Ethical question
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I think they are one of the most rapidly reproducing creatures. I'd say let them be. They will expand their population to however much the environment can support. "One of the Georges," said Psmith, "I forget which, once said that a certain number of hours' sleep a day--I cannot recall for the moment how many--made a man something, which for the time being has slipped my memory."
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They will expand their population to however much the environment can support. Yeah, I think that's part of the problem. :doh: An expert is somebody who learns more and more about less and less, until he knows absolutely everything about nothing.
I remember reading an article about containing the number of stray dogs in India. The article stated that the dogs know how many of them can be supported in a particular area (of the city) stay and they will not "expand" their number until one of the dogs dies or such. Similarly they will defend the territory against invaders since they know if some more dogs move it they will no longer be supported by that area. The argument being made was that its useless to catch and kill dogs since they will expand anyways. "One of the Georges," said Psmith, "I forget which, once said that a certain number of hours' sleep a day--I cannot recall for the moment how many--made a man something, which for the time being has slipped my memory."
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Strictly speaking, yes. Was there ever a doubt? The definition plainly states that euthanasia is the act of killing someone or something painlessly, especially if suffering from an incurable illness.
"When I was born I was so surprised that I didn't talk for a year and a half." - Gracie Allen
No definition mentions the consent of the sick person :sigh: Isn't euthanasia without consent a murder? :suss:
Tu tues une baleine, t'auras les écolos, t'auras Greenpeace, t'auras le commandant Cousteau sur le dos! Mais décime un banc de sardines, j'aime autant te dire qu'on t'aidera à les mettre en boîte!
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... but not related to software in any way. Just want a good cross-section of opinions here. :) There is a particular street that I happen upon occasionally.. maybe once or twice a month, and sometimes less... but anyhow, this street is always innundated with rabbits. Not the little brown wild rabbits, but the domestic-looking kind that you might find in a pet store. They aren't just in somebody's house, they are out roaming the streets.. and becuase of this, occasionally there is a squashed one in the road. I estimate there are maybe 20 or so rabbits. They appear to be fed (unclear whether they are being fed, or just eating grass and surviving on that.) They likely *aren't* neutered/spayed, as I've seen baby rabbits on occasion. They are moderatley skittish - you can approach them on foot, but once you get close to them they run away. I have no idea who, if anybody, officially owns these rabbits, although they tend to congregate around a certain house. There is a Humane Society here which handles animal control issues. They have raided houses in the past - for instance if somebody is hoarding 80 cats or something. The problem is that if they run out of room or money for housing animals, and can't adopt them out, or get them into temporary "foster" homes, they euthenize them. So the question - should I report this rabbit situation to the Humane Society? I'd be somewhat surprised if sonebody in that neighborhood hasn't already done so, but on the other hand, these rabbits have been there for several months.. maybe even a year... :~ An expert is somebody who learns more and more about less and less, until he knows absolutely everything about nothing.
Rabbits may be cute, but they can also be a plague: "Rabbits are one of Australia's foremost environmental pests. They have been one of the main causes of habitat destruction, native flora and fuana extinction, land degradation and crop destruction"[^]
Tu tues une baleine, t'auras les écolos, t'auras Greenpeace, t'auras le commandant Cousteau sur le dos! Mais décime un banc de sardines, j'aime autant te dire qu'on t'aidera à les mettre en boîte!
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Strictly speaking, yes. Was there ever a doubt? The definition plainly states that euthanasia is the act of killing someone or something painlessly, especially if suffering from an incurable illness.
"When I was born I was so surprised that I didn't talk for a year and a half." - Gracie Allen
DavidCrow wrote: Was there ever a doubt? My dictionary says it is to do with killing someone or something painlessly for medical reasons. Nothing about killing as a result of being sentenced to death. I typed define:euthanasia[^] into Google to see what it came up with, and of 13 definitions only one could be interpreted as possibly referring to a person on death row, and even then it was guiding the reader to thinking of terminally ill patients.
"If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him, for an investment in knowledge pays the best interest." -- Joseph E. O'Donnell Not getting the response you want from a question asked in an online forum: How to Ask Questions the Smart Way!
