wakingtimes--2020-06-08--Chevron Uses Conflicted Judges To Crucify Amazonian Lawyer Steven Donziger

Steven Donziger , a lawyer who recently received the support of 29 Nobel laureates and thousands of lawyers around the world , helped the indigenous people of Ecuador ’ s Amazon win a historic judgment in 2011 against Chevron .
Since then , Chevron has joined forced with U.S. judge Lewis A. Kaplan to abusively target Donziger in New York in a series of unprecedented legal actions that have wiped out his assets .
The corruption has depleted Donziger ’ s resources , and stopped Steven ’ s ability to earn a living – to the point where Donziger seeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Chevron is being formally accused by Donziger ’ s attorneys of owning legal officials .
Calls for the reinstatement of the lawyer ’ s illegally revoked law license now stretch to over 475 lawyers , legal organizations and human rights groups , according to the International Association of Democratic lawyers .
Donziger has been defended by NGOs , politicians and even rock legend Roger Waters of Pink Floyd , all calling for the reinstatement of his law license as this writer previously reported .
Chevron has claimed that Donziger is a “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arguing that his law license should be revoked .
More like Donziger is a “ threat to corporate interest , ” as Pink Floyd Rock legendary musician Roger Waters has said .
Several other people have spoken out about what ’ s going on with Donziger , and some have even testified at his hearing .
“ In my work I ’ ve met a lot of people in pursuit of accountability , and Donziger is right up at the top of those .
He has done an unbelievable job.
” – Simon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ All evidence to the contrary that Steven is a threat to the public.
” – Public interest attorney Zoe Littlepage “ He ’ s a completely honorable man representing people grievously harmed .
What he and his family have gone through is unbelievable .
He ’ s been attacked and demonized to distract the American courts and world public from the fact that Chevron committed a crime and owes the people of Ecuador for a cleanup.
” – Rex Weyler , co-founder of Greenpeace It has been some time since Activist Post last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Donziger .
New legal documents have surfaced , filed by Donziger ’ s attorneys , accusing judges of being bought and paid for by the corporate oil giant Chevron .
This is something this writer also made note of in a series of articles questioning the case , asking why Donizger had his law license revoked when it was other corrupt parties that deserved disbarment and not the lawyer who fought for the Amazonian Ecuadorian people ( here , here and here ) .
Activist Post has been covering the story of Steven @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first learned about the judicial abuses and deplorable actions of NY District Court Justice Lewis Kaplan in favor of Chevron .
For the past almost 10 months , Donziger has been forced under house arrest with an electronic bracelet on his ankle for defending the Ecuadorian Amazonian people against big oil ’ s environmental damages .
Last year in August , Activist Post reported that Donziger faced house arrest after Judge Kaplan ordered a Special Prosecutor to indict Donziger , as well as yank his passport , punishing him even further .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ corrupt saga and give the reader some background information .
For over a decade , New York lawyer and activist Steven Donziger , of Donziger and Associates , has been fighting Chevron after the oil giant bought out Texaco .
However , just when we think we ’ ve seen it all in the Chevron case , NY District Court Justice Lewis Kaplan seeks to prove we ain ’ t seen nothing yet .
Judge Kaplan wants Amazonian lawyer , Steven Donziger , destroyed , at all costs !
On September 17th , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testified on behalf of Donziger at a formal bar licensing hearing in New York , where for the first time witnesses were able to address the facts of Chevron ’ s fraud in bringing its retaliatory civil RICO ( “ racketeering ” ) case designed to try to undermine the legitimate $ 9.5 billion judgment won by Ecuadorian communities in 2011 .
Several witnesses at the hearing explained how Chevron and its lawyers at the infamous Gibson , Dunn & Crutcher firm – led by Randy Mastro , former deputy mayor to Rudy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ acts to target Donziger based largely on the testimony of a corrupt witness who was paid at least $ 2 million by the company and who later admitted to lying under oath .
Many respected lawyers , authors , and activists also testified on Donziger ’ s behalf .
Without exception , all described Donziger as a man dedicated to justice in Ecuador on behalf of Chevron ’ s victims , who was framed by Chevron and its corrupt witness Alberto Guerra , who claimed without any corroborating evidence that Donziger had approved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Paul Paz y Miño , Amazon Watch ’ s Director of Outreach wrote .
Amazon Watch further provided a detailed recap of the Donziger saga : • In 2011 , Chevron was found liable in Ecuador for the deliberate dumping of billions of gallons of toxic oil waste into the Amazon between 1964 and 1992 , decimating indigenous groups and provoking an outbreak of cancer that has killed hundreds if not thousands of people .
• Four levels of courts in Ecuador – including its supreme and constitutional courts – imposed damages on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; most of the pollution , including an estimated 1,000 unlined toxic waste pits , continue to poison soils , rivers , and groundwater .
• Having definitively lost the case in Ecuador , Chevron abruptly removed all of its assets from the country and never paid a dime to the affected communities .
• In the RICO case , Chevron bribed its star witness Alberto Guerra and used false evidence to try to criminalize human rights lawyer Steven Donziger and the Ecuadorian communities fighting for cleanup .
• Donziger ’ s law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the allegation that he was “ an immediate threat to the public interest ” due to his litigation against Chevron .
• With U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan as an ally , Chevron has demanded Donziger surrender his computer and cell phone for inspection by the company so that it can sue or target anybody Donziger has been in touch with , or anyone supporting the campaign for justice in Ecuador .
• Judge Kaplan has held Donziger in civil contempt , seized his passport , and fined him an exorbitant $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over his computer and phone while an appeal is pending .
• Judge Kaplan himself then filed criminal contempt charges against Donziger and asked the federal prosecutor in New York to prosecute him ; the prosecutor refused .
• Judge Kaplan then appointed private lawyers from a corporate law firm and deputized them to act as “ government prosecutors ” to target Donziger .
Pending trial , Donziger has been confined to home detention and required to wear an electronic monitoring device for the last two months .
• Chevron has tried to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with its unprecedented , unethical , and illegal attacks against Steven Donziger and those who stand up for a proper environmental cleanup in Ecuador .
Judge Kaplan denied a jury for the Ecuadorian villagers ’ case against the oil company while Kaplan had investments in the oil companies , which is a requisite for Judge Kaplan to be recused from the case .
The judge also flatly refused to allow the victims ( who suffer illnesses from Texaco/Chevron toxic waste ) he referred to as “ plaintiffs ” to produce evidence about massive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Instead , Judge Kaplan threatened Donziger with massive fines for refusing to give his computer and cell phone to Chevron ( which would violate the sacrosanct attorney-client privilege ) .
Kaplan has proven he is a lapdog for Chevron time and time again .
In June , one single day after this writer ’ s first article was published , the judge escalated his abuse even further against Donziger by issuing a cruel and unusual punishment .
The tyrannical Kaplan ordered Donziger to face fines up to $ 200,000 per day and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he fails to turn over attorney-client privileged information .
Chevron is already on public record claiming that Donziger doesn ’ t have enough money to satisfy the $ 800,000 judgment Justice Kaplan has egregiously awarded Chevron , on top of the now-ordered $ 200,000 a day fine .
When Donziger refused to do so , the out-of-bounds Judge Kaplan asked the Southern District of NY U.S. Attorney ’ s office to prosecute Donziger for contempt .
The SDNY U.S. Attorney office declined to prosecute Donziger and do the judge ’ s corrupt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Steven Donziger is now fighting to restore his right to practice law after his license was suspended without a hearing , an unfathomable case .
The case is based entirely on the retaliatory RICO suit and testimony by a bribed witness who admitted they lied , as Activist Post ’ s Derrick Broze reported in 2015 .
Kaplan has been working on behalf of Chevron , who claims that Donziger committed fraud , bribed a judge in Ecuador and ghost-wrote the Ecuadorian verdict .
All statements that are proven to be completely false @ @ @ @ @ @ @ However , because no U.S. court would consider that evidence , Judge Kaplan ’ s RICO verdict still stands .
Even though his court order is still active and Donziger is being punished , the findings have been thoroughly discredited and even rejected by 17 appellate judges in Ecuador .
It is highly ironic that Donziger is being accused of fraud and bribery , since the sole witness Chevron utilized against him is an Ecuadorian Judge Alberto Guerra .
Guerra was thrown off his bench for corruption , admitted to lying , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 2 million dollars , Alternet reported .
Kaplan also dismissed the fact that Guerra was being paid $ 12,000 a month by Chevron , as well as being supplied with a personal lawyer and a car under the company “ witness-protection program.
” The abuse of due process is unrelenting as Judge Kaplan continuously demonstrated bias in the Chevron case , according to U.S. Appellate Attorney Deepak Gupta ( who represented Donziger ) .
In recently filed documents , the corruption is laid bare and judges are accused of horrific crimes against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ abuse of power and judicial misconduct according to Donziger ’ s lawyer , Andrew Frisch , a former federal prosecutor .
Frisch accused Kaplan and Judge Loretta Preska , a member of the Trump-affiliated Federalist Society of abuses of power and misconduct in the Donziger case .
