#Cattle farming suffering

[rimaakter45]

The Decline of Cattle Farming: A Suffering Industry

Cattle farming has long been a staple industry in many countries, providing meat and dairy products to consumers worldwide. However, recent years have seen a decline in the profitability and sustainability of cattle farming, leading to hardships for farmers and challenges for the industry as a whole.

One of the main factors contributing to the Cattle farming suffering is the rising costs of production. Feed, labor, and veterinary expenses have all increased significantly in recent years, cutting into farmers' profits and making it harder for them to stay afloat. In addition, fluctuating market prices for beef and dairy products mean that farmers often struggle to make a profit on their livestock, leading to financial strain and uncertainty.

Climate change is another major issue facing cattle farmers, as extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, and hurricanes can devastate herds and destroy pastures. Rising temperatures and changing weather patterns also affect the availability of water and grazing land, making it more difficult for farmers to maintain healthy and productive livestock. In some cases, farmers are forced to sell off their herds or even close their operations entirely due to the impact of climate change on their businesses.

In addition to these external challenges, cattle farming also faces criticism from environmental and animal welfare groups. The environmental impact of cattle farming, including deforestation, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions, has led many consumers to question the sustainability of the industry. Concerns about the welfare of livestock, including issues such as overcrowding, antibiotic use, and inhumane slaughter practices, have also put pressure on farmers to improve their practices and meet higher standards.

As a result of these challenges, many cattle farmers are struggling to stay in business. Some are forced to take on additional jobs or subsidies to make ends meet, while others are forced to sell their land and livestock and leave the industry entirely. This not only affects the farmers themselves but also has a ripple effect on the broader economy, as cattle farming is a key driver of rural communities and agricultural supply chains.

In response to these challenges, some farmers are looking for ways to adapt and improve their operations. This may include diversifying their income streams by offering agritourism activities, selling value-added products such as grass-fed beef or artisanal cheeses, or transitioning to more sustainable farming practices such as rotational grazing or organic certification. By finding new ways to make their operations more efficient and resilient, farmers can help ensure the future viability of the cattle farming industry.

However, for many farmers, the challenges facing cattle farming are simply too great to overcome. As a result, the industry is facing a decline in both the number of farms and the overall production of beef and dairy products. This not only affects farmers and their families but also has wider implications for consumers, who may see fewer options and higher prices for beef and dairy products in the future.

In conclusion, cattle farming is suffering from a combination of external challenges such as rising production costs, climate change, and consumer scrutiny. While some farmers are able to adapt and thrive in this changing landscape, many others are struggling to stay afloat. As a result, the future of the cattle farming industry is uncertain, with implications for farmers, consumers, and the broader economy. It is crucial that we address these challenges and work together to support the sustainability and viability of cattle farming in the years to come.

https://writeupcafe.com/the-cruel-reality-of-pig-farming-a-look-into-the-horrific-conditions-faced-by-pigs/

https://www.bloglovin.com/@rimaakter9/dark-reality-chickens-in-poultry-industry-12646245

[headspace-hotel]

I looked up some stuff about the "domestication syndrome" in animals because I read a couple times in books the idea that domesticated animals are neotenous, meaning they retain juvenile traits into adulthood. The idea being that humans have essentially created more helpless, more exploitable versions of wild animals to "dominate" and abuse nature.

I thought, "Okay, that sounds like something that couldn't be proven. How much do we even know about the juvenile brain development of, say, wild goats or boars, anyway?"

So I found this review of the literature that goes back to the fur farm fox domestication study and it's even worse than I thought: We don't even know that a 'domestication syndrome' in animals exists at all, let alone whether it is a retention of juvenile traits into adulthood.

So the fur farm fox domestication study: you may have heard of it, it claimed to have demonstrated that within a few generations, by selecting for tameness, the researchers bred "domesticated" foxes with a whole suite of traits that appear in many domesticated animals but seem unrelated to tameness, such as piebald coloration and floppy ears. The idea is that the genes for tameness and for these other traits commonly seen in domestic animals are linked, that is, an animal that inherits one is likely to inherit the other.

There's some major problems. First of all, all the foxes used in the study were from fur farms, and had already been selected for some level of docility and for coat color variation. The foxes didn't get white spots on them because they were selected for tameness, instead the pre-existing population they were selected from had those genes in it to begin with. Also, the effective population size of the foxes in the study was pretty small, meaning a small amount of genetic drift could have a big impact.

Second, there isn't very much evidence for most of the "domestication syndrome" traits in most animals. Even where the "domestication syndrome" traits can be found, they are often particular to specific breeds, and it's unclear whether they are linked to domestication as such or just the development of that specific breed.

This study only deals with a few animals, mostly small animals. It would be even more interesting to see a breakdown of even more animals (particularly more large animals). Off the top of my head, almost none of these would apply to horses, and only in specific cases would apply to cattle. Even in dogs, extreme changes in skull morphology have happened relatively recently with breeders in modern times going after extreme phenotypes.

Particular to cats: extreme skull changes and floppy ears occur as part of some "breeds" because they are specific painful genetic disorders that breeders of cats decided to perpetuate VERY recently. Scottish Folds were deliberately developed from cats that just so happened to have a disease that causes them to be in constant suffering due to their messed up joints, it's not just a variation that regularly pops up in cats to varying extents. Likewise with the smushed-face Persians. Their brains are getting squished into where their spinal cords should go because their skulls are so messed up from selective breeding for an extreme look.

What domestication means has been majorly shaken up in the past hundred years. With companion animals, breeders are in a race to make the most screwed up animal with the most extreme, striking traits possible, and with livestock animals, lots of heritage breeds with more variations have straight up gone extinct because they've been flattened into industrial monocultures to produce meat and milk as efficiently as possible, health and genetic diversity be damned.

To study domestication itself, you would have to study landrace breeds, right?

Basically there isn't one thing that domestication is

[bovineblogger]

I think it’s really cute to see cows by the side of the road when driving, but it also makes me sad to think they might be eaten. How can you tell dairy cows from beef cows? Is there a difference? Is there any other reason to raise cows besides food?

i could spend some time teaching you guys about different beef and dairy breeds, but i think the underlying concern here is about beef farming if im correct! if im not, let me know and i can write up a post about beef and dairy breeds, because i do love talking about them too hehe.

its completely normal and human to be upset at the thought of an animal dying, death is an ugly thing to a lot of people you know? i think its in our nature not to want animals to suffer. but its important to realize that everywhere in the world animals are there to be eaten by other animals. the ecosystem, the cycle of life, whatever you wanna call it.

in the wild, bovines are mostly picked off by predators when they're young and unable to defend themselves! an animal can be killed and eaten at any point, and if they get sick or injured thats often fatal for them. in captivity, cattle and other bovines get to live to adulthood happy and healthy and surrounded by friends! they get free food n water, free medical care, and they get to sit in a big field with all their buddies. we care for them and love them for their entire lives, and at our hands they die quickly and painlessly. and then we eat them. its a symbiotic relationship.

to an outsider the industry can seem 2 to be all death bc thats the only part we know about. but its so much more than that! farmers dedicate their whole lives to their animals. they raise them, feed them, tend them when theyre sick, give them space to run around, make sure theyre not too hot or cold and that their water troughs are clean... for whole lifetimes! over and over and over, farming is about life. we feed them and they feed us. its beautiful. genuinely.

images (x) (x) (x) (x) (x)

[champawattigress]

I have personally witnessed so many instances of pet owners forcing beloved animals to continue living far beyond the point of their quality of life hitting zero that the whole "Deux Face" situation was absolutely nothing new to me, except for the wave of genuine nausea I experienced at the social media reaction to her existence.

I can honestly say that I feel a palpable sense of relief, knowing that that calf is no longer being forced to live in that condition, and there's no amount of "well, she had vet care!" or "it doesn't seem like she's in pain!" that would have mollified me. I have been in hundreds of QoL consults with clients who parrot the exact same sentiments while their animal lies, completely recumbent and unresponsive, on the examination table. It's the exact same thing, except compounded by the ghoulish addition of the calf's value as a sideshow act.

Any normal presenting newborn calf that failed to thrive as she did would have been euthanized on welfare grounds long before the 26 day mark. A dairy calf is literally supposed to be able to walk away from its birthing site, a calf whose only developmental milestone was that it "can kinda lift its head" is a calf that has something inherently wrong with it. If Deux Face wasn't deformed in a way that makes well-meaning assholes spout that stupid poem, then she probably would have been put out of her misery ages ago. I keep thinking of the grotesque congenital deformities that domestic cattle can present with, twisted spines and fused joints and extreme hydrocephalus and cleft palates, and how, if Deux Face had presented with QoL reducing examples of any of those conditions, people wouldn't have even batted an eye at her euthanasia. She was literally forced to keep on living, just so people could keep "consuming" her continued existence. She was forced to live, not because it was to her benefit, but for the benefit of the farm, who romanticised and profited from her, and the benefit of idiots who think a goddamn newborn calf should be a source of inspiration in their own lives.

