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ago a brave undercover journalist released a shocking video about hunters using spotlights to confuse migrants in Hunan Province before gunning them out of the sky. The Chinese public was |
outraged and Weibo was alive with condemnation of the hunters and also criticism of the authorities for being slow to act. Shortly after this major outcry, local birders discovered over |
2km of illegal mist nets at Beidagang, the site of the current Oriental Stork tragedy. Local activists, many of whom are now on site trying to save the storks, led |
a ‘day of action’ involving over 60 volunteers, and even the Chinese army, to take down illegal mist nets in the reedbed. This was covered by local and national TV |
as well as print media. Due to these two events, the number of articles relating to illegal bird trapping and hunting nationwide has exploded. The campaign to eradicate the illegal |
hunting of birds is gaining momentum. And the scale of the reaction by ordinary Chinese people all over the country has been overwhelming, demonstrating clearly that the vast majority of |
Chinese people care deeply about their wild birds. It will be very hard for the authorities to ignore. None of this would be happening without the incredible dedication, passion and |
energy of a small number of volunteers at Beidagang. There are many people involved but a special mention must go to Xunqiang Mo (aka “Nemo”), a local student, and Jingsheng |
Ma, who have personally led the effort to cut down the illegal nets and are now leading the ongoing operation to save the Oriental Storks. They are heroes in every |
respect. Here is a personal account from yesterday evening, provided by Zhu Lei, a Beijing-based birder monitoring the situation: “There is heart-breaking news. 8 more dead storks been found today, |
which raise the total number up to 21 ! The ground team located 3 evidently man-made small water pools (around diameter of 1m, depth of 0.3m), one of them contained |
a big empty packing bag (900 g × 20 packets – although the scene is absolutely terrible, it does not necessarily mean the whole bag of poison has been used |
there) of pesticide. We suspect that the poachers have put the toxic chemical directly into the water in these pools or used the same methods as those 2 Jilin guys |
(filled the fish with toxic, then put into the pools) to poison the birds. According to signs on the bag, the pesticide used in this massacre is nothing but Carbofuran. |
The bags were already taken by the police as potential evidence. Some tissue also been taken from the dead birds for further forensic tests. The cause of death will only |
be revealed as the test report is released (although everything points to it being poisoning with carbofuran). The volunteer team (mostly from the local community and nearby Tianjin city) should |
be applauded for their hard work. Among them, a bicycle enthusiasts team is worthy of mention for they’ve taken the duty to patrol the dam which surrounds the wetland in |
daytime, and at least 3 of them have tried hard to wade into the muddy wetland searching for sick birds. Several local rich bird photographers (I think the guys who |
can afford the big Canon or Nikon big lenses and expensive cameras could be called ‘rich’) have provided financial support to cover spending such as other volunteers’ accommodation and food, |
etc. People from government agencies also contributed to the action. Today, even a team of firemen was called to the spot, due to lack of proper equipment (e.g. waders, boats) |
to deal with the situation faced in the wetland. They just try to do what they can over there. 24h ground patrolling has been launched last night, and the patrol |
has been equipped with night-vision goggles donated by a businessman from Tianjin. Tomorrow, the team will focus on locating more poisoned lure pools and will destroy them. A plan to |
provide safe food (mainly small fish) to the storks still at the wetland will be carried out tomorrow. Special thanks to Nemo for his great devotion and efforts in saving |
those birds on-site, and kindly receiving my interview tonight. He is a real hero and deserves our highest respect.” You can follow the latest developments with the Oriental Storks at |
Beidagang and the broader campaign to eradicate illegal mist-netting at this website. Already, many people have expressed their support for these brave and committed individuals and their comments are making |
a real difference to the volunteers. Knowing that there are people all over the world supporting their efforts is a real boon for them. If you haven’t already, please take |
Lady Liquor: The Racial Implications of the "Disease" Model of Alcoholism Earlier in this series I wrote about the notion that the desire for intoxication may be universal, and how that connects with the “disease model” of addiction. The disease |
model, as far as I can tell, first gained traction as an idea in the 1930s with the formation of Alcoholics Anonymous. Groups similar to AA, such as the Washingtonian Movement and the Oxford fellowship (which AA cofounder Bill Wilson |
attended before forming his own voluntary fellowship) had existed prior to AA's formation, but AA took off in a way they never did, for a variety of reasons. Alcoholism wasn't recognized as a disease by medical and psychiatric associations until |
the 1950s – but the disease model is now pretty firmly entrenched in our understanding of chemical dependency. Personally, I don't think it's an accident that AA was formed just a few years after Prohibition ended. Its formation represented a |
