October 13, 2012

"Two men who say they’re Berkeley, Calif., law school students have been arrested after police say they killed and decapitated an exotic bird..."

"... that was part of a Las Vegas resort attraction."
... Police say the two men were seen Friday laughing and throwing around the body of a dead, 14-year-old helmeted guineafowl at the Flamingo resort-casino. The large bird was part of the Flamingo’s Wildlife Habitat, a garden area with ponds and streams that houses many types of birds.
Really? These were Berkeley law students? Quite aside from the evil of animal cruelty, this is unfathomably stupid career suicide.

53 comments:

bearing said...

No way, Ann. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

bagoh20 said...

Oh, that's not gonna go over well back at Berkley. Forget about career, these guys may not get laid till after graduation.

bagoh20 said...

No, they said they were students at "Berkley". It's a school of agriculture and meat processing.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

One of them summered at WilmerHale (former Wilmer Cutler & Pickering plus Hale & Dorr), one of the best firms in the country. What a career to through down the tubes.

Wince said...

Get ready for the "Benghazi defense":

They were enraged by a "crude, disgusting and reprehensible" Internet video game, Angry Birds.

KCFleming said...

Their defense should be that the bird was a racist Republican hater of gays and global warming, and therefore deserved to die.

ricpic said...

Think these two now and future shits could qualify as evil? Nah, there are bumps on the road to riches is all, 'kay?

Seeing Red said...

It's a cultural thing, we can't judge.

It's good enuf for Whoopie.....

Rusty said...

Couple a mopes.

Automatic_Wing said...

It's a cultural thing, we can't judge.

It's good enuf for Whoopie.....


You're saying it wasn't decaptation-decapitation?

Julie C said...

They were high on a new designer drug, bird seed.

Eric said...

This is one of those stories where I'm guessing alcohol may have been involved.

Shouting Thomas said...

My own life of sin and misery during my days in Berkeley leads me to believe that, somehow, drugs and copious amounts of alcohol played a role in this fiasco.

Reminds me a little of another movie I saw recently, with Johnny Depp playing the role of Hunter S. Thompson, The Rum Diary.

I've been watching old movies on Netflix. This was a pretty decent one. Lot of drinking and drugs involved.

Bob Boyd said...

Maybe they thought it was Big Bird.

edutcher said...

No, no, no, you don't understand.

Lefties have not only the right, but the obligation to break laws they see as unjust so they can re-arrange the world to their liking.

Anonymous said...

It's a drug called alcohol. Causes you to do stupid shit. Acid and they would have been one with the animal in universal conversation of living entities. Pot and they would have been checking out the groovy stylings of the feathers. Dollar to Sunday says they were drunk.

Wince said...

Justin Teixeira

Law Clerk
U.S. Department of Justice - Environment & Natural Resources Division (Natural Resources Section)
May 2011 – July 2011 (3 months) Washington, D.C.

University of California, Los Angeles
B.A., Political Science, Environmental Studies Minor

Diogenes of Sinope said...

What the hell is wrong with people?

Dante said...

Quite aside from the evil of animal cruelty, this is unfathomably stupid career suicide.

Where is the evil? I don't see it. Even, where's the animal cruelty?

Sorun said...

A two-man peer pressure loop that spun out of control.

Virgil Hilts said...

Given my experience with California's plaintiff lawyers, they probably did this as a resume stuffer.

Alex said...

This is one of those stories where I'm guessing alcohol may have been involved.

Bullshit. Whenever I got drunk it never occurred to me to go on homicidal rampage. I'm what you call a happy drunk.

James Pawlak said...

If law students, were they: Affirmative Action critters; Or, the usual Berkely animals?

Alex said...

Where is the evil? I don't see it. Even, where's the animal cruelty?

Are you serious? So animals are to do with as we please right?

Clyde said...

They need to be e-Vick-ted.

PatCA said...

EDH, yes, they are card carrying liberals, per their LinkedIn.

Quel surprise!

Of course the media will forgive them instantly.

LoafingOaf said...

Good luck explaining that when they're trying to pass the character and fitness application for the bar exam!

BarryD said...

This "exotic bird" is exotic in the sense that you probably have to go all the way to Whole Foods to buy the meat. It's apparently common in higher-end French and Italian cooking. It's domesticated and serves the same role as our chickens, in much of the world.