The people on this site who mourned that we didn't get to gawk at this animal a little longer disgust me. The only difference between you and the woman who keeps her 19 year old constant DKA, cushingoid, and severely arthritic Shih Tzu alive is that she, at least, has the excuse that this is an animal she has loved and cared for for decades. She's blinded by love, and needs to be counselled towards the realisation that the dog's existence is now more for her benefit than his. You're just upset that there are no more juicy pics of a recumbent, half-dead calf that you can caption with "TWice aS MaNY STArs As UsuaL!!!!!" in goofy ass fonts.

The only sad thing about Deux Face's death is that it took so long. Fight me on it, I don't care. Your gross parasocial relationship with a dying farm animal you've never met was not worth that animal's enforced suffering.

[dontforgetukraine]

"My grandfather had sheep, oxen, and a cow. People in masks came, knocked down the wall, and took everything: furniture, clothes, oil, flour, cattle. When they wanted to take the cow, the grandmother refused, and they struck her. The grandfather grabbed a pitchfork and did not allow them to take it. But he was threatened that they would take it anyway. The cow lived with us in the house. One day, while we were sleeping, I heard a cow being taken out so I called my father. When we went into the yard, we saw a butchered cow with hooves wrapped so that it wouldn't make noise while being taken out. My father gave the meat to hungry people. In 1932, we planted a lot of potatoes, and they grew well. We put the harvested potatoes in a hole and covered them with a layer of straw. In the morning, we got up, but there was no straw or potatoes, and just the ones that were in the house remained. When the potatoes were boiled, our neighbour came and asked to give her potato shells for her children. My grandfather was a fisherman. He would catch fish and give it to people. Once, they wanted to take the fish from him, but the people stood up to protect him, saying the words: "Come to the boat, we will strangle you with our bare hands." I remember my mother and I going to visit my godmother. We arrived there, came into the house, and saw her sitting at the table, swollen and dead."

These memories from the National Book of Memory of the Kherson region belong to Mariia Pidvorok (née Kudas), born in 1921. She survived the Holodomor in the village of Kozachi Laheri of the Oleshky community. Today, the village located near the long-suffering Krynky is under occupation. It suffered significant destruction: a three-story school designed for a thousand students, a kindergarten, a dispensary, a pharmacy, a church, residential and social infrastructure were damaged. In June 2023, as a result of Russians undermining the Kakhovka HPP, Kozachi Laheri was partially flooded. "Another prosperous village in the Kherson region is disappearing. Before the war, it had a population of about 3,722 people. Today, it is a wasteland where the Russian military wanders and robs the property of local residents," states the Telegram channel "Ukrainian South".

Source: Holodomor Museum Photo: The first threshing with a grain of the state farm "Kahovka" of the Kherson district, 1930, TsDAEA

[thedovesaredying]

Monsters in the Dark | Nikto x Reader | Part 3

Third chapter of the Cowboy!Nikto series. Nikto has some emotions and has no idea what they mean or how to deal with them. Original Cowboy concept based on the AU by @ghouljams

A/N: Finally got enough time to work on this chapter after weeks and weeks of hectic stress with work and university. Thank you to all of those still following along with the story, I'll hopefully have the next part out soon. Fun fact: The story of a horse getting hurt running into a fence because they were so excited to see someone is from one of the silly yearlings at uni lol.

Warnings: Minor medical proceedures, Nikto getting a little jealous.

Masterlist: CoD Masterlist

First | Previous | Next

Nikto can’t help wondering if there’s anything that can ruin your seemingly perpetual good mood. Even with your body dripping with sweat and elbow deep inside of a cow, you’re still somehow grinning brightly at the farmer standing beside you. Doing a part of your job that some would consider... unpleasant at best, you’re able to act as if it’s the most exciting thing you’ve ever done.  

One of the other farm hands, a man about your age, if a year or two older, is acting a little too interested in what you’re doing, however, and Nikto’s jaw is aching with how hard he’s grinding his teeth together. They make a soft groaning sound as they suffer under the pressure he’s subjecting them to, but unfortunately, it’s the only thing keeping him from snapping at “Darren” when the man crowds close to you with what he must think is a suave grin.  

“Alright, I can feel the cervix now,” you hum, and he can see the way your arm twists slightly within the animal, “it’s pretty easy to manoeuvre it around.” You frown to yourself, seemingly oblivious to the way that annoying brat leans a little closer, “the reproductive tract isn’t very heavy.” 

“And what’s that mean, darlin’?” Darren asks, and Nikto can’t decide what he hates more, the tone the other man is using to address you, or the way he thinks it’s okay to place a hand on your shoulder. The gelding underneath Nikto snorts, shifting uncertainly as he likely senses the tension brewing.  

“Oh,” you blink at Darren, as if only just noticing him for the first time, “normally you wouldn’t be able to move the cervix around so easily if she was carrying a calf, I’d be able to feel at least a little weight to it.” You reach a little further into the cow, taking a few moments longer before adding, “I can also feel the horns of her uterus, and there’s no fluid I can feel inside them.”  

Darren is nodding, but his gaze is far from focused on the animal or what you’re actually saying to him.  

You pull you hand slowly from the cow, removing the palpation glove and dropping it into the bin beside the cattle crush. “Looks like this girl’s open, I’m afraid,” you say, grabbing the can of cattle paint and spraying a bright green streak across the animal’s tail, “and that’s the last of the girls done.”  

Pulling the release lever, the heifer is let out of the crush and into the holding pen with the rest of the females you’ve checked for pregnancies. While most of them have little blue marks to indicate a successful insemination, a few of the younger ones weren’t lucky enough to take this time around.  

Darren looks as though he’s about to say something further (more than likely something stupid and obnoxious), but before he can do anything more than puff up his chest, Mr. Roberts is snapping at him.  

“Darren! Get your ass into the paddock, boy!” The old man has a scowl on his face that would have recruits shaking in their boots and a voice with a harsh snarl to it from years of smoking. “The hell do I bother paying you for?” he grumbles, watching as the younger man near enough trips over himself in his haste to get back to work.  

Nikto can’t help admiring the man for his no nonsense approach to his work. He’s friendly enough toward those who work for him, and when Nikto was looking for employment, took him on board with no questions asked. The elderly cowboy has made it clear that he could care less about where someone comes from, only that they can do an honest day’s hard work.  

“Well, thank you for giving us a hand with the ladies,” the old man’s tone softens drastically, and he offers you a firm handshake, “I know those big business farms have all that fancy new technology and blood tests to make checking for calves easier, but I much prefer the old method.”  

Although he would never admit it aloud, it’s rather… sweet, the way you beam at Mr. Roberts and nod along to his words. “Of course! A blood test would be useful for determining how long the baby’s been gestating for, but there’s nothing wrong with the palpation method to find out if they’re carrying anything.” 

Roberts seems pleased by your response, offering you an elusive smile, before giving you one final nod, “I’ll see you around town in a few days, and I’ll drop your payment off at the clinic.”  

There are a few final pleasantries exchanged, all of which Nikto ignores. He was supposed to be getting the horse tacked down and set out for the day. Getting distracted by you while doing your job was just an unfortunate happenstance. He urges the gelding onward with a gentle tap to the animal’s side, leaving you to the business of packing up all of your tools in peace.  

He dismounts once reaching the stable, giving the horse a firm pat on the shoulder before leading him into one of the nearest stalls. He can’t know for certain if anyone else will need Murphy before the end of the day, seeing as the horse belongs to Roberts, but the least he can do is ensure he’s comfortable until he’s turned out for the end of the day.  

While “Murphy” isn’t exactly a name that Nikto would have chosen for a horse, given it’s a little too human for his own tastes, apparently, the gelding was named after Murphy’s Law, seeing as the poor animal seems to constantly be getting into trouble. Anything that could possibly go wrong for him can and will. He’s only just recovered from a nasty gash he’d received to the front of his chest after getting a little too excited to see Nikto coming to greet him and crashing directly into a barbed wire fence.  

Nikto starts untacking Murphy, starting with the bridle and moving his way backwards. He gives the gelding a quick brushing down and picks out his hooves to ensure there’s no stones or injuries that’ve gone unnoticed. He leaves Murphy to his dinner while he works on cleaning off the bit of the bridle and applying oil where the leather has begun to dry out. It’s a difficult job with only one properly functioning arm, but he’s not about to ask for any assistance with such a mundane chore.  

When he gets back, however, he’s startled to find you standing there, stroking Murphy’s mane while the horse happily munches on a mouthful of hay. You’re cooing at the animal happily, giggling when Murphy starts trying to nibble at your shirt once running out of food.  

You turn and offer him a smile, face still a little warm from the sun outside and with several strands of your hair poking out in odd directions. He finds that the look suits you, oddly enough.  

It’s only when you call his name that he realises that you’ve been trying to speak to him and he’s just been there staring at your face like a complete idiot. He shifts his grip on the halter he’s holding and clears his throat. “What do you need?” He settles on eventually, deciding that’s the least offensive way of telling you he hasn’t heard a word spoken to him.  

Thankfully, you don’t seem to be too upset by it. “I was just asking how poor Murphy is doing, I know he had a nasty scratch recently,” you’re looking at Nikto, but your words are said in the same, high-pitched coo you tend to use whenever you’re talking to Sputnik, accompanied by a rather overdramatic frown.  

