I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

pupmom

Blue, gorgous Saturday morning pics! But, seriously, is that horse spray painted? I've never seen such a perfect gold except from a nail polish bottle! 

1Athena1

Meet Orson the jaguar:

1Athena1

He lives at the San Diego zoo. Normally, I hate to think of any wild animal in captivity, but black jaguars are so rare that they are hard to photograph - and the San Diego zoo is the closest thing a zoo comes to being a wildlife preserve. It is the ONE reason why I want to visit San Diego one day:

Orson is the elder statesman of the big cats at the San Diego zoo. He recently celebrated his 20th birthday and is still going strong:

Here he is with a popsicle:

1Athena1

What made me think about jaguars is, first, that they are lovely big cats and secondly, that Nat Geo Wild is having a special on them this weekend. Here are more jaguar pictures. Jaguars also come with lovely spots:

Motherly grooming:

Jaguars are not to be confused with cheetahs, which really do have spots, are leaner, have longer tails and have that famous teardrop streak on their faces:

Here, again is the cheetah, the world's fastest land mammal, in mid "flight":

Like most big cats, cheetahs raise their cubs alone, and are very dedicated, loving mothers:

Cheetah mothers are constantly on the lookout for predators - they are the slimest of the big cats.

Leopards, as tree climbers, have slightly more time for relaxation - and acrobatic play:

This cub will have the strength to haul prey up a tree when it becomes an adult. Leopards are out-of-this-world strong:

...and, like all cats, expert sleepers:

crazy4carrots

Whoa!  Which one's the leopard and which one's the cheetah?

1Athena1

cheetah to the left, leopard to the right. You may notice how much stouter leopards are.They are slower but stronger. Cheetahs have very little body fat.

ETA: Also, notice the "teardrop" lines on the cheetah's face.

Wonderful, wonderful animals both.

pupmom

Just love the big cats! 

crazy4carrots

Ding ding ding!  Spots are different too.  

Wondering why small cats can purr and big cats can't.  Maybe because the big cats truly depend on silence in order to catch their prey, while purring is an involuntary behaviour and big cats' purrs would be rather loud.  Hmmmm, must look it up!

1Athena1

Cheetahs are the only big cats that purr. Lions make moaning noises.

pupmom

Could it have something to do with shorter vocal cords? Or maybe it's an adaptation to living with humans. Perhaps purring is a way to bond with their housemates and caregivers. 

1Athena1

I would guess it is the vocal chords. Cheetahs have much higher pitched "voices" than the other big cats. They don't really roar. 

Here is video and sound of a cheetah purring:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drq_ww7Ytzw

pupmom

Athena, that was so adorable! The cheetah was as cuddly as a pampered house kitty! I so wanted to pet her!

QuinnCat

Athena - love the cat education & pics.  Now, can you please tell me if this is correct.  Cheetahs also come in black, but they call them Black Panthers?  Whereas you said a black leopard would be a jaguar, correct?  I did hear this is very rare with Cheetahs too, so now am curious what genetic factors play into the blackness.

Belinda44

Cool cat pics!

Belinda44

"Barack Obama in Israel: A corker of a speech"

"A SPEECH is just a speech," one particularly blasé Israeli peacenik remarked in the wake of Barack Obama's address to Israeli students in Jerusalem on March 21st.

Her hard-nosed observation was incontrovertible. But so was the fact—as this writer ascertained in unscientific polling—that the American president's elegant, empathetic rhetoric brought tears, literally, to the eyes of many other Israelis who yearn for an end to the conflict with the Palestinians.

Just a speech, yes. But a corker of a speech......"

Full article:

http://www.economist.com/blogs/pomegranate/2013/03/barack-obama-israel

Belinda44

"President Barack Obama will wrap up a trip to the Middle East on Saturday, returning to the White House after a four-day voyage to Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan.

During his trip, Obama met with various Israeli and Palestinian leaders as part of the ongoing efforts between Israeli and Palestinian leaders to reach a peace agreement."

Belinda44

"The G.O.P.’s Bachmann Problem"

"The current intramural squabbling on the right is just too delicious for words. At least for nice words.  Senator John McCain called the far-right darlings Senator Rand Paul, Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Justin Amash “wacko birds” earlier this month. (McCain later apologized for that burst of honesty and candor.)       

Ann Coulter used her Conservative Political Action Conference speech to take a shot at New Jersey’s governor, Chris Christie, who was not invited to speak this year. Coulter quipped: “Even CPAC had to cut back on its speakers this year, by about 300 pounds.” What a lovely woman.       

