Court upholds ruling: Chimp isn't human Activists trying to secure 'person' status to allow for guardianship By WILLIAM J. KOLE Associated Press VIENNA, AUSTRIA — He's now got a human name — Matthew Hiasl Pan — but he's having trouble getting his day in court. Animal rights activists campaigning to get Pan, a 26-year-old chimpanzee, legally declared a person vowed Thursday to take their challenge to Austria's Supreme Court after a lower court threw out their latest appeal. A provincial judge in the city of Wiener Neustadt dismissed the case this week, ruling the Vienna-based Association Against Animal Factories has no legal standing to argue on the chimp's behalf. The legal tussle began in February, when the animal shelter where Pan and another chimp, Rosi, have lived for 25 years filed for bankruptcy protection. Activists want to ensure the apes don't wind up homeless. Both were captured as babies in Sierra Leone in 1982 and smuggled to Austria for use in pharmaceutical experiments. Customs officers intercepted the shipment and turned the chimps over to the shelter. Their upkeep costs $6,800 a month. Donors have offered to help, but under Austrian law, only a person can receive personal gifts. Organizers could set up a foundation to collect cash for Pan, whose life expectancy in captivity is about 60 years. But they argue only personhood will ensure he isn't sold to someone outside Austria, where he's protected by animal cruelty laws. The animal rights group has been pressing to get Pan declared a "person" so a guardian can be appointed to look out for his interests. In April, a district court judge rejected a British woman's petition to be declared Pan's legal guardian. The court ruled the chimp was neither mentally impaired nor in danger, the grounds required for a guardian to be appointed.

^^Lol. Heaven on earth? Tell them that cos they dont think so lol.

Whats new?

he left with a few gabay line: Subax walba daa baan idhaa damacna waa kii Diyo toban nin way gooayn layhd taan dabaka sudhay Qaraamaad intaan guran laha qaaadku hay dil'ee. - means let me die onspot while bloody chewing that green stuff. Loooool Sharmarke. Kix kix kix . War ninki wuxuu noqday waaxid Qoodaadi.

^^Dahia lol. Why would you even suggest? Lol. Snakes, eh? Hmm. Inkaartooda Illaah hayga wareejiyo. I have killed enough snakes in my youth. Heavens, we killed anything that moved. Don't know why! One time we saw Mas Guduud swinging itself from a thatch-roof and all the ciyaalka dugsiga screamed and ran! Me and my wacky friend rushed towards it with a bookoorad and bang!I hit it and it flew from the roof, across the room till it coiled itself across the Sheikh's neck! Boy, you should have seen the Sheikh's face! The snake was uncouncious but the Sheikh screamed, jumping up and down like a Qurbac or a Leyli . We laughed at him but our punishment was the most severe. Don't want to go into it now. MsD&D, Jilbis? Maxaan u aqaani waayey. Actually its refered to as one of the Abeesos. Abeeso (puff udder), Abeeso lugaleey (Maanso Lugaleey) and Abeeso Jilbis! Jilbis is unlike other snakes. Its elongated and rough-skinned. We played catch with a dead one when we're sent to the bush to collect wood. Its skin texture felt rough to the touch and it was somewhat less ugly than the Abeeso. We use to fear the Abeeso which burries itself in the little dunes created by the beating winds, and it use to hunt for Sagaaro and Bakeyle. Once it bit a friend of mine- they say it bites you once and it leaves venomous teeth inside you which multiply. There use to be a Muunyo guy in Tana River that use to suck out the venom (and presumably its teeth too). Miraculously people got better. When I visited Kenya recently, I did a small runner from Nairobi to Libooye and walked abit in the forest. And really I wished I had enough time to spend there. I would've walked deeper into the miyiga and join the Geeljire boys- In the last 10 years, I never felt so happy in my life. Never have I wanted to travel not only in Kenya but further in Somalia by foot as far as I can go. Now I think I would do more. I would travel across Africa and when I am done go back to my favourite area of Somalia, build a house and head for the miyi to tend to camels .

Lol@STHLM Lady.

I am not commenting at all.

Welcome back underdog. It seems you are all coming out of your hibarnations . Underdog, nah - its the usual sujui/najua friendly banter that you see...