fundamental cultural shift – one that recognized prohibiting the sale of alcohol had not solved any of the problems that concerned Temperance leaders, including the way problem drinking affected families. It still prescribed total abstinence from alcohol, just not for |
the entire population. And while Temperance leaders placed more of the blame for problem drinking on alcohol itself – and the people who sold it – than on the drinkers, heavy drinking was still viewed as a moral failure rather |
than a medical problem. In the decades after the advent of AA, many cities' laws against public drunkenness were thrown out or softened, and instead of being thrown into drunk tanks, people found stumbling around or sleeping it off in |
public spaces were taken to detox and rehab facilities – a problematic policy shift in itself since people who aren't ready for rehab won't benefit from it but still, arguably, a change for the better. All of that resulted from |
a movement that has attempted to make addiction a morally neutral, medical issue and has argued for treating people with addiction issues with compassion rather than dismissive contempt. But our understanding of addiction, through the disease model lens, has evolved |
in odd ways. (It occurs to me, for instance, that if 12-step recovery programs don't necessarily view addiction as a moral problem, they promote a faith-based – and therefore “moral,” in some sense – solution.) In the 1980s, researchers began |
investigating a potential link between addiction and genetics – and almost immediately started talking about whether genetics would explain why some races or nationalities had higher incidences of problem drinking than others. Again, it was offered as a morally neutral |
alternative to existing stereotypes about weak-willed, shiftless or mean drunks, particularly those in certain minority groups (Native Americans, and to a much, much, lesser extent, Irish-Americans). Brown University epidemiologist Stephen Buka, in a paper discussing health disparities as they relate |
to substance abuse, notes that there is greater genetic variability within major racial groups than between them and that racial disparities in health status. Research on ethnicity and race as they relate to heavy drinking is intrinsically problematic, if not |
impossible to conduct, because these are plastic concepts that change with society; discussions about the ethnic connection to drinking invariably group all native Americans (on both continents) into one single ethnic category; in the same discussions, the Irish are presented |
as genetically distinct from all other European ethnicities. The same way that evolutionary psychology (or at least, bad reporting on evolutionary research) often conveniently reinforces sexist stereotypes about the role of men and women in the 21st society, genetic explanations |
for alcoholism tend to reinforce preexisting stereotypes about certain ethnic groups and races – in the case of both Native Americans and (now fully assimilated, but still cheekily stereotyped) Irish-Americans, these are stereotypes that date back centuries before the discovery |
of DNA; stories about the purported “out-of-control” drinking habits of Native Americans date back to the first interactions between white explorers and natives, with the former presenting their own drinking norms as refined and in control. Socioogist and social worker |
Richard Thatcher, author of the 2004 book Fighting Firewater Fictions: Moving Beyond the Disease Model of Alcoholism, argues that both the disease model and the “firewater myth” not only cast Native American people in the most essentialist terms, but considers |
problem drinking from the social, cultural and economic realities with which many indigenous people cope – perpetuating a racist status quo and leading many young people to believe they will eventually, inevitably become alcoholics themselves. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, |
particularly in cultures (Thatcher's work focuses on indigenous people in Canada) where no effort is made to address the other societal factors that lead to problem drinking. People drink for a lot of reasons: to celebrate, to grieve, to relax |
and, I would argue, we sometimes drink, too much, too heavily, to bear the unbearable, including systematic racism (not just on the part of indigenous peoples, but other racial minorities as well). While removing moral judgment from that coping mechanism |
is a step in the right direction, treating alcoholism as a disease separate from the social and historic factors that brought it about in the first place gives societies license to continue not addressing those factors. It gives dominant groups |
a pass to perpetuate the racist status quo, rather than helping to improve the living conditions and economic prospects of Native people. Where alcohol dependence and ongoing marginalizing intersect is where the discourse—and the treatment—should be centered. Previously: Race, marketing, |
Intellectual disability begins in childhood. People with intellectual disability have limits in their mental functioning seen in below-average intelligence (IQ) tests and in their ability to communicate, socialize, and take care of their everyday needs. The degree of disability can vary from person to person. It can be... |
can be prevented with proper medical care. Children diagnosed with an intellectual disability are most successful when they get help early in life. If you suspect that your child may have an intellectual disability, contact your doctor. Several hundred causes of intellectual disability have been discovered, but many ar... |
