This is the face of my America, as I see it. Flawed? Sure. But a giant step closer to the country I’d want to be living in. Please get out and vote in 2008.

On Saturday, the school’s Zoological Society presented a day of lectures on Exotics medicine (which of course I attended because I don’t know about you but after a long week of lecture filled days, nothing appeals more than to using personal downtime to attend more lectures.) They were for the whole, quite frankly, pretty amazing presentations on an array of interesting challenges (dealing with rabies epidemics in wild dog and wolf populations in Africa, treating avians in veterinary medicine, cetacean rescue efforts and challenges, etc.) One of the most heartrending topics and particularly educational presentation for me (my prior knowledge on this topic being shamefully non-existent) was the efforts of Animal Asia Foundation to improve animal welfare in the bear farming trade.

As you may know, the Asiatic black, aka Moon bear , population status vulnerable, are farmed by the population of China for their bile - a potent “cold” drug used in traditional Chinese medicine to eliminate “hot” diseases of the liver and such. (According to our lecturer, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), the active ingredient of bear bile, can be an effective treatment of Parkinson’s and Huntington’s symptoms but as the UDCA patent has yet to produce commercially viable drugs, the capitalist Western pharmaceutical field has yet to push that aspect. That the chemical compound is artificially producible is antithetical to traditional thinking and so frankly, not the solution per se or maybe yes but just a very hard sell.) Farming was introduced as a proposal to stem the poaching of bears from the wild but has failed horribly, actually increasing the bile harvest from 500 to 7000 kg per year. The conditions in which the bears are kept are truly horrific. Not only are the animals raised in painfully constricted cage conditions, a hole is gouged in their abdomen to access the gall bladder. At one point, steel tubes were used to provide permanent access, although simple more available items such as buttons and tubes could also be implemented, but now more often than not the abdomen is just cut open and provoked twice a day to “milk” the bile, creating in the bears a festering open wound. The “surgery” (performed by the farmer, not a veterinarian) has a 50% mortality rate, and the “farming” reduces the animal’s life expectancy to a 1/4 of it’s potential.

The level of passion and compassion shown during this presentation was inspiring. Clearly, his love of these creatures is completely encompassing. We were told that they, physiologically, are a wonder, built to endure long periods of hibernation and (thus?) able to rebound from remarkable extremes of cruel treatment. We were told that the bears which have been rescued can never return to the wild but are enjoying their retirement in rehabilitation. We were told that the Chinese public have no concept of animal welfare and that few people see anything WRONG with the (by my standards inhumane, torturous) conditions. In conversational review with my mother (the reason for this blog posting, thank you for the reminder) of what we had been told, she reminded me that HUMANE rarely wins in the face of the blinding allure of an extremely lucrative endeavor; when a demand is generated by those who can do, they will do.

Granted I’ve moved on to cows but STILL, the time I’m spending on these farms in some ways is absolutely eye-opening. You’ve thought of it, I’ve thought of it but in different therms than these: how do we feed the people of the world? In my months here my mind has been better woken to the questions of colonialism, capitalist fallout and global equality but the pulse my hand may actually reach is hunger. Step one: strategise better farming solutions. Conceptualize applicable alterations to factual problems to optimize yield and quality of life. Growth is a competition between speed and size. Breeding programs aim at a profitable median which pushes the norm ever upwards. This time, I’ll ask myself to address the question without my usual neophobic veil: “when is enough enough?” What is quality living, objectively?

We learned how to roll sheep yesterday.
LOL

Did you know they really leap into the air while running? And they suffer from this whole herd mentality thing where if one goes in some direction, they all want to go that way too. Best way to get them back in a pen if one gets loose? Let out five more. It’s like thirteen year olds at the mall. But way cuter. When a whole bunch of lambs go running down the lane with their ears flapping, heads bobbing and fat asses waggling away you just about want to die for laughing.

It’s a bit strange to be in the midst of an entire mass of people who you know are approximately of the same intelligence, background and/or interests (granted with some huge diverse experiences within that approximate similarity but still, we’re all here to be Vets of a sort, right?) There’s no way I’ll end up being the #1 Girlie-Swot (my newest favoritest slang), as we’ve got some (other) brilliant and smart lasses here–and I do mean that in both senses of the terms; I just want to get the most of the experience possible and enjoy my time here. Speaking of, the Dick Vet GEP1 students finally hit the town to tip a pint last night. Quite jolly. Personally I spent the early part hunting down my bank in order to take out a couple of pounds with a couple less pounds of fees (I hope); on the way across the Mound, my “bodyguards” and I happened upon a Pink Panther screening. Had to give a couple minutes to enjoying Mr.s Sellars and Nivens. Missed the end though. Felt we ought to go back and all. Devoted a couple more hours to flirting with the boys of town, first at Doctors then at the Spiegeltent. Personally am continuing to find the lads quite lovely to look at on the whole. Ach. Too bad.

Went for a wee walk on Arthur’s Seat to find an out of doors study spot this morning. Had trouble settling down (to the books) but was pleased by how lovely a day it is. Wandered back into town via Holyrood Road - passing the fabulous new Parliment building (this American approves!) and a surprise (to me) protest parade. Enjoyed a moment of the shouting between “liberal middle-class brats” and the megaphoned critic in the 2nd story apartment before heading back to Pollack Halls for more internet headaches and additional Biochem reading. The RezNet Help Desk blokes must be sick of hearing my room number come up as I have gotten booted by the proxy daily since it was set up. They assure me as long as I don’t do anything else stupid like plug someone else’s computer into my jack or download instructions from the school, I should be alright from here on out. Let’s hope so.

Is my writing starting to sound a bit British? The accent of the voice in my head as I type is definitely picking up a bit of the local tone. How funny. Maebe buy the toime Awye leav heah Awe’ll be speekin in Scottish all over.

LOL. Yes, that was awful. Whatever.

thinking about the children of New Orleans, the elementary school aged homeless who are going to be affected for life…. thinking about the need for alternative solutions, a serious projected future which provides a true alternative to the horrific mess being propogated by the [\]e0c0[\]z and was struck by this paragraph below for its illustration of my personal political naivete. Never really think in terms of the real issues some communities live with daily. Never even think maybe, just am swept up in terms of the fantasy of paying rent, drinking with friends, live for today because there may not be any tomorrow. Man - that’s a tough one to stop, too. Am in the midst of my own reprogramming but it AIN’t goin’ fast or e-z.

“….just some personal reflections. reading this i find myself, as is so often the case with these types of political mission statements, oddly skeptical, uninspired and disassociated. some of this definitely has to do with where i am at in relation to political “theory” and “the struggle,” but i think it also comes from a gut-feeling that, in many of the communities you are asking us to ground ourselves in…to integrate into, to work with…nintendo, the church, television, internet porn, drugs, alcohol, crass media, etc., are a far more powerful, influential force than community organizers. Read the rest of this entry »