Carrying the message of environmental justice. It is a unique burden of the impoverished.

It is also creeping into the Middle Class with a hamstrung EPA and FDA. The lack of due diligence by the government is creating a wave of cancer within the next ten to twenty years.

August 7, 2020

Flint, Michigan (click here) is the site of one of the worst ongoing water crises in recent U.S. history. Artist LaToya Ruby Frazier has spent years capturing the stories of life living with toxic water.

About LaToya Ruby Frazier

LaToya Ruby Frazier is a visual artist. She is a 2015 TED and MacArthur Fellow, and earlier this year she received the Gordon Parks Foundation/Steidl Book Prize.

Her first book, The Notion of Family, received the International Center for Photography Infinity Award. She is also known for Flint Is Family, portraits of three generations of women surviving the man-made water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Following the Flint Is Family project, Frazier partnered with AWG Contracting and Moses West to bring an atmospheric water generator to Flint so that residents could produce their own supply of clean water. It is in its second year of use.

Notable solo exhibitions of Frazier's work have run at Brooklyn Museum, Seattle Art Museum, and Institute Of Contemporary Art, Boston. Her work can also be found in public and private art collections, including those of the Museum of Modern Art....

In the past 24 hours....

...259,344 new cases of COVID-19 has been reported globally. (click here)

The USA is at the top of the list in new cases with 49,629 and only out flanked by Brazil with 51,603 and India with 56,282.

No one is going to let Americans into their country,

This is such a flyin' joke. LOL.

What countries are going to allow Americans to travel to them? The USA has been banned in most Western countries if not all. I don't even know if China will let an American into the country.

The USA has been NUMBER 1 in viral cases and deaths. The virus is far from under control and NO ONE WANTS AMERICANS TO TRAVEL TO THEIR COUNTRY!

August 6, 2020

By Jennifer Hansler

After more than four months, (click here) the US State Department on Thursday lifted its advisory warning US citizens against traveling abroad.

The department issued the Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory -- the highest level of travel advisory -- on March 19, urging US citizens not to travel overseas due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, "(w)ith health and safety conditions improving in some countries and potentially deteriorating in others, the Department is returning to our previous system of country-specific levels of travel advice (with Levels from 1-4 depending on country-specific conditions), in order to give travelers detailed and actionable information to make informed travel decisions," a Thursday note from the State Department said.

"This will also provide U.S. citizens more detailed information about the current status in each country," the note said. "We continue to recommend U.S. citizens exercise caution when traveling abroad due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic."...

Russia.

August 6, 2020

By Mary Ilyushina, Katie Polglase and Ali Youne

...Once it arrived, (click here) the ship never left Beirut's port, according Lebanon's Director of Customs, Badri Daher, despite repeated warnings by him and others that the cargo was the equivalent of "a floating bomb."

"Due to the extreme danger posed by this stored items in unsuitable climate conditions, we reiterate our request to the Port Authorities to re-export the goods immediately to maintain the safety of the port and those working in it," Daher's predecessor, Chafic Merhi, wrote in a 2016 letter addressed to a judge involved in the case....

August 6, 2020

By Mia Jankowicz

...The cargo ship that brought 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate (click here) to Beirut — which exploded Tuesday with devastating consequences — was abandoned in 2014 by a Russian businessman based in Cyprus, according to multiple reports. 

Igor Grechushkin was named as the owner of the MV Rhosus by the ship's former captain Boris Prokoshev, in an interview with the Russian edition of Radio Free Europe.

According to Prokoshev, the Grechushkin now lives in Cyprus — a common destination for wealthy Russians.

Business Insider has been unable to reach Grechushkin for comment, and a LinkedIn profile with his name is inactive. CNN reported that its attempts to call him received no answer....

STOP HIM FROM LEAVING CYPRUS. ONCE HE REACHES RUSSIA HE IS PROTECTED FROM EXTRADITION.

It is stated Igor Grechushkin is in Cyrus. There needs to be immediate apprehension of the Russian oligarch to be questioned in regard to the dead, missing, injured and displaced caused by his boat. 

