For 35 years Indra Tamang was a faithful servant to a family inside the venerable Dakota co-op.
When the owners passed away they left him two apartments and an art collection valued at $10 million.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Upping the cute factor
White otters born at aquarium
A pair of extremely rare white otter cubs seen scampering about at a tourist attraction are believed to be the first to be born in captivity in Britain. The creatures, noticeably paler than normal cubs, took keepers at the Blue Planet Aquarium by surprise. The pair are part of a litter of three baby Asian short-claw otters born at the Cheshire tourist attraction at the end of March. But it was only when they started appearing outside of their holt that keepers noticed their unusual coloring.
Exhibits manager Tom Cornwell said: ''Normally the cubs, like their parents, are dark brown in color so it came as a major surprise to see these two tiny white cubs running around. We've been doing some checking but it would appear that this is a very rare occurrence indeed.
''There were sightings of a wild albino otter up in Scotland last year, but this is the first time we've seen anything like this in captivity in the UK.'' The cubs are believed to have leucism, which is a rare condition in which the animal's fur develops without its natural pigment.
Baby reindeer is first to be born in England for 800 years
Staff at a country park have celebrated the arrival of this baby reindeer which became the first born in England – for 800 years.
The baby reindeer – nicknamed Blue – is the first born in the country since the animals were hunted to extinction in 13th century.
Blue is the first young born to a herd of one male and five females imported from Scandinavia to the Trevarno Estate near Helston, Cornwall.
Last Broadway Ziegfeld Follies Girl Dies At 106
Doris Travis was one of the legendary Ziegfeld Follies Girls.
Early 1900s in Color
Pagan police get right to take festivals as holiday
Police officers have been given the right to take days off to dance naked on the solstices, celebrate fertility rituals and burn Yule logs if they profess pagan beliefs.
The Pagan Police Association claimed yesterday that it had been recognized by the Home Office as a “diversity staff support association” — a status also enjoyed by groups representing female, black, gay, Muslim and disabled officers.
Endorsement would mean that chief constables could not refuse a pagan officer’s request to take feast days as part of his or her annual leave. The eight pagan festivals include Imbolc (the feast of lactating sheep), Lammas (the harvest festival) and the Summer Solstice (when mead drinking and naked dancing are the order of the day).
Problematically, the pagan festivals also include Samhain (known to non-pagans as Hallowe’en), a day when police leave is often canceled because of the high incidence of vandalism, violence and antisocial behavior.
The Pagan Police Association claimed yesterday that it had been recognized by the Home Office as a “diversity staff support association” — a status also enjoyed by groups representing female, black, gay, Muslim and disabled officers.
Endorsement would mean that chief constables could not refuse a pagan officer’s request to take feast days as part of his or her annual leave. The eight pagan festivals include Imbolc (the feast of lactating sheep), Lammas (the harvest festival) and the Summer Solstice (when mead drinking and naked dancing are the order of the day).
Problematically, the pagan festivals also include Samhain (known to non-pagans as Hallowe’en), a day when police leave is often canceled because of the high incidence of vandalism, violence and antisocial behavior.
Sobering reality of America's drug war
Sobering reality of America's drug war
After 40 years and $1 trillion, the U.S. war on drugs has met none of its goals.
Also: Thieves steal Ohio hearse, dump corpse, leave note
A corpse was taken for a ride in Cleveland, then dumped by thieves who stole a crematory's hearse and abandoned it with a note telling police where to find the body.
In Matters Of Health
In Matters Of Health
Because the viruses aren't known to cause disease in humans, the vaccine's benefits still outweigh its risks, say US regulators
Certain heartburn medicines can increase the risk of infections and bone fractures.
Also: On The Job
On The Job
Video resumés gain in popularity
Low-cost video tools are changing how people get hired or admitted to college.
Also: 
These under-the-radar issues may be preventing employers from taking you seriously.
Also: 
Millions of unemployed workers are unlikely to ever find positions in their fields, experts say.
Also: 
The Wizard of Id
Shoe
Things They Won't tell You
Things They Won't tell You
Some of these moves could leave you vulnerable to identity thieves, or even worse.
Also: 
The difference between certified financial planners and standard stockbrokers may surprise you.
Also: Oh, for the love of technology
Wayward satellite may black out cable TV
A communications satellite thousands of miles above Earth could spoil reception for some viewers.
Also: Scientific Minds Want To Know
Scientific Minds Want To Know
 |  | A supermassive black hole may have been observed in the process of being hurled from its parent galaxy at high speed. |
This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of the first demonstration of a ruby laser in the US Hughes Research Labs. | | A study details how two species from different taxonomic kingdoms - animal and plant - compete for the same food. |
For reasons as yet unknown, a dark band on the giant planet's southern hemisphere has recently vanished.Researchers have discovered the fossilized remains of a primate that may have lived in Africa as long as 37 million years ago, but defies classification as to what species it belonged.
First mathematical model of cow behavior
Why does a herd of cows stand or lay down at the same time? Researchers at Clarkson University in New York have worked out a mathematical model to explain the workings behind collective behavior in bovines.
"OK, cool. But, seriously," you may ask, "is that really important?" Actually, yeah.
Happy cows tend to copy each other. And happy cows are also more productive by various measures such as the amount of milk they produce. Some researchers have even proposed that synchrony be used as a measure of the quality of bovine life.
