December 2023 – Page 3

Voices, The Peoples News No. 2023-12-02

Voices, The Peoples News

December 2, 2023
Published by Jedi Selman Since March 2000 to Inform and Educate
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This daily Voices, The Peoples News is posted through the blog function of www.MPEN-Ohio.net

# Indigenous / Global
“Carbon Cowboys” Chasing Emissions Offsets in the Amazon Keep Forest-Dwelling Communities in the Dark: Indigenous and traditional groups in the forest are rarely consulted about carbon credit projects they see as the latest gold rush on their lands, and question the community and climate benefits the projects promise.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/28112023/carbon-cowboys-keep-amazon-communities-dark/

# Border / Immigration / Migrants
Fifth Circuit panel denies Texas appeal on marine buoy barrier lawsuit, state to appeal: Two of three judges on a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel sided with a lower district court and required Texas to move back its marine barriers closer to its shoreline. Texas is appealing to the full court
https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_849da56c-90aa-11ee-b458-cbfda0f27ad9.html

Another Border Crossing, This Time in Arizona, Shut Down Over Spike in Migrant Crossings: A second migrant crossing along the southern border with Mexico has been temporarily closed, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said. Officials said they are “temporarily suspending operations” in Lukeville, Arizona, because of an “increased levels of migrant encounters.
https://themessenger.com/news/another-border-crossing-this-time-in-arizona-shut-down-over-spike-in-migrant-crossings

Joe Biden wants to hoover in migrants even faster, so he’s closing LEGAL crossings: Taking these illegal migrants into “custody” mainly means doing some paperwork before releasing them into the interior with orders to show up somewhere else at some later time — with no effective way to ensure they’re ever heard from again. This strategy fits well with President Biden’s demand that his Ukraine-and-Israel-aid bill include $14 billion for “border operations” to ease this “processing.” That is, not to block migrants from entering, but to “accommodate” them even faster.
https://nypost.com/2023/12/01/opinion/joe-biden-wants-to-hoover-in-migrants-even-faster-so-hes-closing-legal-crossings/

Texas To Bus Another 70,000 Immigrants To Democrat-Run Cities: Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott announced Wednesday the state will bus another 70,000 immigrants to Democrat-run cities around the nation amid the Biden administration’s ongoing crisis at the Southern Border. “Texas will bus migrants to sanctuary cities until Biden secures the border,” Abbott said on X. “Our mission provides vital relief to border towns.”
https://www.dailywire.com/news/gov-abbott-says-texas-will-bus-another-70000-immigrants-to-democrat-run-cities

# Covid / Pandemics / Biologicals
# Economy / Finance / Trade / Banks
Social Security will likely have a new boss soon. Here’s how he wants it to run better: Martin O’Malley, likely to take the helm at the Social Security Administration in the coming weeks, says his focus is customer service. The man who is expected to become the new boss of Social Security once aimed to expand the program. Now he just wants to fix its flaws.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/social-security-will-likely-have-a-new-boss-soon-heres-how-he-wants-it-to-run-better-151511410.html

# Education / Schools
Christopher Rufo’s Alarming and Deceptive Crusade Against Public Universities: “Public universities,” Christopher Rufo wrote on August 11 on X (formerly Twitter), “are not a ‘free marketplace of ideas.’”
This provocative statement doesn’t fully convey Rufo’s views on the subject; he’s noted elsewhere that universities should be an “environment of open, substantive debate.” But as a trustee at New College of Florida, Rufo has demonstrated the limits of his tolerance for ideas that differ from his own.
https://time.com/6309612/christopher-rufo-public-universities-deceptive-essay/

# Energy / Pipelines / Mining / Chemicals
Power prices are gonna rise, shame, they don’t have to: The US, like other developed nations, will see historic increases in electricity demand due to the electrification of vehicles and heating. The nation is also retiring conventional base-load power plants, which are slowly being replaced by less-reliable green-generations systems like wind turbines and solar panels. According to ISO New England, which regulates power across the Northeast, regional electricity demand will increase by around 70% by 2040.
https://nypost.com/2023/12/02/opinion/power-prices-are-gonna-rise-shame-they-dont-have-to/

‘Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter’ Denounced as Greenwashing Scheme by Fossil Fuel Arsonists: “Voluntary pledges cannot be a substitute for a formal negotiated outcome at COP28 for countries to address the root cause of the climate crisis fossil fuels.” Hundreds of civil society groups and frontline voices from around the world condemned a voluntary pledge heralded by government leaders and fossil fuel giants, calling the “Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter” unveiled at the COP28 climate talks in Dubai nothing but a cynical industry-backed smokescreen
https://truthout.org/articles/fossil-fuel-companies-back-toothless-decarbonization-charter-at-cop28-in-dubai/

