Quotes CJReplay • 9mo ago • 100%

Quote about "Making it" in America by Phillip Bonosky

>>“Making it” means making it in the specifically American climate of cut-throat, unprincipled competition, where good guys not only always end up last but deserve to, where the prize is money and power, and though the price is the loss of character and humanity, few hesitate to pay it. But money and power are the highest good possible for an American to achieve, and to achieve it no holds are barred, all foul means are fair. If you “win” no questions asked. There is only one caveat: don’t get caught.

I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning about the Soviet Union, their trade unions, their working conditions, their technology, or what life was like for visitors.

Image link https://assets.thehansindia.com/h-upload/2024/01/26/1418006-japan.webp Tokyo: Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, has announced a plan to release around 54,600 tons of nuclear-contaminated water from the facility into the ocean in fiscal 2024. The volume is expected to be discharged into the Pacific Ocean in seven rounds, starting from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, according to the plan announced Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported. TEPCO is slated to finalise the discharge plan by the March 31 end of fiscal 2023, it said. Despite concerns and oppositions among local fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture as well as other countries, the Fukushima wastewater discharge started in August 2023. In fiscal 2023, TEPCO is set to release a total of about 31,200 tons of radioactive wastewater in four batches, with the fourth and final round for the year scheduled late next month. Hit by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and an ensuing tsunami on March 11, 2011, the Fukushima nuclear plant suffered core meltdowns that released radiation, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale. The plant has been generating a massive amount of water tainted with radioactive substances from cooling down the nuclear fuel in the reactor buildings, which are now being stored in tanks at the nuclear plant.

LGBTQ+ CJReplay • 9mo ago • 94%

Nearly a third of Gen Z Americans are LGBTQ – survey

www.rt.com

Each successive US generation has seen larger numbers of self-identified non-heterosexuals  FILE PHOTO © Getty Images / David Levingstone More than one in four (28%) Americans between the ages of 18 and 25, known as Generation Z, identified as LGBTQ in a survey published earlier this week by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). The figure was the largest percentage recorded for any generation by the pollster, which conducted its research during August and September on a sample of over 6,600 people. Nearly half of the non-heterosexual Gen Zers said they were bisexual, amounting to 15% of all Gen Z adults. Gays and lesbians (5% of total) were outnumbered by “other” (8%). Generation Z was far more likely to identify as something other than straight than previous generations. Among millennials, 16% said they were some form of LGBTQ, with gays and lesbians nearly as common as bisexuals (5% vs 7%). Among Generation X, gays and lesbians actually outnumbered bisexuals (3% vs 2%) among the 7% of the total age group who said they weren’t heterosexual. Even fewer Baby Boomers (4%) and members of the Silent Generation (3%) said they were LGBTQ. Generation Z was also more racially diverse than any other age group surveyed. Just 52% of adults – and only 50% of teens – described themselves as white, compared to 62% of the total US population. Additionally, they were less likely to politically identify as Republican and more likely to identify as liberal. The survey even suggested there are more LGBTQ Gen Zers than there are Gen Z Republicans, who comprise just 21% of the age group compared to 27% of the total population. The PRRI did not speculate on possible reasons for the trend, which has accompanied a rapid liberalization of attitudes about homosexuality in American society. Despite this shift, 20% of Gen Z adults said they had experienced hostility or discrimination because of their sexual orientation. Homosexual acts only stopped being a federal crime in the US following the 2003 Supreme Court decision Lawrence v. Texas, though many states had already scrapped their sodomy laws by this time. The 2014 Obergefell v. Hodges decision legalized same-sex marriage, which had been illegal across the US since 1996. Individual states have since been required to license and perform such marriages, while same-sex couples have been able to adopt children. Just 35 UN member states allow same-sex marriage. While the PRRI’s numbers echoed previous surveys showing Generation Z is the most LGBT and liberal group to come of age in the US yet, the percentage who identified as something other than heterosexual was significantly higher in this week’s findings than in a similar poll by Gallup last year, which found 19.7% of Gen Z adults aged 18 to 26 self-identified as LGBTQ, compared to 7.2% of the general population.

