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Reform or Repression: What’s Behind Russia’s Mysterious College Shutdown?
by Kali Hays
Russia is already notorious for universities that provide “non-education.” Is an aim to stamp out independent thought behind the country’s motivations to close 40% of universities?
WHO
Inside Bernanke Inc.: The Lucrative Life of a Former Fed Chair
This Bloomberg profile of the former chairman of the Federal Reserve is a “case-in-point” that illustrates the huge payouts so-called public servants reap once they leave “service” and leverage their experience in the private sector. Much like Bill Clinton’s now-infamous $500k pay-to-say speaking fees, Bernanke is raking in about $200k per speech, on top of an $8.5 million book deal and remunerative “consulting” roles with hedge funds. Ka-ching!
Wells Fargo Charged With Opening Accounts Without Customers’ Permission
A civil suit filed by the Los Angeles City Attorney alleges that Wells Fargo opened unauthorized credit cards for existing customers and transferred funds to pay fees for cards they never opened in the first place! Seriously. This is no joke… and, if true, it exemplifies the criminal mind-set of predation that has taken hold of the banking industry since Glass-Steagall was dismantled in 1999.
Poor in Pennsylvania? You’re fracked.
Environmental racism is the idea that pollution, toxic industries and waste disposal are disproportionately located in minority neighborhoods because they lack the political power to stop it. Now a new study points to the role of environmental class-ism in the rise of fracking. Perhaps not surprisingly, fracking operations—and the toxic contamination it brings—are disproportionately located in impoverished parts of Pennsylvania.
WHAT
America’s Motels Keep Exploding Because of Meth
Meth has long been the bane of rural America… but it’s now a time bomb quite literally ticking to doomsday in motel rooms along lonely highways in far-flung places. The key is a new “one-pot” cooking method that allows meth-makers to be fully mobile. And it’s no joke for the motels. The price of cleaning-up after a meth lab runs upwards of $10,000.
The Wars Come Home: A Five-Step Guide to the Police Repression of Protest from Ferguson to Baltimore and Beyond
TomDispatch examines the thin line between the Thin Blue Line and the National Security State in places like Baltimore… and wherever protests pop up in the post-9/11 era. The militarization of police through the Pentagon’s 1033 Program—which has radically “up-armored” officers—is just part of a matrix of control that, conveniently, is perfectly timed with growing discontent in the face of America’s inherently unequal socio-economic system.
WHY
Microwave Oven to Blame for Mystery Signal that Left Astronomers Stumped
In space… no one can hear you scream. Particularly when the scientists monitoring space keep jamming up the works by heating up Hot Pockets in the microwave! That’s what scientists at the one of the world’s leading radio telescopes discovered some 17 years after a strange signal kept popping up. They couldn’t explain the blip. Finally, someone realized the signal hit whenever someone was nuking popcorn in the lunchroom.
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