Cheney Observer - Day Four - The Misuse of Government for Political Purposes - The Man Who Broke the Law !

It seems all too obvious that the Spitzer Resignation connected to his entrapment by a plan laid out specificially to remove him from the Governorship and tarnish an otherwise exemplary career as a strong and determined advocate for 'the little people' was engineered by men obsessed with the wealth that power brings.

In several articles listed on this blog it was evident that the FBI 'sting' operation wasn't a 'sting' at all so much as a dogged hunt for the one opportunity to remove the potential Eliot Spitzer had to bring 'honesty' back to government.

I am not going to discuss the actual indiscretions of Mr. Spitzer within his marriage as I have stated that is a concern that is not mine, but, his and his family.

I will however point to the ONE story NO MEDIA SERVICE has yet to address and that is the use by the Bush/Cheney White House to carry out poltical agendas with federal agents. No one has to admit the FBI was ONLY after Former Governor Spitzer, I believe that is already completely clear.

In the article that follows it was noted that as soon as the arrests of the people involved with the Empire Club was made and they were arraigned, the New York Times was already exploiting this otherwise innocuous story. The reason they were was because of the blind political ambitions of those 'loyal' to the Bush Glory Train, namely Micheal Powell.

A Curious Vice Case (click here)
By MICHAEL POWELL and NICHOLAS CONFESSORE
Published: March 13, 2008
The scandal unfolded in an innocuous fashion. The press release was e-mailed to reporters on Thursday morning, shortly after 11 o’clock: “Manhattan U.S. Attorney Charges Organizers and Managers of International Prostitution Ring.”
At first glance, the case seemed routine, and the suspects elicited no gapes of surprise: A man and three women arrested on charges of running a pricey, on-line escort business, known as Emperor’s Club V.I.P.
Marshals escorted the defendants into the courtroom, before Magistrate Michael H. Dolinger of the Federal District Court in Manhattan. Mark Brener, 62, accused of being the ringleader, looked to be dressed in the same black shirt he had been arrested in. Cecil Suwal, 23, was charged with being the operation’s day-to-day manager.
Temeka Rachelle Lewis, 32, and Tanya Hollander, 36, were accused of being the service’s booking agents. Ms. Lewis and Ms. Hollander were released on bail; Mr. Brener and Ms. Suwal remain in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, the federal jail in Lower Manhattan.
No one had talked of the escort ring’s inner workings, and certainly no one mentioned the governor’s name. Just one fact piqued interest for some in the room: The lead prosecutor on the case was Boyd M. Johnson III, the chief of the public corruption unit of the Manhattan United States attorney’s office.
Later that day, reporters at The New York Times learned of the unusual presence of three lawyers from the corruption unit, including the boss of that division and an F.B.I. agent from one of the bureau’s public corruption squads. The public corruption units often look at the conduct of elected officials....

For days afterward, Michael Powell exploited the political pressure the New York Times can bring to any subject:

A Fall From White Knight to Client 9 (click here)
By MICHAEL POWELL and MIKE McINTIRE
Published: March 11, 2008
He stands close to ruin’s precipice, this tireless crusader and once-charmed politician reduced to a notation on a federal affidavit: Client 9.
The ascent and descent of Eliot Spitzer’s career have been dizzying. He was the brainy kid who graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law School and became an avenging state attorney general, hunting down Wall Street malefactors with a moralistic fervor that sounded pitch-perfect. Everywhere he found “betrayals of the public trust” that were “shocking” and “criminal.”...

And while The Washington Post was stating Eliot Spitzer was being pursued by the FBI and was once before attempted to entrap without success the LYING that surrounds the media frenzy persisted because the Republicans are not interested in 'the truth;' they are interested in political exploitation of any 'spin' they can find.

The entire 'movement' surrounding the exploited nature of the circumstances the Former New York Governor would face, revolved around one suspicion. That suspicion was the fact a bank became alarmed about movement of money in accounts connected to Eliot Spitzer. To date there is speculation that is how he paid for his adventures outside his marriage, but, the fact the FBI has made false charges in AN ATTEMPT 'to fit the agenda' of the Republican Elite is simply outrageous and shows far more corruption at the FBI under the demands of a political Homeland Security Secretary than anywhere else in this episode of Republican intimidation of the electorate.

...The officials said federal authorities rarely prosecuted either offense, unless it was connected to a more serious illegal activity like human trafficking or drug smuggling. They also said investigators did not use some tools at their disposal. For example, while Mr. Spitzer’s encounter with the prostitute in Washington was carried out under heavy surveillance, there were no video or audio recording devices in the hotel room....

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/nyregion/12legal.html?pagewanted=2&sq=Michael%20Powell&st=nyt&scp=3

The FBI investigators literally went about 'making' the circumstances surrounding Mr. Spitzer carry more brevity than they actually do. They 'made' a case, rather than having a case expose itself as serious. Quite literally, the FBI, 'spun/evolved' the case against Eliot Spitzer without due cause EXCEPT it would 'fit the agenda' of the Republicans at the head of the Executive Branch.

