The Hazards of Chasing Sexiness

Unfortunately, when it comes to the arena of romance, money, and socializing; sex may sell, but it doe not take the place of love. Even though I finally figured that one out, I still see dozens of other people confusing sex and love in almost every area of life. Regardless of whether you are married or single, or even if you have a dozen children, you may not truly know the difference between sex and love. In fact, if your bank account is not as full as you want it to be, or you are miserable in your relationships, you may still be buying sex when you are actually looking for love.  In most cases, when you aren’t getting enough love, you will go on buying “sexy” things in hopes that it will meet your deepest needs.

During the years when I was busy confusing sex and love, there were not a lot of resources on the Law of Attraction. In fact, Rhonda Byrne hadn’t even been heard of, let alone hundreds of other authors on the same subject. Even though I had to figure it out by myself, the fact is I was looking for love. Like so many other people, that led me into one bad romance after another.

Oddly enough, I was very much afraid of not being “sexy” anymore. After all these years, I found out that having true love does not mean I am any less sexy. When it comes right down to it, I’m sexier than ever. The only difference is now I choose what to attract into my life, as opposed to have others force things on me in the name of “providing attention”.

How do I Get More Love?

If you are caught in a cycle of debt and miserable relationships, it is time to make changes. Today, the Law of Attraction can help you align with the best things in the universe. In fact, if you are looking for love, few other resources will help you find it as quickly and easily. No matter what your love life looks like right now, get rid of those books on how to get your ex back, or ones that tell you how to chain your partner chained to your side like a dog.

Once you start working with the Law of Attraction, a whole universe filled with love and abundance will open up to you. All you need to do is stop hanging on to the illusion that you must constantly chase the sexiest game in town. Even though you may be afraid to let go of the desire to feel or be sexy, you won’t regret moving past it to a state of love, abundance and well being. What are you waiting for? If you are looking for love - find out how to draw it to you today!

Forgive Yourself Before You Work on Forgiving Others

Unless you only have conversations and arguments with yourself, every relationship will include a minimum of two human beings.  As a result, there is no such thing as a situation that was not co-created by you and the other person.  This, in turn means that you played at least some role in any problems that may have occurred.  While this is not always easy to accept, you cannot get out of the situation until you accept you responsibility for it.  From there, you will also need to forgive yourself.

Unfortunately, I am no stranger to family feuds.  In fact, I was born after a huge family split and had the dubious distinction of watching yet another one develop when I was a child.  I did not have the answers then, and, quite frankly, I don’t have the answers now.  That said, I do honestly feel that forgiving others is a vital part of resolving family issues, and would have changed my family for the better.  Regardless of whether it is deserved or not, forgiveness is the only way to let go of the past and move forward.

Forgiving Others and Accepting Blessings into Your Life

Once you start forgiving others, there will be plenty of room in your life for new things.  Even if you do not resume an old relationship, there are all kinds of new people that can come into your life.  If you are lonely now, letting go of all that anger will not leave an empty gaping hole. Instead, it will give you the freedom to start living your life as a whole person again.

As you may be aware, time is a fabrication of the human mind.  Oddly enough, when you hold onto hatred, you may not be destroying just your future, and the person that you are angry with.  Instead, you may be hurting an innocent person that was, or is meant to come into your life.  Do you really want to hurt your soul mate, or a new baby before you even have a chance to meet them?  While you may feel that you are willing to pay a soul price rather than forgive yourself and others, it is very selfish to force others to suffer with the same misery.

Many people that work with the Law of Attraction seem to think that they can secretly hold onto hatred, hostility, and anger toward others.  No matter how you try to hide these things, the universe will pick up on it and send it right back to you.   Therefore, when you forgive yourself, it will become a natural process that will unfold into forgiving others.  Before you know it, you will have all of the beautiful family relationships that you always wanted.  Today, starting on the road to forgiving others is as simple as learning more about the Law of Attraction, and using it for the benefit of everyone in your life.

Regardless of whether you lose a big paying job, or a menial one,  you will have plenty of time available to improve self confidence.   While this may seem like a hopeless process, there are courses designed to help you achieve your goal. In many cases, you can download them right from the internet and work through them at your own pace.

How do You Look Someone in the Eye When You Can’t Stand on Your Own Two Feet?

Not so long ago, I worked as a medical biller.  After 5 years in a low paying job, I applied for, and got a better job.  Of course, I was on top of the world, and never believed I would need to know how to build self confidence.   That was a good time in my life; a new beginning that held the promise of a future in which I could support myself and enjoy all the freedoms this wonderful nation has to offer.  It was also my best chance for getting out of debt; and I did the best I could with the tools available at the time.

Then it happened.  I got laid off just when I was about to finish paying off my last two credit cards.  While I had unemployment payments until I found my next job, it was a pittance compared to what I needed in order to fulfill my debt obligations, plus have enough to live on.

I can sincerely say I wish I had known how to gain self confidence after job loss.  Day in and day out, I applied for jobs and went on interviews.  Every interviewer seemed to be asking “Ok – how much are you worth”. What could I say?  I know my talents as a medical biller and insurance claim collector.  How was I supposed to convey the kind of confidence I normally project during work hours when I was laid off from my last job?

Improve Self Confidence and Your Life Will Change as if by Miracle

In a sense, everything that you do with the Law of Attraction hinges on your ability to believe that you are worthy of receiving all the best that the universe has to offer.    Ironically, if  I had known about some of the improve self confidence courses available online today, I would probably have gotten another job much sooner.  In particular, there are a number of training courses developed around the Law of Attraction that can help  anyone learn how to build self confidence.

If you already know you need to improve self confidence, there is nothing quite like job loss to challenge you to make some changes.   As ugly as losing a job is, I am here to say you must not give up on yourself.  What one employer thinks can easily be filtered by personal issues and things you truly don’t want to know about.  Don’t waste anymore time putting yourself down because of the past.  Look to the future, and a new employer that you can enjoy working with.  Take this time to improve self confidence, and then move forward in a way that will ensure prosperity for years to come.  Who knows, you may even wind up running your own business, and putting your former boss’s profit margin to shame.

Sapphire Sunhorse

What is Passive Aggression, and How Does it Relate to Anxiety?

Consider a situation where you desperately want to murder a bill collector.  While this desire is perfectly normal, you cannot carry out this act without facing social consequences.  Instead of hurting the other person, you hurt yourself in order to relieve the energy burden.  Passive aggressive actions may include going on shopping sprees, eating foods that harm your body, or picking a fight with someone else in your life.  As you go through the process of trying to vent all that aggression, your unconscious mind will be trying to say “Hey, that’s the wrong way to go!”, or “Here is your real problem”.  This, in turn, forms a basis for panic and anxiety attacks.

Over the years, I’ve had my struggles with debt and overspending.  Once I began looking at the spiritual aspects of debt,  I could see where I was being goaded into spending more than I could afford. In most cases, the instigators most likely knew I had a problem with passive aggression.   They also knew my life circumstances did not leave me room to get away from their interest rates and incessant demands for money.  For example, I had to buy a car in order to get to work and college.  In order to make matters worse, they made more financial demands in the form of car insurance and dealer sponsored maintenance schedules.

Many instigators secretly enjoy knowing that you are having anxiety attacks, yet have no choice but to go on asking for the use of their resources.  Typically, once you know how to clear your mind, you will also learn how to see right through their intentions. At the same time, seeing clearly will also enable you to rise above any actions that will harm you or other people.  In short, you will find ways to pay your dues and end your reliance on these people.

The First Step for Learning How to Clear Your Mind

When you are trying form a basis for a better life, there is nothing quite like being able to recognize your weak points, and then acquiring the knowledge and skills to overcome them.  Regardless of whether you feel you do not absorb information quickly enough, or you tend to be forgetful, it can all have an impact on your ability to think clearly.  As a result, if you want to know how to clear your mind, it will be of some benefit to look for training guides and materials that will help you improve your basic mental skills.

If you want to get rid of anxiety attacks, panic attacks, and passive aggression issues, you will need to boost your capacity for happiness and all the best things the universe has to offer.  Unfortunately, if you don’t learn how to clear your mind, it will be very hard to focus on expanding your capacity.  At the same time, when your thoughts are scattered, it makes it very easy for bill collectors and other people to wreak havoc in your life.  Today, you can make use of a number of training systems to help you get  free of anxiety, and enable you to start living a better life than you ever dreamed possible.

Ironically, the people that tell you this may have  a worse fear of change than you do.

Even though you may know that you need to get out of a bad relationship, an overwhelming number of fears may keep you locked in the same destructive cycle.  Overcoming resistance to change is hard work, and it may not happen as quickly as you wish it would.  Nevertheless,  you are always better off altering your life path sooner rather than later.

Overcoming Resistance to Change in Personal Relationships

Many years ago, I fell madly in love with the wrong man.   Once I got into the habit of “being in love”, it just kept on going.  I wanted desperately to get out of that relationship, but fear of change kept me back.  Who would I spend my spare time with?  What if I never felt that way about someone else again?  While those thoughts were raging in my mind, everything other part of my life seemed dull and lifeless.

When you are in a bad relationship, that is exactly what happens.  All your energy, all your vibrance goes down a bottomless pit.  Eventually, you either get out, or you get swallowed up alive.  It took seven years before I overcame my fear of change.  No matter how hard I prayed and scribbled in my journal, overcoming resistance to change was not going to happen until I was 100% ready and willing to live a better life.

I’m Trapped in a Bad Relationship.  How Do I Get Out?

You have to start by having faith, and set your mind to overcoming resistance to change.  That includes external resistance, as well as whatever is going on inside your own mind.  I can’t tell you how many times I almost got free, only to receive a spontaneous call from my ex-boyfriend.  All in all, it was downright eerie, and always made me question myself even more.

Oddly enough, when you have an internal fear of change, things will happen in your life to keep you stuck in a rut.   As hard as it was to get started, I became firmly committed to overcoming my internal resistance to change.  While I wasn’t necessarily trying to get out of a bad relationship each waking moment, I was well on my way to freedom.  The more my life began to take on new meaning, the less important my ex-boyfriend became.

And then, one day, it just “happened”.  I was sitting down brushing my hair for the millionth time, wishing he would call.    I was not “in love” anymore!  I can tell you, I wanted to sing from the rooftop I was so happy!   All these years later, I have never regretted committing myself to getting rid of my fear of change.

Now, let me tell you something else.  I had to work my way up from the darkest place a human being can be without much help.  My situation wasn’t exactly something I could share with my friends, let alone my family.  There wasn’t much more than a torn up old black Bible, and a few prayers I had learned years ago, a cat, and two tropical fish.   If you are in a bad relationship, then you know there is very little comfort when your prayers for the perfect relationship go unanswered.

Today, there are many tools available to help you with overcoming resistance to change.  For example, you can start with ebooks and workbooks based on The Laws of Attraction.  As you work with forgiveness and personal transformation, you never really know who will walk into you life.  All you really need to know is that your life will be better when you overcome fear of change.  It’s a huge world out there – filled with people you have never met before.  One of them is your soul mate.   Don’t get locked into believing that the man/woman currently abusing you is that person.  When you get rid of your fear of change, you will see him/her for what they really are – an energy drain that isn’t worth keeping in your life.

