Brighton Cat Killer Sentenced

The man known as the Brighton Cat Killer was sentenced in crown court to more than five years in prison for killing nine cats over a period of months. He is thought to be responsible for more killings. Steve Bouquet, a 54 year old shopping mall security guard, was apprehended after a video camera installed by a victimized cat guardian captured the criminal stroking a cat and then stabbing it with a knife. In Britain, because of the lack of predators and rabies, many household "moggies" are allowed to roam outside their homes.

During his trial, the jury heard accounts of cat guardians who found their injured or dying cats on their doorsteps. A photo of a dead cat was found on Bouquet's mobile phone. A knife with feline blood on it, and his DNA on the handle were found in a search of his residence. Mobile phone location evidence placed him in the vicinity of several stabbings at the time they took place. Bennett claimed this evidence was coincidental. The attacks that took place during 2018-19 sent a wave of fear among cat lovers in Brighton. No explanation was offerred for his repeated attacks. One victim expressed the hope that Bouquet would receive psychiatric help while in prison to prevent a reoccurance of his gruesome crime spree.

'Toontime: This Week in Trump

credit: P. Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune;  Wackydoodle sez: Trump sent us!

The House select committee began its bipartisan hearings on the January 6th coup this week after Speaker Pelosi appointed two anti-Trump Repugnants to serve. In a significant development, the Department of Justice said it will not recognize claims of executive privilege by former regime members called to testify about 1/6. It is becoming increasing obvious that planning and funding took place in advance of the storming of the Capitol during counting of the Electoral College votes. US Person's opinion is this activity largely took place over the Internet, which created a violently lethal type of 'flash mob'. Whether these preliminaries reached the level of the Oval Office and its Twitter-obsessed occupant remains to be determined. The New York Times reported that the deranged would-be dictator told Justice Department officials on December 27th to find the 2020 election corrupt and “Leave the rest to me.”This directive is arguably a violation of 18 USC 610, a felony offense., One issue is clear: no unbiased investigation of the origins of the coup attempt would be complete without Individual One as a witness.

On another front the House Ways and Means committee is closer to obtaining six years of tax returns prior to Killer taking office.  During his regime, the committee, which is investigating the function of the IRS presidential tax audit program, was prevented from obtaining the information.  The Department of Justice issued an opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel saying the Treasury Department must turn over the returns since the Ways and Means Committee has alleged a sufficient legislative purpose for its subpoenas.  Although the Treasury said it would comply with DOJ's opinion, Killer could still further litigate the matter, thus preventing full disclosure of his complex tax avoidance.

credit: Bennett, Chattanooga Times-Free Press; BC Idonwanna sez: In the Oval with an Iphone!

 

The Perp strikes again....

Monsanto Agrees to Stop Selling Roundup

After years of campaigning, Monsanto-Bayer agreed to end selling its flagship herbicide product, Roundup, which contains cancer causing glyphosate, to residential consumers. It took the action to "manage litigation risks". It will replace consumer glyphosate products with formulations that “rely on alternative active ingredients”. The EPA refused to order the removal of Roundup from the shelves of home improvement centers despite admitting in court that its assessments of the effects of glyphosate on the environment and consumers where flawed. The Centers for Food Safety are currently suiing the EPA for its 2020 registration of Roundup. The plaintiffs present ample evidence that glyphosate is a human health threat, posing the risk of cancer in particular to farmworkers, landscapers and gardeners. Last year, Bayer settled several product liability cases for over ten billion dollars. Trials of other cases in California continue. A leading judgement against Monsanto-Bayer in Montana was recently reaffirmed on appeal. The plaintiff in the case used Roundup for more than two decades before he was diagnosed non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Monsanto-Bayer refused to acknowledge any safey concerns in its announcement to end retail sales of glyphosate based products. The company plans to market Roundup until 2023.

US Wildlife Keeper Kills All

A US wildlife keeper in Colorado killed all of their animals including three tigers, three lions and five bears. Lion's Gate 'Sanctuary' said it was forced to kill all of its captives when permission to relocate them on its land not subject to flooding was denied by county commissioners after what the sanctuary owners said was an "unfair" hearing full of NIMBY™ reactions by local residents. Owners Joan Laub and Peter Winney issued a statement saying, "Elbert County Commissioners did not take... the plight of our animals seriously... [or] the safety of Elbert County residents seriously". There were offers made to re-house the elderly captives by other rescue facilities.

Elbert County officials were surprised by the couple's extreme reaction. A spokesman for the county said the couple indicated they would continue to care for the exotic animals if denied permission to move them. Nevertheless, they killed the cats and bears at once without advance warning. According to the county, Keenesburg Wild Animal Sanctuary, also in Colorado, had “publicly offered to care for the animals at their facility". Laub and Winney deny that other sanctuaries offered to help. Wildcat Sanctuary in Minnesota said in response to the shocking treatment of captive animals as disposable personal property said it took in five animals from the sanctuary when it operated under a different owner and name ten years ago and was ready to help this time.. Wildcat Sanctuary urged the public to demand an investigation of the facility. US Person, aka the Red Dwarf, agrees. [photo credit: Getty Images]

Meanwhile, Indian wildlife researchers said a three year old male tiger walked an incredible 808 miles in five months in search of available habitat, roaming through villages, across roads and through remnant forests from one sactuary in Maharashtra state to another. The journey is an example of the need to connect remaining tiger habitat. The tiger, known as C1 to researchers [photo above] was born in Tipeshwar wildlife sanctuary in 2016. It was collared with GPS in February. C1 is part of research into how sub-adults disperse from their mothers' home territory. C1 was looking for his own home and a mate say tiger experts. He wandered unseen through seven districts before coming to rest in Dnyanganga sanctuary. Most Indian sanctuaries are full of tigers now, so offspring have to travel further to find open territories.

