RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/April 2016

April 2016
A Denmark ethics council suggests that red meat should be taxed in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. U.N. demands restoration of Western Sahara mission. Peace activist Rev. Daniel J. Berrigan has passed away. Four out of five death sentences in Louisiana since 1976 have been reversed. Those on death row are overwhelmingly black. Yemen is losing its Jewish population as the civil war continues. South Dakota Tribe sues the federal government over its five month closure of the only emergency room on the reservation. The surveillance state rolls on:The FISA court didn't reject a single surveillance request in 2015 and have only rejected 12 requests in 3 decades. The Supreme Court has expanded the FBI's the ability to hack computers. The FBI is also planning to create "anti-radicalization" committees which Democratic Representative, Bennie Thompson, wants investigated. Lest you think this is only an American problem, Brazil is considering several crime bills that threaten the open internet for 200 million people. A Sikh man is demanding the state of Texas hold those who falsely accused him of making a bomb threat accountable. Texan prisons are trying to censor inmates’ families on social media. Nigerian forces and pro-Biafra activists continue to clash over the issue of an independent Igbo state. The Crime of Speech: How Arab governments use the law to silence expression online. [http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/04/afghan-msf-hospital-air-strike-war-crime-160429182003792.html The US declares that its airstrike on the MSF hospital in Afghanistan wasn't a war crime. No one responsible will be prosecuted.] [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fire-devastates-new-delhis-national-museum-natural-history-180958914/?no-ist A fire has devastated New Delhi's National Museum of Natural History. It has destroyed many valuable collections.] Taxpayers pay over $1,600 per prayer to Congressional Chaplains.

An ancient rock structure in the Arches National Park have been vandalized, this time possibly permanently. Park officials are seeking witnesses. [http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/apr/29/turnbull-rejects-new-zealand-offer-to-take-150-refugees-from-detention? Turnbull rejects New Zealand offer to take 150 refugees from detention.] Sandra Bland’s mother gives a speech calling for criminal justice reform at the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls. Leaked IDF report states soldier who shot Palestinian attacker was driven by "twisted ideology". As Cleveland agrees to pay $6 million to Tamir Rice's family another black youth is shot, but not killed, in Baltimore for carrying a BB gun. According to an Oklahoma appeals court (and a hitch in Oklahoman law) oral sex is not rape if victim is unconscious from drinking.

Racism in medicine: The frankly bizarre beliefs of white medical students about black patients' biology. Another Doctors Without Borders hospital has been bombed in Syria. The US's intelligence director, James Clapper, is complaining that Snowden helped advance encryption technology by seven years. Meanwhile, a study finds that Snowden's revelations has caused a chilling effect to the trafficking to Wikipedia's articles on terrorism. House Armed Services Committee votes to require women to register for the draft. "Global citzenship" is rising. Luxleaks trial of tax whistleblowers begins in Luxembourg. Email privacy bill passes House unanimously. Former Tor developer created malware for the FBI to hack Tor users. Child porn suspect jailed indefinitely for refusing to decrypt hard drives. Hindu teachers jailed in Bangladesh for "abusing Islam". The phrases "Speaker of the House" and "serial child molester" in the same sentence. Dennis Hastert is jailed. According to former NSA whistleblower, William Binney, the NSA has collected so much data that it has overwhelmed them rendering it all useless. Remember that time when you mixed up "transaction amount" and "transaction fee", and paid $130,000 to send 4 cents, irreversibly? Bitcoin does. Indonesia will investigate its anti-Communist purges. [http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/qatar-national-bank-1-4gb-database-leak-gives-data-customers-journalists-spies-1556787 A database leak from the Qatar National Bank gives customer data. This includes Al Jazeera journalists and British spies.] John McCain's fundraising consultant arrested for running a meth lab from home. Oklahoma is going after abortion doctors for doing their jobs. Oklahoma and Nebraska Try to Revive Their Challenge to Legal Pot in Colorado. Iran performed a "virginity test" on Iranian painter, Atena Farghadani. [https://news.vice.com/article/englands-doctors-walk-out-of-emergency-wards-in-first-ever-all-out-strike? Doctors in the UK walk out of emergency rooms on an all out strike.] A Bangladeshi Muslim couple has been killed in their home in San Jose. Congolese police arrests supporters of the opposition leader. The FBI no longer needs Apple’s help in accessing the data in a drug case now that someone has given them the passcode. In the ongoing process of becoming an increasingly totalitarian state, Turkey's government seeks to drop secularism from its constitution. The reasons given are that Muslim countries apparently require religious constitutions and except for two other countries, other nations don't explicitly mention secularism in their constitutions either. It's also blasphemous that the text doesn't mention His name even once. About 200,000 convicted felons in Virginia will now have the right to vote in November. Meanwhile, a federal judge upholds North Carolina's voter ID law. A judge sends himself to prison in order to help a veteran with PTSD. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/12/recidivism-programs-prison_n_6655392.html? This is how states are rehabilitating their prisoners.] A Black man sentenced to die after ‘expert’ testified that Black people are dangerous. The CIA waterboarded the wrong man 83 times in 1 month. Abu ﻿ Zubaydeh has been their prime reference to allege that the torture program was useful. Egypt's government has cracked down on anti-Sisi protests while the pro-government protests go unhindered. National Security Letters are now constitutional. The UK goverment has found that the TTIP would provide few benefits and increase economic costs. Drunk in Rage: In another show of the dangers of drumming up Internet mobs, Beyoncé fans mistake Food Channel celeb chef Rachael Ray for Rachel Roy, a fashion designer allegedly alluded to in Beyoncé's latest song Sorry for wrecking her marriage, flooding Ray's social media accounts with angry threats. Democracy Awakening, a grassroots coalition that demands the Voting Rights Act be restored and that "big money" be removed from politics, has concluded its protest is Washington, D.C. It has encouraged more than 90 lawmakers to demand congressional action on voting rights and campaign finance bills but, of course, they are all Democrats. Junior doctors in the UK are going on strike. New York will exempt sanitary products from the states sales tax. Remember that dashcam footage of three teens drowning while deputies allegedly stood by doing nothing? It was misleadingly edited. Uber has settled its class action lawsuit with concessions, but drivers will still be classified as "freelancers". It has also released a transparency report showing that it hs shared 13 million user's data with the US government. (Autoplay video) Judge throws out evidence obtained from FBI malware. Activists are fighting expensive inmate phone calls because they are a tax on the poorest. While protesting the contemptible Milo Yiannopoulos, an American University professor responds with a contemptible action of her own: Hassling a reporter, because that worked out so well for Melissa Click. Organic Fertilizer Fungicide Is Great at Killing Bees [http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21697243-opposition-leader-looks-doomed-curtains-herzog? Isaac Herzog, the leader of Israel's Labour Party and a main component to the Zionist Union coalition, is being investigated for receiving illegal funding.] Meanwhile in the US, [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/23/nyregion/de-blasio-team-violated-campaign-finance-laws-report-says.html? Mayor Bill de Blasio is getting investigated for violating campaign funding laws.] Traffic courts are driving inequality in California. Nations around the world sign the historic Paris climate deal. NYU grad student union overwhelmingly votes to boycott Israel over violations of Palestinian human rights. 93% of the Great Barrier reef has been bleached by abnormally warm ocean water. Indigenous suicide rates around the world are becoming a crisis. UN envoy estimates 400,000 have been killed in the Syrian Civil War which doubles the UN's original estimate.

In Ohio, 8 people are killed in a mass shooting; they were all from the same family and only 3 children survived. (Autoplay video) US suicide rate surges, particularly among white people. Chelsea Clinton has been appointed to the board of InterActiveCorp, the owner of the Daily Beast. [http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/04/21/us/ap-us-gop-2016-trump-flag-fine.html? The ACLU will defend the NJ man who was ticketed for flying a Donald Trump flag.] [http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2016/apr/22/cia-torture-victims-program-judge-considers-claims-live? CIA ​torture victims' case will go forward after judge hears claims.] Douglas Hughes, the gyrocopter pilot who landed at U.S. Capitol, has been sentenced to four months in prison

Tory London Mayor Boris Johnson accuses President Obama of having an "ancestral dislike of the British Empire", and UKIP leader Nigel Farage echoes his sentiment. The Supreme Court judges all have a good laugh at one of the worst argued cases about the Fourth Amendment. Edward Snowden files lawsuit against the Norwegian Government. Human rights groups have accused Israeli paramedics of adopting a policy of denying injured Palestinians medical service. The Dutch are planning to scrap their ban on insulting heads of state. Of all the people, Donald Trump supports transgender rights to use whichever bathroom they want, and criticized the North Carolina bathroom bill. Good night my sweet Prince. Islamic State has excuted 250 women in Northern Iraq for refusing to become sex slaves. Teflon toxins have contaminated drinking water throughout the world. Officer Liang's sentence has been reduced to negligent homicide and he will receive no jail time.(Autoplay video) Meanwhile, Officer Adam Torres has accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to the "involuntary manslaughter" of John Geer. Congress has actually passed a bipartisan energy bill. Anders Breivik wins a human rights case against Norway's use of solitary confinement on him. SCOTUS will allow victims to seek restitution for Iranian sponsored terrorism. (Autoplay video) Hundreds feared dead in migrant shipwreck off Libya. Banana republic Britain: George Osborne agrees to exempt MPs from anti-money laundering checks under pressure from Tory backbencher The Czech Republic has chosen the name Czechia as its English shorthand. Nebraska has banned civil asset forfeiture. A survey of the Great Barrier Reef finds that it has been almost entirely bleached. Harriet Tubman to replace Andrew Jackson on United States $20 bill. Target stores announce that they will allow transgender people to use the bathrooms of their identity. Criminal charges announced in Flint water crisis. Lower-down scapegoats for now. Netherlands moots electric car future with petrol and diesel ban by 2025 Fury as archbishop says domestic violence is caused by women 'not obeying men' The Supreme Court of the US has declined to review a case challenging Google Book's ability to scan works as "copyright infringement"; this ruling upholds Google Books as fair use. A pair of drugs eliminate 20% of skin cancer tumours.

