Elephants Sending Text Messages in Kenya!

Kenyan elephants have been texting local wildlife rangers warning them that they are heading towards the crops of neighboring villages! The elephants from the Ol Pejeta conservancy have been equipped with mobile phone SIM cards on their collars which automatically send text messages if they head towards local villages. The bull elephants, which are almost extinct, have previously raided villagers' crops during the harvest, sometimes wiping out six months of income at a time.
As a result, the Kenyan Wildlife Service has reluctantly had to shoot five animals that have been particularly persistent. But now a virtual fence has been set up using a global positioning system that mirrors the boundaries of the conservatory.
Kimani is one of the bull elephants with a SIM card. Whenever he approaches the virtual fence, his collar sends a text to rangers, who can head him off using spotlights to frighten him away. Kimani has been intercepted 15 times since the project began. Once almost a nightly raider, he last went near a farmer's field four months ago. The idea, drawn up by the Save the Elephants group, is now a huge relief to the small farmers who rely on their crops for food and cash for school fees.
31-year-old mother-of-two, Basila Mwasu, lives near the conservancy fence. Once an elephant stuck its trunk through a window into a room where her baby daughter was sleeping and the family had stored some corn. She was forced to beat it back with a burning stick. On another occasion, one of the elephants killed a neighbor who was defending his crop. "We had to go into town to tell the game (wardens) to chase the elephants away or we're going to kill them all." said Mwasu.
The founder of the Save the Elephants project, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, said the project is still in its infancy, and is not without problems. The collar batteries wear out every few years and with Ol Pejeta having five full-time staff and a standby vehicle to respond when a message flashes across a ranger's screen, the project has been very expensive. It is however a great success, as the villagers now feel safe.
"We can live together", said Mwasu.
"Elephants have the right to live, and we have the right to live too", she added.
Adam H. Bolton is an International News Researcher based in the UK

Invisible Clothing Fit For Harry Potter

What would you do if you could become invisible? Answers to that ever popular question range from the criminal (rob a bank) and obscene (spend a day in a women's locker room) to the political (super-efficient government spies) and bizarre (walk around naked in public). To many the question is rhetorical; it doesn't matter what they would do because it's never going to be possible. But for scientists hard at work on developing cloaking devices, the question is more pertinent.
In an article on cnn.com, Elizabeth Landau looks at two groups of scientists working on separate invisibility projects, both of which have achieved moderately promising results. Graeme Milton, a mathematician at the University of Utah, is working with a team of scientists based in Australia on invisibility models that use a superlens, a device that makes objects seem to disappear. Seeming to disappear is very different from actually becoming invisible, and so far the theory only applies to small objects, such as clusters of dust particles. This is a long way from invisibility as Harry Potter and his marvelous cloak know it.
So far Milton and his team have only been able to prove their theories mathematically, however, back in 2006 a Russian professor, Oleg Gadomsky, actually patented his method of optical camouflage. Gadomsky used his knowledge in quantum and optical electronics to arrange gold nanoparticles in a stratum that "cloaks the image of an object to the other side of the stratum". Wearing a parka-like garment, Gadomsky demonstrated his "invisibility cloak" to great success and can even be viewed on a video that has done the rounds on the internet.
On a completely different tack, SkinScan has used all available technology to develop fabric that mimics skin tone to create the illusion that the fabric is in fact not there. Jerold Kritchman & Co., the creators of Almost Invisible™ Clothing hold fast to their belief that the natural tones and colours of women's skin is inherently glamourous and go by the politically correct motto of "My colour is my sensuality".
SkinScan™ Technology records skin tone and reproduces it on a number of different fabrics, which can be used in the cut and design of a number of different products customised to individual needs. Kritchman hopes that clothing that looks invisible when worn will open up a whole new area for clothing fashion designers to explore.

