Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features Louisiana swamp bluesman Slim Harpo. Enjoy!

"In the old days, when you had wars, you win, right? You win. To the victor belong the spoils. So when we go to Iraq, we spend $1.4 trillion so far and thousands of lives are lost, right? And not to mention all the poor guys and gals with one arm and no arm and all the problems, right? ... I like the old system better: You won a war, you stay there, and you keep the oil. And you know, then those people will not have died in vain. Forget the money we spent, they will not have died in vain. ... You stay and protect the oil, and you take the oil and you take whatever is necessary for them and you take what’s necessary for us and we pay our self back $1.5 trillion or more. We take care of Britain, we take care of other countries that helped us, and we don’t be so stupid."

-- Donald Trump

“Secret cables and reports by the U.S., Saudi and Israeli intelligence agencies indicate that the moment Assad rejected the Qatari pipeline, military and intelligence planners quickly arrived at the consensus that fomenting a Sunni uprising in Syria to overthrow the uncooperative Bashar Assad was a feasible path to achieving the shared objective of completing the Qatar/Turkey gas link. In 2009, according to WikiLeaks, soon after Bashar Assad rejected the Qatar pipeline, the CIA began funding opposition groups in Syria.”

-- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Why the Arabs don’t want us in Syria

"Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss"

-- Pete Townshend

News and Opinion

Donald Trump’s Not Anti-War, He Just Wants the U.S. Military to Focus on Stealing Oil

Donald Trump's attempt to present himself as an anti-war candidate is based on his perfect 20/20 hindsight of the disastrous consequences of regime change in Iraq and Libya — military campaigns he publicly supported when they were popular, and only turned against after they went wrong.

To better understand that Trump really is, as he insisted during the Republican primary campaign, “much more militaristic” than even George W. Bush, it helps to look at how often he has presented his bizarre plan to use the United States military as the muscle in a global protection racket, aimed at extorting oil from countries we destroy. ...

“After it’s all done, we go to the protesters, who end up running the country,” Trump added, “and we should then say, ‘By the way, from all of your oil, we want reimbursement.’” ...

A month later, as Bill O’Reilly quizzed him on how he would handle foreign policy as president, Trump revealed that he had an entirely new plan for Iraq: American troops should be withdrawn, but only from those parts of the country without oil fields. ...

Five months later, after the U.S.-led air campaign had forced Qaddafi from power in Libya — and Trump had decided not to challenge Obama for the presidency — the star of “The Apprentice” posted another YouTube clip, complaining that the administration should have waited longer to aid the Libyan rebels, to force them to agree to surrender half of the country’s oil reserves.

Speaking to Matt Lauer last week about his qualifications to be commander-in-chief, Trump argued that the rise of the Islamic State could have been prevented if only his plan to keep Iraq’s oil fields under American military control had been put into place.

So, that Donald Trump guy sounds pretty freakin' awful, right? His strategery sounds more like a mafia don's than a Presidential eminence, you say?

Think again.

The sad fact is, both major party candidates are vying for Obama's third term George W. Bush's fifth term and the continuance of the Dulles brothers' idiotic, homicidal mania.

Assad’s Death Warrant

The war in Syria did not begin when the government of Bashar al Assad cracked down on protestors in the spring of 2011. That version of events is obfuscating hogwash. The war began in 2009, when Assad rejected a Qatari plan to transport gas from Qatar to the EU via Syria. As Robert F Kennedy Jr. explains in his excellent article “Syria: Another pipeline War”:

“The $10 billion, 1,500km pipeline through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Turkey….would have linked Qatar directly to European energy markets via distribution terminals in Turkey… The Qatar/Turkey pipeline would have given the Sunni Kingdoms of the Persian Gulf decisive domination of world natural gas markets and strengthen Qatar, America’s closest ally in the Arab world. ….

In 2009, Assad announced that he would refuse to sign the agreement to allow the pipeline to run through Syria “to protect the interests of our Russian ally….

