My favorite part of this list is that the episode where the Cobras disguise themselves and toys and Shipwreck’s parrot Polly turns gigantic is only #6.

Source:
http://www.toplessrobot.com/2009/12/the_10_most_bizarre_gi_joe_a_real_american_hero_ep.php

The thing that impresses me about the Stall&Dean fitted caps is their lust for creating dope looking hats for minor league sport’s team , This latest drop introduces the Cleveland Cobras into the fitted game. Coming in an Olive colorway with black embroidery on the front, if you didn’t know The Cobra’s are a minor leauge soccer team kicking goals out of Cleveland Ohio. Hit the Jump for a look at the derrière of this beauty.

This blog is an information exchange.  You can say anything you want and anything you say will be open for discussion by the other members.  Tell us how you go faster.  How do you decide where to go fast and where to go slow?   How did you go about setting up your suspension.  What’s  your preference, supercharger or turbocharger?  Why did you pick the car and class you run in?  The list goes on as far as you want it to go.  If you are new to the sport, this is a place to ask.

Cobras estão invadindo Miami e outras cidades da Flórida

Várias espécies de cobras gigantes, entre elas a jiboia e a píton africana, estão invadindo de forma descontrolada o Estado da Flórida (EUA) a tal ponto que conseguem se adaptar às áreas urbanas de Miami, alerta um estudo científico da agência americana de Pesquisas Geológicas (USGS).

O controle desses ofídios, que não são nativos dos Estados Unidos, é muito difícil devido ao fato de se reproduzirem rapidamente em extensas áreas dos pântanos de Everglades.

Não há ainda mecanismos de controle que pareçam adequados para erradir essas cobras que representam um grande risco para espécies nativas e ecossistemas nas regiões cálidas do sul dos Estados Unidos, segundo o estudo.

O cientista Gordon Rodda, da USGS e um dos autores do estudo, afirma que a maior parte dessas serpentes pode se adaptar a uma variedade de habitats e é bastante tolerante à vida nas áreas urbanas. Jiboias e pítons africanas, por exemplo, já vivem de maneira silvestre em áreas metropolitanas de Miami, acrescentou.

Segundo a Comissão de Conservação de Pesca e Vida Silvestre da Flórida (FWC), muitas das serpetentes eram mascotes que foram abandonadas por seus donos pelos mais variados motivos no Everglades, a imensa reserva natural de pântanos no extremo sul do Estado.

Os especialistas assinalam que se trata de um problema que provavelmente começou há 20 anos com o furacão Andrew (1992), que fez com que muitas serpentes escapassem de pet shops e serpentários.

O perigo que representam essas cobras é similar aos dos caimãns (jacarés) que habitam em grande número o Everglades e cidades do sul da Flórida.

Em julho passado, uma menina de dois anos morreu estrangulada por uma píton birmanesa de 3,60 metros numa casa do condado de Sumter, na Flórida.

Fonte: Folha Online

Homem é preso com lagartixas e cobras presas ao corpo na Noruega. O indivíduo deu pistas de que estava contrabandeando animais depois que uma tarântula foi encontrada em uma de suas malas.

fonte: R7

By Independent Consultant, Michelle Glasshappy

Some of us hate spending too much of our precious time following all the rules of everyday dating.  Some of us just want to date as quickly and efficiently as possible.  For those of you who have the same sentiment, here are some of my patented high efficiency dating tips.

Désiré

Aurorale quiétude de juin quatre-vingt dix-sept
Transpercée par de foudroyants sifflets poudrés.
Jambes fuyant sous la canopée de la Piscine verte.
Echappée à la mort, course à la survie. Clandestinée.

Désiré court

Au loin déjà sommeillent, de la luxuriante primaire,
Les majestueux bonobos. Arides journées sans boire
Depuis les portes du désert, Zinder, virage en équerre.
Acéré Harmattan, proche Casamance et promise Dakar.

Désiré prie

Cent mille pièces frappées Colonies Françaises d’Afrique,
Somptuaire sésame pour l’ocre rugueux des Canaries.
Vagues, creux et courants torpillent la pirogue, homérique
Biseau boisé aux corps entassés, transis de froid et d’anémie.

Désiré tangue

Refuge dénié par l’ancêtre gaulois : bienvenue à Paris !
Condamnation à l’errance embastillée en une vie renardière,
Jours ombrés, cachés, évanouis. Purin chassé, traqué, avili.
Asile étouffant aux âpres confins d’une improbable souricière.

Désiré plonge

Les gorges sèches s’entremêlent dans les fourches caudines
Des geôles pour prêts-à-décoller, ces clapiers de non droit.
Ô France, pourquoi ce triste manège où tes sudistes armes éliminent
Et chassent les noires âmes puis dégorgent les rescapés, putois ?

Désiré sombre

Terre de la chair du virevalsé, Boko, impossible maison
Au retour du naufragé que plus aucune mémoire n’attend.
Seules les ruines talées de Makélékélé daignent, sans émotions,
Abriter les cendres de l’avenir consumé de cet exilé enfant.

