Kashmir is arguably the most affectionate cat we have ever had at our shelter.  He thinks his proper place in life is on your shoulders. You can walk from room to room with him there. Meanwhile, he’ll purr in your ear the entire time. He likes to rub his cheek on your cheek too.

While he gets along with the other cats in his kitty room, he clearly prefers people, and is happiest when he is at your side, or (ideally) lounging on your shoulders.

 There are several black cats in his kitty room, so if you don’t know which one is Kashmir, simply squat down to pet one of his roommates, and before you know it he will hop onto your shoulders.

 Some people walk around with a parrot on their shoulder.  Well, Kashmir is for someone who wants to walk around with a cat on his or her shoulders.

 Come see Kashmir at AnSams’ animal shelter, located at 72-307 Ramon Road in Thousand Palms. Our hours are Tuesday through Friday, from 9am – 4:30pm and Saturdays from 9:30am – 3:30pm. Questions?  Call 760.343.3477 x4

Keep your eyes open for an adoptable dog on the town. This month Animal Samaritans is expanding its efforts to find homes for homeless dogs through its Doggy Day Out program.  Simply put, Doggy Day Out brings adoptable dogs into the community. Our volunteers walk an adoptable dog about town, showing him or her off to whoever takes an interest. We hope by bringing adoptable dogs into the community, we will increase their chances of meeting that special someone who will fall in love and adopt them.

 Every Doggy Day Out dog will be dressed in a noticeable “Adopt Me” vest. Likewise, every Doggy Day Out volunteer dog walker will be wearing his or her Animal Samaritans’ shirt.

 For more information about AnSams’ Doggy Day Out, call our volunteer coordinator at 760-396-7313.

Please join us at the 3rd annual Men of the Desert fashion show! Men of the Desert is the only fashion show in the Valley to feature a cast of male models strutting down the runway…with dogs!

Proceeds benefit Animal Samaritans’ animal shelter, adoption program, and Animal Care Fund. The Animal Care fund is a life-saving fund that helps pet owners who have fallen on hard times or live on a limited income provide vital veterinary care for their pets.

Event: 3rd Annual Men of the Desert

Date: Saturday, February 18

Time: 11am – 2pm

Place: Hyatt Grand Champions Resort, Indian Wells

Price: $75 (includes lunch, entertainment, fashion show)

RSVP: 760-343-3216 RSPV: http://www.animalsamaritans.org/events_programs.html

Models will be wearing men’s fashion by the Mares For Men clothing store in La Quinta.  The entertainment includes appearances by TV & Broadway Star Donna Theodore, crooner Austin Ray, Mara Getz & Richard Leibell, and local media favorite Bonnie Gilgallon. Patti Gribow returns as Mistress of Ceremonies.

This event attracts 350 – 400 guests each year. Seating is generally prioritized in order of ticket purchase. The tables closest to the stage generally go to those who purchase tickets early.

    When one thinks of India and its history of non-violence as a way to change conditions, one thinks of Mahatma Ghandi and an India of some sixty-five years ago when the country was partitioned – 7 million Muslims moved to a newly created Pakistan, and 7 million Hindus moved back to India – in 1947.  The years following have been turbulent and rife with religious tensions, and, sad to say, bloody both with political and religious ideology as an underpinning.

     How refreshing, then, when a film comes along that sidesteps all of the hot-button issues, and merely tells a gentle story of “people” (both Hindu and Muslim) living their lives in thousands of villages all over the vast country, side by side, yet still practicing their religious customs, and respecting one another as friends in the process.  “Abu, Son of Adam” is just the sort of film that exemplifies those values and commitments.

     Written and directed by first time director (but experienced writer) Salim Ahamed, the movie written and spoken in the Malayalam dialect with English sub-titles, stars Salim Kumar, Zarina Wahab, M.R. Gopakumar, Mukesh, and Kalahavan Mani.

    The story revolves around an aging couple Abu (Kumar) and his wife (Wahab) and their lifelong dream as devout Muslims to go on a religious pilgrimage to Mecca before they die.   They register their names with a travel agency specializing in pilgrimages to Mecca, but soon realize that their ambition will require severe sacrifices.  They sell everything they have of value including the century-old jackfruit tree in front of their house.  Although the tree is found to be hollow and the timber merchant is willing to take the loss, Abu – being a true Muslim – will only accept money to go to Hajj according to the principles of Islam and turns down the offer.  For the audience it becomes a bit of a guessing game.  Will they go or will they pass concerning the generosity of others?

     There were groans from some audience members when he refuses monetary assistance from several neighbors and friends (which to me, signifies one of the basic differences between secular and religious philosophies when “East meets West”.  Most of us in Palm Springs would have said “thank you very much” and gone on the trip).

     This rare tale of Muslim community life in the South Indian state of Kerala has received several coveted awards in India, and is India’s submission to the Academy for Best Foreign Language Film.

