The pride of a Toronto Star photographer

I lived in Mexico for 7 years, but it's great to be here with Star photographer Carlos Osorio. Born in El Salvador, Carlos came to Canada when he was little and had never been to Mexico City. His only impressions of this country came from  the crowded, dusty streets of Juarez, where we went on a story a few years ago. That is the image of Mexico of most people: the Border. Mexicans and others trying to get across and the privileged North trying to stop them. Poverty, joblessness and desperation.

All those things exist in Mexico. But it is also a great country blessed with a capital that has been a literary, artistic, political, academic and religious beacon to Latin America for centuries. I would argue Mexico City is the capital of Latin America, no matter what Buenas Aires or other cities might claim. For Carlos, being here even on a terrible story like swine flu, has been an eye-opener to the beauty, even majesty, of a great Latin American city. "It feels so full of life, the noise, the churches, the smells, the people," he says. "It's great. I  love it - I guess for me it's in the blood."

Carlos gets to see the magnificence of the Latin American culture he shares. He's proud - and excited as a photographer. The light alone is amazing; he should see Havana.

It's sad fallout from cutbacks in the media (to cite one reason) there are no longer Canadian bureaus here. The news is so much richer than the occasional health catastrophe or earthquake. We think of Mexico then, or when we read about farmworkers coming to Canada. Or when we are part of the more than a million tourists who travel here every year. Such a pity. 

Oh dear. They say (in Spanish) if the dust of Mexico gets into your heart (or your soul, I don't remember), you are a prisoner for life. I guess that's me. I hadn't realized how much I yearned for the light, the birdsong, the gardens and, most of all, the people. Can I go home again?

* * *

Mexico City is in lockdown for swine flu and tomorrow will be double lockdown because it's the May 1st International Workers Day holiday. So anything that is open today won't be tomorrow. And Tuesday is May 5. Cinco de Mayo. That's the day Mexican troops beat the French army in 1862 in Puebla.

Setting up interviews is so much fun. When I lived here I worked out how many holidays Mexican have and it's something like double those of dour Canada. Mexicans know how to live.

Yep, Mexico City is the place to be

Sometimes it's so much fun being a journalist. "Feel like flying into the swine flu epicentre?" asked my editor (to paraphrase), except it wasn't really a question. Where else would I want to be, pray tell?

CARLOS OSORIO/TORONTO STAR

A woman prays at Mexico City’s Metropolitan Cathedral on April 29, 2009.

After Ottawa issued its travel advisory against going to Mexico Tuesday, Toronto Star photographer Carlos Osorio and I jumped on a plane — well, a couple of them — and headed to the Mexican capital. There's a bright side. American Airlines flights to Dallas and on to Mexico City Tuesday were so light in economy class, we could have brought in king size beds and dozed.

We're hoping the Tamiflu tablets we're taking will put us with the 30 per cent of the population the medication actually protects against swine flu.

Mexico City is, as always, bizarre, quirky and surreal, even in the midst of a health crisis. "Welcome to Mexico. Business or pleasure?" said the immigration agent through his mask, around midnight at the Mexico City airport. Nice to see a sense of humour; my papers were clear about this journalism thing.

It was a treat to receive a bowl of tortilla soup from a room service waiter wearing a medical mask and looking nervous.

I will be blogging whenever I can from Mexico over the next few days. That's if I recover from my devastation over the lack of a good margarita. I'm a fan of the margaritas at La Valentina restaurants here but they are closed except for takeout. Wonder if they'll prepare a batch for pickup?

And where can I go for magazines at 3 a.m. with Sanborns closed? Yes, the 24-hour phenomenon is, gasp! closed, at least in the wee hours. Must be the first time ever for the Carlos Slim money-maker.

* * *

At the Metropolitan Cathedral on the weekend, Church authorities took out the statue of the Christ of Health (Cristo de la Salud) that hadn't been brought outside for 300 years. At that time, Mexicans were suffering from a third epidemic of foreign-imported smallpox. They placed the statue in the Zocolo with the hope it would heal people. Eventually, the disease passed, although all three epidemics in the New World  wiped out an estimated 90 per cent of the indigenous population.

