The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska
ADN – Sudanese refugees living in Anchorage have vehicles vandalized
Mohammed Hano and Mbarek Suleiman, refugees from a violent conflict in a distant African country who now live in Anchorage, say they woke Sunday morning to find their cars covered in messages telling them to leave the place that was supposed to be their final, safe home.
The Week – Baked Alaska
EARLIER THIS WINTER, Monica Zappa packed up her crew of Alaskan sled dogs and headed south, in search of snow. “We haven’t been able to train where we live for two months,” she told me.
Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, which Zappa calls home, was practically tropical this winter. Rick Thoman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Alaska, has been dumbfounded. “Homer, Alaska, keeps setting record after record, and I keep looking at the data like, Has the temperature sensor gone out or something?”
New York Daily News – Marijuana activist Charlo Green pondering mayoral run after raid on her Alaska Cannabis Club
Charlo Greene, the Alaska marijuana advocate who quit her day job as a television reporter last year, is considering an unofficial mayoral candidacy, she announced Sunday.
The political aspirations in the form of write-in nominations come a week after police raided her Alaska Cannabis Club in search of illegal sales of pot, Greene said at the tail end of a YouTube video condemning the accusations.
National
The Nation – The CIA Didn’t Just Torture, It Experimented on Human Beings
Human experimentation was a core feature of the CIA’s torture program. The experimental nature of the interrogation and detention techniques is clearly evident in the Senate Intelligence Committee’s executive summary of its investigative report, despite redactions (insisted upon by the CIA) to obfuscate the locations of these laboratories of cruel science and the identities of perpetrators.
The Guardian – CIA admits role in 1953 Iranian coup
The CIA has publicly admitted for the first time that it was behind the notorious 1953 coup against Iran’s democratically elected prime minister Mohammad Mosaddeq, in documents that also show how the British government tried to block the release of information about its own involvement in his overthrow.
Vice – Alabama Cop Indicted After Violent Arrest That Left Indian Man Partially Paralyzed
The growing public outrage about police brutality in the United States extended abroad last month after an Indian man was left partially paralyzed following a violent arrest by two Alabama police officers.
On Friday, officials in Alabama announced the indictment of Eric Sloan Parker on charges that he violated the civil rights of Sureshbhai Patel and used “unreasonable force” during the February 6 arrest.
International
Time – Watch a GMO Advocate Claim a Weed Killer Is Safe to Drink but Then Refuse to Drink It
In an interview with the French television station Canal Plus, an advocate for genetically modified foods said Roundup, a weedkiller that is manufactured by chemical giant Monsanto, is safe for human consumption but refused to drink the herbicide when offered a glass by an interviewer.
BBC – Iran nuclear talks: World powers to meet foreign minister
Ministers from six world powers are expected to hold their first full session on Monday with Iran’s foreign minister over its nuclear programme. The deadline for reaching an agreement is Tuesday.
Der Spiegel – Medieval Fantasies? Islamic State Pursues Apocalyptic Logic
Islamic State is making headlines by destroying historical artifacts in Iraq. But far from being an expression of medieval nihilism, the campaign on culture is a strategy aimed at drawing the West into battle. The destruction is reminiscent of that wrought by the US.
That damn Muslim in the White House shook hands with a Castro-the traitor. Lynch him boys. If you can’t kiss a foreign leader on the mouth and hold hands with him,like dumbass dubya,you are a traitor in every sense of the word. Don’t bother with impeachment. Straight to the gallows,now!
Just learned of Paul Seaton’s proposed 15% Alaska state income tax. I’m sure the irony of the sweetheart deal the oil companies received from the state was not lost on anyone. But that can be discussed elsewhere.
Proposing a state income tax as a way of solving part of the state’s revenue woes is not an economic policy.
It is reactive, not proactive. An economic policy is one that looks far into the future. One that recognizes other resources and industries must be developed in addition to the state’s oil. Beyond gas, oil, fish, and tourism,
pretty much there is no conversation. It really is time to clear out the old boys and find bright, energetic, and creative individuals who aren’t stuck in the past.
http://i.imgur.com/Vez8EuP.jpg The number one help wanted ad listed in Sioux Falls,South Dakota,where they brag they have lots of jobs is for a meth cook.