If they will do this to a New York Governor, they'll do this to anyone.

THE MANN ACT OF 1910 (click here) is somewhat controversial in its content in that it can be used to enforce 'a particular' morality. Where it comes 'into service' to the people of the USA is when a Pimp or Traffiker literally transports individuals across state lines to make money from their sexual services. Mr. Eliot was not involved in traffiking or white slavery. He was involved in receiving services by a woman to his own pleasure outside the context of his relationship with his wife. There is a huge JUMP that occurred in the 'ideas' by the FBI that Mr. Spitzer would be guilty of any of the statutes of The Mann Act. The FBI literally took the content of 'The Rule of Law' discarded it and 'decided' in a corrupt culture to act against a New York Governor for the specific purpose of ruining his political career because of sexual antics outside his marriage. THAT, is a judgement of morality, NOT, of content important to the conduct of American Law or Justice.

The Republican administration, along with former members of that administration, laid out a plan to exploit 'barely prosecutable' crimes in order to exploit and spin the political potential of a demise of a Democratic Governor and casting even more shadows on the complete Democratic party. The FBI was exploited and so was 'the story' to create anxiety among the electorate for the upcoming 2008 Presidential Polling in November because Democrats are favored in light of the corruption that exists in the Republican Party and their willingness to wage war without end.

Elephants such as C'Sar, a resident of the N.C. Zoo, are social and free-ranging creatures that can travel up to 10 miles a day.

An advocate for captive elephants (click here)
Hillsborough woman works to improve conditions for big beasts
By Meredith Geldmeir, Correspondent
HILLSBOROUGH -- Suzanne Roy has a passion for protecting animals. In her home office, one of Roy's five cats, one she bottle-fed as a kitten, lazes in a sun patch. The dog wanders in for a back scratch.
But some of Roy's animal friends are not so furry and definitely too large for the house -- because Roy also has a passion for elephants.
She reaches for a pile of photographs on her desk showing two circus elephants, Tina and Jewel; Tina's leg is chained to a truck tire. Jewel's skull and spine are protruding after she lost 1,000 pounds, one-seventh of her body weight, before the U.S. Department of Agriculture forced the circus to take her off the road.
As program director for In Defense of Animals, an international animal-welfare organization, Roy campaigns to improve the conditions of elephants in zoos and circuses....

Zoos

McCartney campaigns to stop kangaroo cull
13/03/2008 - 1:18:07 PM
Paul McCartney has spoken out in disgust at Australia's plans to cull a large number of kangaroos.
The former Beatle has added his support to a campaign by Vegetarians International Voice for Animals (VIVA!), who are desperate to halt the proposed killing of 500 of the marsupials near the country's capital, Canberra.
The animals have been targeted to be culled after the Australian government issued reports stating their large numbers impacted heavily on other species in the area.
The 65-year-old rocker, who has been an avid campaigner for animal rights, says: "There is an urgent need for action to protect kangaroos from a barbaric industry which slaughters them for meat and leather."
VIVA! Have long fought a battle against the killing of kangaroos for meat exportation.
McCartney's latest comments come just after the release of a new People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) poster campaign in which he describes the moment he decided to become a vegetarian.

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/entertainment/story.asp?j=249183406&p=z49y84yyz


A solemn farewell for Detroit Zoo gorilla
Catherine Jun / The Detroit News
ROYAL OAK -- The chimps and gorillas at the Detroit Zoo's ape exhibit were more subdued Wednesday, as if they could sense something had changed.
"It's apparent all the other animals know that something's off," zookeeper Lindsay Maess said.
What was off was what was missing: Sunshine, the hulking, 550-pound silverback gorilla who had become a favorite of zoogoers and staff over the last decade. After fighting a flulike illness for weeks, he died Tuesday.
Advertisement
On Wednesday, staff members were awaiting test results to determine the cause of death. Some guess heart failure or possibly pneumonia.
And as is standard protocol, both primates and their human caregivers alike will be monitored for any cold or flu symptoms for the rest of the winter season.
"We take precautions when it comes to the safety of the staff and the safety of the animals," said Scott Carter, a zoo director.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080313/METRO/803130388/1409/METRO


Lincoln Park Zoo South Pond set for renovation
Water to be deeper, cleaner for wildlife
By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah Tribune reporter
March 13, 2008
Lincoln Park Zoo will pour almost $12 million into its historic South Pond next winter, in an effort to make the landmark cleaner, deeper and more inviting to wildlife and humans.
Officials said the renovation, approved by the Chicago Park District Board Wednesday, is scheduled to begin in October and finish in time for the paddleboat season in 2009.
"We want to restore it and make it a more natural environment," said Sharon Dewar, a zoo spokeswoman. "It's taking away the concrete and steel and making it a more natural environment that will be host to native wildlife."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northwest/chi-zoo-pond_13mar13,0,537293.story


