Giant camel fossil found in Syria: “Archaeologists have discovered the 100,000-year-old fossilised remains of a previously unknown giant camel species in Syria. [. . .] The animal is thought to have been double the size of a modern-day camel.”

Remember when I said one of the things I needed to add to my home emergency kit was (as I called it) “an on-the-fly water filtration straw”?  Well, this is the product I was referring to.  “Lifestraw isn’t perfect, but it filters out at least 99.99 percent of many parasites and bacteria…”  It doesn’t work as well against viruses and doesn’t filter out things like arsenic, and it appears to leave a slightly bad aftertaste in the water, but it’s a useful little gadget to have in my opinion.

It’s no secret I’m not fond of Barbra Streisand.  She gets on my nerves with her constant blathering and bitching and general complaining, but I have to say this: You go girl!  She got so tired of a heckler at one of her shows that she told the idiot, “Shut the fuck up!”  Kudos to her.

More disturbing news about the spread of avian flu, but this time it’s in Egypt.  Despite culling all animals around the area of a known outbreak, they’ve now discovered more outbreaks at the other end of the Nile River.  They’ve now had more human infections than any other country outside of Asia.  As the article points out, flu season is just getting started and I’d expect the Nile to provide a robust avenue for the virus’ spread.  I think Africa has some major issues on the way with this.  And note Egypt’s had 15 cases with six deaths.  That’s a high mortality rate and is comparable to what’s been seen elsewhere.

This is way cool, dude.  “NASA scientists and their international partners using the new Japanese Suzaku satellite have collected a startling new set of black hole observations, revealing details of twisted space and warped time never before seen with such precision. The observations include clocking the speed of a black hole’s spin rate and measuring the angle at which matter pours into the void, as well as evidence for a wall of X-ray light pulled back and flattened by gravity.”

Have you been abducted by aliens?  Do you want to enforce your rights?  Call now for compensation!  “A German lawyer hopes to drum up more business by pursuing state compensation claims for people who believe they were abducted by aliens.”  Um…  Whatever.

So, how is that Iraq war goin’ there, Mr. President?  Oh, you say you’re planning to maintain current troop levels until 2010?  2010!?!?!?!?!?  Yes, the military has just released its plans to keep the same number of personnel in the country from now through 2010.  Is anyone paying attention to this quagmire anymore?  What a fucked up mess he’s created.

Speaking of Iraq, it looks like Dubya’s original estimate of 30,000 Iraqi deaths was WAY OFF.  “War has wiped out about 655,000 Iraqis or more than 500 people a day since the U.S.-led invasion, a new study reports.”  Sure, I’d say they’re safer with us there.  Okay, they’re safer only if we’re comparing it to dropping nuclear bombs on the country, but safer is safer.

This is such a great read about elephants.  It covers a lot of the recent issues with the creatures attacking humans (probably because we’re wiping them out and taking their territory), but it’s far more than just a news report.  I realize it’s long but strongly feel it’s worth your time.  And there’s something at the end that’s worth reiterating because it means something.  If you’ve ever seen any kind of nature report on elephants, you undoubtedly know how they treat the remains of their own species.  They respect them, they pay homage to them, and they treat them with a reverence equal to the way most humans treat our own dead.  But there’s something else: “Human remains, a number of researchers have observed, are the only other ones that elephants will treat as they do their own.”  Yes, they express the same respect with human remains that they do with elephant remains.  I think that means something.  I think that’s important.  I think it goes to show we don’t have to look out in deep space to find another form of life that is as emotional and intelligent as we are, one capable of recognizing the similarities between us and themselves, one that is capable of understanding the tragedy of death even when it crosses the boundaries between species.