Russia has made a lot of attempts to re-establish connections with the former Soviet Republics. For example, the Eurasian Customs Union came into existence on January 1, 2010 as the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia, and was enlarged to include Armenia and Kyrgyzstan from January 1, 2015.
11 of 12 Pats footballs underinflated
ESPN: …The investigation found the footballs were underinflated by 2 pounds per square inch of air less than what’s required by NFL regulations during the Pats’ 45-7 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, according to sources… Troy Vincent, the league’s senior executive vice president of football operations, told The Associated Press late Tuesday in response to […]
S&P faces rating suspension in SEC deal
FINANCIAL TIMES: Standard & Poor’s will be suspended for a year from rating certain commercial mortgage bonds in an $80m settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the attorneys-general in New York and Massachusetts, according to people familiar with the matter. The agreement is scheduled to be announced on Wednesday, the people added. […]
AirAsia Plane Climbed Too Fast, Indonesia Says
HUFFINGTON / WORLD POST / AP: …Ignasius Jonan told Parliament that radar data showed the Airbus A320 was climbing at about 6,000 feet a minute before it disappeared on Dec. 28… In their last contact with air-traffic controllers, the pilots of AirAsia Flight 8501 asked to climb from 32,000 feet to 38,000 feet to avoid […]
U. S. Signals Shift on How to End Syrian Civil War
That shift comes along with other American actions that Mr. Assad’s supporters and opponents take as proof Washington now believes that if Mr. Assad is ousted, there will be nothing to check the spreading chaos and extremism. American planes now bomb the Islamic State group’s militants in Syria, sharing skies with Syrian jets. American officials assure Mr. Assad, through Iraqi intermediaries, that Syria’s military is not their target. The United States still trains and equips Syrian insurgents, but now mainly to fight the Islamic State, not the government.
Puzzling Death of a Prosecutor Grips Argentina
NEW YORK TIMES: …The latest turn is convulsing Argentina’s political establishment over whether the country’s acutely politicized institutions can ever prosecute those responsible for the bombing, one of the deadliest anti-Semitic attacks since World War II… Officials in Mrs. Kirchner’s government were quick to assert that Mr. Nisman appeared to have killed himself. The security […]
Pope says birth control ban doesn’t mean breed ‘like rabbits’
DAILY BEAST / REUTERS: Catholics should not feel they have to breed “like rabbits” because of the Church’s ban on contraception, Pope Francis said on Monday, suggesting approved natural family planning methods… “Some think, excuse me if I use the word, that in order to be good Catholics, we have to be like rabbits – […]
Wolf nominates Pedro Rivera, Superintendent of SD of L, for Secretary of Education
Under Rivera’s tenure, graduate rates and state assessment scores rose at the Lancaster School District, according to a news release. The district’s budget also has grown by millions, the news release stated.
GUEST COLUMN: Pope Francis sparks outrage on the left
Posted on January 19, 2015 by Alan Bean FRIENDS OF JUSTICE: Pope Francis is catching flak for his unguarded commentary on the Charlie Hebdo massacre. While insisting that violence in the name of religion is “an aberration”, Francis used Dr. Alberto Gasbarri, his event planner, to illustrate his beef with unrestrained religious satire. “If my […]
Poll: By 2-1 Margin, Americans Favor Security Over Privacy
NEWSMAX: … Following the attacks in France this month and the growing threat of the Islamic State in the past 12 months, the public chooses security over privacy by 63 percent to 32 percent, The Washington Post-ABC News poll finds. The figures show a 6 percent increase from the 57 percent last year, when Americans […]
U.S.-built Ebola treatment centers in Liberia are nearly empty as outbreak fades
WASHINGTON POST: …There’s only one thing missing from this state-of-the-art Ebola treatment center: Ebola patients. The U.S. military sent about 3,000 troops to West Africa to build centers like this one in recent months. They were intended as a crucial safeguard against an epidemic that flared in unpredictable, deadly waves. But as the outbreak fades […]
Top 1% To Own More Than The Rest By 2016
OXFAM: The combined wealth of the richest 1 percent will overtake that of the other 99 percent of people next year unless the current trend of rising inequality is checked, Oxfam warned today ahead of the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos… Wealth: Having It All and Wanting More, a research paper published today […]
Special Prosecutor of Argentine Bombing of Jews found dead
BUENOS AIRES HERALD: …[Albert] Nisman, who was expected to take part in a closed-door hearing in Congress on Monday to reveal the details of explosive allegations that involved President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman, was found minutes before midnight. Nisman reportedly committed suicide, according to sources, who say he was found […]
U.S. fracking production crashes, but incoming PA Gov. Wolf still hopes to raise big revenue from Marcellus shale
By Bill Keisling…
“97 percent of fracking now operating at a loss at current oil prices,” the Daily Kos reported on January 6.