I went in search of Rose-coloured Starling and with in thirty minutes, I found this adult male at Salkee
Today I was working in the Holy Vale fields and got brief views of the Hobby as it flew through. At 16.30, I was done and as there was already a Rose-coloured Starling at Lands End, Cornwall and two other individuals in the UK, I thought I’d give a quick call into Porth Hellick as dinner was goin to be ready at 17.00. Mashuq Ahmad called me while I was on Salkee Lane looking at Starlings in the fields He must of thought I was having a heart attack from the sound I was making when I saw a pink starling fly across the far side of the field towards Porth Hellick. It flew lower as if it was coming down and I lost it. Immediately as it disappeared, out of the blue, it or another Rose-coloured Starling popped up at close range on top of a Elm in front of me! Where did that come from? There is no way that’s the same bird that’s just flown towards Porth Hellick. Mush was still on the mobile and I told him that there’s possibly 2 Rose-coloured Starlings! One thing for sure, there was one showing well now and I cut Mush off. This individual flew down to join the other Starlings already feeding in the cow field before flying into the tall Elms that bordered the field. I couldn’t see a bloody thing where it was as the sun was in my eyes. I had already put the news out but I had to go as it had already gone dinner time. There was a single Sand Martin by the road when I returned to the wagon.
This the first Rose-coloured Starling that I’ve seen in May as usually they arrive in the first week of June on Scilly
I returned home, looked out the window, and there feeding with a record 25 Collard Dove for the garden, was a Turtle Dove! This was a garden tick and as I was just about to get stuck into my dinner, Robin called to say that he just had a Hobby over the airfield but put the news out as he left his mobile at home. I did that for him and I was just about to get the first mouthful down my neck, when the Swallows alarmed and the Hobby slowly flew over above the garden. The Turtle Dove was still present until almost dark when it flew into the pine belt to roost.
A new addition to the garden was this Turtle Dove
This Wood Pigeon came for a drink in the water trough just in front of my window
While Starlings, this lot is part of the 60 in the garden at the moment, are in the trough throughout the day.
Will a Rose-coloured Starling visit my garden? For now the nearest to me getting one is ‘Rosie’ the pale Starling
I had a stroll around the Garrison after dinner and had from the top, single Linnet,Robin and juvenile Song Thrush
Rock Pipit near the Steval
I observed this Fulmar fly all over the shop over St Mary’s. Here it’s making a fly by past the power station chimney.
And when I returned home, the Turtle Dove was still present until dark before flying into the pine belt to roost.
Two days ago, I made a return to Tresco in my kayak, stopping off on Samson where I took this photo from looking across the Tresco Channel, on the return home
The highlights were a Woodchat Shrike, two fields away from where I had the Red-backed Shrike two days ago at Borough Farm, a singing Wood Warbler at Pool Road and at Simpson’s Field, a dodgy Greylag Goose with a single Canada Goose.
On the South Beach there were 9 Dunlin, 8 whimbrel and including this individual, 3 Sanderling
Good numbers of Oystercatcher also feeding on the South Beach
On Samson there were up to 6 Shelduck
And the Lesser Black-backed Gulls were keeping a close eye on me
When I left St Mary’s, I was kayaking into fog off Tresco that I knew would of moved on by the time I got to the island. However, while on Samson, I could see that the fog was returning, covering parts of St Martins in the east and I had to leave earlier than I wanted to.
And the trusty kayak got me safely back to St Mary’s
It was trying it’s best to hide but I found the other Rose-coloured Starling in someones back garden
When I visited Palestine, I couldn’t help but notice that the country was all controlled by Israel. I cycled from Jericho to the Dead Sea and there I wasn’t surprised to find that it was also controlled by Israeli’s. The River Jordan, where apparently Jesus was baptised, buses arriving in there droves with people from all over the world but not a single Palestinian in sight. In this article below, it describes how Israel are goin to steal these two areas and more from the Palestinians. But Israel have for years, and what I observed while traveling in Palestine, already stolen it from them!
Based on his agreement with Gantz, Netanyahu will be able to commence West Bank annexation plans on July 1. Will the U.S. require Israel to implement the less favorable parts of Trump’s Mideast plan as well, and what are the consequences for the Palestinians?By Ian Greenhalgh -May 28, 202006https://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https://www.veteranstoday.com/2020/05/28/israeli-annexation-explained-what-is-netanyahu-planning-for-the-west-bank-and-what-does-it-mean/&layout=button_count&show_faces=false&width=105&action=like&colorscheme=light&height=21Share
_________ Haaretz Israeli Annexation Explained: What Is Netanyahu Planning for the West Bank and What Does It Mean
Based on his agreement with Gantz, Netanyahu will be able to commence West Bank annexation plans on July 1. Will the U.S. require Israel to implement the less favorable parts of Trump’s Mideast plan as well, and what are the consequences for the Palestinians?
