Squirrel In Spokes Sends Singer Sailing

A suicide attack by a squirrel signaled the start of the animal uprising in Helsinki, Finland. The fluffy-tailed rat hurled himself into the bicycle ridden by a Finnish opera star just days before the premiere of a new opera. The singer sustained severe injuries and can't practice.

HELSINKI (Reuters) - A squirrel scampered into the bicycle wheel of an unlucky Finnish opera singer, causing him to fall, knock himself out and break his nose just ahead of the world premiere of a new opera.

Esa Ruuttunen was pedalling his way to the Helsinki Opera House last month when the squirrel ran into his spokes.

The singer ended up concussed and in a local hospital, rather than at his rehearsals for the Finnish opera Kaarmeen hetki (Hour of the Serpent), which opens on September 15.

"He is not yet singing in rehearsals, but thinks he will be able to perform at the world premiere," Finnish National Opera spokeswoman Heidi Almi told Reuters.

While we abhor the animal uprising in all its many forms, we're kind of hard put to condemn this one too hard. It is opera after all. Perhaps the squirrel was just another critic.

High Fashion Codes

German agents in the Second World War hid secret coded messages in drawings of current fashions, according to British records released today. The newly declassified materials give a number of different codes that the British were able to crack during the war.

LONDON (Reuters) - German spies hid secret messages in drawings of models wearing the latest fashions in an attempt to outwit Allied censors during World War Two, according to British security service files released on Monday.

Nazi agents relayed sensitive military information using the dots and dashes of Morse code incorporated in the drawings.

They posted the letters to their handlers, hoping that counter-espionage experts would be fooled by the seemingly innocent pictures.

But British secret service officials were aware of the ruse and issued censors with a code-breaking guide to intercept them.

The book — part of a batch of British secret service files made public for the first time — included an example of a code hidden in a drawing of three young models.

"Heavy reinforcements for the enemy expected hourly," reads a message disguised as a decorative pattern in the stitching of their gowns, hats and blouses.

The files reveal other ingenious ways spies tried to send coded notes through the post.

Invisible ink, pinpricks and indentations on letters were all used to convey details of troop movements, bombing raids and ship-building.

They hid codes in sheet music, descriptions of chess moves and shorthand symbols disguised as normal handwriting. Postcards were spliced in half, stuffed with wafer-thin notes and resealed.

Agents also used secret alphabets and messages which could only be read by taking the first letter of certain words.

Just about anything could be used to contain the secrets that agents wanted to transmit to the enemy. Of course none of that stuff is necessary today. If you want to send secret information today all you have to do is contact the New York Times.

Everything Old Is New Again

Gateway Pundit points out the similarities of todays situation to the election of 1864. He is quite correct that much of the rhetoric today bears a striking resemblance to things the Democrats of that time said and wrote. The parallel is, of course, not perfect. There is one other thing that should be remembered from that time:

Lincoln wrote a few lines on a piece of paper and asked his cabinet members to sign it without reading it. After the election, he showed them what he had written and they had signed: "It seems exceedingly probable that this administration will not be re-elected. Then it will be my duty to so cooperate with the President-elect as to save to Union between the election and the inauguration, as he will have secured his election on such ground that he cannot possibly save it afterward."

Of course it is not a presidential election year.

Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin Killed

A freak accident has claimed the life of Famed Australian Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin. While filming a documentary, he was struck in the chest by a stingray barb that penetrated his heart. He was 44 years old.

Irwin, 44, died this morning after being fatally injured while filming a nature documentary off Queensland.

The news has shocked the nation and prompted a rush of tributes from politicians and the public alike.

Irwin's wife Terri was in Tasmania at the time of the tragedy and had to be contacted by police with the terrible news.

The couple's daughter Bindi, 8, was with her father in north Queensland, Irwin's manager John Stainton said from Cairns.

Choking back tears, Mr Stainton said Irwin had gone “over the top of a stingray and a stingray's barb went up and went into his chest and put a hole into his heart”.

"He possibly died instantly when the barb hit him, and I don't think that he … felt any pain.”

Professional diver Pete West was on board a nearby boat and was asked by Irwin's team to call in the emergency.

Asked on Channel 7 if Irwin was alive when they got him on his own boat, Mr West said: “I believe so.” 

"He was doing what he did best and unfortunately today he wasn't quick enough."

Dr Ed O'Loughlin was aboard the Emergency Management Queensland Helicopter which was called from Cairns at 11.21am (AEST).

Irwin was being given CPR at Low Isles, off Port Douglas, as the helicopter arrived less than one hour after the incident, but Dr O'Loughlin said nothing could be done to save him.

"It became clear fairly soon that he had non-survivable injuries," Dr O'Loughlin said.

"He had a penetrating injury to the left front of his chest.  He had lost his pulse and wasn't breathing."

Mr Stainton admitted he had always feared Irwin might meet his death while working with wildlife, but added that Irwin himself was never scared.

"We've been in some pretty close shaves. (But) nothing would ever scare Steve or would worry him. He didn't have a fear of death at all.”

My kids used to watch his show quite often. May he rest in peace.

UPDATE: Some facts about stingrays here.