Greek police racism against Iranian British woman

By Ben Cowles in Britain:

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

British woman mistaken for refugee abused by Greek cops

A BRITISH woman was “still shaking” days after she and her family were harassed and subjected to racist abuse by Greek police officers who mistook them for refugees.

Tifa Givian, who left Iran 30 years ago and now lives in Greece, says she, her husband and their baby son were asked for documents at the port in Lesbos when they passed through last weekend.

Detailing the racist incident in a Facebook post yesterday, Ms Givian said the officers did not believe she was British and told her to “stand with the rest of your people, the refugees.”

“I asked why we’d been stopped,” Ms Givian said. “They told me to shut my mouth. I asked if I should put down my baby’s changing bag. They told me to shut my mouth.”

Five police officers rooted through the family’s bags, tossing their personal belongings aside, while her husband was undergoing a body search.

“They took out my underwear one by one, held it up, spoke in Greek and laughed,” Ms Givian said. “They took out my sanitary pads and laughed.

“They checked my baby’s clothes, his toys, his books, his nappies.

“Again, I was asked about my nationality. I told them I have a British passport. They laughed and mimicked my British accent.

“I breastfed my baby in the little hut they had put us in to calm him down. They stared at my breasts, pointed and laughed.

“This was three days ago. I don’t remember everything that was said, but what I wrote above I wish I could forget. It’s been three days and I’m still shaking every time I think about it.

“Our IDs, our legitimate work, our baby, our money, nothing mattered. The colour of our skin meant we had to be stopped and harassed.”

Greece’s right-wing government sent in riot police on Lesbos on Tuesday to crush peaceful migrant and refugee protests against the horrific conditions in Moria camp, where close to 19,000 people live in a facility built for fewer than 3,000.

The UN agency for refugees and other rights organisations have repeatedly called on the Greek government to expedite its plan to move people stuck in the camp to the mainland and to improve conditions for asylum-seekers in the country.

Monkeys’ and apes’ stone tools

This 27 January 2020 video says about itself:

Monkeys and Apes Have Entered The Stone Age

The stone age marked a turning point in human evolution, playing a vital part in our species’ development and making way for our journey in technology. So when I heard that several species of monkeys and apes have officially entered their own stone age, I was very excited.

Tool use in animals is always fascinating, and stone tool use is even more incredible. In this video, I wanted to explore what animals use tools, what primate archaeology can tell us about these primates (capuchins, macaques and chimpanzees) and where these animals might be headed now they’re in their own stone ages.

‘Center’ right-extreme right coalition in Thuringia, Germany

This 28 September 2017 video says about itself:

German Holocaust survivor gives view on the rise of AfD | DW English

Nonagenarian holocaust survivor Horst Selbiger recalls his childhood in Nazi Germany. He sees the rise of the AfD as a continuation of the Nazi tradition.

Translated from Dutch NOS TV today:

For the first time, the AfD played a decisive role in the designation of the prime minister in a German state. Thanks in part to the right-wing … party, Thomas Kemmerich (54) of the [pro-Big Business] liberal FDP was surprisingly elected Prime Minister of the State of Thuringia.

The AFD in Thuringia, led by Björn Höcke, is even more openly neofascist than elsewhere in Germany.

He got elected with 45 votes in favour and 44 against, a narrow majority of parliamentarians.

The FDP received only 5 percent of the vote in the state elections, but now delivers the prime minister thanks to the support of the CDU and the AfD. Until now, other parties have refused to rely on support from the AfD.

Der Spiegel therefore speaks of a “political earthquake”, Die Welt of a “sensation in Thuringia”.

Since 2014, the state has, with Bodo Ramelow (63), a prime minister of the socialist party Die Linke. That party also became the largest in last year’s state elections and it was expected that the popular Ramelow would be re-elected. In 2014, he became the first German state prime minister of Die Linke, the successor to the East German Communist Party.

