Friday, January 23, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/will-death-of-saudi-arabias-king-abdullah-hasten-reform/

Will death of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah hasten reform?
By ALEX ORTIZ CBS NEWS
January 23, 2015

CAIRO -- King Abdullah ibn Abdul Aziz, the monarch who ruled over Saudi Arabia since 2005 as a staunch ally of the United States, has died. He was 90 years old.

A statement read on Saudi national television announced his death late Friday evening and said Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz had been named the new king.

Abdullah will be remembered by some as a cautious reformer who gingerly opened elements of the ultraconservative state and its economy to the modern world. He oversaw Saudi Arabia's accession to the World Trade Organization, was the first Saudi ruler to have presided over elections, and appointed women to high-level government positions.

Abroad, he shepherded the oil-rich country through the regional turmoil of the Iraq War, the Arab Spring, and the rise and spread of extremist jihadi groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS.

But his critics say Abdullah failed to live up to expectations of true reform in an absolute monarchy that brooks no dissent and has enshrined into law one of the most puritanical and extremist strains of Sunni Islam -- a place where women are still banned from driving, capital punishment is delivered in the form of public beheadings, and dissident bloggers are flogged in city squares.

Though crowned a decade ago, Abdullah effectively ran the Saudi Arabian affairs of state going back to 1996, after his half-brother (and former King) Fahd was incapacitated following a stroke.

Under his stewardship, Saudi Arabia grew to play a much larger and more prominent role on the international stage. Using the wealth and influence enabled by his country's 265 billion barrels of oil reserves, Abdullah acted to project Saudi policies across the region and its hotspots, from Libya and Egypt to Yemen and Syria.

Abdullah also reinvested oil wealth in a massive construction program, developing six different economic cities across the Kingdom in an effort to diversify the economy.

And though he worked in concert with the administrations of United States Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama as a key American ally in the Middle East, over the last few years, Abdullah increasingly indicated that the Saudis would pursue their own foreign policy interests and objectives.

His death comes at a time of massive regional turmoil: Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula demonstrated its global reach by striking the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris, the resignation of Yemen's government, and the rise of ISIS.

THE NEW LEADER

The new king, Salman bin Abdul Aziz, has served as defense minister since 2011. Prior to that, he was Riyadh's governor for decades.

Abdullah was the sixth Saudi monarch to rule since his father, King Abdul Aziz Al Saud, founded the nation in 1932. Upon his death, succession passed to his sons, who have kept the throne within the same generation ever since.

But Abdullah's death and Salman's coronation lay the groundwork for the inevitable paradigm shift facing the House of Saud: the eventual transfer of power to the next generation of Saudis.

At 79 years old Salman, is himself no youngster, and is even rumored to suffer from dementia.

In a departure from tradition, Abdullah appointed a deputy crown prince - 69 year-old former head of intelligence Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz.

Though Muqrin stands next-in-line for now, the infamously competitive palace politics of the Saudi court are mercurial and often inscrutable.

But with Saudi Arabia's burgeoning youth population, the major tectonic shifts happening in the region, the slow but steady pace of modernization in a conservative Kingdom, and now, Abdullah's death, one thing is certain: the Kingdom is changing.




“Abdullah will be remembered by some as a cautious reformer who gingerly opened elements of the ultraconservative state and its economy to the modern world. He oversaw Saudi Arabia's accession to the World Trade Organization, was the first Saudi ruler to have presided over elections, and appointed women to high-level government positions. Abroad, he shepherded the oil-rich country through the regional turmoil of the Iraq War, the Arab Spring, and the rise and spread of extremist jihadi groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS. But his critics say Abdullah failed to live up to expectations of true reform in an absolute monarchy that brooks no dissent and has enshrined into law one of the most puritanical and extremist strains of Sunni Islam -- a place where women are still banned from driving, capital punishment is delivered in the form of public beheadings, and dissident bloggers are flogged in city squares.... But Abdullah's death and Salman's coronation lay the groundwork for the inevitable paradigm shift facing the House of Saud: the eventual transfer of power to the next generation of Saudis.... In a departure from tradition, Abdullah appointed a deputy crown prince - 69 year-old former head of intelligence Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz.

Will King Salman continue the liberalizing reforms of Abdullah and maintain ties with the US and other Western countries, or will the country move backward into fundamentalist Islam along with the rest of the Middle East? This article gives no hints about these things. See the BBC profile of King Salman below.


http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30945925

Profile: King Salman of Saudi Arabia
23 January 2015

King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud acceded to the Saudi throne on the death of his half-brother, King Abdullah.

He was governor of Riyadh province for 48 years before becoming defence minister in 2011 and crown prince a year later.

Aged 79 when he came to the throne, he had already taken on the duties of the king as Abdullah's health faded.

….

As governor of Riyadh, he oversaw its transformation from an isolated desert town into a crowded city of skyscrapers, universities and Western fast-food chains.
The post raised his international profile as he hosted visiting VIPs and envoys and helped secure foreign investment.
As defence minister he was head of the Saudi military as it joined the US and other Arab countries in air strikes in Syria in 2014 against the Islamic State militant group.

The BBC's security correspondent, Frank Gardner, says King Salman is not believed to be as personally interested in political or social reform as his predecessor. King Salman's priority will be to maintain stability in Saudi Arabia, he says.

Karen Elliott House, author of a book on Saudi Arabia's political affairs, told the BBC King Salman "has a reputation for being more oriented towards the religious leadership of Saudi Arabia".

"You can assume there will be at least a slight accommodation to their desires for a more rigorous religion in Saudi Arabia," she said.

Other commentators have drawn attention to King Salman's reputation as a mediator within the huge Saudi royal family, with its complex network of competing factions.
This task has become more fraught as the second tier of senior political posts in Saudi Arabia - the control of key ministries and governorships - has passed from the sons to grandsons of the late King Abdulaziz.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-pro-russia-rebels-reject-peace-talks-major-offensive-donetsk/

Ukraine rebels hint at major offensive
CBS/AP
January 23, 2015

DONETSK, Ukraine -- Signs emerged Friday pointing to a major offensive in eastern Ukraine by rebels fighting to break off from the rest of the country.

