Elephants May Be Extinct Within Fifteen Years

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The IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) has release a startling report. They claim the elephants are being slaughtered at the rate of a hundred a day to support the ivory trade in China.

If things continue in this vein, the elephant will be extinct within fifteen years.

Banning the ivory trade does not see to have solved the problem and ivory hunters still take enormous risks for the high prices it brings. Education has not worked, so may it’s time to do something about the underlying causal factor and tackle poverty on a larger scale. Let’s face it; very few men would go out there killing elephants if they could earn a living in another way.

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Please Use The Toilet Before Boarding Our Planes

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All Nippon Airlines in Japan is telling their passengers to use the toilet at the airports to cut down on carbon emissions.

They claim that is passenger board the plane with empty bladders, it could save weight and aviation fuel, cutting carbon emissions by five tone every thirty days.

So, as they board the plane, passengers are being asked to use the toilet.

If the trial period is successful it is expected to be rolled out right across the companies flights.

Original story @ Telegraph online

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Chinese Men Search For Swedish City Of Women

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Sweden’s tourist board are faced with a problem thanks to the enthusiastic Chinese media machine.

There have been reports and lengthy news articles about a Swedish town populated only by women. The stories say that 25,000 women live in Chako Paul City and that men are excluded. This has fuelled the imagination of many Chinese men who now seek to find out more about the City and perhaps make arrangements to visit.

Swedish officials have had to issue a formal denial and they say that they have no idea where the rumours have come from.

Reports appeared in the Xinhua and Harbin News, through news agencies and the Shanghai Media Group even produced a supplement on the Chako Paul City.

Full story @ Ananova

Don't Jump Off The Bridge, We've Just Buttered It.

Chinese guards have been placed at either end of the 1000 feet long Guangzhou Bridge, to deter ‘bridge jumpers’. Apparently, the erection of fences, posting of notices asking people not to commit suicide from this bridge and the surveillance have not succeeded in stopping the trend.

The local authorities now have a new idea. The bridge has been buttered. They have smeared butter all over it to make it too slippery to climb. This seems to have done the trick according to one of the bridge guards.

Which just goes to show that if you want to make people stop doing things you don’t like, you can always butter them up.

Full story available: Facility Blog.

Two-Headed Cow Born in Colombia

A two-headed calf born in Columbia is being investigated by experts from Columbian universities.

Jennifer has two heads but just one brain.

It seems to me that we are seeing more and more birth defects in animals and humans and that there must be an underlying cause.

Michael Jackson's DNA Used To Make Diamonds

Michael Jackson via last.fm

Apparently, Michael Jackson is still making loads of money, despite his recent death. The Telegraph in London has published a news report on a rather macabre trait which seems to be becoming more popular is America.

A company called LifeGem says that it managed to get hold of some of Jackson’s hair from the producer of the 1984 Pepsi advert where the pop star’s hair caught fire.

LifeGem will create diamonds from Michael Jackson’s DNA and sell them. The company charges bereaved families something in the region of $5000 upwards if they want a permanent gem memento from a loved one’s DNA.

No doubt the price of their latest money making scheme will be much higher.

However, it seems that fans will pay the price as the frenzy continues.

Story source: Telegraph on-line

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14th Dalai Lama's 74th Birthday

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The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, turned 74 on the July 6th. He has lived a large part of his life as a plain, simple monk, spending his time praying and meditating. His life was literally turned upside down in 1951 when the Chinese army invaded his homeland of Tibet.

In 1959, there was major protest in Tibet over the Chinese occupation and the Dalai Lama was forced to flee his country and seek protection in Dharamshala, India.

He was the head of the unrecognised Tibetan government and was given the status of a diplomat which helped him to seek help for his cause.

In 2008, the Dalai Lama said that he was going into a kind of semi-retirement, and would not be campaigning so much around the world. Apparently he felt that it was better for Tibet if he moved aside and let the younger men take over the struggle.

In 1989 Tenzin Gyatso was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle to free Tibet.

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