That will ring a bell with many farmers who keep their cattle indoors during winter. They have long recognised that when cattle are so crowded that there is not enough room for them all to lie down at the same time, productivity drops dramatically. In fact, in some parts of the world there are rules about how much space cattle must have to lie down in. The new model could help determine the level of coupling that maintains production.
The atmosphere's current hue probably differed long ago, a new study suggests.
Also: 
The biggest and brightest star in our galaxy and an enormous hole in space confound scientists.
Also: 
Philosophers and scientists have argued about the origins of life from inorganic matter ever since Empedocles (430 B.C.) argued that every thing in the universe is made up of a combination of four eternal ‘elements’ or ‘roots of all’: earth, water, air, and fire, and that all change is explained by the arrangement and rearrangement of these four elements. Now, scientists have discovered that simple peptides can organize into bi-layer membranes. The finding suggests a “missing link” between the pre-biotic Earth’s chemical inventory and the organizational scaffolding essential to life.
Hawaii law lets state ignore repeated demands for Obama's birth certificate
Aloha 'Birthers'
Hawaii to Birthers: Thanks for writing, now aloha! The island state's Republican Gov. Linda Lingle signed into law on Wednesday a bill that would allow Hawaii to ignore repeated requests for President Obama's birth certificate.Lunatic Fringe
Lunatic Fringe
Lead anti-immigration group has ties to extremist group formed by Nazi sympathizers
From the Southern Poverty Law Center:During the heated debate leading up to the 1994 vote on California’s Proposition 187, a punishing anti-immigrant ordinance that would have denied social services to undocumented immigrants had it not been rejected by the courts, an embarrassing truth about the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) was revealed. Press reports disclosed that FAIR, a major backer of Prop 187, was also a major grant recipient of the Pioneer Fund, a racist organization established by Nazi sympathizers in the 1930s to pursue “race betterment.”
As of that year, FAIR had received a total about $1.2 million from Pioneer, which primarily funds race and IQ studies intended to reveal the inferiority of minorities and to this day describes its grant recipients, generally, as “race realists.” Perhaps the press furor would have died down if FAIR had decided to sever its relationship with Pioneer after the fund’s nature was exposed. But it chose not to.
FAIR ended its financial relationship with Pioneer, which as a foundation must publicly disclose recipients of its grants, in 1994. But it did not end the private relationship of top FAIR officials with leaders of the fund. An SPLC review of John Tanton’s private papers, which are stored at the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, shows how close the relationship between the leaders of Pioneer and FAIR principals has been for three decades, even in the wake of the 1994 scandal. Not only did Tanton carry on a close correspondence with Weyher and his partner at Pioneer, John Trevor Jr., he also visited both at their homes. (In one instance, he took his staffer Roy Beck, who now runs NumbersUSA, to visit Trevor in Florida.) And at a 1997 gathering organized by Tanton at the New York Racquet & Tennis Club — three years after FAIR had stopped taking Pioneer Fund money — Tanton brought FAIR board members Henry Buhl, Sharon Barnes and Alan Weeden to a meeting with Weyher. Held expressly to discuss fundraising efforts to benefit FAIR, the meeting was memorialized in a Feb. 17, 1997, memo that Tanton wrote for his “FAIR Fund-Raising File.” A year later, on Jan. 5, 1998, Tanton wrote to Trevor to thank him for his personal “handsome contribution” to FAIR.
Liars and Fools
Faux's Glen Brick asks "Why are we headed towards socialism" when world is "collapsing"?.
We aren't and it isn't ... just take you shot and got to sleep, asshole.
Lush Dimbulb lies that Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan is a "budding communist," "the first amendment is something she doesn't like".
Having another syphilitic moment I see there Lush ol'boy.
Michael Savage says Kagan is a "radical leftist red-diaper doper baby".
This idiot needs to stay under his rock ... can't you smell the charring of rotten fetid flesh in the sunlight - that's what happens when the dead try to be among the living.
Faux's Shyawn Handjob, Glen Brick, and many on the wingnuts seize on false claim that Kagan's thesis shows she's a socialist.
Just proves they cannot read or comprehend.
Michael Savage lies: Kagan is "part of the New York City communist front".
Get back under your rock you slime there are decent human beings here.
Lush Dimbulb falsely claims Kagan "has written mostly on the dangers of the collapse of socialism and how we need to revive it".
Boy, the syphilis is bad today isn't it Lush.
A new bill signed by Gov. Jan Brewer prohibits classes that are designed for a specific group.
Also: 'Field of Dreams' for sale
The iconic 193-acre plot comes with a big farmhouse, a baseball diamond, and a mystical corn field.
Also: It's The Economy Stupid
It's The Economy Stupid
A new Web site reveals how your salary ranks with the rest of the world.
Also: 
20 best cities to ride out the recession
Blessed with solid job growth, these metro areas have escaped the worst of a terrible economy.
Also: 
One of the few people to predict the housing bubble before the crash says the optimists are wrong again.
Also: 
Whether you're living paycheck-to-paycheck or not, make sure your budget works.
Also: 
One writer says the debt problems hammering Greece are "frighteningly familiar" to Americans.
Also: 
As embarrassing tales of testosterone- fueled antics surface, 3 powerful women signal a new era.
Also: 
Memorial Day has traditionally brought an unwelcome change for drivers, but this year is different.
Also:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
