Fish for Friday

Edited by Morris Dean

[Anonymous selections from recent correspondence]

490,000 square miles! Ocean Conservancy's Ocean Action News: We Did It: The U.S. Creates the World’s Largest Marine Protected Area. President Obama has expanded the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument to include more than 490,000 square miles!

John Cleese is back! "John Cleese on (Fox News) stupidity." Excerpt:

You see, if you're very, very stupid, how can you possibly realize that you're very, very stupid? You'd have to be relatively intelligent to realize how stupid you are.

The Koch Brothers might be evil but a large percentage of Americans support their candidates and vote them into office. And a lot more of them are getting elected in November. Doesn't speak well for who we are as a people. But it's reality: "Inside the Koch Brothers' Toxic Empire," Rolling Stone. Opening paragraph:

The enormity of the Koch fortune is no mystery. Brothers Charles and David are each worth more than $40 billion. The electoral influence of the Koch brothers is similarly well-chronicled. The Kochs are our homegrown oligarchs; they've cornered the market on Republican politics and are nakedly attempting to buy Congress and the White House. Their political network helped finance the Tea Party and powers today's GOP. Koch-affiliated organizations raised some $400 million during the 2012 election, and aim to spend another $290 million to elect Republicans in this year's midterms. So far in this cycle, Koch-backed entities have bought 44,000 political ads to boost Republican efforts to take back the Senate.

"Koch brothers freak out in response to Rolling Stone expose." Excerpt:

The Kochs clearly do not stand up well to close scrutiny, and clearly are not prepared for it. For some reason, probably because they're richer than god, they seem to assume that they should be able to swoop into our political system and attempt to buy it without being subject to close examination. That attitude, along with their long history of abusing people, the environment, and the political system, is doing them no favors. They've made themselves the subject of this election, and if Democrats hold the Senate, it will largely be because the Kochs have made themselves such good enemies.

Robert Reich keeps nailing it:

In Knoxville, I met a young woman who was working three jobs but still couldn’t make it on her own, and was so consumed with shame about her impoverishment that she didn’t want to show up at a local soup kitchen to supplement the little food she could afford. I explained that she wasn’t alone, that there were millions like her, working hard but still in poverty, and she shouldn’t be ashamed. She was doing everything anyone could be expected to do. I have met similar people across America.
    The numbers of working poor are rising. So, too, are the numbers of non-working rich. They are living off inheritances and trust funds. Most of the poor in America today are not idle or lazy, and are not responsible for their plight. Many of the rich in America are not clever and industrious, and have had nothing to do with their wealth except be born into the right family. Do not confuse income with virtue.

Income inequality in the United States has other effects than number of jobs held:

Religiosity is strongly coupled to perceptions of societal insecurity. Within a rich nation like the United States, high levels of socio-economic inequality may dictate levels of religiosity generally associated with less developed (and less secure) societies. In addition to being the most religious of developed nations, the United States also has the greatest economic inequality. The poor tend to be more religious than the rich, both within and between nations. (It does not seem, however, that socio-economic inequality explains religious extremism in the Muslim world, where radicals are, on average, wealthier and more educated than moderates.)" –The Moral Landscape, Sam Harris, 2010, pp. 146 & 231

Adam & Eve, the Muslim version:

Joseph Campbell on the Buddha:

Now the key story for me about Buddhism concerns the sermon where the Buddha was seated, and there was a group around him and he just held up a flower. Just a flower. One in the group got what the Buddha was on about. For him, the flower itself was enough to spark enlightenment. The rest of the crowd were still in the dark, so to speak, so the Buddha delivered a sermon – the Flower Wreath Sutra – to explain what he meant, which was this: there is nothing to say about life. It has no meaning. You make meaning. If you want a meaning in your life, find a meaning and bring it into your life, but life won't give you a meaning. Meaning is a concept. It is a notion of an end toward which you are going. The point of Buddhism is This Is It. –Joseph Campbell, Myths of Light, p. 135

