World Oceans Day, Climate Change, Environment and Politics; Dinosaurs, Days Past, Discoveries, Destruction

World Oceans Day

• Together, We Have the Power to Protect the Ocean
• World's Most Polluted Seas Revealed
• The Ocean Cleanup—A project to remove plastic pollution.
• The end of fish—"The ones we like to eat are rapidly vanishing from the ocean." WaPo
• US coastguard releases Chinese boat accused of illegal fishing in North Pacific—"Vessel caught with half a tonne of salmon and high-seas net widely condemned as highly destructive to marine life."

Climate Change

• Between the Lines: It's not censorship by ignoring those denying climate change—"Does denying a seat at the journalistic table to climate change deniers amount to censorship and political correctness, in the sense that unpopular opinions are being silenced? As I am wont to tell
• Obama Says He 'Absolutely' Wants To Go Off On Climate Deniers In Congress
some letter writers, you are entitled to your opinions, but not your facts."
• 7 reasons America will fail on climate change
• Seas Rise, Florida GOP Leaders Balk At Climate Change
• Billionaire seeks to help climate-change victims
• John Podesta Says White House Is Ready To Spar Over Power Plant Rules
• Climate change helps seas disturb Japanese war dead—"Rising sea levels have disturbed the skeletons of soldiers killed on the Marshall Islands during World War Two."

Environment and Politics

• Jindal Signs Bill Blocking Lawsuits Against Oil and Gas Companies—"The Louisiana governor might have also effectively undercut ongoing claims against BP for the 2010 Gulf oil spill."
• Safety Gaps In Chemical Storage—"Millions of pounds of chemicals and oil are stored and shipped along the river and we've found there are gaps in laws meant to keep you safe."
• States balk at keeping oil-train info from public—"U.S. railroads forced to turn over details of their volatile crude oil shipments are asking states to sign agreements not to disclose the information. But some states are refusing, saying Thursday that the information shouldn't be kept from the public."
• Alaska Village Sues Feds to Open Road in Refuge
• How A 'Bunch Of Commies' Are Forcing The Fortune 500 To Stop Destroying Rain Forests, Overfishing, And Burning Fossil Fuels

Dinosaurs

• Dinosaur discovery: "Pinocchio Rex," the weird cousin of the T-Rex—"Qianzhousaurus -- who was smaller and more agile than T-Rex -- walked the earth 66 million years ago." Salon
• These Bones Might Be the Biggest Creature That Ever Walked the Earth
• Early Life in Death Valley—"Evidence from Southwestern deserts suggests that oxygen-breathing organisms arose on land rather than in the seas."
• Direct evidence of cooling after the dinosaur-killing asteroid impact
• Dinosaur smuggler sentenced to three months in prison in New York—"Eric Prokopi, the 'one-man black market in fossils', given lenient sentence on felony counts for his cooperation with attorneys."

Days Past

• 8 Surprising Historical Facts That Will Change Your Concept Of Time Forever
• On Ice: 100-year-old negatives discovered in Antarctic
• Ancient Egyptians transported pyramid stones over wet sand

Discoveries

• Girl's skeleton found in cave sheds light on origins of first Americans—"DNA recovered from 12,000-year-old skeleton help to dispel claims that first Americans came from Australia, Asia or Europe."
• Ancient hunting camp found beneath Lake Huron
• Over 1,000 Mayan Codices Discovered in Yucatan Ruins
• Siberian fisherman accidentally nets 4,000-year-old pagan god—"Nikolay Tarasov was about to throw the tiny figure back into the river, when he decided to take it to a local museum on a hunch. Experts say the pagan god was carved in the Bronze Age by the Okunev or Samus cultures of ancient Tisul."
• Found after 500 years, the wreck of Christopher Columbus's flagship the Santa Maria
• Dunragit road works unearth ancient treasure trove

Destruction

• Aboriginal art, 60,000 years old, vandalized in Australia—"The art is in the Burrup Peninsula of Western Australia, a national park containing examples of ancient carved rock."
• Vandals desecrate ancient standing stone at Hill of Tara in Co Meath
• Vandals destroy prehistoric rock art in Libya's lawless Sahara
• ISIS Destroys 3000 Year-old Assyrian Artifacts in Syria
• Ballymaglaff Stone Age site 'lost because of planning error'
• Illegal projects damage Effigy Mounds—"National Park Service officials approved $3 million in illegal construction projects over a decade that damaged one of the nation’s most sacred American Indian burial sites, but few have been punished for the bureaucratic failure, records show."
• Treasure hunters destroy tomb

Workers and Wage Slaves, Minimum Wage; Accountability, Class Warfare, Taxing, Vote Machinations, Race and Racism; Marriage Equality, Politics, LGBT; Abortion and Birth Control, Rape and Sexual Assault, Sex Abuse Scandal; The Francis Effect, Religion

Workers and Wage Slaves

• Where Does the USA Place in the World's Worst Places to Work Rankings?—"The United States is deemed one of the worst countries to be a worker."
• Americans Are Getting Less And Less Of Their Money From Their Jobs
• Temp Nation: How Corporations Are Evading Accountability, at Workers' Expense
• Philippines: Businessman locked up 8 employees who died in Pasay warehouse fire—Murderous intent.
• Flipside: How great would Sweden's proposed six-hour workday be? This great. WaPo

Minimum Wage

• Seattle raises minimum wage to $15 an hour—What's the implication?
• Reich: Seattle is Right
• CEO: McDonald's would 'manage' minimum wage hike—"Don Thompson told local college students what the company isn't likely to publicize: It could manage a hike in the minimum wage to $10.10."

