Russians find Putin’s latest stunt fishy
There was a time when Vladimir Putin’s macho antics inspired pride among Russians, but many are finding it hard to believe the President’s latest stunt — catching a huge pike in Siberia. Video footage released by the Kremlin recently showed Putin dressed in camouflage fatigues and sunglasses, fishing, driving a motorboat and petting reindeer in a remote region of Siberia with his Prime Minister and Defence Minister. But the images of the 60-year-old President hauling in a pike which the Kremlin said weighed 21 kg proved too much for some Russians to swallow.
Within hours, online satirists were questioning whether the incident was staged and whether the pike was really as big as the Kremlin said. Experienced anglers posted photographs of large pike they had caught, questioning the size and weight of the ex-KGB officer’s catch. Putin has often burnished his image since first coming to power in 2000 with outdoor exploits such as riding a horse with a bare torso and shooting a tiger with a tranquiliser. Putin remains Russia’s most popular politician, with a recent opinion poll showing his trust level at 45 per cent, but his authority was dented by mass protests in Moscow and other big cities that began in late 2011 and carried on into 2012. (Reuters)
Drone programme sets out to find Bigfoot
It seems there’s almost nothing a drone can’t do these days: Deliver pizza, spot giant “rivers of blood” in Texas, open up new frontiers of hunting in Colorado and maybe even solve the long-standing mystery of Bigfoot. Idaho State University’s Jeffrey Meldrum tells the Mountain Express he believes drones will provide an edge in hunting down the elusive Sasquatch. Assuming, of course, that the creature even exists. “These unmanned drones, I believe, are the next step in proving the nature of these creatures,” Meldrum, author of Sasquatch: legend Meets Science, told the paper. Meldrum and the University of Idaho are collaborating with William Barnes on a venture called “The Falcon Project,” which will use a camera attached to a 45-foot-long drone to look for evidence of Sasquatch. (Yahoo News)
Swedish nightclub told to turn down music to protect fish
Swedish authorities have ordered a nightclub to lower the volume of its music due to concerns about the safety of pet fish kept in the club. The County Administrative Board said the nightclub in Gothenburg, which keeps cichlid fish in tanks, was found to be playing music at 100 decibels, but laws require the music to be kept at 65 decibels or lower when pet animals are in the vicinity, Swedish news agency TT/The local.se reported. The board said the music must either be kept at a quieter level or the club must obtain new aquariums with better noise protection. (UPI)
‘Paradogs’ did jumps with British World War II battalion
The author of a book about a British parachute battalion during World War II said his research found dogs were trained to parachute with the soldiers. Andrew Woolhouse, author of the book, 13 — lucky For Some, said his research into the 13th (lancashire) Parachute Battalion discovered lance Cpl Ken Bailey had been ordered to train the “paradogs” to parachute into Normandy for the D-Day landings, the liverpool Echo reported.
“lance Cpl Bailey was asked by his commanding officer about the possibility of parachuting dogs,” Woolhouse said. “I think he had a veterinary background, which was why he was chosen.” Woolhouse said the dogs were used as the “eyes and ears” of soldiers on the ground and would alert them to noises. (UPI)
Prisoners clamour for ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’
The Fifty Shades of Grey series of erotic novels are the favourite reading material among “high-value” prisoners at the Guantanamo detention camp in Cuba, a US congressman said. Representative Jim Moran of Virginia was among congressional delegates who recently toured Camp 7, the top-security facility that holds more than a dozen “high-value” prisoners, including five men charged with plotting the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.
“Rather than The Quran, the book that is requested most by the (Camp 7 detainees) is Fifty Shades of Grey. They’ve read the entire series,” Moran said. Moran, who favours shutting down the detention camp on the Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base, said he learned about the book’s popularity while touring Camp 7 with the base commander and deputy base commander, the head medical official and the officer in charge of that camp. During a recent visit, Reuters saw an eclectic mix of books in numerous languages, from religious tomes to Star Trek novelisations, Agatha Christie mysteries, stress reduction workbooks and the Greek classic The Odyssey. (Reuters)