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HomePart XIII. A "TRUTH" tacitly tailored to FACHEP's needs
Part XIII. A "TRUTH" tacitly tailored to FACHEP's needs
June 25, 2019 June 26, 2019 flintwaterstudy Uncategorized
The January 11, 2017 Flint Town Hall
Editors Note: In chapter XII, we revealed how Dr. Love's attempt to rush out publication of her Flint filter manifesto over Christmas 2016 was rejected by 4 independent scientific reviewers. After months of baseless rumors about POU filters causing Shigella, respiratory problems and rashes, Love's promised scientific paper that would give credibility to her claims would not be immediately forthcoming. Herein, we document how that awkward situation, was covered up with counternarratives, ingratiating FACHEP with Flint residents at the expense of the truth and the reputations of others.
FACHEP'S UNAPOLOGETIC DEFENSE OF TRIBALISM OVER TRUTH
FACHEP faculty have enthusiastically endorsed Dr. Pauli's now published book Flint Fights Back, with Dr. Love reporting that the books first 60 pages are a "MUST READ for anyone curious about what happened in Flint." We read those very pages (which were available online in a free preview) and compiled excerpts of shockingly Machiavellian views on truth, tribalism, and conflicts of interest (read excerpts here).
We then compiled Dr. Pauli's words into a concise statement below, that helps explain the unscientific and self-serving FACHEP behavior documented in this blog series.
A FACHEP PHILOSOPHY BASED ON WORDS (OF DR. PAULI) AND DEEDS We will engage in Flint as activists, researchers, and comrades, in a struggle against our enemy, the State of Michigan. Sometimes when you are engaged in a process of struggle, truth is your ally, and sometimes it isn't; hence, we will contest official narratives not with facts, but with counternarratives. The utility of a narrative is sometimes inversely related to its accuracy and objectives, and it is foolish to expect anyone engaged in a struggle that involves their livelihood (including FACHEP faculty) to make impartiality an absolute value. At the end of the day our project is not about Truth with a capital "T," but truth rooted in our experience with a small "t," tacitly tailored to our needs and objectives. We don't think any of this is inherently incompatible with the scientific enterprise or accepting funding from State of Michigan taxpayers.
Pauli's unapologetic defense of tribalism over truth is expected for a Marxist anarchist radical social science professor engaged with comrades in an activist "struggle." What we initially found more surprising, was that such reasoning and behavior could be adopted by other FACHEP engineers and scientists.
But FACHEP was unusual from the start. Engineer McElmurry gained funding for FACHEP by lying about a 5 years of work "in Flint" and claiming his team had a "complete hydraulic model of Flint's water system." He ended his first phone call in October 2015 with Dr. Edwards on a political rant against the State of Michigan.
Dr. Love's manipulative first email seeking funding was sent after she claimed media fame for once working with Dr. Edwards at Virginia Tech, after Flint was being discussed at international conferences, and about same time Dr. Pauli decided he could "no longer sit on the sidelines." Ethical soulmates Love and McElmurry eliminated ethical obstacles that Drs. Raskin and Rose posed when first forming their team. In late 2016, Dr. Love dismissed team member Dr. Masten's legitimate ethical concerns and eventually ostracized her.
Our point is that the FACHEP team was formed by a perverse process, selecting for certain character traits, including greed and a thirst for power, rather than a traditional process based on actual expertise and experience. In light of the above, let's examine the FACHEP engineers' behavior at the January 10 EPA Data Summit and the January 11, 2017 Flint Town Hall.
FACHEP AT THE EPA DATA SUMMIT
The third and final EPA Flint data summit was held January 10, 2017. By this point the personnel involved in the relief effort had been collaborating productively for more than a year. The veteran group, with representatives from multiple local, state, and federal environmental and public health agencies, had been working overtime to ethically and respectfully fix Flint water problems since the declaration of the Federal Emergency in January 2016. All of the scientists and engineers had qualifying expertise and many had experience in other water crises.
Into their midst, parachuted FACHEP faculty, who had virtually no relevant drinking water experience and had done nothing of substance in Flint until late 2016. The veteran scientists were mystified as to how, or why, the State of Michigan provided a sole source multimillion dollar grant to a Michigan Legionella team that excluded respected experts like Drs. Rose and Raskin. That knowledge was not revealed until early 2019.
But everyone now had to deal with the team of inept FACHEP amateurs, who were desperate to create a Flint hero narrative for themselves, even if it meant casting aspersions or engaging in reckless speculation in public. When Edwards introduced heroic whistleblower Miguel Del Toral, who had been a key face of the Flint disaster response for over a year, McElmurry and Love seemed to have no idea who he was and could have cared less.
Before the meeting, Dr. Edwards was warned to get ready for Dr. Love's now infamous ego and Flint Water Crisis zero trick pony show. But to the surprise of many, Dr. Love, Zervos and McElmurry were quiet, professional, respectful and sullen throughout the meeting, perhaps because their Flint filter manifesto paper and grand plans had been derailed 48 hours earlier.
On the other hand, FACHEP's Dr. Sullivan (Mechanical Engineer, Kettering University) inexplicably stormed out of the meeting in a huff by mid-morning. EPA Region V administrator Robert Kaplan later read a text message sent from Sullivan, claiming that the entire meeting was a setup and that Dr. Love's research on allegedly dangerous bacteria in Flint filters was being ignored and disrespected.
In disbelief, Kaplan pointed out that the room was all professionally discussing Dr. Love's results, which had been placed on the official agenda after Sullivan had left. It seemed odd to Edwards those in attendance accepted this juvenile temper tantrum as perfectly normal behavior for FACHEP faculty.
By the end of the day, in discussions with Sullivan absent, it was unanimously agreed by all (including FACHEP) that Flint water was markedly improved and in the range of other U.S. cities with lead pipe. That consensus was immediately cited in media coverage of the event as follows:
"What was a crisis is now looking much like other cities," said Kaplan, who sat in on the meeting. "The point I really want to empathize is that every researcher came at it differently and they all aligned. A lot of times it is difficult to achieve that kind of unanimity." In a statement, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, who attended the meeting, said it was important for her and staff members, including Flint's water plant supervisor, public health advisor, and the city's engineer, to hear the information firsthand and share it with residents.
FACHEP'S "OFFICIAL NARRATIVE"
Immediately after the data summit Kaplan met with FACHEP's Dr. Love, Zervos and McElmurry when disagreement surfaced amongst the team, about what they planned to say during their Town Hall presentation in relation to the POU filters. According to Kaplan, Zervos and McElmurry supported the need to continue recommending the filters, but Dr. Love said she wanted to advise Flint residents concerned about her prior fearmongering to "boil filtered water."
This prompted a flurry of emails the next morning, in which everyone wanted to know, what FACHEP would say during the Town Hall. Edwards imagined a FACHEP debate behind the scenes, with Dr. Love stubbornly defending her position to other FACHEP faculty. Love's explanation for her "boil water" position provided to a data summit group email, was that: "If my family lived in Flint, it is what I would do and I cannot ethically suggest differently to the residents of Flint."
Unfortunately, Dr. Love did not reveal, that her family living in Ann Arbor, had been boiling filtered water based on Love's erroneous "Shigella hits" in Flint, since at least September 2016 and before she had any defensible data. It seemed that Dr. Love had invested so much of her effort and credibility into months of filter fearmongering, she could not backtrack without an embarrassing loss of face.
Dr. Eden Wells expressed the wish, that FACHEP had obtained a high level expert review of the "boil water" advice before their December meeting in the Flint library, and of course FACHEP never shared that their unscientific views had just been rejected by 4 independent experts. Requests from Dr. Wells for scientific data or publications backing the "boil water" advice went unanswered, as did yet another request from EPA to put the bacteria work into context—even politicians engaged in Flint were worried about the baseless rumors.
At 11:41 am, just 7 hours before the Flint Town Hall, an email from FACHEP to speakers at the Town Hall finally announced:
While we do not have complete consensus, there are important areas of agreement and perhaps another approach is to emphasize those this evening.
The water is much improved.
Residents should continue to use filters.
As for FACHEP's position on Dr. Love's "boil filtered water" recommendation, that took more time, but at 12:20 pm they finally wrote:
We have agreed that the language we use is that "Individuals may choose to boil water. . . " This is a choice that individuals may make based on their circumstances. We are not saying that we recommend boiling water.
For old-school scientists and engineers who don't understand FACHEP's concept of many "truths," it temporarily appeared FACHEP made a reasonable decision they could all live with. Edwards was even duped into writing a conciliatory email, given that the false narrative FACHEP was spreading against him was about to be publicly renounced.
But FACHEP's engineers had many different versions of the "truth." There was "our" truth, a truth with a little "t," a truth with a capital "T", a "whole truth," a "truth" for the Flint public, and still another "truth" for the data summit scientists and engineers. There were also official narratives based on facts, and FACHEP counternarratives whose usefulness was "inversely related to their accuracy." Let's now examine how well FACHEP engineers duplicitously juggled their official narrative with their counternarrative at the Flint Town Hall.
THE FACHEP COUNTERNARRATIVE
We now know that FACHEP was in a pickle. First, McElmurry previously refused to agree with Edwards, just a month earlier, that Flint water quality "is much improved." Yet FACHEP had just confirmed in writing that Flint water "is much improved."
And at that very moment, FACHEP faculty were spreading a counternarrative (i.e., a lie) throughout Flint that was useful to them, claiming that McElmurry had turned down Edwards' email requesting that he "declare Flint water as safe as other cities." Just a day earlier, McElmurry had agreed that was a consensus of the data summit.
And if that is not bad enough, FACHEP was also actively supporting a counternarrative that Flint water was actually getting worse every day, to "win over the activists" for whom the state of Michigan was the number one enemy.
With so many conflicting "truths" to keep straight, how could the FACHEP engineers publicly follow through on their promise to emphasize that Flint water "is much improved"? Well, they couldn't, and they wouldn't.
Instead, just hours before the Town Hall, Dr. Sullivan (FACHEP official trust builder) went on social media and wrote the following counternarrative about the EPA meeting she had left in a snit (emphasis added):
Dear friends, Yesterday I attended a data summit, hosted by the US EPA. … suffice it to say that there's nothing to suggest that the quality of water in Flint has improved consistently,… I'd like to say that tonight's townhall, orchestrated to deliver a summary of yesterday's EPA meeting, has not been choreographed. But it has. …Who knows why the state and Marc Edwards seek to proclaim that Flint is in no worse a situation than other cities. Please know that they are wrong.
Dr. Sullivan then told her social media audience to share her post "around the world." Some Flint activists went to the Town Hall, angered and primed to attack anyone who would dare say the water was improving.
THE FACHEP CHOREOGRAPHED MEETING AND AMBUSH
During the Town Hall presentations (recorded online) everyone but FACHEP emphasized scientific points agreed upon at the EPA data summit meeting. When Mark Durno of EPA stated that the water was improving and that residents should use filters, on Sullivan's cue, the activists started protesting by "crinkling" water bottles (see 9 minutes to 11 minutes). They also crinkled Dr. Nicole Lurie of DHHS for making similar statements.
When it came time for McElmurry and Love to speak (start at 20:45 here), they did not say a word about improving water, nor did they say residents should continue to use filters. Incredibly, they said almost nothing of substance. McElmurry and Love's basically repeated "we don't know" over and over, along with the refrain "we are independent researchers." They did not present a single definitive point about Flint water quality and McElmurry even stated he did not have time to discuss FACHEP data presented in Chicago (watch 23:26 here). They also covered their tracks by withholding their Chicago presentations from release to the Flint public.
Two minutes after Love and McElmurry finished, Mayor Weaver gave a kind introduction to Dr. Edwards and posed a question about the status of Flint water (see 32:56 here), which Edwards summarized as per the Mlive article. On Sullivan's cue, the activists crinkled their bottles. Things went downhill rapidly thereafter in a truly "choreographed" fashion.
EPA Flint whistleblower Miguel Del Toral had been watching activists Dr. Sullivan, Tony Palladeno and Adam Murphy huddled in discussion. Eventually, when Del Toral was answering a question, Palladeno (sitting right next to FACHEP's Dr. Sullivan and Zervos) broke protocol and interrupted the meeting (see 0.33 seconds here). A little later, on the other side of the room, Adam Murphy read from Dr. Love and FACHEP's narrative that Dr. Edwards had financial conflicts of interest and had been "bought," even asserting Edwards wasted "a half million dollars to sample 156 homes" (see 0:54 seconds), before accusing Miguel Del Toral of having "no solutions" (see Del Toral 1:04- 1:08 here).
Tony Palladeno originally sitting next to FACHEP's Dr. Sullivan and Zervos (red circle) stands and interrupts the Town Hall.
An unedited one minute close up of Adam Murphy and his colleagues' statements to Del Toral including "Shame on you," "you all look like a joke," and "you get paid to do nothing, by killing us…" can be observed at this close up Mlive camera angle.
The World Socialists Web Site later gave Edwards some space to correct the FACHEP and friends counternarrative publicly expressed by Murphy:
"Our actual total contract with EPA was $38,000. Moreover, that money was used to hire a team of Flint residents to do the work and pay for the chemical analysis. I also paid, out of my own pocket, $20 to each Flint resident who participated in the sampling. And LeeAnne Walters volunteers her time to lead the Flint sampling team. …Maybe the reason some residents are so mad is that they are getting false information."
