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RadioWHO Ep. 6: From Russia With Death
by Jeff Schechtman
The role of Vladimir Putin on the world’s stage, from Syria to Ukraine, is complicated, and some see him as an important moderating influence on the West’s virtually unchecked power. But his role in his own country is deeply troubling. And the public is terrified, because his opponents keep getting murdered. RadioWHO host Jeff Schechtman talks to Bill Browder, who was once Russia’s largest foreign investor. That’s until his criticism of Putin forced him to leave, and his lawyer was jailed and murdered.
WHO
DNA Editing of Human Embryos Alarms Scientists
Rumor has it that the brave new world is finally here … and scientists are calling for an immediate moratorium on the use of precision gene-editing techniques to modify the DNA of human embryos. The process is called “germline modification” and 29 countries currently have laws banning or regulating it. But many are concerned that those restrictions are easily circumvented and that it’s only a matter of time before the surreptitious research proceeds past the point of no return.
Edits to Wikipedia Pages on Bell, Garner, Diallo Traced to 1 Police Plaza
The New York Police Department has come up with a novel program to eliminate police brutality. They are simply erasing it from history … or at least, from Wikipedia. A review found that NYPD IP addresses were used to edit entries on everything from stop-and-frisk to NYPD scandals to details about members of New York’s political and police leadership. Move along, there’s nothing to see here …
Progressives: We’ve Never Heard Of This “Progressive” Group Backing Obama’s Trade Deal
Have you heard of the “Progressive Coalition For American Jobs”? Neither had progressives who, according to news reports, were “split” on the issue of The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement because the “progressive” group supports the trade agreement. One problem: the “Coalition” is actually a bare-bones PR stunt populated by former Obama campaign staffers.
Obama Reads Mean Tweets About Himself, Talks Ferguson on Jimmy Kimmel
The President took a turn at Kimmel’s popular “Mean Tweets” bit. It’s fun. Check it out.
WHAT
The al Qaeda Files: Bin Laden Documents Reveal a Struggling Organization
Details of Osama bin Laden’s thinking, concerns and, in many ways, al Qaeda’s impotence, emerged from the latest set of documents supposedly captured from his compound. The new material was entered into evidence in the trial of Abid Naseer, a Pakistani convicted of plotting with al Qaeda. Not surprisingly, the documents released by the government show an effective campaign to contain militants in Pakistan and bin Laden’s desire to concoct an attack that would kill more Americans than smoking.
WHY
The Israeli election, explained
When Netanyahu spoke before Congress, he made this weekend’s election a national issue here in the U.S. He also made a TV ad out of that speech. As of today, his Center-Left rivals have a slight lead. But, as this primer by Vox points out, Israeli polling is notoriously unreliable. But one thing is certain. Bibi’s security-centric campaign is not matching Israelis’ economic concerns.
Colombia is Converting Former Death Squad Members into Yoga Teachers
Since 2010, Dunna: Alternativas Creativas Para la Paz has been teaching “Downward Facing Dog” to the Dogs of War. The innovative program uses yoga to bring together impoverished victims of Colombia’s long-standing civil conflict and the guerrilla fighters who’d previously made their lives hell. Coincidentally, the Sanskrit translation of “yoga” is “to unite.” Namaste!
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