What exactly does “annexation” mean?
In general, the term “annexation,” or “applying sovereignty,” is a declaration that territories defined as occupied under international law become an integral part of the territory of the state annexing it – especially in terms of the law, jurisdiction and administration applicable to them. This replaces the military rule (“belligerent occupation,” to give it its official title) that applies under international law to occupied territories. LISTEN: Bibi’s slash-and-burn strategy puts Israel on trial
This usually refers to a unilateral step taken by the occupying power, not a step reached through negotiation and peace agreements with the occupied party. For example, this is how the State of Israel annexed the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem – through unilateral moves accompanied by government decisions and Knesset legislation.
The vast majority of the international community never recognized these moves, until the current U.S. administration headed by President Donald Trump changed American policy on the issue and recognized Israeli sovereignty in both the Golan Heights and Jerusalem. However, Trump stressed that this recognition did not preclude future negotiations over the fate of these territories.
Now Netanyahu wants to declare – with U.S. backing – Israeli sovereignty over all of the Jewish settlements established in the West Bank since 1967, including the Jordan Valley. He has stated his intention to do this several times over the past three election campaigns. Initially, he focused on annexing the Jordan Valley, but later began to promise annexation of all the settlements in the West Bank, in accordance with the Trump Mideast Plan released in late January.
Israel’s annexation plans Credit: Reuters
What areas can be annexed under the Trump plan?
On paper, the Trump plan is based on the two-state solution and sketches out a distant future in which there will be a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel. But in terms of the territory on which this Palestinian state would be established, it proposes the most limited and noncontiguous territory ever offered to the Palestinians by the international community. The administration’s guiding principle, according to Trump, is that “no Palestinians or Israelis will be uprooted from their homes.” As a result, the map accompanying the plan allows Israel to annex all the existing settlements, in addition to the areas surrounding them and access roads.
According to the U.S. administration, Israel would be annexing around 30 percent of the West Bank. However, based on the maps presented by Netanyahu and the administration, experts estimate it would actually be 20 percent. This is in addition to the “exchange of territories and populations” that appear in the plan in the Negev and Galilee area known as The Triangle. However, it isn’t clear if these will remain in the plan after they were so widely condemned in January.
It’s important to remember that a final, detailed map has yet to be published. The administration set up a joint Israeli-American committee, which has been working since the plan’s release to draw more precise borders. According to senior U.S. officials, that map is almost ready.
In addition, ahead of the publication of the Trump plan, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced last year that the United States no longer defines the settlements as necessarily violating international law, and that Israel is free to define their legal status and the United States would recognize it.
Is annexation conditioned on Israeli acceptance of the whole plan, including a Palestinian state?
According to the Trump plan itself and senior U.S. officials, including Pompeo, Israeli annexation is dependent on acceptance of the entire plan, especially its agreement to conduct direct negotiations with the Palestinians for at least four years. During this period, Israel is asked to freeze all construction and demolitions in the territory earmarked for the Palestinian state, as well as possibly in other areas. The plan also includes the establishment of a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem neighborhoods and the release of Palestinian prisoners. All these clauses are vehemently opposed by the settler leadership, which sees the plan as a significant compromise on its “Greater Israel” vision. It is deliberating whether to support annexation in the hope that the rest will never come to fruition. The plan also includes a long list of conditions the Palestinians must fulfill. As U.S. Ambassador David Friedman put it, there would only be a Palestinian state “when the Palestinians become Canadians.”
However, while the U.S. administration has repeatedly stressed that Israel must accept the entire plan in order to annex, the committee drawing up the borders for annexation has already done a lot of work. In other words, practically speaking, both Israel and the United States are preparing to carry out a unilateral annexation. The argument is that since these territories will be Israeli in the future anyway according to Trump’s plan, and the Palestinians aren’t interested in negotiations, there is no impediment to annexing the territories in advance.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivering joint remarks on the Trump Middle East peace plan proposal in the White House, Washington, January 28, 2020.Credit: Joshua Roberts/REUTERS
The administration has expressed itself in conflicting voices on this issue, though. Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, who led the team that formulated the plan, tends to issue calming messages to the Arab world – to the effect that the plan is one piece. But Friedman issues reassuring messages to the Israeli right that annexation can take place separately.
When will it happen?
The Americans said recently that they’re prepared for annexation “within weeks.” Under the coalition agreement between Likud and Kahol Lavan, on July 1 – meaning in a month’s time – Netanyahu will be able to “bring the agreement reached with the United States on the issue of applying sovereignty to a debate in the security cabinet and the full cabinet, and for the approval of the cabinet and/or the Knesset.” On Monday, Netanyahu told a meeting of Likud’s Knesset faction, in response to an MK’s question, that “the target date for beginning annexation is July 1, and we don’t intend to change it.” He added that “this is an opportunity that can’t be missed.”
