Egyptians Think a Flying Bird Is a Spy

From a much longer Associated Press article, this excerpt tells why Egypt wondered if someone outside of Egypt was spying from overhead.

By TONY G. GABRIEL
Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) – In a case that ruffled feathers in Egypt, authorities have detained a migratory bird that a citizen suspected of being a spy.

A man in Egypt’s Qena governorate, some 450 kilometers (280 miles) southeast of Cairo, found the suspicious bird among four others near his home and brought them to a police station Friday, said Mohammed Kamal, the head of the security in the region.

There, officers and the man puzzled over the electronic device attached to the suspected winged infiltrator. On Saturday, a veterinary committee called by concerned government officials determined the device was neither a bomb nor a spying device.

Instead, they discovered it was a wildlife tracker used by French scientists to follow the movement of migrating birds.

Mind Control: An Example from Nature

The implications of this will amaze you if you are a student of mind control. It appears to be done through chemistry. You need to watch this to the end to see the most amazing part. Watch what the host does for the enemy that destroys it.

Incredible Raven Videos–Beyond Belief

The bird family that includes crows and ravens is highly intelligent. More so than some people sometimes. Anyway, here are two videos that made me smile. In one, the raven speaks in an eerily human voice. In the second, a wild raven allows a human to pull porcupine quills from his face.

http://videosift.com/video/Woman-pulls-porcupine-quills-from-ravens-face

Incredible Animal Videos

Two videos featuring Ravens that will amaze you. Click on the link for the first one. The second is embedded in this post, so click on the image.
http://videosift.com/video/Woman-pulls-porcupine-quills-from-ravens-face

Are Animals Smarter than People?

In March, 2008, National Geographic published an article called “Animal Minds.” In the article, the author Virginia Morell discusses studies in animal intelligence. In particular, she talks about Alex, an African grey parrot that spent thirty years learning human language.

“. . . Under Pepperberg’s patient tutelage, Alex learned how to use his vocal tract to imitate almost one hundred English words, including the sounds for all of these foods, although he calls an apple a “banerry.”

“Apples taste a little bit like bananas to him, and they look a little bit like cherries, so Alex made up that word for them,” Pepperberg said. . . .”

Pretty creative bird to put together his own word for a food based on its taste and appearance. Maybe the bird should go to work for Kool-Aid naming new kids’ drinks.

I find it amazing that many animals–parrots, dogs, apes–have learned to understand human language and use either speech or communication devices to make themselves understood. Have you heard of one human being–other than the fictional Dr. Dolittle–who could communicate in dog, bird or monkey? Nope? Me neither.

I guess that proves it: Animals are smarter than we are.

There’s a New Sheriff in Town (Hilarious)

Best animal costume ever!

from Eastern Panhandle Saddle Club, WV

Bees Attack and Kill Climber

I love the outdoors. Sometimes the outdoors can be deadly in an unexpected way. The summer season is upon us, so take heed from this news story from Reuters. Be safe out there, nature lovers. An Arizona counselor pays a high price for his excursion into the wild.

Johnson was reported missing on Monday by co-workers after he failed to show up for work. A Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue team found his body that afternoon, Estrada said. “He had been stung repeatedly and he was dangling there,” he said.

“He was climbing the cliff and was about 70 feet up and still had about 80 feet to go, so he really didn’t have anywhere to go when he was attacked by this swarm of bees,” Estrada said.

He said Johnson’s dog had also been attacked by bees and was found dead nearby.

The Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office was conducting an autopsy to determine the cause of Johnson’s death.

(Reporting by Tim Gaynor; Editing by Scott Malone, Toni Reinhold)

Animal Apocalypse In China Continues

From Zerohedge.com

First it was thousands of dead pigs floating in the Shanghai water supply (at last estimate over 16,000), then a thousand dead ducks were pulled from a river in the Sichuan province, and now, pushing the meme beyond even its most grotesque boundaries, we learn that five black swans were found floating lifeless on the pond of Anhui University’s old campus in Hefei, traditionally inhabited by a bevy of black swans.

China is a dangerous place to be if you are an animal.

PETA Kills Pets

How Many Pets Did PETA Kill in 2012?

 by Douglas Anthony Cooper

One of the year’s more depressing rituals is the annual release of PETA’s kill statistics. The numbers — just how many pets Ingrid Newkirk’s organization has “euthanized” in the past year — are never anything less than revolting. They are also never a surprise. Despite desperate efforts to rein in this ghoul, dogs and cats simply do not have much chance of emerging alive from the headquarters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

The law requires PETA to submit documents annually to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), and this year’s have just been released online: you can examine them here. A quick summary? In 2012 only 10.8 percent of the pets taken in by PETA at their headquarters in Norfolk Virginia escaped the hypodermic; 94.1 percent of the cats and 82.1 percent of the dogs ended up in Ingrid’s walk-in freezer.

