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MOSCOW (AP) — A furniture store has taken over a Moscow cinema, allowing theatergoers to enjoy what more closely resembles an enormous slumber party than an afternoon at the movies. This week the Swedish furniture giant IKEA replaced a movie theater's seats with beds in its Russian "Awake Love" campaign. The switchover took place in the Moscow suburb of Khimki, not far from a branch of the store beloved by many Russians. The campaign, which lasts until Dec. 14, is modeled after a similar event in 2010 at a Paris music hall.

Featured Term selected at random:FATHERS OF THE CHURCH Saintly writers of the early centuries whom the Church recognizes as her special witnesses of the faith. Antiquity, orthodoxy, sanctity, and approval by the Church are their four main prerogatives. They are commonly divided into the Greek and Latin Fathers. It is now generally held that the last of the Western Fathers (Latin) closed with St. Isidore of Seville (560-636), and the last of the Eastern Fathers (Greek) was St. John Damascene (675-749). LATIN FATHERS OF THE CHURCH St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (340-97) Arnobius, apologist (d 327) St. Augustine, Bishop of...

Support Cruz, Sessions and LeeDefund executive amnesty in the “Cromnibus”

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., says she probably won't run for office again. "Oh Lord, no," Landrieu, 59, told reporters when asked if another campaign, perhaps for governor in 2015 or the Senate in 2016, was in her future. "Well, let me say, I'm not going to say a definite 'no' about any of those two," Landrieu said. "I've been trained to never say no. But it is highly, highly unlikely." [Snip] Matthew Lehner, her communications director, said he expects her farewell address later Thursday to be upbeat, and reflect on some of the contributions - such as oil and gas...

A Russian loan to France’s National Front. Invitations to Moscow for leaders of Austria’s Freedom Party. Praise for Vladimir Putin from the head of Britain’s anti-European Union party. As the diplomatic chill over Ukraine deepens, the Kremlin seems keener than ever to enlist Europe’s far-right parties in its campaign for influence in the West, seeking new relationships based largely on shared concern over the growing clout of the EU. […] The fact that many of Moscow’s allies are right to far-right reflects the Kremlin's full turn. Under communism, xenophobic nationalist parties were shunned. Now they are embraced as partners who...

Bracket at link Today's regional final games all on espnU: 4PM: Penn State vs. Wisconsin 6:30PM: North Carolina vs. Texas 9:00PM: Stanford vs. Florida 11:30PM: Nebraska vs. BYU

Jonathan Gruber’s health care forecasting is failing in Colorado as Vermont’s Gov. Peter Shumlin prepares to use the economist’s math for single-payer health care. As Vermonters anxiously await a Gruber-modeled financing plan for Green Mountain Care, modeling done for Colorado’s health exchange by Jonathan Gruber Associates has proven wildly erroneous. In 2011, following Colorado’s decision to set up a state health exchange for Obamacare, the state hired Gruber to forecast enrollment trends from which the state and federal government could estimate costs. According to a presentation delivered to the Colorado Health Benefit Exchange Board on Sept. 16, 2011, and provided...

When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” Matthew 2:4-6 NIV If anyone tries to make the argument that either Party is not run by Marxists they have to look no further than John Bohner and his...

ST. LOUIS • A city police officer stationed at City Hall when protesters showed up Friday to protest police brutality drew the attention of demonstrators because the officer wore a “Wilson” name tag on his sleeve in a show of solidarity with former Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson. Now that officer also has his department’s attention. In an interview Friday, Chief Sam Dotson said the “officer clearly violated our policies and will be disciplined.” “I couldn’t be more disappointed,” Dotson said. “We spend a lot of time working on professionalism and building a bridge in the community.” The department’s policy on...

A thorough explanation of the origins of the rain storms hitting California. There is no tropical moisture involved. Systems coming in to west coast are all well north of Hawaii, which is dry. So the rain is a product of cold air off the Asian continent colliding with warm water off the west coast. Otherwise, Joe argues for a very snowy Christmas.

Protesters plan to converge on the nation's capital Saturday to help bring attention to the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police and call for legislative action. Civil rights organizations plan to hold a national march in Washington with the families of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, two unarmed black men who died in incidents with white police officers, to help bring attention to the issue of police brutality. Civil rights advocate The Rev. Al Sharpton also will be part of the march. Saturday's march against police violence — sponsored in part by the National Action Network,...

Which city is America's biggest hotbed for terrorists? If you're thinking New York or Los Angeles, you'd be mistaken. Think middle America. Dozens of young men and women have left Minneapolis-Saint Paul in recent years to join Islamic terrorist groups overseas. Most of these U.S. passport holders hail from the Twin Cities' large Somali Muslim community. Some have been suicide bombers. Others star in propaganda videos.

Reports state that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tried to force a quick Friday afternoon vote to send the CR-Omnibus budget to the President to be signed into law, but Republican Senators Mike Lee, Ted Cruz, and Jeff Sessions wanted Reid to agree to allow a vote to defund Obama's amnesty plans before they would agree to vote for the budget.

In Ireland, taking the name of Israel means becoming a war criminal. A popular Dublin restaurant, The Exchequer, no longer stocks Israeli goods. In the Irish town of Kinvara, retailers, restaurants and pharmacies operate a boycott of Israeli goods. The leading Irish supermarket chain SuperValu removed the Israeli carrots from its shelves. And I have mentioned just a few examples of the new Irish anti-Semitism. It is the same everywhere in Europe: Israel is disappearing from European shelves. Practically and symbolically. The material cancellation of Israeli goods from Europe's shelves anticipates Israel's physical suppression. The French city of Lille suspended...

New York police union tells Mayor Blasio he is BANNED from funerals of cops killed on duty - after he told officers they had to change in the wake of Garner chokehold death The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association posted a form on its website Allowed members to sign a letter barring the mayor and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito from their service Say it's because of their 'consistent refusal' to show officers respect Goes on to add that their attendance would be considered an 'insult' De Blasio prompted anger last week when he said his black son Dante should be 'wary'...

Will video kiosks work for $15.00 per hour?

Convicted terrorist and retired professor Bill Ayers sat down with Fars News, a state-controlled media outlet that serves the Islamic Republic of Iran, where he proclaimed that the United States is a “terrorist nation” that is the “greatest purveyor of violence on earth… and the foremost threat to world peace.”

"Rare warbirds to depart Edwards Ranch......inside Texan Wilson "Connie" Edwards' 100,000+ square foot hangar complex and its remarkable treasure trove of iconic warbirds......" scroll down for video .....HA-1112 Buchon

The international price of oil has dropped by more than 40 percent in the past six months. To put it lightly, this presents a major challenge to oil-exporting nations. Many analysts agree that, of all oil rich countries, Venezuela is the most vulnerable. A combination of persistent fiscal deficits, out-of-control inflation, and plunging public support for President Nicolás Maduro threatens to make the nation of 30 million ungovernable. What can Maduro do to survive? In order to answer this question, we must differentiate between what Maduro can do, and what he most likely will (or, rather, will not) do.

Sen. Ted Cruz (D-Texas) blasted the $1.1 trillion "cromnibus" spending bill, saying it was full of presents for lobbyists.“It’s full of Christmas presents for the lobbyists and special interests in Washington,” Cruz said on the Senate floor Friday. “I know it’s Christmas time, but it’s not our job to play Santa to K Street.”The Senate is considering the trillion-dollar package that would fund most of the government through September, avoiding a government shutdown. House Republicans only funded the Department of Homeland Security through February as protest to President Obama’s executive order on immigration.But Cruz said that wasn’t good enough. He...