Michael G. Hubbard, the speaker of the Alabama House, in 2014. He was indicted that year on a charge of violating an ethics law, accused of using his positions as speaker and party chairman to solicit work and investments.
Credit: William Widmer/The New York Times
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA — In the state capital these days, anybody who is anybody is either being investigated or being questioned about someone who is.
The chief justice of the state’s Supreme Court has been hit with ethics charges for defying federal courts on same-sex marriage, and could be removed from his seat. The governor, caught on tape engaging in salacious banter, apparently with […]
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John Fitzgerald Weaver, - electrek
Stephan: Here is some lovely good news about moving out of the carbon age. Bravo Portugal.
Wind power in Portugal
According to Zero.ong, and brought to our attention by SolarCrunch, Portugal ran on renewable energy alone for 4 straight days last week. This 100% was preceded by more than 70 percent of its electricity from renewable sources of energy during the first quarter of 2013, and 63% for all of 2014. Portugal stopped burning coal in 1994.
From Zero.ong –
System Sustainable Land Association in collaboration with the Portuguese Renewable Energy Association (APREN) analyzed data from the National Energy Network (REN) and concluded that in the week ended yesterday it has reached a very important record in this century. In fact, the consumption of electricity in Portugal was fully covered by renewable sources for more than followed four days (more precisely, between 6: 45h on Saturday morning, May 7, and 17: 45h Wednesday, May 11). This corresponded to a total of 107 hours at a time where it was not necessary to resort to any source of non-renewable electricity production, particularly the production of thermal power plants to […]
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Wednesday, May 18th, 2016
Andrea Peterson, Technology Policy Reporter - The Washington Post
Stephan: This is a trend that had been largely invisible until first a Pew survey and now this survey described in this report. It has serious implications, and argues strongly that data security has now become a major issue for ordinary people.
Nearly one in two Internet users say privacy and security concerns have now stopped them from doing basic things online — such as posting to social networks, expressing opinions in forums or even buying things from websites, according to a new government survey released Friday.
This chilling effect, pulled out of a survey of 41,000 U.S. households who use the Internet, show the insecurity of the Web is beginning to have consequences that stretch beyond the direct fall-out of an individual losing personal data in breach. The research suggests some consumers are reaching a tipping point where they feel they can no longer trust using the Internet for everyday activities.
“Every day, billions of people around the world use the Internet to share ideas, conduct financial transactions, and keep in touch with family, friends, and colleagues,” wrote Rafi Goldberg, a policy analyst at the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, in a blog post introducing the data. “But for the Internet to grow and thrive, users must continue to trust that their personal information will be secure and their privacy protected.”
The survey showed that […]
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Wednesday, May 18th, 2016
Sam Knight , - Alternet (U.S.)
Stephan: Although it is getting almost no coverage in corporate media I have been following this trend to privatize the national parks for several years now. This is happening because the Republicans in Congress are cutting back on the budgets for the national parks and forests, leaving them without enough money to operate properly -- which forces them to look for other ways to keep the parks going. If the Republicans cannot get the parks privatized outright they can make them subordinate and dependent on corporations for funding, which will end up being much the same thing. This is despicable, but so typical of what the United States has become.
The National Park Service (NPS) is proposing a relaxation on rules governing corporate partnerships in a move that could see parks increasingly commercialized and dependent on the whims of private donors.
Some park superintendents will be asked to help raise up to $5 million in individual gifts, according to the NPS proposal.
In return, the service will allow the use of park names and imagery in corporate advertising campaigns. NPS will also allow the display of corporate logos in park infrastructure through “donor recognition.”
NPS leaders said the liberalization is needed to fund $11 billion in maintenance projects, with Congressional appropriations unreliable. From 2013-2015, the park service received on average about $2.5 billion annually from Congress.
Jeff Reinbold, NPS associate director for civic engagement, told The Washington Post that the policy “gives us new opportunities and new tools.”
The NPS has been criticized for its new take on philanthropy by some conservationists.
“We are concerned that influence peddling will soon become a major recreational activity in our national parks,” said Jeff Ruch, the executive director […]
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Ten-thousand chronically ill children in our state are being dropped by their specialists, denied proper treatment, and refused essential equipment. (emphasis added)
