Seal Hunt 2009 ... An Update

I had been a little slow at updating my blog this week :) I was actually hoping that the entry - 'Seal Hunt 2009' will sank in a little further and deeper among all my readers and visitors. Is it working? :)


As of this entry, I've got some little updates on the 'Seal Hunt 2009'.

The Bad News

1. Apparently, the hunting of seals are happening right NOW!!! In Canada, provincial and federal officials authorized and endorsed the slaughter of around 2,200 grey seal pups earlier this month. Location: Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada.
2. This year, the slaughtering in Canada will be allowed until the 14th of March. About 20 to 30 sealers are expected to participate in this slaughtering. Seal pups will be herded into groups and clubbed to death. The age of the seal pups are around 8 weeks old. Tools used: Bat and Hakarpik - wooden bats with hammer head and metal hoot at the end.

The Good News

1. However, it is good to hear that the hunt faced some tough challenges from the weather in some areas (mother nature is helping the seals too?). With a combination of bad weather and processing plant difficulties, the hunt which are to be commenced on Hay Island slowed to a halt. FYI, Hay Island is a Protected Wildnerness Area (What are them sealers doing there anyway?).
2. The Russian government has banned the hunting of baby seals in the regions surrounding the White Sea. "Seal hunting is a bloody industry. It is clear that it should have been banned a long time ago" said Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Way to go, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. I hope Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper will take a leaf out of you!

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Seal Hunt 2009

As promised in "More 'click for a good cause' buttons right here....", here is a post on seal hunt.

What is seal hunt?
Seal hunt is defined as commercial hunting of seals for their meat, pelts (fur), skin and blubber (fat). Sometimes, seals are hunt to ensure the population does not reach undesired levels. Seal hunt is practiced widely by countries like Canada, Greenland, Norway, Namibia and Russia.


During Canada's annual seal hunt, hundreds of thousands of baby seals are killed in the most unimaginable and horrific ways. No doubt, seals stand no chance against club-wielding trappers. And, they must look on as fellow pups are bludgeoned to death before meeting the same bloody fate. They will have their skulls smashed in … or shot point-blank by hunters.

Now imagine this – the mother seal watches her baby being beaten to death. Can you then feel what the mother seal feels inside? - Anguish, heart’s broken, unparalleled pain, horrific, etc, she may even attempt to get to her baby … and possibly get killed herself.

Since 2003, over 1.7 million seals have been butchered. In 2008 alone, more than 205,000 individual seals were killed during the massacre. What puzzles me is that the government of Canada is willing to sacrifice everything (national reputation, wrath of taxpayers, economic hardship from boycotts) to continue their seal hunt which is nothing more than a money-making scheme orchestrated by professional fishers as well as make-work project for jobless fishermen.

Interestingly (and thank God), majority of the Canadians are opposed to the killing of seal pups. One of the best known is Rebecca Aldworth. She led a team of international photographers, journalists, and government officials on annual treks to the ice floes off the Canadian mainland to witness and document the barbaric cruelty of the seal hunt and to ask for their assistance in securing an end to the slaughter.

Watch this !!!
(warning: contain graphic images of seal hunt)

So, what can we do for the seals?

1. Stop buying/wearing clothes containing materials made of seal!
2. Boycott Canadian seafood products!
3. Sign various petitions and pledges!
4. Urge the Canadian government (through Canadian embassy in your country is possible too) to to call off the seal hunt!
   
5. Spread the word - among your family members, friends ... whoever that will listen!
6. Stay away from Canada while the hunt continues!
7. Stop thinking that you can't make a difference. You can ... so long as you try! Canadian ... not Canadian ... who cares!!!

Take note! Canada Seal Hunt 2009 will start in about a month time!

