@Oxen_Morale
yeah..i am struggling to see how this is a liberal thing.
this is about saving a baby elephant that would have otherwise perished.


this is admirable.

the simple fact is that this woman made a choice and realized the consequences and decided those consequences were acceptable.

should she just have left the baby to die? while having the resources,time and patience to nurture this baby elephant to health,and possible giving it a happy life?

i have saved:baby squirrels,muskrats,racoons,rats and adopted countless puppies,kittens and even birds on occasion.

should i have left them to perish as well?

i think your snap judgement was not very well-thought out.

were you aware there are elephant sanctuaries that accept retired circus elephants and former zoo elephants?

i bet this lady knows about them.so while your concern about this babies future is admirable,this woman knows what she is doing.

*promote Kitten stew!

i was a tad reluctant to post this video.
not because i didnt find it entertaining,because i did..this dude is off the rails with his passion and his rage,and i adore how he lays it all out.

no...i was reluctant because it is so obvious his bias and narrow interpretation of whats going on to fit his narrative,and i had a genuine anxiety that some of the sift would interpret my posting this as somehow representing MY thoughts on the situation in germany.

i was so unsure i went to a fellow sifter who i admire and respect very much,and who also happens to live in germany to get his take on this video (and if he found it offensive).

which he didn't and even offered up a very detailed opinion,not only on this video but the situation in germany (thanks @radx).

i don't really concern myself too much on if people feel offended.there is someone who will always feel/be offended and if i over-thought every nuance or detail,i probably would never post anything except cute kitten videos.

but the situation in germany is a clusterfuck and people are getting hurt,and i didnt want to come across as callous.

a main driving force why i posted this video is due to so many here in the states that are literally freaking out about 15,000 syrian refugees coming here,and this dude is part of that demographic.

my country has become a gaggle of bed-wetting pussies.

germany:population 85,000,000-refugee population 1,000,000

that is a pretty big damn influx of refugees,and it appears the german government was in no way prepared to assimilate that many refugees (thanks again @radx).

united states of america:population 315,000,000-refugee population (for the first year) 15,000.

and my country literally wet itself over that wee,tiny number.

so we get rants like this xenophobic bed-wetter.twisting the facts to fit his narrative,to feed his childish rage tantrum.

though it is a glorious rage tantrum.
hmmm tasty delicious rage.....

Looking forward to Follow It. I love the soundtrack by Disasterpeace. He did the soundtrack for the game Fez. Love that lowfi shit. And I love me some creepy ass horror with chilling moments made possible by a nerve wracking pace. You're right that It Follows... follows you into your dreams. Like Freddy.

But... I'm not sure it was my favorite film, nor my favorite horror film of 2015. I really enjoyed the horror comedy Scout's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse -- it had zombie boobies, zombie kitten paws under doorways; the entire theater exploded in various combinations of delight and disgust on multiple occasions, like monstrous audience-gasms. And it had a gorefest ending with scout crafted zombie killing machines reminiscent of the lawnmower scene in Peter Jackson's Braindead.

It is also my opinion that it was a more effective comedy than Kingsman. Scout's Guide had the audience roaring, which is such a great moment to experience in a theater. Laughter and screams? Top theater experience of the year. Better reactions than Star Wars even.

I don't know what I think about David Robert Mitchell (It Follows) or Chrisopher Landon (Scout's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse) as directors. Each have created a single horror gem reminiscent of 1970/80s horror but for different reasons. I hope they keep making movies like these.

@newtboy: Just to be clear, I really appreciate your comments. It's nice to talk to an omnivore who doesn't just respond with "I'LL EAT TWICE AS MUCH MEAT AS YOU DO TO MAKE UP FOR YOUR VEGANISM!" I'm trying to be objective, and I appreciate your attempt as well.

That being said...

I respect the genuine care you give to your animals. I didn't know you or your family (or both) owned such a farm. It does sound like you do, truly, meet their needs as animals. However, (and I hate to bring out the really controversial stuff), I'm sure plenty of slave-owners treated their slaves with genuine humanity. But that doesn't excuse the categorical enslavement of other beings. Despite all care given to those animals, they are still not able to live their natural lives as animals on earth. I don't see why our subjugation, no matter how "humane", can be considered anything less than "inhumane".

Now, the comparison to "most children in the world" is a moot one. Yes, of course everywhere there are going to be worse things happening. But the point is that we are rational, (hopefully) decent, higher-order-understanding-of-the-universe beings. Humans seem to like to cherry-pick when their huge brain is an excuse for greatness, or ignored and "we're just animals after all". So, just because there is suffering outside the scope of our influence, we do all have the ability to stop eating meat. Pretty easily, in fact, since there are tons and tons and tons of other means to get all the nutrition we need (not to mention way, way healthier means).

The point is that we are completely and totally (especially as upper-middle class 1st-world citizens) capable of not eating meat this very moment. You can't, however, change the living conditions in the slums of India by yourself right now.

And explain to me how mentally handicapped humans are not animals. What is the distinction? They are both objectively less intelligent. If anything, animals are more capable of surviving on their own. What makes mentally handicapped people any more special than animals? Just because they're human? That seems arbitrary. True, they should be treated differently because they are different animals, but I mean why should one be treated to our moral consideration and one should not? What makes humans so damn special?

