Mhhh.. no, I won't sign your petition...

... about the killing of baby seals. Oh, I'm a villain? Stay on. :)

I'm on Facebook recently (and it's a place I don't like much, I'm there only to stay in touch with FC blogfriends).

One thing about Facebook, you get bombarded of requests to support causes, sign petitions, that on top of many quizzes and games, pokes and superpokes.

For some reasons recently, I'm getting bombarded once again with causes and petitions against the killing of seal pups. One phrase that caught my attention, "about inhumane killing". This begs the question: What is humane killing?

Mhhhh...

True, you have seen plenty of videos... and yes, it is gruesome.

Here's a digression... that isn't one.

I'm what would be considered a "sport" fisherman, altough I royally hate the word "sport". (More on that later). If I were not such a clumsy guy with such a poor eye-hand coordination, I'd be a hunter too.

Though when I'm on the water, and fishing, while it is a wonderful opportunity to have quality time and enjoy myself, it is clear in my mind that what I will catch today... will be my meal tomorrow.

In other words, I'm doing my role, the way nature intended to, taking my place in the food chain. The life of a living thing has to be taken away, so I'll be able to stay alive.

Have you cleaned a fish? Have you done fillets? It is gruesome, and even though I'm used to that since I'm a little kid, you better be strong on your feet to do that.

Yet, this is part of the whole process of taking my place in the food chain and there's nothing to be ashamed of.

What I find really gruesome and definitively obscene are those weekend TV shows about "sport fishing". A bunch of guys having a devil of fun catching fishes...and releasing them, and these guys hoping for that big trophy fish. I've seen in person plenty of those guys too. Urrrgh!

Making fun from the suffering of a living creature, I find that obscene. If you have ever fished, you know the hook can inflict severe damages. Those fishes that go belly up because they didn't make it, that's gruesome (oh they won't show up to the camera, "thankfully").

Mhhhh....

But what about the grocery store?

It seems this society is so scr*wed up that with these stores, we have collectively forgotten where all the food comes from?

For instance, it is quite gruesome at a slaughterhouse.

The milk that you drink, you think that cows are all smiling and enjoying a quality life grazing in the open, enjoying the scenery and watching passing trains, as some TV ads want you to believe? Mhhh, not really.

Or that "organic food" calms down your concerns, while organic is just the name. It is mass produced in a non very healthy way just like their non-organic counterparts; the whole process is also quite gruesome and to add insult to injury, still with lots of contaminants coming from the soil and polluted rain.

To a point that depending on where they come from, some organic foods are more toxic than their non-organic counterparts? Ooch...

Of course, organic or not, multinational commercial interests drive all this. While I have some (minor) issues with the movie, by all means see "Food Inc" (official web site, IMDB database), if you still have some doubts. It's an eye opener.

Yet, the grocery store is the magical place which we get fed... and the fact we don't know little nor anything about the true origin of all that food seems to have isolated us from nature.

(And I don't want to shatter your heart about the huge amount of food getting spoiled, and also food that must get thrown out, even if they're still edible. Only a tiny fraction of that food goes to food banks. The rest is just thrown out).

To me, I find that quite disturbing. Far more disturbing than... well, you know what.

Humans have inflicted so much damages to nature, and yet he can also help to alleviate the damages he's been doing.

Fishing stocks along the east coast have collapsed. From overfishing and also from pollution. Our fault on all counts.

Scientists will tell you that the population of seals have grown exponently, from 1,8 millions to 5,6 millions in 30 years (link), and we're heading for a disaster if the seal population isn't brought down. By being a predator to them, we can help. Guess how...

Mhhhh....

Back to my original thoughts...

For many centuries, humans have been harvesting seals. For their meat, for clothing, for our own survival. We were taking the part we deserve on that food chain.

Gruesome? Yes. The cycle of life is that too, you know...

I'm also thinking that coats made of animal fur are far more ecological than similar clothes mass made from synthetic fibers, fibers which are often derivative of petroleum byproducts...

Not to mention the sheer amount of energy waste to make those clothes from synthetic fibers, and doing so in countries which cheap labour is prevalent and human rights NOT so prevalent.

Mhhhh...

All things considered, no, I won't sign your petition.

Thanks nonetheless.

-E

Garage sale !

With the relocation of my parents to a "ressource intermédiaire" (nursing home), and only this >little< can get in their rooms, so I'm stuck with a couple of stuffs from their former apartment that I have to get rid.

