By Staff, Moyers & Co. in the USA [as usually on my blog, I added links; this time mainly to lyrics]:
A 21 Protest Song Salute
Wednesday, 23 May 2012 11:45
Singer and activist Tom Morello says it’s his job as a musician “to steel the backbone of people on the front lines of social justice struggles, and to put wind in sails of those struggles.” Here’s a list of 21 songs that have done just that — from Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land to Public Enemy’s Fight the Power.
Submit your own song suggestions in the comments below. If you have protest songs of your own on YouTube, include links to them or tag them “moyersprotestsong.”
[Warning to parents and teachers: Some songs contain profanity. Also, Moyers & Company and Public Affairs Television do not endorse any advertisements or promotional links contained within the embedded videos.]
Iguanodon was discovered before the word “dinosaur” was invented and the story of Iguanodon research is the story of dinosaur research as paleontologists use new fossils to test old ideas about what the animal looked like and how it moved. Was it a lumbering quadruped? A springy kangaroo reptile? A little of both? Join us as we dive into the history of paleontology and the history of Iguanodon, the enthusiastic animal who is always ready to give you two thumbs up!
Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Abstract
The precise phylogenetic relationships of many non-hadrosaurid members of Iguanodontia, i.e., basal iguanodonts, have been unclear. Therefore, to investigate the global phylogeny of basal iguanodonts a comprehensive data matrix was assembled, including nearly every valid taxon of basal iguanodont. The matrix was analyzed in the program TNT, and the maximum agreement subtree of the resulting most parsimonious trees was then calculated in PAUP.
Ordering certain multistate characters and omitting taxa through safe taxonomic reduction did not markedly improve resolution. The results provide some new information on the phylogeny of basal iguanodonts, pertaining especially to obscure or recently described taxa, and support some recent taxonomic revisions, such as the splitting of traditional “Camptosaurus” and “Iguanodon”.
Nevertheless, the phylogenetic relationships of many basal iguanodonts remain ambiguous due to the high number of taxa removed from the maximum agreement subtree and poor resolution of consensus trees.
Feeling the heat: Australian landbirds and climate change
…
Introduction
Earth’s climate is warming at an unprecedented rate, with the current trend ascribed primarily to anthropogenic alteration of atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (IPCC 2007). Recent evidence suggests that warming is occurring even more rapidly than predicted by most models used in the 2007 assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (Rahmstorf et al. 2007; van Oldenborgh et al. 2009). These observations, combined with the current lack of concerted political will to significantly reduce global carbon emissions (typified by the ineffectual outcome of the recent COP 17 climate talks in Durban), suggest that climate scenarios that are presently viewed as worst-case may in fact be the most likely future outcomes.
Climate change is currently recognised as the single greatest threat to global biodiversity because its effects are felt in virtually every habitat on the planet. Although most scenarios are built around models of what the world’s climate might look like several decades from now, the reality is that significant biological effects of climate change are already being manifested as extinctions (Pounds et al. 1999; Thomas et al. 2006) and rapid shifts in the distributions of species inhabiting latitudes ranging from polar to equatorial (Chen et al. 2011).
Extreme heatwaves also have dire consequences for humans – a recent report noted that, over the last 200 years, fatalities during heatwaves have outnumbered those caused by any other natural hazard in Australia, and the death-toll is likely to increase dramatically in coming decades (PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia 2011).
Australia, as a predominantly hot and arid continent with terrestrial avifauna largely confined to the region (Dingle 2004), is expected to see significant effects on avian diversity and abundance. Indeed, Australia is already something of a ‘poster-continent’ for the effects of climate change on landbirds because historical records provide unparalleled insights into just how devastating heatwaves and droughts can be for avian communities.
Recent mortality events associated with heatwaves (discussed below) highlight the effects of more frequent periods of very hot weather for common and nomadic birds, but also for species considered threatened.
In this editorial, we focus on the direct effects of extreme weather to draw attention to the likely severity of the effects of climate change on Australian landbirds.
We also outline a conceptual framework for predicting the effects of climate change on birds in hot, arid terrestrial ecosystems, and ome of the ways in which this information may be used to inform onservation decisions. One key advantage of the mechanistic, process-driven approach we describe here is that it can be used to identify potential mitigation measures, for instance via the artificial manipulation of thermal landscapes.
Our message is that Australian ornithologists should be urgently seeking ways to predict how climate change will affect arid-zone bird communities, particularly with regard to already threatened avifauna, and identify appropriate mitigation strategies.
