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(IsraelNN.com) The U.S. State Department Tuesday refused to state whether the Obama administration will honor a promise by the previous government that Israel will retain sovereignty over large Jewish areas in Judea and Samaria, in the event that a new Palestinian Authority state is created.

It seemed among the easiest of his transparency pledges and is entirely under his control, but President Obama is finagling his promise to post bills on the White House Web site for comment for five days before he signs them. Mr. Obama last week signed four bills, each just a day or two after Congress passed and sent it over to him.

Banker catches ducklings plunging from first-storey ledge to concrete pavement below ___ The spectacle of a banker scurrying across a pavement, catching ducklings as they plunge off a ledge has resulted in him earning the nickname 'Duck Man'. Joel Armstrong arrived at Sterling Savings at 5.45am and took his position to help the brood of 12 ducklings who were getting ready to make their first trip to the water. The kind-hearted loan officer had been keeping an eye on the mother duck's nest from his office on the video at site

Firefighters plucked four baby ducks from a storm drain Monday after the rescuers heard the mother squawking for her hatchlings in a bustling Washington neighborhood known more for nightlife than wildlife. Firefighters at Engine Company 9 noticed a duck "screaming at a storm drain" in an alley, fire department spokesman Alan Etter said. When they took the cover off the drain, they found four ducklings swimming about six feet down, he said. The firefighters took all the ducks, including a fifth duckling that had stayed by its mother's side, to a nearby police station, where they were handed over to...

A recently released U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report shows that waterfowl hunters are a welcome benefit to the country's economy, generating more than $2.3 billion in one year. The report is an addendum to the 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation and focuses specifically on waterfowl hunting in the United States. Hunters spent $900 million on various goods and services, including transportation, guns, decoys and hunting dogs. Their spending supported more than 27,000 jobs and generated more than $8.5 million in employment income.

A leading virologist said on Thursday that ducks are to blame for the resurgence of the H5N1 bird flu virus in China and Vietnam, and called for wider surveillance and vaccination of ducks to stop the problem. The virus has infected at least 14 people in both countries since the start of this year, killing seven of them. Experts said what was mystifying about the latest round of outbreaks was the absence of the disease in poultry in China despite the human infections. H5N1 is passed primarily from animal to human. Robert Webster, a leading H5N1 expert, told a medical...

This time of year the ducks schedule is sex, food, a nap, and repeat. The Mallards often come ashore for a nap, the Hooded Mergansers are more likely to tuck their beak under a wing, and nap on the water.

A Roman mosaic floor filled with scenes depicting pagan rites and oriental gods has emerged from the ground of a Catholic church in Italy, archaeologists announced. The mosaic pavement, which measures 140 square feet and dates to the fourth century A.D., was unearthed at a depth of about 13 feet below the the ground's surface during archaeological investigations in the crypt of the Cathedral of Reggio Emilia, in central-northern Italy. "The size and design of the mosaic pavement suggest that it formed the floor of a huge room. We believe this was the residence of a wealthy Roman," Renata Curina,...

The American space agency NASA has made an appeal for public help with one of its stranger experiments. It wants information on the fate of 90 rubber ducks deployed on a special mission to pinpoint where melt waters go under the Greenland ice shelf in summer months. The bathroom toys were put into one of the crevasses which drain vast amounts of Greenland's melt waters in the hope they would pop out eventually and reveal the route taken by the water. Nothing has been seen or heard of the ducks since.

Oregon officials have scheduled a press conference for 3:30 p.m. and are expected to announce that football coach Mike Bellotti will become the new athletic director and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly will take Bellotti's place as head coach. The timetable is not yet known

A woman was caught allegedly trying to steal a duck from a local pond, and the reason she gave police was very unusual. Ducks seem to be disappearing at the Land Park Pond in Sacramento. Police aren't exactly sure why, but in one case, they tracked down the alleged thief and she gave them an unusual excuse. "It's certainly not the type of call an officer gets everyday," said Sgt. Matt Young, Sacramento Police Department. Police said someone saw a woman and her children playing at the pond. Soon after, the witness said, the woman took off with the duck....