For whatever reason, a pre-determined cue for a massive "die in" by the activists was ignored, but otherwise the FACHEP and friends plans went off without a hitch.
MANY ACTIVISTS WERE NOT ON BOARD WITH FACHEP
Despite Dr. Sullivan's orchestration and misinformation campaign, many Flint activists were not onboard with the counternarrative. East Village magazine reported:
Flint area environmental activist Mike Haley has an unsympathetic take on Flint's wounded water warriors who disrupted the Town Hall. "Thank god, they finally settled down," he told EVM. "It was somewhat embarrassing. This was no longer two years ago. The whole calculus has changed and people should respond to the new reality—that people are not lying to them."
Later that evening, William Hammond even went on FACEBOOK to challenge Dr. Sullivan's claims that only FACHEP could be trusted. Dr. Sullivan responded as follows (read edited exchange below or full exchange here):
William Hammond: Can you explain what the difference of opinion is between the experts? I hear that the water still is not safe to use w/o filters. That a high percentage of tested homes are below the Federal standard. I don't see this information as contradictory. In your statement above you make it sound like there is disagreement between the experts, Dr. Edwards, & McElmurry & some others.
Laura Sullivan: Where disagreement exists is over (1) whether or not to say that lead is the only pathogen of concern, (2) whether or not the water distribution system (pipes) have reached equilibrium and is stable, and (3) whether or not Flint can be categorized as being like any other city with lead pipes.
William Hammond: Thanks. I did not pick that up at tonight's mtg. It seemed like they were all pretty much in agreement.
Laura Sullivan: I get that. A townhall can't really be a format for critique and debate.
Not only does this illustrate the outright duplicity of FACHEP's engineers, but it once again reveals their complete ignorance of the subject matter– lead is not a pathogen, it is a toxic metal.
THE FACHEP HEROES OF THE FLINT TOWN HALL
In his intellectually dishonest historical account of the events documented above, Dr. Pauli proudly writes:
The changing landscape of scientific credibility in Flint was illustrated vividly the next month during a key town hall about water. The activists…were determined not to be passive <and>…devised a craftier means of expressing their discontent, distributing empty water bottles that members of the audience were to crinkle whenever they disagreed with something being said. Edwards, appearing via webcam, touted the water system's recovery over some of the most emphatic crinkles of the night. Even Miguel del Toral received his fair share for making similar comments (not coincidentally, it was the last public appearance I saw him make in Flint). When McElmurry and Love presented about FACHEP's work, however, the activists sat in respectful silence.
We now have to agree with Dr. Love, that Pauli's book is a "MUST READ for anyone curious about what happened in Flint," because it documents just how completely delusional FACHEP's stories are. Anyone who claims victory, by running Miguel Del Toral out of town for honestly reporting that the water system was recovering, after all his sacrifices for Flint residents, thereby leaving the residents at the mercy of the self-serving and clueless FACHEP team is truly demented.
We also note that Pauli says not one word about Love and McElmurry reneging on a written promise to emphasize improving water, the months of prior FACHEP counternarratives and fearmongering, or Sullivan's duplicitous social media postings just before and just after the meeting.
SORRY ABOUT DEATH THREATS. BUT ON SECOND THOUGHT, WE AREN'T.
After the meeting Edwards received still more FACHEP-instigated threats, heard about the unfair verbal assault on Del Toral, read Sullivan's social media misinformation and was understandably upset. He complained to McElmurry that Sullivan's post was "unprofessional."
The FOIA lawsuit revealed that Dr. Love, following up on her smirk from the day before after learning about the FACHEP-instigated death threats, wrote "I would be careful about letting Marc bait a response out of us… I suggest that we talk about it as a team, AFTER you are done with your class today. In my view, it does not require a response in the next few hours."
Dr Zervos, initially showed a hint of a conscience, when he wrote:
"I suggest don't respond other than sorry he is getting death threats."
McElmurry a first wrote a draft response (never sent) acknowledging that threats are unacceptable, but absolving himself for any responsibility. He also suggested that Edwards' email asserting FACHEP was behaving unprofessionally amounted to a "personal attack." He even wrote to the other FACHEP faculty:
"I really do worry that Marc is unstable"
Love's "team" email response eventually arrived 4 days later. McElmurry gave his standard line that he was a very busy and important man, and could not be bothered to defend his scientific positions or team's actions. He also implied (cc'ing Dr. Sullivan and thereby showing approval for her great work) that Edwards deserved the death threats, because he wanted FACHEP to claim "all water in Flint was safe:"
we are committed to being respectful and professional…With limited time, I cannot respond to all of your emails….Based on our understanding of our data at this time, we are unable to conclude that all water in Flint is safe…Best of luck with the semester ahead.
At this point we wonder if FACHEP could even distinguish their frequently told lies from the truth, because as Dr. Wells and Edwards repeatedly stated, no one ever asked FACHEP to claim "all water in Flint is safe."
EPA's Mark Durno reported that over the next 9 months Dr. McElmurry sheepishly confessed that FACHEP knew Flint water had been "much improved" from 2015 onwards, but it was still "too soon"' for the FACHEP engineers to admit that truth publicly.
Pleased by FACHEP's grand success at the Flint Town Hall, and considering that Del Toral and the relief agencies were now discredited, over the next 16 months Dr. Love would escalate her conniving crybully campaign against Dr. Edwards. Why? Well, why not? According to Pauli, "the utility of a particular narrative is sometimes inversely related to its accuracy and objectives"…and "we" who struggle have "our" truth—a truth rooted in our experience,…a truth with a small "t," tacitly tailored to our needs and objectives."
FOIA UPDATE: We herein provide official FOIA documentation that Dr. McElmurry attended the Introduction to EPANET hydraulic modelling class in late 2018. The same person, who falsely claimed to have unprecedented EPANET hydraulic model intellectual property related to the Flint water system in late 2015, has finally completed a class in EPANET hydraulic modeling for novices. Congratulations to Dr. McElmurry, who Dr. Love recently lamented was "mostly unknown and unsung" for his "truly inspiring efforts on behalf of Flint residents."
Primary Author: Dr. Marc A. Edwards
FOIA and other emails PDFDownload
← [Editorial] FACHEP faculty derailed Flint criminal prosecutions
Dr. Love Disputes EPA's Position on Flint Water Safety: New FACHEP Research Reports a 100% Infection Rate and 50% Mortality Rate from Flint POU Filters →
5 thoughts on "Part XIII. A "TRUTH" tacitly tailored to FACHEP's needs"
Hi Marc: this 30,000 ft view is so helpful to understanding the ambiance and professional dynamics that prevailed in the waning days of the FWC, although it had me laughing so hard I was nearly in tears! Your fortitude is to be admired for wading through the apparently sanctimonious and twisted Pauli account which must have helped greatly in understanding the apparently twisted psychology underlying some FACHEP statements and actions. I'm sure you will never hear the sound of crinkling water bottles the same. 🙁
On another note congratulations on a brilliant Commencement speech at Ripon University. I know several colleagues who stated it was so good they watched it multiple times. A very powerful message to those young graduates about leading a meaningful life.
Perhaps your best speech ever, recommended viewing for all who value truth: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UzVCuOxGpm8
Marc Edwards says:
Thanks Catherine.
As with so many others who I have met in the light of this bonfire of academic vanities (gee, I wonder why people would want to stay out of the FACHEP cross hairs and remain anonymous?), reading your supportive comments has been amongst life's highest rewards.
Also, make sure to read Amy's summary of Shawn's letter (Monday, January 16, 2017 3:07 PM). I wanted to include it in the main text, but there is just so much that has to be cut.
I also wanted to provide a link, to those who read Pauli's post-modern science anarchy rationalizations, yet still seem mystified as to why the social sciences are losing the support of the public and are going extinct:
https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/20190510-academes-extinction-event
In particular, the following quote:
"We have rhapsodized demolition as liberation while literally laying ruin to the university," she argued, "a horror to be beheld by future historians — in the unlikely event there are any." Literary theorists, by prizing an ethos of destruction in the name of freedom, had ironically aligned themselves with the external forces — political, administrative — that had for years conspired to obliterate the institution in which they work. Human beings," though, "are essentially builders," she noted, channeling Marx — "architects of ideas" as well as topplers of norms. Both gestures, affirmation and dissent, are "life-sustaining"; ideally they coexist, equipoised, twin components of a fulfilled life. A reconstructed university — and wider world — would depend on recovering the constructive and visionary impulse, which the profession had too long devalued in favor of critique. "Get building," she enjoined the room."
Backstabbers and post-truthers like FACHEP, can win a self-serving victory like the Flint Town Hall, 10+ million in proposals, and self-aggrandizement from whispering lies to Flint residents and perjuring themselves under oath. The generational hatred, narcissistic victimization and spiraling distrust that they create in the process, is just someone else's problem. Afterall, they are "inspiring" and "heroic," or at least that is what we can see them telling themselves.
And when the public, eventually figures out that too many professors, are no more trustworthy than the proverbial used car salesmen who are also going extinct, and society descends further into anarchy and the last domino (i.e., trust in science) eventually falls, don't ask "who did this to us."
Because we did it to ourselves. We had all this freedom and privilege, and threw it all away.
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." Einstein
Hi Marc: having just looked over the FOIA and other e-mails pdf above, my thoughts are this,
.1. Early communiques between you and McElmurry could be characterized as him posing somewhat open-ended questions on public water systems resulting in you generously sharing your superior expertise on water distribution and treatment chemistries. McElmurry seems to largely appreciate this while simultaneously attempting to not look relatively clueless.
It gives the reader the impression this team lacks basic water treatment and distribution expertise . . an impression supported by the picture of Sullivan with a large water treatment text she indicates will be used for flower pressing.
.2. As things begin to fall apart and conflicts develop in coordination of varying parties messages to the public, FACHEP's role in that is pretty clear (even without what's undoubtedly many e-mails NOT produced through FOIA's.
.3. Near the middle (p.25-27) is an interesting exchange btwn Love and Wells, where Love states "We agree, flushing will decrease the filter life…hence why we
are currently conducting studies to find out what the optimal recommendation would be" and, " we talked more deeply about microbial families and genera
present in filtered water and which taxa increase across filter, or just pass through from source water without being removed". This again sounds like this group trying to get themselves up to speed with POU filter technology …. this area has been previously studied and the focus,of their funding was ostensibly investigating the Legionella outbreak.
Therefore, Dr Wells response (p27) seems to be an appropriately calibrated to the what some might consider the ever-broadening scientific "fishing expedition" presented to her: "We think that there should be a high‐level scientific review of how and why Dr. Love thinks her data shows Flint is different, and frankly that should have been done prior to all of this since before the December 14 meeting."
.4. Finally, I'm glad you showed some types of the threats you received as this also substantiates other aspects of the damage done. Not just to you but to an entire community. And yes, Dr. Prudent got it right in her assessment.
Frankly, the documents are unpleasant to read because they yield a picture of a group (FACHEP) that seemed to lack expertise in an area in which they were involved which led to chaos. It is beyond unfortunate and makes one question how such a thing could happen. Communication with the public seems only a part of it. Perhaps that is what the new federally funded (WHIRL) "crisis communication" NSF grant is for??
Even though I personally lived parts of this story, it is still hard to believe, especially given what is in the written and video record.
Did you see where Dr. Love shed her crocodile tears, in an editorial lamenting the low trust Flint residents have for technical expertise and their drinking water?
https://medium.com/@nglove/we-all-deserve-to-have-confidence-in-our-water-6994b2f7e00c
After claiming to be a "technical subject matter expert," she writes:
"The question is: how do we re-establish trust and faith in drinking water? I contend that we have to think beyond just treating to regulatory limits (given that we have flawed regulations in some very visible cases — including with lead) and understand why it's not helpful to dismiss questions about a water's safety just because the water meets existing regulations. Monitoring community water systems beyond minimal regulated contaminants, developing partnerships with trusted community leaders, and sharing information with community partners and elders who help to translate and share the information with their community can be a helpful (if not critical) step. This is an approach that partners I have worked with have used in Flint."
The lack of intellectual honesty, humility, or remorse for their disastrous work in Flint is mind-boggling. In fact, having thoroughly read the literature on scientific and engineering misconduct, it seems we are in uncharted territory.
In light of her "expertise" those reflections seem the essence of "Post-truth" indeed. She's certainly vying to not be outdone by McElmurry! So many excellent examples I'm not sure a single best can ever be selected from this group.
One's only hope can be that if future trials do progress Michigan Taxpayers can have a closer look at all of this evidence painstakingly (and at great cost) collected by the FlintWaterStudy team on what actually transpired up in Flint. 🙁
Thank you so much for putting it out there for the sake of truth, Michigan citizens, and historical accuracy.


