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Sunday, August 31, 2014

LEGAL BATTLE TO PREVENT RAJU THE ELEPHANT TO BE SENT BACK INTO SLAVERY - Raju cried tears of relief when liberated. Now he lives in an elephant sanctuary with other rescued elephants


Raju's fate will be decided at a court hearing in Allahabad, on September 4

UPDATE  December 2, 2014-
Raju won the court battle.  Raju is free!
Read details:
http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2014/12/raju-is-free-raju-enslaved-elephant-who.html

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August 31 report:

Raju the crying elephant faces life back in chains after cruel former owners launch legal battle to win him back

  • The creature captured the hearts of people from around the world when he cried as he was freed from chains after 50 years
  • Now his former owners, who used him to beg, are trying to get him back
  • Raju's fate will be decided at a court hearing in Allahabad, on September 4

  • Charity Wildlife SOS founder Kartick Satyanarayan, who led the rescue operation to save Raju, said: 'We are devastated that after all he’s been though we are still having to fight for Raju’s freedom. His owner is arguing that Raju is his property, which must be returned to him for his use.
     
    'We are hoping the courts will see sense that this can never happen as Raju was treated with such appalling cruelty and torture in his hands in the first place and the man claiming ownership of Raju has no legal grounds to claim him back under Indian law.
     
     
    More on Raju on this blog
     
     
     
     
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    TELEPATHY IN THE LAB? - SCIENTISTS SEND MIND-TO-MIND MESSAGE ACROSS 5000 MILES USING ONLY THOUGHTS and computers to transform brain activity from one person into binary and then into brain stimulation on another person far away

    Could we soon send emails 'telepathically'? Scientist transmits message into the mind of a colleague 5,000 miles away using brain waves
  • Scientists used EEG headsets to record electrical activity in the brain
  • Electrical activity from words ‘hola’ and ‘ciao’ were converted into binary
  • The greeting was sent from Thiruvananthapuram, India to Strasbourg
  • A computer translated the message and then used electrical stimulation to implant it in the receiver’s mind, appearing as specific flashes of light 
  • According to the researchers, this is the first time humans have sent a message almost directly into each other’s brains 

  • The researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) headsets which recorded electrical activity from neurons firing in the brain to convert the words ¿hola¿ and ¿ciao¿ into binary. In EEG, electrical currents in the brain are linked with different thoughts that are then fed into a computer interface

    The researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) headsets which recorded electrical activity from neurons firing in the brain to convert the words ‘hola’ and ‘ciao’ into binary. In EEG, electrical currents in the brain are linked with different thoughts that are then fed into a computer interface

    STEVE UTASH - THE WHITE DRIVER ALMOST LYNCHED BY BLACK MOB - RETURNS TO WORK

    After many months in hospital as a result of a severe beating by a black mob, Steve Utash is finally able to go back to work. 
     
    Steven Utash, right, with his  daughter. (credit: facebook.com/helpstevenutash)
    Steve Utash with daughter - Facebook photo
    Back in April of this year on a Detroit street, Steve Utash accidentally ran over a ten-year old black child who had dashed in front of his vehicle. 
     
    Mr Utash got out of his car to help, and immediately a black mob pounced on him and beat him almost to death.  He was barely alive when a woman in the crowd asked for a stop to the beating, and an ambulance arrived to render first aid. 

    The black boy only suffered a broken leg and within hours was released from hospital.  The mob left Mr Utash in a coma, fighting for his life.
     
    The situation was much more serious for the driver, Steve Utash.  While being in a coma for some time, there was fear he would not recover well enough from his brain damage to live a normal life.  What followed were many months of intensive care and therapy.  But he was resilient and has recovered enough to go back to work.

    ICELAND'S VOLCANO LATEST ERUPTION - PHOTOS AND LINK TO LIVE WEBCAM

    volcano eruption 1Iceland's Bárðarbunga volcano began erupting once again early Sunday morning — with lava flowing out of a mile-long fissure in the Holuhraun lava field.
     
    The lava fountains themselves have been spectacular, reportedly reaching up to 200 feet in the air. Here are a few photos taken by Ármann Höskuldsson, a geologist with the University of Iceland who is on the scene:

    So far, the eruption itself doesn't seem to be causing much harm. One reason for that? The eruption is occurring in a remote area just north of Iceland's massive Vatnajökull glacier (which lays atop much of the Bárðarbunga volcanic system).
     
    iceland eruption 4That's a key detail: If a really big volcanic eruption occurs underneath a glacier, the combination of magma and ice can potentially produce a violent steam explosion that can send large clouds of ash up into the atmosphere and disrupt flights around the region.
     