Also at CPAC, the half-term ex-governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, took a whack at Karl Rove, challenging him to run for office himself. “Buck up or stay in the truck,” she said with her usual Shakespearean eloquence. Rove shot back that if he were to run and win, he’d at least finish his term. Ouch.....

......The Republican Party is experiencing an existential crisis, born of its own misguided incongruity with modern American culture and its insistence on choosing intransigence in a dynamic age of fundamental change. Instead of turning away from obsolescence, it is charging headlong into it, becoming more strident and pushing away more voters whom it could otherwise win.......

.......People like Bachmann represent everything that is wrong with the Republican Party. She and her colleagues are hyperbolic, reactionary, ill-informed and ill-intentioned, and they have become synonymous with the Republican brand. We don’t need all politicians to be Mensa-worthy, but we do expect them to be cogent and competent.       

When all the dust settles from the current dustup within the party over who holds the mantle and which direction to take, Republicans will still be left with the problem of what to do with people like Bachmann.       

And as long as the party has Bachmanns, it has a problem."

Full article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/23/opinion/blow-the-gops-bachmann-problem.html

Belinda44

Belinda44

Belinda44

pupmom

I think the Pugs still think they can steal their way to national wins. It happened twice, so I can see their logic. Hopefully Dems will be on top of things enough to stop them.

1Athena1

Kam, cheetahs do not come in black, but leopards do and so do jaguars, and those are the ones referred to as panthers.Sometimes cougars are also referred to as panthers. As far as I know, "panther" is a genetric term for all three.

Here is an explanation:

The Panther (also commonly known as the Black Panther) is a large member of the Big Cat family, native to Asia, Africa and the Americas. The Panther is not a distinct species itself but is the general name used to refer to any black coloured feline of the Big Cat family, most notably Leopards and Jaguars. The Panther is an elusive and powerful animal that has adapted well to a variety of habitats around the world, and is known to be one of the strongest climbers of all felines. Although the Panther is not technically classified as a separate species, they are considered to be endangered by many due to the declining numbers of both Leopards and Jaguars throughout much of their natural ranges.

Panther Anatomy and Appearance The Panther tends to be dark brown to black in colour and is otherwise identical to the feline species to which it belongs. The only real exception to this is the Florida Panther found in the south east region of the USA, that is believed to be a subspecies of Cougar and is quite rarely dark brown in colour and tends to have more of a speckled appearance.

http://a-z-animals.com/animals/panther/

crazy4carrots

From Politicususa (teehee!):

While President Obama was receiving the highest civilian award in Israel, Fox News was running a commercial for their Sean Hannity special that declared Obama an enemy of Israel, “But with a friend like Obama are Israel’s enemies gaining strength. Sean gets expert insight on a special Hannity.”

When Fox News ignores what’s happening, that means Obama is doing well. The more successful the president is, the harder Fox News tries to ignore him.

Trying to gin up a boycott of the White House Easter Egg Roll in order to divert attention from the president’s success was pathetic, even by Fox News’ lower than low standards. The disconnect between reality and the right is never as obvious as when President Obama is doing well.

1Athena1

I just finished watching a one hour show about Kevin Richardson and his special relationship with lions.

E - I am like you with Sampson. The animals bring calm and inner peace and happiness. I have had bad exercise-induced upper back pain, and it disappeared. Communicating with nature, even via a screen, brings me such nirvana.

If I never post again, it is because I ran away to African to become a wildlife conservationist.

Barack does well in Israel - more reasons for conservatives to be unhappy!

Momine

Re: The Taliban cartoon. It is a nice sentiment and shared by many, including in the ME, but let us not forget that Muhammed Atta had an engineering degree (as did bin Laden, btw, and many, many other jihadists).

Syria has had a secular regime and a successful educational system for many decades. That has not saved Syria from an Islamist uprising.

Check out the short video clips on this page for a different perspective: http://www.veiledvoices.com/content/sneak-peek

IllinoisLady

IllinoisLady

IllinoisLady

Chickadee

Yorkiemom.....no, no, no.......don't even sully the name of my favorite cuddle masters with those wacko wingnuts. Pugs are put on earth for love and laughter. Hug a Pug today.



LOL.



Did love the no fetch pic of the bulldog though.

pupmom

Sorry, Chick, I love Pugs too! Was NOT thinking! How about Thugs instead?