COTW: Labor Took It Hard from Dear Leader

Nothing works harder than a good excuse in the Swamp. The meme circulating at the Federal Reserve to explain the substantial drop in civilian labor force participation [chart above] is that, 'baby boomers are getting older and retiring' This chart shows that simply is not true:

Participation by 65 and older workers is climbing, not dropping, as the excuse would have you believe.  So what accounts for the overall drop shown in the first chart?  The answer may lie here:

Fewer younger workers are in the work force, perhaps signaling a malaise--a disgust with being trickled on by the 1%--which also explains why they have time to demonstrate in the streets for equal justice under law. Or rather, that late capitalism treats labor as expendable, at best as replaceable? This condition is epitomized by a record breaking stock market midst an economically depressive pandemic.  Georgians: flip the Senate because your nation, and your families depend on it.

 

Galaxy level karma arrives....

US COVID-19 DEATHS (est.): 356,580

Terrestrial Giants Return Home

Two stories of unique, large land mammals returning to their home ranges, continents apart, provide hope for the restoration of wildlife the world over. On the Great Plains of North America, the Ogallla Lakota Nation welcomed its first buffalo herd to the Rosebud Reservation after more than a century this October. The tribe's economic council plans to expand the herd to 1500 members, which would make it the largest native-owned bison herd in North America. The Walokota Buffalo Range project began with the lease of 28,000 acres of former cattle pasture with the support of the World Wildlife Fund and the US National Park Service.

To Lakota and other native plains people, the buffalo is sacred and a cultural keystone. It was official government policy to exterminate the buffalo as a means of controlling the largely nomadic populations to make room for Euro-American economic development. An estimated 30 million bison once made the plains, "black with innumerable herds" according to an army officer. In the span of a century the largest land mammal on the continent was reduced to just 1000 by 1889, surviving mostly in zoos and private ranches. The native cultures that were intertwined with the animal were also largely destroyed. [photo credit: WWF]

Once, native Americans on the plains were among the tallest people on the continent, a fact scientists attribute to the presence of buffalo. Anthropological data collected in the late 19th and early 20th century show Sioux and Crow men were a half inch to an inch taller than Euro-Americans on average. This remarkable stature was achieved through a rich and varied diet, modest disease loads, and egalitarian social structures. “It seems clear that the Plains tribes, particularly those in the mid to northern latitudes, had adequate protein and energy from buffalo, and that this diet typically reached the poor,” the research team wrote. Trade with tribes from other regions likely provided the Sioux with the nutrients necessary for their chart-topping height, in addition to the wild berries, onions, turnips and other produce they gathered from the plains. After the bison were wiped out by whites, this success story tragically and abruptly ended. Plains nations were forced to end their hunter-gatherer lifestyle, accept poor quality government rations, and adopt often unsuitable crop agriculture.

Modern native societies have not thrived, and are dismissed by dominate white society as concentrations of poverty, drug addiction and unemployment. In fact, a 20th century Secretary of the Interior, charged with stewardship of native peoples said first nations were an object lesson in the failure of socialism, a remark that is mind-boggling in its inaccuracy, bigotry, and arrogance. Projects like the Walokota Buffalo Range are intended to allow native plains peoples to re-connect with their lost culture and former prosperity. The tribal members will decide what they want to do with their new buffalo herd on the land, a self-determination of a hopeful future that has been missing for decades. Other reservations have reintroduced buffalo herds, such as nearby Fort Peck and Pine Ridge. 

The buffalo at Rosebud were provided by the US Park Service, a part of the same Interior Department that allowed the speicies' near extermination in the 19th Century. Its Bison Conservation Initiative aims to build up “large, wild, connected, genetically diverse and healthy bison herds.” Perhaps in the not too distant future, buffalo herds will once again darken the Great Plains with their numbers, bringing peace and prosperity to their kin once again.

In central Africa lies the Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga National Park. What was once an Eden packed with wildlife has been the scene of a destructive civil war, unrest and poaching for decades. Just in 2018 the park was forced to close for eight months due to attacks from militia forces. Now it is closed due to a pandemic in an effort to protect its iconic mountain gorillas from disease. The park's tourist revenue is down 40%, which heavily impacts the local economy. Fighting has taken a toll on the parks wildlife too. [photo credit: Virunga National Park]

Park authorities are making concerted efforts to protect habitats and their residents in partnership with international conservation organizations. The work is paying dividends: elephants are returning to the park in large numbers from Queen Elizabeth National Park in neighboring Uganda. 580 savannah elephants appear to be reoccupying Virunga, joining the 120 elephants that never left. They are quickly transforming the landscape, returning it to the savannah it once was, which is good news for the other ungulates that share the 2 million acre park. In the 1950s there were about 8,000 elephants in Virunga, but the Great Elephant Census in 2014 found only 300. If the elephants can be protected from increased poaching and human conflict, they may regain their former numbers and Eden will have returned to Virunga.

'Toontime: The Tangerine Grinch

credit: A. Zyglus

More: This evening, the House of Representatives passed a measure by two-thirds majority with forty-four Repugnants in favor of $2000 stimulus checks as demanded by the Don. The bill goes to the Senate where 'Moscow Mitch' McConnell risks his majority to defeat it.  In a classic parliamentary gambit, champion progressive Senator Bernie Sanders said Monday night he will filibuster the veto override of the defense bill in the Senate unless the stimulus check bill is brought to a vote. He can delay the override, making it inconvenient for the GOP by keeping its Georgia senators running for reelection in Washington, DC.  The voice of capital, the Wall Street Journal editors warned Repugnant senators that they will loose control of the chamber if they pass the increased direct payments bill.  The ideological divide in 'Merica cannot get much more conspicuous than the current standoff over social welfare thanks to Don's superlative deal-making skills.  [NOT!]

