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the Web guide for a rational non-conformist
"Get your Bible now!" |
credit: M. Lukovich, Atlanta Journal-Constituiton |
Moving these 2-3 ton herbivores is a logistically complicated and expensive task. Transporting a single rhino across borders can cost more than $50,000. But the expense is worth it. White rhino play an important ecological role, often seen as a sentinel species that indicates the health of a landscape. These rhino will replace ones lost to poaching for magical medicine and recover populations where there are none. They are the only species of five that are not endangered. A Protecting rhinos allow other species to flourish. The director of Berlin's Natural History museum says the planned relocations shows the "omnipotence of man"--we can choose to live in a healthy, biodiverse world or a self-made hell. The Sixth Great Extinction has even reached "60 Minutes":
As climate conditions worsen, land suitable for agriculture shrinks as does habitat for wildlife. In Sri Lanka the competition between humans and wild elephants for living space is intensifying. Last year reports The Guardian, 176 people died in elephant encounters on the island while 470 elephants were killed. That is double the number of elephant deaths in 2010. These figures make Sri Lanka the worst country in the world for elephant-human conflict.
In 1997 the island was 30% covered by trees or nearly 20,000 sq. km. By 2022 it lost 2100 sq. km of cover. As global warming progresses, rivers are drying up and rainfall becomes erratic making existing agricultural land less productive. More habitat is cleared, often illegally, forcing elephants to cross human settlements to obtain food and water. Elephants increasingly resort to raiding fields and storehouses to survive as natural resources dwindle. Residents resort to increasely cruel methods to defend their homesteads from raiders. A man in the village of Hambatota on the south-east coast killed four elephants in one night by connecting his home electricity main to a fence. He was let off by authorities with a small fine. Other recent incidents include shooting, poisoning, and so-called "jaw bombs"--explosives hidden in bait that go off in an elephant's mouth. [photo credit: TheIslandOnline.lk]Wild elephants play an economic role in Sri Lanka as star attractions of the tourist trade; the country needs foreign exchange. Conservationists want the elephants protected from humans. Humans want protection from raiding elephants. There are ways to coexist, but it will take sincere efforts on the part of Sri Lankans to learn these methods and use them effectively to control their wild neighbors. The country's first elephant research center was opened last year in Anuradhapura with the help of a tourist hotel. The center will study elephant behaviors and habits to help avoid conflicts. Community fences powered by batteries not electric mains are one solution to keeping elephants at bay. Enforcing laws protecting elephant habitats and providing corridors for traditional elephant walks are also effective deterrants to conflict. What is needed most of all is human toleration and respect in a dire situtation the elephants did not create.
credit: J. Heller, Duluth News Tribune |
In the Mar-a-Lago espionage case, Aileen. Cannon, handmaiden to the demigogue, took an entire day of hearing to decide what should have been done in a written order without a hearing. She decided, for now, that the Espionage Act is not too vague to support a constitutional prosecution. She dismissed the motion without prejudice, indicating that the defense can bring it up at a later date. perhaps at jury selection. Since 1917 thousands of prosecutions have occurred and been upheld on appeal for violation of the Act. Other than dismissing the motion, everything she did was favorable to the defense. More pending motions remain undecided by her. To top it off, Don Legit was at the hearing to remind everyone that her judicial future hangs on how she handles this case. So far she is leaning over backwards for Trump without giving the prosecution grounds for an immediate appeal to the Eleventh Circuit. This case is another example of politics outweighing due process of law.
DA Alan Bragg has asked for a one month delay to allow examination of new evidence obtained from the Department of Justice. His case is currently the only one scheduled for trial beginning this month. Most of the 31,000 documents are irrelevant, but some of the witness statements may be relevant. Left unexplained is why the Justice Department took so long to turn over the information requested by the Manhattan DA a year ago. The defense waited until January to subpoena the information. Is this an another turf war?
{11/04/24}Perhaps the most popular since Jesse James rode the Missouri borders. The MAGA Supremes has cut Don 'Legit' enough legal slack to tie up his criminal prosecutions. Predictably, he raised his bogus absolute immunity argument in the NY criminal fraud case to ask for a delay going to trial until the Supreme Court rules on his absolute immunity claim. Two problems with this argument: one, the NY criminal indictment's gravamen is his conduct before he became the forty-fifth President; and two, he waived the immunity argument in a previous appeal in the same case. Federal judge Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York found in response to Trump's federal removal petition that immunity does not apply because he expressly waived his theory of absolute presidential immunity and that his criminal acts are not "official business" [see below]. Trump later withdrew his appeal of Hellerstein's decision. Thus, the principle of collateral estoppel applies.
Trump also raised evidentiary complaints related to "official acts". Like any evidentiary objection these can be ruled on by the trial judge before the trial is scheduled to begin on March 24th. Trump's specious circus show must be ended now for the sake of democracy and the rule of law. But since he has a reliable five vote majority on the Supreme Court in his pocket, he may seek an emergency stay if a ruling goes against him.
The problem is the Electoral College. It is biased in favor of small states and is anti-democratic. It may have served once to counteract an illiterate, uniformed electorate (debatable). But times have changed, as they often say. Getting rid of the anachronism by constiutional amendment is highly unlikely, but another path is being pursued that has great chance of success. The National Popular Vote Compact could allow states willing to elect the president and vice president by popular vote to pledge their Electoral College votes to whoever wins the popular vote in the state.
States with 205 electoral votes have already signed the Compact. [see map]. Maine has recently voted to pledge its 4 electoral votes to the Compact. Maine's Democratic governor is expected to sign the bill once it gets out of the legislature where another vote is necessary to pass it. The Compact does not go into effect until a majority of the 270 Electoral College votes are committed. The goal is getting closer; a big state like Michigan or Pennsylvania voting to join would be enough to put the agreement into effect. Admittedly the Compact is a work around, but given the current political gridlock it would work. Thank you, founders!