March 23, 2022

CBC*: "Bald eagle has rare closeup encounter in Esgenopetitj First Nation, New Brunswick

'This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing,' says Mi'kmaw elder"

*Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/bald-eagle-esgenoopetitj-first-nation-1.6393376

[Danny Ward is still in awe of the bald eagle that hopped through some brush in Esgenoôpetitj First Nation, then rested and spread its wings just a few metres away from him.

"I was amazed. I have no words," Ward said of the encounter Sunday in the northeastern New Brunswick community.

Ward's cousin Billy Francis had called to say the bird of prey was in his backyard and not moving. Ward trekked through the snow until he was about six metres from the bird.

The Mi'kmaw elder said he then started a smudging ceremony, prayed, made an offering of tobacco and sang an eagle honour song. As he was singing, another eagle passed by overhead.]

There's more text and photos of the eagle at the link. The eagle has been captured
and is now under the care of The Department of Natural Resources for evaluation
and treatment, as described at the link.

March 22, 2022

Reuters Pictures: Top Photos of the Day, March 21, 2022.

https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/top-photos-of-the-day-idUSRTS6H8JQ

This gallery is very heavy with photos of the Ukraine conflict.

CAUTION: Photos of wounded and deceased persons are shown.

March 22, 2022

Reuters Pictures: Cherry blossoms in Washington D.C. reach peak bloom.

https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/cherry-blossoms-in-washington-dc-reach-p-idUSRTS6HRBP

These views of the cherry blossoms, the people enjoying them and various local
monuments are a pleasing distraction today.

March 22, 2022

Al Jazeera: 'Infographic: Which countries have the safest drinking water?

One in four people does not have access to safe water. In low-income countries, unsafe water accounts for six out of every 100 deaths.'

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/22/infographic-which-countries-have-the-safest-drinking-water-interactive

[People across the globe observe March 22 as World Water Day – designated by the United Nations to raise awareness of the two billion people living without access to safe water. The theme this year is “Groundwater: making the invisible visible”.

Groundwater is the water found below the Earth’s surface and is the largest source of fresh water on earth.]

snip

[Ten countries – eight in Africa and two in Asia – have less than a 20 percent share of the population with access to safely managed drinking water. The lowest in share percentages are Chad (5.6 percent), the Central African Republic (6.2 percent), Sierra Leone (10.6 percent), Rwanda (12.1 percent) and Ethiopia (12.6 percent).

The countries with 100 percent access to safe drinking water include Greece, Iceland, Kuwait, Lichtenstein, Malta, Monaco, New Zealand, San Marino and Singapore.]

There's a lot more text, photos and graphics at the link. Of course we know from
current and past news here in the U.S. and Canada that access to "safe water" is
directly related to the differing ethnicity of our populations. Black people in Detroit
and the Indigenous in Canada come readily to mind as groups that are left out
of consideration as deserving to receive "safe water".

March 20, 2022

March 20, 2022 is the first day of spring, so let's all leap into action and enjoy the mostly

warmer weather some of us are experiencing. Our high temp here in Albuquerque is
supposed to be 70 today while in just one more week it's supposed to be 79. We can stop
already. I've long felt that 70 is the optimum high temperature but nobody in charge
listens to me.

Soon the flowering trees here will be blooming and that'll be a nice change from all
the blooming idiots that seem to be everywhere around the world these days.

Has your spring sprung?

March 20, 2022

Guardian: Suits of armour and jousting knights: the Orange medieval festival - in pictures

[New South Wales town turns back time to host the inaugural Orange Medieval Faire. History buffs and festival-goers in 14th-century costumes flocked to the central tablelands to watch viking battles, jousting and falconry displays. Australia’s current world champion jouster, Phillip Leitch, showed the crowd his skill with the shield and lance.]

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/gallery/2022/mar/20/suits-of-armour-and-jousting-knights-the-orange-medieval-festival-in-pictures

This is interesting and totally new to me. Take a look and decide who you'd like to be.

March 20, 2022

Guardian: 'Kenosha (WI) off-duty police officer shown putting knee on 12-year-old girl's neck.

Officer resigns from school security guard job after officials release footage of fight and girl’s father calls for criminal charges.'

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/19/kenosha-off-duty-police-officer-shown-putting-knee-on-12-year-old-girls-neck

[School officials in Kenosha, Wisconsin released surveillance footage that showed an off-duty police officer putting his knee on a 12-year-old girl’s neck to restrain her amid a lunchtime fight.

The Kenosha Unified School District released redacted footage of the 4 March fight on Friday. It showed the officer, Shawn Guetschow, intervening in the fight and scuffling
with the girl, before falling to the ground and hitting his head on a table.

Guetschow, working as a security guard at the school, then pushed the girl’s head into the ground and used his knee on her neck for about half a minute before handcuffing her and walking her out of the cafeteria.

Jerrel Perez, the girl’s father, has called for criminal charges against Guetschow for using a type of restraint that was banned for Wisconsin law enforcement officers last year. He said his daughter was in therapy and seeing a neurologist for her injuries.]

Where do these cretinous law-enforcement types come from? As soon as we figure
that out we can Send Them Back! There's more text and a photo at the link. I have
edited the text to meet our 4-paragraph rule.

March 19, 2022

Here's one of the earliest 3 Stooges episodes ever released that features Lucille Ball.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Little_Pigskins from 1934

March 19, 2022

Here's a song from Question Mark & The Mysterians, 96 Tears, that fits my mood at the

multiple messes in the world right now and especially what's going on in Ukraine.

March 18, 2022

BBC : Your pictures of Scotland: 11 - 18 March, 2022

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-60736655

People, places and critters too! It's all here for me and you.