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-- Voltaire

News and Opinion

From Guardian livestream: Trump on Paris: 'we're getting out'

Trump says that “one-by-one” he’s keeping the promises he made in his presidential campaign.

“Believe me, we’ve just begun,” he says. “The fruits of our labor will be seen very shortly.”

“I don’t want anything to get in our way,” he says. “Therefore, in order to fulfill my solemn duty to protect America... the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate accord.”

Trump fans in the crowd clap. “Thank you,” he says.

“But begin negotiations to reenter either the Paris accord or an entirely new transaction on terms that are fair to the United States...

“So we’re getting out but we’ll start to negotiate and we’ll see if we can make a deal that’s fair.’

Trump Pulling Out of Paris Climate Accord Would Be "Suicide Note to the World"

A fairly amusing comment in context from the guy who sabotaged the process of creating a global climate agreement, using the information that was gleaned by NSA spying to undermine the agreement and produce a weak, inadequate accord.

Irrelevant former politician tries to burnish his legacy from beyond the grave of his failed presidency

Statement from Barack Obama on the Paris Climate Agreement pic.twitter.com/SQc6kQV0Ah

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) June 1, 2017

Will Trump’s Slow-Mo Walkaway, World in Flames Behind Him, Finally Provoke Consequences for Planetary Arson?

Now that it seems virtually certain that Donald Trump will withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord, and the climate movement is quite rightly mobilizing in the face of this latest dystopian lurch, it’s time to get real about something: Pretty much everything that is weak, disappointing, and inadequate about that deal is the result of U.S. lobbying since 2009. ...

For months we have been hearing about the supposed power struggles between those who wanted to stay in the agreement (Ivanka, Tillerson) and those who favoured leaving (Pruitt, chief strategist Steve Bannon, Trump himself). But the very fact that Tillerson could have been the voice of the “stay” camp should have exposed the absurdity of this whole charade. ... So as we try to make sense of this latest drama, make no mistake: The Trump administration was never divided between those who wanted to shred the Paris Agreement and those wanted to respect it. It was divided between those who wanted to shred it and those who wanted to stay in it but completely ignore it. The difference is one of optics; the same amount of carbon gets spewed either way. ...

A year ago, the suggestion that the U.S. should face tangible punishment for putting the rest of the rest of humanity at risk was laughed off in establishment circles: Surely no one would put their trade relationships in danger for anything so frivolous as a liveable planet. But just this week, Martin Wolf, writing in the Financial Times, declared, “If the U.S. withdrew from the Paris accord, the rest of the world must consider sanctions.”

We’re likely a long way from major U.S. trading partners taking that kind of a step, but governments are not the only ones that can impose economic penalties for lethal and immoral behavior.  Movements can do so directly, in the form of boycotts and divestment campaigns targeting governments and corporations, on the South African model. And not just fossil fuel corporations, but Trump’s branded empire as well. Moral suasion doesn’t work on Trump. Economic pressure just might.

It’s time for some people’s sanctions.

Trump's Paris Accord Talking Points

• According to a study by NERA Consulting, meeting the Obama Administration’s requirements in the Paris Accord would cost the U.S. economy nearly $3 trillion over the next several decades.
• By 2040, our economy would lose 6.5 million industrial sector jobs – including 3.1 million manufacturing sector jobs
• It would effectively decapitate our coal industry, which now supplies about one-third of our electric power

The deal was negotiated BADLY, and extracts meaningless commitments from the world’s top polluters

• The Obama-negotiated Accord imposes unrealistic targets on the U.S. for reducing our carbon emissions, while giving countries like China a free pass for years to come.
• Under the Accord, China will actually increase emissions until 2030

The U.S. is ALREADY a Clean Energy and Oil & Gas Energy Leader; we can reduce our emissions and continue to produce American energy without the Paris Accord

• America has already reduced its carbon-dioxide emissions dramatically.
• Since 2006, CO2 emissions have declined by 12 percent, and are expected to continue to decline.
• According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the U.S. is the leader in oil & gas production.

The agreement funds a UN Climate Slush Fund underwritten by American taxpayers

• President Obama committed $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund - which is about 30 percent of the initial funding – without authorization from Congress
• With $20 trillion in debt, the U.S. taxpayers should not be paying to subsidize other countries’ energy needs.

