4" Penguins in Safety Sweaters Need Help 190
chrisd writes "We all give lip service to how much we like penguins and such, well a bunch of the "little" penguins (4 inch tall little guys) have been spooged by an oil tanker in southern australia. They need cash to help them take care of the little fellas. They put them in little sweaters and such to keep them from preening the oil off thier wings into thier stomaches, which causes them to die. A picture of them in thier protective gear can be found there or at a my mirror."
Perfect for those IPO millionaires (Score:4)
(I say "Let's", even though I didn't get in on the IPO. )
Good cause (Score:2)
New Logo (Score:1)
Maybe this should be the logo for the "sysadmin at the south pole".
But go ahead and help if you can (meaning you're not a poor college student like me).
poor guys (Score:4)
It took a bit of reading to find anywhere to send money to, but I finally found this:
Donations can be sent to: Phillip Island Penguin Parade, ATT: Penguin Hospital Support Fund P.O. Box 97 Cowes Phillip Island. Victoria. 3922. AUSTRALIA.
The didn't have anyway that I found, in the amount of time I had, to give money online or anything. Darn it those things are cute. Easy to want to help.
Re:Ever try to swim in a sweater? (Score:1)
Sadly, not all the little fellows will make it even with the sweaters. Some have died already
I agree that this is a good cause and that the Linux community should help Tux's kinfolk.
What I'm burned over is that the unidentified persons who caused this disaster are still on the loose. I hope that they catch the @$#%!@#$.
Discharging tanks ... flags of convenience (Score:5)
There's little governments can do even if they have a fair idea which ships or copmanies are to blame. Do it in international waters, and no-one can get you. And if you get caught
A friend who works as a deck oficcer commented to me once that another problem is hopeless crews. OFficers tend to be trained and conscientius(sp?),
but crews often don't speak the same language as the officers and have no training. In the British merchant navy, many crews are Philipino simply because the owners can get away with paying them shit wages.
Anyways, enough of the ranting. I just hope no more of these little penguins succumb to the oil.
Chris Wareham
Stuff like this makes us fell in tears... (Score:2)
*ahem* (Score:1)
Tux is in trouble!... but seriously... (Score:2)
Sounds disgustingly corporate, but I dont see any international agencies that arent charities/enviro groups that have guaranteed funding existing to take care of this.
The penguins wont care where the money comes from, I can tell you that.
Dont you all know its the corporations that have to take care of our environment and community now? Havent you seen those Saturn commercials?
Just to make a really unpopular but important statement while Im at it: wasnt it found to be a waste of money to save animals from the Valdeez spill? Didnt they die anyway? Couldnt that money be used better to cleanup the spill unless saving these few animals will keep a population from crashing or becoming endangered?
Remember, CUTE AND CUDDLY doesnt important make. Just cuz they're cute penguins doesnt matter as much as their position in the food chain and how other populations rely on them. Money should go where its really needed, not where the population, guided by what animals make cute stuffed toys, thinks it should.
Math
Alternative to sweaters (Score:1)
And in other news... (Score:3)
"tar-like deposits" (Score:1)
Surf around the site some more. (Score:4)
Whoever dumped the slick off Phillip Island should be fed to sharks.
Not everywhere. Re:"tar-like deposits" (Score:1)
where there are such deposits.
I'm donating (Score:3)
Phillip Island Penguin Parade
att: Penguin Hospital Support Fund
P.O. Box 97
Cowes
Phillip Island. Victoria. 3922. AUSTRALIA.
But it would also be interesting to make sure that this
doesn't continue to happen -- for any animals! What
organisations exist that help prevent that these polluters
get away?
Re:New Logo (Score:2)
Re:Surf around the site some more. (Score:1)
I swear, watching the park rangers (or whatever) threaten the people in the stands with umbrellas the night I was there, you realize that most people are either too stupid to read the signs (which are EVERYWHERE) or too selfish to care.
Fond memories from my trip to Australia.
BTW: Agree on the shark thing.
Consequences for the Oil company? (Score:3)
Kintanon
i would love (Score:1)
Clean them off (Score:1)
Way to go Slashdot (Score:1)
Siobahn
http://www.siobahn.com
The little penguins are very cool (Score:1)
The original URL has directions on where to send the donations. And, if you're in the US, your US dollars go a long way in Aus. dollars
Consequences under International Law (Score:1)
We really need to jump up and down screaming about this to the right organization.
Can't ThinkGeek set up a SKU to take CC donations? (Score:2)
As mentioned in another post, this would be great way for anyone who is now filthy rich due to the Linux related stock craze to ease their open source conscience.
(By the way, is conscience the opposite of science?)
