tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-748248284787381432024-03-05T00:43:33.983-08:00SMASHING MAGAZINEUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger340125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-51012087875043637652010-01-23T15:08:00.000-08:002010-01-23T15:13:03.734-08:00The bling beetle: Woman entering U.S. was wearing LIVE gem-encrusted insect as brooch<span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">U.S. customs officers stopped a woman on her way into the country because she was wearing a jewel-encrusted beetle as a brooch - and it was alive.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The woman was entering America from Mexico when she was stopped at a border outpost in Brownsville, Texas.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The live insect - which is studded with gemstones and gold - was fastened to her sweater by a gold chain and safety pin but was able to wander on her jumper.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">She declared the live insect to officials and said she had bought it in Mexico as a brooch but it was immediately confiscated by pest control.</span><br /><a style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHlmIujcxKmVJHWY_rLOTB8lZNfuiiKqRnGH18Erwmv6cvcTTIpP8KETn5gDz71jbRFxl84VyQ0x3fUFU1fmnBpoUwKfNDlCLFEvYDFB8jYfwSi2MCfa7LPhF7qSBpXeUATsk12-w7xoW/s1600-h/The+bling+beetle+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 345px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHlmIujcxKmVJHWY_rLOTB8lZNfuiiKqRnGH18Erwmv6cvcTTIpP8KETn5gDz71jbRFxl84VyQ0x3fUFU1fmnBpoUwKfNDlCLFEvYDFB8jYfwSi2MCfa7LPhF7qSBpXeUATsk12-w7xoW/s400/The+bling+beetle+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430076726697879874" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Officials refused to allow her to keep the live jewellery because she did not have the correct documents.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Because the woman had declared the insect correctly, she was not handed any fine or penalty.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The beetle was sent to the Plant Inspection Station at Los Indios International Bridge for further identification.</span><br /><a style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj346L41V07KiZhYbH5_XqWEvC2id2Lcxy6yNPo1-mUaEZYdJrlV9oY81_x592JvxFiy8L0ijM9OYCWg1j036VAfi_FO0y3LYvD8JIjHTVLr_z5wdcjKmb__hcMjuhbHW4PmrMHSTIbFqg4/s1600-h/The+bling+beetle+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj346L41V07KiZhYbH5_XqWEvC2id2Lcxy6yNPo1-mUaEZYdJrlV9oY81_x592JvxFiy8L0ijM9OYCWg1j036VAfi_FO0y3LYvD8JIjHTVLr_z5wdcjKmb__hcMjuhbHW4PmrMHSTIbFqg4/s400/The+bling+beetle+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430076717564668226" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Moving live plant pests in any form into or out of the U.S. has to be declared to customs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Beetles are a popular subject for jewellery, going back for centuries. It is thought to be relatively common in Mexico for live ones to be decorated in this way.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Jackie Kennedy was rumoured to have been given a living brooch when she was America's first lady. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-67024267002805408912010-01-20T12:07:00.000-08:002010-01-20T12:14:19.401-08:00Schoolgirl looter Fabienne Geismar, 15, killed by a single bullet to the head for stealing a few photographs<span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">She lies limp on the ground, killed by a single shot to the head.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Crushed beneath her bloodied face, are the garish paintings which she paid for with her life.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">But Fabienne Geismar was not one of 4,500 prisoners to escape after the Haiti earthquake broke Port-au-Prince prison apart. </span><br /><a style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5A8rGVEUIJAPiHiSLWodezocWJDq1Ks2ff0lN_XPA3sWsUPnz0VPY1kWoz7lowcy1Sh0Lt9xeNxE5ilotYAK8JujgyRRwaXBQTaHxzUgch_YBHmprjlCw0uTE_0d46SeNXXfXphIYSiD6/s1600-h/Schoolgirl+looter+Fabienne+Geismar,+15,+killed+by+a+single+bullet+to+the+head+for+stealing+a+few+photographs+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5A8rGVEUIJAPiHiSLWodezocWJDq1Ks2ff0lN_XPA3sWsUPnz0VPY1kWoz7lowcy1Sh0Lt9xeNxE5ilotYAK8JujgyRRwaXBQTaHxzUgch_YBHmprjlCw0uTE_0d46SeNXXfXphIYSiD6/s400/Schoolgirl+looter+Fabienne+Geismar,+15,+killed+by+a+single+bullet+to+the+head+for+stealing+a+few+photographs+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428917150281621458" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Fabienne had survived the quake which devastated the family home but died in its aftermath, laying face down in her own blood beside the rubble and the pictures she was said to have been stealing.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">In recent days the city has become so used to the sight of dead bodies that she hardly drew a glance as she lay crumpled, clad in a pink and grey top and pink skirt, he flimsy shoes still resting on her feet.</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Her father Osam, sister Samantha and brother Jeff had watched helpless as she was cut down by a bullet in the ruins of Marthely Seeiee Street.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Later they returned with a cart to collect her body. Her mother Armante stood wailing, barely able to stand as she was supported by relatives.</span><br /><a style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlvhug3je96EMN_h9RPu60jHdDpAgVWVO4CWZ66G1SJPFgKMM2KomloogVkp9ynO6ZdJXlGZukessqkCCgV5Jposq2GbgDnpx0bZ9AY1B3QOFogOL6vWBhTK_HX4BXpw3m6Xd-7PwfXYQS/s1600-h/Schoolgirl+looter+Fabienne+Geismar,+15,+killed+by+a+single+bullet+to+the+head+for+stealing+a+few+photographs+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlvhug3je96EMN_h9RPu60jHdDpAgVWVO4CWZ66G1SJPFgKMM2KomloogVkp9ynO6ZdJXlGZukessqkCCgV5Jposq2GbgDnpx0bZ9AY1B3QOFogOL6vWBhTK_HX4BXpw3m6Xd-7PwfXYQS/s400/Schoolgirl+looter+Fabienne+Geismar,+15,+killed+by+a+single+bullet+to+the+head+for+stealing+a+few+photographs+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428917141637712466" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">As a small crowd watched, her 52-year-old father lifted Fabienne from the ground and then laid her on a cart before breaking down in tears.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">It is unclear whether police deliberately aimed at looters, who had targeted properties destroyed in the earthquake, or had been firing warning shots over their heads.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Fears of widespread violence and looting have eased in Haiti as U.S. troops provided security for water and food aid deliveries, and thousands of displaced Haitians heeded the government's advice to seek shelter outside Port-au-Prince</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">While military escorts still are needed to deliver relief supplies, the United Nations said security problems were mainly in areas considered "high risk" before the quake.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"The overall security situation in Port-au-Prince remains stable, with limited, localized violence and looting occurring," the U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-49688673793800280272010-01-12T14:15:00.000-08:002010-01-12T14:30:21.342-08:00Open Brain Coral on the Ocean Floor<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT6DsNdXGyPYoaTL31aP93xYMkj19o7etsCqx9BXawQfsjyUhcVAHlVfwymCdBrmqhDjFtaNTthVY4g7XF8bgROFlhJOepCEX9O0BO68fONbLrci7EnAxI7KzjEGkgExZ6HzBcNg9HgT7v/s1600-h/open+brain+coral+on+the+ocean+floor+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT6DsNdXGyPYoaTL31aP93xYMkj19o7etsCqx9BXawQfsjyUhcVAHlVfwymCdBrmqhDjFtaNTthVY4g7XF8bgROFlhJOepCEX9O0BO68fONbLrci7EnAxI7KzjEGkgExZ6HzBcNg9HgT7v/s400/open+brain+coral+on+the+ocean+floor+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425982436686020434" border="0" /></a>Images of gore that would make an axe murderer proud are not the sort of stuff you would expect to find on the ocean floor, but with open brain corals that’s exactly what you get. Less gruesomely known as crater corals or pacific rose corals, open brain corals are a favourite with aquarium owners but might also prove popular with slasher movie fanatics or proponents of bad brain surgery, if only they knew. Take a gander and see what you think.<br /><br />Definitely something on the brain: Red Wellsophyllia open brain coral<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOfjprWWlw7Hg0pCSXQlRHBfY30jVvhQL6G6OJrmpYVBxkL2g0QmhAlZQ1gqPZlV4yUqpBZmEqeYcy5XgF1AS1GGFDyJ40ME3jK-cvL8qLreO77omzObNkXnb7dIkQVNfgaeGlkUcmXjXB/s1600-h/open+brain+coral+on+the+ocean+floor+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOfjprWWlw7Hg0pCSXQlRHBfY30jVvhQL6G6OJrmpYVBxkL2g0QmhAlZQ1gqPZlV4yUqpBZmEqeYcy5XgF1AS1GGFDyJ40ME3jK-cvL8qLreO77omzObNkXnb7dIkQVNfgaeGlkUcmXjXB/s400/open+brain+coral+on+the+ocean+floor+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425982402232371922" border="0" /></a>Tough, colourful and captivating, open or folded brain corals are stony specimens characterised by two or three growths of expanding fleshy tissue known as polyps projecting from their base. The way their skeletons form miniature valleys with separate, pinched walls is what makes them appear so delightfully brain-like to human perception.<br /><br />Purple patch: Wellsophyllia open brain coral<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHcMDmVC6YeuynmcYk-sVaoeH44MQJ7b2c0NfeaVLUNhMxsDM9X1A7oVU0lJt-AR2T56qahyphenhyphenZNi1Wcih8Ql4gBZiAxIs9drh74qtroNjB3pnXwDhOtLfQ_iGqrpQP3-B6CH02NM0SPd7vj/s1600-h/open+brain+coral+on+the+ocean+floor+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 358px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHcMDmVC6YeuynmcYk-sVaoeH44MQJ7b2c0NfeaVLUNhMxsDM9X1A7oVU0lJt-AR2T56qahyphenhyphenZNi1Wcih8Ql4gBZiAxIs9drh74qtroNjB3pnXwDhOtLfQ_iGqrpQP3-B6CH02NM0SPd7vj/s400/open+brain+coral+on+the+ocean+floor+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425982397227010114" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg01fn-bNoU0qWrhhLyG0wFdD2iIxu4cDvIWDzPvmXtmvJLvOvyU7RJKcCtUp2_1Dm-Cp-pVOaa2wXserKqoJQHP3RIFA5mfBRICpRe0coqSYM7ys6AW6mb6gfqERZaX-JTyH7702qig8oM/s1600-h/open+brain+coral+on+the+ocean+floor+4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg01fn-bNoU0qWrhhLyG0wFdD2iIxu4cDvIWDzPvmXtmvJLvOvyU7RJKcCtUp2_1Dm-Cp-pVOaa2wXserKqoJQHP3RIFA5mfBRICpRe0coqSYM7ys6AW6mb6gfqERZaX-JTyH7702qig8oM/s400/open+brain+coral+on+the+ocean+floor+4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425982390459724898" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYE8G7QuvzUrYsQXW3SSfu-GLxkL6K7a_kOPx9bTFw3c1Cr2onjcC3JGjWIuwCsXMBk8XSxPyheorgzC-6LzijQUCGWLxSkr44i-sz9qAoUKk0IoLD8XfirZx92rvX_ycSMeKLjkCZi3Ic/s1600-h/open+brain+coral+on+the+ocean+floor+5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYE8G7QuvzUrYsQXW3SSfu-GLxkL6K7a_kOPx9bTFw3c1Cr2onjcC3JGjWIuwCsXMBk8XSxPyheorgzC-6LzijQUCGWLxSkr44i-sz9qAoUKk0IoLD8XfirZx92rvX_ycSMeKLjkCZi3Ic/s400/open+brain+coral+on+the+ocean+floor+5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425982384570136050" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv35msmu9NYcsytbSjmDyt-CnDnxG8Z0Z8SyT766By6WCAM6Q80r2GIDjZ8c0PHpwuIzIMAOz7yqeUjMiYn1A6ikRFPG5e_C8E-NXxPyq0Q12p3GwZ4vB1P3leyQ9rn-Oa_G-DAbhGX3cw/s1600-h/open+brain+coral+on+the+ocean+floor+6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv35msmu9NYcsytbSjmDyt-CnDnxG8Z0Z8SyT766By6WCAM6Q80r2GIDjZ8c0PHpwuIzIMAOz7yqeUjMiYn1A6ikRFPG5e_C8E-NXxPyq0Q12p3GwZ4vB1P3leyQ9rn-Oa_G-DAbhGX3cw/s400/open+brain+coral+on+the+ocean+floor+6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425982380608317922" border="0" /></a> <br /><div class="tag_list">Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/slasher+movie" rel="tag">slasher movie</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/tissue" rel="tag">tissue</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/skeletons" rel="tag">skeletons</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Human+being" rel="tag">Human being</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/aquarium" rel="tag">aquarium</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/corals" rel="tag">corals</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ocean" rel="tag">ocean</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/open+brain+coral" rel="tag">open brain coral</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/sea" rel="tag">sea</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/tentacles+" rel="tag">tentacles </a></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-52031712597434908722009-12-23T12:21:00.000-08:002009-12-23T12:39:23.774-08:00Harrowing same humiliation that they put the elephants through to teach them a hard way lesson to become circus stars.<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Pulled to the ground by a web of ropes, a baby elephant learns the hard way how to become a circus performer.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">In case the youngster doesn't want to co-operate, a trainer stands by with one of the sharp metal hooks used to manage the animals.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The disturbing picture is one of a series taken by a former trainer which campaigners say reveal the brutal reality of how elephants are prepared for circus work. </span><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnBMpbcZ9HCPSyv8O-xHNPCc387IIWDp11pE8sDR3Eo0418C9HoN6vmN-btqbO54yjXEsG3_6K3MwqWtQOV93J-H4Vbb7Dd2T4jSON5sY-JVvPmvmgyeQVNSW1o8PsU5rANHU_p5RXBY2/s1600-h/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnBMpbcZ9HCPSyv8O-xHNPCc387IIWDp11pE8sDR3Eo0418C9HoN6vmN-btqbO54yjXEsG3_6K3MwqWtQOV93J-H4Vbb7Dd2T4jSON5sY-JVvPmvmgyeQVNSW1o8PsU5rANHU_p5RXBY2/s400/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418532028951509138" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6ZTD3hjsWwoj2T4wn5DdZd0FFMFtsjVAFp2sKkH-SobHS9C-iljHzPavmFZxdGpVNONYOy5PF7v1shXHRze0sT9on2yxJPsU3U_oq-jSZ1wd53tLX7A6IUVLpQRVeD1OxWxQtZjFULeA/s1600-h/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6ZTD3hjsWwoj2T4wn5DdZd0FFMFtsjVAFp2sKkH-SobHS9C-iljHzPavmFZxdGpVNONYOy5PF7v1shXHRze0sT9on2yxJPsU3U_oq-jSZ1wd53tLX7A6IUVLpQRVeD1OxWxQtZjFULeA/s400/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418532022376421634" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The pictures show them being dragged to the ground by ropes, chained side by side, pinned down by a hook in the back of the neck and checked by cattleprods.</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> Peta - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - say the elephants are also separated from their mothers by force. </span><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJxiS3PVu-C3Dp_jADLtt6jIHXw4rjWTRumwGJoVs2Vv0efFgU3JenHU0s_hp-vZNgtNLAV5x8sNb-JS9vd8auSFJoTvSlyJvpm3b_b1KQNpotWKybcQuYwM2t1z0gpX4OHd9v7papxkS/s1600-h/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJxiS3PVu-C3Dp_jADLtt6jIHXw4rjWTRumwGJoVs2Vv0efFgU3JenHU0s_hp-vZNgtNLAV5x8sNb-JS9vd8auSFJoTvSlyJvpm3b_b1KQNpotWKybcQuYwM2t1z0gpX4OHd9v7papxkS/s400/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418531790720838850" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBm2jni0fvJuh7OV56t5ymqoApmKtEP986G2VQuhvn2PXPl4f7HtXmKJlrgu-8BwcaBRxYVYsEpDIN9FWICeXl5PII8xTX7e0Eft9J17AtnchFsUwdhE4mkjd6iNVJgo75_SBjJB0rvb7J/s1600-h/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBm2jni0fvJuh7OV56t5ymqoApmKtEP986G2VQuhvn2PXPl4f7HtXmKJlrgu-8BwcaBRxYVYsEpDIN9FWICeXl5PII8xTX7e0Eft9J17AtnchFsUwdhE4mkjd6iNVJgo75_SBjJB0rvb7J/s400/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418531788125419314" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The photographs are being used to spearhead a campaign to tighten up laws on the use of wild beasts in circuses.</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> The Government here is considering legislation to impose stricter conditions on their care, training and performance, particularly where young are concerned. </span><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0QPo8DB8se1ZvV5EaJF7rnbL4BKRWRal9gTsKudXxObxKZsmlqIsQ-i4JBb9WFZcMu6J58OLj8ToNJ4rhpaQpsZp5Je5dcmIUCEZ8kQD8qHq11Kr0eVKk98M8SXC9rKGytF77jz40D9Ch/s1600-h/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0QPo8DB8se1ZvV5EaJF7rnbL4BKRWRal9gTsKudXxObxKZsmlqIsQ-i4JBb9WFZcMu6J58OLj8ToNJ4rhpaQpsZp5Je5dcmIUCEZ8kQD8qHq11Kr0eVKk98M8SXC9rKGytF77jz40D9Ch/s400/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418531781899237970" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwYlHZ5wQlcJ4V2Mu18sdn0B5J1kDifo-NTFJQ8OHARjE3iLg-fF8PzyuGRTqlSAgWD9ra_GBRQF5QjtMLg1LcLdutEidyijCRUalKdjPqQ4peP3aH6lrSeAu_p_ZlCRFr6hp2tK0476Qs/s1600-h/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 232px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwYlHZ5wQlcJ4V2Mu18sdn0B5J1kDifo-NTFJQ8OHARjE3iLg-fF8PzyuGRTqlSAgWD9ra_GBRQF5QjtMLg1LcLdutEidyijCRUalKdjPqQ4peP3aH6lrSeAu_p_ZlCRFr6hp2tK0476Qs/s400/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418531777892095490" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The pictures were taken in the U.S. by handler Sammy Haddock, who worked for the Ringling Bros' Barnum and Bailey Circus until 2005.