Tamarack Rescued from Wildfire

A small, dehydrated black bear cub was rescued from certain death by California wildfire personnel fighting the Tamarack fire. The cub is resting comfortably after receiving treatment, including pain relief, for burnt paws at the Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care center [photo] He was found by homeowners allowed to return to inspect their property. A board member of the wildlife center said Tamarack was lucky to be found in a restricted area, where his mother may have left him to escape the flames. US Forest Service said the 68,000 acre blaze was ignited by lightening and is currently 54% contained. Tamarack weighs about 21 pounds and is scheduled for more treatments including a talapia fishskin graft, a recent development in veterinarian treatment for burns. After he recovers, he will be rehabilitated for return to the wild.

Black Death Still With US

Update: Seven counties in Colorado are under a plague alert.  This year, San Miguel County, El Paso County, Boulder County, Huerfano County, Adams County and La Plate County have all reported cases of the plague. Plague infections in animals occur each summer, often in prairie dogs or other rodents, and can be transmitted to humans in close contact with flea infested animals.  The girl who died in La Plata (Durango) raised hogs in 4-H. Pneumonic plague develops from inhaling infectious droplets or from untreated bubonic plague after it spreads to the lungs. 

More: Speaking of smallpox: the CDC is monitoring 200 people for  a possible outbreak of monkeypox, caused by a virus similar to smallpox. An individual returning from Nigeria brought the disease into Texas in July.  Contract tracing has begun to identify persons on flights from Lagos to Atlanta and Atlanta to Dallas on July 9th who may have had close contact (<6ft) with the infected one. An emergency room in Dallas diagnosed Patient One with the rare disease that causes rashes on the palms of hands and bottom of feet. Fortunately the transmission rate for the virus is low. CDC says that the fatality rate for the strain of monkeypox seen in the Dallas case is about 10%. The last detection of monkeypox in the US was in 2003 with forty-three cases. That outbreak occurred when infected small mammals and rodents were shipped from Ghana to Texas. The disease is linked to the handling of bush meat and trade in exotic animals.

{23.07.21}Plague still roams the Earth and it is here in colorful Colorado. A ten year old girl succumbed to an infection of Yersinia pestis [photo] in La Plata County, Colorado in June. Her death was reported by the San Juan Public Health authorities on Friday. A few cases occur in the United States, although rare. Four people died of the disease in 2015 with half coming from Colorado. Between 2005 and 2021, there were nearly 570 cases of animals infected with the plague in Colorado, including 104 cats and dogs. Infected fleas and animals carry the disease and it can be transmitted through flea bites or close contact with infected animals.

Bubonic plague or Black Death, which decimated Europe in the Middle Ages, is one of three types of disease caused by the pathogen. Plague was brought to the US by steamships infested with rats in the early 1900's. Most cases of plague in the US occur in the rural southwest. Infections can be treated effectively with modern drugs, but treatment is most effective if the disease is caught in its early stages. Prompt diagnosis is somewhat elusive since the initial symptoms are similar to flu or COVID-19: fever, chills, headache, coughing and feeling weak. One or more swollen, tender and painful lymph nodes may also present.

COTW: Where It's At Now

The chart shows that new cases of COVID-19 are concentrated in younger age categories. Two reasons: one, the majority of older adults are vaccinated, and two, youger people are more socially active, likely to be part of an event crowd or crammed into a hot nightclub. Perhaps the boomers remember the days of polio outbreaks in the summer of the 50's. Younger generations have no memory of these events because their parents got the shots. Smallpox, what is smallpox?

Human Genome Completed

Researchers have completely sequenced the human genome two decades after genetic research on the human gene code bagan. The work has filled in gaps and corrected errors in previous incomplete versions of the code. A rough draft of the genome was announced by the Human Geonome Project in 2000. Scientistsm have also found around 115 genes previously unknown and some of which code for proteins in addition to a myriad of individual genetic variations. A consortium of 99 scientists have published six papers on-line and now under by peer journals. Sequencing of the entire human genome is a difficult puzzle to solve. There are 3 billion base pairs. Often genes exist in copies that perform different functions and there are "psuedogenes" that get neutralized by mutations. The code contains vast stretches of virus-like DNA that gets copied but whose function is not understood. 

The first reference sequence of the genome came out in 2013, Still, about 8% of the code sequence, about enough to make up an entire chromosome, was undetermined. The latest, complete version complied by the consortium took advantage of computational biology techniques and advanced computers able to read long stretches of code. The increased accuracy they achieved allows them to say with confidence that the human genome is 3.05 billion base pairs long. Altogether, the scientists added or fixed more than 200 million base pairs in the reference genome. They have discovered 2 million places where individual variations can take place. Complete sequencing allows study of alterations in the code that allow diseases to develop in humans and more understanding of chromosome structures such as the centromere where pairs are attched. [human chromosome photo: Science]

"Toontime: Is That All?

credit A. Zyglis, Buffalo News

It took New York prosecutors more than two years and two trips to the Supremos to get their hands on Killer's tax returns. That expenditure of time and resources must be measured in millions by now. To be satisfied only with convicting a company for significant tax evasion over fifteen years--a company viewed as a 'mom and pop' operation by New York business insiders--without finding criminal liability for its hands-on CEO or allowing CFO Allen Weisselburg to fall on his pencil to protect the boss is hardly worth the effort. Even though Killer signed the checks for the unreported fringies with his revolting, indecipherable scrawl akin to subway graffiti, it is will require an insider with knowledge to rat on 'Pop' and satisfy the required standards of criminal evidence beyond the double books. To reach that level of improbable denial even for a former president may require the law to indict Weisselburg's sons who also worked for Trump Org, or even Ivanka for "consulting fees" paid to her by the company when she was a full-time employee. Otherwise, the current tax case in Manhattan against Trump & Co. is little more than a side-show as the rails come off our republic.

credit: J. Darkow, Columbia Missourian; BC Idonwanna sez: Bridge of democracy ahead!