Who was the explosive intended for?

The shipment was under investigation and considered suspicious when the ship was detained.

5 August 2020

Igor Grechushkin (click here) is reported to be still residing in Limassol, Cyprus with his wife.

The Russian father of one, currently reported to be living in Limassol, Cyprus, was accused by the crew of his ship in abandoning both the people and the cargo.

The ship called Rhosus was going under the flag of Moldova from Batumi in Georgia to Mozambique. It was detained in October 2013 by Lebanese authorities after it stopped in Beirut due to a malfunction on board.

The cargo was checked and detained after the port authorities said it was ‘lacking documents and conditions necessary for transportation.

The crew - eight Ukrainian and two Russian men - was forced to stay on board of the vessel while the owner Grechushkin declared himself bankrupt and ‘abandoned the ship’

Lebanese authorities agreed to let six out of ten sailors to leave the country, others were left stranded on the ship for almost a year....

135 dead in Beirut and many missing.

Amazing. France sends more than supplies and food, they send hope. Magnificent. President Macron is absolutely correct. This is not about terrorism, it is about a country floundering in the 21st century to move into a global city with an economy to match.

August 6, 2020

By Sarah Dadouch and Erin Cunningham

Beirut - French President Emmanuel Macron (click here) on Thursday announced plans for a "new political pact" and sweeping economic reforms in Lebanon as he toured devastated areas of Beirut following a massive explosion that killed scores of people earlier this week.

Macron, who said the disaster should “mark a new era” in the tiny Mediterranean nation, is the first world leader to visit the Lebanese capital in the aftermath of the blast, which engulfed its commercial center Tuesday, eviscerated its port and killed at least 135 people. More than 5,000 residents were wounded and tens more remained missing, officials said. As many as 300,000 people have been displaced.

The immediate cause of the explosion, which sent a towering plume of red smoke into the sky, appeared to be an estimated 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer that can also be used to make bombs. It was stored in a warehouse at the port for years despite repeated warnings about the risk it posed — a revelation that has angered Beirut residents and prompted calls for resignations and wider accountability....

Trump is not appalled at the charges against the NRA. His advice is more corruption, "Move to Texas."

What does Trump know? He didn't state for any reason that there was no wrongdoing by the NRA, he simply added to the corruption by directing the NRA to move to Texas. That is astounding. Trump is a crime boss. Never saw it more clear.

August 6, 2020

By Tim Mak

The attorney general of New York (click here) took action Thursday to dissolve the National Rifle Association following an 18-month investigation that found evidence the powerful gun rights group is "fraught with fraud and abuse."

Attorney General Letitia James claims in a lawsuit filed Thursday that she found financial misconduct in the millions of dollars and that it contributed to a loss of more than $64 million over a three-year period.

The suit alleges that top NRA executives misused charitable funds for personal gain, awarded contracts to friends and family members, and provided contracts to former employees to ensure loyalty.

Seeking to dissolve the NRA is the most aggressive sanction James could have sought against the not-for-profit organization, which James has jurisdiction over because it is registered in New York. James has a wide range of authorities relating to nonprofits in the state, including the authority to force organizations to cease operations or dissolve. The NRA is all but certain to contest it.

The NRA said in a statement that the legal action was political, calling it a "baseless premeditated attack on our organization and the Second Amendment freedoms it fights to defend... we not only will not shrink from this fight – we will confront it and prevail."...

Viruses don’t go away.

I can’t think of one virus or bacteria that simply go away without a vaccine. The exception is Bush’s SARS response. “W” did make it go away. He was brilliant in plotting to end SARS before it ever got started. 

There was not one death from SARS in the USA under Bush. Only 115 cases. Bush wrote the quarantine orders for Americans himself.

The opening and closing of travel bans for cities and counties during the SARS outbreak was determined by the WHO. 

