I saw that baby weapon before.its not new.pretty messed up though.cant say I've seen anyone do that before.wth made her think it would hurt anyone beside the kid? Fucking idiots I tell ya.and some of those comments are messed up
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Happy Birthday ICMag! Been 20 years since Gypsy Nirvana created the forum! We are celebrating with a 4/20 Giveaway and by launching a new Patreon tier called "420club". You can read more here.
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Important notice: ICMag's T.O.U. has been updated. Please review it here. For your convenience, it is also available in the main forum menu, under 'Quick Links"!
World's First Snowbike BASE Jump - Crazy !!!
World's First Snowbike BASE Jump - Crazy !!!
[YOUTUBEIF]ETY77DgTb4c[/YOUTUBEIF]
Renowned snowbike athlete Cody Matechuk wanted to combine 2 of his favorite passions... Riding his snowbike & BASE jumping.
Watch as Cody straps on a parachute to both himself and his snowbike as he takes the giant leap of faith!!!
RMS
World's First Snowbike BASE Jump - Crazy !!!
[YOUTUBEIF]ETY77DgTb4c[/YOUTUBEIF]
Renowned snowbike athlete Cody Matechuk wanted to combine 2 of his favorite passions... Riding his snowbike & BASE jumping.
Watch as Cody straps on a parachute to both himself and his snowbike as he takes the giant leap of faith!!!
RMS
Buffets of cocaine and naked groupie showers
Buffets of cocaine and naked groupie showers
MTV contest winner recalls the wild weekend he spent with Van Halen in 1984 when he was 19.
Kurt Jefferis won an MTV contest for the ultimate weekend with the rock band
He and a friend were flown to Detroit and greeted with Jack Daniels and a joint
The band showered him with champagne and caked him on stage during show
Backstage they gave him lobster, cocaine, and his own groupie named Tammy
Buffets of lobster and cocaine, 16-ounce beer shotguns, and showers with groupies.
Those were just some of the adventures that awaited Kurt Jefferis after he won a wild weekend of partying with Van Halen in 1984 when he was just 19 years old.
Jefferis scored the ultimate rock and roll experience from MTV during a time when the new network was becoming famous for its wild contests and incredible prizes.
When Jefferis, now 54, and his lucky friend touched down in Detroit to meet the band, the very first thing he was given was a joint and a bottle of Jack Daniels.
'I took a sip and asked for more,' Jefferis told the New York Post. 'I took a couple hits and a couple more swigs of Jack Daniels.'
The band showered Jefferis in champagne and smashed a cake in his face during their show that night.
Then he got to go backstage, where the real party was just getting started.
Laid out was a buffet of lobster, filet mignon, and cocaine.
'I did a couple lines. Then David [Lee Roth] said, "I think Kurt needs Tammy,"' Jefferis recalled.
That's when a groupie took her clothes off right in front of him and started dancing naked.
'The two of us wound up together in the shower,' he added. 'I blacked out, and the next thing I remember is waking up in a hotel room bed.'
Jefferis had suffered brain trauma years earlier due to a bad fall, and the old injury was quickly catching up to him during the ultimate party weekend.
But the band had no sympathy for his hangover.
Alex Van Halen told Jefferis he needed to shotgun a 16-ounce beer.
'Alex said, "Kurt you are not leaving this spot until you drink it,"' Jefferis recalled.
'No way could that happen today,' he added. 'You'd be signing releases out the wazoo - and that would take all the fun out of it.'
Jefferis' unforgettable trip has since been immortalized in Lost Weekend, a new documentary filled with stories of MTV's incredible contests.
'This was the Wild West of the cable era and [MTV executives] were doing anything they could to connect with viewers,' said co-director Bradford Thomason.
'They were flying by the seats of their pants, trying 100 different things to see what stuck.'
Contests included winning an entire town in Texas, shooting a Madonna music video, or winning Jon Bon Jovi's childhood home.
Judy Frappier won the latter, and moved her husband and three children to the Sayreville, New Jersey home.
But she quickly discovered that the residence was a magnet for Bon Jovi fans.
'I would be washing dishes in the kitchen and through the window see a camera flash going off,' she recalled.
The family eventually sold the place and moved to Houston.
MTV's famous VJs also got in on the fun, and one even had sex with the contest winner.
Mark Goodman was tapped to fly with a winner to watch the rock band Asia play in Tokyo. The pair were showered with free alcohol on the flight over.
'I said, "Why don't you go back in the bathroom and I'll meet you back there,"' Goodman recalled.
'We kept bonking our heads on mirrors and getting leg cramps. The mile-high club is great in theory but not in practice.'
'I was married, so it was f****d up. But we were out there on the road and having fun.'
Jefferis scored the ultimate rock and roll experience thanks to MTV at a time when the network was becoming famous for its wild contests and incredible prizes.
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6944639/MTV-contest-winner-recalls-wild-weekend-spent-Van-Halen.html
RMS
Buffets of cocaine and naked groupie showers
MTV contest winner recalls the wild weekend he spent with Van Halen in 1984 when he was 19.
Kurt Jefferis won an MTV contest for the ultimate weekend with the rock band
He and a friend were flown to Detroit and greeted with Jack Daniels and a joint
The band showered him with champagne and caked him on stage during show
Backstage they gave him lobster, cocaine, and his own groupie named Tammy
Buffets of lobster and cocaine, 16-ounce beer shotguns, and showers with groupies.
Those were just some of the adventures that awaited Kurt Jefferis after he won a wild weekend of partying with Van Halen in 1984 when he was just 19 years old.
Jefferis scored the ultimate rock and roll experience from MTV during a time when the new network was becoming famous for its wild contests and incredible prizes.
