September 10, 2016


News and Views


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sec-of-state-john-kerry-announces-cease-fire-deal-with-russia-in-syria/

U.S., Russia announce breakthrough cease-fire deal in Syria
CBS/AP
September 9, 2016, 6:44 PM

Photograph -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, meet in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, Sept. 9, 2016, to discuss the crisis in Syria. KEVIN LAMARQUE/POOL PHOTOS VIA AP
21 PHOTOS -- War in Syria
13 PHOTOS -- "Starvation as a weapon of war" in Syria


GENEVA - The United States and Russia announced early Saturday a breakthrough agreement on Syria that foresees a nationwide cease-fire starting early next week, followed by an unlikely new military partnership between the rival governments targeting the Islamic State and al Qaeda.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the plan could reduce violence in Syria and lead to a long-sought political transition, ending more than five years of bloodshed. He called the deal a potential “turning point” in a conflict that has killed as many as 500,000 people, if complied with by Syria’s Russian-backed government and U.S.-supported rebel groups.

The cease-fire begins at sundown Monday, Kerry said, coinciding with the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.

Kerry’s negotiating partner, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, confirmed the agreement and said it could help expand the counterterrorism fight and aid deliveries to Syrian civilians. He said Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government was prepared to comply.

The deal culminates months of frenetic diplomacy that included four meetings between Kerry and Lavrov since Aug. 26. The arrangement hinges on Moscow pressuring Assad’s government to halt all offensive operations against Syria’s armed opposition and civilian areas. Washington must persuade “moderate” rebels to break ranks with the Nusra Front, al-Qaida’s Syria affiliate, and other extremist groups.

Both sides have failed to deliver their ends of the bargain over several previous truces.

But the new arrangement goes further by promising a new U.S.-Russian counterterrorism alliance, only a year after President Barack Obama chastised Russia for a military intervention that U.S. officials said was mainly designed to keep Assad in power and target more moderate anti-Assad forces.

The deal includes intelligence sharing and targeting coordination, a level of U.S.-Russian interaction that has upset several leading national security officials in Washington, including Defense Secretary Ash Carter and National Intelligence Director James Clapper. The joint military work would only begin after several days of adherence to the new cease-fire.

Kerry appeared at the news conference after several hours of internal U.S. discussions.

At one point, Lavrov said he was considering “calling it a day” on talks, expressing frustration with what he described as an hours-long wait for a U.S. response. He then presented journalists with several boxes of pizza, saying, “This is from the U.S. delegation,” and two bottles of vodka, adding, “This is from the Russian delegation.”

The Geneva negotiating session, which last more than 13 hours, underscored the complexity of a conflict that includes myriad militant groups, shifting alliances and the rival interests of the U.S. and Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran, and Turkey and the Kurds.

Getting Assad’s government and rebel groups to comply with the deal may now be more difficult as fighting rages around the divided city of Aleppo, Syria’s most populous and the new focus of a war that has killed as many as 500,000 people.

Assad’s government appeared to tighten its siege of the former Syrian commercial hub in the last several days, seizing several key transit points. Forty days of fighting in Aleppo has killed nearly 700 civilians, including 160 children, according to a Syrian human rights group. Volunteer first responders said they pulled the bodies of nine people, including four children, from rubble following air raids Friday on a rebel-held area.

In addition to those killed, Syria’s conflict has chased millions of people from their homes, contributing to Europe’s worst refugee crisis since World War II. Amid the chaos of fighting between Syria’s government and rebels, the Islamic State group has emerged as a global terror threat.



I do believe we need to cooperate with the Russkies, despite the long and deep history of competition with them, so this is good news. It would be even better if it were a peace treaty, of course, since truces and cease fires in that part of the world tend to last a very short time. I have totally given up on the relations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Still, every time we get news like this it does give me some hope. I hope that little bit of peace grows and multiplies.



4:14 PM -- http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-holds-biggest-military-drill-yet-annexed-crimea-n646086

Russia Holds Biggest Military Drill Yet in Annexed Crimea
by MARIA STROMOVA, NEWS
SEP 10 2016, 3:06 PM ET

Play Watch -- Russia Display Military Might in Annexed Crimea Facebook Twitter Google Plus Embed
Watch Russia Display Military Might in Annexed Crimea 0:54
Image: Russia's navy ships and helicopters take part in a military exercise in Crimea. VASILY MAXIMOV / AFP - Getty Images


MOSCOW — Russia has staged one its largest ever military drills in the annexed Crimea peninsula, deploying missiles and rocket launchers in an explosive and spectacular display of might.

Fighter jets, paratroopers and navy sailors are among 120,000 military personnel taking part in a month of drills across Russia's southern frontiers, including the Caucasus.

On Friday, the exercises continued with a spectacular show on the former Ukrainian peninsula whose annexation in 2014 began an ongoing dispute between Russia and the West and kicked off a war in Ukraine's east.

Despite the muscle-flexing near the border, Russian military officials claimed the drill was long-planned and had nothing to do with antagonizing Moscow's enemies.

"It's absolute nonsense," Russian Defense Ministry press spokesman, General Igor Konashenkov, told journalists at the Opuk training ground in Crimea. "This is not a provocation. I want to emphasize once again that this was a planned event."

He said: "This is absolutely not a demonstration [of force]. This is a drill which only has one goal - maintaining and improving combat readiness of the Russian Armed Forces."

However, he admitted it was the first time the drill of such a scale was held in the peninsula.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg earlier accused Russia of not informing it about the exercises, saying it was not observing agreements between OSCE countries on confidence and security-building.



