Opinions - 16

Of all the years I have picked up and read the Redoubt Reporter I have finally.....finally seen two articles in the SAME issue (Vol.6, Issue 41) that actually touch on subjects that are important to me. Animals and nature. The Redoubt Reporter is a free weekly magazine that comes out here on the Peninsula. It only consists of a few pages, the last issue had 8 and it's mostly filled with one newsworthy story, meaning if there IS any newsworthy story around here that week and some other meaningless scribbles and ads for local businesses to fill up the rest of the space. I could think of SO MUCH they could fill that paper with and even contacted the editor once but she told me that they were not accepting any new writers at that time. Their loss, they really should. One local attorney writes a recurring long article about cameras that usually takes up a whole page, sometimes more. Every week facts about cameras and lenses, I mean every week for years now? He must be a major investor in the paper or something and of course there is an ad for his law firm in there as well. I enjoy taking pictures too but I think they can fill the paper with other real newsworthy stories besides cameras every week. So this past issue finally had something good in it! WOW! First of all, a lady from PETA wrote a letter to the editor titled, "Dogs not meant on chains."
Urging people of Alaska to stop leaving their dogs outside on chains after there was another mauling, this time in a village called Unalakleet, where a chained dog "mauled" a 7 year old. She informs that many states have banned or restricted dog tethering . And urges Alaska to join. Often people living outside of Alaska (outsiders) have this erroneous view of Alaskans as living as one with animals and nature. Far from the truth! I've been here since 2008 and the state of Alaska has plenty of uneducated morons living here with no clue on how to take care of anything besides the bottle of alcohol that keeps them constant company. I see people mistreating their dogs and children often. Dogs on chains are a normal occurrence here, in severe cold and heat they are chained up with little human interaction. Throw them a piece of salmon and they are happy......Driven around town in the bed of pickup trucks in pouring rain because some folks believe that dogs are not supposed to be inside a car, let alone inside a house. I am also completely against events unique to Alaska such as the Iditarod race (animal cruelty) and mushing (again animal cruelty). But you know how people are, they are slow to change.
Has Chhaya ever been in the bed of my pickup truck? Yes, when I wanted to give her a fun experience if I am driving slowly down a road with almost no traffic, like if we are driving to go hiking somewhere. She loves it. But would I ever throw her in the back of the truck and let her sit there while I drive to Anchorage for three or more hours? Of course not. And when I say mushing I don't mean a fun couple of hours of skijoring with your dog/s. I mean the people that keep a stable of dogs, chained outside, thrown food once a day, no human interaction besides when they are taken out on miles upon miles of running while pulling their handlers and tourists.
Now to the next article, more lengthy than the PETA reps letter to the editor. This one talks about ecovandalism around here. The destruction of wilderness areas by illegally cutting down live trees, carving into live trees, peeling bark off live trees and littering. All illegal.
YES, NEWSFLASH - it is illegal to litter! There is litter all over Alaska, more proof for you that this state is full of idiots with NO respect for the land. I never litter. And I can't stand people that litter. Throw your shit inside your apartment or house, not in nature. People that litter really show how uneducated and self centered they are. Here are some snippets from the article that resonated with me, "And each tree plays a part in the overall ecosystem, from nesting areas for birds, to escape spots for porcupine and climbing gyms for bear cubs".
Then this, " If you pack it in, you pack it out. There's no excuse to leave trash in the backcountry, even when it's difficult to carry out. It can harm wildlife, which we see all the time with this kind of thing, and it defaces the wild country for so long. Who wants to come to Alaska for a wilderness experience and see trash?"
If you that read this, YES YOU ......happen to litter than I hope you can make a change and stop. I find it so ironic that Americans loudly talk about how proud they are of the great US of A but then turn around and throw their trash into the same place they claim to love so much. Doesn't make sense, does it?

