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Killer Whales Were Ill Treated at SeaWorld

A new book examining the dark side of keeping killer whales in captivity has slammed SeaWorld for its treatment of the enormous beasts and for massive safety failings which still haunt the world famous marine parks.

Claiming that the 12,000 pound animals are self harming and that staff are inadequately prepared for another killer whale attack incident, Death at SeaWorld has been published two-and-a-half years after the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau in Orlando.
SeaWorld Killer Whales_1
© AP
A new book has produced a damning verdict on SeaWorld and the future of keeping killer whales in captivity in the wake of trainer Dawn Brancheau's death at the hands of Tilikum (pictured) in 2010.
Brutally butchered in February 2010 by a killer whale named Tilikum, the book states that such an event was inevitable and that these kinds of tragic occurrences will continue if the animals continue to be treated in the same way.

Written by New York City reporter David Kirby, Death at SeaWorld claims that killer whales kept in captivity suffer immense emotional and psychological trauma and spoke to former trainers and campaigning animal rights advocates to present his damning case.

Staff interviewed by Kirby told him of killer whales destroying their teeth on metal gates and then subsequently having those teeth removed by staff wielding power drills.

In addition, he claims that calves are separated from their mothers causing both parent and child massive distress and in one instance almost leading to a fatality as an irate mother took out her anger on a trainer at SeaWorld's San Diego headquarters.
SeaWorld Killer Whales_2
© AP
Killer: The six-ton whale was is allowed limited appearances in SeaWorld shows and it is alleged that he is being used as a semen donor for the park's artificial insemination program.
Furthermore, Kirby claims that staff are instructed to get Tilikum to come out of the water and roll and then masturbate him with a gloved hand, collecting the semen for the park's artificial insemination program.

Green Light

Bay Area Drivers Could Be Tracked By GPS, Taxed Per Mile Driven

cars, traffic
© David McNew/Getty Images
Oakland, California - Bay Area drivers could one day be tracked using a GPS-like device in their cars and taxed per miles driven - a scenario which is part of a proposed long-range study aimed at finding ways to reduce traffic and pollution, while also raising revenues.

Members of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments are scheduled to vote on Thursday on whether or not to authorize a study of the proposal. Under the plan, drivers would have to install trackers in their vehicle and officials would tax drivers for every mile they travel.

Randy Rentschler with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission said this is a 20-year look at what may be best for transit funding and as always, there is going to be a concern from consumers about government tracking.

Eye 1

Zimmerman: 'I'm Not a Racist and I'm Not a Murderer'


In his first television interview, George Zimmerman walked through his version of what happened the night he killed Trayvon Martin. He said he does not regret being armed, nor does he regret his actions.

Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Martin, an unarmed black teenager, on Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla. The case has become the focus of national media, and ignited an emotional debate over race and gun rights.

The 28-year-old son of a white father and Peruvian mother of Hispanic descent, Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. He says he shot Martin in self-defense after Martin attacked him. He is currently out on bail.

Comment: For more information about this case please read:
Sott Focus: Hysterization Via Racism in the Trayvon Martin Case


Gear

'Lack of Evidence' That Popular Sports Products Work

Usain Bolt
© AFP
Puma shoes carried Jamaica's Usain Bolt to Olympic Gold in the 100-metre sprint in Beijing in 2008.
Consumers could be wasting their money on sports drinks, protein shakes and high-end trainers, according to a new joint investigation by BBC Panorama and the British Medical Journal.

The investigation into the performance-enhancing claims of some popular sports products found "a striking lack of evidence" to back them up.

A team at Oxford University examined 431 claims in 104 sport product adverts and found a "worrying" lack of high-quality research, calling for better studies to help inform consumers.

Dr Carl Heneghan of the Oxford University Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine led the independent research into the claims made by the makers of sports drinks, protein shakes and trainers.

In the case of Lucozade Sport, the UK's best-selling sports drink, their advert says it is "an isotonic performance fuel to take you faster, stronger, for longer".

Info

13-year-old girl in Fruitport launches grandmother's vehicle onto another in parking lot of Bed, Bath & Beyond

Image
© Courtesy Photo
A 13-year-old is facing possible charges after a bizarre accident in the parking lot at The Lakes Mall in Fruitport.
Michigan - A 13-year-old girl who apparently drove her grandmother's vehicle into several objects, including two other vehicles, before landing on top of another, could face criminal charges, authorities said.

Fruitport Township Public Safety Director Ken Doctor said the girl was waiting in her grandmother's vehicle outside Bed, Bath & Beyond at the Lakes Mall, on Harvey Street, around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday while the grandmother shopped.

The girl was inside the vehicle listening to the radio, Doctor said, before she drove the vehicle.

At some point the teen drove the vehicle into a tree, then struck a utility pole and hit at least two other vehicles before launching the grandmother's vehicle onto another vehicle.

Stormtrooper

TSA Agents Allegedly Strip-Search Woman, Fiddle with Feeding Tube

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A North Texas man says he is outraged that airport security agents at Dallas Love Field strip-searched his wife and handled her feeding tube.