Just as three-year old boys are sufficiently fascinated with guns to pick one up and shoot a family member, so are men of all cultures with their larger and more dangerous toys. Putin certainly should have informed NATO and put out a statement beforehand, but I’m sure there is no evil intent here. We have always called that kind of thing “war games,” because that’s exactly what it is. Of course we always perform naval maneuvers off the coast of Korea in coordination with South Korean forces for the practice and to make a visible stand against North Korea. The story today about Korea having a newer and better nuclear bomb is also a “game,” but one with a darker feeling.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hillary-clinton-half-donald-trump-supporters-basket-of-deplorables/

Hillary Clinton: Half of Donald Trump supporters in "basket of deplorables"
By REENA FLORES CBS NEWS
September 10, 2016, 11:35 AM


Hillary Clinton, speaking Friday at a big-ticket fundraiser in New York City, said half of Donald Trump’s supporters could be categorized into a “basket of deplorables,” implying that his backers hold “irredeemable” views on issues of race, gender and religion.

“To just be grossly generalist, you can put half of Trump supporters into what I call ‘the basket of deplorables,’” Clinton told donors gathered at a Manhattan restaurant. “Racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, you name it. And unfortunately, there are people like that, and he has lifted them up.”

“He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people, now have 11 million,” she continued, referencing Trump’s campaign hire of Breitbart News’ Steve Bannon. “He tweets and retweets offensive, hateful, mean-spirited rhetoric.”

The Democratic nominee noted that “some of those folks -- they are irredeemable, but they are not America.”

Clinton, who was introduced by celebrities Laverne Cox and Barbra Streisand, went on to describe the “other basket.”

“The other basket, and I know because I look at this crowd, I see friends from all over America here…But that other basket of people are people who feel that government has let them down, the economy has let them down, nobody cares about them, nobody worries about what happens to their lives and their futures,” she said. “They are just desperate for change. Doesn’t really even matter where it comes from.”

Outrage spread on Twitter almost immediately after Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” line, which GOP pollster Frank Luntz noted was similar to the campaign-sinking “47 percent” comments made by Mitt Romney in 2012.

14h
Frank Luntz ✔ @FrankLuntz
Hillary Clinton just insulted millions of hard-working Americans simply because they don't want to vote for her.http://cnn.it/2cMsNbi
Follow
Frank Luntz ✔ @FrankLuntz
Tonight, Hillary Clinton just had her "47 percent" moment.

Expect poll numbers to get even tighter after this one. #Deplorables
11:09 PM - 9 Sep 2016
1,173 1,173 Retweets 1,702 1,702 likes
Trump’s children mocked Clinton further on Twitter, using trending hashtags like #basketofdeplorables to defend their father:

View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter
Follow
Eric Trump ✔ @EricTrump
Look at the #BasketOfDeplorables in Pensacola Florida last night! What a horrible statement. #CrookedHillary
10:29 AM - 10 Sep 2016
5,396 5,396 Retweets 8,300 8,300 likes
Follow
Donald Trump Jr. ✔ @DonaldJTrumpJr
You know what's #deplorable? Attacking hard working Americans, upset because their jobs have been sent abroad by politicians like Hillary
9:34 AM - 10 Sep 2016
1,660 1,660 Retweets 3,232 3,232 likes
Trump even fired back at Clinton on the social media platform, blasting Clinton Saturday morning that she had been “SO INSULTING to my supporters.”

Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Wow, Hillary Clinton was SO INSULTING to my supporters, millions of amazing, hard working people. I think it will cost her at the Polls!
8:47 AM - 10 Sep 2016
11,907 11,907 Retweets 32,237 32,237 likes
The Clinton campaign, for its part, has backed their candidate’s comments, saying that while Trump’s supporters don’t all fit into that category, several are part of the so-called alt-right “hate movement.”

Clinton spokesperson Nick Merrill tweeted this late Friday night:

Follow
Nick Merrill @NickMerrill
(1/3) She gave an entire speech about how the alt right movement is using his campaign to advance its hate movement. https://twitter.com/gdebenedetti/status/774441040082337797 …
11:11 PM - 9 Sep 2016
501 501 Retweets 638 638 likes
14h
Nick Merrill @NickMerrill
(2/3) Obviously not everyone supporting Trump is part of the alt right, but alt right leaders are with Trump.
Follow
Nick Merrill @NickMerrill
(3/3) And their supporters appear to make up half his crowd when you observe the tone of his events.
11:13 PM - 9 Sep 2016
383 383 Retweets 648 648 likes



“Outrage spread on Twitter almost immediately after Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” line, which GOP pollster Frank Luntz noted was similar to the campaign-sinking “47 percent” comments made by Mitt Romney in 2012.” Despite the amount of true abuse Trump has thrown at Hillary, and that we have thrown at Trump personally, this one really is dangerous. Them’s fightin’ words!! I hope this doesn’t convince others to join the Alt-right themselves. Trump is incredibly crude and rude and simply “deplorable” in my book, but there is something about SMUGNESS that may work at the time, but it infuriates people in a way that leaves them no really effective self-defense except to beat the **** out of the conceited ******. Careful, Hillary!! Your personal popularity is limited and fragile.

4:07 PM, Guess what! Clinton “regrets” her words. Read this article for the details.

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/clinton-regrets-calling-half-trump-supporters-basket-deplorables-n646126



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-york-police-arrest-man-robbery-93-year-old-woman-wheelchair/

New York police arrest man in robbery of 93-year-old woman in wheelchair
CBS NEWS
September 10, 2016, 9:19 AM

New York City detectives lead Broyoan Lopez out of the 25th Precinct stationhouse after his arrest in a brazen East Harlem robbery on Sept. 9, 2016. CBS NEW YORK


NEW YORK -- A suspect was arrested Friday in connection with a robbery of a 93-year-old woman that was caught on surveillance video in New York City, CBS New York reports.

Police found the suspect Friday morning after finding clues through surveillance video.

Broyoan Lopez, 26, was charged with robbery, grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, according to police.

Lopez had no words, hanging his head down and ignoring reporters’ questions as he was led out of the 25th Precinct stationhouse Friday morning.

Police said Lopez was seen on surveillance video reaching into 93-year-old Maria Vasquez’s bra as she sat in her wheelchair Wednesday inside of a clothing store in the East Harlem neighborhood and grabbing an envelope filled with $600 in cash.

