The Gay Animal Kingdom
Male big horn sheep live in what are often called "homosexual societies." They bond through genital licking and anal intercourse, which often ends in ejaculation. If a male sheep chooses to not have gay sex, it becomes a social outcast. Ironically, scientists call such straight-laced males "effeminate."
Giraffes have all-male orgies. So do bottlenose dolphins, killer whales, gray whales, and West Indian manatees. Japanese macaques, on the other hand, are ardent lesbians; the females enthusiastically mount each other. Bonobos, one of our closest primate relatives, are similar, except that their lesbian sexual encounters occur every two hours. Male bonobos engage in "penis fencing," which leads, surprisingly enough, to ejaculation. They also give each other genital massages.
Joan Roughgarden thinks Charles Darwin made a terrible mistake. Not about natural selection—she's no bible-toting creationist—but about his other great theory of evolution: sexual selection. According to Roughgarden, sexual selection can't explain the homosexuality that's been documented in over 450 different vertebrate species. This means that same-sex sexuality—long disparaged as a quirk of human culture—is a normal, and probably necessary, fact of life. By neglecting all those gay animals, she says, Darwin misunderstood the basic nature of heterosexuality.
Seed: The Gay Animal Kingdom
From the JUN/JUL 2006 issue of Seed:
Credit: Catherine Ledner
Israeli Graffiti, Condoms Are The Answer
Israelis bulldozed, occupied, then abandoned this Palestinian home in Hebron, leaving behind the fairly racist graffiti in the photos below. Half of the total of all US foriegn aid ($15M/day) goes to aid those responsible for this graffiti.
originally uploaded by joeskillet.
My friend Jonas took those pictures. He's in Palestine now working with a group called Clowns Without Borders. They do circus stuff in the Palestinian camps for the children, most of them have never seen anything like it before. You might find his most recent email interesting so I'm pasting it below. Check out his poi pictures on flickr too.
Guantanamo Detainees Commit Suicide in ‘Act of War’
Three "detainees" at Guananamo killed themselves. Their lawyers say out of desparation, the US Military says it was cunning act of "asymetrical" warfare.
Rear Adm Harris said he did not believe the men had killed themselves out of despair.
"They are smart. They are creative, they are committed," he said.
"They have no regard for life, either ours or their own. I believe this was not an act of desperation, but an act of asymmetrical warfare waged against us."
Hmm, if he thinks killing yourself is a method of "asymmetrical warfare," maybe he should try it. Go hang yourself for freedom. Rear Adm Harris needs to be removed from his command. He's obviously mentally incompetent as well as oblivious to who has in his prison, sorry, "detainment center". Clue in, Mr. Harris. Seems a decent number, if not most, of them are not terrorists.
See Your Campaign Contributions At Work
I received all of this in one day, a day before California's primary election. It is 100% election campaign literature. There are at least 50 different items. It's heavy when you stack it all up. Poor postal workers. How much do you think I'd have to pay them not to send me all this paper?
BTW, ALL of it went straight to recycling.
Protest Naked
Next Saturday, June 10, 2006, protest against America's dependence on fossil fuel by riding your bike across San Francisco... Naked!
World Naked Bike Ride - San Francisco
