It is time that the truth and justice win its rightful place.

December 16, 2022
By Luke Broadwater

Washington - The House committee (click here) investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol plans on Monday to vote on issuing criminal referrals against former President Donald J. Trump for insurrection and at least two other charges, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss it.

It had been widely expected the panel would recommend charges against Mr. Trump for obstructing an official proceeding of Congress and conspiracy to defraud the United States. The panel’s members had already argued in federal court that they believed it was likely that he committed those two felonies. But the addition of an accusation of insurrection was a new development....

Impeachment is not a proceeding that brings a criminal case. It is about the efficacy of the presidency in relationship to the duties of the office and the oath taken the day of inauguration. Impeachment should not have failed in either charges brought before the US Senate. The impeachments failed because of partisan election interests. it is time the law of this country carries weight in the actions of the former president Donald John Trump.

The Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick had additional trauma (click here) found from his autopsy. It was more than the two strokes he suffered the day after the insurrection by Trump and his White Supremacists and multiple misfits.

December 6, 2022

Washington, DC - Officer Brian Sicknick, (click here) who died after suffering two strokes the day after the violent insurrection of January 6, 2021, was honored  by the United States Congress who presented him and his colleagues in the Capitol Police with two Congressional Gold medals....

...A native of New Jersey’s 12th District, Sicknick was born in New Brunswick, lived in South River, and attended East Brunswick Vocational-Technical High School. He served his state and country in the New Jersey Air National Guard before joining the Capitol Police. Sicknick leaves behind his parents, his two brothers, and his longtime girlfriend. ...

.. Gladys Sicknick has been vocal in her support for investigations and follow-up by Congress since her son's death....

The January 6th Committee members are great patriots. They pursued the truth of which our country is built on. It is the very basis of our laws. It is time the country hears what truth actually says about a president that plotted an overthrow of our democracy for his own purpose. It is time the DOJ honored the USA Constitution to protect it from further designs on its integrity and strength.

Donald John Trump's actions the day of January 6th and the days, weeks and years leading up to it stand as fact to his intentions in ending our democracy and instill tyranny. There is just no doubt at all to the facts.

The American people should be grateful to the members of the January 6th Committee for their diligent work to find and bring the truth forward. The testimony was compelling. They now need to finish their work and refer their findings to the DOJ with a recommendation to convict a former president focused on ending the USA Constitution.

The country will always be grateful to the members of the committee. They were the focus of hate and anger from outside the Congress and from other US House members, yet, they never faltered. They love this country. Nothing else explains their work and their willingness to face danger and ridicule to bring these facts to the people. 

It serves Putin's purpose to escalate any conflict that involves his enemies.

15 December 2022
By Beth McKernan

Late on Sunday night, (click here) like almost every other night in Jenin, the fighting started. The Israeli army said it entered the occupied West Bank city to arrest three suspected Palestinian terrorists and militants responded by throwing firebombs and opening fire.

According to two members of her family, 16-year-old Jana Zakaran ventured up to the roof of her home when gunfire erupted nearby to bring her cat inside to safety. When Zakaran’s father went to look for her, he found her dead in a pool of blood, the cat by her side.


In a rare admission of error, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said the teenager had been accidentally shot by a sniper....

The Free World needs to address Mr. Abbas to understand his grievances. It is wrong to leave Israel to sort out all that impacts this region of the world alone.

I think Mr. Abbas has to be asked where he stands on the genocide taking place in Ukraine.

October 13, 2022

Russia wants a just settlement to the Palestine-Israel issue (click here) in line with UN resolutions, President Vladimir Putin said in a meeting with his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, on Thursday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Russia has "a principled stance based on the fundamental resolutions of the United Nations and it remains unchanged," Putin told Abbas during talks in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, on the sidelines of a regional summit.

He said Moscow continues to closely monitor developments in the Middle East.

On bilateral cooperation with Palestine, he said "a lot" needs to be done to enhance economic ties.

Abbas hailed Russia's position on the Palestinian-Israeli settlement.

"We believe and know that Russia has a clear position on the settlement, and I am absolutely sure that it will never change. We know perfectly well that Russia stands for justice, for international law," he said.

Abbas stressed the need for a greater role of the Middle East Quartet, which comprises the UN, US, EU and Russia....

14 December 2022
By Lazar Berman

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s personal aide (click here) said Wednesday that Kyiv’s UN vote in November to refer the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the International Court of Justice in The Hague was a “mistake” that must be fixed.

Speaking at the Ukraine-Israel Innovation Summit in Warsaw, Oleksiy Arestovych blamed inertia within Ukraine’s foreign ministry for support of the resolution, titled “Israeli practices and settlement activities affecting the rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the occupied territories.”(click here)

The UN General Assembly Fourth Committee voted in favor of the measure by a margin of 98 in favor, 17 opposed and 52 abstentions....

