World News, Ukraine and Russia, China, Australia, Israel and Palestine, Africa; War on Terror, Iraq'd, Islamism, Surveillance and Privacy

World News

• Man sets self afire in Tokyo in apparent protest—Japan slowly turning militant.
• MH370: New evidence of tampering with cockpit systems revealed
• No, North Korea Did NOT Threaten War Over Seth Rogan Movie—"Media reports claiming the DPRK threatened war over a Seth Rogan and James Franco movie are flat out wrong."

Ukraine and Russia

• Putin snarls, but Obama gets the last laugh
• Defying Russia, Ukraine Signs E.U. Trade Pact—"Moscow warned that the signing of the economic agreement, which had set off protests and fighting in Ukraine, would have 'serious consequences.'" NYT
• Ukraine begins military offensive as cease-fire ends

China

• Washington is renaming the street outside China's embassy after jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo — and China is furious National Post
• Chinese president Xi Jinping vows China won't bully other nations
• Hong Kong democracy 'referendum' voting ends
• Hong Kong police arrest democracy protesters at sit-in

Australia

• Australia's right to know is under assault—"Reforms to freedom of information under the last government saw FOI culture flourish. Now the Coalition plans to radically restrict the FOI regime."
• Janet Albrechtsen appointed to ABC and SBS board appointments panel
• Australia's High Court rules PNG immigrant detention camp constitutional—"Australia's highest court has dismissed a challenge to the government's policy of sending asylum-seekers to Papua New Guinea, ruling detention at an island immigration camp legal under the country's constitution."
• Australia buys up, enters Asian arms race

Israel and Palestine

• Israeli PM Calls Killers of Three Israeli Teens 'Human Animals'
• Palestinian teenager found dead in suspected revenge attack
• Israeli troops clash with Palestinians after body of Arab teenager found WaPo

Africa

• African leaders vote to give themselves immunity from war crimes
• Uganda students smuggle pigs into parliament—"Youths and police guards arrested after protest against high unemployment and government corruption."
• Donors slash Mozambique aid over corruption claims

War on Terror

• Obama's crackdown views leaks as aiding enemies of U.S.
• Supreme Court lets victims' 9/11 suit vs. Saudi Arabia proceed
• Before Shooting in Iraq, a Warning on Blackwater—"Not long after the security firm's top manager in Iraq told a State Department investigator 'that he could kill' him, an inquiry was abandoned. Weeks later, the firm's guards killed 17 civilians in Iraq." NYT
• US court revives lawsuit against Abu Ghraib security contractors
• Judge upholds order demanding release of CIA torture accounts—"US government loses attempt to keep accounts of torture of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri secret."
• Army Clears Bergdahl of Any Misconduct During Captivity
• Bill Clinton says GOP is guilty of double standard on Benghazi WaPo
• New TSA fees to make airfare more expensive

Iraq'd

• Obama authorizes 200 more troops for Iraq WaPo
• If You Were An Iraq War Critic, You're Probably Not Being Asked To Go On TV
• Laura Ingraham To Republicans: Stop Talking About Iraq Already!
• Dick Cheney Doesn't Want You To Reflect on the Iraq War, So You Know It's a Good Idea To
• Retired Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson Rips Dick Cheney: He Isn't Immoral, He's Amoral—Sociopath.
• Nation Editor Tells Bill Kristol To Join Iraqi Army If He Wants War
• alicublog: On Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Blame Game on Iraq—Goldberg: "I supported the war, and I still think the arguments in favor at the time were superior to the arguments against. Alas, the facts on the ground didn't care about the arguments." Facts do have a liberal bias.

Islamism

• Iraq crisis: Isis changes name and declares its territories a new Islamic state with 'restoration of caliphate' in Middle East
• Just what is a 'caliphate' — and why are some Muslims keen to reestablish one?
  
• Christian Iraqis Live in State of Fear of ISIS Terrorists
• Osama Bin Laden's seven rules for terrorists: ISIS will regret not following the al-Qaida leader's advice.
• Britain bans controversial Saudi cleric al-Arifi—""The UK Government makes no apologies for refusing people access to the UK if we believe they represent a threat to our society. Coming here is a privilege that we refuse to extend to those who seek to subvert our shared values."
• European Court upholds French full veil ban
• Nigerian man is locked up after saying he is an atheist—"Campaigners call for release of 29-year-old Mubarak Bala, who lives in Kano in Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north."
• At least 30 die in Nigeria village attacks—"Churches set alight in attack by suspected Islamist extremists on village close to town from where schoolgirls were kidnapped."

Surveillance and Privacy

• Facebook's Psychological Experiments Connected to Department of Defense Research on Civil Unrest
• Court gave NSA broad leeway in surveillance, documents show—Now Internet monitoring is supposedly legal. WaPo
• New Snowden docs: NSA spies on pretty much everyone abroad—"All the world's a stage for US spies, according to secret American memos."
• Greenwald delays biggest Snowden story yet after new U.S. government claims
• FBI, CIA Use Backdoor Searches To Warrentlessly Spy On Americans' Communications
• ISPs take legal action against GCHQ
• TOR exit nodes now illegal in Austria
• Paypal Freezes ProtonMail Campaign Funds —A Paypal representative "questioned whether ProtonMail is legal and if we have government approval to encrypt emails."

