Latest news with #ThomasJames
Axios
15-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Forget doomsday — Seattle preppers are bracing for real-world crises
Amid concerns about inflation and a potential recession, more Seattle-area residents are adopting a pragmatic approach to preparedness, eschewing doomsday scenarios in favor of everyday resilience, local preppers say. Why it matters: Seattle's economy has historically been among the strongest in the nation, but concerns about rising costs locally and interest rates and economic policy nationally have left many feeling vulnerable. What they're doing: Residents across the region are taking small, steady steps to shore up their stability, according to a conversation with Axios on a recent thread in r/CascadianPreppers, a subreddit focused on preparedness in the Pacific Northwest. That includes: Paying down debt while jobs are still stable. Stockpiling basics like food, toiletries, and clothes — one Redditor is buying kids' shoes in the next several sizes, Thomas James, a moderator of the group, told Axios. Expanding gardens and switching to more calorie-dense crops. Between the lines: The movement is shedding its fringe reputation with more everyday people preparing for common hardships and natural disasters rather than doomsday scenarios, said James. "We're not preparing for a Mad Max scenario — we're preparing for layoffs, earthquakes, rent spikes. The things that happen every year," said James. His own off-grid setup in Mason County includes creek filtration, solar panels and fruit trees, but many local preppers are just trying to stretch their dollars and reduce reliance on unstable systems, he said. What they're saying: Len Skiena, financial planner and CEO of S.R. Schill & Associates on Mercer Island, told Axios many of his clients — especially those nearing retirement — are anxious about market swings, inflation, and Social Security. He's urging them to update their financial plans, avoid rash moves, and remember the fundamentals remain solid, even if trust in the system has taken a hit. "People are being hurt — losing jobs for no clear reason, seeing services cut," Skiena said. "But we remind clients: We've been through volatility before, and we've made it through recessions." Yes, but: Some people are preparing for more extreme outcomes. Redditor u/Chief Kief told Axios they are brushing up on CPR and self-defense, organizing life documents, and prepping a " go bag." Another user, u/Jessie-sammy, tells us she keeps up on firearms training "in case of unrest," keeps multiple currencies on hand, and has her family's legal paperwork ready in case of a need to leave the country quickly. The bottom line: Prepping in the Pacific Northwest these days isn't about bunkers or bugging out, said James.
BBC News
28-04-2025
- BBC News
Oswestry retailer 'devastated' after car crashes into shop
A business owner has been left "devastated" after a car crashed into his shop in are hunting two people who fled the scene, after the grey VW Tiguan sped along Leg Street in Oswestry, before crashing into Under One Roof just after 23:00 BST on owner Thomas James said that "virtually everything" in the gift shop was destroyed, leaving him "tired, angry and upset"."I'm so sorry for the artists who believed in me to bring their business to Oswestry. I'm broken," he said on Facebook. West Mercia Police confirmed that the two people inside the car have not yet been found. The force said that a thorough investigation was ongoing, with CCTV footage being reviewed and they also appealed for anyone with information to come forward."We sympathise with the owners and those that work there and are doing everything possible to identify and prosecute the individuals responsible," the force added. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Three Welsh Tories charged with betting offences
A Conservative member of the Senedd, the party's Welsh director and an ex-MP are among 15 people charged with betting offences by the Gambling Commission. Officials have been investigating alleged cheating related to bets on the timing of last year's general election. Craig Williams, 39, from Welshpool and the former MP for Montgomeryshire, and Russell George, 50, from Newtown and who represents the same constituency in the Senedd, will appear in court in June. Thomas James, 38, from Brecon and director of the Welsh Conservatives, was also charged. The leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, Darren Millar, said he has suspended Mr George from the party's group in the Welsh Parliament. The politician had been reselected as the party's lead 2026 Senedd election candidate for Gwynedd Maldwyn last Saturday. Conservatives in Westminster confirmed that Mr James, who is a paid member of staff, had been suspended "with immediate effect". Mr Williams was an aide to the prime minister Rishi Sunak in the last Parliament. The Tory party pulled their support for him as an election candidate and suspended Mr Williams after the investigation was announced during last summer's election campaign. The commission said the investigation focused on individuals suspected of using confidential information to gain an unfair advantage in betting markets - a criminal offence. Others charged include Laura Saunders, the former Conservative parliamentary candidate in Bristol North West, and her partner Anthony Lee, a former director of campaigning for the Conservatives; and Nick Mason, a former chief data officer for the party. Also on the list are: Simon Chatfield, 51,of Lower Bourne, Farnham Amy Hind, 34 of Loughton, Essex Anthony Hind, 36, of Loughton, Essex Former police officer Jeremy Hunt, 55, of Horne, Horley. Charlotte Lang, 36, of Brixton, London Anthony Lee, 47, of Bristol Iain Makepeace, 47, of Newcastle Upon Tyne Paul Place, 53, Hammersmith, London, James Ward, 40, London Jacob Wilmer, 39, Richmond All have been charged with offences under the gambling act. Ex-MP Craig Williams among 15 charged with betting offences Thomas James is a paid member of staff for the Welsh Conservatives. A Conservative Party spokesman said: "The Conservative Party believes that those working in politics must act with integrity. Current members of staff who have been charged are being suspended with immediate effect. "These incidents took place in May last year. "Our party is now under new leadership and we are cooperating fully with the Gambling Commission to ensure that their investigation can conclude swiftly and transparently." Darren Millar said: "Having been informed that Russell George MS has been charged with gambling related offences, I have taken the decision to suspend him from the Welsh Conservative group in the Senedd. "The suspension is a neutral act pending the outcome of the justice process. There will be no further comment at this time."
