March 24, 2022

Native American activist imprisoned for nearly half a century makes push for clemency

Leonard Peltier, the Native American activist who has been imprisoned for nearly half a century for the murders of two FBI agents he has always maintained he didn't commit, is hopeful he'll have a chance to clear his name before he dies.

Peltier, 77, wants President Joe Biden to review his case and grant him clemency so he won't die in prison.

He's not looking for a presidential pardon, because it would be granted for a crime he insists he is innocent of.

Instead, he wants a new trial.

“If I get into court, if the judge is fair, how are they going to answer all of that?” he said of evidence that was withheld from the 1977 proceedings. “I want to get a trial."

Recent calls from Peltier's supporters and family for him to be released have noted his failing health, including a recent bout of Covid-19.

"They're going to try and make me die here," Peltier said by phone Wednesday from his federal prison in Central Florida, his first media interview since 2016. "I have a last few years, and I got to fight."

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/leonard-peltier-imprisoned-native-american-activist-new-message-biden-rcna19731
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Leonard Peltier is a political prisoner, IMNSHO

March 24, 2022

The three reasons you should chop down your Bradford Pear trees

They are a staple of early spring and easy to spot: those puffy white Bradford pear trees. But once you get to know them, they are easy to hate.

Some central Virginia garden centers, like the Great Big Greenhouse and Cross Creek Nursery, don’t even carry them any more. But they carry on in our landscape.

1. The first thing that’s wrong with a Bradford pear is its structure.

They have huge heavy limbs that all radiate out from one point. That makes the tree exceptionally weak and prone to breakage once it matures. When high winds hit - or snow or ice - these trees come apart easily. That’s a lot of weight coming down on a person, car, roof, or even a power line.

2. The second (and biggest) problem? They are invasive and spreading.

Once you see the puffy white trees in early spring, you’ll see them everywhere. Originally from China, they don’t have any threats here.

https://www.nbc12.com/2022/03/23/three-reasons-you-should-chop-down-your-bradford-pear-trees/
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Chop them down and give them to a wood turner or carver. The wood is beautiful, and pear wood is pear wood.

March 24, 2022

Update: In nurse's trial, witness says hospital bears a 'heavy' responsibility for patient death

A lead investigator in the criminal case against former Tennessee nurse RaDonda Vaught testified Wednesday that state investigators found Vanderbilt University Medical Center had a "heavy burden of responsibility" for a grievous drug error that killed a patient in 2017, but pursued penalties and criminal charges only against the nurse and not the hospital itself.

Vaught, 38, was stripped of her nursing license and is now on trial in Nashville, Tenn., for charges of reckless homicide and abuse of an impaired adult. If convicted, she faces as much as 12 years in prison.

Vanderbilt received no punishment for the fatal drug error.

This testimony – from a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent — appears to support defense arguments that Vaught's fatal error was made possible by systemic failures at Vanderbilt. Vaught's attorney, Peter Strianse, has described his client as a "disposable person" who was scapegoated to protect the invaluable reputation of the most prestigious hospital in Tennessee.

"We are engaged in a pretty high-stakes game of musical chairs and blame-shifting. And when the music stopped abruptly, there was no chair for RaDonda Vaught," Strainse said during opening statements. "Vanderbilt University Medical Center? They found a seat."

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/03/24/1088397359/in-nurses-trial-witness-says-hospital-bears-heavy-responsibility-for-patient-dea
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Typical--nurse gets blamed, hospital gets off. Happens every day

March 24, 2022

North Korea tests banned intercontinental missile

North Korea has tested a banned intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time since 2017, South Korea and Japan say.

Japanese officials said it flew 1,100 km (684 miles) and fell in Japanese waters after flying for over an hour.

ICBMs, designed for nuclear arms delivery, could extend North Korea's strike range as far as the US mainland.

The test is being seen as a major escalation by the North and has been condemned by its neighbours and the US.

North Korea has launched a flurry of missile tests in recent weeks.

The US and South Korea have said some of those tests, which Pyongyang claimed were satellite launches, were in fact trials of parts of an ICBM system.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-60858999
________________________________________
Nice missile you got there. Be a shame if anything happened to it.