People's Court CJReplay • 9mo ago • 100%

Let new users know there is somewhere they can post introductions if they want to

Right now, we have /c/Introductions, but it only has one post from nearly a year ago. Would be cool if those who wanted to introduce themselves knew that there was a place where they can.

Russia CJReplay • 9mo ago • 100%

Cuba and Russia strengthen relations as strategic allies

www.plenglish.com

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/3439918 > Moscow, Jan 26 (Prensa Latina) Cuba's Ambassador to Russia, Julio Garmendía, stressed that the relations between the two nations are of strategic allies at the bilateral and international levels. > > During his opening speech at the reception devoted to the 65th anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, the Cuban ambassador outlined the development of national historiography from January 1959 to the present. > > He also highlighted the more-than-six-decade ties between Moscow and Havana since the friendship offered by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) when Cuba, according to Fidel Castro, was facing, perhaps, the most complex period of the war unleashed by the United States against the people. > > Garmendía argued that it would take time to explain the years of unconditional support, to which he detailed that both Governments signed significant documents in 2023 to boost direct investment of Russian capital in the Cuban economy. > > The diplomat told the attendees at the meeting that despite those complex times, Cuba currently faces an unprecedented tightening of the blockade that the United States has maintained for more than 60 years. The inclusion in the illegal list of countries sponsoring terrorism that complicates Cuba’s commercial and financial activity, the challenges in international logistics, and the rise in the prices of food and other products worsen the internal situation in Cuba. > > Other factors, including media war, incitement to the so-called regime change, and other subversive events, also add to the list of actions against the Cuban Revolution. > > Russian First Vice Chairman of the State Duma Ivan Melnikov, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin chaired the event.

www.plenglish.com

Moscow, Jan 26 (Prensa Latina) Cuba's Ambassador to Russia, Julio Garmendía, stressed that the relations between the two nations are of strategic allies at the bilateral and international levels. During his opening speech at the reception devoted to the 65th anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, the Cuban ambassador outlined the development of national historiography from January 1959 to the present. He also highlighted the more-than-six-decade ties between Moscow and Havana since the friendship offered by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) when Cuba, according to Fidel Castro, was facing, perhaps, the most complex period of the war unleashed by the United States against the people. Garmendía argued that it would take time to explain the years of unconditional support, to which he detailed that both Governments signed significant documents in 2023 to boost direct investment of Russian capital in the Cuban economy. The diplomat told the attendees at the meeting that despite those complex times, Cuba currently faces an unprecedented tightening of the blockade that the United States has maintained for more than 60 years. The inclusion in the illegal list of countries sponsoring terrorism that complicates Cuba’s commercial and financial activity, the challenges in international logistics, and the rise in the prices of food and other products worsen the internal situation in Cuba. Other factors, including media war, incitement to the so-called regime change, and other subversive events, also add to the list of actions against the Cuban Revolution. Russian First Vice Chairman of the State Duma Ivan Melnikov, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin chaired the event.

Palestine CJReplay • 9mo ago • 98%

ICJ orders Isn'treal to take steps to prevent killings in Gaza

Short video in link Judges at the International Court of Justice have ordered Isn'treal to take steps to limit killings and acts of genocide in Gaza and to allow in humanitarian aid, but the court did not insist on a ceasefire.

Technology CJReplay • 9mo ago • 100%

Microsoft announces job cuts

www.rt.com

Microsoft will lay off 8% of the workers at its gaming unit  © Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images Microsoft is cutting around 1,900 employees in its gaming unit Activision Blizzard and Xbox this week, CNBC reported on Thursday, citing an internal memo from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer. The layoffs, which will eliminate around 8% of Microsoft Gaming’s 22,000 staff, are part of a larger “execution plan” that will reduce “areas of overlap,” shortly after the US software giant closed on its $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, its largest ever acquisition, the head of the company’s gaming division said. “It’s been a little over three months since the Activision, Blizzard, and King teams joined Microsoft. As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business,” Spencer wrote in a note. Microsoft closed its deal for Activision Blizzard, the publisher and developer of several best-selling gaming franchises, in October 2023. The deal boosted the company’s weight in the video-gaming market with popular titles including Call of Duty and Diablo. Experts say the acquisition will help Microsoft compete with industry leader Sony. Microsoft has recently overtaken Apple as the world’s most valuable company with its market cap surpassing $3 trillion on Thursday.

