[PennySerenade]

Canada donating 13M surplus COVID-19 vaccine doses to developing countries



CARBIS BAY, UNITED KINGDOM -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged 13 million surplus vaccines to help the world get immunized against COVID-19 as he and other G7 leaders wrapped up a weekend summit in Britain dominated by the pandemic, climate change and China.

Canada previously said it would offer up to 100 million vaccine doses to help poorer countries beat back the global pandemic, but was the only country from the G7 to not say how many of those would be actual shots rather than money.

Trudeau on Sunday said in addition to the 13 million shots it deemed as surplus, Canada paid for the purchase and distribution of 87 million doses through money already sent to the ACT-Accelerator, a global program to make sure the entire world has access to COVID-19 testing, treatments and vaccines.

The prime minister told reporters during a closing news conference that some of the promised jabs are already on their way to countries lagging wealthy nations in the worldwide immunization effort. But he stopped short of saying when the rest would arrive.

"A number of these doses are on their way as we speak, more will come in the coming months," Trudeau said. "We're going to be able to share around the world as we see Canadians getting vaccinated to higher and higher levels, and we simply do not need those doses."

The Prime Minister's Office later provided a breakdown showing more than seven million of the doses being donated are from pharmaceutical firm Novavax, whose vaccine remains in clinical trials and has yet to be approved for use in Canada.

Last month, the company said it expected to start delivering doses in the third quarter of 2021.

The remainder are Oxford-AstraZeneca doses and shots from Johnson & Johnson that Canada bought through COVAX, an international vaccine sharing initiative.

Canada has been criticized for being the only G7 country to take and use shots from COVAX.

U.S. President Joe Biden started the summit by announcing a commitment to share 500 million coronavirus vaccine doses with the world. All told, G7 leaders confirmed their intent to donate more than one billion doses to low-income countries in the next year.

But the commitment falls far short of the 11 billion doses the World Health Organization said is needed to vaccinate at least 70 per cent of the world's population and truly end the pandemic.

Trudeau emphasized that the donation would not affect Canada's own vaccination efforts, which have ramped up in recent months with the delivery of shots from Pfizer-BioNTech and, to a lesser degree, Moderna.

He said on top of sending vaccines, Canada has already spent $2.5 billion on international aide for COVID-19.

COVID-19 was not only a point of policy discussion for the G7 leaders, it also meant a new way of holding an international gathering. Elbow bumps took the place of traditional handshakes, while signs reminded those gathered behind closed doors to try and keep them open.



Masks were only donned on occasion. Trudeau wore his publicly while bumping elbows with another leader, but then went maskless when seated or standing further apart.

During one group photo taken on a beach, Trudeau was the only leader who put on a mask while greeting British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife, and then folded it away when their elbows dropped.

Pictures from a reception with the Queen and Prince Charles showed a bearded Trudeau without a mask in close conversation.

While the pandemic figured prominently in the G7 leaders' discussions and Canada's post-summit pledges, the thorny issue of how to handle increasing competition and aggression from China was also top of mind throughout the weekend.

G7 leaders presented an infrastructure plan called "Build Back Better for the World," calling for spending hundreds of billions of dollars alongside the private sector while adhering to climate standards and labour practices.

It is designed to compete with China's "Belt and Road Initiative," which launched a network of projects in large parts of the world, primarily Asia and Africa. Critics say China's projects often create massive debt and expose nations to undue influence by Beijing.

Trudeau did not explicitly mention the new initiative or China's treatment of ethnic minorities such as Uyghur Muslims, topics touched on during the summit, but did thank fellow G7 leaders for supporting Canada's calls for the immediate release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. The official post-summit communique from all leaders condemned the practice of arbitrary detentions in China, but made no specific mention of the Canadians.

"What has happened to the two Michaels should not have happened, and indeed could happen in any country in the world," Trudeau said. "The use of arbitrary detention and coercive diplomacy by China is a concern to us all."

Beijing detained the two Canadians days after the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at the Vancouver airport on an extradition request from the United States.

