GoDaddy.com CEO Under Fire for Killing African Elephant

Godaddy.com CEO Bob Parsons has convinced himself that he's a humanitarian. I think he's got a long way to go before he lives up to that self-billing. He's in the news today because he traveled to Zimbabwe recently to shoot an elephant for a trophy and then released a video in which he is happily grinning over his conquest. Now the man known for racy Super Bowl ads is spinning his version of the event and trying to morph this selfish act of slaughter into some selfless act of charity.

He shot the elephant at night, and claims it was a "problem elephant." It happened to be a bull elephant with sizeable tusks, just the type that trophy hunters like to kill. He seems to be a rather obsessive trophy hunter; one other self-produced video on the web shows him wounding and later killing a leopard, and the current edition of Safari Club International's magazine shows an array of animal heads mounted on his wall as trophies.

If he wants to help the people of Africa, I suggest he spend a day with Oprah Winfrey or Bill Gates and learn how real charitable work on the continent is done. They've invested of their time and considerable wealth to promote education, housing, nutrition, and public health. And last time I checked, they didn't leave a trail of animal victims they've personally slain at the end of their visit. If he wants to help people keep elephants out of crop fields, he should fund the building of solar-powered fences like those successfully used for this purpose in neighboring South Africa. My guess is Mr. Parsons went to Africa to shoot an elephant, and perhaps some other creatures, and then tried to find some high-sounding rationale for his gambit.

I've heard this kind of excuse-making from trophy hunters before. In fact, in my book, The Bond, to be released on April 5, I recount the rhetorical gymnastics and whitewashing of a killing spree also in southern Africa by trophy hunter Ken Behring, who shot several endangered elephants in one of his safaris. Like Parsons, he claimed he did the killing for the good of the community, identifying the animals as "problem elephants." It turns out that wildlife authorities in Mozambique had a different take on the matter, and they wanted Ken Behring to leave their country without delay.

HSUS has about 650 domain names with GoDaddy.com. I've instructed our staff to find another host for them. We don't like doing business with a company with a leader like Parsons. I hope you'll think about following suit. No one needs to kill elephants either to show his manhood or to do humanitarian work.

This post originally appeared on Pacelle's blog, A Humane Nation.

see more : huffingtonpost.com/wayne-pacelle/godaddycom-ceo-under-fire_b_843661.html

GoDaddy.com founder defends elephant-hunting video

(CNN) -- The CEO of GoDaddy.com on Friday defended an online video that shows him shooting and killing an elephant in Zimbabwe.

"It takes a guy like me" to protect villagers' crops from rogue elephants, he said.

Bob Parsons, founder of the Scottsdale, Arizona-based web-hosting service, posted the graphic video on his Twitter account on March 14. The footage, shot March 8, shows him hunting an elephant on a farm and posing with a shotgun beside its corpse.

Then, it shows locals crowding around the dead animal and cutting off pieces of its meat.

Parsons said he killed the animal for the good of local farmers whose crops are often destroyed by elephants.

"They would say 'please come back,' " he said, arguing the measure is an effective way to protect crops and feed hungry local residents.

The video shows him walking through a field of flattened sorghum plants, which he said had been crushed by roaming elephants.

The reason he posted the video, Parsons said, is because he wants "people to know what goes on over there."

"There were people who walked 25 miles to get to that elephant," he said, referencing a food crisis that has often plagued developing countries.

But critics call his methods extreme.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals initiated an online boycott of GoDaddy.com and its services until Parsons "stops shooting animals," according to the organization's website.

Parsons' own website has also been inundated by negative comments about the video.

"A lot of the people who are upset about this are animal lovers," Parsons said. "Their heart is in the right place but they just don't understand the situation."

He called the fact that the elephant meat provided food for the people "a bonus."

"They literally have nothing and they're on the brink of starvation," he said.

Parsons has traveled to Zimbabwe for several years, but only last year began hunting elephants at the request of local farmers, he said.

Elephant experts say it is not illegal to kill rogue elephants in Zimbabwe.

Parsons said he has killed five elephants.