I've been thinking about my choices and I have to do better choices. One of my goals in life is to be a better person, if not my MAIN goal in life. I don't care about "impressing" others, I do it for me because it makes ME feel good. Yes, I might write about it here in the blog but it's NOT to brag, like some person erroneously thought and wrote about it on Facebook. It was so transparent that she was talking about me. But hey, it's OK.....at least I'm doing something instead of nothing or next to nothing. When other people do something to extend themselves for a good cause it INSPIRES me and makes me happy for them, instead of scoffing at them and think that they are bragging. I think, "If they can do something like that, I can too!"
There is nothing wrong to mention that you did something positive (unless you bring it up every other day or still talk about that one good deed you did over ten years ago, except if it really was something spectacular). I admire people that do good. And I want to do more good. It's up to each individual to decide what they want to do with their life.
The other day one of my readers mentioned that I have inspired her to eat less meat and it really made me happy! How did I become a vegetarian? I grew up eating meat. Well, first of all - I love animals, that is the key factor. I was watching a show late one night on how animals are treated in the short time they are alive and right before slaughter. Although I knew about animal cruelty it didn't really resonate with me until that one night and I decided no more meat. That lasted a few years, no meat at all and then throughout the years I have cheated at times. I had meat when going back to Sweden (could not decline my Mom's food), although not a single bite last year when I was there. No meat at all in 2015. I ate meat once for sure in 2014, maybe twice, I can't really recall. But since about 2008 I have basically been meat free with a few exceptions. So really I am a FLEXITARIAN, I have brought that up a few times in my blog but it's easier to say vegetarian. No meat for me means no chicken and no fish. I do eat eggs at times and I do consume dairy. I am aware of how hens and chickens are treated and the horrible abuse dairy cows suffer through, it's really HORRIBLE at some (many) dairy farms. I have read reports and books on this subject. I just read that one large dairy company is promising to improve the life of their cows (Leprino Foods) after several workers got caught abusing the animals. Look up Leprino Foods animal abuse and see what human beings do to defenseless, beautiful and sentient beings. I think that all places that deal with animals for our consumption should by law have 24/7 surveillance cameras streaming live so the public can watch whenever they choose to. These places are so secretive, guarding themselves from any footage. Why? If everything is done right they would have nothing to worry about and nothing to hide. And who the FUCK goes to work on a dairy farm and abuses the cows?
Or any place with animals for that matter. Talk about sick individuals. I believe in mandatory jail sentencing for that shit.
So yes, I drink milk in my lattes, I eat yoghurt, whipped cream, ice cream and cheese. I admire vegans although I am not a vegan. But I do like what they stand for and I understand.
I became a vegetarian because I decided that I could not eat dead animals, simply because I love animals. NOW.....here is my dilemma. I have bags made of leather and some clothes too. I use products tested on animals. I need to rethink my actions and start making better choices. I looked for some vegan purses online and saw that Stella McCartney has a few that look very nice. I mean, I do not really NEED a Prada purse made from baby calf. And Prada has purses in other materials besides leather, like hemp and some sort of a nylon. My small Prada is made out of nylon. So I have options. Now to products. I need to rethink what products I use both on myself as in beauty products and for the house as in cleaning products. It doesn't take much to research this online. So no more ESSIE nail polish for me, meaning I won't acquire any new bottles of ESSIE. I need to make an inventory of my shampoos, conditioners, make up etc and slowly start making changes. I can't promise that everything that I use will be cruelty free but I WILL make an effort. Why? Because for ME, it's the right thing to do. I can say that not eating meat has not affected me in a negative way health wise, at least to my knowledge. I feel healthy, I am strong, I usually have pretty good energy (besides when I'm tired from work but hey, dancing is exhausting)......and I look great.
I also try to better myself with the stuff most of us in the Western world take for granted. Transportation, running water and electricity. I TRY to think about eco driving, although I do drive everywhere (unless in Sweden or NYC). The last two times I was in New York I was super proud of myself that I did not get in a cab once, not even going to or from the airport. I just HAD to schlep those suitcases on the subway. But in Vegas I drive, never took the bus once here. And there is no such thing as public transportation in Kenai. I also try to be mindful of my water consumption, like when I brush my teeth I turn the water off and I try to not turn on the light when it's not necessary, for example if I just need to grab something out of the bathroom and I know where it might be. BUT Chhaya gets a light on at home when I leave her for the evening. And I slip up at times, then catch myself and always think I can improve.
Trust me, I have no problem fessing up to when I forget myself, I am far from perfect. I don't want to be one of those people that talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk.
One can start small. Thinking you NEED meat every day is just wrong. You don't. You will survive without it, I promise. I like what Paul McCartney is proposing, Meat Free Mondays.
I think that's great. Do that, start with no meat once a week and ponder what it means......what life is for those animals that give up their life for you. That's how I started thinking. You have to start somewhere to make a change. And you do want to make a positive change for yourself and this world, right?