Disease Hits Eastern Songbirds

A disease still unidentified by scientists is affecting eastern songbirds. Midatlantic and southeastrn Blue Jays, Grackles, and American Robins are dying from a disease that makes their eyes swollen and crusty. Infected birds also appear to be disoriented and unable to use their legs properly. In April birds in the Washington DC areas were seen dying in numbers with similar, strange symptoms. By the end of May similar reports were coming from Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia. By June, sick birds were found in Delaware, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Florida Indiana and Pennsylvania. Thousands of birds have died according to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study. Labs studying the disease have not yet isolated the cause. After extensive testing, several common pathogens have been ruled out. The USGS has recommended to stop feeding birds and sanitize feeders or bird baths with 10% bleach solution, and pick up dead birds with a disposable plastic bag or glove covering your hand.

An interesting speculation about the cause of the mysterious illness is that a pathogenic fungus carried by cicadas is responsible. A cicada swarm recently hatched after seventeen years underground. Since birds eat a lot of cicadas, it is possible that pathogenic spores are either swallowed or land in their eyes. So far there is no evidence that the cicada fungus, which is lethal to the insects, affects vertebrates. One other suggestion is that the disease is similar to House Finch eye disease, a type of conjunctivitis caused by a bacterium, however sick House Finches do not exhibit the neurological symptoms found in the affected songbirds. Examining all likely possibilities takes time, so the disease will spread and bird lovers should take precautions and report any sick birds exhibiting these strange symptoms. Bird feeder removal seems to be helping as reports of sick birds have dropped in the last few weeks. Experts think that this outbreak will not have long lasting, population level affects if this trend continues. [photo: NPS]

Royal Privilege: Destroying Tiger Habitat

Malaysia's royal family has plans to dig an iron ore mine in the middle of a nature reserve that is home to fifteen endangered species including the tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni). The plans came to public attention after an impact statement was published. The Som Forest Reserve is part of a forest complex that connects to peninsular Malaysia’s central forest spine. Up until June, 2019 the forest was a permanent reserve; it was then removed from the list of protected reserves by state government decree. Up to 150 acres would be deforested and excavated to extract iron ore. Only 200 of the tiger subspecies are thought to survive in the wild, and 26 more species in the reserve are protected under Malaysian law. The proposed site is just 546 yards from a salt lick that is regularly visited by a big herd of elephants along with tapirs and sun bears. The impact statement says the mine will not only permanently alter the animals’ routes to the salt lick, but also risk the “total loss of functionality” of this critical resource. Nevertheless in a mind-twisting example of foregone conclusion, the report concludes that the mine can go ahead with "acceptable' impacts.

This is not the first time the royal relatives have destroyed invaluable natural resources with their extraction activities. Lake Tasik Chini, the country's second largest natural lake, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, has suffered under decades of nearby extraction.The royals pledged to rehabilitate the lake, but proposed a new mine instead that was permitted by the state government. The state of Pahang has connections to the royal family through the present king's sister, Tengku Nong Fatimah Sultan Ahmad Shah. She owns the Som Forest Reserve site and seventy percent of the company, Golden Prosperous Resources, heading the Som project. Of of the 11 mining leases currently granted in the state, three belong to individual members of the royal family. They continue to seek ways to expand their collective fortune through extraction projects despite their already immense wealth. As one journalist noted, "They effectively control the non-transparent decision making in their states to their own enormous financial advantage.” Proposed destruction of Som Forest habitat will undoubtedly have little pubic resistance. In Malaysia, criticizing the royal family can have penal consequences. [leopard cat; credit: M. Prince]

COTW: Delta Spreads Worldwide

The B 1.176.2 varient otherwise known as the "Delta" varient, first identified in India, is spreading around the globe as this chart shows: 

In the US, Trumpland is particularly hard hit.  Could that be simply coincidence?  NOT! As the director of the CDC pointedly remarked, COVID-19 infection is becoming the "pandemic of the unvaccinated". 

US COVID-19 DEATHS (estimate based on CDC data): 841,500

US 1918 INFLUENZA (A) PANDEMIC DEATHS (est.):  675,000

Only you can prevent stupid--get vaccinated!

'Toontime: Empire Re Do

credit: deAdder

Washington made political hay out of the demonstrations in Cuba this week. The hypocrisy meter has hit the peg. Secretary of State Blinken had the unmitigated gall to say the sixty-year old blockade of the island had nothing to do with shortages and high prices that were the subjects of the protests. The fact that Cubans cannot get Tylenol at the local store is a direct result of the embargo that includes medicines such as COVID-19 vaccines and syringes. Cuba has produced its own effective vaccines now undergoing trials, and has vaccinated about 20% of the island population--almost as much as the state of Tennessee. The Economist reported that US exports of food to Cuba fell to their lowest levels since 2002. Cuba imports about 70% of its food. The former guy reimposed economic sanctions against Cuba after a brief thaw in relations under Obama. He once again designated Cuba a "state sponsor of terrorism" along with North Korea, Iran, and Syria. About 2,000 of her medical professionals have been set abroad to help fight the pandemic. Perhaps these are the "terrorists" the reactionaries are referring to.

