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hehe well me being the noob that i am, i dont know how to use my pay pal to sell yarntails and such. is there like a tutorial or some one willing to lend a paw? please? anything? hehe

submitted by Scraps_wolf
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TigerTails Radio Season 7 Episode 16
From: TigerTails Radio Views: 0 1 ratings Time: 02:24:26 More in People & Blogs

submitted by Gelidus
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Over here in the UK, there’s been an extended brouhaha after many cheap TV dinners, known as ‘ready meals’ locally, were found to contain large amounts of horse instead of the promised beef. Some of the meals contained 100% Pure Horse.

Nobody knows how long the horse has been there. It only came to light because a branch of the Irish Government performed some DNA tests and announced the presence of our equine friends in mid-January. And it’s been in the news since then.

I think it’s worth discussing here on [adjective][species] because it relates to our relationship with animals. Also, I’m a furry horse, so I get asked how I feel about horses as a source of meat.

The short answer: I feel ambivalent. The longer, more entertaining answer: I’m fascinated how this scandal has come about, been reported, and—most importantly—how my furry friends have reacted, often wildly differently depending on their relationship with their species of choice.

It’s easy enough to understand how horse ended up labelled as beef: the European Union, which includes the UK, is an open market and goods (including meat) can mostly be traded freely. In the UK, our big supermarkets compete in a desperate race-to-the-bottom to be the cheapest, regardless of quality. They advertise that a pint of milk is 1p or 2p cheaper. A tin of tomatoes will cost me 30p, but they’ll be unripe. I can buy a mass-produced chicken for £2, whereas an ethically-raised one the same size will cost me about £15. The drive for a lower price drowns the desire for a higher quality.

It’s the same drive that sees high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) everywhere in the USA. HFCS is sweet and cheap. Nevermind that alternatives taste superior, or that HFCS is metabolised in a way that reduces feelings of satiety: people want to pay less for their soda.

Horsemeat is perfectly legal in the UK. It’s also about half the cost of beef and, apparently, is indistinguishable in flavour. The meat used in ready meals is largely sourced from outside the UK, because it’s cheaper. And so horse has found its way into beef products via suppliers competing for supermarket business, where the strongest criterion for success is price.

The British press, for their part, have been competing to see who can generate the most outrage. The tabloids have dealt in the usual xenophobia, while the broadsheets look for something—anything—that allows them to be upset without dabbling in racism. Is there even a problem with horsemeat? After all, it is routinely eaten, if a bit déclassé, in France and elsewhere to no apparent ill effect. So the UK newspapers have decided that horsemeat is unsafe because UK horses are sometimes treated with a painkiller that isn’t safe for human consumption… eliding over the fact that the ready meal horses are sourced from elsewhere, and that there is no problem with such chemicals elsewhere in the horse-consuming continent.

I’m sure that there are countless other examples of cross-border intrigue and scandal all over the EU, and I’m sure they seem as equally quaint to disinterested observers.

Some will argue that there is an ethical issue with horsemeat, that it’s wrong to eat companion animals, or that horses have special capacity for pain, or fear, or some other form of suffering. These arguments are valid—moral arguments always are. However anyone who hesitates at horse yet pounces on pig—the porcine are at least the equal of equine in intelligence and companionship (if not HP)—might politely be called self-contradictory.

Yet the fact remains that horses are special for many people, including many furries. The furry identity is usually attached to a specific species (or two), and some horse furs have a special affinity for their pony pals. For rhetorical purposes, I’m going name such hypothetical horse hangers-on as Gullivers, after Swift’s eponymous traveller who ultimately shuns human habitats for exclusive equine esteem.

Altivo, one of our favourite commenters here at [adjective][species], is a Gulliver. I think/hope he’ll have his say in the comments, so I won’t speak for him here. If you’re interested, he’s written eloquently on the topic in his journal.

Another furry friend of mine is a more vehement kind of Gulliver. His response to the idea of horses as food:

The whole concept fills me with horror and revulsion, and I have to say I felt suddenly sick at the sight of the topic… I think you know of my professional involvement in animal welfare, and I am not a vegetarian. I know some allege this as hypocrisy, and I know issues such as comparative intelligence and whether animals have names or not are not reasons to discriminate what one eats and what one doesn’t. There are, however, welfare issues in the transport and handling of slaughter horses which have a direct bearing. These are matter of scientific fact. [...] Even without these important issues, on a personal level I draw no distinction between eating horse and eating dog or cat, or, indeed, human. I would do none of these things (although personally the idea of eating dog, cat or human horrifies me less), and the very idea makes we want to vomit.