A rebel leader said his forces would continue to fight and wouldn't join further peace talks, as Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the deteriorating security situation squarely on Ukrainian leaders in Kiev.

NATO said it has indications that a major rebel offensive is coming, due to heavy weapons moving in from Russia as they have prior to previous rebel pushes. Meanwhile, the U.N. human rights agency said the overall death toll in the conflict had risen above 5,000 as fighting escalates.

Separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko said rebel fighters would continue to fight for more territory, and were advancing in five directions to push back Ukrainian government forces to the limits of the eastern Donetsk region.

"Attempts to talk about a cease-fire will no longer be undertaken by our side," Zakharchenko said.

Any rebel advances would further undermine a tentative peace deal forged this week in Berlin at a meeting of foreign ministers from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany. Those negotiations concluded with an agreement to uphold a demarcation line defined in September after talks in the Belarusian capital, Minsk.

The plan calls for Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists to pull back their heavy arms 9 miles on either side of the line, though there was no agreement on a withdrawal of troops.

According to the Reuters news agency, Putin said in Moscow that officials in Kiev "have given an official order to start large-scale military operations practically throughout the whole line of contact. The result is tens of killed and wounded, not only among the military on both sides but... among civilians."

"Those who give these criminal orders are responsible," he told state officials in televised remarks.

The urgency for a fresh settlement peaked over the weekend as battles intensified over control over the airport on the northern edge of the separatist stronghold of Donetsk. Clashes culminated with rebels taking control over the terminal, although fighting is continuing in nearby settlements.

Separatist officials said Ukrainian forces were still targeting the airport.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko appeared Thursday to still be holding out hope for a new cease-fire, but said stern retribution would await anybody violating the peace.

"If the enemy doesn't want to abide by the cease-fire, if he doesn't want to put an end to the suffering of peaceful people, Ukrainian villages and town, we will smash them in the teeth," Poroshenko told a meeting of top defense officials.




“NATO said it has indications that a major rebel offensive is coming, due to heavy weapons moving in from Russia as they have prior to previous rebel pushes. Meanwhile, the U.N. human rights agency said the overall death toll in the conflict had risen above 5,000 as fighting escalates. Separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko said rebel fighters would continue to fight for more territory, and were advancing in five directions to push back Ukrainian government forces to the limits of the eastern Donetsk region. "Attempts to talk about a cease-fire will no longer be undertaken by our side," Zakharchenko said.... According to the Reuters news agency, Putin said in Moscow that officials in Kiev "have given an official order to start large-scale military operations practically throughout the whole line of contact. The result is tens of killed and wounded, not only among the military on both sides but... among civilians."... "If the enemy doesn't want to abide by the cease-fire, if he doesn't want to put an end to the suffering of peaceful people, Ukrainian villages and town, we will smash them in the teeth," Poroshenko told a meeting of top defense officials.

Poroshenko seems a mite riled up! I hope he does remain resolute, because I don't want to see Russia take over the whole country of Ukraine an inch at a time. Ukraine isn't the only former Russian nation who fear their incursion. A new onslaught on European freedoms is not unlikely, and would be terrible. I remember the Cold War, and don't want to see it again.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/video-california-cop-tries-to-push-man-in-wheelchair-into-street/

VIDEO: Calif. cop tries to push man in wheelchair into street
By CRIMESIDER STAFF CBS/AP
January 22, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - A San Francisco, Calif. police officer was captured on video allegedly trying to shove a paralyzed, wheelchair-bound man off a curb face first into the street following a confrontation, reports CBS San Francisco.

The incident happened Sunday around 4 p.m. in the city's Visitacion Valley neighborhood as other officers looked on, according to the station.
The man in the wheelchair had reportedly just confronted police officers at a street corner as they were detaining a relative of his and another man. An officer then began attempting to shove the wheelchair-bound man, DeVaughn Frierson, off the curb, reports the station.
In the video, which was uploaded to Facebook, Frierson doesn't fall out of his chair only because he appears to be strapped in. Moments later, another man, Edwardo Delacruz, is seen running up to Frierson to prevent the officer from continuing his actions.
"This incident is being investigated by the SFPD Internal Affairs Division and the Office of Citizen Complaints," said San Francisco Police spokeswoman Officer Grace Gatpandan in a statement to CBS San Francisco. "Because this is an employee investigation, we cannot discuss the details of this case."
According to Gatpandan, prior to the incident, officers were patrolling the area when they noticed a couple people engaged in an argument.
The officers approached them and cited three people for possession of open containers of alcohol and one person for obstructing an officer, Gatpandan said, according to the station.




“In the video, which was uploaded to Facebook, Frierson doesn't fall out of his chair only because he appears to be strapped in. Moments later, another man, Edwardo Delacruz, is seen running up to Frierson to prevent the officer from continuing his actions. "This incident is being investigated by the SFPD Internal Affairs Division and the Office of Citizen Complaints," said San Francisco Police spokeswoman Officer Grace Gatpandan in a statement to CBS San Francisco. "Because this is an employee investigation, we cannot discuss the details of this case."

Some of the stories I see about police abuse of citizens make it clear to me that there are police officers still working and dealing with the public who are simply not psychologically normal. The officer in this story is one of those. Not only should he be fired, but compelled to undergo mental health treatment or jailed. The other really shocking case that comes to mind was the videotape last year of a California Highway Patrol officer who beats a homeless woman badly even while she is lying on the ground. Her crime was that she had walked out into the far right traffic lane on a 6 lane highway. Why didn't he grab her by the arm and pull her out of the highway? He could then have handcuffed her if he wanted to charge her with impeding traffic, or whatever the charge for that is. This is another of those stories that just doesn't make sense, and underscores the need for police officers to undergo and pass psychological testing to weed out the ones who are sadists.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-francis-walks-back-remark-about-catholics-breeding-like-rabbits/

Pope change his mind on breeding "like rabbits"?
By ANNA MATRANGA CBS NEWS
January 21, 2015

ROME -- During his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis sought Wednesday to clarify remarks he made earlier in the week which suggested Catholics should limit the number of children they have, if they can't afford to take care of them properly.

