Diver Saves Endangered Shark

I always thought of sharks as bad things and wouldn't mind having less of them in this world. But this week some divers found an endangered nurse shark with a pole sticking out of its mouth. They called in a team of scientists who caught the shark, reached down its throat, and pulled out the pole. It turned out to be a gaff, or long hook used to pull sharks out of the water when fishing. They set it free and it swam back into the ocean and most likely will recover.

Koala Hit by Car at 60 MPH and Lives

A Koala was hit by a car going 60 miles per hour while crossing a road in Australia. Its head was lodged in the grill of the car and it was dragged over 7 miles before another driver noticed it and stopped the car. They say it survived because its head was stuck and it was able to hang on. It was cut out with scissors and rushed to an animal hospital where it came out of shock and was fine in a couple hours. It is not making its recovery at the animal hospital founded by Steve Irwin.

Drug User Crashes Into Police Car

Police officer, Tim Pochron, was just starting his first day on the force when his squad car was wrecked. He had been on active duty for about 30 minutes before someone crashed into the parked car. The driver was found to be on drugs and immediately arrested. The lucky police officer made his first arrest without even having to do anything. It just goes to show if you leave drug users alone long enough they will take themselves out.

Political Cartoon Causes Uproar

The political supporters of Barack Obama have been in an uproar over the satirical cover of "The New Yorker" magazine. It depicts Obama dressed in Muslim clothing with his wife dressed as a terrorist. They are giving each other a hi-five as the American flag burns in the fireplace of the oval office, below a portrait of Osama BinLaden. Despite the outrage of Obama's supporters, the magazine does not apologize but asserts its satire is meant to point out aspects of the candidates in a satirical way. McCain's campaign leaders agree that the picture is tasteless and offensive. I am always thankful when I see things like this happen because I know in many countries people would be killed for publishing something like that. In our country, people just get angry and raise a big fuss.

Bush Pushes for Offshore Drilling Ban to be Lifted

George W. Busch will be lifting the executive ban on offshore oil drilling that has been in effect since his father's presidency. While environmentalists have been up in arms about offshore drilling, it actually has very little effect on the environment. If all is done correctly, the oceans will still remain protected but we could start generating our own oil. This could lead to much lower gas prices, which our country is absolutely desperate for.

Pulling Troops Out of Iraq

America is now considering pulling some of its troops out of Iraq as early as September. At least one of the 15 combat brigades may be withdrawn, allowing them to return to their families. Nothing is final as of yet, but it could represent a much awaited homecoming for many families.

World's Oldest Blogger Dies at Age 108

Olive Riley of Canberra Australia died today at age 108. She was the world's oldest blogger, sharing stories of her life over the past century. It's amazing to think there are people still alive who were born before the year 1900. When you think about how much the world has changed, you realize just how valuable the opinions of people like Olive really are. Very few of us has the kind of perspective to see all the changes in the world over such a long time. She will be missed.

Lawn Chair Balloon Flight

In Caimbridge, Idaho, a man named Kent Couch strapped a huge mass of helium balloons to a lawn chair, loaded up his BB gun, and took flight on July 5th, 2008. He used his BB gun to shoot the balloons if he got too high, and packed 15 gallon jugs of kool-aid to drop if he went too low. This 48 year old gas station owner flew over 230 miles in about 9 hours. I really got a kick out of this. I still can't believe he pulled it off. It's a lot cheaper than a hot air balloon ride.

The World is Getting Happier

According to a Michigan University study, the world as a whole is getting happier. Polls and surveys have contributed to this "Happiness" to quantify the study. Apparently America is only the 16th happiest country in the world. Denmark is said to be the happiest, and Zimbabwe is the most unhappy. The study shows overall world happiness is on the increase on average. This is probably due to globalization. Resources are being split more evenly so the wealthy are less rich and the poor are less poor. The end result is a "happier" world. I still don't see how you can break happiness into numbers and analyze them, but hey, it does make sense when you look at the logistics of it all.

Drought in Australia

Australia is suffering one of the worst droughts in its history, which happens to be mostly focused on one of their most important crop growing regions. This drought has lasted nearly a decade, and threatens their very way of life. Without the water that is necessary for life, the food supplies are greatly decreasing. Australia could be in a very bad situation if this continues.

Amazing Photo of a Jet Breaking the Sound Barrier

This is an amazing picture of a jet breaking the sound barrier. It seems the vapor in the air allowed the photographer to actually capture a visible photo of this phenomena. This is what happens to the air when a sonic boom occurs. It collapses on itself and explodes with great volume.

Afghanistan Refugee Camps

Reports show the situation for Afghani refugees trying to return home from neighboring countries. Organizations have set up refugee camps to harbor the refugees and provide them a place to live. Apparently the wells have run dry, the water supplies are low, they can barely get enough food, and many are considering just returning to the cities that are already established, even though they can't afford to live there. It seems the efforts to aid these displaced people are failing miserably.

American Man Wounded by Bulls in Spain.... and Everyone Cares

In Pamplona during the annual San Fermin Festival, they release huge bulls to run through the streets. Just because something is tradition doesn't mean it's not incredibly stupid. Why people would do this, I don't know. What intrigues me more is why this hit the worldwide news. According to the Navarra regional government, a 31-year-old American was hospitalized with a severe head injury. He regained consciousness later and will go through tests to see how badly he was damaged. I can almost guarantee that hundreds of Spaniards are wounded or even killed in this silly festival each year. But this time an AMERICAN got hurt, and that makes it world news worthy. It's listed in news right above the Afghanistan refugee crisis. I think America needs to gain some serious perspective.

John McCain's Views on Social Security

John McCain revealed his opinions on the social security system today. He sees it as out of date and unfair to the younger generation that pays into a system that they will not benefit from. He calls it a disgrace. I've yet to see anything on what any of the politicians actually want to do to fix the system. It could seriously mess up our economy in the future if something isn't done.

Jessee Jackson Apologizes to Barack Obama for "Hurtful and Wrong Remarks"

During an interview with Obama and Jackson, Jessee Jackson made a crude remark when he thought the microphone was turned off. He said in much more colorful language that he wanted to cut his privates off. When Jackson learned that the clip would be aired, he quickly apologized. Obama accepted this apology.

Ripples in the Sands of Time

Even a tiny pebble can make waves. Each event that happens in history can have great effects on the entire world. This blog is meant to be a sort of worldwide scrapbook, taking tiny snippets of the worlds events and capturing them for later viewing. It will be a sort of time capsule to chronicle what matters to the people of our time. What makes the news and shapes our world will grace the pages here. Today's news is tomorrow's history. This blog will be a sort of chronicle of history in the making.