Accountability

• U.S. appeals court voids judge's rejection of SEC-Citigroup accord—"A federal appeals court on Wednesday handed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission a big victory by voiding a judge's pathbreaking decision to reject the regulator's $285 million fraud settlement with Citigroup Inc."
• US stock exchanges face lawsuit over high-frequency trading—"It is alleged HFT enables professionals to make quick profits at the expense of savers and pension fund investors."
• Judge lets U.S. pursue $5-billion fraud lawsuit against S&P
• Payday lenders sue US regulators over 'Operation Choke Point'
• Wall Street Traders Are About To Be In A World Of Pain—"A traders skills don't always translate well off Wall Street."

Class Warfare

• Savage capitalism is back – and it will not tame itself
• The Last Time Fatcats Tanked the Economy, the Backlash Was Huge. Why Didn't That Happen This Time?—"Explaining the power of 21st century plutocracy."
• One percent's twisted new heist: What's really behind privatization—"Outsourcing government not only leads to poor services -- it's killing the middle class...." Salon
• USDA To Georgia: You Can't Drug-Test Food Stamp Recipients

Taxing

• Florida Governor Rick Scott to Attend Fundraiser at the Home of a Tax Cheat
• Bundy owes the government more than all other ranchers combined
• What America Could Buy With Offshore Tax Money—"If the government closed loopholes that allow companies to stash profits in tax havens, we could collect $65 billion in taxes each year. Here's what that money could do for our country."
• 77,000 Foreign Banks to Share Tax Info With IRS
• Australia's rich come forward to declare their offshore tax structures

Vote Machinations

• Sheriff investigates McDaniel staffer—"An official investigation has been opened into three people who were found locked in the Hinds County Courthouse hours after it was closed by election officials Tuesday after returns had been counted in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate." Nothing reportedly happened.
• GOPer Bosworth Turns Herself In For Perjury Warrant—"[S]he had been charged with 'six counts of perjury and six counts of offering a false or forged instrument for filing.'"
• 'Year Of The Republican Establishment' Narrative Loses Even More Credibility
• One easy way to end gerrymandering: Stop letting politicians draw their own districts WaPo
• "Citizen Koch": The movie about our sick democracy PBS tried to kill—"Dumped by public TV, this long-brewing documentary explores the Koch brothers, Wisconsin and the death of the GOP." Salon
• Our New SuperPAC Is Going to Change American Politics for $12 Million

Race and Racism

• Owner of cotton warehouse responds to racist comments
• No charges will be filed against woman over racist rant—"Public's reactions to video prompt police to remove her children for their safety."
• Morgan Freeman, Don Lemon, and race: The actor doesn’t understand the link between inequality and race.

Marriage Equality

• Supreme Court won't put equal marriage ruling on hold in Oregon—"The high court refused to halt a federal judge's order declaring Oregon's equal marriage ban unconstitutional." Salon
• Judge strikes down Wisconsin same-sex marriage ban—And licenses are being issued.
• Texas' Gay Marriage Battle Heats Up As Attitudes Change
• How the National Organization for Marriage Doomed Itself to Collapse
• Opinion: Marriage equality is unstoppable
• For GOP Senate Candidates, Banning Same-Sex Marriage In The Constitution Has Lost Its Appeal
• Bakery Will Stop Making Wedding Cakes After Losing Discrimination Case
• Family Research Council Spokesman Links Isla Vista Shooting Spree To Gay Marriage
• Date set: same-sex couples can use British laws to marry in Australia—"Same-sex couples in which one partner has British citizenship will be able to marry from June 27 in British consulates in Sydney and Perth, with Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra to follow soon after."

Politics

• Waco, Texas extends anti-bias policy to LGBT employees
• U.S. Armed Forces color guard to march in gay pride parade in D.C.; called a first nationwide WaPo
• LGBT Republican Group GOProud Going Out of Business—"The gay conservative group officially closes up shop, though organizers say it will reemerge with a new name, format, and mission."
• Ted Cruz Addresses Rally Organized By Doctor Who Says Gays Recruit Children
• Texas GOP Platform Embraces 'Reparative Therapy' to 'Escape Homosexual Lifestyle'—They still want to criminalize homosexuality.

LGBT

• Cat On a Hot Tin Roof Production Canceled After Homophobic Fracas
• Wash. Times Editorial Spreads Slurs, Lies, on Medicare's Trans Coverage
• Louisville school OKs transgender bathroom policy
• How our genes could make us gay or straight WaPo

Abortion and Birth Control

• When Courts Consider Evidence, Abortion Supporters Win NYT
• Arizona Drug-Induced Abortion Limits Blocked by Court—"Arizona's law limiting drug-induced abortions was blocked by a federal appeals court, handing a victory to Planned Parenthood as it seeks to roll back a restriction it calls among the most stringent in the nation."
• Ohio Republicans Want to Make It Harder for Women to Get Long-Term Birth Control
• A Fantastic Quote From the Ohio Republican Who Wants to Ban Insurance Coverage of IUDs
• Alaska Senate Candidate Joe Miller Says Abortion Is Bankrupting Social Security
• Bodies of 800 babies, long-dead, found in septic tank at former Irish home for unwed mothers WaPo
• Shocking movie portrayal: Why "Obvious Child" is a revolutionary fairy tale—"In this striking new film, a woman has sex, gets pregnant and has an abortion. And she isn't punished for it!" Salon