Avian mortality during heatwaves
Deaths of birds during extremely hot weather are not a new occurrence in Australia; as early as 1791 the Reverend Richard Johnson, a chaplain at Port Jackson (Sydney), New South Wales (NSW), referred in a letter to temperatures so high that ‘Birds, unable to bear the heat, have great Numbers, dropped from the trees & expired’ (available at http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/_transcript/2010/D01866/a1769.pdf, accessed 20 December 2011). By far the most catastrophic event recorded took place in January 1932, when a severe heatwave struck a large portion of southern central Australia (Fig. 1). The April 1932 issue of the South Australian Ornithologist contained several accounts of widespread mortality, which collectively portray the deaths of many millions of birds. Finlayson (1932), for instance, provided a vivid account of thousands of dead and dying Budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus), Zebra Finches (Taenopygia guttata) and other birds in and around Rumbalara Siding on a day when the air temperature reached ~49C. He noted that ‘The condition of the birds was undoubtedly a true temperature effect, and not due to thirst, as the railway people had put out several pans of water, and only a small proportion were attempting to drink’. Another observer documented the deaths of tens of thousands of birds (mainly parrots) in water troughs near Tarcoola, South Australia (SA) (McGilp 1932).
Who Is Behind the Conspiracy Against Climate Change Science? Richard Schiffman, Truthout: “Over 70 percent of Americans believe that climate change is either happening now or will be soon – many remain divided about how serious the problem is; 42 percent of those polled by Gallup in March believed that the impacts were being exaggerated. This confusion seems to have been the intention of the denialists all along – not to disprove climate change … but to cast just enough paralyzing doubt to muddy the waters and prevent the United States from getting serious about restricting greenhouse gas emissions”: here.
Koch-funded climate scientist: I was wrong, humans are to blame for global warming: here.
University of Western Australia Staff, The Universtiy of Western Australia: “The results showed that those who subscribed to one or more conspiracy theories or who strongly supported a free market economy were more likely to reject the findings from climate science as well as other sciences. The researchers, led by UWA School of Psychology Professor Stephan Lewandowsky, found that free-market ideology was an overwhelmingly strong determinant of the rejection of climate science. It also predicted the rejection of the link between tobacco and lung cancer and between HIV and AIDS”: here.
Avian species-assemblage structure and indicator bird species of mangroves in the Australian monsoon tropics: here.
Israeli minister refuses to shake hands with Onkelinx
Wednesday, May 23, 2012, 7:38 p.m.
[Belgian] Health Minister Laurette Onkelinx dislikes the fact that an Israeli minister this Tuesday refused to shake her hand at a conference in Geneva. She expressed her displeasure on the social networking site Facebook. …
“I have clean hands! For the second time in my life a minister has refused to shake my hand because I am a woman. The first time it was an Iranian minister; and yesterday it was the Israeli Minister of Health in Geneva. This fundamentalist attitude, linked to a certain conception of religion and women bothers me really much,” one may read on the Facebook profile of Onkelinx.
One may ask: as these fanatically religious misogynist politicians in both Iran and Israel have apparently so much in common: why don’t they propose to merge the states of Iran and Israel; instead of threatening each other with war as happens now? [sarcasm off]
One may hope that the nuclear agreement, discussed in the media today, will put an end to the perspective of a horrible war, costing the lives of many civilians in Israel, Iran, and probably elsewhere.
Talks on Iranian nuclear industry: here. And here. And here. And here.
Britain: Labour MP Paul Flynn issued a grim warning about the lurch towards a bloody and costly war with Iran on Thursday, writes Roger Bagley: here.
As Obama preaches patience, [General] Mattis prepares for war with Iran: here.
Iraqi Refugee Describes Ongoing Torture of Husband, Imprisonment of Husband Who Returned to Iraq to Free Jailed Son
Rabiha al Qassab, a British Iraqi woman who lives in London, describes the harrowing story of her husband, Ramze Shihab Ahmed. Having fled in 1998 after being accused of trying to overthrow Saddam Hussein, Ramze returned to Iraq last year to get his son out of prison. He, too, was arrested and was tortured. Like 30,000 other Iraqis, he and his son are being held without charge.
Victims of torture are routinely being held in British immigration detention centres in breach of the government’s own rules, a new investigation has revealed.
The study by Medical Justice highlights the cases of 50 individuals who were detained despite medical evidence they had been tortured.
Under Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001 medical practitioners in immigration removal centres must report any individual they are concerned may have been a victim of torture.
The UK Borders Agency (UKBA) must then review the appropriateness of detention.
Policy guidance and legislation make clear that people who have independent evidence of torture should be released except in very exceptional circumstances.