Police also said they saw Lopez on video at the bank where she cashed her check and say he followed her – having seen where she put the cash.

On Friday, Vasquez was back at the scene of the crime. This time, she was there to gratefully accept a gift of $600 from the store along with a pair of shoes that her home health attendant was helping her shop for when the thief took advantage.

Speaking in Spanish, Vasquez said the young man was very fresh reaching under her shirt in such a fashion.

Vasquez said the man yanked her arm and scratched her chest when he grabbed the cash, but she was not seriously hurt.

She said God gave the man his two arms to work hard, not to rob helpless people.

The incident enraged people in East Harlem.

“Just shows you the community don’t stand for that,” said resident Rolando Sierra. “That could be anybody’s mother.”

The store had recently installed a high-resolution security camera. There was even a security guard.

The store’s co-owner said he has never seen a crime so brazen.

“It’s horrible, horrible,” said Josh Cohen. “I don’t know how people would do that, something like that.”

“I hope he gets his [expletive] whooped, you know?” a man said. “I know in prison, they don’t allow that, you know? They don’t like the old people getting robbed, like that could be anybody’s mother.”

Many people have come forward wanting to help Vasquez, Cohen said.

“I believe we got phone calls from a lot of places, even as far away as Belize and other places in Central America,” Cohen said. “We put them in touch with the bank.”

The bank is the Banco Popular where Vasquez cashed that check, which is collecting any donations for her.

Vasquez said she just needs to pay her rent and bills. She left the store Friday with the money in her daughter’s purse.

“At her age, she has to enjoy every moment she has,” Cohen said.

One of the managers, named William, said it was the least they can do for a woman they call a wonderful, regular customer.

“Very regular customer who has been shopping here for years,” he said.

Law enforcement sources said this was Lopez’s first arrest, and they tracked him down with surveillance video from the bank. He apparently made a transaction using his own account.



“I hope he gets his [expletive] whooped, you know?” a man said. “I know in prison, they don’t allow that, you know? They don’t like the old people getting robbed, like that could be anybody’s mother.” Many people have come forward wanting to help Vasquez, Cohen said. “I believe we got phone calls from a lot of places, even as far away as Belize and other places in Central America,” Cohen said. “We put them in touch with the bank.”


Not only is the world a fishbowl nowadays, as evidenced by the immediate worldwide outrage, there is a place inside most people which is at least a little bit “good.” This man either doesn’t have one of those, or was so desperate that he “turned to crime.” I don’t think that’s it, though, because his following her around from the bank and then through the store until he got a good moment to attack shows clear intention to do harm and a lot of skill as well. He may never have been arrested before, but I doubt that this is his first crime. He’s just been lucky before. He’s definitely going to have to be put in solitary confinement to protect him when gets to jail.



About Fighting Zika -- Scientists have been putting out bat boxes in moist environments. Why not boatloads of frogs? And those little “mosquito fish” which hang around in the shallow water? We need to do more than just spray with poisons which, whether we want to consider it a problem or not, can sometimes kill or sicken people, too. See the following two related articles.



http://www.npr.org/2016/09/10/493296149/in-the-battle-to-save-frogs-scientists-fight-fungus-with-fungus

In The Battle To Save Frogs, Scientists Fight Fungus With Fungus
September 10, 2016 6:26 AM ET
Heard on Weekend Edition Saturday
LAUREN SOMMER

Video -- Listen· 3:47
Photograph -- A mountain yellow-legged frog returns to the wild in the Desolation Wilderness, south of Lake Tahoe in California.
Josh Cassidy/KQED
FROM
KQED Public Media (Want to sign up to their subscription list?? Go to this website.)
THE TWO-WAY -- Scientists Urge Ban On Salamander Imports To U.S. To Keep Fungus At Bay
YouTube -- "This bright yellow helicopter comes landing down," she says. "The doors fly open. The firefighters start unloading these large white coolers."
Enlarge this image -- Jessie Bushell holds one of the yellow-legged frogs undergoing treatment at the San Francisco Zoo before it's released back to the wild., Lauren Sommer/KQED
ANIMALS -- Endangered Calif. Frog Population Gets A Jump-Start
ALL TECH CONSIDERED -- Using Algorithms To Catch The Sounds Of Endangered Frogs
We're staring at what could be the extinction of a significant fraction of the world's amphibians.
Roland Knapp, a biologist with UC Santa Barbara
SCIENCE -- These Froggies Went A Courtin' And Gave Birth To Live Tadpoles


A deadly fungus that's been devastating frog populations is spreading across the globe — it's helped drive the extinction of 200 species so far. In California, the chytrid fungus has moved inexorably across the Sierra Nevada, leaving thousands of frogs dead.

But scientists are trying to turn the tide against the fungus with an experimental treatment, one that could matter to frogs worldwide.

They're making a last-ditch effort to save the endangered mountain yellow-legged frog by immunizing it against the fungus.

Mountain yellow-legged frogs, found only in California's alpine lakes, have been in steep decline due to the fungus while also falling prey to non-native trout. More than 90 percent of the population has disappeared.

"When it hits, it's within weeks that they're just gone, just literally gone," says Jessie Bushell, director of conservation at the San Francisco Zoo.

Bushell is part of an emergency search-and-rescue operation for the frogs. Last summer, she got up before dawn and drove five hours to meet a helicopter flying out of the Sierra Nevada.

The coolers were holding hundreds of wiggling, green tadpoles, the sole survivors of a deadly outbreak at their remote alpine lake. Federal biologists had found dozens of frogs dying from chytrid fungus and, hoping to save the species, they collected their remaining young.

Bushell brought them to the San Francisco Zoo. Scientists there and at the Oakland Zoo are doing an experimental treatment on the frogs in the hope that they'll survive when they return to the wild. The treatment was pioneered at UC Santa Barbara, where results have been encouraging.