Rape and Sexual Assault

• India state minister on rape: 'Sometimes it's right, sometimes it's wrong'—"Home minister in BJP-run Madhya Pradesh state describes rape as a 'social crime' in comments playing down rapes."
• Sexual harassment made a crime in Egypt—"Outgoing president issues decree criminalising sexual harassment, making it punishable by up to five years in jail."
• Flier arrested for alleged threat: 'I kill white people'
• The Montana Judge Who Blamed a 14-Year-Old for Her Own Rape Will be Censured

Sex Abuse Scandals

• Roman Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Scandal: 19 Accuse Mexican Priest, Activist Estimates as Many as '100 Victims'
• After US sex abuse scandals, an accused priest rises again in Paraguay
• Ex-megachurch pastor blames underage victim, wants out of prison

Francis Effect

• Pope Francis Sacks Entire Board of Vatican's Financial Watchdog—"The pontiff has replaced the all-Italian board of the Financial Information Authority with an international group of new members — including Juan C. Zarate, a Harvard professor and former Bush Administration official."
• Pope Francis Says 'Door Is Always Open' to Rethink Priestly Celibacy
• Pope Francis defends Gypsies in Vatican address—"Pontiff urges Italians to stem their suspicion and calls on authorities to help those at the margins of society."
• Pope criticises couples who choose having pets over children for an 'easy' life—"Pope Francis says couples who substitute pets for children so that they can have a "care-free life" will face a 'lonely' old age."

Religion

• Racism Lives On Under the Cover of 'Religious Freedom'—"A small portion of the population believes people should have the right not to serve black people—and even more believe the same thing about Jews, atheists, gays, and lesbians."
• Virginia atheist couple: Court-appointed officiant told us we had no right to get married
• Bill Maher Battles Ralph Reed: People Pull Faith 'Right Out of Their Ass'
• Alabama chief justice cites Pledge of Allegiance to show courts need God to function
• A litany of 'thou shalt nots': Catholic teachers challenge morality clause

World No Tobacco Day; Workers and Wage Slaves; Banks and Wall Street, Accountability; US Politics, Vote Machinations, Gerrymandering in Florida; Native American, Racism; NSA Spying, Surveillance and Privacy, Your Rights Online, TrueCrypt, Haxx0red, Facebook and Your Data

World No Tobacco Day

• Child Workers Are Getting Nicotine Poisoning on US Tobacco Farms
• New York raises minimum age to buy cigarettes to 21
• World No Tobacco Day: To tax or not to tax
• UK: NHS could start prescribing e-cigarettes as study finds them 60% more effective than gum or patches
• Top scientists warn WHO not to stub out e-cigarettes

Workers and Wage Slaves

• House GOP Votes Down Measure Aimed At Curbing Wage Theft
• Using Jailed Migrants as a Pool of Cheap Labor —"As the federal government cracks down on immigrants in the country illegally and forbids businesses to hire them, it is relying on tens of thousands of those immigrants each year to provide essential labor." NYT
• Bond set at $250,000 for Wayne Miller, president of Cathedral Bible College with Myrtle Beach campus—Allegation: "Miller threatened to cancel foreign students' visas if they did not work long hours for little pay."
• Michigan Set to Raise Minimum Wage to $9.25 Hour
• America's middle-class defeat: How Canada shamed the wealthiest nation on earth—"Want to understand what's causing the decay of the American dream? Take some lessons from our friends to the north." Salon
• 40% of EU citizens can't afford a vacation
• Japan creates new national holiday for 'overworked' population
• Robots will replace fast-food workers

Banks and Wall Street

• IMF chief says banks haven't changed since financial crisis—"Christine Lagarde tells London conference banking sector is still resisting reform and taking excessive risks."
• Bank of England governor: capitalism doomed if ethics vanish—"Mark Carney issues strong critique of City behaviour and warns of growing sense that basic social contract is breaking down."
• Obama Administration Spent a Fortune Monitoring Occupy Protests, including Flash Mobs and Yoga Classes—"The documents show monitoring in 2011 and 2012 by law enforcement agencies around the country [NYT], reporting on religious meetings, Christmas caroling and other events."
• Blast from the Past: What Actually Happens At The End Of 'Trading Places'?

Accountability

• Explosive claims on JP Morgan conduct—"A technical support person who worked for JP Morgan in Australia claims the bank regularly misled its New York parent and the US Federal Reserve by failing to report losing trades." SMH
• Goldman, JPMorgan sued over zinc price manipulation
• Los Angeles sues JPMorgan Chase over foreclosures WaPo
• The guy who tried to rig gold prices and cost his bank $44 million
• Icahn, Mickelson are investigated in U.S. insider trading probe: source
• Iran hangs billionaire over $2.6b bank fraud—"Largest fraud case since 1979 Islamic Revolution sends four scammers to the gallows, including tycoon Mahafarid Amir Khosravi."

US Politics

• Conservatism is losing ground in the US—"Number of Americans describing themselves as social, economic conservatives shrinks, according to new poll."
• Conservatives are losing their edge — quickly WaPo
• Dear GOP: "Duck Dynasty's" Phil Robertson may not help your outreach problem—"Party chair Reince Priebus wants the GOP to be seen as the party of equality. Meet their future leaders." Salon
• Republican Leadership Conference: The GOP’s speakers lineup is a problem—"Why the Republican Party attracts provocateurs, faux martyrs, and grifters in droves."
• America Is Becoming a Bit More Liberal. That's Pretty Unusual Six Years Into a Democratic Presidency.

