Zoos

$100M budget shortfall may doom many Dallas programs, services
11:45 AM CDT on Tuesday, May 19, 2009
By RUDOLPH BUSH and DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News
The first round of proposed cuts has put the jobs of nearly 350 city employees at risk and placed everything from police overtime to Dallas Zoo exhibits on the chopping block.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/051909dnmetdalbudget.42bb773.html


Trip to zoo with toddlers conjures memories of Tooth Fairy
Published: Monday, May 18, 2009 7:19 PM CDT
Two 6-year-olds and twin 4-year-olds took me on a trip to the Houston Zoo recently, and their conversations proved most entertaining to this middle-aged kid at heart who has no children.
Needless to say my hands were full, counting “one, two, three, four” at every turn, making sure every excited child was accounted for. One of the kindergartners, a nephew from Louisiana, was about to loose a tooth, as he reminded me outside the toothy elephant cage.
Earlier he had wondered if the Texas Tooth Fairy pays more than the one operating in the Bayou State.
So just how much does the Tooth Fairy pay these days? Here’s all I know:
She had delivered him a crisp $10 bill for his first tooth, and $2 for subsequent lost teeth.

http://www.mywesttexas.com/articles/2009/05/18/news/opinion/columns/shanna_sissom/doc4a11fb28cb1d8074108238.txt



'Zoo from Hell' trial begins in W. Haverstraw
By Steve Lieberman • slieberm@lohud.com • May 19, 2009

http://www.lohud.com/article/2009905190364


Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Bronx Zoo
Yesterday we visited the Bronx Zoo for the first time and it was wonderful! Here are some of our favorite highlights:

http://marvelouskiddo.blogspot.com/2009/05/bronx-zoo.html


May 19, 2009
First Lion Cubs in 25 Years for Blackpool Zoo
Three little female lion cubs were welcomed at the Blackpool Zoo in April and just unveiled to the media this week. Born to lioness "Gillian," the little girls mark the first lion birth at the Zoo in 25 years.

http://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2009/05/first-lion-cubs-in-25-years-for-blackpool-zoo.html


Zoo shows off new penguin chicks
Two Humbolt penguin chicks will go on show to visitors at Twycross Zoo for the first time on Friday.
Staff are having to rear the pair by hand to boost their chance of survival, as the adult birds at the Leicestershire zoo are inexperienced.
The grey-coloured chicks are two of four which hatched at the zoo a week ago and were taken out of two different nests at two days old.
The pair have been named Ann and Barbara after staff at the zoo.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/leicestershire/8057434.stm


Summer events at the Toledo Zoo
May 18, 2009
Toledo, OH—In June, The Toledo Zoo presents a new exhibit that’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before—Nature’s Neighborhood! That’s only the beginning of the fun coming to your Toledo Zoo.
Visit the Zoo’s website, www.toledozoo.org, for more information about these and other upcoming events.
May 23 Natural Feeding and Enrichment Demos
Folks love watching Toledo Zoo animals chow down, so it’s no surprise that Natural Feeding Demos are a popular part of summer at the Zoo. You’ll also see how we encourage natural behaviors and offer stimulation to the senses through enrichment! Visit www.toledozoo.org for a complete schedule of activities.

http://www.thenews-messenger.com/article/20090518/UPDATES01/90519001



Light Zoo!
May18
Thad and I had some fun with LEDs…too much fun

http://nacedesign.com/blog/archives/195


Budget Committee Passes Zoo, Golf Fee Hikes
Written by Tina Chau - tchau@kgmb9.com
May 18, 2009 11:48 PM
UPDATE: Budget Committee also passed resolutions to increase fuel and property tax.
The Honolulu City Council Budget Committee met for more than 13 hours to discuss ways to save money. Members voted to raise zoo admission and golf fees.
Also, the committee decided to delay expansion of the recycling program. Families from Waipahu to Makua wouldn't have the service until 2011 at the earliest.
The full city council would still have to vote on these measures.

http://kgmb9.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17542&Itemid=40


Brookfield Zoo's elephant exhibit to remain closed because of death
2009-05-18 - Chicago, United States
The elephant exhibit in Brookfield Zoo near Chicago is closed until further notice after the death last week of Affie, a 40-year-old African elephant. Officials are still unsure of the cause of death. About 8 a.m. Friday, Affies keepers arrived and found her lying on her side indoors not able to stand back up, according to Sondra Katzen, spokeswoman for the zoo. After hours of attempts to get the 10,400-pound elephant on her feet, she died at 2 p.m., Katzen said.

http://www.elephant-news.com/index.php?id=4654


Cute Babies and Animal Antics at Valley Zoo
May 19th, 2009 by Michael Kwan
It seems that nearly every city I visit, I have an inherent urge to see its zoo. I was particularly impressed with Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle and I’ve had the chance to visit the Greater Vancouver Zoo as a “local tourist” as well. There’s just something to be said about being able to see wild and exotic animals that may not otherwise encounter during your daily journeys.

http://btr.michaelkwan.com/2009/05/19/cute-babies-and-animal-antics-at-valley-zoo/


Evansville zoo's baby camel, Miley, makes her debut
By Rich Davis
Posted May 19, 2009 at 10:57 a.m. , updated May 19, 2009 at 10:57 a.m.
Her name is Miley, and, yes, she was named after teenaged singing sensation Miley Cyrus of “Hannah Montana” fame.
Of course there’s little resemblance.
Evansville’s Miley weighs just under 50 pounds, is covered in grayish fur, has four spindly legs and will one day have two humps on her back
Star quality if you’re a camel.