Israel is facing losses in this current increase in violence in the area. It is getting difficult to assess the exact issues involved because of the genocide in Ukraine. It is nearly impossible, considering the dynamics involved with Russia and the Free World, to isolate the conflict between Palestine and Israel.

Russia's abrupt change in policy regarding human rights must be consistent across all the countries. Russia's actions in Ukraine and its multi-front wars for economic gain bring a different perspective to any change in stability in the world. Russia cannot pick and choose its human rights abuse.

It appears the countries that are in Russia's favor are most likely allies to a much larger conflict Russia will not address to the UN while propagating it. Russia is drawing on other countries to assist in Ukraine's genocide. That cannot be ignored.

Here again, Israel has a right to defend itself in changing instability globally.

...The Committee regrets (click here) that Israel did not respond to its request for consultations with Israeli authorities or for access to Israel, the occupied Palestinian territory and the occupied Syrian Golan. Israel’s persistent refusal to engage with the UN mechanisms mirrors a lack of accountability for Israeli conduct in the occupied Palestinian territory, which was drawn to the Special Committee’s attention throughout the mission. The protracted occupation, and an entrenched culture of impunity, severely undermine the prospect of Palestinians and Israelis enjoying human rights on an equal basis and living side by side in peace and dignity....

December 14, 2022
By Yonah Jeremy Bob

Israel struck a convoy of trucks (click here) carrying Iranian weapons along the Syrian-Iraqi border last month, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi confirmed on Wednesday.

Without specifying the exact timing, it appeared clear that he was referring to an attack within Syria, next to the Iraqi border, which the Wall Street Journal and various other media outlets attributed to Israel in early November, but which Israel did not take responsibility for at the time.

According to reports at the time, the caravan was moving Iranian weapons, likely including powerful missiles, from Iraq to Syria, and around a dozen Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members and other Iranian-affiliated forces were killed....

December 15, 2022
By Luke Tress

Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s, (click here) says it resolved a lawsuit with the ice cream maker over its attempt to boycott Israeli settlements last year.

“Unilever is pleased to announce that the litigation with Ben & Jerry’s Independent Board has been resolved,” the UK-based conglomerate says in a terse statement, without providing further detail.

The announcement appears to finally put an end to a legal battle that has dragged on for over a year. Ben & Jerry’s sued Unilever’s main US branch, Conopco, earlier this year as part of its boycott attempt, which it first announced in July 2021.

Avi Zinger, the head of Ben & Jerry’s Israel branch and a key player in fighting against the boycott, says he is “pleased” that the litigation has been resolved.

There were no details available about the settlement, but Zinger says there was no change to an agreement he inked with Unilever earlier this year....

15 December 2022

Benjamin Netanyahu (click here) is preparing to become the Prime Minister of Israel for the third time. He has until December 21 to form a government before taking office.

In a wide-ranging interview with a group of print and television journalists at Al Arabiya, Mr. Netanyahu discussed Israel’s relations with Arab states, the US alliance structure in the Middle East, unrest in Iran, Israel’s new hard-right government, the future of the US-brokered maritime border agreement with Lebanon, and the Russia-Ukraine war.

Mr. Netanyahu reiterated the paramount importance of normalization with Saudi Arabia, which would be a “quantum leap” toward ending the Arab-Israeli conflict that “would change our region in ways that are unimaginable.” Saudi officials have consistently maintained that no normalization can happen without a Palestinian state.

Mr. Netanyahu indicated a willingness to explore a wide variety of peace options behind closed doors, stating “I believe in open covenants, secretly arrived at or discretely arrived at.”...

With Russia advancing far different directives than ever conceived before, it can be said the balance of power is in flux and all that has gone before can be reassessed. With Azerbaijan opening an embassy in Israel, there is serious doubt about any intolerance by Israel of the Muslim faith.

December 15, 2022

By Peter Marko Tase

With a new government on the way, (click here) Israel will have its latest opportunity to assess the status of its global relationships.

Israel continues to deepen its ties with the Muslim world through the signatories of the Abraham Accords. With Benjamin Netanyahu now set to return to power, the discourse has grown around additional countries, such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia potentially joining the Accords. Further, Azerbaijan’s parliament recently initiated the process of opening an embassy in Israel, making it the first Shi’ite Muslim-majority nation to take that step.

At the same time, Israel must also consider which of its relationships could prove counterproductive. In that regard, ties with Paraguay deserve increased scrutiny....

The world has changed drastically in less than a year in defense of human rights to end genocide. International assessments are difficult at best.

A word for Celine Grounder about the death of Grant Wahl

December 14, 2022

First and foremost, (click here) on behalf of myself and our family, I want to express our deepest gratitude for the outpouring of support, love, and sympathy from around the world. This continues to be a very difficult and painful time as we grieve a beloved husband, brother, and friend. It is some comfort to know that so many people Grant reached—countless colleagues, readers, athletes, coaches, friends, and fans—are grieving alongside us....

