Thursday, November 7, 2019
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Scientists Astonished After Finding Microplastics In Arctic Snow
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/microplastics-snow-arctic-alps-precipitation_n_5d59289be4b0d8840ff48b4f?fbclid=IwAR1eI5E6A-9ABG_KoggDHLGxhq4QahqpJVpREs_7xZ8LEilo6pq5aCZWzYI
"Scientists in Germany are raising the alarm after finding a significant amount of microplastics in snow samples in the Alps and the Arctic — two of the most pristine locations on Earth. In a study published in the journal Science Advances last week, the researchers said their findings point to a troubling possibility: that plastics aren’t just polluting our lands and clogging our waterways, but befouling the air around us as well. “I was really astonished concerning the high concentrations” of microplastics found in Arctic snow, study co-author Gunnar Gerdts told the Los Angeles Times. Microplastics are tiny fragments of plastic that often originate from larger debris that have degraded over time. Gerdts’ team said it found up to 14,400 microplastic particles per liter of melted Arctic snow ― a staggering amount for a remote region where few humans reside. “We found a lot of microplastics, like record concentrations,” Gerdts said of the Arctic snow, “and the question arose: From where does the microplastic originate?” There are just two possibilities, he noted: “from the water or from the air.” While it’s known that microplastics and other plastic debris is transported by ocean currents, scientists have become increasingly convinced that small plastic fragments are also being carried through winds and precipitation."
"Scientists in Germany are raising the alarm after finding a significant amount of microplastics in snow samples in the Alps and the Arctic — two of the most pristine locations on Earth. In a study published in the journal Science Advances last week, the researchers said their findings point to a troubling possibility: that plastics aren’t just polluting our lands and clogging our waterways, but befouling the air around us as well. “I was really astonished concerning the high concentrations” of microplastics found in Arctic snow, study co-author Gunnar Gerdts told the Los Angeles Times. Microplastics are tiny fragments of plastic that often originate from larger debris that have degraded over time. Gerdts’ team said it found up to 14,400 microplastic particles per liter of melted Arctic snow ― a staggering amount for a remote region where few humans reside. “We found a lot of microplastics, like record concentrations,” Gerdts said of the Arctic snow, “and the question arose: From where does the microplastic originate?” There are just two possibilities, he noted: “from the water or from the air.” While it’s known that microplastics and other plastic debris is transported by ocean currents, scientists have become increasingly convinced that small plastic fragments are also being carried through winds and precipitation."
Giving 'Upper Hand to Corporate Polluters,' EPA Drops Surprise Inspections
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/07/19/giving-upper-hand-corporate-polluters-epa-drops-surprise-inspections?fbclid=IwAR0ab1h2Z_UbtGDcCPdP5q5S3ggVfLHHGDEgZpDFZlGntGFxeLWoXkxu1a0
"President Donald Trump's EPA is provoking criticism once again, this time over a new "no surprises" policy stopping unannounced visits to power, chemical, and waste facilities. "The Trump @EPA is just chucking aside any flimsy pretense that they care about upholding environmental laws, enforcing against big polluters, or protecting Americans," tweeted John Walke, Clean Air Director and senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Giving a courtesy heads up to suspected *ongoing* lawbreakers is beyond the pale even for the Trump @EPA"."
"President Donald Trump's EPA is provoking criticism once again, this time over a new "no surprises" policy stopping unannounced visits to power, chemical, and waste facilities. "The Trump @EPA is just chucking aside any flimsy pretense that they care about upholding environmental laws, enforcing against big polluters, or protecting Americans," tweeted John Walke, Clean Air Director and senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Giving a courtesy heads up to suspected *ongoing* lawbreakers is beyond the pale even for the Trump @EPA"."
Trump Pushes to Open the World’s Largest Remaining Temperate Rainforest to Logging and Mining
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/08/trump-open-alaskas-tongass-national-forest-worlds-largest-remaining-temperate-rainforest-logging-mining.html?fbclid=IwAR0NytRqVXRzb1UiqYAQik995vrnG-vZCsXq31shnAC8cxo8tGYe3Nuivw4
"There are many reasons the rise of right-wing populism is global threat, but perhaps the most lasting—and worrying—impact the ascendancy of this new breed of nihilist, know-nothing leader will have is on the environment. At the very moment when human ingenuity and collective will are required to stave off serious climate consequences, we have a rising tide of global leadership that believes in nothing. They certainly don’t believe in something they can’t touch or sell or kill—or understand. The deep cynicism of the likes of President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro comes at a time when belief, political bravery, and transformative leadership are required. But instead of big, broad-minded thinking, we get a president in Brazil who’s setting fire to the Amazonian rainforest for sport and an American president who, well, doesn’t believe in anything he can’t pawn. It seems unsurprising, then, that a week after Brazil’s space agency announced that fires in the Amazon were burning at a record rate—an 83 percent increase from before Bolsonaro took power—to the tune of 72,843 fires detected so far this year, on Tuesday we hear that the Trump administration is reportedly pushing to open up Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, the world’s largest intact temperate rainforest, to logging, mining, and energy extraction. “President Trump has instructed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to exempt Alaska’s 16.7-million-acre Tongass National Forest from logging restrictions imposed nearly 20 years ago, according to three people briefed on the issue, after privately discussing the matter with the state’s governor aboard Air Force One,” the Washington Post reports."
"There are many reasons the rise of right-wing populism is global threat, but perhaps the most lasting—and worrying—impact the ascendancy of this new breed of nihilist, know-nothing leader will have is on the environment. At the very moment when human ingenuity and collective will are required to stave off serious climate consequences, we have a rising tide of global leadership that believes in nothing. They certainly don’t believe in something they can’t touch or sell or kill—or understand. The deep cynicism of the likes of President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro comes at a time when belief, political bravery, and transformative leadership are required. But instead of big, broad-minded thinking, we get a president in Brazil who’s setting fire to the Amazonian rainforest for sport and an American president who, well, doesn’t believe in anything he can’t pawn. It seems unsurprising, then, that a week after Brazil’s space agency announced that fires in the Amazon were burning at a record rate—an 83 percent increase from before Bolsonaro took power—to the tune of 72,843 fires detected so far this year, on Tuesday we hear that the Trump administration is reportedly pushing to open up Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, the world’s largest intact temperate rainforest, to logging, mining, and energy extraction. “President Trump has instructed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to exempt Alaska’s 16.7-million-acre Tongass National Forest from logging restrictions imposed nearly 20 years ago, according to three people briefed on the issue, after privately discussing the matter with the state’s governor aboard Air Force One,” the Washington Post reports."
Trump moves to allow logging in the world’s largest intact temperate rainforest
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-moves-to-allow-logging-in-the-worlds-largest-intact-temperate-rainforest-3802173b038f/?fbclid=IwAR0aY0k_Vgi2qJ9wRS273SNUeJ--_IN6vEZe3oV4z-x06pVmukDxxa6ti4s
"On Tuesday, the president instructed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to allow logging in the 16.7 million acre Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska, the nation’s largest national forest. Together with British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest in Canada, the Tongass encompasses the largest intact temperate rainforest on Earth. The move would undo logging restrictions that have been in place for nearly 20 years, according to The Washington Post, impacting more than half of the national forest."
"On Tuesday, the president instructed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to allow logging in the 16.7 million acre Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska, the nation’s largest national forest. Together with British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest in Canada, the Tongass encompasses the largest intact temperate rainforest on Earth. The move would undo logging restrictions that have been in place for nearly 20 years, according to The Washington Post, impacting more than half of the national forest."
With Amazon in Flames, Trump Moves to Open 16.7 Million-Acre Alaskan Rainforest to Corporate Exploitation
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/08/28/amazon-flames-trump-moves-open-167-million-acre-alaskan-rainforest-corporate?fbclid=IwAR2nvpeSd_v2aCiJWcbjzg1xrNnWldf_GQA6jhGVMwa2HOsHQ4cMDkU8pZY
"President Donald Trump has reportedly ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to open Alaska's 16.7 million-acre Tongass National Forest—the planet's largest intact temperate rainforest—to logging and other corporate development projects"
"President Donald Trump has reportedly ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to open Alaska's 16.7 million-acre Tongass National Forest—the planet's largest intact temperate rainforest—to logging and other corporate development projects"
How Ohio’s Chamber of Commerce Killed an Anti-Pollution Bill of Rights
https://theintercept.com/2019/08/29/lake-erie-bill-of-rights-ohio/?fbclid=IwAR3njbcZDESAsjLJGCLlhU68QFeR-l555dOlMI3VAxD59nMEUIVH6ssrvbI
"EARLIER THIS SUMMER, environmental activists in Ohio were alarmed by the passage of a mysterious state budget amendment that would close a new avenue for residents to sue polluters. The provision invalidated a landmark anti-pollution initiative passed by Toledo voters just a few months before. Now, emails obtained in a public records request reveal that the Ohio Chamber of Commerce secured the cooperation of a key Republican lawmaker in a successful effort to slip the amendment into an appropriations bill at the eleventh hour. The emails depict the chamber’s environmental policy director requesting a last-minute meeting with state Rep. Jim Hoops to discuss the Lake Erie Bill of Rights, the newly minted ballot initiative allowing citizens to sue polluters on behalf of Lake Erie. A legislative aide responded quickly, scheduling a same-day meeting. Despite the chamber director’s admission that his proposal would need to be submitted after the legislature’s deadline, the aide produced draft amendment language to share with him three weeks later. The chamber’s subsequent revisions made their way into the final bill, effectively nullifying the Lake Erie Bill of Rights."
