On one hand it seems like a good idea, but my gut instinct tells me this would lead to trouble - we all know what havoc accidentally, and intentionally introduced species have done in other countries, and the size of these creatures means the impact on the environment would potentially be greater.

Elephants, lions to roam North America once more?

Scientists are proposing reintroducing large mammals such as elephants, lions, cheetahs and wild horses to North America to replace populations lost 13,000 years ago.

The scientists say that not only could large tracts of North America act as breeding sanctuaries for species of large wild animals under threat in Africa and Asia, but that such ecological history parks could be major tourist attractions.

"Africa and parts of Asia are now the only places where megafauna are relatively intact, and the loss of many of these species within this century seems likely," the team, led by Josh Donlan from New York's Cornell University, said.

"Given this risk of further extinction, re-wilding of North American sites carries global conservation implications," the team wrote in Wednesday's issue of the science journal Nature.

It said large mammals were common across all continents until the Late Pleistocene wipeout that hit North America hardest and handed the world to smaller species. The largest mammals in the United States today are bison.

The Pleistocene epoch lasted from about 1.65 million years ago to 10,000 years ago.

"Large carnivores and herbivores often play important roles in the maintenance of biodiversity, and thus many extinct mammals must have shaped the evolution of the species we know today," the scientists wrote.

They said the pronghorn antelope's remarkable turn of speed must be due at least in part to the presence of the now extinct predatory American cheetah alongside it on North America's grasslands.

Reintroducing the modern relatives of the Late Pleistocene losers to North America could spark fresh interest in conservation, contribute to biodiversity and begin to put right some of the wrongs caused by human activities.

"Establishing Asian asses and Przewalski's horse in North America might help prevent the extinction of these endangered species and would restore equid species to their evolutionary homeland," the scientists wrote.

They proposed a second phase that would include reintroducing African cheetahs, lions and Asian and African elephants to large private parks.

"Free-roaming, managed cheetahs in the southwestern United States could save the fastest carnivore from extinction, restore what must have been strong interactions with pronghorn and facilitate ecotourism as an alternative for ranchers.

"Managed elephant populations could similarly benefit ranchers through grassland maintenance and ecotourism," they wrote, adding that reintroducing lions would represent the pinnacle of the Pleistocene re-wilding of North America.

They admitted the plan would be controversial but said it was a far better option than simply accepting the terminal decline of some of the world's most impressive species due to human encroachment and global warming.

"Pleistocene re-wilding is an optimistic alternative," they wrote. "The obstacles are substantial and the risks are not trivial, but we can no longer accept a hands-off approach to wilderness preservation."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050817/sc_nm/usa_wild_dc

Time is approaching for another new track for the Grand Prix circuit.

See it in detail here

HE CALLS THEM BY NAME -----
by Max Lucado

WHEN I SEE a flock of sheep I see exactly that, a flock. A rabble of
wool. A herd of hooves. I don't see a sheep. I see sheep. All alike.
None different. That's what I see.

But not so with the shepherd.

To him every sheep is different. Every face is special. Every face
has a story. And every sheep has a name.

The shepherd knows his sheep. He calls them by name.

When we see a crowd, we see exactly that, a crowd. Filling a stadium
or flooding a mall. When we see a crowd, we see people, not persons,
but people. A herd of humans. A flock of faces. That's what we see.

But not so with the Shepherd. To him every face is different. Every
face is a story. Every face is a child. Every child has a name.

The Shepherd knows his sheep. He knows each one by name. The Shepherd
knows you. He knows your name. And he will never forget it. I have
written your name on my hand (Isa. 49:16).

Quite a thought, isn't it? Your name on God's hand. Your name on
God's lips. Maybe you've seen your name in some special places. On an
award or diploma or walnut door. Or maybe you've heard your name from
some important people-a coach, a celebrity, a teacher. But to think
that your name is on God's hand and on God's lips . . . my, could it be?

Or perhaps you've never seen your name honored. And you can't
remember when you heard it spoken with kindness. If so, it may be
more difficult for you to believe that God knows your name.

But he does. Written on his hand. Spoken by his mouth. Whispered by
his lips. Your name.