...An autopsy was performed by the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office. Grant died from the rupture of a slowly growing, undetected ascending aortic aneurysm with hemopericardium. The chest pressure he experienced shortly before his death may have represented the initial symptoms. No amount of CPR or shocks would have saved him. His death was unrelated to COVID. His death was unrelated to vaccination status. There was nothing nefarious about his death....

During this difficult time for the family of Grant Wahl, they shared information to bring about a clear understanding of his death. I thank her for her kindness.

Qatar as an international venue has failed.

When a country accepts the RESPONSIBILITY of HOSTING a global event it needs to open its doors to every citizen in the world, not just a select few.

The arrest of Brittany Griner in Russia was also an expression of intolerance of other citizens in a country for a sports venue. Mrs. Griner was harmless in her actions and the scant amount of CBD oil was a personal possession approved of by her government and physician. Russia carried out a harmful act against Mrs. Griner by arresting a lesbian woman with a family at home. She could have been separated from her loved ones for years that could have snowballed into decades or death. 

Grant Wahl is another example of hostility toward an international citizen on assignment to bring perspective to those back home. He had no malice against anyone and because he was an American wearing a Gay Pride tee shirt he was detained.

His death is causing shock waves through the journalists’ community as his writing was among some of the best sports media in the world. His brother states he is alarmed and believes there is reason to suspect criminal intent in his detainment and death.

The United States of America accepts everyone of its citizens as important. When the USA hosts any international venue it strives to keep everyone safe and doing their best in their competitions. The world needs to respect every international citizen that crosses their borders as valued back home.

Americans are not international volleys for politics and policy. If a country objects to policies and laws carried to their borders by international citizens of other countries then they should be ineligible to hold international events. It is not safe for the visiting persons no matter their capacity at home or international stability in avoiding conflict. 

 https://www.outsports.com/platform/amp/2022/12/9/23502652/grant-wahl-dead-gay-brother-world-cup-fifa-qatar-lgbt-gay-rainbow

Good night.

This is how the greed of the petroleum industry is playing out in the USA.

December 9, 2023
By Paula Tracy

Concord -In a bit of a pleasant surprise (click here) just in time for the holidays Eversource has filed a petition to decrease electric rates by 10.3 percent for its small customer group for six months beginning in February....

It looks good and even like Santa with a 10.3 percent reduction in electricity costs. But, in actuality the reduction is not that much. 

...The default service rate for electricity, which went from 10.669 cents per kilowatt hour in July to 22.566 cents per kilowatt hour in August and continues through January would go down to 20.22 cents per kilowatt hour if approved next week by the Public Utilities Commission....

went from 10.669 cents per kilowatt hour in July to 22.566 cents per kilowatt hour in August

And what is Sununu doing? Nothing. He is bragging about the weather.

...There was some concern that it might go higher as the price for natural gas – the fuel which is primarily used to make electricity now – has remained high.

But Gov. Chris Sununu said Wednesday that the fact it has been warmer than normal both here and in Europe has allowed for some storage capacity to develop, possibly easing the demand and the cost.

No explanation for the change was given in the documents delivered to the PUC Thursday afternoon.

A hearing for the rate change is set for 9 a.m. next Tuesday, Dec. 13.

Jessica Chiavara, senior counsel for the state’s largest utility, wrote Daniel Goldner, chair of the

New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, about its competitively procured default Energy Service rate, proposed to begin February 1, 2023....

This is nothing but exploitation of customers of natural gas as a heating fuel. There is no reason for this. There is no increase in production of natural gas. The industry is simply taking advantage of consumer dependency and the idea of inflation.

Petroleum products are sold at higher prices because of the volatile prices in the commodities market. Alternative energies are primarily locally controlled. There is no problem with costs for wind and sunshine.

Natural gas is not a clean fuel. It is methane and the industry is indifferent to all the leaks from their wells. I don't want to hear how stupid that thinking is because leaked methane is lost profits. No, leaked methane increases the commodity price.

December 9, 2022
By Steven Mufson and Timothy Puko

Emissions waft from ExxonMobil’s refinery in Baytown, Tex., in December 2021. 

Some of the world’s major oil companies (click here) remain internally skeptical about the “energy transition” to a low-carbon economy, even as they publicly portray their firms as partners in the cause, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post that a House committee released Friday.

The documents are part of a trove obtained by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform during a year-long investigation. They reveal oil company executives dismissing the potential for renewable energy to quickly replace fossil fuels, while working to secure a future for natural gas. They also detail industry efforts to secure government tax credits for carbon capture projects that might relieve them of the need to drastically alter their business models.

