Morning Roundup: Goodbye, Abe Edition
D.C. Police Seek Suspect in Series of Bank Robberies
Suspect in 9-Year-Old's Murder Found Dead in D.C. Jail
Photo of the Day: November 25, 2009
Ballou HS Rocks the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Animal rights group PETA has submitted an application to Capitol Police to set up an actual pig pen on the steps of the Capitol, complete with fans to blow the odor of urine and manure toward lawmakers, The Hill is reporting. PETA, long known for its aggressive tactics to promote vegetarianism and protect animal rights, hopes the display will drive home the point that the recent worldwide swine flu outbreak is linked with hog farms.
"Meat has long been linked to heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer, but disease-breeding factory farms could be the death of us all," PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said in a statement. "The best way to protect animals and our own health--individually and globally--is to go vegetarian."
The group is also erecting billboards with similar messages. Here's what PETA is asking to include in their proposed display at the U.S. Capitol:
- A total of 3,500 1-gallon buckets of pig manure and urine to represent the 3,500 tons of polluting animal waste that the average factory farm produces each year
- Large fans to send the odors wafting throughout the plaza
- Three "pigs" in narrow metal crates to represent the 3 million mother pigs who are so severely confined that they are unable even to turn around or take a single step in any direction
- A video showing PETA's undercover footage taken inside factory farms of pigs who scream as workers cut out their testicles and teeth without using any painkillers, cut notches in the animals' ears, and much more
- A banner that reads, "Ban Factory Farming--Go Vegetarian. PETA"
- A stand for distributing copies of PETA's free "Vegetarian Starter Kit"
Think they'll get the pig pen permit from the Capitol Police?
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Talk about bad timing!
Dude, you better hide. They might mistake you for an escapee. Sorry my cure didn't work.
I am in hiding in my pork lair.
Here we are trying to contain they outbreak, and they're driving the monkey to the airport!
FAIL.
Wow. Thoughtful and deep. Keep 'em coming, CHW!
no, they won't get the permit, but the underlying idea has merit. the unhealthy method of factory farming of livestock, especially in less-regulated locations in countries like mexico (less regulated than things supposedly are here in the USA) just gives diseases like this an even better opportunity to become reality.
end factory farming.
The likelihood that this strain of flu virus was caused by unsanitary conditions is very low. AND, here the fun part, if the pig that was host to original mutated bird/swine flu strain had come from a factory farm, he/she would have been inoculated.
Here is how it most likely went down. An uninoculated not-from-a-farm-factory pig with the very common swine flu came into contact with a bird flu and the viruses merged... said pig, while still sick, came into contact with a fluey human and all three viruses merged.
It was a bizarre genetic anomaly that had nothing to do with trendy pet political causes like factory farming or International Monetary Funds or baby seals.
Granted, if pig farming was outlawed, then this would have been unlikely, or farming alltogether, or better yet, Mexican procreation, then we wouldn't be in this mess right now.
Wow- Mexican procreation? Even if joking, that was bad. The inoculation of large quantities of animals is exactly what causes, stronger, more virulent strains. Flu Vaccines are modified yearly, for livestock as well and there is no way to inoculate against all the permutations which may occur. Try getting some info from the NIH rather than the Minutemen. Even joking, wow.
guest guest: first off, i hope you (bad) joke about mexican procreation was just that—a really bad, offensive, tasteless joke.
secondly, wouldn't it be likely that the tight quarters (and extremely high population numbers) in a factory farm would give viruses the perfect "breeding" ground to mutate into many different, potentially more virulent, forms?
third, i would argue (though i'm not a doctor, of course) that the inoculations are part of what led to the ability of a virus like this to rise. it's kind of like anti-bacterial soap. sure, you kill off 99% of germs, but the 1% that survives is the stuff that has a built-in immunity. without the need to compete with other "bugs" in the environment, these "superbugs" become the dominant form, spread, and wreak havoc.
The link to animal industries is undeniable. One-third to one-half of pigs on modern farms have antibody evidence of the H1N1 virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The reason: overcrowded pig farms create the perfect reservoir for this virus to replicate, creating new and more deadly strains. Once a pathogen emerges, it is spread by farm workers and the transport of livestock.
As an omnivore and good "Christian" lad, I love my pork. I hate my Jesus but I love my pork.
