DAILY DOSE: Redefining the Past

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Daily Dose

Print · Read Online Redefining the Past By Tzvi Freeman Nothing can hold you back—not your childhood, not the history of a lifetime, not even the very last moment before now. In a moment you can abandon your past. And once abandoned, you can redefine it. If the past was a ring of futility, let it become a wheel of yearning that drives you forward. If the past was a brick wall, let it become a dam to unleash your power. The very first step of change is so powerful, the boundaries of time fall aside. In one bittersweet moment, the sting of the past is dissolved and its honey salvaged. Print Page   ·   Read Online   ·   Discuss   ·   Share on Facebook By Tzvi Freeman From the wisdom of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory; words and condensation by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman. Subscribe and get your dose daily. Or order Rabbi Freeman's book, Bringing Heaven Down to Earth, click here. This email was sent to: tweatsho.email004@blogger.com Change email address · Manage Subscriptions · Going on Vacation? · Unsubscribe Tip: To ensure that our emails continue to be delivered to your inbox, add subscriptions@chabad.org to your address book or "whitelist" it in any filters or anti-spam programs you may have. © Copyright Chabad.org, all rights reserved. Privacy Policy Chabad.org · Ask the Rabbi · Contact Us · Donate

Overnight Defense: US withholding $255M in aid to Pakistan | Haley wants emergency UN meeting over Iran protests | US service member killed in Afghanistan

View in your browser     THE TOPLINE: President Trump on Tuesday said the Iranian people are "finally" taking action against the country's "brutal and corrupt" rulers, and reiterated his warning to Tehran that "the U.S. is watching" its response to protests. "The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime," Trump said on Twitter. "All of the money that President Obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their 'pockets.' The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The U.S. is watching!"  The Trump administration has publicly said it supports peaceful protesters demonstrating against the Iranian government.  More on that here.   Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, meanwhile, is placing the blame for the recent protests across the country on Tehran's "enemies." "In recent days, enemies of Iran used different tools including cash, weapons, politics and intelligence apparatus to create troubles for the Islamic Republic," Khamenei said, according to Reuters. Read about that here.   U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Tuesday called for the international organization to hold multiple emergency sessions as protests continued in Iran for the sixth day. "The U.N. must speak out," Haley said at a press conference. "In the days ahead, we will be calling for an emergency session both here in New York and at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. We must not be silent. The people of Iran are crying out for freedom." Haley also hailed Trump's response as a contrast to the international community's handling of 2009 protests and said the world must respond better this time. Read more on that here.   MORE ON IRAN: - Iranian state TV: 9 more protesters killed overnight - State Department calls on Iran to stop blocking social media - Former CIA Director Brennan hits Trump strategy on Iran   HALEY: US WITHHOLDING $255M IN AID FROM PAKISTAN: The United States is withholding $255 million in aid from Pakistan over what the Trump administration describes as a failure to sufficiently fight terrorism, U.S. Ambassador the United Nations Nikki Haley confirmed Tuesday. "The administration is withholding $255 million in assistance to Pakistan," Haley said at a press conference. "There are clear reasons for this. Pakistan has played a double game for years. They work with us at times, and they also harbor the terrorists that attack our troops in Afghanistan. That game is not acceptable to this administration." The withholding of the aid has been expected, particularly after Trump blasted Pakistan in a Monday tweet. "The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!" Trump tweeted. The Hill's Rebecca Kheel has more here.   Trump's New Year's Day tweet prompted Pakistan's National Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday, according to CNN. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and attended by Pakistan's Foreign, Interior, and Defense ministers, as well as the chiefs of staff of the Pakistan air force, army, and navy.  The sit-down comes as demonstrators took to the streets of Karachi to protest Trump and the U.S.  Read more on that here.   US TROOP KILLED, FOUR INJURED IN AFGHANISTAN: One U.S. service member was killed and four others were injured in a "combat engagement" in eastern Afghanistan on New Year's Day, U.S. Forces Afghanistan said Tuesday. "We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our own," Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said in a statement. "At this very difficult time our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families and friends of our fallen and wounded brothers." The incident happened Monday in the Achin district of Nangarhar province, according to Tuesday's release. Two of those injured are being treated at a nearby medical facility and are in stable condition, according to the release. The other two service members who were injured are back on duty. Read more on that here.    The tragedy comes as the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East wants the Afghan military to follow a new strategy in 2018 he hopes will lead to new gains in the war against the Taliban. U.S. Central Command head Gen. Joseph Votel said an increase of Americans to train and advise the Afghan military can help escalate the fight. The plan involves exerting pressure on the Taliban during the normally quieter Afghan winter, before launching an offensive against the group in the spring. Read the rest here.   ICYMI: -- The Hill: Trump shifts gears on Afghanistan -- The Hill: North Korea preparing for another missile launch: reports -- The Hill: South Korea offers high-level talks with North Korea -- The Hill: Trump: Sanctions beginning to have 'big impact' on North Korea -- The Hill: US general: ISIS's 'repressive ideology' endures despite lost territory -- The Hill: In surprise, Trump maintains many Obama-era Russia policies -- The Hill: Opinion: Trump's national security strategy misses the mark on globalization -- The Hill: Opinion: Missile defense must prioritize homeland defense     Please send tips and comments to Rebecca Kheel, rkheel@thehill.com, and Ellen Mitchell, emitchell@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @thehill, @Rebecca_H_K, @EllenMitchell23         Did a friend forward you this email? 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Overnight Tech: US calls on Iran to stop blocking social media | Big court win for Airbnb | FTC approves Lenovo settlement over privacy charges

