Forest of Ecstasy: Vanguard

grrlscientist — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:59:58 +0000

tags: Forest of Ecstasy: Vanguard, illegal drugs, safrole oil, ecstacy, XTC, X, methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA, rainforest, Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia, conservation, endangered species, documentary, streaming video

Do you think that making and using illegal drugs are victimless crimes? Think again! Deep in a remote Cambodian rainforest, criminals are setting up illegal factories to produce safrole oil, the raw ingredient for the illegal Schedule I drug, ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA). Adam Yamaguchi joins armed forest rangers on a search and destroy mission.

grrlscientist Thu, 12/31/2009 - 00:59

The logic behind this posting bothers me. People are setting up covert factories deep in the forest because it's an effective place to hide your operations from law enforcement. Whiskey distilleries usually don't show up in these sorts of places--see my point?

Notice the repetitive use of the words "illegal drugs", "illegal factories", "criminals", "illegal schedule 1 drug." These words are intended as a substitute for an argument.

These rain-forest factories would completely cease if the prohibition on MDMA was ended. The optimal trees for producing Safrole oil are in Brazil and North America, so Cambodia (the victims I guess) would not be involved were it not for prohibition.

Yes, but that would piss off God and let people have fun. The war against drugs is SO effective.

I THINK THAT ECSTASY SHOULD BE BANNED EVERY WHERE!!!!!!!!!!!

Samkos Bush Frog

grrlscientist — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:59:54 +0000

Samkos Bush Frog

tags: Samkos bush frog, Chiromantis samkosensis, Cambodia, image of the day

Samkos bush frog, Chiromantis samkosensis.

Image: Fauna and Flora International [larger view].

When conservation group Fauna and Flora International began its surveys in Cambodia's remote Cardamom Mountains in 2000, the national list of known amphibians stood at just nine species. Now, the list has been extended to at least 63, including the green blooded and turquoise boned Samkos bush frog, Chiromantis samkosensis (above).

The Samkos bush frog is thought to be extremely rare. Its strange colored bones and blood are caused by the pigment biliverdin, a waste product usually processed in the liver. In this species, biliverdin is passed back into the blood giving it a green colour; a phenomenon also seen in some lizards. The green biliverdin is visible through the frog's thin, translucent skin, making it even better camouflaged and possibly even causing it to taste unpalatable to predators.

grrlscientist Mon, 12/22/2008 - 08:59