Andy Borowitz | Trump Accuses Whistle-Blower of Working for United States

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04 November 19

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Andy Borowitz | Trump Accuses Whistle-Blower of Working for United States

Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker
Borowitz writes: "Escalating his war of words against the person who sparked the impeachment inquiry, Donald J. Trump on Monday accused the whistle-blower of working for the United States of America."
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Cy Vance. (photo: Shutterstock)

Trump Must Turn Over Eight Years of Tax Returns, Appeals Court Rules
Guardian UK
Excerpt: "Donald Trump's accounting firm must hand over eight years of his tax returns to New York prosecutors, a US appeals court ruled on Monday in the latest setback for Trump in his attempts to keep his finances secret."
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Shotguns and rifles are raffled off Sept. 14 by Friends of NRA at a technology education center in Idabel, Okla. (photo: Neena Satija/WP)

The NRA Foundation Is Raising Money by Auctioning Off Guns in Schools - to the Dismay of Some Parents

Beth Reinhard and Neena Satija, The Washington Post
Excerpt: "Parents and students trickled into the Muhlenberg County High School gym on a hot Saturday night as the sounds of cheers and a referee's whistle carried from an athletic field nearby. Inside the 'Home of the Mustangs,' Friends of NRA was raffling off guns: semiautomatic rifles and handguns, guns with high-capacity magazines and pump-action shotguns."

EXCERPTS:

“It’s obscene that they have had guns inside our gym,” said Shannon Myers, whose 16-year-old son attends band practice next to the gym where the event was held in September. “The more I looked into it, the more I realized they are having these events all over the place. Not just here in our little town, but in little towns all over the country.”

Pockets of resistance to Friends of NRA events are cropping up across the country as mass shootings become more frequent and more deadly. Although National Rifle Association officials say only a small fraction of those events are held in schools, opponents have pressured other venues to stop hosting the fundraisers. The events netted more than $33 million last year.

That money is the leading source of cash for the NRA Foundation, a charity that supports the shooting sports. The events combine the efforts of what organizers say are 13,000 volunteers with the NRA’s multimillion-dollar marketing machine. They are family-focused by design, helping to cultivate the next generation of gun owners and NRA members.

For years, Friends of NRA drew mostly positive publicity from local newspapers and TV stations. Coverage tended to promote upcoming fundraisers or the ceremonial presentation of checks to groups of Scouts or young trap shooters.

Then on Feb. 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., 14 students and three staff members were killed by a gunman. Several teenage survivors from the heavily Democratic community quickly became nationally recognized advocates for gun control, headlining rallies and gaining large followings on social media.

The deadly shooting three weeks earlier at Marshall County High School in Benton, Ky. — 80 miles from Muhlenberg County — drew far less media attention. But it galvanized a vocal minority in the conservative-leaning community.

At nearby Murray State University, about 100 people protested later that year when Oliver North, then the incoming NRA president, appeared at a Republican Party fundraiser. “Shame!” they shouted at those entering the auditorium, according to newspaper accounts. North received a standing ovation from an audience estimated at 300 people. 

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Kyiv, Ukraine. (photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Before His Claims of Corruption, Trump Tried to Build a Resort in Ukraine
Anita Kumar, Politico
Kumar writes: "In 2006, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump traveled to Ukraine to meet with government officials about building a multimillion dollar hotel and golf course in the country. Two years later, Trump Jr. was back to meet with developers."
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Mahud Villalaz, the victim of an acid attack in Milwaukee. (photo: NBC News)

A US Citizen Says He Had Acid Thrown in His Face After Being Told to Go Back to His Country
Hollie Silverman and Amanda Watts, CNN
Excerpt: "Milwaukee police say they arrested a 61-year-old man in connection with the attack against Mahud Villalaz that caused second-degree burns."
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Protests on Sunday in Chile. (photo: Reuters)

Chile: 100 Organizations Call for 'Super Monday' Protest, Demand to Draft New Constitution
teleSUR
Excerpt: "More than 100 Chilean organizations, trade unions and social organizations, who have come together under the banner of Social Unit Roundtable, made a new call to take to the streets Monday to continue their calls for an overhaul of the country's constitution and economic and political models."

teleSUR English@telesurenglish

#ChileProtests | Thousands are marching in the Chilean city of Valparaiso demanding a constituent assembly be set up in order to change the country dictatorship-era constitution. #AsambleaConstituyenteAhora

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4:01 PM - Nov 3, 2019

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Bats flying. (photo: Vicki Smith/Moment/Getty Images)

Eek! Bat Populations Are Shrinking. Here Are a Few Ways to Help
Alexa Peters, YES! Magazine
Peters writes: "October is a time for bats. As the crisp fall air descends, plastic bats swing from trees and confectioners make treats in their little winged shapes. The little spooky creatures even have an entire week leading up to Halloween dedicated to them: International Bat Week. Yet they remain largely misunderstood."

