# 977. Not So Morbid, Morbid & Murder ???

# 977. A Real Mystery ??? Joran Van der Sloot, a suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. Make yourself comfortable, because this will leave you scratching your head !!! You may want to start at the begining - look under the archives first, when you click on to the blog.

A Million $ NZ Drug Bust !!!

If you clipped the "wing mirror" of another vehicle, the thing to do would be to stop, say sorry and sort out insurance details with the other driver, would it not ??? Not so, if you are a gang member so it seems but as he sits inside "looking out" he is no doubt wishing that he had done the right thing and stopped in the first place and said "sorry" !!! The couple whose car he clipped pursued him, until he did stop. Because the argument between the two drivers seemed to get a bit heated, a bystander phone the police. When they arrived and checked the gang members license, they arrested him for driving while disqualified. Then when they checked the inside of his car. they noticed a small "bag of white powder" in the pocket of the drivers door and a loaded rifle (with safety catch off) on the back seat. In the boot of his car was another larger bag of "white powder" - over a kilo of it in fact. It is been tested but it is believed to be "P" - methamphetamine. Broken down and sold in smaller quantities, it could have a street value of a million dollars !!!

Museum To Return Body Parts !!!

The Auckland War Memorial Museum aims to return all the Maori ancestral remains that it has, to the various tribes, by the middle of next year. The remains include toi moko (preserved tatooed "heads") and skeletal parts/bones - some of them taken from burial caves at the begining of the century and sold to the museum. The museum spokesperson said, that displaying or keeping Maori ancestral remains was no longer appropiate and caused great pain. They make Maori feel as if they are walking into a cemetery, when they visit the museum.
The Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa which inherited a lot of Maori ancestral remains from the former National Museum is also trying to repatriate Maori & Moriori reamins held in about 200 institutions in other countries. Last November, the Museum repatriated 18 ancestral remains from eight institutions in three countries.
Are there any "heads" on display in museums in your country ???

What Does It Feel Like To Slowly Starve ???

When food runs out, you eat anything that you can get your hands on, including grass, insects and bark from trees !!! Then your body begins to eat itself. Organs such as the liver and intestines shrink; your skin becomes thin, inelastic, pale & cold. Your hair becomes dry, sparse and falls out. Your heart becomes inefficient; your pulse slows and blood pressure falls. Your breathing capacity decreases. A slump in body temperature leads to death - if diarrhoea, malaria or other diseases haven't already claimed you !!! Nice !!!

Fine Art Of Grave Robbery.

The lust for African art in the west is been blamed for the theft of 100's of statues erected by secretive Kenyan tribes as part of traditional death rites. "Vigango" totems have been looted from rural homesteads near Kenyan's coast, home to the Mijikenda tribes. The 1.2 metre wooden statues, carved with triangular etchings and believed to incarnate the spirits of dead elders are been shipped via traders to USA & Europe. The thefts are been carried out by poor youths who fall prey to traders with fat wallets, operating for collectors in other countries, who feed the demand for "ethnic" african art. Anxious villagers who spend up to twice the Kenya's average income on statues for dead relatives talk of ill fortune and angry spirits who visit after the statues have been removed.
It would be like us stealing tombstones or ashes and selling them in other countries.

Ancient Tomb Largest Found.

Greek archaeologists have discovered the largest underground tomb in Greek antiquity in the ancient city of Pella in Northern Greece, birth place of Alexander The Great. The eight chamber tomb, rich in painted sculpture dates to the Hellenistic period between the 3rd & 2nd century BCand offers scholars a rare glimpse into the life of nobles around the time of Alexanders death. The tomb is accessible through a 16 metre long entrance was uncovered near the ancient city of the Macedonian kingdom. It is believed to have belonged to a noble family.

Frogs Stink repels Bugs !!!

Australian researchers have discovered a natural mosquito repellent in the smelly secretions of green tree frogs. They found that natural chemicals released thriugh the skin of the frogs produce a pugent smell that wards off mosquitoes. The smell is not very good - some smell of rotting flesh, some of nuts and some of thyme leaves. The secretions were tested on mice and were found to give up to one hours protection from aggressive mosquitoes. Anyone for smelling like "rotting flesh" !!!

Against The Law To Boil Crayfish Alive !!!

The Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry in NZ has issued a timely reminder that it is against the law to stab, drown or boil crayfish or crabs alive. Popping a live crayfish or crab into a pot of boiling water was "inappropriate" because the nervous system was still functioning. It is also cruel to try and kill them with a blow to the head or other part of the body because they do not have a central nervous system. They have a a spread-out nervous system, not a single one running down the spine like humans. Drowning them in fresh water was also inappropriate and caused "severe osmotic stress" - relating to the passage of liquids of different salt concentrations through a membrane. The only humane way to kill crayfish or crabs was to "chill" them at between 2c & 4c until it was insensible and safety inmobile. It could be killed with a sharp instrument either by head spiking (between the eyes) or chest spiking (through the chest wall from the underside)
They said the international debate continues on whether fish, felt pain. It seems that they do feel pain beacuse they react quickly to negative circumstances. However if you stabbed or boiled a live crayfish or crabs, it is unlikely that you will be prosecuted under the Animal Welfare Act, as the Ministry has other prioities.