5 MPA (Marine Protected Areas) Worth Celebrating

(Some good news from Free The Ocean! Plus, the header of their page is very cooling to look at, if you’re in a hot place. I don’t know where is not a hot place right now.)

https://www.freetheocean.com/blog/

Welcome to the underwater wonders of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), where conservation meets celebration. These designated ocean sanctuaries play a crucial role in safeguarding marine biodiversity and promoting sustainable ocean management.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia

Aerial of Great Barrier Reef at Whitsunday Island

Imagine diving into the vibrant world of the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef system. This iconic MPA spans over 344,400 square kilometers and is home to an incredible diversity of marine life, including colorful corals, sea turtles, and countless fish species. Its protection is vital for preserving this natural wonder and its ecological balance.

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, USA

Located in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Papahānaumokuākea is one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world. Encompassing over 1.5 million square kilometers, this UNESCO World Heritage site protects unique coral reefs, endangered species like Hawaiian monk seals, and seabird nesting colonies.

Galápagos Marine Reserve, Ecuador

The Galápagos Islands, famous for inspiring Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, are also home to a remarkable marine reserve. This MPA covers around 138,000 square kilometers and protects diverse marine habitats, from mangroves to deep-sea ecosystems. It supports iconic species such as marine iguanas, Galápagos penguins, and hammerhead sharks, while promoting sustainable fishing practices and tourism.

Chagos Marine Protected Area, UK

In the heart of the Indian Ocean lies the Chagos Archipelago, surrounded by the Chagos Marine Protected Area. Covering approximately 640,000 square kilometers, this MPA safeguards some of the healthiest coral reefs on the planet and serves as a crucial habitat for endangered species like the hawksbill turtle. Its protection is vital for maintaining oceanic connectivity and resilience to climate change impacts.

Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Komodo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is renowned for its terrestrial dragons and equally mesmerizing underwater landscapes. This MPA protects over 1,700 square kilometers of marine habitats, including coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangrove forests. It also supports a rich diversity of marine life, from manta rays to pygmy seahorses

Celebrating Conservation Success

Each of these Marine Protected Areas represents a beacon of hope for ocean conservation. Through collaborative efforts involving governments, scientists, local communities, and conservation organizations, these MPAs demonstrate the importance of proactive marine management and sustainable practices.

Marine Protected Areas are not just boundaries on a map—they are commitments to conservation, sustainability, and the future of our oceans. By celebrating and supporting MPAs around the world, we ensure that these vital marine sanctuaries continue to thrive for generations to come. (end)

(I have to use translate to read some of his work, which remains beautiful in English, too.)

Gentileza é crença absoluta | Abhijit Naskar | Monge Cientista (Já Disponível – Now Out #NaskarPortuguês)

I just read Scotties post about Pauly. I sat and imagined a world where this poor child was murdered, where horrible indignities were committed. You know the worst thing? In my mind ran this thought that certain conservatives would throw her trans status as somehow indicative of deserving this treatment. What a cynical and dismissive thought for me to have, and why have I lost my ability to be shocked and saddened for this lost soul and her family?
Now how does that apply to the pic above? I celebrate each and every person who finds the courage to be themselves in this scary world. It is safer to live in obscurity, to blend in to the crowd. As an adult, it is truly easier – I remember, regret and resent the time of my own adolescence, and I tremble at what kids go through now with social media and far right fanatics. And let me be clear: I don’t care if someone is gay, trans, straight, a jock, a nerd, a boy scout or a rebel, I just celebrate each and every opportunity for all of us, especially kids, to be genuine, free and loving to self and others. Hugs. -randy

A decent snippet here, with the link below.

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After their children survived a school shooting, these ‘lifelong Republicans’ entered the gun conversation

Moms from Nashville’s Covenant School are leaning into their identities as conservative women and gun owners to bring others to consider policy over party.

Mary Joyce said that when the Tennessee legislature held a special session following the March 2023 mass shooting at her daughter’s school, she had blind faith that her lawmakers would take action. She assumed many legislators would know some of the families whose children attended the private Christian school, The Covenant School in Nashville, or at least feel some kind of connection to them. If nothing else, the sheer tragedy would mean tangible change. 

