An elephant in Amsterdam's zoo has made history after being fitted with a jumbo-sized contact lens following an eye injury, a statement said Monday.
"Win Thida is the first elephant in Europe with a contact lens," the Artis zoo said on its website.
The 44-year-old Asian elephant accidently scratched its left cornea while playing and the eye was constantly watering. The procedure lasted about an hour, the statement said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/31/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Awwwww, no Pachyderm wid OVERSIZED GLASSES, or at least THE INCREDIBLE MR. LIMPETT [Don Knotts]???
#4
#3: There are a lot of old Trunks in this country that desperately need a fitting of new lenses. Posted by: Procopius2k|
Actually, those Trunks need new brains. Theirs has atrophied from lack of use. The TEA Party passed out some elixir, but the majority of the Trunks refused to take it.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/31/2012 17:09 Comments ||
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Any similarities between Harare official Tendai Mahachi's instruction on water, and the Obama administration's stance on healthcare, food, and housing are of course, purely coincidental.
[Tripoli Post] After a long-delayed trial, a Nigerian court Monday sentenced a former aide to late dictator Sani Abacha to death by hanging over the 1996 murder of the wife of a presidential candidate. Whoa! Betcha his family will be moving some big money out of the country with a little help from random email contacts...
Lagos high court judge Judge Mojisola Dada ruled that Army Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, chief security aide to Abacha, was guilty of conspiracy and murder of Kudiratu Abiola, the wife of late presidential candidate Moshood Abiola.
An aide to Abiola, Lateef Sofolahan, was found guilty of the same charges and also sentenced to death by hanging after the trial which had been repeatedly delayed since 1999. Nigeria has not officially carried out a death penalty in some 15 years.
Kudiratu Abiola was rubbed out on June 4, 1996 in Lagos. Her husband was the presumed winner of 1993 presidential elections, which were later annulled, prompting unprecedented protests in Nigeria.
The judge said that evidence had been manifestedly heavy that both men killed Kudiratu Abiola. He said: "In view of this, they are guilty of conspiracy and murder. The prosecution has proved its case beyond all reasonable doubt. In view of this, they should be hanged."
The annulment of the 1993 elections helped pave the way for Abacha to rise to power. He ruled the country from November 1993 to July 1998, when he died, with iron fist. Al-Mustapha was described as his powerful chief security officer.
Abiola, a wealthy businessman and presidential candidate, was jugged in 1994 after he challenged the military's decision to annul the vote. He died in jail a month after Abacha's death in circumstances yet to be clarified.
Abacha had allegedly set up a so-called "strike force" which hunted down opponents of the regime, a number of whom were either rubbed out or jugged, while some decamped the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/31/2012 00:00 ||
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I could swear I got a really nice email from this chap recently.
[An Nahar] Thirty-five Ethiopian Christians, 29 of them women, face deportation from Soddy Arabia for "illicit mingling" after police raided a private prayer gathering, Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... said on Monday.
The New York-based watchdog said the women were subjected to "unwarranted strip search," while the men were beaten and insulted as "unbelievers".
The group was tossed in the calaboose on December 15 in a private home in Jeddah as they gathered to pray ahead of Christmas in the ultra-conservative Mohammedan kingdom which bans the practice of any religious rites except those of Islam.
"While King Abdullah sets up an international interfaith dialogue center, his police are trampling on the rights of believers of others faiths," said HRW senior Middle East researcher Christoph Wilcke.
"The Saudi government needs to change its own intolerant ways before it can promote religious dialogue abroad," he added in a statement.
HRW said it spoke to three members of the group -- two women and one man.
Those who were taken to court have been told that they were being charged with "illicit mingling" of unmarried persons of the opposite sex.
At Buraiman prison, officers forced women to strip and an officer "inserted her finger into each of the women's genitals, under the pretext of searching for illegal substances," HRW said citing the two women.
"She wore a plastic glove that she did not change," it added.
At the male prison, officers "kicked and beat the men, and insulted them as "unbelievers," the man in jug told HRW by telephone.
HRW said that Soddy Arabia has no codified criminal law that defines "illicit mingling", calling on authorities to release the Ethiopian men and women "immediately if there is no evidence to charge them with offences that are recognizably criminal under international norms."
It also urged Riyadh to investigate allegations of "physical and sexual abuse."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/31/2012 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... yesterday said her party does not believe in army coups; rather it wants to go to power through an election under a non-partisan caretaker government.
