Monday, June 28, 2010
The Ancient Law Code Of Hammurabi
The Code of Hammurabi is one of the earliest known examples of human laws being defined and written down in an orderly way. Little is known about Hammurabi himself; he ruled Babylon nearly four millennia ago, from roughly 1792-1750 B.C.
The Code of Hammurabi has 282 entries covering all sorts of civil interactions, from inheritance to theft to slave ownership. Some of the laws are general and others quite specific. The code's best-known dictum is 'If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out' - commonly quoted as 'An eye for an eye.'
On The Job
On The Job
If you don't explain some career moves in the resumé itself, there won't be any interview.
Also: Scientific Minds Want To Know
Scientific Minds Want To Know
 |  | Scientists rediscover an ancient fern on one of Britain's overseas territories |
 |  | The Goce satellite returns a remarkable high-definition view of how gravity varies across the Earth. |
The Large Hadron Collider doubles its rate of particle collisions, paving the way for a new phase of operation. | | Germany's TanDEM-X satellite, sent into orbit to make the most precise 3D map of the Earth's surface, acquires its first images. |
Ageing Brains Retain Knowledge
The human brain improves as it gets older in some functions, according to scientific research that suggests age really does confer wisdom. A study by researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York has found that long-term memory remains unaffected with age and a person's vocabulary, emotional intelligence and social skills may all get better.
Short-term memory, learning skills and the ability to reason do decline with age, the research shows, but not all mental faculties reach their peak when a person is in their 20s as is commonly believed.
Short-term memory, learning skills and the ability to reason do decline with age, the research shows, but not all mental faculties reach their peak when a person is in their 20s as is commonly believed.
EU to ban selling eggs by the dozen
Shoppers will be banned from buying bread rolls or eggs priced by the dozen under new food labeling regulations proposed by the European parliament. Under the draft legislation, to come into force as early as next year, the sale of groceries using the simple measurement of numbers will be replaced by an EU-wide system based on weight.
It would mean an end to packaging descriptions such as eggs by the dozen, four-packs of apples, six bread rolls or boxes of 12 fish fingers. The legislation could even see special unit-based promotional packs offering 'eight chocolate bars for the price of six' banned, according to a report in trade magazine, The Grocer.
It comes after MEPs last week voted against an amendment to the regulations that would allow individual states to nominate products that could be sold by number. Individual countries are currently allowed to specify exemptions, but the proposed Food Labeling Regulations make no such provisions.
The changes would cost the food and retail industries millions of pounds as items would have to be individually weighed to ensure the accuracy of the label. The Grocer said food industry sources has described the move as "bonkers" and "absolute madness". Its editor, Adam Leyland, said the EU had "created a multi-headed monster".
It would mean an end to packaging descriptions such as eggs by the dozen, four-packs of apples, six bread rolls or boxes of 12 fish fingers. The legislation could even see special unit-based promotional packs offering 'eight chocolate bars for the price of six' banned, according to a report in trade magazine, The Grocer.
It comes after MEPs last week voted against an amendment to the regulations that would allow individual states to nominate products that could be sold by number. Individual countries are currently allowed to specify exemptions, but the proposed Food Labeling Regulations make no such provisions.
The changes would cost the food and retail industries millions of pounds as items would have to be individually weighed to ensure the accuracy of the label. The Grocer said food industry sources has described the move as "bonkers" and "absolute madness". Its editor, Adam Leyland, said the EU had "created a multi-headed monster".
Buying bad homes near good schools
It's supposed to be a buyer's market, but some education-obsessed parents aren't feeling it.
Also: 
The Scimitar Oryx
Once one of the most numerous horned animals in North Africa, the Scimitar Oryx has now been classified as extinct in the wild.
A pale antelope with a ruddy chest this almost horse-like mammal would perhaps be unremarkable save for one thing - it's majestic and incredibly long curved horns. For this reason it was hunted almost to extinction.
Drop the Harpoon! Whale-Watching is Good Business
Photo via TopNews
New research into the whale-watching industry is confirming what we've known all along--that the world's largest mammal is worth more alive than it is dead. Sure, there may be a dwindling number of folks salivating at the thought of whale, thinking on making a meal of blubbery steak, but the booming whale-watching industry is shown to be the more lucrative business. In fact, whales have been such an attraction around that world that just last year some 13 million tourists paid to see them, turning whale-watching into a $2.1 billion industry--plus no one has to be eaten.Article continues: Drop the Harpoon! Whale-Watching is Good Business
Income gap in US is increasing
And they want to stay the course?
