Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Thursday led mourning for Sam the koala, whose rescue from deadly bushfires inspired the nation but who has died during surgery for a sexually transmitted disease.
Rudd said he had been saddened to learn of the death of "that wonderful koala" in an operation for cysts caused by chlamydia, describing it as a tragedy.
Sam was found thirsty and severely burned in February and shot to fame when footage of her drinking bottled water offered by a fireman circulated widely on the Internet.
"The symbol of hope for so many people around the world was the great picture of that wonderful koala being fed water by one of our firefighters," Rudd said.
"I think that gave the people of the world a great sense of hope that this country, Australia, could come through those fires, as we have.
"Sam the Koala was part of the symbolism of that, and it's tragic that Sam the koala is no longer with us."
Footage of helmeted fireman Dave Tree giving Sam water scored almost 150,000 hits in two days on the Internet video site YouTube, and was shown on TV news bulletins the world over.
The cuddly marsupial died Thursday after surgery to remove cysts associated with chlamydia, said Peita Elkhorne, spokeswoman for the animal shelter where she had been living.
"(Sam) lost her fight for life today after undergoing life-saving surgery to remove cysts associated with the debilitating urogenital chlamydiosis, which affects 50 percent of the koala population," Elkhorne said.
Elkhorne said Sam's carers were "devastated with this loss" adding that she had inspired survivors of the fires and those engaged in the relief and emergency effort with her determination.
Entire towns were flattened and 173 people died when fire swept through vast tracts of bushland outside Melbourne. Millions of unique native animals, including koalas, kangaroos and wombats, were also estimated to have perished.
Rescuers had hoped to return Sam, who was of an unusual breed that is fluffier and larger than other koalas, to her home in the Strzelecki Ranges in southeast Victoria state once she had recovered from her burns.
~MSN News
Q ... Some one, PLEASE TAXIDERMISE it. He's such an Icon of Hope. Deeply saddened.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Supermodels DO NOT Diet. Ouch!
... For they are Perfect.
Heidi Klum doesn't rely on 'girdle machines' to look slim.
The German supermodel - who is currently pregnant and already raises three children with musician husband Seal - insists she gets back in shape after giving birth by simply eating healthily and exercising.
Asked about the time she modelled Victoria's Secret lingerie less than two months after having her son Henry, she replied: 'I've never really had any special girdle machines or anything like that. For me, it's really healthy foods, exercising, playing with the children and going to the park - normal things.
'I've never done diets. But I also do not sit on the couch with my feet up and eat one potato chip bag after the next and one burger after the other. I think you have to kind of do a little bit of everything.'
Despite refusing to embark on ridiculous weight-loss regimes, the 36-year-old model admits she is keen to drop her pregnancy pounds after delivering her new baby.
She explained: 'I never really put a lot of pressure on myself, but for me personally, I feel like it is always better to get into shape immediately. I feel like if I drag it out too long, I'm not going to do it.
'So for me it works to kind of get back into shape, afterwards, I feel great. I can put my normal clothes back on and it makes me happy, and it's worked so far.'
Q... so far Supermodels like Tyra and Gisele have all acknowledged healthy lifestyles and eating. No crazy dieting. No waif thin Kate Mosses.
Heidi Klum doesn't rely on 'girdle machines' to look slim.
The German supermodel - who is currently pregnant and already raises three children with musician husband Seal - insists she gets back in shape after giving birth by simply eating healthily and exercising.
Asked about the time she modelled Victoria's Secret lingerie less than two months after having her son Henry, she replied: 'I've never really had any special girdle machines or anything like that. For me, it's really healthy foods, exercising, playing with the children and going to the park - normal things.
'I've never done diets. But I also do not sit on the couch with my feet up and eat one potato chip bag after the next and one burger after the other. I think you have to kind of do a little bit of everything.'
Despite refusing to embark on ridiculous weight-loss regimes, the 36-year-old model admits she is keen to drop her pregnancy pounds after delivering her new baby.
She explained: 'I never really put a lot of pressure on myself, but for me personally, I feel like it is always better to get into shape immediately. I feel like if I drag it out too long, I'm not going to do it.
'So for me it works to kind of get back into shape, afterwards, I feel great. I can put my normal clothes back on and it makes me happy, and it's worked so far.'
Q... so far Supermodels like Tyra and Gisele have all acknowledged healthy lifestyles and eating. No crazy dieting. No waif thin Kate Mosses.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Middle East Takes the Not-so-Middle-Road to Tolerence
A masked man opened fire on a crowd outside a gay club in Tel Aviv, killing two people and wounding 11 others and striking fear into the heart of the liberal Israeli city's homosexual community.
The black-clad gunman unloaded a pistol on the young group of gays and lesbians at the entrance to the centre in the heart of Israel's beachside commercial capital late Saturday and then fled, police and witnesses said.
A teenage girl and a man in his 20s were killed on the spot and three people suffered serious wounds, police said, adding that a manhunt has been launched for the assailant.