# Environment / Climate / Infrastructure
COP28 Coverage: The UN climate conference, kicks off in Dubai this week with our journalists on the ground. Over 70,000 delegates have arrived in the UAE for the 12 day summit, with world leaders attempting to forge an agreement on how to restrict global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels – a rapidly diminishing window.
https://www.desmog.com/cop28-coverage/

The Great Simplification podcast: Pollution, population & purpose: Co-founder of GMO Financial Holdings, Jeremy Grantham, discuss how human population, ecology, and pollution (especially endocrine disrupting chemicals) interact to shape current trends and what they could tell us about the future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTvN9iFJ0fY

England’s only resident population of bottlenose dolphins is under serious threat from a combination of human activity, environmental pollution and difficulties in rearing young that survive into adulthood, according to new research. The pod of 48 dolphins inhabits the coastline of the English Channel and is under threat from pollution and fishing
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/dolphins-england-pollution-sea-extinction-b2455259.html

North Atlantic orcas reveal the troubling persistence of toxic ocean pollutants: Scientists found that North Atlantic orcas feeding on marine mammals carry significantly higher levels of pollutants than orcas that eat fish. Levels of polychlorinated biphenyls in the orcas’ blubber are ten times higher than the toxic threshold for these dangerous household chemicals.
https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/north-atlantic-orcas-reveal-the-troubling-persistence-of-toxic-ocean-pollutants/

‘Forever chemicals’ are getting into ocean ecosystems: As these chemicals leach out of failing septic systems and landfills and wash off airport runways and farm fields, they can end up in streams that ultimately discharge into ocean ecosystems where fish, dolphins, manatees, sharks and other marine species live.
https://www.wuwf.org/florida-news/2023-11-26/forever-chemicals-are-getting-into-ocean-ecosystems-where-marine-life-dine

How ‘forever chemicals’ are using marine life to travel the world by sea
First it was PCBs, now it’s PFAS – harmful toxic pollutants that do not biodegrade are affecting ecosystems around the globe
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/14/forever-chemicals-pcb-pfas-use-marine-life-to-travel-world-by-sea

Microplastics found in D.C. rivers prompt funding for wider study: Some pollution was invisible to the naked eye, but with $90,000 in new grant money, a team of researchers was on hand to find it. The researchers weren’t looking for garbage bags or discarded bottles but hidden microplastics embedded in river sediment.
https://www.american.edu/media/news/20230920_microplastics-pollution.cfm

At COP28, the United States Will Stress an End to Fossil Emissions, Not Fuels: The Biden administration faces increasing international and domestic political pressure to endorse near-term cuts in coal, oil and natural gas. The United States, casting itself as a climate action leader despite its role as the world’s No. 1 oil and natural gas producer, will insist that any phase-down language be focused not on fossil fuels themselves, but on their emissions.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/29112023/at-cop28-the-united-states-will-stress-an-end-to-fossil-emissions-not-fuels/?utm_source=InsideClimate+News&utm_campaign=5a168770e8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_12_02_02_00&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-5a168770e8-327817917

US Pledge to Loss and Damage Fund Calling ‘Insulting… Paltry… Shameful’: “The United States refuses to acknowledge historic responsibility for the decades of damage that has been done to communities bearing the brunt of climate change and the fossil fuel industry,” said one advocate. Bineshi Albert of the Climate Justice Alliance called it “insulting.” “It is a paltry, shameful amount of money that shows the U.S. is completely uninterested in prioritizing or being accountable to the climate impacts frontline communities are facing,” she said. The United States have pledged $17.5 million.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-loss-and-damage

# Food / Farming / GMOs / Chemicals
In California, Farmers Test a Method to Sink More Water into Underground Stores: A novel program reimburses landowners for replenishing groundwater, in a bid to add regularity to the state’s boom and bust water system. Groundwater banking, where water is percolated underground and can then be pulled out by the same user later, has been in use in certain parts of California for decades, but new stores are being added. And some farmers in the Central Valley are letting their fields flood, allowing water to slowly sink underground.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/29112023/in-california-farmers-test-a-method-to-sink-more-water-into-underground-stores/#:~:text=Groundwater%20banking%2C%20where%20water%20is,water%20to%20slowly%20sink%20underground

