Record number of endangered Florida panthers killed by vehicles in 2009

Wildlife officials confirmed the death of the 16th Florida panther killed this year on a Florida roadway, eclipsing last year’s number of 10 panthers killed by vehicles and representing a new record high for the imperiled native cat.

The latest panther to be killed was a four-year-old female discovered on State Road 29 in Collier County – on a stretch of the road without protective fencing in known panther habitat. The 2009 tally of panthers killed by vehicle strikes surpasses the record set in 2007 of 15 dead panthers. This year’s death-rate may be even higher, as a 17th panther found dead in October is also suspected of being killed by a “vehicular collision,” according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.

“Unless we take actions to avoid such tragic losses to Florida’s native wildlife, records such as these will continue to be reached each year as more and more roads and developments are built,” said Laurie Macdonald, Florida director for Defenders of Wildlife. “The toll that vehicle collisions are taking on the panther’s population is a serious obstacle to their recovery, and the roads and vehicles themselves are inhibiting the panther’s efforts to expand its range.”

There are approximately 100 panthers in Florida today, up from a low of 20 to 30 individuals 22 years ago. This number is still dangerously low and vehicle strikes are a major cause of death for the panther.

Salman Rushdie & his very famous book

My father used to say that instead of passing fatwa against Salman Rushdie, scholars must give him a response by writing a book & answering him. That would make for a more intelligent response.

I tried to read The Satanic Verses, but I just couldn’t as it was unreadable. Then I also tried to read some other writings of Mr. Rushdie, but all of them seemed unreadable to me. One of my friends also tried to read The Satanic Verses, but even he got a terrible headache. In my opinion, he is a very over-rated writer. He’s even worse than mediocre.

Just now I read something that I would like to share:

“As of late 2009 Rushdie has not been physically harmed, but others connected with the book have suffered violent attacks. Hitoshi Igarashi, the Japanese language translator of the book, was stabbed to death on 11 July 1991; Ettore Capriolo, the Italian language translator, was seriously injured in a stabbing the same month; William Nygaard, the publisher in Norway, barely survived an attempted assassination in Oslo in October 1993, and Aziz Nesin, the Turkish language translator, was the intended target in the events that led to the Sivas massacre on 2 July 1993 in Sivas, Turkey which resulted in the deaths of 37 people.”

It sounds like quite an accursed book.

Are we supporting the right people? 2

Yesterday I couldn’t touch on this aspect but I have been wondering that Pakistanis are way too excited about supporting a woman whose guilt or innocence has not been proved. I wouldn’t have written anything on her, if I haven’t been getting those messages on my cell. Anyhow, isn’t it strange that we don’t get messages to support infants who are being killed every day? Those babies are innocent beyond any reasonable doubt. The world may use words like illegitimate for them, but we all know that they haven’t done anything wrong & they do not deserve to be tortured & killed, & yet we don’t support those infants & their right to live. These kids are also Pakistanis.

Today I read in the paper that Nawaaz Sharif is quite agitated about justice. He thinks that Bugti protected the constitution & those who are behind his killing ought to be punished. Nawaz Sharif is the man who had no respect for justice few years ago when he went in the Supreme Court along with his comrades & today he talks about justice. Bugti might have protected the constitution, but as far as I can recall, this man had his own jails. How cool to respect the constitution & treat the people in his area as nothing! That says a lot about his love for the constitution & the rights of people.

Some journalists write about hanging Pervez Musharaff every now & then. But then again we are from a country in which Zia-ul-Haq didn’t have any problem in hanging Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto…even though the entire world was against it. All the judges also didn’t agree…in spite of that, Bhutto was hanged. Anyway, I’m not saying that Musharaff is faultless. You know no one says it openly, but the main reason why they can’t stand Musharaff is the fact that he is Urdu speaking.

However, it’s ironic that we support a person of dual nationality even when we don’t know the entire story. It’s like 1 person does the thinking & the others follow him without using their brain cells.

There’s no denying that Muslims all over the world have been badly treated, but what happened on September 11^th was wrong. I still remember that some people were so elated by the bravery of Muslims that they couldn’t help saying: ‘Only Muslims could have done this; they are so courageous.’ Yeah they are very brave, but fucking brainless. Is this how you make friends with your enemies by blowing yourself up & killing them? Is this how one protests against the wrong being done to him?