EXCERPT:

Truth be told, bats are essential to humans; without them, we probably wouldn't have such things like avocados, chocolate, and tequila. Of the more than 1,390 species of bats throughout the world, Bat Conservation International considers many of them "keystone species," because of their vital roles as seed dispersers and pollinators in our ecosystem.

Plus, insectivorous bats help control pesky insects like mosquitos, as well as beetles and moths that destroy crops. The bat conservation group estimates their value to agriculture may be as high as $53 billion a year.

Still, the 15 species of bats regional to the Pacific Northwest are suffering. Researchers at Oregon State University have published a new study showing that one, the hoary bat—named for its unique, frosted fur—has seen a steady population decline in the Pacific Northwest. That's likely because of collisions with wind turbines. On top of that, some species, such as the little brown bat, have been decimated from a mysterious disease called White Nose Syndrome. These issues are compounded by how few pups a bat has per year.

So what to do about disappearing bats? Here are five suggestions from experts for recovering bat populations.

READ MORE

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MoJo: 7 Fascinating Facts About Bats, Marco Rubio's Energy Plan, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, Nestlé sued

Bats Save Us Billions of Dollars a Year

Silhouetted against an orange harvest moon, fluttering out of a haunted house, or circling Count Dracula's cape: We often think of bats as creepy, especially at this time of year.

But actually, bats are crucial to the Earth's ecosystems—and to our economy. Here are seven fascinating facts about our flying, insect-munching friends.

[READ MORE]

MORE ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH COVERAGE

The Feds Just Got Sued for Letting Nestlé Bottle Water in California's Drought Country

The Drought Is Making California Mudslides Even Worse

Alaska Governor Says State  Needs More Oil Drilling to Pay  for  Climate Change Damage

MORE FROM MOJO

We Now Know Marco Rubio's Energy Plan: Drill, Drill, Drill, and Drill Some More

Hillary Clinton's Big Climate Change Accomplishment Was Actually a Huge Failure

89% of E-Waste Is Neglected Due To Mobile Phone Recycling Popularity, et al

Interesting!

From: Click Green Staff, ClickGreen, More from this Affiliate
Published February 26, 2014 03:25 PM

89% of E-Waste Is Neglected Due To Mobile Phone Recycling Popularity

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Despite the popularity of the mobile phone recycling industry, handsets only contribute towards a small percentage of the overall E-Waste accumulation.
According to a study by the US US environmental Protection Agency only 11% of electronic waste is made up of mobile devices, the remaining 89% is computers, accessories, televisions and TV peripherals.

Sizing up early birds 89% of E-Waste Is Neglected Due To Mobile Phone Recycling Popularity
Greener chemical cleanups
Forest recovery following natural disaster
Passing the baton in oil spill research on the Gulf Coast
Bats Combine Echolocation And Vision to Rule the Skies
Off-shore Wind Turbines May Weaken Hurricanes

Fungus that's killing millions of bats 'isn't going away'

Sad commentary because of the importance of bats in the eco-systems.

Fungus that's killing millions of bats 'isn't going away'

A bat infected with white-nose syndrome. (Steven J. Taylor / University of Illinois)

 

 

By Louis Sahagun

November 1, 2013, 1:27 p.m.

University of Illinois researchers say that an infectious and lethal cold-loving fungus that has killed an estimated 6 million bats in North America can persist indefinitely in caves whether there are bats in them or not.

The fungus responsible for white-nose syndrome, which scientists know as Geomyces destructans, thrives on all the carbon and nitrogen sources found in caves – twigs, dead spiders and fish, guano, other fungi – making it a permanent menace, according to a study by mycologist Andrew Miller and graduate student Daniel Raudabaugh published this month in the online journal PLOS ONE.

“A hibernating bat is a sort of prime rib for this fungi – but the rest of the cave is its salad bar,” Miller said in an interview. “The only hope is that bats will develop some sort of immunity because the fungus isn’t going away.”

Since it was discovered in New York in 2007, the fungus has swept across 22 states as far west as Oklahoma and five Canadian provinces. A majority of the dead were little brown bats, which have lost an estimated 20% of their population in the Northeastern United States over the last six years.

The fungus seems to prefer the 25 species of hibernating bats, but each of the 45 species of bats in the United States and Canada may be susceptible to white-nose syndrome.

White-nose syndrome gets its name from the powdery, white substance that appears around muzzles, ears and wings of affected bats.

Bats with white-nose syndrome exhibit unusual behavior during cold winter months, including flying outside during the day and clustering near the entrances of caves and mines where they hibernate.