# Food Recalls / Alerts
Another fruit company recalls cantaloupe products possibly linked to deadly outbreak: Cut Fruit Express Inc. of Inver Grove Heights, MN, is recalling Caribou Coffee Fruit Mix CHPG 6.5-ounce, and Cut Fruit Express Brand of 6.5-ounce, 15-ounce, 16-ounce and 32-ounce packages of fruit mix that contain cantaloupe and food service packages of 5-pound trays, 10-pound bags and 25-pound pails, because they have the potential to be contaminated. The FDA’s traceback investigation is ongoing but has identified Sofia Produce LLC dba TruFresh; Crown Jewels Produce; and Pacific Trellis Fruit dba Dulcinea as suppliers of the potentially contaminated whole “Malichita” or “Rudy” brand cantaloupes. All three companies have initiated recalls of their whole cantaloupes.
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2023/12/another-fruit-company-recalls-cantaloupe-products-possibly-linked-to-deadly-outbreak/

# General News
Trump’s 48-Hour Manic Rant Had Immediate Consequences: The former president covered a lot of ground during his recent posting binge, most of it is insane. Kicking off the rapid-fire onslaught of posts late Tuesday, Trump called MSNBC’s coverage of the Republican Party “illegal activity,” adding that the “so-called ‘government’ should come down hard” on the news outlet and “make them pay.”
https://newrepublic.com/post/177220/trump-truth-social-engoron-gag

Trump Has Decided on a Crazy New Abortion Stance: The former president must think that voters haven’t been paying attention to what’s become a hot-button issue at the polls. Donald Trump, who has bragged about being the “most pro-life president in history,” now believes that he can convince voters that he’s actually a moderate on abortion rights.
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-decided-crazy-abortion-stance-162815194.html

If Trump Wins Again, There May Be No Stopping Him: If a presidential candidate is telling you that he wants to end the republic, believe him. Trump all but promises authoritarian rule. Combined with his threats to use the Justice Department to round up leading Democrats, Trump is telegraphing his plans to govern as a dictator.
https://1ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fnewrepublic.com%2Farticle%2F177149%2Ftrump-wins-again-may-no-stopping

Trump is an unprecedented danger to democracy. It’s time we see him for who he really is: Trump’s plan if elected in 2024 should frighten us all. Is this really the administration that so many Republicans, and apparently a lot of independents, want?
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/trump-unprecedented-danger-democracy-time-100923014.html

# Gov / Politics / Global
North Korea warns any interference with spy satellite would be ‘declaration of war’: “Any attack on space asset of DPRK will be deemed declaration of war against it,” a statement by a spokesperson for North Korea’s defense ministry reads, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency. The Biden administration “strongly condemned” the purported launch, arguing it violated United Nations Security Council resolutions because it used ballistic missile technology, which the U.N. has barred North Korea from using.
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4339008-north-korea-warns-interference-spy-satellite-war/

A downed Russian Shahed drone was found with a Ukrainian SIM card, suggesting the technology was used to pilot the explosive drone: This suggests the tech was used to pilot the attack drone, war analysts said.
Last month, Russia launched its largest drone attack against Kyiv in the war so far.
https://www.businessinsider.com/downed-russian-shahed-drone-found-with-ukrainian-sim-card-2023-12#:~:text=A%20downed%20Russian%20Shahed%20drone%20was%20reportedly%20found%20with%20a,in%20the%20war%20so%20far

Revealed: Europe’s role in the making of Russia killer drones: Kyiv says Iranian drones used by Russia in Ukraine have various European components. Iranian kamikaze drones used in the latest attacks on Ukrainian cities are filled with European components, according to a secret document sent by Kyiv to its western allies in which it appeals for long-range missiles to attack production sites in Russia, Iran and Syria.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/27/revealed-europes-role-in-the-making-of-russia-killer-drones

# Gov / Politics
Democracy Is in Peril, Just Not the Way We Thought: Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt explained “How Democracies Die.” Then they decided to look even deeper. A system-threatening genie had been let out of the bottle. And in a break from the normal patterns of punditry, academic scholars of democracy speak in more alarmed and perfervid terms than popular commentators. “This is no ordinary moment,” but one of “great peril and risk,” says one recent academic petition; “the crisis of American democracy is upon us,” states another.
https://newrepublic.com/article/176821/democracy-peril-just-not-way-thought

How Can We Possibly Be Sleepwalking into Another Trump Presidency? Here are six culprits who seem to think 2024 is just another election. “A Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. We should stop pretending.” They’re talking about it, I think, for two main reasons.
https://thenewrepublic.substack.com/p/how-can-we-possibly-be-sleepwalking?dicbo=v4-26vZG2U-1089107042