Taboo break

According to correspondent Judith van de Hulsbeek, the choice of Kemmerich is striking in several ways. “In the first place, the choice is seen as a taboo break, because the AfD has played a decisive role. That party is normally ignored by the other parties. But now the CDU has chosen not to support the candidate of Die Linke, but to vote for the candidate who is also supported by the AfD, thereby breaking the isolation policy and giving indirect power to the AfD, many critics say.”

According to Van de Hulsbeek, the question is how the coalition in Berlin responds to developments in Thuringia. “The CDU is in the national coalition together with the Social Democratic SPD. The SPD is certainly not happy that the CDU in Thuringia has chosen to take the AfD side.”

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) spoke firmly on Twitter about the events in Thuringia. “All democrats must act together against the AfD. Those who do not understand this have learned nothing from our history.”

Sich von Rechtsextremen zum Ministerpräsidenten wählen zu lassen, ist komplett verantwortungslos. Gegen die AfD müssen alle Demokraten geschlossen zusammenstehen. Wer das nicht versteht, hat aus unserer Geschichte nichts gelernt. #Thüringen

— Heiko Maas 🇪🇺 (@HeikoMaas) February 5, 2020

The AfD also had a candidate in Thuringia, but he got 0 votes in the third round of voting. All AfD people voted for Kemmerich. The CDU chose not to have a candidate. That way, it happened that the small FDP delivers the prime minister in Thuringia. …

Given the popularity of Die Linke in Thuringia, the choice for Kemmerich is striking. In the state elections last October, Die Linke became the largest party in a German state for the first time. The party is not that big in any other state.

If you play this clip backwards you get an idea of what the liberal FDP and christiandemocrat CDU just did in Thuringia #vonpapen #Thueringen https://t.co/cLv5NZPmMx

— Joshua Livestro (@JoshuaLivestro) February 5, 2020

PROTESTS were sparked in Germany’s eastern state of Thuringia today after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) joined forces with two conservative parties in the state parliament to oust incumbent Die Linke president Bodo Ramelow: here.

Last week’s decision of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) in the federal state of Thuringia to collaborate with the extreme right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the selection of a governor exposes the filthy state of German politics. Seventy-five years after the collapse of the Third Reich, a party led by apologists for Hitler and out-and-out Nazis is accepted by the ruling elite as a legitimate political partner: here.

Snowy winter birds in Texas, USA

This video from the USA says about itself:

Snow In West Texas! Pine Siskins And Dark-eyed Juncos Battle It Out At Feeders – Feb. 5, 2020

Here’s something we don’t see everyday—snow at the West Texas feeders! This white winter blanket has brought droves of Pine Siskins and Dark-eyed Juncos to feast on an easy meal in front of the cam.

London Greenpeace action against BP polluters

From daily The Morning Star in Britain:

Greenpeace blockades BP on boss’s first day

Activists place solar panels and oil barrels outside firm’s central London HQ

GREENPEACE activists blocked BP’s headquarters with solar panels and oil barrels today to mark the first day in the job of the oil giant’s new boss.

The campaigners took along 500 solar panels to the central-London building early this morning as Bernard Looney prepared to take up his new role as chief executive.

Some protesters sat underneath the panels after they were prevented from installing them on the pavements and roads near the offices in St James’s Square.

Others locked themselves to oil barrels bearing the BP logo in front of the building’s doors to prevent entry.

Protester Richard George said: “This morning, police managed to block our solar installation — but BP are trying to block the transition to clean energy on a global scale.

“Their lobbyists have the ear of governments around the world, they spend millions blocking action to fix the climate emergency and billions on drilling for more oil and gas to make it worse.

“Floods, droughts, forest fires and hurricanes all over the globe start right here, with the plans made in BP’s headquarters.

“Their new CEO needs to accept that if BP wants to keep trading in the 21st century, they need to switch to 100 per cent renewable energy.

“We’re not going to settle for a green-themed rebrand, solar panels on their petrol stations or wind turbines on their oil rigs.

“The only realistic response to the climate emergency is to cut emissions. BP need to stop wasting billions drilling for more oil and gas that we simply can’t burn and produce a plan to get out of the oil business entirely.”

