Whale drags trainer off platform in fatal attack

ORLANDO, Fla. – A veteran SeaWorld trainer was rubbing a killer whale from a poolside platform when the 12,000-pound creature reached up, grabbed her ponytail in its mouth and dragged her underwater. Despite workers rushing to help, the trainer was killed.
Horrified visitors who had stuck around after a noontime show watched the animal charge through the pool with the trainer in its jaws. Workers used nets as an alarm sounded, but it was too late. Dawn Brancheau had drowned. It marked the third time the animal had been involved in a human death.
The whale, named Tilikum, apparently grabbed Brancheau by her long ponytail, according to the head of animal training at all SeaWorld parks, Chuck Tompkins. He told ABC's "Good Morning America" that her ponytail swung out in front of the whale.
"That's when the trainer next to him (Tilikum) said that he grabbed the hair, pulled her under water. And of course, held her under water," Tompkins said.
SeaWorld's Web site said the park would be open Thursday but that killer whale shows were suspended for the time being at its Orlando and San Diego parks. Its third location in San Antonio is not yet open for the season.
Brancheau's interaction with the whale appeared leisurely and informal at first to audience member Eldon Skaggs. But then, the whale "pulled her under and started swimming around with her," Skaggs told The Associated Press.
Some workers hustled the audience out of the stadium while the others tried to save Brancheau, 40.
Skaggs said he heard that during an earlier show the whale was not responding to directions. Others who attended the earlier show said the whale was behaving like an ornery child.
But Tompkins said the whale had performed well in the show and that Dawn was rubbing him down as a reward for doing a good job.
"There wasn't anything to indicate to us that there was a problem," Tompkins told the CBS "Early Show."
Another audience member, Victoria Biniak, told WKMG-TV the whale "took off really fast in the tank, and then he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started thrashing around, and one of her shoes flew off."
Because of his size and the previous deaths, trainers were not supposed to get into the water with Tilikum, and only about a dozen of the park's 29 trainers worked with him. Brancheau had more experience with the 30-year-old whale than most. She was one of the park's most experienced trainers overall.
"We recognized he was different," said Tompkins. He said no decision has been made yet about what will happen to Tilikum, such as transferring him to another facility. SeaWorld has also suspended the killer whale shows at all of its parks, which also include locations in San Diego and San Antonio, to review procedures.
A SeaWorld spokesman said Tilikum was one of three orcas blamed for killing a trainer in 1991 after the woman lost her balance and fell in the pool at Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, British Columbia.
Steve Huxter, who was head of Sealand's animal care and training department then, said Wednesday he's surprised it happened again. He says Tilikum was a well-behaved, balanced animal.
Tilikum was also involved in a 1999 death, when the body of a man who had sneaked by SeaWorld security was found draped over him. The man either jumped, fell or was pulled into the frigid water and died of hypothermia, though he was also bruised and scratched by Tilikum.
Brancheau's older sister, Diane Gross, said the trainer wouldn't want anything done to the whale because she loved the animals like children. The trainer was married and didn't have children.
"She loved the whales like her children, she loved all of them," said Gross, of Schererville, Ind. "They all had personalities, good days and bad days."
Gross said the family viewed her sister's death as an unfortunate accident, adding: "It just hasn't sunk in yet."
Dawn was the youngest of six children who grew up near Cedar Lake, Indiana. Her passion for marine life began at the age of nine, Gross said, on a family trip to Sea World.
According to a profile of Brancheau in the Sentinel in 2006, she was one of SeaWorld Orlando's leading trainers. Brancheau worked her way into a leadership role at Shamu Stadium during her career with SeaWorld, starting at the Sea Lion & Otter Stadium before spending 10 years working with killer whales, the newspaper said.
She also addressed the dangers of the job.
"You can't put yourself in the water unless you trust them and they trust you," Brancheau said.
Billy Hurley, chief animal officer at the Georgia Aquarium_ the world's largest — said there are inherent dangers to working with orcas, just as there are with driving race cars or piloting jets.
"In the case of a killer whale, if they want your attention or if they're frustrated by something or if they're confused by something, there's only a few ways of handling that," he said. "If you're right near pool's edge and they decide they want a closer interaction during this, certainly they can grab you."
And, he added: "At 12,000 pounds there's not a lot of resisting you're going to do."
Mike Wald, a spokesman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration office in Atlanta, said his agency had dispatched an investigator from Tampa.
Wednesday's death was not the first attack on whale trainers at SeaWorld parks.
In November 2006, a trainer was bitten and held underwater several times by a killer whale during a show at SeaWorld's San Diego park.
The trainer, Kenneth Peters, escaped with a broken foot. The 17-foot orca that attacked him was the dominant female of SeaWorld San Diego's seven killer whales. She had attacked Peters two other times, in 1993 and 1999.
In 2004, another whale at the company's San Antonio park tried to hit one of the trainers and attempted to bite him. He also escaped.
Wednesday's attack was the second time in two months that an orca trainer was killed at a marine park. On Dec. 24, 29-year-old Alexis Martinez Hernandez fell from a whale and crushed his ribcage at Loro Parque on the Spanish island of Tenerife. Park communications director Patricia Delponti said the whale, a 14-year-old named Keto, came from SeaWorld but is not a son of Tilikum.

