Clipmarks | ruralart's Pops

An American in Albania

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:13:38 GMT

clipped by: CrazyRedHead
clipper's remarks: ...The Albanians of Montenegro were lucky, I thought as we approached the customs agents, to live under Josip Broz Tito's relatively lenient communist system in Yugoslavia instead of suffering Enver Hoxha's full-bore Stalinist regime just a few miles away in Albania proper. Hoxha, who ranks among the most thoroughly oppressive tyrants in history, made Tito's dictatorship look libertarian....

Clip Source: www.michaeltotten.com

“Mister, where are you from?” said a little girl.

“America,” I said.

“Yay!” The kids cheered.

Albania is fanatically pro-American, which is perhaps a bit counterintuitive to many Americans since it is at least nominally a Muslim-majority country. The conventional assumption that Muslims hate Americans everywhere isn't true.

“You should have seen President Bush’s face when he came to Albania,” an ethnic Albanian man later said to me in Kosovo. “All over Western Europe he was met by protests, but the entire country of Albania turned out to welcome him. He was so happy. You could see it on his face.”

Albanian pro-Americanism resembles that of both Poland and Iraqi Kurdistan. The unspeakably oppressive communist regime pushed Albanians strongly into the U.S.-led Western camp

More kids tugged at me and wanted their pictures taken. It was overwhelming, and more than a little bit startling.

Tags: europe, albania, politics, america, travel, photography

The Deepest Swimming Pool In The World

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:58:41 GMT

clipped by: vk2yoc
clipper's remarks: It's in Belgium near Brussels.

Clip Source: braingoodbye.com

The Most Beautiful Lighthouses In the World

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:05:47 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08

Clip Source: thecontaminated.com

The Most Beautiful Lighthouses In World

1. Enoshima Lighthouse, Japan

In 2003 the Enoshima lighthouse in Japan was renovated, the stunning results of which you can see in the photo above.

2. Torre De Hercules, Spain

The Torre De Hercules (tower of Hercules) is the only roman lighthouse still in use and holds the title of ‘oldest active lighthouse in the world’.

3. Madang Lighthouse, Papua New Guinea

built in 1959 as a memorial to the coastwatchers during the 2nd world war.

4. yokohama marine tower, japan

built in 1958 as part of the 100th anniversary commemoration of the opening of the port of yokohama,

5. pigeon point lighthouse, u.s.

on the edge of a cliff in california and at 115ft is one of the tallest in the united states.

6. low lighthouse, u.k.

7. kiz kulezi, turkey

8. cape hatteras light, u.s.

9. middle bay lighthouse, u.s.

10. promthep cape lighthouse, thailand

11. sullivan’s island lighthouse, u.s.

12. knarrarós lighthouse, iceland

the most aesthetically brilliant lighthouses

Tags: lighthouse, sea, signal, ships, ports, marine

Cool pics....

Sun, 25 May 2008 23:51:02 GMT

clipped by: mooner-one

Clip Source: wazzzat.com

It’s a Tiny World

Top court overturns dead fly-in-water damage claim

Fri, 23 May 2008 22:52:09 GMT

clipped by: agirlanddherdogs
clipper's remarks: ok - I can see how a dead fly in a sealed water bottle would be grossly disturbing......but suing because it consumed his life.....? dea

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

OTTAWA - A man who claimed that he became depressed, anxious and phobic after finding a a dead fly in a bottle of water will no longer get the judgment he won against a bottling company, Canada's top court ruled Thursday.

Martin Mustapha will have to shell out thousands in court costs, instead of collecting the more than $345,000 he won in an Ontario court three years ago.

The Supreme Court of Canada agreed in a 9-0 judgment that Mustapha suffered real psychological harm, but Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin said his reaction was so "unusual or extreme" that bottling company Culligan of Canada Ltd., should not have to pay compensation.

Mustapha insisted that he had been treated unfairly and said finding the dead fly in an unopened bottle of water in 2001 devastated him. He became obsessed with thoughts of dead flies, could not sleep and was constantly on edge — to the point that his business and even his sex life suffered.

Tags: dead fly, water bottle, culligan, canada, lawsuit, sue, mustapha, crazy, nuts

amazing tree houses

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:48:02 GMT

clipped by: valann 47

Clip Source: weburbanist.com

As a young child (or perhaps even an adult) who hasn’t dreamed of living in a tree house? Some structures are built on trees or hung from trees, but some unusual tree houses are even grown from trees or built right into a tree. Some people live in trees as a luxury, some to help save the environment and others out of tradition or necessity. Here are ten incredible tree house designs that range from functional to fanciful, sustainable to strange and affordable to incredibly expensive.

Australian Whale Images Cause Controversy

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:43:47 GMT

clipped by: swampfoxz
clipper's remarks: "From the wonderful people who brought you Pearl Harbor"

Clip Source: planetsave.com

Australian Whale Images Cause Controversy

Let’s not try and talk about this as breaking news, for many people have already seen the horrific pictures. But the fact is that this is huge news, and I’m going to take a quick look at just what it is, what it means, and why.

However if you haven’t turned on a TV or computer over the past little while, I’ll run it down for you. Photos released by the Australian Customs Agency late last week have depicted a pair of whales – theorized to be a mother and her baby calf – being hauled on board the Yuishin Maru.

