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Obama Faces Tough Crowd at Americas Summit
by Sally Kim
The goodwill President Obama first enjoyed with our Latin American neighbors has thawed, in large part due to an executive order signed in March that labels Venezuela an “extraordinary threat.”
RadioWhoWhatWhy: Lawyers, Guns and Money
by Jeff Schechtman
University of Minnesota Law School professor David Schultz joins RadioWhoWhatWhy to discuss election theory and what it means for the 2016 elections.
WHO
Hillary to Launch Campaign This Weekend With ‘Insane’ Fundraising Push
It’s often said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result. Well, that just about sums up the 2016 Presidential Race on both sides of the political ledger. Say “Goodnight,” Gracie.
Human Rights Groups are Already Freaking Out Over the Killer Robots of Tomorrow
A new study by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic warns against the rise of war-mongering robots. The rub is that autonomous killing machines—robots that kill by algorithm rather than by remote-control—present a serious problem of accountability. If a robot goes haywire and massacres innocents… who will be charged with a war crime? Also, does that mean Dick Cheney is technically a “robot?”
Lobbyists for Spies Appointed To Oversee Spying
Congress has decided to remove the revolving door, knock out the partitioning wall and just merge with the Spying-Industrial Complex. According to Lee Fang at The Intercept, key oversight roles on key committees have gone to… a lobbyist for intelligence contractors, a “former” CIA official, an “advisor” to an NSA contractor, a lawyer for a private spying firm, and various defense and intelligence staffers.
WHAT
The Yucca ‘Albatross’
For the better part of 20 years, Yucca Mountain has stood as the ultimate example of NIMBY—Not In My Backyard. Although Yucca Mountain was specifically designed to store tens of thousands of tons of nuclear waste, one Senator kept saying “NIMBY!” That Senator is Harry Reid. Reid’s announced retirement has the nuclear industry’s political benefactors hopeful that 75,000 tons of waste will be removed from pools of water and steel casks around the country, and be entombed in the facility dug deep into the side of Yucca Mountain.
WHY
Why Is My Bank Teller Trying to Sell Me a Credit Card I Don’t Want?
With automated tellers literally looming right around the corner, many low-wage human tellers are now expected by profiteering banks to pressure-sell credit cards and loans to customers making deposits and withdrawals. The average wage of a bank employee has dropped by up to 5.2% since 2007, and 31% of tellers rely on some form of public assistance. Banks are using those downward pressures, along with the fear of unemployment, to force tellers into the role of salespeople.
The Padres Have Signed a Wheelchair-Bound Ex-Pitcher for 20 Straight Years
Spring has sprung. Baseball has returned. And the San Diego Padres once again have made good on a promise they made to minor leaguer Matt LaChappa in 1996 when a brutal heart attack ended his career and confined him to a wheelchair. Ever since, the Padres have signed him each year to a new minor league contract that preserves his access to healthcare and keeps him involved with the team.
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