Source: AP

Americans charged with kidnapping in Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Six U.S.-bound orphans seized by Haitian officials as they prepared to board a flight to Miami were to resume their journey to American homes on Wednesday after being handed over to the U.S. Embassy.
Jan Bonnema, the Minnesota-based founder of the Cap-Haitien orphanage where the children lived, said the orphans were to fly to Miami in the afternoon on a charter and their adoptive parents will be able to take their children home on Thursday.
Sara Vanzee and her husband, Tim, are waiting for their 13-month-old son, Albert, to arrive. The couple says the situation has been stressful even though they understand the suspicions surrounding adoptions given recent cases in Haiti.
"Our hope is that they're OK with it, that they can see that we absolutely love these children and that we want to provide for them," Vanzee, who is from the U.S. Midwest, told The Associated Press.
The case of the six orphans seized Saturday at the Port-au-Prince airport echoed that of 10 Americans caught last month trying to take youngsters out of the earthquake-ravaged nation. But this time things turned out differently, with the six children being handed over to the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday.
The two cases highlight the perils of trying to remove youngsters from this desperate country.
At the very moment when Haiti's impoverished children are in greatest need — and well-meaning foreigners are most willing to help — fears of child trafficking are making it harder than ever for them to leave the Western Hemisphere's poorest land.
Fears were exacerbated by the case of 10 U.S. Baptist missionaries who were stopped in late January trying to take a busload of 33 children to the Dominican Republic without proper documentation.
Thousands of desperate Haitian parents, unable to care for their own children, have shown themselves eager to give the youngsters away in hopes of giving them a better life. But they are terrified they will be tricked by predators who will enslave or sexually abuse the children.
Haiti's government immediately halted new adoptions in the chaos that followed the Jan. 12 quake, allowing only those already approved to move forward.
That chill hardened into a freeze after Saturday's incident. A U.S. State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity, said the latest drama held up the departure of 50 orphans approved for U.S. adoption.
It took the U.S. ambassador and Haiti's prime minister to iron out on Tuesday what turned out to be an ugly misunderstanding.
Four women including an adoptive mother from Minnesota arrived at the airport with six children ages 1 to 5 from the Cap-Haitien orphanage. The U.S. Embassy official carrying the documents needed to usher them through immigration was running late.

Suddenly, a group of 20 men rushed to block them, cursing them and screaming "'You can't take our children!'"
The women were briefly detained, but the children wound up spending three days sleeping on the ground in a tent-city social services home, according to their escorts from the Children of The Promise orphanage.
Still in detention were two of the 10 U.S. Baptist missionaries. Their eight associates were released last week and flew back to the United States.