Assad further enraged the Gulf’s Sunni monarchs by endorsing a Russian approved “Islamic pipeline” running from Iran’s side of the gas field through Syria and to the ports of Lebanon. The Islamic pipeline would make Shia Iran instead of Sunni Qatar, the principal supplier to the European energy market and dramatically increase Tehran’s influence in the Mid-East and the world…”

Naturally, the Saudis, Qataris, Turks and Americans were furious at Assad, but what could they do? How could they prevent him from choosing his own business partners and using his own sovereign territory to transport gas to market?

What they could do is what any good Mafia Don would do; break a few legs and steal whatever he wanted. In this particular situation, Washington and its scheming allies decided to launch a clandestine proxy-war against Damascus, kill or depose Assad, and make damn sure the western oil giants nabbed the future pipeline contracts and controlled the flow of energy to Europe. That was the plan at least. ...

Fortunately, Assad –with the help of Iran, Hezbollah and the Russian Airforce– has fended off the effort to oust him and install a US-stooge. This should not be taken as a ringing endorsement of Assad as a leader, but of the principal that global security depends on basic protections of national sovereignty, and that the cornerstone of international law has to be a rejection of unprovoked aggression whether the hostilities are executed by one’s own military or by armed proxies that are used to achieve the same strategic objectives while invoking plausible deniability. The fact is, there is no difference between Bush’s invasion of Iraq and Obama’s invasion of Syria. The moral, ethical and legal issues are the same, the only difference is that Obama has been more successful in confusing the American people about what is really going on.

At least four freed Gitmo detainees have returned to terrorism this year, US says

The US government has confirmed that at least two Guantanamo Bay detainees released by President Barack Obama's administration, and at least two more released by George W. Bush's administration, "returned to terrorist activities" in the first six months of 2016. That's according to a so-called "recidivism report" released Wednesday by the Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

The report, which covers a six-month period that ended July 15, does not publicly identify the former detainees, nor does it provide details about the activities in which they allegedly engaged. The report's definition of "terrorist" or "insurgent" activities includes "conducting a suicide bombing, financing terrorist operations, recruiting others for terrorist operations, and arranging for movement of individuals involved in terrorist operations," but not incidents where ex-detainees have made "anti-US statements or propaganda."

The ODNI is required to publicly release an unclassified version of the report biannually. The latest version found that that of the 161 former detainees released during Obama's presidency, just nine — 5.4 percent — are "confirmed" to have reengaged in terrorism. By comparison, George W. Bush's administration released 532 detainees, and 113 of those — 21.2 percent — were "confirmed" to have reengaged. Several of the ex-detainees transferred while Bush was in office were killed in targeted drone strikes during Obama's presidency.

Syria Truce Holding: US, Russia Agree to 48-Hour Extension

Syria’s ceasefire is holding, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights noting that there has not been a single death over the first 48 hours of the truce. The US and Russia have agreed to extend the ceasefire, which was initially set for 7 days, an additional 48 hours.

There have been dozens of claimed ceasefire violations over that period, with Russia claiming they’d documented 60 such incidents. Still, with no deaths to show for it, stray gunfire here and there is a dramatic improvement over the usual situation in the civil war.

Ceasefire in Syria holds for the third day

Syria breaching ceasefire deal by blocking aid convoys, says UN

The Syrian government is failing to provide letters of permission to allow UN aid convoys to travel to besieged cities, in clear breach of the US-Russian ceasefire agreement, the UN special envoy for Syria has said.

Staffan de Mistura also said the intended delivery of aid into eastern Aleppo, subject to a different permission regime, was also being blocked by hurdles put in place by the Syrian government and opposition fighters.

The delivery of aid is a precondition of the survival of a cessation of hostilities that came into effect on Monday and is designed to lead to unprecedented joint Russian-American action against terror groups inside Syria.

De Mistura insisted the Russians were as disappointed as the UN at the “deeply regrettable” refusal of the Syrian government to grant letters of permission in line with the agreement. He said he had been given fresh assurances by the Russians at a meeting on Thursday morning that the absence of the permission letters was a very severe disappointment, but he did not specify what pressure the Russians were placing on the Syrians to abide by the agreement. ...