Re:Clean them off (Score:1)
Re:poor guys (Score:3)
There is the chance that since these guys are a worthy cause, their local bank might waive the fees, but I wouldn't count on it.
...j
(US readers: s/cheques/checks/g - make sense now? <g>)
Re:Clean them off (Score:3)
According to the story they are cleaned with solvents and then kept in a penguin hospital in the little sweaters until they test waterproof and then they are released. The cleaning strips away their natural oils and they would freeze if they were released quickly. The sweaters prevent the penguin from trying to clean themselves and thus getting poisoned. From the sounds of it, they also keep them warm.
Sending U.S. Funds (Score:3)
According to a colleague of mine who lived for a time in Oz, it is possible to send U.S.-drawn checks to Australia. The recipient, however, will have to pony up the exchange rate difference and possibly pay a fee to their bank to take the deposit.
Note that large banks (Citibank, Harris, etc.) usually will sell you a money order drawn in foreign currency, if you want to save the Penguin People from the evil bank fee collectors.
Really big banks can probably even sell you authentic Australian currency, but we cannot recommend sending that by mail.
-Sharv
Re:This is not the first post (Score:4)
Orwell, I tried my best! :)
Re:poor guys (Score:2)
Re:Alternative to sweaters (Score:2)
Might I suggest? (Score:5)
Re:Discharging tanks ... flags of convenience (Score:1)
Someone, *PLEASE*, think of the penguins!
Bad Mojo
Little Penguins aren't _that_ little (Score:1)
Re:let's see if linux fools... (Score:1)
insulted by your statement, I do agree with you.
I wouldn't feel right looking at my tux alter
i've already sealed my envolope to them, which contains 100 dollars.
I hope all the linux users out there make a contribution also.
Gentleman, you can't fight in here, this is the war room..
$$ /. effect? (off-topic) (Score:2)
On the off-topic side though, I wonder what the result of the slashdot effect would be when applied to charitable donations... Say, $10 from everyone who visits the site. Maybe even less.
Has anyone out there done any work with electronic cash? Say: putting an amount into an online account, and then clicking on a URL to have a certain amount transfered to the cause..
I know, the fraud potential is huge, so security comes up, but consider... Something a'la
Even contributions of e-pennies per person would amount to considerable funds when coupled with the slashdot effect.
No Offense (Score:1)
I know CmdrTaco thinks he's doing a service, but I don't need him telling me which causes to support. I'm sure there are some people who will give money because CmdrTaco thinks its a good idea. That's a shame. Besides, how much cash is CmdrTaco giving?
Punish Them? (Score:3)
Maybe hopeless (YMMV) (Score:1)
-dB
We need online credit card donations (Score:1)
Human laziness coupled with the "SlashDot Effect" could save a whole hell-of-alot of penguins.
Penguins are cute, but people need help too (Score:1)
Glad to see that thousands of us feel for the cute pengi-wengies.
However, I have to remind you that there are thousands of poor, homeless, destitute people around the world, dying in streets, suffering in refugee camps, and there are hundreds and thousands (no, that's not a gross over estimation ) of children orphaned by wars and natural disasters.
I believe we should think about those people too. They may not be as cute as penguins, but they sure need our help.
This is *the* Linux penguin. (Score:3)
One source that confirms this [cyberwalker.net]
Minimal to none. (Score:2)
Get Serious. (Score:1)
And YES, I know this could perhaps be considered a bad comment to some moderators out there, but this is kind of pathetic, where there are more deserving charities in the world, and someone wants us to start worrying about 4" tall penguins??!?!!
Re:Yes! This why there is such a category! (Score:2)
you up!
Better picture link (Score:2)
http://www.theage.com.au
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! Cute! (Score:1)
C'mon, moderate me up, you were thinking it too when you saw the photo...
Why we should help animals.... (Score:2)
Now, before you jump to the conclusion that I'm some maniac tree-huggers, let's look at this plain and scientific.
Case 1: The suffering people, lacking food, shelter etc. Who screwed them over? Who benefited from their misery? Well, other people. So people caused the problem there. We did it to ourselves. We are all equally guilty.
Case 2: The animals have no involvement, they don't squander resources, kill for no reason, elect republicans, or hurt homosexuals. They are therefore innocent, as a species, and by the same speciest reasoning that people use to put them last, they should be put first.
