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[url="http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE55H4Z220090618"]PETA miffed at President Obama's fly "execution"[/url]

POLITICO (Washington) - The president has been getting lots of kudos for a lightning-fast, Mr. Miyagi-worthy swipe he employed to slay a pesky house fly that was buzzing him in mid-interview during a taping with CNBC that aired Wednesday.

"He stopped the interview to track and kill the fly," said talk show host Conan O'Brien.

"That's some pretty impressive hand-eye coordination right there," Jimmy Fallon gushed. "Makes Obama look like a bad ass."

But now People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, calling it an "execution," wants the commander-in-chief to show a little more compassion to even "the least sympathetic animals."

"Believe it or not, we've actually been contacted by multiple media outlets wanting to know PETA's official response to the executive insect execution," a blog on the group's website explained. "In a nutshell, our position is this: He isn't the Buddha, he's a human being, and human beings have a long way to go before they think before they act."

The group has sent Obama a device that traps a fly so it can then be released outside.

"We believe that people, where they can be compassionate, should be, for all animals," PETA spokesman Bruce Freidrich explained.

The fly saga began Tuesday, and it was the subject of a news report on Italian TV and almost a dozen Youtube postings that have been viewed more than 750,000 times. Thousands of people also have added commentary, including one who wrote, "But can he duck a shoe?" in reference to a hugely popular video of former president George Bush ducking a shoe thrown at him by an Iraqi cameraman during a news conference in Baghdad.

"Get out of here," Obama said as the fly buzzed him during his interview. The pest persisted, and when it landed on his left forearm, Obama smacked it.

"Now, where were we?" the president said without missing a beat. Pleased with himself, he added, "That was pretty impressive, wasn't it? I got the sucker."

Several observers in the room gave congratulatory shout-outs. Obama pointed to the floor and instructed an obliging cameraman to get a close-up of the corpse.

"It's like he's got one of those fly Terminator targeting systems in his eyes," said an awed Jon Stewart.

The fact that this even made the news is pathetic enough... And PETA's reaction... I'm not even sure I know where to begin..

Only when the president of the USA swipes at a fly does it make international headlines. Think of all those poor mosquitoes he executed and didn't make the news. That is a discrimination of species i tell ya!

As for PETA, well, i know the probably mean well and have the best of intentions... but with such a petty matter, ruins their credibility imho. Wonder if they ever heard of the phrase "Live and let die"

Loki[D.d.G] wrote: As for PETA, well, i know the probably mean well and have the best of intentions... but with such a petty matter, ruins their credibility imho. Wonder if they ever heard of the phrase "Live and let die"

PETA doesn't have any credibility to ruin in the first place...
Most people consider them an utter joke and a threat to legitimate and sane advocacy groups. Seriously, this is the same collection of nut bars who wanted Ben&Jerry's to start producing ice cream made from breast milk..

dragon wench wrote:Seriously, this is the same collection of nut bars who wanted Ben&Jerry's to start producing ice cream made from breast milk..

Eh, that isn't half a bad idea you know... Yummy!!

Okay i'll concede... maybe its a quarter of a bad idea

I've removed Japanese beetles from plants and walked them down the street.

I don't think PETA did anything wrong. They said Obama is a human being and they are not really protesting the fly move. They sent him a trap to use as an alternative.

Now PETA has lost credibility on other actions in my eyes because THEY are often the violent ones. But I don't think they should be put down because they have compassion for a fly. I would have been more pleased with PETA if they had not called it an 'execution' however because that is inflamatory as if they are going to attack the 'executor'.

Claudius wrote:I've removed Japanese beetles from plants and walked them down the street.

Oh hey, I frequently trap spiders that make their way into the house and I release them outside. Similarly, I'll move frogs, ladybugs and other assorted wildlife from sidewalks.
But... house flies are known vectors of all kinds of diseases, I never hesitate to kill them where necessary. Sure, they serve as part of the food chain; birds, spiders etc. eat them. But, I don't think exterminating the little buggers is going to put them on the endangered species list, so I'm really not worried.
And PETA are publicity-seeking morons... their only intention is to attract the limelight, that is their sole raison d'être.

@Loki,
lol! You seem to have some "interesting" hobbies..

I read this in the paper this morning. I was fairly surprised that it was this news-worthy, but...hey, he killed a fly. It's harder than it looks.

PETA's reaction is what it is. They couldn't not comment (not in their blood), but...its a fly.

dragon wench wrote:And PETA are publicity-seeking morons... their only intention is to attract the limelight, that is their sole raison d'être.

And here i was thinking the protests of half naked PETA girl activists stood for something more than pure eye candy. Silly me

I'll take a side order of crazy whit my flyswatter, please.

i dont get it. was it a slow day in american news or something?

*and tonights headline... the president killed a fly w00t*

and peta getting mad about it is just dumb. is a fly. easily one of the most insignificant creatures in existence. you want more flies? leave some food out in the sun. there. hundreds.

penguin_king wrote:i dont get it. was it a slow day in american news or something?