Update: After a weekend of golf and internet tantrums, Trumpillini signed the COVID-19 relief bill (after repeatedly changing his mind) extending unemployment benefits and issuing $600 direct stimulus payments, calling the bill a disgrace. Senate Repugnants are blocking the Democratic effort today to pass a separate bill granting $2,000 stimulus payments to 'Mericans, which Killer said he wanted in the bill after protracted relief negotiations in which he did not take part. He was preoccupied broadcasting his fake election fraud claims, and raising free money ($207.5 million) from gullible fans. A $2000 stimulus vote is a 'bigly' loose/loose for Repugnants--they risk alienating their bat-shit conservative base, or the rest of US who want additional aid, as the Georgia senate race hangs in the balance. The delay in passage of the relief bill will cause unemployment recipients to miss a weekly benefit check since the current programs ran out on Saturday. No dominatrix boots for you, and remember that when you go to the polls!

{28.12.20} Trumpillini's eleventh-hour fake populism will blowup in his supporters' face. Ms. Pelosi quickly called him on his $2,000 bluff, knowing that elitist Repugnants will not swallow that poison pill. Congressional Repugnants rejected raising relief payments by unanimous consent motion, so the Speaker will hold a recorded vote on Monday, putting the issue squarely in the lap of the Senate. "Loyalty and assistance to President Trump generally gets rewarded with humiliation. This is how it ends for a lot of people who work for the guy", said a right wing pundit. Killer does not care who wins the Georgia Senate runoff because the game is all about him and his grievances, all the time*. One ex-aide called his move, "The most selfish thing I have ever seen." Stayed tune, Killer always surprises.

*His latest complaint: Third wife Melania did not get enough magazine photo covers during his misrule. COVID-19 deaths in the US: 342,000.  Because the pandemic emergency aid was passed with veto proof majorities in Congress, he may simply refuse to sign the legislation making it law for ten days--a pocket veto--until the current congressional session ends January 3rd, forcing the legislators to start from the beginning. Meanwhile, unemployment benefits end, the eviction moratorium ends, and government funding runs out, forcing a shutdown in Washington during a national emergency. Just so you know, Melania walked to her government provided helicopter ride out of town for Christmas in S&M inspired thigh-length boots costing $2,000! Let them eat their boots!

A man-child in psychological crisis....

Songbirds Die of Starvation

Another sign of ecological collapse: scientists who have investigated the mass die-off of songbirds in the southwest {19.09.2020} have concluded that the migratory birds died of long term starvation. Necropsies showed 80% of the carcasses recovered showed typical signs of starvation such as kidney failure, blood in the intestines and shrunken flight muscles. Cold weather contributed to the mass mortality. Birds were reported dropping out of the sky in New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Arizona and Nebraska during this migration season. Citizens encouraged to report dead migratory birds, reported 10,000 deaths; estimates are that hundreds of thousands of birds died. [photo credit: U. New Mexico]

The first reports came from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in September. Birds were seen in a disoriented state, flying into cars and buildings. Unable to fly away, many were eaten by predators. This mass starvation is definitely a long term phenomenon aince major flight muscles wasted away. Tests were conducted for toxins such as pesticides and wildfire smoke, and bacterial or viral infections. None were detected. Some scientists were reluctant to attribute the emaciation to changes in climate brought about by fossil fuel burning, but extreme weather events are more prevalent in a climate altered world. Most of the birds that perished were seed and berry eaters, that migrate from the tundra regions of the far north to Central and Southern America. They need to stop for refueling several times during their grueling migrations even in the best of times. The tragic Sixth Extinction carries on.

 Happy Holidays from PNG

Ferrets Get COVID Vaccine

Blackfooted ferrets (Mustela nigripes), are losing their homes to human development on the Great Plains. The highly endangered member of the weasel family (Mustelidae) were innoculated by scientists for another disease--COVID-19--this summer. The reason for the special treatment is that the Department of Agriculture is seeking a veterinary vaccine for minks, which are raised commercially for their fur. Europe has had to cull millions of minks after humans transmitted the disease to them. Danish health officials found 200 cases of human infections that could be genetically traced to farm raised minks. Thousands of minks have died on Utah farms. The US produces about three million mink pelts a year. 

Ferrets were saved from the brink of extinction decades ago, but have faced an uphill battle since then. Their gene pool is small making them vulnerable to disease, and their favorite prey animal, the prairie dog, is facing extermination from grazing, agriculture and human settlement. The trial vaccination of 120 ferrets living in the Ferret Conservation Center near Ft. Collins, CO was not totally altruistic. The possibility of zoonotic transmission exists, but is highly unlikely given that humans do not handle blackfooted ferrets in the wild as they do farmed animals. It is however, closely related to the mink. 

The ferret was declared extinct in the wild in 1979. An isolated population was found still living on a ranch Wyoming. Most of the colony had died of sylvatic plague, a form of the Black Death which wiped out human populations in the past. Scientists rescued eighteen of the animals to start a captive breeding program, the usual last resort for saving a species going extinct. A vaccine for the plague in ferrets was developed using a purified protein from the Yersinia pestis bacterium. 

Researchers began to develop a COVID-19 vaccine using the same technique, in this case a purified spike protein from the SARS CoV-2 virus. The first doses were given to eighteen, young male ferrets who were observed for an immune response. Within weeks of a second shot, animals showed increased levels of antibodies in their blood--a positive sign. By early fall, 120 of 180 resident ferrets were inoculated. So far the vaccine appears to be safe, but efficacy has not yet been proven. That will take a well designed blind study to decide the issue. The approach used--an inactivated protein from the pathogen to stimulate an immune response--is a successful one that has led to vaccines for polio and influenza. Thank you, ferrets.