Workers and Wage Slaves, Maximum Age, Minimum Wage, On the Job; Banks and Wall Street, Taxes, Class Warfare, Antiestablishmentarianism, Homeless; Chinese Exodus; Tau Day; Science Under Siege; Earth and Moon, Space Travel; Universe

Workers and Wages Slaves

• Meet 204 Republicans Who Don't Want to Punish Companies That Steal Workers' Wages
• Days After Decrying Flat Wages, McConnell Proposes Lowering Wages by $13 Billion
• How Walmart's Low Wages Cost All Americans, Not Just Its Workers
• Canada: Walmart wrong to fire unionized workers, high court says—"Supreme Court rules 5-2 in favour of 190 Quebec who lost jobs after first unionized Walmart shut its doors."
• Unions Fear This SCOTUS Case Could Bring Their 'Final Destruction'
• American Workers Need Overtime Protections
• Qatar police respond to fight at Sheraton Doha hotel

Maximum Age

• Tech industry job ads: Older workers need not apply
• Faygo accused of age discrimination - by founder's grandson
• Miss Delaware, 24, loses crown for being too old
• Singer sued for being too old and ugly for Pink cover band

Minimum Wage

• Zillow's Rich Barton on the $15 minimum wage, Uber regulations, and why the U.S. is filled with entrepreneurial 'freedom fighters'
• Ikea to raise its average minimum hourly wage to $10.76 LA Times
• Massachusetts: Minimum wage increase doesn't add up to a living wage—"The state's new $11 minimum wage –the highest in the nation -- will make low-wage workers' lives a little more stable, and less stressful. But not necessarily comfortable."
• A Minimum Wage That Makes More Sense—"Accounting for regional price differences is sound strategy when setting state or local minimum wages." NYT

On the Job

• Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed (The Real Reason For The Forty-Hour Workweek)
• Taking a Vacation May Actually Save Your Career—"Workaholism is hurting the American economy."
• Unblinking Eyes Track Employees: Workplace Surveillance Sees Good and Bad—"Abundant data, smart software and cheap sensors are beginning to make it possible to measure and monitor employees as never before." NYT
• An Employee Dies, and the Company Collects the Insurance—"Many companies insure their employees’ lives with themselves as beneficiaries, a practice some deride as immoral. But companies say the policies, for which they get tax breaks, help them bolster pensions and health care." NYT
• Obama Says US Should Offer Paid Maternity Leave—Right-wingers say no [Salon]
• North Dakota coffee shop has no employees, runs entirely on the honor system…and it's working
• Job interviews reward narcissists, punish applicants from modest cultures

Banks and Wall Street

• Ex-Goldman Trader Calls $8.25 Million Bonus Unfair, Told Mom He'd Get More—They really are too big to jail.
• New York attorney general accuses Barclays of 'dark pool' fraud
• Grassley's Hunt For An Obama Insider Trading Scandal Backfires On GOP
• House GOP Staffer Allegedly Changed His Story In Insider Trading Probe
• House Passes Bill To Aid Koch Brothers, Deregulate Wall Street
• China's commodity-lending fraud just got $15 billion bigger

Taxes

• Krugman: Sympathy for the Trustafarians NYT
• Higher taxes do not kill jobs—"County-level BLS data tell the true story about job growth."
• Tax cuts in Kansas have cost the state money — and job creation's been terrible WaPo
  

Class Warfare

• Robert Reich on America's Koch Problem
• In US, over 75 per cent of conservatives say the poor 'have it easy'
• Elizabeth Warren says the U.S. economy is rigged. Many conservatives agree. WaPo
• Conspiracy of the plutocrats: Secrets of the wealth-inequality explosion revealed Salon
• Detroit's Water War: a tap shut-off that could impact 300,000 people—"A right-wing state and corporate push to cut off water is economic shock therapy at its most ruthless and racist, but resistance is growing."
• Debtors Prisons Are Taking the US Back to the 19th Century—"In recent years, more and more cells have been filled with poor individuals who are caught in a vile trap, unable to pay court fines."
• What wealth gap? Danish welfare narrows disparity WaPo

Antiestablishmentarianism

• The open source revolution is coming and it will conquer the 1% - ex CIA spy—"The man who trained more than 66 countries in open source methods calls for re-invention of intelligence to re-engineer Earth."
• Nick Hanauer: The Pitchforks Are Coming… For Us Plutocrats Politico
• The United States Of Cruelty—"We are cheap. We are suspicious. We will shoot first. It does not have to be this way. Like Lincoln before us, it is time to do something about it."

Homeless

• 73-year-old veteran loses his job for allegedly giving a muffin to a homeless man
• Chinese tycoon's free lunch for homeless New Yorkers backfires—"Controversial businessman Chen Guangbiao angered homeless people in New York after promising them $300 each and failing to deliver."
• Flipside: Woman launches mobile showers for the homeless—"A San Francisco woman creates a "shower bus" to help accommodate the city's 3,500 homeless people. Vanessa Johnston reports."

Chinese Exodus

• Disappointed Immigration Applicants Sue Canada—"More than 1,400 Chinese plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit against the Canadian immigration authorities after Canada announced it was canceling its immigrant investor program along with tens of thousands of outstanding applications." NYT
• Mainland Chinese line up for Australia's 'millionaire visa'
• Cashed-up Chinese students turn to Australia
• China targets officials who sent families abroad—"China's anti-graft campaign is now targeting officials who have sent their spouses and children abroad, where they can create channels to potentially funnel illicit gains and establish footholds for eventual escape from the mainland."

