It's painful for me to even watch movies or tv series where any animals are used in the filming let alone read this blog. It's physically sickening for me... And angering. WHY at least cannot these animals, whether in the "shelters" or on the farms, be freed in the face of the inevitable incoming assault to at least attempt to fend for themselves, however ill-fated? To imagine them wasting away to die horrible slow deaths caged, corraled, tied up, or chained and trapped infuriates me so much against their owners and "caretakers". What is wrong with them to condemn their own animals to this?! It hardens my heart towards them when I usually would only have compassion.
The animals are suffering immensely under Maduro. I am in communication and donate to two brave and selfless rescues in Venezuela. The work they do is superhuman considering the lack of food and resources due to Maduros horrific regime. These people are rejoicing I assure you that Maduro is gone. They are weeping with joy. This is not a war. This is a liberation. There is hope today, where there has been none.
I am not disagreeing that wars cause suffering but I have seen no indication of a war here, and yes, I have sources, I just told you I am in contact with rescues there. I have been donating towards food for the stray animals for the past 2 years. They are on IG and other social media as well so all you need to do is look. I am a vegan for 20 years and very supportive of your animal rescue efforts and your fight for animal justice (I stopped shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joes because of you), but, I am not going to turn off my cognitive reasoning. That is cult mentality. I am happy for the Venezuelan people today and will watch and see how this plays out. All I can do is share in their joy today and hope for their future along side them. Please keep fighting for the animals and so will I.
I just spoke to one of my rescue contacts and this is what they said: We are in a rural area of Venezuela. Yes, people are happy, but, there are more henchmen in the country. I hope they take the others, because many of them are still in power. We all need to stay indoors and quiet waiting to see what happens.Thank you for asking about us and for your concern. We hope for your prayers.
the issue of an unprovoked american invasion of a foreign country destroys any belief that the US is a neutral party to putin's destruction of Ukraine and its ecosystems. Further it hastens Chinese plans for an invasion of Taiwan - causing yet more ecological destruction. A probable result in Venezuela is the arming of resistance groups who will be living 'off the land'....which means killing wildlife wherever it is found. War is hell but the myopic arrogance of our species spreads that hell thruout an ecosystem - look at the 5million acres of defoliated jungle in Vietnam (20% of its land). Agent Orange killed more than people - american politicians annihilated a jungle & the genetic inheritance of those animals for generations
Non-human animals are indeed treated as the third wheel by authoritarian regimes (and not only by them), so even if the dictator of Venezuela is gone, I don't expect the new regime will improve conditions for them. Also, the foreign intervention of the USA government on Venezuela is a demonstration of power and could lead to increased conflict with most of South America, or at least, with countries where that government has interests, such as oil, and other 'resources' as they always see Nature as something to exploit for their own profit. And isn't it a super useful distraction from internal issues with justice that now no one will be talking about, like the Epstein files?
Thanks. It needed to be said. Typical human behavior, as typical as war itself.
Those lowest on the power totem pole are victimized most. Soldiers shoot cows in the stomach just for giggles as they drive by. Soldiers have disdain for civilians anyway - why not shoot their animals? The animals are lowest on the totem pole. In war discipline dissipates.
Powerful framing on wildlife population declines during conflict. That Nature study finding human conflict as the single biggest predictor of wildlife trends is sobering but rarely discussed in antiwar discourse. I think the companion animal angle hits harder for most people emotionally, but the sheer scale of wild animal suffering gets lost because theres no viral footage of displaced elephants or poisoned river dolphins. Reminds me of the aftermath in Iraqi marshlands where entire ecosystems got weaponized duringconflict.
There's a mindset that tends to rise to the top in a system and a reality that's been the object of philosophic struggle since the invention of the steam engine-- https://aeon.co/essays/philosophers-must-reckon-with-the-meaning-of-thermodynamics . It is distinguished by an apathy about the costs in lives and quality of existence for who or whatever comes under its sway. Its adherents may give the orders, but it is likelier they are to be found persisting in denial until a bitter end such as Dane Wigington at Geoengineering Watch raises the alarm about on a weekly basis, while Thomas Nail at University of Denver terms ours a short-lived epoch in Earth's geological record, called the Kinocene. Needless to say, it's an apocalypse in its manifestations, or as Karen Hao mentions in her rundown of "The Empire of AI" in an interview from last May rebroadcast in the Jan. 1st Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman.
Weapons of war are aimed primarily at killing human beings. Working for peace equals compassion for human beings, and surely that should be the main focus. From this naturally follows compassion for animals.
It's painful for me to even watch movies or tv series where any animals are used in the filming let alone read this blog. It's physically sickening for me... And angering. WHY at least cannot these animals, whether in the "shelters" or on the farms, be freed in the face of the inevitable incoming assault to at least attempt to fend for themselves, however ill-fated? To imagine them wasting away to die horrible slow deaths caged, corraled, tied up, or chained and trapped infuriates me so much against their owners and "caretakers". What is wrong with them to condemn their own animals to this?! It hardens my heart towards them when I usually would only have compassion.
