Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
The Dance of the Loons proceeds as two leaders do the fandango, but if one of them slips there will be hell to pay. And so several sources, including the BBC, report this late-breaking news: North Korea says that the U.S. has declared war on it. To wit (my emphasis):
North Korea’s foreign minister has accused US President Donald Trump of declaring war on his country.
Ri Yong-ho told reporters in New York that North Korea reserved the right to shoot down US bombers.
This applied even when they were not in North Korean airspace, the minister added. The world “should clearly remember” it was the US that first declared war, Mr Ri said.
The two sides have been engaged in an increasingly angry war of words.
Despite weeks of tension, experts have played down the risk of direct conflict between the two.
After Mr Ri addressed the United Nations on Saturday, the US president responded by tweeting that Mr Ri and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “won’t be around much longer” if they continued their rhetoric.
I’m still not worried, simply because I don’t think Kim Jong-un is suicidal. And for Trump, who has less to lose than the entire Korean peninsula, I’m confident his military advisors would strongly advise him against a first strike as being a crazy move that would kill millions of people, mostly civilians, to no real purpose except to bring down the North Korean regime (while killing many of its people, inflicting China with a huge political problem, and wiping out Seoul). Still, one never knows. . . .
Yes, this is a genuine tweet on Muslim activist Linda Sarsour‘s feed, but in case she takes it down—and really, she should have already—I’ve also provided a screenshot.
Rumor has it Sarsour wants to run for office, perhaps even winding up in Congress. Right now, though, she’s even more ignorant than Trump (I almost wrote “Turnip!) Now what point do you suppose Sarsour is trying to make here? My guess is that she’s trying to denigrate Trump by saying that the North Koreans he hates really do like their country, as they’re not trying to immigrate to the U.S.
Oh and “smh” means “shaking my head.”
You would think North Koreans are lining up in the droves to come to the US but THEY ARE NOT. Smh. 🤦🏻♀️ #NoMuslimBanEver
If you live in the U.S., you’ll know all about the football protests yesterday, when dozens of coaches and players either refused to appear for the traditional playing of the National Anthem or went down on one knee instead of standing erect. (You can read a comprehensive report in the New York Times.) This was a mass protest against Donald Trump’s hamhanded call to fire players who don’t “respect” the flag and the anthem. Well, the reaction was predictable: although owners can indeed fire those players, the original going down on the knee, started by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, constituted sincere demonstrations of speech against bigotry. It’s a crime that that after Kaepernick didn’t renew his contract, no other team will touch him, but his playing hasn’t been stellar in the last few seasons. However, in the end Kaepernick’s protest has swelled, and has done so because Trump tried to demonize him and others who spoke out against bigotry. (This isn’t really “free speech” in the First Amendment sense since football teams are privately owned, and players don’t have a right to demonstrate on the field any way they want. But the owners, managers, and players, consider it “free speech” in the sense that such demonstrations shouldn’t be punished.)
Here’s one example of how Trump really can’t control himself:
If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you will see change take place fast. Fire or suspend!
Although many football players are black and thus not fans of Trump, yesterday’s demonstrations included dozens of white players and coaches, all standing up for the right to not stand up. True, many fans were peeved by what they saw as a denigration of America, but really, what does America stand for except for the right to dissent? And many fans were supportive.
What we saw yesterday was not a bunch of academic liberals decrying Trump, but a bunch of athletes, engaged in one of America’s favorite sports, defying our President. I’m often wrong about politics, but I’ll say that this is a watershed moment in Trump’s continuing loss of credibility. When Walter Cronkite came out against the war, President Lyndon Johnson reportedly said, “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.” I’ll paraphrase those words by saying that “If Trump loses football, he’s lost Middle America.”
Instead of putting up readers’ photos today, let me show you some of the winners of National Geographic’s 2017 Nature Photographer of the Year contest. I’ve chosen just a few images, but there are many wonderful photos to see. I’ve used the captions from the site.
You can download these photos directly from the site to use as wallpaper for your computer.