When Jefferis, now 54, and his lucky friend touched down in Detroit to meet the band, the very first thing he was given was a joint and a bottle of Jack Daniels.
'I took a sip and asked for more,' Jefferis told the New York Post. 'I took a couple hits and a couple more swigs of Jack Daniels.'
The band showered Jefferis in champagne and smashed a cake in his face during their show that night.
Then he got to go backstage, where the real party was just getting started.
Laid out was a buffet of lobster, filet mignon, and cocaine.
'I did a couple lines. Then David [Lee Roth] said, "I think Kurt needs Tammy,"' Jefferis recalled.
That's when a groupie took her clothes off right in front of him and started dancing naked.
'The two of us wound up together in the shower,' he added. 'I blacked out, and the next thing I remember is waking up in a hotel room bed.'
Jefferis had suffered brain trauma years earlier due to a bad fall, and the old injury was quickly catching up to him during the ultimate party weekend.
But the band had no sympathy for his hangover.
Alex Van Halen told Jefferis he needed to shotgun a 16-ounce beer.
'Alex said, "Kurt you are not leaving this spot until you drink it,"' Jefferis recalled.
'No way could that happen today,' he added. 'You'd be signing releases out the wazoo - and that would take all the fun out of it.'
Jefferis' unforgettable trip has since been immortalized in Lost Weekend, a new documentary filled with stories of MTV's incredible contests.
'This was the Wild West of the cable era and [MTV executives] were doing anything they could to connect with viewers,' said co-director Bradford Thomason.
'They were flying by the seats of their pants, trying 100 different things to see what stuck.'
Contests included winning an entire town in Texas, shooting a Madonna music video, or winning Jon Bon Jovi's childhood home.
Judy Frappier won the latter, and moved her husband and three children to the Sayreville, New Jersey home.
But she quickly discovered that the residence was a magnet for Bon Jovi fans.
'I would be washing dishes in the kitchen and through the window see a camera flash going off,' she recalled.
The family eventually sold the place and moved to Houston.
MTV's famous VJs also got in on the fun, and one even had sex with the contest winner.
Mark Goodman was tapped to fly with a winner to watch the rock band Asia play in Tokyo. The pair were showered with free alcohol on the flight over.
'I said, "Why don't you go back in the bathroom and I'll meet you back there,"' Goodman recalled.
'We kept bonking our heads on mirrors and getting leg cramps. The mile-high club is great in theory but not in practice.'
'I was married, so it was f****d up. But we were out there on the road and having fun.'
Jefferis scored the ultimate rock and roll experience thanks to MTV at a time when the network was becoming famous for its wild contests and incredible prizes.
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6944639/MTV-contest-winner-recalls-wild-weekend-spent-Van-Halen.html
RMS
Great white shark chokes to death on a sea turtle
Great white shark chokes to death on a sea turtle
4,500-pound beast is found tangled in netting off of Japan
These shocking photographs show the body of great white shark after it choked to death on a turtle off Japan.
The grisly images show the 4,500lbs creature splattered in blood while the front of its prey remains locked between its terrifying jaws.
Fisherman Greg Vella posted the pictures online on Friday and explained that the lifeless shark was discovered caught up in netting.
He said: 'I was out commercial "Ken Ken" style fishing for tuna when I heard chatter on the radio that there was a white shark swimming around with a big sea turtle in is mouth.
'People started to joke about it, so I did not pay it any more attention. Then next day, it was found dead, near the bait receivers, tangled in some netting.'
The fisherman added: 'The captains I interviewed who saw the mighty shark the day before, said it looked close to death, as it could not dislodge the giant turtle.'
The photographs have been shared more than nine thousand times so far and have received more than seven thousand likes.
While the great white shark was obviously one that could strike fear into the heart of any fisherman - weighing around 4,500lbs (just over 2,000kg) - it isn't the biggest to hit the ocean waters.
That title belongs to the enormous predator named Deep Blue who is up to 50 years old, weights 2.5 tons and measures 20ft long.
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6950051/Great-white-shark-chokes-death-sea-turtle.html
RMS
Great white shark chokes to death on a sea turtle
4,500-pound beast is found tangled in netting off of Japan
These shocking photographs show the body of great white shark after it choked to death on a turtle off Japan.
The grisly images show the 4,500lbs creature splattered in blood while the front of its prey remains locked between its terrifying jaws.
Fisherman Greg Vella posted the pictures online on Friday and explained that the lifeless shark was discovered caught up in netting.
He said: 'I was out commercial "Ken Ken" style fishing for tuna when I heard chatter on the radio that there was a white shark swimming around with a big sea turtle in is mouth.
'People started to joke about it, so I did not pay it any more attention. Then next day, it was found dead, near the bait receivers, tangled in some netting.'
The fisherman added: 'The captains I interviewed who saw the mighty shark the day before, said it looked close to death, as it could not dislodge the giant turtle.'
The photographs have been shared more than nine thousand times so far and have received more than seven thousand likes.
While the great white shark was obviously one that could strike fear into the heart of any fisherman - weighing around 4,500lbs (just over 2,000kg) - it isn't the biggest to hit the ocean waters.
That title belongs to the enormous predator named Deep Blue who is up to 50 years old, weights 2.5 tons and measures 20ft long.
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6950051/Great-white-shark-chokes-death-sea-turtle.html
RMS
Parrot Trained to Warn Drug Dealers of Police Presence Taken Into Custody
Parrot Trained to Warn Drug Dealers of Police Presence Taken Into Custody
A parrot has been taken into custody following a police raid targeting drug dealers in northeast Brazil.
