Sharkwater: Must see documentary

"Totally barbaric" describes an awful of Chinese culture unfortunately. Ever hear anything about how they treat dogs? Other animals are often killed, too, for reasons similar to the "shark-fin soup makes you healthy and virile" idiocy.

And it's not like the current Chinese government's treatment of human beings is any better! Isn't it nice that we're going to have the Olympics there next year? How about the fact that they're our heir-apparent as the next great superpower? Hopefully the US can hold out for another couple hundred years at least.....

A large amount of the shark harvesting is being done of the coast of Costa Rica and the Galapogos Islands.

You know the shark thing is bad if a die hard right winger like me gets bent out of shape by it! I'm not exactly joe environmentalist but this is totally crazy.

Good to see you back gv10k! Haven't seen you post in a while!

yeah, and those damn red-ass Canucks that club baby seals. That just aint cool.

Do it now before it's too late.

gv10k wrote: "Totally barbaric" describes an awful of Chinese culture unfortunately. Ever hear anything about how they treat dogs? Other animals are often killed, too, for reasons similar to the "shark-fin soup makes you healthy and virile" idiocy.

Pete wrote:

gv10k wrote: "Totally barbaric" describes an awful of Chinese culture unfortunately. Ever hear anything about how they treat dogs? Other animals are often killed, too, for reasons similar to the "shark-fin soup makes you healthy and virile" idiocy.

Are you serious? They're barbaric because "other animals are often killed...?" How about how we in the west raise veal? That's friggin barbaric. Newsflash - dogs aren't kept as pets in all cultures.

Yeah, I am serious. Killing animals as humanely as possible FOR FOOD is perfectly fine by me. Ripping a shark's fin off and leaving it to die a slow death is not. FYI, I agree w/ you about veal (see the South Park episode from last month w/ the baby cows, it was brilliant) being sick and wrong and I've never eaten it, nor will I. When I said other animals are often killed, I should have added "indiscriminately" and "also frequently tortured, for no reason whatever."

As far as dogs not being kept as pets in all cultures, are you kidding me? Have you ever had a dog??? Any culture that considers dogs or horses (hell, even cats!) as food rather than as pets is rotten. That's something that should be as basic as proscriptions against murder and incest: dogs are man's best friend!

Mandingo: I usually post a couple times a week, I've just been avoidthe non-running related, political threads lately out of annoyance. Good to know there's still another member of the VAST, RIGHT-WING CONSPIRACY out there!

gv10k wrote:

As far as dogs not being kept as pets in all cultures, are you kidding me? Have you ever had a dog??? Any culture that considers dogs or horses (hell, even cats!) as food rather than as pets is rotten. That's something that should be as basic as proscriptions against murder and incest: dogs are man's best friend!

Please tell me you are joking? Kid, you need to get out of the conservative west side of Michigan and experience something new.

Hey Pete,

I totally agree with the veal deal being very nasty; I don't eat veal or any other red meat or pork for that matter. The difference with this shark thing; and I'm sure the people who understand this stuff way better than me are cringing at me trying to explain it; is that wiping out millions of sharks messes up the ecosystem and will have huge negative reprucussions for man. THe good news is the places were it is being carried out like costa rica the people there are kicking up a fuss. By any rational measure, many chinese are extra nasty with eating habits like this shark fin or the slicing up turtles alive because there slow metabilisms means they live while cut up and partially eaten. Long line fishing; the means to catch a lot of the sharks, catches a lot of other types of ocean animals. It is illegal but not enforced because of bribes and payoffs. It is demand driven and that demand is in china.

Glad to see you're so familiar with other people's experiences, Trollie McQuestionmark!

So you're all for the killing and eating of dogs then, huh?

I not for imposing my view of the world on others whom I know nothing about. How is that?

gv10k wrote: Any culture that considers dogs or horses (hell, even cats!) as food rather than as pets is rotten. That's something that should be as basic as proscriptions against murder and incest: dogs are man's best friend!

There's nothing intrinsic to a dog or a human that brings them together in a bond of friendship. Dogs are man's best friend in our culture because we have domesticized them and our relationship with them has evolved to one of friendship. Other cultures - MANY other cultures - do not choose to have dogs as friends. For many, dogs are beasts of burden. For some, they happen to be a food of convenience.

I don't want to generalize too much, but I will offer the observation that many right wing conservatives need to get out into the world and learn a little bit about what lies outside your country/state/county/town borders. The world would be a much happier place. :-)

Kill all the sharks! haven't you seen Jaws?

All jokes aside... who cares? How is the decline of the shark population going to change my life besides not being able to watch shark fishing tournements on the Versus channel.

It's called the food chain and they are at the top. There's just a bit of a trickle down effect there.

FAT AND LAZY wrote:

Kill all the sharks! haven't you seen Jaws?

All jokes aside... who cares? How is the decline of the shark population going to change my life besides not being able to watch shark fishing tournements on the Versus channel.

There was a study done recently that showed a direct link between the declining number of sharks and the declining number of scallops in North Carolina waters. It turns out that the fewer sharks were eating fewer rays. The rays, which consume scallops, were rising in numbers and causing scallop populations to decline.

This is only one study in one state showing the importance of sharks in the food chain. Multiply this by the number of species of sharks in the entire world, and you could imagine that sharks play a very important role in maintaining balance throughout the world's oceans. So if you like seafood, you should probably be concerned.

Fewer big sharks mean more moderately sized fish, seal, etc, which means less small fish, scallops, etc. When you cut the head off the food chain an ecosystem is greatly changed. Eventually it will effect us. All things in the environment are connected.

Alan

Pete wrote:

Are you serious? They're barbaric because "other animals are often killed...?" How about how we in the west raise veal? That's friggin barbaric. Newsflash - dogs aren't kept as pets in all cultures.

Oh hell, if the Chinese were white you'd be railing against them.

Frostbite Falls wrote: Oh hell, if the Chinese were white you'd be railing against them.

okay, forget about dogs; for the sake of arguement we'll give the chinese a pass on dogs.

what about extensive, flagrant violations of international agreements on: rhinos, elephants, bears, whales and sharks to name a few. THey belive some wacked out stuff in regards to healing properties. THey use this stuff as if it were medicinal.

I see what the guy who said the white thing and gv10k are saying; a lot of cultures get a pass say for example lack of women's rights in arab countries because a lot of people say, "oh that's the way it is there."

I don't think someone is going out on a limb saying for example animals of 'higher' nature like dogs or whatever that has highly developed senses even know they are being killed etc. I'm just saying we buy so much crap from these countries we should use our pull to make them at least adher to agreements and international fishing laws etc.

e