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blog-heap o' links
...Sooty
the goldfish... 10in-long specimen... thought to have been plucked from an
ornamental pond by a heron that carried it to a roof... the bird's carelessness
allowed Sooty to slip [down a chimney where he] bounced off a pile of potato
peelings that had just been thrown on the fire and landed on the hearth, where
the surprised home-owner scooped him up and put him in a washbasin filled with
warm water. Despite being bitten, blackened and a little flame-grilled, Sooty
seemed none the worse for his ordeal yesterday and was enjoying a second lease
of life in an aquarium at a pet shop... ...Sooty
the goldfish... 10in-long specimen... thought to have been plucked from an
ornamental pond by a heron that carried it to a roof... the bird's carelessness
allowed Sooty to slip [down a chimney where he] bounced off a pile of potato
peelings that had just been thrown on the fire and landed on the hearth, where
the surprised home-owner scooped him up and put him in a washbasin filled with
warm water. Despite being bitten, blackened and a little flame-grilled, Sooty
seemed none the worse for his ordeal yesterday and was enjoying a second lease
of life in an aquarium at a pet shop... 
Army Pfc. Jason D.
Hasenauer, 21, of Hilton, N.Y., died near Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Dec.
28, when his HMMWV accidentally rolled over during patrol operations. Hasenauer
was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd
Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C. defenselink.mil/ ... 23:40:10Army Chief Warrant
Officer Richard M. Salter, 44, of Cypress, TexasArmy Chief Warrant
Officer Isaias E. Santos, 28, of Ancon, PanamaArmy Spc. Lance S.
Sage, 26, of Hempstead , N.Y.Army Pvt. Joshua M. Morberg, 20, of
Sparks , Nev. Army Spc. Dane O.
Carver, 20, of Freeport, Mich., died in Khalidiyah, Iraq on Dec. 26, when
his HMMWV came under attack by enemy forces using small arms fire. defenselink.mil/ ... 23:38:18Army Sgt. Dominic R.
Coles, 25, of Jesup, Ga., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 26, when his HMMWV
came under attack during combat operations by enemy forces using small arms
fire, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. Army Spc. Anthony O.
Cardinal, 20, of Muskegon, Mich., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 25, when
an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat
operations. defenselink.mil/ ... 16:00:36Army Master Sgt.
Joseph J. Andres, Jr., 34, of Seven Hills, Ohio, died in Balad, Iraq, on
Dec. 24, of injuries sustained earlier that day in Baqubah, Iraq, when he was
attacked by enemy forces during combat operations. Army Sgt. Regina C.
Reali, 25, of Freso, Calif.Army Spc. Cheyenne C. Willey, 36, of Fremont,
Calif. Army Casualty Master
Sgt. Joseph J. Andres, Jr., 34, of Seven Hills, Ohio, died in Balad,
Iraq, on Dec. 24, of injuries sustained earlier that day in Baqubah, Iraq, when
he was attacked by enemy forces during combat operations. 
CHIPPEWA
FALLS, Wis. -- Ten minutes later and the Siberian husky frozen to some railroad
tracks in western Wisconsin would have met an unfortunate fate. But luckily
Jeremy Majorowicz, a Twin Cities construction worker, intervened... boston.com/ ... 23:30:10"I'm
looking at the tree and the angel just pops off," she said. "And a second
later, this head just popped up. The eyes were, like, glowing. I was thinking,
'Oh my God!' And I screamed..." William E. O'Donnell, a state Game Commission
deputy wildlife conservation officer, removed an 18-inch-long opossum from the
8-foot Douglas fir the family had bought, bundled, from a dealer in Seltzer...
boston.com/ ... 23:28:29A clam
that a Portsmouth couple thought was rotten turned out to hold a rare gem: a
purple pearl that could be worth lots of money... "We're finding out there's
only a handful on earth," Barbara Krensavage said. "We were excited, biting it
and everything..." apnews.myway.com/ ...
23:08:25Thousands of tourists and pilgrims gathered in Bethlehem for
Christmas Eve celebrations Saturday, bringing a long-missing sense of holiday
cheer to Jesus' historic birthplace. The festivities capped the most peaceful
year since the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in September 2000...
english.people.com.cn/ ...
23:07:55Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Saturday that he
hopes the new year will bring Israel and the Palestinians peace and security.
"We all need it and I intend to make every effort to reach it," Sharon said in
a Christmas Eve statement issued by his office... firstworldwar.com/ ... 10:19:37The
Christmas Truce 1914 news.scotsman.com/ ... 10:00:29Now Santa has been
urged to ditch his sleigh team and start travelling on public transport to cut
down on greenhouse gas emissions. It has been calculated that Santa's team of
nine reindeer would emit methane with a global warming impact equivalent to
more than 40,600 tonnes of greenhouse gases on the 122 million mile Christmas
Eve dash to deliver presents around the world... sun-sentinel.com/ ...
