Philosophy

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Quoteste




We need a new environmental consciousness on a global basis. To do this, we need to educate people. - Mikhail Gorbachev 

Goats Jingle Bells

A GIGGLE with the GOATS Jingle Bells Holiday Performance


Uploaded on Dec 6, 2010
http://www.GIGGLEwiththeGOATS.com wishes everyone a happy holiday season with this special presentation of "JINGLE BELLS!" Downloads are now available!!!

Monday, December 3, 2012

Sheep - Most every species


Bison Cattle Dairy Dogs Goats Horses Sheep Swine Other


Species : Sheep

Breed : Grey Horned Heath
Origin : Germany

Submitted By : ELA
History : Meat, vegetation management, wool


Species : Sheep

Breed : Gute
Origin : Sweden

Submitted By : ELA
History : The Gute (Swedish: GutefÄr) is a landrace breed of domestic sheep native to the Swedish island of Gotland. The Gute is the most primitive breed native to Sweden, and is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep.
Description : The Gute is horned in both rams and ewes, and has a fleece that appears in a wider variety of colors and patterns, which may be shed in the summer. This breed is raised primarily for genetic conservation.








LOOKS like a horse....

Species : Sheep

Breed : Border Leicester
Origin : England

Submitted By : ELA
History : The Border Leicester is a breed of sheep originating in England and raised primarily for meat. Border Leicesters are polled, long-wooled sheep. Though large in size and robust, they are also docile. The breed has been exported to other sheep producing regions such as Australia and the U.S
Description : The live weight of a mature Border Leicester ram will be in the range of 140–175 kg (310–390 lb) and a mature ewe 90–120 kg (200–260 lb). A yearling ewe is around 64 kg (140 lb). Their white wool tends to be very long and by Merino standards, broad crimped (about 32 to 38 microns), and is used for medium to heavy weight garments. This wool, though, is prized by spinners because of the crimp and lustre. The sheep are normally shorn twice a year when the wool has reached a length of around 100 mm (3.9 in)






Species : Sheep

Breed : Castlemilk Moorit
Origin : Scotland

Submitted By : ELA
History : The Castlemilk Moorit is a rare breed of domestic sheep (also known as Moorit Shetland or Castlemilk Shetland) originating in Dumfriesshire in Scotland. Created as a decorative breed in the 1900s to adorn the parkland of a lord's estate, it is a mixture of several primitive types: Manx Loaghtan, Shetland and wild Mouflon. The breed's name refers to the Castlemilk Estate on which they were bred, and the Lowland Scots word "moorit" refers to the light tan or reddish brown color of their fleece.
Description : The Castlemilk Moorit is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep group of breeds, having a short, triangular tail. It has horns in both sexes and a fleece that is usually moulted or rooed (plucked) rather than needing shearing. All Castlemilk Moorits are descended from a single flock of ten ewes and two rams, and the British Rare Breeds Survival Trust lists the breed as "vulnerable": having a maximum of 900 registered animals. An important offshore population of Castlemilk Moorits in the Netherlands (flockbook VSS) and Belgium (flockbook SLE) helps to guarantee the future of the breed.







Species : Sheep

Breed : Faroes
Origin : Faroe Islands

Submitted By : ELA
History : The Faroes is a breed of domestic sheep native to the Faroe Islands.
Description : One of the primitive Northern European short-tailed sheep, it is known as a small, hardy breed. Faroes ewes weigh around 45 pounds (20 kg) at maturity, and rams are 45–90 pounds (20–40 kg). Rams are horned and ewes are usually polled, and the breed occurs naturally in many different colors


Bizarre looking to say the least...

Species : Sheep

Breed : Fat-tailed sheep
Origin :

Submitted By : ELA
History : The fat-tailed sheep is a general type of domestic sheep known for their distinctive large tails and hindquarters. Fat-tailed sheep breeds comprise approximately 25% of the world sheep population,[1] and are commonly found in northern parts of Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, North India, Western China and Mongolia
Description : Fat-tailed sheep are hardy and adaptable, able to withstand the tough challenges of desert life. When feed is plentiful and parasites not a major factor, fat-tailed sheep can be large in size and growth. The carcass quality of these sheep is quite good, with most of the fat concentrated in the tail area.




