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Examples of zebra-horse hybrids abound, but few are as stunningly eye-catching as ‘Eclyse’ pictured here.[1,2] While most other zorses have stripes across their entire body, Eclyse looks like she’s had her face and rear flank painted by a very clever artist. But the markings are real, and she’s become a major attraction at a safari park in the German town of Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock. Her mother, Eclipse, had spent a short time at a ranch in Italy, where she shared a paddock with other horses, as well as a zebra called Ulysses. On her return to Germany, Eclipse surprised her keepers...

Horses First Domesticated in Kazakhstan? Larry O'Hanlon, Discovery NewsBotai Village Oct. 20, 2006 —New evidence from soil inside the remains of a 5,600-year-old corral indicates that the ancient Botai people of Kazakhstan were among the earliest to domesticate horses. But equine romantics might be disappointed to learn that the Botai probably ate and milked their horses as often as they rode them. The corrals are part of an archeological site in northern Kazakhstan known as Krasnyi Yar, once a large village occupied by the Copper-Age Botai, said Sandra Olsen, curator at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Penn....

Scientists to start DNA analysis of ancient horse skeletons www.chinaview.cn 2005-01-10 15:19:28 XI'AN, Jan. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese and British scientists are planning for the DNA analysis of 12 horse skeletons unearthed from the burial ground of a prominent duke who lived more than 2,500 years ago in northwestern Shaanxi Province. Archeologists with Beijing University and Cambridge University have used a professional database to process data collected from the skeletons, including the size and weight of the skulls, spinalcolumns and limbs. A Cambridge laboratory will be entrusted to carry out the DNA analysis, after the State Administration of Cultural Heritage...

Genetic evidence is shedding new light on the origins of horses in the New World, during a particularly hazy period in their evolution. As the Great Ice Age came to an end, some 11,000 years ago, North America was thought to be home to as many as 50 species and subspecies of horse. But studies of ancient DNA tell a rather different story, suggesting the horses belonged to just two species. These are the stilt-legged horses, now extinct, and the caballines. The caballines are thought to be the ancestors of today's domestic horse. "It looks like, as far as we...

Donkey domestication began in Africa 19:00 17 June 04 NewScientist.com news service Genetic fingerprints indicate that wild African asses were the ancestors of domestic donkeys, making donkeys the only important domestic animal known to come from Africa. Animal domestication was a key development in human culture. Meat animals came first, with cattle, sheep, goats and pigs initially domesticated between 10,000 and 11,000 years ago. Animals useful for carrying loads and people, such as horses, donkeys and camels, came in a later wave about 5000 years ago, which enhanced trade and mobility. Donkeys were particularly important, being smaller, more durable and...

Disgusted by late night text messages, embarrassing blow-offs, and never receiving the phone call you were promised? Leading dating site Chemistry.com has a list of the top ten cities full of romantic, expressive, “high estrogen” men who probably wouldn’t slip into cad territory. Though bursting with government employees, politicians, political journalists, and all things polarizing and serious, Washington, D.C. is tenth on the list, nine spots below perpetually romantic San Francisco. Asked how bureaucratic, soulless Washington ever earned a spot on a list of romantic cities, Chemistry.com’s Dr. Helen Fisher told The Daily Caller that D.C. draws a lot of...

Obama's empty jobs vow: Castles in the sandSunday, August 7, 2011 Fresh from signing a debt-ceiling increase that provides no shelter from the storm ahead, President Barack Obama stepped before the cameras in the Rose Garden last week and vowed to renew his focus on jobs and the economy. And where will these jobs come from? Supposedly, from key government "investments." In other words, from the same failed government policies that have stifled economic growth and threaten more damage. "Obama does not have much presidential persuasion left. He is running out of capital," says James Thurber of American University's Center...

A simple little graphic I whipped up... :-)

EW YORK, June 26 (Reuters) - The Obama administration is considering requiring all new cars and trucks sold in the United States to get an average of 56.2 miles per gallon by 2025, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

The Associated Press has sued several retailers including Urban Outfitters for the unauthorised use of the Hope image created by artist Shepard Fairey. Artist Fairey used an AP photo without permission to create the image, and was sued by the news agency for violating copyright. That case was settled. AP argues that using the image on T-shirts is wilful and blatant violation of the copyright of the photo. A spokesman said that using photos for free devalued the work of journalists. The news agency filed lawsuits against Urban Outfitters, Nordstrom and Zumiez seeking unspecified damages. A Nordstrom spokeswoman said in...

White House Unveils Free Preventative ServicesBY JANET ADAMY JULY 15, 2010 WASHINGTON—Treatments for the prevention of alcohol abuse, depression and obesity are among the services that will be free to consumers with new insurance plans starting in September. As part of the new health law, the Obama administration on Wednesday released rules specifying which preventive health services insurers must provide to consumers at no additional cost. Democrats hope the change will be one of the most popular early pieces of the sweeping legislation. "Services like these will go a long way in preventing chronic illness," First Lady Michelle Obama said...

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore snacks on the trail mix he filled his cheeks with during a news conference at the presidential residence, Los Pinos, in Mexico City July 31, 2007. REUTERS/Henry Romero (MEXICO) Gore attempts his reverse ventriloquist act with Mexico's President Felipe Calderon at the presidential residence, Los Pinos, in Mexico City July 31, 2007. REUTERS/Henry Romero (MEXICO) U.S. Former Vice President Al Gore demonstrates to an enthralled audience how he can catapult Jolly Ranchers into his open mouth while lecturing on the climate crisis. Gore is in Mexico invited by the Mexico City municipality to...

JERUSALEM - When Alice Miller petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court in 1995 to let her become an air force pilot, the country's president, himself a famous airman in his younger days, laughingly compared women flying planes to men darning socks. But the court ruled in her favor, opening combat jobs to women for the first time. One of them was Keren Tendler, a flight technician killed last summer when her helicopter was shot down by Hezbollah guerrillas over Lebanon. The fighting Israeli woman soldier may endure as a stereotype, but in reality, a female death in combat is extremely rare....

Searching For Moderate MuslimsBy David Keene September 20, 2006 The Islamic world, along with the politically correct world, is in a snit because Pope Benedict had the bad judgment in an academic forum to quote a Byzantine emperor's criticism of Islam's justification of forced conversion during his time. Islamic spokesmen reacted quickly, asserting that theirs is a religion of peace, condemning the Pope and blaming him as their followers began a new round of torching Christian churches around the world and killing those who attend them. I am agnostic on the question of whether Islam is at its heart peaceful...

Lakewood, N.J. -- Nine dogs, four cats, a stuffed unicorn and a pink stuffed pony all received the blessing of St, Francis during a rite yesterday at All Saints Espiscopal Church marking the feast day of the patron saint of animals.The Rev. Richard C. Wrede administered the blessing to the menagerie assembled at the Route 9 church, where he is pastor.Some owner sought a little extra help with the healing of pets. Others brought their animals, real and imaginary, to keep them in good spirits.Lorna Drexler, 5, and her 9-year old brother Maxwell, came to the parish to bless their...