Aboard the papal plane from Manila to Rome on Monday, the Pope spoke of his disapproval of a woman who was expecting her eighth child.

"Does she want to leave seven orphans?" asked the pontiff, wondering aloud whether she was trying to tempt god by undergoing an eighth birth by cesarean section.

Using the colorful language that has become his hallmark, the Pope said being a good Catholic did not mean people should breed "like rabbits," and added that there were many church-approved ways to limit births without resourcing to contraceptives, which are banned by the Catholic Church.

Wednesday, he seemed to pull back from that statement. Speaking of his recent trip to the Philippines, where he presided over the largest mass in history, he said "it gives consolation and hope to see so many numerous families who receive children as a real gift of God. They know that every child is a benediction."

He called "simplistic" the belief that large families were the cause of poverty, blaming it instead on an unjust economic system. "We can all say that the principal cause of poverty is an economic system that has removed the person from the center, and put the god of money there instead."

Mons. Anthony Figueiredo, a theologian and Director of the North American Pontifical College in Rome, said the two statements are not contradictory.

"When the Pope speaks on the plane, he is speaking as a pastor to ordinary people," said Figueiredo, who is a CBS News consultant. "When he comes back, he wants to speak as Pope."

The Monsignor said that while some Popes have put doctrine first, Francis puts the person first.

"It's a risky business, there is no doubt about it; because when you begin with the person, everyone has their own way of hearing it."

Putting Pope Francis squarely into any category can be difficult.

Speaking to reporters during Francis' trip to the Philippines, Archbishop of Manila Luis Antonio Tagle said that when he's asked whether the pope is a liberal or a conservative, he responds simply: "he is who he is."




“During his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis sought Wednesday to clarify remarks he made earlier in the week which suggested Catholics should limit the number of children they have, if they can't afford to take care of them properly. Aboard the papal plane from Manila to Rome on Monday, the Pope spoke of his disapproval of a woman who was expecting her eighth child. "Does she want to leave seven orphans?" asked the pontiff, wondering aloud whether she was trying to tempt god by undergoing an eighth birth by cesarean section.... added that there were many church-approved ways to limit births without resourcing to contraceptives... He called "simplistic" the belief that large families were the cause of poverty, blaming it instead on an unjust economic system. "We can all say that the principal cause of poverty is an economic system that has removed the person from the center, and put the god of money there instead."... The Monsignor said that while some Popes have put doctrine first, Francis puts the person first.... Speaking to reporters during Francis' trip to the Philippines, Archbishop of Manila Luis Antonio Tagle said that when he's asked whether the pope is a liberal or a conservative, he responds simply: "he is who he is."

I think the Pope is an original and pragmatic thinker who has ended up as Pope. He views doctrine as something that should be interpreted, and interpret it he will. Sometimes that will probably make him a liberal, and others a conservative. He still stands by the church's ban on artificial birth control and abortion. See the article below on the USA conservative view of the Pope.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-francis-deepens-rift-with-u-s-conservatives-with-his-stance-on-the-environment/

Pope Francis deepens rift with U.S. conservatives
AP January 19, 2015

NEW YORK - Conservative distrust of Pope Francis, which has been building in the U.S. throughout his pontificate, is reaching a boiling point over his plan to urge action on climate change - and to do so through a document traditionally used for the most important papal teachings.

For months, Francis has been drafting an encyclical on the environment and global warming which he hopes to release by June or July. Encyclicals are written with the help of a small group of advisers working under strict secrecy. But in a news conference as he traveled last week to the Philippines, Francis gave his strongest signal yet of the direction he'll take.

He said global warming was "mostly" man-made. And he said he wanted his encyclical out in plenty of time to be absorbed before the next round of U.N. climate change talks in Paris in November after the last round in Lima, Peru, failed to reach an agreement.

"I don't know if it (human activity) is the only cause, but mostly, in great part, it is man who has slapped nature in the face," Francis said. "We have in a sense taken over nature."

Even before these remarks, several conservative U.S. commentators had been pre-emptively attacking the encyclical. At Investor's Business Daily, Forbes and TownHall.com, writers had accused the pope of adopting a radical environmental agenda.

"Pope Francis - and I say this as a Catholic - is a complete disaster when it comes to his public policy pronouncements," wrote Steve Moore, chief economist of The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. "On the economy, and even more so on the environment, the pope has allied himself with the far left and has embraced an ideology that would make people poorer and less free."

At the website of the Catholic journal First Things, a blogger accused the pope of promoting "theologized propaganda" on conservation - a post the journal's editor later disavowed - and published guidance by prominent Catholic thinker Robert George about what should be considered authoritative in an encyclical and what could be ignored.

"For the most part, they are conservatives who have criticized other Catholics in the past for disagreeing with definitive statements in papal encyclicals," said David Cloutier, a theologian at Mount St. Mary's University in Maryland who specializes in the environment. "They're scared that the document is going to say something definitive that they can't agree with. That will put them in a very difficult situation."

While Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI took strong stands in favor of environmental protection, Francis will be the first to address climate change in such a significant way. He will be doing so following a series of sermons, interviews and writings that have unsettled American conservatives accustomed to hearing many of their priorities - on abortion and marriage especially - echoed loudly from Rome.

Francis' strong and frequent denunciations of the global financial system and trickle-down economic theories prompted fiery radio host Rush Limbaugh to call the pope's economic views "pure Marxism." The pontiff has said he is simply quoting church teaching on helping the poor.

After Francis helped normalize U.S. relations with Cuba, Sen. Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American and Florida Republican who opposed detente, said he would "ask His Holiness to take up the cause of freedom and democracy."