 
Species : Sheep

Breed : Hebridean
Origin : Scotland

Submitted By : ELA
History : The Hebridean is a breed of small black sheep from Scotland, similar to other members of the Northern European short-tailed sheep group, having a short, triangular tail. They often have two pairs of horns. They were often formerly known as "St Kilda" sheep, although unlike Soay and Boreray sheep they are probably not in fact from the St Kilda archipelago.
Description : Modern Hebrideans have black, rather coarse wool, which fades to brown in the sun and often becomes grey with age; there is no wool on the face or legs. If not shorn the wool may moult naturally in spring. Both the rams and the ewes are normally horned, usually with one pair of horns, but often with two or even more pairs, and occasionally with none.































 
























































History : The origins of the Jacob sheep are obscure, but it is certainly a very old breed. However, it was not until the 20th century when the breed acquired the name "Jacob sheep". Piebald sheep have been described throughout history, appearing in works of art from the Far East, Middle East, and Mediterranean regions. Among these accounts is the story of Jacob from the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. The Jacob sheep is indeed named for the Biblical figure of Jacob.
Description : Jacobs are small, multi-horned, black and white sheep, resembling goats in their conformation. The Jacob sheep is not however the only breed that may produce piebald and/or polycerate offspring. Mature rams (males) weigh about 120 to 180 pounds (54 to 82 kg), while ewes (females) weigh about 80 to 120 pounds (36 to 54 kg). The body frame is long, with a straight back and a rump that slopes toward the base of the tail.




ia, Australia, and Canada

Species : Sheep

Breed : Merino
Origin : Spain


Submitted By : ELA

History : The Phoenicians introduced sheep from Asia Minor into North Africa, and the foundation flocks might have been introduced into Spain as late as the 12th century by the Beni-Merines, a tribe of Arabic Moors. In the 13th and 14th centuries, genetic material from England was introduced; this influence was openly documented by Spanish writers at the time.


Description : The Merino is an economically influential breed of sheep prized for its wool. Merinos are regarded as having some of the finest and softest wool of any sheep.

Poll Merinos have no horns (or very small stubs, known as scurs), and horned Merino rams have long, spiral horns which grow close to the head.

Species : Sheep

Breed : Najdi
Origin : Saudi Arabia

Submitted By : ELA
History : The Najdi or Nejdi is a breed of domestic sheep native to the Najd region of the Arabian Peninsula. Though it is primarily raised in Saudi Arabia, Nadji sheep are also present in Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, and Iraq.
Description : The Najdi has a distinctive appearance that has even been celebrated in Saudi "sheep beauty pageants" not unlike livestock shows and sales in the West. They are a very tall breed, averaging 76-86 centimeters (30-34 inches) in height at the withers. They have long, Roman nosed faces with drooping ears. Ewes are polled and rams may be either polled or have scurs. They are generally black with white faces and white on the legs and tail.

Species : Sheep

Breed : Navajo-Churro sheep
Origin : United States

Submitted By : ELA
History : Navajo-Churro are descended from the Churra, an ancient Iberian breed. The Churra (renamed Churro by American frontiersmen) was first imported to North America in the 16th century and used to feed Spanish armies and settlers. By the 17th century Churros were popular with the Spanish settlers in the upper Rio Grande Valley. Flocks of Churros were also acquired by Native Americans through raids and trading. The Churro soon became an important part of the Navajo economy and culture.
Description : Its wool consists of a protective topcoat and soft undercoat. Some rams have four fully-developed horns, a trait shared with few other breeds in the world. The Navajo-Churro has also gained popularity with its low-maintenance reputation, resistance to disease, and lean meat. Some may even say they are very personable. Ewes often bear twins. This breed, also known as the American or Navajo Four-Horned sheep, is raised primarily for wool.

Species : Sheep

Breed : Norfolk Horn
Origin : United Kingdom

Submitted By : ELA
History : The Norfolk Horn developed on the sandy heathlands of the Breckland area of Norfolk, although similar black-faced sheep were formerly more widespread in lowland Britain. It is adapted to surviving on poor forage in a cool but dry environment
Description : The breed is long-legged with a black face and legs. Both sexes have horns, although these are larger in the male. At maturity a ewe weighs about 70 kg (150 lb). The breed is described as "flighty" and is likened to a goat in its ability to jump over obstacles such as fencing.