He rolls his eyes at you, but finds he isn’t entirely annoyed by the antics. “Fine. His wound has healed well,” he says while reaching over to try and guide Murphy’s head a little closer. He may not be a trained veterinarian, but Nikto has seen plenty enough injuries in his life to be able to tell when one isn’t healing well. Murphy, of course, decides not to cooperate, instead trying to press the side of his fluffy face up against you.  

Getting the halter over the horse’s head with one hand is rather awkward, especially with the way the animal insists on moving about. You reach out, and he’s about to snap at you for trying to do it for him. He’s had enough of people trying to treat him like an infant recently, as though he’s not a dangerous killer.  It was suffocating enough when it was hospital staff and physiotherapists, but even a civilian thinking he’s too incapable to perform such a simple task? 

But then, you simply grab the buckle in one hand and hold it in position for him to secure himself.  

It would be far faster and more efficient for you to take the halter and do it yourself, yet you stand patiently without comment, and wait as he pulls the strap over the horse’s head and fastens the catch in place. He’s not sure why the thought of you specifically treating him like a weak child had him prepared to lash out quite so aggressively, especially when he’s brushed off similar actions by other people with only a few choice words and a particularly icy glare.  

You return to eagerly cooing at the horse before he can force himself to offer any kind of thanks, and he quickly pushes down the uncomfortable tangle of emotions trying to crawl their way up from his stomach.  

“Are you finished for the day?” You ask after a few moments of silence. He gives you a nod and you’re quick to ask, “how’s your girl been holding up?”  

“Our girl?” he asks slowly, forehead scrunching up. Do you think he has a partner or some kind? Why would you think there’s a girl in his life? Has he done something to make you think he’s married or dating someone?  

“Sputnik,” you clarify, and his face must do something odd because you snort at his reaction. “Why, do you have another girl?” 

Nikto can’t help automatically scoffing at the question, shaking his head at the very thought, “нет, we have no one.” He sees your eyebrows raise slightly, as if surprised by that, but you quickly school your expression back into its normal, carefree smile.  

Your expression quickly turns into something playful, however, as you add, “really? A big, handsome man like you?” He’s not sure how genuine your teasing tone is, “surely you’ve got the ladies lining up.” You have this way of joking around with him and asking questions in a way that doesn’t make him want to immediately tell you to ‘fuck off’. It’s a strange feeling, and he’s not entirely sure he likes it.  

“You are just crazy,” he counters, going to cross his arms over his chest, only to realise he can’t and instead settling for just letting them rest in place. He sees your eyes travel down the length of his damaged arm, stopping at where it abruptly ends. You don't comment on it, however, and he’s annoyed by how glad he is that you don’t. You likely didn’t even notice his injury until now, given he’s been wearing his prosthetic covered by long-sleeved clothes and gloves every other time you’ve met.  

“Wow, so rude,” you grin, trying to playfully shove his shoulder, only to pout when he’s entirely unmoved by the action. He’s been called rude many times in his life, but this is the first time he’s ever found himself pleased to hear it from someone.  

The sound of the stable door opening has you pulling your attention away from him and toward Roberts, who has just entered. You give Murphy a quick pet to the side of the neck, and Nikto a final grin, offering up a brief, “I’ll see you around.” 

Roberts waves as you leave the stables, waiting for the large door to close before he turns to look at Nikto, one of his bushy eyebrows raised. “So, when’re you gonna marry that lovely girl?” The old man asks, leaning against the stall door with an upward twitch of his lips.  

Nikto near enough chokes on thin air, whirling around on the cowboy with a startled, “что?”  

The old man just sighs heavily, shaking his head, “just make sure you do it soon, yeah? We need another vet living out here on a permanent basis,” he ploughs on, “she already knows the area and she’s a lovely young lady.”  

As quickly as he arrived, Roberts wanders off again, heading back to work and leaving Nikto standing in the middle of the horse stall. He takes a long moment, just staring at where the old man had been a few moments ago while his brain slowly processes everything. Surely he wasn’t being serious, right?

-

Translations

“да,” - “Yes” 

"что?” - "What?"

[samwisethewitch]

How I Get the Most Out of Meat When Cooking

As someone who 1.) was 100% vegetarian for ethical/religious reasons until very recently, and 2.) recently had to reintroduce meat for vitamin deficiency reasons, limiting waste as much as possible when I cook with meat is really important to me. For one thing, I feel like I owe it to the animal that died to get as much use as possible out of its body as a way of honoring its death. For another, meat is expensive (ethically raised meat even more so) and I want to get my money's worth.

I recently bought a bunch of lamb for my family's holiday dinner, so I wanted to share my attempt to practice the Honorable Harvest in my meat consumption. This is new to me, but I wanted to document the attempt because it's been a fun learning process for me! If you want to actually learn about honorable consumption I encourage you to read the works of Robin Wall Kimmerer and other indigenous ecologists, since the Honorable Harvest is based on indigenous North American practices. (Though there are other cultural practices all over the world.)

Step One: Sourcing the Meat

I am very fortunate to have enough disposable income to buy ethically raised meat, which tends to be more expensive. This is a privilege. Other people are not able to spend this extra money on their meat, and that doesn't make me better than them. Feeding yourself is morally neutral, and a tight budget is not a moral failing. Most meat alternative products (Beyond Beef, Impossible, etc.) are also pretty expensive. If the factory-farmed meat at the supermarket is the only thing in your budget, use that.

If you DO have some extra funds, local farms are a great place to source meat. The reason we had lamb for the holidays is because a local farm recently culled their herd and had lamb on sale. In the past we've gotten beef from a relative who raises cattle. I encourage you to learn about farms in your area and what they have to offer. CSAs and farmers' markets are great places to start. You can also ask around at local restaurants about where they source their ingredients.

When I say "ethically raised meat," what I'm really talking about is pasture-raised animals. Cage-free animals may not live in cages, but they can still be kept in cramped, dirty, inhumane conditions and be sold as "cage free." Pasture-raised animals are able to graze and forage and generally wander around within a paddock. For some animals like chickens you can also look for "free range," which means the animals are unfenced and are able to wander freely. Since I don't cook meat often, I try to get free range or pasture-raised meat when I do buy it.

In some areas, you may also be able to find certified ethically slaughtered meat, which means the slaughtering process has been designed to cause as little suffering to the animal as possible. That kind of certification isn't really available where I live, but it might be for you!

And of course, hunting or fishing yourself is also an option. If you kill the animal yourself, you know exactly how it died and can take steps to limit suffering as much as possible. Hunting isn't a skillset I have, but if you do more power to you!

Step Two: Cooking the Meat

This is the easy part. Depending on the cut of meat you got and the dish you are cooking, you may need to remove bones or trim fat, but aside from that it's just following a recipe.

For our holiday lamb stew, I used this recipe. I have Celiac disease, so I subbed gluten-free flour and replaced the beer with red wine. I also added rosemary and garlic for a more Mediterranean flavor to compliment the wine.

Step Three: Organs and Bones

This is where the breakdown is for a lot of Americans. We don't cook with bones or organs very often, and we tend to throw away whatever parts of the animal we don't want. That is not honorable consumption. Part of the Honorable Harvest is using every part of the being that died to feed you.

Most organs make great stew meat. My favorite Nicaraguan beef stew is made with tongue, and my indigenous Hawaiian relatives make stew with pig feet. And while I don't like them, lots of my Southern family members love chitlins (pickled pig intestines). Lots of cultures eat organs, and you'll find plenty of delicious recipes if you look!

Bones are typically used to make stock, which can be used as a base for future soups and stews. There are lots of recipes for DIY stocks and broths, but I usually fry some onions and/or garlic, deglaze with wine, and then add the meat/bones and the water, plus salt, pepper, and herbs for flavor. Most animal bones can produce two batches of stock before they lose flavor. (For really flavorful stock, leave some meat on the bones.)

Once the stock is done, you'll still have bones to deal with. Contrary to popular belief, cooked bones are not safe for dogs to chew on. (But raw bones usually are!) Instead, I strip any remaining meat and gristle from the stock bones, give those scraps to my pups as a treat, and then use the stripped bones for something else. With a little extra processing, the bones can be used as a fertilizer in a garden, a calcium supplement for chickens, or a safe treat for dogs and/or cats.

This was my first time processing bones, but after boiling them for, like, 12 hours in water with salt and vinegar, they were soft enough to break apart with my hands. I'm going to grind them to make bone meal.

[cathkaesque]

Statement on Israel’s Use of Starvation as a Weapon of War in Gaza by the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, Palestine

For five days, Israel has attacked Gaza with the aim of total destruction, and the situation is at an unprecedented level of urgency. Israel’s actions have amounted to a humanitarian catastrophe of unfathomable proportions. At the time of publication, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reports 1,055 martyrs and approximately 5,184 injured.

Israel has declared a total warfare stance on Gaza, imposing a ruthless blockade that denies over two million Palestinian residents of Gaza access to electricity, water, food, fuel, medical supplies, and any humanitarian aid. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant explicitly stated this strategy on 9 October 2023, saying: “We are imposing a complete siege on [Gaza]. No electricity, no food, no water, no fuel – everything is closed. We are fighting human animals, and we act accordingly.”

Israel’s deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war demands the international community immediately respond with unwavering urgency and resolve.

