AIPAC is the biggest donor to both parties and institutions in the US. Pretty much, Israel has become a vital point in our economy, which is also known as the military industrial complex system, which keeps America running and any sort of deviation that tries to change or move it towards the lap, just gets ratcheted back towards the right slowly hence why the most of Europe views our left as center/right instead of the alternative. Literally speaking out of any sort of societal benefit for anybody get you label of a dangerous communist and a threat to democracy here in America becausewe are vastly under educated because it’s been part of the Republican plan to define education since I think it was a Nixon who was afraid of educated because it turns us into “hippies” Who generally don’t prefer war and that’s pretty much what we run on as of now not saying it’s right, not saying things can’t change But as of right now, it is basically ice-skating uphill in America, trying to get anything done that might preserve but a little erosion of democracywe have left
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Thanks for the intel, helps with keeping the narrative straight and stops misinformation. Thanks 🤙🏾
I tired ¯(ツ)/¯
Orlando Sentinel By: Solar Swisher
UPDATED: July 25, 2025 at 3:15 PM EDT
Denis Richard watched five men heave a giant manta ray from the waters off Panama City Beach and plop it into a pool on their boat deck.
“Let him go,” he yelled. “You ought to be ashamed of yourselves.”
Richard, a dolphin tour boat operator, was outraged that a threatened species often called the “angel of the sea” could be plucked from Florida’s waters. But the capture was legal: State wildlife officials issued a special permit allowing a giant manta ray to be taken for SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, which bills itself as the world’s largest indoor marine life theme park.
The park in the Middle East — about 7,800 miles away from the manta ray’s Florida home — contracted with a Florida Keys aquarium supplier to capture the creature, according to records obtained by the Orlando Sentinel. The fate of the manta ray could not be determined as neither SeaWorld Abu Dhabi nor the supplier responded to requests for information.
Video footage of the animal’s July 12 capture, posted online, has ignited a debate over whether these intelligent, migratory creatures belong in captivity. Just a handful of aquariums in the world display manta rays, and Florida is the only U.S. state that allows their harvest, according to a 2024 federal report.
Richard, founder and CEO of the Water Planet USA dolphin tour company, said he witnessed the capture while leading a tour, and one of his crew members filmed it.
He initially thought the men had caught a shark until he saw the winged body struggling in the net. His concern grew when he later learned the manta ray appeared destined for the aquarium in the Middle East.
“The risks of that manta ray being traumatized and possibly dying in that process are very high because they are a very sensitive species,” Richard said.
Known for impressing divers with its graceful movements, the giant manta ray is classified as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. With a wingspan up to 26 feet, it can grow to 5,300 pounds, about as much as a car.
A juvenile manta ray approaches an underwater camera. Florida is home to a rare manta ray nursery habitat and a large seasonal aggregation of adult manta rays, according to the Florida Manta Project. (Bryant Turffs/The Florida Manta Project)
Florida generally prohibits catching manta rays. But the state can authorize a special license to capture them for educational, exhibition and research purposes with the objective of increasing “the public’s knowledge and awareness of Florida’s marine resources.”
The July 12 capture was authorized under such a license issued by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The agency permitted the collection of one giant manta ray from state waters for exhibition purposes, according to the company’s license, which was valid for a year starting Nov. 1.
Over the past two years, state wildlife officials have issued four such licenses to various entities, agency spokeswoman Shannon Knowles said in a statement. One manta ray died shortly after being taken into captivity, she said.
Florida is the only state that authorizes giant manta ray harvest for aquarium and exhibition purposes, according to a 2024 report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries division. From 2019 to 2022, Florida issued 17 exhibition licenses to aquariums in China, France, the United Arab Emirates and Maryland, the report found.
Those aquariums weren’t successful in capturing a manta ray during that timeframe, but the number of licenses suggests increasing interest around the world, according to the report.
Richard uploaded video footage of the encounter to social media, garnering more than a million views and stoking outrage. South Florida’s WPLG Local 10 news reported on the viral video, generating more attention.
“How is this allowed? These animals aren’t meant for tanks,” one commenter wrote. “They belong in the ocean. Absolutely unacceptable!”
Others defended the capture, saying aquariums connect the public with the oceans and raise money for conservation and research.
It’s unclear what SeaWorld Abu Dhabi’s plans are for the manta ray. Company officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment. SeaWorld Abu Dhabi opened in May 2023 in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. Manta rays are among the marine life that can be viewed at the aquarium, according to promotional materials advertising the park on Experience Abu Dhabi.