Tau Day

• The brain injury that made me a math genius—"Twelve years ago, Jason Padgett had never made it past pre-algebra. And then a violent mugging changed everything." Salon
• Notation, notation, notation: a brief history of mathematical symbols—The symbols we use every day have fascinating and surprisingly recent origins, explains author Joseph Mazur in his new book."
• The secret history of numbers: How math shapes our lives in amazing, unpredictable ways—"The relationship between people and numbers is so much more fascinating than simple dollars and cents." Salon

Science Under Siege

• Universities 'get poor value' from academic journal-publishing firms—"Research finds secrecy over contracts has stopped some institutions realising they are paying too much for journals."
• The U.S. Should Invest In Science, Not War
• Neil DeGrasse Tyson: US need not lose its edge in science—"The famed astrophysicist says there's a reason some chemical elements are named for places in the US -- and that we don't have to leave those glory days in the past."
• Asia's Cult of Intelligence—"With its 'cult of ignorance and anti-intellectualism' the U.S. risks falling behind rivals in Asia."
• xkcd: People are stupid

Earth and Moon

• Largest Active Volcano on Earth Rumbles Back to Life—"Recent quake swarms signal that magma is squeezing into Mauna Loa's magma storage chambers in the same spots below where the 1984 eruption occurred."
• Earth and Moon Are 60 Million Years Older Than Previously Believed
• Traces of another world found on the Moon—"Researchers have found evidence of the world that crashed into the Earth billions of years ago to form the Moon."
• The Moon is Now a Wi-Fi Hotspot
• Strange New World Discovered: The 'Mega Earth'

Space Travel

• A Klingon is currently commander of the International Space Station
• Astronaut Sally Ride and the Burden of Being The First
• The Curiosity rover has been on Mars for one Martian year. It celebrated by taking a selfie. WaPo

Universe

• Big Bang blunder bursts the multiverse bubble—"Premature hype over gravitational waves highlights gaping holes in models for the origins and evolution of the Universe, argues Paul Steinhardt."
• Light from huge explosion 12 billion years ago reaches Earth
• NASA detects mysterious signal ​240 million light years away from Earth
• The Timey Wimey Spacey Wacey Explanation of Relativity
• Avoiding "Sagan Syndrome." Why Astronomers and Journalists should pay heed to Biologists about ET.
• Star Within a Star: Weird Stellar 'Hybrid' Discovered—Red supergiant replaced its core with a neutron star.workers
• Collection of three supermassive black holes detected
• Mystery object in lake on Saturn's moon Titan intrigues scientists—"Nasa's Cassini probe took image last year as it passed by planet's largest moon – nothing seen when other images taken."
• Titan's Atmosphere May be Older than Saturn, a New Study Suggests

World Cup, Sports Corruption; Europe, Asia; MH370; Religion; Media and Transparency, Political Partisanship, Obamanation; Vote Machinations, Campaign Finance Deform; Grand Ol' Tea Party; Immigration, Race and Racism; Your Government Inaction

World Cup

• Iran arrests 2 over World Cup video—"Iran's official IRNA news agency says police have arrested two people who appeared in an online video of young people singing and dancing in support of the country's World Cup football team."
• Defying ban, Iranian women watch World Cup with men in public
• Neo-Nazi Banners, Blackface, and Homophobic Chants: World Cup Fans Behaving Badly
• Suarez World Cup bite sets off Twitter meme frenzy—"Harkening Mike Tyson's famous gnawing of Evander Holyfield's ear, the soccer star is pictured wearing a dog cone, with fangs, as Hannibal, and more."
• Miguel Herrera Is the Most GIF-Worthy Man at the World Cup, Perhaps on Earth
• Cristiano Ronaldo, James Milner, Mario Balotelli, Olivier Giroud: The hottest soccer players at the World Cup
• Bravery of young security officer prevents massacre in Beirut—"Hunch by security officer prevents potential massacre as scores of people were watching World Cup match, but it also costs his own life."

Sports Corruption

• Football match-fixing: Ghana deal casts cloud over World Cup finals in Brazil—Is this what the $3 million is for?
• Fifa Bosses 'Secretly Doubled Their Salaries'—"Football chiefs are accused of upping their pay to £118,000 to compensate for lucrative bonuses that have now been axed."
• U.S. Senator Calls On FIFA To Relocate 2022 World Cup Out Of Qatar
• Nobody Wants To Host The 2022 Olympics—"The next Olympics to be awarded, a little more than a year from now, will be the 2022 Winter Games. Rather than going to the strongest bid, the games may end up going to the last city standing--a long list of potential hosts have given up on their Olympic dreams because the whole thing is one huge, useless waste of money."
• Banks Wary of Construction Companies After Olympic Debacle

Europe

• Polish foreign minister says country's alliance with US worthless—"According to a transcript of recordings obtained by Wprost, Radislaw Sikorski said 'we gave the US a blow job.'"
• Polish MPs ridicule Cameron's 'stupid propaganda' aimed at Eurosceptics—"Secretly taped expletive-laden conversation reveals EU fallout from prime minister's plans to curb migrants' benefits access."
• Italy arrests 95 in mafia dragnet, solves century-old murder
• Roma boy left unconscious after being savagely beaten and tortured during vigilante attack in Paris suburb
• Tens of thousands march in London against coalition's austerity measures—"An estimated 50,000 people in London addressed by speakers, including Russell Brand, after People's Assembly march."

Asia

• China jails 'New Citizens' Movement' activists—"China has handed down lengthy jail terms to three anti-corruption activists who had called for officials to disclose their personal wealth."
• Chinese police shoot dead 13 attackers in restive Xinjiang
• In Hong Kong, an Unofficial Election Draws Beijing's Ire NYT
• Chinese warships to join US in drills off Hawaii for first time
• Japan failed to report 640 kg of nuclear fuel to IAEA
• North Korea blasts film featuring James Franco and Seth Rogen plotting assassination of Kim Jong Un—This means war.
• Google removes Singapore hate blog against Filipinos

MH370

• 'A bungled inquiry': 100 days after MH370 went missing it is clear Malaysia officials hiding information National Post
• Malaysian Jet Was in Controlled Flight After Contact Was Lost, Officials Suspect NYT
• Australia: Waiting for Malaysians before announcing new MH370 search area

Religion

• Festival of Dangerous Ideas: 'Honour killings are morally justified' talk cancelled
• Christian woman freed after death sentence ruled 'faulty' in Sudan—NISS says, not so fast.
• Malaysian court to Christians: You can't say 'Allah'