Israel is indiscriminately decimating hospitals, schools, mosques, markets, and entire neighborhoods. Further, Israel threatened Egypt that it would bomb humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza, prompting Egypt to withdraw its aid convoys. The Rafah Crossing into Egypt, the sole international exit from Gaza, has been bombed by Israel three times in a 24-hour period. This calculated assault severs Gazans’ only means of escape from ceaseless bombings or access to essential humanitarian aid. With Israel cutting off Gaza’s source of electricity, the only source of power was the Gaza Power Plant, which has just run out of fuel. In the case that it receives more fuel, Israel has threatened to attack the plant.

Israel’s assault is deliberately destroying any infrastructure that allows Gazans to support themselves. Vital agricultural and fishing infrastructure, crucial for food production, have been mercilessly attacked. Fisher folk cannot access the sea, into which sewage is spilling. The seaport is damaged, and tools are obliterated. Farming areas, often near the fence, have become vulnerable targets in Israeli airstrikes, and farmers whose land has not been destroyed cannot access it for daily agricultural practices. The Ministry of Agriculture reports that the bombing has done immense damage to agricultural areas and poultry farms, but the conditions make it impossible to precisely assess the situation in the field. There is a catastrophic decrease in food stocks, with shops across Gaza reporting severe shortages. The land and sea will face unimaginable environmental damages following these attacks, further preventing efforts to rebuild livelihoods.

Israel’s strategy aims to ensure that those who survive the bombs are condemned to a future without sustenance.

OCHA reports that the assaults have disrupted the UNRWA food operation, impacting at least 112,759 families. The poultry and livestock sectors are on the brink of collapse due to the severe shortage of fodder, endangering the livelihoods of more than 1,000 herders and affecting over 10,000 producers. This jeopardizes the provision of animal protein and the availability of meat and fresh sources of protein for Gaza’s entire population. Transportation of poultry to markets has virtually halted, and dairy cattle milk cannot be refrigerated nor marketed to factories, resulting in an expected daily spoilage of 35,000 liters of milk. More than 4,000 fisheries are at risk due to the closure of the sea. Gaza’s agriculture, poultry, cattle, fish, and other products are suffering from a lack of refrigeration, irrigation, incubation, and other machinery due to electricity cuts, causing spoilage.

Israel’s use of these tactics is not new by any means. Before Saturday, around 65% of the Gazan population was food insecure. More than 46% of the agricultural land in Gaza was inaccessible, and the fishing industry was severely struggling since fishing off the coast of Gaza has been restricted by Israel to 3 to 6 nautical miles.

Food insecurity is a human-made crisis, and Israel is manufacturing a mass starvation of the Gazan people.

It is the moral and legal obligation of the international community to intervene and end this crisis immediately. Food, as a basic necessity, must be allowed to reach the people of Gaza, and the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure must cease without delay.

We call upon the international community to take immediate action to stop Israel’s massacre of the Gazan population, demand the lifting of the siege, and establish humanitarian corridors for entry of aid.

[ai-musclebound]

> Oliver and Andrew’s story - part 1 <

I'm Andrew, and I have to admit that I realized too late what happened to Oliver, my partner. Oliver was always the more thoughtful one between us, deep and full of worries about the state of the world. Our small farm was his refuge, but even here, he couldn't escape the world's pain. It broke my heart to see how much he suffered, not only from global crises but also from the fear that I might leave him because of his constant complaints.

Oliver found some comfort with our cattle in the barn. I thought it was the peace and simplicity that attracted him. But what I didn't know was that he saw in the cattle, which had become massive muscle masses due to growth hormones, a form of silence that he desired so much. These animals, reduced to their physical existence, without worries, without thoughts, seemed to him to be an ideal.

I saw Oliver change. He became calmer, seemingly more content, and his physique developed in a way that I can only describe as breathtaking. I thought he had found a new passion in bodybuilding, a healthy distraction from his thoughts. I encouraged him, not knowing what was actually happening.

One day, I could no longer ignore that something was wrong. Oliver was no longer the person I knew. Our conversations had become shallow; he spent every free minute in the barn, away from me. Driven by concern, I finally followed him and discovered the shocking truth. I found Oliver injecting himself with another dose of cattle hormones. The sight took my breath away.

[dolconfessionsss]

Praying for more ways to sabotage Remy, ruin his business, crash his cult parties, free all his cattle, beat the fuck outta him, burn down his cottage and farm, etc. I despise Remy for using and abusing others for profit. Also praying for ways to screw over Avery. I was neutral with Avery before but started hating him after the update, where it’s basically revealed that the man has been sacrificing orphans to Auriga for wealth. That’s why Bailey is so suspicious of and doesn’t like him. PC is likely not the first orphan Avery has been with. That’s why Avery easily moves on with another orphan if his rage meter is full. It’s all for the cult parties. Now, I’m just hoping for a way to play nice with Avery till I get a chance to stab him and all these cult fucks in the back. Maybe get IW involved and go “THIEEEEF” mode. Idk if that’ll ever happen though considering DOL is a pain simulator and PC is meant to suffer. 😭

Yes to all of this. I love these characters as much as I want to knock them out off their high horse in the most satisfying way I possibly could. Avery's dismissal scene is only okay to me, but I wish too that we can do more to mess with them. Maybe a different dismissal event that's more similar to Whitney, letting karma catch up to them hehehe >:3c

I do love the idea of getting the Ivory Wraith involved. Would like it if we can throw them to someone else for a change, let them feel the suffering the PC have felt from IW.

[satellitebroadcast]

israeli crimes on Lebanon: Telegram

Israel is intentionally burning Lebanese forests, one phosphorus shell at a time During the first eight months of the military escalation in the south, until the beginning of last June, Israel caused 841 fires and attacks with white phosphorus, according to figures provided to the Ministry of Agriculture by the Legal Agenda. The National Center for Scientific Research also documented 175 attacks with phosphorus shells and 37 attacks with phosphorus and regular shells, in addition to 196 attacks with incendiary bombs, which are attacks aimed at starting fires, and constitute about 10% of the various types of Israeli attacks on Lebanon during this period. The Marjeyoun district, whose border strip includes the villages of Kfar Kila, Adaisseh, Blida, Mays al-Jabal, Taybeh, Houla, and Khiyam, had the largest share of attacks with phosphorus and incendiary bombs with 116 attacks, followed by the districts of Tyre (48 attacks), Bint Jbeil (37 attacks), and Hasbaya (11 attacks)

The intensive attacks on the southern border area, specifically with white phosphorus, left hundreds injured, including more than 200 of whom required hospitalization, according to the Ministry of Health. The phosphorus attacks burned 20% of the agricultural and forest areas in 55 villages, according to sources from the Jihad al-Bina Foundation. Huge numbers of trees, poultry, livestock, and beehives were destroyed, and a large number of wild animals, insects, and birds were killed, as well as the vegetation cover. The attacks with this dangerous chemical led to mass displacement from the villages, and residents fear long-term poisoning of the soil and production, which would disrupt agricultural life.

By early June, 17 million square meters of green space had been burned (55% forest, 35% fruit trees, and 10% grassland). The region lost 60,000 ancient olive trees, some dating back centuries, even to the Roman era. Among the direct victims of the phosphorus fires were 340,000 poultry, 1,000 livestock, and thousands of beehives, which died, with 370 beehives destroyed and 3,000 damaged. The Ministry of Agriculture documented the targeting of 13 large livestock farms with white phosphorus, as well as the complete burning of a 600-square-meter feed warehouse. The livestock sector, suffered an estimated 4,000 cows and 70-80,000 heads of cattle, were injured or killed, with some losing their way, starving and thirsty until they died. Livestock was deliberately bombed to destroy it. Full detailed report by Legal Agenda Website

Evidence of Israel’s unlawful use of white phosphorus in southern Lebanon as cross-border hostilities escalate By Amnesty in 2023

[gordon-freeman-phd]

My Half-Life OC's (will be updated occasionally)

Brock Fuentes: A headstrong but cowardly guard working at black mesa with a mean streak to compensate

Richard Montague: A mycologist working at black mesa who dorms with Gordon. he is anxious, reserved, and very lonely

Jill Pobst: A guard working at black mesa, she is overly stern and aggressive to better fit in with the largely male guard population

Isiah Poole: A janitor working at black mesa, he minds his business (somethign that saves his life when it comes to the borrowers living at black mesa) and is generally a chill guy with a fondness for pet rats

Knipex: a borrower living at black mesa, theyre an engineer and eventually become friends with Isiah after being helped by him

Timmy: A young boy born during the 7 hour war, hes adventurous but is learning caution as he grows up under the combine and has a pet cat named Bagels

Bagels: Seemingly a regular cat, bagels is suspisciously intelligent with reddish eyes that seem to glow under certain contexts and seems rather fond of fucking over the combine at any given opportunity

Angus: A scientist on a xen exploration team, he becomes very lonely after getting stranded in xen after the rescas and becomes reliant on the zombified corpse of his lover Ed

Ed: A zombified scientist who is taken care of by Angus, over time he becomes a gonome

Lazăr: A combine worker/construction strider handler, during the rebellion he takes his assigned strider and skedaddles 🏃‍♂️