US News CJReplay • 9mo ago • 100%

Public banking movement gains momentum in California

www.peoplesworld.org

Image link https://www.peoplesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/PBLA980.jpg Ken Bank/PW The last few years have seen significant momentum towards the goal of making public, people-owned banks a reality in many parts of the country. This is especially true in California. In 2019 the governor of California signed a bill allowing counties and municipalities to establish publica banks. Two years later, Gov. Newsom signed another bill that appropriates funds for a state commission to analyze the prospects and feasibility to establish a state bank that would also function as a commercial bank to provide personal financial services for residents of California. Recently the Los Angeles City Council voted to allocate funding for a feasibility study to establish a city-managed public bank. This was a huge step forward to the creation of a public bank for Los Angeles. Though other cities and states have moved forward on proposals for a public bank, so far Los Angeles is the only public community to appropriate funds for that purpose. The idea of a public bank for Los Angeles was under consideration for some time. In 2018 voters in Los Angeles rejected an amendment to the city charter enabling the creation of a public bank, which was heavily opposed by monopoly capitalists and predatory financiers who spent large sums of money to defeat the amendment. Despite this defeat, supporters of public banking would not give up. This meant that Los Angeles would not have to rely on a referendum vote to establish a city-managed public bank. With support from grass roots community organizations, the Los Angeles City Council passed a law in 2021 to study the feasibility of setting up a public bank. To continue that effort, the City Council voted recently to appropriate $460,000 for funding additional means toward officially establishing a public bank. In doing so Los Angeles became the first city to actually appropriate funds to enable that effort for public finance to succeed. The initiative to establish a public bank for Los Angeles was inspired by a report issued last May by the Jain Family Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to applied research for providing funds to public and community improvements. The report emphasizes how a public bank would facilitate providing funds for development and acquisition of affordable housing and public infrastructure. Operate with municipal deposits The bank would operate primarily by utilizing municipal deposits, public pension funds, and ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) investment funds to provide ready capital to acquire and support developing residential homes as affordable housing. This process would stimulate the availability of affordable housing in low-income neighborhoods, as well as prevent the commercial corporate banks, predatory developers and vulture capitalists, from buying property to build more expensive homes and community gentrification. Los Angeles is not the only city in California moving forward to establish a public, municipal bank. The San Francisco City Council also voted unanimously for a law to create a process for setting up a city-owned bank that would be similar to Los Angeles. The long-term plan would be to pass an ordinance that would facilitate the process for a city-managed corporation to receive public deposits and then invest that money for low-income borrowers and disadvantaged groups, small businesses and community organizations which otherwise would not have access to credit from for-profit commercial banks. Eventually, it is hoped that a municipal bank would be able to offer personal financial services to depositors whose funds would be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The last few decades have seen an explosion of commercial investment banks which have become so big that only a few banks now control America’s investment capital. They became dominant by taking over smaller community and regional banks which historically were the main source of capital for middle and low income borrowers. By “redlining” low income neighborhoods and minority communities, these large banks put their investment capital into high income projects that were much more profitable than lending to middle and low income borrowers. Thanks to these large, dominant financial institutions, the rich became even more rich, predatory and vulture capitalist investors became much more wealthy, while poor neighborhoods and communities were left to fend for themselves. In response to the destructive forces unleashed by predatory, investment capitalism, enabled by the concentration of financial resources among a few large, multinational banks and international financial institutions, activists and progressive political leaders around the world have begun the movement to establish public financial institutions. They are a form of democratic finance, accountable to people and not to vulture investment capitalists seeking to maximize profits at the expense of the poor. California is not the only state where public banking advocates have been successful. In New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has introduced legislation to establish a state banking option that would be available to local, municipal, county and other government entities to deposit their surplus cash. The funds would then be reinvested in their local communities to stimulate economic activity which would largely benefit the public as well as disadvantaged groups and individuals who were previously unable to access credit for their financial needs. So far, largely due to the effects of the COVID pandemic, progress has been limited mostly to public hearings on the subject. Across the Delaware River from New Jersey, the City of Philadelphia is also moving forward to establish a public bank. Last year the Philadelphia City Council by a near-unanimous vote established the Philadelphia Public Financial Authority, which would receive deposits from the city’s treasury and reinvest those funds in disadvantaged neighborhoods which had little or no access to credit from private commercial banks. The likely winner of the November election for Mayor of Philadelphia is Cherelle Parker, who is African-American and the first female to become Mayor. As a member of City Council, Parker voted to establish the PPFA, but so far as the presumed Mayor-elect she has not fully committed herself to provide appropriations which would fund the PPFA’s operation. Though California leads the way forward to establish public banks, other local and state governments like Philadelphia, New Jersey and elsewhere are pursuing the process for providing public banking services that hopefully will lead to personal financial services to individual, small business, groups and non-profit depositors, and which would be eligible for FDIC deposit insurance. Ironically, the State of North Dakota already has a public bank, the Bank of North Dakota, that has been in existence for more than a century providing loans and financial credit to farmers, small businesses and community organizations. There is already a successful model for public banking available there that other states and local governments could follow. All that is needed is the political will to do so.

