Morning Papers - continued ...

Zoos

Hungary Zoo Boasts 1st Tube Baby Rhino
The world's first test tube rhinoceros has been born in Budapest, Hungary.
The 128-pound bundle of joy was born Tuesday to Lulu, an endangered southern white rhino, after five years of research into artificial insemination, Germany's der Spiegel reported Thursday.
Scientists started working on alternative plans to impregnate Lulu after she and her mate, Easyboy, had settled into a friendly relationship and showed no sexual interest in each other.
A special technique was eventually devised using Easyboy's sperm, Berliner Zeitung reported.
Scientists now plan to use a similar technique on a northern white rhino, a close relative of the southern white rhino.
There are currently only nine known northern whites worldwide, including four in the wild and five in zoos.


Zoo cruelty charges dropped Construction of hippo enclosure at Aldergrove facility satisfactory to Crown
Charges of animal cruelty have been dropped against the Greater Vancouver Zoo, and the B.C. SPCA isn’t happy about it.
The criminal justice branch of the provincial Ministry of the Attorney General stayed the two counts of cruelty to Hazina the hippo, arguing that it’s no longer in the public’s interest to pursue a trial since the large animal’s outdoor enclosure has been built.
Hazina spent 19 months inside a temporary pen with access to a small wading pool. She took on celebrity status when she was featured in a popular Christmas Telus commercial.
“By staying the charges, this says to the zoo that as long as they eventually provide proper care for their animals, they won’t be charged,” said B.C. SPCA Marcie Moriarty, general manager of cruelty investigations.

http://www.langleytimes.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=47&cat=23&id=819266&more=


Zebra Breaks Neck at Seattle Zoo
A zebra was found dead at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle with a broken neck.
The zoo says the animal ran into a fence in a holding area yesterday and died on impact.
The 4-year-old female was one of two zebras that arrived in Seattle in November from the Lion country Safari in West Palm Beach, Fla.
The Seattle zoo is in the process of expanding its zebra and giraffe herds for summer display.


Mr President, we need an elephant for our zoo
Karachi: It has been almost six months since the death of “Anarkali,” who passed away on July17, 2006, and the Karachi Zoo still remains without an elephant, which is considered as a major source of attraction at any zoo. Anarkali the elephant was the heart of the zoo and there has, to-date, been no replacement after her death.
After Anarkali, efforts have also increased in this regard. According to Mansoor Qazi, the Sri Lankan government is interested in donating a baby elephant to the Karachi Zoo. However, this agreement is followed by a list of formalities. To get a baby elephant for the zoo, the Head of the State is required to forward the requisition in this regard to the Sri Lankan government for an approval from its parliament.
Anarkali the elephant was the heart of the zoo and there has, to-date, been no replacement after her death. Though conditions at Karachi Zoo might not be satisfactory for many, a majority of people believed that Anarkali was the only source of entertainment and attraction for visitors, especially children. The reason that the zoo was able to generate a handsome annual income was mainly because of Anarkali and the rides taken on her by children.
Since the life span of an elephant is 65 years, therefore, efforts to get another elephant for the zoo had started when Anarkali was about to reach the age of 65. The Consulate Generals of Thailand and Nepal were invited to visit the zoo for this purpose.
Most of the elephants in different zoos and safaris around the world are of Asiatic origin. This is so because they are more easily trained, and have had a long history of being tamed and trained by Rajas and Maharajas of the Asian subcontinent. These include countries like India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, etc. African elephants are the wildest species and are rarely found in zoos and safaris around the world.
Karachi zoo is also looking for an Asiatic elephant and efforts are being made in this regard. Zoo Director Mansoor Qazi said that they plan to bring a baby elephant from Sri Lanka as Pakistan shares good mutual relations with it. Moreover, Sri Lanka has the most tamed elephants in the subcontinent.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=40629


Electrosonic provides Exhibits for latest attraction at National Zoo
Disclaimer: InfoComm International® has republished this press release with the original grammar and spelling intact. InfoComm International reserves the right to modify the release for language or claims that may be offensive to competing companies. Sources may contact news@infocomm.org regarding editing decisions.
SOURCE: Electrosonic Systems, Inc. • POSTED: 01/29/07
MINNEAPOLIS -- Electrosonic Systems, Inc. put its mark on the National Zoo’s much-awaited new Asia Trail providing multimedia and interactive technology elements for exhibits for six of the seven Asian species showcased. As subcontractors to Hadley Exhibits, Buffalo, N.Y., Electrosonic supplied and installed interactive kiosks, touchscreens and plasma screens which inform and entertain visitors to this new section of the Washington, D.C.-based zoo.

http://www.infocomm.org/cps/rde/xchg/SID-3F57FAC3-89F7CD60/infocomm/hs.xsl/avindustry_2688.htm


Jungle dining at Singapore Zoo
By Lau Joon-Nie, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 27 January 2007 1053 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore - known as the Lion City - is commonly associated not just with tall buildings and a clean and green environment but also great shopping and dining.
Those with a taste for adventure can even dine on the "wild" side, just a short hop from the city's urban jungle.
At the Singapore Zoo, what started out as "Breakfast with Ah Meng" the orang utan 25 years ago, has now evolved into Jungle Breakfast.
Besides the chance to meet a friendly ape, visitors can get up close with a snake, a mischievous otter and playful elephants.
Close to 100 visitors turn up daily for the morning tropical buffet where they also learn about wildlife conservation.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/255046/1/.html


A Visit to the Buffalo Zoo: Elephants like Easy Rock
A great place to visit any time of year, the Buffalo Zoological Gardens (Buffalo Zoo) in New York State is an ideal choice for a March Break destination. Parking is free until mid-April.
One of the major attractions of the zoo is the elephants. The building resembles an oversized stone mausoleum. But it houses three Asian elephants Surapa, Jothi and Buki. These big girls each eat about 100 pounds of hay, 2 cups of bran, and 7 pounds of grain a day. As they munch away, music in the background plays from an easy rock radio station. Perhaps it helps aid their digestion?
The zoo features indoor and outdoor displays of animals and birds on 23.5 acres. Obtain a free Zoo Map and learn the zoo's exhibit signs are colour coded to explain where these animals normally live. Blue represents the Americas; green represents Australia/Asia and orange represents Africa.
However, on a very cold day you'll see only a limited number of animals outside. Mary Rudewicz, Public Relations co-ordinator for the zoo explained, "Animals are like most of us, we just hate the cold and stay inside." There was one exception - the Polar Bears.

http://www.offbeattravel.com/buffalo-zoo.html


Zoo springs forward with expanded exhibit plans
Mill Mountain Zoo will add an old-fashioned barnyard, children's playground and pygmy goats.
By Marques G. Harper
777-6494
An old-fashioned barnyard, a children's playground and pygmy goats will be new additions to the Mill Mountain Zoo this spring as it looks to expand its exhibits.
The barnyard area will be located near the zoo's entrance and a wilderness/animal-themed playground will be near the prairie dog exhibit, said Sean Greene, the zoo's director.
"We're really gearing up for this summer," Greene said. "Zoos are constantly reinventing themselves and adding new things for guests. These are things we can do right now at a minimal cost. All of these projects we're doing will really pay big dividends in the end for people to come up here and really enjoy the zoo."
Exact costs for the projects haven't been determined, but the zoo will look for donations and volunteers to complete the work.
The barnyard will be constructed with help from area businesses Rockydale Quarries and Allegheny Construction Co. and the temporary field office of Minnesota-based T.E. Ibberson Co., all of whom will donate time, money or materials in the coming weeks.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/101892


Zoo Is in Talks to Arrange Longer Stay for Baby Panda
By Martin Weil
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 27, 2007; Page B10
The National Zoo said yesterday that it is negotiating with China to keep its popular baby panda beyond the expected two years.
The zoo said on its Web site that Tai Shan was supposed to be sent to China sometime after he turns 2.
However, the zoo said, "we expect that the cub will, at a minimum, be here throughout the summer and early fall."
In addition, the zoo said, "whether he stays longer is a subject of current negotiations between China and the zoo."
The statement on the Web site appeared to be the first public indication of talks to extend Tai Shan's stay in the United States. He was born July 9, 2005.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012602060.html


Washington zoo wants longer panda stay
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Washington's National Zoo is negotiating with China in an attempt to extend the U.S. stay of its popular baby panda, Tai Shan.
While the original agreement between the Washington facility and the Asian nation called for the panda to be sent to China when it turns 2, National Zoo officials began negotiations Friday for a longer stay, The Washington Post reported.
The baby panda was born back on July 9, 2005, and zoo officials said they expect it to remain in Washington until early fall unless negotiations progress.
Paired up with its parents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, Tai Shan quickly became one of the National Zoo's top exhibits.
Thousands of people even showed up last year at the Washington zoo to help celebrate Tai Shan's first birthday.
While Tai Shan may ultimately have to be returned this year to China, its parents will remain at the National Zoo as part of a 10-year-loan from the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
The newspaper said that loan began back in December 2000.


Saturday, January 27, 2007
More Zoo Pics
The following photos were taken during the same trip to the San Diego Zoo that generated the pictures I posted a few weeks ago; I just haven't gotten around to post these until now (as before, click the pictures for a larger copy):

http://someotherguy86.blogspot.com/2007/01/more-zoo-pics.html


Auckland Zoo
The Auckland Zoo has been going through a gradual redevelopment, creating zones where animals are kept in more natural surroundings instead of the small concrete and wire cages that were standard when the zoo first opened. This has created open habitats that are interconnect by trails and walkways for the animals of the human variety.
The major focus is now conservation, education and captive breeding programs rather than caging animals for the entertainment of people. The flamingo habitat, part of which is shown in this photo is one of the beautiful environments.

http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Oceania/New_Zealand/photo564952.htm


Zoo in Negotiations to Keep Panda Cub Beyond Two Years
The popular panda cub may be able to stay at the National Zoo longer than expected.
The zoo says it is in negotiations with China to keep Tai Shan longer than the two years they originally agreed. Zoo officials say they expect the cub will stay in Washington at least throughout the summer and early fall.
Tai Shan turns two years old on July ninth. The arrangement with China that brought pandas back to Washington states that any cub would be returned after two years to help with breeding efforts there.
But Tai Shan is still about three years from breeding age, so China may not need him immediately.
The China Wildlife Conservation Association loaned Tai Shan's parents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, to the zoo for ten years. They arrived in December 2000.


