Merry Christmas Everyone

I'd like to wish everyone a happy and safe Christmas season and I hope it brings you all the good things you wish or hope for.

It's going to be a very hot day here so I'll be sleeping in, taking my dog for a walk and playing Skyrim later I imagine unless anything changes.  I'd like to get together with my family but that's unlikely even though we live in the same city.   Long story which I won't bore you with and is probably happening to many, many others around the world.

Not to put a further dampener on things but I'll be glad when it's over, the shops have made their profits and the world gets back to whatever is ironically called normality..  You know...after the peace and goodwill have worn off, the hangovers kick in and people remember they hate each other and are at war with each other....in their homes and abroad.  War and hate are not of course what I want but it's the reality of the way things are.   I personally find this this time of year extremely depressing....or more than usual anyway.

The never ending circle of hate and cruelty will continue unabated as it always has, and not even stop for many over these few days, despite the major religions praying for peace and goodwill to all mankind.   I wonder if deep down the preachers of different religions even believe what they say when they can't even agree among themselves about the original story and what it's supposed to mean.

I have no religion and don't believe in any of it except the part about treating people the way I would like to be treated, (aka the Golden Rule) but if people only took 1/10th of the supposed true meaning of Christmas to heart for longer than it takes to unwrap presents, maybe the world wouldn't be in such a mess.

Around the end of next month when this Christmas is a distant memory, Easter eggs will be in the stores (they appear earlier each year) and that message will also be forgotten in the mass of  melting chocolate (summer here) in the run up to the actual Easter period which is several months away.  I like chocolate as much as anyone, but commercialism has gone mad in the name of what it's all supposed to mean.  Greed sucks.

To all the good people who try their best to be kind to others and especially the less fortunate or people who may be suffering themselves, I wish you hope and peace.

Please remember to be thoughtful and don't forget the animals we share this world with as they deserve better than they often get especially at this time of the year.  Our pets we share our lives with in particular need our care and kindness as much as family and friends.

GetUp! Sign the petition to ban live exports.

If you care about the welfare of the animals you eat before and as they are being slaughtered please sign the petition at GetUp - Action for Australia.  I have and I will continue to add my support.
http://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/animals/live-export/ban-live-export


At the time of this post 237,752 people have signed at GetUp which is pretty damn good for a population the size of ours.

EDIT...the numbers have skyrocketed since I signed.  Perhaps because it's just been on the News again.   Australia does care about human, animal and environmental rights despite the bullshit spouted by some areas of the media and people with vested interests in money and power.  


The video of the investigation is also there for anyone with a strong stomach and wishes to view just what has caused this controversy in case the links I added before have expired.  I've seen it once and tried to watch again so I don't forget about this abomination because it has to stop, but it makes my stomach churn when I see the first animal being jabbed knowing what's coming next.  I can voice my opinions, sign petitions and donate a small amount of money to the RSPCA and Animals Australia to help, but I cannot watch that video again. 

Just because these animals are raised for human consumption doesn't mean they should be tortured and subjected to the disgusting treatment as they have been in Indonesian abattoirs.   To tell you the truth, I'm not surprised about this kind of behaviour in this and other similar countries, and I'll say again, it has to stop.  If the Australian Government don't ban live exports permanently to all countries, the people who exposed this shocking, inhuman treatment will expose more cruelty, particularly regarding sheep sent to the Middle East.  I'm sure certain there are people who don't want that to happen.

I've already had my say in a previous post here.  My opinions haven't changed despite that the Indonesians say they are shocked by this as well, which I find hard to believe.  How is it no-one in a country known to have little to no human(e) rights, let alone animal rights, know this was happening and not move to stop it or at least expose it.  Then again, corruption is a thriving business in many countries.  Money talks and when it does people listen.  And let's not forget threats of reprisal and fear of their own authorities, and I dare say, each other.

The Australian Government and Cattleman's Association are as much to blame as it seems they knew this has been happening for up to 10 years and haven't done anything to stop it, so the Indonesians aren't totally to blame for their ignorance and cruelty.   Many abattoirs were closed here in Australia over past years, and jobs lost so our livestock can be sent overseas to be maimed and tortured.  Another wonderful example of money talks and gutless action.

Animals feel fear and in the above case stark terror, with good reason, and anyone who condones this is undeserving of being called human.   Perhaps other countries who export livestock should look into what happens to their animals and whether they care.

I will be following this situation and adding my support.  Voices can be heard, not only about this, but any injustice, at least here in Australia where we have freedom to speak out.

Judgement Day - Saturday 21st May

Well, I must have been hiding under a rock because supposedly this has been in the news for awhile now, or I just don't watch the right news channels.  However, it's all over the TV and internet news today.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/opinion/post/-/blog/australianskeptics/post/1142/comment/1/
According to U.S. evangelist Harold Camping at 6pm tomorrow, less than 24 hours from now where I live, the Rapture is going to happen as he predicted by decoding passages of the Bible.   Approximately three million believers will be saved and the rest of us, as well as millions of other believers I imagine, will suffer unimaginable torment until some date in October this year.  Three million out of the current world population is a small number, but I'm not bothered enough to find out what the criteria is for being saved according to Camping.  It's probably too late anyway.

The trouble with his scenario is he's predicted the end of the world three times previously and it never happened.   An interviewer on TV tonight asked him if he could have a followup interview on Sunday if it doesn't happen, to which he replied he wouldn't be here, so it wouldn't be possible.  He's an old man of 89 years, so it's quite possible he won't be for other reasons than his predictions.
 http://judgementday2011.com/

Correction:  Seems I was wrong about how many times he's already predicted the end.  I don't know where I read it was three times, but it seems it was only once.

Notice at the above link (and others) a lot of people are making money out of people's beliefs and fears.  No surprise really.  That site is selling mugs and T-shirts and it's supposedly a serious site and not a parody.

I'm not a religious person in any shape or form, but I think this is fear mongering and profiteering of the worst kind by misguided individuals targeting vulnerable people and even causing panic in some cases.  As far as I'm concerned people should be free to believe what they like, but when it hurts others and takes advantage of their faith it should be a criminal offense. 

Of course if it happens a lot of others besides myself are in for a torrid five months before the End of Times, starting on Sunday.   The weather bureau has forecast very heavy rain and wind here at least for the next few days so who knows.  Then again, it is the beginning of winter.

Just to note...
It's not my intention to ridicule anyone's religious beliefs, but these doomsayers and TV evangelists have a lot of power, (and money), invested in what they do.  I hope they have a conscience and pay taxes, which they probably don't being a religious organization.  Not to mention they'll need a good reason why it didn't happen...again.  But I can pretty much guess what that will be.

People should keep an open mind, stick with what they believe and gain comfort from, and seek guidance from their normal spiritual sources instead of listening to nutters predicting doom and gloom as they have since the dawn of time.   Unfortunately, the vulnerable living in countries without full access to differing opinions and freedom of faith are the ones who will suffer through this kind of misinformation and fear mongering.

UPDATE:  Sunday May 22nd at 1:30pm...
Well, it seems the Apocalypse was averted, as expected, and Harold Camping is unavailable for comment.  Who could have predicted that would happen?