Midwife Abortion; Delivering Falafel; Eye See All; Treadmill Legs; and Window Filter

Abortion

Christian midwife must perform abortions or lose job, Swedish court rules washingtontimes

Ellinor Grimmark was blacklisted by the medical community because of her pro-life convictions, despite longstanding Swedish law protecting the conscience rights of medical professionals.

The midwife is now considering whether to appeal the Swedish court’s decision to the European Court of Human Rights echr.coe.int, her lawyers said. A decision there would have major implications for conscience rights across the continent.

The Grand Finale; Sally Salad; 30k Robot Hum; Chatty Warehouse Bots; Easter Egg; and UN Abortion Cuts

Space

NASA spacecraft's fiery finale will give us glimpse of Saturn's rings usatoday

Seasoned NASA spaceship Cassini will dive into the gap later this month for an unparalleled research campaign nicknamed the Grand Finale. The name is not hyperbole: Once it has fulfilled its mission, Cassini will plunge into the heart of Saturn, ending 13 years of unprecedented scientific discoveries.

On April 22, the craft, which launched in 1997, will whip by Saturn’s biggest moon Titan, an encounter that will nudge Cassini onto a path so audacious that prominent planetary-science commentator Emily Lakdawalla once said it seemed “totally crazy.” Cassini will hop over Saturn’s rings, which form a gauzy collar of dust and ice around the giant planet, and begin threading the needle between Saturn’s atmosphere and the D ring, which begins only 1,200 miles from the planet itself.

Israel Pulls Funds; May Encounters Reality; The Uniting Begins; Think Turtle; SAM the Builder; and Memories of AI

Israel

Prime Minister cuts funding to UN israelnationalnews

Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the Foreign Ministry to cut $2 million from Israel's payments to the UN, in light of the hostile proposals adopted by the UN Human Rights Council last week.

Canada's Wedding Photographer; A Peace of Bowl; Sanctioning that Old Enemy; Vespa's Bot; and Mindreading Regulations

Society

Montreal photographer allegedly refuses to shoot gay wedding ctvnews.ca

“I mentioned that there’s only going to be one house, since we already live with each other, and I said there is no bride: we’re two guys.”

I haven't yet seen a less biased story, but I believe that this is the company's site: Premiere Production premiereproduction.net

Unifying Away from the Reformation; Disappearing Pastors; Adopting Russia; Superbug Spread; Growing Neurons; The Date Your Heart will Fail; Robot Street; Smiling Venus; Galileo's Time; and 10,000 Quadrillion Asteroid

False Unity

'Unity' call on Reformation anniversary bbc

A statement from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York has said the split caused "lasting damage" to the unity of the Church - something that contradicted the teaching of Jesus and left a "legacy of mistrust and competition".

Little Fake News Detectors; StemExpress Blinks; Rise of the Auroch; 2-State Liquid; Perching a Plane; Sick Sensors; and Deciding Robots' Legal Future

Society

If state lawmakers have their way, California schoolchildren may be taught how to spot ‘fake news’ washingtonpost

California Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez (D) introduced a bill Wednesday that would require the state to establish curriculum standards and frameworks to teach “civic online reasoning” to middle- and high-schoolers. The intention is to help give youngsters “the ability to judge the credibility and quality of information found on Internet Web sites, including social media,” the bill states.

Russia Visits Philippines; Duterte's ISIS Cousins; Open Seas; 20th, Heresy-Celebration Day; Menorah and Cross Spelunking; New Organ; 'Master' Player; Confusing Computers; Solar Road; Release the Drones; Tractor Beam for Small Things; and Robot Arms and Lemonade

Philippines

Russian warships visit Philippines; admiral suggests wider exercises cnn v

There were differing reports from Russian media as to the exact nature of the visit by the Russian destroyer Admiral Tributs and the sea tanker Boris Butomato, which arrived in Manila on Tuesday.

According to a report from Russia's state-run Sputnik News, Russian Navy Rear Adm. Eduard Mikhailov said the Russian ships would be conducting joint exercises with Philippine forces to fight maritime piracy and terrorism.

A report from the Russian website RT.com however said the "Russian marines are expected to discuss and share tactics to help combat terrorism and piracy in the region" with an eye toward future joint exercises.

Also see Russian warships on five-day visit to Philippines navaltoday

Custom Chaos; Mein Kampf Sellout; Tube of PETA; Planned Parenthood Goes Prime Time; Free Money in Finland; Archaeological Plot; Temple Mount Boot; Pencil Castle; and Kuri

Airlines

Customs outage causes chaos, backups at airports usatoday

People returning home from the New Year's holiday weekend were being processed at international terminals by hand at some airports, resulting in long lines and short tempers. Travelers reported issues in Chicago, Boston, New York City, Baltimore, Miami and Atlanta, among others.The outage lasted for four hours, the Customs agency cbp.gov said in a statement late Monday, before the system was up and running again.