"EARLIER THIS SUMMER, environmental activists in Ohio were alarmed by the passage of a mysterious state budget amendment that would close a new avenue for residents to sue polluters. The provision invalidated a landmark anti-pollution initiative passed by Toledo voters just a few months before. Now, emails obtained in a public records request reveal that the Ohio Chamber of Commerce secured the cooperation of a key Republican lawmaker in a successful effort to slip the amendment into an appropriations bill at the eleventh hour. The emails depict the chamber’s environmental policy director requesting a last-minute meeting with state Rep. Jim Hoops to discuss the Lake Erie Bill of Rights, the newly minted ballot initiative allowing citizens to sue polluters on behalf of Lake Erie. A legislative aide responded quickly, scheduling a same-day meeting. Despite the chamber director’s admission that his proposal would need to be submitted after the legislature’s deadline, the aide produced draft amendment language to share with him three weeks later. The chamber’s subsequent revisions made their way into the final bill, effectively nullifying the Lake Erie Bill of Rights."
How This Brazilian City Became Ground Zero For The Amazon’s Deforestation Crisis
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/brazil-amazon-fires-altamira_n_5d697bcce4b0cdfe056fe726
"Rampant corruption, environmental indifference and a thirst for growth helped Brazil ignore a brewing crisis in Altamira."
"Rampant corruption, environmental indifference and a thirst for growth helped Brazil ignore a brewing crisis in Altamira."
Trump Wants to Log Alaska’s Tongass, World’s Largest Intact Temperate Rainforest
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/08/trump-pushes-to-log-the-worlds-largest-temperate-rainforest.html?fbclid=IwAR3buDDTGRtpu2XWM1_NmNoxxk1PDbI3fcVT40HmNzHbS7Q8QUsKvMs1Ggc
"One Trump staffer who spoke with the paper said forest policy has become “an obsession of his,” while Trump himself has said he has recently taken an interest in “forest management.” But as with many of his interests, the president hasn’t taken all that much time to learn about forest health: In a visit to Paradise, California, after last year’s deadliest fire season in history, Trump suggested the U.S. could limit the state’s wildfire crisis by spending “a lot of time on raking.” Trump’s interest in forestry also involves his usual vindictiveness: Disapproving of California’s fire-management system, he reportedly wanted to cut its federal funding last year. Like other “obsessions” in which the president’s limited financial acumen crashes into his limited understanding of the natural world, his hope for Tongass National Forest is to open it up as a vast logging opportunity. But the timber industry represents less than one percent of southeastern Alaska’s labor force: Seafood processing and tourism, industries immeasurably benefited by an intact Tongass, represent 8 percent and 17 percent of the region’s jobs. The forest’s impact on salmon fisheries alone should be enough to let it be. Chris Wood, the president of the environmental group Trout Unlimited and a former Forest Service staffer who helped implement the “roadless rule” under Clinton, told the Post that the agency has “realized the golden goose is in the salmon, not the trees.” According to the Post, “about 40 percent of wild salmon that make their way down the West Coast spawn in the Tongass: The Forest Service estimates that the salmon industry generates $986 million annually. Returning salmon bring nutrients that sustain forest growth, while intact stands of trees keep streams cool and trap sediment.” Other wildlife rely on the massive forest — it is more than double the size of the next largest national forest — as the Tongass’s remaining old-growth trees provide critical habitat for brown bears, Sitka black-tailed deer, and northern goshawks."
"One Trump staffer who spoke with the paper said forest policy has become “an obsession of his,” while Trump himself has said he has recently taken an interest in “forest management.” But as with many of his interests, the president hasn’t taken all that much time to learn about forest health: In a visit to Paradise, California, after last year’s deadliest fire season in history, Trump suggested the U.S. could limit the state’s wildfire crisis by spending “a lot of time on raking.” Trump’s interest in forestry also involves his usual vindictiveness: Disapproving of California’s fire-management system, he reportedly wanted to cut its federal funding last year. Like other “obsessions” in which the president’s limited financial acumen crashes into his limited understanding of the natural world, his hope for Tongass National Forest is to open it up as a vast logging opportunity. But the timber industry represents less than one percent of southeastern Alaska’s labor force: Seafood processing and tourism, industries immeasurably benefited by an intact Tongass, represent 8 percent and 17 percent of the region’s jobs. The forest’s impact on salmon fisheries alone should be enough to let it be. Chris Wood, the president of the environmental group Trout Unlimited and a former Forest Service staffer who helped implement the “roadless rule” under Clinton, told the Post that the agency has “realized the golden goose is in the salmon, not the trees.” According to the Post, “about 40 percent of wild salmon that make their way down the West Coast spawn in the Tongass: The Forest Service estimates that the salmon industry generates $986 million annually. Returning salmon bring nutrients that sustain forest growth, while intact stands of trees keep streams cool and trap sediment.” Other wildlife rely on the massive forest — it is more than double the size of the next largest national forest — as the Tongass’s remaining old-growth trees provide critical habitat for brown bears, Sitka black-tailed deer, and northern goshawks."
The Trump Administration Has a Multi-Pronged Strategy to Make the Planet Uninhabitable
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a28859487/trump-epa-methane-emissions-climate-crisis/?fbclid=IwAR2QDB_mpbaUpoX68JL7roUUfB7PJqGuALYKyD2WGJtIQmmAnfw52lKOpzI
"This is not the first example of this phenomenon, of course. You might have noticed that line in the Times piece about vehicle emissions standards, which the Trump administration is trying to gut, once again over the complaints of industry (in that case, auto manufacturers). Vehicle emissions account for one-fifth of U.S. carbon pollution, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, so that is also extremely unhelpful. Add to that the administration's decision to kill the Clean Power Plan, aimed at reducing emissions from power plants, and replace it with a weaker plan, and you've got a truly multi-pronged effort to make the planet inhospitable to human life. We are running out of things to f**k up at this point."
"This is not the first example of this phenomenon, of course. You might have noticed that line in the Times piece about vehicle emissions standards, which the Trump administration is trying to gut, once again over the complaints of industry (in that case, auto manufacturers). Vehicle emissions account for one-fifth of U.S. carbon pollution, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, so that is also extremely unhelpful. Add to that the administration's decision to kill the Clean Power Plan, aimed at reducing emissions from power plants, and replace it with a weaker plan, and you've got a truly multi-pronged effort to make the planet inhospitable to human life. We are running out of things to f**k up at this point."
Why should Wisconsin drain Lake Michigan for Foxconn?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-should-wisconsin-drain-lake-michigan-for-foxconn/2019/08/28/b717ed40-c99e-11e9-a1fe-ca46e8d573c0_story.html?fbclid=IwAR357WcIZQegvf9B1lyjTIoIA-Nc0pDEMUb9h8zBPzyYro13qBDmGNdb33I
"The Great Lakes — five inland seas holding one-fifth of all the fresh water on Earth — are vast, but they are not limitless. So it is alarming that Wisconsin intends to send water out of the basin not because public health demands it but because a private company wants it. This cuts against the understanding of the lakes as a public trust and, in an era of nationwide water insecurity, sets a dangerous precedent. Foxconn Technology Group, a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, is building a plant to make LCD screens in Mount Pleasant, Wis. The state that landed Foxconn with environmental waivers and about $4 billion in incentives decided that it was fine for it to have Great Lakes water, too. In 2018, Wisconsin granted a permit for Racine and Foxconn to use 7 million gallons a day from Lake Michigan, taking it outside the area where water naturally returns to the Great Lakes watershed. The diversion sidesteps a key piece of water policy that is commonly called the Great Lakes Compact. The compact, along with Ontario and Quebec’s parallel agreement, is a protocol for when water can be taken outside the basin — which is to say, almost never. But there are exceptions for cities and counties that straddle the watershed boundary. With its groundwater contaminated by naturally occurring radium, Waukesha, Wis., went through an intensely scrutinized application to take water from Lake Michigan. It took seven years, including legal appeal, before the diversion was finalized. Mount Pleasant, a village of 27,000 people, is a straddling community, so the Foxconn diversion would be expected to go through similarly tough scrutiny. But Mount Pleasant didn’t make the diversion request. It was made instead by Racine, a neighboring city on the lakeshore. As an in-basin community, Racine merely asked the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to expand its service area, and the DNR agreed."
"The Great Lakes — five inland seas holding one-fifth of all the fresh water on Earth — are vast, but they are not limitless. So it is alarming that Wisconsin intends to send water out of the basin not because public health demands it but because a private company wants it. This cuts against the understanding of the lakes as a public trust and, in an era of nationwide water insecurity, sets a dangerous precedent. Foxconn Technology Group, a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, is building a plant to make LCD screens in Mount Pleasant, Wis. The state that landed Foxconn with environmental waivers and about $4 billion in incentives decided that it was fine for it to have Great Lakes water, too. In 2018, Wisconsin granted a permit for Racine and Foxconn to use 7 million gallons a day from Lake Michigan, taking it outside the area where water naturally returns to the Great Lakes watershed. The diversion sidesteps a key piece of water policy that is commonly called the Great Lakes Compact. The compact, along with Ontario and Quebec’s parallel agreement, is a protocol for when water can be taken outside the basin — which is to say, almost never. But there are exceptions for cities and counties that straddle the watershed boundary. With its groundwater contaminated by naturally occurring radium, Waukesha, Wis., went through an intensely scrutinized application to take water from Lake Michigan. It took seven years, including legal appeal, before the diversion was finalized. Mount Pleasant, a village of 27,000 people, is a straddling community, so the Foxconn diversion would be expected to go through similarly tough scrutiny. But Mount Pleasant didn’t make the diversion request. It was made instead by Racine, a neighboring city on the lakeshore. As an in-basin community, Racine merely asked the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to expand its service area, and the DNR agreed."
