Kingfisher digs nest tunnel, video

This January 2020 video is about a kingfisher digging a nest tunnel.

Steef Kijne in the Netherlands made this video.

Israeli demonstration against Trump’s ‘peace’ plan

This 30 January 2020 video from the USA is called Trump’s Middle East “peace plan” is a plan for apartheid.

From the Gush Shalom peace movement in Israel today:

This is the time for action, the time to stand up and be counted. Tomorrow night, February 1, we will meet at 19:00 at the Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv. From there we will embark on an emergency march through the streets of Tel Aviv, to demand the one thing that will ensure a life of security for us, our families, our children: negotiations to end the occupation and a peace between two free and sovereign states, Israel and Palestine.

The Trump-Netanyahu Plan is dangerous for all of us, Israelis and Palestinians – to the future of both peoples. A peace agreement is something which both sides share and agree on, which will bring justice and resolution to the conflict.

The Trump-Netanyahu Plan is nothing of the kind. It is a one-sided annexation deal that is forced upon us from afar. It gives the Government of Israel licence to acts of infamy – annexations on the West Bank, fulfilling the dictates of the most extreme settlers, and depriving Israeli citizenship from hundreds of thousands of Arab citizens who live in the Wadi Ara and Triangle regions.

This is a moment of trial, a red alert. Trump and Netanyahu have placed all of us on the path to a future of endless violence, bloodshed and grief. In the future that they are trying to force upon us, Palestinians and Israelis will continue to suffer and no one will live in security. They called it “a peace plan” but it is a scam – it is the same harsh occupation we have known for decades, reinforced by annexation. Our actions over the next few days will determine whether they will succeed in their scheme. We will not sit aside – and we need each and every one of you with us!

See you tomorrow night on the Dizengoff Square – this is the time to stand up and be counted!

See also here.

Royal albatross born and fed, video

This 31 January 2020 video from New Zealand says about itself:

First Look! Royal Albatross Hatchling Wakes Up To A Meal From Dad #RoyalCam | NZ DOC | Cornell Lab

After being transported back to the nest the evening before, the Northern Royal Albatross chick wakes up to receive breakfast from the male, OGK. Viewers will witness heaps of feeding events like these over the next eight months as they watch the chick slowly grow to the size of an adult and develop the flight equipment that’s required to fledge come September.

RoyalCam was set up in January 2016 by the Department of Conservation. For the 2019/2020 season we have collaborated with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. To learn more while watching, view the cam here.

NATO governments fighting about Libyan oil

This 19 January 2020 video says about itself:

On the eve of the international summit in Berlin to relaunch the peace process in Libya, supporters of Khalifa Haftar, the eastern Libyan commander, have hit hard.

On Saturday morning, his forces blocked the country’s main oil terminals in order to economically cripple the … Government of National Unity in Tripoli.

In a press release, the National Oil Company reported a halt of exports in the ports known as “oil crescent”.

By Alex Lantier in France:

War tensions mount between NATO powers over Libya, Mediterranean

31 January 2020

Following the January 19 Berlin conference on Libya, war tensions between NATO powers over Libya and the Mediterranean continue to mount, after Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited Paris on Wednesday for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron. The Berlin conference has set the stage not for peace, but only for stepped-up imperialist military interventions to divide up the profits to be extracted from Libya and the entire region.

With Mitsotakis, Macron announced the dispatching of French warships to the Aegean Sea and the formation of a French-Greek military alliance, while denouncing Turkish policy in Libya. Amid explosive border tensions and conflicts over eastern Mediterranean natural gas deposits between Turkey and Greece, Paris is threatening to support Greece in a war with Turkey.

Macron accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of “not respecting his promises” in Berlin, saying that “at this very moment” Turkish ships were taking Syrian Islamist mercenaries to Libya. “We have seen in recent days Turkish vessels arriving on Libyan soil … in violation of explicit engagements taken by President Erdogan at the Berlin conference,” Macron said. He added, “This threatens the security of all residents of Europe and the Sahel.”

Macron, who has backed warlord Khalifa Haftar in the civil war provoked by the 2011 NATO war in Libya, said he “condemns with the greatest firmness the recent accord” between Turkey and Haftar’s main rival, Fayez al-Serraj’s Government of National Accord (GNA).

During the Macron-Mitsotakis conference, anonymous intelligence officials told French media that Rafale jets flying from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle had detected Turkish ships transporting heavy armored vehicles and mercenaries into Libya’s capital of Tripoli, held by the GNA. They also alleged that the ships transporting the troops and hardware were escorted by one of several Turkish frigates cruising in Libyan waters.

Macron maintained a hypocritical and self-interested silence on French-backed Egyptian and United Arab Emirates (UAE) weapons shipments to France’s Libyan proxy, Haftar. “The position of Paris remains totally inflexible,” Le Monde wrote. “Marshal Haftar, who more or less controls most of Libya’s territory, must be taken into account and his demands—disbanding Islamist ‘militias’, giving more oil revenue to the eastern Libyan region of Cyrenaica—are not negotiable.”