Vote Machinations

• Americans overwhelmingly side with Hillary Clinton over Karl Rove in brain flap—"Republican strategist Karl Rove may need a different strategy to slow Hillary Clinton's 2016 candidacy." WaPo
• Conservative groups push for voter photo ID requirement in Ohio
• Democrats, stop fighting voter ID laws—"It's a tough concession that could actually work to get more minority voters to the polls." WaPo

Gerrymandering in Florida

• Redistricting Expert: Florida's Gerrymandered Maps Give An 8 Point Advantage To Republicans
• Surprise witness emerges in redistricting trial—"An FSU student who allegedly submitted a map to the Legislature with proposed new districts said he never drew any maps and his name was used without permission."
• Florida may be forced to redraw political districts before midterms WaPo

Native American

• Supreme Court says Mich. can't block Indian casino
• Courts challenge Native American land rights—"Recent cases have undermined tribal sovereignty and economic development, Native Americans say."
• Lawsuit: Casino Built on Native American Burial Ground

Racism

• Unsurprisingly, the Redskins #RedskinsPride Hashtag Backfired Quite Horribly—But that's not stopping them.
• Reports: Donald Sterling To Sue The NBA For $1 Billion
• White Police Lieutenant Awarded $1.35 Million In Racial Discrimination Lawsuit

NSA Spying

• Edward Snowden responds to release of e-mail by U.S. officials WaPo
• Daniel Ellsberg: Snowden would not get a fair trial – and Kerry is wrong—"Edward Snowden is the greatest patriot whistleblower of our time, and he knows what I learned more than four decades ago: until the Espionage Act gets reformed, he can never come home safe and receive justice."
• John Kerry Should 'Man Up' And Admit He's Wrong About Snowden
• Courier Services Deny Participation in NSA Interception Program

Surveillance and Privacy

• Privacy call for internet browsing in the wake of Edward Snowden leaks—"Survey reveals that more than eight out of 10 internet users believe their search history should be kept private."
• German spies want $400M to play catch-up with the NSA—"Confidential documents from the BND, Germany's answer to the NSA and GCHQ, suggest the agency could soon get major funding to improve its online surveillance and hacking capabilities."
• Former Head Of 'NSA North' Says Canadians Are 'Stupid'

Your Rights Online

• User gets prison sentence for using 'Allah CC' nickname on Twitter
• Turkey highest court: YouTube ban violates rights WaPo
• Google sets up 'right to be forgotten' form after EU ruling

TrueCrypt

• "TrueCrypt is not secure," official SourceForge page abruptly warns—"Support for decade-old crypto program pulled, touching off Internet firestorm."
• True Goodbye: 'Using TrueCrypt Is Not Secure'
• Bombshell TrueCrypt advisory: Backdoor? Hack? Hoax? None of the above?—LavaBit 2: Electric Bugaloo?
• TrueCrypt security audit presses on, despite developers jumping ship

Haxx0red

• The eBay hack, the loss of 140 million records, and the PR fiasco—If you still haven't done so, change your eBay password right now.
• Your iPhone has been taken hostage. Pay $100 ransom to get it back—If you still haven't done so, change your iCloud password right now.
• After seven months and no Microsoft patch, Internet Explorer 8 vulnerability is revealed
• Will Everyone Please Quit Bitching About Passwords?

Facebook and Your Data

• Passive listening will soon be a feature for Facebook app during status updates
• Facebook Stops Irresponsibly Defaulting Privacy Of New Users' Posts To "Public", Changes To "Friends"
• Facebook Reaps Billions from Your Data: It's Time to Unplug
• Facebook gives up on automatically posting everything you do online

Workers and Wage Slaves, Unemployment, Minimum Wage, On the Job; Banks and Wall Street, Accountability, Credit Suisse, Taxes, Class War; Corporatocracy, Amazon.com, Reviews

Workers and Wage Slaves

• The Republican War on Workers' Rights—"State legislatures have favored employers over their employees." NYT
• Here's The Painful Truth About What It Means To Be 'Working Poor' In America
• Walmart Warehouse Contractor To Pay $21 Million To Settle Wage Theft Allegations
• Medical residents' pay: Doctors in training are organizing for collective bargaining
• McDonald's vacates headquarters due to worker protests —Over 100 arrested.
• For Chevron, $6 a day is apparently too much pay for Cambodian workers

Unemployment

• Poll: 47% of Unemployed Have 'Completely Given Up' Looking for a Job
• Cutting Off Emergency Unemployment Benefits Hasn't Pushed People Back to Work
• Unemployment: It's Not Personal NYT
• More Gloom for the Long-Term Unemployed, from Alan Krueger WSJ

Minimum Wage

• The fight for a global minimum wage
• Show This To The Next Person Who Says High Minimum Wages Kill Jobs
• Michigan: Bill boosting minimum wage to $9.20 an hour to get hearing in state House
• Swiss voters reject $25 minimum wage

On the Job

• No matter what the boss says about flextime, get to work early
• Why Are We So Busy?—"Since the 1930s, U.S. G.D.P. has grown, in real terms, by a factor of sixteen. Why hasn’t that wealth translated into more leisure time?"
• Man Asks Mike Rowe for "Life Advice"

Banks and Wall Street

• "It's total moral surrender": Matt Taibbi unloads on Wall Street, inequality and our broken justice system—"Matt Taibbi, author of 'The Divide,' tells Salon about Geithner's excuses, Piketty's success and Nixon's cronies." Salon
• Krugman: Springtime for Bankers—"The government saved Wall Street but left the real economy behind." NYT
• Occupy activist Cecily McMillan sentenced to three months in jail—"McMillan to also serve five years' probation for deliberately elbowing a New York police officer at a protest in 2012.