Links to various petitions

• Stop Canada's 2009 Commercial Seal Hunt (18,000 is still needed to complete the target of 50,000)
• Stop Canadian Seal Hunt 2009
• Help Stop the Canadian Seal Hunt
  
• A pledge to stop buying Canadian seafood products
• Grey Seal Slaughter 2009

Last but not least, a Facebook event (virtually of course) called 'Song of the Seal' will take place tomorrow at 1 p.m. So, do look out for it to find out what is it all about. For more information on seal hunt, you can visit:

• Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
• The Human Society of the United States
• Stop the Seal Hunt
• IFAW - Save Baby Seal
• Canadian Seal Hunt
• Harpseal.org

So, lets take action NOW!
Lets put AN END to ANIMAL CRUELTY!
And thus, those seals will have a NEW BEGINNING!

I'll end this post with cute images of seals. Enjoy :)

(Now, do you want anything to happen to those cute innocent seals ... HELL NO!)

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I am still trying to finish up my Sherlock Holmes ...

I bought a book I've been wanting to read all my life quite a few years back. I think it was either 2004 or 2005. I can't even recall it myself right now for whatever reason :)

The book is called THE ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATED 'STRAND' Sherlock Holmes The Complete Facsimile Edition. As you can see, the book is so damn thick as it is a complete compilation of every single published Sherlock Holmes' stories.

By the way, please tell me you've heard of Sherlock Holmes. I mean ... Sherlock Holmes is the most famous fictional detective of all time. So you must have heard of him right? ... Or else, you must be kidding me.

In case you have not, ...

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Sherlock Holmes first appeared in a publication dated 1887. He is the creation of Scottish-born author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

A brilliant London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess, and is renowned for his skillful use of astute observation, deductive reasoning and inference to solve difficult cases.

Historically, Holmes lived from the year 1881 at 221B Baker Street, London, a flat up seventeen steps, where he shares many of his professional years with his good friend Dr Watson for some time.

Dr Watson assesses Holmes's abilities as such:

1. Knowledge of Literature.—Nil.
2. Knowledge of Philosophy.—Nil.
3. Knowledge of Astronomy.—Nil.
4. Knowledge of Politics.—Feeble.
5. Knowledge of Botany.—Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening.
6. Knowledge of Geology.—Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks, has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them.
7. Knowledge of Chemistry.—Profound.
8. Knowledge of Anatomy.—Accurate, but unsystematic.
9. Knowledge of Sensational Literature.—Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century.
10. Plays the violin well.
11. Is an expert singlestick player, boxer and swordsman.
12. Has a good practical knowledge of British law.

A popular pastime among fans of Sherlock Holmes is to treat Holmes and Watson as real people, and attempt to elucidate facts about them from clues in the stories or by combining the stories with historical fact.

Extracted from Wikipedia

So there you have it. I have to admit that this edition is so damn thick I haven't been able to finish it nicely and satisfyingly.

As I am rather free of late, I continued reading from where I left previously .... page 957. It took me several years just to reach that page LOL :) And, there is still approximately 200 pages left before I can stand tall and 'brag' to everyone that I have read every single Sherlock Holmes' stories.

On another interesting note, there will be a Sherlock Holmes movie out November this year. YAY! The movie will be featuring Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. Watson, his stalwart partner. Can't wait ...

Okay. Now back to submerging myself in Sherlock Holmes.

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A song that keeps playing in my head ... argh!!!

Have you ever experience a kind of situation (well kind of) where a song keeps playing in your head? You can call it 'keep spinning in you head', 'stuck in you head' or whatever.

As a matter of fact, a song is playing continuously in my head right now. It has been days since I first heard that song.

The song bore in my head. The song won't let me go. I seriously need a cure right now! I really do ...

I was watching Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 8 (These Ties That Bind) the other day. When this song was played, I was hooked. The arrangement of the song was so intriguing ... so addictive.

I search for the song immediately. And, what a catch! (weee!). By the way, the song above is called 'Trouble is a Friend' by Lenka ... from her self-titled debut album released few months back. As the chorus goes:

He's there in the dark
he's there in my heart
he waits in the winds
he's gotta play a part
Trouble is a friend
Yeah trouble is a friend of mine. Oh! Oh!

So don't be alarmed if he takes you by the arm
I won't let him win, but I'm a sucker for his charm
Trouble is a friend
Yeah trouble is a friend of mine. Oh! oh!