Kids paint tiles to help Detroit Zoo animals
ROYAL OAK -- Katherine Perlman believes the Detroit Zoo needs elephants and on Saturday she did her part to bring back pachyderms by drawing and painting a picture of an elephant on a ceramic tile.
"I was very upset when the elephants left," the 9-year-old West Bloomfield youth said, referring to the elephants that left the zoo for a bigger home at a California sanctuary in 2004. "I like elephants. They are big."
Katherine was among the 150 Metro Detroit youths who painted animals on tiles that will be installed on the floor of the children's clothing area at the new Nordstrom store in Twelve Oaks mall in Novi.
Parents paid $50 per child for them to participate. Nordstrom donated the $7,500 raised to the zoo. Each child painted two tiles. Nordstrom will hold the second tile, in case the first one a child painted is damaged during installation.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070127/UPDATE/701270431


Zoo Loses White Rhino
(Rochester, N.Y.) - Satchmo, one of the two white rhinos at Rochester's Seneca Park Zoo has died.
Dr. Jeff Wyatt, the zoo's director of animal health and conservation, chose to euthanize Satchmo after consulting with veterinarians and other zoo professionals. Blood tests revealed the animal had a rapidly-spreading, acute illness signaling imminent death.
Staff knew the three-year-old was seriously ill when he was not able to stand up on Wednesday.
A necropsy is being done to learn more about the illness.
The rhino's death marks the fourth death of an animal at the zoo in a year. In December, a 15-year-old sea lion died. In February, African elephant Genny C's calf died during labor. Less than one week later, Lowell, a 21-year-old male Bornean orangutan, died suddenly.
Satchmo arrived at Seneca Park Zoo last May from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. He was joined by Roscoe, from Knoxville Zoo.

http://www.13wham.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=f8dab60f-923b-4656-bee6-1853597328bf


Singapore Zoo undergoing change into a Rainforest Zoo
By David Teo, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 28 January 2007 1656 hrs
SINGAPORE: Change is in the wind for the Singapore Zoo.
It is currently undergoing a major makeover to get a lush rainforest look.
The Singapore Zoo, recognised as one of the finest in Asia, is home to more than 3,000 animals from 290 different species, ranging from gibbons and otters to tapirs and polar bears.
Since its official opening in 1973, it has been evolving - from an open viewing zoo, to a learning zoo providing an interactive and educational experience to its visitors.
Now, it wants to be the most beautiful rainforest zoo in the world.
"We're in the process of making ourselves the most beautiful rainforest zoo of the world. This entails three main elements including improving our education and training materials, our research and conservation materials and as well as providing an exceptional wildlife experience for our customers," said Fanny Lai, Executive Director, Singapore Zoo and Night Safari.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/255209/1/.html


Equine Week a Major Fundraiser for Mass. Zoo
"(Equine Week at the Zoo) has become a big promotional event for the Zoo, and a kick-start to our season opening," says The Zoo in Forest Park education director Alison Summers. The event will celebrate its fourth anniversary April 14-22, 2007, at the Zoo in Forest Park, in Springfield, Mass.
"This is an exhibition, as well as an educational event," Summers said.
The event is presented in collaboration with Massachusetts Horse magazine. The magazine has worked with the zoo to present Equine Week since 2004.
"The idea, in keeping with the mission of the Zoo, is to exhibit the wide variety in equines, and display the abilities and specialties of each breed using periodic demonstrations throughout the day," said L.A. Pomeroy of Massachusetts Horse. "We appreciate the opportunity such an event presents its horse community to showcase their breeds and educate zoo visitors, many of whom may be experiencing horses for the first time."
Equine Week at The Zoo in Forest Park promotes public awareness and appreciation for animals of all kinds, including a variety of horse and pony breeds and their distinguishing qualities. Among this year's featured breeds are Mammoth Jackstock and Norwegian Fjords, and the Zoo debut of a new zebra colt. Daily demonstrations will include children's crafts and face painting, riding and driving performances, and grooming, show braiding, and hoof trimming.
The event is also a powerful fundraiser for the nonprofit zoo, contributing more than $30,000 to the annual budget to care for its many animals, from leopards and mountain lions, to lemurs and a new pair of young wolves. For more information on participation or sponsorship of Equine Week at The Zoo in Forest Park, click


Japan's second oldest elephant in captivity dies after falling over at zoo
SAPPORO -- A 60-year-old elephant at Sapporo Maruyama Zoo, the second oldest kept in captivity in Japan, died on Sunday, officials said.
Hanako had been healthy until Saturday but suddenly died when she lost her balance and fell over, apparently squashing her internal organs.
Hanako had been popular with visitors to the zoo since her arrival in July 1953. In 1999, Hanako briefly refused to eat following the death of an elephant at the zoo. But she eventually recovered and was the sole elephant at the zoo.
"I expected her to live for several more years," a keeper said. "It's regrettable that the zoo lost its last elephant." (Mainichi)

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070129p2a00m0na001000c.html


Female vulture flees the coop at Dallas Zoo
DALLAS — A large African white-backed vulture is on the lam from the Dallas Zoo after escaping its cage over the weekend.
According to a report on Fox, the bird was last seen flying south of the zoo.
Zoo officials assure that the bird is not dangerous to humans or pets, as it is a scavenger and not a bird of prey.
A curator at the zoo suggested that the bird will perch on a high tree or power line, and to keep on the look-out for a gray bird with white feathers on the neck and a big black beak. Got that: white feathers on the neck, big black beak.

http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2007/jan/28/female-vulture-flees-coop-dallas-zoo/


Night goggles and 24-hour pools:
This is no zoo field trip
By EILEEN OGINTZ
Tribune Media Services
It's nearly midnight and the kids aren't even thinking about going to bed. I'm not making them, either.
What's vacation for, anyway, if we can't bend the rules a little (or a lot). We're in the huge pool at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom Lodge, along with at least 50 other laughing, shrieking kids and their parents.
Welcome to the best part (at least from the kids' perspective) of staying at a Walt Disney World hotel: pools that are open 24/7, though the lifeguards leave after 10 p.m.
I have to agree with my young traveling companions from Connecticut - my cousin's son, 10-year-old Max Weinberg, and his buddy, Jackson Solis, also 10. They're convinced there's no better way than jumping in the pool (again and again) to end a long day touring the theme parks - in our case, the nearby Animal Kingdom.
Open since 1998, Animal Kingdom isn't usually kids' first pick when they get to Mouseville. After all, they can see a lot of animals in a zoo at home, they say.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/travel/4505670.html


Sequoia Park Zoo reaches centennial
by Laura Provolt, 1/29/2007
The Sequoia Park Zoo will be celebrating 100 years of operation throughout this year.
Zoo curator and supervisor Gretchen Ziegler said that while very few official records have been kept throughout the years of the zoo’s operation, zoo employees believe the zoo was established in 1907, though it is unknown who founded the zoo or how large it was.
Throughout 2007, Ziegler said, the Sequoia Park Zoo staff will be conducting research and is asking members of the community to contribute any pictures, documentation or memories of the zoo’s history. She said the zoo foundation is asking for volunteers to come forward who would be interested in helping the zoo staff complete the research.

http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=19910


Zoo enlists wines for wild time
BY JIM KNIPPENBERG | JKNIPPENBERG@ENQUIRER.COM
It just makes sense: If you're going to go wild about wine, it might as well be somewhere that you'll be surrounded by wildlife, Right?
Right, says Allison Chandler, stewardship director at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. Right now, she's busy chilling bottles and lining up corkscrews for Wild About Wine, a series of four tastings the zoo inaugurated last year and continues this year, starting Feb. 15.
Set in a variety of locations around the grounds, Wild is a fundraiser for the Lindner Center for Conservation & Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) and generally features four reds and four whites, munchies, animal encounters, tours and silent auctions, and a bit of a wine education.

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070129/LIFE01/701290303/-1/CINCI


Tijuana Zoo will spread its wings
By Anna Cearley
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 29, 2007
TIJUANA – This city's zoo in Morelos Park has come a long way since its start as a repository for exotic animals confiscated by border authorities.
Tijuana Mayor Jorge Hank Rhon inaugurated the zoo's new black bear exhibit last week, an outdoor space with a waterfall and a cavelike design meant to replicate the animal's natural habitat.
It's the first phase of the zoo's $180,000 improvement plan, which is expected to be completed this summer. The plan will include specially designed areas to showcase animals indigenous to Mexico.
Support for the zoo comes from the top. The mayor – who has his own private zoo on the grounds of the Caliente racetrack – is donating animals for the new exhibits.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20070129-9999-1m29zoo.html


Pregnant elephant at zoo
CELEBRATIONS have been in order at Colchester Zoo after one of the elephants has fallen pregnant.
It was on January 17 that Colchester Zopo discovered Zola was pregnant after tests were carried out by the German Primate Research Centre in Gottingen.
A zoo spokeswoman said: “Keepers at Colchester Zoo were confident that she was indeed pregnant as she had not been in oestrus for some months.
“A birth date is not yet known, however from several observed matings keepers at Colchester Zoo expect it to be around February or March 2008.”
Near to the expected date, blood samples will be submitted to a UK lab in order to check Zola's progesterone levels and this information will narrow down the birth date to within a few days.


Keepers will closely monitor Zola as this is her second pregnancy.
Unfortunately, although reaching full term with her previous calf, Zola shut her birthing process down and retained the calf so it could not be born alive. Although this is not common it is something that elephants are able to do.

http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/content/eveningstar/news/story.aspx?brand=ESTOnline&category=News&tBrand=ESTOnline&tCategory=News&itemid=IPED29%20Jan%202007%2014%3A18%3A05%3A747


Talent Zoo is looking for an office manager to help take Talent Zoo to the next level.
Our office manager would be responsible for the following tasks:
• Ordering and upkeep of all office supplies
• Managing phone system
• Assisting Marketing Department with various projects
• Assisting Sales teams with research and other projects as needed
• Managing multiple vendor relations
• Assisting CEO and Executive Assistant with various tasks and planning activities
• Delivery, pick up and distribution of all mail, newspapers, magazines, etc
• Document Inventory
• Maintaining office cleanliness and organization
• Greeting and welcoming all Talent Zoo visitors (minimal)
• Other duties as assigned
About Talent Zoo
With 10 years providing hiring solutions to the nation's most successful advertising and communications companies, Talent Zoo is at the top of its game, winning many awards including Forbes Magazine's "Best of the Web."
Talent Zoo has grown from a one-man, one-room recruiting operation to a multi-media, multi-million dollar hiring solutions maverick.
With a casual dress code, XM radio throughout, and a pet-friendly office as well as a solid traditional benefits package, Talent Zoo provides a fun and challenging environment for its employees. For more information on our departments and corporate culture, as well as to learn why the Atlanta Business Chronicle recently named us one of the “Top 10 Places to Work in Atlanta”, visit our site.

http://www.talentzoo.com/spots/59229/3f2db85d6a954080b58523e502a2d51d.aspx


Bembo’s Zoo
http://www.bemboszoo.com/Bembo.swf

AND

http://www.poissonrouge.com/abc/index.htm

I found these two above links very entertaining and a truly wonderful place for young internet users to learn all kinds of basic skills. The creator is extremely talented and makes wonderful use of the technology. Try it, it's fun and then sit the kids at the computer while you observe their delight in playing with concepts that teach in very entertaining ways.

Man held for trying to bribe zoo official
Web posted at: 1/30/2007 1:12:50
Source ::: The Peninsula
doha • A supplier of food for the animals at Doha Zoo was arrested by police after he was caught trying to bribe a zoo official.
The contract between the supplier and the zoo called for the former to provide 1,500 kg of food per day for the animals but he was providing far less than the agreed amount.
When the zoo official, the in-charge of charge of food supplies, caught the supplier out, he was offered a bribe which was turned down.
Undeterred, the supplier came back a second time and offered a larger amount to ensure the zoo official's silence. The supplier was turned down again.
The official then spoke to his colleagues who suggested he talk to the zoo management and the police in order to catch the supplier in the act, an Arabic daily said.
When the supplier came around a third time and handed over a bundle of bank notes to the official, police swooped and hauled him off to jail.
The case has been referred to the Public Prosecution who have already taken statements from witnesses.


Zoo expects crowded house for Tim Finn concert
Tuesday, 30 January 2007, 12:05 pm
Press Release: Auckland City Council
30 January 2007
Zoo expects crowded house for Tim Finn concert
Auckland Zoo invites Finn fans to enter Tim Finn's own Imaginary Kingdom when he takes to the stage for an expected sell-out concert at Wild Bean Cafe ZooMusic on Saturday, 10 February (6pm - 9pm).
Tim Finn is one of New Zealand's most well-known and respected musical talents. A member of both Split Enz and Crowded House, he has also enjoyed a very successful solo career, as well as joining forces with brother Neil for strong collaborative efforts like 2004's Everyone is Here album.
Creator of "I Hope I Never" (Split Enz), and co-writer of 'Weather with You' and "Four Seasons in One Day" (Crowded House), as a solo artist, he is also well known for "Fraction Too Much Friction" and "Couldn't Be Done" from his latest solo album, Imaginary Kingdom. Tim Finn will perform songs from this latest offering, along with classic tunes. He will be supported by up-and-coming talent Chris Sanders with Rikki Morris, and the award-winning Sarah Brown.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0701/S00187.htm


RARE BIRD LEAVING RIVERSIDE ZOO
1/25/2007 - 02:31:17 PM
SHYLOCK IS ONE OF ONLY 47 CINEREOUS VULTURES IN CAPTIVITY IN NORTH AMERICA AND ONLY ONE OF ABOUT 42–HUNDRED BELIEVED TO EXIST ON THE PLANET. THE 38– YEAR–OLD BIRD LEFT RIVERSIDE ZOO IN SCOTTSBLUFF WEDNESDAY BOUND FOR A ZOO IN MANHATTAN, KANSAS FOR WHAT MAY BE HIS LAST CHANCE AT MATING.

