Groups Fight Over Fate of 174 Feral Chihuahuas

OK This is an article from Thu, 17 Jul 2003

By Gina Keating

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The case of 174 feral Chihuahuas on death row in a Los Angeles animal shelter has pitted animal rescue groups against each other in a debate over whether the purse-sized dogs are too vicious to adopt

The plight of the tiny dogs has prompted a war of words between rival Chihuahua rescue groups, a candlelight vigil, and an outpouring of offers of new homes and money.


Some experts have also warned that the adorable lap dogs, made wild by years of inbreeding and roaming in packs in the home of their elderly owner, were closer to miniature wolves than the cute breed made famous as the Taco Bell mascot

Some experts have also warned that the adorable lap dogs, made wild by years of inbreeding and roaming in packs in the home of their elderly owner, were closer to miniature wolves than the cute breed made famous as the Taco Bell mascot.


The dogs were seized from the home of 72-year-old Emma Harter in November. Harter was charged in April with felony animal cruelty.

Animal experts employed by Los Angeles initially determined that the dogs were too dangerous to be sent to new homes, Animal Care & Control spokeswoman Kaye Michelson said.


"They are very unsocialized," Michelson said. "They do have severe behavior problems."


Their fate will be sealed on Thursday, when a judge is expected to decide whether the dogs should be euthanized or rehabilitated, a question also being debated by Chihuahua rescue groups.

Lynnie Bunten, president of Chihuahua Rescue & Transport, a Texas-based organization, said the dogs were too threatening to be adopted by "regular Joe families."


"They are pack animals and as pack animals are dangerous," Bunten said.


But Kimi Peck, former daughter-in-law of the late actor Gregory Peck, said all the dogs could be rescued and planned to hold a candlelight vigil on Wednesday at her Burbank kennel, Chihuahua Rescue.

Peck also criticized Bunten's group for its stance: "They are despicable. They are Hitlers. They won't take dogs unless they are perfect."


No one questions that these are troubled dogs. The pack's dominant members have attacked and killed more than a dozen kennel mates after arriving at the shelter, Michelson said.


Pet expert Warren Eckstein, who evaluated the dogs for Peck, said he believed all of the dogs can be saved.


"Of course they are going to have that kind of behavior -- look at how incarcerated humans act," Eckstein, who hosts a national pet radio show and consults with NBC's Today Show, said. "I'm not saying they are all Rin Tin Tin, but they're not Cujo either."

Dog Helps Rescue Woman From Fake Trooper

What a Good Dog, Have a cookie:)

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Authorities are looking for a man who posed as a highway patrol trooper and stopped a woman early Friday at a highway rest stop. The woman had pulled over at the Highway 385 rest area in western South Dakota to let her dog out, investigators said.

She told authorities that as she started to leave, a man pulled up in a car that resembled a highway patrol vehicle and told her he was working as a special officer and needed to see papers for her dog.

The woman said she sensed something wasn't right and tried to get away, but the man grabbed her. That's when her dog bit him, the woman said.


Fall River County Sheriff Jeff Tarrell said the woman was lucky to have had her dog along.


"At that time in the morning at a rest stop, who knows what his intentions are," said Tarrell. "Thank God for that dog."

Woman Allegedly Steals Pups, Dyes Them

MOORHEAD, Minn. - Two puppies stolen from a Moorhead pet store turned up safe — but their fur had been dyed purple and blue. Sheila Hoffart, 19, faces two counts of theft for swiping a Shih Tzu and a sheltie from the pet store. Hoffart, of West Fargo, N.D., said she took the dogs and colored their fur to make them more unique.

It isn't the first time Hoffart has dyed a pet's fur. She gave two cats red fur, using the same dye her roommate used to dye his hair. "It doesn't hurt them," she said.

Hoffart tried to sell the purple sheltie after it started making messes in her apartment. Paula Harland agreed to buy the sheltie from Hoffart but soon heard about the pet store thefts and returned the dog. Hoffart's roommate returned the other dog.

Bridget Nolte, a K-9 Country Club and Pet Store employee, said both dogs have since been sold and are back to their normal color.


Hoffart, who said she took the dogs because she felt sorry for them, will appear in court April 18.


"I guess I wasn't really thinking," she said

Just a quick Note

I will be using this pic as a reminder for Poodle Sites of the day from now on:)

Poodle Site of the Day! part 2- click here....

Ok .., Here is something to go with the "PINK POODLE COCKTAIL" , if you happpen to be in or near 633 Old Lincoln Highway, Crescent Iowa, Boy are you in for a treat, if we ever get out there, we'll check it out and post a review, ok back to your regular schedule:)

Scientists: Yellowstone Eruption Unlikely

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. - Scientists say the odds of another catastrophic volcanic eruption in Yellowstone within anyone's lifetime are extraordinarily remote, but that's exactly what happens in a made-for-television movie that will air this Sunday.



The docudrama, "Supervolcano," will be shown on the Discovery Channel.

The middle of Yellowstone is a huge caldera that last erupted 640,000 years ago. Other huge eruptions occurred 1.3 million and 2.1 million years ago.


Theoretically, the volcano could blow again.

"It's actually quite a well-done movie," said Bob Christiansen, former U.S. Geological Survey scientist-in-charge for the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.


The producers consulted with Christiansen, and he said they worked hard to get the science behind the eruption right.


"It depicts the worst possible scenario that could conceivably happen," he said, "and it should be viewed in that light.

Hank Heasler, park geologist and the park's coordinating scientist for the volcano observatory, said any claim that Yellowstone is overdue for an eruption is based on simplistic reasoning, drawn only from when the three previous known eruptions occurred.


He compared that to predicting the temperature on a certain day in the future based only on the knowledge of temperatures on that day over the past three years.


"It is absolutely absurd to try to predict an interval of eruption," he said. "Such a method using just three data points is full of problems. It's the simple way to look at things, but this is not simple."

Science - AP


Scientists: Yellowstone Eruption Unlikely

Fri Apr 8, 8:20 AM ET Science - AP



YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. - Scientists say the odds of another catastrophic volcanic eruption in Yellowstone within anyone's lifetime are extraordinarily remote, but that's exactly what happens in a made-for-television movie that will air this Sunday.



The docudrama, "Supervolcano," will be shown on the Discovery Channel.


The middle of Yellowstone is a huge caldera that last erupted 640,000 years ago. Other huge eruptions occurred 1.3 million and 2.1 million years ago.


Theoretically, the volcano could blow again.


"It's actually quite a well-done movie," said Bob Christiansen, former U.S. Geological Survey scientist-in-charge for the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.


The producers consulted with Christiansen, and he said they worked hard to get the science behind the eruption right.


"It depicts the worst possible scenario that could conceivably happen," he said, "and it should be viewed in that light."


Hank Heasler, park geologist and the park's coordinating scientist for the volcano observatory, said any claim that Yellowstone is overdue for an eruption is based on simplistic reasoning, drawn only from when the three previous known eruptions occurred.


He compared that to predicting the temperature on a certain day in the future based only on the knowledge of temperatures on that day over the past three years.


"It is absolutely absurd to try to predict an interval of eruption," he said. "Such a method using just three data points is full of problems. It's the simple way to look at things, but this is not simple."


Heasler oversees a number of monitoring stations in the park and a range of scientific equipment measuring everything from ground tremors, ground shape, chemical changes in gasses, and water temperatures.


"There will be precursors," he said.


Christiansen suspects that the buildup to an eruption would be extended.


"In the movie, the eruptions occur within a few hours," he said. "I'd expect the signs and the blast to be longer-term."


"Supervolcano" has already aired in the United Kingdom and Christiansen and Heasler have viewed it. Most of the film was shot in Canada.


___


Information from: The Powell Tribune, http://www.powelltribune.com

Poodle Site of the Day! click here....

Ok this is not really a Canine site, it is a recipe for a alcoholic beverage called a "Pink Poodle" I thought it was worth adding on a Friday evening, if anyone tries this, Please let me know how it was, Thanks, have a Good Weekend People!!

What an Idiot- stupid criminal story

Thief Hopping Mad After Stealing 25 Left Shoes

OSLO (Reuters) - A thief who stole 25 shoes got a little less than he or she bargained for after realizing they were all for left feet.



The robber threw away the haul in disgust after breaking into a car in the Norwegian city of Bergen and finding a case full of women's shoes -- but no pairs. It belonged to a salesman who traveled with only one shoe of each type.

Tickle Test- What Breed of Dog are You?

Bluewolfess, you're a Poodle!

No bones about it, you're a go-ahead-and-spoil-me Poodle. Intelligent and discerning, why should you settle for anything but the best? No good reason comes to mind. You appreciate the finer things in life, from the trendiest clothes to the best restaurants. Maintaining your health and appearance is a must — you owe it to yourself to look and feel tip-top. The result? An impeccable fashion sense, perfect grooming, and the latest must-have "toys" and accessories. Unfortunately, that can be a little intimidating to people who don't know you. They might think you're a bit cold or distant. But your close friends know better. Your nearest and dearest can see beyond the glitz and glamour to the smart, considerate person within. Woof!

Secret Service Guards Mother Duck, Eggs

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON - The Secret Service, which has the job of guarding the president and other dignitaries, now has a new temporary duty — protecting a mother duck and her nine eggs.

The duck, a brown mallard with white markings, has had several names suggested by Treasury Department people, including "Quacks Reform," "T-Bill," and "Duck Cheney." It has built a nest in a mulch pile right at the main entrance to the Treasury Department on Pennsylvania Avenue.