The bird had been taught to warn its owners of police presence by shouting “Mamãe, polícia!” or “Mama, police!” according to a report from Globo, a major Brazilian television network.
The bird was seized in Vila Irma Dulce on April 22, and sent to the Flagrant Center of Teresina, the capital of Brazilian state Piauí. Police say the parrot has not said anything while in custody.
Major Mello of the 17th military police battalion told Globo that the animal impressed the police.
“He must have been trained for that. He began to scream as soon as the police approached,” he said.
According to the police, the parrot’s owner is a woman going by the name “India” who has been arrested twice for drug trafficking. Police say the woman was in bed due to an accident, and it was her husband who was using the parrot.
The man, identified as Edvan, 30, was arrested after police found crack in the house and the man’s teenage daughter was seized with marijuana hidden inside her underwear. Both of them were sent to the Flagrant Center, where police investigate flagrant crimes. The girl was later released.
It is not the first time parrots have been used by drug dealers to warn of nearby law enforcement.
In 2010, a parrot by the name of Lorenzo was seized after being caught warning drug traffickers of police presence in Columbia.
Lorenzo was reportedly trained to call out every time a police officer went near the traffickers’ headquarters. When presented to media after his capture, he said, “Run, run, the cat is going to eat you.”
[YOUTUBEIF]uu_d9s6tPMs[/YOUTUBEIF]
Source: https://www.theepochtimes.com/parrot-trained-to-warn-drug-dealers-of-police-presence-taken-into-custody_2894381.html
RMS
Parrot Trained to Warn Drug Dealers of Police Presence Taken Into Custody
A parrot has been taken into custody following a police raid targeting drug dealers in northeast Brazil.
The bird had been taught to warn its owners of police presence by shouting “Mamãe, polícia!” or “Mama, police!” according to a report from Globo, a major Brazilian television network.
The bird was seized in Vila Irma Dulce on April 22, and sent to the Flagrant Center of Teresina, the capital of Brazilian state Piauí. Police say the parrot has not said anything while in custody.
Major Mello of the 17th military police battalion told Globo that the animal impressed the police.
“He must have been trained for that. He began to scream as soon as the police approached,” he said.
According to the police, the parrot’s owner is a woman going by the name “India” who has been arrested twice for drug trafficking. Police say the woman was in bed due to an accident, and it was her husband who was using the parrot.
The man, identified as Edvan, 30, was arrested after police found crack in the house and the man’s teenage daughter was seized with marijuana hidden inside her underwear. Both of them were sent to the Flagrant Center, where police investigate flagrant crimes. The girl was later released.
It is not the first time parrots have been used by drug dealers to warn of nearby law enforcement.
In 2010, a parrot by the name of Lorenzo was seized after being caught warning drug traffickers of police presence in Columbia.
Lorenzo was reportedly trained to call out every time a police officer went near the traffickers’ headquarters. When presented to media after his capture, he said, “Run, run, the cat is going to eat you.”
[YOUTUBEIF]uu_d9s6tPMs[/YOUTUBEIF]
Source: https://www.theepochtimes.com/parrot-trained-to-warn-drug-dealers-of-police-presence-taken-into-custody_2894381.html
RMS
N
nordie
could be up for a cracker?
People stop Brazil traffic to allow massive anaconda cross a road
People stop Brazil traffic to allow massive anaconda cross a road
A giant anaconda managed to safely cross a busy road in Brazil thanks to helpful bystanders who stopped traffic to allow the monster of a reptile get to the other side.
Italo Nascimento Fernandes shared a video of the large snake crossing a road on Monday, near the city of Porto Velho.
The video shows several people getting out of their vehicles to help stop traffic to allow the reptile to slither safely across the highway.
Local media reported the snake to be about 30 kilograms in size and over three-metres long.
Biologist Flavio Terassini told G1 Globo the snake was likely in search of something to eat.
“These snakes can appear in the urban area in search of food, which are small rodents, and in the city they can feed on dogs and even cats, so it’s good to be careful not to leave the trash in the yard because these animals can smell the rodents or these animals and come close to homes, especially in the rainy season,” Terassini said.
[YOUTUBEIF]4d0uqXQnIj0[/YOUTUBEIF]
Speaking with animal news site The Dodo, Fernandes said he’s seen many snakes lying dead in the road because people don’t stop for the reptiles.
“It’s not everyone who protects animals like that. Some people prefer to see them dead,” Fernandes said. “Seeing all the people help gave a wonderful sensation.”
Fernandes’ video has been viewed more than two-million times since being posted on Monday.
Source: https://globalnews.ca/news/5207197/brazil-anaconda-road/
RMS
People stop Brazil traffic to allow massive anaconda cross a road
A giant anaconda managed to safely cross a busy road in Brazil thanks to helpful bystanders who stopped traffic to allow the monster of a reptile get to the other side.
Italo Nascimento Fernandes shared a video of the large snake crossing a road on Monday, near the city of Porto Velho.
The video shows several people getting out of their vehicles to help stop traffic to allow the reptile to slither safely across the highway.
Local media reported the snake to be about 30 kilograms in size and over three-metres long.
Biologist Flavio Terassini told G1 Globo the snake was likely in search of something to eat.
“These snakes can appear in the urban area in search of food, which are small rodents, and in the city they can feed on dogs and even cats, so it’s good to be careful not to leave the trash in the yard because these animals can smell the rodents or these animals and come close to homes, especially in the rainy season,” Terassini said.
[YOUTUBEIF]4d0uqXQnIj0[/YOUTUBEIF]
Speaking with animal news site The Dodo, Fernandes said he’s seen many snakes lying dead in the road because people don’t stop for the reptiles.
