Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
In Anchorage, Maggie, who has been alone for 10 years since the death of the zoo's other elephant, Annabelle, lived in a house with concrete floors and a small outside enclosure.
Debate over her conditions has rumbled on for years, but the decision to move her came recently after the fire department was called out twice in a week to hoist her to her feet because she could not stand unaided.
An earlier attempt by the zoo board to offset criticism of Maggie's condition failed. They bought her a treadmill but she refused to climb on to it.
The charging force comprised the 4th (Victorian) and 12th (New South Wales) Light Horse Regiments. They formed the 4th Light Horse Brigade under Brigadier-General William Grant (born Stawell, Victoria). Earlier, Australian General Sir H. G. Chauvel had been ordered 'to capture Beersheba today, in order to secure water and take prisoners'. Chauvel had other units available including British troops, but directed the 4th Brigade forward. 'Put Grant straight at it', he directed.
History's last great mounted charge thus was hastily organised in an atmosphere of urgency. Dwindling supplies of water demanded that the water wells at Beersheba be taken at once. Any delay, while the large British force gradually assembled nearby, would only lead to demolition of the wells by the Turkish defenders. Without water, the whole Sinai-Palestine campaign would be halted perhaps for months, and the Gaza-Beersheba line would remain unbroken. A victory here over the Turkish defenders would help avenge the disasters of Gallipoli.
The 4th Light Horse Brigade had spent a quiet day till then. Widely scattered as a precaution against any surprise aircraft attack, the men and horses rested in small clusters. It took an hour-and-a-half to assemble the brigade behind a ridge overlooking Beersheba. The Victorians were on the left, the 12th Regiment on the right. It was 4.30 pm on 31 October 1917. Without swords (they were not on issue to Lt Horse), the light horsemen drew their long bayonets to flash in the setting sun as swords. . .
'It was the bravest, most awe inspiring sight I've ever witnessed, and they were. . . yelling, swearing and shouting. There were more than 500 Aussie horsemen . . . As they thundered past my hair stood on end. The boys were wild-eyed and yelling their heads off'.
So I don't mind if the speakers of Indian English want to say Mumbai, as long as they extend the same democratic linguistic privileges to others to keep on calling it Bombay. Non-English speakers can be as nationalist as they like - in their own languages.
One is credited with dreaming up the technological innovation that has arguably done most to transform our lives in recent years; the other is behind a cartoon about a custard-hued family in middle America.
Yet both the worldwide web founder, Tim Berners-Lee, and the Simpsons creator, Matt Groening, are among the world's top 10 living geniuses, according to a report which ranks individuals according to their "genius factor".
It used a scoring system to assess contenders on how much their contribution had turned conventional thinking on its head, the popular acclaim they received, their intellectual power, their achievements and their cultural importance
Workplace Relations Minister Joe Hockey has today let slip over the advertising strategy of the Liberal National coalition, confirming allegations of Labor Leader Kevin Rudd and his party.
Mr Hockey today said "Our fear campaign is based on fact," whilst launching a new ad against the Labor Party's alleged union domination.
Nobel Peace Prize winner, Al Gore, is set to receive a year's supply of 100 percent recycled toilet paper to his home in Nashville, Tennessee from a Queensland paper company after he was lost for words recently when asked if he used recycled toilet paper at home.
Dubbed the 'Noah of modern times', Gore appeared on the Nine Networks national breakfast program TODAY recently and discussed the modifications he's made to his home to minimise his carbon footprint, including solar panels, new light bulbs, a geothermal system for heating and cooling and a rainwater collection system.
However, Gore came unstuck when asked if he used recycled toilet paper, admitting he "would need to check that,"
SAFE, part of the company that manufacturers 100% recycled toilet paper saw the interview and shipped Gore a whole year's supply.
"If you're a climate change campaigner, as Gore is, then you should definitely be leading by example and using toilet paper made from 100% recovered paper," SAFE said.
"It's one of the easiest everyday changes you can make to help achieve sustainable living."
