Senseless
There are senseless acts happening everyday. Sometimes I wish I could just live in a latte bubble and not bother with anything besides myself. I see that some doctors that were trying to do good and help others (in this case women and children) got gunned down at a hospital in Afghanistan. It happened to be American doctors this time but they could had been from any country. Fact is that they were there trying to help other people. I admire organizations like Doctors Without Borders for example very much because a lot of times they are putting their own lives and safety at risk. I don't know if my selfless devotion to humanity stretches that far. There have been numerous attacks on Westerners in that area for a while now, lots of journalists killed. I say, get the hell out of there, it is not worth it! And I love journalism, a super awesome profession I think.
One thing I do not understand is how anyone willingly would want to try to climb Mount Everest when there is a high chance of dying during the climb. Not only is it very expensive to embark on such a foolish (my opinion) adventure.....it's also dangerous. People that are married with kids do this and I can't comprehend that, how climbing Mount Everest or any dangerous peak is more important of an ego boost than your own family? There recently was an avalanche on Mount Everest that killed a lot of people. Also while climbing to the top you pass others that have died there. They just lay there, dead and frozen. That is creepy, I would not want to see that. From what I understand many of the climbers are so focused on getting to the top that nothing else matters, many times they have one try only and the weather also plays a significant part. So they must reach the summit and take that selfie up there no matter what.
I have myself been on top of Mount Charleston and Mount San Gorgonio. Both times I was exhausted and close to tears. Although in the end it was worth it and a good memory but I wasn't close to dying or injuring myself. I do have dreams of hiking Machu Picchu, maybe one day. There will be plenty of selfies if I do.
And before I log off for the evening. When I was at the gym last week (have to go again soon) I caught a glimpse of a special they did on beggars on The O'Reilly Factor. They had some man pose as a beggar, dressed him down in ripped clothes and accesorized him with a fake beard. He sat out on the street for some time, alternating between two different signs that explained why he needed money. They calculated that he would had made $90 at the end of an eight hour shift at the rate he was collecting donations. That is tax free and they reported that he would be making about $23 000/year panhandling. There have also been plenty of reports done where they have followed some seemingly poor, hungry and miserable panhandlers just to see them drive off in a nice car.
I don't know how I stand on this issue. I used to give to almost every beggar I came across but I cut down on that, or I would have to beg too.....beg to make money so I could turn around and give it to the beggars. This last time I was in Vegas I gave a couple of dollars to two people, there are plenty of people begging on the Strip. You see the same people everyday.
I get sad when I see them with dogs that look thirsty or badly taken care of. I have given water and food to the dogs before.
When I lived in Sweden you rarely saw any beggars out on the streets, once in a while you would get approached by some random person asking to bum a cigarette. I guess now there are like crews of beggars from Rumania and Hungary all over. Maybe it pays better to be a beggar on the streets of Stockholm than to do nothing in whatever country they are coming from. You hear that begging is some of these people's profession and that sometimes they have a boss and need to collect a certain quota money wise each day. Kind of like a pimp.
I guess social workers say not to give to beggars because a lot of times it only helps alcoholics and drug users to continue their habits. That it is better to give to charities instead that help the homeless. But then you hear reports about charities paying themselves with a large chunk of the money collected and that many of the people working for the charities in high positions enjoy lavish lifestyles. And that only a small percentage of the money collected goes to the intended cause. What a senseless world this is.
One thing I do not understand is how anyone willingly would want to try to climb Mount Everest when there is a high chance of dying during the climb. Not only is it very expensive to embark on such a foolish (my opinion) adventure.....it's also dangerous. People that are married with kids do this and I can't comprehend that, how climbing Mount Everest or any dangerous peak is more important of an ego boost than your own family? There recently was an avalanche on Mount Everest that killed a lot of people. Also while climbing to the top you pass others that have died there. They just lay there, dead and frozen. That is creepy, I would not want to see that. From what I understand many of the climbers are so focused on getting to the top that nothing else matters, many times they have one try only and the weather also plays a significant part. So they must reach the summit and take that selfie up there no matter what.
I have myself been on top of Mount Charleston and Mount San Gorgonio. Both times I was exhausted and close to tears. Although in the end it was worth it and a good memory but I wasn't close to dying or injuring myself. I do have dreams of hiking Machu Picchu, maybe one day. There will be plenty of selfies if I do.
And before I log off for the evening. When I was at the gym last week (have to go again soon) I caught a glimpse of a special they did on beggars on The O'Reilly Factor. They had some man pose as a beggar, dressed him down in ripped clothes and accesorized him with a fake beard. He sat out on the street for some time, alternating between two different signs that explained why he needed money. They calculated that he would had made $90 at the end of an eight hour shift at the rate he was collecting donations. That is tax free and they reported that he would be making about $23 000/year panhandling. There have also been plenty of reports done where they have followed some seemingly poor, hungry and miserable panhandlers just to see them drive off in a nice car.
I don't know how I stand on this issue. I used to give to almost every beggar I came across but I cut down on that, or I would have to beg too.....beg to make money so I could turn around and give it to the beggars. This last time I was in Vegas I gave a couple of dollars to two people, there are plenty of people begging on the Strip. You see the same people everyday.
I get sad when I see them with dogs that look thirsty or badly taken care of. I have given water and food to the dogs before.
When I lived in Sweden you rarely saw any beggars out on the streets, once in a while you would get approached by some random person asking to bum a cigarette. I guess now there are like crews of beggars from Rumania and Hungary all over. Maybe it pays better to be a beggar on the streets of Stockholm than to do nothing in whatever country they are coming from. You hear that begging is some of these people's profession and that sometimes they have a boss and need to collect a certain quota money wise each day. Kind of like a pimp.
I guess social workers say not to give to beggars because a lot of times it only helps alcoholics and drug users to continue their habits. That it is better to give to charities instead that help the homeless. But then you hear reports about charities paying themselves with a large chunk of the money collected and that many of the people working for the charities in high positions enjoy lavish lifestyles. And that only a small percentage of the money collected goes to the intended cause. What a senseless world this is.
