A game of Skill?

Didn't your mother tell you not to play with your food? In the US they have a game similar to the skilltester you see in amusement arcades where you can try and catch a lobster which is then sent off to the kitchen to be boiled alive.
The following statement made by PETA:

But People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) say the machine “turns torture and death into a game, pure and simple.”

PETA also insists that there is no humane way to kill a lobster and it should therefore not be eaten.

But Ernie Pappas, whose company make the machines, points out even lobster’s don’t subscribe to that rule.

"Lobsters' favourite food is lobster," he told the Denver Post
http://livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/06/30/Cool_or_cruel

It was pointed out to me by a friend that would I willingly sit by, point out which cow I would like your steak to come from and then see it being led off to have a bolt put through it's head, have the throat slit, sit at the table while the animal was being disemboweled ? Well of course I wouldn't do that.
The thought of any animal being tortured appalls me greatly but in abattoirs, the beasts are killed humanely, it is swift. I worked in one and hated every moment of it. This did not stop me from being a meat eater. I dislike seeing chickens caged, they do suffer from living in cramped conditions. I still eat eggs. I will still continue to enjoy lobster also, however I wouldn't like to witness the above skilltester theme of catching one.

Roll Up...Roll up.....the CIRCUS is in Town

Hurry up 4pm, we were off to the circus. Before we arrived I contemplated the difficulty of parking. Much to my surprise, that was the easy part.
With the car parked and locked we made our way over and proceeded to do what everyone else was, looking at the animals. The photos did not turn out that good as the public was kept well back and I only had the trusty camera phone. Sure enough there was the obligatory fairy floss, or as the Americans call it, cotton candy and the freshest dagwood dogs I have ever tasted. A jumping castle with a few exuberant kids and mine tugging on my arm, "Come on mum, let us go on?". One grand male lion was laying on his back in all his glory, catching a few sun rays before show time. Lining up wasn't the nightmare usually experienced at such events and once we were seated it wasn't long before the rotund Ring Master bellowed into the microphone as the lights went down.
All eyes ringside and the lions were first to appear. Straight away I sensed that not was all that it seemed and the lions looked bored, it was very routine, simple and the lion tamer was seen to taunt the lions, albeit in a small way. One mumma lion took a few swipes at him and let out a low growl that sounded like she was pissed off more than having fun. Yay, we had ringside seats and right in front of us is where the male lion sat. Having seen many tv shows and documentaries, you can never appreciate just how big his paws are until you have one right in front, not even 6 feet away. He was magnificent. The tricks consisted of them each sitting on their own stool, then one jumped through a paper hoop, that was it...lion show over!
A scantily clad young lady came out and performed an act on a rope, twisting and turning upside down, contorting into unthinkable positions that made my bones creak just watching. One part, she was upside down with legs split and Mister 9 leaned over and whispered in my ear, "That's disgusting and gross mum".
There was some very , very good acrobatics from the guys, then they brought out the monkeys, been waiting to see these cute little creatures do their thing. One rhesus monkey entered the ring, done 3 forward somersaults, he was gone, the other walked around the ring on his hands, he was gone. Hmm, well that was exciting.
The Welsh ponies came next, run around the ring half a dozen times, then formed a line standing behind each other, the one behind stood up and placed front hooves on the rump of one in front. The stench from the ponies was overpowering, there was no normal horsey smell about them, an excruciatingly vile stink that got right in the nose and hung around for the entire show. That was the ponies over.
The trapeze artists were great, it was about 15 minute segment and I give them credit for scaling such heights and executing the twists and tumbles with apparent ease.
The clowns were not what I envisioned. Nothing like the clowns of yester-year and about as funny as a fart in an elevator. I know a circus is aimed at entertaining the kids, but there wasn't many laughing at the clowns either.
The highlight of the night for me was when the clowns grabbed an audience member, tied him to a board, blind folded him and pretended to throw huge carving knives at him. Then one at a balloon which was placed precariously between his legs. All the while the clown wasn't throwing the knives, it was the ring master sneaking out from behind the board and stabbing the knives into place, he hid back when the blindfold was lifted. The reason this amused me no end and I wil not go into the finer details of why but the audience member chosen was none other than one of our local police detectives...'good job', I thought.
Although Mister 10 says it was boring, he didn't like the animals being caged, the show was a success in the eyes of the children and that is what counts.

Spanish Bullfighting....Sport or Torture?

This is the moment matador Jose Tomas was gored during a bullfight.
The crowd looked on in horror as it charged the 32-year-old bullfighter and tossed him in the air.
Yet Tomas managed to recover and kill the bull, triumphantly showing off the ear in traditional fashion.

The bull fight has been a representative part of Spanish culture for years. Long considered an art by its many followers, the origins of this event lie in the ancient Iberian people who sacrificed bulls in religious holocaustic rituals in public spectacles. The origin of the shape and form of the bull ring could come from the ancient Roman circus although Celtic-Iberian temples also had a circular form.
The bullfight as it is known and enjoyed today began to take place in the 18th century and Francisco Romero was the first bullfighter to give organization to the celebration of a bull fight and is the creator of the current “muleta”.
But the true protagonist is the “toro”, whose ancestors have become extinct in the regions they inhabited except for the Iberian peninsula where it survived due to the bullfighting tradition. This animal has always been a symbol of strength.
For an explanation of what exactly goes on in a bullfight we must enter into a world of terms and technicalities of which the outsider may not be accustomed. To start with, each bull fight afternoon typically includes 6 bulls and 3 bullfighters participate.
The bull fight begins with a sort of parade of the participants around the bull ring, this is called el paseíllo. The fight is divided in three parts which are called tercios. There are marked by un toque de clarín or a trumpet sounding. In the first tercio the picadores appear on horseback and injure the bull with long pointy spear like lances.
In the second tercio the banderilleros place three pairs of colored banerillas on the animals back injuring the bull with the pointed ends.
In the third tercio, or suerte suprema, the bullfighter uses the small red cape, or muleta, substituting the pink and yellow capote used throughout the fight, finishing off the festival of the bullfight with the definitive sword thrust into the bull thus killing the animal. If he does it right it goes directly into the heart of the bull and he dies instantly.
If the public feels the torero did a good job, he will get one ear, both ears or both ears and the tail as a prize, depending upon the grade of perfection demonstrated. The president will take into account the public opinion, but it is he who decides the corresponding trophy. The public indicates its appreciation by waving white handkerchiefs.

I have much respect for different traditions and cultures around the world. Exploring and learning these differences can be fascinating at best. However, this is one I can not understand and would say that although the animal is eventually killed, and above it says instantly, it amounts to nothing but torture prior to the bulls death. So what if the matador gets gored, it couldn't of been the beasts idea to be penned into a ring and stabbed repeatedly, tormented then killed.

Optical Illusion....How Many Animals?

http://www.strangepersons.com/content/item/136372.html