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Post by Dr. Drum on Sept 13, 2006 21:03:25 GMT -5
Phil’s not kidding about the moose. Even in a bad year it seems, the number of fatal bear attacks can still be counted in single digits. Whereas, for example, just in my home province of Newfoundland the government says there's an average of 700 moose-vehicle collisions every year. Obviously not all of those result in fatalities but still, your chances of being hurt or killed on the way to your campsite in a collision with a moose are many, many times that of being fatally mauled by a bear once you get there. |
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Post by strat-0 on Sept 14, 2006 10:24:15 GMT -5
I hear they have a nasty disposition, too. And they're not small.
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Post by phil on Sept 14, 2006 12:27:45 GMT -5
I once race a moose for the same space of road with a very small car ...
You better believe those beast are HUGE !
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Post by phil on Sept 14, 2006 12:31:12 GMT -5
I also had a carriage horse climbing inside my(convertible)car
ending up with both front legs on the passenger seat ...
Not nice at all ... !!
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Post by strat-0 on Sept 14, 2006 20:14:33 GMT -5
Wow, I see by that Wiki entry that many of the attacks are by black bears. I guess I should rethink my assessment of their danger. This attack was one of the ones in the show: "Jacqueline Perry, 30, female September 6, 2005 [Black bear] Killed in a predatory attack at the Missinaibi Lake Provincial Park, north of Chapleau, Ontario, Canada. Her husband was seriously injured in the attack." With more and more people making use of Canada's wondrous wilderness areas, the increase in attacks shouldn't be too surprising, and I can appreciate the need to regulate firearms up there. You can't expect such a multitude of people to act responsibly and conservatively with guns. People would be prone to taking potshots at the predators, as they have elsewhere. I appreciate that these areas are home to these animals, and have been since long before we came. It just sticks in my craw a bit that while people are permitted to go into these isolated areas, they are required to be helpless in the face of a truly rogue, rampaging animal that wants to eat them, and is quite capable of doing it. I would not go into such an area in a small party without at least a pistol with a good bit of bang to it, as I said before. It's different with the grizzlies - they are too few in number and must be protected (one must take many defensive measures when going in those areas!)  |
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Post by phil on Sept 14, 2006 21:33:42 GMT -5
I'm less afraid of bears
(or any wild animal for that matter)
than people carrying guns ... !!
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Post by phil on Jan 5, 2007 10:01:27 GMT -5
This one belongs to the UNfunny/bizarre News ...
Saddam's Execution Cited In Houston-Area Boy's Hanging
HOUSTON -- Police and family members said a 10-year-old boy who died by hanging himself from a bunk bed was apparently mimicking the execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
Sergio Pelico was found dead Sunday in his apartment bedroom in the Houston-area city of Webster, said Webster police Lt. Tom Claunch. Pelico's mother told police he had previously watched a news report on Saddam's death.
"It appears to be accidental," Claunch said. "Our gut reaction is that he was experimenting."
An autopsy of the fifth-grader's body was pending.
Julio Gustavo, Sergio's uncle, said the boy was a happy and curious child.
He said Sergio had watched TV news with another uncle on Saturday and asked the uncle about Saddam's death.
"His uncle told him it was because Saddam was real bad," Gustavo said. "He (Sergio) said, 'OK.' And that was it."
Sergio's mother, Sara Pelico DeLeon, was at work Sunday while Sergio and other children were under the care of an uncle, Gustavo said. One of the children found Sergio's body in his bedroom.
Police said the boy had tied a slipknot around his neck while on a bunk bed. Police investigators learned that Sergio had been upset about not getting a Christmas gift from his father, but they don't believe the boy intentionally killed himself.
Clinical psychologist Edward Bischof, of California, said children Sergio's age mimic risky behaviors they see on TV -- such as wrestling or extreme sports -- without realizing the dangers. He said TV appeared to be the stimulant in Sergio's case.
"I would think maybe this kid is trying something that he thinks fun to act out without having the emotional and psychological maturity to think the thing through before he acts on it," Bischof said.
Family members held a memorial for the boy Wednesday in the apartment complex activity center. Gustavo said the family is trying to put together enough money to send Sergio's body to Guatemala for burial.
"I don't think he thought it was real," Gustavo said of Saddam's hanging. "They showed them putting the noose around his neck and everything. Why show that on TV?"
*****
Read somewhere else that a Pakistani boy did the same thing
after watching news casts about Saddam' s hanging ... !!
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Post by sisyphus on Jan 5, 2007 10:05:48 GMT -5
perhaps we should ALL follow suit in pure rebellion against the western empire.  |
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Post by strat-0 on Jan 5, 2007 20:35:53 GMT -5
Darwin Award winner.
