Elephants

Actress Jada Pinkett Smith is appealing directly to Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on behalf of elephants. In a letter dated Tuesday, the actress said she was appealing to the mayor "as a mother and proud Baltimore native. " Pinkett Smith wanted to make sure no elephants were jabbed with bullhooks during the upcoming performance of Ringling Bros. Circus' at 1st Mariner Arena. She reminded Rawlings-Blake of the city's law against any “mechanical, electrical, or manualdevice that is likely to cause physical injury or suffering” to a performing animal.

Four years into a so-called recovery, and we're still below recession levels in every important respect except the stock market. A measly 88,000 jobs were created in March, and total employment remains some 3 million below its pre-recession level. Labor-force participation is at its lowest level since 1979. The recovery isn't just losing steam. It never had much steam to begin with. That's because so much of our debate over economic policy has been beside the point. On one side have been Keynesians -- followers of the great British economist John Maynard Keynes -- who want more government spending and lower interest rates in order to fuel demand.

It works on muggers, why not elephants?A pepper spray meant to deter elephants from raiding farms in Asia and Africa is being developed by a zoologist at the University of Cambridge and by an inventor in Valley Forge, Pa.On both continents, elephants that raid crops are sometimes shot.Cambridge zoologist Loki Osborn is working with inventor Jack Birochak, who has developed pepper sprays to deter grizzly bears.The spray can hold 1 kilogram of a mixture of chili pepper and oil. Because of the obvious difficulties of operating a spray can close to a wild elephant, Birochak is developing a compressed air launcher that can throw the can 200 meters.

A neighborhood organization is protesting the liquor-license renewal of The Museum, the establishment now occupying what was once the Brass Elephant in Mount Vernon . According to Baltimore City Liquor License Board documents, the Mount Vernon Belvedere Improvement Association is asking the board not to renew the property's Class B restaurant license for the following reasons: 1) licensees leasing their license or otherwise permitting a non-licensee, Walter Webb, to operate an establishment primarily promoting and serving alcoholic beverages; 2)

Houston -- The world's hugely mismanaged efforts to ''protect threatened and endangered species'' are going off the tracks again; the focal point at the moment is African elephants.Millions (mostly resident in developed nations) regard themselves as ''animal-rights activists;'' they are horrified that the thoughtless, uncontrolled spread of Homo sapiens should rob any species of its habitat and drive it to extinction.These are noble sentiments. The trouble is that the people who voice them know little about the animals involved except what they've seen on The Discovery Channel -- and they don't have to live near them.

Oxford, England. -- In a few African parks that are well protected from ivory poachers, there are too many elephants. Elephants retreat from habitat lost to spreading agriculture and seek sanctuary inside the parks. Soon there are more of them than the parks' vegetation can support. They steadily eat themselves out of house and home, reducing food stocks for other species such as rhino.The result: an agonizing decision for park managers. The elephant numbers, many scientists assert, should be reduced until they are within the carrying capacity of the parks.

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, was modeled after the U.S. Endangered Species Act. It attempts to protect wildlife by regulating international trade in such commodities as elephant ivory and and rhino horn. It includes 138 signatory countries. And like its inspiration, its many failures show it to be a bitterly divisive failure best summed up in a phrase recently overheard here: ''The killing fields of CITES.''Glen Tatham, chief warden for Zimbabwe's national parks, says his country has set aside a higher percentage of its land for wildlife than any other African country.

Eutaw Street between Saratoga and Fayette streets near Lexington Market will be closed from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. today for a parade of elephants performing at Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The elephants will leave 1st Mariner Arena at 11:30 a.m. and return by 1 p.m. Motorists are urged to avoid the area.

IT JUST won't be the same without them. Driving down the Jones Falls Expressway, then taking in the view of the lake as we curve around Druid Hill Avenue and head toward our destination, I toss out the question to my kids in the back seat: "Who's ready for the zoo?" "I am!" my 3-year-old shouts with glee. Her younger brother, though not yet able to express himself verbally, nods vigorously. "And what will we see at the zoo?" I ask. "Monkeys, penguins, flamingos and elephants," my daughter responds, not always in that order.

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, South Africa -- Officials and wildlife experts from South Africa are seeking permission to do what was considered unthinkable a few years ago: trade products made from the hide and hair of elephants and rhinos.At an international convention on endangered species under way in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., they'll also ask permission to market elephant meat.While there continues to be worldwide concern over the dwindling numbers of African elephants, the opposite problem exists at parks like this one. The beasts are so prolific that if their numbers aren't controlled, they will destroy the park.

