Don't Panic! Lighten Up!S


Frog

Washington, US: Tortoise Gets Artificial Wheel at Vet Hospital

Nicholas K. Geranios
The Associated Press
Wed, 20 Jul 2011 19:17 UTC
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© AP Photo/WSU/Henry Moore, Jr.Gamera, a 12-year-old, African spur-thighed tortoise, shows off his new front "leg" at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., on Friday, July 15, 2011. Gamera had to have his leg removed after an infection set in.
Watch out Mr. Hare, this tortoise has a wheel.

A 12-year-old African tortoise that recently had its front left leg amputated due to injury is now moving just fine, thanks to a swiveling wheel attached to his shell by doctors at Washington State University's veterinary hospital.

The 23-pound tortoise, named Gamera after the giant flying turtle of the old Japanese monster movies, is gaining weight and generally thriving with his new appendage.

"I don't know whether he'd pass the hare, but he moves around very well," said Charlie Powell, spokesman for WSU's veterinary hospital in Pullman, Wash.

The nearly teenage mutant turtle is particularly good at moving toward food, and has gained 3 pounds since the wheel was attached, Powell said.

The caster-style wheel should last for years before it has to be replaced, he said.
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Wine

Russia Finally Accepts that Beer is Alcoholic


The Telegraph, UK
Thu, 21 Jul 2011 01:00 UTC
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© Getty ImagesPreviously, beer had been considered a foodstuff
Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has signed a bill that confirms what the rest of the world has known for centuries: that beer is in fact alcoholic.

After much debate over the issue, the new bill will regulate beer in the same way that spirits are controlled, banning advertising and the sale of beer at street-side kiosks.

Previously, beer had been considered a foodstuff, because it contained less than 10 per cent alcohol.

That meant the drink could be sold round the clock and advertised on Russia's metro system.

The move comes after beer became more popular in Russia, and international brewers cashed in on the nation's relatively lax drinking laws.
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Wolf

US, California: Crime-fighting canine: Paco the Chihuahua attacks armed bandits robbing cigar shop


The Daily Mail, UK
Mon, 18 Jul 2011 05:57 UTC
Two gun-toting masked robbers who stormed into a south California cigar store were scared off by a 10-pound Chihuahua named Paco, who chased them outside.

The daring feat for the pint-sized dog was caught on surveillance video at the Ace Smoke Shop in Altadena, near Los Angeles.

'I was shocked to see what he did, especially running across the street was amazing,' the shop's owner, Eric Knight, said as a sleepy Paco rested on his knee.
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© YouTubePint-sized guard dog: A Chihuahua named Paco is being hailed a hero after defending a southern California cigar shop from a pair of gun-wielding robbers

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© YouTubeNo fear: With his fierce bark and snapping jaws, Paco chased the crooks out of his neighbourhood store
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Dollar

Obama's Motorcade Fined for London Congestion Fees

Rachel Rose Hartman
The Ticket
Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:57 UTC
Obama
© The Associated Press / Susan Walsh
London Mayor Boris Johnson is raising a stink over minor congestion charges he says President Obama's motorcade incurred while visiting his city, the London Evening Standard reports.

Johnson has fined the United States 120 pounds (nearly $200 U.S. dollars) in congestion levies--10 pounds per vehicle--for the presidential motorcade used during Obama's state visit in May.

The sum may seem to be a pittance, but it is part of a much larger problem, Johnson and others say.

London officials told AFP that the American Embassy owes 5.3 million pounds ($8.7 million dollars) in unpaid congestion fines--known as C-charges--which were first established in 2003. Since the roads weren't closed during the president's visit, he is subject to the fines, Johnson says.
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Smiley

Loukanikos: The greek riot dog


Youtube
Wed, 20 Jul 2011 06:43 UTC
Loukanikos, the riot dog that has been participating in Greek riots since 2008.

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Telephone

Georgia, US: Men Suspected of Hallucinating Call 911 for Help


The Associated Press
Tue, 19 Jul 2011 16:40 UTC
South Georgia authorities say two men became so high on drugs they began hallucinating and called 911 when they thought intruders had broken into a home.