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2009/may/19/evansville-zoos-baby-camel-miley-makes-her-debut/



Your morning adorable: Jaguar cubs at the Berlin Zoo
10:00 AM, May 19, 2009
The cubs -- two males and one female -- were born April 16 and made their first public appearance today. The zoo has named them Jumanes, Atiero and Valdivia.
Here's hoping the young cubs, unlike their cute predecessor, don't grow up to become "publicity-addicted psychos" (as reports suggest Knut has). More photos after the jump!

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/05/jaguar-cubs-at-the-berlin-zoo.html


Vote! Local Bands to Play at the Zoo
May 18, 2009
Did you hear that summer concerts at the zoo were cancelled? Nope! In addition to the 2009 summer concerts going strong, the zoo has decided to let us vote to showcase a few of our favorite local bands! The deadline is May 31st, so be quick and and take the survey now. Winners will be showcased at the July 8th concert, be sure and get your tickets as those are going fast!

http://portlandoctopus.com/vote-local-bands-to-play-at-the-zoo/


Jammin' at the Zoo concerts announced
May 18, 2009 4:11 PM
Hmmm. We've always enjoyed the occasional outdoor summer concerts at the Lincoln Park Zoo because they booked quirky acts from a certain era — from ABC to They Might Be Giants. This year's lineup was just announced and, well, it's certainly a different era ...
June 26: Sister Hazel with Josh Kelley
July 24: Matt Nathanson and Brett Dennen with Pat McGee
August 28: Five for Fighting with Angel Taylor
Only that July date sounds to us remotely worth the ticket prices (which, OK, support the animals), but we know y'all love your Sister Hazel. Tickets are $23 and on sale this Friday here, by phone at (312) 742-2283 or at the Zoo’s Gateway Pavilion.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ourtown/2009/05/jammin_at_the_zoo_concerts_ann.html


Zoo, Chinese Officials Begin Talks About Pandas' Tenure
By Michael E. Ruane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 21, 2009
He has grown up before our eyes.
He has put on weight -- at 191 pounds, he's no longer a cub.
Soon, he'll be interested in girls.
And sooner still, he could be leaving home.
We're talking about Tai Shan, the National Zoo's beloved giant panda "teenager." That's right, our black-eyed boy bear is not really ours at all. And later this year, he could be heading to China.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/20/AR2009052000910.html


Stomping grounds
Donors key to zoo's new elephant home
By Jeanette Steele Union-Tribune Staff Writer
2:00 a.m. May 20, 2009
Freda Palmer, 104, of San Diego donated $2.4 million for the new exhibit. She has her birthday party every year at either the zoo or Wild Animal Park. (John Gastaldo / Union-Tribune)
Online: Explore a multimedia presentation on the exhibit at uniontrib.com/more/elephant
ELEPHANT ODYSSEY
3 acres for seven elephants, with a 7-foot-deep pool holding 137,000 gallons
Jaguars will live in a marshy wetland with rocks, reeds, a stream that flows into a pond and opportunities to swim and hunt for live fish.
Lions get rocky slopes, a stream, trees and grasses. Heated rocks will be available for lounging.
Other animals: California condors, two-toed sloths, secretary birds, camels and horses
SAN DIEGO — San Diego Zoo elephants are getting a doozy of a new home thanks to the bigheartedness of a handful of donors such as Freda Palmer, a 104-year-old retiree from Rancho Bernardo.
Palmer was one of eight contributors who supplied 66 percent of the funds for the zoo's most ambitious construction project to date: Elephant Odyssey, the $45 million multispecies exhibit opening Saturday.
“I like all animals,” said Palmer, whose late husband, Karl, was an engineer and inventor. “When I heard that this is going to be a terrific undertaking, I thought that's where I should donate.”
While other zoos struggle to assemble public money and donations for new elephant exhibits, San Diego completed its blockbuster ahead of schedule. The speed of giving surprised even zoo officials, who originally planned to build the project in two phases instead of one.

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/may/20/1m20elephant014222-stomping-grounds/



Your morning adorable: Dachshund adopts tiger cub in German zoo
10:04 AM, May 20, 2009
A tiger cub born last weekend at Germany's Stroehen Zoo has already experienced the loss of two mother figures in its short life. The cub was rejected by its mother shortly after its birth. Things began looking up when the cub was adopted by Monster, a wirehaired dachshund that belonged to the zoo's owners. But Monster himself died unexpectedly.
After Monster's death, his daughter Bessi (shown here with the cub) took over mothering duties -- indeed, a zoo representative said she "fell in love" with the infant and has proved a capable guardian.
More photos of Bessi and her as-yet-unnamed charge after the jump!

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/05/dachshund-adopts-tiger-cub-in-german-zoo.html



Wild Horses!
Posted at 8:49 am May 20, 2009 by Lance Miller
Somali wild ass mare with her two-week-old foal
If you thought I was going to talk about the song from the Rolling Stones, you might be disappointed. I’m actually writing about a species that most people have either not heard of or know little about: the Somali wild ass. They are related to horses but really are wild asses.