Frisch ’ s main points are as follows as reported by the website MakeChevronCleanUp : • Kaplan filed criminal contempt charges against Donziger last July and quietly named Preska to preside while he ran the case from the background , creating what Frisch called a “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hide his true role and to immunize himself from a recusal motion given his long history of bias against Donziger .
In handpicking Preska , Kaplan also bypassed local rules requiring random assignment of cases .
• To ensure he could control the contempt charges against Donziger from behind the scenes , Kaplan also appointed a private law firm with extensive ties to the oil industry to prosecute in the name of the U.S. government after the U.S. Attorney ( the regular prosecutor ) rejected the charges .
Kaplan never disclosed that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chevron on its private client roster or that it worked for several companies that do business with Chevron , as outlined in an affidavit from ethics expert Ellen Yaroshfsky .
• Kaplan , Preska , and the Seward law firm appeared to collude to actively cover-up the Seward conflict for months despite continued pressure from Donziger to disclose any relationship with the company .
In a court hearing before Preska on January 6 , Seward partner Rita Glavin ( appointed by Kaplan to prosecute ) denied any conflict of interest as she was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ client .
• In February before the Federal appellate court , Glavin again refused to consent to Donziger ’ s release while continuing to deceive the court by covering up her firm ’ s conflict .
Normally , such deceit is grounds for bar discipline .
Under pressure from Frisch and the Yaroshefsky opinion , Glavin and her partner Mark Hyland grudgingly disclosed the conflict in late March months after Donziger had been put in detention .
• When Donziger ’ s counsel later insisted that Seward describe the nature of its representation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provide any further information citing its duties of loyalty to Chevron as a private client .
Seward is putting its loyalties to Chevron ahead of its ethical duties to turn over exculpatory information to a defendant it is trying imprison in apparent service of Chevron ’ s goal of blocking the lawyer from enforcing the Ecuador judgement , said Frisch .
• Preska issued an order last week that “ reveals abuses of power and discretion surpassed only by gross indifference to prosecutorial misconduct and the appearance of judicial bias , ” according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effort to protect Kaplan and the Seward firm , Preska ruled that the conflict of interest was not severe enough to warrant disqualification .
She also denied Donziger an evidentiary hearing .
• Chevron ’ s main law firm used to attack Donziger for the last decade , Gibson Dunn & Crutcher , also had an obligation to disclose Seward ’ s conflict once the criminal contempt case began but failed to do so .
Lawyers at Gibson Dunn for months had been urging Kaplan to jail Donziger .
Since then , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the Seward firm and even appeared to be drafting some of the firm ’ s submissions urging Donziger ’ s continued detention .
“ Simply stated , Judges Kaplan and Preska have ratified deceit by the lawyers appointed by Judge Kaplan to prosecute the criminal case about their firm ’ s attorney-client relationship with the Chevron Corporation , for whose benefit Judge Kaplan issued the orders which Mr. Donziger is alleged to have willfully violated , ” Frisch wrote in the brief .
In addition , a referee named John R. Horan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Southern District of New York , found Mr. Donziger ’ s testimony at the disciplinary proceeding [ in late 2019 , during the pendency of the criminal case ] to be “ candid and clear … [ with ] no sign of dissembling or evasiveness.
” This all further displays what this writer has talked about before regarding corruption becoming the rule instead of the exception spreading across the world that Corps are acting above the law with oil giants and big banks toxicity infecting our systems of global justice .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ tale , where New York Attorney Steven Donziger won a decade-long case for $ 9 billion against Chevron .
Now , the real fight begins against the corrupt collusion of a judge and a corporate giant .
This is a bigger case than you may imagine with more at stake than just a lawyer and his law license .
Donziger ’ s case will shape and determine global human rights issues , and decide whether corporations can evade their legal accountability for disasters such as what happened in Ecuador .
In other words @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a precedent normalizing this type of behavior , which will be felt for generations to come ; and if this treatment is allowed , all future lawyers fighting for reparations for those affected by a tragedy caused by a corporation may be terrified to do their due duty .
Aaron Kesel writes for Activist Post where this article ( Chevron Uses Conflicted Judges To Crucify Amazonian Lawyer Steven Donziger ) was originally published .

Chevron Uses Conflicted Judges To Crucify Amazonian Lawyer Steven Donziger
Aaron Kesel, Activist Post
Waking Times
Steven Donziger, a lawyer who recently received the support of 29 Nobel laureates and thousands of lawyers around the world, helped the indigenous people of Ecuador’s Amazon win a historic judgment in 2011 against Chevron. Since then, Chevron has joined forced with U.S. judge Lewis A. Kaplan to abusively target Donziger in New York in a series of unprecedented legal actions that have wiped out his assets. The corruption has depleted Donziger’s resources, and stopped Steven’s ability to earn a living – to the point where Donziger seeks donations for his legal defense.
Now, Chevron is being formally accused by Donziger’s attorneys of owning legal officials. Calls for the reinstatement of the lawyer’s illegally revoked law license now stretch to over 475 lawyers, legal organizations and human rights groups, according to the International Association of Democratic lawyers.
Donziger has been defended by NGOs, politicians and even rock legend Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, all calling for the reinstatement of his law license as this writer previously reported.
Chevron has claimed that Donziger is a “threat to the public interest,” arguing that his law license should be revoked. More like Donziger is a “threat to corporate interest,” as Pink Floyd Rock legendary musician Roger Waters has said.
He’s a huge help to the public interest, in my view. He presents something of a threat to corporate America, which is why he’s being demonized and vilified, which is why his license is being suspended.
Several other people have spoken out about what’s going on with Donziger, and some have even testified at his hearing.
“In my work I’ve met a lot of people in pursuit of accountability, and Donziger is right up at the top of those. He has done an unbelievable job.” – Simon Taylor, founder of Global Witness “All evidence to the contrary that Steven is a threat to the public.” – Public interest attorney Zoe Littlepage “He’s a completely honorable man representing people grievously harmed. What he and his family have gone through is unbelievable. He’s been attacked and demonized to distract the American courts and world public from the fact that Chevron committed a crime and owes the people of Ecuador for a cleanup.” – Rex Weyler, co-founder of Greenpeace
It has been some time since Activist Post last updated readers about the case against Steven Donziger. New legal documents have surfaced, filed by Donziger’s attorneys, accusing judges of being bought and paid for by the corporate oil giant Chevron.
This is something this writer also made note of in a series of articles questioning the case, asking why Donizger had his law license revoked when it was other corrupt parties that deserved disbarment and not the lawyer who fought for the Amazonian Ecuadorian people (here, here and here).
Activist Post has been covering the story of Steven Donziger since last year when this reporter first learned about the judicial abuses and deplorable actions of NY District Court Justice Lewis Kaplan in favor of Chevron. For the past almost 10 months, Donziger has been forced under house arrest with an electronic bracelet on his ankle for defending the Ecuadorian Amazonian people against big oil’s environmental damages.
Last year in August, Activist Post reported that Donziger faced house arrest after Judge Kaplan ordered a Special Prosecutor to indict Donziger, as well as yank his passport, punishing him even further.
I will quickly summarize previous stories in this corrupt saga and give the reader some background information.
For over a decade, New York lawyer and activist Steven Donziger, of Donziger and Associates, has been fighting Chevron after the oil giant bought out Texaco. However, just when we think we’ve seen it all in the Chevron case, NY District Court Justice Lewis Kaplan seeks to prove we ain’t seen nothing yet. Judge Kaplan wants Amazonian lawyer, Steven Donziger, destroyed, at all costs!
Amazon Watch reports:
On September 17th, I (Paul Paz y Miño) testified on behalf of Donziger at a formal bar licensing hearing in New York, where for the first time witnesses were able to address the facts of Chevron’s fraud in bringing its retaliatory civil RICO (“racketeering”) case designed to try to undermine the legitimate $9.5 billion judgment won by Ecuadorian communities in 2011. Several witnesses at the hearing explained how Chevron and its lawyers at the infamous Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher firm – led by Randy Mastro, former deputy mayor to Rudy Guiliani – engaged in unethical and illegal acts to target Donziger based largely on the testimony of a corrupt witness who was paid at least $2 million by the company and who later admitted to lying under oath. Many respected lawyers, authors, and activists also testified on Donziger’s behalf. Without exception, all described Donziger as a man dedicated to justice in Ecuador on behalf of Chevron’s victims, who was framed by Chevron and its corrupt witness Alberto Guerra, who claimed without any corroborating evidence that Donziger had approved a bribe to a judge,” Paul Paz y Miño, Amazon Watch’s Director of Outreach wrote.
Amazon Watch further provided a detailed recap of the Donziger saga:
In 2011, Chevron was found liable in Ecuador for the deliberate dumping of billions of gallons of toxic oil waste into the Amazon between 1964 and 1992, decimating indigenous groups and provoking an outbreak of cancer that has killed hundreds if not thousands of people.
Four levels of courts in Ecuador – including its supreme and constitutional courts – imposed damages on Chevron of at least $9.5 billion; most of the pollution, including an estimated 1,000 unlined toxic waste pits, continue to poison soils, rivers, and groundwater.
Having definitively lost the case in Ecuador, Chevron abruptly removed all of its assets from the country and never paid a dime to the affected communities.
