Another small piece of paradise won’t be destroyed today.

A little good news for trees and critters in the upper Priest River area in northern Idaho. After years of battling the U.S. Forest Service and it’s work games, a federal judge wasn’t fooled by the “happy talk” and sent the agency back to the drawing board. This by no means is the end of this battle, but it does demonstrate, I believe, that the simple strategy of endless pressure, endlessly applied can produce positive results, even in the face of overwhelming odds against winning. The misuse of the “categorical exclusion” to NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) is one of the Forest Service’s favorite administrative maneuvers to further one of the primary neo-liberal economic principles: deregulation.

Always good to stay positive, even when the world seems like it’s crashing down upon us. This piece appeared first in CounterPunch, April 30, 2021. https://www.counterpunch.org/

APRIL 30, 2021

The Legal Showdown at Hanna Flats

BY MIKE GARRITYFacebookTwitterRedditEmail

Hanna Flats, Idaho Panhandle National Forest. Photo: Paul Sieracki.

The upper Priest River area in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest has the largest contiguous area of old-growth cedar, hemlock, and grand fir in the interior Western United States and the largest concentration of ancient cedar stands in northern Idaho.  Because of the bowl-shaped topography the high ridges on three sides capture cold air in the lower elevations and trap cool moist air in the summer.  The result is that the low-elevation winter snowpack is deeper and more persistent than elsewhere in northern Idaho and summertime conditions are relatively moist and cool compared to neighboring areas which makes the area less susceptible to wildfires.

Continue reading “Another small piece of paradise won’t be destroyed today.” →

Good Germans

I am aware of suspicions surrounding the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, and can only reinforce my attitude that the program, while not “working” in any sense, is a somewhat reliable gauge for intelligent speculation on the full range of adverse events, including death and hospitalization, surrounding various Covid-19 vaccines, most prominently Pfizer and Moderna.

First, the larger context: This morning I reviewed mask requirements in Colorado, finding that there are none in most places due to small populations. In my county, Jefferson, Dr. Mark Johnson, former head of county health, perhaps in a fit of freedom and conscience, vamoosed, but I don’t know that. I only know he is gone, replaced by Dr. Dawn Comstock, referred to by a friend as a wild lady. Masks are still required here in Jeffco, and compliance, while not at 100%, is very near that. I only see one person not wearing a mask in stores … me. I’ve had clerks happily whipping theirs off when I approach without one, but for the most part, crickets.

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Confessions of an Engineered Nanoparticle

A fictional account told in first “particle” (as I have not yet achieved personhood status)

This is my story of how I am often mistaken as a virus . . . 

It seems an appropriate time to speak out.

I am not a naturally occurring nanoparticle (i.e., produced by cosmic dust, volcanic activity, forest fires, iron mining, wind erosion, or solar energy). 

I am synthesized for nano-bio interface projects that are often kept secret from civilians. I am called an engineered nanoparticle, or ENP. 

I am not produced by gain-of-function virus research projects. However, it may be helpful to review that work and its implications in some instances.

I may cause certain conditions that can be mis-attributed to viruses, but are instead novel forms of cytotoxicity produced by oxidative stress from ENPs, which I call nano-bio cytotoxicosis.

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Notes from the field.

Gallatin Range South of Bozeman, Montana, USA

Yesterday, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) reintroduced our 23-million acre, 5-state ecosystem bill, the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (S.1276) in the U.S. Senate (117th congress). First introduced in 1992 by Rep. Peter Kostmayer (D-PA), this legislation is the first of its kind to take a “beyond borders” (ecosystem) approach to public lands protection. Based on John and Frank Craighead’s work in Yellowstone National Park, primarily studying grizzly bears, we have tried to incorporate the most valuable fish and wildlife habitat in the “Wild Rockies bioregion” into legislative form to protect what’s left of “untrammeled nature” in the Lower 48.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/1276/cosponsors?s=2&r=1&overview=closed&searchResultViewType=expanded

Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]*		04/21/2021
Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]*04/21/2021
Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]*04/21/2021
Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH]*04/21/2021
Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]*04/21/2021
Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]*04/21/2021
Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]*04/21/2021
Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA]*04/21/2021
Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]*04/21/2021

Of course, not a single senator from the West signed on. But then again, not a single southern senator signed onto the Civil Rights Act. The (abusive) powers that be control the bills that pass through congress, lubed with big bags of money delivered by K Street lobbyists, so we’re not expecting passage in this congress. But what is life without vision?

In another newsy item, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and friends just stopped a burning project close to the western boundary of Yellowstone National Park. Rarely will the Jackson Hole News cover our small victories, no matter how big the impact on the landscape. This burning would have scorched some 1 million acres of national forest land for no good reason, except to gain more agency budget — they’re funded by annual acres “treated” — and a bigger staff. https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/news/environmental/forest-wide-prescribed-burn-plan-called-off-west-of-tetons/article_9215e3a5-d0f6-5b8b-aab1-93df00c07f32.html

Enjoy these small miracles, they don’t come often enough.

h/t – Ab

I could do a post like this every day, so productive is Ab at Fakeologist. (Be sure to use fakeologist.com/blog/ when you visit the site to get the latest.

Here is one that caught my eye that needs to be spread wide and far – It’s not PPE – it’s a religious garment. Ab is bringing to us a study done (quietly) at Stanford University (linked in an American Conservative Union article) [see note at end] showing what we all know anyway, that masks are useless. I regard them as nothing more than ritual shaming.

However, I am on the other side of a barrier in this debate, as arguing about the effectiveness of masks against something that does not even exist (SARS-CoV-2) seems not only moronic, but oxymoronic. That puts me squarely outside the framing of the debate.