Last Sunday, Church authorities brought out the statue again, this time to heal the swine flu. It's too soon to see any results.

However, some people I spoke to in the Cathedral Wednesday suggested God has no interest in taking care of this problem. In their opinion, the world-wide swine flu outbreak is evidence of the wrath of God over humankind's godlessness.

In that case, we're all in deep trouble. The Apocalypse cometh.

* * *
I just saw President Felipe Calderon on TV promising Mexicans will be told the truth about this disease at all times. Mexico has such a sterling record of keeping its citizens informed of the facts — like, say, the 1968 Tlatelolco Massacre in Mexico City, the 1985 earthquake, the killing of campesinos by Guerrero state police at Las Aguas Blancas in 1995 and the ongoing murders of hundreds of women in Juarez.

But I digress. Swine flu is enough for the moment.

A concerted government approach to swine flu

There couldn't be a better time for the Institute for Research on Public Policy to make its report on Canada's ability to respond to public heath emergencies and offer recommendations for better co-ordination.

Planning for the Next Pandemic, by Kumanan Wilson and Harvey Lazar came out first in a condensed version in 2006, three years after Canada - notably Ontario - went through the SARS epidemic. Even after all this time, the authors say there remain shortcomings in policy and co-ordination in Canada and recommend, among other things, a streamlined communications approach and changes to federal legislation to allow Ottawa to take unilateral action to meet a natinal health crisis.

Hmmm, Does Michael Ignatieff's trip to D.C. mean the PM is out-of-step where it counts?

A seismic shift shouldn't be seen in Michael Ignatieff's jaunt to Washington today. An opposition leader's visit to the modern equivalent of Rome isn't a big deal in Washington's busy grand scheme. Opposition leaders have met with sitting presidents (Brian Mulroney and Ronald Reagan) and Ignatieff could even land an invite for that special meeting at some point.

Still, PM Stephen Harper's stock is not high in certain Washington circles.  With another Summit of the Americas behind us, the verdict by  Washington-based Public Citizen's Trade Watch is our PM stands alone - and out-of-date - in policies on trade initiatives in the Americas. In the past, Trade Watch has been highly critical of former president George W. Bush for his administration's Americas policy. But they've given high grades - so far at least - to President Barack Obama for his disinclination to push for the previously touted "Free Trade Agreement of the Americas." As Trade Watch noted, "happily missing" this time (in Trinidad & Tobabgo) was all the talk of hemispheric free trade and the "Washington Consensus". Lori Wallach, director of Trade Watch says there is a new sentiment among U.S. lawmakers trade agreements haven't benefited the U.S., a view long felt in many countries. Wallach argues: "Leaders throughout the hemisphere face broad public demand for real change in trade and economic policy and some have begun creating new approaches. Others, like Obama, have committed to do so."

She says events show neo-liberal policies are discredited in the Americas, and the world. There was no talk of the FTAA last week, plus Obama's administration has shown a new approach to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and some loosening on Cuba. (The U.S. is still far from Canada's lead in recognizing and dealing with Cuba, but that will come with time.) Trade Watch offers research showing Obama is in step with polls showing Americans don't believe free trade has been a positive force.

Meanwhile, Canada is the only country to have a free-trade agreement with Colombia and the Harper government hasn't distanced itself from the FTAA model so closely associated with Corporate America and U.S. presidents going back to Reagan.

There is a still general view in many Canadian circles NAFTA has been a real boon to the economy (or was pre-recession) but studies on everything from labour to oil by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives suggests that's a false premise.

The PMO may have hired a couple of former White House spokespeople to boost Canada's image in the U.S. However, being out-of-the-loop with thinking can only be a deterrent.

* * *

Another Latin American offering for your listening pleasure: La Tropa vallenata. (It's that kind of week for me.) "Los Caminos de la Vida" is great road music, especially in northern Colombian where this band has its roots.

Happy Earth Day! Y mas!

