This Man is Building a Private Mercenary Air Force: Here’s What We’re Reading Today
The Daily 5 is Sharp’s essential reading list for what’s happening in the world today. Make sure to follow us on Twitter or subscribe to the Sharp Insider newsletter to stay up to date.
Here’s what we’re reading today.
1. Suicide crisis rouses House of Commons
“The Speaker of the House of Commons has agreed to allow an emergency debate on the suicide crisis playing out in Attawapiskat First Nation as well as other communities.” Attawapiskat, a community of 2000, has already had 11 suicide attempts in April, after another 28 recorded attempts in March. Community leaders declared a state of emergency last week.
+1 A group of Attawapiskat youth have spoken out about what they need to fight the crisis.
2. Meet the man who’s building a mercenary air force
“The conversion of crop dusters into light attack aircraft had long been part of Prince’s vision for defeating terrorists and insurgencies in Africa and the Middle East. In Prince’s view, these single-engine fixed-wing planes, retrofitted for war zones, would revolutionize the way small wars were fought. They would also turn a substantial profit.”
3. Why are cars the bedrock of our society?
“Considering the constant fatalities, rampant pollution, and exorbitant costs of ownership, there is no better word to characterize the car’s dominance than insane.”
4. Brazil may start to impeach Dilma Rousseff
“Brazil’s president Dilma Rousseff began a week that could make or break her administration with a bruising defeat in a Congressional impeachment committee. After a bad-natured and at times chaotic debate, the members on the committee voted 38 to 27 to proceed with a motion to remove the Workers’ party leader from office for puffing up government accounts before the 2014 election. Their decision sets the stage for a full vote of the lower house — most likely this weekend — on whether to approve the country’s first presidential impeachment.”
5. “Porn has the power to do what Bruce Springsteen cannot”
“There’s a new kink in North Carolina’s LGBT controversy: A popular porn website is banning all computers from ‘The Tar Heel State.’ XHamster.com has been refusing to serve anyone from North Carolina since 12:30 p.m. EDT, Monday. Instead, users with a North Carolina IP address are just seeing a black screen on their computer — no porn. The extreme measures will stay in place until North Carolina repeals House Bill 2, a law passed on March 23 that effectively prevents cities and counties in the state from passing rules that protect LGBT rights.”