The new CBO data — the most comprehensive data available on changes in incomes and taxes for different income groups — also show the following:
* In 2007, the share of after-tax income going to the top 1 percent hit its highest level (17.1 percent) since 1979, while the share going to the middle one-fifth of Americans shrank to its lowest level during this period (14.1 percent).
* Between 1979 and 2007, average after-tax incomes for the top 1 percent rose by 281 percent after adjusting for inflation — an increase in income of $973,100 per household — compared to increases of 25 percent ($11,200 per household) for the middle fifth of households and 16 percent ($2,400 per household) for the bottom fifth (see Figure 1).
* If all groups’ after-tax incomes had grown at the same percentage rate over the 1979-2007 period, middle-income households would have received an additional $13,042 in 2007 and families in the bottom fifth would have received an additional $6,010.
* In 2007, the average household in the top 1 percent had an income of $1.3 million, up $88,800 just from the prior year; this $88,800 gain is well above the total 2007 income of the average middle-income household ($55,300).
Police accused of using a Taser on an 86-year-old, bed-ridden grandmother
Police have been accused of tasering an 86-year-old bed-ridden grandmother. Lonnie Tinsley called the emergency services to his home in El Reno, Oklahoma, when he became concerned that his grandma Lona Vernon had failed to take her medication. But instead of a medical technician, he claims at least a dozen armed police officers answered his call.
When Mrs Vernon ordered the police from her house, officer Thomas Duran allegedly decided she was being 'aggressive' and gave the order: 'Taser her.' Her alarmed grandson, is then said to have replied: 'Don't taze my granny!' According to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Tinsley’s 'obstructive' behavior prompted the police to threaten him with their tasers.
He was then was assaulted, removed from the room, thrown to the floor, handcuffed, and detained in a police car. At this point, the heroes in blue turned their attention to Lona. According to officer Duran’s official report, Mrs Vernon had taken an 'aggressive posture' in her hospital bed. In order to ensure 'officer safety', one of his men 'stepped on her oxygen hose until she began to suffer oxygen deprivation'.
Another of the officers then shot her with a taser, but the connection wasn’t solid.
A second fired his taser, 'striking her to the left of the midline of her upper chest, and applied high voltage, causing burns to her chest, extreme pain', and unconsciousness. Lona was then handcuffed with sufficient ruthlessness to tear the soft flesh of her forearms, causing her to bleed. After her wounds were treated at a local hospital, Lona was confined for six days in the psychiatric ward at the insistence of the El Reno Police Department.
When Mrs Vernon ordered the police from her house, officer Thomas Duran allegedly decided she was being 'aggressive' and gave the order: 'Taser her.' Her alarmed grandson, is then said to have replied: 'Don't taze my granny!' According to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Tinsley’s 'obstructive' behavior prompted the police to threaten him with their tasers.
He was then was assaulted, removed from the room, thrown to the floor, handcuffed, and detained in a police car. At this point, the heroes in blue turned their attention to Lona. According to officer Duran’s official report, Mrs Vernon had taken an 'aggressive posture' in her hospital bed. In order to ensure 'officer safety', one of his men 'stepped on her oxygen hose until she began to suffer oxygen deprivation'.
Another of the officers then shot her with a taser, but the connection wasn’t solid.
A second fired his taser, 'striking her to the left of the midline of her upper chest, and applied high voltage, causing burns to her chest, extreme pain', and unconsciousness. Lona was then handcuffed with sufficient ruthlessness to tear the soft flesh of her forearms, causing her to bleed. After her wounds were treated at a local hospital, Lona was confined for six days in the psychiatric ward at the insistence of the El Reno Police Department.
British Wingnuts launch attack on welfare recipients
This is so typical of the Tories (the British repugicans). Attack those who are the least advantaged and talk about cost savings. Nobody really doubts that there are cases of abuse but to suggest there's so much there that it will impact the budget deficit in any noticeable way is laughable. How stupid does one have to be to really believe such rubbish? As always it's too easy to attack people at the bottom while giving a free pass to the richest who have indeed bee profiting enormously from welfare handouts. Bankers, anyone? Wouldn't it be nice to see the wingnuts be half as aggressive with going after the biggest spongers of them all rather than the poor?
It's all too predictable and the same old nastiness that we've come to expect from the Tories.
It's all too predictable and the same old nastiness that we've come to expect from the Tories.
Ministers are to signal a tougher approach to incapacity benefit this week as the next stage of its welfare reforms, by reducing the benefit levels of those tested if they are found capable of doing some work.