The deal also accomplishes LITTLE for the climate

• According to researchers at MIT, if all member nations met their obligations, the impact on the climate would be negligible. The impacts have been estimated to be likely to reduce global temperature rise by less than .2 degrees Celsius in 2100.

Have been in two European cities today. News is all Paris. Vibe is mournful. Feels like U.S. giving up 75 years of global leadership.

— Cody Keenan (@codykeenan) May 31, 2017

China and the EU plan for a Paris climate deal without Trump

With the U.S. out, China, along with the EU, becomes the de facto leader on global climate policy. Officials from China and the EU are preparing a Friday “joint declaration reaffirming their commitment to climate and energy policy and the implementation of the Paris agreement,” Reuters reported.

According to documents seen by the Financial Times, Beijing and Brussels will outline measures to accelerate what they describe as the “irreversible” shift away from fossil fuels and the “historic achievement” of the Paris Accord. The document goes on to say the two sides are “determined to forge ahead” with measures to “lead the energy transition” toward a global low-emissions economy.

News of the imminent withdrawal was met with derision by EU lawmakers in Brussels. “It is a decision that does not meet with the approval of the greatest majority of this house for which I speak,” said European Parliament President Antonio Tajani. In Spain, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart, Mariano Rajoy, issued a joint statement that said taking action on climate change was a priority for both nations. Earlier this week during a trip to Germany, Modi announced new cooperation between the two countries on climate change while confirming India would not pull out of the accord, even if the U.S. did. ...

On Wednesday Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang landed in Berlin for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel, in yet the latest signal of the strengthening ties between the two countries. Last week German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel traveled to Beijing, where the two countries signed a joint commitment promoting free trade. The growing friendship stands in stark contrast with U.S. relations with Berlin and the EU at large, which are in turmoil following Trump’s first meeting of G-7 leaders when Merkel noted, “we in Europe have to take our fate into our own hands.”

Exxon Suffers Stinging Defeat On Shareholder Climate Resolution

ExxonMobil tried to beat back a move from shareholders to press the company to disclose its vulnerabilities to climate change and climate regulation, but it failed. At its annual meeting on May 31, shareholders passed a climate resolution with a vote of 62 percent in favor. Exxon became the second major oil company in recent weeks to suffer a defeat at the hands of its own shareholders. Shareholders of Occidental Petroleum passed a climate resolution in early May, an important development in years of work for climate activists who have tried to push similar measures through, with little success. The Occidental resolution calls upon the company to review and report on the company’s exposure to climate change. ...

Over the coming decades, the oil industry will be under assault from multiple fronts. First, governments around the world will steadily tighten the noose around the industry’s neck in order to cut down on carbon emissions, President Trump’s rumored withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement notwithstanding. The industry could see death by a thousand cuts through taxes, stricter environmental enforcement up and down the industry such as limits on methane emissions or stricter pipeline safety standards, or an outright ban on certain regions for drilling. In short, public policy could force the industry to leave oil and gas reserves in the ground. Second, the industry could face peak oil demand at some point because of the rollout of electric vehicles, a development that is not immediately imminent but is the subject of growing speculation from even the most conservative and hard-headed oil companies.

These industry trends have changed the equation for investors. In a potent sign that the industry is suddenly facing more pressure, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company, supported the climate resolution for Occidental Petroleum, using its 8 percent of the company’s shares to tip the scales. But the passage of a climate resolution by Exxon’s shareholders is on a different level in terms of importance and symbolism.

200 Iraqi Civilians Killed as Airstrikes Rain Down on Mosul

Dozens of civilians were killed in fresh airstrikes targeting a district in Mosul's Old City on Tuesday, as Iraqi forces press on to recapture the neighbourhood from Islamic State [IS] group control, local sources told The New Arab. Dozens of houses in the Az Zanjili district were reportedly completed flattened by the air raids – which lasted several hours, an army officer said, adding that it is estimated at least 200 people were killed in the attack.

"It was not clear whether the aircrafts that carried out the airstrikes belonged to the Iraqi forces or the US-led coalition," the officer told The New Arab. A member of the Mosul council Mohammed Hassan told The New Arab the aircrafts resorted to carpet-bombing the area after the Iraqi army failed to advance against IS militants, which led to "the hysterical bombing of an entire neighbourhood".