The Red Hen in the Barnyard Once upon a time, on a farm in Virginia, there was a little red hen who scratched about the barnyard until she uncovered quite a few grains of wheat. She called all of her neighbors together and said, 'If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help me plant it?' 'Not I,' said the cow. 'Not I,' said the duck. 'Not I,' said the pig. 'Not I,' said the goose. 'Then I will do it by myself,' said the little red hen, and so she did. The wheat grew...

Feeding Ducks & Geese: The Parks Division strongly discourages the feeding of area waterfowl. Because food supplied by people is easy for the birds to obtain, ducks and geese lose their natural migrating instincts. This leads to overpopulation, making creatures more susceptible to disease and predators. Please allow them to find their own sources of food.

WING, N.D. - Mike Goos likens the prairie potholes of North Dakota to suburbia. Ducks born in the prairie potholes mature while on "spring break" in the south, returning north to find a home and raise their young, he said. "You're a pair that likes 3 inches of water, we've got a place for you. You're a pair that likes 4 feet of water, we've got a place for you," Mr. Goos, a Fish and Wildlife Service wetlands manager, said on a June 23 wetlands tour. But as with humans, suburban life for ducks isn't free of troubles. As the...

When the Snowy Egrets get all dressed up, and the Red Breasted Mergansers pass through on the way North, it's Springtime! http://www.pbase.com/tsiya/root http://photobucket.com/albums/v244/tsiya/ http://cabbagehammock.blogspot.com/

SYDNEY (AFP) - Animal lovers in Australia have cried foul over a Sydney golf club's plan to cull native wood ducks living on its course, it was reported Tuesday. The plan by Sydney's Warringah Golf Club to kill the ducks because they are ripping up its greens led to vandalism and threats against the course, local media reported. The club opted to hire a marksman to shoot its duck population after other deterrents, such as cat-like objects and rubber snakes, failed to work. But protesters dug up some of the greens in the dead of night over the weekend and...

CN_Today 12/16/2006 3:14:00 PM USDA: Moldy Grain, Not Bird Flu, Caused Idaho Duck Deaths WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Moldy grain, not bird flu, caused a large mallard duck die-off in Idaho, a U.S. Department of Agriculture spokeswoman said Friday. Tests conducted at the National Wildlife Health Center, which is operated by the U.S. Geological Survey, found no avian influenza, said USDA spokeswoman Angela Harless. Instead, it’s been determined that the birds were sickened by eating mold on corn, she said. Mold produces a toxin that can sicken wildlife when ingested. As many as 2,500 mallard ducks died along a southeastern Idaho creek...

Over 1,000 mallard ducks die in Idaho By JESSE HARLAN ALDERMAN, Associated Press Writer Wed Dec 13, 7:37 PM ET BOISE, Idaho - More than 1,000 mallard ducks have died along a single creek in southern Idaho, and officials on Wednesday tested tissue samples to find out why. ADVERTISEMENT The symptoms — lesions in the lungs and hemorrhaging in the heart wall — likely point to a bacterial infection, not avian flu, said Dave Parrish, regional supervisor for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. State wildlife biologists and U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigators were not ruling out any...

BOISE, Idaho-More than 1,000 mallard ducks have died along a single creek in southern Idaho, and officials on Wednesday tested tissue samples to find out why.The symptoms-lesions in the lungs and hemorrhaging in the hart wall-likely point to a bacterial infection, not avian flu, said David Parrish, regional supervisor for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

U.S. finds low-risk H5N1 bird flu strain in ducks Fri Sep 1, 2006 5:43pm ET By Charles Abbott WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mallard ducks in Maryland have tested positive for bird flu, apparently a common, less pathogenic strain that poses no risk to humans, the U.S. Agriculture and Interior departments said on Friday. The H5N1 avian influenza virus was found in fecal samples from "resident wild" mallards in Queen Anne's County in Maryland, on the U.S. central Atlantic coast. "Testing has ruled out the possibility of this being the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain that has spread through birds in Asia, Europe...