March 24, 2022

Why scientists believe 'tornado alley' is shifting

Scientists at the National Weather Service are looking through the damage to figure out the scope of Monday’s tornadoes that ripped through Central Texas.

Since Central Texas saw multiple tornadoes along a complicated and long trek of populated areas, scientists say it may take a couple of days to come up with a scale for these storms.

Tornadoes are deciphered using an Enhanced Fujita scale (EF Scale). The EF Scale was developed based on damage intensity which can range from an EF-0 to an EF-5.

EF-3 damage would include destruction to roofs and some walls torn from well-constructed houses; trains overturned; most trees in forested areas uprooted; heavy cars lifted and thrown.

(skip)

Since Yura already knows the destruction did come from a tornado, he’s left with documenting its path from the ground and figuring out how strong the winds were.

“What we saw yesterday afternoon was not common for this region,” said Yura.

https://www.wate.com/news/national-world/why-do-scientists-believe-tornado-alley-is-shifting/

March 24, 2022

Navy deserter lived in Newport on fake ID for 3 decades

A Newport man who fled military service and lived under a stolen identity for more than 40 years was sentenced to prison on Monday.

Jerry Leon Blankenship, 65, had been dishonest about his name with almost everyone, including his girlfriend of thirty years and the mother of his three children, according to court records.

The story begins in 1976, when Blankenship enlisted in the United States Navy. Following basic training, he deserted to avoid future military service, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Blankenship assumed the identity another individual and established a new life under the stolen name in Newport.

A sentencing memo in Blankenship’s case, authored by his defense attorney, claims Blankenship stole this identity at the suggestion of his wife, who was in a child custody battle at the time. The identity Blankenship assumed is noted as “R.C.” or “Randy Clark” in court documents.

“When [redacted] discovered that Jerry was AWOL from the Navy, she suggested to Jerry that she knew enough of R.C.’s details that Jerry might easily lie and pass for R.C. in order to avoid further trouble with the Navy,” the sentencing memo states. “Jerry considered [redacted] offer, and accepted. Not long after, however, [redacted] too, left… Jerry’s choice to accept [redacted] offer profoundly altered the course of the rest of his life.”

Blankenship did not divorce this wife before becoming involved in a long-term relationship with her grown daughter and operating that business with the stolen identity, according to the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

https://www.wate.com/news/local-news/how-a-covid-19-vaccine-helped-investigators-find-a-us-navy-deserter-living-under-a-stolen-identity/
____________________________________________________________________
But wait, there's more!

March 23, 2022

Paul Manafort, Former Trump Aide, Removed From Plane To Dubai

Former Trump adviser Paul Manafort was removed from a plane at Miami International Airport before it took off for Dubai because he carried a revoked passport, officials said Wednesday.

Miami-Dade Police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta confirmed that Manafort was removed from the Emirates Airline flight without incident Sunday night but directed further questions to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. That agency did not immediately respond to an email Wednesday seeking comment.

A lawyer who has represented Manafort did not immediately return a call and email seeking comment Wednesday.

Manafort, 72, led former President Donald Trump’s campaign for several months during the 2016 presidential race but was ousted in August of that year after revelations about his business dealings in Ukraine.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/paul-manafort-trump-removed-plane-dubai_n_623b38d7e4b0f1e82c51ee6c
_______________________________________________________________________________________
And just why were we trying to skin out to Dubai, Mr. Manafort, hmmmmm?

March 23, 2022

Abbott plant behind baby formula recall was unsanitary, FDA says

Baby formula maker Abbott failed to maintain sanitary conditions and procedures at the Michigan manufacturing plant recently linked to a cluster of infant illnesses, according to findings released Tuesday by federal safety inspectors.

The Food and Drug Administration posted its initial inspection findings from the Abbott plant that's been tied to several infant hospitalizations, including two deaths, due to a rare bacterial infection. Abbott recalled various lots of three popular powdered infant formulas in mid-February after four babies reportedly became sick and were hospitalized. The recall was expanded in March to include some lots of Similac PM 60/40 Powdered Instant Formula. FDA inspectors have been on site inspecting the Sturgis, Michigan, facility since late January.

