[torsoboy]

According to PETA, a house fly is an animal, and it should not be swatted.

The Associated Press: PETA wishes Obama hadn't swatted that fly

These people are so crazy, it's hard to believe that they have as many cult members as they do. But I guess the craziness is one aspect that draws people in.

[Rumor]

That is a reason.

[Spheric Harlot]

Biologically, flies have been defined as animals since long before either of us was born.

[torsoboy]

I just googled it, and you are deffinitely right. Since there are only two main "Kingdoms" for living things (Plants and Animals), and an insect is not a plant, it falls squarely into the Animal Kingdom.

I have never thought of an insect as an "animal". I guess I should have paid better attention in my science classes.

(I still disagree with PETAs stance on this subject though)

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by torsoboy 

I just googled it, and you are deffinitely right. Since there are only two main "Kingdoms" for living things (Plants and Animals)

Um what?

There are AT LEAST four, with different models allowing for more.

The two-kingdom distinction of plants and animals hasn't been used in several hundred years, since the advent of the microscope and the subsequent discovery of microbiological lifeforms.

[ctt1wbw]

Wrong sir. There are at least FIVE. ca$h is a whole separate category.

[ghporter]

If it's alive and moves on its own power, it's an animal. If it's alive and rooted, it's a plant. (There are some nuances-sea anemones, venus fly traps, etc., but you get the gist.)

Yes, houseflies are technically "animals," however until PETA can make a very strong case for the ecological niche and purpose of houseflies being very necessary to everything else, I think I'll keep swatting 'em. And I think I may email the Pres to congratulate him on his kill.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Rumor 

That is a reason.

Dude, that's two reasons.

Oh, and I might be a veggie but I reckon PETA are morons.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

Dude, that's two reasons.

Oh, and I might be a veggie but I reckon PETA are morons.

My kitten agrees with you. Doesn't take a brain surgeon to see the immense lack of logic behind PETA nowadays.

Now if they were just protesting factory chicken farms or those despicable people who chain calves in stalls and feed 'em milk till they bloat, that would be a different thing. Alas, their tactics demonstrate clearly that they're just out for attention, not the real betterment of animals.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

If it's alive and moves on its own power, it's an animal. If it's alive and rooted, it's a plant. (There are some nuances-sea anemones, venus fly traps, etc., but you get the gist.)

Paramecia are alive and move, and are generally held to a separate kingdom (it was called Eucaryotes when I was in school).

Bacteria can have flagella and move on their own power, and they are procaryotes.

Neither are animals.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Alas, their tactics demonstrate clearly that they're just out for attention, not the real betterment of animals.

I keep reading this about Greenpeace, too, and at least in that case, it's just plain wrong.

Nutcase or not: nobody moves ANYTHING if he doesn't get attention. So while a good many actions Greenpeace does are mainly publicity stunts, that actually gives them clout in all the stuff they're doing out of the public eye.

I have no idea whether this applies to PETA, but your point really is not the disqualifying argument it is often brandished as.

[torsoboy]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

Um what?

There are AT LEAST four, with different models allowing for more.

The two-kingdom distinction of plants and animals hasn't been used in several hundred years, since the advent of the microscope and the subsequent discovery of microbiological lifeforms.

That's what I get for not double-checking against the first result I got in google. Dang internet!

Wikipedia says that recent studies suggest that there could be over 30 Kingdoms already discovered. When we find alien life, I bet that this number grows substantially (unless they just create an "Alien" Kingdom).

[Eriamjh]

Did Obama order ALL flies be killed? Now that is news.

[Doofy]

Can we do the spiders too while we're at it?

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by torsoboy

Flies are animals now?

Well, they're not vegetable or mineral.

[torsoboy]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

Well, they're not vegetable or mineral.

Or any of the other 30 Kingdoms apparently.

[Uncle Skeleton]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

Paramecia are alive and move, and are generally held to a separate kingdom (it was called Eucaryotes when I was in school).

Bacteria can have flagella and move on their own power, and they are procaryotes.

Neither are animals.