She doesn’t feel that way today. 

Joyce and her fellow Covenant mom Melissa Alexander went to the statehouse five months later to advocate for gun safety measures as part of two new groups they co-founded, Covenant Families for Brighter Tomorrow, and a corresponding action fund to go along with it. They are lifelong Republicans — Alexander is also a gun owner herself — who could speak firsthand to the trauma inflicted by a mass shooting that killed three 9-year-old children and three adults. Though their children survived, they were traumatized in ways that continued to affect their daily lives; Joyce’s daughter also lost some of her hearing. 

But the politicians they encountered in the deeply red Tennessee statehouse had other things to say. 

While at the statehouse one day, Joyce recalls members of the Republican-majority legislature asking about the droves of protesters who had suddenly shown up to oppose a proposed law allowing school employees to carry guns on campus — and hearing a conservative lawmaker making comments about “all the hot moms of Nashville here in our legislature.” 

(The legislature ultimately passed that bill, making Tennessee the ninth state to legalize arming school employees.)

Comments about their gender didn’t end there. Joyce recalled hearing legislators say to some of the other moms she was at the statehouse with, “Wow, you’re really well-spoken for a female.”  (snip)

https://19thnews.org/2024/07/conservative-moms-gun-safety-covenant-school-shooting-nashville/

14 years old. A horrendous death. Prevention and education is why Scottie works so hard on this blog. I will add that drag queens did not do this, nor did trans men or trans women.

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In a heart-wrenching and tragic incident, prosecutors are committed to seeking justice for Pauly Likens, a 14-year-old trans girl from Sharon, PA, who was brutally murdered last month. Her remains were found scattered around a park lake an hour north of Pittsburgh.

Mercer County District Attorney Peter C. Acker expressed his determination to bring justice for Pauly and her family. “The bottom line is that we have a 14-year-old, brutally murdered and dismembered,” Acker stated in an email. “Pauly Likens deserves justice, her family deserves justice, and we seek to deliver that justice.”

The tragic events unfolded on June 23, when DaShawn Watkins allegedly encountered Pauly near Budd Street Public Park and Canoe Launch in Sharon, PA. Authorities allege that Watkins killed Pauly and then dismembered her body, scattering her remains in and around Shenango River Lake in Clark Borough.

Watkins was apprehended on July 2 and has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence. He is currently being held without bail in Mercer County jail. The coroner’s office reported that Pauly’s cause of death was sharp force trauma to the head and ruled it a homicide.

Investigators have linked Watkins to the crime through cell phone records, social media, and surveillance footage. Additionally, traces of Pauly’s blood were discovered in and around Watkins’ apartment in Sharon, PA.

In honor of Pauly’s memory, a candlelight vigil is scheduled for Saturday, July 13. Hosted by the LGBTQIA+ Alliance Shenango Valley, the vigil will take place at 7 p.m. at 87 Stambaugh Ave. in Sharon, PA. Pamela Ladner, president of the Alliance, shared her condolences and memories of Pauly. “Pauly’s aunt described her as a sweet soul, inside and out,” Ladner wrote in an email. “She was a selfless child who loved nature and aspired to be a park ranger like her aunt.”

District Attorney Acker emphasized the severity of the crime, calling it one of the worst he has seen in his 46-year career. However, he noted that it is not being classified as a hate crime. “PSP [Pennsylvania State Police] does not believe it is a hate crime because the defendant admitted to being homosexual and the victim was reportedly a trans girl,” Acker explained.

Acker commended the efforts of various criminal justice agencies involved in the case, including the Pennsylvania State Police, Hermitage Police Department, Sharon Police Department, park rangers from the Shenango Reservoir, Mercer County Coroner John Libonati, and cadaver dog search units. “The amount of hours dedicated to identifying the victim and filing charges against the defendant is immense,” Acker noted. “We take the murder of any individual very seriously, especially when they are young and brutally killed and dismembered.”

This is an ongoing story, and we will provide updates as they become available.

14-Year-Old Trans Girl Killed in Sharon, PA

We need this-great info, and positivity to boot. Enjoy a snippet, then read the rest, too. Or just listen, if you prefer. Putting it in the Friday night news dump; there’ll be more Hopium tomorrow!

