Obama makes religious freedom pitch in Prayer Breakfast remarks

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President Barack Obama speaks at the 62nd National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014. The president told the non-denominational gathering of political leaders that freedom of religion across the world is important to national security and is a central tenet of U.S. diplomacy.

Charles Dharapak, Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Obama on Thursday declared global religious freedom is "under threat" and he called on North Korea and Iran to release Americans jailed for practicing their Christian beliefs.

Speaking at the annual National Prayer Breakfast, Obama also denounced abuses in the name of religion that discriminate and oppress minorities.

"We sometimes see religion twisted in an attempt to justify hatred and persecution against other people just because of who they are or how they pray or who they love," he said at the private event that draws hundreds of members of Congress, national leaders and foreign dignitaries to the Washington Hilton ballroom.

His remarks drew both praise and skepticism from human rights advocates and a religious freedom scholar.

"I hope this is not another example of a splendid speech followed by no action whatsoever," said Thomas F. Farr, who directs the Religious Freedom Project and the Program on Religion and US Foreign Policy at Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs.

Obama singled out Americans Kennth Bae, a Christian missionary who has served 15 months of a 15 year sentence of hard labor in a North Korean prison, and Saeed Abedini, jailed in Iran for 18 months after being permitted to enter the nation for charitable activities.

He said his administration is working for the release of both men.

"Today, again, we call on the Iranian government to release Pastor Abedini so he can return to the loving arms of his wife and children in Idaho, Obama said.

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Obama makes religious freedom pitch in Prayer Breakfast remarks

PETA Combats Dog Breeding With Hitler Mustache

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PETA has a message to share, and it's going to share it whether it has to depict a dog with a Hitler mustache or not. (It does though.)

In anticipation of the upcoming Westminster Kennel Club dog show, PETA's latest ad campaign equates dog breeding to eugenics with the catchy tagline "Master Race? Wrong for People. Wrong for Dogs. Ban Breeding." A black comb partially obscures the upper lip of a...what is that? A poodle?...giving it the appearance of a Furry Fhrer. It's unclear what the animal's baby pink ribbon and small side ponytail are meant to represent, but, if we had to guess, we'd say the Khmer Rouge and...Mean Girls? Respectively? Maybe the other way?

"A fetish for 'pure bloodlines' and a disdain for 'mixed breeds' is a despicable attitude to have toward any living being," PETA Senior VP Daphna Nachminovitch said in a statement. "As millions of animals die in animal shelters every year for lack of good homes, it's criminal to celebrate the breeders who contribute to this deadly overpopulation crisis."

A rally will be held outside Madison Square Garden on February 10the first day of the dog showat 5 p.m.

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PETA Combats Dog Breeding With Hitler Mustache

Conserve Natural Resources and Eco System final – www.environmentcare.in – Video

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Conserve Natural Resources and Eco System final - http://www.environmentcare.in
Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by humanity, in a natural form. A natural resource is often character...

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Conserve Natural Resources and Eco System final - http://www.environmentcare.in - Video

Joomla Beat Podcast 50th Episode – Joomla Eco system and the open source business model – Video

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Joomla Beat Podcast 50th Episode - Joomla Eco system and the open source business model
For the 50th episode I #39;m doing a Google+ hangout episode where I will have a few special guests on the show to talk all things Joomla! All the show notes wil...

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Joomla Beat Podcast 50th Episode - Joomla Eco system and the open source business model - Video

What are ecosystem services? | In Brief

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5 February 2014

Article by Katy Orford, National Assembly for Wales Research Service

Image from Flickr bt Shari Hindman. Licensed under the Creative Commons.

The term ecosystem service is commonly used in discussions of sustainable land management. This blog post aims to gives a brief overview of its meaning and discusses the economic value and conservation of ecosystem services.

Definitions

Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a community of plants, animals and smaller organisms that live, feed, reproduce and interact in the same area or environment.

Ecosystem service

The UK National Ecosystem Assessment states that ecosystem services are the benefits provided by ecosystems that contribute to making human life both possible and worth living.

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and UK National Ecosystem Assessment distinguishes four categories of ecosystem services which are commonly used, where the supporting services are regarded as the basis for the services of the other three categories;

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What are ecosystem services? | In Brief

Kia Soul EV: Hipster hamster 2015 Soul EV eco-friendly

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CHICAGO, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Kia's hipster hamsters have gone green: The South Korean automaker Thursday debuted the 2015 Soul EV, its first all-electric vehicle, at the Chicago Auto Show.

"We see it serving as a halo vehicle for brand," said Michael Sprague, Kia's vice president for marketing and communication at the auto show press preview.

The Soul EV has a 27kWh lithium-ion polymer battery with a 200 watt-hour/kg energy density and a real world range of 80 to 100 miles on a single charge.

The front-wheel drive Soul EV gets 109-horsepower from an 81.4kW electric motor generating 210 pound-feet of torque. Zero to 60 time is around a leisurely 12 seconds with a top speed of 90 mph.

An eight-inch touch navigation screen, rear camera display, hands-free Bluetooth, a 6.6kW on-board charger, power windows, power driver's seat and an efficient heating and air conditioning climate control system are standard.

The car's regenerative braking system feeds energy back into the battery and the Soul EV uses 10.9 pounds of bio-based organic content in interior plastic.

"The Soul EV retains the fun and funky style as well as the packaging efficiency and utility that have made the gasoline-powered Soul such a huge hit with consumers," said Orth Hedrick, Kia's vice president of product planning for the United States. "And to that winning combination it adds usable real-world range and multiple charging options, making it the perfect EV for everyone."

The Soul will be sold initially in California and Oregon when it goes on sale later this year and be available in New York, New Jersey and Maryland in early 2015. Pricing was not announced.

Kia also showed the freshened 2014 Optima Hybrid, which gets 38 mpg, and the Niro hybrid concept, a crossover utility powered by a 160-horsepower, 1.6 liter turbocharged hybrid-electric drivetrain paired with a seven-speed transmission.

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Kia Soul EV: Hipster hamster 2015 Soul EV eco-friendly

Clean-up works on beaches of Kusu, St John's islands being completed: MPA

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SINGAPORE: Clean-up works on the beaches of Kusu Island and St John's Island are being completed, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

MPA said there have been no oil patches reported in Singapore waters since Monday, February 3.

The oil spillage occurred after two separate collisions on January 29 and 30 involving a chemical tanker and container ship, and another container ship and a barge.

As a result of the collisions, about 680 metric tonnes of fuel oil was spilled.

MPA said Sentosa Development Corporation is cooperating with the National Environment Agency (NEA) to ensure the surrounding waters are free from oil pollution.

MPA added that the islands remain open but the public is advised to keep away from the areas on the beaches affected by the oil spill.

NEA will continue to monitor the beaches and will inform the public when the closed parts of the beaches are re-opened.

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Clean-up works on beaches of Kusu, St John's islands being completed: MPA