Obama authorises air strikes on Iraq

Obama authorises air strikes on Iraq http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28699832

Democracy Now! U.S. and World News Headlines for Thursday, August 7

Published on Aug 7, 2014

Visit http://www.democracynow.org to watch the daily independent, global news hour. This is a summary of top news headlines from the U.S. and around the world on Thursday, August 7, 2014. Visit the Democracy Now! website to read the complete transcript, search the vast news archive, and to make a donation to support our daily, non-profit news program.

In this video, you’ll learn about these top news headlines today:

Ceasefire in Gaza Enters Final 24 Hours

U.N. Chief: Gaza Toll Has “Shocked and Shamed the World”

Obama: Gaza Blockade Cannot Continue Indefinitely

Report: Israeli Deliberately Targeted Medics in Gaza

Iraqi Christians Face Crisis as IS Advances; 40,000 Yazidis Trapped on Mountain

Ebola Toll Tops 930; Liberians Plead for Drug Given to U.S. Missionaries

U.S. Drone Strike Kills At Least 5 in Pakistan

Russia Imposes Sanctions on U.S., European Agricultural Goods

Snowden Allowed to Remain in Russia for 3 More Years

Cambodia: 2 Khmer Rouge Leaders Sentenced to Life in Prison

Mexico: Congress OKs Reforms Opening Oil, Gas Sector to Foreign Firms

Bank of America to Pay Record $17 Billion for Toxic Mortgages

Missouri Executes 1st Prisoner Since Botched Killing in Arizona

NYPD Arrests Wife of Man Who Filmed Fatal Arrest of Eric Garner

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from USFWSRefuges: “summer sunset over Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia.”

An amazing summer #sunset over Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in #Virginia. @USFWSRefuges pic.twitter.com/oxqJhjjGbX

— US Dept of Interior (@Interior) August 6, 2014

this pressed – via Washington Post: Who are the Yazidis? – The Washington Post

Who are the Yazidis? – The Washington Post.

this pressed – via Wired: The Iconic 80-Year-Old Italian Coffee Pot That Keeps on Brewing | Gadget Lab | WIRED

“The café was the hub of Italian social life a hundred years ago. But if you wanted an espresso at home like the one a 250-pound café machine produced, you were fuori di fortuna. Then, in the early 1930s, Italian metalworker Alfonso Bialetti found a solution: a three-tiered coffeepot system comprising a stove-top boiler on the bottom, a filtered funnel for grounds in the middle, and a receptacle to collect the hot brew on top. Aside from a few refinements—like design tweaks to the handle and top knob—the Bialetti has scarcely changed since. Today, nine out of 10 Italian households own a Moka.”

via

The Iconic 80-Year-Old Italian Coffee Pot That Keeps on Brewing | Gadget Lab | WIRED.

this pressed – From BuzzFeed: Commuters Push Train Off Trapped Man

Commuters Push Train Off Trapped Man.

this pressed: BBC News – Iraq Christian leader: People are being slaughtered

BBC News – Iraq Christian leader: People are being slaughtered.

Liberian Health Workers Face Angry Residents Over Ebola Deaths – ABC News

http://abcnews.go.com/International/liberian-health-workers-face-angry-residents-ebola-deaths/story?id=24872716

What else happened in Middle East as Gaza burned?

What else happened in Middle East as Gaza burned? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-28691901

Google to prioritise secure websites

Google to prioritise secure websites http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28687513

Obama defends unilateral action

Obama defends unilateral action http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-28683505

The mystery of a missing Crimean Tatar

The mystery of a missing Crimean Tatar http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28680977

today’s holiday: Purple Heart Day

Purple Heart Day

Purple Heart Day is observed in the United States and commemorates the establishment in 1782 of the Badge of Military Merit, an award created by George Washington to honor soldiers for their distinguished action in battle. On August 7 throughout the country, local chapters of the Military Order of the Purple Heart sponsor services to remember and honor medal recipients from their communities. These ceremonies often feature prayers, military music, reminiscences by award recipients, and speeches by government and military officials. More… Discuss

quotation: James Fenimore Cooper

America owes most of its social prejudices to the exaggerated religious opinions of the different sects which were so instrumental in establishing the colonies.

