Coronavirus Must Be A Wake Up Call To Stop Wildlife Trafficking

What caused the coronavirus is now being researched. While no definitive conclusions have been reached, there is belief that the virus was transmitted from wildlife to humans. Some speculate that the virus originated in bats, while others speculate that the virus originated in pangolins or another animal.

This is an overcrowded world with many densely populated places that can facilitate the spread of disease. With much of the natural world and its biodiversity already decimated, the trade in wildlife should have long ago stopped.

The wildlife trade decimates wildlife. It provides for the transmission of diseases into the human population. In other cases, such as the killing and consumption of highly intelligent marine mammals like dolphins and whales, humans expose themselves to elevated levels of mercury, dioxins and other poisons by the consumption of these intelligent animals.

As the world gets more crowded, as wild places and wildlife continue to disappear, as species after species go extinct, there is no justification for a wildlife trade anywhere.

Bringing animals that belong in the forests and elsewhere into crowded markets so that humans can eat exotic flesh, or create products from wildlife that have no medicinal value despite false claims as to otherwise, is nothing but a recipe for what is unfolding before our eyes from the coronavirus. 

The Misery Jihadists And Their Apologists Bring To The Children Of Gaza And A Thousand Other Places

Children pay the price for the actions of the adults that wage war and jihad.

There are those that excuse anything the jihadists do. They blame Israel, the west, the United States, American imperialism and more, but never the jihadists. They never hold the adults that wage war and jihad accountable.

The reasons for excusing, justifying, condoning and encouraging the jihadists are many, including hatred, bigotry, narrow minded political or religious fanaticism, and more.

As long as jihadists wage war, children suffer in Gaza, Afghanistan, North Nigeria, South Thailand, Mindanao, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Mali, Central African Republic, and many other places.

The apologists for the jihadists have blood on their hands.

What they call resistance is nothing but a bloodthirsty, intolerant, expansionist religious agenda.

Some of the so called leftists that support the jihadists use deflection to excuse the jihadists. Look at the causalities the Americans, Israelis or others have caused, they argue. They use the casualties caused by the side they despise as the excuse to condone, accept and encourage the violence of the jihadists.

The predictable violent response to the actions of jihadists, who often wage war hiding behind civilians, results in civilian casualties.

If someone truly cares about children, they will not support and encourage jihadists. They will not use the pain and suffering of children to attack the side they despise while embracing the jihadists that revel in war, terror, and violence.

Animal Cruelty And Dog Fighting - The Model for Addressing Environmental Degradation and Climate Change?

Opposing animal cruelty and dog fighting is pretty straightforward and noncontroversial. There is a wide consensus that these are bad things and something should be done about it. Now compare this to climate change, where there is a significant number of people that do not believe human activity is changing the climate. Even if 100 per cent of the population agrees that climate change is a problem, does that mean anything will change for the better?

Not if animal cruelty and dog fighting are the example. Even though there is a wide consensus that animal cruelty and dog fighting are bad, this has not prevented animal cruelty from being manipulated, exploited, and not appropriately addressed.

Talk, profit, exploit and/or join the emotive crowd, never having to do anything of substance is the longstanding approach to animal cruelty and dog fighting.

If environmental degradation, not just climate change, is ever to be meaningfully addressed, there is not much hope if animal cruelty and dog fighting serves as the model.

New Naval Warships And Old Rail Systems

Instead of concrete benefits from tax dollars that create jobs and improve the quality of life, the United States is spending- unchallenged- billions on new naval warships that do nothing to make the United States or world safer. They also do nothing to lessen terrorism or reduce the threat from fanatical terror organizations.

Taxpayers of many other developed nations get a lot more for their tax dollars. This includes highly efficient, developed rail systems that produce jobs. Imagine the economic benefits of being able to take a high speed train from Chicago to Florida, as just one example. Tourism and travel would significantly increase.

Terrorism and other threats are not lessened by new, unnecessary and expensive naval warships.
Republicans are as irresponsible as democrats when it comes to spending money.