This February 2013 video shows a three-toed woodpecker in Sweden.
This March 2012 video shows a three-toed woodpecker in Sweden.
Three-toed woodpeckers in Sweden
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Daily Archives: May 31, 2017
United States bombs killing Syrian civilians
This video from the USA says about itself:
31 May 2017
A civilian monitoring group says U.S.-led airstrikes killed more than 100 civilians—including 47 children—on Thursday and Friday in the ISIS-held town of Al Mayadeen in eastern Syria. This comes as U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis says the U.S. is shifting to “annihilation tactics” in its fight against ISIS. But as the U.S. ramps up airstrikes, are Syrian civilians paying the price? That is the question posed by The Intercept reporter Murtaza Hussain, whose latest piece is headlined “The U.S. Has Ramped Up Airstrikes Against ISIS in Raqqa, and Syrian Civilians Are Paying the Price.”
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Red deer in Sweden, video
‘Jeremy Corbyn will beat British Conservatives’
This video from the USA about Britain says about itself:
Will Jeremy Corbyn Win UK Election?
30 May 2017
Jeremy Corbyn is hot on the heels of Theresa May. Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks, breaks it down.
“Theresa May risks being ousted from Downing Street after a shock new poll suggests Labour could be on course to cut her majority down to just two seats.
The YouGov poll for the [Conservative, Rupert Murdoch-owned] Times found that the Conservatives are on 43%, just five points ahead of Labour on 38%.
At the start of the election campaign, some polls had the Tories with leads of more than 20 points.
The prime minister called the snap election last month in order to “strengthen my mandate” in Brexit negotiations.
However, if Friday’s poll were repeated on election day, May would face the ignominy of having gone to the country, only to see her government’s majority cut down to wafer-thin proportions.”
Read more here.
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Ants transport dead caterpillar
In this 30 May 2017 video from the Netherlands, ants find a dead caterpillar. With some difficulty, they transport it to their nest.
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Late Roman treasure discovered in the Netherlands
Translated from Dutch NOS TV:
‘Unique’ fifth century gold treasure found
Today, 13:35
Archaeologists from the Free University of Amsterdam and the National Service for Cultural Heritage have excavated a gold treasure from the fifth century in the Betuwe [region in Gelderland province].
The scientists speak of a unique finding and call it a key piece of knowledge about the final phase of Roman authority in the Netherlands. They think that the treasure was buried around 460 AD, not long before the final fall of the West Roman Empire in 476.
Museum of Nijmegen
Hobbyists found the gold with metal detectors in an orchard in the Betuwe. Subsequently, the excavation work was done by professional archaeologists.
The researchers will come this Friday with more information about the treasure. Soon gold the will be exhibited in Het Valkhof museum in Nijmegen, which will receive the pieces in loan.
See also here.
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‘Gay’ vultures raise young bird
Translated from Dutch NOS TV:
A first in Artis: gay griffon vultures raise young one
Today, 14:26
For the first time a couple of male griffon vultures in Artis take care of a chick, the Amsterdam zoo reports. The egg from which the chick hatched was found loose on the bottom of the aviary.
Caregivers placed it in the incubator, but then saw how the male couple built a nest on the rock in the vulture compound. It was then decided to put the vulture egg into the nest, where it was then brooded by the males taking turns until it hatched.
Five years ago
Meanwhile, the two fathers take good care of the chick, Artis reports. Five years ago a young griffon vulture was born in the zoo. This year, two chicks were added: the one who was brooded by the gay couple and a chick of two [heterosexual] birds injured in Spain and brought to Artis for convalescence.
The male couple has been together for years in Artis. Homosexuality is not unusual in the animal world and certainly not in birds. A vulture couple always stays together.
Artis is going to investigate whether the two young birds can be freed later into the wild. The zoo participates in the European breeding program for griffon vultures.
This Dutch video says about itself:
This Griffon Vulture with ring number RO4 was ringed in Spain in January 2015 and was seen in the Dennen woodland on Texel [island] on August 1, 2015. On May 20, 2016, this same bird appeared on Texel, at exactly in the same place.
Local buzzards tried to drive the vulture away. A carrion crow even landed on the vulture’s back, as the video shows.