Macron also announced a “strategic security partnership” between France and Greece and declared that he “condemns the intrusions and provocations of Turkey” in Greek airspace and waters. France will rotate its warships through the eastern Mediterranean to ensure that at least one French frigate is in the area at all times. The purpose of the stepped-up French naval presence, Macron added, is “to fully ensure the security of a region that is strategic for Europe.”

Mitsotakis hailed the deal with France, saying: “Greece and France are pursuing a new framework of strategic defense.” Details of the Franco-Greek military alliance are to be announced in coming weeks. However, it appears French warships will likely patrol gas-rich waters off Cyprus, where the Greek Cypriot government has given French energy giant Total exploration rights.

While Mitsotakis called the French warships “guarantors of peace” in the Aegean, it is clear that the danger of military conflict between major NATO allies is very real. Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos said his staff is “examining all scenarios, even that of military engagement” with Turkish forces at flashpoints like the Aegean Sea or Cyprus.

Turkish officials responded by denouncing the French intervention in the eastern Mediterranean. “If France wants to contribute to the implementation of decisions taken at the [Berlin] Conference, it should first stop supporting Haftar,” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy declared in a statement. “The main party responsible for all Libya’s problems since the beginning of the 2011 crisis is France,” Aksoy added, noting that France “unconditionally supports Haftar to have its say over the natural resources in Libya.”

NATO’s 2011 war against Libya launched a bloody scramble for profits and strategic advantage in the region that has had disastrous consequences. After the Berlin conference, the imperialist powers are again recklessly intensifying their military intervention. As France, Russia, Egypt, and the UAE intervene to back Haftar in Libya while Italy, Turkey and Qatar back Serraj, the danger of a major regional war over Libya or the eastern Mediterranean is ever greater.

The scramble for Africa and the Mediterranean is intensifying deep and explosive divisions among the major NATO imperialist powers. Last year, France withdrew its ambassador to Italy as tensions mounted between Paris and Rome over Libya.

While Washington has not taken a public position on Greece or Libya, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo signed deals last October to build major new US military bases in Greece, saying Washington needs them “to help secure the eastern Mediterranean.” White House spokesman Judd Deere claimed that tensions between NATO powers forced Trump to call Erdogan on Monday. During the call, Trump reportedly stressed the “importance of Turkey and Greece resolving their differences in the east Mediterranean.”

Faced with the prospect of US and French military build-ups in Greece, sections of the Turkish bourgeoisie close to Erdogan are calling for closer ties with Berlin to counteract Paris.

The pro-government Daily Sabah call for an outreach to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who it said needs close cooperation with Turkey to power German industry and keep Middle Eastern refugees from reaching Europe. “Let’s give credit where credit is due: Merkel’s foreign policy is far more reasonable than French President Emmanuel Macron’s approach,” it stated, adding, “Merkel knows that the US abdication of its global responsibilities compels Europeans to take care of themselves and, by extension, to work with Erdoğan’s Turkey.”

It concluded, “To improve Germany’s relations with Turkey and keep the upper hand in Libya, Merkel needs to overcome two obstacles: French and Greek adventurism. Macron undermines Libyan peace and stability by throwing his weight behind Haftar … Germany has to stop France and Greece. Let’s see if Merkel will manage to wrap up her political career by completing this urgent mission.”

As imperialist wars spread across the Middle East and Africa, Macron is pursuing a reckless policy in defense of French imperialist interests. On the one hand, he is continuing neo-colonial wars and intervention in Mali and the broader Sahel, south of Libya, supposedly to fight Islamist militias. At the same time, he is bidding to obtain for French oil firm Total a lion’s share of Libyan oil, should Haftar conquer the country, and of eastern Mediterranean gas via deals with the Greek Cypriot government.

This poses a growing risk of an outright military confrontation with Turkey, as Macron is launching an alliance with Greece amid explosive Greek-Turkish tensions. Britain’s Guardian newspaper wrote that, “Friction between the two neighbours has not been so acute since the invasion of Cyprus in 1974” by Turkey, which led to war with Greece. It added that, for Mitsotakis, “hostile relations with Turkey have eclipsed all other issues on the agenda of his near seven-month-old government.”

While he claimed the war danger is “slim, not least because it would be too much of a lose-lose situation,” University of Piraeus Professor Aristotle Tziampiris told the Guardian that “the chances of a [hot] incident, by design or accident, are very real and that is what is worrying us all.”

Birds of northern South Africa, video

This 27 January 2020 video says about itself:

This is a continuation of the series: birds of northern South Africa.

In this series of short videos, we focussed on bird species with a distribution more or less limited to the eastern part of the country. We included also some shots of nesting and feeding birds which can also be found elsewhere.