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/wild-horses/



Angry Veiled Chameleon





Visiting white tiger arrives at Seneca Park Zoo
By Linda Quinlan, staff writer
Irondequoit Post
Posted May 20, 2009 @ 03:40 PM
Irondequoit, N.Y. —
If you like “cats” of any size, shape or color, Monroe County’s Seneca Park Zoo may be the purr-fect place to be this summer.
County Executive Maggie Brooks today introduced Laska, a 500-pound, 10-year-old male white tiger, who will have a home at the zoo, located at 2222 St. Paul St., Rochester, through Labor Day.
“The rarity of a white tiger like Laska will make this up-close exhibit a truly impressive and memorable experience for everyone who visits,” Brooks said.

http://www.mpnnow.com/news/x2023747891/Visiting-white-tiger-arrives-at-Seneca-Park-Zoo



Wellington Zoo's Molly the Zebra dies
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, May 20 (UPI) -- The Wellington, New Zealand, zoo was mourning the death Wednesday of 19-year-old Molly, its last remaining zebra, officials said.
The zebra had long been suffering from various ailments that had been treated with painkillers and anti-inflammatory medication, but zoo officials decided this week they could no longer keep her comfortable and so put her down, The Dominion Post reported.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/05/20/Wellington-Zoos-Molly-the-Zebra-dies/UPI-92181242853925/



Injured female manatee gives birth at Lowry Park Zoo
Reported by: Carly Timmons
Email: ctimmons@abcactionnews.com
Last Update: 5/20 4:26 pm
TAMPA, FL -- An adult female manatee patient with a serious chest injury gave birth Monday to a full-term male calf at the David A. Straz Jr. Manatee Hospital at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo.
The birth marks only the second in the hospital’s history. The first was in May 2000. After the first 48 hours, the new calf weighing 76 pounds appears healthy and is nursing routinely, but it faces challenges from the mother’s buoyancy and position in the water due to her injuries.
The adult female manatee was spotted by an officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Wednesday, May 13 in the St. Johns River. The officer noticed the manatee was floating high in the water.

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/story/Injured-female-manatee-gives-birth-at-Lowry-Park/FxywmJ-7mEym6e9FK7aq3w.cspx



Brew at the Zoo and Wine Too
Wednesday May 20, 2009
It's a big weekend (insert giraffe joke here) at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.
Bands, food, beer, wine, and wild animals. What a combination. Saturday and Sunday, from 1:00-6:00 p.m. you can sample local cuisine, craft beer, wine from local vineyards, watch cooking demonstrations, and visit the Kids Zone all while roaming the zoo's grounds and checking out its full-time residents. PBS Kids personalities Miss Rosa and the Science Kid will be there on Saturday (with Miss Rosa making an encore appearance on Sunday), and Teddy Folkman, a finalist on The Next Food Network Star will be cooking with beer on Saturday.
Tickets, available online or at the gate, are $45 for non-members, $30 for members, $20 for non-member children and designated drivers, and $10 for member children and member designated drivers. I've never been to this particular event, but I did go to a similar one at the zoo in Tampa, and I can tell you it was a blast. All proceeds benefit the zoo and its conservation programs.

http://baltimore.about.com/b/2009/05/20/brew-at-the-zoo-and-wine-too.htm

Did Nancy Pelosi lie? NO !!!!!!!! Panetta needs to 'shape up' his CIA !!!

The evidence regarding the indictment of the Republican Cabal and its ludicrous Republican majority during the Bush years is more than obvious. There were tapes destroyed. The paper shredders were working overtime. The opening of Gitmo was to use any measure possible to extract information about the operations of al Qaeda.

The problem the Obama Administration faces now is somewhat expected. Setting aside the $80 million believed to be needed to close Gitmo, the obvious dilemma the current administration faces in regard to the detainees was expected by me and I believe I have relayed that in earlier entries to this blog.

The Cheney 'intelligence' departmentS (Yes, that was plural. There is the FBI, military intelligence and the CIA as well as other 'autonomous' entities set up by local and state authorities such as the New York City 'task force' to track down terrorists before they strike. All these agencies have records and there is no way an investigation by the Obama Administration, Senate or House has revealed all that is known.) were 'dogged' by the Vice President, either directly or indirectly. We know that for a fact. It is well known and documented that the Vice President was chronically involved with 'sculpting' the 'methods' and 'secrecy' of information obtained and how it was obtained.

The 'task' at hand to discover 'the truth' of the 'workings' of the Bush/Cheney Adminisration will go on and as time goes by there is every reason to believe there will be more and more atrocities revealed. Currently, there are defense attorneys of the Gitmo detainees that feel comfortable making statements regarding other methods of torture used within Gitmo but still undisclosed. There is much to learn about Gitmo, but, extracting that information is going to be difficult to say the least. All those conducting such atrocities are more interested in protecting themselves than revealing 'the truth.'

I find it all too interesting to find Dickey Cheney at the head of the Republican assault against the Obama Presidency. He was the architect of this mess and it is he that is confident in speaking out while knowing the information needed to successfully prosecute detainees has disappeared along with the evidence of the torture.

The USA seems 'stuck' with the past eight years that successfully mars its reputation and methods of dealing 'humanely' with injustice and crime. That is the recklessness of the Republicans. They are power players and don't care about the decency of the USA. They have no regard for the law, except, what they can do to change the law to suit their purposes.

