Sunday, August 2, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/texas-attorney-general-indicted-on-felony-charges-sources-say/ar-BBljQAB?ocid=iehp

Texas attorney general indicted on felony charges, sources say
USA Today
Tanya Eiserer, Jason Whitely and Jim Douglas
August 1, 2015

Photograph -- © Eric Gay Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, left, with his chief of staff Bernie McNamee, right, waits to testify during a Texas Senate Health and Human Services Committee hearing on Planned Parenthood

McKINNEY, Texas — A grand jury has indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on multiple felony charges, according to several sources who are familiar with the complaints.

The charges will be unsealed in McKinney on Monday about noon, and a Tarrant County judge has already been appointed to preside over the case, sources told WFAA.

After the indictments are unsealed, Paxton can surrender to be photographed, fingerprinted and booked into jail.

It's unclear exactly what Paxton will be indicted for, although a grand jury here has heard evidence that Paxton, 52, violated securities laws.

Special prosecutors in the Paxton case told WFAA they planned to present a third-degree charge of failing to register with the state securities board as the law requires. They also said they planned to present a first-degree felony charge against Paxton accusing him of securities fraud. All indications are that charge is related to Servergy, a McKinney-based company that has been under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Paxton does not have to resign or step down from statewide office as he prepares to face a criminal trial. He can continue to work, just as Gov. Rick Perry did after his two felony indictments in August 2014.

Paxton's case, legal experts predict, will go to trial since his law license and statewide office are now on the line.

He was sworn in as Texas' top law enforcer on Jan. 1. The indictments relate to alleged conduct that occurred while he was serving in the state legislature.

Special prosecutor Kent Schaffer first revealed last month that the Texas Rangers had uncovered new evidence.

He said then that the securities fraud allegations involved losses in excess of $100,000, but Schaffer declined to reveal the specifics of them.

"The Rangers went out to investigate one thing, and they came back with information on something else," Schaffer said in early July. "It's turned into something different than when they started."

On Tuesday, a grand jury heard evidence and testimony presented by special prosecutors Schaffer and fellow special prosecutor Brian Wice in connection with the case. The Texas Rangers investigating the case were also seen entering and leaving the grand jury room.

The two special prosecutors were appointed in April after Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis recused himself from the case.

William Mapp, the founder of Servergy, was also seen entering the courthouse and milling around the grand jury room with his attorney. He and his attorney declined to comment.

Paxton's state filings show he owns at least 10,000 shares of Servergy. His name also appears as a search term in SEC filings accusing Servergy of misleading investors. The filing also listed Paxton's email address under "selected e-mails" of dozens of other contacts.

In those court records, filed in December 2014, the SEC said it was conducting an ongoing investigation into Servergy's "possibly fraudulent statements or omissions related to Servergy's technology and purported business relationships."

The filings accused Servergy of lying to investors about having pre-orders from companies, such as Amazon.

Other than the fact that he owns stock, Paxton's connection to Servergy is not clear.

Allegations of failing to register arose out of Paxton's dealings with friend, business associate and campaign donor Fritz Mowery.

Their working relationship goes way back. They both had offices on the second floor at 206 Kentucky St. in McKinney. Campaign finance records show Mowery donated nearly $16,000 to Paxton's campaigns.

Last May, Paxton was disciplined by the Texas State Securities Board after he admitted to the board that he solicited clients for a friend's investment firm without being registered with the state as the law requires.

According to the disciplinary order, Paxton acted as an "investment advisor" when he solicited clients on behalf of Mowery Capital Management, or MCM.

"Respondent was compensated by MCM for each solicitation resulting in a client relationship with MCM," the order said. "Specifically, MCM agreed to pay Respondent 30 percent of asset management fees collected by MCM from each client that Respondent solicited successfully."

Several clients have said they were not aware of the fee-sharing arrangement.

Paxton paid a $1,000 fine and called it an administrative error.

But that situation ultimately sparked the criminal investigation that led to the appointment of the special prosecutors, the involvement of the Texas Rangers and now the indictments.

Anthony Holm, Paxton's spokesman, has repeatedly said the attorney general has done nothing wrong. Holm also has accused the special prosecutors of being biased and unfair, and engaging in a political witch hunt.

"The securities board was very clear this was no crime," he told WFAA on Tuesday. "It was resolved last spring. It was a civil event. It was a $1,000 fine and we are only here because of liberal activists."

Despite the criminal investigation, Republican state Rep. Matt Krause said Paxton's Tea Party base still supports him.

"I think people are now quick to say, 'Hey let's see where this goes before we get too upset or enraged about it, and see what the facts really are, because maybe there's nothing to it and we don't want to dishonor or disown one of our own,’ " Krause said.