Mike Johnson Just Blew a Hole in the GOP’s Biden Impeachment Inquiry: An awkward exchange between the speaker and a Capitol Hill reporter highlighted the weakness of the case against the president. Although Republicans have been levying various accusations against Biden for the past few months, making multiple allegations of political corruption, they have yet to produce any actual evidence demonstrating that their charges have merit.
https://newrepublic.com/post/177176/mike-johnson-biden-impeachment-inquiry

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like a Republican Government Shutdown: Mere weeks after the House GOP tore themselves apart over their inability to pass a funding bill, they’re back at it again. Government shutdown is back on the menu. The House GOP has made some ominous omissions from this week’s agenda: the appropriations bills that are meant to forestall, say it with us, once again, the impending government shutdown that is now scheduled to occur in mid-January.
https://news.yahoo.com/beginning-look-lot-republican-government-163836645.html

Here’s How Biden Can Turn It Around
Top Democrats agree that the president needs more aggressiveness, more help from his friends and a few more friends. Liz Cheney, Rahm Emanuel and Mitt Romney can help.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/11/13/biden-2024-reelection-challenges-strategy-00126776

Biden sees hopeful signs for his reelection in Democrats’ 2023 wins. Others in his party are worried: Yet many Democrats are fearful there is a serious disconnect between the popularity of Biden’s agenda and the man himself, as the president’s approval ratings remain stubbornly low and voters continue to register concerns about his age.
https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-elections-democrats-republicans-1d7d39dc723817125d7e65a5e1e1b1a2

GOP AGs argue Colorado courts can’t remove Trump from primary ballot: A coalition of 19 attorneys general filed a brief with the Colorado Supreme Court arguing an appeal to keep former President Donald Trump off the primary ballot can’t be decided by the courts
https://www.kpvi.com/news/national_news/gop-ags-argue-colorado-courts-cant-remove-trump-from-primary-ballot/article_0172eabc-5726-5023-936b-411e83415669.html

# Military / DOD
The 15 wars you may not know the US is currently involved in: The ever-expanding American military footprint covers nearly every continent. The US controls about 750 bases in at least 80 countries worldwide and spends more on its military than the next 10 countries combined.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/10/infographic-us-military-presence-around-the-world-interactive#:~:text=173%2C000%20troops%20deployed
See also: How Many US Military Bases Are There in the World?
https://www.thesoldiersproject.org/how-many-us-military-bases-are-there-in-the-world/

# Military / Global
Israel’s AI-Aided Bomb Targeting Creates Massacre ‘Factory’ in Gaza: “This is the first AI-facilitated genocide in history,” said one observer. As Israel on Friday resumed bombarding Gaza following a weeklong pause, a joint investigation by a pair of progressive Israeli media outlets sheds new light on the Israel Defense Forces’ use of artificial intelligence to select targets, essentially creating what one former Israeli officer called a “mass assassination factory.”
https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-civilian-casualties-2666414736

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Voices, The Peoples News No. 2023-12-01

Voices, The Peoples News

December 1, 2023
Published by Jedi Selman Since March 2000 to Inform and Educate
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This daily Voices, The Peoples News is posted through the blog function of www.MPEN-Ohio.net

# Border / Immigration / Migrants
Border Patrol agents can resume cutting wire barrier placed at Texas border by Guard troops: Federal agents can resume a practice of cutting wire barrier placed near the U.S. border with Mexico by Texas National Guard troops after a judge ruled against a request from the state of Texas to stop them from doing so.
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/30/texas-border-concertina-wire-judge-ruling/

ICE to close facility capable of housing thousands of illegal immigrants: Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are apparently set to shut down a California detention facility capable of housing roughly 2,000 illegal immigrants despite the crisis hindering the state.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/immigration/ice-close-facility-capable-housing-thousands-illegal-immigrants#:~:text=Immigration%20and%20Customs%20Enforcement%20o,the%20crisis%20hindering%20the%20state

House passes bill to stop federal funds being used to house Illegal immigrants: The bill, H.R.5283, would specifically prohibit federal funding from being used to provide housing for illegal immigrants on any land under the jurisdiction of the Federal Land Management agencies, including the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/14/texas-house-border-wall-crossing-crime-bill/

# Economy / Finance / Trade / Banks
What Nikki Haley Has Said About Cutting Social Security: “Social Security will go bankrupt in 10 years,” Haley said during the Republican presidential debate in November. “What we need to do is keep our promises. Those who have been promised, should keep it. But for my kids in their 20s, you go and say we are going to change the rules, change the retirement age for them.”
https://www.newsweek.com/what-nikki-haley-has-said-about-cutting-social-security-1848779#:~:text=%22Social%20Security%20will%20go%20bankrupt,the%20retirement%20age%20for%20them.%22

