Day: November 15, 2004

Suzanne Cass on the "Jewish Race"

Sabina De Giacomo wrote a defense of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ “Holocaust On Your Plate.” Australian animal rights activist Suzanne Cass posted De Giacomo’s defense, and added her own thoughts,

One would expect, since the Jewish race has undergone so much suffering, that it would have more compassion for animals when they are slaughtered for
Jewish consumption (with reference to no pre-stunning). It is a stranger [sic] God
that these people believe in.

Suzanne

Australia

Draw your own conclusions.

De Giacomo’s defense of “Holocaust On Your Plate” takes the Holocaust argument to new levels of nuttiness. It turns out that spaying or neutering your cat or dog is the same thing as eugenics! According to De Giacomo (emphasis added),

Reproductive [sic] propogation was discouraged among the Jewish race and children were not uncommonly, removed from their parents to be destroyed. On the other hand, Hitler promoted purebred propogation of the Arian race and was an ardent “Right to Life” proponent (for Arians only, of course). Similarly, animals in the shelter system are routinely spayed/neutered to avoid propogation, especially mixed breeds and late term abortions and the destruction of puppies and kittens not old enough to eat on their own is a daily occurrence. On the other hand, purebreed dogs, cats, horses, etc are touted as “valuable” and are purposely bred to produce offspring “desirable” by humans. Additionally, whole colonies of SPF (specific pathogen free) animals are bred for specific research purposes and the entire domesticated world of [sic] catttle, pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, etc have been genetically manipulated purely to produce product aspects humans deem desirable (meat marbling for example).

All I want for Christmas is more animal rights activists like Cass and De Giacomo.

Source:

The animal holocaust vs. the Jewish holocaust. Suzanne Cass, E-Mail, November 6, 2004.

Stupid Band Aid Song

Bono and some other musicians in the UK are getting together to re-record that stupid “Do They Know Its Christmas?” song.

This song never fails to crack me up, largely because the whole Band Aid thing was motivated by the 1980s famine in Ethiopia. But Ethiopia is a majority Muslim country.

“Do They Know Its Ramadan?” would probably have been more appropriate.

Yes, Ethiopia does have a very large Christian minority (40-45% of the country), but they’re Orthodox. I’ve always hoped some smartass Ethiopians would issue a response record called, “Don’t They Know Christmas Isn’t Until Jan. 7?”

I’d have gone with a “Do They Know Its Halloween?” song directed at the 5-10% of animists in Ethiopia.

Novartis Threatens to Pull Investments Out of UK

The Guardian reports that Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis has warned that continued acts of animal rights extremism in Great Britain may force it to direct its investments elsewhere.

Novartis chair Daniel Vasella gave a speech in China which touched on the investment climate in various countries. The Guardian reported that Vasella said,

The UK is the worst. It is scaring our people. If they become so scared that it becomes a major issue, we could come close to leaving.

The Guardian reported that Vasella referred to Novartis’ new 40 million pound research center in West Sussex,

Mr. Vasella said the staff there were being intimidated to a degree that made him wonder whether it was wise to remain.

Source:

Animal rights activists force drug firm to rethink UK role. Jonathan Watts, The Guardian, November 15, 2004.

Hunters vs. Animal Rights Groups

New York Post columnist Ken Moran hits the jackpot in the opening of a recent column,

For years, hunters quietly have helped the needy by donating part of their harvest to food banks throughout New York and the rest of the country.

On the other side of the coin, you have animal rights groups like PETA and HSUS who raise millions of dollars, most of which is spent on salaries for officers and publicity for their organizations.

You think?

Moran notes that over the past four years, two New York groups — the Venison Donation Coalition and SCI’s Sportsmen Against Hunger — have donated more than 250,000 pounds of venison that have been distributed through New York’s Food Bank network. That’s about 1 million servings of venison, according to Moran.

Of course animal rights activists are free to disagree. For example, I can imagine a PETA activist explaining that PETA’s video of half-naked women wrestling in tofu is a far, far better thing than feeding the hungry. And, given PETA’s ethical priorities, it would be hard to argue with that logic.

Source:

Hunters’ Venison Donations Hit 230 Million Meals. Ken Moran, New York Post, November 14, 2004.

Judge Rejects Accused Arsonist's Autism Defense

William Cottrell, 24, might want to think about hiring new lawyers as his current ones continue to strike out. Cottrell, you might remember, is accused of setting fire to more than 100 SUVs at a California dealership — a crime which could put land him in jail for 35 years if convicted.

Originally, his lawyers tried to argue that arson was not, per se, a violent crime, but the judge smacked down that argument in August. Next, his lawyers tried a novel theory — they wanted to offer as a defense that Cottrell’s autism made it difficult for him to understand the consequences of his actions and made it difficult for him to resist the entreaties of his alleged accomplices, Tyler Johnson and Michie Oe, who remain fugitives.

But on November 12, U.S. District Judge Gary Klausner ruled that Cottrell’s legal team could not use his autism as part of his defense.

Things are not looking to good for Cottrell as he apparently couldn’t shut up about his participation in the arson. Caltech student Claire Jacobs testified that Cottrell told her he agreed to participate in defacing the SUVs, but was unaware that the plan was to firebomb the SUVs. Prosecutors, however, apparently have a witness who will testify that Cottrell said he helped fill detergent bottles with gasoline which were used to ignite the vehicles.

Cottrell should look on the positive side — if he does end up spending decades in prison, at least he’ll have the sort of well-structured environment he seem to need.

Source:

Judge blocks autism defense in SoCal SUV arson case. Associated Press, November 12, 2004.