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Post by phil on Jan 5, 2007 23:11:22 GMT -5
10 y/o are too young to participate in that contest ... IMO
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Post by strat-0 on Jan 6, 2007 12:33:39 GMT -5
Good point. I did some stupid shit when I was a kid and probably shouldn't be here either. Never tried to hang myself, though.
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Post by phil on Jan 21, 2007 14:08:46 GMT -5
Now here's a real candidate for a "Darwin Award" ...
Man survives fall from 17th story hotel window
Police say this was not a suicide attempt or the result of any foul play. They believe the man simply crashed through the window after a night of horsing around with friends.
Neva Lindsey and Darby Hayes looked up in amazement today at the boarded up window on the 17th floor of the Hyatt.
"I could not believe that he could live through such a traumatic and long fall," says Lindsey.
They were awakened just after 1:30 this morning as emergency crews tended to Hanson who had fallen from that window.
Hayes says, "We could see where his body was where people on the ground couldn't see."
Hanson landed on a 2nd floor overhang which they could see from their 8th floor hotel room across the street.
"He was moving. His head was moving and a firefighter was kneeled down, rubbing his hand and comforting him," says Hayes.
Lt. Dale Barsness of the Minneapolis Police says, "This young man was with some other people about the same age and they were just kind of fooling around running around upstairs."
Hanson was in town for a dart tournament. Police says Hanson and two friends had been drinking.
According to Barsness, "He apparently had gotten off an elevator and started running. Whether he was being chased or chasing someone else or whatever. lost his balance went into the window and consequently went through the window."
The general manager of the Hyatt Regency, Tom Mason, says the window is a double pane window with a bar across it. He says he cannot comment on the incident further until police finish their investigation. But he does say, "We hope for a speedy recovery of this gentleman."
Surviving such a long fall is not completely unheard of. But according to emergency room Dr. Steve Smith of the Hennepin County Medical Center, it is very rare.
He says, "We hardly see anyone survive from 50 feet."
He estimates Hanson's fall was from as much 200 feet. He says if Hanson was drinking, it would have absolutely no impact on the extent of his injuries.
Barsness says he's simply amazed Hanson survived. "He was very extremely lucky. [He] has a guardian angel somewhere."
Hanson has a broken leg and as of late Saturday morning, he was in intensive care in serious to critical condition. The hospital, at this time, is not giving further updates on his condition.
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Post by Mary on Jan 24, 2007 19:41:36 GMT -5
Mary (the Virgin, that is, not me!!) has got competition:
5 Komodo dragons born at British zoo
By ROB HARRIS, Associated Press Writer Wed Jan 24, 7:19 AM ET
MANCHESTER, England - A British zoo announced Wednesday the virgin birth of five Komodo dragons, giving scientists new hope for the captive breeding of the endangered species.
In an evolutionary twist, the newborns' eight-year-old mother Flora shocked staff at Chester Zoo in northern England when she became pregnant without ever having a male partner or even being exposed to the opposite sex.
"Flora is oblivious to the excitement she has caused but we are delighted to say she is now a mum and dad," said a delighted Kevin Buley, the zoo's curator of lower vertebrates and invertebrates.
The shells began cracking last week, after an eight-month gestation period, which culminated with the arrival on Tuesday of the fifth black and yellow colored dragon.
The dragons are between 15.5 and 17.5 inches and weigh between 3.5 and 5.3 ounces, said Buley, who leads the zoo's expert care team.
He said the reptiles are in good health and enjoying a diet of crickets and locusts.
Other reptile species reproduce asexually in a process known as parthenogenesis. But Flora's virginal conception, and that of another Komodo dragon earlier this year at the London Zoo, are the first time it has been documented in a Komodo dragon.
The evolutionary breakthrough could have far-reaching consequences for endangered species.
Captive breeding could ensure the survival of the world's largest lizards, with fewer than 4,000 Komodos left in the wild.
Scientists hope the discovery will pave the way to finding other species capable of self fertilization.
While it wasn't unusual for female dragons to lay eggs without mating, scientists understood they were witnessing something important when they realized Flora's eggs had been fertilized.
DNA paternity tests confirmed the lack of male input, although the brood are not exact clones of their mother.
Parthenogenesis — where eggs become embryos without male fertilization — had only been noted once before in a Komodo dragon. Genetic tests showed that Sungai, a resident of London Zoo, was the sole parent to offspring last April.
***
Cheers,
M
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Post by phil on Feb 6, 2007 7:55:01 GMT -5
Now this must be the real STAR WARS ... !!
Astronaut charged with kidnap attempt
Associated Press
Tuesday February 6, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
An astronaut drove 900 miles and donned a wig and trench coat to confront a woman she believed was her rival for the affections of a space shuttle pilot, US police said.