CABLE BEACH CAMEL CARAVAN. PHOTO AND CAPTION BY TODD KENNEDY A birds eye view of a caravan of camels walking along Cable beach at sunset.
INVASIVE BEAUTY. PHOTO AND CAPTION BY STEVEN KOVACS a portrait of a lionfish in its beautiful pelagic larval stage taken during a drift dive at night near the surface in water over 600 feet deep. Palm Beach, Florida. WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES
ALIEN. PHOTO AND CAPTION BY ADAM SILVERMAN This is one of my favorite photos of my favorite critter. Shot with a +25 magnifier, it really brings out the detail in this otherwise very small skeleton shrimp. It’s face is clear, it’s reddish eyes are visible, and the way it faces my camera with it’s arms wide makes it almost symmetrical. It’s clear color matches the hydra that it is living on. Plus the colors in the background really make this an interesting and beautiful photo. Don’t think there are aliens on earth? Look no further! MAKAWIDEY, NORTH SULAWESI, INDONESIA
RORSCHACH TEST. PHOTO AND CAPTION BY JERRY AM ENDE Golden Hour at Bombay Hook NWR this morning. There was not a hint of wind when this Great Blue Heron began to preen. LOCATION: DONAS LANDING, DELAWARE, UNITED STATES
MOTHER NATURES CAMO. PHOTO AND CAPTION BY COLE FRECHOU (Mother Natures camo) Gator waiting in Duckweed in New Orleans, LA. This was taken off of a board walk so dont worry for my safety. LOCATION: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, UNITED STATES
And of course we need a cat photo:
ÉTIREMENT. PHOTO AND CAPTION BY JOËL FISCHER A lioness stretches into the immensity of Masai Mara, Kenya. LOCATION: MASAI MARA, RIFT VALLEY, KENYA
FIGHT FOR LIFE. PHOTO AND CAPTION BY CHAN KWOK HUNG Taken in Maasai mara, Kenya this is my third time visit there, finally I see it!!!! I see it happening very close!!!! the animal migration!!!! LOCATION: MASAI MARA, RIFT VALLEY, KENYA
COORG YELLOW BUSH FROG PHOTO AND CAPTION BY ANGAD ACHAPPA a coorg yellow bush frog photographed in the rainforests of Agumbe, Karnataka. The frog was formerly known as blue-eyed bush frog due to the blue ring around its eye.
SORRY: This is out of order! I didn’t sleep very well last night, and forgot to schedule this.
Well, it’s Monday again, September 25, 2017, and classes begin today at the University of Chicago. Today’s food holiday doesn’t celebrate the food but its purveyors: it’s National Food Service Workers Day (roughly a quarter of Americans have worked in food service; have you?).
On a side note, have you been watching the new PBS documentary by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, “The Vietnam War”? I am making an exception of my “almost no t.v.” rule to watch this, and it’s a fantastic documentary, weaving together deftly the military actions in Asia with antiwar ferment stateside, as well as the history of the conflict and recordings by people like LBJ and many soldiers who participated. The series is 18 hours long, and you’ll learn a lot. 50,000 Americans died in that losing cause along with over a million Vietnamese, many of the civilians. Nothing was accomplished. What’s new to me is the sheer bloodiness of the conflict: an aspect of the war hidden from Americans at the time by the government and the media. Parts are quite gruesome.
