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blog-heap o' links
Marine Lance Cpl.
Hugo R. Lopezlopez, 20, of La Habra, Calif., died Jan. 27 at Brooke Army
Medical Center, San Antonio, from wounds sustained from an improvised explosive
device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Rawah, Iraq
on Nov. 20, 2005.Marine Cpl. Felipe C. Barbosa, 21, of High Point, N.C., died
Jan. 28 from a non-hostile vehicle accident in Fallujah, Iraq. The accident is
currently under investigation. defenselink.mil/ ... 16:57:09Army Spc. Brian J.
Schoff, 22, of Manchester, Tenn., died in Baghdad, Iraq on Jan. 28, when an
improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Army Sgt. David L.
Herrera, 26, of Oceanside, Calif., died in Baghdad, Iraq on Jan. 28, when
an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat
operations. defenselink.mil/ ... 11:49:33Army Pfc. Brian J.
Schoff, 22, of Manchester, Tenn., died in Baghdad, Iraq on Jan. 28, when an
improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Army Sgt. Joshua A.
Johnson, 24, of Richford, Vt., died in Ramadi, Iraq on Jan. 25, when a
rocket propelled grenade struck his vehicle during combat operations.
SYDNEY, Australia... A
78-year-old Australian woman was rushed to a hospital after she was bitten by a
5-foot snake... known as a brown snake... one of the world's deadliest
varieties -- while watching television in her suburban home... did not suffer
any poisoning because the snake's fangs only punctured the skin and the venom
did not enter her bloodstream... boston.com/ ... 20:47:11
a
13-month-old cattle dog named "Lassie" helped to rescue its injured master
after he fell from a horse in eastern Australia... 90-year-old farmer... broke
his pelvis when he was pitched from a bucking horse and his foot became caught
in the reins... Lassie, came to the rescue, snuggling in next to Crowther to
keep him warm... wife came searching in the woods with a flashlight, but
couldn't hear his feeble cries. "The dog ran to her and she said 'Where's
George?... And she (Lassie) toddled off, leading my wife to where I was. And
the rest, of course, is history..." foxnews.com/ ... 20:37:34
New research reveals that monkey cops help
keep social groups in line... they leverage their group seniority, craft
intimidating reputations and count on good voter turnout... Marine Sgt. Sean H.
Miles, 28, of Midlothian, Va., was killed in action Jan. 24 from small arms
fire while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Karmah,
Iraq. defenselink.mil/ ... 19:48:46Army Staff Sgt. Lance
M. Chase, 32, of Oklahoma City, Okla.Army Pfc. Peter D. Wagler, 18, of
Partridge, Kan.Marine Cpl. Carlos
Arrelanopandura, 22, of Los Angeles, Calif.Marine Lance Cpl. Brandon Dewey,
20, of San Joaquin, Calif.Marine
Pvt. Lewis T. D. Calapini, 21, of Waipahu, HawaiiMarine Lance Cpl.
Joshua A. Scott, 24, of Tunnel Hill, Ga.Army Sgt. Matthew D.
Hunter, 31, of Valley Grove, W.Va., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 23, when
an improvised explosive device detonated near his dismounted patrol during
combat operations. 
A post-mortem examination on
the whale which became stranded in the River Thames showed it died from
dehydration, muscle damage and failing kidneys... may have been trying to head
west to the Atlantic Ocean where it could feed on deep sea squid, but made a
wrong turning, ending up near Chelsea Bridge in the heart of London... Without
its normal squid diet, it was unable to rehydrate... news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 19:41:49
Researchers have found the
smallest known fish on record in the peat swamps of the Indonesian island of
Sumatra... Air Force Tech. Sgt.
Jason L. Norton, 32, of Miami, Okla.Air Force Staff Sgt. Brian McElroy,
28, of San Antonio, TexasArmy Staff Sgt.
Rickey Scott, 30, of Columbus, Ga.Army Sgt. Dennis J. Flanagan, 22,
of Inverness, Fla.Army Spc. Clifton J. Yazzie, 23, of Fruitland, N.M.Army Spc. Matthew C.
Frantz, 23, of Lafayette, Ind. Army Pfc. Adam R.
Shepherd, 21, of Somerville, Ohio, died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 17 from a
non-combat-related illness. The incident is under investigation. 
Their
relationship began in October last year, when zookeepers presented the hamster
to the snake as a meal. The rat snake, however, refused to eat the rodent.
