A Bellevue Man's Name Has Been Found in the Panama Papers: Robert Miracle was indicted in 2011 for a $65 million Ponzi scheme involving Indonesian oilfields. "Miracle’s company was called Mcube Petroleum, and it remained an active shareholder in several offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands up until he pleaded guilty," the Seattle Times reports. "The offshores were created by [Panamanian law firm] Mossack Fonseca."
Does This Mean Neoliberalism Will Finally Kick the Bucket? "The Panama Papers is a massive leak of confidential documents that expose how the global political and financial elite hide their wealth to avoid taxes—meaning, to avoid contributing to the welfare of their societies, be they rich or poor," Charles Mudede explains. He continues:
This indignation and exposure will further erode the ideological edifice (neoliberalism) that has since the 1980s justified wage stagnation, deepening inequality, and the increased upward flow of social capital (which is what money represents). The future will see that this ideology, as Marx would call it, did not survive the crash of 2008.
Charles Also Thinks This Will Be Bad for Hillary Clinton: "Sanders is not a neoliberal; Clinton is. The Panama Papers will certainly contribute details to this distinction," Mudede writes.
A Semitruck Carrying Frozen Crab Spilled Its Contents All Over SR 99: It took crews more than six hours to clean up the mess. This incident occurred almost one year exactly since a semitruck carrying salmon tipped over and blocked all southbound lanes of the Alaskan Way Viaduct for seven hours.
Seattles deadliest catch pic.twitter.com/ItKuOFzkmj
— TmatsuzawaKIRO7 (@Tmatsuzawa40) April 5, 2016
U Mad? If the crab truck fiasco affected your commute, you should vote for more light rail this fall.
ICYMI, Alaska Air is Buying Virgin America: As Dan notes, Alaska will pay $57 a share in cash. This is the same company that did everything it could to fight paying airport workers $15, and is now being fined by the state—a fine that the company is appealing—for failing to keep its baggage handlers safe.
$1.4 Billion Convention Center Expansion Could Bring 133,000 More Truck Trips to Capitol Hill: Representatives from Cornish College of the Arts, the Spruce Street School, the Paramount, and the Cascade Bicycle Club were not happy about the Washington State Convention Center's environmental analysis.
City's New Utility Billing System Is Likely $34 Million Over Budget: Some Seattle City Council members are frustrated that no one told them about this last year. "The rising cost of this project is very disappointing, but I have directed the utilities to complete the project within currently adopted customer utility rates," Mayor Ed Murray said in a statement.
Stranded Sea Turtle Gets Hyperbaric Treatment for Gas Bubbles: Tucker became the first sea turtle in history to be treated in a hyperbaric chamber at Virginia Mason. He is fine.
It's Going to Be Really, Really Nice on Thursday: Possibly record-breaking, even. Temperatures could be in the high 70s.
UW Researchers Find Nice Weather Leads to More Mortgage Approvals: So if you don't have the best credit history, maybe Thursday is a good day to try and become a homeowner?
Local Climate Justice Activists Say Environmentalist Bill McKibben Whitesplained Their Concerns During Town Hall Event:
we go into white spaces to hold them accountable. tonight, we tried multiple times. we summon our white allies to work with Bill McKibben and help him develop his racial analysis.during Q&A, we asked him about carbon tax, revenue neutral, reparation for global south, opening boarders for climate refugees, and suggestions on how mainstream environmental movement can create safe spaces for people of color. our questions weren't answered, just whitesplained.
Posted by Women of Color Speak Out on Tuesday, April 5, 2016
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