</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> They were taken more than seven years ago - but Peta says such methods are widespread, and 'effectively amount to the torture of defenceless animals'. </span><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXm7MVhMuhSH73Q8yFwaGr5tO5zJ3mj7kG0bZpM1lak2BEqvCM9w2tOhRtMMUa8VjHpJ7EkHqM-z_sSWn2m0xkxbs6dYfodypEV4RUaiPw85fftKMmf_WfhAzM2PlTy-EXsEsbxDnjDYh/s1600-h/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXm7MVhMuhSH73Q8yFwaGr5tO5zJ3mj7kG0bZpM1lak2BEqvCM9w2tOhRtMMUa8VjHpJ7EkHqM-z_sSWn2m0xkxbs6dYfodypEV4RUaiPw85fftKMmf_WfhAzM2PlTy-EXsEsbxDnjDYh/s400/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418531773345472146" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIs-5dpenPtT6pJnK21BqXCmLID_LLI8Bf6shuLtWFJ4ufVT7y-GGXxzPtpYNQ6hEV013ilWvZMxXEFMOsrIoVaKUkByVfmkVTwE4xkAJkzLPBQhIOpE5VN9r6S4MIbsQ8xk7yY6QxCGHN/s1600-h/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIs-5dpenPtT6pJnK21BqXCmLID_LLI8Bf6shuLtWFJ4ufVT7y-GGXxzPtpYNQ6hEV013ilWvZMxXEFMOsrIoVaKUkByVfmkVTwE4xkAJkzLPBQhIOpE5VN9r6S4MIbsQ8xk7yY6QxCGHN/s400/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418531692324558290" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Haddock died last month and asked Peta to use his pictures to ease his conscience about the kind of treatment he administered during eight years at the Ringling centre in Florida.</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> Peta director Poorva Joshipura said: 'All the evidence suggests that the methods described by Sam Haddock are standard operating procedures.' </span><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1gMUk9S4oDFe8L5q4uNZ5tXZKqmTug9p2THRWu9VdaRgU04kc7TFanv05q5cQB3FMpMDXWfv-8Fm-y_6mrAYwcNHMoIsm2ld7KDiyXC2KOKq3I3n0dZOffNVEhcXvdjOmQDkVULurAxJ4/s1600-h/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 302px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1gMUk9S4oDFe8L5q4uNZ5tXZKqmTug9p2THRWu9VdaRgU04kc7TFanv05q5cQB3FMpMDXWfv-8Fm-y_6mrAYwcNHMoIsm2ld7KDiyXC2KOKq3I3n0dZOffNVEhcXvdjOmQDkVULurAxJ4/s400/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418531686555203970" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Ci0RZygNJAJIJhIfv_lYRgCzXJ5XCednNw7bLLJEQdHORlXMg32LMTPmDTpIN2GraplNmGj74MIgCW7a-767ec2NPUAHXW6pjSRtxPeKE22ippfqAI55B-KlnV0dTtwtlPcbq7qz1EDo/s1600-h/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+10.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 301px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Ci0RZygNJAJIJhIfv_lYRgCzXJ5XCednNw7bLLJEQdHORlXMg32LMTPmDTpIN2GraplNmGj74MIgCW7a-767ec2NPUAHXW6pjSRtxPeKE22ippfqAI55B-KlnV0dTtwtlPcbq7qz1EDo/s400/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418531685326568818" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Ringling's dismisses Peta's claims as 'from the last century' and denies cruelty. It says it separates calves from adults only when they are old enough to demonstrate natural independence.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LvtC0xh7ARYFj5v0kapv0sJWt138dHbz2rAkESUPl7TmR7ladxkTY7C9WmFXtcE8TVNrNBSGHR1r4hhR9r3XaWpu0aZHRBPWvPPP84w_ojVOK1FVPFwDxYDBskCaXNrDGglUw_QvKNFb/s1600-h/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+11.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 359px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LvtC0xh7ARYFj5v0kapv0sJWt138dHbz2rAkESUPl7TmR7ladxkTY7C9WmFXtcE8TVNrNBSGHR1r4hhR9r3XaWpu0aZHRBPWvPPP84w_ojVOK1FVPFwDxYDBskCaXNrDGglUw_QvKNFb/s400/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+11.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418531680034588082" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRt-iN0RbhP7tnfc5UUv76YLDDn4R-m2jYR08aQd3vFq3Nd-kffJ3FOazXH7z2tdnNsIA8LwE8WBvxSdeI5Mzvlu2nvpnvlGxeUZs8iQO6jIcXkDD_QHDjVdkFyHuA4KJKRwsXg1FE7Bs6/s1600-h/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+12.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRt-iN0RbhP7tnfc5UUv76YLDDn4R-m2jYR08aQd3vFq3Nd-kffJ3FOazXH7z2tdnNsIA8LwE8WBvxSdeI5Mzvlu2nvpnvlGxeUZs8iQO6jIcXkDD_QHDjVdkFyHuA4KJKRwsXg1FE7Bs6/s400/Harrowing+ordeal+of+the+baby+elephants+bound+and+beaten+to+become+circus+stars+12.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418531676230966290" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Tags: </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Elephant" rel="tag">Elephant</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Animals" rel="tag">Animals</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Strange" rel="tag">Strange</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Bizarre" rel="tag">Bizarre</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Weird" rel="tag">Weird</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Circus" rel="tag">Circus</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Entertainment" rel="tag">Entertainment</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Humans" rel="tag">Humans</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Circus" rel="tag">Circus</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Rodeos" rel="tag">Rodeos</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Zoos" rel="tag">Zoos</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Hunting" rel="tag">Hunting</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Horrific.vile" rel="tag">Horrific.vile</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Sick" rel="tag">Sick</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Entertainment" rel="tag">Entertainment</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Bound" rel="tag">Bound</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Beaten" rel="tag">Beaten</a></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-65885390854201376652009-12-18T18:11:00.001-08:002009-12-18T18:16:30.799-08:00Russian internet sensation: Giant triangular 'UFO' filmed hovering above Kremlin<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Hovering ominously over the city, this video of what appears to be a triangle-shaped UFO has left Russians baffled.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Sitting motionless in the sky above the Kremlin in Moscow, clips of the unexplained object have become the most-viewed videos on Russia's YouTube.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The two videos, one taken at night from a car and one during the day, were both filmed by amateurs.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO5yBFdXjM2YFbqGBbG4eRo_hqt3PAiFs3HB2onvsJJlcfi5Kk0CBTP7Mc6oPsDfiadS9v7_IZTvebrnacmnmGanhcSRATjQ1yvzzpUhBmhtSa_UNkcXCEfxjtdhe2qA_Qt3-6YTcAmeNd/s1600-h/UFO+filmed+hovering+above+Kremlin+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO5yBFdXjM2YFbqGBbG4eRo_hqt3PAiFs3HB2onvsJJlcfi5Kk0CBTP7Mc6oPsDfiadS9v7_IZTvebrnacmnmGanhcSRATjQ1yvzzpUhBmhtSa_UNkcXCEfxjtdhe2qA_Qt3-6YTcAmeNd/s400/UFO+filmed+hovering+above+Kremlin+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416764627120933058" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRIFZewHMljfENe60Nr27xjOqTuev-iZDCIBiSWmGrcHuK_zvMeBfKo6OBWfM8SKtNrTXscvMhs3238XM7iec1tArON1VwkN6sSmrhyWf2gashyphenhyphenzI4YrUa7q4KTBUlidNxEXXhLl8MUarG/s1600-h/UFO+filmed+hovering+above+Kremlin++2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 201px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRIFZewHMljfENe60Nr27xjOqTuev-iZDCIBiSWmGrcHuK_zvMeBfKo6OBWfM8SKtNrTXscvMhs3238XM7iec1tArON1VwkN6sSmrhyWf2gashyphenhyphenzI4YrUa7q4KTBUlidNxEXXhLl8MUarG/s400/UFO+filmed+hovering+above+Kremlin++2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416764617763306146" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The UFO hovered for hours over Red Square in the Russian capital and was seen by hundreds of people.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The identity of the shape has not been confirmed but internet forums are buzzing with the sighting.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The UFO appeared on December 9th, the same night that a mysterious blue spiral light appeared over Norway. That was later attributed to a failed rocket launch from Russia.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Some have likened the object to one of the spaceships from Star Wars.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">But others have said it is merely a reflection from inside the cameraman's car. If the object exists experts estimate that it could be up to a mile wide.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Some commentators have reacted sceptically to the videos and have pointed out that if hundreds of people had seen the object more videos and photos would have emerged by now.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Russian reports ruled out a UFO but police have refused to comment.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Nick Pope, a former Ministry of Defence UFO analyst, said it was 'one of the most extraordinary UFO clips I've ever seen'.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">'At first I thought this was a reflection but it appears to move behind a power line, ruling out this theory.'</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">A spokesman for aerospace journal Jane's News said: 'We have no idea what it is.'</span><br /><br /><object style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hGsUnC9hXmI&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hGsUnC9hXmI&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="560"></embed></object><br /><br /><div style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" class="tag_list">Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Triangle" rel="tag">Triangle</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/UFO" rel="tag">UFO</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Nasa" rel="tag">Nasa</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Science" rel="tag">Science</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Amazing" rel="tag">Amazing</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/believe+it+or+not" rel="tag">believe it or not</a></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-62768063193533633822009-12-17T11:09:00.000-08:002009-12-17T11:17:51.857-08:00Amazing Pictures Majestic brown bears go head to head in remarkable 15-minute duel<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">These two brown bears couldn't have picked a more stunning setting to engage in a spot of rough and tumble.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">In front of a spectacular, snow topped mountain range in Alaska, the giant animals took each other to task, with one even taking a crafty low side-swipe.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Despite one of the bears holding a definite weight advantage, the pair grappled and exchanged blows.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr5AWlC7VAauXA4EXqbnH-pkdpHAwqoCUABLcUiEEFXfo5FSLGh4hv7Er7ErfuGoKa03AQqkDQhgIamiF0U_IEpMyFIVFhSTYZsBVVlPE2BWepEJMBM5WIABtTJWYRzlpfTeZ7_7mGFMT0/s1600-h/Amazing+Pictures+Majestic+brown+bears+go+head+to+head+in+remarkable+15-minute+duel++1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr5AWlC7VAauXA4EXqbnH-pkdpHAwqoCUABLcUiEEFXfo5FSLGh4hv7Er7ErfuGoKa03AQqkDQhgIamiF0U_IEpMyFIVFhSTYZsBVVlPE2BWepEJMBM5WIABtTJWYRzlpfTeZ7_7mGFMT0/s400/Amazing+Pictures+Majestic+brown+bears+go+head+to+head+in+remarkable+15-minute+duel++1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416284976474369362" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">But after 15 minutes of hard combat they seemed happy to call it a draw and went hunting for salmon in a nearby river.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The incredible duel was captured on camera by amateur photographer Scott Cromwell during a special bear spotting trip.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">He flew for six hours from Homer, Alaska, to Hallow Bay, which is part of the Katmai National Park, also in Alaska, just to see the majestic animals.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWkW10jhpiOQ_5r35XoZYXjw0SiIatR5MZl0zTn_EcsgnsdUj4oVwgU2pYrcT28C3nJATyyvtGpCW8OBMtqtusSW1NSGHMLcnY0oDEHtE78miXhHA54T1HOgfSxQfgwcztdAKlkXnOcqTK/s1600-h/Amazing+Pictures+Majestic+brown+bears+go+head+to+head+in+remarkable+15-minute+duel++2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 298px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWkW10jhpiOQ_5r35XoZYXjw0SiIatR5MZl0zTn_EcsgnsdUj4oVwgU2pYrcT28C3nJATyyvtGpCW8OBMtqtusSW1NSGHMLcnY0oDEHtE78miXhHA54T1HOgfSxQfgwcztdAKlkXnOcqTK/s400/Amazing+Pictures+Majestic+brown+bears+go+head+to+head+in+remarkable+15-minute+duel++2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416284969764781330" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Scott, 38, said: 'The guide and pilot flew us over a known area and we spotted a few bears so we landed on the beach a few hundred yards away from them.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">'We walked up to about 250ft from them and stood and watched from a dry part of the river bed.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">'They instantly quit fishing for salmon in the river and ran out in the open in between us and the mountains.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">'The smaller bear came out into the open first but then the bigger one galloped after it making a lot of noise.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2fY03EM31sK3jVHRXNuiEeaiFuvRuBb9W-kE-eVl5tsMvcsmQLx-9unOoGMZ2PHVBl-4g9DYgu-oNPCej0fefk9Su83Sll_YtcPOWpJkewKD2BHryrDSFyiy3KgDq7gC1m90l2ctt90tb/s1600-h/Amazing+Pictures+Majestic+brown+bears+go+head+to+head+in+remarkable+15-minute+duel++3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 337px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2fY03EM31sK3jVHRXNuiEeaiFuvRuBb9W-kE-eVl5tsMvcsmQLx-9unOoGMZ2PHVBl-4g9DYgu-oNPCej0fefk9Su83Sll_YtcPOWpJkewKD2BHryrDSFyiy3KgDq7gC1m90l2ctt90tb/s400/Amazing+Pictures+Majestic+brown+bears+go+head+to+head+in+remarkable+15-minute+duel++3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416284963306622210" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">'They circled around the whole large area a couple of times and then started wrestling right in front of us - we were no more than 100ft away.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">'I couldn't believe what was happening - we had only just got off the plane and this all seemed to have happened instantly.' </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Television repairman Scott said the bears battled for 15 minutes before getting bored or hungry and returning to hunting for salmon.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">He added: 'I was leaning over the whole time while shooting, trying to get as close to the ground as possible without including any grass in the foreground.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">'It truly was the most enjoyable 15 minutes of my life. In fact the whole trip was the best six hours of my life.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">'Seeing bears this close really is incredible.' </span><br /><br /><div style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" class="tag_list">Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Brown+Bears" rel="tag">Brown Bears</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Stunning" rel="tag">Stunning</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Tumble" rel="tag">Tumble</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Spectacular" rel="tag">Spectacular</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Animal" rel="tag">Animal</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Incredible" rel="tag">Incredible</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/photographer" rel="tag">photographer</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/National+Park" rel="tag">National Park</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Wrestling" rel="tag">Wrestling</a></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-27606482984430199552009-12-16T13:22:00.000-08:002009-12-16T13:43:03.116-08:00Bizarre Black magic fears as boy, 2, is hospitalised with 50 sewing needles inside his body<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >A two-year-old is seriously ill after being admitted to hospital with 50 sewing needles inside him.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Doctors in Brazil believe the needles were deliberately pushed into his body through his skin - including 17 discovered in his digestive system.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Police have launched an investigation to discover who carried out the attack amid fears the boy may have been used as part of a sinister black magic ritual.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj7uEh5g1jeVw0qWgmhfvvtbP1fki8L0Yq-62s7BcA-nKddbKbvkSzubPs98QsjT3krzZhaVj6iIud_0B-0jaRi-oy9b7cKdjlrHiZaYo0aILVD6buYu_oftvwEmYAmHyEumADWlHaoNZr/s1600-h/Black+magic+fears+as+boy,+2,+is+hospitalised+with+50+sewing+needles+inside+his+body+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 318px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj7uEh5g1jeVw0qWgmhfvvtbP1fki8L0Yq-62s7BcA-nKddbKbvkSzubPs98QsjT3krzZhaVj6iIud_0B-0jaRi-oy9b7cKdjlrHiZaYo0aILVD6buYu_oftvwEmYAmHyEumADWlHaoNZr/s400/Black+magic+fears+as+boy,+2,+is+hospitalised+with+50+sewing+needles+inside+his+body+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415951333410805314" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >One of the needles perforated the youngster's left lung. Stunned medics admitted him to hospital in Barreiras in the state of Bahma, north east Brazil, after X-rays showed the 50 metal objects in his abdomen, neck, thorax and legs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Today it emerged the macabre crime may be linked to a bizarre black magic ritual.