No point alerting readers to an upcoming speech yesterday without delivering. Here's a webcast link to Council of Canadians chair Maude Barlow's speech today to the UN on water resources. She's also senior adviser to the UN General Assembly president on issues of global water conservation.  Also, a link to a text of the water resources speech.

* * *

If you've ever struggled to release a computer power cord from its plastic prison, despaired about food packaging or wondered why restaurants can't use cardboard takeout, take a look at the outstanding Star series, "Beating the Wrap." It's running all week.

* * *

This has nothing particularly to do with Earth Day: Mexican singer Chavela Vargas is simply one of my favorite artists and I love her version of "Macorina." Also, "Volver, volver," but you can search it out yourself if you want to hear more Vargas. 

Mimi the Burmese kitten makes her Stornoway debut

Awwwwwww - so cute.

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff and his wife, Zsuzsanna Zsohar may think they own a new cat at Stornoway. That's okay; they can think that.

Mimi the Burmese kitten has just arrived at her new address, ferried from her B.C. breeder by Liberal MP Keith Martin (Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca) in a WestJet passenger cabin. It should take Mimi only a few weeks to gain control; soon she'll be running the place. Her aplomb is already visible at four months, especially with the red and white in her collar colour-coordinated to the Hungarian embroidered pillow. Very chic, Miss Mimi, diva-esque even.

Burmese cats are the ultimate "people" felines, although readers no doubt have their own favorites. Mimi's brother, Eric, arrives (into the world and to the Opposition Leader's Official Residence) later this year, but it's not clear if Martin will again do the escorting honours. Burmese can be loud, even as kittens. I wonder if it was a noisy flight.

Canadian Maude Barlow battles for water rights at the United Nations

Canadians can be remiss in praising their own, but Council of Canadians chair Maude Barlow deserves applause for her international crusade to protect the world's water resources. It's not a sexy subject in the developed world; we focus more often on flooding than scarcity, especially with the kind of spring the mid-west is enduring this year. Canadians living in a land of lakes, rivers and underground reservoirs often can't imagine scarcity. 

Moreover, it's not really an issue that can be explained in a tweet, except perhaps, "No water, no more."

The longterm threat is two-fold: climate change that threatens water resources and the growing trend in trade agreements to treat water as a commodity. Guaranteed, water will be a sexy subject when we're lined up for it or paying exorbitant prices for clean water from private corporations. In Bolivia, it took mass protests that shut down the country to wrest water from corporate hands - and that was merely a first volley. Canada doesn't even have a national strategy for water conservation. That's a serious problem, given recent treaties that threaten to deplete water reserves, including the Great Lakes.

Barlow is a pioneer in the fight for water resources, touring endlessly to give speeches (as shown in videos) and take part in seminars. As the first senior advisor on water to the president of the UN General Assembly, she gives her first address on water rights to the UN tomorrow. Says Barlow: "Water must be seen as a commodity that belongs to the Earth and all species alike."

Those are fighting words to the corporations knee-deep in lawyers and  paid academics who champion their interests. 

Newsflash: Afghan husbands stripped of rights, forced to have marital sex

While decrying the new law discriminating against Afghan husbands, Canadian officials are essentially taking a wait-and-see attitude. The new law legalizes marital rape and forbids husbands from leaving the house without the consent of their wives. Penalties for disobedience are harsh. Meanwhile, supporters of the law argue it applies only to the country's minority Shi'ite Muslim population - not to all men.

What if?

What if men had lost their rights, instead of women in the legislation recently signed by President Harmid Karzai? Close ally of the U.S. and Canada Karzai? Last week, men pelted demonstrating women with stones in Kabul, calling them "dogs," although it should be noted a few men marched with the women.

Within Afghanstan, clerics defend the law while, internationally, officials in countries like Canada express "deep concern" but little else.  It's unthinkable men would face such a fate - or that the rest of the world would maintain a helpless pose as women courageously marched.

Take any story on what's happening to women in Afghanistan and switch the word "women" to "men. See how bizarre it is?

