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Including the world’s first bike path made from recycled plastic.
Here are 3 innovative ways the Netherlands is creating a society where nothing goes to waste
Including the world's first bike path made from recycled plastic. World Economic Forum
Posted by EcoWatch on Friday, January 25, 2019
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S temper tantrum over Congress’s refusal to fund a border wall paralyzed much of the government for five weeks, sapped the morale and wallets of hundreds of thousands of federal workers and low-wage contractors, left millions of Americans disgusted and dismayed, and diminished the United States in the eyes of the world. The impasse was proof of the president’s stark incapacity for leadership, which he reconfirmed Friday by threatening to re-shutter the government in three weeks.
In announcing his non-deal with Congress — in fact, it is more cease-fire than solution — Mr. Trump rehashed his tired and truth-free arguments, asserting against logic and evidence that building a massive new border wall, to supplement hundreds of miles of barriers already in place along high-trafficked segments of the border, would cause crime to plummet and drug trafficking to dry up.
He has lost that argument with the American people, a majority of whom oppose building the wall and blame him and Republicans in Congress for the shutdown, according to the latest Post-ABC News poll. Mindful of that, of the cascading economic costs related to the government closure and of the latest shutdown-related calamity — Friday’s massive flight delays along the Eastern Seaboard owing to a shortage of air traffic controllers — the president agreed to reopen the government until Feb. 15, with no new funding for a border wall for now. Score one for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), though no one is going to celebrate a national debacle such as this.
In the aftermath of such a pointless episode, the best hope is for Congress to step forward and shape a deal. It might include a new law, valid for at least the next two years, to prevent another shutdown. It would deliver back pay to low- and moderate-wage contract workers, such as security guards and cafeteria cooks, as Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and others have proposed. And it would combine some rational border security with some merciful immigration reform.
In that last arena, the contours of a way forward are no secret. If Mr. Trump continues to insist on funding for a piece of wall, which he says is a matter of “no choice,” he should offer serious concessions on immigration to the Democrats — not the phony package peppered with poison pills that he rolled out a week ago, but a secure future for two groups whose protections from deportation he has tried to rescind: “dreamers” brought to this country as children by their parents, and migrants who have been living legally in the United States on temporary protected status, having fled unrest and natural disasters at home. For the dreamers, that would mean a path to legal status for 1.5 million or more of them who are eligible for the Obama-era program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
If Mr. Trump resists that — if he reverts to another shutdown in which he again treats as pawns hundreds of thousands of the “incredible” federal workers he lauded on Friday — he will simply pile failure upon failure. If he declares an emergency as a means to divert federal funds for building a wall, he will invite litigation in what amounts to a profoundly undemocratic end run.
Mr. Trump has failed as a dealmaker. Congress might yet salvage something worthwhile from this sorry episode.
But not everything will go back to normal. The shutdown will have some lasting damage.
For one thing, some federal contract employees won’t get back pay. While Congress routinely approves back pay for federal workers during shutdowns, people who work for companies that provide services ― such as thousands of janitors and security officers who work in federal buildings ― don’t receive the same consideration.
For another, millions of Americans will have to stretch their food budgets. The federal government ordered states to distribute February’s food benefit payments several weeks early because of the shutdown. More than 38 million Americans receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, and they’ll now have to wait until March for their next payment. Some beneficiaries may have already spent the February allotment, thinking it was some kind of accidental bonus.
States had to rush to get the money out and didn’t have time to focus on informing beneficiaries. Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, said she heard stories about confused SNAP recipients from several organizations in her state.
“They thought that because of the shutdown, if they didn’t spend them all now the government is going to take them back,” Hamler-Fugitt said.
Hundreds of people in subsidized housing received eviction threats because nobody in the federal government could tell their landlords the program hadn’t lapsed. One renter told a local TV station he would try to borrow money to make payments.
Some Transportation Security Administration workers may have taken new jobs. How many people want to take a position that often pays less than $40,000 per year that doesn’t actually guarantee a regular paycheck?
And it could take years to reschedule some of the immigration court hearings that were canceled because of furloughed judges.
The monthlong shutdown will also have larger-scale consequences, such as reduced consumer confidence and economic growth. The government shutdown of 2013, which lasted less than three weeks, reduced gross domestic product by at least 0.1 percent and as much as 0.6 percent, according to a range of estimates.
When President Trump announced Friday that he would give up on his quest to make congressional Democrats support a border wall that he previously said Mexico would pay for, he threatened to shut down the government yet again “if we don’t get a fair deal from Congress.”
But Trump has just proven that his “fair deal” strategy was totally ineffective ― except for disrupting thousands of people’s lives.