Cute and cuddly is SO important!!!! (Score:2)
The same is true of most other species we consider "cute": "Babe" wouldn't have half its resonance if it were about a wild boar raised by a wolf pack who learns wolflike methods of hunting rams. Up until the century just passed, most children's stories, either "Western", or traditional, rarely cast wild animals as sympathetic characters: they were usually cast, even in vegetarian India and hunter-gatherer tribes, as being caricatures of humanity's gross and ignoble nature. A hundred years ago, educators warned parents that buying their daughters "Roosevelt's cubs" would pervert their maternal instinct away from their future roles as wives and mothers. (Sorry, guys, you're about 90,000 years too late...) Today, teddy bears share their toy chests with such perverse beasts as mandrills, owl-like Furbies, seals, and even (gasp!) penguins with Linuxmall buttons on them, as concerns as diverse as The Nature Conservancy and Mc Donald's find that the best way to popularize the plight of endangered species is to make plush animals in their image. Deer are now a problem in many suburban neighborhoods -- no one wants to shoot Bambi's mother. (Mice, which eat everything, crap everywhere, and spread fleas and microbes, are a sore point with many people, thanks to the same concern -- we now project our disgust on rats.) Bears are dangerous, destructive, beasts, who also invade human settlements -- who wants to draw a bead on Pooh?
True, there aren't many ways of cutesifying snail darters. Most of the animals who occupy an important position in the food chain aren't all that glamorous (with the exception of rodents). But who wants to read zoological data to their kids at bedtime, or snuggle up to an ecocensus report at the end of the day?
In keeping with the communitarian spirit of Linux, perhaps there ought to be a permanent Penguin fund set up with the Audubon Society, with contributions from Linux-minded people and groups. Such proposal has been made before, and would do much to popularize both causes in a way that would be truly commensal.
"'Cause penguins are so sensitive, to my needs." --Lyle Lovett.
advice on overseas currency? (Score:1)
money order, personal check, etc?
no one seems to be able to answer this rather basic question...i've never sent money overseas.
who would i even make the darn check out to? can someone from slashdot find out and update the post?
i hate to whine (not really) but to ask for help with so many basic details missing is kind of
Im stuck at work, someone be a hero for the little penguins, eh?
Re:Another Startlingly Irrelevant Story (Score:2)
(Yes, I know the individual penguins didn't forget or figure out anything about flying any more than I figured out that an upright stance frees the forelimbs for carrying stuff.)
flags of convenience (Score:1)
Re:Penguins are cute, but people need help too (Score:2)
Re:Why we should help animals.... (Score:1)
One of them is my posting, the other is by an individual who used the "homeless people" argument, as you mentioned.
Let me point out that I did not mention helping poor or homeless people in my posting. My message simply stated that there are much more deserving "charities" (not people) out there who should be targeted.
Now, since you placed my posting in the group that you so richly singled out, let me point something out to you. People with cancer, heart conditions, diabetes, or any other type of physical condition, did not bring their condition upon themselves. With that in mind, you would do well to think about what you say in the future.
Perhaps if you personally knew of someone who suffered from cancer, diabetes, heart problems, or some other type of physical condition, you would think differently.
Re:Penguins are cute, but people need help too (Score:3)
Each of those human beings is capable of making a choice as to how they live and what resources are available to them. The parents of the starving children chose to continue fucking like rabbits in order to spawn off a whole new generation of starving children. People in refugee camps are there by choice in one way or another, they can pick up and walk somewhere else. Yes, it's hard, no I doubt I'd be able to do it, but it can be done and they have that choice. The penguins have no such option.
I for one have no sympathy for 90% of all poor/homeless/destitute people as I have seen people try to help over and over and over again and the person always ends up back in the gutter. Maybe the homeless in other countries aren't the laziest 3% of the population, but in the US the homeless aren't usually worth helping. Yes I'm a jackass, yes I'm a bastard, but I've tried helping these people and it doesn't work. At least the penguins don't smell like Wild Turkey when they stumble up to me.
All of those orphaned children have relatives somewhere, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, that should be taking care of them. Yes it's too bad they lost their parents, but there should be people there to help them already, my contribution should not be needed.
Mark this as flamebait and a troll if you really want to, but it's the way I feel about sanctimonious bastards that bitch and moan about the plight of the homeless.
Kintanon
Prince Philip Island (Score:2)
I too visited Phillip Island, when I was a kid. I've loved penguins ever since. It's really an incredible sight, seeing all of these little penguins come wattling out of the surf. They make their way up the sandy beach and to the burrows in the dunes where their noisy, braying, fluffy, and impatient chicks - often bigger than the parents - are waiting. I'm so sorry to see that they've been hurt by an oil slick, and I sure hope this will have no serious impact on the Philip Island population as whole. Does anyone know anything about that, one way or the other????
Oh, and with regard to the comment:
Whoever dumped the slick off Phillip Island should be fed to sharks.