    Alternatively, a large eruption under a glacier can potentially melt the ice and lead to heavy flooding — particularly in the river that extends north toward more populated areas.
     Right: red indicates area of eruption.
    View image on Twitter

     Here's a longer primer on why Iceland has so many active volcanoes — and how volcanic ash can disrupt flights.

    Note that Iceland isn't the only country with a volcano outburst.

    The Rabaul volcano in Papua New Guinea has been erupting lately, leading to evacuations and flight diversions.

    You can see photos and a rundown here, although note that activity is starting to subside.
    Volcano fans can also watch the Iceland eruption on a live webcam. Gisli Olafsson is posting frequent updates.

    Source - http://www.vox.com/2014/8/31/6089399/iceland-bardarbunga-volcano-lava-eruption-pictures

    LIVE WEB CAM - http://www.livefromiceland.is/webcams/bardarbunga-2/

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    DENMARK ACCUSED OF HELPING FAROE ISLANDS BLOOD ORGY OF FISHERMEN MASSACRING WHALES FOR FUN - They say it's "tradition". Whales screaming in agony while witnesses laughed and cheered

    2014:  Butchered on the beach: Whales heard 'screaming in agony' as 33 were slaughtered while witnesses 'laughed and cheered'  

    A disturbing sight as a young girl rides a slain pilot whale at the scene of the brutal mass slaughter of 33 whales on the Faroe Island of Sandoy on Sunday.
    Brutal: A disturbing sight as a young girl rides a slain pilot whale at the scene of the brutal mass slaughter of 33 whales on the Faroe Island of Sandoy on Saturday where families flocked to join the annual ritual.
     
  • Australian woman Krystal Keynes has been arrested in the Faroe Islands
  • 14 anti-whale activists were arrested, reportedly by Danish & Faroese police
  • The group unsuccessfully tried to prevent the mass slaughter of 33 whales
  • Witnesses say that the whales were heard 'screaming in agony' 
  • 'Men, women and children flocked to the beach, laughing and cheering'
  • A boat donated by American actor Charlie Sheen has been illegally seized
  • Sheen releases statement to Sea Shepherd about his anger and disgust
  • Founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society accuses Denmark of assisting the whale slaughter
  • READ 2015 SLAUGHTER UPDATE - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2015/07/faroe-islands-sadistic-blood-orgy-as.html
  • Saturday, August 30, 2014

    UKRAINE'S BANK NOTE HONORING A "HERO" THAT KILLED UP TO 100,000 JEWS - Mass murderer Bogdan Khmelnitzky honored to this day in Ukraine

    Bogdan Khmelnitzky
    This item caught my attention through a video posted by commentator Yamit on Israpundit, where Alan Dershowitz talks about Anti-Semitism in Ukraine Today. 
     
    The video is only a few seconds long, and Dershowitz tells about a Ukraine banknote honoring mass murderer Bogdan Khmelnitzky (born in 1595). 
     
    Bogdan was responsible for the murder of tens of thousands of Jews.  The Jewish chronicles mention 100,000 killed and 300 communities destroyed.  Victims were murdered in shockingly gruesome ways.
     
     A five Ukrainian hryvnia banknote depicting Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky.

    Read more
    - http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0004_0_04259.html
    His monument in Kiev, Ukraine

    - http://www.timelines.ws/countries/UKRAINE.HTML

    http://samsonblinded.org/blog/ukrainian-massacres.htm

    Ukrainian banknote - http://www.banknotes.com/ua118c.htm

    Alan Dershowitz video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH6co9a104I

    Yamit's comments - http://www.israpundit.org/archives/63599534

    History of anti-Semitism in Ukraine - http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/ukraine.html

    Photos - Wikipedia

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    75 UN TROOPS FLEE FROM SYRIA INTO ISRAEL TO ESCAPE MUSLIM TERRORISTS - The UN will briefly pause in its uninterrupted condemnation of Israel to notice UN personnel precarious situation in Muslim Syria

    
    Armed rebels seen at Syria's Quneitra border crossing to the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, Friday, Aug. 29, 2014. (photo credit: AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
    Armed rebels at Syria's Quneitra border crossing to Israel's Golan Heights
    Israel confirms entry of UNDOF peacemakers across Golan border; al-Nusra rebels attack troops near DMZ; Irish troops extricate some Fijian colleagues.
     
    Seventy-five UNDOF peacekeepers in the Golan Heights fled Syrian territory for the Israeli-controlled Golan on Saturday after their positions were attacked by rebel forces.  