James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) Discuss

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• And What Does “An American” Look Like Also?

today’s birthday: Mata Hari (1876)

Mata Hari (1876)

Born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, this Dutch courtesan, dancer, and alleged spy went by the stage name Mata Hari. During World War I, she had intimate relationships with high-ranking Allied military officers and government officials. Though details are unclear, she apparently spied for Germany from 1916. In January 1917, French intelligence intercepted German messages about a spy they identified as Mata Hari, and she was executed by the French on espionage charges. What happened to her corpse?

Related articles

• Condemned spy Mata Hari glib during final interrogation: MI5 files
• Mata Hari’s birthplace burns down
• Mata Hari: from erotic dance to espionage
• Mata Hari the German spy executed in WW1…
• Mata Hari

this day in the yesteryear: Thor Heyerdahl Lands in Polynesia (1947)

Thor Heyerdahl Lands in Polynesia (1947)

Heyerdahl was a Norwegian adventurer with a passion for cultural anthropology. After a trip to Polynesia convinced him that Polynesian culture bore traces of South American cultures, he built a raft—the Kon-Tiki—and sailed it from South America to Polynesia to demonstrate the possibility of such contact. While his book about the voyage was an international bestseller, anthropologists have largely dismissed his theories. Why did he deliberately burn his ship during a 1978 expedition? More… Discuss

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• WABAC to Kon-Tiki & Ra
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WHO Mulling Experimental Ebola Treatments

With the death toll from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa still rapidly rising, the World Health Organization (WHO) is exploring the ethical implications of using an experimental drug to combat the virus. Currently, there are no approved vaccines or medications for Ebola, but a number are under development. One experimental drug has already been used to treat two US aid workers infected in the outbreak, and some of the world’s leading Ebola experts are calling for experimental treatments to be made more widely available given the current crisis. The WHO is to convene a meeting of medical ethicists to examine this issue next week. More… Discuss

Related articles

• WHO asks: Is use of experimental Ebola drugs ethical?
• Possible Ebola treatment to be reviewed by ethicists
• Are Experimental Ebola Treatments Ethical?

Ice Dancing

In ice dancing, couples are required to perform choreographed dance routines on ice. It differs from pair skating in that it does not allow movements of strength, such as jumps or overhead lifts. Ice dance routines are similar to ballroom dances, and, typically, partners are not supposed to separate by more than two arm-lengths. The sport gained popularity in the 1930s, and the first world championships were held in 1950. When did ice dancing become an Olympic event? More… Discuss

Related articles

• U.S. Ice Dancers Edge Canadian Rivals For Historic Gold

word: obeisance

obeisance 

Definition:	(noun) A gesture or movement of the body, such as a curtsy, that expresses deference or homage.
Synonyms:	bow
Usage:	And so without a word he led her to the door, opened it, and bowed yet lower as she swept out, but still without a tinge of mockery in the obeisance. Discuss.

‘They want to slaughter us’ – Yazidi eyewitness

‘They want to slaughter us’ – Yazidi eyewitness http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28687329

Gaza emergency appeal launched

Gaza emergency appeal launched http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28683092

Australia’s home-grown terror threat

Australia’s home-grown terror threat http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-28672826

West Africa erects Ebola blockades

West Africa erects Ebola blockades http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28690799

Two Health Insurers in Plans to Create a Health Records Database for Californians – Diabetes Insider | Diabetes Insider

http://diabetesinsider.com/two-health-insurers-plans-create-health-records-database-californians/34674

New quartet of unlocked Blu smartphones all cost under $150 | PCWorld

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2462780/new-quartet-of-unlocked-blu-smartphones-all-cost-under-150.html

New quartet of unlocked Blu smartphones all cost under $150 | PCWorld

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2462780/new-quartet-of-unlocked-blu-smartphones-all-cost-under-150.html

Iraqi Militants Seize Christian Towns – WSJ

http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/iraqi-militants-seize-christian-villages-1407404503?mobile=y

Russia retaliates against U.S., EU with import ban

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/08/07/russia-ukraine-eu-us-imports-sanctions/13710147/

2 Senior Khmer Rouge Leaders Are Convicted in Cambodia, Decades After Rule – NYTimes.com

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/08/08/world/asia/decades-after-khmer-rouges-rule-2-senior-leaders-are-convicted-in-cambodia.html?_r=0&referrer=