"We believe in mass upsurge. We will oust the government with the help of the people," she told a huge rally in front of the party's central office at Nayapaltan prior to starting a mass procession in the capital.
"Take initiative to restore the caretaker government system and ensure continuation of the democratic process. Otherwise you will not get the time in the face of a mass upsurge. We won't participate in an election without a caretaker government," she warned the government.
Despite tension in the air centring ruling Awami League's (AL) "counter programme" the same day, thousands of leaders, activists and supporters of BNP, its allies, and like-minded parties thronged the rally venue in the afternoon to bring out the mass procession.
The demonstrators carried colourful banners, posters, placards and portraits of the party's top leaders. The procession started from the party office and ended at Moghbazar intersection led by Khaleda Zia.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/31/2012 00:00 ||
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The Royal Navy's most sophisticated warship is being sent to the South Atlantic in a move that will send a powerful message to Argentina. Dauntless will set sail for the Falkland Islands in the coming weeks armed with a battery of missiles that could "take out all of South America's fighter aircraft let alone Argentina's," according to one Navy source.
The Type 45 destroyer is the most advanced anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic ship in the world equipped with 48 Sea Viper missiles and the Sampson radar, which is more advanced than Heathrow air traffic control.
The ship is in a league of its own in air defence able to track dozens of multiple targets.
"It can shoot down Argentine fighters as soon as they take off from they bases," said another Navy source. "This will give Buenos Aires serious pause for thought."
The deployment, expected in late March, comes as Argentina has stepped up its sabre rattling over possession of the islands with a ban on all Falkland registered ships in South American ports.
#2
I do not think that O will share sat intelligence with the Brits like Reagan did.
I would also guess that there are British submarines HMS Conqueror already about, but without fanfare. The Argentinians better think long and hard about another Falklands adventure. The loss of ARA General Belgrano could happen again.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/31/2012 9:42 Comments ||
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#3
The Argentinians no longer have the capability to invade. They are following the Iranian option - all mouth. Besides, with cruise missiles in Brit subs, all of Argentina can be blacked out in an hour.
#5
This has got to be so tempting to the Argentinan leadership.Reminds me of historical grand ships. HMS Hood comes to mind. Pride and glory. With Russian or China's help things could get ugly. I think Argentina will bide its time. Naval mines could cause a pause.Like Iran's Strait of Hormuz.
#8
Mining around the Falklands would be a mother bear to do; mining the major ports of Argentina, not so much. Besides which, the British have a version of CAPTOR and they can be dropped off a few miles from the Argentinian naval bases, pre-programmed to launch at their assigned targets from an ELF signal.
#9
The Brits don't have to mine Argentine waters. They just have to say they did. Better yet, they just have to say that HMS Conqueror carries mines and recently slipped into and out of the harbor in Bueno Aires, and let the world shipping community draw its own conclusions.
This is all blustering by the Argies. Kirchner must really be in trouble at home.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/31/2012 15:02 Comments ||
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#10
It will indeed be interesting to see how Obama comes down on this one
Obama hates the Brits. Ironic considering the support of the Brit chattering classes before the election.
Posted by: Cincinnatus Chili ||
01/31/2012 16:21 Comments ||
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#11
>Ironic considering the support of the Brit chattering classes before the election.
#14
"Cheaper to fund a world class golf course on the island. It'll get O's attention, along with in open invite."
Pk2 wins the thread! :-D
"Why? They hate Britain too."
Sadly, too true, BP. My condolences. :-(
Posted by: Barbara ||
01/31/2012 18:20 Comments ||
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#15
Lest we fergit, CHINESE DAILY FORUM > "UK CANNOT CONFRONT ARGENTINA".
UK Army General SIR MICHAEL JACKSON = Iff any new Falklands war does break out, THE UK COULD BE IN SERIOUS, EVEN CATASTROPHIC, TROUBLE IFF THE ARGIES EVER SUCCESSFULLY PENETRATE BRIT DEFENSES + OCCUPY THE FALKLANDS AGAIN, AS THE UK MAY NOT THE MIL OR ECON ABILITY TO RECOVER THE ISLANDS FROM ARGIE CONQUEST???
#16
Given the present sttae of ARgentia's armed forces, Buenos Aire's likely advantages oer the UK will stem from ...
> The UK = GREECE, ETC. IN 3-5 YEARS = by 2015?
> Scottish national referendum on independence from London.
> Sinn Fein's new support for Northern Ireland independence from London.
