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Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Enlightenment

normabobb

Enlightenment comes when we realize that the keys to our destiny is in our hands. Self reliance doesn’t disappoint, vacillate or renege.

© Norma Bobb-Semple 2021

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Alabama Man Pleads Guilty to Firearms Offenses | OPA | Department of Justice (Me: Jan. 6 related)

Coffman admitted in the plea agreement that he exited the pickup truck at 9:20 a.m. and walked in the direction of the U.S. Capitol Building, and towards a rally near the National Mall. Inside the pickup truck were several loaded firearms within arms-reach of the driver’s seat, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, large-capacity ammunition feeding devices, a crossbow with bolts, machetes, camouflage smoke devices, a stun gun and a cooler containing 11 mason jars filled with ignitable ingredients for Molotov cocktail incendiary weapons. Coffman also carried a loaded handgun and a loaded revolver as he walked around the area that day. A search of Coffman’s residence in Alabama later that month led to the discovery of 12 additional mason jars containing ignitable substances, each constituting the component parts of Molotov cocktails.

Coffman did not have a license to carry a pistol in the District of Columbia and had not registered any firearms or destructive devices in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required by law.

Coffman has been in custody since his arrest on Jan. 6.

Coffman pleaded guilty in two separate criminal cases, one brought in the District of Columbia on Jan. 6, and the other brought in the Northern District of Alabama and transferred to the District of Columbia for purposes of plea and sentencing. Coffman pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of an unregistered firearm, a federal offense, regarding the component parts of Molotov cocktails discovered in his pickup truck in Washington, D.C., and at his residence in Alabama. Coffman also pleaded guilty to carrying a pistol without a license, a District of Columbia offense.

The Honorable Colleen Kollar-Kotelly scheduled sentencing for April 1, 2022. Coffman faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the federal offenses and faces up to five years in prison and a $12,500 fine for the District of Columbia offense. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Source: Alabama Man Pleads Guilty to Firearms Offenses | OPA | Department of Justice

Stephen K. Bannon Indicted for Contempt of Congress | OPA | Department of Justice

Bannon, 67, is charged with one contempt count involving his refusal to appear for a deposition and another involving his refusal to produce documents, despite a subpoena from the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol. An arraignment date has not yet been set in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

“Since my first day in office, I have promised Justice Department employees that together we would show the American people by word and deed that the department adheres to the rule of law, follows the facts and the law and pursues equal justice under the law,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Today’s charges reflect the department’s steadfast commitment to these principles.”

“As detailed in the indictment, on Sept. 23, 2021, the Select Committee issued a subpoena to Mr. Bannon,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “The subpoena required him to appear and produce documents to the Select Committee, and to appear for a deposition before the Select Committee. According to the indictment, Mr. Bannon refused to appear to give testimony as required by subpoena and refused to produce documents in compliance with a subpoena.”

Source: Stephen K. Bannon Indicted for Contempt of Congress | OPA | Department of Justice

Transform approach to Amazon or it will not survive, warns major report | Cop26 | The Guardian

Cattle graze in a cleared part of the Amazon in Amazonas state, Brazil.

Cattle graze in a cleared part of the Amazon in Amazonas state, Brazil. Photograph: Bruno Kelly/Reuters

What jumps out among the many hundreds of pages in the initial study is the extraordinary capacity of the Amazon to support life in and beyond the borders of the rainforest. It says new species in the region are being discovered every other day. The diversity of plants, insects and animals confers stability and resilience to local ecosystems, plays a critical role in global water cycles and regulates climate variability. The basin produces the largest river discharge on Earth, accounting for 16% to 22% of the world’s river input to the oceans.

Other chapters describe how these globally important functions are weakening as a result of land conversion for cattle ranches and soy plantations, and disruptions of river systems by dams and hydroelectric dams. About 17% of the Amazon has been cleared and more than 17% degraded.