In the RICO case, Chevron bribed its star witness Alberto Guerra and used false evidence to try to criminalize human rights lawyer Steven Donziger and the Ecuadorian communities fighting for cleanup.
Donziger’s law license was suspended in New York based on the allegation that he was “an immediate threat to the public interest” due to his litigation against Chevron.
With U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan as an ally, Chevron has demanded Donziger surrender his computer and cell phone for inspection by the company so that it can sue or target anybody Donziger has been in touch with, or anyone supporting the campaign for justice in Ecuador.
Judge Kaplan has held Donziger in civil contempt, seized his passport, and fined him an exorbitant $200,000 per day for refusing to turn over his computer and phone while an appeal is pending.
Judge Kaplan himself then filed criminal contempt charges against Donziger and asked the federal prosecutor in New York to prosecute him; the prosecutor refused.
Judge Kaplan then appointed private lawyers from a corporate law firm and deputized them to act as “government prosecutors” to target Donziger. Pending trial, Donziger has been confined to home detention and required to wear an electronic monitoring device for the last two months.
Chevron has tried to undermine the very idea of corporate accountability with its unprecedented, unethical, and illegal attacks against Steven Donziger and those who stand up for a proper environmental cleanup in Ecuador.
Judge Kaplan denied a jury for the Ecuadorian villagers’ case against the oil company while Kaplan had investments in the oil companies, which is a requisite for Judge Kaplan to be recused from the case. The judge also flatly refused to allow the victims (who suffer illnesses from Texaco/Chevron toxic waste) he referred to as “plaintiffs” to produce evidence about massive environmental contamination caused by the oil giants.
Instead, Judge Kaplan threatened Donziger with massive fines for refusing to give his computer and cell phone to Chevron (which would violate the sacrosanct attorney-client privilege).
Kaplan has proven he is a lapdog for Chevron time and time again. In June, one single day after this writer’s first article was published, the judge escalated his abuse even further against Donziger by issuing a cruel and unusual punishment.
The tyrannical Kaplan ordered Donziger to face fines up to $200,000 per day and to seize his passport for each day that he fails to turn over attorney-client privileged information.
Chevron is already on public record claiming that Donziger doesn’t have enough money to satisfy the $800,000 judgment Justice Kaplan has egregiously awarded Chevron, on top of the now-ordered $200,000 a day fine.
When Donziger refused to do so, the out-of-bounds Judge Kaplan asked the Southern District of NY U.S. Attorney’s office to prosecute Donziger for contempt.
The SDNY U.S. Attorney office declined to prosecute Donziger and do the judge’s corrupt dirty work, Courthouse News reported.
Steven Donziger is now fighting to restore his right to practice law after his license was suspended without a hearing, an unfathomable case. The case is based entirely on the retaliatory RICO suit and testimony by a bribed witness who admitted they lied, as Activist Post’s Derrick Broze reported in 2015.
Kaplan has been working on behalf of Chevron, who claims that Donziger committed fraud, bribed a judge in Ecuador and ghost-wrote the Ecuadorian verdict. All statements that are proven to be completely false by both testimony and forensic evidence. However, because no U.S. court would consider that evidence, Judge Kaplan’s RICO verdict still stands. Even though his court order is still active and Donziger is being punished, the findings have been thoroughly discredited and even rejected by 17 appellate judges in Ecuador.
It is highly ironic that Donziger is being accused of fraud and bribery, since the sole witness Chevron utilized against him is an Ecuadorian Judge Alberto Guerra. Guerra was thrown off his bench for corruption, admitted to lying, and Chevron confessed the witness had been paid $2 million dollars, Alternet reported.
Kaplan also dismissed the fact that Guerra was being paid $12,000 a month by Chevron, as well as being supplied with a personal lawyer and a car under the company “witness-protection program.”
The abuse of due process is unrelenting as Judge Kaplan continuously demonstrated bias in the Chevron case, according to U.S. Appellate Attorney Deepak Gupta (who represented Donziger).
In recently filed documents, the corruption is laid bare and judges are accused of horrific crimes against the court. These crimes include — abuse of power and judicial misconduct according to Donziger’s lawyer, Andrew Frisch, a former federal prosecutor.
Frisch accused Kaplan and Judge Loretta Preska, a member of the Trump-affiliated Federalist Society of abuses of power and misconduct in the Donziger case.
Frisch’s main points are as follows as reported by the website MakeChevronCleanUp:
Kaplan filed criminal contempt charges against Donziger last July and quietly named Preska to preside while he ran the case from the background, creating what Frisch called a “two-headed” judge designed by Kaplan to hide his true role and to immunize himself from a recusal motion given his long history of bias against Donziger. In handpicking Preska, Kaplan also bypassed local rules requiring random assignment of cases.
To ensure he could control the contempt charges against Donziger from behind the scenes, Kaplan also appointed a private law firm with extensive ties to the oil industry to prosecute in the name of the U.S. government after the U.S. Attorney (the regular prosecutor) rejected the charges. Kaplan never disclosed that the firm, Seward & Kissel, has Chevron on its private client roster or that it worked for several companies that do business with Chevron, as outlined in an affidavit from ethics expert Ellen Yaroshfsky.
Kaplan, Preska, and the Seward law firm appeared to collude to actively cover-up the Seward conflict for months despite continued pressure from Donziger to disclose any relationship with the company. In a court hearing before Preska on January 6, Seward partner Rita Glavin (appointed by Kaplan to prosecute) denied any conflict of interest as she was refusing to disclose that Chevron was a client.
In February before the Federal appellate court, Glavin again refused to consent to Donziger’s release while continuing to deceive the court by covering up her firm’s conflict. Normally, such deceit is grounds for bar discipline. Under pressure from Frisch and the Yaroshefsky opinion, Glavin and her partner Mark Hyland grudgingly disclosed the conflict in late March months after Donziger had been put in detention.
When Donziger’s counsel later insisted that Seward describe the nature of its representation of Chevron, the firm refused to provide any further information citing its duties of loyalty to Chevron as a private client. Seward is putting its loyalties to Chevron ahead of its ethical duties to turn over exculpatory information to a defendant it is trying imprison in apparent service of Chevron’s goal of blocking the lawyer from enforcing the Ecuador judgement, said Frisch.
Preska issued an order last week that “reveals abuses of power and discretion surpassed only by gross indifference to prosecutorial misconduct and the appearance of judicial bias,” according to the filing. In an apparent effort to protect Kaplan and the Seward firm, Preska ruled that the conflict of interest was not severe enough to warrant disqualification. She also denied Donziger an evidentiary hearing.
Chevron’s main law firm used to attack Donziger for the last decade, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, also had an obligation to disclose Seward’s conflict once the criminal contempt case began but failed to do so. Lawyers at Gibson Dunn for months had been urging Kaplan to jail Donziger. Since then, a team of Gibson Dunn lawyers began coordinating with the Seward firm and even appeared to be drafting some of the firm’s submissions urging Donziger’s continued detention.
“Simply stated, Judges Kaplan and Preska have ratified deceit by the lawyers appointed by Judge Kaplan to prosecute the criminal case about their firm’s attorney-client relationship with the Chevron Corporation, for whose benefit Judge Kaplan issued the orders which Mr. Donziger is alleged to have willfully violated,” Frisch wrote in the brief.
In addition, a referee named John R. Horan, a former Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, found Mr. Donziger’s testimony at the disciplinary proceeding [in late 2019, during the pendency of the criminal case] to be “candid and clear … [with] no sign of dissembling or evasiveness.”
This all further displays what this writer has talked about before regarding corruption becoming the rule instead of the exception spreading across the world that Corps are acting above the law with oil giants and big banks toxicity infecting our systems of global justice.
It is a classic David vs. Goliath tale, where New York Attorney Steven Donziger won a decade-long case for $9 billion against Chevron. Now, the real fight begins against the corrupt collusion of a judge and a corporate giant. This is a bigger case than you may imagine with more at stake than just a lawyer and his law license. Donziger’s case will shape and determine global human rights issues, and decide whether corporations can evade their legal accountability for disasters such as what happened in Ecuador.
In other words, Donziger’s case could set a precedent normalizing this type of behavior, which will be felt for generations to come; and if this treatment is allowed, all future lawyers fighting for reparations for those affected by a tragedy caused by a corporation may be terrified to do their due duty.
About the Author
Aaron Kesel writes for Activist Post where this article (Chevron Uses Conflicted Judges To Crucify Amazonian Lawyer Steven Donziger) was originally published.


wakingtimes--2020-06-08--Don’t Relinquish Civil Liberties for False Sense of Security

Barbara Loe Fisher is the co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center ( NVIC ) , which is the oldest and largest consumer-led nonprofit organization in the U.S. providing accurate and objective information to prevent vaccine injuries and deaths through public education and help people make informed health choices .
As noted by Fisher , the rapid movement by governments and the pharmaceutical industry toward mandatory vaccinations against COVID-19 and the proposed tracking and tracing of all individuals under the guise of public health is a culmination of everything we have been talking about for decades .
Legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has represented the notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and other prominent individuals , is now using a 1905 Supreme Court ruling to justify government officials literally detaining Americans and forcibly vaccinating them if they do not agree to get vaccinated voluntarily .