Species : Sheep

Breed : Ouessant
Origin : France

Submitted By : ELA
History : The Ouessant (or Ushant) is a breed of domestic sheep from the island of Ouessant off the coast of Brittany, France. It is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep breeds, together with several other types from Great Britain, Scandinavia and Germany. Also occasionally called the Breton Dwarf, it is one of the smallest breeds of sheep in the world
Description : Most Ouessant are black or dark brown in color, but white individuals do occur. The rams have relatively large horns, and ewes are polled. The Ouessant existed exclusively on its home island until the beginning of the 20th century, and is still a rare breed today. Ewes rarely produce twins, and the breed is primarily used for wool production.





 Source:
http://www.exclusivelivestock.com/view_breedinfo_insert.php?Species=Sheep





Horns | Flickr - Photo Sharing!




Horns


This handsome ram had such magnificent horns and didn't mind posing for his portrait





Horns | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


 Link:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrissie64/1688055452/in/set-1078353/


Santa Barbara Zoo Condors - Barnyard Exhibit

 


San Clemente Island Goat

Habitat/Range: Goats were left on San Clemente Island in the late 1800s and became a part of ranching on the Channel Islands. They later became feral and destructive and grew in population until the U.S. Navy initiated a goat removal program in the 1980s to save native endangered wildlife.

Description: Fine-boned, deer-like, and very graceful; only slightly taller than dwarf goats. Most show a dark “buckskin” pattern; however, they display a wide variety of color variations ranging from all-brown to all-white. Impressive horns on the bucks sweep back and twist out; spreads can be over three feet wide.

Breeding: On the island, they had several breeding seasons per year. Does usually had twins, but often had single or triplet births. The size of the island goat population affected the birthrate. When goats were fewer, the birth rates increased and more births were triplets.

Diet: They were able to thrive on the plants available on the island. As there are no freshwater streams on the island, they relied on watershed seeps and pools that formed in canyons.

Status: The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) lists this breed of goat as “critical,” with fewer than 200 annual registrations in the United States and estimated global population less than 2,000 – “a heritage breed on the brink of extinction.” There are some large commercial breeders, though is the mostly breeders with smaller herds who are essential in saving this breed.

Fun Fact: These goats have excellent temperaments, are gentle, hardy and easily tamed.

The Zoo’s San Clemente Island Goats: The Zoo has four males: three that are “weathers,” (gelded); and, one buck that is a potential breeder. They arrived in March from a private breeder near Valencia, California.
 

 



Santa Barbara Zoo Condors - Barnyard Exhibit

 LINK: http://www.sbcondors.com/california-trails/barnyard/





Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Bob Ed Goats Help - YouTube






Bob Ed Goats Help - YouTube


Funny Goat in Poellauberg, Austria - YouTube


uploaded by on May 4, 2008


A nagging goat demands attention, funny.


Funny Goat in Poellauberg, Austria - YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d1x2RzSf_8&feature=related

Billy goat making funny sound - YouTube





Billy goat making funny sound - YouTube


Goat that says Goat - YouTube



d by on Feb 8, 2009
this goat is insane and i swear it sounds like its saying goat

Category:

License:


Goat that says Goat - YouTube


CRAZY OLD GOAT LAUGHING - YouTube




CRAZY OLD GOAT LAUGHING - YouTube



Funny Crazy Goat - YouTube


 by on Jan 11, 2008



 
Crazy goat at the Ramat-Gan Safari

Category:

License: Standard YouTube License



Funny Crazy Goat - YouTube




Arguing with goat - YouTube







Arguing with goat - YouTube

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzctPPkUPkk&NR=1&feature=endscreen


Monday, November 5, 2012

Goat and Monkey - YouTube

Is there a human cowboy with half the talent of this simian?


                                    Uploaded by on Dec 18, 2009

 
For details click - http://www.indiavideo.org/tamilnadu/travel/monkey-playing-with-goat-3379.php#...
Video by Prathap V. K. of Invis Multimedia.

Category:

License:  Standard YouTube License


Source:
Goat and Monkey - YouTube

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWw5S80ObJc&feature=related






Monday, October 22, 2012

Chihuahua the ‘size of a shoe’ declared dangerous after biting Ontario mail carrier | Canada | News | National Post

Tyler Brownbridge / Postmedia News
Tyler Brownbridge / Postmedia News Molly, a three-pound teacup chihuahua, is seen with owner Mitzie Scott in her Windsor, Ont., home on Oct. 17. The tiny dog has be handed a dangerous dog designation by the city. The designation comes with a host of conditions including posting stickers on the doors and muzzling the dog if she is taken outside.