"So what we do is we expose them to small amounts of this fungus," Bushell says, pointing to more than 200 of the frogs, no longer tadpoles, in quarantined tanks.

She is making the frogs sick in the hope of building their immunity to the fungus, which attacks the frogs' skin.

"The skin is a really important part of the frog," she says. "They breathe through their skin underwater."

Frogs also absorb key nutrients such as electrolytes through their skin. But when the fungus attacks it, the skin stops functioning normally. The frogs die before their immune systems can fight the fungus off.

Bushell is hoping a mild fungal infection will teach the frogs' immune systems how to fight the fungus. She lets her frogs get sick, but before they get too close to dying, she gives them an anti-fungal treatment to clear up the infection.

When the frogs get chytrid again out in the wild, the idea is their immune systems will be trained.

"Their bodies identify it and can already be primed to fight off that infection, at least to keep it under control because they've seen it before," Bushell says.

For some of the yellow-legged frogs, the big test has arrived. Bushell and a field crew hike up a rocky trail in the Desolation Wilderness, south of Lake Tahoe.

Their big backpacks are loaded with frogs, each in its own tiny Tupperware container.

"It's a new frog home," says Bushell, looking at a sapphire-blue lake, surrounded by pine trees and granite cliffs. "An oasis for frogs."

But chytrid fungus is there, so their immunity will be tested. One by one, the team releases each frog on the water's edge.

"It's like letting your kids go," Bushell says. "Go! Be wild!"

"It's the best chance that we know how to give them," says Roland Knapp, a biologist with UC Santa Barbara who has tracked frog die-offs across the Sierra as the chytrid wave has moved through.

"I saw the biggest one I've ever seen last summer," he says. "Thousands of dying frogs. It was pretty rough to see."

That's why this is a last-ditch effort to save yellow-legged frogs.

"It sometimes seems a little crazy," Knapp says. "It's a huge amount of work."

But he says the early results are promising. This is the third summer the team has released vaccinated frogs.

"They seem to be surviving pretty well," he says.

If the immunized frogs survive the worst of the fungus outbreak, the mountain yellow-legged frogs may eventually be able to become resistant to it on their own, generation after generation, without human help.

"That means we have to figure out ways to keep these frogs on the landscape with the chytrid long enough that evolution can actually happen," Knapp says.

The biggest hope, and the biggest question mark, is whether this research could lead to a treatment for other frog species. Some frogs don't seem to be able to build immunity to chytrid like the yellow-legged frogs can.

Scientists have watched chytrid fungus spread across the globe at an alarming rate. In Central America, scientists have brought some frog species into captivity to spare them.

Today, that's the only place they exist. And they don't have much hope of going back to the wild unless some kind of chytrid treatment succeeds.

"We're staring at what could be the extinction of a significant fraction of the world's amphibians," Knapp says. "So if we can do something to reverse that, even for a few species here and there, we should try to do that."

It's not hopeless, scientists say, but it could depend in large part on the survival of one California frog.



I personally love frogs, turtles, salamanders, lizards, etc., and frogs/tadpoles do eat mosquitos. There are also several species of predatory mosquitos whose tadpoles eat other tadpoles, and those species don’t carry human diseases, so we should be colonizing our waters with these. Almost all of nature’s small predators are harmless, and they are often beautiful. See both of the interesting articles on mosquito predators below. They share some information, but each adds something, too.

It just occurred to me that, no matter how much fun it may be, and it is, to watch a 7” piranha swim around in your fish tank and “feed,” we probably shouldn’t be allowing ANY foreign species to come into the country without thought and careful study of their habits, especially in the hands of idiotic people with more money than they need who will put their animal out into the wild as soon as it matures and becomes no longer cute or harmless.

Piranhas were banned around 15 years ago because they did colonize one or two warm-water areas in the US. Too bad we didn’t ban those boas and pythons sooner, before they “colonized” the Everglades. This particular FUNGUS arrived on the skin of some probably colorful and interesting amphibian which was desirable to collectors. Some salamanders really are cute little guys.

Oh, about feeding the pet piranha. My first husband was a tropical fish buff big time, so he had one that was absolutely beautiful. We kept liver slices about 3” long and 1” wide in the freezer, and when a guest would come (or whenever he hadn’t eaten for a week or so) we would thaw one of those liver chunks under the hot water tap and toss it into the fish tank. That fish would tilt his body slightly to the side (the better to see you, my dear…) and move toward the liver quickly. I would just be able to see his jaws whack together once or twice, and half of that chunk of liver would fall down to the bottom of the tank. He would then immediately cruise down and pick up the rest, give a little jaw movement, and there was NO more liver!

Now some people might find that too unnerving, but most people gave every evidence of enjoying the show. Any little bit of fright that isn’t actually dangerous is entertaining.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-starts-aerial-spraying-zika-virus-miami-beach/

Florida starts aerial spraying for Zika virus in Miami Beach
AP September 10, 2016, 11:06 AM

22 Photos -- Part of the Miami Beach skyline is seen as a Miami-Dade County plane works on spraying pesticides over the ocean in hopes of it drifting over the mainland to control and reduce the number of mosquitoes, some of which may be capable of spreading the Zika virus, on Sept. 9, 2016, in Miami Beach, Florida. JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES
Play VIDEO -- Related: Tempers flare in Miami Beach over Zika spraying
Related: 20 alarming facts about the Zika virus
22 PHOTOS -- 20 alarming facts about the Zika virus
A plane carrying the insecticide naled released the spray over the targeted area before dawn. The next round is scheduled for 6 a.m. Sunday.
Play VIDEO -- Zika chemical spray faces backlash in Florida


MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Aerial insecticide spraying to combat mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus started in Miami Beach on Friday.

Some residents oppose the spraying, citing the potential for harmful effects. But county officials say the low concentration of naled won’t harm them.

“We are concerned that the naled actually has more of a potential risk of creating the problems we are trying to avert than the actual concern with Zika,” area resident Brik Viera said.