Media and Transparency

• The media's moral center: How John Oliver became the sheriff of cable news' wild west—"The 'Last Week Tonight' host digs deeper and pushes his audience harder than either Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert." Salon
• Jon Stewart Is A More Trusted News Source Than MSNBC, Study Says
• Lawmakers unveil major changes to FOIA—"Reform legislation emerges from Senate committee that would overhaul Freedom of Information Act, increase transparency."
• Wal-Mart 'edits' a New York Times op-ed—The fact check fudges facts.
• Hacking trial: Coulson guilty, Brooks cleared of charges

Political Partisanship

• Americans Have Less Confidence In Congress Than Just About Anything, Ever
• Let's Stop Kidding Ourselves: 90 Percent of Congressional Incumbents Will Win Re-election—"All signs tell us that incumbents should be grabbed by their lapels and shoved to the curb—but most won't be."
• Americans have not become more politically polarized—Maybe, maybe not. WaPo

Obamanation

• Jindal: People Ready For 'Hostile Takeover' Of DC
• South Dakota Republican Party Passes Resolution Calling For Obama's Impeachment
• New report destroys Gov. Sam Brownback's bid to blame President Obama for Kansas budget crisis

Vote Machinations

• Want to Suppress the Vote? Stress People Out—"The latest science-of-politics study suggests that GOP voter intimidation tactics may be more effective than liberals have feared—for biological reasons."
• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand plans to introduce legislation to allow voters to register online—"Under Gillibrand's proposal, states with existing online access would expand their system beyond those with state-issued IDs to let more young people, seniors, minorities and the poor to access and update their own voter records online."
• GOP's voter fraud humiliation: Turns out Wisconsin's worst case is a Republican—"Maybe the real reason Scott Walker and Reince Preibus think their state needs tougher laws is a guilty conscience." Hypocrites. Salon
• Racist tactic emerges in GOP primary fight—"Rachel Maddow reports on how Mississippi Republican candidate Thad Cochran's appeal for African-American votes is being met by conservative supporters of his tea party opponent, Chris McDaniel, with 'poll watchers,' to discourage black voters."
• Wilson precinct official removed—Woman who wasn't able to vote: "I am not rich — just a mom who wanted to vote. And I did ask for a provisional ballot. But I didn't get it."
• Fifty Years After Freedom Summer, the Voting Rights Act Is Needed More Than Ever

Campaign Finance Deform

• Calif. lawmakers seek constitutional convention on Citizens United
• 4 Key Takeaways About Scott Walker's Alleged "Criminal Scheme"—"Here's what you need to know about the probe targeting the Wisconsin governor and two of his aides."
• Senate Democrats Re-up Their Dark-Money Disclosure Bill—and Dare GOPers to Block It
• Mayday PAC: The Super PAC Built to Destroy Super PACs

Grand Ol' Tea Party

• Thad Cochran Defeats the Tea Party -- And So Does Everyone Else
• Losing Tea Party Candidate Refuses to Concede in Mississippi Runoff
• The staggering price of crushing the tea party Politico
• Tea Party's embarrassing irony: How its ideal nation rejects basic American beliefs Salon
• In a Do-Nothing Congress, Blake Farenthold is Enjoying the View—"Blake Farenthold, the tea party congressman from Corpus Christi, has settled into a routine where distraction is just part of the job."
• Tea party, police clash in western Wisconsin town—Also: Wisconsin Police Chief and Tea Party Battle Over Bridge Signs and Gay Dating Websites
• Darrell Issa's flailing search for his white whale
• GOP Rep's Chief Of Staff Resigns After Porn Star Tweets Photo Of His Penis

Immigration

• Obama tells Mexico: Illegal-immigrant children won't get to stay
• Limbaugh Floats Theory That Obama Planned Influx Of Undocumented Minors At Border
• Honduras to ask U.S. not to deport Honduran kids
• Few immediate consequences for child immigrants
• Mass migrant graves unearthed in Texas—"Researchers discover mass graves near US-Mexico border containing bodies of unidentified migrants in body bags."

Race and Racism

• Prominent Republican Lawyer Says Ted Cruz Sounds Like A Racist
• Texas Commissioners Unintentionally Vote In Favor Of Slavery Reparations
• Arizona GOPer: 'We All Need To Stomp Out' Spanish TV Stations, Newspapers—¡Ay caramba!
• If Affirmative Action Is Doomed, What's Next? NYT
• Redditor's discovery leads to white supremacist investigation at Army base
• Joe Dorsey's Big Fight: How An Unknown Boxer Knocked Out Segregation In Louisiana
• Stunning Portraits of Mixed-Race Families

Your Government Inaction

• You paid a fee for 31 years that went nowhere
• Opponents Barred From Speaking As Cobb County Approves Braves Stadium
• Congress Is Weighing Some Bafflingly Bad Ideas for Fixing Our Crumbling Bridges and Roads
• How many people would be 'out of work' if USPS eliminates Saturday delivery? WaPo
• Why Can't We Simplify Our Tax System? It Turns Out, We Can.