It's been over three months since the murders in Paris at the Charlie Hebdo offices. I still think about that senseless act and other just as senseless and cold blooded murder acts have followed since then. The list just goes on and on, what some crazy Muslims do in the name of Allah. We have the killings in Denmark. That a group of about 500 Muslims gathered to pay respect to the gunman that finally was apprehended and killed by Danish police was just sickening to watch. ALL OF THEM should be sent packing back to wherever the fuck they came from, revoke their Danish citizenship (if they have one) immediately. I feel that any Muslim living in the West, as in Europe or the US and believes in jihad or feels entitled to practice inhumane behavior like FGM, honor killings and other similar violations of basic human rights, should have their citizenship/green card/VISA revoked and sent back to where they came from or wherever their parents/grand parents came from. There should be no room for people like that to freely roam around in society. At least not in Western society.
A deadly shooting of tourists visiting a museum in Tunisia (most likely carried out by Islamist extremists). Then we have the massacre at a school in Kenya, 147 innocent people, mainly students were shot dead, Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility. Children's aid workers on behalf of Save The Children taken hostage and murdered in Afghanistan, executed by the Taliban. Who does this? Pure evil.
I had a friend in Paris send me the first issue of Charlie Hebdo that came out after the shootings in Paris. I wanted that issue and I will never throw it away. Some people (as in non Muslims) have the nerve to almost defend what happened, saying that you should not joke about religion because it might offend some people. That is completely LUDICROUS. Any NON MUSLIM that even thinks that it is OK or excusable to go and murder people for some cartoons or a difference in opinions are just as brain washed as the Muslims that go out on their jihad missions in the name of Allah. And now some Muslim leaders in France are calling for more mosques to be built? Like there aren't enough already? How about building stuff that is useful for everybody - like parks, playgrounds, schools, libraries etc? You want to pray? Pray at home. You don't need a church or a mosque to pray to God. And what about the morons that run away from home to join ISIS? Young girls leaving their parents, friends and school to go and be a sex slave without any rights. Because trust me, women have NO rights in a Taliban/ISIS/Al-Shabaab patriarchy. Your role is to be submissive, serve your husband and to squeeze out as many future suicide bombers and terrorists as possible.



I have always been amazed that some women think that it is liberating to be covered up from head to toe, while men can basically dress however they want. Just another example of being brainwashed and a prisoner in the name of God. Try stepping out without that burqa on when the Taliban patrols the streets and see what happens.



I guess it is also not politically correct to call things for what they are nowadays.
Many politicians and people with a public voice tip toe around the real, very present and constant threat of terror that ISIS and similar militant Muslim groups pose. There is no room for tip toeing around this very serious problem anymore. You don't see ISIS trying to be open for any discussion and handling issues in a politically correct way. They barge in and just execute whomever that they feel is disrespecting their God. For them it is a crime to be a non Muslim too. Convert or die. Therefore I admire Marine Le Pen. I do not feel that she is a racist, she is a realist (just like me) and brings up real issues that some people are afraid to talk about publicly because they are worried that they are not being politically correct and might be offending people. Well, I am offended that others get offended so easily nowadays.
You have a brain, use it.



So this is my latest book. Heretic by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. I SO admire this brave and intelligent human being. She was once chosen as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world and I don't doubt that for a second. She should be on that list every year. I very much admire this woman, she should be anybody's role model and I think this is a very important book that brings up a great argument. READ IT PLEASE! And yes, I have written about Ayaan before. Let me quote something from Heretic , "I have told my story at length in my memoir Infidel , so here I can be brief. I ended up working at a refugee screening camp, was granted asylum, worked hard to get off welfare and learn Dutch, received a university degree, and ended up writing, debating, and then being elected to the Dutch Parliament." Now that is a role model if anything!



