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The Roundup

By: Monday October 20, 2014 5:45 am

Hey folks, what are you doing today? It’s the start of a whole new week.

International Politics

Overall

- The British ambassador to Israel said the recent symbolic vote for Palestine represented a shift in public opinion

- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan refused to send U.S. aid to Kurdish rebels against the Islamic State since they consider them were terrorists as well.

Middle East

- According to a report from the United Nations, the Iraqi government executed at least 60 people this year and some of the cases are questionable

Asia and Oceania

- Journalist Michelle Chen speaks with Mung Siu Tat of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions on the latest in Hong Kong and the role capitalism is playing in the region

- Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying accused “external forces” at play in the demonstrations in the ground; Ha, that’s a good one.

Africa

- In el-Arish, Egypt, seven soldiers were killed in the Sinai pennisula by a roadside bomb and six were wounded.


 

“Let’s not get ahead of the 19th century here or anything…”

By: Monday October 20, 2014 1:30 am

Pope Francis

For those of you who’ve been mildly surprised with the almost modern reign of Pope Frank, the week started out pretty well.

In a dramatic shift in tone, a Vatican document said on Monday that homosexuals had “gifts and qualities to offer” and asked if Catholicism could accept gays and recognize positive aspects of same-sex couples.

The document, prepared after a week of discussions at an assembly of 200 bishops on the family, said the Church should challenge itself to find “a fraternal space” for homosexuals without compromising Catholic doctrine on family and matrimony.

But finishing what you start, is not exactly a strong point on Vatican Hill.

Catholic bishops scrapped their landmark welcome to gays Saturday, showing deep divisions at the end of a two-week meeting sought by Pope Francis to chart a more merciful approach to ministering to Catholic families.

The bishops failed to approve even a watered-down section on ministering to homosexuals that stripped away the welcoming tone of acceptance contained in a draft document earlier in the week.

So much for the (en)lightening up, Francis.

Of course, in reality it matters not.

Overwhelming 85% Of Young American Catholics Support Gays And Lesbian, Pew Report

If you cannot lead, and refuse to follow, get out of the way.

Late, Late Night FDL: Something Blue

By: Sunday October 19, 2014 10:00 pm

Neil Diamond – Something Blue

This Tuesday, Neil’s latest album Melody Road will be released…

There’s soppy, there’s schmaltz, and then there’s the latest from Neil Diamond. He remarried in 2012, and much of Melody Road radiates honeymoon period: trumpets tootle cheerfully, guitar melodies beam, cherry blossom falls from flutes, and Diamond delivers platitudes such as “Marriage is not an easy thing/ But look at all the joy it brings” with balmy bonhomie. Sunny Disposition and In Better Days have all the substance of soapy, made-for-TV movie romances; Something Blue and Nothing But a Heartache are bleaker, but only to sharpen the contrast with what it is to find that one special person who “took me to a place I never knew”. Sweep away the saccharine and Diamond’s craft as a songwriter still gleams: First Time addresses both teenagers striking out on their own (it would have been perfect for the Monkees), and septuagenarians inclined to nostalgia; while the story of Seongah and Jimmy doubles as a hymn to Diamond’s native Brooklyn, set to a Burt Bacharach swoop. But Melody Road should come with a trigger warning for anyone whose relationship is nearing the rocks…

What’s on your mind tonite…?

Late Night: Confederate Party Member Forgets He Can’t Flash His Gang Symbols in Public

By: Sunday October 19, 2014 8:00 pm

And before you go off saying that this is just some dirty Commie college prof seeing echoes of the Confederate Battle Flag in Dan Severson’s logo, Bluestem points out that a Republican activist, Jeff Kolb, noted the Confederate evocation months ago.

The Erasure of ‘Gay’ From Black History & the Black Community Must Stop

By: Sunday October 19, 2014 6:49 pm

As a gay African-American, I’ve heard the argument about how “you can’t compare the gay civil rights movement to the African-American civil rights movement” more times than I care to count.

The constant so-called moral outrage of some African-American heterosexuals when the topic is mentioned has gotten me to the point where my mind automatically tunes out the monotonous drones of how supposed sinful homosexuals are “high jacking” the civil rights movement or how gays “can’t compare their sin with black skin.”

As such, I almost missed the epiphany which occurred over two weeks ago.

Culture of the National Security State, an Interview With Deepa Kumar

By: Sunday October 19, 2014 5:25 pm

This is the last in a series of interviews Deepa Kumar gave the Real News Network wherein she tells host Paul Jay “that a culture of fear and obedience has developed so we give consent to Cold War policies, to hot wars, to the complete militarization of society.”

FDL Book Salon Welcomes Helen Caldicott, Crisis Without End: The Medical and Ecological Consequences of the Fukushima Nuclear Catastrophe

By: Sunday October 19, 2014 1:59 pm

Dr. Caldicott convened a symposium at the New York Academy of Medicine on March 11 and 12, 2013, the second anniversary of the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan. She assembled some of the leading scientists, epidemiologists, physicists, and physicians from around the world to present their latest research on Fukushima and nuclear plant hazards. Indicative of the line-up of experts convened by Dr. Caldicott is the author of the book’s first chapter: Naoto Kan, the prime minister of Japan at the time of the Fukushima disaster. Dr. Caldicott edited their presentations and added an introduction and wrap-up for this book to expand the reach of this information.

Sunday Food: Chicken and Spinach Soup

By: Sunday October 19, 2014 1:10 pm

When the weather turns cold, I crave hot soups, and while there are a lot of prepared kinds that I am happy just to heat up, every now and then a fresh home-made variety calls out for your time and trouble.

Sensible Leadership On Economics In Real Life

By: Sunday October 19, 2014 11:40 am

How badly do centrists of both parties have to be beaten up economically before they get past the political/media freak show and renounce their belief in Neoliberalism as the One True Economic Faith?

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