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Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

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191–200 of 311 posts

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Think of it this way. If you suddenly lost the ability to speak and didn't have fingers or arms and all you could do was swim, bump around, and bite things, you'd probably act a lot like a fish, but you'd still love and feel emotions like a human, we'd just have no way of knowing. We are extremely arrogant (and oddly so, in my opinion) in our assumption that "lesser" species don't have consciousness or that they have…

wait... Descartes disemboweled live dogs?!?!

It appears so. What a filthy guy. Don't read if you don't have the stomach for it

https://blog.timesunion.com/animalrights/descartes-and-anima...

Gary Francione (Introduction to Animal Rights): “Descartes and his followers performed experiments in which they nailed animals by their paws onto boards and cut them open to reveal their beating hearts. They burned, scalded, and mutilated animals in every conceivable manner. When the animals reacted as though they were suffering pain, Descartes dismissed the reaction as no different from the sound of a machine that was functioning improperly. A crying dog, Descartes maintained, is no different from a whining gear that needs oil.”

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ya I'm troubled by this too. I'm really into bodybuilding but the human body simply can't recover unless it eats beef/salmon/eggs/chicken/etc at least one or more times per week, especially after the minor injuries that inevitably come with lifting weights. As a general rule, I never eat mammals that are omnivores or carnivores, so pigs and anything higher in the food chain are out. Veganism is a little unrealistic I…

>for example the desertification in the west is due to cow and sheep ranching No, the west was a desert long before ranching. I'm not sure what you meant here but I think you'll need to be a bit more specific or provide a reference to what you're talking about.

In fairness, it's not well known - but - you are actually the one that's wrong in this case. The loss of biodiversity is pretty staggering in the west, especially in the high desert country of the northwest in states like Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

It's not so much about precipitation but loss of biodiversity. For example where I was born, there was a 10 foot tall sagebrush forest covering most of southern Idaho a century ago. There were streams every few miles with more than enough fish and wildlife to support thousands of Native Americans. That's all been replaced with cheatgrass as far as the eye can see and a 5-10 foot drop in the water table so all high desert streams are essentially gone and the area can no longer support life. Rodents, cats and even people have contracted the plague:

https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/elmore-county-plague-c...

This was mostly due to widespread cattle and sheep grazing on public lands. Livestock ate all of the native vegetation so the topsoil ran off:

https://www.uexpress.com/new-republic/2015/2/6/the-cowboy-an...

Many groups like the Snake River Alliance and Idaho Conservation League work to reduce overgrazing but in conservative states like Idaho it's a constant battle with state and local governments. The BLM tends to cater more to ranchers and big agribusiness companies like Simplot than to conservationists.

I could write for pages about this but will just leave this link as a starting point:

https://www.google.com/search?q=idaho+high+desert+conservati...

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#193

When I was a child, a school teacher showed me this hoax video of flying penguins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dfWzp7rYR4 . Unfortunately, for a brief period of my childhood, I was under the assumption that penguins could indeed fly. By the time I had uncovered my teacher's subterfuge, I had already made a fool of myself by publicly positing that such penguins existed. Admittedly, my teacher was only playing a p…

"When I was a child" [posts video from 2008]

Ouch. Now I feel really old...

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#194
post #8

> It's technically illegal to have a wild animal as a pet in Brazil, as officials want to ensure vulnerable creatures don't get separated from their families and that they can be reintroduced into the wild after injury. Same where I am. I've wondered, though. What constitutes a pet? For example, I give peanuts to the wild squirrels around my house. This is not illegal where I live. It is illegal, however, to keep a w…

I'm going to say something that people probably won't want to hear, but I hope to justify it and convince others of it as well. Don't feed wild animals. The difference between a pet, and a wild animal is that a pet owner takes responsibility for the wellbeing and actions of a pet. Feeding wild animals is detrimental to their wellbeing. They become accustomed to people, and not all people are nice to animals. You won'…

I thought it was quite common to see signs up telling people not to feed wild animals, particularly in very populated areas like city parks?

I'm guessing it is fairly common knowledge already and not that unpopular of a statement for you to say.

With that said, it is fun to feed animals, so I can understand the appeal. We used to take loaves of stale bread and feed the ducks down by the lake growing up.

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or they might just scratch you and run off, then you get to have rabies treatments. Either way, no fun.

Squirrels (and others rodents) virtually never get or transmit rabies, so that’s not really a concern. Source: am DVM.

Rodents "virtually never" transmit a disease that virtually always kills you, and consequently doctors virtually always send you to rabies treatment when bitten by rodents (but it's not as bad nowdays, just standard shots).

Source: was bitten by rodents.

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know you already know, but just posting in case it helps someone else. Be really careful about letting a squirrel get into a closed area with you, or even too close to your body. If they feel threatened (which they will once they realize they are trapped) they will f--k you up. This happened to an acquaintance of mine and he has permanent eye damage from it. They may not seem like it when they are gracefully and ha…

My immediate thoughts were: > Squirrel used scratch... > It is super effective... I really should stop playing Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu.

Scratch is a normal type move, and can't be super effective ;)

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know you already know, but just posting in case it helps someone else. Be really careful about letting a squirrel get into a closed area with you, or even too close to your body. If they feel threatened (which they will once they realize they are trapped) they will f--k you up. This happened to an acquaintance of mine and he has permanent eye damage from it. They may not seem like it when they are gracefully and ha…

My immediate thoughts were: > Squirrel used scratch... > It is super effective... I really should stop playing Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu.

Of course, Scratch would never be super effective!

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been vegan 20 years. Big, socially-censured changes can seem daunting, but anyone who says you can't eat well, and easily, is fooling themselves. You either live your values, or come to terms with being part of what you don't like about the world.

Not what I was saying. Eating meat is natural, it's been for cosmic ages, and to an extent I have no issue with that. The mass globalized consumption does bother me. I reduce my consumption. I might try vegan but I'll surely miss all the meat based products. Maybe I'll find a middle point by breeding, killing producing it myself so at least I did it on my own, think what you want, there's a form of respect in that. I…

Why not set yourself the challenge of only eating ethically farmed animal products? I think you’d find this ends up leading to a mostly vegan lifestyle unless you’re willing to devote considerable time and money.

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#199
post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been vegan 20 years. Big, socially-censured changes can seem daunting, but anyone who says you can't eat well, and easily, is fooling themselves. You either live your values, or come to terms with being part of what you don't like about the world.

Even in the growing and harvesting of plants, large amounts of animals get killed in the process. The moles underground, the rabbits and hares that eat the plants, the rats and snakes that shelter in the piles of harvest etc, they all have to be killed en masse to ensure a good harvest. Given this fact, veganism appears to me like a refusal to accept the reality that this world is a harsh one full of chaos. I prefer…

This is a common logical fallacy used to justify your current lifestyle. Veganism is not about moral purity, its about the tangible impact of your actions.

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#200

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> "Dindim" is a slang for money in Brazil, but in a very cute way. Just curious, the way it is pronounced in the video it sounds similar to "Ching ching", which is also slang for money in English (sounds like a cash register opening). Is that the same idea in Portuguese?

I don't think it's purposefully so... "Di" sounds more like "Ji" (with a short i) in most accents

It's only a Ji in Brazilian Portuguese accents. In other accents (most notably continental Portuguese), Di is pronounced like Dee.
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