“Double speak” Trump

Even almost immune is not immune. Children need to stay home until it is safe. I would like Trump to say which one of his grandchildren are okay to catch SARS-CoV-2. I want to know which of his grandchild is okay to contract the maiming virus? That is what he is telling the country when he disregards the well being of all children in this country. Which ones, Mr. President are okay to get sick?

Come to think of it some may have already been exposed as Ivanka tested positive. If that is the case then there is sincerely unfortunate circumstances within the president’s family due to COVID-19. 

There is no police protocol for causing the death of a person under arrest.

There is nothing in the newly released George Floyd videos of the police body-cams that changes the fact he was murdered by police. As a matter of fact, it provides even more insight into the poor police work of four officers.

There is absolutely no justification for his death. He was in custody and he died.

Where were the tasers to assist in putting him in the police car? Where was a taser when he fell to the ground? The legal reasons for his death do not exist.

There were violations of the Geneva Conventions in Portland, Oregon.

I don't want to hear complaints about the dates of the regulations. They are current and quite frankly there is no difference in the human body since 1864 that would require changes to modern-day human beings.

Geneva Convention (1864) (click here)

Article 2 of the 1864 Geneva Convention provides:

Hospital and ambulance personnel, including the quarter-master’s staff, the medical, administrative and transport services … shall have the benefit of the same neutrality [as military hospitals and ambulances] when on duty, and while there remain any wounded to be brought in or assisted.

Geneva Convention (1906)

Article 9 of the 1906 Geneva Convention provides:

The personnel charged exclusively with the removal, transportation, and treatment of the sick and wounded, as well as with the administration of sanitary formations and establishments … shall be respected and protected under all circumstances. If they fall into the hands of the enemy they shall not be considered as prisoners of war...

August 4, 2020

By Jonathan Levinson

A team of experts with Physicians for Human Rights, (click here) a New York-based group that documents rights violations, spent seven days in Portland investigating the use of crowd control weapons against protesters and law enforcement violence directed at volunteer medical staff.

That team released its findings Tuesday ahead of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C.

“PHR has concluded that the response by federal agents that it documented in Portland was disproportionate, excessive, and indiscriminate, and deployed in ways that caused severe injury to innocent civilians, including medics,” the report states.

Dr. Michele Heisler, PHR’s medical director, led the team visiting Portland. Heisler said they didn’t see any official EMTs or paramedics at the protests and that medical care was left to volunteers and civil society.

The report cites numerous instances where law enforcement deliberately targeted volunteer medics and their supplies.

“There was the case of OHSU, their tent was destroyed,” Heisler said. “There was one day where the police actually took their supplies.”...                            

Large numbers of mail-in/absentee ballots have been counted before.

August 4, 2020

...The 1.59 million absentee ballots (click here) received as of Tuesday morning significantly outstrips the roughly 484,000 absentee ballots received in the August 2016 primary and surpasses the record 1.27 million absentee ballots received in the November 2016 presidential election. 

Donald John Trump took the presidency in 2016. There are more mail-in/absentee ballots this election, however, it is not an astronomical difference. In 2020 there are 320,000 more ballots compared to 2016. All this is very easy to accommodate. There should be no problem in counting ballots in the presidential election.

The November 2016 presidential election set a record, too. All the ballots were counted and became a record popular vote then, too. Election results are forthcoming and in the Republican primary, the winner is already known and is Peter Meijer.

There were no problems in 2016 and there are no problems in 2020.

"By all accounts, today’s elections were a great success," Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said after the close of polls Tuesday. "All of these (voting) options — making sure they’re available and voters are aware of them — are key to our success in November and were key to our success today.”...

Gee whiz, I guess the folks responsible for counting the ballots might actually have to count them.

Vote by mail/absentee ballots are much easier to use than learning the polling location has been moved. 

August 4, 2020

By Neal Rubin

Stan Edwards (click here) thought hard about not running a polling place this year. A lot of other people did more than think.

They didn't show up, assuring that what promised to be the most peculiar election in memory was every bit as odd as expected — and a bit stranger still for some Detroiters who didn't find out until Monday that their poll locations had moved.

