Yemen: The US-Backed Saudi War is Going Badly Wrong

Bill Law Middle East Eye
It must have seemed a very good idea at the time. The young, ambitious son of an aged king launching a war against a rebellion in a troubled country to the south. However, the Saudi-led bombing campaign, which was supposed to break the Houthis resistance and drive them from the cities, has failed miserably. The Houthis remain in control of the capital Sanaa and much of the key southern city of Aden. And the only beneficiary of the Saudi air war may be al-Qaeda.

Why California’s Biggest Water Users Are Kept Secret

Katharine Mieszkowski and Lance Williams Reveal
In the midst of a historic drought, Californians have no way of knowing who is guzzling the most water. That’s not an accident. It’s by design, thanks to an obscure 1997 measure that weakened one of the state’s chief open government laws, the California Public Records Act. For the source of this legislation, look no further than Silicon Valley, where the city of Palo Alto decided it needed to do more to protect the privacy of the tech elite.

US Threatens to Cut Aid to El Salvador for Backing Venezuela

Telesur/English teleSUR
El Salvador joined the near unanimous appeal by Latin American and Caribbean governments for the Obama Administration to repeal its executive order declaring Venezuela a “threat” to national security. The U.S. is now issuing veiled threats that it might deny El Salvador’s participation in its proposed $1 billion Alliance for Prosperity program for Central America, which ostensibly is designed to reduce the influx of migrants to the United States.

Migrant Crisis in the Mediterranean: Europe Must Change Course

Nils Muižnieks OpenDemocracy
Since last weekend more than 1,000 people have drowned off the coast of Libya. Another 600 died during journeys to Europe earlier this year. According to Nils Muižnieks, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Europe must change its course and assume responsibility for preventing similar tragedies. He calls for changes in the legislation governing asylum and migration, which has only increased migrants’ vulnerability—and made smugglers richer.

Friday Nite Videos -- April 24, 2015

Portside
Videos: Fraud city: Atlanta & Wall Street. Football Town Nights. Battle for the Internet. Greece: Austerity Isn't Working. Willie Nelson & Trigger.

Fraud City

When a cheating scandal rocks an Atlanta school system, Jon notices eerie similarities to the 2008 U.S. financial crisis brought on by Wall Street.