Ohio Governor John Kasich's response to LGBTQ-centered protests regarding the recent laws in several states: Get over it. Also, everyone should just relax. [http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/04/ethiopia-attack-200-people-dead-100-children-missing-160418045025770.html An attack in Ethiopia by South Sudanese bandits has resulted in over 200 deaths and the kidnapping of 100 children. The Ethiopian government claims that these bandits are not affiliated with the government of South Sudan or the rebels who fought in the civil war.] The Brazilian Congress has voted to impeach President Dilma Rousseff. Congressmen cited God, their own family, the end of corruption, and even torturers from the Militar Dictatorship as they cast their votes to impeach the President. Irony: about a third of the Brazilian Congress members are either under investigation or charged with corruption. Angela Merkel has allowed a case against a German satirist who mocked Erdogan to go forward. A paralyzed man has regained the ability to control his arm through a computer chip that was surgically implanted in his brain. Australian Federal police admit seeking access to a Guardian reporter's metadata without a warrant. Spies in the Sky: the FBI and DHS have been using aerial surveillance to spy on the public. 50,000 people in London are protesting against austerity cuts and are demanding for David Cameron's resignation. (Autoplay video) Kuwait's oil workers have gone on strike. Massive earthquakes occur in Ecuador and Japan. A man accidently discovers a Roman villa in his backyard.

A federal court rules that warrantless collection of cell phone data is constitutional. [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/16/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-warns-ofeconomic-fallout-if-congress-passes-9-11-bill.html Saudia Arabia threatens to divest hundreds of billions of dollars if Congress approves of a bill that allows families to sue the Kingdom for any involvement in the 9/11 attack. Obama has now come out against the bill.] FTC Forces Four Companies to Agree to Stop Falsely Promoting Their Personal-Care Products as “All Natural” or “100% Natural”. The CIA is investing in tech firms that specialize in social media spying and data collection. The Saudis have accepted 9 Gitmo detainees. Pope Francis is bringing 3 Syrian Muslim families back with him from Greece. Zubik v Burwell ends with an odd compromise. Good news for a change: new dengue fever vaccine is endorsed by WHO. The vaccine has already been approved in four countries. It is the first dengue vaccine to be brought to market. A series of large earthquakes hit southern Japan. Dozens killed, thousands injured, many buildings damaged or destroyed. Federal funding to repair Flint's water system is removed from energy bill after Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) blocks it. If those kids didn't want to be poisoned they should have worked harder! Damn welfare queens! The ACLU is suing the Bureau of Prisons over its "missing documents" on its inspection of the CIA black sites. GOP state legislatures are trying to harass women who have abortions by giving them "fetal death certificates" and providing them with "fetal funerary services". What does Hollywood do when it gets its hands on computers? It attempts a new, much more technically advanced, yellowface. Close to half of all super-PAC money comes from 50 donors [http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/14/antimicrobial-resistance-greater-threat-cancer-2050-george-osborne? Antimicrobial resistance may become a bigger threat than cancer by 2050.] Spain's industry minister has resigned and Pakistan's Prime Minister has fled the country after they were both implicated in the Panama Papers. The President of Tunisia vows to end mass unemployment after the country implements a curfew in repose to protests. Egyptian protestors clash with police in Cairo after Sisi hands over the islands Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. Microsoft is suing the US Justice Department to protest the electronic gag order. Tens of thousands of American workers strike for a $15 minimum wage. (New non-pay walled link) Goldman Sachs is funding Hebron settlements. Regulators warn that the top 5 banks are still too big to fail. The US State depart has accused Israel of using excessive force against the Palestinian. Meanwhile, Isreal has begun to demolish Palestinian homes beyond the wall for the first time and have already broken previous records. UC Davis paid $175,000 or more to scrub police pepper spray incident from web searches. "U.S. District Court of Nebraska ruled that Pastafarianism is satire, not sacred". When do they rate Scientology? Young Iraqis overwhelmingly consider the US to be their enemy. (I wonder why?) Syrian refugees, especially children, are being forced into labor in Lebanon. Georgian protestors hold a vigil for an executed man after a racist trial. Amnesty International urges probe over allegations that the Nigerian military has secretly buried 347 Shi'ites. North Korea declassifies its nuclear program. Nearly 40,000 Verizon workers go on strike.

