Slaughter

In response to the letter regarding animal cruelty ("Eat more plants," June 4), I would like to clarify one important thing: There is no such thing as humanely produced animal products or humane slaughter. It is a misnomer by animal producers to relieve the guilt consumers feel when buying meat, eggs or dairy. All animals, no matter how the conditions are labeled (meat-free, organic, cage-free, free-range, etc.) suffer in food production as all end up at the same slaughterhouses and all feel the fear and panic of impending death.

In response to the letter regarding animal cruelty ("Eat more plants," June 4), I would like to clarify one important thing: There is no such thing as humanely produced animal products or humane slaughter. It is a misnomer by animal producers to relieve the guilt consumers feel when buying meat, eggs or dairy. All animals, no matter how the conditions are labeled (meat-free, organic, cage-free, free-range, etc.) suffer in food production as all end up at the same slaughterhouses and all feel the fear and panic of impending death.

One sign of being crazy is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. Allowing guns to proliferate on our streets repeatedly has resulted in violence against innocent people, but given the opportunity to do something different, the U.S. Senate has settled on more of the same - which is nothing ("Senate rejects expanded checks on gun purchases," April 18). The senators who voted against a sane revision of gun laws dishonored the memory of those slaughtered in Columbine, Aurora, Tucson, Newtown and all those who continue to be slaughtered every day on streets everywhere across this country.

On Friday, March 25, 2005, LOTTIE; beloved mother of George A. Slaughter, Jr., and his wife Shirley, Shirley Kraft-Martin and the late Elaine Beal; mother in-law of Charles Beal; sister of John Ford, Ester Messenger, Ruth Everhart and the late William Ford; grandmother of the late Tommy Kraft. Also survived by eleven grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and eight great-great-grandchildren. Friends may call on Thursday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. at the Stallings Funeral Home, P.A., 3111 Mountain Road, Pasadena.

MARY VIRGINIA SLAUGHTER, 85, died Monday, December 19, 2005, after a lengthy illness at Asbury Center in Kingsport, TN. Miss Slaughter, formerly of Brooklandville, MD, was a member of Hunts United Methodist Church, a graduate of Goucher College, a 30 year retiree of the Library of Congress, a member of Womens Eastern Shore Society and Maryland Historical Association. Mary Virginia was preceded in death by her parents, Mr. And Mrs. Thomas S. Slaughter and her brother, Thomas Somerset Slaughter, Jr. She is survived by her nephews, Thomas S. Slaughter, III and wife of Louisville, KY, John K. Slaughter, DVM of Rogersville, TN; cousins, Christopher T. Slaughter and wife Eddie, Emily Stevens Slaughter of Baltimore, MD. Interment will be held in Denton, MD.

On May 7, 2003, CHARLES S. SLAUGHTER beloved husband of Gloria J. Knight-Slaughter. Friends may call at the FAMILY OWNED MARCH FUNERAL HOME WEST INC, 4300 Wabash Avenue, on Monday after 8:00 A.M. The family will receive friends at Pleasant Zion Baptist Church, 4317 North Point Blvd. on Tuesday at 6:30 P.M. Funeral Services will follow at 7 P.M. See www.marchfh.com

On Saturday, October 1, 2005 GEORGE ALBERT; beloved husband of Shirley K. Slaughter; devoted father of George Slaughter, III, Reds, Vernon, Chuck Slaughter, Karen Geyer and Gail Di Fatta; brother of Shirley Martin and the late Elaine Beal. Also survived by 13 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Friends may call on Thursday 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. at the Stallings Funeral Home, P.A., 3111 Mountain Road, Pasadena, MD where funeral services will be held at 8:30 P.M., Thursday. Interment private.

"Fourteen years in the NFL," Webster Slaughter was saying after practice yesterday, "and a hit has never left me on the ground."Not once?"Not one time," he said with a smile. "I've always popped right back up."How could that be? How could a smallish, darting receiver such as Slaughter, who weighed 163 pounds when his career started, play this long without getting injured?"Hold on, it's not that I haven't been hurt," he said. "I tore up my knee in '94. Broke my arm in '88. Tore my hamstrings.