Comparing and Contrasting Indebtedness - Japan Versus the United States

In Japan, cash is king; in contrast, American consumer spending appears to revolve around plastic credit cards. At the root of the difference in attitude is the notion that a lack of cash translates into a foregoing of immediate gratification in Japan, while by and large American holds the monopoly on instant gratification with the help of plastic. While avoidance of debt may be a virtue, the underlying though processes speak of a reluctance to be indebted to anyone, whether a bank or a foreign country; when comparing this attitude to American sentiments, it becomes obvious that the latter do not share in this notion and the country as a whole finances its excesses by selling off bonds which the former are eagerly buying.
Whether it is a mistrust of the banking system or a cautious holding on to tangible riches rather than paper promises of stocks owned, Japan's consumers refuse to risk their financial health while American consumers are almost playing Russian roulette with the loans they willingly take on.
It has been said that Japan's love of cash is rooted in its willingness to value stability over risk taking, while America's unwillingness to let go of plastic may be traced directly to its ability to engage in even the riskiest behaviors if the odds look like the gamble may pay off. While not a stigma per se in the States, bankruptcy in Japan is considered to be shameful enough for many debtors to take their lives when faced with the option. It is not surprising that what the people practice at home is being practiced on the national level as well. While America is selling treasuries to fund its spending, Japan is buying them and thus controls in many ways whether the United States economy will remain afloat or take a dive.
Polling Site: Presidential polls.

Bomb Blasts in 2008! Is India Going the Iraq Way?

If barely a day goes in Iraq or Bosnia without military attacks and car bombings, you can assume that it is a peaceful day for them. India, one of the peaceful countries is the world is suffering from the highest number of terrorist attacks and bombings the country has ever seen in 2008.
Flashback to the serial bomb blasts on March 12' 1993 in Mumbai which gave rise to the term 'serial blasts'. Since then intermittently, there has been terrorist attacks in various parts of the country, mainly in Mumbai, the commercial capital of the country, the second biggest one being the one on July 11, 2006 where bombs exploded in the first class compartments of suburban Mumbai trains, resulting in heavy loss of life and limb.
Two years later in 2008, India been plagued with bomb threats and bomb blasts by terrorists who resort to emailing TV stations before and soon after commuting the act. Though the terrorist call themselves Indian mujahedeen, Indian police have deciphered IM as a non entity working under the garb of SIMI(Students Islamic Movement of India. Take IM of SIMI and you get Islamic Mujahadeen. The police are taking bomb threats very seriously and are on the massive manhurt to nab the terrorists of the Delhi blasts At the time of writing, an email has been sent to media organizations in Mumbai to blow up three railways stations before the end of the day. As a result, Mumbai is witnessing the highest security check, it has ever witnessed in its history today. Even if it is a prank, the police cannot afford to take any chances.
Here are the recent ten bomb blasts and terrorist attacks that shook the country in three years (sourced from DNA and Outlook India)
October 29, 2008: A series of powerful explosions ripped through crowded market areas in New Delhi, killing at least 50 people as shoppers in the Indian capital were gearing up for a major Hindu holiday.
July 26, 2008: Serial blasts in Ahmedabad kill close to 45 and injure over 100
July 25, 2008: Seven blasts strike the IT city of Bangalore killing at least two people and wounding at least 20.
May 2008: Eight serial blasts rock Jaipur in a span of 12 minutes leaving 65 dead and over 150 injured.
January 2008: Terrorist attack on CRPF camp in Rampur kills eight.
November 2007: 15 people killed in seven well-synchronised explosions near court premises in three cities of Uttar Pradesh -- Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad.
October 2007: 2 killed in a blast inside Ajmer Sharif shrine during Ramadan, in Rajasthan.
August 2007: 30 dead, 60 hurt in Hyderabad 'terror' strike.
May 2007: A bomb at Mecca mosque in Hyderabad kills 11 people.
February 2007: Two bombs explode aboard a train bound from India to Pakistan, burning to death at least 66 passengers, most of them Pakistanis.
September 2006: 30 dead and 100 hurt in twin blasts at a mosque in Malegaon.
July 2006: Seven bombs on Mumbai's trains kill over 200 and injure 700 others.
March 2006: Twin bombings at a train station and a temple in Varanasi kill 20 people.
October 2005: Three bombs placed in busy New Delhi markets a day before Diwali kill 62 people and injured hundreds.