Probation and community service for A.C. culprit. MAYS LANDING, N.J. - An Atlantic City man has been sentenced to three years of probation and community service at an animal shelter for beating a duck. Donald Chapman pleaded guilty to animal cruelty a few months ago, saying he kicked the mallard and beat it with a broom March 15 in the parking lot of the Fox Chase development he worked at in Galloway Township. State Superior Court Judge James Isman sentenced Chapman on Friday, warning him against harming any more animals and ordering him to pay $276 for the duck's care....

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, July 13, 2006) – The Department of the Army advanced on its goal to prevent encroachment by establishing a new partnership between the Army Compatible Use Buffer Program and Ducks Unlimited July 7. The partnership allows Ducks Unlimited – an organization committed to the conservation, restoration and management of wetlands and associated habitats for North American waterfowl – to work with the Army to identify opportunities for wetland creation and management near installations participating in the ACUB program, said Chad Henry, director of training for the Training Lands Office. “It gives the troops more area to...

Jan. 10 EUGENE, Ore. — Here's a tip: If you're cashing paychecks from the University of Oregon, treat Phil Knight with unabashed love; even genuflect at his Nikes if the occasion calls for it. Just don't tick him off or, heaven forbid, fall shy of grandiose designs for his beloved alma mater — lest you might end up following Martin Smith down Interstate 5. >>>>>> Knight, who historically has been reluctant to discuss his philanthropy, declined to be interviewed for this story. But over the last decade, the father of modern sports marketing, the guy whose push-the-envelope company sold us...

Court Ducks 'In God We Trust' Case (CBS) WASHINGTON Supreme Court on Monday sidestepped a dispute over the constitutionality of putting "In God We Trust" on government buildings. Earlier this year justices were splintered on the appropriateness of Ten Commandments displays in and near government buildings. The court did not comment in rejecting an appeal over an "In God We Trust" inscription on the Davidson County Government Center in Lexington, N.C. The inscription, in 18-inch block letters, was paid for with donations from individuals and churches in 2002. It is more prominent than the name of the building, according to...

DNC Chair Howard Dean ducks out of a head-to-head withRNC Chair Ken Mehlman on "Meet The Press"...(click here to see it reeeeeeeally large)

Thanks to his Lab, hunter avoids death By Bill Wundram BRENT Teel was going down for the fourth time in deep water. His waders, filled with water, kept sucking him deeper into the cold Mississippi River. Wader straps were tangling around his neck. Water was up to his nose. “I knew I was going to die. I was choking, but could yell for my dog, Junior. He had been circling me in the water. That black Lab knew that I was in big trouble. He swam to me. I grabbed onto his collar and he pulled me at least 20...

Interfax.com - 10:54 No confirmation of bird flu in Tula - official

An unknown disease has caused the deaths of thousands of wild Teal ducks in north-western Iran, but a government official said today the cause was not the bird flu strain that has killed birds in Romania and neighbouring Turkey. Behrouz Yasemi, an official with Iran's State Veterinary Organisation, blamed a "mysterious disease" for the deaths of 3,692 wild ducks. "We were looking for bird flu [but] medical tests have definitely ruled out flu," Yasemi said. "Experts are now in the process of diagnosing this mysterious disease. We may be able to diagnose it in the next few days." The...

Assailant beaten, may not make it Former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad received a bullet injury in his left arm on Thursday when a gunman opened fire on the dais from which he had just finished addressing an election rally at Nokha, about 25 km from Sasaram. The assailant fired several shots from a country-made handgun at around 2 p.m. before he was overpowered by BJP workers. Eyewitnesses said the man was carrying a second pistol which he could not fire. He was identified as Munna Rai, alias Halchal Rai, of Karahasi village under Nokha police station of Sasaram. Rohtas...

A car wash in the South Bay is offering a reward for the identification of a man who deliberately ran over and killed 10 of the ducks that have been an attraction at the business for years. A grainy surveillance tape at the Delta Queen Classic Car Wash -- a “theme” wash shaped like a Mississippi riverboat -- shows a man in his late teens or early 20s driving through the parking lot three or four times, aiming for the animals and running them down. “It’s sickening,” said Chris Foley, a manager at the business, popular for its duck pond...