Here’s to freedom!

Sapphire Sunhorse

Ya, I can just hear the conversation now:

Ms. EU: Oh please, Mr. Canada, I don’t want your bloody sealskins in my countries.

Mr. Canada: Aw – shett app already. You know you want my sealskins, and I’ll jest stick ‘em in when, wherever, and however I pleases.

Ms. EU: But Mr. Canada you are hurting my feelings.

Mr. Canada: Ye be danged scarlet lettered thang. Now ya knows why I just loves to use ya and lose ya. I don’t cares about yer feelings, all I want is a piece of your money.

…………..

Let’s just hope the EU and the rest of the world discover women’s rights.

Now – I will share my definition of humane killing. Basically, if we do not consider it moral to do a form of killing to a human, we ought not visit upon an animal. After all – even George Bush sentenced and presided over the execution of Carla Faye Tucker. Tucker – if you will recall – pickaxed two old people to death. I firmly believe there are laws against this kind of killing in every civilized nation; and on top of that – there is a record of precedence in the freest nation in the world to attest to the fact that people have been executed for killing with a pickaxe (aka hakapik). Aside from this – in most states, it is considered a mitigating circumstance for establishing evidence of a heinous crime to murder a child.

In a similar way, we do not condone this kind of killing of animals. And, while it may not be a death eligible offense to bludgen a dog or other animal to death, people most certainly are put into prison for it, plus made to pay stiff fines. There is also no question that the seals being killed in Canada’s seal hunt are juveniles/children.

To my thinking, the EU should fine Canada several million dollars for each seal that is killed with a hakapik, plus an additional fine for each seal that is killed or skinned with an adult seal nearby. We as a civilized world have a responsibility to defend our right to put an end to what looks like political date rape that seeks to cover up heinous crimes against man and nature.

Today, the IFAW is working hard to end the seal hunt. Please stop by their website and give leave a donation if you can.

Sapphire Sunhorse

Post notes:

- explain that there are definite guidelines about acceptable forms of killing in modern western societies

- detail that bludgeoning or axing a human being to death is a death eligible offense; as is the murder of a child by any means.

- detail that the inhumane killing of animals follows similar guidelines in terms of method usage. Again, bludgeoning and axing are considered inhumane. Heavy fines and imprisonment are imposed on people that do these things to animals

-remind that the EU should ban Canadian seal products because they are harvested using heinous and repulsive methods.

- list one organization that is working to end the seal hunt.

There is just no easy way to say, let alone explain this kind of garbage ladden mind bender. You will recall a few days ago the EU took steps to ban harpseal pelts taken from animals killed in an inhumane way. According to the Sea Shepherd website, Canada is paying some Greek researcher to find a way to transplant seal heart valves into human’s in need of cardiac valve replacment.

Not only does it appear that Canada wants to date rape the EU in order to sell the trash skins of “rats on ice”; now they seem to want to turn seal hunting into some copycat version of pre-Columbian ritual human/animal sacrifice. Eh – you know what I mean – the sanctified dudes that used to get all gussied up before busting some poor soul’s chest open just to rip out a still beating heart in order to benefit society (win wars, make it rain, boost fertility, and so on).

Historically speaking, back in the good old days after Columbus sailed the ocean blue, ethnographers used to LOVE to sell titliating stories to the Europeans back home about the savage indians. And of course, the settlers must have achieved a great deal of moral $$$$atisfaction as they slaughtered entire indian villages because they did things like scalp people and rip the hearts out of still living bodies.

Of course, once I got done reading Freud, I came to believe that such acts were a clear sign of s**ual perversion. Oh never mind – it’s too bizarre considering so many seal hunters (all male?) appear to want to “phoque” Paul Watson (also a male).

But, I digress.

One must wonder how it will go on the ice to retrieve, and then preserve seal heart valves fit for human transplant. I’m not sure how many people are aware of the strict guidelines that go with the harvesting of organs for medical purposes, let alone how quickly the organs have to be removed from the cadaver. On top of that, the last time I checked, harvesting animal organs doesn’t exactly happen in a commercial slaughter house, let alone on blood soaked ice floes with dozens of human size seal corpses rotting all over the place. Irregardless of whether it is a human or animal, you can’t just hack away with an unsanitary hacakpic, take the parts you want, and be on to the next human sized seal victim.

When the Maya, etc. performed ritual animal sacrifice, they weren’t too fussy about the necessities of preserving organs fit for transplant. In a similar way, when seal hunters go after all those human sized “beaters”, they aren’t likely to be capable of taking the time, let alone the hygenic precautions necessary to make these seal heart valves a viable transplant option.

It seems to be a sick world when people will use what looks like bargain degree mill verbiage in order to try to defend the murder of a wild animal by mimicking the very heart of what (is supposed to) separates us from the savagery and peversion of people we tried to annihalate hundreds of years ago.

Today, Harpseal.org is working hard to end the slaughter of seals all over the world. If you can, please stop by their website and leave them a donation.

Sapphire Sunhorse

Post Notes:

- Remind that there is progress in the process of banning seal skins from European markets

- Compare ritual animal sacrifice conducted by the Maya to seal hunting for the purpose of retrieving heart valves

- Remind that settlers almost exterminated First Nation people because of their rituals

- Discuss the difficulties (disease prevention protocols, etc) associate with organ harvesting, retrieval, and preservation.

- Link to one organization that is working to end seal slaughter.

Yet another red flag went up in my mind with the usage of statistics on this page, when providing the actual numbers would have been more efficient and revealing. As a result, I turned to the Statistical Abstracts of the United States in order to get the actual numbers. Here is what I found:

From Senator McCain’s site:

“2012: Return Emissions To 2005 Levels (18 Percent Above 1990 Levels)”

As Per the US Statistical Abstracts, Table 919: In year 1990 total carbon dioxide emissions was 4984.8 metric tons. In year 2005, it was 5945.3 metric tons. Percentage wise, the 2005 levels are 16% higher than levels in 1990. Or, we could say it the opposite way: 1990 levels are 16% lower than 2005 levels. Based on the table I found, there were no projections for the specific year 2012, hence the “18%” listed on Senator McCain’s website is either an error, accurate and based on other numbers, or some peculiar mystery beyond my understanding.

“2020: Return Emissions To 1990 Levels (15 Percent Below 2005 Levels)”

Now, I don’t know about to the folks reading this, but when combined with the above statement, this is one humdinger of a magical math snarl. I can give it three interpretations:

1. If the first statement is essentially saying that the CO2 emissions percentage difference was 18%, how can the next statement say it is only 15%? In this I see a number of serious inconsistencies. Either that, or I’m not very good at ciphering with magical numbers.

2. Both statements are actually talking about the same amount of reduction; namely 16%, and not a 23% difference that is implied by giving us two percentage numbers, the terms ”above” and ”below”, and “target dates” to look at. In essence, I feel these are not the kind of numbers that should be coming from a man that claims to have so much experience in the ways of the world.

3. These numbers indicate that not very much will be done to curb global warming in the next 20 years. I could also infer that since this type of math will not support curbing fossil fuel usage, there will, in fact, be very little done to find alternative energy sources.

When it comes to the rest of Senator McCain’s numbers, quite frankly, discussing the estimates about what global warming related disease rates and starvation may cause in the next decade is too much for one blog post. Suffice it to say CO2 emissions may well reduce on their own, but as a result of what McCain might think of as unintended consequences of following a timetable just like the one he doesn’t want to follow for withdrawing troops from Iraq. In short – while an enormous decline in the human population as a result of disease, warfare, and starvation will cure global warming, it is an unintended consequence of failing to take immediate, and eminently reasonable action to put an end to CO2 emissions.

Sapphire Sunhorse

The bottom line is this, if my hubby went off for a couple of weeks out of the year to kill human sized animals just to get away from me, I’d start to think something was wrong with my marriage. And, while I might not be overly concerned about a rendevous with some dessert on the ice, I’d be mighty upset that said hubby was not bringing home as much money as he could be making by being in some other career.

Throughout time, the Lysistrata method has proven immensely effective when a woman needs to exert her rightful authority over her husband. As you may be aware, the Lysistrata method was first written about by the Greek poet, Aristophanes. Basically, Lysistrata was sick of her husband always being at war; and therefore not fulfilling his husbandly obligations. So – she influenced all the womenfolk to deny the menfolk er… how shall I say… the wild thang until they ended the war. The bottom line is it worked, and the war was put to an end.

I think it is time for the wives and girlfriends of seal hunters to refuse the men certain marital relations until said men meet their obligation to make money in a safer and more pratical way.

Today, the Global Action Network is working hard to end seal slaughter. While I am not affiliated with this organization, I recommend stopping by their site today, and leaving a donation if possible.

Sapphire Sunhorse

Post Outline Notes

- Typically, women control the household. Therefore, they have a great deal of influence in what their husbands do to make a living.

- Women of seal killers should enact means to ensure that their husbands find better and safer careers.

- Present the Lysistrata method and explain what it is.

- Link to one organization working to end the seal slaughter.

Ah – but what a catch-22 in the above two sentences, and I haven’t even got to the point of this post yet! The real truth is people that are running around in the fur industry could be put to much, much better use on environmental activism! In fact, if every one of them joined or started a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving one animal on the verge of extinction, or better yet curtailing global warming – we’d all be in much better condition!

Instead, they would rather make money selling the trash remains of “rats on ice” to rich people. By the time the consumer buys fur, the bottom line is it takes less effort, and makes a much, much bigger profit than Greenpeace, Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), PETA, and Sea Shepherds make combined.

In fact, that is precisely why all those fur farmer$, fur stitcher$, and fur store$ are FOR PROFIT corporation$$$$. Translation: the fur companies have more money than they know what to do with! The bottom line is they are making money hand over fist on the suffering of animals, plus they are probably condemning poverty stricken workers throughout the industry to who knows what kind of dangerous and toxic conditions.

Note – seal hunters die, sweat shops (fur is now added into more regular clothing as collars and such) are an ongoing atrocity in third world countries, and all those coat preservatives are probably carcinogenic. How humane is that to humanity on top of what is done to the animals? So goes the world when it operates on fuzzed up and furry “fashion” economics.

At any rate, muddling forward.

……

Here is something that’s funny about numbers. Even though they don’t lie, a pair of numbers by themselves are awful hard to put into context; in fact, they can be manipulated well out of proportion. This, I believe is much the case when it comes to comparing what seal killers make to what animal activists make on campaign donations.

Eh – well – time for me to go off on another tangent. I used to be upset about the comparison between what animal rights groups make and the lesser amount that the “hard working families” that are “supported” by the fur industry make. I mean after all, I am a poor person, I’ve dealt with job loss, debt, and all the rest. So – to want to see others in these positions – is not my way.

