Special bond: The giraffe approached the man's hospital bed, and appeared to give the 54-year-old a kiss goodbyeDaily Mail – by ANDREW CHESTERTON

This is the touching moment a giraffe bid a sad farewell to a dying worker who had spent his entire adult life cleaning the animal’s enclosure at a Dutch zoo.

The 54-year-old maintenance worker, who has terminal cancer, asked that his hospital bed be wheeled into the giraffe enclosure at Rotterdam’s Diergaarde Blijdorp zoo.

In a heartbreaking scene, one of the giraffes then approached the man, known only as Mario, and gave him a tender kiss goodbye.   Continue reading “A kiss from a giraffe for dying zookeeper as he is wheeled in his hospital bed to say a final farewell to the animals he cared for”

DAWN

With the war in Afghanistan winding down, news reports suggest that the United States may dispose $7 billion in military equipment by handing it over to Pakistan.

The Washington Post (WP) reported that the potential move could be, “part of an effort by the Pentagon to unload excess military supplies to US allies at no cost”.   Continue reading “US military may hand over Afghan war equipment to Pakistan”

Long Island Business News

Officials in Southampton on Long Island believe they’ve found a way to control invasive plants that doesn’t involve pesticides.

Newsday reports that the town board has voted to rent goats to eat the plants.

The Nubian dairy goats will be rented from farmers in upstate Rhinebeck.   Continue reading “Southampton to rent goats to eat pesky weeds”

Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFPRT News

The Illinois Supreme Court has struck down the state’s broad eavesdropping law that prohibited the audio recording of any person, public or not, without consent. Opponents of the law said it chilled free speech and the ability to watch law enforcement.

The state Supreme Court ruled that the law “criminalizes a wide range of innocent conduct,” the Chicago Tribune reported.   Continue reading “Illinois strikes down law that prohibited First Amendment right to record”

Mail.com

CHICAGO (AP) — For uninsured people, the nation’s new health care law may offer an escape from worry about unexpected, astronomical medical bills. But for Stephanie Payne of St. Louis, who already had good insurance, the law could offer another kind of escape: the chance to quit her job.

At 62, Payne has worked for three decades as a nurse, most recently traveling house to house caring for 30 elderly and disabled patients. But she’s ready to leave that behind, including the job-based health benefits, to move to Oregon and promote her self-published book. She envisions herself blogging, doing radio interviews and speaking to seniors groups.   Continue reading “With health law, workers ponder the I-Quit option”

Mail.com

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The luxury hotel was considered one of the safest spots in the Afghan capital Kabul. Yet, four gunmen walked in, made their way to the restaurant, pulled out hidden pistols and started shooting diners, officials said Friday. They killed nine people, including shooting an AFP journalist, his wife and two children in the head.

The shooting spree Thursday evening at the Serena Hotel was the latest in a series of high-profile attacks by the Taliban and allied militants as they step up a campaign of violence, vowing to disrupt the April 5 national elections.   Continue reading “Taliban kill 9 in Afghan hotel, shoot kids in head”

The United States Of America At NightThe Truth – by Michael Snyder

Most people have absolutely no idea that the Earth barely missed being fried by a massive EMP burst from the sun in 2012, in 2013 and just last month.  If any of those storms would have directly hit us, the result would have been catastrophic.  Electrical transformers would have burst into flames, power grids would have gone down and much of our technology would have been fried.  In essence, life as we know it would have ceased to exist – at least for a time.  These kinds of solar storms have hit the Earth many times before, and experts tell us that it is inevitable that it will happen again.  The most famous one happened in 1859, and was known as the Carrington Event.  But other than the telegraph, humanity had very little dependence on technology at the time.    Continue reading “After Several Near Misses, Experts Warn The Next Carrington Event Will Plunge Us Back Into The Dark Ages”

Vitamins Close-upAlliance for Natural Health, March 11, 2014

You can’t live without this vitamin. But the FDA wants to reserve the natural form for monopoly drug companies, leaving only the synthetic form for supplements. 

The FDA has just released a new 109-proposed ruleon the revision of nutrition and supplement labels. (You can read more about the implications of the new labeling rules in our other article this week.)   Continue reading “FDA’s Sneak Attempt to Ban Another B Vitamin”

The Libertarian Republic – by Austin Peterson

A user from the popular image sharing site imgur has uploaded a series of photos showing food lines in Venezuela. The lines are undoubtedly the result of new price controls that President Nicolas Maduro has instituted as an effort to tame inflation.

The “Fair Price Law” is causing devastating shortages due to the fact that by putting caps on prices eliminates the the first law of economics, supply and demand. The law sets a maximum profit margin of 30% and requires firms to obtain “fair price” certificates to access dollars through the government’s currency system.   Continue reading “The Fruits of Socialism – Venezuelan Food Lines”

Margaret’s Natural Health

Nucleotides are a somewhat new product. They are the building blocks for DNA and RNA – the nucleic acids that are found in every cell of the body.

Nucleotides can promote an instantaneous boost in both immunity and energy. They are credited with helping our bodies repair themselves, creating new tissue, maintaining a strong immune system and conducting many other important functions. They are found in high concentrations in breast milk and are now routinely added to infant formula – but adults need them too.   Continue reading “Nucleotides – Great when you need them!”

PIC: LColson (PD)Disinfo – by Matt Staggs

They’re not here yet, but Dr. Zhong says that advances in nanotechnology and night vision tech using the material graphene may open the door to ultra-thin night vision contacts. Oh, and if you want to know more about graphene, you might enjoy reading this.   Continue reading “University of Michigan Scientist: Night Vision Contact Lenses Coming Soon”

Yahoo News – by SAM EIFLING

HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu police officers have urged lawmakers to keep an exemption in state law that allows undercover officers to have sex with prostitutes during investigations, touching off a heated debate.

Authorities say they need the legal protection to catch lawbreakers in the act. Critics, including human trafficking experts and other police, say it’s unnecessary and could further victimize sex workers, many of whom have been forced into the trade.   Continue reading “Hawaii law lets police have sex with prostitutes”

MassPrivateI

A parking ticket, traffic citation or involvement in a minor fender-bender are enough to get a person’s name and other personal information logged into a massive, obscure federal database run by the U.S. military.

The Law Enforcement Information Exchange, or LinX, has already amassed 506.3 million law enforcement records ranging from criminal histories and arrest reports to field information cards filled out by cops on the beat even when no crime has occurred.   Continue reading “U.S. Navy database tracks civilians’ parking tickets, car accidents & more”

MassPrivateI

The FBI must explain why it withheld records from a graduate student about an alleged assassination plot against the leaders of Occupy Houston, a federal judge ruled.

Ryan Noah Shapiro is a doctoral candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology whose research includes “the policing of dissent, especially in the name of national security” and “exploring FBI and other intelligence agency efforts to subvert the Freedom of Information Act,” according to his profile on MIT’s website.   Continue reading “FBI must explain it’s assassination plot against Occupy movement leaders”

Indications are the Firearms Technology Branch misunderstood the sequence in the manufacturing process for EP Armory precursor polymer receivers.Examiner – by David Codrea

The United States District Court, Southern District of California on Wednesday granted a joint motion filed earlier in the day by attorneys for Ares Armor and the Department of Justice. The order vacated as moot a preliminary injunction hearing scheduled for Thursday, vacated the Temporary Restraining Order issued on March 11 (and the modification issued on March 14), and affirmed Ares Armor’s rights to file an amended complaint and to seek further injunctive relief.   Continue reading “Ares Armor and ATF hearing taken off calendar as more questions emerge”