In the news
31/05/13 04:54
I begin my days by scanning news headlines from around the world. I’m not particularly a news junkie. I don’t have to have the latest news playing in front of me all the time, and others often know of news stories before I have caught up with them. But part of my job is to interpret the scriptures in the midst of the realities of contemporary living, so I need to have a sense of what is going on in our world today to provide commentary about how our faith informs us in the midst of the complexities of modern life.
As a result, among the other notes in my journal, I collect bits and pieces of information that might be considered trivia. I will jot down something I read in the news that seems to be isolated from the other events of the day and probably not relevant to the lives of the people I serve.
Here are some examples:
Belarus is a former Soviet nation between Russia and Poland. Emergency services personnel in Belarus have reported a rash of beaver attacks. Beavers were once hunted to near extinction in Europe, but they have made quite a comeback in Belarus, where the population of beavers is estimated to be more than 80,000. With limited territory, beavers are increasingly wandering into populated areas and displaying more aggressive behavior than previously witnessed. A couple of days ago, the AP reported that a fisherman died of wounds received in a beaver attack. The fisherman wanted to be in a photo with a beaver. He grabbed the rodent by the tail to position it for the photo, but the beaver had other ideas. It turned on him and bit him several times in the upper leg. Beavers have long teeth - nearly 3 inches - and they are sharp for cutting into trees. The beaver hit an artery, the man’s friends were unable to stop the bleeding and he bled to death before he could be treated for his injuries. It is just one of many stories of aggressive beavers reported from the area.
I’ve never experienced aggressive beavers. When I try to get photographs of them, they tend to swim away from my canoe. The most aggressive thing I’ve witnessed is the slap of a beaver tail on the water. When I’m not expecting it, it can catch me by surprise. I enjoy watching the beavers and will often paddle near their lodges to admire their work. I have noticed that there are a lot more beavers and more beaver ponds in Yellowstone National Park than was the case when I was a teenager. I’m told that this is a direct result of the reintroduction of wolves to the park. The wolves decrease the elk population. The elk eat fewer willows and other tender brush alongside the creeks and streams. That means more food for beavers, so the beaver population grows.
No one really knows exactly what the appropriate balance of beavers is. Fur trappers were among the first Europeans to come into the upper plains. Since those days, humans have been the main predators of the animals. Their pelts are prized for many uses. Beaver hats are still popular in many places. I don’t think that a beaver is much good for eating. I don’t remember ever tasting their meat, but I do know that some people do cook and eat the animals. Other than humans, I don’t know if beavers suffer much predation. Their population is probably controlled by habitat and competition for food with other animals.
Maybe they just need more elk in Belarus.
Whatever happens to the beavers, I’m glad that the police have found the shark that went missing here in Rapid City. The 12-foot great white isn’t a real live animal, but a fiberglass creation. It’s normal home is Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf, where it hangs by its tail as part of the tourist attraction.
Why anyone would steal the shark is beyond me. But then I guess I don’t have a real criminal mind. An anonymous tip led police to find the shark in a field next to the old Pizza Hut in Box Elder. Last I heard the shark was in protective custody at the evidence building and will soon be returned to Pirate’s Cove. After nearly a week of living on the run, I suppose the shark is happy to be near the end of its ordeal.
I have no clue why anyone would want to steal something that everyone else would know had been stolen. Fortunately no one was hurt in the incident, which is more than can be said for having one’s picture taken with a beaver.
Maybe we could get some superheroes from Los Angeles to come guard the shark. They apparently have too many. According to the Huffington Post a fist fight between Captain American and Spiderman erupted into a near brawl of superheroes in front of the Madame Tussauds kiosk, in front of the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. According to Batman, who witnessed the fight, Captain America had accused Spiderman of picking the pocket of a tourist. Superheroes picking tourists’ pockets is bad for business, when the other costumed characters depend on tips to earn their living.
I guess I never thought about how superheroes earned their living before.
I was relieved to note that Batman was not involved in the fight. Batman, as everyone knows, is independently wealthy. Presumably he doesn’t need to depend on tips from tourists to stay in the crime fighting business.
Maybe we could even send one of the superheroes to Mars to check out what appears to some people to be a rat in a picture taken by the Curiosity rover. For the life of me I can’t get it to look like a rat to my eyes. It just looks like another rock, but some guy in Japan who spends a lot of time going over NASA photos is sure that it is a creature with legs and a tail among the rocks on the planet.
