Thursday, February 18, 2010

Y'Know the Flying Dragons in Avatar? Tiny Real-Life Version Discovered in Indonesia

Y'Know the Flying Dragons in Avatar? Tiny Real-Life Version Discovered in Indonesia: "tiny-dragon-lizard-indonesia-photo1.jpg
Photo: Reddit user Biophilia_curiosus

Can't Wait Until They Find the Full-Sized Species...
A Reddit.com user by the name of Biophilia_curiosus posted a few photos that he took in Indonesia. They show an amazing species of gliding lizard which basically looks like a miniature dragon. Fans of the film Read the full story on TreeHugger"

Friday, February 5, 2010

Pakistani ambassador rejected because his name is NSFW in Arabic | FP Passport

Despite having served for years as a distinguished Pakistani diplomat, Akbar Zeb reportedly cannot receive accreditation as Pakistan's ambassador to Saudi Arabia. The reason, apparently, has nothing to do with his credentials, and everything to do with his name -- which, in Arabic, translates to "biggest dick":

In Saudi Arabia, size does count.

A high level Pakistani diplomat has been rejected as Ambassador of Saudi Arabia because his name, Akbar Zib, equates to "Biggest Dick" in Arabic. Saudi officials, apparently overwhelmed by the idea of the name, put their foot down and gave the idea of his being posted there, the kibosh.

According to this Arabic-language article in the Arab Times, Pakistan had previously floated Zeb's name as ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, only to have him rejected for the same reason. One can only assume that submitting Zeb's name to a number of Arabic-speaking countries is some unique form of punishment designed by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry -- or the result of a particularly egregious cockup

Source: Foreign Policy Blog