Details are expected to be announced by the work minister, Chris Grayling, this week. Early pilots suggest half of those assessed are being taken off the higher rate benefit on the basis that tests reveal they are fit to do some work, government sources say.
Those deemed capable are likely to be required to do more to make themselves available for work if they are to continue receiving benefit.
Ministers have also looked at whether they can speed up the testing, but denied a suggestion that they could treble the number tested.
Lunatic Fringe
Lunatic Fringe
When dealing with wingnuts ... Remember the rule:
If they accuse someone of something, then they're already guilty of it.
Liars and Fools
Louis Gohmert (retard-Texas) approvingly reads Thomas Sowell's "Obama is Hitler" essay into the Congressional record.This is an asshole doing what assholes do - being an asshole.
Faux's Sarah Palin encourages followers to read columnist Thomas Sowell's article warning that the BP escrow fund could lead to a Nazi-like dictatorship.
Anyone still listen to what this crazy bitch says?! Now, that's a surprise.
Faux's Glenn Beck says "I think we're headed for a civil war".
No, we aren't. We averted that when we ousted the shrub and the cabal in November of 2008.
Faux's Sean Hannity and guest Stuart Varney lie: Obama and radical environmentalists have sabotaged Gulf cleanup to advance their radical socialist agenda.
No, that would be Bp along with the other oil companies and their lapdogs the repugicans who have sabotaged and are continuing to sabotage the efforts to clean up and stop the leak
Jon Voight writes in newspaper about Obama's "destruction of this country".
This from an idiot who's only claim to fame is playing to his true nature and portraying a male whore in the film Midnight Cowboy? We can discount this out of hand.
G-20 Summit
Police raid a university building, where they seized a cache of "street-type weaponry."
Also: The Guardian and other news outlets report that Canada spent a billion dollars on security for the event (by comparison, London last year spent some $30 million).
G-20 Steps Up Efforts To Phase Out Fossil Fuel Subsidies
photo via flickr
There's news out of Canada, home of this week's G20, about fossil fuel subsidies. Reports say that at the behest of the USA, the group of the 20 largest economies in the world have agreed to remove language that says that cuts in subsidies should be "voluntary." The result could be greater price party for renewable energy sources. The movement seems to be the result of the Gulf oil spill, which continues unabated. Article continues: Breaking News: G20 Steps Up Efforts To Phase Out Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Croc Vs Shark
Photo via The Daily Telegraph
On what otherwise might have been an average excursion through Australia's Kakadu National Park, tourists were treated to an epic battle between two of nature's most ferocious predators, a crocodile and a shark. There's no saying just how long the pair were at it for, but by the time the tour boats arrived on the scene and the cameras began snapping it seemed the 6 foot long saltwater crocodile had the upper hand, having torn the bull shark in half. Like a rowdy crowd watching a prizefight, "nearly 100 people saw it all up and they were jumping for joy," says the tour's guide.Article continues: Giant Crocodile Devours a Shark as Tourists Look On
Rare look at the Gulf's 'city at sea'
The massive floating rigs are drilling 18,000 feet down to a Frisbee-sized hole.
Also: 
Abortion hotline in Pakistan faces violent opposition
An abortion hotline which has been set up in Pakistan is facing violent opposition. Islamic groups and political parties have condemned the hotline, which was launched yesterday, as "anti-Islamic" and "colonial", even though it will save the lives of thousands of women who die each year in backstreet abortion clinics. They have warned the organizers that they are at risk of reprisals. The hotline, set up by a collection of women's groups in Pakistan and the Dutch pro-choice group Women on Waves, advises women how to use a drug to induce miscarriage safely and aims to reduce the estimated 890,000 unsafe illegal abortions performed in Pakistan every year.
"There will be very strong opposition," said Ahsan Iqbal, of the Pakistan Muslim League. "This could create misuse. It cannot be done as free choice under our law and our religion." Access to abortion in Pakistan is very limited. Forbidden under Islamic law unless the mother's life is in danger, terminating a pregnancy carries a massive social stigma in the country, which is 97 per cent Muslim. As a result, a flourishing trade in backstreet abortion clinics has developed.
Figures from the Population Council of Pakistan show that the country has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world, with 320 women dying for every 100,000 live births – compared to 13 per 100,000 in the UK. The Guttmacher Institute, which researches sexual and reproductive health, estimates that as many as one in six deaths are a result of illegal abortions. "We want to save women's lives," said Gulalai Ismail, founder of the Pakistani women's group Aware Girls, which is helping to set up the hotline. "We are empowering women, and trying to give them information to help them take control of their bodies. Any groups which try to help women will have problems with extremist and fundamentalist groups. Ninety-nine per cent of clerics will oppose this."