 

That response is taken from an old journal of mine, where I pondered the idea of eating basashi, a sort of Japanese horse carpaccio, which was offered to me while visiting Tokyo:

(I didn’t eat the basashi. I’m vegetarian, contributing my part to the predictable phenomenon that sees furries twice as likely as the general population to avoid meat altogether, as discussed in an [a][s] article from last year.)

Some furries have the opposite reaction from the Gullivers, and actively consume their own species, sometimes as an expression of their furry identity. (Most common, in my experience, among furry deer and bulls.) I haven’t come across any horse furs who look to devour horseflesh, however those in UK looking to express themselves in such a way have more options nowadays: the scandal has seen horse openly introduced to menus across the country, as pubs and restaurants cater to the curious.

There is nothing wrong with being horse-curious, no more than there is being vegetarian, or being a Gulliver. For those that think about it at all, meat is a moral issue, by which I mean that it’s unreasonable to apply universal definitions of right and wrong. There are cultural norms and politics at play here: imagine the hypothetical reactions among people you know to eating dog, or guinea pig, or scorpions. The consumption of animals—living, breathing, tasty things—provokes strong responses in many people. The righteous might keep that in mind before they start telling the rest of us how to think.

It’s the thinking that’s important. And I’m interested to hear your thoughts below.

submitted by Arkanoid0
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submitted by fascinocat
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Dear Papa Bear,

You have an interesting advice column going on. I like that you are able to hear other furries' issues and respond in kind. I want to see if you'd have any valuable input on this subject as it has been daunting me for some time. Here we go...

This is not a section about love as I tackled that long ago. This is about philosophical choices I make in life and where they will lead me. Over my years on this planet I have learned that I need to stand by the choices I make, so I stand by decisions.

Papa Bear... To start with I am disappointed. Almost all the furries out where I live have adopted a less than shining image of "we're victims" and "let's not think outside the box". I mainly point that statement at the 21+ group out here, but it applies to the youth crowd as well. I thought when I came into the scene that I would finally be meeting a group of people like me who challenge the rules and make you think, but I was sorely mistaken. I won't speak for everyone, but for most of them... Grow up. Names will not be mentioned however one of them soured a previous name I was using. Why is it that herd conformity and fear have to ruin a good thing? They run around purposely drawing attention to themselves, try and act like they've been stigmatized by society, act like a victim, then offload all their stress onto others to oppress. How can I morally stand by witness this? For Christ’s sakes people it's called maturity, go spend a few years on the streets then you might know it.

Anyways, that's the precursor subject. I had to get that off my chest. I don't take anyone in my age group well as 99.9% of them seem to be completely full of left wing bullshit. I hope it's just the youth crowd doing this. If so, then please someone point me to a 35+ group of furries, I'm done with these kids.

Well, I know you ask to keep it to one question at a time so I'll end here. My question is: I don't know what my question is, I think I just need some perspective.

[Papabear note: after writing the above, Valkerie contacted me again with the following...]

I wrote you about my previous question pertaining to youth furries. This is the real question I wanted to ask you about personal philosophical choices and beliefs. So without further adieu...

Life life life, oh what a mystery. I think the bigger mystery is how to handle it. Needles to say as it stands right now I am making some tough choices on how to continue. I am at a fork in the road right now and already know what route I am going to take. The issue here is where that route will lead me. So what am I talking about?

Well since the age of 10 or 11 I've been denouncing money and even earlier than that I have been denouncing authority (this is due to a very soured childhood). Well that was all those years ago and now I find myself with a bigger conundrum. I have reached the point of enlightenment and self-realization where I find it prudent to denounce government and society in general. I always know I would more than like one day end up as a loner and I was fine with that. As I grew I realized that people like me would probably never be able to have children, I'm not fine with that, but I suppose that is the only fair choice for them in this evil world.

Now... Why denounce government and society? The two go hand in hand. The only thing I can stand for in society is the idea to rely on the community for support and protection. I whole-heartedly agree that we should be able to do just that. My problem is all the strings that come with it. I refuse to give up and of my god given rights in exchange for community. I can find community with wolves and not give anything up... If they don't eat you first. Human's have too much of a troubled history for me to stand with them. As it is I already feel like an alien on earth watching a young civilization try and progress. I feel I could do it better myself and want out of this nightmare.

