Singer and belly dancer Shakira has long been one of my favorite artists. I love her quirky lyrics, honest singing, and good Lord, that dancing. I took belly dancing lessons so that I could learn to dance more like her.
She doesn’t seem to be too caught up in the Hollywood lifestyle, though. You don’t see her out getting trashed all the time, flashing her girly bits everywhere, or sleeping with every leading man who will look her way.
Now, she’s just given an astounding $45 million to charity!
Colombian pop star Shakira announced a $40 million donation on Thursday to repair damage caused by an earthquake in Peru and a hurricane in Nicaragua.Shakira is the co-founder of the Latin America for Solidarity Foundation, ALAS, which means wings in Spanish, with Nobel Prize winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
“I’ve seen first-hand many of the challenges facing Latin America,” she said in a statement.
The two-time Grammy Award winner, who started another foundation to help poor children in Colombia when she was only 18, said 40 million infants do not go to school and 51 million people don’t have access to clean water in Latin America.
“These are challenging problems that no one person can address, but working together everyone can help make a difference,” she added.
The ALAS effort for Peru and Nicaragua includes partners like the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation, Telefonica, America Movil and the Red Cross.
It aims to guarantee investments for rebuilding education, sanitation and water systems in both countries.
Shakira also announced a three-year, $5 million commitment for projects for children in the region, where about 40 per cent of the population lives in poverty.
Most celebutards give a $1 million check to the popular charity of the day (pocket change for them) and then make sure to pose for lots and lots of pictures to make sure they can drum up some good publicity for themselves. Very rarely do they give significant amounts of money, create foundations, or take the time to actually learn the details of the charity they are supporting.
Two thumbs up for Shakira!
Michael Newdow must be very, very proud of these kids.
If you don’t remember, he was the atheist who wanted the words “under God” removed from the Pledge of Allegiance because he was (sniff, sniff) offended! He claimed it was not ok for his daughter to have to recite those two little words every day, even though the daughter in question and her mother had no problem with it whatsoever. That didn’t get in the way of his shameless exploitation of her, though, because the concerned parent attack comes off much better than the intolerant liberal moonbat attack does. He also wants to have “In God We Trust” removed from all U.S. money, apparently unconcerned about the hassle (to put it mildly) it will cause for the Treasury.
If a moonbat is offended, then we all gotta pay.
With that in mind, I present to you the Boulder High School Student Worker Club:
Members of the activist club “Student Worker” are calling on students to leave class every Thursday at 8:30 a.m. — when the pledge is recited over the intercom — and rally in the courtyard to say a revised version of the pledge.Club President Emma Martens, who’s leading the protest, wrote this new version: “I pledge allegiance to the flag and my constitutional rights with which it comes. And to the diversity, in which our nation stands, one nation, part of one planet, with liberty, freedom, choice and justice for all.”
Martens said her group is concerned that the traditional pledge read daily at the start of second period classes takes away from school time. She also said the phrase, “one nation, under God,” violates the separation of church and state.
“Boulder High has a highly diverse population, not all of whom believe in God, or One God,” she wrote in an e-mail to the Camera.
“We didn’t think it was fair for the whole school to have to listen to it,” Martens said between classes today. “It’s disrespectful and in complete violation of the separation of church and state. It’s almost religious oppression.”
She said the group has written a letter to Principal Bud Jenkins asking that Boulder High hold the recitation — which the school must make available by state law — in the auditorium during both of the school’s two lunch breaks.
“That’s so students can go if they want, but not everyone is required to listen to it,” Martens said. “I don’t want them to break any laws by not saying it. We just want them to do it so we don’t have to hear it every day.”
One of the first things I thought when I read this was her complaint about how reciting the Pledge of Allegiance “takes away from school time”. Having hordes of students troop out to the courtyard at 8:30 to say her moonbat version, though, is apparently ok.
