China's Latest Earthquake

China Quake Leaves Thousands Homeless

BEIJING (Aug. 31) -- Chinese rescue teams carrying tents, quilts and sacks of rice rushed Sunday to reach survivors of an earthquake that killed at least 27 people, turned tens of thousands of homes into rubble and cracked reservoirs.

The 6.1-magnitude quake struck Sichuan province on Saturday along the same fault line as the May 12 earthquake that killed nearly 70,000.

Dozens of evacuees were assembled on a primary school field in Panzhihua, footage from state broadcaster China Central Television showed. Wrapped in quilts, the evacuees, including children and the elderly, lay on plastic sheets and mats on the ground.

Saturday's quake killed 22 people in Sichuan and five in the neighboring province of Yunnan, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The quake damaged major bridges and cracked three reservoirs, the agency said.

Another 362 people were injured and three were missing after the earthquake hit 31 miles southeast of Panzhihua city in the southwestern corner of Sichuan on Saturday afternoon, the report said.

About 40,000 people were evacuated and relief efforts were under way, despite being hampered by heavy rains and the region's rugged terrain, Xinhua said. It said 6,200 tents, 3,500 quilts and 55,000 pounds of rice were sent to the quake zone.

Since the 7.9-magnitude temblor on May 12, the region has been hit by scores of aftershocks.

A woman who answered the phone at Sichuan provincial seismological bureau said the region was hit by about 300 aftershocks on Sunday morning. She declined to give her name, saying she was not authorized to speak to the media.

Later on Sunday, a 5.6 magnitude aftershock was recorded in the same location as Saturday's quake, the administration said in a separate statement posted on its Web site. It was not immediately clear what damage the aftershock caused.

With all the natural events taking place around the globe these days, earthquakes, volcanos, hurricanes/cyclones, fires, floods and tsunami's, makes YOU wonder what is going on. Who knows, maybe the planet is setting up for "2012".

My thoughts go out to the people of China who are dealing with this problem again in a short period of time. My thoughts also go out to the people of Louisiana USA who are getting ready to get slapped by a nasty hurricane named Gustav. New Orleans and that area may wind up being the next Atlantis at the rate they are going.

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Argentina Dog Saves Baby

Abandoned baby found safe with dog

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - A newborn baby abandoned outdoors in winter by her 14-year-old mother was found safe in a dog pen with a mother dog and her brood of puppies near the city of La Plata, Argentine media reported on Friday.

Farmer Fabio Anze found the naked baby girl on Thursday, being kept warm among his dog China's puppies, La Nacion newspaper said. Anze called the police and the baby was taken to a hospital.

Egidio Melia, director of the Melchor Romero hospital, told television and newspaper reporters that the baby was just a few hours old when she was found, and was in good health although she had some bruises.

Nighttime temperatures are chilly but not freezing in the Southern Hemisphere winter in the rural area around La Plata, 40 miles south of Buenos Aires.

Police said they had located the 14-year-old girl who gave birth to the baby outdoors during the night.

It was not clear whether the mother left her baby in the dog's pen or whether the dog found the baby outdoors and carried it in to join her puppies.

It does not matter what the country is or, where it is on this planet, "dogs rule"! Too bad people are not this compassionate and helping towards one another and other species. China is an example that many of YOU/US need to learn from.

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Dubai - Worlds Tallest Skyscraper, Burj Dubai

Computer mock up of Burj Dubai, downtown Dubai

Just ran across this very intersting story and feature on a most incredible project. Go to the link and check out some photos and video for this project. Unbelievable! Your daily Burj Dubai update - Gadling

This is pretty cool stuff, fascinating!

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Italy's Vatican Gets It, Why Don't YOU?

Aliens are our brothers: Vatican

There is no contradiction between faith in God and believing that aliens may live somewhere in the universe, according to the Vatican’s chief astronomer, the Associated Press reports.

In the interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, the Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes is quoted as saying he doesn’t rule out the possibility that life could have developed on other planets.

"Just as we consider earthly creatures as 'a brother,' and 'sister,' why should we not talk about an 'extra-terrestrial brother'? It would still be part of creation," said Funes. "Thinking otherwise would be like ‘putting limits’ on God’s omnipotence."

Funes discussed the relationship between science and faith, saying there was no contradiction between the two.

He also urged the Church and the scientific community to leave behind any divisions.

Nice to see that the church got the right take on something like this. There may still be hope. Now, if they would just come around on "dragons", then we would be headed in the right direction.

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Human Caused Extinctions - Australia & Beyond

Extinction 'by man not climate'

The extinction of many ancient species may be due to humans rather than climate change, experts say.

Large prehistoric animals in Tasmania may have been wiped out by human hunting and not temperature changes, a team of international scientists argue.