There have been reports that some opposition fighters are rejecting the delivery of the aid on the basis that it rejects the terms of the broader Russian-American agreement, including the plan to target fighters from the former al-Nusra front. The US says al-Nusra is linked to al-Qaida and is a legitimate target alongside Islamic State. But other groups in eastern Aleppo are reluctant to abandon al-Nusra.

Interesting. Cooperation with Russia requires Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter's consent. If he doesn't consent, the deal cannot go forward. I wonder who the Secretary of Defense works for?

Syria Cooperation Deal Signed, Pentagon Still Loathe to Work With Russia

Even though the deal on military cooperation between the US and Russia in Syria is already in place as part of the deal that led to this week’s ceasefire, Pentagon officials are continuing to be very vocal about their reluctance to work with the Russians under any circumstances, and leaving open the question of anything coming of the agreement.

Even that much seems to be predicated on Secretary of Defense Ash Carter signing off on it. US law does not allow military cooperation with Russia generally, and would require a waiver from Carter for this particular circumstance.

And even though the deal is very much administration policy, that’s no guarantee that Carter is going to play ball, having spent the last few weeks of negotiation railing against the Russians as a threat to international stability by their very nature. If Carter won’t sign off, the cooperation just won’t happen.

US funds fed corruption in Afghanistan, eroding security fighting Taliban

From the very beginning of its intervention in Afghanistan, the US sabotaged its own efforts by feeding corruption in the country’s government and the security forces meant to fight the Taliban, according to a new report by a US Congress watchdog.

“Corruption undermined the US mission in Afghanistan by fueling grievances against the Afghan government and channeling material support to the insurgency,” says the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (Sigar) in the report released on Wednesday.

More than $100bn in aid after 2001 helped enrich patronage networks and powerbrokers, discrediting international donors in the eyes of the Afghan population. And whenever the US did attempt to improve accountability, the Afghan government resisted, the report says. ...

“The ultimate point of failure for our efforts … wasn’t an insurgency. It was the weight of endemic corruption,” former US ambassador Ryan Crocker told the authors of the report.

These assertions are not new. But coming from an agency established by the US government, they are potent.

Two main causes of Afghanistan’s staggering levels of corruption are the sheer volume of aid and a lack of oversight. At times, US reconstruction assistance – separate from military spending – exceeded Afghanistan’s GDP, far beyond the 15% to 45% of GDP developing states can normally absorb, the report says.

From the Department of Thinly-Veiled Threats, Bandar Bush Memorial Middle Eastern Division:

Saudi Official: US 9/11 Bill Would ‘Fuel Extremism’

The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) has been unanimously passed in both the House and Senate, and is facing a veto from President Obama which could easily produce the first successful override of his presidency. The bill allows American victims of 9/11 to sue Saudi Arabia over its support for 9/11 plotters in court. ...

Today, the speaker of the Saudi Shura Council also warned of terrorism threats, saying that allowing the bill to become law would “fuel extremism,” and that Saudi extremist groups could find new recruitment opportunities if Americans start suing the Saudi government.

Obama Is Blocking The Path To Justice For 9/11 Victims' Families

Back in '08, when people said Barack Obama was "the one," I didn't realize they meant that he would be "the one" and only person standing alone in blocking the path to justice for the 9/11 victims' families. ...

JASTA (Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, S.2040) is a well-thought out, powerful piece of anti-terrorism legislation. It does exactly what it says--it brings all those who fund terrorism to justice.

In a time where groups like ISIS are stomping around the globe decapitating people, ramming busses into crowds, and blowing up nightclubs, everyone (except Barack Obama) agrees that we need to stop terrorism in its tracks. One effective way to stop terrorists is to attack them at the root of their enterprise: their terrorist funding. ...