How do I get tickets for next year's ODI at Centurion Australia v SA 26th Feb ?
I have tried the Titans website to no avail and there doesn't seem to be another website that sells tickets,at least none that I have been able to find ?

Brazilian Rubens Barrichello is to leave Ferrari at the end of this season to join BAR-Honda. read here

During a chat last night, the number Seven was brought up and I mentioned the significance of the number according to the scriptures and everything to do with how God created the universe, nature and humans.

The person who is very well read and knowledgable, had not heard of this before, so I thought it would make a great topic of conversation with regards to how the number 7 is so entwined in life and nature.

Has anyone else heard of this etc??

The Wallabies, hit by injuries and stabbed by accusatory fingers, will introduce a policy of Kiss (Keep It Simple on Saturday) against the Springboks in their Vodacom Tri-Nations match at the Subiaco Oval.

After deriding and then struggling against the Springboks' rush defence, the Wallabies may copy the South Africa model this weekend, instituting a version of the in-your-face holding line that has won Jake White's team three matches in a row. Simple, aggressive and risky though the rush defence may be, it has proved to be wholly effective for a Springbok team that is still developing on many fronts.

"We are going to have to have a fairly simple game plan against South Africa, which might suit us in a lot of ways, particularly in the way they defend in your own attack line," Jones said, chucking in the smallest dig that he believes that the Springboks flirt outrageously and illegally with the offside line. That said, the Wallabies came up with a version of the rush defence themselves against the All Blacks in Sydney on Saturday, which flustered New Zealand and gave Australia an early lead.

With his stock of players as depleted as Zimbabwe's reserve bank, Jones is having to shoehorn men into positions and gameplans they may not be entirely used to.

He learnt on Monday that Stirling Mortlock's calf injury will take almost a month to heal, while Jeremy Paul's damaged neck tissue will keep him out for some time.

That adds to an injury list that already includes Stephen Larkham and Wendell Sailor, among others, with Mat Rogers being an outside chance to return. It is looking more likely that former Sharks and under-21 star Clyde Rathbone could play at outside centre, his preferred position, although Lote Tuqiri is also being considered for the midfield.

"We've always said that we wanted Lote to be the best winger in the world before we looked at him in any other positions, but he has the potential to play at 13. He would be a different sort of 13 to your Morgan Turinui or Stirling Mortlock. He's not a guy who runs through walls. Lote's more a stepper, but he's still a big guy who is quick. It is a possibility for the future," said Jones.

The Springboks, while wary of complacency because of the Wallabies' ailments, have welcomed not being the centre of attention in Perth and ran through a smooth and slick training session on Monday. With Fourie du Preez sitting out because of a stiff back from a gym session in the morning, Michael Claassens performed the backline drills, although the Blue Bull was persuaded to toss around a few balls later in the afternoon.

Marius Joubert, who has a hamstring problem, spent most of the afternoon at a Perth hospital trying to get an MRI scan on his lower back. Having to queue in a power cut at the hospital meant that he had to wait a little longer.

White implied on Monday that the Springboks would like to attack more on Saturday, but not at the cost of defence. One of the criticisms of South Africa is that they have scored tries from the mistakes of others, but, said White, reaping the benefits of good defence was one of the tenets of rugby. Counter-attack was the by-product of discipline and structure, he said.

"Even Tana Umaga said this week that one of the ways to get the ball back was by good defence. I know that ideally one should keep possession all the time and force the opponents to defend, but the game is also about how often you slow down your opponents' ball or take it away from their attack.

"You want a situation where your defence is so well organised that it could seem as if the opponents have more possession. The most-important thing is to control your defence. We would like to have more possession and attack more."

The Boks will do that with an unchanged team from the one that played at the All Blacks in Cape Town, with Ricky Januarie again preferred to Fourie du Preez. Januarie was more effective against George Gregan at Ellis Park and then when he came on at Loftus.

On Monday afternoon at team training Gert Smal and his forwards concentrated on their line-out calls, possibly with a view to making sure that after three matches against them, the Wallabies haven't worked them out just yet.

The squeezing in of the three-match Afro-Asian Cup has its minuses, but one of the bonuses is that new South African coach Mickey Arthur will have a good chance to run his eye over fledgling fast bowler Dale Steyn.

