Image 01 Image 03
Sign In or RegisterLogout

Author: Leslie Eastman

Profile photo

Leslie Eastman

I am an Environmental Health and Safety Professional, as well as a science/technical writer for a variety of news and professional publications. I have been a citizen activist since 2009, and am one of the co-founders of the San Diego-based group, Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 09, 2019 15 Comments
Beresheet, the world's first private mission to the moon, is well on its way to success. Beresheet means "in the beginning" in Hebrew. Built by Israeli non-profit SpaceIL for the now-defunct $20 million Google Lunar XPrize, the program was meant to inspire more Israelis to pursue STEM careers and chart the Moon's history.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 09, 2019 64 Comments
Like millions of Catholics this past Wednesday, I attended Mass and began the season of Lent by having an ash cross marked on my forehead. One student who also observed Ash Wednesday and went to school with an ash cross was forced to wash it off by a teacher, despite pleas from the boy that it was a symbol of his faith.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 08, 2019 22 Comments
The Atlantic has just published a status report on the California #Resistance and its battle with the White House.
From the moment Donald Trump took office, California has been ground zero for the resistance against him and his administration, in terms of both grassroots citizen activism and legal and administrative action by its Democratic-dominated state government. But since the inauguration of Governor Gavin Newsom in January, the Golden State has often seemed to be in a state of total war with the White House.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 07, 2019 14 Comments
The last time we visited Poland, eco-activists were upset with its continued reliance on coal power. The shrieks of green justice warriors will likely grow louder. Poland will continue with plans to dig a canal between its main eastern coastline and the Baltic Sea despite concerns among activists and in the European Union that it could damage the environment.
The Vistula Spit is a heavily wooded sandbank 55 km (34 miles) long but less than 2 km wide which encloses a coastal lagoon. Poland shares both the lagoon and the spit with the neighboring Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 05, 2019 14 Comments
The US Drug Enforcement Administration reported that a raid on a home in a sedate New York state neighborhood uncovered enough fentanyl to kill 2 million people.
Federal agents found five kilograms (just over 11 pounds) of fentanyl and six kilograms (13.2 pounds) of heroin Friday when they raided a fentanyl mill operating out of a home in Ardsley, the DEA said. Five people who were arrested during the raid are facing several drug charges.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 02, 2019 11 Comments
We have been chronicling how South Korea has been teaming up with North Korea on a number if different projects in an apparent effort geared toward eventually opening up the rogue nation in a way that will not be a severe economic strain on its southern neighbor. Though the Hanoi Summit did not conclude with a declaration, South Korea's President Moon Jae-in promises he will work toward having the other two countries complete the peace deal.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on February 28, 2019 39 Comments
Given the Democratic-staged drama of the Cohen hearings, one would be forgiven for not recognizing another historic summit occurred yesterday between President Donald Trump and North Korea's Dictator Kim Jong Un. Perhaps the American press will turn its attention to Hanoi today, as President Donald Trump cut short the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after denuclearization talks went nowhere.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the two leaders "had very good and constructive meetings" and "discussed various ways to advance denuclearization and economic driven concepts," but that "no agreement was reached at this time."

Posted by Leslie Eastman on February 27, 2019 10 Comments
Back in 2017, government officials were considering the creation of a "Red Team" to encourage debate about the scientific interpretations of studies related to the climate. Now, the White House appears to be going forward with plans to create a team of select federal scientists to review and potentially re-evaluate recent government assertions related to climate science, according to three administration officials.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on February 26, 2019 10 Comments
A statue honoring Christopher Columbus was vandalized this weekend in the San Diego area's Chula Vista.
According to police, officers were called to Discovery Park around noon after neighbors reported that someone poured red paint over the statue. When officers arrived they also found the words “genocide” and “FU” spray painted onto the figure. A brass plaque that used to be attached to the statue was also missing.
Accessibility by WAH