Thursday, January 31, 2013

Mother, disabled daughter in Saskatoon avoid Wednesday deportation

photo http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/topstories/2013/01/28/li-deportation.jpg By Jason Warick, The StarPhoenix:
Eniko Reka Kincses and her disabled daughter, Boglarka, can stop packing their suitcases after a deportation order against them was lifted.
“I’m really happy. I can’t explain it in words,” Kincses said Tuesday morning after hearing the news.
“The Canadian people are really good people.”...Read here...

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Dean Martin & Nancy Sinatra - Things

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Woman, daughter face deportation Gov't deems health care needs 'excessive'

Eniko Reka Kincses and her daughter Boglarka are scheduled to be deported from Canada on Wednesday.Eniko Reka Kincses and her daughter Boglarka are scheduled to be deported from Canada on Wednesday. Photograph by: Greg Pender, The Starphoenix, The StarPhoenix. By Jason Warick, The StarPhoenix:
A Saskatoon care home worker and her disabled daughter are scheduled for deportation to Romania Wednesday, but more than 200 supporters are hoping it doesn't come to that....Continue reading , video

Monday, January 28, 2013

Armyworms threaten food security in southern Africa

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By Mpho Tebele and Andreas Thomas: A plague of armyworms is threatening food security in southern Africa following invasion of crop fields in countries like Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The African armyworm (Spodoptera exempta), a very deleterious migratory pest, is known for its appetite for grasses and cereals and can wreak havoc on crops in a matter of days, if left unchecked...Read here...

Ex-paratrooper Werner Freund plays with very own wolf pack. MailOnline

Werner Freund, 79, has raised more than 70 wolves on his sanctuary in Merzig, Germany Read here
Werner exerts his dominance at feeding time, ensuring he is the first to get his teeth into some raw meatphoto

"Listening To The Wind" Merle Haggard


Life after Chernobyl: Sergei Gaschak’s photography from inside 'the zone'

    Shaun Walker : Sergei Gaschak’s photography offers an unparalleled glimpse at animal life inside “the zone”, the area of Ukraine and Belarus that has been officially closed off to human habitation since the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe of 1986...Continue reading...

Monty Python - Prejudice

Michael Palin
Monty Python star Michael Palin has launched a new book and travel series on Brazil. Read here.

Flippers the Cat Gets New Set of Wheels instead of Euthanasia


Flippers the Cat won’t be going to the Rainbow Bridge anytime soon, thanks to a high school robotics club.
The nine-month-old cat was born with a spinal cord defect in which her spine was twisted like a piece of rope, leaving her back legs partially paralyzed.
Flippers was brought to the Aspen Park Veterinary Hospital in Colorado. Kittens with similar injuries are often euthanized, but the vet hospital decided to enlist help from an unlikely source: the Robotics Club at Conifer High School... http://mousebreath.com                                                                                                              

Quit smoking!


See Spot Pose - Pet Personality Portraits

Yeah, I know CA is a couple of steps away, but these photos are worth a look.,
Andy
Grayfoot Cat Rescue and Sanctuary, Ojai, CA http://www.seespotpose.com/

Biggest in the universe: Scientists discover black holes weighing 40 billion suns

The bright spot at the center of this large elliptical galaxy is one of the biggest black holes in the universe, which scientists recently found is even bigger than previously thought. This galaxy is in the center of the galaxy cluster PKS 0745-19, which is located about 1.3 billion light years from Earth (Image from NASA)

The bright spot at the center of this large elliptical galaxy is one of the biggest black holes in the universe, which scientists recently found is even bigger than previously thought. This galaxy is in the center of the galaxy cluster PKS 0745-19, which is located about 1.3 billion light years from Earth (Image from NASA) photo,  Read here...

