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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 September 25, 2016 21 Comments
I recently noted that President Obama's recent order is forcing our military to focus on climate change in its strategic planning. This is a latest in a long-string of policies that are clearly full of holes, as shown by the fact that the U.S. Navy's much-heralded, futuristic stealth destroyer sprung a leak on its maiden voyage. Navy officials state that this situation is completely normal for new ships:
Crew members have detected a leak on the Zumwalt, the new destroyer built at Bath Iron Works, but the Navy and defense experts say such errors are typical for a first-in-class ship. The destroyer is docked at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, and local news organizations reported it was scheduled for training at sea. The Zumwalt instead will be delayed in Norfolk for repairs, which are expected to take 10 days to two weeks.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 23, 2016 11 Comments
As the hot news of the potential use by ISIS of a chemical warfare agent against our troops in Iraq continue to stream out, our military personnel will take cold comfort in latest order inked from their Commander-in-Chief's mighty pen. President Obama has just issued a new policy directive demanding that national major security agencies and the military consider climate change when developing policies, plans, strategies, and programs.
Today, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum on Climate Change and National Security, establishing a policy that the impacts of climate change must be considered in the development of national security-related doctrine, policies, and plans," the White House said. "To achieve this, 20 federal agencies and offices with climate science, intelligence analysis, and national security policy development missions and responsibilities will collaborate to ensure the best information on climate impacts is available to strengthen our national security." White House special assistant to the president, Alice Hill, told reporters that the presidential memo will "prioritize climate threats" to identify the most significant risks to the nation's security and drive full consideration of climate change effects into national security plans and policies.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 22, 2016 5 Comments
U.S. officials are now reporting that ISIS fighters have attacked U.S. and Iraqi forces with a "crude" chemical weapon that may have been a mustard agent.
The U.S base outside Qayyarah, 25 miles south of Mosul, was struck by a rocket and traces of a "mustard agent" were believed to be present, the official said. The attack was first reported by CNN.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 20, 2016 15 Comments
Late last year, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was snubbed by President Obama during his visit to New York City for the United Nations General Assembly’s 70th meeting. Now, al-Sisi is gearing up to meet the two top challengers in the race to be the next Oval Office occupant.
An adviser to U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign said on Sunday that Trump will meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday during the United Nations General Assembly, just as Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, is also scheduled to do.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 19, 2016 7 Comments
Last week, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would battle the "regulatory industry" that has prospered under President Obama. The Environmental Protection Agency has been the tycoon of this industry. Now, in what is hopefully a sign of turnaround, a court has ruled in favor of American farmers who have been pitted against the agency in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
A federal appeals court recently overruled a lower court decision to throw out a lawsuit brought by the National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its release to environmental groups of personal information on tens of thousands of farmers. In late 2015, a U.S. district court dismissed the NPPC-Farm Bureau suit for lack of standing. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit in St. Louis ruled that “the associations have established a concrete and particularized injury in fact traceable to the EPA’s action and redressable by judicial relief.”

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 18, 2016 14 Comments
When President Obama said he would fundamentally transform America, who could have guessed it meant that exotic diseases and once-vanquished illnesses would break out across the county? The Zika virus, which we have been following closely, is increasing its footprint within our country. Florida Governor Rick Scott just announced that the Zika virus transmission zone in Miami Beach has tripled in size.
The new zone was set after the Department of Health identified five people, two males and three females, in the area who all experienced Zika symptoms within one month of one another. The virus poses a particular threat to pregnant woman due to its link with neurological disorders in unborn children. It brings the total of nontravel-related Zika cases in Miami Beach to 35.
When was the last time you heard about leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, which is a devastating bacterial infection that mostly occurs in poverty-sticken regions of the world? Now, a California school has reported two as yet unconfirmed cases among its student body.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 16, 2016 11 Comments
The plague of unbridled regulatory promulgation has sicked the American business environment, especially the environmental protection rule-making that has been especially toxic. During a detailed and address to the Economic Club of New York, GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump offered his plans for creating robust economic growth by targeting the "regulatory industry", as well as tax reforms and better trade deals.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 14, 2016 27 Comments
I will straight-up admit I am no fan of sports. Therefore, I have been mostly oblivious to the latest social justice drama playing out across the country involving San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refusing to stand during the national anthem. The kabuki theater of #BlackLivesMater America-hate is now spreading beyond the San Francisco team.
...Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters raised his fist, four Miami Dolphins players knelt, and players from several other teams interlocked arms or raised their fists as an apparent sign of unity with Kaepernick, who began his protest last month during the NFL's preseason over what he said was the oppression of "black people and people of color."

