Opinions - 7

I am very happy that this year's Golden Globes menu was all vegan. NO meat! YEAY! For all of you that still eat meat and have a difficult time imagining a life without eating meat I have a suggestion for you.....Try Beyond Meat, delicious and healthy! Better for the environment. Better for your health. And no animal had to suffer and die.
From beyondmeat.com, "A peer-reviewed Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) conducted by the University of Michigan compared the environmental impact of the Beyond Burger to a ¼ lb. U.S. beef burger. The result? A Beyond Burger uses significantly less water, land, energy, and generates fewer Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGE) than a beef burger."
I don't eat meat and that includes chicken and fish (for some reason some people seem to think that chicken and fish are not animals and always ask me if I eat that. NO I don't). The only time I am slightly tempted to take a bite of something with meat is when I am inside a Polish Deli and smell a sausage called Kabanosy. I grew up eating that and my mouth salivates when I smell it. Other than that NO I do not miss eating meat, chicken, fish and other creatures from the ocean whatsoever.
To be precise I eat a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet which means I eat dairy product and eggs. I am looking into ways to cut down my dairy consumption with other alternatives and as far as eggs go that is not even a weekly thing for me. My last two egg cartons came from a local place where the hens live their life without being confined to suffering in an egg factory.
When random people sometimes get into discussions with me about how they have to eat meat because their body needs it and bla bla bla I just feel that they are stuck in their backwards non forward close-minded ways of thinking with no ability to even want to try something different or change. They have been fed hamburgers and steak since childhood and that is what they are used to. But for all the open-minded people, check out Beyond Meat next time you are shopping for food and try that instead of meat.

Last night I went to Nordia House to listen to Joanna Cain speak about the differences between Scandinavian and US healthcare. "Joanna Cain M.D. will speak on the differences between Scandinavian and American healthcare systems both from the doctor and patient perspective. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge from her extensive experience across multiple US academic health systems, as a retired professor, a consultant with the World Health Organization, as well as Nordic culture." www.nordicnorthwest.org Very interesting. OF COURSE I think that the US should take steps towards free or at least low cost/affordable healthcare just like the Scandinavian countries, other countries in Europe and Canada. Nobody want to be sick (except for perhaps individuals with Munchausen's syndrome). Healthcare should not be a for profit business, pharmaceutical companies should not be allowed to charge exorbitant amounts for prescription drugs. Politicians should not be bought or sponsored by pharmaceutical companies whatsoever. It is very possible to change the US healthcare system. I am not going to figure out how to do it since I do not work as a politician. Bernie Sanders - "We say to the private health insurance companies: whether you like it or not, the United States will join every other major country on earth and guarantee healthcare to all people as a right. All Americans are entitled to go to the doctor when they're sick and not go bankrupt after staying in the hospital." Figure it out already! It's 2019 almost 2020 and the US healthcare system is majorly flawed. Since I only really have Sweden to compare with on a personal level I can say that I am sure that there are people in Sweden that complain about the healthcare they have received BUT having access to care regardless of income and/or insurance is SO much better and way less stressful than having to worry about whether you can afford to pay for your medications or not or if you will be able to afford seeing a doctor if you get sick or injured. Stress can make you sick as well. And in case you are not aware of it yet....Planned Parenthood does so much more than offer abortions. Planned Parenthood is great. I have used their services and I am grateful for them. I am pro choice, within guidelines. I wish people in general would spend more time contemplating if they really would be fit parents and if taking on the responsibility of raising a child is something that they are suited for. As long as there are individuals that molest, rape, beat, starve, sell and trade their children I fully support abortion. The people that commit these horrible acts (and there are plenty out there everyday that do) have no business reproducing.