The Republicans bottom line is always to overwhelm the 'system' so that it has to bend to its purpose. They do it chronically in financial venues and they are doing it now to make an attack against Obama seem as though it has purpose. What the Republicans should be doing is joining with President Obama in disgust of the reality the detainees cannot be tried due to lack of evidence while they are dangerous people.

There is another reality no one is looking at and that is the fact 'war' has it own rules in 'detaining' POWs. I don't believe the detainees cannot be tried. I do believe they are POWs at this point and when the enemy is vanquished they will be disposed off according to the Geneva Conventions. Even the USA has sustained the POWs from past wars and when the war is over the POWs are returned to their native country now vanquished and cleansed of the enemy. I refuse to believe the detainees will be detainees forever.

The fact that this has 'lingered' for nearly eight years is part of the problem we face. The chronic detainment of these POWs are wearing on the American people no different than the wars themselves. There is only consolation at this point and that is the Iraq War is an unjust war that was engaged for its oil venues and not for any other purpose. That is more evident today than ever before. We need to move forward to end our occupation of Iraq and end the existance of al Qaeda and the power of The Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Only with that and the stability of the Pakistan-Afghan region will we finally be able to 'make peace' with the darkest eight years the USA has ever experienced.

Let the Bush/Cheney years of the USA be a lesson to the people of this country.

More errors in CIA interrogation briefing list
By PAMELA HESS – 19 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — New questions surfaced Wednesday about the accuracy of a CIA document meant to settle who in Congress knew about severe interrogation methods approved by the Bush administration.
Three new errors appeared to emerge in the CIA's matrix of 40 congressional briefings on so-called enhanced interrogation techniques. Those techniques include waterboarding, a form of simulated drowning, which President Barack Obama has called torture.
The CIA acknowledged one of the errors but continued to stand by its version of events in the other two cases.
The briefing chart, widely leaked to the news media two weeks ago, was compiled by the CIA at the request of members of Congress after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed in April that the CIA failed to tell her at a September 2002 briefing that waterboarding had been used against a prisoner.
That briefing occurred within weeks of the waterboarding of terrorist suspect Abu Zubaydah. He was subjected to the procedure at least 83 times.
Pelosi has been a frequent target of criticism from Republicans who are eager to argue that Democrats knew about waterboarding and did little to stop it.
The CIA chart states that a Senate staffer, Chris Mellon, attended a briefing on July 15, 2004. However, Mellon told The Associated Press that he left the Senate in April 2004 and did not attend the briefing....

Cheney unable to accept his own reality. To 'shadow' President Obama in speech today. So is Obama actually Bush, Jr.?

In an attempt to discredit the Obama Adminisration, Richard Cheney will be giving an address ot the nation. Amazing. There is absolutely no precedent for this type of vicious attacks by a displaced administration, however, Cheney knows what most Americans have already decided, the Republican Party is DOA.

The strategy against the Democrats and President Obama is more than obvious. They have completely ignored the reality of the past adminisration, the long sustained wars, the lack of progress in Afghanistan, the near fall of the Karzai Administration, the poor choices made to support Musharraf and the wrongful invasion into Iraq, ONLY, to try to 'cause' the current adminisration 'the same path' of Bush/Cheney through manipulation from inside the Congress and running their Culture of Fear in the nation and through their electorate AGAIN.

In other words, by Obama trying to avoid the issues of Afghanistan and Iraq and Torture, he set himself to be Bush, Jr.

Is he?

He is trying to separate himself from the criminals that walked the halls of the White House, including those of his former Treasurer, Paulson; by believing in the 'citizen/Main Street' rather than "Wall Street."

It is plainly obvious Obama is not Bush. By simply starting to try the detainees from Gitmo this early in his administration, he has cut through the 'Bush Red Tape' that supported the Bush/Cheney Propaganda.

Additionally, Obama has met with all major players in the Middle East. He is pragmatic and has bolstered the Pakistan government to pursue the Taliban and disarm al Qaeda. He has been more successful in his first few months of office on all venues of National Security than Bush/Cheney ever had in their entire administration.

I wish that Congress were just as savvy and just as successful in aligning themselves with the Citizen of the USA, but, we, the people, have yet to successfully 'weed' the garden of the Neocons from our government, hence, suffering 'blows' to the best our nation can be.



First Guantanamo inmate to face New York trial (click title to entry - thank you)
America is to transfer a detainee from Guantanamo Bay to New York to face trial for involvement in the 1998 US embassy bombings in Africa.
by Our Foreign Staff
Last Updated: 9:43AM BST 21 May 2009
Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian accused in the attacks in Kenya and Tanzania, would be the first former detainee at Guantanamo to face trial in a civilian court in the United States.
Senior officials in Washington said announcement would be made formal around the time President Barack Obama makes a major national security speech on the future of the US naval base that holds 240 terrorist suspects....

Mueller pulls another bait and switch. A non-crime becomes a feather in the hat of the FBI.

Mueller's FBI has done this before in Miami. The FBI plots against small groups of Muslim men that are potentially hostile, supplies them with whatever they need to carry out their plots, such as in this case, and then arrest them as if the crime is actually real. The problem with this 'silly' strategy by Mueller is that it 'entraps' people into crime they would not have been able to commit otherwise. In order to be a carry out an attack like this the munitions have to be 'live' and obtained from outside a 'controlled' process where arrests in a 'sting' operation are guaranteed.

Let me know when Mueller's FBI actually has success in breaking up a 'real' network rather than one created and supplied by the FBI.