]]> http://raghusports.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/champions-league-t-20-takes-start-cobras-win-a-thriller-upset-rcb/ Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:38:18 +0000 drraghuramys http://raghusports.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/champions-league-t-20-takes-start-cobras-win-a-thriller-upset-rcb/

Chinnaswamy stadium-Bangalore saw a colourful extraveganza on 8th of october 2009 as the Champions League t-20 championship took underway amidst an eye catching opening ceremony.It marked a feast involving various countries and cultures…seen never before in the international cricket. 12 teams from 7 different countries will be fighting for the title. These teams are scattered into 4 groups…A,B,C and D. Many international artists participated in giving the best of their sizzling performances entertaining the packed crowd. Following a march with flags from the 12 captains, imprinting their hands on a board, Lalit Modi-governing council chairman declared the event open after a welcome address. Performances to Classical Hindustani music, Jappanese drumming, and events involving Chaka Khan and Shaggy and Jamelia were the highlights, not leaving behind the acrobatic show by Shaolin monks from China and sword fighting skills of our own Kalaripayattu.

The opening encounter was between hosts and runners up of the 2008 IPL- Royal Challenger Bangalore team headed by the old fox and the experienced Kumble taking over the South African team Cape Cobras headed by Puttick. Batting first the RCB team made a challenging 180 runs losing 4 wickets. Utappa gave a terrific start in combi with Dravid and Kohli making a deserved 50 much to the relief of the RCB’s. The finishing act was done by some hard hitting by Ross Taylor who finished with 53 made of just 24 deliveries with 4 hits to the fence and the other 4 clearing it. Langeveldt bowled tidy for the cobras.

In reply the Cobra’s had initial hiccups when the openers Gibbs and Puttick were dismissed by Praveen kumar with just 14 on board. When the RCB were looking to take command they had to face the venom of the merciless cobra in the form of J.P.Duminy who was in a punishing mood determined to take the first honours of the championship in favour of his team. He fired all guns entertaining the crowd,unless they were hard core RCB supporters. Kumble and his boys had no weapon to demolish him. He finished with one run short of what could have been a tremendous century. His 99 undefeated came off just 52 balls and had 8 fours and 5 mighty sixes in them.He got a good support on the other end by David’s Ontong and Canning. This heroic act fetched him the man of the match with his team Cape Cobras sitting healthy with 2 points on the table in group C. Kumble has to plan different strategies for his must win next match to stay in contention and he is not going to sit silent. But early celebrations for the Cobras. The opening match showed signs of the fight outs that we are going to see in the days to come…

C U tommorrow with more action………..

7:00PM

>Insurrection in Honduras: Resistance Front says “We won’t rest until victory”

By Federico Fuentes; September 30, 2009 – Znet

Source: GLW/LINKS

September 25 — Green Left Weekly — (Updated Sept. 27) “The whole world knows that what we have here in Honduras is a coup regime”, Armando Licona, a leader from the Revolutionary University Student Front said. Green Left Weekly spoke with Licona, whose organisation is part of the National Resistance Front Against the Coup (FNRG), on the phone from the Honduran capital, Tegucilgalpa.

Today (September 25), the military attacked the Brazilian embassy with chemical weapons. President Manuel Zelaya is bunkered down in the Brazilian embassy after secretly re-entering the country on September 21.

The Honduran poor have waged a campaign of constant resistance against the coup regime to demand that Zelaya is restored and a constitutional assembly called to create a new constitution to meet the peoples’ needs in one [of] the hemisphere’s poorest nations.

Since Zelaya’s return, both repression by the dictatorship and resistance by the people have significantly increased. An unknown number of peaceful protesters have been killed or disappeared, and the regime rounds up protesters daily. Despite this, protests continue on the streets.

Licona said that, despite the repression, “our dignity will not allow us to give up”. “We are a people fighting to ensure that the great changes we have initiated come to fruition. We will not rest until President Zelaya is restored to power and the national constituent assembly is called, which will allow these great changes that we dream of become reality — a country based on social justice that is not in the hands of some eight or 10 rich families who do whatever they want with complete impunity.”

Chemical warfare

Licona explained: “Today, the 91st day of resistance, we held a massive march in Tegucigalpa. But the most serious event was the attacks made against Zelaya … they are using chemical weapons [on the embassy] causing many people inside to vomit blood.”

Dirian Pereira, from the FNRG international commission, told GLW that, despite Zelaya denouncing the chemical attack, the International Red Cross, the Human Rights Committee of Honduras and Zelaya’s doctors were denied entry by the military. The soldiers “had orders to not let anyone pass”. “This is chemical warfare … it seems clear that the order is to get Zelaya out dead or alive — but preferably dead.”

Meanwhile, the regime has again imposed a night curfew across most of the country, which resistance activists expect will be enforced with brutal repression, and met with defiant resistance.

