Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig (@ThinkwingRadio) is now on Wednesdays at 11AM (CT) on KPFT-HD2, Houston’s Community Station. You can also hear the show:

1. Live online at KPFT.org (from anywhere in the world!)
2. Podcast on your phone’s Podcast App
3. Visiting Archive.KPFT.ORG

Welcome to Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig where we discuss local, state, national, and international stories. My co-host and show editor is Andrew Ferguson.

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• An educated electorate is a prerequisite for a democracy.
• You’re entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.

1. Make sure you are registered to vote! VoteTexas.GOV – Texas Voter InformationTEXAS SoS VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOT APPLICATION (ALL TEXAS COUNTIES) HarrisVotes.com­ – Countywide Voting Centers, (Election Information Line (713) 755-6965), Harris County Clerk
   1. Harris County “Vote-By-Mail’ Application for 2022
      1. Fort bend County Elections/Voter Registration Machine takes you to the proper link
      2. GalvestonVotes.org (Galveston County, TX)
      3. Liberty County Elections (Liberty County, TX)
      4. Montgomery County (TX) Elections
      5. https://thinkwingradio.files.wordpress.com/2022/04/kpfthd3_2022-04-06_110000wed2pm.mp3Brazoria County (TX) Clerk Election Information
      6. Waller County (TX) Elections
      7. Chambers County (TX) Elections
      8. For personalized, nonpartisan voter guides and information, Consider visiting Vote.ORG.   Ballotpedia.com and Texas League of Women Voters are also good places to get election info.
      9. If you are denied your right to vote any place at any time at any polling place for any reason, ask for (or demand) a provisional ballot rather than lose your vote.
      10. HarrisVotes.com – Countywide Voting CentersHARRIS COUNTY – IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED FOR VOTING: Do not possess and cannot reasonably obtain one of these IDs?
          1. Fill out a declaration at the polls describing a reasonable impediment to obtaining it, and show a copy or original of one of the following supporting forms of ID:
          2. A government document that shows your name and an address, including your voter registration certificate
          3. Current utility bill
          4. Bank statement
          5. Government check
          6. Paycheck
          7. A certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes your identity (which may include a foreign birth document)
          8. You may vote early by-mail if:You are registered to vote and meet one of the following criteria:
             1. Away from the county of residence on Election Day and during the early voting period;
             2. Sick or disabled;
             3. 65 years of age or older on Election Day; or
             4. Confined in jail, but eligible to vote.
             5. Make sure you are registered:
             6. Ann Harris Bennett, Tax Assessor-Collector & Voter Registrar
             7. CHECK REGISTRATION STATUS HERE
             8. CLICK How to register to vote in Texas
             9. Outside Texas, try Vote.org.
2. BE REGISTERED TO VOTE, and if eligible, REMEMBER TO FILL OUT AND MAIL YOUR MAIL-IN BALLOT APPLICATIONS FOR 2022
   1. You can track your Mail Ballot Activity from our website with direct link provided here https://www.harrisvotes.com/Tracking
   2. May 7 Constitutional & Local Election (EVERYPLACE EXCEPT BRAZORIA CTY,  WALLER CTY (SORT OF))
      1. 07Apr – Last Day to Register to Vote
      2. 25Apr – First Day of Early Voting by Personal Appearance
      3. 26Apr – Last Day to Apply for Ballot by Mail (Received, not Postmarked)
      4. 03May – Last Day of Early Voting by Personal Appearance
      5. 07May – Election Day & Last day to Receive Ballot by Mail
   3. May 24 Primary Runoff & Precinct Chair Election
      1. 25Apr – Last Day to Register to Vote
      2. 13May – Last Day to Apply by Mail (Received, not Postmarked)
      3. 16May – First Day of Early Voting by Personal Appearance
      4. 20May – Last Day of Early Voting by Personal Appearance
      5. 24May – Election Day & Last Day to Receive Ballot by Mail
3. ANNOUNCEMENT:
   1. com has a number of election-related articles, so I suggest checking them out.
4. KPFT is inviting you to a Zoom event “An evening with Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!” which will also include Pacifica Executive Director  Stephanie Wells and KPFT General Manager Dr. Robert Franklin.