'Sociopathic Disregard for Our Future': Trump EPA Set to Gut Restrictions on Planet-Warming Methane Emissions
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/08/29/sociopathic-disregard-our-future-trump-epa-set-gut-restrictions-planet-warming?fbclid=IwAR2ROZyo7E1pwLZZWhnVeUatyb4p96CVzbaqFtN66xdIc1IRdvN2BRHKGfc
"Amid dire scientific warnings that the international community must act immediately to slash greenhouse gas emissions, President Donald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency is reportedly set to take another step in the opposite direction Thursday by unveiling a rule that would gut restrictions on the fossil fuel industry's methane pollution."
"Amid dire scientific warnings that the international community must act immediately to slash greenhouse gas emissions, President Donald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency is reportedly set to take another step in the opposite direction Thursday by unveiling a rule that would gut restrictions on the fossil fuel industry's methane pollution."
Trump’s EPA Sides With Water Polluters In Major Hawaii Case
https://www.dcreport.org/2019/08/09/trumps-epa-sides-with-water-polluters-in-major-hawaii-case/?fbclid=IwAR3rqRIuwxsfH_DlIL3nOB713HSX4hRFWhkK8GVWXNt6adWiw9LIzqVGBtw
"If you like sewage, chemical wastes or radioactive molecules in your drinking water the Trump Administration has your back. It’s part of Team Trump’s determined efforts to remake the Environmental Protection Agency into the Environmental Pollution Agency. Soon the U.S. Supreme Court, urged on by Team Trump, may give its stamp of approval to effectively undo many benefits of the 1972 Clean Water Act in a case from the Hawaiian island of Maui. Environmental groups are seeking to stop Maui County from injecting pollutants into the ground, where they mix with groundwater and then flow to the ocean. The groups say the practice evades current pollution laws that bar the fouling of surface waters. The Trump Administration, reversing the Obama Administration’s stance, is on the polluters’ side."
"If you like sewage, chemical wastes or radioactive molecules in your drinking water the Trump Administration has your back. It’s part of Team Trump’s determined efforts to remake the Environmental Protection Agency into the Environmental Pollution Agency. Soon the U.S. Supreme Court, urged on by Team Trump, may give its stamp of approval to effectively undo many benefits of the 1972 Clean Water Act in a case from the Hawaiian island of Maui. Environmental groups are seeking to stop Maui County from injecting pollutants into the ground, where they mix with groundwater and then flow to the ocean. The groups say the practice evades current pollution laws that bar the fouling of surface waters. The Trump Administration, reversing the Obama Administration’s stance, is on the polluters’ side."
Groups Sue Trump's EPA in Response to 'Nauseating' Approval of Bee-Killing Pesticide
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/08/20/groups-sue-trumps-epa-response-nauseating-approval-bee-killing-pesticide?fbclid=IwAR25135GyxOr0ObKMqZh72s5i-RVpD0qtsZDzE7KrGleiNYf03lmEOeODVs
"A pair of environmental groups on Tuesday filed suit against the President Donald Trump administration over the Environmental Protection Agency's recent approval of expanded use of the bee-killing pesticide sulfoxaflor across 200 million acres in 12 states. The Center for Food Safety and the Center for Biological Diversity filed the suit (pdf) in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals against the EPA and agency administrator Andrew Wheeler."
"A pair of environmental groups on Tuesday filed suit against the President Donald Trump administration over the Environmental Protection Agency's recent approval of expanded use of the bee-killing pesticide sulfoxaflor across 200 million acres in 12 states. The Center for Food Safety and the Center for Biological Diversity filed the suit (pdf) in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals against the EPA and agency administrator Andrew Wheeler."
Some Men Just Want to Watch the World Burn
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-methane-rule-climate-crisis-878427/?fbclid=IwAR0Sxl1kTRgTYFBAJnIkqx_46qe0QchEIS54V9Gu7kXinqO-eoeLYkeQBH4
"The EPA is proposing to deregulate the oil and gas industry, to no longer require that new natural gas wells, pipelines and storage facilities include technology to detect and limit leaks of methane — a powerful greenhouse gas, with 28 times the heat trapping effect of carbon dioxide. (Methane is the primary component of natural gas. Thanks to fracking, the United States is the global leader of natural gas production.) The Trump EPA is now governed by climate deniers. Anne Isdal, a former deputy to the Texas land commissioner, is acting administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation told the Wall Street Journal that the purpose of the proposed rule “is to get to the fundamental basis of whether [methane] should have been regulated in the first place,” telling the paper, “I don’t see that there’s going to be some big climate concern here.” The proposed rule would undo methane limits finalized by the Obama administration in 2016. Since those leak monitoring rules were imposed, scientists have discovered that the U.S. oil and gas industry is leaking 60 percent more of the dangerous gas than previously understood — enough to “substantially erode the potential climate benefits” from substituting natural gas for coal. An analysis by the Wall Street Journal earlier this month found that the leaks create the greenhouse equivalent of 69 million cars — not nice. That figure relied on the EPA’s formulas for measuring methane’s climate impacts. Using metrics favored by the United Nations’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the automobile-equivalent rises to 94 million — or nearly a third of the cars now on the road in the United States."
"The EPA is proposing to deregulate the oil and gas industry, to no longer require that new natural gas wells, pipelines and storage facilities include technology to detect and limit leaks of methane — a powerful greenhouse gas, with 28 times the heat trapping effect of carbon dioxide. (Methane is the primary component of natural gas. Thanks to fracking, the United States is the global leader of natural gas production.) The Trump EPA is now governed by climate deniers. Anne Isdal, a former deputy to the Texas land commissioner, is acting administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation told the Wall Street Journal that the purpose of the proposed rule “is to get to the fundamental basis of whether [methane] should have been regulated in the first place,” telling the paper, “I don’t see that there’s going to be some big climate concern here.” The proposed rule would undo methane limits finalized by the Obama administration in 2016. Since those leak monitoring rules were imposed, scientists have discovered that the U.S. oil and gas industry is leaking 60 percent more of the dangerous gas than previously understood — enough to “substantially erode the potential climate benefits” from substituting natural gas for coal. An analysis by the Wall Street Journal earlier this month found that the leaks create the greenhouse equivalent of 69 million cars — not nice. That figure relied on the EPA’s formulas for measuring methane’s climate impacts. Using metrics favored by the United Nations’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the automobile-equivalent rises to 94 million — or nearly a third of the cars now on the road in the United States."
EPA Moves to Loosen Methane Rules as Trump Opens Alaskan Rainforest
https://truthout.org/articles/epa-moves-to-loosen-methane-rules-as-trump-opens-alaskan-rainforest/
"Climate disruption is not lurking in some faraway land of maybe; it was here yesterday and the day before, and last week, and last year. It is here today, and will be here tomorrow, and for the rest of our lives. It will never get better, and is going to get worse, but if we heed the stop signs, we have the chance to, perhaps, keep it from driving us into extinction. Clearly, the president of the United States doesn’t see it that way. “I’m an environmentalist,” said Donald Trump after blowing off a G7 meeting on the climate crisis. “A lot of people don’t understand that. I think I know more about the environment than most people.” In his mind, nuking hurricanes and buying Greenland to plunder its newly ice-free resources is what environmentalists do. Now, Trump the “environmentalist” has also reportedly ordered Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to open Alaska’s 16.7 million-acre Tongass National Forest — the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world — to logging, energy and mining projects. Not satisfied with his quest to erase Barack Obama from the history books, Trump has begun erasing Clinton-era environmental protections like the one that has defended Tongass for 20 years. “Trump has taken a personal interest in ‘forest management,’” reports The Washington Post, “a term he told a group of lawmakers last year he has ‘redefined’ since taking office.” Trump did not stop with Tsongass. On Thursday, his administration announced it intends to roll back regulations on the release of methane by the oil and gas industry. Methane is a highly dangerous greenhouse gas that has “80 times the heating-trapping power of carbon dioxide in the first 20 years in the atmosphere,” according to The New York Times. There is near-universal fear among environmental scientists that melting Arctic permafrost — exacerbated by the ongoing fires — will release a methane bomb into the atmosphere, creating a feedback loop that will drastically worsen climate disruption."
"Climate disruption is not lurking in some faraway land of maybe; it was here yesterday and the day before, and last week, and last year. It is here today, and will be here tomorrow, and for the rest of our lives. It will never get better, and is going to get worse, but if we heed the stop signs, we have the chance to, perhaps, keep it from driving us into extinction. Clearly, the president of the United States doesn’t see it that way. “I’m an environmentalist,” said Donald Trump after blowing off a G7 meeting on the climate crisis. “A lot of people don’t understand that. I think I know more about the environment than most people.” In his mind, nuking hurricanes and buying Greenland to plunder its newly ice-free resources is what environmentalists do. Now, Trump the “environmentalist” has also reportedly ordered Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to open Alaska’s 16.7 million-acre Tongass National Forest — the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world — to logging, energy and mining projects. Not satisfied with his quest to erase Barack Obama from the history books, Trump has begun erasing Clinton-era environmental protections like the one that has defended Tongass for 20 years. “Trump has taken a personal interest in ‘forest management,’” reports The Washington Post, “a term he told a group of lawmakers last year he has ‘redefined’ since taking office.” Trump did not stop with Tsongass. On Thursday, his administration announced it intends to roll back regulations on the release of methane by the oil and gas industry. Methane is a highly dangerous greenhouse gas that has “80 times the heating-trapping power of carbon dioxide in the first 20 years in the atmosphere,” according to The New York Times. There is near-universal fear among environmental scientists that melting Arctic permafrost — exacerbated by the ongoing fires — will release a methane bomb into the atmosphere, creating a feedback loop that will drastically worsen climate disruption."