COTW: Ending the Year With A Bang

What do you expect for a year like 2020, which will go down in the annals as the worst year in US history alongside 1862, 1929 and 1941? The charts tell the tale:

The virus will not begin to recede until late spring. Even with mass inoculations, depending on the level of participation, SARS-CoV-2 will not be effectively controlled for a year or more. The organism is already mutating to prolong its survival through greater transmissibility. If its genetic crap shoot hits a natural, the vaccines recently developed at record pace may become less effective. The various strains of resistant flu demonstrate this unthinkable possibility. Daily death rate in January will exceed 3,000, a truly tragic number. Excess deaths are generally viewed as the most accurate way to assess the impact of an infectious disease on a population. Mortality in 2020 is expected to top 3.2 million, mostly due to the pandemic. That represents a 15% increase over last year. According to AP, this would mark the largest single-year percentage leap since 1918, when tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers died in World War I and hundreds of thousands of Americans died in a flu pandemic. Deaths rose 46% that year, compared with 1917.

Meanwhile®, the sociopathic squatter with blood on his hands can think of nothing but his infomercial myth and the cash flow this insurrectional fantasy has created. He will desperately need the money to buy more unethical lawyers and pay off his Deutsche Bank loans once he leaves the immunity of the federal compound. Or will he chain himself to the "Resolute" desk in a version of WWF's "Smack Down", intended for the reality entertainment of his rabid fans? He wants you to stay tuned!

 

Chickens are roosting....on the 'stable genius'

 

'Toontime: Myth Busters

BC Idonwanna sez: Dolchstoss!

Another long standing shibboleth, since the days of Ronnie 'Raygun' Reagan, is the economic "trickle down" theory that lifts all boats, rich and poor alike. NOT! David Hope at the London School of Economics said in a recent paper that five decades of tax cuts for the wealthy have only benefited the wealthy and did not promote jobs or economic growth. Not surprising, but this myth was embraced by conservatives and neoliberals alike for fifty years. As a result, we now have the greatest wealth disparity in 'Merica since the Gilded Age. Hope said his analysis ends in 2015 but could equally apply to the tax cut given the wealthy in 2017. It is facts like these that make the support Killer gets from people who feel left behind and dispossessed hard to fathom. The delusional quality of their fealty has often been commented upon, and put down to racism or neurosis, such as co-dependency.

Be that as it may, the new administration now has political capital to begin rebuilding the working class, starting with recouping the revenue trickled down the rabbit hole. Speaking of inequity, Congress seems ready to pass a last minute pandemic relief bill that includes direct payments to the unemployed. The payments may be in $600-700 range and will last only a few months. One source says that if the money billionaires have made during the pandemic (> $1 trillion, led by Jeff Bezos of Amazon) were split among 330 million of us, we could each receive a check for $3,000 and a family of four $12,000. Now is the time to tax the rich, which is only one reason Democrats need to capture control of the Senate in January. Senator Bernie Sanders noted, "Unfortunately this [current] proposal does not address the crisis in the way that it should. This is a step forward, and I certainly look forward to a Biden administration working with us to get significantly more help to those people who need it.”

When the walls begin to close in, declare martial law...

Undercover Investigation Stings Pebble Mine

Readers  of PNG know that the Pebble Mine is once again on the verge of elimination {14.06.17} thanks to the tireless opposition of tribal and conservation organizations who fight to save the Bristol Bay salmon run and irreversible damage to a pristine ecosystem. [photo credit: C. Arnold] A two prong offense in court rooms and  boardrooms of financial backers has produced results. The regime worked fast to undo the 2014 EPA restrictions set by the previous administration. However, a stunning reversal by the Army Corps of Engineers to impose a requirement for a rigorous mitigation plan again put the reality of the project in serious doubt. The decision was not an outright denial of federal permits, but a difficult regulatory hurdle for the sole remaining partner of the Pebble Partnership joint venture, Northern Dynasty Minerals of Canada.

Pebble Partnership shot itself in the foot a month after the Army Corp's sudden reversal.  The incident occurred because of an undercover investigation by the non-profit Environmental Investigation Agency, headquartered in London. Two investigators posing as Chinese investors interested in the mine asked to meet with Tom Collier and Ron Theissen, CEOs of Pebble Partnership and its parent company, Northern Dynasty. The CEOs were interested in talking because Northern Dynasty had lost a series of partners as the project encountered more public opposition. Mitsubishi, Anglo-American, Rio Tinto, and First Quantum Minerals all abandoned the project, leaving the remaining mining company cash-strapped. Global financial companies have also backed away in the face of pressure from NRDC and conservation allies. The financial services firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, the chief fundraiser for Northern Dynasty, is also being pressured to sever ties to the Pebble Mine project.

Undercover video tapes released after the meetings were a bombshell. In the tapes Collier and Thiessen can be seen boasting about their political connections at the federal and state level, including to Alaska's governor, Mike Dunleavy. What is more damaging to the company's credibility is the admission of a hidden agenda long believed to exist by mine opponents: the current proposal for a twenty-year mine is really a Trojan Horse for a huge 200-year mine to be gouged out of the Bristol Bay wilderness. One of the investigators asks Collier, "So the likelihood is pretty much 100% almost?", referring to the mine's planned expansion beyond it current scope. Collier replies unequivocally, "Yes." That response is a direct contradiction of his congressional testimony in 2019 that Pebble Partnership has, "no current plans...for expansion." Independent analysis shows that a twenty-year mine would lose $3 billion. Northern Dynasty needs a much bigger mine to turn a profit. Such a gargantuan project would generate 10 million tons of mining wastes contaminated with toxins. One reason an effective mitigation plan is nearly impossible to draft.

In the wake of the scandal generated by his admission on tape, Collier was forced to resign, but the zombie project continues to menace Bristol Bay. Tribal organizations, NRDC and allies continue the good fight to restore the restrictions set by EPA during the Obama-Biden administration that would permanently end this mine in the wrong place for good. US Person asks: Joe, are you reading this post? Add this task to your 100-day to do list.