Chihuahua the ‘size of a shoe’ declared dangerous after biting Ontario mail carrier | Canada | News | National Post

 Link: http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/10/18/chihuahua-the-size-of-a-shoe-declared-dangerous-after-biting-ontario-mail-carrier/




Sunday, October 21, 2012

My Sustainability Mantra

A Vegetarian Diet is good for your and good for the Planet.

Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet. - Albert Einstein

Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world. - Howard Zinn

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.”
- Mahatma Gandhi

WHEN SPIDERS UNITE, THEY CAN TIE DOWN A LION.
-Ethiopian proverb




Saturday, October 20, 2012

Goat Heads on Wall

WOODEN FOUNDATIONS AT NO VACANCYPublished: Broadsheet, June 30, 2010. 
The new exhibition from Melbourne creative collective Wooden Foundations eschews notions of street art and grants discarded materials a new lease on life. By Dan Rule.
Talking to Niels Oeljen (aka Nails), you soon get the impression that for Wooden Foundations, art practice and the street environment are irrevocably entwined. Not, however, in the way most of us would immediately think. 
In an era where the spray can and stencil have assumed a kind of staid, mainstream cultural currency, the Melbourne-anchored collective – Oeltjen, Paul Mylecharane (aka Oh54), Scottie Neoh (aka Bonsai) and Hiroyasu Tsuri (aka TWOONE) – take a very different route from street to gallery space.
“An aim of what we do is to kind of show the possibilities of using found materials in fine art,” says Oeltjen. “Something we all do is collect a lot of recycled and reclaimed materials we’ve found walking around on the street or in dumpsters or whatever, and use them in our artwork.”
Built around ideas of personal mythology and symbolism, the exhibition at No Vacancy will see the quartet – who originally met via their mutual interests in graffiti and spray can related art at the start of the 2000s – merge print, drawing and painting practice with assemblage and installation.
“We didn’t just want to have pictures on walls,” says Oeltjen. “So we started looking at just where our artistic practices crossed over and we kind of isolated this idea of personal mythologies and how you build up your own little menagerie of animals and totems and iconography that you reuse as an artist, which become almost like shamanistic symbols.”
Indeed, for Oeltjen and the rest of Wooden Foundations, there’s a magic to the object. “A lot of stuff we find and use has reached the end of its life,” he says. “It can’t be fixed or recycled or whatever.”
“Art is one of the only things that can re-embrace these objects and reuse them,” he urges. “You can take almost anything and turn it into an artwork and make it valuable again.”
Wooden Foundations opens at No Vacancy Thursday July 1 6pm–9pm and runs until July 16.
www.woodenfoundations.comwww.no-vacancy.com.au
WOODEN FOUNDATIONS AT NO VACANCYPublished: Broadsheet, June 30, 2010. 
The new exhibition from Melbourne creative collective Wooden Foundations eschews notions of street art and grants discarded materials a new lease on life. By Dan Rule.
Talking to Niels Oeljen (aka Nails), you soon get the impression that for Wooden Foundations, art practice and the street environment are irrevocably entwined. Not, however, in the way most of us would immediately think. 
In an era where the spray can and stencil have assumed a kind of staid, mainstream cultural currency, the Melbourne-anchored collective – Oeltjen, Paul Mylecharane (aka Oh54), Scottie Neoh (aka Bonsai) and Hiroyasu Tsuri (aka TWOONE) – take a very different route from street to gallery space.
“An aim of what we do is to kind of show the possibilities of using found materials in fine art,” says Oeltjen. “Something we all do is collect a lot of recycled and reclaimed materials we’ve found walking around on the street or in dumpsters or whatever, and use them in our artwork.”
Built around ideas of personal mythology and symbolism, the exhibition at No Vacancy will see the quartet – who originally met via their mutual interests in graffiti and spray can related art at the start of the 2000s – merge print, drawing and painting practice with assemblage and installation.
“We didn’t just want to have pictures on walls,” says Oeltjen. “So we started looking at just where our artistic practices crossed over and we kind of isolated this idea of personal mythologies and how you build up your own little menagerie of animals and totems and iconography that you reuse as an artist, which become almost like shamanistic symbols.”
Indeed, for Oeltjen and the rest of Wooden Foundations, there’s a magic to the object. “A lot of stuff we find and use has reached the end of its life,” he says. “It can’t be fixed or recycled or whatever.”
“Art is one of the only things that can re-embrace these objects and reuse them,” he urges. “You can take almost anything and turn it into an artwork and make it valuable again.”
Wooden Foundations opens at No Vacancy Thursday July 1 6pm–9pm and runs until July 16.
www.woodenfoundations.comwww.no-vacancy.com.au

