However, I am wondering if it can be produced synthetically similar to rubber. Synthetic rubber has definite advantages, in terms of strength, etc., over natural rubber which was "bled" from trees.
"How many of the buyers are of ethnic white blood, and how many are immigrants from the other countries you mentioned?"
I suppose it would require a special survey to answer the question you posed.
However, the article also mentions:
"The report highlights China and Thailand as the two most important raw ivory consuming countries in the world, and indicates that poaching trends can be correlated to increasing affluence in China and tourist arrivals in Thailand."
I fully appreciate your point about "mammoth ivory".
"...the god almighty dollar is killing off the Mighty Elephants."
"All the countries of the world have to make an effort to stop the cruelty towards Elephants, and it starts with people knowing the plight of the Elephant."
I agree with your comment 100%.
I sincerely hope that the pictures posted will be a wake up call and help others to realize the tragic situation that is facing those "Majestic Animals" who are helpless in the circumstances.
I agree with the gist of your last sentence. The focus should be on the end user.
In my previous blog on "Wildlife Wars", I posted this response to a comment:
"Looking at the issue from the viewpoint of supply and demand, if persons who purchase ivory carvings and other ivory products could connect with the fact of the wanton slaughter of the animals and view their rotting carcasses, this may discourage their purchasing these products, and have a negative effect on the supply. This, in turn, may discourage the poaching and slaughter."
Since corruption is a major problem in African Government as you have pointed out(and several other countries also), perhaps, as I stated in my response to loulou, the matter may be best addressed as a supply and demand issue.
"...who will step up and protect and change the current conditions?"
Looking at the issue from the viewpoint of supply and demand, if persons who purchase ivory carvings and other ivory products could connect with the fact of the wanton slaughter of the animals and view their rotting carcasses, this may discourage their purchasing these products, and have a negative effect on the supply. This, in turn, may discourage the poaching and slaughter.
"...jail is like a slap on the wrist the people who pay these poachers will just slip some cash to the authorities to let them out early so they can continue their slaughter."
Your statement is a perfect example of what the article says:
“The issues of poaching and logging are issues of governance and poverty. Corruption is the centre of it. You deal with corruption, you are halfway to dealing with the problem of poaching.”
The vast majority of poaching is caused by organised crime syndicates that use high powered technology and weaponry to track and kill many animals at once without being detected.
These include:
GPS and low-flying helicopters
Grenade Launchers
AK-47s
Night-vision Goggles
At current poaching rates, elephants, rhinos and other iconic African wildlife may be gone within our lifetime.
This wanton destruction of these animals, especially elephants and rhinos, just for their tusks grieves my heart. The rest of their huge bodies is generally left to rot.
The poor animals have no chance against the high-powered modern technological weapons that are used to slaughter them.
Simple Simon met a pieman going to the fair; Said Simple Simon to the pieman "Let me taste your ware" Said the pieman to Simple Simon "Show me first your penny" Said Simple Simon to the pieman "Sir, I have not any!"
Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye, Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. When the pie was opened the birds began to sing, Oh wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?
The ancient Babylonians calculated the area of a circle by taking 3 times the square of its radius, which gave a value of pi = 3. One Babylonian tablet (ca. 1900–1680 BC) indicates a value of 3.125 for pi, which is a closer approximation.
The Rhind Papyrus (ca.1650 BC) gives us insight into the mathematics of ancient Egypt. The Egyptians calculated the area of a circle by a formula that gave the approximate value of 3.1605 for pi.
The first calculation of pi was done by Archimedes of Syracuse (287–212 BC), one of the greatest mathematicians of the ancient world. Archimedes knew that he had not found the actual value of pi but only an approximation within those limits. In this way, Archimedes showed that pi is between 3 1/7 and 3 10/71.
"We lock up or treat people with drugs who's reality differs too much from the majority, but maybe they are living in the real world and us in the illusion."
I read somewhere where someone said: "The real difference between the staff and the patients in a mental hospital is who holds the keys"
In the "Social Construction Of Reality", the authors Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann, say that reality is socially constructed and socially sustained. As you have pointed out, especially with "news" items, the media appears to play a significant role in this regard.
"I think as we discover more of what is out in the universe, we will be changing our current view on reality." This is in keeping with my statement re the history of science in which several scientific laws and theories have undergone modification and even rejection in some cases.
Rose I am amazed by the beauty of your city. You have a right to be proud of it. It is a lovely mix of modern architecture and the old with the pagoda type structures. The delicately carved mountain peaks in the last picture capture the magnificent beauty of Nature. The photography is fantastic.