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The perennial appeal of kook candidates
Illustrated | AP Photo/Stephen Savola, Nusha777/iStock, Fireofheart/iStock
Like everyone who made it all the way through the second of last week's Democratic presidential debates, I have fallen in love with Marianne Williamson. It would take a heart of stone not to find her woke patrician elvish grandmother aesthetic anything less than enchanting.
Williamson's debate success, if you can call it that, is as good an occasion as any to consider one of the most interesting phenomena in American politics: the perennial appeal of kook candidates for the presidency of the United States.
It is not always easy to tell the difference between generic third-party candidates (Bob Barr in 2008) or ideological outliers seeking the nomination of one of the major parties (Jim Webb in 2016) and genuine kooks. Nor should the genuine kook be mistaken for the village idiot. When Gary Johnson asked Chris Matthews what Aleppo is, he sounded ignorant rather than kooky; in response to the same question, a bona fide kook would have started ranting about how he is the only person in history who has ever read the complete text of the 9/11 Commission Report or discussing his brief stint as ambassador to Oman three or four presidencies ago before explaining why we have to withdraw all American forces from the Eastern Hemisphere — or start nuking terrorists.
Still, there are a few obvious hallmarks. The first and most obvious is that the kook candidate, if he or she has ever held political office of any kind, usually comes from the House, where the realities of geography make it possible for all sorts of odd people to get elected. A lack of previous political experience is not, however, an automatic grant of kookdom. Carly Fiorina was the furthest thing from a kook in 2016. Another thing to pay attention to is how someone dresses: A kook will either be the best or the worst dressed person on a debate stage. This often — but not always — breaks down on right versus left lines: A progressive kook like Williamson, or Lincoln Chafee, whose tie at the Democratic debate in Las Vegas in 2015 was the best I have ever seen at one of these events, will dazzle you; conservative kooks invariably wear suits that are two or three sizes too big for them.
When it comes to actual policies, kooks vary widely. Some, like former Texas Rep. Ron Paul or former Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, represent a hopelessly dated or extremist version of right or left wing politics; others heap scorn on our partisan divisions and promise to transcend the right and left spectrum altogether, the way John Anderson did in 1980 when he ran as a moderate pro-equal rights amendment Social Security tax-cutting moderate against Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. There are kooks who have almost impossibly detailed and specific policy platforms — Andrew Yang's might be the best example ever — and kooks who struggle to say anything intelligible about their agendas. A well-spoken kook like Alan Keyes can talk circles around even the most articulate politician; more often, however, kooks speak cryptic, if memorable, gibberish.
The greatest kook candidate of modern times is almost certainly Ross Perot. These days Perot is usually discussed as if he were a kind of missing link between George Wallace's two presidential bids and the rise of Donald Trump. This is entirely false. The mild-mannered Texan businessman who appeared on a debate stage with George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton and went on to win 19 percent of the popular vote — a feat that is unlikely to be replicated at any point in the foreseeable future — was, among other things, an unabashed social liberal.
One of the most interesting things about kooks is the fact that they tend to attract the same voters regardless of the election cycle in which they appear. Nothing demonstrates the truth of the so-called horseshoe theory of politics than the willingness of the same people to support far-right Don Quixotes like Ron Paul, hippie UFO theorists like Kucinich, and populists of the center like Perot. Everyone knows at least someone who liked ole Ross, then at least considered voting for Ralph Nader in 2000, got very much into Ron Paul for eight or so years, and is now considering supporting either Yang or, only half-jokingly, Williamson.
Was Trump a kook? His lack of experience in politics and his willingness to spend his own money — though not as much as he would like us to believe — on the campaign trail would seem to suggest that he was. So does his rhetoric, which sat firmly outside the establishment of both major parties. Since receiving the GOP nomination, however, Trump has been more or less a generic Republican. But more important is the fact that a kook candidate cannot win by definition. The favorite pastime of kook voters is sitting back and talking about what it would have been like if John Anderson or Pat Buchanan had actually become president.
Which is why I have an enormous soft spot for all of these people, the candidates and their supporters alike. The programs are ridiculous. Perot's balanced budget amendment is probably the only thing that might have been worse for the American economy than the free trade policies he criticized so incisively. Ron Paul and Kucinich would each have bankrupted the country, the former by eliminating the income tax, the latter by octupling it. But modern politics is hopelessly dreary. It is at the level of fantasy that most of us are able to engage with politics at all. We savor the promise of, say, Obama's early speeches and rallies and ignore what a sordid waste of time his administration actually was; we tell ourselves that Trump is a tribune of the plebs at home and a diplomatic genius to all of his enemies abroad, and ignore the fact that with the same record in office, if his name were Blueblazer McEntrepreneurship he would be, well, Mitt Romney. But we like them anyway.
We should offer the same — if not greater — esteem to politicians whose dreams were more beautiful than those of the winners, indeed, too beautiful ever to be sullied by the reality of elected office.
Williamson/Keyes 2020!
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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T&T 'No mandatory vaccine programme, we are trying to save lives'
The Government's vaccination policy for public sector employees, which comes into effect from January 15, 2022, is not a vaccine mandate.
This is according to Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh.
Speaking during a Ministry of Health COVID-19 briefing yesterday, Deyalsingh said vaccination is a life-saving mechanism.
He was asked by a reporter whether officers from private security firms would be required to be vaccinated to work in public sector buildings.
"The Government has launched no mandatory vaccine programme, there is no mandate to be vaccinated, persons make a choice, it applies to anyone on the public payroll, in the public service or a statutory agency- so at this point in time, it does not apply to private security workers," Deyalsingh said.
He said the policy is an 'expansion' of voluntary vaccination and also applies to employees of state boards and state entities.
Deyalsingh said the population has become so immune to the high death count from the virus that something needed to be done.
"It is not to punish anyone, because we can't go on reporting 30 deaths per day- 30 deaths a day no longer impacts on the population, what is the tolerance of the population before they act? Is it 50? One hundred? So 30 deaths a day don't seem to move the population again. Reporting that the A&E's cannot cope doesn't seem to move the population to want to assist us," Deyalsingh said.
He quoted the World Health Organisation (WHO's) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus who when speaking about the Omicron variant stated "The steps countries take today and in the coming weeks will determine how Omicron unfolds. If countries wait until their hospitals start to fill up, it's too late. Don't wait. Act now."
Deyalsingh said Trinidad and Tobago must heed Ghebreyesus' advice.
"That is what we are trying to prevent, we are trying to save lives, this is a life-saving measure," Deyalsingh said of the vaccine policy.
As he urged citizens to get vaccinated or get their booster shots against COVID-19, Deyalsingh added, "If we do that, we can avoid the potential catastrophe that awaits that is already hitting many parts of Europe and many parts of the United States, where their regular hospital systems are already challenged."
However, the Health Minister said there would be no additional lockdown measures, such as those implemented in countries across the world, ahead of the Christmas holidays.
Deyalsingh said the business community and T&T's economy cannot survive any additional lockdowns.
Meanwhile, the Ministry's technical director of Epidemiology, Dr Avery Hinds said the ministry has not detected Omicron at community spread yet.
There have been five detected cases of Omicron in the country, with the latest being a woman who had no recent travel history or known contact with a COVID-19 positive person.
"Now that would suggest that they are not sure where they picked up this particular infection and there may be other individuals but at this point we cannot yet confidently state that there is established community transmission but we would be continuing to look out," Hinds said.
He said the ministry will be vigilant as the Omicron variant has the potential to spread very quickly. Dr Hinds said the Health Ministry is hoping to avoid that potential for spread with the Public Health measures, currently in place.
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(STICKY) (NEWZIMBABWE) MDC-T blasts Zanu PF as 2m face starvation
COMMENT - This is the MDC at it's treasonous, seditious best. They lie, to give Zimbabwe a negative image abroad, so they may get into power. This puppetry and sabotage is why people think twice about Western dominated 'democracy'. Democracy comes from the people, not foreign funded parties and NGOs. For the real numbers behind the numbers, read Prof. Ian Scoones article: Food crisis in Zimbabwe: 2.2 million at risk. But where do the figures come from, and what do they mean? - prof. Scoones mentions underreporting of: income, productivity in the A1 areas, concentration of on the dry south (where only 20% of the population live), livestock sales, early cropping and remittances. He also mentions the use of pre-land reform sampling frames; also 1/3 of the number may only be food insecure for a short period before the next harvest. Also check out his post "Dodgy data and missing measures: why good numbers matter (part I)". - MrK
AN MDC-T shadow minister this week blamed Zanu PF's land reform programme and poorly-conceived agricultural policies over a national food crisis that has left up to two million people in need of food aid.
Moving a motion calling for a parliamentary committee to investigate the food crisis, the MDC-T's shadow agriculture minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo accused Zanu PF of reducing the country from a net exporter to a perennial food beggar.
He dismissed as deplorable plans by the government to import maize from Zambia through an "eat now pay later arrangement" saying this was evidence of failed leadership.
In September, the Rome-based World Food Programme (WFP) warned that some 2.2 million people were in need of urgent food aid.