Local television stations reported that some parents kept their children home from school on Friday because of the spraying. The aerial spraying targets adult mosquitoes; different pesticides for larvae will be sprayed on the ground.

The touristy South Beach area of Miami Beach is the second site declared an active zone of Zika transmission by mosquitoes on the U.S. mainland. The discovery in August led the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to include a section of Miami Beach in a travel warning issued for pregnant women. Earlier in the summer, a travel warning was issued for Miami’s Wynwood arts district, which is popular for day trips.

South Beach also became the first place on the mainland where the virus was isolated in mosquito samples, with health authorities reporting last week that three batches of the insects tested positive for Zika. Florida’s agriculture department said Friday that one more batch from the area had tested positive. Statewide, an additional 2,900 batches of more than a dozen insects each have tested negative for the virus, state officials said in a news release.

Zika infection can cause severe brain-related birth defects, including a dangerously small head, if women are infected during pregnancy.

Of Florida’s 56 non-travel-related Zika cases, 11 have been traced to Miami Beach and 29 to Wynwood. The rest are being considered isolated cases and have not prompted authorities to issue warnings of local transmission.



“Some residents oppose the spraying, citing the potential for harmful effects. But county officials say the low concentration of naled won’t harm them.” I am one of those citizens who don’t trust poisons, because I lived through the near decimation of the blue bird population and other birds due to DDT, and I personally suffered from an injudicious exposure to the chemical Dieldrin which at the time was used in Raid. I was up late one summer night studying for an exam when in walked a large wolf spider. When I stood up to whack him with my shoe he began to jump wildly around the room. I sprayed him too liberally with Raid, and he did finally die, but the next morning I couldn’t hold anything on my stomach, which went on for something in the range of four days. My husband’s professor suggested Dieldrin as the cause. It does liver damage. I survived and didn’t have to go to the hospital, but that was no fun. There’s a reason why the symbol for poisons is a skull and cross bones!

For another source of mosquito relief, see the next two articles on predators.



http://www.orkin.com/other/mosquitoes/mosquito-predators/

Mosquito Predators
Mosquito Predators – what eats mosquitoes?

Mosquitoes have a number of predators that collectively can exert some influence on reducing mosquito populations. However, with a very few exceptions, predators generally have little effect on reducing the mosquito population over a large area. So, what are some animals that are mosquito predators?

Bats
While bats eat mosquitoes, they are far more effective at locating, catching and eating insects other than mosquitoes.

Birds
Many birds will eat mosquitoes. The more important among these are purple martins, swallows, waterfowl (geese, terns, ducks) and migratory songbirds. Bird predators usually eat both the adult and aquatic stages of mosquitoes.

Fish
Goldfish, guppies, bass, bluegill and catfish prey on mosquito larvae. But the most important fish predator, by far, is the Gambusia affinis, commonly known as the mosquito fish. This is probably the most effective predator of mosquito larvae and is used by many mosquito control agencies to augment their control efforts.

Frogs and Tadpoles**[SEE alternate opinion on this subject below at http://www.wbrcouncil.org/Departments/Mosquito-Abatement/Natural-Mosquito-Killers.]

Most adult frogs and tadpoles do not include mosquitoes as a large part of their diet. Tadpoles infrequently feed on mosquito larvae and instead generally feed on small, suspended particles of plant-related materials. However, mosquito larvae predation is known for three species of North American tadpoles – the spade foot toad, green tree frog and giant tree frog. While not a direct act of predation, tadpoles may compete with mosquito larvae for food.

Turtles
The red-eared slider turtle is generally thought to be the most voracious turtle that feeds on mosquito larvae.

Insects that prey on mosquitoes include:

Dragonflies
Dragonflies are often referred to as “mosquito hawks.” Though they do eat mosquitoes, they do not eat enough mosquitoes to do much harm to wild populations. One feature that favors dragonflies as mosquito predators is that in the dragonflies’ aquatic stage, most of its food consists of mosquito larvae.

Damselflies
While damselflies are not as effective in controlling mosquitoes as dragonflies, their aquatic stage also consumes many mosquito larvae.

Predacious mosquitoes
Some mosquitoes prey on other mosquitoes. The most notable being the predatory mosquitoes in the genus Toxorhynchites. These mosquitoes provide a double benefit since the larvae are predacious on other mosquito larvae and the adults are not known to transmit disease.

Both adult and larval species of aquatic beetles will consume mosquito larvae and pupae. Two beetles that readily eat the aquatic stages of mosquitoes are the predaceous diving beetle and the water scavenger beetles. However, they will consume many types of aquatic insects other than mosquitoes.

Spiders
Spiders become mosquito predators when a mosquito inadvertently flies into a spider’s web where it is encased and eaten.



http://www.wbrcouncil.org/Departments/Mosquito-Abatement/Natural-Mosquito-Killers

West Baton Rouge Parish Council

Natural Mosquito Killers

[NOTE: see this website for good photos and videos of these animals.]

We have all heard the stories, purple martins can consume their weight in mosquitoes every day, bats eat thousands of mosquitoes, "mosquito hawks" eat nothing but mosquitoes during their entire life cycle, is any of this true? As you'll see below natural predators all play a part in mosquito control, but not to the extent that would be acceptable as a viable means of control. This is true especially during times of extreme mosquito numbers (after flooding or hurricanes) , and when levels of mosquitoes borne disease (such as WNV) are high. The fact is there is usually no scientific data to back up the anecdotal claims that predators such as birds, dragonflies, bats, purple martins, and others consume "thousands of mosquitoes". Also what scientific data does exist is often produced from a study within a controlled environment where these predators are only offered mosquitoes, this does not take into account the opportunistic feeding nature of most natural predators.

