On Winged Feet

Every night, before hitting the sack, we have the unique pleasure of standing near a Jamaican Cherry tree and watching the fruit bats up close. Fantastic aerial acrobats they wheel and swoop on the abundant sweet fruit that that one small tree provides.

These are of the genus Cynopterus and belong to the family pteropodidae (in Greek literally "winged feet"). We have two species that feed here, the Lesser Short Nosed (C. brachyotis) and the Short Nosed (C. sphinx).

  

Fruit bats include the giants known commonly as flying foxes and they are all endangered. Much misunderstood, they have been branded as farmers' enemies and in India are even classified as vermin - which means that they can be hunted and killed at will. So, all the fruit bats are endangered, not only due to habitat loss but also because of hunting!

In actual fact, orchard owners have nothing to fear from these shy, exquisitely beautiful creatures. When they feed on fruit it is always the overripe fruit that they eat. In fact, without the activity of the fruit bats, pollination and seed dispersal would both be terribly compromised, leading to further loss of forest trees and fruit trees.

By simply planting a few select trees, like the Jamaican Cherry (Muntingia calabura L.).
farmers could encourage the fruit bats and have even fewer problems with fruit damage. Arguably, the droppings of fruit bats are very mineral rich and will serve to fetilize the soil in the orchards, reducing costs and increasing yields for the farmers.


Muntingia itself adds value to any farm as it is a multi-use species producing edible fruit, useful fibre and attractively grained wood besides being fast growing. The tree does well in poor soils - could it be precisely because it is visited by myriads of fruit bats every night?


Please don't encourage the destruction of these beautiful and useful creatures:

AND whenever you do plant a tree, try to keep the no-longer-ubiquitous fruit bat in mind...

For a nice library of pics that shows the diversity and beauty of pteropods check out U Mich's Animal Diversity Website at

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/
accounts/pictures/Pteropodidae.html

The flying series is thanks to Kampang http://www.flickr.com/photos/lonesomecrow/

FREEDOM of SPEECH

Living in India I am shocked at how little the West believes in/understands the simple concept of "freedom of speech".

To take just one recent example, an essayist named Ward Churchill has just been told to quit his teaching post at a university in the U.S. because he published an article on the 9-11 attack on the WTC - saying something to the effect that "America should have been expecting an attack like this to happen given their horrendous activities across the world for the last several decades."

He went even further while trying to place the actions of the 9-11 attackers in the context of language used by Americans during the 1991 Gulf War.

Left leaning - Yes.

Controversial - Yes.

But does that mean that a person should be blacklisted and hounded out of a teaching job, not allowed to participate in public speaking and called a terrorist? Of course, calling someone a terrorist in the West now is the equivalent of saying that this person does not have and does not deserve any human rights; certainly not the right to free speech!.

A sorry few voices have been raised in protest. One is "The Sounds of Bigots"
By RICHARD OXMAN and can be read at http://www.counterpunch.org. And one awaits the details on the "plagiarism" charge that has been bandied about regarding the essayist.

On the whole, my impression is that free speech in America is tolerated if it is fascist in nature (e.g. Coulter) but free speech takes on a different definition for proponents of civil liberties and justice.


How Utterly Sad

Religious Disinterest

As a youth I used to think that everyone was interested in religion. I mean this very generally - all around my friends, classmates, acquaintances had to be involved in some religious activity at least once a week.
Hindu's would do pooja,
Muslims would pray facing Mecca, and visit the mosque,
Christians would go to church
and in the villages,
people would consult the spiritist/healer/soothsayer.



It took a while for me to realise that these activities had little (if anything) to do with how people behaved towards one another.

It took very much longer for me to admit to myself that how i practiced "religion" did not help me to become a 'better sort of person'.

In fact my denial of this fact continued for a number of years.



I had to come back to India, where our billion people and mountainous problems of daily life finally brought home to me the fact that what I had thought to be true religion was in fact nothing but.