Look No Further Than Brazil’s Amazon Fire for the Dangers of Deregulation
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/08/look-no-further-than-brazils-amazon-fire-for-the-dangers-of-deregulation/?fbclid=IwAR3dYNTQkfod8G2nXHszl5VR2xaUlR4hKqQLmfK2uwvjsGd5Ru2uDZtCxCc
"Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro took power this year promising to open the Amazon rainforest to industry, roll back environmental and indigenous protections, and stack his Cabinet with ideologues who dismiss climate change as a Marxist hoax. But the record wildfires now raging in the Amazon offer a terrifying rebuke and serve as a stark reminder of what’s at stake as Bolsonaro’s policies allow ranchers, loggers, and miners to destroy the world’s largest forest and repository of carbon dioxide at an unprecedented pace."
"Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro took power this year promising to open the Amazon rainforest to industry, roll back environmental and indigenous protections, and stack his Cabinet with ideologues who dismiss climate change as a Marxist hoax. But the record wildfires now raging in the Amazon offer a terrifying rebuke and serve as a stark reminder of what’s at stake as Bolsonaro’s policies allow ranchers, loggers, and miners to destroy the world’s largest forest and repository of carbon dioxide at an unprecedented pace."
Beyond Brazil, Unprecedented Fires Are Engulfing Bolivian Forests
https://truthout.org/articles/beyond-brazil-unprecedented-fires-are-engulfing-bolivian-forests/
"Up to 800,000 hectares of the unique Chiquitano forest were burned to the ground in Bolivia between August 18 and August 23. That’s more forest than is usually destroyed across the country in two years. Experts say that it will take at least two centuries to repair the ecological damage done by the fires, while at least 500 species are said to be at risk from the flames."
"Up to 800,000 hectares of the unique Chiquitano forest were burned to the ground in Bolivia between August 18 and August 23. That’s more forest than is usually destroyed across the country in two years. Experts say that it will take at least two centuries to repair the ecological damage done by the fires, while at least 500 species are said to be at risk from the flames."
Of Course Trump Praised Jair Bolsonaro While the Whole World Condemns His Treatment of the Amazon
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a28832920/president-trump-praise-jair-bolsonaro-amazon-wildfires/?fbclid=IwAR1bwxAlGhTz1iyI1hD6TuAkjaUZBR6wT4GQ8ypTsJhGzsraYZLubarUNrY
"The United States president also found time to offer his public support for Jair Bolsonaro, the Brazilian president who's under international pressure now that the Amazon is on fire after he embraced a program of ruthlessly exploiting the rainforest, which is a giant carbon sink that produces 20 percent of Earth's oxygen. It's no surprise to see Trump backing another authoritarian leader—it's kind of his thing. We scarcely talk about it anymore, but the President of the United States almost exclusively attacks the democratic leaders of nations that are our traditional allies while paling around with brutish strongmen. The list of the latter includes Kim Jong-un of North Korea, who orchestrates a system of human-rights abuses against his citizens, but also wrote Trump a beautiful letter; Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, who's backed extrajudicial executions of anyone accused of running drugs, but whom Trump said is doing an "unbelievable job"; and of course, his Good Friend Vlad. Bolsonaro, for his part, is a real nasty piece of work. He's spoken of "cleansing" the Brazilian political left, the kind of terminology that never ends well. He told a female Brazilian lawmaker that he "wouldn't rape you because you're not worthy of it," which of course echoes our own president's dismissal of women who've accused him of sexual assault: "She wouldn't be my first choice." More than all that, he openly embraced Brazil's legacy of fascist military dictatorship."
"The United States president also found time to offer his public support for Jair Bolsonaro, the Brazilian president who's under international pressure now that the Amazon is on fire after he embraced a program of ruthlessly exploiting the rainforest, which is a giant carbon sink that produces 20 percent of Earth's oxygen. It's no surprise to see Trump backing another authoritarian leader—it's kind of his thing. We scarcely talk about it anymore, but the President of the United States almost exclusively attacks the democratic leaders of nations that are our traditional allies while paling around with brutish strongmen. The list of the latter includes Kim Jong-un of North Korea, who orchestrates a system of human-rights abuses against his citizens, but also wrote Trump a beautiful letter; Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, who's backed extrajudicial executions of anyone accused of running drugs, but whom Trump said is doing an "unbelievable job"; and of course, his Good Friend Vlad. Bolsonaro, for his part, is a real nasty piece of work. He's spoken of "cleansing" the Brazilian political left, the kind of terminology that never ends well. He told a female Brazilian lawmaker that he "wouldn't rape you because you're not worthy of it," which of course echoes our own president's dismissal of women who've accused him of sexual assault: "She wouldn't be my first choice." More than all that, he openly embraced Brazil's legacy of fascist military dictatorship."
Brazil Isn’t the Only Far-Right Government Destroying the Planet
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/08/26/brazil-isnt-only-far-right-government-destroying-planet?fbclid=IwAR36_cttzIGSwII4MK7aiAyJNHe50TnK2KLN1GvfX8Q5492W1hkWkNERZl0
"It’s no coincidence that forest destruction has increased under far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who assumed office in January. Bolsonaro has promised to exploit the Amazon for agribusiness, mining, and other commercial activities. To do so, his administration has undermined laws protecting both forests and the people who live there—and launched openly racist attacks on indigenous peoples to marginalize them. When confronted with evidence of his own misdeeds, Bolsonaro has done what authoritarians always do—shoot the messenger. He’s called deforestation data from his own government “fake news” and fired the head of the agency that produced it. He is even claiming (without evidence) that the fires were started by NGOs to tarnish Brazil’s reputation. Sound familiar? Here in the United States, the Trump Administration has repeatedly attempted to undermine the science on climate change, spread misinformation about wildfires, and retaliated against government scientists who work on climate change. Where Bolsonaro deregulates the rainforest, Trump deregulates coal emissions (even as the government’s own analysis shows the extra pollution will kill up to 1,600 people). Where Bolsonaro demonizes NGOs, Trump-allied state governments are criminalizing peaceful protests against fossil fuel infrastructure. As in Brazil, the anti-extraction protests being targeted for criminalization in the United States are often indigenous-led. Meanwhile the Trump administration is systematically handing over sacred indigenous lands to oil and gas companies. And don’t forget about trying to sabotage international climate agreements. The United States is the world’s largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases, yet Trump walked away from the Paris climate accord early in his term. Joining us as a climate “rogue state,” Bolsonaro’s Brazil tried to undermine the global climate talks in Poland last December."
"It’s no coincidence that forest destruction has increased under far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who assumed office in January. Bolsonaro has promised to exploit the Amazon for agribusiness, mining, and other commercial activities. To do so, his administration has undermined laws protecting both forests and the people who live there—and launched openly racist attacks on indigenous peoples to marginalize them. When confronted with evidence of his own misdeeds, Bolsonaro has done what authoritarians always do—shoot the messenger. He’s called deforestation data from his own government “fake news” and fired the head of the agency that produced it. He is even claiming (without evidence) that the fires were started by NGOs to tarnish Brazil’s reputation. Sound familiar? Here in the United States, the Trump Administration has repeatedly attempted to undermine the science on climate change, spread misinformation about wildfires, and retaliated against government scientists who work on climate change. Where Bolsonaro deregulates the rainforest, Trump deregulates coal emissions (even as the government’s own analysis shows the extra pollution will kill up to 1,600 people). Where Bolsonaro demonizes NGOs, Trump-allied state governments are criminalizing peaceful protests against fossil fuel infrastructure. As in Brazil, the anti-extraction protests being targeted for criminalization in the United States are often indigenous-led. Meanwhile the Trump administration is systematically handing over sacred indigenous lands to oil and gas companies. And don’t forget about trying to sabotage international climate agreements. The United States is the world’s largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases, yet Trump walked away from the Paris climate accord early in his term. Joining us as a climate “rogue state,” Bolsonaro’s Brazil tried to undermine the global climate talks in Poland last December."
Top Financier of Trump and McConnell Is a Driving Force Behind Amazon Deforestation
https://theintercept.com/2019/08/27/amazon-rainforest-fire-blackstone/?fbclid=IwAR0CRWv6MzYD4diOgngc1bC1sEMdmvGsckBqx7U7lduSQIezP8o5Sx8lQuY
"TWO BRAZILIAN FIRMS owned by a top donor to President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are significantly responsible for the ongoing destruction of the Amazon rainforest, carnage that has developed into raging fires that have captivated global attention."
"TWO BRAZILIAN FIRMS owned by a top donor to President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are significantly responsible for the ongoing destruction of the Amazon rainforest, carnage that has developed into raging fires that have captivated global attention."
