Sex in a Cage

Humans do it. The birds and the bees do it. Wild animals do it. Even our captive friends in zoos do it. In fact Valentine's Day is the time of year when zoo operators organize special adult-oriented tours of love in the animal kingdom. Some tours are so successful that additional days are scheduled for the overflow.

With names like "Woo at the Zoo" "Jungle Love" and "Wild Love at the Zoo" operators of many of the nation's zoos plan special fund raising events with an amorous edge aimed at attracting new adult audiences. A typical tour couples champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries and candlelight dining with impressive facts about how animals do the wild thing. Priced at around $50 per person these Valentine's Day functions can be an important fund raising tool for many zoos.

So what can you learn on one of these special Valentine's Day tours? For the most part it is all talk and very little action. Here are some interesting facts:

• Male pigs have a unique corkscrew endowment and impressive, um, output


• Manatees have orgies and don't really care if their partners are male or female


• A male porcupine has only one four-hour window a year to mate


• Whales have like 10-foot-long whatevers.


• Bonobos and Dolphins like humans also have non-reproductive sex


• Bonobos are the only non-human apes to have been observed engaging in
  
  
  
  • Face-to-face genital sex
  
  
  • Tongue kissing
  
  
  • Oral sex
  
  
  
  


• Roy and Silo are two gay penguins living at Central Park Zoo in Manhattan

The concept of Valentine's Day at the zoo was the brainchild of Jane Tollini a former penguin keeper who, more than 20 years ago described penguin mating rituals as "bowling pins making love".

"Sex sells. No matter what," Tollini said. "I wish I had a nickel for everybody that has copied me."

Al-Sadr Flees Iraq....for Now

Sayyed Muqtada al-Sadr Shiite cleric, ruler of Sadr City (a Baghdad suburb) and commander of the Mahdi army has fled Iraq and is reported to be staying with relatives in Iran. His Mahdi army has been accused of fostering and perpetuating much of the sectarian violence that has been going on in Baghdad.

In an earlier interview, La Repubblica an Italian newspaper, quoted al-Sadr as saying he feared for his life and stayed on the move constantly.

Al-Sadr said he is being targeted. "For this reason, I have moved my family to a secure location. I even have had a will drawn up, and I move continuously in a way that only few can know where I am," he was quoted as saying by La Repubblica.

Al-Sadr's departure from Iraq, some weeks ago, is believed to be the direct result of President Bush sending an additional 21,500 US troops to Iraq to quell the violence in Baghdad. In recent weeks some of his most senior personnel have been either arrested or killed. They include:

• Ali Kahzim who ran al-Sadr's political organization in volatile Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, was killed by U.S. forces at his home in Howaider village.


• Khalil al-Maliki, a key figure in al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia in Basra, was killed by three gunmen in a drive-by shooting.


• Abdul-Hadi al-Darraji, media director for the cleric's political movement, was captured in an early morning raid and his bodyguard was killed.


• Sahib al-Amiri, a senior al-Sadr military aide, was slain by American forces in the Shiite holy city of Najaf.


• Abu al-Sudour, a top commander, was shot to death in a joint U.S.-Iraqi raid. He was hunted down in Sadr City.

It now appears as if Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki has stopped protecting al-Sadr's Madhi Army under pressure from Washington. Al-Maliki owes his position as Prime Minister, in part due to the political support of Al-Sadr, and has in the past acted to protect the Mahdi army from US troops. With the waning support of the Iraqi leader the Mahdi army has been forced into retreat.

"Our top leadership has told us to lay low and not confront the Americans. But if Sadr City is attacked, if civilians are hurt, we will ignore those orders and take matters in our own hands. We won't need orders from Sheik Muqtada (al-Sadr)," the midlevel commander said.Others in the organization said street fighters have been told not to wear their black uniforms and to hide their weapons, to make their checkpoints less visible. Reports from the growing number of neighborhoods controlled by the militias indicate fighters are obeying.

The increasing success of the American forces to rout out the top leaders of Mahdi Army has the organization changing tactics: "We're no longer using cell phones except in emergencies. Some of our top commanders have not been home (in Sadr City) for a year because they fear capture"

The militiamen said al-Sadr himself had apparently gotten wind of the coming assault and ordered a reshuffling of the Mahdi Army command structure, transferring many leaders to new districts and firing others who were of suspect loyalty.