My friend's father helped to crystalise this truth for me very simply when one day he casually remarked that "the great religions are supposed to be pointing us towards God. But all they do is to grab a hold of us and point us towards religion".


If my religion can't make me a more loving person then it is pointless. Perhaps the fault lies not with religion but with my failure to become a more loving person regardless...

Seashore Mangrove Forests

Recently took a small group of ecotourists to the mangrove forest at Pichavarram on the East Coast of India. This is my first visit after the Tsunami. I had taken a group there in early December of 2005 and we had planned on being back there for that Christmas - guess one could call that a close one!
Anyhow, this mangrove forest, though not large, is an absolute gem. Some years ago an overambitious idiot researcher had tunnelled out a whole bunch of canals through the forest, probably destroying a good 15% of the original mangrove.

Still the mangrove is reclaiming it's territory and it was heartening to see that the Tsunami also had not wiped it out.

There are around fifty boatmen who make a livelihood carting ecotourists around the mangrove. Each of them is amazing. They have no 'formal education' but know each species of plant, the birds and all the marine life by heart. I have been amazed to hear them give the scientific names, uses, medicinal properties...of these creatures that are unique to the mangrove.



We float through dark tunnels of mangrove, silent except for the gentle swish of the paddle, dappled sunlight speckles the water. The red and black mangroves form dense jungles and the narrowly arched boating tunnels are lined with veritable sculptures of cobwebs. The lone heron contemplates the rich marine life visible only to her eye...

There is a lovely beach on the other side of the mangrove. It was disheartening to see that a large commercial prawn fishery had been quietly set up on one of the nearby islands and even sadder to see the chunks of blasted coral that litter the beach - a sure indication that the corral reefs are being blasted with dynamite for commercial purposes.




Still, I am heartened to see that this present generation of our youth are more conscious of the value of nature and the need to preserve and protect our fast vanishing wilderness. I believe that they are our only hope, for my generation has miserably failed...





Our world is losing 7% to 10% of its mangroves each year. Let us all pray that today's young people will do better!

MONEY or MEDICINE

Oxford Health Plans told hundreds of doctors and thousands of its subscribers that it would no longer pay for medical care at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, and gave them a month to make new arrangements.

© Peter Kuper

In 2004 Oxford agreed to a new contract that increased the rates it paid the hospital, then continued to pay the old rates for more than a year after MediSys and Oxford negotiated new contracts to set the rates the insurer would pay to two MediSys hospitals, Flushing Hospital Medical Center and Jamaica.
Oxford drafted the contracts, and MediSys signed them and returned them to Oxford. But after a few months, MediSys realized that Oxford was still paying the old, lower rates, and it complained to the insurer.
At that point, Oxford raised a new and unexpected subject: the anesthesiologists at Flushing Hospital. The anesthesiology group does not have an agreement with Oxford to be part of its network of doctors. When Oxford members have surgery at Flushing, the anesthesiologists bill the insurance company for their full fees, not the lower rates Oxford would negotiate with in-network doctorsOxford responded by asking the hospitals to pressure the Flushing anesthesiologists to join Oxford's network. MediSys rebuffed that request, saying it was up to the anesthesia group to make its own insurance arrangements.
When repeated protests produced nothing, Jamaica officials raised the possibility this year of canceling the contract, but Oxford talked them out of it.
Then, doctors and patients received letters from Oxford informing them that as of May 2, Jamaica would no longer be an Oxford provider. Doctors who had admitting privileges at other hospitals were told that they would have to take their patients elsewhere. Doctors who had privileges only at Jamaica were told that they would no longer be paid to treat Oxford members, and their patients were told to find new doctors.
“These are mostly elderly people who have heart disease and diabetes and arthritis, people who see a lot of different specialists, and they were panicked," "And all of a sudden, they're told they can't go to all those docs at Jamaica”. They scrambled to make arrangements at other hospitals. Doctors said they were inundated by calls from patients requesting their medical records so they could change doctors.
Many were like the woman in her 60's with chronic hepatitis C, "She came in one day hysterically crying, completely distraught, saying she got this letter from Oxford that I could no longer be her doctor," Dr. Basello said. "Later, she missed appointments because she didn't think she could keep coming to me”.
Jamaica and the state say, Oxford has not made any retroactive payments and because of the lag in billing, they do not know yet whether Oxford is paying the new rates.
Calls to Oxford were referred to its parent company, UnitedHealth Group, which bought Oxford in 2004. Jamaica officials noted that the Oxford moves they object to happened after the July 2004 takeover by UnitedHealth, one of the nation's largest and most profitable health insurers.
Excerpts; read the whole artcle at : http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/30/nyregion/30jamaica.html and special thanks to Peter Kuper for the artwork

