Pictures Of Greed

Al Maha: new hope in the desert

Text and pictures by Seema Sangra - Once upon a time, the regal looking, doe-eyed, snowy-white creature was everywhere. They were there in Arabic folklore, poetry, paintings, and also for real in the barren lands of Arabia, and lived happily as there were not many natural predators to this beautiful Oryx of Arabia called Arabian Oryx. A species of antelope found only on the Arabian Peninsula, is also locally known as Al Maha. Not so surprisingly, even with lower water requirements than the camel, skills to camouflage, and an ability to walk over 70-100 km in one night, Arabian Oryx could accept the challenges of nature and the region, but not the greed of humans. Man drove them to almost extinction when they were caught illegally for sale to private collections and meat. They could survive in hot, dry areas without drinking water for months but could not survive the ‘fancy and fury’ of humans. The last wild Arabian Oryx, native to the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula, is believed to have been shot in 1972. Arabian Oryx were hunted to extinction in the wild by this time. “The worst thing for an animal is to go extinct without anybody understanding why,” says Rory Wilson, scientist behind the ‘Daily Diary’ technology, and a Rolex Award winner. In case of Al Maha, reason was one specie: Man. Not only a beautiful animal was taken away from the Arabian land but there was a larger connection broken from its cultural heritage. It was a great loss to Arabian heritage too. C G Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, once wrote: “Matter in the wrong place is dirt. People get dirty through too much civilisation. Whenever we touch nature, we get clean.” After 29 years, we are coming clean. The second half of this month brought positive news about Arabian Oryx. On June 16, 2011, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has updated and released its new list. It is heartening to know that Al Maha is now facing a more secure future according to the latest update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Its wild population now stands at 1,000 individuals. Thanks to successful captive breeding and re-introduction efforts, The new status of Arabian Oryx has indeed given a ray of hope to the people. Reacting on the present positive status of Arabian Oryx, Dr Vie Jean Christophe, the deputy head of the IUCN species programme, who is a PhD in ecology and has also worked on the reintroduction of the Arabian Oryx, says: “I was privileged to work on Arabian Oryx in Saudi Arabia almost 20 years ago when it was Extinct in the Wild. It was a tremendous collective effort to bring it to the current population level. It is one of many conservation successes showing that when people want to do something to preserve and restore nature, they can.” Several reassessments of the status of this species have taken place since the start of the re-introductions, and Arabian Oryx has finally qualified for a move from Endangered to Vulnerable. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (or the IUCN Red List) is the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of plant and animal species and based on an objective system for assessing the risk of extinction of a species. The IUCN stresses that the biodiversity loss is one of the world’s most pressing crises, with many species declining to critically low levels. Numerous extinctions are taking place unnoticed, and the number of species classified as Critically Endangered (those at most severe risk of becoming extinct) is increasing. Estimations from the IUCN Red List indicate that extinctions are happening at anywhere from 100 to 1,000 times the ‘background’ or natural rate. The causes are many, including habitat destruction, land conversion for agriculture and development, climate change, pollution, illegal wildlife trade, and the spread of invasive species. “People should not wait too long before starting action as the costs are much more important and it takes much more time. Conservation successes do also happen before a species goes Extinct in the Wild and we need to recognise and celebrate conservation successes for species that were not so close to extension and also for less charismatic species,” he adds.

'Where's Hillary' Update: Der Tzeitung Apologizes, Another Jumps ...

While my level of disgust remains high, should we perhaps be happier that at least De Voch did such a hack job that it is clear that stuff was altered? Or can we continue to feel that if a paper has a policy of no photos of women for their own religious reasons, they use images with no women? The White House made plenty of male-only images available, yet in what seems a blatant attempt to simultaneously capitalize on the famous photo (out of greed) while also keeping women ‘out of the picture’ (for whatever reason) … the result is the appearance that they DO in fact “denigrate women”.

Source: Gothamist

Michael Anderson - who has written 1527 posts on Gear Diary .

I have loved technology for as long as I can remember - and have been a computer gamer since the PDP-10! Mobile Technology has played a major role in my life - I have used an electronic companion since the HP95LX more than 20 years ago, and have been a 'Laptop First' person since my Compaq LTE Lite 3/20 and Powerbook 170 back in 1991! As an avid gamer and gadget-junkie I was constantly asked for my opinions on new technology, which led to writing small blurbs ... and eventually becoming a reviewer many years ago. My family is my biggest priority in life, and they alternate between loving and tolerating my gaming and gadget hobbies ... but ultimately benefits from the addition of technology to our lives!

Editing the picture was wrong, unnecessary even by the strictest understanding of Jewish law, and just plain silly.

However I take major issue with your propagation of a racial stereotype in you comments.

I think it would be amazing if you actually knew the reason for why they used this photo instead of a different one. I presume you haven’t interviewed anyone from either paper. By stating as fact that the choice must have been because they’re greedy Jews, you immediately cast a shadow over this post and over Gear Diary as a whole.

Sorry – YOU are the one with the issue here.

Greed is something that crosses all religious, gender, racial, national, and age boundaries. I write about it *all the time* in the context of the music industry – in my mind publishers are publishers, and make choices based on what would sell. In my post I merely applied the same criteria I have in looking at music industry, game industry, and ebook industry publications in articles I’ve written here over the last two years.

Greed, a film

Greed, The Seven Deadly Sins

Selected Film Criticism: 1941-1950

Greed, Chaos, and Governance, Using Public Choice to Improve Public Law

Greed