OFFICIALS SAY BREEDING PROGRAMS FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO ALL ZOOS. "THEY TRY AND MANAGE THE ANIMALS SO THEY CAN SEE THAT THEY'LL HAVE ANIMALS IN 100 YEARS," SAYS ZOO SPECIALIST JOE CLAWSON. " SO IT'S IMPORTANT THEY GET ANIMALS LIKE THIS BREEDING. THEN AGAIN, IF THE NEED OR THE CHANCE ARISES, ZOOS WILL RETURN ANIMALS TO THE WILD."

SHYLOCK SUCESSFULLY RAISED A CHICK IN 1998 AFTER HIS MATE BECAME CONFUSED AND ATTEMPTED TO KILL THEIR OFFSPRING. TWO YOUNG FEMALE VULTURES HAVE BEEN SENT TO RIVERSIDE ZOO AS REPLACEMENTS FOR SHYLOCK… AFTER FIVE YEARS OF SOCIALIZATION THEY, TOO, WILL ENTER THE BREEDING PROGRAM.


ZILCH FOR ZOO?
If zoo doesn't get $12M in state aid, it faces cutbacks and more fundraising
Maureen Feighan / The Detroit News
ROYAL OAK -- Detroit Zoo officials are looking for $12 million from the cash-strapped state, warning that they would have to consider raising prices, cutting back hours or going into debt if the money isn't forthcoming.
The zoo's request is $8 million more than it received from the state last year, and the state is facing its own financial troubles: an $800 million budget shortfall. Some state lawmakers say the money's just not there, no matter how beloved the zoo is.
"Who's got $12 million?" asked Rep. Chuck Moss, R-Birmingham. "I love the zoo, but we don't have $12 million of our own. We're $800 million in the hole. Who else gets cut? Do we cut money to schools? Or health care? Or corrections?"
The zoo also is sounding out officials on a proposal for a regional zoo tax that would go before the voters in 2008.
Leo Price of Livonia thinks lawmakers often squander money. Subsidizing the zoo would be a worthwhile expense, he said.
"I would want to see some assistance to the zoo," said Price, 81, an amateur photographer who visited last week to take some shots of the Siberian tigers and snow monkeys. "More people enjoy that than some of the other things they pinch pennies on."

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070130/METRO/701300369/1009/METRO02


Barbaro’s Desperate Fight for Life Gripped a Nation in Anguish
By HARVEY ARATON
We fretted over this horse as if we all had a piece of him. The news media covered him like a saddle, from the moments after he shattered his right hind leg last spring in the Preakness Stakes. The country seemed to pause for reflection, and in many cases for prayer, with every bulletin from Kennett Square, Pa., where Barbaro was nursed for the past eight months and was finally euthanized yesterday in a medical surrender to the harsh realities of thoroughbred racing.
Through it all, there has been this little voice in the back of my head wanting to know why.
Why this national obsession — and, forgive me, but I don’t quite know any other way to put it — with a horse?
Granted, not just any horse. Barbaro was an unbeaten champion, runaway winner of the Kentucky Derby on that sacred first Saturday of May.
It takes two minutes for the Derby to do what “American Idol” needs an entire television season for: to anoint an unknown. As always, there were more than a few contenders at Churchill Downs last spring, horses bred for greatness, unwittingly attached to tales of human frailty.
Like Barbaro’s trainer, Michael Matz, who had survived a plane crash and rescued three children in the process, Dan Hendricks was a compelling story. After a motocross accident in July 2004 that left him with a crushed vertebra, paralyzed below the waist, believing his career was over, Hendricks had made it to the Derby for the first time, training one of the favorites, Brother Derek.
With his three sons and a few reporters crowded around his wheelchair, Hendricks watched the race take shape on a small television in the tunnel connecting the paddock and the track. Naturally, Hendricks, the professional, recognized greatness first. He knew before the rest of us when the race was unofficially over.
“He’s running lights out,” he said when the leader, Barbaro, the horse Brother Derek had shared a barn with, the opponent Hendricks had said he most feared, emerged.
But what if Brother Derek or another horse had won, if Barbaro had broken down in the Preakness after finishing tied for fourth in the Derby, as did Brother Derek? Would our hearts have gone out to an also-ran? If the answer is no, should we be proud of the fact that we worship and worry about winners more and especially those who have risen to the most venerated of occasions?
We cast them as special and then indulge ourselves in ascribing qualities to them that we wish for the gifted and talented to have. Thus, the often-reported mantra these past few months that Barbaro was staging a brave battle to live, outrunning the prohibitive odds against survival.
Did we really know that? Or was it more a case of the owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, needing to believe it so they could continue investing — emotionally and financially — in this animal that had given them so much?
“We just reached a point where it was going to be difficult for him to go on without pain,” Roy Jackson said yesterday after the announcement. “It was the right decision, it was the right thing to do.”
We didn’t need a pet, much less a terminally ill one, to ache for the Jacksons, in the way we would for a pedestrian run over a few feet ahead of us in the street. Millions tuned in to watch Barbaro go for the second leg of the Triple Crown, and instead we were forced to ponder the illusory notion of control or, worse, the random fragility of life.
It’s been a while — not counting Seabiscuit’s popular comeback in print and film — since a racehorse galloped its way deep into the American psyche. If Seabiscuit was the proletariat’s four-legged champion of the Great Depression, Barbaro’s tragedy on the racetrack and months of struggle might have been steeped in symbolism as well.
Maybe Barbaro, as the fallen champion, was reminiscent of a country that was seriously wounded on 9/11 and has been wobbly ever since. Maybe the horse’s medical roller coaster struck a chord at a time when a great American city, ravaged by nature and neglect, still can’t stand up. Maybe only in such context can we rationalize such widespread passion for the health of a horse that has exceeded that for any single American soldier killed or wounded in Iraq.
If you asked yourself any of these questions even as you read every twist and turn to the Barbaro story, you weren’t alone. Why did we care, or care that much? Was it an example of sports at its best, serving as a metaphor for life? Hard to say for sure, only to acknowledge that until the news broke yesterday that Barbaro was free of his burden, there was this inescapable feeling that — to borrow from Roy Jackson — it was the right thing to do.
E-mail: hjaraton@nytimes.com

http://select.nytimes.com/2007/01/30/sports/othersports/30araton.html?_r=1&oref=login


Dog is feeding tiger cubs at the zoo of Rio De Janeiro
There has appeared surrogate mother to the tiger cubs at the zoo of Rio De Janeiro. They were taken to the dog to feed them after tigress showed aggression towards the cubs.
According to the statement of veterinarians, the dog takes care of the tiger cubs and feeds them as well as her own puppies.
Administration of the zoo states, that this has been the first case when the quantity of visitors has increased because of this event.

http://www.imedinews.ge/en/news_read/18149


Jaguar Babies Born in Rostock Zoo
The Rostock Zoo on Germany's Baltic coast has three new additions to its collection -- tiny jaguar triplets.
Rostock Zoo on Germany's Baltic Sea coast is celebrating its first jaguar offspring in six years. The cute triplets, which were born on the evening of Dec. 16 and the following morning, are six weeks old and are now on show to the public, according to the zoo's Web site.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,463161,00.html


Mini-horse a special helper for blind woman
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
January 28, 2007
BETHLEHEM, New York (AP) - Panda is everything you would want in a pet and guide animal for the blind _ protective, alert, house-trained, plus she loves to play fetch. And at 29 inches (74 centimeters) tall and 120 pounds (54 kilograms), she's a darn small horse.
Panda, named for her black-and-white coat, is a miniature guide horse that has helped 58-year-old Ann Edie navigate the world of city streets and country lanes since 2003.
"Panda loves her work," said Edie, a special education teacher. "She knows what she's supposed to do. When I pick up the harness, I get the feeling from her of, 'I'm ready for anything. Let's go have fun.'"
When Edie's chocolate Labrador helper Bailey died after 10 years on the job, she tried out two other dogs before learning about guide horses in 2000.
Although she appreciates the attributes that dogs bring to guide work, Edie said she is sold on the mini-horses.

http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/56054.html


Hungary: World's first rhino born by artificial insemination at Budapest Zoo
BUDAPEST, Hungary: The world's first rhino conceived by artificial insemination has been born at Budapest Zoo, officials said in a statement on Wednesday.
The female baby rhino, born at 5:55 p.m. (1655GMT) on Tuesday, weighed in at 58 kilograms (128 lbs).
"The little one seemed active and vital. An hour after being born it stood up on its own legs," the statement said.
The baby rhino has yet to be named, said zoo spokesman Zoltan Hanga, who added the zoo hoped to find a sponsor for her.
The mother, 26-year-old Lulu, had failed to conceive naturally, even when put with a male rhino named Easyboy. A group of international veterinarians from Germany, Austria and Hungary started in-vitro fertilization and she finally became pregnant in 2005.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/24/europe/EU-GEN-Hungary-Baby-Rhino.php


Russian zoo animals mate early in steamy winter heat
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Animals at a Russian zoo have started mating early this year because of steamy temperatures in the warmest Russian winter for a generation, zoo officials said on Wednesday.
Temperatures have recently fallen to more arctic norms, but the unusual heat allowed pumas and camels to shrug off the winter blues and start frolicking early.
"Some animals have started their mating season early this year because of the warm winter," Maxim Kozlov, the curator at Ivanovo Zoo, northeast of Moscow, told Reuters by telephone.
Russia's spectacular winters came to an end this year in European Russia with little snow and temperatures so warm that animals -- and many Russians -- were left wondering what to do.
"We are awaiting offspring from the lynxes and camels. Pumas can breed all year but usually in winter they slow down -- this year because of the warm weather we will see Puma 'kittens' two months early," Kozlov said.
European parts of Russia have seen the warmest winter since records began in 1879 though temperatures have recently fallen to minus 8 degrees Celsius in Moscow.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?storyid=2007-01-24T153147Z_01_L24909275_RTRIDST_0_OUKOE-UK-RUSSIA-WEATHER-ZOO.XML&type=oddlyEnoughNews&WTmodLoc=Oddly+Enough-C3-More-2


Charges against Greater Vancouver Zoo dropped
January 24, 2007 - 10:24 am
By: Nicole McCormick
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - The Greater Vancouver Zoo will apparently escape prosecution on animal cruelty charges. The BC Criminal Justice Branch has decided to stay charges over the zoo's treatment of Hazina the hippo. The Crown says it's no longer in the public interest because the hippo is now in a new enclosure that complies with SPCA requirements. The SPCA says it is bitterly disappointed by the decision, noting Hazina had been kept in substandard conditions for 19 months.

http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20070124_080031_4924


Brantley Lake, Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Parks Closed Due to Winter Storm
CARLSBAD, NM - New Mexico State Parks has temporarily closed both Brantley Lake State Park and nearby Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park - both located in Carlsbad (Eddy County) — until further notice due to hazardous road conditions resulting from a blast of winter weather.
“This is one of the first times we’ve had to close these parks simultaneously because of heavy snow conditions in Carlsbad,” said Dave Simon, State Parks Director. “But, as with all our parks, the safety of our visitors and staff come first.”
On Tuesday, January 23, the National Weather Service issued a heavy snow warning for Eddy County until 2:00 p.m. due to snowfall measuring at least four inches. Travel is discouraged, as road conditions are treacherous. The city of Carlsbad typically averages less than two inches of snowfall in the month of January.
Both parks will be closed as conditions persist. Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park is on the northwest edge of Carlsbad off US 285. Brantley Lake State Park is located 12 miles north of Carlsbad via US 285, then 4.5 miles northeast on Eddy County Road 30.
For more information, call (505) 660-7017 log onto www.nmparks.com.


