The PETA people are truly nuts. I'd ask where this ends but clearly it would never end...
SAN DIEGO: A federal judge for the first time in US history heard arguments Monday in a case that could determine whether animals enjoy the same constitutional protection against slavery as human beings.
US District Judge Jeffrey Miller called the hearing in San Diego after Sea World asked the court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that names five orcas as plaintiffs in the case. PETA claims the captured killer whales are treated like slaves for being forced to live in tanks and perform daily at its parks in San Diego and Orlando, Florida.
This case is on the next frontier of civil rights, said PETAs attorney Jeffrey Kerr, representing the five orcas.
This is the next frontier of Orwell's worst fears...
Sea Worlds attorney Theodore Shaw called the lawsuit a waste of the courts time and resources. He said it defies common sense and goes against 125 years of case law applied to the Constitutions 13th amendment that prohibits slavery between humans.
With all due respect, the court does not have the authority to even consider this question, Shaw said, adding later: Neither orcas nor any other animal were included in the We the people ... when the Constitution was adopted.
Miller listened to both sides for an hour before announcing that he would take the case under advisement and issue his ruling at a later date. The judge raised doubts a court can allow animals to be plaintiffs in a lawsuit, and he questioned how far the implications of a favorable ruling could reach, pointing out the militarys use of dolphins and scientists experiments on whales in the wild.
Kerr acknowledged PETA faces an uphill battle but he said he was hopeful after Mondays hearing.
This is an historic day, Kerr said. For the first time in our nations history, a federal court heard arguments as to whether living, breathing, feeling beings have rights and can be enslaved simply because they happen to not have been born human. By any definition these orcas have been enslaved here.
While Mr. Kerr is all wound up about 'enslaving' animals, the Left has no problems with enslaving people to the will of their progressive masters.
The issue is not about whether the animals have been subjected to abuse, the defense said. If the court were to grant orcas constitutional rights, Shaw warned the ruling would have profound implications that could impact everything from the way the US government uses dogs to sniff out bombs and drugs to how zoos and aquariums operate.
Were talking about hell unleashed, he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/08/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Will the honorable Mr. Kerr call Mr. Ed to testify as an expert witness on animals being forced to perform? Wilbur? Wilbur?
#2
Since when were animals mentioned in the Constitution? Are they equivalent to humans? Could I marry one (assuming it were the opposite sex, of course)?
#6
Gorb- rest easy, now in CA and in the 9th Circus Court one can marry the same sex horse. Next stop, I'm gonna marry my son so the Gov't can't get at me with their confiscatory inheritance tax.
Posted by: jack salami ||
02/08/2012 7:52 Comments ||
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#7
I can't believe the court actually had a hearing. It should have dismissed the suit immediately and assessed court costs.
(PS - what about all the "enslaved" bacteria in my gut? They are, after all, doing my bidding.)
#10
Peta can't see past their own noses. If you want to teach a kid to treasure wildlife, the kid needs to see real animals. Pictures in a book or videos just don't have the same impact that dealing with real living creatures has. Without hands on (or at least close up) experience, young people think of wildlife in the abstract, and are less likely to care what happens in nature.
Also, without zoos, an awful lot of species go extinct. Zoos keep the gene pool fresh for some imperiled species. See, for just one example of many, the European Wiscent, or native bison, preserved for 50 years at Brookfield Zoo in the Chicago area before finally returning to the wild after the Iron Curtain crashed down.
#11
This nonsense will end when a judge disbars a lawyer for bringing such an insane case into court. Then the next lawyers will think twice. Even if its overturned by the 9th such a ruling would humiliate the lawyer.
#12
I am wondering if we can go to court to rule that the people in PETA do not have rational thought and can not be allowed in society since they are a danger to themselves and others.
#15
This nonsense will end when a judge disbars a lawyer for bringing such an insane case into court.
The lawyers often have to hold their noses in order to get paid well to do their job. I don't blame the lawyers, I blame the idiot(s) who accept these kinds of cases.
#16
Does that mean we can claim our pets, rodents, and insects as dependents on our 1040? Will they be required to get Social Security numbers? Be drafted into Obama's 'civilian army'?
If you have 10 acres of land, and the estimate is about 10K insects per acre (guessing).... do you get to claim 100K dependents on your 'Earned Income Credit' form?
#21
Re: Animal and idol worship. Animal worship has been around for thousands of years. When animal worship/protection becomes law is when that nation has reached an all time low.
[Bangla Daily Star] Greece was hit by a new 24-hour strike yesterday called by the country's biggest unions to fight a new wave of austerity measures currently under negotiation with the EU and IMF. What part of "you're broke" don't you understand?
Under the slogan "That's enough, we can't take any more", protesters were set to converge on Syntagma Square in Athens, a landmark of Greek anger against austerity measures from the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... and International Monetary Fund.
The strike was called by Greece's biggest unions, including the private sector GSEE and the civil servants' union, Adedy.