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The boy, taken to hospital by a relative on Sunday with stomach pains, has not been named.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >His mother, maid Marma Souza Santos, has told police she does not know who is responsible and said his gran used to look after her son while she was out at work.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >But she has reportedly claimed in a statement the youngster's stepfather may have used the infant in a black magic ritual. He has denied the claims.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLGSJ9D98dlU9RLTnKf3GgutJprk-5IXYw5uZCL-dd3VLgm-2fdQYBCzv_azW0zXG5dX9f4_vh5TXFbF7Qfdq26SqFNWcsrEmZD5xHyqhLZHkoXuwXCBPDQeovtkQqFKZ-siaTzf4yLpT/s1600-h/Black+magic+fears+as+boy,+2,+is+hospitalised+with+50+sewing+needles+inside+his+body+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLGSJ9D98dlU9RLTnKf3GgutJprk-5IXYw5uZCL-dd3VLgm-2fdQYBCzv_azW0zXG5dX9f4_vh5TXFbF7Qfdq26SqFNWcsrEmZD5xHyqhLZHkoXuwXCBPDQeovtkQqFKZ-siaTzf4yLpT/s400/Black+magic+fears+as+boy,+2,+is+hospitalised+with+50+sewing+needles+inside+his+body+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415951327436809378" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Police chief Helder Fernandes Santana said: 'We are certain someone introduced the needles because of the position of some of them in the child's body.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >'At the moment we don't know who did it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >'It's such a strange situation. We could be looking at attempted murder, a serious assault or some type of revenge attack. We're not ruling anything out at the moment.'</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Doctors at West Hospital in Barreiras where the boy is currently being treated, said they would considering trying to remove sewing needles just under the surface of the boy's skin.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >But hospital director Luiz Cesar said none of the needles were endangering his life at the moment - and said he may have to live with them inside his body because of the risk involved in removing them.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >He added: 'We're certain the boy didn't swallow the needles of his own accord.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >'If he did, they would be in his gastrointestinal tract.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >'I've never seen a case of its kind.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >'Our priority at the moment is the boy's lung which was perforated by one of the needles.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >'Fortunately his life is not in danger.' The boy's dad Gessivaldo Alves added: 'We have faith in God that he is going to get better.'</span><div class="tag_list">Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Baby" rel="tag">Baby</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Black+magic" rel="tag">Black magic</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Neck" rel="tag">Neck</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Strange" rel="tag">Strange</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Thorax" rel="tag">Thorax</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/weird" rel="tag">weird</a></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-42443185473908763342009-12-14T13:06:00.001-08:002009-12-14T13:23:36.167-08:00Silvio Berlusconi loses a PINT of blood after attacker breaks his nose and knocks out two teeth<span style="font-family: arial;">Silvio Berlusconi lost nearly a pint of blood after he was punched to the ground by an attacker yesterday.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The 73-year-old Italian prime minister is facing a second night in hospital after doctors admitted his injuries were worse than they had thought.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Mr Berlusconi also suffered a broken nose and lost two teeth during the assault as he signed autographs at the end of a stormy political rally in Milan yesterday. </span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipchL2mmpxc1dxt_WvAzhSAexiiym8RaPCHlhb-ufdo9f2Yvuf7I3fjLlPQM0Ni2HRk_nmsaIQqE1zk7uAdrgeraShFteFsrHaiKqrw5jYpMa4vn6XSfHnJC1VN8cLhsnm9bnKuoYJyZUm/s1600-h/Silvio+Berlusconi+loses+a+PINT+of+blood+after+attacker+breaks+his+nose+and+knocks+out+two+teeth+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 232px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipchL2mmpxc1dxt_WvAzhSAexiiym8RaPCHlhb-ufdo9f2Yvuf7I3fjLlPQM0Ni2HRk_nmsaIQqE1zk7uAdrgeraShFteFsrHaiKqrw5jYpMa4vn6XSfHnJC1VN8cLhsnm9bnKuoYJyZUm/s400/Silvio+Berlusconi+loses+a+PINT+of+blood+after+attacker+breaks+his+nose+and+knocks+out+two+teeth+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415202830258243570" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcTsgZTtXqA6xrB9I8O7z-gKpUmlrf1cenXVyeM4SShB2cXgRda1jy_d385Gzqa1ZBgqQUaMpim-NARAGj2thbt878F8quC4XMpHY39HeAvKWs4ok6AQpqC2KK01Ibe9slcs5GgxG8Cnh/s1600-h/Silvio+Berlusconi+loses+a+PINT+of+blood+after+attacker+breaks+his+nose+and+knocks+out+two+teeth+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcTsgZTtXqA6xrB9I8O7z-gKpUmlrf1cenXVyeM4SShB2cXgRda1jy_d385Gzqa1ZBgqQUaMpim-NARAGj2thbt878F8quC4XMpHY39HeAvKWs4ok6AQpqC2KK01Ibe9slcs5GgxG8Cnh/s400/Silvio+Berlusconi+loses+a+PINT+of+blood+after+attacker+breaks+his+nose+and+knocks+out+two+teeth+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415202820334099314" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">He spent a quiet, if painful, night in hospital last night and is having trouble eating, his personal doctor said today.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">He is also suffering from a severe headache.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">However his friends are rallying around him - a spokesman said French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian President Vladimir Putin have both already phoned to commiserate with Mr Berlusconi.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">His doctor, Alberto Zangrillo, said the premier's injuries would take at least 15 days to heal.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Berlusconi, a popular but divisive figure, said 'I'm fine, I'm fine' as he arrived at the hospital yesterday.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">He reportedly asked to be brought newspapers upon waking up, no doubt wanting to read coverage of the assault on the front pages.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Berlusconi was attacked when a man stepped from the crowd, dodging bodyguards, before smashing the politician in the face - apparently while clutching a model of the city's Duomo cathedral in his clenched fist.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The prime minister told an Italian TV presenter visiting him in hospital that he considered it ‘miraculous’ not to have lost an eye in the attack.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">‘This is truly a bad day for Italy, and it's the duty of all the political forces to ensure that Italy does not go back to the years of violence,’ Gianfranco Fini, Berlusconi's top conservative ally, said.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4cMEin3_tFjCrLLu2S80GzkxG-SLzsQrKvYXjO9fJgP5pXRWeBGtV1O3zQjhlorjHs7ZOQX_afQT0dgQOesQbTWBxyAvlsO4Fz4p8lCEjWyxOC9A9Lh4_XeYHIwx7k8d8neZ1BAiZBQQ/s1600-h/Silvio+Berlusconi+loses+a+PINT+of+blood+after+attacker+breaks+his+nose+and+knocks+out+two+teeth+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 261px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4cMEin3_tFjCrLLu2S80GzkxG-SLzsQrKvYXjO9fJgP5pXRWeBGtV1O3zQjhlorjHs7ZOQX_afQT0dgQOesQbTWBxyAvlsO4Fz4p8lCEjWyxOC9A9Lh4_XeYHIwx7k8d8neZ1BAiZBQQ/s400/Silvio+Berlusconi+loses+a+PINT+of+blood+after+attacker+breaks+his+nose+and+knocks+out+two+teeth+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415202815848727570" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmZWLb-i4uNqj4K-_Kxor7WIsDHqlk6diz4BzEdnAwXXLsru6M-9udfhtoi7bpuwhLHsQH_SLE2x3gj_ngozKvN6jHe9iwWd7r76EAPHie6R2vG6BIu0DT3rTzc4XXIMTx2vez47LzZDGA/s1600-h/Silvio+Berlusconi+loses+a+PINT+of+blood+after+attacker+breaks+his+nose+and+knocks+out+two+teeth+4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmZWLb-i4uNqj4K-_Kxor7WIsDHqlk6diz4BzEdnAwXXLsru6M-9udfhtoi7bpuwhLHsQH_SLE2x3gj_ngozKvN6jHe9iwWd7r76EAPHie6R2vG6BIu0DT3rTzc4XXIMTx2vez47LzZDGA/s400/Silvio+Berlusconi+loses+a+PINT+of+blood+after+attacker+breaks+his+nose+and+knocks+out+two+teeth+4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415202807390696290" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">The incident triggered an outpouring of solidarity for Berlusconi from allies and critics, just as the prime minister seeks to regain political momentum after a bruising year battling mounting legal troubles and sex scandals.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Allies blamed the assault on an atmosphere of hatred swirling around the billionaire businessman.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">‘What they've done to Berlusconi is an act of terrorism,’ Umberto Bossi, head of the far-right Northern League and a close Berlusconi ally, said.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">‘An oppressive climate has been felt for some time and what's happened today is a worrying sign.’</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The attacker, named last night as Massimo Tartaglia, was arrested by police and taken away.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH7LllKyaadc64a4qs2FMpjHQE6EXFBBEbL0bkO4mAkg6CmvDbfI64lB2cB9Ves16OORqkvoZiHkhwNNgs6quT-44SDM7tPWe8eBdU9SYbv-anqnabzvLLzI8YSOyQWsNK9BV5ubRsihli/s1600-h/Silvio+Berlusconi+loses+a+PINT+of+blood+after+attacker+breaks+his+nose+and+knocks+out+two+teeth+5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH7LllKyaadc64a4qs2FMpjHQE6EXFBBEbL0bkO4mAkg6CmvDbfI64lB2cB9Ves16OORqkvoZiHkhwNNgs6quT-44SDM7tPWe8eBdU9SYbv-anqnabzvLLzI8YSOyQWsNK9BV5ubRsihli/s400/Silvio+Berlusconi+loses+a+PINT+of+blood+after+attacker+breaks+his+nose+and+knocks+out+two+teeth+5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415202780311143314" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">Just hours after the attack, Facebook groups had sprung up hailing or attacking Tartaglia, including one fan site with more than 32,000 fans that labelled him a man with "lots of courage".</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Television footage showed a stunned Mr Berlusconi with blood around his mouth as he was lifted to his feet by aides.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">He was bundled into his official car but immediately got out, apparently in an effort to show he was not badly injured. After looking out into the crowd, the aides pulled him back into the vehicle.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">As police officers swamped the rally, Mr Berlusconi was driven to a nearby hospital where he was given a CAT scan.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Doctors said that as he was being treated on a stretcher, he had told them: 'I'm fine, I'm fine, don't worry about me.'</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMMwiK52Iz0cl2PT29W5AjE0TSdGA1ITeVKhSVBut24qleDIpeMQrEmeEeyZdcU2ylSyFRcRH5bAhlA_dsmzABG6Oazx9BfXUxvbuXIeQxVC8Fd6aHWBbqfBbBgm1ezLJoJm8lvnmXebBo/s1600-h/Silvio+Berlusconi+loses+a+PINT+of+blood+after+attacker+breaks+his+nose+and+knocks+out+two+teeth+6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMMwiK52Iz0cl2PT29W5AjE0TSdGA1ITeVKhSVBut24qleDIpeMQrEmeEeyZdcU2ylSyFRcRH5bAhlA_dsmzABG6Oazx9BfXUxvbuXIeQxVC8Fd6aHWBbqfBbBgm1ezLJoJm8lvnmXebBo/s400/Silvio+Berlusconi+loses+a+PINT+of+blood+after+attacker+breaks+his+nose+and+knocks+out+two+teeth+6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415202770836559730" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxYmF2zp74BLRYrRI23kO2ml6fPFrF9dIXc46wyWpxxvYgc2GIyk2AGGQEJhe5nY3lkf-J4g0hAMwHTNIhpuAetDvePQwL2kKaoHnmDSdUXd2JWr9uIwrfvF_pke0AWZjYHktLf2IxQo5k/s1600-h/Silvio+Berlusconi+loses+a+PINT+of+blood+after+attacker+breaks+his+nose+and+knocks+out+two+teeth+7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 264px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxYmF2zp74BLRYrRI23kO2ml6fPFrF9dIXc46wyWpxxvYgc2GIyk2AGGQEJhe5nY3lkf-J4g0hAMwHTNIhpuAetDvePQwL2kKaoHnmDSdUXd2JWr9uIwrfvF_pke0AWZjYHktLf2IxQo5k/s400/Silvio+Berlusconi+loses+a+PINT+of+blood+after+attacker+breaks+his+nose+and+knocks+out+two+teeth+7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415202765456076898" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="font-family: arial;">There was no immediate suggestion of a motive for the attack. Police sources said that 42-year-old Tartaglia, from Milan, was not known as a political activist and had no criminal convictions apart from minor driving offences. </p><p style="font-family: arial;">They added, however, that he had been 'receiving medical attention for mental problems' for ten years.<br /></p><p style="font-family: arial;">Before the attack, Mr Berlusconi had delivered a fiery speech to supporters of his People of Freedom party in the square in front of the cathedral. Scores of opponents had also gathered to try to drown out his speech. </p><p style="font-family: arial;">Defence minister Ignazio La Russa who witnessed the attack said: 'I saw blood coming from the premier's nose and mouth. He was then pushed into the car by his bodyguards and driven away. </p><span style="font-family: arial;">'He was actually trying to step on the edge of the door so that he could stand and wave to the crowds but his bodyguards would not let him do it, they pushed him inside.</span><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjeKnbRvMi_QE709Im4ifxcW0bQQjhp6M9i9pRHdVpdJq505j7_s0gsjyX6VMyLST-70V1we2GpcW2FjmBVLSPY_XJB_47TJfEQi9WgTRpqf1l8iYaGcVu3YpWrg9Q9ZbAtigqawnP-lI/s1600-h/Silvio+Berlusconi+loses+a+PINT+of+blood+after+attacker+breaks+his+nose+and+knocks+out+two+teeth+8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjeKnbRvMi_QE709Im4ifxcW0bQQjhp6M9i9pRHdVpdJq505j7_s0gsjyX6VMyLST-70V1we2GpcW2FjmBVLSPY_XJB_47TJfEQi9WgTRpqf1l8iYaGcVu3YpWrg9Q9ZbAtigqawnP-lI/s400/Silvio+Berlusconi+loses+a+PINT+of+blood+after+attacker+breaks+his+nose+and+knocks+out+two+teeth+8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415202747925788850" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzC-e1gn3AnnBAgBhkeGjhyphenhyphenl87kNssNYFKQiCH-Ldg_ZhS0Oc_2ff0yHfzw61mpz0wo_WTH2SnEPL22j3lpUMeR1hWj0uobvvE7yLJa-zZg2u26nKchaGJmdvticUmOAkuen0I9HTtfYdD/s1600-h/Silvio+Berlusconi+loses+a+PINT+of+blood+after+attacker+breaks+his+nose+and+knocks+out+two+teeth+9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzC-e1gn3AnnBAgBhkeGjhyphenhyphenl87kNssNYFKQiCH-Ldg_ZhS0Oc_2ff0yHfzw61mpz0wo_WTH2SnEPL22j3lpUMeR1hWj0uobvvE7yLJa-zZg2u26nKchaGJmdvticUmOAkuen0I9HTtfYdD/s400/Silvio+Berlusconi+loses+a+PINT+of+blood+after+attacker+breaks+his+nose+and+knocks+out+two+teeth+9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415202746336963858" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">The attacker was held immediately by the police and it's a good job he was because he risked being lynched by the crowd. There would have been just pieces of him left.'</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The attack came after a speech that had been billed as politically significant but revealed no big policy shift.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Berlusconi launched a familiar tirade against the left and rattled off a list of government achievements, in a characteristically feisty performance aimed at shoring up his standing and ratings.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">It is the second time that Mr Berlusconi has been attacked in public. In 2004 he was hit over the head with a camera tripod while strolling in Rome.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Last night's incident came despite reports in November security had been tightened-around him following fears that he was being targeted by Left-wing terrorists.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Mr Berlusconi has been at the centre of controversy for much of the year. In April it emerged that he had attended the 18th birthday party of a lingerie model, giving her a £5,400 gold and diamond necklace.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">It prompted his long-suffering wife Veronica Lario, 53, to announce she was divorcing him because she could no longer be with a man who ' associated with minors and was ill'.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">In June it emerged that escort girls had been among women invited to parties at his official residences. One claimed to have slept with him.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">He has also been at the centre of a political storm after an immunity law his government introduced was overturned, meaning he could be put on trail for corruption.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">In recent weeks there have been claims he was in the Mafia, allegations he has dismissed as lies.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">An opinion poll published on Saturday indicated his popularity had fallen four percentage points to just over 50 percent as Italians fretted that his legal entanglements could distract him from government duties.