View in your browser     US CALLS ON IRAN TO STOP BLOCKING SOCIAL MEDIA: The State Department on Tuesday urged the Iranian government to end its blocking of social media platforms amid continued protests against the country's clerical rulers. Steve Goldstein, U.S. undersecretary of State, said the administration would like Iran to "open these sites," according to The Associated Press. The founder of the messaging app Telegram said Sunday that Iranian authorities blocked many of its citizens from accessing the app after the technology company refused to close down some channels. Protests began over economic concerns last week, but have shifted toward anti-government demonstrations focused on Iran's clerical rulers, according to reports. In the remarks reported by the AP, Goldstein said the social media platforms are "legitimate avenues for communication" and that the U.S. is obligated "not to stand by." President Trump and other administration officials, including U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, have said they support the peaceful protesters. Trump said Monday that it's "time for change" in Iran. "The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime. All of the money that President Obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their 'pockets,' " Trump said Tuesday. Read more here.   Please send your tips, comments and resolutions to Ali Breland (abreland@thehill.com) and Harper Neidig (hneidig@thehill.com) and follow us on Twitter: @alibreland and @hneidig. We're also on Signal and WhatsApp. Email or DM us for our numbers.   JUDGE TOSSES LAWSUIT AGAINST AIRBNB: A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by Apartment Investment & Management Co. (Aimco), one of the largest residential landlords in the country, against Airbnb. The lawsuit alleged the homesharing platform lets tenants effectively break their leases by subletting properties. U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee based her decision on the Communications Decency Act (CDA), a law that insulates tech firms from being liable for user-created content. "Airbnb hosts, not Airbnb, are responsible for providing the actual listing information," Gee explained in her decision on Dec. 29. The law has given technology firms cover from legal challenges from other industries. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, for example, ruled in favor of Backpage.com, over allegations it facilitated prostitution on its site. The court sided with Backpage because of CDA. Other companies have used the law to fight back against claims of user-posted pirated content on their platforms. Read more here.   FTC APPROVES LENOVO SETTLEMENT: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Tuesday approved a settlement with computer manufacturer Lenovo over charges that it had violated user privacy with software that came preloaded on its computers. The commission voted 2-0 to approve the settlement it reached in September with the company. "Lenovo compromised consumers' privacy when it preloaded software that could access consumers' sensitive information without adequate notice or consent to its use," acting FTC Chairwoman Maureen Ohlhausen said in a statement at the time. "This conduct is even more serious because the software compromised online security protections that consumers rely on." Read more here.   GERMANY WILL FINE SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES FOR NOT REMOVING HATE SPEECH: Germany has begun enforcing a new law that mandates that social media firms must swiftly remove hate speech, hoax stories and illegal content from their platforms or face a fine. Social media firms with at least 2 million users will have 24 hours to remove material that has been flagged to them and could see fines up to 50 million euros if they don't. The law, known as NetzDG in Germany, was created to target large sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, according to the BBC, but will also affect platforms like Reddit, Tumblr and potentially others. NetzDG had been announced previously to give companies time to prepare before it went into effect in 2018. The law was proposed after several notable instances in which hoax stories and racist material were spread across social media platforms. Read more here.   UBER LOOKS TO BOUNCE BACK FROM ROUGH 2017: Uber is eager to put 2017 in the rear-view mirror after a year mired in controversies. The year began with the "delete Uber" campaign and ended with revelations the ride-hailing firm paid to cover up a massive data breach. But even under fresh new leadership, the embattled start-up continues to be haunted by past missteps, increasing the chances that Uber, once a darling of the tech industry, could have federal regulators on its back. Read more here.   AGENCIES RACE TO IMPLEMENT EMAIL SECURITY TOOL: The federal government's use of a security tool that cracks down on fake emails has surged in recent weeks as agencies with .gov domains rush to meet a deadline to implement the tool and bolster cybersecurity, according to new research. The tool, called the Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC), helps organizations that use it identify fraudulent messages purporting to come from their email domains. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in mid-October that it would mandate that organizations operating .gov domains use DMARC as well as HTTPS to encrypt web traffic. Homeland Security gave departments and agencies 90 days, or until mid-January, to comply with the directive. Read more here.   TRANSITIONS: NEW YEAR, NEW TEAMS: -Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) office announced that the hiring of Chris Soghoian as senior technologist. Soghoian will help the senator on tech and cybersecurity matters. He has been working in Wyden's office as a fellow through TechCongress since Feb. 2017. Before he worked as the principal technologist with the Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, and as a technologist in the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's Division on Privacy and Identity Protection. -CTIA-The Wireless Association announced on Monday that it has promoted Scott Bergman to senior vice president of regulatory affairs. He originally joined the trade association in 2009 after working at the FCC in a variety of senior positions.   IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Vanity Fair: Inside Silicon Valley's problematic, bacchanal dark side. Microsoft's top ten tech issues for 2018 Reuters: Spotify hit with $1.6 billion copyright lawsuit WSJ: EU asks: Does control of 'Big Data' kill competition?         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Technology Newsletters     Forward Technology Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Overnight Energy: Coal miner deaths double in 2017 | EPA takes 7 Superfund sites off list | Delaware threatens to sue feds over air pollution

