News – January 31, 2018

Posted on February 1, 2018 by State of Opportunity

Private Companies Start Playing Cards to Halt Growing Popularity of Single-Payer Universal Insurance
Reuters – Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan partner to cut U.S. healthcare costs
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Republican Family Values on Full Display
The Guardian – Why does it cost $32,093 just to give birth in America?
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Make Illegal Detention and Torture Great Again
Chicago Tribune – Trump orders U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay kept open indefinitely
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Is Gowdy Making A Play For A Higher Position?
Washington Post – Rep. Trey Gowdy announces plans to retire, return to justice system
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Ajit Pai’s FCC Finally Does Something Not Entirely Terrible
Wired – FCC Won’t Redefine ‘Broadband;’ Move Could Have Worsened Digital Divide
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At Least She Had the Integrity to Step Aside
New York Times – Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, C.D.C. Director, Resigns Over Tobacco and Other Investments
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San Francisco Decides to Eliminate Double Standard. A Great Way to Unburden Prison System.
San Francisco Chronicle – SF will wipe thousands of marijuana convictions off the books
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The Roosevelts Are Still Around
The Guardian – America’s public lands belong to all of us. We owe it to ourselves to save them
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SpaceX Ditches Old Booster In Preparation For Block 5. Falcon Heavy On Schedule For February 6, Musk Standard Time.
The Verge – Watch SpaceX launch a satellite for Luxembourg on a used Falcon 9 rocket

Trump Train Hits Garbage Truck.
Associated Press – Train carrying GOP lawmakers to policy retreat hits truck

If Nobody Gets Everything They Want, There’s Usually a Solid Compromise at Work
New York Times – Trump’s Stance on Russia Sanctions Angers Both Moscow and Washington
NYT - Trump Russia

UN Hesitantly Challenges Israeli Manifest Destiny
Fox News – UN reviews 206 companies over links to Israeli settlements

Odd. Just Odd. Still, He Won’t Be Missed.
Haaretz – Hamas Official Who Allegedly Shot Himself in the Head Dies of His Wounds in Gaza
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Uganda Mortgages Future Generations. Is It Worth It?
Reuters – Chinese-built expressway divides Uganda as debts mount
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The Beginning of the End for America’s War in Vietnam
Associated Press – AP BOOK EXCERPT: The Tet Offensive’s first 36 hours
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State of the Union – 2018

Posted on January 31, 2018 by State of Opportunity

Freedom!

C-SPAN – President Trump 2018 State of the Union Address

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders – State of the Union Response
Part 1:

Part 2:

New York Times – FULL SPEECH: 2018 Democratic Response to SOTU

News – January 29, 2018

Posted on January 30, 2018 by State of Opportunity

The EPA Makes A Surprisingly Good Decision
CNN – The EPA made a surprise move that could protect the world’s largest salmon fishery
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Republicans Fan the Curtain, Just a Tad.
New York Times – House Republicans Vote to Release Secret Memo on Russia Inquiry
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Roaring, hmm? When Else Was That Descriptor Used?
USA Today – Roaring economy gives Trump bragging rights for State of the Union address
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But Will They Be Aired?
Washington Post – Sanders and progressives plan three responses to the State of the Union
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Charges Against Foreign Banks Settled. No Admission of Guilt. How About Domestic Banks?
Washington Post – U.S. regulator, DOJ settle ‘spoofing’ charges against European banks
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Marijuana Hiccups Keep Black Market on Life Support. Is California’s Regulatory Scheme Practical or is Reform Required?
AP – After California pot stockpiles go up in smoke, what’s next?
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Shh, Don’t Tell the Kids That Mommy and Daddy Do Bad Things. Is This How Democracy Works?
Associated Press – Pentagon restricts release of Afghanistan war data
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I Wonder Why Information About Afghanistan Is About To Be Withheld…
Reuters – Trump rejects peace talks with Taliban in departure from Afghan strategy
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Liberal Hypocrisy on Full Display
Real Clear Politics – Maher Defends Jerusalem Decision: When You Win Wars You Take Land, Palestine A “Coiled Snake”
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Open Discussion About Our Fingers in Ukrainian Pie
Bloomberg – How Ukraine’s President Fooled Joe Biden
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They’ve Been in There for a While
BBC – Vice President Joe Biden’s son joins Ukraine gas company
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Competition in the Middle East and an Anchor for Saudi Arabia’s Planned City
CNN – Jeddah Tower: What does the world’s next tallest skyscraper look like now?
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But Does He Own Boardwalk or Park Place?
Forbes – Jeff Bezos Gains $2.8 Billion After Amazon Go’s Debut, Reaches Highest Net Worth Ever
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Nationalizing Is the National Procurement of Something Privately Owned. A 5G Network Doesn’t Yet Exist. This Would Be a Public Works Project, Not Nationalization.
Axios – Scoop: Trump team considers nationalizing 5G network
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Ajit Pai Doesn’t Like the Sound of That, Wants to Rely on Those Purposely Holding Back Build-Out
The Verge – FCC chairman Ajit Pai is opposed to a government-run 5G network