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-63366286930166391502009-11-28T11:49:00.000-08:002009-11-28T11:52:50.641-08:00Awesome and Amazing multi-coloured 'peacock' spider<span style="font-family: arial;">When we think of spiders, us Brits tends to imagine the black and brown creatures that thrive in dry corners and give us a fright when we least expect it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Australians, the other hand, are privy to much more exciting sights, as these pictures of the 'peacock spider' prove.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">While it may be eight-legged like every other spider, this one has an impressive mating ritual to attract a partner.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1esla5SGRrMwMCmba38QV3LZjFx8Jj_8aQitN6XfJosiBuSwwwE1IDxHYKEXU1wtWs8mQpF9asIhQFBhCnys782LHL8SGZFfIk_VB5F1WfjPZ3NjKXYRTnnD6iSzHFNAkNh94uQgjGus8/s1600/multi-coloured+%27peacock%27+spider++1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 303px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1esla5SGRrMwMCmba38QV3LZjFx8Jj_8aQitN6XfJosiBuSwwwE1IDxHYKEXU1wtWs8mQpF9asIhQFBhCnys782LHL8SGZFfIk_VB5F1WfjPZ3NjKXYRTnnD6iSzHFNAkNh94uQgjGus8/s400/multi-coloured+%27peacock%27+spider++1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409244521631563650" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">It shows off a rainbow of colours to impress nearby females by fanning out two brightly patterned flaps at the back of his body.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Displaying its spectrum of shades in an attempt to attract the attention of the less vibrant brown spiders, the creature reveals hues of orange, yellow, green and blue.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Also known as a Moratus Vilans, amateur photographer Jurgen Otto originally spotted the colourful creature in the wild.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">However, as it is only 4mm long, he found it easier to capture images in his Sydney home.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVeN7PV9VUS1RwzVlRqzQhoWm_VmKPLPsvG-0A-eKTuJOhdo6kzZfCwgxTi4jaxoFf3XAB8EJAtnJA8kg4V5AGKC5WgD4SOgbrHlUyHGMEb_37Gll_5pwRP3-zo-Z9aRSTnsKfs4XRRGok/s1600/multi-coloured+%27peacock%27+spider++2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVeN7PV9VUS1RwzVlRqzQhoWm_VmKPLPsvG-0A-eKTuJOhdo6kzZfCwgxTi4jaxoFf3XAB8EJAtnJA8kg4V5AGKC5WgD4SOgbrHlUyHGMEb_37Gll_5pwRP3-zo-Z9aRSTnsKfs4XRRGok/s400/multi-coloured+%27peacock%27+spider++2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409244517580212914" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" title="awesome" href="http://technorati.com/tag/awesome" rel="tag" target="_blank">awesome</a><span style="font-family: arial;">, </span><a style="font-family: arial;" title="Amazing" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Amazing" rel="tag" target="_blank">Amazing</a><span style="font-family: arial;">, </span><a style="font-family: arial;" title="spider" href="http://technorati.com/tag/spider" rel="tag" target="_blank">spider</a><span style="font-family: arial;">, </span><a style="font-family: arial;" title="peacock" href="http://technorati.com/tag/peacock" rel="tag" target="_blank">peacock</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-35232935650770960892009-11-10T14:08:00.000-08:002009-11-10T14:17:31.039-08:00Cool and Amazing Tragic end for the zoo deer who leapt into a lion enclosure<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >This is the moment a baby deer makes a real error of judgement and jumps into a zoo enclosure containing a pair of hungry lions.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Desperate visitors watched in horror as the young whitetail deer literally leapt into the lions' den at the National Zoo in Washington, U.S.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The crowd urged the tiny fawn to run as a lioness chased after the creature and trapped it beneath one of its paws.</span><br /><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvT3fl21nhAqJ3_Ae0FscFfh2zOcgcDIBd6WeYsVkYqAHRFmc8JbTk9HXyMA3ShQw5m8nXhv3QZVMq_3JPZ_q8N00khDT6SRk2NkSBSfmuD6aqDoXNX13ut5JAZM6sT-SamZffyzltPkP/s1600-h/Tragic+end+for+the+zoo+deer+who+leapt+into+a+lion+enclosure+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvT3fl21nhAqJ3_Ae0FscFfh2zOcgcDIBd6WeYsVkYqAHRFmc8JbTk9HXyMA3ShQw5m8nXhv3QZVMq_3JPZ_q8N00khDT6SRk2NkSBSfmuD6aqDoXNX13ut5JAZM6sT-SamZffyzltPkP/s400/Tragic+end+for+the+zoo+deer+who+leapt+into+a+lion+enclosure+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402601250144372290" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >But the plucky deer managed to shake off its pursuers, race away before leaping into a moat which surrounded the lion enclosure.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Cheering spectators then watched as keepers managed to the two lionesses back into their pens while they rescued the deer from the water.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Witness Rob Ephraim said the deer ran between people at the railing of the low wall and jumped into the sunken enclosure with the lions.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCAnmkqpjnTS3HoRwzzt15agQNsJCnZs63WwCcD9NNacRDVxZ6VDTCKWVLvjZ4vAK5yvB-xJ7niB3umqDCA9tDSsw_3CH1_sH9WpSu2M-tgFw90Apkzi5EQQ35Am6WYZKVGv0vY3MRMvsI/s1600-h/Tragic+end+for+the+zoo+deer+who+leapt+into+a+lion+enclosure+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 317px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCAnmkqpjnTS3HoRwzzt15agQNsJCnZs63WwCcD9NNacRDVxZ6VDTCKWVLvjZ4vAK5yvB-xJ7niB3umqDCA9tDSsw_3CH1_sH9WpSu2M-tgFw90Apkzi5EQQ35Am6WYZKVGv0vY3MRMvsI/s400/Tragic+end+for+the+zoo+deer+who+leapt+into+a+lion+enclosure+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402601245914649970" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7YDVGXvCpj9NfIbcEdfHQbkjjlF744pA0AXXCfGYsoaS5VMQEc1Pkp9nROOGGiHLevwnOHsC_2d7Q9mpKcpr-ovehAO4d6a3Tm1DfZaxWM19FHnx9s2GVxUBL3OyeHN1cBVdyxqoKDdL/s1600-h/Tragic+end+for+the+zoo+deer+who+leapt+into+a+lion+enclosure+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 264px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7YDVGXvCpj9NfIbcEdfHQbkjjlF744pA0AXXCfGYsoaS5VMQEc1Pkp9nROOGGiHLevwnOHsC_2d7Q9mpKcpr-ovehAO4d6a3Tm1DfZaxWM19FHnx9s2GVxUBL3OyeHN1cBVdyxqoKDdL/s400/Tragic+end+for+the+zoo+deer+who+leapt+into+a+lion+enclosure+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402601243442110002" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >He said: 'It was running and it leaped, it must have had a death wish.'</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Tragically the animal suffered serious wounds to its stomach and had to be put down.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The National Zoo is part of Rock Creek Park, home to many deer and other wild or 'feral' animals including raccoons and chipmunks.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQjjUVp6aJMXQi3Px9pYwelNh_I-eKKtsoHfr-KNsVE8At2J3v8eQBNbZ5wlq9UyUreZz99M1wR_Q8S1cq-UjMwIZFye9kJpjMZIOFkEUgvsrGiDjkXfxaNZA8pxSCDkYjxRfLKROPScx/s1600-h/Tragic+end+for+the+zoo+deer+who+leapt+into+a+lion+enclosure+4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 276px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQjjUVp6aJMXQi3Px9pYwelNh_I-eKKtsoHfr-KNsVE8At2J3v8eQBNbZ5wlq9UyUreZz99M1wR_Q8S1cq-UjMwIZFye9kJpjMZIOFkEUgvsrGiDjkXfxaNZA8pxSCDkYjxRfLKROPScx/s400/Tragic+end+for+the+zoo+deer+who+leapt+into+a+lion+enclosure+4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402601235384048034" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Fxf7rjEdSEMOadULcoFb_BBiVl4efWEs6B2WKxJt59Z9TUfx1THERynbOXQ1_qAtLD9tsDfsg5vsdG6NHpoPnrXcjb-BXtAHKyNacemkX3bSoLuJ7xBxVOZT759cRuqgyuX-nFcXwKhH/s1600-h/Tragic+end+for+the+zoo+deer+who+leapt+into+a+lion+enclosure+5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Fxf7rjEdSEMOadULcoFb_BBiVl4efWEs6B2WKxJt59Z9TUfx1THERynbOXQ1_qAtLD9tsDfsg5vsdG6NHpoPnrXcjb-BXtAHKyNacemkX3bSoLuJ7xBxVOZT759cRuqgyuX-nFcXwKhH/s400/Tragic+end+for+the+zoo+deer+who+leapt+into+a+lion+enclosure+5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402601232381135234" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Massan said it was the first time a deer had managed to get inside one of the carnivore's enclosures.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >She said that the fawn had suffered serious injuries that it would not have been able to recover from.</span><br /><br /><object style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2CbPzjhFY8Q&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2CbPzjhFY8Q&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Fxf7rjEdSEMOadULcoFb_BBiVl4efWEs6B2WKxJt59Z9TUfx1THERynbOXQ1_qAtLD9tsDfsg5vsdG6NHpoPnrXcjb-BXtAHKyNacemkX3bSoLuJ7xBxVOZT759cRuqgyuX-nFcXwKhH/s1600-h/Tragic+end+for+the+zoo+deer+who+leapt+into+a+lion+enclosure+5.jpg"><br /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-30247199492120405112009-11-10T14:01:00.000-08:002009-11-10T14:08:42.208-08:00The Strange fighting female footballer who leaves her opponents quaking in their boots<span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">A hard-tackling, hair-pulling female footballer has become an internet sensation after a series of violent fouls were caught on camera.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">Elizabeth Lambert was suspended from her university team after being seen hitting, kicking and, in one instance, pulling an opponent down by her hair during a game.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">Millions of people have watched clips of the American defender’s bad behaviour online since the footage was filmed last Thursday.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bYGWXQUI7tKlAQBoBRyb1yGom7h4HksyydT_eoTNrgz_Po4KYdtZJSHY-XHnSrXKonEOqlHZbw0KBGNUwoKkGC9JzSiqDSxZevg6JCmIFj2tLFfsL76MWoJREiiSO-4STTLSf3QkEf2p/s1600-h/The+Strange+fighting+female+footballer+who+leaves+her+opponents+quaking+in+their+boots+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 391px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bYGWXQUI7tKlAQBoBRyb1yGom7h4HksyydT_eoTNrgz_Po4KYdtZJSHY-XHnSrXKonEOqlHZbw0KBGNUwoKkGC9JzSiqDSxZevg6JCmIFj2tLFfsL76MWoJREiiSO-4STTLSf3QkEf2p/s400/The+Strange+fighting+female+footballer+who+leaves+her+opponents+quaking+in+their+boots+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402599208559491202" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq_89s2Anj0fSFwycya-2pMCvUWJj3XLOZZfd9EK41-4bfupxHxWYxkKgWyt_SXgvDDwAcuzoFTVELR2xENWxy9F69EqlN_v8IRUlFnwVDQ5nnSqLyaTVRyMBPZMiQuayUXyfHqNBCuvcx/s1600-h/The+Strange+fighting+female+footballer+who+leaves+her+opponents+quaking+in+their+boots+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq_89s2Anj0fSFwycya-2pMCvUWJj3XLOZZfd9EK41-4bfupxHxWYxkKgWyt_SXgvDDwAcuzoFTVELR2xENWxy9F69EqlN_v8IRUlFnwVDQ5nnSqLyaTVRyMBPZMiQuayUXyfHqNBCuvcx/s400/The+Strange+fighting+female+footballer+who+leaves+her+opponents+quaking+in+their+boots+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402599206515066914" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYfbeIyPdvH1ytK2L8RmwL9b-zeqldFKcj5xdlwBskVkNdV41cZYZgpCYkDaK94k11sxO2G4IUq-RXyh-kKByZNEPvGry4XRjmz_FXr00NUvssuf89pyrUpYNVcPHEgvS5Ijoh650z1bfd/s1600-h/The+Strange+fighting+female+footballer+who+leaves+her+opponents+quaking+in+their+boots+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 289px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYfbeIyPdvH1ytK2L8RmwL9b-zeqldFKcj5xdlwBskVkNdV41cZYZgpCYkDaK94k11sxO2G4IUq-RXyh-kKByZNEPvGry4XRjmz_FXr00NUvssuf89pyrUpYNVcPHEgvS5Ijoh650z1bfd/s400/The+Strange+fighting+female+footballer+who+leaves+her+opponents+quaking+in+their+boots+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402599200420369554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">Kit Vela, her coach at the University of New Mexico team, said: ‘Her actions clearly crossed the line of fair play and good sportsmanship.’</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">At one point during a match against Brigham Young University, Lambert, tugged a player's hair so hard that she was pulled to the ground</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">The New Mexico player has apologised for her actions but she could still face further disciplinary action over the incident.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">She said: ‘I am deeply and wholeheartedly regretful for my actions.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">‘My actions were uncalled for. I let my emotions get the best of me in a heated situation. I take full responsibility for my actions.’</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">Now watch the video of Lambert in battle...</span><br /><br /><br /><object style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lp2DbvWmu4M&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lp2DbvWmu4M&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-28778752168993037662009-10-24T04:39:00.000-07:002009-10-25T02:11:26.547-07:00The five-year-old with a six pack: Child bodybuilder in record books after TV stunt .<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvwvJGf5SrsQ4MMyiGf-U-ka9Z0ABctVHYwV64ATbEonbJwFYfUM38OobOEMef34gIexsEKp9wjCKdQjOPLTpE1hobr5dItMMU1upYoQPAQeBvLkzTjBSJ4OYWdM8r1EtYqIM313_L9gK/s1600-h/1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;"></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvwvJGf5SrsQ4MMyiGf-U-ka9Z0ABctVHYwV64ATbEonbJwFYfUM38OobOEMef34gIexsEKp9wjCKdQjOPLTpE1hobr5dItMMU1upYoQPAQeBvLkzTjBSJ4OYWdM8r1EtYqIM313_L9gK/s1600-h/1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;"></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvwvJGf5SrsQ4MMyiGf-U-ka9Z0ABctVHYwV64ATbEonbJwFYfUM38OobOEMef34gIexsEKp9wjCKdQjOPLTpE1hobr5dItMMU1upYoQPAQeBvLkzTjBSJ4OYWdM8r1EtYqIM313_L9gK/s1600-h/1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396131537250512914" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvwvJGf5SrsQ4MMyiGf-U-ka9Z0ABctVHYwV64ATbEonbJwFYfUM38OobOEMef34gIexsEKp9wjCKdQjOPLTpE1hobr5dItMMU1upYoQPAQeBvLkzTjBSJ4OYWdM8r1EtYqIM313_L9gK/s400/1.jpg" style="float: left; height: 302px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 233px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;"> A muscle-bound boy has been entered into the Guinness Book of Records after performing an incredible physical stunt.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">Romanian Giuliano Stroe, five, has been training since the age of two in Italy - where he lives with his family - and now the hard work has finally paid off.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">He was entered into the record books earlier this year after performing some impressive 'hand-walking' skills to a panel of judges and an astonished audience on an Italian TV show .</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">The exceptional pre-schooler performed the fastest ever 10m hand walk with a weight ball between his legs to the delight of the studio audience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">And he has now become an internet hit after hundreds of thousands of people watched a clip of him performing the stunt on YouTube.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">Father Iulian Stroe, 33, said: 'He has been going to the gym with me ever since he was born. I always took him with me when I went training.'</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">He added there is no danger of the youngster harming himself, saying: 'I have been training hard all my life myself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">'He is never allowed to practice on his own, he is only a child and if he gets tired we go and play.'</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-G_UUtvLA6G-qnmo8xzNsPbuSKs43uwpZ5niwRY37H5CVf65EzuVurlLWXcw4vZb01XnB6kX5ZlEPHJsepEO1BKDJ86mjoDIZhoqhawpBORHCuOngIXwTgMV-cie_NdhVYeAxofg81NS/s1600-h/2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396130699185670258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-G_UUtvLA6G-qnmo8xzNsPbuSKs43uwpZ5niwRY37H5CVf65EzuVurlLWXcw4vZb01XnB6kX5ZlEPHJsepEO1BKDJ86mjoDIZhoqhawpBORHCuOngIXwTgMV-cie_NdhVYeAxofg81NS/s400/2.jpg" style="display: block; height: 238px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /><a name='more'></a></a><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">Giuliano, the oldest of four children, says his stardom has not gone to his head and he still enjoys normal kids stuff like painting, watching cartoons and playing in the park when he is not weightlifting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">But it seems he has picked up a taste for fame during his incredible exploits, revealing he enjoys it when he is applauded after performing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">It sparks memories of Richard Sandrak, who, after his father trained him to become a bodybuilder, aged just three in 1995, was declared The Strongest Boy In The World.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmBf5EoRj5NdFOfFgNeKOY5ZHNWnR48pQM4FlUHWMEP9xdc8F7iQMSexnUWN5KD4mAzlj-hn16IjU03wZ7wSp-YYWsgbWNsyX-rcgJL5aiRBSsdso9BDgpQxbEyJ1958RbZ-SBqlRNstC/s1600-h/3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396130693664980322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmBf5EoRj5NdFOfFgNeKOY5ZHNWnR48pQM4FlUHWMEP9xdc8F7iQMSexnUWN5KD4mAzlj-hn16IjU03wZ7wSp-YYWsgbWNsyX-rcgJL5aiRBSsdso9BDgpQxbEyJ1958RbZ-SBqlRNstC/s400/3.