James Cromitie, right, is led by police officers from a federal building in New York, early Thursday, May 21, 2009, after being arrested on charges related to a bombing plot in the Bronx. The FBI arrested four men Wednesday in what authorities called a plot to detonate a bomb outside a Jewish temple and to shoot military planes with guided missiles. (AP Photo/Robert Mecea)

FBI foils plot to bomb NYC temple; 4 men charged (click here)
By TOM McELROY – 27 minutes ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Four men arrested on charges of plotting to bomb a Jewish temple and shoot down military planes are expected to appear Thursday in federal court in White Plains.
Officials told The Associated Press the arrests came after a nearly yearlong undercover operation that began in Newburgh, N.Y., about 70 miles north of New York City.
James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen, all of Newburgh, were charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction within the United States and conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Three of the defendants are U.S. citizens and one is of Haitian descent, officials said....

Still yet another BiPartisan Giveaway? Like, huh, what? Guns in National Parks? What next hunting wolves recovered through ESA?

The Summer Reading Program (click here) had fun with Park Ranger MatthewGraham of Cumberland Gap National Park. Graham, in costume, brought furs,more furs (even a bearskin!) and plastic animal prints and even "poo", toshow how hunters snared and used the animals. We had a lot of fun!

This is called 'Unconscionable.' There is no other word for it. Obama needs to stop trying to unit the country through BiPartisan efforts. It isn't worth it and the majority of the American people know it. The people of this country have 'culled the herd' of Republican extremists in 2006 and 2008. I think the people are doing far better than the Democrats that are looking for ways to ? unit ? the country.

While the country was distracted by serious issues such as the Pakistan-Afghanistan crisis, the Neocon Republicans were sneaking around behind everyone's back and carrying out 'fear campaigns' to gain wins for their own 'extremist electorate.' And they did it successfully.

This is a complete offense against the conscience of the American people. We need the NRA? No, we don't. The NRA has just successfully removed National Parks from the reach of the 'average citizen' whom will 'go elsewhere' due to the fact there are now 'fire arms' in their parks. There is nothing like turning the National Parks into private hunting preserves.

Congress votes to allow guns in US national parks (click title to entry - thank you)

2:32PM Thursday May 21, 2009

Matthew Daly
Winter in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. The US Congress has voted to allow people to carry loaded guns in the country's national parks.
WASHINGTON - In a stinging defeat for gun-control, the US Congress has voted to allow people to carry loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges.
The House approved the measure, 279-147, yesterday, one day after the Senate acted.
A total of 105 Democrats in the House joined 174 Republicans in supporting the gun measure, which essentially restores a Bush administration policy that allowed loaded guns in national parks for two months earlier this year.
The vote was a bitter disappointment for gun-control advocates, who watched as a Democratic-controlled Congress handed a victory to gun-rights advocates that they did not achieve under Republican rule. Many blamed the National Rifle Association, an advocacy group that pushed hard for the gun law....

What propels Mueller's willingness to be the Republican's Whipping Boy

Mueller is indoctrinated into "Bush's Culture of Fear." A lawsuit by a Pakistani man stated Ashcroft and Mueller treated him inhumanely and outside his 'rights' due to his religion and nationality. He was correct.



Mr. Iqbal was convicted of 'non-terrorist' related charges, yet he was treated as if a terrorist based on his religion and nationality alone. The reason his lawsuit was unsuccessful in the Supreme Court in a 5-4 vote (Kennedy) was due to the fact, Mr. Iqbal as a plaintiff, did not have enough evidence to 'tie' Ashcroft and Mueller to the charges. It wasn't because he wasn't correct in his allogations, it was because he was unable to prove Mueller and Ashcroft were directly linked.



...MARCIA COYLE: Well, Mr. Iqbal was picked up in 2001 on charges unrelated to terrorism, but shortly afterwards he was transferred to a maximum-security facility that held those who were suspected of being involved in the 9/11 attacks.
He ultimately was convicted of the non-terrorism charges, served his time, and was deported to Pakistan. But he did sue then-Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller claiming that they had adopted and enforced an unconstitutional policy that resulted in his confinement and, later, subsequent physical abuse.
JEFFREY BROWN: Tied to the -- I mean, based on his religion, right?
MARCIA COYLE: Right, simply because of either his race, religion, or national origin.
But the case before the court that was decided today was not about whether those two officials did violate his constitutional rights. It was whether Mr. Iqbal had pleaded in his complaint enough facts to get over the first major hurdle in a lawsuit that lets you get to your day in court, and that was whether he could survive a motion by the government to dismiss the case....




Mueller was a Bush nominee into the role he is occupying now in the FBI. He is a 'Bush Believer' in that he is made to feel is he directly responsible for any and all issues regarding current and potential terrorist activity. It is probably Mueller himself that 'fills in the gap' for the Republican Party in providing 'National Security' in the face of failed strategies as those that are SUPPOSED to exist as with USA Passports.




The essence of Mueller's 'statement' regarding detainees at Gitmo and his 'theory' about how they will 'RECRUIT' inmates into 'in house' terrorist networks' that will migrate to the American society and carry out atrocities against the American people, falls into the category of 'incompetence in government.'