COTW: Criminal Negligence

The actual number of deaths in the US is substantially higher than "official" figures. (>423,000) The tragic truth is it did not have to be this way. If the United States had a competent federal administration in power, rapid and comprehensive action to control the spread could have saved tens of thousands of lives. Whether KIller was merely incompetent, or recklessly indifferent is for history to decide, or perhaps the New York Attorney General because Central Joe is not interested.

The truth is that deaths in the US will approach the estimated 650,000 who died in the Great Flu Pandemic of 1918 before widespread immunity is achieved through mass inoculation. At least public officials then had an excuse--it was not known viruses existed. (Shope, 1931). Hysterical crying of wolf? Not so much! The most frightening figure: 74 million citizens and 126 legislators of a decrepit republic agree with Der Trumpenführer and his clownish attempt to overturn representative democracy. This time there was no capital fire and no paramilitaries in the streets, but white supremacist militia stabbed four counter-protestors and burned BLM banners at black churches--close enough for US Person. Yes, Virginia we have a fascism problem and it is not going away even after the Tangerine Menace goes golfing in Palm Beach until 2024.

credit: GettyImages

Bats May Hold Genetic Key

With the pandemic far from over, scientists are already looking for the source of the next one. Modern commerce and travel make the most isolated habitat ground zero for the next lethal virus to strike humanity. This is the reason Brazilian researchers are in the dense rainforest looking for bats. Bats are thought to be a vector in several lethal viral epidemics, iincluding COVID-19. Of all mammal vectors, primates, rodents, carnivores and ungulates, viruses found in bats tend to be the most lethal to humans. For example the Hendra virus, first identified in 1994 near Brisbane, Australia, was found in fruit bats that transmitted the disease to horses, which in turn infected humans. This virus is highly lethal, killing 75% of horses it infects, and 60% of humans.

Australian grey-headed, credit: A. Ruzicka

Another disturbing fact is that habitat destruction caused by man is responsible for bats living in areas close to settlements. This is what happened in Hendra, Australia where destruction of flowering eucalyptus trees drove fruit bats (Pteropus) [photo] closer to residences and farms where they infected horses. Fortunately, though highly lethal, Hendra virus infections are rare. Habitat destruction also contributed to the outbreak of the Nipah virus in Bangladesh which causes severe encephalitis in humans. Fruit bats looking for food moved into urban areas. They spread the virus by licking date palm sap from collection barrels. Fearful humans have taken to attacking bat colonies, but that only makes the risks of transmission worse. An investigation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Ugandan health authorities found that after a mining operation attempted to exterminate bats from a cave in Uganda, the remaining bats exhibited higher infection levels of Marburg virus. This led to Uganda’s most severe outbreak of Marburg hemorrhagic fever in 2012. It is obvious from these and similar zoonotic events that bats host virus infections well, to which humans succumb in great numbers. Why?

That is the question the Brazilian bat researchers are hoping to answer by collecting bat tissue samples for genetic study from bats living in an urban park. Flying places great stress on a relatively small body, so bats generate extremely high metabolic rates--as much as 16 times resting rate--without apparent cell damage. Some bat species live for thirty years. Scientists theorize that along with the development of flight capability, bats evolved immune systems that are highly efficient and selective. Two mechanisms suggested for this enhanced capability are rapid DNA repair and inflammatory response suppression.

Genetic coding may hold to the key to their secret of bat resistance to some of the nastiest pathogens on the planet--COVID-19, SARS, MERS, Ebola, Nipah, Hendra and Marburg viruses. For now, the best defense is to keep bats away from human interaction. However, tropical rainforest deforestation is increasing the contact between host colonies and humans. Replacing destroyed habitat is an effective means of keeping bats to themselves. India is among the most likely places in the world for a “spillover” event to occur, due to high human population density and increasing human and livestock incursion into its dense forests teeming with wildlife.  Bat phobia is counterproductive since bats are valuable members of a balanced ecosystem, providing valuable insect control, seed dispersal, and pollination services. The fact is that bats are a highly successful organism with more the 1400 species flying around every continent except Antarctica. Man is disrupting nature's balance, NOT bats.

The Artful Tax Dodger

Killer does not care about the environment--he has proved that as he rolled back over a hundred protection rules. Except when it comes to tax subsidies. Associated Press reports that conservation officials in Scotland have cancelled his Aberdeenshire golf resort's special status for protecting the coastal sand dunes on the course. [photo:Trump International Scotland] NatureScot, the country's environmental protection agency said the dunes no longer merit "special scientific interest" despite efforts to protect rare habitats and plants remaining there. Scottish authorities have approved plans for a second golf course next to the original one on his estate.  The existing golf course and luxury hotel have not been profitable since they opened.  Conservationists deplored the decision, which they say shows that golf still trumps natural heritage in Scotland. Opening a second course will cause further harm to the dune system that was of great scientific interest.  Undoubtedly, Trump received some special tax treatment for his resort because of the conservation designation.

Killer has a history of seeking and obtaining protective designations for his properties in order to take advantage of special tax incentives.  A prime example is his Seven Springs estate, which includes rolling woodlands covering three Westchester County, NY townships.  He agreed to conservation easement to preserve these woodlands in exchange for $21.1 million tax break according to court records examined by the Washington Post.  The size of this windfall was set by 2016 assessment that was double that of the townships' assessment of the estate.  That assessment has become embroiled in the investigation being conducted by New York attorney general, Letitia James.  In question is whether the estate's value was inflated as part of the conservation easement tax break.