WOODEN FOUNDATIONS AT NO VACANCYPublished: Broadsheet, June 30, 2010. 
The new exhibition from Melbourne creative collective Wooden Foundations eschews notions of street art and grants discarded materials a new lease on life. By Dan Rule.
Talking to Niels Oeljen (aka Nails), you soon get the impression that for Wooden Foundations, art practice and the street environment are irrevocably entwined. Not, however, in the way most of us would immediately think. 
In an era where the spray can and stencil have assumed a kind of staid, mainstream cultural currency, the Melbourne-anchored collective – Oeltjen, Paul Mylecharane (aka Oh54), Scottie Neoh (aka Bonsai) and Hiroyasu Tsuri (aka TWOONE) – take a very different route from street to gallery space.
“An aim of what we do is to kind of show the possibilities of using found materials in fine art,” says Oeltjen. “Something we all do is collect a lot of recycled and reclaimed materials we’ve found walking around on the street or in dumpsters or whatever, and use them in our artwork.”
Built around ideas of personal mythology and symbolism, the exhibition at No Vacancy will see the quartet – who originally met via their mutual interests in graffiti and spray can related art at the start of the 2000s – merge print, drawing and painting practice with assemblage and installation.
“We didn’t just want to have pictures on walls,” says Oeltjen. “So we started looking at just where our artistic practices crossed over and we kind of isolated this idea of personal mythologies and how you build up your own little menagerie of animals and totems and iconography that you reuse as an artist, which become almost like shamanistic symbols.”
Indeed, for Oeltjen and the rest of Wooden Foundations, there’s a magic to the object. “A lot of stuff we find and use has reached the end of its life,” he says. “It can’t be fixed or recycled or whatever.”
“Art is one of the only things that can re-embrace these objects and reuse them,” he urges. “You can take almost anything and turn it into an artwork and make it valuable again.”
Wooden Foundations opens at No Vacancy Thursday July 1 6pm–9pm and runs until July 16.
www.woodenfoundations.comwww.no-vacancy.com.au





WOODEN FOUNDATIONS AT NO VACANCY
Published: Broadsheet, June 30, 2010.

The new exhibition from Melbourne creative collective Wooden Foundations eschews notions of street art and grants discarded material...









Friday, October 19, 2012

East Africa


With East Africa facing its worst drought in 60 years, affecting more than 11 million people, the United Nations has declared a famine in the region for the first time in a generation. Overcrowded refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia are receiving some 3,000 new refugees every day, as families flee from famine-stricken and war-torn areas. The meager food and water that used to support millions in the Horn of Africa is disappearing rapidly, and families strong enough to flee for survival must travel up to a hundred miles, often on foot, hoping to make it to a refugee center, seeking food and aid. Many do not survive the trip. Officials warn that 800,000 children could die of malnutrition across the East African nations of Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Kenya. Aid agencies are frustrated by many crippling situations: the slow response of Western governments, local governments and terrorist groups blocking access, terrorist and bandit attacks, and anti-terrorism laws that restrict who the aid groups can deal with -- not to mention the massive scale of the current crisis. Below are a few images from the past several weeks in East Africa.







Source:

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/07/famine-in-east-africa/100115/

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

GOAT BASED ECONOMIES


With East Africa facing its worst drought in 60 years, affecting more than 11 million people, the United Nations has declared a famine in the region for the first time in a generation. Overcrowded refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia are receiving some 3,000 new refugees every day, as families flee from famine-stricken and war-torn areas. The meager food and water that used to support millions in the Horn of Africa is disappearing rapidly, and families strong enough to flee for survival must travel up to a hundred miles, often on foot, hoping to make it to a refugee center, seeking food and aid. Many do not survive the trip. Officials warn that 800,000 children could die of malnutrition across the East African nations of Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Kenya. Aid agencies are frustrated by many crippling situations: the slow response of Western governments, local governments and terrorist groups blocking access, terrorist and bandit attacks, and anti-terrorism laws that restrict who the aid groups can deal with -- not to mention the massive scale of the current crisis. Below are a few images from the past several weeks in East Africa.










Source:



http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/07/famine-in-east-africa/100115/

Blogger: Continent of Sorrow - All posts

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Animal Magic: MONKEY RIDING A GOAT

Muhammed Muheisen—AP
Pakistanis look at a trained monkey standing on a goat, in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday.




