Human-caused global warming. Fucktard Trump is part of the problem.

The Washington Post

Across the United States, there are signs of climate disaster. In California, two of the worst wildfires in the state’s history took place simultaneously, scorching more than a million acres of land, including a beloved forested national park. On the Gulf Coast, residents of Louisiana and Texas braced for an unprecedented double-hurricane event churned up by exceptionally warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico — the first luckily petered out at sea, but the second, Tropical Storm Laura, is predicted to make landfall late Wednesday after leading to deadly floods in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

In other parts of the Northern Hemisphere, the summer has already seen its toll of heat waves and heavy rains. Record-breaking temperatures in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad this July had my colleagues blistering their hands simply by touching the handle of an office door. The coastal Indian metropolis of Mumbai experiences seasonal flooding every year, but was hit by a year’s worth of rain in the space of a month this summer. Higher-than-average rainfalls in the past weeks led to an arc of destruction from central Europe to the Turkish Black Sea coast to southern China, where, in a grim omen, rising waters submerged the toes of a towering Tang dynasty-era statue of the Buddha that has stood for more than 13 centuries.

“This year’s flooding has unfolded not as a single natural disaster, with an enormous loss of life and property,” noted the New York Times, “but rather as a slow, merciless series of smaller ones, whose combined toll has steadily mounted even as official reports have focused on the government’s relief efforts.”

Experts are broadly convinced that a steady uptick in extreme weather events of recent years is at least in part the result of man-made climate change. “It seems like every year re-ups the previous year in terms of pushing the envelope, in terms of how much fire we’re seeing in the landscape and how severe that fire is,” Neil Lareau, an atmospheric scientist, told the Guardian about the California wildfires.

Yet if you listen to the Republican National Convention this week, talk of the threat posed by climate change will be wholly, if predictably, absent. President Trump ranks as perhaps the world’s most prominent climate skeptic, while his administration has steadily loosened key environmental regulations throughout the country. Trump sees international efforts to curb carbon emissions as a threat to national interests. On Monday, he defended the continued exploitation of fossil fuels such as coal and oil as an economic good and dismissed calls for greater use of renewable wind and solar energy as “very heavily expensive.”

Counter to the mainstream global scientific and political consensus, the Republicans will probably spend more time at the convention attacking the supposed climate “extremism” of activist Democrats than reckoning with the planetary peril at hand. That may make for sound electoral politics for now, but critics bemoan Trump’s hopelessly blinkered approach.

“If you don’t believe in climate change, come to California,” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) said this weekend as hundreds of blazes ravaged his state.

“California has seen a significant uptick in large-wildfire activity because of a combination of climate change, land-use practices and other factors,” my colleagues reported. “Large fires have also increased across other parts of the West, which climate studies tie to human-caused climate change that alters the timing of precipitation, makes summers hotter and vegetation drier, and leads to more days with extreme weather that enable fires to spread rapidly.”

A lot of the damage can’t be undone. A team of British scientists recently released findings of a satellite-based survey that concluded that, just since 1994, about 28 trillion tons of ice disappeared from the surface of the planet. Extreme weather events that took place, say, once a century are now expected to become far more commonplace. A study published last month found that coastal flooding is expected to rise by 50 percent over the next 80 years, threatening assets worth about a fifth of global GDP.

My colleagues reported in July on another bleak study that concluded that “a doubling of carbon dioxide, which the world is on course to reach within the next five decades or so, would result in warming greater than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) relative to preindustrial temperatures” — and perhaps significantly greater. “That is the threshold beyond which scientists say the Earth will suffer dangerous effects — disruptive sea level rise, intolerable heat waves and other extreme weather and permanent damage to ecosystems.”

Everything you always wanted to know about the Dominican Republic which shares an island with Haiti.

After a chess game with someone who lives in a country I don't know anything about, I'm curious so I look it up. It's probably a bit different from the farm town I live at in northwestern Illinois.

"The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean nation that shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti to the west. It's known for its beaches, resorts and golfing. Its terrain comprises rainforest, savannah and highlands, including Pico Duarte, the Caribbean’s tallest mountain. Capital city Santo Domingo has Spanish landmarks like the Gothic Catedral Primada de America dating back 5 centuries in its Zona Colonial district."

Even though I'm a hardcore atheist I like to look at ancient churches like the one in Santo Domingo. When I was exploring Mexico I would always visit the very old church in the town with its ancient statues and other stuff.