So, to Lenka, trouble is a 'He'. To me, trouble can be a he or a she. But yeah, trouble is everywhere. Before we know what's going on, oops!, we are in trouble. You bad bad friend, trouble.

But anyway, Lenka is refreshingly upbeat. After listening to her album, I find that she is able to find a silver lining in just about every cloud. Oh, and she is very pretty too :)

Grey's Anatomy always have great music in their pocket I must say. Remember Inagra George's Fools In Love, Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars, KT Tunstall's Universe and U, The Bird and the Bee's Again and Again, Brandi Carlile's The Story, Sarah Melson's Feel It Coming and many more? Yeah, I hope you do. If you don't, what are you waiting for. Go hunt for it now!

Over the years, there are so many songs that get stuck in my head. And, it is not a good thing I can tell you this. The song will keep spinning every second every minute every hour. When you are driving, when you are sleeping, when you are studying, blablabla.

Not that I hated the song. No I don't. I love the song. But at times, I do need a moment of peace. We all need a moment of peace. A moment when nothing is in our head. A white space. A breathing space. A space without any intruders.

Gosh! I'm still hearing it in my head. Got to get my dose of 'Trouble is a Friend' now.

Before I go, tell me, what's your songs that get stuck in you head frequently?

Reminder:
Don't blame me if the song is stuck in you head. It's not my fault :)

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Koala ... thirsty and burned ... and more koalas

First of all, to those who have a Facebook account, please do join this particular group.

Samboy is Back - JOIN NOW TO WIN $10,000 FOR THE RED CROSS BUSHFIRE APPEAL

They are trying to win $10,000 to donate to the Red Cross Bush Fire Appeal.

Actually a competition, it is run by Samboy (a Chip Company) for the largest group with 'Samboy is Back' in their name.The Competition is not associated with the Bushfire Appeal. It is simply a competition with prize money, which the administrator of the group is trying to win to donate to the Appeal. The biggest group win's $10,000, and the largest group from each state also win's $1,000.

This competition started months ago and ends on Sunday February 15th at midnight (damn ... I only know about this group yesterday!). As of now, the group had 97,074 members. We can still make it!

-----

I am sure most of you have read and heard about the story of the thirsty koala.

One furry survivor has emerged a star: a koala, nicknamed “Sam” by her rescuers, was found moving gingerly on scorched paws by a fire patrol on Sunday. Firefighter David Tree offered the animal a bottle of water, which she eagerly accepted, holding Tree’s hand as he poured water into her mouth — a moment captured in a photograph seen around the world."

“You all right, buddy?” Tree asks in a video of the encounter as he approaches the koala. Later, as Sam thirstily gulps from the bottle, he quips: “How much can a koala bear?”

Sam is being treated at the Mountain AshWildlife Shelter in Rawson, 100 miles (170 kilometers) east of Melbourne, where she has attracted the attention of a male koala, nicknamed “Bob,” manager Coleen Wood said. The two have been inseparable, with Bob keeping a protective watch over his new friend, she said.

Extracted from Catherine Sherman

Now that we know that Sam is safe and sound, isn't this something like a love story between Sam and her new partner Bob ... a koala love story.

While we read with interest and hoping that more and more animals are saved, not all are so lucky. There are kangaroo corpses lay scattered by the roadsides. Survived wombats emerged from their underground burrows to find blackened earth and nothing to eat.

Now, lets put our fingers crossed in the hope that the bushfire subsides ... and quickly too.

Look at the koalas. There are just so cute and we certainly don't want anything bad happen to such cute creatures right. So do all other animals ... and the woods, the environment, etc.

I'll leave you for now ... but not before another picture of koala ...

... apparently, this picture was taken before the fires. It was in a 4 day heat wave and the koala was on the ground searching for water. And, the koala plonked itself in this bucket of water. Awww!

"poof'

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More 'click for a good cause' buttons right here....

I added a 'Kenny's RM 50,000 botak (bald) appeal for childhood cancer awareness' banner 2 weeks ago. I am glad to tell everyone that Kenny will certainly be going bald. He manage to raise more than the targeted RM 50,000 and that is a great news.

