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?