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Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Cheat Sheet - How Gun Nuts Excuse Murder

Read This, Skip That ....

May 27, 2014
FAULTY LOGIC
Firearm fanboys are once again scrambling for justifications to hold on to their weapons of choice after Friday night's mass shooting at the University of California, Santa Barbara. A gun ban would lead to a ban on knives and cars, they say, adding that "guns don't kill people, people do." Cliff Schecter writes these excuses are getting weaker with each new horrific act of gun violence.
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS

Nigeria's defense chief had frustrating news for the families of the nearly 300 schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram and have been missing for about six weeks. Air Marshal Alex Badeh said the government has now located the missing girls, but it could not take the risk of using force to rescue them. "Where they are held, can we go there with force? We can't kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back," he said. The BBC also reported that a deal to exchange 50 of the abducted girls for 100 Boko Haram prisoners fell through for unclear reasons after Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan attended a conference in Paris on the crisis. The missing girls are believed to be somewhere in the forests of northeastern Borneo state, near Chad and Cameroon.

MAKING AMENDS

Pope Francis announced Monday that he will meet at the Vatican with a group of half a dozen sex-abuse victims. The pope declared a "zero-tolerance" policy for the sexual abuse of children, adding "There are no privileges." He announced his first meeting with victims of clerical abuse during an in-flight press conference from Jerusalem to Rome. But many victims are unimpressed. David Clohessy, the executive director of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said "The simple truth is this is another gesture, another public-relations coup, another nice bit of symbolism that will leave no child better off and bring no real reform to a continuing, scandal-ridden church hierarchy." Pope Francis also revealed that three bishops are under investigation for abuse-related reasons.

CLEAN EXIT?
President Obama is facing increasing pressure from the Pentagon and military intelligence officials to keep 10,000 American soldiers stationed in Afghanistan—and some say even that may not be sufficient. Eli Lake and Josh Rogin report that the White House has been hesitant to give an exact number of troops to remain in Afghanistan, raising concerns for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. It's a decision that could make or break Obama' s foreign policy legacy, but he needs to make it soon.
MORE CLUES

On Tuesday, the Malaysian government and Inmarsat released previously unpublicized raw satellite-transmission data to the families of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370's victims and the media. The newly released information suggests that the plane ran out of fuel and crashed into the Indian Ocean as it was heading south. Its final satellite transmission was "consistent with satellite communication equipment on the aircraft powering up following a power interruption," the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in a separate statement after reviewing the data, adding, "The interruption in electrical supply may have been caused by fuel exhaustion." The data seems to confirm that the plane's wreckage is somewhere very far off the western coast of Australia. The ocean floor mapping of the region will take at least three months. MH370 disappeared on March 8, carrying 239 people.


PAYING IN BLOOD
Dozens Dead in Donetsk Airport Clash
At least 30 separatist casualties.
NEVER-ENDING
Iraq Reportedly Bombs Fallujah Hospital
Says Human Rights Watch.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Teen Holding Breath Causes 3-Car Crash
He passed out.
MISSING THE POINT
Mexico Breastfeeding PSA Courts Backlash
Breast isn't always best.
I'll BE THERE FOR YOU
David Schwimmer Helps Solve Stabbing
Go, Ross!
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