"I've never seen anything like it," [Michelle Sencibaugh, a K-12 teacher in St. Louis] told USA TODAY. "No one was giving us direction. They didn't tell us what was going on. It was just a herd of people."

A Government Free New Year; It Was Likely Russia Maybe; Climate Changed; MaTonomy; Getting Rid of the Humans; and Chicken Face

Iceland

Iceland's 'crazy' year ends without a government businessinsider

Iceland is ending an eventful year in a political quagmire, left without a government for two months after the Panama Papers icij.org scandal and a snap election reflecting deep divisions in the island nation.

UN, Israel, and US; Real Nuclear Threat; The Anti-Disagrees-With-Gov Law; Robot Spouse; and The Deep Year

Israel

What Does UN Vote on Israeli Settlements Mean and What’s Next? bloomberg

United Nations Security Council 2334, which passed Dec. 23 by a vote of 14-0 with the U.S. abstaining, describes Israel’s settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal and an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians. It was the first time U.S. President Barack Obama declined to block a Security Council resolution that Israel considered hostile, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused him of staging a “shameless ambush” against his country. Netanyahu warned countries that backed the measure they would pay a diplomatic and economic price.

Netanyahu has declared that Israel will not not abide by the terms of the resolution. For the Palestinians, Resolution 2334 is “a moral victory and a symbolic victory, but at the end of the day nothing is really going to change on the ground and Israel will continue with its settlement construction,” Abusada said. Nearly 600,000 Jews now live in the West Bank and parts of Jerusalem beyond the 1967 boundary.

Also see Israel summons US ambassador as Netanyahu lashes out at Obama cnn and A final insult to Israel washingtontimes

NK's Nuclear ICBM; Russia's Nuclear Drone; Syria Before; Impeached Park; South Seal; Park War; Compromise for Peace; The $10 Viola; The Fake Fake; Companies Go Big on LGBT; 20 Week Ban; India's Lack of Compassion; Quasicrystal; Stopping CRISPR; Replacing People; Chip; Tagged Dementia

North Korea

North Korea Close to Having Nuclear-Armed ICBM: Official defensetech.org

North Korea now has an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, armed with a nuclear warhead capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, but they have yet to solve the “re-entry problem” that would burn up the warhead as it hits the atmosphere, a senior military official said Thursday.

Christmas Unity; Globalization Rally Cry; The Failing Justice League; EU's Grip; RT Swipe; Red Square Drill; Bomb Rain; Settling Outposts; New Order in Town; Programming Required; Alt-Right All Twittered Out; Big Gas; Animals See Again; Satellite Palooza; Smart Men Hit Asteroid; Space Engine; Faster Than Concorde; and Plant Robots Dreams

False Unity

Amazon Christmas advert 2016: Imam and priest push festive message of friendship independent.co.uk v

A spokesman for Amazon told The Independent: "Our casting reflects this: the gentleman playing the vicar is a practising vicar in London, the gentleman playing the imam is a devout Muslim and the principal of a Muslim school. We used an actual church and mosque for our scenes within the places of worship."

Oh, Amazon...

Evil Jefferson; Choosing Real News; Argentina's Beavers; Big Fears in Texas; ISIS Fake Out; Repeat Nuclear Offender; Automated Car in the Wild; Shot Finder; Pill Bot; Speedy Electron Delivery; and ALie Detector

Society

University of Virginia professors: Stop quoting Thomas Jefferson washingtonexaminer

"Thomas Jefferson wrote to a friend that University of Virginia students 'are not of ordinary significance only: They are exactly the persons who are to succeed to the government of our country, and to rule its future enmities, its friendships and fortunes,'" Sullivan wrote, the Cavalier Daily reported. "I encourage today's U.Va. students to embrace that responsibility."

But this quotation of the father of the University of Virginia virginia.edu was too much for 469 faculty and students, who drafted a letter in protest.

Russian Pause Push; Closed Amnesty; Netanyahu's Rhetorical Question; Hamas Courts PLO; Going South in Korea; Underground Sharia; SCOTUS Considering Sister Wives; and 200k Eggs/Hour

Syria

Aleppo: Russia announces ‘humanitarian pause’ as residents fear devastating ‘final push’ from Putin and Assad independent.co.uk

The break in hostilities is planned for daylight hours on Friday, with two corridors opened for rebels, whom are allowed to take their arms, and six others for civilians and the wounded.

