The Opinionated Pussycat

Your Rights as a Cat Blogger, Your Human's Right as a PJ Pundit, at Risk!

Good morning, Felinity Assembled!

Professor Nikita, and Elvira Mistress of Felinity, here, with a very important message for all of you, and for the Pet Blogging Community, in all of its variety.

We want to alert you to the threats that are the Stop Online Piracy Act (House Bill) & the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (Senate Version) 

 Join us in protesting SOPA & PIPA!  This affects all of us with blogs!

The largest Online Protest in History!

There are bills in Congress that will affect your rights, and the rights of your Human, on the web and will censor all web sites, blogs (Kitties, That means YOU!), etc. 

All about PIPA

SOPA In a nutshell :

SOPA explicitly states that companies will be liable for everything their users post. Sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, Wikipedia, or any sites that allow user generated content CANNOT exist under these laws. Immediately after this bill is passed, you will see the media mafia (MPIAA, RIAA, etc) replacing websites like Wikipedia with commercialized encyclopedia software. Mainstream media outlets will not cover this bill because they are the ones lobbying for it.

If you want to know more - Google created a doc to read and inform - SOPA for Dummies. 

Also Check out American Censorship.org !

WRITE YOUR CONGRESSMAN AND SENATOR AND

STOP THIS BILL FROM PASSING!

 To help you do this stop by Fight the Wall  and connect with your Representative!

Great story on Personal Liberty Digest: The Web World Fights Back Against Federal Internet Control (Includes a Video, and Link to an important Open Letter!)

SOPA/PIPA Blackout: Video, & Info

SOPA Strike (More info, and links than you have Dried Kibble in your daily food bowl! Trust us!)

Images of a Blackout, as captured from various websites: Here’s what an Internet blackout looks like, and here, too!

Wednesday evening on GBTV:

Asking Americans to “engage your brain”, Glenn Beck boils down why the legislation is bad, stating it would make things less efficient and that the vague wording of the bills makes “ease of censorship” by the government “disturbing” and “China-esq”. But ultimately, Beck says that any regulation on the Internet should never be allowed because “it‘s the only thing left that isn’t regulated up the wazoo”.

Watch this video... it will be 22 Minutes very well spent, trust us!

I, Nikita, and Daddy Kiril (Musings of a Mad Macedonian and 2 other, long retired, Blogs), have been blogging since 2002, and Elvira Mistress of Felinity joined us in Fall 2010.

Those who have followed us over the years know that we are not only about Cute, and Funny, Photos (Although all 3 of us are Cute, and Funny!), but also about Writing Poetry, 100 Word Cat Stories, Humor, & Parodies, as well as fearlessly educating & informing, investigating, and also expressing our opinions, all in a no holds barred fashion.

We encourage you to explore our blogs, and spread the word if you like what you read. :-D

America, and Americans, are at risk of losing our Freedoms, Freedoms guaranteed us by the Founders when they wrote the Constitution.

If these bills pass through Congress, you, and your Human, can say goodbye to the Internet as we know it, including the young, and growing, Critter Blogging Community…and another piece of our liberty.

------------------------------

Thank you to Cats of wildcat woods, and Zoolatry, for the heads-up! :-D

A Special Thank You to Ann, of Zoolatry, for the image, above.

The image, without the additions of extras related to this Alert, was not intended to be shared for a month, until Daddy received the items that the final version (Yes, size does matter, for some things, apparently, hee, hee!) of the image will hopefully appear on.

Ann has been working, very patiently, with Daddy, on this image, and some other special ones that we will soon debut, for over a month, and we will be forever grateful for her talents, and her friendship. :-D

The Image, above, will find a permanent spot, in the sidebar of this blog, and Daddy's as well, to show where we stand on the issue of Censorship.

-----------------------

***UPDATE - Noon***

We would like to thank the Cats of Wildcat Woods for being the 2000th comment left on this blog since it began on New Year's Day, 2010.

Reader support for what we do, here, is appreciated more than we can ever say! :-D

***END UPDATE***

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: When Strolling, Do So Responsibly!

 

An important Public Service Announcement valid not just on New Year's Eve, & Weekend, but any Holiday, and really ANY day.

FEEL FREE TO SHARE!

If posted on your blog, share a link to this blog.

