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Soldiers forced to shout 'bang bang' during training because of ammunition shortages in the Dutch army

Flora Drury
Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 05 Aug 2015 19:24 UTC
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The government says problem has been caused by 'high consumption' and 'long delivery times'
Dutch soldiers are being forced to yell 'bang bang' during training because the country's army is suffering from an ammunition shortage.

Frustrated soldiers are making the noises after being told they would no longer be able to use live ammunition in training - because too many bullets have been used on missions abroad.

It has led to a drop in morale, the military union VNM has claimed.

President Jean Debie told De Standaard: 'Even if you have no bullets, you have to train with your weapon. That means you have to call out bang-bang-bang.

'That is of course disastrous for the morale of the military.'
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Rocket

The Feds really keep track of everything - Buzz Aldrin proves it

Kiona Smith-Strickland
Gizmodo
Sun, 02 Aug 2015 17:22 UTC
This may be the only exciting piece of government paperwork you'll ever read. Buzz Aldrin conquered Throwback Thursday forever last week when he shared his travel voucher from the Apollo 11 mission on Facebook and Twitter.
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© Buzz Aldren
It's an unassuming document: a travel voucher for Col. Edwin E. Aldrin for a round trip originating in Houston, Texas. But the whole story of the most historic space mission to date is right there, listed matter-of-factly as a series of destinations in the right-hand column of the first page: Cape Kennedy, Florida; Moon; Pacific Ocean (USN Hornet); and Hawaii.
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Binoculars

Red-winged blackbird rides on red-tailed hawk's back

Ben Hooper
upi.com
Tue, 04 Aug 2015 18:51 UTC
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© Mike White
"Hitching a Ride."
The U.S. Department of the Interior shared a photo from a wildlife refuge showing a red-winged blackbird hitching a ride on the back of a red-tailed hawk.

The photo, which was shared by the department on Facebook and Instagram, was snapped by eagle-eyed photographer Mike White at the DeSoto and Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuges in Nebraska and Iowa.

"We occasionally see territorial blackbirds (among others) dive-bombing raptors, but this is definitely something you don't see every day," the department said.

White's photo was titled "Hitching a Ride."
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Smiley

Bernie Sanders clearly in pocket of high-rolling teacher who donated $300 to his campaign


The Onion
Mon, 03 Aug 2015 02:56 UTC
Bernie Sanders
© The Onion
Burlington, Vermont — After accepting a check sent to his campaign office by a local elementary school teacher, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was roundly criticized Monday as being firmly in the pocket of the high-rolling educator who had donated $300.

"He might have the reputation of being the people's candidate, but when your candidacy is effectively bankrolled by the multi-hundred-dollar donation of a fourth-grade teacher, it's clear who's really pulling the strings," said political analyst Peter Mathews, who noted that when a check arrives with a handwritten note that says "Behind you 100 percent, Bernie!" it comes with certain expectations.

"He's already spouting off talking points about supporting unions and increasing funding for education. Where do you think he got those ideas? He might think he's not influenced by that money, but when someone has deep enough pockets to drop $300, you pick up the phone when they call."

Mathews went on to say he wouldn't be surprised if Sanders' strong support for a living wage could be directly traced to the fat $20 contribution he got from a fast-food worker.
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Smiley

Jon Stewart: Elvis and Area 51 alien also attended his secret White House meeting with Obama

Lisa de Moraes
Deadline
Sun, 02 Aug 2015 16:01 UTC

Jon Stewart finally came clean about those meetings with President Obama at the White House that had the media's undies in a bunch this week, confessing Elvis and the Area 51 alien also were among those present, and they took turns shagging a replica of the eye socket of Ronald Reagan - because the real eye socket is kept at the Smithsonian can only be shagged on Christmas.

At the meeting, "We spent about five to seven minutes with Obama kind of scolding me not to turn young America cynical," Stewart told viewers on last night's The Daily Show. Then I spent about five to seven minutes explaining to him I'm actually skeptically idealistic. And then we spent about 45 minutes arguing about: 'Really, the VA can't be fixed any quicker? Or healthcare.gov can't come online with out crashing my son's Minecraft game?' And the whole things takes place over some of the truly best salmon you have ever had."

Comment: No wonder some consider Jon Stewart the Nightly Show's senior "Don't Give A Shit Any More" correspondent.