    An Israeli military spokesman confirmed that a number of UN peacekeepers entered Israel.

    COLOR PICTURES OF THE 1939 NAZI INVASION OF POLAND

    The following are part of a photo gallery on Time Life Magazine.

    Polish refugees

    After the German victory
     
    Preparing for victory parade
     
     
    RELATED
     
    WORLD WAR II IN COLOR - D-DAY TO DACHAU
    Rare color footage is finally released
    http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2014/06/world-war-ii-in-color-d-day-to-dachau.html
     
    More World War II articles on this blog
    http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/search/label/World%20War%20II
     
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    PUFFER FISH PHOTO BOMBS DIVER - Impressive result as the fish inflates at the exact moment the diver takes picture

    Sneaking into frame: Mr Mizuguchi said he noticed the fish, but because it was inflated he kept a safe distance away in order not to scare itBlow-to bomb! Curious pufferfish blunders into diver’s underwater selfie and completely eclipses him when he inflates

  • Regan Mizuguchi was taking selfies on the ocean floor in Hawaii
  • When a pufferfish swam into frame and took over his entire shot
  • The photographer said the priceless picture is 'definitely a keeper'

  • Caught on camera: Regan Mizuguchi was taking selfies and had no idea the pufferfish had photobombed him
     
     
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    CUTE SEA LIONS IN CLOSE UP PHOTOS - They were curious and friendly, and even grabbed the photographer's equipment.

    Curious sea lions get up close and personal as they size up underwater photographer and his camera.

  • Richard Salas snapped the up close sea lions while diving in Canada
  • The creatures began to nudge Mr Salas and tug at his equipment
  • They even pressed their faces up against his camera lens to get the shot
  • Father of one said diving with them was like playing 'underwater rugby' 


  • But despite the creatures playing rough, Mr Salas was able to capture this shot after the sea lion pushed his face against his camera lens
     
     
    I'm ready for my close-up: This curious sea lions followed photographer Richard Salas (pictured) and even grabbed his equipment
     
    Read more and see additional pictures
     
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    DANGER OF ISIS TERRORISTS CROSSING INTO THE US FROM MEXICO, according to official US document. - Evidence that Muslim illegal migrants have been ALREADY taking advantage of lax security along the US border

    ISIS - Photo YouTube
    By    for Breitbart 

    Breitbart Texas has exclusively obtained a leaked document warning federal agents about an ISIS-related terrorism threat across the entire US-Mexico border. Though the document focuses on the Texas-Mexico border, Breitbart Texas has confirmed that federal agents across the entire US-Mexico border have received the ISIS terror warning.
     
    The document was released by the Texas Department of Public Safety and warned that ISIS was actively promoting and encouraging supporters to take advantage of the porous Texas-Mexico border to carry out terrorist attacks against US citizens.

    Friday, August 29, 2014

    MORE THAN 60 ISRAELI SOLDIERS DIED FOR NOTHING BUT TO EMPOWER ABBAS - It seems as if the war on Gaza was an attempt to break Hamas-Fatah unity so as to facilitate an agreement with Abbas for the partition of Israel - The Peace Process Land Swindle

    Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told Channel 10 on Friday that Operation Protective Edge “might have” presented an opportunity for a diplomatic breakthrough in the region, (meaning partition) although it was incumbent on the Palestinian Authority to "give Hamas a divorce."
     
    Never mind ISIS looming over much of the region, recent Islamist attacks from Syria, Iran's promise to arm the Palestinian Authority (in the West Bank), and the daily threats of annihilation from 'moderate' Fatah in the PA.  The Israeli government says that this may be the right moment to engage with Abbas for the partition of Israel and the creation of a Palestinian state.

    PM Netanyahu and Abbas
    The prime minister just held a meeting with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan. 
     
    Apparently, nothing can make the Israeli prime minister give up his dream of partitioning Israel "for peace".
     
    This fixation has absolutely no basis in reality.  The Palestinian Authority Fatah is just as determined to destroy Israel - in their own words - as Fatah and other Muslim groups are.  Their tactic has been to achieve this goal through "peace", meaning partitioning Israel one "piece" at the time.
     
    And although the Israeli prime minister calls Fatah's Abbas "moderate" and a "peace partner", all you have to do is visit Fatah's own Facebook page, or read their charter, or better still, see what their media and leadership say about Israel and the Jews.

