Unemployed Indian youths will be trained to sterilize agressive monkeys with lasers

by Justin Glow on

No, this isn’t a story from The Onion.

It’s a perfectly reliable piece of news, in fact. I considered not writing anything else and letting the headline above do the talking, but there’s just too many jokes to pass up.

A North Indian state recently unveiled plans to teach kids to run around zapping monkeys with lasers, rendering their reproductive organs useless. Rendering the monkey’s reproductive organs useless, that is — we can only hope the kids don’t point them at their friends.

This is an answer to two problems: sterilizing wild monkeys, and dealing with unemployment. Laser-wielding kids would be paid for their efforts at a rate which, I can only hope, is based on the number of monkeys they singe. Conservationists are, of course, concerned. And they probably should be.

This sounds like a great video game in the making. I’d call it, “Zap that Horny Monkey!” or “Don’t laze me, bro!”

(This story goes GREAT with Neil’s When Monkeys Attack videos, by the way.)

Times of India and circle of peace: An expat story

by Jamie Rhein on

Even though this was Martha’s week to cover The Amazing Race, I was once again drawn into the foray of the global dash. When the teams were told to pick up The Times of India when they got to Mumbai, I flashed on my own The Times of India connection. It links to the theme of Aaron’s recent expat post and the question of expats and lifestyle.

The expat question is a complicated issue that I have thought about with every place I’ve lived overseas. One notion, I think, has something to do with intention and motivation for living in a country. We didn’t move to New Delhi, India, for example, with the intention of making India a permanent home. I also think it has to do with economics. Expats, in my mind, have more money and perks, in general, than they do when they live in their own country.

Our expat life in India was due to the teaching jobs that took us there. As expats, we were more immersed in India than if we were just traveling there, but we always knew we would eventually move on, so the experience was not the same as if we thought we’d live there for years and years. What people do with their expat experience, however, has to do with how they view living in another culture. Some people live totally surrounded by other expats, often people from their own country. Others, like us, do what they can to make the country that is not theirs feel like home and to take part in the culture as much as possible. Also, when we lived in India, our jobs offered another unique perspective.

When you work with young people like we did as teachers, one goal is to help them see themselves as part of the world community. Kelly wrote about this somewhat when she visited her friends in China and wrote about it in her series, Chinese Buffet. Often, the view happens to be of a place of privilege, but in international and American schools where kids of many nationalities come together in classrooms there is an opportunity to envision a world where everyone might get along.

There are several times when I taught overseas when this vision was evident, but the most powerful was September 11, 2002. Considering the news from Pakistan this past week, I’m reminded about that day, the hope that was generated by a bunch of middle-schoolers, and an essay I wrote about it.

The essay was published in The Times of India and since I found the link, here it is. I have no idea what happened to the paragraphing when the paper put it on-line, but you’ll get the idea. Consider this a story to carry over to the new year. It’s an expat story that offers up the potential for peace. At least if the kids who made the wooden doves that day remember what it felt like.

CDC says TB patient on plane may have infected others

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Officials from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are saying that a woman who was diagnosed with a drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis may have exposed others to the disease on a December 13 flight from New Delhi to Chicago.

According to a USA Today story, “Altogether, 44 passengers sat in five rows close enough to the woman that they might have been exposed to her illness. Health authorities recommend that they all undergo testing for tuberclosis, with follow-up in eight to 10 weeks. They’re concerned because the woman reportedly was coughing on the plane.”

The woman, a 30-year-old native of Nepal, is currently being treated in isolation at a California hospital.

More coverage here and here.

And a bonus prize for whomever can find the first “Andrew Speaker: Where is he now?” article in response to this new TB scare.

India’s secret exporting of human skeletons

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Ever wondered where medical schools acquire the skeletons they use for study? I hadn’t really either, until I came across this somewhat disturbing article in Wired, “Inside India’s Underground Trade in Human Remains.” I suppose I would have guessed that the skeletons came from willing American donors, but that is often not the case. Apparently, the world’s largest supplier of skeletons used for medical study is India– insert “outsourcing” joke here– and the manner in which the skeletons are acquired is oftentimes morally questionable.

The article explains the basic problem here: “Skeletons aren’t easy to get. In the US, for instance, most corpses receive a prompt burial, and bodies donated to science usually end up on the dissection table, their bones sawed to pieces and destined for cremation. So most skeletons used for medical study come from overseas. Often they arrive without the informed consent of their former owners and in violation of the laws of their country of origin.”