From prof. Scoones, who predicted: "The 2.2 million figure is of course a good flag-waving number for the WFP to raise funds, and for the CFU to bash the government for the land reform (and even President Mugabe is now joining the critique of the 'new farmers'), but the actual implications are more complex. Here are five reasons why we need to be cautious about the figures." - MrK
The United Nations agency said this was the highest number of Zimbabweans requiring food assistance since early 2009, when more than half the population relied on such aid.
Said Nkomo: "The victims of elite capture have been the ordinary villagers of Kezi and Siyachilaba who have to contend with debilitating food shortages following the dysfunctionality of a hitherto well laid out food market chain."
Zimbabwe has suffered intermittent food shortages since 2000 when agricultural output fell after President Robert Mugabe decided to seize white-owned commercial farms to distribute to blacks.
Nkomo blamed the manner in which Zanu PF carried out the land reforms for the current food shortages.
"Though undoubtedly noble a programme, it has become apparent over the years that the Land Reform Programme was a programme not well thought out," he said.
"But, it was a sporadic reaction to a political capital in light of the energies of the new political players in a hitherto monopolised political landscape.
"Food handouts by non-governmental organisations have been an annual feature in the country's calendar of events."
He said although food shortages follow some of the poorest weather conditions, the crisis was mostly man-made and worsened by the partisan distribution of food during drought and starvation mitigation programmes.
"It is indeed sad and primitive that a government can deliberately starve its own populace for purposes of political expedience," he said.
"It is the essence of democracy to have divergent political ideologies with government having the capability to rise above party politics and provide food to all deserving and bona fide Zimbabweans."
The government recently announced a US$1 billion scheme to support farmers with inputs ahead of the new agricultural season.
But Nkomo said the fact that farmers needed help with inputs at the start of each new farming season was evidence the programme was not working.
"It has become a common trend that the government churns out millions of dollars annually in support of farmers who,13 years after the Land Reform Programme, are still being referred to as 'new farmers' and are hand-held by government with no indication of self-sustaining operations in the near future," he said.
"While government has an obligation to support farmers, the current support mechanisms are not sustainable as they are characterised by an endless cycle of one way financial and input injections which are not matched by equivalent returns.
"It does not, therefore, come as a surprise that Zimbabwe is now a basket case from its rightful position as the bread basket of Southern Africa.
"If current practices in the agricultural sector are anything to go by, Zimbabwe is poised to suffer even more food deficits in the future."
Labels: COLOUR REVOLUTIONS, MDC, MDC PROPAGANDA, MDC TREASON, NEOLIBERALISM, SAMUEL SIPEPO NKOMO
(ZIMBABWELAND) Food crisis in Zimbabwe: 2.2 million at risk. But where do the figures come from, and what do they mean?
The newspapers have been full of commentary on a looming food crisis in Zimbabwe. This has followed from the World Food Programme's press release that 2.2 million people will be in need of food aid in the coming months. The Commercial Farmers Union has called it a 'man-made crisis', the direct result of the 'chaotic' land reform, and a decade of inappropriate policies.
I wanted to find out a bit more about where the 2.2 million figure came from. It's a big number, and would mean a lot of food imports, way beyond the means of the Finance ministry. After a bit of digging I eventually found the figure, buried on page 122 of the ZimVac (Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee) livelihood assessment draft report for 2013.
Each year ZimVac, a coalition of NGOs, researchers and government agencies, undertake a major rural livelihood assessment, based on a sample of over 10,000 households across the country. The sample is drawn according to the latest ZIMSTAT 'master sampling frame', and the resulting data is aimed to be representative of the country as a whole. It's an excellent and important initiative, but it has its deficiencies, as those involved readily admit.
The process for deciding the headline figure is complex. It involves assessing for each household all the cereal production, and then adding in income from employment, remittances, livestock sales, and other sources of income that could be used to buy food (p. 120). Assumptions on prices and market availability are used to translate income into food and in turn energy (p.121). The food security assessment is based on the household's potential access to enough food from all sources, including purchases, to give each member a minimum of 2100 kilocalories per day in the consumption period 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 (p. 119). The total number in food deficit figure is then calculated as a sum of all of those experiencing any negative balance in the accounting period.
It's a complicated procedure with lots of steps and plenty of assumptions. What the headline figure doesn't indicate – although the report does, and the background documents for the ZimVac surveys over the years are quite transparent about this – is that the big number includes many people who may have a projected deficit for actually a very short period. Indeed, at the time of the survey in May 2013, over 80% of households surveyed had no hunger problems with only a very small proportion recording 'severe hunger' (p. 115). The report shows that there is a progression of food insecurity, with a peak of 2.2m people expected in January to March 2014 (p.124). 31% of the total (683,000 people) move into food deficit only in this crunch period before the next harvest; and some of whom may in fact be food insecure for only a very few days.
The 2.2 million figure is of course a good flag-waving number for the WFP to raise funds, and for the CFU to bash the government for the land reform (and even President Mugabe is now joining the critique of the 'new farmers'), but the actual implications are more complex. Here are five reasons why we need to be cautious about the figures.
* First, there's geography: as the report shows the problems are concentrated in the dry south of the country which experienced the worst season in terms of rainfall and its distribution (p.125-6).
* Second, there is almost certainly (as ever in surveys) an underreporting of income, and so purchasing power. Since in drought years, market purchases are essential for food entitlements, this is rather crucial.
* Third, the assessment model allows for only limited sales of livestock to compensate for food deficits (households are assumed to retain a minimum of 5 goats and 3 cattle). Yet livestock is precisely the asset in the drier parts of the country that are used in times of drought to exchange for grain, and distress sales are common, and important for food security.
* Fourth, remittances are especially important in drought-prone areas, yet the figures used in the model for this year are based on recall of last year's receipts. Last year was of course a relatively good year for rural production, and so remittance flows inevitably dropped. But this year, you can be sure, they will increase in response to the shortfalls. For perfectly good reasons, the model does not account for this, but it's another reason why we can expect things to be not as bad as predicted.
* Finally, the assessment does not include early cropping – for example of green maize – which is often important in that crunch period before the 'proper' harvest.
For all these reasons and more, we should be cautious about the headline statistics, and understand in more detail what happens to whom and where.
One of the most striking figures in the report is the prediction that 98% of rural households nationally will hit a food deficit by next March if only cereal production and stocks were included (p. 123). Of course this includes those with no food production to speak of, such as farmworkers and other rurally-based non-farm households.
But even discounting this group, this is striking, and does suggest a problem in agricultural production, as Charles Taffs of the CFU indicates. However, again we must be cautious in jumping to conclusions.
One big concern I have with recent national surveys is that they have been sampling according to old sample frames set before the land reform. This was the case for the 2011 PICES (Poverty, Income, Consumption and Expenditure Survey) study and the 2010-11 Demographic and Health Survey, both using the 2002 census sample frame. I have been assured that the ZimVac survey for 2013 used an updated sample, with 'enumeration areas' allocated proportional to population distribution derived from the 2012 census. If so, this would have included the significant populations, especially in A1 areas, who are – at least according to our data from Masvingo – producing more and doing better than their counterparts in the communal areas, where most the earlier rural samples are drawn from. And in our study areas on A1 sites we see between half and two-thirds of the households producing sufficient cereals for the year – not just 2%.
Following the 2012 census, ZIMSTAT is revising the national 'master sample frame', and hopefully from now on national surveys will be statistically more representative. Unfortunately it is still difficult to stratify the data according to land use types, and so distinguish between resettlement areas and others, so Taffs and co should probably hold off on their outright dismissal of land reform on the back of this data for now. As ever, it's more complicated than it first seems.
That said, last season was unquestionably a worse one than experienced in the last few years, including in Masvingo. It also hit some higher potential areas hard, with a very unevenly spread rainfall. Despite improvements since 2009, input supply was again erratic and untimely last year. Also, maize area planted was again down, reflecting the shift from food crops to tobacco in some areas, perhaps especially in those food producing areas in the higher rainfall zones. This restructuring of the crop system is directly driven by incentives – tobacco, supported through contract arrangements – , is a much more profitable crop than maize, especially if marketed through the Grain Marketing Board. Over the last decade or more we have seen switches to small grains (although plantings were down this past year according to ZimVac), but these are still a small percentage of total crop output, and it remains maize that drives the food economy, although much of this circulates outside the formal channels, and so is difficult to capture in national statistics.
So what should we make of all this? Certainly there is going to be a problem of food deficits in the coming months. However, problems are going to be concentrated in a certain time period, and outside a few areas and for more vulnerable people, it's not going to be as bad as the headline figure and the media commentary perhaps suggests. Imports will certainly be needed, and targeted food aid will be important, but other coping strategies will also come into play to offset the worst.
