100 Elephants Found Dead in Zimbabwe

A combination of climate change and El Niño has killed more than 100 elephants in the nation's Hwange National Park.  The Park is home to approximately 45,000 elephants.  The rainy season began weeks later than usual and forecasts are for a hot, dry summer.  Zimbabwe used to reliably experience a rainy season beginning in October.  Lately, the rains have become erratic with more prolonged dry spells. More than two hundred elephants died in 2019 due to a severe drought. Park authorities fear a repeat mass die-off.  Most affected are the old, young and infirm.  An average sized elephant needs about 52 gallons of water a day.  Rangers remove tusks from carcasses to discourage poachers.

A conservation NGO has been pumping 1.5 million liters a day into waterholes from wells it owns in conjunction with th park agency. Hwange, which extends over 5600 square miles is unusual, since it does not have a major river flowing through it, so animals rely on 100 solar-powered wells to provide water.  Elephants provide an ecological service by distributing seeds in their dung, enabling trees to regenerate.  Trees soak up atmospheric carbon dioxide and release oxygen.

Bird Flu is Spreading to the Antarctic

Hundreds of elephant seals have been found dead, apparent victims of the deadly H5N1 avian flu virus. The event is raising concerns among scientists that the virus could spread to the continent's penguin colonies leading to a catastrophic mass die-off. The virus was first found in skua birds in October 2023 on Bird Island, part of UK's territory of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands. Antarctic wild life have no natural immunity to the highly contagious, novel virus probably transmitted by migratory birds from South America where it has killed millions of sea birds and mammals. Some seabirds in the UK, where the outbreak was first reported, have shown signs of developing immunity.

So far, eight sites in the Antarctic have confirmed seabird flu deaths. Twenty more sites are pending confirmation. Penguins are particularly susceptible as the gather in close proximity for the breeding season. [photo] Previous outbreaks in Argentina, South Africa and Chile show how susceptible they are to the disease. If mass mortality events among penguins occur, one scientific paper said, "it could be the largest ecological disaster of modern times". No confirmed cases have been detected on the mainland of the southernmost continent, but is expected to arrive in the coming months. Portions of South Georgia are now closed to tourists as part of precautions to deter the spread of the disease. Seabird colonies around the world have suffered losses of 50-60% due to the highly pathogenic virus. Twenty thousand sea lion are estimated to have died in Chile and Peru. [king penguin colony 1982 on Pig Island; photo credit: H. Weimerskirch] 

TWIT: Der Tag

Donald Trumpilini has come closer than any other American in history to realizing "Der Tag", or the day of fascist insurrection in America. This misguided dream was propagated by the German-American Bund, the anti-semitic pro-Nazi organization active in the 1930s. The Bund was lead by Fritz Khun*, a nationalized German immigrant after the Nazi abandoned their propaganda organ, Friends of New Germany. The American version of nazism spread across the country and came to a head at the 1939 rally held at Madison Square Garden in New York. So yes, in a perverted sense Trumpilini's primary victories in Iowa and New Hampshire are historic. He could not have come to a position of national political influence without resonating with a long-standing strain of American politics: white supremacy. Ever since the institution of slavery, this virulence has subsided and reappeared in domestic politics. Trumpilini, like autocrats before him, has tapped into the evil residing below the surface of American life.  

This fact of American politics is why successful prosecution of Trump for his crimes in office is so vital to the future of US democracy. The current electoral process--which is biased in favor of rural states filled with disaffected white voters--allows him to manipulate a large minority of the public who see him as the answer to their problems and even prayers. They are sadly deluded, just as were the Germans of the Weimar Republic in the early 30's. History may not repeat itself, but it certainly rhymes. As Ukraine fights for its existence as an independent, democratic country the country once named the "arsenal of democracy' is at a fundamental crossroads, immobilized by a chauvinist bully. This is America.

credit: S. Stantis, Chicago Tribune

* After serving a prison term for embezzling Bund funds, he was convicted of being an unregisterd foreign agent in 1945, and  deported to a ruined Germany.

What to Do with Hvaldimir?

