Avian Architecture – the Precarious Nests of the Stork

via aleksey godin and juan chulilla

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Storks make their nests high. To us they look remarkably precarious structures, not exactly a desirable residence – the ‘des res’ of your dreams. The stork, however, thrives at height most of us would avoid like the plague. Take a look at some amazing nests of the stork.

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Although many Europeans encourage storks to nest on the roof of their home – it is supposed to increase the fecundity of the householders – many would gasp at the inherent danger that lies in building one’s home on top of a deadly current of electricity. In Denmark, however, the stork is not a welcome guest and so this would be considered appropriate alternative housing. The Danish believe that if a stork builds a nest on top of your house then someone who lives there will die before the year ends. These parent storks, however, will not be on the nest for great periods of time. This stork in Hungary is flying back to the nest to feed its offspring. The visit will need to be fairly quick though – stork chicks can eat anything up to sixty percent of their body weight each day. That is quite a few fish and frogs.

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What would the Health and Safety freaks in the UK make of these storks nesting over a motorway in Portugal? They would, no doubt, send them a disapproving message and ask them to move on within the next few days. The storks themselves seem to be on sentry duty, watching out perhaps for the next lorry carrying cans of worms to spill off the motorway – and open them. Birds of a feather most certainly flock together. Pity the stork in Aesop’s fable. Caught in a net with a flock of cranes by a farmer, the stork begged for its life. After all, he was no crane. The farmer did not heed the stork’s pleas and that was the end of that.

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The higher the building, the greater the views the storks have of their surroundings and the more likely they are to spot the next meal for their voracious chicks. However, this rather picturesque and old building in Germany has been the recipient of the remains of the many meals that the storks have enjoyed atop the clock. This may not make them popular with the owners, but for this pair, where their guano goes will be of no concern. Many think that storks pair up for life and are monogamous throughout. The latter is correct, but the stork is a serial monogamist. Each marriage lasts for a single season and next year the bird is unlikely to have the same mate. Regardless of this, however, the storks remain loyal to each other alone throughout this period.

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Perhaps the choice of a church is appropriate. For the early Christians the stork became the symbol of the white marriage – that is one that is never consummated for religious reasons. As such they were highly respected and although this symbolism has not survived to this day it did last until the sixteen hundreds.

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These storks have some cheek. However, it must be said that this electricity tower must have looked to them like some kind of ready made stork social housing project. It gives the nests some appearance of order, but the carefully done distance and spacing is simply a man-made illusion. Storks will happily live side by side with both their own and other species.

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The most important element in their choice of site is not the immediacy or the species of their neighbors but rather the availability in the locality of a large and steady supply of food. Storks will eat anything that moves that is of the right size and so as well as fish and amphibians it will also eat insects and reptiles. Rodents and other small mammals are not immune to attack either, so if you have just bought that cute little kitten for your six year old, don’t let it out to play with the storks too soon.

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If it’s high and has a good vantage point then your local historical monument will be a target for this bird. Here in Izmir, Turkey, a centuries old landmark has been taken over by some new (perhaps undesirable) tenants. Once the stork has decided where it wants to live it becomes something of a home body. Although the stork is migratory the same nest may be used for quite a number of years so if they are unwanted guests then this can pose something of a problem for the neighboring Homo sapiens. The nests can get rather large, too. At their largest they are often over six feet (or two meters) in diameter and, to ensure the chicks don’t tumble over the edge they are deep, too. The depth can be up to ten feet (or three meters). That’s about the same as the deep end of your local swimming pool.

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It may be just a remnant of your history, like the tower in the previous picture. You might just get the hump if a stork decides to nest on one of your truly ancient monuments, and this happened recently to the Kasbah of Tamdaght in Morocco. Given the longevity of the nests this may well become a local fixture. Storks need a high vantage point from which to launch in to flight. They prefer to soar and glide which helps to conserve their energy and enables them to cover huge distances in search of a home or food. The Marabou Stork has a wingspan that is over three meters in length. As such it rivals the Andean Condor as the bird with the widest wingspan of all land inhabiting species.

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Roman ruins? That will do nicely!

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Modern lighting system? Whyever not?