And I love a good steak. That said, I also love those PETA bastards. I respect their perspective. They're at least conscious. And don't say they're not.
Large fans to send the odors wafting throughout the plaza.
They already have these. They're called "Smithsonian Metro escalators."
they should also cage three of the fattest tourists on the Mall along with buckets of their manure, rare undercover videos of them taking showers, a banner reading, "Stand on the Right You Fat F*@!", and a free "Home Liposuction Kits".
If they do, I'm gonna eat a bacon sandwich right in front of them.
I hope the ameircan bread council opens up a stall next to it. Cuz I wants me a pork roll.
So us Capitol Hill residents that are already vegetarians that will inevitably have to smell this too are just shit out of luck (no pun intended)?
Ahhh! A fat juicy BLT smothered in mayonaise with thick strips of bacon and crispy lettuce. Here lil piggy. Ya done good. There now lil piggy. CHOMP!
It's time for Piggly Wiggly to hire a lobbyist. Install a day-old, slightly burned hot dog roller in the capitol.
They can just collect buckets of piss from the tourists that will be pissing themselves when they see an actual pig at the height of swine flu madness.
Can't we just put the tourists, the pigs, the PETA people, and all their $hit and pi$$ in one big goddamned bucket and call in an air strike? WTF did we buy the Joint Strike Fighter for anyway? Everybody involved needs striking, and it's been years since I've had a joint. Come on, people! We voted for CHANGE! And sometimes that change involves low altitude tactical strikes, white phosphorus, and a hail of raw sewage and exploded jerk parts. It's what Jesus would have wanted, if we hadn't nailed him to that tree. Sorry about that, dude. We're still cool though, right?
i wanna party w/ you.
Aww man! The batteries in my PIGMAN signal light have died.
Can somebody do me a favor and use theirs to signal him...
oh never mind. I'll ring him on his cellphone.
I think the smell from Congress would bother the pigs.
They're building Code Pink a new home?
"The best way to protect animals and our own health--individually and globally--is to go vegetarian."
No, the best way to protect animals is to subsist on a diet of rainwater and tree bark until you DIE and decrease the surplus population.
Anybody else getting tired of smug jerks from the right/left wing telling you how to live your life? I mean, no sooner do we get rid of the conservative jeebus people telling us we're going to hell if we enjoy buttsecks, we have to deal with a bunch of clowns who are trying to convince us that bacon isn't delicious. Well, you know what I say? I say go f**k a falafel, that's what I say. And I can hook you up. I make the tzaziki fresh with lots of mint and cucumber.
You tell 'em man. Bring back the Centralists!
didn't O'Reilly try to fuck a chick with falafel?
PETA is the Jerry Fallwell of vegetarianism. I can't stand either extremo-crazies.
"The best way to protect animals and our own health--individually and globally--is to go vegetarian."
The part about this that I never understood is how going veg would protect farm animals. Most only exist in the first place because they were bred to be food. It's not like there's millions of wild cows, pigs, or chickens, or even the fallow natural resources for them.
Whoa- basically the idea is that they will not longer breed, and simply cease to exist- there will be no more farm animals to suffer. It's not like anyone advocates massive breeding programs for the broiler chicken to roam around in the plains. I believe what some condone with the vegetarian "approach" is that; The populations of these "service animals" would drop to almost nothing. Thus the less suffering, and less environmental demands.
Besides most of what we raise for food can not even breed naturally, or live long enough, a lot of varieties have been bred to require human intervention.
So instead of actively trying to restrict the supply of food stock animals, PETA is working to motivate a negative demand for meat. Kinda like Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" and the drug war. Wait. What?
"Negative demand for meat" is also what happens when clueless guys hit on lesbians.
Actively preventing the supply of food stock animals- good one, but negative Meat Demand does sound like a Lesbian Punk band from the 83'.
The point they want to make is true, and can not be argued: Eating meat is not a necessity but an entertainment, it is an activity that causes massive suffering to living things, it is highly polluting, wasteful of energy, and the next pandemic will likely come from a pig or chicken farm.
But the bottom line is everyone still eating meat who is literate knows this, and they don't give a shit, and probably aren't really capable of it. So the whole thing seems as sad as discussing something like vegetarianism on a blog comment stream. Those who agree will nod in understanding, those who don't will walk by and laugh about eating more meat.
