Polymeme: the real alternate news site?

Polymeme.com

According to Polymeme website, their “site uses a unique buzz-tracking approach to identify what’s currently hot in 20 areas, ranging from economics to evolution, and present it to the reader along with all sources that are currently talking about it. Thus, you can track how ideas – or memes – propagate through this new emerging networked public sphere. We would consider our mission a success if we expose you to the maximum number of new ideas on every 100 news items you read!”

Okay it was not that non-mainstream because the top two people here were Obama and McCain, top two topics were energy and oil, and top two places were US and China. However, there was plenty of new and progressive stuff…the opinions that makes one think…just look at their science page!

How long will the massive number of endangered gorillas last now?

Just last month I attended a talk titled Life: A Journey Through Time by Frans Lantig at Stanford where Lantig and his wife documented the world from the beginning to present day…and the poem it was so just and beautiful. In that talk I saw many pictures, one picture though stuck in my mind: it was of a gorilla. I kept wondering how ruthlessly we humans have killed these innocent animals, marvels of evolution, vestiges of our common ancestors, and in evolutionary terms our own kind, our cousins. It was depressing.

Then I found this news Found: massive number of endangered gorillas. I even heard about it on NPR. They said the precise location has been undisclosed; possibly to prevent the poachers from getting there. Well the poachers are going to find out sooner or later…and again there will be decry, more news on how it is horrible to kill these endangered animals and yet another race to “save” these animals.

I was glad that more gorillas have been found…but my happiness lasted for a few seconds and I started wondering why they even disclosed this news…why did they not let our cousins remain hidden from the world and quietly protected them from poachers….I guess everyone needs their 15 mins of fame…whether with the discovery of a kind or with its rawhide…may the gorillas remain protected!