Wednesday, April 03, 2024

Science post: Climate change, turtles and pelicans

Think climate change doesn't effect you?   William Gentry (WORLD MATRIX) reports:


Home insurance rates in the United States are set to reach unprecedented levels in 2024, largely due to the impacts of climate change. According to Insurify, a leading insurance comparison platform, the average annual premium is expected to climb to $2,522 by the end of this year, marking a 6 percent increase from the previous year.
This surge in insurance costs has been fueled by a combination of factors, including a 20 percent hike over the last two years. Escalating natural disasters, dwindling competition among insurers in certain regions, and rising repair expenses for homes have all contributed to this trend.

For many Americans, the soaring costs of home insurance are becoming increasingly unaffordable, prompting some to consider foregoing coverage altogether. However, certain states are bearing the brunt of these increases, with those susceptible to natural disasters facing average annual premiums as high as $12,000.

On science, will I be watching the eclipse?  I will.  Why am I not writing about it?  Fear, honestly.  I don't want to write anything wrong and be responsible for someone being injured or to get an e-mail saying, "I would've ignored the eclipse if you hadn't made such a big deal about it.  But you made a big deal out of it so I put on my glasses and was looking at it when Muffins got spooked -- and you didn't warn me that cats could get spooked by the eclipse -- and Muffins jumped on me and my glasses fell off and now I'm blind and I hope you're happy!"  

I'm not Muffins, why did all the blame fall on me?  :D

Clovis e-mailed wondering if I ever had a pet turtle growing up?  Yes.  We all did -- my brother and my sisters.  And we went to Jekyll Island constantly.  That was our go to family trip because we loved turtles.   And we were always visiting the Atlanta zoo as well and looking at the turtles.  Clovis notes  Joshua Rapp Learn (DISCOVER MAGAZINE):


When we talk about survival of the fittest, the first image that often comes to mind is that of giant, vicious predators capable of killing their way to dominance - whether that's Tyrannosaurus rex or the giant ichthyosaurs that once dominated the ocean.

While those titans went extinct eons ago, some of the giant reptiles that lived alongside them - specifically, turtles - focused more on defensive strategies, helping them survive against such fearsome predators. For example, paleontologists discovered a sea turtle fossil in Colombia dating back at least 120 million years ago to the Cretaceous; meanwhile Odontochelys semitestacea, a fossil discovered in China, is a near-turtle relative dating back 220 million years ago.

But which turtles were the largest to ever walk or swim the Earth, large enough to resist the attacks of fierce Cretaceous predators? Here are a few that put our modern-day leatherbacks and Galapagos tortoises to shame.
1. Archelon ischyros: The Largest Known Turtle

This fossil of a giant sea tortoise resides in the Natural History Museum Vienna; the species it came from (Archelon ischyros) is the largest of all known turtles. (Credit: frantic00/Shutterstock)

The largest turtles ever discovered date back to the late Cretaceous, about 74 million years ago. The species Archelon ischyros was a sea turtle that may have stretched beyond 15 feet long - more than twice as long as leatherbacks.

That's the first of five, read the article in full.

Okay, time for a jam.





"Celebration" by Kool and the Gang.  There's a party going on right here, a celebration to last throughout the year, so bring your . . .  That's my set up for this report by Julia Daye (The Charlotte Observer):


There’s a party going down at La Jolla.

A pelican party.

Just thousands of pelicans all over,” wildlife photographer Jim Grant told NBC San Diego. “You couldn’t even see the sand.”

There are so many of them at Children’s Pool in La Jolla, KGTV reported, that there is no room for the seals that usually congregate along the shore.

The squawking squadron has attracted the attention of photographers, locals and scientists.

Tammy Russell, a Ph.D. candidate with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, told NBC San Diego that the pelicans were probably drawn to La Jolla for food. They are there to roost — to rest and feed before flying off to breed elsewhere.

They will likely stick around as long as food remains, Russell told the outlet.

Pelicans eat a diet of primarily small fish they can scoop up in their cupped beaks by “plunge diving,” according to Oceana.

Perhaps then, it’s even less surprising they’re taking over La Jolla: Ocean researchers have discovered that half of California’s fish species can be found at La Jolla.



"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Wednesday, April 3, 2024.  The government of Israel and candidate Junior lie badly.




The world continues to recoil from Netanyahu's War Crimes in attacking and killing the aid workers.


In the AP video above, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks about the assault.  Among the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers killed was Australia's Lalzawmi (Zomi) Frankcom.  AP notes, " The U.N. says at least 180 humanitarian workers have been killed in the war so far."  Three of the seven killed were British.  BBC NEWS reports on US President Joe Biden's remarks and on the attack itself that killed the seven.