If Joe really wants to help the Cuban people instead of just scoring propaganda points with the exile brigade in Miami who flood the Internet with anti-communist diatribes, he could lift the crippling economic warfare that has depressed the island's economy for the past sixty years. We trade with other communist countries without any objections from the hard right. What makes Cuba so evil that it is singled out for special treatment? Many of the Cuban dissidents enjoying Florida sunshine are on the payroll of the CIA or its front organizations like USAID. USAID funnels some $20 million annually into activities that can be described as "regime change." The CIA does not forget its failures easily.

As Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel put it during a special address to the nation on Sunday:

“If they [the US administration] want to make a gesture toward Cuba, if they really are concerned about the people, if they want to solve Cuba’s problems: lift the blockade and let’s see how we do, why don’t they do that? Why don’t they have the courage to lift the blockade, what legal and moral basis allows a foreign government to implement such a policy against a small country, and in the midst of such adverse conditions? Isn’t this genocide?”

The corporate owned media in the US have depicted the protests as an unprecedented uprising of a people begging for freedom. That cold-war sentiment is hardly an accurate picture of the diverse opinions of 11 million Cubans. Cubans have frequently protested against the communist government founded by Fidel Castro. But many support the revolution to this day. The Cuban constitution has been amended twice since 1959 as part of a democratic process that encouraged participation from ordinary citizens. The changes were confirmed by a 2019 plebiscite in which 10% of the 8 million participants voted no. Raul Castro implemented economic "updates" allowing limited market enterprise. When was the sacrosanct American charter from the 18th century, promulgated by slave-owning white men who believed in limited suffrage, last amended? We are still living with the anti-democratic consequences of the Electoral College and Jim Crow! Another supposed symptom of communism according to CNN--power outages. Power outages happen all over South and Central America, even in capitalist economies like Argentina's.

Any attempt to force the island to bring back corporate capitalism would be futile in the extreme. The Cuban government maintains a strong militia with membership in the millions that would make the Taliban look anemic if the island were invaded. It also has popular support. The fact is that the dream of taking back Cuba from the outside died in the sands of the Bahia del Cerdos. Hardly a "failed state", Joe, but an instructive example of what a revolution can achieve for its people while under the grinding heel of implacable imperial hostility. Afghanistan is your failed state. So, bottom line: give Cuba a break--roll back the former guy's sanctions, and let's go there on vacation.

credit: Sacramento Bee  Wackydoodle sez: His sprinkles melted too!

Yes, Virginia the "P" Tape is Real

This comes as no shock to US Person because he puts no depravity past the Antichrist who was in office. The UK's Guardian reports that leaked Kremlin documents appearing to be genuine show that President Putin ordered a covert propaganda operation to help the "unstable" candidate for president. As the then front-runner in the Repugnant campaign, the Kremlin considered Trump's victory to be in Russian interest since would help the Kremlin achieve strategic objectives, including social turmoil in the US and a compromise of that country's chief executive. The meeting of the Russian security council from which the documents are said to originate occurred on January 22, 2016. They contain a brief psychological profile of twice impeached president, who is described as an “impulsive, mentally unstable and unbalanced individual who suffers from an inferiority complex”. US Person could not agree more with that assessment. The leaked documents have been dismissed by the Kremlin as great "pulp fiction". Independent experts shown the papers have given an opinion that they appear to be actual secret Russian documents authored by Vladimir Symonenko, the senior official in charge of the Kremlin’s department that provides Putin with analytical material and reports, some of them based on foreign intelligence. (Sovbez) meeting, which actually took place [see photo] confirm that Putin's security services possess kompromat on Trumpillini from his days as a businessman visiting Russia on multiple occasions. The documents refer the reader to Appendix Five to know what the nature of the compromising information is. Appendix Five is not among the leaked documents. It has been widely reported the infamous Steele Dossier, prepared by a former MI6 agent under contract, identified a party that took place in 2013 with Trumpilini and Russian prostitutes at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Moscow where allegedly a woman micturated on the fake crime boss.

After the meeting of January 22nd, Putin issued a signed diktat stating a special working group should be set up to take advantage of the identified weaknesses in the American political system, effective immediately. A matter of weeks after the security council meeting, GRU hackers raided the servers of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and subsequently released thousands of private emails in an attempt to hurt Hillary Clinton’s election campaign. The emails became the "media virus" the spies wanted. These are the "thirty thousand" Clinton emails Trump hoped on national television Russia would find.  Former US intelligence officials are skeptical of the leak, saying it could be Russian disinformation. Western intelligence agencies have known about the papers and have been examining them for some time.A former British ambassador to Russia familiar with the Kremlin's bureaucratic procedure called the leaked papers "spellbinding".

They know it's only that big.....

Mass Die-off Along N. Pacific Coast

Hundreds of millions of marine creatures died in the record heat wave that struck the North Pacific Coast two weeks ago. Mussels, an abundant sea invertibrate, appear to be hardest hit. The high temperatures literally baked the creatures in their shells. One marine biologist from the University of Vancouver estimates that losses to mussels alone reached into the hundreds of million. Other vulnerable coastal invertebrates like sea stars and barnacles also perished putting the death toll easily over a billions. These types of extreme weather events will become more common as humans cook the planet with fossil fuel burning. 

Humans will also perish from extreme heat. In Oregon over a hundred people died from the effects of the record breaking heat. A study by an international team of climate researchers found it would have been virtually impossible for such extremes to occur without global warming. Temperatures reach 116 in Portland and 121 in Vancouver, BC.

Scientists are only beginning to consider the downstream effects of mass die offs on other animals.  Mussels are a favorite food of sea ducks that fill up before stressful migration to the Arctic for breeding.  Salmon, already facing man-made obstacles in their path must survive rivers made warmer and less fluent by hotter temperatures and drought. Chinook salmon in California cannot cross the Shasta Dam built three-quarters of a century ago, so have adapted to spawn in front of it. Scientists are now concerned that the river water will be too warm for eggs and juveniles to survive. Estimates of mortality are 90% or more.

Dr. Christopher Harley, the Vancouver marine biologist who estimated the blue mussel die-off, told the NYT, “I want to find the positives and there are some, but it’s pretty overwhelming right now, because if we become too depressed or too overwhelmed, we won’t keep trying. And we need to keep trying.”

Creature Feature: Bison!

We don't need no stinkin' gov'ment! Until you want to start an organic bison farm, that is. Look....

COTW: Or, You Can Drink Bleach

The CDC announced that over 99% of COVID-19 deaths are now among unvaccinated people.

Wind Farm May Impact Endangered Macaw

A wind farm under construction in Brazil's Bahia state by a French company, Volitalia, may impact the endangered Lear's macaw. The project is in its first phase of erecting 28 turbines with 53 planned for the second stage plus a thirty mile transmission network. Conservationists are concerned that the 1500 macaws who live in the area may collide with the turbine blades or transmission lines during their twice daily flights at dawn and dusk in search of food. The beautiful cobalt blue birds regularly fly between 40 to 50 miles to eat the coconuts of the licuri palm. Studies have shown that birds and bats are killed in the thousands by wind farm installations.

Voitalia insists that it is taking steps to mitigate the impact of its project. One of the conditions of the permitting process was the creation of a conservation program for the macaws. The company hired a prominent Brazilian biologist Erica Pacifico, who is a recognized expert on the species. She says the company is committed to preserving the population of macaws, and there is no evidence that the project is interferes with known flight paths of the birds. At her suggestion, the company buried some medium voltage power lines, and is considering painting the turbine blades black to make them more visible to birds in flight. It also plans to monitor the birds' activities using GPS tags. Pacifico maintains that any claims macaws will die from collisions is speculative at this point since there is no scientific evidence about macaw interactions with wind farms. There is, however, ample evidence of bird-turbine collisions in developed countries. Conservationists are critical of the process used by Volitalia to obtain government clearance of the development, saying it was unjustifiably truncated. Brazil’s National Environmental Council (CONAMA) requires an environmental impact assessment (EIA) and an environmental impact report, in addition to public hearings, for wind projects in areas inhabited by protected species. Impact studies will only be done after the project goes into operation. [artist impression courtesy Volitalia]

Lear's macaw already faces threats from habitat loss and the pet trade. It was first described in 1856, but its range was unknown for a century. In 1978 reseachers located the range to a region known as Raso da Catarina in the Caatinga scrubland biome. The first census in 2001 counted only 228 individuals. For thirty years NGO Biodiversitas has maintained a private reserve, Canudos Biological Station, which has conducted a conservation program for the macaws that protects its feeding and roosting areas. In 2019 the population was estimated at 1500, taking them from critically endangered to endagered listing. “We see the operation of a wind farm in the area where Lear’s macaws occur as risky,” says Gláucia Drummond, who heads the Biodiversitas Foundation. Wind power is needed to replace fossil fuel burning, but not every location is appropriate for wind farms. Siting needs to be done carefully with consideration for the impact on species and habitat. Parrots (Psittaciformes) have a relatively high risk of collisions in general. Parrots are long-lived, monogomous with a low reproductive rate. The loss of even one mature macaw is significant. The macaws' habit of flying in flocks at times of low light make them susceptible to collisions with the 100 meter towers and whirling blades. Companies interested in developing wind power in the habitat of endangered species should be willing to also invest resources in conservation especially. [photo credit: JM Rosa]

'Toontime: While the World Burns

credit: M. Wuerker, Politico.com; BC Idonwanna sez: Quick, call fireman!

Democrats in Congress procrastinate while the crises get worse. Rather than take a straightforward approach to passing overwhelmingly popular reforms by ridding themselves of a Jim Crow rule, they make fruitless attempts to engage with a revanchist cult bent on taking away their slim majority by hook or crook (mostly crook). The ludicrous impasse reveals what many pundits have repeatedly said, the Democratic Party is an inauthentic opposition engrossed by plutocracy, now only distinquished by the Right's lemming-like embrace of white national extremism. Let us call that what it is: modern American fascism.

Democrats have a rare chance to forge a multi-cycle majority by embracing non-nativist Populism. Biden's proposals for infrastructure rebuilding, climate action, and social program expansions enjoy widespread support among voters, urban and rural. The problem is that the party is reliant on the Money Power that controls policy since the days of Clinton who forged an alliance with Wall Street over Main Street. This explains why Biden backtracked on his election promise to support a public option for healthcare, and his willingness to indulge reactionary elements in his own party at the cost of degrading the planet and loosing democracy. America bashing? Ask Amos--not so much!

Liberty Crossing Closer to Reality

The highway crossing that may save southern California's remaining mountain lions is now closer to reality. Gov. Newsom signed a transportation bill that includes $7 million to fund construction along with $54.5 million for other wildlife crossings in the state. Crashes on California highways involving wildlife occur at a surprisingly high rate with an estimated 7,000 a year. These incidents cost an estimated $1 billion between 2015 and 2018. More than just dollars is the fact that crossings allow animals, some endangered, to live longer, healthier lives.