All but two of the 50 cases highlighted by Medical Justice have since been released, and 14 have been granted leave to remain in Britain.
Two of the 50 were forcibly returned to their countries of origin and endured torture for a second time, Medical Justice said.
Both managed to flee again, claimed asylum for a second time and were again detained in Britain.
The investigation details a catalogue of errors including mismanagement of detainees’ healthcare, poor record-keeping and report writing by unqualified people.
It accused UKBA of “an inability to interpret medical evidence, a culture of denial and a misunderstanding about the legal standard of proof.”
Report author Natasha Tsangarides said: “UKBA and their contractors must be brought to account.
“That they can treat some of the most vulnerable individuals in this way and behind closed doors is a disgrace.
“All we ask for is that the government implements its own policy.”
Labour MP John McDonnell said: “It’s scandalous that victims of torture who have fled to this country for safety are experiencing further suffering and hardship at the hands of our system.
“The special rules introduced to protect victims of torture are clearly not working and we need urgent government action to address this issue.”
Arms giant BAE‘s new £1.6 billion deal to sell 77 training planes to Saudi Arabia will do nothing for British workers, anti-arms trade campaigners and unions said on Wednesday.
The weapons maker is set to supply 55 Pilatus prop planes and 22 Hawk jets, as well as spare parts and technical support.
BAE international managing director Guy Griffiths said the firm was “honoured” to be supplying the repressive Gulf monarchy‘s air force.
“We have a long history in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and, working with Pilatus, we will provide them with the best training platforms to meet their requirements,” he said.
A Saudi Defence Ministry official, quoted by the country’s SPA news agency, said the deal would help train “the Saudi air force to be able to use the fighter jets efficiently.”
Campaign Against Arms Trade spokeswoman Kaye Stearman told the Star: “BAE Systems will no doubt present this contract as a triumph for British industry and a saviour for jobs at BAE Brough in Humberside.
“But in fact only 218 jobs are expected to be ‘protected’ by this contract and only for two years.
“Rather, the UK should be looking to build more sustainable industries, such as renewables, to provide the jobs so badly needed in this region.”
And Unite said it would make no difference to its members at the Brough site, which faces cutbacks as jobs are sent across England to Lancashire.
The union’s national aerospace officer Ian Waddell said: “This is good news for BAE but makes no difference to the Brough site.
“This contract was always in the plan and the announcement has been anticipated for the last year.
“We’ve managed to save about 200 jobs at Brough but still have a massive challenge to save the other 650.
“Two hundred jobs saved feels like a drop in the ocean for our members.”
Anti-arms campaigners accused British defence giant BAE Systems today of “ratcheting up tensions” after boasting that it has secured a contract with South Korea to upgrade over 130 fighter aircraft: here.
BRAZIL: A female pilot tossed a passenger off a flight because he was making sexist comments about women flying planes.
Trip Airlines said in a statement on Tuesday that the pilot ejected the man before takeoff after he made loud sexist comments upon learning the pilot was a woman.
The passenger involved in Friday’s incident has not been identified. He was met by police at the plane and escorted out of the airport.
More than 100,000 people took to the streets of Montreal yesterday to mark the 100th day since the beginning of the Quebec student strike and to denounce the Quebec Liberal government’s Bill 78.
Adopted in less than 24 hours late last week, Bill 78 criminalizes the student strike by outlawing picket lines anywhere in the vicinity of the province’s universities and CEGEPs (pre-university and technical colleges) and by threatening teachers with criminal prosecution and massive fines if they make any accommodations to striking students or fail to perform all of their normal functions.
Bill 78 also places sweeping restrictions on the right to demonstrate anywhere—and over any issue—in Canada’s second most populous province. Any demonstration of more than 50 people is illegal unless demonstration organizers submit to police in writing more than eight hours in advance the route and duration of the protest and abide by any changes requested by the police. Demonstration organizers are also legally compelled to assist the authorities in ensuring that protesters do not transgress the police-prescribed protest route.
The same day the Liberals rammed Bill 78 through the National Assembly, Montreal’s municipal government, meeting in special session, adopted its own emergency bylaw compelling police authorization for demonstration-routes and making it illegal to wear any form of face covering—including face-paint, a nijab,
sic. Probably, a “hijab” (headscarf worn by many religious Muslim women) is meant
or a scarf—while participating in a demonstration.
Quebec’s corporate elite has strongly supported Bill 78, just as it has the government’s insistence that its plan to raise university tuitions by 82 percent over the next seven years is non-negotiable.
The huge turnout for Tuesday’s demonstration is testimony to the widespread support for the students and recognition that Bill 78 constitutes a sweeping attack on the democratic rights of all.
