Clipmarks | wiccantexan's Comments

Living with humans has taught dogs morals

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:39:45 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Dogs are becoming more intelligent and are even learning morals from human contact, scientists claim.

They say the fact that dogs' play rarely escalates into a fight shows the animals abide by social rules.

During one study, dogs which held up a paw were rewarded with a food treat.

When a lone dog was asked to raise its paw but received no treat, the researchers found it begged for up to 30 minutes.

But when they tested two dogs together but rewarded only one, the dog which missed out soon stopped playing the game.

Dr Friederike Range, of the University of Vienna, who led the study, said: 'Dogs show a strong aversion to inequity. I would prefer not to call it a sense of fairness, but others might.'

Human's inclination to invest dogs with human-like states of mind isn't as unscientific as it might appear as they really do have some remarkable mental skills that allow them to thrive in their strange habitat - our world.

It's Official - Gay People Are Booring

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:54:28 GMT

clipped by: iulawboy
clipper's remarks: Now that Hallmark recognizes gay people the revolution is officially over. All gay people must now officially move to the suburbs.

Clip Source: seattletimes.nwsource.com

Most states don't recognize gay marriage - but now Hallmark does.

The nation's largest greeting card company is rolling out same-sex wedding cards - featuring two tuxedos, overlapping hearts or intertwined flowers,

The language inside the cards is neutral, with no mention of wedding or marriage, making them also suitable for a commitment ceremony. Hallmark says the move is a response to consumer demand, not any political pressure.

Hallmark's largest competitor, American Greetings Corp., has no plans to enter the market, saying its current offerings are general enough to speak to a lot of different relationships.

Hallmark started offering "coming out" cards last year,

Hallmark

now offers cards for difficulty getting pregnant or going through rehab.

Tags: gay marriage, hallmark

Doctors Can't Deny Lesbians Care on Religious Grounds

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:56:45 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

The California Supreme Court today ruled unanimously that doctors cannot cite their religious beliefs as grounds to deny gay and lesbian patients medical care.

Justice Joyce Kennard ruled that two Christian fertility doctors who refused to artificially inseminate a lesbian couple cannot claim a free speech or religious exemption from California's anti-discrimination law.

The ruling extends a state law barring sexual orientation-based discrimination to the medical profession.

In 1999, after a year of surgeries and hormone treatments — all covered by insurance — Benitez was finally ready to get pregnant. But at the crucial moment, her doctor refused to do the procedure for "religious" reasons.

Benitez is a lesbian and sued her doctors under California's civil rights laws, charging that they discriminated against her because of her sexual orientation.

Tags: medical, gay, lesbian, religion, belief, discrimination

sleeping tiger and man, is this picture real?

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 01:37:27 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane
clipper's remarks: is this doctored, or a real picture! maybe a 'dead' tiger??

Clip Source: www.providings.com

Can We Really Risk Trusting Obama?

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:35:40 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: I don't, but...

Clip Source: www.salon.com

Ain't this the truth...

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:37:56 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: This is clipped from a strong piece by David Gergen, in which he argues that Obama must introduce a game changer in order to turn the momentum back his way. The two most powerful game changing events he sites are announcing either Hillary Clinton or Al Gore as VP. Either would be very smart in my opinion

Clip Source: ac360.blogs.cnn.com

Say what you will about Republicans making a muddle of governing, but they sure know how to campaign.

In just a few short weeks, they have not only thrown Barack Obama on the defensive and made him seem smaller but they have also made McCain seem larger and more commanding.

Tags: obama, politics, clinton, gore, vice president

Lost baby whale thinks yacht is mom

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:40:58 GMT

clipped by: Newfman

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Lost humpback whale calf has bonded with a yacht it thinks is its mother

One- to 2-month-old calf tried to suckle from boat

Calf appears exhausted but rescuers hope it will continue out to sea

Nepal court scraps 'living goddess' tradition

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:34:08 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A centuries-old tradition in Nepal of worshipping a virgin girl-child in a palace as a "living goddess" has been scrapped after it was condemned as outdated by the country's supreme court, which has ruled that the supposed deity must go to school.

Earlier this year, religious authorities started a search for a new Kumari, chosen from a handful of three-year-olds, after it was revealed the current living goddess is going to retire later this year.

However, that process looks as if it will be halted after the country's highest court accepted the argument from a lawyer that keeping a young girl locked up in a medieval palace in Kathmandu was a violation of her fundamental rights.

The court ruled against the rights of the Kumari being "be violated in the name of culture".

The Kumari was probably doomed the moment the Maoist administration took office.

Tags: goddess, india, culture, legal, tradition, child

The Christian Presidency

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:29:24 GMT

clipped by: boniface

Clip Source: www.wildhunt.org

Any illusion one might have had that the race for America's chief executive is a secular affair was thoroughly shattered yesterday at the Saddleback Civil Forum on The Presidency. Evangelical superstar Rick "Purpose Driven Life" Warren got the two candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, to sit down individually in his church, submit to his questions, and expound on concerns most important to evangelical Christians.

"Some of the questions Pastor Warren posed crossed the line and promoted the fiction that the American people are electing a pastor-in-chief, rather than a commander-in-chief. Questions like 'What does it mean to trust in Christ?' create a religious test for public office and should have no place in the political discourse for a secular office. America is the most religiously diverse country in the world, and Christianity is only one of those faith traditions. Millions of voters who tuned in tonight will feel disenfranchised by some of the questions posed in this forum."