Records show SeaWorld Abu Dhabi contracted with Dynasty Marine Associates, a company based in Marathon in the Florida Keys, to capture the manta ray. In a 2012 article, Coral magazine described Dynasty Marine as “the preeminent purveyor of large and rare saltwater specimens” for public aquariums around the globe.
Dynasty Marine is likely the nation’s sole exporter of manta rays with three specimens exported in the past six to eight years, the company’s president, Christopher Ben Daughtry, wrote to federal regulators in January. His letter urged regulators to support the export of manta rays for display in aquariums.
“Our specimens are viewed by millions of visitors each year and are ambassadors for their species, teaching the public the value of conserving the oceans and the wild populations of this charismatic megafauna,” he wrote.
Transporting a manta ray is extremely complex, costing tens of thousands of dollars and requiring the use of oxygenated tanks, he added. The company devotes the “utmost care and attention” to protecting the health and welfare of specimens, Daughtry said.
Only about six aquariums worldwide are known to keep manta rays, according to a federal report. The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta is the only one in the United States.
Keeping giant manta rays in aquariums is challenging. Giant manta rays must constantly swim and cover significant distances during seasonal migrations. As filter feeders, they consume plankton and other small organisms extracted from the water. They are slow-growing, giving birth to only one pup every two to three years. Gestation is thought to last around a year. They have been reported to live at least 45 years.
Jessica Pate, founder of the Florida Manta Project, said she agrees aquariums can be powerful educational tools, but she doesn’t support taking manta rays from the wild.
“Manta rays are capable of migrating hundreds of miles and have the biggest brain of any fish, likely indicating their intelligence,” said Pate, lead scientist and project manager at the Marine Megafauna Foundation.
A 2016 study found that a manta ray was capable of recognizing itself in the mirror. Only a small number of species, mostly primates, have passed the so-called mirror test, a behavior associated with self-awareness.
Threatened marine life doesn’t automatically receive the same level of protection under federal law as endangered species, which are considered to be at a higher risk of extinction.
As a result, there are no “take” prohibitions for the threatened giant manta ray, and extended protections have not been issued, said James Miller, a spokesman for NOAA Fisheries.
Manta rays face a variety of threats, including entanglement in fishing gear, vessel strikes and pollution. There is also a demand for their gill plates, which are touted in Asian markets as having medicinal benefits.
On its website, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi promises that it is “committed to providing the highest standard of animal welfare” and is dedicated to marine research, conservation and education.
But Richard said he thinks there are alternatives that could instill an appreciation of manta rays without taking them from the wild. One idea, he said, is to showcase the manta ray’s majesty through virtual reality.
“The purpose of that capture is to make money for display,” Richard said. “That animal is going to spend the rest of her life in captivity swimming in a circle.”
Originally Published: July 25, 2025 at 6:00 AM EDT
I may not understand much… but this I get
(☝︎ ՞ਊ ՞)☝︎
( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)
Kessler syndrome enters chat Don’t worry I will fix it ～(つˆ0ˆ)つ｡☆
How was everything? That grill/cooking station looks amazing!
Ok hear me out. What about a buttermilk ranch with the greatest thin crust pepperoni cornmeal crust? If that’s suffering I guess Dante I’ll ask Santa which level of hell I belong in ¯(ツ)/¯ …i may have the tastebuds of a child
I disagree. With both our eloquent wings we shall reach new unseen heights … just not Icarus level I hope ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)
Some people just fear what they don’t understand or if they think believe it’s going to turn their world (job/ scary propaganda, or even shift global economics to (more) scary scenarios. Sensationalized headlines and click bait titles make it all that much worse. It’s hard to have an open conversation about any subject if all participants have not agreed to hear the facts and have a honest dialogue.
“If someone got to their viewpoint without using reason, there is no reason that you yourself can’t use to change their stance.”
I try to remember that, but honestly I do let my passion for the subject I’m trying to convey overriding it more than often haha. You'll find people who see what you see and for the others that black you? It just saved you the time and energy you would have spent on them for someone that will appreciate your effort.
This could explain so much about the geopolitical situations we find ourselves in
We have cookies …
Birds of a feather flock together! :)
Joking aside thank you for your kind words as well. I hope you have a wonderful day yourself and if you can’t today I hope you at the very least find respite in the future from the storms that existence seems to haphazardly throw our way.
Truth. It is a benefit, just not one that pertains to you or others that in those categories
¯(ツ)/¯
Nice username and even a guest star character of voyager