Don't Shed Crocodile Tears for Crocodiles

Killer Crocodiles

As saltwater crocodiles stalk Australia's waterways, we investigate if they should be culled to curb attacks on humans. Heralded as the 'animal most likely to eat a human', saltwater crocodiles are a common feature in Australia's tropical north. The ancient predator is the world's largest reptile, growing up to seven metres long and weighing more than a tonne. Once endangered due to commercial hunting, their numbers had dropped dramatically to just 3,000. However, following the introduction of protection laws in 1971, this steadily increased, with scientists now estimating their population at more than 100,000. They are now so prevalent that saltwater crocodiles have been found in swimming pools and living rooms in the northern city of Darwin. But with more crocs, comes a higher chance of attacks on humans. The most recent fatality was just few months ago. On January 26, a 12-year-old boy was taken by a 4-metre-long croc as he swam with other children in a swimming pond in Kakadu National Park. Park officials claim the area was well signposted as a crocodile danger-zone. Two of the fatal attacks in the past few months have involved indigenous children. The relationship between crocodiles and the indigenous population goes back more than 40,000 years, with the crocodile revered, respected and a source of food. Just 500 crocs can be legally hunted with commercial licenses a year, many by indigenous people, who earn a maximum of $2,000 for each croc. Some elders are also calling for the government to allow trophy hunters to catch and kill crocs with their assistance. They would like to see hunters paid $20,000 a croc. The Australian saltwater crocodile's natural predatory nature begins at birth, according to a Charles Darwin University study. The study found that of seven different species, the saltwater croc was not only the most aggressive but is also prone to belligerence from the minute it leaves the egg. They claim that if you dive off the Adelaide River bridge, 60km east of Darwin's city centre, and start swimming, there is a 100 percent certainty of being taken by a saltwater croc. Researchers also launched the world's first crocodile attack database - CrocBITE - last month, in an attempt to confirm reports that harmful or fatal incidents are increasing. The attacks have led some members of the community to propose the government allow safari hunts to begin again. The federal government is expected to make a decision in November. But scientists say this could exacerbate the problem as crocodiles are already controlling the size of the wild crocodile population. Saltwater crocs are very territorial and the larger ones eat smaller and younger crocs if they encroach on their territory. Scientists say if the larger ones are selectively removed, the population could be expected to expand. A cull may also give people a false sense of security and they may be more likely to swim in waters where it is unsafe to do so. Tourism operators and some members of the Aboriginal community are opposed to culling crocodiles. Tourism, based on wild and captive crocodiles, is the mainstay of the Northern Territory, attracting holidaymakers from across the world. It is the Territory's second-largest industry and its largest employer. National and international documentaries and media attention on the Northern Territory's successful crocodile management programme is arguably the primary vehicle through which 'Top End' tourism is promoted against competing destinations. Scientists say that after the recent attack, more tourists will learn about the Northern Territory through the media, and in a macabre twist, there will be an increase in tourist bookings. Farming crocodiles for their skin and meat is another lucrative local industry. The Territory now supplies 50 percent of the world's premium-grade skins. Crocodile farming, based largely on ranching (collecting and selling wild eggs), generates some $25m per year in skin sales for the international high fashion industry and has extensive commercial flow-on effects in the community.

Source: Aljazeera

Slavery is not Bravery

In 2013, modern slavery takes many forms, and is known by many names: slavery, forced labour or human trafficking.

‘Slavery’ refers to the condition of treating another person as if they were property – something to be bought, sold, traded or even destroyed. ‘Forced labour’ is a related but not identical concept, referring to work taken without consent, by threats or coercion.  ‘Human trafficking’ is another related concept, referring to the process through which people are brought, through deception, threats or coercion, into slavery, forced labour or other forms of severe exploitation. Whatever term is used, the significant characteristic of all forms of modern slavery is that it involves one person depriving another people of their freedom: their freedom to leave one job for another, their freedom to leave one workplace for another, their freedom to control their own body.