This pattern may have been repeated around the globe on islands such as Great Britain, the scientists say.

The findings were published in the US scientific journal - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Giant kangaroos

For many years, scientists have been arguing about the causes of widespread extinctions of vast numbers of species at the end of the last Ice Age.

What has caused the most debate has been the fate of megafauna - large bodied creatures in Australia that included three-metre tall giant kangaroos and marsupial lions.

Humans arrived in Tasmania about 43,000 years ago, when the island became temporarily connected by a land bridge to mainland Australia.

It had been thought that many megafauna were already extinct by this stage.

But using the latest radiocarbon and luminescence dating techniques, the British and Australian scientists say they were able to determine the age of the fossilised remains of the megafauna more accurately than ever before.

They discovered that some of the giant animals survived for 2,000 years after humans arrived, and at a time when the climate was not changing dramatically.

The researchers concluded that these species were driven to extinction by hunting.

Human blame?

Professor Chris Turney, from the University of Exeter, the lead author on the research paper, said that 150 years after the publication of Charles Darwin's seminal work The Origin of Species, the argument for climate change being the cause of this mass extinction had been seriously undermined.

"It is sad to know that our ancestors played such a major role in the extinction of these species - and sadder still when we consider that this trend continues today," he said.

Given Tasmania's history as an island, the research findings should help to disentangle the role of humans and climate change in other island environments, such as Britain, the scientists said.

Previous research had found that on mainland Australia some 90% of megafauna disappeared about 46,000 years ago - soon after humans first settled on the continent.

Once again, here is something else humans have screwed up. Leave it up to mankind to ruin things. Hey, we're not doing to bad of a job now, are we?

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Venezuelan Vampires(Bats)Killing Villagers

Vampire Bats Suspected in Village Deaths

CARACAS, Venezuela (Aug. 8) -- At least 38 Warao Indians have died in remote villages in Venezuela, and medical experts suspect an outbreak of rabies spread by bites from vampire bats.

Laboratory investigations have yet to confirm the cause, but the symptoms point to rabies, according to two researchers from the University of California at Berkeley and other medical experts.

The two UC Berkeley researchers -- the husband-and-wife team of anthropologist Charles Briggs and public health specialist Dr. Clara Mantini-Briggs -- said the symptoms include fever, body pains, tingling in the feet followed by progressive paralysis, and an extreme fear of water. Victims tend to have convulsions and grow rigid before death.

Dr. Charles Rupprecht, chief of the rabies program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, agreed with their preliminary diagnosis.

"The history and clinical signs are compatible with rabies," Rupprecht told The Associated Press on Friday. "Prevention is straightforward: Prevent bites and vaccinate those at risk of bites."

Venezuelan health officials are investigating the outbreak and plan to distribute mosquito nets to prevent bat bites and send a medical boat to provide treatment in remote villages on the Orinoco River delta, Indigenous Peoples Minister Nicia Maldonado told the state-run Bolivarian News Agency on Thursday.

Outbreaks of rabies spread by vampire bats are a problem in various tropical areas of South America, including Brazil and Peru, Rupprecht said.

He said researchers suspect that in some cases environmental degradation -- including mining, logging or dam construction projects -- may also be contributing to rabies outbreaks.

"Vampire bats are very adaptable," Rupprecht said. And when their roosts are disrupted or their normal prey grow scarce, "Homo sapiens is a pretty easy meal."

More study is needed to confirm through blood or other samples from victims that it is the rabies virus in Venezuela, researchers say.

At least 38 Warao Indians have died since June 2007, and at least 16 have died since the start of June 2008, according to a report the Berkeley researchers and indigenous leaders provided to Venezuelan officials this week.

All victims died within two to seven days from the onset of symptoms, Briggs said.

One village, Mukuboina, lost eight of its roughly 80 inhabitants -- all of them children, he said.

During a study trip Briggs and Mantini-Briggs made through 30 villages in the river delta, relatives said the victims had been bitten by bats. The couple have worked among the Warao in Delta Amacuro state for years and were invited by indigenous leaders to study the outbreak.

"It's a monster illness," said Tirso Gomez, a Warao traditional healer who said the indigenous group of more than 35,000 people has never experienced anything similar.

Another tropical medicine expert, Dr. Daniel Bausch of Tulane University in New Orleans, agreed the symptoms and accounts suggest rabies transmitted by bats, and if confirmed, "probably a vaccination campaign would be in order."

The common vampire bat, which feeds on mammals' blood, swoops down and generally approaches its sleeping prey on the ground. The bat then makes a small incision with its teeth, and an anticoagulant in its saliva keeps the blood flowing while it laps up its meal with its tongue.

The researchers in Venezuela have begun taking precautions. Mantini-Briggs, a Venezuelan former health official, said she started to wonder about her own health Friday while talking with biologist Omar Linares, a bat expert at Caracas' Simon Bolivar University.