Biden, attending his first G7 summit as president, fought for the leaders' joint statement to include specific language criticizing China's use of forced labor and other human rights abuses as he worked to cast the rivalry with Beijing as the defining competition for the 21st century.

The final communique called for another investigation by the World Health Organization into the origins of COVID-19, urged China to respect human rights in Xinjiang and democracy in Hong Kong, and expressed concern about Chinese aggression in the South and East China Seas.

Canada, the United Kingdom and France largely endorsed the Biden administration's position, while Germany, Italy and European showed hesitancy, according to an administration official who observed some of the talks and briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

When asked if he would describe China as an adversary, Trudeau emphasized the need to both work with the country on global challenges like climate change while recognizing it as a competitor on trade and a source of concern when it comes to human rights.

The leaders of the world's richest countries also agreed to endorse a global minimum tax of at least 15 per cent on multinational corporations. The decision had been widely anticipated after finance ministers earlier this month embraced the plan to stop corporations from using havens to avoid taxes and thus deprive some countries of much-needed revenue.

A VERY clever boy! Border Collie who can identify his 80 toys by name and fetch beer from the fridge stuns This Morning viewers with his intelligence

Border Collie Bear correctly identifies names of his soft toys during memory test
Owner Sophie Gloss, 27, from Guernsey, can teach a new toy in three minutes
Appeared on This Morning where the animal impressed viewers with his skills
Animal is able to fetch beer for guests from the fridge and understand FaceTime

By Monica Greep For Mailonline

Published: 09:11 EDT, 8 June 2021 | Updated: 09:23 EDT, 8 June 2021

A Border Collie whose astonishing memory skills made him an internet sensation has stunned This Morning viewers with his very impressive intelligence.

Owner Sophie Gloss, 27, from Guernsey, appeared on the show with six-year-old pet dog Bear, who went viral last month after she shared a clip of the animal rapidly identifying 11 of his toys by name.

Since then, the dog has learned to recognize 80 toys, and Sophie says that it only takes Bear three minutes to learn a new name, and that his 'party trick' is fetching guests a beer from the fridge.

Viewers were delighted after his appearance today, where he was able to quickly identify and fetch five of his toys, with several hailing the animal 'amazing' and 'adorable'.
Six-year-old Border Collie Bear appeared on This Morning today to show off his astonishing memory skills and identified five of his toys by name

Six-year-old Border Collie Bear appeared on This Morning today to show off his astonishing memory skills and identified five of his toys by name
Owner Sophie Gloss, 27, from Guernsey, appeared on the show with Bear after the pair went viral earlier this year

Bear became an online star in January when Sophie posted a video of her dog picking out 11 of his toys - which has since racked up over 5,000 views and hundreds of likes.

'I just put it up for fun and the next thing I knew I was getting messages from friends, and all around the world', said Sophie.

'He was fetching his toys in the living room and I had laid them out just spontaneously, saying different toys and he was picking them out.'

Viewers were delighted after his appearance today, where he was able to quickly identify and fetch five of his toys, with several hailing the animal 'amazing' and 'adorable'

Learning the name of one of his toys takes Bear around three minutes, and Sophie teaches her pet by repeating the name during a came of fetch.

'They [Border Collies] hang on to every word,' said Sophie. 'It’s like having a really small child listening to everything.

'He can feel when you’re upset and he will come and cuddle you and if you’re excited he’s like "Oh what are we excited for?".'

Sophie said that Bear can understand the concept of video calls, and will answer the commands of her family while she speaks to them over FaceTime.

Bear became an online star in January when Sophie posted a video of her dog picking out 11 of his toys, including a dinosaur and caterpillar - which has since racked up over 5,000 views and hundreds of likes
Sophie said on the show that it only takes Bear three minutes to learn a new name, and that his 'party trick' is fetching guests a beer from the fridge

'She [mum] can give him a command on FaceTime and he’ll do it and most dogs aren’t interested in other people on FaceTime, even on the laptop, he’ll do it'.

Sophie says and that she and Bear are aiming to reach 100 toys and viewers were quick to praise the intelligence of the animal.