   Join us Thursday, April 14, 2022 at 7 p.m. for this discussion with journalist Amy Goodman. To register and for more information go to kpft.org. 
5. Houston expecting thousands of refugees from Ukraine; Bill Spencer, Investigative Reporter | CLICK2HOUSTON.COM | Published: April 5, 2022, 5:50 PM, Updated: April 5, 2022, 6:37 PM
   1. Starting sometime in the next three to six months, Houston will become part of a massive effort to bring as many as 100,000 Ukrainian refugees to the United States.
   2. In fact, Houston could lead the nation in bringing more than 5,000 Ukrainian families here, more than any other city in Texas. …
   3. Interfaith Ministries For Greater Houston already has plans in place to provide Ukrainian families, ravaged by war, with everything they need to start their new lives. That includes a permanent home in the way of an apartment, new furniture, food, clothing, healthcare, help to register their children in school, English language training, and job training.
   4. [Martin Cominsky, President and CEO of Interfaith Ministries For Greater Houston SAID,] “We want you to join up with a new family, welcome them, show them how to ride the bus, go to the grocery, take them to the children’s museum or go to the zoo, and introduce them to our community”, Cominsky said.
   5. If you would like to become a volunteer with Interfaith Ministries For Greater Houston, you can click here or call 713-533-4900 to sign up.
6. Harris County commissioner calls for Judge Lina Hidalgo to have emergency powers revoked; By Andy Cerota, Anchor & Reporter | CLICK2HOUSTON.COM | Published: April 5, 2022, 6:25 PM
   1. [Republican Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle] is calling for changes when it comes to the county judge’s emergency powers.
   2. Judge Lina Hidalgo was granted more authority under the state’s disaster declaration back at the state of the pandemic in 2020.
   3. … Cagle’s proposal to strip the judge of her emergency powers failed in a 3-2 vote Tuesday afternoon.
   4. Back on March 10, Judge Hidalgo lowered the Covid threat level to yellow, citing lower hospitalization rates and cases dropping to safer levels.
   5. “We’re at level yellow. President Biden has said let’s get back to normal. It’s time we get back to normal,” commissioner Cagle said.
   6. Doing away with the emergency powers Judge Hidalgo was granted back in March of 2020 at the start of the pandemic, also falls under that umbrella, said Cagle.
   7. Because of the extraordinary public health risk at the time, for the past two years, Hidalgo was been able to approve contracts, make purchases for the county and suspend public notice requirements, among other things.
   8. “Now that we’re yellow, the rationale or the need to have the ability to be able to make decisions in the back doors instead of in the front, before the public, that rationale is gone,” Cagle said.
   9. While Cagle’s proposal failed in a 3-2 vote, KPRC 2 Analyst and former Harris County [Republican] Judge Ed Emmett said emergency powers weren’t meant to be in play this long.
   10. “The pandemic is not the type of emergency that requires instantaneous decisions. It’s very easy for the commissioner’s court to come together, talk about a subject and then make a decision. Evidently, what happened in Harris County is when they granted them, they said these will last as long as the governor’s, but that’s not the law, that’s a county commissioner decision,” Emmett said.
   11. KPRC 2 reached out to Judge Hidalgo’s office for a comment, but we are still waiting on a response.
7. Enhanced library cards designed to help Harris County residents with no photo ID; By Rosie Nguyen | ABC13.COM | Tuesday, April 5, 2022, 10:55PM
   1. … Living without a photo ID can come with several challenges. … [T]he formerly incarcerated, domestic violence survivors, LGBTQ+ community members, people living with a disability, or undocumented immigrants who may have difficulty getting housing, a job, or access to basic community services. They have a new option to help bridge some of those gaps. …
   2. Noe Ramirez with Living Hope Wheelchair Association explained that people living with disabilities often face transportation, mobility, and socio-economic barriers that prevent them from getting state-issued documents. He said the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 winter storms, and annual hurricanes highlighted the importance of having a photo ID to access critical assistance such as shelters, funds, and other forms of relief.