- Abnormal genes inherited from parents - Errors when genes combine, such as Down syndrome and Fragile X syndrome - Nutritional deficiencies - Metabolic conditions, such as phenylketonuria (PKU), galactosemia , and congenital hypothyroidism - Developmental brain abnormality, such as hydrocephalus and brain malformation... |
such as: - Premature delivery or low birth weight - Baby doesn’t get enough oxygen during birth - Baby is injured during birth Factors during childhood, such as: - Nutritional deficiencies - Illnesses or infections that affect the brain, including meningitis , encephalitis , chickenpox , whooping cough , and measles - ... |
toxins - Head injury or near drowning - Social factors, such as child stimulation and adult responsiveness - Educational deficiencies A child could be at higher risk for intellectual disability due to any of the causes listed above, or due to intellectual disability in other family members. If you are concerned that yo... |
doctor. Symptoms appear before a child reaches age 18. Symptoms vary depending on the degree of the intellectual disability. If you think your child has any of these symptoms, do not assume it is due to intellectual disability. These symptoms may be caused by other, less serious health conditions. - Learning and develo... |
same age - Difficulty communicating or socializing with others - Lower than average scores on IQ tests - Trouble learning in school - Inability to do everyday things like getting dressed or using the bathroom without help - Difficulty hearing, seeing, walking, or talking - Inability to think logically The following cat... |
intellectual disability: - IQ 50-70 - Slower than normal in all areas - No unusual physical signs - Can learn practical skills - Reading and math skills up to grades 3-6 - Can conform socially - Can learn daily task skills - Functions in society - IQ 35-49 - Noticeable delays, particularly speech - May have unusual phy... |
Can learn simple communication - Can learn elementary health and safety skills - Can participate in simple activities and self-care - Can perform supervised tasks - Can travel alone to familiar places - IQ 20-34 - Significant delays in some areas; may walk late - Little or no communication skills, but some understandin... |
be taught daily routines and repetitive activities - May be trained in simple self-care - Needs direction and supervision socially - IQ <20 - Significant delays in all areas - Congenital abnormalities present - Needs close supervision - Requires attendant care - May respond to regular physical and social activity - Not... |
is not developing skills on time, tell the doctor as soon as possible. Your doctor will ask about your child’s symptoms and medical history. A physical exam will be done. Standardized tests may be given that measure: - Intelligence—IQ tests measure a person’s ability to do things such as think abstractly, learn, and so... |
disability if IQ test results are 70 or below. Adaptive behavior—These are skills needed to function in everyday life, including: - Conceptual skills like reading and writing - Social skills like responsibility and self-esteem - Practical skills like the ability to eat, use the bathroom, and get dressed Children with i... |
as hearing impairment , visual problems, seizures , attention deficit hyperactivity disorder , or orthopaedic conditions. Additional testing may be needed to check for other conditions. Talk with your doctor about the best treatment plan for your child. Treatment is most helpful if it begins as early as possible. Treat... |
to age three - Family counseling - Human development training, including emotional skills and hand-eye coordination - Special education programs - Life skills training, such as preparing food, bathing - Job coaching - Social opportunities - Housing services To help reduce your child’s chance of becoming intellectually ... |
for conditions that may produce intellectual disability. - Have your child properly immunized . - Schedule regular visits to the pediatrician. - Use child safety seats and bicycle helmets. - Remove lead-based paint from your home. - Keep poisonous household products out of reach . - Aspirin is not recommended for child... |
infection. This is because of the risk of Reye's syndrome , which can cause neurological problems. Ask your doctor which medicines are safe for your child. - Reviewer: Rimas Lukas, MD - Review Date: 03/2013 - - Update Date: 00/31/2013 - |
Debt Ceiling to allow U.S. Debt to hit historic level in early 2013 While there have been and continue to be a significant number of hands wringing over the fiscal |
cliff , which takes effect on December 31, perhaps the REAL issue is coming very early in 2013: the U.S. Debt Ceiling. The fiscal cliff is being discussed on every |
business report on television, radio, Internet blogs and print media. As you most likely know, fiscal cliff is the name given to the event associated with the simultaneous expiration of |
the Bush-era tax cuts, the increase in the payroll tax and the immediate reduction of federal government spending. For reference, here are links to APMEX’s special reports n the fiscal |
cliff. Fiscal Cliff is but the Beginning While the sudden and significant impact of multiple changes in the economy is surely creating anxiety and uncertainty in both the personal lives |
and business of Americans, this is likely only the beginning of issues as the United States begins to respond to the “new normal” following the Great Recession. However, the next |