It goes without saying that the largest benefactor of terrorist groups such as ISIS and al Qaeda is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the incubator for global jihad. Saudis build madrassahs where fiery Imams like Anwar Awlaki preach hate, print and distribute school books that teach violence against infidels, and pay large sums of protection money to terrorists like Osama Bin Laden.

Notably, the Saudi role in radical jihad does not stop at underwriting terrorism--it carries into logistical support of individual attacks, as well.

Philippines president ordered murders and killed official, claims hitman

The Philippines president, Rodrigo Duterte, ordered members of a death squad to kill criminals and opponents and even personally “finished off” a justice department employee with a submachine gun, a self-confessed former assassin has testified.

Edgar Matobato, 57, told a nationally televised senate committee hearing that he had heard Duterte order some of the assaults that left around 1,000 people dead from 1988 to 2013 in Davao city, where Duterte was mayor for more than two decades.

The inquiry is being led by senator Leila de Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte’s anti-drug campaign that has left more than 3,000 suspected drug users and dealers dead since he assumed the presidency in June.

Duterte, who is known as both “the Punisher” and “Duterte Harry” for his bloody stance on fighting crime, has previously denied involvement in extra-judicial killings, but also made contradictory statements that he either condones or is even part of the vigilante group known as the Davao Death Squad. ...

Matobato told the senate hearing that he had carried out about 50 of the killings, including that of a man who was fed to a crocodile in 2007. “I didn’t kill anyone unless ordered by Charlie Mike,” he said, telling the senate it was the vigilante squad’s code name for the then-mayor.

Benjamin Netanyahu Added 100,000 Settlers. Now the U.S. Rewards Him With Largest Aid Package Ever.

The Obama administration on Wednesday signed a formal memorandum of understanding that would increase the annual military aid package to Israel, rewarding it with a record $38 billion over 10 years.

This increase in aid comes as the Benjamin Netanyahu-led Israeli government, which took office in 2008, has vastly expanded the network of illegal settlements deep into the Palestinian territories in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Shortly before Netanyahu took office, 474,000 Israeli settlers were living in these territories. By the end of 2014, the last time the Israeli government released comprehensive statistics on the matter, that number had grown to around 570,000.

As “Snowden” Opens, Three Largest Rights Groups in U.S. Call on Obama for a Pardon

The day after the New York premiere of Oliver Stone’s new movie, “Snowden,” the three largest human rights organizations in the U.S. teamed up to launch a campaign calling on President Obama to pardon the NSA whistleblower.

Snowden himself spoke via video from Moscow at a press conference Wednesday morning alongside representatives from the ACLU, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International. ...

On Wednesday, former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders told The Guardian that he supports granting Snowden “some form of clemency or a plea agreement that would spare him a long prison sentence or permanent exile.”

Asked about a possible pardon for Snowden, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest denied that Snowden should even be called a whistleblower. ...

Earnest also said that Snowden’s disclosures “put American lives at risk,” while not citing any evidence.

"Pardon Snowden" Campaign Launches, Led by ACLU, Amnesty & Human Rights Watch

Chelsea Manning says she's shocked her gender reassignment surgery was approved

Chelsea Manning said she's "shocked" that her doctor's recommendation of gender-reassignment surgery was approved by the US Army.

"This is a big deal," Manning said in response to emailed questions from VICE News. Manning dictated her answers by phone to a volunteer who manages her Twitter page. "For my whole life I have fought for dignity, respect, and adequate medical care," she said from prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Knowing that she'll be able to transition while serving her 35-year sentence in military prison, she added, is a "huge weight off my shoulders." ...

The Army later announced that it was investigating Manning's attempted suicide as potential misconduct. If substantiated, Manning could face indefinite solitary confinement, be moved to maximum security or be given additional time on her sentence. The disciplinary board hearing to discuss misconduct charges is scheduled for September 20.

The looming date of the hearing somewhat overshadowed the good news Manning received this week.

"It's hard to focus," Manning said. "The charges are related to my suicide attempt. The irony being I fell apart because I wasn't getting treatment. In less than a week, I could be thrown into solitary confinement."