Licona said: “The coup regime wants a bloodbath. But the resistance has stood firm on its strategy of peaceful mobilisations, even despite their attempts to infiltrate our marches to carry out acts of vandalism, carrying guns. [The regime is] totally armed, that is why it is hard. What we see is a resistance and a people with dignity, but who are fighting with their hands in the face of bullets, batons and tear gas.”

“Dialogue” ruse

The attack against the embassy comes less than 24 hours after the coup regime said it was willing to start a dialogue with Zelaya, who has continuously repeated his willingness to talk.

Licona told GLW that the supposed dialogue attempt “was a proposal of the coup plotter [Roberto] Mitchelleti [installed by the coup as "president"]. What they want is a pretext to claim that all possible avenues of dialogue have been exhausted.”

Pereira agreed: “We believe that the arrival of the four musketeers of the right, that is, the four presidential candidates of the right-wing parties, that talked to Mel [as Zelaya is popularly known] in the embassy was in order to take a photo with him and immediately circulate it in the media as a way of saying ‘look, these people are hugging each other’. Prior to this meeting, they met with Micheletti. They came, spoke with [Mel] and what they said to him was that he should hand himself in. He simply said that the only way out was with his restitution [as president].

“We believe that they staged this show in order to stop any possible [United Nations] intervention of ‘blue helmets’, because the UN Security Council was meeting. They wanted to stop any possible negotiation in this direction. I think that to a certain extent they achieved this, because the Security Council resolution simply condemns what they are doing to the [Brazilian] embassy.”

Pereira explained the position of the FNRG: “We have four well-defined positions: 1) the restoration of President Mel Zelaya; 2) the restoration of constitution[al] order; 3) the withdrawal of the military to its barracks; and 4) the installation of the national constituent assembly. We will not back down on these.”

Pereira said the resistance would continue with its street protests on September 26. “There will be a march starting at 8am where we will once again aim to bring together the largest number of people possible. In the afternoon there will be a caravan of vehicles throughout the barrios and colonias [poor neighbourhoods].”"

>September 30, 2009

Juan Almendares: Stop the Unconventional War in Honduras

Stop the Unconventional War in Honduras - Terrorist acts by Cobras and Soldiers

by Juan Almendares

The cobra battalions (an elite Honduran police squad) and soldiers have violated people’s homes in poor communities, shooting live rounds at families. They have shot tear gas and pepper spray into people’s houses targeting children, pregnant women and elders in the neighborhoods of Altos del Viera, Manchen, and el Barrio el Bosque, Hato, Suyapa, LasVegas, San Francisco, colonia Kennedy, Bendeck, Travesía and the Morazán residential area, Colonia Divanna, Altos de la Divanna, Pedregal, Centroamérica, Altos de los Milagros in Tegucigalpa and in other poor neighborhoods in the capital. The soldiers have captured and tortured the young man Jose Luis Rodas.

Human rights defenders Francisco Mencia and Walter Trochez and Maricio Mendoza were tortured by the Criminal Investigation Unit after being detained at the police post in the Victor F. Ardon neighborhood and their lives are in extreme risk. Meanwhile, residents of the Juan Ramon Molina neighborhood, other communities of San Pedro Sula and different areas of the country have been subjected to similar brutality.

These acts of terror and crimes against humanity like physical torture and psychological war that were learned at the School of the Americas are being put into practice on the defenseless population in a vile and cowardly way; just like the war crimes committed by Hitler, Mussolini, Pinochet and the great despots of Latin American history.

Bombs of tear gas not only produce tears, but they also cause abortions,asthma, allergies, vomiting, shock, heart attacks and death.

We are making an urgent call to the national and international community to demand that these crimes stop completely and to prohibit the use of lethal chemical, toxic and deafening weapons. Also, do not use the Hondurans people as an experiment for future wars against the people ofLatin America.

>Honduras Supreme Electoral Tribunal Comes Out Against Coup Decree

Posted by Al Giordano – September 30, 2009 at 3:08 pm

By Al Giordano

>Honduras detains Zelaya supporters

September 30, 2009 raid on the National Agrarian Institute and have detained campesinos and activists from the building.

>September 30th, 2009

Honduran power brokers pushing for end to crisis

Mark Stevenson

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Business and political leaders who backed the coup overthrowing President Manuel Zelaya now are considering the unthinkable: returning him to office with limited powers.

The reversal, and Zelaya’s decision to consider it, reflect the growing desperation to resolve a three-month standoff that has turned this Central American country upside down.

John Biehl, special adviser to the Organization of American States, said Wednesday he sensed some movement toward talks.

“The moment has arrived for tempers to cool and reason to reign, and that’s when errors will start being corrected,” Biehl said. “I have found a strong willingness for dialogue,” adding he had heard of proposals to return Zelaya to office briefly.

The crisis sparked by the June 28 ousting of Zelaya has paralyzed the already impoverished nation.