Thank you! ;-D

This advisory also applies to any guests at my weekend Anniversary Shindig, who strolled over. ;-D

Stroll #7: Riding Orange County Transit - An FNN Investigation

 Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Today was a Working Holiday for me.

After several preliminary investigatory efforts by Daddy, over the last 8 months, it was time for us to take the Feline Utility Vehicle (FUV) out for a spin that would include attempting to take the Pussycat Purrrrambulator on the local Mass Transit for the first time, as part of a Feline News Network Investigation.

Besides, I needed to take Daddy out for some pre-Thanksgiving Dinner exercise. ;-D

As regular readers know a lot has happened around here since May, and aside from Elvira Mistress of Felinity going out for her 1st Stroll I'd only been out twice myself, in June, and on Election Day earlier this month.

Our complete Archive of stories: Strolling: Come Stroll With Me & See the World!

Not long after Daddy got me the Stroller, for my birthday in March, he began to wonder if it was possible to take it on the bus, like his shopping cart.

 

 

The length, width, and height, were virtually the same, with the edge going to the Stroller for being far less wide, and thus making it conceivably easier to manage on the bus since the ailse is only an inch, or 2, wider than the Cart in some places on the bus.

The Cart is 39 in. high, 22 1/2 in. wide, and 19 in. long.

My Stroller is 40 in. high, 17 1/2 in. wide, and 27 in. long.

 

When he went shopping he took along a measuring tape, and his camera, to take a picture, and some measurements of the width of the aisles of the different model busses most frequently used by the Orange County Transit Agency (OCTA), and he was encouraged to learn that Long Beach Transit allowed Pet Strollers on their busses,  though he never saw anyone do so.

 

Over the summer he witnessed a Human in a wheelchair being allowed on a bus, after Daddy knew that the man had been sitting at the stop for a couple of hours, and been denied 4 times.

The reason he was denied was that it was against the rules to bring an animal on the bus that was not in a carrier, or was not a Service Animal on a leash, used to help the disabled.

 

He got lucky.

While Daddy watched, on the ride, the man fell asleep, not the Dog, and thus his grip on the unrestrained animal was no longer secure.

If the Dog had decided to jump at someone, or something, or the bus had come to a sudden stop, the dog would have been off his lap, and could have hurt itself, or a passenger.

As it was the Dog wisely kept its mouth shut, and didn't move a muscle, according to Daddy. ;-D

When Daddy went to get off the bus he pointed all of this out to the driver, but she just shrugged without comment.

Daddy next set about to learn what was allowed on OCTA Busses.

He already knew about the Service Animal Rule, and the things below, because the Bus Schedule Book had the info:

Human Strollers, for their Little Humans, must be folded prior to boarding the bus, and the little ones carried onto the bus.

Surfboards, those funny looking things the Humans use to go play in the water at the beach, are permitted as long as they do not exceed 6 ft., 6 in. in length, which is way, way, longer than my Stroller!

While Daddy knew that it was OK to bring Cats, and small  Dogs, on the bus in the standard box carrier we all put up with despite their cramped quarters, he saw no mention of this in the bus book, or even a mention of Pet Strollers.

 No wonder we have never seen either in all the years we have rode the bus, and he had rode the bus, in several counties, before I came into his life in 1998.

 This led him to ask bus drivers, but all he got was instructions that strollers had to be folded.

They seemed to ignore the distinction between Animal occupant, and usage, and Human occupant, and usage.

 When he talked to someone at the Transit store he found they didn't have an answer except to tell him to contact someone in Customer Relations.

 With other things happening he never got around to do that, and that's where things stood until late last month when he chatted with one of his favorite bus drivers, a man who he had not rode with in many months.

 They spent a couple of rides catching up, and Daddy told him about his quest for answers, and showed him pictures of us with the Stroller.

 One day the man dug out the July 2010 edition of the OCTA Coach Operator Handbook, and told him the answers to his questions were in there, and that he was pretty sure the answer was in our favor, though he'd never encountered a passenger with a Pet Stroller himself.

 Daddy sat down and, as the bus went on its way, opened the book....

 

Hey, Kitties, Are You Weapons Trained, or Know a Cat who is?

An old story Daddy once blogged about, 5 years ago, got me to thinking about the questions above now that the Cat Blogging Community has come into its own.

The story he linked to is no longer online, but that's OK.

