Thursday, January 18, 2007

It ruminates.


This is the "Slender Loris", found in southern Sri Lanka. The fossil record of the loris extends back to the Early Miocene (20 million years ago).

Populations of this small primate are declining because of deforestation, and conservationists plan to restore its habitat and establish corridors between fragmented areas of forest.

Also, it clearly is wiser than any of us, and as we've learned thoughout history, nobody likes a smartass.

The Slender Loris knows what you're thinking as you read this, and may very well be just under your desk, deciding wether to

a) crawl up your leg, or

b) watch you later from its perch on your slowly rising/falling chest as you sleep.

For more on this creature, and the conservation program newly designed for the world's strangest creatures, click here.


Wednesday, January 17, 2007

a watched pot never boils...















The Doomsday Clock is on the go!

5 minutes to midnight.

Scientists have moved the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock closer to midnight to reflect the growing concerns of global terrorism, the unchecked nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea and -- in a first -- the threat of climate change.
The clock was first set 60 years ago by an elite group of nuclear scientists at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, shortly after the United States dropped its atomic bombs on Japan. It was meant to symbolize the perils facing humanity from nuclear weapons.
But for the first time, the clock is also registering the threat of global warming, which they call a "second nuclear age."

Click on the timely photo above for more information on The Doomsday Clock.
Since 1947, its Doomsday clock's minute hand has been moved 18 times. Some key years:

  • 1953: Set at two minutes before midnight -- its closest proximity to doom -- after the United States and the Soviet Union detonated hydrogen bombs.
  • 1991: Moved to its furthest point from doom -- 17 minutes to midnight -- when a new global nuclear arms treaty was signed.
  • 2002: Set at seven minutes before midnight, a few months after 9/11 and after the United States withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

The decision to move the minute hand is made by the Bulletin's Board of Directors in consultation with its board of sponsors, which include Stephen Hawking and 18 Nobel laureates.

Monday, January 15, 2007

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose...

Click on the poster for some photos I shot in Paris during the 2005 riots.