WE DID IT!

No excuses for cruelty - In 2007, artist Guillermo Vargas showed an emaciated live dog in a Nicaraguan gallery. Despite public outcry, the country's lack of animal welfare laws meant he faced no consequences. This year, when Vargas was invited to compete in an art show in Honduras, WSPA and member society the Honduras Association for the Protection of Animals and their Environment (AHPRA) acted to ensure this cruelty could not be repeated by any artist. Elly Hiby, WSPA's Head of Companion Animals, commented: “Information regarding the treatment and fate of the dog used in the 2007 exhibition is inconsistent, but for WSPA – irrespective of the exact outcome – chaining a dog without food or water for public entertainment is a reprehensible abuse”. Our attempts to discuss the matter with Vargas' representative were met with silence. But images from the Nicaraguan gallery were not forgotten. When Vargas was invited to enter the VI Central American Visual Arts Biennale (to be held in Honduras this year), an independent internet petition against the artist and his work attracted over two million signatures. WSPA sought a meeting with Business Owners for Art (Empresarios por el Arte), one of the sponsors of the Honduras Biennale. In the meeting, WSPA's representative gave sound welfare arguments against the work shown in Nicaragua and formally requested that the Honduras AHPRA be invited to observe the Biennale exhibition. After pressure from WSPA, the Honduras AHPRA and the public, the Biennial organizers have agreed not only to make AHPRA official observers but also to include new competition rules that prohibit the abuse of animals. While we are satisfied that no-one will be able to abuse animals in the name of art during this forthcoming exhibition, stronger laws need to be in place that prohibit animal cruelty. WSPA and member society UCC are currently supporting a campaign, led by the Commission for Natural Resources and Environment of the Nicaraguan Assembly, calling for legislation to protect animals in Nicaragua. You too can support the protection of animals worldwide by signing the Animals Matter to Me petition. This calls for a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare, an internationally accepted set of principles about the treatment of animals that would encourage countries to improve their legislation. -WSPA

Beijing warned of 'terror threat'

A soldier guards the Beijing Olympic Stadium, 18/04 China says several plots have already been foiled There is a "real possibility" that the Beijing Olympics will be attacked by terrorists, the head of global police body Interpol has warned. Speaking in Beijing, Ronald Noble said the Games could give "easy cover" to groups such as al-Qaeda. He also warned that protesters who have disrupted the Olympic torch relay might also target this summer's Games. China claims to have foiled several plots to attack the Olympics by Muslim separatists from Xinjiang province. Mr Noble told a security conference in the Chinese capital: "Based on reports of thwarted plots in the Chinese media, including an attempt to bring down an airliner headed to Beijing, it seems clear that the threat has increased." Global platform He said the unrest in Tibet, and the protests that have followed, had given rise to "additional complications" for the organisers of the Games. "When thwarted attacks are coupled with the recent violent protests viewed by us all worldwide, prudence requires us to recognise the real possibility that groups and individuals could carry on their protests at the actual Games," he said. "These activities could range from disruptive behaviour, like blocking major transportation routes or infrastructure or interfering with competitions, to more violent acts like assaulting Olympic officials or athletes or destroying property." He also said security services must be prepared "for the possibility that al-Qaeda or some other terrorist group will attempt to launch a deadly terrorist attack at these Olympics". He said the influx of foreigners and the world's media could provide "easy cover" for terrorists and ensure any attack would get global coverage. Mr Noble added that an Interpol team would be training Chinese officers in crisis management and major event operations before the Games. -BBC

