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Trump discussed easing Iran sanctions, prompting Bolton pushback

Trump discussed easing Iran sanctions, prompting Bolton pushback

Bloomberg reports: President Donald Trump discussed easing sanctions on Iran to help secure a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani later this month, prompting then-National Security Advisor John Bolton to argue forcefully against such a step, according to three people familiar with the matter. After an Oval Office meeting on Monday when the idea came up, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin voiced his support for the move as a way to restart negotiations with Iran, some of the people said. Later…

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On 9/11, luck meant everything

On 9/11, luck meant everything

Garrett M. Graff writes: Joseph Lott, a sales representative for Compaq computers, survived one of the deadliest days in modern American history because he had a penchant for “art ties,” neckties featuring famous masterpieces. “It began many years earlier, in the ’90s,” he said in an oral history with StoryCorps. “I love Impressionist paintings, and I use them as a way to make points with my kids. I’d put on an art tie, and then I would ask my kids—I…

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How birds nested in our language and art

How birds nested in our language and art

Jeremy Mynott writes: The Mediterranean world of 2,500 years ago would have looked and sounded very different. Nightingales sang in the suburbs of Athens and Rome; wrynecks, hoopoes, cuckoos and orioles lived within city limits, along with a teeming host of warblers, buntings and finches; kites and ravens scavenged the city streets; owls, swifts and swallows nested on public buildings. In the countryside beyond, eagles and vultures soared overhead, while people could observe the migrations of cranes, storks and wildfowl….

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NOAA’s chief scientist stands up for scientific integrity and against political interference

NOAA’s chief scientist stands up for scientific integrity and against political interference

A Message from Craig McLean: Hurricane Dorian and Exceptional Service, addressing his colleagues, states: During the course of the storm, as I am sure you are aware, there were routine and exceptional expert forecasts, the best possible, issued by the NWS Forecasters. These are remarkable colleagues of ours, who receive our products, use them well, and provide the benefit of their own experience in announcing accurate forecasts accompanied by the distinction of all credible scientists—they sign their work. As I’m…

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World ‘gravely’ unprepared for effects of climate crisis, says new report

World ‘gravely’ unprepared for effects of climate crisis, says new report

The Guardian reports: The world’s readiness for the inevitable effects of the climate crisis is “gravely insufficient”, according to a report from global leaders. This lack of preparedness will result in poverty, water shortages and levels of migration soaring, with an “irrefutable toll on human life”, the report warns. Trillion-dollar investment is needed to avert “climate apartheid”, where the rich escape the effects and the poor do not, but this investment is far smaller than the eventual cost of doing…

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In Brazil’s rainforests, the worst fires are likely still to come

In Brazil’s rainforests, the worst fires are likely still to come

By Robert T. Walker, University of Florida The number of fires this year in the Amazon is the highest since 2010, reaching more than 90,000 active fires. Farmers and ranchers routinely use fires to clear the forest. But this year’s number reflects a worrisome uptick in the rate of deforestation, which had started to drop around 2005 before rebounding earlier this decade. Many people blame the Brazilian government and its pro-agriculture policies for the current crisis. But as an environmental…

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Trump’s disordered personality has become the defining characteristic of his presidency

Trump’s disordered personality has become the defining characteristic of his presidency

Peter Wehner writes: During the 2016 campaign, I received a phone call from an influential political journalist and author, who was soliciting my thoughts on Donald Trump. Trump’s rise in the Republican Party was still something of a shock, and he wanted to know the things I felt he should keep in mind as he went about the task of covering Trump. At the top of my list: Talk to psychologists and psychiatrists about the state of Trump’s mental health,…

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John Bolton will hold this grudge

John Bolton will hold this grudge

Graeme Wood writes: Donald Trump tweeted this morning that he had fired his national security adviser, John Bolton, and that Bolton’s “services are no longer needed at the White House.” The cold language was not accidental, and it was a strategically odd way to fire a man best known for being hell-bent on revenge against those who have crossed him. This is not how you release a valued counselor who has rescued you from repeated embarrassment, but whose views have…

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Corruption: Trump had deal with airport that sent flight crews to his Turnberry resort

Corruption: Trump had deal with airport that sent flight crews to his Turnberry resort

I know nothing about an Air Force plane landing at an airport (which I do not own and have nothing to do with) near Turnberry Resort (which I do own) in Scotland, and filling up with fuel, with the crew staying overnight at Turnberry (they have good taste!). NOTHING TO DO WITH ME — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 9, 2019 November, 2014: “Donald Trump pledges to make Prestwick Airport 'really successful'” http://t.co/JZ1dnBqwV1 via @STVNews — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)…

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Brexit: Remainers actually have nothing to fear from a general election — here’s why

Brexit: Remainers actually have nothing to fear from a general election — here’s why

Mark Malloch-Brown writes: Remainers have nothing to fear from an election so long as we work together; and because we will work together, the country has nothing to fear from Corbyn. The present polling gives Johnson an ebbing lead, but a lead nonetheless. It is likely he will strike a deal with Nigel Farage in any snap election. Perhaps Farage’s non-aggression pact in which the Brexit Party does little campaigning in swathes of the south, and the Tories do even…

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If Boris Johnson quits, MPs should back Jeremy Corbyn to avoid no deal

If Boris Johnson quits, MPs should back Jeremy Corbyn to avoid no deal

Polly Toynbee writes: When parliament reconvenes in October it will have 12 days to close all loopholes and prevent a no-deal exit. Johnson may resign, or as a last resort Labour may need to depose him with a no-confidence vote. If so, the leader of the opposition would be called first to form an interim government; but will the alliance [with the SNP, the Liberal Democrats, Greens and Plaid Cymru, and exiled Tories] stomach him? When first mooted, the answer…

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NOAA’s chief scientist to investigate why agency backed Trump over its experts on Dorian, while NWS director backs forecasters

NOAA’s chief scientist to investigate why agency backed Trump over its experts on Dorian, while NWS director backs forecasters

The Washington Post reports: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s acting chief scientist said in an email to colleagues Sunday that he is investigating whether the agency’s response to President Trump’s Hurricane Dorian tweets constituted a violation of NOAA policies and ethics. Also on Monday, the director of the National Weather Service broke with NOAA leadership over its handling of Trump’s Dorian tweets and statements. In an email to NOAA staff that was obtained by The Washington Post, NOAA’s Craig…

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Commerce chief threatened to fire top officials at NOAA if they didn’t support Trump’s false hurricane predictions, sources say

Commerce chief threatened to fire top officials at NOAA if they didn’t support Trump’s false hurricane predictions, sources say

The New York Times reports: The Secretary of Commerce threatened to fire top employees at NOAA on Friday after the agency’s Birmingham office contradicted President Trump’s claim that Hurricane Dorian might hit Alabama, according to three people familiar with the discussion. That threat led to an unusual, unsigned statement later that Friday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration disavowing the office’s own position that Alabama was not at risk. The reversal caused widespread anger within the agency and drew…

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Trump’s hatred of refugees applies to victims of Hurricane Dorian

Trump’s hatred of refugees applies to victims of Hurricane Dorian

Aaron Blake writes: Early Monday afternoon, acting Customs and Border Protection head Mark Morgan offered some peace of mind to Bahamians seeking humanitarian relief in the United States in the wake of Hurricane Dorian, following the news that some were turned away for not having visas. “This is a humanitarian mission,” Morgan assured. “If your life is in jeopardy and you’re in the Bahamas … you’re going to be allowed to come to the United States, whether you have travel…

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