Fisher explains : If the worst-case scenario occurs and your state decides to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine , or any other vaccine , the practical question will be how they ’ re going to enforce it .
They ’ ll most probably rely on local police and/or the county sheriff .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the people and are directly accountable to the citizens in their county , the state Constitution , and the U.S. Constitution , and have the legal authority to deny what they consider to be an unlawful governmental order .
For this reason , I believe it is important to know who your county sheriff is .
Get to know and develop a relationship with them .
Educate them about why it is important to defend the human right to make informed , voluntary decisions about medical risk taking , including vaccine risk-taking .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ although the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Jacobson v. Massachusetts affirmed the constitutional authority of elected representatives in state legislatures to pass public health laws requiring vaccination , state legislators also have the constitutional authority to choose NOT to mandate vaccines and/or to include flexible medical , religious and conscientious belief exemptions in state public health laws .
This is why , in 2010 , the National Vaccine Information Center created the NVIC Advocacy Portal , an online communications tool that monitors vaccine-related state legislation and alerts residents when proposed bills are moving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact-based talking points you can share when contacting your legislators .
The bottom line is that we need , as a nation , to start developing personal relationships with the elected legislators and officials , including our county sheriff .
They need to know we will not accept tyranny in America .
For example , H.R.6666 , the COVID-19 Testing , Reaching and Contacting Everyone ( TRACE ) Act , introduced in the House of Representatives May 1 , 2020 , has 64 co-sponsors ( all Democrats ; one Republican has withdrawn his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 100 billion to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to hire people to go door-to-door to test the population for COVID-19 for fiscal year 2020 , with more funds to follow , as needed , in subsequent fiscal years .
If you test positive , they ’ ll trace all your contacts and demand that you quarantine in your home or in a mobile unit .
Children could be taken into child services if parents are quarantined .
The fast-tracking of a COVID-19 vaccine to licensure and subsequent widespread use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What we must remember here is that vaccine manufacturers are not liable for any damage their vaccines do .
Since 2011 , drug companies making and selling vaccines are even shielded from design defect lawsuits , which means they have absolutely no incentive for making vaccines less harmful .
The 2006 Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act also indemnifies all drug companies making vaccines used during a public health emergency or a pandemic .
So , vaccine companies , as well as any person who administers , mandates or enforces vaccine mandates , does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new coronavirus vaccine turns out to be a catastrophe .
What ’ s more , when a COVID-19 vaccine does come out , there likely will be little or no information about its side effects , particularly long-term side effects .
Moderna , which is a top contender in the race to be the first to get a licensed COVID-19 vaccine on the market , began human trials of its experimental mRNA vaccine in March 2020 .
The words are important here , as high-binding antibodies are associated with paradoxical immune enhancement .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ — What Could Go Wrong ?
” previous attempts to create coronavirus vaccines have failed due to coronaviruses triggering production of two different types of antibodies : one that fights disease , and one that triggers paradoxical immune enhancement that often results in very serious disease and/or death when the vaccinated person is exposed to the wild coronavirus .
Based on the historical coronavirus vaccine failures , this could become one of the biggest public health disasters in history .
And , no one involved will be accountable or face any repercussions .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s also important to realize that only healthy people are enrolled in these human trials , yet only 4 in 10 Americans are actually free of chronic disease .
What ’ s more , according to recent NHANES data , 87.8 % of Americans are metabolically inflexible , which impairs their immune function .
The NHANES data is over 4 years old and our metabolic health has only declined since 2016 , so the number is likely higher than 90 % , or 9 in 10 Americans are unhealthy to some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vitamin D deficiency is rampant , yet public health authorities are not stressing the importance of optimizing your vitamin D levels to reduce your risk of infection .
If you do nothing else , make sure you raise your vitamin D level above 40 nanograms per milliliter , at bare minimum , and ideally 60 ng/mL , before this fall , when another predicted “ second ” wave of COVID-19 may hit .
Now , aside from using entirely novel manufacturing methods like messenger RNA ( mRNA ) , DNA and nanoparticle genetic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccines being fast tracked to licensure also will be using novel vaccine delivery methods .
One new type of vaccine delivery , which the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has funded and promoted , uses a microneedle array rather than conventional injection .
The microneedles are equipped with fluorescent quantum dot tags .
The resulting invisible mark can then be read by a smartphone equipped with a special sensor .
COVID-19 Vaccine Will Alter Your RNA and DNA As noted by Fisher , the mRNA vaccines being developed against COVID-19 will alter your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tremendous concern .
The idea behind them is to turn your body into a protein manufacturing plant , and if your immune system is hypersensitive , it could overreact , causing severe problems .
Considering how many people have autoimmune diseases and allergies , these vaccines could have devastating effects for many .
Fisher is particularly concerned about the precedent set in Virginia in 2019 , when the state legislature , which is now dominated by one political party , decided to eliminate the ability of duly elected legislators to decide which vaccines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The legislature voted to immediately codify into Virginia law the CDC ’ s recommended childhood vaccine schedule .
In the future , every new vaccine the CDC recommends for children ( such as a COVID-19 vaccine ) will be automatically mandated in Virginia for school attendance without public hearings and input from citizens and without a vote by legislators .
Fifth International Public Conference on Vaccination in October 2020 October 16 through 18 , 2020 , NVIC will sponsor the Fifth International Public Conference on Vaccination .
The theme is “ Protecting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The conference will bring together well-known speakers from around the world presenting information on vaccine science , policy , law , ethics and civil liberties and will feature formal presentations , panel discussions and live chat rooms .
NVIC has held four previous hotel-based conferences in the Washington , D.C. , area but , this time around , the conference will be held online due to the unpredictability of government regulations related to COVID-19 , including travel and social distancing restrictions that may still be in play in October .
So , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more information that will be posted soon about the conference .
In the meantime , be sure to sign up for the NVIC Advocacy Portal .
It ’ s free , and you will stay informed about proposed vaccine-related legislation happening in your state that could further restrict or eliminate your legal right to make voluntary vaccine decisions for yourself and your children .

Don’t Relinquish Civil Liberties for False Sense of Security
Dr. Mercola, Guest
Waking Times
Barbara Loe Fisher is the co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), which is the oldest and largest consumer-led nonprofit organization in the U.S. providing accurate and objective information to prevent vaccine injuries and deaths through public education and help people make informed health choices.
As noted by Fisher, the rapid movement by governments and the pharmaceutical industry toward mandatory vaccinations against COVID-19 and the proposed tracking and tracing of all individuals under the guise of public health is a culmination of everything we have been talking about for decades.
“Back in 1993, I started to predict that the day would come when Americans would not be able to participate in society without showing proof they’ve been vaccinated with whatever the government says they have to be vaccinated with,” Fisher says.
Utilitarianism Demands Sacrifice ‘for the Greater Good’
Legal proponents such as Alan Dershowitz, who has represented the notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and other prominent individuals, is now using a 1905 Supreme Court ruling to justify government officials literally detaining Americans and forcibly vaccinating them if they do not agree to get vaccinated voluntarily. Fisher explains:
“Dershowitz … was quite reckless in the language he used. He basically said that the Supreme Court in 1905 (Jacobson v. Massachusetts), [gives] the right of state governments to come in and forcibly inject you with a vaccine. That’s not really what Jacobson v. Massachusetts said …
In that case, it was smallpox, because that was the only vaccine they had in 1905, but you have to read the Supreme Court decision very carefully to understand everything that the justices said.
They basically concluded — and I think wrongly so, because utilitarianism … is based on a mathematical equation that some can be inconvenienced or sacrificed for the greater good of a majority of people — that people [who] opposed smallpox vaccination could be required to be vaccinated during epidemics.
Even religious objections could be overridden. But there’s also language in that decision that says that the court is not to be interpreted as meaning that if an individual was at risk for being harmed by the vaccination, they were not meant to [have concluded] that “cruel and inhuman to the last degree” would be the standard that would be used.
I think Dershowitz overstated the opinion, although it is a utilitarian opinion. It gives authority to the states to mandate vaccines because anything that is not defined in the Constitution as a federal activity is reserved for the states.
Public health laws, by and large in this country, are written by the states, and the federal authority is requiring vaccination for people crossing territorial borders of the United States [and the federal government] could mandate vaccines for interstate travel, crossing state borders. But most public health laws that legislatures make are for the residents of the states, which is why we have a patchwork of [vaccine] laws in this country …
I’m very worried that some attorney is going to try to challenge the Jacobson [ruling] in the 21st century. I think that, probably, in any court right now, you’re going to get that ruling upheld and you’re going to get it strengthened. I would advise against [challenging] that one in the Supreme Court.”
Enforcement Will Become a Hot Issue
If the worst-case scenario occurs and your state decides to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine, or any other vaccine, the practical question will be how they’re going to enforce it. They’ll most probably rely on local police and/or the county sheriff.
Thankfully, county sheriffs are elected by the people and are directly accountable to the citizens in their county, the state Constitution, and the U.S. Constitution, and have the legal authority to deny what they consider to be an unlawful governmental order.
http://youtu.be/H7_ydMElx_8
For this reason, I believe it is important to know who your county sheriff is. Get to know and develop a relationship with them. Educate them about why it is important to defend the human right to make informed, voluntary decisions about medical risk taking, including vaccine risk-taking.
