When I was about 13ish living in NJ, my friend and I decided to head down to the railroad near the Delaware river.

To get there we decided to go down the steel steps that ran down the hillside in our town. There are two flat platforms along the way and when we reached the first one we spotted a boy who, we knew from the area, coming up the steps in our direction.

His name was Ken. Ken had a mental disability but he was harmless. A friendly and defenseless kid that was about the same age as us and about a head taller. As he was coming up the steps I wondered what he would do if I punched him in the gut. A total sucker punch that he wouldn't see coming.

I knew he wouldn't retaliate so I decided I would do it.

As he got within range, without warning, I punched him right in the gut hard.

How he reacted and the painful look on his face instantly brought regret that, to this day, I still live with. Many years later I made an effort to find Ken and tell him how sorry I was for my violent, unprovoked actions that day. How much of an asshole I was and hope he might forgive me. I found out he had died just a couple of years back.

I think about how that punch may have changed him forever. How it may have destroyed his trust in people and planted a fear within him that I was responsible for.

Sometime later, when I was alone, I cried that day with that vision I saw on his face and I can still see it now and feel it in my gut as I write this.

That day had changed my life forever at his expense.

My Uncle used to work at the animal control facility at Mirabel International Airport North of Montreal. I visited him when I was young and he would have all manner of exotic animals at his house (parrots, a chimp, etc).

At one point someone, I kid you not, tried to smuggle in a cub Mountain Cougar. Algernon was confiscated and put into my Uncles care.

He ultimately took on ownership of Algernon. When I was just 7 years old I remember visiting him and being chased down and scratched by young Algernon. He was cute, but those claws let you know what he would grow into.

Fast forward another 7 years and my Uncle moved to Ontario close to our town. We would visit every now and then and see Algernon. At his maturity he was 15 foot from head to tail. He would live inside the house in a converted room for his needs with a huge cage door. He would spend time outside on a very long, very fortified run. To feed Algernon my Uncle would open the door to his room, close it behind him and deliver the food. My Uncle is all 5' 4" tall, but you wouldn't know it. Algernon would put his front paws up on my Uncles shoulders and you would just hear my Uncle in a slightly annoyed voice "shoo" Algernon off like he was a pesky kitten trying to jump on him for dinner.

I remember sitting at the foot of his cage door looking into his eyes. A few things I learned... never look directly into a large cats eyes and never... never turn your back to a large cat.

Algernon eventually went on to a wildlife preserve that took great care of him until end of life... although not lucky to be taken out of his habitat he sure was well kept post smuggling.

@ChaosEngine.
Yes, and I have heard Alabama Shakes..., definitely not on the radio though. The internet is giving some artists a venue that didn't used to exist. Which is awesome.

We have ten radio stations in our town of 100,000. And they all play the same stuff. The playlists are so small, I hear the same songs over and over. Even the classics station repeats the same 20 songs over and over. There used to be privately owned Stations, but they've all been bought out by the bigger corporations, and now they only play the "Approved" list of currently trending catalog songs.

I guess I'm becoming Jaded.

The issue is they made it impossible for charities to comply by requiring permits AND they must supply port-a-potty's AND can't be within 500 feet or 1 block of another charity OR 500 feet from a residential property, among other new requirements. They did this clearly in order to 'starve the homeless into not being homeless', or in it's supporters words..."Hunger is a big motivator. Are people more likely to seek help when they're hungry or when they're fed and happy?" (fed and HAPPY?!? ) or...Ron Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, told city lawmakers "Feeding people on the streets is sanctioning homelessness,"... "Whatever discourages feeding people on the streets is a positive thing." It is NOT a food safety violation or issue. It's a 'get the homeless the fuck out of our town' issue.

Here's the long-list from a famous -hacked-to-bits and otherwise forgotten document's grievance rider which seems a poignantly appropriate reason enough to want to shove a vote up someone's ass and rotate it:

Of King George:

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Someone needs perhaps to revise the list and start hoarding ammunition and conscripting, because methinks the "vote" be fast-resembling, fuck-all. I don't vote and I am damn sure not going to be quiet any time soon...Average Joe and Jane voters have already effectively been "opted out."

When I was in grade school in the 80s, they came to our town and did a low altitude pass-over that covered most of the city. No jet escort, though.

You're wish is my command

http://videosift.com/video/Emmy-Lou-Harris-Transatlantic-Sessions
>> ^deathcow:

would like to hear some ELH from this same gathering
some youngg ELH http://videosift.com/video/Emmylou-Harris-Pancho-and-Left-1977-live

http://videosift.com/video/OMG-I-must-see-this-Film-Wim-Wenders-Pina-trailer

Oh Bea... this just rocked my world. I just sent the link to the local art cinema, begging him to bring it to our town.

This is the real deal, I'm thinking....

>> ^Sagemind:

Red foxes are predators that instinctively hunt birds, small game and animals as large as sheep. goats and small calves. It is doubtful it could be trusted around small children and definitely not other pets.


You could say this about -every- dog in the entire world. I wouldn't trust my Jack Russles alone with my cats or my young nephews even though the dogs are good natured, they are still animals. Think we should mass kill every single dog? Extreame, but a damn good point. This fox was obviously rescued as a pup and the owner has shown it such love. I applaud. Foxes have a horrible stereotype, remember that we made foxes what they are by extending our towns and cities further and further into the countryside, making a huge mess as we go. Theres bound to be urbanised foxes, because lets face it, routing through bins is going to be easier than catching your dinner.

