Saturday, 27 June 2009
Stoned wallabies make crop circles
Australian wallabies are eating opium poppies and creating crop circles as they hop around "as high as a kite", a government official has said.Lara Giddings, the attorney general for the island state of Tasmania, said the kangaroo-like marsupials were getting into poppy fields grown for medicine.
She was reporting to a parliamentary hearing on security for poppy crops.
Australia supplies about 50% of the world's legally-grown opium used to make morphine and other painkillers.
 |  We have a problem with wallabies entering poppy fields, getting as high as a kite and going around in circles. Then they crash  Lara Giddings, government official |
"The one interesting bit that I found recently in one of my briefs on the poppy industry was that we have a problem with wallabies entering poppy fields, getting as high as a kite and going around in circles," Lara Giddings told the hearing.
"Then they crash," she added. "We see crop circles in the poppy industry from wallabies that are high."
Rick Rockliff, a spokesman for poppy producer Tasmanian Alkaloids, said the wallaby incursions were not very common, but other animals had also been spotted in the poppy fields acting unusually.
"There have been many stories about sheep that have eaten some of the poppies after harvesting and they all walk around in circles," he added.
Retired Tasmanian poppy farmer Lyndley Chopping also said he had seen strange behaviour from wallabies in his fields.
"They would just come and eat some poppies and they would go away," he told ABC News.
"They'd come back again and they would do their circle work in the paddock."
Some people believe the mysterious circles that appear in fields in a number of countries are created by aliens. Others put them down to a human hoax.
@BBC
I have seen a stoned wallaby but I don't know about them making crop circles. The one I saw was slurring his words and asking me for a dollar as he was trying to get the boat to see his brother in New Zealand - he looked in no mood to be formulating a series of complex agricultural design patterns. I could be wrong - they might have masterminded the twin tower attacks, who really knows?
Dijon, Hobart, Tasmania
This has to be the funniest headline of the year so far. Trippy Skippy.
Arcadian, Oxford
(Thanx SirMick)
Friday, 26 June 2009
More...
'She was with us,' says one man of the woman shot dead during protests. 'Maybe one of us would have been killed that day.' Many come to the grave, despite tight security and the glares of police.
Reporting from Tehran -- Security was tight around the bare grave of Neda Agha-Soltan on Thursday. Militiamen and police stood nearby, witnesses said, and it was difficult for visitors to hold a conversation within sight and hearing of the glaring officers.
But the visitors come nonetheless to pay their respects to Agha-Soltan, who was fatally shot by an unknown assailant during the protests Saturday over Iran's disputed presidential election. Her dying moments were captured in a video that made its way onto the Internet and the international airwaves.
But the visitors come nonetheless to pay their respects to Agha-Soltan, who was fatally shot by an unknown assailant during the protests Saturday over Iran's disputed presidential election. Her dying moments were captured in a video that made its way onto the Internet and the international airwaves.
"I read the news on the Web, and I saw the picture of the grave," said one man, hovering near the burial site. "I figured out the location of the grave and came.
"We are here for Neda and our deceased relatives too," he said. "We are here to utter our respect for them."
The man said that he too was in the street that day.
"She was with us," he said. "Maybe one of us would have been killed that day. We are here to respect her, and all the martyrs they killed in the last days."
Another man who came to pay tribute said he found it amazing that the government was fighting against ordinary people.
"Not even the politicians, or some students, but normal people in the streets," he said in disgust.
"All of us are in danger, like Neda," said a third man at the grave site.
"Now the military has taken the power and prevents us from paying our respects. It's not a big request! We want respect to Neda."
@LATimes
Another man who came to pay tribute said he found it amazing that the government was fighting against ordinary people.
"Not even the politicians, or some students, but normal people in the streets," he said in disgust.
"All of us are in danger, like Neda," said a third man at the grave site.
"Now the military has taken the power and prevents us from paying our respects. It's not a big request! We want respect to Neda."
@LATimes
BEAT IT!
Authorities Rule Iran Election ‘Healthy’
10:10 AM ET -- VOA: Thousands gather to grieve. Voice of America Iran reports over 13,000 gathered yesterday at Zahra cemetery to mourn the dead.@HuffPo
Military Coup Underway in Iran @NPR (AUDIO)
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday it was seriously concerned by the use of force in Iran after a disputed presidential election and urged Tehran to settle all issues in a democratic way, Interfax news agency reported.
