Coffee and Provocation

Courts-approved Stoning of a Possessed Dog?
Apparently (but read on to the end) a dog entered a Jerusalem financial court several weeks ago and would not leave, which reminded a lunatic judge of a curse passed on a now deceased secular lawyer about 20 years ago, when judges bid his spirit to enter the body of a dog.  Fearful that the lawyer had come back as this dog, the judge ordered the dog stoned to death.  Happily, the dog ran away. But read the story again. The court cursed a secular lawyer to have his spirit enter a dog? Then the court believed that that had actually happened? And the remedy was now to stone the dog to death? Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.  Proof that crazy religious nuts are all over, I suppose, even in the courts.  UPDATE:  This story, which originally appeared in the Israeli newspaper Maariv, appears to be false.  The head of the court, Yehoshua Levin, now says "There is no basis for abuse of animals from the side of Jewish Halacha [law]'' and that the dog which had entered the court was simply "removed."  More here, here and here.  For those actually interested in the contradictory Halachic opinion on dogs, see here.  For a post on Islam and dogs, see here.

Kenya Supersizes Its Elephant Corridors:
If wild elephants are to make it in Africa, the Africans need to make sure that ancient migration corridors that follow the rains, and the grass and brush that comes with the rains, are respected.  Kenya is trying to do just that.

France Moves to Protect the Great Hamster of Alsace:
This is the last wild hamster in Europe, and as both the French and the courts of the European Union are involved, expect a cluster-fark of epic proportions. On the upside, it should make for a hilarious movie resulting in a lot of very nice Happy Meal toys.

The 10,000 Year Clock:
I did not win or lose the first Long Bet put up by the Long Now Foundation (I was beaten out by Ted Dansen), but I am happy to report that the 10,000 year clock continues apace.   Right now, a robot is carving steps inside the mountain where the clock will eventually be housed, and the largest of the clock components are now being assembled.  Read more about it at this link and check out the website on the 10,000-year clock as well.
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