“It’s not everyone who protects animals like that. Some people prefer to see them dead,” Fernandes said. “Seeing all the people help gave a wonderful sensation.”
Fernandes’ video has been viewed more than two-million times since being posted on Monday.
Source: https://globalnews.ca/news/5207197/brazil-anaconda-road/
RMS
Los Angeles Business Owner: “Raw Sewage” in Streets Creating “Health Crisis”
Los Angeles Business Owner: “Raw Sewage” in Streets Creating “Health Crisis”
A Los Angeles business owner says she is at her wits’ end as local streets are piled with garbage and flooded with “raw sewage” by homeless people and squatters while lawmakers turn a blind eye.
Karen Hix, a lifelong resident of the area whose family has owned a business in the same location for over 100 years, says transients are being allowed to create a “health crisis” by officials in the sanctuary city.
Hix’s plight caught the eye of Tucker Carlson, who invited her onto his show to discuss the decay of her neighborhood and share photos of the filth.
By Dan Lyman Thursday, April 25, 2019
A Los Angeles business owner says she is at her wits’ end as local streets are piled with garbage and flooded with “raw sewage” by homeless people and squatters while lawmakers turn a blind eye.
Karen Hix, a lifelong resident of the area whose family has owned a business in the same location for over 100 years, says transients are being allowed to create a “health crisis” by officials in the sanctuary city.
Hix’s plight caught the eye of Tucker Carlson, who invited her onto his show to discuss the decay of her neighborhood and share photos of the filth.
“Some of these pictures are almost too disgusting to put on the screen, but we have a number of them of RVs – people are living those full-time?” Carlson asked.
“Yes, people are living in them full-time,” Hix confirmed. “You’ll notice there is raw sewage that is coming out. This raw sewage ends up in one place – in our gutters, which go down to our ocean. It’s more than an environmental crisis, it’s a health crisis down in this area.”
“I have reached out to our councilperson, Councilman [Curren] Price; I’ve reach out to Mayor [Eric] Garcetti, and as of today, they have not contacted me.”
A shocked Carlson asked Nix how someone such as Garcetti, who lives in Los Angeles, could not notice his city is falling apart.
“I would love to have a discussion about how, ‘You have invited them here to live on our streets and our sidewalks by disregarding the laws that are actually in place and not letting our law enforcement actually enforce these laws, so now you need to deal with what this has brought’ – that’s what I would love to say to them,” Hix responded, alluding to the city’s ‘sanctuary status’ for illegal aliens and vagrants.
Interestingly, the aforementioned Councilman Curren Price was recently awarded the 2018 “Champion for Change” award by the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), in recognition of his work on behalf of “immigrant families” residing in the district.
“Councilman Price partnered with CARECEN from 2017-2018 to provide FREE legal service and filing fee assistance to individuals and families living in CD 9,” touts Price’s website. “The program helped nearly 600 South LA neighbors with their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and citizenship applications.”
California officially declared itself a ‘sanctuary state’ in January, 2018.
Source: https://www.newswars.com/los-angeles-business-owner-raw-sewage-in-streets-creating-health-crisis/
RMS
Los Angeles Business Owner: “Raw Sewage” in Streets Creating “Health Crisis”
A Los Angeles business owner says she is at her wits’ end as local streets are piled with garbage and flooded with “raw sewage” by homeless people and squatters while lawmakers turn a blind eye.
Karen Hix, a lifelong resident of the area whose family has owned a business in the same location for over 100 years, says transients are being allowed to create a “health crisis” by officials in the sanctuary city.
Hix’s plight caught the eye of Tucker Carlson, who invited her onto his show to discuss the decay of her neighborhood and share photos of the filth.
By Dan Lyman Thursday, April 25, 2019
A Los Angeles business owner says she is at her wits’ end as local streets are piled with garbage and flooded with “raw sewage” by homeless people and squatters while lawmakers turn a blind eye.
Karen Hix, a lifelong resident of the area whose family has owned a business in the same location for over 100 years, says transients are being allowed to create a “health crisis” by officials in the sanctuary city.
Hix’s plight caught the eye of Tucker Carlson, who invited her onto his show to discuss the decay of her neighborhood and share photos of the filth.
“Some of these pictures are almost too disgusting to put on the screen, but we have a number of them of RVs – people are living those full-time?” Carlson asked.
“Yes, people are living in them full-time,” Hix confirmed. “You’ll notice there is raw sewage that is coming out. This raw sewage ends up in one place – in our gutters, which go down to our ocean. It’s more than an environmental crisis, it’s a health crisis down in this area.”
“I have reached out to our councilperson, Councilman [Curren] Price; I’ve reach out to Mayor [Eric] Garcetti, and as of today, they have not contacted me.”
A shocked Carlson asked Nix how someone such as Garcetti, who lives in Los Angeles, could not notice his city is falling apart.
“I would love to have a discussion about how, ‘You have invited them here to live on our streets and our sidewalks by disregarding the laws that are actually in place and not letting our law enforcement actually enforce these laws, so now you need to deal with what this has brought’ – that’s what I would love to say to them,” Hix responded, alluding to the city’s ‘sanctuary status’ for illegal aliens and vagrants.
Interestingly, the aforementioned Councilman Curren Price was recently awarded the 2018 “Champion for Change” award by the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), in recognition of his work on behalf of “immigrant families” residing in the district.
“Councilman Price partnered with CARECEN from 2017-2018 to provide FREE legal service and filing fee assistance to individuals and families living in CD 9,” touts Price’s website. “The program helped nearly 600 South LA neighbors with their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and citizenship applications.”
California officially declared itself a ‘sanctuary state’ in January, 2018.