1066 was a rough year for England. Beside the Normans, the Brits took on the Vikings, defeating them on this day at The Battle of Stamford Bridge. On this day in 1513, the Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa “reached what would become known as the Pacific Ocean.” That’s what Wikipedia says, but on that day Balboa only saw the Pacific from a mountain peak after crossing the Isthmus of Panama. He didn’t get to the ocean for four more days. On this day in 1789, the U.S. Congress passed twelve amendments to the Constitution, including the ten known as the Bill of Rights, which had the famous First Amendment (freedom of religion, assembly, and speech), and the infamous Second (possession of guns to permit formation of well regulated militias). Finally, on this day in 1957, with the help of U.S. Army troops ordered out by President Eisenhower, Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas was integrated. Here’s a short video showing the “Little Rock Nine” (the six black women and three black men who broke the barriers). It shows how far we’ve come:
Notables born on this day include Fletcher Christian (1764), Thomas Hunt Morgan (1866; my academic great-grandfather: advisor to the advisor of my advisor), William Faulkner (1897), Mark Rothko (1903), Barbara Walters (1929), Shel Silverstein (1930), Glenn Gould (1932) and Catherine Zeta-J0nes (1969; shares birthday with her husband Michael Douglas, born in 1945). Here’s a Rothko—”Woman and Cat” (1933):
Those who died on this day include Ring Lardner (1933), Emily Post (1960), Hugo Black (1971), Billy Carter (1988; remember “Billy Beer”?), Edward Said and George Plimpton (both 2003), Andy Williams (2012) and Arnold Palmer (last year). Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, the drainpipe was broken by a vine, as it is yearly, and Hili calls attention to it. It’s now been fixed:
Hili: You have to fix this drain pipe.
A: Yes, I’m afraid I have to.
In Polish:
Hili: Musisz naprawić tę rynnę.
Ja: Też się tego obawiam.
Finally, Grania sends in two pictures with a note: “Here is a photo series you have seen before but you cannot see it too often. FISHING EXPEDITION”:
Explanatory notes:
I waited two years to try to capture this behaviour which is only possible when the Savute Channel starts to recede leaving the catfish stranded in the isolated pools of water. It wasn’t until August in the second year that I was there when the conditions were right and after many days waiting, I was finally rewarded with this female leopard jumping into the muddy pool with remarkable success. There are three related leopards in the area that are known to fish although tney rarely try it in daylight. Not only is the behaviour remarkable, it has been learnt by the oldest female in the last 5 years as before that the channel had not flowed for 30 years. She has then taught it to two separate litters of offspring.
I was told that if the weather was unseasonably warm for a few days, there was a chance that my beloved mallard hen Honey would return to our pond. And, sure enough, it’s been over 90°F for four days in a row. Every day since I’ve been back, regardless of the temperature, I’ve gone out to the pond and whistled for her, all to no avail. I have to admit that I was a bit relieved when she didn’t come, as I was hoping she’d fly south. But I’m told that some mallards overwinter in this area (although in larger bodies of water that don’t freeze), and that she might come back for a visit.
But yesterday afternoon, on my way home, I walked by the pond and whistled again. And, lo and behold, Honey swam out of the reeds, paddling towards me rapidly. I could tell it was her because of her immediate response to my whistle and by the identifying marks on her bill. (These are iPhone photos, so the quality isn’t great.)
Beak marks:
Enlargement of bill from several months ago: note matching stippling on left side with three black blotches:
Honey duck bill markings
Naturally, I had to go back to my lab and break open my saved bag of mealworms, and she got a fine treat.
Honey nomming mealworms:
I’ll see if she’s here today, and will feed her if she is. Then I’ll have to go to the store to buy frozen corn.
Truth be told, I do love this duck, but I don’t want her to hang around when the weather gets cold. She’s still a bit skittish, as if she went feral after her ducklings fledged (she used to eat out of my hand), and my delight at seeing her is tempered with typical Jewish tsouris about her fate.
Oh, duck experts: how do mallards manage to find their way back to a small pond like this when they’re far away?
Most of us older folks know the Byrds’ 1966 version of “Eight Miles High,” an archetypal and superb psychedelic song written by Gene Clark, Mim McGuinn, and David Crosby. But here’s Leo Kottke’s great cover, played on a twelve-string guitar. He’s clearly quite young in this video (he was born in 1945), but already a stunning musician. Although some people say his voice sounds like “geese farts on a muggy day,” I really like it. And I love this version:
Kottke is the rightful heir of my musical hero John Fahey, but Kottke was able to achieve the commercial success that always eluded Fahey—due partly to his fondness for drink. In terms of musical genius, I’d put Fahey above Kottke, but it’s largely apples and oranges.
