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poisoning suspected in ray deaths at Calgary zoo

Wed, 14 May 2008 22:04:49 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane
clipper's remarks: why would anyone want to poison 'fish'!

CALGARY -- The Calgary Zoo suspects the 39 cownose rays that have mysteriously died in recent days were poisoned.

"This is a huge tank, so something substantial had to have been put in ... we don't know if it was a powder or a liquid," said zoo spokeswoman Laurie Herron. "But at this point we're thinking it was not accidental."

Tests from an independent lab released early Wednesday suggested the water chemistry of the ray pool was within acceptable ranges. Analysis included checking levels of ammonia, dissolved oxygen, PH, salinity and other natural minerals.

Late Sunday, 26 of the 43 rays housed in the pool died, with the other deaths following over the following days. Only four rays remain.

"It's disturbing to think of this as a possibility, but we have so far been unable to pinpoint any other cause that would provoke such an acute and severe reaction in the rays."

The ray pool, which allows visitors to reach in and touch them as they swim, was introduced at the zoo in February.

911 calls on the internet!

Tue, 13 May 2008 03:14:01 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane
clipper's remarks: who on earth would do a 911 call on the internet!!?? if you have internet, surely you have a phone?!

Clip Source: thechronicleherald.ca

The Emergency Management Office is cautioning Nova Scotians that 911 calls placed over the Internet may not be as safe as emergency calls over a land line.

The caution comes a week after an 18-month-old Calgary boy died when his parents used an Internet phone service, called Voice Over Internet Protocol, to make an emergency call.

An ambulance was sent to the family’s former home in Mississauga, Ont., rather than their current Calgary address.

"The last thing we want to happen is for an emergency call to be misdirected and someone suffer harm as a result."

The organization said Internet calls can’t be tracked like traditional 911 calls because location and callback information aren’t transferred to the emergency operator.

The organization said some VoIP providers send calls to a national call centre first. The caller must confirm information with the national centre before the call is transferred to a local operator.

parents right in medication?

Tue, 13 May 2008 03:11:06 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane
clipper's remarks: it is hard to decide if it is right to let the parents decide! I think if my child was definately going to die, I would agree with these parents!

Clip Source: canadianpress.google.com

Parents should have right to ignore doctors, seek alternative care: bioethicists

TORONTO — A decision to forcibly impose chemotherapy on an 11-year-old Hamilton boy who didn't want to go through another round of painful treatment was "heavy-handed" and "worrisome" considering how often similar conflicts arise, several bioethicists said Monday.

The boy, who cannot be named because he is now in the care of the Children's Aid Society, has been thrust into the thorny debate over the right to seek alternative therapies and ignore conventional wisdom.

He was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when he was seven. After enduring the tough experience of chemotherapy his cancer went into remission, but returned earlier this year.

After being told last week he needed more chemo he refused to go through the ordeal again. He took that position even though doctors said he'd have only six months to live without the therapy, while treatment would give him a 50 per cent of fighting off the cancer.

blood clots

Tue, 13 May 2008 03:05:31 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane
clipper's remarks: this happens when you sit for long periods in the same position, so walk around or keep moving. I had one and it was painful, but a good lesson to me!

Clip Source: www.ctv.ca

A blood clot caused the death of a South African woman on board a Via Rail train last week in an incident that sparked a full-scale health scare.

Dr. William Lucas, with the Ontario Coroner's Office, told The Canadian Press Monday that 43-year-old Brenda Buckley died of a pulmonary embolism.

The condition occurs when an artery in the lung becomes blocked. The blockage is generally caused by one or more blood clots that travel to the lungs from another part of the body.

Lucus could not confirm reports that the clot was the result of deep-vein thrombosis -- which can develop when people sit for long periods of time. He did say, however, it was a likely cause.

Buckley died on the train, which was travelling from Jasper, Alta., to Sudbury, Ont. on Friday. The train was stopped and quarantined about 100 kilometres west of Timmins, Ont.

Catherine Kaloutsky, a spokeswoman for Via Rail, said Monday that no one has ever died from deep-vein thrombosis on one of Via Rail's trains.

the 'taser' is a big issue here in Canada right now! and justly so!