Shark kills swimmer in southern California - April 25th, 2008 LOS ANGELES (AFP) — An apparent great white shark attacked and killed a 66-year-old man as he swam with a local triathlon club at a popular beach near San Diego in California. A friend identified the victim as Dave Martin, a retired veterinarian who had lived in the area since 1970. Officials said he had been swimming together with eight fellow members of the triathlon club at the time. The rare attack took place just after sunrise at Solana Beach north of San Diego and some 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of Los Angeles, the local sheriff's office reported. The shark was "almost certainly" an adult great white shark, said Richard Rosenblatt with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. In a press conference, Solana Beach Mayor Joe Kellejean said residents were "shocked and dismayed" at the incident. "I want to implore everybody to please stay out of the water," he added. Deputy Fire Chief Dismas Abelman said the swimmers, who had all been wearing full wet suits, were pulling Martin out of the ocean when help arrived. "The victim was dead from an attack from a large marine animal, a shark attack," he said, adding Martin died as a result of "severe injuries to both legs." "It was typical great white shark behavior to attack from below, make a bite and then draw away," said Rosenblatt, adding that the animal normally feasts on sea mammals like seals. He described Martin's wounds as "quite clean and massive" and believes the shark measured between 3.7 and five meters (12 and 17 feet) long. Paddleboarders venture out after fatal SoCal shark attack - April 27th, 2008 SOLANA BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A few paddleboarders ignored posted signs warning that a great white shark still could be lurking below the surface Saturday, just a day after a swimmer was killed in a rare attack near San Diego. "It's like going to see 'Jaws' — getting in the water the next day, all you could think about was the music," said Bob Rief, 63, who was teaching a friend how to stand up on a paddleboard. "But if you're afraid of the ocean, you shouldn't be in it." The San Diego-area native was worried that the attack would scare away vacationers or weekend beachgoers and hurt businesses. Solana Beach is 14 miles northwest of San Diego. Despite the summer-like temperatures and cloudless skies that normally lure large crowds, beaches were mostly empty near where triathlete David Martin was killed Friday. A shark, presumed to be a great white, lifted Martin, 66, out of the water with his legs in its jaws, leaving deep lacerations and shredding the retired veterinarian's black wetsuit. An autopsy Saturday confirmed that Martin bled to death, as authorities had believed, the San Diego County medical examiner's office said. About eight miles of shoreline from San Diego north to Carlsbad remained under advisory closure Saturday as sheriff's helicopters scanned the shore for signs of the shark — and for unwitting swimmers. The beaches in San Diego will be patrolled throughout the weekend, according to city and county officials. A weekend surfing competition in Encinitas, a seaside town north of the attack, was canceled because of safety concerns. Few surfers dotted the normally crowded breaks off Tide Beach Park or Cardiff State Beach — perhaps as much because of shark fears as weak swells. "I thought twice only because the waves are so small," said Lynn Richardson, 63, a retiree who nosed his orange kayak straight out toward Tabletop Reef, where the shark struck. A lifeguard with a megaphone called Richardson in for a stern talking-to but shrugged after Richardson said he was willing to play the odds. Shark expert Richard Rosenblatt said Friday that, judging by Martin's wounds and the nature of the attack, the shark probably was a great white 12 to 17 feet long. Experts said the likelihood of finding the shark that attacked Martin was slim. Great white sharks are rare in Southern California, though female great whites sometimes come south from their usual territory in the cooler waters of the central and northern coast to pup. Few make the mistake of attacking humans instead of seals or sea lions, their usual prey. Martin was the first shark fatality in San Diego County since 1994, when a woman's body was found with bites off Ocean Beach, near downtown San Diego. The last fatal shark attack in California, according to data from the state Department of Fish and Game, took place Aug. 15, 2004, off the coast of Mendocino County. The victim was a man diving for shellfish with a friend. On Aug. 19, 2003, a female swimmer was killed by a great white at Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County on the central California coast. Overall, shark attacks are extremely rare. There were 71 reported worldwide last year, up from 63 in 2006. Only one attack, in the South Pacific, was fatal, according to the University of Florida.