By tackling climate change, Francis is marching through yet another U.S. partisan minefield and taking a position abhorrent to many Republicans. Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to consider climate-change real and largely man-made. While about a quarter of Republicans or Republican-leaning independents agree, the rest blame natural patterns, say not enough is known or insist warming is not occurring at all, according to the Pew Research Center. In the new Republican-controlled Senate, Sen. James Inhofe, who has called global warming a "hoax," has been chosen by fellow Republicans as head of the Environment and Public Works Committee.

"What they're worried about is the solution," said Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication. "Climate change is the ultimate collective-action problem. It's going to require local, state and national policy change, and it's going to require international cooperation, which means the United Nations."

Those on all sides of the debate will be watching for how far the pope will delve into the science around climate change in the body of the encyclical. In a news conference last August, Francis said that since the document is "doctrinal and needs to be certain," less-certain scientific theories could be mentioned in footnotes. But the pope did not offer any examples.

The Rev. James Bretzke, a moral theologian at Boston College, predicts the document will address larger spiritual and moral themes, such as care for God's creation and the poor who are most affected by climate change, along with calls for global cooperation to address the problem.

"The fact of climate change will be accepted and underscored," Bretzke said. "I think it would be a safe bet to suggest that the encyclical will be fairly concrete and specific and that there will likely be some specific ethical calls for action that will cause a certain amount of discomfort to a broad range of various populations - from First World manufacturers to emerging Third World economies such as China."

Francis is due to speak at the United Nations in New York in September where he may press the assembly on global warming before climate change talks begin. He has already urged negotiators to be "courageous."



First Things
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

First Things is an ecumenical journal focused on creating a "religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society".[1] The journal is inter-denominational and inter-religious, representing a broad intellectual tradition of Christian and Jewish critique of contemporary society. Published by the New York-based Institute on Religion and Public Life,[2]it is published monthly, except for bi-monthly issues covering June/July and August/September. Newsweek called First Things "the most important vehicle for exploring the tangled web of religion and society in the English-speaking world."[3]

Founding[edit]

First Things was founded in 1990 by Richard John Neuhaus, a prominent Lutheran minister and writer, who converted to the Catholic Church and entered the priesthood shortly after the journal's founding. Fr. Neuhaus served as the journal's editor-in-chief until his death in 2009 and wrote a regular column called, "The Public Square." He started the journal after his connection with the Rockford Institute was severed.[4]

Influence[edit]

With a circulation of approximately 30,000 subscribers, First Things is considered to be influential in its articulation of a broadly ecumenical and erudite social and political conservatism. George Weigel, a sometime contributor, wrote that after its founding in the early 1990s, First Things "quickly became, under [Neuhaus's] leadership and inspiration, the most important vehicle for exploring the tangled web of religion and society in the English-speaking world."[3] Ross Douthat wrote that, through First Things, Neuhaus demonstrated "that it was possible to be an intellectually fulfilled Christian".[5]

Governance[edit]

The magazine is run by the board of the Institute on Religion and Public Life, whose members include Jewish ethicistDavid Novak, legal scholar Mary Ann Glendon, historian Robert Louis Wilken, and George Weigel.[6] First Things'Advisory Council includes physicist Stephen M. Barr; neoconservative writers Michael Novak and Midge Decter; Jewish scholars David G. Dalin and Eric Cohen, Editor-at-Large of The New Atlantis; historian Wilfred M. McClay; philosophersHadley Arkes and Robert P. George; theologians Timothy George (Baptist), Robert Jenson (Lutheran), Peter Leithart(Presbyterian), and Gilbert Meilaender; and Mark C. Henrie, Chief Academic Officer of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.[6]




“He said global warming was "mostly" man-made. And he said he wanted his encyclical out in plenty of time to be absorbed before the next round of U.N. climate change talks in Paris in November after the last round in Lima, Peru, failed to reach an agreement. "I don't know if it (human activity) is the only cause, but mostly, in great part, it is man who has slapped nature in the face," Francis said. "We have in a sense taken over nature."... At Investor's Business Daily, Forbes and TownHall.com, writers had accused the pope of adopting a radical environmental agenda. "Pope Francis - and I say this as a Catholic - is a complete disaster when it comes to his public policy pronouncements," wrote Steve Moore, chief economist of The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. "On the economy, and even more so on the environment, the pope has allied himself with the far left and has embraced an ideology that would make people poorer and less free."... "For the most part, they are conservatives who have criticized other Catholics in the past for disagreeing with definitive statements in papal encyclicals," said David Cloutier, a theologian at Mount St. Mary's University in Maryland who specializes in the environment. "They're scared that the document is going to say something definitive that they can't agree with. That will put them in a very difficult situation." While Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI took strong stands in favor of environmental protection, Francis will be the first to address climate change in such a significant way. He will be doing so following a series of sermons, interviews and writings that have unsettled American conservatives accustomed to hearing many of their priorities - on abortion and marriage especially - echoed loudly from Rome.... Francis' strong and frequent denunciations of the global financial system and trickle-down economic theories prompted fiery radio host Rush Limbaugh to call the pope's economic views "pure Marxism." The pontiff has said he is simply quoting church teaching on helping the poor. After Francis helped normalize U.S. relations with Cuba, Sen. Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American and Florida Republican who opposed detente, said he would "ask His Holiness to take up the cause of freedom and democracy."... While about a quarter of Republicans or Republican-leaning independents agree, the rest blame natural patterns, say not enough is known or insist warming is not occurring at all, according to the Pew Research Center. In the new Republican-controlled Senate, Sen. James Inhofe, who has called global warming a "hoax," has been chosen by fellow Republicans as head of the Environment and Public Works Committee. "What they're worried about is the solution," said Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication. "Climate change is the ultimate collective-action problem. It's going to require local, state and national policy change, and it's going to require international cooperation, which means the United Nations."... there will likely be some specific ethical calls for action that will cause a certain amount of discomfort to a broad range of various populations - from First World manufacturers to emerging Third World economies such as China."