PETA rejected Parsons' explanation, with the organization's president, Ingrid Newkirk, releasing a statement saying, "If Bob Parsons really wanted to help African villagers, he would use his money to promote one of the many effective, nonlethal methods available to protect crops -- not act like a little boy with a gun."

In a press release, PETA said it is pulling its business from GoDaddy.com, and the group labeled Parsons "Scummiest CEO of the Year."

Meanwhile, asked if the PETA boycott had affected GoDaddy.com's business, company spokeswoman Elizabeth Driscoll said, "There has been no significant change in business."

see more on CNN.com

GoDaddy.com CEO Fights to Explain Elephant Shooting

In this screenshot of Parsons' hunting video posted on the Video.me website, the GoDaddy.com CEO shoots an elephant bull in Zimbabwe.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – GoDaddy.com CEO Bob Parsons scrambled to explain his motives Friday after a video he put on Twitter of himself killing an elephant in Zimbabwe went viral -- leading to calls for a boycott from animal-rights groups.

In the video, Parsons and a team of others shoot an elephant they claim was destroying farmers' crops in the area.

"They've been here three nights in a row, we're hoping they come back for a fourth. And if they do, well, we're gonna be here to greet 'em," Parsons says with evident relish. The team then waits up at night for the elephants to come. When they do Parsons shoots one of them as an accompanying screen graphic says "Bob Parsons fires again. Both shots hit home."

The CEO can then be seen smiling as he stands over the elephant with his gun before another scene shows local villagers hacking the animal to bits, all while wearing orange GoDaddy.com hats. The scene is accompanied by AC/DC's "Hell's Bells" music.

"When you see me smiling in that picture, I'm smiling because I'm relieved no one was hurt, that the crop was saved, and that these people were going to be fed -- the type of smile when you get a good report card or achieve a goal," Parsons told Mashable Thursday.

"I've been going to Africa for six years," he said, "and I progressively became aware of the elephant situation and what a problem it is for the locals."

Parsons explained to the tech website that far from being an endangered species, elephant herds in Zimbabwe are abundant and a nuisance to local farmers who face the threat of starvation on a constant basis due to elephants destroying their crops.

Non-violent solutions such as fences, fires and loud noises are not enough to ward them off, he explained.

"This farmer was desperate," Parsons said. "He couldn't get the herd out of his field. He asked us to come and deal with it."

However, animal-rights groups were not buying it, claiming that Parsons was using a "flimsy" excuse to disguise his passion for hunting big game.

"Parsons is hiding behind the lame claim that killing elephants helps farmers in Africa whose crops are damaged by the animals," People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said on its website.

"In fact, there are ample effective and nonlethal methods to deter elephants from crops, including using chili-infused string and beehives on poles to create low-cost 'fences.' Instead of coming up with flimsy excuses for killing these highly intelligent and social animals, Parsons should use his wealth to fund humane solutions to human/elephant conflicts."

The group said that it had closed its account with GoDaddy as a result of its CEO's actions and encouraged supporters to do the same.

Rival companies also saw an opening to bash a competitor. Los Angeles-based NameCheap.com was offering special time-limited deals to customers who switched over to their service in protest, saying that it would donate 20 percent of the revenue from new accounts to the Save The Elephants charity.

"All of us at Namecheap were very disturbed by this video," the company said. "Elephants are an endangered species and hunting these for any reason is something we feel strongly against."

Parsons, an ex-Marine who served in Vietnam, told Mashable that while he understood the concern of critics, the situation was more complicated than it appeared.

"These people look at this from the context of being Americans," he said. "We're well-fed and isolated from the process of growing and butchering meat. We see this, and we're horrified. Their hearts are in the right place, but they just don't understand what's going on over there."

GoDaddy.com, a private company founded by Parsons in 1997, operates more than 46 million domain names.

Read more:

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/04/01/godaddycom-ceo-tries-explain-elephant-shooting/#ixzz1NjL8KHsM

Barcelona wins Champions League title

associated Press

Barcelona Wins Champions League Title

Shaka Hislop breaks down Barcelona's third Champions League title in six yearsTags: Shaka Hislop, Champions League, Lionel Messi, Messi, Patrice Evra, Barcelona, analysis, Manchester United, Wayne Rooney

WEMBLEY, England -- The debate is over now. Barcelona is on the list of soccer's all-time greatest teams.