I guess I won’t be too alarmed unless they find a beaver on Mars. That could definitely put a damper on tourism on the red planet.
As a result, among the other notes in my journal, I collect bits and pieces of information that might be considered trivia. I will jot down something I read in the news that seems to be isolated from the other events of the day and probably not relevant to the lives of the people I serve.
Here are some examples:
Belarus is a former Soviet nation between Russia and Poland. Emergency services personnel in Belarus have reported a rash of beaver attacks. Beavers were once hunted to near extinction in Europe, but they have made quite a comeback in Belarus, where the population of beavers is estimated to be more than 80,000. With limited territory, beavers are increasingly wandering into populated areas and displaying more aggressive behavior than previously witnessed. A couple of days ago, the AP reported that a fisherman died of wounds received in a beaver attack. The fisherman wanted to be in a photo with a beaver. He grabbed the rodent by the tail to position it for the photo, but the beaver had other ideas. It turned on him and bit him several times in the upper leg. Beavers have long teeth - nearly 3 inches - and they are sharp for cutting into trees. The beaver hit an artery, the man’s friends were unable to stop the bleeding and he bled to death before he could be treated for his injuries. It is just one of many stories of aggressive beavers reported from the area.
I’ve never experienced aggressive beavers. When I try to get photographs of them, they tend to swim away from my canoe. The most aggressive thing I’ve witnessed is the slap of a beaver tail on the water. When I’m not expecting it, it can catch me by surprise. I enjoy watching the beavers and will often paddle near their lodges to admire their work. I have noticed that there are a lot more beavers and more beaver ponds in Yellowstone National Park than was the case when I was a teenager. I’m told that this is a direct result of the reintroduction of wolves to the park. The wolves decrease the elk population. The elk eat fewer willows and other tender brush alongside the creeks and streams. That means more food for beavers, so the beaver population grows.
No one really knows exactly what the appropriate balance of beavers is. Fur trappers were among the first Europeans to come into the upper plains. Since those days, humans have been the main predators of the animals. Their pelts are prized for many uses. Beaver hats are still popular in many places. I don’t think that a beaver is much good for eating. I don’t remember ever tasting their meat, but I do know that some people do cook and eat the animals. Other than humans, I don’t know if beavers suffer much predation. Their population is probably controlled by habitat and competition for food with other animals.
Maybe they just need more elk in Belarus.
Whatever happens to the beavers, I’m glad that the police have found the shark that went missing here in Rapid City. The 12-foot great white isn’t a real live animal, but a fiberglass creation. It’s normal home is Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf, where it hangs by its tail as part of the tourist attraction.
Why anyone would steal the shark is beyond me. But then I guess I don’t have a real criminal mind. An anonymous tip led police to find the shark in a field next to the old Pizza Hut in Box Elder. Last I heard the shark was in protective custody at the evidence building and will soon be returned to Pirate’s Cove. After nearly a week of living on the run, I suppose the shark is happy to be near the end of its ordeal.
I have no clue why anyone would want to steal something that everyone else would know had been stolen. Fortunately no one was hurt in the incident, which is more than can be said for having one’s picture taken with a beaver.
Maybe we could get some superheroes from Los Angeles to come guard the shark. They apparently have too many. According to the Huffington Post a fist fight between Captain American and Spiderman erupted into a near brawl of superheroes in front of the Madame Tussauds kiosk, in front of the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. According to Batman, who witnessed the fight, Captain America had accused Spiderman of picking the pocket of a tourist. Superheroes picking tourists’ pockets is bad for business, when the other costumed characters depend on tips to earn their living.
I guess I never thought about how superheroes earned their living before.
I was relieved to note that Batman was not involved in the fight. Batman, as everyone knows, is independently wealthy. Presumably he doesn’t need to depend on tips from tourists to stay in the crime fighting business.
Maybe we could even send one of the superheroes to Mars to check out what appears to some people to be a rat in a picture taken by the Curiosity rover. For the life of me I can’t get it to look like a rat to my eyes. It just looks like another rock, but some guy in Japan who spends a lot of time going over NASA photos is sure that it is a creature with legs and a tail among the rocks on the planet.
I guess I won’t be too alarmed unless they find a beaver on Mars. That could definitely put a damper on tourism on the red planet.