While I am talking about religion and what brainwashed people do in the name of Allah or God I should mention the lunatics that belong to Westboro Baptist Church. These morons stand outside and picket events and even funerals with their hateful and narrow minded messages. They even have a site online that is called godhatesfags, (REALLY???) where they have a schedule posted for the next picket event. They drag along their innocent children to picket and poison their young minds with their uneducated hate. I think that everybody that brings their children to events that spread hate should have their parental rights examined and possibly revoked. I actually think that children DO NOT belong in church whatsoever. If a person chooses to go to church when they are mature enough to think for themselves and make their own decisions about religion and whether or not to believe in God, fine. I have no problem with that.
But children only go to church because an adult drags them there. I can think of better things for children to do than sit in church for hours at an end, listening to stuff that doesn't make any sense to them anyways. Plus it is SO funny and ironic to me that people feel so pompous and righteous about going to church once in a while, when in reality they are pretty shitty people and crappy role models for their children that grow up witnessing constant arguing, violence, boozing and drugging at home. Being a GOOD person and a positive role model for your children takes more effort than the occasional visit to church. HYPOCRITES!



I see the most fitting way to end this post with..... Je suis Charlie .

It's almost 4 am here in Vegas, I am exhausted physically and mentally.....so far my 2015 had been rather challenging (and fun too) but I will pull through somehow, if anything for Chhaya and my Mom.
But back to the important story about what happened in Paris, France. Sadly here we go again. Islam the peaceful (really? HA HA what a JOKE!) religion has reared it's ugly head yet again and spread terror and bloodshed. If you do not know what happened in France yesterday I suggest that you find out, it is important. In fact.....I find people that do not care (when they have the means to care) about important global events to be rather unevolved/lazy/self absorbed. Wake the fuck up, at least a little! Or are you just plain dumb?
If so, I guess that's a valid excuse, being dumb that is.
Educated and intelligent people lost their lives because some cowards decided that they and many others were offended due to some, according to them, inappropriate cartoon. Here we go again, anger over a cartoon.
Most religions are based on stories. Stories that nobody that is alive today can vouch for.
A story that some believe in so blindly that they justify killing others in the name of their God. If you openly criticize (use the term criticize broadly here as it can be joke about also) anything pertaining to Islam or Mohammed (or however his name is spelled, cause honestly I don't give a fuck at this point) you get on the bad list and might get killed. There are plenty of examples already of people either murdered or injured because they did, said or wrote something that rubbed some fundamental Muslims the wrong way. I believe that there is an ongoing Islamization of the world and believe me, after seeing some examples of what happens to people if you do not want to become a Muslim, then NO THANKS, I have zero desire to live in a world where I have to live in fear, cover up under a sheet, have my rights taken away from me etc etc.
Back in the day.....hundreds of years ago people did burn women in the name of religion and hunted down and forced Christianity on people but that was a long time ago. Just as women had no right to vote, actually not that long ago. We are supposed to evolve as humans.
And some have evolved and other are stagnant, stomping in the same spot.
I am outraged over what happened in France. The cowards that brutally murdered and injured the victims should be executed in public. That is what I believe. In some Muslim countries people get stoned to death for committing much smaller crimes, sometimes even innocent people get stoned to death. Here we have some cowards that decided to go on a killing spree. I say take them to underneath the Eiffel Tower and give them each one bullet in the head and send their bodies off to their real country, since obviously they had no regard for France although some of them apparently were born there. What a shame! Wake up! Really. No more playing nice and trying to help people that do not appreciate it and don't want help and kindness anyway. Stop catering to bullshit.
This picture fills my heart with much sadness and my eyes with tears. My stomach hurts when I think about what that man went through before he got executed. Only a true piece of shit coward would do such a thing. I pray that the police officer is in a better place now.
If there is a God, he is with God now and the other victims too.
Freedom of speech and personal freedom is everybody's right. Even if you get offended.
So what? I am fucking sick and tired if people getting offended over everything. I am offended that YOU get offended. OK!?
Richard Dawkins, "No, all religions are NOT equally violent. Some have never been violent, some gave it up centuries ago. One religion conspicuously didn’t."