"We naturally express our most serious concern about the use of force and the death of civilians," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying on the sidelines of a meeting of Group of Eight foreign ministers in Italy.
"We count on all questions which have arisen in the context of the elections being resolved in accordance with democratic procedures," Lavrov said.
Russia and China earlier this month congratulated Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his controversial re-election as he attended a summit in Russia.
Official results handed Ahmadinejad a landslide victory while defeated candidate Mirhossein Mousavi has said the vote was rigged.
Group of Eight powers deplored the post-election violence in Iran on Friday and called on Tehran to resolve the crisis soon through democratic dialogue.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, editing by Conor Sweeney; editing by Robert Woodward)
Group of Eight powers deplored the post-election violence in Iran on Friday and called on Tehran to resolve the crisis soon through democratic dialogue.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, editing by Conor Sweeney; editing by Robert Woodward)
Security was tight around the bare grave of Neda Agha-Soltan on Thursday. Militiamen and police stood nearby, witnesses said, and it was difficult for visitors to hold a conversation within sight and hearing of the glaring officers.
But the visitors come nonetheless to pay their respects to Agha-Soltan, who was fatally shot by an unknown assailant during the protests Saturday over Iran’s disputed presidential election.@LATIMES
Is the dream already over?
'S - p - i - damn'!
A senior Iranian cleric called Friday for harsh punishment for leaders of the country's post-election protests, even as a G8 foreign ministers meeting in Italy urged Iran's rulers to seek a peaceful resolution to the tense two-week confrontation over the disputed presidential vote. [...]
In the latest sign that the regime is not bending, Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami, a senior cleric, said during nationally broadcast Muslim sermon on Friday that the government should punish "leaders of the riots, who were supported by Israel and the U.S., strongly and with cruelty."
In his sermon at Tehran University, Khatami also accused foreign journalists of false reporting on post-election Iran.
He alleged that an icon of the protests, Neda Agha Soltan, was killed by protesters, not Iranian security forces quelling unrest. "Forces of the government do not shoot at a lady standing in a side street," he said of Soltan, who was shot to death a week ago.
Speaking in tongues...!
She wanted to test her husband.
She knew exactly what to do:
A pseudonym to fool him.
She couldnt have made a worse move.
She sent him scented letters,
And he received them with a strange delight.
Just like his wife
But how she was before the tears,
And how she was before the years flew by,
And how she was when she was beautiful
She signed the letter
All yours,
Babooshka, babooshka, babooshka-ya-ya!
All yours,
Babooshka, babooshka, babooshka-ya-ya!
She wanted to take it further,
So she arranged a place to go,
To see if he
Would fall for her incognito.
And when he laid eyes on her,
He got the feeling they had met before.
Uncanny how she
Reminds him of his little lady,
Capacity to give him all he needs,
Just like his wife before she freezed on him,
Just like his wife when she was beautiful
He shouted out, im
All yours,
Babooshka, babooshka, babooshka-ya-ya!
All yours,
Babooshka, babooshka, babooshka-ya-ya!
All yours,
Babooshka, babooshka, babooshka-ya-ya!
Thanx Bella for a wonderful arvo...
She knew exactly what to do:
A pseudonym to fool him.
She couldnt have made a worse move.
She sent him scented letters,
And he received them with a strange delight.
Just like his wife
But how she was before the tears,
And how she was before the years flew by,
And how she was when she was beautiful
She signed the letter
All yours,
Babooshka, babooshka, babooshka-ya-ya!
All yours,
Babooshka, babooshka, babooshka-ya-ya!
She wanted to take it further,
So she arranged a place to go,
To see if he
Would fall for her incognito.
And when he laid eyes on her,
He got the feeling they had met before.
Uncanny how she
Reminds him of his little lady,
Capacity to give him all he needs,
Just like his wife before she freezed on him,
Just like his wife when she was beautiful
He shouted out, im
All yours,
Babooshka, babooshka, babooshka-ya-ya!
All yours,
Babooshka, babooshka, babooshka-ya-ya!
All yours,
Babooshka, babooshka, babooshka-ya-ya!
Thanx Bella for a wonderful arvo...
