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Onward to Brazil!

International Politics

Overall

– Journalist Reese Erlich explains to The Real News why Russia sent missiles to Iran and how it’s connected to the situation in Yemen

– The Real News covers an event that took place in New York City focusing on global slavery reparations

– In his annual address to the Russian public, Russian President Vladimir Putin told audiences things like the economy would get better and how the U.S. was only interested in vassals, not allies

– United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon: There must be an immediate ceasefire in Yemen

– U.S. General Martin Dempsey said, while the loss of Anbar to the Islamic State would be bad, the more important battle was over a key refinery in Iraq

Middle East

– Journalist Patrick Cockburn deflates the optimism by the Pentagon in what the latter calls victories over ISIL

– The new vice president of Yemen vowed to stop the Saudi-led invasion

– As ISIS advances into the city of Ramadi, thousands of Iraqis fled from the town

– Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said, in regards to his previous criticism of Saudi Arabia’s intervention, it was not his job to “criticize anybody.”

– Meanwhile, al-Abadi welcomed the presence of Iran in the fight against ISIL, yet warned Iraq’s sovereignty could not be violated. Still, he warned ISIS, if unchecked, would be unstoppable.

– Speaking of ISIS, Syrian rebels are now focusing on building their ranks to counter the militant group

– An official with Hamas called for the abduction of Israelis to swap for Palestinians held by Israel

– An interesting look into divorces in the Gaza Strip, especially for us Americans here

Africa

– Ethiopians are angry at land forcibly taken away to foreign investors through violent means

– The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is unsure as to what position to take in regards to the intervention in Saudi Arabia

– Outgoing Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan told the United Nations to help victims instead of sending a force

Europe 

– Most European countries are interested in labeling products coming from the Israeli-occupied West Bank

– Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said a compromise could be reached over a bailout

Surveillance Planet

– Sony is very angry with Wikileaks leaking emails and document to the point where they called it a “criminal act”

– A compromise could be made to extend the PATRIOT Act’s parts to extend surveillance with some reforms

– Booz Allen Hamilton released a report offering advice to the NSA on how to keep its power

Financial Matters

– Gallup: Fifty-two percent of Americans say their finances are getting better

– William Black explains to The Real News why problems would develop should the estate tax be repealed

– Looks like corporations like Wal-Mart are actively seeking to eliminate workers’ compensation

– In terms of the Black Lives Matter movement, there needs to be emphasis on finance justice for blacks

– There probably is a revival in jobs for youths, although it will be slow; I’m not holding my breath

Labor’s a-Brewing

– The Real News covers the Fight for 15 protest on April 15 in Baltimore and Washington D.C.

– Michelle Chen: “Yesterday’s #FightFor15 Protests Were Big—and the Movement Is Only Growing”

– From adjuncts to security guards to construction workers, workers demonstrated in at least 200 cities nationwide on April 15

– Arun Gupta: “Wage Gains Won’t Last, Unless Fight for 15 Builds Worker Power”

Politics US

Washington USA

– Part one of eight with John Kiriakou, who explains his history living in the U.S. and his youth where he was a hawk; Really fascinating

– Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY): Thank you Koch brothers for your contributions to society

– Committees in Congress passed the Trans-Pacific Partnership fast track, that catastrophic agreement, so it now goes to the House and Senate

– Meanwhile, the Obama administration pledged to address concerns over TPP secrecy; Suuuuurrrrreeeee

– Lee Fang: “Agency Overseeing Obama Trade Deals Filled With Former Trade Lobbyists”

– President Barack Obama: Democrats should embrace the trade plan to create American jobs; Suuuurrreee

– If Iowa is a major player for 2016, then, according to the citizens there, working class politics will be on the agenda

– Martin O’Malley, former governor of Maryland, implied Hillary Clinton was a flip-flopper on issues

– Internal documents from the Bureau of Land Management found the agency warning employees, during the Bundy Ranch situation, not to identify as BLM employees for risk of attacks

– Thank you TSA for training Disney and SeaWorld how to look out for terrorists because it’s a small world after all and something something terrorism, America, USA

– Unnamed corporate stooge, Sadly a lawmaker, Man chosen from a hat and now representative Rep. Ben Sasse (R-NE) criticized Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in front of mortgage banking lobbyists or, as they are now called, his potential supporters

– Glenn Greenwald: “NBC’S conduct in Engel kidnapping story is more troubling than the Brian Williams scandal”

Anytown USA

– Pew: Fifty-six percent of Americans support the death penalty, which is the latest in the past 40 years

– Safe Streets is a successful, non-violent approach to solving the problem of violence in Baltimore. Yet, it is under attack from cuts

– Officers in Grand Rapids, Mich., are using the charge of trespassing to unjustly arrest blacks in the city

– A neo-Nazi man who killed a 44-year-old gay man refused a lawyer and had no remorse for his actions

– Kit O’Connell: “Police Brutality Activists #ShutdownA14 Nationwide To Oppose Extrajudicial Murder”

We Don’t Need No Education

– Gallup: Seventy-nine percent of Americans say higher education is not affordable

– Some religious groups in Egypt are angry the Egyptian government removed religious texts from school textbooks

Health, Hunger and Homelessness

– Despite cigarette use among youths falling, e-cigarettes are becoming very popular among them

The Second Sex

– A new study revealed methods of women, like avoidingareas, who feel uncomfortable due to street harassment

Planet Earth

– Keith Stewart, coordinator of Greenpeace Canada, talks to The Real News about cap-and-trade plans in Canada and the role of oil

– Scientists discovered a massive extinction was due to acidification of global oceans

– Residents of the Jordan Downs housing in Watts, Calif., believe the federal government’s response to industrial pollution in their area is not enough

– Believe it or not, there’s a fight involved with drug reform—animal rights

– Environmentalists need to establish their identity with communities of color or else suffer without moving on to the next stage of revolution

– A great story of indigenous resistance in Brazil to deforestation and the success from it

Mixed Bag

– A new study found the human-dog relationship found so well in society may be due to oxytocin, a “love” hormone, released in the brain

– A look into a police blog where racism and hate is a constant problem for the NYPD and some officers who object to it; Just find their IP addresses, fire them and ban them from ever taking power again

– Julian Assange was set to speak at a conference in Glasgow, Scotland. Some British judges, as a result, refused to attend.

Break Time

– Agribore [MPB4]