Personally I've never needed no stinkin' gun to keep Daddy in line, um, hee, hee! ( I'm a 3rd degree Blackbelt in the Martial Arts Catjitsu and Pussykwondo - Yes, I know, something new, about me, ya didn't know! ).

What brings this up is the following story:

BATES TOWNSHIP, Mich. - A man cooking in his kitchen was shot after one of his cats knocked his loaded 9mm handgun, off the kitchen counter behind him, onto the floor, discharging the weapon, Michigan State Police said.

Joseph Stanton, 29, of Bates Township in Iron County, was shot in his lower torso around 6 p.m. Tuesday, the state police post in Iron River reported. He was transported to Iron County Community Hospital.

 

No word on whether the cat was charged with attempted murder, or even under investigation for ties to some terrorist sleeper cell. ;-D

Cat Blogging has come a long way since those days so I think it's a valid question to ask if there are any Cats out there who have blogged about their knowledge of Human Weaponry, or if anyone has stumbled upon some weird website where Cats are being taught how to use them for some nefarious purpose.

British Kitties Caught in the Middle of Freedom of Information Inquiry Debate

Ken Thornber is leader of Hampshire county council, in Great Britain, and in January he posted an essay on the Joe Public Blog of The Guardian Online:

When is a Freedom of Information (FOI) inquiry a legitimate question and when is an inquiry an outright waste of public money – as well as a trying test of the patience of those of us working in the public sector?

Since April 2009, Hampshire county council is well on the way to dealing with 500 requests – a 60% increase on the previous 12 months. I worry about the cost and the consequences as staff divert their attention from delivering services to delving for statistics...

Among the many "Ridiculous" tasks that make him "boil over with rage" because he, and his staff, have to deal with them, one is "how many premises across the county are licensed to sell puppies and kittens".

He does not consider this a "legitimate inquiry".

He believes that Political Correctness is trumping Common Sense as he, and his staff, are forced to waste their time, and the peoples money.

One commenter pointed out:

In questioning or making assumptions about the motivation for such requests you're in breach of the spirit if not the letter of Freedom of Information, which states that enquiries are not to be made into motivations for requests. You're not required to compile records from scratch that are not already held (i.e. need to be compiled from scratch), so it isn't that difficult.

The last comment accepted, written by The BlackShuck, specifically addresses the question of whether the Kitty request, and others like it, are "ridiculous" or important, and neccessary.

Full Essay:

We need a commonsense approach to Freedom of Information requests.

Are there any British Kitties, or their Humans, familiar enough with all the fuss to have an opinion?

***UPDATE - 4/7/10: The British are Opining! The British are Opining!***

The always thoughtful, and thought-provoking, Everycat, Whicky Wuudler Himself, says...

Opinions, we got 'em ;)  (Link added by Me -Nikita)

Well spotted Nikita.

Our local councils are roundly hated in the UK for their spurious use of local tax income & gov't monies to fund all manner of jollies for Councillors, the greasy palm culture and their utter lack of accountability - all served to rile us up big time, especially when so many local services to the vulnerable have been cut back to the bone.

This FOI request is just as wise Blackshuck said, relevant because of animal welfare legislation (UK Animal Welfare Act of 2006, and European Animal Welfare Bill) and should be easily available to anyone who wants to know. Local councils have responsibility for licencing ALL commercial animal business - one department deals with it, one department will hold the register of licences.

I think the councillor was probably annoyed that FOI requests distract him from filling out his expenses claim form, and claiming for a nice expenses paid trip abroad (town twinning), or for membership of his local golf club/entertaining local business people etc.

FOI has caused a stir in the UK.

Many gov't departments have been overwhelmed by requests, and I think the gov't is only just finding its feet regarding what it is happy to openly reveal, and what it wants to keep schtuum about.

Ken Thornber doesn't understand that animal welfare is not an issue where politcal correctness is relevant.

***END UPDATE***

 

 

Cats as Crime Fighters? Humans Discover Something Else We Already Knew!

We Felines have long known, and utilized, our abilities as "a crime-fighting supercat". 

Some of us have a real talent for this, others...um, not so much. ;-D

Throughout recorded history there have been many famous Kitties and, more recently, many Human Writers have written whole series of Non-Fiction Books (The Booksellers mistakenly place them in the Fiction/Mystery Section so tell your Person to look for them there!), for decades, about the exploits of the current crop of Feline Sleuths.

