The Cove

人道和傳統，那個比較重要？“傳統唔係大晒架！”

《海豚屠場》獲獎惹抗議 描述日漁村殺海豚傳統

【明報專訊】今屆奧斯卡金像獎的頒獎結果，引發了一場政治風波。描述日本西南部漁村太地町（Taiji）屠殺海豚傳統的美國影片《海豚屠場》，獲得奧斯卡最佳紀錄片獎，結果惹來太地町抗議。當地鎮長指控影片內容失實和不尊重文化傳統。

偷拍鐵棒戳死海豚血染大海

《海豚屠場》（The Cove）描述前海豚訓練員奧貝瑞（Richard O'Barry）與攝影隊，為將屠殺海豚行徑公諸於世，不顧當地政府和村民百般阻撓，設法潛入太地町禁區，安裝了數台隱蔽攝錄機，紀錄了十幾艘漁船將大群海豚逼入海灣後，漁民用鐵棒戳死海豚、血染海面的場景。

此片引來國際社會對獵殺海豚的關注，也令該條年殺2000條海豚的小漁村備受壓力，影片今次獲獎，更觸動了當地人的神經。太地町鎮長三軒一高昨稱：「我想這部片以事實自居，卻沒有科學依據支持，這是令人遺憾的。」他強調，在日本捕獵海豚都是合法的，並呼籲外界尊重這一傳統，「不管是在日本還是海外，有很多關乎食物的習俗，因此持相互尊重的態度是必要的」。

鎮長：內容無科學依據 令人遺憾

太地町每年捕殺的海豚，只佔全日本總數的一小部分，但因當地採用的傳統捕殺手法，是驅趕海豚往岩岸邊（稱為Oikomi），因而令捕獵活動較為易見。在片中亮相的一名當地議員和一名日本教授，都稱是被騙上鏡，要求刪去片段，不排除興訟。

《海豚屠場》導演、《國家地理雜誌》前攝影師皮斯霍斯（Louie Psihoyos）聲稱，電影並非要教訓日本，只是想日本人看過電影後，自己決定是否應如此對待動物作食用及娛樂，以及向購買海豚肉的日本民發出健康警告，因海豚肉中的「水銀含量超標」。他還稱，新近發生在佛羅里達海洋世界的訓練員被殺人鯨殺死事件，亦顯示鯨魚和海豚不該被人飼養。

由於內容敏感，《海豚屠場》之前一直無緣在日本上映，日本人對其所知不多，但一家日本發行商上周說，今年5、6月日本將在主要城市上映這套電影經「做手腳」的版本，當中漁民的面孔將被「打格」，發行商也會加上一段文字註解，否認海豚肉中水銀柱毒素含量超標，「以正視聽」。日本政府官員亦捍衛漁民的「捕獵權」，指影片不公正持平
「世上有些國家宰牛、有些則捕鯨或海豚。一套關於屠宰牛或豬的戲，也可能令相關業界工人不滿。」

路透社/法新社

Thich Nhat Hanh's Letter to KFC

Dear Mr. Novak,

I hope that this letter finds you in good health.

I have heard reports that KFC's suppliers cut the throats of conscious chickens, that many birds are still conscious when they are sent through scalding water, and that KFC refuses to persuade its suppliers to use methods that are more humane both for the chickens and for the humans who handle them. It also has been reported to me that chickens raised for KFC are genetically and pharmacologically manipulated to grow so unnaturally large, so quickly, that they are crippled by their own body weight. These are very distressing things to contemplate.

I have offered retreats for business leaders such as yourself; many of my friends are businesspeople too, and I understand the pressures you must be under. I also am certain that you do have a heart of compassion. If these reports are true, please, stop and reconsider. No feeling creature should be treated so cruelly. Treating chickens with brutality not only hurts every one of those birds; it hurts every one of us, including you yourself, and even your loved ones. If you look deeply, I am sure you will see this clearly and you will be determined to find another way. I believe you know already in your heart that our success in life cannot be measured in dollars and cents alone.

Please, reflect on this and do your best, at least to implement the recommendations of your own animal welfare advisors. I am here for you, as well, and would be glad to hear from you.

Thank you dear friend, for taking the time to read this letter.

Thich Nhat Hanh (Zen Master)

Source: Plum Village Practice Center

What We Do

The video is from Jane Goodall Institute, but I think that it is not only about what JGI does but also what we, all of us, are doing that contribute to why they do what they are doing now.

