New commissioners and lawsuits have some saying hunting is under attack in Washington

Exposing the Big Game's avatarCommittee to Abolish Sport Hunting Blog

Sun., Jan. 10, 2021

Mark McLean hikes through Rustler’s Gulch, public land north of Spokane, while hunting on Oct. 21, 2018.  (Eli Francovich)
Mark McLean hikes through Rustler’s Gulch, public land north of Spokane, while hunting on Oct. 21, 2018. (Eli Francovich)

ByEli Francovichelif@spokesman.com(509) 459-5508

Hunting is under attack in Washington.

At least that’s the assessment of Kim Thorburn, a Washington Department of Fish and Game commissioner from Spokane.

“I’m pretty upset about what’s going on,” she said. “We’re looking at hunters as an enemy.”

Although she believes the assault has been brewing for a long time, Thorburn points to a recently filed lawsuit looking to outlawspring bear huntingand last year’s ban oncoyote killing contests.

“They just come one item at a time,” she said.

Meanwhile, the appointment of two new WDFW commissioners by Gov. Jay Inslee has drawn criticismand concern from hunters and hunting groups. Some environmental organizations praised the appointments. The commissioners both have backgrounds in wildlife…

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As Polar Vortex Stirs, a Deep Freeze Threatens U.S. and Europe

Climate Adaptation

By Brian K SullivanJanuary 10, 2021, 4:00 AM PST

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-10/as-polar-vortex-stirs-a-deep-freeze-threatens-u-s-and-europe

  •  Polar vortex set to unleash Arctic air after a two-year hiatus
  •  Frigid temperatures already sending gas prices to record highs
Lake Michigan as the Polar Vortex sent temperatures well below zero in Chicago on Jan. 7, 2014.
Lake Michigan as the Polar Vortex sent temperatures well below zero in Chicago on Jan. 7, 2014. Photographer: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images

High in the atmosphere above the North Pole, a spike in temperatures may soon send bone-rattling chills spilling down through the Northern Hemisphere.

The icy blasts threatening to sweep across North America, Europe and Asia starting in late January are from the same weather pattern that triggered the 2014 cold snap known as the polar vortex, which plunged temperatures in Chicago to minus 16 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 27 Celsius).

It’s common during winter for frigid air to roar down from the Arctic. But the cold mostly stayed bottled up around the North Pole in the season of 2019-2020. Now, after a nearly two-year hiatus, winter is threatening to return at last.

“Things are really setting up for an exciting period for cold and snow,” said Todd Crawford, lead meteorologist with the Weather Co., an IBM business.https://buy.tinypass.com/checkout/template/show?displayMode=inline&containerSelector=.transporter-item.current+.softwall%5Bdata-position%3D%274%27%5D&templateId=OTKFU0395V9E&offerId=fakeOfferId&showCloseButton=false&trackingId=%7Bjcx%7DH4sIAAAAAAAAAI2QT4-CMBDFv0vP1rTlvzeNsCCJrgYJ1wIFqlgILWCy2e–SNbdmOxh5zDJvN-8l8l8AMpzsAKB722lF4huBxagpSWLORuDByGIYIgwxAjiqTtQs6CDbXgZhlMoyirdR_khKjqY26iwMWO6mTvUMjKUagXOGTYyqpmGnk7B7N6yjjORsTnaTUIv8c875xjuX6h7Z1mveCPmNWwju6355VpCNBVRIhdXZba3eqiHq5ASOVXz4l9nP2ZZNWPEbm1NFXvbGKf9KXGRHaDjIZ4sFZVPCFaq69kCqO95dh-i0DsjzTFixwW_LKYdp0I9VkRf1wuQ0VtLeSnkUxi45DMHA_zzg8SBo58QtiWyaNMNb979_3yQt1OkqS2xTpYEWUtNn8Resm5dMqEmlo_Z41BVgxU28XQ6sSz0-QWIUi8s5wEAAA&experienceId=EXKFXHUJ9QKN&tbc=%7Bjzx%7Dt_3qvTkEkvt3AGEeiiNNgInM9anbGrJPAwU-1wSKhUgC1FJFP_CusoaKIBNKyymrXZROgMIRfjbqezGHG0_ukIk_dUFXulrDqrARGHuJK6TTCnoQ3R0F9tPx8yhPVPPNjylU0Z664w9lha1BgkmqDg&iframeId=offer-0-lzWtS&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fnews%2Farticles%2F2021-01-10%2Fas-polar-vortex-stirs-a-deep-freeze-threatens-u-s-and-europe&parentDualScreenLeft=0&parentDualScreenTop=0&parentWidth=1139&parentHeight=537&parentOuterHeight=607&aid=IHFDsFInrJ&contentSection=content-article&pageViewId=2021-01-10-11-19-37-918-jvvRKnghbNTdOTfr-d80f81ee46d9a75c0b3f1de15ca3654b&visitId=v-2021-01-10-11-19-37-929-wHX2eD2sfpbBioPH-d80f81ee46d9a75c0b3f1de15ca3654b&userProvider=publisher_user_ref&userToken=&customCookies=%7B%7D&hasLoginRequiredCallback=false&width=490&_qh=f0c64dfdeaMore fromHSBC Shareholders Ask Bank to Cut Fossil-Fuel Lending ExposureTesla China Rival Nio Ups Competition With New Electric SedanEnergy Protectionism in Mexico Has Made Climate the VictimChina EV Maker Nio to Unveil New Sedan as Valuation Eclipses GM