Eukaryotes is a larger class than kingdoms (sometimes called domain), and it includes the kingdoms of plants, animals, funguses and protists, anything that has internal cellular membranes (like a nucleus)

[andi*pandi]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

Can we do the spiders too while we're at it?

spiders are awesome. Best pets I ever had.

[brassplayersrock²]

[scaught]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

Dude, that's two reasons.

Oh, and I might be a veggie but I reckon PETA are morons.

I'm with you.

I mean. Peta basically HAS to frown on this at this point. They've lost all leverage with the amount of insanity they've pumped into the universe on this subject.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

Paramecia are alive and move, and are generally held to a separate kingdom (it was called Eucaryotes when I was in school).

Bacteria can have flagella and move on their own power, and they are procaryotes.

Neither are animals.

Obviously my attempt at a rule of thumb for the visible world fell flat. (And I know that some paramecia are visible with the naked eye, but that's beside the point.)

The point I was making was "duh, of course houseflies are animals" because they conform to the most basic rule of thumb for classification (of visible living things, anyway): they move around on their own power.

[abbaZaba]

what about when PETA people walk around on grass? I am sure they kill some bugs. what loserfaces

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton 

Eukaryotes is a larger class than kingdoms (sometimes called domain), and it includes the kingdoms of plants, animals, funguses and protists, anything that has internal cellular membranes (like a nucleus)

My bad - I meant Protista, not Prokaryotes.

(It's been almost twenty years…)

[andi*pandi]

try as I might, I keep reading this thread title as "Files are animals now?"

and topic: peta is silly.

[Tiresias]

PETA is sending President Barack Obama a Katcha Bug Humane Bug Catcher, a device that allows users to trap a house fly and then release it outside.

This is just too ridiculous for words.

A fly is a pest. Are they going to publicly condemn people for worming their pets? Make a public condemnation of the removal of parasites? Declare the human immune system "cruelty to viruses" and extol HIV for making of the human body a sanctuary for all infectious, but nevertheless precious, organisms?

[RhymesWithOrange]

Some Republican wished he was a fly on the wall, realized he couldn't hear anything. He decided to get a little closer and WHAMMO!!111 RIP. Is Limbaugh still around? That was some fat fly.

[Uncle Skeleton]

Originally Posted by Tiresias 

Are they going to publicly condemn people for worming their pets?

PETA is opposed to enslaving animals as pets, so I'm going to guess "yes"

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Tiresias 

A fly is a pest. Are they going to publicly condemn people for worming their pets?

You purposely give your pet worms?

[Tiresias]

worm verb 2 treat (an animal) with a preparation designed to expel parasitic worms.

My weighty and well-thumbed dictionary and I laugh at you.

[Dakar V]

Originally Posted by Tiresias 

My weighty and well-thumbed dictionary and I laugh at you.

No, we all laugh at you for not getting the joke.

[Person Man]

PETA is telling people they shouldn't kill insects?

PETA???? PETA?!?!?!?!??? The SAME organization that kills thousands of animals each year? Yes, you heard me. They KILL thousands of animals.

PETA Kills Animals | PetaKillsAnimals.com

They may tell you that the animals they euthanize weren't adoptable, but a veterinarian gave a mother cat and two "very adoptable kittens" to PETA to find homes for... they were found, dead, in a dumpster several hours later. This came out in the lawsuit mentioned in the above link.

So, until PETA stops killing animals themselves, they DON'T HAVE A LEG TO STAND ON TO DEMAND THAT WE STOP KILLING INSECTS!

Hypocrites.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Tiresias 

My weighty and well-thumbed dictionary and I laugh at you.

An anonymous CraigsList poster laughs at you.

[Tiresias]

Are you saying that I can't spell and my grammar is off? Where? And so? Is this another one of your "jokes"?

Perhaps Dakar can explain. He seems to understand your subtle genius.

[Dakar V]

His subtle genius is not being priggish about grammar, particularly when it pertains to a throwaway joke.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Tiresias 

Are you saying that I can't spell and my grammar is off? Where? And so? Is this another one of your "jokes"?