“The Rev. James Bretzke, a moral theologian at Boston College, predicts the document will address larger spiritual and moral themes, such as care for God's creation and the poor who are most affected by climate change, along with calls for global cooperation to address the problem.” It sounds here as though the world control by multi-billionaire manufacturers and countries such as China who likewise place their absolute control of economic and social matters at the top of the heap of important issues, are more than a little worried by this Pope. Liberal citizens can be fought successfully, but the Pope is really dangerous.

I would like to know how many Catholics worldwide are on the liberal side of social and economic issues. I have heard that most young Catholics actually use birth control nowadays. Most would probably not agree with abortion, however, but hopefully they wouldn't bomb an abortion clinic either. The issue of massive environmental damage due to manufacturing, the burning of coal and oil, factory farming and clearing of the world's large forests is probably another matter, which most educated young people probably agree on. The Republican stance on these issues may be out of their control no matter how much they hate to give in, as young minds are looking toward their personal futures on the earth, and are very involved in trying to preserve our natural environment from further harm. At least I hope so.





http://news.yahoo.com/us-senate-yes-climate-change-real-002229559.html

US Senate: Yes, climate change is real
AFP January 22, 2015

Washington (AFP) - In a surprise move, US Senate Republicans joined Democrats and went on record Wednesday acknowledging that climate change is real.

The symbolic amendment, attached to a controversial bill authorizing construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, was approved 98-1 after Senator James Inhofe, seen as the top climate change denier in Congress, announced he was supporting the legislation.

Inhofe however strongly rejected any suggestion that human activity was responsible for climate change.

The move can be seen as a critical step forward for US lawmakers, but it is not a revolutionary one.

The 16-word measure states: "It is the sense of the Senate that climate change is real and not a hoax."

It makes no mention of the impact of human activity, including the use of fossil fuels, on global warming.

Two other measures attributing climate change to human activity failed to pass the 60-vote threshold in the 100-member Senate, although one got five Republican votes and the other received 14.

"This is a small victory but an important one," Senator Barbara Boxer, top Democrat on the Senate's environmental panel, told reporters.

"It means that there's a softening of the attitude of the deniers. They're losing ground in the face of public opinion."

Senator Brian Schatz, who introduced the failed measure with the most direct attribution of climate change to human activity, said Wednesday's progress "exceeded my expectations."

"There is an emerging bipartisan group of people who believe that climate change is real and caused by humans and solvable," he said.

The measures were introduced by Democrats keen on highlighting differences with some Republicans on the simmering issue of climate policy.

Republicans hold the majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives following November congressional elections.

But with the 2016 presidential race on the horizon, Republican leaders may have agreed to hold votes on the measures now in order to avoid potentially embarrassing climate votes in the midst of a White House race.

Applause rippled through the chamber when Inhofe declared he was co-sponsoring the measure saying climate change is not a hoax.

"Climate always changed," Inhofe said, noting there was archaeological, historic and "biblical evidence" of that.

"The hoax is, that there are some people who think they are so arrogant to think that they are so powerful that they can change the climate. Man can't change climate," Inhofe insisted.

During his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Barack Obama chided Republicans for refusing to acknowledge scientific conclusions that human activity is impacting the climate.


Related Stories
1. US Senate agrees that climate change is real in a 98 to 1 vote The Verge
2. Senate says climate change real, but doesn't agree on cause Associated Press
3. Wicker lone senator to vote against amendment saying climate change not hoax MarketWatch
4. Actually, Many Republicans Do Think Climate Change Is Real -- Just Not The Ones In Congress Huffington Post
5. Keystone XL Moves Closer to Congressional Approval The Wall Street Journal




“In a surprise move, US Senate Republicans joined Democrats and went on record Wednesday acknowledging that climate change is real. The symbolic amendment, attached to a controversial bill authorizing construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, was approved 98-1 after Senator James Inhofe, seen as the top climate change denier in Congress, announced he was supporting the legislation. Inhofe however strongly rejected any suggestion that human activity was responsible for climate change. The move can be seen as a critical step forward for US lawmakers, but it is not a revolutionary one.... Two other measures attributing climate change to human activity failed to pass the 60-vote threshold in the 100-member Senate, although one got five Republican votes and the other received 14. "This is a small victory but an important one," Senator Barbara Boxer, top Democrat on the Senate's environmental panel, told reporters. "It means that there's a softening of the attitude of the deniers. They're losing ground in the face of public opinion."... "Climate always changed," Inhofe said, noting there was archaeological, historic and "biblical evidence" of that. "The hoax is, that there are some people who think they are so arrogant to think that they are so powerful that they can change the climate. Man can't change climate," Inhofe insisted.”

It's a shame that so many people are elected to important positions in our government who are stubbornly and dogmatically ignorant. Several leading Republicans just this last year all made it a point to say that they “aren't scientists.” Well neither am I, but I can read and think, so I persistently and stubbornly do. To me that's what a brain like we have been given by the Great Spirit is to be used for. Not for purposely denying basic reality. The Christian Right's refusal to admit to simple scientific evidence on any subject that is not directly derived from the Bible does sometimes make me furious. As the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.





http://news.yahoo.com/magnificent-blue-glow-hong-kong-seas-disturbing-212943493.html

Magnificent blue glow of Hong Kong seas also disturbing
AP By SETH BORENSTEIN
January 22, 2015

Eerie fluorescent blue patches of water glimmering off Hong Kong's seashore are magnificent, disturbing and potentially toxic, marine biologists say.

The glow is an indicator of a harmful algal bloom created by something called Noctiluca scintillans, nicknamed Sea Sparkle.

It looks like algae and can act like algae. But it's not quite. It is a single-celled organism that technically can function as both animal and plant.

These type blooms are triggered by farm pollution that can be devastating to marine life and local fisheries, according to University of Georgia oceanographer Samantha Joye, who was shown Associated Press photos of the glowing water.

"Those pictures are magnificent. It's just extremely unfortunate that the mysterious and majestic blue hue is created by a Noctiluca," Joye wrote in an email Thursday.

This is part of a problem that is growing worldwide, said Joye and other scientists.