The documents — many of them copies of internal emails between oil company officials — describe ExxonMobil’s efforts in 2021 to persuade big industrial firms and oil giants to co-sponsor a mammoth carbon capture project in Texas. Elsewhere, in one email string, officials at Shell discuss whether BP, Shell and TotalEnergies — a French oil firm — increased their carbon footprints by selling Canadian oil sands interests to more eager investors....

No government purchases going forward should be anything but electric.

November 21, 2022

Washington - With the gift-giving holiday season (click here) approaching and Black Friday around the corner, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, and Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, today led their colleagues Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) in a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and United States Postal Service (USPS) Board of Governors Chair Roman Martinez calling for USPS to dramatically increase mail delivery fleet electrification efforts, including the Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV), an effort that would improve service on some 177,000 routes across the country. USPS estimates that the adoption of a fully electric NGDV fleet would roughly triple reductions in greenhouse gas emissions compared to a fleet that is only 10 percent electric.

USPS received an additional $3 billion in funds from the Inflation Reduction Act to invest in battery electric vehicles (BEV) and supporting infrastructure. The lawmakers urge USPS to make a commitment to increase its fleet electrification commitment to 95 percent from 40 percent, leveraging the additional funding provided through the Inflation Reduction Act to not simply meet its previous commitment, but rather to make further progress towards a more ambitious benchmark. In the letter, the lawmakers also push USPS to ensure the manufacturing workers producing the mail delivery vehicles have an opportunity to collectively bargain and join a union....

Sinema would have lost the primary.

December 9, 2022
By Geoffrey Skelley

With his fellow Marines in Iraq, (click here) in 2005. Left to right: Gilbert Miera, Ruben Gallego, Jonathan Grant and Cheston Bailon.

...To some, (click here) Sinema’s party switch might not come as a surprise considering her moderate reputation. After all, she has the second-most conservative voting record in the Senate among Democrats,1 according to roll-call data from Voteview.com, with only West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin coming in to her right. Since joining the Senate, she’s taken public stances against Democratic efforts to abolish the filibuster and, along with Manchin, pushed her party to sharply reduce the outlays in budgetary legislation. Her positions have infuriated many Arizona Democrats, and the state party formally censured her over her 2022 vote to retain the filibuster, which helped block Democratic efforts to pass voting rights legislation....

...But there’s a solid chance Sinema’s 2024 electoral outlook played into her decision-making process. Sinema hasn’t said whether she plans to run for reelection, but there’s little question that her tendency to break with her former party has outraged much of the Democratic base that helped put her in the Senate in the first place. A Suffolk University/Arizona Republic poll of the state in September found that Democratic likely voters viewed her quite negatively, with 49 percent holding an unfavorable opinion and 30 percent a favorable one. Facing a potential primary challenge on her left from Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, Sinema stood a real chance of losing renomination if she sought reelection as a Democrat (she might’ve been in trouble against a more center-left Democrat, too, like Rep. Greg Stanton). Tellingly, Yoshinaka’s study found the prospect of facing a highly competitive primary in one’s own party can play into leaving that party....

Living with ruthless Republicans have never been this dangerous before.

The Republican leadership (click here) struggled to maintain a unified stance against the nomination of Judge Garland, pictured above meeting with Senator Pat Leahy, the Vermont Democrat. But the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, enforced discipline, saying that the parties “simply disagree” and that “as a result, we logically act as a check and balance” on Mr. Obama.

The current Attorney General Merrick Garland has a chance to right the wrongs of deeply imbedded corruption. I believe that is what kept him from a Supreme Court seat. McConnell is highly corrupt in most of his dealings, including those with China and his spouse's family company and with Russian oligarchs welcomed with open arms into Kentucky.

I believe the corruption in Michigan is deeply embedded and while the new state legislature is a majority of Democrats, it is time to look at the entire picture of what occurred in Flint. 2010 was a cake walk for Republicans after the election of President Barak Obama, the first African-American President. The Democrats were able to pass reforms into the health care industry and it was a tipping point for Republicans. The Republican corruption ran strong in media, especially when realizing "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" is standing strong and helping millions of Americans.

The degree of which blatant corruption exists under the radar is vital to democracy. Corruption thrives in government environments that allow silence to win out over the truth. When Snyder entered office in 2011, the state legislature changed the "Emergency Manager" laws. The Governor was given unprecedented power to override any freely elected city government. There were many besides Flint and with that leverage Snyder threw open the flood gates of corruption to allow his friends to benefit from this power within Michigan. Flint received the worst of the Governor's wrath and people were poisoned with known filthy water in the Flint River.

The path that lead to poisoning resulting in deaths and maiming of children as well as miscarriages must be accepted in the official record of the truth. The entanglements of long standing corrupt government practices in the cover-up for over a year until it went public on the Rachel Maddow Show must be part of an official record. The further corruption that includes a one man grand jury in the aftermath of the poisoning must also be accepted as the truth and permanently recorded in an official record.