Accountability

• Convicted of Felonies, Banks Are Allowed to Stay in Business NYT
• Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab Accounts Linked To Mexican Drug Cartels: SEC
• Barclays Bank fined £26m for gold price failings
• JPMorgan, HSBC and Credit Agricole accused of euro rate-fixes
• JPMorgan Ex-CEO for China Investment Bank Arrested, Caixin Says

Credit Suisse

• Credit Suisse pleads guilty to U.S. criminal charge in tax probe—"Swiss bank Credit Suisse on Monday pleaded guilty to a criminal charge for its role in helping Americans dodge taxes, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said, and will pay more than $2.5 billion as part of an agreement with U.S. authorities."
• Credit Suisse still too big to jail despite guilty plea
• Big fine 'won't do much damage': Credit Suisse CEO
• Why Is Credit Suisse Still Allowed to Do Business in the United States?—"The conventional wisdom is that revoking a large bank's license can trigger potential systemic consequences. But that's not the case here."

Taxes

• Federal Judges Are Cutting Rich Tax Cheats Big Sentencing Breaks
• IRS: 318,000 fed workers owe $3.3B in back taxes
• Why Republicans Love Taxing the Poor
• To Lift the Poor, You Can't Avoid Taxing the Rich—"It would be nice if we could tackle inequality with a growth approach and without some sacrifices from the wealthy, but that path simply doesn't exist." NYT

Class War

• Billionaire Home Depot Founder Is Not Really Sorry For Nazi Comparison
• Protesters angry drunken Ferrari driver got work release sentence—More affluenza at work.
• Martins Beach billionaire evades questions on stand
• As Court Fees Rise, The Poor Are Paying The Price
• Pope Demands 'Legitimate Redistribution' Of Wealth—Also: The Piketty pontiff: How Pope Francis is bringing Catholicism back to its anti-inequality roots Salon
• 'Stunning' Data Proves, Yet Again, Housing The Homeless Would Actually Save Taxpayers Big Time
• Tony Abbott's daughter was given scholarship for $60,000 design degree—"Frances Abbott was awarded a chairman's scholarship for bachelors degree at prestigious Sydney institute where a donor to her father sits as chair of board of governors."

Corporatocracy

• One dollar, one vote—"When it comes to setting policy, the views of businesses and the rich seem to count for more."
• Thanks to the Roberts Court, Corporations Have More Constitutional Rights Than Actual People
• Public Justice's Paul Bland Explains What Media Should Know About Class Actions And The Pro-Business Roberts Court
• Looks Like Patent Trolls Have Won This Round As Even Weakened Patent Reform Likely To Die—US Senate wusses out.
• GM to pay $35 million over delayed recall—No arrests?

Amazon.com

• Hachette Says Amazon Is Delaying Delivery of Some Books—"Amazon, which controls more than a third of the book trade in the United States, is marking many books published by Hachette Book Group as not available for at least two or three weeks." NYT
• Goodbye, Amazon: We're through!—"I quit Amazon because of its monopolistic tactics. Is it impossible for book publishers to do the same?" Salon
• Amazon Loses Bid for ".Amazon" Domain Name—In the tradition of WWF forcing WWE to submit.

Reviews

• Lawyers threaten redditor over negative router review on Amazon—Streisand Effect leads to Amazon rescinding Mediabridge's selling priveleges.
• Utah couple win against company that charged for bad online review—Kleargear responds and gripes.
• California: Bill would create new protection for shoppers who write online reviews
• When Rave Reviews Become Risky Re: Internet Reviews
• Docs get Yelped! 1 in 4 patients now read online physician reviews
• Lincoln City hotel sues for defamation after anonymous person posts scathing TripAdvisor review
• Italian antitrust watchdog investigates TripAdvisor reviews, Expedia pricing deals
• Rating or Defaming?

War on Drugs, Mexico; 420, Planted, Law and Disorder, Colorado, Legalization and Decriminalization; Bad Cops, Frame Jobs, Police Brutality, Mentally Ill, Recording

War on Drugs

• End The War On Drugs, Say Nobel Prize-Winning Economists
• Global drugs war a 'billion-dollar failure'
• Stop The War On Drugs, Says Top Republican
• Is it time to rethink the war on drugs?

Mexico

• Mexico's anti-cartel vigilantes vindicated after tape shows mayor linked to crime boss?
• Mexico legalizes vigilantes fighting drug cartel
• Grand Closing: America's Pot Farmers Are Putting Mexican Cartels Out of Business
• 44 tons of marijuana seized in Tijuana, Mexico; no arrests reported

420

• Why marijuana shops are forced to run like lemonade stands
• Gov. Nixon Evades Questions About Jeff Mizanskey, Man ServingLife in Prison for Pot
• 100+ overdose on synthetic marijuana in Texas in 5 days—While the natural version, which is demonstrably safer, remains illegal.

Planted

• No criminal charges for four Philly officers in 'Tainted Justice' cases—"After years of investigation, federal and local prosecutors have decided not to file criminal charges against four Philadelphia narcotics officers accused of lying about evidence on search warrants and stealing from corner stores during raids, Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey told The Inquirer on Thursday."
  
• 2 former LA deputies accused of planting guns to justify medical marijuana dispensary arrests
• TYT: Cops BUSTED for Planting Drugs in Marijuana Dispensary

Law and Disorder

• DEA raids four Denver marijuana sites related to VIP Cannabis
• DEA Seizes Kentucky's Hemp Seeds Despite Congressional Legalization—Kentucky sues.
• Feds seek prison for rural Washington pot growers
• Sober DUIs for Pot Are 'Absurd,' Arizona Supreme Court Affirms
• TSA finds 81 pounds of pot in checked luggage

Colorado

• Since Denver legalized pot sales, revenue is up and crime is down
• Colorado Symphony Orchestra to host bring-your-own-cannabis 'High Note' concert series
• Colorado Senate OKs co-op banking option for marijuana sellers
• This high-tech vending machine sells marijuana—Colorado followed by Canada.