    FORTY LESSONS OF THE ARAB WAR AGAINST THE JEWS - One is that Israeli land withdrawals bring in more terror. Another is that concessions encourage more terror, as they are regarded as weakness

    By Professor Steven Plaut
     
    No matter how many concessions Israel makes, the world will always justify Arab terrorism because there will always be still one more capitulation Israel failed to make.
     
    1.      Nice fences do not stop missiles, rockets, and mortars.

    2.      Complete removal of Israeli forces and Jewish settlers from an area merely signals Israeli weakness and invites escalated Arab terror and aggression.

    3.      Hamas (and Hezb’Allah and ISIS) cannot be defeated with air strikes.  There is no effective alternative to ground invasion and ongoing military control of the ground retaken.

    4.      Unless the Israeli military controls the ground on the other side of fences, those fences achieve nothing.

    5.      Goodwill gestures by Israel increase terror.


    6.      Goodwill gestures by Israel never produce moderation of Arab goals and demands.  They also do not win Israel friends in the West but rather encourage outbursts of anti-Semitism.

    7.      Terror is not caused by Israeli settlements but by the removal of Israeli settlements.

    8.      Terror is not caused by Israeli military occupation but by the removal of Israeli military occupation.


    SIMCHA JACOBOVICI: THE COUNTDOWN TO ISRAEL'S DESTRUCTION - The Israeli government does not have a clue on how to defend the country. It is using artillery while neglecting the modern media war aimed at Israel's destruction.

    Simcha Jacobovici
    Simcha Jacobovici
    SUMMARY followed by entire column.
     
    • If you count bodies and destroyed homes, Israel won the Gaza war round. But if you look at the overall strategic situation, what you see is a steady deterioration in Israel’s position, both militarily and diplomatically.   Israel has lost. 
    • Arabs have a highly successful three-pronged strategy:  low level terror, arming themselves, and the isolation of Israel through an international demonization campaign. 
    • Economically, there is not just the billions of dollars in the campaign military cost.  A few unsophisticated mortars paralyzed all activity at Ben Gurion Airport. 
    • Israel's neo-Primitivism.  It has done NOTHING against the media campaign to demonize Israel, whose ultimate aim is the destruction of the country.  Israel is fighting last century’s war. Its enemies are fighting the war of tomorrow, often with the low-tech, media-friendly tools of yesterday.  
    • Israel's strategic thinking is bankrupt.  Basically, Israel’s leaders haven’t figured out that what is depicted on CNN and BBC is more important than what happens on the streets of Gaza. If you win the latter and lose the former, you are the big loser.   Israel's response is to explain. 
    • No country surrounded by Hezbollah, Al-Qaida, Hamas and ISIS would have to engage in a media war to “explain” to the world that it lives in a tough neighborhood, except Israel.
    • Israel has no true friends - except for Canadian PM Stephen Harper.  Once he goes, Canada's support for Israel goes with him.
    • As for the United States, the so-called “Jewish lobby”, namely America’s Jewish population, is disintegrating before our eyes. America’s Jews are assimilating and intermarrying. Even if they identify as Jews, for most of them Israel is not a priority. In fact, many go out of their way to prove that they are Americans first by beating up on the Jewish state.
    • One of the few reasons for America’s continued support – such as it is – is not the power of the Jewish constituency, but of the Evangelical Christian community. This, too, shall pass. The anti-Israel forces in the American Evangelical community – old-school Jimmy Carter types – are gaining strength.
    • Netanyahu’s world – where anti-Semitism is not a factor, where America has Israel’s back and where Hamas is really a loser despite the mass celebrations on Gaza’s streets – is a figment of his imagination.
    •  Put simply, if it doesn’t start fighting this war, Israel will become more vulnerable than ever before. And this will happen in the next few months – just as Iran becomes a nuclear power.
    • So here’s my message to Israel’s leaders and supporters: it’s not too late. Start fighting the media war or we will go down in defeat – soon.
     
    NOTE:  This Otters Blog thinks that there is more to the government's apparent cluelessness.  There has been a deliberate string of government policies - over several decades already - that have disempowered the Jewish hold on Israel, while empowering the Arabs.  This is an extremely serious matter that deserves a more detailed explanation. 
     
    In the meantime, please take a look at this blog's articles on the left, with links at the end of this article. 
     
    Understanding the left and its nefarious influence on Israeli politics is key to making sense of this and past Israeli governments' policies that run contrary to Israel's interests and viability. 
     
    Just ask yourselves, why, with the country clamoring for an end to Hamas terror, the government settles for concessions to Gaza, a flawed ceasefire, and defeat.  What else is going on?
     