Realistically, oddness was almost running unopposed. Amid a pandemic that prompted a relative trickle of people earning "I Voted" stickers but a record 1.53 million returned absentee ballots as of Tuesday morning, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has predicted that results might not be available until Thursday....

Same election, different journalist. It looks like mail-in/absentee ballots are trending as the best method to vote. Americans love the odd and a challenge besides. There won't be any problem in November that can't easily be overcome.

August 4, 2020

By Beth LaBlanc

Polls have now closed (click here) for all of Michigan on the most unusual election in recent history.

Coronavirus precautions added to the usual election day issues at polling places. But the most notable difference was the amount of voters turning to absentee ballots. 

Just before the close of polls Tuesday, clerks across the state had received nearly 1.6 million absentee ballots back after issuing more than 2 million, representing a roughly 77% return rate statewide....

The concussion force as seen in the film loop shown in this program is considerable.

The concussive force is noted in the white air coming at the person with the camera. That person became alarmed by the concussion wave coming at her/him and hide from it's arrival.

Do NOT send the children to school. There is an old adage, "Better to be safe than sorry."

I thank the New York Times for this article. Ya know, it only takes one small virus to enter the school and all of a sudden there is exposure a society believed was impossible. The numbers while some might be improving is not low enough to even consider exposing the American children to the risk.

This isn't about a child missing a year of school. There are very good online options. This is about keeping them well and ensuring their future is not marred by COVID-19 maiming. They have to be protected. Their families have to be protected.

Don't be in a hurry. Time is on our side.

August 4, 2020

By Isabel Kershner and Pam Belluck

Jerusalem - As the United States (click here) and other countries anxiously consider how to reopen schools, Israel, one of the first countries to do so, illustrates the dangers of moving too precipitously.

Confident it had beaten the coronavirus and desperate to reboot a devastated economy, the Israeli government invited the entire student body back in late May.

Within days, infections were reported at a Jerusalem high school, which quickly mushroomed into the largest outbreak in a single school in Israel, possibly the world.

The virus rippled out to the students’ homes and then to other schools and neighborhoods, ultimately infecting hundreds of students, teachers and relatives...

Beirut are in out thoughts.

Ammonium nitrate. At least it isn't violence. Tragic. So many dead and injured. There was an explosion similar some time ago in Texas. The chemicals are mismanaged.

I am so used to hearing violence come out of that part of the world, it is relief to know that is not the issue here. I guess Lebanon has many problems of modern society as well.

My sincerest concern and sympathy for Beirut and the people. This is a sincere tragedy that can be prevented. 

The USA should respond in concern for the people.

Where is Hezbollah and Nasrallah?

I am not accusing anyone with anything, but, they will know more about the city than others. They may have a clear picture of what happened in Beirut.

The cloud is very troubling and there should be a call for a mass exodus of the city. There will have to be refugee camps set up to allow them to find a place to live for now. There will be a need for medical HOSPITALS.

The smoke has many characteristics, but, the environmental assessment of the area is needed IF the radiation level is acceptable for scientists going into the area. The doctors are going to need to know what they are looking at to adequately treat the people.

August 4, 2020

By Gahda Alsharif and Euan Wardl 

Two large explosions (click here) rocked Beirut port Tuesday afternoon, killing at least 70 and injuring over 3,000, according to Lebanese authorities, with Lebanon's Prime Minister calling the incident a "catastrophe."

My first thought is Daesh. Hezbollah would not do this to their own people. Nasrallah would have ideas of what caused this disaster.

August 4, 2020

Cairo - Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry (click here) said on Tuesday that it is following with great concern the consequences of Beirut's port explosion, according to the state news agency.4

The statement also affirmed the kingdom's full support and solidarity with the Lebanese people.

The death toll from a massive explosion in Beirut on Tuesday has risen to more than 50 killed and over 2,700 injured, Lebanon's health minister said in televised remarks.