Perhaps Dakar can explain. He seems to understand your subtle genius.

Sorry, the reference was kind of buried.

Originally Posted by Craigslist

You had your dog dewormed, not wormed. No one gives dogs worms on purpose

[Tiresias]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

Sorry, the reference was kind of buried.

A word quibble. How fun.

Here is the entry for the verb form of "worm" in that masterwork of lexicography, The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, with the contended form in boldface:

worm /0wə:m/ verb. M16.
[ORIGIN from the noun.]

► I 1 verb trans. Extract the worm or lytta from the tongue of (a dog) as a supposed safeguard against rabies. obsolete exc. hist. M16.

2 verb trans. ▸ a Rid (plants, esp. tobacco) of insect larvae. E17. ▸ b Treat (a person or an animal) with a preparation designed to expel parasitic worms. M20.

► II 3 verb intrans. Hunt or catch worms. L16.

Rider Haggard The old thrush goes on worming.


4 verb trans. Cause to be eaten by worms; in pass., be damaged or destroyed by worms, become worm-eaten. E17.

J. Galt The Manse had fallen into a sore state of decay—the doors were wormed on the hinges.


► III 5 verb trans. ▸ a Get rid of or expel by persistent or subtle pressure or underhand means (foll. by out); (foll. by out of) deprive or dispossess of (property etc.) by underhand dealing. Now rare or obsolete. L16. ▸ b Extract (esp. confidential information) by insidious questioning, persistence, or cunning. E18.

(b) A. Craig He would be so sympathetic, he'd worm all their secrets out of them. R. Davies The Notable British Trials series, which he wormed out of the Reserved Shelves in the library.


†6 verb trans. Pry into the secrets of (a person); spy on. E17–E19.

7 ▸ a verb intrans. Move or progress with a crawling or twisting motion. E17. ▸ b verb trans. Move (oneself) or make (one's way) with a crawling or twisting motion. (Foll. by in, into.) E19. ▸ c verb trans. Cause to move or progress off, down, through, etc., gradually or tortuously. M19.

(b) Reader's Digest Worming her way into places no one else could reach.


8 fig. ▸ a verb intrans. Foll. by in, into: make one's way insidiously into a person's confidence, a desirable position, etc., esp. with damaging or destructive effect. E17. ▸ b verb trans. Foll. by in, into: insinuate (oneself) or make (one's way) into a person's favour or confidence, a desirable position, etc., esp. with damaging or destructive effect. E18.

(a) Cornhill Magazine Imposters…wormed into his confidence. (b) New Republic He isn't the only former Soviet official to have wormed his way into the new order.


► IV techn.
9 verb trans. Make a screw thread on. L16.

10 verb trans. ▸ a Nautical. Wind spunyarn or small rope spirally round (a rope or cable) to fill the grooves between the strands and render the surface smooth for parcelling and serving. M17. ▸ b Wind packing strips between (the cores of a multicore electric cable) so as to give a more nearly circular cross-section; wind (conductors) together to form such a cable. E20.

11 verb trans. Remove the charge or wad from (a muzzle-loading gun) by means of a screw fixed on the end of a rod. E19.


worming ppl adjective winding, twisting; fig. working or advancing insidiously or tortuously: E17.

And for deworm,

deworm /0di:ˈwə:m/ verb trans. M20.
[ORIGIN from de- 3 + worm noun.]

Rid (an animal etc.) of worms.

In conclusion, it is equally correct to say "worm" and "deworm" and the Craiglist poster whose authority you cited is guilty of incorrectly correcting others' word usage.

[Tiresias]

Originally Posted by Dakar V 

His subtle genius is not being priggish about grammar, particularly when it pertains to a throwaway joke.

Who is being priggish about grammar?

Laminar jestingly queried my use of the verb "worm". And as a dog person, who is reminded every month by a trained veterinarian that, "It is time to worm your dog" I queried his query in my SOED and then responded with an equally jesting riposte.

