Spix's McCaw Resurrected from Extinction

Shakespeare wrote that there are more things in heaven and Earth than thought by man.  The reappearance of Spix's macaw (Cyanositta spixii) after a fifteen year absence in the wild proves the rule.  The species, made famous in the animated movie "Rio", was considered by science to be probably extinct in the wild.  Only about 130 captive individuals survived the onslaught of forest habitat destruction and the pet trade.  Then, in June this year, farmer Nauto Oliveira spotted a macaw near Curaçá and recorded its flight and call.  SAVE Brazil (Society for the Conservation of Birds in Brazil) confirmed the macaw is a Spix.  Conservationists are elated since the sighting means reintroduction of surviving macaws can be accomplished successfully.  If a wild bird can find sufficient dry Caatinga forest habitat to live in, so can released birds if managed properly. The hope is the macaw is not alone and has a mate. [photo] Over 100,000 acres of their dry forest habitat around the small city is now protected.

Spix's macaw was probably never very widespread.  It was first reported by scientists in 1819 and was not seen again until 1903.  In 1986 searchers found three individuals, but poachers took those. Over the next two decades only a few more birds were located.  In 2000 the macaw seemed to have disappeared until the recent sighting. The local community has embraced the bird or birds, setting up anti-poaching patrols.  Spix's macaw is now an icon of the city and residents are anticipating its reintroduction into the wild.

'Toontime: Crooks Versus Scofflaws

credit: Gary Varvel, Indianapolis Star

Wackydoodle sez: But you are reckless!

How "extremely careless" differs materially from the statutory standard of "grossly negligent" is almost too fine a distinction except for the rarefied atmosphere of Washington, DC in an election year.  What bothers US Person most about the FBI's recommendation of no prosecution for Ms. Clinton's refusal to abide by State Department communication security is that General David Petraeus was prosecuted for a similar mishandling of classified information.  Petraeus gave eight "black books" privately to Paula Broadwell, a journalist and mistress, who was writing about him. The books contained codes and classified information.  None of the classified information given out was used in Ms. Broadwell's subsequent biography of General Petraeus.  Nor was he running for President as the candidate of a major political party when he pled guilty to a misdemeanor.  Some commentators point to the fact that the General lied to investigators about his leak to account for different treatment.  However, the FBI noted that in some instances the former Secretary was less than straightforward and cooperative in their and the State Department's investigation of her.

It is undisputed that Petraeus' leak was intentional; he made that admission as part of his plea agreement.  Ms. Clinton's use of an insecure server to conduct official business was also intentional, even arrogant, but she did not intentionally leak classified information to her knowledge.  Eight email chains contained information classified "top secret", the highest classification; thirty-six contained "secret" information.  Because her leaks were digital, they had the potential of doing more harm since they could have been seen by state enemies without her knowledge or consent.

Further, the operative statute in both cases does not require mens rea of intentionality.  It does require a higher level of culpability than mere negligence (18USC1924).  In US Person's opinion the FBI director's own public statement that she was "extremely reckless" in her handling of classified information indicates her culpability rises above mere negligence.   It may be a more difficult case to prove, but is it justice to simply ignore the former Secretary's intentional breach of the public's trust by insisting she use her own insecure server to conduct public business, often while abroad? Not so much. She should have known that her private communications could contain classified information. Ordinary citizens have been prosecuted for less.

COTW: Civilian Casualties Mount in Afghanistan

courtesy: United Nations

The number of civilian casualties in the fifteen year war continues to climb.  The UN said earlier this year that 2015 was the deadliest since the organization began keeping statistics in 2009.  Over eleven thousand casualties were counted, up 4% above 2014 according to the UN mission to Afghanistan.  A fierce battle for Kunduz and Taliban suicide attacks in Kabul contributed to the mounting civilian casualties, but the United States also contributed to the grim figures by destroying a charity hospital in October. {09.09.08, Winning Hearts and Minds}  That attack killed 42 and injured 43 more.  The United Nations said both sides have failed to adhere to commitments to avoid civilian casualties.  The statistics do not convey the chaos of a disintegrating society plagued by war for two generations.  About a third of the casualties in 2016 are children; both the Taliban and Afghan government forces use child soldiers. Although the US is slowly withdrawing from Afghanistan, the Taliban is responding to the withdrawal by stepping up its attacks.  No prospect for a peace agreement or even a ceasefire are in sight.

