In most US states, individuals belonging to organizations that discriminate are banned from being judges. Of those 47 states, 22 include sexual orientation as part of disallowed discrimination. Of those 22, including California, exemptions were made for nonprofit organizations like the US military and the Boy Scouts of America. Recently, the US military ended its ban on openly gay members. The Boy Scouts of America, however, earned the ire of many by ending its ban on homosexual youth but maintaining its ban on homosexual adults... effectively angering just about everyone.

Everyone should have the freedom to worship as they wish and believe what they wish. However, we have already established precedent of banning citizens from certain employment due to their exercise of their Constitutional rights. If you say or write material that appears discriminatory or violent in nature, you can be denied many government positions. If you can be denied a government post due to your exercise of free expression, it should also be possible to deny a government post based on religious affiliation.

Among the supporters of that first "de-dollarization" meeting were China and Iran and while the former continues to work down its exposure, the latter - Iran, according to Tasnim news agency, has almost entirely eliminated US Dollars from its reserves and is no longer using dollars in foreign trade. The US is losing its place as the sole dominant geopolitical superpower and history suggests that during such shifts geopolitical tensions structurally increase.

If this analysis is correct then the rise in the past five years, and most notably in the past year, of global geopolitical tensions may well prove not temporary but structural to the current world system and the world may continue to experience more frequent, longer lasting and more far reaching geopolitical stresses than it has in at least two decades. If this is indeed the case then markets might have to price in a higher degree of geopolitical risk in the years ahead.

Government officials began to activate emergency centers on Sunday as professional sports teams, schools and utilities hastily revised their schedules and made preparations. "This could be a storm the likes of which we have never seen before," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told a news conference in a Manhattan sanitation garage where workers were preparing plows and salt for the massive cleanup on about 6,000 miles of city roadways.

Archbishop Longley said: “For me it is authentically Catholic to work and pray for the Church’s unity – it is not an option and it does not undermine my Catholic identity. If I neglect to do this, or I am indifferent, there is something missing from my life and my journey of faith as a Catholic.”

During his address, the archbishop said Unitatis Redintegratio “was the first time that the Catholic Church had reflected theologically on the life and witness of other churches and ecclesial communities”.

The impact of the document, he said, was to show Catholics that working with other Christians would no longer be regarded “as dangerous to their spiritual well-being or at least… a distraction from the Church’s true mission”. The archbishop said the document was “only the beginning of our ecumenical pilgrimage”, and that 50 years on the goal of full unity “seems more remote”.

Concluding his address, the archbishop said: “As we look to the future one of the challenges we face as Churches together is not so much that the truth and love of God and the values offered by Christianity are being ignored or rejected, but that our own attempts to express and share our faith fail to move people sufficiently, especially when they see our divisions. Only by allowing ourselves to be transformed together can we hope to give a more credible witness to the Christ who sends us into the world and longs to walk beside us there.”

After her talks with the Arab League's Secretary General, Nabil al-Arabi, the European Union's foreign policy coordinator, Federica Mogherini had already announced relevant projects including intensified intelligence sharing. New "security attachés" will be working out of EU foreign missions in some of the Arab countries, while keeping contact to their respective intelligence services. Experts are demanding that intelligence cooperation be intensified, also within the EU.

The struggle is aimed at the Jihadists, who had achieved their breakthrough, due to the rearmament by the West and its Middle Eastern allies waging wars against the governments of Libya and Syria. The "counter-terrorism cooperation" will strengthen the authoritarian structures, against which large sectors of the populations of several Arab countries had been so massively revolting in 2010 and 2011.

The shock of the Swiss National Bank abandoning its cornerstone currency cap had yet to fully subside when the European Central Bank said it would flood markets with over a trillion euros, more than expected, to prevent the euro zone from sliding into deflation.

Canada also cut its rate out of the blue and Denmark did so twice to navigate a world of tumbling oil prices and weak growth. Now, after Europe mostly dominated the start of the year, attention will turn to the Fed's rate-setting meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday for any sign that its resolve to start raising interest rates mid-way through the year could be softening.

Another point of focus how low can the euro can go after it fell to as low as $1.1115 on Friday. "We believe that the 'currency wars' theme is still valid," AXA IM inflation linked bonds fund manager Jonathan Baltora said, pointing to the round of central bank's decisions of the past weeks. "The euro area stands to be a winner of the currency war over 2015 with a strong ECB quantitative easing program and a weaker euro."

Also in the spotlight will be oil prices. They have more than halved since June but the Brent closed up on Friday at $48.79 a barrel, with the death of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah adding to uncertainty over the plans of the world's biggest crude exporter.

