Another casualty

This mornings walk along the foreshore found another dead seal within ten metres of where I found the first one a few weeks ago. This time it was an adult. Again, no camera, so no picture. This one had a big bloody wound in its throat and the head looked smashed in.

There hasn't been much leisure boat activity in the past week, but have seen a few fishing boats heading up the narrows at full tilt. Maybe the Seal just wasn't quick enough to get out of the way and got killed by a passing boat. On the other hand there was a Sea Lion cruising up and down on on the Western side of the channel early Friday morning, and they are known to kill Seals on occasion, so maybe that was the cause of death. Doesn't matter, I shall keep Dog away from the waterfront for the next three weeks while the greasy, adipose odour of rotting blubber clears.
For his part, Dog is fascinated by these things, but I keep him off just in case he catches something nasty from the corpse and ends up poorly. Big Vets bills are the last thing I need right now, as I'm waiting for confirmation of another job offer and money is a little tight right now.

The Socialists I see are all crowing over the banking collapse, claiming it is the 'death of capitalism'. In your dreams, boys, in your dreams. The money hasn't gone, it's just moved around a bit as it always does and the market has a bit of a surge as the players buy up the bargains. Rather like picking up pristine stock at a fire sale. 'Smart' money always buys in at the bottom of a downturn like this. That's why it's called 'smart' money. That's good old fashioned capitalism for you.

I always wonder thusly; if Socialism is so wonderful, why do the Socialists always have to kill a lot of people to make it work even very badly? I cite Soviet Russia, Communist China, Cambodia, yadada, yadada. They've racked up a bigger body count that a million Arnold Schwarzenegger movies.