Kenny Sia going bald ... hmm ... interesting!!! What matters are that all funds raised will go straight to 'Sarawak Children's Cancer Society', a non-profit organization based out of Kuching, Sarawak.

As you can see on my sidebar now ---------->, I've added more click buttons to my 'Click for a Good Cause' bar.

1) Clicking this button will help Care2 sponsor a child for one month in partnership with Children International. Click daily to help sponsor all 14 kids.

Generally, 18,000 clicks are needed to sponsor a child for a month. Facebook 'Spare A Click' application has been contributing hugely to this cause. More than thousand clicks are registered daily as avid clickers clicked on each others' profile.

2) Clicking this button will support IFAW's TV campaign to build public pressure against this cruel and inhumane hunt.

The reason why I place this button is because more than 319,000 harp seals will be clubbed or shot to death this year in Canada. 96% of them will be less than 3 months old, and some may even be skinned alive.

I will blog about this annual seal hunt in a later post.

3) Clicking on this button will direct you to The Hunger Site where you can click. With each click, sponsors will pay for the cups of food. To date, more than 300 million visitors have given more than 500 million cups of staple food.

It is estimated that one billion people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition. Funds are splited and go to the aid of hungry people in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and North America.

4) Clicking on this button will direct you to YouthNoise where you can click. YouthNoise equips a community of young leaders, dedicated to creating lasting positive change around the world, with the resources to build campaigns, amplify projects and kick off grassroots movements.

For every click (up to 100,000) every month, YouthNoise will donate money to further the mission of Childhelp: "to meet the physical, emotional, educational, and spiritual needs of abused, neglected and at-risk children."

5) I added ripple last year. Clicking on this button will direct you to ripple.

Ripple is simple enough. Ripplers (that's us) have access to a homepage which allows us to fight poverty with our daily simple click. Advertisers gain effective advertising while contributing to our global community. More funding helps the ripple charities continue their work.


So there you have it ... more click for a good cause buttons for all of us here in my blog. I may add few more in the nearest future.

Now, any suggestion of the type of buttons that I should include?

Or, please ... please do tell me that you did click on it ... :)

Anyway, happy clicking and bye for now.


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A Monkey ... on my ground !!!

Who like monkeys I wonder?

I know very well that my mum is not very fond of monkeys.

Actually, so am I. I find monkeys a little too naughty, restless and noisy. Not that I am afraid of monkeys, I just don't like them lurking around or getting too close to me.

Anyway, about a month ago, a monkey intruded my ground. The thing is my little brother manage to capture the whole scene.

Well, it is just a matter of ... what ... seconds! ... before my dog - Puppy are able to sank his teeth on that monkey.

Puppy is a very active dog. Puppy likes to bite everything that moves ... that grab its attention ... that agitated it. Take for example, over the years, of things that Puppy bit so readily :-

Well, that's Puppy for you ...

It is good to have Puppy as Puppy protects my family from dangerous creatures ... especially cobra snake.

Back to the monkey business, a few weeks ago, I found that particular monkey lurking outside ... eating fruits from trees planted by my dad. So, that's how the monkey survives ... you fruit stealer !!!

That is the last time I saw the monkey though. Wonder what the monkey is up to now... ???

Farewell then, monkey ... and don't you dare coming back onto and into my ground ... my dogs will be waiting excitingly. Frankly speaking, I don't want a dead monkey on my ground, no I don't.

Happy Chap Goh Meh people ... its finally the final day of Chinese New Year. I'll miss Chinese New Year dearly for sure ...

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Petition to DYMM the Sultan of Perak ...

To all Malaysian who are aware of the current state of Perak, ...

... what with the oh so very 'interesting' frog saga, the siege of power in just like days and the rapid changes in Perak, you may want to sign this petition to DYMM the Sultan of Perak.

I am not sure who is on the right side and who is not. But, from my little observation, BN is one pretty huge arrogant big headed party (looking at their actions and you will know why ... looking at their past records and there is no doubt).

Media has also been doing a lot of 'manipulation' (look at TV3's Buletin news and The Star's allocation of news ... eugh!) consciously or unconsciously ... to make PKR look kind of in the bad light. There is a lot of stories and news unreported ... clearly no doubt.