While it takes different forms in different countries and sectors, every country has some form of modern slavery. It is estimated that 72.7 % of the estimated total 29.6 million people in modern slavery are in Asia. The countries with the highest estimated numbers of enslaved are India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, Thailand, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Taken together, these countries account for more than 76% of the total estimate of 29.6 million in modern slavery. he country with the largest estimated number of people enslaved is India, which is estimated to have between 13,300,000 and 14,700,000 people enslaved.

The country with the second highest absolute numbers of enslaved is China, with an estimated 2,800,000 to 3,100,000 in modern slavery. The country with the third highest absolute number in modern slavery is Pakistan, with an estimated 2,000,000 to 2,200,000 in modern slavery.

We hope this draft Index will stimulate discussion and feedback ultimately leading to an improvement in the strength and usefulness of the Index. In addition, Walk Free would like to begin a process of engaging with governments and ultimately supporting countries to assess their response to modern slavery and improve the effectiveness of their response. Most countries have already voluntarily ratified international agreements such as the Slavery Convention, the UN Trafficking Protocol and the ILO Convention on Forced Labour. For instance, 97 countries, or 49.7% of members of the United Nations, are party to the 1926 Slavery Convention and 154 countries, or 79.7% of members of the United Nations, are party to the UN Trafficking Protocol. Through this action, Governments have already expressed their legally binding commitments to work towards the eradication of various forms of modern slavery.

Source: Walkfree Foundation

election Festival in India : Family of 47 voters being wooed by all parties

Bihar: This family of 47 voters being wooed by all parties

IANS | Mar 30, 2014, 03.10 PM IST

PATNA: It's a joint family of 85 people, with 47 being voters and in this poll season, they find themselves much in demand in Bihar's Kishanganj constituency. Leaders and workers of all political parties are eyeing the joint family, probably the largest in Bihar. 

The family of 35 children, 30 women and 55 men lives under one roof in Jiyagachi village in Purnea district, about 350 km from Patna. 

Their village may be in Purnea, but they are part of the Kishanganj parliamentary constituency after delimitation. 

Muslims make up more than 66.7 per cent of the voters in Kishanganj. The Congress has fielded its sitting MP Maulana Ishrarul Haque, ruling Janata Dal (United) has fielded Akhtarul Iman after he quit the Rashtriya Janata Dal, and the BJP has fielded Dilip Jayswal. 

"We are in high demand as 47 members of our joint family would cast their vote in the Lok Sabha polls," said Mohd Nazir who is head of the family. 

Nazir, in his early 60s, is a farmer. He said that his joint family's importance has increased ahead of the polls. 

"Leaders are trying to take us into confidence for support as we are equal to more than a dozen nuclear families," he said. 

His joint family owns 20 bighas of agriculture land. 

Nazir's two younger brothers are school teachers and they provide their monthly salary to him to manage the family. 

"I have been given the responsibility to run and manage the joint family, which has been living together for three generations," he said. 

"We consume 20 kg rice and same amount of flour in each meal," he said. 

Nazir brother Mohd Ashfaque's wife Anjera Khatoon is mukhiya, village head of the panchayat. 

Khatoon said that all children of her joint family are getting education. 

"We have decided to provide education to all children in the family because it is the only way to get ahead in life," she said. 

Khatoon said she may be mukhiya of panchayat but the family head is her husband's elder brother Nazir. 

"He is the final authority and manages the family in such a way that no one has any grievances," she said. 

Police official Mahender Prasad Yadav said that Nazir's family also provides help to police to solve disputes and problems in the village.

The Times of India

Post a comment

Don't Smoke and End Up in Smoke.

Mushon, 45, a Sumatran Orangoutang plays with a piece of bamboo and a tin can in the Tel Aviv Ramt Gan Zoological Center near Tel Aviv, Israel, on March 23, 2014.

When the green champions are against the smoke emitted by the factories and vehicles our human factories too join the club of polluters by smoking non-stop. As a child I've watched people smoking 'beedis' and 'cigars'- (churutu in Tamil) and the wealthy people smoked cigarettes.