On Preventing Terrorism

September 11 was an an emotional day for all of us. It is the anniversary of the day that our country was brutally attacked by terrorists and many innocents were killed. Today many are left without husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, best friends, and the list goes on and on. Nobody with a conscience can help but have tears on a day like this anniversary. We have made it through seven of them now.
I used to work in the north tower of the World Trade Center so it not only brings up many emotions for me, but memories as well. I remember how relieved everyone felt to get out of the "dangerous" subway everyday and into the pristine "safe" walls of this meticulously built building. I was only twenty-eight years old and learning the corporate environment through an internship.
I remember the day I saw it fall, and how my innocence was lost, yet again, a knife pierced through my thoughts of "safe boundaries". What was once safe, no longer held much meaning. The walls of the WTC seemed so safe, such a great barrier against the "mean streets of New York" every morning getting off the subway which took us right to the main entrance.
I didn't watch most of it on the news when it was occurring. I was recovering from a heart attack, and many of the people whom I'd befriended, loved, eaten dinner and gone out to drinks with, were now gone. It was too much to watch. I eventually, with a friend by my side, months later, turned watched several videos of it. It took months before I could do so. It was hard enough to read about it in newspapers and on the net, but I did, just to keep up with it. It was impossible to watch the video after once however, and would take months before I could do so again.
I often wonder how the families of those lost cope. I know that time heals, and my feeling today is one of "less fear and sadness" than seven years ago this day.
It tests everything I ever learned about forgiveness. It causes a great inner-conflict. How does one forgive the people who did this? I believe in forgiveness, try to practice it (for self and others) but honestly, and I am sorry if I might be considered "a sinner", it is not in me, and I don't know that it ever will be, to forgive this.
I do not blame the Moslem religion for this; in fact, feel sad for them that they were hijacked by a few powerful misguided renegade fanatics. Those who blame Islam for it are misguided as well. I don't believe Mohammed Ali or Kareem Abdul Jabbar (nor millions of others) would have endorsed this event. In fact I know they wouldn't.
Wars are what happen, and happen rapidly, when a few fanatics with power and/or money get together and decide a higher power is talking to them to save the world, or, that everyone must think, feel, and believe like them, or they must die.
It has happened since the beginning of time, and unfortunately may happen again. But that is no reason to "put life on hold" and wait for it. Everyone can do their little part in helping it "not happen so often". One way is to dis-empower, by ignoring, and not voting for (if they are running for office) warmongers and/or fanatics of any kind. I avoid friendships with them at any cost, no matter what their philosophies (or lack thereof). It can happen on a small scale, and it can happen on a large scale. The trick is to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Avoid fanatics of any sort (religious or not) who "give you the opportunity" to be a part of "their cause". I am not saying "ignore that they exist and keep an eye out on them" , only to ignore their cause and that sends a very strong message of your non-support".
There is strength in numbers and the less numbers they have, the less chance they have of doing damage in the world. Many have money and will attempt to "buy you". This is a good time to walkaway from that money. A fool and his/her money is soon departed.
The less people, power, friends, and money a terrorist, or would-be terrorist has, the less chances he/she has of doing damage. We can start in our own communities by simply not "buying into" fanaticism of any kind.

The Future Period With Nuclear Terrorism is Coming, Actually it is Here Now!