FBI Director: US Could Be Retaliating Against Russia Secretly

Speaking today at an event in Washington DC, FBI Director James Comey rejected the idea that the US was not doing anything about “Russian cyber threats” and allegations of hacks by Russia against US interests, saying that the lack of public response doesn’t mean the US isn’t doing anything.

“We have a variety of tools that we as a government can use to deter behavior on the Internet outside of norms,” Comey insisted, adding that a lot of the things the US can do against the Russians or others wouldn’t necessarily be visible to the public.

Absent in his comments are the paucity of actual evidence that Russia was involved in the hacks that officials have blamed them for, which have centered on the argument that Russia probably wants to meddle in the election, so anything with any impact on the election is probably Russia.

Brazil: prosecutors charge ex-President Lula with corruption over Petrobras scandal

US confidence in media hits fresh low: Gallup

Americans' trust in the media has sunk to a new low. ...

The poll asking whether the media report the news "fully, accurately and fairly" found just 32 percent of Americans have a great deal or fair amount of trust, the lowest level in Gallup polling history and eight percentage points below last year.

Gallup began asking the question in 1972, and has polled Americans on a yearly basis since 1997.

Trust and confidence in the media hit its highest point in 1976, at 72 percent following the investigative journalism coverage of the Vietnam and the Watergate scandal, according to the research group. But confidence has been below 50 percent since 2007.

America is finally back on its feet but the poor are being left behind

Yay! America is back on its feet again. At least according to the US Census Bureau, which said this week that median family incomes had risen for the first time since the recession. Sadly every silver lining has a cloud and in this case it came in the form of a supplemental report. ...

That report, an add-on to the official report that factors in a host of other costs and factors, pegs the actual poverty rate among senior citizens at closer to 13.7%. That’s still lower than it was in 2014, when the “unofficial” rate was 14.4%, but the decline is much smaller, both in absolute and relative terms. And the poverty rate, clearly, is much higher.

What’s going on?

In a nutshell, the same bugbear that haunts so many other American households is proving to be an even greater nightmare for senior citizens: healthcare costs.

Out-of-pocket healthcare costs are spelling the difference between real poverty and just barely squeaking by from month to month.

A 2014 study by the Commonwealth Fund noted the real impact of this on the lives of senior citizens in the United States. Despite having basic Medicare coverage, 19% of those surveyed said that out-of-pocket costs stopped them from seeking needed care. Some avoided seeing a doctor, others didn’t get a recommended test, or failed to fill a prescription because it would have required an additional out-of-pocket expense. Some even skipped doses of their existing medications, in order to delay the date on which they would need to pay to refill their prescription. High deductibles and copayments remain an issue for senior citizens in the US, the study concluded.

[See also: That 5.2% Jump in Household Income? Nope, People Aren’t Suddenly Getting Big-Fat Paychecks - js]

Elizabeth Warren Asks Newly-Chatty FBI Director to Explain Why DOJ Didn’t Prosecute Banksters

Like a lot of other Americans, Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants to know why the Department of Justice hasn’t criminally prosecuted any of the major players responsible for the 2008 financial crisis.

On Thursday, Warren released two highly provocative letters demanding some explanations. One is to DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, requesting a review of how federal law enforcement managed to whiff on all 11 substantive criminal referrals submitted by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC), a panel set up to examine the causes of the 2008 meltdown.

The other is to FBI Director James Comey, asking him to release all FBI investigations and deliberations related to those referrals. The FBI typically doesn’t release investigative details about cases that DOJ chooses not to pursue, but Warren pointed out that in releasing information about presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server in July, he had pretty much shattered that precedent, and set a new one.

“You explained these actions by noting your view that ‘the American people deserve those details in a case of intense public interest,’” Warren wrote to Comey. “If Secretary Clinton’s email server was of sufficient ‘interest’ to establish a new FBI standard of transparency, then surely the criminal prosecution of those responsible for the 2008 financial crisis should be subject to the same level of transparency.”