August 28, 2017

By Rod Nordland

Beirut, Lebanon — Lebanon began transporting (click here) an estimated 400 armed Islamic State fighters and family members from its northern border to the militants’ stronghold in eastern Syria on Monday, according to official sources in Lebanon and Syria.

The militants were transferred as part of a deal between the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and its Syrian and Lebanese enemies. Under the agreement, the bodies of eight people believed to be Lebanese soldiers were to be returned, while Islamic State militants were to receive 17 air-conditioned buses, 11 ambulances and a free pass through territory held by the Syrian government.

Hezbollah, the Shiite-dominated group whose militia was among the parties to the deal, announced through its War Media Center that the transfer of the Islamic State fighters had begun on Monday morning. First to go were 25 wounded fighters in ambulances, followed by busloads of fighters and others.

The Syrian state news agency, SANA, also confirmed, that the transfer of fighters was underway....

I have to agree simply the idea of storing such explosive material in the center of the city is ridiculous. I don't imagine the government was aware of this and I have to wonder if the CIA has any surveillance about this area and the city.

The black smoke could be as simple as tires or oil based products but can also include asbestos, aldehydes, acid gases, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, benzene, toluene, styrene, metals and dioxins. A lot of these chemicals are highly explosive and cause toxic air.

August 4, 2020

Cairo - A UNIFIL maritime task force ship (click here) that was docked in Beirut port was damaged and some UNIFIL naval peacekeepers were injured, some of them seriously, in a huge explosion in the Lebanese capital, the United Nations interim Force in Lebanon said in a statement on Tuesday.

“UNIFIL is transporting the injured peacekeepers to the nearest hospitals for medical treatment,” the statement said.

UNIFIL is currently assessing the situation, including the scale of the impact on UNIFIL personnel, and stands ready to provide assistance and support to the Lebanese government, the statement added.

The Department of Agriculture and the FDA aren't doing a good job notifying the dangers of vaping.

The product most often used since so many died of lung-related deaths caused by vaping has a base of Propylene glycol, vegetable glycol, and artificial flavors. If it weren't for the State of California most purchasers of these products would never know there are dangers and risks for cancer.

The by-products that cause cancer are acetaldehyde and formaldehyde. Both these chemicals are highly dangerous carcinogens.

The manufacturers have gotten clever, too. It used to be these vap products all contained some degree of nicotine. NOW, the products contain no nicotine, but, it is offered as a side product that can be added to the plant-based vap JUICE.

These products appeared in the market place as an alternative to smoking tobacco. There are many different manufacturers of these products and they really have gotten away with murder quite frankly. Now, it is more danger being introduced through vaping products in the way of very dangerous carcinogens.

Vaping needs to stop. It is an unsafe practice for many reasons. But, if it weren't for California no one would know the ingredients and by-products that can cause cancer. When tobacco was labeled as dangerous and can cause cancer, warnings to that fact were required to be put on the label. It came through a federal decision and every state in the country MUST only sell cigarettes with labels stating the dangers of smoking or chewing tobacco.

Now, there are vaping products that will cause cancer with repeated use over a period of time. There is no guesswork here. These two products are PROVEN to by highly dangerous carcinogens. For the USDA and the FDA to allow these products in the market place is neglect and endangerment of human life.

Congress needs to pass legislation requiring EVERY PRODUCT FOR SALE to label the products with their ingredients that are too dangerous to be consumed and of all places the lungs. The highly vascular lungs that can provide immediate delivery to a person's bloodstream of anything that enters those two organs only to be carried to the brain for an altered reality.

Nicotine is highly addictive HENCE sending products and resultant by-products that cause cancer into the body. The psychological and social addiction and the actual physical addition of the products are human rights violations simply because they are KNOWN CARCINOGENS. 

The US Congress has to ban these chemicals from entering the body today and permanently into the future. 

If people want to vape a plant-based JUICE they can take it out of the refrigerator and use it. Those carcinogens are preservatives. The vaping industry needs to remove all carcinogens and toxic materials to the lungs FROM THEIR VAPING PRODUCTS NOW!