She remembered there was blood on her sheet after sleeping in a hammock in a village two weeks ago. Initially she dismissed it as nothing important, but she also remembered her finger hurt that morning and that she saw two small red dots there.

Linares suggested she get rabies shots immediately.

"They're vaccinating me," Mantini-Briggs said. "I'm sure a bat bit me."

Good old South America. Volcanos erupting all over the place. Anacondas. Shark attacks. And now, "vampire bats"! I'll pass! Another anomaly taking place for the first time. Hmmm, what's next? Stay tuned.

If YOU get the chance, sign my guest book and get on my tracker map!

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Canadian Black Bear Attack

Bear attacks woman gardening

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - A woman was recovering from bite wounds after she was mauled by a bear while gardening outside her house in a suburb of Vancouver on Wednesday, police said.

The 35-year-old woman was in the front yard of her house in Coquitlam, British Columbia, when the animal attacked her, apparently without provocation, neighbors and police said.

Neighbors who heard the woman's screams threw rocks at the bear to make it stop its attack. The animal was later shot and killed by a police officer.

Black bears often wander down from the mountains into some of Vancouver's suburbs in search of food but attacks on humans are extremely rare.

"They are normally shy and back away, so we don't know what happened in this incident," Royal Canadian Mounted Police Corporal Tony Farahbakchian said, adding that the attack was considered "an isolated incident".

The woman was hospitalized in serious condition with bite wounds to her arms and skull, but the injuries were not considered life threatening.

Listen, I think someone needs to find Yogi and BooBoo and ask them what is going on with the bears lately. In the last week, I have done stories on bear incidences in Ukraine, Russia and now Canada. Is it something in the air or water? Do they know something we dont? Or, is it just coincidence?

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Ukraine Bears Kill Drunk

Zoo horror: man butchered by bears in Ukraine

A man has been mauled to death by two brown bears in a Ukrainian zoo.

The man, who was reportedly drunk, fell into the bears’ enclosure after losing his balance while trying to have his photo taken near to them.

Onlookers at the zoo in Nikolaev called out for help but the man was killed before the zoo staff could rescue him.

The staff are reportedly afraid of any further aggressive behavior by the bears and have promised to keep a close eye on them.

A similar incident took place last year in the same zoo. A man fell into a cage with tigers but was luckily rescued.

The directors of the zoo are reported to have said that it was pointless to make special safety measures as it was in the animals’ nature to have instincts.

It does not matter where YOU are, Russia, Ukraine, USA, anywhere, "bears will tear YOU a new "you know what". These animals are smarter than most humans and probably have a bit of an attitude about being in captivity. RussiaToday

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Norway Lightning, 1 Bolt, 91 Hits

Lightning Hits 91 Spectators in Norway

OSLO, Norway (Aug. 3) - A lightning bolt struck 91 auto racing fans at a racetrack in Norway Sunday, and 45 people were taken to hospital with minor burns, police said.

"No one was seriously injured," police officer Hans Eng told the Associated Press. "But some of them will stay in the hospital for observation."

The lightning hit a hill where spectators at the rallycross were sitting. Rallycross is a form of sprint-style automobile racing on a closed circuit.

The race, a national championship, was called off after the incident.

Eng said 16 ambulances and three medical helicopters were brought to the scene at Flisa, about eight kilometers from the Swedish border.

The injured fans were taken to four different hospitals.

"I've never seen anything like it; spectators fell off their seats," a witness, Roar Bringaker, was quoted as saying on the Web site of Norwegian paper Verdens Gang. "People got scared and ran. It was chaotic."

Even Wiger, another spectator, went to the racetrack with his 14-year-old son and some friends.

"It was a raining and suddenly the lightning hit the stand," he was quoted as saying to the Norwegian News Agency NTB. "We all tried to get down from the hill. Many screamed and cried.

The situation was dramatic. I've never experienced anything similar."

The thunderstorm knocked out telephone service in the area, police said.

I thought lightning was bad here in Florida, well, it is. Forty five fatalities last year. However, I have never heard of this many people getting hit by one bolt at the same time. That is freaky! Fortunately, no one died as of this writing.Bobby Sharpe's "Global Peoplz Newz": Poland T-Rex Relative Found

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Poland T-Rex Relative Found

Ancestor of T-Rex Unearthed in Poland

WARSAW, Poland (Aug. 2) - Paleontologists digging in a brickyard in southern Poland have discovered the remains of a dinosaur they say is a previously unknown ancestor of the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

The predator dinosaur, given the working name "the Dragon," lived around 200 million years ago, team member Doctor Tomasz Sulej of the Polish Science Academy, told Reuters.

