Sam the Koala

Gotta love this girl all right..

Koala love story wins hearts after deadly fires
By Belinda Goldsmith

CANBERRA (Reuters) - A love story between two badly burned koalas rescued from Australia's deadliest bushfires has provided some heart-warming relief after days of devastation and the loss of over 180 lives.

The story of Sam and her new boyfriend Bob emerged after volunteer firefighter Dave Tree used a mobile phone to film the rescue of the bewildered female found cowering in a burned out forest at Mirboo North, 150 km (90 miles) southeast of Melbourne.

Photos and a video of Tree, 44, approaching Sam while talking gently to her, and feeding her water from a plastic bottle as she put her burned claw in his cold, wet hand quickly hit video sharing website YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XSPx7S4jr4), making her an Internet sensation.

But it was after reaching a wildlife shelter that Sam met and befriended Bob, who was saved by wildlife workers on Friday, two days before Sam, in Boolarra, about 180 km from Melbourne.

Tree, who has been a volunteer firefighter for 26 years, said it was extremely rare to get so close to a koala so he asked his colleague Brayden Groen, 20, to film him.

"You can how she stops and moves forward and looks at me. It was like a look saying "I can't run, I'm weak and sore, put me out of my misery,"" Tree told Reuters.

"I yelled out for some water and I sat down with her and tipped the water up. It was in my hand and she reached for the bottle then put her right claw into my left hand which was cold so it must have given her some pain relief and she just left it there. It was just amazing."

INSPIRING LOVE STORY

Sam was taken to the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter in Rawson. Her story was reminiscent of a koala named Lucky who survived the 2003 bushfires that destroyed about 500 homes and killed four people in the capital of Canberra. Lucky became a symbol of hope.

Colleen Wood from the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter that is caring for Sam and Bob said both koalas were doing well while other animals like possums, kangaroos, and wallabies were also starting to emerge from the debris.

She said Sam had suffered second degree burns to her paws and would take seven to eight months to recover while Bob had three burned paws with third degree burns and should be well enough to return to the bush in about four months.

"They keep putting their arms around each other and giving each other hugs. They really have made friends and it is quite beautiful to see after all this. It's been horrific," said Wood.

"Sam is probably aged between two to four going by her teeth and Bob is about four so they have a muchness with each other."

Wood said about 20 koalas had been brought into her shelter in recent days, several of whom had bonded as koalas are known to clump together, but none had garnered the same attention as the new Internet star Sam.

Tree, a volunteer with the Country Fire Authority Victoria, has visited Sam since her rescue and was delighted to see she had found a boyfriend in Bob.
Continued

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AAAS: Living near trees 'makes people live longer and feel happier'

AAAS: Living near trees 'makes people live longer and feel happier'
Leafy streets also encourage a lower crime rate and a more "civilised" atmosphere, even in poor areas, researchers found.

They believe that living close to parks and other green spaces is "essential to our physical, psychological and social well-being".

"Nature calms people and it also helps them psychologically rejuvenate. They are better able to handle challenges which come their way," said Prof Frances Kuo, from the University of Illinois, who led a review of studies into the effects of trees and parklands.

The research also shows that people have happier relationships and perform better in tests when they live in tree-filled neighbourhoods.

Other studies showed that health levels could be "predicted by the amount of green space within a one-mile radius".

Research in Japan also found that older people lived for longer when their homes were within walking distance of a park or other green space.

Prof Kuo said: "In our studies, people with less access to nature show relatively poor attention or cognitive function, poor management of major life issues, and poor impulse control."

She added: "The relationship between crime and vegetation is very clear: the more trees, the fewer crimes.

"It actually encourages people to use the spaces outside their homes which provides a natural form of surveillance.

"In fact, the data seem to indicate that if you have a landscape where you introduce well-maintained trees and grass, people will find that a safer environment."

One study showed that the presence of trees could cut crime by as much as seven per cent, according to the research presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference (AAAS) in Chicago.

Children with attention deficit disorders also behaved better after a walk in a park compared to those who exercised indoors or in treeless areas, the review found.
Source

Sure thing. These guys should read Richard Louv's "Last Child In the Woods" and they'll understand better.