I'm skeptical that my blog has such a huge audience (ooooh, sweet dreams!), but who knows? You might even want to travel to Montréal just to see me!

(Though if you help me clean my parents' former apartment, I'd appreciate! How's about free food at a good restaurant ? I might even wear my kilt just for you! :) )

So here's the stuff, all once big ticket items that I *must* get rid:

-1 20" TV Sony Trinitron, with 1 video input. Great picture, little used. Compact, take little room. Ideal for dorms, bedrooms, etc. $50

-1 24" TV Sony WEGA, year 2004. Great picture, superb sound. 1 video input and 1 video/s-video input. $300

-2 electric "hospital" beds, one single, the other double. Both have remotes. These beds can raise or lower themselves, or just the head or the foot. $200 for both.

I still have some tables, chairs, fancy cutlery, etc. All yours if you make good use of them. :)

Voilà!

This is a time-limited offer. Operator (moi!) is standing by for your call! ;)

Cheers,

-J

Via Rail: I miss an opportunity to travel, argh...

Last week, while I was still in the US, I was watching their national newscast.

I was floored to see that Canada made their headlines!

Via Rail on strike. Sigh... Oh my, I can imagine the chaos at La Gare Centrale in Montréal and Union Station in Toronto.

While the strike lasted just a couple of days (thankfully!), now that I'm back in Montréal, I finished reading my mail, and I saw that a friend of mine has sent me one of their blurb.

VIA Rail ran a promo, to excuse themselves for the "inconveniences"...

60% off to any destinations in the Québec-Windsor corridor (including Ottawa).

Ottawa, just $20 away from Montréal, ditto for Québec City. Even far away Toronto at just $40 away from Montréal. For a weekend escape, that's ideal !

So why I'm still in Montréal, this weekend?

Their promo ended... yesterday.

Sigh...

I guess they call that... luck. :)

Paying *personally* the price for standing for human rights?

I'm back in Montréal, after a lovely week in Massachusetts, on the beaches of Cape Cod, and then going further north in Lowell, for their folk festival and along the way, meeting wonderful FastCupid bloggers!

Basking in such an environment,

where everything is nice and cozy,
where at the beach, we wear little, if any

There is even a "clothing optional" beach which I went last year (and on FastCupid, it inspired me to write this blog entry), and I might have gone this year too, but with just a week of vacations, I ran out of time

And in Lowell,
so many cultures mixing in,
peacefully and for the joy of all of us,

It is difficult to NOT forget that we live a very shelthered part of the world.

Elsewhere, things aren't so rosy...

And when you have God on your side,
excesses can be so easily justified,
even if they are insult to everyone's intelligence.

Who would dare to say that God got it wrong,
Or the Holy Writings aren't decoded the way they should?

Mhhh...

Then you are reminded that human rights shouldn't be said too lightly.

The story about Loudna Hussein broke in many French-speaking papers here, and for some reasons was largely ignored by their English counterparts.

If you can read French, try this: L'indécence du pantalon féminin
(Although I found a brief article in the Huffpost: Ludna Hussein pants adjourns until Tuesday)

The story is taking place in Sudan, an islamic country. The police raided a cafe in Karthoum and arrested 13 women, one of them being a UN worker, Ludna Hussein. Their crime? Indecency. Wearing western clothes. In the case of Ludna, she had the heejab on, but otherwise she was wearing ordinary (western) clothes.

We're light-years away from the clothing optional beach of Cape Cod.

The sentence? Being flogged, up to 50 times according to some newspapers. That's the reason for the trial and Loudna is waiting for her sentence.

As a UN worker, she might have immunity, and she said that she wouldn't hesitate to resign, so the trial would go to through.

I get the hunch there might be some political motivations, or there are other things that aren't said. Nonetheless...

You would stand for human rights... even if it means you pay personally a physical price?

I admire her.

Altough my feeling is that nothing will change. Sudan isn't the most democratic country, and when you have the power of religion...

Though as a male, the situation couldn't ever apply to me...

However, I'm thinking that should I have been in a situation which my physical integrity is compromised *AND* I could make use of immunity to bail out, I _think_ that I'd take the immunity waiver and get the [bleep!] out of this situation as fast as I could...

But I am also thinking with my Western world minset too.

Mhhhh....

I'm crossing my fingers...