Well – reading about the treatment of animals in the fur industry does things to a person, you know? It opens your eyes to a whole level of insidiousness within human nature. It tends to make it look like certain people have a malicious intent to brainwash people into thinking cruelty to animals is acceptable for the sake of selling vanity fur and libido enhancers.

Reading about the horrors that animal rights activists strive to bring an end to every day made me really start looking for the hard financial numbers, as well as understand the mindset and soul of someone that would defend things like astrakhan fur, genital electrocution, or bludgeoning hundreds of thousands of human sized harp seals to death each year.

Now, let me introduce a few numbers and additional facts to put into perspective the kinds of things that animal activists are up against, and why I feel they are far more underfunded than the fur industry. Oh – yes – and going back to an earlier point – some of those animal activists DO employ hard working people with families, and pay them salaries.

Animal activists groups were formed to expose cruel and inhumane practices, educate a worldwide public about these practices, and then advocate changing laws and regulations that allow these disgusting things to go on. Keep in mind, this is a world wide challenge, they do not get govenrmental monies, and more often than not, they must convice lawmakers to recognize each animal’s situation for what it is, and the negative impact on humanity.

When it comes to education, in 2004 the United States alone spent a whopping 862 billion dollars on its education system. I will call that the education system’s “income”, and that by no means touches how much education costs for all nations in the world. By comparision, according to activistcash.com, approximate income for some of the top animal activists organzations were as follows: HSUS 78 million, PETA 29 million, Greenpeace 23 million, and Sea Shephard 1 million.

To my thinking, if it costs 862 billion dollars to educate one nation of people for one year, then in order to educate an entire world full of people about the humane treatment and stewardship of animals, each animal rights organization is UNDERFUNDED by several trillion dollars. And then people wonder why they haven’t gotten much done!

Just as an off tangent closing note, activistcash.com is an absolutely fascinating site, with lots of good information. As an example, they list MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) because, apparently, this organization is a huge money grubber and probably quite despicable for wanting zero toleance laws when it comes to drinking and driving. Hmm… ya – tell that to the police when they have to knock on some parent’s door on prom night because yet another family’s child is dead. That said, I will hazard a guess that Activist Cash’s numbers are “reputable” enough to suit the pro-seal killing folks.

Although I am not affiliated with the IFAW, I recommend their website. They are working hard this year to educate about the ongoing seal slaughter and many other animal welfare issues. If possible, please stop by today and leave them a donation.

Sapphire Sunhorse

POST OUTLINE NOTES:

- Acknowledge role of fur industry on families and labor issues.

- Detail why these people would be better off employed as animal activists

- Fur companies are for profit organizations that have more money than they know what to do with.

- Toxins and harm to fur industry workers

- Understanding of how numbers can be taken out of context

- What happens/happened when you discovered a whole new level of animal cruelty

- The role of animal activists, and the worldwide jobs they must do

- Why animal activists are vastly underfunded when compared to the education system and/or other businesses.

- Review activistcash.com

- link to one organization trying to end seal slaughter

By this I mean the following. Before Mr. Vespucci and Mr. Columbus wandered over to this side of the world, First Nation people didn’t have a single thing to do with Europeans. Therefore, they had no need of European money, let alone a need to help commerical Candian sealers in their efforts to conduct what looks very much an attempt to date rape the European Union.

Now – I realize that today we are living in a different world, and the First Nation people have a tough job of balancing traditional culture with the very real and present need to take part in a global economy. Today, there are an endless array of opportunities to make money on the internet. These opportunities are as available to First Nations people as they are to everyone else. Perhaps there should be a focus on making sure that First Nation people gain the internet access, electricity, and computers, so that they do not need to be concerned about selling seal fur to Europe!

The fact of the matter is Inuit and other First Nation SUBSISTENCE (as in they eat the seal and use every other part of the carcass) seal hunters have nothing whatsoever to do with what the commerical Canadian sealers do, their lust to kill human sized animals, and the greedy need to sell trash to rich people in Europe.

I certainly hope that the Inuit and other First Nation people look back into their own history and recognize the Canadian sealers for what they are – just another bunch of foreigners that may want to put the indian out front like some totem or trophy wife. Perhaps the Inuit and other First Nation people of Canada should ask where all these fine indian loving commercial seal killers have been in the last few years, when the Canadian government puts up police/military blockades all over native lands, and then conduct raids on them at will.

Hmm…

Ya – I’m not Inuit, or a First Nation person so I cannot speak for them; but I did hear about the raids on native lands in Canada. From where I’m sitting, the commercial Canadian sealers look just like any other exploiter, and the proof will be in the pudding. At every step of the way, I’ll wager as soon as the commercial seal killers have no further media usage the First Nation people, they will dump their affiliations so fast it will make everyone’s eyeballs spin.

Today, Harpseals.org is working hard to end seal hunting. While I am not affiliated with them, I recommend stopping by their site to learn what you can do to help end this viscious slaughter. If possible, please also leave them a donation.

Sapphire Sunhorse

POST OUTLINE NOTES:

- Note whether or not you are a First Nation descendant

- Note some element of an ongoing dispute between First Nation people and Canada

- Ask whether or not the commercial seal hunters have done anything substantial to help the First Nation people gain fair treatment or more rights

- Observe that First Nation people did not need European money before.

- There are other ways to make money beside selling seal skins.

- Why you feel the commercial seal hunters are exploiting the First Nation people for their own greedy ends. If possible, note a historical event in Canada where First Nation people were used and then dumped as soon as a goal was reached.

- Link to an organization that is working to end seal hunting

Strangely enough, the seal killers that make a huge profit on seal skins refer to animals as everything from “trash” to “rats on ice”. On top of that, they have often said “don’t blame me, blame my rich customers in Europe and other parts of the world that want to strut their stuff in seal fur”. I suppose in an ironically poetic seal hunt kind of way, trash not only comes out of high places (ie the last free places left in nature), seal hunters and fur fashion designers are helping identify trash that comes out of the highest places recognized by human society (ie. the rich upper echelons.)

Now folks – I don’t know about you – but if I was rich I’d be a bit insulted at some little person having himself an orgasmic frenzy killing seals, and then passing the fur of some “trash animal” along to me for the sake of the money in my wallet. In fact, I’d draw the conclusion that the seal killers and fashion fur designers think that I am every bit as “trashy” as the seals. Perhaps if I were in a contemplative mood, I’d even wonder if all those ads promoting animal fur were nothing more than an invitation to be robbed blind because I was too stupid to see the truth.

I mean, think about it, if you are rich, either you or your family worked pretty darned hard to get all that money. Surely you don’t want to buy some trash that comes from an animal that died in excruciating pain. After all, then you’d be easily marked as what Mammy would have called – “trash coming out of the highest places”. Unfortunately, when you run around in seal skin (and other live fur products) that is exactly what you look like to millions of people all over the world, irregardless of your money, and irregardless of your position in society. In fact, you are just likely to look like trash to people that are as rich or richer than you, and do not wear fur products.

Today, the seal killers and seal hunt advocates want to prevent rich people from knowing that they are playing a huge, disgusting joke on the customers they depend on. Without a question, they know trash comes out of the highest places, and want as much money from that trash as they can get. If it takes lies and making the filming of attrocities illegal, that is what they will do to keep ahold of your wallet. Aside from the EU banning seal products, let us all hope that rich people boycott all kinds of live fur trash and spend their money on something more useful – like solar panels and wind energy.

While I am not affiliated with Harpseals.org, they are working very hard to end seal hunting. Please feel free to drop by their website, and if possible, leave them a donation. While you are there, you will also find many other things you can do to help end the viscious slaughter of harp seals.

Sapphire Sunhorse

POST OUTLINE NOTES:

- Pick a famous quote about the rich that reflects poor spending choices or the view of less fortunate people in society

- explain why the seal hunt is a poetic form of irony and insult to their customers

- explain why preventing pictures of seal hunting is an attempt to prevent the rich from seeing how they are really viewed by the people the buy furs from

- link to one organization trying to end seal hunting

Ah… but you, and I did contribute to the destruction of this world. Each day we had, and still have a choice in how we spend our money, irregardless of what big business and politicians do. In fact, they do what they do in order to gain access to our money. We stop spending money, they stop wreaking havoc. It’s that simple.

Therefore, if ending seal kiling is important, every individual needs to stop buying seal products and seafood from Canada, as well as stop patronizing restaurants and stores that buy Canadian fish and seafood. No market, and there will be much less of a reason to kill these, and many other beings in this world.

Public censure when backed up with a pocket book or wallet goes a long way. Educated public censure works even better. Unfortunately, even if the EU bans seal products, Canada will just look elsewhere to sell off the booty obtained from human sized animals that were brutally murdered.

Therefore, consider that we must begin to think about where Canada will sell seal products next. Unless I miss my guess, it will be Asia, India, and Africa. It is time to start making those people aware of just what happens when a seal is killed, as well as the kinds of toxins and pathogens found in seal meat and seal oil. As I write this, I am thinking about some information I uncovered over the weekend, and believe me, it may well justify third world countries refusing to buy seal oil and seal meat.

Incidentally, I would not be surprised if the seal killers themselves may be in violation of some legal boundaries, because they may also be going into international waters, and polluting them with almost 300,000 human sized seal carcasses in the bargain. One would certainly hope that the UN and other world bodies investigate this issue of international waters and seal carcass pollution, and levy stiff fines against the perpetrators.

At any rate, please remember that there are a number of animal rights groups doing their very best to end the seal slaughter, and resolve many other animal rights issues. In particular, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been very verbal and active this year. As you may be aware, the Captain and First Officer of the Farley Mowat are due in court on May 1st to address some charges against some of their recent activities. Although I am not affiliated with Sea Shepherd, I do recommend you visit their website. And while you are there, please leave a donation.

Sapphire Sunhorse

Post Outline Notes:

- Humanity is responsible for current global disaster

- Individuals are the cause, because we feed big businesses with our money and consumer demands

- Why the EU ban on seal skins is not a 100% guarantee that seal killing will stop

- Why your refusal to buy Canadian seafood is important

- Potential future markets for seal products, and the importance of educating them

- Where Canada may be in violation of international laws

- Link to a group working to end seal slaughter

And, in case some people don’t know it – a woman, and the European union both have the right to say no, and expect it to be respected. Perhaps there should also be a law against aggressive individuals that demand others fill their pockets with money so that they can go on endangering lives, destroying this planet and offending many people around them at the same time. In fact, I think a total ban on seal products will go a long way to beginning to convey that message. One would certainly hope that every other nation in the world will enact a similar ban.

Today, many organizations like the Humane Society of the United States are working hard to put an end to the ability of seal hunters to rape this planet and other nations with their disgusting products and callous will to make a profit. While I am not personally affiliated with the Humane Society, I recommend stopping by their site, and perhaps leaving them a donation.

Sapphire Sunhorse

POST OUTLINE NOTES:

-Basic definition of date rape and why it is similar to the “tit for tat” position that Canada is using to try and prevent a EU ban on seal products.

-Why the EU has a perfectly legitimate right to ban seal products

-Link to one organization trying to end the seal hunt.