> ISLAMIC DOMINANCE OF THE BRIC = aka BRAZIL = sub-aka MERCUSOR BLOC = i.e. ISLAMIC $$$ IN SUPPORT OF ARGENTINA'S CAUSE VEE UK IN RETURN FOR ARGENTINA'S + MERSUSOR BLOC SUPPORT IN SETTING UP ISLAM IN SOUTH AMERICA.
* MAHA-RUSHIAN HISTOIRE' = The greatest Islamic weapon in the historical Islamic struggle agz the JudeoChristian/Christian nations has been the JudeoChristians/Christians themselves.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [Guardian.UK] RICHARD GOTT: ARGENTINA'S CLAIM ON FALKLANDS IS STILL A GOOD ONE.
Argentina = can do an "Iran" + simply wait for normal International Geopolitics + Special Interests, etc. to take its toll on the militarily-superior UK = USA???
A theater in east London is staging new play "Guantanamo Boy" this week. The production, based on a 2009 novel of the same name, opens on Tuesday at Stratford Circus, located in an area with a large Muslim population.
Director Dominic Hingorani said, "Stratford wanted to start making emotionally challenging theatre for a teenage audience and we are in east London with a lot of Asian resonance. It (Guantanamo Bay) obviously has a lot of resonance with people here."
Hingorani said his adaptation of the novel looked at Guantanamo through the eyes of a Muslim teenager from Britain who is detained during a family visit to Pakistan because he is suspected of being a terrorist.
Although fictional, the novel was inspired by the incarceration of teenagers like Mohammed El Gharani, released in 2009 after more than seven years in captivity, including at Guantanamo.
"We are reimagining this experience through a teenagers' eyes. It was very important to keep an eye on the fact that we are taking the audience with us in order that they can engage." Hingorani said.
"I am trying to give the audience an experience that is unsettling and intense and to some degree a sense of how violent and upsetting that environment must be," he explained.
"Whatever your politics, we are talking about human rights and the consequences of human rights being expendable," Hingorani added.
#3
He was a sharia boy
She said see ya later boy
He wasn't good enough for her
Now he's jihadi man
Slammin on his head
Says your pretty face needs a cloak.
He was a sharia boy
She said see ya later boy
He wasn't good enough for her
Now he's a convict
Slammin on his pelvic
Does your pretty face see what he's worth?
#6
"I am trying to give the audience an experience that is unsettling and intense and to some degree a sense of how violent and upsetting that environment must be," he explained.
Inciting the yoots to retaliatory violence, then. Thanks, asshole.
"Whatever your politics, we are talking about human rights and the consequences of human rights being expendable," Hingorani added.
Huh? Expendable consequences? That statement doesn't make any sense. Must be using the Progressive Truth Generator.
#7
"Stratford wanted to start making emotionally challenging theatre for a teenage audience and we are in east London with a lot of Asian resonance. It (Guantanamo Bay) obviously has a lot of resonance with people here."
Oh, I get it. The director thinks he's found a way to sell some tickets. The man's a whore.
Two Veracruz state Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) political operatives were caught with MP $25 million (USD $1.9 million) in cash stuffed in two suitcases at the airport at Toluca in Mexico state following a flight from Veracruz city last Friday, according to Mexican news reports.
In a related report, a Veracruz state top cabinet minister resigned his post, possibly as a result of Friday's incident.
Mexican Policia Federal (PF) agents arrested Miguel Morales Robles, an employee for Veracruz governor Javier Duarte de Ochoa, and seized the cash -- all in Mexican pesos -- taking the money to a local PF office in Toluca.
Governor Duarte is a member of PRI and was elected to office in 2010.
Reports say after a brief exchange of messages between the Procuradoria General de la Republica (PGR), or national attorney general and the office of Governor Duarte, the money was returned. The reports were later retracted.
Morales Robles had on his person a letter explaining the cash he carried was official money. The money was reportedly "transportation money", which explained its presence but not how it was gathered or how it was to be used.
The two operatives, the other identified as Said Sandoval Zepeda, were travelling aboard a Veracruz state official aircraft. The aircraft was a Beech B200 King Air as identified by the registration marking and an aircraft database.
Sandoval Zepeda has been identified as a member of Governor Duarte's personal security detail.
A later explanation by the governor's office was that the money was to be paid to a private company in Mexico state, Industria 3, SA de C.V. for its participation in three upcoming events in Veracruz city.