Animal Magic: Captivating Creatures - LightBox


Goats On a Cliff


k

Lazing on a sunny afternoon.

See if you can spot them in the photo below...
The Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus), also known as the Rocky Mountain Goat, is a large-hoofed mammal found only in North America. Despite its vernacular name, it is not a member of Capra, the genus of true goats. It stays at high elevations and is a sure-footed climber, often resting on rocky cliffs that predators cannot reach.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_goat



 Spot the Goats!!!

All sizes | Lazing on a sunny afternoon. | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


 Steve has an incredibly beautiful and diverse slide show here:
 Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/locosteve/show/with/6013050733/
License
Attribution Some rights reserved by Loco Steve
Download
Download the Large 1024 size of this photo (All sizes of this photo are available for download under a Creative Commons license

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Goat farmers put food security in spotlight - European Union-funded project in Hanover reaping rewards - Western Focus - Jamaica Gleaner - Saturday | August 25, 2012

 

 

Published: Saturday | August 25, 2012 

 
Osmond Welsh and his nephew, Oneil, stand in front of the goat house that was funded by the European Union.
Osmond Welsh and his nephew, Oneil, stand in front of the goat house that was funded by the European Union.
 Osmond Welsh's goat-rearing farm in Burnt Ground, Hanover.


Sheena Gayle, Gleaner Writer
The goat-rearing pilot project for the parish of Hanover has begun to yield success, according to farmer and past president of the Jamaica Goat Farmers' Association, Osmond Welsh.

The project, which is located in the Burnt Ground community, is the fruit of an initiative by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the European Union (EU), and the Jamaica Goat Farmers Association, that ran from 2009 to November 2011.

Welsh said that he wants the farmers to utilise the resource centre to enhance their businesses.

"This is an excellent way for goat farmers to learn about best practices in goat rearing, get information, and see how they can improve what they are doing to get the best results," Welsh said.

The EU-funded project, which is housed on Welsh's 10-acre property, serves farmers in St James and Hanover, and consists of a goat house and storage area.


ISLAND WIDE PROJECTS
Aimed at strengthening Jamaica's food security, the EU donated J$85 million towards the development of pilot projects in 13 parishes across the island.

The National Food Security Programme was launched in 2009 with the view that as food prices are expected to continue rising, importing countries like Jamaica would begin to face challenges.

Jamaica has a high annual importation bill, and goat meat is one of the commodities the country continues to import.

"As a goat farmer, I want other farmers - and persons interested in this area of agriculture - to know about the pilot projects, because they will go a far way in developing interest in this sector," Welsh stated.

"There are several economic benefits that Jamaica can derive from goat rearing, whether it's the meat, milk, or cheese. All of these have the potential, if done properly, to provide employment and give goat farmers a viable source of income."


ENSURING VIABILITY
Welsh wants the Government to continue to partner with goat farmers to better advance the efforts to make the sector viable.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Roger Clarke has been lobbying for an overhaul of the industry to include innovative approaches to guarantee the country's food security.

"We are at crunch time, ladies and gentlemen, and it cannot be business as usual. We have to change our approach," Clarke said during a keynote address at the 2012 Montpelier Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show in St James.

"We have to invest in ourselves and rely on others to do so. We have to begin to change our agricultural practices to gain efficiencies."

Clarke stressed that a critical component of the paradigm shift is consumer groups, which can support the industry by buying local agricultural produce. This buy-in, he explained, will help lower the country's food import bill, which currently stands at more than US$800 million.

LINK: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120825/western/western1.html

Goat farmers put food security in spotlight - European Union-funded project in Hanover reaping rewards - Western Focus - Jamaica Gleaner - Saturday | August 25, 2012