In other words, if Comey can spend hours relating FBI decision-making about State Department emails, he can do the same for the activity that made millions jobless and homeless.

[See also this excellent article with lots of excellent detail: Elizabeth Warren Opens Pandora’s Box With Midnight Letters to DOJ and FBI - js]

Alcohol Industry Bankrolls Fight Against Legal Pot in Battle of the Buzz

The fight against legalized pot is being heavily bankrolled by alcohol and pharmaceutical companies, terrified that they might lose market share.

On the heels of a filing last week that revealed that a synthetic cannabis company is financing the opposition to legal marijuana in Arizona comes a new disclosure this week that a beer industry group made one of the largest donations to an organization set up to defeat legalization in Massachusetts.

The Beer Distributors PAC, an affiliate that represents 16 beer-distribution companies in Massachusetts, gave $25,000 to the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts, tying it for third place among the largest contributors to the anti-pot organization. ...

Securities and Exchange Commission filings reveal that heavyweight alcohol companies have disclosed to investors that pot could pose a challenge to their bottom line.

Hillary Clinton's doctor says she isn't dying

Hillary Clinton's campaign released a doctor's note Tuesday excusing her absence from the campaign trail this past week. After appearing to collapse outside a 9/11 memorial event on Sunday, the 68-year-old Clinton has remained at home recovering from what her doctor called "a mild non-contagious bacterial pneumonia."

The two-page single-spaced letter reveals more details about Clinton's health in an effort to dispel rumors and insinuations that her medical problems are more severe than a treatable case of pneumonia. Dr. Lisa Bardack, who signed the letter and has treated Clinton since 2001, wrote that Clinton "continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States." To prove it, Clinton plans to return to the campaign trail Thursday with a rally in North Carolina and a speech in Washington, DC.

The letter also disclosed Clinton's various treatments in 2016 including several current medications (Amor Thyroid, Coumadin, a 10-day course of Levaquin, Clarinex, and B12 as needed) and a CT scan of her brain and sinuses following a sinus and ear infection earlier this year. The letter expands upon Bardack's 2015 letter detailing Clinton's health following a concussion in 2012. Still, there is still little known about Clinton's medical history before 2012.

Jason Leopold/VICE News suing the IRS for audits of Donald Trump’s tax returns

For more than a year, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has claimed that he would "love" to release his tax returns and prove to the public that he is indeed a very wealthy and charitable businessman.

But, he's said, there's a hiccup that prevents him from doing so: The tax returns he filed between 2002 and 2008 continue to be audited by the Internal Revenue Service.

Last February, however, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said that it is "rare" for an individual taxpayer to be audited every year, as Trump insisted he has been. Koskinen noted there is nothing legally stopping any taxpayer from releasing his or her returns publicly.

This week, VICE News filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in US District Court in Washington, DC against the IRS demanding that the agency turn over all audits of Trump's tax returns from 2002 onward. We asked the IRS for "any and all requests by law enforcement agencies for copies of... Trump's individual tax returns" and "any and all records mentioning or referring to requests by law enforcement agencies for copies of individual tax returns."

Humans Are Overfishing the Oceans Into 'Unprecedented' Mass Extinction

People are driving marine ecosystems to "unprecedented" mass extinction, according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Science.

Large-bodied animals will be the first to go, the study says—blue whales, great white sharks, and bluefin tuna, for example. Their size is part of their vulnerability, making them more susceptible to fishing and hunting by humans, "the dominant threat to modern marine fauna," the researchers found.

"If this pattern goes unchecked, the future oceans would lack many of the largest species in today's oceans," co-author Jonathan Payne, associate professor and chair of geological sciences at Stanford University, told the Guardian. "Many large species play critical roles in ecosystems and so their extinctions could lead to ecological cascades that would influence the structure and function of future ecosystems beyond the simple fact of losing those species."

