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A Landslide for Guilty at the Boston Marathon Bombing Trial? by Andy Thibault
If the prospective jurors in Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s Boston Marathon Bombing trial were deciding a presidential election, it would be a landslide—for a guilty verdict. Andy Thibault reports from federal court in Boston.
WHO
Compare and Contrast: Obama’s Reaction to the Deaths of King Abdullah and Hugo Chávez
Glenn Greenwald looks at the differing reactions to the passing of two leaders—each from a petrostate, but only one of whom was elected. The effusive praise for King Abdullah—a “dictator and tyrant”—is telling, according to Greenwald, insofar as it shows how repressive regimes get a pass when they open their resources to Western corporate elites and form a profitable military alliance with the U.S. The another key difference is “that the severity of Abdullah’s human rights abuses and militarism makes Chávez look in comparison like Gandhi.”
The Rise of the Houthis: A Brief History of Yemen’s New Power Brokers
Yemen is burning and the source of the chaos is a long-simmering insurgency by Shiite Houthis. But who are the Houthis and how have they toppled a U.S.- and Saudi-supported regime on the doorstep of the Persian Gulf? Globalpost’s primer points to the spread of Wahhabism and the growing power of the U.S. to influence Yemeni politics as key factors motivating the rebels.
WHAT
How the CIA Made Google
Nafeez Ahmed identifies the intersection between the ‘shadow intelligence community’ and world of internet start-ups in a two-part, crowd-sourced investigative series. Ahmed identifies “the bridge” between the Pentagon and private business—known as The Highlands Forum—and the ways this secretive community “funded, nurtured and incubated Google as part of a drive to dominate the world through control of information.”
WHY
The Oceans Are On the Verge of Mass Extinction. Here’s How to Avoid It.
The news about the world’s oceans has been bad—really, really bad. Acidification, rising temperatures, coral die-offs and now a new study in the journal Science predicting a mass extinction crisis threatening all sea life. But Tom Philpott notes that there are things humans can do immediately—like halting severe over-fishing and ending dubious fish and shrimp farming practices that are harmful to the world’s oceans.
Jeb Bush’s $75 Million, Eco-Friendly Corvette
Mitt Romney is scheduled to meet with potential presidential rival Jeb Bush—and they might have more in common than just politics. When it comes time to compare big-ticket toys, Bush can put Romney’s infamous car elevator to shame with tales of his Corvette. It’s an “eco-friendly” liquified petroleum tanker recently purchased by a shipping concern called Dorian LPG. And Dorian just got a huge investment from BH Logistics, a private equity firm chaired by Jeb. Although Jeb will never get a chance to take the helm, he might be able to tout his “green” investment on the campaign trial. “They’re sort of the Prius of the tanker class,” according to Bloomberg.
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