New Triassic thalattosaur species discovery in Alaska

This video says about itself:

A walk along the beach in the spring of 2011 led to the discovery of what might be a new species of ancient marine reptile. In May 2011, the earth sciences team from the University of Alaska Museum of the North excavated the thalattosaur fossil and brought it back to the museum to study. This is the story of that adventure and the quest to learn more about the fossil.

From the University of Alaska Fairbanks:

New thalattosaur species discovered in Southeast Alaska

Gunakadeit joseeae is the most complete thalattosaur ever found in North America

February 4, 2020

Scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have identified a new species of thalattosaur, a marine reptile that lived more than 200 million years ago.

The new species, Gunakadeit joseeae, is the most complete thalattosaur ever found in North America and has given paleontologists new insights about the thalattosaurs’ family tree, according to a paper published today in the journal Scientific Reports. Scientists found the fossil in Southeast Alaska in 2011.

Thalattosaurs were marine reptiles that lived more than 200 million years ago, during the mid to late Triassic Period, when their distant relatives — dinosaurs — were first emerging. They grew to lengths of up to 3-4 meters and lived in equatorial oceans worldwide until they died out near the end of the Triassic.

“When you find a new species, one of the things you want to do is tell people where you think it fits in the family tree,” said Patrick Druckenmiller, the paper’s lead author and director and earth sciences curator at the University of Alaska Museum of the North. “We decided to start from scratch on the family tree.”

Prior to the discovery of Gunakadeit joseeae, it had been two decades since scientists had thoroughly updated thalattosaur interrelationships, Druckenmiller said. The process of re-examining a prehistoric animal’s family tree involves analyzing dozens and dozens of detailed anatomical features from fossil specimens worldwide, then using computers to analyze the information to see how the different species could be related.

Druckenmiller said he and collaborator Neil Kelley from Vanderbilt University were surprised when they identified where Gunakadeit joseeae landed.

“It was so specialized and weird, we thought it might be out at the furthest branches of the tree,” he said. Instead, it’s a relatively primitive type of thalattosaur that survived late into the existence of the group.

“Thalattosaurs were among the first groups of land-dwelling reptiles to readapt to life in the ocean,” Kelley said. “They thrived for tens of millions of years, but their fossils are relatively rare so this new specimen helps fill an important gap in the story of their evolution and eventual extinction.”

That the fossil was found at all is remarkable. It was located in rocks in the intertidal zone. The site is normally underwater all but a few days a year. In Southeast Alaska, when extreme low tides hit, people head to the beaches to explore. That’s exactly what Jim Baichtal, a geologist with the U.S. Forest Service’s Tongass National Forest, was doing on May 18, 2011, when low tides of -3.7 feet were predicted.

He and a few colleagues, including Gene Primaky, the office’s information technology professional, headed out to the Keku Islands near the village of Kake to look for fossils. Primaky saw something odd on a rocky outcrop and called over Baichtal, “Hey Jim! What is this?” Baichtal immediately recognized it as a fossilized intact skeleton. He snapped a photo with his phone and sent it to Druckenmiller.

A month later, the tides were forecasted to be almost that low, -3.1 feet, for two days. It was the last chance they would have to remove the fossil during daylight hours for nearly a year, so they had to move fast. The team had just four hours each day to work before the tide came in and submerged the fossil.

“We rock-sawed like crazy and managed to pull it out, but just barely,” Druckenmiller said. “The water was lapping at the edge of the site.”

Once the sample was back at the UA Museum of the North, a fossil preparation specialist worked in two-week stints over the course of several years to get the fossil cleaned up and ready for study.

When they saw the fossil’s skull, they could tell right away that it was something new because of its extremely pointed snout, which was likely an adaptation for the shallow marine environment where it lived.