Honduras has been bleeding millions of dollars a day, and many of its most prominent CEOs have had their visas revoked by the United States, hampering their efforts to do business. Nations have cut aid to demand the ousted leader’s reinstatement while sporadic spikes in tensions have forced the closure of airports, border crossings and factories.

The final straw was the interim government’s decision to impose a surprise emergency decree that suspended civil liberties this week and further damaged the administration’s image at home and abroad.

Lawmakers immediately made clear Congress will revoke the emergency security crackdown if the interim government does not, said Rigoberto Chang, a congressman with the conservative National Party.

The disagreement over the decree was the biggest public rift between interim President Roberto Micheletti and the Congress that put him in power after soldiers forced Zelaya into exile.

After that happened, Honduras’ powerful elite told Micheletti enough is enough, and back- room negotiations began on a powerful business chamber’s proposition to put him back in office with limited powers.

Zelaya has said he was encouraged by the proposal and hoped to be in talks with its authors by Wednesday.

Its chief proponent, Adolfo Facusse, president of the National Industry Chamber, suggests sending 3,000 troops from conservative-led nations to Honduras if the leftist leader is restored to office to ensure he does not overstep his limited authority.

Facusse told The Associated Press that the force could be U.N. peacekeepers.

Facusse, whose association vocally supported Zelaya’s ouster, said he discussed parts of the plan with Micheletti, including a proposal to make the interim president a congressman-for-life.

Micheletti on Wednesday called parts of the plan impossible but indicated he was analyzing some of its points.

“This involves things we cannot do, because our constitution does not permit it,” he said, referring to the presence of foreign troops or U.N. peacekeepers. “But of course we will take into consideration the points he has expressed in his proposal, in his dream to bring peace to Hondurans.”

Micheletti did not directly address the issue of reinstating Zelaya, something he has strongly opposed thus far.

The interim leader is becoming increasingly isolated as pressure mounts from the nation’s power brokers — including lawmakers, presidential candidates and the business elite — who are demanding a break in the stalemate.

Porfirio Lobo, a top conservative presidential contender, announced that Congress would be open to passing reforms needed to make an accord work.

“The issue is confrontation or dialogue, bloodshed or peace,” the National Party candidate said.

“If we have to reform some laws, I don’t think Congress is going to be an obstacle,” added Lobo, whose party is the second force, with 55 seats, in the 128-seat congress.

The coup’s aftermath has presented a tortuous path for presidential candidates trying to campaign ahead of the Nov. 29 elections.

Micheletti sees the balloting, which will produce an entirely new leader, as the country’s best hope for emerging from the crisis. But the international community has made it clear that the elections will not be considered valid unless Zelaya is reinstated.

The vote was scheduled before the removal of Zelaya, whose presidential term expires in January.

Micheletti so far has been staunchly opposed to reinstating Zelaya and has been on the defensive since Zelaya sneaked back into the country on Sept. 21 and took refuge at the Brazilian Embassy.

Brazil has expressed concern about the security of the Embassy, where about 60 Zelaya supporters are holed up with the ousted president. Honduran troops and police have surrounded the building.

Six Brazilian legislators were heading to Honduras on Wednesday to check on the South American country’s citizens in Tegucigalpa, the state-run Agencia Brasil news agency reported.

Meanwhile, soldiers and police have continued enforcing the security decree despite Micheletti’s promises to lift it, putting at risk efforts to restart talks. Micheletti suggested Wednesday it would be in force for at least two more days, as he holds meetings on the proposals for ending the decree.

About 150 police and soldiers acting on the decree Wednesday raided the offices of the National Agrarian Institute, occupied by Zelaya supporters since the coup. Authorities detained 54 people, many farm activists, police spokesman Orlin Cerrato said.

“The decree is being discussed by a lot of sectors, and appeals have been filed,” he said. “But it remains in force.”

Cerrato said the building contains valuable land title records. One of the detained activists, farmer Jose Irene Murillo, 69, said he feared “they are going to destroy the records of the small farmers, because the big landowners want the land.”

Congress can lift or modify the decree issued Sunday that bans unauthorized gatherings and lets police arrest people without warrants, rights guaranteed in the Honduran Constitution. It also allows authorities to shut news media for statements that it sees as disturbing the peace or attacking the law.”

>The FMLN turned out the people for the Salvadoran Solidarity with Honduras Rally – it was a sea of red.  Good music and inspiring speeches.  Video follows article.

Salvadorans Demonstrate Solidarity with Honduras and VIDEO

by Kara Newhouse and Laura Taylor

SAN SALVADOR—Fourteen buses loaded with FMLN supporters barreled out of Morazan’s mountains yesterday and into the capital, where the passengers joined with others from across the country in a show of solidarity for the people of Honduras. Thousands converged on Juan Pablo II, a street normally home to government buildings, but which now displayed all the trimmings of a carnival—strings of FMLN pennants, “FUERA LOS GOLPISTAS” signs, vendors selling snacks and beer, and music ranging from the national anthems of El Salvador and Honduras to pop rock .