Now as far as denouncing government... Big subject for me. Simply put, I never consented to someone else's rule nor do I accept the notion of anyone being over me. I don't know any one person on Earth who knows, who feels enough, to love enough, to legislate what I can and cannot do. I used to be in the Air Force and I took the oath of enlistment which I remain true to. I may not stand with others, but I will fight for your freedom to the death. I'm not going to go in depth on this less to say if you have questions I will answer them, I will state the following:

I do not recognize the legitimacy of the state.
I do not abide by human doctrines, only God's law.
I do not believe in money or the use of. Period.
I believe it is OK to kill a threat to your being.
I refuse association with everyone as an implicit deny all statement.
I stand for the natural rights of the individual. All rights are natural rights and boundless in scope.
I stand as a representative of my own lands and family.
I would lay down my life to defend your way of life.

Simple and rich. I will be taking questions. Papa Bear:

"Taking this route will lead me down a long and troublesome path. I will face imprisonment, exile, gross human rights violations, slander of my good name, and maybe even death. It would be pretty easy for me to duck out and conform, but what would I really be giving up? I've seen the other side and I like it better. What do you think?"

[Lastly, Papabear received this note after the bear asked him to be a bit clearer about what the question was.]

The message was about how the more I grow the more I see things for how they really are. This message refers to how I came to the conclusion that I almost exactly align with anarchy, hating the state, growing apart from the world, but most importantly of all, seeking my personal independence.

The question I'm asking is "Am I wrong or is it perfectly sound to aspire to be free in all respects?" I do believe in personal liberties as far as the eye can see. No man or woman holds enough knowledge or love to make decisions for me on any matter. I feel like I'm cornered right now and all I want to do is seek refuge in the wilderness. Agh! This is giving me a headache.

Anyways, get back to me. Thanks.

- Valkerie

* * *

Hi, Valkerie,

Papabear can sympathize and empathize with some of your views. Nothing ticks this bear off more than other people (especially authority figures, but really anyone) telling me how to live my life when I’m not hurting anyone. And I, like you, don’t think much of government and even less of politicians. Same goes for organized religions, though I understand why many believe in them and take some comfort there.

That said, there is a reason such organizational structures as religion and government evolved in human society and why anarchy is not a viable option for civilization. No one is an island, as the saying goes. Humanity is stronger when people work together than if they go off and pursue their own selfish goals independently of one another.

Society has many flaws, but without it we would not have modern medical care, technology, movies and plays, space exploration, literature, mass communication, etc. All these things require the cooperation of many people working together to achieve a goal.

You can go off into the woods to try and live off the grid and off the social structure of civilization, and you can be successful at it (although living with wolves likely won’t work well). Some people do this, but they become nonparticipants in civilization. If that’s what you want, then that’s fine. Personally, while I do not believe I can change the world, I do believe that I can improve my little corner of it. That is why I write this column, and judging by the feedback I have gotten, I am grateful to say that I have done a little good in the world. This can only be accomplished, however, when one remains in contact with and a viable participant in society (i.e., e.g., I couldn’t reach people without my computer, the Internet, a power supply, a home to work in, food to eat, etc., all of which is made possible through the efforts of literally thousands of other people whom I have never met but whose lives affect me and what I do every day).

Valkerie, you are indeed correct that many things are wrong with the world. Your impression of how furries in general react to this situation may or may not be true; that is based upon your personal experiences and interpretations. You have two paths to choose from now: 1) Disconnect yourself from the world and live the life of a hermit, or 2) Accept the world as it is and that there are things you can’t change, but you can try to change the things you can.

If everyone tried to make their corner of their world a little happier, then all the corners would eventually merge into a happier world. That would be nirvana. Likely, nirvana will not be achieved in this world, but if we give up and do not try, then the darkness will surely swallow us all.

Hugs,

Papabear

submitted by mwishosimba
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submitted by ARandomFur
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submitted by JoJoJoshua
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The “Anthropomorphic Research Project” is out and about for a first of it’s kind 3 year study. Like the one held at AnthroCon in Pittsburgh, PA each year, this one is a bit different and more detailed. This study will try to follow the same person over the course of 3 years and take studies along the way. So if you like to fill out survey’s head over to the link below to start.