“It was probably poking its pointy schnoz into cracks and crevices in coral reefs and feeding on soft-bodied critters,” Druckenmiller said. Its specialization may have been what ultimately led to its extinction. “We think these animals were highly specialized to feed in the shallow water environments, but when the sea levels dropped and food sources changed, they had nowhere to go.”

Once the fossil was identified as a new species, it needed a name. To honor the local culture and history, elders in Kake and representatives of Sealaska Corp. agreed the Tlingit name “Gunakadeit” would be appropriate. Gunakadeit is a sea monster of Tlingit legend that brings good fortune to those who see it. The second part of the new animal’s name, joseeae, recognizes Primaky’s mother, Joseé Michelle DeWaelheyns.

British army endangers Belize rainforests

This March 2019 video is called BELIZE – JUNGLE WALK.

By Bethany Rielly in Britain:

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

‘Colonial legacy’ of British army lives on in Belize

Soldiers are free to rehearse jungle warfare in the Central American country’s rainforests, one of the world’s most biodiverse areas

THE British army is using one of the world’s most biodiverse countries as a military training ground and paying nothing for it, it was revealed yesterday.

An audit by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), unearthed by Declassified UK, shows that soldiers are free to rehearse jungle warfare across a sixth of Belize, including in protected forests.

The Central American country, roughly the size of Wales, is home to critically endangered species and ancient Mayan ruins. Shockingly, the British army does not pay a penny to the former colony for use of the land.

The MoD’s audit, published in 2017, found that its activities, which include detonating grenades and firing live ammunition, poses a risk to nature as well as archaeological sites. It showed that the army trains in the Rio Bravo conservation area, a protected forest that is home to over 400 species of birds and the highest density of jaguars in the country.

The MoD told Declassified UK that its activities contributed to the local economy through the creation of jobs. However, the investigative website pointed out that the ministry’s own audit disproves this claim: the army’s presence only contributes £2.7 million to the economy, equivalent to 0.23 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.

The audit also recognises the risk to Belize’s Mayan heritage sites as a result of shooting – and vandalism – by soldiers.

Belize expert and geography professor at Ohio State University Joel Wainwright said that the similarities between the British military’s exploitation of Belize’s forests in the past and now is striking.

“The claiming and plunder of Belize’s forests was the foundation of the British colonial project, so the legacy of colonial rule is unmistakable”, he said.

South American marsupial evolution

This 4 February 2020 video says about itself:

Throughout the Cenozoic Era — the era we’re in now — marsupials and their metatherian relatives flourished all over South America, filling all kinds of ecological niches and radiating into forms that still thrive on other continents.

Trump’s far-right State of the Union speech

This 5 February 2020 video from the USA says about itself:

Trump‘s State of The Union Address Fact Checked by TYT

TYT’s play by play of Trump‘s 2020 State of the Union address. Ana Kasparian, John Iadarola, and Jayar Jackson discuss on The Young Turks coverage of Trump’s State of the Union.

By Andre Damon in the USA:

Trump delivers right-wing tirade against socialism in State of the Union address

5 February 2020

US President Donald Trump delivered a right-wing tirade in his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, ranting against socialism and denouncing his political opponents.

Trump feels emboldened by the failure of the Democrats’ impeachment efforts, which are expected to conclude with a vote in the Senate for acquittal today. He utilized the occasion to redouble his attacks on socialism, escalate his attacks on immigrants, and present himself as the force responsible for a supposed revival of the American economy.

The annual State of the Union address has long been an exercise in delusion and fraud, but Trump’s remarks yesterday raised this ritualistic exercise to new heights. Amidst an extreme crisis of the entire political system, unending wars that threaten to develop into a global conflict, unprecedented levels of social inequality, and growing mass popular opposition, Trump attempted to paint a picture of hope, success, and optimism—all flowing from the beneficence of the president.

“In just three short years,” Trump declared, “we have shattered the mentality of American decline and we have rejected the downsizing of America’s destiny. We have totally rejected the downsizing,” he said. “We are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago and we are never going back.”

The real content of the “recovery” Trump boasted of was his declaration that “United States stock markets have soared 70 percent.”