The series begins in Centurion on Wednesday before moving to Durban on Saturday and Sunday.

South Africa's front-line limited overs fast bowlers, bar Shaun Pollock, are playing in English county cricket, opening the way for Steyn to play against a quality Asian side with new WP-Boland man Monde Zondeki.

Arthur, also coach of the African team, said: "Dale had a net (yesterday), and I was quite excited by what I saw of him. He's obviously learnt quite a bit in his spell with Essex."

'I was quite excited by what I saw'
Arthur will have an eight-month "summer" in his new job with the Proteas. He starts with the one-day series this week, and his season includes away and home tours against Australia before ending in the first week of May next year.

Thankfully he will have a low-intensity start with the Afro-Asian series. "It couldn't be better. It's not the South African team playing, but it gives me a taste of international cricket, and a chance to work with some of the players," Arthur said.

Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who relinquished his world Test wickets record to Shane Warne after suffering a shoulder injury a year ago, is in the Asian team which will be led in the series by Pakistan's Inzamam ul-Haq.

Shaun Pollock will captain the African team in the first two matches while Graeme Smith completes a four-match ban imposed in the West Indies for time-wasting.

Zimbabwe's Heath Streak and Tatenda Taibu, currrently playing in the second test against New Zealand at Bulawayo, will also miss the first two matches, but Arthur said a rotation policy would probably see each African squad member get at least one game.

Africa:
Graeme Smith (capt), Shaun Pollock, Boeta Dippenaar, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher, Monde Zondeki, Jacques Rudolph, Nicky Boje, Justin Ontong, Dale Steyn, Justin Kemp (South Africa), Steve Tikolo, Collins Obuya, Thomas Odoyo (Kenya), Heath Streak, Tatenda Taibu (Zimbabwe).

Asia:
Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Yousuf Youhana, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan); Virender Sehwag, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble (India); Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka); Mohammad Ashraful and Mashrafe bin Mortaza (Bangladesh).

ForumAdmin Wrote:new game

Alloy Tease

added

"Tomorrow morning," the surgeon began,
"I'll open up your heart..."
"You'll find Jesus there," the boy
interrupted.
The surgeon looked up, annoyed "I'll
cut your heart open," he continued,
to see how much damage has been
done..."

"But when you open up my heart, you'll
find Jesus in there," said the boy.
The surgeon looked to the parents, who
Sat quietly. "When I see how much
damage has been done, I'll sew your
heart and chest back up, and I'll plan
what to do next."

"But you'll find Jesus in my heart. The
Bible says He lives there. The
hymns all say He lives there. You'll
find Him in my heart."

The surgeon had had enough. "I'll tell
you what I'll find in your heart.
I'll find damaged muscle, low blood
supply, and weakened vessels.
And I'll find out if I can make you well."

"You'll find Jesus there too. He lives
there."

The surgeon left.

The surgeon sat in his office, recording his
notes from the surgery, "...damaged aorta, damaged
pulmonary vein, widespread muscle degeneration.
No hope for transplant, no hope for cure. Therapy:
painkillers and bed rest. Prognosis:, "
here he paused, "death within one year."

He stopped the recorder, but there was
more to be said. "Why?" he asked aloud.
"Why did You do this? You've put
him here; You've put him in this pain; and
You've cursed him to an early death. Why?"

The Lord answered and said, "The boy,
My lamb, was not meant for your
flock for long, for he is a part of My
flock, and will forever be.
Here, in My flock, he will feel no pain, and
will be comforted as you cannot imagine.
His parents will one day join him here,
and they will know peace, and
My flock will continue to grow."

The surgeon's tears were hot, but his
anger was hotter. "You created that
boy, and You created that heart. He'll
be dead in months. Why?"

The Lord answered, "The boy, My lamb,
shall return to My flock, for He has
Done his duty: I did not put My lamb
with your flock to lose him, but to retrieve another
lost lamb."

The surgeon wept.. The surgeon sat
beside the boy's bed; the boy's
parents sat across from him. The boy awoke and
whispered, "Did you cut open my heart?"

"Yes," said the surgeon.

"What did you find?" asked the boy.

"I found Jesus there," said the
surgeon.