Led by another dominant performance from Lionel Messi, the Catalan club beat Manchester United 3-1 on Saturday to earn its third Champions League title in six seasons and No. 4 overall.

"I feel privileged," Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said. "You always want to win, but the way we have won is what I am most proud of. This is the way we want to play football.

"Lionel is the best player I have seen and probably the best I will ever see."

Messi was typically subdued in his celebration.

"I'm very happy about the match," Messi said. "We were the better team. We deserved to win."

Messi put Barcelona ahead to stay with his 53rd goal and helped create another score to give the Spanish league champion some breathing room.

Barcelona dominated play at Wembley Stadium with its trademark one-touch passing, but it needed the Argentine striker to conjure a 54th-minute solo strike from the edge of the penalty area to take the lead for the second time.

There seemed to be no space as Messi was tracked by fullback Patrice Evra. But the two-time world player of the year spotted a gap between the central defenders and hit a shot down the middle, beating goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

Messi added a fake and run that led to David Villa taking possession on the edge of the area. From there, the Spain striker curled a shot into the top corner of the net.

"They do mesmerize you with their passing and we never really did control Messi," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "But many people have said that.

"In my time as manager, it's the best team I've faced."

Soccer commentators had said before the game that Barcelona, which already had won a third straight Spanish league title, would be ranked among the sport's truly great teams with a victory over United. Now, with four European titles, only Liverpool, AC Milan and Barcelona's fierce rival Real Madrid have won more.

With Pedro Rodriguez scoring the opening goal midway through the first half on an imaginative through ball from Xavi Hernandez, the win was as comprehensive as Barcelona's 2-0 victory over United in the 2009 final in Rome.

[+] Enlarge

LLUIS GENE/AFP/Getty ImagesLionel Messi was the star of the show as Barcelona dominated Manchester United to win its third Champions League title in six years.

"When Rome finished, I thought we had played a good game, but when I looked at it again I wasn't that impressed," Guardiola said. "But it has served its purpose.

"I think we played much better than the game two years ago."

Guardiola now has won 10 titles -- including two European Cups -- in three years.

Wayne Rooney's goal in the 34th minute left it tied at 1 at halftime. Rooney carried the ball to the edge of the area, slipping it to Ryan Giggs. Giggs knocked it back, giving Rooney the perfect opportunity to curl a shot past goalkeeper Victor Valdes at the far post.

Barcelona's performance was so comfortable that Guardiola was able to bring on regular captain Carles Puyol for the last few moments, giving the oft-injured defender the chance to play a part in a memorable triumph.

But in a gesture symbolizing Barcelona's team ethic, Puyol handed the armband over to Eric Abidal. His place on the team had been in doubt after he had surgery this season to remove a liver tumor -- and the France defender lifted the famous trophy.

"Players are human beings," Guardiola said. "Carles has made a great gesture and it has made us stronger."

After a shaky opening, Barcelona simply outclassed the English champions. Xavi, standing in as captain for Puyol, orchestrated play from in front of Sergio Busquets, while Andres Iniesta and Messi hurt United with pinpoint passing.

"This is the reason I came to Barcelona," Villa said. "I'm very happy, very satisfied. We have a team with ambition, a team with the will to win."

United could do little to disrupt Barcelona, the prevailing force of European soccer.

"They were the better team so we can't really argue," United's Rio Ferdinand said. "They're a great side with great players."

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

espn.go.com

Barça crowned as Messi and Villa shoot down United

Published: Saturday 28 May 2011, 23.30CET

FC Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United FC
Second-half goals from Lionel Messi and David Villa ended United's challenge at Wembley and earned a fourth European title for Barça.

by Simon Hart

Just as in 1992, Wembley provided the setting for a Catalan celebration as FC Barcelona turned on the style to beat Manchester United FC 3-1 and claim their fourth European crown. Barcelona were worthy winners, taking the lead through Pedro Rodríguez and responding to Wayne Rooney’s equaliser with two superb second-half strikes from Lionel Messi and David Villa.