Gift of a Goat



Gift of a goat brings hope of economic independence

Goats are a cultural tradition Goats are a cultural tradition
October 28, 2009 - In Plan Canada’s Toronto offices, Ndungu Kahihu is many miles and many years from his childhood in Kenya. But when he’s promoting the purchase of a goat through Plan’s Gifts of Hope program, he’s advocating a cultural tradition that was central to his African roots for generations.
“Goats have been a part of African communities for thousands of years,” said Kahihu, Director, Technical Policy and Advocacy for Plan Canada. “They wander into the philosophies, beliefs and artistic expressions of different peoples across the continent like no other animal.”
“When I was growing up in Kenya, before I started going to school, I used to help my grandfather take care of the goats,” Kahihu said. “Tending to goats was very frustrating... If you are distracted for even a minute, you will find the goats have taken off and are feeding on a neighbour’s crops.”
Like many of his peers, Kahihu’s grandfather valued cows and looked down on goats as not worth bragging about. “But even he would us not to laugh at a man so poor that all he owned was a goat. If the gods will it, he would tell us, the poor man’s goat will one day become a cow,” Kahihu said.
The gift of a goat to a family through Plan Canada’s Gifts of Hope program brings the hope of economic independence, especially for women and children. ‘Most ethnic communities in Africa are traditionally patriarchal with assets such as cattle and land owned and controlled by the male head of the household. But many of these communities have long allowed women and children to own goats,” said Kahihu.
“In Plan’s work with communities today, we encourage women to leverage the opportunity in this tradition by helping them to convert the gift of a single goat into a small herd or a milk-selling business, thus boosting their income. The women will use the money to provide for their children’s health and education which is a pretty good result from a pretty thoughtful birthday gift to a member of your family.”

Caution Goats on Trail

A warning to those hikers who find wild goats irresistibly cute on rocky mountain trails.  Those cute, shaggy mountain goats are no stuffed animals to play with, warns the Washington Trails Association. There have been plenty of mountain goat sightings on alpine trails throughout North Central Washington this year. They’re great to see, but the WTA advises hikers to keep their distance and give the animals wide berth on trails, especially nanny goats protective of their young. While mostly friendly and inquisitive, there have been several aggressive goat encounters with hikers this year, forcing the closure of some popular trails in the Olympic National Forest.

Goats are frequently seen in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, along Nason Ridge and around North Cascades National Park.

If a goat is persistently curious or begins to act aggressively, hikers should use noise — screaming or blowing a whistle is good — and flap clothing to get the goat to go its own way.
“If a goat wants the trail, give the goat the trail,” said Nancy Jones, spokeswoman for the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forest’s Cle Elum Ranger District. Hikers should stay at least 50 yards away from mountain goats at all times, she said.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Kenya's Answer To Barbecue Is Part Celebration, Part Test Of Manhood : The Salt : NPR

 
Kenyan cook Mwangi grills up nyama choma, which usually involves nearly all the parts of a goat, at the popular Sagret Hotel in Nairobi.
( pic-John Burnett/NPR)
  Kenyan cook Mwangi grills up nyama choma, which usually involves nearly all the parts of a goat, at the popular Sagret Hotel in Nairobi.

In Nairobi, Kenya, when friends want to celebrate a birthday, the end of bachelorhood or a graduation, they often go out for goat. This communal and culinary tradition in Kenya is called nyama choma — literally, roasted meat. While it's usually goat, some places offer beef, chicken and lamb. If you know where to look, you can even get illegal zebra and and wildebeest meat.

In between assignments covering failed states and marauding rebels, our East Africa Correspondent John Burnett volunteered to investigate nyama choma (which we place in the "tough assignment but somebody's got to do it" category). Burnett hails from Austin, Texas, or, as he calls it, "the epicenter of the smoking arts." Now nyama choma is not technically barbecue because it's not slow-smoked, but it is grilled, so he says, "close enough."

On a recent lazy Saturday afternoon in Nairobi, Burnett is invited to join three old college chums at the Sagret Hotel's popular nyama choma place. When they arrive, clusters of friends and families are devouring roast goat at tables all around, and drinking Tusker beer — East Africa's version of a Bud — with gusto.
  The friends choose their fresh kid goat cuts from a refrigerated glass case — hind legs, ribs, and glistening plates of offal. And then "a sweating cook named Mwangi bastes our order of blood sausage and intestines in a tray of salt water, then throws it on the grill over glowing coals," Burnett reports.

When the cook brings over the charred hors d'oeuvres, Eric Mungai, a computer services entrepreneur, explains the mystique:
"So anytime there's nyama choma everyone's happy, I guess it's like barbecue [but] you don't barbecue for yourself, you call some friends, family over. It's not something you do on your own. It's considered to be a communal thing," he says.

Nyama choma is also ritual. When a man from the Kikuyu tribe marries, he must use a knife — often dull — to sever the roasted goat shoulder joint cleanly, while everyone watches. That's why Mburu Karanja, a beer marketer at a nearby table, is here. He's about to be married, and he needs to practice his knife skills.

"What if you don't do it in one cut?" asks Burnett.