The authors say tipping points may already have been passed in some areas, such as the south-east Amazon and on the border between northern Brazilian states Maranhão and Pará, where more than 70% of the rainforest has gone and once-abundant species are endangered.

Source: Transform approach to Amazon or it will not survive, warns major report | Cop26 | The Guardian

Avian Flu Diary: Germany: RKI Urgently Advises `Canceling or Avoiding Larger Events’ & `Reducing all Other Unnecessary Contacts’

The current development is very worrying and it is to be feared that there will be a further increase in serious illnesses and deaths and that the available intensive care treatment capacities will be exceeded. In order to prevent this, every citizen should immediately implement all applicable measures: reducing contact, wearing masks, observing the minimum distance and the AHA + L rules as well as regular and thorough indoor ventilation before, during and after several people have stayed there. These recommendations also apply to those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered.

The RKI urgently advises canceling or avoiding larger events if possible, but also to reduce all other unnecessary contacts. If they cannot be avoided, regardless of the vaccination or convalescence status, you should do a test beforehand and use the Corona Warn app.

In addition, it is imperative to respond to symptoms of one newly emerging respiratory diseases such as runny nose, sore throat or cough (also regardless of the vaccination status) to stay at home, to contact the family doctor’s practice and get one there Have a PCR test carried out.

Source: Avian Flu Diary: Germany: RKI Urgently Advises `Canceling or Avoiding Larger Events’ & `Reducing all Other Unnecessary Contacts’

Netherlands orders partial lockdown as COVID-19 rises in Europe | CIDRAP

Dutch government officials ordered a 3-week partial lockdown that begins tomorrow, requiring restaurants, supermarkets, and nonessential businesses to close earlier, according to Reuters. In a televised address, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said spectators will be barred from sports events, and social distancing measures will also be imposed, limiting household gatherings to no more than four visitors.

Also today, health officials said they would speed the launch of a booster shot campaign targeting seniors and health workers, according to ABC News. Yesterday, the Netherlands reported its highest daily case total of the pandemic, despite the fact that 84.4% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated.

Source: Netherlands orders partial lockdown as COVID-19 rises in Europe | CIDRAP

Teenagers Charged In Death of Little Girl Who Was Shot By Cops

The suit filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, provides a concise narrative of the events as seen by the plaintiffs: That at least three Sharon Hill police officers “unreasonably, and with a specific intent to kill, fired multiple gunshots from their semiautomatic borough-issued pistols at persons in a moving car,” and that the bullets traveled beyond the car into the crowd of innocent bystanders who were exiting the game.

“The occupants of (the) car were unarmed, engaging in no criminal activity, and did not pose any threat at all to the police officers or the community at large,” the suit says. “The driver of the car was in fact an innocent 19-year-old woman with innocent another woman of similar age in the front passenger seat (sic). No other persons were in that car when the police unreasonably used deadly force against its driver and passenger.”

Fanta and her sister, Mawatta Bility, were both struck by the hail of gunfire passing beyond the car, the suit says. Fanta Bility “succumbed to her injuries after lying conscious in her mother’s arms while her mother attempted to comfort the terror-stricken little girl before she died,” according to the suit.

Source: Teenagers Charged In Death of Little Girl Who Was Shot By Cops

Black Farmworkers Say They Lost Jobs to Foreigners Who Were Paid More – The New York Times

In Mississippi, where the legacy of slavery and racism has long pervaded work in the cotton fields, a federal lawsuit filed by Mr. Strong and five other displaced Black farmworkers claims that the new foreign workers were illegally paid at higher rates than local Black workers, who it said had for years been subjected to racial slurs and other demeaning treatment from a white supervisor.

Two additional plaintiffs are preparing to join the suit, which says farmers violated civil rights law by hiring only white workers from South Africa, a country with its own history of racial injustice.

“Black workers have been doing this work for generations,” said Ty Pinkins, a lawyer at the Mississippi Center for Justice, which is representing the Black farmworkers in the lawsuit. “They know the land, they know the seasons, they know the equipment.”