Global
It should come as no surprise to anyone that the Donald Trump administration has recently affirmed that it has a perfect legal right to remain in Syria as long as it wishes because it is fighting terrorism. The argument goes something like this: Congress has approved a bill that permits the US military to seek out and destroy al-Qaeda and associated groups wherever they may be. It is part of what is referred to as the Authorization to Use Military Force or AUMF. According to the White House, an associated group, the Islamic State in Syria (ISIS), remains currently active in Syria and the United States military presence is therefore legal until the group is completely eliminated, requiring no additional legislation or authority to remain in the country.
How close, how intimate, have you ever gotten with Greenland?
A new documentary called Stella Polaris, directed by Yatri Niehaus — part of Chicago’s tenth annual Peace on Earth Film Festival — takes you on a meditative journey to this lonely, extraordinary island, to its melting ice, its rampaging waters and crumbling glaciers, where climate change is a part of daily life, and where the native people have wisdom and heart to offer the rest of us.
It begins with a slow meditation on the beauty of the ice. Then, six minutes in, a wall of ice suddenly crashes into the ocean.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- A Belorussian woman and her nine companions from
Russia and Belarus, who are in jail for sex-related activity in
Thailand, sent a letter to the U.S. Embassy pleading for asylum in
exchange for alleged criminal evidence concerning Russians who may be
linked to President Trump.
The 10 jailed people include Anastasia Vashukevich, a Belorussian
"mistress" of Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, their handwritten
signed letter said.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodkho and Russian
opposition leader Alexei Navalny were also named in their letter which
said "U.S. relations with Russia" and "very important information for
USA" were involved.
"We have photo-video-audio of crymes [sic] of Russian government.
And I give them USA if you help us," it said according to Khaosod
English, a Thailand-based online news service which published a
photograph of the letter.
Addressed "To USA Consul" it was written by Alexander Kirillov, a
Russian also known as Alex Lesley, who was jailed along with the
others.
General misleads voters on weapon of mass destruction F-35
here was a time when pretty much every American understood that the US Constitution provides for civilian control of the military. And there was a time when Americans understood that uniformed military were not to engage in civilian politics. Generals were free to be presidents or other high-ranking officials, but not till they were out of the military. Retired officers remain subject to a less stringent military code regarding political activity. The current president relies on several former generals, despite the five-year ban on such service, because it was waived.
Civilian control of the military is bedrock American constitutionalism. The president is the commander in chief. There is no parity, it is not a negotiated relationship – we have civilian control of the military. And most military officers have understood that the correct response to that assertion was “Yes, Sir!”
Britain’s Kneehigh theatre company is back for its third Beverly Hills foray at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, presenting an impressionistic bio-play about Russian Jewish painter Marc Chagall (Marc Antolin) and writer Bella Rosenfeld (Daisy Maywood). They are the eponymous couple depicted in playwright Daniel Jamieson’s two-character The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk. Unlike director Emma Rice’s two previous Kneehigh Productions at the Wallis, Noël Coward’s Brief Encounter and 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, Lovers is much less full-throated and ambitious.
The tropical Andes of Ecuador are at the top of the world list of biodiversity hotspots in terms of vertebrate species, endemic vertebrates, and endemic plants. Ecuador has more orchid and hummingbird species than Brazil, which is 32 times larger, and more diversity than the entire USA.
In the last year, the Ecuadorean government has quietly granted mining concessions to over 1.7 million hectares (4.25 million acres) of forest reserves and indigenous territories. These were awarded to transnational corporations in closed-door deals without public knowledge or consent.
This is in direct violation of Ecuadorean law and international treaties, and will decimate headwater ecosystems and biodiversity hotspots of global significance. However, Ecuadorean groups think there is little chance of stopping the concessions using the law unless there is a groundswell of opposition from Ecuadorean society and strong expressions of international concern.
Bob and Dan discuss current events including the school shooting and the fallout, Billy Graham's death, the events in Syria, the Russian indictments and the corruption of Columbus City Council
Lessons for Northern Minnesota From 5000 years of Copper/Sulfide/Acid Mining in Spain, Followed by a Single Generation of Failed Remediation Attempts - and You Still Can’t Drink the Water! (and you never will)
Spain’s Rio Tinto (“Stained River”) Estuary: one of the Most Polluted Areas in the World – Thanks to Sulfide Mining
By Gary G. Kohls, MD, Duluth, MN
“The Rio Tinto system in southwestern Spain….is one of the most polluted fluvial-estuarine systems in the world and most likely has been so for thousands of years.”
”The city of Huelva, Spain, has become the site of one of the most polluted industrial areas of the world.”
“Spain's Rio Tinto is characterized by deep red water that is highly acidic (pH 1.7—2.5) and rich in heavy metals”