   3. After three years of advocating for the Enhanced+ library card, the Texas Organizing Project (TOP) and its partnering agencies celebrated the program’s launch Tuesday morning with a press conference with a line-up of speakers. The card is a free photo ID valid for five years with the person’s name, address, date of birth, and gender. Anyone living in Harris County can get one regardless of age, immigration status, or housing status. …
   4. This doesn’t mean anyone can walk into a Harris County library and get a card under any name they want. Applicants must prove their identity through documentation like a consular ID card, foreign passport, birth certificate, social security card, ITIN, or school documents. Residency must also be verified through forms like a property lease, utility bills, insurance bills, or a signed letter from a healthcare or social service agency. …
   5. Organizers said the program is also available in San Antonio. In our area so far, they said the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and Harris Health are the two agencies that have agreed to accept the cards as valid photo identification. Their goal is to get the city of Houston and the Houston Police Department on board next. Ultimately, they hope the Enhanced+ library card will be accepted across the state. …
   6. To get a free Enhanced+ library card, visit any of the 26 Harris County Public Library branches[. Y]ou must go in person and can get the card on the same day. To find your local branch, click here. For more information about the card or FAQs, the Harris County Public Library’s website.
8. UT Austin will allow students to live together on campus regardless of gender or sexual identity; The two-year pilot program comes after at least 15 years of students asking for the change. It will allow UT-Austin students to live together in certain residence halls with students of any gender or sexual identity. by Kate McGee | TEXASTRIBUNE.ORG | April 5, 2022, 8 hours ago
   1. The University of Texas at Austin is starting a two-year pilot program next fall that will allow students to live together in certain campus residence halls regardless of their gender or sexual identity.
   2. Called the “Family and Friend Expanded Roommate Option,” any UT-Austin student can select any other UT-Austin as a roommate.
   3. Student advocates have been pushing the university to create a gender-inclusive housing option since at least 2006, according to Adrienne Hunter, a senior and transgender woman who has advocated for the change over the past few years. …
   4. According to a housing page on the university’s website, the university said it is allowing for this option to build better community engagement. …
   5. Traditionally, dorms, even co-ed ones, have been designed to separate by sex students sharing a room. The new pilot policy applies to dorms where students have private bathrooms either shared among roommates or suitemates.
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   9. Hunter said that UT housing would handle requests for more gender-inclusive housing situations on a case-by-case basis, but she said it sometimes posed problems for students who have yet to discuss their sexual identity to their parents and did not want to email about their situation for fear their parents might accidentally find out. …
   10. Earlier this year, the Queer Student Alliance at UT-Austin issued its first report on the state of LGBTQIA+ students since 2006. They surveyed more than 2,000 students on campus. It found while the vast majority of students who identify as cisgender felt comfortable expressing their gender identity on and off campus, transgender students in particular felt much less comfortable expressing their gender identity in on-campus housing than off-campus housing.
   11. The report recommended instituting gender-inclusive housing with a web page that uses clear language and definitions of gender-inclusive housing policies. …
   12. The decision to begin this pilot project comes at a politically fraught time for transgender rights in the state. In February, Gov. Greg Abbott instructed the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate families who provide gender-affirming health care to their transgender children, for child abuse.
   13. A spokesperson for UT-Austin did not immediately respond to questions about why the university started this pilot program now or why the university did not identify the new policy as “gender inclusive housing,” as other universities across the state and country have done.
   14. In Texas, a handful of other universities across the state already have gender-inclusive housing, including the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Texas at San Antonio. The University of Houston has a “living learning community” that is gender-inclusive in two of its residence halls.
   15. In fall 2020, Texas Tech University in Lubbock created a housing option that went into effect in 2021 that allows students in the West Village residence hall to allow eligible students to live together in the same apartment on-campus regardless of gender.
9. Texas Guard’s border mission needs an additional $531 million to continue past this month, top general says; Texas Military Department leaders say they’ve addressed many of the issues that arose late last year when the mission ramped up to 10,000 service members — but more money is needed to run the mission at its current pace. by James Barragán, THE TEXAS TRIBUNE, and Davis Winkie, MILITARY TIMES April 5, 20229 hours ago
   1. Texas Military Department leaders told the state Senate Border Security Committee they need more than half a billion dollars in state funds to continue Gov. Greg Abbott’s controversial border mission through the end of the fiscal year.