Highway 101 bisects mountain lion habitat in the Santa Monica Mountains. The remaining lions face extinction in the next fifty years unless man extends a helping hand. The Angora Hills overpass {19.09.15} will allow cougars to intersperse to avoid inbreeding of isolated populations that would lead to an "extinction vortex". Building the overpass, likely the world's largest dedicated wildlife structure, would help prevent that, but also increase the regions biodiversity. The project is expected to cost $87 million is funded with public and private donations. The Anneberg Foundation contributed $25 million. Actor Leonard Di Caprio's foundation chipped in $250,000. Caltrans, the state road building department, is not accustomed to building bridges and tunnels for wildlife to use. But that many change if Senate Bill 790 is approved. It creates an incentive system that would allow Caltrans to get mitigation credits from the state if it retrofits highways with new crossings for 'critters'. The bill received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate and is now in the Assembly for consideration.

Governor Newsom has a family legacy of cougar conservation. More than thirty years ago his father, William Newsom, championed the legislation that prohibited hunting lions in California. He told the Sacramento Bee that he recalls licking envelopes to promote the ban. Unfortunately the legislation he supported as a kid came with a Catch-22: lethal permits for cougars that kill livestock. The Bee determined that with the availability of depredation permits, more cougars have been killed since Prop 117 was passed in 1990. Part of the problem appears to be the mandatory language of the law that requires a permit to be issued upon request. P-56, a member of the threatened Santa Monica population, was killed using such a permit after he killed his 12th sheep. Thirty years later, conservationists are pressuring Gov. Newsom to place mountain lions on the state's endangered species list. Agricultural interests insist Prop 117 cannot be amended without a new ballot initiative, or a three-fifths vote in the state legislature.

The ground breaking overpass at Liberty Canyon is an opportunity for the state to begin a new legacy of conservation, while making highways safer for humans and saving a rare, iconic species from certain extinction. “I wish I could bring P-56 back, but I can’t, and I have regret about that,” Chuck Bonham, Newsom’s top wildlife appointee told the Fish and Game Commission, “We do not want to be the people who watch that rare population of lions in Southern California go extinct.”

Grasshoppers Cover the West

The extreme and prolonged drought affecting the western United States has generated another plague Pharaoh would be familiar with: grasshoppers. The dry conditions are favorable to large hatches of grasshopper eggs, normally kept in check by natural forces. Eastern Oregon has been particularly hard hit by the winged insects; thirteen western states report crop and range damage from grasshoppers. Their prolific appetite for grass make them a formidable pestilence, costing thousands of dollars to control. One eastern Oregon rancher estimated a $50,000 loss in range land forage. A sixth generation rancher near the California border told an interviewer, “The damage that they do when they come into crops is just absolutely horrific.” [photo credit: AP]

Broadcasting insecticides in problematic. Untargeted chemicals kill other often beneficial insects as well as contaminate wildlife and soils. Dimlin, the most specific insecticide is effective only against young grassphopers and between molts when adults shed their exoskeletons to grow. If the window is missed, farmers must wait until next year. In Oregon grasshoppers are hatching early and maturing sooner due to climate change making suppresion more challenging. This year's suppression campaign is recogned to be the largest in 35 years. Left to their own fate, grasshopper bursts die off after predators and pathogens catch up to the population growth. Grasshopper popularity as prey makes them key to ecological equilibrium most of the time, until population density turns them into pests.

Trump's First Hotel in Manhattan: The Commodore

The first hotel Trump built in Manhattan was the renovation of the old Commodore Hotel that originally opened in 1919 next door to the Grand Central Station. This project is often cited as an example of Donald Trump's accumen, but is on close examination, a prime example of cronyism and deceit with which he has become synonymous. (Aka John Baron, an alias he used to bamboozle Forbes magazine to increase his stature on their list of richest Americans. His youngest son is also named Baron.) Baron-Trump took great advantage from the fact that when he offered to "buy" the building in 1975 from a bankrupt railroad, Penn Central, the city was in deep financial crisis. New York was nicknamed "Fear City" by its disgruntled police force, crime was rampant, the city suffered from insanitation, and its political leaders were at a loss for solutions to many seemingly intractable problems. One of those was losing tax revenue to urban blight. In these dire straits, the erstwhile millionaire developer looked like a knight in shinning armor to the rescue. NOT.!

The once grand but aging Commodore was in danger of becoming blighted. Baron-Trump described the dingy lobby as belonging to a "welfare hotel". But he saw the thousands of commuters going in an out of Grand Central each day and thought the location excellent for a revitalized hotel. 'Baron' only had his father's money to play with and some bank loans, but he was determined to break into the Manhattan real estate game, something his father Fred never achieved. Fred was content to build houses in the outer boroughs with the help of the FHA and amass a great fortune. Trump's clever plan was to buy the hotel cheap from the bankrupt railroad which was in the process of selling off some of its unprofitable assets. He would then transfer the hotel to the Urban Development Commission for a nominal consideration. However, he needed to convince the city to give the project fifty years of tax abatements to make it a profitable deal. His father's connections to city and state leaders, notably Mayor Abe Beame, and Gov. Hugh Carey, developed over the years would prove very useful in this regard. He would convince the Hyatt corporation, which did not own any Manhattan hotels at the time--to actually run the business. Trump knew very little about running a large hotel.  He did not even own the site or have an option to buy when he began negotiating with the Mayor's office.

