And a big hello to the knuckle-heads at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for doing what I had previously thought impossible – making me feel sorry for fashion designer and “personality” Alannah Hill.
For those coming in late, PETA in the past have;
* Claimed a spate of shark attacks were “revenge”*,
* Stated parents who fed their children meat were indulging in “child abuse”,
*Said people who bought animals from pet shops were guilty of “genocide”** and
* Nude up at every single protest, thus forcing the world to witness more skinny white vegan flesh than is recommended***
PETA – go away, just go away.
As Morrissey once said “that joke isn’t funny any more”
*Revenge for what, they don’t say. Maybe the sharks were forced to watch Jaws 3
** Or possibly “petocide”.
*** Recommended safe viewing level of skinny white vegan flesh is currently set at zero.
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PETA have certainly managed to spend all goodwill and credibility they may have once possessed, by engaging in protests against ridiculous themes (eg. rename fish 'kittens of the sea'), adopting such extreme positions as to turn off the average person, and trivialised the subject of animal cruelty by stripping naked for any and every photo opportunity.
While I agree with some of PETA's objectives, I think that they are doing extreme harm to the worthy causes they espouse by these stunts and their promotion of their much less worthy causes.
I have a coat with a fur collar. I said to the guy when I bought it, "Is this real or fake fur?" He paused for a bit and said, "Do you really want to know?"
"S'pose not," I said and bought it.
I tell people it's fake though.
The Manbull currently has a touch of the PETAs, in that he thinks every crazy-sounding stunt is good if it give him publicity.
Well, no.
Sometimes less is more.
The Manbull currently has a touch of the PETAs, in that he thinks every crazy-sounding stunt is good if it give him publicity.
I don't know about that at the moment Ramon. I think he'd like to crawl into a deep hole for a while. At least he's got the long break now and his troops are "rallying behind him". What a load of crap they speak.
I wonder if he had any money with Bernie Madoff?
WSPA is a much more respectable organisation.
Man should be allowed to eat meat, drink milk and wear leather, but I certainly don't like animals being mistreated. I don't mind the idea of eating a chicken that's had a pleasant life pecking at insects and scratching in the dirt, and was killed humanely.
I've never understood why its not okay to wear fur but okay to wear leather. Both of them are the skin of an animal. I cant see the difference.
Why arent PETA out picketing in front of leather furniture stores?
Also, a dead animal should be turned into something useful rather than incinerated (eg. nz possum, rabbits, uk foxes - all animals treated as pests and eradicated).
I don't mind the idea of eating a chicken that's had a pleasant life pecking at insects and scratching in the dirt, and was killed humanely.
They're yummier, too.
Kitten - PETA doesn't like leather either.
Kitten, I think the general perception is that animals producing fur are treated worse than cows (or other leather providers) grazing contentedly in a field. This is, of course, subjective and who knows if it's even true. Allanah Hill might personally raise the mink on bottled milk and stroke them lovingly. But I guess probably not.
NZ possums are wild. Does this make them okay to wear then? Or sit upon (I really want a possum rug!)
The Manbull currently has a touch of the PETAs
Careful, you don't really want to see Malcolm CockNBull stripping off to make a point of order in Question Time, now do you?
Allanah Hill might personally raise the mink on bottled milk and stroke them lovingly.
It's always important to lovingly bottle-feed your mink before clubbing its brains out and stripping its pelt.
No, Boogey, I most certainly do not.
Julia now, on the other hand...
"I tell people it's fake though"
Many years ago, I told my then-BF that my shoes were pretend leather. I only lied because I was vegetarian and he was going to start saying, 'But you wear leather shoes'
But oneday I forgot that I lied (that's the problem with lies) and it came out that these shoes were real leather and that I'd lied
Anyway he threw a big fit and said that if I had lied about something like the animal content of my shoes then what else had I lied about blah etc blah
We're carnivores (well omnivores) and as such we eat animals. As a wise man once said, "If we're not meant to eat animals, then why are they made of meat?" That said however we're also civilised and compassionate creatures, or at least I like to think so. Senseless cruelty is anathema to most people and killing an animal (or lots of them in the case of a mink coat) purely for self indulgence is a bit (lot) distasteful. But even that is not in the same league as what is done to sun bears for example.
PETA has some fair points, but as has been said already they fuck that up with their extreme bullshit.
I've never understood why its not okay to wear fur but okay to wear leather
My understanding was that the cows were killed anyway for meat and the leather is a by-product wheras minks, baby seals etc are killed only for their fur. It seems a significant difference to me.
People eat seals. So seal fur is okay so long as you kill them for the meat first?
If you farm an animal with the sole intention of killing it, what difference does it make what you do with the carcass?
Its so hypocritical to say that killing and wearing a calf or lamb is okay but killing a seal isnt. If you are against wearing animal skins you should be against wearing any animal skin not just those that are convenient targets because you cant afford to wear them anyway.
Granted kitten, it gets tricky. I wonder what mink meat tastes like? Also the cuter the animal, the less we're allowed to kill them. Chickens and tuna are ugly, but whales and baby harp seals are cute.
I dunno. This debate is making me hungry. I think I'll have a salad sandwich. With free range, not battery lettuce.
NZ Possums are Australian migrants and in NZ are considered pests. Culling them, like culling rabbits, foxes or feral pigs here, is considered the right environmental response.
NZ Possums are Australian migrants and in NZ are considered pests.
Much like NZ immigrants in Australia.
Oh come on, somebody had to make that joke.
I remember reading the tale of some rather stupid animal lib types in the UK in the 90s who released a stack of mink intended for the fur trade into a forest. Within a couple of weeks, every mammal within mink travelling distance in the forest was dead. It turns out minks are rather murderous little sods who will eat pretty much anything.
Possums are a complete ecological disaster in NZ, so being able to sell the fur is a good thing. A lot of effort is being put into developing that market, so I suspect the animal welfare aspects of the industry are being watched very closely. Australia should be trying the same thing with foxes.
My feeling is that people should be able to take what they want from farmed animals, provided the animals are reasonably well treated (I find what they do to geese to make pate a bit bloody sickening). Wild animals generally shouldn't be trapped or hunted for commercial purposes (the only possible exception I can think of is some fishing). Pest animals are open slather.
I sometimes feel like organisations like PETA just can't win. Good causes just seem to attract fuckwits.
Oh, and happy 40th Perseus.
For a while there TB, I thought you were talking about this.
Oh yeah I forgot, Happy Birthday!
People eat seals. So seal fur is okay so long as you kill them for the meat first
If an animal is going to be killed anyway for food, or to cull numbers, I have no issue with using the body parts. I dont think anyone has mentioned sheep skins here which is exactly the same argument as leather and perfectly acceptable if you eat the meat. Not that I actually own any leather.
Baby seals are not generally killed for food. Full grown seals are hunted in specific regions and cultures. If we are going to discuss whether eskimos can kill adult seals we should also be questioning whether aboriginals can hunt turtles or kangaroos.
Endangered species should of course not be hunted.
My coat with the fur collar is Japanese, which is why I don't want to know what sort of fur it is. The Japanese dig killing blue whales and eating live monket brains, so my fur could be anything, including Geisha pubic hair.
Weird relationship with the animal kingdom, the Japanese... but then again, they gave the world Melt-Banana (coolest band on Earth) so I forgive them for all barbarity.
MonkeY.
If we are going to discuss whether eskimos can kill adult seals we should also be questioning whether aboriginals can hunt turtles or kangaroos.
I don't particularly care for the idea of killing animals for sport or because of some old tradition; but if people are cold or hungry and wildlife is plentiful, I don't really see a problem with it. I don't think there should be any sort of trade in wild animals though. It just seems to me to open up too many avenues for abuse.
Products from kangaroos that need to be culled anyway because of unsustainable population growth (pest animal), should of course be sold.
Also, hasn't 'Eskimo' become a derogatory term these days?
eating live monket brains
I always thought this was a myth about the Chinese. Or a scene from a stupid Harrison Ford movie.
Alex, I met a guy who did it in Japan. Ate the monkey brains. Not straight out of the head though. They got the brains out of its head and cooked them at the table. Sick fucks.
or a scene from a stupid Harrison Ford movie.
Oh, you're cruisin' for a bruisin', young mister Alex, insulting one of the greatest action heroes of the last half century.
Health risks aside, I don't have any problem with eating an animal's brain or even cooking it at the table; but removing it without killing the animal first (as I assume was the case here) is indeed sick. Not to mention the affect that sharing a table with a convulsing, screaming, bleeding, spitting, pissing, shitting monkey would have on your appetite.
Boogeyman, I didn't say it wasn't a fun movie - and I don't imagine that even you could convincingly argue that it wasn't stupid.
They didn't kill it at the table. they killed it out the back, brought back just the head, and prepared the meal from there.
Monkeys are just too much like us for me to be confortable with eating them. 'Reason' is irrelevant - this is an emotional issue.
I'm sure it was Hong Kong where they did the monkey brains live at the table thing. The Chinese are known for using every part of the animal. Of course the idea of eating an animal while it is still alive is dreadful. But while we are judging the Chinese on their inhumanity to animals perhaps we should stop to consider our own method of killing say . . prawns? How about using live bait? And why are battery eggs still legal in this supposedly advanced country?
'Reason' is irrelevant - this is an emotional issue.
While I doubt I'd have much trouble eating a dog, a cat, or even a monkey, I imagine that I'd probably struggle with an ape or a dolphin on the same grounds (even if they weren't endangered).
Patchouligirl, I could very well be wrong, but as far as I know the 'live' monkey brains thing is just a myth about the Chinese. I don't mind standing in judgement of battery bears though (as Wari mentioned before).
I have a suede jacket with a possum fur collar that was my grandmothers in NZ. I didnt understand the horrified looks I got when I told Australians that it was possum fur. I only found out later that the things are a protected species here!
I also have two rabbit fur jackets I got in China. Full fur coats are exceptional, you cannot feel a thing through them. I challenge PETA to take their protests to places like Russia where everyone wears fur (and now I know why, it keeps you warm like nothing else).
So long as I'm not contributing to the death of a species I will eat or wear anything.
Apparently pet food is made from the carcasses of euthanased cats and dogs and horses - yet we feed that to our pets without a second thought.
In other news, I fell for the hype and bought an OzLotto ticket- my first lottery ticket in probably twenty years. Cost $13. May as well have chucked it in the gutter.
If I win $90,000,000 dollars, you can all have $100 each.
They were dead monkeys - duhh. The brains had clearly been chilled for dessert, then were being served using the heads for bowls. A classy touch that even Master Chef or Iron Chef could appreciate.
Also, the brains were bright red, whereas mammalian brains are grey, so clearly they had marinated the brains in red cordial prior to chilling, as is the custom down Pankot way.
I don't imagine that even you could convincingly argue that it wasn't stupid.
So define stupid then. Sure, it had an implausible premise, but that's the core element of most movies anyway. I would argue that it was a more intelligent movie than most, because it had a) tightly plotted action, b) consistent believability in spite of its inherently implausible plot elements, and c) in kept the audience engaged both for the whole movie, and retains its appeal for many re-viewings for many decades.
Anyway he threw a big fit and said that if I had lied about something like the animal content of my shoes then what else had I lied about blah etc blah
What else had you lied about? It's okay, you can tell us, we won't tell anyone.
perhaps we should stop to consider our own method of killing say . . prawns? How about using live bait?
Let's not forget the humble carrot or pea. How barbaric is it to dunk them in boiling water? I mean, sure, it's all well and good to make them all sleepy in the freezer first, but ... still. Shudder.
They were dead monkeys - duhh.
Shit. It's probably been 'many decades' since I last watched one of those films. I'll admit I'm a little fuzzy on the details.
So define stupid then.
I string of fairly silly action sequences interspersed with scenes designed to set up fairly silly action sequences, held together by a highly implausible and somewhat incidental plot and populated with paper-thin characters.
I'm aware this description covers just about every action/adventure movie ever made (and if you substitute the word 'scary' for 'action' you get just about every horror movie ever made) - seems to be just the nature of the beast. I'm actually quite a fan of the 'stupid' movie - or at least I was. I don't think I've seen one I liked for about 15 years.
I'm guessing my mistake here was in not considering that my definition of the term was non-universal. That'll teach me.
So long as I'm not contributing to the death of a species I will eat or wear anything.
That's what contributing to the death of a species IS.
it's all well and good to make them all sleepy in the freezer first
Prawns don't go from the ocean to the boiling pot via the freezer EMS.
If I win $90,000,000 dollars, you can all have $100 each.
I read somewhere that you're 4 times more likely to be hit by lightning than winning lotto. Still I'll take the lazy hundred if you get up.
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