Ghanima, don't waste your valuable time researching Horn and East Africa. Try South Africa. When I was writing my dessertation, I wasted enough time look for resources for Somalia (and East Africa) till I settled with S. Africa. At least South Africa has a great deal of literature you can feast on. Even Kenya, which comes across as being a well-researched country, can at times disappoint you. If you decide to do your project on Kenya then I advice to make use of LSE's (London School of Economics and Political Science) library. I am SOAS would grant you the necessary documentation to access the library. The LSE library has extensive resources of all NGOs working in Africa.

Sjuwie! Sounds like an Uzbek word or something. Bloody Mlendo . Welcome back Tuujiye...

Somali girls/women are simply beautiful There goes my bit of amaan dumar .

Che, Adeer, the fact that we are not in any way influential on the politics on the ground is something every tome, dick and harry knows. That is not the issue here. The issue here is this: when one professes support for a certain idea or movement, he or she must stick with it. And if he or she were to withdraw then they mustn't do so at every sneeze and cough. Doing so makes id!ots out of them, really.

Originally posted by Shyma: ^ Brought the T-Shirt baan ku idhi ...West Ham aa akhas caleeg, LoL Oh, tell me you just didn't say akhas caleek to West Ham? Xaal baa ku saaran Shayma... sabeen xir baa lagaa doonayaa !

^^Lol. You are very proud aint ya? Viva West Ham (and The Green Street Elite) .

Socod-Badne, well said sxb. How much time do you need to comprehend that his appointment has disillusioned many who had hope in the outcome of Asmara conference, purely for the reasons that it did not portray them to be sincere in their approach to counter the difficulties facing Somalia by appointing same person who was more or less responsible for the catastrophic failure of Shabab back in December 2006. Juje, I strongly believe that, those whom you claim to have been disolutioned by the mere appointment of Indha-cade, are nothing but 'cynics without a cause'. If the appointment of Indhacade is all it takes to disolution them, then, I can safely say that their support of the liberation wasn't, to begin with, a genuine one. For all I care, they can continue posting their chameleon-like opinions, changing with every trivial change of very little substance. If, however, they claim to have genuine and sincere wish to see the country liberated from Ethiopian occupation, let them come with more tangible concerns than this. To be honest, it is a shameful act to always look for petty excuses to change their stances. Why don't they be men enough and label themselves 'The Opportunists in the Middle' from henceon? Only then we wouldn't be dealing with the nonsense they fashion as being genuine support!

^^Younis, my comment might have been slightly 'harsh'. But the reality is, every social event one goes to, you get the haggard old timers 'wailing' their lungs to death. Tis time they rested, I hold. Its time for new faces...

Lol@Gor Mahia. I remember their rivalry with Harambee Stars... God! They seemed like big teams to us as kids. Faarax, don't forget the Super Egos of Nigeria.

^^Edgware is more strategic. East Ham iyo Baangooliga do not inspire great stories sxb

Another creative story. Seriously we Muslims are old enough and wise enough to accept Islam without this little stories, I come across them everywhere these days.

^^Then I might reconsider what I said earlier. But I doubt the existence of such delivery.

^^By not believing in this story

'Check my bank attount (account)' saying one of them with a lisp. His finger was raised at his fellow quareller with pompousness. 'I can buy them all and still have enough change left for me' he boasted. I came close to these two gentlement engaged in a passionate debate. When I heard 'I can buy them all and still have change left' in the account, I thought, heck maybe this fellow is filthy rich and I learnt my ear to their conversation. But after few minutes of listening I was struck by awe at how these men have personalized football teams so much that you would think its their own. This is a wide-spread phenomenon in the Somali community and an ugly one at onces. You might see Somali youth standing in groups infornt of Somali-owned business, having the most violent quarels that scare the hell out of the poor pensioners passing-by. The biggest culprit is football and how much player so and so gets paid! Whats up with this? What can you make of a youth discussing the amount money a footballer is being paid while he has no income of his own at all. Is this the right way to spend their time? Worst of all is the elderly and middle-aged Somali men who obsessively discuss football everywhere you see them. When they are not doing that, they are talking about tribes... . Have you guys noticed this Somali madness about football? Its not normal at all. Its ubnormal!

I was raised in a religious family so I would believe this story.... I can't be as rude as Ghanima....

^Lol, nah! Their words wont even excite me into action...