The Trump associated firm which established the value assumed a future buyer could build twenty-four $2.1 million mansions on the land without evidence that such projected developments could meet local regulations.  Killer himself tried to build on Seven Springs--including a golf course--but the projects were stymied by local opposition and environmental disputes.  The appraisal also claimed the land preserved under the easement had no economic value of its own, a suspect opinion since the tax break is calculated by subtracting the value of the conserved property from the value of developed property.  Killer also wrote off as a business expense $2.2 million in property taxes by classifying Seven Springs as an investment property rather than a residence.  His family members have often described Seven Springs as a family retreat. [photo credit: Washington Post]

The pink sandstone, sixty room mansion perched above a reservoir was built by the former owner of the Washington Post in 1919.  Killer bought the property in 1995 for $7.5 million with plans to transform it into a luxury hotel and private golf course, but these plans were never realized in the face of stiff opposition.  His plans were also complicated by the fact that three different town planning agencies were involved. He even rented the property to dictator Moammar Ghaddafi, who was in town for the UN General Assembly.  Ghaddafi staff's

promptly pitched a Bedouin tent in the yard. [photo: WaPo]  Local officials promptly issued a stop work order, deeming the tent a "temporary residence" that had no building permits.  A Bedford town supervisor expressed outrage that a "known criminal would attempt to set up camp in our community."  Killer claimed later in an interview that Ghaddafi "paid me a fortune" for the privilege.  He left unpaid a bill for Bedford town engineering services of $46,976.63, incurred to evaluate his building proposals.

The organization that Killer signed a preservation agreement with, North American Land Trust, has been involved in eight high profile IRS easement cases, including four that involve golf courses. The 150 acres of wooded land covered by the easement is without doubt of ecological value since it contains mature stands of hardwoods, and is adjacent to another tract of preserved forest. Cushman & Wakefield, the appraisal company whose headquarters are in a building co-owed with the Trump Organization, does not mention the development difficulties associated with the estate, nor does it offer evidence that a proposed luxury subdivision could meet strict local planning regulations.  Conserved land has economic value and is often bought and sold. Despite the easement the owner has many use rights including hunting, recreational vehicle traffic, erection of storage facilities and subdivision.

As in any appraisal situation, the valuation depends on who is "sprinkling the fairy dust'.  Eric Trump, who is allegedly handling Trump Organization affairs during his father's public service, relied on a long-time Washington attorney Sheri Dillon during the easement process. Dillon put pressure on Cushman & Wakefield to up the value of the land if it were developed, after her client "blew up on her".Cushman appraisers asked Dillon to back off since the issues had already been discussed.

Killer is not alone in abusing tax breaks to encourage conservation. In 2014  3,219 rich people claimed $3.2 billion in charitable deductions for conservation easements. An IRS analysis conducted in 2017 showed that conservation easement investors “claimed an average of $9 in tax deductions for every dollar they put in.”  The conservation provisions are so abused that the IRS declared the tactic part of their 2019 "dirty dozen" tax scams to avoid. In 2015 he told AP that his company had claimed $63.825 million in conservation easements since 2010, including a $25 million tax break for his Los Angeles National golf course in 2014. In 2017 the Palm Beach Post reported that Killer claimed a $5.7 million historic easement for his new resort home, Mar-A-Lago, which is criticized as a quid pro quo for development permission, not a charitable contribution. Killer told a 2016 campaign crowd in Pueblo, CO, “As a businessman and real estate developer…I have brilliantly used those [easement] laws. At last, a true statement from the Killer on Fifth Avenue! 

Only loosers pay taxes....

'Toontime: A Tale of Two Turkeys

credit: K, Koterba, Omaha World Herald; BC Idonwanna sez: Really?

The mass media is run for profit, which means they have to generate advertising revenue because that is their main source of revenue. Advertisers want what they pay for, audience. To get audience the media engages relentless sensationalism, fear mongering, and moral outrage. Ergo the Killer Trumpillini--Rudy Ghouly clown coup splashed across the public airwaves. Yes, what they are doing is reprehensible, unprecedented and damaging to the Republic's political integrity, but they are only governed by neurosis and profit, not constitutional traditions. Media attention feeds their damaged egos and lines their deep pockets (>$200 million since Election Day). They have an audience of some seventy million rabid partisans in seventeen states*--a vicious feedback loop, indeed. US Person recommends ignoring their insane antics and the media outlets that advertise them until at least December 14th when the College officially awards Biden 306 votes. As Dorothy in Oz put it, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtains." There is one long-term lesson from this imbroglio: the nation needs direct presidential election because a celebrity dictator has amply demonstrated the current system's vulnerability to unprincipled manipulation. You can cut and paste that piece of advice!

This loon was Mayor of New York?

*That is how many states attorney general have joined in Texas' suit invoking the Supremos' rare original jurisdiction over disputes between states of the Union. Only one problem with this--where is the evidence of fraud backing up the petition's allegations and extraordinary request to throw out millions of legally cast votes in four states? Even his sychopant Barr has publicly stated that there is no evidence of fraud of a magnitude sufficient to overturn the election. At some point these baseless, even frivolous allegations, made by unscrupulous attorneys seeking to undermine representative government should be sanctioned by bar discipline. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro called the suit a “cacophony of bogus claims” to support a “seditious abuse of the judicial process.” Any questions remain about why US Person names them "Repugnants"?

Asian Bees Use Feces to Repell Killer Hornets

PNG readers know that giant Asian hornets unintentionally imported into North America pose a serious threat to domestic bee colonies because our bees have not developed a defense mechanism against the armored invaders with a lust for bee meat. {11.11.20} It may take thousands of years of evolution for such behavior to appear though natural selection. A recent discovery was made about how Asian bees defend their colonies against the predatory hornets. Asian honeybees paste pellets of animal feces around the entrances to the hive. This behavior surprised entomologists since bees are famously fastidious. Their honeycombs are wet and warm, perfect places for the growth of fungus and bacteria harmful to larvae, so they make an effort to keep clean. Researchers from Canada found that Vietnamese bees collect buffalo dung and other kinds of poo to plaster around the hive entrance. Later, they determined that the behavior observed in Vietnam is widespread among bees in Asia. [photo credit: H. Matilla]

plastered with poo

How the mechanism works is not understood yet, but the bees only paint the hive entrance after a raid from a predatory hornet. Investigators found hornets spend half the amount of time at nests protected with dung, and 94% less time trying to chew their way inside. Hornets target hives for destruction with secretions that the bees apparently counteract with feces, a sort of olfactory camouflage, or perhaps hornet repellent. Other insects, such as the hornworm moth caterpillar are known to cover themselves with feces for protection. Even mammals sometimes use dung. A recent study from China shows giant pandas wallow in horse dung as a means of insulating themselves from cold.