Legalization and Decriminalization

• Marijuana Bill to Change Schedule Class is Introduced
• Minnesota's Legislature OKs Medical Marijuana
• Retired Supreme Court Justice thinks marijuana should be legal
• Myrick '09, Cornell Forensics Society Debate Marijuana Legalization
• Christie on pot: Colo. law 'not the quality of life we want'
• IL lawmakers to create task force to help legalize recreational use of marijuana
• Springfield City Council Tried to Stop Marijuana Reform Vote, Now Has to Pay Up $225,000—They passed a decriminalization petition originally set as ballot initiative and then immediately repealed it.
• There's A Lot More To Uruguay's Legal Weed Than The $1-A-Gram Price
• Jamaica sees green in ganja—"After more than a century, the island of music and marijuana seems ready for legalization."
• Canadians rally to legalize marijuana
• Bermuda report urges easing marijuana laws

Bad Cops

• Cops can't threaten black suspects with all-white juries to get confession, IN court rules
• Miami police kill 2 unarmed suspects by shooting disabled car 377 times
• License plate reader error leads to traffic stop at gunpoint, court case—"Flagged vehicle did not even match the model of what the woman was driving."

Frame Jobs

• After 17 years in prison, a man walks free when a federal judge rules that officers manufactured evidence
• Circuit Court Overturns Immunity For Law Enforcement Officials Who Sent An Innocent Man To Prison For 22 Years
• Informant who tried to frame shop owner gets 6 to 12 years in prison—"Framed shop owner blasts liar informant, police at sentencing."

Police Brutality

• FBI Agent Who Killed Boston Bombing Suspect's Friend Was Twice Accused of Police Brutality
• Cops Jam Sharp Object Down Teens Throat, Killing Him
• University Place man dies after being tased by deputies
• Police promote commander in 'excessive force' case—"Albuquerque police promoted a commander who was accused in a lawsuit of burning off part a homeless man's ear with a stun gun, officials announced Thursday."

Mentally Ill

• Texas execution halted, court says Texas hid crucial evidence—"The execution of Robert Campbell was halted by a federal appeals court after evidence emerged that Texas had withheld tests scores that suggest Mr. Campbell is mentally handicapped."
• Unarmed man shot by police has mental illness
• Our Criminal Treatment of the Mentally Ill—"Unprepared police and lack of services have turned jails into psychiatric hospitals."

Recording

• Video shows Boynton Beach police officer kicking legs out from under child
• Chicopee woman faces wiretapping charges after allegedly recording her own arrest
• Lapel camera policy APD's most violated in 2013
• Deputy Who Choked Student Gets To Retire, Won't Face Charges
• Argentina: "Anti-Terrorism" Law Set to Land Journalist Years in Prison for Recording Police

Police State, Brutality, Bad Cops, False Arrests; Trial and Error, Law and Disorder; Death Penalty, Prison; Recording, Phone, Body Cams; Animal Cruelty, Kids; Road Rage, Traffic

Police State

• Federal Court: The Police Can Stop and Search You for Behaving Innocently—Even stiff driving posture is suspicious behavior.
• Supreme Court: Pennsylvania cops no longer need a warrant to search citizens' vehicles
• Can cops legally fire "GPS bullets" at fleeing cars to track suspects?—"ACLU says technique is OK, but the scope of search must be limited."
• Cops Must Swear Silence to Access Vehicle Tracking System
• Lawsuit filed over freeway cash seizures—"'I just smelled weed. I know I did. I know I smelled weed.' The Humboldt County deputy never finds weed in the car he's searching after a traffic stop on I-80, but he does find $50,000 in cash and $10,000 in cashiers checks."
• Flipside: Minnesota Now Requires A Criminal Conviction Before People Can Lose Their Property To Forfeiture—"In a big win for property rights and due process, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill yesterday to curb an abusive—and little known—police practice called civil forfeiture."

Brutality

• Austin police chief is angry that people are angry about police misbehavior
• City of Huntsville denies wrongdoing after lawsuit alleges teen died from arrest injuries
• Border Patrol Threatens Mother, Slashes Her Tire, as Kids Watch
• Border Patrol agents rarely disciplined in abuse cases, records show
• How a Special Needs Kid Gets Handcuffed and Thrown in Jail "For Her Own Good"
• Man Nearly Blinded After Fayette County Deputy Shoots Taser In His Eye
• Dagsboro man settles Taser suit for $270,000

Bad Cops

• Outcry over latest fatal shooting by Albuquerque police—"Residents angered by deadly response of cops chanted for resignation of police chief at city council meeting."
• Police say off-duty NYPD cop shot man 6 times
• Three NYPD Officers Have Drunkenly Shot at People in the Last Week
• Officer suspended after pulling gun on group of children
• Lawsuit Claims That the NYPD Keeps Raiding an Apartment in Search of a Dead Man

False Arrests

• Police accused of false arrest, illegal search, excessive force
• Man Claims Police Planted Phone To Justify Shooting
• NYPD detective grilled about allegedly lying under oath

Trial and Error

• Attorney: Tech advances make courtroom cellphone ban unconstitutional
• Supreme Court Unanimously Slaps Conservative Appeals Court For Botching Police Shooting Case
• Man back in prison for 90 years after court error
• Flipside: Clerical error allows man sentenced to prison to walk free

