Natural Disaster

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8114015/Donald-Trump-tries-pay-German-company-creating-experimental-coronavirus-vaccine-US.html

https://www.curevac.com/news/company-founder-ingmar-hoerr-succeeds-daniel-menichella-as-ceo-of-curevac-ag

Your government, in the middle of a global fucking pandemic, literally tried to buy the vaccine under development for said pandemic exclusively for the US.

He’s also cut the budget for the CDC every damn year for the past 3 years

If you love Scottish fold cats, I’m going to tell you something you don’t want to hear. Please, please read on anyway. If you are considering adopting a Scottish fold, PLEASE continue reading. This information needs to be more widely known.

In 2008, the Journal of Small Animal practice released a short report on disorders associated with breeds of cats. In this report, the authors mentioned the Scottish fold:

People who own them may be “charmed” by their round faces and open expression (and they may not realise that the reason the cats do not move around too much is because they are variably crippled with arthritis).1

The gene that causes the cute fold in the Scottish fold’s ear also leads to the development of a degenerative disorder called osteochondrodysplasia. ALL Scottish folds have this disorder, whether they show symptoms or not- the fold in their ears is caused by a cartilage deformity that also affects their joints.

Osteochondrodysplasia leads to crippling osteoarthritis, which affects Scottish folds at much younger ages than other breeds of cats. In cats heterozygous for the gene, the disease’s progression can be seen in cats as young as six months. In homozygous cats, it can be seen as early as seven weeks old.

Affected cats may be grossly deformed, with short wide limbs and a short, inflexible tail. They show lameness, swollen wrist (carpal) and ankle (tarsal) joints, have an abnormal gait, and are reluctant to move and jump. Severely affected individuals become crippled and unable to walk.

…Many affected cats are euthanased earlier in life due to the profound effects of this disease.2

The breed is often described as “placid” and “calm.” This is due to the fact that they are constantly in pain due to this disorder. Even in mild, ‘asymptomatic’ cases which can occur in heterozygous cats, they may still be experiencing pain due to cats’ tendency to hide their suffering.

Many breeders of Scottish folds claim that not all heterozygous cats have the disorder, because the studies that examined the cats (which were all, heterozygous or not, shown to have it) had small sample sizes.

In 2003, Lorraine Shelton, a specialist in genetic diseases, offered to pay for 300 x-rays of healthy adult Scottish folds to prove that the disorder was not present in some heterozygous cats.

…She has asked a list of 300 Scottish Fold breeders from around the world to go to their vet to get X-rays done. She had offered to pay for these X-rays but not a single breeder had taken up that offer. You could not know whether this problem existed unless an X-ray was taken. If somebody would send her an X-ray of a healthy hind leg of a folded eared cat, she would be grateful as she wanted to see the very first one.3

To date, no one has taken her up on the offer. The breeders’ unwillingness to have their cats examined speaks volumes. The authors of all studies on these cats agree: it ethically wrong to continue breeding these cats.

It disturbs me that any breeder would knowingly continue to create animals that will be in pain throughout their lives. As a cat lover myself, I am begging you, please do not buy Scottish folds. Do not support these unethical breeding practices, or the concept that it is acceptable to intentionally breed unhealthy animals for the sake of how they look.

Citations

1 Breed-related disorders of cats (discusses issues with other breeds as well)

2 Genetic welfare problems of companion animals: osteochondrodysplasia (a thorough description of the disease and its prevalence)

3 FIFe meeting notes (leading to a decision not to recognize Scottish folds as an offical breed due to the disorder)

There was also a follow-up email about Shelton’s offer which can be read here.

Studies on osteochondrodysplasia in Scottish Folds

Osteochondrodysplasia in Scottish Fold cats

Incomplete dominant osteochondrodysplasia in heterozygous Scottish Fold cats (this is the source of the above x-ray pictures)

Here’s a list of free horror games that you can play online or download!

