And what implications does it really have for the fate of so many homeless animals?
The logic behind such actions is often elusive, especially when all parties to the issue bear good intentions. Where do we draw the lines?

The letter below was sent to the magazine ANIMAL PEOPLE (November/December 2011):

Letters
Euthanasia

Ned Buyukmihci

I am responding to the letter by Doug Fakkema ⁽¹⁾ in the September 2011 edition of Animal People concerning “euthanasia.” [See below]

Without in any way impugning Fakkema’s motives and sincerity, he is either in denial or is unaware of the definition of the word. I do not argue that the death must be “good,” as stated by Fakkema, but his definition leaves out the most important aspect: the death should be in the interests of the individual dying. Of necessity, this means that the individual dying would benefit from death by ending a situation that is causing intractable suffering. Ideally, the individual would be able to indicate that he or she prefers death to continued life. In the case of cats, dogs or other nonhuman animals, this may not be feasible because of our inability to communicate with the individual. In these situations, it becomes especially important that the person ending life must be clear on her or his motives which must derive only from a sincere belief that ending the life will end suffering that cannot be relieved otherwise.

Using a defense that one is somehow preventing future suffering does not even warrant consideration, being patently absurd. Read more…

[Annotated]

The prosecution of Judge Baltasar Garzón by Spanish authorities is both politically and morally obscene. Already barred from office for eleven years, he is now the only man to face charges as a result of the brutal crimes perpetrated by the fascist regime of General Francisco Franco.

Garzón: Victim of a judicial lynching.
•

Alejandro López and Chris Marsden

Garzón is accused of perverting the course of justice and breaking the 1977 Law of Amnesty by investigating the murders of over 114,000 people during the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War. The victory of Franco’s fascist forces in that conflict,  set the stage for World War II in Europe. Franco’s regime survived the war and allied itself with US imperialism, lasting until the dictator’s death in 1975. Read more…

By Alex Lantier,
POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, WSWS.ORG (a socialists organization)

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington this week for discussions with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and other top US officials, who pressed him on economic and trade issues. He is traveling on to Iowa and California, to announce deals by Chinese corporations with US agricultural and film interests.

Xi is expected to become China’s president after this autumn’s 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which will significantly reshuffle the CCP’s top leadership. Of the nine members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the CCP’s leading organ, only two—Xi and his apparently defeated rival for the presidency, Li Keqiang—will keep their positions. Read more…