#Conservation Commission

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

As of December 2023, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has received 59 allegations that Donald Trump or his committees violated the Federal Election Campaign Act. In 29 of those cases, nonpartisan staff in the FEC’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) recommended the FEC investigate Trump. Yet not once has a Republican FEC commissioner voted to approve any such investigation or enforcement of the law against Trump.

Democratic Vice Chair Ellen Weintraub pointed this out in her December 5, 2023 statement of reasons after the FEC once again failed to garner the votes to enforce the law against Trump after he allegedly violated the law by illegally soliciting or directing money to a pro-Trump super PAC that spent millions on ads opposing Joe Biden in 2020.

Because at least four of the six FEC Commissioners need to approve any FEC investigation, and because only three of those seats can be filled by Democrats, Republicans hold a veto over the agency’s enforcement and have repeatedly used it to shoot down any recommended enforcement of campaign finance law against Trump—and thus successfully shielded him from accountability over and over. Instead of fostering bipartisanship, the split FEC has often become gridlocked and, in cases involving Trump, its ability to pursue action is constrained by the members of one party.

The FEC’s enabling statute, the Federal Election Campaign Act, specifically subjects the Commission’s non-enforcement to review to prevent it from blocking meritorious enforcement. In June 2018, however, two Republican-appointed judges of the D.C. Circuit—including now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh—largely gutted that rule, giving commissioners the authority to block enforcement of the law without judicial review if the commissioners claimed that they did so as an exercise of prosecutorial discretion or under Heckler v. Chaney.

So, in 21 of the 29 cases where the FEC received recommendations to enforce the law against Trump, Republican commissioners justified non-enforcement by invoking prudential or discretionary factors in attempts to circumvent review.

When dismissing the recommendations to investigate Trump—and to kill further inquiries into his actions—the Republican commissioners have at times claimed that the FEC should not take any action because “proceeding further would not be an appropriate use of Commission resources” or that the resources would be “best spent elsewhere.” Trump has even falsely declared that the FEC “dropped” one of its investigations into him “because they found no evidence of problems.” As Commissioner Weintraub wrote in a statement of reasons in November 2023, “the data is clear: At the FEC, Mr. Trump is in a category by himself.”

Unless courts restore their check on partisan vetoes on enforcement, the commissioners will continue to fail to enforce federal campaign finance law against the powerful figures they are trying to protect.

[soshadysoquiet]

Apocalyptic Bath.

Five's time in the apocalypse always calls to me, so here is a about 1-2 years into the Apocalypse Five stumbling across a dripping shower and fantasising about water.

I had some larger ideas of grandeur for this: the 'with water' picture was meant to be a beautiful green dystopia compared to the one he's in, but I reached my current ability limit so I might come back to that in the future, I still wanted to include both pictures though.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, although drawing Dolores was a strange new experience. I had a lot of fun with the background and, of course, patterned up the shower head because I have no control / was unable to draw a show head, apparently.

[kirame90]

COMMISSION: Addicted

This 65€ piece was commissioned by TheGreatAllie!

They wanted me to redraw one of the panels from my SniperSpy - Addict animatic and I was more than happy to! I really enjoyed making this, thank you so very much for comming me! <3

Also!

The charity of October 2023 is Community Conservation

Since 1989, Community Conservation has:

Protected over 1.2 million acres

Catalyzed over 20 community conservation projects

Influenced the creation of 7 parks

Helped form 16 local community conservation groups

Catalyzed regional change in Belize, Assam (India), Nepal, Myanmar and Peru

More about their current and past projects here

[tweetingukpolitics]

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The New Brunswick Human Rights Commission expressed concern Monday over the government’s decision to review the province’s policy on sexual orientation in schools.

Commission chair Claire Roussel-Sullivan said in a statement that the policy establishes minimum standards for schools to ensure a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for LGBTQ students.

“(The commission) emphasizes that the government has obligations to safeguard the equality and dignity of all school-going children,” Roussel-Sullivan said. “These obligations ensue from the government’s commitments under the international, national, and provincial human rights system.”

Her comments came in reaction to reports about the provincial government’s decision to review the policy — known as Policy 713 — after it said it heard concerns from a variety of groups, including parents and teachers.