I don't even know if I have the energy to dip my toes into the mess that is the shooting in Ferguson. From day one I believed that the police officer, Wilson acted in self defense. I never bought into that Brown was the gentle giant that he was portrayed as from many media outlets. Perhaps a gentle giant at home but certainly not out in public. Just look how he acts on that surveillance tape when he threatens the store owner after taking those cigarillos, so he could roll his daily blunts......gentle giant my ass. A good for nothing bully, that is how I look at him.
I am glad the officer got off. I applaud it. I don't want gentle giants like that out and about to disturb my safety and peace. I also think that "Reverend" Al Sharpton is a joke, he is a racist and to me he preaches separation and anger. Can anyone just become a Reverend? Is he really a Reverend, did he get a degree in theology or did he just start calling himself a Reverend one day because he has a way with words and likes to talk? Maybe I should become a Reverend then, I have lots to say and I am certainly not scared to speak my mind. Yes, I am very aware of that Sharpton supposedly preached his first sermon at four years of age. To me that is ridiculous. Throw any kid up on a soapbox, let them speak their mind and then you can call whatever they said a "sermon" or the voice of God. That Obama is even considering hobnobbing with Sharpton and uses him as a White House adviser is baffling. No. I am sure Sharpton has done good for others, I like his views on gays, same sex marriage and animal rights but overall I think he is poisonous. But as we all know, it's totally OK for blacks in this country (USA) to be racist. When a white person says or does anything against a black person there is a public uproar, million man marches and all kinds of drama. It's like a comedy show. Jerry Springer for the masses.
Of course there are bad and corrupt cops. I don't doubt that at all and they should be weeded out and dealt with accordingly. But in this case the officer acted in self defense.
And that is my opinion. Did I go out and burn down the local Walmart to prove my point? No.
As far as the rioting and looting? I say throw everybody that participated in a labor camp Siberian style for about a year and give them crusty bread and water only. Then they will think twice about destroying other people's and public property again. They will regret burning down restaurants and dream of eating that slice of pizza when starving and freezing in the labor camp. The rioting and looting done in Ferguson and other places fueled by the incident in Ferguson is proof of people's low intelligence, thirst for blood and justice that is not right. Mob mentality. Any excuse to go out and act crazy. No education, low intelligence and embarrassing behavior. Lock them up like I said. I have no sympathy for that shit. Burning down buildings and vehicles, acting violent, putting a bounty on Wilson? Who does that? If a white mob would had put a bounty on a black officers head, Sharpton would had organized a million man march the very next day.
I am very curious to know what would had happened if Channon Gail Christian and Hugh Christopher Newsom, Jr would had been black and tortured and murdered by a group of white people. I can guarantee it would had been first page national news for months.
Have you heard about them? What happened to them is sickening. A complete nightmare.
I am 100% certain that they got murdered and tortured only for being white by a gang of black racists, they should had all gotten the death penalty. No need to keep scum like that alive.
And NO......I DO NOT CARE what happened in this country 200 years ago or whenever it was when whites had slaves. I don't care. That is done and over with. Just like many other, MANY other horrific acts in history, past and present. Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the concentration camps (things that some people are actually still alive to talk about), ISIS etc. There are still black slaves in Africa. There you go. Fix that Al Sharpton. Why don't you go and try to talk some sense into Boko Haram, maybe preach them a sermon and see what happens.
Here is what another black Reverend has to say about Ferguson. He gets it.
http://www.bondinfo.org/press-releases/black-leader-applauds-ferguson-grand-jury-decision

Pic from today's walk.....a universal language that most people understand.

