Fugitive Ex-Georgian President Given Control of Odessa in Ukraine

Bryan MacDonald Russia Today
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has tapped yet another foreigner to help rule his people. But this one may be the most bizarre yet. On May 31, Poroshenko awarded Ukrainian citizenship to fugitive ex-Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and appointed him governor of Odessa, the complex, primarily Russian-speaking region that is also geographically close to the western Ukraine. Saakashvili is wanted in his homeland for embezzlement and human rights abuses.

Does Anthropocene Science Blame All of Humanity For Environmental Crisis?

Ian Angus Climate & Capitalism
Ian Angus, editor of Climate and Capitalism, responds to critics of Anthropocene scholars who assert the Earth has entered a new geological epoch due to human activity. Angus argues the criticism that Earth System scientists in the forefront of the Anthropocene project blame all of humanity for the actions of a small minority simply doesn’t hold water. And he urges ecological Marxists to be positive contributors to the Anthropocene discussions.

Friday Nite Videos -- June 5, 2015

Portside
Flashmob Nuremburg - Beethoven's Ode to Joy. Clinton Slams GOP for War on Voting, Calls for Universal Registration. Key & Peele - Basketball Commentary. Jefferson Davis Day in Alabama. Gay High School Student Delivers Valedictorian Speech He Was Barred from Giving.

Flashmob Nuremburg - Beethoven's Ode to Joy

A girl with a wooden recorder and a man playing a bass frame the call and response themes of Beethoven's choral symphony, eliciting the joy from bystanders for which the piece is named.

Jefferson Davis Day in Alabama

Jefferson Davis was the president of the Confederate States of America. How do you proclaim your love for America and then yearn for the days when you weren't part of it?

New Snowden Documents Reveal Secret Memos Expanding Spying

Julia Angwin, Jeff Larson, Charlie Savage, Henrik Moltke ProPublica
Without public notice or debate, the Obama administration has expanded the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance of Americans’ international Internet traffic. The NSA’s activities run “smack into law enforcement land,” said Jonathan Mayer, a cybersecurity scholar. “That’s a major policy decision about how to structure cybersecurity in the U.S. and not a conversation that has been had in public.”

Bernie's Burlington: What Kind of Mayor Was Bernie Sanders?

Peter Dreier, Pierre Clavel The Nation
A growing number of cities -- including Seattle, New York, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Newark and others -- are now led by progressive mayors. What they can learn from Sanders is that good ideas are not sufficient. Creating more livable cities requires nurturing a core of activist organizations that can build long-term support for progressive municipal policies.