Merino hasn't heard whether Gore has put the free SAFE shipment to use, but is hoping next time he's down under he'll be promoting the use of 100 percent recycled toilet paper as part of his global climate change message.
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To bad about the pigment issues.Research suggests that broccoli can prevent the damage from ultraviolet light that often leads to skin cancer. And, as many children would surely appreciate, you do not even have to eat it.
In tests on people and hairless mice, a green smear of broccoli-sprout extract blocked the potentially cancer-causing damage inflicted by sunlight.
The product is still in early stages of development. Among other issues to be worked out is how best to remove the extract's green pigments, which do not contribute to its protective effects and would give users a temporary Martian complexion.
Scientists said the extract works not by screening out the sun's rays — which also blocks vitamin D production — but by turning on the body's natural cancer-fighting machinery.
The 20th anniversary World Solar Challenge begins in Darwin this week, with 61 teams from 20 countries in beetle-like solar cars taking to the outback on the Stuart Highway.
On the 3000-kilometre slog to Adelaide, they will encounter road trains, dangerous winds and blazing temperatures, with cabins expected to exceed 50 degrees in the Red Centre. The first car is expected in town in about 30 hours.
When I was in University in the US, the mechanical engineers made a solar car that was raced in this race. We civil engineers made a concrete canoe who we raced against other sad civil engineers. Solar Cars sound much more sexy. Not sure I would want to be driving in these conditions however. For all the lack of water here, at least we can count on hot weather and some sun.
Spotlight: This week, the Crosby Texter Liberal Bash a Unionist Committee for Truth about the Militant Communist Influence of Militant Trade Unionists who want to Take Over Australia, opened its public debate into Militant Trade Union influence in the Australian Labor Party. The first witness to take the stand was Minister for Fat and Happy Employers, Joe Fat and Happy Hockey, with the terrifying warning that Militant Trade Unionists want to nationalise your house, bankrupt your employer and generally make your life miserable.
From Broons Petition Site
18 October 2007
We received a petition asking:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to honour the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, by naming a ship in Her Majesty's Royal Navy "HMS Iron Lady".
Details of petition:
"As Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher protected the interests of the UK on the world stage. She ensured that the Falklands were defended when invaded by a foreign power. During the ensuing conflict, the Royal Navy fought valiantly and were distinguished by their actions. The Baroness's determination to stand up to Communism, in particular by maintaining our Armed Forces and nuclear capability, contributed greatly to the fall of Communism, and the liberation of millions. The US have honoured Sir Winston Churchill, who stood up against the tyranny of fascism, through naming one of its vessels "USS Winston Churchill"; we should accord a similar honour to a woman who struggled against the tyranny of dictatorship. The Royal Navy is currently commissioning Type 45 Destroyers. One such ship could be named "HMS Iron Lady" in reference to Baroness Thatcher, echoing the designation of the vessel "HMS Iron Duke", named in honour of the Duke of Wellington, who also stood firm against a tyrant."
And the Response
Recommendations for the names of new ships are made by the Ships Names and Badges Committee, whose selections are passed through the First Sea Lord and Ministers before final approval by Her Majesty the Queen. I have ensured that the Chairman of this Committee is aware of the views of you and your fellow petitioners so that the name IRON LADY may be considered when a suitable vessel comes to be named in future.
The last politician to be recognised by having a vessel named after them was Sir Winston Churchill, after whom the nuclear submarine HMS CHURCHILL was named in 1968, three years after Sir Winston's death. In addition to the Duke of Wellington, after whom HMS IRON DUKE was named, the only other record of a vessel being named after a former Prime Minister is HMS WALPOLE, a W Class destroyer launched in 1918, some 180 years after the death of Sir Robert Walpole.
You may be aware that Baroness Thatcher recently visited No10 Downing Street to meet the Prime Minister. He asked her, and she has graciously agreed, to sit for a portrait which will hang in Downing Street on a permanent basis. The only other 20th century Prime Ministers whose portraits currently hang in Downing Street are David Lloyd George and Sir Winston Churchill.
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