There were numerous hand-made placards denouncing Bill 78. One read, “Academic Freedom=Free Speech and Free Assembly”; another “Bill 78, May 68”; a third, “A government that uses repression is a government that is afraid. We won’t give up.”
While students comprised the majority of the protesters, there were also large numbers of workers, a significant contrast from the massive province-wide demonstration in support of the student strike held in Montreal on March 22. There were union delegations, including of teachers, and Montreal blue-collar and transit workers. But most of the workers did not appear to have come as part of an organized contingent. Some were recent university or CEGEP graduates, others retirees.
Midway through yesterday’s march, CLASSE (The Broader Coalition of the Association for Student-Union Solidarity)—the province-wide student association that initiated the current student strike—broke away from the police-approved march itinerary and led tens of thousands on an alternate course through downtown Montreal, briefly paralyzing rush-hour traffic. Police did not intervene.
The breakaway march was meant to exemplify CLASSE’s vow, announced Monday after a meeting of its leadership, that it will not submit to Bill 78. “We believe our fundamental rights should take precedence over respecting an unjust law,” announced CLASSE spokesman Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. “The Liberal government talks about intimidation since the beginning of the conflict. But with this law as it is, it is practicing intimidation.”
Although not a rare bird across its range, this is only the fourth sighting in Britain in 70 years. Cream-coloured Coursers are usually found in India, Arabia and around the Sahara, where they live in open country, preferring semi arid stony deserts – Should feel very at home in The Welsh Marches then.
Until the end of the 20th century there were only limited numbers of autumn-winter breeding records of the Cream-coloured Courser Cursorius cursor. Here, we compile several autumn-winter breeding observations obtained mainly by amateur birders (citizen scientists) and we show that this phenomenon is more common when local conditions (especially rainfall) are favourable. These observations are from several parts of the species’ range, as far apart as Socotra Island (Yemen), Oman, and the Canary Islands (Spain), although the majority are from the region of Oued Ad-Deheb, S Morocco: here.
Autumn-winter breeding by Cream-coloured Coursers Cursorius cursor is more common than previously reported: here.
The official declaration on Afghanistan issued from the NATO summit in Chicago on Monday speaks of a country “on its path toward self-reliance in security, improved governance, and economic and social development,” where “the lives of Afghan men, women and children have improved significantly” over the past decade of US-NATO occupation.
It promises an “irreversible transition” from the US-led war to a situation in which “Afghan forces will be in the lead for security nation-wide” by the middle of next year. And it envisions the emergence of a “peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan” that will “contribute to economic and social development in the wider region.”
Readers unfamiliar with the tone and rhetoric of such NATO documents can be excused for rubbing their eyes in disbelief. What country are they talking about?
The claims about Afghanistan emerging as a “prosperous” and “stable” nation are as preposterous as the pretense that the Afghan government is providing improved security, governance and development.
The unemployment rate has remained at roughly 40 percent since the US invasion of October 2001. A meteoric rise in emigration is a sure measure of deteriorating social conditions, with three times the number of Afghans fleeing their country in 2011 compared to four years earlier.
As for attributing “improved governance’ to the US-backed puppet Hamid Karzai, his government is universally recognized as one of the most corrupt on the planet, with a thin layer of warlords, crooks and crony capitalists pocketing billions of dollars in aid money. This wholesale and shameless graft has earned Krazai’s regime the hatred of the Afghan people while generating popular support for resistance to the foreign occupation that keeps him in office.
A recent series of high-profile attacks in the center of the capital have called into question even the old characterizations of Karzai as the “mayor of Kabul.” The tripling of the number of US troops deployed in Afghanistan under Obama has succeeded only in spreading what the Pentagon describes as a “robust” insurgency throughout the country.
Turkmenistan signed a natural gas deal with Pakistan and India on Wednesday, bolstering US plans for the construction of a 1,100-mile pipeline across occupied Afghanistan: here.
At the May 20-21 NATO summit in Chicago, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard pledged further support for the US-led occupation of Afghanistan. She stressed that the planned drawdown of more than 1,500 Australian troops in the southern Uruzgan province was in line with the Obama administration’s “transition”, which aims to withdraw combat forces in 2014 while maintaining a substantial military presence until 2024 and beyond: here.
Only a few hours’ drive from the Afghan capital Kabul is an area renowned for some of the world’s brightest and most valuable rubies. But this wealth is being plundered by thieves, corrupt officials and the Taliban, as the BBC’s Bilal Sarwary discovers: here.
Dear Kitty. Some blog 