On the other hand, in all the coalition agreements, the substance of the exact agreement to be submitted for cabinet approval is deliberately vague. The coalition partners are totally subordinate to whatever agreement Netanyahu reaches with the U.S. administration, whether it involves annexation, delaying annexation, or partial or gradual annexation. In other words, it still isn’t clear how Netanyahu plans to present and implement the process. A Palestinian demonstrator holding a poster decrying U.S. President Donald Trump in the Jordan Valley, West Bank, February 25, 2020.
A Palestinian demonstrator holding a poster decrying U.S. President Donald Trump in the Jordan Valley, West Bank, February 25, 2020.Credit: Majdi Mohammed/AP
What might the consequences be of annexation in the West Bank?
Since 1967, Israel has taken many actions in the West Bank that are considered “creeping annexation” or “de facto annexation” – for example, the expansion of settlements and outposts, and their connection to Israel by infrastructures, along with restrictions on and demolition of Palestinian construction in Area C (the 60 percent of the West Bank under Israeli military control). The move under discussion would provide a legal framework for the reality on the ground, making it “de jure,” but would also deepen it.
First and foremost, it would be possible to replace the military administration with Israeli law and administration. In principle, today the army is the ultimate legal authority in the occupied territories, answering to the Defense Ministry. This is partially done through laws that existed in the area before the Israeli occupation. However, as part of the same “creeping annexation,” Israeli law basically already applies to the settlers themselves (but not to Palestinians living in the same areas). It’s possible that Israeli annexation would provide a legal basis for the existing situation, in which there are separate legal systems for Israelis and Palestinians, but it could also include applying Israeli law to many areas where Palestinians now live. Their number would depend on the final map.
The latter scenario raises some tough questions about these Palestinians’ status. Would Israel grant them citizenship? There could also be consequences for the Palestinian owners of annexed lands, who could lose their private property. According to Shaul Arieli, this would be 23 percent of the annexed land. one-two-states banner
Another issue is the Basic Law on Referendums, under which yielding land that is subject to Israeli law would require a Knesset majority of 80 lawmakers, or a public referendum. Until now, the West Bank wasn’t included in that law as Israeli law doesn’t officially apply there. Applying Israeli law to all or parts of the West bank would make it very difficult to make any future concessions as part of peace agreements, should there ever be any.
For these and other reasons, the left is warning that annexation would essentially bury the two-state solution and lead to a single state that will either endanger the Jewish identity of the State of Israel or will officially be an apartheid regime, with a separate and discriminatory legal system for Palestinians.
How has the world responded to possible Israeli annexation?
When Trump’s plan was released, most of the world at first supported in principle the notion of bring the two sides back to the negotiating table. But shortly afterward, when Israeli declarations regarding annexation gained steam, most countries expressed strong opposition to any unilateral move – and this is the prevailing line of thought in the international arena at the moment. Most countries have noted that unilateral Israeli annexation would be a violation of international law and would be the end of the two-state solution and with it the prospect of Palestinian national self-determination.
A map showing the Jordan Valley annexation plan.Credit: Shaul Arieli
The European Union is leading the global opposition on this issue, along with Jordan, which would suffer concrete damage from the annexation of the Jordan Valley. Most countries in the Muslim world are also standing by Jordan and the Palestinians. Earlier this month, after the new Israeli government was formed, EU member states started discussing possible sanctions against Israel in the event that it annexes the settlements.
Would Europe really impose sanctions on Israel?
Like every foreign policy decision by the EU, most official sanctions on Israel would require a unanimous consensus among member nations. In recent years, the EU hasn’t managed to reach consensus on almost anything, including the issue of Israel and the Palestinians. Countries like Hungary and Austria, which are considered close to the Netanyahu government, have repeatedly blocked anti-Netanyahu resolutions and decisions.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaking during a press conference in Budapest, January 9, 2020.Credit: AFP
But there are punitive steps that don’t require such a consensus – first and foremost kicking Israel out of trade agreements, grants or cooperative ventures. These are the purview of the European Commission, not the EU foreign ministers. There are several agreements now on the agenda in the realms of research and education that could deprive Israel of academic and scientific resources if it is denied participation, even if not officially as a sanction. Other sanctions could include intensifying the settlement differentiation policy, for example by marking products manufactured in the settlements. In addition, each EU country can decide to take its own steps against Israel without consulting other countries.
However, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has stressed repeatedly that the path to sanctions has a long way to go. The wheels in Brussels move slowly and diplomatically, out of a belief that it is important to keep the channels to Jerusalem open and preserve whatever influence is possible.
What does Kahol Lavan have to say about all this?