Zoo auctioning five slots for Zoo Run Run 5K trek on eBay
SUZANNE NORMAND BLACKWOOD
The Zoo Run Run, a 5K trek through the Nashville Zoo created to help raise funds for zoo operations, is sold out.
But anyone interested in running still has a chance to participate. Five Zoo Run Run registrations are now available for auction on eBay.

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070124/COUNTY0104/70124023


Infection kills 4 kangaroos at zoo; 8 bouncing back
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News franklin@gulfbreezenews.com
ZOO officials are starting 2007 without four of their Australian marsupials. Three kangaroos died within 48 hours in late December from a nasty bacterial infection. A fourth was eventually put to sleep after its immune system failed to respond positively to antibiotics.
"Along with the happy stories, life-science education must also embrace real-world events including injury, disease and death which we all face," The ZOO's marketing director Natalie Akin wrote in a press release. "As with dogs, cats and other domestic animals, wild animals can get sick too. Sometimes disease hits fast and hard!"
The ZOO's Veterinarian, Gus Mueller DVM, said the responsible pathogenic bacterium was of the genus Pseudomonas. Mueller said the bacteria is fairly common and that species from the Australian continent often develop weaker immune systems as a result of their isolated environment.

http://www.gulfbreezenews.com/news/2007/0125/Front_Page/002.html


$4 million bond means lower interest rates for next big exhibit
By DEEDEE CORRELL
THE GAZETTE
FOUNTAIN - Moose, grizzly bears and lynx don’t come cheap.
The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s next major exhibit on Rocky Mountain wildlife will cost $8.2 million — a bill the city of Fountain will make a little easier to pay.
City leaders agreed this week to issue a $4 million bond on behalf of the zoo, a move that won’t obligate the city financially but will allow the nonprofit zoo to secure the bonds at lower interest rates available to municipalities.
“It’s our way of showing support for a regional asset,” acting City Manager Dave Smedsrud said. “If it helps the zoo grow and become more successful, then it’s
a worthwhile effort.”
The city bears no responsibility if the zoo defaults on its payments, said Fred Marienthal, a bond attorney for the city.
The zoo would pay all associated costs and give the city a “nominal” fee, the amount of which has yet to be determined.

http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1329216&secid=1


Coins Pose Risk For Denver Zoo Penguins
(CBS4) DENVER It seems to be all about penguins at the Denver Zoo these days. In addition to keeping an eye on baby African penguin, vets have also had to spend some time removing coins from a Humboldt penguin's stomach.
Zoo officials say sometimes visitors mistake the two penguin pools and other animal pools for wishing wells and throw coins into the water.
"This is a common problem for penguins at the Denver Zoo," said associate veterinarian Dr. Felicia Knightly in a written release. "Penguins cannot tell the difference between the shiny, metallic coins at the bottom of the pool and fish."
That means the penguins frequently swallow coins thinking they are actually food.

http://cbs4denver.com/pets/local_story_025164848.html


Kiwi The Stars Of Zoo’s Waitangi Day Celebrations
Friday, 26 January 2007, 11:43 am
Press Release: Auckland City Council
Kiwi The Stars Of Zoo’s Waitangi Day Celebrations
New Zealand’s national bird will share the limelight with visitors at Auckland Zoo’s Kiwi and Kids event on Tuesday, 6 February (10am to 2pm) to celebrate Waitangi Day.
The zoo is inviting visitors to mark New Zealand’s national day by learning about how they can personally make a difference towards helping save the kiwi, along with celebrating its uniqueness, and taking part in some fun activities. The iconic flightless kiwi, which the vast majority of "Kiwi" homo sapiens have never seen in the wild or captivity, once roamed New Zealand in millions, but is today an endangered species. Just five per cent of chicks hatched in the wild survive to adulthood - mainly due to introduced predators such as stoats and dogs.
A special raffle to raise funds for the Bank of New Zealand's Save the Kiwi's Operation Nest Egg programme will see one lucky family win the exclusive opportunity to go behind the scenes to see kiwi chicks being reared at the zoo's New Zealand Fauna Conservation Centre. Second prize will see a family win tickets to the Anika Moa Wild Bean Café ZooMusic concert on 24 February (also helping to raise awareness and funds for the kiwi) and Bank of New Zealand "Kiwi chicks rock" t-shirts.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0701/S00156.htm


All Weather Amphitheatre for Wellington Zoo
Friday, 26 January 2007, 3:55 pm
Press Release: Wellington Zoo
All Weather Amphitheatre for Wellington Zoo
Construction on Wellington Zoo’s new all-weather amphitheatre, which will replace the Zoo’s iconic large concrete steps, begins Monday 29 January, Zoo CEO Karen Fifield announced today.
“The amphitheatre will be situated in the middle of the Zoo, and will take up the space where the large steps and the old enclosures opposite – which were historically used to house big cats – are now. It is the first project of the Zoo’s 10 year capital development plan, supported by Wellington City Council.”
“We’re really excited about the amphitheatre and the opportunity it gives us to present our visitors with the chance to get up close to, and interact with, a variety of animals,” said Karen.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0701/S00165.htm


HICCUP MONKEY ABANDONED
A BABY monkey in a zoo has been rejected by her mother - because of her chronic hiccups.
Zoo staff have even named the tiny colobus monkey Sokojoo which means hiccup in the Gambian language Mandinka.
The three-week-old African monkey has been hiccuping after every milk feed since birth.
The noise was so bad her mother Sierra refused to feed her and began sitting on top of her - a sign of rejection. Nine-inch long Sokojoo was removed from her enclosure at Newquay Zoo in Cornwall and is now being bottle-fed by keepers.
The tot is still hiccuping but it is hoped this will stop after weaning. Staff plan to reintroduce her to the other black and white colobus monkeys in three months.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_headline=hiccup-monkey-abandoned-&method=full&objectid=18532912&siteid=66633-name_page.html


SeaWorld killer whale stunt injures trainer
A killer whale injured a trainer when he grabbed the man and pinned him to the bottom of an exhibition tank during a show at San Diego's SeaWorld Adventure Park.
San Diego paramedics said they took the 33-year-old trainer to hospital with unspecified injuries after the incident yesterday.
It was witnessed by about 200 spectators at the daily Shamu show which features captive whales performing acrobatic stunts with trainers riding on their noses and backs.
One member of the audience told reporters the trainer was conscious but pale when he finally surfaced from the bottom of the exhibition tank and the legs of his wetsuit were torn.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/12/01/1164777754710.html


SeaWorld to investigate whale attack
The probe will examine the animal's behavior before it injured a longtime trainer.
By Tony Perry, Times Staff Writer
December 1, 2006
SAN DIEGO — Officials at SeaWorld Adventure Park ordered a "complete" investigation Thursday into why a 5,000-pound killer whale injured a veteran trainer and dragged him to the bottom of a 36-foot-deep pool at Shamu Stadium.
Even as he was being held underwater Wednesday, the trainer, Ken Peters, 39, persuaded Kasatka to free his foot from her mouth by stroking her back.
As several hundred horrified patrons watched, Peters swam to the top of the pool. He was taken to UC San Diego Medical Center, where he is being treated for a broken left foot.
The show, "Believe," resumed Thursday, but no trainers approached Kasatka or any of the other killer whales.
Kasatka has been at SeaWorld for 25 years. Two of her offspring are among the park's seven killer whales.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-seaworld1dec01,0,3902295.story

 

The Antarctica Wind Chime 

 

The Antarctica Peninsula  

Click on to animate

  

The Blue Ice is colder, but, the rest of the continent is very warm.

Vostak is coldest at -27 Fahrenheit / 33 degrees Celcius. (click on) The humidity is 44% with virtually little wind at 6 mph / 9 km/h. Conditions over the Blue Ice are clear.

When looking to the lower altitudes of Antarctica there is cloud cover and rain. The temperatures are much higher and the only place where there are any kind of significant winds are in the colder temperate areas, such as Davis 76.05S 65.02E, Antarctica where winds are upto 22 mph / 35 km/h out of the southeast. The reason the winds are higher there is because the hotter air is moving into the colder region at an elevation of 7680 feet / 2343 meters.

The warmest regions are also the lower elevations of 63 feet / 19 meters at Williams Field, Antarctica the temperature is 30.2 Fahrenheit / - 1.0 Celcius. On the peninsula is the warmest of all the regions where Base San Martin is 41 degrees Fahrenheit / 5 degrees Celcius. The peninsula is nearly sea level but with even higher latitudes. The peninsula is effected by sea temperatures as it is only a small strip of land surrounded by Anarctic waters.

Of course the lower elevations also coincide with higher latitudes. So the area at the Very South Pole is the coldest and highest in elevation.

Williams Field is the airfield for McMurdo Station (click on). If one notes the map, McMurdo Stations is not only a higher latitude than the south pole, but, also near the sea. The warmth is from the sea surrounding Antarctica called "The East Wind Drift" (click on). That is significant. The waters surrounding the ice continent are far warmer than they should ever be.

The weather in Antarctica is (Crystal Ice Chime) temperate:

  

The Webcam at Scott Base, New Zealand, Antarctica

  

Morning Papers - concluded

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

Temperature - 34 °F / 1 °C

Conditions - Overcast

Humidity - 81%

Dew Point - 28 degrees Fahrenheit / -2 degrees Celcius

Wind - 6 mph / 9 km/h / 2.6 m/s from the Northwest

Pressure - 30.42 inches / 1030 hPa

Windchill - 29 degrees Fahrenheit / -2 degrees Celcius

Visibility - 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers

UV - 0 out of 16

Clouds - Few 200 feet / 60 meters
Overcast 1300 feet / 396 meters
(Above Ground Level)

Time is of the essence. Don't blame the docs. They rose to the occassion

 

Dr. Ellis whom was to oversee the short duration treatment of the second tumor with a single blast of Gamma Knife has called Patricia at least seven times seeking her cooperation. She isn't going to give it to him. She doesn't apply credibility to any of this mess.

I was able to facilitate a 'second opinion' from a past surgeon, Dr. Janet Bay of Riverside Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Bay was the woman that saved Patricia from 'traditional' thoughts regarding astrocytomas. Dr. Bay provided Patricia with a quality of life that now the legal society of North Carolina has failed to uphold in the face of a challenge that would require them to find compassion through law.

For those interested.

Patricia does not want her teeth pulled out of her head. She wants dental work. She has the monies to pay for any dental work she wants. She is not a 'charity' case in the face of Medicare only possiblities. I also find the 'attitude' surrounding her care completely repulsive. If this is the type of attitude the elderly and disabled face in this country than it's very poor care indeed.

Patricia needs to be saved from herself. Her name is Patricia Zambo and there sits somewhere in the office of the North Carolina Attorney Generals Office an envelope containing information from me regarding the vulnerabilities of her decisions and the failings of parents now estranged from their daughter. I opened the hand written letter with the words, "Please save my sister's life." Her father is so out of touch with her needs that he is no longer 'fit' to be her limited guardian.

There is no sense of having guardians that simply wait for the end to come to 'cash in' on monies held in trust for the care of those needing vigilance.

Patricia will cooperate with care when she is made to cooperate. She does not believe she is going to die. She thinks in complete dysfunction of her personality disorder that everyone is being paid off by those now in control of her money. She is a mess.

I have come forth to all parties including our parents, the youngest sibling of this group, Judith whom is a traffic court hearing officer in North Carolina and considered the 'golden haired girl' by parents that deserved at least one daughter truly in PERFECT condition for their 'putting up' with their other two autonomous and liberated daughters.

I have called Ms. Brinkey and while I expected her to be interested in all I had to say now as she did last year, her statement to me was, "I am Tom Zambo's attorney." She dismissed me and all I had to say as easy as the bad weather report on the AM news.

I appealed to local magistrate offices only to have them tell me that Mr. Zambo was to come forward for assistance.

I have talked to police officers whom were called when I insisted on being understood by Mr. Zambo. Their advise was to get copies of the proceedings from Clerk of the Courts and seek legal advocacy.