Zoo's rare tiger cub found dead
By Jamie Duncan
March 13, 2008 09:04pm
A RARE juvenile Sumatran tiger was found dead in a pool in its enclosure at Melbourne Zoo today.
The body of the five-month-old tiger, named Nakal, was found by his keepers in the pool in the enclosure he shared with his two siblings.
Zoos Victoria general curator Dan Maloney said it was unclear how Nakal died.
"We don't know at this point. We are trying to work it out,'' Mr Maloney said.
"He appears to have drowned in his exhibit pool, his habitat pool that he has played in many times.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23370803-5005961,00.html


Polk conservation board supports new zoo plan
By JASON PULLIAM
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
March 13, 2008
Backers of a plan to expand Blank Park Zoo and revive the south-side "superblock" scored their second victory in as many nights on Wednesday.
The Polk County Conservation Board voted 4-0 in support of a conceptual master plan for the superblock, framed between Southeast 14th Street, Southwest Ninth Street, Army Post Road and County Line Road. Board member Michelle McEnany was absent.
The board's support increases the likelihood that the current plan will be implemented after nearly two years of starts, stops and several scuttled plans. The plan also drew unanimous support from the Des Moines school board on Tuesday.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080313/NEWS05/803130413/-1/SPORTS0806


Bergerons welcome new zoo rules
Posted By Jeremy Ashley
Posted 22 hours ago
Owners of a local exotic animal sanctuary welcomed news of the Ontario government's plan to introduce new legislation aimed at imposing new rules for the province's 50 roadside zoos.
Joe and Pat Bergeron, who operate Bergerons' Exotic Animal Sanctuary on County Road 5 in Prince Edward County, are hopeful the new regulations will bring a new standard of care for animals at similar operations across the province.
"I know it's been coming, but it's been talked about for such a long time," said Pat Bergeron shortly before heading out to care for the dozens of animals at the site.
"As long as the health and happiness of the animals is front and centre, it should be a good thing."
The legislation, aimed at overhauling a 90-year-old law, is expected to set standards of care for small zoos and give the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals the right to inspect the operations. It is expected to be introduced this week after the provincial legislature resumes sitting.

http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=940563



Aching Zoo Resident Gets Alternative Medicine
Brazilian Tapir Moving Around Better Following Acupuncture
When San Antonio zookeepers noticed that George, a 38-year-old Brazilian tapir, seemed a bit sore and stiff, they decided to try traditional medicine.
But after the treatment didn’t seem to help George feel better, zoo officials decided to give an ancient remedy a try.
The zoo called on veterinarian Ben Espy, who had tried acupuncture on George in the past with success.
Anita Balan, a zoo supervisor recalled how well George responded to the ancient remedy.
“I got radio calls (saying), ‘Oh my gosh, there is something wrong. George is running around,’” Balan said. “So it obviously helps.”

http://tapirblog.tapirdesign.com/?p=56


Irwin zoo broke law 13 times - minister
By Rosemary Desmond
March 14, 2008 06:17pm
THE Irwin family's Australian Wildlife Hospital at Australia Zoo has breached environmental laws relating to koalas 13 times, the Queensland Government says.
Sustainability Minister Andrew McNamara said today he was concerned at repeated infringements by the Sunshine Coast-based hospital of regulations covering the release of injured koalas back into the wild.
Under Queensland environmental laws, koalas should be released into a location that is no more than 5km from the area where they were found, unless permission is granted for another location because there is no suitable environment within 5km.
"It is disappointing that an organisation held in such high regard has flouted regulations designed to protect the best interests of koalas in Queensland," Mr McNamara said.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23375040-5005961,00.html


Girl Falls Into Bear Exhibit at Zoo
15 hours ago
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Zoo officials in St. Louis say a young girl fell into a bear exhibit and received a minor head injury.
Zoo spokesman Wyndel Hill says the child is between the ages of 3 and 5. She had visited the zoo with her mother Wednesday, climbed on a rail and fell over into the exhibit.
Hill says neither of the two bears could have come in contact with the girl because of several security measures. They include a 6-foot-deep moat and a wall between the bears and the child.
The zoo plans to review security.
In 2004, one of the sun bears wounded a keeper in a separate part of the exhibit away from public view.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jOxVZcdp4PzuGBRyBdph_M4yLbLwD8VCNRFO0



2 New Penguins Make Zoo Debut
POSTED: 3:51 pm CDT March 13, 2008
UPDATED: 4:40 pm CDT March 13, 2008
OMAHA, Neb. -- There are a couple of new birds on ice at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo.
A king penguin and a macaroni penguin recently arrived from a rescue group in South Africa. When the two birds were found, zoo officials said, they were severely dehydrated and have since been nursed back to health.
There are already king penguins on display at the zoo's exhibit, but the zoo hopes to find a boyfriend for the female macaroni penguin.

