Monthly Archives: September 2013

Petting & Walking With Cheetahs in Africa at Mukuni Big 5 Safaris

"When I first arrived in Zambia and a visit to the Devil’s Pool was unavailable, I immediately wanted to find out about interacting with cheetahs. The well mannered management at JollyBoys Backpackers Lodge in Zambia prompted a visit to the Mukuni Big 5 Safari Park. It wasn’t just walking with a cheetah they offer. It was also walking with lions and elephants as well. The company is on a mission to actively support the dying cheetah population. They have announced a captive breeding program to ensure that the population of cheetahs in the wild continues to grow. After raising the cubs they are released into the wild." Continue reading →

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Seized shark fins dumped in Marshall Islands ceremony

"The gesture underscored the progress made towards protecting the marine predators since the Marshalls declared a two million square kilometre (770,000 square mile) shark sanctuary in 2011. Villagomez said some commercial tuna fishermen still illegally cut the fins from sharks, even though they earned very little from the practice. 'Fishermen only receive a few dollars (per fin),' he said. 'But once they are processed in China and sold in Hong Kong restaurants, the price can be as high as US$1,500 per kilo.' The fins that were dumped off the capital Majuro were confiscated from a Chinese longline fishing vessel earlier this year that was fined $125,000." Continue reading →

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Peru devotes $35 million to protect coffee farmers from fungus

"Peru’s anti-drug strategy hinges on persuading farmers to grow coffee instead of coca, the raw material of cocaine, but low prices and plant disease are getting in the way. President Ollanta Humala’s government is allocating $35 million to help coffee growers pay off debts and cope with 'la roya,' a stubborn fungus known as coffee rust. Peru exports coffee to 46 countries, but the bulk — 60 percent — goes to Europe. Germany is Peru’s largest single customer. Peru ranks alongside Bolivia and Colombia as the world’s main producers of coca, grown exclusively in the Andes of South America, mostly on the eastern slope." Continue reading →

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Read more about the article Washington ‘Pot Czar’ Mark Kleiman Packs Up

Washington ‘Pot Czar’ Mark Kleiman Packs Up

"When it hired Kleiman last March, the LCB said it had budgeted an initial $100,000 for the much sought-after consulting work. The state ended up paying much more--$814,000, as of last week, with one payment still pending, Smith tells SW. It might seem a little strange that the pot czar has left while the state is still immersed in crafting regulations, the latest version of which are to be made public tomorrow. But Smith emphasizes that Kleiman’s fulsome title was a media construct. The academic’s reports concentrated on market analysis and technical subjects, like the projected impact of legalization Initiative 502’s taxing scheme on the price of pot." Continue reading →

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Bionic Commandos from the Warrior Web

"In 2011, DARPA started the Warrior Web program in order to develop a soft, lightweight undersuit that would augment physical capabilities. This suit would relieve mental strains that obstruct a soldier’s ability to execute missions. Ninety percent of the U.S. Army could be wearing these high-tech suits one-three years from now. DARPA is not alone in their ambition to produce a human augmentation suit. NASA is working on their own suit with several partners, which could give us a good idea of what human augmentation suits will be like further out in the future. Their suit could give astronauts superhuman strength on major space missions to an asteroid or Mars." Continue reading →

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Russia Issues International Travel Advisory to Its Hackers

"The Russian government has some advice for its cyber criminal class, and any other citizens who might be wanted by U.S. law enforcement: Don’t leave home. Yesterday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a public notice advising 'citizens to refrain from traveling abroad, especially to countries that have signed agreements with the U.S. on mutual extradition, if there is reasonable suspicion that U.S. law enforcement agencies' have a case pending against them. 'Practice shows that the trials of those who were actually kidnapped and taken to the United States are biased, based on shaky evidence' and are slanted against the Russians, the notice warns." Continue reading →

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Senate committee strikes deal on resolution authorizing force against Syria

"Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee reached an agreement late Tuesday on wording of a new resolution authorizing U.S. military force against the Syrian government. The resolution would permit up to 90 days of military action against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, beginning with 60 days and the option of 30 more pending President Obama’s notification of Congress, according to a copy of the resolution provided by Senate aides. The resolution also bars the deployment of U.S. combat troops into Syria, but would permit the deployment of a small rescue mission, in the event of an emergency, the aides said." Continue reading →

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CIA Analyst Michael Scheuer Exposes Syrian War Lobbyists

"Members of al Qaeda are known to be among the rebels being supported by the Obama administration. Like a Mexican standoff, the tragic conflict could go in any direction. Michael Scheuer is a historian and former CIA analyst. For three years, he headed the Osama bin Laden tracking Unit at the CIA's Counterterrorism Center. He is author of the book Imperial Hubris. In 2007, bin Laden said Scheuer's book revealed the reasons behind U.S. losses in the War on Terrorism." Continue reading →

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Andrew J. Bacevich: A Letter to Paul Wolfowitz

"Your imagination led you to foresee a brief conflict, with Iraqis rather than U.S. taxpayers footing the bill for any mess left behind. After all, preventive war was supposed to solve problems. Eliminating threats before they could materialize was going to enhance our standing, positioning us to call the shots. Instead, the result was a train wreck of epic proportions. Granted, as you yourself have said, 'the world is better off' with Saddam Hussein having met his maker. But taken as a whole, the cost-benefit ratio is cause for weeping. As for global hegemony, we can kiss it goodbye. What conclusions should we draw from the events that actually occurred, rather than from those you hoped for?" Continue reading →

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Nick Turse Describes the Real Vietnam War

"Journalist Nick Turse describes his personal mission to compile a complete and compelling account of the Vietnam War’s horror as experienced by all sides, including innocent civilians who were sucked into its violent vortex. Turse, who devoted 12 years to tracking down the true story of Vietnam, unlocked secret troves of documents, interviewed officials and veterans — including many accused of war atrocities — and traveled throughout the Vietnamese countryside talking with eyewitnesses to create his book, Kill Anything That Moves. 'American culture has never fully come to grips with Vietnam,' Turse tells Bill, referring to 'hidden and forbidden histories that just haven’t been fully engaged.'" Continue reading →

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