Temperature forecast for early February 2019. IMAGE: UNIVERSITY OF MAINE/CLIMATE REANALYZER.
It’s coming back!
“It’s going to get really cold at the end of January and early February,” Jeff Weber, a meteorologist with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, an earth sciences research organization, said in an interview.
Although the arrival of chilled air is still around a week away, meteorologists widely agree that it’s safe to expect extreme cold. Cleveland will likely drop to around zero degrees Fahrenheit, New York City to the teens, and some areas like Duluth, Minnesota will plummet to negative 25 degrees, said Weber.
If the polar vortex is left undisturbed, it will spend the winter at home, so to speak, rotating around the Arctic.
But this formidable mass of cold air can sometimes grow weak, wobbling out of its polar home. After this happens, these weakened polar winds can can slosh into the U.S. multiple times throughout the winter.
“Once the vortex is disturbed, the areas of colder air can spill out,” noted Weber. “We expect lobes to spill out over time.”
The polar vortex first began to get wobbly in early January, after showing signs that it might split apart. These polar winds are always liable to get pushed around by fickle weather patterns, storms, or other disturbances that move around our atmosphere, Benjamin Zaitchik, an atmospheric scientist at Johns Hopkins University, said in an interview.
And sometimes, the polar vortex will get completely thrown out of whack thanks to dramatic warming events that occur some 20 miles up in the atmosphere, called sudden stratospheric warming, which splits the polar apart. This “knocks the vortex out of its cozy home,” said Weber.
Zac Lawrence: Here is my “official” 3D animation of this year’s stratospheric #PolarVortex split. Another beautiful event!
It’s “like a band of warm air just cutting right through the puddle of cold air,” John Martin, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explained last week.
This creates different vortices that are liable to wobble down to different regions, like the U.S. and Europe at the same time, which happened in mid-January.
“It starts to wobble and spill cold air out to the south,” said Weber.
What exactly triggers these warming events high up in the polar vortex remains unknown.
“It’s a hot area of research,” said Zaitchik. “It’s something that’s still being investigated.”
Replying to rahmstorf: A young and brilliant mathematician, Marlene Kretschmer, has spent the past years crunching decades of weather data. Using methods like cluster analysis and causal effect networks. She has just finished her PhD thesis in my department at the Potsdam Institute.
Stephen Rahmstorf: Kretschmer has found that over the last decades, the stratospheric polar vortex has become weaker and less stable, so Arctic air masses can escape more easily towards the North American and Eurasian continents. Here a schematic from UCAR.
The polar vortex has become a popular phenomenon for good reason: This weakening of the polar vortex and the subsequent spillover of frigid air has become more common over the last two decades.
“We are seeing these events occurring more frequently as of late,” noted Weber.
One emerging theory blames significantly diminished Arctic sea ice. The Arctic is warming over twice as fast as the rest of the globe and sea ice cover is plummeting. As a result, recent climate research suggests that — without this ice cover — more heat escapes from the oceans. Ultimately, researchers found that this relatively warmer air interacts with and weakens the winds over the Arctic, allowing frigid polar air to more easily escape to southerly places like Cleveland and New York City.
It’s important to note, however, that although the U.S. and Europe are experiencing more cold blasts from the Arctic, this doesn’t mean the planet isn’t still warming at an accelerated pace. Rather, these cold blasts are just displacing Arctic air that often stays put over the Arctic.
In 2019, it’s forecast to return during the last couple days of January.
“This will be our second blast of it,” said Weber.
‘We have changed the world so much that scientists say we are now in a new geological age, the Anthropocene – the Age of Humans.’
David Attenborough says 'The Garden of Eden is no more'
‘We have changed the world so much that scientists say we are now in a new geological age, the Anthropocene – the Age of Humans.’World Economic Forum #wef19
Posted by EcoWatch on Thursday, January 24, 2019
9 Things They Won’t Tell You Before Your First Psych Hospital Admission
Jan Bunten, The Mighty January 24, 2019
Being admitted, voluntarily or involuntarily, to a psychiatric hospital can be traumatic. You’ve probably just been through some kind of mental health emergency. Depending on the circumstances, you may feel you’re being treated like a criminal. It’s especially scary the first time. Knowing a few tips can make your stay less stressful and more healing.
1. Make a note of your phone numbers.
Write down all of the phone numbers you might need on a piece of paper. They will take your phone, so you will need access to those numbers.
2. Buy an all-purpose calling card.
You can find them at Walmart or dollar stores. Make sure it’s not made to work with just one carrier. Some hospitals won’t allow you to make long-distance calls, and they’ll limit your local calls. Best to leave money and debit cards at home. You only need your calling card, driver’s license and insurance card.