In Mexico, it is not against the law for government officials to carry large amounts of cash. It is not, however, common practice for officials to do so. As of the moment of publication a PGR spokesman was quoted as saying the origin of the cash is still under investigation.
Despite reports in the Mexican press that the money was returned, as of 1632 hrs Monday on the website of El Diario de Coahuila, an unidentified PGR spokesmen said the money would not be returned until its origin could be proved.
In a reported internet radio interview, Veracruz state government spokesman Gina Domínguez told Formato 21 the cash was transported because an upcoming holiday made such as large transaction difficult. The implication is that Mexicans routinely get large draws on their accounts in cash for holidays and the state would be trying to compete for service with everyone else.
Later Monday Tomas Ruiz, Secretario de Finanzas de Veracruz, gave a broad outline for the cash outlays, mostly for artists and promotion materials.
However at 1836 hours Monday, a post at Animal Politico stated that Secretaria de Finanzas y Planeacion del Gobierno de Veracruz, the Veracruz treasurer's office, Vicente Benítez Gonzalez had abruptly resigned after only serving 14 months. In the news release Benitez Gonzalez thanked Governor Duarte for the opportunity to have served in Duarte's administration.
However, two Veracruz state politicans, Veracruz Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) senator Juan Bueno Torio and chair for the Partido Revolucion Democratica (PRD) Steering Committee unleashed charges that money was in fact intended to go to PRI presidential frontrunner Enrique Pena Nieto to finance his campaign, still in the primary stage of the national electoral process.
Mexico state, where the bust took place, is Pena Nieto's home state and as governor his last government post.
The charge is an oft repeated one levelled against former PRI leader Humberto Moreira Valdes and former Coahuila governor after Moreira had run up the heaviest per capita debt load of any state in Mexico during his tenure.
As for specifics for the charge of diverting public money to electoral campaigns, none actually exists, except that the confluence of events that led to Moreira's resignation looks terrible.
The potential of malfeasence that led to Moreira's abrupt resignation apparently still exists and now, less than two months later, a potential political firestorm surrounding large sums of cash and where it goes, revives those charges,this time in stark bas relief to the upcoming election. To read Rantburg reports on the Humberto Moreira debt scandal in Coahuila and Moreria's subsequent resignation, click here and here and follow the links
As a related matter and for what it is worth, officially PAN president Gustavo Madero, the man who kept pressure on Moreira to resign has not publicly commented. However this writer could haver sworn that Madero did repeat the charge that the cash was intended for Pena Nieto, which was published on Animal Politico, but later removed.
However, in a Twitter post earlier on Monday, Madero asked, "Who do you think the PRI governor sends 25 million cash?"
Madero also posted a late, mischievous tweet calling the resignation of Benitez Gonzalez as being Moreira-ized.
Home prices fell more steeply than expected in November, and consumer confidence soured in January, highlighting the hurdles still facing the economic recovery.
The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of single-family home prices in 20 metropolitan areas declined 0.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, a survey showed on Tuesday, a bigger drop than the 0.5 percent economists expected. The decrease added on to the 0.7 percent decline seen in October from September.
Separately, a report from The Conference Board said an index of consumer attitudes fell to 61.1 in January from a revised 64.8 the month before, as Americans turned gloomy about the job market and their income prospects.
The data frustrated expectations for an increase after sharp gains in November and December. I am so glad we had those stimulus! Just imagine what our housing market would be like without it!
#1
This is good news. Home prices need to drop. The skyrocketing home prices we saw in the last two decades were a direct result of artificial stimulus by the likes of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Bawney Fwank. Can you say inflation? I knew you could. How about deflation? That's better, much better if you are a young family looking for a place to live.
I can sympathize with people who find themselves underwater but, if you think of it as a home instead of an investment maybe that will help.
#2
Another good aspect of it is the "your home is your nestegg" myth is busted. That's no help to the people who believed it before the crash hit, but going forward, people who are paying attention can plan accordingly...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/31/2012 15:42 Comments ||
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#3
The end of the Free money supply from re-mortaging thinking they'll sell to some other rube to pay off the debts...
Well, They were the Rubes! Everyone just living in a home is totally unnafected by the price being lower.
New buyers however were severely damaged by low affordability of housing...
#8
BP: _ALL_ forms of taxation are eventually passed on to the customer. Any corporation that pays taxes must collect them from someone else. This goes for land taxes just like everything else.
