Following the biggest earthquake to hit California in decades, scientists are calling on leaders to fund a statewide alert system in the state.



Top of the Alty World

“Earthquake Warning Systems Exist. But California Won't Pay for One.”—Mother Jones

Ferguson police officer who tear gassed protesters in their own backyard takes to Twitter to defend himself.—River Front Times

BuzzFeed examines “Eighty Years of Fergusons” and looks back on our country's violent black protests.—BuzzFeed

The death of a black Louisiana man who was shot in the chest while his hands were handcuffed behind his back was ruled a suicide.—The Root

Top of Alty Utah

A new poll shows that while an overwhelming majority of Utahns thinks students should graduate ready for college, a majority also believes they should graduate career ready.—Utah Policy

Jesse Harris talks about the challenges Utah faces in making electronic voting secure for a system that handles 1.5 million users.—Utah Politico Hub

Salt Lake Comicon fans are upset the event booked a vine celebrity known for making racist, and homophobic jokes.—Salt Lake City Weekly

Rantosphere

Truth-Out argues that the record $17 billion settlement Bank of America agreed to pay for reckless behavior that contributed to recent economic meltdown was nothing more than a slap on the wrist for the megabank.

“If somebody steals a soda from a convenient store, they're likely going to jail. But when banks and financial firms rob, defraud and mismanage the money of Americans—and even cast them out of their homes illegally—a fine is the worst they can expect. Such fines are simply factored into the cost of doing shady business. The fines may be bigger than ever, but these megabanks go right on making profits, humming along as if they were bitten by a pesky mosquito.”—Truth-Out

The Long View

Businessweek looks at the hedge fund that may have propped up the brutal dictatorship of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe.


“In the weeks leading up to the runoff, there were thousands of casualties reported—and tens of thousands of refugees.

[Ambassador] McGee wouldn’t find out for years, but as the attacks were unfolding, and as he worked with Washington to financially isolate Mugabe, a Wall Street consortium provided the $100 million for the dictator’s government. These millions secured the rights to mine platinum, among the most valuable of minerals, from central Zimbabwe. Several firms were involved in the investment, including BlackRock (BLK), GLG Partners, and Credit Suisse (CS). The most vital player was Och-Ziff Capital Management (OZM), the largest publicly traded hedge fund on Wall Street. An Och-Ziff spokesman declined to comment for this article. Now some of its African investments are at the center of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.” —Businessweek