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Candlewax and Hedgehogs—a peculiar way to entitle an article, I’ll admit. But both have their associations with the second day of February. The first is more important so we’ll begin there. The second day of February is one of the 12 great feasts, and is also celebrated by Christians in the West. The feast is the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, described in the second chapter of St. Luke’s gospel. There we are told that the Christ child was brought by his mother into the temple in fulfillment of the law, 40 days after his birth (February 2 is...

Authorities in San Diego have rescued nine hedgehogs that were thrown into an Ocean Beach trash can and left to die. County animal control officials say 15 palm-sized animals were discovered Thursday but five were dead and a sixth was suffering and was euthanized. The survivors are in good condition. Animal Services Director Dan DeSousa says hedgehogs are shy, timid creatures

The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.—Archilochus (7th-century BC) Mark Penn might not be appearing before the cameras on Hillary's behalf nowadays, but bet that he is beavering away behind the scenes on his polling. And judging from Hillary's dogged [to mix an animal metaphor] performance on this morning's Today, it's obvious that Penn's turned up one big thing: Dem primary voters hate oil companies. Meredith Vieira gamely tried to get Clinton onto other subjects during her interview. But no matter the question, the answer was almost invariably the same: I Hate Big Oil. Since...

The new pygmy hedgehogs you can keep like a pet hamsterLast updated at 18:04pm on 15th April 2008  They are small and prickly and are the very latest must-have pets.   Would-be owners are will happily wait up to a year and will travel any distance to get their hands on an African pygmy hedgehog. The cute pets are a quarter of the size of a normal hedgehog and are fully domesticated and don't carry diseases or fleas. They love being handled and rarely curl up in a defensive ball. The animals were first bred in captivity less than 10...

Hedgehogs claim win over McDonald'sSeptember 01, 2006 12:00am HEDGEHOGS have finally humbled burger giant McDonald's after years of campaigning, forcing the company to redesign its killer McFlurry ice-cream containers. Up to now the opening in the container has been large enough for hedgehogs to get their heads into for a lick of the left-over dessert – a trap they have then been unable to withdraw from, so dying of starvation in untold numbers. But from September 1, the wide-mouthed opening in the lid of the McFlurry containers will be reduced in size, making them too small for the sugar-loving animals...

A family in western Norway was hit by an unusual theft at their home in Sædalen, Hordaland County, this week. A newly planted hedge in their front yard was rudely uprooted and carted away. "After the initial shock, I just felt very sad," Kristin Molvik Botnmark told newspaper Bergens Tidende on Tuesday. Her husband, Børre Botnmark, has a few theories on the disappearance of the 32 plants that made up their new hedge. "It may be a theft ordered by someone wanting a new hedge," he said. "Or it could be a band of thieves who drive around and offer...

In a future remake of "The Graduate," the phrase replacing "plastics" to be whispered in the ear of the title role is "hedge funds." That's where the action is. The number of such unregulated collections of capital has doubled in the last five years to 8,000. Managers make 20 percent of any profits, and if they bet wrong, simply close up the fund, distribute what's left and start a new one; the liquidation rate is about one-fourth every year. That's why so many of the hottest Wall Streeters are joining the stampede into managing these high-end mutual funds. Because hedge...

Two Hedgehogs in the White House Models of political courage. By Peter Schweizer As President George W. Bush prepares the West for war against Iraq and Ronald Reagan turns 92, this seems a particularly poignant time to reflect on the nature of political courage. While several observers have drawn parallels between these two men, few have recognized that it is the quality of their courage that makes them so different and ultimately successful. Reagan came by his courage through personal experience. In 1946, when he opposed a violent Hollywood strike, the lives of his children were threatened. Warner Brothers Studio...