The two now share a cage, and the hamster sometimes falls
asleep sitting on top of his natural foe... A chimpanzee attacked a
student at an Ohio State University animal research facility, and the woman
sustained minor injuries... 80-pound chimp, pulled the woman close to her cage
Sunday and bit her... born in the wild, is 47 years old... has learned an
artificial language system and understands the numbers zero through six...
news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 11:33:48A
parrot owner was alerted to his girlfriend's
infidelity when his talkative pet let the cat out of the bag by squawking
"I love you Gary"... became suspicious after Ziggy
croaked "Hiya Gary" when Ms Collins answered her mobile phone. The parrot also
made smooching sounds whenever the name Gary was said on TV... Navy Petty Officer First
Class Michael Anthony Jordan, 35, of Augusta, Ga., died in an automobile
accident Friday, Jan. 13, 2006, in Manama, Bahrain. 
Snowflakes laced with fine, gray ash fell on communities
south of Anchorage as a series of volcanic eruptions continued early Saturday
on an uninhabited island dozens of miles away... breakingnews.iol.ie/ ...
09:43:35Five significant eruptions of Augustine
Volcano sent ash clouds miles into the air and closed schools on the
southern Kenai Peninsula. But experts said yesterday’s eruptions were not
expected to pile up dangerous ash in communities... adn.com/ ... 09:42:45Alaska
Airlines canceled 28 flights on Friday, a major cargo carrier diverted flights
from Anchorage to Fairbanks and the Alaska National Guard moved several
aircraft out of the city Friday as Augustine Volcano sent
ash plumes miles into the sky... Several government agencies urged
employees to shut down their computers and cover them before leaving their
offices... 
Environmentalists argue that nets are a hazard to other
wildlife and do not always stop sharks. They report that dolphins, turtles and
even a baby humpbacked whale have died in the mesh. Instead, campaigners favour
the construction of caged enclosures for swimmers... abc.net.au/ ... 18:11:31two Sydney-based men
have developed what they believe could be a potentially life-saving addition
for surfboard riders. Danny Togo and Craig Wills are the designers of Fang
Shooey, a sticker and picture of a Great White shark, which they believe, stuck
to the bottom of surfboards will deter sharks from attacking... 
Taiwan... has successfully bred fluorescent green pigs...
Alaska Airlines... a baggage worker threw a crate
containing a border collie into the cargo hold of a plane instead of using a
conveyor belt... The dog's owner, Lisa Ross of Woodinville, was watching from
inside the terminal... The baggage worker is an employee of Menzies Aviation,
an Alaska contractor blamed for damaging two Alaska Airlines jets on the ground
at Sea-Tac in the past three weeks... customwire.ap.org/ ...
12:13:21...Officers initially thought they were chasing a drunken driver
Monday night... Instead, when the truck finally stopped in front of a home
after the seven-mile escapade, they found a second-grader, barely
four-feet-tall, behind the wheel. The house belonged to his parents. "He was so
short he had to sit up close to the steering wheel.... Whenever he would brake,
he would pick himself up with his left foot and stomp on the brake with his
right..." Marine Lance Cpl.
Kyle W. Brown, 22, of Newport News, Va.Marine Lance Cpl. Jeriad P. Jacobs,
19, of Clayton, N.C.Marine Lance Cpl. Jason T. Little, 20, of Climax,
Mich.Marine Cpl. Brett L.
Lundstrom, 22, of Stafford, Va. was killed when his tank was attacked with
an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Ferris,
Iraq.Marine
Lance Cpl. Raul Mercado, 21, of Monrovia, Calif. was killed when his
vehicle was attacked with an improvised explosive device while conducting
combat operations near Al Karmah, Iraq. Army Spc. Clinton R.
Upchurch, 31, of Garden City, Kansas, died in Samarra, Iraq, on Jan. 7,
during patrol operations when an improvised explosive device detonated near his
HMMWV and enemy forces attacked using small arms fire. defenselink.mil/ ... 23:11:52Army Maj. Stuart M.
Anderson, 44, of Peosta, Iowa, assigned to the Army ReserveArmy Maj. Douglas A.
La Bouff, 36, of CaliforniaArmy Maj. Michael R. Martinez, 43, of
MissouriArmy
1st Lt. Jaime L. Campbell, 25, of Ephrata, Wash., assigned to the Army
National GuardArmy 1st Lt. Joseph D. deMoors, 36, of Jefferson,
Ala.Army Chief
Warrant Officer 4 Chester W. Troxel, 45, of Anchorage, Alaska, assigned
to the Army National GuardArmy Spc. Michael I. Edwards, 26, of Fairbanks, Alaska,
assigned to the Army National GuardArmy Spc. Jacob E. Melson, 22, of Wasilla,
assigned to the Army National GuardArmy Sgt. Radhames
Camilomatos, 24, of Carolina, Puerto Rico, died in Taji, Iraq, on Jan. 7,
from non-combat related injuries. defenselink.mil/ ... 23:06:06Army Sgt. Nathan R.