A new article by Sam Harris takes President Obama to task for his attempt to separate ISIS (or ISIL) from Islam: "Sleepwalking Toward Armageddon." Excerpt:

Which will come first, flying cars and vacations to Mars, or a simple acknowledgment that beliefs guide behavior and that certain religious ideas – jihad, martyrdom, blasphemy, apostasy – reliably lead to oppression and murder? It may be true that no faith teaches people to massacre innocents exactly – but innocence, as the President surely knows, is in the eye of the beholder. Are apostates “innocent”? Blasphemers? Polytheists? Islam has the answer, and the answer is “no.”
    More British Muslims have joined the ranks of ISIS than have volunteered to serve in the British armed forces. In fact, this group has managed to attract thousands of recruits from free societies throughout the world to help build a paradise of repression and sectarian slaughter in Syria and Iraq. This is an astonishing phenomenon, and it reveals some very uncomfortable truths about the failures of multiculturalism, the inherent vulnerability of open societies, and the terrifying power of bad ideas.
    No doubt many enlightened concerns will come flooding into the reader’s mind at this point. I would not want to create the impression that most Muslims support ISIS, nor would I want to give any shelter or inspiration to the hatred of Muslims as people. In drawing a connection between the doctrine of Islam and jihadist violence, I am talking about ideas and their consequences, not about 1.5 billion nominal Muslims, many of whom do not take their religion very seriously.
    But a belief in martyrdom, a hatred of infidels, and a commitment to violent jihad are not fringe phenomena in the Muslim world. These preoccupations are supported by the Koran and numerous hadith. That is why the popular Saudi cleric Mohammad Al-Areefi sounds like the ISIS army chaplain. The man has 9.5 million followers on Twitter (twice as many as Pope Francis has). If you can find an important distinction between the faith he preaches and that which motivates the savagery of ISIS, you should probably consult a neurologist.

Here's a poem in Hindi, which I am trying to learn. Coming along slowly:

Kirjहोम स्वीट होम Home Sweet Home
एक बेघर आदमी one homeless man
वह नदी से रहते थे he lived by the river
उसके कपड़े गंदे थे his clothes were dirty
और अपने बालों को लंबा था and his hair was long
वह एक पार्क बेंच पर सोए he slept on a park bench
र्मियों में in the summer
वह बारिश में भीग गया था he was rain drenched
अब वह स्वर्ग में रहती है now he lives in heaven
और वह इस गीत गाती and he sings this song
होम स्वीट होम Home sweet Home!
मैं अंत में रहने के लिए एक जगह मिल I finally found a place to stay.
भगवान ने मुझे एक घर दिया God gave me a home
कोई भी दूर ले जा सकते हैं No one can take away.
हर किसी का स्वागत है Everyone is welcome
यहाँ आकर मुझे देखने के लिए to come and see me here.
विशेष रूप से सभी जो मेरी मदद Especially all who helped me
उन सभी बेघर साल के माध्यम से Through all those homeless years.

So I'm browsing CNN.com and way down at the bottom of a page I notice a question "How Republican vs Democrat are you? This short test can tell exactly where you align" that turns out to be a link to a political party quiz. After a few minutes of quick clicking and brief thinking I am told "I side with Green Party on most political issues."
    The quiz goes on to break down the details of how I side with Green and several other parties, as follows:
    Parties you side with...
    91% Green Party on environmental, social, domestic policy, foreign policy, 2014 ballot, healthcare, and immigration issues.
    89% Democrats on environmental, social, domestic policy, immigration, healthcare, and education issues.
    78% Libertarians on domestic policy, economic, foreign policy, social, immigration, and 2014 ballot issues.
    46% Socialist on social issues.
    39% Republicans on economic issues.
    After pondering these results (notably the discovery that I show only 11 points difference between favoring Democrats vs Libertarians, and being shocked to find that I agree with Republicans on ANY economic issue) I am torn between letting these folks know they have a horribly flawed quiz, versus seeking immediate emergency treatment for the multiple personality disorder I was totally unaware I had until this quiz brought it to light.
    If you want to try the quiz yourself, go here.