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Boy fathers, mystic warriors, etc

Oh and happy valentines! It's never been a special day for me or anything but.. what the heck.

My god what is the world coming to? I'm referring to the 13 year old "father". This is what happens when nobody wants to discipline anybody and they're wondering why there's all these teenage problems and what not. It's depressing!

Then here's Karma Kula Mystic Warrior. they've got some new trailers up it seems.

Don't forget to watch the little ninja

Another trailer.. Karma Kula Mystic Warrior

So here's another trailer from karma kula mystic warrior.

Haven't been online for a few days. I've been partying a lot. Tonight I'm just dead tired. I don't think I could take another party even if I wanted to.. zzz
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Mystic Warrior, Mystic events

Check out the karma kula trailer! And damn this is freaky:

- Daniel Pharr says he was in the middle of his first-ever skydive, thousands of feet over South Carolina, when the instructor strapped to his back stopped talking to him Saturday.

The instructor, George "Chip" Steele of Skydive Carolina, was later pronounced dead. But as they were falling, Pharr -- an Army soldier taking a private skydiving lesson -- knew only that Steele wasn't responding.

Pharr said he "went into survival mode," using his military training to calm himself as he tried to get to ground safely.

"We're just taught to deal with adversity, whether it be on the battlefront or at home or ... up in the air, and you just do what you have to do -- assess the situation and keep a calm head about you because it doesn't do anybody any good to panic," said Pharr, a private in the Army.

Pharr, able to steer himself only in right circles because he could use only the parachute's right steering mechanism, managed to maneuver away from some obstructions and landed safely in Chester, South Carolina.

When they landed, Pharr attempted CPR, but it was too late.

Steele, 49, appeared to have died of a heart attack, Chester County Coroner Terry Tinker told the Rock Hill (South Carolina) Herald. An autopsy was being conducted Monday.

Everything seemed to be normal at the beginning of the jump, Pharr said. He asked a question and Steele responded. They chatted for a moment in the air, but when Pharr asked another question about 5,500 feet above ground, Steele did not respond.

Pharr asked the question again. When he still got no response, he didn't panic -- he realized to get down safely he had to remain calm, he said.

"The likelihood of you surviving, you know, decreases absolutely amazingly by factors exponentially if you panic," he said.

The skydive was a Christmas gift from Pharr's girlfriend, who he said is now having regrets about it. But Pharr assured her there was no reason for regret.

"It's a lifelong experience now, not to be turned around into a bad thing," he said. "I just hate it for the family."

Pharr -- based at Georgia's Fort Gordon, according to CNN affiliate WJBF -- said his focus was just to get down to the ground and help Steele.

Pharr said his family won't let him go near skydiving again, and he isn't arguing with them.

Source

Karma Kula Mystic Warrior & More

I was thrilled to see the new Karma Kula Mystic Warrior trailers! Absolutely awesome stuff. :) I can't wait till the show really begins.

So much for all that huh!

Beijing’s Bird’s Nest to anchor shopping complex
BEIJING (AP)—The area around Beijing’s massive Bird’s Nest stadium will be turned into a shopping and entertainment complex in three to five years, a state news agency said Friday.

Officially known as Beijing National Stadium, the showpiece of the Beijing Olympics has fallen into disuse since the end of the games. Paint is already peeling in some areas, and the only visitors these days are tourists who pay about $7 to walk on the stadium floor and browse a pricey souvenir shop.

Plans call for the $450 million stadium to anchor a complex of shops and entertainment outlets in three to five years, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing operator Citic Group. The company will continue to develop tourism as a major draw for the Bird’s Nest, while seeking sports and entertainment events.

The only confirmed event at the 91,000-seat stadium this year is Puccini’s opera “Turandot,” set for Aug. 8—the one-year anniversary of the Olympics’ opening ceremony. The stadium has no permanent tenant after Beijing’s top soccer club, Guo’an, backed out of a deal to play there.

Details about the development plans were not available. A person who answered the phone at Citic Group on Friday said offices were closed for the Chinese New Year holiday.

A symbol of China’s rising power and confidence, the stadium, whose nickname described its lattice of exterior steel beams, may never recoup its hefty construction cost, particularly amid a global economic slump. Maintenance of the structure alone costs about $8.8 million annually, making it difficult to turn a profit, Xinhua said.