Nancy M. Slaughter, a retired medical editor and former Rodgers Forge resident, died of emphysema Aug. 4 at a hospital in Wilmington, Del. She was 74. Nancy Murray was born and raised in Wilmington, and attended Goldey-Beacom College and the University of Delaware. In 1971, Mrs. Slaughter took a position at Williams & Wilkins and Waverly Press as a copy editor. She was director of journal management at her 1991 retirement. Mrs. Slaughter was a former director of volunteers for the Junior League and member of the Women's Board of Children's Hospital.

Human rights organizations believe that some 70,000 innocent civilians have been killed by the government in Syria's civil war and a million more have fled their country as refugees. Another million internally displaced people are wandering around inside Syria seeking safety. Since World War II, after Hitler's evil attempt to annihilate an entire population, people have been asking why the world took so long to intervene. Yet today, while innocent people are being sent to their deaths in Syria, the world continues to hem and haw while it tip-toes around the politically correct policies of honoring Syria's national autonomy and respecting its "sovereignty.

The international community has to be terminally naive to believe that words and threats that aren't backed up by force will deter Syrian President Bashar Assad from murdering his own people ("Killings intensify Syria crisis," May 31). Even at 10,000 civilians massacred by Syrian government forces, this catastrophe pales in comparison to his father's vendetta, when more than 30,000 Syrians were slaughtered. Both men ruled by the sword; in light of Mr. Assad's continuing support from Iran and Russia, only a military response will lead to the overthrow of this dictator.

"It is better to be cruel than weak. " - Theon Greyjoy Whoa. Did Theon Greyjoy really just kill Bran and Rickon Stark?! Moreover: Why is this show so insanely cruel to its only honorable family? The seventh episode in the second season of"Game of Thrones"ended with Greyjoy's soliders hanging the tarred bodies of two young boys, leading the people of Winterfell (and viewers) to presume that he had killed Bran and Rickon (who I believe are only 9 and 4 years old, respectively)

Recently, the ban blocking U.S. Department of Agriculture inspections of horses for human consumption was lifted. This is disconcerting to many animal lovers and horse enthusiasts and owners. Humans domesticated horses and used them for war, travel and work. We show, race and compete with them. We over-breed them, attaching a value to their conformation and abilities. We use them as companions and for pleasure riding. And we are bonded through trust. Yet we are failing them and sending them to auctions where they are bid on for meat.

AK Slaughter, the dual voices of Emily Slaughter and Aran Keating, have been making music in Baltimore since their college days at Goucher, mixing fast with slow and musical simplicity with quirky complexity. Their answers for this week's Like/Dislike are almost as entertaining as their sharp lyrics and funky beats. Don't miss them at the Fifth Annual All Rap Round Robin at 9 p.m. Friday at Floristree, featuring 12 different talents. They'll be releasing their new split EP with RapDragons there.

MIAMI -- Bob Costas has become the first celebrity to withdraw from Wrestlemania VII because of the World Wrestling Federation's portrayal of the Iraq-U.S. conflict in the wrestling ring.Costas, an NBC sports announcer and late-night talk show host, announced over the weekend that he wouldn't participate in the March 24 pay-per-view show."I didn't think it would be in the best of taste," Costas said.NBC's Paul Maguire, who was to participate with Costas and George Steinbrenner as part of an experiment with instant replay, will still appear at Wrestlemania VII. Others expected to appear: Roseanne Barr, Willie Nelson and Regis Philbin.

Syria's bloody crackdown on anti-government demonstrators reached new levels of brutality this week with the killing of hundreds of civilians in the city of Hama, a hotbed of resistance to the regime of President Bashar Assad. For months, Mr. Assad ignored the international community's mounting condemnation of his repressive tactics, choosing instead to hunker and unleash his security forces against unarmed civilians. He continued to lash out even after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait — nominal allies that have been reluctant to criticize a fellow Sunni Arab leader — took the rare step last week of recalling their ambassadors from Damascus in protest.