On stage the FMLN general coordinator responded to accusations from conservative media that the party supported Zelaya’s return. “To the question everyone is asking—they are asking if we, the FMLN, are supporters of the resistance. I can only say, of course.” Party leaders maintained that they would continue to resist foreign interventions and support true democracy in Honduras.

The 617 members of Morazan’s delegation arrived to send the message that organized communities denounce repression and will not allow a coup to succeed, in Honduras or El Salvador, said the Secretary of Women for the National Council of the FMLN, Maria Luisa Avigil Hernandez.

Another coordinator from the women’s commission, Margarita Rodriguez, said that the people of Perquin have a special relationship to injustice in Honduras because the Salvadoran resistance of the 1980s originated in Perquin. People there endured much suffering and repression during the war, and many sought refuge across the border in Honduras. This history, Rodriguez said, creates a strong sense of solidarity and consciousness about organizing: “Here the community is ready for anything.”

Hundreds of Salvadorans too young to have experienced the war also joined the demonstration, claiming a broad concern over human rights abuses in the neighboring country. Twenty-year-old Victor Chevez commented, “I hope that the feeling of support reaches those in resistance, and gives them the energy to keep fighting.””

]]> http://mindjourney1962.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/what-is-a-mongoose/ Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:02:36 +0000 askpari http://mindjourney1962.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/what-is-a-mongoose/

Mongoose

Mongoose are weasel like creatures found in India, Africa and some other countries.

Only little larger than house cats, mongooses are famous as snake killers, especially of cobras.

In “Rikki-tikki-tavi” Rudyard Kipling tells the story of a little mongoose that kills a king cobra, on of the most poisonous snakes in the world.

Actually, the mongoose only attacks a cobra when it is hungry.  When it gets within striking range, the mongoose bristles out its fur and makes feint, leaping forward and away to provoke the snake into striking.

The mongoose is not immune to the cobra’s poison.  It simply depends on its speed to dodge the cobra’s deadly fangs.

Then, with perfect timing, the mongoose pounces on the snake before it has a chance to strike again and cracks its head with a powerful bite.  Mongoose also catches rats, mice, and other small animals.

Visual source:  picture-graphic

Many corporations are looking at upgrading their current Unified Messaging solution from the 4 or 5.x release to the current 7.x version. If yours is one of them, however, you will need to look at how you are using the Unified Messaging product currently.

If you are using Unity in a standalone configuration, ie you have configured it using a private Active Directory Forest/Domain and a private Exchange or message store platform not coupled to your corporate directory or message store, and you want to maintain that same solution for now and in the future then it is more cost effective to move to Unity Connection. Unity Connection supports up to 10,000 mailbox users per server if using “platform overlay 3″ approved hardware and has all of the features that Unity has with an added bonus of using personal routing rules.

If you plan to move to the Connection product, then I would highly suggest that it would involve a migration to the new system. In other words, purchase a new server and prepare that box to receive the Unity database and Message Store (Optional) information. This will allow you to have a fallback position if anything negative were to happen during the data migration process.

Now the question is, how do you migrate your voice mail and directory information from your current system to the new Unity Connection?

First of all, you will need to use the approved migration tool. The recommended tool for this procedure is COBRAS (Cisco Objected Backup and Restore Application Suite). However in order to use this tool, your Unified Messaging Server will need to be running at version 4.0(5) or later. If you have an earlier version, you can still use the standard 4.x to 7.x migration tool, however not all data will be migrated.

COBRAS will migrate:

• Call Handlers
• Subscribers (including voice mail messages if desired)
• Interview Handlers
• Public Distribution Lists
• Schedules
• Routing Rules (only going to be used for Unity not Connection)

COBRAS will not migrate:

• Holidays
• Class of Service
• Restriction Tables
• Name lookup Handlers
• Locations
• Contacts
• System Configuration data, such as LDAP integration details, IMAP login data, advance settings, etc..
• Subscriber templates
• Encrypted Messages

COBRAS also has a viewer which allows you to delete or alter data before uploading it to the new system. Here is a shot of the database viewer in which you would point to the MDB file created by COBRAS Export:

Additionally, the COBRAS Message viewer can be used to open up the message COBRAS Export MDB file un-pack as a wav file and play it as depicted below:

Check out the COBRAS utility today at the Cisco Unity Tools web portal.

Sept 9     My favorite part of the day is a quick lunchtime dip in the lake to cool off from the midday heat. I grabbed a mask and snorkle for my swim and started to venture in. The water was especially rough – it is always surprisingly rough for a lake, but today epecially so – and I had to use all of my strenght prevent my body from being slammed against the rocks by the waves. After 10 minutes or so of alternating between clambering over rocks and bracing myself against them, I made it out into the open water. No sooner was a free than I realized the snorkle had fallen off the mask somewhere in the process. I began to look for it but the sea proved too rough for me to accomplish anything without cracking my head open. But, as the mask and snorkle didn’t belong to us, Max valiantly braved the chop to continue the search.