Letting them die: parents refuse medical help for children in the name of Christ. Nixon's Christian Scientist staff made it legal. Right-wing moll Phyllis Schlafly's support of Donald Trump, results in Cruz-lovin' members trying to oust her from the Eagle Forum. Flint's water system is not financially sustainable. Victoria has become the first Australian state to legalize medical marijuana. Come down to Mississippi where we still try to ignore that whole "slavery" thing while commemorating the Confederacy and evict interracial couples 'cause of "religious freedom." [http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/04/11/473393761/a-fitbit-saved-his-life-well-maybe A Fitbit Saved His Life? Well, Maybe] Cenk Uygur and hundreds of other Democracy Spring protestors are arrested in D.C. during a sit-in at the Capitol building. Inside Erik Prince’s treacherous drive to build a private air force. Speed reading does not work. Obama defends Clinton's use of her emails by saying that “There’s classified, and then there’s classified” and that she "would never intentionally put America in any kind of jeopardy." Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Ukraine's Prime Minister, has resigned. Donald Trump has provided a list of his charitable donations for the last 5 years. Trump shows no personal donations, but counted thousands of auctioned/donated freebies at his clubs to largely business friends, "conservation easements" still used as driving ranges back to 2006 (can't count to 5...), and donations from his charity funded by others. When confronted on this, and the lazy recording (one was noted for saying just Brian), his campaign stated he didn't want other charities to get wind how much he gives. [http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-911-classified-report-steve-kroft/ CBS explores what might be in the 28 classified pages in the 9/11 report. They supposedly hold information on Al-Qaeda's foreign support during the terrorist attack.] Fifty four large investors have launched a campaign to curb the use of antibiotics in the meat and poultry industry. Just imagine Tumblr SJWs when the Daily Mail buys Yahoo. A new Senate bill will force companies to create backdoors. (Video) "energy shield master" challenges martial artist to hit him, gets hit. North Carolina police have no idea how they are supposed to enforce the recent bathroom law. Mounting data suggest antibacterial soaps do more harm than good. San Francisco will now mandate a six-week, fully paid parental leave. Nutritionists prove to be just as vulnerable to Groupthink as anyone else, in The Sugar Conspiracy. Surprise of the century millennium! Religion and human sacrifice helped keep rich and powerful douchebags rich and powerful and everyone else in blissful unquestioning divine misery. The FBI's "shared responsibility committees" to identify "radicalized" Muslims raises alarms among civil rights groups. 43 Iraqi civilians have been killed in a suicide bombing at a kids' soccer game. A new Treasury rule could make it easier to hide money in the US.Thoush Obama has announced rules that will crack down on offshore corporate tax evasion. Surprise! Bill O'Reilly and his crony Jesse Watters are complete pricks on national television MDMA could be sold as an FDA approved drug in 5 years. Alabama will build more prisons in order to deal with prison riots. Al Qaeda declares war on Atheists. [http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/New-Jersey-Homeowner-Cited-Flying-Donald-Trump-Campaign-Flag-Too-Early-374982211.html New Jersey homeowner may face jail time for flying a Trump Campaign flag, due to 'political signage' law. Turns out, not everything is legal in New Jersey.] SpaceX has finally landed one of their first stages on their autonomous drone ship. Creepy as fuck: "CIA's Venture Capital Arm (???) is Funding a Skin Care Treatment that Collects DNA." Saudia Arabia used US bombs to bomb a Yemen marketplace. At least 17 Afghan civilians were killed in US drone strike. New documents show that twelve staff members of the University of California Berkeley have violated the sexual misconduct policy. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/california-cop-slams-girl_us_57057e4ee4b0b90ac271278d A Texan School Resource Officer body slams a 12 year old. (NSFW)] In 2015, there was an increase in violent threats directed towards abortion providers. A study finds that white youths are more likely to abuse 'hard drugs' than black youths. Obama is trying to deport Bangelhedshi Muslim refugees. Ohio sovereign citizen loses both hands to a homemade bomb. (He was planning to rob an armored car.) The Department of Labor is considering bold new fiduciary rule that increases overtime pay and mandates a 'customer first' policy for retirement investing. David Cameron personally intervened to prevent a crackdown on tax havens. Freeman on the land nutters are advertising across the UK. Sovereign citizen arrested for fraud, identity theft, and keeping women chained up in his house. Tigers are declared extinct in Cambodia. David Cameron is now an advocate of privacy after his family was implicated in the Panama Papers. And the Prime Minister of Iceland has resigned, making him the first public official to do so in the aftermath of the Panama Papers.[Autoplay video. sorry] UPDATE: Only asked deputy Minister to take over for an unspecified period of time. Mississippi has become the newest state to pass a law that allows businesses to discriminate against LGBT. The DEA plans to decide whether or not to reschedule marijuana by mid-year. "How did we end up here?" Charlie Hebdo reveals the stunning answer to how Muslim terrorism could take root in the West: We're too tolerant of non-Western dress codes and cuisines! In a stopped clock moment the New Black Panther Party and Nation of Islam confront an Islamophobic militia group. An infant has been placed on the terrorist watch list. There is an ever growing lifespan gap in the US. Israel destroys 7 homes in 24 hours. Inmates in Texas are going on strike in order to gain more humane treatment. Obama's nuclear summit ignores 98% of bomb-ready uranium., except those remaining 2% of nuclear material for civil usage account for the majority of illegal trafficking Britsh authorities are requesting encryption keys in a major legal case. China has put sanctions on North Korea. SCOTUS upholds "one person, one vote", but Justice Thomas sees no problem with returning to unequal political power. Panama Papers aftermath: Obama and Clinton pushed for a trade deal with Panama even after they were warned it would make money laundering and tax evasion easier. Mass demonstrations have begun in Iceland with the demand for their PM to resign after being implicated in the Panama Papers. Colossal document leak from law firm specializing in "offshore asset management" contains details of tax haven and money laundering operations of the ultra-rich, including numerous current and former heads of government. Because that part of the world isn't unstable enough, Armenian and Azerbaijani forces clash over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, resulting in over 20 deaths. Apocalypse, of one sort or another, looms for Fundamentalist Mormon sect Marjiuana legalization advocates hold a 'smoke-out' in front of the White House to protest Obama's refusal to reschedule the drug. Refugee Crisis: A South Carolina bill would hold faith groups liable for any wrong doing the refugees they settle commit. Belgium tells their refugees to adhere to their traditions or GTFO. The EU is planning a mass deportation of refugees from Greece to Turkey; protests ensue as Amnesty International and the UN condemn this action. [http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/04/02/democracyspring-has-sprung-140-mile-march-dc-sit-ins-arrests Democracy Spring, a 140 mile march from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., has begun. It encourages civil disobedience along the way.] The U.S. FDA approves new guidelines on the use of mifepristone to induce abortion, based on modern research. The next day, Arizona's governor signs into law a bill forcing women to follow the old guidelines, which put women at higher risk of side effects, because something something small government. Video from ongoing federal lawsuit proceedings shows an October 2014 incident where white cops performed a roadside cavity search of a black man with insufficient probable cause. Chicago's teacher's Union goes on strike. FCC seeks to end broadband providers’ ability to collect consumer data without consent. Evidence of a second Viking settlement found in North America. God's Not Dead 2 comes out on April Fools' Day. The irony may be Certified Fresh but the movie is not. Turns out Milo Yiannopoulos is literally 44 alt-right channers in a trenchcoat. But it's OK! This sort of thing is "completely standard." (Not an April Fool's.)