Noctiluca is a type of single-cell life that eats plankton and is eaten by other species. The plankton and Noctiluca become more abundant when nitrogen and phosphorous from farm run-off increase.

Unlike similar organisms, Noctiluca doesn't directly produce chemicals that can attack the nervous system or parts of the body.

But recent studies show it is much more complicated and links them to blooms that have been harmful to marine life. Noctiluca's role as both prey and predator can eventually magnify the accumulation of algae toxins in the food chain, according to oceanographer R. Eugene Turner at Louisiana State University.




“Eerie fluorescent blue patches of water glimmering off Hong Kong's seashore are magnificent, disturbing and potentially toxic, marine biologists say. The glow is an indicator of a harmful algal bloom created by something called Noctiluca scintillans, nicknamed Sea Sparkle. It looks like algae and can act like algae. But it's not quite. It is a single-celled organism that technically can function as both animal and plant. These type blooms are triggered by farm pollution that can be devastating to marine life and local fisheries, according to University of Georgia oceanographer Samantha Joye, who was shown Associated Press photos of the glowing water.... Unlike similar organisms, Noctiluca doesn't directly produce chemicals that can attack the nervous system or parts of the body. But recent studies show it is much more complicated and links them to blooms that have been harmful to marine life. Noctiluca's role as both prey and predator can eventually magnify the accumulation of algae toxins in the food chain, according to oceanographer R. Eugene Turner at Louisiana State University.”

If it ain't one thing, it's another! While this euglena-like plant/animal doesn't cause global warming, it may poison fish or other parts of the food chain so that our supply of seafood might be endangered. The article didn't quite say that, but it did say that Noctiluca can be “harmful top marine life” and increase toxins in the food chain. To me that means it won't be safe to eat fish that have been grown around these protista. In the waters off Florida and the Gulf of Mexico occurs something similar called “red tide” which can cause sores on the hands of fishermen and large fish kills. The following comes from Wikipedia on the protist responsible for red tide. Farm runoff carrying nitrogen and phosphorus is one cause.

“Red tides in the Gulf of Mexico are a result of high concentrations of Karenia brevis, a microscopic marine algae that occurs naturally but normally in lower concentrations. In high concentrations, its toxin paralyzes the central nervous system of fish so they cannot breathe. Dead fish wash up on Mexican gulf beaches. Dense concentrations appear as discolored water, often reddish in color. It is a natural phenomenon, but the exact cause or combination of factors that result in a red tide outbreak are unknown.[2] Red tide causes economic harm and for this reason red tide outbreaks are carefully monitored. 

Causes[edit]
The occurrence of red tides in some locations appears to be entirely natural (algal blooms are a seasonal occurrence resulting from coastal upwelling, a natural result of the movement of certain ocean currents)[12][13] while in others they appear to be a result of increased nutrient loading from human activities.[14] The growth of marine phytoplankton is generally limited by the availability of nitrates and phosphates, which can be abundant in agricultural run-off as well as coastal upwelling zones. Coastal water pollution produced by humans and systematic increase in sea water temperature have also been implicated as contributing factors in red tides.”





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/walnuts-may-help-improve-memory/

A few walnuts a day may help improve memory
CBS NEWS
January 22, 2015

Eating a handful of walnuts a day may help improve memory, concentration and information processing speed.

New research from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA found that adults who consumed walnuts showed consistently greater cognitive function than those who did not. This held true regardless of people's age, gender or ethnicity.

"It is exciting to see the strength of the evidence from this analysis across the U.S. population supporting the previous results of animal studies that have shown the neuroprotective benefit from eating walnuts," the lead researcher, Dr. Lenore Arab, said in press release. "And it's a realistic amount -- less than a handful per day (13 grams)."

In a cross-sectional study that drew from a large sampling of the U.S. population aged 20 and older, Dr. Arab and co-researcher Dr. Alfonso Ang found that people who ate more walnuts performed significantly better on a series of six cognitive tests.

The study, published in the Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging, was funded in part the California Walnut Commission.

The study adds to a body of research surrounding walnuts' overall brain health benefits, including the possible effect of slowing or preventing the progression of Alzheimer's disease in mouse models.

These findings may bring some hope to aging baby boomers concerned about the possibility of developing memory loss. According to the World Health Organization, the number of people living with dementia worldwide was estimated at 35.6 million in 2012 and is predicted to double by 2030 and more than triple by 2050.

Why are walnuts so good at protecting our brains?

There are numerous active ingredients in walnuts that may contribute to protecting cognitive functions, the researchers say. They are high in antioxidants and a combination of vitamins and minerals. A significant amount of alpha-linolenic acid, a plant-based omega-3 fatty acid in walnuts, also benefits heart and brain health.




“New research from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA found that adults who consumed walnuts showed consistently greater cognitive function than those who did not. This held true regardless of people's age, gender or ethnicity. "It is exciting to see the strength of the evidence from this analysis across the U.S. population supporting the previous results of animal studies that have shown the neuroprotective benefit from eating walnuts," the lead researcher, Dr. Lenore Arab, said in press release. "And it's a realistic amount -- less than a handful per day (13 grams)."... The study adds to a body of research surrounding walnuts' overall brain health benefits, including the possible effect of slowing or preventing the progression of Alzheimer's disease in mouse models.... There are numerous active ingredients in walnuts that may contribute to protecting cognitive functions, the researchers say. They are high in antioxidants and a combination of vitamins and minerals. A significant amount of alpha-linolenic acid, a plant-based omega-3 fatty acid in walnuts, also benefits heart and brain health.”

Luckily I have discovered a section in my local Publix food store where they sell walnuts, almonds, cashews, etc. year round. It used to be the case that I never sawfresh nuts like that except in autumn to Christmas. Stale nuts don't taste good to me, so I never buy those expensive packaged ones. I have been maintaining my supply of walnuts, almonds and golden raisins for some six months now, and I had no idea it would be so good for me. It's good to know that something that tastes that delicious would be very healthful as well. Good news!





http://www.npr.org/2015/01/22/378844314/building-sponge-city-redesigning-la-for-long-term-drought

Building Sponge City: Redesigning LA For Long-Term Drought
Amy Standen
January 22, 2015

For thousands of years, city planners have engineered water into submission — think aqueducts.