She also took the liberty of remaking our flag, because I guess having stars to represent each of the states in the union is not satisfactory, either. No, a peace sign is much better:
Now, lets just examine this new liberal-friendly Pledge:
“I pledge allegiance to the flag and my constitutional rights with which it comes. And to the diversity, in which our nation stands, one nation, part of one planet, with liberty, freedom, choice and justice for all.”
This girl covered all of the requisite liberal talking points, didn’t she? Diversity? Globalism and environmentalism? “Choice” (meaning abortion, I’m sure)? Perversion of constitutional rights? She’s got every base covered!
What’s almost funny, if it wasn’t so sad, is how she equates the phrase “Under God” to religious oppression. If she wants to know what real religious oppression looks like, she should do some research. She could start here, or here, or even here, where she can learn about real oppression by country. People being enslaved and murdered because of their religion is real oppression. A whiny high school student crying over a centuries old phrase to get attention so that she can feel important is not opppression.
And there’s of course the obligatory “separation of church and state” argument, a phrase which actually appears nowhere in the Constitution. If she wants to leave out “under God”, then she’s free to go right on ahead, but that’s never enough for liberals. They ensure that if one person is offended, we all suffer the consequences. Besides, why should facts and respect for the beliefs of others matter? It doesn’t stop any other liberal moonbat, and it sure as hell won’t stop her.
Hat Tips: Moonbattery, Michelle Malkin
British police are investigating 10-year-old Jake Stedman for a race hate crime.
The investigation was put into place after 35-year-old unidentified Slovakian woman (keeping the identity of the minor a secret apparently was never thought of) chased him around an alley, hitting him with an iron bar and sent him to the hospital.
Little Jake, though, is the one facing aggravated assault charges!
Police are considering charging a 10-year-old boy with a race hate crime after he was beaten by a Slovakian woman with an iron bar.Jake Stedman needed hospital treatment after the attack in Chatham on Friday, when he was allegedly beaten around the head and neck after being chased down an alley, and was left with two black eyes.
But police are now looking into claims from the 35-year-old woman who allegedly attacked him and who is currently on police bail, that he made racist remarks by telling her “to go back to her own country”.
If charged with racially aggravated assault, Jake, who has only just reached the age of criminal responsibility, would become the youngest person in the country to face a race hate charge.
“It is very early stages but we are investigating whether the boy should face any charges,” said a police source.
“There have been allegations that he used racist language and it is necessary for us to investigate the claims.”
The incident occurred as Jake and his friends were playing outside a local convenience store when a group of four Slovakian women passed by.
The boys allegedly called out to the women and threw soft fruit at them.
See, in moonbat-infested Europe, the woman who assaulted a child and sent him to the hospital is the trustworthy one. The child, on the other hand, needs to be punished with a charge of racially aggravated assault?!
Thing is, police don’t know that Jake even said or did anything to those women — it’s still being “investigated”. So why isn’t this woman being locked up?
And even if Jake did tell them to go back to their own country, since when is rudeness equal to beating someone with an iron bar?
Yes, Jakey should not have been rude to the women just because they are immigrants. It is not a nice thing to do. It is not the same, however, as an adult woman (who should know better) chasing him around an alley, beating him with an iron bar and sending him to the hospital!
Is this Britain’s version of the Jena Six? A minority is insulted by something a white person did, so therefore, they are allowed to retaliate in any way they find prudent, even if that means using extreme violence?
The sad thing is how much western civilization is now controlled by “feelings”. If someone’s feelings get hurt, then something’s gotta change, someone’s gotta pay. This woman’s feelings were hurt, I assume, so that means that not only is she allowed to beat the ever living crap out of this kid, she’s also allowed to file charges against him for a hate crime. Are rudeness and intolerance is officially the worst crimes one can commit? Say the Slovakian woman killed little Jake Stedman. Would the police say it was ok because he was being a rude little brat? All a murderer needs to do nowadays is cry about how oppressed he or she has been, and how horrible it’s been for them living with intolerance and oppression every single day and moonbats will race to their defense, claiming that society created this murderer and that they can’t be held accountable for their actions.
