Saturday, May 14, 2016

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: MAY 8-14, 2016

MAY IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH.
MAY 19th MARKS THE 110th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BOY SCOUTS.

WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...
*Dilma Rousseff has been suspended as President of Brazil, pending the results of impeachment proceedings. Vice President Michel Temer is currently acting President.
*Werner Faymann has resigned as Chancellor of Austria and leader of the Social Democratic Party.
*After a historic double dissolution election, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has dissolved both houses of Parliament, with new elections to be held in July.
*President Nicolás Maduro has declared a sixty-day state of emergency in Venezuela, citing a(n alleged) plot to overthrow the Caracas government.
*North Korean leader Kim Jong-un claims he will not launch a nuclear first strike unless his country's sovereignty is violated.
*Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to "neutralize" a new ballistic missile defense shield the United States has activated in Europe.
*With the region still in dispute, China has reclaimed over 3,000 acres within the South China Sea, with plans to develop and deploy weapons there.
*In the aftermath of the Fort McMurray wildfire; Alberta, Canada authorities announced that all schools, hospitals, and municipal buildings were saved. Evacuees are expected to be able to return to their homes within 2 weeks.
*Italy now officially recognizes same-gender unions.
*Nissan plans to buy 34% of Mitsubishi Motors for 237.4 billion yen ($2.2 billion US dollars).
*NASA has verified that the Kepler spacecraft has discovered 1,284 exoplanets, worlds orbiting a star other than our own sun.
*Researchers at the Konkoly Observatory in Budapest, Hungary, have discovered that (225088) 2007 OR10 is the third largest dwarf planet in our solar system.
*A fragment of the world's oldest known ground-edge axe, dating back to between 45,000 and 49,000 years old, was found in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.


TERRIBLE TERRORIST ACTIVITIES...
*Terrorist bombs have plagued Baghdad this past week, with over 90 dead and over 160 injured.
*It is believed that ISIS/ISIL forces buried alive 45 of their own fighters in Qayyarah for fleeing a battle!
*Bombs still seem to be the favorite terrorist weapon for May. At least 14 suicide bombers converged on one target, killing 6 while destroying their objective.

PASSING PARADE...
*Former attorney/author Mark Lane (The Warren Commission: Rush to Judgement) has passed away.
*Former South Korean Prime Minister Kang Young-hoon is no longer with us.
*Actor William Schallert (TOO NUMEROUS TO MENTION) has taken his last bow on life's stage.
*Film producer Gene Gutowski (The Pianist, Cul-de-sac) has passed away.
*Michael Ratner, the lawyer, who won Guantanamo Bay detainees the right of habeas corpus, is no longer with us,
*Comic book writer/artist Darwyn Cooke (Catwoman, DC: The New Frontier, Jonah Hex) has passed away.

WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...
POLITICALLY...
*It is rumored that the Koch Brothers and their like minded supporters are planning to withdraw their financial and campaign support if Donald Trump wins the Republican nomination to run for President of the United States in favor of making sure every possible Republican candidate gets (re)elected to Congress.
*Meanwhile, the Koch Brothers' Freedom Partners' Action Fund is losing ground on trying to run a proven deceptive ad against a Democratic Senate hopeful in Wisconsin.
*Now running unopposed, Donald Trump won the Republican primaries in West Virginia and Nebraska. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders won West Virginia and Hillary Clinton Nebraska Democratically.
*As part of his anti-nuclear weapon platform, President Barack Obama is planning to visit Hiroshima, Japan as part of an upcoming diplomatic trip.
*Despite North Carolina's current law, the US Education and Justice Departments have issued a joint statement urging ALL schools to allow transgender students the bathrooms of their identity and not that of their birth.
ELSEWHERE...
*Office Depot and Staples have been officially blocked by a Federal judge from ever merging on the grounds it would create an unfair monopoly against consumers. The two companies have since given up on the idea, (for now?).
*Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors was named professional basketball's Most Valuable Player for the second straight season.
*David "Big Papi" Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox hit his 600th career double today during a game against the Houston Astros at Fenway Park.

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

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