Indeed this seems to have been the pattern over many years now. There is a ritualised flurry of activity around this time of year, with the aid agencies calling for funds to support food aid, and those critical of land reform saying that this 'proves' that Zimbabwe has gone for food producer to 'basket case'. Yet by the end of the season, the expected famine has not occurred and, although hardships unquestionably are faced, the scale and depth of the problem is not as expected. This can be explained due to both sampling and non-sampling errors inherent in the standard surveys; but also significantly because assessments have not got to grips with the new patterns of production (particularly in A1 areas) and marketing (mostly informal). This will require new, and better attuned, data collection techniques.
Unfortunately too often the emergency, humanitarian aid and disaster relief momentum overrides discussion of the developmental issues, and the scramble for food aid (and all the associated politicking) diverts attention and resources. As I have mentioned in this blog many times before, rural development challenges are many. They include the need to invest in irrigation to offset drought vulnerability, the importance of investment and reforms to ensure timely supply of inputs, a pricing and market policy to balance incentives between food and cash crops, a livestock policy that ensures such assets are secure and available in times of need, and, overall, more concerted support for the resettlement areas to ensure that they can indeed supply the nation with food.
Next week, I will continue this theme and look at the data on production and imports over time in a bit more detail. Since 2000 there is little doubt Zimbabwe is in a new era, and policy responses have to take this into account.
This post was written by Ian Scoones and originally appeared on Zimbabweland
FOLLOW-UP - the situation is 'not as disastrous' as predicted by the usual suspects:
(ZIMBABWELAND) Millions at risk of food insecurity in Zimbabwe? Or not? How the dire predictions were confounded by a good harvest
Last September I critiqued the assumptions behind the prediction that 2.2 million people would be needing food aid. In order to raise funds and galvanise attention, international agencies, local lobby groups and the media were using an extreme worst case scenario figure, based on a variety of assumptions, many of them highly questionable.
As it turned out, the rains arrived and a good season has followed (with some exceptions of course). In the section below, I offer some extracts from the most recent USAID-funded FEWSNET update on the food security situation in Zimbabwe. Good rains have boosted production and the current food security projections to September are largely very positive.
It is amazing what a change in the weather can do. But it also adds to my earlier plea to be cautious about headline figures and assumptions in forward projections. There is no harm in being cautious – this must be the sensible stance – but overblown figures and dramatic proclamations that serve particular interests should be guarded against.
Unlike the portrayals of imminent doom, the relatively good news about a reasonable harvest does not hit the headlines, or raise aid money, and the bad news stories from Zimbabwe persist. So for a change, and in case you are not regular readers of FEWSNET bulletins, I thought you would like an update on a good harvest and a reasonably positive food security situation
Here is a summary edited from from the May update:
The majority of very poor households across the country including the traditionally food insecure southwestern districts, will experience Minimal (IPC Phase 1) acute food insecurity outcomes between May and June owing to the projected above average 2013/14 harvest. Similar outcomes will continue from July through September as most households will still be consuming cereals from own production.
Markets will continue functioning but most of the cereal supplies are likely to be locally procured with a few imports by private traders. As households begin to access cereal from their own production there have been significant reductions in monthly maize grain price trends. Since March, national maize grain prices have dropped by 11 percent, but in comparison to national averages during the same period last year the prices are still 16 percent higher. For maize meal the national average stands at $0.66 and has decreased by 2 percent in comparison to the same time the previous month, but remains 4 percent higher than the national average for same time last year. Month-on-month maize grain prices fell by 26 and 16 percent in Manicaland and Masvingo Provinces, respectively.
Casual labor opportunities are projected to increase by up to 20 percent throughout the outlook period as a result of ongoing harvesting activities. Additional incomes, particularly in the northern areas, will be earned through tobacco preparation, sales and casual labor for poor households. However given cash constraints, most casual labor will likely be paid by in-kind.
The first round results of the Ministry's crop and livestock assessment indicate that there are increased chances of an above average harvest, especially for maize, millet, and sorghum. This assumption is based on an estimated 16 percent increase in cropped area for cereals this season in comparison to the 2012/13 season. Maize alone this season accounts for approximately 1.6 million hectares, which is an 18 percent increase from the previous season. This increase in area planted for cereals is due to fairly well distributed rainfall patterns this season.
Ongoing tobacco curing and sales are boosting household income, particularly in the northern areas, where production levels are projected to have significantly increased. Based on the first round assessment, this year's production levels has surpassed the 2012-13 season by about 21 percent. At the household level, higher than average tobacco production will increase farmer income levels and opportunities for casual labor opportunities (i.e. curing, processing, transportation) for poor households. Households benefiting from this labor will therefore receive additional income for food purchases and other livelihood needs.
Cotton production this season is 16 percent below last year's levels. The processing of cotton is ongoing in cotton growing areas but incomes are likely to remain low. The reduction in the area under cotton is due to marketing price uncertainty given the low marketing prices offered during the previous season.
The increase in the availability of water due to the good rainfall this season will increase gardening activities from May through September. Vegetable production will provide both food and cash to very poor households.
Livestock body conditions in areas including Matebeleland South and Masvingo Provinces have significantly improved and are in good shape. Despite the improved pasture and water access for cattle, the calving rate included in the recent first round crop and livestock assessment report remains low at 49 percent, and only 2 percent higher than last season.
The FEWSNET report provides the assumptions it uses in this analysis, along with some useful graphics. The second assessment report is due shortly and this will update the situation. Certainly the tobacco harvest looks promising, and reports from many parts of the country shows grain production is good.
So, thankfully 2.2 million people in Zimbabwe didn't need food relief assistance, and the agricultural production has prospered in a good season. This however should be no reason for complacency. Droughts strike hard in a system where irrigation is not widespread, and improving resilience to such shocks must be a key part of future investments.
It's 2015, so here we go again:
(NEWZIMBABWE) Declare hunger a national disaster, opposition urges government
THE government should move swiftly and declare the crippling food shortages a national disaster to avert a possible humanitarian crisis.
In a statement Friday, the opposition People's Democratic Party said it is "seriously concerned by government's failure to declare a national disaster to avert the mass starvation stalking millions of people across the country as the food crisis worsens by the day".
"Over 3.5 million Zimbabweans are now in need of food aid due to the severe drought effects the country is going through and the lack of preparedness …
" … and focus on the part of the government of the day to handle this crisis including its failure to support farmers," PDP spokesperson Jacob Mafume said.
Since the turn of the century when President Robert Mugabe's government embarked on the controversial land reform program, the country has suffered consistent food shortages exacerbated by successive droughts.
Rural citizens, in particular, have borne the brunt of the food shortages with some reportedly now surviving on "roots and wild berries".
Said Mafume: "As the PDP, we demand that the government puts in place urgent disaster management mechanisms and declare a national disaster in the country in order to mitigate the suffering of the people, at a time when rural poverty is now reported to be at 76 percent.
"The 2015/2016 farming summer season has already been focused to be worse than the previous season due to the effects of the severe effects El Nino, the economic and political instability, but nothing is being done by the government to avert the situation."
The national weather bureau on Wednesday announced that the country is likely to experience another drought this coming season.
Mafume said President Mugabe, instead of sourcing for funds to save people, is looking for funds to fund his party annual jamboree.
"Zimbabwe continues to face serious economic and political challenges due to Zanu PF's infighting and this has created a further crisis on food security, especially to the vulnerable groups in the rural areas.
"Instead of finding solutions on how to avert the national food crisis, Zanu PF has decided to look for $3 million to fund its conference to be held in the resort town of Victoria Falls where thousands of delegates will wine and dine when millions of Zimbabweans are going for days without having had a decent meal," the PDP spokesperson said.
The PDP also condemned "the partisan and patronage system that is being used by Grace Mugabe and other Zanu PF officials in distributing food aid to selected Zanu PF sympathisers while known opposition supporters are being left out".
"The food being distributed was sourced through government channels and it is callous to leave out other deserving and vulnerable members of society," the party argued.
"The government is now being forced to import maize grown by displaced white commercials farmers who are now farming in countries such as Zambia and Mozambique.
"Through its Holistic Programme for Economic Transformation (HOPE), the PDP proposes an urgent solution to the erratic rainy seasons, collapsed agriculture output and the absence of alternative agricultural water sources".
It's 2016, so... of course this year it is 4.5 million people 'at risk' of starvation.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/news-30409-Deaths+feared+as+hunger+stalks+4.5mln/news.aspx
Deaths feared as hunger stalks 4.5mln
MAFIOS Ganyari tills a dry, patch of land, coaxing a few thin cassava tubers from the soil. This year's harvest has been poor. Mafios has barely enough to feed his family.
Farmers across Zimbabwe have lost cattle and crops and fear more pain as the year progresses.
"Three or four months to come, if nothing is taken as an assistance then surely it means people are going to die. You will hear the stories of dying here and there," he said.
Southern Africa has been hard hit over the past year by drought exacerbated by El Niño, a warming of sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has said up to 4.5 million people, half of Zimbabwe's drought-stricken rural population, will need aid by next March.
Child hunger and deaths are rising according to Save the Children.