In August, at least three flights were diverted because passengers got into fights about reclining seats. This article includes a technique for ameliorating your emotions, one that can be used whether you're on an airplane or not: "A Recipe for Air Rage."
Excerpt:

When our emotions are high and we’re physiologically aroused, however, it’s difficult to reason with ourselves. Thankfully, there are other ways to control the mind. Take breathing, for instance. Dr. Seppala cited a study that showed that different emotions such as joy, anger, fear and sadness, each have distinct patterns of breathing (like faster and shallow when afraid, she said). What’s revolutionary, she added, is that the study also showed that by breathing in different ways, people were actually able to generate different emotions.
    “It’s the only autonomic process that can be controlled,” said Dr. Seppala, who is also the lead author of a study published last month in The Journal of Traumatic Stress that found that a breathing-based meditation was able to decrease post-traumatic stress in American military veterans. “We can learn to have an impact on our nervous system,” she said.
    The breathing-based meditation that was used by the researchers is known as Sudarshan Kriya Yoga, and it has also been shown to increase self-reported “optimism and well-being” in college students, and to decrease self-reported anxiety in people with general anxiety disorder. Don’t have time for meditation or yoga? Experts say to make time, because the better you are, the better your fellow travelers will be.
    “Taking care of yourself,” Dr. Seppala said, “is the most unselfish thing you can do.”

Nice job writing up your trip to Europe. Sounds like you need to work on your positive visualizations, though.

Here are some pictures you missed: "181st Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich."

You went all the way to Europe to take pictures of Pigeons? Next time you want to get away...I will take you to downtown Mebane where there are plenty of pigeons. You will have to supply your own bag of bread crumbs.

What is it about pigeons? I suspect that you see them as individuals, same as I do. And I have a notion that I’m moving up the evolutionary ladder and will be a bird in the next life. A hawk, probably red-tailed! Imagine how fun it would be to fly without fear of engine failure.

At Audubon, protecting birds by protecting habitats has always been our number one priority. The math is simple: without suitable habitat, birds perish.
    A long distance migrant like a Red Knot needs a whole string of healthy habitats from the Arctic to Argentina. Some Red Knot populations are plunging, and it is only one of many bird species facing uncertain futures. We have paved, plowed, polluted or plundered many of the places birds call home. "Explore the magic of bird migration."

Humans are thought of as the highest life form on the planet, but the numbers reveal that people are like kudzu in their impact on the natural world: "Humans To Blame For Major Decline In Wildlife Populations, WWF Report Finds." Excerpt:

GENEVA (AP) — About 3,000 species of wildlife around the world have seen their numbers plummet far worse than previously thought, according to a new study by one of the world's biggest environmental groups....
    WWF describes the study it has carried out every two years since 1998 as a barometer of the state of the planet....
    Much of the world's wildlife has disappeared in what have been called five mass extinctions, which were often associated with giant meteor strikes. About 90 percent of the world's species were wiped out around 252 million years ago. One such extinction about 66 million years ago killed off the dinosaurs and three out of four species on Earth.
    In the new WWF study, hunting and fishing along with continued losses and deterioration of natural habitats are identified as the chief threats to wildlife populations around the world. Other primary factors are global warming, invasive species, pollution and disease.
    "This damage is not inevitable but a consequence of the way we choose to live," said Ken Norris, science director at the London society. "There is still hope. Protecting nature needs focused conservation action, political will and support from industry."

Before the BP oil spill in the Gulf, the most endangered sea turtle in the world—the Kemp’s ridley—was clearly on the road to recovery. "Restore the Gulf for Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles." Excerpt:

Today, the picture is less clear. Many of these rare turtles were found oiled in the Louisiana region during the 2010 spill.

Limerick of the week, by Edward Lear:

There was an Old Man with a beard
Who said, “It is just as I feared!
    Two Owls and a Hen,
    Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!”

Copyright © 2014 by Morris Dean