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Protest over LinuxWorld Penguins
Here is some more info about the live penguins which appeared at Linux World. Some participants complained about the penguins' small cage and stress due to the number of people around.
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...he's not wearing a red hat. :)
(I can't BELIEVE I was the first to get that one in.)
Save the whales. Feed the hungry. Free the mallocs.
While I agree that his comment about Israelis in general was inaccurate, I'm afraid I can't say the same for the Israeli government. The United States has done some pretty bad stuff, but what Israel does, and is still doing, is much worse. At least the U.S. has an executive order barring government agencies from assassinating people, while Israel still often tries to assassinate people (they were caught a few years ago trying to kill somebody they didn't like in Jordan). Not to mention that it was even an issue when an Israeli citizen, who happened to be of an Arab ethnic background, was appointed to a security commission. If that's not racism, what is?
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
(Of course, if you're a Whovian, a daemon is also a being who is enormously wise, causes massive temperature changes, and likes mucking about in small villages.)
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
Tux and his friends can not be caged for long. They will rise from the dust of commercial software, spread their wings and soar (kernel 3.0 probably) over the corpses of those monopolists who would make them into a display.
As for the birds at the expo - I'd like to know who is responsible for using a living thing as a gimick. It's an insensitive thing to do. The people who would do this, would certainly not care much about their customers or the quality of their products.
Cutsey gimicks are great. Stuffed and inflatible Tux caricatures are emblematic of Linux, and the Tux logo is our banner. But please, let's show some respect for living things, and let's - if nothing else - not make ourselves targets for unnecessary criticism by proxy.
I'm not one to chain myself to an oak tree, but really, using a live animal in a display/advert shows a particular marketting mentality which does not benefit Linux or the Open Source movement in the least. Those of you at the expo, please take a minute to reflect about the impact of hype, about whom it harms, and make your opinion known to the penguin handlers.
-- What you do today will cost you a day of your life.
>did they give the penguins beer?
:)
Yes, but then someone slapped the GPL on it, and they had to share
I wouldn't want to meet someone as vindictive, vile, cruel, dysfunctional and emotionally co-dependent as that on a dark night. Not without serious body armour, a division of tanks, and plenty of water cannons filled with holy water. And possibly some garlic.
Your idea of God is closer to a vampire than that depicted in the Christian teachings. Face the truth. You're more a member of a Vampire Cult than a Christian.
"Judge not, lest you be judged." Remember that? "Take not the mote out of your brother's eye, until you have removed the stick from your own eye."
Doesn't sound like the sort of person who goes around saying "All liberals are cold, cruel and greed-obsessed", does it? Sounds more like the sort of person who might live with and around liberals, experiencing their lives for himself, and where alternatives to those lives existed, DEMONSTRATED, NOT SHAMED.
Shame is EVIL, a monsterous vermin in society. That is far more evil than a comic-book sketch or a penguin could ever be.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
(They've one -hell- of a New Year's party they have planned...)
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
The cage does look small, and I imagine the animals are subject to a lot of unhealthy stress being gawked at and handled by presumably hundreds of people. No, they probably won't die from it, but that's not the point. It simply was a bad idea and that is not an appropriate environment for wild animals.
Please afford our flightless feathered friends a small amount of respect.
Of course, they still spit, bite, and otherwise are ornery. Also very useful. Perfect mascot for Perl (grin).
Send mail here if you want to reach me.
I think the difference is that there is something we can do about it. When you see something going on that you think is wrong (I have no complaint about the penguin thing, but if I did...) and you think calling PETA would help then go for it. I don't see what you could do about the Rawanda thing except maybe writing your politicians. Yeah that will do a lot of good.
And the phrase "We're not in Kansas anymore" takes on a completely new meaning.
Vidi, Vici, Veni
Those little buggers are jackass penguins from South Africa. In earlier times on the Cape, they were threatened by extinction because they were too social and too unafraid of humans. Hundreds of them would eat garbage then surround human camps honking like jackasses (they are very loud) demaning more food until some mad sailor unable to sleep went out and whacked a few hundred (I am not condoning this behavior). I ran into a little colony of maybe 25 in SA back in 1996 and they were completely unfraid of humans still (these were wild jackies).
They are thought in SA (as I hope my tale tells) to cause stress--not have much stress themselves.
Remind you of any humans in open source?
Certified Black Helicopter Pilot *** Unwitting Dupe of One World Gov'ment
...otherwise the penguins might escape, and then grow to gigantic size. I've seen pictures of what giant penguins do to Microsoft employees. It's not pretty, and knowing Microsoft's lawyers, we'd have a hell of a lawsuit on their hands.
And gods help eTrade if the penguins didn't get to participate in the Red Hat IPO.
Finding God in a Dog
What about the BSD mascot? Isn't the little daemon forced to live in a place where it is excessively hot? Haven't fire and brimstone been found to be cancerous?
/* No, I'm not condoning cruelty to animals or belittling the objections of animal advocates. */
Save the whales. Feed the hungry. Free the mallocs.
(In my best Jon Katz style)
Geeks are commonly thought to be a kind, thoughtful group. Because they endure so much hatred and repression, they learn first-hand how it feels. Many geeks are vegetarians. Some are avowed pacifists with a deep aversion to America's growing culture of violence promoted by the mass media and the NRA. The Linux World Expo provided an opportunity for the intellectually superior to get together and demonstrate their kindness and overwhelming urge to share.
Just don't tell that to the penguins.
-- Anyway, you get the idea.
Save the whales. Feed the hungry. Free the mallocs.