News World Report

At a rising rate, precious family pets in the Boston, Mass., area are vanishing or turning up dead. Many families within the local area believe fisher cats are at fault. More than a couple of people claim to have seen the wild, sharp-toothed, weasel-looking fisher cat in residential neighborhoods, and citizens are recommended to take caution.

Possible fisher cat assaults reported in Boston

Residents within the Boston area say fisher cat attacks are the reason many pets are disappearing. Reports of missing pets continue to rise, and families are warned to take precautionary steps to protect their animals and small children. Numerous residents say that even in broad daylight, the cat fish has been spotted in people’s back yard and porches. According to reports, a man from Andover was even able to record a video clip of a fisher cat spotted in a tree.

Linda Ribeiro is a resident in Dover who lost two cats and a dog. She said she saw a fisher cat two weeks ago that was as large as a coffee table. “Almost looked like a sea serpent or something,” Ribeiro said. “The head was up and then it came down to short front legs and then the back goes up and arches and then this long tail that’s stuck up within the air.”

Fisher cats- what exactly are they?

Like weasels, minks, otters and skinks, fisher cats fall in the very same family. Long, thin and low to the ground, the medium-sized fisher cat is a predator that will eat just about anything it can discover. These creatures are among a few predators that will actually search for and kill porcupines, as outlined by Wikipedia. All year long they remain active and are even more active during twilight hours.

What you should do

Missing posters across the region are turning up as troubled pet owners try to locate their pets that have vanished without a trace. The fisher cat was nearly extinct, according to wildlife officials, but now it seems the species is making its way back in numbers and terrorizing the Boston area. Families and pet owners are advised to secure or remove anything that may attract fisher cats. Get rid of garbage and compost and keep pet rabbits and birds as well as their food secure, as the fisher cats “view domestic cats and rabbits as food and will prey on them when hunting.”

Bullfighting is to Spain what baseball is to America. The Spanish province had, on July 28, bullfighting banned. The bullfighting ban can have to begin by year 2010 in Spain. The ban was passed by Catalonian parliament in Barcelona while animal rights activists cheered with job and happiness. But people close to the story said the bullfighting ban was not about animal cruelty. Many feel it was more about politics in the Catalan nation since it is trying to be different than the rest of Spain.

Catalonia bullfighting isn’t really about animal rights

Politics is the main focus of the Catalonia bullfighting ban. About 15 bullfights happen annually within the one Catalonian bullring, reports NPR. Anti-bullfighting activists denounced the longtime Spanish custom as cruel, when supporters insisted ending it will damage Spanish culture. Many think breaking from Spanish tradition is a good thing because it will set Catalonia apart from the rest of Spain. Bulls aren’t affected by this sport that began in Barcelona. About 1,000 bullfights take place in Spain annually.

Anti-bullfighting drives a wedge between Catalonia and Madrid

Bullfighting fans and Spanish conservatives have taken the Catalonia bullfighting ban very seriously. The Popular Party is expecting there to be an anti-Spanish rebuke within the near future with everything that is going on. Catalonia is a wealthy and powerful province with its own language (Catalan) and culture, also as a strong penchant for self-rule. It wouldn’t be at all surprising if this was entirely political considering Catalonia always tries to be different from the rest of the country.

Bullfighting ban just a rebellion

Damian Corrigan, Spanish travel blogger, the Catalonia bullfighting ban had nothing to do with bulls that die in the sport. Writing for About.com, Corrigan said Catalonia’s self-indulgent struggle for freedom is illogical and irrelevant in today’s Europe. Less taxes going to Madrid is the real goal of most Catalonians. It doesn’t matter what you believe in politics. Rebellion is only for fun.

Further reading

NPR

npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/07/28/128817532/bullfighting-banned-in-spanish-province

Associated Press

google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hoSaaIUwsevwg2RB34sY8mHh7tNAD9H82A704

About.com

gospain.about.com/b/2010/07/28/barcelona-bullfighting-ban.htm

Violence in Kyrgyzstan has caused the country to lose tons a money, created around 400,000 refugees, and caused many deaths. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and militias from Uzbekistan were overthrown because of the nation’s move towards parliamentary democracy, which is also what is causing all of this violence between troops and civilians. As the fighting subsides, the focus in Kyrgyzstan moves toward an economically daunting recovery. And as current reports from Reuters and other international media sources indicate, instant loans is on the way.

International donors will give Kyrgyzstan $ 1.1 billion fast cash to Kyrgyzstan from donors

$ 600 million will be given as easy money in 2010 while the rest comes in 2011, which all comes from donors in a conference in Kyrgyzstan’s capital city, Bishkek. President Roza Otunbayeva wanted those from the World Bank and United Nations to donate and said they’d rebuild. The violence and issues caused the nation to shrink 5 percent making this the perfect time for a financial windfall. Kyrgyzstan was in need of additional cash, and the donors have pledged to deliver.

At least $ 1 billion needed just to fix up buildings

Kyrgyzstan’s budget deficit plunged to an estimated 13.5 percent of its gross domestic product, as outlined by Reuters. Once Bakiyev was overthrown, the total deficit jumped from $ 269 million to $ 619 million, per acting Kyrgyzstan Finance Minister Chorobek Imashev. $ 350 million, reports President Otunbayeva, is required to build settlements in Osh and Jalalabad, when another $ 100 million will be needed for the rest of the economy. In addition, energy rebuilding costs are expected to total $ 180 million, and agriculture will require $ 50 million. In total, when no amount of money can replace lost or displaced lives, $ 1.1 billion in emergency money for Kyrgyzstan will go a long way toward stabilizing a nation in chaos.

More on this topic

Reuters

ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE66Q31F20100727

Chaos in Kyrgyzstan (WARNING – Some violent images may be disturbing)

youtube.com/watch?v=0L1srqYLnu8

Electronics giant and defense manufacturing heavyweight Raytheon has broke with tradition and could be constructing a new plant in Alabama. A project of the missile division of Raytheon will occupy the building. Raytheon Missile Systems has been headquartered in Tucson, Arizona for decades. This does not mean the Tucson location will close at all. Raytheon is one of the largest defense contractors in the world, and it has a long history of innovations outside of the defense industry also.

Couldn’t build a new plant in Tucson

Raytheon Missile Systems required a new facility for testing and building a ship defense project and for a new ship-based interceptor missile as outlined by Business Week. (That’s for shooting other missiles out of the sky.) Due to scheduling and zoning requirements a new facility in Tucson just would not be able to be open in time. Huntsville, Alabama, was picked as the new site. The facility can have its ground breaking fairly soon, and it can be a $ 75 million, 70,000 square foot building. Those mortgage payments have to be a real pain.

The laser like focus of Raytheon

The Strategic Defense Initiative, or “Star Wars” program, may are a bust for Ronald Reagan, but laser weapons are panning out for Raytheon. The business is working on a laser defense system that can take down Unmanned Aerial Autos (UAVs) with impunity, and possibly eventually aircraft. At a recent test on the California coast, a model of the Laser Area Weapon System shot down 4 UAVs out of the sky, as outlined by CNET. The high intensity beam causes the targets to burst into flames in moments and drop from the sky.

A strong legacy

Raytheon has a long history of being on the cutting edge of engineering, apart from just defense projects. When the business was still the American Appliance Company, they invented a vacuum tube that could run a radio off of wall power, instead of a battery, before the invention of the transistor. (Some still insist vacuum tubes provide the best sound.) Among other Raytheon innovations were radar for naval vessels and also the microwave oven.

Citations

news.cnet.com/2300-11386_3-10004204.html?tag=mncol

businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9H3GKRO0.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raytheon

At a rising rate, precious family pets in the Boston, Mass., area are vanishing or turning up dead. Many families within the local area believe fisher cats are at fault. More than a couple of people claim to have seen the wild, sharp-toothed, weasel-looking fisher cat in residential neighborhoods, and citizens are recommended to take caution.

Possible fisher cat assaults reported in Boston

Residents within the Boston area say fisher cat attacks are the reason many pets are disappearing. Reports of missing pets continue to rise, and families are warned to take precautionary steps to protect their animals and small children. Numerous residents say that even in broad daylight, the cat fish has been spotted in people’s back yard and porches. According to reports, a man from Andover was even able to record a video clip of a fisher cat spotted in a tree.

Linda Ribeiro is a resident in Dover who lost two cats and a dog. She said she saw a fisher cat two weeks ago that was as large as a coffee table. “Almost looked like a sea serpent or something,” Ribeiro said. “The head was up and then it came down to short front legs and then the back goes up and arches and then this long tail that’s stuck up within the air.”

Fisher cats- what exactly are they?

Like weasels, minks, otters and skinks, fisher cats fall in the very same family. Long, thin and low to the ground, the medium-sized fisher cat is a predator that will eat just about anything it can discover. These creatures are among a few predators that will actually search for and kill porcupines, as outlined by Wikipedia. All year long they remain active and are even more active during twilight hours.

What you should do

Missing posters across the region are turning up as troubled pet owners try to locate their pets that have vanished without a trace. The fisher cat was nearly extinct, according to wildlife officials, but now it seems the species is making its way back in numbers and terrorizing the Boston area. Families and pet owners are advised to secure or remove anything that may attract fisher cats. Get rid of garbage and compost and keep pet rabbits and birds as well as their food secure, as the fisher cats “view domestic cats and rabbits as food and will prey on them when hunting.”