The bombing was followed by ground troops entering the area without any resistance from the militants. Following the strikes, hundreds of people - including dozens of wounded - were escorted out of the area by Iraqi federal police officers, The New Arab correspondent reported.

The Pentagon recently admitted the death of over a hundred civilians in airstrikes in March.

Russia fires cruise missiles at IS targets in Syria

A Russian warship and submarine in the Mediterranean have fired four cruise missiles at so-called Islamic State (IS) positions in central Syria.

The strike - the first of its kind since November - targeted militants and heavy weapons near the city of Palmyra, the Russian defence ministry said.

The militants had been redeployed from the IS stronghold of Raqqa, it added.

Missing the Real Noriega Story

The death of former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega on May 29 elicited few if any tears. But it should have sparked more reflection in the United States on his ugly history of service to the CIA, the hypocrisy of Washington’s sudden discovery of his abuses once Noriega became an unreliable ally against the Nicaraguan Sandinistas, and the George H.W. Bush administration’s bloody and illegal invasion of Panama in December 1989.

In fairness, many progressives and mainstream journalists have called attention to this troublesome history over the years. But few have dared to question the nearly universal condemnation of Noriega as a protector of international drug traffickers. That incendiary claim — first broadcast loudly by the unlikely trio of right-wing Sen. Jesse Helms, R-North Carolina; liberal Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts; and investigative journalist Seymour Hersh — galvanized the American public to support his ouster. After the U.S. invasion, which killed hundreds of Panamanians and 23 U.S. soldiers, Noriega was arrested on Jan. 3, 1990 by armed U.S. drug agents.

The resulting publicity created lasting myths about Noriega and drugs. Journalists who should know better have described Noriega as “one of the world’s biggest drug kingpins,” to quote Time magazine.  In fact, Louis Kellner, the U.S. attorney who oversaw his Miami indictment and trial admitted, “Noriega was never a major player in the drug war.” Indeed, at worst, he was a small fry compared to the military rulers of Honduras, whose epic protection of the cocaine trade was tolerated by Washington in return for using that country as a staging base for Contra operations against the Sandinista-led government of Nicaragua in the 1980s.

French prosecutors open inquiry into Macron ally

Emmanuel Macron is under growing pressure to ditch a newly appointed minister and key adviser after French prosecutors announced they were launching a preliminary investigation into allegations of favouritism. Richard Ferrand, minister of territorial cohesion, and secretary general of the French president’s La Republique en Marche party, has dismissed calls to resign, insisting he has done nothing wrong.

The affair is an embarrassment to Macron, who is engaged in a morality campaign to clean up French politics just one week from the first round of vital parliamentary elections. Thursday’s inquiry announcement came a week after the prosecutor’s office in Brest, Brittany, declared there was no evidence Ferrand had broken any law and ruled out an inquiry. In a statement on Thursday, Brest prosecutor Eric Mathais explained he had changed his mind after more allegations appeared in the press.

UK Election: Polls see Labour surging, but will young people actually go vote?

With Bold 'For the Many' Platform, Corbyn Rides Sanders-Like Wave in UK

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's prospects are rising ahead of upcoming elections in the United Kingdom, as his insurgent campaign rides a wave of progressive populism similar to the one created by Senator Bernie Sanders in the United States last year. With the British election just a week away, the BBC on Wednesday hosted a debate featuring several party leaders, including Corbyn, who has in recent days surged rapidly in public opinion polls. ...

While Corbyn's argument that the rival party's program favors the wealthy is not new, it is bolstered by a fresh report showing that the Conservatives, as The Independent put it, "raised more than 10 times as much money from large donors in the most recent week of the general election campaign." In a particularly heated exchange with Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who quipped that the Labour leader's economics presumed the existence of a "money tree," Corbyn argued that the Conservatives are out of touch with the needs of the most vulnerable.

