COP28 Not Far Enough

Getty Images: Tuvalu

The deal was struck when small island nations, the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, were out of the room.  Nations present including the US, China and the EU, agreed to "transition away from coal, oil and gas.  That language was a step down from "phasing out fossil fuels" which western nations approved.  Still, even the weaker language was a unexpected outcome from a 200 nation conference in oil-rich United Arab Emirates presided over by that nation's CEO of the national oil company, Sultan al-Jaber. He expressed satisfaction with the conference outcome despite push-back from oil nations like Saudi Arabia and Iraq.  US climate envoy, John Kerry, also said the 21 page agreement was a "step forward" in the difficult context of war in Ukraine and Palestine.  Activists were less satisfied with the compromise, calling the agreement "weak" and a "litany of loopholes".

Countries committing to the agreement have just six years to cut carbon emissions by 45%.  Many countries are nowhere near reaching that goal.  A climate scientist at the talks said there may be a lot of back-slapping going on, but "the physics will not care" since the agreement locks in high levels of emissions for years to come.  Temperatures and sea-levels will continue to rise.  The host for the next conference on climate change is gas-rich Azerbaijan. God help us!

Kill 500,000 Barred Owls?

That is what the US Fish & Wildlife wants to do in an effort to protect the endangered spotted owl Strix occidentalis in the northwest.  The barred owl Strix varia out-competes the spotted in forests it inhabits. [photo] To reduce the competition USF&W proposes to allow hunters to kill half a million owls over the next thirty years. 

Barred owls are considered invasive in the northwest.  They have been here since the 1950's spreading over California, Washington and Oregon, and supplanting the native spotted owl.  Their success is attributed to their larger size, aggressiveness, and more varied diet.  Studies have shown that barred owl removal has a salutary effect on the decline of spotted owl populations.  Nevertheless, hunting such an iconic bird of prey is unthinkable.  Would you be willing to kill a bald eagle?

Culling is a tragic method of controlling the population of problematic species.  It should be used as a method of last resort.  Other options such as sterilization are more expensive and labor intensive.  There are now over 100,000 barred owls in spotted owl territory.  A great deal of effort and controversy went into preserving old growth forest in the northwest so as to provide habitat for the spotted.  The habitat is there, but now the barred is moving in, big time.  US Person occasional hears the "hoot-hoot woohoo" of a barred in the night in the big firs outside his home.   It is always an inspiring sound.

Lost Golden Mole Found

credit: N. Souness

Researchers in South Africa have rediscovered a lost mole species not seen since 1936. De Winton's golden mole (Cryptochloris wintoni)
lives in the sand dunes of the northwest coast. Near Port Nolloth, the habitat is currently unprotected and threatened by development. Researchers used a specially trained border collie to sniff out the blind rodents that live mostly underground. More than 100 sand samples were collected and tested for DNA shed by the burrowing moles. The DNA collected was compared to the DNA from a De Winton's mole specimen kept in a Ort Nolloth museum. De Winton's golden mole is one of twenty-five "most wanted" list. The Endangered Wildlife Trust hope to use the rediscovery to advocate for protection of the mole's habitat.

TWIT: No Joking Matter

More:  The Nevada Attorney General has indicted six individuals including the chairman of the state RNC who posed as qualified presidential electors in that state as part of the scheme employed to stay in power illegally,  Michigan and Georgia have already filed charges.  Ken Chesebro was released from the conditions of his pre-trial release in Georgia to travel to Nevada to cooperate with that Attorney General's case.  Chesebro will no doubt also travel to Arizona where the the Democratic AG promised to investigate the fake electors scheme in her state. Trump electors there did not even bother to qualify their selection as provisional in case the official slate was rejected.  That did occur in New Mexico, which probably explains why no investigation is going forward there.  Michigan will hold a probable cause hearing in its case next week.

The defendants in Nevada will undoubtably rely on the historic precedent of President John F. Kennedy's campaign in Hawaii in 1960.  Their reliance is misplaced.  Kennedy's people compiled a contingent slate of electors in the event he was declared the winner of a disputed election.  They were not submitted to Congress until after he was declared the winner of Hawaii's election. His slate of electors were then submitted for counting. The Trump conspiracy submitted their slate of electors to Congress after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the Arizona presidential election.  Clearly not the same situation.