Debanking saga spills into US as customers fume over closure of bank accounts: Many Americans who have been the victim of debanking say they receive ‘vague’ responses from their banks. Bank customers in the US have been left angry after their accounts were suddenly closed in the latest round of debanking across the US.
https://www.gbnews.com/news/us/debanking-america-bank-account-closures

# Education / Schools
District cites ‘educational larceny’ in aggressive audits of student housing: Since the 2018-19 school year Missouri’s Hazelwood School District has been conducting aggressive and intrusive investigations of student residency. District cites ‘educational larceny’ in aggressive audits of student housing. Since the 2018-19 school year, a Midwestern school district has sharply increased its rate of investigating student residency, deploying a team of employees who can use intrusive tactics.
https://publicintegrity.org/education/unhoused-and-undercounted/district-cites-educational-larceny-in-aggressive-audits-of-student-housing/#:~:text=Close-,District%20cites%20’educational%20larceny’%20in%20aggressive%20audits%20of%20student%20housing,who%20can%20use%20intrusive%20tactics

These programs make college possible for students with developmental disabilities: Inclusive postsecondary education programs help students with intellectual disabilities make friends and become independent adults. For students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, opportunities to attend college may appear few and far between. But this is changing, thanks to inclusive postsecondary education – known as IPSE – programs at colleges across the United States
https://theconversation.com/these-programs-make-college-possible-for-students-with-developmental-disabilities-212517#:~:text=For%20students%20with%20intellectual%20and,colleges%20across%20the%20United%20States

Segregation is back, now pushed by the ‘woke’: Evanston Township High School in Evanston, Illinois , offers ” affinity classes ” to students of color. According to the school district, the purpose of these classes is to help narrow the gap in academic performance between the races. They are designed to aid black and Latino students whose grades and achievements in the classroom are below those of their white peers, especially in AP courses. The school’s student population is 45% white, 23.4% black, 20.3% Hispanic, and 5.2% Asian. But while courses are optional and class segregation isn’t officially required, the district has made it clear they’re intended for students of color.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/fairness-justice/segregation-is-back-now-pushed-by-the-woke

# Energy / Pipelines / Mining / Chemicals
Texas grid faces winter after failed attempt to get more power online: Nearly two years after Texas’ deadly 2021 winter storm, the ERCOT’s plan to entice companies to make more power available during tight conditions has failed. However, the grid operator’s president and CEO said Texas is still expected to have enough resources to meet demand this winter.
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/01/texas-power-grid-ERCOT-winter-2023/?utm_source=Texas+Tribune+Newsletters&utm_campaign=35190119c2-trib-newsletters-thebrief&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-35190119c2-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&mc_cid=35190119c2&mc_eid=6f15633605

Austin coal plant: Despite the city of Austin commitment to being fully carbon-free by 2035, there’s been little movement on the closure of the Fayette Power Project, the coal plant responsible for about a quarter of our city’s greenhouse gas emissions.
https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2023-12-01/why-austin-cant-seem-to-quit-its-despised-coal-plant/?utm_source=Texas+Tribune+Newsletters&utm_campaign=35190119c2-trib-newsletters-thebrief&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-35190119c2-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&mc_cid=35190119c2&mc_eid=6f15633605

# Environment / Climate / Infrastructure
Could This Substance Save Our Oceans From Plastic Hell? Plastic-eating bacteria are amazing. But they aren’t going to save the planet. But no matter what scientists may have discovered in this particular study, the stories you see in the media always seem to take the same spin: some variation of “these new plastic-eating bacteria will help us save the world from plastic pollution!”
https://www.digitaltrends.com/news/plastic-eating-bacteria-wont-save-us/

How bad is the plastic pollution of our oceans and can we stop it? At least 14 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year, and plastic makes up 80% of all marine debris found from surface waters to deep-sea sediments. Marine species ingest or are entangled by plastic debris, which causes severe injuries and death. A new analytical tool can show the main sources of plastic pollution and help governments determine how to best reduce the amount that is reaching the ocean.
https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/trend/archive/winter-2022/our-ocean-is-choking-on-plastic-but-its-a-problem-we-can-solve

How can we reduce plastic pollution in the oceans and save marine life? Here’s what you can do:
Use reusable coffee cups and shopping bags instead of single-use ones. Reusable silicone bags and other durable containers can replace single-use plastic sandwich bags. When you shop, consider buying some grocery items in bulk by filling your own containers.
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/10-ways-reduce-plastic-pollution

How Do We Clean Up All That Ocean Plastic? There are currently 75 to 199 million tons of plastic polluting our oceans, according to the World Economic Forum. This is a result of humans recycling only nine percent of plastic waste and dumping 10 million tons of it into the seas each year.
https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2022/10/13/how-do-we-clean-up-all-that-ocean-plastic/