New Rules

The case of the Mountain Valley Pipeline is instructive of how captive regulators bent on taking down pesky environmental rules change those rules to fit the project they want completed. Federal judges in the Fourth Circuit have turned down permits for this pipeline twice saying environmental opponents are likely to win on the merits. The same thing happened two years ago. So what to do? Instead of rethinking the environmental impact of the project, West Virginia's Department of Environmental Protection rewrote the construction rules so the pipeline could qualify for the 'streamlined' federal permitting process created by the regime. Business leaders in the state have enthusiastically embraced the natural gas industry as a replacement for the coal industry that has been in decline for decades. However, natural gas has not produced the economic renaissance they have been seeking. [photo credit: Pro Publica]

Billionaire governor Jim Justice promised a revival of West Virginia's fossil fueled economy at a gathering of Chamber of Commerce types a year ago. He hosted the event at his own Greenbrier luxury resort. Since then several key energy projects have run into delays or have been cancelled. Plans, dating back to 2013, for an ethane cracker plant in Wood County were canned; a promised Chinese investment of more than $80 billion in natural gas industry projects, announced in 2017, has not materialized; and efforts to land a massive underground storage facility for natural gas byproducts ran into congressional opposition, according to Pro Publica. The six hundred mile Atlantic Coast pipeline was scrapped after delays and questions arose about whether it was needed. The number of active drilling rigs was down from twenty in the second quarter of 2019 to just 5 by the third quarter. COVIO-19 has also had a massive depressing effect on the state's energy sector with a projected 20% drop in jobs for 2020. 

Much of the current legal controversy over the Mountain Valley project surrounds Clean Water Act "dredge and fill" permits from the Army Corps of Engineers, which constructors need to conduct work in streams affecting the right of way. Both the Corps and state regulators are in the process of again altering the projects parameters (pipe size) and regulatory requirements so the pipeline qualifies for streamlined permitting while the Fourth Circuit litigation goes forward on the merits. The courts have ruled that conservationists are likely to prevail because regulators have overruled scientific findings related to environmental impacts of the project. The pipeline owners are complaining about the mounting costs of delay caused by the granting of injunctive relief. Of course, conservationists are objecting to the exploiters moving the goal posts during the game.

COTW: Defunding the Police?

The first chart is courtesy of Jeffery St. Clair at Counterpoint. Incrementalist 'Obamarama' chastised progressives for the slogan, "Defund the Police", which is a snappy way of saying the police need to be demilitarized, and some of their bloated budgets diverted to alternative and less violent means of crime control. Updated data for 2020 has now been released which shows that U.S. police departments are still receiving an astronomical percentage of discretionary funds compared to other crucial community programs. Police budgets remain high in 2020, ranging from 20 to 45 percent of discretionary funding in major metropolitan areas. Look at these charts:

Under Stalin, the Soviet Union incarcerated 800 persons for every 100,000. The US is slightly behind at only 698 per 100,000. With a month to go in the year, US police have killed 864 people. 

 

US COVID-19 DEATHS (est.): 304,464

the insane rant never stops...

Australia Will Count Koalas

rescued mother and infant

Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus)were decimated by this summer's wildfires in Australia. A study commissioned by the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) found that 61,000 kolas were killed, injured or displaced by the flames. Even before the fires, koalas and other Australia wildlife were under threat from expanding human development. Agriculture is among the top contributors to deforestation in areas where koalas live. [photo credit: NYT]

Estimates of koala populations have varied over time. They range from 43,000 to 300,000. In 2019 the Koala Foundation estimated fewer than 80,000 remained. The need for an more accurate count is apparent as more koalas appear in urban areas, forced out of their wild homes. Koalas, unlike some species, do not do well in urban environments where they are run over by vehicles or attacked by domestic dogs. Populations under stress are more prone to diseases.

Counting the tree dwelling marsupial is not always easy, so wildlife officials plan to employ trained canine trackers and technological aids such as drones equipped with thermal cameras.  The environment minister said koala experts will gather next year to discuss the best methods for conducting the count. Some conservationists say the koala cannot wait to be counted, as evidence already exists that their numbers are in serious decline; one spokesperson likened the koala census to counting deck chairs on the Titanic (Should they have counted lifeboats instead?) Twenty-three groups demanded in a letter that the federal government do more to protect koala habitat. WWF has an ambitious goal to double koala numbers in eastern Australia by dropping tens of thousands of eucalyptus seeds on burned areas to promote reforestation. Koalas feed on eucalyptus leaves and live in their branches.

Tires and Coho Salmon Don't Mix

After years of studying why most adult coho salmon die when they reach Seattle's urban waters on their way to reproduce in streams connected to Puget Sound, a research team from the Universities of Washington and Washington State have isolated a cause among a witches brew of chemicals from roadway runoff poluting the Sound. The culprit is a globally common chemical used to preserve vehicle tires. When the tire antioxidant 6PPD interacts with atmospheric ozone it becomes toxic 6PPD quinone fatal to spawning salmon. Antioxidnats like 6PPD are added to tire compounds to inhibit oxidation of structural elastomeres. The research results are published in Science journal.

