World Events and the Bible

(Huffington Post) – Kentucky must recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, according to a ruling Wednesday by a federal judge, who struck down part of the state ban that he wrote treated “gay and lesbian persons differently in a way that demeans them.”

In 23-page a ruling issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II concluded that the government may define marriage and attach benefits to it, but cannot “impose a traditional or faith-based limitation” without a sufficient justification for it.”   Continue reading “Kentucky Ban On Recognizing Out-Of-State Gay Marriages Struck Down By Federal Judge”

IRS Demands Businesses Show “Bonafide Reasons” for LayoffsThe New American – by Warren Mass

The IRS will require employers who terminate employees to show that they did so for “bona fide business reasons” in order to be eligible for delaying the ObamaCare health insurance employer mandate.

Under new guidelines announced on February 10, the IRS will delay the mandate until 2016 for medium-sized businesses employing between 50 and 99 people. Businesses with 49 employees or fewer are not required to provide their employees with health insurance coverage under ObamaCare, as the Affordable Care Act is generally called.   Continue reading “IRS Demands Businesses Show “Bonafide Reasons” for Layoffs”

New York Times – by ERIK ECKHOLM

A federal judge on Thursday evening declared that Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, in the strongest legal reversal yet of restrictive marriage amendments that exist throughout the South.

“Our Constitution declares that ‘all men’ are created equal,” wrote Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen of United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, in Norfolk. “Surely this means all of us.”   Continue reading “Federal Judge Overturns Virginia’s Same-Sex Marriage Ban”

Gary CasteelMail.com

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Just 87 votes at the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee separated the United Auto Workers union from what would have been its first successful organization of workers at a foreign automaker in the South.

Instead of celebrating a potential watershed moment for labor politics in the region, UAW supporters were left crestfallen by the 712-626 vote against union representation in the election that ended Friday night.   Continue reading “UAW falls 87 votes short of major victory in South”

AFP Photo / Frederick M. BrownRT News

A member station within the Public Broadcasting Service announced Friday that it would return a $3.5 million grant to a former Enron executive who first provided the money to fund an anti-pension series.

WNET, the New York City affiliate of PBS, said production on the planned series, dubbed “Pension Peril,” would be suspended indefinitely after journalist David Sirota of PandoDaily revealed the money was coming from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.   Continue reading “PBS returns millions to anti-pension crusader who funded TV series”

Image from brown-moses.blogspot.ruRT News

Frustrated by the deadlock of the second round of Geneva 2 talks, Saudi Arabia has reportedly offered to supply the rebels with anti-aircraft missiles. Meanwhile Russia has accused the US of once again hijacking peace talks and pushing for regime change.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Russian-made antitank guided missiles and Chinese man-portable air-defense systems are up for grabs, already waiting in warehouses in Jordan and Turkey.    Continue reading “Saudi Arabia to supply Syrian rebels with anti-aircraft missiles – report”

The U.S. Navy's USS George Washington aircraft carrier (Reuters)RT News

Tokyo suggested that it would allow the US to bring nuclear weapons into Japanese territory in the event of a serious threat to its security.

In a briefing with lawmakers, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida outlined conditions that would lead Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government to make exceptions to Japan’s longstanding posture against possessing, producing, or allowing nuclear weapons within the nation’s borders, Kyodo News reported.   Continue reading “Japan indicates US could bring nukes into its territory in case of emergency”

Red Ice Creations – by Elizabeth Leafloor

A new study has been released that shows that bees in urban areas are building their nests out of plastic.

The study observing the ecology of modern bees, as reported in EcoSphere, has surprised the scientific community with its findings.    Continue reading “In ubran areas bees are making hives out of plastic”

Activist Post – by Brandon Turbeville

As a survivor of the Icepocalypse that recently gripped much of the South in crippling power outages and freezing temperatures, at least three lessons can be deduced from the experience.

  1. A very small minority of people are equipped to deal with an emergency in a competent fashion.
  2. A slightly larger number of people attempt to be prepared but fall short if the emergency persists.
  3. The vast majority of people are wholly unprepared for even a slight disturbance in their usual routine or living conditions.   Continue reading “Half-Prepping Equals NO Prepping: Lessons From The Icepocalypse”

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Jordan's King Abdullah at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, California February 14, 2014. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueReuters

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday pledged $1 billion in loan guarantees for Middle East ally Jordan and the renewal of a five-year aid package.

Obama made the announcement while meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah at a summit at a California retreat. Jordan, one of the United States’ closest allies in the Middle East, is a regional player in diplomatic efforts seeking peace in the turbulent region and is one of two Arab countries, the other being Egypt, that has signed a peace treaty with Israel.   Continue reading “Obama pledges $1 billion in loan guarantees for Jordan”

epa_wyosplit.jpgFox News – by Judson Berger

Wyoming officials are taking the Environmental Protection Agency to court in a bid to reverse a sweeping agency ruling that transferred more than 1 million acres of land — including an entire city — to Native American tribes.

Wyoming Attorney General Peter K. Michael filed his state’s appeal Friday morning before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. The state wants either the EPA to reverse, or the courts to overturn, a December ruling on a request from the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes.    Continue reading “Wyoming officials take EPA to court after ruling gives land to tribes”

PemexIB Times – by Meagan Clark

Mexico’s recent oil reform will open up the energy industry from a 75-year-old state monopoly to a stream of private companies, and with them, it’s expected, organized crime.

Mexico’s vast shale-based reserves are some of the world’s largest, according to a recent assessment by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. But the shale is also located in precisely the northeastern regions most heavily influenced by the Zetas organized crime group. The Zetas and rivals like the Gulf Cartel have profited from reselling stolen oil and illegal mining operations for years, pocketing about $1.13 billion from the trade in 2012 and the first nine months of 2013, according to a November report by Pemex director Emilio Lozoya. And more than half of the money came in during the last nine months, indicating gangs’ oil profits are rising.   Continue reading “Organized Crime To Profit From Mexican Oil Reform: US Department Of Energy”

Holding hands: A storm that dumped heavy snow and ice across the east coast of the United States this week is the very same weather system that battered southern parts of the UK on Friday, meteorologists have revealed in incredible satellite imageryDaily Mail – by WILLS ROBINSON

Devastating storms that have dumped as much as 40 inches of snow on parts of the United States and caused widespread flooding in the UK are combining over the Atlantic, weather experts have revealed.

Incredible satellite imagery from NASA’s Worldview shows the monster storms swirling ‘arm-in-arm’ across the ocean.   Continue reading “American and British storms are ‘holding hands’ over Atlantic: Systems that wreaked havoc on two continents are combining”

Huffington Post – by Ryan J. Reilly and Matt Ferner

WASHINGTON — The federal government issued guidelines on Friday that officials said were intended to increase the financial services available to marijuana businesses that are legal under state laws.

Guidelines announced by the Treasury Department and a memo from a top Justice Department official were intended to ease concerns that the federal government would target banks working with marijuana-related businesses that are legal and regulated on the state level. Expanded banking access will enable them to function like traditional businesses, and implementing a reporting structure will allow the federal government to take a close look at how they operate. Continue reading “Feds Move To Fix Pot Shops’ Banking Problems”

[SATIRE] A very big thanks to Michigan member M.P. who sent in this bit of humor, which was forwarded from a senior-level person at Chrysler. The date on this note was Sunday, July 19, 2009:

Monday morning, I attended a breakfast meeting where the speaker/guest was D.C., Chairman of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR and Professor at U. of M.). you all have likely heard CAR quoted, or referred to in the auto industry news lately.   Continue reading “Do You Appreciate the Laws of Physics?”