World Central Kitchen (WCK) founder José Andrés says he is "heartbroken" over the deaths of aid workers in a strike by Israel - which he has urged to stop its "indiscriminate killing".

Seven of the US-based food charity's workers were killed on Monday when leaving a warehouse in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged that Israel's forces hit "innocent people".

In his statement, Mr Andrés said he was grieving for the victims' families.

"These are people... angels," he wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "They are not faceless... they are not nameless." 


Alastair JamiesonJosh Marcus and Barney Davis (INDEPENDENT) identify the seven killed, "WCK said the following individuals died when the IDF struck their three-car convoy: Saifeddin Issam Ayab Abutaha, 25, of Palestine; Lalzawmi Frankcom, 43, of Australia; Damian Soból, 35, of Poland; Jacob Flickinger, 33, a US-Canadian dual citizen; along with UK citizens John Chapman, 57, James Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47."











The UK should stop arming Israel, the Liberal Democrats have said after seven aid workers were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.

Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, said the idea that UK-made arms could have been used in a strike such as this was “completely unacceptable”.

“The government must take swift action to suspend arms exports to Israel,” he said on Wednesday morning. “We must redouble our efforts to secure an immediate bilateral ceasefire.”

Davey’s intervention adds to calls for the UK to stop exporting arms to Israel after the strike, which killed seven international aid workers including three Britons.



James Kirby, 47, from Bristol, was one of three British aid workers killed in the attack on Monday.

In total, seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers died. John Chapman, 57 and James Henderson, 33, were also from the UK.

Mr Kirby's family said he, alongside the other individuals, "will be remembered as a hero".

"James lost his life trying to save others, he will never know what a void he has left, our family will never be the same," they added.


SKY NEWS notes the seven killed in full and we'll excerpt this section:

Known to her friends as "Zomi", Melbourne-born Ms Frankcom was remembered as a brave and selfless woman who had spent the last five years working for the WCK.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Australian Broadcasting Corp: "We mourn this fine Australian who has a record of helping out her fellow citizens.

"She is someone who clearly was concerned about her fellow humanity."

Relatives described the 43-year-old as an "outstanding human being" who was "killed doing the work she loves delivering food to the people of Gaza".

Her work for the Washington-based WCK took her to places including the US, Thailand and her native Australia.


We'll note this from AP's coverage:

Saif Issam Abu Taha, 27, had worked for World Central Kitchen as a driver and translator since the beginning of the year, relatives said.

His brothers described him as a dedicated young man eager to help fellow Palestinians.

He’d also been a successful businessman who conducted trade with Ukraine, Egypt, China and others, brother Abdul Razzaq Abu Taha said. His work made him known on the Israeli side, his brother added, which helped in coordination and approval to assist the World Central Kitchen team in unloading the ship.

Saif had hoped to get married. “My mother was looking for a wife for him,” Abdul Razzaq Abu Taha said. “He was supposed to get married if the war didn’t happen.”



Let's drop back to yesterday's DEMOCRACY NOW!



AMY GOODMAN: The World Central Kitchen has suspended aid operations in Gaza after an Israeli airstrike killed six international workers from the charity and their Palestinian driver. The aid workers were struck after they left a warehouse in Deir al-Balah where it had unloaded more than 100 tons of food aid that they had brought into Gaza by ship from Cyprus to help avert a looming famine. The aid workers were driving in a clearly marked convoy branded with the charity’s logo. World Central Kitchen said the attack occurred even though the charity had coordinated in advance about the convoy with the Israeli military. The killed aid workers include three British nationals, an Australian, a Polish national and an American-Canadian dual citizen.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the attack.

PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE: We certainly have already contacted the Israeli government directly. We are contacting the Israeli ambassador to ask for accountability here. The truth is that this is beyond — beyond any reasonable circumstance, that someone going about providing aid and humanitarian assistance should lose their life. And there were four aid workers, as well as Palestinian driver, in this vehicle. This is a human tragedy that should never have occurred, that is completely unacceptable.

AMY GOODMAN: Earlier today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to acknowledge Israel carried out the attack, saying, quote, “Unfortunately over the last day there was a tragic incident of an unintended strike of our forces on innocent people in the Gaza Strip,” unquote.

The United Nations aid coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Jamie McGoldrick, said, quote, “This is not an isolated incident. As of [March 20], at least 196 humanitarians had been killed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since October 2023. This is nearly three times the death toll recorded in any single conflict in a year,” they said.

We begin today’s show in Rafah, Gaza, where we’re joined by the Gaza-based journalist Akram al-Satarri.