#9
Home prices are still way too high in many parts of the country. Americans who haven't had a good degree of pessimism about general job & income prospects since about the summer of 2007 just haven't been paying attention.
#10
Every article about home prices should show the Case-Shiller index, but they almost never do.
Below is the index to 2008
Just how far to they have to fall to get back to a usual & customary level?
[Tripoli Post] African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... leaders failed Monday to choose a new chairman for the bloc's influential executive Commission, even though at one time incumbent Jean Ping seemed to enjoy a slight lead over South Africa's Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the ex-wife of South Africa's President.
President Michael Sata of Zambia told news hounds: "We went for an election and none of the two candidates emerged as a winner."
The continent's strongest nation, South Africa has lobbied hard to see Dlami, the executive branch of the bloc since 2008.
AU sources revealed that in the voting that is going on behind closed doors on the second and final day of the AU summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Ping was narrowly ahead of Dlamini-Zuma in the first three rounds of voting, but was short of the two-thirds majority needed for an outright win.
Dlamini-Zuma has said in a flyer, that if elected, she pledges to spare no effort in building on the work of those African women and men who want to see an African Union that is a formidable force striving for a united, free, truly independent, better Africa
South Africa said at the weekend that it was optimistic that Dlamini-Zuma, who was married to President Jacob Zuma until 1998, can defeat 69-year-old Ping, who is counting on support from French-speaking West and Central Africa countries.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/31/2012 00:00 ||
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What are the implications for handloading, I wonder?
Posted by: no mo uro ||
01/31/2012 18:32 Comments ||
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#2
Shamelessly stolen from the comments at Slashdot: Personally i don't believe it. A mile away? They probably couldn't hit an elephant at that dist
I am fascinated by the evolution of ordinance towards ever-smaller, yet deadly packages. Here at the 'Burg, we love our MOABs, ARCLIGHTS (and yes, even our F-150s), but over a rather short period of time, we have gone from carpet bombing cities, to precision munitions, to shooting selected miscreants individually. Imagine a loitering drone, loaded with smart bullets, waiting for an opportunity to pick someone out of a crowd...
Islam critic backs out of West Point cadet event after protests
Leftest groups like VoteVets.org, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, and the Forum on the Military Chaplaincy petitioned (Issues Demand) Army leadership to stop General Jerry Boykin from speaking the truth.
Referring to the general as "Islamophobic", MRFF founder Mikey Weinstein said 27 faculty members at West Point and 74 students
none of whom would make a good blemish on Boykin's ass
have reached out to his group to protest Boykin's invitation, calling him a shameful representative of religious views.
#1
so I guess everyone have their rights too their own religous views except the general? Too bad some of these cadets are gonna be officers and probably high ranking officers in the future. Maybe Boykin can get a list of the ones that bitched about him and hold his foot on thier head while they trying too come up the ranks.
Posted by: chris ||
01/31/2012 9:03 Comments ||
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#2
No foot to the head. Gen. Boykin is retired and only because he is retired can speak against the official line.
#4
Boykin, now a fundamentalist Christian minister . . . . Since his retirement in 2007, he has repeatedly called Islam the greatest threat that America faces, and compared its followers to Satan.
I'd hope that's what a fundamentalist Christian minister is saying. Or else I'd worry that he's, oh, say, Episcopal, and feel kinda cheated on the price of admission. I presume attendance was optional?
"This is exactly the wrong kind of message for the military to send, Weinstein said. Were just handing al-Qaida material to use against us.
Right. Because if we'd just shut up it would all be hunky-dory and they'd leave us alone. Good thing they don't know about our Billy Graham Bible Blasters.
It's important to note that unconventional warfare types are often unconventional themselves. It is very hard for them to get promoted beyond Colonel, because they are looked at very questioningly by conventional types.
However, after retirement, some of them will "go off the reservation", and tend towards extremism in what they pursue. My attitude is to admire what they were, and cut them slack for what they have become.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
An elephant in Amsterdam's zoo has made history after being fitted with a jumbo-sized contact lens following an eye injury, a statement said Monday.
After a long-delayed trial, a Nigerian court Monday sentenced a former aide to late dictator Sani Abacha to death by hanging over the 1996 murder of the wife of a presidential candidate. 
[An Nahar] Thirty-five Ethiopian Christians, 29 of them women, face deportation from 
Khaleda Zia
Home prices fell more steeply than expected in November, and consumer confidence soured in January, highlighting the hurdles still facing the economic recovery.
