Saturday, September 12, 2009

Vultures

In the greyness
and drizzle of one despondent
dawn unstirred by harbingers
of sunbreak a vulture
perching high on broken
bones of a dead tree
nestled close to his
mate his smooth
bashed-in head, a pebble
on a stem rooted in
a dump of gross
feathers, inclined affectionately
to hers. Yesterday they picked
the eyes of a swollen
corpse in a water-logged
trench and ate the
things in its bowel. Full
gorged they chose their roost
keeping the hollowed remnant
in easy range of cold
telescopic eyes...

Strange
indeed how love in other
ways so particular
will pick a corner
in that charnel-house
tidy it and coil up there, perhaps
even fall asleep - her face
turned to the wall!

...Thus the Commandant at Belsen
Camp going home for
the day with fumes of
human roast clinging
rebelliously to his hairy
nostrils will stop
at the wayside sweet-shop
and pick up a chocolate
for his tender offspring
waiting at home for Daddy's
return...

Praise bounteous
providence if you will
that grants even an ogre
a tiny glow-worm
tenderness encapsulated
in icy caverns of a cruel
heart or else despair
for in the very germ
of that kindred love is
lodged the perpetuity
of evil.

- Chinua Achebe

Friday, September 11, 2009

if you give up...


they give up


by Quercus

STOP GLOBAL WARMING

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Vulture Awareness Day

Today the world celebrates vultures.

Usually seen as weird, ugly birds that feed on the carcasses of dead bodies, it is possible to say that these creatures are not very popular around the world.

However, these birds are quite important to our environment. First of all, they keep the environment clean as they eat dead animals as well as control the spread of diseases that originates from organisms that live on those carcasses.


Hence, it is important to save these creatures as they are under great threat mainly due to the use of "Diclofenac Sodium” drug in livestock which then accumulates in the kidneys of vultures.

This celebration is mainly aimed at Pakistan where 8 species of vultures can be found (8 of the 9 species found in South Asia). Pakistan has witnessed a major declined in
two of those species called White-backed Vulture and the Long-billed Vulture. These species have declined to about 95 % and are currently listed as "Critically Endangered".

At this point only conservation efforts can keep these species from going extinct and therefore, in order to help fight against their extinction, today CUBE is raising awareness about these important day and these equally important animals!

more information on vultures: wikipedia

check out CUBE's facebook page to get to know more about vultures ;)