And that "sustenance" argument is really, really misguided. As said above, you can eat an entire vegan diet and be probably even more healthy than an omnivore. And animals are not minimally suffering. Yes, a very cherished, rare group, as your animals are, are "minimally suffering", but many, many, many, many more are being horribly abused for that sustenance that can be gained elsewhere (with suffering of its own, truly. I always hear the "well, there are people given slave wages to pick vegetables in California". But, you'll be eating those vegetables and fruits anyway. That's an entirely other battle that needs to be waged in other ways, not through lack of consumption).

My assumption was not that 100% of farmers treat their animals inhumanely. My assumption was that billions of animals are being treated inhumanely. And the way parents treat their children is a red herring. That's not my argument at all. And again, it's outside the realm of my influence.

And to counter your last argument... my same argument above follows for the "food chain/web" argument. Once and for all:

We are rational, amazing, smart, complex and powerful beings on this planet. We have it within our power (each of us) to not eat meat. This is "against nature". But so is basically OUR ENTIRE CIVILIZATION. What makes us truly different from animals is that exact ability. To step back and choose our actions. Are you saying humans not capable of choosing their actions -- those with so much in the 1st world countries? That we're all forced to, by nature, to eat meat? That is the cognitive dissonance I speak of. That we're so special because we are rational beings, but at the same time we must eat meat because we are not rational human beings.

This entire argument was not endorsed by PETA, because they're a bunch of assholes -- but despite being assholes one can't argue that they have brought about change. Change comes from all angles. Grassroots, insane radicals, scientists, humanitarians. They all try to bring change in different ways and succeed influencing different groups. PETA's brazenness is its power. Large corporations, like McDonald's, must respond to such a power. Despite being assholes. Both of them.

--

I want to end on a note of humility -- that I admit to having that same cognitive dissonance when it comes to animals. As a cat owner, I often visualize the mound of turkey carcasses that both of my lovable kittens live on top of. And they truly are carnivores in that they cannot find sustenance outside of meat. How do I rationalize all the turkey deaths (my cats only exclusively eat turkey for some goddamn reason) just so I can have my lovable pets? I can't. And it kills me. Not sure if I'll get cats after they die.

--

Thanks for reading. That was a lot.

Precisely.

I've found it helps to introduce the cat to the dog when it's a kitten; doesn't matter what age the dog is, however, as every dog I've owned usually enjoys the introduction of a new kitten no matter what age it is.

Older cats, on the other hand... yeesh. You never know. They may have permanent grudges that end with a scratched up dog nose.

^ There appears to be a lot of sand in my vagina today! Sorry if that came across as overly harsh.

It would appear arguing with SJW trolls on youtube is harmful to ones soul.

Pretty sure I'm to some extent projecting my frustration with other similar styles of movement here. Though my underlying concern about such propaganda still stands I think. (& PETA can still more or less fuck off)


@iaui I have absolutely nothing against you and none of my vitriol was at all directed towards yourself. This was a perfectly legit thing to be sifting and I would hate for you to take anything I've said as an attack on yourself.

I'm not even sure it was really an attack on this specific movement, outside the insidious nature of it's propaganda.

It just left a bitter taste and much like I find myself having to stand up for people I deeply dislike and disagree with (re: freedom of expression). I also find myself having to take people to task even though I might like them or agree with the underlying premise of their position (a bad argument is a bad argument).

I'm now going to go away and watch frolicking kittens until I stop feeling like such a touchy twat...

Your video, Koko's New Kittens, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

This achievement has earned you your "Pop Star" Level 57 Badge!

Thank you for being you, schmawy. The world needs more genuine souls, not fewer.

Wish I could've known him better... but for comfort, the last time I talked to him, he gave a blessing to my new kitten, which I'll cherish.

"A bounty of kibble be upon thee. Let thou never be beset by tick or flea. Meowmen."

I'll be damned if I don't make that happen, and will love the shit out of him in your honor. Better luck on the other side, schmawy.

Eh, to my eye it looks like the dog didn't really do anything to the kitten. Lifted it up a bit and let it down immediately, and then just sniffed till the mother cat came in.

If the dog was going in for a kill, the kitten'd be dead, not standing and startled.

I imagine those cats are strays but yes, this looks extremely intentional and it's sickening.

The kitten appears to be unharmed but it's very difficult to know. It's absolutely petrified, doesn't even run away like its sibling.

This was a very difficult upvote, it can use exposure but the actual content is tearing me up.

Dumbass dog owner. Perfect example that he's not fit to own such a large dog. He can't control that dog.
Next time it's going to be a human or another dog, not a kitten.

Okay, now, w t f...

Did the camera person set up the cat and kittens with the dog guy just to film the cat's attack?

Was the camera person just there waiting for something to happen with the cats?

Why did the dog guy first start to enter the street then go back up to the sidewalk?

So much nonsensical business with this video it's hard to concentrate on the mama cat's attack.

Description:

Bengal sister-kittens automatic whack-a-mole

Making an appearance again after 13 years!

Our previous American Shorthair sister-cats used to love to play with this, but how will the Bengal sisters react?

I decided to record them while they take it out for test drive...