Galvanizer: A rollermine that got shocked just enough to scramble its programming so that it doesnt target much of anyone, eventually becomes somewhat of a pet to a rebel aligned walhammer oc named 1020 of one of my friends, its name is it (made up) combine technical term which 1020 calls it

Fred Otten: a long suffering guard who just before the resonance cascade lost his temper with a plaintive scientist and shot him dead, as the resonancr cascade begins, he pairs up with the now murdered scientists timid friend (an oc of one of my friends) to escape the facility

Robert Briggs: a nurse working at black mesa, just a stand up guy who loves his wife and makes it a habit to befriend lonely folks, richard included

V-8751: an alien grunt who survived black mesa and after many years of wandering by itself now resides on a outlander farm caring for cattle and doing its best to make nice with the outlanders despite the social differences between their two species and its growing guilt and feelings of isolation

Fletcher Lamb: a outlander living on the same farm as V-8751, born in scotland with a background in cow hoofing but now spends most of her time sewing and repairing clothes given his difficulties standing due to a spimal injury during a portal storm following the rescas, but he uses his hoofing skills as an excuse to socialize with V-8751

Cicada: a vortigaunt also living at the same farm as V-8751 who due to a brain injury at the hands of a crowbar weilding maniac during the resonance cascade, often struggles with catatonia as it withdraws into the vortesence

Felix Kessler and Alexis: a pair of metrocops who perform above standard but are perpetually disliked and skipped over for promotions due to their obnoxiously toxic attitudes to others and eachother but refuse to be paired with anyone but eachother because everyone else is worse

Antoine-Valery Veilleux: A resistance allied outlander who travels been outposts with supplies and any communicaes that cant go over radio waves. He has an ever growing collection of chihuahuas who cruises at every settlement and outpost he goes to, taken woman or not

Damned Crows: a sapient crow living at white forest who enjoys fucking with the resident humans, in particular a man named Magnusson

Rafał Lewkowicz: A citizen in city 17. His job is keeping the advisors being held in the citadel healthy. He has a developed an obsession with the advisors after having been shown visions of worlds and knowledge far beyond the comprehension of humans and longs to understand them

[maboroshi-no]

Hamefura LN13 Chapter 4 Summary (Part 2)

I am currently reading Hamefura LN13 and will post summaries after each chapter.

Previous Chapters:

Chapter 1: The Foreign Study

Chapter 2: The Prince Of Ethenell (Part 1)

Chapter 2: The Prince Of Ethenell (Part 2)

Chapter 3: The Sightseeing Outing With Cezar

Chapter 4: Maria's Crisis (Part 1)

Chapter 4: Maria's Crisis (Part 2)

Katarina Talks About Cattle Manure With Cyrus

A few days have passed since the sightseeing outing. Katarina has been spending her days normally at the Ministry of Magic.

Work has ended. Katarina is helping Cyrus harvest potatoes with Maria. 

Katarina is impressed by the quantity and the sizes of the potatoes. She doesn't get such a good harvest at home. Cyrus tells her he couldn't grow potatoes well at first, but his harvests have been good ever since he started using the fertilizer he buys from a nearby farm.

Katarina is curious about the fertilizer. Cyrus tells her it is fertilizer made from cattle dung. Katarina is disappointed. Looking at her, Cyrus remembers that Katarina is "more or less" a noble lady and that she would probably not want to use cattle dung. Katarina wonders how she should take the "more or less". She decides to take it well.

Katarina has no problem with cattle manure, actually. She knows it is efficient. She tried to use some once, but her mother got furious and shouted at her.

Millidiana: I have already given up on the garden's scenery. Still, I can't possibly suffer such a foul smell. I will absolutely not allow such foul smell to float adrift in the garden of the Claes house!

The servants also complained about the smell. As a result, Katarina was banned from using cattle manure.

Cyrus can understand why it would turn out like that. There's no problem using cattle manure at the Ministry because the fields are in a secluded and downwind place. Katarina can't possibly use cattle manure in the garden of a ducal house. She won't be able to completely remove the smell no matter what she does.

Katarina can't give up on cattle manure after seeing Cyrus's bountiful harvest. She is determined to find a way to reduce the cattle manure's smell. She will try to mix it with lavender later.

Break Time

Cyrus calls Katarina and Maria to take a break. He takes out tea and pickles.

Katarina is happy they have an abundant harvest. Maria asks Cyrus if he will make a donation to the orphanage. Cyrus says yes. Cyrus seems to be able to talk to Maria normally when at the fields, though he blushes a little. Maria thinks the children will be happy like last time. Katarina remembers that Maria delivered potatoes to the orphanage on the day she acted as a guide for Cezar.

Katrina internally wonders how much potatoes Cyrus is growing. As if reading her mind, Cyrus awkwardly tells her he is growing all kinds of varieties since the plot of land is large. Maria has received so much potatoes from Cyrus that she has sent some home. Her mother said they were delicious. It seems like Cyrus has been sharing his crops with Maria. Katarina is glad that Maria and Cyrus's relationship is making progress even if it is slow.

Katarina realizes that it has been a while since Maria has returned home. Before, she would go back on her days off. Maria has been busy lately but she will return home tomorrow.

Cyrus, Katarina, and Maria end their break and go back to harvesting the potatoes.

Cyrus Escorts Katarina to the Carriage Gate

Cyrus, Katarina, and Maria have finished harvesting the potatoes.

Katarina would usually part ways with Cyrus and Maria there, but this time Cyrus tells her he will accompany her to the carriage gate.

Katarina wonders if Cyrus wants to ask for love advice or report his progress. He acts as a serious and reliable director in front of others, so he can only ask for love advice from Katarina. He usually reports things like "I had a long conversation with Maria" or "I walked alongside her". It feels to her like even a grade-school boy from her past life would make more progress. Though she will lend him an ear since he has given her potatoes and told her about the manure.

Cyrus tells Katarina that Maria was approached by a strange man the other day when she delivered vegetables to the orphanage. Katarina doesn't find it so strange that Maria is approached by men since she is cute. Cyrus knows that, but this time, Maria sensed something strange from the man. She had the unpleasant feeling he had used dark magic before. When she turned him down, he left right away. When he did, Maria tried to detect traces of dark magic on him but she couldn't see any.

Maria couldn't see dark magic but she could sense the use of dark magic.

Cyrus adds that Maria's undercover guards didn't see anything strange with the man. Katarina is internally surprised that Maria has been assigned undercover guards.

Cyrus tells Katarina that Maria has reported this incident to him but they can't act on it without anything definitive. They should probably search for the man since Maria sensed something, but unfortunately, she can't clearly remember his face, and the guards were too far away at that time.

Katarina asks Cyrus why he is telling her about this incident. Could it be he wants her to guard Maria when they're deciphering their covenants together? Cyrus is taken aback and strongly denies it.

Cyrus just wanted to ask Katarina to be careful. If Maria is targeted, Katarina may be targeted too. And unlike Maria who has powerful light magic, Katarina has weak dark magic.

Cyrus's words remind Katarina of Jeffrey's words of caution. Cyrus probably hasn't thought this far, but he probably feels that something bad might happen. Katarina may see him as her good-for-nothing farmer friend, but he is actually an extremely competent person.

Katarina thanks Cyrus and tells him she will be careful. Cyrus nods and leaves after ensuring that Katarina has gotten inside her carriage.

Katarina can't believe Maria is in danger. Maria may be a Wielder of Light but light magic has mostly no offensive capabilities, so she can't really protect herself. Even if she has guards assigned for her protection, it may not make her safer since dark magicians can manipulate people's minds.

Katarina prays that the strange man isn't a member of the dark magic organization.

***Cezar's POV***

Cezar Has Shared His Information With Sorcier

Cezar has given the information he has gathered to the Sorcier's top brass. He has also asked for compensation for it.

After that, some nobles were arrested with this information as proof. These nobles seemed to have some kind of status. They are currently questioned but none of them can seem to give useful statements. Cezar thinks these nobles didn't act for themselves but rather followed directives.

Cezar and Jean Fear Maria Might Get Attacked

Jean enters the room in panic. He tells Cezar that something bad may happen. 

Jean has been fumbling around "the guy" without getting involved with him. Cezar angrily tells him that he must not get involved with "the guy" anymore since he is dangerous. Jean apologizes for making him worry and explains that he didn't get involved with "the guy", he only gathered information about him from a distance. Cezar is reassured but still asks Jean to be careful.

Jean tells Cezar that "the guy" has gotten in contact with Maria Campbell. Cezar thinks it might be because Maria can get in the way of their evildoings with her light magic. But if "the guy" only got in contact with her, they can just watch the situation.

Jean doesn't think so. "The guy" has gotten in contact with Maria before they did, and in the meanwhile, the nobles connected to "the guy" have been arrested thanks to the information they provided to Sorcier. The situation has changed. Maria's magic can make people confess their crimes so she has become big trouble for "the guy".

Cezar remembers the magic Maria used at Ocean Harbor Town during the kidnapping case. It made criminals confess all of their crimes. She undoubtedly represents an urgent threat to "the guy" in the current situation. The people who witnessed her magic at that time were all ordered to keep their mouths shut, but from the look of it, there must have been some leak.