US Backed Militia Suffers Defeat

A much advertised offensive by a Syrian militia organized by the United States ended in failure last Wednesday. The Boukamal offensive intended to capture the last ISIS held border crossing between Iraq and Syria. It was launched last week with intensive US air support. New Syrian Army fighters managed to briefly capture an airfield at Hamdan before retreating back to their base at Tanf, 150 miles to the west of the border, after loosing some vehicles and four fighters. The United States has had limited success in finding and supporting "partners" in the fight against ISIS. Only the Kurdish dominated Syrian Democratic Forces have wrested territory from the terror group in Syria's north. Because NATO partner Turkey is combating it own Kurdish insurgency, the US has been reluctant to embrace Kurdish aspirations of nationhood. The one thousand man New Syrian Army was trained by the United States and British special forces with the Jordanian army acting in an advisory role. Pentagon sources refuse to say how much or what type of support the militia army is receiving. It is made up of Syrian army defectors, local militia groups, and indigenous Islamist fighters. They use almost exclusively American made weapons.

A 200 man rebel attacking force managed to escape ISIS encirclement at Hamdan with the help of US air strikes and reinforcements from another US equipped unit. A New Syrian Army fighter who escaped destruction said his group hoped for support from local Sunni tribesmen, but the aid did not materialize. Since 2014 when it declared the "caliphate", ISIS has conducted a campaign of intimidation along the border to prevent defections among resident Sunnis who freely cross it back and forth. Among the Sunni Shueitat tribe that lives near Boukamal, one thousand members are missing or believed beheaded by the terrorists. A Jordanian advisor said no support will be forthcoming from potential resistors until they know ISIS will be defeated because they fear the organization's well known brutality. The US officer in charge of the failed campaign said it was "a very tough fight", but acknowledged the setback.

In a related development, the outgoing White House occupant cancelled a planned reduction in force for Afghanistan. Obama told reporters that American force level there will remain at over 8,000 for the remainder of his term. The decision is a recognition of the country's "precarious" security circumstances. The United States despite fifteen years of war has been unable to eliminate the Taliban and Afghanistan's army is unable to effectively function alone despite huge amounts of US military aid. He had expected to leave about five and half thousand in country, but recent attacks by the Taliban caused him to slow down the withdrawal. Obama is acutely aware of handing his successor an untenable military situation in Afghanistan and his legacy of failure to end America's flawed, costly interventions in the Middle East. Afghan civilian casualties are at a record high and thirty-eight Americans have died in fighting in the last eighteen months. A Taliban spokesman twitted that what Obama could not do with 149,000 troops, he cannot do with 8400. Apparently the Taliban are good at math.

Canada's First Nations Stop Trans-Rockies Pipe

First Nations were successful in stopping Enbridge Inc's controversial Northern Gateway Pipeline intended to bring Alberta bitumen to the Pacific coast at Kitimat oil terminal. A federal appeals court found the government of Canada failed to effectively consult with affected First Nations and revoked the company's permit. Substantial consultation with First Nations affected by development projects is required by the federal constitution. The lawsuit against the project was brought by seven tribes, four environmental organizations and one labor union. Haida nation's leader described the decision as another nail in the coffin of the Northern Gateway project. The $7.9 billion project was proposed in the mid-oughts and was postponed several times. Recently the new Liberal prime minister, Justin Trudeau, banned tanker traffic from the stormy north coast of British Columbia.

North Dakota Rejects Corporate Farms

North Dakota family farmer, circa 1924

Ordinarily you do not think of North Dakota in terms of progressive politics, or at least after some more obvious choices such as Vermont or Massachusetts.  But it does have its own publicly-owned state bank, something neither Vermont or Massachusetts can boast about.  Here is another North Dakotan progressive fact: its citizens voted again to ban corporate ownership of farms in the state.  US Person spelled that right, no corporate ownership!  The ban has been in place for eighty-four years, passed in the depths of the Greatest Depression. Only nine states prohibit or limit corporate ownership of farms.  The North Dakota legislature passed a measure in March to end the ban for dairy and pork operations, but a grass-roots campaign subjected the measure to a referendum. Seventy-five percent voted against the measure.