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As well as being no respecter of human history, the stork will also disregard politics. This commemoration of communist era soldiery in Poland has the possible unwanted finishing touch of a stork nest at its pinnacle. Storks appear in the warmer regions of the world, mostly, but also extend as far north as colder, wetter Poland. The neighbors of these storks do not need to worry about being kept away by the calling of the birds, however. The stork has no syrinx and so is mute. The syrinx is the vocal organ for birds and as the stork does not possess one then it is mute. This might help convince you that you would not mind a pair of storks in your vicinity. Well, the stork may not twitter but it clatters instead. For the adult stork, the clattering of bills is a means of communication and bonding – and they do it a lot.

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As the stork is sociable once you have a single pair, if you have room it may not be long before they attract their friends to the neighborhood. The stork has long been a tactic used by parents anxious not to inform their children too soon of the mechanics of producing offspring. “The stork brought you”, is something that many parents have used in a sweaty palmed attempt to offset the moment when the messy, sticky truth must be revealed. However, if you lived in this house, your child may well begin to think that they will soon be in receipt of a horde of siblings, ready to overrun the house and divert parental attention away from them. Keep the knives locked away and the windows closed.

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In Hebrew, the word for stork – Hasida – means someone who is religiously observant, devout and god fearing. With their nests, visible to the world, the stork became a symbol of good, dutiful parental care. If you think the Hebrew word is familiar then you are right – the word is also at the root of the name of the Hassidic movement of Judaism. Some ancient texts refer to stork parents as the most caring of the animal kingdom. It was noted that if the nest was on fire the parents would not leave their offspring behind, choosing instead to perish in the flames alongside their chicks. While this is dubious it is this sort of legend that makes the stork such a powerful symbol in many cultures.

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Of course, the stork is not a bird that makes a bee line purely for houses or ancient monuments. It is quite happy, to be frank, with a pole – as long as it lends the nest the required height and vantage point. Comparatively, they may seem like the poor white trash of the stork world, but the stork is not one that is interested in aesthetics. It is a case, really of predators, what predators? Its size means that it is rarely interfered with by other birds and so as long as the nest meets the prerequisite of location, location, location then the bird is happy to make its home there. The Bible, in Leviticus, expressly forbids the eating of the bird – and if you are protected by God then what do you need to fear?

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Of course as a human resident of a certain location you may not be too keen on storks making their home near – or on top – of you. So, if you see a stork gazing quizzically at your domicile – be afraid. Be very afraid.

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Intellects not so vast but still cool and unsympathetic, may be regarding your roof with envious eyes.

In rush to revamp Medicaid, Trump officials bend rules that protect patients – Los Angeles Times- Trump-“people on Medicaid are all losers and should have to work for their porridge and beg for some, please sir?” Oliver Twist workhouses!

The Trump administration is scaling back independent evaluation of its most controversial healthcare proposals, including moves to impose work requirements in Medicaid.

Source: In rush to revamp Medicaid, Trump officials bend rules that protect patients – Los Angeles Times

State of the Union Fact Check: What Trump Got Right and Wrong – The New York Times

“The border city of El Paso, Tex., used to have extremely high rates of violent crime — one of the highest in the entire country, and considered one of our nation’s most dangerous cities. Now, immediately upon its building, with a powerful barrier in place, El Paso is one of the safest cities in our country.” This is false. El Paso was never one of the most dangerous cities in the United States, and crime has been declining in cities across the country — not just El Paso — for reasons that have nothing to do with border fencing. In 2008, before border barriers had been completed in El Paso, the city had the second-lowest violent crime rate among more than 20 similarly sized cities. In 2010, after the fencing went up, it held that place. Sign Up for On Politics With Lisa Lerer A spotlight on the people reshaping our politics. A conversation with voters across the country. And a guiding hand through the endless news cycle, telling you what you really need to know. SIGN UP

Debunking Immigration Myths Before State of the Union Address

Thanks #IJPC

Written by Kendra, IJPC Intern

Recently the National Immigrant Justice Center released a brief to counter some of President Trump’s claims over immigration.  Here we will break down these claims with the facts and explain how the President manipulates data to perpetuate these false claims and uses it to continue enacting policies that “erode due process, increase incarceration of communities of color, and strip legal protections from immigrants.”

Claim :  President Trump states that only a fraction of immigrants seeking asylum at the southern border actually qualify and that most are attempting to “game the system.”

