Originally Posted By jmoore1966 <<And that is the 3rd most asinine feature to life in the USA.>> OK, I just just gotta know what the first two are? I know the universal remote is not one of them. Politics & Healthcare? Caffeinated soap? So, I just hope that those that got mauled/killed were the ones doing the taunting -- otherwise there's an idiot out there with a mangled foot that the relatives would like to talk to.
Originally Posted By barboy "OK, I just just gotta know what the first two are?" I begged that question but good---didn't I. #1. I would say squandering beyond staggering sums of public money on a phantom/useless war on the other side of the globe when folk right here in the US have no healthcare coverage, the Katrina aftermath lingers and we have very woeful public transportation. #2. imprisoning people over drugs
Originally Posted By barboy Like I said earlier holding a snake that can mess with one's nervous system and cause death in less than 10 minutes is complete nuts. But those rays are not a threat; you need to trust me here as I know where I speak since I dive and watch those types of shark-like fish. Irwin was hit with the barb in his heart---- an absolutely freak occurance since more or less that is only part on the human anatomy that could cause death. Rays are "shy" and they do not attack. It took a perfect "accidental" ray zap to kill Irwin whereas a bite to ANY human body part from the quite aggressive mamba spells certain death 99 out of 100 times. *** it is believed that it wasn't the ray's venom that killed Irwin but blood loss when Steve pulled the barb from his chest area.***
Originally Posted By jonvn He was swimming too close to them. Anyway, if anything proves that karma exists it is his death.
Originally Posted By barboy Actually I do agree with you in the general sense here about Irwin. Karma all the way I tell ya!
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 <<I57, one of the keepers tried to go inventory the cats but was physically restrained by the emergency personnel.>> Ergo, there was a systems problem with the emergency response effort. When one critical party is "restrained" by another from carrying out what he believes to be a high-priority action, there's a critical lack of coordination among the crucial players. <<I'm not sure what the object of your ire is: emergency plans in general? Lack of adequate emergency drills? Lack of foresight for all conceivable crises and chaos? From what I understand, the fire dept received many 911 calls and the police were on the scene within minutes. Sounds like they were fast enough to prevent further tragedy.>> My ire on this issue is general and diffused. And it's more than "ire." It's also fear and indignation. It's a result of recent US incidents that have revealed that: politics ranks higher than substance with the policy-makers into whose hands we are entrusted; emergency preparededness plans show themselves repeatedly not to work in actual emergencies; that despite assurances from federal, state, and local agencies, it turns out there's really nobody behind the curtain. I do believe this incident is yet another example of an agency not having an effective plan in place for a reasonably predictable contingency. But, yeah, that doesn't mean that this zoo deserves my ire for the fact that it took FEMA five days to get water to the SuperDome or that the FAA has shown itself to be entirely RE-active or that... The police on the scene at the zoo did neutralize the situation quickly. I applaud them for their fast and effective response.
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 <<If indeed these young men were taunting the animal, they still didn't deserve to get ripped apart.>> Why not? I have no sympathy for any of them. I don't have sympathy for anyone who dies playing chicken on a railroad track. I have zero sympathy for the jerks who die climbing Mt. Whatever in their vain and macho efforts to show that they are stronger than nature. <<Imagine how everyone would feel if that cat would have grabbed a five year old child.>> It's a false comparison. A five-year-old is not capable of such calculated and stupid behavior. Instead, let me ask you... What if these guys incited the tiger to escape its enclosure -- and while on its way to find the chief perpetrator, the crazed cat paused long enough to kill an innocent five-year-old child who just happened to be in its path? These idiots put more people than themselves in danger.
Originally Posted By sherrytodd >>>I have zero sympathy for the jerks who die climbing Mt. Whatever in their vain and macho efforts to show that they are stronger than nature.<<< Guess I'll wrap myself in bubble wrap and lock myself in my house.
