If this works...

[Larry Gude]

...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3221079.stm

 

[Sharon]

I'm for anything that saves a dog's life. And if something happens to the pig - it's dinner!

 

[vraiblonde]

Oh, thank GOD the US isn't the only country with idiots!!! What a relief!

 

[Ehesef]

Originally posted by vraiblonde
Oh, thank GOD the US isn't the only country with idiots!!! What a relief!

Whats idiotic about it? The points brought up in the article are true. My grandfather was a hog farmer and I grew up around them. Pigs are very intelligent animals and they do in fact have a very developed sense of smell. And another thing that a lot of people don't know is that when pigs smell blood, they will attack whatever is bleeding. It sounds funny, but they are vicious when it comes to blood...

I can't see having just pigs guarding, but they are intelligent enough to point armed guards in the right direction...

 

[vraiblonde]

Originally posted by Ehesef
Whats idiotic about it?

That they're hoping the Palestinians are such idoelogues that pigs will keep them away from attacking.

"Moreover, this animal is considered to be dangerous by Islam and, according to the Muslim faith, a terrorist who touches a pig is not eligible for the 70 virgins in heaven."

But hey - whatever works. :shrug:

 

[Ehesef]

Originally posted by vraiblonde
That they're hoping the Palestinians are such idoelogues that pigs will keep them away from attacking.
But hey - whatever works. :shrug:

Ok I see where you're coming from now. And yeah, that is pretty stupid.

 

[SamSpade]

????

Aren't pigs supposed to be unclean for Jews, too?

 

[tlatchaw]

As far as their senses go, I wonder if there are other animals we might be overlooking that could help us out with these sort of things. On the surface it sounds silly, but hey ad rat with a camera might be able to find out which cave Bin Laden is hiding in.

A boa constrictor with a taste for C4 might disable a whole terrorist cell by stealing their explosives. (of course, he'd get a mighty bad case of gas. . .)

 

[Dymphna]

Originally posted by SamSpade
????

Aren't pigs supposed to be unclean for Jews, too?

The article says they got special permission from a Rabbi. I think the only problem with pigs is eating them.

If you look at the kosher laws, a lot of them are common sense. Undercooked pork is notorious for causing food poisioning. Before meat thermometers, and when cooking over open fires was the only way, I imagine there were a lot of deaths caused by eating undercooked pork. They traced the problem to the pigs and figured, "Hey, God doesn't want us eating these things."

There are other Kosher laws having to do with making sure your dishes are clean. I think there's one about not putting uncooked meat and cooked meat on the same plate. We are all taught now, not to do that because of bacteria and such, but before anyone had any concept of bacteria or germs, they just made it a law by saying God doesn't want us to do this and will make us sick if we do.

 

[Larry Gude]

I just knew...

...there was a good explanation for a bris...

 

[Dymphna]

Re: I just knew...

Originally posted by Larry Gude
...there was a good explanation for a bris...

Well, if you don't have running water or a hot water heater and the only soap you have is made from lye (ouch), cleanliness might be an issue.

 

[SamSpade]

Originally posted by cmcdanal

We are all taught now, not to do that because of bacteria and such, but before anyone had any concept of bacteria or germs, they just made it a law by saying God doesn't want us to do this and will make us sick if we do.

It's always been my thought that the majority of the Jewish dietary laws - and others in the Old Testament - were a compilation of rules from empirical observation. In retrospect many of them still make a bit of good sense.