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Black Cat 2

Domesticated cat plays with and feeds adopted baby lynx after its own mother rejected it

Jake Polden
Daily Mail, UK
Fri, 31 Jul 2015 19:26 UTC
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Motherly love! The cat had recently given birth to kittens and adopted the little lynx as a part of her own brood
A domesticated cat has adopted a baby lynx after its own mother refused to feed it.

A worker at the Novosibirsk Zoo in the city of Novosibirsk, Russia, noticed that the young lynx Nika was not being correctly cared for by its mother.

The lynx had refused to feed the cub because it was the runt of the litter and the zoo needed to find an innovative solution for the problem.

An employee at the zoo then decided that she would bring her cat into work with her to act as a surrogate mother.

Her cat had recently given birth to kittens and it was hoped that the feline would adopt the little lynx as a part of her own brood.

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Horse

Ponies swim channel from Assateague to Chincoteague Island, 90th annual event

Riley Davis
Horse Collaborative
Thu, 30 Jul 2015 17:11 UTC
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© Alex Wong/ Getty Images
Hundreds of spectators gathered yesterday to watch the 90th annual Chincoteague pony swim. For those of you who haven't read Misty of Chincoteague in a while, here's a refresher on why the ponies swim the channel from Assateague to Chincoteague Island off the coast of Virginia every year.

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Smiley

Baby elephant chases swallows over South African road

Ben Hooper
upi.com
Thu, 30 Jul 2015 14:43 UTC
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"Such a cute video of a tiny new-born elephant trying to chase away the low flying swallows that are around him," the video's description on the Kruger Sightings YouTube channel reads.
An African elephant calf was caught on camera wandering into a road and chasing sparrows at a South African national park.

The video, posted to the Kruger Sightings YouTube channel, shows a newborn elephant calf wandering in a road inside Kruger National Park and running after birds surrounding it.

"Such a cute video of a tiny new-born elephant trying to chase away the low flying swallows that are around him," the video's description reads.

The elephant fails to catch any swallows, but appears to succeed at having a great time trying.

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Wolf

Cuteness overload: Fox Village is home to 200 playful wild foxes


Awesomejelly.com
Mon, 13 Jul 2015 00:00 UTC
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There's a wonderful, little place in Japan called Zao Fox Village. Opened in 1990, this fox sanctuary is home to over 200 wild foxes.

Comment: See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesticated_silver_fox
The domesticated silver fox (marketed as the Siberian fox) is a domesticated form of the silver morph of the red fox. As a result of selective breeding, the new foxes became tamer and more dog-like.The result of over 50 years of experiments in the Soviet Union and Russia, the breeding project was set up in 1959 by Soviet scientist Dmitri Belyaev. It continues today at The Institute of Cytology and Genetics at Novosibirsk, under the supervision of Lyudmila Trut.
and: Fetching faces and friendly foxes: Selective breeding of foxes reveals why with humans, beauty rules

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Arrow Down

South African pastor commands congregation to eat live snake that allegedly turns into chocolate; gets arrested for animal cruelty

Leonardo Blair
Christian Post Reporter
Thu, 23 Jul 2015 14:04 UTC
Eating Snakes
© Facebook/End Times Disciples Ministries
Self-styled South African prophet Penuel Mnguni, 24 (l) feeds a snake to one of his congregants.
A 24-year-old self-styled South African prophet who allegedly commanded a snake to turn into chocolate, then had his parishioners feast on the reptile as a show of their faith in God's power, was arrested for animal cruelty over the weekend.

Photos posted to the Facebook page of End Times Disciples Ministries in Soshanguve, South Africa, led by the controversial young prophet Penuel Mnguni, show several of his congregants being fed what appear to be snakes as others look on with squeamish expressions.

Accompanying the photos was a message quoting Scripture and testifying of the alleged conversion of the snake into chocolate.

"‪#‎Demonstration‬ of God's Power, Romans 14. Those with small faith eats (sic) only vegetables but the ones with a great faith eats (sic) everything. During service Man of God commanded a snake to change into a chocolate and it obeyed. People ate it and enjoyed it. To God Be The Glory!" noted the message.

Mnguni was reportedly an understudy of another controversial South African pastor, Lesego Daniel, who convinced his followers to eat grass and drink petrol last year.

South Africa's Eyewitness News reported that Mnguni was arrested over the weekend after the country's animal rights group, the SPCA, charged him with animal cruelty. He was later released on bail as local courts try to find a date for his next appearance.
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