"All indications point that this was a criminal incident and not a terror attack, which was most likely deliberately directed against the gay and lesbian community," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP.
Thousands of people gathered in the city centre overnight to protest at the attack, some waving rainbow banners and lighting candles for the victims.
"Our (gay) community won't let itself be frightened, it will stand up to those who threaten it with heads held high and with pride, we will respond to war with war," left-wing opposition Meretz party MP Nitzan Horowitz said.
The victims were identified Liz Tarabushi, 17 and Yaniv Katz, 26.
Police have imposed a complete blackout on details of the inquiry, but investigators were seen sifting through evidence at the scene while bloodied victims were taken by stretcher into ambulances.
Tel Aviv police chief Shahar Ayalon ordered the closure of a nearby gay bar and urged such establishments to remain vigilant.
"We are only at the first stage of the investigation, we continue our search and we are not sure of the motive of this attack since the centre has not received any threats recently," Ayalon said.
If the motive is confirmed, it would be the worst homophobic attack against Israel's gay and lesbian community.
"It is not surprising that such a crime can be committed given the incitement of hatred against the homosexual community," the president of Tel Aviv's gay and lesbian community, Mai Pelem, told reporters.
Pelem was referring to verbal attacks against gays from the religious community in Israel, where homosexuals, particularly men, often encounter hostility from ultra-Orthodox Jews who consider sexuality an "abomination."
In the past, swastikas have been painted at the entrance to the centre in an attempt to stigmatise homosexuals.
"In our worst nightmares we could not have imagined that the hatred against our community, which is hurting nobody, could go this far," the head of Israel's gay and lesbian national association, Mike Hamel, told journalists.
Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch also said he believed the attack had homophobic motives and promised the police would do everything possible to arrest the gunman, military radio reported.
"Tel Aviv-Jaffa has always been a bastion for pluralism, tolerance and openness, Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai said in a statement.
"But no one will manage change the city's character. We will continue to offer the gay community a warm house in our city and fight for everyone's right to live according to his faith and beliefs."
In 2005, an ultra-Orthodox Jew stabbed three participants of the gay pride parade. He was later sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Israel repealed a ban on consensual same-sex sexual acts in 1988 and certain rights of gay or lesbian couples have since been recognised by the courts.
~MSN
Q
The black-clad gunman unloaded a pistol on the young group of gays and lesbians at the entrance to the centre in the heart of Israel's beachside commercial capital late Saturday and then fled, police and witnesses said.
A teenage girl and a man in his 20s were killed on the spot and three people suffered serious wounds, police said, adding that a manhunt has been launched for the assailant.
"All indications point that this was a criminal incident and not a terror attack, which was most likely deliberately directed against the gay and lesbian community," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP.
Thousands of people gathered in the city centre overnight to protest at the attack, some waving rainbow banners and lighting candles for the victims.
"Our (gay) community won't let itself be frightened, it will stand up to those who threaten it with heads held high and with pride, we will respond to war with war," left-wing opposition Meretz party MP Nitzan Horowitz said.
The victims were identified Liz Tarabushi, 17 and Yaniv Katz, 26.
Police have imposed a complete blackout on details of the inquiry, but investigators were seen sifting through evidence at the scene while bloodied victims were taken by stretcher into ambulances.
Tel Aviv police chief Shahar Ayalon ordered the closure of a nearby gay bar and urged such establishments to remain vigilant.
"We are only at the first stage of the investigation, we continue our search and we are not sure of the motive of this attack since the centre has not received any threats recently," Ayalon said.
If the motive is confirmed, it would be the worst homophobic attack against Israel's gay and lesbian community.
"It is not surprising that such a crime can be committed given the incitement of hatred against the homosexual community," the president of Tel Aviv's gay and lesbian community, Mai Pelem, told reporters.
Pelem was referring to verbal attacks against gays from the religious community in Israel, where homosexuals, particularly men, often encounter hostility from ultra-Orthodox Jews who consider sexuality an "abomination."
In the past, swastikas have been painted at the entrance to the centre in an attempt to stigmatise homosexuals.
"In our worst nightmares we could not have imagined that the hatred against our community, which is hurting nobody, could go this far," the head of Israel's gay and lesbian national association, Mike Hamel, told journalists.
Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch also said he believed the attack had homophobic motives and promised the police would do everything possible to arrest the gunman, military radio reported.
"Tel Aviv-Jaffa has always been a bastion for pluralism, tolerance and openness, Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai said in a statement.
"But no one will manage change the city's character. We will continue to offer the gay community a warm house in our city and fight for everyone's right to live according to his faith and beliefs."
In 2005, an ultra-Orthodox Jew stabbed three participants of the gay pride parade. He was later sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Israel repealed a ban on consensual same-sex sexual acts in 1988 and certain rights of gay or lesbian couples have since been recognised by the courts.
~MSN
Q
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