Tue, 13 May 2008 03:00:04 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane

Clip Source: www.canada.com

Taser used as substitute for talking, inquiry hears

VANCOUVER - The politician who first approved Tasers for use in B.C. in 'combative situations' says the weapon is now being used as a substitute for good old fashioned police work.

Former B.C. premier Ujjal Dosanjh told a Vancouver inquiry into the use of Tasers Monday that when he first approved the weapon for use in B.C. they were supposed to be used sparingly by police in "assaultive and combative situations, where a person is a danger to others."

Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died at Vancouver International Airport in October 2007 after Richmond RCMP used a Taser to subdue him.

"It is also being used in situations where it wasn't contemplated," said Dosanjh, citing Tasers being used by local transit police on fare evaders. "That is something I would have never imagined."

Dosanjh told the inquiry that the onus should be on the manufacturer, Taser International, to conclusively prove there is no evidence that Tasers can kill people.

red cross boat sunk

Sun, 11 May 2008 19:18:38 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

MYANMAR, Yangon (CNN) -- A Red Cross boat delivering supplies to help 1,000 victims of last weekend's cyclone sank Sunday when it hit debris in the Irrawaddy Delta region, as the U.S. prepared to deliver relief supplies to Myanmar.

"The crew managed to get to the safety of an island, along with four Red Cross staff who were on the boat," Red Cross official Joe Lowry said. "But we've lost most of the cargo."

The double-decker relief boat was carrying about 100 bags of rice, 5,000 thousand liters of drinking water, 10,000 water purification tablets, 200 water storage containers, 10 stretchers, 30 boxes of clothing and household items like soap.

A submerged tree damaged the hull of the boat as it headed toward the delta township of Bogalay, which was hit hard by the cyclone, Lowry said. The boat sank quickly, leaving its cargo at the bottom of a muddy river, he said.

The boat was traveling from Yangon to Mawlamyinegyun when it sank, according to the Red Cross.

Special report: Crisis in Myanmar

Wanted, women to eat chocolate for a year!

Sun, 11 May 2008 18:57:42 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane
clipper's remarks: I'm in!

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

The trial, at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, eastern England, will test whether a natural compound found in cocoa, the main ingredient of chocolate, could cut the risk of heart disease among women with diabetes.

A Belgian confectionist has created the special chocolate bar containing high levels of flavonoids -- a plant compound that has been shown to reduce heart risk factors -- to be used in the experiment. Soy, another natural source of flavonoids, has also been added to the bar.

Participants, who must be postmenopausal women under the age of 70, will have their risk of heart disease tested on five occasions during the year to see whether change occurs.

"The hypothesis of this exciting study is that flavonoids may improve the level of protection against heart disease over and above that provided by conventional drugs," said Dr. Ketan Dhatariya, a consultant in diabetes at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

roadside oddities

Thu, 08 May 2008 18:46:32 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane

Clip Source: www.smartertravel.com

From quirky creations like the World's Largest Ball of Twine to historical monuments such as Mount Rushmore, this country overflows with an array of attractions located along the road.

If you're planning a road trip this summer, why not make the drive a bit more memorable with a few eclectic stops along the way? RoadsideAmerica.com's My Sights tool, which features attractions both big and small throughout the U.S., makes it easy to find places that will have you and your family smiling for years to come.

The tool allows you to search for a specific site, or perform a more general sweep of a state, to find attractions that you'd most like to see. Possibilities include Plymouth Rock, Lucy the Margate Elephant, and Wall Drug. Once you have chosen several stops, you can then save your trip and print out a map of the locations.

a present for the guy's

Wed, 07 May 2008 18:43:20 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane

Clip Source: www.google.com

[Video]

gaming bits

Wed, 07 May 2008 18:25:02 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane

Clip Source: www.gamingbits.com

Eye of Judgment is my game away from games, when I want to sit back and chill out to some fantasy gameplay. It's more about strategy than how fast you are with your fingers. Seeing the characters come to life on the screen, via the PlayStation Eye, is part of the addiction in collecting all the oddities found in the Eye of Judgment world.

See some of the character artwork from Eye of Judgment here. Visit the official website of Eye of Judgment here to find out more about it.