Even the horses! They’ve been so used in wars!
The animals are suffering immensely under Maduro. I am in communication and donate to two brave and selfless rescues in Venezuela. The work they do is superhuman considering the lack of food and resources due to Maduros horrific regime. These people are rejoicing I assure you that Maduro is gone. They are weeping with joy. This is not a war. This is a liberation. There is hope today, where there has been none.
Do you have any sources for this? Even the worst regimes for animals do not cause the insane levels of suffering we see in most modern wars.
I am not disagreeing that wars cause suffering but I have seen no indication of a war here, and yes, I have sources, I just told you I am in contact with rescues there. I have been donating towards food for the stray animals for the past 2 years. They are on IG and other social media as well so all you need to do is look. I am a vegan for 20 years and very supportive of your animal rescue efforts and your fight for animal justice (I stopped shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joes because of you), but, I am not going to turn off my cognitive reasoning. That is cult mentality. I am happy for the Venezuelan people today and will watch and see how this plays out. All I can do is share in their joy today and hope for their future along side them. Please keep fighting for the animals and so will I.
I just spoke to one of my rescue contacts and this is what they said: We are in a rural area of Venezuela. Yes, people are happy, but, there are more henchmen in the country. I hope they take the others, because many of them are still in power. We all need to stay indoors and quiet waiting to see what happens.Thank you for asking about us and for your concern. We hope for your prayers.
the issue of an unprovoked american invasion of a foreign country destroys any belief that the US is a neutral party to putin's destruction of Ukraine and its ecosystems. Further it hastens Chinese plans for an invasion of Taiwan - causing yet more ecological destruction. A probable result in Venezuela is the arming of resistance groups who will be living 'off the land'....which means killing wildlife wherever it is found. War is hell but the myopic arrogance of our species spreads that hell thruout an ecosystem - look at the 5million acres of defoliated jungle in Vietnam (20% of its land). Agent Orange killed more than people - american politicians annihilated a jungle & the genetic inheritance of those animals for generations
Non-human animals are indeed treated as the third wheel by authoritarian regimes (and not only by them), so even if the dictator of Venezuela is gone, I don't expect the new regime will improve conditions for them. Also, the foreign intervention of the USA government on Venezuela is a demonstration of power and could lead to increased conflict with most of South America, or at least, with countries where that government has interests, such as oil, and other 'resources' as they always see Nature as something to exploit for their own profit. And isn't it a super useful distraction from internal issues with justice that now no one will be talking about, like the Epstein files?
Thanks. It needed to be said. Typical human behavior, as typical as war itself.
Those lowest on the power totem pole are victimized most. Soldiers shoot cows in the stomach just for giggles as they drive by. Soldiers have disdain for civilians anyway - why not shoot their animals? The animals are lowest on the totem pole. In war discipline dissipates.
Beyond evil
Its all about the oil
trump doesnt give a darn about anybody's suffering but his own
Powerful framing on wildlife population declines during conflict. That Nature study finding human conflict as the single biggest predictor of wildlife trends is sobering but rarely discussed in antiwar discourse. I think the companion animal angle hits harder for most people emotionally, but the sheer scale of wild animal suffering gets lost because theres no viral footage of displaced elephants or poisoned river dolphins. Reminds me of the aftermath in Iraqi marshlands where entire ecosystems got weaponized duringconflict.
There's a mindset that tends to rise to the top in a system and a reality that's been the object of philosophic struggle since the invention of the steam engine-- https://aeon.co/essays/philosophers-must-reckon-with-the-meaning-of-thermodynamics . It is distinguished by an apathy about the costs in lives and quality of existence for who or whatever comes under its sway. Its adherents may give the orders, but it is likelier they are to be found persisting in denial until a bitter end such as Dane Wigington at Geoengineering Watch raises the alarm about on a weekly basis, while Thomas Nail at University of Denver terms ours a short-lived epoch in Earth's geological record, called the Kinocene. Needless to say, it's an apocalypse in its manifestations, or as Karen Hao mentions in her rundown of "The Empire of AI" in an interview from last May rebroadcast in the Jan. 1st Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman.
Very good article Wayne. I spoke about this in an online interview, where you can listen to the relevant section at https://youtu.be/OCqlXFaASOw?si=XEPquPil-_kpnkAb
Thanks Ronnie! It's an honor that you read the blog. Just listened, and your comments are spot on!
Thanks so much Wayne 🙂
So hard to watch what the animals are enduring in Ukraine and all the wars in other countries; it just makes me sick.
Weapons of war are aimed primarily at killing human beings. Working for peace equals compassion for human beings, and surely that should be the main focus. From this naturally follows compassion for animals.