Friday, March 27, 2009

3 interesting links:

Article debunking popular belief that lobsters and crabs don't feel pain at Discovery. This makes a lot of sense to me because animals have nervous systems to alert them to danger and injury. I've always that that no pain idea was whoey.

Interesting exploration on the politics of gender and sexually transmitted disease over at Jezebel. When Gardasil was marketed to girls, people worried that girls would become "promiscuous", but when it is marketed to boys the major challenges to efficacy and safety. After all why would the parents of strapping boys want to protect the girls, or, heaven forbid, boys with whom they will someday have sex?

A very sad essay about a mother of her violent autistic son is up at Salon and is well worth a read. There is so much about the human mind that we don't know. This mother has no idea as to why specifically he has become so violent, whether his autism is a cause or a contributing factor, or perhaps even only tenuously related. I feel very sorry for her.

2 comments:

erin said...

The autism article was beautiful in a heartbreaking sort of way.

I couldn't read about the lobsters and crabs, I'd never eat either again... not that I eat them more than once every few years anyway. I wish we treated the animals we kill for food more kindly. It's almost enough to make me go veggie.

qtilla said...

Yea that whole lobster feeling no pain sounded fishy, and I feel vindicated that I am correct.

I used to be a vegetarian, but it didn't work well for me healthwise. I'm too lazy to be a good vegetarian.

:( I always daydream of trying again, but I'd miss so many foods.