May 2008
16 posts
7 tags
Battle begins over Arctic →
LEAVE IT ALONE YOU PIECES OF SHIT.
May 28th
6 tags
"Through its gross negligence, malfeasance and... →
Quote of the day, or something.
May 28th
11 tags
NewScientist.com: Six 'uniquely' human traits now... →
Culture “Mind reading” (assessing the mental states of other creatures) Tool use Morality Emotions Personality Any scientist worth a gram of his salt — indeed, any normally functioning human who has ever directly or indirectly interacted with living non-human animals — should be able to detect all of these things, because they are obvious. Yet scientists and lay...
May 24th
11 tags
Chemicals in sunscreen cause coral bleaching →
Humanism-capitalism: Solving problems by creating bigger ones since 10,000 B.C.E.
May 23rd
8 tags
Bush DOJ's "corporate monitors" ensure... →
From the NY Times (link in headline): The Justice Department has appointed at least 30 former prosecutors and other government officials as well-paid corporate monitors in arrangements that allow companies to avoid criminal prosecution, according to government data released Thursday by Congress. In the last few years, the Justice Department has turned more and more often to “deferred...
May 23rd
9 tags
Jobless claims down to their lowest in 4 weeks??... →
Especially for economic cheerleaders, closing the parameters of examination in order to make a preconceived point is a popular tactic. This technique can turn bad news — or, in this case, non-news — into “reason” for optimism… “reason” not to challenge… “reason” not to think critically at all. And so it is here. Jobless claims over the...
May 22nd
7 tags
But “we were unable to define the worth of... →
May 16th
9 tags
Anonymous officials: Polar bears to be listed as... →
This is a very positive development: the first time a species has been officially acknowledged to be threatened by global warming. Perhaps this amounts to another legal requirement to take action on climate change. On the other hand, you know it’s bad for a species when the Bush administration can conjure no excuse to avoid taking action, and they only did so because a lawsuit filed by...
May 14th
3 tags
May 13th
12 tags
WatchWatch
Another fine example of our brave young men and women.
May 10th
6 tags
May 8th
6 tags
Learning is present throughout animal "kingdom" →
Other animals — insects included — also learn over the course of their lives. While learning is often assumed to be beneficial, the ability/tendency can be a help or a hindrance depending on an animal’s circumstances.
May 6th
12 tags
Oh, the humanity. →
CNN’s Dan Simon, Chuck Afflerbach, and Saeed Ahmed: More than half of Yellowstone National Park’s bison herd has died since last fall, forcing the government to suspend its annual slaughter program. More than 700 of the iconic animals starved or otherwise died on the mountainsides during an unusually harsh winter, and more than 1,600 were shot by hunters or sent to slaughterhouses...
May 2nd
9 tags
"This is the one we're afraid of." →
JoNel Alleccia, MSNBC: Clostridium difficile (or C. diff) has long been a common, usually benign bug associated with simple, easily treated diarrhea in older patients in hospitals and nursing homes. About 3 percent of healthy adults harbor the bacteria with no problem. But overuse of antibiotics has allowed the germ to develop resistance in recent years, doctors said, creating the toxic new type...
May 2nd
10 tags
Human meat tastes like veal, apparently. →
Since taste trumps ethics for most meat-eaters, perhaps they oughtta give it a shot?
May 1st
8 tags
Albie and Woodstock Farm Sanctuary highlighted in... →
It’s always refreshing to read about a non-human animal being treated with due dignity and respect. Unfortunately, these stories emerge against a backdrop of routine human cruelty.
May 1st