B. Hussein Obama's "Lost" Brother Found in Kenya

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:50:37 GMT

clipped by: pkronfield
clipper's remarks: This tough guy has more substance than that empty suit. Note the non-existent compassion in The Empty Suit for his poor half brother.

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Mr Obama, 26, the youngest of the presidential candidate's half-brothers, spoke for the first time about his life, which could not be more different than that of the Democratic contender.

"If anyone says something about my surname, I say we are not related. I am ashamed," he said.

For ten years George Obama lived rough. However he now hopes to try to sort his life out by starting a course at a local technical college.

The Illinois senator mentions his brother in his autobiography, describing him in just one passing paragraph as a "beautiful boy with a rounded head".

Of their second meeting, George Obama said: "It was very brief, we spoke for just a few minutes. It was like meeting a complete stranger."

"Huruma is a tough place, last January during the elections there was rioting and six people were hacked to death. The police don't even arrest you they just shoot you.

"I have seen two of my friends killed. I have scars from defending myself with my fists. I am good with my fists."

Tags: loony left

Rep. Tubb Jones Suffers Aneurysm, Not Expected to Recover

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:31:37 GMT

clipped by: Wisco
clipper's remarks: That's pretty much everything that's known and I really can't add anything, other than to say that this is a terrible loss.

A statement from her office is here.

Clip Source: www.cbsnews.com

Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, is reported to have suffered an aneurysm and is not expected to recover, according to CBS affiliate WOIO in Cleveland.

WOIO also reported that the congresswoman is on life support at this time.

The station reported today that she was transported overnight to Huron Hospital in Cleveland after police found her in her car last evening.

The congresswoman's office said in statement that she suffered the aneurysm while driving her car in Cleveland Heights, Ohio last night and that she "has stabilized and she is receiving the best care available."

Tubbs Jones was first elected in 1998, becoming the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress. She represents Ohio's 11th district.

Tags: news

Olympic Design 1896-2012

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:19:26 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.colourlovers.com

Over the years of the modern Olympic era we have witnessed design take a forefront in the planning and execution of the event. It has seemingly gone from a casual, low key sporting event, with each venue taking their turn hosting, into a full scale media orgy of Superbowl proportions.

taking look at the Summer Olympic logos from 1896 to 2012 London along with some noteworthy facts from each games and palette inspiration from some of the more colorful posters and logos. For more info about each year of the Olympics, click on the corresponding image.

1908 London, UK

1912 Stockholm, Sweden

1920 Antwerp, Belgium

1924 Paris, France

1928 Amsterdam, Netherlands

1932 Los Angeles, California

1936 Berlin, Germany

1948 London, England

1952 Helsinki, Finland

1956 Melbourne, Australia

1960 Rome, Italy

1976 Montreal, Canada

1980 Moscow, U.S.S.R.

1984 Los Angeles, California

1992 Barcelona, Spain

1996 Atlanta, Georgia

2004 Athens, Greece

2008 Beijing, China

Doomsday cult calls credit cards satanic

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 04:06:42 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

A Russian doomsday cult sheltering in a bunker say credit cards and food packaging bar codes are satanic, the official negotiating the release of children from the group said on Monday.

Around 30 followers, including four children, from across Russia and neighboring Belarus met last October and barricaded themselves into a hillside to escape an apocalypse their preacher says is looming in either April or May.

"They have burned their passports and say that all plastic (credit) cards and strip codes on food packaging are the work of Satan," he told reporters.

He said progress was slow but local authorities were negotiating with the group to leave their refuge.

Local residents said the bunker was a pre-revolutionary convent, with a well, a kitchen and areas for sleeping and praying.

Tags: religion, faith, cult, russia, satan, belief

DNCC tickets wrap Obama in upside down flag

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:03:20 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: hotair.com

Maybe the DNCC has kept track of the polling this summer and figures the Democratic nominee is officially in distress. That’s the only explanation for a silly gaffe by the convention committee for the graphics on their credentials for those allowed to see Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at Invesco Field. The holographic image uses an American flag motif with the blue field at the bottom, with Obama’s head emerging from it in one of the two alternating images

the Obama campaign says the flag is not upside down. He says it is a stylized flag designed to blend the stars on Senator Obama’s shirt with the flag blowing in the wind.

Yes — a flag blowing upside-down. The DNCC would not even admit they used a flag:

The DNCC community credentials incorporate patriotic design elements. They do not depict an actual American flag.

Blue field …. check. Stars …. check. Alternating white and red stripes …. check. Looks like the flag to me.

Update: Maybe the DNCC got the motif from their last nominee:

Tags: obama, election, democrats, politics

Abandoned whale calf mistakes boat for its mum

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:32:08 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Rescuers in Australia are trying to save a baby humpback whale which they say took a shine to a moored yacht, possibly mistaking the vessel for its lost mother.

The whale calf was found at Pittwater, north of Sydney, after apparently being abandoned by its mother off the Australian east coast

"The calf has spent the last day or so in Pittwater and we believe it has been nuzzling up to a moored vessel in an attempt to find milk," said Chris McIntosh, local manager for the New South Wales state national parks service said.

A team of workers towed the private yacht out to sea to try to lure the calf out into deeper water where it was hoped it would reunite with its mother, but it was spotted close to the beach at Pittwater again on Tuesday.

Female whales give birth to a single calf, and a nursing period of more than one year for many species creates a strong bond between a mother and its young.

(Reporting by James Grubel)