What Mueller is saying is hideous. He is saying that the FBI can find the terrorists, through whatever invasive 'listening' or otherwise exists in violation of the 'rights' of Americans, arrest terrorists and try them finding them guilty, BUT, it is the very prison system then violates the trust American citizens puts in them at risk for ORGANIZED CRIME. In other words, the judicial system doesn't work nor does the penal system in protecting Americans from 'racketerring or organized crime.' What Mueller is inarticulately describing is organized crime that occurs in the recruitment of terrorist networks.



Well. It would seem as though if Mueller can easily 'theorize' a single terrorist creating a crime network in the USA without actual proof to Congress, then he can theorize anything with anyone.



However, let's just say Mueller is correct. Let's say the judicial system fails to handle organized crime and upholds a penal system that allows crime to grow in prisons and allows it to migrate into society from prisons. If all that is correct then Mueller's arguments don't belong at all about JUST Gitmo, but, about the way penal systems operate and control their inmates.



Mueller's arguments even in theory don't hold up entirely. The USA penal system for as imperfect as it is, is effective enough to control dangerous individuals. The 'prisoner culture' is of some question in many of the nation's prison, but, to state the very people the FBI have arrested and have seen convictions are successful in having a 'network' in the country that suits their gratification for continued crime in the country is not correct.



Mueller has issues with his capacity of authority and use it to raise issues of 'fear mongering' while providing a platform for 'Revenge of the Demised Republican Party.' His testimony to Congress was out of line while lacking sincere proof. It was used by Republicans to 'raise fears' and 'direct political activity' within their electorate and the Congress itself. It is THAT culture of 'Rhetorical Republican Neocons' that is the REAL enemy and not the appropriate use of MAXIMUM security prisons within the USA to handle criminals of September 11, 2001.
The 'continued' Bush/Cheney Culture of Fear that still exists within the USA and the 'culture' of the FBI is scarey to realize there is dearly little protecting the country short of the hysteria that exists whenever the drum beat calls.

I wonder what Netanyahu would do?

Now would be a good time to do something about that reactor. Yep. A sincere missile launch was a desperate act to secure an election win by Ahmadinejad.

The moderates must be kicking his butt, big time. But, the missile launch, desperate act or not, is significant.

One has to ask how long do we let the 'pip-squeak' get away with it. Same thing with Osama bin Laden. By allowing these idiots continuance of their 'reign' only provides more problems for The West, not less.

Iranian launch is a success, Pentagon says (Click title to entry - thank you)
The Associated PressPosted : Wednesday May 20, 2009 14:42:36 EDT

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates has confirmed that Iran conducted a successful ballistic missile test.
U.S. officials had said as much earlier Wednesday, but without putting their names to the information. Gates was asked about the reports during congressional testimony.
He said that the successful test involved a missile with a range of approximately 2,000 to 2,500 kilometers. He said that because of chronic engine problems, the range is probably on the lower end of that scale.
Gates says he cannot say whether the test missile hit its intended target.

Unit to leave Baghdad ahead of deadline (click here)
By Hamza Hendawi - The Associated PressPosted : Wednesday May 20, 2009 14:55:40 EDT

BAGHDAD — As his U.S. partners prepare to move, an Iraqi army captain pleads with his American counterpart to leave behind a generator so his soldiers can have electricity when city power fails.
Capt. Nathan Williams and 150 soldiers from 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, are getting ready to leave their base in Baghdad’s Hurriyah neighborhood May 30 — one month ahead of the deadline for all U.S. combat forces to transfer from Iraqi cities to garrisons outside the towns....

Yeah, I think US Troops might move out of Baghdad ahead of schedule to let the Iraqi leadership we aren't interested in a war with Iran, only to disable its reactor. Moving troops out of Iraq will de-escalate the conflict within Iraq and Iran. It will give an impetus, a clear signal to the people of both countries they won't have to 'put up with' American troops any longer. It should de-escalate the 'signal' to Iran there will be no war and will provide an understanding their will be no conflict between the USA and Iran.

There is something a little more interesting about the article above, too.

...But like many other Iraqi units, the battalion in Hurriyah suffers from supply problems, which make it difficult to operate effectively on its own....

...He pleaded with Williams to persuade his superiors to leave behind one of the generators they have been using at the Finnish-built bomb shelter the Americans have called home since November....

Why exactly are our troops there? For USA national security purposes OR as a supply of equipment to the Iraqi military. Bought and paid for by the American people with $US and blood. I doubt seriously USA soldiers are needed in Iraq. I don't believe the USA dollar is needed in Iraq either.

Blackwater does it AGAIN !!!!!

Military: Xe contractors violated gun policy (click here)
By Heidi Vogt - The Associated PressPosted : Wednesday May 20, 2009 6:07:32 EDT

KABUL — Four U.S. contractors for the company formerly known as Blackwater were not authorized to carry weapons when they were involved in a deadly shooting in Afghanistan this month, the U.S. military said Tuesday.
The men — accused of opening fire on a vehicle in the capital May 5 — have charged that their employer, now called Xe, issued them guns in breach of the company’s contract with the military. One Afghan was killed in the shooting, and two others wounded.
Xe declined to comment on the weapons or the contract....

Below are more non-combat deaths. Training mission before they might face combat. Is there actually a difference?