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 278px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">Nicknamed Little Hercules, Ukrainian-born Richard could bench press 210 pounds at the age of six after undergoing a strict regime.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">After moving to the U.S., he became a movie star, starring in Tiny Tarzan, after his fitness schedule attracted media attention.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">Interviewed this year, Richard, now 16, said that he had lost interest in working out.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-48362655095077778552009-10-23T06:20:00.000-07:002009-10-25T02:23:06.983-07:00To boldly go: 98 base jumpers take part in 400m plunge off Malaysian tower<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">Plummeting through the air off the top of a 421m tower is not everyone’s idea of fun, but for these base jumpers it was an experience of a lifetime.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">Some 98 of the extreme sports enthusiasts took part in the 2009 International Tower jump in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">The structure was built in 1995 for communication purposes and is currently the fifth tallest freestanding tower in the world.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju3S-NpXaB7THcZxyzUbToTOLmByQzuWnVeOJ2MTwCMMIHkbTm18g2y4OfkSbhg1nN4NILS6I0V60wAaKoM4JkYzyMPci6qNxbhf4_5rDze43b-_ODVIhpwqTBYfU19Kg6tq-wplEEAvSB/s1600-h/1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395789547123390850" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju3S-NpXaB7THcZxyzUbToTOLmByQzuWnVeOJ2MTwCMMIHkbTm18g2y4OfkSbhg1nN4NILS6I0V60wAaKoM4JkYzyMPci6qNxbhf4_5rDze43b-_ODVIhpwqTBYfU19Kg6tq-wplEEAvSB/s400/1.jpg" style="display: block; height: 254px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /><a name='more'></a></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrRN97V_hgXwavy6vjUPq8s0Yg_J8diqOZCiZT0g9CM8w28FrrSIRdU0OppkUWgB_12u4TclVcFyKdG7Pj6qMTyeapxG6p2fOXLjvj63Rwm7aI3wvr8qfk7h66HOuJ7JKU04bw8fFs-KqE/s1600-h/2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395789397958460082" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrRN97V_hgXwavy6vjUPq8s0Yg_J8diqOZCiZT0g9CM8w28FrrSIRdU0OppkUWgB_12u4TclVcFyKdG7Pj6qMTyeapxG6p2fOXLjvj63Rwm7aI3wvr8qfk7h66HOuJ7JKU04bw8fFs-KqE/s400/2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 245px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">Professionals from 18 countries gathered for the opportunity to hurl themselves into the sky before parachuting down to earth during the event.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">Base jumping started in the 1980s after several sky jumpers modified their equipment for an increased thrill. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6qdmZMq9DDsxshTw1s5Px0dzUvsuein486JUQQmpbdhqe81fxIILXYiqJfubKOhbezaBir0De8ZdHuEL1qtswsUwHxXoGDF4toDprcfPSXi_fkP_qBBsw4x3g1IPsTSFF6IkXTcKNksh/s1600-h/3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395789391864904546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6qdmZMq9DDsxshTw1s5Px0dzUvsuein486JUQQmpbdhqe81fxIILXYiqJfubKOhbezaBir0De8ZdHuEL1qtswsUwHxXoGDF4toDprcfPSXi_fkP_qBBsw4x3g1IPsTSFF6IkXTcKNksh/s400/3.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 248px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAvHCCf658t0RyJagd6ZInS1Wirx6IVrtEviGSUaN95KvKgQwwh17C8FLgBA09kksQ4NJGJhLrYhHQ1wfShTcAVEs87d5ZZ812_CNCUjxDYMleZz15g1SlJiEL-uOelqdtI6sRFdcY6gfQ/s1600-h/4.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395789389792927650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAvHCCf658t0RyJagd6ZInS1Wirx6IVrtEviGSUaN95KvKgQwwh17C8FLgBA09kksQ4NJGJhLrYhHQ1wfShTcAVEs87d5ZZ812_CNCUjxDYMleZz15g1SlJiEL-uOelqdtI6sRFdcY6gfQ/s400/4.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 383px;" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">The sport involves wearing a parachute and jumping from fixed objects – with the word ‘base’ standing for the four categories of surfaces from which you can jump: buildings, antennas, spans (bridges) and earthThe first base jump in Malaysia was held in 1999 and the annual event continues to draw huge crowds and increasing numbers of participants. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFeBirh9D5Cw0JthrXmYaqbzBXlPm287TCdMoA_2deK3ZvvoN9S5cjKRhZfI95jQeK8huskTc6QAzE7r2cDxdZ5rqmqYoZaQtK1X5WkY_wqxvcaugWgCYObtotwa-7CB9Yrsa4DN9-Lm_/s1600-h/5.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395789386507437794" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFeBirh9D5Cw0JthrXmYaqbzBXlPm287TCdMoA_2deK3ZvvoN9S5cjKRhZfI95jQeK8huskTc6QAzE7r2cDxdZ5rqmqYoZaQtK1X5WkY_wqxvcaugWgCYObtotwa-7CB9Yrsa4DN9-Lm_/s400/5.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 375px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-Z5njybemvFXpFlUZnSbtUg-jN0u7d3QVwgQlYthjJjoHxRJY3e4LM0fyBrmS3KTn4aeLlaRPWPBZbZdObYiu2xgIUKGUfCACxeP2wf9_DPZ6rxpEAzbPGj1kLXJ7iFPyZPiGZGdBw5O/s1600-h/6.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395789381393961794" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-Z5njybemvFXpFlUZnSbtUg-jN0u7d3QVwgQlYthjJjoHxRJY3e4LM0fyBrmS3KTn4aeLlaRPWPBZbZdObYiu2xgIUKGUfCACxeP2wf9_DPZ6rxpEAzbPGj1kLXJ7iFPyZPiGZGdBw5O/s400/6.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 217px;" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-45367170509233286052009-10-22T12:17:00.000-07:002009-10-25T02:25:01.584-07:00Artist creates Amazing and Awesome images of iconic landmarks as you have never seen them before<span style="font-family: arial;">An artist who has a new view of the world has created awe-inspiring tiny 'planets' from our most iconic landmarks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">Alexandre Duret-Lutz took a series of stunning photographs of some of the world's most famous buildings and made them into montages of miniature worlds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">Suspended in space, the tiny spheres make our most loved landmarks look even more impressive, with tourist attractions such as the Eiffel Tower and the Colosseum towering over the minions below.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggVbSA1m8BCAGEHFAkmc-5W9_PxZ-8JEia1nYEzUsBTTNTiFMC3kLoTllaZpRsCJgMOb2fr0vCSvq0Dpc397S9e6mqigBE74Ajz3PTBa4kuP3KNiHE9D6dqvrHivtiN7nWnFq3ti6OZOoQ/s1600-h/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395507308929084946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggVbSA1m8BCAGEHFAkmc-5W9_PxZ-8JEia1nYEzUsBTTNTiFMC3kLoTllaZpRsCJgMOb2fr0vCSvq0Dpc397S9e6mqigBE74Ajz3PTBa4kuP3KNiHE9D6dqvrHivtiN7nWnFq3ti6OZOoQ/s400/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+1.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 272px;" /><a name='more'></a></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFi7YliDGbfdBB9t-nq8pACMFJqS4nlYA81mrpFZfkoNb5Z4udhYJmjmgakpFetNPNjC4SqgBxxvuP4aGHCXhNtH59S-fPxpcfPxYxHWsZ0zHdWoE9YEcnjT9RuVOfCETjfOxj_7pJ6WPA/s1600-h/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395507304918232242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFi7YliDGbfdBB9t-nq8pACMFJqS4nlYA81mrpFZfkoNb5Z4udhYJmjmgakpFetNPNjC4SqgBxxvuP4aGHCXhNtH59S-fPxpcfPxYxHWsZ0zHdWoE9YEcnjT9RuVOfCETjfOxj_7pJ6WPA/s400/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 212px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">Buckingham Palace, a beautiful desert island and Saint Saturnin of Toulouse are just a handful of the cherished landmarks given their own fantasy worlds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">Alexandre has created more than 400 of what he calls the 'Wee Worlds'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">With plans to make many more, Alexandre appears well on his way to fathering an entire miniature galaxy.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq3PKXE4PNRO8CfrgOFvrueOk8ykdyGRQQs9OLn6IOME-g65_oyq4nThbsaYt-XB53z-_UNZv-4_EFK2Yv9bIu9VenjzPjj-iyHjkN8mP04vFPaf3gmy3tnUdhbXRrllXcmjV5kT9DNz40/s1600-h/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395507297933086882" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq3PKXE4PNRO8CfrgOFvrueOk8ykdyGRQQs9OLn6IOME-g65_oyq4nThbsaYt-XB53z-_UNZv-4_EFK2Yv9bIu9VenjzPjj-iyHjkN8mP04vFPaf3gmy3tnUdhbXRrllXcmjV5kT9DNz40/s400/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+3.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqh6RHdmXIycSRxqcPtFNeh0xLqsTiJ3YhYeTnzROeTWclNasm1ZQZrb7r7P1wLIT8YzaPbk0e6eyWW5_QwXXiRHtURVYzotQN8bZIgS3hcRKee5UBmJHoXqQIXE7HzmitYdgmuXtns1Iq/s1600-h/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+4.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395507295578447874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqh6RHdmXIycSRxqcPtFNeh0xLqsTiJ3YhYeTnzROeTWclNasm1ZQZrb7r7P1wLIT8YzaPbk0e6eyWW5_QwXXiRHtURVYzotQN8bZIgS3hcRKee5UBmJHoXqQIXE7HzmitYdgmuXtns1Iq/s400/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+4.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 252px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">Using a photographic technique - called stereographic projection - the artist manipulates a series of panoramic pictures into the breathtaking cosmic circles using careful Photoshop skills.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">Alexandre, from Paris, France, said: 'I plan to make many more worlds like these, I guess you could say it's like in the bible, except I make worlds with my camera.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">'At each location I take as many pictures as I can before making them into a Wee World.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">'It might have taken God six days to make a world but I can do it in just a few hours.'</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvasdm23OwzYWnJb2qFW2pn_-04NsKhZEwPo-Nspf9Pc-s6FmVU2MlfcWBTHqZey_482i3ABeYJ-3t_OJCcn5OoC60qleKfwNgic26cpmAQlFptBTjdd4BRAfcekOlrFAmXuOZh8AXbyQ1/s1600-h/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+5.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395507290646711122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvasdm23OwzYWnJb2qFW2pn_-04NsKhZEwPo-Nspf9Pc-s6FmVU2MlfcWBTHqZey_482i3ABeYJ-3t_OJCcn5OoC60qleKfwNgic26cpmAQlFptBTjdd4BRAfcekOlrFAmXuOZh8AXbyQ1/s400/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+5.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 293px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOs0EldA9GYPlZApPIIO6PS-_yzzaCO_chqM6M6hfuQ6m2VoHTXeIhlLKXWU3yCLiX6Hn-ADY_Va0QHCkxj8yFyJx4r0mvtNYkbvOWmSZqPNsnmDJGvHCIGZ-J0nz3raUbv86D8bEsOEw/s1600-h/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+6.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395507211881460066" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOs0EldA9GYPlZApPIIO6PS-_yzzaCO_chqM6M6hfuQ6m2VoHTXeIhlLKXWU3yCLiX6Hn-ADY_Va0QHCkxj8yFyJx4r0mvtNYkbvOWmSZqPNsnmDJGvHCIGZ-J0nz3raUbv86D8bEsOEw/s400/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+6.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 224px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYkeN2B-q7-OHJ_eK4YDONJWj3aJvKWMBX5wvLYgUq8O6XZji2hP2_P2qN3IZ-0LHted32954Dsk6mKCJW1lTvK_auXmuFa_F5jjt0LOaZi_MJvjjk_sWVOSP7tVSIL1S1yWbi8Pr9Dsd/s1600-h/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+7.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395507206327536034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYkeN2B-q7-OHJ_eK4YDONJWj3aJvKWMBX5wvLYgUq8O6XZji2hP2_P2qN3IZ-0LHted32954Dsk6mKCJW1lTvK_auXmuFa_F5jjt0LOaZi_MJvjjk_sWVOSP7tVSIL1S1yWbi8Pr9Dsd/s400/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+7.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 272px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhquyjytkI4U0D8JLg0MvkTfaHbuZTspeHcgiiHzFPgdkjWIMw5BbRWm_EcGGM0cyldzsS7-U51y-lw7q8S6oHD_CxY6ke0DgORYyYbYJUNKSwDXGFiyXIIV-X8Fxdi90vy8bY9ZmQ1Zpv2/s1600-h/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+8.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395507199468298946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhquyjytkI4U0D8JLg0MvkTfaHbuZTspeHcgiiHzFPgdkjWIMw5BbRWm_EcGGM0cyldzsS7-U51y-lw7q8S6oHD_CxY6ke0DgORYyYbYJUNKSwDXGFiyXIIV-X8Fxdi90vy8bY9ZmQ1Zpv2/s400/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+8.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 209px;" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">Other grand sights that Alexandre has given their own tiny planets include the London Eye, the Golden Jubilee Bridge and the Vatican.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">The talented artist is also an assistant professor at Epita Research and Development Laboratory in France.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">A Stereographic Projection is a way of picturing the sphere as the plane. Anyone with basic Photoshop skills can create an image with this effect.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgodW12uKgIKVplnLQt3RNNic7V84vuDpZOdtsSAY5TZB_LgAaZKCHBYd8LrYwV5l9BrIH2ReFQrW4uagx4VKeDQQWqpFmXRcKXB3W_Ie57RU4Qgyi8OgX5FLIJe_BXkL0hf86bO0dUBXqa/s1600-h/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+9.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395507197786921234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgodW12uKgIKVplnLQt3RNNic7V84vuDpZOdtsSAY5TZB_LgAaZKCHBYd8LrYwV5l9BrIH2ReFQrW4uagx4VKeDQQWqpFmXRcKXB3W_Ie57RU4Qgyi8OgX5FLIJe_BXkL0hf86bO0dUBXqa/s400/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+9.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 256px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH4MP8qaYcSkbZkEcxFJQRT8yBgXDh-R__6bcW90O3hIgoCAypcbvp5VrJm5SRs8qh0PT7X1KWSgjOVCcplBhrKpRUYTi1P82RhN6cj86lyG9lGZJqVoVWGg6NgqqUv-rijfwX3T4gAuNU/s1600-h/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+10.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395507193262882178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH4MP8qaYcSkbZkEcxFJQRT8yBgXDh-R__6bcW90O3hIgoCAypcbvp5VrJm5SRs8qh0PT7X1KWSgjOVCcplBhrKpRUYTi1P82RhN6cj86lyG9lGZJqVoVWGg6NgqqUv-rijfwX3T4gAuNU/s400/Artist+creates+images+of+iconic+landmarks+as+you+have+never+seen+them+before+10.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 247px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-70939877846255204112009-10-17T12:01:00.000-07:002009-10-25T02:25:28.138-07:00Maldives government highlights the impact of climate change... by meeting underwater<span style="font-family: arial;">The Maldives government has made an eye-catching plea for climate change action by holding the world's first underwater cabinet meeting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">Politicians from the Indian Ocean island nation donned scuba gear this morning to send a message to world leaders ahead of December's UN climate change conference in Copenhagen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">The nation's president Mohammed Nasheed has voiced fears the archipelago will be swamped by raising sea levels unless action is taken to reduce carbon emissions.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWBkPZ8ZUyLTelJgxer6-O9qt5QGbyJau-08eLcjPb93FoSpWhgESRTi_vWgnE6bAJfkEPBYhSFKnmzEsSIw98RvXmlj2Wh81qceXuxABQHft-_40x6tfJ9J7lj0yC4yVoucIn8TfVck0D/s1600-h/Maldives+government+highlights+the+impact+of+climate+change...+by+meeting+underwater+1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393648686107310834" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWBkPZ8ZUyLTelJgxer6-O9qt5QGbyJau-08eLcjPb93FoSpWhgESRTi_vWgnE6bAJfkEPBYhSFKnmzEsSIw98RvXmlj2Wh81qceXuxABQHft-_40x6tfJ9J7lj0yC4yVoucIn8TfVck0D/s400/Maldives+government+highlights+the+impact+of+climate+change...+by+meeting+underwater+1.jpg" style="display: block; height: 261px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /><a name='more'></a></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtV4JQlTygSSoNqAELlEjTTQnmRmbpG8Y8XiRym617UCGdyRGVuX_P2MSFI16mcV_VaTGRhVeovif51azandNUcgJp2BSybMnuEJM-FZT2-jWjJGna7NUt9S2p-fOFAEj_cOrB-cvL7IzP/s1600-h/Maldives+government+highlights+the+impact+of+climate+change...+by+meeting+underwater+2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393648682922233538" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtV4JQlTygSSoNqAELlEjTTQnmRmbpG8Y8XiRym617UCGdyRGVuX_P2MSFI16mcV_VaTGRhVeovif51azandNUcgJp2BSybMnuEJM-FZT2-jWjJGna7NUt9S2p-fOFAEj_cOrB-cvL7IzP/s400/Maldives+government+highlights+the+impact+of+climate+change...+by+meeting+underwater+2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 384px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 306px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwYPsoLhlhbUpKJWqOIdXt2FoPwyfvmsr3WfmcDnzXBeX5PuOFhyPu3oDR-bpPKaIlHjmwKchOwjTm-ZMd0klLW7gqNdwoLwThtA3W48aU95B9L20ejQq6GAEBGahF_IGgVF2ytJAJkrx/s1600-h/Maldives+government+highlights+the+impact+of+climate+change...+by+meeting+underwater+3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393648674678446434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwYPsoLhlhbUpKJWqOIdXt2FoPwyfvmsr3WfmcDnzXBeX5PuOFhyPu3oDR-bpPKaIlHjmwKchOwjTm-ZMd0klLW7gqNdwoLwThtA3W48aU95B9L20ejQq6GAEBGahF_IGgVF2ytJAJkrx/s400/Maldives+government+highlights+the+impact+of+climate+change...+by+meeting+underwater+3.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 381px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 306px;" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">The 30-minute cabinet meeting held six metres below sea-level was intended to show what the future could hold for the Maldives.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">The 350,000 inhabitants of the country live on 1,192 coral islands an average of only 2.1 metres above the ocean.