* * *

Humanitarian of the week award: Karlheinz Schreiber

The German arms dealer this week told the public inquiry into his business dealings with former PM Brian Mulroney he lobbied for a light-armoured vehicle plant in Nova Scotia two decades ago in order to save lives. "I am frustrated today because this is the reason why our soldiers are (being) killed in Afghanistan," said Schreiber (in an AFP photo at right). 

 "It's not about a few bucks in commission. This is about lives."

* * *

 

 

On a glorious day with promise of a great Saturday ahead, Decoder ace contributor Lynne shares springtime images of the first calf of the year at Riverdale Farm in Toronto.

* * *

Oh, yeah, and Joe the Plumber is back.

A report to sweeten your tax burden. Or so they say.

It's tax time and a Canadian think tank argues Canadians get a real bargain. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has issued a new report - "Canada's Quiet Bargain" - saying Canadian households enjoy a "higher quality of life" because of public services funded through taxation. In a response to what the CCPA calls "incessant calls for tax cuts," the report concludes public services make a significant contribution to the standard of living of most Canadians - worth at least 50 percent of their incomes.

"Our taxes pay for services that are extremely valuable to Canadians," says economist Hugh Mackenzie, the report's co-author and CCPA research associate. "The suggestion we often hear, that taxes a a burden, hides the reality that our taxes fund public services that make Canada's standard of living among the very best."

The report breaks down tax benefits by income.  It's worth a look.

I suppose the idea is to smile as you send your tax dollars to Ottawa.

* * *

Speaking of taxes, Liberal Leader MIchael Ignatieff is already talking about raising them if elected PM (read down in linked story). And the Conservative government is already blasting the idea (see below).

Taser Inquiry: Could Mounties be charged after all?

That was a very interesting interview the CBC's Terry Milewski did with  B.C. Attorney-General Wally Oppal this week. For the first time, Oppal is hinting the four Mounties involved in the Taser death of Robert Dziekanski may not be off-the-hook.  Oppal told Milewski "nothing is final," and evidence being presented at the ongoing Braidwood Commission inquiry could lead to the case being re-opened by the Criminal Justice Branch. Last December, that same branch announced no charges would be laid in connection with the Oct. 14, 2008 death of Dziekanski at the Vancouver Airport because no undue force had been used.

 The timing of Oppal's interview with the CBC is curious, coming on the eve of the resumption of the Braidwood inquiry in Vancouver. The RCMP officers involved already have testified before the inquiry, giving different accounts under oath than earlier statements to RCMP investigators examing Dziekanski's death while in custody. They argued they hadn't reported well the first time. But their testimony was also different from what the Commission saw repeatedly in the showings of the video of the morning's events by bystander Paul Pritchard (below).

The December ruling by the Criminal Justice Branch that exonerated the officers was seen as the prerequisite to their appearing before the Braidwood inquiry in the first place. Now, Oppal says: "The fact that a lot of this evidence is being tested in a different way may result in something different happening."

 It all depends on what Braidwood rules, of course. He could find fault with RCMP procedure, the initial accounts of the Mounties involved (not to mention airport services or security) without getting into the fraught issue of whether the Mounties lied.  However, a report that essentially makes it difficult for justice officials to do anything but lay charges invites a different controversy.  No matter how distasteful the evidence has been before Braidwood - and this has hardly been a high point for the RCMP - these officers testified under the belief no criminal charges would be laid.

* * *

Mother Jones weighs in on tasers.

Reflections from Comrade Fidel

Toronto Star Photos

Castro in Havana in 1998

 Fidel Castro still muses publicly about world events and, this time, it's Fidel on Barack Obama. It's a strange one, part complimentary ("obvious good health, agile mind operating like a heavy machine"), part criticism of NATO and part a news summary of the recent Obama itinerary. One imagines Castro stretched out in his jammies dictating his world view or, more likely, authorizing writeups from his press corps. Oh, what foe old age.