As part of the security crackdown, Lt. Gen. Abboud Gambar, Iraqi commander of Baghdad security announced:

• The borders with both Syria and Iran would be closed for 72 hours


• Curfew hours in Baghdad would be extended by one hour


• Unlawfully seized homes should be returned within 15 days

These measures will hopefully ease the violence in Baghdad that has threatened to permanently divide the city along sectarian lines.

Sayyed Muqtada al-Sadr is not expected to remain in Iran. It will be interesting to see how his return to Iraq will be received by the American and Iraqi forces.

US vs Russia

Recently it seems as if the US and Russia are not only drifting apart on the international scene but have also begun to take jabs at one another directly. The latest round of "less than friendly" comments was started by the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, who while testifying at a Congressional Hearing, suggested that Russia and some other countries were unreliable:

"We don't know what's going to develop in places like Russia and China, in North Korea, in Iran and elsewhere."

The Russian Foreign Ministry has asked the US to explain this and other negative remarks made against them recently by the US military and intelligence community. They especially resent being lumped together with North Korea and Iran both of whom President Bush has identified as part of his "axis of evil".

"It is hard to avoid the impression that all these statements are part of a certain system of negative evaluations of our country. The question is how much this reflects real U.S. policy," the ministry said.

The Russians did not wait on a response from the US, but instead launched a scathing attack on the US and its foreign policy. At the annual Munich Security Conference, the Russian President Vladimir Putin blasted US foreign policy saying it was a major cause of instability in the world and the impetus for other nations to seek nuclear weapons.

"Unilateral, illegitimate actions have not solved a single problem, they have become a hotbed of further conflicts," Putin said at a security forum attracting senior officials from around the world."One state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way."

Putin said it was "the almost uncontained hyper use of force in international relations" that was forcing countries opposed to Washington to seek to build up nuclear arsenals."It is a world of one master, one sovereign ... it has nothing to do with democracy," he said. "This is nourishing the wish of countries to get nuclear weapons."

"This is very dangerous, nobody feels secure anymore because nobody can hide behind international law," Putin told the gathering.

The Bush Administration has moved to calm fears of tension between the two countries. Defense Secretary Robert Gates responded to Putin's speech by reaffirming the U.S. commitment to multilateralism.

"We all face many common problems and challenges that must be addressed in partnership with other countries, including Russia," he said. International terrorists' ability to mix new technologies and old hatreds is a threat to the global community, he said. No fewer than 18 terrorist organizations, many linked to al-Qaida, have launched attacks against innocents all over the world - including in Russia, partner in endeavors," Gates said.

The White House Spokesman Tony Snow called Russia "an important ally,"

Snow told reporters February 12 that the United States remains committed to working with Russia and other partners to tackle a host of transnational security challenges, including terrorism and nuclear proliferation.

"We certainly disagree with the characterization of the United States acting unilaterally," Snow told reporters February 12. "The fact is that the United States has been working aggressively, including with Russia, to work in a multilateral fashion on a series of key issues."

Snow said that the United States and Russia are diplomatic partners in several multilateral initiatives, such as the "P5-plus-one" group, in which they join China, France, Germany and the United Kingdom in seeking to convince Iran to stop developing nuclear weapons.

Another example of U.S. multilateralism, he said is the ongoing Six-Party Talks, where the United States and Russia have joined delegations from China, Japan, North Korea and South Korea to implement the September 18, 2005, agreement to remove nuclear programs from the Korean Peninsula.

"Obviously President Putin has his comments, but if you take a look at the ongoing cooperation between the U.S. and Russia, it continues," Snow said.

President Bush, he added, has "regular and quite frank conversations with President Putin. They understand each other and will continue working together."

Nancy's Jet

The speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has got herself all mixed up in much ado about nothing. At issue seems to be problem of getting her all the way home from Washington DC to California. The plane assigned to Dennis Hastert (the former speaker) was not able to make the trip without refueling, so a bigger plane was suggested for Nancy Pelosi.

This of course set off a firestorm from the Republicans, who ridiculed the request. Pelosi defended herself and finally the White House stepped in and Tony Snow (White House spokesman) said it was "a silly story"

'It has been unfair to the speaker,' said he. The speaker was entitled to fly home on a military plane just as her predecessor Republican Dennis Hastert was and it was for the House sergeant-at-arms in charge of security to determine what plane will do, said Snow.

Following is a synopsis of the entire incident:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=bZ3_u1V4uoY]

Obama is In

Sen. Barack Obama officially declared that he will seek the Presidency of the United States.
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=0wwwvxvQjFI]
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=usuRmDKHqTQ]