Source: https://www.newswars.com/los-angeles-business-owner-raw-sewage-in-streets-creating-health-crisis/
RMS
Great White Sharks Are Completely Terrified of Orcas
Great White Sharks Are Completely Terrified of Orcas
/https://public-media.si-cdn.com/filer/ed/7f/ed7f68c1-7ebd-421a-8cda-eb5616df0fa7/orca.jpg)
It’s pretty much common wisdom that the top predator in the ocean is the great white shark (that is, if there isn’t a remnant population of megalodon hidden somewhere in the deep). But a new study reveals that the massive shark is not the ocean’s top apex predator: that title rightly belongs to orcas, also known as killer whales.
The revelation comes from a paper in Nature Scientific Reports by senior research scientist Salvador Jorgensen at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and his colleagues. Ed Yong at The Atlantic reports that over the years, while studying great white sharks, Jorgensen and his team began to notice that when killer whales entered the scene, the sharks made an exit, and in many cases did not return for months. In particular, in 2009 the team radio-tagged 17 sharks around Southeast Farallon Island in Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, a marine and wildlife refuge off the coast of California. The sharks happily munched on young elephant seals in the waters around the island, which they regularly do between September and December. But when a pod of orcas entered the waters for just a couple of hours, the sharks high-tailed it out of there and most didn’t return that season.
To understand if that situation was common or the whole thing was a fluke, Jorgensen and his team looked deeper in the data, examining information about 165 great white sharks tagged in the Farallones between 2006 and 2013. They compared that with whale, shark and seal surveys collected in the marine sanctuary collected over 27 years.
What they found was a standard pattern. When orca whales entered the area, the sharks bolted from Southeast Farallon and nearby islands. “When confronted by orcas, white sharks will immediately vacate their preferred hunting ground and will not return for up to a year, even though the orcas are only passing through,” Jorgensen says in a press release.
Sarah Sloat at Inverse reports that if the whales get within two miles of the islands, the sharks will pack up and leave. In an average year, researchers are able to document 40 elephant seals eaten by sharks. But in years where the orcas make an appearance, which they did in 2009, 2011 and 2013, that number drops by 62 percent from the previous year. For the seals it can be a win-win situation. If the whales simply pass by and don’t stop to snack but still clear out the sharks, the young seals can chase fish in relative security.
So why are the sharks, which can grow up to 18 feet long, so afraid of orcas? Yong reports that most of what we know about white shark/orca encounters doesn’t end well for the sharks. In 1997, during the first interaction ever recorded, fishermen near Southeast Farallon witnessed a pair of orcas kill a young great white that tried to nose in on the sea lion they were eating. The orcas bashed him to death then ate his liver.
In 2017, five corpses of great white sharks washed up on the beaches of South Africa, all with their livers almost surgically removed. It was the work of orcas, which kill the sharks then make a wound near the calorie-dense shark liver. They then squish the yummy treat out of the shark and leave the rest of the corpse. “It’s like squeezing toothpaste,” Jorgensen tells Yong.
Researchers are beginning to understand how the instinct to avoid predators creates a “landscape of fear” that can have wide-ranging impacts on ecosystems. This new study shows that the concept also applies in the oceans. “We don't typically think about how fear and risk aversion might play a role in shaping where large predators hunt and how that influences ocean ecosystems,” Jorgensen says in the press release. “It turns out these risk effects are very strong even for large predators like white sharks—strong enough to redirect their hunting activity to less preferred but safer areas.”
Let’s just hope those safer hunting grounds aren’t too close to shore.
Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/great-white-sharks-are-completely-terrified-orcas-180972009/
RMS
Great White Sharks Are Completely Terrified of Orcas
It’s pretty much common wisdom that the top predator in the ocean is the great white shark (that is, if there isn’t a remnant population of megalodon hidden somewhere in the deep). But a new study reveals that the massive shark is not the ocean’s top apex predator: that title rightly belongs to orcas, also known as killer whales.
The revelation comes from a paper in Nature Scientific Reports by senior research scientist Salvador Jorgensen at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and his colleagues. Ed Yong at The Atlantic reports that over the years, while studying great white sharks, Jorgensen and his team began to notice that when killer whales entered the scene, the sharks made an exit, and in many cases did not return for months. In particular, in 2009 the team radio-tagged 17 sharks around Southeast Farallon Island in Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, a marine and wildlife refuge off the coast of California. The sharks happily munched on young elephant seals in the waters around the island, which they regularly do between September and December. But when a pod of orcas entered the waters for just a couple of hours, the sharks high-tailed it out of there and most didn’t return that season.
To understand if that situation was common or the whole thing was a fluke, Jorgensen and his team looked deeper in the data, examining information about 165 great white sharks tagged in the Farallones between 2006 and 2013. They compared that with whale, shark and seal surveys collected in the marine sanctuary collected over 27 years.
What they found was a standard pattern. When orca whales entered the area, the sharks bolted from Southeast Farallon and nearby islands. “When confronted by orcas, white sharks will immediately vacate their preferred hunting ground and will not return for up to a year, even though the orcas are only passing through,” Jorgensen says in a press release.
Sarah Sloat at Inverse reports that if the whales get within two miles of the islands, the sharks will pack up and leave. In an average year, researchers are able to document 40 elephant seals eaten by sharks. But in years where the orcas make an appearance, which they did in 2009, 2011 and 2013, that number drops by 62 percent from the previous year. For the seals it can be a win-win situation. If the whales simply pass by and don’t stop to snack but still clear out the sharks, the young seals can chase fish in relative security.