Why I Am Optimistic We Can Win – My Latest Take On The 2024 Election (Video)

The Election Remains Close And Competitive – No Red Waving 2024 Please

SIMON ROSENBERG

JUL 12, 2024

Happy Friday all. Last night the President had a good night. He demonstrated remarkable mastery of complex global events, and celebrated the Anniversary of the most powerful military alliance in human history, one that has keep us safe and free for 75 years. I wake up this morning deeply proud of my President who has worked tirelessly for us these past 4 years and has made things far, far better here for all of us, navigating us successfully through challenging times (this post has been updated with newly released data since it was first published this morning).

Above is a recording of a talk I gave to Hopium paid subscribers right after the President’s press conference last night. I kick it off with 25 minutes or so of an overview of the current and more challenging national political landscape, and then answered questions for another 40 minutes or so. Do watch, and hope it is useful to you. If you think others would like to see please share it through your networks.

Adding to my look at recent polling and data yesterday that found the election still close and competitive, we got a new NPR/Marist poll this morning which had Biden up 2, 50-48. So here’s some of the polling released this week, Biden-Trump:

• 50%-48% NPR/Marist
• 44%-42% GW/YouGov
• 47%-46% Split Ticket/Data For Progress
• 47%-46% Clarity
• 50%-50% Emerson College
• 46%-46% Washington Post (Harris leads Trump 49-47)
• 42%-43% Redfield & Wilton
• 42%-43% Bendixen and Amandi (Harris leads Trump)
• 41%-42% Big Village
• 42%-44% Morning Consult
• 40%-43% Economist/YouGov

(snip)

https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/why-i-am-optimistic-we-can-win-my?r=1pk2l&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

The last line stopped me dead cold. America first is…. America Alone. –randy

This is well-written, with all the information.

Beware of the Poison

by Imma Perfetto

A swim away, a swim away. With apologies to Solomon Linda, and The Tokens from 1961, but amazingly a pair of lions – one with 3 legs – has been documented swimming 1.5 kilometres across the predator-infested waters of Kazinga Channel in Uganda in the pitch-dark night. (snip-video on the page)

“I’d bet all my belongings that we are looking at Africa’s most resilient lion,” says Alexander Braczkowski, from Griffith University in New South Wales, who witnessed the feat. “He’s been gored by a buffalo; his family was poisoned for lion body part trade; he was caught in a poacher’s snare; and finally lost his leg in another attempted poaching incident where he was caught in a steel trap.“

Previous reported swims by African lions have ranged from 10 to a couple of hundred metres, some of which resulted in deaths by crocodile attacks. 

The lion brothers’ daring feat was captured by drones using high-definition heat detection cameras, which were operated by researchers co-led by Australia’s Griffith University and Northern Arizona University in the US.

(snip-more on the page)

https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/animals/extraordinary-tale-of-two-lions-who-swam-across-croc-infested-waters-in-search-of-love/

Here’s a teaser-go read it, it’s fun:

Surprise! The IRS Found $1 Billion In Missing Tax Money Hidden In The Couch Cushions Of The Rich!

Who would have thought?

ROBYN PENNACCHIA

The IRS has long been at the top of the list of government agencies Republicans have hoped to abolish or at least defund — both because they believe it discriminates against churches and other Christian nonprofits by refusing to exempt them from the rules about nonpartisanship that all 501(c)(3)s are required to follow in order to maintain their tax-exempt status, and because they believe it discriminates against rich people by expecting them to pay taxes, as if they are peasants or some such.

To be fair, they may be entirely right about the latter!

The IRS — bolstered by funding from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act — reported this week that it collected $1 billion in taxes and penalties from “hundreds of” wealthy households that until now simply didn’t feel like paying their taxes. Hooray!

Now, you may be asking yourself, “Okay … that’s great, but why didn’t they do that before?” Well, that would be because they were criminally underfunded and simply didn’t have the staff and resources available to bother rich people about their taxes. And again, we’ll note that the billion collected so far is just from “hundreds of households.” Even if that were 999 households, they would have owed one million each! (snip-more on the page)

https://open.substack.com/pub/wonkette/p/surprise-the-irs-found-1-billion?r=1pk2l&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email