I listened to a long NPR opinions session about a new movement from the government to help the economy. The plan is that the government will buy shares in "toxic bonds" (bad mortgages and investments), and then sell them to the public in a manner similar to the liberty bonds from WWII. The idea is that these toxic bonds will recover as the economy gets back on its feet, which it can do with the money investors spend to buy these bonds. Not all bonds will make money, but some certainly will, and the people who own them will make a killing.
As I listened to the debate, in which professionals from both sides of the issue fielded questions and opinions from people who called into the station. The only thing I really understood was that a lot of what determines the safety of these toxic bonds is the price at which their sold. I couldn't help but wonder how many Americans really do understand this thing, and how many are just faking it or ignoring it. What percentage of the population truly understands the economy?
And who comes up with these ideas?
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Pet-keeping Safety
Where do people buy tigers and chimps as pets? What are they thinking when they decide to go to these places? Maybe there's some sort of thrill in it, like Orest in White Noise. Maybe owning an exotic pet is their purpose in life. Most people agree, whatever the buyer's reasoning, that the owners of dangerous pets are insane.
But humans all over the globe work with dangerous, exotic animals every day. Zoo keepers deal with lions and gorillas, and circuses have tigers. These people are in direct contact with carnivores much larger than they are, and very few accidents are reported. What's the difference between these professionals and people like Orest or the woman who owned the 200 pound chimp? I think the non-professionals, the ones who get hurt, are the ones who forget that these animals are not humans.
The woman who owned the chimp who recently attacked a woman had an odd relationship with the animal. He slept in her bed, ate at her table, and accompanied her wherever she went. She gave the chimp muscle relaxers when he seemed tense; while this helps humans, scientists say the medication could have the opposite affect on chimps, which would aggravate him further.
Also, the famous attack in 2003, when Roy Horn of Sigfried and Roy was attacked by a tiger. Sigfried claimed that the cat was trying to protect Roy from some percieved danger. Many professionals who work with big cats state that the tiger was going for the jugular, an obvious attempt to kill.
Animals are not dangerous as long as you recognize them for what they are. Tigers are huge carnivors and should be kept at a distance. Chimps are primates like us, but they are not pets, and they certainly are not humans. Only realizing this will keep our interactions with other living creatures safe.
But humans all over the globe work with dangerous, exotic animals every day. Zoo keepers deal with lions and gorillas, and circuses have tigers. These people are in direct contact with carnivores much larger than they are, and very few accidents are reported. What's the difference between these professionals and people like Orest or the woman who owned the 200 pound chimp? I think the non-professionals, the ones who get hurt, are the ones who forget that these animals are not humans.
The woman who owned the chimp who recently attacked a woman had an odd relationship with the animal. He slept in her bed, ate at her table, and accompanied her wherever she went. She gave the chimp muscle relaxers when he seemed tense; while this helps humans, scientists say the medication could have the opposite affect on chimps, which would aggravate him further.
Also, the famous attack in 2003, when Roy Horn of Sigfried and Roy was attacked by a tiger. Sigfried claimed that the cat was trying to protect Roy from some percieved danger. Many professionals who work with big cats state that the tiger was going for the jugular, an obvious attempt to kill.
Animals are not dangerous as long as you recognize them for what they are. Tigers are huge carnivors and should be kept at a distance. Chimps are primates like us, but they are not pets, and they certainly are not humans. Only realizing this will keep our interactions with other living creatures safe.
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