I concur. One limb at a time.A possible PRODUCT... (Score:1)
Re:Ever try to swim in a sweater? (Score:2)
Helping people hurts in the long run. (Score:3)
Nobody likes pain, misery, and death, but they are always going to be there. You can shift them around to someone else, or save them up for the next generation, but you can never really reduce them. Everyone must die, and most will go kicking and screaming.
You might say that birth control is the answer, but it will only ever be a temporary solution. There will always be those who don't comply, and their exponential population growth will eventually displace the "responsible citizens." Natural selection favors the breeders. If they are kept in check by force, that is just more of the same misery and death.
You might say that space travel is the answer, but assuming that any human can travel for free at _any_ constant speed, exponential population growth will overtake the cubic growth of the volume humans have reached. Even if humanity achieves methods of instantaneous travel, few believe in an infinite universe; it will get filled up. Something has to keep it in check, and that something will always be death; given that people will almost always accept pain to avoid death, and very few humans have the cold style of mercy (if it is worthy of that name) that would kill people just because they would starve eventually, that means misery.
I help my family, I help my friends, I obey agreements I have made for mutual benefit, but I do not give charity, nor do I agonize over how the money I spend on a snack could have fed some distant family for days (as I used to when my morality was based on the value of survival and happiness of conscious minds). Nor do I care when I hear that some distant people are killing each other, except so far as it may destabilize the world and possibly cause nuclear war.
You may consider this an evil morality, but pure altruism through charity is ultimately a lie, if you look at enough of the world and over a long enough period of time. There are many "positive sum games" out there to encourage cooperation (indeed, expansion into the universe is a worthy accomplishment that would be impossible if we all truly lived "every man for himself"), but remember that ultimately we are all competing for resources. If not in this generation, or the next, then five or fifty down the road.
The standard of living can be raised across the board only by improvement/preservation of the environment. Beauty is a consolation to the hopeless. Nothing is more universally beautiful than nature.
Saving the penguins preserves a beautiful part of the world that is no threat to anyone. As population pressures grow there may be no room for the planet's other inhabitants, but we should preserve what we can. I would rather live in a dangerous, beautiful, interesting world than a safe, boring, comfortable one. I would rather be born into a world of misery and have any slim chance to struggle for life than not be born at all.
I am tremendously sorry for all those animals (Score:1)
And now comes the unpopular part of what I feel I have to say: big chunk of responsibility is on US materialistic, consumistic mentality. Do you know that the average US citizen consumes more than twice as much resources as a European, and hundreds of times more than an Indian.
Look, I know you americans like cars, but I have never seen so many and so big cars like in US. Many of you people have more than one car, and in many cities a pedestrian has a tough time. In US the public transportation is pathetic compared to Finland or Germany. And that, dear friends, makes a difference. Public transportation, expecially trains and metros, have proven to be a great means to protect the ambient. And to consume less oil.
I have asked many US friends why is the public transportation so bad in US (not everywhere, of course, but in the great majority of towns) and the cars so big? It turns out that the US oil and car companies are strongly connected to lobbysts and very politically influencial in general.
Sorry if I have offended anyone living in US; I am actually very fond of Americans and the US, but if we talk about ambiental problems, the US is partly to blame.
Maybe you think this issue is not important. However, today we have already exterminated many animal specias, polluted the air, the rivers and the oceans very significantly, and there is a very important phenomenon of global warning. Many forests in south america and in other parts of the world have been burnt, and the ozone layer that protected us from damaging UV rays is thinned. And all these processes are just aggravating. If you have a vision and not only live for today, you will think about what is going to happen to our home, the earth, some 50 to 100 years from now. I am afraid it will look more and more like Mars, without a sheltering atmosphere that would protect from extremely cold and hot weathers, poor of oxigene and with a very limited variety of wildlife. That is scary.
Re:And in other news... (Score:1)
Re:Discharging tanks ... flags of convenience (Score:2)
(yes, I know you were probably just kidding, I'd like to dispose of those bastards as well. Finding the culprits and dipping them in oil a couple times would probably be more effective and less polluting than sinking an entire ship to punish them, killing the entire crew, only a handful of them even having anything to do with the pollution in the first place.)
Re:Way to go Slashdot (Score:2)
That's right!
The occasional story like this - and in particular, the response that arises within the /. community when one is posted - is one of my favorite things about slashdot.
What do I mean by "the response"? Well, over at the Philip Island Preserve site, there have been thirty posts in the last couple of hours from slashdotters, most offering their help in the form of cash, sweaters, or whatever can be done.
This sure makes the Linux community look good - imagine how good it would be if the press picks up on the way that slashdot readers came to help out. And if the story, or the pictures of penguins in sweaters tug at your heartstrings, head on over to the Philip Island site [penguins.org.au], leave a comment, or better yet, make a donation.