I agree with your concern about the lack of support for Vietnam War veterans although from what I've read, some effort is being made to address it.
Here is an excerpt from the article on which this blog is based:
"REFERRALS FOR HELP
As already discussed, post-traumatic stress disorders result in widely varying degrees of impairment. When a single veteran (whether bachelor or divorced) with the disorder requests help, I refer him to a group of other combat veterans. The reasons are twofold. First, the veteran is usually quite isolated and has lost many of his social skills. He has few contacts with other human beings. The group provides a microcosm in which he can again learn how to interact with other people. It also helps remove the fear, prevalent among these veterans, that each individual veteran is the only individual with these symptoms. In addition, many of the veterans form close support groups of their own outside the therapy sessions; they telephone each other and help each other through particularly problematic episodes.
Second, the most basic rationale for group treatment of these veterans is that it finally provides the veteran with that “long boat ride home” with other veterans who have had similar experiences. It provides a forum in which veterans troubled by their combat experiences can work their feelings through with other veterans who have had similar conflicts. In addition, the present symptoms of the disorder are all quite similar, and there is more reinforcement in working through these symptoms with one’s peers than in doing it alone.
The group situation is appropriate for most degrees of the symptoms presented. The especially isolated individuals will often be quite frightened of the initial group session. When challenged by questioning the strength that brought them to the initial interview, however, they will usually respond by following through with the group. Those with severely homicidal or suicidal symptoms are best handled in a more crisis-oriented, one-to-one setting until the crisis is resolved. I refer these veterans to an appropriate emergency team, with the expectation directly shared with the veteran that he will join the group as soon as the crisis has abated."
September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945 (World War II, Period)
Movie: Pride of the Marines (1945) (Marine hero Al Schmid is blinded in battle and returns home to be rehabilitated. He readjusts to his civilian life with the help of his soon to be wife.)
Movie: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) (Fred, Al and Homer are three World War II veterans facing difficulties as they re-enter civilian life.)
Movie: The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) (An ex-soldier faces ethical questions as he tries to earn enough to support his wife and children well.)
The term PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is just a label (a relatively recent one perhaps) for certain symptoms which are not confined to the effects of war alone. The focus is on the symptoms, not on the label.
The symptoms existed even before the label was assigned.
In other words, the symptoms did not come into existence when the label was assigned.
So where do you go from here? Someone said Life is what you make it. Yes, you've been hurt and disappointed many times. Perhaps the way you look at life, and not making a serious effort to change it despite the fact that it has led to pain and disappointment, is something you must address otherwise you will continue on the same downward spiral. Is that what you want? I know it isn't. So as I asked before: Where do you go from here? Despite the fact that several persons here have made suggestions for you to deal with the problem, the fact remains that you are the only one who truly know yourself. It is up to you to confront yourself and identify certain measures to deal with the problem, and take the required action for their implementation. I sincerely hope you will do so. All the best to you.
"I've had to deal with my own sons condition up close and personal and it's been no walk in the park. My thoughts go out to the other family and friends who deal with it everyday."
I empathize with you. Hope things improve with your son's condition.
Perhaps, this goes to show that humanity is one big family and the deliberate killing of another person, even in wartime, has certain detrimental psychological consequences for the killer. Having the support of the civilian members of one's country, as it was the case in World War II, may help to alleviate those consequences but it can never eliminate them.
During the Vietnam war, American soldiers killed women and children who must have seen themselves as simply trying to defend their country against the foreign invaders. Such action must play on the consciences of even the most hard-hearted. However, they were simply carrying out the orders of their superiors. Some may have received citations and medals for their actions but that did not spare them from the detrimental effects of PTSD.
Here is the full quote from the article re movies dealing with readjustment stating three that you requested: "The civilian population of the World War II era had been treated to movies about the struggles of readjustment for veterans (i.e. The Man In The Grey Flannel Suit, The Best Years of Our Lives, Pride of The Marines) to prepare them to help the veteran (DeFazio, 1978)".
"The numbers so damaged were small."
There are several internet articles dealing with the issue. Here is an extract from another article:
"Still, in a chilling reminder of war's long-term effects, the VA reported that last year it treated 476,515 veterans for PTSD -- most of them veterans of the Vietnam war almost 50 years ago. Tragically, the Vietnam generation of vets didn't have access to the kinds of services now available through the VA."
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Elephant Poaching
KenCloning ivory is a very good suggestion.
However, I am wondering if it can be produced synthetically similar to rubber.
Synthetic rubber has definite advantages, in terms of strength, etc., over natural rubber which was "bled" from trees.