One viewer gushed: 'Oh wow! That dog on #ThisMorning is amazing! So, so clever!'

'Currently crying over the dog on This Morning!'', wrote another.

While a third teased: 'I wish my cat was this smart'.

[hija]

‘Big oil is over’: courtroom dramas and boardroom coups signal end of crude



The oil industry is having a torrid year, and climate campaigners are delighted. For the first time, there is a palpable sense that the sands are shifting for a sector whose business model is incompatible with climate targets. Support for big oil appears to be dripping away.

The cancellation last week of the Canada-US Keystone XL pipeline was the latest in a series of turning points for the sector. The $8bn (£5.7bn) project was due to pump 830,000 barrels of crude oil a day from Alberta’s tar sands to Nebraska. However, the firm behind it, TC Energy Corp, canned the project last week after President Biden – acting in January – revoked the permit for it to cross the US border.

The controversial pipeline had been the subject of a 13-year David and Goliath battle between indigenous communities, whose land it would have gone through, and big oil. It was deemed critical for the future of Alberta’s oil industry. Now it is no more.

“This is a major victory that would not have been possible without the leadership of the indigenous communities,” said Greenpeace.

But it’s not just activists who are forcing the oil industry to give up bad habits. In May, a Dutch court ordered Shell to slash emissions by 45 per cent by 2030, in a landmark case that could have global implications.

Roger Cox, lawyer for Friends of the Earth Netherlands, which brought the case, described the verdict as “a turning point in history”, adding: “This ruling may have major consequences for other big polluters.”

Earlier this year, Shell had pledged to cut emissions by 20 per cent by 2030, with a view to becoming carbon neutral by 2050. It was considered one of the oil industry’s more ambitious targets. However, the court in The Hague said that it wasn’t ambitious enough and ordered the firm to go further.

Shell is expected to appeal the decision, but attitudes appear to be hardening within oil firms themselves. In May, ExxonMobil succumbed to a coup launched by dissident hedge fund activists from Engine No. 1, a sustainable investment firm. The group replaced three Exxon board members with its own candidates in a bid to try and steer the oil giant towards a greener future.

“For the first time in history, responsible shareholders have breached the walls protecting recalcitrant boards of directors,” said Eli Kasargod-Staub, executive director of Majority Action, which empowers shareholders to hold boards to account. “The ExxonMobil board challenge is only the beginning of a reckoning for board directors who fail to make measurable progress towards decarbonisation.”

Separately, Chevron shareholders rebelled against the firm’s board by voting in favour of an activist proposal – launched by the Dutch campaign group Follow This – to force the group to slash emissions.

On the back of those mutinies, the credit rating agency Moody’s warned that the financial risk for major oil producers had increased. Stricter climate targets, the rise of electric vehicles and divestment from fossil fuels among pension funds is set to increase that risk further.

After the Shell ruling, Friends of the Earth’s Rachel Kennerley, bullishly declared that “big oil is over”. Such declarations may be a tad premature, but not by much. A recent study by the law firm CMS predicted that the world could reach peak oil by 2030.

In the meantime, the International Energy Agency expects global oil production to reach pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022 – a sign that the transition to renewables will be anything but slick.

[goldie0608]

'A much faster pace': 12-year-old graduates from high school and college in the same week



In the same week, Mike Wimmer and his family celebrated his high school and college graduations in Concord, North Carolina. And he is just 12 years old.

Mike completed four years of school in one year – two years of high school and a two-year associate's degree. He graduated from Rowan-Cabarrus Community College on May 21 and from Concord Academy High School on May 28, where he was valedictorian.

He said his college GPA was 4.0, and his high school GPA was 5.45.

"I'd always just went through things at a much faster pace and always had these different out-of-the-box ideas to solve problems," he told USA TODAY.

Mike started high school at age 9 and realized that with the amount of dual enrollment credits he was taking, he could finish his associate degree simultaneously. He graduated with an associate in the arts.