As noted, Kahol Lavan signed the agreement that allows Netanyahu to submit an annexation plan for cabinet or Knesset approval. It has also committed not to interfere with any related legislative processes in Knesset committees. In recent days, party Chairman Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi have been careful to express support for the Trump plan in its entirety, and not for unilateral Israeli annexation steps divorced from the plan’s other components.
AUTHOR DETAILSIan GreenhalghIan Greenhalgh is a photographer and historian with a particular interest in military history and the real causes of conflicts.
His studies in history and background in the media industry have given him a keen insight into the use of mass media as a creator of conflict in the modern world.
His favored areas of study include state-sponsored terrorism, media manufactured reality and the role of intelligence services in manipulation of populations and the perception of events.iangreenhalgh1@sky.com
I first picked up this Honey Buzzard from Tresco over Bryher and when it did visit the former island, unfortunly it was always distant.
Day off, stunning day and and just after 12, I was kayaking to, well at first I had no idea, but ended on the south beach on Tresco. I flushed 21 Dunlin and 17 Ringed Plover and a Hobby fllew over as I dragged the kayak through the sand. At the Abbey Pool, the only birds of note were a pair of Pochard with 5 ducklings. Ideal! The Great Pool didn’t have a lot to offer except a Mediterranean Gull, 40+Swallow, 30+House and a single Sand Martin. I was at Cromwell’s Castle at Castle Down, I scanned Bryher to check for any raptors and I couldn’t believe it when I picked up a large raptor over Samson Hill. With the heat haze and it being distant, it made it hard work identifying it. I had an idea what it was but it was not until it decided to cross Tresco channel that I could see that it was a Honey Buzzard. The bird was still a long ways off over the north fields from the Great Pool. It continued east towards St Martins where I lost it.
There were 21 Dunlin feeding on the South Beach
Hobby
This Mediterrranean Gull was with a single Black-headed Gull on the Great Pool
And the Honey Buzzard was always a long ways off
I left the down and as I approached Borough Farm, I bumped into Tom who lives on Tresco and chatted for a good twenty minutes. He made his ways home and I scanned the first tree and watched a female Red-backed Shrike fly out. It continued to the bottom fields where I lost it as it flew deeper into the Elms. In the next 30 minutes I got single Spotted Flycatcher, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap and a very briefly I observed the shrike touch the ground from a wall before flying off out of sight. I would of liked to of spent some more time waiting for it to return but time wasn’t on my side and I had a kayak to catch back home. At the heliport there were 5 Wheatear, a single Whimbrel on the South Beach and then I was back in the calm waters again returning to St Mary’s.
There were 3 Willow Warbler singing on Tresco including this individual at Borough Farm
And up to 4 Chiffchaff
There were good numbers of juvenile Stonechat scattered around Tresco with the parents busy feeding them
just before I pushed off in the kayak, I had this single Whimbrel nearby
This Silver Y was on Castle Down
Out of the 6 Golden Oriole that I’ve seen this spring, at last I got a record shot of one. This female ‘type’Golden Oriole flew over Maypole and just got it as it was dropping into Holy Vale three days ago
I last saw the Jackdaw from my window two days ago
I’ve named the pale juvenile Rose-coloured ‘looking’Starling ‘Rosie’ and she took the brave step of coming into my bedroom before settling down on the window sill.
Rosie is following the adult Starlings and ‘Bill’ the Song Thrush who come in and out throughout the day and only a few meters from me, I just carry on with whatever I’m doin. I have no idea why they come in as I don’t feed the birds in the house.
i’ve also got 2 juvenile Dunnock visiting
Only a single juvenile Blackbird so far
And 3 juvenile Song Thrush. I would probably have more visiting but the cats have taken care of them as twice just in the castle garden I’ve seen cats with juvenile Song Thrushes in their mouths.
I found this cracking male Red-backed Shrike at the east end of the airfield this afternoon
Yesterday morning I was awoken by the noisy Jackdaw outside my window and this morning he was vocal again. He continued for the next thirty minutes as like he was singing or trying to anyway. I get woken up by a Jackdaw while Martin at Holy Vale, also this morning, listens to the sound of 2 Golden Oriole singing from outside his house! So after doin the Garrison and not a sniff of an oriole, just before work, I thought I would cycle to the golf course. Twenty minutes later, I came off the course with 2 Wheatear and flight views of a female ‘type’ Golden Oriole. Ideal!
I hope a Golden Oriole wakes me up tomorrow morning instead of this Jackdaw
Feeding with the Jackdaw were good numbers of gulls including this Lesser Black-backed Gull
Expect more photos of Starlings, particular the pale individual, as like the Jackdaw, they spend all there time hanging out in front of the window and you can’t help but point your camera at them.