What We Do from The Jane Goodall Institute on Vimeo.

Green Children

Extract from "So, how many trees have you planted, Daddy?" in The Guardian

Rachel Shard, 5

"When I grow up I want there to be some of the world left for us"

"My brother Joel has a puzzle book which shows bears and wolves in the jungle. I try and tell him that bears and wolves and other animals in the jungle might die if we don't look after them. There are lots of things which threaten them. Litter's one. Litter blocks up the jungles and the animals suffer. I know that water is needed, too. We do Water Aid at our school. And sometimes we all share a bath at home.

Cato Tallis-Lock, 12

"I think my parents listen to me about the environment"

"I came up with the idea "Walk Your Dad" for the book Teach Your Granny To Text with my friend Edward. Both our dads work at home sitting at computers. We felt they needed more exercise. At school there is someone to tell you to do PE or swimming, but working at home there is less opportunity to exercise. Encouraging our dads to walk was about health and about the environment. I'm protective of the environment. I check if the lights are on and if the TV is on standby. Small things around the house make a difference, like turning off the tap when you're brushing your teeth. The big stuff is harder, though. We do go on aeroplanes, but not for short journeys. We drove to Spain last summer. I think my parents listen to me about the environment. But they do stuff anyway. If there was a child whose parent wasn't listening to them about the threat of global warming I'd say, show them a website which shows CO2 emissions.

Sunneka Deocampo, 8, Brighton

"I like growing seeds. I am growing an avocado to eat"

"I was born in a jungle. I don't remember it, but my mum has told me. I was surrounded by coconuts and flowers. I like growing seeds and I think if we grew more food and ate it that might be good for the earth. I am growing an avocado to eat. It's about the size of a satsuma now, maybe a bit bigger. You put it near the sun. You water it. It takes ages just to grow one, though. I don't know where my school dinner comes from. We need a lot of food in the school and I could never make that much. Mr O'Shea is my teacher and we talk about the environment in class. I turn off taps that are running. I pick up litter. I know cars are not good. I live near the sea and I know if oil gets in it that isn't good for the birds. My sister Taneesha is seven. We made our own recycling box and we put our paper in it. I hope it helps. Mr O'Shea says it helps. My mum says it will help.

In Memoriam: Gregoire (1942-2008)

In Memoriam: Gregoire, 1942-2008 from The Jane Goodall Institute on Vimeo.

The Future is in the Present

Another extract from In the Footsteps of Gandhi: Conversations with Spiritual Social Activists by Catherine Ingram.

Thich Naht Hanh: People, in consuming a lot and trying to be rich, believe that they are happy, but… we should try to help them find real happiness from looking at the blue sky – really looking – or looking at a child or a flower. When people have a base of real happiness, they will abandon the other things. Maybe that’s the most important thing to do now in order to have the future and the present. If we have the present then we have the future.

Are We Going to Make It?

Extract from In the Footsteps of Gandhi: Conversations with Spiritual Social Activists by Catherine Ingram.

Catherine Ingram: One thing that seems to be at issue is whether or not we will actually survive. We are living in a time which has become dangerous enough and bad enough to possibly awaken us, if only out of self-interest, to live more gently on this Earth, to co-exist with the lift forms on this planet. Do you think we’re going to make it?

Brother David Steindl-Rast: It’s a good question, but I’m not sure it’s a question that should be answered. I’m not sure that the answer one way or the other is going to help anybody. If we say, “Yes, we are surely going to make it,” – first of all it would be difficult to substantiate that claim – and, if the idea is really accepted, it could have damaging effects. We may just go on like before and not do anything to stop the destruction.

Now the opposite answer, “We’re not going to make it,” can also have enormously damaging effects because people would say, “If we’re not going to make it anyway, why bother?” So neither of these two answers is going to help very much. We must put as much effort into everything we’re doing as if whether or not we’re going to make it depended upon it. And we must find a way of living in which even if we are not going to make it, in the last second you can say to yourself, “Well, what I did was worthwhile.” But the worthwhileness must never depend on the success.”