Minnesota waterfowlers will be allowed two fewer ducks in the bag this fall than last, and the limit on hen mallards during a 60-day season has been cut from two to one, the Department of Natural Resources said last week. The reduction from last year's six-duck daily bag limit was due in part to a drop last year in the Mississippi Flyway duck harvest of about 1 million birds from 2003. Minnesota's 2004 harvest declined 23 percent. Additionally, Minnesota's breeding duck population this spring was the lowest since the drought years of the 1980s. Mallards, down 37 percent from 2004,...

WASHINGTON - Rep. Bob Beauprez (news, bio, voting record) of Colorado will be confronted by waffles, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. Rep. Nancy Johnson (news, bio, voting record) of Connecticut will see her face plastered on an oversize milk carton. When Rep. Jerry Weller (news, bio, voting record) of Illinois marches in a parade, he'll be tailed by someone in a duck costume. As House Republicans move ahead with plans to vote on Social Security changes this summer, a Democratic opposition group will use the July Fourth recess to pressure GOP lawmakers it believes are undecided about the legislation...

Two Taiwanese men have been arrested for allegedly smuggling raw duck tongues from China in the first such case amid lingering concerns over bird flu, an official said yesterday. Investigators in central Taiwan nabbed the two men early Wednesday and confiscated nearly four tonnes of tongues from about a million ducks, said the official at the Bureau of Investigation. The tongues, with a retail value of about NT10 million (US$317,000), were suspected to have been shipped from China, the official said. They were destroyed immediately as China is considered vulnerable to bird flu, he said. Cooked duck tongues are a...

Apr 8, 5:45 PM (ET) By MARTIN CRUTSINGER WASHINGTON (AP) - The Secret Service, which has the job of guarding the president and other dignitaries, now has a new temporary duty - protecting a mother duck and her nine eggs. The duck, a brown mallard with white markings, has had several names suggested by Treasury Department people, including "Quacks Reform,""T-Bill," and "Duck Cheney." It has built a nest in a mulch pile right at the main entrance to the Treasury Department on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Secret Service's uniformed division, which provides protection for the White House and Treasury building, has...

WASHINGTON – The Secret Service, which has the job of guarding the president and other dignitaries, now has a new temporary duty – protecting a mother duck and her nine eggs. The duck, a brown mallard with white markings, has had several names suggested by Treasury Department people, including "Quacks Reform," "T-Bill," and "Duck Cheney." It has built a nest in a mulch pile right at the main entrance to the Treasury Department on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Secret Service's uniformed division, which provides protection for the White House and Treasury building, has set up metal guard rails to protect the...

Celebrity chef Todd English could soon serve his last foie gras in Massachusetts. Following California's example, a group of state legislators aim to ban the sale and production of the culinary delicacy created by force-feeding ducks or geese so their livers swell and become, literally translated, ``fatty liver.'' "Inflicting pain on any animal is morally reprehensible. There is no excuse for this type of behavior,'' said state Sen. Sue Fargo, the bill's sponsor. She said a feeding tube is inserted down a goose's throat so workers can shove ``the human equivalent of 11 pounds of food into its stomach'' daily...

In a recent debate between myself and some radical homosexuals, one of them asked me, by way of refutation whose implicit intentions were to convince me that I am a 'hateful homophobe' and also to persuade me that homosexual behavior is a 'natural orientation," if and when I had 'chosen' to be heterosexual. "Was it at age 3, 6, 13, 19?" he asked, "Or did you (a female) just 'naturally' gravitate towards boys or men without any outside pressure or force?" My response: There was no 'choice'........there was never any question........it simply occured as naturally as breathing air. Now for...

On the opening day of waterfowl season, Ohio hunters saw an odd duck indeed. John Kerry pretending to be a man of the people. A gun-toting, God-fearing, blue-collar good old boy. The Democratic candidate has decided the best thing he can do to get elected is pretend he’s a Republican. And so it was yesterday morning that a camo-clad John Kerry trudged into an uncut corn field to gun down some mall geese. That was yesterday’s theme. Guns. Today’s theme is God. Tomorrow’s theme will be Mary Poppins, if it will win him some votes. This is a desperate man....