     
    Countdown to Israel's destruction
     
    By Simcha Jacobovici, a Canadian-Israeli filmmaker and journalist. He is a three-time Emmy winner for “Outstanding Investigative Journalism” and a New York Times best selling author. He’s also an adjunct professor in the Department of Religion at Huntington University, Ontario.
     
    The round of fighting with Hamas is one more stage in Israel’s strategic downward spiral. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared victory. At the same time, Gaza’s Hamas rulers are dancing in the street. Ahmed Barakat, senior member of Hezbollah, has stated that the “countdown to the disappearance of the Zionist entity [Israel] in the region has begun.” Unfortunately, Netanyahu is wrong and Barakat is right.  
    Netanyahu on cnn
     
    If you count bodies and destroyed homes, Israel won the round. But if you look at the overall strategic situation, what you see is a steady deterioration in Israel’s position, both militarily and diplomatically.
     
    After the last Intifada, Israel’s enemies realized that suicide bombing alone cannot achieve their desired goal – the destruction of the Jewish state.

    Thursday, August 28, 2014

    EU CALLS FOR A PALESTINIAN STATE - Oblivious to genocidal Palestinian ideology, and a Middle East full of failed states, bloody tyrannies, and widespread carnage and abuse of human rights

    EU Calls For Ceasefire to Lead to 'Two State (FINAL) Solution'
     
    EU says comprehensive agreement, not return to status quo, needed in Gaza; calls for end of blockade and full Hamas PA unity government.
     
    EU FA Chief Catherine Ashton & US Sec State John Kerry
    The European Union (EU) on Wednesday welcomed a long-term ceasefire between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas in Gaza, calling for more talks to bring a "comprehensive and sustainable agreement."
     
    "Simply returning to the situation before the latest conflict is not an option," said a statement from the bloc's diplomatic arm, the European External Action Service (EEAS).
     
    "A sustainable agreement should address all the root causes of the conflict and bring fundamental change to the situation in Gaza," added EEAS.
     
    It is worth noting that Hamas as early as two weeks ago stated clearly that its intentions of accepting a truce are so as to plan the next terror war on Israel.
     
    The EU added that "a durable peace can only be achieved through the resumption of the Middle East peace process, leading to a two-state solution."
     
    US Secretary of State John Kerry's push for a peace agreement between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel were torpedoed in April, when the PA signed a unity deal with the terrorist group Hamas.
     
    Indeed, the EU welcomed that unity deal, despite the fact that Hamas is on the EU's list of terrorist organizations. That listing specifically includes both "Hamas" and "Hamas-Izz al-Din al-Qassem," meaning that both the military and governmental branches of Hamas are recognized as terror groups by the EU.
     
    The EU likewise on Wednesday called for an end to the blockade of the terror haven of Gaza, a unity government between the PA and Hamas in completion of the process begun in April, and lastly, the cessation of rocket fire from Gaza.

    Source - http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184492#.U_9AN5sg-M8

    RELATED

    GIVE THEM A STATE?

    'Moderate' Palestinian Authority denies Israel's right to exist - In their own words
    http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=433

    More on what Palestinian officials say about Israel and the Jews - in their own words
    http://www.palwatch.org/

    Iran arming 'moderate' Palestinian Authority
    http://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-says-it-has-begun-arming-west-bank/

    Israel security agency finds arms smugglers in the north
    http://www.timesofisrael.com/shin-bet-busts-hezbollah-arms-smugglers-in-the-north/

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    MYSTERIOUS RED GLOW IN THE PACIFIC - Update - Nasa scientist says energy bubble may have been caused by Haarp activities, or solar wind, or microwave beam - Previously suggested: an underwater volcano

    Were the mystery Pacific lights caused by an 'energy bubble'? Solar winds or a scientific experiment could be to blame, Nasa expert claims.

  • Earlier this week unexplained lights were spotted near Kamchatka, Russia
  • However a Nasa researcher has offered his explanation, suggesting an energised bubble in the atmosphere could have been the origin
  • He says this may have been caused by solar wind or a microwave beam
  • But it also could have resulted from the Haarps research station in Alaska
  • The sighting was made by pilots flying from Hong Kong to Alaska
  • The glow came about 20 minutes after a vertical lightning bolt was seen
  • Dutch pilot van Heijst ruled out squid-fishing-boats as the origin
  • He said the cause may have been an underwater volcano
  • An ongoing investigation is taking place to find out what happened

  • Strange lights have been spotted near the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka (image by Dutch pilot JPC van Heijst). The sighting was made by pilots flying from Hong Kong to Alaska. The glow came about 20 minutes after a vertical lightning bolt was seenEarlier this week a pilot and his co-pilot spotted a mysterious orange and red glow while flying over the Pacific Ocean. The strange lights baffled the pilots, with no obvious explanation available.
     