I mean, it does sound like they were a couple of drunken idiots, but would the story sound as interesting if it said, "Chicken?"

BarryD said...
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BarryD said...

Don't get me wrong, it's never a BAD thing when two hardcore green-left would-be attorneys will never see the inside of a courtroom, and will starve trying to pay off their student loans...

It's just that this South African chicken has nothing whatever to do with the environment.

Kazinski said...
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Paul said...

If these really are law students then they will soon get a taste of what law is all about, but as a defendant, not as a lawyer. Might even get a taste of what jail is all about.

jr565 said...

It's a cultural thing, we can't judge.

I'd lke to take Joe Biden's abortion stance and apply it to kiling and decapitating exotic birds.
I personally find killing and decapitating birds to be morally wrong and murder even, I accept it in my personal life, but I don't think its right to impose my personal beliefs on others who have no problem killing and decapitating exotic birds.
Killing of exotic birds should be safe, legal and rare.
Or, to put it another way "fuck the birds"

Balfegor said...

Re: Alex:

Are you serious? So animals are to do with as we please right?

Wait, when you put it that way, YES! This doesn't sound that bad. But the bird was clearly someone else's property and they ought to be made to pay for killing it.

ndspinelli said...

Career suicide? I bet Frank Perdue or Alice Cooper would hire these assholes.

Dante said...

Are you serious? So animals are to do with as we please right?

Yes, I'm serious. People slaughter birds all the time, and one way is off with their heads. Another way is "wringing their necks."

So where's the "cruelty". Unless you want to admit you participate in cruelty to fowl by eating a chicken dinner (and there is a lot more cruelty to it in the chicken industry, to keep them cheaper and to the form you like).

If it isn't "cruel," then how can it be evil.

Well, you may say, "But we eat them. These kids killed them for no good reason." I retort that's merely one form of pleasure. You could forgo that, do your cardiovascular system and your pocketbook a big favor by eating beans and tofu. Perhaps there is some pleasure in running after prey, catching it, and yes, even killing it. Little kids try to catch birds. Are they "evil"? Cats, Killer Whales, and other animals kill prey without eating it. Is that "evil" or merely natural?

Cruelty to animals is something entirely different.

Anyway, I see my moniker is so apropos. Big Bird, and Romney wants to wring it's neck. Is he cruel too?

Dante said...

Some cruelty to animals tips

dc said...

I suppose it would be career suicide if they are aspiring to a career in academia.
If they do a little terrorist bombing(leftwing of course)they might be able to redeem themselves.

It worked for Bill and Bernadette.

Hagar said...

On December 15, 1867, Lt. Col. William L. Rynerson shot and killed the Chief Justice of New Mexico Supreme Court, John P. Slough in the biiliard room of the La Fonda Hotel inSanta Fe.

Col. Rynerson went on to a long and profitable career in New Mexico politics and served several terms as District Attorney of Dona Ana County, etc.

So all is not necessarily lost just for beheading a flamingo in Las Vegas, NV.

jr565 said...

I think the issue is how exotic the birds are. I don't know too many people getting worked up over the killing of pigeons and/or rats. But an endangered bird, perhaps. Also, I seem to have more of an issue with killing ducks and or geese, but I think that's because I like ducks and geese. By the same token, you can buy duck at any chinese restaurant, meaning someeone killed one of those ducks somewhere along the way.
Did they wring its neck and decapitate it? Who knows? People can be awfully hypocritical when it comes to slaugthering of animals. Dogs no, rats yes for example. Dolphins no, tuna sure, why not.

Big Mike said...

Suddenly I see the value of having non-dischargeable student loan debt.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

So where's the "cruelty". Unless you want to admit you participate in cruelty to fowl by eating a chicken dinner (and there is a lot more cruelty to it in the chicken industry, to keep them cheaper and to the form you like).

Yes. We may eat chicken or guinea hens. But, we don't use their corpses as soccer balls. Show some respect for life and for death.

I have personally shot, killed and wrung the necks of more birds/waterfowl/upland game than probably anyone else posting here. We shoot the birds for food and for sporting skill. We didn't torture and maim the animals for "fun", run around laughing and getting a thrill out of the maiming. We didn't "play" with their bodies. We shoot to try to inflict the least amount of pain and put the animal out of it's misery as soon as possible. (Wring the necks when the retriever brings the game back)

When you are slaughtering farm raised domestic animals, the process is as quick and painless as possible. Even when putting your pets down, your dog, cat, horse: the process should be quick and not torturous.