"It's unthinkable. The wedding can be called off. It's actually a test of your manhood," Karanja replies.

Socializing and meat eating go hand in hand in Kenya. Nyama choma dens are packed on Saturday afternoons. Some men eat so much nyama choma that they're developing painful gout, Burnett reports. But they see it as a badge of honor.

"Now that we're living in modern times, people want to have meat as much as they can. It's something very desirable, but its not that affordable. It is suitably called 'the rich man's disease' [so] it's not that common," says Kamau Gachigi, an engineering professor who was sitting at Burnett's table.

Eventually, the roasted goat legs arrive, and the grillman slices them up quickly and cleanly — skills that would impress any bride's family.

The eaters roll up balls of ugali, a polenta-like corn mush, and press it next to the nyama choma. Then they dip it in salt and dunk it in a spicy, tomato relish called kachumbari, Burnett says.

"The succulent meat is as good as the best Mexican cabrito I've ever tasted," Burnett says. "Maybe better."

He was not as thrilled with the blood sausage and guts. "I really wanted to spit the grilled intestines out on the floor," he tells The Salt, "but I didn't want to offend my hosts."

Back at the Sagret Hotel, the schoolmates and their new friend from Texas left the meal and "slouched off into the balmy African afternoon feeling stuffed, satisfied, and connected ... in a way that only a fantastic feast can bring about," Burnett says.


Kenya's Answer To Barbecue Is Part Celebration, Part Test Of Manhood : The Salt : NPR

 LINK:  http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/08/21/159384328/kenyas-answer-to-barbecue-is-part-celebration-part-test-of-manhood







Saudi- Goat price hikes as demand for meat ups on Eid - middle east north africa financial network - MENAFN




 

(MENAFN - Arab News) Prices of goat and sheep reached a record high on Saturday, on the eve of Eid Al-Fitr in Saudi markets, according to a report carried by Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News.

In the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, prices were normal but as Eid approached, livestock prices witnessed a big hike.

For merchants there are a number of reasons to hike prices. Some of them said the increase in prices of barley and other fodders, has reflected on the price hike.

Expenses of maintaining farms have been going up on a daily basis, while rearing and taking care of livestock till the season is a big task," the newspaper quoted an investor as saying. Whatever may be the reason for the price hike, it falls heavily on the shoulder of consumers.

According to Rajih Al-Wadaani, an investor, rising prices of goat during Eid is quite normal. "At times of festivals, about 10 percent hike is very natural due to high demand. Prices of all commodities, including barley and other fodder products, have gone up. Other expenses such as the wage of shepherds have also increased," he added.

Reports indicate that prices of goat and sheep have not been stable at any time of the year in the market as they always fluctuate. Prices have doubled during the last three years.

Salim Al-Rasheedi, a merchant in the Riyadh market, said the demand for domestic goats is increasing on a daily basis. "This is the main reason for the price hike," he said. He added that most customers like domestic goats more than imported ones.

Among the domestic goats, Nuaimi and Najdi are the most famous having a great demand. Prices of Najdi have reached more than SR 1,800 per animal while Nuaimi is sold for prices ranging between SR 1,550 and SR 1,700.
At the same time, prices of imported goat, like Sawakin reached up to SR 1,000. Barbari, which is the cheapest, is sold for SR 600. "We have to increase the production of domestic goats and sheep. This is the only way to decrease prices," Al-Rasheedi said.

The government is trying to bring down goat prices by increasing the quantity of imported goats. However, prices are still very high.

Muhamed Al-Dossari, another merchant, defended the price hike saying it was essential to offset growing expenses. "Customers do not know about the increase in prices of essential commodities that are required for goat farms. They think merchants are increasing prices without any reason to make money. It is not true," he added.










Saudi- Goat price hikes as demand for meat ups on Eid - middle east north africa financial network - MENAFN



LINK  http://www.menafn.com/menafn/1093548455/Saudi-Goat-price-hikes-as-demand-for-meat-ups-on-Eid


'Dogshaming' sweeps the internet... PEOPLE ARE FUNNY!!!

 Bad habits: This pet pooch has an unfortunate habit


 pet shaming




 pet shaming


 pet shaming



Monkeys and Dogs


Sunday, August 12, 2012

Thankfulness and Compassion


"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time,
and always start with the person nearest you."
- Mother Teresa



This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.
- Dalai Lama



“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” -Epictetus


File:Yellow begonia.jpg 
Begonia Cultivar