She won't forget that in a hurry: Elephant rubs her eye in disbelief after cataract op to restore her sight

Duchess, a 43-year-old Asian elephant, only has the one eye left
She had been able to do little more than distinguish between light and dark for years
Put under by anaesthetists for around three hours while the delicate operation was carried out
Seems to be recovering well and was tenderly rubbing the sore eye with her trunk

It was a truly mammoth undertaking, but Duchess the blind elephant will finally be able to see again after receiving what was quite possibly the world's largest ever cataract operation.

The 43-year-old Asian elephant, who only has the one eye left, had been able to do little more than distinguish between light and dark for years. But thanks to surgeons at Paignton Zoo, Devon, she should soon be able to see clearly once again.

The huge creature was put under by anaesthetists David Burton and Jo Jago for around three hours, while the delicate operation was carried out by consultant opthamologist Jim Carter and assistant John Lewis. After she came round Duchess seemed to be fine and was tenderly rubbing the sore eye with her trunk.

The first ever elephant cataract operation in the UK: Duchess prepares for her treatment for a cataract, to hopefully regain sight in one eye

Son Of Bitch Is

A little boy was doing his maths homework, saying to himself : 2+5 The Son Of Bitch Is 7. 3+6 The Son Of Bitch Is 9.

His mother heard this gasped : What are you doing?

Boy answered : I am doing my math's homework Mom.

And this is how your teacher taught you?

Yes.

Infuriated, the mother called teacher : Are you teaching maths to children by saying 2+2 The Son Of Bitch Is 4?

Teacher started laughing and answered : What I taught them was, 2+2 THE SUM OF WHICH IS 4.

Animation 23

Religious Thought 49

Since the seed does not contain anything other than the seed, even the flowers and the fruits are of the same nature as the seed: the substance of the seed is the substance of subsequent effects, too. Even so, the homogenous mass of cosmic consciousness does not give rise to anything other than what it is in essence. When this truth is realized, duality ceases.

- Yoga Vasishtha

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If you really want to deal with birth and death, just avoid drifting off under any circumstances, whether you are dressing or eating, attending the calls of nature, walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. Be like someone who sees a ferocious tiger, totally engrossed in getting away and escaping with his life. Or be like someone on a battle front, who only wants to kill the leader of a rebellion only when he has taken the leaders head can he rest. Why bother with grasping and rejection, purity and defilement, profane and sacred, right and wrong, and so on? Otherwise, its all a waste of effort-when will peace ever be attained? If you work in this way, it has some relevance to birth and death; otherwise, its all contrivance, without benefit on the way. A former teacher said, Dont get stuck in small successes, you must reach the state of the ancients before you attain freedom in life and death. Otherwise it is all something on the shore of birth and death; theres really no end in sight.

- Chien-ju

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In the name of God, Most gracious most merciful; Praise be to God, The cherisher and sustainer of the worlds; Most gracious, most merciful; Master of the day of judgment. Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek.

- Sura Fateha (1:1-5)

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When it is a question of God's almighty Spirit, never say, "I can't."

- Oswald Chambers

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He who is merciful when he should be cruel will in the end be cruel when he should be merciful.

- Midrash Samuel

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Religious Thought 48

What you do may seem insignificant, but it's important that you do it.

- Gandhi

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"Where, for instance, is the identity of myself? There's a special quality that makes me different from everything else and also from all other selves. And I want that identity, my own self, to continue. So where does that identity dwell?" "Where indeed?" asked the Buddha. "That self to which you cling is in constant change. Years ago you were a baby, then a youth, and now a man. Which is your true selfthat of yesterday, that of today, or that of tomorrow which you so long to preserve?" "I see I have misunderstood things," replied Kutadanta slowly, "and although I find it hard to endure the light, the truth now dawns on me that there is no separate and enduring self. I will take my refuge in your teaching and find that which is continuing and everlasting in the truth."

- Majjhima Nikaya

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Be it the world or the space, He is with you. He chastises to make the impure pure. Neglect devotion and be bound by fetters of pain and doubt. Seek freedom, the remedy of all pain. Seek the roots from which sprout leaves and fruit. Water the roots and grow to perfection. And when the fruit blossoms, give it to your friends.

- Rumi

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Our life is full of brokenness - broken relationships, broken promises, broken expectations. How can we live with that brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful except by returning again and again to God's faithful presence in our lives.

- Henri Nouwen

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No physician can cure a prejudice, which is a blindness in the mind.

- Jewish folk saying

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Royal Wedding In Brunei

Now THAT'S a Royal Wedding! Sultan of Brunei celebrates marriage of daughter, 32, with spectacular ceremony straight out of Arabian Nights

Princess Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah marries civil servant Pengiran Haji Muhammad Ruzaini, 29 today
The family prepared for wedding with a lavish ceremony held in the Throne Hall of the Istana Nurul Iman palace
1,700-room palace is home to the Sultan, whose family have ruled in Brunei for 600 years
Both bride and groom work for the Sultan of Brunei in the Prime Minister's office

The daughter of the Sultan of Brunei, one of the world's wealthiest men, wed groom Pengiran Haji Muhammad Ruzaini today in a dazzling ceremony at the monarch's 1,700-room palace.

Princess Hajah Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah, 32, the fifth child of the Sultan and his wife, Queen Saleha, and her groom Pengiran Haji Muhammad Ruzaini, 29, exchanged their vows this afternoon in front of scores of gathered family and friends, royals and international dignitaries.

Both the bride and groom work in Governmental roles as employees of the Sultan of Brunei, with Hafizah, who has a degree in business administration, working as an officer in the finance ministry, and Ruzaini a civil servant in the Prime Minister's office.