In the last few weeks, some very interesting things popped up in the news. First, researchers have learned that a woman is more likely to give birth to a girl if she has a poor diet, or lacks sufficient energy foods. Related to this, we already know from other species of animals that the number of females is far exceeding the number of males. In fish and amphibians, we are even finding that a sizeable number of males are so deformed they cannot reproduce.

When seal killers go out and kill harp seals, they do not keep accurate records of how many seals they are killing, let alone the gender. I would not be surprised if they target males more often because the coats are more colorful. That said, I would have to attribute some level of artistic sense to greedy people that seem to want to do nothing but shed blood and crush the skull of any human sized animal at hand. Either way, killing even a few male harp seals may indeed endanger the species.

Over the years, study after study reveals that increasing temperatures also causes some species of animals to produce more females. In some species, males may even change gender under these conditions. Even though over 300,000 human sized carcasses wind up in the ocean each year because of seal killers, we actually know very little about these animals. Similar to the polar bears, harp seals may be undergoing all kinds of environmental stresses that may lead to a sudden and permanent extinction.

Perhaps it is the height of irony that the Canadian government is extremely concerned about the effects of global warming on polar bears. At the same time, they fail to acknowledge that harp seals are also depending on ice floes that are likely to melt and fail to return. Without a question, each seal that is killed can endanger any future efforts to help them recover.

Finally, when it comes to endangering a plentiful species, Canada seems to have as outstanding a track record as Japan. As you may be aware, Japan has overfished its own waters, and they also came very close to driving humpback whales into extinction. In a similar way, the cod fishermen in Canada created their own mess when they overfished their waters. Incidentally, the seal killers are now regulated by the same part of the government that was regulating the cod fishing industry. When it comes to trusting these people with the management of a whole other species of huntable animals, we must clearly recognize that people who have demonstrated the ability to destroy one species do not deserve the opportunity to exterminate another one.

Aside from prior failure to take proper care of animals in their stewardship, the very fact that the Canadian government will not allow documentation of seal slaughter makes it look like they are willfully and intentionally trying to cover up the environmental destruction caused by the seal killers. These attempts to hide the truth from world bodies should be more than enough to justify a complete ban on all seal products, and one would hope that the European Union overwhelmingly votes for just such a ban.

Today, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is working hard to end seal slaughter. While I am not personally affiliated with the IFAW, I highly recommend their website. Please feel free to visit them and make a donation. As you read their site, you will find a great deal of information available about what may well be abusive and obstructive legal wrangling designed to prevent the good people of this world from learning about, and stopping the harm caused by Canadian, and other seal killers.

Sapphire Sunhorse

POST OUTLINE NOTES:

- Number of animals in a population does not mean it cannot be driven into extinction

- Current research about the way diet and environment cause unequal gender ratio births

- Compare Canada to other nations that have hunted species to, or close to extinction

- Reasons why pro-seal killers are not fit to steward the population

- Why Canada’s policies create an image that they are trying to hide something important from the rest of the world

- Link to one site that is working to end seal killing

At this stage, I have changed some of my views as presented in this blog posting from 2008.  For the sake of clarity and accuracy:

1.  It is entirely possible to gain all necessary nutrients from plant based foods.  Today, ther are a number of nutrient guides and resources that will help you achieve this goal.

2.  I am pleased to say that going vegan myself gives me the opportunity to enjoy knowing that I am no longer one of those people that needs to live rely on inhumane animal slaughter for survvial.  I invite all readers to join me in pursuing vegan diets, and failing that a vegetarian one; or at least cut meat and dairy consumption to once per week.  Please see my “12 Steps to Vegan” in the upcoming months for more information on how I achieved this goal.

Sapphire Sunhorse

—————–

Original Text as of 4/28/08.

As I sit here and watch the debates about seal slaughter, I was decidedly amused to see the Canadian seal killers come up and say two wrongs make a right. By this I mean they justify their disgusting slaughter tactics by pointing out that commercial farmers have some of the worst records in the world when it comes to the humane transport and slaughter of farm animals. Well – like the Canadian seal killers, I read the Go vegan websites, and saw the PETA videos.

Do I still eat meat? Of course! I’m not about to turn my nose up at the only source of all the proteins I need in my diet, even if that protein comes from animals that ate sawdust and antibiotics. Eh well – maybe some day I’ll be able to afford all those chemical and derivative products that the astronauts live on. Until then, I like the way I look and feel without edema caused by lack of animal protein.

Would I eat seal meat, dolphin, or whale? No. Why? They are wild animals, plain and simple. For the time being, a chicken or a cow that was brought into this world and raised for food purposes is good enough to feed me, and should be good enough for everyone else too.

Returning to the question of cruelty in animal slaughter on a commercial farm. Yes it happens. Yes, I’ve probably eaten a few pieces of beef that come from a cow that screamed through the butchering process and finally died in the boiling pot.

On the other hand, I also know that the slaughter house does not waste so much as one shred of meat, fat, or bone. Every part of a slaughtered animal makes its way into the food or other products supply somewhere, somehow. Irregardless of whether it feeds me, my pets, or next year’s corn crop – every part of that animal is used for a purpose.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the slaughter and use of harp seals. Time and again, hundreds of thousands of dead seal carcasses are left to rot on the ice floes and in the water. All the seal killers seem to want are the skins, while anywhere from 30 to 80 pounds of perfectly good meat is left behind.

To the Canadian seal killers, the harp seal is nothing more than a rat living on ice (as evidenced by numerous quotes). They don’t raise these animals, care for them, or invest money to keep them healthy. On top of that, Canadian seal killers don’t even clean up after themselves once the slaughter is over.

While seal killers call the harp seals garbage, and toss them like trash into the ocean, millions of humans are, and have been starving to death all over the world. While the Canadian seal killers treat the seals, and their fellow humans like garbage, they aren’t in the least bit ashamed of digging in those trash heap ice floes and selling seal skins to rich people that have not experienced the suffering ongoing in the rest of the world.

I won’t bother asking why the seal killers don’t sell seal meat to impoverished nations; as I already know the answer. They won’t get as much money for meat they don’t spend a dime to raise or care for to begin with.

What a disgusting waste of 300,000 human sized carcasses each year, this planet’s bounty, and natural resources. I certainly hope the European Union passes a complete ban on seal products. And moreover, I hope the United Nations, and SEATO step into the matter and exposes all of the environmental and humanitarian harm caused by the seal hunters over the years.

As a final note, please stop by the the Harpseals.org website, and leave them a donation. They are another fine organization working hard to end the disgusting practice of seal hunting, and have lots of fine ideas for things you can do to help.

Sapphire Sunhorse

POST OUTLINE NOTES:

- Seal killers use inhumane commercial farm slaughter as defense of their own actions; even though two wrongs do not make a right.

- Whether or not you eat meat, and why

- Why you would not eat wild animals for food

- Acknowledge that farm animal slaughter is inhumane and cruel

- Every part of a farm animal is used

- Well over 50% of a seal carcass is indiscriminately wasted

- Link to and ask for support of an organization helping to end seal slaughter.

How strange is it that a usually clean nation like Canada supports allowing over 300,000 dead animal carcasses to pollute the water and environment each year?

Perhaps when people look at pictures of seals, they do not realize that these are not small animals. In fact, an adult harp seal can be over 5 1/2 feet long, and weight in at over 80 pounds. In short, when seal killers go out there with hakapiks and clubs, they are killing something that is roughly the size of an adult human being.

A newborn baby seal weighs about 20 pounds, while on that has just been weaned weighs about 35 pounds. In this case, you are talking about an animal that is likely to be 2 – 3 feet in length!

Therefore, one can infer that clubbing a harp seal to death is not so different from clubbing a human, or a large dog. In the case of a baby or juvenile seal, you are talking about the size of a collie, or even a sheltie. Imagine how you would feel if some person came along and clubbed your child or your pet dog to death, and then said such behavior was humane.

For adult seals, you are talking about the size of a German Shepherd, or other large bodied dog. On top of that, unlike a dog that can bark, jump, and bite, harp seals cannot run away, let alone defend themselves. Without a question, people that kill other people, or abuse dogs are not rewarded for their disgusting behavior. In fact, I distinctly remember Carla Faye Tucker of Texas was executed for using a pick axe to kill two humans. Without a question, violence against humans and dogs frequently results in criminal charges, imprisonment, and the imposition of heavy fines.

Now, let us turn to the issue of environmental pollution that is caused by harp seal killers. If you have ever had even a dead rodent in your home, you know the smell is horrendous. Now imagine over 300,000 simultaneously rotting corpses of adult human sized animals in standing water. Without a question, in the water is EXACTLY where the carcasses wind up once the ice melts. In addition, seal killers tossing carcasses overboard has been documented.

As quoted:
She was quickly sliced open and skinned, her carcass cut out and thrown over the side of the boat.

From there, ocean currents take those carcasses, plus their diseases all over the Atlantic ocean. And then we wonder why algae blooms and all kinds of ocean dead zones come up at certain times of the year. Perhaps we should start looking for the bones and other evidence of seal corpses resulting from the environmentally destructive actions of seal killers.

Without a question, seal killing is a serious threat to the world oceans. The pollution caused by hundreds of thousands of rotting corpses creates disease, and who knows how much damage to habitats thousands of miles away from the ice floes.

One would hope the European Union bans seal products. One would also hope that UN scientists investigate the environmental impact of over 300,000 seal corpses on the oceans and marine habitats of the world. One would also hope that these findings result in penalties and fines being imposed on the governments of Canada and Newfoundland for any and all damage they have caused in their determination to go on killing seals.

Today, the Humane Society of the United States is working hard to educate and promote a ban on seal products. Although I am not associated or affiliated with the Humane Society, I encourage readers to visit their website, and leave off a donation.

Sapphire Sunhorse

POST PARAGRAPH OUTLINE:

- Fact that seal hunting does not result in using the entire carcass
- Number of Seals killed each year
- Approximate size of seals
- Animals of similar size that we can all relate to (ex dogs).
- Seals are defenseless and cannot escape
- Impact of ocean pollution created by rotting carcasses
- Call for a ban on seal products, as well as stiff fines for hunting and pollution
- support an activist group such as the Humane Society, that is working to end seal hunting

Well – unfortunately, I cannot watch the video. You see, my computer is over 10 years old, the sound card on it died four months ago, and the modem is hanging on by a thread. Nevertheless, I don’t have to kill the planet, burn fossil fuel, or slaughter helpless baby animals in order to make a living with this same tired old computer. Keeping this old clunker up and running is a matter of choice, because I do not want to see it cluttering up a landfill until it is well beyond any kind of use and repair.

At any rate, I find it amazing that this poor helpless chap, Wayne Dickson has enough money for a computer upon which he can make and edit videos, as well as the talent for doing so. Yet – he feels he cannot get a job doing anything other than murder baby seals. In case Wayne Dickson doesn’t know it – he probably has enough knowledge, computing power, and resources right in his own home with which to make a good living helping other entrepereneurs. Clearly, he does not need to kill seals in order to take care of his family.