Law and Disorder

• Denver Woman's 13-Minute-Long 911 Call Ends With Fatal Gunshot
• Philip Welsh's simple life hampers search for his killer—"Philip Welsh did not use a cellphone, or e-mail — making it hard to trace the days before he was slain." WaPo
• German student Diren Dede killed in 'castle doctrine' case—"On the night of the shooting, Mr Kaarma and his partner Janelle Pflager left their garage door open, and Ms Pflager left her purse in the garage in order to bait intruders, she told police."
• Texas 93-year-old woman shot dead by officer had fired twice, says nephew—""Pearlie Golden 'brandished handgun' after refusal to hand over car keys following denial of driver's licence renewal."
• Man trying to rob donut shop shot by police
• Canadian Teen Charged in "Swatting" Calls Throughout U.S.
• Mother claims funeral director essentially held baby's body for ransom
• Florida woman has neighbors' mobile home demolished, authorities say

Death Penalty

• Oklahoma Inmate Dies After Botched Execution, Second Execution Delayed
• Report urges one-drug lethal injection to avoid botched US executions
• Why are US states using untested drugs to execute prisoners? - video
• US states may go back to electric chair and firing squads—"Shortage of drugs for lethal injections leads states to consider alternative methods of executing prisoners."
• Oklahoma Lawmaker: I Don't Care If Death Row Inmates Are 'Fed To Lions'
• US President Obama calls for death penalty review

Prison

• Corporations Divest Nearly $60 Million From Private Prison Industry
• Interactive Map Shows How Much Prisons Cost in America
• More Than 4% of Death Row Inmates May Be Innocent

Recording

• One deputy fired, two on leave after UT party bust—Kudos the Knox County Sheriff's Office for their swift actions.
• But for video: Wisconsin deputy badly injures woman in crash, attempts to blame victim—It looked like he was going to get away with it. WaPo
• NJ Assembly releases bill requiring new police cars to have cameras installed
• Youtube Video of Police Shooting Man in Back Contradicts Initial Report
• Pembroke Pines officer charged after stealing watch from burglary scene

Phone

• Florida man uses iPhone to film arrest -- and gets arrested—"A Miami DJ says he followed police instructions to back away, but ends up in custody and facing charges. 'I was threatened,' the police officer says, 'by his presence.'"
• Cops Snatch Phone from Wheelchair-bound Man for Recording Them, Cite him with "Unauthorized Photography"
• NYPD Officers Expect Public To Be Stupider Than They Are; Justify Shutting Down Recording With 'iPhones Are Guns' Claim
• Man who recorded alleged police brutality says he was told to delete evidence

Body Cams

• Dallas police chief calls for body cameras after cops shoot unarmed teen, mentally ill man
• Seattle police will launch body camera pilot program
• Metropolitan Police officers start wearing body cameras—"Met Police officers are to start wearing tiny cameras on their uniforms as part of plans to boost transparency and accelerate convictions."

Animal Cruelty

• Dash camera video released from deputy shooting dog
• Video Shows Hammond Police Officer Allegedly Abusing Dog
• Fort Worth Vet Accused of Keeping Dog Alive for Transfusions

Kids

• Teen killed for cell phone, $10 and a sandwich; suspect speaks out
• Man smothered crying son over video game WaPo
• Aunt: My nephew beaten to death defending 12-year-old sister during assault

Road Rage

• Brain-injured teen receives $2 million in 'affluenza' case settlement
• Deputy to avoid jail, criminal record in road rage case, attorney says
• Speeding Alameda deputy won't be charged in fatal crash
• Palmdale Girl, 16, Dies After Suspected DUI Driver Slams Into Her Home
• Teenage girl accused of running down 10-year-old boy in road-rage incident
• Driver caught using cell phone jamming device

Traffic

• Colorado Weighs Ban On Traffic Enforcement Cameras
• Sign Installer Cited for Violating the Sign He Was Putting Up—"Overtime parking ticket issued in Santa Barbara while man was about to screw in sign."
• Firefighters Smash BMW's Windows to Stretch Hose Toward 8-Alarm Blaze—"Next time you think about parking in front of a fire hydrant, keep this BMW in mind."

Workers and Wage Slaves, Labor Pains, Occupational Hazards, Minimum Wage, Amazon.com, Whistleblowers; Banks and Wall Street, Accountability, Housing; Class Warfare

Workers and Wage Slaves

• Capitalism with a human face
• College Grads Taking Low-Wage Jobs Displace Less Educated
• For Job-Hunting Teenagers, the Market Is Brutal
• Canada: Unpaid internships focus of growing backlash
• Walmart's Anti-Union Training Documents Demand "Loyalty"
• My Life as a Retail Worker: Nasty, Brutish, and Poor—"After veteran reporter Joseph Williams lost his job, he found employment in a sporting-goods store. In a personal essay, he recalls his struggles with challenges millions of Americans return to day after day."
• Obama Will Seek Broad Expansion of Overtime Pay—"President Obama this week will direct the Labor Department to revamp its regulations to require overtime pay for millions of workers." And as expected, Republicans oppose it. NYT
• Opinion: Reduce the Workweek to 30 Hours—"Workers on shorter hours are under less stress, get sick less often and are more loyal. Plus a shorter workweek is better for the environment." NYT

Labor Pains

• The world watches the US on labor abuse
• GOP Bill to 'Save American Workers' Would Actually Strip Health Care From a Million Workers, CBO Reports
• After 12 years of war, labor abuses rampant on US bases in Afghanistan—"More than a year after Obama’s executive order outlawing forced labor on US military bases, exploitation remains."
• Nowhere Close: The Long March from Here to Full Employment
• Can Germany Reform American Labor Relations?—"German corporations are far more respectful of worker rights—and may have more influence on future US developments than our politicians realize."