Around 5,000 people late Monday braved a torrential thunderstorm and strong winds to took part in protests in Athens called by the unions and left-wing parties against the austerity measures.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2012 00:00 ||
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No, they really don't, it's just a guerrilla action to buy time...
ATHENS, Greece: Greece's coalition government caved in to demands to cut civil service jobs, announcing 15,000 positions would go this year, amid mounting international pressure to agree on austerity measures needed to secure major new debt agreements.
The announcement Monday signals a shift in Greece's policy, as state jobs have so far been protected during the country's acute financial crisis, which started about two years ago. Public Sector Reform Minister Dimitris Reppas said the job cuts would be carried out under a new law that allows such firings.
Unions have called a 24-hour general strike for Tuesday, in response to the new austerity measures, while about 4,000 protesters braved torrential rain late Monday to join protest rallies organized in central Athens by left-wing opposition parties.
Greece is racing to push through the painful reforms -- which have yet to be agreed to by Greece's coalition partners -- to clinch a 130 billion ($170 billion) bailout deal from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund and avoid a March default on its bond repayments.
I wouldn't call it a 'race'...
Debt-ridden Greece has been kept solvent since May 2010 by payments from a 110 billion ($145 billion) international rescue loan package. When it became clear the money would not be enough, a second bailout was decided last October.
As well as the austerity measures, the bailout also depends on separate talks with banks and other private bondholders to forgive 100 billion ($131.6 billion) in Greek debt.
The goal for the Greek government is to lock in the haircuts for the banks without having to implement any of the 'austerity' measures...
The private investors have been locked in negotiations over swapping their current debt for a cash payment and new bonds worth 50 percent less than the original face value, longer repayment terms and a cut in the interest rate to be paid on the bonds. Greek government officials say they expect private investors to take an overall cut of up to 70 percent on the value of their bonds.
That's quite a haircut.
However, the EU-IMF bailout has to be secured for the deal with private investors to go ahead as about 30 billion from the bailout will be used as the cash payment in the bond swap deal.
Greece's coalition party leaders pushed back a key meeting on the austerity measures by a day until Tuesday, due to the ongoing negotiations with EU-IMF debt inspectors who were locked in talks with the government Monday. The leaders have already agreed to cut 2012 spending by 1.5 percent of gross domestic product -- about 3.3 billion ($4.3 billion) -- improve competitiveness by slashing wages and non-wage costs, and re-capitalize banks without nationalizing them.
The Greek GDP is about $340 billion, and their debt is about $450 billion. They're going to cut $4.3 billion? That's nothing. For that they get $130 billion in debt forgiveness. That's a lot.
Which means all the squealing and crying is for show. In the end they're getting a 30:1 return on their cuts. That assumes that the cuts are real, which they won't be; the haircuts of course will be locked in on day one.
Creditors are also demanding spending cuts in defense, health and social security, a cut in the minimum wage, as well as the civil service layoffs, as European pressure increased on Greece to make more concessions.
The government has promised to reduce the 750,000-strong broader public sector by 150,000 by the end of 2015, but has so far insisted it could reach that target through staff attrition.
"We are opposed to indiscriminate firings," Reppas said. "The work force reduction is strictly connected with the restructuring of services and organizations at each ministry."
Officials at the Public Sector Reform Ministry gave no details of the new plan, nor would they say how many of the job cuts would be compulsory.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/08/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
The haircuts will get still worse. And the spending cuts will come, when they can't find any more suckers to lend (give) them money. Of course something similar will eventually hit our shores too. So far we're being subtle about it by effectively devaluing savings, but there's only a finite amount to devalue and when they're gone the money will have to come from ??? Increased taxes? Then when that runs out? Bottom line everywhere is 'that which cannot continue forever, will not.'
#3
We've been doing that in the US of A, BP, for many years. That's why the bridges and highways - which could "pay their own way" - are now crumbling, and there is no money to take care of them or replace them.
Our railroads did that for years, peaking in the 70's and 80's, but now they are in tip-top shape. Since they were de-regulated in the 1980's.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/08/2012 11:16 Comments ||
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[Dawn] President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... on Tuesday said Pakistain was committed to early implementation of Iran-Pakistain Gas Pipeline Project in order to meet the ever growing demand of the country for energy and power.
He said the government was also pursuing a trade liberalisation policy across the border and proposed for elimination of tariff and non tariff barriers between Pakistain and Iran to further boost trade ties and realise the true business and trade potential.
The President said the recent agreement between the two countries to work towards expanding Pakistain-Iran Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) to include additional items from both sides and making it an agenda item for the next meeting of the trade committee was a welcome move to enhance trade links between the two countries.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Two non-tradeable currencies. Wonder how long it will be before the Iranians get fed up providing Pakis with free gas?
[Dawn] Pakistain Moslem League-N (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... said on Tuesday his party would bring about a real and practical change in Pakistain and put it on the road to progress and prosperity.
Addressing students during a ceremony here at Bahauddin Zakariya University, Sharif said the PML-N had brought about changes in the country during its previous tenures.
He said that some elements were raising hollow slogans for change. "Efforts are being made to change cultural values in the name of politics," he added.
He further said the PML-N had a revolutionary thinking as it had showed it in previous tenures by launching different development projects.
Sharif claimed Pakistain was ahead of India during his previous tenures. "Our both governments were dislodged due to a revolutionary stance of the party. The PML-N would compensate for injustice to people of the country," he added.
The PML-N chief said his party was ready to spend a huge amount to educate the masses.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2012 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The first polio ...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set... case of the year in Kohat has been confirmed, raising questions about the performance of health department, polio teams and the district administration.
"The polio disease in three and a half years old Shazia has been confirmed on Monday by the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, to the local administration in a letter Polio-PRL/1-12-554," said an official.
Dawn learnt officially from the World Health Organisation's Kohat office that the girl had been affected with polio and the result of her younger brother Adil's test report would be received soon.
Last year, a case was detected in Bostikhel area of Darra Adamkhel, a nearby semi-tribal area, and now the first case of 2012 had been confirmed in area of Kohat, hardly a kilometre away from the city centre.
Father of Shazia, Wazir Khan, who belonged to Kurram Agency ...home of an intricately interconnected web of poverty, ignorance, and religious fanaticism, where the laws of cause and effect are assumed to be suspended, conveniently located adjacent to Tora Bora... and is residing with his family from last one decade in Mangal Bibi area, Urban-5 Kohat, claimed that no polio team had visited their area during last several years.
They were threatened with death, so they stayed away. Talk to the people who threatened -- ideally with a considerable number of well-armed cousins.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2012 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... -Fazl politician Mufti Kifayatullah and another holy man were charged with the murder of a man, who was killed in exchange fire between two religious groups on Eid Miladul Nabi here on Sunday.
Mohammad Waseem, an employee of education department, was killed and 10 other persons sustained critical injuries in the firing incident outside Sunari Mosque in Loharbanda area at Karakoram Highway. Police on written complaint of Maulana Abdul Malik lodged FIR against MPA Mufti Kafaitullah and Maulana Fazal Bari.
Maulana Abdul Malik in his FIR stated that Maulana Abdul Bari fired at procession after being instigated by MPA Mufti Kifayatullah, who was present inside the mosque when the incident occurred and Mohammad Waseem was killed instantly.
Eyewitnesses said that tension gripped the area in the morning when one of the groups made announcement through loudspeaker, asking people to come and restrict mobility of procession outside the mosque while the other blocked the Karakoram Highway for over two hours. Both the groups had targeted each others with bricks and stones in 2011.
Eyewitness said that police restricted one of groups from proceeding towards Sunari Mosque but it breached the cordon as a result of which both sides exchanged fire.
"Now situation is under complete control and law would take its due course against those involved in the killing," District Police Officer Ijaz Ahmad Khan told journalists.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2012 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The first democratically elected president of the Maldives resigned yesterday and was replaced by his vice president after the police and army clashed in the streets of the island nation amid protests over the arrest of a top judge.
Mohammed Waheed Hassan, who previously worked as a top UNICEF official, was sworn in as the new Maldivian president in the afternoon. Soon after, the judge was released.
In a televised address, Hassan promised to protect his predecessor, Mohamed Nasheed, from retribution and called for the chaos in the streets to stop.
"I urge everyone to make this a peaceful country," he said.
His announcement came after Nasheed appeared to have lost the support of the Indian Ocean nation's military which, according to army front man Colonel Abdul Raheem Abdul Latheef, had advised him to step down.
"The president on his own initiative came to the military headquarters for advice ... on whether he should resign and then he got the message," Latheef said.
"Okay, okay already! I quit! Stop pointing that at me!"
He added that Nasheed was now in his residence and "not in detention," despite demands from some opposition leaders that he be placed in military custody.
Nasheed presented his resignation in a nationally televised address after police joined the protesters and then clashed with soldiers in the streets. Some of the soldiers then defected to the police side.
"I don't want to hurt any Maldivian. I feel my staying on in power will only increase the problems, and it will hurt our citizens," Nasheed said. "So the best option available to me is to step down."
A presidential official described the unrest as "an attempted coup" by former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who Nasheed turfed out of power in the country's first democratic presidential elections in 2008.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2012 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Fat Bob Unotch3711 ||
02/08/2012 02:38 ||
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#1
George Galloway...what's he sayin now. Dumbshit is, as dumbshit does.
Posted by: jack salami ||
02/08/2012 7:45 Comments ||
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#2
Interesting maybe, but not astonishing. No real admission of guilt, but confirms manipulation and B. S. justifications. Same kind of crap I see here.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Greece was hit by a new 24-hour strike yesterday called by the country's biggest unions to fight a new wave of austerity measures currently under negotiation with the EU and IMF.
Asif Ali 
Nawaz Sharif
[Dawn] The first 
[Bangla Daily Star] The first democratically elected president of the Maldives resigned yesterday and was replaced by his vice president after the police and army clashed in the streets of the island nation amid protests over the arrest of a top judge.