Iraq'd, ISIS, Benghazi; Ukraine and Russia, China; Corruption; Bad Sports, Sterling; Church and State, Trojan Horse, Educamation, Extermists

Iraq'd

• The Case for Doing Nothing in Iraq—"The same people who got us into this mess want America to 'do something.' Ignore them." Politico
• Neocons promised Iraq would be Model of Democracy, Left US Holding the Bag
• FLASHBACK: Remember When Paul Wolfowitz Said Not to Worry About Sectarian Violence in Iraq?—"The former Bush administration official is perhaps the worst person to give advice about the current crisis in Iraq—but that hasn't stopped him from speaking out."
• Media Malpractice: Iraq War Blunderers Keep Getting Invited to Criticize Obama
• Americans poorly served by media on Iraq, Benghazi
• Cheneys reach the bottom of the barrel, drill deeper
• Jay Carney Had The Perfect Response To Dick Cheney On Iraq
• Sorry, George W. Bush, but this whole mess is still your fault—"GOP wants to pin Iraq on Barack Obama. Perhaps they need a simple refresher in the real history of the last decade." Salon
• How the Top Iraqi Terrorist Was Helped by a Bush-Signed Agreement—"Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who heads the jihadists threatening Baghdad, was freed from prison under a deal W. struck with Iraq. "
• Gunmen Attack North of Baghdad as Obama Weighs Options for Iraq
• Iraq formally asks US to launch air strikes against rebels
• 5,000 Iranians volunteer to defend Iraq holy sites from ISIL militants
• Saudis give apparent warning to Iran: don't meddle in Iraq
• Jon Stewart blasts John McCain over Iraq foreign policy Salon
• Glenn Beck admits: Liberals got Iraq right Politico

ISIS

• ISIS storms across Iraq: What would a jihadist state look like?
• The rules in ISIS' new state: Amputations for stealing and women to stay indoors.
• The ISIS Extremists Causing Havoc in Iraq Are Getting Funds and Recruits From Southeast Asia
• ISIS's Savage Strategy in Iraq—"The brutality currently on display, initiated by the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham, is more than a carnival of revenge."
• Someone Is Spilling ISIS's Secrets on Twitter

Benghazi

• Obama Administration Won't Send Benghazi Suspect To Gitmo
• Benghazi Suspect Said He Was Moved To Take Revenge For American-Made Video
• Hiding in plain sight: Captured Benghazi suspect an enigma
• Abu Khattala was an unlikely leader before Benghazi attacks — and a loner afterward WaPo
• Harry Reid Slams 'Disgusting,' 'Pathetic' GOP Response To Benghazi Arrest
• 7 Republicans Who Said Obama Wasn't Trying Hard Enough to Bring the Benghazi Attacker to Justice
• GOP's Benghazi humiliation: Capture of suspect upends deranged agenda—"With alleged ringleader now in custody, the Benghazi Select Committee just lost a prized grandstanding opportunity." Salon

Ukraine and Russia

• Tanks and gas politics in eastern Ukraine: The crisis heats up again while the world is distracted by Iraq
• Russia cuts natural gas supply to Ukraine
• Ukraine Says Mysterious Pipeline Explosion Is Not So Mysterious
• Ukraine's Poroshenko 'to order unilateral ceasefire'
• Russia 'using words to destroy meaning', say writers—"Group of authors including two Nobel laureates condemns Russian Federation's 'waves of propaganda' against free expression."

China

• To bolster its claims, China plants islands in disputed waters
• Chinese Hackers Are Practicing How To Blow Up US Pipelines And Shut Down Power Plants
• German security firm finds spyware on Chinese-made smartphone

Corruption

• How Corrupt Is the U.S.? Just Watch 'House of Cards,' China Party Arm Says
• Mayor of Venice resigns after corruption inquiry
• Russia's Former Top Anti-Corruption Cop Commits Suicide During Questioning

Bad Sports

• The Brazil World Cup Could Be The Last True Sports Mega-Event
• World Cup Produces Arrest of Mexican Drug Lord Going to Game
• France cries foul at World Cup "spy drone"—"Quadrocopter buzzed French practice facilities near Sao Paulo, Brazil."
• The Odds of a World Cup in Qatar in 2022 Are Falling
• "Open Wide for Some Soccer!": The Simpsons' Brilliant Parody of the Beautiful Game

Sterling

• Donald Sterling pulls support from Clippers sale, suing NBA again
• Donald Sterling hires 4 private investigators to dig up dirt on NBA heads, owners
• Donald Sterling, New Black Girlfriend Vacation In Palm Springs Following Racism Allegations Against NBA

Church and State

• S. Korean PM Nominee: Japan's Occupation Was 'God's Will'—"A leaked video shows Park's prime minister nominee saying that Japan's occupation and Korea's division were 'God's will.'"
• GOP lawmaker: I'm like Paul the Apostle because God told me to run for Congress
• GOP State Legislator Asks Why America Can't Be More Like Saudi Arabia—"A Republican state legislator miffed about an Arkansas judge's ruling that struck down the state's same-sex marriage ban suggested on a conservative radio show that politicians should emulate Saudi Arabia by basing laws off Christian doctrine...."
• Spain to Deport Pakistani Refugee for Criticizing Islam
• New Facebook Group to Block 'Offensive' Posts Against Religious Figures—Say no to sectarian censorship. FSM forever!

Trojan Horse

• UK PM 'concerned' over Muslim schools row—"Remarks come as education minister prepares to submit report on alleged Birmingham plot by 'Islamic extremists.'"
• Dossier of Trojan horse evidence finally laid bare after leaks and allegations
• Books 'promoting stoning' found at Olive Tree Primary School

Educamation

• Christian homeschoolers accused of running 'concentration camp'
• Allegations of racism surface in Israel's ultra-Orthodox schools
• Tony Abbott spends millions to push God in schools—"The prime minister has allocated $226 million for more chaplains, all while slashing his country's education budget." Salon

Extremists

• Nigerian army arrests 486 alleged Boko Haram members—"Boko Haram, which has killed more than 1,500 people in Nigeria this year, is also the group responsible for abducting more than 200 schoolgirls."
• Saudi minister says beheading, lashings 'cannot be changed'
• Mob torches Christian shops in Egypt ahead of trial
• Alleged kidnappings, murder and a female Christ: The banned religious group that has China worried
• Woman in Sudan sentenced to death for apostasy forced to give birth 'with her legs chained'
• Muslim convert to Christianity sues Tulsa church—"The Tulsa County resident, identified only as John Doe in court papers for his own safety, alleges that because the news of his conversion appeared on the Internet, he was kidnapped on a trip to his native Syria by radical Muslims seeking to enforce Shariah law."
• Provocative Islamic sign that says 'Do not walk your dog here! Muslims don't like dogs' investigated by police

World News, Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, UK and Scotland, China, Brazil 2014 and Qatar 2022, MH370; US Politics, Obamanation, Texas, War on Women, Immigrants; Vote Machinations, Campaign Finance Deform, Public-Private Partnerships

World News

• Thai junta pushes 'happiness' project—"Critics say rulers also aim to stifle political dissent." Boston Globe
• Alaa Abdel-Fattah, Icon Of Egypt's 2011 Revolt, Sentenced To 15 Years For Protesting
• Anti-monarchy protests grip Madrid—Spanish lawmakers about to approve abdication.