Akram, thanks so much for joining us again. What do you understand took place? Talk about Chef José Andrés’s charity workers who were killed, and their driver, what they were doing.

AKRAM AL-SATARRI: They were helping people. They were trying to secure the food aid for the people in Gaza, whom they were in touch with, whom they were eating with, whom they were in solidarity with, whom they were thinking. They deserved to be treated as humans, and they deserved to be safe, and they deserved to be secured. However, they themselves, the ones who were there extending the helping hand, ended up being killed by an Israeli attack, the circumstances of which are not clear yet, neither to the government of Israel, that apparently ordered the attack, no matter what the circumstances are, nor to the Palestinians who have been seeing at least foreigners there with them extending a helping hand and trying to secure a lifeline while their lives were taken by that Israeli attack.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Akram, how does this happen, when, reportedly, World Central Kitchen was coordinating its efforts and was informing the Israelis of where its aid workers were?

AKRAM AL-SATARRI: Well, this is the fact that shocked everyone. And as a matter of fact, many other international aid workers and some UNRWA workers also were affected by the ongoing bombardment. UNRWA made a specific statement about the number of UNRWA staff who were killed, which is around 166 UNRWA staff who were killed while they are on job, while they’re moving from their places to their duty stations and when they’re back from their duty stations to their homes or even when they are still conducting their job in their duty station, extending a helping hand to the people.

The coordinates are very well clear for the Israeli army. This is a protocol that has been followed ever since the war has started. Every single humanitarian aid worker that is extending a helping hand in Gaza, that is coordinating or helping or distributing food or doing anything, is already recognized by the Israeli army, and the incident took place. And I think it’s the full responsibility of the Israeli government now to clarify and to provide — to provide justification, and not in the sense that justification of the killing itself, but, rather, demystify the circumstances that led to that catastrophic incident, given that it is not unprecedented, a unprecedented event, where many others lost their lives because of the way Israeli army has been dealing with the general population in Gaza and with the facilities that are supposed to be protected.

As you have just said, the car was marked as a World Central Kitchen car. The staff who are there were already recognized by the Israeli army. And they are very well aware that they’re moving while the Israeli army is aware of their very movement. The coordinates of the warehouse that they were entering and leaving in Deir al-Balah is also well known for the Israelis. The place they were unloading the goods and the food items for the people of Gaza are also well known by the Israeli army. However, the incident took place. And I think it’s upon the Israeli government to explain to the world and to the different countries, including Canada, U.S.A., Poland and also — Poland and, I think, U.K., for how this happened and why this happened.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And has there been any improvement in the last week or two of supplies coming into Gaza, especially food and medical supplies?

AKRAM AL-SATARRI: Well, the food and medical supplies are still like very scarce in the Gaza Strip. The different U.N. figures have been voicing their concern over the fact that Israel is limiting all the supplies that are entering Gaza. Even more, Israel is being selective about what enters Gaza and what doesn’t enter Gaza. The Palestinian health system at large sustained a very big blow, a very big strike, when the Al-Shifa Hospital was totally destroyed. It lost 800 beds. It lost 100 dialysis machines. And it also lost one-third of the therapeutic services throughout the Gaza Strip. So, the situation is dire, and it continues to get even worse. And Israel is not willing or is not able to allow more food supplies and medical supplies into the Gaza Strip.

Not far away from us is Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah. The hospital is suffering because of the fact they have access to very limited supplies. And they have been calling for the international community, they have been calling for the world, they have been calling even for Israel, to allow unhindered access of the medical supplies and food supplies to help the people. They have a place for the people with dialysis, that need dialysis machines and whose people need — have some nutritional need, and those needs are not met. And if the situation continues the way it is, even the urgent and immediate medical needs of those people are not going to be met, which compromises their whole life.

AMY GOODMAN: I want to talk about this in the context of the looming famine, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians pushed to the brink of famine right now. AP is reporting Cyprus, which has played a key role in trying to establish a sea route to bring food into the territory, said ships that recently arrived were turning back with some 240 tons of undelivered aid. The World [Central] Kitchen, Chef José Andrés’s food charity, was the first to get massive amount of food into Gaza, and now we see what has happened to them. I’m wondering, Akram, are you hungry? Is your family hungry?

AKRAM AL-SATARRI: This is a very critical question. For you to understand, I am a Gazan. Gazan means I am living the very same circumstances that my people are living. Sometimes we — it’s Ramadan time, and sometimes we eat one meal a day. Sometimes the meal is not as decent as you imagine for someone who’s fasting for around 16 hours. This is the situation for most of the people in the Gaza.