I had been watching from shore for another 10 minutes or so when I realized my engagement ring was gone. (My fingers have been mysteriously thin since I arrived in Africa, and rings equally loose. Unfortunately the trend has not migrated to the rest of my body.) I burst into tears and walked over to the edge. Max popped up and asked what was wrong. I raised my hand and pointed to my finger.

“Oh, you mean this?” he asked, holding up my ring. “I just found it sitting on a rock at the bottom.” We never did find the snorkle.

Sept 15     One of the widows I work with recently lost her 15 year old daughter, allegedly to malaria. M. explained to me what happened. Five weeks ago she was sent home from school complaining of a headache at the base of her neck, and blurred and blacked out vision. She kept losing site of the blackboard. She had a high fever so M. brought her to the hospital, where she was almost immediately diagnosed with malaria and started on the appropriate course of drugs. After 3 days she was discharged. The next morning she woke up in a frenzy because two women had visited her during the night demanding things that she didn’t have. A nightmare, I thought. No, witches, M. told me. Witches were also the source of the headache. The headache and fever grew worse throughout the day. Around dusk she staggared out to the middle of the room, vomitted, and promptly dropped dead. M. is certain that witches took her daughter.

Belief in witchcraft around here is alive and well, even among the highly educated and devoutly religous. If you wake in the morning with a headache, witches have been meddling in your head at night. When you hear dogs howl at dawn or dusk, witches are passing overhead. It’s the witch plane, as some call it. Some believe that witches fly to Mozambique, Zambia, and other neighboring countries for training.

Witches are often blamed for untimely and sudden deaths, as in the case of M.’s daughter. Naturally, such deeply ingrained beliefs further complicate the challenge of health education, particularly around prevention and treatment of diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria.

Many westerners scoff at the notion of witchcraft as silly superstition that can easliy be debunked with some basic education. But when you hear the conviction in M.’s voice when she talks of witches taking her daughter you can begin to understand that this isn’t some silly superstition. It is a much more deeply embedded part of the culture that needs to be taken seriously when devising development schemes, particularly in the field of health. Culture cannot be wiped out with a few books and some disinfectant.

Sept 16     I was walking with a Malawian friend along the dirt path connecting two villages. As we crossed a wooden footbridge over swampy grassland she pointed to the water below. I saw a massive decapitated snake, 4 meters or so in length.

“Cobra. You know cobra? Very dangerous snake.” Yes, I am aware, thank you. And totally freaked out by the sight of it. She pointed to a house up the hill.

Hey gamers, This is your resident gaming guru, Frankie. This blog is meant mostly as an extension to my twice monthly school gaming segment and as a place for me to share thoughts on video games of all types. Rolling with the Fox News cliche, We aim to deliver fair and balanced coverage on all things Gaming,.

A little about me now. I’m Frankie Garces. Currently found strolling the halls of South Miami Senior.  I’ve been gaming since I could hold a controller and have evolved to all mediums available. From the tabletop to the computer screen, there isn’t a genre that lacks my fingerprints.

With that being said, Play to WIN gaming is focused on giving YOU the most relevant and up to date information on all the games that matter. Tune in this Wednesday for the premiere broadcast and stay tuned here for an extended discussion of the points covered.

This has been Frankie Garces, Wishing you the best of luck out there. Happy Hunting.

A MURDER OF CROWS: A Children’s Primer

New Works Based on Terms of Venery

Collected by Linda Pine

Curated by Linda Pine & Nicole Bruckman

October 3, 2009

Gallery Meltdown

7522 West Sunset Boulevard

Los Angeles, California 90046

323.851.7223

an Army of frogs:  NICK GALLO

a Bale of turtles: JEHAN CHOO

a Charm of bees: STEVEN WEISSMAN

a Dray of squirrels: RYAN BERKLEY

an Eyrar of swans: GUY ARMSTRONG BOSTON ELLIS

a Fry of eels: CHRIS STANGL

a Gaze of raccoons: RENEE FRENCH

a Husk of hares: KELLY VIVANCO

an Implausibility of gnus: MATT KEY

a Journey of giraffes: JASON POLAN

a Knot of toads: LESLIE LEVINGS

a Leash of foxes: DAN MAY

a Murder of crows: RICHARD SALA

a Nye of pheasants: KIRSTEN HUNTLEY GABBE

an Ostentation of peacocks: NICOLE BRUCKMAN

a Pod of narwhals: HILARY KEY

a Quiver of cobras: CYRUS FIRE

a Rout of snails: BOB DORNBERGER

a Shoal of squid: DAVE COOPER

a Troubling of goldfish: ERIC SKILLMAN

an Ugly of walruses: ALICE PINE

a Volery of birds: TIM BISKUP

a Vespiary of wasps: GABE LEONARD

a sneak of Weasels: JESSICA VAN HULLE

a span of oXen: JULIANNA SWANEY

a set of Young oysters: PHOEBE GLOECKNER

a Zeal of zebras: JENNIFER LEWIS

I covered the Gestetner Diamond Eagles vs Cobras Cricket match today. For the first time i used the Nikon 1.7 teleconverter in the field and must say i’m very impressed. the contrast and sharpness is remarkable and i really can’t see the use of a 600mm anymore specially if you look at the ISO capabilities of the Nikon D3. One loses one and a half stop light with the 1.7 converter but no problem, just push the ISO one and a half stop up and you’re fixed.

