The good news is that China is not likely to abuse its privilege of importing ivory from African elephants which are covered by the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which made the decision at a meeting in Geneva. NOT! What in the world?! China joins Japan as the only two countries that are permitted to import the ivory from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

China had to prove to CITES they had put in place adequate measures to manage regulated sales and tackle any illegal domestic ivory trade. And the number one thief of all IPR and everything else that can be copied is being trusted to keep that promise because of why?

In the future, China and Japan have to bid in a one-off auction of ivory stock piles from those four countries. And the elephants get to express their opinion when? And how? Correct me if I am wrong, but in this case wouldn’t endangered me, don’t break the tusks off the animals?

What’s going on here?

Beijing is pulling out all the stops in order to have clear weather for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics Games. The government says that if bad weather threatens then meteorologists will be asked to step in and change the weather.  Whoa! It almost makes me wish for rain, or thunderstorms and heavy winds and such just to see if the climateers can pull it off.

China’s vice director with the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) says the meteorologists have been practicing to make artificial weather modifications for the past 5 years, especially on reducing rainfall. 

“Artificial weather modification could be useful when a drizzle occurs,” he said. “But in case of a heavy rainfall, no one can help.”

Official forecasts for the opening games are due out on August 1st, a week before they kick off. According to city weather statistics, there’s a 47% chance of drizzle on August 8th. That sounds about right for most anywhere. Maybe it’ll rain, maybe it won’t.

So, how would they stop the drizzle anyway? Giant umbrella?

The guys in this house of umbrellas won’t mind for sure.

Something tells me that people ought not be messing with the weather. But, then China has definitely been doing their part to mess things up.

“Every day, 1.1 billion people have to wash with, bathe in and drink dirty water.
That’s the same as the population of North America and Europe.
We can’t live with that fact. Can you?”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77Mv8pauMKc[/youtube]

After seeing this video I understood that there are places on Earth were people don’t have the time and the power to think about solar power, gas prices or car emissions. No food for tomorrow or water they can’t drink or shower with are bigger problems for them.

There’s not much I can do other than sharing this video with all the readers, friends or family.

This hard hitting viral video by World Vision wants to emphasize the fundamental importance of clean water for daily life, sanitation and hygiene. Everyone should have access to the basic human needs, don’t you think?

Planetary geologists are guessing that valleys on Mars came from gushes of water resulting from past rainfall or groundwater springs. Theorize, believe, speculate … they all have the same meaning when it comes right down to it. Scientists so much want to believe that life, as we know it, existed elsewhere that they will jump to any conclusion.

And jump they do I think.

They have no evidence. They only believe. What’s the difference between believing conditions existed for life as we know it despite having no concrete evidence and believing, say that the universe, as we know it, is the product of some all powerful designer? Both are guesses, no?

I hope we never need to find another home far away from the home where we live now. I don’t anticipate that happening in my lifetime either. But, if we don’t become better stewards of this planet with which we have been entrusted, we may be doing more than wishing life could be sustained on Mars, we may be desperately hoping it can.

What do you think?

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It’s not the high crude oil prices causing high gasoline prices that are driving up food costs. It’s not the fault of the US invasion of Iraq and upsetting the oil bucket. It’s not even the global warming monster that is causing food shortages, hunger among the poor, increased poverty or social unrest. It’s not even the demands of the growing economies in India or China.

The World Bank has concluded that its the EU and the United States and their drive for biofuels that has had the biggest impact on food supply and prices. When what would normally be used for food is fed to cars, people are left wanting.

Let me think this through. The push for biofuels is the result of high gasoline prices, no? If crude was more affordable then no need to push biofuels, right? What I really want to know is how many farmers in America and elsewhere are still being paid to not grow anything? Have the government subsidies stopped? If not, why not?

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This story may not need any more words other than the title to make you laugh out loud, but we’ll try. Apparently there are standards for the length of the cucumber and for the curvature of bananas and the European Union won’t leave it alone. They want to make sure these things are and will be properly regulated.

Original image by skycaptaintwo

Europe (the European Union) is paying too much attention to an absolutely worthless issues like how are the tractor seats positioned, how to reduce the vibration of paving breakers, the circularity of apples, colors and looks of the eschalot, leek, cauliflower or melons. They have even dedicated some 36 paragraphs of adequate instructions for all these things.