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No definition mentions the consent of the sick person :sigh: Isn't euthanasia without consent a murder? :suss:
Tu tues une baleine, t'auras les écolos, t'auras Greenpeace, t'auras le commandant Cousteau sur le dos! Mais décime un banc de sardines, j'aime autant te dire qu'on t'aidera à les mettre en boîte!
A few definitions do mention the consent of the ill person. However, there are a number of senarios where the patient is in a vegetative state - where there is no hope of communicating with them - that they couldn't give consent anyway.
"If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him, for an investment in knowledge pays the best interest." -- Joseph E. O'Donnell Not getting the response you want from a question asked in an online forum: How to Ask Questions the Smart Way!
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A few definitions do mention the consent of the ill person. However, there are a number of senarios where the patient is in a vegetative state - where there is no hope of communicating with them - that they couldn't give consent anyway.
"If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him, for an investment in knowledge pays the best interest." -- Joseph E. O'Donnell Not getting the response you want from a question asked in an online forum: How to Ask Questions the Smart Way!
Colin Angus Mackay wrote: . However, there are a number of senarios where the patient is in a vegetative state - where there is no hope of communicating with them - that they couldn't give consent anyway Then "euthanasiating" them is IMHO a murder. Considering otherwise is opening the door to a lot of trouble. For example, using extrem terms but it's for the illustration, we can't communicate with autistic people, they are suffering, so they should be euthanasied.
Tu tues une baleine, t'auras les écolos, t'auras Greenpeace, t'auras le commandant Cousteau sur le dos! Mais décime un banc de sardines, j'aime autant te dire qu'on t'aidera à les mettre en boîte!
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Colin Angus Mackay wrote: . However, there are a number of senarios where the patient is in a vegetative state - where there is no hope of communicating with them - that they couldn't give consent anyway Then "euthanasiating" them is IMHO a murder. Considering otherwise is opening the door to a lot of trouble. For example, using extrem terms but it's for the illustration, we can't communicate with autistic people, they are suffering, so they should be euthanasied.
Tu tues une baleine, t'auras les écolos, t'auras Greenpeace, t'auras le commandant Cousteau sur le dos! Mais décime un banc de sardines, j'aime autant te dire qu'on t'aidera à les mettre en boîte!
Sorry, I wasn't saying I agree with it. Just that there are definitions that mention consent, and others that don't (giving an illustration of a senario where it might be considered acceptable to use euthanasia where a person was in a persistant vegetative state. Also this is passive euthanasia, where the person cannot continue without the assistance of a life support machine and the person dies when the machine is switched off)
"If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him, for an investment in knowledge pays the best interest." -- Joseph E. O'Donnell Not getting the response you want from a question asked in an online forum: How to Ask Questions the Smart Way!
-
... but not related to software in any way. Just want a good cross-section of opinions here. :) There is a particular street that I happen upon occasionally.. maybe once or twice a month, and sometimes less... but anyhow, this street is always innundated with rabbits. Not the little brown wild rabbits, but the domestic-looking kind that you might find in a pet store. They aren't just in somebody's house, they are out roaming the streets.. and becuase of this, occasionally there is a squashed one in the road. I estimate there are maybe 20 or so rabbits. They appear to be fed (unclear whether they are being fed, or just eating grass and surviving on that.) They likely *aren't* neutered/spayed, as I've seen baby rabbits on occasion. They are moderatley skittish - you can approach them on foot, but once you get close to them they run away. I have no idea who, if anybody, officially owns these rabbits, although they tend to congregate around a certain house. There is a Humane Society here which handles animal control issues. They have raided houses in the past - for instance if somebody is hoarding 80 cats or something. The problem is that if they run out of room or money for housing animals, and can't adopt them out, or get them into temporary "foster" homes, they euthenize them. So the question - should I report this rabbit situation to the Humane Society? I'd be somewhat surprised if sonebody in that neighborhood hasn't already done so, but on the other hand, these rabbits have been there for several months.. maybe even a year... :~ An expert is somebody who learns more and more about less and less, until he knows absolutely everything about nothing.
Find another city that has an excessive number of wild deer being a regular nuisance.... take up taxedermy, and create Jackalopes, move to New Mexico and sell them to unsuspecting tourists. _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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How about a fox?
or a coyote. :) _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)