www.rt.com

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/3431483 > Despite the mammal’s death with her unborn calf, the team believes that IVF methods can save endangered African northern white rhinos > >  > FILE PHOTO. © TONY KARUMBA / AFP > > Scientists with the BioRescue research consortium in Kenya have recorded the world’s first pregnancy in a rhino following a successful embryo transfer, potentially paving the way to save Africa’s northern white subspecies from extinction. > > The embryo of a southern white rhino, created in vitro from egg cells and sperm, was transferred into a surrogate mother at Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy last year, the team said in a statement on Wednesday. > > ”The BioRescue team confirmed a pregnancy of 70 days with a well-developed 6.4 cm long male embryo,” it announced. However, the mother rhino named Curra and her fetus have died from a bacterial infection. > > ”It is bitter that this milestone is confirmed under such tragic circumstances with the death of the surrogate Curra and her unborn calf, but I am certain that this proof of concept is a turn of the tide for the survival of the northern white rhino and the health of Central-African ecosystems,” BioRescue project chief Thomas Hildebrandt said. > > Fatu and her mother, Najin, are the world’s two remaining northern white rhinos, living on Kenya’s 90,000-acre Ol Pejeta wildlife conservancy, under protection from poaching. > > The northern white rhino was pronounced functionally extinct after the last male, Sudan, died in 2018. > > Last year, BioRescue announced that five new embryos had been created to rescue the endangered African mammal under the project, funded mainly by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. > > The consortium said 18 eggs had been collected from Fatu and fertilized with sperm from two different bulls to improve genetic diversity. The zygotes were then cryopreserved – a process that keeps them at low temperatures for later transfer to surrogate-identified wild southern white rhino females – as neither Fatu nor Najin are able to carry a pregnancy to full term. > > According to the scientists, the next step in the project will be to select and prepare a new teaser bull, which will reveal when potential surrogate mothers can be implanted with embryos.

World News CJReplay • 9mo ago • 100%

Scientists record world’s first in vitro rhino pregnancy

www.rt.com

Despite the mammal’s death with her unborn calf, the team believes that IVF methods can save endangered African northern white rhinos  FILE PHOTO. © TONY KARUMBA / AFP Scientists with the BioRescue research consortium in Kenya have recorded the world’s first pregnancy in a rhino following a successful embryo transfer, potentially paving the way to save Africa’s northern white subspecies from extinction. The embryo of a southern white rhino, created in vitro from egg cells and sperm, was transferred into a surrogate mother at Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy last year, the team said in a statement on Wednesday. ”The BioRescue team confirmed a pregnancy of 70 days with a well-developed 6.4 cm long male embryo,” it announced. However, the mother rhino named Curra and her fetus have died from a bacterial infection. ”It is bitter that this milestone is confirmed under such tragic circumstances with the death of the surrogate Curra and her unborn calf, but I am certain that this proof of concept is a turn of the tide for the survival of the northern white rhino and the health of Central-African ecosystems,” BioRescue project chief Thomas Hildebrandt said. Fatu and her mother, Najin, are the world’s two remaining northern white rhinos, living on Kenya’s 90,000-acre Ol Pejeta wildlife conservancy, under protection from poaching. The northern white rhino was pronounced functionally extinct after the last male, Sudan, died in 2018. Last year, BioRescue announced that five new embryos had been created to rescue the endangered African mammal under the project, funded mainly by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The consortium said 18 eggs had been collected from Fatu and fertilized with sperm from two different bulls to improve genetic diversity. The zygotes were then cryopreserved – a process that keeps them at low temperatures for later transfer to surrogate-identified wild southern white rhino females – as neither Fatu nor Najin are able to carry a pregnancy to full term. According to the scientists, the next step in the project will be to select and prepare a new teaser bull, which will reveal when potential surrogate mothers can be implanted with embryos.

