The Biggest Leak Ever—An Insider Speaks Out

Just issues, news, and other stuff that matter to you [Fusion] April 13, 2016 When my mom first got email, she always used all caps. It made sense—this is the woman who sent an actual telegram to my dorm room in college when I had gone a few weeks without calling. (None of us had ever seen one before.) When I suggest apps to her she tells me that her iPad only has Scrabble and Netflix on it, as if that is all it could ever do. She’ll never change. But, some institutions can, and do. The [Associated Press] announced recently that they will finally stop capitalizing “Internet,” reducing the cringe level of the English-using world by about 30%. And this week the [National Weather Service] tells us that they will “stop shouting”—i.e., issuing weather dispatches and warnings in all-caps. No more “HIGH SURF ADVISORY IN EFFECT,” just a more measured “High Surf Advisory in Effect.” They will still use all upper-case when a threat is imminent, or for advisories with international implications, but for the most part, expect your forecasts to be less panic-inducing and more conversational. So if these big institutions can change the ways that they talk about the internet and the way that they behave on it, why does it seem so hard for individuals to do the same thing? I don’t just mean my mom. Are there times when trolls become decent conversationalists? Could a constant self-promoter ever stop and read what others have to say? I wonder. I’d like to be hopeful. But for now my forecast is no. —[Mikki Halpin] The List 1 Clinton Blames DeBlasio for Racist Joke Sunday, during New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio's endorsement of Hillary Clinton, he made a joke about being on "CP time." AKA "colored people time." AKA don't say that. Today, [the blame game]—but not an apology in sight. 2 Have a Drink, Save a Species A brewery in Lima, Peru, is using the [labels on their bottles] to educate customers about a serious problem—the disappearance of jaguars from their native habitat, where the big cats are being hunted for their fur. 3 Texas Inmates Banned from Social Media Despite the fact that access to social media gives inmates ways to keep in touch with family and friends, and to share what life is like inside, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has issued an edict that they will take down [all accounts associated with inmates], and prevent further ones from being created. 4 Harvard Club Excludes Women for Their Own Good Thank God for the advanced feminism of the [members of the all-male Porcellian Club]. They say that allowing women to join the club would likely increase the incidence of sexual assault, so the exclusionary policy in effect protects women. I would imagine this policy also has the effect of drastically reducing the number of women who would like to join. 5 A Tiny Victory in the Student Debt Crisis President Obama announced today that the federal government will radically streamline the process for permanently disabled people to get their [debts formally discharged]—a process that previously could take as long as seven years. The Read [Exclusive: Former Mossack Fonseca Contractor Talks Panama Papers with Fusion] by Alice Brennan When members of Fusion’s investigative staff joined [an April 6 live chat on Digg] about their Panama Papers reporting, they expected some tough questions. But they didn’t expect to meet a former insider whose name they’d come across in the leaked files. John P. Gordon, a Columbia Business School grad and entrepreneur whose name shows up in more than 1,400 search results in the Panama Papers and who helped clients form companies through Mossack Fonseca, waded into Digg’s chat to set the story straight as he saw it. In a series of follow-up emails with Fusion investigative producer Alice Brennan, he offered unique insights into the American activities — and what he perceived as due diligence failures — of Mossack Fonseca, the Panamanian law firm whose leaked documents formed the basis of the global Panama Papers investigation, and whose headquarters [were raided Tuesday evening] by Panamanian authorities. [Read more] [How Journalists Broke the Panama Papers Story] [The Dirty Little Secrets of the Panama Papers] Today's Crush The totally metal Finns who run the [Hydraulic Press Channel] on YouTube will crush anything, from [Jawbreakers] to [hockey pucks], to my personal favorite: [crushing a hydraulic press with another hydraulic press]. Where do you even go from there? Remember, you can always [unsubscribe] and never see another one of these emails until the apocalypse (at which time it'll be nothing but emails). This email was sent to {EMAIL} Fusion · 8551 NW 30th Terrace · Doral, FL 33122 · USA