“A grand jury has indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on multiple felony charges, according to several sources who are familiar with the complaints. The charges will be unsealed in McKinney on Monday about noon, and a Tarrant County judge has already been appointed to preside over the case, sources told WFAA. After the indictments are unsealed, Paxton can surrender to be photographed, fingerprinted and booked into jail. …. Special prosecutors in the Paxton case told WFAA they planned to present a third-degree charge of failing to register with the state securities board as the law requires. They also said they planned to present a first-degree felony charge against Paxton accusing him of securities fraud. …. He was sworn in as Texas' top law enforcer on Jan. 1. The indictments relate to alleged conduct that occurred while he was serving in the state legislature. Special prosecutor Kent Schaffer first revealed last month that the Texas Rangers had uncovered new evidence. He said then that the securities fraud allegations involved losses in excess of $100,000, but Schaffer declined to reveal the specifics of them. …. Last May, Paxton was disciplined by the Texas State Securities Board after he admitted to the board that he solicited clients for a friend's investment firm without being registered with the state as the law requires. According to the disciplinary order, Paxton acted as an "investment advisor" when he solicited clients on behalf of Mowery Capital Management, or MCM. "Respondent was compensated by MCM for each solicitation resulting in a client relationship with MCM," the order said. "Specifically, MCM agreed to pay Respondent 30 percent of asset management fees collected by MCM from each client that Respondent solicited successfully." …. Anthony Holm, Paxton's spokesman, has repeatedly said the attorney general has done nothing wrong. Holm also has accused the special prosecutors of being biased and unfair, and engaging in a political witch hunt. "The securities board was very clear this was no crime," he told WFAA on Tuesday. "It was resolved last spring. It was a civil event. It was a $1,000 fine and we are only here because of liberal activists." Despite the criminal investigation, Republican state Rep. Matt Krause said Paxton's Tea Party base still supports him.”

Aggressive business practices are condoned by Republicans mainly because doing anything to make several more bucks is just considered to be smart business activity. I have no doubt that Democrats do these things, too. One thing that concerns me about politics is that nearly everyone who gets elected to any office will make money as a result of their connections and prestige, often a lot of money. There is a certain predatory streak in most politicians and also in businessmen. Few businesses that have grown wealthy are free of dishonesty of some kind. The Republicans yammered after the Clintons about an almost non-existent corruption matter called Whitewater. It was going nowhere despite their efforts until a young woman’s blue dress came into the case. I told somebody then that Republicans tend to have monetary scandals while Democrats have sex scandals. Whatever, the Republicans are on the defensive side now, and apparently with good reason. Paxton’s party members are saying, however, that what he did was a civil matter and not criminal, and the “liberal activists” are being unfair to him. It’s deja vu all over again!





2 ANIMAL POACHING -- TWO ARTICLES


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cecil-zimbabwe-new-lion-poaching-charge-american/

New lion poaching charge against 2nd American
CBS/AP
August 2, 2015

19 Photos -- Lions Jericho, top, and Cecil are seen at the Hwange Game Reserve in Zimbabwe May 27, 2015. BRENT STAPELKAMP
Play VIDEO -- Lion's death prompts Zimbabwe to suspend hunting


HARARE, Zimbabwe - Wildlife authorities in Zimbabwe on Sunday alleged that a second American killed a lion in an illegal hunt several months ago.

In a statement, officials said that a second person, Headman Sibanda, had been arrested in relation to the killing of Cecil the lion "for breaching hunting regulations in that he hunted without a quota and permit at his Railway Farm 31 and is also the owner of Nyala Safaris which conducted the hunt."

The Zimbabwe government said Sibanda has been helping police with their investigation, and they named Jan Casmir Sieski of Murrysville, Pa., as a suspect in another illegal lion hunt.

Also on Sunday, officials dismissed a report of the shooting death of a male lion who was a companion of Cecil, a well-known lion killed alleged to have been by American hunter Dr. Walter Palmer, a Minnesota dentist, in early July. Officials in Zimbabwe have called for Palmer's extradition to face chargers.

The Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority released a photograph of the lion named Jericho that it said was taken Sunday morning.

A statement from the authority said Jericho "is still alive and being monitored" by Brent Stapelkamp, who is following Jericho's movements with the help of a satellite collar on the lion.


The Facebook page of a group called the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said Saturday that Jericho was killed.

Cecil's killing sparked an international outcry. Zimbabwean authorities called it an illegal hunt.

Stapelkamp said Cecil and Jericho oversaw two prides together. The statement from the wildlife authority said the two lions were partners in a "coalition" but were not related.

Palmer has come under intense scrutiny since news of Cecil's demise was spread around.

He sent an email to patients insisting he did not know Cecil was a protected lion. This comes as the guide who led that hunting trip in Zimbabwe suggests Cecil was not the only animal Palmer wanted to kill, CBS News' David Begnaud reports.

In an interview with British newspaper The Telegraph, Palmer's guide, Theo Bronkhorst, said the hunt went "wrong from the beginning."

"We were never meant to hunt on the land where this lion was shot," Bronkhorst said.

Bronkhorst said an elephant carcass was "dragged and moved into the long grass and used for bait."

He claims Palmer shot an arrow at Cecil but wasn't sure if the beloved lion was hit. The next morning, the injured animal was found, and Bronkhorst said Palmer finished him off with a second arrow.

Later, Bronkhorst said Palmer asked "If we would find him an elephant larger than 63 pounds ... (the weight of one tusk), which is a very large elephant, but I told him I would not be able to find one so big, so the client left the next day."



http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/08/01/428426035/jericho-isnt-cecils-brother-and-is-probably-still-alive-lion-researcher-says

Jericho Isn't Cecil's Brother And Is Probably Still Alive, Lion Researcher Says
Bill Chappell
August 1, 2015

Photograph -- Jericho the lion, right, seen here fighting with Cecil last year, was the subject of competing stories Saturday, as groups in Zimbabwe disagreed over whether he had been killed.
KEN WATKINS/SN /Landov

Two non-profit conservation groups in Zimbabwe are telling distinctly different stories about a lion that's seen as an ally of Cecil, the popular 13-year-old animal whose death at the hands of an American hunter in July sparked international outrage.

