Yesterday I listened to a discussion about “halal” and “kosher” meat. One of the persons in the discussion was a big mouth who clearly had not sorted out the facts.
First of all, over here in The Netherlands animals only may be slaughtered by trained people… no matter of halal or kosher guidelines are followed. And it only may be done at places that are authorized for this. Punishments are severe for those that act against the laws on this matter.
A well trained and experienced halal/kosher butcher kills the animal in one move and in such a way that the animal is instantly dead. All the blood looks very unpleasant, but it is something the animals itself is not aware of any more.
The period before the slaughter the animal is treated very well. This is very important in my opinion so the last moment comes sudden and with less stress.
This compared to our “normal” slaughter-houses is a complete story. The transport of the animals is extreme stressful and very often things go really wrong during these transports (broken legs and worse). Our slaughterhouses are factories were animals are slaughtered is as high as possible speed against as less possible costs. Often… VERY often things go wrong. Animals are not dead when they are processed. The moments before they are slaughtered are extreme stressful. Animals that are wounded after transport are treated very bad.
Having said all this: No, I am not specially in favour for Halal and Kosher slaughtering of animals. But people should not tell nonsense and act like our “normal” way of slaughtering animals is so good (while it is not).
If you love somebody, set them free.
If they return, they were always yours.
If they don’t, they never were!
At times it can happen when you see or read a saying or quotation that really strikes you and of which you feel it is really true. So for me with the saying above.
I believe that the relation that I have with Marion is so successful because we give each other freedom and space to move.
We don’t react disappointed when one of us wants to do something alone or with friends. When for instance Marion and Sanne want to go shopping alone, that is all fine with me. Or that they want to go together on a holiday (as last year to Sweden) that is okay.
We don’t push appointments up to each other. When one of us wants to go somewhere, we only check if we don’t have things planned together. We certainly not go asking if the other would mind if you want to go somewhere. Also we don’t expect the other to come along with all. If other wants to come along, then it good. No pressure on each other.
We respect each others interests and hobbies. We give each other time and room for those hobbies. As example, Marion loves to go shopping, which is not really my thing. On the other hand, I love to go to concerts and that is something that Marion doesn’t really like (she dislikes to stand in a crowd for hours).
People should stop to enforce own opinions, interests and things to do on others. Especially not in a relation. It will kill the relation in my opinion…. Hence the many divorces these days!
Freedom and space to move…. it makes the relation Marion and I have a better one.
(Edited a bit to make things more clear and to remove some bad grammar)
Since “hackers” (and only the use of the word “hackers” here makes me vomit) made emails public that according them show that all the CO2 problems and global warming are a hoax, a certain group of people shout it from all the roofs all around the world…
But wait a moment, what is really going on…. The next movie may be very enlightening and explaining, but then again that is not what the conspirators want to hear. Watch and listen carefully….
The Buma-Stemra is an organization that protects the right of artists and their music… at least they say so. Normally they want people to pay a little when using the music of the artists who are connected to them. Basically that is not a wrong idea…..
But…
Now they have come with something that is utterly stupid. They want people pay for it when they embed a YouTube-movie that contains protected material of their member. Why is this dumb? Simple, normally it the provider of the content that gets charged (YouTube in this case) and it is to this provider to remove the material from their servers when they don’t want this.
Buma-Stemra wants to charge for the linking to the material. If this goes through, then we better close down the Internet, because “linking to” is one of the basic things that the Internet gives its right to exist.
So if a child embeds a YouTube-movie of their favorite artist on their weblog, their parents may be face with a bill of close to € 300 per year. This is completely out of range.
Buma-Stemra wants to use webcrawlers to find this content on website and alike. I hope that major blog communities (as Word Press and Blogger) adept their software to deny this kind of webcrawlers access to the content of a site (it can be done, many forums do this with the crawler of Google and alike).
Just another company that tries to get control over the Internet and make money from it….
Update:
As I already thought that there be soon a plugin for Word Press to stop this webcrawler from the Buma-Stemra and I was right. It is already available. Right now simple and very straight forward, but as the author already announced it will be developed a lot further then this.
I have this plugin already installed. Even when I have no music-movies from YouTube on my weblog. Such organizations as the Buma-Stemra are no longer welcome on my weblog.
Today I saw a movie as a reaction on the proposal of Geert Wilders for a head scarf tax (Muslims only of course). The movie shows exactly the idea of Wilders is beyond any form of reason and just discrimination of Muslims.
LINK TO MOVIE REMOVED!!!!!!!
I removed the link the movie. This after Patrick warned me about the content that can be found on the rest of that website. He was right. Many other things on that website are way over the limit and I don’t want my blog to be related to such content in any way. So that is why I removed the link to the movie.
Today the politician Geert Wilders told that he wanted a tax of 1000 euro’s per Muslima who wears a headscarf… And if course only against this kind head-wear that are worn by Muslims and not the head-wear that is common for Jews as example.
This man lost complete his touch of reality. He is so blinded by his hate for the Islam that is he started to declare this kind of nonsense. It is discrimination in its purest form against Muslims is general and women in more detail.