生活素質 2

這個女的呢，眉開眼笑，為的就是因為居然有人想拍她的照片，一個農家村婦的照片。這種由心底發出來的笑容，看着看着連自己都無端端高興起來。Source: The Guardian

生活素質 1

照片想表達的是quality of life，生活素質。誠然。贏了足球，就算滿身泥漿又有什麼關係？瘋一點才得盡興。Source: The Guardian

Cruelty

"R. Gordon Cummings, a ninetheenth-century hunter in South Africa, described killing the biggest male elephant he had ever seen. He first shot it in the shoulder, so that it could not run away. The elephant limped over to a tree and leaned against it. Deciding to contemplate the elephant before killing it, Cummings paused to make coffee and then chose to determine experimentally which were an elephant's vulnerable spots. He walked up to it and fired bullets into various parts of the head. The elephant did not move except to touch the bullet wounds with the tip of this trunk. 'Surprised and shocked to find that I was only tormenting and prolonging the sufferings of the noble beats, which bore his trials with such dignified composure,' Cummings wrote, he decided to finish him off and shot him nine times behind the shoulder. 'Large tears now trickled from his eyes, which he slowly shut and opened; his colossal frame quivered conculsively, and, falling on his side, he expired." (When Elephants Weep by Jeffrey Masson & Susan McCarthy)

There is only one question that I have, why such cruelty?

Kiss the Earth

A poem by Thich Nhat Hanh

Walk and touch peace every moment.

Walk and touch happiness every moment.

Each step brings a fresh breeze.

Each step makes a flower bloom.

Kiss the Earth with your feet.

Bring the Earth your love and happiness.

The Earth will be safe when we feel safe in ourselves.

我想，我有多久不曾赤足在草地上走，不怕蛇蟲鼠蟻地走？上次想觸摸一棵樹的時候，我耳邊響起的是老媽驚惶的警告：「別碰！髒！」你呢？你的上次是什麼時候？

Beautiful Eyes

他有一個名字。他叫Richter。還記得兩個月前，他在四川災區被找到的樣子嗎？驚弓之鳥。現在呢？I look into his eyes, and I see the security that can only come with love. 也請留意抱著他的人的表情。What do you see?

All life flourishes in love.

A Smiling Dolphin

From The Guardian

"It Might As Well Be Me"

"As I [Lynn Cuny] had become acutely aware that there was a large population of urban wildlife in the San Antonio area - racoons, possums, skunks, foxes, and a diverse collection of birds. The trouble was nobody knew anything about them. When people found racoons in their trash cans or skunks under their houses they would be horrified and call the police, who would come and shoot the animals. Someone has to do something about this, I thought, and it might as well be me."

As told in "The Tellington TTouch". Lynn Cuny is the founder of Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Sanctuary.

Vanishing Icebergs: Antarctica

From Guardian. Photograph: Sebastian Copeland/ Prix Pictet

Water Tragedy: Bangladesh

Water tragedy - documents the climate refugees of Bangladesh (孟加拉), many of whom have done very little to contribute to greenhouse emissions, but who being forced to relocate due to too much or too little water caused by global warming. Photograph: Munem Wasif/ Prix Prictet 2008

小常識：孟加拉在哪？

活雞何罪

By 葉頌昇（海星）：

從報章報道中所知，除97年外，香港從未再發生過禽流感傳人的個案，只是間中有禽鳥被驗出有H5N1，人有流感，貓有流感，鳥或雞有流感，只是常識而已，究竟有多少只患病，誰都不知道，... 更多更危及人生命的事，卻沒有一專家跑出來要禁這禁那！... 每年吸煙患肺癌的夠多了吧？政府何時肯下定決心禁售香煙，又有哪個專家敢提出香港要做零香煙都市？... 要所有雞只不患病根本就是不可能的任務...

Help for Sichuan's Dogs (2)

There is now a special button for Earthquake Relief under “Donate to Dogs & Cats”. From Jill’s blog, the AAF team has set up a hotline number, saying that they would collect all dogs and cats and provide them with a safe and happy foster home until they were ready to be returned, “rescued” and health checked 40+ dogs in the “pet-market” and refugee camp. It is not a big number, but it is significant because someone has actually taken actions to help the animals from the kill order.

Help for Sichuan's Dogs

A friend of mine asked me what we could do to help the dogs in Sichuan. Wanting to help but not able to is a terrible feeling. I found that Animals Asia Foundation is working on this by providing rabies vaccinations for people and dogs in the community, sending a letter to the county authorities pleading with them to spare those dogs that still have families etc. These are pragmatic measures and sound much better than just criticizing on the Internet. I am trying to find out what ordinary people like me can do, and I hope I will be able to provide some good (or not so bad) news soon.

我絕不會教導小孩子

... 這個世界有時不得不做壞事。

連結: 狗死比人死好？！