"If they don't get aid as quickly as possible these people may end up dying or maybe malnourishment will increase to their children or they will even starve to death.
"So it is a matter of life and death for them," said Paidamoyo Madimutsa, a social worker in Mbire District in central Zimbabwe.
The impact of the drought is particularly serious for Zimbabwe, where the economy has been struggling for five years to recover from a catastrophic recession that was marked by billion percent hyperinflation and widespread food shortages.
In rural areas, finding clean water has also become difficult as water sources dry up. Women and children are bearing the brunt of the crisis.
"Sometimes when we take this water home, children get so sick from this water. We try and boil it before we drink," said Violet Jeremiah, a Mbire resident.
Zimbabwe has appealed for 1.6 billion U.S. dollars in aid to help pay for grain and other food.
Did the WFP just admit that they use Zimbabwe to fundraise?
(NEWZIMBABWE) World Food Programme says 300,000 at risk
THE estimated 4, 5 million Zimbabweans affected by El-Nino-induced drought could be at risk after the World Food Programme (WFP) revealed its food assistance programme may be forced to wind-down prematurely owing to $70 million shortfall.
WFP revealed in its August report that it can no longer guarantee the food security of the millions it is helping unless the funding gap is filled.
"WFP's El Niño Response, which runs through March 2017, continues to face a US$70 million shortfall.
"WFP is prioritising its assistance to meet the emergency needs of affected people, however, without sufficient funding, WFP will be unable to continue providing this life saving assistance," read the report.
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LEVC range-extender electric van to bring green 'distribution to door' solution
Natalie Middleton 17th June 2019, 12:21 pm
LEVC has unveiled its new range-extender electric van as it outlines how the vehicle will enable clean, green urban deliveries.
DSC_1159 (1)
LEVC range-extender electric van
Announced last year and revealed in more detail today (17 June 2019) at the launch of the London EV Infrastructure Delivery Plan, the van is not being targeted as a 'last-mile delivery' solution but instead will offer full 'distribution-to-door' capabilities, providing the link between out-of-town depots and city centres, capable of collecting goods outside of a major city in range extender mode, before switching to EV mode in an Ultra-Low Emissions Zone.
Launching towards the end of 2020, it draws upon the range-extender set-up seen in LEVC's TX taxi, which uses a 1.5-litre petrol engine alongside a 31kWh battery and electric powertrain. This gives the TX an electric range of more than 80 miles, and a combined range of 377 miles with its small petrol generator. As such, it will be offered as a cleaner alternative to one-tonne medium-sized diesel vans and aimed at those who travel 100 miles a day, using the range extender tech to combat traditional 'range anxiety'.
Payload will be 800+kg according to an LEVC engineer and the LCV will offer a load area that can fit two Euro pallets along with claimed best-in-class ownership costs and safety, and guaranteed durability; further details are yet to be revealed.
LEVC CEO Joerg Hofmann said: "London's ULEZ is a blueprint and all major UK cities will introduce a Clean Air Zone by 2020. There is huge demand for a medium-sized zero emissions capable light van and the solution we offer will be more than capable of meeting the requirements of a rapidly evolving green logistics market."
Somewhat unusually, charging will be offered by both the CCS standard favoured in Europe and the Chademo standard used by cars including the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi Outlander.
LEVC is planning to sell some 10,000 units in the UK in the first full sales year, and the van will be followed by a range of electric commercial vehicles in line with LEVC's vision to be the leading European electric commercial vehicle provider.
Joerg Hofmann added: "We have combined our existing knowledge of the urban environment with EV technology that can put urban mobility on a sustainable pathway. Durable, reliable, efficient, cost effective and high quality, that is our new LCV. London and the UK will be first to market, then we will extend the vehicle to Europe and further afield. Our goal is to be the leading European electric commercial vehicle provider."
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: "I am delighted that LEVC is applying the lessons learnt from designing and building London's electric black cabs to this new van. Developing clean, sustainable, electric vehicles is essential in order to tackle our air quality emergency and the climate change crisis. London's commitment to clean air policies is driving our pursuit of a positive electric future for all."
Tagged with: LEVC
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LEVC to start electric van trials next year
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These people are now able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the Central Valley
by: Jocelyn Moran
CENTRAL VALLEY, Calif. (KGPE) – Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that those 65 years and older are now eligible to receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in California.
However, various counties in the Central Valley are moving at different paces and are facing different challenges.
Fresno County opened its vaccine appointments at the Fresno Fairgrounds to those who work in healthcare and included in Phase 1A – as well as those 75 years and older. Californians who are 75 and older are included in the state's Phase 1B Tier 1.
For those who are included in Phase 1A or are 75 years and older, appointments at the Fresno Fairgrounds can be made here.
Joe Prado with Fresno County Department of Public Health said Tuesday that federally qualified health centers in rural areas that have received doses of the vaccine could start vaccinating those who work in food and agriculture as soon as next week.
"It is different here in the Central Valley. We have a significant part of ag worker community, so we're expediting that," Prado said Tuesday.
In addition, Prado said they're setting aside 3,000 doses for the week of Jan. 25, when they will vaccinate 3,000 food and agriculture workers using three different models of vaccine distribution. The goal is that this will show them which models work best for when they begin to vaccinate more food and agriculture workers.
The vaccine schedule for Phase 1A Tier 1 through Phase 1C for the county can be seen here. However, county health officials said the schedule can change. Those 75 years and older were moved to this week, instead of waiting until February.
"December was the deadliest month for the coronavirus pandemic in Fresno County and for our state. And what we're trying to do is to protect those vulnerable populations," Fresno County Interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra said Tuesday.
Dr. Alex Sheriffs, a family physician and a faculty member with UCSF's department of family and community medicine, said vaccinating those who are older is essential to protecting the most vulnerable.
"This is especially important for the elderly," he said. "The older we get, the higher risk we are for more serious disease, for worst outcomes, for death. Vaccination clearly is very, very protective for this."
RELATED: Fresno County ramps up vaccinations to most vulnerable as COVID-19-related deaths rise
Madera County began vaccinating those who are 75 years and older on Tuesday.
The county's Department of Public Health said those who are 65 years and older will be able to make appointments to receive the first dose of the vaccine sometime before Monday.
Those 65 years and older would be able to make an appointment here at that time.
The Madera County Department of Public Health had previously said those 65 years and older would be able to make appointments to receive the first dose of the vaccine starting Thursday, but later issued a correction. County officials now say that this will happen sometime before Monday.
RELATED: Madera County expands its COVID-19 vaccination program
Tulare County continues to focus on those who are in Phase 1A, which includes healthcare workers and those who work and live in skilled nursing facilities.
Carrie Monteiro with the Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency said they will be able to move into Phase 1B Tier 1, which includes those 75 years and older and food and agriculture workers, when they have more vaccine supply and available staff members.
"Over 18,000 doses of vaccine have been received in Tulare County and are actively being distributed, but that is still not enough to start Phase 1B," Monteiro said.
Tulare County is looking for volunteers with medical backgrounds to administer vaccines – and members of the public to volunteer for tasks such as answering phone calls and completing paperwork.
Those qualified and interested can sign up online:
Medically Trained Volunteers: https://bit.ly/3nF2Pp8
Non-Medical Community and General Support Volunteers: https://bit.ly/38D21fY
RELATED: Tulare County activates COVID-19 vaccine call center, seeks volunteers to help with vaccination effort
Merced County provided a graphic of where they're currently at in the phases.
Dr. Eric Sergienko, Mariposa County's health officer, said Wednesday that they've started to move into Phase 1B Tier 1.
Officials started with public safety workers on Friday, and plan to start vaccinations for school staff on Thursday.
With Gov. Newsom's announcement that those 65 years and older are now eligible, Sergienko said they are going to start with the oldest who sign up through their registry.
"We had the honor and privilege today of vaccinating the oldest person to sign up, who's a 99-year-old person," Sergienko said. "We're working kind of oldest and working toward that 65-year-old goal."
Residents can fill out the form here to be placed on Mariposa County's contact list. Once eligible, the county will contact residents to set up an appointment.
by Paul Schlesinger / Jan 17, 2021
MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) -- Merced County health officials said Sunday they will begin operating COVID-19 vaccination clinics with the first event taking place Wednesday along with the unveiling of a new website for vaccination registration and information.
Officials will hold vaccination clinics on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Merced and Los Banos for individuals that meet the criteria under Phase 1A along with residents 65 years and older, the county Department of Public Health said. Due to a limited vaccine supply and to efficiently administer doses available, eligible residents will be vaccinated by appointment.
by YourCentralValley.com Staff / Jan 17, 2021
MARIPOSA COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) --Mariposa County deputies are warning residents of a phone scam involving people posing as law enforcement and asking for a payment or donation by gift card.
The Sheriff's Office said the callers claim to be from "The Mariposa Police Department" or "The Mariposa Sheriff's Department" and ask for donations or telling people they have missed jury duty or failed to register.
COALINGA, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) -- Coalinga Police are seeking the public's help in locating a man suspected of stabbing a woman in the back of her head several times early Sunday morning.
Officers were sent to the area of 500 E. Valley St. around 1 a.m. to check on a woman who had possibly been assaulted, said Chief Darren Blevins. A woman was found standing outside her home with her grandmother and uncle crying.