Vietnam CJReplay • 9mo ago • 100%

Philippine President to pay state visit to Vietnam this month

en.vietnamplus.vn

Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. and his spouse will make a state visit to Vietnam from January 29 to 30.  Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. (Photo: AFP/VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. and his spouse will make a state visit to Vietnam from January 29 to 30. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the trip is made at the invitation of President Vo Van Thuong and his spouse.

China CJReplay • 9mo ago • 100%

Singapore, China reach 30-day visa exemption agreement

 Chinese tourists pose for photos with the Merlion statue at Marina Bay in Singapore, May 3, 2023. (File photo: Reuters/Edgar Su) Singapore (VNA) - Singapore and China have agreed to a 30-day mutual visa-free entry for their citizens, which will formally come into force on February 9 - the eve of the Lunar New Year. As reported by the Channel News Asia, plans for the 30-day mutual visa exemption agreement were announced last December during the two countries’ highest-level annual bilateral forum, which was co-chaired by Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang. Singaporeans holding ordinary passports can currently enter China without a visa for 15 days for purposes like sightseeing, visiting family and business. China resumed this arrangement in July last year, more than three years after it was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese citizens currently require a visa to enter Singapore. Between January and November 2023, Singapore welcomed a total of 12.4 million tourists, of which the number of Chinese visitors was just over 1.2 million.

www.rt.com

The shop is located in the capital Riyadh and will serve only non-Muslim diplomats  © Getty Images / Aleksei Kudriavtsev Saudi Arabia has opened its first liquor store in over 70 years, several news outlets reported on Wednesday, citing diplomats. The store is reportedly located in the Diplomatic Quarter in the capital of Riyadh. The shop will exclusively serve non-Muslim diplomats, who will be required to register to buy alcohol in advance via a mobile app and get a clearance code from the Foreign Ministry, according to a document cited by Reuters. Monthly limits for liquor purchases will also be in place. It is unclear if non-Muslim expatriates outside of diplomatic circles will have access to the store. Local residents, however, will not be served, and the alcohol ban that has been in place since 1951 in Saudi Arabia is not being rescinded. Meanwhile, Riyadh on Wednesday confirmed earlier reports that it is preparing new restrictions on alcohol imports within diplomatic circles. According to the Center of International Communication (CIC), the new laws aim to combat the black-market liquor trade. “This new process will continue to grant and ensure that all diplomats of non-Muslim embassies have access to these products in specified quotas,” the CIC said in a statement to Reuters. CIC did not mention the new store in its statement, however. The opening of a liquor shop is among the latest measures taken under a wider strategy known as Vision 2030 that seeks to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy, boost its standing in the world, and introduce a degree of social liberalization. Under this policy, in recent years the country has allowed non-religious tourism and concerts, lifted restrictions on women to drive cars, relaxed segregation of men and women in public places and waived requirements for women to wear all-covering black robes, or abayas, among other measures. Saudi Arabia is not the only nation that has an alcohol ban. Others include Kuwait, Iran, the UAE, Pakistan, Oman, Qatar, and several other Muslim-majority countries, though most of them allow non-citizens and non-Muslims to buy and consume liquor.