I oppose any proposal for the federal government to build and operate a nationwide 5G network. The market, not the government, is best positioned to drive innovation and investment. https://t.co/viIDB4mb0f pic.twitter.com/hgxRLtwoU4

— Ajit Pai (@AjitPai) January 29, 2018

Suffocating Monkeys No Longer in Vogue
New York Times – German Carmakers Criticized for Emissions Research on Monkeys
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News – January 28, 2018

Posted on January 30, 2018 by State of Opportunity

Democrats Faceplant, Yet Again
Politico – Schumer rejects Trump’s immigration proposal
Fox News – Pelosi: Trump’s Immigration Proposal Is Part of a ‘Campaign to Make America White Again’
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The Clintons Shock Nation with Double Standard
New York Times – Hillary Clinton Chose to Shield a Top Adviser Accused of Harassment in 2008
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Obama Picks New Labels for Himself
Univision News – Obama: “More Moderate-Republican Than Socialist”
The Hill – Obama on his criticism of Israeli settlements: ‘I’m basically a liberal Jew’
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As If Boeing Doesn’t Receive Subsidies
USA Today – Feds decide Delta importing Bombardier jets from Canada won’t hurt Boeing
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US Regulator Hits Foreign Banks
Reuters – U.S. CFTC to fine UBS, Deutsche Bank, HSBC for spoofing, manipulation: sources
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Oh, Sweet Summer Child, Take a Look at America’s Numbers
Der Spiegel – 50 Percent for 5 Percent: A Look at Germany’s Extremely Unequal Wealth Distribution
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Assange, Now an Ecuadorean Citizen, Asks the UK to Let Him Go
BBC – WikiLeaks’s Julian Assange becomes Ecuadorean citizen
BBC – Julian Assange asks UK court to drop his arrest warrant
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It Would Be the Catholic Church
New York Times – Pope’s Defense of Chilean Bishop in Sex Abuse Scandal Causes Outrage
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Macron Repositions France
New Yorker – At Versailles and Davos, Emmanuel Macron Makes His Move
CNBC – France’s Macron says globalization is going through a major crisis
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Merkel Attempts to Rally EU and Bolster Domestic Support
Deutsche Welle – Germany’s Angela Merkel decries right-wing populism as ‘poison’ at Davos summit
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A Truly Noble Goal
Huffington Post – Australia Plans To Become Top 10 Defence Exporter In A Decade
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Whitewashing History is a Crime Against All People. Without Context, We Are Lost.
Reuters – Israel and Poland clash over proposed Holocaust law
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Here’s Hoping Something Positive Results
Yahoo News – Palestinian official says India’s Modi to visit West Bank

Double Standard: Trump and Haley Spurn Palestinians
Reuters – Trump threatens to pull aid to Palestinians if they don’t pursue peace
Reuters – U.S. will not chase Palestinians lacking will to seek peace: Haley
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Russia, Iran, Syria, and Turkey? What a Pitch!
Time – ‘America First’ Is a Hard Sell on Rex Tillerson’s Europe Tour
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The Europeans Are Already Pretty Dependent on Russia
Reuters – U.S. says planned Russian pipeline would threaten European energy security
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Halfway Around the World, An Iranian Tanker Sinks. Results Are What One Would Imagine.
Reuters – How the Sanchi’s oil could spread
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Fifteen Years of Occupation? Something Tells Me We’re Just Getting Warmed Up.
BBC – Kabul attack: Taliban kill 95 with ambulance bomb in Afghan capital
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Turkey’s Offensive Continues, Ironic Operation Name Intact, and Washington Steps Back. What’s the Endgame Here?
Al Jazeera – Turkey urges US to withdraw from Syria’s Manbij
Reuters – Turkey says U.S. has promised to stop arming YPG, warns Washington on Manbij
Business Insider – Erdogan says Turkey will clean entire Syrian border of terrorists
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News – January 25, 2018

Posted on January 27, 2018 by State of Opportunity

FOCUS: Davos 2018

Assad Is Still Defended By Russia. The United States Controls the Eastern Half of Syria. Iran Has Militias Everywhere. Turkey Just Invaded. The War Is Far From Over.
Der Spiegel – What Comes after War in Syria?
SYRIA-CONFLICT

Trump Doubles Down, Offers Citizenship for 1.8 Million Dreamers
Bloomberg – Trump Sets High Price for Democrats on Immigration Deal
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A Big Win, But Non-Partisan Redistrict Commissions, Coupled With Neutral Parameters, Would Avoid These Legal Battles
The Economist – Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court invalidates the state’s congressional map
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EPA Looking Into Water Tainted With Cancer-Causing Chemical
The Intercept – EPA Orders Testing for GenX Contamination Near Chemours Plant in West Virginia
The Intercept – New Teflon Toxin Causes Cancer in Lab Animals
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What’s The Best Way to Disperse Shadows? Shine A Little Light On Them. Sort of Like When Sanford Said He Was “Hiking the Appalachian Trail.”
McClatchy – Sanford wants you to see classified memo on Trump campaign
McClatchy - Sanford