Kissinger Has Departed the Building

Henry has left US.  For a man so influential in US politics, one would think there would be an effusion of eulogies.  But not.  It is very hard to ignore his prominent role in prolonging the Vietnam War, the killing of thousands of civilians in Cambodia and Laos, and the overthrow of an elected government in Chile.  According to a Pentagon report in 1973 Kissinger approved each of the 3,875 secret bombing raids of Cambodia in 169 and 70. [photo] 

He told CIA Director Helms in a phone call that, "We will not let Chile go down the drain", referring to the election of Marxist President Salvador Allende.  US covert operations led to the assignation of Chile's Commander in Chief Rene Schneider, and eventually to the assignation of President Allende in a coup. August Pinochet took power and killed hundreds of citizen in a repressive campaign of political violence conducted by the military and the security agency, DINA.  Kissinger also opposed the leftist rebels in Angola, aligning the US with the repressive dictator of Zaire, Mobutu Seese Seko, in that civil war. The rebels eventually won with help from Cuba.  But. the war lasted for years, killing perhaps half a million people. He was also on the wrong side of the black liberation of Rhodesia led by Robert Mugabe.  He also supported repressive regimes in Latin America.

Yes, he participated in the Paris peace process to finally end the Vietnam war, but at the cost of thousands

killed in the carpet bombing of the North. Yes, he facilitated the opening of diplomatic relations with China, but he did that while stepping on the bodies of millions. He won the Nobel Peace prize, but it is stained with blood. The Chilean government now wants to see a complete disclosure of what the Nixon administration did to bring about the tragic events in that country.  The reckoning for Henry has yet to come. [photo credit: Getty images]

A Rare Birth in Sumatra!

A new rhino baby has entered the world, a member of the critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceros subspecies( (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) Only fifty animals are thought to survive in the wild. The male calf was born to  seven year old Delilah at Way Kambas Rhino Sanctuary on Sumatra.  The sire is Harapan, who was born at the Cincinnati Zoo. The unnamed fifty-five pound calf was ten days premature.  He was found by a keeper on Saturday morning next to his mother. He is now able to stand, walk and breast feed.

Most of the remaining Sumatran rhinos live on the island of Sumatra in the remnants of their forest homes. Several are in captive breeding programs. The new birth is the second in 2023 of a total of five born at Way Kambas.  The new calf's grandmother, Ratu, gave birth to a male named Andatu, the first rhino born in Indonesia in 124 years.  Sumatran rhinos typically have a life span of 35-40 years.  Good luck little guy!

Wild Turkeys in Decline

Now that you have stuffed your face with factory raised turkey meat, here is a story of wild turkeys.  Turkeys were a 20th Century conservation success story.  They were brought back from eradication and re-established to their home ranges with such success that several states brought back hunting seasons.  The bulky birds are still more common than they were several decades ago, showing up on roadsides, college campuses, yards and parks.  But the endemic bird, once considered for the national emblem, is in steep decline in the south and midwest.  Scientists have not yet been able to explain the steep drop in their numbers in these regions, while populations in the northeast and west are stable or growing.

Kansas was once a destination for turkey hunters.  Today the state has curtailed its hunting seasons
as the state's turkey population has declined by sixty percent since 2007.  Being a generalist and very adaptable to changing environments, their decline is a bit of a mystery.  Research is being done on the question, but there are no firm answers yet.  Conservationists point to several factors such as loss of habitat, climate change, disease, or pressure from predators.  The likely explanation is a combination of such factors.  Tracking turkeys is not easy work as researchers attempt to understand what is happening.  Wild turkeys  never do what you expect them to do.  One explanation of why they are still with us.  Gobble, gobble!.