To be clear, forecasters aren’t expecting the cold to be as brutal as during the 2014 polar vortex, which was an extreme example of Arctic weather marauding south. But it will feel unmistakably like winter.

The cold has already descended upon Western Europe and China, sending prices for gas in Spain, and liquefied natural gas in Asia, to record highs. Paris has been 3.5 degrees below normal and Madrid 6.9 degrees cooler, while Beijing temperatures fell to a record low of minus 9 Thursday, said Tyler Roys, a meteorologist at AccuWeather Inc.

Sub-Zero Temperatures Put Chicago Into Deep Freeze
A satellite image shows the entry of a large area of low pressure, from the Polar Vortex, into the Northern U.S., on Jan. 6, 2014.Photographer: NOAA/Getty Images

The vortex of seven years ago kept shoppers indoors, grounded flights and made it harder for shippers to fill product orders. This year, the pandemic has already hobbled travel and in-store shopping. Snowstorms, however, could be a nightmare for delivery services.

Technically, the polar vortex refers to a band of winds that encircle the Arctic and keep the cold locked far to the North. But with that temperature spike, known as sudden stratospheric warming, the band can buckle, allowing frigid air to head south. Gas traders used to call it the “polar pig.”

That could mean chills anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, though this year it’s likely to end up in the U.S. according to Ryan Truchelut, president of Weather Tiger LCC. A wave of deep cold could give the Great Lakes and East Coast their first real blast of frigid winter weather, along with a storm pattern that delivers snow storms as well.

It will be a big shift for the U.S., where winter has been a bit lackluster so far. In New York, January readings have been 5.1 degrees above normal through Thursday, and Chicago has been 7.2 degrees warmer for the month.

Still, there’s no guarantee it will happen. While a sudden stratospheric warming usually leads to a burst of frigid weather, sometimes the clockwork of gears in the atmosphere doesn’t deliver.

“Many times in the past, the forecast for a cold weather event across the country resulted in a false alarm,” said Jim Rouiller, lead meteorologist with the Energy Weather Group LLC.

Trump Can Tweet No More

Exposing the Big Game's avatarThe Extinction Chronicles

Donald Trump's Twitter account displayed on a phone screen and American flag in the background on January 9, 2021.
Donald Trump’s Twitter account displayed on a phone screen and American flag in the background on January 9, 2021.

BYStaff, Common DreamsPUBLISHEDJanuary 9, 2021SHAREShare via FacebookShare via TwitterShare via Email

As Congress and President Donald Trump’s Cabinetfacemounting pressure to immediately remove him from office for inciting a violent mob at the U.S. Capitol, Twitter announced Friday that it is permanently suspending the president’s personal account,@realDonaldTrump, for violating the platform’s rules.

“After close review of recent tweets from the@realDonaldTrumpaccount and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” the social media companyexplainedin a blog post.

Karen Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause, said in a statement that…

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France Plans Mass Duck Slaughter as Bird Flu Hits Foie Gras

Exposing the Big Game's avatarThe Extinction Chronicles

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSEFacebookTwitterEmail

Foie gras producer Robin Arribit force-feeds a duck with corn in La Bastide Clairence, southwestern France, on Dec. 8, 2016. (AP Photo/Bob Edme, File)

PARIS (AFP) — French producers of foie gras called Thursday for a mass preventive cull of ducks to try to halt the spread of a severe strain of bird flu that is ripping through poultry farms in the southwest of the country.