"We are absolutely heart broken," the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said Saturday, announcing via Facebook page that Jericho, which it called Cecil's brother, was shot and killed at 4 p.m. (local time) Saturday afternoon.

The news was soon picked up by large media outlets. But that report was quickly countered by another conservation group that says the reports of Jericho's death are false. The non-profit Bhejane Trust wrote on its own Facebook page:

"According to Brent Staplekamp at Hwange Lion Research, Jericho was alive and well at 8.30 tonight and moving around Antoinette Estate ( where Cecil was shot) with a female. I can assure you no one is hunting lion on Antoinette after the Cecil incident!"

Perhaps, the trust said, the task force's leaders had confused Jericho with the investigation into another lion that had been shot nearby on July 2.

NPR contacted Dr. Andrew J. Loveridge, who helps run the research project in Hwange that's part of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit in Oxford's Department of Zoology. They're the ones who put tracking collars on both Jericho and Cecil, who was killed by Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer.

"We believe this report is incorrect and will confirm with a sighting of the Jericho tomorrow (it is nightime here)," Loveridge says.

As for the relationship between the two lions, Loveridge says, "Cecil and Jericho are not brothers, but male lions frequently form coalitions with unrelated males in order to successfully hold territories."

Jericho had been mentioned in an update by the WCRU unit earlier Saturday, in which Dr. David Macdonald wrote that Jericho, who had previously been mentioned as a potential threat to Cecil's cubs, was in fact helping to protect them.

"Cecil's coalition involved a partnership with another beautiful male, nicknamed Jericho," Macdonald wrote. "Jericho is as likely as Cecil to be the father of some of the cubs, so he has a stake in their survival. Right now, Jericho is in good health and he (and the lionesses) will defend the cubs."

Agencies in both the U.S. and Zimbabwean governments are looking into Cecil's killing, which reportedly took place after he was lured away from western Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park.




CBS -- “… Headman Sibanda, had been arrested in relation to the killing of Cecil the lion "for breaching hunting regulations in that he hunted without a quota and permit at his Railway Farm 31 and is also the owner of Nyala Safaris which conducted the hunt." …. The Zimbabwe government said Sibanda has been helping police with their investigation, and they named Jan Casmir Sieski of Murrysville, Pa., as a suspect in another illegal lion hunt. Also on Sunday, officials dismissed a report of the shooting death of a male lion who was a companion of Cecil…. A statement from the authority said Jericho "is still alive and being monitored" by Brent Stapelkamp, who is following Jericho's movements with the help of a satellite collar on the lion.

NPR -- "We are absolutely heart broken," the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said Saturday, announcing via Facebook page that Jericho, which it called Cecil's brother, was shot and killed at 4 p.m. (local time) Saturday afternoon. The news was soon picked up by large media outlets. But that report was quickly countered by another conservation group that says the reports of Jericho's death are false. The non-profit Bhejane Trust wrote on its own Facebook page: "According to Brent Staplekamp at Hwange Lion Research, Jericho was alive and well at 8.30 tonight and moving around Antoinette Estate (where Cecil was shot) with a female. I can assure you no one is hunting lion on Antoinette after the Cecil incident!" …. As for the relationship between the two lions, Loveridge says, "Cecil and Jericho are not brothers, but male lions frequently form coalitions with unrelated males in order to successfully hold territories." Jericho had been mentioned in an update by the WCRU unit earlier Saturday, in which Dr. David Macdonald wrote that Jericho, who had previously been mentioned as a potential threat to Cecil's cubs, was in fact helping to protect them.”

And so the sad story continues. Hopefully Jericho will remain safe and no more hunters will kill lions there. I hope laws against sport and trophy hunting will be put into place around the world and enforced. This trend in humans to kill for pleasure is primitive and very useless to the society. Here in the South many homes have the stuffed head of some animal, usually a deer, hung in a prominent place in their living room. I really do hate cruelty and the waste of life. Deer, of course, are not endangered, and hunters here almost always eat the meat. My brother in law always makes a venison roast with his own recipe of herbs. I have to admit it tastes good.





http://www.npr.org/2015/08/01/428076271/winds-of-change-rhode-island-hopes-for-first-offshore-wind-farm

Winds Of Change? Rhode Island Hopes For First Offshore Wind Farm
Ambar Espinoza
AUGUST 01, 2015

Photograph -- The first foundation jacket installed by Deepwater Wind in the nation's first offshore wind farm construction project is seen next to a construction crane on Monday, on the waters of the Atlantic Ocean off Block Island, R.I.
Stephan Savoia/AP

Aboard a ferry off the coast of Rhode Island, state and federal officials take a close look at a steel structure poking out of the ocean. It's the first foundation affixed to the seafloor for a five-turbine wind farm off the state's coast.

It's a contrast to what's happening off the coast of Massachusetts. Developer Cape Wind has spent more than 10 years and millions of dollars there on a massive wind farm that it may never build.