Dominca Set to Protect Sperm Whales

The island nation of Dominica in the Caribbean announced the first marine reserve to protect sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus, this month. It is a 304 square mile area on the island's west coast that protect the endangered whale's nursing and breeding grounds by limiting human activity.  The prime minister of Dominca called the resident sperm whales "prized citizens" of his nation, noting that they inhabited the waters before people inhabited the island.  Protecting them will enhance human health too, he added.  The new reserve increases by 70% the nation's total marine reserves.

a sperm whale family

The largest of the toothed whales. sperms are known for their deep diving, plunging to depths of  6,000 feet in search of their preferred prey, giant squid. They can hold their breath for 90 minutes. Besides being superb athletes, they are very social, forming tight knit family groups known as "clans".  The Dominican whales are part of the Eastern Caribbean Clan, thought to number fewer than 300.  The population has been declining by 3% annually since 2010 due to human pressures.  Members of the same clan have their own dialect of click patterns to identify each other. Newborns are often cared for communally by near relatives.  The whales encourage plankton growth by defecating at the surface between dives. The plankton absorbs carbon dioxide and release oxygen. [photo credit: B. Skerry]

Besides the beneficial ecological effects, Dominca's whales contribute to the nation's important tourist industry. Tourists will still be able to visit and even swim with the whales, but on a controlled basis.  An official monitor will be appointed to insure the rules are followed. Green Kudos go to Dominica!

PGE Does Good For Salmon

Columbia basin salmon have it hard, facing several man-made barriers in their annual, arduous journey to upstream spawning grounds.  This situation is one reason for their precipitous decline in numbers in  modern times.   Millions of dollars have been spent attempting to increase populations, including resort to culling other protected species (sea lions). Pacific Gas and Electric, the local utility company for the Portland metro, is contributing to the efforts to save salmon by improving fish passages around dams and other obstructions. The company reported record returns for the third consecutive year of coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch at their North Fork Dam on the Clackamus River since record keeping begn in 1958. The 17,000 adult coho have apparently learned a safe route through what must appear to be a bewildering maze of metal troughs and tanks. Salmon swim up a fish ladder into a trap and are sorted hands-free. Only wild salmon are allowed to proceed to their spawning grounds in the upper Clackamas basin. They are distinguishable from hatchery-raised salmon, which have their adipose fin clipped when young.

More juvenile cohos have also returned, as well as 4,770 wild chinook Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. PGE's bypass system allows fish to avoid three dams, contributing to a thriving river system where salmon and steelhead can safely breed.  Favorable conditions at sea have also contributed to the resurgence seen at North Fork. Fish have grown more robust and resilient, enabling them to withstand the stress of migration, perhaps due to reduced fishing pressure during the pandemic years. 

TWIT: "Vermin"

credit R. Bolling

More: A Colorado judge has ruled that despite aiding and abetting an insurrection, the 14th Amendment disqualification provision does not apply to presidents. Judge Sarah Wallace concluded that, “Trump engaged in an insurrection on January 6, 2021 through incitement, and that the First Amendment does not protect Trump’s speech". Her decision makes three strikes against the proposition (Michigan, Minnesota), so it may be dead for practical purposes, but the issue could still make it to the US Supreme Court.  Judge Wallace's 102 page opinion does seem incongruous with the plain language of Section 3: No person...shall hold any office civil or military....who having previously taken an oath...as an officer of the United States..." [emphasis added]. In her analysis, she relied on a distinction in oaths between Congress and the President that does not make a material difference.* Perhaps the state judges concluded sub silencio that it would be more consistent with democratic principles for the people of the United States to decide the political fate of the sociopathic boy-king.  US Person has his doubts about the wisdom of that choice given the election results of 2016.  Hillary was bad, but not as bad as Don 'Legit', who successfully conned his way into office. He is not on Fifth Avenue now.

{16.11.2023}As the possibility of imprisonment draws nearer, the would-be American dictator let his Nazi flag fly on Veteran's Day when he promised to eradicate political opponents he called "vermin".  That terminology is straight out of Hitler.  Astute readers may recall that the Nazis produced propaganda in which Jews were called the "vermin of Europe". In trademark fashion he claimed the threat of domestic enemies to be greater than those from foreign adversaries.  Dismiss his ranting if you must to maintain your grip on sanity, but remember that upwards of 40% of the American people are sympathetic to this neo-Nazi; he is outpolling the current democratically elected president.  One expert on authoritarianism told a TV host, "we are sleepwalking towards authoritarianism."  It seems Don 'Legit" actually read the Hitler autobiography he kept by his bedside.  His supporters are already building an army of loyalists, pre-screened by AI, to fill positions in government should he take office in '24.  The only thing needed now are the armbands.