How can you possibly mistake a comment like, "My weighty and well-thumbed dictionary and I laugh at you" for priggishness? Do you even know what priggish means? Look it up, and while you're there, look up the meaning of "facetious" and read my post again. I believe that everything will fall into place.

It seems that you went a little sour on me as soon as I mentioned a certain slow-moving reptile of the family Testudinidae.

And frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

[Rumor]

I had a vegan tell me that she didn't eat honey because the bees were enslaved.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Rumor 

I had a vegan tell me that she didn't eat honey because the bees were enslaved.

Seriously? No, really seriously?!? Holy cow! She apparently knows nothing about bee keeping and apiaries... Calling a very strong "give the bees some space" concept "enslavement" just blows my mind.

And if the honey were "naturally collected," she'd probably think of the bees as being robbed. Sheesh!

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Tiresias 

In conclusion, it is equally correct to say "worm" and "deworm" and the Craiglist poster whose authority you cited is guilty of incorrectly correcting others' word usage.

I DISAGREE. allcaps

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Seriously? No, really seriously?!? Holy cow! She apparently knows nothing about bee keeping and apiaries... Calling a very strong "give the bees some space" concept "enslavement" just blows my mind.

And if the honey were "naturally collected," she'd probably think of the bees as being robbed. Sheesh!

And she probably believes in global warming too - CO2 is killing all the plants, etc., etc..

[Tiresias]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

I DISAGREE. allcaps

Well, I guess that makes you an idiot.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Seriously? No, really seriously?!? Holy cow! She apparently knows nothing about bee keeping and apiaries... Calling a very strong "give the bees some space" concept "enslavement" just blows my mind.

And if the honey were "naturally collected," she'd probably think of the bees as being robbed. Sheesh!

That's the biggest bone of contention among vegans. Technically, vegans shouldn't use any animal products, under the assumption that anytime we expect something from animals, we're prone to abuse them in order to get it. But no one can figure out exactly how that applies to honey. A lot of vegans abstain just for consistency, but some are like, "Oh, screw it."

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

That's the biggest bone of contention among vegans. Technically, vegans shouldn't use any animal products, under the assumption that anytime we expect something from animals, we're prone to abuse them in order to get it. But no one can figure out exactly how that applies to honey. A lot of vegans abstain just for consistency, but some are like, "Oh, screw it."

Doesn't the whole "vegans are superior" concept run into problems with the assumption that humans are inherently bad? Doesn't that assumption imply that even vegans are inherently bad?

My head hurts. I think I'll go get a cheesburger and wash it down with milk...

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Doesn't the whole "vegans are superior" concept run into problems with the assumption that humans are inherently bad? Doesn't that assumption imply that even vegans are inherently bad?

What "vegans are superior" concept? I don't think that's an idea inherent to vegans any more than any other group of people. I think maybe you're confusing the Vegan Society with Aryan Nations.

I also don't think there's any real belief among vegans as a whole that "people are inherently bad." So here, maybe you're confusing vegans with Southern Baptists?

[hyteckit]

No, you are an animal!

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

What "vegans are superior" concept? I don't think that's an idea inherent to vegans any more than any other group of people. I think maybe you're confusing the Vegan Society with Aryan Nations.

I also don't think there's any real belief among vegans as a whole that "people are inherently bad." So here, maybe you're confusing vegans with Southern Baptists?

I must have just had the bad luck to run into vegans with bad attitudes-the group of two or three that I had this discussion with seemed to think that since I ate a non-vegan diet that I was a lesser being, prone to all sorts of barbarism... I guess I generalized way too much.

My vegetarian acquaintances I understand. My goddaughter, for example, has specific, philosophical reasons for being a vegetarian, but she doesn't have any of these quandaries about whether this item is kosher while that one maybe isn't. And she cooks up some tasty stuff!

[Tiresias]

How to these people feel about other animals killing and eating each other?

[kylef]

Only eat what you're prepared to kill .. and kill flies anyway. I'm a spider-in-a-cup-then-outside-guy.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by Tiresias 

How to these people feel about other animals killing and eating each other?

It's really outside the scope of the movement as far as I'm aware, so any answer would be inaccurate.