Rhode Island's project, Deepwater Wind, has sailed through by comparison, in part because of its great location, explains Chief Executive Officer Jeff Grybowski. The wind farm will sit three miles off the coast of Block Island, about 12 miles away from the mainland.

"The location off the southeast corner of Block Island has incredibly strong wind and it is quite far from the mainland," Grybowski says.

The nearly 600-foot-tall turbines are far enough from the mainland that most people won't be able to see them from shore. As Grybowski points out, the state of Rhode Island wanted to pioneer this project and chose where to build it.

"That was based on many years of research and public discussion," Grybowski says.

Deepwater Wind underwent far more extensive impact studies than Cape Wind, and the company spent more time engaging important stakeholders. Not everyone in Rhode Island loved the project from the start, but unlike Cape Cod, Block Island wants to replace its expensive source of energy.

"We are one of the highest rates in the country," says David Milner, general manager for the Block Island Power Company, which supplies all of the island's electricity by importing a million gallons of diesel oil every year.

"We got up over 50 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is a huge burden on the businesses out here and the individuals," Milner says.

In New England, the average rate is 16 cents per kilowatt-hour for all sectors.

Year-round Block Island resident Peter Baute stands on the iconic Mohegan Bluffs, which boasts panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean.

"That's interesting there's two platforms out there. Let's just take a look," Baute says.

Baute narrows his eyes as he lifts up binoculars to check out the construction of the offshore wind farm. It promises to reduce electricity costs by 40 percent. He says that will go a long way for an island whose economy relies on summer tourists, because it's home to only about a thousand people for the rest of the year.

"You've got to work hard to make a living in June, July, August and maybe part of September. You've got four months max to break even," Baute says.

When the turbines aren't spinning, the island will draw energy from the mainland through an underwater transmission cable that's part of the wind project. That cable could also bring high-speed internet to the island — another selling point.

Still, a vocal minority of island residents are skeptical about the anticipated benefits of the offshore wind farm. Edith Blane doesn't think it's worth trading in ocean views.

"So that the beauty, and the calm, and the stillness and the loveliness of a summer night — it's never going to be the same again," she says.

With construction underway, Deepwater Wind is on track to build the nation's first offshore wind farm. It has everything Cape Wind doesn't — a utility company buying all of its power and bank loans.

The federal government has auctioned off nine leases for more offshore wind farms. That means all eyes are on Rhode Island to see how it works.




“Aboard a ferry off the coast of Rhode Island, state and federal officials take a close look at a steel structure poking out of the ocean. It's the first foundation affixed to the seafloor for a five-turbine wind farm off the state's coast. …. The nearly 600-foot-tall turbines are far enough from the mainland that most people won't be able to see them from shore. …. Not everyone in Rhode Island loved the project from the start, but unlike Cape Cod, Block Island wants to replace its expensive source of energy. "We are one of the highest rates in the country," says David Milner, general manager for the Block Island Power Company, which supplies all of the island's electricity by importing a million gallons of diesel oil every year. …. It promises to reduce electricity costs by 40 percent. He says that will go a long way for an island whose economy relies on summer tourists, because it's home to only about a thousand people for the rest of the year. .… When the turbines aren't spinning, the island will draw energy from the mainland through an underwater transmission cable that's part of the wind project. That cable could also bring high-speed internet to the island — another selling point. …. With construction underway, Deepwater Wind is on track to build the nation's first offshore wind farm. It has everything Cape Wind doesn't — a utility company buying all of its power and bank loans. The federal government has auctioned off nine leases for more offshore wind farms. That means all eyes are on Rhode Island to see how it works.”

I do hope this plan works out socially and economically. As we go further into the technological future people are going to have to get used to some of these things, and I don’t think wind farms are unsightly at all. They’re modern looking for sure, but I usually like that, and the designs that I have seen in photos have a slim, simple and rather graceful appearance. I feel the same way about solar arrays. There have been complaints that some birds can’t see the arms turning and have been known to fly into them. The same thing used to happen in NC when birds came toward our large “picture window. We got some decals of flowers and birds to stick onto the glass so birds could tell by looking that it was there. ’That probably is a small number I would think unless migrating flocks happen to come through. We definitely need to replace fossil fuels for electrical production – no CO2 emissions at all that way.




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sean-bolton-manhunt-memphis-cop-killer/

Manhunt underway for Memphis cop killer
CBS/AP
August 2, 2015

Photograph -- Memphis police officer Sean Bolton MEMPHIS POLICE DEPARTMENT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A manhunt continued Sunday following the fatal shooting of a Memphis police officer who was killed the previous night during a traffic stop, Tennessee police officials said.

Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong said during a news conference that police were alerted about 9:18 p.m. Saturday that an officer had been shot multiple times. Armstrong said the officer was transported in critical condition to a hospital, where he died.

In a statement Sunday morning, Memphis Police identified the slain officer as Sean Bolton, 33. Police also said that a civilian had used Bolton's radio to notify police about the shooting. No further details were released.

Bolton was shot near one of the main arteries in southeast Memphis, an area that includes homes, apartments and businesses. Police are looking for potential witnesses and are asking for members of the public who have information about the suspect to come forward. No suspects have been publicly identified.

Armstrong said police have not made an arrest and the suspect is on the run. He said police are using all available resources to find the shooter.

CBS affiliate WREG in Memphis reports Bolton was a military veteran.