It is important to remember that, although the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Jacobson v. Massachusetts affirmed the constitutional authority of elected representatives in state legislatures to pass public health laws requiring vaccination, state legislators also have the constitutional authority to choose NOT to mandate vaccines and/or to include flexible medical, religious and conscientious belief exemptions in state public health laws.
This is why, in 2010, the National Vaccine Information Center created the NVIC Advocacy Portal, an online communications tool that monitors vaccine-related state legislation and alerts residents when proposed bills are moving in their state. They also provide fact-based talking points you can share when contacting your legislators.
The bottom line is that we need, as a nation, to start developing personal relationships with the elected legislators and officials, including our county sheriff. They need to know we will not accept tyranny in America.
“Let’s hope that what has happened this year is a lesson to the people that [they must] elect legislators who are going to reflect their values and beliefs — traditional values and beliefs that have been respected in this country for 245 years. If we don’t elect good people, we’re not going to have good laws,” Fisher says.
“The millennials and the Gen Xers have got to start running for office if they want to have a future where they’re going to be able to enjoy freedom of speech and conscience, freedom of religion and the right to assembly.
All of these things [are] protected in the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights. We have to elect people at the state and federal level who are not going to sell out, who are not going to sacrifice their integrity for money.
We know the pharmaceutical industry is the biggest lobby on Capitol Hill … we’ve got to build a firewall between government and industry that has been completely broken down in the last 40 years.”
H.R. 6666 Violates Several Constitutional Amendments
For example, H.R.6666, the COVID-19 Testing, Reaching and Contacting Everyone (TRACE) Act, introduced in the House of Representatives May 1, 2020, has 64 co-sponsors (all Democrats; one Republican has withdrawn his name) and that bill would give $100 billion to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to hire people to go door-to-door to test the population for COVID-19 for fiscal year 2020, with more funds to follow, as needed, in subsequent fiscal years.
If you test positive, they’ll trace all your contacts and demand that you quarantine in your home or in a mobile unit. Children could be taken into child services if parents are quarantined.
“This is a violation of a number of amendments in the Constitution that protect our right to life and liberty, that protect our right to be free in our homes, and not be taken out of our homes and put somewhere the government wants to put us,” Fisher says.
“If we do not start to become aware of these laws that are being passed by legislators on Capitol Hill and [in] our state legislatures, we are going to be a captive people who don’t have civil liberties anymore …
We’re seeing this erosion of civil liberties because, unless you take liberty from the people — and they’re doing it in the name of safety — you cannot do the kinds of things that we’ve been talking about [such as restricting work, education, travel and social engagement unless you are vaccinated and implementing biometric tracking of the population] …
Having sat here for almost 40 years watching this vaccine empire unfold, I know that Bill Gates … has changed everything. He was a big proponent of public-private partnerships because he’s a businessman … He is a big believer in vaccinating the world and Gavi [the Gates-funded Vaccine Alliance] … is all about pharma.
All these companies are involved in vaccinating the world, and COVID-19 vaccines are being fast-tracked to licensure with additional funding from governments like the U.S. government — half a billion dollars to one company and half a billion dollars to another.
Moderna is an NIAID-supported vaccine. A lot of money has been given to these companies to fast-track these COVID-19 vaccines using technology that’s never been licensed before — DNA, messenger RNA [and] nanoparticle [vaccines].”
Operation Warp Speed
The fast-tracking of a COVID-19 vaccine to licensure and subsequent widespread use has been termed Operation Warp Speed. What we must remember here is that vaccine manufacturers are not liable for any damage their vaccines do. Since 2011, drug companies making and selling vaccines are even shielded from design defect lawsuits, which means they have absolutely no incentive for making vaccines less harmful.
The 2006 Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act also indemnifies all drug companies making vaccines used during a public health emergency or a pandemic. So, vaccine companies, as well as any person who administers, mandates or enforces vaccine mandates, does not face any liability whatsoever if a new coronavirus vaccine turns out to be a catastrophe.
What’s more, when a COVID-19 vaccine does come out, there likely will be little or no information about its side effects, particularly long-term side effects. Moderna, which is a top contender in the race to be the first to get a licensed COVID-19 vaccine on the market, began human trials of its experimental mRNA vaccine in March 2020.
According to a May 18, 2020, press release, “After two doses, all participants evaluated to date across the 25 microgram and 100 mcg dose cohorts seroconverted with binding antibody levels at or above levels seen in convalescent sera.” The vaccine also “elicited neutralizing antibody titer levels in all eight initial participants …”
The words are important here, as high-binding antibodies are associated with paradoxical immune enhancement.
As explained in “Fast-Tracked COVID-19 Vaccine — What Could Go Wrong?” previous attempts to create coronavirus vaccines have failed due to coronaviruses triggering production of two different types of antibodies: one that fights disease, and one that triggers paradoxical immune enhancement that often results in very serious disease and/or death when the vaccinated person is exposed to the wild coronavirus.
Based on the historical coronavirus vaccine failures, this could become one of the biggest public health disasters in history. And, no one involved will be accountable or face any repercussions. Instead, they will all profit.
It’s also important to realize that only healthy people are enrolled in these human trials, yet only 4 in 10 Americans are actually free of chronic disease. What’s more, according to recent NHANES data, 87.8% of Americans are metabolically inflexible, which impairs their immune function.
The NHANES data is over 4 years old and our metabolic health has only declined since 2016, so the number is likely higher than 90%, or 9 in 10 Americans are unhealthy to some degree.
On top of that, vitamin D deficiency is rampant, yet public health authorities are not stressing the importance of optimizing your vitamin D levels to reduce your risk of infection. If you do nothing else, make sure you raise your vitamin D level above 40 nanograms per milliliter, at bare minimum, and ideally 60 ng/mL, before this fall, when another predicted “second” wave of COVID-19 may hit.
They’re determined to somehow implant, or in some way have our bodies carry our vaccination records … They’re going for it all right now … American people are going to have to really take a look and figure out, do they want to give up their civil liberties for an illusion of safety?
COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery
Now, aside from using entirely novel manufacturing methods like messenger RNA (mRNA), DNA and nanoparticle genetic engineering technology, some of the COVID-19 vaccines being fast tracked to licensure also will be using novel vaccine delivery methods.
One new type of vaccine delivery, which the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has funded and promoted, uses a microneedle array rather than conventional injection. The microneedles are equipped with fluorescent quantum dot tags. The resulting invisible mark can then be read by a smartphone equipped with a special sensor.
“This is definitely something that Bill Gates has been pushing,” Fisher says. “He has been pushing not only that everybody in the world has to get all these vaccines, but also that governments need to be able to track [people’s vaccination status].
Certainly, this type of administration of a vaccine is a double bubble because not only do you get the vaccine in the person, but you also are able to track them … They’re determined to somehow implant, or in some way have our bodies carry our vaccination records …
They’re going for it all right now … the American people are going to have to really take a look and figure out, do they want to give up their civil liberties for an illusion of safety? It’s really an illusion of safety.”
COVID-19 Vaccine Will Alter Your RNA and DNA
As noted by Fisher, the mRNA vaccines being developed against COVID-19 will alter your RNA and DNA, which is of tremendous concern. The idea behind them is to turn your body into a protein manufacturing plant, and if your immune system is hypersensitive, it could overreact, causing severe problems. Considering how many people have autoimmune diseases and allergies, these vaccines could have devastating effects for many.
“When you try to stimulate strong inflammatory responses in the body through the use of genetic manipulation, squalene oil-based adjuvants and nanoparticle technology — one vaccine is even using electricity to try to hyperstimulate an immune response — what is this going to do to people who don’t resolve inflammation in the body and become chronically inflamed and chronically ill and disabled?
This is what vaccines do. They stimulate inflammation in the body. They have to in order to provoke an antibody response, but this is atypical. When you’re trying to do this in the body, this is not a normal way that the body mounts an inflammatory response to a microbe.
They’ve turned everything upside down and we are just accepting it. Why are we not thinking critically? Why do people think that they shouldn’t really do the research and look at the science and look at what’s being done before they take a pharmaceutical product or a vaccine? This is what I don’t understand. We’ve totally given up our critical thinking ability and said the experts are going to do it for us …
I think that what people need to do — and I’ve been advocating this for 40 years — is you need to get educated, you need to get the accurate facts. Mercola.com and NVIC.org, we do our research.
We reference all of our information because we want you to have accurate information, and you need to share that information with your family, friends, community leaders and legislators because the only way that we’re going to be able to change government is by electing people who are going to reflect our values and beliefs — people who understand that we have a right, a human right, to make voluntary decisions about medical interventions — any medical procedure that can injure or kill us or our children.
It’s basic. It’s not hard. We’re governed by the laws that are made by the people we elect, and those people also appoint judges at the state and federal level. It all depends upon who we elect. At the end of the day, if … people are going to tyrannize us [and] violate our human rights, then we have to make a decision.