http://www.ketv.com/entertainment/15587782/detail.html



Surprise! SF Zoo tiger had three babies, not one
By Linda Goldston
Article Launched: 03/13/2008 05:27:21 PM PDT
Make it triplets for Leanne the tiger.
Officials at the San Francisco Zoo had thought the Sumatran tiger gave birth to only one cub on March 6. But animal keepers were able to confirm this week that the 230-pound new mom had triplets.
"We're hoping in the next few days to conduct a physical exam," said Paul Garcia, zoo spokesman. "We might even see more."
Animal keepers and Jacqueline Jencek, chief zoo veterinarian, began to suspect there was more than one cub two days after Leanne gave birth. But Leanne had licked the video camera being used to monitor mom and the baby, limiting the view. And parts of the nesting box built for Leanne and her new babies are not visible from the camera.
"One of our keepers saw them when Leanne went out (of the nesting box) to get a drink of water," Garcia said. "She counted three."
Leanne and her cubs won't be disturbed for at least a few more days. And even then, Garcia said the cubs will not be gathered for a physical examination until the mother tiger steps out for food or a drink of water.
"We're kind of watching the routine Leanne is doing," he said. "Typically in the morning, she's getting up to eat and get water."

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8563943?nclick_check=1



Rare North Island brown kiwi hatches at the Smithsonian's National Zoo
March 13, 2008 10:48 PM
Early Friday morning, March 7, one of the world’s most endangered species—a North Island brown kiwi—hatched at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo Bird House. Keepers had been incubating the egg for five weeks, following a month long incubation by the chick’s father, carefully monitoring it for signs of pipping: the process in which the chick starts to break through the shell. The chick remained in an isolet for four days and is now in a specially designed brooding box.
The box will be not be on exhibit, but will be accessible on Friday, March 14, by webcam on the Zoo’s Web site at http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/Birds/Kiwi/default.cfm. Since kiwis are nocturnal, the best time to view the chick exploring and foraging in its box will be in the evening.
The sex of the chick is still unknown and is difficult to determine by sight. For this reason, Bird House staff enlisted the help of National Zoo geneticists. Using DNA samples swabbed from the inside of the egg and from the bird’s beak, the geneticists hope to decipher its sex in the coming weeks.

http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2008/03/13/rare_north_island_brown_kiwi_hatches_at_the_smithsonians_national_zoo.html



Alan Alda at the N.C. Zoo
Posted on: March 13, 2008 11:28 PM, by Coturnix
He was here last Tuesday for filming of a scientific documentary for PBS:
He was doing important work on an upcoming PBS special "The Human Spark", a three-part documentary about what makes us human, due to air next year.
Alda, who also met with researchers at Duke University on Monday, started filming last week and said he will tape additional segments in France, England and South Africa, as well as in the Pacific Northwest. Duke primatologist Brian Hare suggested the NC Zoo as a shooting location, zoo spokesman Rod Hackney said.

http://scienceblogs.com/clock/2008/03/alan_alda_at_the_nc_zoo.php



Advisers to urge review of S.F. Zoo
Marisa Lagos, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, March 14, 2008
Nearly three months after a tiger escaped from its enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo and mauled a teenage boy to death, a city advisory commission will ask the Board of Supervisors to instigate a review of the facility's setup and exercise more control over the privately run zoo.
Some Animal Control and Welfare commissioners are worried that changes made at the zoo over the past couple of months only focused on public safety. They want the city to force the zoo to focus more on animal welfare "and less on the entertainment of humans," said Commissioner Christine Garcia.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/13/BAJPVJBJB.DTL


Oakland Zoo's expansion plans ruffling feathers
Residents upset about losing open space
By Momo Chang, STAFF WRITER
Article Created: 03/14/2008 02:32:22 AM PDT
OAKLAND — The Oakland Zoo is planning its first major expansion in nearly 50 years, hoping to push into 45 acres of Knowland Park, boost its annual visitors by 100,000 and add new animal exhibits, a veterinary hospital and a gondola ride.
The new exhibits are part of "California!," which will showcase the state's native plants and animals such as the grizzly bear, mountain lion, jaguar, wolf, eagle and California condor.
But some zoo neighbors aren't happy about the zoo's eastward expansion into Knowland Park. They don't want lose open space to the zoo, noting that the 525-acre Knowland Park is public land deeded to the city.
"We're not opposed to the zoo as an entity," said Jason Webster, a member of the grass-roots group Friends of Knowland Park, which wants to preserve the open space. "A majority of us respect the zoo. We're asking the zoo to restrict expansion."
About 50 residents met with Councilman Larry Reid, whose district includes the zoo, and zoo staff at a Feb. 28 community meeting to discuss the expansion. But it may be a moot point.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_8570274


World's smallest deer at Queens Zoo
The news to hit the Wildlife Conservation Society's Queens Zoo is the arrival of Josephine, the world's smallest deer and Napoleon's new mate.
Zookeepers say this imperial pair took a liking to each other almost immediately, forming a bond similar to that of their historic namesakes. While Napoleon Bonaparte shared passionate love letters with Josephine, the pudu share more practical things, such as trees for shelter and greens for food. Hopefully, this pint-sized pair, native to South America, not France, will make their own history at the Queens Zoo.

http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2008/03/worlds-smallest-deer-at-queens-zoo.html


Zoo expansion plan renews plea to preserve tropical garden
By ERIC STAATS (Contact)
6:52 p.m., Saturday, March 8, 2008
In the 1920s, Henry Nehrling came to Naples, then an isolated outpost, and planted a tropical garden that made a mark on Florida horticulture that’s still revered today.
The 13-acre achievement _ what’s left of it _ sits on the northern edge of the Naples Zoo, which last month unveiled an expansion master plan that is raising concerns anew about the garden’s fate.
The land underneath the zoo, including the Nehrling tract, is publicly owned by Collier County government after voters approved a referendum in 2004 to tax themselves to save the historic attraction.
The zoo plan identifies Nehrling’s plantings with numbered circles spread through new exhibits for black bears and red wolves, a reef exhibit, a walk-through aviary and an elevated boardwalk through a canopy of trees.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/mar/08/zoo-expansion-plan-renews-plea-preserve-tropical-g/

continued...

2 right whales spotted with rope tangled in mouths - The Marine Mammal Protection Act - Same law that protects Polar Bears

March 13, 2008 11:56 AM

By Globe Staff
Scientists today are continuing to monitor two female right whales off Cape Cod that were spotted earlier this week with rope tangled in their mouths.
The entanglement is “relatively mild” and because the rope is not wrapped around other body parts, “no immediate threat exists,” according to a press release from the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies.
Both of the whales are breeding females, which are particularly valuable because there are less than 400 still alive. “They help this critically endangered species recover by reproducing and thus adding to the population,” said Tanya Gabettie, a spokesperson for the Center for Coastal Studies, in an e-mail.
An aerial survey team noticed the first whale Tuesday afternoon during a routine flyover of Cape Cod Bay. The whale, which researchers know by the number 2645, was diving and feeding with at least 10 other whales. The Center for Coastal Studies sent a disentanglement team in a boat to get a closer look.

The team noticed another whale, which is know by the nickname Wart, that also had rope caught in its jaws. Both whales appeared to be feeding normally, despite the rope. However, scars on the whales indicated that the entanglement was once more severe, officials said.
This year that have been four reported right whale entanglements off the East Coast, including the pair spotted Tuesday.

Report: Sonar use could harm whales (click here)
By James Halpin, Associated Press Writer
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A naval exercise off the Australian coast using submarine-hunting sonar could kill whales or cause them to become stranded, the International Whaling Commission warned in a report.
Environmental groups say the mid-frequency sonar U.S. and Australian forces plan to use can cause hearing loss and tissue damage in whales and can alter their diving habits. Deep-diving species such as the beaked whale are especially at risk, they say, because rapid surfacing can result in the bends, a decompression sickness that can be fatal.
"The reality is the strandings are only the tip of the iceberg," said Marsha Green of the Ocean Mammal Institute. "Most of the animals that are injured are going to die and sink to the bottom."
The biennial exercise, from June 19 to July 2, will be held off the Australian coast near Queensland and the Northern Territory. More than 20,000 U.S. and 7,500 Australian troops are expected to take part. The exercise will include 125 aircraft and 30 vessels, officials said.
"This is an area where there are beaked whales, and beaked whales have been sensitive to mid-frequency sonar," IWC scientific committee chairman Arne Bjorge told The Associated Press at the group's annual meeting, held in Anchorage last week....

Dated

Spain sees first Baluga born in European zoo
November 04 2006 at 03:47PM
Masdrid - Yulka, a whale in a Spanish zoo, has given birth to the first Beluga born in captivity in Europe.
After a six-month pregnancy and an eight-hour labour, Yulka gave birth to the grey blue baby of undisclosed sex on Thursday, the Valencia Zoo in eastern Spain said in a statement.
The baby whale weighed 90kg and measured 1.20m.
A team of experts will attend to the young mammal to give it the best chance of survival. The zoo noted the mortality rate for newborn Belugas was high.
It will be at least a month before the public is allowed to see the zoo's new arrival.
Belugas are a creamy white as adults but dark blue or grey at birth, and have a rounded, cuddlesome appearance and a short snout. They can live for up to 30 years.

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=143&art_id=qw116262774376B215


Meet the swan who’s crazy in love with a plastic boat!
Posted on Sunday, November 05, 2006 (EST)
Meet world’s oddest couple - a black swan named Schwarzer Peter and a bird-shaped pedal-boat that has won his undying love.
London, Nov 5 (ANI): Meet world’s oddest couple - a black swan named Schwarzer Peter and a bird-shaped pedal-boat that has won his undying love.
The swan has recently been moved to a zoo with his plastic lover.
Biologists in Muenster, north-western Germany, said that the rare Black Australian Swan has been showing all the typical signs of love, which includes circling around its plastic lover, staring endlessly at it and making crooning noises.
The swan now refuses to fly south for winter without his mate. Park keepers say that the lovesick swan refused to leave the boat on the Aasee Lake, which also should be taken off during the cold weather.

http://news.sawf.org/Lifestyle/26158.aspx


Veterinary Hospital Opens at Sacramento Zoo
Special to SacUnion.com
Published: November 3, 2006
SACRAMENTO—On Nov. 9, the Sacramento Zoo hosted the long-awaited Grand Opening of the Dr. Murray E. Fowler Veterinary Hospital. Mary Healy, Sacramento Zoo’s Director and CEO turned the first shovel of dirt almost a year ago at the groundbreaking on December 1, 2005. This November she will be joined by Heather Fargo, Mayor of Sacramento and Councilman, Rob Fong. Also present will be Board President, Steve Brand and Dr. Murray E. Fowler, Director Emeritus, whom the hospital is named after.

http://www.sacunion.com/pages/sacramento/articles/8642/


Reported by Allison Martin
Memphis Zoo expanding space for elephants
Updated: Nov 13, 2006 07:19 AM EST
Elephants are some of the most beloved animals at the zoo, but some worry the massive animals don't have enough room to roam. The Memphis Zoo is one of at least 40 zoos across the country expanding the space it gives its elephants.
It's part of a national trend toward elephant conservation, amidst some concerns the animals may be better served roaming free.

http://www.wmcstations.com/Global/story.asp?S=5632522


Whooping cranes move to Jacksonville Zoo
The 4-month-old chicks won't be on display for four to six weeks.
The Times-Union
Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is now home to two young whooping cranes.
It's the first time the zoo has ever had any of the birds, whose worldwide population is about 500.
The two 4-month-old chicks are in quarantine and will not be on display for four to six weeks, depending on how they grow and adapt. Then they'll go on display in the zoo's Wild Florida exhibit.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/110406/met_6000966.shtml


Miami zoo hosts poop exhibit
News Type: Event — Seeded on Fri Nov 3, 2006 3:34 PM EST
MIAMI - Meadow muffins. Guano. Feces. Solid waste. Caca. The words for poop are endless, but the Miami Metrozoo has another term to add to the list: educational.
Now on display is a 5,000-square-foot exhibit on excrement titled "The Scoop on Poop," which invites visitors to explore the science of scat. The exhibit is filled with photos of animals in some of their most indelicate moments. Stool sample models abound: haylike football-sized balls (elephant), kidney-bean-looking pellets (porcupine) and coallike lumps coated with fur (black bear).
Beyond the "ick" factor, however, zoo officials and the exhibit's creators say there is a lot of information being imparted. Visitors can smell the stench of flowers that mimic dung to attract flies for pollination. Videos include one of a hippo spreading its droppings around to mark its territory. Simple games include "Who Dung It?"

http://thehardmiddle.newsvine.com/_news/2006/11/03/426372-miami-zoo-hosts-poop-exhibit-


Fundraiser at Niabi Zoo to help teacher’s girls
Nick Loomis/QUAD-CITY TIMES A photograph of Niccole Thode holding her sister, Marissa Kunzman, hangs near the carousel at Niabi Zoo in Coal Valley, Ill., during a benefit held for the girls Friday. Their mother, Karla Kunzman, a teacher at Grant Wood Elementary School in Bettendorf, died July 2 from congenital heart failure at the age of 29. The benefit was held at Niabi because Kunzman loved the zoo and often brought her students there for field trips. Niccole lives with her father and stepmother, Jayson and Julie Sage of Davenport. Marissa lives with her father and Karla’s widowed husband, Mitch Kunzman of Sherrard, Ill.
COAL VALLEY, Ill. — Photographs of Karla Kunzman show her smiling as she poses with family members in her journey from small girl to marriage and mother of two young daughters.
Family, friends and supporters from Grant Wood Elementary School in Bettendorf celebrated her life with smiles and a few tears Friday during the Nighttime at Niabi fundraiser at Niabi Zoo in Coal Valley. The first-grade teacher at Grant Wood from Sherrard, Ill., died unexpectedly July 2 of a congenital heart defect.

http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2006/11/04/news/local/doc454c27292549a179269931.txt


NO to All Amendments and YES to the Metro Zoo Proposal
The six amendments that appear on the ballot (numbers are not consecutive since two were taken out) do not belong in the state Constitution. They should not be approved this Tuesday, November 7th. The Metro Zoo proposal should be approved.
Constitutional Amendment No. 1 which deals with the state’s planning and budget process sounds good in principle. It looks like it would promote fiscal discipline in the legislative budget by having fixed spending limits, but this is dangerous in an economic downturn. It is preferable that the entire Legislature votes and makes spending decisions year after year. Vote NO.
Constitutional Amendment No. 3 requires a 60% majority for approval by voters to change the state Constitution as opposed to the current simple majority, 50% plus one. Raising the percentage protects the Constitution from frivolous amendments, but impeding the voting public’s simple majority is wrong. Vote NO.

http://www.diariolasamericas.com/news.php?nid=16275


Estates leave Columbus Zoo $4.2 million
Published: Nov. 4, 2006 at 5:32 PM
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium's endowment fund boosted its bottom line by more than $4 million thanks to two bequests.
Zoo officials said they waited to announce the gifts, made in 2003 and 2004, until all legal details of the estates were settled, the Columbus Dispatch said.
Officials said the donations -- $2 million and $2.2 million -- are two of the largest bequests in the zoo's history and came as a surprise, the Dispatch said. The zoo's development department had not worked with the estates, learning of the gifts through letters from the estates' attorneys.
Officials said the gifts will go into an endowment used to fund special education and conservation projects, and to buy animals, the Dispatch said.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Quirks/2006/11/04/estates_leave_columbus_zoo_42_million/6093/


Zoo Receiving Donation for Tiger Exhibit
Posted: 7:41 PM Nov 1, 2006
Last Updated: 10:23 PM Nov 1, 2006
November 1 - A donor is giving the Sedgwick County Zoo money for an Asian tiger exhibit, but there's a catch. The community must come up with part of the cash.
The piece of land between the Downing Gorilla Forest and the Asian forest could soon become an Asian tiger exhibit. An anonymous donor is giving the zoo $1 million dollars to build the exhibit.
The zoo must match the million with other contributions. If that happens, then the donor will kick in another million to complete the total $3 million cost of the exhibit.
Visitors at the zoo say they'll be excited to see the new exhibit. If the zoo meets its fundraising goals, the exhibit could be open by late 2008 to early 2009.

http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/4545701.html


Thai elephants arrive at Taronga Zoo
PM - Thursday, 2 November , 2006 18:42:00
Reporter: Kathryn Roberts
MARK COLVIN: Four of the eight Asian elephants at the centre of an animal welfare row have arrived in Sydney.
There have been two years of legal argument and protests in Australia and Thailand about their move.
The group arrived in a huge Russian plane this morning from Cocos Island where they'd spent 90 days in quarantine.
They were taken to Sydney's Taronga Park Zoo under police watch. The hope is that they'll be able to breed there.
Animal activists have been fighting the move, but now that the elephants are here they say they'll keep watch to ensure they are healthy and happy.
Kathryn Roberts reports.
KATHRYN ROBERTS: In June, animal rights protesters in Thailand temporarily stopped the transfer of the eight elephants from the Thai countryside to Bangkok airport.

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2006/s1780058.htm


Puma Dies At Lincoln Park Zoo
CHICAGO (STNG) ― Lincoln Park Zoo veterinarians euthanized a 19-year-old female puma on Wednesday, saying the cat had been steadily declining due to conditions related to old age.
Though a full necropsy report will not be completed for about a week, the puma had been undergoing treatment for severe arthritis in her spine and was known to have progressive renal (kidney) failure, according to a release from the zoo.
Over the past few weeks, staff noticed mild changes in the puma's behavior, including a decrease in activity, and continued a close watch, the release said. During the past week, the puma lost her appetite and began vomiting and losing weight at an alarming rate.
Pumas, also known as mountain lions and/or cougars, are powerful predators native to the Americas. Once found throughout the United States, they were hunted for sport and killed by farmers and ranchers who feared for their livestock. By the 20th century, pumas had been eliminated from the Midwest and East and are now classified as threatened.

http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/lincoln.park.zoo.2.333260.html


I do for zoo! Couple adopt animals as wedding gifts
By Staff reporter
THERE were no toasters or dinner plates waiting for newlyweds Damon and Joannah Barnard.
Instead their wedding list was made up of bats, elephants, tapirs and sealions.
Because the Burtonwood couple decided that instead of traditional presents, they wanted zoo adoptions as gifts from Chester Zoo.

http://www.thisischeshire.co.uk/display.var.999126.0.i_do_for_zoo_couple_adopt_animals_as_wedding_gifts.php


Thai elephants on display in Taronga Zoo
Four thai elephants that have arrived in Sydney after being in quarantine on the Cocos Islands will be on display to the public from today.
The elephants are part of a group of eight, with the rest to arrive in the next few days.
Their arrival has been delayed by about 18 months after animal welfare groups took legal action to try to stop it.
Taronga Zoo spokesman Guy Cooper says they will be housed in a new enclosure and used in a breeding program.
"Elephants are undoubtedly a big long-term investment and if you're going to go into it you need the best facilities you can develop," he said.
Five of the eight elephants will be kept in Sydney and the other three will go to Melbourne.
Animal welfare groups say they will monitor the elephants for signs of distress.
Zoo officials say the animals are in good health.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200611/s1780190.htm


