Saturday, November 22, 2014

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: NOVEMBER 16-22, 2014

NOVEMBER 22 IS ALPHABET DAY IN ALBANIA,
INDEPENDENCE DAY IN LEBANON,
THE 155th ANNIVERSARY OF
CHARLES DARWIN'S ON THE ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES,
AND HOLODOMOR REMEMBRANCE DAY IN THE UKRAINE.
THURSDAY IS THANKSGIVING IN THE UNITED STATES.

AMONGST EVENTS AROUND THE WORLD THIS PAST WEEK...
*A 6.8 earthquake has been reported in the Nagano Prefecture of Japan.
*The Netherlands is temporarily banning the sale of poultry and eggs after discovering the H5N1 bird flu at a local chicken farm.
*The World Health Organization has reported an outbreak of bubonic plague in Madagascar, with over 40 known victims so far.
*North Korea has threatened to conduct another nuclear weapons test after being told of a pending investigation by the United Nations' Security Council into allegations of Human Rights violations.
*Klaus Iohannis has been elected President of Romania.
*Nicola Sturgeon is the new First Minister of Scotland, becoming the first woman to ever hold that title.
*The ninth G-20 Summit concluded discussing economic issues.
*The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation was held this past week, with both foreign and domestic matters on the agenda.
*Australia and the People's Republic of China have achieved a free trade arrangement between the two countries.
*South Korea has replaced their troubled Coast Guard with a new National Safety Agency.
*The United Nations' Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization has declared Manila's Rizal Monument; Machu Picchu, Peru; Spain's Camino de Santiago, and the Dampier Archipelago of Australia as World Heritage Sites In Danger.
*The Church of England may soon allow female Bishops.
*Russia is planning to start up its own version of Wikipedia soon, saying their edition will be more accurate concerning the country.
*Terrorist activity continues in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, and other regions of the Middle East.

WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...
POLITICALLY...
*After the Democratic Senate passed a bi-partisan bill that the Republican controlled House of Representatives never took any action on for the last six years, and fearing more inaction after Republicans admitted after winning control of the entire Congress after the 2014 mid-term elections that they had no idea what they were going to do about Immigration Reform, President Barack Obama issued an Executive Action Thursday night. The measure will possibly spare from deportation the parents of once illegal children who are now legal US citizens and permanent residents of the country for at least 5 years or more. However all applicants MUST past a criminal background check as part of the consideration process.
*Meanwhile, the Republican Party is crying foul over the action as House Republican Speaker John Boehner has finally filed his long threatened law suit over the President's alleged "abuse of power", citing the creation of the Affordable Healthcare Act, aka Obama Care. It should be noted that this is only the 147th time President Obama has issued an Executive Order, while his predecessor George W. Bush wrote 291 of them during his two terms in office.
*While the Republican controlled House of Representatives approved the Keystone XL Pipeline, the currently (until January 2015) Democratic based Senate has said "No" to the idea, after finding out that despite the temporary construction boom the project would bring, there would only be an estimated 50 long term/permanent jobs.
*Kenneth Mapp is the new Governor-elect of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
ELSEWHERE...
*The Alaskan volcano Pavlof is active, with air traffic being directed away from the area.
*Blizzard conditions were experienced between New York and Ohio this week.
*Several women have come forward accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault. But even if the charges are true, the statue of limitations has passed on all the known cases. However, several Cosby based projects have been cancelled because of the negative publicity surrounding the allegations, and the legendary comedian has yet to publicly say a word on the subject.
*Director Mike Nichols (The Graduate, Monty Python's Spamalot, etc) has taken his final bow on life's stage.
*Kevin Harvick has officially won the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup series.

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.

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