The NEW "Chimpy" Troupe in D.C.

America’s sense of humour is making a comeback, and in honour of that one of our local (Indian) zoos, which hosts a bunch of chimps, has nicknamed the three leaders : George, Dick and Rummy !

But seriously this is such an insult to the real chimps. Endangered in the wild due to habitat loss and hunting, with far too many in captivity and used for anything from food and medical research to house pets, the chimpanzee is fast following the bonobo’s road to extinction.

Hardly loveable creatures, adult chimps can be very dangerous and have been known to prey on human infants too if given a chance. Perhaps that’s why the alpha male in that zoo has been dubbed Rummy!

Chimps are also capable of deep thought and of course are very intelligent. I would request my American friends to find a new nickname for your own current alpha male – chimpy is just not acceptable to chimp lovers! Perhaps “maximus” alone will do?

The fellow blogggers that set this off are:
huffingtonpost.com: I-know-a-secret-that-george_b_doesn't and http://tribes.tribe.net/chimpy (Chimpy McFlightsuit)

And for more on REAL CHIMPS, check out these links:
NatGeo article
www.discoverchimpanzees.org
and especially this one for more on Jane Goodall’s work:
www.janegoodall.org

I Wonder

I wonder whether man has fundamentally changed over the last couple of decades? Recent incidents like the abandonment of a living fellow climber near the peak of Mt. Everest, the emerging story on the Haditha tragedy, not to mention the shooting of a pregnant Iraqi woman really make me wonder.

Is it humankind, that is becoming less kind or is it nurture - a change in culture - that is making us more selfish and harder of heart?

Tragedy, war, stress, none of these are new to human experience. Or, could it be that the past was just as bad but that I tend to romanticize it?

I don't know.
I just don't know.


But, I do wonder...

Do Poetry

Does it have to rhyme? No, all it has to do is to connect - and hopefuly, let the reader feel and think something of what the poet was experiencing. That was the gist of what I learned about poetry while wading thru a few courses in literature that I took more out of curiosity than anything else.


That was all of 30 years ago! The lifelong love of poetry that resulted started largely because of the enthusiasm and commitment of my teachers, and has never left...

Writing poetry is another kettle of fish altogether. I have, on occasion, attempted the impossible and fortunately have not foisted my productions on any other than those nearest and dearest - who will (have to?) put up with anything!

Still, for those so tempted, please don't get taken in by flattery. Follow the link embedded in the title and do have a good laugh. All of David Taub's early submissions (on this theme) can be found at : http://windpub.com/literary.scams/wergle.htm and they will really crack you up.

I was pleased to discover that one of my mentors was still teaching literature / poetry and what was even more surprising was that he still remembers me - I think I took all of two full courses from this remarkable teacher and I was not an English major in the first place and certainly not one of those "memorably brilliant" students - now that is dedication!

A very big Thank You, Dr. Jon Kamholtz.

Poetic Rockin’

Rogers and Hammerstein gave us unforgettable musicals and along the way also wrote some powerful poetry. The connection between poetry and music is very strong. After all both are inherently metrical, speaking directly to the heart and soul.

Here’s a sample of one very well known, and one less remembered song from "Carousel".