So why are the sharks, which can grow up to 18 feet long, so afraid of orcas? Yong reports that most of what we know about white shark/orca encounters doesn’t end well for the sharks. In 1997, during the first interaction ever recorded, fishermen near Southeast Farallon witnessed a pair of orcas kill a young great white that tried to nose in on the sea lion they were eating. The orcas bashed him to death then ate his liver.
In 2017, five corpses of great white sharks washed up on the beaches of South Africa, all with their livers almost surgically removed. It was the work of orcas, which kill the sharks then make a wound near the calorie-dense shark liver. They then squish the yummy treat out of the shark and leave the rest of the corpse. “It’s like squeezing toothpaste,” Jorgensen tells Yong.
Researchers are beginning to understand how the instinct to avoid predators creates a “landscape of fear” that can have wide-ranging impacts on ecosystems. This new study shows that the concept also applies in the oceans. “We don't typically think about how fear and risk aversion might play a role in shaping where large predators hunt and how that influences ocean ecosystems,” Jorgensen says in the press release. “It turns out these risk effects are very strong even for large predators like white sharks—strong enough to redirect their hunting activity to less preferred but safer areas.”
Let’s just hope those safer hunting grounds aren’t too close to shore.
Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/great-white-sharks-are-completely-terrified-orcas-180972009/
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Beluga whale wearing possible Russian military harness discovered by fishermen
Beluga whale wearing possible Russian military harness discovered by fishermen
A beluga whale discovered wearing a harness reading “equipment of St Petersburg” in Norway could have been working for Russia as part of a marine military programme.
The whale, which was said to be targeting boats near the small Norwegian fishing village of Inga on Friday, was spotted wearing a black harness on a closer inspection by the fisherman.
Fisherman suspected the creature was being used for training or had a camera or weapon on its body when they spotted its harness.
It had also been pulling the straps on the sides of the boats, according to The Guardian.
It was very tame and used to human beings.
“We were going to put out our nets when we saw a whale swimming between the boats,” fisherman Joar Hesten, who spotted the whale, told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.
“It came over to us, and as it approached, we saw that it had some sort of harness on it.”
Experts noticed the signage on the harness and suspected the whale had been trained by the Russian military.
“If this comes from Russia, and there is great reason to believe it, then it is not Russian scientists, but rather the navy that has done this,” says Martin Biuw of the Institute of Marine Research.
He pointed at the finger at the Russian Navy base in Murmansk, a city in northwestern Russia that has a deep bay off the Barents sea.
It may be the case the whale is no longer under Russian influence.
At the beginning of April, Russian officials said they would work towards freeing all orca and beluga whales from a notorious facility in the east of the country, after a visit by US-based marine mammal advocates.
This is not the first time Russia has dabbled in training sea creatures for the military, according to The Guardian.
State TV Zvezda reported in 2017 that the country is using beluga whales, seals and bottlenose dolphins for military purposes in polar waters.
Both the US and Russia have marine mammal military programmes, with the US also taking a shine to exploring the defensive capability of California sea lions.
Both programmes studied the potential of dolphins to help the Navy during the 1980s.
Both creatures have been used to detect ammunition at mines at deep-sea level, according to the publication.
But beluga whales were believed to have been dismissed from Russian military service.
The whales were deemed too sensitive to the cold and did not have the same “high professionalism” of seals, which had a far better memory for commands.
Although dogs and horses are used as military animals in the UK, no other animals are known to be in the employ of the Ministry of Defence.
Source: https://inews.co.uk/news/world/beluga-whale-norway-russian-navy-special-ops-weapon-fishermen/
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Beluga whale wearing possible Russian military harness discovered by fishermen
A beluga whale discovered wearing a harness reading “equipment of St Petersburg” in Norway could have been working for Russia as part of a marine military programme.
The whale, which was said to be targeting boats near the small Norwegian fishing village of Inga on Friday, was spotted wearing a black harness on a closer inspection by the fisherman.
Fisherman suspected the creature was being used for training or had a camera or weapon on its body when they spotted its harness.
It had also been pulling the straps on the sides of the boats, according to The Guardian.
It was very tame and used to human beings.
“We were going to put out our nets when we saw a whale swimming between the boats,” fisherman Joar Hesten, who spotted the whale, told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.
“It came over to us, and as it approached, we saw that it had some sort of harness on it.”
Experts noticed the signage on the harness and suspected the whale had been trained by the Russian military.
“If this comes from Russia, and there is great reason to believe it, then it is not Russian scientists, but rather the navy that has done this,” says Martin Biuw of the Institute of Marine Research.
He pointed at the finger at the Russian Navy base in Murmansk, a city in northwestern Russia that has a deep bay off the Barents sea.
It may be the case the whale is no longer under Russian influence.
At the beginning of April, Russian officials said they would work towards freeing all orca and beluga whales from a notorious facility in the east of the country, after a visit by US-based marine mammal advocates.
This is not the first time Russia has dabbled in training sea creatures for the military, according to The Guardian.
State TV Zvezda reported in 2017 that the country is using beluga whales, seals and bottlenose dolphins for military purposes in polar waters.
Both the US and Russia have marine mammal military programmes, with the US also taking a shine to exploring the defensive capability of California sea lions.
Both programmes studied the potential of dolphins to help the Navy during the 1980s.
Both creatures have been used to detect ammunition at mines at deep-sea level, according to the publication.
But beluga whales were believed to have been dismissed from Russian military service.
The whales were deemed too sensitive to the cold and did not have the same “high professionalism” of seals, which had a far better memory for commands.
Although dogs and horses are used as military animals in the UK, no other animals are known to be in the employ of the Ministry of Defence.