laotiantimes.com

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/3431281 > Image link > https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_lossless,ret_img,w_1536/https://laotiantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/wirestory_99a965b424adfe60f97a1c42a04d2c0e_16x9-1536x864.jpg > Police officers gather outside the Kyoto District Court in Kyoto, western Japan, Thursday, 25 January 2024, ahead of the sentencing hearing for Shinji Aoba, who has confessed to a deadly arson attack in July 2019 on a Kyoto Animation Co. studio. Aoba was convicted of murder and other crimes Thursday for carrying out the shocking arson attack on the anime studio that killed 36 people and drew an outpouring of grief from anime fans worldwide. (Miki Matsuzaki/Kyodo News via AP) > > TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court sentenced a man to death after finding him guilty of murder and other crimes Thursday for carrying out a shocking arson attack on an anime studio in Kyoto, Japan, that killed 36 people. > > The Kyoto District Court said it found the defendant, Shinji Aoba, mentally capable to face punishment for the crimes and announced his capital punishment after a recess in a two-part session on Thursday. > > Aoba stormed into Kyoto Animation’s No. 1 studio on 18 July, 2019, and set it on fire. Many of the victims were believed to have died of carbon monoxide poisoning. More than 30 other people were badly burned or injured.

Japanimation CJReplay • 9mo ago • 50%

Man Sentenced to Death for Arson Attack at Japanese Anime Studio That Killed 36

Image link https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_lossless,ret_img,w_1536/https://laotiantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/wirestory_99a965b424adfe60f97a1c42a04d2c0e_16x9-1536x864.jpg Police officers gather outside the Kyoto District Court in Kyoto, western Japan, Thursday, 25 January 2024, ahead of the sentencing hearing for Shinji Aoba, who has confessed to a deadly arson attack in July 2019 on a Kyoto Animation Co. studio. Aoba was convicted of murder and other crimes Thursday for carrying out the shocking arson attack on the anime studio that killed 36 people and drew an outpouring of grief from anime fans worldwide. (Miki Matsuzaki/Kyodo News via AP) TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court sentenced a man to death after finding him guilty of murder and other crimes Thursday for carrying out a shocking arson attack on an anime studio in Kyoto, Japan, that killed 36 people. The Kyoto District Court said it found the defendant, Shinji Aoba, mentally capable to face punishment for the crimes and announced his capital punishment after a recess in a two-part session on Thursday. Aoba stormed into Kyoto Animation’s No. 1 studio on 18 July, 2019, and set it on fire. Many of the victims were believed to have died of carbon monoxide poisoning. More than 30 other people were badly burned or injured.

