Cobra

As a result of termination, former employees are no longer eligible to participate in the company's group health insurance coverage. When employed, the individual had received as an amenity to employment there the opportunity to participate in the group health care coverage. If the employee were to go at it alone, the chance of applying for singular coverage is slim and the monthly fees for dental and health care coverage would be enormous. However, by participating with a largish entity such as a corporation, the individual gets a discounted rate, since there are so many healthplans coming out of that one group. COBRA allows for the continuation of that established health plan, but without the discounted rate.

You're the disease. Meet the cure.

I haven't seen this flick since the late eighties, but as I remember it is so amazingly stupid it's funny. It has the kind of acting that you feel bad for the poor actors. The plot makes "any episode of "Starsky & Hutch" seem like Hemingway by comparison" as one review said and I can only agree. The characters, the dialogue, the plot and the whole production are so stereotyped and full of clichés that it's ridiculous.

Cobra was released after the hugely successful Rambo in 1986, and was an attempt to create yet another hero following Rocky and John Rambo. Similar movies from this time are:

• Rambo
• Commando - Arnold Schwarzenegger
• Predator - Arnold Schwarzenegger

Cobra is based 10 floors underneath Cabinet Office at 70 Whitehall and linked by underground passages to 10 Downing Street. Physically it is a suite of secure rooms containing a bank of telephone lines, fax machines, computer terminals, video conference facilities, and other state of the art communication equipment. Enabling the Prime Minister to obtain the vital information of the day and secure lines of communication to the police, army, hospitals, and all other relevant branches of government.

COBRA has been opened for previous crisis such as the Kosovo campaign of 1999, the Fuel Protest of September 2000, the Foot and Mouth Crisis of spring 2001. With such unique set of circumstances - from dealing with the millions of rotting carcasses to get the fuel and lifeblood of the country pumping again - COBRA has proved it's immense flexibility.

After the September 11 attacks Prime Minister Tony Blair did not initiate Cobra, but set up a War Cabinet instead which is a much more traditional institution for dealing with possible major attacks upon the United Kingdom itself in "wartime". However the same above facilities are most certainly being used under it's jurisdiction instead.

The cobra, part of the family Elapidae, is probably the most immediately recognizeable genus of snake in the world. The trademark hood, which is flared as a defense mechanism in order to make the creature appear more menacing, is created by an extension of ribs about the head. They are also the most feared and deadly group of venomous reptile. The snakes' habitats range from the Philippines to Southern Asia and Africa.

There has been much debate among taxonomers regarding the differentiation between the African and Asian varieties of the snake. Venom researchers had noted differences for a relatively long time, but were unable to base them upon any sound systematic framework. Only recently, devotion to taxonomy on the parts of field researchers has made differentiation somewhat clear-cut.

Species are outlined below.

Asian Cobras, previously universally classified as naja naja, have been separated by field researchers into many sub-species. Despite the fact that they rarely attack without provocation, Asian Cobras are the cause of thousands of deaths each year in northern India. They have taken on an almost religious signifigance there, and are thus almost never killed.

African Cobras are probably more publicized than Asian Cobras because of more profound differences in appearance and behavior. Notably, the king cobra is the only species of snake to build a nest for its young. It does so by scraping together leaves and other fodder. King cobras are also the largest poisonous snakes in the world, averaging in at a length of roughly twelve feet.

• King cobra--Ophiophagus hannah, or Hamadryad
• Spitting cobra--Naja nigricollis
• Egyptian cobra--Naja haje
• Water cobra--Naja boulengerina
• Tree Cobra--Naja pseudohaje
• Pink cobra--Naja pallida
• Shield-nose cobra--Naja aspidelaps

Co"bra (?), n.

See Copra.

© Webster 1913.

Co"bra, n.

The cobra de capello.

© Webster 1913.