North Denver’s green space paradox: Will a billion-dollar infrastructure project heal a Colorado community — or displace its residents?
https://www.hcn.org/issues/55.12/communities-north-denvers-green-space-paradoxx?utm_source=wcn1&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2023-12-01-Newsletter

# Environment / Climate / Infrastructure / Global
Inside India’s Gargantuan Mission to Clean the Ganges River: The Ganges river is one of the world’s most sacred waterways, and one of its most polluted. To restore it, India is undertaking one of the biggest engineering programs in the history of sanitation. o date, the Namami Gange program has cost over 328 billion rupees ($3.77 billion) and promised the construction of more than 170 new sewage facilities and 5,211 kilometers of sewer lines, enough to cross the Atlantic Ocean. It is a fascinating test case in the global effort to clean up our rivers and seas.
https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/restoring-indias-holiest-river

# Food / Farming / GMOs / Chemicals
‘Forever Chemicals’ Found in Freshwater Fish, Yet Most States Don’t Warn Residents: At least 17 states have issued PFAS-related fish consumption advisories, KFF Health News found, with some warning residents not to eat any fish caught in particular lakes or rivers because of dangerous levels of forever chemicals.
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/pfas-forever-chemicals-freshwater-fish-regulatory-gap/#:~:text=At%20least%2017%20states%20have,dangerous%20levels%20of%20forever%20chemicals

# General News
‘Daily Show’ Brutally Eulogizes ‘War Criminal’ Kissinger: During his stint in government, Henry Kissinger supervised policies that took the lives of at least 3 million people.
https://truthout.org/articles/corporate-media-eulogize-kissinger-as-a-statesman-instead-of-a-war-criminal/

Kissinger’s Cluster Bombs Are Still Killing People in Asia: Henry Kissinger’s bombing campaign likely killed hundreds of thousands of Cambodians − and set path for the ravages of the Khmer Rouge
https://theconversation.com/henry-kissingers-bombing-campaign-likely-killed-hundreds-of-thousands-of-cambodians-and-set-path-for-the-ravages-of-the-khmer-rouge-209353

The CDC’s Gun Violence Research Is in Danger: In a year pocked with fights over US government funding, Republicans are quietly trying to strip the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of its ability to research gun violence.
https://www.wired.com/story/cdc-gun-violence-research-gop-proposal/#:~:text=In%20a%20year%20pocked%20with,ability%20to%20research%20gun%20violence

# Gov / Politics / Global
‘Historical opportunity’: Baltic nations seek to purge Russian influence in wake of Ukraine war: Twenty thousand Latvian residents are subject to an immigration law adopted after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that requires Russian citizens to prove a proficiency in Latvian in order to extend their residency. The policy is part of a host of controversial “de-Russification” measures sweeping the Baltics.
https://www.stripes.com/theaters/europe/2023-11-24/baltics-russia-nato-12133369.html

North Korea rebuffs US ambassador’s offer to negotiate ‘on any topic’: The sister of North Korea’s leader has rejected a United States request for negotiations and likened the idea to a ploy by Washington to infringe on her country’s power to govern itself.
https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2023-11-29/kim-sister-rejects-us-north-korea-satellite-launches-12209900.html

Hamas: It Doesn’t Matter How Many Hostages Are Still Alive: A senior member of the Hamas terrorist movement stated that it is “not so important” how many hostages are still alive, in an interview with CBS news on Thursday. When asked by CBS how many hostages are still alive, the senior Hamas member, Ghazi Hamad, stated; “I don’t know. The number is not so important.”
https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/article-776037

Israel Plans to Kill Hamas Bosses Around Globe Postwar: Israeli officials told the newspaper that spy agencies, acting on orders from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—are drawing up plans to find and assassinate Hamas chiefs in Qatar, Turkey, and Lebanon, and that the deadly campaign could take years.
https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-plans-to-kill-hamas-leaders-around-the-world-after-war-da88e6b9

Israel Recalls Its Spanish Ambassador Amid Growing Feud: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he had “serious doubts that Israel is complying with international humanitarian law” in its bombardment of Gaza. The Israeli government recalled its ambassador in Madrid after the Spanish prime minister said he had “serious doubts that Israel is complying with international humanitarian law” in its bombardment of Gaza. Pedro Sánchez’s comments were made during an interview on Spain’s state broadcaster, TVE, on Thursday morning.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/30/spain-pm-pedro-sanchez-israel-hamas-terror-attacks-gaza