US News CJReplay • 9mo ago • 85%

Historic flash flooding batters Southern California

www.wsws.org

This past Monday heavy rains hit Southern California, triggering dangerous flash flooding and mudslides across the region. Hundreds of people were in need of emergency rescue due to the intensity of the flooding, with many people losing all their belongings. Image link https://www.wsws.org/asset/012b0c2d-cc5a-483a-a600-88a1f1dacd74?rendition=image1280 Marlene Sanchez-Barriento salvages items behind her home damaged by flooding on Tuesday, January 23, 2024 in San Diego. [AP Photo/Denis Poroy] Thousands of residents were unaware of the immense danger until the floodwaters entered their homes. Miraculously, no deaths have been reported as of this writing. Due to the large storm originating in the Western Pacific, San Diego County experienced historic levels of flash flooding. An alarming one inch an hour or more of water was falling in many places across the county, including National City, Point Loma and San Diego. The airport in San Diego recorded 2.73 inches of rain, breaking the record for the wettest January day in San Diego County ever recorded and the fourth wettest day ever recorded, according to the National Weather Service. The catastrophic flooding provoked multiple emergency declarations by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom in San Diego and Ventura counties. The San Diego River and the Tijuana River overflowed, flooding the nearby communities of Mountain View, Southcrest and Shelltown, as well as multiple highways, which were inundated with several feet of water. In Southcrest, hundreds of families were rescued after a creek overflowed threatening their lives. According to San Diego’s fire department, at least 24 people had been rescued from overrunning rivers, and hundreds more were rescued from flash floods across the county, as well as 30 animals. Even more San Diegans were displaced by the floods, while 1,000 residents were still without power into Tuesday. Southern California boasts some of the highest rates of homelessness in the country. In San Diego alone, more than 10,000 homeless people are especially vulnerable to intense storms. Normally, the city experiences two inches of rain a month during the winter season. However, in National City, the storm produced three inches of rain in the span of three hours. The water drainage system in the city failed due to the high volume of water over such a short period of time and inadequate maintenance of drainage systems. Images and videos on social media show cars floating away at the mercy of the floods and entire neighborhoods severely flooded. Link to Twitter/Nitter video of flood https://nitter.net/i/status/1749548699146162320 According to San Diego County Sheriff’s Lt. Zee Sanchez, water flooded into homes in the Spring Valley and Casa de Oro neighborhoods, prompting rescue efforts. Other residents were forced to escape by walking through waist-high water carrying their children and pets to safety. Insultingly, insurance corporations are refusing to cover or assist families who lost their homes to floods. In a region that historically has had very little rainfall, very few residents have flood insurance. According to the mayor of San Diego, Todd Gloria (Democrat), early conservative estimates of damages from the floods and mudslides are $6 million, but that is likely to rise. The devastation by unpredictably heavy rainfall that coastal cities are prone to, particularly with the oceans warming due to climate change, coupled with the sheer scale of damage to infrastructure and homes, calls into question San Diego’s current building codes. The devastating storm and floods came with little warning to residents, who had to flee for their lives completely unprepared. While doing a tour of the immense damage left by the storm Tuesday morning, Mayor Gloria attempted to block any political blame for the devastation, telling Fox 5, “We knew it was going to rain, but no one told us that we were going to get four inches of rain right here in Point Loma. … What that did was overwhelm our city’s stormwater drainage system to the point where we see an extraordinary amount of flooding all across the city, but particularly impacted our southeastern communities that today are now cleaning out and cleaning out for many days to come.” While it may be true that unprecedented weather events, particularly in a coastal city, can be difficult to anticipate, this does not explain why there is not adequate infrastructure being built to deal with more intense storms as they are expected to increase in Southern California. It is no secret that one of the trends of climate change is an increased intensity of storms in the Southwest of the United States. Last August, Hurricane Hilary swept through Southern California and devastated much of the state’s southeastern desert regions. Hurricane Hilary started as a tropical storm but quickly strengthened to a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. As the latest catastrophe demonstrates, San Diego’s severely outdated water drainage system is in urgent need of repair and maintenance that have not been allocated by the city’s budget. While the city neglects infrastructure maintenance, over half a billion dollars was appropriated to the police department last year. Other parts of California also suffered from the extreme weather. In the town of Guerneville, north of San Francisco, four inches of rain within 24 hours caused a creek to overflow, forcing the closure of schools Monday. In the mountains around Lake Tahoe in Northern California, the storm is expected to bring up to a foot of snow, as well as 60 mph winds, prompting an avalanche warning through Tuesday morning. These events are part of an international trend of chaotic and dangerous weather patterns, which are increasing in frequency due to climate change. Last month, there was record-breaking torrential rain in northwestern Queensland, Australia which provoked mass flooding and landslides. Earlier this month, an arctic blast which affected almost every state in the US and exposed 231 million Americans to dangerously cold conditions, resulted in numerous deaths. The tragic consequences of these weather disasters expose the ruling class’s criminal failure to make and maintain safe public infrastructure.

Russia CJReplay • 9mo ago • 100%

Russian dairy exports soar

www.rt.com

Domestically made goods in the segment are now sold to 60 countries  © Getty Images / Bloomberg Creative Russia’s exports of dairy products increased by 18% year-on-year in 2023, the head of the National Union of Dairy Producers, Artyom Belov, said on Monday, as cited by TASS. ”The growth of consumption and exports has become a major driver for the domestic market over the past several years, particularly in 2023,” Belov said, adding that “consumption rose by nearly 5% versus 2022.” He added that Russia had begun exporting the types of dairy products for which demand is high globally, including those considering dairy commodities. “For example, exports of powdered skim milk saw a nearly fivefold growth, while suppliers of powdered whey almost tripled,” Belov explained. Meanwhile, Vladimir Skvortsov, the head of food and processing at the Russian Agriculture Ministry, said that Russian dairy products are now sold to around 60 countries and that almost three-quarters of domestic enterprises export their output. ”Traditionally, Russia sells dairy products to the CIS states and former Soviet countries,” Skvortsov said, adding that the latter category has seen a strong expansion. He also mentioned that Russian producers had started exporting products to Algeria, the world’s second-biggest consumer of dairy. Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev recently noted that raw milk production in the country has been growing over the past five years, adding that it reached 33.5 million metric tons in 2023, nearly 0.5 million metric tons more than during the previous year.