The study states that "The preferential removal of the largest animals from the modern oceans, unprecedented in the history of animal life, may disrupt ecosystems for millions of years even at levels of taxonomic loss far below those of previous mass extinctions.... Without a dramatic shift in the business-as-usual course for marine management, our analysis suggests that the oceans will endure a mass extinction of sufficient intensity and ecological selectivity to rank among the major extinctions" of the current era.

In fact, the researchers note, it could usher in a new one—the Anthropozoic era, meaning one created by humans. That's not to be confused with the Anthropocene, an epoch which scientists estimate is already here.

Silent Skies: North America Lost 1.5 Billion Birds Since 1970s

North America has lost more than a billion birds over the past 40 years, says the most comprehensive survey of landbird populations in Canada and the U.S. to date, and 86 species are threatened with total extinction—all thanks to human-caused habitat destruction and climate change.

"Among those 86 species, 22 have already lost at least half of their population since 1970 and are projected to lose another 50 percent of their numbers within the next 40 years," reports the Canadian Press. "For at least six species, this 'half-life' window is fewer than 20 years."

"The information on urgency is quite alarming," said co-author Judith Kennedy of Environment Canada to the Canadian Press. "We're really getting down to the dregs of some of these populations."

"I don't want my grandchild to go out in the forest and not hear the songbirds in the spring, and that seems to be where we're headed right now," Andrew Couturier, senior analyst at Bird Studies Canada and a co-author of the report, told the Globe and Mail.

Indonesia and EU announce historic deal on timber trade

Indonesia will in November become the first country in the world to export wood products to the European Union meeting new environmental standards in a move aimed at bolstering transparency and curbing illicit logging.

Officials from both parties unveiled measures on Thursday to ensure timber exports to the trade bloc, valued at roughly $1bn a year, are sustainable and harvested within the law.

Indonesia is one of the world’s largest timber exporters but the sector is plagued by criminality and corruption, and vast swaths of tropical rainforests have been felled for sale on the black market.

From mid-November special licences issued by Jakarta will certify the legality of timber products destined for the EU such as pulp, plywood and furniture. ...

This assurance system, developed over years of negotiations, will be independently audited to ensure the timber is legally sourced and meets environmental standards.

Once the agreement takes effect from 15 November, timber exports from Indonesia that do not carry this certification will be prohibited from trade within the EU.

Endangered Hawaiian crows join elite list of animals known to use tools

The Hawaiian crow is the latest animal to be added to the elite group of species that use tools, after scientists documented it employing sticks to extract hard-to-reach morsels of food from crevices in a log in less than one minute.

Its cousin, the New Caledonia crow, was already known to be a master toolmaker and user, and scientists believe that the similar features shared by both species – large, mobile eyes and unusually straight bills – are evolutionary adaptations to enable them to use tools, much like humans having opposable thumbs.

However these remarkable skills are in danger of being lost: the Hawaiian crow is the most endangered corvid species and is already extinct in the wild due to habitat loss and persecution.

Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.

The Existential Madness of Putin-Bashing

This is an interesting peek into the dark underbelly of the Brazilian political system:

Rio’s Far-Right Candidate in Photos With Accused Police Pedophile, Threatens to Sue Anyone Sharing Them

Central American migrants desperate to reach US risk new dangers at sea

Broad Progressive Coalition Launches New Push for Public Option

Fed Becomes Latest Cheerleader for Glass-Steagall-Like Reform

Climate change and the Marshall Islands: lives in the balance

Report: Why We Need to Tax Corporations Now, More Than Ever

Facebook chooses New Mexico over Utah for its newest data center

Edward Burtynsky on his ravaged Earth shots: 'We've reached peak everything'

A Little Night Music

Slim Harpo - Dynamite

Slim Harpo - Baby, Scratch My Back

Slim Harpo - I'm a King Bee

Slim Harpo - You Can't Make It

Slim Harpo - I'm Gonna Keep What I've Got

Slim Harpo - TE-NI-NEE-NI-NU

Slim Harpo - I Got Love If You Want It

Slim Harpo - Shake Your Hips