PARKER. Joyce Mary (Joy) October 9th 2018. Peacefully at Bryn Eithin Residential Home, Colwyn Bay aged 91 years where she was tended with much care and compassion, formerly of Deganwy Beach, Deganwy. Service and Committal at Colwyn Bay Crematorium on Tuesday October 23rd at 11.45am. Family flowers only please but donations if desired would be gratefully received towards the NSPCC for whom Joy volunteered for many years. Enquires and donations please to R.W.Roberts and Son, Plas Tirion, Kinmel Avenue, Abergele LL22 7LW Tel. 01745 827777.


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Pella of Asheville has gorgeous doors for all of the entry points to your home. Whether you're considering door replacement to have a warm and welcoming entry, adding a styled patio or storm door to help boost light and ventilation, or upping your curb appeal with a distinctive front door, we are available to help.
Pella doors are available in a variety of materials that make them high performing—not to mention easy on the eyes. And, we have options that are able to work with nearly all budgets.
Pella creates doors with top performance, energy efficiency and durability in mind. You'll discover beautiful, quality styles in each line of Pella doors.
Learn more about Pella door styles, materials and product lines. When you've made the decision to get started on your project, set up an in-home consultation so we can address your questions, discuss the ins and outs of your project and give you a quote on the spot.


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Маргрет Вільх'яульмсдоуттір (;  10 березня 1966, Рейк'явік, Ісландія) — ісландська акторка театру та кіно. Закінчила Ісландську академію мистецтв.