CBC
18-03-2025
- Science
- CBC
In Antarctica, Canadian scientists have a 'momentous' chance to learn more about climate change
Social Sharing In the middle of an active volcano at the bottom of the world, dozens of fur seals bask in blowing wet snow. They are mostly unfussed by their two-legged guests. Around them lie cockeyed iron tanks and wooden boats from an early 20th-century whaling settlement, so weathered they're nearly absorbed by the black sand beach. Traces of Chilean and British bases appear just as humbled. On the surface, Deception Island's Whalers Bay is still humanity's biggest imprint on Antarctica, outside of its 80 or so research stations. But a climate scientist might say otherwise. Studies on this fragile continent have documented how temperatures, glaciers, oceans and wildlife are reacting to the warming consequences of fossil fuel emissions. A place this remote and isolated makes a perfect laboratory for grasping the past, present and future of the Earth's climate, according to many scientists drawn to Antarctica. It's a case study with high stakes, says Natural Resources Canada scientist Thomas James, who is leading the first all-Canadian expedition to the region. "What happens in Antarctica doesn't stay here," he said, while recently walking the beach at Whalers Bay, as scientists gathered samples from the sand, snow and air around him. Climate shifts ripple beyond Antarctica It's understood that climate change doesn't acknowledge politically drawn borders. But James explains that Antarctica's ice and cold oceans play an outsized role in regulating our climate. Just this month, researchers identified that melting freshwater from Antarctica's glaciers is altering the water chemistry of the Southern Ocean. They predict that the changed salinity will slow the vital Antarctic Circumpolar Current by 20 per cent by 2050. The strongest current on Earth, the ACC's influence extends to the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, pumping water, heat and nutrients around the world. The current also protects Antarctica's ice sheets — large masses of land-based ice — from warmer northern waters, preventing sea level rise, which would impact coastal communities around the globe. "We know that the Antarctic ice sheet is potentially unstable and could provide larger amounts of sea level change than the present models currently predict," said James. "It's a huge reservoir of fresh water." He's studied Antarctica for more than 30 years, but his field work has mainly been in the northern polar region; this is only James's second time in Antarctica. "We think that spending some time understanding the Antarctic ice sheet and the implications for sea level change is very important for Canadians." It's not just ice sheets that are melting. Sea ice (frozen sea water) at the poles has reached record lows three months in a row. "The fact that we're now seeing a reduction in Antarctic sea ice is really just one of many, many indicators that global climate change is happening," said James. "It's happening in all facets of the environment, and in many cases it appears to be accelerating." Team of strangers contribute to climate science James's team of 15 scientists — many of them strangers before this expedition — cross numerous disciplines of science. They are studying not only the ice sheet but glacial melt, the ocean floor, contaminants like microplastics and the sea water itself. Aboard the HMCS Margaret Brooke, they are supported by the Royal Canadian Navy, which runs the winches, cranes and boats to help the scientists collect a mass of samples around the South Shetland Islands off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is part of the RCN's larger Operation PROJECTION, to circumnavigate South America, strengthening alliances with other southern navies and gathering experience in the southern polar region. Militaries may only enter Antarctica's boundaries if they are supporting scientific research, a rule set out in the Antarctic Treaty, which governs the continent. The Arctic and offshore patrol ship will only cover a small fraction of the continent over four weeks of maritime transit from Chile's Punta Arenas, but the voyage and science work takes enormous effort. From early-morning trips on zodiac boats to glacier-lined coasts to late-night, deep-water collection using an elaborate crane, winch and boom system designed in Halifax, the science team is putting in long hours, determined to maximize their rare Antarctic access. Brent Else is one of the scientists, here to study the ocean's chemical properties. "It turns out that oceans absorb a lot of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere," said the University of Calgary researcher. "If you look back over time, sort of since industrialization, they've probably taken up about the equivalent of about 40 per cent of all of the emissions that humans put into the atmosphere. So that gives us a huge break on climate change. What we really need to understand is, will the oceans continue to do that?" Because of its cold temperatures, the Southern Ocean has the ability to sink carbon to significant depths — and keep it out of the atmosphere — for hundreds of years. "It's really important that we understand what's going on in polar oceans, especially because they're changing the fastest," said Else. "So in an area like Antarctica, as we start to get more ice sheet melting, that's going to put more freshwater into the Southern Ocean. And that might affect how all of these things interact." WATCH | This Antarctic island holds clues about future climate change: Antarctic island may hold clues about the climate's next century 7 days ago Duration 2:15 On Antarctica's Deception Island, Canadian scientists study the links between melting ice sheets and rising global sea levels, saying what happens in Antarctica doesn't stay there. It's why the interdisciplinary approach of this expedition is so advantageous. "Most science, by its nature, is incremental. And what we're doing is adding to that body of knowledge," said James. The team will take back thousands of samples for analysis over the coming weeks and months. Many of them will go to other researchers back home in Canada.