I believe Michigan is incapable of cleaning up the corruption and the Department of Justice must engage in a complete review of this tragedy. The Republican corruption of our democracy must stop and it must stop now.

December 9, 2022
By Ed White

Flint - A judge dismissed criminal charges (click here) against former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder in the Flint water crisis, months after the state Supreme Court said indictments returned by a one-person grand jury were invalid.

Snyder, a Republican who left office in 2019, was charged with two misdemeanor counts of willful neglect of duty. He was the first person in state history to be charged for alleged crimes related to service as governor.

Snyder also is the eighth person to have a Flint water case thrown out after the Supreme Court's unanimous June opinion.

Genesee County Judge F. Kay Behm signed the order Wednesday, a day after the U.S. Senate approved her nomination to become a federal judge in eastern Michigan.

“The charges against (Snyder) were not properly brought and must be dismissed at this time,” Behm wrote....

Habitat can be reclaimed and repopulated with viable populations in any area of the world.

Understanding the objections to habitat loss is more than hugging trees or embracing nature, it is about Earth, it's biosphere and its water to ensure a home for millennia to come. Earth needs to be valued for it's unique place in space that promotes life with water it's primary component.

The IPCC and global members have been steadfast in their dedication and their message that Earth is to be valued and not taken for granted. Governments around the world need to embrace policy that promotes nature as a priority.

Nothing and I mean nothing is lost when prioritizing habitat of both land and water is part of any growth solution.

December 7, 2022
By John Flesher

Detroit - In a bustling metro area of 4.3 million people, (click here) Yale University wildlife biologist Nyeema Harris ventures into isolated thickets to study Detroit’s most elusive residents — coyotes, foxes, raccoons and skunks among them.

Harris and colleagues have placed trail cameras in woodsy sections of 25 city parks for the past five years. They’ve recorded thousands of images of animals that emerge mostly at night to roam and forage, revealing a wild side many locals might not know exists.

“We’re getting more and more exposure to wildlife in urban environments,” Harris said recently while checking several of the devices fastened to trees with steel cables near the ground. “As we’re changing their habitats, as we’re expanding the footprint of urbanization, ... we’ll increasingly come in contact with them.”

Animal and plant species are dying off at an alarming rate, with up to 1 million threatened with extinction, according to a 2019 United Nations report. Their plight is stirring calls for “rewilding” places where they thrived until driven out by development, pollution and climate change....

...To Harris, the Yale biologist formerly with the University of Michigan, Detroit offers a unique backdrop for studying wildlife in urban settings.

Unlike most big cities, its human population is declining, even as its streets, buildings and other infrastructure remain largely intact. And there’s diverse habitat. It ranges from large lakes and rivers to neighborhoods — some occupied, others largely deserted — and parklands so quiet “you don’t even know you’re in the city,” Harris said while changing camera batteries and jotting notes in a woodsy section of O’Hair Park.

Her team’s photographic observations have yielded published studies on how mammals react to each other, and to people, in urban landscapes.

The project connects them with local residents, some intrigued by coyotes and raccoons in the neighborhood, others fearful of diseases or harm to pets.

It’s an educational opportunity, Harris said — about proper trash disposal, resisting the temptation to feed wild animals and the value of healthy, diverse ecosystems....

World Economic Forum

November 12, 2022
By Carly Nairn

An injured koala (click here) at the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, Australia.

Climate change and global food demand (click here) could drive a startling loss of up to 23 percent of all natural habitat ranges in the next 80 years, according to new findings published in Nature Communications.

Habitat loss could accelerate to a level that brings about rapid extinctions of already vulnerable species. Shrinking ranges for mammals, amphibians and birds already account for an 18 percent loss of previous natural ranges, the study found, with a jump expected to reach 23 percent by this century's end.

Global food demand currently fuels agricultural sectors to increase land use, moving into habitats previously untouched. What results — deforestation — leaves more carbon dioxide in the air, increasing greenhouse gas emissions, the main driver of climate change. In the U.S. alone, agriculture-related emissions measure 11.6 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, which include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide....

The Young Australians did a great job in protecting their wildlife. The Koalas responded without fear to be housed in cars away from smoke and danger. Nothing short of amazing.

2020

As the Australian bushfires continue to burn (click here), a shocking piece of information appeared: since September, over 500 million animals have died because of the flames. Especially hard-hit was the koala population, with many of these animals dying in the calamity.

However, the situation in Australia showed us that people are willing to step up and be the everyday heroes that we need. 19-year-old Micah and 18-year-old Caleb are two such heroes and they’re being praised all over the net. These two cousins drove around Kangaroo Island, rescuing koalas and putting them in their car....

Nature Based Solutions could generate twenty million jobs while addressing major challenges such as climate change, disaster risk, and food and water insecurity.