If Barcelona’s triumph at the old Wembley broke down a barrier, this underlined the Spanish titleholders’ status as the continent’s dominant force, this third UEFA Champions League in six seasons conferring the stamp of greatness on Josep Guardiola’s side. For United, this was a sorry repeat of their Rome defeat by Barcelona two years ago. There were dancers with umbrellas on the pitch in the opening ceremony and even the simulated sounds of a storm but it was on the pitch that lightning eventually struck twice.

For a short while, it looked like things might turn out differently for the English champions. Sir Alex selected an attacking formation, resisting the temptation to pack his midfield and instead fielding both Javier Hernández and Rooney in attack. His team raced out of the starting blocks, pushing up and aiming to deny Barcelona the time and space to find their stride, and briefly the ploy worked. Barcelona looked edgy as Hernández hustled a defender into losing the ball on the edge of his area; Javier Mascherano, starting in central defence in place of Carles Puyol then failed to deal with Edwin van der Sar’s punt down the middle, forcing Valdés into urgent action to deny Rooney.

Inevitably, though, Barcelona clicked into gear, and they fashioned the first clear opening on the quarter-hour as Xavi Hernández drove in a low cross that Pedro, drifting free of Fabio, turned wide. Barcelona soon had United pinned back as more chances came. Villa flashed a shot narrowly wide before forcing a low save out of Edwin van der Sar. A superb Nemanja Vidić challenge then foiled Messi but, in the 27th minute, United were undone.

Xavi was the architect, advancing into United territory and picking out Pedro with a diagonal pass. The winger’s movement had carried him clear of Vidić on the right side of the box and he applied a cool finish, sidefooting the ball into the near corner with Van der Sar wrongfooted.

Amid the many predictions about this contest the general consensus seemed to be that United needed the first goal. Yet they responded seven minutes later with a fine equaliser, their first attempt on target. After Barcelona had lost the ball from an Abidal throw-in, Rooney surged forward on a one-two with Michael Carrick. He then slipped a pass to Ryan Giggs inside the box and met the Welshman’s return ball with a superb curled finish into the far corner.

Sir Alex Ferguson had predicted “the final of the decade” and an absorbing first half almost produced another goal when Messi drove forward and after feeding Pedro on the right, was just a whisker away from meeting the return.

United’s respite was short-lived as Barcelona resumed their control after the restart. Although Van der Sar saved from Daniel Alves, Messi restored their lead after 54 minutes. Collecting a pass from Messi, the Argentinian cut inside Patrice Evra and punished Vidić’s failure to close him down by sweeping the ball past Van der Sar from 20 metres. Messi’s subsequent explosion of emotion showed just what the goal – his first on English soil but 12th in this season’s competition – meant.

The little magician could have had more goals as Barcelona went for the kill. Van der Sar denied him with his legs before Fabio denied his back-heeled effort with a goalline block. Van der Sar, on his final appearance, offered a fitting reminder of his class with a full-length dive to foil Xavi but he had no chance with Villa’s third goal after 69 minutes. Although United stopped Messi’s surge into the box, substitute Nani lost out to Sergio Busquets who teed up the Spain striker to curl an exquisite finish into the top corner.

uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/matches/season=2011/round=2000122/match=2003352/postmatch/report/index.html

Photos: Kim Kardashian Steps Out with $2Mil Ring

We've got your first sighting of Kim Kardashian and her $2 million engagement ring out in public -- seen yesterday at LAX.


Kim, her giant rock and new fiance Kris Humphries were photographed together just hours after they broke their engagement news.

Kardashian looked eager to show off the 20.5 carat ring from Lorraine Schwartz, holding it up for the photogs to see. As for her other jewelry, Kim was also wearing an $85 necklace from her good friend Jonathan Cheban's JetSet collection.

The two reportedly were heading to Monaco to celebrate and spend time with Kris' family on a planned vacation.

As we previously reported, Kris popped the question last week with one question written out in rose petals: "Will You Marry Me?"

The two have been dating since November 2010.

see more : http://www.toofab.com/2011/05/26/kim-kardashian-engagement-ring-kris-humphries-lax-photos/