Though Mike was much younger than his classmates in high school and college, his mother, Melissa Wimmer, said he adjusted to the age gap easily. While she says she was worried, she credits the easy transition to his ability to make friends "with anyone and everyone."

When he wasn't focused on his academics, Mike founded two companies. His first is Next Era Innovations, where he develops robotic applications and programming. His newest project is Reflect Social, in which Mike said he's solving the problem of having separate applications on separate devices. Reflect Social combines various applications onto one compatible device.

Despite fast-tracking through high school, the graduate said he is still just a kid.

"I play with Hot Wheels tracks and have Legos. Many people think that I lost my childhood or something like that. But in general, I am having the time of my life doing everything and still have that kid factor as well," Mike said.

Melissa Wimmer and her husband, Mark, said they never expected their son to accomplish all he has so young in life. They said they never pushed him but instead supported his passions.

"What we say as parents is support your child in exactly what they want to do and in their goals, their dreams, not yours or not the ones that you would like for them to do," Mark Wimmer said. "Once you find that passion, whether it be academics, sports, music, art, whatever area that is, trying to support that and get them access as much as possible."

Now Mike is weighing job offers, focusing on his companies and considering a four-year university. Until then, he's holding on to "kid-like" dreams in the future.

"Then there's say long-term goals of buying my first sports car once I turn 16, right? Because, again, I'm still just a kid," he said. "So really, I don't really put myself in a box. ... I just go with the flow and see where it takes me."

[lush]

Westminster Dog Show Wasabi Wows the Judges ... Pekingese Wins Best in Show!!!
6/14/2021 7:22 AM PT*


[click to play Video] | Getty

A Pekingese named Wasabi hotdogged his way to Best in Show at the 2021 Westminster Dog Show ... following in the footsteps of his doggone brother!!!

It's a pretty incredible feat, but Wasabi's owner and trainer, David Fitzpatrick, already boasts one Best in Show winner ... his other Pekingese, Malachy, won the event in 2012.

But, Sunday's event was all about 3-year-old Wasabi, who flaunted a "proper Pekingese gait" that looks "like a goldfish moving through the water" ... according to the announcers.

instagram.com/p/CQFdcF8FRD-

Wasabi beat out 6 other group winners to take the top prize, with Bourbon the whippet coming in second.

There was also another very famous dog owner involved in the competition at the second-oldest continuous sporting event in the U.S. (behind the Kentucky Derby) ... Barry Bonds!!!


[click to play Video]


MLB's all-time home run leader's miniature schnauzer Rocky was in the mix, and although the good boy didn't win ... Barry was a proud dog dad for sure.


[click to launch Gallery] | Getty

One more historical note -- this year's event was held at the Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown, New York, and not Madison Square Garden ... where it has been held every year since 1877. The move was the result of the pandemic.

Fitzpatrick says in celebration of the historic win, he had some champagne ... and Wasabi got a filet mignon.

[mrvictor]

Ancient Chicken Laid An Egg That Lasted 1,000 Years Without Being Broken



And now from the files of our ‘Too Much Information Life Hacks Department’… While you might have heard pickling eggs is a great way to extend their shelf life, did you know preserving them in poo can keep them in near-mint condition for 1,000 years?

Well, in near-mint archaeological condition, at any rate.

While in no way fit for human consumption, a centuries-old chicken egg in a near-pristine state—or as pristine as an object that’s been cocooned in ca-ca for 10 centuries can be—was recently discovered during an Israel Antiquities Authority-led excavation of a Byzantine-era cesspit in the city of Yavne.

For those unfamiliar, back in the day, a cesspit served as your basic open-air septic tank/dumpster. In addition to human excrement, cesspits served as the repository for all manner of waste products.

Along with the superannuated egg, a trio of Islamic Period bone dolls was also recovered from the site. (Giving new meaning to the phrase, “Holy crap!” we suppose.)

Archaeologists report it’s not all that unusual to find ostrich eggs of this vintage still intact, however, with much thinner shells, unearthing—or in the case, un-dunging—a whole hen’s egg from this period is an extremely rare occurrence.