North Dakota has a history of populist politics as do many rural mid-western states.  The region was the epicenter of the Populist reform movement at the end of the 19th century, culminating in the adoption of the radical "Omaha Platform" of the People's Party on July 4, 1892¹.  The Peoples' Party sought a "middle road" between the business-dominated Republicans and the southern-dominated Democrats.  Their intention was to "fight it straight" by opposing both major parties.  Unfortunately for America this original domestic revolution was undermined by free-silverites.  Bimetalism was incorrectly viewed by many cash-strapped agrarians as the panacea that would free them from the gold chains of eastern bankers who controlled credit. The Populists were co-opted by the Democrats under the fusion banner of the "boy orator of the Platte", William Jennings Bryant.

Bryant was no Populist, but he was shrewd enough to embrace free-silver support backed by mining interests.  He promised the Democratic convention of 1896 that the plutocrats would not "crucify man on a cross of gold."  He was wrong; William McKinley was elected in the midst of another depression after an expensive campaign largely funded by corporations. America still suffers that crucifixion a century later in the form of mounting debt and declining real wages.  Another reality is possible: in Populist leader L.L. Polk's eloquent words, the people could "link their hands and hearts together and march to the ballot box and take possession of the government, restore it to the principles of our fathers, and run it in the interests of the people."  In the 21st century, this is the revolution still required.

1. Ignatius Donnelly of Minnesota, a respected orator in a party full of powerful orators thanks to its heritage of the Farmer's Alliance speakers bureau, told the gathered thousands in his keynote address, "This continent is the last great camping ground of the human race.  If liberty fails here, it fails forever.  Every oppressed nation in the world is looking upon this convention to discover whether....the stars and stripes shall float across the country steadily rising....or if it shall float a solemn mockery above a land cursed as Europe is cursed--the middle class driven off the land, while concentrated in the hands of the few is the wealth provided by the toiler." The essence of the third party movement as Donnelly said in his platform preamble was to "restrain the extortions of aggregated capital", and "restore the government of the republic to the hands of the plain people."  He warned against the distractions of "sham battles" so as to loose sight of "the sacrifice of our homes and children upon the altar of Mammon."  To which the notorious scofflaw US Person cries from the uni-sex latrine, "Amen",   American socialism?  You betcha!

2. The 1986 Republican presidential campaign run by Ohio industrialist Mark Hannah set precedent for modern American political campaigns that are still followed to this day.  Hannah organized this nation's first national mass advertising campaign aimed at the minds of American people.  It sought to shape the way they thought about political power, who should have it and why.  It was hugely successful.  The nation's new business concentrations headquartered in New York financed the expensive effort, the most expensive in US political history up to then.  Standard Oil chipped in $250,000, a figure matched by the "banker's banker" JP Morgan.  James J. Hill, the railroad magnate was also deeply involved in the campaign, as was the New York Life insurance president.  Collectively these representatives of corporate America managed to turn the Republican's outmoded "bloody shirt" rhetoric into the very definition of patriotism.  The flag became an omnipresent icon of McKinley's hard money crusade.  Three quarters of million paraded beneath it down New York's streets on a national "flag day" organized to support McKinley's candidacy. Democrats became so frustrated by the tactic they began tearing up flags to the delight of their opponents. Bryant and the silverites became agents of anarchy in his campaign terms, contrasted to McKinley as the "advance agent of prosperity".  The Democratic Party was charged with being too friendly to "foreigners, immigrants and anarchists"; this charge hurled by the most exclusive, white Protestant, business party that ever metamorphosed from abolitionist origins in American history.  All of this mesmerizing agitprop was accomplished before TV and radio!  Sound eerily familiar in the 21st century?  It does because Mark Hannah invented it over one hundred years ago. That triumph of the corporate state over Jeffersonian notions of democracy circumscribed the permissible dialogue of reform since then; you have Hillary Clinton as the prime example of what that long-ago triumph has wrought.

'Toontime: The Un-Choice

credit: Jeff Danziger

Wackydoodle axes: Y'all got a license for that roscoe? 

It is enough to make you vote Green! If the latest Quinnipac poll means anything, 'Mericans do not expect either major party candidate will make a good president.  Independent voters, the much talked about "swing vote", are evenly split in their negative opinion about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.  The poll also shows the two candidates are running about evenly with Clinton at 42% and Trump at 40%.  This horse race predicament of national politics which is increasingly apparent, shows why the United States needs a viable third party and direct popular election of the most powerful person in the country. As the popular song says, "suicide brings many changes".  Does America have to commit such a desperate act to bring the changes it needs?