Re:Why we should help animals.... (Score:2)
I have personally known people with these conditions, family members, neighbors, people I cared about. My FAMILY bands together to support itself, my COMMUNITY does the same. We don't go out searching for handouts and donations from everyone. If someone has cancer well that's just too bad, but they have friends, and relatives that can help them and should be helping them. My resources are devoted to helping people that I know and care about. And I'm afraid random charities that spend 50% of the money paying for their infrastructure aren't on my list.
Kintanon
Come on, just one thing at a time please! (Score:1)
Wire transfer! (Score:1)
What the hell? (Score:1)
Penguin DNA? Talk to God.
J.
We can get the Bas*ards who did this ! (Score:1)
Re:Why we should help animals.... (Score:1)
bah, forget about a child in the hospital suffering from a defective heart valve, forget about the kids suffering from leukemia, and while I'm at it, forget about everyone else too.
Thank you for showing me the way in such a hateful world. Even though I cannot be assured that my hard-earned money will actually benefit these poor little penguins, and that there is not information about who to actually make the check out to, at least I will be secure in the fact that it's not going to all those suffering kids who really have no one to blame for their condition but themselves. After all, as you put it, it's their own lifestyle choices that put them in that condition.
Gee, you think maybe I should alert the medical community and let them know the exact cause for cancer while I'm at it?
Thanks, I feel enlightened.
Re:i would love (Score:2)
Wild animals are notoriously bad pets. Domesticated animals have been bred for hundreds of years to remove a lot of thier instincts and allow them to be more social around people. Of course if you are lucky one out of many wild animals would have this behavior, that's where breeding starts.
Of course some animals are not domesticated but tend to make good/decent pets such as: fish, most types of non-migratory birds, ferrets(this is debatable because many of them are neurotic furrballs). Snakes aren't too bad of a pet either, but most other reptiles (especially lizards) are a major venture to have as a pet. (except for frogs, although I've always found them to be tricky to feed right, but those are amphibians of course)
A penguin might be okay in a nice large "cage", but I don't think it would be something to put on a leash and walk around the park with, nor something to cuddle up with on the couch and watch some TV together. :P
Also realize that domesticated animals that have gone ferral do not make good pets either. Dingos for example are mostly the same as your pet dog, but they are horrible pets, almost as bad as a pet wolf. Of course you *could* start breeding dingos and after several generations have a decent and useful dog. (although that's a lot of work with little returns, dingos are probally better off without people)
So instead of a penguin for a pet, maybe get a stuffed Tux or a big poster on your wall, or a nice penguin Theme [themes.org] for your favorite window manager.
Re:You contemptible filth. (Score:1)
Re:Why we should help animals.... (Score:2)
bah, forget about a child in the hospital suffering from a defective heart valve, forget about the kids suffering from leukemia, and while I'm at it, forget about everyone else too.
Thank you for showing me the way in such a hateful world. Even though I cannot be assured that my hard-earned money will actually benefit these poor little penguins, and that there is not information about who to actually make the check out to, at least I will be secure in the fact that it's not going to all those suffering kids who really have no one to blame for their condition but themselves. After all, as you put it, it's their own lifestyle choices that put them in that condition.
Gee, you think maybe I should alert the medical community and let them know the exact cause for cancer while I'm at it?
Thanks, I feel enlightened.
Nowhere did anyone say that it is the fault of the people with cancer that they have it, or any other medical condition. But WE aren't the ones that should be helping them. Their friends and relatives should be helping them. *I* should be helping my friends and relatives, which I do. I'm not sending any money to these penguins, even though I support the cause, because I have no idea where this money is actually going. I would be much more interested in prosecuting the company responsible. I'm sorry that you feel the burning need to try and add more useless crap to our gene pool but don't take your bitterness out on me. Despite my views I sleep perfectly soundly at night.
Kintanon
Re:Why we should help animals.... (Score:1)
Re:let's see if linux fools... (Score:1)
--
- Sean
Re:You contemptible filth. (Score:2)
I believe humanity rules the earth and when it comes to our survival pitted against the survival of other animals, we come first. If I can only save my dog or my baby from a burning house, the dog's gonna roast. Sorry.
However, that ruling status brings some responsibility with it. We can't go around killing other species off with total indifference or malice, without eventually screwing up the ecosystem we rely for our very survival.
Aside from the 'maybe someone bigger and badder might look at us and judge us by how we treat the weaker animals' aspect that only Patrick Stewart can teach us on TV (for now), it is good karma to save these penguins if you've got the money to burn on it. (And some people do have that kind of money). If you do it you're doing it because you want to, and if you do it without anyone knowing you're doing it for the right reasons, and that is an indicator of a man's character.
