Darkness In el Dorado

Darkness In el Dorado
By Patrick Tienery

This book is considered to be good reading material after Guns, Germs, and
Steel. The promos entice your interest with a story of the corruption
connected with the exploitation of the Rain Forest of Venezuela and Brazil.
Napoleon Chagnon, Charles Brewer, James Neel, amongst a list of others, are
introduced as scientifically intended anthropologist driven by rationale
thought and absolutely no moral compass. Imagine them contracting with the
Atomic Energy Commission to extract blood from the Yanomami Indians to study
affects of radiation, as compared to Hiroshima survivors. Yes, the AEC,
the ones who fed radioactive oatmeal to retarded children. Read on.

The author Patrick Tierney, is an anthropologist not an author. His first
person delivery of facts is dry and typically "Phd'ish". His personal views
are those of ordinary skills. His indictment of fellow scientists usually
begins with a long statement of dry facts; he normally concludes with
personal views that only diminish his standing. This pattern is repeated
more than once in the book.

I found it interesting for the author to be so generally sympathetic of the
Yanomami as a civilized people; when in fact he writes about their practice
of infanticide of typically girls at birth. The Yanomami rationalizes this
violence by their desire for continued sex without the complication of
lactating breasts. Scientists claim the practice is rationalized by
conscious population control. In either case there is no debate in
Yanomamiland over abortion. In the end you get the feeling that Tierney is
conflicted in personal views of science's role in the Amazon and
particularly the Yanomami Indians. The objections he finds in science he
endorses traces of the same also found in the fabric of the Yanomami.

You come away from this book with a real jaundice eye on science. Where the
suspicion comes from is not the atrocities committed by the corrupt people
and organizations involved; but rather the ineffectiveness of the scientific
community to correct the problem. While organizationally science,
government, the Church, and business are involved it appears that by name
you often find a scientist at the root of the specific event. They use the
Press, in numerous venues, and the trust we place in the scientific
community to make a case to further their personal goals at the fate of
indigenous people. Napoleon Chagnon in1993, after 25 years of exploiting
the Yanomami Indians, was elected president of Human Behavior and Evolution
Society. In his acceptance speech he states that his evolution theory is
hateful, racist, is widely denounced by anthropologist, the ones who elected
him. Go figure.

Why was the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) so involved with study of
genetics with the Yanomami? AEC, otherwise known as the brotherhood of the
mushroom; science's version of the mob. Whereby their cold war driven
insanity is institutionalized via rubber stamp endorsements by officials and
organizations without having the details as to what lay underneath the
approvals. Tierney alleges that the AEC had an agenda to study the
radiation of the "bomb" and the Yanomami were a perfect control base. They
subjected the Yanomami to toxic iodine 131 and iron Fe-59. This was after
it was determined unethical and illegal to do such in the United States.
Want more go to http:hex.dis.anl.org. I will stop here with the mention of
the alleged AEC's practice of body snatching.

I was keen on the alleged misrepresentation that TVs Nova ran in their film
Warriors of the Amazon, 'steeling the spirit'. Rather than give a young
mother aspirin to cure a fever, they filmed her death. The Yanomami are
already superstitious about taking photos of them. They believe that a
photo steals their spirit and allows disease. So filming a death would have
been problematic without an advance payment of grand proportion. Did Nova
and their medical team exercise integrity standards we are accustom to in
the States? NOT. Did the Yanomami accept the perceived bribe. YAEUP. And
I like Nova.

Helen Votero, is the first known white person with in-depth first hand
knowledge of Yanomami life. captured by Yanomami in 1932 a the age of 11.
She lived her life in the jungle and eventually married a Yanomami Indian.
While the likes of Chagnon and Mizot lay all sorts of claims about being the
"first white man" to study these people exploiting untold amounts of money
from all sectors of interested parties; it was in fact Helen Votero who at
the age of eleven began her life long study of the same people. Not that
science should conclude their research with her, for obvious reasons, but
why after the discovery of her existence, did they not consult with her and
leverage her insight into their study. It is alleged that they did not and
in fact discounted anything she had to say. After all if in deed she was
first, then the magnitude of their claims is severely diminished and
therefore so is their propensity for funding of their personal agendas.

A few nested nuggets of information: (1) The study of nutrition on the
average daily consumption of animal protein of the Yanomami people. The
study, from1975 to 1983 illustrates the limitations of the pure
hunter-gatherer. A large shabono {village house} would over hunt an area
and force the village to move on. The distinction here over other studies
is that protein measurements were actually taken. (2) I was impressed by the
methodology for which the Yanomami pass on knowledge in their shabono
houses. An environment where there is absolutely no privacy, they would sing
and chant through the night. The content of their verse told of history, and
questioned the present. Visionary chants were not mentioned. (3)The book
delves into all the facets of natural selection and of course genetics. An
interesting thought, imagine women in genetic frame of mind. How would she
select her mate? But for a long time man has killed or lest dominated other
men as to force the hand of the decision-maker.

There is that old saying 'You'll see it when you believe it'. While this
book is an indictment vested upon Scientists, Journalists, and Governments
of their corruption; the author is successful in promulgating worth while
pause before we embark on the new horizons in genetic genome science and
further exploitation of innocent people. This pause may be tribute to a set
of biased and maybe conflicted beliefs. Yet he offers no solution.