When Pope John Paul II visited Damascus in May 2001, Bashar used his welcoming speech to denounce the Jews, saying, “They tried to kill the principles of all religions with the same mentality in which they betrayed Jesus Christ and the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet Muhammad.”   read more

Democratic State Representative Stacey Newman introduced House Bill 1397 (pdf), which would require anyone buying a gun to complete a checklist of requirements, just like women have to do under state law before aborting a pregnancy. Her proposal would mandate gun purchasers talk to a doctor about the risks of gun ownership at least 72 hours before trying to buy a firearm. They also would have to watch a 30-minute video on fatal gun injuries.   read more

Thailand’s military government is investigating U.S. Ambassador Glyn Davies for his criticism of a Thai law that bans criticism of the monarchy. Davies got into trouble for a speech last month highlighting the prison sentences, which can exceed 25 years, that Thais have received for making remarks perceived as criticism of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who is revered by Thais.   read more

"We used to be a balanced people. We used to be true to our values, but now we’re willing to betray our values because of a sense of fear? That’s not American,” said Marine Sgt. Emir Hadzic. “What the hell happened to that America I immigrated to?” Some say the climate in the U.S. is worse than ever since the Sept. 11 attacks. “The rhetoric is definitely different, it’s very alarming,” former Corporal Ibrahim Hashi told the Post. “And I’m concerned for myself and my family’s safety.”   read more

The board is to have nine appointed governors confirmed by the Senate, but Chairman James Bilbray is the only confirmed member. Sen. Tom Carper, author of a bill to overhaul the agency, criticized Congress for not confirming governors since 2010. “This is negligence on the part of Congress,” Carper said. “This would never occur in the private sector because shareholders would demand oversight from a strong board to protect their investment. Congress has failed to protect postal customers.”   read more

The Best Places to Work Agency Rankings, based on employee survey data collected by the Office of Personnel Management, put DHS at the bottom for the second year in a row. The office with the lowest score was DHS’ Office of Intelligence and Analysis. Right behind it was the Secret Service and the third worst was Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Two other bottom-ranked DHS offices were the Office of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, and Customs and Border Protection   read more

The ranchers claimed there was no drought and so their animals should be allowed to graze on the land. But at least two ranching families involved in the protest received $2.2 million from a federal drought disaster relief program. “It’s another example of the hypocrisy,” said Laura Leigh, founder of Wild Horse Education. “They want to run full numbers (of cattle) and claim there’s no drought, and they want to collect drought subsidies besides.”   read more

About 20% of the task force's $766-million budget was used on accommodations for its 5 to 10 employees. The spending included a luxury villa, flat-screen TVs, mini-fridges and DVD players. Their meals were “at least 3 stars” and each offered “at least two entree choices and three side order choices.” This is the same group that spent $43 million on a natural gas refueling station, “roughly 140 times more than what analysts say the project should have cost,” wrote the The Intercept.   read more

Residents of Britain and Australia shake their head in disbelief at the U.S., where there seems to be no limit to the carnage before politicians will act to change gun laws. “The people of America want gun control. The gun industry does not. The gun industry is winning.” wrote Guardian Australia's David Marr. Another Australian, Nick Cater of the Menzies Research Centre, a center-right think tank that promotes individual liberty, called America’s gun policy “lunatic.”   read more

The BioWatch system consists of 600 air-collection units positioned at public places and special events, such as Super Bowls. Homeland Security spent $1 billion on the system, claiming it can detect deadly biological agents released into the atmosphere. That assertion has been challenged by the GAO, which says that BioWatch often produces false alarms because it cannot distinguish between “harmless germs and the lethal pathogens that terrorists would be likely to unleash in an attack."   read more

A man impersonating a member of Congress walked into a secure backstage area without being properly screened and spoke with President Barack Obama at an awards dinner last fall. Only five days later, a woman walked backstage unchecked at a dinner where Obama was a featured guest. And, according to The Washington Post, two people traveled past a Secret Service checkpoint without being noticed and reached the White House grounds.   read more

Gene editing actually transforms the DNA of its subject and those changes are passed down to subsequent generations and thus affect the world’s gene pool, potentially altering the very nature of the human species. In spite of the committee’s recommendation to press the pause button on actual gene editing, it endorsed the continuation of laboratory research to perfect the editing technique, including the manipulation of human cells.   read more

The right-wing’s anti-Muslim rhetoric "plays dangerously into the hands of the Islamic State and other terrorist groups that thrive on the alienation of Muslim populations in the West,” said the report. The threat to resettling Syrian refugees in the U.S. "confuses the victims of terrorism with its perpetrators." Their rhetoric "also threaten[s] constitutional protections – as presidential candidates have already tied these narratives to limitations on the free exercise of speech and religion.”   read more

One U.S. senator—who happens to be the most powerful of them all—gets far more thumbs-down than thumbs-up from those in his state. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has a 52% disapproval rating, according to polling data. He’s the only senator with a disapproval rating over 50%. Nor does McConnell have many who approve of the job he’s doing. At 38%, he barely edges out Democrats Bob Menendez of New Jersey, who’s under indictment, and Gary Peters of Michigan, each at 37% approval.   read more

The fight resulted in two dozen concussions, dislocated shoulders, a broken leg, broken nose, fractured cheek, and other injuries One male first-year cadet said his upperclassman commander advised him: “If you don’t come back with a bloody nose, you didn’t try hard enough.” A female first-year cadet defended the event: “Right after, when we learned how many people had gotten hurt, everyone felt totally hard-core. I know it looks weird from the outside, but it really bonds us.”   read more

The doctors' petition was presented just hours before news of the mass shooting in San Bernardino. “It’s disappointing to me that we’ve made little progress in the past 20 years in finding solutions to gun violence,” said Dr. Nina Agrawal. “In my career, I’ve seen children lives saved from measles, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, motor vehicle accidents…because of federal scientific data and research. It’s frustrating that the CDC is not permitted to do the same type of research for gun violence.”   read more

“This disenfranchisement makes no sense,” said Beshear. “It makes no sense because it dilutes the energy of democracy, which functions only if all classes and categories of people have a voice, not just a privileged, powerful few. It makes no sense because it defeats a primary goal of our corrections system, which is to rehabilitate those who have committed crimes.” Kentucky joins more than 20 other states that have eased restrictions on voting by former prisoners over the past 20 years.   read more