RSN: US Declares Venezuela a Threat, Sanctions Top Officials, UN Expert Slams US as Only Nation to Imprison Kids for Life Without Parole

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APATHY OR LIBERTY, WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE? Corporate Infotainment has a job: Pacify you. And they get paid very well for doing it. You have a choice: Follow the sheep in front of you or forge a new path on higher ground. What does it really take to keep RSN strong? Not very much. / Marc Ash, Founder Reader Supported News

Sure, I'll make a donation!

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Glenn Greenwald | New Zealand PM Retracts Vow to Resign if Mass Surveillance Is Shown

Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
Greenwald writes: "A mountain of evidence has been presented that indisputably proves that New Zealand does exactly that which Prime Minister Key vehemently denied - exactly that which he said he would resign if it were proven was done."
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US Declares Venezuela a Threat, Sanctions Top Officials
Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton, Reuters
Excerpt: "The United States on Monday declared Venezuela a national security threat and ordered sanctions against seven officials from the oil-rich country in the worst bilateral diplomatic dispute since socialist President Nicolas Maduro took office in 2013."
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State Takes Over Ferguson Court System to Restore Order and Implement Reforms
Elliot Hannon, Slate
Hannon writes: "In an effort to try to restore some semblance of credibility to the legal system in the area. Judge Roy Richter will now be in charge of the municipal court that covers Ferguson and has been given the authority to 'to overhaul court policies to ensure defendants' rights are respected and to 'restore the integrity of the system.'"
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UN Expert Slams US as Only Nation to Imprison Kids for Life Without Parole
Natasja Sheriff, Al Jazeera America
Sheriff writes: "The United States was singled out Monday by a United Nations expert on torture for being the only country in the world that continues to sentence children to life in prison without parole."
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Obamacare's Projected Cost Falls Due to Lower Premiums Under Health Care Law
Max Ehrenfreund, The Washington Post
Ehrenfreund writes: "It's positive news for Obama's law, which has been accused by Republicans of killing jobs and draining federal coffers."
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Saudi Arabia Accused of Blocking Criticism of Human Rights Record
Agence France-Presse
Excerpt: "Sweden's foreign minister has reportedly accused Saudi Arabia of blocking her speech at an Arab League meeting to stop her highlighting human rights cases such as the imprisonment of a blogger for insulting Islam."
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Solar-Powered Plane on Flight Around the World
Associated Press
Excerpt: "'Miracles can be achieved with renewables such as solar power. We want to show we can fly day and night in an aircraft without a drop of fuel,' Piccard told reporters last month."
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RSN: Ohio's Anti-Green Suicide, World Bank: Odds of Escaping Poverty in US and India Are the Same,

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AGAIN THE SMALLER DONORS ARE IN FACT TRYING: While the progress bar is not moving very quickly this month we are getting a number of small donations. The volume of donations really isn't that bad. However the size of the average donation is way down. We could use a few slightly larger donations. That would speed things along greatly. For your consideration. / Marc Ash - Founder, Reader Supported News

Sure, I'll make a donation!

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Andy Borowitz | Obama Addresses Extremist Group

Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker
Borowitz writes: "President Obama is courting controversy with his decision to address a group that has become dominated in recent years by extremists."
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Obama Calls for New War Powers to Fight ISIS in State of the Union Address
Middle East Eye
Excerpt: "US President Barack Obama on Tuesday night urged lawmakers to endow him with new war powers to defeat Islamic State (IS) group militants, warning the battle would be long but eventually successful."
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Documents Show Saudi Arabia and ISIS Administer Nearly Identical Punishments for Crimes
Adam Taylor, The Washington Post
Taylor writes: "For many, the Saudi justice system sounds not unlike that of the Islamic State, the extremist Islamist group which has struck fear in much of the Middle East."
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French Prime Minister: 'There Is Ethnic Apartheid in France'
TeleSUR
Excerpt: "The French prime minister surprisingly admitted on Tuesday to the existence of a 'geographic, social, ethnic apartheid' in the country, alluding to the broader context that surrounded the Charlie Hebdo tragedy."
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World Bank: Odds of Escaping Poverty in US and India Are the Same
Puja Mehra, The Hindu
Mehra writes: "A World Bank report has found that between 2004-05 and 2009-10, 15 per cent of India's population, or 40 per cent of the poor, moved above the poverty line."
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In Hollywood, Black Lives Don't Matter
Willie Osterweil, Al Jazeera America
Osterweil writes: "Although every year people critique the racist and sexist implications of the Oscars selections, this year the story crossed over into the mainstream. It's hard not to credit the #BlackLivesMatter movement with the media's increased attention to racial justice issues."
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Harvey Wasserman | Ohio's Anti-Green Suicide
Harvey Wasserman, Reader Supported News
Wasserman writes: "... as Koch-funded Republicans took control of the state in 2010, Ohio became the first American state to roll back its green power program. Rampant fracking has brought increased seismic activity and destroyed much of the state's drinking water. Ohio's ancient coal burners are being propped up with public cash."
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