Now, I wish to address this business of requesting that the European Union have mercy. Mercy is, by nature, a spiritual grace, and therefore, belongs in a conversation that also includes spiritual practices.

Yes – I absolutely believe the European Union should show mercy. In order to determine who should recieve that mercy, though, perhaps we must ask a few pointed questions, and observe some spiritual traditions that are found all over the world. We must let the facts that have been recorded on video, as well as the acts and policies of the Canadian government to supress such evidence speak in terms of who truly deserves mercy in this case.

As an added point, in many cultures and belief systems, there is a concept of “what goes around comes around”. So I ask the following – there are no trick questions, and even I can answer these questions and arrive at a reasonable decision:

How many seal killers showed humanly recognizable mercy to the animals they were killing?

Answer: None. As evidenced by the videos and pictures shown year in and year out, plus the fact that hundreds of thousands of seal skin pelts, penises, and who knows what else make their way into Europe every year. Pictures can be deceiving, but numbers of pelts don’t lie, and you can’t make them lie to suit your own definition of who does and who does not deserve mercy. Mercy deserved by the seal killers: NONE.

Did Wayne Dickson or any of his fellow seal hunters feel remorse as those baby seals looked up into their eyes?
Answer: NO. As evidenced by recent letters sent to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society detailing what great fun it is to kill baby seals.

And I quote specifically (note foul language has been removed for the sake of morality:

There is no greater pleasure than clubbing a baby seal and feeling that skull collapsing and watching them trying to crawl away and then smacking the little s***s again. It ideally should be accomplished in one blow but sometimes it takes two or even three!! Hey all the little b******s do is eat fish and defecate…

Mercy accrued to seal killers on this question: NONE.

Do these seal hunters and their supporters feel even slightly concerned that seal families are grieving the loss of their next generation while these seal killers enjoy their own families?

Answer: NO. As evidenced by the fact they cannot accept that the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of wild baby animals is a horrible act and extremely disturbing to other humans on this planet; perhaps even as disturbing as the death of four seal killers. Mercy that should be shown to seal killers: NONE.

Did Wayne Dickson or his fellow seal hunters feel remorse as these animals gurgled up blood as they tried to scream while they were being skinned alive?

NO. As evidence: videos and image of the slaughter. In addition, judging by some of the extremely revealing news articles, whole seal killing towns basically light up with life and joy when seal hunting season comes along. Based on previously quoted letter received by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, it actually appears that some of these seal killers really and truly ENJOY killing seals. They like seeing them scream and suffer. They like it so much they can’t seem to get enough and want to do it year in and year out.

In fact, they like it so much, they have no regard for human life and wellness. They have beaten up unarmed humans on several occassions (some of whom are women, I might add). These people simply went onto the ice to document the fact these seal killings are not being carried out humanely. These family minded seal killers (I am hazarding a guess they are all male) like doing it so much, they appear to want to “phoque” Captain Watson, also a male.

So, there you have it. As I said earlier, many people’s spiritual beliefs include the idea that what goes around comes around. If there is any kind of justice in this world, I feel the Canadian sealers should be treated by the European Union exactly as they have treated the wellness and feelings of their fellow humans, as well as thousands upon thousands of once living, breathing, happy harp seals.

Sapphire Sunhorse

POST OUTLINE NOTES:

None. This is a personal response piece.

Many of us were horrified to learn the meaning of “collateral damage”. As you may be aware, collateral damage is a military term used to describe unarmed civilians that die as a result of surrounding military actions. Babies in bombed hospital buildings are perfect examples of collateral damage. As may be expected, when the violence ends, mothers and fathers will dig through the rubble to reach their rotting infants. Some will never recover emotionally or spiritually from the ruthless murder of their children.

It is important to realize that morally sound politicians, military and law enforcement professionals would prefer not to kill civilians. In a similar way, if the Canadian fishermen really stop and think about it, they would probably prefer not to kill seals. As reasonable beings, it seems they would prefer a new career, and would change the way they make money if they could gain access to something that will enable them to care for their families.

At the same time, we cannot ignore that the killing of baby Harp Seals goes on in the presence of a nation’s Coast Guard. This seems to indicate a military/military contractor action against helpless and unarmed animals. As we learned from the world body’s response to Saddam Hussein and other dictators, politicians are not in the least bit exempt from being called terrorists. We have also learned over the years that many, many world leaders advocate using financial means to stop terrorism.

Today, it seems clear that Canadian seal hunters are invading the birthing grounds of an animal species that nurse and care for their babies much as humans do. Researchers have clearly documented that adult harp seals will weep by their dead, and skinned babies – just like a human would. If these results and actions do not define the activities and consequences associated with the term collateral damage, I don’t know what does.

When Timothy McVeigh used manure to blow up a federal building, he said that a classroom full of children was “collateral damage”. Timothy McVeigh also justified himself by saying that his bombing in Oklahoma City was retaliation for the “collateral damage” that resulted from the invasion of the Branch Dividian complex in Waco Texas. Perhaps this is similar to the position that Harp Seals somehow depleted the fish populations the seal hunters once relied on for their income. Perhaps a look at the truth of the consequences of commercial overfishing would be much more honest, practical, and useful.

Needless to say, human children are NOT brought into this world to act as collateral damage. Needless to say, our brothers and sisters all over the world, including Canada, reacted firmly and decisively in condemning Timothy McVeigh. I feel we, as a world body have a moral duty to act against the ongoing slaughter of harp seals; and not just because of the ugliness of the act.

It can be said there is an immediate financial duty to ensure that these violatory acts are uprooted and expunged from the face and activities of humanity. Today, everyone can choose not to purchase Canadian seafood and seal products. Without a question, I would not want my children to be labeled “collateral damage”. I feel that Harp Seals share the same sentiment about their own children, and need our help getting the message through to the seal killers.

No nursery should be torn to shreds, and no parent of any species should be forced to endure what the Harp Seals go through at the hands of seal hunters. While I am not affiliated with Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, I also recommend visiting their site today and leaving off a donation.

Sapphire Sunhorse

Post Paragraph Outline

- Canada’s current policy to allow seal hunt
- Definition of collateral damage and example of it that relates to seal hunt
- Acknowledge the position of the Candian sealers
- Why you feel seal slaughter is an example of collateral damage
- Research on the responses of seal parents to dead offspring
- Real incident and human response to “collateral damage”. (ex. Vietnam war, etc).
- One fact about the collapse of cod industry in Canada
- Why we need to boycott
- Support an activist group such as Sea Shepherd, or any other seal defender that you identify with.

What is utterly amazing to me is that governments, and the public are acting so slowly on this issue. In 1999, BPA was banned as an inert element from pesticides. How bizarre is it that BPA is too dangerous to be used in a chemical that is made solely for the purpose of killing things?! And yet, we go on using it baby food bottles and other food storage containers.

As I was preparing to write this blog, I took a notion to wander around the web and see how the pro-BPA folks justify their egregious behavior. Needless to say, if I’m writing about my little adventure, I found yet another humdinger worthy of note. According to the “BishpenolA” website a person would have to eat 1300 pounds of food a day in order to ingest enough BPA to be hazardous.

Hmm… anyone remember Rachel Carson and what was learned about chemical toxicity? Basically, chemicals stay in your body for various amounts of time. I would not be surprised if BPA hangs around in the body long enough to reach a toxic level. Consider that we consume approximately 1500 pounds of food each year. Even if 10% accumulates each year, you would see prostate cancer in males, breast cancer in women, and well… early onset puberty in girls.

Clearly, we the people, again, need to take action to protect our own lives, because the government is not doing a proper job of regulating greedy businesses that harm us and our environment. If you are concerned about BPA in your life, or that of your children, simply stop using plastics to store and eat foods.
In addition, don’t buy anything that comes packaged in plastic, or buy as little as possible. You can use anything from glass cups to pyrex, and enjoy safer foods. And besides all that, glass doesn’t get as messy or smelly as plastic tubs do

As it stands now, people in third world countries need food, water, shelter, clothing, acccess to health care, and an eco-friendly way to obtain these items. Period. Actually, that is all any of us need. That is all that should be included in the definition of being lifted out of poverty. Anything else is greed, and egregious destruction of this planet. And on top of that, the “need” to have cellphones to “lift us out of poverty” is one of the major factors that will only hasten the death of the environment that we all depend on. The bottom line is this. A cellphone can’t fill your stomach like a bowl of rice can. It’s that complicated and that simple.

Without a question, Jan Chipcase has more than he needs to be considered “lifted out of poverty”. In fact, he is winging around the world enjoying the view of prostitute ads while millions of babies are starving to death. Those babies could easily be fed on the land now used to manufacture, pay for (as in consumer labor to pay for phone plus subscriptions), and generate the electricity going to power the cellphones he’s busy trying to sell.

I will take the ills associated with cellphones issue by issue, for the folks that are being brainwashed by the latest spin being put out there by cellphone companies desperate to keep their nasty grip on our throats and our wallets. All I can say is don’t be fooled by them. If you really want to help someone in a third world country get out of poverty, get rid of the cellphone and send money to them to buy and cultivate food with. Stop driving your car so that global weather patterns don’t generate such destructive monsoons, hurricanes, tornadoes, and forest fires.

Irresponsibilty – Now this one really got my eye last night. Another blogger that worked among the homeless noted that approximately half of the homeless people have cellphones. This blogger also hypothesizes that kind, generous, giving, and concerned families can call a homeless person to make sure that they are ok!

…

Well – if that was not a humdinger of a justification for cellphones, I don’t know what is. I mean, think about something. These “concerned” family members are calling a HOMELESS family member to make sure they haven’t been mugged, robbed, raped, or murdered yet. Jeepers golly, what these family members must think when they get the answering machine! Oh the worry that must go through their philanthropic minds!

If these hypothetical people truly care about their homeless family members – why not take them into their own homes, and help them get back on their feet? Why not show that concern in a way that is honest and beneficial, instead of just trying to sop their conscience? And then we wonder why something like 2/3 of the people in America are on some form of anti-anxiety/panic medicine.

At any rate. I simply cannot believe that ALL of these family members of homeless people can’t spare a couch, or clean out some crap from their home to make room for one poor family member. Whatever happened to family members taking care of each other? I mean – for pity sake! What these loving conversations with homeless family members must be like. Ya – I can just hear it now.

Dan (Homeless). “Hello Martha. Can you hold for a second, I see a great piece of hamburger a little out of my reach in the dumpster here.”

Martha “Oh Dan… I’m soooo sorry you are homeless. I mean… well… just let me know you are ok and I’ll let you go on foraging for your dinner. Just make sure there isn’t any green mold… you know it will make you sick.”

Cellphone operator cuts in. “I’m sorry Dan, but your minutes are running low. You have to pay your mothly bill or you won’t have a chance to talk to Martha or get messages for a job interview.”

Martha “Now Dan – you know you have to pay your cellphone bill. I sure hope you aren’t spending your panhandling money on coffee every morning.”

Sigh.