   2. The cost for Operation Lone Star, which has deployed 10,000 service members, has ballooned to more than $2 billion a year. That is well beyond the $412 million the Legislature budgeted for the military department’s participation in Operation Lone Star, and state officials have already transferred another $480 million to the agency to keep the lights on through the spring. …
   3. Gen. Thomas M. Suelzer, the department’s new leader, said he was conducting an assessment of the mission to find ways to make it more effective and efficient. He said the number of troops is a big cost, as is the construction of fences along private properties near the border, which he was looking to contract out to local builders to cut down on costs. …
   4. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, who leads the committee, said the military department had already spent nearly half of the $287 million the Legislature had allocated for the department to pay salary and wages. Birdwell said he assumed Abbott would allocate more money to cover pay for the service members on the mission.
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   8. But Birdwell said lawmakers had to figure out a way to sustainably finance the mission because migrants would continue coming to the state’s southern border for the foreseeable future. {Birdwell said that the equivalent of the city of Waco was coming into Texas every month, “So the challenge is how do you economize this but sustain it?”
   9. The state’s fiscal year ends in August. Abbott and the Department of Public Safety, whose troopers also participate in the border operation, have repeatedly boasted that the mission has disrupted drug and human smuggling networks. But those claims of success have been based on shifting metrics that have included crimes with no connection to the border and work conducted before the operation.
   10. Suelzer was appointed as the military department’s adjutant general in March, replacing Maj. Gen. Tracy Norris, whose three-year term ended in February and who had come under major criticism for her handling of Operation Lone Star. After Abbott ordered a major ramp-up of the mission in September, troops complained of poor living conditions, problems with pay and lack of adequate gear. Many of them were called up involuntarily and complained the mission was a political ploy by Abbott, a Republican seeking his third term as governor in November. …
   11. [Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa of McAllen, the only Democrat on the three-member committee] … grilled TMD officials over the agency’s deployment of service members to private ranches owned by wealthy Texans. Those deployments were first reported by The Texas Tribune and included assignments at the iconic King Ranch, which is more than an hour’s drive away from the border.
   12. Ulis said those deployments are directed by the Department of Public Safety, which receives permission from landowners to be there.
   13. “Everywhere we are placed by DPS, DPS have solicited and have earned permission from the property owner,” he said.
   14. But a spokesperson for the King Ranch previously told The Tribune that the ranch had not requested TMD’s presence and that service members were not on the ranch’s property but on public right of ways on the side of U.S. Route 77. The spokesperson repeated that statement Tuesday.
   15. The Department of Public Safety did not respond to a request for comment before publication. …
   16. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, asked TMD leaders about a rash of suicides tied to the mission last year that were reported by the Military Times. …
   17. Suelzer said the Texas Army National Guard has been below the suicide death rate of the Department of Defense and the Army National Guard for two of the last three years. But he said the deaths continue to be a problem and “we need to do better.”
   18. The general omitted that the state’s worst year of the three had been 2021, compared with new Defense Suicide Prevention Office data published Friday.
   19. The National Guard across all 54 states and territories experienced 118 suicide deaths in 2021 out of more than 445,000 Army and Air National Guard troops — a rate of 26.5 deaths per 100,000.
   20. Texas, by comparison, has acknowledged nine suicides in 2021 among its approximately 22,000 troops. Its rate of 45 suicides per 100,000 troops is significantly higher than the rest of the Guard.
   21. TMD officials did not respond to a request for clarification on Suelzer’s comments from the Tribune and Military Times. …
   22. REFERENCE: Texas’ border operation is meant to stop cartels and smugglers. More often, it arrests migrants for misdemeanor trespassing. The largest share of Operation Lone Star arrests were of people accused only of trespassing on private property. Many spend months in prison, but the strategy does not appear to have slowed immigration. by Jolie McCullough | TEXASTRIBUNE.ORG | April 4, 20225 AM Central
10. Court orders Jan. 6 defense lawyer disbarred; The most immediate impact of Jonathon Moseley’s disbarment may be in the upcoming trial of 11 Oath Keepers facing charges of seditious conspiracy for their role in the Capitol breach. By Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney | politico.com | 04/05/2022 10:22 PM EDT, Updated: 04/05/2022 11:41 PM EDT
    1. A Virginia state court has disbarred Jonathon Moseley, an attorney who has represented a slew of high-profile Jan. 6 defendants, including a member of the Oath Keepers charged with seditious conspiracy, as well as several targets of the House select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol. …
    2. On Friday, after a two-day hearing in Prince William County Circuit Court, a three-judge panel ordered Moseley’s law license revoked, court records show.