"That's really the core of modern water infrastructure," saysDavid Sedlak, the author of Water 4.0. "It's the ancient idea that the Romans gave us. Collecting water somewhere on the outskirts of the city, sending it with gravity into the city, and then when we're done with it, we put it back underground in a sewer and send on its way."

It's the way most cities are designed. And you can hear the echoes of that ancient plumbing in Los Angeles, where rain answered prayers last month amid an epic drought. But that precious water is wasted when it slides off roofs and into sewers.

Some urban designers in LA see water scarcity as an opportunity. They say a downpour could be captured, turned into drinking water and used for irrigation.

But most of the time, it's banished — sent to a river and out to the ocean.

If you were to follow a drop of rain from the sky and onto an LA sidewalk, eventually you'd end up at the mouth of the Los Angeles River, which isn't really a river. Engineers turned it into a narrow concrete channel in the 1940s. Today, it's more like a 51-mile-long bathtub that empties out at the port of Long Beach.

Kayak guide Steve Appleton says this is a river in name only.

But really, it's a flood-control channel, which is why signs on the river prohibit anything recreational. In a rainstorm, all that runoff from the sewers could surge through the channel.

Of course, this river was once dangerous to more than kayakers. Before it was channelized, the LA river could flood disastrously. Entire towns were wiped out, and in 1938, more than 100 people died.

With the river caged by concrete, "it stabilized this constant threat," Appleton says.

The city could develop right up to the river's edge, paving over the floodplain in the process.

The problem today is the city needs that rain. It can't afford to just send it out into the ocean anymore. Almost 80 percent of California is in extreme drought. (That's a technical term, just one notch shy of "exceptional" drought.)

And so there's a call now to build cities like sponges.

Over on Elmer Avenue, a working-class neighborhood, the city spent $2.7 million to make over the street with permeable driveways and snazzy drought-tolerant landscaping.
"I'd like all the blocks to look like this," says resident Rick Martin. "I can't imagine they would spend this kind of money for the whole city."

Hadley Arnold would love it if they did. She's the co-founder of the Arid Lands Institute, a nonprofit based at Woodbury University in Burbank dedicated to the decidedly non-ancient Roman idea that cities should, wherever possible, soak up every raindrop.

"In most of our neighborhoods in Los Angeles, we are required to send some stormwater off of our properties as fast as possible," Arnold says. "Get it into a storm drain, get it out to sea."

Elmer Avenue is an experimental block that soaks it up "to treat it as a precious resource," she adds.

Along each sidewalk is what's called a bioswale — a gully filled with drought-resistant plants. When it rains, the water collects and filters down into cisterns buried below the street.

"In an average rain year, this block puts enough water for approximately 30 families for a year into the ground," Arnold says.

The Arid Lands Institute would like to scale this up. It has mapped the region to help developers find the best spots for water to percolate down.

To Arnold, this is part of a grand urban design challenge. She says the peaked roofs on Elmer Avenue are designed for snow and ice, not the desert, and that they should be redesigned.

"Roofs that are like a wide mouth open to the sky," she says. "Roofs that are like a cup or a bowl, or an umbrella turned upside down."

This new design would help catch as much rain as possible.

And plumbing should be smarter, she says, meaning we should not be flushing our toilets with water we could drink.

"In the future, we will be using water multiple times, and we will probably have multiple-grade waters," she says.

Arnold imagines an entire city designed like this, like a sponge. It's a plan that might have surprised William Mulholland,the engineer who masterminded California's water system. Mulholland is memorialized by the city with a big Roman-style fountain.

Standing by the fountain, Arnold also wonders what the monuments of a much drier future might look like.

"The ace in our species pocket is the ability to innovate," Arnold says. "And I think the single biggest question in front of us right now is the rate at which we do it. Can we do it fast enough, given the urgency?"




“It's the way most cities are designed. And you can hear the echoes of that ancient plumbing in Los Angeles, where rain answered prayers last month amid an epic drought. But that precious water is wasted when it slides off roofs and into sewers. Some urban designers in LA see water scarcity as an opportunity. They say a downpour could be captured, turned into drinking water and used for irrigation. But most of the time, it's banished — sent to a river and out to the ocean.... The problem today is the city needs that rain. It can't afford to just send it out into the ocean anymore. Almost 80 percent of California is in extreme drought. (That's a technical term, just one notch shy of "exceptional" drought.) And so there's a call now to build cities like sponges.... Hadley Arnold would love it if they did. She's the co-founder of the Arid Lands Institute, a nonprofit based at Woodbury University in Burbank dedicated to the decidedly non-ancient Roman idea that cities should, wherever possible, soak up every raindrop.... Elmer Avenue is an experimental block that soaks it up "to treat it as a precious resource," she adds. Along each sidewalk is what's called a bioswale — a gully filled with drought-resistant plants. When it rains, the water collects and filters down into cisterns buried below the street. "In an average rain year, this block puts enough water for approximately 30 families for a year into the ground," Arnold says. The Arid Lands Institute would like to scale this up. It has mapped the region to help developers find the best spots for water to percolate down.... "Roofs that are like a wide mouth open to the sky," she says. "Roofs that are like a cup or a bowl, or an umbrella turned upside down." This new design would help catch as much rain as possible. And plumbing should be smarter, she says, meaning we should not be flushing our toilets with water we could drink. "In the future, we will be using water multiple times, and we will probably have multiple-grade waters," she says.... "The ace in our species pocket is the ability to innovate," Arnold says. "And I think the single biggest question in front of us right now is the rate at which we do it. Can we do it fast enough, given the urgency?"