Clip Source: pagead2.googlesyndication.com

Clip Source: www.gamingbits.com

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jupiter's rings

Wed, 07 May 2008 18:13:05 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

An eclipse of the sun by Jupiter, as viewed from Galileo, reveals Jupiter's rings. Small dust particles high in Jupiter's atmosphere, as well as the dust particles that compose the rings, can be seen by reflected sunlight.

Jupiter has a thin set of nearly imperceptible rings with features that have long puzzled scientists. A new study reveals how light and shadow are at work there, solving several mysteries at once.

Nowhere near as visible as the rings of Saturn, which are icy and bright and contain many chunks as big as houses, Jupiter's rings are made mostly of dark dust. They were discovered in 1979 by Voyager 1. Not until the Galileo spacecraft, orbiting Jupiter from 1995 to 2003, did scientists figure out the rings were made of dust kicked up by meteoroids slamming into Jupiter's inner moons.

Yet oddities remained that didn't match theoretical predictions: The rings protrude beyond the orbit of the moon Thebe, and part of the ring system is tilted compared to the main ring plane.

silly oddities

Wed, 07 May 2008 16:29:05 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane

Clip Source: oddities.alltop.com

[Interesting] You say tomato, I say tom-ah-to. You say potato, I say symbol of Christ's death and resurrection

[Asinine] 78-year-old magistrate tells woman in courthouse he would need "a gallon of Viagra" to keep up with her, which is probably not a good comment to make when running for re-election

[Asinine] Man who ran over couple's dog now suing the couple -- for damage done to his car

[Obvious] Roman Catholic church opposes festival of nudity, because God created us fully clothed and the naked human form is a tool of the devil himself

Rome Mayoral Candidate Suggests Ankle Bracelets to Fight Rape

restaurant oddities

Wed, 07 May 2008 15:51:58 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane
clipper's remarks: you have to go to source for this one!

Clip Source: www.google.ca

Many oddities in restaurant rankings
The Standard, Hong Kong - 24 Apr 2008
There are many oddities on the awards list, which started as an amusing exercise among friends in 2002 and has grown into an event that attracts top chefs. ...

avery tops the list of oddities in first round

Wed, 07 May 2008 15:42:06 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane
clipper's remarks: for more info on this go to the source

Clip Source: www.canada.com

EDMONTON -- For awhile, the strangest part of the National Hockey League playoffs had to be all those calls for Philadelphia's Patrick Thoresen to test the mettle of Washington's David Steckel.

Every time Thoresen's name was uttered on the TSN broadcast, it was immediately followed by "test Steckel." Play-by-play man Gord Miller would get the ball rolling with a comment like, "Thoresen goes down to block a shot" and out of nowhere analyst Pierre McGuire would yell "test Steckel!" at the top of his lungs.

Of course, later on it hit me. Like a slap shot in the groin.

That mystery solved, there were other candidates for the strangest part of the first round. Take Detroit defenceman Nick Lidstrom's goal from centre ice on Nashville netminder Dan Ellis coming almost exactly six years after Lidstrom scored an eerily similar fluke against another Dan, Vancouver's Cloutier.

Or the laughable gladiator opening in Ottawa that gave NHL marketing its official "jump the shark" moment.

10 amazing places for shoes:shoe trees, power lines and more

Wed, 07 May 2008 15:35:14 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane

Clip Source: www.environmentalgraffiti.com

Ever get really, really frustrated? So frustrated, perhaps, that you considered simply firing your footwear at the nearest tree you could find? Well, me neither, but it seems that some people have, and in the process inspired over 70 “shoe trees” all over America, each holding hundred of pairs of sneakers in their branches.

10. St. Helen, Michigan

9. Santiago, Chile

8. Amboy, California

7. Manchester, UK

6. Brooklyn, New York

5. British Columbia, Canada

4.San Diego, California

3. Bristol, UK

2. Benton County, Oregon

1. Shoefiti in Springfield–The Simpsons Get In On The Act

Oregon, home of Nike, which has probably produced most of the decor in these images, features some fantastic shoe trees, as well. This one has proved so popular that it ran out of room and began to spill over.