    3. Details of the bar discipline case against Moseley were not immediately available, but a summary posted on the Virginia State Bar website on Tuesday said the court found that he violated “professional rules that govern safekeeping property; meritorious claims and contentions; candor toward the tribunal; fairness to opposing party and counsel; unauthorized practice of law, multijurisdictional practice of law; bar admission and disciplinary matters … and misconduct.” The decision was effective on April 1. …
    4. Moseley’s troubles with the Virginia State Bar could imperil his ability to continue as an attorney … in an array of … Jan. 6 litigation. Moseley is not a member of the District of Columbia Bar, but does belong to the bar of the federal court in D.C. handling those cases. Membership in that bar is contingent on bar membership in another state or locality.
11. Susan Collins says Marjorie Taylor Greene calling GOP senators ‘pro-pedophile is ‘obviously ludicrous’ and ‘typical’; by Nicole Gaudiano | BUSINESSINSIDER.COM | 2022-APR-5
    1. Collins said she isn’t surprised by Marjorie Taylor Greene calling GOP senators ‘pro-pedophile.”
    2. “It doesn’t trouble me. It’s obviously ludicrous and typical,” Collins said at the Capitol.
    3. Greene’s close ally Rep. Matt Gaetz is being investigated for an alleged sexual relationship with a minor.
    4. Susan Collins laughed when asked about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene calling her and other Republican senators “pro-pedophile” for supporting Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
    5. Frankly, this is what we’ve come to expect from her,” the Maine Republican told Insider as she left the Senate chamber on Tuesday. “So it doesn’t trouble me. It’s obviously ludicrous and typical.” —Nicole Gaudiano (@ngaudiano) April 5, 2022
    6. Greene’s comments came after Republican Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Murkowski of Alaska announced Monday that they would join fellow Collins in voting to approve Jackson’s nomination, President Joe Biden’s nominee for the vacancy on the court.
    7. “Murkowski, Collins, and Romney are pro-pedophile,” the Georgia Republican tweeted. “They just voted for #KBJ.” …
    8. Greene’s closest ally in Congress is Rep. Matt Gaetz who is being investigated by federal authorities for whether he engaged in sex trafficking and had a sexual relationship with a minor, which he denies. …
12. Oklahoma Governor Faces Pushback from Native Americans for “Indian Card” Comments Made on Fox News; By Darren Thompson | NATIVENEWSONLINE.NET | April 04, 2022
    1. Last week, during an interview on Tucker Carlson Tonight (Fox News), Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said in an interview that the state of Oklahoma, including law enforcement, lost its ability to police and prosecute certain people based on whether or not they have—what he called—an “Indian Card.”
    2. Stitt was commenting on the McGirt v. Oklahoma decision, where the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in July 2020 that a large portion of eastern Oklahoma remains the Creek Nation and that Congress hasn’t taken official actions to disestablish or diminish the reservation. 
    3. “This all started when McGirt, a child rapist, showed his ‘Indian Card’ and got his conviction overturned,” Stitt said on Tucker Carlson Live, a popular conservative political talk show. 
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    7. Ultimately, the McGirt decision means that Native Americans who commit crimes on the reservation, the large portion of eastern Oklahoma including much of Tulsa, can no longer be prosecuted under local or state legal jurisdiction, but by tribal or federal courts instead. 
    8. During his interview, Stitt omitted that McGirt, age 72, was later convicted and sentenced by the U.S. Department of Justice to life imprisonment and five years supervised release for two counts of Aggravated Sexual Abuse In Indian Country, and one count of Abusive Sexual Contact in Indian Country. 
