Exotic Animals,PETA And Another Day In Iraq

I have just been reading the Iowa Press-Citizen story concerning an upcoming show at the Sycamore Mall which incorporates exotic animals in its’ show and the trouble that is being caused by People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who want the city council to intervene and stop the show.
According to the story a letter was sent to the council by Lisa Wathne, a captive exotic animal specialist who alleges that the show seriously mistreats the animals. She says in her letter that staffers with the show were untrained and intentionally cruel to several animals.
This from a group of well meaning whack jobs who believe that animals deserve not just equal treatment as humans, but better treatment than humans. They think that the major problem on this planet is the is the life form known as humans and that the planet would be better off without us. While that would indeed be a boon for the planet, but it would not be so hot for everyone of us. There is no logic in that form of thinking and that is why these people should be ignored.
I do not believe in being cruel to animals and believe everything should be done to make animals comfortable and respected, but the bottom line is that they are still animals. We use them for food sources, clothing, entertainment, companionship in some cases and that is the state of the world. PETA can do their boycotts, petitions, etc., but they are a crazy minority and should be treated accordingly.
There was a comment by Kevin Digmann, the Sycamore Mall Manager, that he had checked out this show which has performed at other malls across the country, and found no such abuses.
G.W. Exotic Animal Memorial Park, based in Wynnewood, Okla., is scheduled to produce its "Mystical Magic of the Endangered" show May 30 to June 3 at Sycamore Mall.
Jennifer Ross of Sycamore Mall's management said the show's feature act, Joe Exotic, will perform magic tricks to spread a message to school-age children about the dangers of drugs and drunken driving as well as the importance of saving the environment. The show features animals such as lions and tigers that people can pose with for photos for donations to benefit endangered animals.
The council will discuss the letter at its work session Monday and decide whether to discuss a new ordinance at later meetings, assistant city manager Dale Helling said.
I for one believe this is going to be a great show and plan to attend and support the people who care for such beautiful creatures, perhaps even get a photo with my astrological symbol; the Lion. How cool is that, I think way cool!! Let us all turn out and enjoy the show, and let PETA know that you can take care of animals and still enjoy them, without being a monster.
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In another story there have been more american deaths in Iraq. U.S. and Iraqi troops searched house-to-house and combed fields with their bare hands Saturday after American troops and their Iraqi interpreter came under attack in the notorious "triangle of death" south of Baghdad, leaving five dead and three missing.
The military said the patrol was struck in a pre-dawn explosion near Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad — an al-Qaeda area where two U.S. soldiers were found massacred after disappearing at a checkpoint nearly a year ago.
A nearby unit heard the blast and the search was launched after communication could not be established with the patrol, the military said. Shortly after the blast, a drone observed two burning vehicles.
An emergency response unit arrived at the scene and found five members of the team dead and three others missing.
Checkpoints were established throughout the area, while helicopters and jets buzzed overhead. AP Television News footage showed Iraqi soldiers picking through cattails and other weeds as they searched fields and canals for clues.
The military refused to specify whether the Iraqi interpreter was among those killed or missing and would not give more details about where the bodies were found.
One possible reason is that this interpreter could have been in collusion with the terrorists.
An Iraqi army officer who was familiar with the search said he saw five badly burned bodies inside a Humvee at the site, suggesting the remains may not have been recognizable. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information.
He also said joint U.S.-Iraqi forces had sealed off the area and were conducting house-to-house searches, rounding up dozens of suspects. The military declined to comment on detentions but said troops were looking for suspects.
The Iraqi officer said U.S. troops singled out seven suspects out of as many as 50, including a wounded man who was hiding in a house and confessed to participating in the attack. He said most of the houses searched near the attack contained only women and children because the men had fled, fearing arrest.
The attack occurred at 4:44 a.m. about 12 miles west of Mahmoudiya, a town of about 65,000 in a Sunni area dubbed the "triangle of death" for the frequent attacks against Shiite civilians and U.S. and Iraqi forces.
It has been quite awhile since american soldiers have been kidnapped rather than killed. On June 16, 2006, two American soldiers — Pfc. Kristian Menchaca of Houston and Pfc. Thomas Tucker of Madras, Ore. — went missing after their Humvee was ambushed at a checkpoint near Youssifiyah, north of Mahmoudiya.
Their bodies were found days later, tied together with a bomb between one of the victim's legs. But the remains were not recovered until the next morning, after an Iraqi civilian warned that bombs had been planted in the area.
A third soldier, David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Massachusetts, was found dead at the scene of the attack.
Also Saturday, the military announced the death of an American soldier from a bomb attack Friday near Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad.
At least 30 Iraqis were reported killed or found dead elsewhere in Iraq, including a Sunni physician shot to death on his way home from work in the northern city of Mosul.
The last U.S. soldier known to have been captured was Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie, whose name is also spelled Ahmed Kousay Altaie, an Iraqi-born reserve soldier from Ann Arbor, Mich., who was abducted while visiting his Iraqi wife on Oct. 23 in Baghdad.
Sgt. Keith M. Maupin of Batavia, Ohio, was taken on April 9, 2004, after insurgents ambushed a fuel convoy. Two months later, a tape on Al-Jazeera purported to show a captive U.S. soldier being shot, but the Army ruled it was inconclusive proof of Maupin's death.
Both are still listed as missing.
We have been told that as the “surge” takes place there will be an uptick in violence as we take the fight to the insurgent terrorists, so this attack should be no surprise. They are rooting the rats out of their hiding places and so do not listen to the nightly newscasters who will surely portray this attack as another sign that we are failing instead of showing that the plan is working. It is sad that our troops die, but if they can end this insurgency then their deaths will not have been in vain. They will be remembered as the heroes that they are for they defend our country by fighting in a distant land. May their families know how that we grieve with them and mourn the loss of these brave young men.