Monday - January 29, 2007

Obituary

Barbaro Is Euthanized After Struggle With Injury
_{KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. (NY TIMES) - January 29, 2007 12:30pm ET}

Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was euthanized Monday after complications from his breakdown at the Preakness last May. “We just reached a point where it was going to be difficult for him to go on without pain,” co-owner Roy Jackson said. “It was the right decision, it was the right thing to do. We said all along if there was a situation where it would become more difficult for him then it would be time.”

Roy and Gretchen Jackson were with Barbaro on Monday morning, with the owners making the decision in consultation with chief surgeon Dean Richardson. It was a series of complications, including laminitis in the left rear hoof and a recent abscess in the right rear hoof, that proved to be too much for the gallant colt, whose breakdown brought an outpouring of support across the country.

“I would say thank you for everything, and all your thoughts and prayers over the last eight months or so,” Jackson said to Barbaro’s fans. On May 20, Barbaro was rushed to the New Bolton Center, about 30 miles southwest of Philadelphia in Kennett Square, hours after shattering his right hind leg just a few strides into the Preakness Stakes. The bay colt underwent a five-hour operation that fused two joints, recovering from an injury most horses never survive. Barbaro lived for eight more months, though he never again walked with a normal gait.

The Kentucky Derby winner suffered a significant setback over the weekend, and surgery was required to insert two steel pins in a bone—one of three shattered eight months ago in the Preakness but now healthy—to eliminate all weight bearing on the ailing right rear foot. The procedure on Saturday was a risky one, because it transfered more weight to the leg while the foot rests on the ground bearing no weight.

The leg was on the mend until the abscess began causing discomfort last week. Until then, the major concern was Barbaro’s left rear leg, which developed laminitis in July, and 80 percent of the hoof was removed. Richardson said Monday morning that Barbaro did not have a good night.

Posted by The Skipper     on 01/29/2007 at 12:41 PM   
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   Friday - January 19, 2007

Through The Looking Glass

What better way to wind down a Friday and the end of another work week than a quick glimpse of what the PETA loons are up to now. They have taken their show on the road overseas to Taiwan this week. If you want to have a little fun, add a caption to this picture. What could possibly be going through that nice young Chinese boy’s (girl?) mind right about now?

P.S. Is it just me or does that blond broad in front have what we guys call “crazy eyes”? I’d recommend staying out of her way - just in case.

Posted by The Skipper     on 01/19/2007 at 03:10 PM   
Filed Under: • Animals • Art-Photography •  
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   Sunday - December 03, 2006

MOOO-hammed!

Just what is this nice young devout Muslim doing in this field with this cow? If you can’t guess then click the image below to find out. It looks to me like Mohammed is udderly in love.

Thanks to our flyboys in Afghanistan (the coordinates on the camera display point to a spot about 20 miles North of Kabul) for capturing this and Melissa In Texas for sending me the link. We now return you to our regularly scheduled program ("Sleepless in Kandahar"), already in progress ....

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/03/2006 at 04:45 PM   
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   Wednesday - September 20, 2006

Stupid Criminal Du Jour

How stupid can a person get? Everyone knows the best way to get even with a girlfriend who has a cat is to tie the critter up and launch it from a catapult into into a brick wall. She’ll be catatonic. OK. I’ll quit now.

Illinois Man Jailed for Decapitating Cat
_{EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - September 19, 2006, 9:16 PM EDT}

A man who admitted in court to tearing off the head of a kitten after a fight with his girlfriend has been sentenced to two years in prison. When it comes to animal abuse cases, “we don’t get prison sentences all the time, so it’s always good when we do,” Stephanee Smith, a spokeswoman for the Madison County state’s attorney’s office, said Tuesday of the case against Jacob Thornton.

Thornton, 21, was to have had a preliminary hearing last Thursday on the felony animal torture charge but instead pleaded guilty, Smith said. A judge ordered Thornton’s sentence to run concurrently to a prison term related to a parole violation on a 2005 aggravated battery conviction.

Authorities say that after a July 28 dispute between Thornton and his live-in girlfriend, the 30-year-old woman left the home before returning to find her kitten’s head and detached body in the front yard.