I do love it when science comes up with things that are simple, inexpensive and ingenious, especially in a situation of true need like California's current water problem. Roofs shaped like cups will look unusual, but maybe not unattractive, and when they help solve an ongoing problem like this I think they will be accepted by buyers. It's like solar panels on roofs. When the owners looks at their very minimal electricity bill they will come to think it's beautiful.





http://www.npr.org/2015/01/22/378884647/senator-astounded-that-nonprofit-hospitals-sue-poorest-patients

Senator 'Astounded' That Nonprofit Hospitals Sue Poorest Patients
Chris Arnold
January 22, 2015

NPR and ProPublica have been reporting about nonprofit hospitals that seize the wages of lower-income and working-class patients. Now, Sen. Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says hospitals could be breaking the law by suing these patients and docking their pay. And he wants some answers.

NPR and ProPublica looked across six states, and in each, we found nonprofit hospitals suing hundreds of their patients. One hospital in particular jumped out — Heartland Regional Medical Center in St. Joseph, Mo. Thousands of patients a year are getting their paychecks docked by the hospital and its debt collection arm.

One family we interviewed in our story has been getting their wages seized for nearly 10 years, but still owes $25,000 and feels trapped — in part because Heartland is charging 9 percent interest on that debt.

This family, and others we spoke to, should have qualified for free medical care under the hospital's own charity care policy based on their income. But that didn't happen. We also documented that hundreds of patients with low-wage jobs at McDonald's, Wal-Mart and elsewhere had their pay seized by this hospital.

Grassley: Hospitals Could Be Breaking The Law

Grassley, R-Iowa, told NPR and ProPublica he was "astounded" by these collection practices. For more than a decade, Grassley has been working to make nonprofit hospitals more accountable for the huge tax breaks they get. They don't pay federal income tax or local property tax. Grassley says that to justify their tax-exempt status, nonprofit hospitals have to "earn" it by "taking care of people who couldn't provide for their own health care."

Grassley worked on voluntary standards. But he also authored language in the Affordable Care Act requiringhospitals to do more to provide charitable care.

After he saw NPR and ProPublica's reporting on Heartland Hospital (which is changing its name to Mosaic Life Care), Grassley decided to get involved.

He says that under the ACA, a hospital has a responsibility to make a determination: Can a person or a family pay, or can they not? "It seems like Mosaic turned [the law] on its head," he says.

Grassley says the ACA requires that hospitals take the initiative to determine whether patients qualify for financial aid. The hospital is not supposed to shift that burden onto the patients. But in Heartland/Mosaic's case, Grassley said, "It seems to me they have not taken the initiative and they have not abided by the law."

Tougher Rules Required?

Heartland/Mosaic's board is reviewing its practices as a result of our earlier reporting. Grassley has now sent a letter to the hospital saying he wants to be briefed on the results of that review by Jan. 30. Grassley wrote that the hospital "may not be meeting the requirements to be a nonprofit."

And Grassley hopes his letter sends a wider message to other nonprofit hospitals that are being too aggressive collecting bills from patients who can't afford to pay. "Well, I think some hospitals, you hit them over the head with a two-by-four and they still don't get the message," he said.

Grassley says the health care law may need to be strengthened in order to force nonprofit hospitals to offer financial assistance to poor patients. "If they don't get the message now, we'll have to work towards getting the ideal language in the legislation," Grassley told NPR and ProPublica.

Tama Wagner, a Mosaic Life Care spokesperson, says the hospital will quickly respond to the senator's request and that the hospital's goal is to "do the right thing."




“Now, Sen. Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says hospitals could be breaking the law by suing these patients and docking their pay. And he wants some answers. NPR and ProPublica looked across six states, and in each, we found nonprofit hospitals suing hundreds of their patients. One hospital in particular jumped out — Heartland Regional Medical Center in St. Joseph, Mo. Thousands of patients a year are getting their paychecks docked by the hospital and its debt collection arm.... This family, and others we spoke to, should have qualified for free medical care under the hospital's own charity care policy based on their income. But that didn't happen.... Grassley, R-Iowa, told NPR and ProPublica he was "astounded" by these collection practices. For more than a decade, Grassley has been working to make nonprofit hospitals more accountable for the huge tax breaks they get. They don't pay federal income tax or local property tax. Grassley says that to justify their tax-exempt status, nonprofit hospitals have to "earn" it by "taking care of people who couldn't provide for their own health care." Grassley worked on voluntary standards. But he also authored language in the Affordable Care Act requiringhospitals to do more to provide charitable care. After he saw NPR and ProPublica's reporting on Heartland Hospital (which is changing its name to Mosaic Life Care), Grassley decided to get involved.... Grassley says the ACA requires that hospitals take the initiative to determine whether patients qualify for financial aid. The hospital is not supposed to shift that burden onto the patients. But in Heartland/Mosaic's case, Grassley said, "It seems to me they have not taken the initiative and they have not abided by the law."... Heartland/Mosaic's board is reviewing its practices as a result of our earlier reporting. Grassley has now sent a letter to the hospital saying he wants to be briefed on the results of that review by Jan. 30. Grassley wrote that the hospital "may not be meeting the requirements to be a nonprofit." And Grassley hopes his letter sends a wider message to other nonprofit hospitals that are being too aggressive collecting bills from patients who can't afford to pay. "Well, I think some hospitals, you hit them over the head with a two-by-four and they still don't get the message," he said.... "If they don't get the message now, we'll have to work towards getting the ideal language in the legislation," Grassley told NPR and ProPublica. Tama Wagner, a Mosaic Life Care spokesperson, says the hospital will quickly respond to the senator's request and that the hospital's goal is to "do the right thing."

Uncontrolled rule by “the Marketplace” is basically sinful when it strips the poor of their few hard-earned dollars. If that makes me socialistic, then so be it. This kind of thing needs to be made illegal. The fascinating thing is that these are healthcare facilities. Medical care bills should be capped for the poor. In the case of non-profit hospitals which don't have to pay any taxes the hospital absolutely should reduce its fees or, as Grassley hints, should be forced to relinquish their non-profit status. Interestingly Grassley is a Republican. If he runs for President, even if I don't vote for him, I wouldn't be as disturbed as I would if a Tea Partier runs and wins.