Outrage Over Sign Language Interpreter At Madiba Memorial

Johannesburg – While millions across the globe were inspired and moved by speeches made at former President Nelson Mandela’s memorial service on Tuesday, the international deaf community expressed outrage over what they say was a fake sign language interpreter.

According to a report on Australian site, SBS News, deaf South African and board member of the World Federation of the Deaf Youth Section Braam Jordaan said the interpreter was simply making up his own signs.

“The structure of his hand, facial expressions and the body movements did not follow what the speaker was saying,” Jordaan was quoted as saying. “What happened at the memorial service is truly disgraceful thing to see – it should not happen at all.”

Jordaan said the interpreter seemed to simply be making up his own hand movements.

A representative for the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters, Sheena Walters also told SBS the hand movements the interpreter was using was not recognisable as any type of sign language:

“Most sign languages across the world share a similar structure and pattern and this person seems to be making a lot of repetitive signs and isn’t displaying the usual facial expression or structure of sign language that you would normally see.”

All the security measures, the SS, and all, and the guy standing next to Obama is a phony. I imagine we will hear a lot more about that, he is now a celebrity. Would love to hear his story, and we probably will ................... jbd

Do dogs .... well ..... expressions .... YOU BET THEY DO..

Is this not a great photo, or what?

You just gotta love that dog.

This is why we love our pets.

They can't talk .... but can they express?

You just want to hug this guy and let him know that all is OK

Great video ......

Beau

I have had a number of requests to publish this poem that was mentioned in a previous blog ...........

He never came to me when I would call
Unless I had a tennis ball,
Or he felt like it,
But mostly he didn't come at all.

When he was young
He never learned to heel
Or sit or stay,
He did things his way.

Discipline was not his bag
But when you were with him things sure didn't drag.
He'd dig up a rosebush just to spite me,
And when I'd grab him, he'd turn and bite me.

He bit lots of folks from day to day,
The delivery boy was his favorite prey.
The gas man wouldn't read our meter,
He said we owned a real man-eater.

He set the house on fire
But the story's long to tell.
Suffice it to say that he survived
And the house survived as well.

On the evening walks, and Gloria took him,
He was always first out the door.
The Old One and I brought up the rear
Because our bones were sore.

He would charge up the street with Mom hanging on,
What a beautiful pair they were!
And if it was still light and the tourists were out,
They created a bit of a stir.

But every once in a while, he would stop in his tracks
And with a frown on his face look around.
It was just to make sure that the Old One was there
And would follow him where he was bound.

We are early-to-bedders at our house--
I guess I'm the first to retire.
And as I'd leave the room he'd look at me
And get up from his place by the fire.

He knew where the tennis balls were upstairs,
And I'd give him one for a while.
He would push it under the bed with his nose
And I'd fish it out with a smile.

And before very long
He'd tire of the ball
And be asleep in his corner
In no time at all.

And there were nights when I'd feel him
Climb upon our bed
And lie between us, And I'd pat his head.

And there were nights when I'd feel this stare
And I'd wake up and he'd be sitting there
And I reach out my hand and stroke his hair.
And sometimes I'd feel him sigh
and I think I know the reason why.

He would wake up at night
And he would have this fear
Of the dark, of life, of lots of things,
And he'd be glad to have me near.

And now he's dead.
And there are nights when I think I feel him
Climb upon our bed and lie between us,
And I pat his head.

And there are nights when I think
I feel that stare
And I reach out my hand to stroke his hair,
But he's not there.

Oh, how I wish that wasn't so,
I'll always love a dog named Beau.


Jimmy Stewart

A FRIEND SENT THIS TO ME: 

My dog sleeps about 20 hours a day.  He has his food prepared for him. His meals are provided at no cost to him. He visits the Dr. once a year for his checkup, and again during the year, if any medical needs arise.. For this he pays nothing, and nothing is required of him. He lives in a nice neighborhood in a house that is much larger than he needs, but he is not required to do any upkeep. If he makes a mess, someone else cleans it up. He has his choice of luxurious places to sleep. He receives these accommodations absolutely free. He is living like a king, and has absolutely no expenses whatsoever. All of his costs are picked up by others who earn a living. 
 I was just thinking about all this, and suddenly it hit me like a brick in the head 
 My Dog is a Democrat!

The Bear and the Dog - GREAT Foto

The probably don't know that they are a Bear and a Dog

They are just "friends" playing together.

The dog may be a little skeptical, from his look.

Inner Peace

INNER PEACE

Dog Submerges Herself In Bathtub To Survive Fire

GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. -- A dog survived a raging house fire for six hours by hiding in a water-filled bathtub, according to firefighters.

The house that burned was in the relatively new Beaumont subdivision off State Park Road near Mt. Creek Baptist Church.

Piedmont Park Fire Capt. Duane Brock said the fire was extremely difficult to extinguish because of the size of the house and the intensity of the flames.

Firefighters were able to rescue the dog, a 1-year-old Belgian Malinois named Mia, from the basement of the burning home, according to Brock.

Mia's owner, Chris Brumby, was amazed at how the dog survived, but said he knew she was smart.

"She acts like a human for most things," Brumby said. "And that kind of showed it. She knew where to go and hide."

He said Mia was able to get to a bathtub on the lowest level of the house, where she waited as firefighters doused the home with water. As the water ran down into the basement, it filled the bathtub and soaked Mia, keeping her safe from flames, Brock said.

Brumby said the dog has learned how to open doors throughout the house, and that she had to open four doors to get to the bathtub where she was found.

He said when firefighters brought her out of the house, she was wet, dazed and covered in soot.

"She literally had steam coming off of her," he said.

Japanese Dog Rescued

The Japanese coast guard have rescued a dog believed to have survived the massive tsunami of March 11 and also three weeks at sea. The dog was found on the floating roof of a house that had been washed out to sea, nearly two kilometers from the coast of Kesennuma in northern Japan.

 It evaded capture for several hours as it scrambled over the large floating rubble raft. Friday was the first day of an intensive operation to search for and recover the 18,000 people still missing and now presumed dead three weeks after the 9.0 magnitude earthquake triggered a killer tsunami.

A total of 27,500 people were either killed or are still missing. US forces, Japan's Self Defense force, Japanese police and coast guards launched a three day operation involving 120 aircraft and 65 vessels over three northern Japanese prefectures. Japanese broadcaster NTV said the Japanese Coast Guard had been hoping the dog would lead them to the pet's owner.

Once rescued, the dog captured the hearts of the coast guard when it licked its rescuers hands. The coast guard could only speculate who the dog belonged to - they could not find a name tag or ID on the collar.

Tomorrow ...... we hope

Tomorrow, Friday, AM, we hope to be packed and ready to leave for a trip of a few days, not sure how many.

It will be Marilyn, my wife, Caleb, our dog, and myself, in our little Chevy.

We hope to visit with my daughter, Debra, Highland, NY, at The Would, son Dean in East Hanover, NJ and son Brad who lives in the Bronx.

Been three or four years since we have seen them.

We will have our GPS, cell phone, and laptop. As of now, we are not sure of the route we are going to take. The GPS mapped out one course, and there are three alternates on Google, and a different one on YAHOO.

We used to use a map. There are three ways to get to the East, all about the same. One on the PA Turnpike, one up North, 80, and one a combination of the two. Nothing is worse than getting in a battle with your GPS and Google.

We have informed all that we would arrive Friday afternoon or evening. I have never driven that far since I was 76 and had a triple bi-pass and gotten older. We intend to make a two day trip out of it.

The GPS talks, and hears, I hope it is nice to us!