* * * 

More for Latin America/Caribbean buffs: The People's Summit will be held simultaneously with the V Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, April 16-18. The People's Summit looks at labour, environmental and social issues, while politicians gather to come up with more of the policies that have been so successful in the Americas. Not.

* * *

Why the Rush on Free Trade with Colombia? Despite an all-party report last fall advising a human rights review before free trade with Colombia, Parliament quietly ratified the agreement. As Rick Arnold, director of the human rights group Common Frontiers, asks about Colombian free trade in a letter to his MP: Why?

* * *

Fujimori goes up the river: Earlier this week, former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison for mass murder for the activities of his death squads. Unlike Chile's Augusto Pinochet, Fujimori, 70,  didn't expire soon enough. His lawyers will appeal.

I remember an interview with Fujimori in the presidential palace in which he boasted about a different (distinto) type of democracy in his Peru. I'll say.

* * *

Happy Easter

Jian Ghomeshi versus Billy Bob Boor

Poor Jian Ghomeshi. Guess he didn't get his instructions straight today from actor/rocker Billy Bob Thornton (at right in AP photo with his band, the Boxmasters) for their interview on Ghomeshi's CBC radio show, Q. As a result, what else was there for Billie Bob to do but sulk? On air.

Ghomeshi had Thornton and his band on this morning to talk about their tour and new album. The first hint Thornton had turned sour came when he stonewalled Ghomeshi's queries about touring with Willie Nelson and went bizarro on another about muscial influences as a kid. Ghomeshi was doing that, "Oo-kaaayyyy," and soldiering on. Was Billy Bob always passionate about music?" And there's where it exploded.

"Would you say that to Tom Petty," demanded Thornton.  Ghomeshi said, sure. Ghomeshi probed until Thornton blurted out he was angry "since you're instructed not to talk about shit like that."

Turns out Thornton - or his people - had given Ghomeshi's people his list of forbidden questions, including, it would seem, suggesting he had ever been anything but a musician. An actor, whatever do you mean? Ghomeshi mentioned he was just trying to give his listeners a little context, but Thornton sulked for the rest of the show. His band played an instrumental number without him on drums because, as he explained, he's not lugging around drums at 6 in the morning! Oh, he did take a few minutes to diss Canadian fans for sitting on their hands. Apparently, he's used to fans who throw chairs around. 

Bravo to Ghomeshi. And Billy Bob? He gave us an up close and personal look at a real live star. All class.

Watch the video.

Liberals par-tay: Iggy at the Palladium . . . er, Fairmount Royal York

It was Michael Ignatieff's coming-out party last night at the annual "Leader's Dinner" in the Canadian Room of Toronto's grand old hotel. Oodles of fun, I say. (A heads-up this post is not overly serious. But if you want the inside scoop, read on.)

The scene: The place is packed with Liberals with modified thousand-yard stares scanning for familiar VIP faces. Most necks crane for Iggy and Belinda Stronach, whose complexion is wondrously shiny. (Please — it is, plus I describe men physically all the time.) Anybody who's anybody is here, even John "Chick" Turner and his wife, Geills. (Remember when every Liberal on Parliament Hill used to be afraid of her? Ah, good times.) Eventually, party wranglers herd all the doggies dogies in for dinner and The Speech and real fun begins.

We're in a crowded banquet room, with quipster co-hosts Stronach and Peterson taking the stage after national director Rocco Rossi. He is a big man and gets things rolling by warning Conservatives to "be afraid . . . be very afraid." Ominous. He's joking, right?

Suddenly, the mood is turning sombre. Jean Augustine leads us in prayer. (Yes, that Jean Augustine, she who gave up her Etobicoke-Lakeshore for Iggy.) A long prayer.

Then, Peterson keeps everyone on their feet for the National Anthem. There is a mass movement to be seated, but, "No," says the former Prem, a toast first.  We all raise our glasses (well, except for media wretches) to Canada. Fair enough. Another rustling, bottoms beginning to touch chairs. "Please remain standing," says Peterson, for a moment of silence for Doug Frith. Giant photographs appear on the screens of the late Mr. Frith, who passed away last month. He was a former MP, lobbyist and most likeable man. A boy from Sudbury, after all.