Is there cruelty in animal factory farming, especially poultry, yes. Tighter laws need to be instituted. The fact that we don't see it up and personal is what allows it to continue. I, personally, would rather pay a higher price for meat that I know has been raised in humane conditions.

However, these are not the same situations raising animals for meat production or chasing down and killing what was essentially a pet and getting a thrill out of the process.

The 'animal cruelty' part occurs when there is no respect for life as shown by these dopes.

Titus said...

Do birds have tits?

Dr Weevil said...

Jeez, Titus, weren't you paying attention in middle-school science? Only mammals have mammaries. That's why they're called mammals.

Dante said...

The 'animal cruelty' part occurs when there is no respect for life as shown by these dopes.

I don't see any evidence these kids were any more cruel than that cruelty that goes into what's on the dinner table. I suppose the problem is they had "fun" doing it.

You said you hunt for sport. There are probably cheaper ways to get that food, but maybe you justify it that way, pretending it doesn't satisfy some primitive human need. You too get some enjoyment out of the chase. Read "Lord of the Flies." Ironically, at the end of the movie, some military men pick up the kids, and are astonished how they have "devolved" into savagery, never realizing they too are acting out their savagery, only in a civilized way with uniforms and rules.

And I daresay, despite your attempts to kill quickly, there is always the chance you injure a bird that escapes and dies a miserable death through infection, and undoubtedly with far more misery to the animal than what these kids did.

I'm tired of people not understanding we too are animals. There are contradictory parts to us, certainly. But your argument is so empty. Because you go about your ways within the rules, it's so much better than these kids getting in touch with a part of what makes us human.

I think the crime here is simple. It's a property crime. It's not any more evil than eating a chicken dinner, except it was stolen.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

You said you hunt for sport. There are probably cheaper ways to get that food

You know nothing. (Jon Snow). There was a time in my life and in many others who I have known, when it was cheaper to shoot a deer or goose or gig a frog or fish for salmon than to buy from the store. My husband's family lived in an area where beef was a rarity, store bought food a luxury and venison was daily fare (to the point that they were sick of it) until he was in junior high school.

Not everyone has YOUR life experiences.

And I daresay, despite your attempts to kill quickly, there is always the chance you injure a bird that escapes and dies a miserable death through infection, and undoubtedly with far more misery to the animal than what these kids did.

Yes. That is the chance. Sometimes the kill isn't immediate and occasionally a bird gets away. Sadly and regretfully. That unfortunate loss will feed another animal in the food chain. Such is life.

However. I'm a pretty good shot and when I was hunting (don't do it now for age related reasons. Still do trap and sporting clays.) very few got away.

The difference, which you don't seem to get (and probably NEVER will) is the attitude.

Because you go about your ways within the rules, it's so much better than these kids getting in touch with a part of what makes us human.

If what makes us human is to callously and for no purpose whatsoever, chase down and thrill kill an animal that you are not going to eat or otherwise use for a legitimate purpose (hides for shoes, feathers for warmth, meat to eat)....I want no part of YOUR humanity. In fact, I wouldn't consider that attitude "human" and consider it devoid of any spirituality.

That you consider this a mere property crime makes me have no respect for you as a "human".

John Cunningham said...

Berkeley enviro science grad, and law student...doubtless a huge Lefty. no respect for animal or human life, no doubt a big pro-abortionist also. about what one might expect.

dc said...

They could claim to be 1/32 indian and needed the feathers...It works at Harvard and Penn. Why not Berkeley?

Dante said...

"You said you hunt for sport. There are probably cheaper ways to get that food

You know nothing. (Jon Snow). There was a time in my life and in many others who I have known, when it was cheaper to shoot a deer or goose or gig a frog or fish for salmon than to buy from the store.

You do understand you are supporting my point, while telling me I know nothing, don't you?

No point in talking to you until you understand that.

Nomennovum said...

Geez. If you're going to make a career-ending mistake, at least make it a good one.

Nomennovum said...

"I'm tired of people not understanding we too are animals." - Dante

Dante, I am tired of these infernal claims. Have you ever met anyone who did understand this?

Nomennovum said...

Meat is murder, Dante? Eating meat is what made us human. Raising animals to produce our meat is part of what made us civilized.