“Even today, eggs rarely survive for long in supermarket cartons,” IAA archeologist Alla Nagorsky told The Times of Israel. “It’s amazing to think this is a 1,000-year-old find!”


https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/ancient ... ng-broken/

[johngriffen]

I sometimes get REALLY DEPRESSED reviewing the news these days.
It's always about a global pandemic threatening life as we know it,
protests around the world, stupid politicians, natural disasters,
or some other really bad story.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Welcome to The mobi weekly news magazine
IN OTHER NEWS
TUESDAY JUNE 15
What is it?
Here is your chance to become an "ACE REPORTER" for our weekly news magazine.
It is your job to fine weird, funny or "good feel" stories from around the world and share them with our readers in our weekly magazine

How do you play?
Just post a story that you have come across that made you smile, laugh, feel good...
BUT NOTHING DEPRESSING

EXAMPLE POST

​Naked sunbather chases wild boar through park after it steals his laptop bag

A naked sunbather was seen chasing wild boar through a park after it stole his laptop bag.
Amusing photographs from Germany show the man running after the animal to try and claim the plastic bag back.
But the cheeky boar and its two piglets appear to be too quick for the sunbather, who can't keep up with their speedy little trotters.
As the incident unfolds, groups of friends and family sat on the grass watch on and laugh.
Heads are seen turning in surprise and amusement in the hilarious photographs.
The incident happened at Teufelssee Lake - a bathing spot in the Grunwell Forest in Berlin, Germany.

Rules:
Each Edition of IN OTHER NEWS will be open for 7 days...
You can post as many stories as you like, but you will only get paid for One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can only earn WRZ$ once a day.
Each news day will start when I post announcing it
OR at:
9:00 AM CHICAGO TIME (UTC -5)
2:00 PM GMT (UTC -0)
on those days I space out and forget to post or can't due to Real Life
Stories may be accompanied with images - but No big images, please! 800x800 pixels wide maximum
Videos are allowed, but please keep them short, and post a short summary for those that don't like to click on videos
No Duplicate stories - Where a post has been edited resulting in duplicates, then the last one in time gets disallowed.
And please limit this to reasonably family friendly stories

Reward:
Each news story posted that I feel is acceptable (must be a real story, too few words or simply a headline are not considered acceptable) will earn you 50 WRZ$
If you post multiple stories on any given day, you will only earn 50 WRZ$ for the first story of the Day
All payments will be made at THE END of the weekly news cycle.
Special Bonus - Each week I will award "The Pulitzer Prize" for the best story of the week
The weekly winner of the "The Pulitzer Prize" will receive a 100 WRZ$ bonus
It's just my personal opinion, so my judgement is final

So help bring GOOD news to the members of mobi, and join our reporting team...

IN OTHER NEWS

[Fivetide]

Endangered corpse flower blooms in Warsaw, drawing crowds


The endangered Sumatran Titan arum, or the corpse flower, at the rare moment of bloom for just a few hours, and emitting rotten meat odor, at the Warsaw University Botanical Gardens, in Warsaw, Poland, on Sunday, June 13, 2021. Hundreds of people waited for hours in cold wind to see the unusual flower, also known as Amorphophallus titanium, whose blooming is unpredictable and once in many years. Botanical gardens around the world help preserve this giant among flowers. (AP Photo/Monika Scislowska)

The endangered Sumatran Titan arum, a giant foul-smelling blossom also known as the corpse flower, went into a rare, short bloom at a botanical garden in Warsaw, drawing crowds who waited for hours to see it.

The extraordinary flower, which emits a dead-body odor to attract pollinating insects that feed on flesh, bloomed Sunday. It was already withering early Monday. Those wishing to avoid the smell and crowds could watch it on live video from the Warsaw University Botanical Gardens.

Hundreds, if not thousands, lined up long into the night Sunday and Monday morning at the conservatory just to be able to pass by the flower and take a picture.

Know also as the Amorphophallus titanum, the flowering plant has the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world, which can be up to 3 meters (10 feet) high. Its compound flower is composed of a hollow, tall spadix with small flowers and a spathe, with one big, furrowed petal that is green on the outside and deep burgundy red on the inside. It’s blooming is rare and unpredictable.