Salman had served as defense minister since 2011 and so was head of the military as Saudi Arabia joined the United States and other Arab countries in carrying out airstrikes in Syria in 2014 against the Islamic State, the Sunni militant group that the kingdom began to see as a threat to its own stability.

He takes the helm at a time when the ultraconservative Muslim kingdom and oil powerhouse is trying to navigate social pressures from a burgeoning youth population — over half the population of 20 million is under 25 — seeking jobs and increasingly testing boundaries of speech on the Internet, where criticism of the royal family is rife. Salman's ascension hands the throne to yet another aging son of Saudi Arabia's founder, King Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, who is thought to have had more than 50 sons from multiple wives.

Salman's health has been a question of concern. He suffered at least one stroke that has left him with limited movement of his left arm. The Saudi throne has for decades passed between Al Saud's sons. Prince Muqrin, the youngest of the sons at 69, was named crown prince in the royal court statement that announced Salman as king.

Each succession has brought the kingdom closer to a time when the next generation — Al Saud's grandsons — will have to take over. Although the family has successfully managed to close ranks throughout the years, a generational change would raise the specter of a power struggle by placing the throne in the hands of one branch at the expense of the others.

For the Israeli leader, the speech offers a powerful pre-election platform and a chance to influence the growing dispute between the White House and Congress over nuclear diplomacy with Iran. But longer term, Israel risks losing the bipartisan sheen it has long enjoyed in Washington. “Republicans seem to think there is political advantage in being seen to be more pro-Israel than the Democrats,” said Natan Sachs, an Israeli political scientist at the Brookings Institution think-tank in Washington DC. “The question though is whether Israel starts to become more of a partisan issue in the US.”

The invitation to Mr Netanyahu was made public by House Speaker John Boehner just hours after President Barack Obama threatened to veto new Iran sanctions legislation, which Republican leaders want to put up for a vote, on the grounds that it would jeopardise ongoing nuclear talks with Iran. Other foreign leaders have also weighed in on the issue. British prime minister David Cameron warned against new sanctions during a visit to Washington last week, while the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Britain and the EU wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece on Thursday that new sanctions legislation “would jeopardise our efforts at a critical juncture”.

However, the invitation for Mr Netanyahu to share his scepticism about Iran nuclear diplomacy is part of a domestic power struggle. Since the Republican victory in the November midterms, Mr Obama has tried to assert his authority by issuing executive orders on matters such as immigration. In return, Republican leaders are trying to exert influence over issues usually dominated by the White House, most notably in foreign policy.

Amid the ill-feeling between Mr Netanyahu and Mr Obama, the Israeli leader gave the impression during the 2012 US election that he would much rather see the Republican Mitt Romney in the White House. The biggest risk for Mr Netanyahu in entering the US debate on Iran is that if the nuclear diplomacy fails and the administration finds itself facing increased pressure to take military action against Tehran, a war-weary American public could blame Israel for drawing it into a new Middle East conflict.

“The key to this will be mobile phones,” he wrote. “Already, in the developing countries with the right regulatory framework, people are storing money digitally on their phones and using their phones to make purchases, as if they were debit cards.” But this will only enslave the poor into an electronic monetary system they don’t control, allowing central banks and the government unparalleled ability to confiscate money at will through taxes and “bail-ins.”

For example, after Cyprus’s largest bank was sunk from exposure to debt-crippled Greece, the Cypriot government looted people’s bank accounts in 2013 as part of a “bail-in” program with the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank. “If you can do this once, you can do it again,” financial analyst Lars Seier Christensen wrote, who called the “bail-in” full-blown socialism. “If you can confiscate 10% of a bank customer’s money, you can confiscate 25, 50 or even 100%.”

A third-world government wouldn’t even need to wait for an economic crisis to loot digital bank accounts, however, with the cashless scheme Gates proposes, officials could simply impose a tax and confiscate money automatically. And there’s no reason to believe this scheme will only be limited to the third-world; the United Kingdom has already tested digital-only payments earlier this year.

This is the second closest the world has been to midnight in the 68 years of the doomsday clock. The only closer time was two minutes till midnight in 1953 when the United States and the then-Soviet Union pursued the hydrogen bomb. Group executive director Kennette Benedict called both climate change and modernization of nuclear weaponry undeniable threats to humanity's continued existence.

During his investigation he found that there are two rounds of frying. He also discovered that dimethylpolysiloxane - a form of silicone found in Silly Putty - is used in the making of McDonald's fries along with a petrol-based chemical called tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ). However, he reassures viewers that these are both safe additives used for perfectly good reasons. Dimethylpolysiloxane, which Imahara struggles to pronounce, is added for safety reasons to prevent cooking oil from foaming.

While tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) is applied as a food preservative. Imahara explains that there are numerous steps involved in the creation of McDonald's fries. First potatoes are harvested from fields before being peeled, cut and blanched. They're then fired through a cutter at up to 70 miles an hour into thin sticks.

After being chiseled into the perfect shape, the strips of potato are sauced with a blend of canola oil, soybean oil, hydrongenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor, hydrolyzed wheat, hydrolyzed milk, citric acid and dimethylpolysiloxane. Dextrose - a natural sugar - is sprayed on the batons to help them maintain a golden fried color.

Sodium acid pyrophosphate is also added to prevent the fries from going grey. Last but not least, salt is sprinkled on for flavor. The fries are then flash frozen at the Simplot factory and transported to McDonald's outlets across the country. Once they are at restaurants, the potato sticks are fried for a second time. The oil blend is similar to the factory mix, with the addition of tertiary butylhydroquinone and hydrogenated soybean oil - a manufactured form of trans fat. And voila! McDonald's World Famous Fries are served.

Maiduguri is home to tens of thousands of people who have fled Boko Haram attacks and was visited on Saturday by President Goodluck Jonathan. Boko Haram, which means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language, launched military operations in 2009 to create an Islamic state. Thousands of people have been killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria.

Separately, US Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to arrive in Lagos on Sunday. The BBC's Chris Ewokor in Abuja says the military are carrying out co-ordinated air strikes and ground attacks against the insurgents. Maiduguri would be a major prize for Boko Haram, which last tried to take the city in December 2013.

“When the Muslim population remains at or under 2%, their presence tends to fly low under the radar. In the 2% – 5% range, Muslims begin to seek converts, targeting those they see as disaffected, such as criminals. When the population reaches 5% they exert influence disproportionate to their numbers, becoming more aggressive and pushing for Sharia law. When the population hits the 10% mark, Muslims become increasingly lawless and violent.

Once the population reaches 20%, there is an increase in rioting, murder, jihad militias, and destruction of non-Muslim places of worship. At 40%, there are “widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks, and ongoing militia warfare.” Once beyond 50%, infidels and apostates are persecuted, genocide occurs, and Sharia law is implemented. After 80%, intimidation is a daily part of life along with violent jihad and some state-run genocide as the nation purges all infidels. Once the nation has rid itself of all non-Muslims, the presumption is that ‘Dar-es-Salaam’ has been attained – the Islamic House of Peace.”

This will sober you up:

• Mosques proliferate across the landscape at breakneck speed now at 2,200 in the USA, 80% of them preach jihad (through sermons and/or materials), and more than 95% of American Muslims attend such mosques.

• Many American Muslims send their children to Islamic schools where they are indoctrinated in hate.

• Many American Muslims have embraced Jewish-hatred, as is written in the Koran.

• There are around 22 to 35 compounds across America where Muslims receive jihad training.

• Our prisons are breeding grounds for jihadists.

• The Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated every arm of our government as well as other major institutions.

[President] Obama carries about eight Muslims on his White House staff and no one will speak a word as to why. Without a doubt, we commit national suicide by our own apathetic hands.

When a nation murders 57 million innocent babies, the state of the union is not strong.

When a nation overtaxes and overregulates and over burdens the economy and drives manufacturers and other businesses overseas and leaves 92 million Americans out of the labor force with no jobs and few prospects to get a good-paying job, the state of the union is not strong.

When a nation heaps $18 trillion of national debt on the backs of our children and grandchildren, and keeps creating more and more national debt with no end in sight, the state of the union is not strong.

When a leader says, “no challenge — no challenge — poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change,” the state of the union is not strong.

When a leader ignores the rising and existential threat of Radical Islam, the state of the union is not strong. When a leader does not take decisive action to neutralize the Iranian nuclear threat, the state of the union is not strong.

When a leader does not take decisive action to crush terrorist movements like al Qaeda and ISIS, and refuses to even mention “Islam” or “Islamism” or “Radical Islam” or even “al Qaeda” is his address to the nation, the state of the union is not strong.

When the leader of the free world cannot see the gathering storm — and believes that “leading from behind” is true leadership in a world that is dark and getting darker — the state of the union is not strong.

"As Christians we are called not to lose heart or be discouraged," Francis said in a new year message to the police. Security was tightened in Saint Peter's Square in September after intelligence services intercepted a possible plan to attack the Vatican. Iraq's ambassador to the Holy See, Habib Al Sadr, at the time warned that "what has been declared by the self-declared Islamic State is clear. They want to kill the Pope."

The threats against the Pope are credible. Some worry Francis has made himself a target by speaking out against the Islamic State group and having the Holy See voice support for US air strikes in Iraq. Italy's interior minister this month said police were on high alert in key locations across Rome and around the Vatican after the Paris attacks.