Ukraine and Russia

• Britain calls up Dad's Army of spies to watch Russia—"Military intelligence chiefs have been re-recruiting Cold War veterans and retired linguists because of a lack of Russian skills to deal with the Ukraine crisis."
• After Ukraine, U.S. trains more special forces in eastern Europe
• Gas row: Ukraine 'won't fall into Russian gas trap'
• Europe Has Finally Found A Way To Make Russia Hurt Economically In Ukraine Crisis
• EU raises 500 mn euros for Ukraine

Israel and Palestine

• Pope says Israelis, Palestinians must seek peace 'undaunted in dialogue'
• Annexation Plan Sparks Threat to Topple Israel Government—"sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's strongest coalition partner threatened to bring down the government if it tries to annex West Bank settlements following the breakdown of Mideast peace talks."
• Netanyahu Is Facing Heat From All Sides For His Handling Of Palestine Peace Talks

UK and Scotland

• JK Rowling donates £1m to Scotland's anti-independence campaign
• Obama says wants Scotland inside the UK, Britain inside the EU
• Lego asks government to remove Scottish independence images—"Toy manufacturer says it is politically neutral and did not provide photos for press release encouraging Scots to stay in UK."

China

• 2nd China Army Unit Implicated in Online Spying NYT
• Toronto man accused of spying, jailed in China—"A Toronto man living in China says he was wrongfully imprisoned after refusing to spy on Canada."
• Vietnam airs video of Chinese ship sinking fishing boat in South China Sea—In the meantime, Chinese oil rigs are on the move.
• Japan Slams China Over Close Encounter of Jets
• Ancient Chinese maps debunk Beijing's sea claims, says Philippine judge SCMP
• China reaches out to India amid tension with Japan, Vietnam
• Hong Kong must accept Beijing's control, China's Communist Party warns—"Nearly a week after more than 100,000 protesters gathered in Hong Kong to remember the Tiananmen crackdown and call for universal suffrage, Beijing issues controversial white paper reminding the former colony it does not enjoy 'full autonomy.'" Hong Kong protests.

Brazil 2014 and Qatar 2022

• Protests and social unrest threaten World Cup kickoff—Police resort to tear gassing protesters.
• Court rules Sao Paulo subway strike 'illegal'—"Workers must pay increased daily fine if they continue action as strike threatens opening game of Brazil World Cup." The union called it off.
• Fifa sponsor demands 'appropriate investigation'—"One of Fifa's main sponsors, Sony, calls for an investigation into the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar."
• Adidas: Qatar 2022 Claims Damaging Sponsors
• Report: Qatar paid $1.7m per vote
• Sepp Blatter launches broadside against the 'racist' British media
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: FIFA and the World Cup

MH370

• Missing Malaysia jet MH370: 'Whistleblower fund' set up
• Oil rig worker fired after claiming to have seen burning MH370 plane crash
• Australia has spent far more than Malaysia

US Politics

• Eric Cantor succumbs to tea party challenger Tuesday—"The House Republican leader succumbs to David Brat, a little-known conservative activist." What happened? WaPo
• Eric Cantor and the tea party purge WaPo
• Wendy Davis Caught On Camera Saying Republicans Dislike 'People Who Don't Look Like Them'
• The Big Lobotomy—"How Republicans made Congress stupid."
• Does Fox News Cause Ignorance, or Do Ignorant Viewers Prefer Fox News?—"A new study reveals the gap between the channel's fans and the rest of America."
• Why I'm No Longer a Republican

Obamanation

• Sen. Graham fights for Obama's impeachment—"Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., will fight for Obama's impeachment. Why--he's up for re-election."
• Is Obama a Tyrant or a Weakling?—"His critics can't seem to decide." Politico
• White House Aides: Bergdahl Criticism Is Proxy for GOP's Obama Hatred

Texas

• Texas GOP splits between social conservatives, libertarians
• Young Republicans Reject Current Texas GOP Platform—"Current and former leadership of the state's Young Republican chapters shared with Breitbart Texas their frustrations with the current Texas Republican platform, and ideas for how it should be fixed."
• Chris Matthews rips Texas Republican platform: 'How wide is this infection of hatred?'