Abbott didn't maintain clean surfaces used in producing and handling the powdered formula, according to the FDA inspection, which concluded last week. Additionally, inspectors found a history of contamination with the bacteria, known as cronobacter, including eight instances between fall 2019 and February of this year.

The report gives the agency's preliminary findings and is likely to be followed by a formal report and a warning to the company.

Food safety advocates who have followed the recall noted that neither the FDA nor the company has been able to explain what caused the contamination.

"This sheds a little more light on what went wrong, but we still don't have all the answers," said Sarah Sorscher of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "Abbott and the FDA really need to do more work to get to the bottom of what happened so we can prevent the next outbreak."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/abbott-baby-formula-recall-fda-details/
_______________________________________________________________
Article does not go into detail, so we still don't know what kind of "unsanitary conditions"

March 23, 2022

ICE Is Creating A New Policy For Subpoenaing Reporters After Trying To Force BuzzFeed News To Turn O

ICE Is Creating A New Policy For Subpoenaing Reporters After Trying To Force BuzzFeed News To Turn Over Information

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are drafting a new policy that would force agents to get approval from senior leaders for any attempt to gain information from reporters through administrative subpoenas, officials told BuzzFeed News in a statement.

The development of a new policy comes more than a year after ICE issued an administrative subpoena during the Trump administration demanding BuzzFeed News identify its sources — an extraordinary attempt by the government to interfere with a news outlet acting under the protections of the First Amendment.

At the time, the move was met with criticism from media rights organizations such as the Committee to Protect Journalists and even former ICE leaders, who called it a blatant overreach. The agency later backed down after BuzzFeed News published a story detailing the demand.

The new policy, which follows a congressional directive included as part of the most recent government funding bill, would make it so ICE personnel must elevate decisions about whether to issue administrative subpoenas to members of the news media to the “the most appropriate senior ICE official, such as the ICE Director.” The agency must also make sure that its employees know of this new policy through training. ICE officials will also have to provide congressional staffers with a copy of the policy and the associated training details within 90 days.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/hamedaleaziz/ice-policy-subpoenaing-reporters

March 23, 2022

Hero Syndrome in Book Banning Efforts

Two years of pandemic living — whether or not best practices were followed — has left an entire generation trying to navigate what life looks like as we try to shift from pandemic to endemic. We’re not there yet and we won’t be for a while, but the changes in our social lives have absolutely made an impact on how we engage with others.

It’d be inappropriate to draw a line from pandemic isolation to pro-censorship groups. There is a line, but it’s not necessarily a straight one. In fact, there are no straight lines anywhere when it comes to today’s censorship culture. Groups like No Left Turn, Moms For Liberty, and any other “parental rights” focused organizations popping up across the US are uniting under the idea that they as parents have not had the right to see and dictate what their children are learning in school. There are several purposes behind these movements, including a push for vouchers and school choice. Another element to this is the belief among these adults that schools are teaching Marxism, and Marxism is tied up on Alfred Kinsey’s sex research. It’s also connected to critical race theory and social emotional learning, and ultimately, school indoctrinates young minds to become queer if they’re not and/or hate themselves if they’re white.

Parents have always had rights. School board meetings have always been open to the public. But because of how the pandemic forced parents to pay more attention where before they never had to, many found the connections with other like-minded adults gave them a way to rally together behind a cause. They’ve turned to local school boards to stand up for what they believe are just causes.

But these school board meetings have turned into something else, too: an opportunity to be a hero. The louder, the more outrageous, the more backed-by-others-in-blue-shirts/red-shirts/people-with-signs, the more attention those citizens receive. The more their names show up in right-wing social media. The more they’re made templates for how to demand rights and ensure “liberty” and “freedom” in eduction.

In Leander, Texas, a woman brandished a pink dildo — one she “borrowed” — to make a point about the content of books made available as optional reading to high schoolers. Everyone remembers the woman with the pink dildo. That someone could quickly search “book ban” and “pink dildo” and get her name gives her hero status.

https://bookriot.com/hero-syndrome-in-book-banning-efforts