And foxes don't go for fully grown healthy sheep it's too much effort and a waste of time. They're cunning, remember, they'll only go for the easies. The sick and the old and the newborn. Yeah it's a pain, but it's an occupational hazard for anyone keeping lifestock.

The reason people die from "lack of medical care" is because getting treated without insurance is difficult and expensive. There are a numerous ways be uninsured negatively effects your life and health. I know this from personal experience. I will only mention here a few instances that I directly experienced.

When I was about 16, my mother was on leave from the post office after getting injured. My father worked at a school as maintenance. His insurance didn't cover me, and my mothers was suspended while she was out of work, so I was left uninsured. I was goofing off in the woods and tripped on some old lumber and get a rusy nail in my calf. Nothing serious, just a small wound that needed 3 stitches and a tetanus shot. We went down, waited several hours, and then was taken care of. (the wait time is due to the fact that my local hospital is terrible, not my lack of insurance) After a week, my mother got the outrageous bill for something around $1100. There were all kinds of insane fees tacked on. There was even a fee for it being a Sunday when I went to the emergency room. With my mother out of work at the time, money was pretty tight and this was a big problem for the family. I was supposed to return about 2 weeks later to have the stitches removed. This was going to cost another $200 or so, and we just couldn't afford it. My mother and I ended up waiting till I was supposed to return and have them taken out, and just did it ourselves. Now, removing 3 stitches from a healed up leg wound isn't a big deal. We did it no problem. However what if something had gone terribly wrong. Or what if it wasn't just 3 simple stitches but something much more intricate. Having to spend another $200 would have forced us to cut back on things like FOOD. These are the decisions uninsured people have to make. Getting treatment or paying rent. Getting your prescription filled or eating that week. I'm sorry, but those are not decisions people should have to make. I'd also like to point out, my family wasn't poor. We were lower middle class. There are a lot of people that were worse off than we were.
Another example was only a few years ago. My father was at work, he tends bar now, and randomly passed out. (No he was not drunk, his blood sugar was very low, and they told him he may be hypoglycemic) He woke up a few seconds later, but was put in an ambulance and taken to the ER. He was admitted, they drew some blood, did some tests, and told him to eat a candy bar and sent him home. Fast forward a week or so and he gets the bill. Over $5000. Roughly $700 of it was for the ambulance ride, from the volunteer ambulance core in our town to the hospital, about a 10 mile, all highway. Luckily for my father, he doesn't have a mortgage or rent to pay as the house he lives in is paid for. Never the less, he would send in a payment each month. As much as he could spare, and it still took him well over a year to pay if all off.
I understand that treatment costs money. I understand there are supplies, utilities, payroll, and other costs required to run a hospital or doctors office. I just feel, that people should be able to go to the doctor without having to worry about if and how they are going to pay for it. In a modern country, with all the money and power we have, no one should ever have to choose between food and care. It's insane.

Guys, you got it right with the collagen theory. She came in our town as a public speaker, talking about the dangers of facial surgery. One of her best catch-phrase was : "MmmmMmmmmMMM mmMM mmmmmM"

Sad, but at the end of the day what do you expect Israel to do. Hamas fires puny little rockets at Israel because they need a state of conflict in order to get into power. Israel has no option, like any country, but to react to the shelling of any of its towns.

Exactly what kind of argument is telling your electorate that you are not using your military might because 'only a few of our civilians have died when they constantly attack our towns, but were not going to try to take them out because we might hurt their civilians'.

At the end of the day, its simple - Hamas stop firing rockets and none of this would have had to happen. But Hamas are more interested in staying in power by creating tension with Israel than having a peaceful situation where Fatah would propser.

Brilliant.

Not an elephant, but a fire ant, likes his Kant and runs around on a plant.
He loves his crown of much renown and wears it all around our town.
He's made of stars and he's all ours.
Congratulations and salutations are required, 'cause many a sifter he has inspired.

I tip my hat to our queen or king and if text could, this would sing. ♫

I was hoping Scooter would use the Force to chase away them lolcat posts. What's up with all these cat videos, seriously?
I'm sick of cats. The place I rent now has this big yard and ever since some Albanians opened up a kebab stand on the corner it became like a shelter for every homeless cat in our town. I'm sure it's a lot of fun for them (we call this particular hyperactive example "Ferrari" cause of his impressive accelerations), but after a year or so everything smells like cat pee to me. As much as I admire their ability to procrastinate I'd rather not be living in an epicenter of this feline twilight zone with cats eating, pissing, chasing small birds or each other and fucking in some very imaginative places (like my roof) night and day.

>> ^Fedquip:
FWIW - Your trying to attract attention to a discussion about Animal abuse, perhaps changing the title so that it is about animal abuse, I agree with MG on this one. Maybe title is something like "Marines performing animal abuse" (or something like that.)
Sift Talk is a community center let's show some respect for our fellow sifters.


--- With that said, I don't think anybody should be asked to change a title of something they submit to Videosift, be it a blog, a Channel Talk or a Video Submission, its your writing, its your work.

This case is special, TRBM submitted this with the sole intention to submit it to Sift Talk and have a discussion about Animal Rights abuse and how we as a community should handle those types of submissions. Sift Talk is like our Town Hall here and when you submit here you should keep in mind the best interest of all Videosift.

Personally, I understand how the title was meant to provoke, but I don't think it was needed to fuel this discussion. We can now see that the title has solely caused this thread to de-rail.