Melinda Deaton has a four-inch medical tube sticking out of her stomach. The medically implanted tube is needed for treatment after complications with a gastric bypass surgery.

Deaton frequently flies from Dallas to Minneapolis for treatment at the Mayo Clinic. She said Transportation Security Administration agents strip-searched her and touched her feeding tube Wednesday morning when she was on her way to three days of treatment.

Her husband, John Deaton, said the incident was unusual.

"They will see it on their screens, ask her what it is, she'd identify it, they may pat it on the outside of her clothing, accept it and go on," he said.

But that didn't happen Wednesday morning.

Even though she was wearing a medical bracelet with a USB drive on it that contained notes from her doctor, TSA agents still searched her.

Rocket

55 years ago, 6 stood under A-bomb blast on purpose


Fifty-five years ago today, five Army officers and a photographer stood directly under a 2-kiloton atomic blast at the Nevada Test Site, about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, and survived.

The five officers, who volunteered for the duty, and the cameraman, who did not, designated the July 19, 1957, test site with a hand-lettered sign as "Ground Zero, Population 5," KPLU, a Seattle/Tacoma-based NPR station, said in a story marking the 55th anniversary of the blast.

The intent of the Cold War test was to film the officers surviving the blast and convince U.S. military leaders of the time that using low-grade nuclear missiles in the air would be relatively safe for people on the ground, KPLU reported.

A movie, obtained from government archives by AtomCentral.com, shows two F-89 jets zooming into view and one shooting off the missile carrying the atomic warhead. The officers are shown waiting during a countdown for the missile to detonate 18,500 feet above them. One officer, wearing sunglasses, looks up as the warhead explodes, at first in silence, followed by a roar, after which the sky goes black and the air turns to fire.

Stop

Man Dies After Playing Diablo III for 40 Hours

Diablo
© CVG Australia
An 18 year old Taiwanese man has died after playing Diablo III for 40 uninterrupted hours, Blizzard has claimed.

A man known only as Chuang has reportedly died after playing Diablo III for 40 hours without taking a single break. According to reports, he booked himself into a private room in an internet cafe at lunchtime on Friday and settled himself in for nearly two days of non-stop gaming with no food or sleep.

Chuang was left alone in that time, with an employee of the cafe only coming in on the Sunday morning to check on him, where she found him resting on the table. Chuang then woke up, took a few steps and collapsed. He was taken to hospital, but died shortly after his arrival.

Blizzard released a statement following Chuang's death:

"We're saddened to hear this news, and our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time. We don't feel it would be appropriate for us to comment further without knowing all of the circumstances involved.

Light Saber

Judge grants Tennessee mosque's petition to open

mosque being built in Murfreesboro, Tenn
© AP Photo/Erik Schelzig, File
FILE - In a Thursday, June 21, 2012 file photo, a worker walks out of the construction site of a mosque being built in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The Islamic Center of Murfreesboro and its religious leader, Imam Ossama Bahloul, sued Rutherford County on Wednesday, July 18, 2012 and asked the federal court for an emergency order to let worshippers into the building before the holy month of Ramadan starts at sundown on Thursday. In May, a Rutherford County judge overturned the county's approval of the mosque construction and this month he ordered the county not to issue an occupancy permit for the 12,000-square-foot building.
Nashville - Muslims in a Tennessee congregation prepared Thursday for the holy month of Ramadan a day after a federal judge ruled they have a right to occupy their newly built mosque, overruling a county judge's order that was keeping them out.

The Islamic Center of Murfreesboro sued Rutherford County on Wednesday and asked U.S. District Judge Todd Campbell for an emergency order to let worshippers into the building before the holy month of Ramadan starts at sundown Thursday.

Federal prosecutors also filed a similar lawsuit.

The future of the mosque had been in question since May, when a local judge overturned the county's approval of the mosque construction. This month, he ordered the county not to issue an occupancy permit for the 12,000-square-foot building.

Stormtrooper

Handcuffed Man Shot Twice by San Francisco Police - Witness Reports

Image
© video still from youtube user sf99er
Officers with the San Francisco Police Department in Northern California shot a man believed to have a knife this morning, but preliminary reports suggest that the victim was in handcuffs while the authorities opened fire.

Police officers with the SFPD allegedly opened fire on a man armed with a knife at around 10:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday after responding to reports that someone had been stabbed near the city's Pier 17.

The Bay City News Service reported minutes later that there was an "officer-involved" shooting but did provide any other details. The San Francisco Chronicle reported at 11:30 a.m. local time that the man was shot by police after he refused to drop a knife that they believe was used in a stabbing earlier that morning. Fire Department Capt. Jeanne Seyler confirms to the paper that the victim was being transported for life threatening wounds, but did not provide any more details.

A video uploaded to YouTube less than 30 minutes after that report includes a testimony from an eyewitness who alleges that the police shot the suspect after placing him in handcuffs.