People have fucking problems. What is WRONG with some of them? I'm reading about that sick freak Joran Van der Sloot (even the name is disgusting) and that he might have been stabbed in the Peruvian prison he is doing time in for murdering a young girl. Most likely he murdered another too and maybe others but so far only one victim is known for sure.
So yeah.....I'm reading that he might have been stabbed.....like booooohooooo poor Joran, next time somebody should stab him fatally in his crotch and let him bleed to death.
And while reading about this I learn that some dumb woman decided that she had to marry this murderer and became pregnant by him. I don't know how old she is and if she already had the baby, all I know is that she has some serious issues. What? Is there a shortage of men out there? Good pick for a father, fantastic! Fun for the child growing up. One great example of a human being making an extremely poor choice in picking who to reproduce with.
She should not be allowed to have any more children, she obviously has some serious issues. What the fuck.....I'd rather be single and without sex for the rest of my life than to have kids with some guy doing time for murdering women.
One more thing while I'm typing away and feeling motivated. What is up with young girls and women joining, or wanting/trying to join ISIS? Like non Muslim women willing to convert and travel to wherever ISIS is holding down fort.....Iraq and Syria I guess. Is your life so shitty that you want to join an inhumane terrorist group like ISIS? Why? So you can be pawned off to some man that will use you as a breeding cow and discard you when he is done with you? Maybe stone you or slit your throat the day you say or do something that he does not like or when you start being a nuisance to him? Really now? Wake the fuck up! I have NO words for ISIS and people that approve of any kind of behavior like that or similar to that. Torture, rape? Beheading innocent journalists and aid workers on camera? Yea, I watched some of it......made me sick and very very sad. How can you do something like that to an innocent person? How? It makes me want to scream......HOW, explain to me! I don't even know why ISIS is roaming free and at large still. Putin should gear up and drop some bombs on them, seriously now Putin. Get started already! I know Putin if anyone has the balls to do it.
Maybe ISIS should capture a Russian, perhaps Putin will take action then. Convert or die? There is no room on this planet for "people" that believe in and practice such stuff.
OK......one last thing and then I'm done. Irresponsible assholes that are supposed to be in quarantine because there might be a chance they have Ebola. But instead they go about their business like getting on the subway, flying, going out to eat.....whatever they have to do just because they are SELFISH. Stay the fuck in quarantine until the time is up. Thank you. If you can't do that then do not work with Ebola patients. Pick some other profession. This whole Ebola thing is crazy. Duncan's family seem to be delusional, complaining about the treatment he received at the hospital here in the US. Really? Not good enough? I'm sure he would had received top notch treatment in whatever country he came from in Africa, maybe he would had still been alive if he would had stayed there, don't you think? Instead he chose to fly here and put a bunch of people at risk for Ebola. I would had been livid if I was one of the health workers subjected to having to treat him. If you come here from another country and don't like the health care, school system, local language, that women have rights, whatever it is that you might have a major problem with......do yourself and everybody else a favor.....consider going back to where you came from if things are so much better there. Yes, you can complain and bring up topics to discuss....society always has room for improvements but if things are so bad here in the US and all you do is complain.....well fuck.....leave then. Or do something good and work for positive changes, don't just sit around and complain.
And maybe people in some places in Africa should consider eliminating certain things like human beings and apes from their diet. I don't know how Ebola came about exactly, I'm not a doctor or a medical student but there are certain things you just don't eat. I don't care how hungry you are.....eat fruit or maggots, SOMETHING besides human flesh and/or monkeys/apes that we are supposedly closely related to. There is a reason for that not supposed to be part of our diet. Just like there is a reason for why we should not reproduce with a close relative. I can understand certain circumstances like that plane crash in 1972, the Andes flight disaster. Those people ate the perished to survive.....or they would had died.
But to practice cannibalism in this day and age because......well, what IS the reason? You just fancy the taste of human flesh or do you believe it will do something amazing for you to eat brains, like increase your stamina or libido or some lame beliefs like that? What? If I EVER visit any African country I'm eating grain, fruits and vegetables only. That I pick myself.
They served human meat and brains in some restaurant there recently, it was on the menu.
No wonder we have diseases like Ebola, it's some kind of a mutant sickness. BARF! Disgusting.

Why would anyone willingly eat this? I firmly believe that a lot of our diseases stem from eating too much meat. Absolutely. People that need meat, think they need meat everyday (because they are brain washed) are kind of gross to me. Chomping down on a bloody steak.....YUCK.



Pic borrowed from babelsdawn.com