This video shows a common snipe in Sweden.
Common snipe in Sweden
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Daily Archives: May 21, 2017
Melania Trump’s rose-coloured glasses on Saudi women’s rights
This video from the USA says about itself:
Trump Admin. Covers Up Saudi War Crimes in Yemen, Exaggerates Iran‘s Role
3 February 2017
Ben Norton tells Paul Jay that the U.S. and Saudis are overwhelmingly responsible for the atrocities committed in Yemen.
Melania Trump is on a state visit to Saudi Arabia with her husband, United States President Donald Trump.
While Donald sells lots of United States weapons to the Saudi absolute monarchy to kill still more Yemeni civilians, Dutch NOS TV reports today on Melania.
The report quotes a tweet by Ms Trump, claiming ‘Great strides being made towards the empowerment of women’ in Saudi Arabia.
Melania Trump claimed that after visiting a General Electric branch where 200 women work.
Saudi women do have the right to work for the profits of General Electric corporation.
They do have, since a few years ago, the right to vote for powerless local assemblies.
They do have, since a few years ago, the right to ride bicycles (only within special walled enclosures, not in public).
They don’t have the right to drive cars, or to do most other things.
Maybe some of these women General Electric workers would have liked to enlighten the First Lady of the USA by telling some not so rose-coloured things on the situation of women in Saudi Arabia; or about General Electric bosses. Probably fear of getting flogged or jailed stopped them.
If Melania Trump would have put off her rose-coloured glasses and would have been realistic about the situation of Saudi women, then probably her husband’s weapons deals, oil deals and deals on more bloody wars with the Saudi royals would not have gone so smoothly. That is what these glasses were for.
Related articles
Bighorn sheep in Colorado, USA
This video from the USA says about itself:
22 April 2017
A bachelor group or band of male Colorado bighorn sheep ranging from youngsters all the way up to the mature male leader. Their gray coloring makes them very hard to see among the boulders and sparse vegetation around 8,000 feet elevation. Filmed near the Arkansas River in Cotopaxi, Colorado.
Related articles
Trump helps Saudi butchery of Yemeni civilians
This video from the USA says about itself:
Trump in Saudi Arabia: More U.S. Weapons for Devastating Yemen War
20 May 2017
Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink and author of “Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection,” says President Donald Trump‘s visit to Saudi Arabia deepens a “toxic” tie between Washington and the House of Saud.
Related articles
Yellow wagtail in Sweden
Big anti-corruption protest in Madrid, Spain
This video says about itself:
Spain: ‘History is changing’ – Thousands of Podemos supporters back Rajoy no-confidence motion
20 May 2017
Thousands of Podemos party supporters gathered in central Madrid, Saturday, to back a no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
From Jacobin magazine in the USA:
05.20.2017
Back to the Streets
A conversation with Eoghan Gilmartin, Brais Fernández, Jaime Pastor
Podemos has called a mass demonstration against the Rajoy government today as the party adopts a more combative approach.
It has been a dramatic few weeks in Spanish politics. Days after Easter, the former head of the Madrid regional government, Ignacio González, was arrested on corruption charges. This in turn led to a major internal crisis in the ruling Popular Party (PP) which saw the resignation of the party’s historic leader in the Spanish capital Esperanza Aguirre.
A polarizing figure, who was seen as the “Spanish Thatcher,” Aguirre’s position as head of the PP on the Madrid council was no longer tenable. With the regional party she had headed for over a decade already caught up in an investigation into illegal campaign financing, the arrest of her former right-hand man Gonzalez was the final straw.
Meanwhile, Mariano Rajoy, the country’s Prime Minster, has now been called as a witness in one of the largest corruption cases in recent Spanish history, the so-called Gurtel plot, which has seen a number of key former PP officials charged, including the party’s former treasurer Luis Bárcenas.
In this context Unidos Podemos has chosen to take the exceptional step of bringing a motion of censure against Rajoy’s government, only the third such motion since Spain’s transition to democracy. While it has little chance of passing in parliament given the centre-left Socialist Party’s (PSOE) opposition, it has robbed PSOE of the political initiative in a week in which they are holding internal leadership elections.
The PSOE leadership race is largely seen as a choice between former leader Pedro Sánchez and the establishment-backed Susana Díaz. Since his enforced resignation in November Sánchez has turned to the left, adopting Podemos’ proposals in a range of areas, while Diaz, who was instrumental in his ousting, has clung to the political center.
To ensure the focus remains firmly on the motion of censure, Podemos has called for a massive mobilization of their supporters in Madrid’s historic Puerta del Sol on Saturday. … As party leader Pablo Iglesias recently put it “we are hoping for a certain level of coherency from PSOE. The motion of censure is an ethical imperative” aimed against “the most corrupt party in Europe.”
This is also the first test of Podemos’ new strategic line after the party’s recent congress. Iglesias’ victory over his former deputy leader Íñigo Errejón has allowed him to pursue a more conflictual and left-wing direction, focusing on polarizing the political space along populist lines and seeking closer ties with social movements.
At last an article which uses the word ‘populist’ in a way consistent with it leftist 19th century United States origins; not as an euphemism for racist parties like Marine Le Pen‘s in France.
From an Associated Press report in the Irish Independent:
Sunday 21 May 2017
Protesters in Spain call for ousting of premier Mariano Rajoy
Thousands rallied in Madrid on Saturday to support a no-confidence vote against conservative prime minister Mariano Rajoy brought by the far-left Podemos party.
Podemos organised the gathering to bolster its no-confidence vote against Mr Rajoy‘s ruling Popular Party, which has been hit by a series of corruption scandals.
The rally under the slogan “We have to throw them out” was held in the Puerta del Sol, a large square in the heart of Spain’s capital.
Many protesters held signs that read “Enough!” or “Corruption!”
Podemos registered its intention on Friday to bring the no-confidence vote to Parliament.
The move includes presenting the party’s pony-tailed leader, Pablo Iglesias, as an alternative candidate to replace Mr Rajoy.
No date has been set for the no-confidence vote but the move appears designed to fail.
With only 71 members in parliament, Podemos would need help from other parties to reach the majority needed of 176.
No other major party says it will back the move to topple Mr Rajoy.
Speaking at a Podemos party congress before the rally, Mr Iglesias admitted that “the no-confidence vote won’t prosper”.
But hours later, Mr Iglesias struck a defiant tone at the rally, calling the Popular Party “a mafia-like party“.
“The people are not afraid. They are telling the corrupted to ‘get lost, we want a Spain of the 21st century,” Mr Iglesias said.
“This country is better than its parliament and we are showing the way to the future.”
Mr Rajoy has been dragged into the most damaging of corruption cases involving the Popular Party, an alleged kickbacks-for-contracts scheme to finance party activities.
Spain’s National Court has called Mr Rajoy as a witness in the case.
Like his party, Mr Rajoy has denied any wrongdoing.
He has asked to appear for the court hearing via video conference in July.
On Monday, Podemos will present a motion to hold a separate no-confidence vote against Madrid’s regional leader, Cristina Cifuentes, for another corruption investigation involving the Popular Party.
Podemos was founded in 2014, partly channeling the “Indignados” protest movement of 2011 that protested the impact of Spain’s financial woes during the European financial crisis.
Dear Kitty. Some blog 