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">Ministers communicated using hand signals and white boards as they signed a document calling on all countries to cut their emissions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">It read: 'We must unite in a world war effort to halt further temperature rises. Climate change is happening and it threatens the rights and security of everyone on Earth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">'We have to have a better deal. We should be able to come out with an amicable understanding that everyone survives. If Maldives can't be saved today, we do not feel that there is much of a chance for the rest of the world.'</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaNMRL1MtZVzdhadutxeWqvuLQXZeed7NKGCTtch7yCN9u_2lKgxjn7ThSmbmIc66dXQQEXcvkupy_z2buJSobXSmyG4R3uqg1TlKhf6sJspf1jR3E6VjfncFeQwr54qcqnr9vWVHF8yfG/s1600-h/Maldives+government+highlights+the+impact+of+climate+change...+by+meeting+underwater+4.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393648670725520242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaNMRL1MtZVzdhadutxeWqvuLQXZeed7NKGCTtch7yCN9u_2lKgxjn7ThSmbmIc66dXQQEXcvkupy_z2buJSobXSmyG4R3uqg1TlKhf6sJspf1jR3E6VjfncFeQwr54qcqnr9vWVHF8yfG/s400/Maldives+government+highlights+the+impact+of+climate+change...+by+meeting+underwater+4.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 327px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbl5qOeN-GCJCwzEAJNTdQVctNsSZzurVfi7PhMq9g1KvDwlYqN9VCDjd4xIeARpROf7UhhnnhYgxhjR5oSVHuyz6Pcfm3NzGf8zWIX_pNEluu8oOqIpM0guz1UQOsW1WsCG5rpXsMN7fN/s1600-h/Maldives+government+highlights+the+impact+of+climate+change...+by+meeting+underwater+5.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393648431095110002" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbl5qOeN-GCJCwzEAJNTdQVctNsSZzurVfi7PhMq9g1KvDwlYqN9VCDjd4xIeARpROf7UhhnnhYgxhjR5oSVHuyz6Pcfm3NzGf8zWIX_pNEluu8oOqIpM0guz1UQOsW1WsCG5rpXsMN7fN/s400/Maldives+government+highlights+the+impact+of+climate+change...+by+meeting+underwater+5.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 223px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">President Nasheed was already a certified diver but most of the cabinet have had to take diving lessons in recent weeks in preparation for the meeting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">Zoona Naseem, president of Divers Association Maldives, said: 'None of the ministers have ever been diving before, except the defense minister, and all of them are very enthusiastic.'</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">Nasheed has already announced plans for a fund to buy a new homeland for his people if the 1,192 coral islands are submerged. He has promised to make the Maldives the world's first carbon-neutral nation within a decade.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">As he emerged after the meeting, he said: 'We are trying to send our message to let the world know what is happening and what will happen to the Maldives if climate change isn't checked.'</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1z1e7vRH05U8qS7XYg6yXSZoNcaQK1k7ZKX728747-dEhSYsQsX5m86qIcRSBbBTfQ2DjLE0-HxnbE9C9Z4VtYCi1L19-x0L2zVsVZBUsqm78PYFyzu6kUWgLeH1LqNODhrhZvj7Tf6xN/s1600-h/Maldives+government+highlights+the+impact+of+climate+change...+by+meeting+underwater+6.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393648426477888722" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1z1e7vRH05U8qS7XYg6yXSZoNcaQK1k7ZKX728747-dEhSYsQsX5m86qIcRSBbBTfQ2DjLE0-HxnbE9C9Z4VtYCi1L19-x0L2zVsVZBUsqm78PYFyzu6kUWgLeH1LqNODhrhZvj7Tf6xN/s400/Maldives+government+highlights+the+impact+of+climate+change...+by+meeting+underwater+6.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 273px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkcVRhTHR9spbKUYoBhBoDUG8tk7h0uyrZIIch2vGAcOCWK6TyVUl3RX6zQDCb9oO_FIFMd1ZS4kKYWdjDTgIOqOffiOeZXRFDis8gsgoeLwjdNjkwMVb2RzGCjMQFUTmM3VFhYoPWpu-J/s1600-h/Maldives+government+highlights+the+impact+of+climate+change...+by+meeting+underwater+7.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393648415735683202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkcVRhTHR9spbKUYoBhBoDUG8tk7h0uyrZIIch2vGAcOCWK6TyVUl3RX6zQDCb9oO_FIFMd1ZS4kKYWdjDTgIOqOffiOeZXRFDis8gsgoeLwjdNjkwMVb2RzGCjMQFUTmM3VFhYoPWpu-J/s400/Maldives+government+highlights+the+impact+of+climate+change...+by+meeting+underwater+7.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 289px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQw1Txx3HL2Mox6FtsqOhBT_fvRjIUCum3gY-j_GNdp7JHWhr6UIdlPRD77xEKb7gdgQs_VUm9ot5YQoIG4i-Gkexc-YI5LtGfTvKOlwnU_U-y-UwEIGk1edTp6SpI5FXlaf9fWfZYdnK/s1600-h/Maldives+government+highlights+the+impact+of+climate+change...+by+meeting+underwater+8.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393648412306200210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQw1Txx3HL2Mox6FtsqOhBT_fvRjIUCum3gY-j_GNdp7JHWhr6UIdlPRD77xEKb7gdgQs_VUm9ot5YQoIG4i-Gkexc-YI5LtGfTvKOlwnU_U-y-UwEIGk1edTp6SpI5FXlaf9fWfZYdnK/s400/Maldives+government+highlights+the+impact+of+climate+change...+by+meeting+underwater+8.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 241px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">At the UN Copenhagen conference countries will negotiate a successor to the Kyoto Protocol which controlled carbon emissions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">Wealthy nations want broad emissions cuts from all countries, while poorer ones say industrialized countries should carry most of the burden.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">On Friday the Maldives ministers went diving for rehearsals of the meeting off the island of Girifushi, about 20 minutes by speedboat from the capital, Male.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">Three of the 14 in the cabinet had to miss the underwater meeting because two were not given medical permission and another was abroad.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirELVD_H9P6Cr3VnzJID4Els1HwjgROn4AVIPZOZJolVSropO85pfJaTQ0nzAR56E0uGqevrW8-WJcnkGLG_2Yvzd-PunVIX7tGJUZE6X1_Rp3_YkdOy9pWLySYjCmphSydO9qAEGwgdkl/s1600-h/Maldives+government+highlights+the+impact+of+climate+change...+by+meeting+underwater+9.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393648403517313810" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirELVD_H9P6Cr3VnzJID4Els1HwjgROn4AVIPZOZJolVSropO85pfJaTQ0nzAR56E0uGqevrW8-WJcnkGLG_2Yvzd-PunVIX7tGJUZE6X1_Rp3_YkdOy9pWLySYjCmphSydO9qAEGwgdkl/s400/Maldives+government+highlights+the+impact+of+climate+change...+by+meeting+underwater+9.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 216px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-52736790130933991622009-10-11T14:22:00.000-07:002009-10-25T02:26:13.600-07:00Strange But Cool Britain's oldest newlyweds who have combined age of 181<span style="font-family: arial;">Two pensioners with a combined age of 181 became Britain's oldest ever newlyweds after they married in a quiet ceremony yesterday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">Sheila Walsh, 87, and Les Atwell, 94, both from Paignton, Devon, met four years ago after Mr Atwell's cleaner suggested he meet a friend of hers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">Ms Walsh said: 'She told me about Les and I thought he sounded nice, but when she said: "he's 90", I thought "oh no, I'm not so sure".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">'But when we met, that was it. It was love at first sight.'</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRI48v1_Lv7nWZ6bb2Cx8RQSFDKMuZhNZRqmbVXkOzM2fMhsaoxrq7bCTg0cruE6xl8nfNVQdl-ReMW8xEiwwIzVWWv3Vupi9k7qeASHil6Mbhn-LOWh4V7o-ub9oG0xH5JRYt_6HM82Cr/s1600-h/'Love+at+first+sight%27+for+Britain%27s+oldest+newlyweds+who+have+combined+age+of+181.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391456381874173682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRI48v1_Lv7nWZ6bb2Cx8RQSFDKMuZhNZRqmbVXkOzM2fMhsaoxrq7bCTg0cruE6xl8nfNVQdl-ReMW8xEiwwIzVWWv3Vupi9k7qeASHil6Mbhn-LOWh4V7o-ub9oG0xH5JRYt_6HM82Cr/s400/'Love+at+first+sight%27+for+Britain%27s+oldest+newlyweds+who+have+combined+age+of+181.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 314px;" /><a name='more'></a></a><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">The couple met for the first time outside a Tesco store in Paignton, and Mr Atwell chose the same spot to propose to his beloved three years later.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">'It doesn't sound romantic, but it was where we first met so it was only right that I should ask her to marry me there as well,' he said.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">'Once I popped the question it didn't take us long to organise the wedding. When you get to my age, you can't hang around,' he added. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">They celebrated yesterday with a family lunch and were joined by Mr Atwell's son Stewart, granddaughter Catherine and sister Mary.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">The pair are now set to enjoy a honeymoon cruise around the Mediterranean, and plan to take in the sights in Barcelona, Rome and Athens.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">James Mason, 93, and his wife Peggy, 85, also from Paignton, shortly held the title of the country's oldest newlyweds after they married in 2007. The previous record holders were Cyril Sergeant and Madge Robbins who married in February 2008 in Birmingham with a combined age of 178.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">The world record is held by French couple Francois Fernandez, then 96, and Madeleine Francineau, then 94. who married in 2002.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-8993186823715616662009-09-27T12:42:00.000-07:002009-09-27T12:47:54.737-07:00Amazing and Strange 22lb Fat Cat Socrates is signed up to the PDSA's Pet Fit Club<span style="font-family:arial;">His owner apparently hadn't noticed that Socrates was getting a little pudgy.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">As you can see from her face however, the vet's nurse realised straight away.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">At a whopping 22lb, the black and white heavyweight in Jenny Doig's arms is more than double the size of a normal cat. </span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeedF1EdzNHJHerkY3K-6XQa-pQ5bZkGlmOSCbXSAFGegU8Adzgv7baaHHV9UUizwYthxiF8faECmKIVj-EcAdKcok9ovdKzcLZUp81Uw4AfI3NtHE0NxJwHK0QFfOfFAyMk3aSzMmAuET/s1600-h/22lb+cat+Socrates+is+signed+up+to+the+PDSA%27s+Pet+Fit+Club+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 271px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeedF1EdzNHJHerkY3K-6XQa-pQ5bZkGlmOSCbXSAFGegU8Adzgv7baaHHV9UUizwYthxiF8faECmKIVj-EcAdKcok9ovdKzcLZUp81Uw4AfI3NtHE0NxJwHK0QFfOfFAyMk3aSzMmAuET/s400/22lb+cat+Socrates+is+signed+up+to+the+PDSA%27s+Pet+Fit+Club+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386235182519291858" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Owner Bill Duncan, 52, had taken Socrates to the vet worried by his lack of get-up-and-go.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The verdict, not surprisingly, was that he was simply too fat to move, possibly because of his taste for cheese and onion crisps. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Twice a day, regular as clockwork, he had managed to stagger to his paws and miaow for his breakfast and tea. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Now however, meals are a little disappointing. Five-year-old Socrates has been chosen as one of nine finalists in Pet Fit Club, the PDSA animal charity's annual diet competition. </span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iwKMKNEMsjY5gIYt1IUYZsQL69Ne_p5clS8HtZ34_d9u_dx_YgSxOkGbEYv2VRPC0cN7jOso-UlsLUfKFOz62SkjTlh0pwrHT70muPWQAXwpAFBdfnMxoIR3UvDih-QWzX5WilCuvnIW/s1600-h/22lb+cat+Socrates+is+signed+up+to+the+PDSA%27s+Pet+Fit+Club+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iwKMKNEMsjY5gIYt1IUYZsQL69Ne_p5clS8HtZ34_d9u_dx_YgSxOkGbEYv2VRPC0cN7jOso-UlsLUfKFOz62SkjTlh0pwrHT70muPWQAXwpAFBdfnMxoIR3UvDih-QWzX5WilCuvnIW/s400/22lb+cat+Socrates+is+signed+up+to+the+PDSA%27s+Pet+Fit+Club+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386235069700433474" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">With just 100 days to reach his target weight of 9.9lb, he gets two 50g helpings of prescription diet food a day. That's about half of what he used to eat.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">'Because he's long-haired I hadn't noticed how big his belly was getting,' said Mr Duncan from North Shields, Tyne and Wear.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">'When I feed him now, he scoffs it down and looks at me as if to say, "Where's the rest of it?" ' </span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_VsDObfZbkU-s9WWy08WRJF35lAL76RABu7FEaXu6Wx9zIHaQPidjxtH2oOjrfchdMS7leemZmW4tDIdOkZ2cg3K3IFzICWi4065rOQzAUMUo6KFpKZxpzngvs20p4inRDrPvG3Lp0Wu2/s1600-h/22lb+cat+Socrates+is+signed+up+to+the+PDSA%27s+Pet+Fit+Club+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 301px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_VsDObfZbkU-s9WWy08WRJF35lAL76RABu7FEaXu6Wx9zIHaQPidjxtH2oOjrfchdMS7leemZmW4tDIdOkZ2cg3K3IFzICWi4065rOQzAUMUo6KFpKZxpzngvs20p4inRDrPvG3Lp0Wu2/s400/22lb+cat+Socrates+is+signed+up+to+the+PDSA%27s+Pet+Fit+Club+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386235068146764658" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4B5k5BPaZGqfhv1C7U9GQQKV2d0auPBLxHW9qscDEGKBvHEcuLgusLufaokYdpZC-wFHf1xxZEJfoBEMtcBiolHxHxPvxzRzOqGRC-_tWzm3BppX0pHYF8v8v7yNeNveAsYjLau4GwMb/s1600-h/22lb+cat+Socrates+is+signed+up+to+the+PDSA%27s+Pet+Fit+Club+4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 302px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4B5k5BPaZGqfhv1C7U9GQQKV2d0auPBLxHW9qscDEGKBvHEcuLgusLufaokYdpZC-wFHf1xxZEJfoBEMtcBiolHxHxPvxzRzOqGRC-_tWzm3BppX0pHYF8v8v7yNeNveAsYjLau4GwMb/s400/22lb+cat+Socrates+is+signed+up+to+the+PDSA%27s+Pet+Fit+Club+4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386235059461733250" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXnqtkKTgNXjEjXg6bjpIHFihPQW1lkQI7JWeyzkX8NuDQsADk92f0lfGZmO6ogqAzFypoQeeV7CAo-5fV067kg-3Lwm810ZqgbIZm6urVm2PNQRPSUQzsCac5m_lzb7q_S6rjFrD741Xl/s1600-h/22lb+cat+Socrates+is+signed+up+to+the+PDSA%27s+Pet+Fit+Club+5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 289px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXnqtkKTgNXjEjXg6bjpIHFihPQW1lkQI7JWeyzkX8NuDQsADk92f0lfGZmO6ogqAzFypoQeeV7CAo-5fV067kg-3Lwm810ZqgbIZm6urVm2PNQRPSUQzsCac5m_lzb7q_S6rjFrD741Xl/s400/22lb+cat+Socrates+is+signed+up+to+the+PDSA%27s+Pet+Fit+Club+5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386235050979507218" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsubwTB5KnagJZV-8XVfcCRFelbExIBhWMLxEbcdC5SA3v94uPpmLIxsz1kAWT5SUf3_KAsYriefNxzDyAFrnpCKitL_mDhcKSzOZKyNmTSDPJpSMfC39qPIEYidVltgmjK0EQB_UAn1jI/s1600-h/22lb+cat+Socrates+is+signed+up+to+the+PDSA%27s+Pet+Fit+Club+6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 289px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsubwTB5KnagJZV-8XVfcCRFelbExIBhWMLxEbcdC5SA3v94uPpmLIxsz1kAWT5SUf3_KAsYriefNxzDyAFrnpCKitL_mDhcKSzOZKyNmTSDPJpSMfC39qPIEYidVltgmjK0EQB_UAn1jI/s400/22lb+cat+Socrates+is+signed+up+to+the+PDSA%27s+Pet+Fit+Club+6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386235041911522242" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-59290392118185525332009-09-27T12:32:00.000-07:002009-09-27T12:38:03.142-07:00Awesome 12ft model of Eiffel Tower made entirely of chocolate<span style="font-family: arial;">A 12ft-high model of the Eiffel Tower made entirely out of chocolate gave busy commuters a glimpse but not a taste of Paris today.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The mouthwatering version of the famous landmark attracted hungry-looking glances when it appeared at St Pancras railway station, from which the Eurostar departs for the French capital.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">But passers-by hoping for a taste were out of luck as the tower was constructed to mark the launch of a new range of Thorntons European city-chic inspired chocolates and will be touring stores throughout the country over the coming weeks.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4ggc7TSPUDhKiUrfVnbfo8OcfH32ZSO_7_Y-EzwiJ8mdiub9VW5_r-IC7iMc3RpBbr_O_sPqZEs92SYTNuRbn9ICzEtLZjipA47yOx2Ob7Hyjy2rKIsdugo_JcBltEwgZUv5DAmXz0Bb/s1600-h/London+gets+a+glimpse+of+12ft+model+of+Eiffel+Tower+made+entirely+of+chocolate++1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 289px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4ggc7TSPUDhKiUrfVnbfo8OcfH32ZSO_7_Y-EzwiJ8mdiub9VW5_r-IC7iMc3RpBbr_O_sPqZEs92SYTNuRbn9ICzEtLZjipA47yOx2Ob7Hyjy2rKIsdugo_JcBltEwgZUv5DAmXz0Bb/s400/London+gets+a+glimpse+of+12ft+model+of+Eiffel+Tower+made+entirely+of+chocolate++1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386233083132538146" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">The Continental City Boxes are themed around either Paris, which features milk chocolates, or Milan, which is for dark chocolate lovers, and are designed to reflect the traditional flavours and style found in each city.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The boxes feature five new chocolates, including a gingerbread and hazelnut number called Pain D'Epices, alongside the favourites that consumers will already know from the Continental range.