His renovation would be superficial and intended to cost no more than $100 million. He would clad the building in modern reflective glass and create an overhanging atrium, but skimp on the inside. Early 20th century rooms were still small. Although each had the then novel luxury of an en suite bath, the plumbing remained unchanged, the aging elevators slow, and the heating still centralized. New York Review of Books commented, "Trump had produced the kind of shiny artifact that tourists like, though at the same time he had damaged forever the texture of East 42nd Street." The American Institute of Architects’ guide to New York buildings referred to the glass façade as an “utter and inexcusable outrage.”

Trump utilized fear tactics against "Fear City"to bully his deal through. He told city officials that unless they approved his deal, the seedy hotel with a dirty brick exterior would close down, lie vacant, and pay no taxes. The hotel was already in arrears some $15 million in taxes. In his deal, the state's Urban Development Corp. would own the building thereby facilitating eminent domain evictions. Trump would leaseback the building and pay rent to the city. Urban blight was anathema to the city's economic advisors. “A closed Commodore would have a very serious blighting influence on the east midtown area,” said Alfred Eisenpreis, New York’s Economic Development Administrator of the time. As an added effect, Trump convinced hotel managers to close the hotel two days before his tax abatement request was put to a vote before the city Board of Estimate. Trump was still without formal ownership of the Commodore, or an option at that time despite telling the Board he did. A copy of an option in the city's possession was signed, bu only by Trump; no one asked questions of the politically connected young developer*. The sale of the hotel to Trump by Penn Central was not completed until 1978 at a 1975 price ($9.5 million), With few alternatives and the city facing bankruptcy, the Board voted to give him almost what he wanted: forty-two years instead of fifty years of no or reduced taxes. Over the first 36 years of the tax abatement, the hotel would have paid about $360 million in taxes; instead, the owners paid only $202 million in rent and fees. The "new" Commodore, renamed Grand Hyatt, would go on to rent rooms for as much as $1000 a night.

Changes in transportation modes eventually made the hotel less profitable. A current developer, TF Conerstone, announced in 2019 that it would tear down the Grand Hyatt and replace it with a 1600 foot tower complex if the city approves. Trump-Barron's early success story--"part shill game, part intrigue"--would be no more. So what is the lasting legacy of the Commodore Hotel, named after 19th century rail tycoon 'Commodore' Cornelius Vanderbilt? Why the tax abatements, of course! As Wayne Barrett, writer for the Village Voice put it, the abatements were the " largest symbol of the new state and city resolve to “stimulate economic development” by giving away the future....These abatement programs are the moral-obligation bonds of a future city collapse." Segue to the future now where Barron's company, Trump Org, is on trial for evading close to a million dollar in taxes. New York's early largesse towards the boy wonder seems to be paying negative dividends! Perhaps it is not too late to settle the score.

*A Penn Central witness in a Philadelphia bankruptcy case testified “The [bankruptcy] estate was putting its property in the hands of a developer. It was uppermost in our minds that…the developer…be very high in his political position. Trump is doing what, in our judgment, if anyone can do, he can do....[zoning] is highly political activity in the City of New York,” Fred Trump and Abe Beame went back thirty years as Madison Club friends and members of the same Brooklyn political machine. The son contributed heavily to  Brooklynite Hugh Carey's, political campaigns. Trump employed a Carey fundraiser as his director for "special projects" who registered as an Albany lobbyist. During the three years that Louise Sunshine worked for Trump, she also served as Hugh Carey's campaign finance director. When Fred Trump's east side Trump Village housing project came under state scrutiny, the investigating committee noted his “talent for getting every ounce of profit out of his housing project.” Fred ingrained this talent in his son who is still charging the taxpayer for Secret Service stays at his hotels.

 

art of the deal, 'John Baron' style

'Toontime: State of Deadlock

credit: M. Wuerker, Politico.com; BC Idonwanna sez:  They have the meat!

Two 'toons worth a thousand words. Allegedly unfriendly US Person wishes you a relaxing Fourth of July. Be patriotic--instead of playing with fireworks, get vaccinated if you have not done so already, or ask your state's US senators to support voting rights and end the filibuster. Or do you want to die of heat stress? Its your choice.

credit: P. Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune; Wackydoodle sez:  Only the happy news, man!

Joe Machin a 'Go To' for Exxon-Mobil

UK's Greenpeace organization revealed a video showing an Exxon-Mobil lobbyist, Keith McCoy, telling an undercover interviewer that he he lobbied key senators to remove and/or diminish climate change measures from President Biden’s US $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs bill as it proceeds through the legislative process. At the top of his go-to list is the senator from West Virginia, Joe Manchin. McCoy said friendly senators are, "a captive audience. They know they need you. And I need them." He goes on to name 11 senators who he says are “crucial” to Exxon-Mobil: Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Senator Joe Manchin, Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Senator Jon Tester, Senator Maggie Hassan, Senator John Barrasso, Senator John Cornyn, Senator Steve Daines, Senator Chris Coons, Senator Mark Kelly and Senator Marco Rubio. All of these except Kelly and Hassan have received political donations from the company according to FEC data. Eleven members of the Senate—Sens. King (I-Maine), Cassidy (R-La.), Perdue (R-Ga.), Moran (R-Kan.), Kennedy (R-La.), Roberts (R-Kan.), Scott (R-Fla.), Wyden (D-Ore.), Capito (R-W.V.), Collins (R-Maine), and Cruz (R-Texas)—have as much as $856,000 invested in Exxon-Mobil stock. No fossil fuel stock is owned by a greater number of senators.