"Have you been to a foodbank?" Corbyn asked. "Have you seen people sleeping around our stations? Have you seen the levels of poverty that exist because of your government's conscious decisions on the deficit?" As was the case throughout the night, these lines elicited significant applause. Corbyn's opponents attempted to explain this applause away by arguing that the audience was disproportionately "left-wing," but Labour's rapid climb in the polls indicates that the growing enthusiasm for Corbyn is no facade. As the Evening Standard reported on Thursday, "more voters in [London] say they think Labour's leader would make a better Prime Minister than Mrs May."

As U.K. Polls Tighten, Jeremy Corbyn Mocks Theresa May for Refusing to Attend Debate

After a dramatic tightening in the polls ahead of next week’s general election in the United Kingdom, and a series of nervous performances by Prime Minister Theresa May, the opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn, spent much of the day mocking his rival for refusing to even attend a televised debate on Wednesday night.

At tonight's #BBCdebate I'll set out our vision of a Britain #ForTheMany. Will @Theresa_May come & defend her record of working for the few? pic.twitter.com/OCFgWQsbWY

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) May 31, 2017

Corbyn, the left-wing Labour Party leader, had initially intended to skip the debate himself, since the Conservative prime minister would not be present, but, buoyed by new polling that shows his party closing on the Conservatives and an assured performance in a televised forum earlier in the week, he changed course and tried to goad May into joining him. ...

[T]he British Parliament is elected ... in 650 head-to-head contests for seats, which can vary widely from the overall share achieved by the leading parties. One new seat-by-seat analysis, released on Tuesday by the polling firm YouGov, suggests that May’s gamble in calling an early election could backfire dramatically — with her party remaining the largest one in the new Parliament but losing up to 20 seats and no longer holding the majority necessary to form a government on its own.

That result would produce what is known as a hung Parliament, in which no party would have the undisputed right to form a government on its own, making it necessary to broker some sort of coalition, like the Conservative alliance with the Liberal Democrats that ruled from 2010 to 2015. At this moment, however, with the Liberal Democrats still reeling from the damage that coalition did to their party, and horrified by the Conservative-led plans for Brexit, such an arrangement seems unlikely. A breakdown of seats along the median line of the YouGov projection could even make it impossible for any plausible coalition to command a majority, making yet another general election necessary.

Keiser Report: Germany vs USA in era of deglobalization

Bilderberg 2017: secret meeting of global leaders could prove a problem for Trump

The storm around Donald Trump is about to shift a few miles west of the White House, to a conference centre in Chantilly, Virginia, where the embattled president will be getting his end-of-term grades from the people whose opinion really matters: Bilderberg. ...

Perched ominously at the top of the conference agenda this year are these words: “The Trump Administration: A progress report”. Is the president going to be put in detention for tweeting in class? Held back a year? Or told to empty his locker and leave? If ever there’s a place where a president could hear the words “you’re fired!”, it’s Bilderberg.

The White House is taking no chances, sending along some big hitters from Team Trump to defend their boss: the national security adviser, HR McMaster; the commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross; and Trump’s new strategist, Chris Liddell. Could the president himself show up to receive his report card in person? ...

So will Trump be given his marching orders at Bilderberg, or will he be kept on as a useful doofus? There’s a small but worrying clue for what Bilderberg might have in mind for Trump tucked away on the invitation list: one of the guests this year is the UK’s former chief of the defence staff, Sir Nicholas Houghton. His new role? Constable of the Tower of London.

NYPD officer to face murder charge after killing mentally ill woman

The NYPD sergeant who fatally shot a mentally ill Bronx woman in her home was charged with murder on Wednesday afternoon, pleading not guilty and posting a $100,000 bond. Sgt Hugh Barry was also charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for the shooting that sparked protest and deeply troubled top NYC officials.

Barry shot Deborah Danner in October after police were called to her apartment by a neighbor for a disturbance. Danner, a 66-year-old black woman with schizophrenia, had allegedly approached the officer with a bat after briefly wielding a pair of scissors.

Bronx borough president Ruben Diaz said in a statement Wednesday that the decision was “a positive first step towards addressing an issue that has been long neglected”.

“Clearly, there were options available to Sgt Barry which he failed to implement, and his conduct in this case is by no means a reflection on the great work of the New York City Police Department and its dedicated members,” he added.

Woman seeking asylum in Canada dies of hypothermia near US border

A woman believed to have been attempting to seek asylum in Canada died of exposure while attempting to cross the US border in a remote part of northern Minnesota, authorities have concluded.

