leaving her position in May. Pascal isn't going far: The executive will launch "a major new production venture" at the studio, according to a statement Sony sent to USA TODAY. "I have spent almost my entire professional life at Sony Pictures and I am energized to be starting this new chapter based at the company I call home," said Pascal in a statement. "I have always wanted to be a producer." Read more..
Washington Post: Harvard Formally Bans Sexual Relationships Between Professors And Undergrads
Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences now formally bans sexual relationships between professors and undergraduate students. That’s not because they think there’s all kinds of professor-student dating on campus: The professor who led the panel that wrote the policy said she has never heard of it happening, in years of studying and teaching at Harvard. The new policy is there just to clarify that it would not be okay. “We’re using this opportunity to reaffirm our priorities as teachers,” said Alison Johnson, a Harvard history professor, “and to imagine what we’re seeing when we’re looking at these students, and what we’re not seeing. We’re not seeing potential romantic partners. We are seeing students.” Read more..
The Daily Beast: Twitter CEO: ‘We Suck’ At Stopping Abuse
Twitter CEO Dick Costolo took personal responsibility Monday for the site’s chronic problem with harassment and abuse, letting employees know in an internal memo that Twitter will soon be taking stronger action to get rid of trolls. “We suck at dealing with abuse and trolls on the platform and we’ve sucked at it for years,” Costolo wrote. “It’s no secret and the rest of the world talks about it every day. We lose core user after core user by not addressing simple trolling issues that they face every day.” He added, “We’re going to start kicking these people off right and left and making sure that when they issue their ridiculous attacks, nobody hears them.” Read more..
Washington Post: Jury Screening Begins In Case Of Chris Kyle’s Accused Killer
Potential jurors were gathering in Texas on Thursday in advance of the trial of Eddie Ray Routh, the Iraq War veteran accused of fatally shooting Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle at a gun range in 2013. Routh will be tried in district court in Stephenville, about 80 miles southwest of Fort Worth. Kyle’s life and military career are the focus of the Oscar-nominated blockbuster “American Sniper,” based on his best-selling memoir. Kyle is considered to be the deadliest sniper in American military history and has a celebrated (and somewhat controversial) legacy. Read more..
NBC News: RadioShack Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy After Years Of Losses
Struggling electronics retailer RadioShack on Thursday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and says it will sell up to 2,400 stores. The Fort Worth, Texas, company has suffered from years of losses. RadioShack Corp. introduced the first mass-market personal computer and used to be the go-to stop for consumers' home electronics needs. But it struggled as shoppers increasingly shifted to making purchases online and growth in its wireless business slowed. The New York Stock Exchange suspended trading of its shares on Monday and sought to delist it. RadioShack had warned of a possible bankruptcy in September, but received rescue financing that kept it afloat. Still, its CEO recently cautioned the chain might not be able to find a long-term plan to stay in business. Read more..
Washington Post: Robert Mugabe Fell Over, Tried To Hide It And Ended Up Becoming A Meme
Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwe president and recently elected chairman of the African Union (A.U.), was in Harare on Wednesday to give a speech. As he walked down from the podium, he appeared to trip and fall. It was caught on film. For a 90-year-old man, a trip is understandable. What's less easy to understand is what happened next: Zimbabwe's government issued a denial. ‘’Nobody has shown any evidence of the president having fallen down because that did not happen," Information Minister Jonathan Moyo told the state-owned Zimbabwe Herald, before offering a more obtuse explanation. "The hump on which the president tripped was formed by two pieces of the carpet which apparently had not been laid out properly where they joined. And to be honest with you, even Jesus, let alone you, would have also tripped in that kind of situation." Read more..
CBS News: Could Working At A Treadmill Desk Make You Smarter?
It's been said that "sitting is the new smoking" -- and an increasing number of office workers are quitting cold turkey. Swapping your chair for a treadmill desk can rev up activity levels and counteract the health risks of a sedentary lifestyle. But some workers -- not to mention their bosses -- have wondered whether it's really possible to focus on the job effectively while working out at the same time. Now a new study may lay that concern to rest. Researchers say working at a treadmill desk appears to be good for your mental sharpness as well as your physique. The study, published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, found that people who read and checked email at a treadmill desk did better on tests of their memory and attention. Read more..
NYT: No, More Running Probably Isn’t Bad for You
Don’t run less hard. Don’t run less often. Don’t run less distance. And don’t be persuaded by underpowered medical studies — a habit that really could harm your health. I say this in response to a recent study suggesting that too much strenuous jogging shortens your life. The conclusions, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, have received wide attention this week. In fact, the main thing the study shows is that small samples yield unreliable estimates that cannot be reliably discerned from the effects of chance. And the main thing the reaction shows is that perhaps we are all a bit too quick to believe medical studies that tell us what we want to hear. The study doesn’t change what the weight of the evidence shows: Most Americans need to worry about exercising too little, not too much, and it’s not clear that any substantial number of people are harming their health by running too much. Read more..
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