The plant only grows in the wild in the rainforests of Sumatra, but it is endangered there due to deforestation. Cultivation at botanical gardens, where they are a great visitor attraction, has helped its preservation. It’s first known blooming outside Sumatra was in 1889 at London’s Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew.

[ozswede]

Squirrel cheats death as he drives down the Indycar track, narrowly dodging a car

* A squirrel narrowly missed being hit by a car during an IndyCar race in Detroit
* The squirrel made a mighty leap out of the way of the oncoming vehicle
* The clip has been viewed almost 70,000 times since yesterday


A squirrel cheated on death after landing on an IndyCar track during a race

A squirrel has cheated death after landing on an IndyCar track during a race.

Sunday’s race was part of the Detroit Grand Prix and saw driver Ryan Hunter-Leay narrowly hit and kill the small animal.

The nail-biting clip was later shared by IndyCar on Twitter, along with the words, “That was crazy.

“@RyanHunterReay avoids a different kind of traffic on the streets of Belle Isle.”


Sunday’s race was part of the Detroit Grand Prix and saw driver Ryan Hunter-Leay narrowly hit and kill the small animal.

Footage shows Reay approaching the squirrel at high speed as the animal saunters down the road.

Tweet video here: https://twitter.com/IndyCar/status/1404098398777745412

For a moment it looks like the car will hit the animal, before the squirrel took a mighty leap out of the way of the oncoming vehicle and tucked its tail under its body as it leaped forward.

It’s unclear if Reay saw the squirrel or tried to get out of the way.

The clip has been viewed nearly 70,000 times since yesterday, as well as 2,100 likes and 456 retweets.

Many online were impressed by the squirrel’s agility, commenting, “That little guy’s parkour action!”

Another person joked, “Cats have nine lives. How many lives does a squirrel have?’

‘Real world Rocky the flying squirrel. Great timing,” one person commented.

Source

[prokroustis]

Jasmine Hill, Alabama’s “Little Corner of Ancient Greece”, Shuts Down



Jasmine Hill, a 20-acre botanical garden and outdoor museum in Wetumpka, a town outside of Montgomery, Alabama, has closed. The gardens contained an extensive variety of classical greek sculpture–both original and replicas– that depicted Olympic gods and ancient architecture. Jasmine Hill was most famous for its full-scale replica of the Temple of Hera ruins found in Olympia, Greece.

The non-profit organization announced they would not be reopening. Although they did not disclose the reason behind the closure, it came amidst the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit many parks, museums and restaurants especially hard due to the inability for visitors to congregate at such spaces together.

The pandemic led to nearly 200,000 more business closures than usual last year, with major corporations being much less affected than small, individual companies.

Alongside its collection of ancient Greek replicas, the property was known for being an extraordinarily scenic site with many blooming camellias, bees and butterflies, a fish pond, and an ancient meteor crater. It attracted visitors from all across Alabama and the rest of the country. The grounds were a popular destination for weddings and gatherings.

During the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the olympic torch, which originates from the Temple of Hera ruins in Olympia, Greece, made a stop at the gardens. It was lit at the cauldron of Jasmine Hill’s reproduction of the Temple, before continuing forward to the centennial games. The ’96 games are famous for being one of the most outsized events in the history of the Olympics, costing upwards of 1.7 billion dollars.

Jasmine Hill was known as “A little corner of Ancient Greece”
The Gardens were established in the early 1930s by Philhellenes Benjamin and Mary Fitzpatrick who had a passion for Greece and wanted to share it with others.

The couple spent their early married life busily establishing a chain of stores in the South and then retired to their hilltop haven to create a living memorial to ancient Greece.

Getting a jump on the Depression, the Fitzpatricks sold their store holdings in 1927, just before the crash. After the Depression came, they were reluctant to venture into business again, so they came to Jasmine Hill to stay and make their home in the 1830-era cottage within the Gardens.