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 <<Guess I'll wrap myself in bubble wrap and lock myself in my house.>> Huh? No. Just don't spend a fortune to make a frequently-fatal journey and expect me to buy your survivor's "She Died A Hero" book.
Originally Posted By sherrytodd I guess I really don't know which Mount Whatever are you talking about? I've climbed many Mt Whatevers and I can tell you there is a big difference between what you see sensationalized on the Discovery Channel or IMAX and those of us who have the right training and do it for real. And you don't have to buy any "She Died a Hero Book" but at least there will be plenty of great stories at my funeral to tell, which will not be happening any time in the near future unless someone takes me out on the highway on the way to work tomorrow. Your perspective is a little out of whack. I'm not sure what me safely climbing a mountain has to do with an idiot dangling a leg in front of a tiger
Originally Posted By sherrytodd OK, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to rant or derail. Just hit a little close to home. The idiots get sensationalized. Like the guy in the canyon who cut off his arm to escape. Those of us who do things right know that the guy was a moron, yet people see him and think that he represents the rest of us. People can go pay $60,000 to go die on Everest. That doesn't make them mountaineers. Derail out...
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 <<I guess I really don't know which Mount Whatever are you talking about?>> I couldn't remember the name of the mountain. I just looked it up. It's Everest. You know, the one that costs a fortune to climb. The one that requires that local sherpas risks their lives to lead you up. The one that kills a certain percentage of all climbers. <<Your perspective is a little out of whack.>> I don't think so. I just refuse to participate in the self-aggrandizement of those who choose to undertake this climb. Or, for that matter, those who choose to eat poison blowfish. Or those who choose to antagonize wild cats. <<I'm not sure what me safely climbing a mountain has to do with an idiot dangling a leg in front of a tiger>> Your recreational mountain climbing has nothing to do with anything I've mentioned above. Enjoy!
Originally Posted By jonvn There is actually no evidence at this time that the cat was taunted. This was put forth by the zoo director, and the next day retracted. And it really does not matter. The tiger simply should not have been able to leave it's cage, period. Unless someone actually opened its cage and let it out, then the zoo is completely at fault. People keep saying that "Why didn't this happen before?" Well, because it didn't. It happened now. It took this long before a tiger figured out it could do it, and it did. This particular tiger attacked someone last year. That had not happened before, either. It was a tiger, it doesn't need to justify its behavior, and people are putting human behavior onto an animal where it does not belong.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Now it appears the tiger "wall" was below the recommended height by a good 4 feet or so, and it was missed or ignored by those with the oversight authority. I'm telling you...taunting or no taunting...the zoo (or, more specifically...the zoos insurance company) is going to pay - big.
Originally Posted By threeundertwo >>reasonably predictable contingency.>> I think this is the arguable point. This incident was in no way reasonably predictable. This has never happened in any zoos on record. cf interviews with Jack Hana and other experts who agree that the design of the tiger's cage leaves no chance of it's escaping on it's own.
Originally Posted By threeundertwo posted at the same time. I didn't see that information yet wahoo. Then there is a big problem if that's the case.
Originally Posted By jonvn Jack Hanna has since said that given the new information on the wall being short he is now saying it's NOT impossible. Although he is saying that it'd require a very agitated animal to jump that far. And I've stood at that very exact spot lord knows how many times watching these animals.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Well, now seeing on the news and reading the wall is only 12 feet high I atleast know my depth perception was not out of whack last May!
Originally Posted By pecos bill I suppose what bugs me is how so many of us are saying these guys got what they deserved when we dont even know what happened. I also cant comprehend the outpouring of sympathy for this cat. Tigers are vicious killers, and I dont give a rats behind if I ever see one in a zoo or in the wild, yet all I hear is how the poor tiger had to be put down, and how stupid the people involved must have been. We have a problem as a society when we automatically side with a wild, meat eating predator over members of our own species. Sure, people do stupid things, and quite often pay dearly for it, but if any one of you can honestly say you have never done anything stupid, especially as a teenager, well, your a better person than me.