She was arrested yesterday and charged with attempted kidnapping and other counts.
US navy captain Lisa Nowak, 43, who flew last July on a shuttle mission to the international space station, was also charged with attempted vehicle burglary with battery, destruction of evidence and battery. She was denied bail.
Police said Ms Nowak drove from her home in Houston to Orlando international airport - wearing nappies so she would not have to stop to urinate - to confront Colleen Shipman.
Ms Nowak believed Ms Shipman was romantically involved with navy commander William Oefelein, a pilot during space shuttle Discovery's trip to the space station last December, police said.
Ms Nowak told police that her relationship with Mr Oefelein was "more than a working relationship but less than a romantic relationship", according to an arrest affidavit. Police officers recovered a love letter to Mr Oefelein in her car.
Nasa spokesman James Hartsfield in Houston said that, as of yesterday, Ms Nowak's status with the astronaut corps remained unchanged.
"What will happen beyond that, I will not speculate," he said.
Mr Hartsfield said he could not recall the last time an astronaut was arrested and said there were no rules against fraternising among astronauts.
When she found out that Ms Shipman was flying to Orlando from Houston, Ms Nowak decided to confront her, according to the arrest affidavit. Ms Nowak raced from Houston to Orlando wearing nappies so she would not have to stop to urinate, authorities said.
Astronauts wear nappies during launch and re-entry.
Ms Nowak, in disguise, boarded an airport bus that Ms Shipman took to her car in an airport car park. Ms Shipman told police she noticed someone following her, hurried inside the car and locked the doors, according to the arrest affidavit.
Ms Nowak knocked on the window, tried to open the car door and asked for a lift. Ms Shipman refused but rolled down the car window a few inches when Ms Nowak started crying. Ms Nowak then sprayed a chemical into Ms Shipman's car, the affidavit said.
Ms Shipman drove to the car park booth, and the police were called.
During a check of the car park, an officer followed Ms Nowak and watched her throw away a bag containing the wig and air rifle. They also found a steel mallet, a 10cm folding knife, rubber tubing, $600 (£305) and bin bags inside a bag Ms Nowak was carrying when she was arrested, authorities said.
Inside Ms Nowak's vehicle, which was parked at a nearby motel, authorities uncovered a pepper spray package, an unused BB-gun cartridge, latex gloves and emails between Ms Shipman and Mr Oefelein.
They also found a letter "that indicated how much Ms Nowak loved Mr Oefelein", an opened package for a buck knife, Shipman's home address and hand written directions to the address, the arrest affidavit said.
Police said Ms Nowak told them that she only wanted to scare Ms Shipman into talking to her about her relationship with Mr Oefelein and didn't want to harm her physically.
"If you were just going to talk to someone, I don't know that you would need a wig, a trench coat, an air cartridge BB gun and pepper spray," said Sergeant Barbara Jones, a spokeswoman for the Orlando police department. "It's just really a very sad case ... Now she ends up finding herself on the other side of the law with some very serious charges."
If convicted of attempted kidnapping, Ms Nowak could face a maximum of life in prison.
It was not immediately known whether Ms Nowak had an attorney.
Mr Oefelein and Ms Shipman did not immediately return phone messages last night.
According to Nasa's official biography, Ms Nowak is married with three children. During her 13-day mission in July she operated the robotic arm during three spacewalks.
Mr Oefelein is unmarried. He piloted the space shuttle Discovery in December. He has two children, according to a Nasa biography.
Ms Nowak and Mr Oefelein were both first-time fliers during their shuttle missions last year. They trained together but never flew on the same mission.
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Post by Thorngrub on Feb 7, 2007 15:32:42 GMT -5
Woman on the wrong bus lost for 25 years  Feb 07 12:53 PM US/Eastern BANGKOK, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- A woman who boarded the wrong bus on an attempted shopping trip from Thailand to ,UPI) -- has returned home after 25 years. Jaeyana Beuraheng told her eight children she accidentally boarded a bus bound for Bangkok instead of Malaysia, and once there she boarded a second incorrect bus because she could not read or speak Thai or English, The Times of London reported Wednesday. Beuraheng, who speaks only the Yawi dialect used by Muslims in southern Thailand, said the noise and traffic of the big city confused and disoriented her, leading her to board the second wrong bus to Chiang Mai, near the border with Burma. The woman said she spent five years begging on the street in the city and was often mistaken for a member of a hill tribe because of her dark skin tone. She was arrested in 1987 on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant and was sent to a social services hostel when authorities were unable to determine her origins. However, last month, three students from her home village arrived at the hostel for training, and they were able to communicate with Beuraheng and help her find her way home.
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