As well as the hotline, trained Pakistani staff will offer abortion information in communities in rural Pakistan, particularly in the tribal areas of the North-West Frontier Province, where opposition is expected to be fiercest. Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, warned the organizers that they risked reprisals. "To go against the majority like this might be seen sympathetically in the West, but it will be counterproductive and will create huge problems. At best, they are misguided, at worst they are trying to provoke," he said. "It is part of the colonial idea that the West's way is the best, and that is not the case."
"There will be very strong opposition," said Ahsan Iqbal, of the Pakistan Muslim League. "This could create misuse. It cannot be done as free choice under our law and our religion." Access to abortion in Pakistan is very limited. Forbidden under Islamic law unless the mother's life is in danger, terminating a pregnancy carries a massive social stigma in the country, which is 97 per cent Muslim. As a result, a flourishing trade in backstreet abortion clinics has developed.
Figures from the Population Council of Pakistan show that the country has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world, with 320 women dying for every 100,000 live births – compared to 13 per 100,000 in the UK. The Guttmacher Institute, which researches sexual and reproductive health, estimates that as many as one in six deaths are a result of illegal abortions. "We want to save women's lives," said Gulalai Ismail, founder of the Pakistani women's group Aware Girls, which is helping to set up the hotline. "We are empowering women, and trying to give them information to help them take control of their bodies. Any groups which try to help women will have problems with extremist and fundamentalist groups. Ninety-nine per cent of clerics will oppose this."
As well as the hotline, trained Pakistani staff will offer abortion information in communities in rural Pakistan, particularly in the tribal areas of the North-West Frontier Province, where opposition is expected to be fiercest. Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, warned the organizers that they risked reprisals. "To go against the majority like this might be seen sympathetically in the West, but it will be counterproductive and will create huge problems. At best, they are misguided, at worst they are trying to provoke," he said. "It is part of the colonial idea that the West's way is the best, and that is not the case."
Not crucified
Want to rattle a closed-minded bigot's little mind ... show him this:
The legend of his execution is based on the traditions of the Christian church and artistic illustrations rather than antique texts, according to theologian Gunnar Samuelsson.However, I would expect the Romans would have kept records of all executions, crucifixions or not, though I suppose the “he was executed by Jews” caveat would still apply.
He claims the Bible has been misinterpreted as there are no explicit references the use of nails or to crucifixion – only that Jesus bore a “staurus” towards Calvary which is not necessarily a cross but can also mean a “pole”. [...]
The ancient Greek, Latin and Hebrew literature from Homer to the first century AD describe an arsenal of suspension punishments but none mention “crosses” or “crucifixion.”
Mr Samuelsson, of Gothenburg University, said: “Consequently, the contemporary understanding of crucifixion as a punishment is severely challenged.
“And what’s even more challenging is the same can be concluded about the accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus. The New Testament doesn’t say as much as we’d like to believe.”
Samuelsson also claims “That a man named Jesus existed in that part of the world and in that time is well-documented. He left a rather good foot-print in the literature of the time.” My understanding is that there are no surviving contemporary accounts of Jesus, but I could be wrong.
(I still subscribe the “composite character” theory of Jesus – he was based on several historical Jewish radicals, not a historical single person, and later sexed up with Pagan Theology to make christian mythology more palatable)
Want an island ... cheap?!
From The Guardian:
Now Greece is making it easier for the rich and famous to fulfill their dreams by preparing to sell, or offering long-term leases on, some of its 6,000 sun-kissed islands in a desperate attempt to repay its mountainous debts.
The Guardian has learned that an area in Mykonos, one of Greece's top tourist destinations, is one of the sites for sale. The area is one-third owned by the government, which is looking for a buyer willing to inject capital and develop a luxury tourism complex, according to a source close to the negotiations.
Potential investors also looking at property on the island of Rhodes, are mostly Russian and Chinese. Investors in both countries are looking for a little bit of the Mediterranean as holiday destinations for their increasingly affluent populations. Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea football club, is among those understood to be interested, although a spokesman denied he was about to invest.
Greece has embarked on the desperate measures after being pushed into a €110bn (£90bn) bailout by the EU and the IMF last month, following a decade of overspending and after jittery investors raised borrowing costs to unbearable levels.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
The Daily Drift
The Daily Drift
Today's horoscope says:You've got energy to burn, and that's a good thing, because whatever you do tonight could last well into tomorrow -- or beyond!
