BELIEVE IN YOU

A Thought For The Day

Leo Tolstoy said, It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.

A Thought For The Day

Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote in Uncle Tom's Cabin that, No one is so thoroughly superstitious as the godless man.

TEN AMAZING UNDERGROUND RUINS

http://www.arcamax.com/knowledge/historyvideos/s-1333166

I HAVE A DREAM by MARTIN LUTHER KING JR

AS THE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES MAKES HIS WAY TO THE CAPITOL FOR HIS INAUGURATION INTO OFFICE FOR A SECOND TERM WE CAN´T STOP TO THINK THAT THIS IS JUST THE RIGHT DAY FOR THIS TO HAPPEN. ITS MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY AND THE DREAM HAS BECOME AN AMERICAN STORY! GOD BLESS AMERICA. GOD BLESS THE PRESIDENT, BARAK OBAMA AND GOD BLESS OUR FIRST LADY AND THE TWO FIRST DAUGHTERS. HISTORY CONTINUES!

“I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. “But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. “In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’ “But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. “We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children. “It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. “But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. “The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. “We cannot walk alone. “And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. “We cannot turn back. “There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, ‘When will you be satisfied?’ We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: ‘For Whites Only.’ We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until ‘justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.’ “I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. “Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. “And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. “I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. “I have a dream today! “I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of ‘interposition’ and ‘nullification’ -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. “I have a dream today! “I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; ‘and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.’ “This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with. “With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. “And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning: ‘My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, From every mountainside, let freedom ring!’ And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that: Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. “And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’”

LEARNING ABOUT OUR FLAWS

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.

'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.'

The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?'

'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water
them.'

'For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.

Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

SO, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

IF YOU LET IT

The glory of the day
The power of the night
Add to the words I want to say,
And place all visions within sight.

We can ask ourselves time and again,
Will the wonders of life ever end?
Will we ever change our plans?
Will we be scared to take life by the hand?

Dreams can sometime cloud that one thought,
That helped us win every battle we ever fought.
But most times we travel with one goal,
And to it we strongly hold.

Life tells us things we need to do,
It tells us about people like me and you,
It takes us on a journey never forgotten,
Until finally we return home again.

So smile when you feel sad,
Control your words when you feel mad.
Because once done things can never be the same,
So the highest star must always be your aim.

For the power of the night
Can always offer you its´ light.
And the dawn of each new day,
Can guide everything you say,
IF YOU LET IT!


Brenda A.Ysaguirre
Copyright September 11th, 2011

GREGOR MENDEL

TODAY WE CELEBRATE THE 189TH BIRTHDAY OF THIS GREAT SCIENTIST. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DO NOT KNOW ABOUT HIM, I HAVE INSERTED THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

Gregor Mendel, who is known as the "father of modern genetics", was inspired by both his professors at the University of Olomouc (i.e. Friedrich Franz & Johann Karl Nestler) and his colleagues at the monastery (i.e. Franz Diebl) to study variation in plants, and he conducted his study in the monastery's two hectare experimental garden, which was originally planted by the abbot Napp in 1830. Between 1856 and 1863 Mendel cultivated and tested some 29,000 pea plants (i.e., Pisum sativum). This study showed that one in four pea plants had purebred recessive alleles, two out of four were hybrid and one out of four were purebred dominant. His experiments led him to make two generalizations, the Law of Segregation and the Law of Independent Assortment, which later became known as Mendel's Laws of Inheritance.
Mendel did read his paper, Versuche über Pflanzenhybriden (Experiments on Plant Hybridization), at two meetings of the Natural History Society of Brünn in Moravia in 1865. It was received favorably and generated reports in several local newspapers. When Mendel's paper was published in 1866 in Verhandlungen des naturforschenden Vereins Brünn, it was seen as essentially about hybridization rather than inheritance and had little impact and was cited about three times over the next thirty-five years. (Notably, Charles Darwin was unaware of Mendel's paper, according to Jacob Bronowski's The Ascent of Man.) His paper was criticized at the time, but is now considered a seminal work.