Everyone has to make a decision. The police, the sheriffs, every American is going to have to decide: Am I going to be somebody who is going to violate the civil rights and the human rights of my fellow citizens, or am I going to be somebody who follows my conscience and who understands the cultural values and beliefs that have guided this country for more than two centuries? …
I am praying that most Americans understand that we have got to fight for our freedom and for our civil liberties. It’s what has kept this country free for two centuries.”
Be Prepared to Protect State Authority
Fisher is particularly concerned about the precedent set in Virginia in 2019, when the state legislature, which is now dominated by one political party, decided to eliminate the ability of duly elected legislators to decide which vaccines are mandated for children to attend school.
The legislature voted to immediately codify into Virginia law the CDC’s recommended childhood vaccine schedule. In the future, every new vaccine the CDC recommends for children (such as a COVID-19 vaccine) will be automatically mandated in Virginia for school attendance without public hearings and input from citizens and without a vote by legislators.
“This is very dangerous,” she says. “Why? Because Jacobson v. Massachusetts affirmed the authority of the state legislatures to make vaccine laws. What Virginia has done is they’ve handed over that power. They’ve given away that power to the CDC and made the CDC a de facto law-making body for the state of Virginia.
Now they are going to try to do this in every state, so that basically there will be no more hearings on proposed vaccine additions … This is extremely dangerous. I urge everyone to sign up for our free [NVIC Advocacy] Portal because it’s a public service we provide, and we want you to be informed.
We give fact-based talking points you can use with your legislators. This issue is going to become more and more important because of the power grab that has occurred in the last few months over this pandemic. Please be prepared. Please stand up for your right to make voluntary vaccine decisions.”
Fifth International Public Conference on Vaccination in October 2020
October 16 through 18, 2020, NVIC will sponsor the Fifth International Public Conference on Vaccination. The theme is “Protecting Health and Autonomy in the 21st century.” The conference will bring together well-known speakers from around the world presenting information on vaccine science, policy, law, ethics and civil liberties and will feature formal presentations, panel discussions and live chat rooms.
NVIC has held four previous hotel-based conferences in the Washington, D.C., area but, this time around, the conference will be held online due to the unpredictability of government regulations related to COVID-19, including travel and social distancing restrictions that may still be in play in October.
So, mark your calendars and check NVIC.org for more information that will be posted soon about the conference.
In the meantime, be sure to sign up for the NVIC Advocacy Portal. It’s free, and you will stay informed about proposed vaccine-related legislation happening in your state that could further restrict or eliminate your legal right to make voluntary vaccine decisions for yourself and your children.


wakingtimes--2020-06-09--Not Alone? Four “Mysterious Signals” Captured From Outer Space

Not Alone ?
Four “ Mysterious Signals ” Captured From Outer Space A team of scientists headed by Shivani Bhandari , an astronomer with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization ( CSIRO ) , Australia ’ s federal agency responsible for scientific research , has made a breakthrough discovery by pinpointing the precise location of four fast radio bursts ( FRBs ) .
FRBs are very mysterious bursts of radio waves coming from somewhere in the universe .
The average pulse ranges for a few milliseconds , caused by high-energy sources , which are not entirely understood .
Bhandari @ @ @ @ @ @ @ June 1 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters , reveals that four FRBs came from massive galaxies forming new stars .
They said FRBs originated not from the center of galaxies , but rather from the outer edges .
Bhandari ’ s team found exact locations for FRB 180924 , FRB 181112 , FRB 190102 , and FRB 190608 by using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder ( ASKAP ) radio telescope in Western Australia .
Co-author of the study , CSIRO Professor Elaine Sadler said FRBs could not have come from a superluminous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jocelyn Bell Burnell , an astrophysicist from Northern Ireland who co-discovered FRBs , said : “ Positioning the sources of fast radio bursts is a huge technical achievement and moves the field on enormously .
We may not yet be clear exactly what is going on , but now , at last , options are being ruled out .
This is a highly significant paper , thoroughly researched , and well written , ” said Burnell .
According to another paper ( dated February 3 ) by a team of astrophysicists in Canada @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was recorded as repeating based on a clearly discernible pattern .
“ The discovery of a 16.35-day periodicity in a repeating FRB source is an important clue to the nature of this object , ” the team said .
A summary of some of the key findings are as follows : Both findings suggest astronomers are one step closer to understanding the source of these mysterious radio signals coming from deep within the universe .
Could this mean we ’ re not alone ?
By Tyler Durden / Republished with permission / Zero @

Not Alone? Four “Mysterious Signals” Captured From Outer Space
Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge
Waking Times
A team of scientists headed by Shivani Bhandari, an astronomer with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia’s federal agency responsible for scientific research, has made a breakthrough discovery by pinpointing the precise location of four fast radio bursts (FRBs).
FRBs are very mysterious bursts of radio waves coming from somewhere in the universe. The average pulse ranges for a few milliseconds, caused by high-energy sources, which are not entirely understood.
Bhandari’s new research, published on June 1 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, reveals that four FRBs came from massive galaxies forming new stars. They said FRBs originated not from the center of galaxies, but rather from the outer edges.
“These precisely localized fast radio bursts came from the outskirts of their home galaxies, removing the possibility that they have anything to do with supermassive black holes,” said Bhandari.
Bhandari’s team found exact locations for FRB 180924, FRB 181112, FRB 190102, and FRB 190608 by using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope in Western Australia.
Bhandari said, “This first detailed study of the galaxies that host fast radio bursts rules out several of the more extreme theories put forward to explain their origins, getting us closer to knowing their true nature.”
Co-author of the study, CSIRO Professor Elaine Sadler said FRBs could not have come from a superluminous stellar explosion or cosmic strings.
“Models such as mergers of compact objects like white dwarfs or neutron stars, or flares from magnetars created by such mergers, are still looking good,” Sadler said.
Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, an astrophysicist from Northern Ireland who co-discovered FRBs, said:
“Positioning the sources of fast radio bursts is a huge technical achievement and moves the field on enormously. We may not yet be clear exactly what is going on, but now, at last, options are being ruled out. This is a highly significant paper, thoroughly researched, and well written,” said Burnell.
According to another paper (dated February 3) by a team of astrophysicists in Canada, a “mystery radio signal” was recorded as repeating based on a clearly discernible pattern. “The discovery of a 16.35-day periodicity in a repeating FRB source is an important clue to the nature of this object,” the team said. A summary of some of the key findings are as follows:
“Between September 16, 2018 and October 30, 2019, detected a pattern in bursts occurring every 16.35 days. Over the course of four days, the signal would release a burst or two each hour. Then, it would go silent for another 12 days.
“…The signal is a known repeating fast radio burst, FRB 180916.J0158+65. Last year, the CHIME/FRB collaboration detected the sources of eight new repeating fast radio bursts, including this signal. The repeating signal was traced to a massive spiral galaxy around 500 million light-years away.”
Both findings suggest astronomers are one step closer to understanding the source of these mysterious radio signals coming from deep within the universe. Could this mean we’re not alone?
By Tyler Durden / Republished with permission / Zero Hedge


wakingtimes--2020-06-09--Scientists Are About To Release Millions of Genetically Modified Mosquitos in Florida and Texas

Scientists Are About To Release Millions of Genetically Modified Mosquitos in Florida and Texas This already historic and unprecedented summer could mark yet another outlandish first : scientists plan to release genetically modified mosquitos in Florida and Texas .
An attempt at disease control via genetic engineering , the scientists argue their efforts will , over time , greatly reduce the number of next-generation mosquitos .
Helmed by the company Oxitec , which acquired an experimental use permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency , the plan calls for the release of millions of gene-hacked mosquitos every week for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ breeds of the mosquito species , Aedes aegypti ( called OX5034 by Oxitec ) , scientists believe they can interrupt the birth of female offspring and eventually destroy the entire wild population , thereby preventing the transmission of diseases like dengue , chikungunya , yellow fever and Zika viruses .
As a widespread vector for disease transmission , mosquitos are one of the deadliest creatures in the world and have long been a prime candidate for such genetic engineering .
Hundreds of millions of people around the world contract mosquito-borne illnesses every year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the transmission of malaria alone represented 435,000 deaths .
Florida ’ s government website notes that Floridians are vulnerable to contracting “ West Nile virus disease , Eastern equine encephalitis , and St. Louis encephalitis.
” Local Texas government officials add the chikungunya virus to the list of parasitic threats wrought by mosquitos .
However , a wide coalition of biologists , geneticists , and bioethicists , have expressed concerns over the current EPA ’ s ability to oversee and regulate the deployment of the GM mosquitos .
They point to the failure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where the release of these Frankenstein insects yielded unintended consequences , namely the creation of “ super-resilient genetic hybrids.
” A public forum addressing the company ’ s permit application receiving overwhelmingly negative responses , indicating citizens of Florida and Texas are not altogether comfortable with the idea .
To address the conflict , the Institute for Sustainability , Energy and Environment at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign organized a “ Critical Conversation , ” which gathered expertise and risk assessment observations from academic , government and nonprofit institutions .
Alarmed at the lack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experts say all “ biological , ethical and social considerations ” must be assessed , noting that new mosquito proteins could also cause allergy problems in some people .