The Amazon rainforest’s worst-case scenario is uncomfortably near
https://www.vox.com/2019/8/27/20833275/amazon-rainforest-fire-wildfire-dieback?fbclid=IwAR2cP6pmak_TYrrarMP-2S4faia0KCh87eFi7YEIS0bCl93ZEpYAWQJ7Hmw
"Wildfires and deforestation are pushing the Amazon rainforest toward a dieback scenario: an irreversible cycle of collapse."
"Wildfires and deforestation are pushing the Amazon rainforest toward a dieback scenario: an irreversible cycle of collapse."
Saturday, August 24, 2019
GOP Lobbyists Help Brazil Recruit U.S. Companies to Exploit the Amazon
https://theintercept.com/2019/08/23/gop-lobbyists-help-brazil-recruit-u-s-companies-to-exploit-the-amazon/?fbclid=IwAR0neg-wVjBRYB_HG6qnF8oxuWxi4Nd7Op5oD4d8vReoH1OTbm7gk6RGY4w
"THIS SUMMER, fires are being used to clear wide swaths of the Amazon at an unprecedented rate. One-fifth of the Amazon has already been destroyed in the past 50 years; further industrialization of the rainforest risks destroying another fifth, a loss that would be catastrophic for the global ecosystem. The disaster is widely blamed on interests seeking to clear the world’s largest rainforest for cattle ranching, mining, and export-focused agribusiness. Documents reveal that those interests are being pushed in the U.S. by Republican lobbyists, friendly with President Donald Trump’s administration, who entered into talks with the Brazilian government to promote corporate investment in the Amazon. The crisis in the Amazon comes as Brazil is now governed by an administration openly hostile to environmental concerns and Indigenous communities. President Jair Bolsonaro, a former Army captain once viewed as a fringe figure in Brazilian politics, has been referred to himself as “Captain Chainsaw” for his drive to promote logging and agribusiness in the Amazon."
"THIS SUMMER, fires are being used to clear wide swaths of the Amazon at an unprecedented rate. One-fifth of the Amazon has already been destroyed in the past 50 years; further industrialization of the rainforest risks destroying another fifth, a loss that would be catastrophic for the global ecosystem. The disaster is widely blamed on interests seeking to clear the world’s largest rainforest for cattle ranching, mining, and export-focused agribusiness. Documents reveal that those interests are being pushed in the U.S. by Republican lobbyists, friendly with President Donald Trump’s administration, who entered into talks with the Brazilian government to promote corporate investment in the Amazon. The crisis in the Amazon comes as Brazil is now governed by an administration openly hostile to environmental concerns and Indigenous communities. President Jair Bolsonaro, a former Army captain once viewed as a fringe figure in Brazilian politics, has been referred to himself as “Captain Chainsaw” for his drive to promote logging and agribusiness in the Amazon."
Brazil’s Amazon Fires Highlight The Threat Of Deregulation Amid Climate Change
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/brazil-amazon-rainforest-fire-climate-change_n_5d5dc2b5e4b02cc97c87eb98?fbclid=IwAR2rMUfXKTRUOWrAPIXL2JQYmbNuKrR-okI9P_RpPudxJDcfPBe6-TnkPZY
"Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro took power this year promising to open the Amazon rainforest to industry, roll back environmental and indigenous protections and stack his Cabinet with ideologues who dismiss climate change as a Marxist hoax. But the record wildfires now raging in the Amazon offer a terrifying rebuke and serve as a stark reminder of what’s at stake as Bolsonaro’s policies allow ranchers, loggers and miners to destroy the world’s largest forest and repository of carbon dioxide at an unprecedented pace."
"Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro took power this year promising to open the Amazon rainforest to industry, roll back environmental and indigenous protections and stack his Cabinet with ideologues who dismiss climate change as a Marxist hoax. But the record wildfires now raging in the Amazon offer a terrifying rebuke and serve as a stark reminder of what’s at stake as Bolsonaro’s policies allow ranchers, loggers and miners to destroy the world’s largest forest and repository of carbon dioxide at an unprecedented pace."
Leaked Documents Show Brazil’s Bolsonaro Has Grave Plans for Amazon Rainforest
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/08/22/leaked-documents-show-brazils-bolsonaro-has-grave-plans-amazon-rainforest?fbclid=IwAR1Ts6UroBICrp0AK6YYKIgjTyJGLQzq7iSB5o27jH22bhIZB4YcWsBvjf4
"Leaked documents show that Jair Bolsonaro's government intends to use the Brazilian president's hate speech to isolate minorities living in the Amazon region. The PowerPoint slides, which democraciaAbierta has seen, also reveal plans to implement predatory projects that could have a devastating environmental impact. The Bolsonaro government has as one of its priorities to strategically occupy the Amazon region to prevent the implementation of multilateral conservation projects for the rainforest, specifically the so-called “Triple A” project."
"Leaked documents show that Jair Bolsonaro's government intends to use the Brazilian president's hate speech to isolate minorities living in the Amazon region. The PowerPoint slides, which democraciaAbierta has seen, also reveal plans to implement predatory projects that could have a devastating environmental impact. The Bolsonaro government has as one of its priorities to strategically occupy the Amazon region to prevent the implementation of multilateral conservation projects for the rainforest, specifically the so-called “Triple A” project."
On the Front Lines of Bolsonaro’s War on the Amazon, Brazil’s Forest Communities Fight Against Climate Catastrophe
https://theintercept.com/2019/07/06/brazil-amazon-rainforest-indigenous-conservation-agribusiness-ranching/?fbclid=IwAR1Atn4BB3GhYxUMA3Ux9GtyyG87MVIxStARCB8NMGMNoKwZAst8HxojCOI
"Imazon, a Brazilian research center, reports deforestation in the first months of 2019 jumped more than 50 percent compared to the amount during the same period in 2018. Half of this deforestation has occurred illegally in protected areas, including hundreds of Indigenous lands that cover a quarter of Brazil’s Amazon and provide a crucial buffer for much of the rest. (In the rainforest bastion state of Amazonas, Indigenous lands account for close to a third of the standing forest.)"
"Imazon, a Brazilian research center, reports deforestation in the first months of 2019 jumped more than 50 percent compared to the amount during the same period in 2018. Half of this deforestation has occurred illegally in protected areas, including hundreds of Indigenous lands that cover a quarter of Brazil’s Amazon and provide a crucial buffer for much of the rest. (In the rainforest bastion state of Amazonas, Indigenous lands account for close to a third of the standing forest.)"
The Amazon Is Dying and Bolsonaro Is Fanning the Flames
https://truthout.org/articles/the-amazon-is-dying-and-bolsonaro-is-fanning-the-flames/
"According to INPE, deforestation across the Amazon had already accelerated by 60 percent in June, compared to the same time period last year, as radical right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro’s horrific environmental policies began to take effect. Last month, Greenpeace labeled Bolsonaro and his right-wing government a “threat to climate equilibrium,” while the World Wildlife Fund, like many scientists, has warned that if the Amazon reaches a tipping point, it could become a dry savannah and will no longer be capable of supporting much of the wildlife that exists there today. Instead of sequestering carbon and generating water and rainfall, the Amazon will instead become a net emitter of carbon, and the planet will lose most of its oxygen-producing function. Meanwhile, the loss of the Amazon’s biodiversity will be beyond devastating for the planet. Bolsonaro, like Trump in the U.S., has worked at breakneck speed to eliminate environmental regulations. He has opened up the Amazon for logging, agribusiness and mining since he took power this January."
"According to INPE, deforestation across the Amazon had already accelerated by 60 percent in June, compared to the same time period last year, as radical right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro’s horrific environmental policies began to take effect. Last month, Greenpeace labeled Bolsonaro and his right-wing government a “threat to climate equilibrium,” while the World Wildlife Fund, like many scientists, has warned that if the Amazon reaches a tipping point, it could become a dry savannah and will no longer be capable of supporting much of the wildlife that exists there today. Instead of sequestering carbon and generating water and rainfall, the Amazon will instead become a net emitter of carbon, and the planet will lose most of its oxygen-producing function. Meanwhile, the loss of the Amazon’s biodiversity will be beyond devastating for the planet. Bolsonaro, like Trump in the U.S., has worked at breakneck speed to eliminate environmental regulations. He has opened up the Amazon for logging, agribusiness and mining since he took power this January."
'Our Lungs Are on Fire': Climate Campaigners Rally at Brazilian Embassies to Protest Destruction of Amazon Rainforest
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/08/23/our-lungs-are-fire-climate-campaigners-rally-brazilian-embassies-protest-destruction?fbclid=IwAR1yT--Wbh-DEHLQNz89OFUDgALmeWZedGDHinlv-8upwHeMGYMmcC7CQYg
"Climate campaigners demonstrated outside the Brazilian embassies in London, Paris, and Madrid on Friday to protest what they say is the Bolsonaro regime's role in dozens of fires that have ravaged large swathes of the Amazon rainforest over the past three weeks."
"Climate campaigners demonstrated outside the Brazilian embassies in London, Paris, and Madrid on Friday to protest what they say is the Bolsonaro regime's role in dozens of fires that have ravaged large swathes of the Amazon rainforest over the past three weeks."
Can humanity survive without the Amazon rainforest?
https://www.salon.com/2019/08/22/can-humanity-survive-without-the-amazon-rainforest-maybe-not-experts-say/?fbclid=IwAR0xUJ5jPabscd0WEPpuFVDdkEd0rOJ-kraF92q3nYc96NGPHeuTvSfgOpw
"In July alone, the Amazon lost 519 square miles of rainforest, an area more than twice the size of Tokyo, due to deforestation. “This devastation is directly related to President Bolsonaro's anti-environmental rhetoric, which erroneously frames forest protections and human rights as impediments to Brazil's economic growth,” Christian Poirier, Amazon Watch's Program Director, said in a statement. “Farmers and ranchers understand the president's message as a license to commit arson with wanton impunity, in order to aggressively expand their operations into the rainforest"."