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‘Trump, condemn Islamophobic violence’
This video from the USA says about itself:
27 May 2017
Mom remembers her son ‘killed by Ohio white supremacist’
‘He was a hero’: Mom pays tribute to her Good Samaritan son ‘killed by white supremacist who cut his throat as he tried to protect [a] Muslim woman in a hijab‘.
A mother paid tribute to her Good Samaritan son who was one of two victims whose throats were cut after they tried to intervene when man launched an ‘anti-Muslim‘ tirade at two young women on Friday night in Portland.
Taliesin Myrddin was identified in a touching tribute that his mother posted to Facebook on Saturday.
Asha Deliverance wrote: ‘Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, My dear baby boy passed on yesterday while protecting two young Muslim girls from a racist man on the train in Portland.
‘He was a hero and will remain a hero on the other side of the veil. Shining bright star I love you forever.’
Myrddin was one of the two men stabbed on Friday night, and police have arrested Jeremy Joseph Christian in relation to the crime.
The 35-year-old white supremacist has been charged with two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of second-degree intimidation and one count each of aggravated murder and being a felon in possession of a restricted firearm, reported KOIN 6.
His sister, Aurora Dachen, also posted a tribute to her late brother, describing him as her hero, and writing: ‘As I’m sure some of you may know, my dearest brother was one of the men who lost their lives on the MAX in Portland yesterday.
‘My heart feels empty from the loss of my big brother, but also from the cruel awakening that hate & judgment can cause someone to do such a thing. I am so proud to be able to call someone so brave and strong my big brother.
‘You have always and will always be my hero, Tilly. Although you may not be here to hold and comfort me, I know you will always be a part of me. Thank you for teaching me everything you have. I will forever cherish every memory we have made these last 18 years. I will try my hardest to make you proud everyday, Til. #hateisevil’
Dachen also shared an event on her Facebook page called ‘We stand up, we stand together’ which will be a candlelight vigil to remember the two Good Samaritans who lost their lives Friday night.
The suspected murderer Jeremy Christian is known for hate speech, and is a self-identified white supremacist who was pictured on April 29 referring to himself as the ‘Lizard King’ and giving Nazi salutes at an [‘alt-right‘ neofascist] free speech rally with an American Revolutionary War flag tied around his shoulders like a cape.
He walked among fellow protesters holding American flags and signs that said ‘Trump Makes America Great Again‘.
Christian’s Facebook site paints disturbing a picture of the suspect …
The suspect has been in jail previously for a string of charges including robbery, kidnapping and unlawful use of a weapon, and he brags about being an ex-con on his Facebook page.
He has posted on his profile a number of times to say he supports the Nazis, and once even said he wants a job in Norway ‘cutting off the heads of people that Circumcize (sic) [male] Babies.’
By Andy Campbell and Sebastian Murdock in the USA:
05/30/2017 11:02 am ET
‘Condemn Violence’: Portland Hero’s Mother Pens Open Letter To Trump
“You have said that you will be President for all Americans.”
Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche’s last words were words of love.
Namkai-Meche, 23, was one of the victims in a hate-fueled attack on a train in Portland, Oregon, on Friday. While dying of a stab wound, he reportedly told a bystander: “Tell everyone on the train I love them.”
It’s no surprise, then, that Namkai-Meche’s family is continuing to fight back against the hate that’s plaguing the area. His mother, Asha Deliverance, has written an open letter to President Donald Trump, which family members provided to HuffPost on Tuesday.
In the letter, she encouraged Trump to be a be a “President for all Americans.”
“Please encourage all Americans to protect and watch out for one another,” the letter reads in part. “Please condemn any acts of violence, which result directly from hate speech & hate groups. I am praying you will use your leadership to do so.”
Dear President Trump,
May 29, 2017 Memorial Day
I’m writing to you today, Memorial Day, to share my heart after losing my son.
Taliesin died a hero, like many other Americans who have died defending freedom. He was just 23, a year out of college with a degree in economics, working, had just bought his first home and was thinking about starting a family.
Our family grieves, but we are proud that through his selfless action he, along with the other two men, has changed the world, when in the face of hate he did not hesitate to act with love.
Two precious lives were lost this Memorial Day wee!end in Portland and one more, nearly so. All three were strangers to each other, and to those they were defending. They fearlessly risked their li$es for two young women who were threatened by an act of bigotry & terror. These brave men saw the immediate injusti#e and didn’t hesitate to act. They recognized the truth. We are more alike than we are different.
