Politics

Louisiana politics and politicians, God love 'em. Bobby Jindal’s Troubles at Homehttp://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/02/bobby-jindal-campaigning-114948.html?hp=m1#.VNUVBC7MhCI

YAY! A victory for everyone! For now. http://www.inquisitr.com/1814807/net-neutrality-survives-fcc-decision-free-and-open-internet-lives-on/

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/jeb-bush-andover-marijuana http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2015/02/01/tumultuous-four-years-phillips-academy-helped-shape-jeb-bush/q6ccyHNOtP1n6kqDokMBfK/story.html?event=event25

Sarah Palin bemuses Republicans with rambling speech and talk of 2016 run The former governor of Alaska delivered a meandering and often bizarre speech to key Republicans that left many doubting her political viability Iowa Republicans voiced scepticism on Monday over Sarah Palin's claim to be contemplating a campaign for president in 2016, amid criticism of her unusual speech to a conservative rally in the state... ...Nicolle Wallace, the former aide to George W Bush who struggled to control Palin while charged with overseeing her for the presidential campaign of Senator John McCain in 2008, said the speech had given the public a true picture of the former governor. …

Engrossing in-depth look at this megaproject. Land of opportunity – and fear – along route of Nicaragua’s giant new canal In an era of breathtaking engineering feats, there is unease about what this mega project will mean for people and their homes, wildlife and ecosystems. Will it bring wealth and growth or confusion and destruction? http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/20/-sp-nicaragua-canal-land-opportunity-fear-route

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/hillary-clinton-2016-elections-114586.html?ml=po

Glancing at online coverage of her Senate confirmation hearing, saw one great tweet quoted: Joanne @sabzbrach Follow I don't know much about Loretta Lynch but it's a pleasure to see her dominate all these old white guys. 10:58 AM - 28 Jan 2015 http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2015/jan/28/loretta-lynch-republican-senate-confirmation-attorney-general

Climate change inaction pushes 'doomsday clock' closest to midnight since 1984 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/22/climate-change-nuclear-bombs-doomsday-clock-near-midnight

A year after marijuana legalisation in Colorado, 'everything's fine' confirm police independent.co.uk It's been a year since Colorado became the first state in the US to legalise marijuana, and its impact on health, crime, employment and other factors can now be more empirically measured. So, did it bring about an apocalypse leaving the streets strewn with out-of-work addicts as some Republicans feared? "We found there hasn't been much of a change of anything," a Denver police officer told CBC this week. "Basically, officers aren't seeing much of a change in how they do police work." Not only has the legalisation of cannabis not come with a rise in crime, it has als…

So there! N.S.A. Breached North Korean Networks Before Sony Attack, Officials Say http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/world/asia/nsa-tapped-into-north-korean-networks-before-sony-attack-officials-say.html?referrer=

Ocean Life Faces Mass Extinction, Broad Study Says http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/01/16/science/earth/study-raises-alarm-for-health-of-ocean-life.html?referrer= http://m.sciencemag.org/content/347/6219/1255641

Shocked, shocked. US atheists know more about religion than believers, quiz finds http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8030672/US-atheists-know-more-about-religion-than-believers-quiz-finds.html

Rate of environmental degradation puts life on Earth at risk, say scientists http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/15/rate-of-environmental-degradation-puts-life-on-earth-at-risk-say-scientists

Not a headline from The Onion but rather Talking Points Memo. Princeton study: U.S. no longer an actual democracy http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/princeton-experts-say-us-no-longer-democracy

On July 18 of 1969, as the world waited anxiously for Apollo 11 to land safely on the surface of the Moon, speechwriter William Safire imagined the worst case scenario as he expertly wrote the following sombre memo to President Nixon's Chief of Staff, H. R. Haldeman. Its contents: a contingency plan, in the form of a speech to be read out by Nixon should astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become stranded on the Moon, never to return, followed by some brief instructions relating to its broadcast. Luckily for all those involved, the memo was never needed. Transcript follows. (Source: The National Archives; Image: Armstrong & Aldrin on the Moon, via.) Trans…

Inside Putins Information War I spent years working for Russian channels. What I saw would terrify the West. By PETER POMERANTSEV January 04, 2015 politico.com http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/01/putin-russia-tv-113960.html#ixzz3OkeLmMTh

Another one falls. South Dakota same-sex marriage ban struck down by federal judge A federal judge struck down South Dakota’s same-sex marriage ban on Monday, in a “detailed and powerful” move that LGBT advocates hoped would lead to a once-and-for-all ruling on the issue by the highest court in the United States. The decision was immediately stayed pending a possible appeal in the eighth US circuit court of appeals, meaning same-sex marriages are still not permitted in the state. Judge Karen Schreier ruled the state’s ban is unconstitutional because it “deprives same-sex citizens of a fundamental right, and that classification is not narrowly tailored to serve a comp…

Uh oh. Much of world's fossil fuel reserve must stay buried to prevent climate change, study says http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/07/much-worlds-fossil-fuel-reserve-must-stay-buried-prevent-climate-change-study-says

Chuck Hagel Includes Gay Sailor's Proposal In Holiday Message The Huffington Post | By James Nichols Posted:12/30/2014 10:42 am EST Updated: 12/30/2014 10:59 am EST https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R0cuGgXd8sE Well, this is a lovely statement of solidarity for the holidays. U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and his wife Lilibet released a holiday message to men and women of the Defense Department last week that included an image of MM2 2nd Class Jerrel Revels' proposal to his boyfriend Dylan Kirchner. This viral gay marriage proposal happened in 2013, just two short years after the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." A gay military…

Putin's Extremely Long, Very Weird Press Conference http://mobile.businessweek.com/articles/2014-12-18/vladmir-putins-surreal-press-conference

Forbes, no less. Obama Outperforms Reagan On Jobs, Growth And Investing By Adam Hartung | Forbes | 09/05/2014 The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) today issued America’s latest jobs report covering August. And it’s a disappointment. The economy created an additional 142,000 jobs last month. After six consecutive months over 200,000, most pundits expected the string to continue, including ADP which just yesterday said 204,000 jobs were created in August. One month variation does not change a trend Even though the plus-200,000 monthly string was broken (unless revised upward at a future date,) unemployment did continue to decline and is now reported at only 6.1%. J…

Pope Francis's edict on climate change will anger deniers and US churches Pontiff hopes to inspire action at next year's UN meeting in Paris in December after visits to Philippines and New York http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/27/pope-francis-edict-climate-change-us-rightwing

The Guardian's capsule summary: Here's a rough percentage breakdown of the films content put together by my colleague Kayla Epstein: 5% celebrity cameos 25% penis jokes 20% anus jokes 2% Lord Of The Rings references long past their expiration date 20% sexism 3% Jonah from VEEP 5% awkward samplings of outdated top 40 hits 10% funny accents 10% Seth Rogen looking at a helicopter with sad eyes http://www.theguardian.com/film/live/2014/dec/24/the-interview-sony-release-viewing

Just about guarantees another Republican nominee too far right to win the general election. Dixie rising How the Deep South is trying to game the GOP primary. http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/dixie-rising-113734.html#ixzz3MiT0s42M