"In July alone, the Amazon lost 519 square miles of rainforest, an area more than twice the size of Tokyo, due to deforestation. “This devastation is directly related to President Bolsonaro's anti-environmental rhetoric, which erroneously frames forest protections and human rights as impediments to Brazil's economic growth,” Christian Poirier, Amazon Watch's Program Director, said in a statement. “Farmers and ranchers understand the president's message as a license to commit arson with wanton impunity, in order to aggressively expand their operations into the rainforest"."
Amazonia is burning—because that's exactly what 'Brazil's Trump' promised
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/8/23/1880843/-Amazonia-is-burning-because-that-s-exactly-what-Brazil-s-Trump-promised?fbclid=IwAR1UrgQVgkyrbM35FiSGGWJOGjZ6ZnXr6UTGrtyGjLrdtARl2cS9SqMrnCA
"The very first rule of understanding an autocracy is to Believe the Autocrat. When someone promises that they will destroy whole peoples and intentionally wreck the environment—believe them. When Jair Bolsonaro was running for president of Brazil, he told people to call him “Captain Chainsaw,” saying openly that he would promote the destruction of the Amazon rain forest. Now he’s destroying the Amazon rain forest."
"The very first rule of understanding an autocracy is to Believe the Autocrat. When someone promises that they will destroy whole peoples and intentionally wreck the environment—believe them. When Jair Bolsonaro was running for president of Brazil, he told people to call him “Captain Chainsaw,” saying openly that he would promote the destruction of the Amazon rain forest. Now he’s destroying the Amazon rain forest."
The right-wing populist wave is a threat to the climate
https://www.vox.com/2019/8/22/20828297/amazon-rainforest-fire-bolsonaro-brazil-populism?fbclid=IwAR0v_LUCjg9AKw3MSAGtV5RzwbFJiFmceWUY_H8_ptNcFe0XDEddmZBOm0A
"The Amazon rainforest is on fire — and the consensus is that Brazil’s far-right populist leader, Jair Bolsonaro, is to blame. Bolsonaro, who took office in January and has been referred to as “Captain Chainsaw,” gutted funding for agencies protecting the massive rainforest, essentially giving wink-and-nudge approval for illegal loggers to do their thing. Fire is used as a tool for clearing Amazon land for ranching, and the more trees are cut down, the more vulnerable the rainforest is to wildfires. There have been almost twice as many fires detected in 2019 so far as there were in the entirety of 2018. It’s hard to overstate how threatening this policy is to the climate. The Amazon is the world’s largest rainforest: its trees scrub the Earth of a significant amount of CO2 and have captured a huge amount of carbon and methane within their branches and roots. If you lose the trees, a lot of greenhouse gases get released and it becomes harder to capture emissions from other sources. Continued fires and clear-cutting in the Amazon could cripple the fight against climate change. All of this goes to underscore an important and poorly understood point: The wave of right-wing populism sweeping the world is not only dangerous for the countries who succumb to it, or even to immigrants wishing to move to those nations. It’s a fundamental threat to progress against climate change — and thus the entirety of the human race."
"The Amazon rainforest is on fire — and the consensus is that Brazil’s far-right populist leader, Jair Bolsonaro, is to blame. Bolsonaro, who took office in January and has been referred to as “Captain Chainsaw,” gutted funding for agencies protecting the massive rainforest, essentially giving wink-and-nudge approval for illegal loggers to do their thing. Fire is used as a tool for clearing Amazon land for ranching, and the more trees are cut down, the more vulnerable the rainforest is to wildfires. There have been almost twice as many fires detected in 2019 so far as there were in the entirety of 2018. It’s hard to overstate how threatening this policy is to the climate. The Amazon is the world’s largest rainforest: its trees scrub the Earth of a significant amount of CO2 and have captured a huge amount of carbon and methane within their branches and roots. If you lose the trees, a lot of greenhouse gases get released and it becomes harder to capture emissions from other sources. Continued fires and clear-cutting in the Amazon could cripple the fight against climate change. All of this goes to underscore an important and poorly understood point: The wave of right-wing populism sweeping the world is not only dangerous for the countries who succumb to it, or even to immigrants wishing to move to those nations. It’s a fundamental threat to progress against climate change — and thus the entirety of the human race."
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Trump's 2,000 Conflicts of Interest (and Counting)
https://www.citizensforethics.org/2000-trump-conflicts-of-interest-counting/?fbclid=IwAR0cgWB7ceFW9YFBn6UgzxiaBVpMZi_ywy8WF6mkUN4Php4N-bnxrv6PJbY
"During his run for president, Donald Trump promised that he would “drain the swamp” in Washington by rooting out corruption and wrenching power from lobbyists and special interests. In the two and a half years since he assumed the office of President of the United States, he has done exactly the opposite: placing former lobbyists in positions of power while giving foreign governments and special interests the opportunity to purchase access to his administration by patronizing his businesses. Instead of limiting Washington corruption, President Trump has pushed it into uncharted territory, innovating forms of corruption."
"During his run for president, Donald Trump promised that he would “drain the swamp” in Washington by rooting out corruption and wrenching power from lobbyists and special interests. In the two and a half years since he assumed the office of President of the United States, he has done exactly the opposite: placing former lobbyists in positions of power while giving foreign governments and special interests the opportunity to purchase access to his administration by patronizing his businesses. Instead of limiting Washington corruption, President Trump has pushed it into uncharted territory, innovating forms of corruption."
Trump’s Anti-Obamacare Insurance Plans Are Ripping People Off
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/08/trumps-anti-obamacare-insurance-plans-are-ripping-people-off/?fbclid=IwAR3kurxRqLXFBgKdH9Phdu7ECCATqZVLPsaD__lzJeNMu7OlpNpuhEEatR4
"On average, the report found that, among the five health insurers that earn the most in short-term insurance premiums, 39.2 percent of premiums were going to pay for patients’ medical care. “Short-term health plans’ loss ratios are lower because they don’t cover nearly as many benefits,” Modern Healthcare writes. “Unlike Affordable Care Act-compliant plans, short-term plans can deny coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions and charge more based on health status. They are not required to and often don’t cover the 10 essential health benefits, including maternity care and prescription drugs.” ACA-compliant plans are required to spend 80 percent of premiums on medical care. Essentially, Obamacare set a cap on the percentage of profit health insurance companies can make off premiums, forcing them to spend the vast majority of their funds on actual medical services. If an insurance company ends up charging higher premiums than that 80 percent rate, the insurers have to send out rebates."
"On average, the report found that, among the five health insurers that earn the most in short-term insurance premiums, 39.2 percent of premiums were going to pay for patients’ medical care. “Short-term health plans’ loss ratios are lower because they don’t cover nearly as many benefits,” Modern Healthcare writes. “Unlike Affordable Care Act-compliant plans, short-term plans can deny coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions and charge more based on health status. They are not required to and often don’t cover the 10 essential health benefits, including maternity care and prescription drugs.” ACA-compliant plans are required to spend 80 percent of premiums on medical care. Essentially, Obamacare set a cap on the percentage of profit health insurance companies can make off premiums, forcing them to spend the vast majority of their funds on actual medical services. If an insurance company ends up charging higher premiums than that 80 percent rate, the insurers have to send out rebates."
Trump dismisses farmers’ concerns over trade war as his agriculture secretary insults them
https://thinkprogress.org/as-trumps-trade-war-undermines-american-farmers-his-agriculture-secretary-mocks-them-for-whining-1cc57272a1bc/?fbclid=IwAR1Gh2LmrSToOA4SabMbGWiGd5bmb7UiXkZudtOnPZxdFp3HtznF3_hSG6Y
"President Donald Trump’s unilateral decision to pursue trade wars with China has increased America’s trade deficit and harmed American farmers who rely on exports to earn a living. As the president continued to lie this week about how his policies have hurt those farmers, his cabinet secretary responsible for overseeing farming came under fire for calling them a bunch of whiners. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, who previously admitted that U.S. growers were paying the price for the administration’s trade policies and were “one of the casualties there of the trade disruption,” insulted them last week at a Farmfest event in Minnesota. “I had a farmer tell me this in Pennsylvania,” Perdue told the audience at a listening session hosted by House Agriculture Committee Chair Collin Peterson (D-MN). “He said ‘What do you call two farmers in a basement?’ I said ‘I don’t know, what do you call them?’ He said ‘A whine cellar.'” That attempt at humor was reportedly met with some laughter but also booing. Despite the dire effects of his ongoing trade war, Trump has touted his repeated tariff threats against countries like China as beneficial to the country."
"President Donald Trump’s unilateral decision to pursue trade wars with China has increased America’s trade deficit and harmed American farmers who rely on exports to earn a living. As the president continued to lie this week about how his policies have hurt those farmers, his cabinet secretary responsible for overseeing farming came under fire for calling them a bunch of whiners. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, who previously admitted that U.S. growers were paying the price for the administration’s trade policies and were “one of the casualties there of the trade disruption,” insulted them last week at a Farmfest event in Minnesota. “I had a farmer tell me this in Pennsylvania,” Perdue told the audience at a listening session hosted by House Agriculture Committee Chair Collin Peterson (D-MN). “He said ‘What do you call two farmers in a basement?’ I said ‘I don’t know, what do you call them?’ He said ‘A whine cellar.'” That attempt at humor was reportedly met with some laughter but also booing. Despite the dire effects of his ongoing trade war, Trump has touted his repeated tariff threats against countries like China as beneficial to the country."