Today the entire community smokes cigarettes as we have grown economically. Normally in this part of the earth the smokers believe that the is a fashion statement. There is an air of superiority always flowing from their mouths and hearts  and the smokers feel proud and they are considered to be more courageous, brave, stylish, masculine,elite and sexist too than the  non-smokers. As they tick off the burnt ashes they feel dismissive of the person standing next to them and again wear air of style statement. But the friends who smoke normally care less for their neighbors. The government has banned smoking in public places and offices. Hence the safest place for smoking is their homes only. Either their kids and other family members or their neighbors have to survive as passive smokers. You smoke and I perish. Little they bother about the inconvenience of others.

Though the governments hike the prices of these tobacco products the sales  don't come down drastically.  I have neighbors who are good at this art. I continue to be smoked by their habit and in fact  I may inhale more than the smokers as they smoke in turns and keep moving. Some funny sides are to be written when we speak of this royal habit. In earlier days people used to smoke heavily even inside the  cinema theaters and now it has come down. But the safest place for these folks who get immersed quite often in heavenly sojourns is the wash rooms.Public toilets would be crowded and there would be a long queue. Once the noise of water splashing and movement of buckets are heard the person waiting out side would be 'on his marks' and on opening of the door, he would rush into the toilet to be welcomed by a smoky room. Nothing can be done.Enjoy or suffer.

It is laughable that pictorial warnings with horrible faces are getting printed on the cigarette boxes and simply people empty them to take the spotless white cigarettes. We were told Prime Minister Churchill enjoyed  cigars from India. I forgot to add that the smokers often slip into philosophical journey.  Long live the smokers!




 



I think the cigarettes must be the only product that warns with these dangerous announcements and go unheeded. 

Facebook from the Space

San Francisco (AFP) - Facebook revealed it has a lab working on using drones, satellites and solar-powered planes to provide web access around the world.

"We've been working on ways to beam Internet to people from the sky," Facebook co-founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg said in a post on the leading social network.

The team at the Connectivity Lab builds on a quest by Facebook-launched Internet.org to make access to basic online services available everywhere on the planet.

"Connecting the whole world will require inventing new technology too," Zuckerberg said.

"That's what our Connectivity Lab focuses on, and there's a lot more exciting work to do here."

The team at the lab comprises experts in aerospace and communications technology, including former members of the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab and Ames Research Center, according to Facebook.

View gallery

A U.S. Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle assigned to the California Air National Guard …

And it just added talent from a Britain-based startup behind long-flying solar powered, unmanned aircraft.

The lab is looking at varying tactics to achieve its mission. For remote regions or spread-out populations, the team is interested in using satellites orbiting the Earth.

Suburban populations could be given access to Internet service from gear in planes continually circling about 20,000 meters overhead, Facebook's Yael Maguire said in a YouTube video posted by Internet.org.

The planes would fly above the weather and, powered by the sun, could remain in the sky for months at a time, according to Maguire.

The team is looking at "tying it all together" using lasers to transmit data between satellites, aircraft, or other points.

"We are just at the beginning," Maguire said. "We have some amazing people on the team and there are some awesome problems to solve."

Concealing Often Reveals More

IPCC report: climate change felt 'on all continents and across the oceans'

Leaked text of blockbuster report says changes in climate have already caused impacts on natural and human systems.

•  

Smoke billowing from a plant in Tokyo Bay, Japan. Government officials and scientists are gathered in Yokohama this week ahead of the launch of the IPCC report. Photograph: Franck Robichon/EPA

Climate change has already left its mark "on all continents and across the oceans", damaging food crops, spreading disease, and melting glaciers, according to the leaked text of a blockbuster UN climate science report due out on Monday.

Government officials and scientists are gathered in Yokohama this week to wrangle over every line of a summary of the report before the final wording is released on Monday – the first update in seven years.

Nearly 500 people must sign off on the exact wording of the summary, including the 66 expert authors, 271 officials from 115 countries, and 57 observers.

But governments have already signed off on the critical finding that climate change is already having an effect, and that even a small amount of warming in the future could lead to "abrupt and irreversible changes", according to documents seen by the Guardian.