Iran continued
The War of the Ayatollahs@TehranBureau
In the Digital Iran, Censorship and Surveillance Merge
By Bob Ostertag
(Photo: A demonstrator holds a photo of dead icon Neda Agha Soltan during a protest of the Iranian election results in Union Square June 24, 2009 in New York City. By Mario Tama/Getty)Thanx Fifi
Mousavi blames organisers of 'rigged' Iranian poll for bloodshed during street protests
A reliable twitterer says that a group of mourners went to Neda Agha-Soltan's grave today but were turned back by security forces, who consisted of the usual mix of riot police, plain clothes cops and basiji militiamen. The twitter says they detained people who were carrying green signs or refused an order to disperse.
The following email in Farsi we received today (Wednesday 24th june). It is written by a doctor from “Rasul Akram” hospital in Tehran who says that some people were killed not only by one bullet as they found two or three bullets in some bodies, close to one another, showing that shooters used barrage shooting against people and not only a single shot. A 68 year old man had 3 bullets in his body, two on his left shoulder and one in the left side of his stomach. The doctors of the “Rasul Akram”hospital say they had been faced with 38 people killed during last week’s protests. Apparently, police took the corpse of the dead bodies out from the hospital and carried them away by truck. Most of their families still do not know if their children have been killed. Besides, among the corpse there were some 15, 16 years old kids.
According to the email, the crew of the hospital protested in the street next to the hospital giving out the information about the violence to the people. The photos attached are from this demonstration which appears to have taken place earlier this week.
من پزشک هستم و در بیمارستان رسول اکرم در خیابان ستارخان مشغول به کارم. دیروز تعداد 38 نفر به دلیل اصابت گلوله در اورژانس بیمارستان ما پذیرفته شدند که 10 نفر آنها کشته و بقیه زخمی بودند. الگوی زخمها حاکی از این بود که مردم به رگبار بسته شده اند زیرا بسیاری از مجروحین دو یا چند گلوله خورده بودند و محل اصابت گلوله ها نیز بسیار نزدیک به هم بود، به عنوان مثال پیر مردی 68 ساله در دو ناحیه کتف چپ و سمت چپ شکم مورد اصابت قرار گرفته بود و یا پسری 18 ساله از ناحیه کف و مچ دست هدف قرار گرفته بود. شرح حال اخذ شده از مجروحین و نیز الگوی زخمها نشان می داد که تیر اندازی از پشت بام انجام شده است، مثلا جوانی 32 ساله از کمر مورد اصابت قرار گرفته بود ولی گلوله از جلو و از قسمت ران خارج شده بود.According to the email, the crew of the hospital protested in the street next to the hospital giving out the information about the violence to the people. The photos attached are from this demonstration which appears to have taken place earlier this week.
بنا به گفته مجروحین تیر اندازی به طور ناگهانی و زمانی آغاز شد که سیل جمعیت در حال عبور از کنار یک پایگاه بسیج در شمال میدان آزادی (اول بزرگراه محمد علی جناح) بود. به گفته مجروحان یک اتومبیل در مقابل درب آن پایگاه به شکلی پارک شده بود که کسی نتواند با شکستن در وارد آن شود و این امر نشانه برنامه ریزی قبلی برای تیر اندازی می باشد. به گفته شاهدان حدود 4 نفر بسیجی از پشت بام این مرکز به طور ناگهانی اقدام به تیراندازی نمودند به نحوی که حتی کسانی که قصد نجات زخمی ها را داشتند خود نیز مورد اصابت قرار می گرفتند. یکی از مجروحین می گوید در حالی که پشت یک اتومبیل پناه گرفته بودم زخمی شدم.
در این مرحله مردم خشمگین به اتومبیل پارک شده در مقابل این پایگاه حمله کرده و آنرا به آتش می کشند ولی نمی توانند وارد پایگاه شوند. در ادامه پلیس ضد شورش به همراه گروه های دیگری از بسیجیان برای پراکنده کردن مردم خشمگین از راه می رسند که در این مرحله نیز در قسمت هایی از طول خیابان جناح (به عنوان مثال در نزدیکی مترو) عده دیگری نیز کشته و زخمی می شوند.
طبق اطلاعاتی که امروز صبح از پزشکان بیمارستان امام خمینی کسب شد، به این بیمارستان نیز در طی دیشب 38 کشته که با گلوله مستقیم کشته شده بودند منتقل شده است.