Anyone interested in coming up with some regulations for how we should dress from now on? How long a tie should be, how big buttons should be, and don’t let the collar get too long or the zipper be too wide. It’s just as stupid!

Looks like we’re not the only ones to blame for bureaucratic absurdity of their actions because European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, acknowledged that other countries laugh at European cucumber standards. Trust me Mr. Barroso, there’s a good reason they are laughing. And they are not laughing because it’s funny.

As a European citizen, I’d be happier to know that these people who work for Europe (that’s what they do, isn’t it?) would rather plant a tree, than being concerned about ridiculous issues just to justify their paychecks.

Europe is losing credibility.

We’re behind the bears!

 

I know what you wanna see, I know what you like.

 

 

What’s with the dude? Nothing you can say will make me change my mind.

 

What bare skin? I don’t believe you are making a statement.

 

The post about 3 topless PETA demonstrators protesting outside KFC generated quite a buzz. Not much sympathy, just buzz and a desire to have the girls make a real statement. You know, stand up and be seen. That kind of thing.

Turns out the PETA people have friends in Britain too. The girls are showing bare skin to protest using bear skin. Those hats. What’s up with that?

I remember seeing Natalie Portman in a picture emphasizing the fact that she was wearing faux leather. In other words, she just wants to look like she killed an animal to get its skin, not really kill the animal.

It reminds me of the hippie types wearing army fatigues. They want to look like they are in the army but don’t want to serve. What’s up with that, too?

Okay, girls. You want to make a statement. Stand up and be seen, dang it! Or sit down.

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“I want my mommy!”

“Doesn’t anybody love us?”

“We’re hungry!”

“I need burping!”

“Well, at least we have each other.”

“Alright guys! Let’s stick together.”

I guess I am naive enough to think that only humans can be so heartless as to turn away their own children. Not so. A white lion in Schloss-Holte Stukenbrock of Germany rejected her three cubs. What’s up with that? Let me have the little critters. Cute as can be, and whoever thought to put them on a black sheet knew what they were doing when these pix.

So, I wonder aloud here again about the whole zoo thing. Does having these little fellows in a zoo and having humans all around and such have anything to do with the momma lion turning them away? I love animals. Let’s put them back in their natural habitat. And if people want to study them…okay what’s to study. Leave them alone.

What do you think?

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Even if there are new pandas on the block born after the earthquake, not all is happy in panda land. It appears that three giant pandas are suffering from post-quake trauma. In a simple incident where a zookeeper tried to hand a bowl of milk to one panda, the metal bowl dropped and crashed making a loud noise and scaring the panda and two buddies away. It’s been a week, and the pandas are still, uncharacteristically, afraid of the zookeeper and his bowl.

Mei Qian and Qian Qian still need time to heal from the trauma inflicted by the 8.0-magnitude quake it is thought. The bears’ home was damaged during the quake. The three lived with 150 other pandas in the Wolong nature reserve. Six pandas went missing during the quake and one was found dead. Perhaps had the pandas not been confined to the preserve, they would have sensed the quake and went for safety. Did anyone consider that?

The three depressed and frightened pandas, all female, were found in a tree. They have been moved twice, once to escape the ongoing aftershocks. The pandas took their clumsy zookeeper with them to southern China’s Kunming. In Kunming, the playful bears still are frightened by thunder. Caretakers pat them and call them tender names to calm them down.

Okay, I’m afraid, too. Can some cute caretaker come take care of me, please?

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Remember the salmon skin bikini? If not, you should. I’ve been on the look out for one of these for some time now. Well, there’s a guy in China, 71-years old, who thinks he’s found a way to stay cool. Following through on an idea that he had more than 30 years ago, the man has started making shirts out of fish scales.

When his son caught a fish with thumb-nail-sized scales, he remembered the original idea. So…he spent 15 months attaching 14,000 fish scales to one of his shirts. FWIW, it would take me 15 months to count to 14,000. The result, the man says, is cool comfort in the oppressive summer heat. That, he says, made it worth the effort.

I don’t care how cheap labor in China is, if it takes 15 months and enough fish to supply 14,000 scales, I won’t be able to afford one.

This man’s effort reminds me of another Chinese dude who was able to do something with beer bottles that large companies everywhere and scientists are racking their brains to try and do. Solar energy from beer bottles? Okay, then…a shirt made from fish scales.