Stephan: The fear of the "other" and the building of walls by people driven by that fear, with no consideration as to the effect such walls have on the wellbeing of earth's matrix of life is another tragic story of humanity's failure to understand that the fostering of wellbeing of the matrix is the key to our survival. The subject is rarely discussed or even considered, and here is the result.
A young deer along a barbed-wire fence on the Latvian-Russian border. Credit: Wojtek Radwanski / AFP / Getty
Pity the tiny band of lynx in the Polish half of Europe’s most ancient forest. In June, their home, the Białowieża Forest, was cut in half when the Polish government completed construction of a wall on its border with Belarus. The aim was to repel refugees from the Middle East and elsewhere being channeled to the border by the Belarus government. But the 115-mile wall — which towers 18 feet above the forest floor, stretching almost into the canopy above — has imprisoned migrating wildlife too.
The dozen or so lynx holed up on the Polish side of the barrier will no longer be able to hunt, feed, or breed with their more numerous fellows across the border. The wall dividing the 1,200 square-mile forest is expected to increase hunger among the lynx, and by limiting options for mates, decrease their already low genetic diversity.
In a letter sent in January, as work on the wall started, more than 500 wildlife scientists […]
Stephan: When I listened to Trump's announcement of his candidacy for president for a second term two things struck me. First, his endless whining about how he is a victim; second, his blatant fascism, and assertion that if elected again he will be an outright authoritarian. I started to write an essay on this, when I came across this article in The Bulwark
VANDALIA, OHIO – NOVEMBER 7: Supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump await his arrival at a rally for Ohio Republicans at the Dayton International Airport on November 7, 2022 in Vandalia, Ohio. Trump is campaigning for Republican candidates, including U.S. Senate candidate JD Vance, who faces U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) in tomorrow’s general election. Credit: Drew Angerer / Getty
On Tuesday night, as he announced his candidacy for president in 2024, Donald Trump largely stuck to a script. He eschewed many of the rants and tangents that pad his rally speeches, particularly about the 2020 election. Even so, Trump made it clear that if he returns to power, he will rule as a lethal authoritarian. Here are four of his promises.
1. He will send military force into American cities against their will.
“I will restore public safety in American cities and other communities that need our help,” said Trump. “And if they don’t want our help, we’re going to insist that they take our help.”
“We sent in the National Guard in Minneapolis and in other places” […]
Helen Davidson in Taipei, and Verna Yu, - The Guardian (U.K.)
Stephan: In 1980 the men in the Chinese government in order to control the population passed a law stating that a woman could have only one child. I have been following this situation from the beginning because it has become a classic example of what happens when men seek to control the bodies of women. The results have become an ongoing disaster as this article describes.
The Chinese government has tried to boost the birthrate by partially lifting the one-child policy but these measures failed to trigger a baby boom. Composite: Guardian Design / EPA / ZUMA Press Wire / REX / Shutterstock
By 2050, analysts predict one in four people in China will be retired and the working population will have shrunk by 10%, with huge economic implications
Ming Ming, a boisterous six-year-old, longs to have a playmate, but his mother is adamant that she will not have another child.
“No way! One is quite enough,” Li Hong gasps. “Childcare, after-school activities, tutoring … you want them to have a good education but it costs money. We’re just ordinary working folks, not the super-rich. The cost of bringing up two kids would kill us!” says the 43-year-old supermarket cashier from the southern province of Guangdong.
Li herself was born just before the one-child policy began in 1980. As an only child, she says the cost of bringing up her son on top of caring for her elderly parents and those of her husband were […]
Stephan: This is what Citizens United created, and this is why the American government is so corrupt. I think we should have publicly funded elections, and it should be illegal for an individual or corporation to legally bribe a political party or an individual. The uber-rich and the corporations they control don't give away hundreds of millions of dollars out of the goodness of their hearts. They do so because they want something.
Federalist Society Executive Vice President Leonard Leo speaks to media at Trump Tower, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016, in New York. Credit: Carolyn Kaster / AP
One of the biggest conservative dark money organizations in the nation was boosted last year by two separate anonymous gifts, each totaling more than $425 million dollars.
The money sent to DonorsTrust, a 501(c)(3) charity that has become one of the most influential conduit of funds in Republican-leaning circles, was a huge chunk of the more than $1 billion the group brought in in 2021, according to a tax filing obtained first by POLITICO. They are among the largest ever donations to a politically-connected group.
DonorsTrust used those funds to support a vast network of prominent conservative causes, including a $17.1 million gift it made to The 85 Fund, a group founded by a major engine of the conservative movement: Leonard Leo. All told, DonorsTrust spent about $192 million last year and entered 2022 with roughly $1.5 billion in assets.
Under law, the individual or individuals behind those $425 million donations […]
Stephan: The more time that goes by, the more criminality and corruption of Donald Trump comes to light. Here's the latest. It is amazing to me that so many millions of Americans still support such a man. He is so grotesque he is lilke a character in a satire.
Jesse Benton Credit: Gage Skidmore
Federal prosecutors have obtained a conviction of a longtime GOP strategist who illegally helped a Russian businessman funnel money to Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.
“Jesse Benton, 44, was pardoned by Trump in 2020 for a different campaign finance crime, months before he was indicted again on six counts related to facilitating an illegal foreign campaign donation. He was found guilty Thursday on all six counts,” The Washington Postreported. “The evidence at trial showed Benton bought a $25,000 ticket to a September 2016 Republican National Committee (RNC) event on behalf of Roman Vasilenko, a Russian naval officer turned multilevel marketer.”
Vasilenko received a photo with Trump at the time, while he was running for parliament in Russia.
“Benton began his career on the GOP’s libertarian fringe as an aide to former Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), whose granddaughter is Benton’s wife. He gained mainstream credibility helping Paul’s son, Rand Paul (R-KS), win a Senate seat in 2010 and was hired by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s 2014 reelection campaign,” The Post reported. “But […]