Also see Russia calls for 10-hour ‘humanitarian pause’ in Aleppo timesofisrael

Throwing Israel to the UN; Peace Hold; J-20 Fly; German Extremist, Check; Holo Tank; Robots in the Loch; Piccolissimo; and Farm Cogs

Israel

Obama: Don't Destroy the Peace Process by Turning it Over to the U.N. gatestoneinstitute.org

The Obama Administration is sending strong signals that once the election is over it may make a major push to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the United Nations. Despite repeated invitations by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Palestinian Authority President Abbas to meet without preconditions, the stalemate persists. Some blame it on Palestinian unwillingness to recognize Israel as the nation state of the Jewish People and to compromise to the so-called "right of return." Others — including the current U.S. Administration — lay the blame largely at the feet of the Netanyahu government for continuing to build in the West Bank, most recently approval of between 98 and 300 new homes in Shiloh. Whatever the reasons – and they are complex and multifaceted — President Obama should resist any temptation, during his final weeks in office, to change longstanding American policy — that only direct negotiations between the parties will achieve a lasting peace.

Ancient Jerusalem in the Papers; Israel Hit Again; Letting Leaders Mount; NATO's Hard Force; Giving up on NK; Spain Denies Russia Because Russia Denies Spain; Gambia Follows the South; Robot Shadow; and 3D Squid

Isreal

Rare First Temple-era scroll exposes earliest Hebrew mention of Jerusalem jpost

Written in ancient Hebrew script, and dating back to the Kingdom of Judah during the 7th century BCE, the rare relic made of papyrus is the earliest extra-Biblical source to mention Jerusalem in Hebrew writing.

Ireland's Coercion Cake; Hate = Flag Celebration; The First 10 Transitions; NY/CA Universities: Excellence in Antisemitism; Torah Journeys; Turkey's Stretchy Border; NK Fume; International First: Instant Trade; The Global Economy Resistance Blues; Predicting Future Trial Outcomes; China Bots; Water from Air; and Too Big to Exist

Society

[Ireland] 'Gay cake' appeal: Christian bakers Ashers lose appeal bbc v

Reacting to the ruling, Daniel McArthur from Ashers said he was "extremely disappointed" adding that it undermined "democratic freedom, religious freedom and free speech".

The War-Crazy Gambit; Monitoring Russian Warships; Executive Ordering of the Universe; Determining Baby Gender Illegally; Slow Race; Laundry Folder; Learning With Fellow Robots; and Insert Picture, Find Face

Russia

Putin, Syria, and Why Moscow Has Gone War-Crazy newyorker

A viewer of Russian television this week could be forgiven for thinking that the end of the world was imminent, and that it would arrive in the form of grand superpower war with the United States, culminating in a suicidal exchange of nuclear weapons. On one day alone, three separate test firings of intercontinental ballistic missiles were broadcast on state media: two by submarine, one from a launch pad in the Far East. Last weekend, NTV, a channel under effective state control, aired a segment on emergency preparedness that included a tour of a Cold War-era bomb shelter, fortified in case of atomic war, and a mention of the municipal loudspeakers that will sound upon the arrival of “Hour X.” On Sunday, Dmitry Kiselev, the most bombastic and colorful of Kremlin propagandists, warned on his weekly newsmagazine show that “impudent behavior” toward Russia may have “nuclear” consequences.

This is a good read...

CoverBoy; Sudan Persecution; Pope Advising Lutherans; Seedful; CRISPR Sickle; Instant Vaccines; Graphene Silk; AI Underground; Kill Jobs, Save the World; AI Traffic Cop; China Tops AI; Kobi, My Landscaper; Returning Fire; and Russia's Inflated Military

Society

Meet CoverGirl’s first-ever CoverBoy, James Charles usatoday v

CoverGirl ambassador Katy Perry took to Instagram to break the news that the beauty behemoth had signed the 17-year-old New York-based makeup artist. "Just wrapped another great CoverGirl shoot. Honored to have the pleasure to announce the very first CoverBoy, James Charles!" the pop artist captioned a photo of herself posing alongside Charles in all his contoured glory.

Putin Down Paris; Eastern Shield; Authoritative Friends; Censoring Turkey; Once a Nazi; Why the Temple?; Driverless Cars with an Accent; Korean Robots; and Fixing Broken Hearts

Russia

Putin shuns Paris visit after France offers talks only on Syria in.reuters

"I made it known to Mr Putin that if he came to Paris, I would not accompany him to any ceremonies, but that I was ready to continue the dialogue on Syria. He decided to postpone the visit," Hollande said at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

Also see Putin Cancels France Trip After President Hollande Accuses Russia of War Crimes in Syria time