{07.12.23}Don Trumpilini can be called a lot of names: malignant narcissist, chauvinistic boor, failed businessman,  criminal defendant, and wanna-be dictator.  One category he does not fall into is stupid.  He has the cunning of a mobster, and the scruples of a con-man.  His attorneys are attacking the US justice system in its vulnerable precincts by filling appeals left and right in the hope of delaying proceedings until the election decides whether he goes scot-free.  The legal system is failing in its ability to handle an unprecedented criminal defendant. No one in US history has run for office while facing four criminal indictments and 91 felonies.  Legal scrupulosity is making a hash out of what should be a straightforward criminal prosecution supported by abundant publicly known facts. His lawyers' latest gambit is to request the entire proceedings, including time-consuming jury selection, in DC be put on hold, while a notoriously slow DC Circuit of Appeals considers his dubious argument that he has absolute immunity from prosecution for acts committed while President of the United States. 

It has already been determined as a civil matter that presidential immunity is not absolute. See PNG post, "The Delusions of Orange Jesus". It boggles the mind to think that a sitting President is entitled as a matter of law to commit crimes while in office. If that were the case, the War of Independence was fought in vain.  The fact that he is running for office should be entirely irrelevant to the issues before the bar in his various criminal prosecutions. The justice system is playing into his hands by allowing him to use his campaign for a second term as a shield and excuse to launch public vitriol against the courts' officers. The US justice system's standing in the world as an impartial arbiter is disgraced, making a sick joke of the often expressed opprobrium, "No one is above the law."

the Ochre Menace exposed

Panama's Giant Copper Mine Is Illegal

Panama's Supreme Court ruled on October 20th that the giant copper mine owned by First Quantum Minerals illegal because the concession was not tendered by the state properly. Minera Panama, a subsidiary, will have to close the mine in face of the unanimous court decision. Last year, the mine produced 86,000 tons of copper around 1% of the world's total production. The mine has sparked popular protests; observers say the protests are part of a growing movement among Mesoamericans to protect natural resources against extractive industries. The mine is located near the Carribean coast were several rivers converge, supplying the region with fresh water. During a drought which has led to restriction of traffic in the Panama Canal, water consumed by the mine could have been used to keep the Canal operating a full volume.

Cyanide Bombs Banned

In a victory for wildlife, the BLM has banned the use of infamous M-44 cyanide bombs to kill predators. The little known Wildlife Services bureau within the Department has used the devices to kill tens of thousands of animals over the past decade. The devices [graphic] are indiscriminate and have even been known to injure humans and their pets like Canyon Marshal and his dog Kasey, releasing a cloud of poisonous sodium cyanide gas if triggered by an animal. The fight against M-44s has been long and difficult.

Canyon Mansfield was walking on the hillside behind his Pocatello, Idaho home with his dog in 2017 when he spotted what looked like a sprinkler head.  When he reached down to pick it up, the spring loaded device released a cloud of gas. The poison killed his dog and injured him. The agency had planted M-44s on the public land adjacent to the Mansfield property. Now, the focus of the fight shifts to other land management agencies in the federal government to ban the use of inhumane device. Oregon was the last left coast state to ban their use in 2020.

TWIT: The Delusions of "Orange Jesus'

credit: D. Whamond

One of Don 'Legit' Trumpilini's most cogent legal arguments, among many frivolous one, is that a sitting President is immunity from liability. The argument fits perfectly the delusional personality involved. He has escaped responsibility for his bad business decisions and criminality for most of his life. He once quipped he could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue without loosing political support. His many public statements clearly show he believes he has the power of absolute monarchs when in office. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has told him he is wrong. The opinion comes out of several lawsuits filed by Democrats and police officers seeking to hold him accountable for the damage done on January 6th. A three judge panel concluded that a President is not always dong official business when in office. When he acts in a private capacity, such as running for re-election or formeting insurrection, he does not continue to enjoy official immunity. The opinion was unanimous and written by chief judge Sri Srinivasan. Judge Tanya Chutkin, presiding over Special Counsel Jack Smith's criminal insurrection prosecution, also rejected his argument of absolute presidential immunity. It may prove influential in the criminal cases against him where he is making a similar arguemnt. As part of his stonewall tactics the decisions will be appealed to the US Supreme Court. A spokesperson for Trumpilini called the decision, "limited, narrow and procedural". Outed Repugnant congresswoman, Liz Cheney, who served as co-chair of the House Select January 6th Committee has written that Donald Trump is the “most dangerous man to inhabit the Oval Office.”  Ditto by US Person. 

The Justice Department, which was late in recognizing the unique threat to democracy posed by Don 'Legit', reversed its decision to represent Trumpillini in the second E. Jean Carrol defamation suit. New evidence suggests that the former guy acted out of a personal grievance against the former Elle journalist steming from events that pre-dated his term of office. A trail is expected to go forward in January. Carrol is seeking $10 million in damages. The jury awarded her $5 million in the first defamation suit.

The title of this post is blasphemous.  Don't blame rude US Person for that, he is simply quoting the Repugnant sycophants in Congress.  The depth of their hypocrisy is endless.

credit: B. Bramhall, New York Daily News