Full article

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Iceland cancels commercial whaling this season on animal welfare grounds, hailed as ‘a major milestone in compassionate whale conservation’ by HSI / Europe

Minister Svavarsdóttir ends decades of senseless whale killing and begins a new chapter in Iceland’s relationship with whales

Humane Society International / Europe

20 June 2023

BRUSSELS ― As news breaks that Iceland has cancelled this season’s commercial whaling on animal welfare grounds, global animal protection charity Humane Society International says it is thrilled and relieved at the announcement that will spare hundreds of whales from agonising deaths.

It urges the Icelandic government to make it a permanent ban.

Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Svandís Svavarsdóttir announced that Iceland’s whaling vessels will not kill any whales this season due to the conclusion that “the fishing method used when hunting large whales does not comply with the law on animal welfare.”

The suspension lasts until August 31st, which effectively cancels this season’s whale killing.

The minister’s statement continues:

“It is necessary to postpone the start of the whaling season so that there is room to investigate whether it is possible to ensure that the hunting is carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act.”

Ruud Tombrock, HSI / Europe’s executive director, said:

“This is a major milestone in compassionate whale conservation.

Humane Society International is thrilled at this news and praises Minister Svavarsdóttir for ending the senseless whale killing, which will spare hundreds of minke and imperilled fin whales from agonising and protracted deaths.

There is no humane way to kill a whale at sea and so we urge the minister to make this a permanent ban.

Whales already face so many serious threats in the oceans from pollution, climate change, entanglement in fish nets and ship strikes, that ending cruel commercial whaling is the only ethical conclusion.”

The announcement follows the Minister’s op-ed last year in which she said she saw little reason to permit whaling after 2023.

Publication last month of an independent report by the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority ― commissioned by the Minister ― revealed some whales killed in Icelandic hunts had taken up to two hours to die, with 41% of whales suffering immensely before dying for an average of 11.5 minutes.

Kitty Block, CEO of Humane Society International, said:

“For those of us who have been campaigning for many years to end commercial whaling, to see the day that Iceland decides to stop killing whales and retire its harpoons for good, is truly historic.

Economic factors have certainly played a significant role in the demise of this cruel industry - with little demand for whale meat at home and exports to the Japanese market dwindling - but it is the overriding moral argument against whaling that has sealed its fate.

Harpooning these magnificent giants not only causes unjustifiable suffering to those whales who are killed but also unimaginable distress to the rest of their pod who witness their family members being chased and slaughtered.

Iceland is already one of the best places in the world to go whale watching, and the country stands to attract even more ecotourists now that it has abandoned whaling forever.

The world now looks at Japan and Norway as the only two countries in the world to still mercilessly kill whales for profit.”

FAST FACTS:

The International Whaling Commission agreed to enact a global moratorium on all commercial whaling in 1986.

Iceland left the IWC in 1992 but returned in 2002 with an exception to the moratorium, despite objections from multiple nations. 

Since re-joining the IWC, Iceland had killed more than 1,500 whales, including fin whales.

Iceland suspended hunting fin whales in 2016 due to a declining market for whale meat in Japan.

Hunting resumed for the 2018 season when 146 fin whales were killed, including a pregnant female and a rare fin-blue hybrid whale, plus six minke whales.

A single minke whale was killed from 2019-2021, and 148 fin whales in 2022.

Fin whales are classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as globally vulnerable to extinction despite decades of recovery since the commercial whaling moratorium.

🤍🐳🤍

[xavibluart]

I am proud to show off my first professional piece, an underwater splash art illustration for @legaciesthegame by @saltydogsounds. Full piece can be viewed in gallery mode, but for now enjoy some closeups of all the juicy little details. I am honoured to have been able to be part of the team for this piece.

Game available to wishlist on steam now!

[kuramirocket]

Huatulco National Park in Oaxaca. Photo courtesy of Conanp.

MEXICO CITY — Officials this week announced the creation of 13 new protected areas across six states in Mexico, putting the country’s list of total federally protected areas at 200.

Mexico introduced six new national parks and seven “flora and fauna protection areas” covering 17,918 hectares (44,276 acres) to be overseen by the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (Conanp). The commission said it expects to declare three additional protected areas by the end of the month.

“It gives us much pleasure that in this administration…we can leave behind such a grand legacy for the Mexican people,” said secretary of the environment and natural resources María Luisa Albores González at a press conference.