Nature-Based Solutions (click here)

...Currently nearly 75 million people are already employed in NbS. (click here) The report finds that the vast majority (96 per cent) live in lower-middle income countries in Asia and the Pacific, although the majority of global NbS expenditure occurs in high income countries. Many of these jobs are part-time, and total employment is estimated to be around 14.5 million full time-equivalent (FTE) jobs. However, the report cautions that there are challenges in measuring NbS employment. Moreover, the figures do not capture the job losses and displacements that might occur as NbS are implemented....

December 9, 2022
By Patrick Whittle

Populations of a vulnerable species of marine mammal, (click here) numerous species of abalone and a type of Caribbean coral are now threatened with extinction, an international conservation organization said Friday.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced the update during the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, or COP15, conference in Montreal. The union’s hundreds of members include government agencies from around the world, and it’s one of the planet’s widest-reaching environmental networks....

The IUCN uses its Red List of Threatened Species to categorize animals approaching extinction. This year, the union is sounding the alarm about the dugong — a large and docile marine mammal that lives from the eastern coast of Africa to the western Pacific Ocean.

The dugong is vulnerable throughout its range, and now populations in East Africa have entered the red list as critically endangered, IUCN said in a statement. Populations in New Caledonia have entered the list as endangered, the group said....

...The IUCN Red List includes more than 150,000 species. The list sometimes overlaps with the species listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, such as in the case of the North Atlantic right whale. More than 42,000 of the species on the red list are threatened with extinction, IUCN says.

IUCN uses several categories to describe an animal’s status, ranging from “least concern” to “critically endangered.” IUCN typically updates the red list two or three times a year. This week’s update includes more than 3,000 additions to the red list. Of those, 700 are threatened with extinction....

What is the difference between a Dugong and Manatee? (click here)

Both manatees and dugongs, nicknamed "sea cows", are slow-moving herbivorous (mostly) marine mammals that belong to the Sirenian animal order. The first sailors were persuaded that these creatures were sirens (or mermaids), hence the name of the order.

There are five known species of Sirenia - the West Indian manatee, the Amazonian manatee, the West African manatee, the dugong, and the extinct Stellar’s sea cow (hunted to extinction in the 18th Century).

Although manatees and dugongs have a lot in common, they are oceans apart in terms of location, biology, and behavior....

79% of all cheetah populations contain 100 or fewer individual.

Cheetahs are expected to be moved from vulnerable (click here) to endangered.

December 6, 2022

Omaha - Four cheetah cubs (click here) were born at the Lee G. Simmons Wildlife Safari Park on Nov. 4, which is part of Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. The zoo said in a news release that cheetahs have historically been a difficult animal to breed, but since 2014 29 cubs have been born at the safari park....

...“These cubs are a great example of the collaboration benefits among zoos,” said Dr. Jason Herrick, Vice President of Conservation and Animal Health for Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. “Not long ago, cheetahs were considered one of the more difficult species to breed in zoos. Over the last couple of decades, the members of the National Cheetah Breeding Center Coalition, including our Wildlife Safari Park, have worked together to really figure out how to breed cheetahs.”...

As part of the annual "Festival of Lights" the Cincinnati Zoo goes greener.

December 6, 2022

Cincinnati - The Cincinnati Zoo (click here) has a new electric train chugging through the zoo this year.

The new train is powered by the solar panels that visitors park under when visiting the zoo. The train charges overnight and while loading and unloading.

The train will chug through an extra bright light tunnel that's part of the 40th annual PNC Festival of Lights.

The new train will save the zoo about $35,000 on fuel and maintenance costs annually and will get it closer to its goal of being net-zero by 2025....

...The new train is also more comfortable for visitors, giving more legroom and wider seats.

And to match the green initiative, the train itself has been painted green.

"As the Greenest Zoo in America, we thought it would be fitting to have a green train," Maynard said. "The change makes it more obvious that it's new and different and brings more attention to the Zoo's sustainability efforts."...

Panthera onca is endangered.

The largest cat (click here) in the Western Hemisphere, jaguars (Panthera onca) can be found from Mexico to Argentina. Despite this broad range, jaguars have been eradicated from nearly 50% of their historic range. Panthera co-created the bold Jaguar Corridor Initiative to connect core jaguar populations from Mexico to Argentina and we are leading or supporting efforts in almost a dozen jaguar range states.

December 6, 2022
By Christine Mattson

A pair of big cat siblings (click here) will be leaving the Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown, Pennsylvania, for a new home in the Midwest, the zoo announced Tuesday.

In the next couple of weeks, beloved cougar siblings Russet and Yukon will be moving into a large enclosure the Saint Louis Zoo in Missouri while major construction projects begin at the Elmwood Park Zoo.

The cougars' new home in Big Cat Country at the Saint Louis Zoo is another Association of Zoos & Aquariums-accredited facility that will “ensure that their comfort and well-being are maintained,” the zoo said in a statement.