Word. Though I don't entirely agree with what you think all meat-eaters know. [Anecdotal evidence - I knew a guy who would scoff at vegetarians but was himself squeamish about eating chicken wing meat off the bone, he preferred nuggets.]
If everyone came in contact with the means to the ends that they enjoy, especially meat, it'd make for hilarious results. Imagine watching your everyday American try to cut off a chicken's head, or put a bullet between a pig's eyes.
True, eating meat is not a necessity. But it's not technically the act of eating meat that causes massive suffering to living things, pollution, and energy waste. It's the factory farming which has evolved out of the demand for lots of meat and low prices.
Sometimes I think PETA's goal is to make people hate PETA. Seriously, does this obnoxious, heavy-handed stuff really work on anyone besides extremists and college freshman?
I belong to PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals).
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
Why doesn't PETA stop animals from eating other animals? Speciesist jerks!
Carnivores have to consume meat to live. Omnivores, however...
Hitler was a vegetarian!
Seemed ripe for little Godwin.
Hitler gave lip service to vegetarianism as an example of an ascetic paradigm, but historical evidence would suggest that he would more likely be classified a "flexitarian" who indulged in moderate consumption of meat and poultry.
http://www.slate.com/id/2096259/Sadly, this comment suffers from a historic perspective imparted by The Watchmen more than any real historic evidence.
http://www.petakillsanimals.com/
At least you don't have to cite any sources in order to make any claims on the interwebz!
PETA’s “Animal Record” report for 2008, filed with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, shows that the animal rights group killed 95 percent of the dogs and cats in its care last year. During all of 2008, PETA found adoptive homes for just seven pets.
----
I assumed that the filing with the VA DoA would suffice.
There is no source for that number. And the link they provide contradicts that very statement.
Fudged numbers or not, at least they're going after PETA. Wise up kids, save all the people first.
Are you all so blind that you can't see that Swine Flu is an Al Keeda plot designed to sap, and impurify, our precious bodily fluids? Someone needs to get Col. Mandrake up to Burpleson AFB RIGHT NOW!!!
If the PETA folks get the permit, I'm gonna stand on the steps of the Capitol and eat me some maple-cured PETA vegan protester. Now that's good eatin'!!
I cancelled my ritual pig sacrifice out of respect for the victims of swine flu, much to the displeasure of the dark lord. Why can't PETA extend the same courtesy?
The ceremony only works if the pig's wearing lipstick, crotchless panties, and really expensive Japanese eyeglasses that make her look like an Alaska Governor. I've tried the cheap Chinese knockoffs from the street vendors and it doesn't work. Trust me on this. If you're going to throw a combination barbecue/black mass, you need to make the investment in a properly attired swine. Your guests and Lord Beelzebub are worth it.
On the subject of the "wrongy-ness" of eating meat, my question is doesn't lettuce scream when you cut it? Don't berries cry? Is it right to torture legumes? If all life is sacred, then why discriminate in such mammalocentric way?
Fuck you warm-bloods!
Yogurt enzymes also let off microscopic screams when consumed. And what of the millions of silent screams from the sperms as they perform their spastic, wriggling death dance on the cold, hard bathroom tiles? Who weeps for them?
That's right. Your mom.
I am weeping for all the cells forced to live on your body right now. That is sort of what I do, I am the patron saint of the silent screaming single cells.
While I think pigs shouldnt be mistreated whilpe they wait to end up on my plate does PETA really think that Congress doesnt know what is happening?
My biggest issue with factory farming isn't the pain and suffering, it's the homogenization of the quality of the meat being processed. There was a time when, if you wanted meat, you'd have to raise the animal yourself, and consequently slaughter it yourself in the fall. You'd salt the pork and beef to last the winter, roast the head for xmas dinner, and parcel it out so it lasted until spring. These tasks were licensed off to butchers who, up to a few decades ago, provided locally-grown livestock. But the massive growth of agribusiness, while generating exponentially more meat for consumption, has deteriorated the quality of that product to the point where it's practically tasteless. You've got chickens bred to have Dolly Parton-esque breasts so large, even if they were allowed to roam free range insted of being cooped up in a pen, they'd end up dragging their chests on the ground. The swine of today have no resemblance to the hogs of even a hundred years ago: they're bred to be super-lean and, consequently, almost flavorless. And almost nobody dry ages beef anymore, which reduces the moisture and consequently the mass, but creates the richest most flavorful meat imagineable. And don't get me started on the goddamned flavorless ethelene-treated tomatoes.