    9. The McGirtdecision was an historic decision for American Indian Treaty rights, Tribal Sovereignty and is celebrated as a major win for Tribal governments and their inherent rights to govern themselves. …
    10. Stitt is a member of the Cherokee Nation and has been an opponent of the ruling, stating that everyone in Oklahoma should be treated equally under the law. …
    11. Tribes and tribal leaders have responded to the various comments that Stitt has made, saying largely that the governor is pushing a one-sided agenda that undermines tribal sovereignty.  
    12. “As a tribe of 410,402 citizens, we’re thankful for the 410,401 Cherokee citizens who aren’t going on TV to undermine our rights and sovereignty,” said the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma on Twitter on March 31. 
    13. Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Chuck Hoskins, Jr. said to KOSU that the Gov.’s comments undermine that Tribes can ensure public safety and that agreements have been made with Tribes and local law enforcement. 
    14. “Tribal nations, along with our intergovernmental partners, continue to ensure the safety of our communities and our neighbors, and we have expanded our criminal justice systems to handle our increased obligations,” Hoskin said to KOSU. “We have dozens of agreements in place that allow law enforcement officers to continue to do their jobs, and we are disappointed the Governor continues to lie and denigrate that work.” …
    15. The Supreme Court is scheduled to consider whether the state [Oklahoma] should have concurrent jurisdiction over non-Indians when they commit crimes on Indian “reservation land” later this month.
13. NATO says Ukraine to decide on peace deal with Russia — within limits; By Michael Birnbaum and Missy Ryan | WASHINGTONPOST.COM | Apr. 5, 2022, Yesterday at 2:03 p.m. EDT
    1. Ukraine’s Western backers have vowed to respect Kyiv’s decisions in any settlement to end the war with Russia, but with larger issues of global security at stake, there are limits to how many compromises some in NATO will support to win the peace.
    2. How to end the fighting and support Ukraine will be among the sharpest discussions at a gathering of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels that starts Wednesday. The United States and its allies say that Ukraine must be the ultimate decider as it defends itself, and that it shouldn’t be pushed to make compromises or encouraged to fight longer than it is willing.
    3. But Kyiv’s decisions — and any concessions President Volodymyr Zelensky might embrace — will help determine whether the Kremlin is chastened or emboldened, and nations that have territorial ambitions over their neighbors, such as China, will be watching the outcome. Some NATO allies are especially cautious about ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia and giving Russian President Vladimir Putin any semblance of victory, according to alliance policymakers and analysts. …
    4. Some European countries, especially formerly communist ones with bitter memories of Russian invasion or occupation, are especially nervous about how the conflict will evolve, seeing themselves as next on the Kremlin’s target list. If Putin feels he has profited from the invasion, by winning territory, political concessions or other benefits, he may eventually be inspired to try the same thing against other neighbors, policymakers say.
    5. The Ukrainians, as a result, are involved in a broader fight on behalf of Europe, NATO leaders say.
    6. “I hope they will be hard as steel. I support maximum military support and maximum sanctions,” Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks said in an interview. “Russia must lose and criminals should stand in court.”
    7. Even a Ukrainian vow not to join NATO — a concession that Zelensky has floated publicly — could be a concern to some neighbors. That leads to an awkward reality: For some in NATO, it’s better for the Ukrainians to keep fighting, and dying, than to achieve a peace that comes too early or at too high a cost to Kyiv and the rest of Europe. …
    8. No matter how the war ends, the United States plans to review its military posture in Europe. Before the conflict, there were more than 80,000 U.S. troops on the continent. Today, with temporary deployments designed to shore up NATO’s eastern flank, there are more than 100,000, the official said.
14. A Ukrainian architecture firm is developing modular homes that can be scaled to the size of a town and house up to 8,000 refugees — take a look at the design; By Amanda Goh | INSIDER.COM | Apr. 5, 2022 (17 hours ago)
    1. Kyiv-based architecture studio Balbek Bureau has designed a modular village to provide Ukrainian refugees with temporary shelter.