Field, 23, of Lehigh, IowaArmy Spc. Robert T. Johnson, 20, of Erwin,
N.C.A small town rumor that sparked world wide interest about
a mouse burning down a house has been found to be untrue... Thing is, the mouse
was dead when it hit the burning leaves... The flames, he said, probably
reached his house because they were driven by high winds.... 81-year-old Chano
Mares... lost everything -- and has no insurance -- but the mouse story still
makes him smile. "I started laughing, and I'll be laughing from now on," he
said. "It's silly..." today.reuters.com/ ...
22:38:10When the 60-kg (132 lb) boar woke up late Saturday afternoon
after sleeping for a few hours, it started panicking again when it could not
find its way out of the house. That's when the family noticed their uninvited
visitor... [unhappy ending for the boar...] 
THE seven-year-old stung by a box jellyfish in far north Queensland
on the weekend suffered an agonising - but mercifully quick - death... breitbart.com/ ... 04:29:19A
bitter cold spell in northern India has claimed six more lives to take the
countrywide toll to 160... caught
the mouse inside his house and wanted to get rid of it. "I had some leaves
burning outside, so I threw it in the fire, and the mouse was on fire and ran
back at the house..." the burning mouse ran to just beneath a window, and the
flames spread up from there and throughout the house. No was hurt inside, but
the home and everything in it was destroyed... boston.com/ ... 04:25:04Appeals to
spare the life of the 1,200-pound heifer... that jumped a slaughterhouse gate
and evaded capture for six hours... came from across the nation... Employees at
[slaughterhouse] voted 10-1 to keep her alive... boston.com/ ... 04:18:14Deputy Ray
Dykes thought he was looking for a prowler. "When I pulled up, I saw the
reflection of an animal's eyes. It looked like a little bear cub," he said. "I
got to about 40 feet and it stood up, and that's when I knew it was fully
grown." Dykes used his Taser gun when the bear got too close. "He was about
seven or eight feet away when I shocked him..." David
Clarke drowned after he was swept into the unforgiving waves at Birdlings Flat
about 4.30pm, trying to save his dog, Rossi, from the 2m southerly swell...
"Two people went into the water to save him and had a hold of him for a while
but had to let go..." An Australian woman
from Brisbane has been killed in a shark attack at a popular beach near the
city... Police believe three bull sharks could have attacked the young woman,
and have launched a large-scale hunt in local waters... Bull sharks are
notorious for being aggressive during mating season... timesonline.co.uk/ ... 12:50:41THE
number of Turkish people thought to be infected with avian flu rose to more
than 50 this weekend, prompting concern that the disease may be about to spread
into Europe. Yesterday a British laboratory confirmed that a Turkish brother
and sister who died last week had the feared H5N1 strain of avian flu. A third
child from the same family in Dogubayazit, in eastern Turkey, has now died of
avian flu and dozens more suspected cases have emerged... today.reuters.co.uk/ ...
12:49:23Japan was bracing for more snow on Friday after some of the
heaviest snowfall on record that has left 57 people dead and paralysed
transport. Almost 4 metres (13 ft) of snow has piled up in the worst-hit areas
of Niigata near the Japan Sea coast, though the snowiest season of the year is
yet to come... news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 12:36:00measured 6.9 magnitude,
shook buildings in the capital and was felt as far away as northern Greece and
Egypt... lasted for several seconds... epicentre was located about 200km (125
miles) south of Athens, near the island of Kythira... outlookindia.com/ ... 10:45:34A powerful earthquake
shook Greece today and was felt as far away as the Middle East. Minor damage
was reported in southern Greece, and authorities on the island of Crete said
three people were slightly injured... PARANORMAL
investigators have been called in to investigate why dogs have been apparently
killing themselves by leaping off a bridge. Overtoun Bridge, which crosses a
burn outside Overtoun House, hit the headlines in March last year after five
dogs plunged 40ft to their deaths within a six- month period. No explanation
was found for the behaviour, which has continued to baffle locals and animal
experts. Members of the Scottish Society for Psychical Research (SSPR) visited
the site in Dumbarton last spring and documented sensing “ghostly
ministers, a mysterious Victorian woman and grasping children”...
Army Lt. Col. Michael
E. McLaughlin, 44, of Mercer, Pa., died in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, on Jan. 5, when
he was conducting a dismounted patrol at an Iraqi police recruiting station and
an individual-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his position.