3 confirmed dead in nighttime Seahawk crash (click here)
By Andrew Scutro - Staff writerPosted : Wednesday May 20, 2009 13:41:35 EDT

Three Navy members were killed in the nighttime crash of an HH-60H Seahawk helicopter off the coast of San Diego, a Navy spokesman confirmed.
Coast Guard boats and aircraft scanned Pacific Ocean waters about 13 miles south of San Diego on Wednesday morning for the two remaining crew members , authorities said.
The helicopter crashed Tuesday just before midnight, said Lt. Sean Robertson, a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon. The helicopter, from Carrier Air Wing 11, was returning to the aircraft carrier Nimitz after a combat search and rescue exercise.
The crash occurred 76 nautical miles from Nimitz, which is at sea conducting a pre-deployment composite training unit exercise, Robertson said.
Names are being withheld pending family notification, Robertson said.
The incident is under investigation.

Congress is not doing the people's business. I didn't realize the Busih administration was still in office.

I told you so. The Republicans are running their 'chronic campaigning' and THEIR electorate is reacting to the same 'fear mongering' 'CONSTRUCTED' by Bush and Cheney and Rove.

This is all about politics and has NOTHING to do with the best interests of the country or our national security.

Republicans are losing. They are losing bit and 2010 is a turning point for 'The Party.' If they continue to loss seats they will be a 'mute' party. They have all of about six months to get their act together to at least hold the seats they have now. 2010 is pivotal. The Republicans are running scared and are dumping tons of money into PROPAGANDA.

The Democrats need to get their act together and stop allowing the Republicans that REMAIN in Congress to lead 'a charge' of faux and bad policy. This is outrageous. It is simply outrageous.

They took the words of Mueller at the FBI and spun 'fear' throughout their electorate without 'fact finding' the security or the possiblity of putting any terrorist in a Supermax to CUT costs and return reputation to the USA.

The lack of money needed to close Gitmo is a Republican directive. They not only 'stirred up' false fears in their elecorate, but, actually alarmed enough Democrats at the last minute so they shifted their votes. This is an outrage for many reasons. The Republicans are not only 'aiming' their lies at their electorate, but, they 'are running game' on a Democratic majority.

That is treasonist as the vote resulted in a 'directive' AWAY from the will of the majority that elected President Obama. They are conspiring. They have nothing left to do with their time and political direction except plot against the country again. They are even calling Colin Powell an incompetent. I mean, who do they think they are except desperate soon to be job seekers.

The Republican Party hasn't learned a darn thing from the NEW government elected in 2006 and 2008. They haven't learned a darn thing. They only 'redoubled' their ammunition against the American People.


Analysis: Guantanamo a political win GOP needed (click title to entry - thank you)
By CHARLES BABINGTON – 9 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have searched mightily for a good political issue this year as their traditional three Gs — gays, guns and God — have lost some steam. Now a fourth G — Guantanamo Bay — is handing them big boost, forcing President Barack Obama on the defensive.
One of Obama's first acts as president was to order the closing of the controversial prison for terrorist suspects within a year. Obama had campaigned on the issue, but Republicans pounced on what they considered a crucial flaw: the lack of detailed plans for where the roughly 240 detainees would go if the Cuban prison were shut down.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, for example, gave dozens of speeches and interviews saying the United States would be no safer by moving terrorists to American soil. Other Republicans suggested terrorists might escape, recruit new allies or become magnets for attacks.
Democrats largely ignored the remarks for months, but by this week the public agitation was too much. The Senate voted 90-6 Wednesday to block the transfer of Guantanamo detainees, an ill-timed rebuke for Obama, who is scheduled to give a major speech on terrorism Thursday.
Even the GOP's less partisan members could scarcely believe how deeply the issue was resonating with voters back home. The breadth of the Republicans' political victory has been remarkable in a season where criticism of Obama's economic policies have yielded little....

Obama Job Approval Average as of May 17, 2009 is 60.8, while Congress rates at 35.7 (click here)

President Obama signs order to close Guantanomo.




In this ABC News interview from Dec. 15, 2008, former Vice President Dick Cheney admits approving harsh interrogation tactics against terror suspect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others - including arguing that waterboarding was appropriate in order to gather information from detainees.

The Fear Mongering Senate, Veto the Bill. Who needs the military supplement? Bring them home, now !

McConnell is calling it a BiPartisan victory for the Republicans vs. Obama.

..."The president and Congress (click here) will work together on a timeline for a renewed request for whatever resources are needed," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. "The president still believes it is in our national interest to close Guantanamo Bay."
Obama plans to give a speech on Thursday to further detail his policy on the prison and anti-terror tactics after criticism from rights groups that he has flipped on key promises like ending military tribunals for the detainees and releasing abuse photos....

The US Senate seems to believe if they legislate their innocense then they are. It looks as though regardless the outrage over the prisoners in Gitmo, those most responsible are attempting to legislate their innocense.

..."Every administration makes mistakes. They made mistakes by the way they are handling it and now they are trying to fix it," said Senator John McCain, Obama's 2008 presidential foe....

I love that statement. "Every administration makes mistakes...."

..."Every administration makes mistakes...."

..."Every administration makes mistakes...."

Hm. That was a great opening statement by REPUBLICAN Senator John McCann, in admitting Gitmo is a mistake. I have to congratulate him for his honesty.

"...They made mistakes by the way they are handling it and now they are trying to fix it," said Senator John McCain, Obama's 2008 presidential foe.

So, according to Republican Senator John McCain it was a mistake that Gitmo was opened for prisoners of war from Afghanistan and who knows where else, BUT, fixing it is hideous.