Scientists Are About To Release Millions of Genetically Modified Mosquitos in Florida and Texas
Jake Anderson, The Mind Unleashed
Waking Times
This already historic and unprecedented summer could mark yet another outlandish first: scientists plan to release genetically modified mosquitos in Florida and Texas. An attempt at disease control via genetic engineering, the scientists argue their efforts will, over time, greatly reduce the number of next-generation mosquitos.
Helmed by the company Oxitec, which acquired an experimental use permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the plan calls for the release of millions of gene-hacked mosquitos every week for the next two years.
By introducing sterile breeds of the mosquito species, Aedes aegypti (called OX5034 by Oxitec), scientists believe they can interrupt the birth of female offspring and eventually destroy the entire wild population, thereby preventing the transmission of diseases like dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika viruses.
As a widespread vector for disease transmission, mosquitos are one of the deadliest creatures in the world and have long been a prime candidate for such genetic engineering.
Hundreds of millions of people around the world contract mosquito-borne illnesses every year with fatal consequences. In 2017, the transmission of malaria alone represented 435,000 deaths.
Florida’s government website notes that Floridians are vulnerable to contracting “West Nile virus disease, Eastern equine encephalitis, and St. Louis encephalitis.” Local Texas government officials add the chikungunya virus to the list of parasitic threats wrought by mosquitos.
“Genetic engineering offers an unprecedented opportunity for humans to reshape the fundamental structure of the biological world,” scientists wrote in The Conversation.
However, a wide coalition of biologists, geneticists, and bioethicists, have expressed concerns over the current EPA’s ability to oversee and regulate the deployment of the GM mosquitos.
They point to the failure of a similar experiment in Brazil, where the release of these Frankenstein insects yielded unintended consequences, namely the creation of “super-resilient genetic hybrids.”
Oxitec scientists themselves noted the unpredictability of their work in this new field of research, writing, “…as new advances in genetic decoding and gene editing emerge with speed and enthusiasm, the ecological systems they could alter remain enormously complex and understudied.”
A public forum addressing the company’s permit application receiving overwhelmingly negative responses, indicating citizens of Florida and Texas are not altogether comfortable with the idea.
To address the conflict, the Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign organized a “Critical Conversation,” which gathered expertise and risk assessment observations from academic, government and nonprofit institutions.
Their recommendations included: 1) a government-funded open-source registry/database for GM organisms, 2) third-party analysis to “track the gene flow between GM and wild mosquitoes…[and their] ecological competitors,” and 3) “regulatory and funding support for an external advisory committee to review…[and] diverse expertise and local community representation.”
Alarmed at the lack of regulatory oversight by the EPA, experts say all “biological, ethical and social considerations” must be assessed, noting that new mosquito proteins could also cause allergy problems in some people.
By Jake Anderson | Creative Commons | TheMindUnleashed.com


wakingtimes--2020-06-09--New Data Show World Lost a Switzerland-Size Area of Primary Rainforest in 2019

New Data Show World Lost a Switzerland-Size Area of Primary Rainforest in 2019 Last year the world lost some 119,000 square kilometers ( 45,946 square miles ) of tree cover – an area the size of Nicaragua – according to satellite data collated by the University of Maryland ( UMD ) released today by World Resources Institute ( WRI ) .
Almost a third of that loss – or an area the size of Switzerland – came from primary humid tropical forests , which house most of the planet ’ s plant and animal species and play an important role @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from 2001 to 2019 and show an overall increase in the deforestation of primary forest last year over 2018 , thus ending a two-year decline and constituting the third-highest year of primary forest loss since the turn of the century .
Brazil , the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia took the top three spots in terms of absolute primary forest loss , followed by Bolivia , Peru and Malaysia .
The data also show some success stories , with deforestation trending down in several countries .
While what happens in 2020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the stories contained within the UMD data along with impacts from the COVID-19 crisis may portend another hard year for the world ’ s forests .
As in years past , Brazil won the top spot as the country that experienced the highest rate of deforestation overall .
Around 46 % occurred within primary forest , with 14,000 sq km ( 5,405 sq mi ) cleared in 2019 .
With the exceptions of the country ’ s record-level , fire-driven deforestation in 2016 and 2017 , Brazil ’ s primary forest loss was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time during the previous 13 years .
In terms of overall tree cover loss , which lumps in secondary forest , dry forest and also the occasional tree plantation , Brazil crept down a bit from 2018 , with 27,000 sq km lost last year .
The data show Brazil has lost 11 % of its tree cover since 2000 , and forest loss was up slightly in the Amazon Basin overall .
Drivers of deforestation in Brazil are many , with logging , mining , agribusiness and fires all taking huge tolls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sources on the ground say the rhetoric of Brazil ’ s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro is fanning the flames and encouraging loggers , ranchers and miners to invade forests – including those in protected areas .
Researchers are concerned that forest loss will rise in 2020 as fires set to prepare land cleared in 2019 for agriculture spread into nearby forest .
Next up is the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( DRC ) , which lost 4,750 sq km of primary forest in 2019 and 12,000 sq km of general tree cover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cover loss and primary forest loss declined somewhat between 2018 and 2019 , numbers are still hovering around the high-water mark set in 2016-2017 .
Small-scale agriculture appears to be driving the bulk of deforestation in the DRC and other countries of the Congo Basin .
However , researchers caution a “ new wave ” of industrial deforestation may be on the horizon and that the Congo Basin stands to lose all its primary forest by the end of the century if deforestation rates don ’ t subside .
Bolivia had a banner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more forest since UMD began collecting data in 2001 .
Overall , the country lost 1.3 % of its tree cover last year as record-breaking wildfires spread out of control in the latter half of the year .
The fires were felt particularly acutely in the Chiquitania dry forests of the department of Santa Cruz , which lost nearly 3 % of its tree cover in the space of a few months .
Officials attribute the fires to intentional burning to convert forest to farmland .
Sources say this practice increased after former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2019 that expanded land for livestock production and the agribusiness sector .
Despite the ousting of Morales in November , conservationists say it looks like Bolivia may be in for another heavy fire season in 2020 .
Another country that experienced record-breaking fires is Australia .
Referred to as the “ Black Summer , ” the fire season of late 2019/early 2020 ravaged an estimated 186,000 sq km , killing at least 34 people and potentially more than a billion animals .
Researchers say the fires damaged the habitat of 648 threatened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not uncommon in many of Australia ’ s forests , and some of the country ’ s famed eucalypt tree species even depend on it to spread their seeds .
But the scale and intensity of the 2019-2020 fire season was unprecedented , and affected ecosystems that are not so fire tolerant .
Researchers say climate change and poor forest management practices likely contributed to the severity of the fires .
The Victoria state government recently announced it will ban logging in 2030 , but researchers say allowing logging in the meantime will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Once again , forest loss dropped in Indonesia , marking 2019 the third year in a row where deforestation declined .
Primary forest loss in the country – while still ranking third in the world overall – took a particularly deep dive , hitting its lowest number since 2003 .
Researchers attribute this downturn to successful forest protection policies enacted after the country ’ s unprecedented 2016 fire crisis .
However , WRI analysts caution that clouds and haze may have obscured some deforestation events that happened in late 2019 , which means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may be higher .
Over in West Africa , the data show primary forest loss dropped 50 % in Ghana and Côte d ’ Ivoire in 2019 following a big uptick the previous year .
WRI analysts say this drop is likely due to effective conservation initiatives and pledges by the countries and major chocolate companies to end deforestation .
Colombia showed its first reduction in primary forest loss in five years , which declined 35 % from a 17-year high in 2018 and settled at the country ’ s lowest level since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rising deforestation rate over the past few years was fueled by the demobilization of the FARC rebel group , which allowed agribusiness to move into forested areas that were previously off limits .
However , preliminary data for 2020 indicate deforestation in Colombia may again be on the rise , and sources report small farmers and armed groups are moving into national parks .
After having the dubious honor of proportionally losing the most forest cover in 2018 , Madagascar appears to have bounced back .
The data show the country reduced its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , settling at the lowest level since 2012 .
However , as with Indonesia , clouds may have obscured late-2019 deforestation events in some areas from being picked up by satellites .
In a blog post that accompanied the release of the 2019 data , Seymour points to three things that can have big impacts on deforestation reduction : legal recognition of indigenous land rights , effective law enforcement and support from international markets and financial institutions .
So if we know what works , why isn ’ t it working ?
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seems .
In a post written in 2018 in response to yet another year of high deforestation numbers , Seymour says cash crops like soy , palm oil and beef are given preferential land use , buoyed by policies encouraging the use of commodities for livestock feed and biofuels .
Corrupt authorities turn blind eyes to illegal logging , with some government officials allegedly even directly involved in the illegal timber trade .
Meanwhile , indigenous communities , which research shows are often the most effective forest stewards , are often unrecognized as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lived on for generations – and murdered when they stand up to encroachers .
In order to hit the emergency brakes on the runaway train of deforestation , Seymour says emphasis must be placed on changing the incentives driving forest loss on a domestic , local level .
Seymour is also worried about how the COVID-19 pandemic and deforestation might play into each other .
She warns that forest fires could worsen the condition of people affected by the virus whose lungs are more sensitive to smoke pollution and says governments shouldn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to recover financially from the pandemic .
