China officials dine on endangered salamander: reports

Yahoo – AFP, 27 Jan 2015

File photo of a Chinese giant salamander in a glass tank during the China International

Conservation festival in Zhangjiajie, central China's Hunan province, in 2005 (AFP Photo)

Beijing (AFP) - Chinese officials feasted on a critically endangered giant salamander and turned violent when journalists photographed the luxury banquet, according to media reports Tuesday on the event which appeared to flout Beijing's austerity campaign.

The 28 diners included senior police officials from the southern city of Shenzhen, the Global Times said.

"In my territory, it is my treat," it quoted a man in the room as saying.

The giant salamander is believed by some Chinese to have anti-ageing properties, but there is no orthodox evidence to back the claim.

A waitress serves shark fin's soup at a 

restaurant in Guangzhou, southern China's 

Guangdong province, on August 10, 2014

(AFP Photo/Johannes Eisele)

The species is classed as "critically endangered" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of threatened species, which says the population has "declined catastrophically over the last 30 years".

"Commercial over-exploitation for human consumption is the main threat to this species," the IUCN said.

The Global Times cited the Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis Daily, which said its journalists were beaten up when their identities were discovered by the diners.

One was kicked and slapped, another had his mobile phone forcibly taken, while the photographer was choked, beaten up and had his camera smashed, the reports said.

A total of 14 police have been suspended and an investigation launched into the incident, added the Global Times.

One of the Shenzhen diners provided the salamander and said it had been captive-bred, according to the report.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has launched a much-publicised austerity drive for the ruling classes, including a campaign for simple meals with the catchphrase “four dishes and one soup”.

The ruling Communist Party also says it is cracking down on the consumption of endangered species, including shark's fin.

China's legislature last April approved a law including prison sentences for people caught eating rare wild animals.

The Chinese government considers 420 wild animal species as rare or endangered, state media previously said.

A chef prepares shark fins for cooking, Aug. 6. (File photo/CNS)

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British public urged to fund campaign to free Morgan the orca

DutchNews.nl, Sunday 20 April 2014

Caged: Morgan with her trainer (Mirror)

British newspaper The Sunday People and the Born Freed foundation have launched a campaign to try to free an orca found off the Dutch coast four years ago and now kept in a Spanish amusement park.

The orca, dubbed Morgan, was found in the Wadden Sea in a severely weakened state in 2010 and taken to the Dolfinarium to recover. The centre opposed efforts to release her into the wild and she was taken to the Loro Parque on Tenerife instead.

On May 14, the appeal court in The Hague will rule on whether the export licence was lawful. It is the latest in a long line of legal challenges to the Dutch government's decision to move the orca to Spain. The appeal court ruling has been delayed several times.

Export

The export licence for Morgan was granted on the grounds the orca would be used for educational purposes and lower courts have said the licence was correctly applied.

Morgan's supporters argue she is constantly attacked by other orcas at the Loro Parque centre and that she has been taught to perform tricks, which breaks the terms of the licence.

The Sunday People has now launched a fund-raising campaign, together with the Born Free foundation, to try to have Morgan moved.

'The 15ft-long animal, who used to swim up to 100 miles a day in the wild, spends long spells just floating ­lethargically in her pool,' the paper said. 'She also chews on the concrete sides due to apparent boredom and stress, leading to her front teeth becoming dangerously worn to the gums.'

More on this

Cruelty: Incarceration at Loro Parque Zoo has had a heartbreaking (Mirror)

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Another humpback whale spotted near the Dutch coast

Kryon Q&A

Question: Dear Kryon: I was wondering about the way I feel about whales and dolphins. I've had a feeling that I have to go to them sometime, but I don't know how or what I'm to do when I get there. Please help.

Question: Dear Kryon: I'm a Turkish/Islam woman of 57. I live in Ankara and work for the European Commission's project in Turkey. I've read almost all of the Kryon books twice, and I'm planning to read them once more. My question is about the whales. Why do they commit mass suicide? What is the reason for this very sad event? Is it a kind of protest against Human Beings?

Answer: Dear ones, we've channelled many times about the whales of this planet. In review, they're the living portions of an actual grid-system! They contain the "history of Earth" within their beings, and they're sacred for that reason. They coordinate and cooperate with the crystalline grid of your planet, which is currently being rewritten (see Kryon channelling on the Website: "What's Next?" December 8, 2002). Doesn't it strike you odd that these mammals are the only ones protected against hunting by more than 90 percent of the countries of Earth... even the places without oceans? Do you think that this is an accident or a coincidence? No. It's cellular information for all humanity to protect the whales and keep them safe. Dolphins are their cousins and support group, and they play a role in the whales' development. This is why you're so attracted to them.

Whales do not commit mass suicide. They have no consciousness to allow for this, and it has never happened. Instead, you see whales often beaching themselves and then being saved by Humans, only to re-beach themselves and die. This takes place mostly on the coastlines of your continents, and often on those areas of topography that "stick out," such as a peninsula or isthmus. Your Cape Cod is a good example in America, and is also a place where this has recently happened (up to 47 whales on a beach).

The reason is that whales, dolphins, amphibians, birds, and even insects all navigate to their breeding ground or migration areas each year via the magnetic grid of the planet! Each group follows the ley lines of magnetic influence, almost as if they had a built-in compass. In fact, they actually do!

The magnetic grid of this planet has changed so much, so quickly, as we told you it would in 1989, that there hasn't been time for the pods of whales to adjust with time to these changes. Instead, many simply follow the old magnetic lines of migration, only to find themselves on a beach instead of the open ocean, as the old magnetic direction used to take them. They're confused, and they simply line up and try again, just as they have for years. These things are temporary, and as tragic as you might see them, it's all part of "pruning" the system, and the calves will go around in the future, establishing new instinctive information for the new whales regarding the grid changes. This information has even now been validated this year (2003) by your scientists.

Tony Abbott: Broadcaster ABC on 'everyone's side but Australia'

BBC News, 29 January 2014

Tony Abbott said the ABC should not "leap to be critical" of Australia

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Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has criticised national broadcaster ABC for "taking everyone's side but Australia's".

Mr Abbott said the publicly-funded broadcaster should show "some basic affection for the home team".

The ABC has been at the forefront of reports on abuse claims from asylum seekers and reports that Australia had spied on Indonesia.

The ABC had no immediate comment on Mr Abbott's statements.

However, the opposition said that the government should welcome media scrutiny.

'Benefit of doubt'

Mr Abbott made the comments during an interview with radio station 2GB.

He said he was "worried and concerned" by the ABC's role in reporting spying claims in documents leaked by former CIA contractor Edward Snowden.

The documents appeared to show that Australian spy agencies named the Indonesian president and other senior ministers as targets for telephone monitoring.

The reports led to a diplomatic row, with Indonesia suspending military co-operation with Australia.

Mr Abbott also criticised the ABC's coverage of allegations that Australian navy personnel had mistreated asylum seekers.

Acting Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek said it was right that the
ABC scrutinised government

Footage obtained by the ABC showed asylum-seekers being treated for burns that they said had been caused when they were forced to hold on to a hot boat engine.

Indonesian police said some asylum-seekers had burn marks on their hands, but they did not know who had inflicted them.

The claims were strongly rejected by both the Australian military and government, which has offered to co-operate with an Indonesian investigation.

"If there's credible evidence, the ABC, like all other news organisations is entitled to report it," Mr Abbott said.

"[But] you can't leap to be critical of your own country," he said, adding that the ABC should be prepared to give the Australian navy "the benefit of the doubt".

'Welcome scrutiny'

Acting Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek said every government had "been subject to the close scrutiny of the ABC, and we should all welcome that".

"From emergency broadcasts in times of trouble to coverage of the events that shape our nation, the ABC is there, free for all Australians," she said.

The number of asylum boats travelling to Australia from Indonesia rose
in 2012 and the beginning of 2013

"[Mr Abbott] should stop complaining about media coverage and start behaving like a prime minister," she added.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said: "We need strong voices in parliament to stand up for the public's right to an independent national broadcaster".

Critics have accused the government of secrecy over asylum policy.

The government has refused to comment on reports that the navy are towing asylum boats back to Indonesia. It has however recently issued an apology to Indonesia for "inadvertently" violating its waters on multiple occasions.

The government has also limited information on asylum arrivals and vessel-related incidents to a weekly e-mail, citing operational needs.

The ABC charter describes the corporation as "the provider of an independent national broadcasting service".

In December, ABC managing director Mark Scott defended the ABC's coverage of the spying allegations.

"We are an independent media organisation and of course sometimes we will publish stories that politicians won't be happy about," he said. "That's the role we have to play."

Related Article:

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“…  Government

Let us speak of government. We're not speaking of your government, but of any government - the way it works, how it survives, how it has survived, the way it campaigns, and how it elects leaders. It's going to change.

Years ago, I told you, "When everybody can talk to everybody, there can be no secrets." Up to this point on this planet, government has counted on one thing - that the people can't easily talk to each other on a global scale. They have to get their information through government or official channels. Even mass media isn't always free enough, for it reports that which the government reports. Even a free society tends to bias itself according to the bias of the times. However, when you can have Human Beings talking to each other all at once, all over the planet without government control, it all changes, for there is open revelation of truth.. 

Feds forbid scientists probing Gulf dolphin deaths from speaking to media

Yahoo News, By Brett Michael Dykes

(Photo: Patrick Semansky/AP)

Last month dolphin corpses began washing up on the Gulf Coast in alarming numbers. Well, more dead dolphins continue to be found, bringing the total this year up to 114--100 more than the average number of dead dolphins that washed ashore during the first three months of any year between 2002 and 2007.

So, naturally, there are quite a few people interested in what might cause such dramatic increases in marine mammal mortality. But Mississippi's WLOX reported recently that government testing on the animals has been slow to commence, and Reuters reported over the weekend that a gag order has been put into place forbidding wildlife biologists at the National Marine Fisheries Service to talk to the media about their findings.

Reports Reuters:

The gag order was contained in an agency letter informing outside scientists that its review of the dolphin die-off, classified as an "unusual mortality event (UME)," had been folded into a federal criminal investigation launched last summer into the oil spill.

"Because of the seriousness of the legal case, no data or findings may be released, presented or discussed outside the UME investigative team without prior approval," the letter, obtained by Reuters, stated.

One veteran biologist-- speaking on the condition on anonymity -- told the news agency that fellow government scientists are "confused" and "angry" about the order because it leaves outside "marine experts out of the loop completely" and it "throws accountability right out the window."

Meanwhile, Gulf Coast residents already convinced that their government is either lying to them about the situation in the Gulf or doing everything in its power to suppress bad news (or both) aren't likely to find such reports reassuring.

"The government's full of more crap than a bathroom at a Taco Bell," one Louisiana fisherman told this reporter over the weekend. "Anybody down here with a lick of sense knows that."

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