Russ McCutcheon

Discussion of human and animal population control has been stifled by the fear of talking about the Holocaust, claims BBC wildlife expert Chris Packham.

In bizarre remarks, the Springwatch and Autumnwatch presenter appeared to suggest that the debate was being hampered because people were afraid to talk openly about the issue.

He also claimed there were too many animals on the planet and called for domestic pets in particular cats to be neutered, kept indoors at night and tagged with electronic beepers to prevent them killing other creatures.

Packham said: ‘We face horrendous hurdles in getting this message [about limiting population growth] across.

‘The first thing is the Holocaust, because the minute you talk about this, people call you a eugenicist and they believe that you want to kill people. It’s such a nonsense. It’s not that there are too many whites, blacks, yellows, Muslims, Christians or anything.

‘It’s organisms too many human organisms.’

The presenter’s comments were condemned by Holocaust awareness charities. Gillian Walnes, of the Anne Frank Trust UK, said they were ‘bizarre’.

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Exercises For The Top 3 Most Neglected Muscle Groups

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 9:31 AM

3 simple exercises to include in your usual workout to ensure a comprehensive workout.

Were happy to see that fitness is becoming a welcome obsession in America, and a lot more people are hitting the gym more often. Kudos to you! However, it is most likely that 75% of you hard-hitters are not hitting these top 3 muscle groups in your weekly workouts. Here are 3 exercises to make sure these top 3 neglected muscle groups get the attention they need and add to your newly chiseled physique.

The term animal rescue often refers to dogs, cats, and other domestic pets. However, due to continued population growth and urban sprawl, wild animals are often in need of rescue as well. Triangle Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic (TWRC) in Durham, North Carolina specializes in the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of injured and orphaned wildlife.

On June 10, 2011 TWRC received an adult American Bald Eagle found in the Wake County Landfill. The landfill staff transported the eagle to TWRC in a large box. Upon admission, the eagle exhibited little movement and had no evident injuries. The eagle was examined, given fluids for rehydration and transported to Carolina Raptor Center (CRC) in Huntersville, NC. CRC is one of the few licensed rehabilitation centers for bald eagles in the Southeastern United States. They admit and care for eagles from North and South Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee.

Frank Valente, Palm City

Letter: A Doggy Dining ordinance would benefit pet owner and businesses

The Humane Society of the Treasure Coast supports the effort to create a Doggy Dining Ordinance in Martin County. We believe pet owners should have access to a variety of responsibly planned alternatives for pet and human bonding. We are grateful the city of Stuart adopted a pet-friendly dining ordinance and worked with concerned citizens to open the dog park at Poppleton Creek Park. The park created a great opportunity for residents to socialize with their pets.

Passing this ordinance will give restaurants an option to create pet-friendly areas that meet appropriate standards. This would be a great advantage for local businesses. Domestic pets are found in more than 60 percent of all homes, and pet owners are loyal and support pet-friendly businesses.

In the spirit of responsible pet ownership, we encourage all pet owners to make sure that pets receive an annual physical along with all appropriate vaccinations. In addition, it is important to make sure pets are micro-chipped, registered and licensed. It is also responsible to keep pets, especially dogs, collared and on leash while in public. Socializing with new dogs and people can be awkward at first, so leashing is a good idea for all concerned.

And for pet owners looking for a great place to socialize with your dogs, dont forget the Humane Societys annual Mutt March at Halpatiokee Park in Stuart Oct. 29. For more information please visit our website hstc1.org. We applaud the owners of Charlies Neighborhood Bar for contacting the county commissioners regarding this ordinance. We are hopeful the county commissioners will recognize the benefits of such an ordinance and the positive impact it will have in the community.

Frank Valente is president and CEO of the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast.

REAL, RIVETING, RIDICULOUS? PEOPLE CONQUER FEARS IN ANIMAL PLANETS NEW SERIES MY EXTREME ANIMAL PHOBIA

– New Series with Dr. Robin Zasio Works with People to Overcome Shear Terror of Animals and Pets –

(New York, New York, September 27, 2011) – For some, the deathly fear of snakes is completely reasonable — even if they are of the garden or garter variety. But what if you are terrified of moths, grasshoppers or puppies? Plenty of people are afraid of something but in extreme cases, the fear can become so intense, its actually a phobia. These phobias can transform every day behavior in a way that could make you laugh if it didnt actually reduce you to terror or tears.