If charged, Jake will be the youngest Briton to be charged with a race hate crime.
Hat Tip: Moonbattery
I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to read this story:
Federal authorities have busted a statewide sex trafficking ring in which Central American women said they were smuggled into Florida and forced into prostitution in Jacksonville and other cities.The women were brought to Florida under the guise of getting work as maids or bartenders but were forced into prostitution at apartment complexes in Jacksonville, Tampa, Tallahassee and Orlando, according to an arrest affidavit signed by Senior Special Agent William Maxey of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
An indictment unsealed last week in Tallahassee said the women were rotated from city to city and required to have multiple sex acts with multiple partners every day. Federal prosecutors said the men promoted the prostitution ring with business cards and cell phones and kept the $30 per sex act the women were told to charge. The women were picked up in Texas, the indictment says.
A fifth man, also from Colombia, was convicted by a Tallahassee jury in May of seven related counts. Jorge Wilmar Melchor is awaiting sentencing Oct. 15.
Melchor was arrested in 2006 after two Guatemalan women fled his Tallahassee home and told a neighbor they were being forced to work as prostitutes. The women testified they were taken to apartment complexes populated by alien workers, said Melchor’s attorney, Armando Garcia.
“My understanding of how this works is they service strictly the Latin community,” Garcia said Tuesday.
Witnesses interviewed for Melchor’s case told agents about others involved in human trafficking in other cities, including Carlos Andres Monsalve, who Maxey testified ran the organization from Tampa. He said Monsalve began smuggling women into the United States in 2005 and told them they had to work as prostitutes to pay his smuggling fees.
Also arrested were:
- Fabio Perez, a Colombian immigrant who witnesses said drove prostitutes to and from Jacksonville and ran the organization in Monsalve’s absence;
- Jorge Enrique Londono, also known as Alvara Prado, who agents said formerly ran the Jacksonville end of the ring; and
- Luz Karime Ramos Teran, also known as La Negra, who prosecutors said housed women in Jacksonville.
A sixth defendant, whose name has been kept secret and who is cooperating with agents, told Maxey he normally met Londono and Perez between Jacksonville and Tampa for the purpose of exchanging prostitutes.
Garcia estimated about two dozen women were involved in the ring. He said he argued during Melchor’s trial that the women were willing participants.
“He was a pimp. He was not a smuggler,” Garcia said.
North Florida is already fast becoming a goldmine for drug traffickers, thanks in large part to the fact that it is pretty much a halfway point between Miami and Atlanta. And prostitution by no means is something new here, but an illegal immigrant prostitution ring — especially one with women who are being abducted, trafficked, and then used as unwilling sex slaves? That makes me thrilled.
Of course, there’s a simple way to fix this problem.
Deport. Them. All. Now.
Whether these women are willing participants or not (and I don’t believe that they were), prostitution is still illegal. These men became criminals just by crossing the border, and then expounded upon that by creating a prostitution ring. They have ZERO right to remain in this country.
Illegal immigrants should be deported just for being in the country illegally, but once they become criminals, there’s no reason to allow them to stay. The cost is too high.
The list of their victims grows longer every day, and even in post 9-11 America, our government does not seem to understand the importance of closing the borders and deporting illegal immigrants. They won’t even deport the illegal immigrants who are criminals!
Will these men be slapped on the wrist and released back into society? The way our government handles these criminals, that’s probably exactly what will happen. They’ll do some jail time and will be released, to perhaps start up a new prostitution ring. Some might progress to trafficking drugs, raping, or murdering.
There are so many cases of illegal immigrants getting arrested for petty crimes, being released, and then going on to rape and kill innocent Americans all across the country.
How will the state of Florida handle these disgusting criminals?
If you haven’t yet, visit Deport Them Now! and add your name. Let the government know that this game of catch-and-release needs to stop. NOW.
Meanwhile, everyone else on the set tells him to quit screwing around as he gasps for breath.
Warning: Do not watch this video if you’ve just eaten.