Photo: The Milky Way Over Mount Rainier


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The People vs Winter -YouTube

Rosa Kuntz, 90 years carries newspapers to the recycle bin at the Rosemont Shopping Centre during storm conditions in Regina on January 24, 2013. The winter storm has created dangerous driving conditions around southern Saskatchewan with multiple highway crashes being reported by police — who are repeatedly warning drivers about the potential danger.
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Friday, January 25, 2013

Robert Burns Tribute

Robert Burns tribute 

To a Mouse from Barnaby Hewlett on Vimeo.
To A Mouse, Robert Burns Museum, Alloway
Created for Spiral Productions, November 2010

Animated film of Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse", for the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, Alloway, Scotland.

CG environment and elements created in Lightwave 3D
Compositing in After Effects

Directed by Barnaby Hewlett

Performed By Bill Paterson

Produced by Spiral Productions

Blake Shelton "Ol' Red"

photo
  http://www.blakeshelton.com/

Rosie's family from Eldad Hagar on Vimeo.


Rosie's family from Eldad Hagar on Vimeo. Read related article by link

Russian village of Oymyakon the coldest village on earth

A toilet on the tundra at a petrol stop on the road to OymyakonA toilet on the tundra at a petrol stop on the road to Oymyakon
By Sean O'hare. If you thought it was cold where you are at the moment then a visit to the Russian village of Oymyakon might just change your mind.
With the average temperature for January standing at -50C, it is no wonder the village is the coldest permanently inhabited settlement in the world.
Known as the 'Pole of Cold', the coldest ever temperature recorded in Oymyakon was -71.2C. Read here.                        

Fun picture for of the day

Me thinks this ol' cat got a little more than he'd hoped for.http://imgur.com/gallery/heI4zkO

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Nature Has A Formula That Tells Us When It's Time To Die

by We wax, we wane. It's the dance of life. Every living thing is a pulse. We quicken, then we fade. There is a deep beauty in this, but deeper down, inside every plant, every leaf, inside every living thing (us included) sits a secret...Read here...
Boom

♫ Scottish Music - Wild Mountain Thyme ♫

Wild Mountain Thyme
 www.rampantscotland.com

The deer that thinks it's a sheep...

image                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Lost and lonely deer, probably hiding from Fritz the cat, Fritz is thinking 'mouse... lunch'. The sheep don't mind, the dog may be a little confused.

China and India preparing for nuclear war?

Is China preparing for war or catastrophe? Mysteriously stockpiles rice and other commodities.
  Joe Miller:  January 12, 2013CHINAYesterday, it was reported that China – not currently suffering from any food shortages – is amassing rice stockpiles. This past year, the country mysteriously imported four times the rice over 2011 purchases: United Nations agricultural experts are reporting confusion, after figures show that China imported 2.6 million tons of rice in 2012, substantially more than a four-fold increase over the 575,000 tons imported in 2011. The confusion stems from the fact that there is no obvious reason for vastly increased imports, since there has been no rice shortage in China...Continue reading...

(Before It's News)  India Nuke Attack Warning:


In what sounds like a world war three scenario Kashmir Officials in India are warning citizens to start building bomb proof shelters in their basements.They are also recommending to them to stock up with two weeks worth of food and water.
There were no explanations given why ,except to be prepared for possible nuclear war...Continue reading...

Canadian Terrorism - Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)

Exterior of CSIS HeadquartersCSIS: Many Canadians may be surprised to learn that, with the exception of the United States, there are more terrorist groups active in Canada today than in any other country in the world. Their presence can be attributed to Canada's proximity to the United States, one of the world's pre-eminent terrorist targets, but also to the fact that Canada is an attractive place to live and do business because of its openness, and its respect for human rights and freedoms. With so many terrorist groups in Canada, people might wonder why the media are not reporting the occurrence of serious violence in Canada on a regular basis. While some Canadians have been victims of large-scale terrorist attacks-most notably in the 1985 bombing of an Air India flight from Toronto and the 2001 destruction of New York's twin towers-Canada, as a country, has not often been targeted specifically for attack. For this reason, many people have come to equate terrorism with the violence and tragic events that occur in foreign countries.
The most visible aspect of terrorist activity is physical violence; however, the absence of violence here at home does not mean the absence of terrorist activity. Most activities in Canada support actions elsewhere linked to homeland conflicts, and are relatively subtle in nature. These activities include: Read here.