لازم به ذکر است که در بامداد امروز پلیس امنیتی تمامی جنازه ها را به زور از بیمارستان تحویل گرفته و آنها را با وانت به محل نا معلومی منتقل کرده است و خانواده بسیاری از آنان حتی از کشته شدن فرزند خود نیز بی خبرند. در بین کشته ها و مجروحین تعدادی کودک 15 و 16 ساله نیز دیده می شوند.
امروز ساعت 9 تا 11 صبح دانشجویان و پزشکان بیمارستان رسول اکرم در خیابان مجاور این بیمارستان تجمع کرده و به توزیع برگه هایی حاوی اطلاعاتی پیرامون تعداد کشته ها و زخمی ها اقدام نمودند. این تجمع در نهایت با حضور پلیس ضد شورش به پایان رسید.
--
با احترام
رای من کجاست؟
@RevolutionaryRoad
Michael Jackson - 'The King of Pop' is DEAD!
Remember him this way!
There are two things to say about him. He was a musical genius; and he was an abused child. By abuse, I do not mean sexual abuse; I mean he was used brutally and callously for money, and clearly imprisoned by a tyrannical father. He had no real childhood and spent much of his later life struggling to get one. He was spiritually and psychologically raped at a very early age - and never recovered. Watching him change his race, his age, and almost his gender, you saw a tortured soul seeking what the rest of us take for granted: a normal life.
But he had no compass to find one; no real friends to support and advise him; and money and fame imprisoned him in the delusions of narcissism and self-indulgence. Of course, he bears responsibility for his bizarre life. But the damage done to him by his own family and then by all those motivated more by money and power than by faith and love was irreparable in the end. He died a while ago. He remained for so long a walking human shell.
I loved his music. His young voice was almost a miracle, his poise in retrospect eery, his joy, tempered by pain, often unbearably uplifting. He made the greatest music video of all time; and he made some of the greatest records of all time. He was everything our culture worships; and yet he was obviously desperately unhappy, tortured, afraid and alone.
I grieve for him; but I also grieve for the culture that created and destroyed him. That culture is ours' and it is a lethal and brutal one: with fame and celebrity as its core values, with money as its sole motive, it chewed this child up and spat him out.
I hope he has the peace now he never had in his life. And I pray that such genius will not be so abused again.
@DailyDish
But he had no compass to find one; no real friends to support and advise him; and money and fame imprisoned him in the delusions of narcissism and self-indulgence. Of course, he bears responsibility for his bizarre life. But the damage done to him by his own family and then by all those motivated more by money and power than by faith and love was irreparable in the end. He died a while ago. He remained for so long a walking human shell.
I loved his music. His young voice was almost a miracle, his poise in retrospect eery, his joy, tempered by pain, often unbearably uplifting. He made the greatest music video of all time; and he made some of the greatest records of all time. He was everything our culture worships; and yet he was obviously desperately unhappy, tortured, afraid and alone.
I grieve for him; but I also grieve for the culture that created and destroyed him. That culture is ours' and it is a lethal and brutal one: with fame and celebrity as its core values, with money as its sole motive, it chewed this child up and spat him out.
I hope he has the peace now he never had in his life. And I pray that such genius will not be so abused again.
@DailyDish
Thursday, 25 June 2009
I am SO tired
As I have said before, it has only been me with my crappy computer in 'teh'ran' that has managed to bring you up to date (reliable) information, well before the big boys got hold of it...but I am tired and have to crash...
so...
later/
so...
later/
THE HUFFINGTON POST
THE GUARDIAN
DAILY DISH
NIAC
THE LEDE
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
#gr88
#iraninternational
(@ twitter)
ANONYMOUS IRAN
ETC
Finally a message to all the people following this blog in Iran:
Any pictures or words would be gratefully accepted here at Exile...
Monastreet @ gmail dot com
twitter/exilestreet
Later/
THE GUARDIAN
DAILY DISH
NIAC
THE LEDE
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
#gr88
#iraninternational
(@ twitter)
ANONYMOUS IRAN
ETC
Finally a message to all the people following this blog in Iran:
Any pictures or words would be gratefully accepted here at Exile...
Monastreet @ gmail dot com
twitter/exilestreet
Later/
Memories of a Beatnik
(Thanx 'Mogodonia')PS: If I ever fail to credit, please let me know, just means I have done a blanket trawl and forgot where they all come from!
Regards/
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