The Secret Service's uniformed division, which provides protection for the White House and Treasury building, has set up metal guard rails to protect the nest, which has attracted the notice of tourists on their way to see the White House

The duck has been provided with a water bowl and seems oblivious to all the attention, sitting calmly on its nest on top of the mulch pile that surrounds one of the new trees planted along Pennsylvania Avenue as part of a renovation project.


Treasury Secretary John Snow stopped to pay his respects this week on the way back from a congressional hearing, Treasury spokesman Rob Nichols said Friday.

"He had been briefed on the duck and he stopped to pay a visit," said Nichols.


The eggs are expected to hatch the last week of April at which time the duck will be relocated nearer water. But until then, the duck will occupy some of Washington's prime real estate.


"Foreign leaders, members of Congress, everybody who visits Treasury has to pass by the duck," Nichols said.

Tickle Tests- What's your Destiny

Bluewolfess: your destiny is to be a Protector

Whether you know it or not, this is the role that is most in tune with who you are at your core. As a Protector, you have an exceptional gift for guiding and comforting others when no one else is willing or able because you actually feel their pain as if it were your own. If you could insulate those you love from all hardship, you would consider that your greatest accomplishment. You offer caring and thoughtful advice that helps others heal and move in a positive direction, but you don't call attention to yourself, choosing rather to selflessly give to others in order to make the world a better place. This sense of duty and exceptional work ethic will get you far in life, however, it can lead to frustration when you don't get the appreciation you deserve. Remember to take care of yourself because if you feel good others will feel reassured by your steady, prudent, and methodical ways, and the world really will be a better place!

Tickle Tests-What Is your Gender Identity

Are You More Masculine or Feminine?

Bluewolfess, you're 57% masculine

This is based on how you scored on a variety of traits that, founded on classic research and our own studies, are typically associated with men.

You're also 43% feminine, which is based on how you scored on traits that are typically associated with women. When we compare your results with other women it shows that you are somewhat more masculine than other women.

Tickle Tests- Who is Your Movie Star Double...

Bluewolfess: Your movie star double is Cate Blanchett ,An intellectual like you needs to be played by someone who understands how to be deep without being boring, someone who can grasp complicated subjects and make them seem clear cut, someone like Cate Blanchett. Whether bringing to life Elizabethan stories or playing an undercover WWII courier in Charlotte Gray, Cate has shown the world that being smart can be sexy.

Were you sometimes the kid in class who realized when the teacher made a mistake — even if you didn't always point it out? Now that you're grown up, it wouldn't surprise us if you still liked the challenge of banter or enjoyed staying up late talking about the latest in political, social, or celebrity circles. Your glamour comes from your head first and radiates out through your looks. Cate's a natural to star as you because she, like you, has a good head on her shoulders. And she isn't afraid to use it.

Bizarre Haunted Stitch(Lilo and Stitch-Disney) Doll on EBAY

OK People here is a weird link for today, Haunted Stich Doll On Ebay terrorising a young couple...Truth or Fiction????

Poodle Site of the Day! click here....

I-POT l Japanese kettle sends e-mail

By Emi Doi, Knight Ridder

TOKYO - Sliding open a lattice door to his traditional-style wooden home in the old part of Tokyo, Kazuo Kijima greets a visitor warmly. The wooden screens near his entry are decorated with Japanese brush painting, the kind fewer and fewer homes here display.

But more and more Japanese these days are like Kijima: elderly and living alone. Still, Kijima, 83, a widower with no children, does have someone watching out for him via a bit of technology embedded in his kitchen.

His electric kettle, an ``i-pot'' (for information pot), not only boils water for his instant miso soup and green tea but it also records the times he pushes a button and dispenses the water. A wireless communication device at the bottom of the i-pot sends a signal to a server. Members of the service can see recent records of i-pot usage on a Web site. In addition, twice a day the server e-mails the most recent three usage times to a designated recipient.

For Kijima, that recipient is neighbor Tadahiro Murayama. ``Once, I didn't use the i-pot for a day, and I got a phone call from Mr. Murayama,'' Kijima said. The i-pot, he said, helps him feel he's not alone.


Electronics maker Zojirushi began the service four years ago. The company rents the pot for a $50 deposit and charges $30 a month for e-mail and Internet service.


In graying Japan, more than one-third of households have members over age 65, and 4.8 million households are elderly couples. An additional 3.4 million people live alone, according to Ministry of Health Welfare and Labor figures for 2002, the latest ones available.

Increasingly, solitary lives give way to solitary deaths. The nation was alarmed to find that after the great Kobe earthquake in 1995, hundreds of people who lost their families, jobs and houses later died alone in temporary housing. In Tokyo in the past 10 years, the number of unattended deaths among the elderly doubled, reaching nearly 2,000 in 2003, the Tokyo Medical Examiner's Office reported.


But it was one family's sad story, not the statistics, that spurred the invention of the i-pot. In 1996, Tokyo neighbors found the bodies of a 77-year-old woman and her 41-year-old disabled son more than 20 days after they died of starvation. According to the woman's journal, she could have asked for help from social welfare services but chose not to. The contents of her wallet amounted to 28 cents.


The deaths shocked many people, including Hiroyuki Amino, a physician who cares for elderly people. Amino asked electronics maker Zojirushi to create a system to keep an eye on elderly people living alone.


Five years later, Zojirushi, Fujitsu and telephone giant NTT rolled out the i-pot. It fit perfectly in Japan, where hot water for tea is a regular routine of daily life. And the pot is so simple to use that it doesn't give people a sense of being monitored.


I-pots send reassuring messages to people in North America, Europe and Asia about their relatives in Japan. More than 2,200 families use them.


Keiko Kubovcik of Annandale, Va., read about i-pots in a Japanese magazine and got one because she worried so much about her mother in Japan. Kubovcik would panic every time she called and got no answer. The i-pot messages, she said, give her a ``sense of security and comfort.''


Her mother, Kaneyo Takahashi, 76, wakes up every morning at 6, cleans the bathroom, wipes the kitchen shelves and cleans her i-pot. When she turns it on, it sends a ``good morning'' message to Kubovcik.


``Your mom is healthy and alive today,'' announces Kubovcik's husband, Ronald, when he turns on his computer in the morning in Virginia.


``I can't read Japanese, but I can read the time,'' he said.


Kubovcik moved to the United States 15 years to train as a patent lawyer and ended up settling in the United States.


``I felt a devastating sense of guilt leaving my mother alone,'' said Kubovcik, whose father died 10 years ago after suffering a heart attack.





Her mother tried living in the United States for three months, but she spoke no English, found the food too unusual and missed her friends.

Could the i-pot catch on elsewhere? Maybe in a different form: How about the i-fridge?

Dogs In The News -News Site

Interesting site with world wide Dog News.

Animal-Human Hybrids Spark Controversy

Maryann Mott
National Geographic News

January 25, 2005
Scientists have begun blurring the line between human and animal by producing chimeras—a hybrid creature that's part human, part animal.

Chinese scientists at the Shanghai Second Medical University in 2003 successfully fused human cells with rabbit eggs. The embryos were reportedly the first human-animal chimeras successfully created. They were allowed to develop for several days in a laboratory dish before the scientists destroyed the embryos to harvest their stem cells.


In Minnesota last year researchers at the Mayo Clinic created pigs with human blood flowing through their bodies.

And at Stanford University in California an experiment might be done later this year to create mice with human brains.

Scientists feel that, the more humanlike the animal, the better research model it makes for testing drugs or possibly growing "spare parts," such as livers, to transplant into humans.

Watching how human cells mature and interact in a living creature may also lead to the discoveries of new medical treatments.

But creating human-animal chimeras—named after a monster in Greek mythology that had a lion's head, goat's body, and serpent's tail—has raised troubling questions: What new subhuman combination should be produced and for what purpose? At what point would it be considered human? And what rights, if any, should it have?

There are currently no U.S. federal laws that address these issues.

Ethical Guidelines

The National Academy of Sciences, which advises the U.S. government, has been studying the issue. In March it plans to present voluntary ethical guidelines for researchers.

A chimera is a mixture of two or more species in one body. Not all are considered troubling, though.

For example, faulty human heart valves are routinely replaced with ones taken from cows and pigs. The surgery—which makes the recipient a human-animal chimera—is widely accepted. And for years scientists have added human genes to bacteria and farm animals.

What's caused the uproar is the mixing of human stem cells with embryonic animals to create new species.

Biotechnology activist Jeremy Rifkin is opposed to crossing species boundaries, because he believes animals have the right to exist without being tampered with or crossed with another species.

He concedes that these studies would lead to some medical breakthroughs. Still, they should not be done.

"There are other ways to advance medicine and human health besides going out into the strange, brave new world of chimeric animals," Rifkin said, adding that sophisticated computer models can substitute for experimentation on live animals.

"One doesn't have to be religious or into animal rights to think this doesn't make sense," he continued. "It's the scientists who want to do this. They've now gone over the edge into the pathological domain."

David Magnus, director of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics at Stanford University, believes the real worry is whether or not chimeras will be put to uses that are problematic, risky, or dangerous.

Human Born to Mice Parents?

For example, an experiment that would raise concerns, he said, is genetically engineering mice to produce human sperm and eggs, then doing in vitro fertilization to produce a child whose parents are a pair of mice.

"Most people would find that problematic," Magnus said, "but those uses are bizarre and not, to the best of my knowledge, anything that anybody is remotely contemplating. Most uses of chimeras are actually much more relevant to practical concerns."