Urban runoff mortality syndrome, as the phenomenon of coho deaths is called, kills 40-90% of returning salmon before they are able to spawn. [photo: NOAA] Obviously this rate of mortality for a keystone species is not sustainable. The researchers used mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance to isolate the causative chemical in stormwater runoff. Detected concentrations of this chemical in receiving waters often exceeds the mortality thresholds for coho salmon during runoff events, which are quite common in the rainy Northwest. 

Globally, 3.1 billion tires are made annually that produce almost 1 kg of rubber particles per capita, making tires one of the most significant contributors of microplastics to the freshwater environment. Disposal of used tires also poses an environmental contamination risk. Research has shown that rainbow trout are more affected by used tires than new ones. It is unlikely, according to the researchers that coho are uniquely affected by the tire antioxidant. They recommend that non-toxic alternatives for 6PPD be utilized in tire manufacture, and more careful toxicological assessments be made of high volume commercial chemicals subject to pervasive discharges into the environment.

'Toontime: The Perpetual Candidate

BC Idonwanna sez, Send in the Kraken (aka Rudy Ghoully) too!

Killer has indicated to the RNC he plans to run in 2024, even scheduling his announcement for the day Biden is confirmed as the next President by the Electoral College vote on December 14th. His decision makes sense from a long con standpoint. He has already raised over $170 million for his cynical, corrupt legal campaign against the integrity of the popular vote. A four year political campaign will keep the extremist money rolling in and provide free media coverage of his narcissistic insanity. If he plans to pardon himself, US Person thinks his conservative implants on the Supremos will hand him a surprise. If there is a single founding principle of this nation, it is that no person is above the law. In the eyes of the revolutionists, King George III was a tyrannical monarch who could tax his colonists without representation, compell military service, and overrule legal process in his colonies. Even a so-called 'originalist' cannot deny that historical context. Allowing Killer to escape accountability for his crimes by granting himself a pardon cannot be allowed, if this nation intends to remain a republic, so NOT! Besides, a presidential pardon does not extend to a state criminal prosecution like the one going now in Manhattan.

 

A presidential meltdown in progress....

 

COTW: The Latest Surge

Update: US sets new record for daily deaths: 2,804 on Wednesday. (revised by John Hopkins due to data error.) Today's (Friday) record: 2,879.

{1/12/20} Because of the chaotic government response to the pandemic*, See e.g. Scott Atlas, random radiologist, and Mericans' notorious disrespect for public health restrictions, the country has the largest number of COVID-19 cases in the world and a 2% mortality rate, which puts it in the top ten per 100,000 people. USA!, USA!....The governor of California said the latest surge in his state threatens to overwhelm the hospital system, in which case unspecified "drastic action" will have to be taken.  To date no state has had to experience the complete quarantine mandated in countries like New Zealand and Australia; both of which have successfully controlled their infection rates. The US is on course for 300,000 deaths by the end of the year with daily mortality in excess of 800.

US COVID DEATHS (est.): 287,452

Donald, can you spare a pardon?...

 

*A recent CDC study of blood samples shows Americans were producing antibodies in response to the SARS CoV-2 virus in December, 2019. According to reports, “Of the [7,389] samples tested, at least 106 were found to have antibodies for SARS-CoV-2, including ones collected from California, Oregon and Washington from Dec. 13 through Dec. 16, 2019.... [CDC]also found 67 samples with antibodies in Massachusetts, Michigan, Wisconsin or Iowa, and Connecticut or Rhode Island,” US intelligence was briefing Killer in November of the potential "cataclysmic" pandemic brewing in China. The first identified case occurred in Washington in January 2020. International travel was restricted by the hapless regime, but only after some 40,000 people arrived in New York City from Europe. Killer's spociopathic personality has cost the country dearly.

A New Primate in Town

There is a new primate in the forest canopy, Myanmar's popa langur (Trachypithecus popa), a beautiful grey monkey living near an extinct volcano of the same name. It was recently described for the first time, [photo credit:T. Win] and is endangered with only 200 to 260 remaining in its native habitat. This langur is distinctive for its grey fur and bespectacled facial markings, making it a potential target of the illegal pet trade and hunters. Identification of the new species began in the laboratory where genetic researchers studied tissue samples from museums and fecal samples from the wild. After several years of analysis, scientists declared it a new species in the journal Zoological Research. Specimens of the monkey were collected over a hundred years ago, but no one thought to study them closely. There are twenty known species in the genus Trachypithecus and T. popa is closely related to T. phayrei, but it is morphologically different. 

The largest population lives in Mount Popa National Park in central Myanmar, but the protect forest is small, just 10 square miles and is completely surrounded by human agriculture, so it may not be large enough to support a growing population of langurs. A smaller population lives in Panlaung-Pyadalin Cave wildlife sanctuary, but it overlaps onto an adjacent limestone concession. For these reasons and the fact that it qualifies for listing as critically endangered under IUCN rules, the langur requires immediate conservation attention. Fauna and Flora International, a conservation group, said it would help with efforts to educate locals about the new primate and conduct more research. Myanmar has the largest extent of undeveloped forest remaining in Southeast Asia, so more discoveries probably await researchers there.

Kavaan Sentenced to Freedom

Update: Kavaan, the lonely elephant who has spent 35 years in captivity at an Islamabad zoo, was loaded into a Russian cargo jet today for a flight to his new life in a Cambodian elephant refuge where he will enjoy the company of other Asian elephants. Kavaan was slowly cajoled into entering his transportation crate backwards during the night. His jet is scheduled to leave on Monday for Cambodia. Kavaan was seriously overweight from a diet of 550 lbs of sugar cane. He was put on a diet and lost one thousand pounds over the past three months. The Asian elephant ladies awaiting his arrival should appreciate his new figure. His foot condition caused by confinement with chains will require more treatment in Cambodia.

Kavaan lost his mate, Saheli, in 2012. She developed a small food infection that went untreated ending in gangreen. Kavaan suffered from the lost, exhibiting stereotypical behaviors of boredom and misery. Celebrity Cher contributed to rescuing Kavaan through her non-profit Four Paws. A documentary is being made of Kavaan's journey to freedom.