Backyard chicken coops fail to hatch in Saskatoon

By Charles Hamilton, The StarPhoenix
Backyard chicken coops fail to hatch
 Graham MacDonald's request for backyard chicken coops was denied at city council on Monday. Photograph by: Greg Pender, The StarPhoenix  Read here...

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Santigold "Girls"

This video made Sally and Sam smile, it's simply delightful to see people smile. Bring it on,  girls.
http://rocnation.com/santigold/

Chainsaw used to clear away bald eagle’s home to make way for wind turbine in Haldimand County

By Jonathan Sher, The London Free Press
Photo courtesy of Ontario Wind Resistance
A subsidiary of an American energy company has chain-sawed a bald eagle nest to make way for a wind turbine with the blessing of Ontario bureaucrats.
NextEra Energy Canada took down the nest Saturday in Haldimand County as horrified onlookers snapped photographs — the incident already has drawn outrage from environmentalists in Ontario and even in the United States.
Onlookers claim no one with Ontario’s Natural Resources Ministry, which approved the nest removal, even bothered to show up to insure it was done properly.
“This issue has people infuriated, and rightly so,” said Esther Wrightman, a wind farm opponent...Read here...
FOWL_SOUTH_SHORE_POSTER_12x24_006 for Pasting[1]image

18 Giant Skeletons And Pyramids Found In Wisconsin

Here's one for your "Forbidden Archaeology" file.Scientists are remaining stubbornly silent about a lost race of giants found in burial mounds near Lake Delavan, Wisconsin, in May 1912. The dig site at Lake Delavan was overseen by Beloit Collegeand it included more than 200 effigy mounds that proved to be classic examples of 8th century Woodland Culture. But the enormous size of the skeletons and elongated skulls found in May 1912 did not fit very neatly into anyone's concept of a textbook standard. They were enormous. These were not average human beings...Read here...

The Dog That Cornered Osama Bin Laden

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Flying Penquins?

 To be a penguin.http://www.thepenguinlady.com/new_site/images/temp/page_r2_c6.jpg                                           Dyan de Napoli, the Penguin Lady

Saskatoon’s city council has been asked to change the bylaw to allow egg-laying chickens within city limits.

By Charles Hamilton, The StarPhoenix.   The great backyard chicken debate is once again on Saskatoon’s city council agenda. Council will decide Monday night whether or not to reopen the debate about changing a bylaw banning backyard chicken coops within city limits. “I think chickens are a good thing because we live in a time where access to good food is so difficult, especially in certain parts of the city,” said Graham MacDonald, who penned the letter to council asking for the bylaw to be changed... Continue reading...Backyard chicken coops back on council agenda
 Crystal Sherris has been served a warning to get rid of the chickens in her backyard. Failure to comply could result in $500 fine. The city is in the midst of developing an urban agriculture strategy which may include chickens in Edmonton, March 28, 2012. Photograph by: Bruce Edwards ,edmontonjournal.com
We will give an update as soon as word gets out.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

The Rascals "Groovin"


http://www.the-rascals.com/

Dozens of animals and birds removed from Huber Heights home

HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio (WDTN) - The Humane Society conducted a raid in Huber Heights Thursday. Officials told 2 NEWS as many as 200 animals were discovered living inside the house at 7043 Chadbourne Avenue. Animal rescue workers said they removed 60 chickens, roosters, rabbits, and birds. The other animals apparently will be left in the house for now...Continue reading...                                                                                    

Invasive Python Hunt In Florida Ineffective, Only 21 Caught So Far

20130119-184144.jpgPlanetsave: The “2013 Python Challenge” was recently begun in order to hopefully cut down on the number of incredibly invasive Burmese pythons living in the Florida Everglades. The competition, sponsored by The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, began on January 12, 2013, but so far has resulted in the death of very few pythons, only 21...Read here..