Source: https://inews.co.uk/news/world/beluga-whale-norway-russian-navy-special-ops-weapon-fishermen/
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S
Sertaiz
wow, harness left marks on it...
The World's Space Agencies Are About to Simulate a Doomsday Asteroid Scenario
The World's Space Agencies Are About to Simulate a Doomsday Asteroid Scenario
It came out of nowhere. Just a few short weeks ago – in an alternate reality otherwise identical to our own – it popped up on our screens: a giant asteroid hurtling through space, and headed straight for us.
At least, maybe it is. Nobody really knows. In this hypothetical scenario, the facts on the ground change fast. At first, scientists say there's only a one-in–50,000 chance this thing will hit us. Within weeks, those odds become one in 100.
There's good news and bad news about this approaching object, called 2019 PDC. The good news is 2019 PDC doesn't exist at all. It's a completely fictional, imaginary apocalypse. The chance of impact, in actuality, is zero.
The bad news is that 2019 PDC – or an NEO (Near Earth Object) very much like it – so easily could be real.
Because of that, this week NASA, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and international partners including the European Space Agency (ESA) are conducting a drill: a 'tabletop exercise' to simulate how a planetary asteroid emergency would play out in real time.
NASA's been running these simulations for years, and with good reason: Earth, as it happens, is in the midst of an epic asteroid surge compared to the relative peace and quiet the planet experienced many millions of years ago.
When unexpected space rocks do appear on our scopes, sometimes we only get hours' notice of their existence before they streak past. While the chances of a catastrophic impact are exceedingly slim, we're nonetheless unprepared for surprise asteroid strikes, which is why NASA is continually working on plans to help improve our NEO detection and mitigation capabilities.
Part of that was the formation in 2016 of a new Planetary Defence Coordination Office (PDCO), which will help run the drill exercise this week, designed by researchers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Centre for NEO Studies (CNEOS).
"The first step in protecting our planet is knowing what's out there," says the ESA's Head of Planetary Defence, Rüdiger Jehn.
"Only then, with enough warning, can we take the steps needed to prevent an asteroid strike altogether, or to minimise the damage it does on the ground."
In the 2019 PDC scenario – being run as part of the 2019 Planetary Defence Conference held in Washington, DC from Monday through to Friday – the object is first picked up on 26 March 2019.
Unlike the 150 or so NEOs scientists discover each month, initial calculations suggest 2019 PDC is a 'Potentially Hazardous Asteroid', estimated to range up to 300 metres in size and potentially on a collision course with Earth.
Further analysis reveals the most likely date of impact will be 29 April 2027 – eight years to the day from today – and projects an estimated 'risk corridor': a red line of danger spanning the globe where the asteroid, if it hits at all, may hit.
That red line neatly traverses the middle of the US, in addition to other land masses including Africa, and the latest information to hand suggests 2019 PDC has about a 1 percent chance of hitting Earth.
The simulation, which begins today, will run until the end of the week, and see participants from NASA, FEMA, the ESA and more all receive daily briefings and updates on the asteroid's trajectory, as the world's real space agencies combine forces to confront an unreal but not unimaginable threat.
As part of the exercise, participants will discuss things like asteroid deflection opportunities (if they exist), address funding issues, and consider how to manage the public's reaction to an armageddon only eight years away, as well as drawing up plans for pre- and post-disaster relief.
For the first time in one of these asteroid emergency drills, you'll be able to keep track of the hypothetical situation as it evolves, with daily updates at the @esaoperations Twitter channel and the ESA's Rocket Science blog, plus you can keep tabs on 2019's PDC orbital trajectory at the CNEOS website.
"This topic has been the theme of many epic films and TV series," ESA Operations tweeted.
"But what really are the chances of an asteroid impact and what are our options? Bruce Willis unfortunately isn't on Twitter."
Source: https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-is-about-to-simulate-what-a-planetary-asteroid-emergency-in-2027-would-look-like
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The World's Space Agencies Are About to Simulate a Doomsday Asteroid Scenario
It came out of nowhere. Just a few short weeks ago – in an alternate reality otherwise identical to our own – it popped up on our screens: a giant asteroid hurtling through space, and headed straight for us.
At least, maybe it is. Nobody really knows. In this hypothetical scenario, the facts on the ground change fast. At first, scientists say there's only a one-in–50,000 chance this thing will hit us. Within weeks, those odds become one in 100.
There's good news and bad news about this approaching object, called 2019 PDC. The good news is 2019 PDC doesn't exist at all. It's a completely fictional, imaginary apocalypse. The chance of impact, in actuality, is zero.
The bad news is that 2019 PDC – or an NEO (Near Earth Object) very much like it – so easily could be real.
Because of that, this week NASA, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and international partners including the European Space Agency (ESA) are conducting a drill: a 'tabletop exercise' to simulate how a planetary asteroid emergency would play out in real time.
NASA's been running these simulations for years, and with good reason: Earth, as it happens, is in the midst of an epic asteroid surge compared to the relative peace and quiet the planet experienced many millions of years ago.
When unexpected space rocks do appear on our scopes, sometimes we only get hours' notice of their existence before they streak past. While the chances of a catastrophic impact are exceedingly slim, we're nonetheless unprepared for surprise asteroid strikes, which is why NASA is continually working on plans to help improve our NEO detection and mitigation capabilities.
Part of that was the formation in 2016 of a new Planetary Defence Coordination Office (PDCO), which will help run the drill exercise this week, designed by researchers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Centre for NEO Studies (CNEOS).
"The first step in protecting our planet is knowing what's out there," says the ESA's Head of Planetary Defence, Rüdiger Jehn.
"Only then, with enough warning, can we take the steps needed to prevent an asteroid strike altogether, or to minimise the damage it does on the ground."