McLaughlin was assigned to the Army National Guard. defenselink.mil/ ... 18:57:28Army Sgt. Jason
Lopezreyes, 29, of Hatillo, Puerto RicoArmy Spc. Ryan D. Walker, 25, of
Stayton, Ore.Army Maj. William F.
Hecker, III, 37, of St. Louis, Mo.Army Capt. Christopher P. Petty, 33, of Vienna,
Va.Army Sgt.
1st Class Stephen J. White, 39, of Talladega, Ala.Army Sgt. Johnny J.
Peralez, Jr., 25, of Kingsville, TexasArmy Pvt. Robbie M. Mariano, 21, of
Stockton, Calif.Army Spc. Prince K.
Teewia, 27, ofDurham, N.C., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 29, when an
improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations.
defenselink.mil/ ... 10:29:12Army Sgt. 1st Class
Shawn C. Dostie, 32, of Granite City, Ill., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on
Dec. 30, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during
patrol operations. defenselink.mil/ ... 10:28:53Army Staff Sgt. Ayman
A. Taha, 31, of Vienna, Va., died in Balad, Iraq, on Dec. 30, when he was
preparing a munitions cache for demolition and the cache exploded. defenselink.mil/ ... 10:28:27Army Sgt. 1st Class
Jason L. Bishop, 31, ofWilliamstown, Ky., died in As Siniyah, Iraq, on
Jan. 1, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his
HMMWV during patrol operations. 
tiger enclosure...
mauled to death.... a 49-year-old South African woman in October to try to help
a seal which she believed was stranded, allowing her 1-year-old grandchild to
stroke the creature in the process. The seal responded by biting off the
woman's nose.... gorilla...
wounded by a terrified
gunman who jumped a moat into his space ...pinned the fugitive against the wall
of his enclosure and guarded him even after being shot until police arrived....
an elephant gored a tourist to death in a Ugandan national park after the man,
carrying an 8-year-old boy in his arms, approached the animal's calf... "I
think many people are just far removed from nature. People who live in cities
often see nature as something that is tame and manageable..." "I blame it on
Walt Disney... app.com/ ... 10:18:39In an incredible tale of
survival, the gray and white domestic shorthair somehow clung for about 70
miles under a sport-utility vehicle that was headed from Newark to Cherry Hill
two days before Christmas... Another motorist spotted the cat through the wheel
well of the SUV as it was nearing Exit 4 of the turnpike. The motorist flagged
down the SUV's driver and yelled to her, "There's a cat under your car!... I
would imagine he was hanging on for dear life..." Army Staff Sgt.
Christopher J. Vanderhorn, 37, of Pierce, Wash., died in As Sinia, Iraq,
on Jan. 1, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during
patrol operations. defenselink.mil/ ... 14:39:12Army Spc. Marcelino
R. Corniel, 23, of La Puente, Calif., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 31,
when an enemy mortar attack occurred in the vicinity of his observation post.
Corniel was assigned to the Army National Guard. defenselink.mil/ ... 00:23:06Army Pvt. Jonathan R.
Pfender, 22, of Evansville, Ind., died in Bayji, Iraq, on Dec. 30, when an
improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during patrol operations.
Police aren't sure how else to explain it.
But when an officer walked into an apartment Thursday night to answer a 911
call, an orange-and-tan striped cat was lying by a telephone on the living room
floor. The cat's owner, Gary Rosheisen, was on the ground near his bed having
fallen out of his wheelchair. Rosheisen said his cat, Tommy, must have hit the
right buttons to call 911... news.bbc.co.uk/ ... 14:15:07Dozens of stranded pilot whales have been
shot dead in New Zealand to end their suffering when it was ruled too difficult
to get them back in the sea... 
Marine life experts are to make a second attempt to
rescue a dolphin stranded in a Cumbrian marina. The bottlenose dolphin -
nicknamed Marra - has been inside the harbour gates at the Maryport marina for
almost a month... 
Floridians can add a new menace
to their list of worries. Killer bees are here... a threat to farmworkers,
landscapers, meter readers, firefighters and basically everyone who ventures
outdoors... In St. Lucie County, thousands of bees nesting below ground near
water meters swarmed onto unlucky utility workers late last year, though not
fatally. Separate attacks killed two dogs near Miami and Sarasota, along with a
horse near LaBelle west of Lake Okeechobee... 
BRITISH
scientists are planning to create human-rabbit hybrid embryos to speed up
research into the causes of inherited conditions such as motor neurone disease
and Parkinson's...