By now most (?) Americans (I say most because some adults that I have talked to in the US know surprisingly little about a lot) have probably heard about Greta Thunberg, the 16 year old girl from Sweden that left school one day to strike for the environment, which she would then do every Friday and that turned into something big, leading up to her addressing the UN in a speech earlier this week.
There are people for Greta and then those that are against Greta, some say that her whole deal is orchestrated by her parents, especially her Mother. I can say this.....when I was 16 I was boy crazy and lived for clubbing on the weekends, I loved music and dancing. I also loved horses and read a ton of books.
No matter how you look at it, Greta is doing something positive. Especially at that young age in a society where many teenage girls are preoccupied with things that really do no matter.
I realized a long time ago that I should had put that boy crazy energy I had when I was a teenager into something much more meaningful and constructive.
My regret is that I should had realized it then.
Absolutely Greta has a point. Environmental issues are of uttermost urgency. Some say it's too late. That we have reached a point of no return. If you dismiss Greta because you think she is young and does not know what she is talking about then perhaps the scientists at NASA can make you realize a thing or two about climate change.
https://climate.nasa.gov
When I was in Sweden a few months ago I got ONE book. A small book with an important message, Greta Thunberg's "No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference". So very true. Most of us can do something. I believe in NOT littering. Picking up trash, yes even if its not yours. Recycling. Eating less meat and fish (I do not eat meat or fish at all), no reason to eat meat everyday.
But of course I can do more. Oh and I think that Greta is great.
Another thing and for many this is a difficult concept to grasp....understanding that the world is overpopulated and that squeezing out a bunch of kids probably isn't best thing to do. Limit the amount of children you produce or how about not having any at all? I am glad that I decided not to have any, I feel bad for the kids that have to grow up in today's world.

Long time no write! Let me see if I can come up with something witty to say this chilly and grey evening here in Portland. I have nothing better to do anyway......just laying around on the couch.
So the Met Gala happened last week. The event where the who is who in the world of fashion and celebs put on weird outfits and oooooh and aaaaah over each other and give each other air kisses and fake compliments. The theme was "Camp" (style). I had no idea what that means so I had to look it up, no it has nothing to do with camping in the forest. Anyhow, look it up on Wikipedia if you want to know the meaning. I am too lazy to explain, something to do with exaggerated, theatrical and homosexual. Think drag queens.
One of the most beautiful girls, Rihanna did not attend this year. I really like her. I think she chose not to go. Good for her.
That thing, the Met Gala seems annoyingly fake to me. And who the hell wants to willingly walk around with a chandelier on their head all night long and a dress with chandeliers on it? I guess Katy Perry does. One of the attendees though is one of my faves - RuPaul. Because he IS camp without having to try, he also seems to be a genuinely nice and amazing human being. RuPaul for President! If I recall it right I have said that before in the blog.

Now to the evening's biggest spectacle - Lady Gaga. Four outfit changes? Who changes outfits FOUR times in one evening? I will tell you who. Dancers aka strippers that are bored with nothing better do do or perhaps feeling a bit jittery from too many energy drinks or some other substance. A performer like Britney. Runway models. That's it. Doing four outfits at the Met Gala is in my opinion trying way too hard. And let's talk about two of those outfits.....

The first one (pink dress) reminds me a lot of Angelyne, an old Los Angeles icon, in fact Lady Gaga is like a knock off Angelyne. The second outfit (fishnets plus panties and bra) that style with the fishnets over the panties and a bra plus stripper heels, yes those are exotic dance heels, dancers have been wearing that style for years now. Another example of a celeb taking a dancer (stripper) style, wearing it to some event and pretending to be innovative and original when in fact they are not. Just like pole dancing or what dancers call pole tricks, when done in strip clubs it was frowned upon but now it's like artistic and beautiful and non dancers compete in it. Bitch please.... it was beautiful and artistic 20 years ago too when it was basically only seen in strip clubs. Dancers (strippers, I say dancer) have been the originals in many ways.
There was another Met Gala attendee wearing a pair of glittery and a size too large stripper heels. At least get a size that fits.
I have a suggestion, how about everyone just showing up au naturel next year? THAT would be innovative and brave if anything! Like this!

Hairy! What is shaving and waxing? Pale! No fake tan or tanning bed. Bruised and an ingrown hair! No Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs. Just be YOU. Met Gala 2020 theme - Au Naturel.

