#IT Inspection Services

[aqss-usa16]

[strongermonster]

one of the funniest news things in canada that always tickles me is the ongoing war between magic mushroom shops and the police.

this is the absolute height of humour to me right now

[sissymaidcolette]

La Promesa - serie TV

[navree]

This whole thing is frightening. Do you possibly have any words of wisdom?

If you're not Donald Trump you're gonna live to see tomorrow, so there's that (he'll live too, it was literally just the ear, unfortunately for my belief in karma, he is fine).

In all seriousness, I'm not an election forecaster or statistician in any capacity so I can't say how this'll Affect The Election but in my view, it's not gonna be much. The sympathy vote is not really a thing anymore, it hasn't been a thing since Dubya so I'm not concerned about that. I don't think it's gonna move actual undecideds one way or another, and people who are already committed to one party aren't going to be swayed in a new direction either because polarization is simply too entrenched in political parties these days. And he can't do much "look how I'm ailing" shit because his ear got grazed and that is literally it. Not to mention the election is five months away, which in politics is the equivalent to like ten million years. Remember when Joe Biden had that bad debate performance that sent everyone into a tailspin for no reason? That was two weeks ago, but it feels like a decade, because news cycles, especially in politics, go really fast. Last month we were literally still talking about the impact of the college protests on the election. Yeah I bet you already forgot about those, didn't you?

The only thing that really concerns me is that his base is already violent and whacked out of their minds, and they'll use this, and any hysteria he and his allies drum up about it because they're incapable of not doing so, to promote more violence against people they perceive as enemies. And we know they're already capable, because one of them literally tried to beat Paul Pelosi to death with a hammer (another point in the 'sympathy vote doesn't exist' column because did that man trying to break into Nancy Pelosi's home to kidnap and torture her before trying to kill her husband when she wasn't around sway anyone to be more in favor of Democrats/less in favor of Republicans? no, it didn't), so I wouldn't be shocked if some idiot tried something in retaliation. Which is cause for concern, yes, because it is always important to remember that Republicans as a whole are violent and bloodthirsty and do not see their opponents as people (and that is just another example of why both parties are NOT in fact the same, tankies), but use that to galvanize you into working as hard as you can to get Dems in office and support Democratic policies and platforms and officials.

Ultimately anon, I am not someone who catastrophizes, and I also know that I can only control me and you can only control you. So just remember to focus on what you can do and how you react to things. And if you need to log off, log off. Keep your peace, and ultimately, I think just remember that this all seems new and exciting and insane because it's fresh and happening now, but we also felt the same about that time he got COVID. That became old hat fast, and odds are this will too.

[insanelyadd]

Craziest/coolest crime story you know about the USPS?

The United States Postal Inspection Service has existed in some form longer than the united states itself has, when Benjamin Franklin appointed the first "surveyor" over oversee the mail (make sure there were no mail crimes happening) in, I think, 1772. They have a conviction rate of 98% which is probably because if you're dumb enough to do mail crimes and it's discovered I mean. If you do mail crime and no one ever learns about it, obviously you can't be charged, if you do mail crime and it's discovered and you get CAUGHT then I think the conviction rate is probably so high because they just have you dead to rights.

A fun fact related to mail crimes: The reason spam mail is listed as "To our friends at (address)" or "(name) or current resident" is because it is ILLEGAL to open mail for someone else. The only way they can mail out the coupons or whatever they might be selling to as many people as possible, and for it to be legal for the recipients to open it, is for who it's addressed to to be vague.

Annual reminder than if you think/know someone is stealing/damaging/destroying your mail then you can try to get in contact with your local postal inspector. They take these crimes very seriously, and it is a federal felony (in the US) called "Obstruction of Correspondence"

As for the craziest mail crime??? A person from the Postal Inspector Forensics Lab (probably not the actual name) was the person who realized all the bombs sent by the unabomber were the same person, and this is part of what led to his arrest. I don't know how much everyone is familiar with that case but he sent the bombs by mail.

Other than that the anthrax attacks in 2001 were done by mail, though I am not super familiar with it and couldn't tell you how crucial the Postal Inspectors were in figuring out the case.

[sharkface]

Food service worker diagnosis

[izpride]

Transparent Icons - Frylord Sizz-Lorr

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Courthouse News:

A federal judge on Friday sided with two environmental advocacy organizations in their challenge to the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's updated program to use pesticides to combat grasshopper infestations on rangeland in the western U.S.

U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernandez, a Barack Obama appointee, granted summary judgment to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and the Center for Biological Diversity, agreeing that the federal service didn't adequately consider alternatives to the widespread use of the pesticides.

The organizations accused the service, a subdivision of the Department of Agriculture, of violating the National Environmental Policy Act by not considering, in its 2019 environmental impact statement, a holistic alternative to grasshopper control, failing to establish baseline conditions and failing to take a hard look at the program’s impact on sensitive species, such as pollinators and sage grouse.

