Surprised Kitty
December 5, 2009 – 7:13 pm by RGilbertEveryone can use at least 17 seconds of amusement. The Surprised Kitty Cat video has had more than 3,000,000 views on YouTube.
The Fun Theory: Piano Stairs
November 8, 2009 – 8:39 pm by RGilbertA French friend sent me this video, and it is too good not to share. It doesn’t have much to do with critters, but a couple of dogs make a cameo appearance!
See Also:
TheFunTheory.com
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall in Canada
November 8, 2009 – 7:47 pm by RGilbertThis is the 15th visit to Canada for Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne. For his wife, Camilla, it is her first official visit to her ancestral homeland. Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, is the great-great-great-granddaughter of Sir Alan MacNab, the former prime minister of the united Province of Canada.
The Royal couple is visiting Canada from November 2-12. Their itinerary includes a stop at the 2010 Olympic Village in Vancouver as well as a tour of Dundurn Castle in Hamilton, Ontario, built in 1835 for Camilla’s great-great-great-grandfather. On Friday, they paid a visit to the Royal Winter Agricultural Show in Toronto, where Camilla stopped to pet a show dog.
Burnt Bunnies Heat Homes
October 18, 2009 – 10:45 pm by RGilbertStockholm’s homes are heated with bunny biofuel. Elmer Fudd must be fueling around in the wabbit patch. Swedish hunters kill thousands of pesky rabbits, that are said to be destroying the capital’s parks. The bunny bodies are frozen, ground and mixed with wood chips, peat or waste, then incinerated to produce heat for homes … Stockholm’s, that is.
BBC NEWS | Europe | Swedes divided over bunny biofuel.
Richard Gere Walking the Dog on the Red Carpet
October 18, 2009 – 3:34 pm by RGilbertHachiko: A Dog’s Story is a new movie based on a true story about a devoted dog that waited at the Shibuya train station every day for his owner for years after the man had died. The dog died at the train station in 1935.
This remake of the 1987 Japanese movie is directed by Lasse Hallstrom and stars Richard Gere. It takes place in modern-day Rhode Island.
October 16, 2009: Actor Richard Gere and Akita puppy
on the red carpet at the Rome International Film Festival
Orangutan and Bluetick Coonhound, Best Friends
October 17, 2009 – 5:02 am by RGilbertSuryia, an Orangutan, and Roscoe, a Bluetick Coonhound, are best friends, living at a preserve for endangered animals in South Carolina. They met a couple of years ago when Roscoe, looking thin and hungry, followed staff home to The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (TIGERS) in Myrtle Beach. Suryia and Roscoe hugged and started playing together like long-lost friends.
The special relationship between Suryia and Roscoe demonstrates that true friends come in all shapes, sizes, colors, ages … and species!
Bedtime Prayer
October 12, 2009 – 9:55 pm by RGilbertA friend from Costa Rica forwarded this email to me. It’s too good not to share!
Dear Lord:
Thank you for bringing me to Timmy’s house and not to Michael Vick’s — AMEN!
Conservative Canines for Sale – SteynOnline
September 28, 2009 – 4:08 pm by RGilbertSteynOnline – STEYNONLINE CANINE CORNER.
Columnist Mark Steyn’s dog Lola has some nieces and nephews that are ready to find new homes. They are AKC registered Golden Retrievers bred by Ruth Dwyer on her farm in eastern Vermont.
For information, call (802)785-2815 or email puppies@steynonline.com. And how about this: “with every puppy you’ll get a free limited-edition SteynOnline dog bowl.“
Who Is Cass Sunstein and Why Should You Care?
September 14, 2009 – 2:39 am by RGilbertAnd what does he have to do with critters? The new Regulartory Czar is a Harvard-educated lawyer. He co-edited a book with Martha Nussbaum, published in 2004, entitled Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions
It would not occur to those of us who advocate for animal welfare, animal adoption, humane treatment and an end to brutal practices of animal slaughter, to equate ownership of a companion animal to human slavery. Without stating his personal point of view, Mr. Sunstein presents this as an issue that may be morally equivalent to a discussion about the adequacy of food and shelter provided to laboratory animals. He also injects the issue of giving animals legal standing to pursue remediation in the courts. Afterall, his book is called “Animal Rights” not “Animal Advocacy.”
On Thursday, September 10, 2009, the United States Senate confirmed President Barack Obama’s nominee Cass Sunstein to be Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) by a vote of 59-40. The vote may look like a party-line split, but it was not. Five Democrats and independent Bernie Sanders (Vermont) voted against the confirmation, and six Republicans voted for it.
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Democrats opposed:
- Mark Begich (Alaska)
- Blanche Lincoln (Arkansas)
- Ben Nelson (Nebraska)
- Mark Pryor (Arkansas)
- Jim Webb (Virginia)
- Republicans in favor:
- Bob Bennett (Utah)
- Susan Collins (Maine)
- Orin Hatch (Utah)
- Richard Lugar (Indiana)
- Olympia Snowe (Maine)
- George Voinovich (Ohio)
In his new role at OIRA, Mr. Sunstein will be the regulators’ regulator, reviewing draft regulations affecting many agencies. The OIRA is part of the Office of Management and Budget. The OIRA director is responsible for reviewing federal agency regulations and cost benefit analysis. It is unclear how that role might evolve under the Obama regime.
While farmers and ranchers may look askance at the Sunstein confirmation, so should anyone reading this posting on the internet. One of the key functions of OIRA is to oversee implementation of government-wide policies in the areas of information technology, information policy, privacy, and statistical policy. As a mere mortal who stumbles over the meaning of bureaucratic government-speak, I am uncertain as to whether the implementation information policy is just within government agencies or if that can be expanded. But I do have it on good authority that Mr. Sunstein is in favor of some sort of “fairness doctrine” on the Internet.
Keep an eye on what the this czar does in the next few weeks.
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