THE WEEK IN REVIEW: JANUARY 12-18, 2014

Popeye the Sailor celebrated his 85th anniversary yesterday.

The Six Million Dollar Man debuted on television 40 years ago today.

For those celebrating, Mawlid begins at sundown tonight.

The annual Prayer For Christian Unity event begins today through January 25th.

Amongst events happening around the world this past week...

*Egypt has passed a new constitution that, among other things: bans political parties based upon religious beliefs and gives women the right to vote, although it is also pro-military.
*Michel Djotodia has resigned as President of the Central African Republic amidst the civil conflicts there.
*Australia is on alert for potential bush fires during the latest heat wave down under.
*China says test results of their new "WU-14" hyper-sonic missile vehicle reveal it has reached speeds between Mach 8 and Mach 12.
*The jewelry collection of the late Imelda Marcos has been ruled government property and her family is to turn it over to the Philippines.
*Civil unrest still continues in Syria, Iraq, Iran, Thai, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

This is the first time we have ever had enough news items to justify giving the topic separate space.
IN SAME GENDER PREFERENCE NEWS

*While Russian President Vladimir Putin has not banned "gay people" from attending the 2014 Winter Olympics in his country this February, he warns against them spreading "gay propaganda", although no consequences of that action were mentioned.
*Same gender marriages now carry a prison sentence of up to 15 years in Nigeria.
*Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has refused to sign a bill that would make preferring your own gender a criminal act, saying that such people should be rehabilitated.
And for the record, while the staff and management of The Free Choice E-zine are all straight, as long as the mutually consenting participants are not hurting either themselves or others, does it matter what they prefer?

WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...
*Amidst growing concerns about spying on Americans on native soil, United
States President Barack Obama has promised to initiate change that will lead to sweeping reforms at the National Security Agency.
*New York Yankee Alex Rodriquez has vowed to appeal his suspension from Major League Baseball yet again after this week's court ruling. Originally sentenced to sitting out a year and a half, Rodriquez is now ineligible for the entire 2014 baseball season.
*Amongst the winners of the 2014 Golden Globe Awards are 12 Years A Slave (Best Picture, Dramatic), American Hustle (Best Picture, Musical or Comedy), Frozen (Best Animated Film), Breaking Bad (Best TV Drama), Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Best TV Musical or Comedy), and Behind The Candelabra (Best TV Mini-Series or Movie).
*Gravity and American Hustle lead the field of nominations for the 86th Oscars presentation, which will be held March 2, 2014. Meanwhile, the 34th annual Razzie (Golden Raspberry) Awards, honoring the worst in the past year's movies, will be presented the night before.
*Ruth Duccini, the last surviving Munchkin actress from the original The Wizard of Oz (1939) has passed away at age 95.
*Actor Russell Johnson, best known as the Professor on Gilligan's Island, has left us at age 89.
*Actor Dave Madden has passed away at age 82.

AFTER GRANTING US OVER 1000+ PAGE VIEWS FOR THE 29TH STRAIGHT MONTH LAST WEEKEND, THE FREE CHOICE E-ZINE WOULD LIKE TO THANK ITS READERSHIP FOR GIVING US OVER 2000+ PAGE VIEWS FOR THE FIFTH STRAIGHT MONTH!

For more news at any time, either scroll down to our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any other reputable news source.