After Mendel completed his work with peas, he turned to experimenting with honeybees, in order to extend his work to animals. He produced a hybrid strain (so vicious they were destroyed), but failed to generate a clear picture of their heredity because of the difficulties in controlling mating behaviours of queen bees. He also described novel plant species, and these are denoted with the botanical author abbreviation "Mendel".
After he was elevated as abbot in 1868, his scientific work largely ended, as Mendel became consumed with his increased administrative responsibilities, especially a dispute with the civil government over their attempt to impose special taxes on religious institutions. At first Mendel's work was rejected, and it was not widely accepted until after he died. At that time most biologists held the idea of blending inheritance, and Charles Darwin's efforts to explain inheritance through a theory of pangenesis were unsuccessful. Mendel's ideas were rediscovered in the early twentieth century, and in the 1930s and 1940s the modern synthesis combined Mendelian genetics with Darwin's theory of natural selection.
Mendel died on January 6, 1884, at age 61, in Brno, Moravia, Austria-Hungary (now Czech Republic), from chronic nephritis. Czech composer Leoš Janáček played the organ at his funeral. After his death, the succeeding abbot burned all papers in Mendel's collection, to mark an end to the disputes over taxation.

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN´S DAY TO ALL THE LADIES STUDYING TODAY ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD

International Women's Day has been observed since in the early 1900's, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.
1908
Great unrest and critical debate was occurring amongst women. Women's oppression and inequality was spurring women to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change. Then in 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.
1909
In accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America, the first National Woman's Day (NWD) was observed across the United States on 28 February. Women continued to celebrate NWD on the last Sunday of February until 1913.
1910
n 1910 a second International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen. A woman named a Clara Zetkin (Leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) tabled the idea of an International Women's Day. She proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the same day - a Women's Day - to press for their demands. The conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, representing unions, socialist parties, working women's clubs, and including the first three women elected to the Finnish parliament, greeted Zetkin's suggestion with unanimous approval and thus International Women's Day was the result.
1911
Following the decision agreed at Copenhagen in 1911, International Women's Day (IWD) was honoured the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March. More than one million women and men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women's rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination. However less than a week later on 25 March, the tragic 'Triangle Fire' in New York City took the lives of more than 140 working women, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants. This disastrous event drew significant attention to working conditions and labour legislation in the United States that became a focus of subsequent International Women's Day events. 1911 also saw women's 'Bread and Roses' campaign.

1913-1914
On the eve of World War I campaigning for peace, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday in February 1913. In 1913 following discussions, International Women's Day was transferred to 8 March and this day has remained the global date for International Wommen's Day ever since. In 1914 further women across Europe held rallies to campaign against the war and to express women's solidarity.
1917
On the last Sunday of February, Russian women began a strike for "bread and peace" in response to the death over 2 million Russian soldiers in war. Opposed by political leaders the women continued to strike until four days later the Czar was forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. The date the women's strike commenced was Sunday 23 February on the Julian calendar then in use in Russia. This day on the Gregorian calendar in use elsewhere was 8 March.
1918 - 1999
Since its birth in the socialist movement, International Women's Day has grown to become a global day of recognition and celebration across developed and developing countries alike. For decades, IWD has grown from strength to strength annually. For many years the United Nations has held an annual IWD conference to coordinate international efforts for women's rights and participation in social, political and economic processes. 1975 was designated as 'International Women's Year' by the United Nations. Women's organisations and governments around the world have also observed IWD annually on 8 March by holding large-scale events that honour women's advancement and while diligently reminding of the continued vigilance and action required to ensure that women's equality is gained and maintained in all aspects of life.
2000 and beyond
IWD is now an official holiday in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother's Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.
The new millennium has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women's and society's thoughts about women's equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation feel that 'all the battles have been won for women' while many feminists from the 1970's know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights, and an increased critical mass of women's visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life, one could think that women have gained true equality. The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women's education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men.
However, great improvements have been made. We do have female astronauts and prime ministers, school girls are welcomed into university, women can work and have a family, women have real choices. And so the tone and nature of IWD has, for the past few years, moved from being a reminder about the negatives to a celebration of the positives.
Annually on 8 March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more.
Many global corporations have also started to more actively support IWD by running their own internal events and through supporting external ones. For example, on 8 March search engine and media giant Google some years even changes its logo on its global search pages. Year on year IWD is certainly increasing in status. The United States even designates the whole month of March as 'Women's History Month'.
So make a difference, think globally and act locally !! Make everyday International Women's Day. Do your bit to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding.

TO SUCCESS

CONGRATULATION TO THE GRADUATES OF CJC ACE 2010.
IT IS WITH GREAT PLEASURE THAT I POST THAT ALL THREE SPEECHES GIVEN AT THIS YEARS CJC GRADUATION WERE GIVEN BY STUDENTS OF THE EVENING DIVISION WHOM I HAD THE PLEASURE OF ACCEPTING INTO THE INSTITUTION BACK WHEN I WAS DIRECTOR AND TEACHER THERE.