This was the only bird of note that I saw on the Garrison, Chiffchaff If only this interesting looking individual sang
There were 2 Greenland Wheatear at the golf course
It wasn’t until 16.30 that I got back in field and half an hour later I had stumbled upon a male Red-backed Shrike on posts at the east end of the runway. It was still present when Robin and Martin had arrived. With the wind from the SSE, it felt like there had to be more scarcities around from the south. However, after searching for the next hour all I could muster were a single Hobby, 30+House Martin and at Maypole, a single Turtle Dove. It was while at Trenoweth that I got a call from Robin telling me that he had brief views of a lark on the airfield. It had to be a Short-toed Lark that had just arrived I told him. I called Higgo, as I knew he was goin up to twitch the shrike, to let him know about the lark. By the time I had arrived at the airfield, the lark had been sorted and it was a Short-toed Lark. A male Redstart had also turned up near to the shrike but there was no sign of it while I was there.
I’ve found a few spring females and autumn juvenile Red-backed Shrike in the past, so it was pleasing to at last turn up this male
This Turtle Dove at Maypole, just kept coming closer and closer towards me as I hid behind a stone pillar
A few Linnet were in the same field as the dove
This Hobby also flew by while observing the dove
If only this Short-toed Lark on the airfield showed like the dove. As it had only just arrived it proved very mobile and never settled down.
When I returned home, look who was waiting for me just outside my window. This Jackdaw is only the second record so far this year.
A record shot of the 22nd Scilly SOLITARY SANDPIPER that spent most of it’s time on the far side of the pool
Mid-morning and a SOLITARY SANDPIPER was discovered at Porth Hellick. I was working but I managed to go and see the wader when the guy I took up earlier to the airport had forgotten his wallet at the castle and this gave me the chance to visit Porth Hellick Pool. I observed the bird for a good twenty minutes before returning back to work and in all the time I was at the pool, the sandpiper fed in the far NE corner.
If I had more time then I would of got probably improved record shots as the SOLITARY SANDPIPER did come a tad closer later on when I had left.
Later on in the evening at Trenoweth there were a single Tree Pipit, Whitethroat and Hobby. At Porthloo I got my first visual Grey Plover of the year after hearing and recording three individuals in the last three weeks during ‘nocmig’ from the garden. Also over the garden, identified by recording at 03.34 this morning, was the forth Little Ringed Plover in the last three weeks.
Only my third spring Grey Plover for Scilly
I also had up to 5 Wheatear
This Peregrine flew over the garden
Two days ago, this Jackdaw was a garden tick as it fed in front of the window ans was only the second individual this year so far
This Blackcap has also been in the garden for the last few days
I had to look twice when this very pale juvenile Starling turned up on the bird table. It’s even got a yellow bill! If you saw this thing flying you would be questioning ‘Did I just see a juv Rose-coloured Starling?’
If it’s not the Song Thrush in the room, then it’s one of these instead
Collard Dove
The mainstream media, including the BBC, had one thing to do Stop Corbyn!
Three days ago I had this Yellow-legged Gull in the football field next to the garden. However, I observed it fly out off over the garden but I was still standing in the field that it flown out of. Can I still tick it?
Just after 24.00 this morning, I heard my third Little-ringed Plover from my window in less than two weeks and all of them have been recorded by myself and others. LRP is less than annual on Scilly and I’ve only seen maybe over ten birds altogether in less than 30 years. So three is pretty good goin and could this ‘nocmig’ nocturnal migration, where a few of us have started to record throughout the night in the last three weeks, proving already that LRP could be annual and move over Scilly on a regular basis in spring. Only time will tell. I also had a Moorhen over but I didn’t hear it as I was snoring in bed.
Two days ago, 2 Red Kite arrived on St Mary’s from Cornwall and I managed to catch up with one of them in different parts of the island including cracking views over the garden. I also had my first Hobby of the year three days ago at Trenoweth and it’s also been giving good flight views from the garden. And today the Merlin paused briefly in the pine belt opposite my window before flying off north. Still waiting to tick off the Buzzard from the garden that also arrived on the same day as the kites.
Out of the 100s of Red Kite that move into the south west every year in May, two made the brave sea crossing and visited Scilly, including this individual from two days ago at Trenoweth.
This Hobby gave some good flight views over the garden in the last two days but not as good as at Trenoweth where I took these pics three days ago
Also at Trenowth was a single Swift and this Tree Pipit
At least the Merlin perched up for me opposite my bedroom window today before flying out north.
This Yellow-legged Gull was at the Football field, Garrison, just before dark and then flew off over my garden three days ago
Young Starlings are coming into the garden to feed off the bird table followed by a bath
And more juvenile Swallows arriving on St Mary’s including this individual at Normandy
It really felt like I was in the Mediterranean today and it wasn’t the hot weather. Subalpine Warbler, Woodchat Shrike, Golden Oriole, 4 Turtle Dove and at Trenoweth, this impressive Bee-eater.