Armstrong said officers are grieving, adding that "this is just a reminder of how dangerous" the job is.

At a late night news conference, Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong released the following statement: "It doesn't get any easier. This is a very difficult time, not only for me as director, but for all the officers you see standing behind me. And a difficult time for our city as well. So I ask that you give us the respect that we need... and the space that we need to grieve, and the time that we need to prepare to lay our brother to rest."

Bolton is the third Memphis officer to be fatally shot in slightly more than four years. Officer Tim Warren was killed while responding to a shooting at a downtown Memphis hotel in July 2011. In December 2012, Officer Martoiya Lang was killed while serving a warrant.

Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton Jr. said Bolton's death "speaks volumes about the inherent danger of police work" and asked others to "pray for the family and pray for our city."

"The men and women in blue have certain rules of engagement that they have to follow, but at any given minute in a 24-hour day they're dealing with folks who have no rules of engagement."




“Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong said during a news conference that police were alerted about 9:18 p.m. Saturday that an officer had been shot multiple times. Armstrong said the officer was transported in critical condition to a hospital, where he died. In a statement Sunday morning, Memphis Police identified the slain officer as Sean Bolton, 33. Police also said that a civilian had used Bolton's radio to notify police about the shooting. No further details were released. …. Police are looking for potential witnesses and are asking for members of the public who have information about the suspect to come forward. No suspects have been publicly identified. Armstrong said police have not made an arrest and the suspect is on the run. He said police are using all available resources to find the shooter. CBS affiliate WREG in Memphis reports Bolton was a military veteran. Armstrong said officers are grieving, adding that "this is just a reminder of how dangerous" the job is. …. "The men and women in blue have certain rules of engagement that they have to follow, but at any given minute in a 24-hour day they're dealing with folks who have no rules of engagement."

Police operating without rules of engagement have been the problem in most of the cases that hit the news this year. That doesn’t mean that police should be shot, however, and especially out of hatred or revenge. The case in NYC last year when the two officers were shot at close range in their car while parked was a tragedy. That had to have been pure murder. I do hope that this officer Bolton had not engaged in any harassment of this killer, whoever he was, while on the traffic stop. If we do get to a war that will serve nobody’s best ends.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-campaign-investigating-staffers-controversial-facebook-posts/

Trump campaign investigating staffer's controversial Facebook posts
By REENA FLORES CBS NEWS
August 1, 2015

Photograph -- Republican presidential hopeful and businessman Donald Trump fields questions at The Family Leadership Summit at Stephens Auditorium July 18, 2015, in Ames, Iowa. SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES

A top political adviser to Donald Trump has added to his presidential campaign's charges of racially inappropriate comments.

The campaign is investigating Sam Nunberg, an aide to the billionaire businessman's 2016 campaign, who reportedly made several offensive comments on a personal Facebook page dating back to 2007.

One post, uncovered by Business Insider, called the Rev. Al Sharpton's daughter the n-word. Others referred to President Obama as a "Socialist Marxist Islamo Fascist Nazi Appeaser," "Farrakahn's Messiah," and a "Pan Arabist Marxist Muslim." Before Mr. Obama was inaugurated in 2009, Nunberg commented that there were "still tickets available for the Hip Hop Inaugral [sic] Ball - G-D help us!"

The Trump campaign denounced the social media postings, calling the remarks "offensive" and pledging to scrutinize them further.

"They were offensive, and they do not reflect Mr. Trump's position, and we take them very seriously," Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said in a statement to CBS News Friday. "If it is determined that Mr. Nunberg made these statements, then he will no longer be part of the campaign."

Republicans were not immune from Nunberg's Facebook attacks.

He criticized Arizona Sen. John McCain as one of the "open border Republicans" that is throwing the GOP "down Taco Bell's toilet." He also repeatedly referred to the 2008 presidential nominee as "McLame."

McCain has also been the frequent target of Trump's own condemnation, like when the real estate magnate said McCain was "not a war hero" despite being a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Nunberg has also called former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani a "punk ... with a bad lisp," nicknamed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee "Huckahick" and dubbed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie "a fat slob who should register as a Democrat."

Nunberg denied to Business Insider that he remembered making any of the comments, saying he was "shocked" and did not recall them.

CBS News digital journalist Sopan Deb contributed to this report.




“A top political adviser to Donald Trump has added to his presidential campaign's charges of racially inappropriate comments. The campaign is investigating Sam Nunberg, an aide to the billionaire businessman's 2016 campaign, who reportedly made several offensive comments on a personal Facebook page dating back to 2007. One post, uncovered by Business Insider, called the Rev. Al Sharpton's daughter the n-word. Others referred to President Obama as a "Socialist Marxist Islamo Fascist Nazi Appeaser," "Farrakahn's Messiah," and a "Pan Arabist Marxist Muslim." Before Mr. Obama was inaugurated in 2009, Nunberg commented that there were "still tickets available for the Hip Hop Inaugral [sic] Ball - G-D help us!" …. . "If it is determined that Mr. Nunberg made these statements, then he will no longer be part of the campaign." …. Republicans were not immune from Nunberg's Facebook attacks. He criticized Arizona Sen. John McCain as one of the "open border Republicans" that is throwing the GOP "down Taco Bell's toilet." He also repeatedly referred to the 2008 presidential nominee as "McLame." McCain has also been the frequent target of Trump's own condemnation, like when the real estate magnate said McCain was "not a war hero" despite being a prisoner of war in Vietnam. …. Nunberg denied to Business Insider that he remembered making any of the comments, saying he was "shocked" and did not recall them.”