Last year Canada passed the Assisted Human Reproduction Act, which bans chimeras. Specifically, it prohibits transferring a nonhuman cell into a human embryo and putting human cells into a nonhuman embryo.

Cynthia Cohen is a member of Canada's Stem Cell Oversight Committee, which oversees research protocols to ensure they are in accordance with the new guidelines.

She believes a ban should also be put into place in the U.S.

Creating chimeras, she said, by mixing human and animal gametes (sperms and eggs) or transferring reproductive cells, diminishes human dignity.

"It would deny that there is something distinctive and valuable about human beings that ought to be honored and protected," said Cohen, who is also the senior research fellow at Georgetown University's Kennedy Institute of Ethics in Washington, D.C.

But, she noted, the wording on such a ban needs to be developed carefully. It shouldn't outlaw ethical and legitimate experiments—such as transferring a limited number of adult human stem cells into animal embryos in order to learn how they proliferate and grow during the prenatal period.

Irv Weissman, director of Stanford University's Institute of Cancer/Stem Cell Biology and Medicine in California, is against a ban in the United States.

"Anybody who puts their own moral guidance in the way of this biomedical science, where they want to impose their will—not just be part of an argument—if that leads to a ban or moratorium. … they are stopping research that would save human lives," he said.

Mice With Human Brains

Weissman has already created mice with brains that are about one percent human.

Later this year he may conduct another experiment where the mice have 100 percent human brains. This would be done, he said, by injecting human neurons into the brains of embryonic mice.

Before being born, the mice would be killed and dissected to see if the architecture of a human brain had formed. If it did, he'd look for traces of human cognitive behavior.

Weissman said he's not a mad scientist trying to create a human in an animal body. He hopes the experiment leads to a better understanding of how the brain works, which would be useful in treating diseases like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

The test has not yet begun. Weissman is waiting to read the National Academy's report, due out in March.

William Cheshire, associate professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic's Jacksonville, Florida, branch, feels that combining human and animal neurons is problematic.

"This is unexplored biologic territory," he said. "Whatever moral threshold of human neural development we might choose to set as the limit for such an experiment, there would be a considerable risk of exceeding that limit before it could be recognized."

Cheshire supports research that combines human and animal cells to study cellular function. As an undergraduate he participated in research that fused human and mouse cells.

But where he draws the ethical line is on research that would destroy a human embryo to obtain cells, or research that would create an organism that is partly human and partly animal.

"We must be cautious not to violate the integrity of humanity or of animal life over which we have a stewardship responsibility," said Cheshire, a member of Christian Medical and Dental Associations. "Research projects that create human-animal chimeras risk disturbing fragile ecosystems, endanger health, and affront species integrity."

April is Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month.

ASPCA Offers Tips for Recognizing Animal Cruelty
Friday, April 1, 2005

April is Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month.

Media contacts: Jo Sullivan, ASPCA (212) 876-7700 ext. 4512
Rachel Peters, G.S. Schwartz & Co. (212) 725-4500 ext. 311

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(New York, NY) April 1, 2005 - Kicking the dog is a phrase that has become common use in the English language. However, we shouldn’t be so flippant when using a euphemism that describes an act of animal cruelty. Animal cruelty is defined as acts of violence or neglect perpetrated against animals.

Examples of animal cruelty include overt abuse, dog fighting and cock fighting, and companion animals being neglected or denied necessities of care, such as food, water or shelter. Animal welfare organizations across the country work daily to educate people about how to care for their companion animals and how they can prevent animal cruelty.

April is Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month. In honor of this month, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is offering these 10 tips on how to identify animal cruelty.

1. Be aware. Without phone calls from concerned citizens who report cruelty in their neighborhoods, humane organizations wouldn't know about most instances of animal abuse. Get to know and look out for the animals in your neighborhood. By being aware, people are more likely to notice, for example, that the dog next door who was once hefty has lost weight rapidly--a possible indicator of abuse.

2. Learn to recognize animal cruelty. The following are some signs:

Wounds on the body; patches of missing hair; extremely thin, starving animals; limping, etc.
An owner striking or otherwise physically abusing an animal.
Dogs who are repeatedly left alone without food and water, often chained up in a yard.
Dogs who have been hit by cars—or are showing any of the signs listed above—and have not been taken to a veterinarian.
Dogs who are kept outside without shelter in extreme weather conditions.
Animals who cower in fear or act aggressively when approached by their owners.
3. Know who to call to report animal cruelty. Every state and every town is different. In some areas, people may rely on the police department to investigate animal cruelty; in others, people have to contact their local animal control or another municipal agency. The ASPCA® has a section of its website devoted to helping people find local services for investigating animal cruelty, please visit http://www.aspca.org/animal for more information.

4. Provide as much as information as possible when reporting animal cruelty. It helps to write down the type of cruelty that you witnessed, who was involved, the date of the incident and where it took place.

5. Call or write your local law enforcement department and let them know that investigating animal cruelty should be a priority. Animal cruelty is a CRIME--and the police MUST investigate these crimes.

6. Know your state's animal cruelty laws. They vary from state to state, and even from city to city. You can visit the ASPCA website at http://www.aspca.org/statelaws to find information about the laws in your state.

7. You can fight for the passage of strong anti-cruelty laws on federal, state and local levels by joining the ASPCA Advocacy Brigade to lobby your legislators and help get the laws passed.

8. Set a good example for others. If you have pets, be sure to always show them the love and good care that they deserve. It's more than just food, water, and adequate shelter. If you think your animal is sick, bring him to the veterinarian. Be responsible and have your animals spayed or neutered.

9. Talk to your kids about how to treat animals with kindness and respect. One of the most power tools for preventing cruelty to animals is education. It is important to plant the seeds of kindness in children early, and to nurture their development as the child grows. Children not only need to learn what they shouldn't do, but also what they can and should do. When children see that their pets are happy and loving, it will make the child feel good, too. This in turn will help the children care for their pets' feelings.

10. Support your local shelter or animal rescue organization. Support your local animal rescue organization or shelter with donations of money, food or supplies. Volunteering your time or fostering a shelter animal is a good way to make a difference.



###

Founded in 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was the first humane organization established in the Western Hemisphere and today has one million supporters. The ASPCA's mission is to provide an effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States. The ASPCA provides national leadership in humane education, government affairs and public policy, shelter support, and animal poison control. The NYC headquarters houses a full-service animal hospital, animal behavior center, and adoption facility. The Humane Law Enforcement department enforces New York's animal cruelty laws and is featured on the reality television series Animal Precinct on Animal Planet. Visit www.aspca.org for more information.

Dog Jokes

• 
  - DOG JOKES-
  
  Did you hear about the cowboy who got himself a dachshund?
  Everyone kept telling him to get a long, little doggie.
  
  Did you hear about the dyslexic atheist?
  He doesn't believe in dogs.
  
  What bone will a dog never eat?
  A trombone.
  
  What do you call a dog that is left-handed?
  A south paw.
  
  What do you call a dog with no legs?
  It doesn't matter what you call him he ain't gonna come.
  
  What do you get when you cross a pit bull with a collie?
  A dog that runs for help ... after he bites your leg off.
  
  What does a dog get when it finishes obedience school?
  A pet degree.
  
  What goes "Tick tock, woof woof"?
  A watch dog.
  
  What is a little dog's favorite drink?
  Pupsi-cola.
  
  What kind of dog floats in the air?
  
  
  An Airedale.
  What do you get if an Airedale floats too close to the sun?
  A hot dog.
  What's happening when you hear "woof...splat...meow...splat?"
  It's raining cats and dogs.
  
  Where do you find a no legged dog?
  Right where you left him.
  
  Where do young dogs sleep when they camp out?
  In pup tents.
  
  Which side of a dog has the most hair?
  The out side.
  
  Why did the little boy name his dog Computer?
  Because it came with lots of bytes.
  

Decorating With Dogs

1. 
   Decorating when you have pets can provide unique opportunities to express your own personal style and taste. Here are some tips I'd like to share:
   
   1. Bare floors, without carpet or throw rugs, can give a nice open feeling to a room. It can provide a soothing balance when you have many art objects that reflect your love of animals.
   
   2. Paw prints and nose smudges on glass doors and windows break up glare and soften the light in a room.
   
   3. Dog crates, when stacked three high, can add height to a room and pull the eye up. If fastened securely to the wall, the top can provide a safe and dramatic place for exotic plants or statuary that otherwise might be molested by your pets. An up light can make it a real focal point. Cats love to inhabit the upper crates, leaving the lower ones for the dogs.
   
   4. Old towels and blankets thrown casually on upholstered furniture can add a wonderful homey, country-quilt look to an otherwise bland room.
   
   5. Common smooth upholstery fabrics can look almost velvety when lightly textured with pet hair.
   
   6. Vari-kennels, placed end to end and topped with plate glass can create an unusual coffee table, one your friends will really remember.
   
   7. Doggie beds, randomly placed around a room, can add color and texture, much as throw pillows do.
   
   8. Shredded or chewed books and magazines send a message to guests that they are free to relax and feel at home.
   
   9. Dog crates can make versatile end tables, and can be slip covered to match any room decor.
   
   10. There is absolutely nothing that makes a guest feel as welcome as three friendly dogs hopping in his lap as soon as he sits down.
   
   So throw away those videos by Martha and others, and express your own unique tastes. Your home should reflect what YOU like!
   
   

Dog Gets Stem Cell Transplant

What a Lucky Doggy, Get Well Soon:)

Our Girl is planning on going into Stem Cell Research after she gets out of the Air Force:)

This is such good news for animals and humans too...