Up and around the Garrison this morning and after seeing a Whitethroat, I relocated the male Western Subalpine Warbler in sub-song but out of sight deep in the gorse on the top path just east of the Steval. It didn’t take long for it to surface and activity fed showing well at times. However, not as well as when I left as it gave crippling views throughout the day for those who came up to see it. Yesterday evening, Jaclyn Pearson was lucky to have 3 Bee-eater fly past her while she was near the archway on the Garrison. They must of been an ear-shot from my garden. So after breakfast, I made my ways up north of the island as Darren Mason had already seen 2 Bee-eater fly from Pelistry towards Peace Haven. It was not until 12.30 that I was at the top west fields of Trenoweth that I searched through some 20 House Martin hoping for the Red-rumped Swallow that was seen earlier at Pelistry. A quick scan at the wires in the bottom fields and bingo! There was a Bee-eater! I rushed down I got some awesome views before it flew off SSE and later on it was relocated at Carn Friars. Over two hours later, I heard, then saw the Bee-eater returning from the direction of Carn Friers heading north over Maypole.
After goin missing for a day, I relocated the male Western Subalpine Warbler in the same area as where I originally discovered it
Whitethroat
This Bee-eater showed well at Trenoweth
The 11 wheatear on the golf course appeared to be all of the Greenland race
I reached Green Farm and there I found a Woodchat Shrike in fields sloping north towards Watermill. Robin and Scott succesfully twitched it. At Peace Haven, a female ‘type’ Golden Oriole flew across the paddock to the large pines at the north side. A few minutes later it confirmed itself as a 1st summer male when it sang very briefly. It was now 18.30 and as I passed the junction to Carreg Dhu Gardens off Telegraph Road, a quick look in the bare fields produced 4 Turtle Dove. I also had 2 Spotted Flycatcher nearby and the female Merlin dashed through. Nearly home and the Hen Harrier put in an appearance over Sandy Banks being mobbed by 2 Carrion Crow to finish off what was an awesome day!
The Woodchat Shrike that I found at Green Farm with St Martins in the distance
3 of the 4 Turtle Dove that I had near to Carreg Dhu Gardens
These 2 Carrion Crow were giving this Hen Harrier a hard time over Sandy Banks
today there were 7 Willow warbler, 20+Blackcap and 10 Chiffchaff, including this individual at Maypole
I had 6 Swallow today that appeared to be juveniles, including these two different individuals. . Seems too early for them to be out of the nest even if they bred further south in Spain maye? Or maybe it’s not?
Some 50 Swallow were seen today
Good numbers of Goldfinch around
This female Blue-tailed Damesfly at Porth Hellick was the first of the year
I also had up to 12 Silver Y Moth scattered around including four at the golf course where this individual was
Sunset from Star Castle this evening
Labour MP Nadia Whittome was Sacked as a Care Worker for Speaking Out. This is the Truth They Don’t Want You to Hear
I came across this male Subalpine Warbler, probably Western, on the top path between the Steval and Woolpack Fort and it proved to be very mobile and active.
For a change I was up early this morning and stepped outside to listen out for Golden Oriole. With no luck I thought that maybe it would be a good idea to try Holy Vale but again no sign. As I approached Maypole triangle, I bumped into Will who had just that second had the long staying ring-tailed Hen Harrier move through. I returned home and I had seen nohin of note. However, Later on, I successfully twitched the Red-rumped Swallow that was found earlier on at Porth Hellick. On the way back I caught the Marsh Harrier fly across the road at Parting Carn and the Cetti’s Warbler made me deaf for ten minutes when it burst into song on the path at the dump.
After seeing good numbers of Red-rumped Swallow only two months ago in Egypt, it’s always good to see one on Scilly
It wasn’t until after 15.00 that I was on the Garrison and seeing the same species that have been around for the last few days, althouigh in lower numbers. Single Garden, Reed Warbler and 4 Whitethroat, 5 blackcap, 2 Willow Warbler and 3 Spotted Flycatcher. On the top path between the Steval and Woolpack Fort, I was just about to call Higgo. Then I thought, what if he’s on the otherside of the island? He won’t hear me shout. I grabbed my mobile out of my pocket and observed a pale dingy sylvia warbler fly low from my left to the right of the path and into cover. I had an idea what it was and it wasn’t long that I was looking at a stonking male Subalpine Warbler sp? It showed well on and off and proved to be very active and mobile. Within a few minutes it was already at the Woolpack and it was here where I got reception and put the news out. However, when Higgo and Robin arrived it had disappeared and was never seen again for the rest of the day.
There were up to 5 Blackcap including this female in the garden
Only a single Garden Warbler compared to the four I had on the Garrison two days ago.