War on Women

• Sarah Palin believes she is the only actual victim of the "war on women"—"Palin thinks President Obama 'fired the first shot' in the 'war on women' that she doesn't believe even exists." Salon
• Republicans think touching Glamour magazine makes them female-friendly Salon
• WaPo Editorial Page Goes Neanderthal For Second Time In A Week

Immigrants

• Arizona Official Says Immigrant Kids in Good Care
• Questions surround surge in migrant kids left at border
• Obama vows urgent action as children make perilous illegal journey into U.S.
• McCain: GOP must pass immigration to compete in 2016—"Without immigration reform, the former presidential candidate says, the Republican Party won't win in 2016."
• Supreme Court rules against immigrants over visa eligibility
• Woman Waits In Line For 21 Years To Immigrate Into US, Then Gets Turned Away For Being Too Old
• Opinion: On Legal Immigration, Supreme Court Gets It Wrong

Vote Machinations

• Texas Seen as "Kind of an Electoral Wasteland"
• Judge Orders 3 Early Voting Days Restored in Ohio
• Why Mississippi's voter ID law hurts the poor—"Mississippi's new voter-identification law suppresses those who cannot afford the cost of a photo ID, writes Robert Reich. How is Mississippi's effort to stop voter fraud is actually a step back?"
• Voter Fraud Is Rare, but Myth Is Widespread—"Many people believe voter impersonation and other kinds of election fraud are much more widespread than they really are." NYT
• Tea Party Candidate Creates Fake Organization, Endorses Herself In Ad
• Sen. Cruz Formally Renounces Canadian Citizenship

Campaign Finance Deform

• NC House lawmakers file resolution calling for constitutional convention to overturn Citizens United
• Republican Congressman Demolishes The Supreme Court's Rationale For Killing Campaign Finance Laws
• Don't fear the Koch brothers. Fear an election that caters only to billionaires—"Forget right or left. Dark money in politics means you'll never know which 'independent' candidate's views were on the market."

Public-Private Partnerships

• Va. lawmaker to resign, paving way for jobs for self, daughter, according to associates—"Sen. Philip Puckett's resignation paves the way for Republicans to pass a budget without Medicaid." Was this straight-up bribery? WaPo
• GOP Rep. Acknowledges That Members Expect Donations For Votes
• Greenhouse—"A free browser extension for Chrome and Safari that exposes the role money plays in Congress. Displays on any web page detailed campaign contribution data for every Senator and Representative, including total amount received and breakdown by industry and by size of donation."

Tiananmen Square 25th Anniversary; Australia; Russia; Turkey; Nigeria; Religion; Qatar 2022 Corruption; World News; House of Cads; Vote Machinations, Campaign Finance Deform; Racism

Tiananmen Square 25th Anniversary

• Crowds Gather in Hong Kong to Mark 25th Anniversary of Tiananmen Killings—"In Beijing and elsewhere in mainland China, a stifling security presence Wednesday on the streets and online appeared to forestall protests." NYT
• Tiananmen Square Tank Man: 25 Years Later, His Memory Lives On
• Chinese dare recall Tiananmen Square massacre
• 'I will not be silenced. I want truth behind Tiananmen'—"Activists say Beijing's battle to bully the families of Tiananmen victims into silence has failed as relatives of those killed during the 1989 crackdown defy Communist Party intimidation to demand justice."
• China's Tiananmen activists: Where are they now?
• Chinese-Australian artist Guo Jian detained ahead of Tiananmen anniversary
• China Blocks Google to Silence Tiananmen Square Discussion—And did LinkedIn engage in self-censorship?
• 25 Years Later, Details Emerge of Army's Chaos Before Tiananmen Square NYT
• Tiananmen square protests and crackdown: 25 years on
• Why Tiananmen still matters

Australia

• Tony Abbott roasted by John Oliver on HBO show Last Week Tonight
• Chris Kenny to receive on-air ABC apology after legal settlement reached—"TV apology will be broadcast at 9pm Wednesday – the same timeslot as a skit last year that depicted the conservative commentator having sex with a dog."
• Australians unfazed by government spying on other countries—"Poll found 70% of Australian adults believe it is acceptable to spy on nations Australia does not have a good relationship with."

Russia

• Russian image has deteriorated - BBC World Service poll
• G7 powers meet without Russia in summit snub over Ukraine
• Documents Show How Russia's Troll Army Hit America

Turkey

• Turkey's Erdogan calls CNN reporter 'agent' for his coverage of protests
• Turkey Unblocks YouTube After 2 Months
• Erdogan to grow more powerful as president, Turkey more polarised

Nigeria

• Protests for kidnapped girls banned in Nigerian capital
• 'Dozens killed' in Boko Haram attack on Nigeria villages
• Nigerian military court-martials 15, including 10 generals, for aiding Boko Haram

Religion

• Pakistan clerics issue stoning death decree—"Ulema Council says so-called 'honour killings' are un-Islamic and sign of ignorance...."
• Sudan backtracks on pledge to free woman sentenced to death for apostasy—"The foreign office said on Saturday that Meriam Ibrahim would be freed within days but now says only Sudan's courts can decide on her fate."
• Mob Torches Christian Shops in Egypt Ahead Trial
• The Indian miracle-buster stuck in Finland—"An Indian man who made his name exposing the 'miraculous' feats of holy men as tricks has fled the country after being accused of blasphemy. Now in self-imposed exile in Finland, he fears jail - or even assassination - if he returns."
• Ministry to remove billboard with Hitler quote

Qatar 2022 Corruption

• Fifa faces calls to quash Qatar World Cup vote after corruption allegations
• Fifa ethics head Michael Garcia won't look at new corruption allegations—"Millions of files raise fresh questions over Qatari bid for the 2022 World Cup, with Garcia's report on the issue due 9 June."
• David Cameron: Fifa members lied to David Beckham, Prince William and I over World Cup bid
• Australia Pulled Into FIFA Corruption Probe
• Qatar 2022: Uefa president Michel Platini says 'corruption scandal' claims are an attempt to tarnish his image over Qatar 2022 support

World News

• Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef ends his TV show—"I'm tired of struggling and worrying about my safety and that of my family."
• Syria parliament speaker: Bashar Assad wins presidential vote in a landslide with 88.7 percent
• Thailand's military threatens to arrest people giving 'Hunger Games' salute WaPo
• Juan Carlos abdication sparks calls for referendum on Spain's monarchy
• Foreign Ministry adopts online "corruption trigger" to prevent aid misuse
• Venice Mayor Orsoni held in Italy corruption inquiry
• Malaysia Airlines plane search: British yachtswoman 'saw MH370 on fire'