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Keith Hurdman, Thorntons' Master Chocolatier, says: 'This is an exciting addition to the incredibly successful Continental range, and is sure to surprise and delight both our existing Continental lovers and those who have not tried it before.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68hBkMOQSAtcsIg2qzdp27L3QdKhKXBVbtG9HZEMT0_AEiaPo0DXQGcKHIrHOlnzc6NsKehKC_XmsMh70kGa7pimxeWgTZ6LpE-FBgbdpOAjYBHt4z5LKF3rmySQ_hLhDuLbD2QLaSDOR/s1600-h/London+gets+a+glimpse+of+12ft+model+of+Eiffel+Tower+made+entirely+of+chocolate++2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 281px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68hBkMOQSAtcsIg2qzdp27L3QdKhKXBVbtG9HZEMT0_AEiaPo0DXQGcKHIrHOlnzc6NsKehKC_XmsMh70kGa7pimxeWgTZ6LpE-FBgbdpOAjYBHt4z5LKF3rmySQ_hLhDuLbD2QLaSDOR/s400/London+gets+a+glimpse+of+12ft+model+of+Eiffel+Tower+made+entirely+of+chocolate++2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386233074112871602" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"> 'Our chocolatiers have travelled Europe to bring back the best flavours that it has to offer, and we've used them as the inspiration behind these new chocolates to give our customers that little taste of European luxury.'</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">But chocolate lovers face bitter news as the price of their favourite confectionary looks set to soar.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Cocoa prices have hit a 24-year high as the market faces its biggest shortage for 40 years.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The price rise has been sparked by poor harvests of cocoa beans on the Ivory Coast, which grows 40 per cent of the world's cocoa.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The El Nino weather phenomenon has also hit supplies from Indonesia, the world's third largest producer.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-51389576407337047792009-09-21T12:21:00.000-07:002009-09-21T12:30:24.732-07:00Amazing Mother Nature as gardener digs up five-fingered carrot<span style="font-family:arial;">A gardener got his own unique five-a-day in one go after digging up a hand-shaped carrot complete with five fingers.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The bizarre 'carrot claw' was grown by Peter Jackson, 66, in the garden of his home in Shropshire.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">But Peter thought nothing more of the wacky-shaped vegetable and merely took a picture before proceeding to cook it, much to surprise of his daughter Lindsay.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUR6Dq68TNXAsixemzWhB99YvW6aeoTJPpOtGL1UXzYt3pZf9vIjPV7YbXvn756hg4lx2ojyVPJLNRupOOPU8SED6QG_fte4Vv-3Wf41dgW9ReWuVcXBLj4dhHgmuj5gB5QB-Lhrodg4h9/s1600-h/Mother+Nature+as+gardener+digs+up+five-fingered+carrot+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 336px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUR6Dq68TNXAsixemzWhB99YvW6aeoTJPpOtGL1UXzYt3pZf9vIjPV7YbXvn756hg4lx2ojyVPJLNRupOOPU8SED6QG_fte4Vv-3Wf41dgW9ReWuVcXBLj4dhHgmuj5gB5QB-Lhrodg4h9/s400/Mother+Nature+as+gardener+digs+up+five-fingered+carrot+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384004090555749810" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Lindsay, 42, a chef from Condover, Shropshire, joked whether the hand might count as all of her 'five a day' in one go. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">She said: 'We couldn't believe it, it was quite a shock to see a carrot perfectly shaped like a hand. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">'You'd think that with me being a chef and my dad a gardener, we might have come across something this strange before - but we never have. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">'My dad just seemed to make some joke about it being 'handy', took a picture and then I think they just ate it. He played it all down, but that's just the way dad is.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">"We've not had anything weird since - no arms or legs to go with it. I don't think his garden is trying to build a carrot man. Now that would really be unusual.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">'It was just one of those one-off freak of nature occurrences - but isn't it funny?'</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Peter, who is a semi-retired gardener, has three vegetable plots in his large garden, in a leafy part of Shropshire.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">He said that throughout his years of gardening, he had never seen anything quite like his 'carrot claw'.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Other oddly-shaped veg to hit the headlines over the years include baby-shaped pears, a parsnip that looked like a witch and a potato teddy bear. Earlier this week a gardener cut open a Jalapeno pepper to see a smiley face, complete with eyebrows, looking back at him.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmYOKcqnaB0wqi2cxg13STMgxMEibdvAeAA_RgeRq-mORWV2r9csmxQtgPZkt-fxwJN_kMwL_BpT97is9Rtm8SIjL2Y2G9ZscxdfenMNspQ_ytDpj82YPCOSH7x6nz46bFsok9G6C4vbOO/s1600-h/Mother+Nature+as+gardener+digs+up+five-fingered+carrot+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 209px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmYOKcqnaB0wqi2cxg13STMgxMEibdvAeAA_RgeRq-mORWV2r9csmxQtgPZkt-fxwJN_kMwL_BpT97is9Rtm8SIjL2Y2G9ZscxdfenMNspQ_ytDpj82YPCOSH7x6nz46bFsok9G6C4vbOO/s400/Mother+Nature+as+gardener+digs+up+five-fingered+carrot+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384004086181786498" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-74114042692666634322009-09-13T15:24:00.000-07:002009-09-13T15:26:36.237-07:00'I'm giving up my cigarettes...after 95 years!' 102-year-oldest woman says<a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRW9DdLEtXrXdPh9w68jkedhniwG8XVrDbw7OIPFfoWgJbZfxxTqbsmkSnLuRuhfPhgcgtxgHjbiCN3qibk0lIrBb6Fjl_6drfA5Ul6SWjjaSz8pVDt0h8VgMM8Hoxm89C91SrkXPNjNWm/s1600-h/article-1212928-0662272F000005DC-335_233x376.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 233px; height: 355px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRW9DdLEtXrXdPh9w68jkedhniwG8XVrDbw7OIPFfoWgJbZfxxTqbsmkSnLuRuhfPhgcgtxgHjbiCN3qibk0lIrBb6Fjl_6drfA5Ul6SWjjaSz8pVDt0h8VgMM8Hoxm89C91SrkXPNjNWm/s400/article-1212928-0662272F000005DC-335_233x376.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381081535228978850" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">She lit her first cigarette as the lights were going out over Europe at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Since then she has reached for her trusty Player’s Navy Blue (or, latterly, Embassy) through the ups and downs of all the following decades.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Until now. At the astonishing age of 102, Winne Langley has kicked the habit after 95 years because she ‘didn’t fancy it any more’.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Mrs Langley, who would share cigarettes with her friends at infant school, reckons she hasn’t contracted cancer because she does not inhale.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The former laundrette worker, who lives in Croydon, South London, said: ‘Everyone used to smoke in those days, you did it to cope. We didn’t know about the health problems. I just don’t fancy it any more.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">‘My eyesight is failing so in a few years’ time I might not be able to see the pack.’</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Since her first puff in 1914, Mrs Langley averaged five cigarettes a day, giving a total of more than 170,000 in her lifetime.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Her cigarettes were always to hand during the Depression and the Second World War.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">‘I lived close to Biggin Hill and you could hear the German rocket bombs’ engines cut out,’ she said.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">‘Some bombs used to land pretty close to me. You needed a smoke after that. ‘We didn’t know if we were going to be alive from one day to the next, so we thought you might as well enjoy yourself while you’re alive.’</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zUw1WFHn7MDV5wBSB7Pxh4AjsaRnTvEbEYeXRctTR8Amyg09d5Hc06k997ud3b2xTKtwSuNcaWljLsogD_07bxtZlL63ZNFlfeLx7CrnnlY_bhte6WtI173VKswCb-szRk3vx66GtF5O/s1600-h/article-1212928-06652E5F000005DC-741_468x301.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 257px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zUw1WFHn7MDV5wBSB7Pxh4AjsaRnTvEbEYeXRctTR8Amyg09d5Hc06k997ud3b2xTKtwSuNcaWljLsogD_07bxtZlL63ZNFlfeLx7CrnnlY_bhte6WtI173VKswCb-szRk3vx66GtF5O/s400/article-1212928-06652E5F000005DC-741_468x301.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381081222138327650" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Mrs Langley has outlived her husband Robert, who died in 1968, and</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">her son, who died four years ago aged 72.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">She said: ‘I’ve cut down in recent years and only had one every few days after dinner or in my bedroom. I can just about afford it but the price of cigarettes is disgusting, and the smoking ban is disgusting. You should be able to smoke where you want.’</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Mrs Langley’s step-grandson Clive, 53, said: ‘Her doctors have told her there’s not much point stopping now. If she’s got to 102 without getting cancer I don’t</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">think she ever will.’</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-34781236449241228242009-09-04T14:47:00.000-07:002009-09-04T14:54:20.851-07:00Beautiful Fishy looking albino otter savours his breakfast in the Scottish sun<span style="font-family: arial;">The first time she spotted him, Karen Jack didn't have enough time to fish out her camera before he slipped off into the sea.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">But then, very obligingly, the rare albino otter came back and stayed for lunch.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Miss Jack managed to take this snap and a few others while the creature enjoyed his morning meal on the rocky coastline of Moray in north-east Scotland. </span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVOJxhJY-Jz9BgKEPuHPejWYdFTec43d3hBGpnXbnQMbjszVUSnCERRG1Gs4yG45XidHFspfkEDpo-dsVjqpu82Y5Cu6C0sgaXAC13pepjkddWDWzzujT5X986L5kUySxnpJh6kvVMfunz/s1600-h/Fishy+looking+albino+otter+savours+his+breakfast+in+the+Scottish+sun1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVOJxhJY-Jz9BgKEPuHPejWYdFTec43d3hBGpnXbnQMbjszVUSnCERRG1Gs4yG45XidHFspfkEDpo-dsVjqpu82Y5Cu6C0sgaXAC13pepjkddWDWzzujT5X986L5kUySxnpJh6kvVMfunz/s400/Fishy+looking+albino+otter+savours+his+breakfast+in+the+Scottish+sun1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377733328879621122" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">She was extremely lucky - as sightings of albino otters in the wild are highly unusual.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">In Britain only one other live albino has been spotted in the wild in recent years and throughout the world hardly any reasonable pictures of the creatures exist.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Miss Jack said: 'I have been into photography for about three years as a hobby and love photographing wildlife, landscapes and my two cats.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">'But it was just an amazing and surreal view of the albino otter, and for it to sit there and eat while we watched was mind blowing.'</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Yesterday Grace Yoxon, of the Skye-based International Otter Survival Fund, said there were hardly any records of albino otters in the wild and they were almost never seen outside a museum.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIdon_qPKyDoYt5QwFAmVhT_-TeYYSJUZ5KOKoAayjgiBg_lHOcMNcsKeikGZIHRXY_B0AmuRqgSD0kdB8j8oCBcKLGuHjc3zNzYGxxw4Pt3K-qBk21U2WJ2mSBnDWbESBa26Uk27UP9H7/s1600-h/Fishy+looking+albino+otter+savours+his+breakfast+in+the+Scottish+sun+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIdon_qPKyDoYt5QwFAmVhT_-TeYYSJUZ5KOKoAayjgiBg_lHOcMNcsKeikGZIHRXY_B0AmuRqgSD0kdB8j8oCBcKLGuHjc3zNzYGxxw4Pt3K-qBk21U2WJ2mSBnDWbESBa26Uk27UP9H7/s400/Fishy+looking+albino+otter+savours+his+breakfast+in+the+Scottish+sun+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377733319225597810" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Mrs Yoxon added: 'To be able to get such wonderful photos is exceptional.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">'Karen was extremely lucky to have her camera with her - I am very envious.'</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">She said the creature, a Eurasian otter, was unlikely to be disadvantaged by its white coat now that it is an adult. 'Otters don't really have any predators,' she said.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">'I would think the biggest risk may be people coming to see it.'</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Otters have soft, insulated underfur protected by an outer layer of longer hair which traps air, keeping them dry and warm underwater.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Eurasian otters must eat 15 per cent of their bodyweight a day. In warmer waters they need to catch 3oz of fish an hour to survive.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Although fish make up the majority of their diet, they are also partial to frogs and crustaceans.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Some have become expert at opening shellfish.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Most species live beside water, using it to hunt and travel, but they return to dry land frequently to ensure their fur does not become waterlogged.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">In March, IOSF took into its care an otter which latched on to two teenagers who were sledging, then followed them home.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The cub was spotted in snow under a bush at Windygates, Fife, in February.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">He was nicknamed Dylan because one of the youngsters was playing a harmonica - an instrument synonymous with singer Bob Dylan. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-8696617623774503942009-08-19T12:04:00.000-07:002009-08-19T12:09:09.673-07:00Former winner of Britain's ugliest dog loses last tuft of hair in vicious attack<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">One of Britain's ugliest dogs is licking his wounds after mindless yobs battered him and pulled out his only tuft of hair in a mindless attack.<br />Police in Cambridgeshire are appealing for information after shaken Mugly - who won infamy when he was crowned Britain's Ugliest Dog in 2005 - was apparently set upon by a gang of vicious youths. <br />The hideous prize-winning pooch, a Shitzu-Chinese Crested cross, was rescued by a passer-by who saw off the thugs that were picking on the defenceless dog.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgWaCRJNJCAqMTXVRN9nw_Jm_Zw5BcfAZlQj_ok29TjDdwW4guVSvmK5GT4lbrx1rSctkESByreoV84WR2PBEziE3PrqJ3WYGc9wE9UOgu4zWiKM1IwBWdTzxtg8zHsz8-Vdvap-uue_JO/s1600-h/ugly+mugly++dog+1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 167px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgWaCRJNJCAqMTXVRN9nw_Jm_Zw5BcfAZlQj_ok29TjDdwW4guVSvmK5GT4lbrx1rSctkESByreoV84WR2PBEziE3PrqJ3WYGc9wE9UOgu4zWiKM1IwBWdTzxtg8zHsz8-Vdvap-uue_JO/s400/ugly+mugly++dog+1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371753510019582418" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br />They were allegedly seen hitting him with a stick and kicking and punching him.<br />The local lady recognised the practically hairless cat-sized dog from missing posters that owner Bev Nicholson, 46, had put up in the Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, neighbourhood. He had escaped from a ground-floor window at home on Thursday and was missing for the day.<br />'They had pulled out a little tuft of hair he had on his neck,' said Bev. 'It was the only hair he had and they even managed to take off one of his eyebrows. I can't even work out how they would have done that.<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIOJO_Aj1cRBLkT0lmQGl1Aj4kgEwNg0iFUymy1g1pLNEiViCq_qvxhNUqXxS-CA85L7qwi42_s5f5vitw4DSy_mHrHBsXV6OUJbIOsJBiX289S12m6ZFcppsyWcrSkvCHyoLMKsD5bNxA/s1600-h/ugly+Mugly+4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 172px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIOJO_Aj1cRBLkT0lmQGl1Aj4kgEwNg0iFUymy1g1pLNEiViCq_qvxhNUqXxS-CA85L7qwi42_s5f5vitw4DSy_mHrHBsXV6OUJbIOsJBiX289S12m6ZFcppsyWcrSkvCHyoLMKsD5bNxA/s400/ugly+Mugly+4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371753489882683890" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1yWwk9MvElTbbbjOfqx2NmfBRA-1LXGUlUPVbXsyHiSvW5MKpJF8X8DFs0MUe1Doo4VboayeD8Jmou3OZE9Y3g0p8nnUZXoqUtHuC2IhcO0TulGCraqSR4kY_3jgrWgjmT9_6PqVOsT-u/s1600-h/ugly+Mugly+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 302px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1yWwk9MvElTbbbjOfqx2NmfBRA-1LXGUlUPVbXsyHiSvW5MKpJF8X8DFs0MUe1Doo4VboayeD8Jmou3OZE9Y3g0p8nnUZXoqUtHuC2IhcO0TulGCraqSR4kY_3jgrWgjmT9_6PqVOsT-u/s400/ugly+Mugly+2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371753501725258930" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br />It's not like people carry scissors or a shaver around with them.' And mum-of-four Bev, a support worker for dwarf actors, reckons the youngsters may have carried out the beating because they didn't realise what Mugly was.