The 85-hectare (210-acre) San Quintin National Park was created in Baja California. The 2,076- hectare (5,129-acre) Nopoló National Park and 6,217-hectare (15,362-acre) Loreto II National Park were created in Baja California Sur.

The 4-hectare (9.8-acre) Playa Delfines Flora and Fauna Protection Area, 16-hectare (39-acre) Jacinto Pat Flora and Fauna Protection Area, 37-hectare (91-acre) San Buenaventura Flora and Fauna Protection Area and 10-hectare (24-acre) Cenote Aerolito Flora and Fauna Protection Area were all created in Quintana Roo.

La Sierra de Guerrero in Guerrero, Mexico. Photo courtesy of Conanp.

The 2,489-hectare (6,150-acre) Juan M. Banderas Flora and Fauna Protection Area was created in Sinaloa.

The 723-hectare (1,786-acre) Vicente Guerrero National Park and 282-hectare (697-acre) Hermenegildo Galeana Flora and Fauna Protection Area were created in Guerrero.

In the state of Oaxaca, three protected areas were created: the 1,923-hectare (4,751-acre) Bajos de Coyula Flora and Fauna Protection Area, the 2,237-hectare (5,527-acre) Huatulco II National Park and 1,812-hectare (4,477-acre) Ricardo Flores Magón National Park.

The wave of new of protected areas came in response to a mandate from President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to establish a conservation status in areas with “high environmental value.” Since taking office in 2018, López Obrador’s administration has protected over 4 million hectares (9.8 million acres) of land and water.

“I want to go down in history as the president with the second-most protected reserves created,” López Obrador said earlier this year. “…Lázaro Cárdenas has the first spot. I want to aspire to that.”

[countessrivers]

Not to start talking about aussie politics, but you can't say that you support women and victims and totally aren't a bunch of morally corrupt, grubby, misogynistic assholes and a failure as a political party who think women are lying about being raped, while um...treating brittany higgins the way you're treating her.

[readingrecap]

🗓️ This Week in Meetings 4/8 - 4/12

Here is the list of all the meetings with agendas currently scheduled for this week in Reading. As always, this list is only up to date as of Monday morning and new meetings or modifications can be added/revised at any time. For PDF’s of the agendas, please click on the meeting name. Please check out https://www.readingma.gov for any changes. Monday Council on Aging – April 8, 2024, 6:30…

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

By Annie Norman

The public learned last fall of one particularly controversial element of United States Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-year plan for the U.S. Postal Service that would be rolling out soon. Essentially, the function of sorting and delivering mail would be consolidated into regional centers, leaving empty former sorting space in the back of post offices. No layoffs were announced.

At first glance, this sounds innocuous, but seasoned postal observers suspect that with less activity happening at smaller or rural post offices, they become vulnerable to a reduction in hours or closure. This leads to the kind of job losses that initially present as don’t worry, we’ll relocate you to the regional center but are experienced by postal workers as if I don’t commute two hours there and back each day or more, I lose my job.

In response, The Save the Post Office Coalition, which I coordinate, wrote to the Secretary of the USPS Board of Governors to ensure the board was made aware of emails from 160,000 postal customers across the country urging them to stop the disastrous elements of DeJoy’s plan before it’s too late.

Among the several thousands of personalized messages, we highlighted a handful in our note:

“The USPS provides a service to the public. It was never intended to be a profit-making business. I’m disappointed & ashamed at where politics seem to be taking us.”

— David B. (veteran) Seattle, Washington.

“As a former United States Postal Service employee and as someone who regularly uses the [USPS], I ask you to do something about DeJoy, who continues to degrade everything about the postal service — especially the service part of it.”

— Kristin F. in Cottonwood, Indiana.

“It is important for seniors like me to be able to count on a dependable means of getting medications without having a further drain on our resources.”

— Peter L. in Los Angeles, California.

“I believe that a well supported and functioning post office is a hallmark of a healthy, advanced nation. Stop DeJoy’s undemocratic plan now before it’s too late.”

— Janet M. in Downers Grove, Illinois.

“We senior citizens depend on USPS. Please help keep it viable.”

—Joanne L. in Akron, Ohio.

“Our postal service should be about serving us rather than serving businesses that give it money.”

— Douglas L. in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

We have yet to hear a response or acknowledgement that the messages from the public were received, and DeJoy continues to make it clear that he doesn’t want anyone asking questions about his 10-year plan.