Mavis Otuteye, 57, who is thought to have been from Ghana, died from hypothermia near Noyes, Minnesota, on 26 May, according to a preliminary autopsy.

Her body was found by the Kittson County sheriff’s department and the US Border Patrol less than a kilometer from Emerson, Manitoba. ...

Seeking to avoid Trump’s immigration crackdown, a growing number of people have braved freezing temperatures and deep snow to reach Canada.

Interesting article, here's a taste:

Portland's dark history of white supremacy

The racially charged double murder on a Portland train last week may seem at odds with the city’s current image, and self-perception, as liberal. But actually, the history of Portland, and of Oregon, reveals an enduring current of white supremacy and militant racism, experts say, that is apparent in the far and recent past.

Nearly two centuries of exclusion, violence and intimidation have resulted in the whitest major city in the United States, in a state that has in the past been fertile ground for the growth of extremism. Last Friday’s violent attack came amid a new wave of “alt-right” organizing, but Portland’s very whiteness has attracted far right groups to attempt to make inroads in the city for more than 30 years.

Walidah Imarisha, an expert on Oregon’s black history, said that while “Portland spends a lot of time being incredibly self-satisfied”, the “foundation of Oregon as a state, and in fact the whole Pacific north-west, was as a racist white utopia”. First, the land was taken from its indigenous inhabitants and freely given to white settlers. And while Oregonians take pride in the state’s early move to outlaw slavery, Imarisha said that that pride rested on a misunderstanding of the ban’s intent.

“In 1844 Oregon outlawed slavery,” she said, “but it also outlawed being black in the state.”

Initially, the prescribed punishment for black people for simply being in Oregon was up to 39 public lashes. This was quickly repealed, and replaced in 1849 with a system of fines, arrests and deportations. From 1857 to 1927, there was a prohibition on black people entering the state, which was enshrined in the state’s bill of rights. These laws were sporadically enforced, but they sent a very clear message to would-be settlers, black and white, and limited black migration to the state. ... The exclusion laws, incorporated in Oregon’s constitution, were not fully removed until 2002, after one of a series of campaigns led by people of color to expunge them. Even then, 28% of voters opposed the measure to clear the language.

New Analysis Shows 'Medicare for All' Can Cover Everyone While Cutting Costs

In addition to a new poll showing it would be extraordinarily popular, California's single-payer bill—the Healthy California Act—would also cut costs while providing coverage for all.

That is the conclusion of a new analysis (PDF) published on Wednesday by the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI).

"We estimate that, through implementation of Healthy California, overall costs of providing full health care coverage to all Californians could fall by about 18 percent relative to spending levels under the existing system," the authors of the report note.

They conclude:

In sum, the establishment of the Healthy California single-payer system will generate financial benefits for both families and businesses throughout the California economy. For families at most income levels and for businesses of most sizes, these financial benefits will be substantial. These benefits are in addition to those that the residents of California will achieve through having universal access to decent health care.

The analysis, which was commissioned by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Association, adds fuel to an ongoing debate over the costs of insuring all Californians—a debate sure to reverberate nationally. ...

"What this new study proves is that we can finally achieve the dream of guaranteeing health care for all Californians, without the punishment of crippling out of pocket costs, at far less than what was predicted by those who make enormous profits off the pain and suffering of everyday Californians," said RoseAnn DeMoro, the executive director of National Nurses United.

According to a new survey published by Tulchin Research firm, Californians are strongly behind each of these objectives.

• 94 percent of respondents favor lower healthcare costs
• 82 percent "favor eliminating premiums, co-pays, deductibles, and all out of pocket expenses for covered services"
• 81 percent "support ensuring every Californian has healthcare"
• "70 percent of Californians favor establishing a public, Medicare for all type system"

Fraught White House campaign blamed as US bucks global trend towards peace

Peace has deteriorated in North America following the turbulent US presidential campaign, claim researchers, with racial tension and murder rates rising even as the rest of the world shows signs of recovering from a period of unprecedented violence and upheaval.

The divisive nature of Donald Trump’s rise to the White House has increased mistrust of the US government and means social problems are likely to become more entrenched, said the authors of the annual global peace index, in which 163 countries and territories are analysed. As a result, they said, harmony in the North America region has diminished, even though Canada – ranked eighth overall in the index – has become slightly more peaceful.