Only 5 Whitethroat compared to the 12 I had two days ago also on the Garrison
And only 3 Spotted Flycatcher compared to the 10 I also had two days ago. Also two days ago on the Garrison I had a single Turtle Dove and yesterday a female Cuckoo appeared to come in off the sea at the NW end and flew up the slope towards the pines
The male Subalpine Warbler was never heard to call but is more than likely a Western.
After dinner I found myself at Bants Carn scanning distantly through some 250 hirrundines, 200+Swallow, 40+House Martin, 10 Sand Martin and 2 Swift, hawking over the pines above Bar Point and it was not until five minutes later that I picked up the Red-rumped Swallow. Shortly afterwards I locked onto another individual with only a single tail streamer. I only had them both briefly as the hirundines dispersed and I made my ways towards Trenoweth where I counted some 70 House Martin and later on this had increased to over 100 as they stuck around the area for the next hour but only a handful of Swallow and no sign of the Red-rumped Swallow. I could hear Carrion Crows goin crazy in the bottom fields and as I turned, there was the Hen Harrier flying straight through. I also saw in the area 2 Garden, 1 Sedge Warbler, 2 Tree Pipit, 1 Cuckoo and 4 Swift.
Returning to Bants Carn, the fog was rolling in from the North and a Great Northern Diver started looning. Only the second time I’ve heard this On Scilly and at home I got a window tick as 3 Swift were above the pines when it was almost dark. Yesterday a single Spotted Flycatcher and 2 Stock Dove were also garden/window ticks.
2 Garden Warbler were feeding in the fields at Trenowth with Blackcap and a single Sedge Warbler
There were 3 Whimbrel nearby
On the golf course there were 5 Greenland Wheatear
A Great Northern Diver started looning out in The Roads in the eerie conditions
Sunset this evening
Three days ago, there were a family of 5 young Starling out and about on the Garrison. This is the earlist record that I’ve observed of Starlings out of the nest.
I had this Black Redstart in the horse paddocks on the east side of the Garrison five days ago
The revolving door of the BBC and the ToriesIt’s busy!
Benjamin Netanyahu seems believe that he has the keys to penetrate the mysteries of the universe—at least the universe his regime was desperately trying to build in the Middle East. Bibi thinks that once he utters a statement, no matter how wild or excessive or dubious or even crazy, the statement itself inexorably becomes the truth and is therefore infallible.
Virtually every Republican seems to know that Netanyahu tells nothing but the inexorable truth. If you doubt this, ask people like Lindsey Graham, John Boehner, Thomas Sowell, and the Neocons.[1] In fact, it has been widely believed that Benjamin Netanyahu is the “Republican Senator from Israel”[2] and “the new Republican hero.”[3] The Neoconservative magazine FrontPage, which is run by none other than radical David Horowitz, goes even further to say that Netanyahu only proclaims “the truth in a den of lies.”[4]
What are some of the “truths” that Netanyahu has perpetuated for decades? Iran, Netanyahu once said, is “a formidable danger to Europe.” The truth teller moved on to propound that Iran, through Hezbollah, is supporting terrorism all over the continent, most specifically “to almost every European country.” The truth gets really deep: “Iran and Hezbollah organize a terrorist network that covers over thirty countries on five continents, including Europe, just about every country in Europe.”[5]
The evidence? Once again, Netanyahu’s existence is the evidence. There is no truth but Netanyahu. No further investigation is needed. End of discussion. Yet the Times of Israel politically shot Netanyahu in the head by reporting that Israel is supporting the Syrian rebels/terrorists. So, was this man lying about fighting terrorism?
If you say no, then pay some attention. Netanyahu explicitly wrote in his 1995-book Fighting Terrorism:
“The best estimate at this time place Iran between three and five years away from possessing the prerequisites required for the independent production of nuclear weapons. After this time, the Iranian Islamic republic will have the ability to construct atomic weapons without the importation of materials or technology from abroad.”[6]
Netanyahu, who generally acts like a complete psychopath who hasn’t realized that his previous comments have been recorded in books and articles and public appearances, was still marshalling the perverse claim that Iran was “the most dangerous terror state”[7] in 2015.
Forty years later, Iran still does not have the bomb. In fact, it is generally agreed among U.S. and Israeli intelligence that Iran abandoned its nuclear weapons program.[8] Did Netanyahu start rethinking about his relentless lies and fabrications? Did he apologize to the world for slandering Iran? Did he listen to the head of the Israel Defense Force Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, who said that “the Iranian leadership is composed of very rational people” and is not interested in building nuclear weapons?[9]
As Gareth Porter has meticulously documented in his study Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare, the so-called Iranian threat is just a colossal hoax and a big lie manufactured by the Israelis.[10] Iran hasn’t invaded a single country in over one hundred years. In fact, Iran has been reaching out to the West for decades.[11]
The million-dollar question is simply this: Can the West and even the United States afford to listen to Netanyahu’s perpetual lies?
No.
