stoopidity

Chilean fish farm tanks - Photo NY Times

"Residual antibiotics have been detected in Chilean salmon that have been exported to the United States, Canada and Europe, Dr. Cabello said.

He estimated that 70 to 300 times more antibiotics are used by salmon producers in Chile to produce a ton of salmon than in Norway. But no hard data exist to corroborate the estimates, he said, “because there is almost an underground market of antibiotics in Chile for salmon aquaculture.”

Researchers say that some antibiotics that are not allowed in American aquaculture, like flumequine and oxolinic acid, are legal in Chile and may increase antibiotic resistance for people. Last June the United States Food and Drug Adminstration blocked the sale of five types of Chinese seafood because of the use of fluoroquinolones and other additives.

But huge numbers of fish go uninspected. The F.D.A. inspected only 1.93 percent of all imported seafood in 2006, Food and Water Watch said, citing F.D.A. data."

- excerpt from NY Times article "Salmon Virus Indicts Chile's Fishing Methods"

it could be worse...this could be your job

Photo from harpseals.org

This is an image from the annual Canadian Harp Seal Slaughter. The goal this spring is to kill approximately 300,000 pups, primarily for their fur.

Sea Shepherd Seal Defense Campaign 2008

stormy weather

Photo from yachats.org

Old Man Winter just doesn't want to take a rest up here in Oregon. Snow, wind, and pelting hail, all during "Spring Break." The wife and I almost got blown out of the nursery yesterday while trying to pick out some new native shrubs for the garden. Thankfully the flowers, trees, and shrubs are telling me spring IS here, as I excitedly watch buds, blooms, and leaves unfurl.

into the wild

I read the book "Into The Wild" not long after it came out, and just saw the film the other day. No matter what you think of Chris McCandless and what happened to him, most observers would probably admit the story is fascinating. Both the book and film are artfully done, and the film in particular was especially beautiful to behold. It's a wonder McCandless didn't die sooner than he did with the risks he took, but nonetheless I admire his total commitment to adventure, and to freedom from material possessions. His story and the choices he made are a poignant starting point for debate on so many issues of our time...

watch the trailer

the pits

Photo copyright 1994 Gazelle

War Memorial, Washington, DC

"When your best buddy gets blown up right next to you, and you have pieces of him all over you, that's really the pits."

- WW II vet

about a son

http://www.kurtcobainaboutason.com/

This is an unexpectedly well done film, particularly for a documentary about a rock star. It is told in Cobain's own voice, and set to evocative images. You will see no moving images of Nirvana, and very few stills of him or the band. And none of Nirvana's music either, but instead music that was important to him, along with a beautiful score. The images are mostly composed of gracefully photographed images of people and places and evergreens and gray skies shot in the three places Kurt Cobain lived in Washington - Aberdeen, Olympia, and Seattle. The result is moving, intimate, and revealing.

hung far low

Photo copyright 2008 Gazelle

Chinatown, Portland, Oregon

milano

Photo copyright 2000 Gazelle

Italy

darwin's nightmare

"The old question, which social and political structure is the best for the world, seems to have been answered. Capitalism has won. The ultimate forms for future societies are "consumer democracies", which are seen as "civilized" and "good". In a Darwinian sense the "good system" won. It won by either convincing its enemies or eliminating them.

It is... incredible that wherever prime raw material is discovered, the locals die in misery, their sons become soldiers, and their daughters are turned into servants and whores."

A Film By Hubert Sauper

scorched earth

Photo: Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Destroyed village in Darfur, February 2008