I have noticed on the Google G+ site that while most people who comment are genuinely interested in saying something relevant, helpful, and enlightening, there are some who are hardcore abusers of everyone who happens to come into the public eye. This Nunberg, however, was so crude and callous, and against several different people, that he reminds me of his boss, Donald Trump. Could it be that in private they talk like that together in a celebration of their hatred of anyone who doesn’t share their values or who has dared to oppose them? I think they should look through Trumps Facebook and see what is in there.

It’s really stupid to say all those things on Facebook, because it’s not private (or mine isn’t anyway), and it seems to me that a charge of libel could be brought against him. See below for ways this guy can get into trouble. According to the Yahoo comments below, Nunberg can only be sued in the US, and may be if he keeps that up, while in Canada it is a criminal offense. It isn’t as if the people he is libeling so freely are not famous and wealthy enough to pay the legal fees for a suit, and could possible bring a claim of personal injury too if their run for a political office was actually harmed. There was one man in the news sometime within the last few years for suing HUNDREDS of people. He sued his dry cleaner for losing his pants. Some people get as big a thrill out of suing their enemies as Nunberg gets out of defaming them.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearson_v._Chung

Pearson v. Chung
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“Pearson v. Chung, better known as the "pants lawsuit",[1] is a civil case filed in 2005 by Roy L. Pearson, Jr., an administrative law judge in the District of Columbia in the United States, following a dispute with a dry cleaning company over a lost pair of trousers. Pearson filed suit against Soo Chung, Jin Nam Chung and Ki Y. Chung, the owners of Custom Cleaners in Washington, D.C., initially demanding $67 million for inconvenience, mental anguish and attorney's fees for representing himself, as a result of their failure, in Pearson's opinion, to live up to a "satisfaction guaranteed" sign that was displayed in the store. The case drew international attention. [2][3”



http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/libel-vs-slander-different-types-defamation.html

Libel vs. Slander: Different Types of Defamation:

Libel and slander are types of defamatory statements. Libel is a written defamatory statement, and slander is a spoken or oral defamatory statement.

These days, the most common places for making possibly libelous (written) statements are:
•letters to the editor of local newspapers
•public comments on media (i.e., newspaper or magazine) web sites
•blog posts
•comments to blog posts, and
•internet chat rooms or listservers.

In reality, you won’t see too many potentially libelous comments in published written letters to the editor because editors are generally very careful in screening out such letters. It is on the internet where people can get into trouble with libel. While some web sites screen posts for inflammatory or illegal content, the screening systems are not geared to examine every post for libelous content.


https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100508183916AApWRN0

“In the U.S., libel is not criminal. In many parts of the world, it is.

However, crimes you may have committed (in the U.S.) include mail fraud (if you sent the fliers by mail), reckless endangerment (if you were reckless about the risk some irate parent would kick the accused pedophile's rear end), and even conspiracy or solicitation to get someone to beat this guy up.”





http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/08/02/428650558/president-obama-to-unveil-tough-proposal-targeting-greenhouse-gases

President Obama To Unveil Tough Proposal Targeting Greenhouse Gases
Eyder Peralta
August 2, 2015

Photograph -- A close carbon-fired power plant outside Helper, Utah.
George Frey /Landov

Calling it the "biggest, most important step we've ever taken to combat climate change," President Obama said his administration would unveil the final version of a proposal aimed at curbing the amount of carbon pollution put out by power plants.

NPR's Scott Horsley reports that the new regulations are actually tougher than the ones unveiled by the Environmental Protection Agency in a draft proposal in June of 2014.

Two big numbers: The regulations require that power plants cut carbon emissions by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. That number was 30 percent in the draft proposal. The rules also demand that 28 percent of a power plant's generating capacity come from renewable sources such as wind and solar. That number was 22 percent in the proposed rule.

As Scott puts it, these new regulations, which the White House calls America's Clean Power Plan, is the centerpiece of the Obama administration's plan to combat climate change.

"The administration has been pushing other big countries — China, India, Brazil — to take similarly aggressive action in advance of an international summit in Paris later this year," Scott reports.

Of course, this new regulation is already controversial and likely faces a drawn-out legal battle.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, wrote an op-ed back in March calling on states to "hold back on the costly process of complying."

"States report that the regulation's mandates are not technologically achievable, cannot be implemented under rushed timelines and threaten both state economies and energy reliability for families," McConnell wrote.

In a video released overnight by the White House, President Obama says climate change is an urgent matter. Power plants, he said, are the single biggest source of carbon pollution.

"Climate change is not a problem for another generation," he says. "Not anymore."

He concludes: "Remind everyone who represents you that protecting the world we leave to our children is a prerequisite for your vote. Join us. We can do this. It's time for America and the world to act on climate change."

The final rules do move back the date by which states must start complying with the regulations from 2020 to 2022.