Bats have been found sick and dying in unprecedented numbers near these sites during a time of year when there are no insects to eat.

Hibernating bats are vulnerable to the fungus because their internal temperature is reduced to slightly above the ambient temperature and the bat immune system is suppressed, the researchers said. The fungus degrades keratin, a key protein in skin, and causes severe skin lesions.

Mollie Matteson, a spokeswoman for the Center for Biological Diversity, described the University of Illinois study as “very troubling because it suggests that this is a very tough organism and it’s not going away any time soon, even if bats are wiped out by it.”

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-bat-fungus-20131101,0,4407067.story#axzz2jVrXaAFH

Several years ago, amidst the mosquito hysteria in Plymouth County, the pesticide spraying decimated the bat population. [Spraying was at dusk and dawn, prime hours for bat predation of mosquitoes.] 

While we previously could enjoy prime mosquito hours unaffected, their absence has been noted.  [The aerial spraying not only decimated bat populations, but other mosquito predators as well.]

Maybe at some point, we'll have the common sense to re-think our application of chemical pesticides.

http://www.wbrcouncil.org/Departments/Mosquito-Abatement/Natural-Mosquito-Killers

Killer fungus endangering bats spreads to Cape

By Patrick Cassidy
October 27, 2013

BARNSTABLE — Proving its ability to reach even the most far-flung and atypical locations, a killer fungus that has decimated bat populations across the Northeast over the past seven years arrived on Cape Cod last winter in an unlikely carrier.

Although the region is not a major hub for hibernating bats, the furry fliers travel to the Cape during the summer, feasting on mosquitoes and other insects humans commonly consider a nuisance.

A year ago, a handful of northern long-eared bats were found locally suffering from white-nose syndrome, which thrives in the moist, cold caves where many bats hibernate, forcing them from their torpor and into the cold weather, typically resulting in death.

"They're dehydrating as well as being starved," said Lynn Miller, director of wildlife rehabilitation at the Cape Wildlife Center in Barnstable.

The syndrome confirmed in the long-eared bats was not only a first for the deadly fungus in the region but also for the species of bat being found on the Cape, said Miller.

As part of a series of Halloween-themed events at the center today, Miller and other staff are kicking off "Year of the Bat" to get the word out about the white-nose syndrome's effect on the bats of the Cape and beyond.

"It has flattened the populations, and it continues to move south and west," Miller said. "Last year, I didn't see bats in the air."

The rehabilitation center is trying to make itself a go-to resource for bats, including educational programs and participation in a survey of bats on the Cape, and also plans to build a free-standing bat aviary to give them a place to fly and gain strength before being released. Last week center staff moved three big brown bats into a specially reinforced screened enclosure in the attic of a barn used for species susceptible to rabies such as coyotes and raccoons.

The bats, one of which was found in Falmouth and another in Framingham, were weak but not suffering from white-nose syndrome when they were brought to the center, facility director Deborah Millman said.

The Framingham bat, which was transferred to the Cape through the state's Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine Wildlife Clinic, was pregnant, Millman said. Although one of the babies died, the other survived and is doing well, she said.

Inside their new home, the bats were placed in a bat box hung near an open window covered with webbing to keep them from getting out but let their winged dinner in. Branches were arranged along the walls of the enclosure so the bats could crawl back up to the box if they needed to, but it left plenty of flight space. A light dangled from the tented ceiling to attract insects at night.

"We will take your bugs," Miller said.

Staff at the center also set up a camera to track the bats' progress during the night, Millman said.

Big brown bats typically hibernate in attics, making the species less prone to the white-nose syndrome, said Thomas French, assistant director for the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife's Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program.

"The ones that go to mines and caves, they died," he said.

For the little brown bat, which congregates in caves and mines in the western part of the state and elsewhere during the winter, the combination of cold weather and moisture has been deadly, French said.

In Massachusetts and other states, mortality among little brown bats since white-nose syndrome was first found in the United States in February 2006 has been as high as 98 percent, French said.

Bats that roost in trees, such as the hoary, red and silver-haired, aren't affected by the disease, he said.

The Cape has never had a substantial number of hibernating bats because of a lack of large spaces with the appropriate temperatures, French said.

"It's got to be a place that never freezes," he said.

The northern long-eared bats may have been hibernating in storm drains, French said.

If a homeowner finds a colony of bats in their home, they shouldn't evict them during the winter when they will die, or during the middle of the summer when baby bats may be present, French said. The fall and spring are the best time to remove bats from the home, which can be done by finding out how they are getting in and setting up a one-way door so that they can leave but can't come back, he said.

Homeowners can also set up a bat box nearby so the animals have someplace to go.

Both French and the staff at the Cape Wildlife Center hope homeowners will do what they can to help bats, which serve a useful purpose in keeping insect populations in check.