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, Wash. - Darrell and Nina Hallett love their dog Comet and have reached deeply into their wallets to prove it.

The couple spent $45,000 on a stem cell transplant for their golden retriever, who is recovering from lymphoma, a type of cancer that attacks the immune system.


Dr. Edmund Sullivan, a Bellingham veterinarian, performed the transplant last summer, using stem cells from another golden retriever.


Sue Hendrickson, a friend of the Halletts, owns Comet's mother and 11 other dogs. She spent months tracking down 40 of Comet's relatives to donate blood, eventually finding three perfect matches.


She flew to Florida to get Rico, the biggest of the three and the one who could yield the most stem cells, and delivered him to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, which donated advice and facilities for the transplant.

The cancer center has performed hundreds of bone-marrow or stem-cell transplants on dogs over the past four decades, as researchers perfected techniques used to treat cancer in humans.


Comet's transplant happened in June. After a long, steady recovery, he appears to be showing signs that he's been cured.

Ancient Egyptian Poetry

LOVE POEM

Oh! when my lady comes,
And I with love behold her,
I take her to my beating heart
And in my arms enfold her;
My heart is filled with joy divine
For I am hers and she is mine.


Oh when her soft embraces
Do give my love completeness,
The perfumes of Kemet
Anoint me with their sweetness:
And when her lips are pressed to mine
I am made drunk and need no wine.




A WOMAN'S LOST LOVE

Lost! Lost! Lost! O lost my love to me!
He passes by my house, nor turns his head,
I deck myself with care; he does not see.
He loves me not. Would God that I were dead!

God! God! God! O Amun, great of might!
My sacrifice and prayers, are they in vain?
I offer to thee all that can delight,
Hear thou my cry and bring my love again.

Sweet, sweet, sweet as honey in my mouth,
His kisses on my lips, my breast, my hair;
But now my heart is as the sun-scorched South,
Where lie the fields deserted, grey and bare.

Come! Come! Come! And kiss me when I die,
For life, compelling life, is in thy breath;
And at that kiss, though in the tomb I lie,
I will arise and break the bands of Death.

Crash Spills Lunch Meat, Closes Interstate

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Talk about fried baloney.
A truck hauling lunch meat hit a barricade and
careened out of control Tuesday on a Syracuse
highway, causing its trailer to catch fire.

The 2 a.m crash closed the eastbound lanes
of Interstate 690 for several hours, spilled
several gallons of diesel fuel and left meat
strewn across the road.

Police told WIXT television in Syracuse
the driver was unfamiliar with the highway
and using cruise control when he came to a
curve and lost control.

Jeffrey Nock Jr. of Manheim, Pa.,
who was driving the rig, was treated
and released at a nearby hospital.


No tickets were issued.

Prince Who Brought Glamour to Monaco Dies

By Pierre Thebault

MONACO (Reuters) - Monaco's Prince Rainier,
whose marriage to U.S. actress Grace Kelly brought
Hollywood glamour to his tiny Mediterranean state,
died on Wednesday aged 81.


The palace said Europe's longest-reigning monarch
died at 6:35 a.m. (0435 GMT) after a month in hospital
battling lung, heart and kidney problems.


Some Monaco residents fought back tears as
they heard the news, and tributes poured
in from foreign leaders for the man who
turned the world's smallest state after
the Vatican from a faded gambling center
into a haven for billionaires.


Rainier put Monaco on the international
stage with his romance of and marriage
to Kelly in 1956.


Princess Grace died in a car crash in
1982 and Rainier, heartbroken, never
remarried. He is expected to be buried
beside his wife close to the palace
after at least a week's mourning.
No date has been set for the funeral.


Rainier will be succeeded by 47-year-old
Prince Albert, who took over his father's
royal duties last week as hopes faded that
Rainier would recover.


A shy man, Albert has lived in the shadow of
his more glamorous parents and sisters Stephanie
and Caroline while being groomed for power
as Rainier's only son. He has been linked to
a succession of models and actresses but
has never settled down.


SOMBRE MOOD


Flags were already at half-mast in
Monaco in honor of Pope John Paul II.
The mood in the principality was somber.


"Everyone here feels orphaned,"
Patrick Leclercq, Monaco's minister
of state, said in a statement to French television.


The principality's soccer club
postponed Sunday's scheduled match
against Lille in France's top league as a mark of respect.


Rainier officially became monarch on April 11,
1950, but had already ruled Monaco for almost
a year following the death of his grandfather, Prince Louis II.


When Rainier succeeded his grandfather
Monaco was best known for the casino
on which its prosperity was founded
in the 19th century. As Europe's last
constitutional autocrat, he led Monaco
into an age of skyscrapers, international
banking and business.


He strengthened the sovereignty of Monaco
and it won a United Nations seat in 1993.


"The builder prince, the visionary prince,
Rainier was behind the radical transformation
of the principality ...
which made it a modern state," Stephane Valeri,
President of Monaco's National Council
or parliament, said in a statement.


The presidents of France and Germany
praised his reign, and Britain,
the European Commission and U.N.
Secretary General Kofi Annan sent their condolences.


"The secretary-general wishes Prince Albert
every courage and fortitude as he succeeds
his father at the helm of the principality,"
chief U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said.





Britain's Queen Elizabeth said she
was saddened by Rainier's death and sent
a private message of condolence to Prince Albert and the family.

Rainier -- the world's second
longest-serving monarch after
King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand --
cut a lonely figure in later life as
media focused on his children's problems
and on charges that Monaco had become a
mafia refuge for dirty money.

His daughters have had a succession of
disastrous, high-profile relationships.

For all Monaco's prosperity,
Rainier's reign appeared to
support the myth of the curse
supposed to have hung over the
Grimaldi dynasty during its seven
centuries of rule that said the family
would never have long and successful marriages.

Seventeen years after Princess
Grace's death, Rainier said: "I still feel her absence.
It was a marriage of love."

Physicists Write Microscopic Paragraph

MADRID, Spain - Physicists in Spain are celebrating the 400th anniversary of publication of "Don Quixote" in a very small way: they wrote the first paragraph on a silicon chip in letters so tiny the whole 1,000-page book would fit on the tips of six human hairs.



The feat — just for fun — shows off a data-storage technique developed years ago by the Microelectronics Institute of Madrid, part of the government's top scientific research agency.


It uses a device called an atomic force microscope, which runs a ceramic or semiconductor tip over a silicon surface in much the same way as a phonograph needle scans a record.


Using water vapor in the atmosphere and an electric charge, that tip basically etches out tiny letters on the surface, lead researcher Ricardo Garcia told the newspaper El Pais.


The technique can be used to make computer chips and so-called electronic paper, thin flexible sheets that can store and erase information.


Garcia's team added a high-tech element to a year of celebrations honoring the 400th anniversary of Miguel de Cervantes' novel "Don Quixote." Other commemorative events include conferences, readings, adaptations, theater works, films and concerts in Spain and across the globe.


In English, the 10 lines written on the silicon chip read: "In a certain village in La Mancha, which I do not wish to name, there lived not long ago a gentleman — one of those who have always a lance in the rack, an ancient shield, a lean hack and a greyhound for coursing."

SEAL HUNT RANT!!!! / Group Asks U.S. to Boycott Canada Seafood

Hello People, I WAS a Canadian, I was born there and grew up and met my husband and Now I live in the states. I remember this horrible annual slaughter, since childhood. I was beyond console when I first saw it on the news when I was about 5,it is sick , there is no need for it, and it is cruel and heartless. The pain and torture of these poor little animals is incredible.. My Family has always been against this ,and a lot of other Canadians are too. Every time I hear of a new Culling of the seal population, it makes me cry and feel so angry towards those Bast@rds, who can gleefully torture and bash little babies skin them alive and laugh as the mother seal cries for her baby who lies dying in unbelievable pain, bleeding to death from the unimaginable cruelty of the "Hunters"...It is sick , and I am personally Boycotting .... And although My Husband thinks that sometimes I am a "Closet Tree-hugger" I am involved in Animal Rights and do not by products that condone animal testing, I am teaching my kids to be kind to animals and see them as members of the family and treat them as such, and to learn about other animals and where they live and what they do, I think it is important.... Animals to me are the same as we are, and sometimes when you look in their eyes , I'm sure they know a lot of things we DON"T. I personally urge you to check out Animal rights groups and your local ASPCA, for opportunities for change that you personally can affect in your neighborhood. I will be making a links list soon of companies that do not use animal testing in their products , Look for that soon. Thank you for reading , it is just my own point of view....Oh and I don't feel sorry for the fishermen who say the seals are taking their fish, The seals where here first and there is enough for everyone...It is just done for profit...Ok..Done for now.


******************************************

By ELIZABETH WOLFE, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The Humane Society of the United States is asking American restaurants and consumers to boycott Canadian seafood to pressure that government to stop the annual seal hunt.

The announcement of the boycott Monday coincided with the start of country-of-origin labeling for seafood products sold in the United States, a practice that will let shoppers know where their seafood comes from.


Legal Sea Foods, a 31-restaurant chain, and Down East Seafoods, a distributor to about 200 hotels and restaurants, have joined the boycott. The Humane Society has appealed to more than 5,000 U.S. seafood distributors to follow suit.


"Americans have repeatedly used their purchasing power to bring about significant improvements in animal welfare," Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle said.


The hunt, which animal rights activists say is needlessly cruel, has been the target of protests since the 1960s. When this year's hunt began last week, thousands of sealers armed with clubs, rifles and spears clashed with protesters arriving by helicopter.