I know some of my writings do hurt the sentiments of people. But I can’t always agree with people & I believe everyone is entitled to his/her viewpoint. What I find annoying is when people try to impose their views on others. Now you know I often post petitions on animals. Once a gentleman had issues as he denied about the abuse of breeders in his country, but the Google search said otherwise. Since I don’t take racist fart, I gave him a piece of mind. He thought he could say anything to an Asian Muslim. It’s not that I don’t understand how Muslims are being treated. I do, but I know too many people who aren’t biased & racist. They respect Muslims. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan did tell us how to deal with foreigners. We need to educate ourselves & besides that we need to respect others regardless of their religion, cause that’s the only way they will respect you.

But when there is a possibility that someone could be a terrorist, I’m so sorry I can’t support that person.

“Cats are absolute individuals, with their own ideas about everything including the people they own.”

John Dingman

Are we supporting the right people?

I often get sms on Dr. Aafia Siddique that we must support her at all cost. No one knows whether she is guilty or innocent, but nevertheless we must support her as she is a Muslim. Is this a good enough reason to support someone? And how do we know that are we supporting the right people?

There are 2, 3 versions circulating around & I don’t know which one to believe & which one to discard. It may not sound very nice, but I’m afraid almost everyone seems to be lying & that includes not just her family, her ex-husband, but also the media. The media wants to sell its stories & here is a woman/suspect who is wronged, which gives them the opportunity to sensationalize. And people sympathize when you tell them a sensational story.

1^st thing 1^st - such people ought to be tried in a court of law rather than brutally abused by the agencies. If they turn out to be genuine terrorists, then they must be awarded death penalty in a humane way. However, things have been bad ever since September 11^th. The matter was handed over to the CIA rather than the FBI. FBI would have handled the situation differently. Anyway, what would you do to the terrorists who are killing innocent people in our country? How would you treat them, if you get the chance to act as God for a while? These are pertinent questions & they need to be answered honestly.

It has been alleged that the Pakistani government handed over this woman to America. If this part is true, then why was she framed in the 1^st place? Another version says that she was in Afghanistan at the time when she was arrested & she also assaulted a soldier. It’s hard to believe that she injured someone, but she has been charged with it. And what the hell was she doing in Afghanistan? Oh yeah she has a dual nationality. I know that but I think any sane person who has opportunities would stay away from Afghanistan.

In one of the messages forwarded, it was written that Dr. Aafia is far more educated than the Americans. My point is simple…what was a far more educated person doing in Afghanistan? And if she was not in Afghanistan, then she was in Pakistan where she was arrested. The government may not care, but the government is not stupid. It wouldn’t hand over a person just like that. There must be something nasty.

Her ex-husband said that she was an extremist jahidi. I wonder how does he describe myself, cause he too seems to be a fanatic or a fundamentalist. 2 of her children have been seen in Karachi, but it is also said that the family has been lying to gain sympathy. What the hell is this? And what is the real story?

They say nothing is bigger than the truth. But how do we find out truth when it’s guarded by lies?

PS This is just an opinion. No need to bother my baby sister. Moreover, the only person who can convince me is myself, so no need to bother at all.

“Cats…never strike a pose that isn’t photogenic.”

Lillian Jackson Braun

Say No to dog slaughter in Thailand, China & Korea

Please sign these 3 petitions…it will only take a minute & if enough people sign these petitions, action could be taken against these countries. And it’s not bull shit, they have put a ban on seal products, thanks to these petitions. Anyhow, we are not trying to convince anyone. If you want to sign it, it’s well & good. If not, then don’t bother us with idiotic comments about the authenticity of the petition or the abuse itself.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/raise-your-voices-against-dog-slaughter-in-thailand

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/13/please-stop-cat-and-dog-slaughter-in-china

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-dogs-getting-eaten-in-south-korea.html

And here’s a bit of detail:

In Thailand, massive numbers of dogs are killed in the lucrative trade for dog flesh, hide, and other body parts. Many different breeds of dogs, collected from all over the country, are brought to Sakhon Nakhon to be killed. One estimate is that 30,000 dogs are killed in the area of Sakhon Nakhon monthly. Many of them are puppies.

Officials in a southwestern Chinese county brutally slaughtered 50,000 dogs in a government-ordered crackdown after three people died of rabies.
Dogs being walked were seized from their owners and beaten to death on the spot. Killing teams also entered villages at night creating noise to get dogs barking, and then beat the animals to death.

Cats and dogs are crucified before they are slaughtered alive because people believe in the myth that the meat tastes better and is even better for the virility. Dogs are skinned alive because people believe that the fur can be skinned off more easily. Cats are cooked alive.