A garden of this magnitude did not develop overnight. In fact, the Fitzpatricks made over twenty trips to Greece to purchase their art, to study at the American Classical School in Athens, and to simply enjoy Greek culture.

The Gardens featured a collection of nearly 40 pieces of Greek statuary, both original and copies.

The site included a separate restored temple facade at the museum entrance, as it would have appeared in ancient times. Other attractions included fountains, stairways, and hedges.

Florida town accidentally sells municipal water tower



BROOKSVILLE — The scenic city of Brooksville may not have a Brooklyn Bridge to sell. But recently — and accidentally — the city sold its water tower.

Lucky for city fathers, the accidental buyer, Bobby Read, agreed to deed the tower back to Brooksville after the mistake was made. But the error has caused a flurry of social media attention and a rift between residents and political figures.

The issue began last year, when Read approached the city. He asked about the small building with a garage at the water tower’s base. It had been used as storage for various city departments, but Read was hoping to use it as a gym. That began discussions with city leaders who had specific tasks to complete, including declaring the building surplus and subdividing the land.

The sale price was $55,000. City Council unanimously approved the sale.

Then, the seemingly routine deal when awry.

Several days later, when Read went to the Hernando County Property Appraiser’s office to get an address for his new business location, he was told that the parcel he bought included the entire water tower site.

City Manager Mark Kutney said that there were only a few parking spaces that were part of the deal with Read, and the city is working with Hernando County officials to secure more parking spaces nearby.

He also said the issue with the tower is now resolved, blaming the use of a bad legal description for what happened. Anderson, the redevelopment agency director, resigned after the incident, he said.

[Fatima99]

Villagers erect massive penis statue to successfully end devastating drought

The super-sized phallus, or "Palad Khik" in Thai, appears to have been successful - just two days after it was set up in a street in Thailand’s Chachoengsao province there was a short rain shower



Local villagers in Yothaka, in Thailand’s Chachoengsao province, ended a period of drought by building a giant penis sculpture.

The super-sized phallus, or "Palad Khik" in Thai, was erected on Jun 9 in response to farmers' concerns that there hadn’t been enough rain recently and that water from irrigation canals was too salty and had been damaging crops.

This week local village headman, Chamnan Kenthongdaeng, 52, told a press conference that on June 11, just two days after the giant penis was installed it had started raining, with a shower that lasted some half an hour.

Koson Samang, the headman of a nearby village, had made a video of the rain to confirm the phenomenon.



However, local farmers complained that the brief shower hadn’t been long enough to irrigate their fields. Chamnan 52, promised that prayers to the phallus will continue,

He told Pattaya News that erecting a Palad Khik, representing fertility and new growth, was a local tradition going back decades, to the time of his grandparents.

Chamnan said that the giant penis wouldn’t cause any problems with traffic, explaining that it was built on a cul-de-sac.

"It will be removed as soon as the seasonal rain comes," he promised.
Meanwhile, local residents are being encouraged to pray to the gigantic penis and leave small offerings.

Chamnan said that he was aware that some people had been mocking the phallus online, but condemned them, saying they had "no faith" and were being disrespectful to the beliefs of the villagers that dated back almost a century.

Chachoengsao province is dominated by low plains, with massive rice farms and other water-dependent agriculture, so good rainfall is very important to local farmers.

[goldie0608]

Diver Who Says He Was Trapped Inside Whale Also Survived Plane Crash That Killed 3

Michael Packard survived a plane crash in Costa Rica in 2001 that killed three other people



Michael Packard says he found himself floating inside the mouth of a humpback whale - and it wasn't the first time he'd faced a brush with death.

Packard, 56, made headlines this week with his story of surviving a once-in-a-lifetime whale encounter off the coast of Cape Cod - a lucky break that came 20 years after he survived a deadly plane crash in Costa Rica.

The father of two touched on the incident in a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" Q&A session on Saturday, explaining that he'd been "flung out of the plane before it even hit the ground."

A 2001 Cape Cod Times article said that Packard was one of at least six passengers on board the flight, which was headed from the capital of San Jose to the fishing port of Puerto Jimenez when it crashed in a remote area.