    But a Nasa researcher has told MailOnline that he thinks the answer may lie in an 'energised bubble' in Earth's atmosphere caused by either solar wind, a powerful microwave beam or even a controversial research station in Alaska.
     
    'I could imagine that something from the solar wind, possibly a small highly energised bubble that penetrated the protective shield of the magnetosphere, hit the Earth's uppermost atmosphere and produced this very local effect,' Nasa researcher Dr Friedemann Freund, told MailOnline.
     
    'Alternatively the ionospheric research station Haarp [High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program] in Alaska might have sent some powerful microwave beams to the ionosphere and created this local instability.'

    MYSTERY OF SLIDING ROCKS SOLVED - WITH THE HELP OF GPS

    The granulated surface of the lake bed known as the Racetrack is a favorite destination for tourists — and for scientists who want to investigate trails left by the meandering stones.

    Using GPS tags pasted to the boulders, and a video camera, a geologist from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and his engineer cousin have evidence that broad, jagged panes of melting ice push the stones across the desert, nudged in one direction or another by the breeze.
     
    Photo:  The granulated surface of the lake bed known as the Racetrack is a favorite destination for tourists — and for scientists who want to investigate trails left by the meandering stones. (Momatiuk - Eastcott/Corbis)
     
    How they solved the mystery
     
    A century ago, miners working in California's Death Valley reported seeing boulders on the desert floor with long trails behind them — as if the stones had been pushed across the sand. But, despite 60 years of trying, no one ever saw what moved them.  Now scientists think they've solved the mystery of the "slithering rocks of Death Valley."

    Wednesday, August 27, 2014

    GIANT PANDA FAKES PREGNANCY TO BE PAMPERED BY HER KEEPERS

    Smarter than the average bear! Giant panda FAKES PREGNANCY to receive pampering, fruit and buns at Chinese breeding centre 
    Not such a bun deal: Experts think that Ai Hin, a ¿mother¿ panda may have been faking a pregnancy to cash in on cushy living quarters and extra treats such as buns, at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Centre in China. A stock image of a giant panda is pictured
    AL HIN - outsmarting her keepers

  • Pregnant pandas receive special treatment at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Centre in China
  • Ai Hin the bear was thought to be pregnant - exhibiting typical behaviour such as a little movement and even a surge in hormones
  • But she may have been faking her condition to gain an air-conditioned bedroom and treats including extra bamboo, fruit and buns, experts said
  • The birth of her cubs was due to be broadcast live on television

  • Read more - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2735515/Smarter-average-bear-Giant-panda-FAKES-PREGNANCY-receive-pampering-fruit-buns-Chinese-breeding-centre.html

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    ELEPHANTS LOVE BACH - THEY EVEN DANCE TO HIS MUSIC

    Private concert: Elephants Kelly and Viola 'dance' as Eleanor Bartsch plays violin

    Dumbo can DANCE! Watch incredible video of two elephants start swaying their trunks to the music as violinist plays Bach to them

  • Eleanor Bartsch played Bach for two elephants at a Wisconsin zoo

  • She has said that animals Kelly and Viola are '44 and 45 year-old elephants that have lived together for most of their lives'

  • The duo were filmed raising their tusks and swinging from side to side as Bartsch played her violin

  • Read more and watch amazing video
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2735104/Violinist-delights-two-elephants-performing-Bach-them.html

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    ISRAELI GOVERNMENT'S PRECIPITOUS FALL IN POPULARITY FOR MISHANDLING THE WAR - From 82% approval to 38% in only seven weeks - EVACUATION of Israelis living near the Gaza border

    Israel Matzav reports:
     
    No, it's not Barack Hussein Obama whose popularity dropped from 82% to 38% in seven weeks.  It's Binyamin Netanyahu whose popularity has dropped... because the war is still going and Israel has not decisively defeated Hamas.
     
    PM Netanyahu (photo Flash90)
    A new poll released by the Hebrew-language Channel 2 news site on Monday reveals that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's approval rating has fallen as a "casualty" in the faltering Operation Protective Edge.
     
    The poll, conducted by Shiluv Millward Brown and iPanel for the news source, found in the last four days Netanyahu's support has taken a sharp nose-dive.
     
    A mere 38% of Israelis responded that they are satisfied with Netanyahu, as opposed to 50% who are dissatisfied. Just four days earlier, Netanyahu's support stood at 55%.
     