Four days after he was charged with animal torture, Thornton was also charged with burglarizing a motor vehicle. That case is pending.

Posted by The Skipper     on 09/20/2006 at 09:50 AM   
Filed Under: • Animals • Crime • Stoopid-People •  
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   Saturday - September 09, 2006

Tribute

Posted by The Skipper     on 09/09/2006 at 05:52 AM   
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   Monday - September 04, 2006

Crikey!

I have often wondered if Steve Irwin was playing with a full deck. The man seemed absolutely insane to get that close to dangerous animals, from crocodiles to poisonous rattlesnakes. It seemed to me to be a matter of when, not if, he would be killed. The thing is, you just had to love the guy anyway. He always seemed to be having so much fun while playing with dangerous animals. This kind of accident was predictable but I am still saddened regardless.

Like most of his fans, I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife and family. He will be missed. In spite of the crazy antics he seemed to get into at times, Steve seemed to have a good heart and taught us a lot about animals in the wild, carrying on the tradition of Marlin Perkins and others. Yes, the animals he “played with” were dangerous but his infectious humor served to educate us about animals in the wild and make us less fearful of them. That alone was a magnificent achievement.

His death should also remind us that although we should not fear the wild critters, we need to engage them with a healthy dose of respect. Something we humans would do well to practice when dealing with the most dangerous animals of all ... each other.

Rest in peace, Steve.

Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin Killed
_{CAIRNS, Australia (WASHINGTON POST) - Monday, September 4, 2006; 6:14 AM}

Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and conservationist known as the “Crocodile Hunter,” was killed Monday by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44. Irwin was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment for a series called “Ocean’s Deadliest” when he swam too close to one of the animals, which have a poisonous bard on their tails, his friend and colleague John Stainton said.

“He came on top of the stingray and the stingray’s barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart,” said Stainton, who was on board Irwin’s boat at the time. Crew members aboard the boat, Croc One, called emergency services in the nearest city, Cairns, and administered CPR as they rushed the boat to nearby Low Isle to meet a rescue helicopter. Medical staff pronounced Irwin dead when they arrived a short time later, Stainton said.

Irwin was famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchword “Crikey!” in his television program “Crocodile Hunter.” First broadcast in Australia in 1992, the program was picked up by the Discovery network, catapulting Irwin to international celebrity. He rode his image into a feature film, 2002’s “The Crocodile Hunters: Collision Course” and developed the wildlife park that his parents opened, Australia Zoo, into a major tourist attraction.

“The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet,” Stainton told reporters in Cairns. “He died doing what he loved best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. He would have said, ‘Crocs Rule!’” Prime Minister John Howard, who hand-picked Irwin to attend a gala barbecue to honor President Bush when he visited in 2003, said he was “shocked and distressed at Steve Irwin’s sudden, untimely and freakish death.”

“It’s a huge loss to Australia,” Howard told reporters. “He was a wonderful character. He was a passionate environmentalist. He brought joy and entertainment and excitement to millions of people.” Irwin, who made a trademark of hovering dangerously close to untethered crocodiles and leaping on their backs, spoke in rapid-fire bursts with a thick Australian accent and was almost never seen without his uniform of khaki shorts and shirt and heavy boots.

His ebullience was infectious and Australian officials sought him out for photo opportunities and to promote Australia internationally. News of Irwin’s death spread quickly, and tributes flowed from all quarters of society. At Australia Zoo at Beerwah, south Queensland, floral tributes were dropped at the entrance, where a huge fake crocodile gapes. Drivers honked their horns as they passed.

Stainton said Irwin’s American-born wife Terri, from Eugene, Ore., had been informed of his death, and had told their daughter Bindi Sue, 8, and son Bob, who will turn 3 in December. The couple met when she went on vacation in Australia in 1991 and visited Irwin’s Australia Zoo; they were married six months later. Sometimes referred to as the “Crocodile Huntress,” she costarred on her husband’s television show and in his 2002 movie.