“It is just soooo hard being loving when you have a homeless person in your family. I’ll have to talk to my spiritual counselor and see what I can do about this.”

…

So goes the state of the world when cellphones are “lifting us out of poverty”. And just what makes anyone think that an interviewer is going to hire a homeless person that hasn’t taken a bath in weeks, and probably doesn’t even have decent clothing to wear? Ah yes – I forgot – they have a cell phone…

Uh huh…

I’ll spare you the dialogue on that one. I’m sure you can imagine it for yourselves.

Cellphones contribute to poverty. Just think about how much it costs every month to own a cellphone. You can use the money for other things, like paying your credit cards, your mortgage payment, or your car loan. On top of that, you have no privacy when you have a cellphone. You live like a hampster on a treadmill, always waiting for the next call, or worse yet, having to call someone else. You could use all of that time to make money on things like running a paper recycling business.

CellPhones Contribute to Disease. Cellphones are made of plastics. That means all kinds of harmful, and some carcinogenic chemicals are used in the process of creating them. These chemicals find their way into drinking water and soil used for the cultivation of crops. On top of that, when cellphones go into landfills they wreak even more havoc. Just think about the folks in China being poisoned by coming into contact with corroded batteries, and who knows what else, as they try to salvage electrical components.

CellPhones Cause Injury and Death. Next time you are on the road, take a note of the drivers yapping on their cellphones. They drive through stop signs, red lights, and go the wrong way in lanes. These people aren’t using their phones to manage an emergency situation, they are wreaking death and destruction wherever they go! If you are lucky, they will just land in a guard rail on their own and not into your own car, or worse yet, a bus full of children.

Almost every day, there are studies coming out that reveal driving and using your cellphone has the same effect on your reflexes as drunk driving. On top of that, hands free headsets do not mitigate the problem at all. All things considered, if you really want to help a poor person in a third world country, there are much safer ways to do it other than using a cellphone.

Environmental Hardship. In a few words. Strip mining, oil drilling, pollution, and harmful chemicals. Our planet just can’t afford any more destruction so that people can run around yapping on a cellphone. Third world countries need to have a way to produce their own food and meet the basic needs. We all need to go back to basics, and get rid of the cellphones, plus the fantasy that propagating them will solve the miseries of the world.

Sapphire Sunhorse

Today, I am pleased to bring you the first of what will be many more posts on eco friendly and patriotic money making opportunities. In fact, I’ve been scouring the net for months now just looking for these opportunities, and even trying some of them out.

Believe it or not, the old magazines, newspapers, and scrap paper in your home or office are worth a small fortune. In fact, according to the Paper Stock Report, paper mills are paying over 200.00 per ton of paper. Not trees – paper. Chances are, you have tons of the stuff cluttering up your garage, your attic, and going out in the garbage on a weekly basis. Why not turn all that paper into cash?

If you think it is hard to get even one ton of paper, think again. A single ton of paper only takes up about 6 cubic yards of space. You can probably empty out one room of your home, or the attic and use it to store up your paper before you cash it in. YOu can even run this operation in your closet! While some people have been known to rent storage space for it, the fact is you have plenty of space already.

Now – chances are your local recycling facility will only pay you 50.00 or so per ton of paper. Nevertheless, there are dozens of places where you can get ahold of more paper to turn in. Statistically speaking, each employee generates 1.5 pounds of recyclable paper every day. On top of that, 50% of a business’s rubbish bill is usually incurred for hauling office paper. A whopping 77% of that paper can be recycled. When it comes right down to it, making a deal with local business owners to take on their paper is good for them, and good for you.

To get started in this business, all you need is a phone and the yellow pages. Next, make sure of the particulars of what your local recycling or waste treatment center will accept, and how much they will pay you. If they don’t pay, try another facility.

Once you know how much money you can make, call all the businesses in your area, and explain to them that you want to take on their recyclable paper for free. Even if they think you are nutty as a fruitcake, they will probably go along with your request. Why? It will save them some money. You may even want to let them drop the paper off at your home on a weekly basis.

If you really want to make more money, talk to your friends and neighbors. Ask them to give you their old newspapers and magazines. Arrange a day to pick these things up, so that you can create a manageable route around your area. Once these folks begin to enjoy lower prices on their trash bill (they won’t need such large containers), clean attics, and clean garages, they will be more than happy to see you each week. In fact, you may even want to let them know you will accept paper they collect from their family and friends!

If you are creatively inclined, or don’t have the intiative to collect tons of paper, there is another related business you can go into. With a few screens and access to water, you can make paper. This, in turn can be used to make everything from novelty items to specialty papers. Believe it or not, people love home made paper for scrap books, frames, and all sorts of things. All you will need to do is open up a webspace, or simply sell your creations on Ebay.

Over to the righthand side of this blog, there is a list of books that will help you get started. There is even a fine little book available to tell you how to make herbal papers. Now – if that doesn’t seem very useful, just consider the millions of dollars people spend each year on room and car air fresheners. The bottom line is you can grow some aromatic herbs on your windowsills, and then add them to your home made paper. From there, all you will need to do is cut the paper into interesting shapes and sell them in packs of a dozen or so.

Today, almost everyone can get into eco friendly and patriotic action with recycled paper. The benefits to the environment are easily as valuable as the financial gain you will obtain. Among other things, for each ton of paper that is recycled, 17 trees will not be murdered, 225 kw of electricity don’t need to be generated from rapist strip mining methods, and 6 cubic yards of landfill space will not be used. On top of that, recycling paper saves 60,000 gallons of water. Let me tell you – 60,000 gallons at approximately a dollar a gallon is an awful lot of principal spending, plus credit card debt! (please see previous post on The Other Hidden Cost of Cigarettes.)

Remember something. If the environment gets much worse, you will die, your children and grandchildren will die or never even have a chance to be born. If we keep murdering trees and using fossil fuel without getting really, really aggressive about limiting usage and recycling what we do use, we all die. While I am at it, I might add that suffocation, starvation, and dehydration are considered to be some of the most agonizing ways to die. There are no exceptions, there is no getting out of it because you are rich, poor, priviledged or handicapped.

The bottom line is you can change that ugly death scenario by taking action and making eco friendly and patriotic choices right now. Recycle some paper, and stop driving your car so much. If you have even 6 cubic feet of space in your home available, or that you can clear, you can start collecting or actually recycling paper for a profit.

With the summer coming along, you will have plenty of chances to find sources of paper, as well as flea markets and other places to sell anything you might decide to create. You can even keep your kids busy this summer sorting paper instead of wasting their time on useless, energy consuming, and expensive video games.

Sapphire Sunhorse

The task is actually very simple, and does not take very long. Simply put some water in a pot, cover it, and put it on the stove to cook. Yes… unfortunately you have to use electricity or gas to power the stove. Nevertheless, this is cheaper than the highway robbery and environmental damage associated with bottled water. And, aside from that, in the summer time, you can use a solar cooker to boil your water for free!

If you boil a little bit of extra water, you can even use it to make spaghetti. On top of that, if you boil water on the weekends, or on days off, you can do all of your other cooking at the same time. And, if you are fortunate enough to not need to commute to go to work, you will be able to use solar energy to do all of this in the summer months.

Without a question, this particular idea hit me like a ton of bricks. The other day I actually used some fossil fuel to go shopping. As if that was not insult enough to injury (wastes time plus money), I was actually out looking for items to do my own cooking with.

As I wandered around the store, people were relaying stories about being laid off, fired, or just plain unable to get a job. I could not help but think there has to be a better way. And, like any other shopper, the items just kept on going in my cart. Eh well… even I fall into the dirty old habit now and then.

Then, I got to the checkout. As my bill approached 80.00, I started thinking something must be wrong. As soon as it went over 80.00 I started doing a hasty check of my coupons and discount cards. The bill was not going down sufficiently. All of a sudden, I found myself wondering just what on Earth I was doing spending so much money!

As you can imagine, I was not going to simply grin as the automatic checkout machine took all my money. No – not at all. I promptly went up to the clerk and explained to him that I needed to cancel the order, because the prices were too high. He thought I was plum daft, but honored my request.

From there, I started the task of figuring out which items to keep, and which ones to reject. Like every other shopper, I had several gallons of water in my cart. Before I knew it, I hit my pre-set limit of 60.00. The water, and several other items were still at the bottom of my cart. As I turned the matter over in my mind, it occurred to me that .89 cents for a gallon of water is astronomical.

Years ago, I drank water right out of the tap! Come to think of it, years ago, I don’t remember all and sundry with gallons of water in their shopping carts. Clearly, this bottled water thing is some kind of expensive craze that has insinuated its way into our lives and pocket books.

While I was driving home, I spent some more time thinking about this whole bottled water issue. We spend millions of dollars each year pumping chemicals into water to make sure it is clean. Then, we turn around and don’t use it for the purpose it is intended. On top of that, we then go and spend almost a dollar a gallon for water that is more dangerous than what we have available in our own homes.

There are some studies out there that actually discuss this very thing. Even the WHO has gotten into the act with this. Not only are we not getting the clean water that we are paying for, the water arrives in plastic jugs! These jugs go to landfills, and take all kinds of resources to produce. In fact, some of them may even have chemicals in them that cause cancer.

As crazy as it sounds, this is precisely what is going on in the world today. If you do not trust the quality of the water in your home, simply boil it. Chances are it will be safer and cleaner than the water you buy in the stores. On top of that, you will be spending less money and doing less damage to the environment.

Sapphire Sunhorse

http://www.thestar.com/article/300509

Please also see this link for further information.

Of course, the response from the industrials is predictable. They tell us pthalates are perfectly safe. These are the same ones, quite coincidentally, that are making a profit while your credit card debt continues to skyrocket. One must wonder if they use the same kind of “scientific” reasoning as the folks that said pesticides like heptachlor and dDT caused no harm to humans or the environment.

This link expresses very nicely just what I mean. Notice that “good science” and “good governing” is equated with what is good for industry. Only later on is lip service paid to the idea that we have a right to safe products that don’t harm our children and the environment.

http://www.phthalates.org/

As an aside, one must wonder how silly we consumers really are. After all – according to the industrialists, their profit margin must take precedence over our well being and that of our children. That said, mad cow logic begs two questions. What will they do with all their precious money when none of us are left to buy their garbage? Do they even realize that they may die in far more excruciating agony than what they are willing to visit upon us and this planet?

Unfortunately, while these… how shall we say naive “scientific” profiteers are assuring us their products are safe, we the people really and truly are being harmed. It is not just our wallets they are causing damage to, it is ourselves and our posterity. While I don’t know or understand all the details, I did take a gander at wikipedia and a few other places. (Don’t worry – they are all free to look at!)

In particular, I wanted to note that the wikipedia article on pthalates mentions that pthalates affect hormones. Among other things, cancers that are promoted by the presence of estrogen and other androgens are skyrocketing. While I don’t know if there is a link to pthalates, there may well be a much more serious problem than the soap making industry is willing to admit. In particular, some scientists already concede that pthalates in the presences of certain pesticides can cause hormonal issues. Unfortunately, almost every person in America has a level of pesticide in their body from the foods they eat, etc.