09:59:25NORAD is responsible for handling the air defense of the North
America continent. But it has also been tracking Santa's movements on Christmas
Eve for the past 50 years. NORAD uses four high-tech systems to track Santa --
radar, satellites, Santa Cams and jet fighter aircraft... Two local veterinarians who suspected that dogs were
dying from tainted food quickly alerted Cornell University and other
veterinarians, helping to prompt a 22-state alert by the dog food company...
news.scotsman.com/ ... 13:16:24
A MAN who ran over a
pet cat ten times has been told he will not have to spend Christmas in
jail. ...hit one-year-old Mixey as he drove to work - then turned around and
returned to the unconscious pet. The 58-year-old was caught on CCTV lining up
his Renault Clio and repeatedly running over the animal as it writhed in
agony... Amazingly, the cat could have recovered from its horrific injuries
until the last - and tenth - time the car went over it, crushing its skull...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ...
12:16:44kangaroos... Researchers in Melbourne have found... can be
scared off by the thumping sound of their own large feet on the ground....
news.yahoo.com/ ... 11:47:52LINCOLN, Neb. ...A rainbow trout pulled out of Holmes Lake
last weekend... had two mouths... Marine Lance Cpl.
Samuel Tapia, 20, of SanBenito, Texas, died Dec. 18 from small-arms fire
while conducting combat operations in Ar Ramadi,Iraq. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:32:28Marine Cpl. Adam R.
Fales, 21, ofCullman , Ala. , died Dec. 16 from a non-hostile gunshot wound
in Fallujah, Iraq. The incident is under investigation. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:32:01Army Sgt. Timothy R.
Boyce, 29, of North Salt Lake, Utah, died at Landstuhl Regional Medical
Center in Landstuhl, Germany, on Dec. 15, of a non-combat related cause. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:31:37Army Spc. Joseph A.
Lucas, 23, of Augusta, Ga., died in Balad, Iraq on Dec. 15, when an
improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations.
defenselink.mil/ ... 11:30:43Army Sgt. 1st Class
John D. Morton, 31, ofStanton, Ky., died in Shah Wali Kot, Afghanistan
on Dec. 15, when his dismounted patrol came under attack by enemy forces using
small arms fire. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:30:21Navy Seaman 2nd Class
Warren P. Hickok of Kalamazoo, Mich.Marine Cpl. Michael
B. Presley, 21, of Batesville, Miss., died Dec. 14 at Landstuhl Regional
Medical Center in Germany of wounds sustained from a suicide, vehicle-borne
improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy
forces in Fallujah, Iraq, on Dec. 12. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:23:16Marine Staff Sgt.
Kenneth B. Pospisil, 35, of Andover, Minn., died Dec. 14 from an
improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy
forces in the vicinity of Ar Ramadi, Iraq. 
Yoko Ono has licensed a
John Lennon action figure... it will talk, speaking
"John Lennon" phrases. They also say it will be known as "The New York Years" Lennon... There is a line of "Yellow
Submarine" pose-able figures, but those are of Lennon and the other Beatles in
character from the animated film. This is actually one of Lennon, with all
profits going to Ono... news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:27:18
The
surviving Beatles and relatives of the band's late members have begun legal
action against record company EMI to get royalties allegedly worth
£30m... allegedly uncovered during an audit of Apple accounts...
Army Staff Sgt.
Curtis A. Mitchell, 28, of Evansville, Ind., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on
Dec. 12, when an improvised expolosive device detonated near his M1A1 Abrams
tank during combat operations. defenselink.mil/ ... 16:57:51Army Spc. Jared W.
Kubasak, 25, of Rocky Mount, Va., died in Baghdad, Iraq on Dec. 12, when an
improvised explosive device detonated near his M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle
during patrol operations. defenselink.mil/ ... 16:57:32Army Staff Sgt. Keith
A. Bennett, 32, of Holtwood, Pa., died in Ar Ramadi, Iraq on Dec. 11, as
the result of a suicide, vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. Bennett was
assigned to the Army National Guard. defenselink.mil/ ... 16:57:01Army Staff Sgt.
Travis L. Nelson, 41, of Anniston, Ala.Army Sgt. Kenith Casica, 32, of
Virginia Beach, Va.Army Spc. Lex S.
Nelson, 21, of Salt Lake City, Utah, died in Tikrit, Iraq on Dec. 12, when
he fell from a guard tower... defenselink.mil/ ... 16:55:49Army Sgt. Adrian N.
Orosco, 26, of Corcoran, Calif., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 9, when a
vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his dismounted
position during combat operations. defenselink.mil/ ... 16:55:27Army Sgt. 1st Class
James S. Moudy, 37, of Newark, Del., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 11,
when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat
operations. defenselink.mil/ ... 16:55:03Army Sgt. Julia V.