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Down the river

Note to readers: It is apparent that this blog is going in two directions, and this troubles me not in the least. We have Stephers, Steve and me, and we each have our own ideas. Please note on the left (on a desktop) that you can follow the writer of your choice. The following piece is my type of thing, a reminiscence about a man I admired, mixed in with a trip we took and some side canyons. Stephers is writing about the intricacies of Covid and the vaccine. Steve is about wildness (and a man I suspect he might know, Howie Wolke, turns up in this piece.) There is no conflict among writers on this blog. If I was any kind of a computer guy, I would redesign the blog to accommodate all three of us. That is way above my pay grade.

AbbeyLast year we took a trip north to my old haunts growing up, the Beartooth Mountains of Montana, and Yellowstone National Park. We revisited places I had known as early as a youth of ten years old, finding them intact. I vowed that the trip would not be sullied by electronic communication … no blogging, no email, and certainly things I had already quit doing … no Facebook, Twitter, and things I had never done, like Instragram.

It was a rough trip in some regards, sitting on the bank of the Gallatin river, nothing to do but watch the passings by, the birds, boaters, fishermen and sons, but no way to exhort my family and friends and former classmates to share in the adventure. It had to be done without outside approval, those obnoxious “likes” that take on unwarranted importance in that small world. I had to watch the river, the boaters and their dogs, a flock of wild geese stupidly imprisoned by wire fences (we set them free), and the father and son sharing the adventure of fly fishing. I took it all to heart without broadcasting, as in the old days, the small events of my life, shared with no one, the meaning of which were in my heart, meant to stay there, but unlike most, later shared by written word.

This year my wife and I revisited our adventures of twenty years ago and more recently, and a place that defies description, though I will try … Utah. It is vast and beautiful and charming, haunting and harsh. The desert has unique flavor and beauty, and can kill a man. We’ve just returned from that trip, and I’ve been writing off and on about a man I much admired, Edward Abbey.

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Two essential conversations on health freedom

Following are two conversations I heard today that I feel are vital, and among the most enlightening and enriching I have absorbed since the beginning of the pandemic narrative. Hint: the one common denominator is Dr. Tom Cowan.

If (like me) you have listened to nearly all of Tom’s interviews during the past year, in reference to viruses and vaccines, there are still new intellectually stimulating, health-supporting, heart-stirring, and life-affirming nuggets to glean from these two April 2021 chats.

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Part 8: Trust Codes, Vaccine Passports, and Scannable Humans

Part 8 the Series, “Of Monkeys, Mice and Men: From Natural Bodies to Digitized Bots”

I will keep this comparatively short and sweet . . . 

I consider myself a honey enthusiast. I am not a beekeeper, although I purchase local raw honey from reputable beekeepers. When I say “reputable,” I do not imply that I have verified through some meticulous process that their honey is 100 percent pesticide-free, or superior in flavor and consistency than another. I simply seek out, and consume, honey using my intuition and asking basic questions about the purveyors’ source and methodology. In any case, I indulge in the consumption of raw honey nearly every day for culinary purposes — in my herbal teas, on my fresh fruit, on gluten-free toast, and sometimes by the spoonful sprinkled with cinnamon and cardamom. As I said, I am a honey enthusiast. 

Recently, instead of a local store purchase, I ordered New Zealand-produced Manuka honey online. Though I can buy it in nearby stores, it is produced exclusively in Australia and New Zealand. I have been enjoying raw Manuka honey for the last five years, for its potentially therapeutic properties, including internal healing, such as aiding in digestion and anti-inflammation. I always keep some on hand in the event of external wounds as well. It is an expensive item, so I use it sparingly. If you are not familiar with Manuka honey and its individualized “grading system” called Unique Manuka Factor (UMF), please read here.

Due to its purported medicinal value, and its UMF ranking (in addition to other rating systems), Manuka honey production is recognized for its strict enforcement. This also follows because as one of the most expensive honey products, the adulteration and “counterfeiting” of Manuka honey is reportedly rampant. Hence, it should not have been a surprise when I saw that this particular Manuka honey brand had a scannable Quick Response (QR) code on the jar lid, to verify its traceability, and therefore, its authenticity. I had not noticed that when ordering.

Continue reading “Part 8: Trust Codes, Vaccine Passports, and Scannable Humans” →

SNITCHES

The local gym I use, Anytime Fitness, has an angry sign on an art tripod as we enter –

ALL MEMBERS MUST WEAR MASK COVERING FACE AND NOSE AT ALL TIMES. JEFFCO COUNTY HEALTH HAS THREATENED TO SHUT US DOWN! ANY MEMBER NOT COMPLYING WILL BE SUSPENDED FOR A PERIOD OF TWO WEEKS.”

The level of compliance is as it was before, about 50/50. For myself, since I was indeed suspended for one week, I opted for a fake mask, one with slits cut that allow me to breath. No one notices, and if they do, the mask says on it in large letters SHEEP, which acts as a distraction. Put off by that word, they do not notice the opening.

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Friday notes

I do not understand “blockchain” but know it is somehow intertwined with “bitcoin.” Just brief reading on the subject this morning told me that it is coming down [the pipe], and that we cannot stop or change it.

It is like that with most things … if a discussion is allowed, it means that the matter is already decided. For instance, there was much talk and trepidation concerning “one world government” over my decades of being alive. I never knew to fear it or welcome it, but it is now apparent that we have it, have had it for a long time, and that good or bad, we cannot change it.

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