The Activist Thread

The Tigers - the biggest cat on earth. Some people think it can be trained as a pet and many end up captive, neglected, used for entertainment. And those that are wild are getting pushed out of their natural habitat by deforestation and agricultural overexploitation.

In order to prove that tigers are way better than humans, Big Cat Rescue team sets up this hilarious contest between their man, Brian, and the stripped puss! Have a laugh and remember to fight for conservationism:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hamlPCInPdo

I loved the face of the tiger at the end: "This is the dumbest thing I have ever seen."

 

A controversial (of course, as anything with Michael Moore) documentary about the public health care system in the US versus the UK, France, Cuba and the rest of the Western world. A truly painful journey, especially with the cases of 9/11 volunteers.
Sicko, as must see:
http://www.tvokay.com/documentary/Sicko.htm

I really liked what he said at the end, with the problem being that we have too see each other more as as "we" than as a "me", and herein lies the problem and solution.

 

Watch these amazing creatures, the dolphins, playing around with air bubbles turned into circles. They are one of the most beautiful and intelligent mammals on Earth:
http://www.glumbert.com/media/dolphinbubble

And now imagine how a lot of people (especially Japanese), look at that vid and think of sushi:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Whaling_in_the_Faroe_Islands.jpg

 

UNAIDS and the WHO (World Health Organization) estimate that AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognized in 1981, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Despite recent, improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 2.8 million (between 2.4 and 3.3 million) lives in 2005 of which more than half a million (570,000) were children.
Globally, between 33.4 and 46 million people currently live with HIV. In 2005, between 3.4 and 6.2 million people were newly infected and between 2.4 and 3.3 million people with AIDS died, an increase from 2003 and the highest number since 1981.

See the map of HIV prevalence:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/HIV_Epidem.png

Go to http://www.unaids.org/en/ - Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS to find out more.

Every 10 seconds, someone dies of an AIDS-related illness. See this great awareness-raising ad:
http://www.lepoison.com/sidaction/

 

Un documentar socant despre copiii institutionalizati din Bulgaria, cu imagini ce din pacate au ecouri familiare noua. Imagini ce par desprinse din anii '90, imediat dupa revolutie - o saracie si ignoranta absolute. Bulgaria este tara europeana cu cei mai multi copii institutionalizati, si este membra cu drepuri depline a Uniunii Europene.
Produs de BBC, merita vazut, desi imaginile sunt foarte dureroase:
http://www.totallycrap.com/magazine/comments/bulgarias_abandoned_children/

 

A cute clip:
Why can't we be friends?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ortolan_Bunting

[image=http://www.vogelwarte.ch/db/pictures/5670.jpg]

The eating of the ortolan has ethical eating groups baying for blood. First, it is caught with a net in the forest. Taken alive, its eyes are poked out and the bird is put in a small cage. It's then force-fed oats, millet and figs until it has swollen to four times its normal size. Then the bird is drowned alive in fine cognac. Then, it's roasted whole, in an oven at high heat, for six to eight minutes. Once it reaches the table, a napkin is placed over the eater's head. The technique of eating the ortolan is to put the whole bird into the mouth, with only the beak protruding. Here sadism mingles with masochism. The first taste as you crunch on the bird is the brandied flesh and fat. Then, the bitterness of the guts follow and finally, as the tiny, delicate bones are being chewed on, they will lacerate the diner's gums, with the salty taste of the bleeding gums mingling with the richness of the fat and the bitterness of the organs. Chewing the ortolan takes approximately 15 minutes.

? The Connoisseur's Series, The Global Gourmet




Denny Crane

 

The Saudi masses were recently struck by a video clip that spread across mobile phones of an anonymous Saudi girl, kidnapped and raped by 5 Bengali men, the video shows four Bengalis tightly holding an adult girl despite her resistance and heart-breaking screams.

Read the story and see the video - WARNING: it contains images that can be hard to view.
http://arabilluminist.wordpress.com/2008/01/19/shocking-video-saudi-girl-raped-by-5-bengalis/

I am truly appalled that there are men out there who can do that, who can derive pleasure from inflicting humiliating pain in the extreme. I do hope they get punished to the full extent of the law - in this case is Sharia Law, so it will be harshest.