Canada says the decades-long practice brings badly needed income to impoverished fishing communities, primarily from pelt sales to Norway, Denmark and China. The United Stats bans imports of seal products.


"It's a livelihood for many of the aboriginals in Newfoundland and Labrador. They don't have much in the way of an alternative economic endeavor," said Terry Colli, a Canadian embassy spokesman.


The largest seafood importer to the United States, Canada accounted for nearly a fifth of the U.S. market in 2003, or about $2.2 billion, the Canadian government reported.

On the Net:

Humane Society of the United States: http://www.hsus.org

Norwegian Job Ad Seeks Friendly Vikings

OSLO, Norway - Help wanted: Vikings. Must be friendly, tourist-oriented and interested in ancient Norse traditions. Crazed, bloodthirsty pillagers need not apply.



In a rare employment opportunity for Vikings, whose job market peaked about 1,000 years ago when they terrorized Europe in their longboats, southern Norway's Vestfold county wants to fill slots at its local historical park.


The ad, to appear in local media Saturday, will be simple: "Jobs available. Vikings in Vestfold," with a link to the center's Internet home page, said Lars Kobro, self-described chieftain of the Midgard Historical Center.


"More and more we see that tourists are interested in Vikings," Kobro said Tuesday. "They don't want just exhibits, but face-to-face encounters.


But the center is seeking to play down the Scandinavian Vikings' reputation as wild, murderous looters who pillaged and burned through much of Europe, a claim Kobro said was largely exaggerated in texts left by ancient English monks.


"They were really more traders and merchants," said Kobro. He said they are seeking a corps of about 50 part-time Vikings, ready to turn out at the center when needed.

Bush Gives Medal of Honor to Late Soldier

By JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Outnumbered and exposed, Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith stayed at his gun, beating back an advancing Iraqi force until a bullet took his life.


Smith is credited with protecting the lives of scores of lightly armed American soldiers who were beyond his position in the battle, on April 4, 2003, near the gates of Baghdad International Airport.


On Monday, exactly two years after Smith's death, President Bush awarded him the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest honor for valor.


"We are here to pay tribute to a soldier whose service illustrates the highest ideals of leadership and love of our country," Bush said in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House. Bush said Smith "gave his life for these ideals in a deadly battle outside Baghdad. It is my great privilege to recognize his great sacrifice by awarding Sgt. Smith the Medal of Honor."


Smith's widow, Birgit, decided that the couple's 11-year-old son, David, would accept the medal on his father's behalf.


"It was a very easy decision for me because, after all, he's the man of the house now," she said Monday. She said she often hears from the men her husband saved, as well as their families. "They're so grateful for what Paul did that day," she said on ABC's "Good Morning America."


It is only the third Medal of Honor given for actions since the Vietnam War, and the first from the Iraq war.


Smith, 33, was the senior sergeant in a platoon of engineers during the 3rd Infantry Division's northward sprint toward Baghdad.


By the morning of April 4, elements of the division had reached Baghdad and captured Baghdad International Airport, a key objective. Encircled Iraqi militiamen and Special Republican Guard forces inside launched counterattacks.


Near the eastern edge of the airport, Smith, a veteran of the first Gulf War, had been put in charge of his unit — 2nd Platoon, Bravo Company, 11th Engineer Battalion — while his lieutenant went on a scouting mission.


Smith's mission was mundane enough — turn a courtyard into a holding pen for Iraqi prisoners of war. The courtyard, just north of the main road between Baghdad and the airport, was near an Iraqi military compound.


Soon after Smith and some of his platoon began work, records show, one trooper spotted dozens of armed Iraqis approaching from beyond the gated walls of the courtyard. Another group of Iraqis occupied a nearby tower.


Smith summoned a Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and he and his troops gathered near the courtyard gate to fight the counterattack. An M113 armored personnel carrier joined the fray.


The Iraqis, perhaps as many as 100, attacked with rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, or RPGs. Smith threw a grenade over a wall to drive back some of the Iraqis, then fired a rocket.


Incoming RPGs battered the Bradley, which retreated. Then a mortar struck the M113, wounding the three soldiers inside and leaving its heavy machine gun unmanned. After directing another soldier to pull the wounded M113 crewmen to safety, Smith climbed into the machine gun position and began firing at the tower and at the Iraqis trying to rush the compound.


His upper torso and head were exposed as he manned the gun.


"This wasn't a John Wayne move," said Command Sgt. Maj. Gary J. Coker, the top enlisted man in the 11th Battalion, who was near the battle. "He was very methodical. He knew he had the gate and he wasn't going to leave it and nobody was going to make him leave it."





Still, Coker said, "it was absolutely amazing to stand up in that volume of fire."

During a stretch of 15 minutes or longer, Smith fired more than 300 rounds as Pvt. Michael Seaman, protected inside the M113, passed him ammunition.

Then he was struck by enemy fire and mortally wounded. At almost the same time, 1st Sgt. Timothy Campbell ended the threat from the tower with a grenade, and the surviving Iraqis withdrew. Medics tried to save Smith, and he died about 30 minutes later.

He and his comrades are credited with killing between 20 and 50 Iraqi soldiers.

Beyond his position were American medics, scouts, a mortar unit and a command post — all lightly armed and vulnerable.

"Sgt. 1st Class Smith's actions saved the lives of at least 100 soldiers," according to an Army narrative.

Smith was born in El Paso, Texas, and moved to Tampa, Fla., when he was 9. He enlisted in the Army in 1989.

He was known for being tough on the men under his command, Coker, who has returned to Iraq with the 3rd Infantry Division, said in a weekend telephone interview.

But Smith held himself to the same standard, Coker said, and he took care of his young soldiers when they needed it. Back in the United States, when one private's wife fell seriously ill, Smith drove four hours to bring toys to their children.

The other two post-Vietnam Medals of Honor went to Army Master Sgt. Gary I. Gordon and Army Sgt. 1st Class Randall D. Shughart, two Delta Force troopers who died defending the crew of a helicopter that was shot down in Mogadishu, Somalia, in events depicted in the book and movie "Black Hawk Down."

More than 3,400 Medals of Honor have been awarded since the decoration was created in 1861, of which more than 600 have been given posthumously.

___

On the Net:

Army Web site on Smith: http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/

K9 Deputy Retires From Idaho Force

(not actual dog , just a joke picture,I couldn't resist:)


BOISE, Idaho - A well-known deputy who has served with the Canyon County Sheriff's office for the past seven years has retired. He is, quite literally, a real hound.



K9 deputy Basco, a 9-year-old Belgian Malinois, is best known for his capture of serial murder suspect Michael "Cowboy Mike" Braae in July 2001 after a high-speed chase ended at the Idaho-Oregon line. Braae abandoned his pickup and jumped into the Snake River.


Basco and his handler, Cpl. Paul Maund, hopped a boat to follow Braae. Maund attached a towline to the dog and pushed him in the water to chase after the suspect. Basco bit onto Braae's back, and Maund was able to pull the two to shore.


Malheur County Sheriff Andy Bentz said Braae's capture would have been more dangerous without Basco. "Had it not been for him and the handler being there and being able to get on the boat, we would have had to use a lot higher level of force," Bentz said.


Maund said retirement as his pet might not be easy for Basco because he's worked for the sheriff's office most of his life — tracking missing people, sniffing out narcotics and apprehending suspects.


Maund said he got a lukewarm reception after leaving Basco home a few days this month.


"When I got home, he was lying under a tree. I called to him. He looked at me and turned his head away," Maund said. "It's going to be a big transition for him."

A Wood Carved Poodle Angel

I have to get this.... It looks like my Sweet Tea cup Poodle that Died last year at the age of 11, Her name was Bibi-Beeb.

A Mother's Love

John Paul II, Good Bye Holy Father.

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women, and

blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,

how and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

Very SAD

Hello People, well I took my baby son for a walk today , to get some groceries and enjoy the sun it is 64 degrees here today. well we got home and the FIRST thing my Husband tells me is.."He's Gone." , I rushed upstairs and have been watching the tv as I write this, they announced the news apparently a few minuetes after we had left for our walk...I honestly feel like a great light in the world has gone out, I'll leave you to your own thoughts right now.... God Bless you Holy Father , Be at Peace ,I will always remember you....

Pope John Paul Dies, World Mourns

By Philip Pullella and Crispian Balmer

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope John Paul II, the man known as "God's Athlete," who transformed the papacy by taking his message to every corner of the world, died on Saturday aged 84, felled by ailments that left him lame and voiceless

"Our beloved Holy Father John Paul has returned to the house of the Father," Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, said announcing the death to a huge crowd that had gathered under the Pontiff's windows to pray for a miraculous recovery that never came.


The Vatican said the Pope died in his apartments at 9:37 p.m (1437 EST), just as the crowd was serenading the charismatic Polish churchman who led the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.


As the news spread through Rome, thousands upon thousands of faithful streamed up to the Vatican to join those already there, paying respects to a man who helped undermine Communism in Europe while upholding traditional Church orthodoxy.


The exact cause of death was not immediately given but the Pope's health had deteriorated steadily over the past decade with the onset of Parkinson's Disease and arthritis. Earlier this year it took a sharp turn for the worse.


He had an operation in February to ease serious breathing problems, but never regained his strength and last Thursday developed an infection and high fever that soon precipitated heart failure, kidney problems and ultimately death.