Jean thinks they must let Sorcier know about "the guy" for Maria's safety. Cezar agrees. They should send a message to the Ministry of Magic to caution Maria to be careful. Jean has actually already sent the message since he knew Cezar would say this. Cezar is not surprised since Jean is his longstanding partner.

Cezar receives a message from the Ministry, which seems to be their reply. Cezar frowns upon reading it: "Maria Campbell has taken the day off today and returned to her home. However, there should be no problem since she has been assigned undercover guards for her protection". Cezar doubts the guards will make a difference against "the guy". This is what his gut feeling as a former mercenary is telling him.

Cezar decides to head to Maria's home since he can't shake off the uneasy feeling. If there's nothing to worry about, he will just have observation trips in town. He asks Jean to cancel his plans for him. Jean understands and asks Cezar to be careful.

Cezar prepares to set off. He prays that nothing bad will happen.

***Katarina's POV***

Katarina Is Deciphering Her Covenant Alone

Katarina is deciphering her covenant alone since Maria has taken the day off. Without Maria here, she is even less motivated than usual, and on top of this, she feels incredibly sleepy. 

She falls asleep.

Fortune Lover 2 Dream

Acchan starts the game. She is playing Cezar's route, which is perfect timing since Cezar is in Sorcier. 

It is the scene where OG!Katarina reveals herself to OG!Maria and OG!Cezar. Katarina feels like she has already seen that scene.

OG!Maria is shocked since OG!Katarina is supposed to be exiled. OG!Katarina tells her she has come back to take her revenge on her. OG!Maria is frightened. OG!Cezar protectively steps in front of OG!Maria and tells OG!Katarina he won't let her make a single scratch on OG!Maria. OG!Katarina laughs over OG!Cezar thinking he is a match for her who has become a dark magician.

OG!Katarina summons Cerberus. A huge wolf comes out of her shadow. He is like a huge Pochi.

Katarina is sure of it now. She has already watched that scene. She feels sad since she has wasted one of her rare Fortune Lover 2 dreams.

Cerberus charges on OG!Cezar. OG!Cezar fights back with a sword. OG!Maria fires her light magic on Cerberus. Cerberus falters and returns inside OG!Katarina's shadow.

OG!Katarina grimaces and says "You've done it!" like a boss from an evil organization. For some reason, some underlings appear and attack OG!Cezar. OG!Katarina seems to have gotten ahead and become a boss in an evil organization. OG!Cezar defeats the underlings one by one.

OG!Katarina grimaces even more. She summons a black wand. OG!Katarina's wand does not have a skull attached to it, so it looks less evil than Katarina's. OG!Katarina fires dark magic with her wand. Katarina is shocked that OG!Katarina can use dark magic just fine, unlike her who can only suck darkness. She seems more competent than her.

OG!Maria counters OG!Katarina's dark magic with her light magic. OG!Katarina is eventually wrapped in light. OG!Katarina falls to her knees.

The government officials arrive and ask OG!Maria if she is alright. OG!Katarina is arrested. 

OG!Maria and OG!Cezar have lovey-dovey dialogue. OG!Maria's mother arrives with a shopping basket. It seems like the event happened near OG!Maria's house. OG!Maria introduces OG!Cezar to her mother as her special someone. OG!Cezar declares to OG!Maria's mother that he would like to live happily with OG!Maria. It is the end of Cezar's route. Katarina is glad for them.

Katarina wonders when this scene is supposed to happen. She must be careful so it won't happen. OG!Katarina also seems to be a boss in an organization. Could it be "that" organization or another?

Katarina Talks With Sophia

Katarina wakes up and sees Sophia. Sophia woke her up because she looked like she was having a nightmare. Katarina thanks her since she really shouldn't nod off while at work.

Katarina asks Sophia what she is doing here. Sophia replies that today is the day when she helps out at the Ministry. After finishing work, she came here to check up on Katarina and Maria.

Sophia asks if Maria has taken the day off since she doesn't seem to be here. Katarina confirms it. Maria told her yesterday that she would return home today for the first time in a while.

Katarina Fears the Event Might Happen Today

After mentioning Maria returning home, Katarina remembers her dream from earlier. Then it hit her: an event happening after Cezar came for his foreign study, Maria returning home for the first time in a while, OG!Katarina with underlings, Maria seeing a man giving off an unpleasant dark magic feeling... That event might happen today!

Katarina can't help feeling uneasy.

Katarina gets up from her seat and tells Sophia she will ask permission to leave early. Then she runs to her department.

When Katarina arrives at her department, Raphael is at the door. She asks him if she can leave early. Raphael doesn't mind and asks if she is feeling unwell. Katarina can't think of a good excuse, so she honestly tells him she is worried something might happen to Maria and would like to go to her home to make sure.

Katarina is afraid Raphael might think she is weird, but to her surprise, he accepts. He will also get permission for her to use a carriage from the Ministry. Katarina is surprised that he believes her. Raphael tells her he would have been suspicious if it were another person, but he knows that Katarina doesn't joke or lie. He also trusts Katarina's intuition.

Raphael gives Katarina a magic tool so that she can contact him if something happens.

Katarina Meets Cezar on the Way to Maria's House

Katarina heads to Maria's home in the Ministry's carriage. She can't help feeling uneasy on the way.

When she gets out of the carriage near Maria's house, another carriage arrives at the same time. Katarina thinks it might be someone from the organization, and stands in her guard. But it turns out to be Cezar. Katarina and Cezar are both shocked to see each other.

Cezar asks Katarina what she is doing here. Katarina doesn't think she can deceive him and honestly tells him she just had a bad feeling about Maria. Cezar is surprised. He asks her if she has this kind of ability. Katarina completely denies it and just says it is her intuition. Cezar is dumbfounded but Katarina has no time to explain and urges him to head to Maria's house.

Cezar and Katarina are both running to Maria's house. Cezar asks if, as a noble lady, it is okay for her to run while lifting her skirt. Katarina replies it's no time to think about this.

Katarina and Cezar Arrive at Maria's House

They arrive at Maria's house. The door looks the same as usual, and the curtains are shut so they can't see inside. Katarina looks around to search for Maria's undercover guards but she doesn't see any of them. Katarina knocks on the door but she doesn't get any response. Cezar tells her that he senses a presence inside. Katarina tries to open the door, but it is locked.

Cezar decides to break the door. He throws himself against it and smashes it in.

Cezar and Katarina enters Maria's house.

The Table & Kitchen Room

Right next to the entrance, the table & kitchen room is in a mess.

There is a person lying face down on the floor. Katarina rushes over in panic thinking it might be Maria, but it's Maria's mother. Katarina picks up her body and calls out to her but she doesn't respond. Looking at Maria's mother in this state, Katarina feels her blood rushing.

Cezar supports Katarina's hands and puts a hand on Maria's mother's mouth and neck. He calmly tells Katarina that Maria's mother has a pulse and is breathing. She appears to be only unconscious. He also tells Katarina not to move her body too much since she has hit her head.

Katarina calms down a little after hearing that Maria's mother is alive.

Katarina wonders how something like that could happen, especially in Maria's house. The chairs have fallen down, there is dirt on the floor, and some plates have broken after falling from the table.

Katarina feels furious wondering who could do such a cruel thing. She feels coldness within her body.

Katarina hears a loud noise coming from Maria's room. She rushes over there, but Cezar is faster. Cezar clings to the door and puts his ears on it. He uses his hand to signal to Katarina to be quiet. He puts one hand on the handle of his sword and uses the other to open the door.

Maria's Room

Maria's room is in the same state as the table & kitchen room. There is dirt on the floor. The desk and the chairs have fallen down. 

Just like in Katarina's dream, the underlings are there. But unlike the dream, Maria is not protected behind Cezar's back but wrapped in darkness, or rather constricted by a huge snake. She looks completely pale and exhausted.

Katarina feels anger again and the coldness within her body increases.

Cezar enters the room and knocks down the closest man with his scabbard.

Katarina summons her skull wand. Since sucking darkness is her specialty, she feels like she might be able to suck up the huge snake.

Katarina starts sucking the tail of the huge snake. It works. Sarah and the men are dumbfounded since they probably didn't expect it. Cezar takes advantage of their confused state to knock another man down.

Katarina has completely absorbed the snake. There is nothing to support Maria's body anymore. Cezar catches Maria as she falls down.

The men recover and attack Cezar. Cezar can't repel their attacks since he is holding Maria. He somehow evades their attacks and ends up rolling on the floor while holding Maria. His arm is bleeding because he couldn't completely avoid their attacks.

Katarina Loses Control of Her Dark Magic

Katarina's anger was already at its peak after seeing the mess in the rooms, the unconscious Maria's mother, and the pale and exhausted Maria. But after seeing Cezar's blood splashing around, she can't take it anymore.

Katarina: Unforgivable…

After this thought has crossed her mind, Katarina feels a strange feeling she has never felt before. She feels the cold thing within her burst out of her body. It is a terribly sickening feeling.

Katarina's hand holding the skull wand raises in the air as if it were manipulated. Katarina is looking at this as if she were someone else. Her hand slowly goes down and then black darkness bursts out from her wand. She has never been able to summon so much darkness before. The darkness gets bigger and bigger and becomes a big lump. Then it takes on the form of the snake that was constricting Maria earlier, except it is twice bigger.

The snake crawls towards the men.