Catedral Primada de América in the Dominican Republic



The first stone of this cathedral, the oldest standing in the Western hemisphere, was set in 1514 by Diego Columbus, son of the great explorer (the ashes of father and son supposedly once resided in the chapel's crypt). Construction, however, didn’t begin until the arrival of the first bishop, Alejandro Geraldini, in 1521. From then until 1540, numerous architects worked on the church and adjoining buildings, which is why the vault is Gothic, the arches Romanesque and the ornamentation baroque.

It’s anyone’s guess what the planned bell tower would have looked like: a shortage of funds curtailed construction, and the steeple, which undoubtedly would have offered a commanding view of the city, was never built.

The cathedral's current interior is a far cry from the original – thanks to Drake and his crew of pirates, who used the basilica as their headquarters during their 1586 assault on the city. They stole everything of value that they could carry away and extensively vandalized the church before departing.

Among the cathedral’s more impressive features are its awesome vaulted ceiling and its 14 interior chapels. Bare shoulders and legs are prohibited, but shawls are provided for those who need to cover up.

Although Santo Domingo residents like to say their cathedral was the first in the Western hemisphere, in fact one was built in Mexico City between 1524 and 1532; it stood for four decades, until it was knocked down in 1573 and replaced by the imposing Catedral Metropolitano.

Tickets, purchased at the entrance in the southeastern corner of the site, include an audioguide available in a variety of languages (RD$40 without audioguide). Daily mass is at 5pm Monday to Saturday and noon and 5pm Sundays.

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Wikipedia - Dominican Republic

Christopher Columbus landed on the island on December 5, 1492, which the native Taíno people had inhabited since the 7th century. The colony of Santo Domingo became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas, the oldest continuously inhabited city, and the first seat of the Spanish colonial rule in the New World. After more than three hundred years of Spanish rule the Dominican people declared independence in November 1821. The leader of the independence movement José Núñez de Cáceres, intended the Dominican nation to unite with the country of Gran Colombia, but no longer under Spain's custody the newly independent Dominicans were forcefully annexed by Haiti in February 1822. Independence came 22 years later after victory in the Dominican War of Independence in 1844. Over the next 72 years the Dominican Republic experienced mostly internal conflicts and a brief return to colonial status before permanently ousting Spanish rule during the Dominican War of Restoration of 1863–1865.[20][21][22] A United States occupation lasted eight years between 1916 and 1924, and a subsequent calm and prosperous six-year period under Horacio Vásquez was followed by the dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillountil 1961. A civil war in 1965, the country's last, was ended by U.S. military occupation and was followed by the authoritarian rule of Joaquín Balaguer (1966–1978 & 1986–1996), the rules of Antonio Guzmán (1972–1978) & Salvador Jorge Blanco (1982–1986). Since 1996, the Dominican Republic has moved toward representative democracy[3] and has been led by Leonel Fernández for most of the time since 1996. Danilo Medina, the Dominican Republic's current president, succeeded Fernandez in 2012, winning 51% of the electoral vote over his opponent ex-president Hipólito Mejía.[23]

My opponent's Lichess.org profile: https://lichess.org/@/elsuperior78

My Lichess.org profile: https://lichess.org/@/Bob1949

Everything you always wanted to know about Constanza, Dominican Republic.

I just played chess with someone in Constanza, Dominican Republic (which shares an island with Haiti) and as usual I looked it up.

Japanese-Dominicans in Constanza

Wikipedia - Constanza, Dominican Republic

Constanza is a town and municipality in La Vega Province, Dominican Republic.

The name of Constanza has its origin in the legend the daughter of a local taino cacique who lived in the valley. In 1852, the British explorer and consul Sir Robert Hermann Schomburgk mentions the existence of a farm in the valley of Constanza. The town was formally founded in 1894. It has been incorporated into a municipality in the La Vega province on September 9, 1907.

On June 14, 1959 a plane landed in an airstrip with more than forty rebels with the purpose of deposing the dictator Rafael Trujillo. They fought guerrillas in the nearby mountains, and after two months against the Dominican Army managed to end the rebellion.

Constanza is located at a height of 1220 meters (4000 ft) in the middle of the Cordillera Central (Central Range). Annual average temperatures range from 41 °F (5 °C) to 68 °F (20 °C), depending on altitude. The valley is 8 km long and 4 km wide.

Constanza has a subtropical highland climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with moderately warm and humid summers, and dry and mild winters, due to its tropical location and high elevation. The average annual temperature varies from less than 10 °C in highlands[4] to 18 °C in town.
In summer, temperatures range between 25 °C to 27 °C during the day, and between 12 °C to 15 °C at night. Wildfires are relatively common.

In winter, the temperatures are between 21 and 24 °C at day, and 8 to 12 °C at night. Fog is quite common. The last time that Constanza had freezing temperatures was on 1958; while in Valle Nuevo freezes are usual.[5] Snow can fall in the highest peaks of Valle Nuevo, but it is becoming a rare event and accumulation almost no longer occurs.