Facts:  In 2017, President Trump signed an executive order calling for higher standards for asylum seekers.  Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents have also intentionally reduced the number of asylum seekers processed each day.  Lastly, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has made it more difficult for survivors of gang-related and domestic violence to establish eligibility for asylum.  These changes make it appear that less individuals are seeking asylum. Those that are able to seek asylum are having more challenges than ever getting asylum granted.  All of these issues have increased the denial rates for rates for asylum applicants from 54.6% in 2016 to 65% in 2018.

Claim :  President Trump has stated that immigrants “never show up” to court and the Director for the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) stated that providing full legal representation for children is ineffective in getting them to appear in court.  

Facts:  The EOIR’s own data shows that at least 60% of immigrant families appear for court hearings despite often not having legal representation.  This statistics jumps to over 98% when families have legal representation and to over 95% for minors that are represented. The bleak truth is that there is no right to counsel for immigrants that cannot afford private representation.  On the other hand, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is represented in each proceeding by its own federal counsel. This makes it a mucher steeper hill for immigrants to climb. In fact, those that have attorneys are 5 times more likely to win their cases than those without.  

Claim :  The Trump administration states that the largest percentage (66%) of those arrested by ICE are convicted criminals.

Facts:  Criminal conduct includes entry and reentry offenses and is the leading type of conviction for “criminal-aliens.”  Subsequently, in 2018, U.S. Attorneys were instructed to prosecute all migrants entering between ports of entry, which led to a 30% increase from the month before.  Many CBP agents were already limiting the amount of individuals processed legally at the ports of entry each day which led to many feeling they had not other choice than to cross without permission.  Therefore, it appears that the administration is manipulating these statistics in order to vilify immigrants and say they are a danger to the U.S.

References

The National Immigrant Justice Center. (2019, January 29). Policy Brief | The Trump Administration’s Manipulation of Data to Perpetuate Anti-Immigrant Policies

The post Debunking Immigration Myths Before State of the Union Address appeared first on IJPC | Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center | Cincinnati Ohio.

Aida Camp: Where Palestinians remain refugees for the 7th decade

the world’s shame

  Most survive with the basics, feel daily the pains of a struggle that seems endless, but still feed the hope of returning home

By Alethea Kanas 

In Brazil, little is known about the real complexity of the problem that has existed for decades between Israel and Palestine. But the “catastrophe,” so termed by the Palestinians, can be briefly understood if we think from May 14, 1948, when Israel was founded and 750,000 of them had to flee their homes to neighboring countries or were expelled by Israeli troops .

The year 1948 was only the beginning of a struggle that lasts until today and seems far from a peace agreement. But the question is, “How and where do these refugees live today?” About 5,000 are in the Aida refugee camp. Hundreds of them felt the whole change in their lives, and the rest was their inheritance from a lifetime of suffering and struggle for freedom.

Aida camp was created in 1950 in the West Bank, more precisely in Bethlehem. The city is considered sacred because, according to the Bible, it was the birthplace of Jesus Christ. A region that supposedly should reign peace, is the scene of a conflict that seems eternal, a pan of pressure, always about to explode.

An agreement between Israel and Palestine is complicated, as conflicts go beyond religious divergence, money, territory strife, and political issues. It moves with the ego, the will to exercise the freedom to come and go and with the future of thousands of families, mixed with grief of what has already passed and indignation on the part of those who lost house, family members and even the identity itself, Palestinian territory is not officially considered a country – although it is considered observer member of the UN, same status conferred to the Vatican.

Entrance to the Aida refugee camp in the West Bank. Credit: Alethea Kanas

The camp was set up by UNRWA, the UN agency specifically responsible for Palestinian refugees, which leased it from the Jordanian government – which then controlled the region.

Data from the UNHCR Global Trends report indicate that there are 5.4 million Palestinian refugees in the world, all under UNRWA mandate.

Protect your accounts from data breaches with Password Checkup

So Google will have a copy of your user name and this system will never be hacked or compromised – ROTFLMAO! Posted by Jennifer Pullman, Kurt Thomas, and Elie Bursztein, Security and Anti-abuse research

Google helps keep your account safe from hijacking with a defense in depth strategy that spans prevention, detection, and mitigation. As part of this, we regularly reset the passwords of Google accounts affected by third-party data breaches in the event of password reuse. This strategy has helped us protect over 110 million users in the last two years alone. Without these safety measures, users would be at ten times the risk of account hijacking.

We want to help you stay safe not just on Google, but elsewhere on the web as well. This is where the new Password Checkup Chrome extension can help. Whenever you sign in to a site, Password Checkup will trigger a warning if the username and password you use is one of over 4 billion credentials that Google knows to be unsafe.

