Apr 27 2013: I want to nominate this man for sainthood. Anyone want to second it?
Working in government and having to read legal and official paperwork all the time, I know *I* don't understand half of what they say, and I'm supposed to be administering it and explaining it to the public.
The lawyers who draft this mass of confusion will not be happy about this movement at all. Too many of them make their living writing, explaining and fighting with other lawyers about what it all means.
Apr 27 2013: I'm very puzzled by that comment. Not at all my experience with animals. And not at all current thinking (finally) among those who study animals.
Chimps are using computers to communicate, I've seen chimps scrubbing laundry along with the staff at wildlife resorts.
I watched as my parrot watched me load a very complicated device that she had to figure out to get the treats from, and within two days she had it figured out.
Sheep dogs learn 'language', the many varied whistle commands that tell them how and where the shepherd wants the sheep.
I could go on and on, but anyone who knows animals already knows what I'm saying.
Mar 17 2013: Thanks so much for taking the time to clarify those things for me. It was very kind of you. Makes the issue more sensible in some ways, and less so, or at least less simple in others.
Mar 16 2013: That makes sense, I guess. Maybe I've read too much science fiction?
But with the birds, he was saying you didn't have to teach them to be a particular kind of bird since the "memories?" of how to be that particular bird are 'hard-wired'.
Is there no human (mis)behaviour that is hard-wired?
Mar 16 2013: Amazing and hopeful, but my concern is, how long before this is hijacked by powerful and wealthy interests to bring Hitler back, or things like that.
Do we really want "Dictator-for -life" types to be able to recreate themselves?
And does anyone know yet whether, when say the pasenger pigeon is de-extincted, will it be able to breed? I thought I had read somewhere that they expected that there would be problems with that.
I have spent some time is both South Africa and Kenya (good luck in the elections) travelling and volunteering in wildlife preserves and schools and have made many friends who work with wildlife.
One thing I see from this distance is the large spike in the amount of poaching and consequent animal deaths that showed up shortly after China began getting so many construction and road contracts in Africa and bringing in their people to do the work.
I don't think that correlation has been looked at. But if the stuff is being transported out of the country in diplomatic pouches as has been alleged, your government is going to have to be willing to break diplomatic ties with certain Asian counties and I don't think they will do that, not even if there was only one elephant left in the world!
I know many of the preserves with rhino are clipping their horns, but with elephants in the wild (or rhino in the wild) I understand that this is not feasible.
However, the proposal to auction off the seized tusk and horn MIGHT put a dent in the illegal trade, as well as raising money for more enforcement, better pay, weapons and training for the rangers.
I'd love to hear more about what your organisation thinks and what it proposes to try . . .
Dec 8 2011: Amazing speaker and she said something that sorely needed saying.
In my travels I have been constantly amazed at how different places are from what has been portrayed in the media.
And we muct remember that it is not only places that have several stories, but each individual has more than one story too.
Dec 8 2011: Title was VERY misleading. Tops, three minutes spent on that topic. Maybe she should look in the mirror when talking about ethics in journalism?
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A comment on Talk: Wade Davis: Dreams from endangered cultures
I only wish more people would pay attention.
A comment on Talk: Alan Siegel: Let's simplify legal jargon!
Working in government and having to read legal and official paperwork all the time, I know *I* don't understand half of what they say, and I'm supposed to be administering it and explaining it to the public.
The lawyers who draft this mass of confusion will not be happy about this movement at all. Too many of them make their living writing, explaining and fighting with other lawyers about what it all means.
A reply on Talk: Mark Pagel: How language transformed humanity
Chimps are using computers to communicate, I've seen chimps scrubbing laundry along with the staff at wildlife resorts.
I watched as my parrot watched me load a very complicated device that she had to figure out to get the treats from, and within two days she had it figured out.
Sheep dogs learn 'language', the many varied whistle commands that tell them how and where the shepherd wants the sheep.
I could go on and on, but anyone who knows animals already knows what I'm saying.
A reply on Talk: John McWhorter: Txtng is killing language. JK!!!
A comment on Talk: Stewart Brand: The dawn of de-extinction. Are you ready?
A reply on Talk: Stewart Brand: The dawn of de-extinction. Are you ready?
But with the birds, he was saying you didn't have to teach them to be a particular kind of bird since the "memories?" of how to be that particular bird are 'hard-wired'.
Is there no human (mis)behaviour that is hard-wired?
A comment on Talk: Stewart Brand: The dawn of de-extinction. Are you ready?
Do we really want "Dictator-for -life" types to be able to recreate themselves?
And does anyone know yet whether, when say the pasenger pigeon is de-extincted, will it be able to breed? I thought I had read somewhere that they expected that there would be problems with that.
A comment on Conversation: How do we save African elephants from extinction?
I have spent some time is both South Africa and Kenya (good luck in the elections) travelling and volunteering in wildlife preserves and schools and have made many friends who work with wildlife.
One thing I see from this distance is the large spike in the amount of poaching and consequent animal deaths that showed up shortly after China began getting so many construction and road contracts in Africa and bringing in their people to do the work.
I don't think that correlation has been looked at. But if the stuff is being transported out of the country in diplomatic pouches as has been alleged, your government is going to have to be willing to break diplomatic ties with certain Asian counties and I don't think they will do that, not even if there was only one elephant left in the world!
I know many of the preserves with rhino are clipping their horns, but with elephants in the wild (or rhino in the wild) I understand that this is not feasible.
However, the proposal to auction off the seized tusk and horn MIGHT put a dent in the illegal trade, as well as raising money for more enforcement, better pay, weapons and training for the rangers.
I'd love to hear more about what your organisation thinks and what it proposes to try . . .
A comment on Talk: Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story
In my travels I have been constantly amazed at how different places are from what has been portrayed in the media.
And we muct remember that it is not only places that have several stories, but each individual has more than one story too.
A comment on Talk: Leslie Dodson: Don’t misrepresent Africa