Others are definitely impressed with your stamina and style, as your carefully laid plans come together in a rather cinematic fashion -- maybe better than you'd hoped.
Be sure to snap some pictures to secure the memories that you're sure to make.
Some of our readers today have been in:
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Brussels, Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, Belgium
Sheffield, England, United Kingdom
Coffs Harbor, New South Wales, Australia
Quebec, Quebec, Canada
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
Bremen, Bremen, Germany
London, England, United Kingdom
Rabat, Rabat, Malta
Perth, Western, Australia, Australia
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
San Jose, San Jose, Costa Rica
Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Penang Pulau, Pinang, Malaysia
as well as the Czech Republic, and the United States in such cities as Glen Rock, Oakland, Grand Junction, White Hall and more
Today is Sunday, June 27, the 176th day of 2010.
There are 187 days left in the year.
Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:
Decide To Be Married Day
Protest escalate
At least 400 have been arrested
Tensions rise between protesters and police outside the G-20 meeting in Toronto.
Also: Bittersweet end to U.S. World Cup run
Exciting comebacks made for a great story, but they also revealed the team's weaknesses.
Also: World Cup Soccer
England is incensed after a perfectly legal goal against Germany is not allowed by a referee.
Also: On The Job
On The Job
These solid career options don't always require that you spend 9-to-5 in an office.
Also: Culinary DeLites
Culinary DeLites
In a test of dozens of spicy options, one classic with cayenne peppers stood tall.
Also: Policeman on horse rides through hookah bar
A Tampa Police officer was caught on tape walking his horse through a crowded Ybor City bar, and the police chief said she approves of it.
The video shows a mounted police officer walking his horse through Habibi's Hookah Bar on 7th Avenue. A woman is heard screaming in surprise as the horse rounds a corner into her path.
Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor said, "It's good public relations." However, one business owner complained about the practice.
Phat Katz Tattoo shares a walkway with the covered tobacco cafe. Owner Christiene Henry says the horse has walked through her shop as well. "To just come through, I think that's a safety hazard for everyone," said Henry. "The officers, the horse, as well as the people that are on the property, because it can get pretty busy out here at night."
The video shows a mounted police officer walking his horse through Habibi's Hookah Bar on 7th Avenue. A woman is heard screaming in surprise as the horse rounds a corner into her path.
Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor said, "It's good public relations." However, one business owner complained about the practice.
Phat Katz Tattoo shares a walkway with the covered tobacco cafe. Owner Christiene Henry says the horse has walked through her shop as well. "To just come through, I think that's a safety hazard for everyone," said Henry. "The officers, the horse, as well as the people that are on the property, because it can get pretty busy out here at night."
They even took the kitchen sink
Thieves steal everything including the kitchen sink from police station
South Africa's police are investigating after thieves stripped a police station of all its contents, down to the kitchen sink. The office was under renovations and ready for re-occupation when the thieves hit.The robbers helped themselves to everything of value - including doors, cupboards, basins, cutlery, tiles, furniture, electrical equipment and mortuary fridges. Officers from the Carletonville police station, west of Johannesburg, have had to cram into three small rooms.
The space is inadequate, and there with no holding cells or parking spaces. The rent costs the police about 127,000 rand ($17,000; £11,430) each month. It is not clear how the burglars managed to clean out the office without being detected by the security company contracted by the Department of Public Works to guard the premises.
Democratic Alliance police spokesperson Dianne Kohler Barnard said that the Department of Public Works had "failed taxpayers". "How bizarre, that the police will now have to investigate a crime committed at a police station," she said. "It's absolutely terrible, but typical of Public Works. For them to allow that place to be stripped is outrageous."
Computer Program Detects Depression in Bloggers
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University in Israel developed a computer program that they think can detect depression among bloggers. To test their hypothesis, they scanned 300,000 English-language blogs and had clinical psychologists read the subjects that the computer indicated were depressed. The psychologists agreed with the computer 78% of the time:“The software program was designed to find depressive content hidden in language that did not mention the obvious terms like “depression” or suicide,” explains Prof. Neuman. “A psychologist knows how to spot various emotional states through intuition. Here, we have a program that does this methodically through the innovative use of ‘web intelligence.’”
For example, the program spots words that express various emotions, like colors that the writer employs to metaphorically describe certain situations. Words like “black” combined with other terms that describe symptoms of depression, such as sleep deprivation or loneliness, will be recognized by the software as “depressive” texts.