<br />'I was worried sick about him,' said Bev. 'He'd never gone missing before and you worry about letting him out because of what he looks like and the fact he's so friendly.<br />'You just can't think why these people would do such a horrible thing. Part of me thinks they might not have even realised that he was a dog because of him having no hair so they just bullied him.<br />'It's horrible because he loves people so much he probably thought it was just a game and all they were interested in was hurting him.<br />'He was really shaken and cowered in to me when he got back to me. He was swollen and bruised around his face and rear end.' Worried Bev took her beloved six-year-old mutt to Broadway Veterinary Hospital where he had a check-up.<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8QMaXiJDN2XQDchydmQ8ZxG588ylEjTyWV8PTHq5p1rq7eQiB0_LMfM0NiMM5c02ArlRzRRpapqnabTXSiNxU7_iTQDtc6wsYtypTkCDt5Bjwhv6wAYCw4kWJnMXZrT0UrcOxd4yDcNxq/s1600-h/ugly+Mugly+3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 301px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8QMaXiJDN2XQDchydmQ8ZxG588ylEjTyWV8PTHq5p1rq7eQiB0_LMfM0NiMM5c02ArlRzRRpapqnabTXSiNxU7_iTQDtc6wsYtypTkCDt5Bjwhv6wAYCw4kWJnMXZrT0UrcOxd4yDcNxq/s400/ugly+Mugly+3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371753498866464114" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br />Vet Adela Navarro said: 'He had a few cuts and was bruised and a little shaken up. We asked the owner to keep an eye on his stools for internal bleeding as a precaution.'<br />Distraught Bev's main worry when the pooch was missing was the fact that he wouldn't have been getting special care for his unusual needs.<br />She said: 'Because he's bald I have to put factor 50 sun-tan lotion on him so he doesn't burn. And because his lower teeth jut out he has to have his food in small pieces. He can't chew properly so you have to break it down for him.<br />'My main worry was that anyone who found him and tried to care for him wouldn't realise what's required to keep him well, so we got 25 posters up around the area pretty quick.'<br />Thankfully, charmer Mugly is now safely recovering at home but has sadly lost some of his sparkle. Bev said: 'He's a big character in our house and I was so relieved to have him back but he's definitely lost some of his trust.<br />'He seems a bit unsure when you are playing with him and his toys when normally he wouldn't think twice. I hope the police catch these people and teach them a lesson.'<br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-39619400035441354752009-08-19T11:56:00.000-07:002009-08-19T12:03:49.113-07:00Eight years old record breaking daredevil wing-walks at 100mph on grandfather's bi-plane<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">A daredevil flew into the record books yesterday after becoming the world's youngest wing-walker - at just eight years old.<br />Fearless Tiger Brewer was strapped to the wings of his grandfather's biplane and reached speeds of 100mph at 1,000ft.<br />He claimed the world record from the previous holder - Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason's son, Guy, who held the record after wing-walking aged 11 in 2001.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLQn2FfT5i9foA-McmVa-6nM3MOSOsAJL-Dm2w_Bzn3GGgCLYi09MX6pvq_qMcoplXvqhzixTA_rLtab1gEIa30YpJeCwu-zN70WR_Cu-W2Z5gl5dRIAX-l-yxTbbvUj9Hz8K6JHOhlq6R/s1600-h/wing-walks+at+100mph+on+grandfather%27s+bi-plane+1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLQn2FfT5i9foA-McmVa-6nM3MOSOsAJL-Dm2w_Bzn3GGgCLYi09MX6pvq_qMcoplXvqhzixTA_rLtab1gEIa30YpJeCwu-zN70WR_Cu-W2Z5gl5dRIAX-l-yxTbbvUj9Hz8K6JHOhlq6R/s400/wing-walks+at+100mph+on+grandfather%27s+bi-plane+1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371751820783131954" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br />Speaking after the five-minute flight, he said: 'It was quite scary but once I was up there it was really really good.<br />'The view was amazing, everything looked so small I could see everyone below but couldn't make out who was who.<br />'I want to do it again now. It really was amazing. The only thing that hurt was the windburn, but apart from that I loved it.'<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgZN4GezEsILcFgTnyVkVVIse2YcJiONX0_EAc0JYnTCPYmu9Mrv8x4Nl_4oxTh5d_f-40F6zERHF8UHgFZw8DsWt1NO53ZvUx9y8MqyI9NUcTZjd1jDob1FoYNFlljU-o1PGcvHKu5kG0/s1600-h/wing-walks+at+100mph+on+grandfather%27s+bi-plane+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 308px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgZN4GezEsILcFgTnyVkVVIse2YcJiONX0_EAc0JYnTCPYmu9Mrv8x4Nl_4oxTh5d_f-40F6zERHF8UHgFZw8DsWt1NO53ZvUx9y8MqyI9NUcTZjd1jDob1FoYNFlljU-o1PGcvHKu5kG0/s400/wing-walks+at+100mph+on+grandfather%27s+bi-plane+2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371751813495250354" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMAmo0Ax8Ic3EtD47mbOGFxqVKDrhV2YP-h-wAe41mU9QM3nes9MRnhG-qGt6Dk8CW_ZjTJKjx1cwcDwGbvkGEu4SBcRj_Cz362Rm6Ak9K0K79ZaJwCV8EezjA1XRKid2hIsbrw5xisbez/s1600-h/wing-walks+at+100mph+on+grandfather%27s+bi-plane+3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMAmo0Ax8Ic3EtD47mbOGFxqVKDrhV2YP-h-wAe41mU9QM3nes9MRnhG-qGt6Dk8CW_ZjTJKjx1cwcDwGbvkGEu4SBcRj_Cz362Rm6Ak9K0K79ZaJwCV8EezjA1XRKid2hIsbrw5xisbez/s400/wing-walks+at+100mph+on+grandfather%27s+bi-plane+3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371751805300343698" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The trip was arranged by Tiger's grandfather Vic Norman, who owns the only formation wing-walking team in the world, Team Guinot.<br />He also piloted the plane during the record-breaking flight.<br /><br />Tiger was strapped on top the wings of a Boeing Spearman biplane and took to the skies from RFC Rendcomb Airfield near Cirencester, at 11am.<br />He was watched by proud dad Colin, 42, a television director, mum Zoe, 39, an interior designer, and five-year-old sister Flame.<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbmYik-tYHry9xQE9v-vZ3z-kIdxo3cty6K1zqia0EtMpjt4C4JnCYwKMZmLX5ffU-Saneky3JO3-gJif5ZNMvndsx0shgulJTrxV8tAA3DGiehoq6HA6bLX2ozsn9CGk3ZbSqC3JlTrHw/s1600-h/wing-walks+at+100mph+on+grandfather%27s+bi-plane+4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 301px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbmYik-tYHry9xQE9v-vZ3z-kIdxo3cty6K1zqia0EtMpjt4C4JnCYwKMZmLX5ffU-Saneky3JO3-gJif5ZNMvndsx0shgulJTrxV8tAA3DGiehoq6HA6bLX2ozsn9CGk3ZbSqC3JlTrHw/s400/wing-walks+at+100mph+on+grandfather%27s+bi-plane+4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371751796223456914" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br />Colin, of Willesden, north London, said: 'I am so proud of Tiger I can't believe he has done it.<br />'This time last year he wouldn't even attempt a big water slide and now he has been on top of an aeroplane. I am so pleased.<br />'He was absolutely fantastic but there was no pressure. We said to him earlier that he didn't have to go through with it if he didn't want to, but he was determined.<br />'It was amazing to see him on top of the plane, he was a bit nervous but it has been a great personal achievement.'<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdULHm20xSLF7EJ1c3qbz_hWig4SlY8iArmuXgGrc8FiUZE_53ZX9LMFDueO5SRzGlufO3Lfk4McGiqqbXllRSvD_PjEDvTLDSJdahB_RbrRIFyMUjjCjwIvvd2E2lZnVSYSbsxbgSqPoi/s1600-h/wing-walks+at+100mph+on+grandfather%27s+bi-plane+5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdULHm20xSLF7EJ1c3qbz_hWig4SlY8iArmuXgGrc8FiUZE_53ZX9LMFDueO5SRzGlufO3Lfk4McGiqqbXllRSvD_PjEDvTLDSJdahB_RbrRIFyMUjjCjwIvvd2E2lZnVSYSbsxbgSqPoi/s400/wing-walks+at+100mph+on+grandfather%27s+bi-plane+5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371751791904257586" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Proud grandfather Vic, 61, said it was fantastic to take one of his seven grandchildren up in the air.<br />He said: 'He looked slightly nervous at first but he soon relaxed and looked like he was really enjoying it.<br />'We had a code to let me know if he wanted to go down but he didn't use it.<br />'I am really really proud to have taken him up and I am so pleased he now has the world record for the youngest wing-walker.<br />'It's something he can carry with him for the rest of his life. I am sure I will take him up again.<br />'He shares my passion for flying and it will be a very special experience for us both.'</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-78331983877227368812009-08-15T14:21:00.000-07:002009-08-15T14:31:17.235-07:00Amazing miracle Mosha the elephant is fitted with another prosthetic leg after landmine tragedy<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Victims of landmines come in all shapes and sizes and Mosha the elephant is no exception.<br /><br />Mosha, a baby elephant from Thailand, became the world's first pachyderm to be fitted with a prosthetic limb in 2007.<br /><br />But the three-year-old has been growing so quickly she's outgrown two previous artificial legs and is now on her third.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfkiRNDVB04Sainjoechz8LfWUhWGaomvXfJYJVUofUmRYH0wUTtuKlfc5WkeZCiOQUNMWY_78dLZ-3fohFbTmyDAsQolGuOZqwaRnlaHwA8IdiJrrzWXd97aVQMfMQgx097vTH2FE_se1/s1600-h/Amazing+miracle+Mosha+the+elephant+is+fitted+with+another+prosthetic+leg+after+landmine+tragedy+++2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfkiRNDVB04Sainjoechz8LfWUhWGaomvXfJYJVUofUmRYH0wUTtuKlfc5WkeZCiOQUNMWY_78dLZ-3fohFbTmyDAsQolGuOZqwaRnlaHwA8IdiJrrzWXd97aVQMfMQgx097vTH2FE_se1/s400/Amazing+miracle+Mosha+the+elephant+is+fitted+with+another+prosthetic+leg+after+landmine+tragedy+++2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370304978982388066" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br />Amazingly, Mosha is not the only elephant to be fitted with an artificial limb.<br /><br />Another landmine victim, Motola, will also receive a prosthetic leg this weekend - 10 years after losing her left leg.<br /><br />'I do hope she will accept the new leg. It would be wonderful to see Motola and Baby Mosha walking together side-by-side," said Soraida Salvala, secretary general of the charity Friends of the Asian Elephant.<br /><br />Motola was injured in 1999 while she was working at a logging camp along the Myanmar-Thailand border. The area is known to be covered in land mines.<br /><br />Her badly injured foot was amputated and the elephant managed to hobble along on three legs after the operation.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgORKMts8O5z-BtoH5jGA7oW7Y5z7GADvKRqTokUxyCGvo4WAB0h8CqmTVQCarap42BfQQPWEr2Spjog68CyxcPNklkxq8xPgWdjc9kDIBGJ0HC0N4eOVfFFXCoEMVMpvX4L2a5WWrN36ZD/s1600-h/Amazing+miracle+Mosha+the+elephant+is+fitted+with+another+prosthetic+leg+after+landmine+tragedy+++3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgORKMts8O5z-BtoH5jGA7oW7Y5z7GADvKRqTokUxyCGvo4WAB0h8CqmTVQCarap42BfQQPWEr2Spjog68CyxcPNklkxq8xPgWdjc9kDIBGJ0HC0N4eOVfFFXCoEMVMpvX4L2a5WWrN36ZD/s400/Amazing+miracle+Mosha+the+elephant+is+fitted+with+another+prosthetic+leg+after+landmine+tragedy+++3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370304968369471538" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2xvhpktylPI7uazEyJLB8FshQNudaxB23hqaAVq6bSFT7IDqyT1TYm3RqMXAj8Lo3TGQa4TJRF9QQdYl4dwvO5Clx8WcoRd8Y3vzAkPFO3vB34yACsn_ZQfDVMJQcaHfKIro8LLU0y1x/s1600-h/Amazing+miracle+Mosha+the+elephant+is+fitted+with+another+prosthetic+leg+after+landmine+tragedy+++4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2xvhpktylPI7uazEyJLB8FshQNudaxB23hqaAVq6bSFT7IDqyT1TYm3RqMXAj8Lo3TGQa4TJRF9QQdYl4dwvO5Clx8WcoRd8Y3vzAkPFO3vB34yACsn_ZQfDVMJQcaHfKIro8LLU0y1x/s400/Amazing+miracle+Mosha+the+elephant+is+fitted+with+another+prosthetic+leg+after+landmine+tragedy+++4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370304961570018642" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br />She was fitted with a canvas, shoe-like device two years ago, but will receive her own tailor-made artificial leg this weekend.<br /><br />'It has been 10 years now, but in all these long years Motola enjoyed a happy life, walking out of her shelter for a sun bath,' said Salvala.<br /><br />Experts in Thailand have already made casts of Motola's injured left foot for the permanent plastic leg. It must be strong enough to support the 48-year-old's three-ton weight.<br /><br />Although Motola is the second elephant to receive an artificial leg, she has already been in the record books following her injury.<br /><br />During the operation to remove her left foot, she received enough anaesthetic to knock out 70 people - a fact that put her into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2000.<br /><br />Motola's new leg is being constructed by the Prostheses Foundation, an organisation that usually makes cheap but effective artificial limbs for human amputees.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGsXQaabncsm691G-PmDpNq6NN1tmPY-SOugPN9s3UX1DhYBwg90ntHBxTAlY8LXQUXEOH6G5PC2ebgTFvzsHVs-VPatUjOFGwqTqo8fVIdPuKVj1k8kSrxdqlc1jXye3U-1yiLi-L1Yx0/s1600-h/Amazing+miracle+Mosha+the+elephant+is+fitted+with+another+prosthetic+leg+after+landmine+tragedy+++5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGsXQaabncsm691G-PmDpNq6NN1tmPY-SOugPN9s3UX1DhYBwg90ntHBxTAlY8LXQUXEOH6G5PC2ebgTFvzsHVs-VPatUjOFGwqTqo8fVIdPuKVj1k8kSrxdqlc1jXye3U-1yiLi-L1Yx0/s400/Amazing+miracle+Mosha+the+elephant+is+fitted+with+another+prosthetic+leg+after+landmine+tragedy+++5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370304953061308034" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The injuries of the two elephants have highlighted the difficulties facing the majestic creatures in Thailand.<br /><br />Both are now being cared for at the Elephant Hospital in Northern Thailand. The hospital was set up by the FAE and is the only elephant hospital in the world.<br /><br />It has treated thousands of elephants for ailments ranging from eye infection to gunshot wounds.<br /><br />A number of elephants have also been injured by land mines, but the charity says this is just one problem facing the animals in Thailand.<br /><br />They say the number of domesticated pachyderms has dropped from 13,400 in 1950 to today's estimated 2,500, while the number of wild elephants has also dropped dramatically.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74824828478738143.post-88922722636850243962009-08-15T13:01:00.000-07:002009-08-15T14:16:01.756-07:00Britain's 9,000 years oldest house gives a glimpse of post-Ice Age domesticity<span style="font-family:arial;">Built 3,000 years before the miracle of Stonehenge, this is Britain's oldest and best preserved house.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The remains of the strongly built shelter, discovered on the Isle of Man, provide a rare window into the domestic life of hunter-gatherers 9,000 years ago.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Unearthed by accident during extension work to the island's airport runway, the 23ft wide pit is giving up extraordinary archaeological secrets.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Most exciting is the revelation that the people of the mesolithic age, long regarded as nomads who wandered ancient Britain in search of food, were actually very good at settling down.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwdLs7q7_1utjUCWpGHFjTnxvihndz_bBShlrX3IPZ8HIcTGfvDIytpnQbvPXlriOBpgPCc_GuThIY_O5iJH2sXd9Gut21xRruCvBBukmX7vYrlvByBoGn-4WvI9KqbaqTvFSfK9rQfgt4/s1600-h/Britain's+9,000+years+oldest+house+gives+a+glimpse+of+post-Ice+Age+domesticity++1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 291px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwdLs7q7_1utjUCWpGHFjTnxvihndz_bBShlrX3IPZ8HIcTGfvDIytpnQbvPXlriOBpgPCc_GuThIY_O5iJH2sXd9Gut21xRruCvBBukmX7vYrlvByBoGn-4WvI9KqbaqTvFSfK9rQfgt4/s400/Britain's+9,000+years+oldest+house+gives+a+glimpse+of+post-Ice+Age+domesticity++1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370300903355036338" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">In fact, 12,000 pieces of worked flint, along with a stockpile of tools, show that the homeowners were in residence for long periods at a time. Not to mention the buried mounds of hazelnut shells found around the house - a strong hint of what the ancient inhabitants nibbled for dinner. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">It is thought the discarded shells were thrown into the fire and then swept out to the edges of the property in an ancient housework ritual.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">A ring of postholes around the edge of the pit, along with carbonised timbers, suggests the building's supports were about six inches thick and far from a makeshift shelter.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Manx National Heritage field archaeologist Andrew Johnson confirmed the building showed that people from this time were settled for long periods.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">'The received wisdom is that 8,000 years ago people constantly moved through the landscape as nomads, gathering their food from the land, rather than staying put and farming and harvesting it,' he said.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">'But this building was constructed from substantial pieces of timber, and had a hearth for cooking and warmth.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0