Big Bavovna in Fulton County! The profers made by the co-defendants in the Georgia trial made it to the press.  Predictably the leak was made by a co-defendant's attorney.  The attorney for Jenna Ellis told Judge McAfee that he leaked the deposition because he though it would help his client and that the public has a right to know.  DA Willis was not pleased with the leak and has asked the judge for a protective order.  Whether the leak helped his client is debatable; it did inform the public about the quality of evidence of the Boss' corrupt intent.  Dan Scavino, former top aide in the White House, told Ellis at a Christmas party that Trump was "not going to leave the White House under any circumstances", regardless of loosing sixty some legal cases on the fraud issue.  When Ellis told Scovino, "it doesn't quite work that way". Scavino replied, "We don't care." No wonder she got a sweet plea deal from the DA!

credit: M. Luckovich

* In the presidents oath he promises to "preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States", while Congress members vow to "support the Constitution of the United States".  Clearly the President has a higher duty that includes merely supporting it.  Wallace has created, perhaps unintentionally, an exception to disqualification for future insurrectionist presidents or former presidents.  The fact there is no established procedure for making a rogue candidate like Trump ineligible for election under the Fourteenth Amendment begs precedent be established now by courts of law in this country.  US Person encourages Colorado plaintiffs to take their case to the Colorado Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court, if necessary because Judge Wallace's opinion, while finding Trumpilini engaged in an insurrection as predicate, it is logically flawed at its conclusion.  This is not a "political question", but rather an issue of correct statutory interpretation of Section 3's plain language.  Trumpillini has already availed himself of the statutory federal officer liability exemption in the E. Jean Carrol defamation case.  He is probably collaterally estopped from using the argument that he is not one for the purposes of the 14th Amendment.

Idaho Extremists Plan to Kill Wolves

The name of the agency is enough to tell you what their policy is: Idaho Wolf Depredation Control Board.  These extreme radicals have no regard for the survival of a wild creature simply trying to survive. They plan to hire private contractors to kill wolves by trapping, snaring, and gunning from aircraft.  They took this decision without public input.  A brutal scofflaw from Elko, NV named Trevor C. Watch stands to benefit the most from three contracts worth over $100,000.  The Nevada chief game warden labeled his activities, "blatant illegal behavior".  He has left trapped animals to die slowly of dehydration and starvation 

The Board authorized unlimited removal of wolves in their core range despite successful efforts by the Wood River Project to teach ranchers and others to co-exist with wolves.  The field season this year resulted in zero losses to predation among 24,000 sheep in the project area.  The project regularly documents the lowest predation rates in the state. Yet Idaho legislature has voted to remove 90% of the states wolf population.  A livestock operator from Blaine County said that the extermination efforts will likely result in more predation as pack relations are destroyed, and inexperienced juveniles disperse to kill livestock in order to survive. He also pointed out that the cost of these vindictive pogroms usually exceeds the value of livestock killed statewide in Idaho.  These efforts to exterminate wolves also make a mockery of the considerable resources devoted to bringing back wolves from near extinction.

Non-lethal deterrents work, but that fact does not make any sense to Idaho authorities who are operating on a culture war agenda.  The Control Board only funds lethal actions; no money is allocated for non-lethal programs.  The Wood River wolf pack has lived alongside sheep and sheep hoarders for sixteen years peacefully.  Do they deserve elimination by man?  That question hardly needs to be asked in a sane world.  Sixty percent of the land in Idaho is public land, and the public elsewhere in America has made their decision to protect wolves very clear.  US Person thinks the federal government needs to step in and prevent this irrational slaughter from occurring by extending emergency protection to Idaho wolves under the Endangered Species Act.  Write to the US Secretary of Interior today!