“While the true extent of such significant political polarity in the US will take years to be fully realised, its disruptive influence is already evident,” said Steve Killelea, founder and executive chairman of the Institute for Economics and Peace, the thinktank behind the study. “Increasing inequality, rising perceptions of corruption, and falling press freedoms have all contributed to this substantial deterioration in the US and an overall decline in peace in the North America region.” ...

The world has nonetheless become a more peaceful place overall, with 93 countries recording higher levels since last year, the first improvement since the Syria conflict began in 2011.

Nigel Farage is 'person of interest' in FBI investigation into Trump and Russia

Nigel Farage is a “person of interest” in the US counter-intelligence investigation that is looking into possible collusion between the Kremlin and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, the Guardian has been told.

Sources with knowledge of the investigation said the former Ukip leader had raised the interest of FBI investigators because of his relationships with individuals connected to both the Trump campaign and Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder whom Farage visited in March. ...

Farage has not been accused of wrongdoing and is not a suspect or a target of the US investigation. But being a person of interest means investigators believe he may have information about the acts that are under investigation and he may therefore be subject to their scrutiny. ...

“One of the things the intelligence investigators have been looking at is points of contact and persons involved,” one source said. “If you triangulate Russia, WikiLeaks, Assange and Trump associates the person who comes up with the most hits is Nigel Farage.

“He’s right in the middle of these relationships. He turns up over and over again. There’s a lot of attention being paid to him.” ...

Farage’s spokesman said he had never worked with Russian officials, and described the Guardian’s questions about Farage’s activities as “verging on the hysterical”.

Sean Spicer: White House is no longer taking questions on Trump and Russia

The White House said on Wednesday it will no longer answer questions about the ongoing investigations into Donald Trump’s alleged links to Russia.

James Comey, fired by Trump as director of the FBI, is reportedly due to testify to a congressional committee as early as next week.

Asked about Comey’s evidence and whether the president had engaged in obstruction of justice, press secretary Sean Spicer replied: “We are focused on the president’s agenda and going forward all questions on these matters will be referred to outside counsel Marc Kasowitz.”

Kasowitz is Trump’s longtime lawyer and has represented him in property deals, divorce cases and fraud allegations at Trump University.

James O’Keefe Hit by Group He Stung With Million-Dollar Lawsuit

Conservative provoacateur James O’Keefe III will be hit with a million-dollar lawsuit on Thursday, sources behind the filing tell The Intercept. The lawsuit accuses O’Keefe and his organization, Project Veritas, with breaking local and federal wiretap laws and running afoul of other statutes, dubbing him and two colleagues “modern-day Watergate burglars.”

O’Keefe operative Allison Maass posed a progressive activist, using an elaborate cover story and falsified documents, to win an internship with the Democratic campaign consultants Democracy Partners. “Basically O’Keefe and Maass were modern day Watergate Burglars. They used fraud to get Maass a position as an intern at Democracy Partners so they could steal documents and secretly videotape conversations,” said Joe Sandler, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs. “There is no question that, in doing so, they violated Federal and D.C. law and should be held liable for the damages suffered by our clients as a result.”

O’Keefe’s scheme involved having a man claiming to be a potential donor to the Democratic group Americans United for Change ask Robert Creamer, a principal at Democracy Partners, if his niece, going by the name Angela Brandt, could do volunteer work. Brandt was in fact Maass. Maass, much like the burglars who broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters ahead of the 1972 campaign, pilfered a large cache of documents. Maass also secretly filmed interactions with Democracy Partners staff.

O’Keefe worked closely with the right-wing local news chain Sinclair Broadcast Group in rolling out the videos produced from the sting. ... Project Veritas also distributed the videos through the conservative outlet Breitbart.

The EPA faces massive cuts

The Trump administration rolled into Washington with a promise from senior adviser Steve Bannon to “deconstruct the administrative state.” But the one agency particularly in Team Trump’s crosshairs was the Environmental Protection Agency, which got its budget cut by nearly a third in Trump’s first budget proposal and a new administrator who’s hostile to the agency’s mission.