"Kingmaker" Manchin received at least $12,500 from the Exxon-Mobil Political Action Committee in declared disbursements since the beginning of the 2011-12 election cycle. The oil and gas industry has given $131,000 to Senator Manchin's campaign organizations. Electric utilities, which use fossil fuels, have chipped in $357,102. Manchin is publicly against including climate related provisions, such as a national carbon standard, in any infrastructure bill. He is also against funding for electric vehicle infrastructure, and was the only Democratic senator to vote against protecting the Arctic Wildlife Refuge from drilling in 2017. Manchin has also voted to approve construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, expedite the approval process for natural gas pipelines, and override an Obama administration rule requiring coal companies to protect groundwater from toxic coal mining waste.

McCoy explained his company's efforts to support the 'bipartisan' infrastructure bill pending in the Senate, “That’s a completely different conversation when you start to stick to roads and bridges. And instead of a $2 trillion bill, it’s an $800 billion dollar bill. If you lower that threshold, you stick to highways and bridges then a lot of the negative stuff starts to come out...Why would you put in something on emissions reductions on climate change to oil refineries in a highway bill?” The company says its lobbying efforts are legal, and accused Greenpeace of  "waging a multi-decade campaign against our company and industry, which has included false claims and unlawful actions at our facilities as well as those of other companies around the world." The company spent more than $11 million on expenses related to lobbying the federal government in 2018. Scientists and executives at Exxon-Mobil have known since 1977 that burning fossil fuels contributes to global warming and would have catastrophic effects on the environment, but the company suppressed the information and funded misinformation in order to protect its profits. When the Money Power has bought your elected officials, US Person says, way to go Greenpeace !

'Toontime: False Prophet

credit: D. Whamond; Wackydoodle sez: He may be a liar, but he ain't no crook!

Latest: Prosecutors threw the sink at Alan Weisselberg, yesterday. The now unsealed indictment charges him with 15 counts of financial fraud and tax evasions carrying a total penalty of 80 years in prison for an 'off the books' conspiracy to avoid paying taxes that lasted fifteen years.  Journalist David Cay Johnson, who has followed Trump Organization for years, told MSNBC that charging the company with tax evasion indicates a broader intent by prosecutors to hold the company accountable under New York racketeering statutes.If found guilty of violating Article 460, the company could be placed in receivership. It is unclear how the criminal indictment will affect its current business dealings, but it could make credit harder to obtain. Forbes estimates the organization owes about $1 bn, some of which is personally backed by Trump.

Update: It appears from press reports that Allen Weisselberg, financial gatekeeper of the Trump Organization for more than three decades will be charged with financial crimes by the Manhattan District Attorney. Whether the charges will be enough to convince Weisselberg to cut a deal with the prosecution in return for state's evidence against his boss remains to be seen; so far he has rejected prosecution overtures. The criminal investigation is on-going and more charges against the company, but not Trump himself, are expected. Apparently both of Weisselberg's sons received hundreds of thousands of in-kind compensation and company executives were paid bonuses that were not reported on tax returns.

Trump's lawyer called the case "embarrassing" and "much ado about nothing", paraphrasing the Bard. Readers of PNG, aka "the animal channel", who have followed the Don since he descended Trump Tower's escalator to prey upon the "Trumpenvolk" surmise his company was run as a RICO (Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization), based in part on his family's historic business ties to the New York mob and more lately, Russian criminal organizations. He effectively used the legal shelter of his presidency however, to blunt investigations of his business dealings and corruption while in office. Pinning criminal wrongdoing on the former guy will be difficult without insider cooperation. This is clear: convicting him of multiple crimes is a one sure way of preventing the fascistic Orange Menace from reoccupying the "bully pulpit" in 2024.

{25.06.21} Even Repugnants in Michigan are forced to distance themselves from the Big Lie that is too absurd to be credible except for those suffering from mental illness or white supremacy syndrome. A GOP state senate committee concluded that the allegations of voter fraud in the state were without merit. A 55 page report comprehensively debunked claims of voter fraud, especially in Antrim County where election poll workers transposed voting numbers before correcting the error. The investigation blamed Repugnant Party "operatives" for the chaos that unfolded at Detroit's election center on Election Day. “The Wayne County Republican Party and other, independent organizations, ought to issue a repudiation of the actions of certain individuals that created a panic and had untrained and unnumbered persons descend on the TCF Center,” the report states. There was no "dumping" of ballots by Wayne County officials, either. A photo allegedly showing a worker dumping ballots circulated on the Internet, but was falsely labeled. The senate report by three Repugnants and one Democrat also exposes lies perpetuated about the vote-counting process in Georgia.

Bonus good news: Rudy Guilliani, formerly "America's Mayor" and top Manhattan federal prosecutor, temporarily lost his license to practice in New York for making false and misleading statements in court perpetuating the Big Lie. In its decision, the New York appellate court said that Giuliani’s actions represented an “immediate threat” to the public and that he had “directly inflamed” the tensions that led to the Capitol riot in January. He is still subject to disciplinary action by the state bar.

Ms. Pelosi, Speaker, announced that a select committee of the House will be formed to investigate the Insurrection of the Sixth of January. This announcement comes after the Party of Sedition refused to participate in a bi-partisan commission to conduct a needed comprehensive investigation into the facts of the Insurrection and its genesis. Why would Repugnants resist such a bi-partisan effort? For one thing, Individual One told them not to participate. The other more significant reason is that a complete investigation of the riot's antecedents will no doubt reveal the regime's deeper involvement beyond a reckless, inflamatory address by the Antichrist who told his minions to go to the Capitol to stop an election.

Ye shall know them by their fruit....Mathew 7:15-20