Atkins, 22, of Bossier City, La., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 10, when
an improvised explosive device detonated near her HMMWV during patrol
operations... defenselink.mil/ ... 16:59:21Navy Seaman 2nd Class
Dee Hall, of Syra, Okla. was one of seven crewmen aboard a U.S. Navy
PBY-5 Catalina that took off from Kodiak Island, Alaska on June 14, 1942, to
attack Japanese targets in Kiska Harbor, Alaska. The crew encountered inclement
weather and heavy Japanese anti-aircraft fire near the target. Their plane
crashed on the Japanese-held Kiska Island, Alaska with all seven crewmen on
board... In August 1943, the United States retook Kiska Island from the
Japanese. Wreckage of the PBY-5 was found on the side of Kiska volcano. The
remains of the crew were buried in a common grave marked "Seven U.S.N. Airmen"
with a wooden marker. Following the war, attempts to locate the common grave
were unsuccessful and the remains of all seven were declared to be
non-recoverable. In 2002, a wildlife biologist notified DPMO that he had found
the wreckage of a World War II aircraft on the slope of Kiska volcano. Using
that information, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) excavated the
crash site in August 2003 and found debris from the PBY-5 as well as
crew-related items. The JPAC team also located the wooden marker as well as the
remains buried nearby. Subsequent JPAC laboratory analysis led to the
individual identification of all seven crewmembers. Of the 88,000
unaccounted-for Americans from all conflicts, 78,000 are from World War II...
Army Sgt. Spencer C.
Akers, 35, of Traverse City, Mich., died at Brooke Army Medical Center in
San Antonio, Texas, on Dec. 8, of injuries sustained in Habbaniyah, Iraq, on
Nov. 21, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during
combat operations. Akers was assigned to the Army National Guard. defenselink.mil/ ... 17:41:23Army Sgt. Clarence L.
Floyd, Jr., 28, of Newark, N.J., died in Taji, Iraq, on Dec. 10, when his
unit was attacked by enemy forces using small arms fire during combat
operations. Army 1st Lt. Kevin J.
Smith, 28, of Brandon, Fla., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 8, when an
improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:46:29Army Sgt. Michael C.
Taylor, 23, of Hockley, Texas, died in Balad, Iraq, on Dec. 7, when an
improvised expolsive device detonated near his Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical
Truck while his unit was conducting combat operations. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:46:00Marine Cpl. Joseph P.
Bier, 22, of Centralia, Wash., died Dec. 7 from an improvised explosive
device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Ar Ramadi,
Iraq. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:45:35Army Pfc. Thomas C.
Siekert, 20, of Lovelock, Nev., died in Bayji, Iraq on Dec. 6, from
non-combat related injuries. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:45:14Army Spc. Brian A.
Wright, 19, of Keensburg, Ill., died in Ramadi, Iraq on Dec. 6, when his
HMMWV struck a mine during combat operations. Wright was assigned to the Army
National Guard. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:44:52Army Cpl. Jimmy L.
Shelton, 21, of Lehigh Acres, Fla., died in Bayji, Iraq on Dec. 3, when his
forward operating base was attacked by enemy forces using mortars. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:44:22Air Force Tech. Sgt.
Patrick L. Shannon of Owasso, Okla. MIA from Vietnam War. Shannon and 18 other
servicemen operated a radar installation atop Pha Thi Mountain in Houaphan
Province, Laos, approximately 13 miles south of the border with North Vietnam.
The site, known at Lima Site 85, directed U.S. bombing missions toward key
targets in North Vietnam. In the early morning of March 11, 1968, the site came
under attack by a force of North Vietnamese commandos. The enemy force had
scaled the sheer mountainsides in the hours before the attack and overran the
site. During the attack, some Americans made their way down to ledges, but
survivors reported that several were killed. Several hours later, U.S. aircraft
attacked enemy positions around the site, enabling helicopters to rescue eight
of the 19 Americans, although one of the survivors died en route to a base in
Thailand. Later that day, and for four additional days, U.S. air strikes bombed
the site to destroy technical equipment left behind.Army Staff Sgt.
Philip L. Travis, 41, of Snellville, Ga.Army Sgt. Philip A. Dodson, Jr.,
42, of Forsyth, Ga.Army Spc. Marcus S. Futrell, 20, of Macon, Ga. Army Sgt. 1st Class
Richard L. Schild, 40, of Tabor, S.D.Army Staff Sgt. Daniel M. Cuka, 27,
of Yankton, S.D.Marine Cpl. William
G. Taylor, 26, of Macon, Ga., died Nov. 30 from small-arms fire while
conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Fallujah, Iraq.