Effingham County sheriff's spokesman David Ehsanipoor said the pair is suspected of using methamphetamine around the time they called 911 for help early Tuesday.

Deputies responding around 4 a.m. to the home outside Savannah were told by the pair that people in a back bedroom had broken into the home, but no intruders were found.

Ehsanipoor said deputies realized they were hallucinating. He said "they were so high they called 911 on themselves."

The Savannah Morning News reports the suspects, both of Bloomingdale, face several charges including manufacturing and possessing methamphetamine. It wasn't known Tuesday whether they have attorneys.
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Black Cat

US: South Carolina Couple Claims They Discovered Image of Jesus on Walmart Receipt


KDVR-TV
Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:02 UTC
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© Fox31.comA South Carolina couple claims the discoloration on a Walmart receipt looks like Jesus.
An image of Jesus has shown up in another unlikely place, at least in the eyes of an engaged couple from Anderson County, S.C.

Jacob Simmons and his fiancée, Gentry Lee Sutherland, say they bought some pictures at Walmart on Sunday, June 12.

Three days later, the receipt was on the floor of Sutherland's apartment when Simmons says he saw that it had changed.

The couple says it's an image of Jesus in their Walmart receipt. They called the store to ask them how the receipt paper could've become discolored like that, and someone told them the only thing that could do that is heat.

The couple says nothing was done to make the image appear on the receipt. "We just feel like it's a blessing that God showed it to us and opened our eyes. And we just feel like we should share the blessing God gave to us to everybody else," Sutherland told WYFF-TV.
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Black Cat

Why cats go next door: The reason your pet always chooses the neighbour's garden as a convenience

David Derbyshire
The Daily Mail
Mon, 18 Jul 2011 04:11 UTC
It can be an explosive cause of conflict between cat owners and their neighbours.

But when your moggy uses the next-door garden as a personal litter tray, your argument that it was purely down to chance may no longer hold water.

Researchers have discovered that cats foul neighbouring gardens intentionally to mark the edge of what they consider to be their territory - typically less than 300 yards from home.

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© AlamyTroublemaker: Cats foul neighbouring gardens intentionally to mark the edge of what they consider to be their territory, scientists said
The feline behavioural traits were revealed when GPS trackers and tiny cameras - nicknamed 'cat navs' - were fitted to nine pets over a period of eight days.

The findings were drawn from 150 hours of camera footage, 768 hours of GPS tracking and a survey of 3,000 owners.
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Arrow Up

US: California bicyclists declare victory in race with JetBlue flight


The Los Angeles Times
Sat, 16 Jul 2011 13:05 UTC
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© The Los Angles Times

The six bicyclists racing a JetBlue flight from Burbank to Long Beach Saturday proved the power of the pedals, beating the flight by a long shot. The cyclists, members of the urban bicyclist organization Wolfpack Hustle, made the trip in 1 hour and 34 minutes, using the path along the Los Angeles River for most of the trek.

The cyclists and a blogger aboard the JetBlue flight left at 10:50 a.m. from the same intersection in North Hollywood - - with the blogger having to drive to the airport, arriving an hour before the 12:20 p.m. flight, then catching a ride to the aquarium in Long Beach, the finish line. The plane had just taken off when the cyclists arrived.
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Newspaper

US: Ohio Church Holds Mock Retrial of Casey Anthony


The Associated Press
Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:31 UTC
A church service in Ohio has included a mock retrial of Casey Anthony, the woman in Florida found not guilty of killing her 2-year-old daughter.

WJW-TV reports Sunday's exercise at the In Touch With Christ Christian Center in Cleveland was led by the Rev. Una Keenon, a retired municipal court judge in the community of East Cleveland.

She asked the 12 church members who acted as jurors to consider whether it would be right to send Anthony to death row if she did not kill her child.

The church jury was hung, with eight voting guilty and four voting not guilty.

Bishop Prince Moultry, the church pastor, said the important lesson from the service was to protect children in Cleveland from the same fate as little Caylee Anthony.
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