Occupational Hazards

• UK: Vulnerable man starved to death after benefits were cut—"44-year-old died months after sickness and housing benefits were stopped following Atos fitness-for-work assessment."
• Fired for urinating in a box, a Minnesota factory worker takes a company to court
• McDonald's workers sue for wage theft
• USIS fires manager for pressuring employees to work overtime without pay WaPo
• Intellectually disabled woman paid $1.25 an hour wins landmark case
• Enron Billionaire Brags About Being Expert on Cutting Pensions

Minimum Wage

• Reich: The Real Job Killers
• Highest Minimum-Wage State Washington Beats U.S. Job Growth—"When Washington residents voted in 1998 to raise the state's minimum wage and link it to the cost of living, opponents warned the measure would be a job-killer. The prediction hasn't been borne out."
• Real World Evidence That Increasing The Minimum Wage Doesn't Cost Jobs
• Minimum Wage Boost Would Cut Food Stamp Tab by $4.6 Billion WSJ
• All of the Arguments Against Raising the Minimum Wage Have Fallen Apart
• Why GOP should support raising minimum wage
• Dem Guv. Candidate Wants To Raise Minimum Wage Above Obama Proposal
• Buffett: I'd love to see minimum wage at $15 an hour
• Warren: Minimum wage hike needed to 'stop income inequality in America' WaPo
• F.D.R. Makes the Case for the Minimum Wage—"No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country." NYT

Amazon.com

• U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear Amazon workers' security check case—"The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear a case that could determine whether companies such as Amazon.com Inc must pay workers for the time they spend waiting to clear security checks at the end of their work shifts."
• How Crowdworkers Became the Ghosts in the Digital Machine—"Since 2005, Amazon has helped create one of the most exploited workforces no one has ever seen."
• Worse than Wal-Mart: Amazon’s sick brutality and secret history of ruthlessly intimidating workers—"You might find your Prime membership morally indefensible after reading these stories about worker mistreatment." Salon
• Family: Stricken Amazon worker unnoticed for 8 hours
• The Amazon Effect: Staples To Close 225 Stores, Says It's Now Making Half Of All Sales Online

Whistleblowers

• U.S. justices extend employee whistleblower protections—"The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday said whistleblower protections apply not just to publicly traded companies but also to subcontractors that do business with them."
• JPMorgan whistleblower gets $63.9 million in mortgage fraud deal
• Playboy Must Pay $6 Million to Fired Executive in Largest Federal Whistleblower Verdict Ever

Banks and Wall Street

• Wall Street average bonus rose 15% in 2013—Pretty much double the current Federal minimum wage.
• Does the SEC force its employees to insider trade?—"Here's a twist in the government's recent crackdown on insider selling: One of the main regulators tasked with policing the illegal practice may be instructing its employees to do just that."
• UBS traders tried to rig key Hong Kong interest rate
• George Soros blasts 'parasite' banks—"George Soros, the billionaire investor, has warned that little has changed since the 2008 crisis in the 'parasite' banking sector."
• Obama Still Wants To Kill Wall Street's Favorite Tax Loophole—Time to tax Wall Street.
• Republicans joining populists in ending corporate welfare for banks WaPo
• 15 Vermont Towns Vote to Start a Public Bank that Works for Them, Not Wall Street

Accountability

• SEC investigating Citigroup over Mexico fraud: Source—Citigroup has confirmed it [NYT].
• Bank of America back in court over $2.1 billion fraud penalties
• London gold-fix banks accused of manipulation in U.S. lawsuit: report
• U.S. regulator sues 16 banks for rigging Libor rate
• Bankers Behaving Badly Face 6-Year Bonus Clawback by BoE—"Misbehaving bankers and their bosses will have to hand back bonuses up to six years after they pocket them under a rule the Bank of England is proposing to prevent excessive risk-taking." NYT
• Senate confirms Wall Street critic for Treasury Department post—"The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved Federal Reserve Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin to be the No. 2 official at the Treasury Department, backing a critic of Wall Street to help coordinate an overhaul of financial regulations."

Housing

• Bank told to pay $3.2M for 'shocking' foreclosure—"A New Mexico judge has issued a $3.2 million judgment against Wells Fargo & Co. for foreclosing on a man's home after his death, even though he had a purchased an insurance policy through the bank that would have paid the remaining balance on his mortgage."
• Wells Fargo made up on-demand foreclosure papers plan: court filing charges
• Wall Street buyers snap up thousands of local homes for rentals
• Key senators agree on plan to replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—"The bipartisan proposal would slowly shrink the housing finance companies and replace them with a scaled-back government guarantee for mortgages."
• Watchdog faults FBI for making mortgage fraud a low priority—"The FBI ranked mortgage fraud as its lowest criminal threat after the height of the financial crisis, even though the U.S. Justice Department had said that investigating mortgage fraud was to be a priority, a report by a department watchdog said on Thursday."

Class War

• Jon Stewart Hits Back At Fox Host For Trying To 'School' Him On Food Stamps
• Gina Rinehart takes aim at Australia's 'entitlement mentality', points to Thatcher
• Park 'lounging' law rankles local family—"A local family says their afternoon at a local park was ruined after a homeless person complained to police that they were lying down. Under the city code, visitors to parks cannot 'sleep or protractedly lounge' on seats, benches or other areas." All because of anti-homeless ordinance.
• All fish in public lakes are public—Rich lodge owner lays claim over lake.
• Court ruling in land dispute could threaten bike trails