Password Checkup was designed jointly with cryptography experts at Stanford University to ensure that Google never learns your username or password, and that any breach data stays safe from wider exposure. Since Password Checkup is an early experiment, we’re sharing the technical details behind our privacy preserving protocol to be transparent about how we keep your data secure.

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Key design principles

We designed Password Checkup with three key principles in mind:

  • Alerts are actionable, not informational: We believe that an alert should provide concise and accurate security advice. For an unsafe account, that means resetting your password. While it’s possible for data breaches to expose other personal data such as a phone number or mailing address, there’s no straightforward next step to re-securing that data. That’s why we focus only on warning you about unsafe usernames and passwords.
  • Privacy is at the heart of our design: Your usernames and passwords are incredibly sensitive. We designed Password Checkup with privacy-preserving technologies to never reveal this personal information to Google. We also designed Password Checkup to prevent an attacker from abusing Password Checkup to reveal unsafe usernames and passwords. Finally, all statistics reported by the extension are anonymous. These metrics include the number of lookups that surface an unsafe credential, whether an alert leads to a password change, and the web domain involved for improving site compatibility.
  • Advice that avoids fatigue: We designed Password Checkup to only alert you when all of the information necessary to access your account has fallen into the hands of an attacker. We won’t bother you about outdated passwords you’ve already reset or merely weak passwords like “123456”. We only generate an alert when both your current username and password appear in a breach, as that poses the greatest risk.
Settling on an approach

At a high level, Password Checkup needs to query Google about the breach status of a username and password without revealing the information queried. At the same time, we need to ensure that no information about other unsafe usernames or passwords leaks in the process, and that brute force guessing is not an option. Password Checkup addresses all of these requirements by using multiple rounds of hashing, k-anonymity, private information retrieval, and a technique called blinding.
Our approach strikes a balance between privacy, computation overhead, and network latency. While single-party private information retrieval (PIR) and 1-out-of-N oblivious transfer solve some of our requirements, the communication overhead involved for a database of over 4 billion records is presently intractable. Alternatively, k-party PIR and hardware enclaves present efficient alternatives, but they require user trust in schemes that are not widely deployed yet in practice. For k-party PIR, there is a risk of collusion; for enclaves, there is a risk of hardware vulnerabilities and side-channels.
A look under the hood

Here’s how Password Checkup works in practice to satisfy our security and privacy requirements.
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Protecting your accounts

Password Checkup is currently available as an extension for Chrome. Since this is a first version, we will continue refining it over the coming months, including improving site compatibility and username and password field detection.
Acknowledgements

This post reflects the work of a large group of Google engineers, research scientists, and others including: Niti Arora, Jacob Barrett, Borbala Benko, Alan Butler, Abhi Chaudhuri, Oxana Comanescu, Sunny Consolvo, Michael Dedrick, Kyler Emig, Mihaela Ion, Ilona Gaweda, Luca Invernizzi, Jozef Janovský, Yu Jiang, Patrick Gage Kelly, Guemmy Kim, Ben Kreuter, Valentina Lapteva, Maija Marincenko, Grzegorz Milka, Angelika Moscicki, Julia Nalven, Yuan Niu, Sarvar Patel, Tadek Pietraszek, Ganbayar Puntsagdash, Ananth Raghunathan, Juri Ranieri, Mark Risher, Masaru Sato, Karn Seth, Juho Snellman, Eduardo Tejada, Tu Tsao, Andy Wen, Kevin Yeo, Moti Yung, and Ali Zand.
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O’Rourke says will decide on presidential run this month

Just say no – you and we are not ready for it. Try for Senate or governor first – This is Kamala’s turn! Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic former Texas congressman whose unexpectedly close but ultimately unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senate generated buzz about a 2020 presidential bid, said on Tuesday he will decide by the end of the month whether to run.

topNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA topNews?i=oVgaVvHZa6w:h2uT9h9k58A:V_sGLi topNews?i=oVgaVvHZa6w:h2uT9h9k58A:-BTjWO

Neocon-led US Venezuela policy, rhetoric trigger deja vu effect

Fools again just setting up another failure, killing people and creating hundreds of thousands of new refugees!

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There is a solid case to be made for regime change in Venezuela as advocated by the US and many of its allies. Still, scholars say, the US’s record and some key Trump administration players are cause for concern.

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