A hottie Swedish game show host blows chunks everywhere, and right afterwards blames it on her… painful menstruation. It’s simultaneously hilarious and disturbing.
Enjoy, folks.
Hat Tip: Hot Air
Pop quiz.
Let’s say you’re at Logan International Airport, the very same airport in which half of the 9-11 hijackers met on that fateful day to begin their carnage. You’re minding your own business when someone walks by holding something in their hand that looks like C4 that is hooked up to something that looks like a circuit board on the back of their hoodie by a bunch of wires. The words “Socket To Me” are written on the back of the hoodie. She’s also making a spectacle of herself while at the airport.
What would your first reaction be?
MIT’s Star Simpson did just that, for “Career Day” at school (she had been wearing the ensemble to campus for the previous few days). She was then shocked when she was promptly surrounded by airport security wielding machine guns, and then found herself in jail.
Simpson told authorities she was “surprised” she landed in jail. After all, she wrote on her Web site that she spends her free time “saving the planet from evil villains” and loves “crazy ideas.”There is absolutely nothing artistic about scaring people in public places, even if her father, Hugh Simpson, told the Maui News in Star’s native Hawaii that he was “proud” of his daughter. Then he boasted that his daughter went to a park after she was freed on $750 bail to “stretch her arms because she had been in a small room for hours and hours.”
I hope she gets used to it because stupidity is not an excuse for criminality; an “art project” to attract prospective employers that terrorizes perfect strangers should certainly be a deterrent from Star Simpson ever landing a job.
But, apparently, MIT does not see it that way. It seems that Simpson had worn her bizarre ensemble for days before she showed up at Logan airport with it. All part of Career Day, she later told cops. No one on campus thought it prudent to tell her to take it off, especially considering that it is just days past the six-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
MIT needs to throw Star Simpson off campus because her “crazy ideas” - such as wearing a hoax device at the airport where two of the planes left on that dark morning when 3,000 people were murdered in this country - are unacceptable. Her parents, who did not react with any sort of responsibility for the actions of their daughter, should forfeit any cash they paid for her tuition thus far.
Until the schools are taken to task in this town for allowing stupidity, such as thinking a fake bomb attached to a sweatshirt is art appropriate for Career Day, hardworking people in this state will continue to pay the price for over-privileged out-of-towners to use our city as their personal playgrounds.
Of course, moonbats are sympathetic, calling her an artist, someone courageous was just trying to take on “corrupt” politicians. They don’t seem to realize showing up at an airport with a phony bomb is asking for trouble, especially when you are trying to draw attention to yourself.
Could it be she was seeking publicity???
No, no, that couldn’t be it. It was just an experiment for Career Day at MIT, a school that apparently thought it ok for a girl to walk around with a phony bomb for days on end. If there’s going to be another Virginia Tech massacre, it’ll probably be at MIT if someone walking around with a phony bomb on their back raises no eyebrows and causes no alarms.
And how did moonbats respond to Michele McPhee’s column in the Boston Herald exposing the attention whore for what she is?
