Hmm, i wonder why??? Near China is just too much of a coincidence...

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What is your definition of "person"?
To me, the answer is yes. They are living, feeling creatures trying to survive and so are we.
We "think" we have more power of reasoning, how can that be right? Animals cut about all day enjoying life and stay where there's shelter and food. While we, well we're worse off than ants in an ant farm. Slaving all day over completely unnatural jobs, unable to even see daylight, most of us. The birds in my garden look at me like an interloper when I come home, because they're here all day amusing themselves, they own the garden for more time than me. Where is the reason in that?

And Kazili, my dog killed a mouse a couple of weeks ago for running straight at me and making me squeal. Is a dog smarter than all of us?

There is one enormously significant difference between humans and animals, and that's free will. Now before you get caught up on the semantics and start rambling to me about how animals "do what they want too," think about it.

Yes, within reason, animals make choices. However, animals make choices based only on their instinctual "programming," if you will. They choose to try and survive, and that's the extent of their lives. Human beings choose to survive as well. However, humans also try to make individual survival as comfortable as possible. Because of this difference, humans are also capable of sin (from a religious point of view, I suppose), or if you'd prefer, senseless atrocities.

Animals are not mean, they are not evil. The only case in which an animal would senselessly attack a person or another animal for no other reason than to cause that person or animal injury or worse, would be in the event that the animal was influenced by the corruption of humans. Animals in their pure and instinctual state do not kill for no reason. They kill to eat, they eat to survive.

Humans on the other hand, are capable of killing for little to no reason. We steal from others for excessive and selfish comfort, humans are capable of such atrocities as rape, kidnapping, genocide. We're basically the worst thing that ever happened to the planet. It's pretty sad, really.

Now, please don't assume I'm some PETA nut (I'm not). I have nothing wrong with hunting, as long as the Earth's resources are replenished (which thankfully most hunters are very good about--donating to national parks, things like that), I don't think there's anything wrong with it.

But all in all, I'm appalled with mankind. My relationship with humans in general is a love/hate relationship. Sometimes, I'll witness someone going out of their way to help another person, and my faith in the human race is somewhat restored. However, there is more bad in this world than good. And it's thanks to us. I don't buy that optimistic "There are so many good people out there, you just don't hear about them as much as the bad ones" crap. Humans are selfish and sometimes downright evil in nature. Most people in this world strive to make their own lives as nice and comfortable as possible with little to no care about those who cannot afford the same comfort. It's sad, it's pathetic, and unfortunately it's probably never going to change

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"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
-John F. Kennedy

"Education begins the gentleman, but reading, good company and reflection must finish him."
-John Locke

"What worries you, masters you."
-John Locke

I don't know Locke, I've seen all kinds of tv showing things like monkeys ambushing and killing other monkeys, groups of young male dolphins pursuing, harrassing and raping female dolphins, one where a group of big fish pursued and harrassed a whale and her baby for days before killing the baby then leaving it uneaten.
I've watched the little birds around here lift fur after grooming my dogs, and fly off with the fur to nest inside my garage roofspace. They take their comforts, just as we do. I've watched crows and seagulls fighting over the best nesting places and crows (you always get laugh with the crows) bait baby seagulls and play with them for no apparent reason, no food in sight. They also really appreciate any improvements supplied to their environment.
People are a different matter. I don't like living like an ant in an ant farm, but the western way of talking instead of mass killing and fighting is definitely preferable to other cultures where they just beat each other to death to establish who's right. In my experience, those who are best at the beating others are generally worst at being decent human beings.
I was raised a christian, to treat people as I would like to be treated and to put myself last. This doesn't work, as you are the only one who does it, all you get from it is shafted.
But people are a contradiction. Most people here are bound into the current government culture of work work busy busy buy a house a car, no time to see your family or socialize, your time off work is entirely for yourself and you can't spare any of it for anyone other than immediate family, but even your children are fired off to childminders so you hardly even know them.
But when something like a tsunami (£10 million donated from Scotland alone within 7 days of that disaster) or earthquake affects others and they need help, or for example the abduction of little Madelein McCann in Portugal, people will give money hand over fist to help others.
Recently a tv news reporter here had cause to visit a place of real deprivation in Malawi and came back and reported the terrible conditions, asking if people would consider donating funds to build a hospital to help this country which none of us have ever seen. The hospital is now being built: stv
"stv's Christmas appeal aimed to bridge the poverty gap and raise enough money to build a new maternity hospital.

It was backed by Scotland's richest man, Sir Tom Hunter, who pledged to match pound for pound what viewers raised. In just two weeks, the target was smashed, and the campaign eventually raised £750,000."

Bottom line though, I prefer animals to humans. Not because they behave more honourably, but because you can connect with animals directly.
In human interaction there's too much interference. People are not honest, they conceal what they think, lie etc and they're far too influenced by things like physical appearance.

It's true, I suppose there are the occasional odd occurrences in nature, but I still stand by the theory that such aggressive behavior in animals is often--if not totally--caused by human interaction or influence.

I am a Christian as well, but I cannot force myself to be kind to someone who is not. I would say I'd prefer to live by the philosophy mentioned in the Old Testament "an eye for an eye..." I just don't think it's right to let people get away with blatant cruelty, crime, or even incivility, no matter what the circumstances.

I, like you, appreciate the company of animals more than the company of humans. Although, when I find someone with whom I can relate to call my friend--I've managed to accomplish that, but it was extremely difficult--I find it easy to enjoy their company.

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"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
-John F. Kennedy

"Education begins the gentleman, but reading, good company and reflection must finish him."
-John Locke

"What worries you, masters you."
-John Locke

First off, my name is spelt like this: Kazikli (Bey) (notice the second K) and secondly, intelligence never denoted physical strength (in many cases, quite the opposite) and nor does intelligence mean that you will do smart things, like my cousin, straight A student but a complete idiot nonetheless. So no, a dog is not smarter than all of us, it was just better equipped than the mouse.

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Are People Animals or vice versa ???
People and animals are Living Creatures and as such should be treated with the same kindness, the more so the animals have the same ability to feel the pain and all the tortures of the mental distress. I bet any man would die of horror right at the beginning of the slaughter-house death corridor just as the little calf does ... I have many friends among animals, not only many privileged horses but also among very sociable pigs and very attached cows who are very clear-thinking and quick-witted ...What is intelligence or lack of it anyway ??? It is not a determining factor upon this world in stating who we may put behind the ZOO bars ... Intelligence is a product of thought but beyond that what is it ?
I.Q. tests presume to measure intelligence but do they ??? A genius engineer outside the field of electronics may be very block-headed, no less intelligent than a pig ... Observations made by animals (and by some gentle people) is
in life more important ...

something on the notion of intelligence testing, take it, it's fun.

Multiple Intelligences Show me your results I'll show you mine.

The difference between people and animals is in the ability of people to think about thought and the ability to think abstractly. Animals do not have this ability. Animals can learn, have personalities and other individualistic characteristics but they can not think about thought. In other words they are a lower conscious, they have no ability to be self-reflecting, and this is what a primary definition of 'personhood' is.

tell us, dellgines, how you know this.