"The Catholic Church has lost its shepherd. The world has lost a champion of human freedom and a good and faithful servant of God has been called home," President Bush said in a televised address from the White House.


The slow mourning toll of one of the great bells of St Peter's Basilica made the only sound to cut the stunning, tearful silence in the Vatican.


Necks craned up toward the lighted windows of the Pope's apartments where his once vigorous body now lay lifeless.


FUNERAL


According to pre-written Church rules, the Pontiff's mourning rites will last 9 days and his body laid to rest in the crypt underneath St. Peter's Basilica.


Italian media said the funeral would be held on Wednesday.


The conclave to elect a new Pope will start in 15 to 20 days, with 117 cardinals from around the world gathering in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel to choose a successor.


There is no favorite candidate to take over. The former Archbishop Karol Wojtyla of Krakow was himself regarded as an outsider when he was elevated to the papacy on Oct. 16, 1978.


In his native Poland bells tolled across the country and sirens wailed in the capital Warsaw as news of the Pope's death dashed any lingering hopes of a miraculous recovery.


"I am overwhelmed by pain. I have prayed for two days and thought that a miracle will happen, but it didn't happen and now we can only weep," said Teresa Swidnicka in Krakow, where Wojtyla was once a bishop.


Apart from his battle against communism, John Paul will be also be remembered for his unyielding defense of traditional Vatican doctrines, drawing criticism from liberal Catholics who opposed his proclamations against contraception, abortion, married priests and women clergy.





In death, tributes poured in from around the world.

"John Paul II was one of the greatest men of the last century. Perhaps the greatest," said Henry Kissinger, former U.S. secretary of state.

Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher said: "By combating the falsehoods of communism and proclaiming the true dignity of the individual, his was the moral force behind victory in the Cold War."

VIGOROUS PAPACY

The first non-Italian pope in 455 years, John Paul threw off the stiff trappings of the papacy, meeting ordinary people everywhere he traveled.

In over a quarter century on the world stage, he was both a champion of the downtrodden and an often contested defender of orthodoxy within his own church.

But as the years passed, so his energy faded.

Once a lithe athlete and powerful speaker, he suffered a series of health dramas, including a near-fatal shooting by a Turkish gunman in 1981. By the end of his life he could no longer walk and his voice was often reduced to a raspy whisper.

Earlier this year, the breathing crises silenced the "great communicator" and he failed dramatically in two attempts to address the faithful last Easter Sunday and again on Wednesday.

"We all feel like orphans tonight but our faith teaches us that those who believe in the Lord live in him," Archbishop Renato Boccardo told the crowd at St. Peter's.

A decade after witnessing the fall of communism, the Pope fulfilled another of his dreams. He visited the Holy Land in March 2000, and, praying at Jerusalem's Western Wall, asked forgiveness for Catholic sins against Jews over the centuries.

But while many loved the man, his message was less popular and he was a source of deep division in his own church.

Critics constantly attacked his traditionalist stance on family issues, such as his condemnation of contraception and homosexuality. They hope the next Pope will be more liberal.

But John Paul appointed more than 95 percent of the cardinals who will elect his successor, thus stacking the odds that his controversial teachings will not be tampered with.

(Additional reporting by Jane Barrett, Phil Stewart, Antonella Cinelli and Rachel Sanderson)

Pope's Condition Remains Very Serious -- Vatican

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope John Paul's condition remains very serious and he is running a high fever, the Vatican said on Saturday.


In a brief written statement, the Vatican said the 84-year-old Pontiff, whose tenuous health took a sharp turn for the worse on Thursday, was still responding when addressed by aides.


"The clinical conditions of the Holy Father remain very serious. In the late morning a high fever developed. When addressed by members of his household he responds correctly," the statement said.


Earlier on Saturday, the Vatican said the Pope had begun to slip in and out of consciousness but was not in a coma.


Italian news agency ANSA quoted unidentified health sources as saying the Polish Pope was progressively losing consciousness and his situation was irreversible.


The Pope, who suffers from Parkinson's Disease, failed to recover from recent throat surgery aimed at helping him breathe.


On Friday, the Vatican said John Paul had suffered a urinary infection that triggered septic shock -- a life-threatening assault by bacteria on the bloodstream. His heart and kidneys then began failing and his blood pressure fell dangerously low.

Bush Calls Pope 'Champion of Human Dignity'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush called Pope John Paul II a "champion of human dignity" as he awaited word on Saturday on the ailing pope's condition.
Bush opened his weekly radio address with a comment about John Paul, who lies close to death at the Vatican.
"His Holiness is a faithful servant of God and a champion of human dignity and freedom. He is an inspiration to us all. Laura and I join millions of Americans and so many around the world who are praying for the Holy Father," he said.
Bush was in the Oval Office before 7 a.m. and was following the news reports from the Vatican. He was being kept up to date by White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and his chief spokesman, Scott McClellan.
Bush was expected to attend the funeral in the event the pope died.
He met the pope three times, twice at the Vatican, and last June, the president presented John Paul with the Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian award.

I'm Sorry

Hello People, I just don't feel like putting up anything frivolous right now, In Rome in the vatican , there is a GOOD man dying, and it is making me very sad,. I'm not Catholic, but I am feeling very upset by all of this. I had the opportunity to see the POPE once in person, while on one of his trips to Canada ,when I lived there and my Father was chosen to play the organ, at his service(mass/speach) he gave. It was in Abbotsford, BC, september 1984...so in some small way he(The Holy Father) touched my life, and I will never forget it......Everybody , do the decent thing,
say a few words to whom ever you wish to ease his passing...
thats all for now...good night.

Vatican: Pope John Paul II Is Near Death

By VICTOR L. SIMPSON, Associated Press Writer

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II was near death as dawn approached Saturday, his breathing shallow and his heart and kidneys failing, the Vatican said. Millions of faithful around the world paid homage, many weeping as they knelt with bowed heads, others carrying candles in prayer for the 84-year-old pontiff.



The pope "is on the verge of death," Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, head of the Vatican's health care office, told the Mexican television network Televisa. "I talked to the doctors and they told me there is no more hope."


Addressing the crowd at St. Peter's Square, where as many as 70,000 people prayed and stood vigil in the chilly night, Angelo Comastri, the pope's vicar general for Vatican City, said "This evening or this night, Christ opens the door to the pope,"


At times the huge gathering fell so silent the sound of the square's trickling fountains was audible. At other points, the crowd sang, "Stay with us!" But as dawn approached, the numbers in the sprawling plaza diminished. Many of those who stayed wrapped themselves in blankets and gazed tearfully at John Paul's third-floor windows, where the lights remained in the pope's studio and his secretary's room. The papal bedroom was not lit.


Around the world, priests readied Roman Catholics for John Paul's passing. Many expressed hope that his final hours would be peaceful.


"Now he prepares to meet the Lord," Cardinal Francis George said at a Mass in Chicago. "As the portals of death open for him, as they will for each of us ... we must accompany him with our own prayers."


Newspapers in Italy devoted most of their Saturday editions to the suffering of the Polish pope, whose given name is Karol Wojtyla. Il Tempo showed a photo of the white-clad pontiff with his back turned to the camera, with the headline, "Ciao, Karol."


The Il Secolo XIX newspaper of Genoa reported that the pope, with the help of his private secretary Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, wrote a note to his aides urging them not to weep for him.


"I am happy, and you should be as well," the note reportedly said. "Let us pray together with joy."


The Vatican said Friday morning that John Paul was in "very grave" condition after suffering blood poisoning from a urinary tract infection the previous night, but that he was "fully conscious and extraordinarily serene." The pope was being treated by the Vatican medical team and declined to be hospitalized.


By Friday night, the pope's condition had worsened further, and he was suffering from kidney failure and shortness of breath but had not lost consciousness as of 9:30 p.m., the Vatican said.


As word of his condition spread across the globe, special Masses celebrated the pope for transforming the Roman Catholic Church during his 26-year papacy and for his example in fearlessly confronting death.


In Wadowice, Poland, people left school and work early and headed to church to pray for their native son.


"I want him to hold on, but it is all in God's hands now," said 64-year-old Elzbieta Galuszko at the church where the pope was baptized. "We can only pray for him so he can pull through these difficult moments."


In the Philippines, tears streamed down the face of Linda Nicol as she and her husband asked God to grant John Paul "a longer life."


At the Church of the Assumption in Lagos, sub-Saharan Africa's most populous city of over 13 million, about 200 Nigerians in Western clothes and bright traditional African robes sat on wooden benches, offering prayers for the pope at a midday Mass.


In Washington, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick said he had heard from Rome that the pope was "sinking." McCarrick said he prayed that God will "take him peacefully."





The White House said President Bush and his wife were praying for the pope and that the world's concern was "a testimony to his greatness."

Karol Wojtyla became a priest in 1946, just as the Iron Curtain descended across Europe, and the inspiration he provided as Pope John Paul II helped to tear it down.

"Fifty percent of the collapse of communism is his doing," Lech Walesa, founder of the Solidarity movement that toppled communism in Poland in 1989-90, told The Associated Press on Friday. Without the pope's leadership, "communism would have fallen, but much later and in a bloody way," he said.

By afternoon in Rome, a steady stream of pilgrims jammed the Via della Conciliazione, the main avenue leading to St. Peter's. Some carried candles, while others held rosaries. Some looked through binoculars or camera lenses at the window of John Paul's apartment.

"We are near to him in prayer so that he can go to heaven, welcomed by the Lord and the other saints," said Rossella Longo, a young woman distributing rosaries to the crowd.

Tripp McLaughlin, a 20-year-old American in Rome, said "it would be a blessing if he passed on."

"You see video of him when he became pope, he was so alive, so excited to be here. Now to see him break down is just really sad," McLaughlin said.

Among those at the square Friday morning was Rome's chief rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni, who said he came "to pray here in the piazza as a sign of sharing in the grief of our brothers for their concerns and as a sign of warmth for this pope and for all that he has done."

During the morning, John Paul had participated in Mass and received some top aides at his bedside, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said.

Cardinal Marcio Francesco Pompedda, a high-ranking Vatican administrator, visited the pope and said he opened his eyes and smiled.

"I understood he recognized me. It was a wonderful smile — I'll remember it forever. It was a benevolent smile — a father-like smile," Pompedda told RAI television. "I also noticed that he wanted to tell me something but he could not. ... But what impressed me very much was his expression of serenity."

Hospitalized twice last month after breathing crises, and fitted with a breathing tube and a feeding tube, John Paul has become a picture of suffering. His papacy has been marked by its call to value the aged and to respect the sick, subjects the pope has turned to as he battles Parkinson's disease and crippling knee and hip ailments.

It is not clear who would be empowered to make medical decisions for an unconscious pope. The Vatican has declined to say whether John Paul has left written instructions.

John Paul's health declined sharply Thursday when he developed a high fever brought on by the infection. The pope suffered septic shock and heart problems during treatment for the infection, the Vatican said.

Septic shock involves both bacteria in the blood and a consequent over-relaxing of the blood vessels. The vessels, which are normally narrow and taut, get floppy in reaction to the bacteria and can't sustain any pressure. That loss of blood pressure is catastrophic, making the heart work hard to compensate for the collapse.

Even the fittest patients need special care and medicine to survive.

"The chances of an elderly person in this condition with septic shock surviving 24 to 48 hours are slim — about 10-20 percent, but that would be in an intensive care unit with very aggressive treatment," said Dr. Gianni Angelini, a professor of cardiac surgery at Bristol University in England.

Dr. Peter Salgo, associate director of the intensive care unit at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, said the pope's shallow breathing "is totally consistent with severe failure of the blood vessels to provide blood to all the key organs. Eventually you run out of reserve."

On Friday morning, John Paul asked aides to read him the biblical passage describing the 14 stations of the Way of the Cross, the path that Christ took to his Crucifixion and burial, Navarro-Valls told reporters. The pope followed attentively and made the sign of the cross, he said.

John Paul also asked that Scripture of the so-called "Third Hour" be read to him. The passage is significant because according to tradition, Christ died at three o'clock in the afternoon.

"This is surely an image I have never seen in these 26 years," the usually unflappable Navarro-Valls said.

Choking up, he walked out of the room.

___

AP Medical Writer Emma Ross in Rome contributed to this story.

How to Pray, By Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II indicates that people sometimes say they don't know how to pray. "How to pray? This is a simple matter. I would say: Pray any way you like, so long as you do pray." You can pray the way your mother taught you; you can use a prayer book. Sometimes it takes courage to pray; but it is possible to pray, and necessary to pray. Whether from memory or a book or just in thought, it is all the same. See, John Paul II, The Way of Prayer, Crossroad Publishing Co. (1995). See also The Necessity of Prayer, by St. Alphonsus.

Prayers for the HOLY FATHER

Da Domine Deus mihi, quaeso,
ob memoriam harum ante crucem tuam
Passionum veram ante mortem meam Contritionem,
puram Confessionem, dignam satisfactionem,
ac omnium peccatorum remissionem.
Amen
(O Lord God, I beseech Thee,
in memory of all these pains and sufferings
which Thou didst endure before Thy Passion on the Cross,
grant me before my death true contrition,
a sincere and entire Confession,
worthy satisfaction,
and the remission of all my sins.
Amen.

Deprecor te per huiusmodi sacratissimi
et amarissimi in cruce doloris memoriam
ut des mihi timorem et amorem tuum.
Amen.
(I beg of Thee, by the memory of Thy most sacred suffering
on the Cross, to grant me the grace to fear Thee
and to love Thee.
Amen. )

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

O Jesus Christ! Eternal Sweetness to those who love You, joy surpassing all joy and all desire, salvation and hope of all sinners, You have proved that You have no greater desire than to be among men, even assuming human nature at the fullness of time for the love of men, recall all the sufferings You have endured from the instant of Your conception, and especially during your Passion, as it was decreed and ordained from all eternity in the Divine plan.

Remember, O Lord, that during the Last Supper with Your disciples, having washed their feet, You gave them Your Most Precious Body and Blood, and while at the same time You sweetly consoled them, You foretold of Your coming Passion. Remember the sadness and bitterness which You experienced in Your Soul as You Yourself bore witness saying: “My Soul is sorrowful even unto death.” Remember all the fear, anguish, and pain that You suffered in your delicate Body before the torment of the crucifixion, when, after having prayed three times, bathed in a sweat of blood, you were betrayed by Judas, Your disciple, arrested by the people of a nation You had chosen and elevated, accused by false witnesses, unjustly judged by three judges during the flower of Your youth and during the solemn Paschal season. Remember that You were despoiled of Your garments and clothed in those of derision; that Your face and eyes were veiled, that You were buffeted, crowned with thorns, a reed placed in Your Hands, that You were crushed with blows and overwhelmed with affronts and outrages.

In memory of all these pains and sufferings which You endured before Your Passion on the Cross, grant me before my death true contrition, a sincere and entire confession, worthy satisfaction and the remission of all my sins. Amen.

Catholics Pray as Pope Slides Towards Death

By Philip Pullella and Patrick Worsnip

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Roman Catholics around the world waited and prayed as Pope John Paul slid toward death on Saturday after a 26-year reign that helped undermine Soviet communism and vigorously upheld long-standing Vatican doctrines.



Tens of thousands of faithful kept a candle-light vigil in St. Peter's Square deep into the night after Vatican officials said the 84-year-old Pope's health was failing rapidly. It was almost certainly the last in a string of recent health crises.


Tearful worshippers continued to pray for a recovery, but even the normally upbeat Vatican spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, held out little hope the Polish Pontiff could pull through and senior churchmen openly said he was dying.


"This evening or tonight, Christ opens the doors to the Pope," Monsignor Angelo Comastri said in St. Peter's Square. "The successor of Peter, the fisherman, is dying," American Cardinal Francis George said in Chicago.


In its latest bulletin on Friday evening, the Vatican said John Paul's heart and kidneys were weakening and that his blood pressure had dropped dangerously low.


"His suffering, tremendous, public, is like that of Jesus Christ. He is a great leader. We pray that he doesn't have to endure too much pain," said one of those gathered in St. Peter's, Franco Tarquini from Rome, as he choked back tears.


Behind a screen of medical terminology, Church officials prepared the world and its 1.1 billion Roman Catholics for the death of John Paul, who enjoyed the third-longest papacy in history and was a key world figure of the late 20th century.


"The biological parameters are notably compromised," Navarro-Valls said, his normal composure cracking into tears.


In Poland, Father Konrad Hejmo, a close friend of the first non-Italian pope in 455 years, said the man born Karol Wojtyla was still alive but on oxygen.


Catholics flocked to churches to light candles and pray for the man who became Pope in 1978 and revitalised the papacy, visiting 129 countries and territories in 104 trips outside Italy to bring his vision of Christianity to the masses.


CARDINALS SUMMONED


Once fit and athletic, the Pope suffered a series of health dramas, including a near-fatal shooting in 1981 by a Turkish gunman. He suffers from Parkinson's Disease and was twice in hospital with breathing crises before marking Easter last month.


He failed to recover from throat surgery aimed at helping him breathe and on Thursday developed a high fever caused by a urinary infection. But he told aides he did not want to return to hospital and received a sacrament reserved for the dying, commonly known as the last rites.


"The fact he has not gone back (shows) he is serenely carrying the cross and ready to give up and to say 'It is finished,"' said his Irish former private secretary John Magee.


Some cardinals were summoned to the Pope's bedside to say their farewells. Navarro-Valls said the Pontiff had celebrated Mass from his bed on Friday morning.


The faithful said special prayers in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.


In Warsaw, churches were staying open all night and Poles, who revere John Paul as the man who delivered them from 40 years of communist rule from Moscow, prayed in the streets for him to step back from the brink of death.





"If he were to leave us, we won't have anybody to show us the way, to help us understand the world," said Maria Danecka, one of hundreds who crowded in and around the basilica in Wadowice, the town where Wojtyla was born in 1920. He went on to be archbishop in the nearby southern city of Krakow.

ONCE AN OUTSIDER

It was from there that he suddenly sprang onto the world stage on Oct. 16, 1978, a surprise choice for the papacy after his predecessor, John Paul I, died after only a month in office.

From the throne of St. Peter he continued to flay communist oppression and human rights abuses elsewhere in the world with the same fire that had marked his sermons in Poland.

Historians say one of his legacies will remain his role in morally undermining communism in Europe, sustaining the movement that brought down the Berlin Wall in 1989.

But his orthodox line on many Church teachings drew criticism from liberal Catholics in developed countries who opposed his proclamations against contraception, abortion, married priests and women clergy.

After the Pope dies, more than 100 cardinals from around the world will be called to Rome to choose a successor at a conclave that normally starts in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel 15 to 20 days after the death.

There is no favorite candidate to take over as head of the Church, but some churchmen believe the developing world should provide the next pope as that is where the religion is most vibrant. Nearly half of all Catholics are in Latin America.