View in your browser     15 COAL MINER DEATHS IN 2017: The coal mining industry saw 15 worker deaths last year, nearly double the number from 2016 and the highest in three years, federal records show. The 2016 total, eight, was the lowest since Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) records began. The 15th death came early Friday morning at a Revelation Energy mine in Fayette County in southern West Virginia, West Virginia Public Broadcasting reported. Thurman Watts died when a piece of machinery he was operating went over a high wall. West Virginia saw the bulk of the 2017 miner deaths, with eight. Read more here.   EPA REMOVES 7 SUPERFUND SITES FROM LIST: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it has taken seven Superfund sites either completely or partially off of its list last year. The deletions of sites in 2017 -- four partial and three complete -- mean that the EPA judged those sites sufficiently cleaned up from past pollution. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is touting the deletions as a victory in his mission to chip away at the 1,300 or so sites for which the agency is overseeing cleanups. "We have made it a priority to get these sites cleaned up faster and in the right way," Pruitt said in a Tuesday statement. "By creating a streamlined task force and making major remedy decisions that hold potentially responsible parties accountable for clean up, the Superfund program is carrying out the Agency's mission of protecting human health and the environment more every day." In 2016 the EPA only deleted two Superfund sites, one complete and one partial. But previous years showed similar or higher deletion records. The EPA removed seven sites in 2015, 15 sites in 2014 and 12 sites in 2013. Read more here.   DELAWARE THREATENS TO SUE EPA: Delaware's state government is threatening to sue the EPA for not approving four requests to crack down on out-of-state air pollution. The state's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control says that four specific coal-fired power plants in Pennsylvania and West Virginia are contributing to ozone pollution in Delaware and that the EPA has a responsibility under the Clean Air Act to force them to control their pollution better. "The Clean Air Act entitles Delaware to relief from upwind pollution and the remedy we are seeking is reasonable and within EPA's authority and responsibility to grant," Gov. John Carney (D) said in a statement. "Delawareans deserve clean air, but our air quality is significantly impacted by pollution traveling downwind from other states. We are simply asking that the EPA require these power plants that pollute Delaware's air to run their existing pollution control equipment when the plants are in operation." Delaware officials filed four petitions with the EPA in 2016 -- one for each power plant -- asking the agency to take action under the "good neighbor" provision of the Clean Air Act. The EPA extended its deadlines to respond to the petitions by six months, but did not decide whether to grant or deny them. Read more here.   HOUSE PANEL TO LAUNCH ENERGY REORGANIZATION PUSH: The House Energy and Commerce Committee announced its first step Tuesday in a push to reorganize the Department of Energy (DOE). Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), who chairs the panel's subcommittee on energy, announced a hearing for next Tuesday on "DOE Modernization." He said it will feature current DOE officials and outside science and policy experts, who have not been announced yet. "The nation's energy landscape has changed dramatically since the Department of Energy was created in the 1970s amid energy scarcity and global market turmoil," Upton said in a statement "It's time we flip the script on the department and ensure its mission can meet 21st Century challenges -- from its continuing nuclear security responsibilities to the geopolitical benefits of energy abundance to the emerging threats of the cyber age."   AROUND THE WEB: California utilities want to pass on the costs of wildfire damage to their infrastructure to customers, Marketplace reports. A "bomb cyclone" is coming to the Atlantic coast later this week, bringing snow and frigid temperatures, the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang reports. A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against a Kentucky utility over alleged coal ash discharges, saying it should be a state matter, WFPL reports.   IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Check out Tuesday's stories ... - Study: Quarter of world's population could face permanent drought if Paris deal goals aren't met - Coal mining deaths double in 2017 - EPA removes 7 cleaned-up sites from Superfund list - Delaware threatens to sue EPA over out-of-state air pollution     Please send tips and comments to Timothy Cama, tcama@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @Timothy_Cama, @thehill         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Energy Newsletters     Forward Energy Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.