This ad,along with a couple others have appeared and been removed from Sioux Falls papers-apparently some one testing to see if the paper had any security, Please disregard ad,don’t apply as a meth cook.
Had drizzle most of the day and then some light snow late this afternoon. Robins didn’t seem to mind. I do. I want Spring!!
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/04/08/1376454/-Ferguson-Court-Clerk-who-sent-racist-emails-says-they-were-funny-and-she-feels-like-she-s-been-raped
Can you say I am the victim here?
Drizzlerably miserable around here and cool. What happened to Spring? I’m ready for asparagus to come up.
Me too! I sure hope mine made it through its first winter…
Rhubarb is up.
Folk Festival starting here in a few minutes,
One whole week of music!!! Yay!
Go have yourself some fun,Lady. You deserve it.
Jeb Bush new nickname-Bush the Lumpier.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/jeb-bush-falsely-claimed-hispanic-heritage?cid=sm_fb_maddow
Did this idiot commit election fraud by claiming Hispanic heritage?
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/column/joel_mcnally/joel-mcnally-re-electing-ann-walsh-bradley-needed-step-to/article_0ea25a86-290d-5185-b25c-47175e82c5f0.html
Wisconsin’s Soopreme Court justickies accept campaign cash and then don’t have to recuse themselves from voting on campaign donors cases. Impartiality? I don’t think so.
http://colorlines.com/archives/2015/04/racism_at_core_of_native_teen_suicides_in_pine_ridge.html
From ‘murrica’s heartland suicide rates for Native Americans is beyond belief. Check out South Dakota politics and you will find most wingnuts couldn’t give two whoops in hell about what happens on the “Rez”.
From ADN: Sen. Charlie Huggins, making a seat of the pants observation, suggested DNA samples from the suspect middle school students should be taken so that they can be compared later with samples taken at crime scenes or from crime victims.
Breathtaking, absolutely breathtaking. This was no doubt a random musing, but it illustrates very clearly an attitude of complete disregard of the civil rights of our citizens. No on medicaid expansion, yes on DNA testing of middle school children. Appalling!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/02/ted-nugent-veteran-suicides_n_6997366.html
Super dooper dripper pooper and patriot extraordinaire Theodore “I did doody to get out of duty” Nugent knows to blame Obama because his blood brothers in the military are killing themselves with abandon.. Has nothing to do with the senseless deaths of their comrades by egotistical chicken-hawk rwnjs,no-siree.
Shane,fortunately for Alaska you aren’t most people,or even a people for that matter. Troll away,little dude.
Alaska has another eclipse Saturday night(lucky dogs).
http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2015-april-4
Us’ns and we’uns in little ol’ iowa get nada. Thanks. 🙁
Where is the well-researched documentation that shows what uninsured citizens cost the state as compared with that same group who would be insured under medicaid expansion?
Instead of wasting time on their normal ideological BS, it would be nice to see our state government devoting its energies to attracting new industry to the state, keeping people healthy, thereby providing for a happier, healthier, and financially viable state.
Your state is missing out on the best insurance deal ever. The fed would have paid 100% of Medicaid for the first three years and 90% afterwords. This is,I believe,year three.
Ideology trumps health.
The Scotus is severely confused,at least the activist right wing part. They define a substantial burden for a religious group as having to fill out a single federal form to escape paying for birth control. They absolutely cannot fill this form out it infringes on their religious rights.
Except in Texas and other wingnut run oligarchs,poor women may be forced to travel several hundred miles,even out of state, to obtain a constitutionally protected abortion. They may be forced to undergo unnecessary ultra-sounds and sit and listen for three days of anti-abortion rhetoric(weekends don’t count) and the five activist wingnuts don’t consider this an undue burden. Sounds like preferential treatment for religious outfits wqho are supposed to stay out of politics or give up their tax-exempt status.
http://juanitajean.com/logical-consequences/
Wingnuts forced Planned Parenthood clinic to close down and now there is an outbreak of HIV in Indiana. Just a coincidence?