There are very few instances where natural predators are quite efficient at controlling mosquito populations, although there are exceptions to the rule. Two prime examples would be canals and ponds. The reason that you do not find mosquitoes breeding in these places as often is because they are usually a permanent source of water, and as such can support a greater and varied concentration of natural predators. All of this being said, most of these predators are extremely beneficial in many other ways and should be protected and allowed a place in our urban habitat. The list below is by no means meant to say these are the only natural predators that will eat mosquitoes. Here we'll just concentrate on the most common natural predators we see and the ones that are most commonly surrounded by false stories concerning their ability to control mosquito populations.

Gambusia Affinis also known as the mosquitofish is a live-bearing American fish that is utilized by some mosquito control districts across the country as a very effective predator of mosquito larvae. As far as natural predators go I think it can be said without hesitation that the mosquitofish is by far the most efficient natural predator of mosquitoes. Full grown females can reach a length of up to 2.5 inches and males up to 1.5 inches. The female Gambusia Affinis can produce anywhere from 10-300 live free swimming young per brood and can have between 3 to 6 broods per season. The mosquitofish is known to be an opportunistic and voracious predator. In certain studies they have been shown to consume 42-167% of their body weight in various invertebrate prey including mosquito larvae per day. This species as well as some other species of small predatory fish ( such as guppies ) can be quite useful in the reduction of mosquito larvae given the right conditions.

The purple martin is an excellent example of a natural mosquito predator who's mosquito controlling ability has often been grossly exaggerated. Yes, they will and do eat mosquitoes but nowhere near the amount that would be needed to consider them effective at controlling mosquito populations. In a quote taken from the AMCA's page titled frequently asked questions, ornithologist James Hill founder of the Purple Martin Conservation Association (PMCA) writes, "The number of mosquitoes that martins eat is extremely insignificant, and they certainly don't control them. In-depth studies have shown that mosquitoes comprise no more than 0 to 3 percent of the diet of martins". In fact during daylight hours purple martins most often will feed on larger flying insects such as June bugs, moths, bees, butterflies, wasps, and unfortunately dragonflies, another natural mosquito predator. In the hours just before and after sunset is usually when mosquitoes are most active and during this time our friends the martins are usually feeding in the treetops, which puts them way above most mosquito activity. The purple martin is a beautiful bird, but like other natural predators who occasionally consume mosquitoes they probably would rather snag a nice juicy Japanese beetle or some other large bodied flying insect than a scrawny little mosquito.

The bat is another natural predator of the mosquito that is often described as a voracious mosquito eater. In reality bats like other natural predators of the mosquito are opportunistic feeders. This basically means that they will eat whatever food source is available, and while they will eat mosquitoes they do not go out and specifically hunt just mosquitoes. In fact studies of bats in the wild have shown that they consume mostly beetles, wasps, moths, and these same studies have shown that mosquitoes make up less than 1 percent of their total diet. While they are not the voracious mosquito eaters that some people claim them to be, bats are extremely beneficial little creatures. Though they have a unearned reputation as something to be feared bats do us a great service by eating a huge amount of other flying insects and consequently help to control some dangerous and harmful pest [sic].

Dragonflies as well as being a natural predator of the mosquito are a fascinating and unique group of insects. Dragonflies are often referred to as "mosquito hawks" for their supposed ability to kill thousands of mosquitoes. Though they do consume their fair share of mosquitoes, dragonflies like most natural predators of mosquitoes do not consume enough mosquitoes to cause a significant impact on mosquitoes populations in the wild. However, one thing that makes the dragonfly a better predator than most is the fact that in the aquatic larval stage one of their food sources is mosquito larvae. Actually it is during this stage (which can last up to six years) that they will do their most damage to mosquito populations, the reason being that as adults they typically like to feed during the day which is when most mosquitoes are hiding in bushes and timberlines. These dragonfly naiads as they are called are voracious and bold little predators and will take on almost any aquatic animal including other naiads. [Go to this website for a video.]

Damselflies and their naiads are another natural predator of mosquitoes but probably not to the extent of their larger brother the dragonfly. Damselfly adults are easy to tell apart from their larger cousins because of obvious size difference, however their naiads are very similar and have the same predatory traits as dragonflies.

These beautiful insects come in a wide array of colors and their naiads are considered fairly good predators of mosquito larvae especially in the early instars.

Frogs, toads and their young called tadpoles are often touted as excellent for mosquito control. In reality, while they do consume their fare [NOTE: this is either a spelling error or a sly pun…] share once again it is not enough to seriously put a dent in vast mosquito populations. When frogs and toads do consume mosquitoes it is usually after they have transformed from tadpole to adult. Tadpoles are mostly herbivorous and usually feed on algae and plants, although some larger species will occasionally prey on mosquito larvae. Although they are not the mosquito vacuum cleaners we want them to be, frogs are extremely beneficial little creatures and are usually a measuring stick for a healthy environment.



https://www.yahoo.com/gma/kind-stranger-puts-fellow-passengers-baby-sleep-midflight-170109921--abc-news-travel.html#

Kind Stranger Puts Fellow Passenger's Baby to Sleep Midflight
NICOLE PELLETIERE, Good Morning America
September 10, 2016

A touching photo of a stranger soothing an airline passenger's crying baby is receiving lots of love around the globe.

Monica Nelson of Georgia was aboard a flight to Minneapolis with her 20-month-old son Luke. When Luke would not stop crying, a fellow passenger came over to help calm the baby.

"From the very beginning of the flight, the kind gentleman next to me kept Luke entertained and laughing the whole time," Nelson wrote to ABC News in an email.

'Miracle at 36,000 Feet': Photo Captures Mom Holding Baby She Delivered on Plane

Delta Air Lines Pilot Surprises Plane With Pizza Party, Passenger Says

Monica Nelson

The man, whose first name is Reid, told Nelson that he had two children of his own, she said. He then walked with Luke for 15 minutes down the aisle until he was sound asleep.

"I was truly grateful and couldn't have asked for more if my own husband was sitting next to me," Nelson said.

Another passenger, Andrea Byrd, snapped the photo and shared it on Facebook, where it received over 95,000 shares.

Byrd had been flying with her eldest son when she witnessed Reid comforting Nelson's baby.

"It really tugged on my heart strings because my son had just lost his father," Byrd told ABC News. "It was so good to see this and I had never seen anything like this before. It just reaffirmed that everything would be OK. That's when I snapped the picture. It was a beautiful moment on the plane."


This story warmed my heart. I really hate it when I see stories about airline personnel behaving really unkindly toward women with crying babies, and this man with no muss or fuss simply cradled the little guy in his arms and walked until he calmed down. The worst stories I hear on the subject are the live in boyfriends who, while Mom has gone shopping, actually hurt the baby because it cried. That is sick, sad, and simply reprehensible. Men need to cultivate a little common sense. How will we ever be able to trust them?


MORE STORIES ON JANE SANDERS BEING THREATENED –

http://yournewswire.com/putin-hacked-emails-reveal-that-clinton-threatened-sanders-wife/

Putin: Hacked Emails Reveal That Clinton Threatened Sanders’ Wife
Posted on July 29, 2016 by Baxter Dmitry in News, US // Comments (255)


Kremlin sources say the Clinton campaign “sent their goons to give Jane Sanders the shakedown,” in order to end the Bernie Sanders campaign before the convention, citing evidence from one of 10,000 Hillary emails Putin has in his personal possession.

The Clinton campaign needed Bernie Sanders on board before the emails were leaked as they contained evidence that confirmed his suggestions of Democratic establishment bias and would have given him unstoppable momentum heading into the convention – had he chosen to play that game.

However after the meeting with the Clinton team Sanders unexpectedly suspended his previously gung-ho campaign, and although he refused to wholeheartedly endorse her, he signalled to his supporters that his run for President was effectively over.

Kremlin sources have denied the DNC claims that Russian state-sponsored hackers are behind the email leaks, with Julian Assange also stating the DNC claim is a politically motivated “lame conspiracy smear.”

Despite the FBI asking the Kremlin for copies of any emails they have in their possession, it is understood the Kremlin has not released anything to anyone, including Wikileaks.

According to Kremlin sources, the source of the Wikileaks email trove could have come from ‘a huge number of possible sources’, as ‘intelligence communities around the whole world have copies of Hillary’s emails. Everybody is talking about them.’ . . . .”



So far, I am still considering this to be a horrible rumor, because I saw none of these stories by the mainstream media. That may just mean that the story was squelched, either by the Clinton Campaign or by the editors themselves to keep the DNC happy with them. This isn’t the first time a story with shock value hasn’t been covered by CBS, so I don’t trust them, either. I do believe Assange’s truthfulness, so I’m waiting for more from him.


THE RUMOR TIEBREAKER HAS JUST APPEARED:

http://www.snopes.com/julian-assange-bernie-sanders-was-threatened/

FALSE
EXAMPLE: [Collected via e-mail and Twitter, September 2016]

Rumor flying about that "Julian Assange says Bernie Sanders was threatened to make him drop out" I find it doubtful but is flying about and should be stopped if untrue.

Follow
Jonathan Henderson
jonathan Henderson @Dagan81

During a recent interview with Australian journalist John Pilger, Assange said that Bernie Sanders was forced to... http://fb.me/399FJ5O1t
9:41 AM - 9 Sep 2016

Photo published for Julian Assange Confirms Sanders Was Threatened Into Dropping Out
Julian Assange Confirms Sanders Was Threatened Into Dropping Out
Bients Julian Assange has confirmed that Bernie Sanders was threatened into pulling out of the Democratic race in July. During a recent interview with Australian journalist John Pilger, Assange said...
redflagnews.com

ORIGIN:On 29 August 2016, the unreliable web site USA Supreme published an item claiming that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told journalist John Pilger that Bernie Sanders won the Democratic presidential nomination but dropped out of the race after he was threatened.

That claim was aggregated to a number of questionable web sites and rocketed to the top of Facebook's trending topics list on 9 September 2016. However, all iterations of the claim traced back to the original USA Supreme article, which stated:

John Pilger made an interview with Assange and is planning to use this material for his next documentary about Wikileaks founder! We gonna report with every major info from this interview in the nex few days! You can read the first part of the interview in a link below!

Pilger: Julian, we cut you off earlier when you were talking about what you felt were the most significant emails that you have released. Is there any last one that you’d like to mention? And also, do you have any thoughts on Bernie Sanders? I mean what is your opinion why Bernie Sanders drop out of the race?

Assange: Look, I think — you know, we know how politics works in the United States. Whoever — whatever political party gets into government is going to merge with the bureaucracy pretty damn fast. It will be in a position where it has some levers in its hand. And Bernie Sanders was independent candidate trying to get the nomination trough the Democratic Party and if you ask me he did get the nomination, but he was threatened to drop out!

Pilger: What do you mean by that will your next leak contain information about Bernie Sanders?

Assange: Of course we’re very interested in revealing the truth about any candidate and yes we have some material about Bernie Sanders that will be published!

Assange isn’t focusing entirely on Clinton however, urging anyone with information on Bernie Sanders to come forward!

Although multiple articles had repeated this claim as of 9 September 2016, we found no other appearance of the alleged quote anywhere online other than USA Supreme as of 30 August 2016. Moreover, USA Supreme provided no information pertaining to the date of the interview, no link to the interview itself, nor an explanation of how they supposedly came into possession of information that would be headline news had it been credible.

Neither Pilger nor WikiLeaks made any reference on Twitter (through which Assange frequently communicates) to the "bombshell" claim. Pilger did mention Sanders by name on his official web site on 23 August 2016, but he made no reference to his presumably newsworthy interview with Assange:

In America, the problem for the thousands of followers of Bernie Sanders was the Democratic Party, not to mention their ultimate betrayal by their great white hope. In the US, home of the great civil rights and anti-war movements, it is Black Lives Matter and the likes of Codepink that lay the roots of a modern version.