NYC's $15 minimum wage hasn't brought the restaurant apocalypse — it's helped them thrive
https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-restaurant-industry-thriving-after-15-dollar-minimum-wage-2019-8?fbclid=IwAR1VPPPwRFlqlf5KCuaj7_1m5QpLHC1f1aa0zKkVRADPEpk5VTXM-d3wktg
"New York City restaurant workers saw their pay increase by 20% after a $15 minimum-wage hike, and a new report says business is booming despite warnings that the boost would devastate the city's restaurant industry. As New York raised the minimum wage to $15 this year from $7.25 in 2013, its restaurant industry outperformed the rest of the US in job growth and expansion, a new study found. The study, by researchers from the New School and the New York think tank National Employment Law Project, found no negative employment effects of the city increasing its minimum wage to $15."
"New York City restaurant workers saw their pay increase by 20% after a $15 minimum-wage hike, and a new report says business is booming despite warnings that the boost would devastate the city's restaurant industry. As New York raised the minimum wage to $15 this year from $7.25 in 2013, its restaurant industry outperformed the rest of the US in job growth and expansion, a new study found. The study, by researchers from the New School and the New York think tank National Employment Law Project, found no negative employment effects of the city increasing its minimum wage to $15."
Former Fox News chief political correspondent reveals that the network "foments fear and anger"
https://www.salon.com/2019/08/13/former-fox-news-chief-political-correspondent-reveals-that-the-network-foments-fear-and-anger_partner/?fbclid=IwAR1ZzEbHfden6Jv3zAkasw2VEwNlQvmkkVYQgAImFafRKW3jbU-yt4x1sr4
"in recent years, right-wing media have found that fear-mongering over illegal immigration can be great for ratings or online traffic — and a report for the New York Times finds that the El Paso shooter used much of the same inflammatory language and rhetoric that right-wing media stars have been espousing. According to Carl Cameron, former chief political correspondent for Fox News, the language of the extreme fringe is now common in right-wing media. Cameron told the Times that right-wing media are now “putting that into the zeitgeist . . . Fox goes out and looks for stuff that is inherently on fire and foments fear and anger"."
"in recent years, right-wing media have found that fear-mongering over illegal immigration can be great for ratings or online traffic — and a report for the New York Times finds that the El Paso shooter used much of the same inflammatory language and rhetoric that right-wing media stars have been espousing. According to Carl Cameron, former chief political correspondent for Fox News, the language of the extreme fringe is now common in right-wing media. Cameron told the Times that right-wing media are now “putting that into the zeitgeist . . . Fox goes out and looks for stuff that is inherently on fire and foments fear and anger"."
President Good Brain Just Told the Same Lie for the 80th Time
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a28697908/donald-trump-veterans-choice-lie-80th-time/?fbclid=IwAR28Txr4Jtfo5OZdtBScHwnb8L7wBT8wguDSr4iEYWBb03YLkEqwzZFK5K4
"The truth is whatever you can get enough people to believe, including yourself. And it appears that the president has thoroughly convinced himself that he is responsible for a program that was signed into law in 2014. "I got it approved. Veterans Choice," Trump says, for more than the 80th time, of the program signed into law by Obama in 2014. As a refresher, Trump was not president in 2014. His political career was primarily contained to suggesting the first black president was actually Kenyan, and thus illegitimate. (Not a racist bone in his body, etc. etc.) But the really astounding thing is he's told this lie 80 (eighty!) times and shows no sign of slowing down."
"The truth is whatever you can get enough people to believe, including yourself. And it appears that the president has thoroughly convinced himself that he is responsible for a program that was signed into law in 2014. "I got it approved. Veterans Choice," Trump says, for more than the 80th time, of the program signed into law by Obama in 2014. As a refresher, Trump was not president in 2014. His political career was primarily contained to suggesting the first black president was actually Kenyan, and thus illegitimate. (Not a racist bone in his body, etc. etc.) But the really astounding thing is he's told this lie 80 (eighty!) times and shows no sign of slowing down."
Judge: Neo-Nazi must pay more than $14 million to Jewish woman targeted by harassment campaign
https://www.splcenter.org/news/2019/08/08/judge-neo-nazi-must-pay-more-14-million-jewish-woman-targeted-harassment-campaign?fbclid=IwAR0TuAQCNBSkOJjHVAf5JrYvwq1goDps5xcBi8OmA4j0Yda2QjFLCQMEKTM
"A federal judge adopted a recommendation that the publisher of a major neo-Nazi website must pay more than $14 million in damages to a Jewish woman targeted for a relentless barrage of antisemitic threats and messages by the neo-Nazi and his followers."
"A federal judge adopted a recommendation that the publisher of a major neo-Nazi website must pay more than $14 million in damages to a Jewish woman targeted for a relentless barrage of antisemitic threats and messages by the neo-Nazi and his followers."
Neo-Nazi militia training camp in NE Washington woods fits into region's dark history
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/8/15/1879107/-A-Neo-Nazi-militia-training-in-the-NE-Washington-woods-fits-into-the-region-s-dark-history?fbclid=IwAR3k-JvbuBwAT3WZDSTKhp56xR7GmdajHrPCjay8dZcK1R68VAVcl9ftrzQ
"The group, which calls itself “The Base,” specializes in training recruits in violent “lone wolf” terrorism techniques, including assassination and bomb building—and it’s planning to host a session in paramilitary exercises and training at its new encampment."
"The group, which calls itself “The Base,” specializes in training recruits in violent “lone wolf” terrorism techniques, including assassination and bomb building—and it’s planning to host a session in paramilitary exercises and training at its new encampment."
ALEC Fails to Denounce Dangerous and Racist Views of Its Leaders and Members
https://prwatch.org/news/2019/08/13489/alec-fails-denounce-dangerous-and-racist-views-its-leaders-and-members?fbclid=IwAR19rIJrzPB7cUPrRj5VMrEHU4AshNNvn66T6oxpOZwJNuhWnXnfUGSj2yE
"It has been a banner week for extremist politicians linked to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC's Washington State Chair, Rep. Matt Shea, promoted and maintained close ties to an extremist group training children and young men for battle in a "Biblical warfare" while schooling them in the "biblical teachings" of racist preacher John Weaver, according to a new exposé published by The Guardian. The revelations come just weeks after the Washington House hired an outside firm to investigate whether Shea has engaged in, planned, or promoted political violence. And ALEC alumni and Iowa congressman Steve King pondered Wednesday whether there would "be any population of the world left" without rape and incest. Rep. King was stripped of his committee posts in Congress earlier this year after questioning why white supremacy should be considered offensive. Despite ALEC's claim that it "does not condone hate speech of any kind," the pay-to-play influence group has ignored calls for it to remove Shea from his ALEC leadership position, and has done nothing to repudiate the extremist statements of Shea, King, or other radical right-wing ALEC legislators. ALEC does not disclose how its "State Chairs" are selected, but according to its 46th annual meeting agenda, they serve as leaders to their state's delegation, receive special training, and are invited to exclusive events. Rep. Shea (R-Spokane) has been listed as an ALEC State Chair since July 29, 2017. In November of 2018, The Seattle Times reported that Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich had referred Shea to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for circulating a manifesto advocating a U.S. holy war that Knezovich described as a "'how to' manual consistent with the ideology and operating philosophy of the Christian Identity/Aryan Nations movement and the Redoubt movement of the 1990s." Shea's "Biblical Basis for War" calls for the killing of all males who do not agree to "obey" biblical law."
"It has been a banner week for extremist politicians linked to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC's Washington State Chair, Rep. Matt Shea, promoted and maintained close ties to an extremist group training children and young men for battle in a "Biblical warfare" while schooling them in the "biblical teachings" of racist preacher John Weaver, according to a new exposé published by The Guardian. The revelations come just weeks after the Washington House hired an outside firm to investigate whether Shea has engaged in, planned, or promoted political violence. And ALEC alumni and Iowa congressman Steve King pondered Wednesday whether there would "be any population of the world left" without rape and incest. Rep. King was stripped of his committee posts in Congress earlier this year after questioning why white supremacy should be considered offensive. Despite ALEC's claim that it "does not condone hate speech of any kind," the pay-to-play influence group has ignored calls for it to remove Shea from his ALEC leadership position, and has done nothing to repudiate the extremist statements of Shea, King, or other radical right-wing ALEC legislators. ALEC does not disclose how its "State Chairs" are selected, but according to its 46th annual meeting agenda, they serve as leaders to their state's delegation, receive special training, and are invited to exclusive events. Rep. Shea (R-Spokane) has been listed as an ALEC State Chair since July 29, 2017. In November of 2018, The Seattle Times reported that Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich had referred Shea to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for circulating a manifesto advocating a U.S. holy war that Knezovich described as a "'how to' manual consistent with the ideology and operating philosophy of the Christian Identity/Aryan Nations movement and the Redoubt movement of the 1990s." Shea's "Biblical Basis for War" calls for the killing of all males who do not agree to "obey" biblical law."
National Cathedral On Trump’s Racist Comments: ‘Have We No Decency?’