    2. The homes can be scaled up into a town that houses around 8,000 people.
    3. The company’s founder and CEO said he wants to “help people maintain a dignified way of life.” …
    4. “Our idea is to make it possible for people to feel the comfort that they had in their apartments, whether they just lost it or when their houses were bombed or burned,” he added. …
    5. The town project is designed in such a way that it can be implemented quickly and with whatever resources are available at hand. Having different material options cushions the project from the unpredictability of the war and any supply-chain shocks, the CEO said. …
    6. Interiors can be modified to suit different uses of everyday life, including sleeping quarters, kitchens, bathrooms, and even communal recreational areas, per a company press release.
    7. The modules, which measure 6.6 meters by 3.3 meters (21 feet by 11 feet) each, will be grouped into self-sufficient residential sections that have shared bathrooms, communal kitchens, and common spaces for residents to interact with each other, per the press release. …
    8. The team is currently working on creating three iterations of the modular home using different materials — including one that’s built with aluminum panels and insulation — to ensure they are all durable, Balbek said.
    9. The team is still in discussion with authorities and private investors, but Balbek said they hope to start building these shelters soon, especially in western parts of Ukraine that have been relatively sheltered from the fighting thus far.
    10. “The materials can stand, I think, 20, 30 years. But I hope that it will be not more than three years before the houses will be rebuilt, the cities will be rebuilt and the people will come back to their homes,” he added.
15. Amazon [Rain Forest] nears ‘tipping point’ where rainforest could transform into savanna; The Amazon may be nearing a “tipping point.” By Nicoletta Lanese | LIVESCIENCE.COM | published March 8, 2022 (about 6 hours ago)
    1. If deforestation continues, the Amazon rainforest could reach a critical tipping point where most of it transforms into a dry savanna, a new study warns. 
    2. The study, published Monday (March 7) in the journal Nature Climate Change, suggests that more than 75% of the rainforest has steadily lost “resilience” since the 2000s, meaning those portions of the rainforest now can’t recover as easily from disturbances, such as droughts and wildfires. Regions of the rainforest that show the most profound losses in resilience are located near farms, urban areas and areas used for logging, Inside Climate News reported.  
    3. Climate change, rampant deforestation and burnings conducted for agriculture and ranching have left the Amazon far warmer and drier than in decades past, and since 2000, the region has endured three major droughts, The New York Times reported. …
    4. The new study adds to existing evidence that the world’s largest rainforest is hurtling toward a tipping point, beyond which large swaths of the forest could suddenly die off. The study cannot pinpoint when this tipping point might be reached, but the forest could hit it within decades, the study authors told Inside Climate News. 
    5. If the rainforests surpasses this tipping point, the ecosystem could swiftly change into a vast savanna, unleashing tens of billions of tons of carbon dioxide during the transformation, The Guardian reported. …
    6. At this point, can anything be done to prevent the Amazon rainforest from turning into the Amazon savanna? Experts say there is.
    7. “These systems are highly resilient, and the fact that we have reduced resilience doesn’t mean that it has lost all its resilience,” Brando told the Times. “If you leave them alone for a little bit, they come back super strongly.”
    8. But it requires key steps to be taken, experts said.
    9. “We have to get to zero deforestation, zero forest degradation,” Carlos Nobre, a senior scientist at the National Institute of Amazonian Research in Brazil, who was not involved in the study, told the Times. “We still have a chance to save the forest.”
16. Nuclear fusion is one step closer with new AI breakthrough; The green energy revolution is getting closer. By Tom Metcalfe | LIVESCIENCE.COM | published March 4, 2022 (4 days ago)
    1. The green energy revolution promised by nuclear fusion is now a step closer, thanks to the first successful use of a cutting-edge artificial intelligence system to shape the superheated hydrogen plasmas inside a fusion reactor.
    2. The successful trial indicates that the use of AI could be a breakthrough in the long-running search for electricity generated from nuclear fusion — bringing its introduction to replace fossil fuels and nuclear fission on modern power grids tantalizingly closer. …
    3. The doughnut-shaped fusion reactor is the type that seems most promising for controlling nuclear fusion; a tokamak design is being used for the massive international ITER (“the way” in Latin) project being built in France, and some proponents think they’ll have a tokamak in commercial operation as soon as 2030.
    4. MIKE: Over the course of my life, science-fiction-like advances like flat screen TVs have always been 10 years away. Sooner or later, they’re right. Time will tell. I might even still be here to tell it.