Another massive red flag in the original item was that the words attributed to Pilger indeed stemmed from an interview with Assange conducted back late July 2016 (shortly after the DNC leaks controversy), but those words were spoken by Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman, not by Pilger:

Finally, Julian, we cut you off earlier when you were talking about what you felt were the most significant emails that you have released. Is there any last one that you’d like to mention? And also, do you have any thoughts on Donald Trump? I mean, just before we went to air, a CNN poll came out that says Donald Trump is ahead by 5 percentage points of Hillary Clinton. Now, he did just come off of the Republican convention, but many called it the worst convention in history, so it’s not automatic that he should have had this percentage lead. Of course, though, you have the crisis, the disarray, the Democratic Party is in because of these emails that you’ve released.

What Assange actually said in response to that query in no way resembled a claim that Sanders had been threatened to drop out of the race:

Look, I think — you know, we know how politics works in the United States. Whoever — whatever political party gets into government is going to merge with the bureaucracy pretty damn fast. It will be in a position where it has some levers in its hand. And so, as a result, corporate lobbyists will move in to help control those levers. So it doesn’t make much difference in the end. What does make a difference is political accountability, a general deterrence set to stop political organizations behaving in a corrupt manner. That can make a difference, because that changes the perception of what you can do or not do. And so, always — well, almost always, you should choose the principled position, which is to set a disciplinary signal about acting in a corrupt way, and take a philosophical position, which is our institutions can only be as good as our understanding of our institutions.

The other top emails, well, as I said, I think this instruction by Luis Miranda, the head of communications, to go out and covertly spread anti-Bernie Sanders propaganda is a clear instruction combined with a chain of command. It’s not simply expressing a sentiment. It is expressing an instruction within the DNC to subvert the Bernie Sanders campaign.

Then there’s a lot of emails about the close relationship between the DNC and the media — The Washington Post involved in a co-fundraising party, an off-list co-fundraising for the DNC, calling up MSNBC during the middle of a program and saying, "Pull that segment now," Debbie Wasserman Schultz calling up the president of MSNBC in order to discipline Morning Joe, etc. That’s, you know, of course, something that we’ve all suspected happens, but this is concrete proof of it.

Interview questions and answers attributed to Pilger and Assange on 29 August 2016 by USA Supreme matched much of Goodman's 25 July 2016 interview with the WikiLeaks' founder, and verbatim repetition of the very same queries and responses in a separate setting is highly implausible. Moveover, prior to starting the rumor that Julian Assange had proclaimed Bernie Sanders was threatened, USA Supreme similarly falsely attributed remarks made by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren to Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard.


ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 09 September 2016

SOURCES:
Democracy Now!. "Julian Assange: Choosing Between Trump or Clinton Is Like Picking Between Cholera or Gonorrhea."
25 July 2016.

johnpilger.com. "Provoking Nuclear War by Media."
23 August 2016.


"Julian Assange: Choosing Between Trump or Clinton Is Like Picking Between Cholera or Gonorrhea." NOW THIS IS A MAN WHO SAYS WHAT HE REALLY MEANS! I WISH I DIDN’T PARTIALLY AGREE WITH HIM!! I STILL PREFER HILLARY TO TRUMP, OF COURSE. I'M SURE SHE WON'T INITIATE A MILITARY TAKEOVER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WITH MASS ARRESTS AGAINST OUTSPOKEN INDIVIDUALS. THE WORST PROBLEM WITH TRUMP ISN'T HIS EXCEEDINGLY INSULTING AND FOUL STATEMENTS, BUT HIS IRRATIONALITY AND IMPULSIVE OUTBURSTS. HE NEEDS TO GO BACK ON HIS MEDS, I THINK!

OF COURSE THIS ASSANGE “QUOTATION” ITSELF MAY BE FALSE, ALSO, AND PROBABLY IS. IT DOES SOUND EXTREME. WHATEVER, IT’S MORE ENTERTAINING THAN SOME OF THOSE TRUMP COMMENTS, ESPECIALLY THAT “BLOOD IN HER EYES” EXAMPLE. IN TRYING TO GET AN IDEA OF JUST HOW TRUTHFUL DEMOCRACY NOW! IS, I FOUND THE FOLLOWING AT WIKIPEDIA. APPARENTLY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY FOUND THEIR PRESS CREW TO BE EITHER LIKELY TO SAY SOMETHING CONTROVERSIAL, OR ACTUALLY DANGEROUS. THEY WERE ALL ARRESTED UNDER THE CHARGE OF "PROBABLE CAUSE OF RIOT." A LATER LAWSUIT RESULTED IN A WIN FOR DEMOCRACY NOW AND $100,000 COMPENSATION WITH A PROMISE OF "POLICE TRAINING" FOR THE ARRESTING OFFICERS. SO, WHILE THEY ARE LEFT-LEANING, THEY SEEM TO BE UNLIKELY TO MAKE UP AN OUTRIGHT LIE ON THE CONTROVERSIAL STATEMENT ASSIGNED TO ASSANGE BY THE PUBLICATION. IT'S A VERY TANGLED TALE, HOWEVER, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THE SIMPLE TRUTH WILL EVER COME OUT.


[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Now! -- "While described as progressive by fans as well as critics, the show's executive producer rejects that label, calling the program a global newscast that has "people speaking for themselves."[1] . . . . It originally aired on five Pacifica Radio stations.[1] . . . . In June 2002, Democracy Now! separated from Pacifica Radio and became an independent nonprofit organization. . . . . Clash at 2008 Republican convention: "According to Baher Asmy of the Center for Constitutional Rights, "[a]ll three plaintiffs that are journalists with Democracy Now reached a final settlement with the city of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and the United States Secret Service, that will resolve the claims that they had against them from unlawful and quite violent arrests." The settlement includes $100,000 in compensation and a promise of police training.[27][17]. . . "probable cause for riot" was the charge for their arrest." From this information on Democracy Now I feel that it is a better source than the others, and Progressive in orientation.]

GOOD NIGHT TO ALL.