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/washington-national-cathedral-trump-racist-comments_n_5d40be16e4b01d8c9782d53b?ncid=engmodushpmg00000003&fbclid=IwAR0Lf87rmkH2aRsqSSGyyCDCDx43KvZamUIPcdS3Hvv2F2nKydId20GleYU
"Faith leaders said Tuesday that the president’s history of racism and his recent remarks about Baltimore are “a clarion call, and give cover, to white supremacists"."
"Faith leaders said Tuesday that the president’s history of racism and his recent remarks about Baltimore are “a clarion call, and give cover, to white supremacists"."
What an American Terrorist Looks Like
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/08/15/what-american-terrorist-looks?fbclid=IwAR3jxMzB4Sm531m7WMNTbSshHaRkJwckMBYeZf-vlxcd7GUR1M_q-FS1pAo
"Despite racist and anti-immigrant scapegoating, data shows that most American terrorists are resentful White men inspired by White supremacist and misogynist rhetoric."
"Despite racist and anti-immigrant scapegoating, data shows that most American terrorists are resentful White men inspired by White supremacist and misogynist rhetoric."
How Southern politicians hamstrung the fight against right-wing domestic terror
https://www.facingsouth.org/2019/08/how-southern-politicians-hamstrung-fight-against-right-wing-domestic-terror?fbclid=IwAR0bkyz-1P_c856I15NuUlsoLX8AGWEQpUAc9JCXTHiJzCDE0G2bpHcxBlM
"Back in April 2009, an internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report on political violence by radicalized right-wing groups and individuals operating in the U.S. was leaked to a conservative radio host in California. Driven by coverage from WorldNetDaily, a right-wing website that promotes false conspiracy theories, news of the leak went viral in the newly ascendant tea party circles. The report, titled "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," was a joint project between DHS and the FBI as part of a law enforcement training module on domestic terrorism that was created in 2007 under the Bush administration. Given the recent violence linked to white-supremacist ideology, including the mass shootings on July 28 at a garlic festival in California and on Aug. 3 at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, the report is eerily prophetic. DHS laid out the increase in violent white-supremacist and other extremist groups driven by conspiracy theories. The report also discussed the role of economic hardship and global trade on demographic groups susceptible to recruitment, the danger of domestic terror groups recruiting members of the armed forces, and the burgeoning role of social media being used for indoctrination and propaganda. The report noted risk factors for domestic terrorism including the election of the first black president and the Great Recession. It also cited the tendency of domestic terrorists to use divisive issues like abortion as recruitment tools, and it devoted an entire section to illegal immigration as a motivating factor for right-wing extremists. In addition, DHS called out the rising risk of "lone wolf" and small cell attacks that come with little to no warning but with great violence. What was the reaction to the report? Congressional Republicans, driven by conservative media, had a proverbial cow. As did the exploding tea party movement."
"Back in April 2009, an internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report on political violence by radicalized right-wing groups and individuals operating in the U.S. was leaked to a conservative radio host in California. Driven by coverage from WorldNetDaily, a right-wing website that promotes false conspiracy theories, news of the leak went viral in the newly ascendant tea party circles. The report, titled "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," was a joint project between DHS and the FBI as part of a law enforcement training module on domestic terrorism that was created in 2007 under the Bush administration. Given the recent violence linked to white-supremacist ideology, including the mass shootings on July 28 at a garlic festival in California and on Aug. 3 at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, the report is eerily prophetic. DHS laid out the increase in violent white-supremacist and other extremist groups driven by conspiracy theories. The report also discussed the role of economic hardship and global trade on demographic groups susceptible to recruitment, the danger of domestic terror groups recruiting members of the armed forces, and the burgeoning role of social media being used for indoctrination and propaganda. The report noted risk factors for domestic terrorism including the election of the first black president and the Great Recession. It also cited the tendency of domestic terrorists to use divisive issues like abortion as recruitment tools, and it devoted an entire section to illegal immigration as a motivating factor for right-wing extremists. In addition, DHS called out the rising risk of "lone wolf" and small cell attacks that come with little to no warning but with great violence. What was the reaction to the report? Congressional Republicans, driven by conservative media, had a proverbial cow. As did the exploding tea party movement."
Riotlandia: Why Portland Has Become the Epicenter of Far-Right Violence
https://theintercept.com/2019/08/16/portland-far-right-rally/?fbclid=IwAR1ndyKE4C4aGMHQMvUlbks7lAY-W6lhSSdsMHsz8fdL_n7u6urb60h1yyw
"Joseph Lowndes, associate professor of political science at University of Oregon and co-author of “Producers, Parasites, Producers: Race and the New Right-Wing Politics of Precarity,” said that “in the 1980s, for groups like Tom Metzger’s White Aryan Resistance, Portland was a choice spot for their ‘10 percent strategy.’ That meant if the city was 10 percent or less people of color, the far right could organize working-class whites there as they believed they wouldn’t meet much resistance.” Oregon currently has a disproportionate number of hate groups and militias, while in the broader Pacific Northwest, many far-right groups participated in and were energized by the Bundy family’s armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon in early 2016. Speaking of the massive brawls in Portland, Lowndes said, “There is another legacy of the anti-authoritarian left, anarchists, and anti-fascists who also since the 1980s have been a militant street-oriented left.” That’s where the police come in. As the far right has turned Portland into a battleground nearly a dozen times since 2017, local journalists have revealed how police affinity for the far right has enabled its violence. Internal documents obtained by the Willamette Week, Portland Mercury, and The Guardian reveal that Portland police see the far right as “much more mainstream” than the left. Text messages between a police lieutenant and Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson, who’s been hit with felony riot charges, show that the police fed him real-time information about the movements of antifa during street skirmishes, and gave him advice on how his most notorious brawler, Tusitala “Tiny” Toese, could avoid being arrested on two separate occasions. In June 2017, when The Intercept asked the police about Toese, a spokesperson claimed that they didn’t know who he was and said their real concern was about the actions of antifascist counterprotesters."
"Joseph Lowndes, associate professor of political science at University of Oregon and co-author of “Producers, Parasites, Producers: Race and the New Right-Wing Politics of Precarity,” said that “in the 1980s, for groups like Tom Metzger’s White Aryan Resistance, Portland was a choice spot for their ‘10 percent strategy.’ That meant if the city was 10 percent or less people of color, the far right could organize working-class whites there as they believed they wouldn’t meet much resistance.” Oregon currently has a disproportionate number of hate groups and militias, while in the broader Pacific Northwest, many far-right groups participated in and were energized by the Bundy family’s armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon in early 2016. Speaking of the massive brawls in Portland, Lowndes said, “There is another legacy of the anti-authoritarian left, anarchists, and anti-fascists who also since the 1980s have been a militant street-oriented left.” That’s where the police come in. As the far right has turned Portland into a battleground nearly a dozen times since 2017, local journalists have revealed how police affinity for the far right has enabled its violence. Internal documents obtained by the Willamette Week, Portland Mercury, and The Guardian reveal that Portland police see the far right as “much more mainstream” than the left. Text messages between a police lieutenant and Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson, who’s been hit with felony riot charges, show that the police fed him real-time information about the movements of antifa during street skirmishes, and gave him advice on how his most notorious brawler, Tusitala “Tiny” Toese, could avoid being arrested on two separate occasions. In June 2017, when The Intercept asked the police about Toese, a spokesperson claimed that they didn’t know who he was and said their real concern was about the actions of antifascist counterprotesters."
‘The Family’: The Evangelicals Trying to Turn America Into a Theocracy
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-family-on-netflix-the-shadowy-christian-cabal-puppeteering-american-politicians?ref=home&fbclid=IwAR3RqfKyVqjBu9Y27OE9RPQeY1VdtXvmvYSdwTSl_rvLaYpVguGPvTrbPTo
"Moreover, it exposes their mounting interest in collaborating with Russia, which sent as many as 60 delegates to the 2018 National Prayer Breakfast, thanks in part to new Family bigwig Doug Burleigh, Coe’s son-in-law (who took over after Coe passed away in 2017) and a specialist in all things Russia. In this context, evangelicals’ support of President Donald Trump—a lewd urbanite without a pious bone in his body—isn’t hypocritical. On the contrary, they view him as the very sort of alpha strongman needed to expand their dominion, via a mutually beneficial alliance where power is the ultimate objective. In line with their long-standing fondness for authoritarians (including Hitler and Mao), the Family views Trump as a kindred spirit who understands that some are predestined to rule over others; that anyone is a potential business partner; and that ethics are no impediment to achieving one’s ends. Consequently, it’s no surprise that, in return for its support, Trump gifted the Family with the most fundamentalist Christian cabinet in American political history."
"Moreover, it exposes their mounting interest in collaborating with Russia, which sent as many as 60 delegates to the 2018 National Prayer Breakfast, thanks in part to new Family bigwig Doug Burleigh, Coe’s son-in-law (who took over after Coe passed away in 2017) and a specialist in all things Russia. In this context, evangelicals’ support of President Donald Trump—a lewd urbanite without a pious bone in his body—isn’t hypocritical. On the contrary, they view him as the very sort of alpha strongman needed to expand their dominion, via a mutually beneficial alliance where power is the ultimate objective. In line with their long-standing fondness for authoritarians (including Hitler and Mao), the Family views Trump as a kindred spirit who understands that some are predestined to rule over others; that anyone is a potential business partner; and that ethics are no impediment to achieving one’s ends. Consequently, it’s no surprise that, in return for its support, Trump gifted the Family with the most fundamentalist Christian cabinet in American political history."
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