Wednesday, August 14, 2024

Ongoing talks in the Middle East may provide hope. The last thing this area of the world needs is war.

Qatar is affiliated with many of the countries in question when it comes to attacks on Israel. This is not an unusual role for Qatar. It probably is the only country with these relationships so that Israel can be understood and hopefully identify the areas that are most sensitive to bring about a ceasefire and ultimately a peace agreement. I hope the negotiators in Qatar are successful. The region needs stability, not war. 

August 14, 2024
By Nidal Al-Mughrabi

Cairo - Hamas said on Wednesday (click here) it would not take part in a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks slated for Thursday in Qatar, but an official briefed on the talks said mediators expected to consult with the Palestinian group afterwards.

The U.S. has said it expects indirect talks to go ahead as planned in Qatar's capital Doha on Thursday, and that a ceasefire agreement was still possible, while warning that progress was needed urgently to avert a wider war....

...The delegation includes Israel's spy chief David Barnea, head of the domestic security service Ronen Bar and the military's hostages chief Nitzan Alon, a defence official said....

These are the conditions that Hamas identifies as necessary in a ceasefire with Israel.

...By resolution 2735 (2024) (click here)  (to be issued as document S/RES/2735(2024)), the 15-member organ noted that the implementation of this proposal would enable the following outcomes to spread over three phases,... 

...the first of which would include an immediate, full and complete ceasefire with the release of hostages; the return of the remains of some hostages who have been killed; the exchange of Palestinian prisoners; withdrawal of Israeli forces from the populated areas in Gaza; the return of Palestinian civilians to their homes; and the safe and effective distribution of humanitarian assistance at scale throughout Gaza.

Phase two would see a permanent end to hostilities in exchange for the release of all other hostages still in Gaza and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area....

...Phase three would mark the start of a major multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza and the return of the remains of any deceased hostages still in the Strip to their families.

Further by the text, the Council underlined that — if the negotiations take longer than six weeks for phase one — the ceasefire will continue as long as negotiations continue. The Council also rejected any attempt at demographic or territorial change in the Gaza Strip, including any actions that reduce the Strip’s territory.

The representative of the United States, speaking before the vote, said that “the last eight months have been nothing short but devastating” both for Israelis who lost loved ones on 7 October and Palestinian civilians who “are living through sheer hell”, fleeing from one place to another in search of elusive safety.

“The only way to bring about a durable end to this war” is a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, she stressed, adding that Israel has agreed to a comprehensive deal on the table, which is nearly identical to Hamas’ own proposal. “Now we are all waiting for Hamas to agree to the ceasefire deal it claims to want, but we cannot allow to wait and wait,” she stated, noting that “with every passing day, needless suffering continues”....

IPSOS is a French Polling Company


(Click here)

I have a great deal confidence in the New Democratic Party leaders to win the presidential elections, it is important to cover all the bases of undecided, independent, and Republican. 

IPSOS is taking into account the fact Trump has planned a path forward that does not include the popular vote. Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight had Hillary winning with 65 percent of the vote. 

Just be careful. The economy is always weighted more heavily in USA politics. Also, what IPSOS didn’t discuss was the level of corruption Trump has been able to instill in the election process over the past four years.

Currently, FiveThirtyEight has the Electoral College a toss-up and that is a change since Kamala entered the race. 

I believe any “Swift Boating” of Tim Waltz will fail. He is simply too great to be undone. He kept his promise to focus on those that serve. He became a member of Veterans Affairs Committee when he was a Congressman. 

He spent decades serving in the National Guard, far longer than even George W. Bush.

The Democratic National Convention starts in a few days. The momentum will be incredible. But, leave no stone unturned going forward because the corruption of Trump is considerable with four years of planning.

This is a violation of Environmental Justice.

Environmental Justice (click here)

The City of Richmond, California is contemplating a deal with Chevron that would allow the refinery to continue to pollute, but, will accept $50 million per year for ten years to help pay the health care bill of those their pollution injures.

9 October 2019
By Susie Cagle

...The refinery processes (click here) nearly 250,000 barrels of crude oil each day. When it “flares”, as it did more often in 2018 than in any other year over the past decade, dark smoke spirals up and across town in the bay breeze.

When it explodes, like it did in 1989, 1999 and 2012, the thick cloud is visible across the bay and beyond, a blot against the sky that ascends before falling and settling on everything within a multi-mile vicinity that is not covered, closed or sealed up....

I DON'T THINK SO!

August 14, 2024
By Sierra Lopez

The Chevron plant explosion (click here) and the refinery is still allowed to operate.

...State data shows Richmond residents (click here) have some of the highest rates of asthma in the state, an illness linked to refinery particulate matter along with bronchitis and other respiratory illnesses. Each year, between five and 11 people die prematurely in the city because of emissions from Chevron, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The air district also estimates that health impacts from the refinery cost the area between $52 million and $118 million annually.

If the agreement is approved, Chevron would pay $50 million annually to the general fund for the first five years, followed by $60 million annually the last five. The city would retain its right to impose new taxes on Chevron and other businesses, but the settlement payments would be credited toward what the refinery would owe.

“Chevron and the City Attorney, supported by a City Council ad hoc committee, have negotiated a settlement agreement that would end the current lawsuit and the threat of new ones,” according to a staff report prepared by City Attorney Dave Aleshire....

I am confident none of this was passed through California regulators to even know if it is legal to allow pollution, expecting health problems, and taxing the polluter for  the health care costs. There is something every wrong with this picture. I doubt if the people of Richmond actually understand what they are voting on if the ballot imitative goes through.

The federal EPA needs to chime in on this mess. Chevron cannot be allowed to continue to make people sick.

The USA is showing signs of infective mpox.

August 13, 2024
Story by Pandora Dewan

Mpox has been detected in wastewater (click here) in the United States after the virus was declared a public health emergency by the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a more deadly strain spreads across the continent....

The WHO (click here) has declared a global emergency with the newly discovered variant. This new variant can be transmitted by casual skin to skin contact. There is no current data suggesting the mpox detected in wastewater of the USA is the new variant. It is prudent for cities with these wastewater problems to step up education about the virus and perhaps seek hospital isolation for new cases.

June 6, 2024
ByMary Kekatos

In summer 2022, (click here) the global mpox outbreak seemed poised to overwhelm the U.S. with cases rising exponentially every week and no signs of slowing.

A successful public health campaign -- promoting behavior changes and vaccination -- helped cases drop dramatically.

However, a new small study published Thursday and led by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) says that mpox cases are still circulating at low levels in the U.S. and primarily among unvaccinated high-risk groups....