Newspaper Blog

Balanced News

China’s River Dolphins Extinct

By

Most people love dolphins. There is something about that seeming big grin that they have and how playful they are that sparks our interest. They are amazing creatures with their sonar and intelligence.

Most of the time dolphins are found in the sea. There are a few however whose natural habitat is fresh water. They aren’t that common. Unfortunately, most of us may never get a chance to see them since the Yangtze River dolphin or baiji are now considered functionally extinct.

The baiji are also called the goddess of the Yangtze by some. There used to thousands of the dolphins swimming in the Yangtze in the 1950’s. By the mid 80’s their numbers were down to the hundreds. Now the expedition to help protect them couldn’t find even one.

It is a great loss for the world. The baiji was an ancient species. There is fossilized evidence showing that the baiji have been in existence for 20 million years. Thanks to pollution, over fishing and the damage to their habitat, they are now gone.

Discovery Launch Is Go

By

Discovery Crew.jpg

NASA has given the go for the launch of space shuttle Discovery. The Discovery is now scheduled to launch on December 7 at 2135h PST.

The crew is headed by Commander Mark Polansky. Their pilot is Bill Oefelein. Mission specialists Nicholas Patrick, Bob Curbeam and Joan Higginbotham as well as astronauts Christer Fusglesang and Sunita Williams of the European Space Agency (ESA) will also be on board. Williams will be staying on board the space station for another six months, replacing ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter who came on board the station in July.

The mission of this team is to continue building the international space station. It is a 12 day mission with three space walks. According to NASA’s senior management the team will be installing girder-like truss to form a new segment. They will also be activating the permanent power and cooling systems of the station. They will be in constant communication with NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Blind Indian Models Strut The Catwalk

By

Move over Supermodels who look nothing like “real women” with their waif-like figures, pouty lips and chiseled bone structure – a fashion show just took place in India where the models were blind.

Glittering in beautiful Indian dress, more than 30 lovely blind models strutted down the ramp with ease in a fashion show held in Ahmedabad, western India.
The models, who were local young women, also did their own make-up and wardrobe changes, and participated in a week-long training course on grooming and essential modeling techniques, such as how to walk down the catwalk.
Organisers of the unique event explained their reasoning behind it- to fight stereotypes of disabled people. In India, many of its 22 million disabled people face discrimination and are not awarded equal rights.

“I cannot see how I am looking in the new clothes but I am having a good time,” said 23-year-old participant, Ekta.

“I would hear about fashion shows and designer clothes on the television, but never dreamt of walking like models do,” she said, as she draped a sequined, green sari over her shoulder.

“Blind people are not considered as a part of society, they are given boring and menial jobs to isolate them from the glamorous and exciting world,” said Mukta Dagli from Pragya Chakshu Sanstha, a local charity for the visually impaired.

“We want to bring the blind out of a dull dark life. Now let the world see them.”

“We are young, beautiful and hope to do more shows to gain confidence to fight the darkness of our lives,” said 25-year-old Shweta Kothari.

[tags]blind models, fashion, India[/tags]

The Stowaway Cats

By

Twice this week, the stories of stowaway cats have hit the headlines, both of which made it through perilous voyages at sea inside shipping containers, which they snuck in unsuspecting.

First in line was one-year-old tabby Emily, whose curiosity got the better of her when she hid in a box of paper that made its way from Appleton in the United States all the way to France.

Upon arrival, workers found her, thinner but healthy, and used the telephone number i.d. on her collar to contact her owners. The lucky tabby was then flown home Business Class (see picture above), courtesy of a generous airline who heard the news.

In story number two, a fluffy white cat with rock musician David Bowie‘s eyes (one green, one blue) jumped out of a large goods container in Lancashire, after what was a death-defying 17-day sea voyage from Afula, Northern Israel to Great Britain.

The cat, named Ziggy, was starving and dehydrated when he was found and put under the care of the animal charity RSPCA (Royal Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), who are hoping to trace his owners in Israel and return him home.

Categories

Featured

Recent Posts