US$50. That's the number today.

Before you feel the urge to label me another money-sucking capitalists, the US$50 refers to the plea from the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, which will be put to use in its efforts to protect the Amazon rainforest.

Why?

Because the cold fingers of mild guilt are brushing the inner linings of my stomach, causing mild discomfort, which could build up into nausea.

Basically, I don't have US$50.

But many of you do, and if you wish to save your home (literally), please find a place for the people, creatures, plants, and other denizens of the Amazons between that must-have Goblet of Fire poster and cowboy-boot-shaped potato chip.

On a cynically ironic note, tiger flu might not be so far fetched after all.

An article in North Malaysia's premier newspaper, The Star, caught my eye, in which people who normally handle chickens, e.g., the local chicken farmer who slaughters the meat for the market, don't get the (bird) flu.

This could mean 2 things:
1. These people's immune systems are significantly different than ours as a result of daily contact with birds.

or

2. Chickens aren't spreading the flu, but are totally innocent. Stray cats and dogs might have somehow contracted the bird flu and are spreading the disease in populated areas.

No matter what the conclusion will be, one thing is for sure:
Mess with nature long enough, and EVERYONE gets burned.