Alizée Jacotey, born in Corsica not THAT long after me (well a bit...), came into the music business after winning a talent show in 1999. Her name is a feminine form of the word alizé, which I understand to be the name of trade winds in the French Caribbean.
I have very eclectic (read 'forgiving') tastes in music, but I like her look, and this is a happy care-free song with some cute vocals.
Yes, she's lovely and I'm thrilled you have a pulse.
ReplyDeleteBut, is it true about wild camels being herded up by helicopters and then shot because there is no water? This is so sad. I know they're wild and destroying everything in sight to get to water and I know there's been a horrendous draught, but . . .
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/26/world/main5786556.shtml
he he....
ReplyDeleteand what reminds you of your pulse, if I may be so bold as to ask?
Okay the camel thing...
The first I heard about this when it was mentioned that someone called Erin Burnett had called our prime minister, Kevin Rudd, a "serial killer" in a news presentation.
I doubt that she'd have been troubled if they were crocodiles.
Nobody here was upset that Burnett did this. We just thought it was odd and a little funny.
(Though I doubt the reverse would be true if one of our news presenters said the same about a US president - whether as a joke or not)
Would it surprise you to know that even kangaroos are also culled occasionally, if their numbers exceed local environmental sustainability?
Probably the bit about helicopters made it sound... "unequal".
Helicopters are routinely used for herding animals. Some stations (farms) in Australia are bigger than some countries.
Furthermore Australians generally do not own firearms, although obviously it's more common among farmers. Otherwise the camels would have been shot ad hoc instead of in an organised cull.
It's really a non-issue, Leslie.
These are feral animals, not an endangered species, not even native to Australia, which devastate the habitats of creatures which ARE native. They are a local environmental problem, like locusts except they are big and cranky enough to cause injury to a human.
Further this is going on in the Outback of the Northern Territory. A wild harsh land. It's bloody hard enough to live out there as it is.
Draught...
I live in one of the two biggest cities in the most verdant region of the country, but even we have water restrictions. I can't just go water my garden anytime I want, sprinklers are banned altogether, and I get punitive bills if take too long in the shower.
The town where these feral camels are contaminating water supplies is in the middle of the desert.
Only my imagination. ; )
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to help me understand. Probably, in a way, it's the kindest thing to do for these beasts as they seem to be dying of thirst and hunger. Deer can be destructive but probably not to that extent.
We cull wild herds here as well and I think helicopters are used sometimes, but I'm not sure. We all know a certain VP candidate has used them for hunting. Out west wild horses and burros are gathered every year and then put up for adoption. But I guess people wouldn't be too eager to adopt camels.
Denver, CO and a lot of western cities ration water by restricting sprinkling days to one in every three or, if it's really bad, to once a week. I suppose extra fees are charged in smaller towns in cases of too many showers and toilet flushes. But the people who can afford it have installed showers and toilets which don't use such large amounts of water.
Imagination is a wonderful thing.
ReplyDeleteI'll guess I'll have to leave what you imagine to my imagination.
Given the choice, of course I'd rather the camels were rounded up and sent somewhere where they'd be welcome. But the cost of that would be staggering and I don't see Burnett volunteering.
Personally I don't dig hunting other than for subsistence, and I have no interest in blowing the shit out of animals in order to embrace the great outdoors. There are better ways.
Too bad the camel problem wasn't handled long before it had reached such dire proportions. I guess locale played a role in that.
ReplyDeleteI'm not into hunting either. Sustenance and even keeping the tribes down to manageable sizes in designated areas might be the exceptions. As you say, there are better ways to embrace nature.