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A recent study reports, “Less than half (46%) of U.S. kids younger than 18 years of age are living in a home with two married heterosexual parents in their first marriage. This is a marked change from 1960, when 73% of children fit this description, and 1980, when 61% did” (Pew Research, December 22, 2014). “At the same time, the share of children born outside...
China’s Foreign Minister recently was quoted in the China Daily, “China has joined India in helping the Russian economy… ‘If the Russian side needs, we will provide necessary assistance within our capacity’… The Chinese statement comes after India, earlier this month, bought 12 nuclear reactors from Russian firm Rosatom and launched joint production of military...
“Research suggests that generosity is hardwired into our brains,” according to new research from Simon Fraser University in Canada (Wall Street Journal, December 24, 2014; NPR, December 24, 2014).
Last month, Pope Francis, diverged from the teaching of his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, and opened the gates of heaven to pets when he stated, “One day we will see our animals again in eternity of Christ. Paradise is open to all God’s creatures” (Business Insider, December 10, 2014).
Religious and racial violence continues to erupt around the world. In Nigeria, Islamic militants have killed or kidnapped hundreds of men, women and children and torched homes of people of different faiths. In Syria and Iraq, Shiites and Sunni Moslems are killing and beheading each other. In Canada, Australia and East Africa, Moslem fanatics have mounted attacks...
“The battered ruble plunged to a record low against the dollar again Tuesday [80 Rub to $1 USD], as investors grew convinced that the Russian central bank’s surprise move overnight to jack up interest rates to 17% wouldn’t be enough to alleviate the pressure on the currency from falling oil prices and western sanctions” (Wall Street Journal, December 16, 2014)....
An Islamic extremist took 17 hostages in a café in central Sydney on Monday, December 16. After a 17-hour siege, at 2:00 a.m., he began shooting some of the hostages. New South Wales (NSW) police had been well-positioned outside and stormed the café. Two of the people inside were killed and the gunman was shot dead by the police (AP, December 15, 2014).
“Taliban gunmen stormed a military-run school in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Tuesday, killing 126 people, officials said, in the worst attack to hit the country in years. The overwhelming majority of the victims were students at the army public school, which has children and teenagers in grades 1-10” (The Times-Tribune, December 16, 2014). “‘...
China continues to make waves in Asia and the world. A recent report states, “The Chinese economy just overtook the United States economy to become the largest in the world. For the first time since Ulysses S. Grant was president, America is not the leading economic power on the planet” (MarketWatch, December 4, 2014).
The anti-war mood that has prevailed in Germany since the close of World War II appears to be rapidly changing. German politicians have begun calling for the creation of an “EU military academy” and a “permanent military headquarters” as prerequisites for establishing an “EU army” (German Foreign Policy.com, December 8, 2014).