Saturday, August 10th, 2019
Aristos Georgiou, Science Writer - Newsweek
Stephan: This is the predictable outcome when the worst president in American history has gutted the regulatory agencies replacing responsible ethical leadership with grifters and former lobbyists for the industries they now regulate. This same trend is playing out in every agency in the federal government to the detriment of everyone but the very rich.
An M-44 cyanide trap which has been chewed by an animal.
Credit: Center for Biological Diversity
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reauthorized the use of controversial devices known as M-44s, or “cyanide bombs,” which are designed to kill certain animals for predator control purposes.
The devices use a smelly bait to lure in wildlife before releasing deadly sodium cyanide into the mouth of any animal that takes a bite.
Currently, the M-44s are used by Wildlife Services—a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agency that kills millions of animals every year using a variety of methods, ostensibly to protect livestock, according to the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD).
Data from the agency suggests that these spring-loaded traps killed 6,579 animals in 2018—the majority of which were coyotes and foxes. At least 200 of these deaths were non-target animals—such as bears, skunks and opossums—although the real figure is likely higher, the CBD says, accusing the agency of poor data collection.
The spring-loaded traps are also authorized for use by state agencies in South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico […]
1 Comment
Saturday, August 10th, 2019
Stephan: Did you ever believe that an important Asian ally of the U.S. would say this in an official statement? "Japanese residents should be aware of the potential for gunfire incidents everywhere in the United States, a gun society, and continue to pay close attention to safety measures."
Japanese national flag Credit: Melville House
The Consulate General of Japan in Detroit has warned Japanese residents who may be traveling to the United States in the wake of multiple mass shootings that took place in the country over the weekend.
In a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan over the weekend, the diplomatic mission warned Japanese residents to “be aware of the potential for gunfire incidents everywhere in the United States,” which it described as a “gun society.”
The office also advised residents to “continue to pay close attention to safety measures.”
The office’s warning follows similar alerts released by other foreign nations after the two deadly shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, which occurred less than a day apart this past weekend.
In a recent statement released by the foreign ministry of Uruguay, the government warned its citizens to practice caution “against growing indiscriminate violence, mostly for hate crimes … which cost more than 250 people their lives in the first seven months of the year.”
It also warned citizens traveling to the country […]
1 Comment
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump threatened undefined retaliation Friday against countries and organizations that issue travel warnings on the United States because of gun violence.