If I Loved You

If I loved you,
Time and again I would try to say
All I'd want you to know.
If I loved you,
Words wouldn't come in an easy way
Round in circles I'd go!
Longin' to tell you,
But afraid and shy,

I'd let my golden chances pass me by!
Soon you'd leave me,Off you would go in the mist of day,
Never, never to know how I loved you...If I loved you.


You’ll Never Walk Alone

When you walk through a storm
Keep your chin up high
And don't be afraid of the dark.
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown.

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone,
You'll never walk alone.


The Beatles were great and the Lennon/McCartney team shouldered most of the burden of composing.
They too wrote some powerful poetry.

From Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

A girl with kaleidoscope eyes.
Cellophane flowers of yellow and green,
Towering over your head.
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes,
And she’s gone.Lucy in the sky with diamonds,
Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies,
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers,
That grow so incredibly high.
Lennon and McCartney were always inspired but occasionally Harrison contributed a little gem.


Here comes the sun,
Here comes the sun
And I say
It’s alright…

Those of us that are old enough, will recall that there was a close friendship between George Harrison and Eric Clapton; “While My Guitar gently Weeps” was a direct collaboration but otherwise too their lives and music intertwined and produced a lot of sometimes painful yet always magical music.

Do you remember Cream, Led Zeppeliin, The Who and Woodstock in those crazy days when rock was it? Probably, for many, today what still resonates even more than the nostalgia are the sad tales of those that crashed and burned along the way, Jimi Hendrix, Keith Moon, Pete Ham, John Bonham... Many of the leading artists of that age who did survive will fall into the “near miss” category since they seem to have just barely outlived their superstardom. Some (a very few) even managed to retain their superstar status like Clapton, McCartney, Paul Anderson and Roger Waters. And yet, what really remains (and it always will) are the lyrics.


Like “Layla” and “Bell Bottom Blues”, one of the great songs that sprang from the Clapton – Harrison friendship was:

It’s late in the evening. She’s wondering what clothes to wear.
She puts on her makeup and brushes her long blond hair
And then she asks me
“Do I look alright?”
And I say
“Yes, you look wonderful tonight.”

We go to a party
And everyone turns to see
This beautiful lady
That’s walking around with me
And then she asks me
“Do you feel alright?”
And I say
“Yes I feel wonderful tonight.”


I feel wonderful
Because I see
The love lighting in your eyes
And the wonder of it all
Is that you just don’t realize,
How much I love you
It’s time to go home now and
I‘ve got an aching head.
So I give her the car keys
And she helps me to bed
And then I tell her
As I turn out the light
“You are wonderful tonight
Oh my darling,
You were wonderful tonight.”

And just a reminder of one of the many who burned a bit too bright:




"Purple haze all in my eyes,

uhh Don’t know if it’s day or night

You got me blowin’, blowin’ my mind



Is it tomorrow, or just the end of time? "


Can't fit much in on Dylan or Simon & Garfunkel here, not to mention CSNY -all good poets in their own right. Instead we can talk about poetic folk rockin somewhere down the road...

Here's a typical "hard" playlist from my heyday!

Might is RIGHT

Realpolitik argues that there can be no ethics in international affairs (nor in politics of any ilk). Politicians believe that they can always make a majority of the people believe that whatever they say is the truth. But, I don't believe that humankind is so predictable.

Just "another brick in the wall" is how Pink Floyd put it, as easy as leading a flock of sheep...For example, our journalists and social commentators are all very certain that GWB's new "lowest rating ever" is largely due to the continuing flow of negative news from Iraq. By implication, if Iraq were calm, GWB could have been considered a successful president!

Is that really all that there is? "The winner is always right", may be a classic neocon thought but have the public believed this? I really don't think that "the public" is as dumb as the media that serves them, believes.