December 2019 was very wet with torrential rains during several days. Nature turned very green with bush flowers we did not see previously in December. Images were shot in Kruger National Park and in the National Parks of Kwazulu Natal.

Identification to the best of our knowledge! feel free to correct.

The video also shows some mammals of these areas.

French workers not giving up

This 31 January 2020 video says about itself:

France’s Anti-Neoliberal Protesters Get Their Second Wind

The strikers protesting President Macron’s pension reform are expanding their target to the whole neoliberal system. They’re gathering their forces for a new wave of opposition, says Le Monde Diplomatique‘s Renaud Lambert.

ANGER erupted after the French government used special powers to push unpopular pension reforms through parliament without debate on Saturday. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced that he was cutting short the debate in the National Assembly to cries of disapproval from the opposition, who he said had held up the pension Bill by tabling thousands of amendments in a bid to delay its progress: here.

Great blue heron reflected in Georgia, USA

This video from the USA says about itself:

Reflections Of A Great Blue Heron – Jan. 30, 2020

The still waters of Skidaway Island, Georgia, provide a clear reflection of this Great Blue Heron as it takes wing.

‘Corporations killed London Grenfell fire disaster victims’

This 15 June 2017 Channel 4 TV video from England says about itself:

Musician Akala: People died in London fire ‘because they were poor’

Jon Snow spoke to the MOBO award-winning musician and writer Akala and local resident Joe Delaney about their response to the fire at Grenfell Tower in west London.

Akala told Jon Snow:

“The people who died and lost their homes, this happened to them because they are poor.

“We are in one of the richest spaces not just in London, but in the world.

“Repeated requests were ignored.

“There is no way rich people live in a building without adequate fire safety.

“Everyone I spoke to who was out there couldn’t hear alarms, there was no sprinkler system”

By Marcus Barnett in Britain:

Friday, January 31, 2020

Firms told their greed killed fire’s 72 victims

CORPORATIONS that refurbished Grenfell Tower are responsible for the deaths of its residents “as sure as if they had taken careful aim with a gun and pulled the trigger,” the inquiry heard yesterday.

Acting on behalf of a group of Grenfell families, Sam Stein QC said companies “killed” the flat-block’s 72 residents when they “promoted their unsuitable, dangerous products in pursuit of money and a place within the market.”

He listed the names of residents who died in the blaze, including the Choucair family, of whom six perished, and Logan Gomes, an unborn baby who died of smoke poisoning while in his mother’s womb.

Witnesses from the firms involved in supplying the flammable materials were also accused by Grenfell families of trying to “sabotage” the inquiry, after they said they would stay silent unless they are guaranteed immunity from prosecution.

Stephanie Barwise QC, for another group of victims and survivors, told the hearing: “The timing of this application, if it was going to be made, should have been made many months ago.

“It gives the appearance of sabotaging this inquiry.”

Michael Mansfield QC, also for victims, has called the timing of the bid for immunity “highly reprehensible and highly questionable.”

See also here.

Firms responsible for covering Grenfell in flammable cladding demand immunity from prosecution: here.

Why so many beetle species?

This 30 January 2020 video says about itself:

Why Are There So Many Beetles?

Beetles are the most diverse group of complex organisms on Earth, making up over 20% of all named animal species. One in five species on this planet is…a beetle. How did one group of organisms get THAT massive?

Hosted by: Olivia Gordon

Dutch government lies on Afghan war

This 10 December 2019 video from the USA says about itself:

Saagar Enjeti: Investigate Obama, Bush for Afghan lies

Saagar Enjeti calls out the political establishment for overlooking
the Washington Post‘s revelations on the origins of the Afghanistan War.

Translated from Dutch NOS radio, 31 January 2020:

The Dutch parliament was misinformed at the time about the progress of the Kunduz police training mission in Afghanistan. The developments were depicted too brightly and positively in order not to lose the political support for the mission.

Researchers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs come to that conclusion. Ministers Blok (Foreign Affairs) and Bijleveld (Defense), among others, described the conclusions as “serious” in a letter to the House of Representatives. …

The mission was from 2011 to 2013 in the Afghan Kunduz province. Dutch soldiers trained local police officers there. From the outset, political support was a problem. …

There was then a minority right-wing government, a coalition of the VVD and CDA parties.

With difficulty, the government received support from opposition parties. They set strict conditions – in particular GroenLinks and the ChristenUnie. Eg, it could only be called a “training mission” and not a “fighting mission”.

Put under pressure

The researchers now conclude that those involved in the mission “experienced pressure to present a more positive image than there really was”. A too favourable picture of the number of trained Afghans was presented; already dropped out students still counted, others were counted twice. Certificates were also issued incorrectly.

Strengthening the rule of law on the spot was also less successful than the House was told.