    The sudden dive corresponds to a period during which four-year-old Daniel Tragerman hy''d was murdered by mortar fire in his Kibbutz Nahal Oz home last Friday, possibly contributing to a feeling of government neglect in providing security to its citizens.

    UNFIT TO GOVERN? - Martin Sherman's analysis of Israeli government blunders during the war on Gaza

    Martin Sherman
    Israel has no foreign policy, only domestic policy.  – Henry Kissinger

    He who becomes compassionate to the cruel will ultimately become cruel to the compassionate. – Midrash Rabba, Ecclesiastes 7:16

    A cease-fire is no solution to ending a war. Unconditional surrender seems to always work. – John D. Stoller, Jerusalem Post talk-backer
     

    BY MARTIN SHERMAN, Jerusalem Post
     
    Yes, I know. The title of this column will ruffle many feathers, especially while the cannons are still roaring.

    But what is a concerned journalist to do when he sees the elected government of his country lurching from one predictable blunder to another? Show solidarity with a “policy” – for want of a better word – that has led to an unbroken succession of foreseen failure and fiasco? Pretend that policies leading inexorably to disastrous debacle actually reflect considered and circumspect statesmanship?

    BULL TAKES REVENGE AGAINST SPANISH MAN WHO WAS TORMENTING HIM - He gored him and trampled him.

    You started it: A bull hurls a 51-year-old man into the air at a night-time bull-run event in a village in northern Spain, after he threw a bottle at the animal

    The revenge of the bull: Spanish spectator is gored and trampled after throwing a bottle of water at the beast at bull-run event

  • Bull turned on tormentor at taunting event in Spain
  • Jose Briseon, 51, threw a bottle of water at the enraged animal
  • Bull tossed Mr Briseon on its horns, gored him and trampled him

  • A Spanish man is recovering from serious injuries after a bull-taunting backfired and the beast turned on him.  Jose Briseon, 51, had been standing by the sidelines of a bull-run in Duenas, in the northern Spanish province of Palencia, when he decided to throw a bottle of water at the raging animal.  Footage from the event shows how the bull turns on Mr Briseon, tosses him up, gores him on his horns and tramples him.

    Spectator Amandio Frias said: ‘The man was tossed around by the bull and was screaming in pain as horrified spectators watched on helpless.  ‘He was one of several tormenting the bull and trying to get the bull to notice him.  ‘Unfortunately for him, the bull really did notice him and gave him his full attention,’ he added.
     
    The man is recovering in hospital.
     
     
    Photo - Central European News - Daily Mail
    *******************************************************************************

    ISRAELI GOVERNMENT VALUES ARAB LIVES MORE THAN JEWISH LIVES - It knew where mortars that killed Jewish child were coming from, but refrained from acting out of fear of injuring Arabs - And how government sacrifices Israeli soldiers to spare Arab lives

    4-Year-Old Daniel Tragerman could have lived, had the IDF acted against KNOWN Palestinian mortar barrels aiming at his kibbutz
     
    Daniel Tregerman was killed by a terrorist rocket fired from Gaza.
    Daniel Tragerman, killed by Hamas
    Kibbutz Nahal Oz residents say five mortars have been trained on them since start of operation, but IDF refused to act. (Kibbutz is a communal farm.) 
    By Ari Yashar, Gil Ronen, Israel National News 
    

    A new revelation suggests that the tragic murder of four-year-old Daniel Tragerman hy''d, who was killed by terrorist mortar fire last Friday in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, may have been completely avoidable - if only the IDF was given a free hand against Hamas terrorists.
     
    Israeli TV's Channel 10 on Monday reported that residents of Kibbutz Nahal Oz have said five mortar barrels have been aimed directly at their community by Gaza terrorists since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge on July 8.
     
    The residents claim the IDF told them that three of the barrels are embedded adjacent to schools where displaced Gaza Arab residents are taking shelter, and therefore the IDF did not strike them to eliminate the threat.

    Tuesday, August 26, 2014

    BOOBOO THE GUINEA PIG BECOMES A FAMOUS FASHION MODEL

    Dapper new guinea: Rodent becomes the latest celebrity animal on the block after its cute outfits attract thousands of admirers.