Top Israeli Official Reveals Chilling Plan for Rest of Gaza: Most of Gaza will meet “the same fate” as has the northern region, which has been bombed into oblivion, a top Israeli official warned in an interview with The Daily Beast.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/israeli-defense-forces-spokesman-says-most-of-southern-gaza-will-suffer-same-fate-as-north

America’s Far Right Is Calling for Civil War in Ireland: Following last week’s riots in Dublin, an alliance between far-right, anti-immigration influencers in the US and Ireland continues to grow.
https://www.wired.com/story/far-right-calling-for-ireland-civil-war/

# Gov / Politics
In Congress, Calls Mount for Social Security to Address Clawbacks: An investigation by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group gained further traction on Capitol Hill this week as additional members of Congress formally demanded answers from the Social Security Administration about billions of dollars it mistakenly paid to beneficiaries, and then ordered they repay.
https://www.govexec.com/oversight/2023/11/congress-calls-mount-social-security-address-clawbacks/392379/#:~:text=An%20investigation%20by%20KFF%20Health,and%20then%20ordered%20they%20repay

Nikki Haley Called Moscow Evil—But Hubby Flexed Russian Guns: Allied Defense, the military vehicle exporter co-owned by Nikki Haley’s husband, had an image of a Russian tanker on its website. That was until an inquiry from The Daily Beast.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/nikki-haley-husband-michael-haleys-firm-allied-defense-had-pic-of-russian-tank-on-website

It was billed as the “Red State vs. Blue State Debate” by moderator Sean Hannity, but DeSantis was thoroughly trounced by California Gov. Gavin Newsom: The 90-minute meeting was a hard-to-explain event that pitted one struggling Republican presidential hopeful against a Democratic rival who may or may not seek the presidency in four years.
https://time.com/6341265/ron-desantis-gavin-newsom-debate/

Serial Liar George Santos, Facing House Expulsion Vote, Promises To Go Down Fighting: Noted fabulist Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) defiantly said he’ll keep fighting to keep himself from being the sixth member ever to be expelled from Congress in a vote set for today. While a handful of Republicans defended him Thursday, GOP members led the debate to throw him out. “You, sir, are a crook,” said Rep. Max Miller
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/santos-to-fight-expulsion_n_65689a68e4b07b937ff3d188?utm_source=cordial&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=hp-us-reg-morning-email_2023-12-01&utm_term=us-morning-email&email_hash=a0fc9b12cacd32ea6c05c417239d9ca02ed55e16

GOP Melts Down As Dick Durbin Uses Its Tactics For Advancing Biden Judges: “It’s called precedent,” the Senate Judiciary Committee chair said of violating the same rule that Republicans ignored to move forward with judicial nominees. Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee had full-blown meltdowns after chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) held votes on two of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees without allowing debate. It’s a tactic that Republicans used on Democrats twice
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dick-durbin-judiciary-committee-biden-judges_n_6568fef4e4b066e398b6fb64

Edward Blum’s crusade against affirmative action has used the legal strategy developed by civil rights activists: Without much scrutiny or fanfare, Edward Blum has led the attack against federal minority voter protection laws and the use of race in college admissions. Blum’s subsequent conservative crusade and legal strategies derive from an unlikely source – the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, known as the NAACP, the very civil rights group that used the courts to dismantle racial segregation in its seminal 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education.
https://theconversation.com/edward-blums-crusade-against-affirmative-action-has-used-the-legal-strategy-developed-by-civil-rights-activists-215223

Santos expelled from Congress in historic vote: After a damning ethics report, and as he faces dozens of criminal charges, the US House of Representatives has expelled Congressman George Santos. The New York Republican is only the sixth lawmaker in history to be expelled from the lower chamber of Congress, and the first since 2002.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4337205-house-expels-george-santos/

# Law Enforcment
A First Amendment battle looms in Georgia, where the state is framing opposition to a police training complex as a criminal conspiracy: This isn’t the first time that US authorities have criminalized civil disobedience or framed grassroots organizing as a conspiracy.
https://theconversation.com/a-first-amendment-battle-looms-in-georgia-where-the-state-is-framing-opposition-to-a-police-training-complex-as-a-criminal-conspiracy-214820

# Medical / Health
What is ‘White Lung Syndrome,’ the Ohio child pneumonia outbreak? Ohio is the first state to report an outbreak of pediatric pneumonia. The average age of the affected children is 8, the youngest is 3. The most common symptoms are a cough, fever and fatigue
https://www.newsnationnow.com/health/ohio-child-pneumonia-white-lung-syndrome/