Saturday, January 19, 2013

THE HOCKEY SONG - Dr. Stompin Tom Connors

Richard Wolowicz photo

B.C. woman allowed to keep deer as pet

Ucluelet resident Janet Schwartz will be allowed to keep Bimbo

Bimbo the black-tailed deer shares some food with her human housemate in Ucluelet, B.C. Bimbo the black-tailed deer shares some food with her human housemate in Ucluelet, B.C. (Submitted by Janet Schwartz)
CBC News: A Vancouver Island woman will be able to keep living with the deer she has raised from a fawn as a pet, B.C.'s environment minister has decided. Minister Terry Lake says the province will permit Janet Schwartz and the animal named Bimbo to continue living together, with the help of a veterinarian and conservation officers. The decision comes after conservation officers told the longtime Ucluelet, B.C., resident they would be seizing the deer and moving it to a wildlife rehabilitation centre...Continue reading...

Lucinda Williams - Everything Has Changed


Lucinda Williams, Car WheelsLucinda Williams
http://www.last.fm. Lucinda Williams

Hockey Night In Canada

Don Cherry has his pulpit back

Hockey fans will get a double dose of commentator Don Cherry every Saturday during the 60th season of Hockey Night in Canada. (Mark Blinch/Reuters) Hockey fans will get a double dose of commentator Don Cherry every Saturday during the 60th season of Hockey Night in Canada. (Mark Blinch/Reuters)  For four months, Don Cherry has been without his Saturday night pulpit.                                                                                                                                                                            Oh, Grapes has kept busy during the lengthy NHL lockout by sharing his opinions on his Twitter account, @CoachsCornerCBC, and watching minor midget action in the Toronto area with his son Tim, an Ontario Hockey League junior scout...Continue reading...

Mali crisis sees Canada being drawn into another war

By Thomas Walkom National Affairs Columnist Slowly, inexorably, Canada and the world are being drawn into Mali.
The wise people say intervention is necessary. They say we must prevent the West African nation from becoming a springboard for terrorist attacks on Europe.
The wise people almost always say intervention is necessary. Fifty years ago, equally wise people urged intervention in Vietnam to prevent what was then called the “domino effect” — the fall of Southeast Asia to Communism.
We all know where that went...Continue reading...

Friday, January 18, 2013

Mali Islamists 'better-equipped' than expected

By News Wires: As French-backed Malian troops pushed north, retaking the town of Diabaly Friday, a French envoy said Mali's Islamist rebels were "well-armed, well-equipped, well-trainedand determined.”...Read here... 

John Prine & Rachel Peer/Prine : Paradise

 image  lyrics

Buckingham Palace rejects appeal to intervene in Chief Spence's protest: letter

By Heather Scoffield:Buckingham Palace rejects appeal to intervene in Chief Spence's protest: letter                    The Queen has rejected an appeal to intervene in Chief Theresa Spence's liquids-only protest, but says she is taking "careful note" of concerns for the chief's health... Read here...

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC). Aboriginal chiefs, Canada PM meet.

Aboriginal chiefs, Canada PM meet amid protests
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) supports Aboriginal people (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) and Northerners in their efforts to:
  • improve social well-being and economic prosperity;
  • develop healthier, more sustainable communities; and
  • participate more fully in Canada's political, social and economic development - to the benefit of all Canadians.
AANDC is one of the federal government departments responsible for meeting the Government of Canada's obligations and commitments to First Nations, Inuit and Métis, and for fulfilling the federal government's constitutional responsibilities in the North. AANDC's responsibilities are largely determined by numerous statutes, negotiated agreements and relevant legal decisions. Most of the Department's programs, representing a majority of its spending - are delivered through partnerships with Aboriginal communities and federal-provincial or federal-territorial agreements. AANDC also works with urban Aboriginal people, Métis and Non-Status Indians (many of whom live in rural areas).
AANDC's mandate, responsibilities and key priorities are shaped by centuries of history, and unique demographic and geographic challenges. AANDC is one of 34 federal departments and agencies involved in Aboriginal and northern programs and services...Read here...                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Top Stories:

Iran to launch a monkey into space

Chimpanzee "ham" in space suit is fitted into the biopack couch of the Mercury-Redstone 2 capsule #5 prior to its test flight, which was conducted on January 31, 1961 (photo credit: NASA/Wikimedia Commons)
Chimpanzee "ham" in space suit is fitted into the biopack couch of the Mercury-Redstone 2 capsule #5 prior to its test flight, which was conducted on January 31, 1961 (photo: NASA/Wikimedia Commons).              
It appears Iran has decided to play catch-up with the US and
the USSRRussia in the space race.
Reportedly, the Islamic Republic is looking to send a monkey into space — and return it alive. Iran tried unsuccessfully to launch a monkey into the heavens and bring it back to earth in 2011.
This latest attempt allegedly has a 10-day window for launch, beginning January 31...Continue reading...

Bedbugs!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Far North Muslims Eye Mosque for Worship

Igloo Church, in summer, at midnight, Inuvik. photo. By Muneeb Nasir:
TORONTO – Seeking to fulfil religious duties in the Northern Hemisphere, Muslims in the far-flung Canadian city of Iqaluit, close to the Arctic Circle, are looking to build their first mosque.
"We are a small community of about 80 to 100 Muslims,” Syed Asif Ali, President of the Islamic Society of Nunavut, told OnIslam.net.
“Iqaluit is the territorial capital of Nunavut and has a population of about 8,000 people.”
Nunavut is a vast territory in northern Canada that stretches across most of the Canadian Arctic and has a population of 33,000.
Eighty-five percent of the inhabitants of Nunavut are Inuit, an indigenous people of Canada...Continue reading...

The Church - Under The Milky Way

  http://www.last.fm/music . The Church

UFO sightings – Wave of UFO Sightings in Victoria, B.C. 14th January 2013 . Video

Signs and wonders?

Hey, Mr. Spaceman: The Byrds

http://www.last.fm/music/ The Byrds

Canada calls in French, Mali envoys for talks on West African crisis

Canada calls in French, Mali envoys for talks on West African crisis
 Two French fighter jets are seen at Bamako's airport Tuesday Jan. 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay).
By Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press: OTTAWA - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will host the ambassadors of France, Mali and West Africa's economic bloc for talks in Ottawa on Wednesday regarding the embattled region, The Canadian Press has learned. Baird called the high-level meeting, set for Foreign Affairs headquarters, one day after dispatching Canada's ambassador to Mali to tell the country's military rulers to get on with the work of restoring democracy following their coup there last March. Baird told Canadian envoy Louis de Lormier to inform Malian officials that the instability caused by the March 2012 coup allowed al-Qaida affiliated groups to take control of the country's north...The Canadian Forces are making contingency preparations in anticipation of a greater military role. But so far the Harper government has not made any military commitment beyond the contribution of one non-combat aircraft. "We have seen a deterioration of the security situation in Mali," MacKay said Tuesday. "Canada has a history of having supported Mali in the past. We have an obvious interest at stake in seeing stability and democracy returned to that country."...Read complete article here. French triple troops in Mali, prepare for assault. Read here.

The Quick & Easy Checkmates in Chess


image  By Charles Raine. Chess is a wonderful game. Played well, it is a game of daring and strategy that will leave spectators breathless in anticipation of your next move. Played badly, some will have to struggle to keep a wince from their face as you miss move after move, until the game is lost.
This is a tutorial for two of the simplest ways to end a game. Neither is foolproof, but on the player inexperienced against them, they can be a great asset. Also, the protection against these strategies should always be foremost in one’s mind during the opening moves of a game.
Either colour can use these tactics. For the ease of writing and visualization, I shall use white...Read here...