      Writer/Director Ahamed, may be a first-time director, but as a writer, he has a few tricks up his sleeve.  Just when you think you know where the story is going, it makes a slight directional turn.  To say anymore might spoil the overall tranquility and tone of this gentle and bittersweet movie for audiences who are tired of explosions, car chases, and special effects in their movie choices.  It’s a film that encourages one to slow down a bit and smell the roses.  The performances of the ensemble cast more than make up for its measured pace.  Actually, it’s a welcome relief from the hustle and bustle of most of the films one finds on movie screens these days.    

WASHINGTON— Pentagon leaders scrambled Thursday to contain damage from an Internet video purporting to show four Marines urinating on Taliban corpses — an act that appears to violate international laws of warfare and put further strains on U.S.-Afghan relations.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called Afghan President Hamid Karzai to offer assurances of a full investigation and the top Marine general promised an internal probe as well as a criminal one. Investigators moved quickly to identify some of those involved, confirming they were members of a sniper unit from Camp Lejeune, N.C., who had served in Afghanistan last year.

As the video spread across the Internet in postings and re-postings, U.S. officials joined with Afghans in calling it shocking, deplorable, inhumane and a breach of military standards of conduct. It shows men in Marine combat gear standing in a semi-circle urinating on the bodies of three men in standard Afghan clothing, one whose chest was covered in blood.

It’s not certain whether the dead were Taliban fighters, civilians or someone else.

The incident will likely further hurt U.S. ties with Karzai’s government and complicate negotiations over a strategic partnership arrangement meant to govern the presence of U.S. troops and advisers in Afghanistan after most international combat troops withdraw by the end of 2014.

It also comes at a delicate time in relations among the United States, Afghanistan’s elected government and the Taliban insurgency fighting for both territorial control and cultural and religious preeminence in Afghanistan. The U.S. is trying to foster peace talks between the Karzai government and the Pakistan-based Taliban high command, and has made unprecedented offers to build trust with the insurgents, including the planned opening of a political office to oversee talks between the U.S. and the Taliban.

Anti-American sentiment already is on the rise in Afghanistan, especially among Afghans who have not seen improvements to their daily lives despite billions of dollars in international aid. Afghans also have deplored the accidental killing of civilians during NATO airstrikes and argue that foreign troops have culturally offended the Afghan people, mostly when it comes to activities involving women and the Quran, the Muslim holy book.

Pentagon officials said the criminal investigation would likely look into whether the Marines violated laws of war, which include prohibitions against photographing or mishandling bodies and detainees. It also appeared to violate the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice, which governs conduct. Thus, some or all of the four Marines could face a military court martial or other disciplinary action.

Karzai called the video “completely inhumane.” The Afghan Defense Ministry called it “shocking.” And the Taliban issued a statement accusing U.S. forces of committing numerous “indignities” against the Afghan people.

U.S. officials said a military criminal investigation would be led by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the law enforcement arm of the Navy. The Marines will do their own internal investigation.

Panetta said the actions depicted in the brief video were inexcusable.

“I have seen the footage, and I find the behavior depicted in it utterly deplorable. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms,” Panetta’s statement said. “Those found to have engaged in such conduct will be held accountable to the fullest extent.”

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, said he was deeply disturbed by the video and worried that it would erode the reputation of the entire military, not just the Marine Corps.

A veterans group, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, noted the video was the act of a small number of Marines and said it did not reflect the behavior of the millions who have served honorably.

“Our troops and veterans are already facing enormous challenges and stereotypes both overseas and at home, and we encourage the public and media worldwide to refrain from rushing to stereotypes,” the group said in a statement.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, the top civilian executive of the Marines and Navy, said it was “appalling and outrageously offensive,” and Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos called it “wholly inconsistent with the high standards of conduct and warrior ethos” demanded in the Corps.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said President Barack Obama was aware of the story but may not have seen the video.

Asked how the development might affect U.S.-Afghan-Taliban peace efforts, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton did not directly reply.

“The United States remains strongly committed to helping build a secure, peaceful, prosperous, democratic future for the people of Afghanistan,” she said. “And we will continue to support efforts that will be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned to pursue the possibility of reconciliation and peace.”

On the streets of Afghanistan, the reaction was cool.

“If these actions continue, people will not like them (the Americans) anymore and there will be uprising against them,” Mohammad Qayum, said while watching a television news story about the video that was airing in a local restaurant in Kabul.

Ahmad Naweed, a shopkeeper in Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban insurgency, said, “On the one hand, the Americans present themselves as friends of Afghanistan and … they also try to have peace talks with the Taliban. So we don’t know what kind of political game they are playing in Afghanistan.”

This kind of embarrassment dispersed over the Internet is not new for the Pentagon.

Over the years of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, officials periodically have been stunned by the troops’ penchant for taking photos or videos of themselves in acts ranging from criminal to simply stupid.

Outrage spread instantly across the globe in 2004 over the release of photos taken by a group of U.S. military police abusing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The troops were grinning and posing beside naked detainees stacked in a pyramid, held on a leash and so on.

In 2008, a Marine was kicked out of the service after being videotaped throwing a puppy off a cliff while on patrol in Iraq and joking about it as the animal yelped.