“We don’t want these confident-yet-sensitive cats to regress into the timid animals we first met,” the zoo continued.

Russet and Yukon were rescued from the wild after being orphaned as cubs in Idaho. They spent their early years at the Elmwood Park Zoo mostly off-exhibit as they were “too skittish” to leave their indoor holding, according to EPZ....

The Black Jaguar is endangered in Central and South America.

December 6, 2022

The four-month-old cub, (click here) who's still waiting to be named, was initially raised by Mexico City's Chapultepec Zoo staff after the mother Africa, a three-year-old female, rejected it after birth.

Despite the adverse situation at its birth, the director of Conservation and Animal Welfare at the Department of Zoos and Wildlife Conservation of Mexico City, Rafael Tinajero, said the cub is quite healthy and eating properly:

"The black jaguar is also born in the wild but it is very important that they are part of conservation programs. Zoos are wildlife refuges, they are sanctuaries for endangered fauna and what they are looking for is the conservation of these species."

 

Critically endangered Sumatra tigers expected in Australia's Adelaide Zoo.

December 6, 2022
By Sarah Swain

Adelaide Zoo tiger Delilah is preparing to become a mum, a year after arriving at the wildlife park.

..."It was amazing (click here) they were such a good pair. Kembali is an amazing male tiger, very impressed, and the cubs are going to be stunning."

Fewer than 400 of the creatures remain in the wild due to poachers and loss of habitat due to palm oil plantations....

December 6, 2022
By Sarah Motter

Topeka - As the Topeka Zoo’s last breeding pair of Sumatran tigers (click here) prepares to travel to their new homes, the tiger habitat in the Capital City will be left bare, leaving room for a new breeding pair to make a home in 2023.

The Topeka Zoo says on Tuesday, Dec. 6, that it has reproduced the most critically endangered Sumatran tigers over the last decade and now is about to be tigerless. This week it said it will transfer its two remaining Sumatran Tiger residents to other zoos, which will leave the habitat empty. For a little while, at least.

As part of the Species Survival Plan breeding recommendation through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Topeka Zoo said it received recommendations to move all of its critically endangered tigers to other zoos as part of a larger effort.

According to the Zoo, a new pair of tigers will now join the zoo later in December in hopes to establish another successful breeding pair.

A NASA satellite…

 …goes in the fritz at the same time Viktor Bout arrives in Russia. I don’t like it when an important NASA satellite goes dark. It sounds Russia and/or China.

NASA doesn’t know why it went dark and it has been worked on to reengage it unsuccessfully.

Viktor Bout

Putin is desperate. Things haven’t gone well with his wars and he is hoping Bout can fix it all. There will probably be an uptick in some arms into Russia, but, it will be brief. The world is different than it was when Bout made his money. Now he is being asked to bring arms into Russia rather than export them. 

Bout has friends and connections and will get early successes simply because people owe him a favor, but, favors are short lived.

Congratulations

US Senators Chuck Schumer and Reverend Raphael Warnock.

The race was well run and Former President Obama did his part, too. It is nice to see Democrats being taken seriously in their love of this country and it's Constitution.

A prince can get away with murder? That is outrageous.

The Biden White House should not have interfered with the law. Joe wants to be re-elected, huh? I wish him a lot of luck. He will need it.

6 December 2022
By Stephanie Kirchgaessner

A US judge has dismissed (click here) a case against Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman for conspiring to kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying the crown prince was entitled to sovereign immunity despite “credible allegations” that he was involved in the murder.

Judge John Bates, a US district court judge with a long history of presiding over cases involving national security, acknowledged “uneasiness” in making the decision, but said that his hands were in effect tied by the Biden administration’s recent recommendation that Prince Mohammed be given immunity.

The decision to dismiss the charges, which were brought by Khashoggi’s fiancee Hatice Cengiz, and Dawn, a pro-democracy group founded by the murdered journalist, likely marks the end of efforts to hold the future Saudi king accountable for the 2018 murder....

The Biden White House has just put every American journalist in the world on notice that if their writing is too heavy handed they can be killed for it. The Khashoggi murder was heinous. He was on foreign soil and believed safe as he went to the Saudi mission to obtain paperwork to clear his marriage. There is no way anyone involved should have walked.

...The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), (click here) which most countries have ratified, offers diplomats acting as officials of state almost total protection from subjection to criminal, administrative, and civil laws belonging to the country in which the diplomatic mission is located. Diplomats assigned to missions located in foreign countries remain subject to the laws of their home countries. The diplomat's country of origin has prerogative over whether or not a host country may prosecute a diplomat under its (i.e. 'foreign') laws.