In the beginning Wilders claimed that he wanted to act on bad behaving and criminal Muslims only. His recent actions showed that he wants to act on ALL Muslims. And as said, that makes is discrimination.
I hope this kind of stupidity will fade him away and that the Dutch politics may find its rest again.
Today in the train back to Amsterdam I suddenly realized once again how unreal and fake human shave become.
I mean little girls of an age that still be playing with dolls, all dressed up and using making make up as the were grown up women. Little boys blowing and drinking alcohol (and not only beer, but real strong stuff).
Women behaving if they want be someone else. Wearing clothes they hardly can effort and maybe even don’t like. Walking on high heels while don’t even have the skills to walk on those.
Men that must look as successful businessmen, who look like closets of muscles and drive at least a very expensive car.
Sure I know men who really love their car. They worked hard for it and maintain it in a perfect state (my colleague Tom is such a real car lover and he has a very special car where really take care of).
I know women who really like to be dressed well, but they dress after their own taste and not because someone else tells them to (Marion is such a woman).
But so often it looks like that we are not allowed anymore to be who we really are. That we have to live by rules and guidelines of others. Others who dictate us how to dress, how to behave, what to eat (or better what not to eat), which car to drive, where to go on holidays… and so many, many more things.
This all made me think of the song “Calfornication” of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I listened to it on my iPod and realized again what a good song it is. The original video clip is not available on YouTube, but I found a clip made by someone else and in my opinion it tells the story to the song…
And…. just be who you really are…
Calfornication
(by The Red Hot chili Peppers>
Psychic spies from China
Try to steal your mind’s elation
Little girls from Sweden
Dream of silver screen quotations
And if you want these kind of dreams
It’s Californication
It’s the edge of the world
And all of western civilization
The sun may rise in the East
At least it settles in the final location
It’s understood that Hollywood
Sells Californication
Pay your surgeon very well
To break the spell of aging
Celebrity skin is this your chin
Or is that war your waging
First born unicorn
Hard core soft porn
Dream of Californication
Dream of Californication
Marry me girl be my fairy to the world
Be my very own constellation
A teenage bride with a baby inside
Getting high on information
And buy me a star on the boulevard
It’s Californication
Space may be the final frontier
But it’s made in a Hollywood basement
Cobain can you hear the spheres
Singing songs off station to station
And Alderon’s not far away
It’s Californication
Born and raised by those who praise
Control of population everybody’s been there
And
I don’t mean on vacation
First born unicorn
Hard core soft porn
Dream of Californication
Dream of Californication
Dream of californication
Dream of californication
Destruction leads to a very rough road
But it also breeds creation
And earthquakes are to a girl’s guitar
They’re just another good vibration
And tidal waves couldn’t save the world
From Californication
Pay your surgeon very well
To break the spell of aging
Sicker than the rest
There is no test
But this is what you’re craving
First born unicorn
Hard core soft porn
Dream of Californication
Dream of Californication
Dream of californication
Dream of californication
Fox TV personality Bill O’Reilly described Amsterdam as a “Moral Disaster”. He is warning his audience that they should take care that the US will not become one big “Amsterdam”.
As many know I stay a big of my time in Amsterdam. Sure, Amsterdam has its problems, but it no where close as this O’Reilly and his guests wants people to believe.
Robbert Nieuwenhuijs took offense of this (and so do I in a way). He made a nice movie about Amsterdam and shows us some statistics about The Netherlands… and compares them with the US.
After watching the movie Robbert made, maybe we should ask ourselves if you should not take care that Amsterdam and the rest of The Netherlands does not become as the US…
Normally I don’t mind too much about people who smoke. There are only a few places/moments I do. Places where people eat, places where I sleep and early in the morning when I am just awake are examples when I really dislike smoking.
Apart from that I don’t mind it too much as long they don’t blow the cigarette smoke directly in my face. After all I am one of the few non-smokers who take smoke-breaks at work (it is always good to be away from your desk after having being concentrated at the task you are busy with.
But smokers do make me chuckle at times. Especially when they want to smoke and they cannot.
So I overheard a conversation where a woman claimed that when she would discover that she had no fire-lighter with her she would panic completely. And I heard many stories like that.
What makes me also grin is the way how some smokers react and respond towards non-smokers. As we they are sworn enemies. Always the same excuses… It is not proven that smoking causes cancer… Pollution by cars is more bad as cigarette smoke… And so on and on…
Smoking is addiction and that makes people react and illogical. And in the case of smoking it is for me often worth a good laugh!
I cannot help it… another posting about churches! Again I feel strengthened in my decision to step away from everything that has to do with a church.
This time it is the Dutch Reformed church that proves that they don’t belong in this age anymore.
This Church in the city of Groningen have officially announced that living together without being married is a sin! People who persist in this sin, shall not be allowed to take part of the Communion (or however they call this in the Reformed Church).
People who currently are living together can only marry for the church if they really show remorse.
This church has even a commission “Discipline and Tolerance”. And people that are living together can expect pressure from the church to stop their sinful way of living.
As I already said, not of this time anymore… I have done well yesterday with stepping away from it.
