British Liberal MP says Dr Kelly was murdered to help the Iraq war start

This video from Britain is called

IRAQ The sexed up case for war

The infamous dodgy dossier, WMD claims in Iraq, sexing up allegations by the BBC and the whitewash of the Hutton report.

From British daily The Morning Star:

Killed for what he knew

(Sunday 25 November 2007)

The Strange Death of David Kelly by Norman Baker MP
(Methuen, £9.99)

JOHN MOORE finds that, if you scratch the thin surface, there’s a lot more to know about the death of David Kelly than meets the eye.

After investigating the death of Dr David Kelly, Norman Baker MP believes that the weapons scientist was murdered, even though the Hutton report said that he took his own life.

Tony Blair was on a flight to Tokyo when he was told that David Kelly had been found dead in an Oxfordshire wood, with a slashed wrist and tablets by his side.

By the time he touched down, Lord Hutton had been appointed to enquire into the circumstances surrounding the death.

It was an informal inquiry that took the place of a normal inquest and was not bound by normal court procedures. Hutton decided who was to be called as a witness and largely what questions were to be asked or left unasked.

Baker says that the process was a travesty and the evidence dubious. The police later told him that there were no fingerprints on the knife, a question not even raised at the inquiry.

Church of England head slams Bush’s wars

In this video from the USA

Reverend Billy of the Stop Shopping Church and CODEPINK go to the halls of Congress to sing “Don’t Buy Bush’s War”.

From the Australian Broadcassting Corporation:

Church of England head slams US foreign policy

The head of the 70-million strong worldwide Anglican communion, Dr Rowan Williams, has made another outspoken attack on American foreign policy.

Dr Williams, who is the Archbishop of Canterbury and spiritual head of the Church of England, made the comments to a British magazine which has a mainly Muslim readership.

He compared America’s use of power unfavourably with the old British Empire, and said Washington’s attempts to accumulate influence around the world were not working.

He cited the situation in Iraq as a particular example.

Though the history of the old British Empire is full of bloody wars, occupations, slavery, etc., indeed, in the case of Iraq, British occupation, though bloody, did not lead to over a million dead, four million refugees, and the other disasters of George W. Bush’s present occupation.

The interview is in emel magazine.

See also here.

Pro conservation protest against Trump golf course plans in Scotland

This is a video about pink-footed geese staging in mid Norway. They are one of the species threatened by Donald Trump’s golf plans in Scotland.

From National Geographic:

Donald Trump’s planned Scottish-coast golf resort is drawing protest from conservationists who fear it would disrupt the habitats of threatened bird species.

See National Geographic video on this here.

The Aberdeenshire man who bested billionaire Donald Trump in a battle to save his home renewed calls for a public inquiry today into the tacky US tycoon’s attempts to open a golf course: here.

Related articles

• Donald Trump tries to stop BBC from airing “You’ve Been Trumped” doc (panarmenian.net)
• Donald Trump is a joke, but not a harmless one | Anthony Baxter (guardian.co.uk)
• You’ve Been Trumped, BBC Two, review (telegraph.co.uk)
• Donald Trump Goes Ape-sh** On Twitter Against Filmmaker (movieline.com)
• Donald Trump lawyers tried to stop BBC showing Scottish bullying film (guardian.co.uk)
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Birds in Brussels, Belgium

This video is called Peregrine Falcon Tribute.

From Belgian daily Het Laatste Nieuws:

In Brussels, the capital territory of Belgium, 103 bird species nest. Still, the bird population has changed considerably recently. Cince the 1990s, twelve bird species have disappeared. This is shown by a ‘ bird atlas’ of Brussels, published by the organisation Aves-Natagora.

“Generally, the number of bird species has really declined. One can especially see that in the suburbs, where there is a lot of urbanization”, Aves-Natagora explains. The atlas also shows that some birds are new to Brussels, or are coming back to it. They include the goshawk and the peregrine falcon.

Also, the Egyptian goose and the ring-necked parakeet.

Canadian surf scoters suffer from US oil spill

From CBC in Canada:

San Fran oil spill hurts Canadian sea duck population

Last Updated: Friday, November 23, 2007 | 11:25 AM ET

An oil spill in San Francisco Bay two weeks ago killed and oiled thousands of birds, with a Canadian sea duck among the largest casualties.

Nearly 227,124 litres of oil spilled into the bay on Nov. 8 when a cargo ship hit the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The area is a key wintering ground for shorebirds, seabirds and waterfowl.

Since the accident, at least 1,365 birds from 27 species have been found dead and more than 1,000 oil-slicked birds have been taken to a wildlife care centre for cleaning.

Oil on birds’ feathers impairs their ability to keep dry and warm, which forces them to shore and away from the food supply. It also can make birds sick if they ingest it while cleaning their feathers.

The surf scoter accounts for nearly 40 per cent of the captured birds and more than 25 per cent of the dead ones, said Michael Ziccardi, head of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, which is leading the rescue effort.

Scientists say the population has suffered so much from the spill because they spend almost all their time in the hardest hit areas.

See also here.

Surf scoter off Texel: here.

Population of common scoters in the UK drops by 45% since 1995: here.

Korean oil spill threatens IBAs: here.

After Aznar, Blair, Berlusconi, Bush’s Australian crony Howard falls

This satirical Australian video is called George Bush & John Howard.

From British daily The Independent:

Leading article: Another skittle of the old order falls

Published: 25 November 2007

That is that. The end. This time, it is the end for John Howard. It is all over for another leader identified with the invasion of Iraq. Jose Maria Aznar of Spain was voted out in 2004; Silvio Berlusconi of Italy fell last year; Tony Blair was forced out by his own party earlier this year; Jaroslaw Kaczynski of Poland lost last month; only George Bush, the prime mover, is left, and as he sets records for unpopularity he is a much reduced figure, limping to his expiry date in 2009.

Mr Howard, the four-time winner, has finally been defeated, with the added humiliation of almost certainly losing his own seat.

See also here. And here. And here. And here. And here.

From the New York Times: here.

From the USA: Thanksgiving Memories of a Son Killed in Iraq, By a Gold Star Mother…The Day After: here.

Blair and religion: here.

Dunnock and moorhen

This is a video of a dunnock.

Today, a walk along the old harbour of Hilversum.

Moorhens and mallards in the water.

Great tits and blue tits in the trees. Nuthatch sounds.

A dunnock on the ground.