Saturday, February 9, 2008

Peta-crites pimping shelter animals again

Peta has mucho dinero to spend on television advertisements in NYC and other locales irrationally and unjustifiably slandering the American Kennel Club.

Peta-crites, why don't you spend that money to rescue some of the "millions of unwanted animals in shelters" that you keep pimping to fill your coffers?

Oh. I forgot. Peta just kills "unwanted" animals. God forbid that the animals should be rehomed and live long and happy lives as pampered pets. Peta wants to end your right to own a pet, and thinks that an animal's only "right" is to die at the end of a Peta needle.

As you may have guessed, I despise Peta.

I depise the hypocrisy of their leaders, the lies and prevarications, the hidden agendas.

I despise Peta for sucking money out of the unwary and misusing it.

I despise Peta for killing 97% of the animals surrendered to it...that doesn't include the ones Peta employees lie to obtain, then kill and dump.

I despise Peta for spending millions on "consultants", and a considerable sum for a huge freezer to store the bodies of animals it kills.

I despise Peta for being dishonest; it's not a charity, it's a political lobby.

This ad against the AKC is just another example of Peta dishonesty, manipulation and misuse of individual donations which good-hearted people thought would go to animal welfare, not to promoting Peta's hidden agenda.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Devil Dogs, Lies, Damn Lies & Media Hype

You may have run across some of the slavering U.K. coverage of an elderly man who died in the road, and accusations that his Rottweiler had killed him. Of course, the media has moved on to the next "if it bleeds, it leads" headline without bothering to follow up on the story and correct their false accusations.

Ryan O'Meara has the truth. Read it here.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Saving "pit bulls" from Peta, H$U$ and Michael Vick

Nathan J. Winograd has hit the nail on the head yet again. Read his article debunking the misconception that Peta and HSUS have any compassion.

H/T to KC Dog Blog for the heads-up.

Monday, February 4, 2008

Canine Review Virtual Dog Show! Help raise money to fight Ontario's BS-L!

Check it out....I don't know if it's just for purebreds, might be, sounds like great fun!

Pibble HIDES UNDER A PILLOW while home is burglarized

Check out the cutie pie pup in the video...that hid under a pillow while his owner beat the burglar with a baseball bat. Read and see it here.

Ticking time bomb, my foot. More like quivering mound of jelly.
*LOLOL*

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Hodgepodge. Dogs, more dogs, schools and the Fibs.

Great article about the Vick-tims in the New York Times, read it here, there's an audio slide show as well. H/T to Lassie Get Help for the link. Visit the Best Friends site for updates on the dogs, and watch for the National Geographic series Dogtown which will follow their progress.

Caveat has found some great historical pics and articles about dogs in general and bulldogs in particular. Read it here. Yet more proof that puts lie to Merritt Clifton's nitwittery.

Barking Mad is on a roll, read it here.

And my hobbyhorse of the day...

...whether Dalton McGuinty will develop a spine and squash the Afrocentric school approved by the Toronto School Board. Can't wait to see what he does (Dalton do something? slap me silly if he does), considering the xenophobia the Fibs manipulated on the faith-based school issue. To condone a culturally-based school would be hypocritical...oh, slap me silly again, we're talking about the Fibs, hypocrisy is their Golden Path.

The squeak for an ethic-centric school is that too many kids are dropping out. Kids of all colours are dropping out.

All things aside, and colour is irrelevant...when are people going to accept that some kids just don't have the brains to do well in school, some kids will never go to university? Find them a trade! When the pipes leak, I'd rather have a plumber than a philosopher. Good, honest auto mechanics are like gold. And be honest...someone's got to do the McJobs.

Are these kids dropping out because (a) they're expected to go to university and just don't have what it takes so they become discouraged and disappear, or (b) they're so seduced by television and movie idiocy, they don't know what the real world is like, or (c) they've fallen into a shallow life (what I call the "bling" lifestyle, espoused by so many idiot musicians and actors) and have no idea there's something else? And let's face it, some kids are just plain lazy, won't make an effort in school or life.

Where are the parents in all this?

It's easy to blame the schools, but what example are the parents setting? Do they teach their children the value of education? Do they teach their kids values, period, right from the start? Things like being honest, reliable, trustworthy? Do they sit with their kids, help with homework, read to them when they're young? Do they monitor their kids, put restrictions on tv time (hell, throw the set out the window - at least cancel the cable), carefully select the toys (including cellphones, iPods and the like) the kids have, make the kids work for stuff (like an allowance) so they have some concept of the value of money? This all starts in the bassinet...I was going to say "crib", but some people think that's a place to live, not a baby's bed.

Have parents forgotten that children need boundaries? Training dogs and children, it's not much different, honestly. Positive reinforcement, specific boundaries, structure and routine, and a leader who always leads.

Reading, writing and arithmetic have no colour and form the foundation of an education. Beyond that, it's up to the parents and the students.

Now, I understand how a faith-based school would establish its curriculum (aside from the provincial curriculum), because the particular faith has its history and rules. Jewish is Jewish, Muslim is Muslim. But an ethnically-focused school? In the example of an Afrocentric school - Africa is a big country, and there are so many tribes. To swipe from Wikipedia, some of the tribes and ethnic/social groups include Afar, Anlo Ewe, Amhara, Arabs, Ashanti, Bakongo, Bambara, Bemba, Berber, Bobo, Bushmen (San), Chewa, Dogon, Fang, Fon, Fulani, Igbo, Kikuyu (Gikuyu) , Maasai, Mandinka, Pygmies, Samburu, Senufo, Tuareg, Tutsi, Wolof, Yoruba, and Zulu. Africa contains over 1,000 languages.

Which culture will form the basis for this school? Will choosing one disadvantage others? Will people bring overseas conflicts with them (as some Serbians and Croatians did when I was in school)? What about those who don't know what tribe they are, where will they fit in?

From the Toronto Star, Toronto School Board chair John Campbell is quoted as saying "You'll have a bunch of little kids who could be black and white and Chinese, whatever, maybe studying more African geography and history than at other schools."

OK. From my POV, this disadvantages the Chinese and "whatevers". So, when do we open ethnically-focused schools for everyone? Why should Chinese children study "more" African geography and history? China is an ancient land, with probably the longest recorded history.

What subjects will be lost for the ethnic-based "more"? Is this going to funnel kids into ethic-based education that will deprive them of a broad view and, more importantly, deprive them of the history of Canada, the land they live in?

This politically-correct and poorly-thought-out concept could create more issues than the one it purports to resolve.

For God's sake, people died to end segregation in North America. Why is the Toronto School Board taking baby steps towards reinstituting it?

Let's cut the crap, stop expecting everyone to be a high achiever, and help the kids to be the best they can be. Maybe some kids should be streamed into trade programs very early, in grades 7 and 8. Maybe some kids are suited only to McJobs and should be streamed into programs that help them learn to use cash registers, make change and the like.

Repeal the Ontario law that requires kids to stay in school till they're 16. If they have a trade and can earn a living, let 'em go.

And absolutely dismiss some looney idea I heard a while ago about starting school at 10 because teens need more sleep. Hey, they can turn off the tv and go to bed early just like working folks! Welcome to the real world!

Parents should stop expecting everyone else to do their job. If parents want their kids to have cultural education, they can do it on evenings and weekends. I went to school with Ukrainian children who went to Ukrainian language, culture, history and dance classes on evenings and weekends, and it was only good for them. The parents of these kids didn't expect anyone else to do their job; they got together, got teachers, got their kids to the classes, and it did nothing but good for the kids.

Try some DIY, parents. It could be great for your kid, and for you.

And if you're not willing to DIY...don't breed.