1916 - Der Unbekannte Krieg [Indie/Action/Adventure]

5 Days A Stranger [Indie/Adventure]

6 Days A Sacrifice [Indie/Adventure]

7Days [Indie/Adventure]

7 Days A Skeptic [Indie/Adventure]

A Life Ruined [Indie/Survival]

Alice Mare [Adventure/Story-oriented]

Ao Oni [Indie/Puzzle-solving/Role-playing/Single-player]

Ascension [Indie/Adventure]

Baby Blues [Indie/Survival/Adventure]

Backstage [Psychological/Adventure]

Black Snow [Adventure] Half-life 2 Mod

BLAME [Indie/Action/Survival]

Bunny Man - Lost Souls [Indie/First-Person]

Candles [Indie/Action]

Cellar Door [Point-and-Click]

The Chain Letter Massacre [Indie]

Colina [Indie/Adventure]

Corpse Party Zero [Survival/Adventure]

Corpse Party Rebuilt [Survival/Adventure]

The Crooked Man [Adventure]

Cry of Fear [Psychological/Survival]

DayZ [Multiplayer/Survival/Zombies/Adventure] ARMA II Mod

Dead Awake [Zombie Survival/Action]

Dead Ocean [Indie/Survival/Puzzle-solving]

Deep Sleep [Point-and-click] 

Derelict [Survival/Action/First-person Shooter]

Desert Nightmare [Adventure/Puzzle-solving/Indie]

Devil’s Tuning Fork [Adventure/Puzzle-solving]

Don’t Escape [Adventure/Point-and-click/Survival/Puzzle]

Don’t Look Now [Indie]

Dream of the Blood Moon [First-person/Puzzle-solving/Adventure]

Erie [Survival]

Euthanasia [First-person Shooter/Action]

Eyes [Indie/Adventure/First-person]

Exmortis & Exmortis 2 [Flash/Adventure]

Fabricant: Episode 1 [Indie/Adventure/Single-player]

The Fourth Wall [Indie/Puzzle-solving]

Forget Me Not Annie [Puzzle-solving/Indie]

Forgotten [Indie]

Grave Prosperity [Indie/Survival/Action/Adventure]

Grounded [Indie/Survival/Puzzle-solving]

The Groundskeeper [Indie/Adventure/Single-player]

The Haunted [Action/Survival/Shooter] Unreal Tournament 3 Mod

Haunted Memories [Indie/Action/Adventure]

Hello? Hell…o? [Indie]

The Here and Now of Yesterday [Indie/Role-playing/Adventure]

The Hidden: Source [Action/Adventure/First-person Shooter] -Half-life 2 Mod

Hide [Retro/Adventure/Indie]

The House & The House 2 [Indie/Point-and-click/Adventure]

The Horror House [Point-and-Click]

Hylophobia [Survival]

I Can’t Escape [Adventure/Indie]

I See You [Indie]

Ib [Adventure/Puzzle-solving]

Ildefonse [Indie/Psychological]

Imscared: A Pixelated Nightmare [Indie/Puzzle-solving]

The Insanity [Action/Point-and-click/Adventure]

Inside [Indie/Adventure]

Kaii Syndrome [Indie/Adventure]

Kraven Manor [Survival/First-person/Puzzle-solving]

Lamia Nox [Indie/Adventure/Puzzle-solving]

Leave [Indie/Adventure]

The Last Door Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 [Adventure/Point-and-click]

Lisa is Not a Happy Game [Indie/Psychological/Adventure]

Mad Father [Adventure/Puzzle-solving]

Maere: When Lights Die [Survival] Compatible with the Oculus Rift 

Mermaid Swamp [Adventure]

Minotaur [Survival/Slasher/Indie/Puzzle-solving]

Miserere [Adventure/Indie/Survival]

A Mother’s Inferno [Psychedelic First-person]

Ningyo Heart [Indie/Survival/Puzzle-solving]