Source: AP

Comprehensive health bill may be no go

WASHINGTON – Democratic congressional leaders confronted the reality Tuesday that they may not be able to pass the comprehensive health care overhaul sought by President Barack Obama. Republican leaders prepared to do everything in their power to make sure they can't.
Democrats saw the sweeping health bill that Obama unveiled ahead of a bipartisan health care summit Thursday as their last, best chance at a top-to-bottom remake of the nation's health care system that would usher in near-universal health coverage. But some were clear-eyed about the difficulties after a year of corrosive debate and the loss of their filibuster-proof supermajority in the Senate.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said comprehensive reform would be best but it's not all or nothing.
"We may not be able to do all. I hope we can do all, a comprehensive piece of legislation that will provide affordable, accessible, quality health care to all Americans," Hoyer said at his weekly media briefing. "But having said that, if we can't, then you know me — if you can't do a whole, doing part is also good. I mean there are a number of things I think we can agree on."
The areas of disagreement have been more obvious. Senate Republicans on Tuesday rejected the White House plea for a simple up-or-down vote on Obama's health care plan, indicating they would offer hundreds of amendments to stop the legislation.
"Our constituents don't want the Senate to just wave the same thing through just because it has a new name and even more spending," said Don Stewart, a spokesman for Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
Insurance market reforms like barring insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions would be difficult or impossible to pull off without a large risk pool achieved by a requiring nearly everyone to be insured. Smaller measures could be done individually, such as money for insurance pools to provide coverage to people with health problems.
Two days before Obama's televised health summit with Republicans and Democrats, the prospects for any bipartisan deal dimmed as the administration set the stage for pushing ahead with only Democratic support, a risky move that would require the president's political capital and elusive unity from a fractious party.
Obama's new plan used legislation already passed by the Senate as its starting point, making changes designed to appeal to House Democrats. He unveiled it Monday almost exactly a year after calling on Congress to act to reform the nation's costly an inefficient health care system. Majority Democrats were on the verge of meeting the challenge before Republican Scott Brown's upset win in a Massachusetts Senate seat last month.
Brown's win underscored the perilous political environment for Democrats in an election year, but Obama didn't scale back his ambitions, opting for one last attempt at full-scale legislation. It costs around $1 trillion over a decade, requires nearly everyone to be insured or pay a fine, and puts new requirements on insurance companies, including — in a new twist responding to recent rate hikes — giving the federal government authority to block big premium increases.
If Obama fails on a comprehensive health care overhaul where Bill Clinton and other presidents failed before him, the chance won't come around again anytime soon.
The whole endeavor will now rise or fall on Obama's ability to sell his plan at the summit Thursday, and the reaction from lawmakers and the public in the days ahead.
Some rank-and-file Democrats were openly skeptical that the White House and congressional leaders could pull it off. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., a moderate who opposed the health legislation when it passed the House, questioned whether Speaker Nancy Pelosi could hang on to the votes that allowed her to get the bill through 220-215 in November. Since then a couple of Democrats have left the House, and Pelosi may also lose votes from anti-abortion Democrats who oppose the less restrictive abortion language in the Senate bill, which Obama kept in his plan.
"Is she going to be able to hold everybody that was for it before?" Altmire asked. "What about the marginal members in the middle who got hammered over this vote and would love a second chance to perhaps go against it?"
Only 32 percent of Americans say Congress should move soon to pass a comprehensive bill, embodied in the House and Senate Democratic legislation and Obama's new plan. That was the finding of a poll released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. Americans were evenly divided on the legislation, in a 43-43 percent split.
Most still want Congress to pass something this year, and 58 percent say they'll be disappointed or angry if that doesn't happen. But 20 percent say lawmakers should pass a scaled-back bill, and 22 percent say it would be a good idea to call a time-out on health care and come back later in the year.
Obama's plan does not include the government insurance option sought by liberals and it dramatically scales back a tax on high-value insurance plans from the Senate bill that was opposed in the House. It eliminates a controversial Medicaid deal for Nebraska, offers all states more help with Medicaid funding, and beefs up subsidies to help lower-income people buy care, all changes that won praise from House Democrats. It also closes the so-called "doughnut hole" in Medicare's prescription drug coverage.
Individuals and small businesses would shop for insurance in regulated state-based marketplaces called exchanges.

Source: whitehouse.gov

Breast Cancer in Women

Many women are fearful of breast cancer. One reason is that breast cancer is personal. Breast cancer affects 1 in 8 women during their lives, and many of us know someone — a mother, sister, friend — who has had it. Another reason is that breast cancer is a real threat to women. It is the second leading cancer killer of women in the United States, next to lung cancer. It also can affect our sexual health, overall health, and emotional health. The good news is that most women who get breast cancer survive it. Thanks to screening, breast cancer often can be found early, when it’s easiest to treat. In fact, many women are even cured of the disease.

Cancer is a disease in which cells become abnormal and form more cells in an uncontrolled way. With breast cancer, the cancer begins in the tissues that make up the breasts. The cancer cells may form a mass called a tumor. (Note: Not all tumors are cancer.) Cancer that invades nearby tissue is called invasive. The most common types of breast cancer are:
• Invasive (or infiltrating) lobular carcinoma (LAH-byuh-luhr KAR-sih-NOH-muh) – Cancer that begins in lobules and grows into surrounding tissues. About 1 in 10 invasive breast cancers are this type.
• Invasive (or infiltrating) ductal carcinoma – Cancer that begins in the ducts and grows into surrounding tissues. About 8 in 10 invasive breast cancers are this type.
Cancer cells also can enter the lymph vessels in the breast and spread to the lymph nodes. Breast cancer can spread to other parts of the body. With routine screening, breast cancer often can be found at an early stage, before the cancer has spread to distant parts of the body.
Symptoms
Thanks to screening, breast cancer often is found before a woman has any physical symptoms. Yet a woman should know how her breasts normally look and feel so that she can report any unusual changes to her doctor. Reasons to call your doctor include:
• A lump in or near your breast or under your arm
• Thick or firm tissue in or near your breast or under your arm
• A change in the size or shape of your breast
• Nipple discharge (fluid that is not breast milk)
• Nipple changes, such as a nipple that points or faces inward (inverted) into the breast
• Changes to your breast skin, areola, or nipple, such as itching, redness, scaling, dimples, or puckers
Keep in mind that most breast changes are not cancer. For instance, nipple discharge can be caused by birth control pills, some medicines, and infections. Or, a breast lump could be a cyst, which is a fluid-filled lump that is not cancer. Early breast cancer usually does not cause pain. Still, any breast changes or pain should be checked out by a doctor. If you notice a change in your breast, call your doctor and schedule a visit. Don’t wait until your "next checkup."
Source: womanshealth.gov

Tillman the Skate Boarding Dog

 SKATEBOARDING BULLDOG

 The first time I saw this amazing bulldog I was amazed. Let’s face it this bulldog has a lot of talent. Tillman rides everywhere from the Santa Monica Pier to Dodger Stadium and everywhere in between. He goes down stairs, visits skateboarding shops and speeds down hills and through puddles all on his old school skateboard.

SNOWBOARDING 

Now if you think his owner Ron Davis stopped at skateboarding, think again. Tillman has now learned how to snowboard. One summer it was just to hot for him to skate says owner Ton Davis so he took Tillman skim boarding and surfing. And then came winter.
So off they go to learn snowboarding and yes he loves all these sports.


A TRUE CHAMPION

Now that is one talented Bulldog. Do you have a talented Pet? Let us Know..

WATCH THE VIDEO!

Travel to Peru

MACHU PICCHU

 If you are going to travel to Peru, Machu Picchu is a must stop travel spot. It is South America’s most popular tourist attraction and was recently designated one of the world’s new seven wonders. Machu Picchu’s journey starts in the former seat of the Incan empire, Cusco with its historical buildings, before heading through the geographically and archeologically rich sacred valley.


 LAKE TITICACA

Lake Titicaca is the world’s highest navigable lake at 3810 meters and one of the largest at 10,000 kilometers in volume its sapphire blue waters are known as the birthplace of the Incan gods and home to per Incan civilizations such as the Aymaras living on the man made Uros Islets that have changed little over the millenniums.







NASCA LINES

Another must see are the Nasca Lines. It was lost to the world until it surprised pilots in 1921 when they flew over this flat and desolate region of southern Peru. They looked down and saw lines and carvings extending as wide as 65 kilometers featuring such forms as a monkey, a spider, a pelican, hummingbirds, a whale, a dog and perhaps even an astronaut or space alien. Archeologist are still debating the what, how and why of these fascinating tokens of a lost civilization.




 

 AREQUIPA COLCA CANYON

On your journey in Peru visit the Arequipa and the Colca Canyon. Arequipa and the Colca Canyon represent the urban and rural southern Peru at its best. Arequipa is the “white city” so named because so much of its extensive and exquisite architecture has been carved out of ashen volcanic rock. The pristine Colca Canyon offers opportunities for whitewater rafting, rock climbing, hiking, encounters with communities unchanged by colonization and even dinosaur tracks.

HUARAZ 

 

And then there is Huaraz perched at 3028 meters Huaraz has always been a Mecca and magnet for rogue adventures ready to risk everything scaling a rock or a flakier. Forget about Huaraz as a city still barely recovered from a devastating earthquake over thirty years ago. This area made famous by the film Touching the Void also offers some of the greatest opportunities for mountain biking, rafting, kayaking, bird watching, paragliding, skiing and spectacular sightseeing.

IQUITOS

And last but not least on your journey in Peru is Iquitos. For many Iquitos is a gateway to Paradise. Here you will encounter Monkeys, Macawa, Herons, Hawks, Turtles to Toucans which overwhelm any visitor.

Charted boats provide the opportunity to see many of these creatures as well as the eye opening foliage and flowers which serves as their home. Iquitos is home to the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, home to 100 species of mammals, 500 species of birds and 250 species of fish. There are also local museums and opportunities for shopping.

If you have already had the opportunity to visit this magnificent land please tell us about your adventure.

Toyota Sienna for 2011

The Toyota Sienna for 2011 may be the Japanese automaker’s third generation minivan, but Toyota emphasizes that the new Toyota Sienna for 2011 is becoming more car like than ever. The Sienna gets smart updates to its drive trains and to its interior package for 2011 but not to its seating configurations, which still lag the class leading Dodge Grand Caravan and Nissan Quest in flexibility. The sienna is offered in a broad model range and continues to be the only minivan with an all wheel drive option. Toyota says the base price of the 2011 Sienna will come in below the current vehicles $25,000 price point. Available in front or all wheel drive versions with either a four or six cylinder engine and in seven or eight passenger versions the new Sienna will go on sale February 2010.

For more information visit Toyota.com
This is one awesome minivan!

Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan's Beloved Pit Bull

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Daddy, Cesar Millan's inseparable partner and beloved pet died peacefully surrounded by family at the age of 16. In honor of Daddy's legacy, an Emergency Animal Rescue Fund has been established by the Cesar and Ilusion Millan Foundation.
Daddy, often referred to as America's pit bull ambassador because of his gentle disposition and intelligence, lived with the Millans from the age of four months. He stood as a champion for calm-submissive pit bulls everywhere, and was instrumental in helping to repair their image as violent and uncontrollable.

As fans of Millan's hit National Geographic Channel television series Dog Whisperer know, Daddy was a key fixture in more than 50 episodes, often assisting Millan with his toughest cases, bravely interacting with and calming the most unmanageable dogs with his natural balanced energy. Daddy helped shape the behavior of entire generations of dogs by showing them the way to balance.

Cesar states: "I've always seen Daddy as my teacher of life. He brought my family and me so much joy over the years. Personally, he represented what my grandfather taught me, never work against Mother Nature. He will be greatly missed, but his spirit lives on."

Daddy's Emergency Animal Rescue Fund will provide funding and assistance for dogs who are victims in large-scale disasters (hurricanes, fires, and other natural catastrophes), man-made disasters (hoarder and puppy mill rescues), and one animal victims of abuse or violence.

An initial contribution by the Millans and the Dog Whisperer team has established the fund in Daddy's honor.

If you would like to honor Daddy's memory and the contributions he made to improving the lives of animals, you can make a donation by visiting www.millanfoundation.org/daddyfund.

In Daddy's memory, National Geographic Channel has a photo gallery posted at natgeotv.com/dogwhisperer.

SOURCE Cesar Millan

Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-L32S1 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

This Panasonic Viera S1 Series was designed for people looking for a mid range TV with a medium sized budget. The Panasonic Viera S1 Series is the 32” LCD HDTV from the S1 series with a built in HDTV tuner, 1080p native resolution, 15,000:1 contrast tatio, 16:9 aspect Ratio, 60 Hz refresh frequency and 1920X1080 resolution.

The Panasonic TC-L32S1 is featured with technologies that support improved resolution during the fast-moving scenes. Generally, it is difficult for LCD HDTV’s to maintain high resolution for fast on-screen motions. Panasonic has introduced focus technology with its S1 series that concentrates on areas of the screen with scrolling text or significant motion. The technology provides enhanced moving resolution and the user can enjoy great picture with the Panasonic TC-L32S1. The IPS Alpha Panel feature of the models from the S1 series is designed to show clear and beautiful images from virtually any angle. With 178 degrees Vertical, 178 degrees Horizontal viewing angle, the viewer can view perfect image on the screen from wide angles.
The Panasonic TC-L32S1 also allows you to view digital photos and videos straight from your camera to the large screen. This model features VIERA image viewer technology that provides convenience while sharing your digital pictures. The user needs to insert the SD card of the digital camera into the slot of the LCD HDTV and instantly view the digital photos.

Order Yours Today!

Energy Drinks and Your Health

Have you ever asked yourself what is in those pretty little cans? You‘ve seem them in just about every store you go into these days. They can be found everywhere from health food stores to your supermarket. The claims associated with these energy drinks range from the sublime to the preposterous yet millions of you are buying these high powered drinks on a regular basis without giving even a single thought to how good or bad these energy drinks really are for your health. The truth is not all energy drinks are the same while many of the ingredients are common among them each drink has its own little twist to it. For the average consumer reading the labels of these drinks isn’t going to help if you don’t know what to look for.
While most of the common ingredients in energy drinks is caffeine, this is only the tip of the iceberg as far as problems go. Yes caffeine in large quantities is dangerous as it will raise your blood pressure not to mention other problems associated with the use of caffeine.

Other ingredients such as guarana, is very popular in these drinks and is a central nervous system stimulant. If you consume these drinks and then mix them with drinks containing ephedrine or diet pills they can become very dangerous. Another popular ingredient is taurine, which is actually something that we naturally get from foods that contain vitamin B6. We normally get more than enough taurine in our diet and the extra amount from these energy drinks can become toxic in our systems. But even worse than that what we know about the ingredients in these drinks that can be harmful, especially if mixed with other items is what we don’t know. The FDA has all but admitted that many of the ingredients in most popular energy drinks have not been fully tested as to their degree of safeness. This is not to say that these ingredients are good or bad just simply do not know enough about them.

Drink in Moderation...