Yahoo News

I've got a headache from dehydration. We played some really intense tennis games today. I was beat 8-1 the first game, then my team mate won 8-0, then we played doubles 8-4. We won! We won! We'll be playing in another competition soon. I don't know I'll make it. I hope so.

As always, don't forget to watch your daily Ninjai show

Traffic stop leads to man believed dead since '89

Traffic stop leads to man believed dead since '89

A man who faked his drowning death nearly 20 years ago off a Florida beach was found out by North Carolina police who stopped him for a traffic violation, authorities said Thursday.
Bennie Wint told police he faked his drowning death in Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1989.

Bennie Wint told police he faked his drowning death in Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1989.
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Bennie Wint left behind a grieving fiancee and a daughter from a previous marriage. Over the past two decades, he acquired a common-law wife and another child in Marshall, North Carolina.

Wint told police he faked his death in Daytona Beach, Florida, because he was "paranoid" about his narcotics-related activity at the time, Weaverville, North Carolina, police Sgt. Stacy Wyatt told CNN.

When pulled over in Weaverville on Saturday because of malfunctioning lights on his license plate, the man said his name was James Sweet, Wyatt said. But when Wyatt ran the name through official databases, he was unable to find any information.

"I found it suspicious and believed it to be a false name," Wyatt said. He arrested the man on suspicion of driving without a license and giving false information, both misdemeanor offenses, and booked him under the name "John Doe."

But "John Doe" finally opened up to Wyatt, admitting he was really Bennie Wint and had been on the run since 1989. Video Watch how reports of his death were premature »

Wint returned a call Thursday from CNN and asked what an interview with him would be "worth to you." Told that CNN does not pay for interviews, he responded, "Unless you want to pay for it, don't come up here. You are wasting your time. There are 'no trespassing' signs on my property." He then hung up.

According to police reports, Wint was on a trip to Daytona Beach with his then-fiancee, Patricia Hollingsworth. She told police they were engaged and had discussed getting married while on the trip.

But it was not to be. On September 25, 1989, Hollingsworth told beach patrol officials that Wint disappeared while swimming.

"We spent a bunch of time looking for him," said Volusia County Beach Patrol Capt. Scott Petersohn, who was on the beach patrol at the time, although he did not respond to the call. "We used helicopters, boats and boatloads of lifeguards."

Hollingsworth, then 37, told officials Wint entered the ocean about 4 p.m. and swam past the breakers before she lost sight of him, according to the incident report. The report notes Hollingsworth was "very upset" and that after contacting officials, she "began to run north and south in the area," looking for Wint.

Members of the beach patrol, however, thought the supposed drowning was suspicious.

"It is very rare to drown offshore and not wash back in onto the shore," Petersohn said. In addition, he said, the lifeguard on the beach told officials he did not see anyone swimming in the area.

Wyatt submitted Wint's fingerprints to the FBI for identification and, while waiting for the results, searched the Internet for information on a Bennie Wint.

"I found a daughter that was looking for him," Wyatt said. The woman posted information about her father in 2007, saying he went missing under suspicious circumstances.

Wyatt contacted the now-23-year-old woman, who said she was 4 when her father disappeared.

Wint has been released from jail and has not been charged in relation to the 1989 incident. It was not known whether he contacted his daughter.

Wyatt said Wint now has a common-law wife, a child and a business selling NASCAR items. The night he was arrested, Wyatt said, his wife was "distraught" upon learning his true identity.

Wyatt said Wint told him he was involved in narcotics in the 1970s and '80s, and "he ran out of paranoia, thinking people were out to get him." He said he went from Daytona Beach to Ozark, Alabama.

CNN's attempts to contact Hollingsworth were unsuccessful, and it was unclear whether she knows Wint is alive.

Petersohn said he is attempting to find the lifeguard on duty at Daytona Beach the day Wint disappeared to tell him the truth about the supposed drowning.
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"For 20 years, that man that works for us thinks he might have missed something in the ocean," Petersohn said.

"I'm glad the guy's alive. I really am. ... It's unfortunate the way it went down at the time, people looking for a body that wasn't out there."

Source

You'll be found some day. Can't keep hiding.

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