-----

The men's faces were distorted in terror. Sarah was wide-eyed.

Then the snake caught up with the men. It used its huge body to wrap the running men and tightly constrict them. 

Man A: Urgh...

Man B: Please help...

Man C: Please stop...

The men speaking with their faces distorted in pain, when I looked at them through the screen, they didn't seem real to me.

Even so, I felt more empathy for them in the game. How should I put it? Like now, I had not a shred of admiration for them as they truly were.

That aside, the problem was the coldness that was steadily blowing out from within me just like a blizzard.

The blizzard was engulfing my body. I was cold, so, so, cold.

Gradually, everything but the sensation of cold disappeared.

Far away, I felt like someone was telling me something, but I couldn't focus on that.

The blizzard grew more fierce. My head was dazed. At this rate, I felt like it would be easier to just lose consciousness.

Everything was becoming dark.

Cezar: Katarina! Hey, Katarina! Hang in there! Snap back! Me and Maria, we're both alright!

I could faintly hear this voice.

My field of vision opened up just a little. With a desperate face, Cezar was raising his voice to me while holding my shoulders.

Both Maria and Cezar were alright. I was so glad.

My field of vision opened up just a little and I could faintly hear his voice, but I still couldn't move my body nor raise my voice. The overflowing cold blizzard wouldn't stop.

What should I do? 

Cezar who looked so desperate, Maria too, everyone... If I didn't turn back to normal, I would cause them worry.

I wanted to turn back to normal. I wanted to stop the blizzard. What should I do?

Even though I couldn't move my body, I could feel something wet running down my cheeks.

At that moment, Cezar's eyes grew wide, then his beautiful face suddenly moved closer.

"Cezar?". As I was puzzled like this, a biting sensation...

Katarina: Eh? Mister Cezar! What are you doing?!

After shouting this, I was so surprised by my voice coming out that I reflexively covered my mouth with my hand.

---

Katarina is glad she can finally move her body. 

Katarina Has Come to Her Senses

Cezar feels relieved that Katarina has come to her senses. Katarina is confused, so Cezar explains that just before, the inside of her eyes was pitch black and she had completely lost her mind.

Katarina now understands why Cezar looked so desperate.

Cezar continues. There was a strange black thing steadily coming out of her and he felt like he needed to do something. He tried to call out to her but it didn't work at all. If she had been a guy, he could have punched her to make her come to her senses but he couldn't possibly do that to a woman. Then she started crying so he felt even more panicked. So to catch her off guard... he bit her.

Katarina remembers what happened. Her field of visions opened up, Cezar was desperately calling her, then his beautiful face got closer and he bit her nose.

Now that she has remembered it, Katarina holds her nose. Cezar asks if it hurts. Katarina says it doesn't. She was surprised when he bit her but it didn't hurt at all. Cezar is relieved to hear that.

Katarina understands that it is because Cezar took her by surprise that she can move her body again. The cold blizzard has stopped too.

Cezar doesn't understand himself why he did that. It was a spur-of-a-moment decision. He apologizes and asks Katarina to just pretend she was licked by a dog and forget it. He looks very sorry. Katarina tells him he doesn't need to apologize and thanks him for saving her. Since her body was engulfed by a violent and cold blizzard, Katarina feels like she wouldn't have been able to come back to "that side" if she had lost consciousness. She is extremely grateful to Cezar. Cezar feels relieved.

Katarina Is Horrified by What She Has Done

Now, Cezar and Katarina need to sort out the situation.

Maria is lying unconscious but her complexion looks greatly better than before.

The men are collapsed on the floor, but they are some kind of black mist stuck to them.

Upon realizing she is the one who did this, Katarina feels scared. She remembers how, earlier, her body moved by itself and a snake came out of her wand. The snake was probably the one who put the men in this state. They are lying unconscious on the floor with pained expressions on their faces. Sarah is also lying unconscious on the floor and her hair is hiding her face, but she probably has the same expression as the others.

While Katarina was angry about what they did to Maria's mother, Maria, and Cezar, she never wanted things to turn out like this. All she wanted was to save the others.

Katarina reflexively hugs her body. It is the first time she has lost control like that since she obtained Pochi. It is scary how she has been thinking until now that she was alright. She can't help shaking. She tries to hug herself more strongly but she still can't stop the shaking. She has regained control of her body but she can't stop the shaking.

Cezar puts his jacket over her. He tells her not to think of needless things and just focus on what to do with this situation. Katarina calms down. She agrees that they need to think of what to do now. Katarina shakes her head and focuses.

Katarina Treats Cezar's Wound

Katarina remembers Cezar got wounded and asks him if he is alright. Cezar says it is only a scratch but his shirt is completely red and there is still blood dripping.

Katarina forcibly takes Cezar's arm and takes a look at the wound. It is a gaping wound with overflowing blood. It isn't a scratch at all. Katarina hurriedly puts a handkerchief over it but it turns red fast. There is a lot of blood. It will be bad if it keeps bleeding.

Katarina often got deep wounds in her past life because she was a mischievous kid. There were times when the bleeding wouldn't stop. When it happened, she needed to bind the wound tightly and stop the bleeding. It was her second older brother who taught her that since he also kept getting injured.

Katarina searches for a long cloth to bind the wound. She looks around the room but she can't find any. She finally decides to create one using her skirt. After ripping her skirt, she wraps the resulting cloth around Cezar's arm. She doesn't know the correct way to dress a wound but she has learned by watching her older brother. The bleeding has stopped a little.

Cezar is amazed and asks Katarina where she learned how to dress a wound. Katarina remembers she is not supposed to know that as a noble lady. Katarina is confused over what to answer, so Cezar doesn't pry.

The bleeding has stopped. Despite only imitating her older brother, Katarina seems to have dressed the wound well. Katarina is glad. Cezar will be okay, so now it is Maria's turn.

Maria's complexion has completely returned to normal. It seems like she was pale earlier because of the snake constricting her. Katarina puts a hand over Maria's mouth and confirms she is breathing too. Katarina feels even more relieved.

Katarina is about to look at Sarah and the men but Cezar stops her. They may be unconscious but it doesn't mean they are not dangerous. Katarina shouldn't approach them so easily. Katarina realizes he is right: they could indeed jump on their feet and attack her.

Katarina and Cezar Meet the Secret Mastermind

Cezar suddenly protects Katarina behind his back and faces the door. Katarina is surprised and also looks towards the door. There is a man standing there.

The man lightly says that Katarina and Cezar have really beaten them up. The man is about the same age as Katarina's father but he is also a beautiful and alluring person. Katarina wonders who he is. Based on Cezar's behavior, he doesn't seem like an ally but she can't sense anything hostile from him. She also feels like she has seen him before.

Katarina is staring at the man from Cezar's back. Their eyes meet.

The man tells Katarina "Nice to meet you, Lady Katarina Claes." Based on this, it doesn't seem like Katarina has met him before. Katarina reflexively answers "Nice to meet you". The man chuckles and realizes that Katarina is really as interesting as the rumors say.

The man asks Katarina if she is the one who did this, referring to the men and Sarah lying unconscious on the floor. Katarina says she is and reflexively apologizes out of guilt. Cezar tells her she shouldn't apologize.

The man tells Katarina she really is a strange girl.

The man is suddenly in front of Cezar. Cezar has stiffened and becomes even more alert.

The man stares at Katarina with his grey eyes. 

------

Man: Given your abilities and the situation, it wouldn't be so strange if you were working on "our side".

Cezar: What are you talking about?

Cezar replied this with a puzzled voice but I could somewhat understand the meaning behind the man's words.

That was right. I, Katarina Claes, was originally working on "that side", the enemy's side.

On the screen I saw in my dream, the one who led those men and attacked Maria and Cezar wasn't Sarah, but Katarina.

She had mostly no magic power, she wasn't really smart, she became the prince's fiancée, she got jealous of Maria who got along with the prince, she engaged in harassment that was borderline criminal and got exiled.

And there, she obtained dark magic and stood once again before Maria as her enemy.

"Katarina Claes" was this kind of person.

Then, because I suddenly remembered the memories of my past life, the things around me changed. As a result, I didn't get exiled and became friends with the capture targets and the heroine.

But because of the possible influence of the game, I obtained a dark familiar and dark magic.

And just now, I had hurt people with that magic.

This man is right. I...

Cezar: Don't waver! It's okay.

It was as if Cezar had read my mind, When I looked up at him after hearing his words, he gave me a strong gaze.

Cezar: I don't know what you are trembling about but there's no need for you to listen to someone like that.

------

The man jokingly says that it was rude of "the prince" to call him "someone like that". Katarina realizes that the man knows Cezar's true identity.

Cezar asks the man what he has come for. He didn't expect him to come out in public. Katarina realizes that Cezar also knows the man.

The man nonchalantly replies that he usually doesn't come out but it really depends on the situation. And in this case, it was an emergency.

The man moves. Cezar takes a guard stance, but the man goes in the opposite direction and retrieves Sarah, who is lying there.

With a grin, the man says that only Sarah can't be used as a sacrificial pawn. He was asked to retrieve her in time of emergency.

In other words, the men are considered "sacrificial pawns".