LINK THE THE SITE

submitted by Lucaloo
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Good thing we left a one-week gap; Smokey and Istanbul both got hit with con crud, so we couldn’t have recorded anyway! Instead, you get our third ever live show, and our first at Furry Fiesta that doesn’t explode in a ball of flames! Before the e-mails begin, we go into Smokey’s folks and their surprise visit that has him running around like mad, Halfwit talking about her events and how they went, Kyo’s food poisoning debacle and his desperate attempts to avoid death while dragging it up, and Isty’s improv suffering and various event fails! We have food to share with the audience – some of whom share yum-yums right back – and we even get a bit of a Harlem Shake going!

Once we get onto e-mails, we’ve got a lot to talk about! Sheerin (sp?) reads an e-mail about incredibly slovenly roommates, Ralathar asks about avoiding white knight syndrome, Woyro shares Ryan Ricarta’s offering on topic suggestions and addictions with us, and more! We’ve got more than one e-mail from Ryo Fox, a confession from Ding the Ghost Dog about his need for some serious rehab, and Stratosfear Tully mentions shaking his fingernail biting addiction. We even get Ilari to read an e-mail from Alex about impulse spending! It’s always fun when we can get you to do the work for us!

Next show’s topic is all about hygiene. Time to get down and dirty, as it were! Do you have any tips for dealing with stubborn hygiene problems, or how to establish good habits? Do you have any poor hygiene issues that you need addressed? Do you just have thoughts on this topic (or others – remember the topic is a guideline, not a rule)? Then write on in, we want to hear from you before our recording on Thursday, March 7th!

Twitter: fuzzylogiccast
FA: fuzzylogicpodcast
E-mail: fuzzy.logic.podcast@gmail.com
iTunes: Fuzzy Logic Podcast

Download:
Episode 77 – Logic Live III
File modified March 4, 2013 – 65.6 MB – downloaded 642 times so far

Episode 77 – Logic Live III - Good thing we left a one-week gap; Smokey and Istanbul both got hit with con crud, so we couldn’t have recorded anyway! Instead, you get our third ever live show, and our first at Furry Fiesta that doesn’t explode[...]

submitted by Lazorcat6
[link] [7 comments]

Contest details inside (streaming not yet working and reasons why are in the link)

Leave comments on how i can improve

http://drawfurfun.com/

This is what i have planned:

• Chat
• 1-click Streaming
• No extra software needed (this is my site's biggest seller stream sites wise almost every other site needs tools)
• Not guaranteed but if enough donations come in fur it no ad in the stream beside artist ad on the site
• still some more to be added as i think of it
• Will listen to user input *also there will be two URLS for the site one is furry and the other is none so artists can stream with ease without using a URL they are not comfortable with

And yes i do have people ready to stream as soon as it comes online for streaming

Previous comment from last post:

"Sorry if I've missed something here, but what is the purpose of this site exactly? I get that's it's for video streaming.. but... There is little to no information on there that I could see, just you asking for money and banner ads. What makes this better than any of the other already available streaming sites? Not trying to be mean I just think some more background/explanation is in order before people starting handing over their $$$ for an unclear business venture. Do you have streamers lined up? Is there a previous post somewhere I've missed? Any info you could provide would be helpful as I don't see this taking off the way it stands now. If you took this onto Dragon's Den they would eat you alive :/"

submitted by Ninja1017
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submitted by RexxieCat
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submitted by Zhang5
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Oddly enough for an international institution like Sesame Street, it has never had its own comic book — Until Now! Ape Entertainment’s Kizoic imprint presents the first regular Sesame Street full-color comic, written by Jason M. Burns and illustrated by Amy Mebberson. The first issue hits stores this April, and features one of five full-color covers that interlock into an ultra-wide poster.  “From television to the comic panel, Ape Entertainment will portray the characters that millions of parents and children have come to know and love in a comic series that will be produced in full color and available in stores this fall in standard comic sized printed editions for $3.99 and digest sized hardcover comic book editions for $7.99. They will also be available as a digital comic book that will be available through Apple’s App Store for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.”

image c. 2013 Ape Entertainment

Hey guys, I've recently taken up the task of organizing a new meet in downtown Chicago on Wednesdays. Our first meet is this coming Wednesday and it's my first time doing anything like this. I was curious as to whether anyone here has any experience in running one before, and if I could ask for some advice on how to run one successfully. Thanks!

submitted by Aniro
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Mangusu (you should all know him) needs our help.... Please read: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4394019/

Can we all rally support to him in this time of need, for the outstanding years of dedication he personally has done for the the community?

submitted by TheTervuren
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