The Nature of Things

"It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation."   - Vladimir Putin in New York Times op-ed Russia's Vladimir Putin made a big splash this week with his op-ed  piece in the Times in which   he lectured the United States and President Obama about the " need to use the United Nations Security Council and believe that preserving law and order in today’s complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos. The law is still the law, and we must follow it whether we like it or not. Under current international law, force is permitted only in self-defense or by the decision of the Security Council. Anything else is unacceptable under the United Nations Charter and would constitute an act of aggression." Of course, he doesn't mention here the fact that Russia has vetoed any effort by the Security Council to address the two year old crisis and civil war in...

(Cross-posted from Backyard Birder .) I've written here (in Backyard Birder ) many times about the project to help save the endangered  Whooping Crane  by   developing an eastern migratory flock  that flies between Wisconsin and Florida twice each year. Young birds are taught the route by training them to fly with an ultralight aircraft. The project has had some success - and some tragedies - and the flock is slowly growing. Of course, Whooping Cranes are not the only members of that long-legged family that are endangered. In fact, many cranes right around the world are seriously endangered. Our own  Sandhill Crane  is a notable exception, probably because of that bird's adaptability and willingness to utilize a variety of foods in its diet. Another critically endangered bird is the  Siberian Crane,  part of whose range extends into Russia, and it turns out that Russian conservationists also have a program based on use of the ultralight to escort ...