"In recent decades, changes in climate have caused impacts on natural and human systems on all continents and across the oceans," the final report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will say.

Some parts of the world could soon be at a tipping point. For others, that tipping point has already arrived. "Both warm water coral reef and Arctic ecosystems are already experiencing irreversible regime shifts," the approved version of the report will say.

This will be the second of three reports on the causes, consequences of and solutions to climate change, drawing on researchers from around the world.

The first report, released last September in Stockholm, found humans were the "dominant cause" of climate change, and warned that much of the world's fossil fuel reserves would have to stay in the ground to avoid catastrophic climate change.

This report will, for the first time, look at the effects of climate change as a series of risks – with those risks multiplying as temperatures warm.

The thinking behind the decision was to encourage governments to prepare for the full range of potential consequences under climate change.

Japanese environment minister, Nobuteru Ishihara, (third from the left) delivers a speech at the opening session of the IPCC working group II in Yokohama. Photograph: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images

"It's much more about what are the smart things to do then what do we know with absolute certainty," said Chris Field, one of the co-chairs overseeing the report. "If we want to take a smart approach to the future, we need to consider a full range of possible outcomes and that means not only the more likely outcomes, but also outcomes for truly catastrophic impacts, even if those are lower probability," he said.

The gravest of those risks was to people in low-lying coastal areas and on small islands, because of storm surges, coastal flooding and sea-level rise.

But people living in large urban areas would also be at risk from inland flooding that wipes out homes and businesses, water treatment centres and power plants, as well as from extreme heatwaves.

Food production was also at risk, the report said, from drought, flooding, and changing rainfall patterns. Crop yields could decline by 2% a decade over the rest of the century.

Fisheries will also be affected, with ocean chemistry thrown off balance by climate change. Some fish in the tropics could become extinct. Other species, especially in northern latitudes, are on the move.

Drought could put safe drinking water in short supply. Storms could wipe out electricity stations, and damage other infrastructure, the report is expected to say.

Those risks will not be borne equally, according to draft versions of the report circulated before the meeting. The poor, the young and the elderly in all countries will all be more vulnerable to climate risks.

Climate change will slow down economic growth, and create new "poverty traps". Some areas of the world will also be more vulnerable – such as south Asia and south-east Asia.

The biggest potential risk, however, was of a number of those scenarios unfolding at the same time, leading to conflicts and wars, or turning regional problem into a global crisis, said Saleemul Haq, a senior fellow of the International Institute for Environment and Development and one of the authors of the report.

"The really scary impacts are when things start getting together globally," he said. "If you have a crisis in two or three places around the world, suddenly it's not a local crisis. It is a global crisis, and the repercussions of things going bad in several different places are very severe."

There was controversy in the run-up to the report's release when one of the 70 authors of a draft said he had pulled out of the writing team because it was "alarmist" about the threat. Prof Richard Tol, an economist at Sussex University, said he disagreed with some findings of the summary. But British officials branded his assessment of the economic costs of climate change as "deeply misleading".

The report argues that the likelihood and potential consequences of many of these risks could be lowered if ambitious action is taken to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. It also finds that governments – if they act now – can help protect populations from those risks.

But the report also acknowledges that a certain amount of warming is already locked in, and that in some instances there is no way to escape the effects of climate change.

The 2007 report on the effects of climate change contained an error that damaged the credibility of the UN climate panel, the erroneous claim that Himalayan glaciers could melt away by 2035.

This year's report will be subject to far more rigorous scrutiny, scientists said. It will also benefit from an explosion of scientific research. The number of scientific publications on the impacts of climate change doubled between 2005 and 2010, the report will say.

Researchers said they also hoped to bring a fresh take on the issue. They said they hoped the re-framing of the issue as a series of risks would help governments respond more rapidly to climate change.

"Previously the IPCC was accused of being very conservative," said Gary Yohe, professor of economics and environmental studies at Wesleyan University, one of the authors of the report. "This allows them to be less conservative without being open to criticism that they are just trying to scare people to death."

-The Guardian