In the 2019 PDC scenario – being run as part of the 2019 Planetary Defence Conference held in Washington, DC from Monday through to Friday – the object is first picked up on 26 March 2019.
Unlike the 150 or so NEOs scientists discover each month, initial calculations suggest 2019 PDC is a 'Potentially Hazardous Asteroid', estimated to range up to 300 metres in size and potentially on a collision course with Earth.
Further analysis reveals the most likely date of impact will be 29 April 2027 – eight years to the day from today – and projects an estimated 'risk corridor': a red line of danger spanning the globe where the asteroid, if it hits at all, may hit.
That red line neatly traverses the middle of the US, in addition to other land masses including Africa, and the latest information to hand suggests 2019 PDC has about a 1 percent chance of hitting Earth.
The simulation, which begins today, will run until the end of the week, and see participants from NASA, FEMA, the ESA and more all receive daily briefings and updates on the asteroid's trajectory, as the world's real space agencies combine forces to confront an unreal but not unimaginable threat.
As part of the exercise, participants will discuss things like asteroid deflection opportunities (if they exist), address funding issues, and consider how to manage the public's reaction to an armageddon only eight years away, as well as drawing up plans for pre- and post-disaster relief.
For the first time in one of these asteroid emergency drills, you'll be able to keep track of the hypothetical situation as it evolves, with daily updates at the @esaoperations Twitter channel and the ESA's Rocket Science blog, plus you can keep tabs on 2019's PDC orbital trajectory at the CNEOS website.
"This topic has been the theme of many epic films and TV series," ESA Operations tweeted.
"But what really are the chances of an asteroid impact and what are our options? Bruce Willis unfortunately isn't on Twitter."
Source: https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-is-about-to-simulate-what-a-planetary-asteroid-emergency-in-2027-would-look-like
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Cocaine shrimp ......Cocaine found in shrimp, shocking study reveals
By Chris Ciaccia | Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/science/cocaine-found-in-shrimp-shocking-study-reveals.amp
By Chris Ciaccia | Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/science/cocaine-found-in-shrimp-shocking-study-reveals.amp
Pa.'s worst toll evader named Stiff to pay up: $128K in all
Pennsylvania’s most egregious toll evader now has a criminal record and a long road ahead to pay off his debt to the Turnpike Commission.
He and two others whose Bucks County cases were resolved this week are the latest examples of the Turnpike Commission’s aggressive new approach to pursuing toll scofflaws.
“The thing that we’re after is getting our money back,” said Ray Morrow, the commission’s chief compliance officer.
Jarrett Stiff, 36, of Trevose in suburban Philadelphia, didn’t pay for trips on the Pennsylvania Turnpike 2,264 times between 2012 and 2017, more than anyone else in the state, according to turnpike records. He accumulated $127,967.40 in unpaid tolls and subsequent fines.
He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft of services and, as part of his agreement at his sentencing in April, was ordered to pay $11,504. He made a down payment of $3,500 and entered a three-year repayment plan of $275 a month. He was sentenced to five years’ probation.
Mr. Stiff was not represented by a lawyer and could not be reached for comment.
Kelly Robinson, 33, of Lansdale, Pa., was sentenced to theft of services for failing to pay tolls 840 times, a total of $66,552.45 in fees and fines. She was ordered to serve five years’ probation and pay $7,387.90.
A third person, Ayelet Farage, 48, of Elkins Park, Pa., paid the full amount she owed, $17,000, and was sentenced to unsupervised probation for a year. She entered a diversionary program that would allow her to have her record expunged after serving 52 hours of community service. She failed to pay tolls 822 times.
Neither Ms. Robinson’s nor Ms. Farage’s lawyer returned calls for comment.
None of the three was a professional driver, officials said.
Ms. Robinson’s violations happened most often at the Quakertown interchange. Mr. Stiff and Ms. Farage incurred the majority of their violations at the turnpike’s Bensalem interchange, officials said.
“It does seem like we have some of the largest violators and greatest number of violators,” said Jovin Jose, the Bucks County assistant district attorney who prosecuted the cases, “probably partly because of the high volume of traffic that goes through the Bensalem interchange.”
The Neshaminy Falls interchange had more toll violations than anywhere else, according to 2016 data, the most current the Turnpike Commission made available, followed by the Mid County, Valley Forge, and Bensalem interchanges.
Statewide, Montgomery County reported the most violations, with 60,687, in fiscal year 2017, the most current data available. Bucks County was second with 44,080.
The Turnpike Commission began pursuing felony charges against toll evaders who owed $2,000 or more as part of a more focused effort to recoup the significant agency losses from unpaid tolls every year.
A 2016 report found that the commission was owed $33.5 million in unpaid E-ZPass tolls. Much of that would eventually be paid through notices mailed to drivers or collection agencies, a turnpike spokesperson said then, but the agency expected to be owed about $3.5 million of that by the end of that year. In 2017, the commission wrote off $7,618,662 in unpaid tolls.
State legislation passed in 2016, though, allowed for automatic suspension of drivers’ registrations for anyone who had six unpaid violations or owed $500. The commission also pursues cases through civil court if the violations involve trucking companies’ accounts.
Meanwhile, the commission gathered data from all its interchanges to identify drivers with the largest balance of unpaid tolls. Since December 2017, 526 people have been charged. Of those, 214 cases remain open.
“Individuals are committing this offense thinking there are no repercussions for it,” Mr. Jose said. “There are hardworking taxpayers who pay their fair share. Individuals should be held accountable.”
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Latest posts
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The Real History Of Northern Lights, Written By The Guys Who Did It
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