Now I for one feel that more money should go to starving kids in Rwanda, or better yet, to the local loaves and fishes in my home town. The real people who should pay for protecting the penguins should be the people who spilled the oil! But since they won't, I won't fault anyone who chips in their place.
My point is I don't see any dead babies or compromised human rights coming from donating to a save-the-penguins campaign. Then again I'm not from PETA or some insane leftist envirowhacko group either.
But I'll say this - I've seen the exact sort of insane animal rights mindset that has driven you to make such an angry bitter post. They are really senseless people who would sell out their own species in a heartbeat (I mean these guys can't even tell if they'd rescue a dog or a baby from a burning house first! gee!), and they deserve 100% of your vitriol. I just think you need to pinpoint these people and give them your hatred, instead of lashing out blindly at anyone who lifts a finger for a lesser animal's sake.
Just my opinion
flame on
BTW: Does anyone know how much those little sweaters cost per unit?
One thing better than sending money or knitting... (Score:1)
I would personally like to help these penguins, but I don't think sending money or knitting sweaters will help much; this spill seems relatively small from the reports and should be old news long before the sweater I knit gets to Australia. The best way to help is to pay attention to which environmental groups gave money to the rangers on day one, and/or sent people to help clean up, and reimburse them for their diligence. Or put your EE/biology skills to good use and design a better beeper, and make saving them cost less the next time around.
Rev. Neh
American materialism had nothing to do with it (Score:1)
Try 14" (Score:2)
While the oil slick is relatively small (e.g. the French spill), it has come at a particularly bad time for the penguins - they have chicks in their burrows, so Mum and Dad need to fish twice as often. While the number of dead adults is known, I haven't heard how many chicks have starved in the burrows; expect this number to be high.
That's what you get for biting Mr Torvalds (Score:1)
Re:Perfect for those IPO millionaires (Score:1)
Re:American materialism had nothing to do with it (Score:1)
Unfortunately .... (Score:1)
From the news report I saw, they were trying to find the culprits. That was a few days ago. Not sure if they've found them yet.
Re:Heh heh. (Score:1)
Hah. You scammed me. I'll get you for this!
Wait'll I hit you with my latest patent I got for posting crazy gibberish on Slashdot for laughs!
Response from the Philip Island Ranger (Score:5)
Well, once again it looks like we've been able, or will be able, to make a difference! From the penguins' web site [penguins.org.au]:
PINP Release (Park Ranger) Fri 9:28amThis response is really fantastic - we are doing up a form page for those wanting to help out. And all the rangers here are *genuinely* moved at this overwhelming show of support. Wish we could show you the Penguin Hospital which is currently crowded by so many Little Penguins, and we will try and get some more pics online in our News Release service. And please keep the notes/emails coming in - this week has been very tiring and stressful. The Island and the Penguins (plus koalas and seals) are more than a job to everyone here. Its hard to explain, but these "wild animals" are very much a part of the life of our Island Community. I hope one day the Linux folk and others will join us for a celbration down here!
All monies raised will be going directly to improving the Little Penguin Hospital facilities in the here and now. Everything IS helping - and your words of encouragement are as meaningful to us as the donations being received. Thankyou! PS Could someone please post this thankyou somewhere ALL the Linux folk etc. can read it? Ta muchly!
and...
Amazing to see the replies coming in from the Linux community - what can we say? Thanks all!
Donations are very much appreciated as th enumber of affected penguins grows over 200 now, and sadly the number of dead is also rising :(
You can send a donation via cheque, postal or money order (probably travellers cheque as well) to:
Phillip Island Penguin Parade
att: Penguin Hospital Support Fund
P.O. Box 97
Cowes
Phillip Island. Victoria. 3922. AUSTRALIA.
Email to: penguins@penguins.org.au (we WILL reply ASAP to all enquiries)
On the programming side, we have just installed three (3) live online internet "kiosks" in our Visitor Centre. These are due to be up and running this week, delayed a little by the current crisis. Currently the three PC's are networked to a UNIX server, however we have been seriously investigating how to get a Linux box in place.I'm still on a learning curve with Linux, and must confess that it was Linux's use of the Little Penguin that first attracted me to the free/community OS. Programming enquiries to: penguins@ozgurus.com
Thanks and have a good one all!
Site for online credit card donations (Score:4)
[penguins.org.au]
http://www.penguins.org.au/chat/index.html
there is now a link near the top to a form for online donations by credit card. If you don't want to look at the news and chat page on the penguin site, you can go direct to
https://www.penguins.org.au/medi a/helpinghand.html [penguins.org.au]
Re:Penguins are cute, but people need help too (Score:1)
Do you have any specific suggestions for helping people, or were you just having a whinge?