increase in the federal debt ceiling – the maximum amount the U.S. may borrow as set by Congress – will establish the maximum U.S. Federal Debt at about $18 trillion. |
While this is, of course, a huge level of debt and the largest debt of any country, the U.S. also has the world’s largest economy. The question that each country |
must address is “How much debt can this country afford?” The answer depends on a number of factors and is often measured in the ratio of debt to Gross Domestic |
Product (GDP) of the borrowing country. Historically, for the U.S., this ratio has generally been between 30 percent and 65 percent, from 1950 until the beginning of the Great Recession |
in 2008. U.S. Debt is at Historically High and Dangerous Levels When the next debt ceiling is set by Congress, most likely in early 2013, presuming borrowing to the ceiling |
and low GDP growth, the U.S. Debt to U.S. GDP ratio will most likely be about 120 percent, a level more than double the historical levels since 1950. How does |
this compare to other countries? Below is a table of several key countries around the world. Also, here is a complete list of countries with Debt to GDP levels provided |
by the International Monetary Fund. The History and the Current Status of the U.S. Debt Ceiling During World War I in 1917, the U.S. Congress passed a law requiring Congressional |
approval on the aggregate debt outstanding of the United States. Prior to this, Congress was required to approve each and every debt offering. Since 1950, there have been 95 changes |
to the debt ceiling; since 2000 there have been 13 changes, or about one per year. You can read about the History of the U.S. Debt Ceiling or see a |
listing of all changes to the U.S. Debt Ceiling, use Table 7.3. Since 2000, the increases in the U.S. Debt Ceiling have been larger than in previous years as the |
United States borrowed more to finance the 2000 dot-com bust, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Federal support of the Great Recession of 2007–2008. The current status of |
the U.S. Public Debt and the Debt Limit is shown in the charts below. The U.S. Debt has increased by more than 15 percent since January 2011. The current U.S. |
Debt is very close to the U.S. Debt Ceiling of about $16.5 trillion and, accordingly, Congress will be required to take action very soon. The U.S. Debt has increased $2.1 |
trillion, or about 15percent, in just two years since January 2011. Despite the large increase, the Federal Government has almost borrowed to the limit. The U.S. Debt Ceiling must be |
raised in the very near future, most likely in a few months. As the chart below shows, at the end of October 2012, only about $172 billion remained available under |
the U.S. Debt Ceiling. In November 2011, federal borrowing increased by $119 billion, and if that were the borrowing rate for November 2012, almost all of the available U.S. Debt |
availability would be consumed. Note: In an article in The Wall Street Journalon December 12, 2003, it was reported that the U.S. Treasury currently has only about $67 billion remaining |
in borrowing capacity. The red line represents the total borrowing capacity of the United States that is above the current aggregate outstanding U.S. Debt. Since January 2012, U.S. borrowing has |
increased such that the remaining availability has declined each month , leaving the availability in November 2012 at just $172 billion. Here is the U.S. Treasury Monthly Statement of the |
Public Debt of the United States. Gold and the U.S. Debt in 2012 and Beyond With much debate on the fiscal cliff and future debate on the debt ceiling, the |
end result will be that the U.S. will most likely continue to be in a period of very high federal debt relative to the GDP. This relationship cannot be changed |
in a year and perhaps not even in five years. The Europeans are ahead of the United States in addressing their debt to GDP issues with Greece, Portugal, Ireland and |
Italy. Spain will most likely become a problem as well. The solution in Europe has been the same as the solution in the U.S.: the Central Banks create more currency |
to keep the economy from falling even further. A recent article in Barron’s, titled “Is Bad News Still Good News for Gold?” Randall Forsyth, the author, in the last paragraph |
says As long as authorities try to do whatever it takes to hold the system of fiat currencies and indebted governments from flying apart, paper money will continue to lose |
I like projects. I really liked this project. The pipe insulation roller coaster project is one of the most enjoyable projects I've ever used in class. It was my second year teaching physics. During the unit on energy, the book we were using frequently used roller coasters in their problems. We even had a little "rolle... |
we could do better. My original idea was to get some flexible Hot Wheels tracks and make some loop-de-loops and hills. Turns out a class set of Hot Wheels track is pretty expensive. On an unrelated yet serendipitous visit to my local big box hardware store, I ran across the perfect (and cheap!) substitute: Pipe Insulat... |
feet of pipe insulation- which doubles nicely as a marble track1 when you split the pipe insulation into two equal halves. It's really easy to cut pipe insulation with a sharp pair of scissors. Just be sure you don't buy the "self-sealing" pipe insulation, which has glue pre-applied- it's more expensive and it'd turn i... |
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