That is what I did.

I gave up on my family to love their difficult daughters enough. I went to the public records department, got copies of the legal record where the decision was rendered and sent every thing I could come up with including an extensive letter to the State Attorney General.

I don't care what happens to others of my family that see 'an end' as a fiscal reward to negligence and lack of compassion. I want Patricia to have longevity.

My last statement to the State Attorney General of North Carolina in my letter was, "...today at UNC-Chapel Hill they are infusing 'biologicals' (a genetic medicine product) on Step Down Units to prevent lung transplant rejection. That was not a reality a few short months ago. I don't know what the future for Patricia is. The Gamma Knife treatment will provide years if not a decade or more of time to her life and in that time there may be a complete cure for her current malady. But, unless we act to protect her now, that reality will never be hers.

I would never have gone to this exteme if it were not needed. Pat needs to be reevaluated by Drs. Wilson and Ellis at Baptist/Wake Forest Medical Center which was recommended by Dr. Janet Bay. She needs treatment for her tumor, she needs dental work and she needs the dignity of her life returned to her.

Patricia is Roman Catholic and attends as regularly as she can, St. Paul's in Greensboro. If Patricia's remaining coarse in life is death, then she needs to go to Rome at least once in her life and 'kick ass' with the Pope for the remaining days of her life if it can be arranged. But, to allow her to innocently deteriorate in an efficiency at a Suburban Extended Stay until she dies is a complete travesty of law, society and 'so called' compassion that no one ever thought would result to a woman that lived upto every expectation of American standards of success.

Stereotypes in any society are dangerous mired with pitfalls. Patricia and her misguided 'social angles' are proof of same.

Hired hero to the rescue.

 

North Carolina has many stereotypes. At any point in time all one has to do is reach into a magician's hat of identities and come up with one that will work for the occassion.

Enter the scene, a North Carolina attorney called Kathleen Brinkey. Last year, with Patricia now completely estranged from the family, her doctors and basically society living in a one room efficiency at The Suburban Extended Stay; Ms. Brinkey found herself seeking permission to venture into Patricia's privacy by taking control of what might be left of her financial affairs.

Do to complete cooperation of all family members, a Limited Guardianship was afforded Patricia's father. He would be the one that would see to her well being and the 'trust fund' that remained of her monies. At the time of the proceedings there was found approximately $77,000 given a couple thousand. It was in firms that continued to manage those funds according to the instructions of a woman determined to live a life she was accustomed to, but, at the same time those instructions did not reflect vigilance so much as negligence. Pat had done well. The funds were on the verge of being handed over to the state in lack of contact by it's owner.

As Dad had now the clout to take her back to her doctors, a second tumor was found behind her right ear. She had issues with eyesight that was cleared up with corrective lens. She had dental issues.

Something happened to the 'care' of Patricia. It became less than she ever demanded for herself and she turned away from her 'caregivers.' She felt abused by the decisions of a man that took advise from people less loving of Patricia than I to protect himself from being the one to blame if anything 'went wrong.' Due to that 'attitude' he fell into guardianship of ONLY her monies without even contact with Patty. The relationship with her caregivers diminished in short order and the Schizoid Personality Disorder became a huge wedge to the credibility of her new diagnosis and her consent to care.

Because of Patricia's estrangement from care as she did not 'want to know if it was a cancer' her survival came into question. As the chances of her overcoming even another tumor became less and less due to neglect associated with time her parents turned to the monies left as comfort to an end of her life.

Pitiful is not a word to describe the circumstances of this travesty of the North Carolina legal system. Left out of the provisions to ? protect ? Patricia was a small clause that only someone really dedicated to the real purpose of the litigation would have come up with: 'Clause Infinitem: Should Patricia's wellness ever come into question as to the appropriate outcome due to issues of the tumor as it impacts on her cognitive ability another proceedings will automatically ensue to insure her well being above all other interests.' 

The words of the tumor came in an unexpected way.

"Your daughter has been evicted from her apartment and we wanted the family to have a chance to pack her apartment before we allow the sherriff to take control of the premises. Patricia is at The Good Shepard Homeless Shelter."

Oops. What happened to Pat?

Over the years, and due to a hyperviligance of her parents; Patricia had developed a bit of a "Schizoid" personality disorder. The only way she never heard the words of her tumor was to estrange herself from the people more obsessed with it's presence. To Pat the tumor was conqured and only a remnant of a struggle to maintain her autonomy. Her worst nightmare was waking from any surgery and realizing she would forever live with attendants at a living facility somewhere watching soap operas from morning to night.

When I went to Patty at the Good Shepard my first words to her were, "You having a good time?"

She told me to get lost and if I wanted to help to find out who stole all her money.

No one had stolen her money. She was a brillant accountant and survivor. While still 'with it' she set up accounts with brokerage firms and banks to take care of her bills automatically. Due to that many of her accounts had succumbed to dwindling funds due to lack of vigilance by her keen mind. Over the years the tumor which never spoke louder found comfort in diminished capacity but never daughted the habits of 'the fashion bug.' Her monies had succumbed to good planning of a brilliant survival strategist to the extent she thought someone had stolen everything she had.

Pat was still intact but living in an alternative universe. What happens from here is anyone's guess.

Can she walk? Can she talk? Can she see?

 

Not only did she walk, talk and see but she defied the tumor to stay viable enough to cause problems. She lived a life of her choosing in the face of incredible odds and for nineteens years she lived on her own terms, compromising nothing including her accumulated wealth, although today it is diminished to a meer $55,000.

Today Pat is more a success than ever before.

She stands to prove exactly what neglect by legal professionals in North Carolina can do to kill the most powerful women on Earth today. The woman that made American Medicine perform to a standard they never knew they had. Today, the legal professionals of North Carolina all the way to the Attorney General's office have failed 'THE BEST' of the medical professional allowing the degradation of Patty's integrity and the corruption of her parents, now acting as her guardians. 

My sister's name is Patricia

She is a great woman. At the height of her professional career as a graduate from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey she had a life other envied. In every way. Today, no one would give a plug nickel for her life. She did nothing in her life to neglected by anyone especially a country that promises so much to it's citizens and now falls short of delivering on those promises.

At the vital age of 27 she was diagnosed with an astracytoma in the region of her brain called the pineal gland.

Pat has been misdiagnosed, hauled from professional to professional and now she is literally being abandoned. The worth of 'the mistake.' The permission of the 'unusual.' The reward of 'understanding.' We have it all, she and I. She survived and the game of 'chance' was diminished to 'shame on you.' So much did she find a home at Baptist/Wake Forest Medical Center so the 'guessing' would never happen again, Dr. Wilson, a reknowned neurosurgeon did a global webcast highlighting the success of more than twenty years of success of modern medicine. There is absolutely no doubt that Patty is a success story. The promise of medicine in the USA only required she stay alive long enough until 'the next step' came along.

The journey started in 1985 with the words, "The blurred vision you are experiencing is caused from inflammed nerves. I want you to see a neurologist."

The 'words' of rememberance in her life that made life worth living were spoken by her former spouse. The marriage didn't survive the tumor. He loved her and lived to the height of promise that young professionals are expect.

He is a great man, still today at the other end of a phone knowing how she is doing. He is again married and enjoys the life a professional is promised. But, it is without the girl of his dreams and the life they were promised from the early years of their success together.

The words of remembrance of 'the tumor' came in such reverberating tones as "I am going to have this craniotomy. I am scared to death my life will not be worth living afterward, but, if I have cancer, please don't tell me."

 

It's Sunday Morning, the morning after Saturday Night 

Earth Girls Are Easy by Julie Brown

Is it true what they say about Julie?
There she is, let's ask her.

Julie, did you really go out with an alien?
Uh huh

What was it like?
Real different

By the way, where'd you meet him?
I was nude sunbathing on my patio, and he was checking me out from his UFO

Guess he couldn't take it 'cause he lost his cool, crash landed in my
swimming pool
ooh neat

So he beams over too he starts licking his lips, stroking his antenna and
wiggling his hips
I'm no Albert Einstein but I'm not that dumb, I know lust no matter what
planet it's from

He said earth girls, earth girls are easy, earth girls, know how to please
me
Earth girls, earth girls are (easy)

Was he cute?
No way, definitely uncute

Total grossarama, slick as a slug, with a shake-and-bake complexion and
eyes like a bug
Wavy on weird I wanted outta there quick, he was a cross between Flipper
and Alan Thick

Ooh
I ran in the house, I locked every lock, I was not gonna party with some
horny little Spock
All of a sudden I screamed in horror, he was groping my leg through the
doggy door

Earth girls, earth girls are easy, earth girls, love how they tease me
Earth girls, earth girls are (easy)

I can't go on.
What happened next is just too personal to put in a pop song.
If it's that bad, you have to.
Promise you won't tell?
Uh huh

His touch was a love drug, I had to have more, the next thing I knew I had
opened the door
Come in space monkey kiss me here, kiss me there, he's still disgusting but
I didn't care

Give us more details
Oh how do I describe it.

Well you know how a blender has 12 speeds?
Well when he got up to puree I thought I would die.
But when he put it on liquefy, I wanted his baby.
Ohhhhh. Oh yes, yes.

Is that your tongue.
One of them
That sure is a big piece of machinery you've got
I made it myself
Oh you space stud, you
There's no ride like this at Disneyland, baby.
Oh synchronize, synchronize, I'm docking Ohhhhhhh.
And to think we did all that without even touching.

Slow:
Now I'm back to my senses and he's light years away, if he's listening in
space I have something to say
I took the lock off the doggie door, so come back moon doggie when you're
ready for more

Earth girls, earth girls are easy, earth girls, know how to please me
Earth girls, earth girls are (sleazey)
Earth girls, earth girls are easy, earth girls, love how they tease me
Earth girls, earth girls are (easy)
Earth girls, earth girls are easy, earth girls, love how they tease me
Earth girls, earth girls are (very easy)
Earth girls, earth girls are easy, earth girls, know how to please me
Earth girls, earth girls are (easy)

 

If there isn't anything worse than a message of doom, it is a false prophet with no answer to the problem presented. If I thought for one minute there was no answer for the circumstances the brave of the brave confronted at Davos in regard to Human Induced Global Warming, I dearly would have been very careful regarding the subject in what 'hope' actually remains.

I have a plan to save Earth from the ravages of greedy and stupid men. I will discuss this over the next few weeks. Earth's circumstances require EVERY effort of humans to stop and REVERSE the effects of decades of negligence in the delicate balance of Earth's tropospheric gases, especially those of Greenhouse Gases. The efforts to save Earth's biotic life includes alternative energy sources at every turn without exception. City mayors need to pass ordinances that require industry and citizens/taxpayers to exhaust every effort to prevent emissions of carbon dioxide. Kindly remember, before humans burned carbon for fuel there were always other sources of these atmospheric gases, so the concept of taking conservation of emissions TOO FAR is nothing than "fiction." Humans can't be TOO conservative in their approach to stopping the emissions of Greenhouse Gases.

But, first, I have a personal focus regarding one life. Not the life of an entire planet of people just yet. I have a sister that is facing a life threatening brain tumor. I have written about her before. I face more than a tumor in an attempt to keep her alive while keeping her quality of life intact, I have a 'stupid' situation with the State of North Carolina and it's hideous laws that will allow her to die out of her own inability to grapple with her, now two tumors, that can be remedied with simple Gamma Knife Treatment at Baptist/Wake Forest Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Anyone interested in reading this won't believe it. I nearly don't believe it myself.

Government dysfunction in a Red State. That is the next topic for "It's Saturday Night." I more than likely won't be able to address it here until Sunday Morning.

Saving Earth's populous seems more simple to me than saving my sister's life. Incredible reality. One life is as important as the lives of all others. That is a philosophy not only expressed repeatedly here, but, in philosophies for millenium.

Thank you for your sincere interest in my blog here. Again a sincere thank you to the greatest of global leaders in regard to Human Induced Global Warming at Davos. The work is just beginning. 