3. When packing clothes, go for loose and comfortable.
No drawstrings or shoe strings. Pack a sweatshirt or hoodie (no drawstrings), even in summer. Don’t pack more than five days worth of clothes. You’ll have access to laundry facilities if you need them.
4. The hospital will provide soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant.
If you try to bring a bunch of your own toiletries, they won’t let you have a lot of them. If you run out of something, they’ll give you another.
5. Bring a couple of books.
Most units don’t have books. You won’t have access to the Internet. Bring a journal (no metal spiral) but not all units will allow pens or pencils. You’ll need to ask about that.
6. Expect to spend the first couple of days resting and getting stable.
You may have been through some trauma before ending up in the hospital. Try to relax and settle in. Try to eat at least a little every meal.
7. After you’ve had a chance to get to know the routine, open yourself up to the therapies that are provided.
Go to all the groups, even if you don’t think they’re for you. Talk to the other patients, at least the ones who are open and ready. Some people might be fearful or angry, especially when first admitted. Best to smile and give them space. But some will be near to where you are in your recovery. You can learn a lot from other patients. You can also have a lot of laughs. It’s therapeutic.
8. Refrain from asking your doctors and therapists when you will get out.
I know it’s hard to be away from your friends and family, especially when you don’t know how long you will be there. It’s been my experience, and I’ve seen it over and over again, that begging to get out will only delay your discharge. Work with your doctors, take your meds, participate in groups and recreation, don’t hide in your room, and you should be out in a matter of days. Of course, you need to be honest with your caregivers. If you don’t feel better, don’t say that you do.
9. There will be some indignities.
You may at times feel patronized. Being in a psych hospital is a lesson in patience. You will get out and you will get your dignity back. Try to be in the moment while you’re there. You should feel no more shame than you would if you were hospitalized for anything else.
Be honest and open with both your caregivers and the other patients. Before you know it, you’ll be discharged. Take it easy for a few weeks. Follow whatever treatment plan you were given at discharge. You may find being hospitalized was one of the best things that ever happened to you.
In the cold light of hindsight, it seems that Seth Moulton’s brainstorm to replace Nancy Pelosi with “fresh new leadership” may have been-how do you say?-premature?
Donald trump: As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed. She then changed her mind because of the Shutdown, suggesting a later date. This is her prerogative – I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over. I am not looking for an….
If maps had folded that easily back when I was a kid, there would have been a lot fewer arguments on long road trips.
It is interesting to look back at how the last couple of days played out. This was probably the most fraught exchange of actual letters between a president* and a Speaker of the House since the invention of the telephone. The first letter that Pelosi dispatched to Camp Runamuck, on January 16, the one that disinvited the president* from the House chamber, was couched in all kinds of Beltway civility-speak. Pelosi “respectfully suggested” that the two of them find “another suitable date” for the president* to give his speech-once the government re-opened, of course. A day later, of course, the president* dispatched a letter to the Speaker explaining how he could not give her military transport for a trip that eventually would have placed Pelosi in Afghanistan to visit American military personnel stationed there.
I look forward to seeing you on the evening on January 29th in the Chamber of the House of Representatives. It would be so very sad for our Country if the State of the Union were not delivered on time, on schedule, and very importantly, on location!
This time, Pelosi’s response was as clear and direct as a notice of eviction:
I am writing to inform you that the House of Representatives will not consider a concurrent resolution authorizing the President’s State of the Union address in the House Chamber until government has opened.
At which point, on his preferred venue, the electric Twitter machine, the president* struck his colors Thursday morning. And, because Camp Runamuck is a nest of nasty, scheming reptiles, it appears that a lot of these cold-blooded critters are trying to save their own reputations in the aftermath. From CNN:
White House officials had believed Pelosi wanted only to postpone Trump’s State of the Union for political reasons after she sent a letter to him last week asking him to delay the address until after the partial government shutdown ended. The plan from administration officials was to call her bluff by pressing forward with plans to deliver the speech, including a new letter on Wednesday that they hoped would force her hand. In that letter, Trump said he was planning on coming to the House chamber to deliver his address on Tuesday as planned, as he had been assured by Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security officials that there would be no problem providing security for the speech. Pelosi had initially cited security concerns as a reason to delay the speech.
They were left considering possible alternatives before Trump scuttled the idea in his Wednesday night tweet. White House officials were hesitant to hold a campaign-style rally because they thought it wasn’t formal enough to look like the traditional speech. Officials also recognized that it’s harder to keep Trump on message during a rally, where he often feeds off the crowd, versus a more formal address. Officials noted that television networks rarely carry the rallies live. The message Trump planned to deliver at the Capitol — even one shaped around the shutdown — would be much more tamped down than the President’s usual rhetoric at a rally…Some officials believed a rally would be seen as just another campaign speech, which they acknowledge people have started to tune out.