Endless Bummers
Jon Stewart gives them the business:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Endless Bummers | ||||
| ||||
BP blocking employees from speaking with Congress
Obviously BP is above the law.
The chairman of a House panel investigating the Gulf oil spill said Friday that BP won't let members talk to several employees who may have critical information about what led to the catastrophe.
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., told The Associated Press that BP PLC has cited its own investigation as its reason for denying access to the employees.
BP spokesman David Nicholas said in an e-mail that BP "has not objected to providing access to any of the specific BP employees that the committee has requested, and we continue to cooperate with the committee." He would not elaborate.
Federal judge who blocked oil drilling ban owns BP stock
Gee, conflict of interest , naw couldn't be?!
Comedian Wins Icelandic Election
A polar bear display for the zoo. Free towels at public swimming pools. A 'drug-free Parliament by 2020.' Iceland's 'Best Party,' founded in December 2009 by a comedian, Jón Gnarr Kristinsson, to satirize his country's political system, ran a campaign that was one big joke.At least it looked like a joke until they won the elections. Jón Gnarr is now the new mayor of Reykjavik. In his acceptance speech he said: No one has to be afraid of the Best Party because it is the best party. If it wasn't, it would be called the Worst Party or the Bad Party. We would never work with a party like that.
Time spent in the shower
Never paid that close attention, but the graph does seem to be fairly accurate
Library In A Phone Booth
A traditional red phone box has been recycled into one of Britain's smallest lending libraries, stocking 100 books. Villagers from Westbury-sub-Mendip in Somerset can use the library around the clock, selecting books, DVDs and CDs. Users simply stock it with a book they have read, swapping it for one they have not.
After witnessing their weekly mobile library disappear, this town wasn't going to let their iconic phone booth be taken away as well. Conceived by a local resident as a way to save a bit of history while satiating the curious minds of the township, the classic phone booth was recycled into what has now become the country's smallest library.
The No. 1 obstacle to your retirement
When it comes to saving enough to retire comfortably, most Americans face the same big problem.
Also: Orangutan learns to swim
Watch Suyia, a 7-year-old male orangutan, swim and dive underwater with his trainer. The great ape is able to swim up to twenty feet unaided using his rudimentary 'Borneo crawl', defying the common misconception that they are terrified of water.
Suriya looks comfortable retrieving hoops from the bottom of the pool and riding on the back of handler Moksha Bybee, 30, as she glides underwater. The ape staff at Myrtle Beach Safari, South Carolina, introduced the orangutan to their 67-foot-long pool after they noticed he had an unusual love for splashing around in the bath.
"The organutans went from playing in just a couple of inches of water to a couple of feet. They loved it so much they would splash around there for hours," Moksha Bybee said.
"One night, I decided to give the big oranguatan a lifevest, and immediately the light went on - Suyia understood that he could swim. Later we took him to the big pool and he learned all the new dimensions of what he could do underwater."
Suriya looks comfortable retrieving hoops from the bottom of the pool and riding on the back of handler Moksha Bybee, 30, as she glides underwater. The ape staff at Myrtle Beach Safari, South Carolina, introduced the orangutan to their 67-foot-long pool after they noticed he had an unusual love for splashing around in the bath.
"The organutans went from playing in just a couple of inches of water to a couple of feet. They loved it so much they would splash around there for hours," Moksha Bybee said.
"One night, I decided to give the big oranguatan a lifevest, and immediately the light went on - Suyia understood that he could swim. Later we took him to the big pool and he learned all the new dimensions of what he could do underwater."
The whole of Mars' surface was shaped by liquid water
The whole of Mars' surface was shaped by liquid water around four billion years ago, say scientists.
Read all about it, here.
Did you know ...
Carrots have not always been orange; originally they were purple and in the future, there may be rainbow colored carrots.The Secret to Biodiversity is in the Soil
Image: Photoshop Top Secret, via Flickr
Mankind has long been fascinated by biodiversity, even imagining species beyond the natural realm. We have learned to appreciate the value of biodiversity by enjoying the variety in nature, and by benefiting from products derived from many different species. But did you ever wonder why there is so much diversity on our planet? If "survival of the fittest" is the rule, is the planet naturally trending towards a time when just a few of the fittest survive? Article continues: The Secret to Biodiversity is in the Soil
New Champ Crowned
This year's top honor goes to a pooch that was found running in a street just a few months ago.
Also:
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