Amherst Times

Washington, D.C.- Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) will leave this Sunday for a week-long Congressional Delegation to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Chad. Congressman Higgins will be traveling with colleagues on the House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Representatives Steve Lynch (MA-09) and Todd Platts( PA-19).

“The tribal areas along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan are the safe haven of key Al Qaeda bases and some of Al Qaeda’s most dangerous leaders. The first-hand knowledge I will gain by touring this region will inform the decisions I face in Congress relative to sustaining global peace and promoting security here at home,” Higgins said.

The CODEL will tour Pakistan’s tribal areas, go to Forward Operating Bases in Afghanistan, and visit Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps for Darfurian refugees. Higgins and his colleagues will also meet with Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, who will be in Pakistan to continue the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Partnership dialogue, which includes cooperation on counter-terrorism, education, science and technology, and expansion of economic opportunities.

For a while now honeybees have been disappearing by the millions without a trace. No big deal you say. Less of them to sting us. Hardly. Bees affect almost every part of our lives. Without them prices of almost everything will go up.

“Scientists sifting genetic material from thriving and ailing bee colonies say a virus appears to be a prime suspect — but is unlikely to be the only culprit — in the mass die-offs of honeybees reported last fall and winter.”

“The die-offs, in which adult bees typically vanished without returning to hives, were reported by about a fourth of the nation’s commercial beekeepers. The losses captured public attention as rumors swirled about causes, like climate change, cellphone signals and genetically-modified crops. Scientists have rejected those theories.”
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