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 13, 2016 22 Comments
Few sciences have been as settled as dietary science.... until recently. I chronicled the substantial revisions issued regarding the scientific "consensus" about cholesterol last year. The "War on Cholesterol" has officially ended, though there is evidence that it adversely impacted American health and the nation's egg farmers while reaping absolutely no benefit. Now a new analysis of correspondence during the 1960's between a sugar trade group and researchers at Harvard University indicate there was an apparent collusion that ultimately cast doubt on sugar's role in heart disease and directed all the blame at fat.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 11, 2016 136 Comments
This weekend has been a very challenging one for Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. Yesterday we covered the impact of her poorly chosen phrase, "basket of deplorables", in social media. Today, she was rushed away from a 9-11 ceremony after what is being termed a "medical episode."
Hillary Clinton had a “medical episode” that required her to leave a 9/11 commemoration ceremony early on Sunday, a law enforcement source who witnessed the event told Fox News. The Democratic presidential nominee appeared to faint on her way into her van and had to be helped by her security, the source said. She was “clearly having some type of medical episode.”

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 11, 2016 4 Comments
I noted that Senate Democrats protected the sacred cow of Planned Parenthood when they blocked a bill to fight the spread of the Zika virus in this country. That decision now has consequences, as the coffers for the War against Zika are now running low.
Another government agency fighting Zika has run out of cash to do it, as Congress fights over whether and how to come up with more. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has spent all the money it has for work on Zika, says the agency's director, Dr. Anthony Fauci. That includes money for further work on a Zika vaccine.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 10, 2016 26 Comments
California's inane battle against climate change has resulted in even more toxic legislation. Last week, our legislature approved a bill targeting cow flatulence and manure, which lawmakers blame for releasing greenhouse gases.
Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) authored the bill, which passed shortly before the end of the legislative session. Lara agreed to a compromise that will give dairy farms more time to comply with the new regulations. Critics have expressed concerns the new regulations will result in an increase in the price of milk from California cows. Proponents of the bill say methane emissions have a huge influence on the climate. The legislation also calls for efforts that would significantly increase composting in order to eliminate the amount of food waste in landfills. Food waste releases methane when it breaks down.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 08, 2016 56 Comments
President Obama has TOTUS (Telepromter of the United States) and his wife has Michelle Obama's Mirror. After the Commander In Chief Forum hosted by NBC and moderated by Matt Lauer, a new social media star has been born: Hillary's Ear Piece. It became a trending topic on Twitter last night:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 07, 2016 8 Comments
Democrats in the Senate have pushed away funding for the Zika virus as reports from Florida indicate that seven more people have tested positive for the Zika virus, which they have acquired locally (most likely through mosquito bites). And, more troubling, there is a case of non-travel related Zika that has been contracted outside of the two zones that have had all the known locally acquired cases to this date.
...The Florida Department of Health confirmed on Tuesday that six more people contracted the virus in the tourist hot spot of Miami Beach. Over the past month, 40 people have contracted Zika from mosquitoes in Miami Beach and a second South Florida location - the Wynwood art district just north of downtown Miami. Those two areas have become the focus of health officials, mosquito control efforts and travel warnings for pregnant women from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 04, 2016 21 Comments
With less than 140 days left in the Oval Office, President Obama is attempting to ensure his legacy of foreign policy ineptitude continues on after his term ends. It appears as if he has succeeded with the Chinese, as observers indicate he was denied the usual pomp and pageantry reserved for greeting other heads-of-state.
China’s leaders have been accused of delivering a calculated diplomatic snub to Barack Obama after the US president was not provided with a staircase to leave his plane during his chaotic arrival in Hangzhou before the start of the G20. Chinese authorities have rolled out the red carpet for leaders including India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, the South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, Brazil’s president, Michel Temer, and the British prime minister, Theresa May, who touched down on Sunday morning.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 04, 2016 10 Comments
There is another disturbing report related to the spread of the Zika virus; however, this one doesn't involve birth defects or neurological problems. Millions of honey bees were killed after areas of South Carolina were sprayed to kill the mosquitoes that transmit the pathogen.
"On Saturday, it was total energy, millions of bees foraging, pollinating, making honey for winter," beekeeper Juanita Stanley said. "Today, it stinks of death. Maggots and other insects are feeding on the honey and the baby bees who are still in the hives. It's heartbreaking." Stanley, co-owner of Flowertown Bee Farm and Supply in Summerville, South Carolina, said she lost 46 beehives -- more than 3 million bees -- in mere minutes after the spraying began Sunday morning. "Those that didn't die immediately were poisoned trying to drag out the dead," Stanley said. "Now, I'm going to have to destroy my hives, the honey, all my equipment. It's all contaminated."
Truly, the images of the bee-keepers assessing the loss of both their bees and their livelihoods are heartbreaking:
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