This link is also of interest, because it states that 50 years of pthalate use has not cause problems. I must beg to differ. Consider that cancer rates have skyrockted, right along with birth defects. While many other causes are citied, once again, changes in hormone receptors within the body are emerging as key factors. Therefore, while pthalates may not be obvious or primary, they can be a very, very crucial background factor that affect genes which regulate hormone receptors.

So, how do we cure these nefarious people, protect our wallets, and our posterity? The obvious answer is do not buy soap, or other products that contain pthalates. If you don’t want to be smelly, simply make your own soap and personal hygeine products. Here are a number of links to help you along.

Not only will the soap be cheaper, it will be much safer. As an additional note, if you are going to make soap for babies, please check with your pediatrician to make sure it is safe to use on them. There are some links out there that suggest lye can irritate the eyes. In addition, until you are proficient with mixing soap, you may want to use a more liquid form. Castille Soap is also said to be all natural, and safe for babies.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5911_make-homemade-soap.html?ref=fuel

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/makesoap.htm

http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-make-homemade-soap

This one tells you how to make soap with potash!!

http://www.colebrothers.com/soap/

http://www.catalogs.com/info/crafts/how-to-make-soap.html

These links discuss how to make Castille Soap and Shea Butter Soap; both of which are safe for babies.

The bottom line is fairly simple. Soap costs money, which is paid to people that wnat to make a profit. Unfortunately, under such circumstances, products get sold irregardless of whether they are safe or not. While we may not know the whole truth about pthalates, one thing is for certain. Before the industrial revolution and all these chemicals, we had a lot less financial and genetic problems. One of the best things you can do for your wallet and your family is to make your own soap

Sapphire Sunhorse

Basically, there are two elements to the Dino Principle. First, if I don’t understand what it is, what it does, or how to use it, there is no point to my buying it. Second, if I can already do what I want with what I have, there is no point whatsoever to buying something new to do the exact same thing. (That said, I may take a notion to wander around and see if there is any freeware to experiment with.)

Consider this, the computer I’m typing this lovely blog on has a whopping 800 mhz CPU, and still running Windows ME. To this day, I can run image editing software along with a programming compiler, an internet browser, and word processing software. With the exception of the Windows OS and my compiler, almost all of my other software was for free. As an example, Pixia is a full capacity graphic editing package that does not cost one thin dime. Compare that to the price tag on similar Adobe, Microsoft, and Corel products.

The reason why I don’t have to upgrade is simple. I use the exact same software I’ve been using for years on end. I don’t need a brand new computer or Windows Vista to read my same old yahoo email, or type a letter to my public servants, let alone go through the bother of learning about these “upgrades” that are of no use whatsoever to me. Along with saving a bundle on new hardware, I am also saving thousands of dollars on software investments.

You can do the same. If you’ve already gone out there and bought Windows Vista, and a brand new computer, you really and truly are set for the next ten years. When it comes right down to it, as long as the people that sold you the computer didn’t overclock your CPU – that puppy will run ten years without a hitch, maybe more. During that time, you don’t need to buy new software or upgrades to do the same things you are doing right now. Unlike coupons and food, software doesn’t have an expiration date or go stale.

The dino principle is as environmentally friendly as it is cost effective. My advice, if you haven’t bought a new computer yet, just scratch it right off your list. Even if you are still running Windows ME, you can go on for years without needing an upgrade. Consider that every time you toss out a computer, it goes into a landfill. Even if you donate your old computer to some charity organization, chances are it is still going to a landfill as newer machines come in. Some computers also go to lanfills in China, where poverty stricken people are getting all kinds of toxic poisoning as they try to salvage electronic parts. And this isn’t getting into the cost to the environment every time more raw materials must be mined in order to make computer parts.

Sapphire Sunhorse

Back in the 1970′s, there were cars that got 40 + mpg. I should know, because I drove one for many years. Some of you might remember cars like the Pinto, the Rabbit, the Fiesta, and Volkswagon Bug (the cute little Herby kind). Today, the auto makers argue they “simply can’t bear” to sell us cars as unsafe as these. I mean after all – there are all those big nasty old suv’s and their drivers just itching to swat an ity bitty hatchback like a fly.

Well – tell you the truth – that is pure bunk. If you allow yourself enough room – you can drive just about anything, anytime, anywhere, and amongst any sized car. In my opinion, and based on personal experience, that “safety issue” is propagated in order to continue building cars that cost a lot more money. You see – the auto dealers know it takes more work to make one sale than it takes to keep a recurring customer hooked. Therefore, once they’ve succesfully hunted a customer to the ground, they want to get as much meat as possible in one sitting. That is kinda hard to do if the car you are selling is only worth $10,000, and what you really want is a $15,000 – $20,000 sale in order to show bigger numbers with the banks.

In any event, this post is about the mad cow running around in Washington DC known as the CAFE standards. For years now, the oil industry and automobile industries have been successful in preventing laws being enacted that would force auto manufacturers to increase the miles per gallon for cars that they make. As gas continues its steady rise towards 4.00 per gallon, simply look at the numbers I presented yesterday to get some idea of the debt being imposed on American’s each time someone with credit cards buys one single gallon of gas.

To my thinking, we the people can no longer afford to sit by and sink any further into the terminal stages of bureaucratic mad cow disease as it continues to rob money from our wallets. My personal recommendations are fairly simple. First, if you are planning to buy a new car, don’t do it unless the car gets at least 85 miles to the gallon. If it doesn’t do that – buy something used, and as cheap as possible. Considering that new cars are only averaging 25 miles to the gallon – you don’t need all the expense of a new car to get the same poor mileage. And besides that, second hand cars are cheaper to insure.

Together with this, start thinking about what you use your car for, how often, and how far you travel. In the spring, I will be starting a column to the right with a weekly gas reduction training program, as well as introducing software to help you stay with the program. It takes one day at a time, one goal at a time. While it may take 2 – 3 years become 95% independant of your fossil fuel usage, it is a little like dieting. You get the opportunity to see the benefits all along the way. And, when it comes right down to it – if I can do it, anyone can.

Even though Washington may be hopelessly mired in mad cow economics and protecting what they feel are “sacred cow” current wasteful CAFE standards, we the people can certainly take control of our lives and rid ourselves of the suffocating presence of greenhouse gases in the bargain. And, perhaps even better, we don’t even need to buy a new car in order to achieve it.

Sapphire Sunhorse

That said, there is another very financial and personal cost that smokers don’t consider. Every smoker that smokes one pack of cigarettes a day, and uses credit cards is paying an average of $7300.00 for one year’s worth of cigarettes.

That’s right – irregardless of whether or not you use a credit card, the money you spend on cigarettes could have been used to pay for something else that you used your credit card for. In order to pay for the cigarettes, it takes 93 months to pay off one $4.54 purchase. At 14% interest, and minimum monthly payment of 4%, that translates to $20.00 for one single pack of cigarettes. Multiplied by 365 days in a year, your habit costs you $7300.00.

In order to calcuate your actual cost do the following:

1. Determine your average cost per pack of cigarettes

2. Multiply by the percentage of payment you make each month on your credit cards. (As an example, 4% = .04. For a shortcut, just move the decimal two places to the left).

3. Subtract minimum payment from your remaining principle. Repeat step 2 until you have the intial cost of the cigarettes paid off.

4. Take each derived principle and multiply by your monthly interest rate. As an example, 14% would be .14.

5. Add each derived principle by the monthly accured interest rate.

6. Add up this column to determine how much you are actually paying for cigarettes.

7. For an example at 14% interest, please click on the image below this post.

Now, one final point. I want to make a brief observation about the manipulation in the change from a 2% to 4% minimum monthly payment. At 2%, your credit card company would have collected on that one pack of cigarettes for 186 months instead of only 93. Is it not strange that as soon as this almost became mandated, many credit card users found their interest rates soaring? Hmm… One must wonder if the credit card companies simply exploited a mathematical loophole, much as Japan did when it came to the moratorium on commercial whaling. (For those that are not aware, instead of abiding by the spirit of the law, Japan started lethal “scientific whaling” in order to go on with practices harmful to the environment.)

When it comes to your lenders, instead of your debt costing less, you are paying almost as much, and having to do it faster. Now folks – if you smoke and feel like you’ve been mathematically experimented on, that’s a good sign. All those numbers directly effect your pocketbook, as well as your life for years to come. Today, you can take control of your wallet and your credit. Just stop smoking and know that for every pack of cigarettes you don’t purchase, you are eight years ahead in the financial rat race.

Sapphire Sunhorse

Among other things, we have the power to grow foods at home, and in our neighborhoods via hydrophonics. I hope to be unveiling some plans related to this later in the spring. As an example, tomato farms, and tomato processing can be completely eliminated if people grow enough at home. On average, each person consumes 80 pounds of tomatoes per year. That amounts to about 7 pounds per month. By planting two plants per person each month, you will have more than enough tomatos. In addition, herbs are easily grown on any windowsill. For the moment, however, the snow is still flying, and all those cheap seed packets aren’t out yet. Therefore, today I wish to discuss coupons, and then take a look at some incentives to start clipping and saving as soon as possible.

Did you know that you can purchase over $200.00 worth of groceries for less than $30.00? Some of the links on About.com’s Frugal Living website show you how.

If the money you can save isn’t enough to encourage you to clip coupons, consider just how horribly wasteful the food production industry is. According to some sources, something like 40% of all the animals raised specifically for this purpose die in transit to the slaughter house. Translation – before we even sit down to dinner, 40% of what is available to us is lost due to shoddy management. To my thinking, that also means the price of meat is well over 50% higher than what it should be. This also leads me to conclude that millions of people that have starved, and are starving to death could easily have been fed.

This doesn’t even begin to assess other financial costs. Among other things, food stamps and school lunch programs cost more to implement because the price of the food is 50% higher than it should be. Not only does this deprive needy people of food they would otherwise have, it robs taxpayers. And then, there is the question of how much debt has been racked up on credit cards and other types of loans in order to pay for food. When it comes right down to it, the cost of wasted food is every bit as dangerous to the economy and the planet as global warming.

At any rate, once again, I digress. The results are absolutely mind boggling no matter which way I look at this. Farm animals are stuffed to the gills with food, chemicals, and hormones in order to make them grow as quickly as possible. In 40% of the animals, not only is this a horrible torture for their short lifespan, it is a whole lot of money wasted.

Some people feel that the answer to cutting the meat industry down to size means becoming a vegetarian. Unfortunately, I don’t necessarily believe that is a perefct answer, and for several reasons. Among other things, reduced red blood cell count,weight gain caused by protein malnourishment (humans need a certain amount of animal protein), and the tendency to get depressed/anxious are all very real and serious health conditions. All of them can happen in a vegetarian diet.

That said, I do think spending as little money on food as possible is highly recommended, and taking meat consumption down to one or two pieces of lean beef a week is a good way to do it. Personally, I recommend beef because it has the most concentrated and wide range of animal protein ounce for ounce. Also, consider that killing one cow feeds many people, while one fish or one chicken feeds far fewer.