Morning Papers - It's Origins

 

The Rooster 

Morning Papers

Michael Moore Today

Escalate Yourself This Weekend!

Anti-War Groups Plan Surge on Washington
By Aaron Glantz / IPS
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 24 - Peace activists from around the United States will converge on Washington Saturday for what organisers hope will be the largest demonstration to date against the Iraq war.
"We expect a turnout in the six figures," said Tom Andrews, a former Democratic congressman who now runs the group Win Without War, which is organising the march along with True Majority, Working Assets, the RainbowPUSH Coalition, the National Organisation for Women and the national umbrella group United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ).
UFPJ's Leslie Cagan told IPS that the level of energy in the antiwar movement has spiked since the November election, when voters ended Republican majorities in both houses of Congress.
"The voters of this country figured out that they could use the November elections as a vehicle to voice their opposition to the war," Cagan said. "What happened there was that the voters gave Congress a mandate to end the war in Iraq and bring the troops home."

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9079

"...the voters gave Congress a mandate to end the war in Iraq and bring the troops home."

"The 110th Congress must stand up to the president."

United for Peace and Justice

March on Washington, January 27, 2007

Assemble on the National Mall,
between 3rd and 7th Streets, at 11 am.
Rally 11am-1pm.
March will kick off at 1pm.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
MARCH ROUTE, MAPS & LOGISTICS
Weather: Predicted to be 48 F and sunny! However, because there might be some precipitation in Washington, DC, before Saturday, the Mall could be a little muddy. So you may wish to wear boots, or at least bring an extra pair of socks.
Confirmed speakers: Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Danny Glover, Jane Fonda, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Reps. Kucinich, Waters, and Woolsey, Bob Watada, and more ...

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/


Transportation Center for January 27

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/ride.php


Have Housing

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/housing.php

Spread the Word About the January 27th Mobilization!
On Jan. 27, 2007, we are bringing the Mandate for Peace to Washington DC. You can help ensure that the new Congress gets the message by spreading the word far and wide. Help us make this the biggest and loudest demonstration for peace possible!
Here's how you can get involved:

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3437


Jan. 27-29 Schedule of Events
Below is a schedule for the events of the Jan. 27-29 mobilization in Washington DC. Further details will be added as they are finalized, so please keep checking back here.
EVENTS ORGANIZED BY UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE (Please scroll down for information on the Interfaith Service, the Veterans For Peace action on Thursday, CodePink's Walk in Their Shoes installation, and other actions being organized during the weekend.)

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3489

Jan. 27 March Route, Parking, Logistics, What to Bring, Etc.
Scroll down and look to the right-hand side of the page for a link to a printer-friendly version of this page.)

MAP OF ASSEMBLY AREA

Click here to download a map of the assembly area on the Mall, and contingent formation locations.


MARCH ROUTE

After an arduous and long process of negotiating with the U.S. Capitol Police, a final route for the march on Jan. 27th has been agreed to. Here are the details:

1 pm -- March steps off from 3rd Street and Jefferson Drive, NW. We will take 3rd Street north to Constitution, the east on Constitution to 1st Street, NE, then south to East Capital Street. At that point we will make a U-turn in the street and head north on 1st Street to Constitution. The march will proceed west on Constitution to 1st Street, NW, where we will head south, passing between the Reflecting Pool and the West Lawn of the Capitol. The march will pick up Maryland Ave., heading west until it intersects with Independence and then going west to 4th Street. We will then turn north on 4th and end up back on the Mall.

Yes, the march will double back on itself. This means that unlike other marches, most of us will have a chance to see and be inspired by the stream of contingents from all over the nation. We will be on three sides of the Capitol building sending our message loud and clear: This war must end now!

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3499


Democratic senators won't join Iraq war protest in Washington
By Jeff Zeleny / International Herald Tribune
WASHINGTON -- Tens of thousands of demonstrators are set to arrive in the capital this weekend for the largest anti-war march since Democrats gained control of Congress, staging the first of several protests to persuade lawmakers to do more than simply speak out against President George W. Bush's policies in Iraq.
But do not look for senators to be standing among the protesters on the National Mall. Despite the consensus building around a resolution to oppose sending more troops to Iraq, even the most liberal among Democratic senators do not appear eager to align themselves with a traditional anti-war protest.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9087


Cheney increasingly on the defensive
By Ron Hutcheson / McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney, often considered the hidden power behind the White House throne, is increasingly out in the open and on the defensive.
He's scheduled to testify at the perjury trial of his former top aide; congressional Democrats want to probe his role in the White House; and his unprecedented clout may be waning. Once widely considered a source of wisdom and experience in the White House, the vice president has become a frequent target of criticism.
On Wednesday, a testy Cheney sparred with CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer over Iraq and al-Qaida and insisted that Bush administration policies have succeeded in both cases. While he's acknowledged mistakes in Iraq, he bristled when Blitzer suggested that Cheney had lost credibility because of blunders there.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9070



The Boston Globe

North Pole temperature exceeds Boston's
By Michael Grillo
Boston.com Staff
January 26, 2007
Looking to get some relief from today's icy cold temperatures? Take a trip to Anchorage, Alaska or even the North Pole.
Both locations today reached a balmy 24 and 10.5 degrees, respectively, compared to Boston's high of 12 degrees.
Bostonians are feeling the chill of single-digit temperatures with wind chills as low as -15 degrees as an arctic air mass makes its way through the region.
Temperatures in the single-digits swept into many New England cities this morning: 3 in Worcester; 9 in Hartford, Conn.; 3 in Concord, N.H.; and -3 in Bangor, Maine.
International Falls, located near the Canadian border in Minnesota and notorious for some of America's coldest weather, was 23 degrees at about 11 a.m. Even the Arctic was considerably warmer than New England: the temperature in Nuuk, a city on the coast of Greenland, reached 36 degrees today.
In Europe, it was 21 degrees in Prague; 30 in Helsinki, Finland; 28 in Oslo, Norway; and 30 in Geneva, Switzerland.
But if those hot spots don't warm your cockles, check out flights to the Bahamas (73 degrees) or Buenos Aires where it's summer and a pleasant 71.

http://www.boston.com/news/weather/articles/2007/01/26/north_pole_temperature_exceeds_bostons/?p1=MEWell_Pos1


Troops died after, not in, sneak attack

By Steven R. Hurst and Qassim Abdul-Zahra
Associated Press Writers
January 26, 2007
BAGHDAD, Iraq --Four American soldiers were abducted during a sophisticated sneak attack last week in the Shiite holy city of Karbala and their bodies were found up to 25 miles away, according to new information obtained by The Associated Press.
The brazen assault, 50 miles south of Baghdad on Jan. 20, was conducted by nine to 12 militants posing as an American security team. They traveled in black GMC Suburban vehicles -- the type used by U.S. government convoys -- had American weapons, wore new U.S. military combat fatigues, and spoke English.
In a written statement, the U.S. command reported at the time that five soldiers were killed while "repelling the attack." Now, two senior U.S. military officials as well as Iraqi officials say four of the five were captured and taken from the governor's compound alive. Three of them were found dead and one mortally wounded later that evening in locations as far as 25 miles east of the governor's office.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/01/26/us_soldiers_not_killed_in_sneak_attack/


Cold turns boiling water to snow and keeps the MBTA up all night
By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff, and Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe Correspondent
On days as cold as today on the top of Mount Washington, a pan of boiling water thrown into the air will turn to snow before it hits the ground.
Crowbars used to clear ice off meteorological instruments snap in half like twigs.
Neil Lareau, the weather observer on duty today atop the mountain, wore three ski-masks, a pair of goggles, and a Gore-Tex hood just to step outside to take the temperature.
That's because a new record low for Jan. 26 was set today at the Mount Washington Observatory when it stayed 32.5 degrees below zero for more than four hours this morning. Add sustained winds of 67 mph, and the wind chill at the summit hit minus 83 degrees.
"We live for days like today," said Lareau, 26, who is one of six people stationed at the observatory this week. "We kind of thrive on having this reputation for the world's worst weather."

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/01/cold_turns_boil.html


Hamas rallies across West Bank and Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip --In the year since Islamic Hamas swept parliamentary elections, Palestinians have sunk deeper into poverty, their government has been ostracized by the international community and hundreds have died in violence.
Yet the militant movement remains popular and its chief rival, moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is reluctant to force a showdown, either by disbanding the government or setting a date for early elections.
Hamas marked the one-year anniversary of its upset victory in Palestinian elections on Friday with celebrations that were dramatically scaled back after a new outbreak of deadly factional violence, including a deadly attack on a group of Hamas militiamen on Thursday night and retaliation that spilled over into Friday, killing nine people.
Tensions were so high that Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas bowed out of a planned appearance at a rally in Jebaliya, apparently fearing it would be too dangerous to travel there. In the end, only several thousand Hamas supporters gathered in Jebaliya to celebrate Hamas' ascent to power.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/01/26/hamas_rally_across_west_bank_and_gaza/


Calif. bans toxic dry-cleaning chemical
By Samantha Young
Associated Press Writer
January 26, 2007
SACRAMENTO, Calif. --By 2023, California will completely ban the most common chemical used by dry cleaners. Under the newly enacted ban, perchloroethylene is to be phased out starting next year. The state is still debating what the alternative will be. Dry cleaning businesses are upset.
The regulation by the California Air Resources Board begins to phase out the toxic chemical next year, banning dry cleaners from buying machines that rely on the solvent. State officials say the fluid causes a variety of cancers.
The state's 3,400 dry cleaners who now use it must get rid of machines that are 15 years or older by July 2010.
"That's the wave of the future -- nontoxic, non-smog forming," said Annette Kondo, spokeswoman for the Coalition for Clean Air, a California environmental group. "We think this is going to ripple down to other states across the country."
Environmental and health advocates embraced the new rule, though they had urged the air board to accelerate the ban because of the chemical's health effects as a potential carcinogen. The solvent has contaminated one in 10 wells in California.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/01/26/california_bans_dry_cleaning_chemical/



Mass. housing market ends worst year in decade
Prices, sales tumble in December; condos are sole bright spot
By Kimberly Blanton, Globe Staff | January 26, 2007

Massachusetts house prices tumbled 5.4 percent in December, in a sour endnote to the worst year for the state's housing market in a decade.

Amid new evidence the state is still struggling to emerge from the housing downturn, economists said it is likely prices for single-family houses will continue to decline this year. Single-family sales for 2006 were 41,593, which was the lowest total since 1996, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, which released its monthly market report yesterday.

"We're working through the correction," said Larissa Duzhansky, an economist with Global Insight, a Lexington economics and consulting firm. She predicted, "We're going to see home prices going down in 2007."

http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/01/26/mass_housing_market_ends_worst_year_in_decade/?p1=MEWell_Pos2


Bob Seger
He's a father now, but triumphant return shows he's still a

By Sarah Rodman, Globe Staff | January 26, 2007
When Bob Seger laughs, it sounds exactly as you might it imagine it would.
It's a deep, rusty chuckle that starts in his belly and fights its way through the nicotine-coated throat famous for a whole mess of songs familiar to anyone who has ever listened to a classic-rock station or seen a truck commercial.
At 61, Seger is a jolly soul who laughs often. At his good fortune -- more than 50 million albums sold, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acclaim, a concert tour drawing rave reviews that comes to the TD Banknorth Garden tomorrow and the DCU Center on Tuesday. At the senior moments, he and his manager of 40 years, "Punch" Andrews, have been experiencing lately. At his ability, after an 11-year hiatus, to record an album as rock solid as his recently released "Face the Promise." And, unlike a lot of artists his age, at hearing his songs on the radio with his kids in the car.
"Oh yeah," he says in his friendly bellow on the phone from his home in Detroit. "I know every nook and cranny of all of 'em, and it's fun to hear 'em on the radio, we usually turn it up every time!"