Without witting no more, here is the link to the petition ...

Petition - My Plea ... to defend the voice of the people

When you do decide to sigh the petition, please use you real names and ... no flames please. This is a platform for you to state what you want and appeal to his heart ... not to let off steam or to bash His Royal Highness. Respect is the first thing towards success.

Thank you
(p.s: I have signed the petition. If you are not in-line with what I felt, not in the same wavelength or for whatever reason, do take note that I have no bad intentions whatsoever)

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The winner takes it all ... the losers have to kiss ...

Look at the picture below. Guess what am I doing right there?

Well, come on ... its pretty obvious isn't it :)

............

..........

.......

....

..

Okay, enough with the guessing. You are pretty right there.

I am obviously kissing my paternal grandpa. Lets call him Ah Gong.

Me and my cousins were gambling on the 1st day of Chinese New Year. No, we didn't gamble with our money as the adults didn't really like the children gambling with their money. Instead, we use this ...

We used mahjong cubes as our money. And so we played a pretty weird card games ... something like Big Two (Choh Dai Di) ... but with a huge twist and turn into it ... the one who loosed all his/her cubes lost.

Don't ask ... I'm pretty blur playing it too ... what with ... oops ... I didn't even know what was I going to say ... aih!

Basically, there would only be one winner. And so, me and my cousins were punished. We were supposed to kiss Ah Ma. Since she was in the kitchen, we kiss Ah Gong.

One on the left cheek and one on the right. Kind of ... ticklish ... haha ... but ... loving all the same.

Well, kissing your Ah Gong Ah Ma is a normal thing right :) ... but not counting the sudden kiss you gave after loosing a game eh ... haha

Throughout the years, we had lots of ideas of what to do after loosing a game. Kissing was one of them. There was also dancing, singing, quack like a duck, move like a chicken, etc.

A little awkward ... yes ... when you lose. Way to hilarious ... yes ... when you won and you just sit there and enjoy the show. Whatever, we had lots of fun playing all kind of games ... and thinking the types of punishment.

Bye for now. Got to polish up my game. I don't ... can't ... must not lose! I don't want to quack like a duck, move like a chicken, dance in front of everybody ... noooo ...

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... of river and haunted house, Baling

Traveling to Baling, Kedah has been some sort of tradition in my family circle every Chinese New Year ever since ... who knows ... a long time ago maybe ...

There is of course a connection between my family and this place called Baling.

My grandma (paternal side) ... well ... lets call her Ah Ma ... once stayed there many many decades ago. My dad is still a young boy at that time ... around 7 years old I think.

From what I have heard, Baling is pretty much a wonderful place to live in.

Ah Ma lived in a little neighborhood just behind a Thai temple. The temple is called Wat Prakhat.

There is also a river closed by. The river used to be pretty deep and crystal clear. It is now all shallow and a little dirty.

There is a lot to be said about this river. No, I have no idea what the river is called. But, I am told by my uncle that there isn't any drown cases nor death plaguing this river yet.

My uncle reasoned out that as the temple is situated just beside the river, there is therefore a protector who protects people from life threatening situation.

Do you believe in it? I do ... I really do ... it's the faith that counts after all ...

There is this story about a boy who plays in the river once. It is said that the boy accidentally fell full body into the river. The boy somehow left the river unscathed. Do take note that the river is full of stones of various sizes

He ran to his parents and told them he fell into the river. As the boy's parent look at the river and around, they could not locate anyone nearby the river.

You tell me then!!! All I can say is if I were to fell into that river, my head will be cracked open ... like how you crack-open an egg.

Enough about the river though. Besides offering prayers and respects, my dad will also visit Ah Ma's old neighbour.

As far as I can remember, Ah Ma's former house is empty all this while. It is said and believed that the house is haunted ... eerie and creepy hurh ~~~

The picture above is as close as I can get though . There is a dog nearby growling at me fiercely for whatever reason.

And no, I am not venturing into that house!!!

Happy Chinese New Year

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