Three others on board, including both pilots, were killed, while Packard and at least four others survived, though it reportedly took rescuers several hours to reach them.

At the time, a family friend named Rita Rozen said that Packard, the son of famous painter Anne Packard, suffered severe facial injuries and multiple broken bones in his arms and legs.

"What he's told me when I ask him is that he was just astounded to be alive, if he was rescued even a day later he wouldn't be here today," Packard's son Jacob, 16, wrote in the AMA. "He has a large scar on his neck. This all happened before I was born, but I'm sure it shaped him into the brave and passionate man he is today."

As if two near-death experiences weren't enough, Packard also wrote in the AMA that at 15 years old, he was nearly swept out to sea.

"My fishing boat became stranded off at sea. I swam after it," he wrote. "Visibility was terrible, had no idea where I was. No way back to shore. Barely made it out of there with my life, lucky I was found."

In 2017, he also stumbled upon the body of a fellow diver who'd been lost at sea six years earlier, he said.

Though Packard's account of his whale encounter has raised questions, friend Josiah Mayo, who was one of several witnesses of the incident, came to his defense in an interview with the Washington Post.

Mayo, his fishing partner, said Packard has a reputation among locals as an experienced angler, which has lent credibility to his story.

"If it was some yahoo, I think we'd be arguing if it actually happened," Mayo told the Post. "You see him narrating what happened and it's just … so very clearly true and obvious what happened."

Though headlines have declared Packard was nearly "eaten" by the whale, he has maintained that the whale did not try to swallow or eat him, as the animal would have been "physically incapable" of doing so due to the small size of its throat.

Packard, who had an oxygen tank on him, said the massive creature likely ran into him by accident while searching for krill, and that he was trapped in complete darkness for about 30-40 seconds.

"I was almost convinced I was going to die that day," he wrote on Reddit. "Eventually, the whale managed to dislodge me by moving its head and tongue, I think. [It was] completely dark. I could've suffocated, or drowned if I didn't retrieve my regulator in time."

Though a doctor found no broken bones and no signs of an embolism, Packard did suffer bruises and a dislocated knee, the Post reported.

"I was gulped before even realizing that my head or feet were first. It was pretty tight, but spacious enough for me to move my arms at least," he wrote on Reddit. "I'm getting back in the water as soon as possible. This job is my life, wouldn't stop for anything."

Ohio couple holds impromptu wedding at local hospital so mom fighting cancer can attend

An Ohio couple hosted an impromptu wedding ceremony at the hospital where the bride's mother is being treated for stage four lung cancer so that she could attend, according to local affiliate WCMH.

Carley Auddino said she and her fiancé initially planned for a June 5 wedding, but as her mother, Taura's, condition worsened in May, they decided to host a smaller ceremony at an earlier date so that her mother could be there on her special day, according to WCMH.

“She has fought really, really hard … when she was first intubated, they kind of were preparing us for the worst … really weren’t sure that she was going to pull through,” Auddino told WCMH.

Since her diagnosis of stage four lung cancer in 2018, Carley and the rest of her family have been fighting alongside their mother, uncertain of how much longer she may have. For Auddino, her mother being there as she walked down the aisle was more important than having the perfect venue, dress or guest list, Auddino told WCMH.

[PennySerenade]

Ontario announces it will reopen provincial borders on June 16



TORONTO -- Ontario will lift provincial border restrictions on June 16, allowing people to once again travel freely into the province from Manitoba and Quebec.

As of 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, people will be able to enter Ontario through interprovincial land and water borders without the trip needing to be considered essential.

Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said on Monday that Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams approved lifting the restrictions.

In April, Ontario authorities set up checkpoints at interprovincial borders to restrict land travel between Quebec and Manitoba to essential travel only.

Before Wednesday, travellers entering Ontario for purposes other than work, medical care, transportation of goods and exercising Indigenous treaty rights will be turned back at the border.

There were never any restrictions on travelling into Ontario from other provinces by air.

There is also no quarantine period for people entering Ontario from other provinces.