Monthly Archives: April 2013

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We’re going to need a bigger plate

Or leave him to go the way nature intended?

Victor Kutischev, who shot yesterday’s fish post, on the enormous one-eyed pike he has discovered ‘neath the Grand Canal at Robertstown, Co Kildare.

Victor writes:

I shot it in the same spot near Robertstown [as the earlier post]. It’s a female. I think she was waiting for spawning (the water temperature was +4/5C and they need about +8/9C). For the canal environment her size is very big and I think she’s old. She is half-blind. It’s hard to say what happened to her eye – maybe it’s the result of ‘catch and release’ because such a big fish like that has no enemies underwater except for humans.
I believe it might die because it will be hard for it to feed with one eye. I’ve contacted Bray Aquarium asking if they could house it and offering them my help in catching him (without hurting him). If you could post info asking the same: who has the facilities and who would be interested to host him? Maybe it would be good to ask pike specialists and non-experts about what they think: should we try to save that pike or leave it as it is?

 

AnyoNOMNOMNOM

90297422Labour grandees Eamon Gilmore, Michael D Higgins and Mary Robinson at the first day of an international conference on climate and hunger organised by the Government and the Mary Robinson Foundation for ‘climate justice..

The conference will  “explore the links between fat pensions, ludicrous conferences, climate change, hunger and poor nutrition and their impact on the world’s most vulnerable communities”.

(Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland)

Krug

“What could Europe be doing differently? From early on in the crisis, critics like me urged a three-part response. First, ECB intervention to stabilize borrowing costs. Second, aggressive monetary and fiscal expansion in the core, to ease the process of internal adjustment. Third, a softening of austerity demands on the periphery — not zero austerity, but less, so that the human costs would be less. We eventually got part 1, more or less — but nothing on parts 2 and 3.”

“And European officials remain in deep denial about the fundamentals of the situation. They continue to define the problem as one of fiscal profligacy, which is only part of the story even for Greece, and none of the story elsewhere.

They keep declaring success for austerity and internal devaluation, using any excuse at hand: a spurious surge in measured Irish productivity becomes evidence that internal devaluation is working, the decline in bond yields following ECB intervention is proclaimed as a vindication of austerity.”

“So that’s where we are. And it’s hard to envisage a happy ending.”

Yeah, yeah, tell us something we don’t know…

Europe in Brief: The Conscience of A Liberal blog (New York Times)

Previously: Why Ajai Chopra’s Sad-Eyed Was So Sad

mom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaEfw8ybhME

Director Clay Liford’s comedic short about a neurotic son, his laissez-faire mother and their road trip in search of herbal supplies. Made in 2008 for $600, selected for the Sundance Festival in 2010.

Much more nuanced and affecting than your average stoner comedy, which it, like, totally ain’t dude.

shortoftheweek