Politician don’t preach, I’ve been losing sleep

Tomorrow we will be sharing letters from international Daily Pnut readers on whether or how President Trump’s election and presidency has changed their views of the US. Americans are sometimes accused of being unable to see themselves how the rest of the world views the US. So if you are an international reader this an opportunity to expose Yankees what the rest of the world really think about us! We welcome your thoughts at editor@dailypnut.com.

Rescue Efforts Continue Following Mexico’s Earthquake: Rescue efforts continued Wednesday in the aftermath of the major earthquake that hit near Mexico City Tuesday afternoon. The earthquake was centered in nearby Puebla state approximately 75 miles south,  and has killed at least 230 people. More than 40 buildings completely collapsed in Mexico City, with thousands more left damaged and unstable. Police officers were using special thermal cameras to locate survivors under the rubble. The Enrique Rebsamen school, a private school in Mexico City, was destroyed and at least 21 children and four adults died. Mexico City mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera reported that as of Wednesday afternoon 52 people have been pulled alive from the rubble. Mexico’s president Peña Nieto ordered the evacuation of patients from damaged hospitals amid widespread power cuts and fears of further collapsed buildings from aftershocks. He also declared three days of national mourning to honor the victims.

The EPA – No Longer Protecting The Environment Or The Public: Houston, Texas, overwhelmingly flooded by Hurricane Harvey less than a month ago, is home to some of the country’s dirtiest Superfund toxic waste sites. Shortly after the drenching rains finally stopped, the U.S. government’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received reports via a federal emergency hotline, followed up by photographic evidence, of three spills at the U.S. Oil Recovery Superfund site, a former petroleum industry waste processing plant contaminated with a dangerous brew of cancer-causing chemicals. The Associated Press reviewed aerial photos showing dark-colored water surrounding the site as the floods receded, flowing through Vince Bayou and into the Houston ship channel. The EPA has not publicly acknowledged the three reported spills, but has said an on-scene coordinator was at the site last week and found no evidence that toxic material had washed off the site. It also has not released the photos, nor any information about lab results of samples it said were taken at the site.

The EPA was established by a Republican president in 1970 for the purpose of protecting human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress. In 2017, Donald Trump appointed Scott Pruitt to lead it. Pruitt, an avowed enemy of the institution, has made it clear that he sees his mission to be dismantling its policies and even portions of the agency itself, and he has worked to roll back regulations, close offices and eliminate staff while taking extraordinary measures to conceal his actions. William Ruckelshaus, a former EPA director who worked under two Republican presidents, said such secrecy could pave the way toward another disaster like the contamination of public drinking water in Flint, Mich., or the 2014 chemical spill into the public water supply in Charleston, W.Va. “Something will happen, like Flint, and the public will realize they can’t get any information about what happened or why,” he said.

80 Percent of Raqqa Taken From Islamic State: The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has said its campaign to capture Raqqa from ISIS is in its last stages and its fighters have seized 80 percent of the city (which has served as the group’s de facto capital). The SDF, a coalition of Kurdish and Arab militias, launched its offensive in Raqqa in June, backed by US-led airstrikes and special forces on the ground. The ISIS militants who remain in the city have nearly run out of food and munitions.

Nigerian President Should Practice What He Preached at the UN: In his address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari spoke out against the treatment of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. While his comments might have pleased the international community, many Nigerians might be wondering why he is not practicing what he is preaching with similar events back home. In December 2015, Nigeria’s military killed more than 350 members (including women and children) of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, a Shiite Muslim group in the northern part of the country. More recently, Buhari has faced criticism for his handling of the secessionist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), based in Nigeria’s southeast. Last week, the military was sent to the region to maintain peace, but many viewed it as a needless and brute show of force. Four people reportedly died in clashes between the soldiers and IPOB.

Catalan President Says Madrid is Suspending the Region’s Autonomy: The head of Catalonia’s pro-sovereignty government, Carles Puigdemont, accused the Spanish government of subverting the region’s autonomy after Spanish police escalated efforts to stop a vote on independence “that has sparked one of the worst political crises since Spain’s return to democracy four decades ago.” Police raided Catalan regional government offices and arrested 14 senior officials on Wednesday as part of an operation to stop the referendum from taking place on October 1. Speaking after an emergency ministerial meeting, Puigdemont vowed the poll would take place. Tensions between Madrid and Barcelona have increased recently as the Spanish government attempts to make good on its promise to stop the vote.

Where There’s A Sanction, There’s A Way Around It:  How easy is it for North Korea to undermine U.N. sanctions, you ask? Well, I’m glad you asked. U.S. officials say that ships changing their declared destination mid-voyage is a hallmark of North Korean state tactics to circumvent the international trade sanctions imposed over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. And the often complex chain of firms, many offshore, involved in shipments further complicate efforts to oversee how much fuel is being supplied to Kim’s country. “The regime uses shipping networks to import and export goods,” the U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury told the congressional Foreign Affairs Committee this month. “North Korea employs deceptive practices to conceal the true origins of these goods. Pyongyang has been found to routinely falsify a vessel’s identity and documentation.” China is Kim’s only major ally, and while Beijing has acted to reduce the supplies of oil and oil products, Russia’s trade in all goods with North Korea more than doubled in the first quarter of 2017 to $31.4 million. Questioned about fuel exports to North Korea, Russia’s foreign ministry did not respond directly, but has said Russia complies with the sanctions. Of course. Vladimir Putin, has become a real life incarnation of Mr. Evil.

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