Two things.
In the discussion on the apparent decline of Baltimore orioles, it was mentioned that Breeding Bird Survey data indicated an average decline of this species of 2.6 percent per year. That rate of decline would halve the population of orioles about ever 23 years. Hence, if the decline were steady, and began in the 50's or 60's, the Baltimore is currently approaching a population of 1/8 of its former numbers. The decline has hopefully slowed somewhat recently due to several factors, one being that the area frequented by the orioles in winter is small and loggers should be running out of land to be cleared. Hopefully. Another is that the politics of this area is slowly being wrested to one more democratic.
In this last regard, it's difficult to remain silent about our own country's complicity in maintaining governments in Central America that were nothing but brutal dictatorships. If you wish to watch this short video, it explains how one of those dictators, General Ephraim Rios Montt of Guatemala is finally being brought to justice, aided by clips from a documentary made in the 1980s. If you're offended by this topic, go no further. Two salient points are the statement at the beginning that the US brought down a democratically-elected government in Guatemala in 1982, and a later statement by a filmmaker that they were trying to persuade the US from supporting Rios Montt. That Rios Montt is under trial for crimes against humanity is something I never thought I'd live to see.
The coup in Guatemala was initiated because the government was buying land from the United Fruit Company at declared value. A value that was understated by United Fruit to avoid taxes. It just so happened that Dean Rush, then Secretary of State, was partners in the law firm that represented United Fruit. These were, of course, the paranoid years of McCarthyism and the Cold War. The stated goal of the coup was to remove a communist government, a blatant lie. There were, indeed, two members of the communist party in the 400+ Guatemalan legislature. When asked how he could allow such a thing, the elected President, Jacobo Arbenz, replied, "This is a democracy."
My apologies to anyone offended by this post. I'm of the opinion, however, that silence is a war crime. It's also particularly relevant to earlier statements that the situation in Central America is out of our control. Here's the news release:
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/around-the-world-abc-news/nail-dictator-013803430.html
bab
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Bruce Bartrug
Nobleboro, Maine, USA
bbartrug@gmail.com
www.brucebartrug.com
The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing. - Albert Einstein
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