The Hunger Site [thehungersite.com] is a good one for lazy geeks.
Re:I'm donating (Score:2)
> that these polluters get away?
Uh, Greenpeace [greenpeace.org]? And others, I'm sure. Polution and wildlife aren't new issues.
RP
Re:Helping people hurts in the long run. (Score:2)
> Nor do I care when I hear that some distant
> people are killing each other, except so far
> as it may destabilize the world and possibly
> cause nuclear war.
That's interesting. You don't seem to care about death somewhere else, because it helps curb population growth, but nuclear war is a problem, even though it's the ultimate population control solution. Why might that be? Might it be because nuclear war would kill you? Is that when people should start caring?
Again, I'm not necessarily in disagreement with you. I'm not a bleeding-heart liberal, but rather a proud member of the vast right-wing conspiracy.
Anyhow, I've come to accept over the years that our population problem is going to get worse and worse until something catastrophic takes care of about half of us or more. It sucks but it's life.
RP
Re:Why we should help animals.... (Score:2)
No, I'm not saying anybody else should do this. Just that I wish everybody would stop telling everybody how to spend their money. There are far more good causes than I know how to give to, so I pick and choose. I'm sure this is the norm, for those of us who give to charity.
Credit card donation is now possible! (Score:3)
The Philip Island Nature Park now has a form available for credit card donations [penguins.org.au]. That should take care of the currency-conversion problems.
According to the rangers on the site, " All monies raised will be going directly to improving the Little Penguin Hospital facilities in the here and now."
Re:Why we should help animals.... (Score:2)
Though he wasn't being harsh as me paying for some lifetime smokers chemotherapy or lung transplant would be ludicrous. Or giving to a charity designed to help the 400lb over eater get a quad-bypass... I sympothize with children, adults usually make their own choices...
Kintanon
Re:Why we should help animals.... (Score:2)
No, I'm not saying anybody else should do this. Just that I wish everybody would stop telling everybody how to spend their money. There are far more good causes than I know how to give to, so I pick and choose. I'm sure this is the norm, for those of us who give to charity
I agree completely with this since you are doing it because someone you loved died of the disease. But charities soliciting donations from everyone and then people saying how horrible it is for others to pick and choose their charities instead of giving to the one THEY favor is inane. I'll give to the people *I* care about, you give to the people YOU care about, and everyone that anyone cares about gets something. Amazing how that works isn't it...?
Kintanon
Re:Helping people hurts in the long run. (Score:2)
No, I don't care about death somewhere else because it is somewhere else and doesn't affect me... unless it does affect me, which is the degree to which I do care about it.
I do not value the individual lives of strangers, who are closer to enemies than friends, since we all compete for limited resources. I certainly wouldn't go out and attack them (or support their attackers) needlessly either, and make them true enemies; it's just common sense.
The morality of valuing and respecting all human life is only appropriate in conditions of severe underpopulation or within one's mutually supportive group (this group should not be extended to too large a scale or the natural processes of competitive survival are replaced with oppressive central control; think 1984: beyond a certain scale cooperation becomes slavery to an abstraction). All the most destructive groups, whether religion or political movement, urge us to treat every man as our brother, not to fight over resources but cooperate, even sacrificing yourself, until those resources become insufficient, and allow the greater group to decide who is to be sacrificed for the survival of the remainder.
but nuclear war is a problem, even though it's the ultimate population control solution. Why might that be? Might it be because nuclear war would kill you?
Of course that's part of it. I care about anything that might kill me and the people I care about. But nuclear war in particular must be avoided because it can destroy all of humanity. I value the long-term survival of a diverse humanity (and precious little else) above my own life and the lives of my friends and family.
I've come to accept over the years that our population problem is going to get worse and worse until something catastrophic takes care of about half of us or more.
I do not believe this. Easily something might destroy half or even all the life on Earth, but I like to hope that humanity will have spread about more than that. Humans don't need planets to live (IMHO, at some point we won't even need stars to live, once we can create microsingularity power plants), and when we're distributed among hundreds of thousands or millions of independent environments, nuclear war won't threaten the survival of humanity as a whole any more than chemical explosives did.
The Hunger Site is ridiculous (Score:2)
However, the site itself says that 3/4 of the people starving are children under 5. Practically every mouthful goes directly into increasing overpopulation in areas where people can't feed themselves. Feed one starving child today, watch six children starve twenty years from now.