Human Researchers are real proud of themselves, right now, because they have discovered some of our abilities that they did not know about before. ;-D

A team of scientists has found that fur shed by cats can serve as forensic evidence, thanks to the DNA it contains. In fact, a man was recently convicted of second-degree murder in Canada after fur found on his discarded jacket matched that of Snowball–the victim’s cat. The telltale fur led to a 15-year prison sentence. Scientists say that it may soon become commonplace to use the genetic material in fur shed by cats to link perpetrators, accomplices, witnesses, and victims.

As the researchers wrote in the journal Forensic Science International: Genetics:

“Cats are fastidious groomers, and shed fur can have sufficient genetic material for trace forensic studies, allowing potential analysis of both standard short tandem repeat (STR) and mitochondrial DNA regions.”

Well, Duh! ;-D

Read more here: Crime-Fighting Kitties: Cat Hair Could Be the Next Forensic Tool

 

 

Well, Shoot, THIS Sure is Complicated!

Coke may do a body good, but there are other things that don't, and that includes a load of buckshot! ;-D

Don't laugh, there are some places where they want to make it OK for Hunters to use Ferals, and Strays, as target practice, and chuck Trap, Neuter, Return programs all together.

USA Today has a blog called The Paw Print Post, and it has a great article on the conflicting views on how to handle the problem of Feral Cats: Blast 'em, and Bury 'em, or Trap 'em, Fix 'em, and set the wild lil' darlin's free to roam, and live, as they please, alone or in colonies (TNR Programs).

Patty Khuly, the writer of Fully Vetted Blog, on PetMD, writes:

Free-roaming cats on the loose, wreaking havoc not just on our pets and property but on our native wildlife and migratory songbirds, too. In the estimation of some wildlife defenders, the problem is so severe as to warrant the widespread elimination of the "feral" cat (defined as a member of our domestic housecat species that has reverted back to its wild, non-domesticated ways).

But acquiescence on this point from cat-protecting factions is far from easily obtained. Local cat clubs are active in defense of these so-called community cats – feral or otherwise. Most humane groups oppose so-called eradication programs. Meanwhile, the average citizen's take can be summed up in one shrill line: "You're going to do what to that puddy-tat?"

 She supports TNR, but believes it's still not a perfect solution.

She writes about how the "ideal" would be accomplished...

"with a minimum of human stress and strife. Cats would be spared death by cars, predation and ready access to infectious diseases. In such a world, our songbirds' biggest foes would be windows, not whiskers. This "indoors only" approach (as espoused by Audubon and the American Bird Conservancy, among others) would mean no more car-mangled kittens by the roadside and a yard unmarred by eau de tomcat. Sheer bliss!."

But there are several problems that complicate this for the Human Community and, by extension, Pussydom Assembled.

Travel Tips For Felines: Be Aware of the Laws Whereever You Find Yourself

Just as the Human Tourist needs to watch his/her P's and Q's while in a foreign land so do us Kitties who might get taken along to keep them company:

1. When visiting International Falls, Minnesota, chasing dogs up telephone poles can land you in a heap of trouble.

2. When exploring Sterling, Colorado, you can do so without a taillight.

3. When in Ventura County, California, DO NOT get too frisky with that feline you met while exploring your human's uncles back yard, as having, um, relations, is not allowed without a permit.

4. In a related vein: In places where the above is not frowned upon California still bans us from doing "it" publicly within 1,500 feet of a tavern, school, or, God forbid, any place of worship.

5. For all you smokers out there...consider quiting: In Zion, Illinois, it is illegal for anyone to give lighted cigars to cats.

6. If you like to party late into the night then this city will not be your idea of a fun place to visit: Cats may not yowl after 9 pm in Columbus, Georgia.

7. If your Canine Best Bud gets lost on vacation in Virgina then you will be glad to know that Dogcatchers are prohibited from bothering you while you are searching for him, or her.

8. Hey, all you Black Cats... If you are in French Lick Springs, Indiana, during a week with a Friday the 13th in it, then it could get a bit embarrassing because you will have to wear bells on that day.

9. In a related vein: Special Interests seem to be behind a similar law in Cresskill, NJ that is in effect all year long... If you live there, or are just visiting, even, you must wear three bells at all times to warn birds of your whereabouts.

The above Laws ARE TRUE, and no joke...I learned about them at Feline Follies. ;-D