But to make a difference, people in the south of Gaza are living a little bit better life than the ones who are living in the northern Gaza. The World Central Bank organized that trip with an intention of delivering the 200 tons of food that were delivered initially in the very first pilot trip to Gaza north and Gaza City, where 700,000 Palestinians are besieged and are denied any access whatsoever, except for very limited quantities since one month and a half up to this particular moment. Now the 1,000 tons that were allowed into — the 200 tons and the 1,000 tons were not allowed into Gaza north and Gaza City, where 700,000 people are waiting for the food.

The famine is not looming. The famine is already taking place. We have around 34 Palestinians, adult and young, who died from the starvation. We have many more people who are complaining about the significant loss of their weight. We have people and children who are eager to eat anything whatsoever. Anything whatsoever. People in the north ate the grass, ate whatever they can eat. They eat also the animal Feed. They are sorting it out. They’re cleaining it. They’re grinding it. They’re making bread out of it. And even when the taste and the smell is not what you expect as a human, they still have to eat it, because they don’t have any other option. That situation continues to be very dire, and that situation continues to deteriorate.

Now some people organized and formed some special committees for the sake of just receiving the food that is allowed, the minimum food that is allowed, from the road between Rafah, Khan Younis and Gaza, Salah al-Din Road, and those people ended up being targeted. Seventy of them were killed. And more than 500 Palestinians were killed in different incidents targeting the people around al-Kuwait Roundabout and al-Nabulsi Roundabout when they’re waiting for the food, when they’re waiting for to eat — 20 different incidents of targeting that took the life of 500 Palestinians and 70 of those who are working to organize everything. The way that is now done — the way that this targeting is done indicates that Israel is willing to deprive those people from any hope and any life whatsoever.

AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask you about the Israeli prime minister saying he will ban the award-winning TV network Al Jazeera, this after the Israeli lawmakers, the Knesset, passed a bill allowing for the temporary banning of foreign broadcasters deemed to be a national security threat. Of course, Al Jazeera is the most widely viewed network in the Arab world, one of the few outlets to have reporters inside Gaza, the way the Arab world sees what’s happening in Gaza, and, through Al Jazeera English, the way the rest of the world sees, as well. Your thoughts on what this means? I should also add a number of Al Jazeera reporters have been killed.

AKRAM AL-SATARRI: Yes, the issue is that even the Knesset gave that law the name of “Al Jazeera law,” Al Jazeera law, which means that this is an exclusive decision that has been taken for the sake of stopping Al Jazeera from covering, on the grounds of accusation that Al Jazeera is compromising and threatening the Israeli national security. Al Jazeera has reporters inside Palestine, in Gaza Strip, and inside the Israeli territory, and they have been covering the news about the situation.

And I think it is the way they have been doing things that provoked the Israeli Knesset members and the Israeli government, because, number one, the military ground is not — the military ground operation is not going the way they want it to go on, and it’s now the sixth month that they have been facing significant obstacles achieving what they have been achieved. They have warned the Palestinians of an imminent transfer into the Egyptian side. They have been conducting some of the incidents that were described as genocidal behavior by the experts. And some of the footage that was provided by Al Jazeera was used also by South Africa when South Africa was wording and filing and providing the evidences about the ongoing situation in Gaza Strip. And that’s why now Israel is defining Al Jazeera as an enemy and is trying also to chase any other news outlets that might be thinking of providing as comprehensive coverage as the one that Al Jazeera is providing and which is so recognized by the global community and by the people in Palestine and different areas of the Middle East.

So, they are trying to stop Al Jazeera, but I don’t think that they have the power. And when I say “the power,” because now we are shifting. When it comes to the media, we have the media of the citizen, we have the social media, and we have many different platforms. The performance that was conducted by Al Jazeera, I don’t think is going to be stopped by any plan that Israel develops. The only issue and problem for Israel is that now when they are developing and accepting that law, they are making themselves a mockery, because there is no way to stop any voice from saying what they think is right, as long as we have all the alternative media, we have the social media, and we have the citizens’ media. And I think they will continue doing what they can do from Gaza, and sometimes they would have alternative sources from inside Israel, and they will continue their message, and they will continue their mission.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, Akram al-Satarri, we want to thank you for being with us, speaking to us from Rafah in Gaza.

