Editors’ Picks for Oct 28
Key Witness in Chevron Case Admits to Lying to Help Oil Giant, the Monster That Poppy Bush Built, Even More Reasons to Worry About the Climate, and More Picks
PICKS are stories from many sources, selected by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, troubling, enlightening, inspiring, or amusing. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to picks@whowhatwhy.org.
Who Built GOP Frankenstein’s Monster Devouring Jeb? His Dad (Russ)
Typical Bush family behavior to unleash a disaster, then blame others
Key Witness in Chevron Case Admits to Lying to Help Oil Giant (Klaus)
After the Ecuadorian Supreme Court ruled that Chevron had to pay $9.5 billion in damages to rainforest villagers for contaminating their land, the oil giant countersued in the US and got a favorable judgement, which said the plaintiff’s lawyers acted fraudulently in that case. A key reason for that verdict was the testimony of Ecuadorean judge Alberto Guerra who said the lawyers for the villagers paid him off. However, it came to light this week that Guerra has now admitted to lying about this.
More Reasons to Worry About Climate (Russ)
Elevated levels of CO2 damage your cognition. No wonder you can’t think straight about Climate!
Upstanding Citizen Found With Thousands of Stolen Guns in His House (Russ)
This guy presumably kept us all safe by getting so many firearms off the streets.
Ben Carson Threatened His Mother with a Hammer (Trevin)
In response to Donald Trump’s jokes about his lack of energy, Carson told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that as a teen he “would go after people with rocks, and bricks, and baseball bats, and hammers.” Talk about a double-standard. Imagine what the GOP would have done to Obama had he admitted to such a violent past?
Guatemalan Comedian Wins Presidency in Landslide (Trevin)
“Jimmy Morales, a former TV comedian who has never held office, swept to power in Guatemala’s presidential election on Sunday after milking public anger over a corruption scandal that deepened distrust of the country’s political establishment.”
See WhoWhatWhy’s two-part series on the Guatemalan corruption scandal here.
Despite Military Crackdown in Papua & Other Rights Abuses, Obama Hosts Indonesian President at the White House (Trevin)
President Obama called it a “tolerant Muslim democracy,” but according to the Asia Advocacy Director of Human Rights Watch, John Sifton, Indonesia is “losing some of its tolerant qualities and principles, and starting to give too much power to Sunni extremist groups, which want to basically make Indonesia a place that’s unfriendly to Shia, to Christians, to Baha’i, to secularists and to women.”
Conference on Sex With Robots Canceled (Russ)
Host country Malaysia decided those attending might actually want to try it.
Refugees on Slovenia-Croatia Border — Drone Video Footage (DonkeyHotey)
Incredible footage taken from a drone on the Slovenian-Croatian border helps us visualize the scale of the crisis. A long line of refugees snake through agricultural land. The comments accompanying this Guardian video show the fear and hostility some people have of the mass migration.
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