Hvaldimir is a friendly, intelligent beluga whale that appears to be human trained.  He live free in the coastal waters of Norway, but makes his regular residence the bay of Hammerfest.  He was first spotted by a fisherman near the village of Tufjord wearing a harness.  Reported to Norwegian Fisheries, the agency dispatched an inspector.  The fisherman, Joar Hesten, got into the frigid waters in an exposure suit and eventually freed the then unnamed mammal from his restraint. A few days later the young male followed a boat to Hammerfest.  He charmed locals by retrieving dropped objects and offering his flipper for high-fives. He quickly became a minor celebrity with tourists showing up to interact with the gregarious whale. The Norwegian Broadcast Company organized a poll, and based on the results christened the beluga, "Havaldmir", a portmanteau of hvald, Norwegian for whale and the Russian name, Vladimir. [photo credit: C. Mc Donnell]

Speculation began among marine experts about this mysterious visitor's origins. His harness had what appeared to be a camera mount, and it was stamped with a St. Petersburg equipment company name. The beluga knew how to follow boats closely, as well as wrap ropes around propellers, indicating specialized training.  Experts told media that the beluga probably escaped captivity from the Russian Navy, which is known to be training cetaceans and seals for underwater warfare.  Satellite images from the Okhotsk Sea where he was found show whale pens near a Murmansk naval base.  The US Navy has also trained  marine mammals since the 1960's.

Hvaldimir has delighted human visitors with his engaging personality, but he also represents a cautionary lesson: it is never a good idea to capture and confine self-aware, intelligent, social creatures. Often taken from the wild at birth, these animals loose the ability to fend for themselves, making a return to the wild after years of captivity impossible or extremely traumatic for the animals and their human guardians.  Attempts to rehabilitate captive whales and dolphins are decidedly mixed.  The consensus scientific opinion seems to be that captive cetaceans need a large, protected body of open seawater--such as an inlet, bay or fjord--to be successfully acclimatized to their reintroduction to the wild. Such suitable locations are rare, expensive, and fraught with logistic difficulties,  One orca named Lolita, scheduled to be released by Seaworld last March, died in her 80 ft tank of kidney failure while awaiting the location of a suitable habitat.  Despite this tragedy and numerous others, an estimated 3600 cetaceans still live in confinement around the globe.  France and Canada have banned all future captivity and breeding.

Fortunately for Hvaldimir, he has learned to hunt and catch fish on his own after several experiences with hand-feeding and emaciation.  But his habituation to humans poses danger for him.  He could easily become entangled in fishing gear or injured by boat props.  He made a foray south, all the way to Oslo, Sweden, where there is little to eat in warmer waters and more ship traffic.  Some Norwegians want to shoot him for damaging gear. Belugas can live to a century, far longer than the previous estimate of 50 years. They learn how to be belugas from their elders, communicating with a complex dialectical language we are only beginning to decode.  Robbed of their equivalent of childhood and adolescence, they are captured young or bred in captivity, forced into the military or the entertainment industry, and trained in return for food.  Hvaldimir has also become the center of competing human desires.One devoted advocate wants to make a movie about him, while others see this as unwanted conflict of interest. Several of this person's expert advisors have resigned from her advocacy group, One Whale.

Other advocates, such as Sebastian Strand, want to relocate Hvaldimir to a sanctuary where he can interact with wild belugas. He has followed Hvaldimir for two years, forming a bond with the animal. Sights are set on Svalbard, a remote archipelago in the Arctic.  Experts are not sure this would be a good idea since the resident belugas are a tight-knit group that does not migrate; they might not accept a newcomer who does not speak their language.  Also, the remoteness and extreme weather make successful relocation of Hvaldimir problematic.  Another potential sanctuary much closer to Hammerfest is a 22 acre fjord, but there is a major regulatory hurdle that must be overcome.  Under Norwegian law, a whale cannot be held captive unless it is part of a scientific study or zoo.  The town council has given preliminary approval for environmental studies. Results are encouraging so far, indicating exceptionally clean water.  To secure the fjord, thousands of feet of flexible net must be stretched across the inlet and fixed to the sea floor. The project if approved, will cost millions to complete.