I HAVE MOVED ON BUT I LEAVE MY MARK ON YOUR HEARTS AS YOU HAVE DONE ON MINE.

VALEDICTORIAN... JOSEPH ERMOFF
SALUTORIAN.......... LORENA SEDASSIE
VOTE OF THANKS.. SUSIE HENDERSON

How smart are women in our society??

"LA MUJER ES MAS INTELIGENTE, PRUEBA DE ELLO ES QUE NOS HIZO CREER JUSTAMENTE LO CONTRARIO" (ABEL DESESTRESS)

How many men do you see in my photograph? These are primary school teachers who were having a presentation in December of 2008. See, what I am aiming at is that more INTELLIGENT WOMAN are learning and teaching. More are getting smarter!!! hahaha. Like Harry Belafonte´s song THE WOMAN IS MUCH SMARTER!!! THAT´S RIGHT!!!

Sorry guys, WOMEN RULE!!

WHAT IS MEDITATION AND HOW DO YOU BEGIN IT?

If you really want to get to know the truth, what it means to meditate or understand meditation, you must first leave the mind to one side, leave religion, and leave your Saints and Gods in peace. Neither the Koran nor the Bible, nor the Torah or any "sacred writing" can help. Deeds do not serve any purpose. Nor will going to the Himalayas. Only one thing can help you: start looking at things without the mind. When you look at a flower, do not let the mind say anything. Only look at it. It will be difficult because of your old habit of interpreting. You are always interpreting, and interpretations always differ. Interpretations depend on the mind. How you see things depends on you, not things. Unless you reach a point where these thoughts leave the mind and you stop trying to interpret things and becomes direct, your mind cannot be the mediator. You distort things, and mix them up with interpretations. They are not pure. So the only way to reach the truth is to learn how your vision can be immediate. You must learn how to abandon the aid of the mind ... This mind management is the problem, because the mind can only create dreams, and you can create wonderful dreams that can make you very emotional. And through that emotion the dream begins to resemble reality. If you are emotional a lot of the time, you're intoxicated, you're no longer in your senses, then what you see is a projection of yourself. And there are so many worlds and minds, because every mind lives in their own world. You can laugh at the stupidity of others, but until we start laughing at our own, we are not able to become a natural being, a man of truth. So what should you do? Try small things: do not intervene on the mind about them. When you look at a flower, just look. Do not say: 'How beautiful! How horrible! ". Do not say anything! Do not use words. Do not verbalize. Just look. The mind will feel uncomfortable, uneasy. The mind would like to say something. Simply tell the mind: 'Be silent! Let me see. I need only to look." Initially it will be difficult, but it starts with things in which you're not very involved. It will be difficult to watch your wife without words. You are heavily involved, too emotionally attached. Whether in anger or love, either way you are too involved. Watch things that are neutral: a rock, a flower, a tree, the sunrise, a bird flying, a cloud floating in the sky. Watch only the things you're not very involved with, which can remain disconnected from you, which can remain indifferent. Start with neutral things, and only when you have managed those move into emotionally charged situations. People begin with loaded situations, and fail, because it is almost impossible. For your wife, you love or hate her. There is no middle ground. If you love you're crazy and if you hate you're crazy; will both emotions you have the words. It is almost impossible not to let both emotions come. It is very difficult due to the constant practice of speaking. Sleeping or awake when you are emotionally involved is very difficult to leave the mind to one side. The mind intervene. So, first observe situations that are not loaded. When you feel that you can look at certain things without the mind interfering, then try it with emotionally charged situations. Little by little, one becomes efficient. It's like swimming. At first you are afraid, you think that you will not survive. And you have been working for so long with the mind that you can not believe you can exist without it even for a single moment. But try! You will be starting the path to meditation in everyday life.

Osho

Assumptions in choosing a mate challenged

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (UPI) -- A Scottish study challenges longstanding expectations that men are promiscuous and women tend to be more particular when it comes to choosing a mate. Lead study author Dr. Gillian R. Brown of the School of Psychology at the University of St. Andrews said that in 1948, Angus J. Bateman's famous studies in fruit flies showed that males exhibit greater variance in mating success -- defined as the number of sexual partners -- and in reproductive success -- the number of offspring -- when compared to females. "The conventional view of promiscuous, undiscriminating males and coy, choosy females has also been applied to our own species," Brown said in a statement. To test one of Bateman's assumptions, Brown and colleagues collated data on the variance in male and female reproductive success in 18 human populations. While male reproductive success varied more than female reproductive success overall, huge variability was found between populations. For instance, in monogamous societies, variances in male and female reproductive success were very similar. The study, published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, said recent advances in evolutionary theory suggest that factors such as sex-biased mortality, sex-ratio, population density and variation in mate quality, are likely to impact mating behavior in humans.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International

BET YOU DIDN´T KNOW THIS...

Mosquitoes whine to attract mates

MEDWAY, England (UPI) -- Mosquitoes whine to attract a mate of the correct species, said scientists in Britain who study the maddening sound made by the insects. Scientists at the University of Greenwich, Medway, England, found male and female mosquitoes depend on "singing" in harmony to find each other, researcher Gabriella Gibson wrote in a recent issue of the journal Current Biology. The tones are produced, and varied, based on the frequency of their wings beating in flight. Mosquito species have a complex range of genetic diversity that enables them to adapt to myriad habitats, she said. For example, the Anopheles gambiae mosquito in Burkino Faso has seven species and several chromosomal forms, Gibson said. By varying their tones to attract the correct mate, mosquitoes are able to reproductively isolate themselves and maintain their genetic diversity while traveling in swarms that may contain several species, Gibson said. Copyright 2010 by United Press International

IN LOVING MEMORY OF ABEL DESESTRESS

NOVEMBER 14, 1955 - OCOTBER 18, 2009


TU AMOR VIVE HOY EN TODO LAS PERSONAS QUE TE QUIEREMOS
SIEMPRE EN MI CORAZON. LIVING THE NOW!!!

LAS 12 FLORES MAGICAS LLEGA A MEXICO Y BELICE!!!!

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Come visit us and find what you have been looking for. All the way from Europe to your home!!

For sale at PrehiSPAnic, Corozal Spa.

I am looking for female vendors also!!! Make money while you study.

Call 607 8315 in Corozal, Belize or 9831315669 in Chetumal, Mexico on Thursdays and Fridays. You won´t regret it!!!

Washington couple take home baby giraffe

SPOKANE, Wash. (UPI) -- A Washington state couple said they drove to Virginia and back for their latest exotic pet -- a 26-day-old giraffe.

John and Jane Schreiner said they paid "a large, large sum" for Karson, a baby giraffe born at the Natural Bridge Zoo near Roanoke, Va., and arrived home with the animal Friday after a cross-country drive, The (Spokane, Wash.) Spokesman-Review reported Tuesday.

The couple said Karson will live in their Spokane County home for about four months before moving to the 12,000-acre Schreiner Farms ranch, which John Schreiner co-owns with his brother Joe.

"He may be the only giraffe ever to be raised as a pet in Spokane," John Schreiner said.

The ranch already houses three adult giraffes, in addition to zebras, bison and camels. The couple said they do not believe local officials will have any objection to Karson staying in their home while he grows.

"He's not a carnivore, which is the one concern the county and states are right to control people from raising," John Schreiner said. "I can't see any reason we can't keep him. He's intelligent, gentle and a wonderful creature," he said.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

BOY,2, HAS PACK-A-DAY HABIT!!!

TIANJIN, China (UPI) -- The parents of a 2-year-old in China who smokes at least a pack of cigarettes a day say they are seeking advice to help the toddler quit. Toddler Boy, 2, has pack-a-day habit
TIANJIN, China (UPI) -- The parents of a 2-year-old in China who smokes at least a pack of cigarettes a day say they are seeking advice to help the toddler quit. Toddler Tong Liangliang of Tianjin, China, was allowed to begin smoking by his father more than a year ago to help control pain from a hernia with which he was born, but his parents say the toddler's habit has gotten out of control, China Radio International reported Tuesday. The boy's father said he made the decision because the toddler is too young to have an operation to correct the hernia. However, the parents told the Bohai Morning Post Liangliang's habit has gotten out of control and they are seeking methods of helping the toddler quit. Copyright 2009 by United Press International, was allowed to begin smoking by his father more than a year ago to help control pain from a hernia with which he was born, but his parents say the toddler's habit has gotten out of control, China Radio International reported Tuesday. The boy's father said he made the decision because the toddler is too young to have an operation to correct the hernia. However, the parents told the Bohai Morning Post Liangliang's habit has gotten out of control and they are seeking methods of helping the toddler quit.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International