Cheetahs hitch ride on US military flight.

While jacking around online, I came across a site called Happy News. I tend to be a bit cynical about the world and thought perhaps I should check it out- you know, try to experience warm and fuzzy. I came across this article about US troops saving two cheetahs in Ethiopia and thought WTF? Before I am attacked as some asshole who hates animals I want to qualify the rest of this by saying I love animals as much as the next person and I believe that animal cruelty is reprehensible. That said, what are our troops doing rescuing animals across the world when they couldn’t rescue Katrina victims in a neighboring state? Some at the top levels of government think that it is perfectly acceptable to torture people, and we are rescuing tortured cats in Ethiopia? Priorities seem to be in bad order. Alas, no warm fuzzies today.

posted Dec 11th, 2005 by michelleshinghal
  • http://www.stophurtingamerica.com Stop Hurting America

    Rescued!? Good cover for transporting them over to live in some politician’s / diplomat’s United States palace…

  • michelleshinghal

    It is the Ethiopian National Palace not a US property. But it does appear that President Girma Woldegrirogis has his own menagerie. The article mentions that the budget for the palace animal keeper is $3500- 35 times more than the national income average.

    I guess that a hitched ride is cheaper than the millions that they request in aid. http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2004-12/2004-12-23-voa23.cfm?CFID=6674584&CFTOKEN=90801053

  • http://www.stophurtingamerica.com Stop Hurting America

    HA! I was only kidding… meaning to poke fun at the idea of the government importing things other than narcotics…

  • michelleshinghal

    I missed it then. I must have been asleep. ;o)

  • Seven Richards

    That’s not a very enlightened argument. Forget about the fact that the primary reason cheetahs are endangered at this point in history is because of man. Lost of habitat, wars, farmers killing them, hunters and various insane behavior on the part of man. I suppose it’s okay what they’re doing to cats and dogs in China. Don’t forget that if not for man there would be no domestic cats and dogs.

    Animals don’t have the same thinking process that man has so don’t hold them to the same standard. The so-called Katrina victims are victims created by man. In many cases the victims were people who put themselves in harms way by choice. Harms way being Hurricane Katrina of which the magnitude was more than likely a result of how man abuses and pollutes the environment with no regard for the potential consequences. Let’s not forget the moron who was holding the cheetah cubs captive. Another example of how humanity has its consciousness buried up its butt.

    Life is life not the story of life and all life forms are worthy of respect and dignity, not just human beings. If not for humans it’s likely this planet would heal and turn into a virtual paradise for animals. Keep in mind animals deal with death and the loss of their offspring on a daily basis. For example, cheetahs will very often lose most of their cubs with maybe 1 or 2 out of 20 surviving. The dance of predator and prey has been going on for millions of years. Animals don’t seem to have a problem with that. Don’t confuse the life form with life itself. This is the fundamental problem with humans we think we’re better, smarter and more valuable than any other life form on the planet and therefore we think we have a license to kill, destroy, poison, torture and torment other life forms that we consider to be below us. Unfortunately most people fail to realize that this approach leads humans to treat other humans much in the same way. Look at the history of war, read the papers and you’ll see the dysfunction of man’s mind in full expression.

    Don’t blame animals who live off of their instincts. Instincts they’ve been following for millions of years in some cases. Man uses his dysfunctional mind and makes choices that are often insane. Animals have no hidden agenda whereas if you talk to a person you never know what’s going on in the back of their little mind. I’ll take the honesty, integrity and presence of many animals over many people any day. That may sound insane to you but that’s just the way humans are. If you don’t agree with their insanity they label you insane. Meanwhile people continue to plunder, pillage and pollute our planet at an alarming rate. People continue to want more of anything in a wasted attempt to fill a void that will never be filled from the perspective of their minds. Perhaps man has another answer for his self-created mess, another magic pill or potion. Perhaps another Mc-solution another senseless slaughter of humans. Perhaps more industrial farming where we can inject more chemicals and hormones into animals, after we torment them of course. Then we can sit and wonder why are children are obese why there’s so much cancer manifesting in our fellow humans.

    If it weren’t for man’s ego we wouldn’t be launching senseless wars all over the world. We wouldn’t be spending billions of more weapons, better weapons, new weapons, etc. There would be plenty of military men and women available to deal with the aftermath of a natural disaster.

    As for the two cheetah cubs. Learn something about their plight as a species before you make insensitive comments that have no basis in truth. Cheetahs have been around for almost 4 million years and in the span of the last one hundred years man has almost wiped them off the face of the earth along with many other species. If we can’t make room for these beautiful creatures and others, if the planet can’t sustain them then it’s likely we will soon find humans on the endangered species list. Only we will have done it to ourselves.