The highly pathogenic H5N8 virus was first detected in a bird in a pet shop on the Mediterranean island of Corsica in November before spreading to duck farms on the mainland in December.

Several European countries have reported cases of infection, five years after a major outbreak prompted the slaughter of millions of ducks in France.

“The virus is stronger than us. New clusters are constantly emerging,” the…

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In its final days, Trump administration launches lame-duck attack on migratory birds

Exposing the Big Game's avatarCommittee to Abolish Sport Hunting Blog

By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson

January 8, 2021 0 Comments

In its final days, Trump administration launches lame-duck attack on migratory birds

Birds already face unprecedented challenges to their survival because of climate change and other manmade threats like habitat loss, building and vehicle collisions, power lines, cell towers and other communications infrastructure development.Photo by Emie Decker/iStock.com

The Trump administration, in its final days, is attempting to undo crucial, century-old protections for migratory birds as a handout to the construction and oil and gas industries.

Anew rule published this weekby the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would exempt industries from being prosecuted or penalized under the 100-year-old Migratory Bird Treaty Act if their actions, such as failure to cover tar pits or the spraying of banned pesticides, result in bird deaths.

If the deaths were unintentional, the FWS says in the rule, there will be no enforcement. “This rule simply reaffirms the original meaning and intent of the…

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This psychopath has finally crossed the red line: He must be stopped now

Exposing the Big Game's avatarThe Extinction Chronicles

Alan D. Blotcky  9 hrs ago

This psychopath has finally crossed the red line: He must be stopped now (msn.com)


‘TRAITOR, TRAITOR!’ Videos show Trump supporters accosting GOP Sen…Dr. Fauci Says How You Can Avoid the New COVID StrainThis psychopath has finally crossed the red line: He must be stopped now

Donald Trump© Provided by SalonDonald Trump

President Donald Trump speaks at the “Stop The Steal” Rally on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. Trump supporters gathered in the nation’s capital today to protest the ratification of President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory over President Trump in the 2020 election.Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

The disturbing events and images from Wednesday, Jan.6, 2021, will live forever in infamy. It was on that day that insurrectionists attacked the sacred halls of the U.S. Capitol after being provoked, encouragedand fueled by President Donald Trump. It was Trump’s last-ditch effort to overturn our democratic election…

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Three Men Arrested for Beating Dolphin to Death in Vicious Attack

Samantha Lock  2 hrs ago

Three Men Arrested for Beating Dolphin to Death in Vicious Attack (msn.com)


Rep. Crenshaw slams congressional push to overturn election as…Josh Hawley rebuked by fellow Republicans and home-state newspapers —…Three Men Arrested for Beating Dolphin to Death in Vicious Attack

A dolphin was beaten to death by a group of men who used sticks and rods to beat the helpless animal in a vicious attack in India.animal on the water: File photo: A bottle nosed dolphin swimming in the Bay of Islands in Pahia, New Zealand.© Lisa Wiltse/Getty File photo: A bottle nosed dolphin swimming in the Bay of Islands in Pahia, New Zealand.

The disturbing incident, which took place on December 31, was filmed in Uttar Pradesh in the country’s far north.

In the footage, at least three men can be seen beating the critically endangered freshwater Ganges river dolphin as one man pins the animal down.

The dolphin struggles to free itself but is powerless against the group of men as blood pours from its body.

Horrific , difficult to watch video from UP’s Pratapgarh where these villagers beat a Dolphin ( yes a dolphin ) to death on dec 31 . Three arrested , says @pratapgarhpol . Must take a different level of depravity to do this … pic.twitter.com/KsV7eBZW4F— Alok Pandey (@alok_pandey) January 8, 2021

Towards the end of the 30-second clip, the dolphin appears to show few signs of life from the vicious attack.

“You are assaulting it for no reason,” one man can be heard saying, according to NDTV.

A forest department official who responded to a call about the incident, reportedly found the animal lying lifeless by the side of the Sharda Sahayak canal.

The official said the dolphin had received multiple injuries, including axe wounds. Villagers were reportedly unwilling to reveal how it died.

Three men have since been arrested after the video went viral on social media, according to the Pratapgarh Police Department.

In November, the gutted carcass of an endangered freshwater dolphin was found in a river sanctuary in Bangladesh, leading wildlife officials to express fears of a spike in poaching during the country’s coronavirus lockdown.