It was five yards long and moved on two legs. Its longest teeth were 2 inches long.

"This is a completely new type of dinosaur that was so far unknown," Sulej said on Friday.

"Nobody even expected that members of this group lived in that time, so this gives us new knowledge about the whole evolution of the T-Rex group."

The remains were excavated from a brickyard in Lisowice village about 125 miles from Warsaw.

The paleontologists will continue examining the bones and fully document the discovery before they decide what name to give to the new dinosaur. They will exhibit the findings in Lisowice on August 7, Sulej said.

At the same site the group also found a dicynodon -- a reptile which was a direct predecessor of mammals.

"We are almost certain that "Dragon" hunted animals like this herbivorous dicynodon, which looked like hippopotamus but was much bigger," Sulej said.

Once again, the planet gives up another "lost" inhabitant. I would certainly like to see this one when they have all the parts and can reconstruct it. I am also thrilled that they have given it the temporary name "Dragon". Who knows, maybe, it will actually be a "Dragon".

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Saudis Ban The Sale Of Dogs & cats

Saudi Flag

Saudi Capital Bans Sale of Dogs, Cats

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (July 31) - Every single man knows: Walking a dog in the park is a sure babe magnet. Saudi Arabia's Islamic religious police, in their zeal to keep the sexes apart, want to make sure the technique doesn't catch on here.

The solution: Ban selling dogs and cats as pets, as well as walking them in public.

The prohibition went into effect Wednesday in the capital, Riyadh, and authorities in the city say they will strictly enforce it — unlike previous bans in the cities of Mecca and Jiddah, which have been ignored and failed to stop pet sales.

Violators found outside with their pets will have their beloved poodles and other furry companions confiscated by agents of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, the official name of the religious police, tasked with enforcing Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic code.

The commission's general manager, Othman al-Othman, said the ban was ordered because of what he called "the rising of phenomenon of men using cats and dogs to make passes at women and pester families" as well as "violating proper behavior in public squares and malls."

"If a man is caught with a pet, the pet will be immediately confiscated and the man will be forced to sign a document pledging not to repeat the act," al-Othman told the Al-Hayat newspaper. "If he does, he will be referred to authorities." The ban does not address women.

The Saudi-owned Al-Hayat announced the ban in its Wednesday edition, saying it was ordered by the acting governor of Riyadh province, Prince Sattam, based on an edit from the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars and several religious police reports of pet owners harassing women and families.

Commission authorities often do not formally announce to the public new rules that they intend to implement. Officials from the commission and Riyadh city government could not be reached for comment Thursday, which is a weekend day in Saudi Arabia. The English-language Arab News reported on the ban Thursday.

So far, the prohibition did not appear to have any effect in Riyadh. It's extremely rare, anyway, to see anyone in the capital walking a dog — much less carrying a cat in public — despite the authorities' claims of flirtatious young men luring girls with their pets in malls.

Salesmen at a couple of Riyadh pet stores said Thursday they did not receive any orders from the commission banning the sale of pets. Cats and dogs were still on display.

"I didn't hear of the ban," said Yasser al-Abdullah, a 28-year-old Saudi nurse, who was at one pet store with his 3-month-old collie, Joe.

Al-Abdullah, who also owns an 8-month-old Labrador, said a couple of Western friends had been told to get off the streets by the religious police for walking their dogs.

"I won't allow the commission to take my dogs from me," he said.

The religious police prowl streets and malls throughout the kingdom, ensuring unmarried men and women do not mix, confronting women they feel are not properly covered or urging men to go to prayers.

They also often make attempts to plug the few holes in the strict gender segregation that innovations bring. In 2004, for example, they tried to ban cameras on cell phones, fearing that men and women would exchange pictures of each other — though the prohibition was quickly revoked.

There was no word whether commission authorities intend to expand the dog and cat ban beyond the capital.

The prohibition may be more of an attempt to curb the owning of pets, which conservative Saudis view as a sign of corrupting Western influence, like the fast food, shorts, jeans and pop music that have become more common in the kingdom.

Although it has never been common to own pets in the Arab world, it's becoming increasingly fashionable among the upper class in Saudi Arabia and other countries such as Egypt.

In Islamic tradition, dogs are shunned as unclean and dangerous, though they are kept for hunting and guarding. In large cities around the Middle East, stray dogs are considered pests.

The ban on cats is more puzzling, since there's no similar disdain for them in Islamic tradition.
One of the Prophet Muhammad's closest companions was given the name Abu Huraira, Arabic for "the father of the kitten," because he always carried a kitten with him and a number of traditional stories of the prophet show Muhammad encouraging people to treat cats well.

If I have said it once, I have said it a million times, "no matter where YOU are on the planet, humans still do the dumbest stuff ". Can YOU believe this crap?

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