I also don’t think that vegetarian diets are a way to end all of the problems in the food production industry. When it comes to farms and farm subsidies, please also realize that farmers are encouraged to dump things like milk and fruit, and vegetable foods rather than allow them onto the market. On the other hand, coupon clipping and spending less certainly will help reduce the amount of money you put into harmful and wasteful industries. This, in turn, will encourage them to either drop their prices or reduce their impact on the environment.

Again, while we may not think about the enforced manipulation of demand via supply reduction, it plays a huge role on the well being of our pocketbooks, and thereby, on the well being of this planet. It is important to remember this. In order to drive up food prices, foods organisms are either handled wrecklessly, or routinely destroyed. This, in turn, translates to increased reliance on destruction of rain forest lands to create yet more farms. At the same time, millions of people are starving to death each year, while the food that would give them hope and life is destroyed for the sake of a profit margin.

Unfortunately, for the moment, food is an area where we can only seek to reduce current expenditures via coupons and sales monitoring. That said, starting this spring, and from there forward, we can learn to grow certain foods at home in sufficient quantity.

Sapphire Sunhorse

In comparing the two concepts, I couldn’t help but think of the whale hunt Japan is embarking on this year. Despite their claims that they want to save whales from extinction by killing more and more of them; it is my opinion they intend just the opposite. Ie. I feel they want to drive whales into extinction so that they don’t interfere with the fish migrating into the already overfished waters around Japan.

At any rate, I digress. My goal is to illustrate my opinion that Japan’s argument that more whales must be killed in order to prevent their extinction is very similar to Bush’s logic when it comes to global warming. Ie. Bush and his administration appear to be saying the following: in order to stop global warming, we need to keep on using fossil fuels and keep on releasing large amounts of fumes until the big corporations decide to change their methods of production. And of course, we all know how ineffective Bush and his administration are when it comes to formulating means of getting out of situations they blundered into; like Iraq.

Consider the very short amount of time before the ruanway greenhouse effect/free fire zone takes hold in a very lethal way. Let me be clear about something – I don’t think big business or government changes can get this done fast enough, and it isn’t just the time it takes to plan and make laws. It has to do with a lack of technology in a number of areas.

The Bali Summit is a great thing. Personally, I’m glad to see so many nations getting together to try and get something done. But, folks – the bottom line couldn’t be clearer. We the people account for 2/3 of every single dollar spent in America, and therefore, well over 50% of all greenhouse gas emissions. These numbers are probably very similar all over the world. That isn’t counting what I would estimate as another 25 – 40% being spent by manufacturers to sell us all kinds of things we really don’t need. As I have said it before, and will say it many times more, it isn’t up to just big business and governments to stop global warming.

It is up to each individual citizen to become a Planetary Patriot, and act to reduce their fossil fuel footprint via alterations of money making and spending habits. This is well within the means of every person that utilizes money. And when it comes right down to it – what massive governments and big corporations can’t achieve, We The People most certainly can.

Sapphire Sunhorse

Years ago, when you got in your car alone – it became your sanctuary, your haven away from the family, the boss, the dog, and everyone else. It was just you, your car, the road, and rockin’ out to heavy metal. Likewise, when you went to the store, you could rock out in peace, just wandering around the aisles and thinking about whatever came to mind. Today, even if you are in the bathroom, all and sundry have a direct number to reach you at!

In light of what we give up when we have a cell phone glued to our ears, one must wonder what drives this impulse with cell phone mania. The sales folks tell us about convenience and emergency use. But seriously, since when is discussing next week’s hair appointment with your disapproving hubby more important than seeing that red light straight ahead? And furthermore, why stretch your ears out with all that weight, plus the stress?

Now – please understand something. I see nothing wrong with having a cell phone for emergency purposes. In fact, I have had one for many years in case my favorite pet lemon breaks down and needs yet another ride on a flat bed truck (in case you are wondering why I have the VIN number memorized).

Consider something, you are PAYING MONEY, a “monthly minimum fee” in order to get “free minutes”. The bottom line is this. You don’t need those “free minutes”, because you didn’t need them before you decided to glue a cell phone to your ear. All you are really doing is spending more money than you need to, and upping your stress levels. In the bargain, your cell phone plus the transmission system require energy to operate. So, while you are spatting with your spouse, children, or boss, someone, somewhere is strip mining coal out of this poor earth in order to keep your conversation going. On top of that, when you ditch your current cell phone in order to be politically correct and “in” with the next new cell phone design fad, you will be adding to the rubbish currently overflowing the landfills, the oceans, and China.

Me? My secret? Simple. I completely avoid the temptation of “free weekend minutes”, camera phone, etc etc ad nauseum by having prepaid phone service. I spend under $100.00 a year for my Trac Fone. Not only is the phone itself cheap (I got it on clearance), I have more minutes rolled over than I know what to do with.

I have the best of all possible worlds – a cell phone for travel emergency purposes, and my privacy firmly intact. My advice for today – toss out the cell phone contract you have now, and get yourself a prepaid service. Then, just sit back and savor the blessed silence and knowledge that the rest of the world can’t chew your ears off 24/7.

Sapphire Sunhorse

As an example, let’s consider the fact that indigenous people all over the world have believed “Earth Mother” or “Gaia” is alive just like you and me. Let’s also consider that human thoughts create reality, thus this planet has some kind of “consciousness” that is capable of mirroring back everything that we do. Now, ask youself how you would feel if someone gouged holes in your flesh in order to make other items, or ruthlessly drilled in order to extract your blood. Painful, no?

So, what really happens when you spend money on the kinds of merchandise that are “for entertainment”, or not necessary to helping you achieve freedom from debt, etc? Each one of those products is made for a profit, and in a way that causes “pain” to this sentient planet. Thus, perhaps it should come as no surprise that many people are experiencing financial pain, stress, and other disorders.

On top of that, if you use credit cards or loans to pay for your purchases, you are accruing debt. And, when you go to pay your bill, you will actually be sending money out to pay a debt. The result, if you don’t get out of debt and stay that way, you will keep attracting more of it with every interest payment you make!

On other hand, if you curb your spending, you will stop attracting things that are essentially “junk”, or have no potential value in assisting you to create a more stable future for yourself and your family. In the absence of all these “things”, like TV’s, radios, cell phones, designer clothes, and new cars, you will have the time, space, and energy to attract things and information that will help you make money in a way that does far less harm to the planet.

Sapphire Sunhorse

Unfortunately, this silly mud ball we live on (better known as Earth), has neither flag to wave nor a war to wage. And, no matter how much the Velikofskian and John White followers out there may belive in Pole Shift – Ma Earth just don’t and ain’t gonna do the warpath bee bop with Saturn. So, now it must be asked, precisely how do we all go about enacting “Planetary Patriotism”?

To begin with – it is a little different from what you would do to support a nation. Along with not having a flag, Earth also does not have its own tax collector. In fact, I could well argue that spending money is the worst thing you can do for the planet. As an example, every time you buy an item in a store, it must be manufactured from materials that are either dug out of the planet, or grown on it. By the time the product is manufactured and shipped, not only has some part of the planet been irreversibly changed, it has also used up some fossil fuel in the construction and shipment.

So – if you want to follow the principle of Planetary Patriotism, here are a few guidelines:

1. Separate wants from needs. Examine your needs, and reduce them to absolute essentials for survival. Ie. you don’t need another new TV, cell phone, etc, and so on.

2. Use what you have, and when it wears out or breaks, replace it with something second hand or used.

3. If you really have to buy something new, select items that were made as close to where you live as possible. Not only will you be buying something that cost less fossil fuel to ship, you will be helping prevent money from falling into the hands of other nations that insist on building weapons and waging war. This in turn, will induce nations to stop wasting so much time on warfare, and start spending more time on cleaning up the mess we have all made.

Sapphire Sunhorse

Well, we all know money doesn’t grow on trees, nor does it just pop out of the sky. Even though our bill collectors may believe we know all there is to know about Rhonda Byrne’s “The Secret”, we really haven’t got a clue. That said, there is something decidedly interesting about the bill collector’s mindset that we can utilize in forming healthier spending habits. In fact, we can become so effective at utilizing the bill collector’s mindset that we need never worry about another bill collector for the rest of our lives.

It is called the Principle of Partnership. Basically, no matter how much we hate our bill collectors, they are our financial partners for the duration of the time that bills are outstanding. Please note – I said partners – not spouses. We are most certainly not obligated to have bill collecting partners hanging like millstones from our neck for the rest of our lives. In fact, once we are done with a bill collector, we need never do business with them again. But until then, their mindset can be of immense help to us. Basically – if they have decided to up and believe we have the money to pay them, we must only need go ahead and do the same thing. Simply put – have confidence in yourself and make it happen.

Now, the mindset of a bill collector can help us long after we are done paying our bills. Among other things, the mindset of a bill collector is based firmly in his/her own principles, irregardless of what is happening in your life, and elsewhere in the world. Therefore, we must do the same. As they forget about the salesman next door trying to do business with people like you, you must do the same when it comes to making more purchases.

Day in and day out we are bombarded with advetisements for products that we really don’t need. I mean – since when is a TV and designer clothes a necessity? Whatever happened to the real basics like healthy food, clothes that are clean and durable, and a house that is sound enough to live in? Whatever happened to having real friends that share more in common than having viewed the last episode of some “real life” TV show.

Herein lies the heart of using the mindset of a bill collector to your best advantage. Unless what you are going to purchase will advance you in some finanical way, or give you the very real basic necessities of life, don’t buy it.
Instead of buying more, and getting deeper into debt; simply buy less, or not at all! Every time a salesperson lands in your email, or your mailbox, or your TV screen, simply remember the mindset of a bill collector. Hold to your principle of gaining freedom from soaring interest rates, freedom from the crucifix of financial stress, and freedom from the ability of others to control your life, your liberty, and your lifestyle.

Sapphire Sunhorse

Many people are waiting for the politicians and large scale business people to take action on global warming and humanitarian atrocities. Unfortunately, by the time they are all done talking and “making plans”, we will more than likely have gassed ourselves to death (if we don’t run out of fossil fuels first), starved to death, or died by dehydration.

I feel there is another answer to all of these problems. When it comes right down to it, we already have all of the power generated by our work and money. And, in addition, that power is enough to create all of the things that we want for ourselves, our children, and our future generations.

Today, it is time to take control of our lives, and use our money and resources wisely. We know what needs to be done. It is time to stop sitting around and waiting for the governments and big businesses to fix the problems of this world. It is time to realize that we aren’t just what we eat, we are what we make and spend our money on. It is time to take action, to make changes, to live lives of self-autonomy and freedom.

This blog is an attempt to help people rip off the mask of death and apathetic suffocation. Over the next few weeks, I will be introducting a series of blogs and products to help you (and me) live more eco-friendly and patriotic lives. If you think it can’t be done – watch and wonder! I invite you to join me on the journey of a lifetime.

Sapphire Sunhorse