Shame on Sonny Purdue and the FDA. It is a horrible time in the USA and the lack of expertise and CARING by this administration is only adding to the existing horrors.

I am certain Dr. Fauci would recommend wearing a mask to vote!

August 2, 2020

By David Smile

As Florida struggles (click here) with one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the country, elections supervisors will welcome voters back to the polls Monday, kicking off a two-week run-up to the Aug. 18 Florida primary.

Nearly two dozen early voting centers will open at 7 a.m. in Miami-Dade County, and dozens more in Monroe and Palm Beach counties. Early voting doesn’t begin in Broward County until Aug. 8.

The election is Florida’s second since the coronavirus pandemic began to spread. Close to 3 million people voted statewide in the March 17 Florida presidential preferences primary,, 650,000 of whom voted during Florida’s two-week early voting period....

The Church is neglecting their own.

I saw with my 85-year-old mother how the local Roman Catholic Church took excellent care of their parishioners. However, when it comes to taking care of their own dedicated women/nuns it is losing the battle if addressing it at all.

August 3, 2020

By Frank Witsil

When Lisa Zervos heard 13 religious sisters (click here) living together in a Livonia convent died of coronavirus, she felt heartbroken.

She sent the Catholic order a donation, brought flowers to the sisters' graves at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Southfield and kneeled down to pray for the repose of their souls.

"I was so sorry they suffered, and I know there are some sisters are still ill," Zervos, 52, of Northville, said. "Their whole lives were devoted not to themselves but others. It helps — when you think about what they did with their lives — to be a better person yourself."

Religious sisters who dedicated their lives to the care of others are now in need of support, and Michiganders like Zervos, and many from as far away as Norway, are offering sympathy notes and donations....

Teargas bans must go forward.

There are dangers to citizens and medical reasons to ban these "crowd control" methods. The First Amendment to the USA Constitution preempts the use of crowd control. This is NOT insurrection. This is messaging to the society that something is very wrong and must stop. The demonstrators are not interested in overthrowing their government regardless of undertones otherwise. If the VERY HARSH methods of crowd control end and legislators pass laws that eliminate the threat to BLACK LIVES, there will be no protesting. Isn't that what democracy is about?

The damage being done to the human lungs by the harsh chemicals in tear gas is more than can be tolerated in an environment as dangerous as the one with SARS-CoV-2. The tear gas cause behaviors that result in RISK. They remove their masks and cough spewing potential contaminants into the air. The police in their use of these measures are spreading the virus. Enough. Stop.

July 24, 2020

By Dick Vanderheart

Law enforcement officers in Oregon (click here) would be banned from using tear gas, constrained in how they could use other crowd-control weapons, and required to prominently display their names and ID numbers, under bills that might be considered in a forthcoming special session.

Those proposals are included in concepts released in recent days by the legislative committee convened to take up police reforms in the state. They come as police use of force in Portland has become a national focal point, with federal law enforcement officers freely deploying tear gas and other munitions against demonstrators night after night. Many of the same crowd-control tactics have been employed by Portland police in protests that are now stretching into their ninth week....

Fighting the good fight.

July 28, 2020

By Rebecca Ellis

Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon (click here) have asked a judge to hold federal law enforcement in contempt for allegedly violating an order that protected legal observers and journalists covering nightly protests against racism and police violence in Portland.

In a Tuesday filing, attorneys with the ACLU also asked a judge to order Chad Wolf, acting secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, and Ken Cuccinelli, acting deputy secretary, to appear before the court and explain why the federal officers deployed by the agency should not be sanctioned for violating the temporary restraining order.

Last Thursday, U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon issued a temporary restraining order on officers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals Service sent to Portland to guard federal buildings.

The new restrictions barred federal officers from arresting, threatening to arrest or using physical force against someone who they should “reasonably know” is a journalist or a legal observer unless they have probable cause to believe that person has committed a crime. Under the order, journalists and observers were not required to follow orders to disperse nor could a federal officer tell them to stop documenting the protest....