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Author: Leslie Eastman

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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 December 06, 2017 46 Comments
Despite its status as a blue state, a special set of entrepreneurs have figured out how to market one of Washinton's iconic products: Coffee. Perhaps inspired by the "Hooters" model for chicken wings, scantily clad women serve up delicious caffeinated drinks and a smile. The successful business model, however, was drawing concerns that criminal elements were attracted to bikini baristas.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on December 03, 2017 20 Comments
Public health experts are warning that the upcoming flu season may a rough one in this country, as data from Australia indicate the vaccine selected for this year's strain isn't effective against the virus.
The flu vaccine used this year in Australia — which has the same composition as the vaccine used in the U.S. — was only 10 percent effective, according to a preliminary estimate, at preventing the strain of the virus that predominantly circulated during the country's flu season,an international team of medical experts wrote in a perspective published today in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on December 03, 2017 33 Comments
Christmas is coming early for America's schoolchildren, as the Trump administration rolls back even more Obama-era lunacy. Chocolate milk will soon be back on public school lunch menus as new rules ease nutritional standards established by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act and championed by former first lady Michelle Obama.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on December 01, 2017 13 Comments
Earlier this year, I noted that the latest pollutant being targeted by environmentalists was microplastics from polymer-based fabrics. This proved troubling to many climate justice warriors, as activist essentials such as yoga pants was contributing to the flow of small, plastic particulates to the ocean.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 30, 2017 30 Comments
Earlier this week, I reviewed that cases of California politicians who were charged with sexual harassment by numerous women who work with the state Assembly and Senate in Sacramento. I must admit, I was a little surprised that some comments seemed to indicate we were facing a new millennium version of the Salem Witch Trials. Therefore, I would like to offer another analogy.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 28, 2017 14 Comments
Environmental activists constantly accuse humanity of destroying the Planet Earth. A case can be made that the reverse is actually true. Take, for instance, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's finding that there are is a mantle plume underneath Antarctica, which seems to explain much of the melting of the continental ice shelf.
Researchers at NASA have discovered a huge upwelling of hot rock under Marie Byrd Land, which lies between the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea, is creating vast lakes and rivers under the ice sheet. The presence of a huge mantle plume could explain why the region is so unstable today, and why it collapsed so quickly at the end of the last Ice Age, 11,000 years ago.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 26, 2017 13 Comments
There has been a fascinating developments in relations between North Korea and China over the past week. Just before Thanksgiving, North Korea’s Kim Jong-un appeared to have snubbed China by not agreeing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s diplomatic envoy.
Song Tao, head of the Communist Party’s international department, wrapped up his four-day trip to North Korea on Monday, the first visit by a senior Chinese official since 2015.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 25, 2017 13 Comments
As a teenager, one of the books I recall reading during that formative phase in my life was Helter Skelter, written by killer cult leader Charles Manson's determined prosecutor, Vincent Bugliosi, who won death sentences for Manson and his band of butchers. The tenacious lawyer, who passed away in 2015, was interviewed by Time Magazine about his book in 2009 about his book and the country's continued fascination with the cult. His explanation centered on the era in which the slaughters occurred.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 24, 2017 15 Comments
We have been following the outbreak of Hepatitis A as it has spread among the homeless and drug-users of California, into Utah, Michigan and Colorado. Public health officials are now reporting a significant uptick of cases of the disease in Kentucky. Genetic tests indicate the strain of the virus, which is transmitted via fecal matter and cause life-threatening effects on the liver, is the same strain as the one from Southern California.
Kentucky has become the fifth state to declare an outbreak of hepatitis A, reporting the 31 cases so far this represent a 55 percent increase over the annual averages for the past 10 years.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 24, 2017 17 Comments
As Professor Jacobson recently noted, California Governor Jerry Brown occasionally has moments of sanity and clarity. In what can only be described as a Thanksgiving miracle, it is being reported that Brown is endeavoring to tackle the looming employee pension crisis by reforming the pension benefits for current government employees.
Gov. Jerry Brown got most of what he wanted when he carried a proposal to shore up the state’s underfunded public employee pension plans by trimming benefits for new workers.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 23, 2017 12 Comments
Happy Thanksgiving. This year, I wanted to take an in-depth look at cranberries, which are second only to the turkey drumstick as the favorite component of my holiday meal. The little, red sphere of tartness turns out to be only one of three fruits that naturally occur in North America (the other two being blueberries and Concord grapes).

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 22, 2017 11 Comments
Continuing the fun holiday tradition, President Trump pardoned two turkeys, named Wishbone and Drumstick, from becoming Thanksgiving dinner.
"I'm pleased to report that unlike millions of other turkeys at this time of the year, Drumstick has a very, very bright future ahead of him," Trump said at the pardoning, with first lady Melania and son Barron standing by his side and many extended family members in the audience.
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