No disrespect to Doug, but here it's feeling like Lenny Bruce and his "Comic at the Palladium." routine. You know (or the seven of you crazy about Lenny who do) when the bad Vegas comic comes rolling onstage (DA-da-da-da-DA) at the posh London Palladium after a singer has done her "Goodbye to Dunkirk, Hello God" number. It's just a little melody for "the boys who went to Dunkirk and never came back. And why did the boys never come back? Because the boys are dead."

You get my drift. The mood, not so festive anymore. You know, some are sobbing openly, others groping for digitalis and the man of the hour isn't even near the stage yet.  But first, as Q would have it, a detour down memory lane with Peterson, who introduces foe-turned-best pal Bob Rae. "By any, standards, one of the best and brightest" in the country. Bob's smiling so I guess all's well. No more hard feelings.

Rae introduces Ignatieff. He's got a couple of jokes, one pretty funny. His wife Arlene Perly Rae told him to keep it short, reminding him the night isn't about him - "as if I needed reminding."

The other? Rae tells the crowd: "Michael Ignatieff has written more books than the Conservative caucus put together."

He's joking, and to a Liberal audience. But that's the kind of line that could get voters thinking those darned Liberals sound uppity, doncha think? Lots of of smart, creative Canadians aren't wild about reading books, writing them or reading translations of Russian classics out loud to their wives, as tempting as that sounds of an evening.

Boy, the crowd is raring to go now.

* * *

For this Toronto gala debutante moment, it's a good speech. Small problem. Ignatieff also reports his wife, Zsuzsanna Zsohar, told him to smile and keep it short. Why don't they listen. They never listen. I mean, okay on the smile but the speech — not that short. 8 1/2 pages double-spaced and that's a fair bit to deliver. Seems Iggy realizes this as he goes along and compensates by hurrying us all along at a brisk pace.

The reception is good too, but not overwhelming. Even the standing ovation at the end isn't a wild affair. It's obvious this crowd of Liberals really wants to be wooed by their guy — and maybe that will come. Perhaps he's just not used to a teleprompter for big speeches and hasn't worked out the bugs yet.

He's at his most relaxed — and comical — when he talks about how Conservatives are sitting around in some basement somewhere going through everything he's ever written (16 books, the 17th ready to be launched soon), looking for dirt. He isn't in a rush; the laughter is hearty. He's also good on the insight that the "secret" of PM Stephen Harper's economic action plan is "its author doesn't believe in it. And when you don't believe in what you're doing, you can't do it well." Makes sense, at a gut level. You can tell the PM isn't crazy by nature about gobs of stimulus spending.

The funniest moment, if unintended, comes at the end when he says he'll conclude with an incident that occurred that very afternoon at the Ottawa airport when he was going through security with staffer, Zeena.

Ignatieff is getting into it: "The young woman patting me down after the scanner said.. . . "

The crowd breaks up.

He looks confused, then embarrassed. This isn't supposed to be funny. Seems he hadn't thought about the "patting down" line or the collective image we're all sharing. There's heady expectation in the air, like the punch line's coming and it's going to be sexy. Hey, how's  Zsuzsanna reacting? The crowd waits and . . . awkward silence, Ignatieff quickly picks up the pace and zips through his account of how Zeena said he'd done something right. "Thank-you, Zeena," he replied. The name tag.

You know what she told him then?

"You're doing well. . . The Liberals are coming back. You're the party for us, the party of the people."

Just like that. Can you believe it?

* * *

Look, don't mean to be a big wet blanket here. The dinner was surely was a success; people were positively giddy, More than 1,100 people sardined themselves in, a great number of them forking over $1,000 for a Laurier Club VIP party membership and chance  to cozy up to Iggy over cocktails, Or, peer in the general direction of the top of his head. Or maybe Belinda's. In political party terms, that's success. The man can draw a crowd; national director Rossi was thrilled.