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2007/01/26/bob_seger/


God's gay child
January 15, 2007
LOVE AND let love.
God gave me a gift, a wonderful son who happens to be gay. God does not give inferiors gifts. God does not make mistakes. This little boy that God gave to me is now a fine young man. But my son is treated like a second-class citizen by my church. Maybe my state constitution will treat him likewise. I pray that it will not.
If you had a gay loved one in your family you would be a better person. You would be sensitive to the discrimination gays endure. You would realize that they, too, are entitled to mutual love.
God will continue to send gay babies. We must take them into our hearts and our lives. That would please God.
DOROTHY DONAHUE
Norwell


Old Romney debate clip is now a hit on the Web
By Rick Klein, Globe Staff
January 11, 2007
WASHINGTON -- A video recording of former Governor Mitt Romney expressing liberal views became an Internet sensation in the political world yesterday, prompting Romney to call a conservative webcast to say that he has "grown a bit wiser" in the past 13 years
He also accused opponents of his nascent presidential campaign of attacking him because of his record fighting for conservative causes.
The five-minute clip from an October 1994 debate against Senator Edward M. Kennedy shows Romney endorsing a series of liberal viewpoints and includes statements of support for abortion rights and gay rights. The clip was viewed more than 12,000 times on Youtube.com yesterday by 10 p.m.
Last night, Romney called in to the conservative Internet broadcast "The Glenn and Helen Show" to react to the distribution of what his presidential exploratory committee called "ancient footage."
"I'm grayer, I'm a little heavier, and I hope I've grown a bit wiser as well," Romney said. "Of course, I was wrong on some issues back then. I'm not embarrassed to admit that. I think most of us learn with experience. I know I certainly have."

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/01/11/old_romney_debate_clip_is_now_a_hit_on_the_web/


Patrick highlights black heritage more as governor

By Glen Johnson, AP Political Writer | January 26, 2007
BOSTON --Deval Patrick was on the cusp of becoming the first black governor of Massachusetts, yet during his campaign last year he was reluctant to talk about such a groundbreaking prospect.

Since then, the Democrat has been far more willing to publicly embrace his African-American heritage.
When a woman told him on his way into his inaugural ball it was the most integrated event she had ever seen in Boston, Patrick told the crowd of 15,000 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, "Get used to that!"
Patrick's transformation began even before he took the oath of office. It started when he placed his left hand on a Bible as he raised his right to be sworn in.
The book used at the inauguration was the so-called Mendi Bible, which slaves who commandeered the ship "Amistad" gave to former President John Quincy Adams for securing their freedom after he argued their case all the way to the Supreme Court in 1841.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/01/26/patrick_highlights_black_heritage_more_as_governor/


Sculpture lovely to look at, and thought-provoking, too

By Ken Johnson, Globe Staff | January 26, 2007
Would you like to see a miracle? I'm talking about a 1-foot square slab of marble whose surface has been transformed into a vision of the Virgin Mary seated in the clouds with her infant son in her lap and cherubic angels in fluttering attendance. It's carved in low relief with breathtaking delicacy, and it looks as though the stone had melted away, leaving only this dreamy, uncannily luminous mirage.
Made between 1425 and 1435 by Donatello, who was, next to Michelangelo, the greatest sculptor of the Italian Renaissance, "Madonna of the Clouds" welcomes visitors right at the start of "Donatello to Giambologna: Italian Renaissance Sculpture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston," an excellent, medium-size exhibition.
For the show, curators dusted off and gathered together almost every piece of Italian Renaissance sculpture the museum owns, including works in stone, bronze, wood, and clay. It also borrowed some items from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and, from a private collection, a fascinating array of tabletop-scale bronzes.

http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2007/01/26/sculpture_lovely_to_look_at_and_thought_provoking_too/


R.I. newspapers to be sold for $7.6m

Journal Register Co. agreed to sell three daily newspapers and its weekly newspaper group in Rhode Island for $7.6 million.
The Pennsylvania company publishes 27 daily newspapers including the New Haven Register and 368 non-daily publications.
The company identified the buyer as R.I.S.N. Operations Inc. A phone number for R.I.S.N. supplied by the Journal Register Co. belongs to Horizon Publications of Marion, Ill., which owns and operates daily and weekly publications in 16 states and two Canadian provinces, including the Newport Daily Express of Newport, Vt., according to Horizon's website. A spokesman at Horizon declined comment.
Properties in the sale included the Call of Woonsocket, the Times of Pawtucket, Kent County Daily Times in West Warwick, and its weekly group, the Southern Rhode Island Newspaper Group.

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2007/01/ri_newspapers_s.html


Priest defrocked after rape conviction
January 26, 2007
BOSTON --A Roman Catholic priest who's in prison for raping a teenage boy in the 1980s has been defrocked by the Vatican, the Boston Archdiocese said Friday.
Paul William Hurley, of Sandwich, can no longer perform public ministry, except for offering absolution to the dying, and will not receive financial support from the archdiocese, the archdiocese said in a statement.
Hurley was placed on administrative leave in 2001 after the allegation of sexual misconduct. He was convicted in June of repeatedly raping a 15-year-old South Boston boy in 1987 and 1988 in the rectory of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Cambridge, where Hurley was assigned.
Hurley was sentenced in July to four years in prison.
Church law requires that priests be permanently removed from ministry if an act of sexual abuse of a minor is admitted or proven through a church investigation.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/01/26/priest_defrocked_after_rape_conviction/


Norway may ease ban on stem cell study
January 26, 2007
OSLO, Norway --Norway's government on Friday proposed lifting a national ban on using human embryonic stem cells for research, saying the change might help find cures to a broad range of diseases.
Embryonic stem cells have the ability to become any tissue in the body, leading scientists to see them as a possible source of medical breakthroughs.
Current Norwegian law, from 2003, bars use of fertilized eggs or stem cells taken from them in research and requires eggs left over after assisted pregnancies to be destroyed.
The proposed law would allow research on such eggs under strict legal and ethical limits, including consent from the parents and approval from a national ethics panel, the government proposal said.
"The government believes if is important to use the opportunities offered by science to gain knowledge that can be used to treat serious illnesses in the future," Minister of Health and Care Services Silvia Brustad said in presenting the legislation.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2007/01/26/norway_may_ease_stem_cell_research_ban/


Standard Register to close Vermont plant
January 26, 2007
DAYTON, Ohio --Standard Register Co., a provider of document services, on Friday said it will close a facility in Middlebury, Vt., and transfer equipment and production operations to three other U.S. plants.
The Middlebury plant, which employs about 112 people and produces business forms, will continue to perform limited production through March.
Standard Register is providing all affected employees with severance and job-finding assistance. Most workers will be able to apply for open positions at other facilities, with relocation assistance.
The redistribution of manufacturing assets to its Murfreesboro, Tenn., York, Pa. and Fayetteville, Ark. plants will move production closer to customers' locations, Standard Register said.
Shares of Standard Register rose 10 cents to $12.64 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.


Novell gets second warning from Nasdaq
Novell Inc. of Waltham received a second noncompliance letter from the Nasdaq Stock Market due to its late fiscal 2006 annual report.
Novell received the first noncompliance notice in September because it didn't file its third-quarter report. Novell delayed filing both reports pending the completion of the view of historical stock-based compensation practices.
In January, Novell had a hearing before the Nasdaq panel regarding the first noncompliance letter. The panel granted the company's request for continued listing as long as on or before March 1, Novell provides information regarding the stock-option review, and on or before March 13, the company files its quarterly report and any necessary restatements.

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2007/01/novell_gets_sec.html


Examining the path to YouTube stardom
By Jake Coyle
AP Entertainment Writer
January 26, 2007
NEW YORK --So you want to be a viral video star.
Now that web sites like YouTube have created a democratized platform for celebrity, anyone who uploads a video has a chance to become a sensation. And we've seen deals follow with TV networks and record labels.
Sounds easy, right? Except that more than 70 million videos are watched on YouTube daily. In that enormous digital wilderness, most videos fall without a sound.
To reach the pinnacle of YouTube celebrity, your video must generally rank among either the most-viewed or most-subscribed lists, which each include only 100 videos, arranged daily, weekly, monthly and by all-time.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2007/01/26/examining_the_path_to_youtube_stardom/


Googling YouTube
Source: Ars Technica
When Google bought YouTube last fall you may have wondered, what happens to Google Video? Well here's an answer. Go on Google Video today and do a search and you'll get both Google and YouTube videos in your search results (often mostly YouTube). Google is aiming to make Google Video be the place you'll go to "search for the world's online video content, irrespective of where it may be hosted." Ars Technica says it's only a matter of time before GooTube tells copyright holders "Hey, why don't you sell your video on the same pages as these uploaded clips." Instant upsell.

http://www.boston.com/business/blog/filter/


N.Y. scanners spark union cries of "geoslavery"
By Michelle Nichols | January 26, 2007
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Every morning Dennis Colson, a surveyor at New York City's Department of Design and Construction, begins his work day by placing his hand on a scanner to log his time and attendance at the office.
The use of hand geometry and other biometric data, like facial and iris recognition, is not new -- the University of Georgia pioneered the use of hand geometry when it installed scanners in its student dining hall in 1974.
But the planned roll-out of hand geometry scanners in all New York City government agencies has sparked union cries of "geoslavery" and assertions that technology developed for security will be used to track, label and control workforces.
"It's frustrating, it's kind of an insult," Colson, 53, told Reuters. "They are talking about going to voice and retina scanners and that's an invasion of privacy in that they can track you wherever you go."

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/01/26/ny_scanners_spark_union_cries_of_geoslavery/


'God' references are removed from movie

By Giovanna Dell'Orto, Associated Press Writer | January 25, 2007
ATLANTA --So much for God and country, at least during some in-flight showings of the Oscar-nominated movie "The Queen." That's because all mentions of God are bleeped out of a version of the film given to some commercial airlines.
Even in these politically correct times, censoring references to God in the film wasn't a statement of some kind. Rather, it was the mistake of an overzealous and inexperienced employee for a California company that edits movies selected for onboard entertainment.
The rookie censor was told to edit out all profanities -- including any blasphemy -- for the version of the movie distributed to Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, Air New Zealand, and other carriers.

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2007/01/25/god_references_are_removed_from_movie/


Mistrial after lawyer falters at closing
January 26, 2007
FARMVILLE, Va. --A judge declared a mistrial in an attempted-murder case after the defense lawyer said he couldn't continue his closing statement because he had lost his train of thought. Judge Ernest P. Gates Sr. also suggested that attorney James E. Sheffield seek medical help.
Gates declared the mistrial Thursday in the case of a man accused of shooting a police officer in the leg in 2005.
Sheffield, 74, a former judge, returned from a recess to say that he could not continue the closing argument.
Russell Smith, charged with attempted capital murder, malicious wounding and use of a firearm, offered to finish the job himself.
"This is about me," he told Gates.
The judge warned against it, and Smith requested the mistrial.


Drunk man goes for unexpected train ride
January 26, 2007
FARGO, N.D. --A drunk man who tried to climb over a freight train stopped at a downtown crossing ended up going for a ride when the train took off. The 23-year-old man called 911 from his cell phone early Friday when the train reached the Casselton area west of Fargo because he was cold and wanted off, said Cass County Deputy Sheriff Shawn Getz.
Dispatchers called BNSF Railway, which alerted the train conductor.
"A few miles west of Casselton they were able to stop the train and (the man) got off," Getz said.
Authorities said the man did not require any medical treatment, and the railroad did not press charges. The man was taken to a detox center, Getz said.