(BTW, I think the suggestion was that sending money to wash off penguins was not as good as sending money to feed starving children)
Charity, too, is oppression.
just the facts mam! - sm4113414311 (Score:2)
- the following
- link [theage.com.au] suggest this may not be the case...check your sources first.
...It is believed the oil came from the pumping out of a ship's bilge, rather than a tanker spill, though neither the Environment Protection Authority nor the Maritime Board was able to confirm this yesterday. An EPA analysis of the oil is expected today...
links:if you want to ask questions go to the source...here [penguins.org.au] - (http://www.penguins.org.au/chat/index.html)
http://www.theage.com.au/news/20000104/A5181-2000
http://www.penguins.org.au/chat/index.html
Further updates (Score:2)
Great job, everyone!!! I just stopped by the Phillip Island site again, and there are scores of slashdot readers who have stopped by, taken advantage of the on-line credit-card-based donation form, and chipped in for this great cause, just the last few hours. Of course I did the same.
More feedback from the rangers as well; this one made my whole day. The rangers there write:
PINP Release (Park Ranger) Fri 11:08amRe:Further updates (Score:2)
Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention...it seems that Linux Journal [linuxjournal.com] is planning to do a story about the response of the Linux community to the plight of these penguins...and they've also sent a donation of their own. I look forward to seeing that story come out!
---Ravenfeather, feeling somewhat sheepish for replying to his reply to his own post.Invalid certificate - bad domain name (Score:2)
When checking DNS entries a little you can find that they are the providers for penguins.org.au. (See the domain info taken from http://www.nic.au [www.nic.au] below or online at ht tp://www.nic.au/cgi-bin/multisearch.pl?name=pengu
--------- snip ----------
nslookup -type=NS penguins.org.au
Source: Authorative server for
Server: munnari.OZ.AU
Address: 128.250.1.21
Non-authoritative answer:
penguins.org.au nameserver = rip.psg.COM
penguins.org.au nameserver = warrane.connect.COM.AU
penguins.org.au nameserver = yarrina.connect.COM.AU
penguins.org.au nameserver = minotaur.labyrinth.NET.AU
Authoritative answers can be found from:
rip.psg.COM internet address = 147.28.0.39
warrane.connect.COM.AU internet address = 192.189.54.33
yarrina.connect.COM.AU internet address = 192.189.54.17
minotaur.labyrinth.NET.AU internet address = 203.9.148.2
dig -t any penguins.org.au
; > DiG 8.2 > @munnari.oz.au penguins.org.au -t
; (2 servers found)
penguins.org.au. 1D IN NS rip.psg.COM.
penguins.org.au. 1D IN NS warrane.connect.COM.AU.
penguins.org.au. 1D IN NS yarrina.connect.COM.AU.
penguins.org.au. 1D IN NS minotaur.labyrinth.NET.AU.
penguins.org.au. 1D IN NS rip.psg.COM.
penguins.org.au. 1D IN NS warrane.connect.COM.AU.
penguins.org.au. 1D IN NS yarrina.connect.COM.AU.
penguins.org.au. 1D IN NS minotaur.labyrinth.NET.AU.
rip.psg.COM. 1d21h55m26s IN A 147.28.0.39
warrane.connect.COM.AU. 1D IN A 192.189.54.33
yarrina.connect.COM.AU. 1D IN A 192.189.54.17
minotaur.labyrinth.NET.AU. 1D IN A 203.9.148.2
Actual Server Reply
[ns.aunic.net]
domain: penguins.org.au
descr: Phillip Island Penguin Reserve
descr: (ACN)
descr:
descr: ACT
admin-c: KD202-AU
tech-c: EH201-AU
zone-c: KD202-AU
remarks: Created 19960824
changed: register@aunic.net 19960918
source: AUNIC
person: kieran davies
address: 13/68 gould street
address: frankston
address: VIC 3197
phone: +61 9769 6966
fax-no: +61 9769 6472
e-mail: manmor@labyrinth.net.au
nic-hdl: KD202-AU
remarks: (Organisation) manmor
remarks: (position) manager
remarks: Created 19960918
changed: register@aunic.net 19960918
source: AUNIC
person: Elizabeth Hemphill
address: Level 10, 99 Queen St
address: Melbourne
address: VIC 3000
address: AU
phone: +61 3 9642 4222
fax-no: +61 3 9642 4955
e-mail: domainmaster@labyrinth.net.au
nic-hdl: EH201-AU
remarks: (Organisation) Labyrinth Connections Pty. Ltd.
remarks: Created 19960725
changed: register@aunic.net 19991014
source: AUNIC
--------- snip ----------
Greetz
Sponsorship?? (Score:2)
Re:poor guys (Score:2)