Residents in the town of Raojan spotted the body of the Ganges river dolphin on the banks of the Halda River, AFP reported. It contained a deep incision from the neck to the tail.

Poachers appeared to have gutted the 62-inch-long animal, removing layers of body fat—a product that is used in local traditional medicine—Abdullah al Mamun, an official from the Bangladeshi fishery department, told AFP.

The Ganges dolphin is critically endangered. According to the World Wildlife Fund, there are thought to be between just 1,200 and 1,800 Ganges river dolphins left living in the wild in Nepal, Bangladesh and India.

Concerns over poaching during coronavirus lockdowns have been raised by wildlife officials in countries around the world.

Poaching attempts have increased in Kaziranga National Park in India, which is home to the world’s biggest population of one-horned rhinos, during the country’s lockdown, AFP reported.

There has also been a spike in the killing of other animals in India, with poachers targeting the endangered Indian gazelle, peacocks, and other species, according to The Hindu Times.

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Brian May launches his own perfume line to help protect wildlife

Brian May launches his own perfume line to help protect wildlifeImage: @brianmayforreal / Instagram

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Posted byMohsina Dodhiya

The limited-edition perfume will be sold in a blood-red bottle and all money raised will be sent to Brain’s Save Me Trust, which works for wildlife protection.

Today, Queen legend Brian May is launching his own badger-scented perfume to raise funds for the protection of wildlife.

The legendary musician has teamed up founder of the Xerjoff perfume company, Sergio Momo to develop the new fragrance, which is named after the 1980’s hit Save me.https://www.instagram.com/p/CJxrQ2bBblK/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=13&wp=675&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.totallyveganbuzz.com&rp=%2Fnews%2Fbrian-may-perfume-protect-wildlife%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A5858.504999894649%7D

The limited-edition perfume will be sold in a blood-red bottle and all money raised will be sent to Brain’s Save Me Trust, which works for wildlife protection.

Taking to Instagram to make the announcement, May wrote: “What’s all this?!!

“Something I hope you will all love!

“The launch of the amazing SAVE-ME perfume! To benefit wild animals. Through the kindness of Sergio Momo – founder of Xerjoff !!!!

“Limited edition coming soon!”https://www.instagram.com/p/CJuqa6mBSfr/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=13&wp=675&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.totallyveganbuzz.com&rp=%2Fnews%2Fbrian-may-perfume-protect-wildlife%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A1%2C%22os%22%3A5878.934999927878%7D

SAVE-ME

The ingredients of the perfume include pink pepper, jasmine, chamomile, mimosa, ylang-ylang, and musk.https://www.instagram.com/p/CJq-Izhr2qe/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=13&wp=675&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.totallyveganbuzz.com&rp=%2Fnews%2Fbrian-may-perfume-protect-wildlife%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A5893.954999977723%7D

Speaking about the new launch, the Sun reported an insider, who said:  “A lot of effort has gone into it and Brian did a lot of smellings before he was happy.

“The scent has deliberately earthy overtones — a hint of clean badger fur, some sandalwood, and something a bit limey.

“It’s surprisingly refreshing and hopefully will fly off the shelves.”

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and Mono will host an official presentation online to promote Save Me at shop.livescale.tv today at 6 pm UK time.https://www.instagram.com/p/CJq-LZ7L60I/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=13&wp=675&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.totallyveganbuzz.com&rp=%2Fnews%2Fbrian-may-perfume-protect-wildlife%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A3%2C%22os%22%3A10944.094999926165%7D

Activist May

May, who regularly speaks out about animal-rights, participated in the Veganuary challenge in 2020 and later urged people to give the lifestyle a shot especially in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

In an interview, with NME, he spoke about the connection between eating animals and pandemics such as COVID-19. May said: “If you want to get deep into it, I think we should be looking again at whether we should be eating animals. That’s a central issue here. 

“This pandemic seemed to come from people eating animals… It’s becoming more well known that eating animals is not the greatest thing for our health.

“But to go vegan was just a decision, and I haven’t been preachy about it. But now, we’ve seen more of the effects of how eating animals has brought us to our knees as a species. I think it’s time to re-examine our world in a way that doesn’t abuse other species.

“Whether we will see that happen, I don’t know. But I think I will start to be a bit more preachy about veganism because to me it is the way forward, in so many ways.”