So, what to do with Hvaldimir?  He is living in a treacherous limbo: swimming free in the ocean by still not a truly wild beluga.  His human friends want him to remain free, healthy, and left alone to enjoy a wild existence. That is not an outcome easily accomplished given his capture and exploitation.  He may need to return to captivity for his own welfare, and be de-programed to become a wild beluga once again.

Greenland Melting Faster than Expected

Greenland in summer

A new study published in Nature concludes that Greenland is loosing 20% more of its ice cap than previously thought.  Although the researchers think that this amount is not enough to significantly affect global sea levels, it can have an effect on ocean circulation patterns and heat distribution around the globe. Some scientists think that the flood of freshwater from the ice cap has the potential of disrupting the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, which would have dire consequences for Europe' weather patterns. Evidence for a collapse of AMOC has been building. It was the subject of a warning in Nature in July this year. AMOC is known to be at its weakest in 1600 years, but other scientists are skeptical of a collapse in the 21at century.

Despite the scientific evidence of anthropomorphic climate change, 'Mericans are in an increasing state of denial. A recent AP survey shows they are less convinced that climate change is caused by humans with the percentage agreeing dropping from 60% in 2018 to 49% this year. Psychologists say that when faced with an apparently insoluable problem, people tend to deny its existence.

TWIT: Beating the Clock

credit: R. Matson

Don 'Legit's' strategy of legal delay is working.  The most serious criminal prosecution in DC is stalled awaiting an appeals court decision on his implausible claim of absolute immunity unless first convicted in the Senate.  This defense has no basis in the Constitution or common law, and from a common sense standpoint is absurd, but it is accomplishing the real purpose: moving him closer to the November election.  He already has his party's backing after winning Iowa (he won 7% of the state's registered Repugnants, oh my!), and probably New Hampshire, in the primary process.  Two hundred of his party's legislators have signed an amicus brief supporting his baseless immunity argument.  Don 'Legit' owns the Repugnants, and campaign contributions keep his legal blitz at full tilt.

He knows that winning in November is his best hope of escaping imprisonment for his crimes while in office.  His supporters are willing to pervert the democratic process in order to keep him out of jail. Fully sixty percent of them still claim that Joe Biden stole the 2020 election at this late date. Real social issues of national import have no meaning for these delusional minions. Neither does evidence of crime admissible in court change their minds; most will still vote for him even if he is convicted of a felony out of 91charged by grand juries who have examined the evidence. 

Federal District Court Judge Chutkin has already warned that her March trial date will slip given that Trumpilini will take his appeals all the way to the Supreme Court.  In Georgia, the state's prosecution faces another farce cooked up by co-defendant Mike Roman who claims that DA Willis and her entire office must resign because she is allegedly romantically involved with a Special Prosecutor in the case who is undergoing an uncontested two-year divorce proceeding. That fact does not stop his criminal defense counsel demanding DA Willis be deposed in the divorce proceedings.   Clearly a red herring intended to disrupt the established time table for her RICO prosecution. Calls for her resignation are growing.  In Florida, the Mar-a Lago Papers case is being mangled by an incompetent jurist beholding to Hair Leader for her life-tenure job. Our  judicial system is failing against a chaos agent with significant political leverage and financing.

US Person never thought he would live to see the day American democracy died.  That would be the result if the befuddled*, self-confessed dictator who wants to "go rogue" occupies the room without corners for a second time. 'Mericans will then only have themselves to blame for the misery to be visited upon them. 

*Person, woman, man, camera, TV...whale?

Mind the Gap

This chart comes from the Economic Policy Institute via Lawyers, Guns & Money.com.  It shows the incredible gap in earnings between the top 1% and the rest of US.  Wage growth for the bottom 90% has been less than one percent a year over the last 43 years.  While the top .1% have gained an astounding 344%.  This is just wage or salary income, not counting the massive shift in wealth via stock ownership (the top 10% own 90% of corporate equity). CEOs earned 21 times the typical worker in 1965.  That figure is now 344 times.  Between 1978 and 2022 inflation adjusted pay for CEOs at 350 of the largest publicly owned US firms grew by 1,209%.

The fortunate few and their lackeys in the press and Congress constantly howl about 'wealth redistribution' and 'socialism' when they are in fact the beneficiaries of the largest wealth redistribution since the Gilded Age!