Since grasshopper and cricket infestations reduce the forage available for livestock on rangeland, the service is legally required to carry out a program to control grasshopper and Mormon cricket populations on those lands. However, Hernandez found that the service analysis of alternatives to widespread aerial spraying was insufficient.

"By specifically focusing on suppression via direct intervention—or, in this case, the use of pesticides—the [environmental impact statement] is narrower than the relevant statutes and the purpose and need statement is invalid," Hernandez said, referring to the Plant Protection Act — which tasks the service with carrying out a program to control grasshoppers and Mormon crickets to protect rangeland — and the Food Quality and Protection Act.

"There is no evidence that focusing on pesticide treatments fulfills the overall purpose of the relevant statutes," the judge said. "Nor is there evidence that [integrated pest management] techniques were just given less attention than the use of pesticides ... Instead, the EIS appears to foreclose consideration of any non-suppression methods of managing the grasshopper population."

Integrated pest management is a sustainable approach to managing pests by combining biological, cultural, physical and chemical tools in a way that minimizes economic, health and environmental risks.

“For decades the Department of Agriculture has acted with impunity, drenching millions of acres of western ecosystems with deadly insecticides to kill the native grasshoppers and crickets that have always been keystone species here,” said Lori Ann Burd, environmental health director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Bees, butterflies, sage grouse and countless other critters join us in celebrating this resounding victory against this ecosystem-poisoning program.”

[aqss-usa16]

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[sissymaidcolette]

I Segreti di Borgo Larici - serie TV

[realstarlume]

Drywood termite.

In the whisper of ancient wood,

where shadows softly dance,

drywood termites weave their song,

in secret, fleeting trance.

Through hollowed beams and timber's grace,

they carve their delicate art,

a ghostly ballet, unseen embrace,

in nature’s fragile heart.

[plethoraworldatlas]

The federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to spray toxic insecticides within treasured and significant landscapes of the Colorado Plateau in northern Arizona to kill native grasshoppers.

The areas being considered include portions of the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, and the newly designated Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.

“This is a dangerous plan that could kill creatures that are key to northern Arizona’s unique biodiversity, which these national monuments were designated to protect,” said Taylor McKinnon, Southwest director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The federal government needs to stop downplaying the extinction crisis and back off its reckless plan to smother biodiversity hotspots with toxic pesticides.”

One out of every 10 plant species in the Colorado Plateau region is found nowhere else on Earth.

The agency's draft environmental assessment omits mention of the national monuments and unique species and habitats they were designated to protect. These species include rare bees, butterflies and other creatures found nowhere else, like the Kaibab monkey grasshopper and House Rock Valley chisel-toothed kangaroo rat, specifically named in the August proclamation establishing the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument.

APHIS oversees and funds the application of multiple pesticides on rangelands to prevent native grasshoppers and Mormon crickets from competing with livestock for forage.

The proposed insecticides — carbaryl, diflubenzuron and chlorantraniliprole — are indiscriminate. In addition to the grasshoppers the agency is targeting, the insecticides can also kill bees, moths and other insects. Spraying can harm entire ecosystems by disrupting pollination and can harm populations of birds, reptiles and mammals who feed on grasshoppers and insects.

Although grasshoppers and Mormon crickets can be locally abundant from time to time, native plants and other wildlife evolved with these cycles. Introducing pesticides to eliminate native grasshoppers is a shortsighted, quick fix that fails to consider the complex interrelationships within these delicate ecosystems.

The agency’s draft analysis shows that it has failed to consult with affected Tribes with ties to the Grand Canyon area. The Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition, which proposed the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument, includes members of the Havasupai Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Las Vegas Tribe of Paiutes, Moapa Band of Paiute Indians, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Shivwits Band of Paiutes, Navajo Nation, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Zuni Tribe and Colorado River Indian Tribes.

“It’s so important that APHIS honor the promise made to work together with Tribal nations to protect the sacred spaces and resources within the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Monument when it was established less than six months ago,” said Sharon Selvaggio, pesticide program specialist with The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. “We call on the agency to protect natural systems on Tribal and public lands by employing nonchemical management that allows humans and wildlife to thrive.”

In March 2023 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a draft biological opinion from NOAA Fisheries showing that carbaryl is likely to jeopardize 37 species protected under the Endangered Species Act, and harm 36 designated critical habitats.

While Arizona is not home to any of the species named in that report, the findings show the extreme harm carbaryl poses to endangered fish and other species.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is charged with protecting endangered plants and animals, has not yet completed a proper analysis of the potential harms from the APHIS proposal. Potentially vulnerable endangered species in Arizona include Chiricahua leopard frogs, western yellow-billed cuckoos, Gila chub, black-footed ferrets and Siler pincushion cacti.

APHIS is accepting comments on the proposal until 4 p.m. MST on Feb. 2.