Some ask what happens when Iran becomes a nuclear power and has nuclear weapons able of destroying Israel, would they actually use them or would they know better? Indeed, the Iranian Leadership has already promised to blow Israel off the map and threatened nuclear terrorism in the United States if the US attacks its nuclear weapons making facilities.
Well, if this is the case, then apparently, the Western World and the Middle Eastern World has a serious problem on their hands and there is really nothing to talk about, until Iran stops making nuclear weapons and sponsoring international terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, which hijacked Lebanon and started a war with Israel, albeit a short war. If Iran gives Hezbollah 100 million dollars a year then surely it will give them nuclear weapons to use on Israel in the future.
If the International Terrorists have demonstrated their joy in blowing up civilian targets throughout the world, then surely they would use a nuclear weapon anytime they could get one in close proximity of such a soft target whether it was in the US, Israel, Spain, Bali, Philippines, London or any other such place. Most nations are very vulnerable to nuclear weapon attacks, and that is a scary thing for intelligence folks.
Why is the US so Vulnerable to Nuclear Terrorism?
Well, I guess it goes without saying that if 30 million illegal aliens can sneak over our borders and 100s of tons of drugs can come into the US each week, that getting a nuclear weapon into the country is not so difficult. Likewise there are ways to seal containers to sneak a nuclear weapon into the US without it's detection. No, no one likes to talk about this, but there may very well be several weapons already here and waiting for a future attack now.
Al Qaeda is a Nuclear Terrorist Organization Before, During and After Their Acquisition of Nuclear Weapons.
Al Qaeda has access to black market nuclear weapons and the US has enemies that would supply them with such weapons. Al Qaeda is also near the North West Border of Pakistan and there are nuclear power plants in the region. Al Qaeda is a nuclear terrorist threat before, during and after they get their hands on nuclear weapons. Just their ability to do so makes them a serious nuclear threat and they may have trouble getting such a weapon into the US, but getting it into one of our allied nations wouldn't be that tough. What
Would the US do in Response to a Nuclear Terrorist Attack?
Provided that the US knew who gave the nuclear weapons to the terrorist that launched an attack on the US Military, the Green Zone in Iraq, one of our military bases abroad or actually in our country, the US would have no choice but to take action. Still, do you attack another nation because it has criminals in official government capacity that allowed nuclear weapons to get into the hands of the terrorists, or do you hunt down the terrorists that did it?
Well, nuclear material has a signature and there is a good chance that we would indeed know where such a nuclear weapon came from if it went off, whether a dirty bomb, an EMP device or an actual nuclear bomb full-scale. So, there is a good chance we would get to the bottom of it quick enough and then take action. It will not be pretty and it will be a horrible day for humanity. Think on this, we are.

Volunteer Work With Children Brings Benefits at Every Stage

Many high school and college students these days are finding teen volunteer work to be interesting and satisfying, with more and more teens getting involved all the time. There are even some high schools that make volunteer work with children, and other types of volunteer work, part of their basic curriculum. Often you can catch some energetic teens engaged in charity work with a variety of charitable agencies that provide services for children and adults.
There are now many teen volunteer work programs that a young person can decide to get involved in. Some young people make themselves useful by helping to build new homes for the Habitat for Humanity organization. Others enjoy working in the US National Parks through the Conservation Corps program, and still others are gaining a great deal by being involved in various political, social, economic, and environmental causes and the volunteer work for teens programs that are available through such venues.
Many teens find themselves most drawn to participating in volunteer work with children. In many cases, children who are in a situation where they need the help of volunteers seem to respond better to teenagers, probably because they are nearer to their own age. When a kid is very shy around adults, often a teen who is participating in student volunteer work can get the child to open up.
Many students are very intuitive and have a positive impact on children, even if the work is something as simple as reading the child a story or helping them with their homework. These positive instances of student volunteer work help to make the teenagers feel better about themselves and more confident, in addition to helping the child with the situation they were facing.
It is interesting to observe that while many teenagers these days seem to be more self-centered and materialistic than any previous generation, the level of teen volunteer work has increased. One reason for this is that there are more voluntary charity organizations who understand how valuable the efforts of teens can be and have gone to great lengths to create volunteer work for teens within their volunteer programs.
When teens get involved in summer volunteer work programs or various student volunteer programs in their communities, it seems that many of the materialistic and self-centered attitudes fade away, as the students set aside their designer clothes, their fancy iPods and cell phones, and other high-tech goodies for the time being. In many cases, when these social trappings are set aside, it gives teenagers their first real opportunity to look outside themselves and focus on the needs of the person or the community that they are rendering service to through their teen volunteer work.
It really does not matter what sort of volunteer activity a teen is participating in, from doing volunteer work with children, to being an orphanage volunteer or doing hospital volunteer work; these endeavors bring benefits to everyone at every stage. Certainly, the people receiving the service work benefit from the efforts of teen volunteers, the charitable agency benefits from the energy and enthusiasm of their youthful participants, and the teens themselves feel great about doing their part.