Personal
wildlife updates for the week have been relatively uneventful. In the Old Vic
garden moth traps, we've seen some expected NFY newcomers, such as Feathered
Thorn, November moth agg, more Merveille du Jours (including a couple at
my mother's house in London), and Pale Pinion. As the Saharan winds
transitioned to westerlies and northwesterlies, nighttime temperatures are
dropping close to freezing- winter is coming. With a period of
Easterlies predicted for the upcoming week, I've set aside some time for
birding so fingers crossed.
The most significant news of the week, unfortunately, revolves around the beginning of a distressing conflict in the Middle East. This conflict is poised to send shockwaves throughout the world, impacting the political, economic and ecological landscapes. It serves as a sobering reminder of the deep divisions within the human species, the reluctance to acknowledge our shared humanity and the existence of a borderless planet. Instead, powerful groups seem determined to divide us into nation-state and religious tribes to serve their own interests, perpetuating a cycle of conflict and strife.
As we witness these events unfold, it's a disheartening reminder of the crisis of consciousness within our species. This crisis has driven us to forsake our connection to the natural world, and we now find ourselves in a state of perpetual conflict, vying for supremacy and ownership. We've killed all other species that evolved a higher consciousness and since then we've squabbled amongst ourselves over which race or tribe is supreme. That squabble has led us here to where we are constantly on the brink of
destroying one another.
Israel's actions, supported by the U.S. and EU, appear to be leading to the displacement and oppression of Palestinians in Gaza, potentially resulting in a genocide. The slow reduction of Palestinian territory continues, with the war possibly extending into the West Bank. In turn, this could lead to a global conflict if Iran and their new allies Russia decide to weigh in, exacerbating an already precarious world situation.
In a time when we're already grappling with climate and ecological crises, economic instability, and geopolitical tensions (such as the situation in Ukraine), it's disheartening to see the Middle East inching closer to chaos. The emergence of an Artificial General Intelligence further adds to our existential concerns. As history has shown, our species often finds enlightenment after self-made calamities so maybe that's where hope lies- the other side of this perfect storm that we seem to be heading into.
Even within the birding community, divisive politics have crept in. Atrocity propaganda and the spread of unverified claims have been utilised to polarize birding communities. Companies like Lush have faced criticism this week on their stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (A sign saying Boycott Israel in one of their shops in Ireland was widely considered an inappropriate response on this specific occasion). It would be good if the Birding community was it's own church , however, it's important to remember that the birding community, like any other, is not immune to global politics. Human-centric thinking still prevails, despite our connection to the natural world.
It's intriguing to note that the ambitions of Zionism appear to be aligning with the rise of Artificial General Intelligence. Perhaps this shift in technology will lead to a resolution of the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. In the end , powerful narratives often become self-fulfilling prophecies, and considering the universe's ultimate goal is to combat entropy, Nature uses cultural narratives to achieve her own aims. Nature uses these stories such as promised lands and supreme races to evolve a more intelligent species, one capable of effectively countering entropy more efficiently than we do already. The messiah the Jews are waiting for could well be a more enlightened human, aided by AGI that puts a final end to silly stories of invisible friends and infantile claims of supremacy over each other. There is only one Supreme Entity and that is Nature and she only has one primary goal- to combat Entropy and she uses all creatures including humans to achieve her goals (we are perhaps foolish enough to believe they are our goals) by putting us to the test, a test that is required to pass to avoid extinction. As we head into this Perfect Storm we will be tested to the limit, our survival depends on us making the right choices, choices that lead to protecting our planet and ourselves from self destruction.
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