The next photo of Richard Levi i took with a Nikon D3, 400mm F2.8 lens fitted with the 1.7 teleconverter. Further i switch to the 1.5 crop factor on the camera which give you in effect a 1020mm F4.8 lens.

My settings were as follow;

Shutter: 1/1000 sec.

Aperture: F5

ISO: 360

Just a few tips when shooting cricket:

1.  One must see the players eyes in the photo (if possible).

2.  The ball must be in the photo ( if possible).

3.  Keep the background as clean as possible.

4.  Throw the background out of focus as much as possible.

5. It is always nice if there are more than one player in the image for instance the batsman and the wicket keeper.

6.  Keep the shutter speed above 1/1000 sec. if you want to freeze the action.

7.  Remember rules are there to be broken. So always look for something different.

Gerhard

More images on www.supermedia.co.za

“You treat that poor baby crocodile like an ice cream bar”
-Mom

Actually, I think I’m treating it a lot more like a po’ boy or hotdog.

Apparently, Harvard’s Museum of Comparatively Zoology also funds this place, the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust. Doubt they’d be very happy with this photo.

Heridos y fracturados por nuevo ataque policial y militar contra opositores al golpe en San Pedro Sula

por Marvin Palacios, DefensoresEnLinea.com

San Pedro Sula.- (lunes 3 de agosto de 2009).- Al menos 50 personas fueron detenidas y  otros tantas resultaron con hematomas y fracturas producto del violento ataque perpetrado por militares y policías contra una manifestación que exigió hoy nuevamente la restitución del presidente Manuel Zelaya.

Múltiples llamadas recibidas en el Comité de Familiares de Detenidos y Desaparecidos en Honduras (Cofadeh) dieron cuenta de este brutal ataque perpetrado por agentes policiales, del Comando de Operaciones Especiales (COBRAS) y efectivos de la 105 Brigada con sede en San Pedro Sula.

Las fuerzas represivas del gobierno de facto se ensañaron en contra de los y las manifestantes y para ello utilizaron tanques de agua, gases lacrimógenos y golpes con toletes que dejaron varios heridos.

Un informante que pidió mantenerse en el anonimato narró que hubo decenas de manifestantes fuertemente golpeados y al menos 50 detenciones durante una nueva represión ejercida por efectivos militares y policiales realizada en San Pedro Sula hoy al mediodía.

Informes recabados destacan que una caravana de vehículos cuyos integrantes son opositores al golpe de Estado, fueron atacados por efectivos de la 105 brigada de infantería, efectivos Cobras de la Secretaría de Seguridad y policías preventivos.

Muchos ciudadanos fueron obligados a bajar de sus vehículos y trasladados a diferentes postas policiales, no sin antes ser golpearlos con toletes hasta causarles hematomas de consideración. Otros que corrieron peor suerte resultaron con fracturas en brazos y piernas (Al menos 3 personas resultaron con fracturas).

Testimonios de la gente que participó en la marcha denunciaron que los policías rompieron los vidrios de varios vehículos que integraban la caravana y además golpean directamente a las cabezas desprotegidas de las personas, sin distingos de sexo o edad.

Se cree que la policía fraguó un plan para atentar contra la ciudadanía manifestante, ya que al parecer en esos momentos se desarrollaba una reunión en el Club Hondureño Árabe de San Pedro Sula. Se desconoce qué personajes del gobierno de facto habrían participado en dicha reunión.

La manifestación se desplazó en horas de la mañana desde el Instituto José Trinidad Reyes, al filo del mediodía cuando se trasladaban por la fuente luminosa comenzó la represión sin ningún aviso ni advertencia de la policía que estuvo reforzada por efectivos de la 105 Brigada Militar y agentes cobras.

La persecución se extendió hasta el parque Central de San Pedro Sula y se denunció que los agresores persiguieron a los y las manifestantes dentro de las oficinas de la municipalidad y aún dentro de cafeterías y comercios instalados en esta zona.

La semana pasada la Secretaría de Seguridad emitió un comunicado en que se advertía que toda manifestación sería fuertemente reprimida, violando así el derecho a la libertad de expresión, de asociación y manifestación, consignados en la Constitución de la República.

De hecho la represión policial y militar contra opositores al golpe de Estado no es más que una estrategia de los grupos de poder para consolidar a los golpistas en el actual gobierno de facto.