Trump, following on Obama, has overseen a further massive redistribution of wealth from the working class to the rich, with trillions funnelled into the stock markets through corporate tax cuts and “quantitative easing” from the Federal Reserve.

The supposed rosy state of the economy, however, was belied by Trump’s attacks on socialism—that is mass opposition to social inequality and exploitation—which he presented as the gravest threat to the United States and the world.

“Socialism destroys nations,” Trump declared. He added, “One hundred thirty-two lawmakers in this room have endorsed legislation to impose a socialist takeover of our healthcare system… To those watching at home tonight, I want you to know: We will never let socialism destroy American healthcare!”

He further denounced the “radical left” for wanting to “provide unlimited free healthcare” for immigrants. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who stood behind Trump, was quick to disassociate the Democrats from this position by declaring “not true.”

The speech was full of demagogic appeals to Trump’s right-wing base, including attacks on immigrants and “sanctuary cities”, praise for border officials who have overseen concentration camps on the US-Mexico border, and denunciations of the constitutional right to an abortion.

At one point, Trump took the unprecedented action of awarding a presidential Medal of Freedom to far-right talk-show host and demagogue Rush Limbaugh.

If Trump has successes to boast of, it is getting his far-right agenda through the Congress and the courts. He bragged about passing the USMCA trade deal with Mexico, cracking down on immigrants and massively expanding the US military.

All these policies have, in fact, passed on a bipartisan basis. One of the most significant events of the speech came when Trump hailed right-wing Venezuelan politician Juan Guaidó, who the US has recognized as the self-proclaimed “interim president” of the country.

Democrats and Republicans stood in applause for Guaidó, who was present at the speech, demonstrating the bipartisan support for US imperialist operations in Latin America and internationally.

The Democrats also cheered when Trump boasted about the murder of Iranian General Qassim Suleimani, a war crime that brought the United States to the brink of a full-scale war against Iran.

When an observer in the gallery, the father of a child killed in the Parkland shooting, booed Trump’s boasting of his support for gun rights, Pelosi glared at him and motioned for him to be ejected.

Since Trump came to office three years ago, the Democrats have worked to channel mass opposition to the reactionary and fascistic administration behind their own conflicts with Trump, centered on issues of foreign policy. This has culminated in the impeachment, which is focused on Trump’s decision to delay military aid to Ukraine in its proxy war with Russia.

The fecklessness of the Democrats’ opposition to Trump was on display in the theatrics of House Speaker Pelosi’s interactions with Trump during the speech. The media has made much of the fact that Pelosi offered to shake Trump’s hand at the beginning of the event, which he snubbed, and her ripping up of Trump’s speech afterwards.

More significant was Pelosi’s statement after the event. Accompanying a photo of the proffered handshake, Pelosi wrote: “Democrats will never stop extending the hand of friendship to get the job done… We will work to find common ground where we can.” In other words, we will work with Trump on key aspects of ruling-class policy but will oppose him on what we consider critical to the interests of American imperialism.

As for the 10-minute official rebuttal from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, it was focused mainly on a tribute to Michigan residents for personally trying to fix the state’s notoriously poor roads with “a shovel and a bucket of dirt.”

It is one thing, however, for Trump to run circles around the Democratic Party. It is quite another to face down real popular opposition. While the Democratic Party’s impeachment drive is in shambles, social opposition is growing.

THE BIGGEST WHOPPERS FROM THE STATE OF THE UNION Even on message, the president’s State of the Union speech was all over the place, filled with exaggerations, misrepresentations and outright lies. He boasted about achievements in promoting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, even though his plan makes fighting between them even more likely. He claimed he is protecting preexisting conditions in health care, even though he has repeatedly tried to kill the Affordable Care Act. He bragged about the economy, even though its success has been in spite of his policies rather than because of them. [HuffPost]

PARKLAND VICTIM’S DAD BOOTED FROM STATE OF THE UNION Gun control activist Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime was killed in the Parkland, Florida, school massacre, was removed from the House chamber for shouting as Trump spoke in favor of guns during his State of the Union address. [HuffPost]

OCASIO-CORTEZ BLASTS TRUMP’S MEDAL FOR ‘VIRULENT RACIST’ Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) ripped into President Donald Trump for honoring Rush Limbaugh with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during the State of the Union address. She said awarding the medal to a racist and xenophobe was “truly nauseating” and justified her decision to skip the event. [HuffPost]

Whale, walrus, and seal calls in the Arctic

This 2016 video says about itself:

Humpback whales feeding on herring in the Unimak Pass area of the Bering Sea.