There is a guy in India, Raphael Samuel who is talking about wanting to sue his parents for giving birth to him. Now whether he will sue or not I don't know, his parents are actually amused and proud, his Mom is lawyer so she basically told him to bring it on. I find his beliefs interesting and I agree with and share a lot of his thoughts and opinions. Like, "There's no point to humanity. So many people are suffering. If humanity is extinct, Earth and animals would be happier. They'll certainly be better off. Also no human will then suffer. Human existence is totally pointless."
And, "it's wrong to bring children into the world because they then have to put up with lifelong suffering."
I agree. I decided as a teenager, my by OWN thinking to NOT put kids into this world because I did not want to subject a child to this world and humanity because humans are the problem, not planet Earth itself - it's humans. If you are worried about your own children and their future then STOP having more kids. Get a vasectomy or your tubes tied already. Or stop sexing with others.
First of all I believe in population control anyways. I think it is incredibly selfish to have a bunch of kids. It's 2019 not 1819. Evolve with the times. Most people will have children because we are taught that this is what one is supposed to do. The false promise that children are the meaning of life. So go ahead give birth whether you find a suitable partner to have the children with or not and whether you would make a suitable parent. Very little emphasis is put on the being a suitable parent part, just squeeze out kids so they can find a job (hopefully) in the future and become good tax paying citizens. Get student loans to improve their chances of having a higher income, loans that have to be paid off and everything else that we burden ourselves with while living life. The burden of just being alive brings a never ending cycle of obligations.
I personally think that life generally sucks because I am a realist. After all, the first noble truth of Buddhism says that life is suffering. And I have a very good life compared to many. I am independent, I am healthy, I have shelter and food, I have the means to do a lot of fun and interesting things and the list goes on. But I look around and see so much injustice and suffering and I wonder WHY? What is the point of this life? It's the suffering of innocent animals, children and senseless violence against others that makes me feel that life sucks. There is so much misery out there. Look into anti-natalism - a philosophy that argues that life is so full of misery that people should stop procreating immediately. Read this and ponder about whether putting children into this world is such a good idea....
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinatalism
To learn more about this you can check out Nihilanand on Facebook or you can read this BBC article,
www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-47154287
Meanwhile I am just going to keep on living....one day at a time.

The murder of Jamal Khashoggi is despicable and that is only one word to describe it. The stories made up by the Saudis to what happened to the journalist are simply shameful. For Donald Trump to say that the explanation that Khashoggi was involved in some sort of a fistfight scuffle was "credible" was not right and made me feel really bad for the victim and his family and the loved ones left behind. The man was murdered. No doubt about it even before the confession that took a while to surface. It is sickening that barbaric acts like these are overlooked when money and power are involved. Yes….oil and weapons. Big money. What does a life mean in the grand scheme of things? Where will these weapons end up once produced and shipped? Will some of these weapons (a several billion dollar affair) end up pointing towards the US one day? Most likely. Human rights completely brutalized? Who cares?
I feel that the people in the US who back the current President in everything he says and does, ONLY because he is their President are just as blind as the people who followed other leaders in past history that did wrong. You have to be able to look critically at political leaders of the world, criticize and question them when you feel that they say or do something you feel is unethical and wrong.
I feel that Trump’s initial statements about the Saudi explanation to Khasoggi’s fate were inappropriate. Yes, I am aware of that he did say more on the topic since. Perhaps he was being diplomatic?
I also think that his most recent exchange with Stormy Daniels, calling her “Horseface” and then Stormy responding calling him “tiny” are an embarrassment for the President of the USA to be involved in. Not to mention the First Lady. I bet he didn’t call Stormy horse face back in the day when they supposedly slept together. I do not think that Trump randomly decided to gift her with $130 000, in this case I do think that Stormy’s story is closer to the truth. And Avenatti saying that Trump was busy romancing other ladies while Melania was at home with little baby Barron is probably not too far from the truth either. What adults do in their marriages is their business but I do not like hypocrites. If you are going to preach about high morals, abortion and act like you are so free of fault then cheating on your wife is probably not a good idea. But hey…..all kinds of “moral” people do some highly immoral things. Like all the priests that molest children for example.
In Bulgaria another raped and murdered journalist - Viktoria Marinova. She was a young journalist who happened to be writing about alleged corruption in Bulgaria, her country. Corruption in Bulgaria? Unheard of right? Whether she was murdered due to her work or not, I do not know. Of course the suspect in custody denies that this had anything to do with her profession. But yes….an innocent woman murdered and raped. For what? What does a life mean in the grand scheme of things?
If somebody is being too difficult, bringing forth issues that were swept under the rug, insists on investigating and searches for the truth is it easier to just get rid of them and silence them forever.
Journalists and media staff killed in 2018? 72. Hundreds have died so far. Source, the International Federation of Journalist.
www.ifj.org