July 20
Bill Introduced to End Tax Breaks for Private Prisons, June Continues Earth’s Hot Streak, Egypt’s Connection to Turkey’s Coup, 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.
Lobbyists Rally Over Turkey’s Coup (Dan)
Both sides of Turkey’s political struggle, supporters of Erdogan and supporters of self-exiled Muslim cleric Fethullah Güllen, see potential in having their voices heard in Congress.
June is Earth’s 14th Straight Record Warm Month (Jeff C.)
It’s the planet’s longest such streak in NOAA’s 137 years of record keeping. Data from both NOAA and NASA indicate the Earth is well on its way to its warmest year on record.
Egypt Cheered Turkey Coup Attempt (Dan)
Many Egyptians see Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan as not only the reason for bad relations between the two countries, but why Egypt has taken an authoritarian tilt.
Turkey Blocks WikiLeaks After Dump of Government Emails (Trevin)
The leak contains nearly 300K of Erdoğan’s AKP party emails between 2010 and July 6, 2016. Access is still available to Turks via a VPN, or by directly typing a Wikileaks IP address into their browser.
Senate Bill Would End Tax Breaks for Private Prisons (Dan)
Oregon Senator Ron Wyden’s legislation takes aim at tax-free REITs – Real Estate Investment Trusts – that have been used by private prison companies such as Corrections Corporation of America and GEO Group. While the companies believe the legislation is ‘misguided’ and tout their ability to provide services (e.g. prisoners can earn a GED), incarceration and recidivism rates in private persons appear higher when there is a profit motive. Not to mention when the companies can send lobbyists to Congress.
