Author: David M. Rock

NPR – by Colin Dwyer

Just days away from a national vote to decide the delegates who will rewrite Venezuela’s constitution, President Nicolas Maduro’s government is trying a new method of clamping down on popular unrest: a complete ban on demonstrations nationwide for the next five days.

“It is prohibited throughout all national territory, all public meetings and demonstrations, gatherings and other similar acts that might disturb the electoral process,” Interior Minister Néstor Reverol announced Thursday on state-run media, according to a CNN translation.   Continue reading “Venezuela Bans Protests Nationwide As Constitutional Referendum Approaches”

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ADL

In recent months Jewish Voice for Peace, the largest and most influential Jewish pro-BDS group in the United States, has taken increasingly radical positions and has employed questionable tactics in pursuit of its mission to diminish support for Israel. The following are some of ADL’s main concerns with the group’s ideology and tactics.   Continue reading “Jewish Voice for Peace: Increasing Anti-Israel Radicalism”

Arizona Science and Innovation – by Nicholas Gerbis

Whether mathematicians or marathoners, those who chase mastery often run into a wall that blocks further progress. Now, eight U.S. Department Of Defense brain studies, one at Arizona State University, aim to help soldiers break through that barrier.

The research, called Targeted Neuroplasticity Training (TNT) joins a range of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) programs related to the White House BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative.  Continue reading “U.S. Department Of Defense Brain Study Seeks To Boost Learning In Soldiers”

NPR

The deaths of 10 migrants in a sweltering 18-wheeler in a San Antonio has raised a lot of questions. One of them: why transport people in the back of a tractor-trailer, especially after they have already crossed the border?

One reason, experts say, is that entering the United States from Mexico illegally involves “two crossings.” You must first cross U.S./Mexico border, then one of the many border patrol checkpoints that exist farther into the United States.

That double crossing “has increased the incentives for smugglers to operate in different ways, and on different sides of the border,” says Correa Cabrera, who researches immigration and border security at UT Rio Grand Valley.   Continue reading “Why Are Undocumented Immigrants Smuggled By Truck?”

Southern Poverty Law Center

The Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative (SIFI) provides pro bono legal representation to immigrants detained in the southeastern United States. By ensuring that skilled attorneys are available, at no charge, to protect the due process rights of detained immigrants, SIFI endeavors to win every meritorious deportation defense case arising out of recent and anticipated immigration enforcement actions.

The project is led by the Southern Poverty Law Center.  It will begin at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, in collaboration with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the American Immigration Council, the Innovation Law Lab and the American Immigration Representation Project. It will then be expanded to other immigrant detention centers throughout the Southeast.    Continue reading “Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative”

The Guardian

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal) is excellent; it is far better and more extensive than I ever expected (Don’t upset the balance of power in the Middle East, 23 June). If followed by all parties, it blocks all avenues for Iran to develop nuclear explosives. To be sure, it is vehemently opposed by Israel’s prime minister Netanyahu and Republicans in Congress.  Continue reading “Iran nuclear deal must be allowed to thrive”

ABC News

People who used e-cigarettes were more likely to kick the habit than those who didn’t, a new study found.

Nicotine patches, gums and medications are known to aid smoking cessation, but there’s no consensus on whether vaping devices can help anti-smoking efforts. The U.S. research is the largest look yet at electronic cigarette users and it found e-cigarettes played a role in helping people quit.   Continue reading “Blowing smoke? E-cigarettes might help smokers quit”

Haaretz – by Ido Efrati

The Agriculture Ministry will launch a pilot project to grow hemp, a strain of cannabis, for industrial use after the Justice Ministry this week removed hemp from the list of substances with the legal status of dangerous drugs.

This will not be the first time hemp has been officially cultivated in Israel – in November 1942 Davar newspaper carried a report on the cannabis harvest in Kibbutz Dafna.  Continue reading “No Longer Illegal, Hemp Is Back in Israel After 75 Years”

NPR – by John Ydstie

After a two-day meeting in Washington, D.C., Federal Reserve policymakers say they’ll keep their benchmark rate in a range between 1 percent and 1.25 percent for the time being.

Fed officials said “job gains have been solid” and the U.S. “labor market continues to strengthen” in the statement after a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee.

The officials described economic activity as “rising moderately.” They noted that unemployment rate has declined since the beginning of the year. The Fed is close to meeting its mandate to maximize employment.  Continue reading “Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rates Steady”

Fox 10 News

NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) – The U.S. Border Patrol says agents found over a half-ton of abandoned marijuana after following footprints in a rural area near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Agents found 24 packages containing 1,100 pounds (499 kilograms) marijuana Monday after a canine team patrolling mountain roads east of Nogales, Arizona, found dozens of footprint impressions on a known smuggling route.   Continue reading “Border Patrol agents find half-ton of marijuana after tracking footprints”

Fox 10 News

GLOBE, Ariz. (KSAZ) – Deputies are looking for suspects after an 83-year-old woman was attacked in her own home and left for dead.

The Gila County Sheriff’s Office says the woman was doing dishes when someone tapped her on the shoulder, and when she turned around, she saw a man wearing a white ski mask. She pushed him, but was struck from behind by another person.   Continue reading “GCSO: Arizona woman was attacked in her home and left for dead”