Homeowners who find bats that appear injured should be careful but try to get the animal to the Wildlife Center, she said.

Using gloves and avoiding contact with the animal is especially important because of rabies concerns. A Marstons Mills man died from the disease in 2012 after being bitten by a bat.

But, for the time being, bats appear to be in more danger than humans.

French is hopeful some members of the species most affected by white-nose syndrome will survive and be the start of a resistant population like those in Europe, where the fungus is believed to have originated. So far, however, there is little anyone can do to stop it, French said.

"The question is will it spread all the way to the Pacific Coast and how far south will it go," French said.


http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20131027/NEWS/310270337/-1/NEWSLETTER100

Since you mentioned it....

Cape Cod Online offered the following article which I thought was pretty interesting --

Bat nursed to health in time for Halloween

Wild Care in Eastham is rehabilitating a small brown bat that was found on the ground malnourished and with tears in its wings.Cape Cod Times/Steve Heaslip
By Jason Kolnos
October 16, 2010
EASTHAM — He won't turn into Nosferatu. He prefers a simple insect repast to a bloodbath. And he likely won't dive-bomb into your hair.

A little brown bat is getting the royal rehab treatment at Wild Care in Eastham, and that's a bit of good news for a species that has been decimated across the region.

This plucky fanged fella was brought to the wild animal hospital two weeks ago with multiple puncture wounds and damage to his wing's webbing.

A cat had gotten at the bat, hypothesized Lela Larned, executive director of Wild Care.

After daily doses of electrolyte-infused fluids and tasty mealworms, the bat more than doubled his weight.

"When he first came in, he was emaciated, sluggish and unresponsive," Larned said. "Now, he's self-feeding, taking short flights and much more aggressive."

Folks at Wild Care are treating this little brown bat as a member of an endangered species, even though it isn't yet listed as one in Massachusetts.

Bats are dying in the state's caves and mines — where they hibernate during winter months — at alarmingly high levels, according to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife). Biologists attribute the cause to white-nose syndrome, a crusting fungus that attacks their muzzles and other body parts. Mortality rates may be as high as 95 to 100 percent.

An unpleasant example comes from the state's largest hibernaculum (winter bat quarters) in Chester, where a normal winter population was 8,000 to 10,000 bats. But during recent winters, all those bats have apparently died, according to MassWildlife.

"With all the declines that bats have suffered, we wanted to go to every length to make sure this one survives," Larned said.

And if you're sick of scratching bug bites, it behooves you to befriend a bat, too. These winged spelunkers are serial killers of mosquitoes and other insects.

Larned encourages folks to consider installing bat boxes that can host hundreds of them, including females and baby bats.

"A single bat can eat thousands of insects a night, so if you have one of these, you won't have mosquitoes," Larned said.


Coincidentally, thedailygreen offered 7 Surprising Facts About Bats that offers some great pictures and narrative.

Both of those forced me the re-visit Wednesday, August 4, 2010 STATE SPRAYING TO TARGET DISEASE-CARRYING MOSQUITOES.

All of which makes me ponder our arrogance and stupidity as a species.

Allow me -- when the public matter of mosquitoes arose, we were baffled!

For just about 30 years, a few bats have nested under our rake boards. They raise their families and grow and do their thing in the evenings. We have a nodding and appreciative neighborly relationship. Their numbers periodically increase as the harvest increases.

They've been pretty tolerant and forgiving like the time the house was power washed before painting.

A trip outside, into the garden invited the abundance of dragon flies to dive bomb maybe in search of prey that was becoming scarce.

On the evening we were forced to endure aerial spraying, it was misting - not quite a rain. Our bats had been circumnavigating the house, doing their job, sadly oblivious to the poison falling from the skies.

That poison, promoted as benign, destroyed the bats and the dragonflies, allowing the mosquito population to rebound and flourish.

Yesterday, October 17, was the first day a dragonfly was seen.

Years ago, a friend recommended Farnam's Nature's Defense® Water-based Fly Repellent Spray and Concentrate that we've used successfully that includes this product description --

Water-based formula combines citronella with other botanicals
Repels horn, stable, house, horse and deer flies, plus mosquitoes and gnats
Contains no preservatives, additives or artificial colors
Alcohol-free – will not irritate sensitive skin
For use on horses, ponies and foals
Available in ready-to-use formula with trigger sprayer or concentrate (dilutes 4:1)

It's herbs, folks! Harmless stuff the Big Chemical Companies don't promote, instead of poisoning the environment.

Instead of blindly accepting the hysteria, insisting on our superiority as a species, we might consider that the bats are warm blooded, just like humans. What are we doing to ourselves?

How stupid are we as a species?