Your just jealous because she has brains and you dont! What is with editorialist reporter? Does she want to lick every cops buttons clean while she’s foaming at the mouth with her populist pap. I want to know if anyone has ever seen her and Ed Anger of the Weekly World News in the same room together. If you’re ever down at the Herald or WTTK you can spot her very easily she’ll be the one wearing the Lector mask. Lookit–time for the Herald to catch a clue. Nobody’s buying your inane BS. Get over yourself and try, really try and write some news. It goes like htis: who, what, when, where and why. It does not go: BECAUSE I SAID SO. Now please explain to me exactly what journalism school Herald reporters are supposed to go to: The Helen Keller School of Journalism perhaps? The scariest part of this whole situation is not the teenager who did a foolish thing. It is the cops and the security forces that did not know how to react to what they thought was a threatening situation. Boston authorities have twice now demonstrated that they cannot handle the responsibility given them. Only a paranoid idiot could have thought that the device looked like a bomb. The girl’s mistake was not realizing that Logan security is provided by paranoid gestapo. Okay I get it. This column is performance art. You’re trying to reflect the proudly belligerent ignorance of popular American thought. By pretending to be a shrill, reactionary moron and pretending you advocate the shooting death of this woman, you’re subtly subverting the raw paranoid hysteria that gave us incidents like this, and the Mooninite fiasco. Well played, sir or madam. I almost believed you actually WERE the stupid, sheltered harpy who “wrote” this piece. Nice art project. I’m getting kind of tired of the country’s most cowardly people wetting their pants and reducing our civil liberties because they’re afraid of terrorists. The best was to deal with terrorists is to get them, just like we did Osama bin Laden. Oh. That’s right, mission unaccomplished. We lose something like 50,000 people a year in traffic accidents, and the worst restrictions on our personal freedoms from that are having to pay more for safer cars and to wear seat belts. But with terrorists, instead we let the whiny namby-pambys and momma’s boys (and girls) act our their unreasonable fears and “change our world.” Cripes people, buck up and realize that the fear-mongers are doing precisely what terrorists want!
And on and on and on.
It isn’t fear mongering for police to take something like this seriously. She may well have simply been a stupid kid, but what is the alternative? What if she hadn’t just been some stupid kid and really did have a bomb, but police just looked at her and thought, “Oh, that’s just some kid being stupid?”
Simpson got into MIT, so obviously she’s an intelligent girl. I highly doubt that she had no idea what kind of reaction this would cause, and injecting fear into people just for the hell of it is inexcusable. She deserved to go to jail, and if MIT had any kind of common sense at all, they’d expel her. But, in all likelihood, she’ll return to the college as a celebrated “artist” without facing any repercussions for her actions whatsoever.
Hat Tip: Moonbattery
Who here knows that I’m a HUGE football fan?
No one?
Yeah, I wasn’t paying attention at the start of football season and forgot all about my plan to be updating scores throughout the season. But I am. Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays are football days. I’m a huge Gators fan (the team who just won three national titles, beat Ole Miss Saturday, and is number three in the rankings, just so you know), and also a huge Jaguars fan. I alternately bleed orange and blue; or black and teal. I started my writing career in sports journalism, covering football, hockey, baseball, golf, the Super Bowl… I loved all of it.
So, with that all that said, here are some snapshots from the games yesterday. Tonight I’ll update with the score for the Monday Night game, and sorry for the brain fart making me two weeks late. 
This brings the Cowboys to 3-0, one of the few undefeated teams left in the league, and the first time they’ve been 3-0 since 1999. The Bears had a tough night all around, with former Florida quarterback (I am sad to say) Rex Grossman not seeing much improvement in his play. He threw three interceptions and was sacked twice, but the rest of the team wasn’t much help with fumbles and dropped passes left and right. The Bears drop to 1-2.
The Giants defense ended up winning the game for them with an incredible last-second stand, surprising for a defense which has been one of the worst in the league the first two weeks. But with only :58 to go and the Redskins on the 1-yard-line with 1st and goal, the game hung in the balance of the defense creating a near-impossible goal line stand. But they hung in there, and the Giants celebrated an incredible win. This game also set an attendance record at FedEx Field with a crowd of over 90,000. This game brings the Giants to 1-2, and the Redskins to 2-1.
The Panthers lost their starting quarterback, and Joey Harrington played well, but Atlanta handed them a win with penalties, bringing them to 2-1. Pro Bowler DeAngelo Hall gave up 67 yards in three penalties, letting the Panthers edge out a win. Hall also got into it with his own coach and had to be dragged off by his teammates! Offensively, Atlanta executed well enough, but they’re obviously feeling the loss of Michael Vick. Harrington is showing that he’s determined to show what he’s got though, throwing for 361 yards and two touchdowns. Penalties killed the Falcons in this game, handing them their worst start since 1999 and sinking them to 0-3.