The man says "bye" and is about to leave with Sarah. Katarina is reflexively about to tell him "bye" too but Cezar stops him. He stares at him with a hand on his sword.

Katarina can feel that Cezar is tense while the man has his unchanging frivolous smile. The man tells Cezar that he has heard about his skills with the sword. But *he* can use powerful magic.

The man creates a violent windstorm. Katarina can't keep her eyes open. When the wind finally calms down and she can finally open her eyes, the unconscious men have been smashed against the walls. Maria is alright since Cezar has held her during the storm. As for the man, he has disappeared. They have failed to capture the man and Sarah.

Conclusion of the Incident

Cezar carefully carries Maria and her mother to a safe place. Katarina puts a sheet over them. Their complexions have completely returned to normal and they have a calm breath.

Cezar goes to Maria's room to restrain the men with a rope. Katarina wants to help him, but he refuses because it is dangerous. Instead, he asks her to contact the outside.

Katarina uses the magic tool Raphael gave her. After she has contacted him, Raphael arrives and ties the men up. 

Katarina is concerned about the conditions of the men she has hurt. Cezar tells her their lives are not in danger and they don't have serious wounds. Katarina feels relieved.

Support arrives. Jean also arrives.

There is a doctor among the support. He examines Maria and her mother, and also the men.

The men have woken up and are arrested. They seem to be fine just as Cezar said, so Katarina feels relieved again. 

Maria and her mother have woken up and they are both alright. According to them, the men suddenly broke into their house. They hit Maria's mother in the head, she fell down and lost consciousness. Maria came out of her room because of the commotion. Sarah restrained her with her dark magic. It happened in an instant. Katarina and Cezar seemed to have arrived at Maria's house just after. 

Katarina is so glad. She shudders upon imagining what would have happened if she had arrived a moment later. Earlier, she felt relieved that the men didn't have any serious injuries, but after listening to this story, she wished she had injured them a little more. 

Maria thanks Katarina deeply. When she thought it was the end, she heard Katarina's voice and decided to hold on a little longer.

Losing control of her dark magic is scary, and the feeling of guilt is terrible, but it is also because of her dark magic that she has been able to save Maria.

Maria's undercover guards are all unconscious while hidden by brushwoods. There are traces of dark magic used on them, so they are carefully examined at the hospital.

Maria and her mother have been taken to the hospital to get a second more thorough examination.

Katarina and Cezar head to the Ministry of Magic to undergo an inquiry.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil launches biggest ever operation against illegal cattle farms in Amazon

Taskforce deployed to remove thousands of cows owned by land grabbers from indigenous territory

The Brazilian government has launched its biggest ever operation to remove thousands of cows owned by illegal land grabbers from indigenous territory in the Amazon rainforest.

Three helicopters, a dozen vehicles and a heavily armed corps of police and environment rangers are carrying out the cattle drive, which criminal gangs attempted to block by setting fires on the route, destroying bridges and intimidating drivers.

Operation Eraha Tapiro (“Ox Removal” in the language of the Assurini Indigenous people) aims to restore state control over the Ituna-Itatá Indigenous Territory, which suffered some of the worst deforestation and invasions in the Amazon during the previous presidency of the nationalist Jair Bolsonaro.

Since a change of power at the start of this year, the leftwing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has promised to curb environmental crime, halt the expansion of the agricultural frontier and aim for zero deforestation by 2030. The environment minister, Marina Silva, has launched a series of operations to drive illegal miners and ranchers out of indigenous territory and other public lands that are under the protection of the state.

Continue reading.

[devoted1989]

blood farms - yet another horrific animal cruelty

More people than ever are awakening to the grim reality of factory farming. Documentaries and investigations have brought greater awareness to what cows, pigs and chickens experience on factory farms. But there is another species that has been profoundly affected too, even if they don’t get the same attention: horses. 

While it’s no secret that horses are used in the production of gelatin, there is another egregious practice that also involves these equine creatures: the extraction of a hormonal serum from pregnant mares, used by the meat industry to boost production of pork.

The livestock industry relies on this hormone to maximize pregnancy and birth. Used mostly on pig farms, but also on sheep and cattle operations, the point is to ensure as many pregnancies as possible, as quickly as possible.

The hormone - pregnant-mare-serum-gonadotrophin, now designated equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG) - is usually given first to young sows to induce early puberty, which in turn triggers a kind of superovulation that results in larger litters. Just after they give birth, sows are then given PMSG to immediately induce estrus — the period of time when a female animal is in heat — so the cycle can start all over again. 

Pregnant mares are forced to endure constant cycles of pregnancy and abortion in order to produce the hormone for extraction. Because lower levels of nutrition lead to higher levels of PMSG in the blood, blood farm operators have been found to feed pregnant mares very little, leaving them emaciated.

Germany has identified 36 synthetic alternatives to PMSG that are made without animals, yet the livestock industry continues to source PMSG from blood farms creating a constant cycle of suffering for horses and pigs that has become a hallmark of industrial meat. 

Source: Sentient Media.

Image with kind permission from the Ethic Whisper.

@theethicwhisper

[nebmia]

Reviewing every rpg book on my shelf: 7, Wolves of God

Wolves of God by Kevin Crawford is a game about adventuring in early anglo-saxon england and its prime virtue is in how thoroughly (and for the most part accurately) it develops that time period and attempts to place players in the outlook of those people. I happen to have a particular love for the early middle ages and for the anglo-saxons in particular, which places me directly in the target demographic for this game, and as far as I am concerned it delivers.

Mechanically Wolves of God is built on the same fundamental system as Kevin Crawfords other ‘without number’ games: So an osr type game with a greater than usual quantity of character build options and a particular focus on sandbox play.

The first thing you notice when you read the book is the framing device. The book is treated as if it was a manuscript written by a monk in 710AD (the rather opinionated Brother Cornix) documenting anglo-saxon gaming practice that has been unearthed and edited by Kevin Crawford. This lends the whole book a very unique and (to me) entertaining voice. For illustration here is a section from character creation:

The rules in these pages will show you how to make your bold adventurer, but do not be a thrall to man-marked ink on pale parchment. If your band of gamesmen has their own thought to the right way to manage a matter, then let it be done as you and your companions think best. Listen, then, and I will tell you how to make an English hero. From the first strong sinews of the mortal body to the crown of reason and high ambition, you will learn what makes a mighty champion of our people.

The styling as a medieval manuscript does, however, mean that many standard features of modern layout are absent, such as bullet points being replaced by paragraphs starting ‘primus’, ‘secundus’, ‘Tertius’, etc and that overall the text is much wordier than most contemporary rpgs. However, there are footnotes and sidebars from ‘the editor’ which summarise important rules or discuss some of Brother Cornix’s biases, and I find that, overall, the writing style is worth it for the level of immersion in the culture that it provides.

There are three classes you can use to create your ‘English Hero’ (plus an option for multiclassing): the warrior, the saint, and the galdorman. These are broadly analogous to the original D&D fighting man, cleric, magic user line up but each has twists to place it in the setting. The big point is that each classes has a set of ‘glories’ and ‘shames, which determine how they gain (or lose!) xp. These do a lot to place your character within the outlook and value system of the early middle ages. For instance the saints shames tie them to follow the law of the church, while a warriors shames relate to oath breaking or betraying your lord or friends. An interesting feature is that, while warriors or galdormen can escape shame if no one knows what they did, a saint always suffers the penalty as ‘God knows all things.’

Which is a good segue for talking about christianity and how deeply enmeshed it is in the setting. The book spends almost as many pages detailing the essentials of early medieval christianity as it does describing the rules for combat, and then goes on to spend twice as many pages describing monasteries and giving rules for generating them. Basically, religion was really important then and also quite unlike how we as modern people understand it.

Among the other things that were important to people then but unfamiliar to a modern audience are: Cattle Raids, Feasting etiquette, a gift economy, and the weight placed on fate. All of which Wolves of god sets out rules and procedures to guide you though. Outside of what is rendered in the rules to book also lays out an expansive description of anglo-saxon england covering the legal system, customs, farming practice, history and the main kingdoms. In contrast to games (D&D) where you play as essentially modern people in an essentially modern world wrapped in medieval aesthetics, Wolves of God is a game where you simply must inhabit the alien world that is the past.

Apart from the areas where is does deviate from history, which is primarily in the transformation of old roman ruins into portals to pocket dimensions (or ‘arxes’) created with ancient roman magic into which the romano-british retreated. What with it being, at its root, a dungeon crawling game I can see why there was a need to add magical dungeons and a treatment of roman ruins is definetly appropriate as the remnants of roman civilisation is deeply important to this time period (see the old english poem ‘the ruin’) but there is still fundamentally something about the inclusion of arxes that does not work for me. I think it is, perhaps, that the existence of dungeons and the delving off them is too big a thing to add without it dramatically changing the setting. A world with dungeon delving adventures is inevitably drawn into the sphere of classical D&D fantasy and away from the early middle ages. Fortunately, I can simply choose not to have any arxes and instead focus on more historical adventures with the odd mythical creature or barrow delve thrown in (don’t ask me why a barrow feels different to an arxe. It just does, ok)

A final note: My copy is the deluxe edition, which is unfortunately no longer available. I think the only difference with the print on demand version will be a less premium binding and printing and not having the red cover with gold