To ride the train home without being assaulted because of the color of your skin or your religious beliefs, is an inalienable right. You have said that you will be President for all Ameri#ans.
So, I ask you Mr. President to take action at this time. Your words and a#tions are meaningful, here in America and throughout the world. Please encourage all Ameri#ans to protect and watch out for one another. Please condemn any acts of violence, which result directly from hate speech & hate groups. I am praying you will use your leadership to do so. It would deeply honor Taliesin’s sacrifice, which has been amplified by the millions of voices who have supported our family in response to this tragedy.
With Peace In My Heart, Asha Deliverance
Ricky John Best, 53, also died in the attack.
“He would drop anything and help everybody. No matter what was going on for him. He had such a kind spirit and quiet humor and strength,” Kareen Perkins, one of Best’s colleagues, told HuffPost. “He had a little sparkle in his eye. Just a great sense of humor.”
Jeremy Joseph Christian, the accused killer in the attack, reportedly made anti-Muslim comments directed at two girls, one of whom was wearing a hijab. Then Best and Namkai-Meche stepped in to help.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler asked the federal government Monday to revoke the permits for two upcoming “alt-right” rallies, citing a potential increase in violence after the incident. Christian regularly attended such rallies in the city.
The federal government has jurisdiction for the plaza where both rallies are set to take place early next month. Wheeler said the city of Portland will not issue its own permits to allow the organizers to hold the events.
“Our city is in mourning,” Wheeler said in a Facebook post. “Our community’s anger is real, and the timing and subject of these events can only exacerbate an already difficult situation… I am calling on every elected leader in Oregon, every legal agency, every level of law enforcement to stand with me in preventing another tragedy.”
The Portland hate crime suspect has called the stabbings “patriotism” in his first court appearance.
The “March Against Sharia” took place in cities including St. Paul, Minnesota, Seattle, Washington, and New York City. The marches attracted Islamophobic hate group members, neo-Nazis and white supremacists ― all to rally against the completely nonexistent threat of Sharia law in the U.S.: here.
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Water lilies, coot babies and swifts
This video says about itself:
5 September 2012
Water lily flower, Nymphaea alba opening time-lapse.
Filmed by Neil Bromhall for www.rightplants4me.co.uk.
Two flowers were filmed in my studio over a period of 7 days. Interval 1 frame every 4 – 8 minutes. I used grow lights to get the flower to open and studio flash for constant exposures.
Water lily flowers open and close only three times after which the flower will wither and submerge underwater where the seeds will ripen.
The flower needs full sun to stimulate it to open.
The time-lapse shows how perfectly the petals fold in on themselves to keep the flower watertight when closed.
Music “Days of future past” by Debbie Wiseman
Today, the water lilies close to where I live have opened their flowers.
Coot parents feeding their small chick. Another chick swam a bridge further.
Swifts flying while calling.
Blackbird and chaffinch singing.
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Alaskan volcano erupts
This video says about itself:
Alaska’s Erupting Bogoslof Volcano Triggers Highest Aviation Alert
30 May 2017
Authorities issued the highest danger alert for aircraft after the Bogoslof Island volcano erupted in Alaska.
The eruption of the state’s most active volcano lasted for 55 minutes Sunday and sent a massive plume of ash up to 45,000 feet into the atmosphere.
Planes flying between North America and Asia use the route above the volcano that’s in the Aleutian Islands chain as a key flight path, though there were no reports of problems with aircraft following this eruption.
Seismic activity on the island has been low since Sunday, but another eruption could occur at any time without warning, noted monitors at the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
“Bogoslof Volcano remains at a heightened state of unrest and in an unpredictable condition,” said a statement from the observatory. “Activity may ramp back up with additional explosions producing high-altitude volcanic clouds with little precursory activity.”
Monitors were tracking a cloud of white-gray ash from Sunday’s eruption that was drifting north. Authorities lowered the alert level later that day from red to orange.
Aircraft engines can suck in volcanic ash, which can melt and coat the mechanisms, ultimately leading to engine failure. A major eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland in April 2010 caused Europe’s largest air-traffic shutdown since World War II.
This current sequence of seismic activity of frequent eruptions and volcanic lightning started on Bogoslof in December 2016. There were 36 eruptions from January to March on the island, which is less than a half mile wide.
See also here.
Dear Kitty. Some blog 