Netanyahu is already responsible for the wars in Iraq and Syria, which cost America and much of the world dearly. Millions upon millions of precious people had to die in order for Netanyahu’s diabolical plan to materialize. And don’t forget that the war in Iraq alone will cost America six trillion dollars. About 360,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are also dealing with injuries, many of them severe.[12]
In less than two years of the war in Syria, more than 60,000 people lost their lives.[13] Finally, it was calculated in 2012 that a war with Iran would cost at least $2 trillion in the first three months “and could go as high as $3 trillion…”[14] Since 2003, wars in the Middle East have cost American taxpayers at least $14 million an hour![15]
I hold Netanyahu personally responsible for this. And the interesting thing is that Netanyahu doesn’t care whether the West likes is diabolical activities or not. When Israel was literally bombing Gaza, he declared:
“No international pressure will prevent us from acting with all power.”[16]
So, does this man need to be prosecuted, jailed, and perhaps hanged? You be the judge. Perhaps we need a political bounty hunter.
[1] See for example Bernard Avishai, “Netanyahu and the Republicans,” New Yorker, February 4, 2-15; Russell Berman, “Now Speaking for the Republicans: Benjamin Netanyahu,” Atlantic, January 21, 2015; Barak Ravid, “Netanyahu rooting for Republicans in U.S. midterm elections,” Haaretz, March 11, 2014; Gil Hoffman, “Netanyahu working with Republican strategist ahead of elections,” Jerusalem Post, December 23, 2014; Burgess Everett, “Republicans crow over Benjamin Netanyahu’s victory,” Politico, March 18, 2015.
[2] Rick Ungar, “Bibi Netanyahu — aka ‘The Republican Senator From Israel’ — May Have Made A Fatal Political Mistake,” Forbes, January 25, 2015.
[3] Raphael J. Sonenshein, “Benjamin Netanyahu: The new Republican hero,” Jewish Journal, March 26, 2016.
[4] Joseph Klein, “Netanyahu’s Truth in a Den of Lies,” FrontPage Magazine, September 29, 2014.
[5] Tovah Lazaroff, “Netanyahu: Iran and Hezbollah have terrorist network throughout Europe,” Jerusalem Post, June 28, 2015.
[6] Benjamin Netanyahu, Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies Can Defeat Domestic and International Terrorists (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1995), 121.
[7] Tovah Lazaroff, “Netanyahu: Iran deal gives nuclear weapons to most dangerous terror state,” Jerusalem Post, April 11, 2015; Carol Morello and William Booth, “Netanyahu warns that Iran is building terrorist cells worldwide,” Washington Post, October 1, 2015.
[8] “‘US, Israel agree Iran abandoned nuclear bomb,’” Jerusalem Post, March 18, 2012; James Risen and Mark Marzetti, “U.S. Agencies See No Move by Iran to Build a Bomb,” NY Times, February 24, 2012.
[9] Julian Borger, “Israel army chief contradicts Netanyahu on Iran,” Guardian, April 25, 2012; “Israeli military chief: Iran will not decide to make nuclear weapons,” Guardian, April 25, 2012.
[10] Gareth Porter, Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare (Charlottesville, VA: Just World Books, 2014).
[11] See for example Trita Parsi, Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007); A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama’s Diplomacy with Iran (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012); Ervand Abrahamian, The Coup: 1953, The CIA, and The Roots of Modern U.S.-Iranian Relations (New York: The New Press, 2013); Stephen Kinzer, All the Shah’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2008).
[12] Vlahos, “Surviving War, Falling to Suicide,” American Conservative, January 1, 2013.
[13] Anne Barnard, “Syrians Killed in Gas Line; UN Raises War’s Casualty Figures,” NY Times, January 2, 2013; Matthew Weaver, “Syria Conflict: UN Says 60,000 Dead,” Guardian, January 2, 2013.
[14] Jennifer Rizzo, “Putting a Price Tag on War with Iran,” CNN, November 19, 2012.
[15] “$14 Million An Hour: War Costs Top $1.6 Trillion Since 9/11, Say Congressional Researchers,” International Business Times, December 22, 2014.
[16] Quoted in Julian Borger and Peter Beaumont, “Netanyahu shrugged off foreign criticism and said the Israeli bombing would continue unabated,” Guardian, July 11, 2014.
BIOGRAPHYJonas E. AlexisJonas E. Alexis has degrees in mathematics and philosophy. He studied education at the graduate level. His main interests include U.S. foreign policy, history of Israel/Palestine conflict, and the history of ideas. He is the author of the new book Zionism vs. the West: How Talmudic Ideology is Undermining Western Culture. He is currently working on a book tentatively titled, Kevin MacDonald’s Abject Failure: A Philosophical and Moral Critique of Evolutionary Psychology, Sociobiology, and White Identity. He teaches mathematics in South Korea.Logoswars1@gmail.com
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