On the same day that USPS leadership received our coalition’s messages, the Postal Regulatory Commission issued a public inquiry order to DeJoy asking that USPS provide details on the sorting and delivery changes under his plan. In the order, the Commission said it “notes that stakeholders have expressed concerns regarding a lack of a forum to explore the impacts of these proposed changes.”

DeJoy responded with an objection to the Commission’s inquiry. On May 17, DeJoy delivered congressional testimony for the first time in nearly two years at a hearing of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations. Rep. Summer Lee asked him why USPS is objecting. In his response, DeJoy was openly hostile toward the postal regulator, accusing them of actively participating “in the destruction of [USPS].”

Just last month, DeJoy sat down with the press for a 90-minute interview where he once again doubled down with an adversarial attitude toward postal regulators who seek details for the public on his 10-year plan, calling the Commission’s inquiry “nonsense,” saying, “We don’t need to be babysat.”

On May 22, DeJoy delivered the keynote address at the 2023 National Postal Forum where he spoke at length touting his efforts to implement “dramatic changes” and increase the pace of his 10-year plan. The postmaster general told the audience that “dramatic changes must be done at a pace, and with a tenacity that is rarely seen.” However, these changes are a mystery to many, and for a public institution, this mystery is dangerous.

If the past is any guide, the effects of potential post office closings and reduced hours will be devastating, particularly to rural and Indigenous communities. The Save the Post Office Coalition organized a petition to the Postal Regulatory Commission and the USPS Office of Inspector General urging them to stop DeJoy’s “dramatic changes” and demand public input, and so far has received over 131,000 signatures from the public who regularly use the postal service.

The bottom line is that the public has a right to more transparency and input in the decision-making process at a public institution. This requires engagement with said public — which DeJoy is actively resisting. When you put a rich, white, private-sector executive who isn’t used to public accountability and cooperation in charge of a treasured public institution, such a clash might be inevitable. It’s plain DeJoy doesn’t have the temperament for public service.

Communities across the nation want dramatic change at the post office too, but that dramatic change is not to be secretive or a surprise; it must be a shift toward protecting and expanding the public footprint and services available at the post office to meet new needs and change with the times. The People’s Postal Agenda outlines a framework for an expanded USPS that includes things like postal banking, expanded nonbank financial services like bill payment and ATMs, WiFi in parking lots, and public electric vehicle charging.

We still remember former President Donald Trump’s plan to privatize the post office, right before he put his thumb on the scale to have his donor DeJoy appointed as postmaster general. We also remember DeJoy’s role in sowing public fear and uncertainty in the vote-by-mail process by slowing down the mail and then sending out mailers to voters that meeting their state’s deadline would not ensure their vote would arrive in time to be counted, causing him to be sued by the NAACP and Public Citizen, as well as secretaries of state.

There is nothing to suggest that DeJoy has abandoned the privatization vision of the people who got him the job. So it’s our job as citizens to make absolutely sure any upcoming “dramatic changes” to the post office don’t shrink and privatize the institution but protect and expand it for generations to come.

[spurloser]

#sabepce #stereo #1up #cbk #ozon #prakz #commission #fence #basketball #conservation #heretostay #keepitunreal https://www.instagram.com/p/Cmm7VV2otpv/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thornwolfart]

This is a commissioned set of button designs for personal use by a client. They wanted a set of illustrated buttons as well as a logo with the message "Stop Ag Sprawl", to show the species that are being impacted by habitat destruction as a direct result of commercial farming.

Species depicted are: jaguar, Sokoke scops owl, and monarch butterfly (shown here as a caterpillar on milkweed).

If you would like to commission me for illustrations and/or logos such as these, patrons get discounts! Check out my information and pricing here on my website.

Patreon supporters $3 and up got to see all of the sketches and concepts that went into these final pieces. If you want to get a closer look at my process and behind-the-scenes content, pledge today!

Patreon.com/thornwolf

[tweetingukpolitics]

[badolmen]

Struck with the urge to commission/inquire about commissioning a pair of earrings for this wildlife girl in my department.

[ibrithir-was-here]

So, my family is going on a 12 day roadtrip starting July 1st to visit my brother several states over and back, and I'll be missing basically 2 weeks of work, unpaid. The trip was originally shorter but has expanded and I can't really get out of it. So if anyone wants any commissions before then I'd super appreciate it 😅