The Diplomatic Relations Act of 1978, 22 U.S.C. § 254a et seq. governs diplomatic immunity in the United States. Title 22 specifies the degree of protection awarded to diplomatic personnel; protection increases in parallel with the official's status within a diplomatic mission. Article 31 of the Vienna Convention provides for three exceptions to the diplomatic immunity which are as follows:...

The Biden White House never put the journalist first in realizing the extent immunity will bring about more danger to journalists in the field. This is a huge mistake.

This and the rail unions are starting to add up. 

July 12, 2022
By Fahmy Hudome

Washington - Today, Mrs. Hanan Elatr Khashoggi (click here) was invited to meet with senior officials at the White House as President Biden prepares to depart for the Middle East. Mrs. Khashoggi was accompanied by her attorney, Randa Fahmy, Esq., of Fahmy Hudome International.

Mrs. Khashoggi conveyed her thanks to President Biden for fulfilling his commitment to human rights and his promise to investigate her husband's murder in a transparent and fair manner. She also expressed her thanks to the President for publicly releasing the intelligence report which led to a very painful understanding of exactly what happened to her husband....

Bring the journalists home. This is a window of danger and disrespect that has opened.

Jamal Khashoggi was murdered because he believed in free speech. His knowledge of Saudi Arabia would bring criticism to the Prince. Criticism is leveled to bring about awareness, dialogue and resolve of issues overlooked or misunderstood by the people in power. He did nothing illegal. He loved the people of Saudi Arabia and it drove him to become a champion for their causes. He was a hero. His memory will always be laced with his willingness to speak out when so few others did not. He was an American through and through and he believed in the principles this country was founded.

Inquiry into the killing of Mr. Jamal Kashoggi (click here)

Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions

...Dr. Callamard informed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (click here) of the country visit to Turkey and its purpose. She requested access to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and a meeting with the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saud Arabia in Turkey.

She also sought permission to conduct a similar country-visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but such a visit did not take place.

Similarly, she also requested and had meetings with other relevant stakeholders.

Who is going to stand with Dr. Azzam Tamimi?

Trump’s decision (click here) to recognize Al-Quds as the capital of Israeli occupation has the potential to further inflame tensions across the Middle East and the world know how by watching Dr Azzam Tamimi lecture at the International Islamic University-Maylaysia organized by: International Center for Global Peace

Saudi Arabia and Israeli technology company NSO (click here) are facing another legal challenge in the UK, after British-Jordanian human rights activist Dr Azzam Tamimi launched legal proceedings against them.

Tamimi was a friend of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

He is being represented by law firm Bindmans and the Global Legal Action Network, which earlier this year launched a similar case on behalf of three other UK-based civil society leaders and human rights activists, who claim they were hacked by the UAE and Saudi Arabia using NSO’s Pegasus software.

Tamimi, the founder and editor-in-chief of satellite television channel Al-Hiwar, says he was targeted by the Saudi state using the same spyware. His case in the High Court of England & Wales against NSO Group and Saudi Arabia is based on a claim for breach of privacy....

October 19, 2022

This handout photo released by the Almadi family, shows Ibrahim Almadi (L), posing for a picture with his father, Saad, at a vacation resort in Florida on June 20, 2021.

Dubai, UAE - A US citizen jailed in Saudi Arabia (click here) is being punished for "mild" Twitter posts on topics including the war in Yemen and the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, his son told AFP on Wednesday.

Saad Ibrahim Almadi, a 72-year-old of Saudi origin, was this month sentenced to 16 years in prison, the latest in a spate of what human rights groups describe as draconian sentences for social media criticism of the government.

The case risks further ratcheting up tensions between Riyadh and Washington, longtime partners currently at odds over oil output cuts approved by the OPEC+ cartel, which the White House says amount to "aligning with Russia" in the Ukraine war.

Almadi was detained on arrival in Saudi Arabia in November last year for what was meant to be a two-week trip, said his son Ibrahim, who went public with the case this week, criticizing US officials for failing to do more to secure his release.

The State Department said on Tuesday it had "consistently and intensively raised our concerns regarding the case at senior levels of the Saudi government", and that "exercising freedom of expression should never be criminalized"...

WHO IS GOING TO STAND WITH THEM NOW?

October 28, 2022
By Manoja Gupta

A Pakistani news anchor (click here) was shot dead by Kenya police, investigators said Monday, prompting calls for a full probe into what one media rights group branded an "utterly disturbing murder".

The murder of renowned (click here) Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif seems to be the latest headache for India's neighbor as Inter-Services Public Relations (ISRP) and ISI leadership came together for a rare press conference to discuss the killing in cold blood of Sharif. He was shot by police in Kenya....

Two power stations in Moore County, North Carolina disabled by gunfire.

Now guns are being used to disable infrastructure. Isn’t that wonderful, huh?

My first thought is where are there burglaries occurring in Moore County and/or murders?

Home and business security systems may have back up, but, people don’t necessarily have security systems, just street lights and dogs.