Quack that again? British ducks have regional accents, researchers say LONDON (AFP) - To the untutored ear it might just sound like a load of quacking, but British researchers have discovered that the country's ducks, much like its people, have distinct regional accents, a report said. Ducks from London make a rougher sound which resembles shouting so that fellow birds can hear them above the hubbub of city life, whereas their country cousins make a softer sound, the study found. The differences were uncovered after academics at London's Middlesex University recorded the calls of ducks at a city farm in...

<p>Clerk (excitedly): "I love this duck! These are so great!"</p> <p>Seemingly Harmless Middle-aged Lady (happy to have her purchase validated): "Yes, I'm so excited."</p> <p>Clerk (with the air of one who possesses secret knowledge): "We sold out of those last year."</p>

One game for gloryPrediction impossible but history favours DevilsBy Al Strachan EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Tonight, the National Hockey League's winter of discontent will be made glorious summer. Glorious summer for one team. Glorious summer for the victor in that single most dramatic setting the league can offer, a sudden-death game for the Stanley Cup. But for the losers, it will be a summer of nagging doubts, of regrets over that one pass, that one shot, that one game that might have made the difference. Later tonight, either the Anaheim Mighty Ducks or the New Jersey Devils will be in ecstasy....

Of all the delicious depravities of French cuisine, few have been as celebrated as the pressed duck served at La Tour d'Argent in Paris, which last night made its one millionth appearance. Fireworks exploded over the Seine and 140 celebrities and gastronomes crowded into the restaurant to see the millionth duck waddle free, while his less fortunate confrères submitted to the dancing knives of "canardier" Jean-Pierre Marchand. You can have your duck several ways at the Tour, but the most popular is "bloody duck". Since 1890 the restaurant's canardiers have prepared the birds in the dining room overlooking Notre Dame...

<p>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Oregon is going to have pay more to borrow money after one of the top national bond-rating agencies downgraded the state's credit rating by two levels on Thursday.</p> <p>"This is a huge hidden tax increase that Oregonians will have to pay," said state Sen. Ryan Deckert, D-Beaverton, who is chairman of the Senate Revenue Committee.</p>

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. LONDON (Reuters) - The British government declared open season on the ruddy duck on Monday, saying it wanted to wipe out the sexually voracious fowl. Originally from North America, the ruddy duck was introduced to Britain in the 1940s and began breeding like wildfire. Now it has gained a foothold on mainland Europe, cross-breeding with the native white-headed duck and threatening it as a species, particularly in Spain. A report for the government suggested the ruddy duck could be removed from Britain within a decade and that shooting was the most...

As the waterfowl season continues to roll out with Saturday’s duck opener, hunters have more to worry about than filling a limit; that much is certain.The extent to which hunters should worry about West Nile virus, a mosquito-borne illness, is less clear."I can say that we don’t know," said Emi Saito, West Nile surveillance coordinator at the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) in Madison, Wisconsin. "But the risk to them isn’t all that great."West Nile virus causes flu-like symptoms in mild cases. At its worst, it can cause inflammation of the brain. People over 50 have the highest risk of...

<p>The state of California is trying to sidestep a federal requirement to put fully credentialed teachers in every classroom by 2006, says a coalition of education advocates.</p> <p>Critics, including a Bay Area legislator and the American Civil Liberties Union, the United Farm Workers and other groups, are charging the state Board of Education with backpedaling on the issue of teacher quality.</p>

Duck Builds Nest at Kmart Fri May 31, 8:12 AM ETBy The Associated Press CHARLES CITY, Iowa (AP) - A duck in need of a nesting spot improvised a little and made a home in the bedding plants at a Kmart garden center. The mallard duck was first noticed by a customer a couple of weeks ago, said assistant store manager Linda Adams. Named Mama by store employees, the duck likely strolled up from the nearby Cedar River. "It's been kind of fun," Adams said. "It's just been a little novelty thing. The kids seem to enjoy her." Kmart employees...

03/30/03 - Arafat hides behind women, European groupie-Marxists, and the Red Crescent in his office, after sending children out to blow themselves up.