Stuart Brown describes Norbert Rosing's striking images of a wild polar bear coming upon tethered sled dogs in the wilds of Canada 's Hudson Bay . If you don't already think animals are more spiritually advanced than we humans, perhaps this will cause you to reconsider. The photographer was sure that he was going to see the end of his dogs when the polar bear wandered in, but......The Polar Bear returned every night that week to play with the dogs. May we always have love to share, health to spare, and friends that care

Work begins on key China railway

Work has begun on a high-speed rail link that will halve travelling time between the Chinese capital Beijing, and financial centre Shanghai. Trains will travel at up to 350km/h (220mph) to make the journey between the two hubs in five hours. The link will take five years to build and cost almost $32bn (£16bn), Chinese state media said. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao attended a ceremony in Beijing to mark the start of the construction. According to Xinhua news agency, the rail link is the most expensive project that China has embarked on since 1949. "The demand for both passenger and cargo transport along this line is huge," Xinhua quoted Vice Railway Minister Lu Chunfeng as saying. "There's definitely a need for a modern, high-speed rail, built to a high standard and meant to have a large capacity," he said. The project was originally intended to be ready in time for the Beijing Olympic Games, but has experienced severe delays.

-bbc.co.uk

Recent terrorist attacks attributed to al-Qaeda

Friday, April 18, 2008 "RUSH: "CNN said Wednesday that commentator Jack Cafferty was referring to China's leaders -- not the Chinese people -- when he described them as a 'bunch of goons and thugs,' and apologized to anyone who thought otherwise. On Tuesday, China demanded an apology for Jack Cafferty's comments broadcast on CNN, in which he also described Chinese products as 'junk.' Beijing had already singled out US-based CNN as among Western news outlets that produced allegedly biased coverage of violent anti-government protests in Tibet and across western China last month. 'CNN would like to clarify that it was not Mr. Cafferty's, nor CNN's, intent to cause offense to the Chinese people, and would apologize to anyone who has interpreted the comments in this way,' the network said in an e-mailed statement. 'CNN is a network that reports the news in an objective and balanced fashion.'" (laughing) The ChiComs aren't going to buy that, but they'll at least take the apology. Now, it was only, I guess, the day before yesterday that Jack Cafferty on CNN compared all of you people who live in the small towns that Obama was talking about to Al-Qaeda terrorists. Will CNN and Jack Cafferty apologize to Americans who live in small towns for being compared to Al-Qaeda? (interruption) Oh, you didn't hear this? Oh, folks. I wish I had the bite. I shoulda thought to ask Cookie to get it, but I'm sure she can drum it up real quick. But he and Jeff Toobin were talking about Obama's comments in San Francisco about people in small towns being bitter and clinging to God and their guns because the government's forgotten about them, and they're miserable out there. And Toobin said he's exactly right. Cafferty then chimed in, (paraphrasing) "Yeah, not only is he exactly right, it's been going on for 30 years, these people in the Rust Belt and small towns have been ignored, and what happens --" (interruption) You have it? Good, I don't have to paraphrase. Now, what Cafferty said here, it's far more insulting and far more inaccurate than what he said about the ChiComs. They are thugs. They're communists! They are thugs, and some of their stuff is junk. You ever heard of lead toys? But CNN rolling over for the ChiComs because the ChiComs, nobody plays around with the ChiComs. If the ChiComs come after you, "Okay, okay, okay." You know, the ChiComs are not a paper tiger. We are. We're so concerned what the world thinks. The ChiComs couldn't care less what anybody thinks of them. All they care about is the world fearing them, and they've pulled that off, same thing with the old Soviet Union. "

........honestly, his concerns are on some level valid, but his outlet was politically incorrect. Who can deny that the outbreak of H5N1 was a fault at china's backward hygiene practices? as well as the man-made eggs and many other man-made"natural products" that are made in China. There is simply a weird balance in our society where to some level people despise the very same things our society depend on to succeed and improve, i.e. efficiency and meeting mass majority needs. we need to be aware of, however, the interactions and the choice of expression among cultural differences. After all, we all share the same planet. 12:12 PM

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 I love my dad 12:45 AM