The Jaguars showed why we had the number two runningback duo in the league last season in Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew when they ran all over the Broncos yesterday. They started off the game with the longest drive in team history, with 18 plays, 80 yards, and just shy of 12 minutes leading to a touchdown. It set the tone for the day, and the Broncos just couldn’t keep up with the Jaguars’ surprising offense. I say surprising because we’ve always staked our reputation on having one of the toughest defenses in the league, but Sunday, that wasn’t the case. The defense took a backseat to the offense, and the Jaguars and the Broncos both walked away 2-1.
The Seahawks needed a win today, and they managed scrape one by to take them 2-1. The Bengals, like the Falcons, pretty much handed them the win when the Bengals defense couldn’t stand up. The Bengals offense landed 412 yards of offense — almost twice what the Seahawks netted — but they just couldn’t pull off the win. Rookie Josh Wilson had an amazing 72-yard kickoff return to the Cincinnati 24 in the fourth, setting up a pass from Hasselbeck to Engram for an 18-yard touchdown. The Bengals fall to 1-2.
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan tricked the Raiders into a win last week, and Raiders coach Lane Kiffin decided to try it, calling a time out right before Browns kicker Phil Dawson lined up to score a game-winning goal. It paid off, with a block from Tommy Kelly, giving the Raiders the win and giving them a record of 1-2. Kiffin is the youngest coach in the NFL at 32, and this was his first win. The Browns also had an incredible 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, but the offense overall was lacking, and they went home 1-2.
Brett Favre is one of the most humble quarterbacks you’ll find, but this weekend his win was almost overshadowed by his new record. Favre threw his 420th career touchdown, bringing him even with Dan Marino. Last week, he got his 149th win as a starter, passing John Elway and tying with center Mike Tingelhoff. The Chargers, meanwhile, are probably regretting firing Marty Schottenheimer right about now, as even last season’s MVP LaDainian Tomlinson couldn’t and an outstanding game by Philip Rivers couldn’t save them. The Packers left the game undefeated, while the Chargers are at 1-2.
After Matt Leinart left the game, Kurt Warner rallied the Cardinals from a 17-point deficit, but it was too late. Matt Stover kicked a field goal as the game ended, giving the Ravens a narrow lead to bring them to 2-1. McNair played well while he did play, but his injury began to catch up to him, so Kyle Boller came in. The fourth quarter was a battle of the backups, giving an exciting game to fans. The Cardinals are getting better every year, despite their loss, and may still become a contender, and no longer be an easy pushover team. The Cardinals’ record is now 1-2.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rode the leftovers of Tony Dungy’s superior coaching to a Super Bowl win, and since then have been almost dismal. They’re seemingly reinventing themselves, however, and their defense is showing that this team may begin to have what it takes. The Rams, meanwhile, have been sacked by injuries and obviously struggled all day offensively. St. Louis remains winless, while Tampa Bay leaves at 2-1.
The Steelers remain undefeated, even without tough-as-nails head coach Bill Cowher. When I heard he was leaving, I wondered how the Steelers would fare, because Cowher had become synonymous with the team. However, new coach Mike Tomlin is proving that he has the potential to be just as good. For three weeks now, the Steelers have been practically error-free. They allowed no big plays, but the 49ers also let dozens of opportunities slip away, giving the Steelers an easy win, and giving the 49ers a record of 2-1.
When I saw the score for this game, my jaw dropped. Literally. Donovan McNabb silenced any doubts critics may have had, and Brian Westbrook had a total of over 200 yards before leaving the game in the third quarter with injured ribs. Jon Kitna threw for a franchise-record 446 yards, but it wasn’t enough for Philadelphia’s powerhouse offense, defense, and special teams. The Eagles outplayed the Lions on every single front. The Eagles are now 1-2, and the Lions are 2-1.