Steve’s Web Site: http://www.crocodilehunter.com

Posted by The Skipper     on 09/04/2006 at 06:13 AM   
Filed Under: • Animals • Celebrities •  
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   Wednesday - August 23, 2006

Ahhh, The Smell of Pacifism - Updated

via the Geek

Cat-killing raccoons on prowl in west Olympia

OLYMPIA - Raccoons are cute, until they kill one of your cats.

That is what a west Olympia neighborhood is learning this summer.

Raccoons have killed about 10 cats in a three-block area near the Garfield Nature Trail at Harrison Avenue West and Foote Street Southwest.

Problem wildlife coordinator Sean Carrell of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife called the situation “bizarre, weird.”

OK, so we have this neighborhood that has a little varmint problem.  I know the readers of this blog know what the next step is.  Heck, any 12 year old with an once of sense knows what the next step is.

But this is Washington state.

“I’ve never heard a report of 10 cats being killed. It’s something we’re going to have to monitor,” he said. He added that they may have to bring in trappers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Typical liberal response: “let’s do a study.” Oy

The problem got so bad that residents Kari Hall and Tamara Keeton even started a Raccoon Watch after having an emotional neighborhood meeting attended by about 40 people.

“It was a place for people to mourn and cry,” Hall said.

What??  A neighborhood meeting to mourn and cry?  Good grief.

At the meeting, they encouraged people to stop feeding the raccoons. They also decided to keep their pets and pet food inside. And they decided to carry pepper spray to drive off raccoons that attack again.

Keeton and Pam Corwin have decided to have “cat coops” built so their pets can go outside and have some room to roam, with protection.

[snip]

“I’m afraid of them,” she said of the raccoons. “I carry an iron pipe with me” when I go out at night, she added.

[and]

“We were right there trying to get him off the cat,” she said. “The cat was screaming, and the raccoon was ferocious. My husband and a neighbor grabbed a shovel and a bat, and they were waving them until it took off. It was scary.”

Oh for heaven’s sake.  GET A .22 YOU MORONS!!!!!

The neighbors hired trapper Tom Brown, a nuisance wildlife control operator from Rochester.

Normally, Brown said, he can fix a problem in a few weeks, but he has set traps there for six weeks and caught only one.

Brown said he’s going to back off for a while until the food supply dries up.

He said his goal is to make them feel uncomfortable. Until that happens, they aren’t likely to leave.

I think I’m going to puke.  He wants them to feel uncomfortable????

“It’s like a freeway in the back yard,” she said. “It’s like clockwork. They come between 9 and 9:30 every night.”

“You’ve got to watch which ones are bad,” Hall said. “It’s not all of them. We just have to arm ourselves with pepper spray.”

Yeah, that will help, you neutered form of a man.  Six weeks.  This neighborhood has been terrorized by possibly rabid raccoons who have shown a bloodthirst for killing, apparently more concerned for the feelings of the critters than for the safety of their own pets and kids.  They are unwilling to do what needs to be done to rid them of the plague, even though they know exactly where they will be and when.

In the words of Kim DuToit: “I’m off to the range”

***Update***
Oh boy.  I did not realize they had a comments section on this story.  Here’s a gem:

I am one of the pet owners described in this story. I am also a lifelong conservative Republican and a proud WWII vet and I’d like to damn to hell each and everyone one of you southern hicks who are spouting off here. How dare you bring your moronic political rants into my neighborhood, with all your assumptions about Washingtonians and our way of life.

Olympia is a city. We are not some backwood hollow, where we can just come out guns ablazing.

You people need to take care of your own problems (and you certainly have a lot of them) and leave us to sort out our own.

Posted by Drew458     on 08/23/2006 at 07:22 AM   
Filed Under: • Animals • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Insanity • Stoopid-People •  
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   Wednesday - July 12, 2006

Zombie Dogs… Your dog wants brains…

U.S. scientists have apparently discovered a way to reanimate dogs that have been clinically dead for three hours, a process intended for future human trials.

I don’t know which is scarier… zombie dogs or zombie humans.

A new scientific approach tested at the Safar Centre for Resuscitation Research, based in Pittsburgh, drains some of the animal’s blood and replaces it with an ice-cold salt solution. The dog--considered technically dead without a heartbeat or brain waves--is then revived with a blood transfusion and electric shock up to three hours later. The process, called “suspended animation with delayed resuscitation,” is ultimately designed to help suspend and revive emergency victims, such as casualties of war or car accidents, who have experienced an otherwise lethal hemorrhage.

Predictably, animal-rights whackos weighed in…

But the animal rights community must have had a hemorrhage over the Safar Centre’s tests. Last week, it issued a statement clarifying its research tactics and outlining its compliance with standards for the ethical treatment of animals.

Human trials? Are these voluntary? Yikes! If voluntary, when do you volunteer? After they revive you? Then you get the bill and have a heart attack…

Posted by Christopher     on 07/12/2006 at 07:10 PM   
Filed Under: • Animals • Health-Medicine • Odd-Strange •  
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   Thursday - July 06, 2006

Dances With Bulls

Guess what day today is? If you guessed July 6 then you are half-right! Today is the Day Of The Bulls! Every year we are treated to thousands of Spanish idjits running madly through the streets of Pamplona, Spain trying their best not to get GORED (a fate which America narrowly avoided in November of 2000).

In addition, every year we are treated to hundreds of fugly (and some not-so-ugly) PETA activists running nekkid through the streets of Pamplona protesting the “abuse” of the bulls. Tell that to the hombre lying on the ground with his pants ripped open and face all bloody, PETA.

In accordance with our time-honored tradition of bringing you all the idjits who are fit to be tied (nekkid and clothed) we present this year’s PETA/Pamplona Panty Party. You can read about the running of the bulls first then click on the “Continue Reading” button to see all the nekkid protesters at this year’s soiree in Spain. The PETA Party is hidden from the main page because, as usual, it is probably not safe for work. Comprende, hombre?

Pamplona, Spain - July 6, 2006 - The Annual Running Of The Bulls

The running of the bulls in Pamplona Spain was first made famous in Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises. Since then, tourists have flocked to the Basque town of Pamplona Spain every June to sing, dance, drink, and careen down the town’s cobbled streets with a herd of angry and confused bulls charging behind them during the running of the bulls Pamplona. The encierro—as the actual running of the bulls Pamplona is known—is only one part of the Festival of San Fermin. The non-stop celebration beings at midday on July 6 and continues around the clock until midnight on July 14. During the running of the bulls Pamplona goes completely wild.

In Pamplona Spain, the encierro begins each morning at eight, when six bulls are released from their corral near the Plaza Santo Domingo, and careen—sometimes wildly, sometimes like they’re out for a Sunday stroll—through the streets to the bullring. Running in front, beside, and sometimes below the beasts, are hundreds of locals and tourists wearing traditional white outfits with red bandanas.

To watch the running of the bulls Pamplona it’s essential to arrive at around 6 am. The best places to watch the Pamplona bull run is near the starting point around the Plaza Santo Domingo or the wall leading to the bullring. If you have the stamina and guts to participate in the running of the bulls Pamplona, remember that every year someone gets hurt or killed. So, after you’ve propped up your courage with a shot of Pacharan—the local moonshine—head to the starting point at Plaza Santo Domingo, where at a few minutes to eight the course is opened and you can take your preferred place along the route.

Two rockets are fired to signal that the Pamplona bull run has begun—and to signal your heart to start beating at twice its normal rate! The first rocket signals that the bullpen has been opened, the second means that all the bulls are running. As soon as the first rocket takes flight you can start running, but if you navigate the course at the head of the pack and arrive in the stadium well before the bulls, you will be met with a chorus of lusty boos from the spectators waiting in the stadium. If you wait until the second rocket you are more likely to get closer to the bulls. Just remember if you try to escape the course before the encierro is over you’ll be pushed right back into the streets.

Animal rights activists protest running of the bulls in Pamplona
_{(EITB - BASQUE NEWS) - 07/05/2006}

Animal rights activists _ some wearing just underwear or even less _ sprinted through Pamplona Wednesday to protest the running of the bulls, two days before this year’s edition of Spain’s most famous festival gets under way. The sponsor, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said more than 1,000 nude activists took part in the human run, now in its fifth year.

Some women ran topless or in panties and bras, and most of the men were in their underwear at least. One man was naked except for a makeshift loincloth. The run proceeded along part of the route that will see thrillseekers dash ahead of a pack of six fighting bulls and six meek steers starting Friday for eight days. The protesters shouted slogans against the running of the bulls and against bullfighting in general as they made their way to the gate of Pamplona’s bullring, where the procession ended.

The bulls that take part in the running are corraled at the bullring and killed in bullfights later in the day. “Bullfights are a cruel tradition that may have made sense two centuries ago. But these days they are only a display of cruelty that only denigrates us as human beings,” PETA’s Spain coordinator Francisco Vázquez Neira said in a statement.

GET ME OUT OF HERE ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 07/06/2006 at 02:26 PM   
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   Wednesday - June 07, 2006

My Little Pony

Poor Henry Lewis. Not only is he a sick individual but he has PETA jumping all over him. To make matters worse, now Henry’s story is being presented here to the entire world, courtesy of the internet. I’m afraid there will be absolutely nothing in today’s news that can top Henry’s story. I may as well pack it in and go read a good book. You however, may feel free to discuss Henry and his little pony. If you follow the link to the PETA web site you will learn a new word for the day: zoophile. Don’t ask ...

South Alabama Man Facing Bestiality Charge
_{June 5, 2006 08:29 PM}

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA-TV) - The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, is bringing attention to a case of alleged bestiality in Alabama. Henry Lewis of Sweetwater is accused of having sex with a pony.

According to PETA, at least two people witnessed the act about a month ago. A few days later, the pony was reported dead.

“Research shows that offenders who commit bestiality often go on to commit sex crimes against humans,” said PETA’s Stephanie Bell.

“Our belief is that the community should be following this case closely because anyone capable of this kind of cruelty poses a definitive risk to the entire community.”

PETA is urging the district attorney to prosecute Lewis vigorously and require mandatory counseling. An initial hearing in the case was scheduled for Wednesday.

---

PETA Demands Jail Time, Psychiatric Intervention
If Alleged Pony Rapist Is Convicted
Community Should Fear Future Incidents, Say Experts
_{June 5, 2006}

SWEETWATER, Ala. (PETA MEDIA CENTER) - This morning, PETA sent an urgent plea to District Attorney Greg Griggers urging him to vigorously prosecute Henry Lewis of Sweetwater. Lewis faces charges stemming from an incident last month in which he allegedly raped a 6-week-old pony. At least two people reportedly witnessed Lewis’ penetrating the animal, who was found dead several days later by her guardian.

“Studies show that offenders who commit bestiality often go on to commit sex crimes against humans,” says PETA Cruelty Caseworker Stephanie Bell. “The community should follow this case closely, because anyone capable of this kind of cruelty poses a definitive risk to the entire community.”

PETA is asking that¯if convicted and in addition to serving a period of incarceration—Lewis be prohibited from owning or harboring animals and that authorities seize any other animals currently in his custody. PETA is also asking that Lewis be required to undergo a thorough psychological evaluation followed by mandatory counseling.

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/07/2006 at 04:57 AM   
Filed Under: • Animals • Crime • Insanity •  
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   Friday - April 28, 2006

Headline Of The Day

The Painful Realities of Hyena Sex
_{Wed Apr 26, 2:00 PM ET}

When a mother does her best, she expects a well-behaved child. But for top-dog hyena moms, a hell-raiser is preferred.

Alpha females give a hormone boost to their developing cubs, making them more aggressive when fighting for food and increasing their chances of survival, according to a study in the April 27 issue of the journal Nature.

The extra hormones also inspire young males to mount females early and often, giving them a better shot at performing their tricky mating dance correctly down the road.

You won’t believe how hard the act is, and why.

Now, if you really insist on reading the rest of this then I will provide you a link to the story. However, I cannot be responsible for any harm that may come to your brain and if you upchuck on your keyboard, don’t blame me. With that said, you may now continue your journey into the wild world of hyena sex ....

  Click Here

Posted by The Skipper     on 04/28/2006 at 04:56 AM   
Filed Under: • Animals •  
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   Saturday - April 08, 2006

Monster Rabbit

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the cabbage patch, Jimmy Carter’s Killer Swamp Rabbit appears to have swam across “the pond” and is attacking Brits in their vegetable gardens. This monster, which nearly ate the former President on a fishing trip in 1979, is on the loose again and no one knows who his next target will be. However, I would strongly urge MP George Galloway to keep a big stick handy since this beast seems to target lunatic politicians ...

“Monster rabbit” Targets Vegetable Patch
_{Sat Apr 8, 9:18 AM ET}

LONDON (Reuters)

It sounds like a job for Wallace and Gromit. A “monster” rabbit has apparently been rampaging through vegetable patches in a small village in northern England, ripping up leeks, munching turnips and infuriating local gardeners.

In an uncanny resemblance to the plot of the hit animated film “Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit,” angry horticulturists in Felton, near Newcastle, have now mounted an armed guard to protect their prized cabbages and parsnips.

“They call it the monster. It’s very big—it’s nearly the size of a dog,” said Joan Smith, whose son Jeff owns one of the plots under attack. “It’s eating everything, all the vegetables,” she told Reuters. “They are trying to shoot it. They go along hoping to catch it but I think it’s too crafty.”

In the “Wallace” film, which topped both the U.S. and UK box office charts and in March won an Oscar for best animated feature film, the plasticine heroes battle a mutant rabbit bent on destroying their home town’s annual Giant Vegetable Contest. Those who say they have witnessed Felton’s black and brown monster describe it as a cross between a rabbit and a hare with one ear bigger than the other.

Its antics came to public attention when Jeff Smith, 63, raised it as an issue with the local parish council. “He came along to pay the annual fee for the allotment (vegetable patch) and he said ‘ooh we’ve got this big cross between a hare and a rabbit,’” the council’s clerk Lisa Hamlin told Reuters.

Smith himself has described it as a “brute” which had left huge pawprints. “This is no ordinary rabbit. We are dealing with a monster,” he was quoted by newspapers as saying. “It is absolutely massive. The first time I saw it I thought to myself ‘What the hell is that?’ “We have two lads here with guns who are trying to shoot it, but it is very clever.”

Posted by The Skipper     on 04/08/2006 at 06:18 PM   
Filed Under: • Animals • Stoopid-People •  
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   Thursday - March 30, 2006

Most Ridiculous Item Of The Day (so far)

The Dogone Thong: Simple Design and Inexpensive

The Dogone - Dog Gas Neutralizing Pad is a comfortable and least intrusive means for deodorizing gassy discharges in a thong design. This will eliminate pet odors and dog odors from flatus or flatulence.

Uses our famous activated charcoal cloth (washable and reusable)! A starter hole is placed in the cloth in order to help you locate the suggested tail hole. Carefully measure tail and cut-out hole to proper size.

Elastic straps are used for flexibility. Suspender clips are used to make the garment totally adjustable. They also provide quick release for allowing the dog out to do his business.

- Only $19.99 (in three sizes) from Flat-D Innovations, Inc.

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/30/2006 at 03:35 PM   
Filed Under: • Animals • Science-Technology •  
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   Saturday - March 25, 2006

Older Than Dirt

Just think. When this creature was born, the United States was only a dream, the King of France still had his head, Germany was known as the Holy Roman Empire, Mozart was still in diapers, St. Louis didn’t exist and the Middle East was populated with narrow-minded, feuding tribes of insane madmen. A lot has changed in the course of this tortoise’s life ... but some things remain the same. Rest in peace.

CALCUTTA, India—One of the world’s oldest creatures, a giant tortoise believed to have been about 250 years old, has died in the Calcutta zoo where it spent more than half its long life. Addwaita, which means “the one and only” in the local Bengali language, was one of four Aldabra tortoises brought to India by British sailors in the 18th century.

Zoo officials say he was a gift for Lord Robert Clive of the East India Company, who was instrumental in establishing British colonial rule in India, before he returned to England in 1767. Long after the other three tortoises died, Addwaita continued to thrive, living in Clive’s garden before being moved to the zoo in 1875.

- More: “A Remarkable Life: Tortoise Dies at 250”

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/25/2006 at 05:53 AM   
Filed Under: • Animals •  
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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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