“NPR's Scott Horsley reports that the new regulations are actually tougher than the ones unveiled by the Environmental Protection Agency in a draft proposal in June of 2014. Two big numbers: The regulations require that power plants cut carbon emissions by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. That number was 30 percent in the draft proposal. The rules also demand that 28 percent of a power plant's generating capacity come from renewable sources such as wind and solar. That number was 22 percent in the proposed rule. …. "The administration has been pushing other big countries — China, India, Brazil — to take similarly aggressive action in advance of an international summit in Paris later this year," Scott reports. …. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, wrote an op-ed back in March calling on states to "hold back on the costly process of complying." "States report that the regulation's mandates are not technologically achievable, cannot be implemented under rushed timelines and threaten both state economies and energy reliability for families," McConnell wrote. In a video released overnight by the White House, President Obama says climate change is an urgent matter. Power plants, he said, are the single biggest source of carbon pollution. "Climate change is not a problem for another generation," he says. "Not anymore."

The number of visible threats from climate change has startled me because I really thought it would be maybe 20 or 30 years before it really began to happen, but that isn’t so. The drying up of large parts of California, the diminishment of Alaskan glaciers, the melting of sea ice with the possible extinction of the polar bears, the decreasing amount of underground water reserves, and of course the fact that the ocean is in several places noticeably creeping higher and higher up the shoreline are already upon us. There was a scary article on sea level rise on the US east coast. The time to try to get a handle on a dozen or more related problems is NOW. For more on this, see the two related National Geographic articles below.



http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/06/120625-sea-level-rise-east-coast-us-science-nature-climate-change/

Sea Levels Rising Fast on U.S. East Coast
By Charles Q. Choi, for National Geographic News
PUBLISHED June 27, 2012

Not clear whether human-caused global warming is to blame, experts say.

Photograph -- The last house on Holland Island, Maryland, where 360 people lived before tides took over (file picture).
Photograph by Astrid Riecken for the Washington Post/Getty Images

Sea level rise on the U.S. East Coast has accelerated much faster than in other parts of the world—roughly three to four times the global average, a new study says.

Calling the heavily populated region a sea level rise hot spot, researchers warn that cities such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore could face a more flood-prone future.

(Also see "New York, Boston 'Directly in Path' of Sea Level Rise.")

Sea levels worldwide are expected to rise as global warming melts ice and causes water to expand. Those levels, though, are expected to vary from place to place, due to factors such as ocean currents, differences in seawater temperature and saltiness, and the Earth's shape.

Now it seems scientists have pinpointed just such a variance.

Analyzing tide-level data from much of North America, U.S. Geological Survey scientists unexpectedly found that sea levels in the 600-mile (1,000-kilometer) stretch of coast from Cape Hatteras (map), North Carolina, to the Boston area climbed by about 2 to 3.8 millimeters a year, on average, between 1950 and 2009.

Global sea level rise averaged about 0.6 to 1 millimeter annually over the same period.

"If you talk with residents of this hot spot area in their 70s or 80s who've lived there all their lives, they'll tell you water is coming higher now in winter storms than it ever did before," said study co-author Peter Howd, an oceanographer contracted with the USGS.

"We're now finally getting to the point where we can measure their observations with our highfalutin scientific instruments."

Flood of Data

At New York City, the team extrapolated, sea levels could rise by 7.8 to 11.4 inches (20 to 29 centimeters) by 2100—in addition to the roughly 3 feet (1 meter) of average sea level rise expected worldwide by then. (Related: "New York Seas to Rise Twice as Much as Rest of U.S.")

For residents of New York and cities up and down the eastern seaboard, those numbers should become a lot more than ink on paper.

"The first thing people will see from this is an increase over the next few decades in the low-level coastal flooding that occurs now with wintertime storms," Howd said.

"Eventually you'll see coastal flooding events three to four times a year instead of once every three to four years."

But it's not just cities that are expected to suffer.

"The northeast coast of the U.S. is flat," said climate modeler Jianjun Yin at the University of Arizona, who did not participate in this research. "Even gradual sea level rise could cause rapid retreat of shoreline and significant loss of wetland habitats."

(Related: "Groundwater Depletion Accelerates Sea-Level Rise.")

Mysteries of East Coast Sea Level Rise

It's still something of a mystery why the U.S. East Coast is bearing the brunt of sea level rise. Maybe, the researchers say, fresh water from Greenland's melting ice is disrupting North Atlantic currents, slowing the Gulf Stream and causing East Coast sea levels to rise.

It's also unclear to what extent humans may be to blame.

"This could be part of a natural cycle maybe 100 to 200 years long. Or not," study ao-author Howd said. "We need more data over years to help build climate models and greater understanding."

The team cautions too that the East Coast may not be alone.

"We're now looking into extending our analysis to see if hot spots in sea level rise show up in other places around the globe," said USGS oceanographer Kara Doran, who co-authored the study, published June 24 by the journal Nature Climate Change.

Nothing to See Here?

The new findings come at a particularly interesting political moment in one of the states in the sea level hot zone.

Concerned over regulations that could result from recent sea level rise forecasts, some North Carolina legislators have drafted a bill requiring that future state sea level forecasts be based on only past patterns.

"Trying to ban the use of the best science for sea level predictions is absurd," said University of Pennsylvania coastal geologist Ben Horton, who wasn't part of the new study.

NASA climate scientist Josh Willis agreed, adding that such efforts "are sort of a case of human nature trying to outwit Mother Nature, and Mother Nature usually wins that battle of wits.