See? It was only we Anonymous White House Officials who kept President Adderall from immolating himself and his administration from some airplane hangar in Alabama. Time was that one did not mock The Rallies. I will grant you that no president ever has deserved loyalty less-or deserved less loyalty-than this one, but, holy mother of god, could these Anonymous White House Officials grab more greedily for the ripcord?
“I’d give him the whole thing,” Peterson told KFGO’s Joel Heitkamp, “and put strings on it so you make sure he puts the wall where it needs to be. Why are we fighting over this? We’re going to build that wall anyway, at some time.” Thirty-two days into the shutdown, Peterson had seemingly done what no other Democrat in Congress had yet dared to do: accede to Trump’s wall demand, and go against Democratic leaders’ insistence that the wall, an “immorality,” would receive not a dime of taxpayer money…
“I’m probably the only one left that has the guts to say what I said. It’s ridiculous,” Peterson said. “People say, [the wall] is a waste of money. Maybe it is. We’ve wasted money on stupider things than this. Maybe it isn’t going to do much good, it’s probably not going to do much harm. Why are we getting wrapped all around the axle on this?”
Brilliant, Congressman Peterson. Enjoy your primary next time around.
Some people just don’t learn. The D’Allesandro is strong in this one.
January 22, 2019
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Slams Shutdown During First House Floor Speech
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Slams Shutdown During First House Floor Speech
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wasn't afraid to call out Trump during her first House floor speech
Posted by NowThis Election on Tuesday, January 22, 2019
September 28, 2017
I try to follow these every day…
18 Rules For Life From The Dalai Lama
I try to follow these every day…
Posted by Power of Positivity on Thursday, September 28, 2017
The president’s lawyer gave another eye-popping interview. This time he mentioned tapes.
By Charles P. Pierce January 22, 2019
GETTY IMAGESJASON KEMPIN.
One of the most reliable joys of political journalism in this very weird political moment is the series of interviews that Isaac Chotiner is doing for The New Yorker. His latest is a chat with Rudy Giuliani and, yes, there are moments in it that will make you stop so hard that your eyeballs shoot out three feet and then snap back. This is one of them.
Chotiner and Giuliani were talking about the BuzzFeed News story from last week about how the president* allegedly instructed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress regarding the prospective Trump Tower project in Moscow. And this ensued:
RG: I can’t discuss that. President Trump would not have done that. If anybody would have done it, obviously it would have been his lawyers, and I really can’t discuss that. That would be confidential.
IC: Do you—
RG: But I can tell you, from the moment I read the story, I knew the story was false.
IC: Because?
RG: Because I have been through all the tapes, I have been through all the texts, I have been through all the e-mails, and I knew none existed. And then, basically, when the special counsel said that, just in case there are any others I might not know about, they probably went through others and found the same thing.
IC: Wait, what tapes have you gone through?
RG: I shouldn’t have said tapes. They alleged there were texts and e-mails that corroborated that Cohen was saying the President told him to lie. There were no texts, there were no e-mails, and the President never told him to lie.
Mr. Butterfield? History calling on Line One.
IC: So, there were no tapes you listened to, though?
RG: No tapes. Well, I have listened to tapes, but none of them concern this.
Oh, OK. If you follow the link embedded in the interview, you come to a CNN report from last July when a tape emerged on which the president* and Cohen were heard discussing hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels. That may be all this is about but I think Chotiner spoke for all of us with that, “Wait. What tapes have you gone through?” It gets a little nuttier further on:
IC: The quote in the story from you is that the “ ‘discussions were going on from the day I announced to the day I won,’ Mr. Giuliani quoted Mr. Trump as saying during an interview with The New York Times.”
RG: I did not say that.
IC: The Times just made that quote up?
RG: I don’t know if they made it up. What I was talking about was, if he had those conversations, they would not be criminal.
IC: If he had them, but he didn’t have them?
RG: He didn’t have the conversations. Lawyers argue in the alternative. If we went to court, we would say we don’t have to prove whether it’s true or not true, because, even if it’s true, it’s not criminal. And that’s why Mueller will not charge him with it.
IC: Does it matter to the American people if it’s true? We are living in a democracy here. We want to know these things.
RG: That’s an insane question you just asked me. I am not saying that he did it. I just told you he didn’t do it. I am telling you that their investigation is so ridiculous that, even if he did do it, it wouldn’t be a crime. Now, would the American people be interested in it? Of course. There’s a big difference between what the American people would be interested in and what’s a crime. The American people can be interested in a lot of things people conceal that aren’t crimes. I’m a criminal lawyer. I am not an ethicist. And I defend people against unfair criminal charges.
