The Kermode bear or Spirit bear is a an all white subspecies of the American Black Bear. Their white fur is the the result of a recessive allele and is believed to give them an advantage in daylight fishing for salmon, but places them at a significant disadvantage in areas inhabited by Grizzly bears or wolves, who prey on them. [more inside]
posted by Ahab on Nov 26, 2010 - 13 comments

House of Happiness - photos by Rena Effendi of women in the Ferghana Valley, part of central Asia's ancient Silk Route now known as "the heroin highway" - "a geographical and cultural mishmash where three countries and many ethnicities cluster." More about the photos. (Some photos NSFW) [more inside]
posted by madamjujujive on Dec 17, 2009 - 14 comments

Path of a Pipeline: Oil, Empire, and Influence in the New Eurasia While so many of us talk about Iraq and war in terms of oil, it might prove useful to note what is going on close by. Not mentioned, however, in the article is the guess that China will have stupendous energy needs in the next decade, and what is taking place here will have an impact on their needs.
posted by Postroad on Feb 11, 2003 - 2 comments

Taliban Defeat Revives Talk of Trans-Afghan Oil Pipeline.
What are the real objectives of the war in Afghanistan? Could they include a Trans-Afghan Oil Pipeline? The new U.S. envoy to Kabul (and broker of the new Afghan government accord), Zalmay Khalilzad, was a former consultant to Unocal (and liaison to the Taliban, among others) when they wanted to build a pipeline through Afghanistan in the 1990s.

Could the U.S. be taming wild territory for the construction of "the new Silk Road," as the multi-billion-dollar pipeline is allegedly called?
posted by busbyism on Dec 22, 2001 - 11 comments