Scientists have pegged the age of the calf at less than one year old, and while the Japanese are saying that the pair weren’t mother and calf, it seems to be a bit of a moot point. The reality though is that they probably were, considering they were hauled in together (it is unlikely that a mother would allow her calf away from her at such a tender age).

Tags: japan

Creepy Cats Photo

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 21:32:27 GMT

clipped by: CyanSmoker

Clip Source: jpgmag.com

Cats

By Ivan Capraro

On 11 April 2007

Favorited 36 Times

Tags: funny, cats, photography

Ferns

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 21:51:17 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.nhm.ac.uk

A bird's-eye view of the crown of a tree-fern, Dicksonia antarctica. - photo: T. C. T. Edwards

Ferns and related plants are found all over the world, from sea-level to high mountains. They are descended from some of the oldest plants of the earth's history, being found as fossils dating back nearly 400 million years

Just a few examples of the 12000 different species are shown in the following pages

For many centuries, the reproduction of ferns and related plants was a complete mystery because they do not have flowers

belief that ferns produced very minute, invisible, short-lived flowers during midsummer's eve

A spore of Psomiocarpa apiifolia with an elaborate outer layer. - photo: P. J. Edwards

Some ferns, clubmosses and horsetails form large colonies from creeping stems. A single plant of bracken can cover a whole hillside

Some ferns also produce bulbils, either along the frond midrib or at the tip of a frond that arches over and touches the ground

LOL Animals, We ROOLZ !!

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 06:52:14 GMT

clipped by: CrazyRedHead

Clip Source: icanhascheezburger.com

Tags: humor, animals, internet idiocy

Angry Squirrel attacks Huckabee

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 23:29:53 GMT

clipped by: kkcapricorn
clipper's remarks: Laugh. It's funny.

Clip Source: www.unconfirmedsources.com

The Mike Huckabee campaign is said to be re-examining its southern strategy after the candidate was assaulted by a disgruntled squirrel

The rodent was observed scurrying around light fixtures within the gym at Clemson University and then apparently leapt to attack Huckabee

they were relatively certain that revenge was not a motive in that it was not of a species that Huckabee has admitted to eating in the past.

The squirrel was captured, and wrestled to the ground

suffered a number of scratches to the head and bites to his ears

Security was very tight and we are at a loss to explain how the squirrel was able to get in... he had to have help anyway you figure it

DNC Chairman Howard Dean was contacted for a quote on the incident, and had this to say: "I don't profess to know much about squirrels and their behavior, but they're certainly into survival... and Mike Huckabee is arguably one of the biggest nuts there is."

Tags: satire, unconfirmed sources

The Rapture Can't Happen Soon Enough

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 06:35:23 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks: The Lord told me to clip this.

The Rapture Index (omens portending the Rapture) stands at 163, the highest it's been since September 11, 2001 when it peaked at its all-time high of 182. I don't know what the numbers mean either. But I'm not making this up.

Anyway, I'm not worried about 'the Rapture' one little bit... Jesus, he knows me.

Clip Source: mwcnews.net

I try to limit my magical thinking to occasional moments of vanity and revenge.

But lately I've found myself wishing that if the Rapture is on the level, it would happen soon . . . I mean real soon.

I want it understood that I'm not wishing these folks ill. On the contrary, I'm wishing them what they've always wanted—an eternity of enjoying the unchallenged moral certitude they were never quite able to fully enjoy here on Earth

Think what the Rapture will mean to those of us left behind.

The number of positions vacated will be five times as many needed to wipe out the country's unemployment

It's "trickle up" economics at work here.

we'll have a chance at longer, healthier lives by taking the untold billons of dollars President Bush is currently funneling into the Christian Right

we'll no longer have to wonder, "is our kids learning?

the rest of us will be left in peace to enjoy our bedrooms

on our own terms

we'll still have Satan

And he'll be the one carrying a pitchfork not a Bible.

Tags: last, one, there, is, a rotten, egg

Extraordinary pictures of the alphabet - spelled out on butterflies' wings

Sat, 19 Jan 2008 06:24:56 GMT

clipped by: michellezm

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Every one of these extraordinary images comes from the brilliant patterns on the wings of moths and butterflies. These designs - each one unique to its species - are used either to attract a mate or for disguise against predators.

Photographer Kjell Sandved has made it his life's work to capture them and create this amazing butterfly alphabet, with every letter from A to Z and every number from 1 to 9.

Now, Daily Mail readers can have an exclusive, limited edition copy of this magnificent alphabet, either on a giant glossy poster (A1 size) or as 35 double-sided letter flash-cards which will allow you to make up fun messages of your own or help children with their alphabet and numbers.

War Pics

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:37:43 GMT

clipped by: cegjazzman54

Clip Source: widelec.org

Tags: images

Arrow Of Time

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:01:32 GMT

clipped by: roxycardgame
clipper's remarks: On June 17th every year, this family has taken portraits to freeze the "arrow of time".

Clip Source: zonezero.com

Tags: portrait, ritual, year, annual, diego, susy, nicholas, matias, sebastian