Chad Pennington showed he was over his injury by throwing for two touchdowns, and celebrating wildly in the end zone after the third as the Jets brought their record to 1-2. Coach Cam Cameron has reason to be nervous, as he is off to the worst start for a first-year Miami coach since George Wilson dropped his opening five games in 1966. Even as the Dolphins tried to mount a comeback, the Jets stayed calm and held on for the win. Meanwhile, the Dolphins are still winless.
I look at this game as a preview of what is to come when the Bills play the Jaguars here in Jacksonville in November (wink, wink). In all seriousness though, the Patriots showed that they can rise above scandal and play flawlessly to remain undefeated. It didn’t help the Bills any that they, too, were sacked by injuries, missing three defensive starters. They then QB Losman in the first quarter, and in the second, Paul Posluszny broke his left forearm. The Bills have yet to win a game this season.
Larry Johnson has yet to shake off the rust from the offseason, so the Chiefs had to take to the air, especially since the Vikings seemed to know that the Chiefs wanted to ram the ball down their throats. Minnesota coach Brad Childress described the game as a tale of two halves. Kelly Holcomb started for the Vikings, as many suspected he would, and rookie Adrian Peterson had a productive day with about 150 yards total. The Chiefs still edged out a victory though, bringing both teams to 1-2.
I expected the Colts to trounce the Texans in this game, but obviously I was wrong. The Texans, although they did lose, showed that they are a force to be reckoned with, and are capable of defeating teams other than the Jaguars. They lost three offensive starters, though, and Cedric Killings was sent to the hospital with a neck injury. Joseph Addai, meanwhile, ran for two touchdowns and kicker Adam Vinatieri gave the Colts three field goals to edge out a win over the Texans. And of course, Peyton Manning was the sole reason for the Colts success as always (please sense the sarcasm). The Texans are 2-1, and the Colts remain undefeated.
Coming Tonight: Tennessee Titans at New Orlean Saints.
I saw that headline and thought, this has gotta be good.
And lo and behold, the story didn’t disappoint.
South Africa’s crime problem has taken a new twist.A gang of baboons is being blamed for a series of break-ins.
The chacma baboons, which live wild in the Cape peninsula, have been raiding people’s homes for food and causing thousands of pounds in damage.
“People here are getting very angry,” Dr Peter Kirsh said, as a baboon strutted along the street beneath his balcony.
“They get into the kitchens, they know where the fridge is, they open it and take everything, and then they defecate everywhere.”
Dr Kirsch is just one of many victims of “baboon crime” in the Cape Peninsula.
“I put these bars on my windows,” John Lourens says, gripping the metal. “But still, the next thing I knew I had a baboon in my living room.”
The residents say the “invasions” happen almost daily and claim the baboons are aggressive as they search for food.
Hundreds have signed a petition demanding that the animals be moved to a nature reserve. Some have gone even further and shot at them.
The chacma baboons in the Cape are a protected species but, to the alarm of conservationists, at least twenty out of the population of 350 have been killed in the past two years.
“Tammy lost her leg because her femur was shattered by a bullet,” Jenni Trethowan told me, pointing out a three legged female hopping through the Cape scrub with her tiny baby.
Ms Trethowan runs an organisation called Baboon Matters, which aims to educate people about the animals and reduce conflict.
She employs a team of monitors who try to herd the baboon troops out of the villages and into the mountains, where instead of dining on supermarket food they eat a more natural diet of berries and leaves.
She admits it doesn’t always work but says that the residents should enjoy their visitors rather than harming them. “As humans we are privileged to be living alongside these animals,” she said.
I can only imagine how bad it is to have baboons eating all your food and crapping all over your house, but… you kind of can’t help but laugh. Just a little.
In all seriousness though, I love Ms. Trethowan’s quote.
“As humans we are privileged to be living alongside these animals.”
Yes… what an incredible privilege for those people to be living alongside baboons who wreck their houses, eat all their food, crap all over the place, and generally cause thousands of dollars worth of damage. They are SO LUCKY! Maybe I can get the Jacksonville Zoo to release some of their monkeys so that us Floridians can be equally lucky.
Sometimes, I just don’t get the envirokooks at all.
