happy new year to ALL my friends!

Afgani	Saale Nao Mubbarak
Afrikaans	Gelukkige nuwe jaar
Albanian	Gezuar Vitin e Ri
Armenian	Snorhavor Nor Tari
Arabic	Kul 'am wa antum bikhair
Assyrian	Sheta Brikhta
Azeri	Yeni Iliniz Mubarek!
Bengali	Shuvo Nabo Barsho
Breton [Celtic Brythonic language]	Bloavezh Mat
Bulgarian	×åñòèòà Íîâà Ãîäèíà(pronounced "Chestita Nova Godina")
Cambodian	Soursdey Chhnam Tmei
Catalan	FELIÇ ANY NOU
Chinese	Xin Nian Kuai Le
Corsican	Pace e Salute
Croatian	Sretna Nova godina!
Cymraeg (Welsh)	Blwyddyn Newydd Dda
Czech	Šťastný Nový rok (or Stastny Novy rok)
Denish	Godt Nytår
Dhivehi	Ufaaveri Aa Aharakah Edhen
Dutch	GELUKKIG NIEUWJAAR!
Eskimo	Kiortame pivdluaritlo
Esperanto	Felican Novan Jaron
Estonian	Head uut aastat!
Ethiopian:	MELKAM ADDIS AMET YIHUNELIWO!
Ethiopian/Eritrean Tigrigna	RUHUS HADUSH AMET
Finnish	Onnellista Uutta Vuotta
French	Bonne Annee
Gaelic	Bliadhna mhath ur
Galician [NorthWestern Spain]	Bo Nadal e Feliz Aninovo
German	Prosit Neujahr
Georgian	GILOTSAVT AKHAL TSELS!
Greek	Kenourios Chronos
Gujarati	Nutan Varshbhinandan
Hawaiian	Hauoli Makahiki Hou
Hebrew	L'Shannah Tovah
Hindi	Naye Varsha Ki Shubhkamanyen
Hong kong	(Cantonese) Sun Leen Fai Lok
Hungarian	Boldog Új Évet Kivánok
Indonesian	Selamat Tahun Baru
Iranian	Sal -e- no mobarak
Iraqi	Sanah Jadidah
Irish	Bliain nua fe mhaise dhuit
Italian:	Felice anno nuovo
Japan:	Akimashite Omedetto Gozaimasu
Kabyle:	Asegwas Amegaz
Kannada:	Hosa Varushadha Shubhashayagalu
Kisii:	SOMWAKA OMOYIA OMUYA
Khasi	Snem Thymmai Basuk Iaphi
Khmer:	Sua Sdei tfnam tmei
Korea:	Saehae Bock Mani ba deu sei yo!
Kurdish:	NEWROZ PIROZBE
Latvian	Laimīgo Jauno Gadu!
Lithuanian:	Laimingu Naujuju Metu
Laotian:	Sabai dee pee mai
Macedonian	Srekjna Nova Godina
Madagascar	Tratry ny taona
Malay	Selamat Tahun Baru
Marathi :	Nveen Varshachy Shubhechcha
Malayalam :	Puthuvatsara Aashamsakal
Mizo	Kum Thar Chibai
Maltese	Is-Sena t- Tajba
Nepal	Nawa Barsha ko Shuvakamana
Norwegian	Godt Nyttår
Oriya	Nua Barshara Subhechha
Papua New Guinea	Nupela yia i go long yu
Pampango (Philippines)	Masaganang Bayung Banua
Pashto	Nawai Kall Mo Mubarak Shah
Persian	Sal -e- no mobarak
Philippines	Manigong Bagong Taon!
Polish:	Szczesliwego Nowego Roku
Portuguese	Feliz Ano Novo
Punjabi	Nave sal di mubarak
Romanian	AN NOU FERICIT
Russian	S Novim Godom
Samoa	Manuia le Tausaga Fou
Serbo-Croatian	Sretna nova godina
Sindhi	Nayou Saal Mubbarak Hoje
Singhalese	Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
Siraiki	Nawan Saal Shala Mubarak Theevay
Slovak	Stastny Novy rok
Slovenian	sreèno novo leto
Somali	Iyo Sanad Cusub Oo Fiican!
Spanish	Feliz Ano ~Nuevo
Swahili	Heri Za Mwaka Mpyaº
Swedish	GOTT NYTT ÅR! /Gott nytt år!
Sudanese	Warsa Enggal
Tamil	Eniya Puthandu Nalvazhthukkal
Tibetian	Losar Tashi Delek
Telegu	Noothana samvatsara shubhakankshalu
Thai	Sawadee Pee Mai
Turkish	Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian	Shchastlyvoho Novoho Roku
Urdu	Naya Saal Mubbarak Ho
Uzbek	Yangi Yil Bilan
Vietnamese	Chuc Mung Tan Nien
Welsh :	Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

***

uh-huh!

fool. . .

Cartoon by Bill Schorr
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Mother Nature Has Her Say
by Phil Brennan - Comment on the column

There's an old saying it's not nice to fool Mother Nature, we are now learning it's also dangerous.

She doesn't take kindly to puny old mankind's absurd attempts to manage the climate through laws and treaties.

A case in point would be the aftermath of the Copenhagen conference on global warming, a gigantic hoax now known as "climate change", since it starting getting colder around what the superior class calls the fin de siecle - a Frenchified way of saying the turn of the century.

As the delegates met and dined and drank well - thanks to the generosity of their country's national treasuries - while harkening to the wisdom of Albert Gore, in the words of the old song "let it snow, let it snow , let it snow' the weather...

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spare a penny?

Rare Canadian penny may sell for US$300,000 at New York auction...

29 Dec '09

By The Canadian Press

NEW YORK - A rare Canadian penny is raking in the bids even before going up on the auction block.

The coin bearing the image of King George V has already garnered US$160,000 in online bids ahead of a public auction in New York City next week.

Heritage Auctions of Dallas expects the coin to sell for US$300,000 or more, when bidding ends Sunday.

The company's director of world coin auctions says the cent is the finest of only three known 1936-dated pennies made by the Royal Mint with a small dot below the date.

The mint placed the dots on the coins as it experimented with making currency in 1937 that still carried the date of the year before.

This was done because King George's successor had abdicated the throne, leaving the mint without a monarch's face to grace the coins.

The Canadian penny and other dot coins will be part of a multi-million dollar auction of rare coins from around the world.

Copyright © 2009 Canadian Press

holiday...

Mini 269...

***

Gordon...

Everyone knew immediately who he was whenever he appeared in what he considered a clever disguise, while they laughed behind his back at his cheesy creations.

He wanted so desperately to become a 'Private Eye', but failed every attempt at the written exams.

No matter, he kept at it and blithely provided their weekly entertainment.

~2009 laughingwolf

[...this concludes the requirements for aerin's writing challenge where writing 1,000 words per month for 2009 was needed... i more than doubled that... but will continue with 55ers for a while yet, to 303, methinks ;) ]

*****

fred...

cat/bush/duck...

Bat, Bush, and Duck [*]

A bush, duck, and bat, having found that in trade,
Confined to their country, small profits were made,
Into partnership entered to traffic abroad,
Their purse, held in common, well guarded from fraud.
Their factors and agents, these trading allies
Employed where they needed, as cautious as wise:
Their journals and ledgers, exact and discreet,
Recorded by items expense and receipt.
All throve, till an argosy, on its way home,
With a cargo worth more than their capital sum,
In attempting to pass through a dangerous strait,
Went down with its passengers, sailors, and freight,
To enrich those enormous and miserly stores,
From Tartarus distant but very few doors.
Regret was a thing which the firm could but feel;
Regret was the thing they were slow to reveal;
For the least of a merchant well knows that the weal
Of his credit requires him his loss to conceal.
But that which our trio unluckily suffered
Allowed no repair, and of course was discovered.
No money nor credit, It was plain to be seen
Their heads were now threatened with bonnets of green;[^]
And, the facts of the case being everywhere known,
No mortal would open his purse with a loan.
Debts, bailiffs, and lawsuits, and creditors gruff,
At the crack of day knocking,
(Importunity shocking!)
Our trio kept busy enough.
The bush, ever ready and on the alert,
Now caught all the people it could by the skirt:
"Pray, sir, be so good as to tell, if you please,
If you know whereabout the old villanous seas
Have hid all our goods which they stole t" other night.
The diver, to seek them, went down out of sight.
The bat didn't venture abroad in the day,
And thus of the bailiffs kept out of the way.

Full many insolvents, not bats, to hide so,
Nor bushes, nor divers, I happen to know,
But even grand seigniors, quite free from all cares,
By virtue of brass, and of private backstairs.

[*] Aesop

[^] With bonnets of green.—Such as insolvent debtors were anciently required to wear, in France, after making cession of their effects, in order to escape imprisonment.—Translator.

The custom also prevailed in Italy.

~Jean de la Fontaine

free...

healing...

31 December 2009 Filling Imaginary Voids Consuming To Heal In our culture today, we are constantly encouraged to consume. This includes food as well as purchasing ever newer items we may not need, often using money we may not have. It could be we are trying to fill a void we feel within ourselves, but if we take the time to examine it, we know deep inside this is not the solution. We may notice how quickly the joy fades after our purchase or once the food we've enjoyed is gone, and how soon we feel the urge to do so again. This is a symptom of disconnection from our true selves, so the first step toward balance is connection to our center. When we connect to our center, we access the fullness of who we are as an individual spirit. We also connect to the energy source of the universe, from which nothing can be lacking. It could be we have been energetically starving ourselves but trying to feed the need physically, outwardly. Once we make the decision to reconnect, we have the ability to examine the behavior from a higher place within ourselves. We can look, without judgment, at the thoughts and feelings that occur before and after our indulgences to find a pattern. We may want to keep track of these observations in a journal so that we can go back if we lose our way. Often boredom is the main cause for the desire to eat or shop. But when we connect to our center, our intuition can more clearly guide us to the places where our energy can best be used. We can replace the boredom with a meditation practice, a class, a project, seeking a new job, or getting involved in a charity. We may even want to begin planning an adventurous trip. Whatever inspires us tells us the direction we should go. When we find the place we are meant to be, we become so consumed by its constant creation the frivolous filling of an imaginary void becomes a thing of the past.

other...

git!

government motors...

US Treasury injects $3.8 billion into ailing GMAC...

30 Dec '09

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Treasury announced Tuesday a 3.8 billion dollar fresh capital injection into ailing GMAC, the former finance arm of General Motors that became a bank to access federal rescue aid.

The capital infusion will give the US government a controlling stake in the company.

"Due to a variety of factors, including that the restructurings of General Motors and Chrysler were accomplished with less disruption to GMAC than banking supervisors initially projected, Treasury will commit 3.8 billion dollars of new capital to GMAC rather than the 5.6 billion dollars originally announced," the Treasury said in a statement.

It had previously injected 12.5 billion dollars in capital into GMAC.

The Treasury also said it was restructuring its investment in GMAC "to protect taxpayers and put GMAC in a position to raise private capital and pay back taxpayers as soon as practicable."

"These actions offer the best chance for GMAC to complete its overall restructuring plan and return to the private capital markets for its debt financing and capital needs in 2010," the department said.

The 3.8 billion dollar capital injection will be in the form of 2.54 billion dollars of trust preferred securities and 1.25 billion dollars of mandatory convertible preferred (MCP) stock.

Treasury said it would also receive warrants for both types of stocks, totaling 190 million dollars, which it would exercise immediately at the close of the transaction.

The Treasury, headed by Secretary Timothy Geithner, said it would convert 3.0 billion of its existing MCP, which was invested in May 2009, into common equity "to boost the quality of the capital supporting GMAC."

That move will raise Treasury?s equity stake in GMAC to 56 percent from 35 percent.

Given the increased ownership, the Treasury will have the right to appoint two additional directors, in addition to the two it has, to the nine-member GMAC board of directors.

The department said it plans to nominate its new directors in time for GMAC's annual meeting at the end of April.

GMAC plans to step up the pace of its repayments to the government.

"By protecting the financial performance and strength of our core automotive finance operations, we expect to increase the pace at which we can fully repay the US taxpayer," Michael Carpenter, GMAC chief executive, said in a separate statement.

The smaller taxpayer-funded injection into GMAC will result in a 1.8 billion dollar reduction in Treasury's previously forecasted spending under the 700-billion-dollar Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the Treasury said.

GMAC was the only one of 10 banking holding companies deemed to have fallen short in efforts to raise enough capital to weather adverse economic circumstances, the Federal Reserve announced last month.

The Fed said in May that GMAC needed 11.5 billion dollars, to be raised through private investments, or through public aid under the TARP approved last year by Congress.

GMAC was the longtime financial arm of the largest US automaker until 2006, when GM sold a majority stake.

In December 2008, GMAC won permission to become a bank holding company to have improved access to Fed lending amid the global financial crisis.

On May 21, the US Treasury said it had injected an additional 7.5 billion dollars into GMAC to enable it continue providing loans to auto dealers and consumers.

The new investment came on top of an earlier five billion dollar injection as part of an effort to rescue the auto industry and the financial sector.

Copyright © 2009 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved

ow!

...don't let this happen to you this upcoming holiday!

Road Rest

blue moon...

Once in a blue moon event to ring in 2010; next New Year's Eve blue moon will be 2028...

29 Dec '09

By Alicia Chang, The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year's Eve.

Revelers ringing in 2010 will be treated to a so-called blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month.

But don't expect it to be blue - the name has nothing to do with the color of our closest celestial neighbor.

The New Year's Eve blue moon will be visible in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America, and Africa.

For partygoers in Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up until New Year's Day, making January a blue moon month for them.

However, the Eastern Hemisphere can celebrate with a partial lunar eclipse on New Year's Eve when part of the moon enters the Earth's shadow.

The eclipse will not be visible in the Americas.

A full moon occurred on Dec. 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's countdown.

"If you're in Times Square, you'll see the full moon right above you.

"It's going to be that brilliant," said Jack Horkheimer, director emeritus of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium and host of a weekly astronomy TV show.

A full moon occurs every 29.5 days, and most years have 12.

On average, an extra full moon in a month - a blue moon - occurs every 2.5 years.

The last time there was a lunar double take was in May 2007.

New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years.

The last time was in 1990; the next one won't come again until 2028.

Blue moons have no astronomical significance, said Greg Laughlin, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

"'Blue moon' is just a name in the same sense as a 'hunter's moon' or a 'harvest moon,"' Laughlin said in an email.

The popular definition of blue moon came about after a writer for Sky&Telescope magazine in 1946 misinterpreted the Maine Farmer's Almanac, and labeled a blue moon as the second full moon in a month.

In fact, the almanac defined a blue moon as the third full moon in a season with four full moons, not the usual three.

Though Sky&Telescope corrected the error decades later, the definition caught on.

For purists, however, this New Year's Eve full moon doesn't even qualify as a blue moon.

It's just the first full moon of the winter season.

In a tongue-in-cheek essay posted on the magazine's Web site this week, senior contributing editor Kelly Beatty wrote: "If skies are clear when I'm out celebrating, I'll take a peek at that brilliant orb as it rises over the Boston skyline to see if it's an icy shade of blue.

"Or... maybe I'll just howl."

-

On the Net:

http://www.miamisci.org/www/eventsplan.html

Copyright © 2009 Canadian Press

budee...

wicked wednesday -5...

WW-5...

Bummer...

Davis finished the last of his re-writes at 10:38 on new year's eve night, saved it all, ensured a backup was performed by the computer, printed off a paper copy, then burned it to a disk, as further protection. After all, he'd spent the last three years on this tome and wanted nothing to happen to his words like what had to his last effort, more than half lost due to a hardware hiccup.

His first two books had not made the best seller list, but sold well enough for his agent to encourage him to do better, and so he sweated over a 100-thousand word tale which he finally edited and painstakingly polished down to 85 thousand. The agent was duly impressed and said it was his best to date.

He locked his office door behind him, the disk safely tucked into the breast pocket of his leather car coat, bid a happy new year to Williams at the security desk, and dragged his weary bones to the local club where he hoped to grab a couple of beers, a Delmonico steak sandwich with raw Vidalia onion rings, Caesar salad and a plate of gravy-slathered golden fries.

It was nearing midnight, and he was sopping up the last of the gravy with part of a potato when a waiter brought him a neat glass of four fingers of single malt, complements of someone unknown to either. He took a test sip, found it acceptable and tossed the rest back with a flourish, feeling the Scots whisky immediately warm his innards.

Moments later he realized he was the victim of a mickey finn, but it was too late to do anything about it, and he slid to the floor of the booth.

When he came to a minute or so later, he was helped to his seat by the concerned bartender, apologizing profusely the whole time and assuring him the drugged drink had not come from the bar.

Davis rubbed the bruise on his head with still-numb fingers, wondering why he`d been drugged once a quick check of his back pocket proved his wallet was still there. But upon patting his coat pocket discovered the disk was gone... who could possibly know it was there, and what good would an unpublished novel do anyone? Especially since he had the original on his computer hard drive, and a printed copy in his desk drawer.

Still in a fog, he ordered strong black coffee in hopes of clearing his head for the drive home.

The countdown for the new year hit zero while he was sitting there, and he barely made out the wish painted on the bottoms of some nubile maids prancing on the small stage, and grinned to himself as he saw it.

The girls put on quite the show for the patrons, and an hour later he felt ready to drive home. He put his bill on a charge card and went out to his car in the lot behind the club.

To his amazement it seemed one of the dancers was waiting for him there, and felt the gods were smiling on him again, and his night would end joyfully.

As he closed the distance between them, she suddenly turned around, screamed... and beat him senseless with a baseball bat.

~2009 laughingwolf

[...last in this series, will try something else in the new year]

russkie rescuers?

Russia considering sending spacecraft to knock asteroid off path and prevent Earth collision...

2 hours, 2 minutes ago

By Vladimir Isachenkov, The Associated Press

MOSCOW - Russia is considering sending a spacecraft to a large asteroid to knock it off its path and prevent its collision with Earth - a collision NASA considers highly unlikely - the head of the country's space agency said Wednesday.

Anatoly Perminov said the space agency will hold a meeting soon to assess a mission to Apophis, telling Golos Rossii radio it would invite NASA, the European Space Agency, the Chinese space agency, and others to join the project once it is finalized.

When the 270-meter (885-foot) asteroid was first discovered in 2004, astronomers estimated the chances of it smashing into Earth in its first flyby in 2029 were as high as 1-in-37, but have since lowered their estimate.

Further studies ruled out the possibility of an impact in 2029, when the asteroid is expected to come no closer than 18,300 miles (29,450 kilometres) above Earth's surface, but they indicated a small possibility of a hit on subsequent encounters.

In October, NASA lowered the odds that Apophis could hit Earth in 2036 from a 1-in-45,000 as earlier thought to a 1-in-250,000 chance after researchers recalculated the asteroid's path.

It said another close encounter in 2068 will involve a 1-in-330,000 chance of impact.

"It wasn't anything to worry about before. Now it's even less so," said Steve Chesley, an astronomer with the Near Earth Object Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Without mentioning NASA conclusions, Perminov said he heard from a scientist Apophis is getting closer and may hit the planet.

"I don't remember exactly, but it seems to me it could hit the Earth by 2032," Perminov said.

"People's lives are at stake.

"We should pay several hundred million dollars and build a system that would allow to prevent a collision, rather than sit and wait for it to happen and kill hundreds of thousands of people," Perminov said.

Scientists have long theorized about asteroid deflection strategies.

Some have proposed sending a probe to circle around a dangerous asteroid to gradually change its trajectory.

Others suggested sending a spacecraft to collide with the asteroid and alter its momentum, or using nuclear weapons to hit it.

Perminov wouldn't disclose any details of the project, saying they still need to be worked out.

But he said the mission wouldn't require any nuclear explosions.

Hollywood action films "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon". have featured space missions scrambling to avoid catastrophic collisions. In both movies space crews use nuclear bombs in an attempt to prevent collisions.

"Calculations show that it's possible to create a special purpose spacecraft within the time we have, which would help avoid the collision without destroying the asteroid and without detonating any nuclear charges," Perminov said.

"The threat of collision can be averted."

Boris Shustov, the director of the Institute of Astronomy under the Russian Academy of Sciences, hailed Perminov's statement as a signal that officials had come to recognize the danger posed by asteroids.

"Apophis is just a symbolic example, there are many other dangerous objects we know little about," he said, according to RIA Novosti news agency.

Copyright © 2009 Canadian Press

In this Tuesday, 26 Dec. 2006, file photo Russia's Federal Space Agency chief Anatoly Perminov speaks at a news conference in Moscow. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ivan Sekretarev, File

naut...

square reopens...

Nasdaq, Times Square reopened after scare...

2 hours, 9 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City's Times Square was closed briefly and three nearby buildings, including the Nasdaq stock exchange, were evacuated in a security scare on Wednesday, police said, a day before the traditional New Year's Eve festivities in the famed intersection.

The street closings and evacuations were prompted by a police investigation of a suspicious van that local media reported had been parked on Broadway for two days.

No explosives were found in the van, which police examined with robots and remote cameras.

The typically busy Times Square intersection, Nasdaq stock exchange building and two other buildings were cleared of people during the investigation which lasted about two hours.

Times Square was already crowded with tourists and a heavy police presence ahead of the traditional New Year's Eve festivities and the dropping of a giant lit ball at midnight on 31 December.

The evacuation did not have a major impact on the Nasdaq market, said Joe Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist at TD Ameritrade.

"There was a quick small sell-off in equities which would be more attributable to people closing some positions in fear of an electronic breakdown rather than initiating speculative short positions," he said.

The incident took place less than a week after a botched attempt on Christmas Day to blow up a U.S.-bound airliner.

The airline incident has prompted heightened air travel security.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta and Ellen Wulfhorst; Editing by Vicki Allen)

Copyright © 2009 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Two policemen stand on Broadway in front of the Nasdaq Stock Market after an area of Times Square was evacuated while a suspicious vehicle was investigated in New York, 30 December 2009. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn

new year...

Cartoon by Joe Heller
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For New Year's Day - A Truly Wealthy Man
by Tom Purcell - Comment on the column

Ah, the new year is upon us.

The media has been featuring stories of rich, famous people who died in 2009.

Let me share the story of one of the wealthiest fellows I ever met.

His name was John Swiatek.

He died a week ago, just shy of his 84th birthday.

John was born in 1925, the only son in a family with six daughters.

His family lived in a row house on Pittsburgh's North Side.

He was barely 5 when the Depression hit.

His family struggled for years.

He didn't know the joy of indoor plumbing until he was in his teens.

By financial measures, his family was poor, but John didn't know it.

They had a roof over their heads, enough food to eat - they had laughter and caring neighbors.

He graduated from high school in 1942 at age 17 and passed on a college basketball scholarship to enlist in the Navy.

World War II was under...

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nasty...

Alberta faces almost impossible task of stopping pine beetles from spreading...

2 hours, 18 minutes ago

By John Cotter, The Canadian Press

EDMONTON - Crews armed with chainsaws and fire are fanning out across Alberta this winter, facing the almost impossible task of stemming the eastward spread of the voracious mountain pine beetle.

After destroying or infesting as many as 75 per cent of British Columbia's mature lodgepole pines, the insects have flown deep into north-central Alberta in search of more trees to ruin.

The beetles are also firmly entrenched west and south of Calgary.

The tiny scourge threatens the jobs of thousands of forestry workers and the environmental health of watersheds that feed rivers that run across the prairies.

The dead and dying trees they leave in their wake will pose a significant risk of wildfire for years to come.

That's one nasty little bug.

"We don't operate under any assumptions that we are going to completely eradicate the mountain pine beetle.

"It is here to stay, in Alberta," says Erica Lee, Alberta's senior forest health manager.

"But we can definitely have a significant impact on their population and the potential damage we may see."

Adult beetles bore under the bark of lodgepole pines in the summer and fall, laying eggs and leaving a fungus that slowly kills a tree, turning it red.

The following summer, newly hatched beetles fly on prevailing winds looking for fresh mature pine trees to infest.

Alberta has never had so much mature pine, so its forests are a massive timber smorgasbord for the beetles.

Some scientists believe that once the beetles chew their way through the lodgepole pines they will attack other types of pine trees in the boreal forest that sprawls across much of northern Canada.

Allan Carroll, a University of British Columbia forestry science professor, says the eastward spread into the boreal is almost inevitable if current climate conditions persist.

He warns it could happen much more quickly if Alberta fails to control the spread of the bugs.

"If the beetle populations remain in epidemic status in northern Alberta, the probability of invasion of the boreal forest in the short term - within five to 10 years - is very high," says Carroll.

"Large numbers of beetles lead to large flights, which lead to a higher probability of these large jumps in distance eastward."

Alberta's battle plan calls for cutting down and destroying individual and groups of infested trees, from Grande Prairie in the north to the Crowsnest Pass in the south, before the next generation of bugs can take flight.

The challenge is, experts believe more than half a million trees are already infested.

Forestry companies are chopping down entire stands of mature pine before the bugs can ruin the timber.

As well, controlled forest fires, called prescribed burns, are planned along the beetles' invasion routes from B.C. to help stop their spread.

There is also talk of burning swaths of timber north and west of Edmonton to create a buffer zone between the beetles and untouched forests.

Crews will also cut trees and remove deadfall near some communities to create wildfire buffer zones.

Forest fires that tore through parts of British Columbia last summer were partly fuelled by beetle-killed timber, which generates extremely hot flames.

Just over $42 million has been earmarked for the campaign this season - a few million less than last year, as Alberta and Ottawa struggle with the economic downturn.

Alberta is banking on getting more bang for its beetle bucks by learning from mistakes made in British Columbia, where government and industry were slow to respond to the threat in the 1980s and 1990s in the hope that Mother Nature would kill off the bugs.

Frigid temperatures can wipe out large numbers of beetles, but they have an internal anti-freeze system that can allow them to withstand even -40C cold snaps.

Last winter many of the insects died, but the survivors - reinforced by new swarms from over the mountains - made Alberta's bad situation worse.

Alberta's strategy for 2010 calls for aggressively removing infested trees wherever they can be found in a huge area the province calls its "leading-edge zone", which extends to within a few hours' drive of Edmonton.

In some cases, crews in helicopters will swoop in to remove dead and dying trees before the new generation of beetles can start their work.

"We have worked with people from the B.C. Ministry of Forests and the beetle scientists at the Canadian Forest Service, developing our strategy to make sure we built on successes and didn't repeat treatments in B.C. that were not effective," says Lee.

Mountain pine beetles are native to parts of British Columbia and Alberta, but they've never been seen in such numbers before.

They've also never before been found so far north and east in Alberta.

Some scientists believe global warming and drought have weakened pine forests, making them more susceptible to infestation.

Government policies against setting forest fires over the years have also led to a glut of mature lodgepole pine trees.

Lee says there are no simple or quick solutions to the mountain pine beetle problem.

Alberta's strategy for the coming year will probably just be the next battle in a long, expensive and difficult campaign.

"People are starting to realize that this is not going away," says Lee.

Copyright © 2009 Canadian Press

Liz Hebertson, an insect scientist, points out a mountain pine beetle under the bark of a lodgepole pine tree which has been infected by the insect. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/The Salt Lake tribune, Leah Hogsten)

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Cartoon by Daryl Cagle
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Check out our collection of cartoons called "2009 Year in Review" LOOK!

No Tiger Tales or Other Sex Scandals in 2010, Please
by Gene Lyons - Comment on the column

Now the holiday-party season is almost over, and many of us are vowing never to do anything like that again - and certainly not in a supply closet - here's my idea for a national New Year's resolution: How about we declare a moratorium on celebrity sex scandals?

No, I'm not a Tiger Woods fan.

Golf?

I'd rather watch full-contact gardening.

Please, spare me those emails about how difficult golf is.

So is pushing a peanut across Nebraska, with your nose.

To me, golf's a waste of good pasture.

But think about it: 2010, a year without sanctimony.

No preposterous alibis, stammering confessions, humiliated spouses, no heartbroken mistresses vamping on "Entertainment Tonight", no pieces titled, "Why Do Politicians Cheat?", or "Can Rehab Save Tiger?"

Make Larry King and Oprah talk about something else... for a change.

Have you seen Newsweek's elaborate rationalization for making Tiger their pre-Christmas cover boy?

It's called "The Greatest Show on Earth".

According to the deep thinkers on Madison Avenue, celebrity gossip "is actually a new art form that competes with - and often supersedes - more traditional entertainments like movies, books, plays and TV shows creating a fund of common experience around which we can form a national ...

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new rules...

RCMP may speed pre-flight screening but new Ottawa rules cause havoc, holdups...

29 Dec '09

By Susanna Kelley, The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Ottawa's move to call in the RCMP to help with passenger searches at Canada's main airports may get travelers to the United States through security sooner, but a new rule against carry-on luggage is causing havoc and holdups for many before they even get to the security areas.

U.S. customs agents are playing hardball when it comes to the new rule.

Airline agents in Toronto say travelers with bags and purses deemed too large are being sent back by customs agents, and not allowed onto flights to the United States until the bags are checked.

An RCMP spokesman says the federal government has asked for the Mounties' help with passenger screening at major airports in Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary until Wednesday.

But Sgt. Marc LaPorte says Transportation Minister, John Baird, may ask to keep officers on the job past 30 Dec. to speed up security checks, which now include pat-downs.

Lineups for U.S. flights at Toronto's Pearson International Airport ranged from short to very lengthy on Tuesday.

At one point early in the morning, according to several Air Canada ticket agents, there was a huge lineup with a 2 1/2-hour wait to check in for American-bound flights.

The cause, according to an Air Canada agent, is many passengers having to repack their luggage right at the check-in counters to comply with the new "no carry-on luggage" rule.

Many of those in line seem unaware of the new restrictions announced by Transport Canada on Monday evening.

Only small purses, laptops and a small list of items including medical supplies are now being allowed for carry-on.

All rolling bags must be checked.

Alexandra Marriott, 19, and her family had to repack a number of their large bags at the check-in counter.

The Ecuadorian teenager, and four relatives, were in Canada for the holidays.

"They said that we have to put all the carry-ons in the bags, because they will send us back here, so we're repacking everything and we're taking out our laptops and we can't take everything with us," Marriot said.

"I think all the people in here are like, 'Come on, move!"'

The new restrictions also made Sandra Papaianni nervous.

The 34-year-old mother of three children, two of them in diapers, was trying to pare down to the bare essentials as she and her family approached the check-in line at the Air Canada counter at Pearson's Terminal 1.

"I don't know what we're going to do.

"Between a little sweater, a blankie, bottles, snacks, Cheerios, and diapers, we're going to be a little tight."

"How will I cope with a little bag?

"'I'm not sure.

"Let's just hope they don't need to go to the bathroom too many times," Papaianni said.

But she was philosophical about the possibility of having to repack at the check-in counter.

"I'm hoping not but if we do I guess we have no choice ...

"It's for our own safety, right?"

Papaianni and her husband were looking for locker space at the airport to store items until they return to Canada.

Another man boarding the plane had been re-booked after his Sunday flight to La Guardia was canceled following a five-hour wait, along with more than 100 other flights.

Even to get there two days late, Desmond Gamble had to book a flight to another New York airport.

"When I rescheduled, the flights were fully booked on Monday, and fully booked Tuesday, so I asked them for another airport, White Plains was available, so I re-booked for White Plains," explained Gamble, 42, who works in IT support.

The new rules were good business for some, including shops selling luggage, at the airport.

Emily Krynick at The Travel Store in Terminal 1 said the amount of luggage being bought at the store is up by 20 to 30 per cent since the new carry-on restrictions came into effect.

"A lot of the bags are sold just because you have to check in your bag, you can't carry it on, so you have to buy a bigger bag, so you spend more money."

"Yesterday, we had a couple of people coming in frantically getting more bags because they were late from their flight as well and there was a big lineup for the gates, a huge lineup."

U.S.-bound passengers must pass three levels of security: regular pre-flight passenger screening, U.S. Customs, and additional screening that can include pat-downs.

The RCMP are aiding employees of Transport Canada, who usually do the screenings.

The new security restrictions were adopted after a man tried to blow up an airliner bound for Detroit on Christmas Day.

Copyright © 2009 Canadian Press

File photo of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up an airplane on 25 December in Detroit, Michigan.

US President Barack Obama vowed to hunt down extremists wherever they plot attacks against the United States as Al-Qaeda claimed it hatched the attempt to blow up a US-bound airliner on Christmas Day. Photo:/AFP

oz crits...

Home Page About MythoCreatology Magical Creatures of Australia MythoCreatologists & More Tattle's Wag-Tales About the Author Mythocreat, (MYTHO+CREAT) n. A. an abbreviated term for a mythical creature. B. a creature of the order of magic. C. a magical being. D. a magical creature that truly exists in myths or fables. Bush Sky Mountain Wetland Sea Desert Shadow Cave Old World Information NAME: Carkit (Timetokickthebucketus) SPECIES TYPE: Grim Reaper DANGER RANKING: Class 93 (mega) DIET: Lifeivorous (essence of life) CHARACTER: Cold SIZE: 2 m (Human size) STRENGTH: 10 tons (mighty) SPEED: 50 km (teleporter) INTELLIGENCE: 170 IQ (genius) MAGIC: 95 (dimension door - summon shadow) LIFE EXPECTANCY: ? (lifeless) TREASURE: Kingly (magic artifacts - $10 mil.) HABITAT: Appears where least expected. STATUS: Unique Beware the Carkit bearing the bucket with your name. This powerful mythocreat is the Australian Grim Reaper. For over two hundred years there has been numerous reports by explorers, drovers and squatters of the Carkit suddenly appearing at their campfire and taking one of them away. No one is ever prepared for the Carkit’s visit. It appears without warning carrying the wooden pale with some unlucky blokes name on it and tells this poor soul - “It’s time to kick the bucket.” Never kick the bucket. If you can run, then run. If the Carkit comes knocking at your door, don’t let him in. Make sure you put up a good fight. The people who give up and give in, always end up kicking the bucket. Only few people have escaped the Carkit, however, there is only one recorded time a person has been able to outsmart the Carkit and claim his bucket, but that’s a story for another campfire. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NAME: Dingbat (Crazylittlebattius) SPECIES TYPE: Pipsqueak DANGER RANKING: Class 9 (pitiful) DIET: Herbivorous (fungus - mushrooms) CHARACTER: Crazy SIZE: 5 cm (butterfly size) STRENGTH: 1 kg (feeble) SPEED: 5 km (fluttering) INTELLIGENCE: 70 IQ (low human) MAGIC: 15 (cause insanity) LIFE EXPECTANCY: 5 yrs (very short) TREASURE: Zilch (nothing of worth) HABITAT: Cities - Parks - Farms - Forests STATUS: Uncommon (wide distribution) If you do crazy things from time to time, you may be under the spell of the Dingbat’s bell. This bell dangles from the top of the Dingbat’s head and is their radar. Humans only faintly hear this bell and when we do, it makes us do strange things. We may get the urge to jump from a perfectly good plane, bungy jump, swim with sharks and do our own tax returns - things sane people have no urge to do. When children hear the Dingbat’s bell they also do stupid things that defy all reason. And if you see your pets acting crazy, such as chasing their tail or running into things, they too are probably a victim of the Dingbat’s bell. Dingbats themselves are the world’s second most foolish mythocreat- Silly Billies being the undisputed first. Dingbats never think things through and always end up getting hurt or eaten. We can only assume this crazy behaviour is brought on by the toadstools and fungus they eat (however, we have not ruled out the red cordial they drink either). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NAME: Bushwhacker (Ureallyneedabathus) SPECIES TYPE: Troll DANGER RANKING: Class 55 (very high) DIET: Omnivorous (anything and everything) CHARACTER: Treacherous - Cowardly SIZE: 3 m (bear size) STRENGTH: 600 kg (strong) SPEED: 25 km (trotting) INTELLIGENCE: 110 IQ (high human) MAGIC: 75 (vast range) LIFE EXPECTANCY: 80 yrs (fair) TREASURE: Rich (treasure - $600 000) HABITAT: Woods - Farmlands - Swamps STATUS: Scarce The Bushwhacker is a filthy, uncouth mythocreat - a cousin to the European Troll. You can tell if you have walked into a Bushwhacker’s territory by the putrid smell. They totally lack all social graces and manners and have no desire to learn any. Bushwhackers are one of the laziest creatures on earth. At times, too lazy to even leave their sty. Some Bushwhackers have died of starvation, when food is just metres away. They prefer to find a helpless victim to bully, bribe, blackmail and turn into their sty-slave. Bushwhackers have great magical potential. They could nearly be wizards. However, due to the huge mental effort magic requires, Bushwhackers rarely use this ability. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NAME: Old Hag (Awolfinsheepsclothingus) SPECIES TYPE: Witch DANGER RANKING: Class 47 (high) DIET: Omnivorous (children - puppies - snails) CHARACTER: Predatory - Dishonest SIZE: 1 m (chimpanzee size) STRENGTH: 30 kg (frail) SPEED: 10 km (doddering) INTELLIGENCE: 120 IQ (high human) MAGIC: 60 (dark illusion - summon crow) LIFE EXPECTANCY: 140 yrs (long) TREASURE: Fair (treasure - $20 000) HABITAT: Forests - Scrubland - Hill Country STATUS: Scarce (wide distribution) Beware of Old Hags! They are the living proof of ‘Stranger Danger’. They prey on helpless children, gain their trust and encourage the child to follow. The children who follow them are seldom seen again. If you think a Old Hag will never trick you, YOUR WRONG. Old Hags have a powerful magic illusion that can make them appear to be a normal man or woman. Someone who may seem to be caring, nice and attractive. Don’t be fooled! They may look and sound like a wonderful person, they may say such nice things, but they lie. They are strangers. Do not talk to them, do not believe them and what ever you do - DO NOT FOLLOW THEM. Run away from them and tell your parents. Old Hags are tricky mythocreats. Underneath their friendly illusion, lurks a monster who wants to do you harm. They might try to trick you with lollies or gifts, DON’T TAKE THEM. They may tell you that your mummy and daddy are hurt and they will take you to them, DON’T GO WITH THEM. They may say something like, “A little puppy or kitten is stuck in a tree, can you help me save it?” DON’T BELIEVE THEM. They have so many tricks to lure you away, so beware. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NAME: Feral Fairy (Notasniceastheylookus) SPECIES TYPE: Fairy DANGER RANKING: Class 18 (weak) DIET: Omnivorous (insects - rodents - lizards) CHARACTER: Mischievous - Nasty - Selfish SIZE: 8 cm (mouse size) STRENGTH: 1 kg (feeble) SPEED: 80 km (acrobatic) INTELLIGENCE: 80 IQ (low human) MAGIC: 20 (grow weeds) LIFE EXPECTANCY: 10 yrs (short) TREASURE: broke (trinkets - $5) HABITAT: Everywhere - Anywhere STATUS: Abundant (sadly) Unknown to most Aussies, Australia has a real Fairy problem. Many years ago, foolish settlers thought it would be a grand idea to ship some Fairies out from Europe to place in the bottom of their garden. However, European-Fairies need to draw on Woodland Magic and Australia has Bush Magic. For some reason, the Fairies couldn’t adjust to Bush Magic so instead they adjusted to Shadow Magic. This made the Fairies go completely troppo; they lost their gentle ways and suddenly went feral. Now, like the cane-toad, Feral-Fairies run riot throughout the country, leaving a trail of minor disasters in their wake. Feral-Fairies don’t produce anything of benefit and they are aggressively destroying Australia’s magical habitat. The only thing they do produce is weeds. Feral-Fairies have not adjusted well to Australia’s conditions; their fairy-dust is quite useless and only causes weeds to sprout wherever they step. So, the truth is, if you have Fairies at the bottom of your garden - YOU BETTER SPRAY. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NAME: Gloom (Stickinthemuddus) SPECIES TYPE: Gargoyle DANGER RANKING: Class 30 (very low) DIET: Insectivorous (insects) CHARACTER: Miserable - Slothlike SIZE: 30 cm (possum size) STRENGTH: 10 kg (weak) SPEED: 10 km (sloth-like) INTELLIGENCE: 20 IQ (low animal) MAGIC: 20 (cause misery - infravision) LIFE EXPECTANCY: 10 yrs (very short) TREASURE: Zilch (nothing of worth) HABITAT: Cities - Suburbs - Farms - Swamps STATUS: Abundant Glooms are the reason why ‘happy-go-lucky’ Aussies get sad and depressed. When you feel down for no apparent reason a Gloom has probably flown into your roof and into your life. These strange creatures ooze misery, radiate sadness and exude sorrow. When in the proximity of a Gloom, you will be affected. Even momentary sadness can be attributed to a Gloom flying past in search of a new home to roost. The Gloom is an Australian subspecies of the Gargoyle. They are nocturnal creatures who are active mostly at nighttime. The word ‘active’ is hard to ascribe to a Gloom as this creature has the uncanny ability not to move for weeks on end. Glooms love dank and miserable places to roost. Roofs are the ideal nesting places for this creature. Once the Gloom settles in, it starts sending out their sadness vibes, which have a depressing effect on all occupants of the house. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NAME: Illywhacker (Charmingforkedtongueus) SPECIES TYPE: Naga (cousin) DANGER RANKING: Class 66 (tremendous) DIET: Insectivorous (lots of bugs) CHARACTER: Predatory - Dishonest SIZE: 10 m. long (human size) STRENGTH: 2 ton (forceful) SPEED: 20 km (average) INTELLIGENCE: 100 IQ (average human) MAGIC: 40 (summon insect - snake charm) LIFE EXPECTANCY: 80 yrs (average) TREASURE: Rich (jewels - $750 000) HABITAT: Forests - Caves - Hill Country STATUS: Very Rare (wide distribution) Illywhackers are nasty shadow mythocreats that have the worst characteristics of mammals, insects and reptiles. Illywhackers are perfectly suited to guard great treasure hoards. However, being a guardian is usually a lifetime of boredom, especially in a remote cave far from any other creature. Illywhackers have tried to relieve their boredom by kidnapping beautiful victims that can entertain. For many years they would sliver out of their cave and snatch a Floozie to keep as hostage, but this all ended when the Sisterhood of Floozies banded together and made war. Since then, Illywhackers have made human women their target; but not just any women, Illywhackers seek to ensnare ladies who can play woodwind instruments. Once the young musician is captured, she is taken back to their lair, chained to the wall and forced to play sweet music night and day. A word of warning: if you are a female woodwind musician, and a tall, charming stranger dressed in a long jacket with a large hat entices you to go for a walk, be very suspicious. Ask this gentleman his name. If he replies, “Joe Blake”, it’s time to run very fast in the opposite direction. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NAME: Stickybeak (Payupus Iknowyoursecretus) SPECIES TYPE: Lesser Harpy DANGER RANKING: Class 20 (weak) DIET: Sludgivorous (fats - oils - lards) CHARACTER: Spiteful - Dishonest - Selfish SIZE: 15 cm (rat size) STRENGTH: 5 kg (puny) SPEED: 100 km (flying) INTELLIGENCE: 100 IQ (average human) MAGIC: 25 (super hearing - ventriloquism) LIFE EXPECTANCY: 50 yrs (below average) TREASURE: Stacks (treasure - $75 000) HABITAT: Cities - Farms - Towns - Swamps STATUS: Uncommon This vile creature has caused more trouble and heart-ache in Australia than all other mythocreats combined. So many Aussies have had their lives destroyed by this nasty little villain. Stickybeaks destroy communities without a second thought and can eradicate organizations in an instant. You may ask, ‘What great powers does this ugly little mythocreat possess to cause so much trouble?' Stickybeaks have a loose tongue. Their other common name is a Gossip, and truly, a Gossip is an ugly thing. Stickybeaks spend their time eavesdropping. It is common to see them perched in a tree listening to our private conversations or phone calls. Their ears are like satellite dishes; they can even hear us talking through walls and they are always listening hoping to catch a secret. When a Stickybeak hears your secrets, they have got you trapped. They demand a ransom and if you don’t give them what they want they will tell your secret to the whole world. So remember, be very careful of what comes out of your mouth, for it can easily be used against you. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NAME: Hemu/Shemu (Whatwasthatus) SPECIES TYPE: Anthrobird DANGER RANKING: Class 49 (high) DIET: Omivorous (snakes - fish - vegetation) CHARACTER: Proud - Reclusive - Angry SIZE: 2m (basketballer size) STRENGTH: 80 kg (average) SPEED: 200 km (racing) INTELLIGENCE: 100 IQ (average human) MAGIC: 35 (super speed - snake charm) LIFE EXPECTANCY: 80 yrs (average) TREASURE: Fair (jewels - $20 000) HABITAT: Scrublands - Deserts - Open Plains STATUS: Rare Hemus and Shemus are nocturnal mythocreats that rarely come out during the day. Their origin stems back thousands of years to the infamous 'Majestic War'. The Emu was once a respected Majestic of the High Sanctuary of Birds. The King and Queen of the Emus became greedy and power mad. They tried to take over the High Sanctuary in order to rule all the creatures in Australia. A short and horrible war followed, the Emus lost. In the trial that followed, it was judged the Emu King and Queen loose their crown, the use of their wings and leave the High Sanctuary of Birds, never to return. All their Emu subjects suffered the same fate and forever lost the ability to fly. When the Emu King and Queen lost their crowns, they also lost their ability to transform from bird to human form. They were forevermore stuck in between (half man and half bird.) Consequently, a new creature was formed known as Hemus and Shemus; but that’s a tale for another time. Since then, this proud and reclusive species has increased in size; however, they have never forgotten how they were cast out of the High Sanctuary and have vowed that someday they will get their revenge. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NAME: Narky (Angrylittlebyterus) SPECIES TYPE: Nasty Little Bugga DANGER RANKING: Class 05 (insignificant) DIET: Carnivorous (blood) CHARACTER: Nasty - Sneaky - Pesky SIZE: 5 mm (mosquito size) STRENGTH: 10 grams (pitiful) SPEED: 100 km (flying) INTELLIGENCE: 30 IQ (high insect) MAGIC: 25 (cause anger - summon mozzies) LIFE EXPECTANCY: 1 yr (extremely short) TREASURE: Zilch (nothing of worth) HABITAT: Cities - Farms - Bushlands STATUS: Common (far to common) If you find yourself getting mad or ‘blowing your stack’ for no apparent reason, you have probably just been bitten by a Narky. These nasty little mythocreats have an anger inducing venom and one bite from these horrid bugs will start the best friends fighting over the smallest of things. Their bite is very similar to a mozzies bite, but when the venom takes effect you’ll soon be ‘chucking a wobbly, doing your block, going troppo, flipping your lid and spitting the dummy’. Generally, the effects of the venom wear off quickly. Try to be patient with the person you suspect of being bitten. They will soon calm down and be back to their normal, pleasant self. If you sense you have been bitten and feel yourself getting angrier by the minute, the best thing to do is separate yourself from people so you won’t say something you may latter regret. Have a lie down and think about: how far a shooting star shoots; or, what came first: the gumnut or the gumtree? And soon, all your anger will fade away. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bush Sky Mountain Wetland Sea Desert Shadow Cave Old World Information Home Page About MythoCreatology Magical Creatures of Australia MythoCreatologists & More Tattle's Wag-Tales About the Author Designed by Ian & Sue Coate (Copyright - Ian Coate)