    Booboo the guinea pig has almost 17,000 followers on Instagram
  • She poses in hipster glasses and wears flower garlands in her hair 
  • The American-crested blonde has been named 'the world's cutest guinea pig'
  • Dutch Owner Megan van der Elst says Booboo is 'the perfect model'

  • She poses with flower garlands in her blonde hair and has been hailed the ¿world¿s cutest guinea pig¿
     A nice hat
     
    Booboo in a pair of pink heart-shaped glasses
    Eyewear
     
    Her favourite hobbies include trying to read, lying in her cage and posing in front of the camera
    Booboo's serious side in the privacy of her home
     
    Read more, and see video and additional pictures
     
    *********************************************

    MYSTERIOUS RED GLOW SPOTTED BY PILOTS OVER THE PACIFIC - Could be the eruption of an underwater volcano

    Strange lights have been spotted near the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka (image by Dutch pilot JPC van Heijst). The sighting was made by pilots flying from Hong Kong to Alaska. The glow came about 20 minutes after a vertical lightning bolt was seen

    Mystery glow over the Pacific Ocean: Pilots left baffled by strange orange and red lights near the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka.

  • The sighting was made by pilots flying from Hong Kong to Alaska
  • The glow came about 20 minutes after a vertical lightning bolt was seen
  • Dutch pilot van Heijst ruled out squid-fishing-boats as the origin.  He says the cause may have been an underwater volcano
  • An ongoing investigation is taking place to find out what happened 

  • UPDATE August 28 - Please go here for latest update  - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2014/08/mysterious-red-glow-in-pacific-update.html

    A pilot and his co-pilot have spotted a mysterious orange and red glow over the Pacific Ocean.  The strange lights were spotted south of the Russian peninsula Kamchatka during the flight of a Boeing 747-8 from Hong Kong to Anchorage, Alaska.  And while no explanation has yet been given, it's thought that they may have originated from the explosion of a huge volcano under the surface of the ocean.

    FORMER AP CORRESPONDENT IN ISRAEL DENOUNCES THE MEDIA FOR DELIBERATELY HIDING FACTS AND TURNING COVERAGE INTO A WEAPON against Israel and the Jews - The politically-motivated mainstream media is engaged in propaganda and incitement that borders on the criminal - Media malpractice in Gaza

    Formerly Israel-based AP correspondent Matti Friedman denounces:
     
    (What) should be clear to consumers of the Israel story: Many of the people deciding what you will read and see from here view their role not as explanatory but as political. Coverage is a WEAPON to be placed at the disposal of the side they like.


    Excerpts, followed by the full article
     
    Matti Friedman
    While global mania about Israeli actions has come to be taken for granted, it is actually the result of decisions made by individual human beings in positions of responsibility—in this case, journalists and editors.  
     
    The world is not responding to events in this country, but rather to the description of these events by news organizations.  
     
    The key to understanding the strange nature of the response is thus to be found in the practice of journalism, and specifically in a severe malfunction that is occurring in that profession—my profession—here in Israel.
      
    ... The volume of press coverage that results, even when little is going on, gives this conflict a prominence compared to which its actual human toll is absurdly small. In all of 2013, for example, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict claimed 42 lives—that is, roughly the monthly homicide rate in the city of Chicago.

    Monday, August 25, 2014

    WHY IS THE WHITE HOUSE SO COZY WITH QATAR - A COUNTRY THAT FINANCES TERRORISTS? - The White House signed an $11 billion weapons sale to Qatar, while it blocked ammunition sales to Israel, which has been under attack by terrorist Hamas

    Qatar’s Rise and America’s Tortured Middle East Policy 

    And president Obama's policies favoring the radical Muslim Brotherhood.

    How did it happen that Washington has such close relations with a country actively and massively sponsoring terror, even after 9/11? 
     
    By Jonathan Spyer, THE TOWER
     
    One of the most notable aspects of the current conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is the prominent role being played by the Emirate of Qatar in supporting the terrorist organization, whose genocidal charter calls for the murder of Jews and destruction of Israel. 

    President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama pose for a photo during a reception at the Metropolitan Museum in New York with His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, and H.H. Sheikha Mozah Consort of H.H. The Emir of the State of Qatar, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009. Photo: Lawrence Jackson / U.S. Department of State / flickr
     
     
    Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani, the leader of the Emirate of Qatar, is acting as Hamas’ “channel of communication” to the international community.
     
    Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal is now in the Qatari capital of Doha directing his organization’s war effort in Gaza, where the Qatari royals welcomed him with open arms after his welcome in Damascus came to an abrupt end.  
     
    Qatari funds have been crucial to Hamas’ military build-up in recent years, as they were to the Muslim Brotherhood’s attempted takeover of Egypt under Mohammed Morsi. And the Doha-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera is energetically backing Hamas, as it has other terrorist-connected and supporting movements.