Category: Money, Class, and Poverty,

Senate to Amtrak: Explain What You’re Doing To Rail Passenger Service In Kansas

On By peanutgallerynhIn Infrastructure and Transportation,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

Long-running frustration about Amtrak’s willingness to keep a rail passenger line running through remote parts of the country has politicians threatening to block new directors to the agency.

…In February, Congress gave $50 million for upkeep of the route to Amtrak to keep the line working through September. Last year, Amtrak proposed replacing service from Dodge City to Albuquerque with buses, but the federal budget prohibits the use of buses to replace long-distance train service along the route.

In early April, a group of 11 senators sent Amtrak a letter demanding more detail about its plans for the Southwest Chief and how, more broadly, it decides which long-distance routes are worth operating.

…Over the last year, Amtrak has removed ticket agents from many stations. But Assistant City Manager for Dodge City Melissa Mccoy said the city employs staff at its train depot.

“We have few options in terms of public transportation,” McCoy said. She said ridership jumps with tourists in the summer.

Without the Southwest Chief route, McCoy says some Dodge City residents wouldn’t be able to travel long distances.

“We have a lot of working class folks, and they have limited income,” she said. “Amtrak provides them a way to visit family and go on vacation and without that they might not have it all.”

Senate to Amtrak: Explain What You’re Doing To Rail Passenger Service In Kansas | KCUR

 

hmmmm

US announces new travel restrictions on Cuba, banning cruise ships

On By peanutgallerynhIn Caribbean,, Domestic Affairs,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

The Trump administration announced plans to further restrict travel to Cuba in April, when White House national security adviser John Bolton said the Treasury Department would “implement further regulatory changes to restrict non-family travel to Cuba.”

…The State Department announced that “going forward, the United States will prohibit US travelers from going to Cuba under the previous ‘group people-to-people educational’ travel authorization. In addition, the United States will no longer permit visits to Cuba via passenger and recreational vessels, including cruise ships and yachts, and private and corporate aircraft.”

…Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, who reopened the Cuban embassy in Washington in 2015, called the new restrictions “an attack on international law.”

US announces new travel restrictions on Cuba, banning cruise ships – CNNPolitics

Trump administration announces major expansion of hunting and fishing access on federal lands

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Environment,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

“This proposal is executing on that directive by opening and increasing more access to hunting and fishing by the Fish and Wildlife Service at more stations and across more acres than ever before,” Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said.

….The Interior Department under President Trump has put a premium on weakening restrictions on hunting on national park land, reversing a slew of Obama-era regulations.

Trump administration announces major expansion of hunting and fishing access on federal lands | TheHill

short-sighted asswipes.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

People eat at least 50,000 plastic particles a year, study finds

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

The average person eats at least 50,000 particles of microplastic a year and breathes in a similar quantity, according to the first study to estimate human ingestion of plastic pollution.

The true number is likely to be many times higher, as only a small number of foods and drinks have been analysed for plastic contamination.

The health impacts of ingesting microplastic [have yet to be studied,] but they [have been known to] release toxic substances. Some pieces are small enough to penetrate human tissues, where they could trigger immune reactions [among other issues.]

…Some of the best available data is on water, with bottled water containing 22 times more microplastic than tap water on average. A person who only drank bottled water would consume 130,000 particles per year from that source alone, the researchers said, compared with 4,000 from tap water.

…The European commission’s chief scientific advisers said in a report in April: “The evidence (on the environmental and health risks of microplastics) provides grounds for genuine concern and for precaution to be exercised.”

“We are producing a lot of plastic and it is ending up in the ecosystems, which we are a part of.”

People eat at least 50,000 plastic particles a year, study finds | Environment | The Guardian

sigh….

Trump quietly shuts down HIV cure research to appease the religious right

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

A “pause” on research that uses aborted fetal tissue, something Christian conservatives strongly oppose, was announced by the Trump administration this past September. The move will affect numerous biomedical research programs.

Congressional Republicans have tried to ban all fetal tissue research for years to appease the religious right. 85 Republican House members wrote a letter to the head of the FDA asking for a ban on fetal tissue research shortly before the “pause” was announced.

…Earlier this year, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division that would handle complaints from health care providers who did not want to take part in an abortion or treat transgender people.

Trump quietly shuts down HIV cure research to appease the religious right / LGBTQ Nation

Aggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh