Coffee and Provocation
- Are Liberals more evolved?
According to some egg-head study "human evolution may have a big influence on whether you're liberal or conservative—not to mention how smart you are, whether you believe in God, or whether you've got a cheatin' heart." Right. I am a liberal and even I do not believe this nonsense. But of course that may be because I am so damn smart, being a liberal and all. Pardon me if I am skeptical, but here's the link for the gullible.
- The Royal Bahamian Potcake:
It started out as a joke, but now it's a breed. This is a very different story from all those dogs that started out as a breed, but ended up as a joke. Read all about the newest "rescue dog" creation of the Bahamas. Hat tip to Sean O'Q for this one!
- Do Great Whites Love Calamari?
Great White Sharks may be majors consumers of Giant Squid.
- Boning Out an Elephant:
In Zimbabwe, where hunger stalks the countryside thanks to the vicious politics and failed policies of Robert Mugabe, an elephant died after crossing the border from Mozambique. The locals butcher it out in under 2 hours, and 24 hours later, even the bones are gone. A story in pictures, with humans as locusts with knives. At least this dead animal was put to good use. No mention of why it died.
- It Only Hurts When They Bite:
Liz Palika discovers vicious dogs on a military base -- and owners that have been shoving the problem under the family rug for years. Training a dog is one thing, but rehabilitating vicious and aggressive dogs is different, and the clock is on.
- Cesar Millan on the Limits of Altruism:
In an old article in Salon, Cesar Millan opines: "Most of my clients say, 'Well, my dog is my soul mate, but he wants to kill another dog!' So they achieve emotional energy or spiritual energy, but that doesn't mean the dog listens to them. You see? Dogs don't follow a lovable leader or a spiritual leader. We're the only species that has Gandhi. We're the only species that rescues other species: pandas, zebras, gorillas. The rest of the species won't. If they see somebody that's weak, they exterminate them."
. . . . For the record, this is not entirely true. Yes predators kill the weak of other species, but generally not their own species. Of course a dog is a predator, and a human is a different species, so .... (see previous story).
- Chicago Gun Laws, Reloaded:
The Chicago Tribune says Chicago's restrictive gun law has been a failure. It's always refreshing when people admit the obvious. So often, they don't!
- Irony Alert:
A 45-year-old woman, charged with ending a domestic dispute by killing her 26-year-old husband of FIVE DAYS, is a registered lobbyist for a group fighting domestic violence.
- Sing Along With Me:
"Woke up and it was a Chelsea morning, and the first things that I knew, it was .... Whoa, is that a coyote out there?!"
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I don't buy the great whites as predators of giant squid story.
ReplyDeleteThe only proven significant predator of giant squid are sperm whales,and sperm whales have massive sucker bite and beak scars.
I've not heard of any great whites with these injuries. I have heard of great whites with bite marks from other sharks. In fact, male sharks bite the females on the head while they copulate. I've also heard of them with injuries from attacking elephant seals. But I've not heard of any with sucker injuries or beak bite marks.
Virtually all sperm whales have these injuries.
They may be hunting smaller species of squid, but they really need to catch one and check its stomach contents. Otherwise, this is pretty bad speculation.
And Cesar is wrong about something:
Have you ever heard of the dog who rescues cats?
http://www.ginnyfanclub.com/index.php
Who says a cougar won't kill a healthy young man?
ReplyDeleteThe "liberals are more evolved" thing has been bouncing around for a few years. More like wishful thinking. People who grow up liberal and become conservative and vice versa - explain that. I suspect some people have too much grant money. I also think too many people - especially academics - confuse higher education with higher intelligence.
ReplyDelete"Royal Bahamian Potcake"? LOL, nice touch, Bahamas. "Potcakes" exist on every inhabited Caribbean island I've ever visited, and I know the Turks and Caicos have had a rescue for them for a number of years.
ReplyDeleteIn planning our move to an area fairly heavily populated by coyotes, I've been looking into livestock guarding dogs. I think I've narrowed the search to one breed, but if anyone here has wisdom, please LMK and I'll send you my email address, thanks.
Seahorse
Hi Seahorse, my friend with goats did everything right raising his Great Pyrenees as flock guardians; his female worked excellently with the goats, until the day she had some surgery and recovered in the house for a day. Never again would she stay with the goats- would go through the electric fence, anything, to get back to the doorstep and wait to get "home". Off to a pet home she went. Now he has Anatolians, which he says do not really even want to come in the house; and not very interested in interacting with people. His male/female pair have a great system that seems instinctive- the female is first to alert to predators, and heads to the top of the hill; all the goats follow her closely. The male dog starts running the perimeter of the pen to find and threaten the predator.
ReplyDelete