Dolphins

TTL sez:"Some people, me included, consider dolphins to be not just intelligent but spiritually superior to humans. I have had one physical encounter with a dolphin that I will never forget. As there's not so much to tell about the encounter (it's a subjective thing), I'll point you to Roedy Green's fascinating essay on the same subject."

Quoting from the essay:
"Imagine my beagle/greyhound cross Sheldon (now deceased) trying to judge my intelligence. He would note that I had no ability to remember where bones were buried. He would note I was totally incapable of even detecting when a human or canine female was in heat, even when I was in the same room. I could not jump anywhere near as high as he, or run as fast. He would have no understanding of or appreciation for the long hours I put in front of the computer. He would consider me a pretty pathetic excuse for a creature, were it not for my uncanny ability to beg dog food from the supermarket lady."

(The point obviously being that applying your own measures of intelligence to a different species won't work.)

Featured comment by Pascal:
Late french comedian Coluche (real name : Michel Colucci) was nicknamed "l'enfoiré", the silly bugger, for his very provocative and irreverent style. He started a national NGO, "les Restos du Coeur" (Restaurants of the Heart), to feed the homeless for free. He didn't know it then, but he was about to die in a motorcycle accident, at quite a young age (30-something). And probably to go straight to Heaven, in spite of all his verbal vulgarity. :-)))
Decades later, his movement is still as dynamic as ever, and the "companions" nickname themselves "les enfoirés". It is a very fond term. French language has forever lost an insult.

So yes, undisciplined, playful sex maniacs allergic to violence is only negative in the mind of a military. Peace and love, yo! Make Kama-Sutra , not Kaboom-to-war. Let's sing! "We are the world, we are the children..."

Back to the original topic, I like a fighter that's so slow, the combat is over by the time he/it is ready to participate. :-D
And yet, dolphins are anything but sissies (even the occasional gay couple). Faced with their sworn enemy the big shark, they strike mercilessly at the sensitive gills until they drive it away half-unconscious. Many bear the scars to prove their bravery. Hey, they're just defending their families from the ogre of the sea.
Sharks are not vicious by nature either. Just voracious, opportunistic, and terribly efficient. There's a place for all in the chain of Life. Sharks are being gravely endangered by human activities and our merciless hunting. Should they become extinct, the oceans would lose a very necessary scavenger.

Hey, I know!!! If the Pentagon sold shark-shaped scuba-gear to its enemy countries, maybe dolphins would finally react?
Or not. Their sonar is amazingly discerning. Guess they'd only attack trained vietnamese sharks or iranian hammerheads... Perhaps lawyers, too.

Our cetacean cousins have incredible capabilities. Friendly animals are very efficient in helping autistic children come out of their shell and open up to the world. And dolphins are perhaps the most efficient in this. (I hear horses are quite promising too. You can ride them, but this teaches you another way of communicating; great for autists and mentally challenged kids.)

Oh yeah, not all effort is directed toward warmonging. :-)))
I love this world. "Life is good." And beautiful.