Mystery of dead dolphins in Peru and USA

Nearly 900 dead dolphins have washed up on the shores of Peru this year.  Some say it could be due to morbillivirus, a type of distemper....or seismic oil exploration.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/22/world/americas/peru-dead-dolphins/index.html

Orca, the international animal welfare organisation that focuses on whales and dolphins, said that some of the dolphins have broken bones in their ears and collapsed organs, which would be consistent with sound-wave damage.  In February, 179 dolphins (108 of which were dead) washed ashore in Cape Cod, USA. Marine biologists are still trying to determine the cause of those deaths. In March, amateur video showed more than 30 beached dolphins in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but they were safely returned to the sea.


Our ancestors had a deep respect for the dolphin. In Celtic symbolism, the dolphin was a highly honored creature, seen as a symbol of re-birth and the protector of sacred wells and sacred water. The dolphin, to the Celtic mind, was the watcher of the waters, and the guardians of all things water-associated. In Native American animal symbolism, the dolphin teaches us how to be kind, wise, playful, capable of deep emotion and happiness.

Earth Day

Today is Earth Day and I'm going to celebrate by having a picnic and listening to one of my favorite songs of all time: Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" (or "They Paved Paradise"): http://www.earthday.org/

 

They paved paradise

And put up a parking lot

With a pink hotel, a boutique

And a swinging hot SPOT

Don't it always seem to go

That you don't know what you've got

'Til it's gone

They paved paradise

And put up a parking lot

They took all the trees

And put them in a tree museum

Then they charged the people

A dollar and a half just to see 'em

Don't it always seem to go,

That you don't know what you've got

'Til it's gone

They paved paradise

And put up a parking lot

Hey farmer, farmer

Put away that DDT now

Give me spots on my apples

But LEAVE me the birds and the bees

Please!

Don't it always seem to go

That you don't know what you've got

'Til its gone

They paved paradise

And put up a parking lot

Late last night

I heard the screen door slam

And a big yellow taxi

Come and took away my old man

Don't it always seem to go

That you don't know what you've got

'Til it's gone

They paved paradise

And put up a parking lot

I said

Don't it always seem to go

That you don't know what you've got

'Til it's gone

They paved paradise

And put up a parking lot

They paved paradise

And put up a parking lot

They paved paradise

And put up a parking lot

20 Fighters for Internet Freedom

From politicians and professors to computer scientists and the first programmer, the Guardian publishes a list of 20 champions of the open internet: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/apr/20/twenty-fighters-open-internet

Below: Birgitta Jonsdottir, activist/poet turned MP, instrumental in Iceland becoming a sanctuary for free speech.

Birgitta Jonsdottir

Last Child in the Woods - Nature Deficit Disorder

Today's Guardian has an article about the importance of reconnecting children with nature.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/apr/20/reconnect-children-with-nature?newsfeed=true 
I remember growing up in the 1960s and playing with friends in the local fields and woods, and our mothers would say "make sure you are home in time for tea"... and so we would roam, sometimes for hours, in the local woods.  In his groundbreaking 2005 book "Last Child in the Woods" Richard Louv directly linked the lack of nature in the lives of today's wired generation—he called it nature deficit—to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as rises in obesity, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and depression.

Richard Louv

Some startling facts: By the 1990s the radius around the home where children were allowed to roam on their own had shrunk to a ninth of what it had been in 1970. Today, average eight-year-olds are better able to identify cartoon characters than native species, such as beetles and oak trees, in their own community. The rate at which doctors prescribe antidepressants to children has doubled and recent studies show that too much computer use spells trouble for the developing mind.

Asma Assad -- "stop being a bystander!"

Earlier this week, two women took a new approach to raising awareness about Syria's crackdown. The wives of the British and German ambassadors to the United Nations appealed directly to Syria's first lady with a video on YouTube. The narrator calls on Asma Assad to "stop being a bystander" — and to stop her husband and his supporters from continuing the conflict:

Article by Sana Saeed on the same subject: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/20/asma-al-assad-syria-petition?newsfeed=true

"The sad truth is that when Asma al-Assad is clad in Louboutins and Louis Vuitton, speaking flawless British-accented English, she is the slightly tan-skinned enigmatic persona of "western civilisation". We applaud her. When she's a propagandist for tyranny, however, she is simply "misguided" but remains a hope for peace. And we must guide her back to her proper senses." (Sana Saeed)

Humility and knowledge in poor clothes excel pride and ignorance in costly attire. - William Penn

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Penn

Rustic Wood Stables

Spent an idyllic afternoon at Rustic Wood Stables yesterday. Here are three of the wonderful horses there -- Jazz (a grey), Jewls (a bay Missouri Foxtrotter), Ty-tanic (a chestnut):

Ty-tanic

Jazz

Jane & Jewls

"As a Native American symbol, the Horse symbol meanings combine the grounded power of the earth with the whispers of wisdom found in the spirit winds. The Horse has long been honored as helper, messenger, and harbinger of spirit knowledge to the Native American. Considered wild and an emblem of freedom, the Native American sees many potentialities in the symbolic nature of this noble creature. Another aspect of Native American symbol meanings of the horse comes with the understanding that the wild freedom of the Horse can be harnessed and used to the benefit of the tribe. This understanding comes only when man and beast enter a silent contract – acknowledging mutual respect and awareness of responsibility to each other. " http://www.whats-your-sign.com/horse-symbol-meanings.html  "As a Celtic symbol, the Horse was associated with war. With war, comes attributes of victory, conquer, longevity as well as procurement of territory and other spoils that come with triumph in battle."

Ride Like the Wind (Christopher Cross):

Banking Blog

Interesting article on Joris Luyendijk's banking blog -- discussing the current wave of anger aimed at bankers, with psychoanalyst Leslie Chapman: 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/joris-luyendijk-banking-blog
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/joris-luyendijk-banking-blog/2012/apr/19/anger-at-the-banks-psychoanalyst

City of London workers

Escapism: "There can be a peculiar kind of enjoyment in anger," he says, "as it allows you [to] not engage with the problem." This may explain why some of the most angry commenters seem to lack curiosity about how the sector actually works.

Envy: Some people may feel enormous envy of those who are, as in the hilarious phrase of Harry Enfield, "considerably richer than you". Ranting and venting at bankers can become a way to deny these negative feelings to yourself and make you feel better about yourself, Chapman suggests.

Cover for powerlessness: These are insecure times with pensions, benefits and other economic rights under pressure. Anger, argues Chapman, may be a way for people to express their increasing sense of powerlessness and loss of control. "They seem to be saying to the bankers: I hate you for taking away my sense of control – and my enjoyment."

Guilt: Anger may also help to drown out feelings of guilt towards the billions of people in poor and developing countries, many of whom are exploited by the global economic system in far worse ways than western taxpayers by their banks.