For more information about help to rape victims, visit:
http://www.rapevictimadvocates.org/
http://www.justicewomen.com/help_special_rape.html

 

Sometimes, things so revolting and dehumanizing happen that leave you lost for words.
Such as this:
http://www.glumbert.com/media/dogiraq

Who am I supposed to bash now? The US military? The Iraq troops surge that lowered the standards for military enlistings? The human race for being a mindless cruel killer?

I just... No.

Later edit: To expand on the devastating effects of the War in Iraq on the human side, check out these facts:
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/03/iraq_by_the_numbers.html

 

A very interesting, yet haunting vid: What would happen on Earth after the human species is gone? Check it out, a projection from National Geographic:
http://www.glumbert.com/media/afterhumans

Something struck me: it would take the planet over 100 years to recover from the present effect of global warming and the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere. 100 years in the absence of humans. That is the extent of the damage we have caused.

 

that's actually very fast. Credeam ca ar tine mult mai mult.

 

Probabl ca plasticul ar ramane mult mai mult.

 

Actually the whole infrastructure would exists far longer than that...and the influence on climate is permanent, though I suspect it will 'try' to resume its normal course (see asymptote).

 

Hey, you guys! This is incredible!
http://www.glumbert.com/media/penguins

How weird would it be to walk around the beach, palm trees, sun, coconuts and... penguins?!

 

Pai daca stiu sa zboare, inseamna ca au scapat de toate problemele legate de inghetatul puilor.

 

You gotta love kitties! And the engineers' sense of humor:
http://www.glumbert.com/media/engineercat

Meow!

 

In the name of all that there is humane left in us as a species, STOP SEAL HUNTING!
See how the clubbing takes place and wonder what can those people be feeling or thinking to get to this point (aside from economic issues related to profit, and lack of education and such, on a more personal level, how can someone do this?):
http://www.totallycrap.com/videos/videos_canadians_do_seals_clubbing/

Shame on Canada for continuing this barbaric exploit under global outcry and shame on us for not being able to stop it!

 

Da it's a sport!
Like curling...only with seals.
And a pick-axe.

 

@Chantal: Lasa ca-s romanii niste ingeri (precum cel care te-a atacat in parc). Crede-ma, daca aveau ai nostrii acces la bietele animale, aceasta specie ar fi disparut demult. Hai sa-i lasam pe canadieni, sau macar sa nu extrapolam la o natiune intreaga. Ai vazut pavilionul vasului respectiv? Eu nu. Sincer, mie imi par rusesti. Doar astia ar fi avut tupeul sa-si continue aceasta activitate in timp ce erau filmati dintr-un elicopter. Legat de combaterea acestei practici, paza de coasta canadiana macar ii vaneaza in permanenta. Romanii ar fi fost partasi, impartind profitul. Nu are sens sa ma contrazici, fiindca imi cunosc prea bine marfa.

 

N-am zis nici ca romanii sunt niste ingeri, nici ca populatia din Canada este devil's spawn. Ci ca, este o barbarie ca guvernul Canadei mandateaza aceasta activitate, si in fiecare an stabileste o cota de vanatoare care este prea mare pentru populatia de foci Harp care este si asa in declin datorita incalzirii globale, adica se topeste gheata mult prea repede, cand puii sunt prea mici si nu pot inota, si se ineaca. Stiu ca in declaratiile oficiale ei spun ca metodele de vanatoare sunt atent verificate sa fie "humane", dar asta nu se intampla si a fost documentat video de foarte multe ori, in special prin eforturile Humane Society.
Si in acest context, cota de vanatoare continua in fiecare an, practicile sunt la fel etc. De aceea spun "shame on Canada", adica shame on its administrative system.
Si evident, pentru ca sunt fan South Park. (aceasta propozitie contine o logica impecabila, cei care n-o sesizeaza, sunt devil's spawn. Am zis.)

 

I ate a wabbit yesterday. Ma rog...ziua dinainte de aia....o fost buuuun.

 

A truly touching vid about Buffy, a superb tiger and the people at Big Cat Rescue who made its life the best one possible, under the circumstances:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TfmrixdjbI

Rest in peace, king of the jungle.

 

isn't the King the lion?
Or Elvis?

 

Yeah, but in Africa the lion lives mostly in the savanna, and in Asia the tiger liver mostly in the jungle. They are both kings of their turf. And the lion is king of all beasts.

 

Congo - one of the poorest countries in the world, yet a goldmine (literally) for the international bling trade. See a heartbreaking short documentary:
http://www.glumbert.com/media/congominer