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POPSAlmost Gone The International Union for Conservation of Nature has released its Red List of the world's most threatened plants and animals. Here's a look at some of the animals on the verge of extinction
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POPSDo animals understand death? Do humans? "One example is famadihana - the turning of the bones - a traditional ritual carried out by the Malagasy people of Madagascar. Every seven years, the dead relatives are exhumed from the family tomb, re-wrapped, and danced around the tomb."
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POPSThe Do-Good Imperative How about a windup flashlight crossed with a cell phone charger? It's low tech meets high tech with rugged, toylike charm. Or charcoal made from plant waste instead of wood, developed for Haiti by MIT's D-Lab? Talk about a greener way to barbecue. (The technology might also help save endangered African gorillas. A new study published in Science links organized crime rings cutting trees for charcoal in Congo with a spate of recent gorilla murders.)
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POPSGorilla 'mother lode' found in Congo I can't help thinking that they are there, because we didn't know about them, but there are other species that have been downgraded from critically endangered to endangered due to conservation efforts. However the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found that 48% of the 634 known species and sub-species of primates, humankind's closest relatives such as chimpanzees, orangutans, gibbons and lemurs, are at risk of extinction. Primates are suffering most in Asia, with 71% of all species at risk, against 37% in Africa.
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POPSPencil Art Evolves Into Unusual Sculptures Before pencils, Maestre was originally building with nails and a liquid rubber-type glue. She started to worry about inhaling all the toxic fumes, however, and began to experiment with different techniques until she settled on beading. Her method of choice? The peyote stitch. #3 In Watchtower, Maestre focuses on a more architectural form. Peer inside and you'll see a series of pencil struts spiraling up like a staircase in a tower. #4 Maestre was originally inspired by the push-pull reaction she had to sea urchins. #5 Hive is one of Mastre's unintentionally more suggestive sculptures. "Certain viewers find it a little obscene," she says. "Maybe because I used the pink eraser ends to outline the orifices." (OK?) #6 Some see a frog, others a gorilla, and some even an Egyptian mask. What does Threnody look like to you? Maestre may not know herself, but her primary goal was to convey the feeling of something howling.
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POPSNotes on a (bunch of) Scandals This seems to represent one of the most perplexing American of phenomena. Our tolerance of serial idiots. Why is it that we invite them back? Why is it so hard to ruin your reputation? I don't believe the author is write, regurgitating the hackneyed "short attention span" argument. Something way more complicated is going on than that. Perhaps we let them come back because we secretly want more. More of the easy, mindless answers they give us. More of the distracting scandal that makes us feel better about ourselves. The author ignores the 700 lbs. Gorilla in the "train wreck" room: George W. Bush. After all his failures and deceptions, why do people still trust him? Do we really run from the truth? Or is it that watching their failures verifies our own righteousness? Nader said it best: he would rather see Bush president than Gore, because Bush would prove him right.
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POPSBush denied "Foot in Mouth Award.
I think this is grossly unfair: Bush's regular slips into incoherence, nonsense, non sequiturs, and mashed metaphors deserve first place. "The childrens must be educated," is one of my favorite. And his question: "Is our children learning?" And "As yesterday's positive report card shows, childrens do learn when standards are high and results are measured." The fact that all these "childrens," sentences were about his discredited education program only makes it worse. But it's a tough job, as he pointed out: "My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions. I am the decider," If this is not the Pink Elephant in the room where is the 800-pound gorilla? Perhaps this? “I heard somebody say, ‘Where’s Mandela?’ Well, Mandela’s dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas.” Because, you know, "All of us in America want there to be fairness when it comes to justice." Anybody got any other samples of this dysfunctional use of lan
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POPSGorillas May Have Played Role in AIDS Epidemic The origin of HIV has been a mystery since 1984, when researchers first conclusively showed that it causes AIDS. Over the past 20 years, evidence has accumulated that points to Africa and a similar virus in chimpanzees. Many scientists suspect that the chimp virus jumped into humans who hunt and butcher these great apes. Now a group led by virologist Martine Peeters of the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement in Montpellier, France, has found that gorillas may have played a supporting role in the origin of the AIDS epidemic.
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POPSPrimate Passion At London's Gorilla Kingdom The whirlwind romance has sparked delight among keepers. The last time a gorilla was born at the zoo was 21 years ago and Bobby, 25, has never been a father. "They did a lot of playing and sitting next to each other just touching. Then it got a bit like a cheesy soap opera." Bobby has previously mated with two other females who failed to conceive. But keepers are confident that there will be a result this time. They say that if Jookie is not pregnant already, it's only a matter of time.
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POPS"McCain being McCain" on rape joke "The spokesperson went on to dismiss other criticism of McCain’s humor, calling it “a good example of McCain being McCain.” Exactly my point. Can it really be that we would consider electing a president whose staff says a joke about women enjoying rape is "McCain being McCain"?
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POPS15 Reason Why Mr. Rogers ROCKED This list is great. I highly suggest checking out the link if anyone wants an affirmation that this world can still produce amazing individuals!
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POPSThe Three Little Pig... Uh Puppies! Yeah! Obviously the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood is way too violent. I think we should change it to a puppy as well. This article finally addresses the 500 pound gorilla in the room. It is high time we clean these "children's" stories up. We can no longer pretend these stories are not offensive and degrading to young girls. We need children's stories that have absolutely no chance of offending anyone regardless of the child's gender, religion, or sexual orientation.
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