"It's really shortsighted to assume that the next hundred years of sea level rise are going to be like the last hundred years," Willis added. "We're already seeing glaciers and ice sheets melt more quickly, and the ocean absorbing more heat and expanding—things that drive sea level rise."



http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/05/120531-groundwater-depletion-may-accelerate-sea-level-rise/

Groundwater Depletion Accelerates Sea-Level Rise
By Richard Lovett, For National Geographic News
PUBLISHED June 01, 2012

As aquifers are pumped out around the world, the water ultimately makes it to the oceans.

Photograph -- A Tanzanian teenager scoops up muddy water from a well. Many of the world's aquifers are being pumped out faster than they can replenish, a process that will increase sea level rise.
Photograph by Lynn Johnson, National Geographic


Groundwater depletion will soon be as important a factor in contributing to sea-level rise as the melting of glaciers other than those in Greenland and Antarctica, scientists say.

That's because water pumped out of the ground for irrigation, industrial uses, and even drinking must go somewhere after it's used—and, whether it runs directly into streams and rivers or evaporates and falls elsewhere as rain, one likely place for it to end up is the ocean.

To find out how much of an effect this has on sea level, a team of Dutch scientists led by hydrologist Yoshihide Wada, a Ph.D. researcher at Utrecht University, divided the Earth's land surface into 31-by-31-mile (50-by-50 kilometer) squares on a grid to calculate present and future groundwater usage.

To make the calculation as precise as possible, they used not only current groundwater-use statistics from each country, but also economic growth and development projections. They also took into account the impact of climate change on regional water needs, considering "all the major factors that contribute," Wada said.

Because aquifers can be refilled, the scientists also used climate, rainfall, and hydrological models to calculate the rate of groundwater recharge for each region. From this, they projected the net rate of groundwater depletion.

(Related: "Water for a Thirsty World")

The Reservoir Connection

Newly constructed reservoirs above ground can offset the net loss of water underground. These, Wada said, trap water that would otherwise reach the sea.

Before 1990 or so, he added, that offset was large enough that the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change never took groundwater depletion into account in predicting 21st-century sea-level rise.

But that offset is no longer as significant as it once was, Wada said. "There are not so many places where people can build new reservoirs," he said. "They are already built."

Already, he and his colleagues have found, groundwater depletion is adding about 0.6 millimeters per year (about one-fortieth of an inch) to the Earth's sea level. By 2050, he said, the triple pressures of growing population, economic development, and higher irrigation needs due to a warming climate will increase that to 0.82 millimeters per year—enough to raise sea levels by 40 millimeters (1.6 inches) above 1990 levels. Between 2050 and 2100, according to some estimates, sea levels would rise even faster.

To put that in perspective, he said, groundwater depletion adds about 25 percent to projected rates of sea-level rise, making it the largest contributor from land to sea-level rise other than the melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Even the melting of glaciers in the world's high mountains won't contribute more to rising sea levels, Wada said.

Multiple Challenges

What's more, groundwater depletion isn't the only way in which water now stored on land can find its way into the sea. The draining of wetlands, Wada said, has the same effect, as do declining water levels in bodies of water from the Dead Sea to Asia's giant Caspian Sea.

Even deforestation adds to the effect, he said, because trees hold large quantities of water that evaporates when the wood is used for lumber, paper, and other manufactured goods.

"This water goes to the oceans, as well," Wada said.

Overall, he calculated, these minor factors add nearly another 6 percent to the total effect from non-ice, land-based sources.

The Bigger Picture

Other scientists are skeptical. "This is an interesting study," said Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science's Department of Global Ecology, in Stanford, California.

In an email, he said, the researchers might have overstated their findings by failing to realize that groundwater seeps into rivers, increasing their flow. Lowering the groundwater table will reduce this seepage, he said, partially offsetting the effect by reducing the amount of river water reaching the sea.

Also, he noted, the study projects that groundwater depletion and related effects could produce as much as a 4-inch (10-centimeter) rise in sea level by 2100.

"Since land covers only about 30 percent of the planet, this means that you would need to deplete an average of 33 centimeters (about 13 inches) of water from all the land on our planet. This is a huge amount of water."

Another problem is that the study does not take into account the increasing difficulty of pumping water from depleted aquifers, said Leonard Konikow, a hydrogeologist at the U.S. Geological Survey's office in Reston, Virginia. "The rate of pumping will have to decrease."

Wada agrees this is a potential problem in the study. "We don't have good data on [that]," he said. "If the groundwater table becomes too low, the farmer with low technology might not be able to pump anymore."

But, Konikow said, his own research (published in Geophysical Research Letters) suggests that Wada's team's estimates are still too high by about 30 to 35 percent.

"Their method of estimating depletion is based on indirect calculations based on global climate models," he said. "My own estimates are based on volumetric analyses of aquifer systems throughout the world, in which we're actually looking at water-level changes in as many aquifers as possible."

(Related: "Calculate Your Own Water Footprint")

Still, he noted, it's an important effect. "I think it has to be considered in predicting future sea level," he said.

Wada said the solution is to find ways of improving the efficiency of water in agriculture: in essence learning to grow more, with less.

Caldeira agreed. "I think this says more about the mismanagement of our land than it does about the threat from sea-level rise," he said.

The new research was published earlier this month in Geophysical Research Letters.