(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart and Jane Barrett in Vatican City, Wojciech Zurawski in Krakow, Tom Ashby in Lagos, Paul Hoskins in Dublin and Andrew Stern in Chicago)

Full News Coverage on the Pope, lots of LINKS

Pope Nears Death as Health Worsens

By Philip Pullella and Crispian Balmer

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope John Paul neared death on Friday as his health suddenly worsened, drawing anguished prayers from Catholics around the world reluctant to accept his historic pontificate was near its end.


The Vatican said the 84-year-old Pontiff's breathing became shallow and his blood pressure had dropped dangerously low. But it denied Italian media reports that he had died.


Sky Italia TV, quoting a report from Italy's Apcom news agency, said the Pope had lost consciousness. "There's no hope any more," the ANSA news agency quoted an unidentified medical source as saying.


Church officials prepared the world and its 1.1 billion Roman Catholics for the end of the third longest papal reign in history -- more than 26 years.


"The general conditions and cardio-respiratory conditions of the Holy Father have further worsened," said Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls.


"A gradual worsening of arterial hypotension has been noted, and breathing has become shallow. The clinical picture indicates cardio-circulatory and renal insufficiency. The biological parameters are notably compromised," Navarro-Valls said.


Rome Cardinal Camillo Ruini told a mass at the city's San Giovanni church that the Pope, who received the blessing for the dying after his health suddenly deteriorated overnight, "already sees and touches the Lord. He is already united with our sole Saviour."


Catholics flocked to churches to light candles and pray for the Polish churchman who became Pope in 1978 and revitalised the papacy. Groups of faithful gathered in the Vatican's vast St. Peter's Square, some gazing up at the papal apartments.


CARDINALS SUMMONED


Cardinals were summoned to the Pope's bedside to say their farewells in person.


Navarro-Valls earlier on Friday fought back tears when he told reporters the Pontiff had celebrated Mass from his bed as dawn broke.


After weeks of worsening health, the Pope developed a high fever on Thursday caused by a urinary infection.


Poles clung to the hope their beloved countryman and moral authority would step back from the brink of death.


"I came to pray for the Pope," said Maria Danecka, one of hundreds who crowded in and around the basilica in Wadowice, a southern city where Karol Wojtyla was born in 1920. Many of them wept.


"If he were to leave us, we won't have anybody to show us the way, to help us understand the world."


Churches in the capital Warsaw and the southern city of Krakow where Wojtyla was archbishop filled with worshippers.


The Pope told aides he did not want to return to hospital, where he spent several weeks before Easter after breathing trouble.





POPE "SERENE"

"The fact he has not gone back (shows) he is serenely carrying the cross and ready to give up and to say 'It is finished'," said his former private secretary, Irish bishop John Magee.

Recent images of a gaunt, pained John Paul, his body ravaged by Parkinson's disease and arthritis, contrast starkly with the sprightly Wojtyla who strode onto the world stage on Oct. 16, 1978, and traveled the globe tirelessly to preach the Gospels.

The Pope came close to death before when a Turkish gunman shot him during a general audience in St. Peter's Square in 1981. He believes divine intervention saved him from death.

After a pope dies, cardinals from around the world are called to Rome to chose a successor at a conclave which starts in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel 15 to 20 days after the death.

There is no favorite candidate to take over as head of the Church, and Wojtyla himself was seen as an outsider before he was elected.

Some churchmen believe the developing world should provide the next pope as that is where the religion is most vibrant.

Catholics across Africa, the Church's fastest-growing region, drew strength from the Pope's endurance amid their own struggle for survival on the world's poorest continent.

"It is very difficult for him as a leader to go through this. Yet he has not given up and this gives us courage to bear our own burdens," said Eleanora Kazadi, 40, a bookseller at a packed Mass in Kenya's capital Nairobi.

"We are all very sad about his failing health," said President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in the Philippines, where four out of five people are Catholics.

SOMBRE ITALY

Underscoring the somber mood, Italian political parties halted campaigning for regional elections this weekend and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi canceled all appointments.

The Pope has grown steadily weaker over the past decade. He has been seriously ill for most of the past two months and failed to recover from recent throat surgery aimed at helping him breathe.

He has been unable to speak in public since he left hospital on March 13, with a tube to help him breathe in his windpipe.

Historians say one of his legacies will remain his role in the fall of communism in Europe in 1989.

His orthodox line on many Church teachings has won favor among poor-country Catholics but criticism from liberal believers in developed countries for his proclamations against contraception, abortion, married priests and women clergy.

(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart in Vatican City, Wojciech Zurawski in Krakow, Tom Ashby in Lagos, Paul Hoskins in Dublin)

Pope John Paul's Health Worsens

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Church Prepares Faithful for End of Pope's Reign

By Philip Pullella and Crispian Balmer

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope John Paul received the blessing for the dying after his health suddenly worsened, drawing anguished prayers on Friday from Catholics around the globe reluctant to accept his end may be near.
Church officials tried to prepare the faithful for the close of one of the longest papal reigns in history, after the Vatican said the long-ailing Pope had received the special communion for those near death -- and had declined further hospital treatment.


"What I'm doing now is praying that the crossing to the other life may be painless and peaceful," said Cardinal Godfried Danneels, archbishop of Brussels-Mechelen in Belgium.


The 84-year-old Pope was still conscious and in a stable but serious condition after heart failure, his spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told a news briefing as he fought back tears. He said the Pontiff had celebrated Mass from his bed as dawn broke.


"The Pope is lucid," he said. "He is extraordinarily serene even though naturally he has breathing problems."


After weeks of worsening health, he developed a high fever on Thursday caused by a urinary infection. "A state of septic shock and cardio-circulatory collapse set in," the Vatican said.


Catholics flocked to churches to light candles and pray for the man who became Pope in 1978 and revitalised the papacy.


Groups of faithful gathered in the Vatican's vast St. Peter's Square, some gazing up at the papal apartments.


Cardinals were summoned to the Holy Father's bedside to say their farewells in person.


"He is fading serenely," Andrzej Deskur, a cardinal from John Paul's native Poland, was quoted by Agi news agency as saying.


"They were giving him oxygen through the nose," Edmund Szoka, the Polish-American governor of Vatican City, told CBS News. "I blessed him and he tried to make the sign of the cross ... I was sad to see him suffering."


He said the Pope was attended by three doctors, a priest and several Polish nuns.


PRAYING FOR SURVIVAL


Poles clung to the hope their beloved countryman and moral authority would step back from the brink of death.


"I came to pray for the Pope," said Maria Danecka, one of hundreds who crowded in and around the basilica in Wadowice, a southern city where Karol Wojtyla was born in 1920, many weeping.


"If he were to leave us, we won't have anybody to show us the way, to help us understand the world."


Churches in the capital Warsaw and the southern city of Krakow where Wojtyla was archbishop filled with worshippers.





Navarro-Valls said the Pope on Thursday took "Holy Viaticum" communion, for those near death, after a sharp downturn in his health.

"He is still conscious. At this moment the situation is stable but significantly serious conditions remain," he said.

The Pope told aides he did not want to return to hospital, where he spent several weeks before Easter after breathing trouble.

"The fact he has not gone back (shows) he is serenely carrying the cross and ready to give up and to say 'It is finished'," said his former private secretary, Irish bishop John Magee.

Recent images of a gaunt, pained John Paul, his body ravaged by Parkinson's disease and arthritis, contrast starkly to the sprightly Wojtyla who strode onto the world stage on Oct. 16, 1978, and traveled the globe tirelessly to preach the Gospels.

He has been leading the world's largest church, of over a billion Roman Catholics, for 26 years -- longer than all but two earlier popes.

EARLIER BRUSH WITH DEATH

He came close to death before when a Turkish gunman shot him during a general audience in St. Peter's Square in 1981. He believes divine intervention saved him from death.

After a pope dies, cardinals from around the world are called to Rome to chose a successor at a conclave which starts in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel 15 to 20 days after the death.

There is no favorite candidate to take over as head of the 1.1 billion-member Church, and Wojtyla himself was seen as an outsider before he was elected.

Some churchmen believe the developing world should provide the next pope as that is where the religion is most vibrant.

Roman Catholics across Africa, the church's fastest-growing region, drew strength from the Pope's endurance amid their own struggle for survival on the world's poorest continent.

"It is very difficult for him as a leader to go through this. Yet he has not given up and this gives us courage to bear our own burdens," said Eleanora Kazadi, 40, a bookseller at a packed Mass in Kenya's capital Nairobi.

"We are all very sad about his failing health," said President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in the Philippines, where four out of five people are Catholics.

Underscoring the somber mood, Italian political parties halted campaigning for regional elections this weekend and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi canceled all appointments.

DECLINING HEALTH

The Pope has grown steadily weaker over the past decade. He has been seriously ill for most of the past two months and failed to recover from recent throat surgery aimed at helping him breathe.

Italian media said his temperature leapt to around 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on Thursday and his blood pressure plunged, a day after doctors had inserted a feeding tube through his nose and into his stomach to boost his fading strength.

He has been unable to speak in public since he left hospital on March 13, with a tube to help him breathe in his windpipe.

Historians say one of his legacies will remain his role in the fall of communism in Europe in 1989.

His orthodox line on many Church teachings has won favor among poor-country Catholics but criticism from liberal believers in developed countries for his proclamations against contraception, abortion, married priests and women clergy.

(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart in the Vatican City, Wojciech Zurawski in Krakow, Tom Ashby in Lagos, Paul Hoskins in Dublin)