Church hosts 'porn and pancakes' event
January 26, 2007
ONTARIO, N.Y. --It's not your typical church breakfast. An event billed as "Porn and Pancakes" is being hosted by a church in rural upstate New York.
The breakfast discussion on the pornography industry in America is planned next month at the Living Word Assembly of God Church in the town of Ontario, about ten miles east of Rochester.
A billboard advertisement near the church shows the words "Porn and Pancakes" written in syrup on a stack of flapjacks.
Organizers told a Rochester TV station that the event on February 10th will be an honest discussion about pornography and its impact on society. The discussion will be led by Triple-X Church, a group of youth ministers who travel the country talking about porn and the porn industry.
The pastor of the Wayne County church and churches from Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse have asked about hosting "Porn and Pancakes" events.
On the Net:
http://www.livingwordag.com/

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2007/01/26/church_hosts_porn_and_pancakes_event/


Polite nude jogger shocks hikers, bikers
January 25, 2007
SARATOGA, Calif. --Who was that undressed man? That's the question startled hikers, bikers and horseback riders are asking about a jogger seen streaking through an open space preserve wearing nothing but sneakers, glasses and a black tam hat.
"He passed me and said `Good evening,'" said equestrian Sue Bowdoin, who spotted the naked man, middle-aged and sporting a pale paunch, while riding her horse, Randy, on a trail in Fremont Older Open Space Preserve last summer. "I thought: Ugh!"
Although numerous park users have reported seeing the exhibitionist over the last year-and-a-half, rangers have been unable to identify and arrest him for exposing himself, said Gordon Baillie of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.
By most accounts, the man is polite and does nothing other than run in the buff.
A woman who saw him said he looked scared and backed away after she cornered him with her horse and told him he was offending people.
People who use the park regularly have not reported recent sightings in the cold weather, but they theorize he may be incognito because he is clothed. With dark hair, sweaty red skin and lack of body hair, he is easily recognizable, Bowdoin said.
"He's frumpy. Plain. Not in good physical shape," Bowdoin said. "It's not a pretty sight.'


Scientist develops caffeinated doughnuts
January 26, 2007
DURHAM. N.C. --That cup of coffee just not getting it done anymore? How about a Buzz Donut or a Buzzed Bagel? That's what Doctor Robert Bohannon, a Durham, North Carolina, molecular scientist, has come up with. Bohannon says he's developed a way to add caffeine to baked goods, without the bitter taste of caffeine. Each piece of pastry is the equivalent of about two cups of coffee.
While the product is not on the market yet, Bohannon has approached some heavyweight companies, including Krispy Kreme, Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks about carrying it.


Twins give birth to sons within hours
January 25, 2007
AUBURN, Ind. --Nicole Cramer had little idea when she went to the hospital to see her twin sister's newborn son that within hours, she would give birth to a son of her own.
Her sister, Naomi Sale, had scheduled a Caesarean section on Tuesday morning and gave birth to Ethan Alexander at 8:29 a.m. Cramer, also nine months pregnant, visited Sale and her new nephew in the hospital but was having contractions and didn't stay long.
"I thought, after I did the C-section, on my way home, 'I wonder if her sister would go into labor?'" said Dr. Thaddeus Weghorst, the obstetrician for both women.
Within hours, Cramer was in the delivery room of DeKalb Memorial Hospital.
After a 1 1/2-hour labor, Cramer delivered Carter Nathaniel Birchfield.
"This solidifies the theory on the bond between twins," Weghorst said. "Even their uteri have a bond."
Cramer and Sale celebrate their 23rd birthdays Jan. 29. They were due to give birth within a day of each other at the end of January, but Weghorst's office didn't figure out they were twins until they were eight months along.
The sisters explained, in unison, that they usually had their appointments on the same day, but at different times.
Weghorst, who has been in practice for eight years, said the close deliveries were a first for him.
"I've delivered two sets of twins in the same day, but never this," he said.


The Jordan Times

Improper use of heaters leads to rise in fatalities, injuries

By Rana Husseini

AMMAN — The number of fatalities and injuries as a result of improper use of gas, wood and kerosene heaters has risen dramatically this year with officials warning of a further rise if safety measures are not properly applied by citizens.

Lieutenant Colonel Farid Shareh, head of the Public Relations Department at the Civil Defence Department (CDD), said the majority of incidents were a direct result of the public’s failure to abide by safety procedures.

During the Eid holiday, seven people, including three children, died in separate gas heater incidents in Amman and other governorates. Reports of fatalities continued after the 9-day vacation with incidents of individuals dying in their sleep because they left these heaters on overnight without proper ventilation.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews4.htm



4 dead in Beirut cast shadow over aid pledges
Paris conference pledges $7.6 billion
BEIRUT (Reuters) — Four people were shot dead in clashes between pro- and anti-government activists in Lebanon on Thursday, overshadowing a $7.6 billion aid deal by international donors to shore up the US-backed government.
Two opposition students and two other people were shot dead and 100 were injured, many by gunfire, at Beirut's Arab University, security sources said.
The Lebanese army declared a night curfew in Beirut after the clashes and leaders of both sides appealed for calm.
A campaign led by Hizbollah and Shiite and Christian allies against the government, which is struggling to recover from last year's war with Israel, has raised tensions between Sunnis and Shiites in Lebanon, still recovering from a 1975-90 civil war.
Fighting started between students with sticks and stones on the university campus then spilled into nearby streets. It developed into exchanges of gunfire from assault rifles and pistols involving students and residents from both sides.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news1.htm


Israel, Jordan, Palestinians agree on economic zone — Peres

DAVOS (AP) — Israel's foreign minister reached out to the Palestinian president in an emotional speech Thursday as he sat next to her at the World Economic Forum, saying lasting peace is the dream of her people and promising that a future Palestinian state is "not an illusion... It's achievable". Tzipi Livni made clear, however, that her government would not compromise on its need for security and urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas not to compromise with extremists, a reference to the Hamas government's refusal to disavow its call for Israel's destruction.
But Livni, turning to face Abbas, also made a personal and impassioned plea for dialogue to begin.
"I would like to negotiate, to speak, to meet, to talk," she said. On finding peace, she said: "There is nothing I want more ... this is part of our dream, this is part of our goal." Abbas, for his part, said he was confident that the peace process could be put back on track. "We are ready as of now to start serious negotiations," he said during the public session. Afterward, the two warmly shook hands. They are to meet one-on-one at a hotel near the forum on Friday. "We are creating this momentum ... to put the train on the track and push it after that," Abbas told the Associated Press.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news2.htm


Young Global Leaders brief Queen Rania on dignity project
AMMAN (JT) — Her Majesty Queen Rania joined Young Global Leaders (YGL) for a briefing on their recent projects, including the launch of the Global Dignity Project, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday.
Discussions focused on the YGLs' role in using their expertise and experience in helping their local communities as well as the global community.
One project recently launched by the YGLs is the dignity project, which seeks to raise global awareness of the universal right of every human being to lead a dignified life, and compel people around the globe to move to action in implementing these rights.
People from all over the world are welcome to sign the Dignity Principles on their website (http://www.globaldignity.org).
The Dignity Principles are based on both ethics and enlightened self-interest, the YGLs told the Queen.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews2.htm


34 killed, but Maliki vows to pursue gunmen
BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Bombs killed at least 34 people in Baghdad on Thursday but Iraq's prime minister vowed a crackdown in the capital would leave gunmen nowhere to hide.
In a speech to parliament, Nouri Maliki urged politicians on all sides to support his security plan, backed by 17,000 US reinforcements and seen by many as a last chance to halt sectarian violence in the capital.
"There will be no safe haven — no school, no home, no [Sunni] mosque or Shiite mosque. They will all be raided if they are turned into a launchpad for terrorism, even the headquarters of political parties," he said.
Maliki said his determination had already borne fruit.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news3.htm


As Iraq war drags on, comparisons with Vietnam grow
WASHINGTON (AP) — Another Vietnam? Defenders of President George W. Bush’s Iraq war policy have long shrugged off such comparisons. But as the war heads towards the four-year mark and a newly-empowered Democratic Congress takes aim at presidential spending for more troops, the comparisons are becoming more frequent.
Despite Bush’s State of the Union appeal for Congress to give his new war strategy a chance, congressional Democrats joined by some Republicans are forging ahead with a resolution opposing Bush’s plan to send more troops to Iraq.
Congress has clear constitutional authority to declare war and set spending levels. Yet limiting troops or war spending has never been easy. In Vietnam, it took years.
Nine years after Congress in its Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorised President Lyndon B. Johnson to escalate the Vietnam War, Congress voted in 1973 to cut off remaining funds for combat operations in Southeast Asia. By then, President Richard Nixon had already withdrawn most ground troops.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news9.htm


On winning the peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Jonathan Power
Pervez Musharraf, president and military strongman of Pakistan, opened his eyes wide, sat bolt upright on his sofa, and said: “I never thought of that.” He repeated the phrase and looked, I dare suggest, a little bewildered.
In many years of interviewing top leaders I have never before felt the sensation of catching someone totally off balance. Yet all I had asked was: “Why don’t you talk to your enemies, the Taleban and Al Qaeda?”
In two hours of conversation there was no effort, as is usual with senior Pakistani officials, to persuade me that the Taleban and Al Qaeda were being defeated or that the war in Afghanistan was going well. Indeed, there was an absence of bravado and a receptivity to new, so far unconsidered, ideas.
Pakistan is the hub of the Anglo-American/NATO war against Al Qaeda and the Taleban. The British have here their largest embassy in the world. The city is full to the brim with American secret agents and senior military people. But the truth is the war in Afghanistan is going badly. The Taleban are gaining the upper hand, financially fuelled by proceeds from growing poppy, which they now encourage in a reverse of policy when they were in power, when they ruled that it was un-Islamic. Al Qaeda, too, high up in the mountains of Pakistan, is rebuilding its strength.


Katsav — Israel’s bland president facing disgrace
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli President Moshe Katsav, whose leave of absence over a looming rape indictment was approved by parliament on Thursday, is a bland bureaucrat who rose from impoverished origins as an immigrant from Iran to assume the nation's top job.
After more than four hours of debate, a Knesset committee approved by a vote of 13 to 11 that Katsav be suspended from office for three months because of the allegations — the most serious ever levelled against an Israeli leader.
Katsav requested the leave of absence after the attorney general said on Tuesday that he intended to indict him on a slew of charges including rape, sexual harassment and abuse of power.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news5.htm


Mortars hit Somalia’s international airport, killing 2

MOGADISHU (AP) — Gunmen launched mortars on Mogadishu International Airport, killing at least two people a day after powerful troops from neighbouring Ethiopia began withdrawing from this chaotic nation.
Also Wednesday, US defence officials said the United States launched an air strike earlier this week in Somalia against suspected terrorist targets — the second such attack this month.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the strike was carried out in secret by an Air Force AC-130 gunship earlier this week, provided few details and were uncertain whether the intended target was killed.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news7.htm


UK consultancy to provide technical assistance for water management
By Hana Namroqa
AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation on Thursday signed a 1.175-million euro agreement with the European Commission for improving management of water and wastewater services in the country.
Under the deal, signed by Minister of Water and Irrigation Thafer Alem and Head of the European Commission Delegation in Amman Patrick Renauld, the Ian Pope Associates (IPA) Energy + Water Consulting will provide the ministry with technical assistance for the project.
As part of the EU-funded agreement, an audit unit to monitor the water sector’s performance will be created if approved by the government.
In addition, the British consulting company will provide technical assistance to the programme management unit (PMU) at the ministry to help it implement all water-related projects, Renauld said during the signing ceremony.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews6.htm


The new cold war — Middle East style
Rami G. Khouri
Lebanon and Palestine are the most dramatic examples of the new ideological battle that now defines much of the Middle East, where local players and medium-strength regional powers often interact with one another in parallel with foreign powers’ interests and goals.
While tensions were increasing in Beirut last weekend in anticipation of the January 23 national strike by the Hizbollah-led opposition against the Siniora-Hariri-led government, in nearby Damascus, the leaders of the two major Palestinian political groups, Hamas and Fateh, were meeting under Syrian auspices to try and solve their dispute over who rules Palestine and defines its foreign policy vis-à-vis Israel.
If you were too young to remember the cold war between the American- and Soviet-led global camps, study this dynamic closely, because it is a miniature regional version of the former global contest. It is possible that the Middle East-anchored new cold war we are living through these days may persist for many years, or it may be over in two or three years, depending on how both sides harness and use their competitive assets. For now, we can only identify some of the new rules and realities of the regional confrontation.

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/opinion/opinion2.htm