The South is ‘the epicenter’ of a new HIV crisis. Medicaid expansion could help: If Mississippi alongside the other six southern states affected by the surge in HIV cases expanded Medicaid, the program would provide more federal funds for the poorest people, including making pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, more widely available, a daily pill that’s been touted as a game changer because it’s so effective at preventing HIV.
https://publicintegrity.org/health/the-south-is-the-epicenter-of-a-new-hiv-crisis-medicaid-expansion-could-help/#:~:text=If%20Mississippi%20alongside%20the%20other,game%20changer%20because%20it’s%20so

Nanoplastics Linked to Parkinson’s and Some Types of Dementia – new study: By Janosch Heller, Dublin City University Since it was first produced at the start of the 20th century, synthetic plastic – and especially plastic packaging, has been an ever-present fixture in everyday life.
https://www.naturalblaze.com/2023/11/nanoplastics-linked-to-parkinsons-and-some-types-of-dementia-new-study.html

# Military / DOD
N. Korea to boost war capability amid new US sanctions: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for the military’s readiness to respond to “any provocation by enemies”, state media said on Friday, coming as the United States slapped fresh sanctions against the isolated country, following its launch of a spy satellite last week.
https://nz.finance.yahoo.com/video/n-korea-boost-war-capability-080941789.html

US to increase weapons deployment to counter North Korea: U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday said the United States will increase its deployment of advanced weapons such as fighter jets and bombers to the Korean Peninsula as it strengthens joint training and operational planning with South Korea in response to a growing North Korean nuclear threat.
https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-south-korea-lloyd-austin-north-0bdc85edf1b5ef8d88375de76beb40f5

U.S. arms transfers to Israel: over 70,000 weapons since 1950: A detailed report unveils the extent of U.S. military aid to Israel, spotlighting the profound implications of this support on the longstanding conflict in Gaza.
https://www.axios.com/2023/11/29/us-weapons-provided-israel-aircraft-missiles-bombs

# Military / Global
Ceasefire Deal Expires as Israel Resumes Fighting in Gaza: The pause had raised hopes for a broader deal, but that appeared to have collapsed as the two sides traded blame while smoke rose from Gaza’s ruined skyline and sirens wailed in Israeli border communities.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/12/1/israel-hamas-war-live-relief-and-joy-as-more-palestinian-prisoners-freed

Chinese Spy Balloons Linked to Hypersonic Missile Program to Prepare for ‘Merciless’ Attacks on U.S: New Beijing command looks to dominate ‘near-space’ — domain the U.S. says does not exist. The report by a group of researchers at the National University of Defense Technology states that the military set up a command for hypersonic missiles and high-altitude balloons, such as the suspected surveillance balloon shot down in February off the South Carolina coast by an Air Force jet fighter after traversing much of the continental U.S. The report, “Near Space Operations Command,” made public during a Beijing conference on command and control in October, said the new operations command will direct hypersonic missiles against heavily protected targets, including communications equipment and hubs in the heartland of an adversary.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/nov/30/china-defense-report-links-high-altitude-spy-ballo/

# Planetary
Earth is moving towards a 25-hour day as its rotation changes: Projections suggest that in 200 million years, a day will extend to 25 hours. This evolving dynamic of Earth’s rotation underscores the importance of advanced measurements, though it leaves one to wonder who or what might be around to witness these changes in the distant future.
https://www.earth.com/news/earths-rotation-is-shifting-toward-a-25-hour-day/

# Social
Holidays Canceled for South Carolina Trailer Park Residents After New Property Owner Sends Eviction Notices: Neighbors at the Mustang Village Mobile Home Park in Greenville said they had to abandon their holiday plans after learning in early November that they needed to be out by Dec. 3. Some said that with nowhere to go, they could soon end up homeless, news station WYFF reported.
https://themessenger.com/news/holidays-canceled-for-south-carolina-trailer-park-residents-after-new-property-owner-sends-eviction-notices

# Space
‘Cannibal’ Sun Eruption to Hit Earth Friday, May Affect Satellites, Radio: A “cannibal” ejection of solar plasma from the sun is due to slam into the Earth on Friday, triggering “strong” geomagnetic storms in the atmosphere that could affect electronic communications
https://www.newsweek.com/cannibal-cme-space-weather-geomagnetic-storms-1848341

# Veterans / VA
94-Year-Old Veteran Struggles After Being Kicked Out of Nursing Home, Replaced by Migrants: ‘It’s Not Fair’: Frank Tammaro was given less than two months’ notice he and 53 other seniors would have to move out of Island Shores Residences in March, and had to make other living arrangements.
https://nypost.com/2023/11/30/news/army-vet-kicked-out-of-nyc-nursing-home-to-make-room-for-migrants/

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