A lot more happening in Brazil: On Sunday, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva beat Flavio Bolsonaro for the presidency, 51.79% to 48.21% Flavio was favored, and the victory of Lula for his fourth presidency, was a shock to the system. Flavio, who is a Senator, was immune from prosecution until February when his term  will expire.  So he left the country. His father, Jair Bolsonaro, also went after the loss of his 2022 presidential election.  But Jair eventually returned and was given a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup.  He is still serving this sentence, but currently at home because of "health" issues. Thus, it's no surprise that Flavio escaped, probably to the USA.  This story is just developing. The USA, so far, has been relatively peaceful about the fate of former presidents.  South Korea, for example, has tried and judged guilty 4 out the past 6 presidents.   Going back to Syngman Rhee in 1948, becoming president there has been an adventurous challenge...

Before my topic of today, a bit about those Southern California wildfires. These fires are usually caused by Santa Ana winds that can come from October through March. Of course, you also need certain environmental conditions, like drought and global warming, plus some ignition source.  Power grids are especially of concern.  And lightning.   Human causes, like campfire accidents and arson.  In fact, here is what Google AI says: Santa Ana wildfires are not typically caused by a single natural weather trigger; rather, Santa Ana winds act as the dangerous weather accelerant that spreads fires, while nearly all the actual ignitions (90% to 95%) are human-caused . [ 1 , 2 ]. I had a posting last year about them . Apparently, those fires now in Southern California have peaked. Of course other areas in California will remain vulnerable. Certainly, this is not only a California problem, for the Global Fire Dashboard today shows 6926 hotspots around the world. Glo...