101-pound mixed breed dog, Ricco, stopped in the woods and "just
laid down and started looking at me..." Dietrich said she saw a small
mound with twigs covering it. She started digging, came upon a plastic bag and
pulled out what appeared to be part of a cross made of willow twigs and duct
tape. She called police on her cell phone, and the children's bodies were
removed from a shallow grave... newsday.com/ ... 17:59:50New
Jersey hunters take to the woods Monday for a controversial season aimed at
thinning the state's growing population of black bears.... Black bears have
rebounded from near extinction in the state but the loss of habitat to
development is forcing many of the animals to seek food in populated areas....
population is estimated at 1,600 to 3,200 and complaints and sightings are up
sharply all over the state.... Lennon Lives
Forever -- Twenty-five years after his death, his music and message endure...
today.reuters.com/ ...
12:45:19Pakistani tribesmen on Sunday displayed parts of a U.S.-marked
missile they said hit a house and killed two boys, evidence at odds with the
government which says an explosion there killed a top al Qaeda commander... his
body has not been found... news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:10:26Former Iraqi Prime
Minister Iyad Allawi says a group tried to kill him during a visit to an
important Shia shrine in the southern city of Najaf. Police said earlier that a
crowd of people threw rocks and shoes at Mr Allawi and that his bodyguards had
fired in the air in response... Police
have collared the latest in technology by kitting out their firearms dogs
with... miniature television cameras with transmitters fitted to their heads or
harnesses... also has infra-red lights... trained to leave a mobile phone at
the front door of under-siege premises so officers can negotiate with
suspects... abcnews.go.com/ ... 18:39:12Researchers at the Spokane County Regional Animal
Protection Service in Washington state say... a long, loud panting sound... is
the sound of a dog laughing... "What we found is that it had a calming or
soothing effect on the dogs.... Now, we actually really weren't expecting
that.... I thought: Laughing dogs?... A sound that we're gonna isolate and play
in the shelter? I was a real skeptic … until we played the recording here
at the shelter..." when they played the dog version of
laughing, all 15 barking dogs went quiet within about a minute...
pera 8.51 for safer browsing. Easy to turn javascript
and other dangers on and off. Download here. Unpaid, unsolicited plug. pcworld.com/ ... 11:28:33
A
bug in Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser gives
phishers a way to scan the hard drives of Google Desktop users, according to an
Israeli hacker. Because of a flaw in the way IE processes Web pages, a
malicious Web site could use the attack to steal sensitive information like
credit card numbers or passwords from the hard drives of its visitors...
A Wisconsin cat...
returned home on Thursday. ...business class seat on a flight from Paris... Two
months ago the year-old tabby cat sneaked into an office supplies company near
her home in Appleton and hid in a container of paper bound for France. After a
three-week sea voyage the much thinner, but healthy cat, emerged... today.reuters.com/ ...
11:05:43Arab nations are acutely suspicious of the Bush administration's
"democracy" agenda in the Middle East and believe the U.S. invasion of Iraq has
made the region less secure, said a poll released on Friday... conducted in six
Arab countries in October... Army Sgt.
Donald J. Hasse, 28, of Wichita Falls, TexasArmy Sgt.
Jerry W. Mills Jr., 23, of Arkansas City, KansasMarine Cpl.
Joshua D. Snyder, 20, of Hampstead, Md., died Nov. 30 of
wounds sustained from small-arms fire while conducting combat operations
against enemy forces in Fallujah, Iraq. 
he felt something grab his
leg. Without thinking, he punched the big shark in the nose... "That's all I
could think to do, and after I did that, it let go," Anderson said. "And I
wanted to get to shore as soon as I could. The thought crossed my mind that I
might not make it back in and it was just pretty hectic..." 
More than 100 pilot whales
stranded on Puponga Beach at Golden Bay in the South Island's Farewell Spit
have been refloated... 
A sparrow which was shot dead
for knocking over 23,000 dominoes in the Netherlands is to go on display at
Rotterdam's Natural History Museum... On Friday, the bird's killer was fined
for shooting a protected species... 
Like the others who have had
sightings before him, Rufus Hurst of Granville man says he knows what he saw.
But unlike the others, he has the pictures to prove it. "That is a very, very,
big cat,” Hurst said, referring to the photographs. "The tail, I mean this
thing goes all the way back. I think it's just a big, big cat..." Last year
there were several sightings of what some people called a lion. Reports came in
from Gahanna, east Columbus and Pataskala among other places... 
...They are 6ft wide and weigh 450lb (200kg), with countless
poisonous tentacles, they have drifted across the void to terrorise the people
of Japan. Vast armadas of the slimy horrors have cut off the country’s
food supply. As soon as one is killed more appear to take its place...
quarrelsome governments of the region are banding together to unite against the
enemy...