PETA’s kill rate has hovered in the range of 95 to 97 percent. So this year’s 89.2 percent is, yes, an improvement. The Grim Reaper is now merely — what? — the Angel of Death?

PETA is not required to identify how many of the pets killed were perfectly healthy and adoptable. We can assume only one thing: we’re not going to find out. Newkirk has never been forthcoming in the past, apart from vague tearful remarks about the dreadful shape of the animals left on her doorstep. We know from various reports, however — including legal testimony from local veterinarians and shelter workers — that many of the pets killed at PETA headquarters were impeccably healthy, some of them puppies and kittens.

The former director of Norfolk’s SPCA, Dana Cheek, has said: “I often receive phone calls from frantic people who have surrendered their pets to PETA with the understanding that PETA will ‘find them a good home.’… Little do they know that the pets are killed in the PETA van before they even pull away from the pet owner’s home.”

The Hoopoe–What Is It?

If you do a Yahoo! search for “hoopoe” here’s what you’ll see.

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It’s a beautiful bird–the only one remaining in its species; others are extinct–inhabiting the Eurasian continent. No, it is not a woodpecker.

Something Stinks About This Story

Hogwash Update – Latest Number Of Floating Chinese Pigs: 5,916 And Rising Fast

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/12/2013 – 14:31

First it was 900, then 1200, then 3000, and now the latest tally of dead pigs floating in the in Shanghai water supply nearly 6000. AP has the latest number: ” The number of dead pigs found floating in a river flowing into Shanghai has reached nearly 6,000. The Shanghai municipal government said in an online announcement that 5,916 swine carcasses had been retrieved from Huangpu River by 3 p.m. Tuesday, but added that municipal water remains safe.” At what point will the dead pigs begin to pose a health challenge? 10,000? 100,000? What is the maximum Chinese Surgeon General Recommended Daily Allowance of dead pig in one’s drinking water?

Ostrich Races, Freak Shows

Twitter and WordPress friend  and book cover artist Karen Gadient tweeted about Chandler, Arizona’s Ostrich Festival 2013.

2013 Ostrich Festival

The    25th Annual Ostrich Festivalwill again take place at Chandler’s    Tumbleweed Parkat the corner of McQueen and Germann (2250 S. McQueen Rd. – just south of the Loop 202 San Tan freeway at McQueen).

The    Ostrich Festival Paradeand Ostrich Festival Fun Run will take place on Saturday, March 2nd, 2013. Fun Run registration starts at 6:30am and the run starts at 8am with the parade to follow at 10am – both events will be taking place in Downtown Chandler.

Discounts will be available at all local Fry’s Groceries starting February 15th. – Family Fun Packs will be sold for $67 (a $17savings) and include 2 adult, 2 youth and 2 all-day carnival ride passes. Fry’s will also carry $21 All Day Carnival Ride Passes – a $4 savings along with regular priced admission tickets. General admission at the gate will be $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and $7 for youth (ages 5-12) and kids 4 and under are FREE! Parking will once again be at the reduced price of $5 for the 2013 event.

Don’t miss out on the fun! Explore the website for all of the details, or call 866-993-2477 for more information.

I looked over the schedule of events for March 8-10, 2013. I am looking for part-time work. I found where I may best fit in. Do you think they are hiring?

FreakShow Deluxe is not a “collection of glowing light” or “avant garde tribal culture” – it does not pretend to be “immersed into otherworldly magic” or “marching into the stratosphere on the wings of imagination…” FreakShow Deluxe certainly is NOT made up of “outsider artistic children that never grew up” who wish to “travel upon a modern day pirate ship.”

FreakShow Deluxe is about the REAL. It deals in flesh and blood; in pain and pleasure; in flame, fire and sharp pointy things! It treads that fine line between the dastardly and the divine with danger, laughter and finesse. With FreakShow Deluxe’s company of professional entertainers, it’s actions prove the amazing and the astounding —

FreakShow Deluxe makes the impossible possible.

Police Dog Fires Handgun

By Daniel Arkin, Staff Writer, NBC News

A police dog searching for a handgun in a Massachusetts snowbank early Saturday accidentally pulled the trigger with his paw, discharging the weapon into a nearby house, authorities said.

Fortunately, no one was injured.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/04/17182916-police-dog-searching-for-handgun-accidentally-pulls-trigger#.UTYsViOmiig.twitter

Thank you, Carrie Rubin, for bringing this to my attention. Just what I needed–another reason to fear dogs.

The Animal Kingdom Screams The Sky is Falling