Раннє життя та освіта
У 1994 році Маргрет закінчила Ісландську академію мистецтв (Listaháskóli Íslands), Ісландську драматичну академію і кілька років працювала у Рейк'явікській театральній трупі. Потім вона стала членом Національного театру Ісландії (Þjóðleikhúsið).

Кар'єра
У 2002 році вона приєдналася до театральної групи «Vesturport» для незвичайної циркової постановки «Ромео і Джульєтти» Шекспіра з великою кількістю акробатики, світла та дії.

Маргрет також виступала у телевізійних постановках, включаючи Njálssaga (2003) та Ástríður (2009), а також на великому екрані. Її значними фільмами є, мабуть, Mávahlátur («Сміх чайки»), знятий за мотивами книги Крістін Мар'ї Балдурсдоуттір та «Соколи», в якій вона знялася разом із Кітом Керрадайн. Обидва фільми отримали міжнародну увагу.

Маргрет — відома художниця на ісландській художній арені та часто бере участь у Рейк'явікському фестивалі мистецтв.

Вибіркова фільмографія
 Соколи (2002)
 Товший за воду (2006)

Нагороди
 2001: премія Едда за найкращу жіночу роль другого плану
 2002: премія Shooting Stars

Примітки

Ісландські акторки
Уродженці Рейк'явіка

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


This variant of our Maycomb Market Tote comes equipped with an adjustable crossbody strap in lieu of the two shoulder straps. It also features a zipper closure to keep all your goodies secure.
The Maycomb Market Tote is made from beautiful & supple oil-tanned Kodiak leather.
Made to Order, please allow approximately 1 week for production.


You know that your leisure groups in Malta and Gozo will go off without a hitch when you organise your group tours with Traveltrade. A well-established inbound leisure handling agent on the Maltese Islands, we place our experience, expertise and vast network of partners at your disposal to serve leisure groups and individuals from start to finish.
We will be with you every step of the way. We will source new and interesting leisure travel programmes and tours, negotiate hotel rates, arrange transfers and offer holiday rep assistance on the ground. In addition, our multilingual team makes it that much easier to communicate with your clients and serve them better.
No request is beyond our reach. We can cater to every need of every leisure group because we have established great relationships with a vast network of tourist services providers along the years. Whatever you may dream up for your leisure groups in Malta, we can make it happen for the best price.
When you work with us, you can rest assured of being able to offer great value group tours. In fact, we are confident that we can negotiate the best rates on hotel accommodation, excursions, off-the-beaten-track activities, sports, dining and relaxation.
Our multilingual holiday reps are highly qualified and remain available as a point of contact throughout the group's stay. Our reps have indepth knowledge about Malta and the Maltese and can answer any questions. Most importantly, they are able to handle any kind of situation competently and efficiently, from arranging a room change to handling theft or loss of property.
We are professional, personal and passionate in everything we do. We have accumulated plenty of experience as an inbound handling agent for leisure travel in Malta since 1986. Furthermore, we work with you according to your way of doing things so that you feel right at home with us!


カリフォルニア Here we are...: Pyrex Vintage サービングディッシュ、見っけ!
After cleaning my son's closet, I stood in front of piles of clothes, shoes, and toys my youngest son has grown out of. So, I decided to take them to Salvation Army for a donation. After dropping off the items in the back of the store, I couldn't help going to the front side of the store as I saw pretty Christmas displays by the windows. I had 15 minutes or so to kill. I decided to walk around inside of the store. . . .
食器のコーナーに、Pyrex Vintageのサービングディッシュを発見! それも、Snowflakeのパターン! 前のオーナーに大切に使われていたのだろう。 全く傷がなく、とってもいいコンディション。 恐る恐るお値段を拝見すると、なんと、2ドル35セントなのです。 迷うことなくレジに早歩き。なんと、その日は食器が30%オフのセールで、1ドル65セントで、迷うことなく、このSnowflakeちゃんをゲットしてしまいました。幸せ~!
Oh boy! I found a Pyrex Vintage serving dish in the kitchen section! It is the a "Snowflake" that I've been wanted to purchase for a while. The previous owner must have been taken very good care of this dish. There was no scratches what so ever. It is in a mint condition! I picked up the dish and slowly turned it over to check the price on the bottom. Whaaaaaatttttt!!!! It says $2.35(USD)! I walked straight to the cash register without turning back or looking anything else at the store. To my wonderful surprise, the store was having a sale on all kitchen items today.
After 30% off on the original price, I purchased this dish for $1.65(USD)! I am the happiest girl in the whole wide world!
I drove home happily with the thought of adding this Snowflake dish to my Butterprint Pyrex collection in my breakfast hutch.


Poconos Reunion Packages for your family, class, business, or military group are fast, fun and affordable.
There are no minimum rooms required. So if your reunion needs 2 rooms or 20 rooms you'll find great rates here. Should there not show enough rooms available give us a call we may have more.
We hold ours at one of these each year!
Skytop Lodge - Skytop, PA Private lake, 2 hr. NYC & Philadelphia. A 5,500-acre resort with a host of seasonal activities. Civilized hospitality indulges quiet couples & energetic families. Country weekends with nature programs by a naturalist, indoor swimming, hayrides, relaxing picnics, evening socials, golf, trout fishing, tennis, or lounging. Include three meals daily. Standard rooms, mini-suites, & cottages. Meals are gourmet and traditional cuisine.
Planning a family get together can be a nightmare of logistics, plus huge pressure deciding where to go. A Pocono Mountain Family Reunion is the answer. The Poconos are a magnet for families from New York, Philadelphia and New Jersey and all over the US who are looking for a central place to meet with lots of activities for the kids. Many Poconos Family Reunion Resorts have planned activities for children and places for the family to get together as a whole (Meeting rooms, activity areas and etc.) and lots of activities nearby.
Townhomes at Shawnee Resort These townhomes and recreational amenities are one fot the ideal places to hold a family reunion. Each family can have its own townhome and the private space it provides. Yet, your group will be centered in the Poconos Mountains with many activities within a short 10-15 minute drive.


TSP054 – You Talkin' To Me?: I'm not sure how to answer that question.
Beginning near the end of the 18th century, our fascination with Speech Technology has brought us to the age of virtual assistance in the form of Siri, Alexa and others. What does this all mean?
← TSP055 – The Undefinable Spirit: Readin' & rollin' with Lindsay Shaw.


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Make your own discoveries in the neighborhoods of Washington, DC
Locals know the difference between Washington and DC. The latter is a city made up of neighborhoods, where people live and visit, where restaurants and pubs buzz, where cabs are hailed, hotels are busy and friends laugh. No politics. No power plays. No problem. There's so much to love about each one of DC's neighborhoods, from history on Capitol Hill and high-end boutiques in Georgetown to performing arts in Penn Quarter and a 24-hour diner in Adams Morgan. Get familiar with the lay of the land and find your place in DC.
Rowhouses
Brunchers
Inventive
Cozy Restaurants
Music-Filled
Outdoor Concerts
More on DC Neighborhoods
Become more familiar with DC's neighborhoods. Click below to read articles and watch videos that take you inside each neighborhood. You'll get helpful hints, inside info and tips to discovering all of DC's most unique spots.
Explore All Neighborhoods and More
Visiting the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, DC
A visit to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial is to be transported to a trying time in American history, an era rife...
The Best Places to Eat in Columbia Heights
Historic row houses, modern apartments, major retail shops and some of the city's most distinct dining enclaves put Columbia...
Discover Eastern Market's Sights, Smells & Sounds
Nestled in the heart of historic Capitol Hill just north of Barracks Row, Eastern Market is a must-visit for lovers of fresh...


after the fight with Axel, he says 'it was worth saving your hide' or something along those lines--what did he mean by that???
Malaysia.... but i am not Asian.
i think it means that it was worth helping sora by releasing namine so that sora could kill the traitor Marluxia.
I think so too, at least something along those lines. Axel's mission there at CO was to eliminate the traitors, and from what we know, it seems that there's a strict punishment for failed missions in the Org.
I doubt it has anything to do with Marluxia, especially since it seemed Axel put up a fair fight against him until Sora came along and broke off the fight.
Saix wouldn't have sent him there on that mission.
What he told Sora, if it didn't really have to do with Sora himself, most likely had to do with Roxas.
I doubt it has anything to do with Marluxia,.
it has everything to do with marluxia. Axel helped sora because he new sora could take down Marluxia and larxene.
No, not everything. You think it had nothing to do with the fact he was Roxas' 'Somebody'? The Secret Reports of Days show Axel to be intensely interested in Sora because of his relation to Roxas.
And Axel could've done so on his own. :\ so no. His interest in Sora is hardly just because of that.
and i have to think that it's a mix of getting sora to finish marluxia and roxas.