Cutting an agency this deeply will require thousands of layoffs, and on this front, EPA chief Scott Pruitt has demographics on his side: the EPA’s workforce skews older than the norm for the federal government, meaning more employees are eligible to simply retire. With morale dipping as cuts make it seemingly impossible for the agency to fulfill its core mission, inside sources speaking to VICE News expect a stampede for the exits in the coming months as Pruitt offers $12 million in incentives for employees to take early retirement and buyouts.

Long-time employees are accustomed to the pendulum swingings between big-government Democrat and small-government Republican administrations, but this one feels different. ... “It’s a wholesale war on the environment. That’s never happened before,” said Kyla Bennett, who worked at the EPA for almost a decade and now works for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, an environmental government watchdog organization. ...

To hit the aggressive targets, the EPA will have to cut at least 3,000 positions of the 15,000 total, according to an estimate from E&E News. The EPA is one of the older agencies in the federal government with 57 percent of its employees over the age of 50, compared to 52 percent for the rest of the federal government according to the Office of Personnel Management. But since EPA employees tend to stick around a long time, a mass departure would mean a big brain drain. Over 40 percent of the agency has been at the EPA for more than 20 years.

New species discovered behind a pub – then saved from extinction

Who says village life has to be boring? Granity, New Zealand may be home to less than 300 people, but this lovely seaside village on the western coast of South Island was also – until last year – home to a species found no-where else on Earth. ... In 2007 reptile expert Tony Jewell noticed there was something very different about the little lizards that skittered beneath the cobble stones on the beach behind Miners on Sea pub and hotel in Granity. Built in 1892, the pub has a long history of serving nearby mining communities.

Jewell was so convinced of the reptile’s distinctness that he included them as a separate species in his 2008 edition of A Photographic Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of New Zealand. Although similar to the more common speckled skink, these Miners-on-Sea skinks were smaller and sported bigger eyes. ... But things quickly became dire for the newly discovered skinks. Eight years after Jewell discovered the population, two surveys, one in 2015 and 2016, counted only around 30 animals left.

The species’ habitat was rapidly disintegrating due to coastal erosion. In part, this was because of changes inland where fewer rocks from the mountains were making their way to the beaches of Granity. At the same time, rising sea levels and higher storm surges – caused by climate change – may have also been washing cobble stones – and lizards – out to sea.

With only a few dozen left, conservationists decided something had to be done – and fast. Spring 2016 brought unusually high tides and storm surges, even as conservationists headed to the beach just behind Miners on Sea to implement Operation Skink Rescue. Over the next few months, they employed artificial rocks to entice the skinks to hide under them with funnel traps inside to catch them. Captured skinks were flown to Auckland Zoo where Gibson, the curator of birds and ectotherms, oversees their care. In all, conservationists captured 38 survivors.

Today, the total population has risen by two to 40, said Gibson: the extras are “youngsters born here [at the zoo], the size of a wriggly matchstick, to mothers who arrived pregnant.”

Also of Interest

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

What Did John Brennan and Anonymous Sources Really Say?

The President’s Inferiority Complex, Zbigniew Brzezinski’s Russia-Hating Obsession, and the Putsch Plotter with the Itchy Trigger Finger

The Good Americans

Operation Car Wash: Is this the biggest corruption scandal in history?

Avoiding War with China

Comprehending Today’s Russia

Impeachment Advocates Beware: Trump Holds a Trump Card: The Power to Pardon

The Numbers Don’t Lie: White Far-Right Terrorists Pose a Clear Danger to Us All

Blame game for cyber attacks grows murkier as spying, crime tools mix

Democrats take us black voters for granted. What if we abandoned them?

A Little Night Music

Memphis Minnie + Little Son Joe - Jump Little Rabbit

Little Son Joe - Black Rat Swing

Little Son Joe - Just Had To Holler

Little Son Joe w/Memphis Minnie - A.B.C. blues

Memphis Minnie + Little Son Joe - Love Come and Go

Memphis Minnie + Little Son Joe - Pig Meat On The Line

Memphis Minnie + Little Son Joe - My Black Buffalo

Memphis Minnie + Little Son Joe - Broken Heart

Memphis Minnie + Little Son Joe - When You Love Me

Memphis Minnie + Little Son Joe - What A Night