And we have this latest news from the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. It’s just reported new details about the deadly strike on Chef Andrés’s World Central Kitchen aid workers. The newspaper writes, quote, “At some point, when the convoy was driving along the approved route, the war room of the unit responsible for security of the route ordered the drone operators to attack one of the cars with a missile. Some of the passengers were seen leaving the car after it was hit and switching to one of the other two cars. They continued to drive and even notified the people responsible that they were attacked, but, seconds later, another missile hit their car. The third car in the convoy approached, and the passengers began to transfer to it the wounded who had survived the second strike — in order to get them out of danger. But then a third missile struck them. All seven World Central Kitchen volunteers were killed in the strike.” That, again, Haaretz reporting the Israeli military ordered the drone strikes, mistakenly thinking a member of Hamas was part of the aid convoy.

When we come back, the Biden administration continues to send a massive amount of arms to Israel, including 1,800 2,000-pound bombs that are strong enough to level city blocks. We’ll speak to former State Department official Josh Paul and a U.S. soldier who’s refusing to remain silent. Stay with us.




Gaza remains under assault. Day 180 of  the assault in the wave that began in October.  Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion.  The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction.  But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets:  How to justify it?  Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence."   CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund."  ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them."  NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza."  The slaughter continues.  It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service.  Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide."   The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher.  United Nations Women noted, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse."  THE NATIONAL notes, "Death toll in Gaza rises to 32,916, with 75,494 injured"   Months ago,  AP  noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing."  February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home."  February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:








And the area itself?  Isabele Debre (AP) reveals, "Israel’s military offensive has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are still standing, but most are battered shells."  Kieron Monks (I NEWS) reports, "More than 40 per cent of the buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to a new study of satellite imagery by US researchers Jamon Van Den Hoek from Oregon State University and Corey Scher at the City University of New York. The UN gave a figure of 45 per cent of housing destroyed or damaged across the strip in less than six weeks. The rate of destruction is among the highest of any conflict since the Second World War."




I've never been that impressed with Joan Walsh so maybe I'm missing the point of whatever it is she does for THE NATION.  I see her latest piece is that Robert Kennedy Junior called Ralph Nader a "spoiler" in the 2000 elections -- called him that many, many years ago.  Now, Joan says, Junior is that himself.  


I don't get what she thinks she's done.  Seems to me, she's wirtten piece with no new information about an issue that took place over two decades ago.  I don't get why people are paid for nonsense like that -- just babbling about something the whole world already knows.  

If you're wanting to establish Junior as a liar, it's not that hard and you can do so with real examples from right now.  


 Separately over the weekend, the Kennedy campaign reportedly drew rebuke from the family of the late labor organizer Cesar Chavez as the candidate was holding an event to mark Chavez's birthday.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told The New York Times that he would have changed the event if he had been aware of the family's views and his campaign said in a statement, in part, that the celebration was meant "to honor Cesar Chavez and his close friendship with my father, my family and me, and his impact on our country."


Liar, liar, damn liar. 

Juan Esparza Loera reported for THE FRESNO BEE on July 26th of last year that Junior was trying to act as though he was supported by the late Chavez and by the farm workers moment when nothing could be further from the truth. Various workers and officials were quoted.  It was very clear that no one saw a legacy linking Junior to Chavez.


From the article:

De Loera-Brust, in an email, noted the union “has worked closely with President Biden.” The president, he said, “has consistently fought for farm workers: from expanding rural farm worker access to COVID-19 vaccines, to voicing support for California strengthening farm worker unionization rights last year, to expanding deferred action to protect immigrant workers involved in labor disputes from deportation.” 
 
From the article:

Dolores Huerta, now director of her own foundation and a frequent go-to for candidates seeking her blessing, was lukewarm about RFK Jr. during a recent chat. 
“I can’t speak for him or say why he’s running,” said Huerta, who ran into RFK Jr. at a recent memorial for longtime United Auto Workers executive Paul Schrade. “I’m sure that he has issues that he wants to bring to the forefront and the public.” 
That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement. 
“We haven’t officially endorsed anybody, but, you know, we’ve been supporting President Biden,” said Huerta. 
Why not? 
Perhaps because Chávez’s granddaughter is campaign manager for Biden, who placed a bronze bust of the farmworker icon in the Oval Office. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden visited Forty Acres last year. RFK Jr., who is polling at 17%, hasn’t exactly made it easy with remarks that have found more of an audience with the MAGA folks than with Democrats. Party leaders blistered him last week before the House Judiciary Committee for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and making racist comments against Jews and Blacks. The environmental lawyer denied making those comments, although they were captured on video. 
Dolores? 
"I don’t know what basis he has for saying that,” said Huerta.  


Just like Junior lied that Martin Sheen and Dionne Warwick were supporting his campaign (they are not), he's tried to use Chavez's legacy to pimp his own campaign.  The same way he uses the memories of his father and his uncle. 

When you have nothing to run on, you run on lies and that's what the country's seeing with Junior's campaign.  


The following sites updated: