Pages

A universe of beauty, mystery and wonder

A universe of beauty, mystery and wonder
©http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/ UNAUTHORIZED USE AND/OR DUPLICATION OF THIS BLOG'S MATERIAL IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. EXCERPTS AND LINKS MAY BE USED, PROVIDED THAT FULL AND CLEAR CREDIT IS GIVEN TO OTTERS AND SCIENCE NEWS BLOGSPOT WITH APPROPRIATE AND SPECIFIC DIRECTION TO THE ORIGINAL CONTENT. --- THE FACTS AND OPINIONS POSTED ON THIS BLOG ARE HERE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSE AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS OF THIS BLOG'S ADMINISTRATOR.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

WILD ANIMALS TAKE OVER ABANDONED HOUSES IN FINLAND

Amateur photographer Kai Fagerström  found abandoned houses in Finland and photographed their new animal inhabitants. 

See pictures of eerie-looking rooms and the curious eyes peeking at the human intruder in the semi-darkness.

Read more and see pictures here - http://www.boredpanda.com/abandoned-house-animals-kai-fagerstrom/


*****************************************************************************

.

MASSIVE YOSEMITE FIRE MAY HAVE BEEN IGNITED BY MARIJUANA GROWERS

UPDATE September 5, 2013

Hunter's campfire sparked Yosemite blaze - not marijuana growers.



=====================================================================

The massive forest fire that has scorched 333 square miles in and around Yosemite National Park may have been sparked by illegal marijuana growers, according to one fire official in Tuolumne County. 
 
The San Jose Mercury News reports that Todd McNeal, chief of the Twain Harte Fire Department, told a community meeting that it was "highly suspect that there might have been some sort of illicit grove, a marijuana-grow-type thing."
 
McNeal, who has 23 years of experience with Forest Service, the National Park Service and other agencies, said at the Aug. 23 meeting that investigators know the fire is human caused since there was no lightening in the area.

Read more - http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/31/progress-made-against-yosemite-wildfire-but-smoke-spreads/

********************************************************************************



Friday, August 30, 2013

ONCE AGAIN GERMAN CHILDREN BELONG TO THE STATE

Schools have become instruments of the state to indoctrinate children and to break their morals. 

GERMANY - Four children, ages 7 to 14, have been forcibly taken from their Darmstadt, Germany, home by police armed with a battering ram, and their parents have been told they won’t see them again soon, all over the issue of homeschooling, according to a stunning new report from the Home School Legal Defense Association.
 
HSLDA, the world’s premiere advocate for homeschoolers, said the family of Dirk and Petra Wunderlich has battled for several years Germany’s World War II-era requirement that all children submit to the indoctrination programs in the nation’s public schools.
 
The shocking raid was made solely because the parents were providing their children’s education, HSLDA said. The organization noted the paperwork that authorized police officers and social workers to use force on the children contained no claims of mistreatment.
 
“The children were taken to unknown locations,” HSLDA said. “Officials ominously promised the parents that they would not be seeing their children anytime soon.”
 
 
RELATED
 
July 2013 - German homeschool family denied asylum in the U.S. appeals to Supreme Court
 
A German homeschooling family who fled to the United States in 2008 after persecution by officials in their home country has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court asking to be allowed to stay.

Read more - http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/german-homeschool-family-denied-asylum-in-the-u.s.-appeals-to-supreme-court/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chicago schools mandate sex education for kindergarten children

Read more -
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/08/29/cps-mandates-sexual-health-education-for-kindergartners/


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Parents have no right to determine their small children's values.  Schools do.  So says the US Court.

According to a US Court of Appeals:  There is no fundamental right of parents to be the exclusive provider of information regarding sexual matters to their children… Parents have no due process or privacy right to override the determinations of public schools as to the information to which their children will be exposed.

Read more - http://www.thedailysheeple.com/chicago-public-schools-mandate-sex-ed-for-kindergarteners_082013#comment-253133


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Public School Is One Of The Most Dangerous Places You Could Possibly Put Your Children

Read more - http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/public-school-is-one-of-the-most-dangerous-places-you-could-possibly-put-your-children

~~~~~~~~~

 
Link to this post - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/08/once-again-german-children-belong-to.html


*******************************************************************************


AWESOME PICTURES OF VOLCANO ERUPTIONS

VOLCANO CHASER TRAVELS THE WORLD TO PROVIDE YOU WITH STUNNING PHOTOGRAPHS OF ERUPTIONS.

See pictures by photographer Martin Rietze, who chases the most beautiful and awe-inspiring volcano eruptions. 

His fascination began when he was a child and witnessed an eruption of Etna in Sicily. 

See pictures here - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2405758/Volcano-chaser-Martin-Rietze-braves-volcanic-eruptions-capture-stunning-pictures.html

~~~~~~~~~

More about volcanoes on this blog - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/search/label/Volcanoes


Link to this post - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/08/awesome-pictures-of-volcano-eruptions.html


*******************************************************************************

FUKUSHIMA ECOCIDE NEWS UPDATE - AUGUST 29, 2013 - A SLOW-MOTION NUCLEAR ATTACK ON OUR WEST COAST

 

S O L U T I O N S

WHAT MUST BE DONE TO SAVE FUKUSHIMA AND THE PACIFIC
by Simply Info - Fukuleaks.org

What is needed is a far wider scale civil engineering project. This issue is not a mere problem with the local fishermen, it is an international problem. The Pacific is an international resource, Fukushima Daiichi is heavily polluting that resource on a daily basis and must be stopped sooner rather than later.

Read detailed article with engineering solutions and diagrams here - http://www.fukuleaks.org/web/?p=11237

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DR ROBERT JACOBS EXPLAINS MELTDOWNS AT FUKUSHIMA -
video and transcript

http://www.fukuleaks.org/web/?p=7624

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 
ENENEWS HEADLINES  

Just click on any of these headlines to read articles:

NHK: There was a melt-through so Fukushima fuel is definitely down in groundwater, and that’s flowing into Pacific — Americans need to watch, it gets international very quickly — May already be at West Coast — No ‘immediate’ risk

 
 
UPI: Fukushima plume to reach U.S. West Coast in months; Measurable increase in radioactive material — Study: Prolonged exposure for California lasting 10 years; Hits Hawaii early 2014… may already be surrounded
 
 
Professor: Fukushima disaster “beyond a cover-up” — Japan gov’t thinks they can get away with tricking masses about extent of problem — Officials and Tepco cannot be trusted, they are lying to the camera
 
 
Fukushima plant in national emergency says governor — “Severe radioactive contamination with serious health affects on local population” — ‘Global intervention’ suggested
 
 
 
Bloomberg: Japan gov’t needs to understand crisis at Fukushima is a matter of life and death — ABC Interview: “They are slowly killing us… They know full well it’s leaking, but they’ve done nothing”
 

Study: “Fuel materials” introduced to Pacific Ocean via drains of Fukushima plant resulting in potentially serious contamination of marine environment




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 NO 2 NUCLEAR POWER - NEWS ROUNDUP
 
Even if Fukushima was ultimately caused by the 2011 earthquake and ensuing tsunami, accidents such as this beg the question: can nuclear energy ever be truly safe? There are three reasons to think that nuclear accidents are common, and could increase – and it’s not because of the technology. Let’s have a look at the evidence.
 
First, people are fallible, even at nuclear reactors. Operator error is still a very common factor in incidents and accidents.
 
Second, big accidents almost always have very small beginnings. Nuclear power plants are so complex that relatively simple things — shirt tails, fuses, light bulbs, mice, cats, and candles — can disrupt the entire system.
 
And finally, many failures are those of organisations more than technology. Given the right event, all these factors can lead to system-wide failure.
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More news from FUKUSHIMA here:

ENENEWS  -
http://enenews.com/category/location/japan


 FUKUSHIMA FACTS
http://www.fukushimafacts.com/Default.aspx?PID=43&T=Radiation News


ENVIROREPORTER FUKUSHIMA DAY TO DAY NEWS DIGEST
http://www.enviroreporter.com/2012/12/rad-news-digest-ii/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Previous Fukushima News Update August 22, 2013
http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/08/fukushima-ecocide-update-august-22-2013.html

More on Fukushima on this blog
http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/search/label/Fukushima

Link to this post - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/08/fukushima-ecocide-news-update-august-29.html


********************************************************************************
 

FUKUSHIMA ECOCIDE - WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE NOW

By Tracy W.

The big news right now is Syria, where a chemical attack on several hundred people has prompted the United States and British governments into getting ready to attack Syrian government facilities. They want to act and they want to do it now.  To teach the Syrian government a lesson - they say - "for poisoning their own people".  (Would poisoning other people be OK?)
 
In the meantime the government of Japan and TEPCO, the company responsible for the Fukushima nuclear power plant, have been poisoning the people of Japan, their drinking water, their food, their air - everything.

But that's not all.  


CAN A COUNTRY GET AWAY WITH A SLOW-MOTION NUCLEAR ATTACK ON THE WHOLE PLANET?

Japan and TEPCO have been dumping countless gallons of highly radioactive water into the Pacific, poisoning an ocean that belongs to all of us - people and other living things. 

Radioactive air particles have been reaching the US and Canada's west coast since the start, two and a half years ago. 

If you're not allowed to dump your house trash on your neighbor's yard, how come our governments are so patient with Japan's ongoing major contamination of the rest of the planet? 
 

FUKUSHIMA HAS BEEN OUT OF CONTROL FROM THE START
 
And it gets more out of control by the day.  Yet, you don't hear a peep from the international community about intervening to protect us from this SLOW-MOTION NUCLEAR ATTACK on the whole planet by TEPCO and the government of Japan - with the silent complicity of OUR governments.
 
No nuclear accident of this magnitude can be considered a local event subject to local laws.


THERE IS AN URGENT NEED TO ORGANIZE TO OFFER SOLUTIONS AND TO DEMAND INTERNATIONAL INTERVENTION IN FUKUSHIMA

Scientists and nuclear experts need to form a permanent emergency think tank to offer their best options for the containment and mitigation of the damage. 

They should look at this as a learning experience because nuclear reactors all over the world are at risk. 

It is time for scientists to speak out with one voice in demanding international intervention and that all necessary money and efforts be allocated to mitigate the damage.  

Environmental activists must also do more than just report and condemn, and must coordinate their efforts to demand intervention and financial assistance by the world community. 
 
Celebrities intent on doing something good for their fellow human beings could also be called upon to publicize the situation and demand action by our governments. 

No effort should be spared.  This is a desperate situation.

Since it's obvious that Japan and TEPCO cannot cope at this point, it is up to us to save ourselves.  We are all responsible now.  The international community must take charge.

Let's demand an international intervention to finance and operate the necessary remediation of the site.  

Link to this post - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/08/fukushima-ecocide-we-are-all.html

**********************************************************************************
 

Thursday, August 29, 2013

KITTEN RESCUE - NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY CLOSES FOR TWO HOURS TWO PROTECT TWO FROLICKING KITTENS

People with good hearts in the big city turn off power and stop the trains to save two kittens playing on the tracks.  

It could have been cat-astrophic, but these runway kittens still have all nine lives in tact after train authorities came to their rescue today.  When two tiny felines were spotted frolicking on the train tracks near the Church Avenue station in Brooklyn about 11am, Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers turned off the power.  Passengers on the B and Q lines were stranded for about two hours while police officers chased the cats down the tracks.  According to the Wall Street Journal, a spokeswoman said police officers went onto the tracks to roust the cats so they wouldn't be at risk.  Service was restored once the kitties scurried off the tracks. However it's not clear what happened to the tiny cats. 

Read more and see pictures here - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2406092/CAT-ASTROPHE-New-York-City-subway-closed-TWO-HOURS-runaway-kittens-frolicking-tracks-dont-accidentally-fried.html

And very good pictures here too - http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/kittens-shut-subway-service-45-minutes-article-1.1440740


Link to this post - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/08/kitten-rescue-new-york-city-subway.html

********************************************************************************

LION DAD AND SON AT PLAY

You've bitten off more than you can chew!

Lion cub causes uproar… by chomping on its dad in a bid to make him play
  • The cheeky cub can be seen tugging on his father's mane, chewing on his fur and even smacking him on the end of the nose in a bid to entice him to play.
  •   The older lion sees the funny side at first... but not for long!
See pictures of adorable lion cub and his majestic dad. - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2405712/Lion-cub-causes-uproar-chomping-dad-bid-make-play.html

******************************************************************************

 

OTTERS JUGGLING AND HAVING A GREAT TIME

Video of otters juggling and entertaining themselves.  Life is never boring for an otter.

See video here - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2405384/OTTERS-caught-juggling-hilarious-video.html



***************************************************************************

JAPAN CREATES ANIMAL SPERM BANK - COINCIDING WITH FUKUSHIMA CATASTROPHE

Preparing for nuclear apocalypse?

Some day, when Fukushima and maybe other malfunctioning nuclear power plants have reduced our beautiful planet to an uninhabitable radioactive mess, robots (we don't expect the human race to survive too long) will follow their programming and launch animal babies grown in labs into another planet.


A Japanese university and zoo are creating a sperm bank for endangered animals that could one day be used to bring extinct species back to life and even help to colonise other planets with Earth’s rarest creatures.

Read more about this sperm bank here - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/10272997/Japanese-scientists-create-sperm-bank-of-endangered-animals-to-colonise-other-planets.html

*******************************************************************************

BEAUTIFUL CLOSE-UP PICTURES OF BEES

Bees are beautiful and they are our friends.  Unfortunately we are treating them badly, by spraying products on agricultural fields and gardens that are toxic for bees.  Bees are disappearing, and with them many plants and trees that depend on them for pollination will also disappear.
 
Please fight against the use of bee-killing products.

The pictures, taken by the U.S. Geological Survey's Bee Inventory and Monitoring programme, show that bees' colours range from blue to green, that some have no stripes and that their shapes range from large bumblebees to those as small as a grain of rice.
 
Bees are found everywhere - in the middle of fields, urban areas, gardens and even in marshes where they forage on blooming wetland plants.
 
Most people are completely oblivious to the existence of the many species of small solitary bees nesting in their lawns because they do not sting and don't match our mind picture of what a bee should look like.

See beautiful pictures here - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2404086/Bee-photographs-reveal-hidden-beauty-alien-like-shapes-colours-patterns-insects.html

More on endangered bees on this blog - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/search/label/Bees

~~~~~~

Link to this post - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/08/beautiful-close-up-pictures-of-bees.html

*******************************************************************************

POLAND FIRST TO GET GAS FROM FRACKING IN EUROPE

Poland wants to reduce dependency on Russia.
 
Poland has begun a test extraction of shale gas in amounts not seen in Europe before. Eager to reduce energy dependency on Russia, Poland has succeeded after three international firms quit drilling in the country.
 
Poland imports up to 70 percent of its gas from Russia and is eager to reduce its energy reliance on its neighbor. The country issued more than 100 shale gas exploration licenses to local and international firms which have drilled 48 wells so far.

Read more - http://rt.com/business/poland-shale-gas-fracking-europe-154/

********************************************************************************

MAD SCIENCE - MINIATURE HUMAN BRAIN GROWN IN LAB

Pea-sized brains?  Incapable of thought?  I thought those existed already.  Particularly among those promoting nuclear power energy. 
 
More seriously, the implications on the ethical level are considerable.  But not in our society where values, when they exist at all, are subject to relativistic and utilitarian interpretation.

Miniature "human brains" have been grown in a lab in a feat scientists hope will transform the understanding of neurological disorders.
 
The pea-sized structures reached the same level of development as in a nine-week-old foetus, but are incapable of thought.
 
Scientists at Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences have now reproduced some of the earliest stages of the organ's development in the laboratory.
 
They used either embryonic stem cells or adult skin cells to produce the part of an embryo that develops into the brain and spinal cord - the neuroectoderm.
 
The "mini-brains" have survived for nearly a year, but did not grow any larger. There is no blood supply, just brain tissue, so nutrients and oxygen cannot penetrate into the middle of the brain-like structure.


Read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23863544

*******************************************************************************

WE HAVE MARTIAN ORIGINS

The clue to our Martian origin is an oxidized form of the element molybdenum, which may have been crucial to the origin of life, likely available on Mars long ago, but unavailable on Earth.

Evidence is building that Earth life originated on Mars and was brought to this planet aboard a meteorite, said biochemist Steven Benner of The Westheimer Institute for Science and Technology in Florida.
 
It’s only when molybdenum becomes highly oxidized that it is able to influence how early life formed,  This form of molybdenum couldn’t have been available on Earth at the time life first began, because 3 billion years ago, the surface of the Earth had very little oxygen, but Mars did.
 
It’s yet another piece of evidence which makes it more likely life came to Earth on a Martian meteorite, rather than starting on this planet.
 
Organic compounds are the building blocks of life, but they need a little help to make things happen. Simply adding energy such as heat or light turns a soup of organic molecules into a tarlike substance.  That's where oxidized molybdenum comes in.  Inserting it or boron, another element, into the mix would help organics make the leap to life.

Read more - http://www.space.com/22577-earth-life-from-mars-theory.html



********************************************************************************

WOMAN CAUGHT FLESH EATING DISEASE FROM HANDLING CRABS

New Orleans, Louisiana.  Tuesday was Lois Domangue's 11th day in the hospital after becoming infected with a flesh-eating bacteria, according to family members.
 
They said it all started when the 70-year-old Chauvin resident was cooking dinner one night.
 
"She was preparing some crab to make a crab stew for her and dad, and they were live crabs. One of them clawed her and made a little hole in her finger," said Eileen Jackson, Lois's daughter. "She cooked her stew.  They ate it and then went to bed. Around 11, she woke up with pain in her wrist."
 
Within hours, Domangue's arm swelled enormously. "It had just taken over her whole arm. It was blisters and red. It was horrible," Jackson said.
 
Read more and watch video - http://www.fox8live.com/story/23273227/chauvin-woman-gets-flesh-eating-bacteria-from-handling-live-crabs-relatives-say


RELATED


Three facts about flesh eating bacteria - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/09/flesh-eating-bacteria-three-facts.html


More on flesh eating bacteria - http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=61933

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FOOD TOXICITY

Potatoes give off lethal gas - Russian family wiped out by toxic potato gas after going to the basement where they stored potatoes.

http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/09/potatoes-give-off-lethal-gas.html


~~~~~~~~~~

Link to this post - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/08/woman-caught-flesh-eating-disease-from.html
 
*******************************************************************************

ZOO PRIMATES FED UP WITH US

Gorilla stones and injures woman at Swedish Zoo, and baboons turn backs on visitors at Dutch zoo.
 
 
The angry gorilla story
The woman, 38, was hit in the forehead by the stone, which was thrown by one of the five gorillas at the Kolmården

National Park in central Sweden. The stone measured roughly five centimetres in diameter, said Marjorie Castro, head of the zoo.
Read more - http://www.thelocal.se/49846/20130826/
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
The angry baboons story
Ordinarily seen scampering around on their island at the Emmen Dierenpark in the northern Netherlands, the gang of 112 monkeys have been sitting frozen on the ground and turning their backs on visitors this week.

Read more and see pictures - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2384032/Baboons-Dutch-zoo-sitting-backs-turned-visitors.html



Link to this post - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/08/zoo-primates-fed-up-with-us.html

*******************************************************************************

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

EVEN DOGS CAN VOTE IN THE USA - THANKS TO FLAWED REGISTRATION SYSTEM

Cooper the Golden Retriever is a registered US voter and could have voted by mail with an absentee ballot - except that his owner registered him just to make a point and expose flaws in Monterrey County, California's election system.
 
Richard Davis went online and filled out a voter registration form for Cooper. The pooch received a registration card in Davis’ mailbox showing that Cooper is now a registered voter in Monterey County. The dog also got a voter ID number.

Watch video interview - http://www.wnd.com/2013/08/california-man-registers-dog-to-vote/?cat_orig=politics

*********************************************************************************

CRAZY WEATHER - IT SNOWS IN DRIEST PLACE ON EARTH - CHILE'S ATACAMA DESERT

Chile's Atacama desert is such a dry place that it is used as a setting for scientific experiments mimicking exploration in other planets. 

The desert is also known for being the location of the world's largest telescope, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).

Residents of San Pedro de Atacama, around 750 miles north from the capital Santiago, say the downfall was the heaviest in three decades for the area, described as the driest hot desert on Earth. 
 
A few areas get as little as 1mm and some weather stations have never had any at all.  At night, temperatures can drop to as low as −25C in the zone of Ollague, while during the day it can reach between 25-30C in the shade.  It is so arid that even mountains reaching as high as 22,589 ft are completely free of glaciers.

Read more, see pictures and video of this moonscape covered with snow - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2403754/Chiles-Atacama-desert-hit-SNOW--fears-FLOOD.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Extreme Places - Atacama Desert

Most of the precipitation that comes to the Atacama is in the form of fog that blows in the from the Pacific. Fog is essentially very low clouds, consisting of water vapor cooling and beginning to condense. If you've ever been in fog you know that it can leave you a little moist. When the air temperature reaches dew point the water vapor in the air condenses to leave little droplets of water behind. The few things that are able to survive in the Atacama live on the combined moisture from fog and dew.  Since the Andes is a volcanically active mountain range, the magma beneath the ground will heat the groundwater in certain places causing geysers to erupt.

Read about it - http://www.extremescience.com/driest.htm


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Atacama's Plants and Animals

Believe or not, living things exist on this desert.

Read more about that and  about climate, geography, and other aspects of Atacama - http://atacamainformation.weebly.com/atacamas-plants-and-animals.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Photo Gallery of Atacama Desert
The most haunting place on Earth


See pictures here - http://www.livescience.com/31911-atacama-desert-chile-photos.html

~~~~~

Link to this post - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/08/crazy-weather-it-snows-in-driest-place.html


*******************************************************************************

*******************************************************************************

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

ST LOUIS MAYOR WANTS GOATS TO REPLACE CITY WORKERS - NO KIDDING

You couldn't ask for better employees:  loyal, dedicated, don't watch the clock, don't complain, and don't ask for pay raises.  In fact they work for only room and board. 
 
Mayor Slay posted last week on his blog:
 
“When the Board of Aldermen returns, we will likely ask them to approve commercial goat mowing on City property, under contract with the appropriate agency, with plenty of conditions”.
 
Mayor Slay says his office fields several requests a week from residents asking about using goats to tend to their lawns. 

Sourcehttp://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/08/you-got-to-be-kid-ding-st-louis-mayor-wants-goats-to-replace-city-workers/

********************************************************************************

EVIDENCE OF SYRIAN REBELS LAUNCHING CHEMICAL ATTACK?

World Net Daily claims to have evidence of insurgents' involvement in the launching of that latest chemical attack on hundreds of Syrians.

Read further - http://www.wnd.com/2013/08/video-shows-rebels-launching-gas-attack-in-syria/

*******************************************************************************

CHRENOBYL WITHOUT US - HOW NATURE IS RECLAIMING THE SITE

It was April 26, 1986.  350,000 people lived in the cities of Chernobyl and Pripyat in the Ukraine.  Following the Chernobyl power plant accident people were evacuated and buildings abandoned as they were. 
 
First wild animals made their way into the area, and then the forest started surrounding the ghost cities and taking them over. 
 
And so resilient Mother Nature took on the task of bringing the area back to life.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
See before the accident pictures, and post-apocalyptic aerial views of the cities.  And then see how they look now, with the forest reclaiming and healing a place destroyed by men.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2402589/Vanishing-Chernobyl-Aerial-photos-devastated-town-radiation-disaster-zone-reclaimed-nature.html

******************************************************************************

MYSTERIOUS ANCIENT MAN-MADE CAVES IN HIMALAYAS - THOUSANDS OF THEM - WHO MADE THEM AND WHY?

There are still mysteries to solve and explore, the stuff of exciting adventure novels. 
 
Hidden within the Himalayas Mountains there are thousands of caves carved 155 feet off the ground.  The area used to be the Kingdom of Mustang in Nepal. 
 
They have been either dug into the cliffside or tunnelled from above.  And they are thousands of years old.  
 
How did the builders get up there?  Even today the climb is extremely hazardous.

A climber said: 'This was real exploration. It's dangerous, it's loose rock and it's scary. Everything is loose, everything around you feels like it's crumbling. You feel like when you're climbing everything is going to collapse.'

Here are some pictures to give you a sense of the huge size of these mountains, and their rugged, mysterious beauty. 


Dangerous: Climber Cedar Wright explores the series of caves near the village of Tsele

See more pictures

Monday, August 26, 2013

OTTERS NEWS - SEA OTTERS MAKE SEA GRASSES GROW

The return of sea otters has caused a remarkable recovery of endangered sea grasses which grow in estuaries, bays and inlets, and provide food and shelter for a variety of marine wildlife, a study has found. 
 
LOS ANGELES TIMES:  Fertilizer runoff has led to a global decline in seagrass meadows, which provide crucial habitat for fish. But thanks to sea otters, these meadows are flourishing in Elkhorn Slough, a major estuary in Monterey Bay, scientists say.
 
Fertilizer from farms in Salinas flows into Elkhorn Slough, carrying phosphates and other nutrients that fuel the growth of algae on seagrass leaves. As the algae blooms, it shades the seagrass from the sunlight it needs to grow.
 
In fact, nutrient levels are so high in Elkhorn Slough that scientists wouldn’t expect seagrasses to survive there. Yet in recent years the estuary bed has been teeming with the lush, green grass.
 
“There’s more seagrass in the slough than there’s ever been,” said study leader Brent Hughes, a marine ecologist at UC Santa Cruz.
 
To find out why, he and his colleagues combed through surveys conducted by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and other agencies that tracked the growth of seagrass in Elkhorn Slough over the last 50 years.
 
Fertilizer runoff nearly wiped out the seagrasses, but they began expanding in 1984 — right when sea otters began recolonizing Elkhorn Slough, the researchers reported Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 
 
Sea otters once thrived along the California coast, but the fur trade nearly drove them to extinction in the early 1900s. Since then, conservation efforts have helped them recover and repopulate their former habitats, including Elkhorn Slough.
 
Since sea otters returned to the estuary, the seagrass has expanded sevenfold.
 
But how did the otters boost its numbers? The researchers suspected that the otters fed on a predator that affected the plant’s growth.  
 
The only predators sea otters eat are crabs, which feed on invertebrates — such as sea slugs — that nibble algae off seagrass leaves. With fewer crabs to prey on them, these grazers grow more abundant, keeping seagrass leaves clean and healthy.
 
To test whether crabs really were the missing link, the researchers compared seagrasses in Elkhorn Slough with those in Tomales Bay, an estuary that has a similar ecosystem, but with low levels of nutrient runoff and no otters. 
 
Compared with Tomales Bay, Elkhorn Slough had fewer crabs and more seagrass overall. And in the areas with dense sea otter populations, the seagrass was greener, grew faster, and had less algae.
 
 
*********************************************************************************
 
 
 

WHAT SNOWDEN REVEALED ABOUT UK MIDDLE EAST SECRET SURVEILLANCE

Exclusive by The Independent:
 
Britain runs a secret internet-monitoring station in the Middle East to intercept and process vast quantities of emails, telephone calls and web traffic on behalf of Western intelligence agencies.

 
The station is able to tap into and extract data from the underwater fibre-optic cables passing through the region.
 
The information is then processed for intelligence and passed to GCHQ in Cheltenham and shared with the National Security Agency (NSA) in the United States. The Government claims the station is a key element in the West’s “war on terror” and provides a vital “early warning” system for potential attacks around the world.
 
The Independent is not revealing the precise location of the station but information on its activities was contained in the leaked documents obtained from the NSA by Edward Snowden.
 
The Guardian newspaper’s reporting on these documents in recent months has sparked a dispute with the Government, with GCHQ security experts overseeing the destruction of hard drives containing the data.
 
 
 
RELATED
 
UK government ordered The Guardian to destroy hard drives with Snowden information http://rt.com/news/guardian-hard-drives-destroyed-697/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2397827/The-Guardian-allowed-GCHQ-spies-offices-oversee-destruction-leaked-NSA-data.html


Russia Today - The UK secret surveillance of the Middle East
http://rt.com/news/uk-middle-east-surveillance-873/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 
Something to think about:
 
If the UK - and probably other Western countries as well - have such a sophisticated Middle East surveillance web, how did they get the Arab Spring so very wrong?
 
 
 
 
 
********************************************************************************

ESPN BOWS TO PRESSURE FROM NFL AND ABANDONS TV DOC ON PLAYERS' CONCUSSIONS

The issue of concussion-caused brain damage among sports players has been avoided for too long. Until recently. 
 
PBS just produced documentary League of Denial addressing the problem.  
 
PBS had originally partnered with ESPN - until the sports network suddenly withdrew from the project.  It is alleged that it was due to pressure from the National Football League.
 
The sports network ESPN, which has covered the issue of athletic concussions in the past, was set to partner with PBS' Frontline program to produce a documentary called League of Denial. Then, late last week, the Frontline site released a notice saying that ESPN had suddenly pulled out of the project.
 
Shortly after, The New York Times reported that this pull back was a product of pressure from the National Football League, which (probably rightly) feared that a documentary with that title would not put it in a positive light.
 
The NFL quickly issued a denial, while ESPN claimed that it simply asked that its name be removed from a project that it had little editorial control over. (In light of the public spat, ESPN's ombudsman analyzed the situation at length.)
 
The documentary will go on regardless of ESPN's involvement, and researchers will continue to work to define the parameters that lead to long term damage then (hopefully) craft those into advice on how athletes of various ages can preserve their brains. Having a major sports broadcaster amplify the message might have helped raise awareness of this issue. A public controversy like this, however, might serve equally well.
 
 
 
RELATED
 
Frontline documentary League of Denial -
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/league-of-denial/
 
New study finds brain damage in living ex-NFL players -
 
 
*******************************************************************************
 
 
 

SQUIRREL SCURRIES ACROSS THE COURT DURING US OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

NUTS ANYONE? 

Squirrel makes unannounced yearly appearance during US tennis open championships. 
  
 
  • Game, set and nuts: Squirrel stole the show as it ran across the court on day one of the U.S. Open
  • The most suicidal of moves has shot the squirrel to stardom
  • Furry friend seems to make a yearly appearance at the championship
  • Matches were also disrupted last August when one of the furry rodents leaped across the court.
  • Perhaps in-training for a career in animal acting, the squirrel waited until the cameras were rolling to enact its daring move...
  • See pictures and read more  - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2402405/New-nuts-Squirrel-scurries-court-U-S-Open-gets-underway.html

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Completely unrelated:

    When writing Nuts anyone? on this post it just occurred to me to find out where does the expression Tennis anyone? come from. 

    And here are the possible answers.  Nothing certain except that Humphrey Boggart is in the middle of it: 

    Humphrey Boggart may have stated: 

    “I used to play juveniles on Broadway and came bouncing into drawing rooms with a tennis racket under my arm and the line: “Tennis anybody?” It was a stage trick to get some of the characters off the set so the plot could continue. Now when they want some characters out of the way I come in with a gun and bump ‘em off.”

    There are other versions of Boggart's own statements, and you can read them here:
    http://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/02/14/tennis-anyone/


    Link to this post - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/08/squirrel-scurries-across-court-during.html


    ******************************************************************************


    FROG USES LEAF AS AN UMBRELLA, AND OTHER CUTE FROG PICTURES

    Frogs are really adorable. 

    See these outstanding photos of frogs captured in beautiful surroundings in their own habitats. 


    Frog extremely annoyed by downpour - Just look at her face.
    See pictures - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2394531/Oh-Ive-forgotten-brolly-Frog-looks-annoyed-getting-wet-caught-rain.html


    This smarter frog uses a leaf as an umbrella - This frog seems right out of a children's book illustration.
    See amazing pictures - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2375183/When-things-wet-frog-.html


    Snail crawls over a sleeping frog.
    See pictures - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2358218/Incredible-moment-snail-makes-way-sleeping-frog-slowest-game-leapfrog-ever.html


    Plucky dragonfly avoids becoming dinner when she stops for rest just tongue-lick away from jaws of hungry frog.
    See pictures - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2309386/Plucky-dragonfly-avoids-dinner-stops-rest-just-tongue-lick-away-jaws-hungry-frog.html


    Curious tree frog prefers life behind a lens as it explores camera and iPad in Costa Rica
    See pictures - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2401747/wildlife-photographer-Nicholas-Reusens-captures-tree-frog-Costa-Rica-jungle.html

    ~~~~~~~

    Link to this post - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/08/frog-uses-leaf-as-umbrella-and-other.html

    ********************************************************************************

    STUDENT DEFEATS SCHOOL MICROCHIPPING POLICY

    Perseverance pays - helped by a school's fear of bad publicity -
     
    Student aware of her rights wins against school policy of forcing students to wear microchipped locator badges.
     
    A student who was expelled from her magnet school program when she refused the district’s plan to microchip students is being reinstated after the district dropped the student-tracking strategy.
     
    Andrea Hernandez was defended by the Rutherford Institute against the Northside Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas.
     
    Constitutional attorney and institute president John W. Whitehead said Hernandez is returning this fall to the John Jay High School’s Science and Engineering Academy. Her first day back will be Aug. 26.
     
    Hernandez was expelled from the program after raising religious freedom and privacy objections to the district’s “Student Locator Project,” which used RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Tags) badges to enable officials to track students’ every move on campus.  After a long court fight, district officials announced they would stop using the RFID tracking badges. They cited low participation rates and negative publicity.

    Read more - http://www.wnd.com/2013/08/student-defeats-school-district-over-microchipping/?cat_orig=education

    ~~~~~~~~~~

    RELATED


    RFID BADGES NOT SAFE FROM HACKING

    Radio-frequency identification tags are widely deployed around the world and commonly used for building security system cards. As it turns out, those RFID security cards might not be all that secure. That is the conclusion of Francis Brown, managing partner at security firm Bishop Fox, who detailed his research on RFID hacking on July 31 at the Black Hat security conference here. In an interview with eWEEK, Brown said he started out doing his RFID research focused on a specific requirement: He needed to break in to a building.
     
    Read details of RFID hacking here -

    ~~~~~~~~~~

    More on the hackers' Black Hat Conference - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/08/hackers-black-hat-conference-their_8.html


    Link to this post - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/08/student-defeats-school-microchipping.html


    ******************************************************************************

    Sunday, August 25, 2013

    LIES THAT GMO LABELING OPPONENTS TELL YOU

    Consumers want clear labels.  Washington State residents will be voting on a citizens' initiative to make GMO labels mandatory.  But industry is fighting back.

    GMO labeling opponents are using inaccurate arguments to stop Washington State voters from passing I-522, a citizens’ initiative that, if passed, will require mandatory labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in all food products sold in Washington.

    1. Lie: Labeling genetically engineered foods (GMOs) will cost taxpayers millions of dollars a year.

    Truth:  Empirical studies have concluded labeling would lead to no increases in prices. Since the European Union labeled GMOs in the 1990’s, there has been "no resulting increase in grocery costs." 

    2. Lie: I-522 is full of arbitrary special interest exemptions that will just confuse consumers.

    Truth:  I-522 requires labeling for the GE foods that are most prevalent in the American diet – food on supermarket shelves. I-522’s exemptions are easy to explain and guided by common sense and the law:
    • Restaurants – Restaurants and bake sales are not required to list the ingredients in their products. Requiring labeling for GMOs would have required tracking all the ingredients in restaurant meals, and since no other laws require that, it didn't make sense for this one to.
    • Meat, cheese, dairy and eggs from animals - These will be labeled if they come from genetically engineered animals. However, they are exempt if the animals ate genetically engineered feed but are not themselves genetically engineered. This exemption is common all around the world. It didn't make sense for Washington’s law to be stricter than international standards.
    Read about more lies on the subject and the truth behind them here:
    http://www.blacklistednews.com/Lies_GMO_Labeling_Opponents_Are_Pushing_to_Keep_People_in_the_Dark/28387/0/38/38/Y/M.html

    *********************************************************************************