Nightmare House 2 [First-person Shooter] Half-Life 2 Mod

No More Room in Hell [Zombie Survival/Action] Half-life 2 Mod

NothingElse [Indie/Adventure]

Noxious [Third-person Shooter/Action/Survival]

Nyctophobia [Indie/Adventure]

OFF [Indie/Role-playing/Puzzle-solving]

One Late Night [Indie]

One Night: Full Circle [Survival/Adventure/Action]

Pact With a Demon - Episode 1 [Indie/First-person Shooter]

Palette [Indie/Adventure]

Penumbra [Survival/Adventure]

Phobia 1.5 [First-person/survival]

Reap and Sow [Indie/Adventure/Farming Sim/Dungeon Explorer]

REC - Shutter [Indie/Puzzle-solving]

Re:Kinder [Indie/Surreal/Adventure]

Rework The Dead: Evil [Platformer/Indie/Action/First-person Shooter]

Ripest of Fears [Indie/Role-playing]

The Room [Indie/Adventure]

Schuld [Psychological/Adventure/Indie/Puzzle-solving]

SCP - Containment Breach [Survival/Indie/Psychological]

SCP-087-B [Psychological/Indie]

Sepulchre [Point-and-click/Adventure]

Serena [Indie/Adventure]

Silent Hill Room 304 [Point-and-click/Adventure]

Silent Santiago [Adventure/Puzzle-solving]

Silhouette [Indie/Co-op/Survival]

Slender: The Eight Pages [Indie/First-person/Survival]

The Suffering [Psychological/Action]

The Theater 2013 [Indie]

Trilby’s Notes [Indie/Survival/Adventure]

Underhell [Shooter/Zombie Thriller/Survival] Half-life 2 Mod

The Unknown [Indie]

Vanish [Indie/First-person/Adventure/Survival]

Vapour [Indie]

Which [Indie/Adventure]

The White Chamber [Point-and-click/Adventure/Puzzle/Third-person/Psychological ]

The Witch’s House [Puzzle-solving]

Within Deep Sorrows [Indie/Adventure]

Yume Nikki [Psychological/Adventure]

NOW’S AS GOOD A TIME AS ANY MATES EH

so, I like homestuck. You like homestuck. If you’re following me, you definitely like homestuck. I have a job, which means I have money that I can burn on Homestuck Content now. Which means I’m going to burn it on you.

What do you have to do? It’s pretty simple.

STEP 1: Be following me, and reblog this post. The more participants, the better. STEP 2: Make something for Homestuck! Unlike last time, this giveaway is not self-indulgent on my part. Just make some Homestuck content! Points are given for effort. It can be prose or music or art or whatever, just make sure that you clearly label it as being for this contest when you post or send it to me. STEP 3: Message me a link to the thing you made so it doesn’t get lost – tumblr doesn’t like giveaways and thus will muddy up the reblogs and likes and whatnot. STEP 4: Wait and see!

Now, prizes are important. Right? I think it’s generally acceptable that prizes are important for giveaways. Here are your prizes: (You must be following me and have this post reblogged at the time of the contest ending in order to claim a prize!)

FOR FIRST PLACE: One grand prize winner will receive 100 dollars worth of whatever Steam games they like or 75 dollars worth of other internet deliverables (not including shipping and handling). If you’re getting a thing delivered to you, you must live within the contiguous united states – sorry!

FOR SECOND PLACE X2: There will be two second place winners - ONE FOR THE TUMBLR VERSION OF THE GIVEAWAY, AND ONE FOR THE TWITTER ONE. Each one will receive 40 dollars worth of Steam games or 30 dollars worth of other internet deliverable stuff. Same location rules apply.

THE EFFORT AWARDS: I will be giving pretty much as many 5 dollar steam certificates to whoever I deem did a good enough job and I have the budget for but aren’t worth first place or one of the two second place prizes.

This contest ends 11/11!