The highest temperature ever recorded in town was 32.5 °C, on October 3, 1957. [6] The coldest temperature was –1 °C, recorded on February 6, 1958.[7]

The local economy is based upon agriculture. It is known for its strawberries, peaches, apples, garlic and potatoes people go there to take the fruits to feed their family . Constanza is also known for its wide variety of flowers, especially its roses.

Constanza is known for its remarkable mountain climate despite being located in a tropical island. Local tourism is very often during winter time. Throughout the rest of the year it is visited because of its closeness to the scientific reserve of Ebano Verde and also to have the nearest route to the Pico Duarte, the highest point in the Caribbean.

The nearby scientific reserve of Ebano Verde is the stronghold of the widest variety of flora and fauna of Hispaniola. The mountains surrounding the valley of Constanza are covered in Hispaniolan pine (Pinus occidentalis) forests. Typical fauna seen in the area includes the Hispaniolan palm crow, Antillean siskin, rufous-throated solitaire, Hispaniolan crossbill (abundance directly related to pine cone crop), and Hispaniolan trogon, while at lower elevations the Hispaniolan parrot, scaly-naped pigeon and golden swallow can be seen.

The town can be reached either by local airlines through the Constanza Airport or through local bus companies.

Constanza is home to an unusual combination of ethnic groups, having been an area settled by numerous Spanish and Japanese immigrant workers encouraged to come to the Dominican Republic during the infamous dictatorship of Trujillo. Now some two or three generations on their presence is still substantial in the area. They were attracted by the cooler climate that goes on all year round.

I googled "wikipedia Catholic Church sexual child abuse". I got an extremely long wikipedia article. Every country in the world that's infested with Catholic scum has an out of control child abuse problem.

Catholics who continue to feed the child abusers belong in prison for being part of the problem. Catholics are scum.

Here's part of it. I suggest click the link to see countless dozens of more pages about the abuse.

Wikipedia - Catholic Church sexual abuse cases

Cases of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests, nuns and members of religious orders in the 20th and 21st centuries, increasing especially after the Second Vatican Council, have been widespread and have led to many allegations, investigations, trials and convictions, as well as revelations about decades of attempts by the Church to cover up reported incidents.[1] The abused include mostly boys but also girls, some as young as three years old, with the majority between the ages of 11 and 14.[2][3][4][5] Criminal cases do not for the most part cover sexual harassment in the workplace against persons who had renounced sexual activity and therefore pre-declined sexual advances. This category includes all priests and seminarians and all religious brothers and sisters. The accusations began to receive isolated, sporadic publicity from the late 1980s. Many of these involved cases in which a figure was accused of decades of abuse; such allegations were frequently made by adults or older youths years after the abuse occurred. Cases have also been brought against members of the Catholic hierarchy who covered up sex abuse allegations and moved abusive priests to other parishes, where abuse continued.[6][7]

By the 1990s, the cases began to receive significant media and public attention in some countries, especially in Canada, the United States, Australia and, through a series of television documentaries such as Suffer The Children (UTV, 1994), Ireland.[8] In 2002, a critical investigation by The Boston Globe led to widespread media coverage of the issue in the United States. Over the last decade, widespread abuse has been exposed in Europe,[9][10] Australia, Chile, and the United States.

From 2001 to 2010, the Holy See, the central governing body of the Catholic Church, considered sex abuse allegations involving about 3,000 priests dating back fifty years,[11] reflecting worldwide patterns of long-term abuse as well as the Church hierarchy's pattern of regularly covering up reports of abuse.[note 1]Diocesan officials and academics knowledgeable about the Roman Catholic Church say that sexual abuse by clergy is generally not discussed, and thus is difficult to measure.[12][13] Members of the Church's hierarchy have argued that media coverage was excessive and disproportionate, and that such abuse also takes place in other religions and institutions, a stance that dismayed critics who saw it as a device to avoid resolving the abuse problem within the Church.[14]

In a 2001 apology, John Paul II called sexual abuse within the Church "a profound contradiction of the teaching and witness of Jesus Christ".[15] Benedict XVI apologised, met with victims, and spoke of his "shame" at the evil of abuse, calling for perpetrators to be brought to justice, and denouncing mishandling by church authorities.[16][17] In 2018, Pope Francis began by accusing victims of fabricating allegations,[18] but by April was apologizing for his "tragic error"[19] and by August was expressing "shame and sorrow" for the tragic history,[20] without, however, introducing concrete measures either to prosecute abusers or to help victims.[21]