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Chimps, Chickens, and Communication

crowing

A new study published in Current Biology proves (as if more evidence were needed) that, in the words of zoologist Matthew Cobb, “humans aren’t quite so unique, after all.” The so-called news is that chimps will warn other chimps about a hazard if and only if the other chimps don’t already know about the danger. . . . → Read More: Chimps, Chickens, and Communication

Sorry I’m a Sucker!!

Thanks to everyone who wrote in and let me know that the piece about the teacher taking kids to see cows being murdered was fake. I did see that the site was “NewsWEAK,” but I thought that referred to the authors’ opinions about the news, not that the news itself was FAKE.

So, I apologize, . . . → Read More: Sorry I’m a Sucker!!

If Slaughterhouses Had Windows

I suggest we all send thank-you notes to this teacher who inadvertently (one hopes) turned at least a few kids into life-long vegans:

http://newsweak.com/news/school-field-trip-tour-of-slaughterhouse-traumatizes-children#.TvkcWoXncWw.facebook

The Matrix and the War on Christmas

Science fiction is a vastly underrated genre. For almost 200 years now (if you consider Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to have been the first modern science fiction novel), it’s been on the cutting edge of the technological changes that drive society — not just making up stories about such innovations, but extrapolating them to their logical . . . → Read More: The Matrix and the War on Christmas

Tell Obama: Don’t Defend AETA

Sarahjane Blum with duck

Last week, the Center for Constitutional Rights filed suit against the Department of Justice on behalf of six animal advocates seeking to overturn the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA). Among those activists is longtime friend of the sanctuary Sarahjane Blum. We feel very proud of her and the co-plaintiffs in Blum v Holder (as well . . . → Read More: Tell Obama: Don’t Defend AETA

Newsflash: Study Shows People Less Empathic Than Rats

Reposted with permission from SuperWeed:

A new study published in Science demonstrated startling deficiencies in empathy and reasoning among even the most highly educated and otherwise proficient people. The researchers conducting this widely publicized study placed mammals in positions of frightening frustration and then dispassionately sat back and watched to see whether other mammals would . . . → Read More: Newsflash: Study Shows People Less Empathic Than Rats