So, yes, factory farming is the meat equivalent of crappy Detroit assembly line cars like the Pontiac Bonneville. Instead of subsidizing an industry that's damaging people's health and the environment, we need to make local farm production more cost effective, to provide healthier, locally-grown, humanely treated livestock. But I'm sure PETA would be just as annoyed by something that might actually improve the life of farm animals, seeing as it's more about being smug and shoving their lifestyle down other people's throats.
I think some intern hacked into the Monkey account, because for a second there it was reasoned.
locally-grown, naturally fed, hormone-free, humane certification, etc., etc., is a cute concept for farm animals, and it is a far better approach. But the bottom line is calories from animal protein is still about 10 times more energy consuming than calories from plant material, the animal waste has to be put somewhere regardless, and more importantly with ~7Bil people on the planet and growing, it is a non-starter. In order to scale it out- it would require every piece of arable land available to meet the demands. If 4Bil people consume meat- it will take factories to meet the demand. But it is a great past-time for affluent people with some guilt, but not enough guilt to actually stop doing something. And local-happy animals are great if they make a person feel better about themselves and still enjoy the wonderful taste of bacon.
What you're failing to consider is that the number of meat eaters on this planet will never approach 7+ billion. That's because, if/when factory farming is eliminated, the vast majority of the planet's inhabitants will switch to a legume-based diet and consequently commit suicide rather than deal with the bloating and painful gas. Also, whatever methane content is reduced by the elimination of factory cattle farming will be more than compensated by the violent, explosive poo-gas generated by the billions of pinto/chickpea/soy consuming survivors. The sulphurous clouds generated by the ten most populous world cities would be enough to expand the ozone hole to the equator. Never mind the consequent rise in skin cancers and catarcts, most folks would be leaping out of windows to avoid having to go into any enclosed space. Mass transit would collapse as the ventilation system would be overwhelmed by the amount of toxic flatulence. Then there's the deafening roar half-an-hour after lunchtime. Children would smother their perpetually farting parents in their sleep. And that's in a best-case scenario where the poots aren't so corrosive that they burn through the government issued gas masks. Add some spicy wasabi peas and pickled eggs to that equation, and all bets are off.
Nice job accelerating global warming there, jack. Why do you hate humanity?
Monkey, you sound as though you are old school. I remember back in the day that chickens would be grown for the dinner table, fed with corn from the garden. Pigs were fed with table scraps, cows grazed in the green pastures. After my neighborhood was phased into the city limits, my father partner with a cousinof his that lived deep in the rural part of my town. And they continued to feed their families with good home grown food, meat and garden produce. Now, when I visit my town in S.C., I see hardly any gardening, growing livestock is a thing of the past. We are all slaves to ADM and the others. Ironically, I work for USDA.
I don't believe it's necessary for everyone to go vegetarian at all in order to cure the problem of animal abuse. I think that the elimination of domesticated farm animals is not a solution but a cop-out. (Cows, pigs and chickens, when raised properly and in the right conditions, can actually help the environment by fertilizing the land w/ their manure, preventing diseases from spreading by eating maggots and insects, and help diversify plant growth by eating certain grasses, rooting out others, etc., thereby promoting sustainability overall. Please check out The Omnivore's Dillema--great book.)
Personally, I decided to stop eating meat not because I hate the taste of steak, bacon, chicken, porkchops, etc. but because I could not bring myself to buy meat from a grocery store where I knew that the meat was coming from factory farms. I just didn't want my money indirectly supporting such disgusting treatment of the animals and the factory workers and generally the whole situation.
For me it's a temporary fix until I figure out where to buy humanely/sustainably grown animal meat... because I really miss bacon, porkchops, steak, etc.
I agree that PETA is a little too heavy-handed and extreme in their approach, but if it gets people thinking, at least that's something...
The thing is...PETA gets [itself] attention. It doesn't get anyone but the Amen corner thinking.
PETA can have their pen if I can have my BBQ spit.