Mara in the zoo

Further: Readers of the post below about the imprisoned Asian elephant Kavaan, are probably wondering how US Person expects a poor nation like Pakistan to move a full grown bull elephant to Cambodia, four thousand kilometers away during a pandemic? The answer is: very carefully by air. It is not an impossible task--case in point--the relocation of Mara, a fifty year old female Asian elephant from the Buenos Aires zoo to a sanctuary in Brazil. The border between Brazil and Argentina was closed in early May when Mara arrived by truck en route to the sanctuary 1700 miles from her prison in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires.

The zoo was the height of fashion in 1904 when an elephant enclosure was built to resemble a Hindu temple. [photo] Mara had been imprisoned in the small enclosure with two African elephants for two decades. Mara did not get along with a different a race, a problem that should be familiar to humans.  Keepers were forced to alternate exhibiting Mara outside; when the African elephants were outside, Mara was forced to stand for extended periods in a cage.   Before that she performed in a circus, where she killed one of her captors.  She was an unhappy elephant exhibiting stereotypical swaying of distress.

Mara's salvation began when the city took over running the zoo and began rethinking the concept of keeping exotic animals in captivity in response to citizens' protests. Twenty-five hundred animals were confined in just 42 acres in 2016. Planners decided to replace the zoo with an "ecopark" where residents could learn about conservation and interact with indigenous animals being rehabilitated for release to the wild. Just two years before, Argentina became one of the first nations to recognize the person-hood of a great ape, Sandra, who also lived at the zoo.  The massive logistic hurdles were eventually overcome, and by spring of this year 861 animals had been relocated to sanctuaries.

Understandably Mara's international movement to the Mato Grasso sanctuary required a mound of paperwork, including an investigation into Mara's previous life.  She had grown up in an Indian work camp and was purchased by the Tejidor family, circus owners, from a Hamburg zoo.  The unfortunate Mara had spent her entire life in captivity.  Despite great perseverance in coordinating her translocation to Brazil, her human guardians were thwarted by the pandemic.  Argentina imposed one of the strictest lockdowns on Earth.  Fortunately authorities were eager to make Mara's move possible.  The arduous journey 1700 journey exhausted Mara, but she survived the final forty miles of rough road to the trees, grass, and open space of the sanctuary.  She bonded quickly with another Asia elephant, Rana, after being starved of company during many years of isolation.  Freedom was a long time coming for Mara, but she is in a much better place now.  GREEN KUDOS to Buenos Aires!

{04.08.20} Prison reformers think that incarceration in a "supermax" prison where inmates  are confined to their cells for 23 hours a day, is like being buried alive. Prisoners are literally driven insane by the endless confinement. Imprisonment for elephants, a highly intelligent and social animal is has similar psychological effects which can be observed in their daily behaviors. There is fantastic news for one imprisoned male elephant whose only crime is being an elephant. Kaavan, Sri Lankan elephant given to the Islamabad Zoo thirty five years ago is to be set free from his sterile condition and sent to a Cambodian refuge where he can roam free with other rescued elephants. The Islamabad High Court ruled on May 22nd that Kaavan be relocated to Cambodia. Pakistan does not have such a facility, so the authorities chose the elephant sanctuary abroad. Kaavan was given to Pakistan by Sri Lanka as a gift to strengthen bilateral relations in 1985 without considering the effects of captivity or the elephant's right to live freely.

credit: D. Jayantha

Kavaan got a mate in 1990, but Saheli died in 2012. Since then Kavann has been alone in his cell. He began to exhibit symptoms of boredom, lethargy, stress, and later showing no respect for authority, aggression. This development caused his keepers to further restrict his movements by chaining him. Animal welfare experts have complained about treatment of captive elephants as they often experience mistreatment at the hands of their captors. Kavaan imprisonment captured worldwide attention. Animal rights activist, including the celebrity Cher, campaigned for his release beginning in 2016. A petition for his release gained 400,000 signatures. The court's decision delighted elephant advocates.

Transferring Kavaan to a foreign country will undoubtedly be very stressful for the thirty-five year old; his relocation must be handled with utmost care and respect.  But the benefits to Kavaan being able to move freely and socialize with others of his kind are immeasurable.  A Sri Lankan biologist who studies elephant social behavior says putting an elephant in captivity is like putting humans in solitary confinement indefinitely.  "Deprivation of social interactions is a form of trauma, or one might even say torture.”  Although bull elephants are more solitary than females, they still need relationships with other elephants.  Elephants have long played a central role in Sri Lakan culture, but despite their importance to humans, they are often trained with cruel beating and stabbing with sharp ankus, or bull hooks.  Sri Lanka holds the world's record for the highest number of annual Asian elephant deaths.  Recently an old, emaciated and sick elephant, Tikiri, was forced to parade in a religious pageant until she fell dead.  May Tikiri rest with her kin in peace.

'Toontime: Still Losing

credit: P. Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune; Wackydoodle sez: Aliens voted twice!

Trumpillini had to pay 3+ million for the Wisconsin recount in the vain hope he could collect more votes and perhaps flip the state. Of course that hope is delusional, but it won't stop the narcissist-in-chief from formenting a false narrative that the election was stolen by November Criminals. In fact, the Milwaukee recount ended with Biden collecting 132 more votes than the original canvass. At least Killer has told reporters that he would leave the White House if the College confirms the popular vote on January 6th (in his typical inflammatory fashion, he backtracked on that statement). Until then he will continue to rant on-line, to the media, and bring his anti-democratic attempt to disenfranchise millions of Americans all the way to a packed conservative Supreme Court. This propaganda campaign is a profound disservice to the nation's political integrity. The for-profit press bears some responsibilty by obsessively repeating his deranged propaganda.

US COVID DEATHS (est.): 281,000