House of Cads

• House GOP Backs Tax Breaks That Add $300 Billion To Deficit
• House Vote Aims To Derail DOJ Processing Of Clemency Petitions—"The House of Representatives has voted to prohibit the Justice Department from hiring more attorneys to deal with thousands of backlogged clemency petitions in a bid to block one of the Obama administration's top criminal justice priorities."
• GOP plans to pay for 1 year of highway funds with 10 years of postal service cuts

Vote Machinations

• Study finds strong evidence for discriminatory intent behind voter ID laws WaPo
• 93-year-old black man disenfranchised by Alabama voter ID law
• Alabama Republicans offer $1,000 for information that leads to a felony voter-fraud conviction
• Can turnout save the Democrats in 2014? WaPo
• This computer programmer solved gerrymandering in his spare time—"We could take human error out of the redistricting process entirely. Why don't we?" WaPo
• This Arizona Republican Transformed into a Democrat Named 'Cesar Chazez' for Votes

Campaign Finance Deform

• Reid and McConnell Duel Over Proposed Amendment on Campaign Spending NYT
• Milbank: This is no way to fix the problem of billionaires buying elections—"Cruz isn't defending anybody's liberty; he's championing oligarchy." WaPo
• The 4 Most Ridiculous Arguments Against Getting Money Out of Politics
• West Virginia: Men charged in mine kickback scheme are big Tomblin donors
• Obama to Donors: "I Might Be In a Very Strong Position" To Demand Constitutional Change on Money in Politics
• Don't get campaign finance? Experts recommend watching more Comedy Central.—"A new study shows that watching Colbert made people smarter about super PACs." WaPo

Racism

• Worker records 'racist' supervisor in cotton warehouse—"They're accusing their former supervisor of calling them 'monkeys' and telling them the water fountain and microwave were for white people only."
• Woman 'Hunting Asians' Beats 4-Year-Old With Crowbar in Walmart: Police
• Never Say "I Kill White People Like You" When Asked To Turn Off Your Phone Post-Takeoff
• Blatant Racism in Cheektowaga NY—She digs herself a deeper hole in defending herself.

Geology; Prehistoric, Man; Middle East, Egypt, Orient, Europe, British Isles; Breaking History

Geology

• Crystal is 'oldest scrap of Earth crust'—"A tiny 4.4-billion-year-old crystal has been confirmed as the oldest fragment of Earth's crust."
• Boffins identify ancient Earth asteroid strike that dwarfed dinosaur killer—"Massive space rock impact may have set the continents sliding."
• Fragments of ancient continent buried under Indian Ocean

Prehistoric

• Mysteriously Intact T. Rex Tissue Finally Explained
• New find hits Cambrian fossil jackpot—again.—"Near site of famous Burgess Shale fossils, more turn up."
• Ice Age fossils discovered in L.A. subway construction
• Feathered dinosaur death site is an "animal Pompeii"—"Exquisitely preserved fossils come from a catastrophic event."
• Scientists Discover New Dinosaur Species Dubbed 'Chicken From Hell'
• The Hidden Dinosaur of Ta Prohm Temple
• Giant virus resurrected from 30,000-year-old ice—"Largest virus yet discovered hints at viral diversity trapped in permafrost."
• 700,000-Year-Old Horse Found in Yukon Permafrost Yields Oldest DNA Ever Decoded

Man

• 7,000-year-old male, blue eyes, dark skin, likes hunting
• Our Neanderthal heritage—"The scientist who sequenced the Neanderthal genome describes his quest to find what makes us human." Salon
• DNA 'switches' separate Neanderthals from modern humans: study
• Earliest footprints outside Africa discovered in Norfolk
• From study of 12,600-year-old DNA from Montana, clues to early colonization of the Americas
• Ancient Qiang people had vertically grown teeth and longer skeleton

Middle East

• A 4000-year-old tablet from ancient Mesopotamia contains the specifications for an ark pre-dating the story of Noah
• 'Priceless' bronze statue of Greek god Apollo found in Gaza Strip
• Pharaonic seal found in ancient coffin in Israel

Egypt

• 4,600-Year-Old Step Pyramid Uncovered in Egypt—"The pyramid, which predates the Great Pyramid of Giza, is one of seven for which its function remains a mystery."
• Tomb of ancient Egypt's beer maker to gods of the dead discovered
• Student deciphers 1,800-year-old letter from Egyptian soldier
• Two more colossal pharaoh statues unveiled in Egypt

Orient

• 15 Chinese Artifacts That Will Change How You Look at China
• Oldest signs of Japanese using tools uncovered in Okinawa—"Archaeologists have unearthed shell tools around 20,000 years old that could help clear up mysteries surrounding the ancestors of modern Japanese people...."
• Philippines' Oldest Artworks in Danger of Disappearing

Europe

• Ancient Gladiator School Discovered in Austria
• Archaeologists' findings may prove Rome a century older than thought—"As Italian capital approaches 2,767th birthday, excavation reveals wall built long before official founding year of 753BC."
• Archaeologists find 2,600-year-old Celtic Princess buried in Germany
• Swedish divers unearth a 'Stone Age Atlantis': 11,000-year-old ancient settlement discovered under the Baltic Sea

British Isles

• British experts say they have found London's lost Black Death graves
• 4,500 year-old path discovered near Galway Bay used by Celts
• Storms uncover 7,500-year-old 'drowned forest' on Ireland's west coast
• 10,000-year-old settlement found in Cork

Breaking History

• 2 former Boy Scout leaders plead guilty to toppling ancient Utah rock formation, avoid jail
• Student Breaks 19th Century Greco-Roman Statue While Taking a Selfie
• Graffiti defaces prehistoric rock art in Libya