A continuación brindamos el listado de las personas detenidas en el Centro Integrado en la Primera Posta Policial de San Pedro Sula:

1.     Eva Aguilar

2.     Marcela Rosales

3.     Porfirio Castro

4.     Juan R. Urbina

5.     José Matías Vásquez

6.     Roberto Mejía

7.     Cristobal

8.     Gustavo

9.     José Edgardo Castro (golpeado)

10. Profesor Gustavo Mejía  (director UTR)

11. Prof. Miguel Ramos (subdirector INTAE)

12. Antonio Carballo (director del reyes)

13. Roberto Mejía

14. Wilson Mejía

15. Prof. Alexis Orellana

16. Prof. Osman (Patria de la lima)

17. Porfirio Casco (Padre de familia, valle de sula. Golpeado, decomisaron carro y le quebraron los vidrios)

18. Valdemar García

19. Carlos Muñoz

20. José Natividad Vásquez

21. Gustavo Mejía Escobar

22. Cristóbal Rolando Villafranca

23. José Luis Argueta

24. Oscar López

25. Walter Geovanny Córdova Bermúdez

26.  Manuel Dionisio Montes Matute

27. Edwin Antonio Enamorado

28. José Antonio Ramos

29. José Alexis Orellana

30. Edgardo Castro (quebraron vidrios del carro)

31. Manuel de Jesús Rios

32. Manuel Dionisio Montes

33. José Leonel González

34. Tony Ulloa

35. Eugeni Castro Mendoza  (fractura en brazo derecho, lesiones brazo izquierdo)

36. Gustavo Henríquez (lesión en la cabeza por golpe con cacha  de pistola)

37. Juan Ramón Urbina (golpes en la espalda)

38. José Germán Martínez (golpes en la espalda con la punta del fusil)

39. Nelly Marcela Rosales (embarazada, Golpes en la rodilla)

Para lograr la libertad de los afectados varios abogados y procuradoras de derechos humanos del Cofadeh, presentaron recursos de hábeas corpus ante los tribunales de justicia de San Pedro Sula, para que un juez ejecutor verifique las detenciones y reporte las violaciones a los derechos humanos en que han incurrido una vez más, las fuerzas represivas del gobierno de facto de Roberto Micheletti.

En las últimas horas han sido liberadas la mayoría de detenidos, pero se reportaron muchas personas con hematomas en la espalda, brazos y piernas, incluso una señora embarazada fue víctima de las golpizas propinadas por militares y policías.

Por otra parte en Tegucigalpa, mientras se desarrollaba una asamblea del Frente Nacional de Resistencia contra el Golpe de Estado en la sede del Colegio de Profesores de Educación Media de Honduras (COPEMH), varios jóvenes detuvieron al “agente informante” de la policía nacional Jesús Omar Corea Pérez quien se infiltró en la reunión. Al agente se le decomisó su carnet de informante y otros documentos de identificación.

Asimismo se descubrió al agente de seguridad privado Luis Obando (Intercon) quien también tenía planeado tomar fotografías e información de la asamblea. Luis Obando es Oficial de Seguridad de Intercon y se le decomisó una cámara digital.

Hi All!!!

Ok so today was the 2009 District Orienteering and I’ve got to say I feel it was a big success. We tried a few new things (longer times, more points to test time management,etc.) and think all went well! Just a few point I’d like to make clear before I get into the results:

There are 7 active troops in the district, that means around 21 full patrols at least. This year we only saw 8 teams from 4 troops. To those who didn’t attend, this competition is FREE! It’s only a few hours on one day a year and everybody sees the date on the planner almost 6 months in advance. There aren’t many valid excuses for not attending so please don’t let the scouts miss out on these opportunities. In the same breath, it’s difficult to plan these type of events and we’ve already lost out on Roberts Trophy for lack of interest, don’t let the Orienteering go in the same direction!

Another point, for those teams that did attend, remember orienteering is about 2 skills: Mapping & Management. Junior teams tended to score low due to bad plotting, but with practice this gets much better (even the top orienteers were juniors once). The senior teams lost out due mostly to bad time usage, this comes down to planning. We are going to be putting the orienteering plans out on this site so feel free to use them as practice sessions in your troop!

So here are the final the results:

1. 1st Table View Cobras   -   260 points
2. 1st Bothasig Hawks   -   247 points
3. 1st Blaauwberg Seagulls   -   166 points
4. 1st Bothasig Leopards   -   119 points
5. 1st Bothasig Eagles   -   117 points
6. 1st Bothasig Cobras   -   78 points
7. 1st Factreton Swifts   -   0 points
8. 1st Factreton Leopards   -   -3 points

The maximum points achievable was 350. Click here to download the full score breakdown in .pdf format. As alway, you are all winners for attending so WELL DONE!!!

1st Table View Cobras - Winners of District Orienteering 2009

Finally, we will be putting up all the documentation and maps we used on the site at a later stage so watch this space!

Cheers!