She also anticipates an increase in forest-dependent livelihoods as jobs are lost and urges the creation of “ forest-friendly ” jobs and temporary cash transfers .
Morgan has been writing for Mongabay since 2008 and came on full-time in 2014 .
Trained in biology , Morgan has taken any available opportunity to learn more about the world , from working as a fisheries biologist aboard longliners and freighters in the South Pacific to evaluating river health in western Montana .
Morgan spent eight years editing technical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 50 manuscripts under her belt .
Currently , she manages Mongabay ’ s forests and global palm oil reporting programs .
**This article ( New data show world lost a Switzerland-size area of primary rainforest in 2019 ) was originally posted at Mongabay.com and is re-posted here with permission .
**

New Data Show World Lost a Switzerland-Size Area of Primary Rainforest in 2019
Morgan Erickson-Davis, Mongabay
Waking Times
Last year the world lost some 119,000 square kilometers (45,946 square miles) of tree cover – an area the size of Nicaragua – according to satellite data collated by the University of Maryland (UMD) released today by World Resources Institute (WRI). Almost a third of that loss – or an area the size of Switzerland – came from primary humid tropical forests, which house most of the planet’s plant and animal species and play an important role in climate regulation.
The data run from 2001 to 2019 and show an overall increase in the deforestation of primary forest last year over 2018, thus ending a two-year decline and constituting the third-highest year of primary forest loss since the turn of the century. Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia took the top three spots in terms of absolute primary forest loss, followed by Bolivia, Peru and Malaysia. The data also show some success stories, with deforestation trending down in several countries.
While what happens in 2020 remains to be seen, researchers worry the stories contained within the UMD data along with impacts from the COVID-19 crisis may portend another hard year for the world’s forests.
Heavy hitters
As in years past, Brazil won the top spot as the country that experienced the highest rate of deforestation overall. Around 46% occurred within primary forest, with 14,000 sq km (5,405 sq mi) cleared in 2019. With the exceptions of the country’s record-level, fire-driven deforestation in 2016 and 2017, Brazil’s primary forest loss was higher in 2019 than at any other time during the previous 13 years.
In terms of overall tree cover loss, which lumps in secondary forest, dry forest and also the occasional tree plantation, Brazil crept down a bit from 2018, with 27,000 sq km lost last year. The data show Brazil has lost 11% of its tree cover since 2000, and forest loss was up slightly in the Amazon Basin overall.
Drivers of deforestation in Brazil are many, with logging, mining, agribusiness and fires all taking huge tolls on the country’s forests. Sources on the ground say the rhetoric of Brazil’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro is fanning the flames and encouraging loggers, ranchers and miners to invade forests – including those in protected areas. Researchers are concerned that forest loss will rise in 2020 as fires set to prepare land cleared in 2019 for agriculture spread into nearby forest.
Next up is the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which lost 4,750 sq km of primary forest in 2019 and 12,000 sq km of general tree cover last year. While both overall tree cover loss and primary forest loss declined somewhat between 2018 and 2019, numbers are still hovering around the high-water mark set in 2016-2017.
Small-scale agriculture appears to be driving the bulk of deforestation in the DRC and other countries of the Congo Basin. However, researchers caution a “new wave” of industrial deforestation may be on the horizon and that the Congo Basin stands to lose all its primary forest by the end of the century if deforestation rates don’t subside.
Bolivia had a banner year for deforestation in 2019, losing more forest since UMD began collecting data in 2001. Overall, the country lost 1.3% of its tree cover last year as record-breaking wildfires spread out of control in the latter half of the year. The fires were felt particularly acutely in the Chiquitania dry forests of the department of Santa Cruz, which lost nearly 3% of its tree cover in the space of a few months.
“It could take 100 years for Chiquitania forests to recover,” said WRI Mikaela Weiss, project manager of WRI’s online monitoring platform Global Forest Watch, which visualizes the UMD data.
Officials attribute the fires to intentional burning to convert forest to farmland. Sources say this practice increased after former president Evo Morales signed a decree earlier in 2019 that expanded land for livestock production and the agribusiness sector. Despite the ousting of Morales in November, conservationists say it looks like Bolivia may be in for another heavy fire season in 2020.
Another country that experienced record-breaking fires is Australia. Referred to as the “Black Summer,” the fire season of late 2019/early 2020 ravaged an estimated 186,000 sq km, killing at least 34 people and potentially more than a billion animals. Researchers say the fires damaged the habitat of 648 threatened species in Queensland alone.
Fire is not uncommon in many of Australia’s forests, and some of the country’s famed eucalypt tree species even depend on it to spread their seeds. But the scale and intensity of the 2019-2020 fire season was unprecedented, and affected ecosystems that are not so fire tolerant.
“Whereas normal fires might char the bark of a tree, last year’s fires turned trees to charcoal,” said Rod Taylor, global forests director at WRI.
Researchers say climate change and poor forest management practices likely contributed to the severity of the fires. The Victoria state government recently announced it will ban logging in 2030, but researchers say allowing logging in the meantime will open up forests to future fires.
Bright spots
Once again, forest loss dropped in Indonesia, marking 2019 the third year in a row where deforestation declined. Primary forest loss in the country – while still ranking third in the world overall – took a particularly deep dive, hitting its lowest number since 2003.
Researchers attribute this downturn to successful forest protection policies enacted after the country’s unprecedented 2016 fire crisis. However, WRI analysts caution that clouds and haze may have obscured some deforestation events that happened in late 2019, which means that the actual level of forest loss may be higher.
Over in West Africa, the data show primary forest loss dropped 50% in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire in 2019 following a big uptick the previous year. WRI analysts say this drop is likely due to effective conservation initiatives and pledges by the countries and major chocolate companies to end deforestation.
Colombia showed its first reduction in primary forest loss in five years, which declined 35% from a 17-year high in 2018 and settled at the country’s lowest level since 2016. Researchers say Colombia’s rising deforestation rate over the past few years was fueled by the demobilization of the FARC rebel group, which allowed agribusiness to move into forested areas that were previously off limits. However, preliminary data for 2020 indicate deforestation in Colombia may again be on the rise, and sources report small farmers and armed groups are moving into national parks.
After having the dubious honor of proportionally losing the most forest cover in 2018, Madagascar appears to have bounced back. The data show the country reduced its primary forest loss rate by nearly half, settling at the lowest level since 2012. However, as with Indonesia, clouds may have obscured late-2019 deforestation events in some areas from being picked up by satellites.
Uncertain times
“2020 was supposed to be the year we halved deforestation, but we’re going in the wrong direction,” said Frances Seymour, a Distinguished Senior Fellow at WRI and an expert in sustainable development.
In a blog post that accompanied the release of the 2019 data, Seymour points to three things that can have big impacts on deforestation reduction: legal recognition of indigenous land rights, effective law enforcement and support from international markets and financial institutions.
So if we know what works, why isn’t it working?
It all comes down to money, it seems. In a post written in 2018 in response to yet another year of high deforestation numbers, Seymour says cash crops like soy, palm oil and beef are given preferential land use, buoyed by policies encouraging the use of commodities for livestock feed and biofuels. Corrupt authorities turn blind eyes to illegal logging, with some government officials allegedly even directly involved in the illegal timber trade. Meanwhile, indigenous communities, which research shows are often the most effective forest stewards, are often unrecognized as owners of the land they’ve lived on for generations – and murdered when they stand up to encroachers.
“The situation reminds me of the many movies that feature a runaway train: The throttle of global demand for commodities has been engaged, and the brakes of law enforcement and indigenous stewardship have been disabled,” Seymour says in her post. “The only way to prevent a disastrous train wreck is for the hero (or heroine) to get into the conductor’s seat, remove the brick on the accelerator, and hit the emergency brakes.”
In order to hit the emergency brakes on the runaway train of deforestation, Seymour says emphasis must be placed on changing the incentives driving forest loss on a domestic, local level.
Seymour is also worried about how the COVID-19 pandemic and deforestation might play into each other. She warns that forest fires could worsen the condition of people affected by the virus whose lungs are more sensitive to smoke pollution and says governments shouldn’t relax forest protection as a way to recover financially from the pandemic. She also anticipates an increase in forest-dependent livelihoods as jobs are lost and urges the creation of “forest-friendly” jobs and temporary cash transfers.
“Consideration of forests in pandemic recovery efforts will determine if the tree cover loss numbers pivot up or down in the years to come,” Seymour said in her 2019 post. “Instead of actions that postpone overdue transitions to more resilient, low-carbon economies to avert the looming crisis of climate change, governments now have an opportunity to accelerate them.”
About the Author
Morgan has been writing for Mongabay since 2008 and came on full-time in 2014. Trained in biology, Morgan has taken any available opportunity to learn more about the world, from working as a fisheries biologist aboard longliners and freighters in the South Pacific to evaluating river health in western Montana. Morgan spent eight years editing technical papers before jumping into journalism, with more than 50 manuscripts under her belt. Currently, she manages Mongabay’s forests and global palm oil reporting programs.
**This article (New data show world lost a Switzerland-size area of primary rainforest in 2019) was originally posted at Mongabay.com and is re-posted here with permission.**