*and tonights headline... the president killed a fly w00t*

The problem started back during Reagan, when he replaced the old FCC. Suddenly, the organization that at the highest level prevented huge media conglomerates from forming virtual monopolies changed into one that actually hyped these purchases. From a few conglomerates owning roughly 35% of the major stations in the top 100 markets, today it's over 90%. And the owners are among the most conservative people in business, such as Rupert Murdoch, who has regularly fired good editorial staff and replaced them with rubber stamp hacks of his political views whenever he took over a new station/paper. Arguably as a result, the quality of US news journalism has declined severely. When they aren't getting their facts wrong, they're following frivolous garbage like this, or claiming that "balanced reporting" consists of having a person armed with verifiable facts alongside a liar on the same show.

EDIT: I write this without any party affiliation or personal preference. I didn't like Obama at all, and I still don't. I loathed McCain. Still do.

need to pick battles better

i think it absolutely retarded that PETA (joke unto themselves) gets their panties in a bunch over something as uninportant as this...... makes you wonder if they even raised an eyebrow to this artical i am going to post.

this story is something PETA should be fighting about and making attention about.. (warning.... kinda gruesome) [url="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31447723/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/"]poor puppy[/url]

penguin_king wrote:i dont get it. was it a slow day in american news or something?

*and tonights headline... the president killed a fly w00t*

It's lighthearted and requires little effort for the public to follow. We're hardly exempt. Note that SYM has a thread about Obama swatting a fly, but doesn't have one about the Iranian elections

Vicsun wrote:It's lighthearted and requires little effort for the public to follow. We're hardly exempt. Note that SYM has a thread about Obama swatting a fly, but doesn't have one about the Iranian elections

Thought about it, but held off. I was more curious if anybody else would start one up.

Loki[D.d.G] wrote: As for PETA, well, i know the probably mean well and have the best of intentions... but with such a petty matter, ruins their credibility imho. Wonder if they ever heard of the phrase "Live and let die"

No Loki, PETA do not mean well and they do not have the best of intentions at all. PETA are totally misdirected and base their opinions on incorrect information. PETA also support ALF:s violent attacks on individuals. Serious animal rights organisations do exist, but PETA is certainly not one of them.

Vicsun wrote:It's lighthearted and requires little effort for the public to follow. We're hardly exempt. Note that SYM has a thread about Obama swatting a fly, but doesn't have one about the Iranian elections

It's much easier to say something trivial than something of importance. Besides, SYM is not as active as it once was, so why bother to write a serious post about the Iranian election and then the discussion that follows will be 10 posts from 3 people who more or less agree? In my case, it's both easier, quicker and nicer to have a coffee with my Persian roommate and hear the news from Iran that do not reach Western media but spread on the internet through means the government cannot control.

C Elegans wrote: Besides, SYM is not as active as it once was, so why bother to write a serious post about the Iranian election and then the discussion that follows will be 10 posts from 3 people who more or less agree?

Pretty much my view as well. I considered starting a thread on Iran, but then I thought, "Why bother?"
As you say, it would be the same three people agreeing with one another, unless somebody decided to play 'devil's advocate.'

I do recognise the irony in my starting this particular thread, but I posted it precisely because the fly incident did make news, which I thought was totally ridiculous... and PETA's antics even more ridiculous. Eh.. if that makes sense?

sparky_kat wrote:this story is something PETA should be fighting about and making attention about.. (warning.... kinda gruesome) [url="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31447723/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/"]poor puppy[/url]

An innocent puppy pays for human idiocy. Grr...

I wonder what passed thru their minds when they committed such an act, im guessing nothing at all.

C Elegans wrote:<snip>
It's much easier to say something trivial than something of importance. Besides, SYM is not as active as it once was, so why bother to write a serious post about the Iranian election and then the discussion that follows will be 10 posts from 3 people who more or less agree? In my case, it's both easier, quicker and nicer to have a coffee with my Persian roommate and hear the news from Iran that do not reach Western media but spread on the internet through means the government cannot control.

Well - going a little off topic (a lot, but meh, the can was opened), then activity doesn't come unless somebody posts .... you know something active
Oh - and twitter and facebook spread news - how does that separate from the news normally, as taken from unverifiable sources?
(Yes, I've watched the daily show recently )

Loki[D.d.G] wrote:An innocent puppy pays for human idiocy. Grr...

I wonder what passed thru their minds when they committed such an act, im guessing nothing at all.

As far I understand, they shot the dog before they skinned it, so in my opinion, it's not so bad. Of course it's bad to get a pet just to kill it, but I don't think it's worse to kill and dog and use the hide than killing another mammal for using it's hide. Here in LA where I live, it's common that people have indoor dogs they keep in cages (which is illegal in Scandinavia). If I was a dog, I'd by far prefer to be shot in the head and made a belt, rather than live my life in a cage, only to be released once a week where my owner wants to parade me as a cute accessory.

I tell you what I think is really bad: 1) the way we humans destoy the environment so the entire eco system suffers 2) cruelty (ie inflicting unnecessary pain) on animals for purely commercial reasons, ie animal testing of cosmetic products, unnecessary painful keeping and tranportation in the food industry 3) cruelty to animals for entertainment, such as arranged fights or the caged indoor dogs I mentioned above.

Regarding the fly president Obama killed...well, I personally don't kill flies (why would I? I don't eat them and they are not dangerous in any way so there is no need for self-defense) but considering what we hitherto know about the nervous system in flies, I don't think it matters to anyone if you kill a fly - not the fly either - unless it belongs to a threatned species which was not the case.