Moreover, these Liberals seemed exceedingly favourably disposed towards Ignatieff. The Vancouver convention at the end of the month — where he graciously accepts being formally acclaimed by his party — will be a love-in, even if Iggy-mania isn't exactly sweeping the land.

Moreover, it was a strong speech on paper, with good lines that would have sounded strong if he hadn't hurried. Maybe the room was only booked until 9 p.m., dunno.

* * *

Liberals also have reason to be happy about the latest numbers from Elections Canada. Over a million Liberal voters didn't turn out in the last election and that hurts when the government starts sending out the cheques, which are calculated through voting numbers. But the numbers, released yesterday, don't look too bad for them.

Elections Canada  announced quarterly payments to federal parties, based on voting numbers in the Oct. 14 vote. Each party is given $1.95 per valid vote. Here's an Elections Canada site if you are such a political junkie you want to see exactly how it's done. Otherwise, here's the breakdown:

Bloc Québécois: $673,781

Conservative Party of Canada: $2,543,328

Green Party of Canada: $457,790

Liberal Party of Canada: $1,773,903

New Democratic Party: $1,228,089

Another option is to go to the Elections Canada general website and try to figure things out for yourself. Good luck! It can't be overly emphasized how complicated this site can be; I'd even say user unfriendly.

* * *

Me, I was tickled pink to get an added treat to the Iggy speech last night  by catching a nice chunk of "Leonard Cohen, Live in London" on CBC TV later. Walked in half-way through, "Hallelujah!"

Oh, man.

Saving China's "Farmed" Moon Bears

This is a tough post and - so be warned! - and some of the video on the rescue of Moon Bears in China is difficult to watch. The first below, for example, doesn't show particularly graphic images of the bears but you see their arrival at night to the rescue centre, the cages and the concern of Jill Robinson, founder of Animals Asia Foundation. It's impossible to fathom how human beings can do the damage they do to other human beings, and to animals. In China and Vietnam, Moon Bears - great lumbering black beasts named for the white crescents on their chests - are held in small cages, where they are "farmed" for their bile. Among practices, the animals have permanent shunts in their abdomens to drain bile used in Chinese medicine. Like I said, it's pretty rough stuff.

I'd read about this before and, last night, caught a good report on Global TV's national news about on the Animals Asia Foundation's Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu, China  (with HQ in Hong Kong). They're part of the Animals Asia Foundation, committed to both trying to rescue an estimated 9,000-10,000 bears being "farmed" in China and to publicize what's going on. (Chengdu is in southwestern China, the capital of Sichuan province.) Through the efforts of the Animals Asia Foundation (and that's a different link), 41 farms have been closed down and an estimated 360 bears rescued and taken to the Moon Bear centre, although staffers report more than 70 haven't survived. The bears end up with tumours inside and outside their bodies, liver disease, blindness and all manner of physical atrocities, which is why veterinarians can't always save and rehabilitate them.  At the Moon Bear centre, British veterinarians, Dr. Claudia Hartley and Dr. David Donaldson from the Animal Health Trust recently performed eye surgery on many of the bears, in an attempt to restore sight or partial sight . (At Global's website - it looks like you can pull down a podcast to their full March 31 broadcast, but there's no separate link to video of the Moon Bear story I watched.)

Through the Moon Bear rescue site, you can access other links and great staff blogs, including Jill's, written by Robinson. Again, take care. There are heartbreaking stories, unhappy endings and some tough photographs, along with good news. Another interesting site is the Ursa Freedom Project, with the same goal of liberating the caged Moon Bears.

It's easy to research what's happening to these bears and find sites inviting public support. Other ways to make your views on bear farming known might include linking to the Chinese embassy in Canada - or in any country where you live - as well as the Vietnamese embasy. Contact info is available at the sites.

There's also a Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Vietnam, where, according to the above video, about 4,000 bears are currently being farmed for their bile, although it is illegal to take it or use it in products in that country. 

And, finally, here is a video taken by a visitor to the Shengdu Moon Bear Rescue Centre (in Sichuan province) showing a bear that appears to have been nursed back to health. As the video says, Enjoy!