The birds are shearwaters that migrate from the Southern Hemisphere.

From the Wildlife Conservation Society:

Scientists listen to whales, walruses and seals in a changing Arctic seascape

Multi-year, year-round acoustic study in northern Bering Sea records more than 30,000 whale, walrus, and seal calls

February 3, 2020

A year-round acoustic study of marine mammals in the northern Bering Sea is providing scientists with a valuable snapshot of an Arctic world already under drastic pressure from climate change, according to WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society), Columbia University, Southall Environmental Associates, and the University of Washington.

Authors of the new study in the journal Marine Mammal Science conducted a 4-year acoustic monitoring project to determine how seasons, sea surface temperature, and sea ice influence the presence, distribution, and movements of five species of endemic Arctic marine mammals. It is the first study to conduct year-round acoustic monitoring for marine mammals off St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea.

“The data gathered during the study will serve as an important baseline for future monitoring of the effects of climate change, subsequent sea ice changes, and expected increases in shipping on the distribution of the region’s marine mammals,” said Emily Chou, WCS scientist and lead author of the study.

The scientists conducted the study between 2012 and 2016 with a focus on five species of Arctic marine mammal: bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus), beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas), walrus (Odobenus rosmarus), bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus), and ribbon seals (Histriophoca fasciata).

With the support of local indigenous hunters and fishermen, the scientists deployed archival acoustic recorders in three locations in the northern Bering Sea. “Working with local residents to deploy and retrieve equipment was an important part of our effort to keep the work as locally-based as possible,” said co-author Martin Robards.

Two of the recorders (attached to flotation devices and anchored to the seafloor with weights) were deployed off the northern shore of St. Lawrence Island, specifically near the Native villages of Savoonga and Gambell. The third recorder was placed in the Bering Strait, a 36-mile wide gap between the Russian Far East and Alaska that serves as the migratory pathway for thousands of marine mammals moving between the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean.

“Acoustic monitoring is the most effective means of determining the seasonal presence of these species in these challenging Arctic areas, given the unpredictable weather conditions and variable daylight and ice conditions,” said Brandon Southall, a co-author on the study. “It can also be used to measure variability in ocean noise from both natural and human sources, such as shipping, and how they may affect the behavior and well-being of marine mammals.”

The recorders logged more than 33,000 individual vocalizations from whales, walruses, and seals over the study period. Overall, the study supported previous scientific and traditional knowledge about the distribution of marine mammals in the northern Bering Sea with a finer-scale resolution than previously available. The data showed consistent seasonal distribution and movement patterns for most species, and analyses showed that time-of-year was the most statistically significant factor in the detection of marine mammal vocalization.

The study findings will help guide future monitoring efforts on the region’s cetacean and pinniped species and will inform conservation management decisions for acoustically sensitive marine mammals in the context of disappearing ice and projected increases in maritime traffic. Specifically, this type of work and continued monitoring at strategic locations in this Arctic area will eventually help identify trends caused by long-term changes in environmental conditions and human-related activities.

“There is no doubt that the Arctic is currently undergoing rapid and significant changes that are alarming,” said Dr. Howard Rosenbaum, Director of WCS’s Ocean Giants Program. “Our work on Arctic marine mammal populations in this region is essential to assess any forthcoming resulting shifts or changes resulting from warming Arctic conditions, and ultimately working partners and authorities to find solution to protect these iconic species and their habitats”.