So, what is a phobic person to do? Many desperate adults turn to the Anxiety Treatment Center of Sacramento, run by psychologist Dr. Robin Zasio. In Animal Planets brand-new series, MY EXTREME ANIMAL PHOBIA, premiering Friday, October 21, at 10 PM (ET/PT), viewers meet the following: Jahara, a mother who is afraid to open windows or turn on her air conditioner for fear that spiders or bugs will get in her home; Marvin, a burly, tattooed, motorcycle-riding family man who wont spend time outside with his kids because of his traumatic terror of pit bulls; and Seth, a San Francisco musician who utterly is terrified of snakes. With the guidance of Dr. Zasio, they are about to change their lives forever. The only problem… things have to get a lot worse before they can get better.

In each hour-long episode of MY EXTREME ANIMAL PHOBIA, three people embark on a five-day, live-in course of intensive exposure therapy. They achieve remarkable results to beat the fear that has taken a firm grip on their lives. Whether wild animals or domestic pets, including roaches, cats, lizards, spiders, dogs, birds, snakes, pigeons, bees, bats and even moths, exposure therapy is highly effective – and very entertaining.

When something so intense or a fear so overwhelming runs your life to such a powerful degree, its a serious problem we need to address, says Dr. Zasio, who has 20 years of experience treating anxiety and regularly has appeared on AEs HOARDERS.

MY EXTREME ANIMAL PHOBIA is a production of RelativityREAL for Animal Planet. Tom Forman, Julie Jones, Jon Beyer, and Brad Bishop are executive producers for RelativityREAL. Lisa Lucas is the executive producer for Animal Planet.

Animal Planet Media (APM), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the worlds only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment. APM consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 96 million homes in the US; online assets www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for all things animal; the 24/7 broadband channel, Animal Planet Beyond; Petfinder.com, the #1 pet-related Web property globally that facilitates pet adoption; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.

Enotah Judicial Circuit Court Judge David Barrett ruled Friday that Gwinnett County cannot charge city residents for police, fire and other services unless the cities consent. The judge ordered county officials to establish special service districts to pay for a variety of services by Nov. 1. Only residents of those districts would pay for the services they provide.

If the judges order stands, the burden of paying for those services could fall more heavily on residents of unincorporated Gwinnett and residents of other cities.

The judges ruling is a victory for 15 cities that sued Gwinnett County over the delivery and cost of services. But the exact consequences of the ruling, including the financial ramifications for taxpayers and the governments involved, remain unclear.

Gwinnett and city officials say theyre still studying the ruling. Officials in other counties foresaw little impact from the judges ruling.

Norcross Mayor Bucky Johnson, who represents one of the cities that sued Gwinnett, said settlement negotiations between Gwinnett and its cities will continue despite the judges ruling. He believes a final resolution will come through negotiation.

I have great hope that were going to be able to settle this, Johnson said.

Gwinnett and its cities have been arguing for years about who provides and pays for a host of services. The issues are complicated by the number of jurisdictions and the variety of services involved.

Nine cities, for example, have their own police departments, while six contract with Gwinnett County for police protection. And even cities with their own police rely on the county for some services, like animal control and emergency dispatch.

For years such services were the subject of detailed agreements between the county and its cities, but the parties have been at odds since those agreements expired 2 1/2 years ago. Negotiations and mediation stalled and the dispute ultimately wound up in court.

Barrett oversaw a trial in the dispute in August 2010. On Friday he finally issued a decision. Among other things, the judge ruled:

• Gwinnett must create a special service district for police protection that includes unincorporated Gwinnett and six cities (Berkeley Lake, Buford, Dacula, Grayson, Rest Haven and Sugar Hill) that contracts with the county to provide police service. Nine other cities, which have their own police departments, would not be included in the district and their residents would not be charged for county police services unless city leaders approve agreements with the county.

• Gwinnett cannot charge Loganville residents for fire protection because the city, most of which lies in Walton County, has its own fire department. He ordered Gwinnett to create a fire protection district that excludes Loganville and charge only residents of that district for fire service.

• Gwinnett can charge residents of Duluth, Lawrenceville, Lilburn, Norcross and unincorporated Gwinnett for bus service because they directly benefit from that service. But it cant charge residents of other cities for bus service because they are not served by county buses.

Some aspects of the order appear to have been dealt with through direct negotiations with the county officials that resumed in June 2011, said Auburn Mayor Linda Blechinger, president of the municipal association. Other provisions, including the orders implementation schedule, will need further analysis.

This is a complex case and the order is lengthy, said County Commission Chairwoman Charlotte Nash. Well carefully review the judges ruling to fully gauge its impact on all the taxpayers in Gwinnett County.

Because of the ongoing dispute, the state has declared Gwinnett and its cities ineligible for Georgia grants and permits. One consequence: Gwinnett expects fines from traffic tickets to generate $1.3 million less than originally budgeted, in part because the police department lost its permit for radar enforcement this year.

Fulton County spokeswoman Jessica Corbitt noted that Fulton already had a special services district in south Fulton, which expected $35.9 million in revenues for 2011 through property taxes, licenses and fees and other assessments.

In that sense, this Gwinnett situation brings their situation more in line with what we already have, Corbitt said.

Cobb County communications director Robert Quigley said the countys service agreements with its cities expire in 2014.

A ruling in one jurisdiction may be considered in the negotiations of another community but have little impact beyond that, Quigley said.

Chief  Communication Officer Burke Brennan said the court decision will have no impact in DeKalb County, which also has service agreements with its cities.

The idea behind the improv exercises we’ll share is to have fun and to get a feel for improv techniques which can be used to maximize ones career, relationships and physical health, and the idea behind the potluck is to not only enjoy good food but also to share with each other as both students and teachers, learning and teaching from each other in creative ways. During the dinner from 6:00 to 8:00 anyone who has taught with us in the past or is considering teaching with us in the future is encouraged to give short micro classes or presentations, or to share informally, whatever they’d like. The dinner can be a time for brainstorming and learning as well as a time to socialize and share a meal.

Those who come for the potluck I’d encourage to bring healthy foods to share. The food can be very simple; a pot of beans or Spanish rice, a salad or hearty bread and cheese, orange juice or a fruit salad. Simple is fine, and healthy food is always great to share and appreciated, for many reasons, by both the body and the mind.

For more information: http://www.meetup.com/sffreeschool/events/34077222/

6 days ago 

LONDON (AP) — British authorities are holding their first major planning exercise for the 2012 London Olympics since riots in the capital last month forced police to reassess their security plans for the games.

The government’s emergency committee, known as COBRA, started a three-day exercise on Wednesday to simulate responses to potential crises during the Olympics, detective chief superintendent Alaric Bonthron of the Metropolitan Police told The Associated Press on Thursday.

“We are going through the whole gamut — from food poisoning to terrorism through to heat waves and rail disruption,” he said. “We have to understand how we manage the games in those situations.”

The violence began in early August after the fatal shooting of a man by police in north London. Police struggled to contain the violence that left a trail of looted stores and burned-out buildings across London, Manchester and Birmingham and led to thousands of arrests.

“We are still reviewing everything post-riots to make sure we have learned the lessons,” Bonthron said.

Britain’s image took a hit during the riots, and a global publicity campaign was launched Thursday to promote the country.

London was already preparing a massive security operation for the Olympics, but most of the attention had been on the threat of international terrorism until the outbreak of unrest.

“We recognize we didn’t always get it right during the rioting,” Bonthron said at an Olympics planning conference. “We are reassessing plans in light of what happened during the riots to make sure the resources we have … match the risk.”

About 12,000 police officers will be on duty each day of the July 27-Aug. 12 games, which have a security budget of $732 million.

The latest in a series of security exercises, which end on Friday, allow the police, government and games organizers to test how their infrastructure could cope with an emergency during the Olympics.

“It’s a simulation where people go through and exercise and test communications, test what sort of responses we need, what sort of information flows we would need … to make sure everyone understand their games-time roles,” Bonthron said. “It’s focused on the response to an incident that could be terrorism or it could be something more minor that could affect the games.”

Meanwhile, London authorities have identified 20 potential risks to the 2012 Olympics. The top four include terrorism, serious crime — specifically ticket fraud — protests and natural disasters such as floods or heat waves.

When the eyes of the world are on London next year, Bonthron can see that “it’s a good time to protest.”

The games also could be disrupted by striking workers. Britain’s public sector unions are planning a huge wave of walkouts on Nov. 30 as they resist efforts to reduce spending on pensions.

“It’s one of the factors being built in (to planning),” Bonthron said. “We, in the police, have issues with our communications staff going on strike. So it’s about looking at all eventualities and trying to plan how we resource and keep everything running if there were to be strikes.”

Bonthron spoke after a business conference that considered possible widespread transportation disruption during the games, with parts of London’s road network reserved for Olympic vehicles.

Delegates wondered how London will be able to sustain food and beer deliveries to bars and restaurants, keep cash machines supplied and ensure social workers reach the elderly.

London Mayor Boris Johnson said London can’t afford any major chaos because “Atlanta has never really forgotten the nightmare” of the transportation problems at the 1996 Olympics.

But Johnson said he does not want London to become a “ghost town” next summer with “tumbleweed down Oxford Street” in the city’s shopping hub.

Authorities hope people will avoid nonessential journeys in London and change their work hours to avoid Olympic-related congestion.

“The pressure on the transport network from Olympics-related travel will be very severe in certain parts of London,” Olympic transport minister Theresa Villiers said.

Meanwhile, Johnson also warned that spectators and media attending the Olympics could struggle to use their mobile phones because “there will be maximum strain on the network”.

“We are doing a huge amount of work to ensure there is enough coverage,” he said.

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

A raccoon found in the northwest area tested positive for the rabies virus on Aug. 30. The animal was found on North Lake Drive, which runs between Fleming and New Garden roads, in Greensboro. It had come into contact with two dogs.

This is the 10th confirmed case of rabies in Guilford County in 2011.

State law requires all domestic animals 4 months of age and older be vaccinated against rabies.

The countys Department of Public Health warns residents not to try to separate fighting animals and to avoid strange or sick animals. Leave animals alone when they are eating, and supervise your pets when outdoors to avoid them coming into contact with wild animals. Do not try to rescue or approach any type of wild animal. Domestic pets should not be fed outdoors, because leftover food attracts other animals.

To report stray animals, animals acting strangely or exposure to sick animals, call Guilford County Animal Control at 641-5990.

US Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., Chair of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, announced today, $850,000 for the state of Louisiana from State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) Program. The pilot program, passed by Congress as part of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 [PL 111-240] and signed into law by the President, seeks to increase exports by small businesses by providing funding to states to start or enhance export assistance programs. With 95% of the worlds customers outside the United States and only 1% of Americas small businesses exporting, the program was created to spur small business exporting and create jobs in local communities.

Since its founding, Louisiana has been a hub for trade and entrepreneurship. In fact, President Thomas Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase in 1813 to increase opportunities for US traders and protect US access to the Port of New Orleans. That great tradition of Louisiana promoting international trade continues today as our small businesses begin to receive the necessary education and training to reach our nations goal of doubling exports, Senator Landrieu said. With over 40 ports and an extensive rail system, Louisiana has long been a top destination for companies seeking to export their goods and services. Through the STEP program, current Louisiana exporters and those small businesses new to exporting will get specified training and export counseling to make the best use of our states gateway to the world, creating jobs and rebuilding our economy.

Nearly $30 million in funding was available for qualified states in the first year of the program, with individual grants awarded on a competitive basis starting in mid 2011. The pilot program is authorized for three years, but currently has appropriations for two years of funding. Each state was able to submit one application per funding cycle and must be certified by the Governor. States will use STEP funding to start or expand small business export assistance programs and to reduce the cost of a number of start-up activities associated with exporting including, attendance at trade shows, participation in foreign trade missions, the translation of websites into foreign languages, and the purchase of services from the Department of Commerce.

According to the SBA, the STEP grants will help provide:

bull;support for small business participation in foreign trade missions and foreign market sales trips;

bull;subscription to services by the Department of Commerce;

bull;website translation fees;

bull;design of international marketing media;

bull;trade show exhibitions;

bull;participation in training workshops; and

bull;other export initiatives determined to be appropriate by the SBA.

Louisiana will use the funding to identify, qualify, train, prepare and assist small businesses to increase export readiness and expand exports. Firms will receive company-tailored and market-specific individual export preparation counseling for participation in trade missions, reverse trade missions, and domestic and international trade shows and exhibitions, according to the SBA.

Export supported jobs account for almost seven percent of total US private sector employment, and they pay 15 percent more on average than domestically created jobs. Although only 1 percent of the United States nearly 28 million small businesses currently export their goods and services, these firms typically account for almost one-third of the countrys annual export volume, suggesting that global markets hold vast economic potential for small businesses.