I mean that 'spin logic' really works for me. Why fix something that was a mistake, let's keep making mistakes.

The ONLY reason the Democrats went along with this WHILE still investiaging all aspects of torture and Gitmo, is because they are looking for ways to cut the budget, so why fix something that was a mistake for $80 million and keep investigating so we can actually charge THE VERY PEOPLE that were responsible.

Patrick Leahy
Lifting the Bush-era veil of secrecy (click here)
On US torture, we need to find out what happened - and why

THE OBAMA administration's decision to release more Bush-era memoranda, which sought to rationalize torture, shows that President Obama is following through on his promise to ban torture and to provide transparency to our government. The Bush-Cheney administration not only broke the law, it shattered the public trust and undermined America's reputation around the world.

After withdrawing the so-called Bybee "torture memo," the Bush-Cheney administration secretly reinstated the torture policy. While repeatedly claiming that the United States did not torture, the Bush-Cheney administration secretly authorized techniques that included waterboarding - up to 183 times in one case. This was not an "abstract legal theory," or "hypothetical," as Alberto Gonzales dismissively (It would seem as though 'dismissing' responsibility as Senator McCain is proposing in his 'MISTAKE' statement is a 'directive' of Republicans.) described in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. These were specific techniques, authorized by high-ranking US government officials and used on real people. We have prosecuted people for these kinds of acts against Americans, and condemned other nations for sanctioning these methods....

CLOSE GITMO.

The frequent reason the Republicans like to use regarding Gitmo is pure fear of the prisoners. McConnell promised there would never be terrorists ever imprisoned on USA soil again. Really?

...In a new Washington Post-ABC News poll (click here), 53 percent of Americans said the United States should shutter the controversial facility, finding another way to deal with the prisoners under custody there. But a sizable proportion of all adults polled, 42 percent, and a broad majority of Republicans, 69 percent, said terrorism suspects should remain at Gitmo. Most Democrats, 68 percent, and independents, 55 percent, said they'd prefer another way....

The Democrats need to find a different way to cut $80 millions from the military supplement. I would look into defunding 'Star Wars' at Russian borders.

Antarctica Ice Chime

CO2 release out of control says scientist

Dr. Wallace Broecker
..."I've written 480 scientific papers and (click title to entry - thank you)... 10 books and if the thing I'm remembered for is coining the term 'global warming', that is sort of sad, because I would have wasted my life."
After first suggesting there could be negative effects from pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in 1957, the award-winning American scientist - who was in New Zealand last week to speak at a past climates symposium - has turned his attention to taking carbon out of the air and storing it.
He believes the world has no chance of getting CO2 emissions under control in time to avoid dangerous global warming.
He wants urgent research done to find ways to tuck atmospheric CO2 away until after human production of it has peaked....


May 18, 2009
0900 PM
Surface Wind Image (click here for 24 hour loop). It shows arriving heat transfer that intepreted into high winds at the surface as well.


May 18, 2009
1800
Jet Stream Image. There are impinging heat transfers all over the ice continent. Click here for three day loop of arriving heat transfer system.


May 18, 2009
1930
Antarctica - noted arriving heat transfer system that displaced the frigid air mass over the Blue Ice. Antarctica is warmer than normal.


May 18, 2009
0900 UTM
Antarctica Temperature Image (click here for 24 hour loop. No image for 9AM or 12AM)


The warmest reporting station is:

Palmer Station, Antarctica

Updated: 2 hr 58 min 57 sec ago

Tempature :: 32 °F

Conditions :: Light Haze

Humidity :: 39%

Dew Point :: 16 °F

Wind :: 18 mph from the East

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: 28.77 in (Rising)

Visibility :: 7.0 miles

Elevation :: 26 ft



The coldest reporting station in Antarctica (Vostok is down):

Henry, Antarctica

Local Time: 11:50 PM GMT (GMT +00)

Lat/Lon: 89.0° S 0.3° W

Updated: 51 min 22 sec ago

Temperature :: -66 °F

Wind :: 17 mph from the NNE

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: in (Falling)

Elevation :: 9039 ft

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska (Crystal Wind Chime) is warm:

Seaglider. The University of Washington developed this 'glider' and deployed for six months at Davis Strait between the North American continent and Greenland. This is one of the locations were 'fresh water' from melting Arctic Ocean ice enters the global ocean circulations.

We know from prior Earth data that the 'underwater waterfall' at this location powers the entire global ocean circulation. When this fresh water ceases to exist the ocean circulations slow and changes climate.

The University of Washington is doing vitally important work. Clicking the title to this entry will explain Seagliders mission in a video. Thank you.


May 18, 2009
Southeast View - Looking across the ? Icy Strait ?


May 18, 2009
Northeast View


May 18, 2009
North View

Topo Map of Cape Spenser Camera. It has three views, north, northeast and southeast. The pictures above show the degradation of our National Park due to Human Induced Global Warming.

Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska Map

Local Time: 2:07 PM AKDT (GMT -08)

Lat/Lon: 58.8° N 137.0° W

Current Conditions

Temperature :: 57 °F

Conditons :: Clear

Humidity :: 29%

Dew Point :: 25 °F

Wind :: 7 mph from the WSW

Pressure :: 30.11 in (Falling)

Visibility :: 10.0 miles

UV :: 7 out of 16

Clouds :: Clear -

(Above Ground Level)

Elevation :: 33 ft