Though it banned the export of human remains 22 years ago, India continues to maintain a robust, if under the table, international trade in human skeletons. And just how are these skeletons obtained? The answer is straightforward, but unsavory: “Rob graves, separate soft flesh from unyielding calcium, and deliver the bones to distributors – who assemble them and ship them to dealers around the globe.”

Read the fascinating article for the whole story, and also for a graphic explaining how much your mint-condition femur or pelvis will fetch on the open market. (Note: Selling your bones is not an effective long-term solution for your money woes.)

Tips for the taking the best photos, or at least passable ones

by Jamie Rhein on

When I went to Bern, Switzerland by mistake once (I meant to go to Lucerne, but ended up on the wrong train), the only picture I took was of the bear in the bear pit. Because my own camera had broken when I dropped it on the stone floor of the church where William Shakespeare is buried in Stratford-upon-Avon, Great Britain, I was using a borrowed, cheap one on this Switzerland jaunt.

How did I drop my camera? I was donating money of all things. And what was my payback? My picture of the bear looked like it was of a dog–a mangy dog at that. What was I thinking?

See what I mean? And this is the enhanced version!

Why was this the only picture I took in the entire country? Maybe because I didn’t plan ahead about what pictures I’d like to take. I didn’t even know that a bear was the symbol for Bern and there was a live one in the center of town. Plus, I only had a couple hours. I was on my way to Lucerne, after all. I was too busy having an experience to snap pictures of my experience. Still, how depressing.

Gadling reader, Jeff Nolan dropped us a list of picture taking tips that might have helped me out in Bern. One of the tips he passed on is to plan ahead. He suggested that as you look through guide books to plan a trip, think about what photos you want to get beforehand. Then you can decide what time of day will give you the best light. I also would have known why the picture was doomed from the get go. The contrast was lousy. A brown bear next to dull grey cement in late afternoon lighting is not the best. Plus, the bear was so far away, the perspective was off. And I was looking down on him. He was in a pit. Admittedly, I took this picture before I had taken a photography class.

What I also discovered with this class is that it’s important to sweep the edges. That means have your eye look at all sections of what is framed to look for things you don’t want in the picture. Pay close attention to all the edges. Sometimes, we’re so focused on the main subject, we miss what else is in the picture. Move what you don’t want, or adjust. For example, a backpack thrown down in the foreground of the shot might detract from what you want as the focal point. Sometimes you can crop those details out or mask them, but a shot is better if you notice those details in the beginning. Digital photography, I’ve found, makes this a bit trickier because of the lag time.

The above photo was taken at the Circleville Pumpkin Show in Circleville, Ohio this fall. Yep, those are pumpkins. When I was framing this I was paying attention to getting both pumpkins in the shot, the men along with their feet –plus the sign. I didn’t notice the little girl at all until I saw the photos later. Also, what’s that yellow thing on the stage? A piece of trash? I should have moved it. In another photo of the same subject, a woman’s arm is in the frame. She was also taking a picture. I wonder whose picture I was in? It doesn’t hurt to take several of the same shot so you are at least assured of one turning out okay. The men were important to provide scale for the pumpkins. The little girl actually added interest since she indicates the presence of spectators. Because one man is looking at his watch, and the other man is looking at him, that shows natural movement instead of a posed shot.

Now, I know to check to the background contrast when I take portraits, and if necessary move people into better lighting so that their features show up. This is particularly important when taking pictures of people with very dark skin, or when people are wearing wide-brimmed hats.

Even though this picture (a scanned photo just like the one of the bear) was taken at the Bay of Bengal in India at dusk, there was enough light that it worked. Plus, the boy with the darkest skin’s head was framed by the lightest portion of the sky. His blue shirt, helped provide contrast, as did the other boy’s tank top. If they had all been without their shirts, this would not have turned out that well.

Jeff’s main point is that if you are cognizant of the shots you take, you can bring home images that will heighten your experience after the fact. I agree, but sometimes, if all you have is a picture of a bear in a pit, it’s better than nothing. That in itself makes a story.

(When I took the photo of the bear out of the album I made, I verified that this is indeed the only photo I took during my short time in Switzerland. Since I was on a tight budget, I only was in Switzerland for a day (night train from Rome to Bern and from Lucerne to Amsterdam and then from Amsterdam to Denmark. That’s one way to save money. )

Jeff also suggested the HP Web site link to “Digital photography tips and techniques: How to take better photos.” This link leads to other excellent photo tips. Thanks, Jeff!