Taronga Zoo's elephants take the stage
November 3, 2006 - 2:18PM
Taronga Zoo's new Asian elephants have taken to the stage like pros in their first public appearance.
A few excited children and a large media throng gathered at the pachyderms' new enclosure, where the four female elephants celebrated their long-awaited arrival with a roll in the dirt.
The animals are among eight elephants that began a controversial journey from Thailand in June and have been held in quarantine on the Cocos Islands, 2,750km north-west of Perth in the Indian Ocean.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Taronga-Zoos-elephants-take-the-stage/2006/11/03/1162340034822.html



Zebra dies at Virginia Zoo in freak accident
07:01 PM EST on Wednesday, November 1, 2006
Associated Press
CNORFOLK (AP) -- A young zebra at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk has died in a freak accident following a rabies shot.
Zoo spokeswoman Alison Swank says zookeepers administered the shot with a blow dart gun, but the zebra bolted, struck a fence and fell backward.
Swank says the zebra was having trouble breathing and died within minutes Friday from a broken neck.
The City of Norfolk wanted to keep the death under wraps to avoid news coverage of the animal's death. Zoo administrators say they were following new rules from the mayor's office.

http://www.wvec.com/news/topstories/stories/wvec_top_110106_zebra.8d70eb6.html



Press Release: Microsoft Makes a Splash at the Georgia Aquarium With National Essay Contest
Published by ImagingInsider.com November 1st, 2006 in NewsStream
Nov. 1, 2006 — Microsoft® Game Studios is teaming up with the Georgia Aquarium to introduce an educational initiative that will help excite and inform students about the complexity of and caring for marine life. Microsoft Corp., the Georgia Aquarium and AirTran Airways today announced a national essay contest on marine conservation and the importance of preserving aquatic life.

http://www.imaginginsider.com/?p=13612

continued...

Agency faces action for delay in protecting polar bears

One might ask, "Why the DeLay (click here) ?" - CRONY Politics. There is no other reason.

When Polar Bears are classified, there will be no drilling in ANWR.

The USA Government under Republicans of any breed is corrupt.

Just that simple.

Republicans are 'invested' in anciet economics and companies that should have been out of business a long, long time ago. Realize the global climate dynamics causing this crisis with Polar Bears and then realize the USA under a majority of Republican Presidents and legislators have not moved from ancient methods of energy production.

The Republicans' personal holdings, with Cheney as King of the Corruption Hill, see only the wealth and an economic strategy that has sustained their party for decades. They reject alternative energies, alternative fuels, have askewed ideas regarding science, reject conservation as an important national directive (Otherwise they won't be seeking to drill ANWR.), do not value children unless they are growing up to be soldiers, do not respect the future of Americans so much as their immediate bank rolls and fiscal needs, do not see public transportation as important or necessary to a society in need of alternative methods of travel, they seek exploitation of the USA Treasury as a methodology to supporting their economics while giving exceptionally little consideration to social needs, such as SCHIP and other national crisises.

So when they run out of 'propaganda' they simply ignore 'The Rule of Law' and do as they please to achieve their directives. They are human rights violators and in ignoring the law while diverting a nation's wealth into initiatives of illegal wars, they control power that is adverse to the best outcome of an entire nation and hence its allies.

No one should be surprised or shocked the Bush/Cheney administration's EPA is doing the "W"rong thing. They don't intend to do anything else. Ever.

March 13, 2008, 6:38PM
Alaska's US Senators Seek ANWR Drilling (click here)
By STEVE QUINN Associated Press Writer
JUNEAU, Alaska — With oil hitting $110 a barrel, gas prices reaching record highs and energy costs growing prohibitive, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Thursday it's time to reconsider oil exploration on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
She, along with fellow Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, introduced legislation to open up ANWR should oil prices reach $125 for five straight days.
"You get to a point where maybe there is a tipping point when it comes to driving action on an issue like ANWR," Murkowski told The Associated Press. "People are talking about what's going on with the high price of gasoline and the high price of energy that we are feeling acutely at home."
The 1.2 million-acre coastal strip has long been protected from efforts to open the area east of Prudhoe Bay oil field to energy companies.
If opened, Murkowski said revenues would be used by the federal government for alternative energy development, plus energy relief programs for low-income families....




The US government agency responsible for including the polar bear on its list of endangered species faced a new legal challenge yesterday over its failure to protect the supreme Arctic predator. Environmental groups were ready to sue the Bush administration in federal court in California, claiming the Fish and Wildlife Service was in breach of its own mandate.
A decision on classifying the polar bear as threatened due to climate change was due to have been made by January 9, a year after consultations began on the issue. Officially, the service says it is still reviewing technical data and more than 670,000 comments on the issue but its own inspector general has announced a preliminary investigation into the delay to determine whether a full investigation is warranted....