Democracy in Iraq means the Shia domination of an important and strategic oil source. Furthermore, one could reasonably expect an axis of power to develop with the philosophical linking of two powerful neighbors, Iraq-Iran. Which truly is the stuff of the neocon-jewish lobby's worst nightmares. Knowing this President's penchant for using leaks to accelerate his spin, one could see the timely "leak" of plans to bomb Iran as a nice way to divert attention from the Iraq imbroglio. One might also suspect that our public may even begin to question why Iran having enrichment is any different from Pakistan, India and Israel who have been clandestinely developing these capabilities from the 1950s on and all of whom have both the bombs and the "delivery systems" well in place.

In the final analysis, the Katrina debacle probably did GWB more damage politically than the "far away" war in Iraq.

Pragmatism aside, doesn't one central question get consistently missed? Have the words "right" and "truth" lost their meaning for society? Thank God that however twisted or spun, the truth remains, and might can never mean the same as right.

AND Health for ALL ?

"Er, where are we, exactly?" - Don't you see, that will be our cue to set up a government body to direct clinical practice. Initially, of course, with relatively few guidelines. Most doctors probably wouldn't even notice that they were no longer autonomous. At first. Sir Bartholomew had stood and was preparing to leave. As he pulled on his gloves he continued, "The important thing is, doctors would have to practise according to government instructions. Then it would simply be a case of changing the guidelines so that by degrees they become less orientated towards simplistic notions of what patients need and more orientated towards what government can afford." Doctors' autonomy - satire on the UK's National Health Service - British Medical Journal, Dec 19, 1998 by David Orchard The world famous British NHS - National Health Service seems to be on the rocks.

In a not-so-surprising development, America's closest equivalent - the VA (Veterans Administration) health network is also heading North.

In both cases, these outstandingly effective health initiatives are being systematically torpedoed by their respective governments.





If you value your health and the health of future generations, don't let the pharma - insurance - neocon lobby win!


*** The patient refused autopsy.

Troubles Unheard of

Having been born and brought up in Africa, the fact that the wolrld's worst and least reported human disasters are all African was a rude shock. I fondly remember peace and humanism as the face of the Africa that I love. It brings to mind the title of a famous African tale "Cry, the Beloved Country".

1) War in Democratic Republic of Congo that has claimed at least 10 times as many lives as the December tsunami."It's the worst humanitarian tragedy since the Holocaust," said John O'Shea, chief executive of Irish relief agency GOAL. "The greatest example on the planet of man's inhumanity to man." Almost half of those polled--including leftwing intellectual Noam Chomsky--nominated Congo, citing the brutality of an ugly, tangled war that has killed nearly 4 million people since 1998."The human suffering is mind-boggling," said Lindsey Hilsum, international editor for Britain's Channel 4 News. "The wickedness and cruelty of the armed men who kill and maim and rape defies belief." The images that emerge are too horrible to print.


2) The details of northern Uganda's 18-year war, ranked second in the AlertNet poll, are just as shocking. More than 20,000 children have been abducted by a cult-like rebel group and forced to serve as soldiers and sex slaves, while most of the population in the conflict zone have been forced from their homes into squalid camps. "Like many people, I didn't have any idea of the scale of this conflict" says Hollywod star Helen Mirren.



3) Sudan, where Africa's longest-running civil war has raged for two decades in the south and almost two years of atrocities in the western Darfur region have raised the spectre of genocide. "Darfur has slipped from the front pages, but the situation there is again going from terrible to being absolutely horrendous," U.N. relief coordinator Jan Egeland said. In addition the situation in Western Africa and in Zimbabwe are threatening to wreak even more havoc from statrvation and threatened civil wars.

CADENZA Update 1

Individually experienced but as a unit, babies...Some months of production experience under our belt, the bugs have been handled, we have expanded our workforce, and our reputation is slowly growing as a competent, quality and time conscious, production force.




Cadenza is maturing fast and is ready to try some new compositions!
We are excited by the appreciation of our clients and we have increased our capacity to take on more work.




Here's an invitation to all "out there" - if you know of anyone who needs quality MT work, please do get in touch!