Samson, the young male elephant who was diagnosed with a deadly virus at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore late last month, has continued to recover in recent days and has "turned a very positive corner" in his treatment, according to zoo officials. "His energy levels are very close to normal again, he's much brighter and a lot of his symptoms have either gone away or are nearly gone," Michael McClure, general curator for the zoo's animal department, said Thursday. McClure said he and his staff have been nursing Samson back to health around the clock for nearly four weeks and are encouraged by his recovery from the virus, known as elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus.

The Maryland Zoo's 4-year-old elephant Samson's serious illness with herpes is one example of how zoo breeding programs put elephants at risk ("Young elephant recovering from virus," March 14). This frightening disease causes massive internal hemorrhaging, typically affects elephants under 10 years of age, and has an 85 percent mortality rate. It's responsible for more than half of all juvenile elephant deaths in North American facilities. Death from the herpes virus usually occurs within seven days after an acute onset of symptoms, which include lethargy, swelling of the head and limbs, and a blue discoloration of the tongue.

A deadly virus has stricken Samson, the only elephant born at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore in its 137-year history, but zoologists are hopeful that he will recover because the strain is thought to be less serious in his species. Samson also has survived longer than others with the virus. Caretakers first noticed the soon-to-be-5-year-old male looking lethargic Feb. 26, and feared it was a sign of what is known as elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus. They began treating him for the disease, which can kill within days, and tests confirmed the virus.

Anna Burns Welker added her name to the list of Patriot Wives Pouting (see Gisele Bundchen) when she went after Ray Lewis' reputation on Facebook after the AFC Championship game Sunday. "By the way, if anyone is bored, please go to Ray Lewis' Wikipedia page. 6 kids, 4 wives, Acquitted for murder. Paid a family off. Yay. What a hall of fame player! A true role model!" The wife of the Patriots' wide receiver Wes Welker, who dropped two passes during the game, later apologized, saying her post was "emotional and irrational," and attributing her outburst to the frustration she felt after the Patriots' 28-13 loss.

Sue Pierce from South Bend, Ind., wrote in looking for a recipe for making elephant ears, the kind that you can get at many local fairs across the country. She said her mom loves them and she was hoping someone would be able to share an easy recipe so that she could make them for her at home. Beth Raker from Mishawaka, Ind., saw Pierce's request and sent in a recipe that she said was given to her by a teacher who served as a missionary in Mexico. She said she has enjoyed making these with her children and grandchildren for at least 25 years.

One of the most telling aspects of the 2012 presidential campaign now racing to its end is the matter of the vanishing former two-term Republican president. His name is so seldom mentioned by his party's nominee and other stalwarts as to take on the characteristic of a toxic distant uncle. That other GOP two-termer, Ronald Reagan, continues posthumously to enjoy the stature of political sainthood among the faithful. But the 43rd president, who is the son and namesake of the 41st, has been neither seen nor heard from in the blizzard of speech-making and television advertising by and in behalf of party standard-bearer Mitt Romney.

WHEN THE NEWS of the elephant layoffs first hit yesterday, I immediately drove out to the zoo to say goodbye to Dolly and Anna, who would soon be in a huge, antiseptic tractor-trailer bound for God knows where, wherever they send elephants that get pink slips. Look, you know a city's in trouble when they start laying off cops and firemen and municipal workers. But when they start laying off the elephants, well, it's over, Jack. Time to pack your bags and call a real estate agent. Nevertheless, that was the story at the Baltimore Zoo: the elephants were history.

The unemployment rate has been stuck above 8 percent for months. President Barack Obama continues to blame the moribund economy on President George W. Bush while claiming that he has created 4.5 million jobs. Republican challenger Mitt Romney announces that he will create 12 million jobs in his first term. The president has proven that he has no solutions for our sick economy, and Mr. Romney's promises are ludicrous. Neither ever discusses the root cause of our current economic distress - our policy of signing free trade agreements with the third world as well as the Asian powers who practice mercantilism.

The Brass Elephant could soon be reopening. Well, not the Brass Elephant exactly. A restaurant named The Museum is set to open within weeks at 924 N. Charles St., the elegant Mount Vernon townhouse that the Brass Elephant called home for almost 30 years before closing in August 2009. The multistory restaurant property remains in the hands of Charles Street Restaurant Inc., which has entered into an operating agreement with Walter Webb, according to longtime owner Stuart Teper.