I wish you all a wonderful 2011. My friends in Amsterdam have a great way to share the fun. Every fridaynight they go skating through downtown Amsterdam. A well organized tour for experienced skaters. Because of many volunteers and some sponsors everyone can join in for free. My friend Joep takes inspiring pictures of these events. Check out his website www.unbreakable.nl
Unbreakable Christmas skate
Gibbon Rehabilitation Project
PLEASE DO NOT HAVE YOUR PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN WITH GIBBONS!
There are numerous gibbons being used as tourist attractions on Phuket. By paying to have your photo taken with a gibbon you are helping these people to reduce the numbers of wild gibbons and cause suffering to this beautiful animal.Gibbons ensure the health and vitality of the rainforests in which they live. Therefore, their survival must be ensured far into the future. Gibbons are threatened by loss of habitat, but also increasingly, by hunting and the illegal pet market. Remember, each cute baby gibbon you see at a market or beach had its mother shot dead by poachers. This loss destroys the family group forever.
This is where you can help. Don’t have your photograph taken with a gibbon or use the bars they are kept in and don’t buy baby gibbons anywhere. Report any poaching activity seen or heard to the National Park Headquarters or the Natural Resources and Environment Crime Division (forest@royalthaipolice.go.th). You can report it directly to DNP through their website http://www.dnp.go.th/complain/index.asp If we work together we can try and stop this trade.
When gibbons reach sexual maturity at six or seven years old, they develop large canines and become aggressive. At this stage they may be dumped or killed. Some owners will give the gibbons to organisations like us or to The National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department when they reach sexual maturity. They will then acquire a new baby gibbon which will be easier to handle and more attractive to tourists. If they do decide to keep the gibbons, they may file down or remove their canines and then place the gibbon in a tiny cage or chain it up.
Read more about the Phuket Gibbon Rehabilitation Project and how to support that project on their website: http://www.gibbonproject.org/
How to connect
All people including myself try to connect to others. Some people find it easy to connect. Either they do it over the internet or just asking to lit their sigaret. In Thailand people don’t ask for a favor. In stead they invite you to join a party or “thaan khao laew reu yang” have you eaten already? If you understand that much of Thai, you sit down and communicate. With a smile you can say a lot. For me I did not find to smile on the internet yet, lol. Thai people are specialized in smiling communication. Those meetings last forever. I enjoy those encounters a lot and try to learn at least one new Thai word and teach two English words. Maybe not the most effective way to learn Thai but connecting to Thai people is much more important. Last weekend I exchanged one line in a time span of 2 hours and still I have a smile on my face 😉 How easy it is to connect by smiling.
It gets better
At last I did it: I recorded a “it gets better” video on youtube. Yesterday I told the world that IT GETS BETTER for LGBT lesbian, gay, bisexuals and trans-genders. Why? somebody has to give this youth hope. This is the wakeup call for all those who want to responsible for destroying somebodies life. All grown up adults have to give hope. “Statistics itgetsbetterproject.com: (similar in so called tolerant countries fe. Holland)
9 out of 10 LGBT students have experienced harassment at school.
LGBT teens are bullied 2 to 3 times as much as straight teens.
More than 1/3 of LGBT kids have attempted to commit suicide.
LGBT kids are 4 times as likely to attempt suicide then our straight peers.
LGBT youth with “highly rejecting” families are 8 times more likely to attempt suicide than those whose families accept them.”
If we adult show that growing up means allowing diversity, have an open mind towards people who are different than there is a place for everyone and nobody has to commit suicide. Otherwise there is no-one left to save humanity.
President Barack Obama supports “it gets better” project for LGBT
President Barack Obama of the United States of America send out a message where he supports lesbian & gay people who are bullied or mobbed. This is from the encouraging project “it gets better” for Lesbian Gay Bisexuals & Transgenders.
President Barack Obama shows empathy for gay & lesbian, bisexuals and transgenders
Vegetarian Festival Phuket
10 rules VEGETARIAN FESTIVAL
1. Cleanliness of bodies
2. Clean kitchen utensils and to use them separately from other who do not join the festival
3. Wear white cloths
4. Behave psychically and mentally
5. do not eat meat
6. no sex
7. no alcohol
8. people at mourning period should not attend the festival
9. pregnant women should not watch any ritual
10. women in their period should not attend any ritual
Political Apathy
They came first for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.
In the interest of every Dutch citizen, let this quotation by Hitler’s personal prisoner Martin Niemoller be a warning. There is an one day fly politician in the Netherlands who is just copying a right wing populism strategy of Pim Fortuyn. First he came for the Muslim, then for the incurable ill, then for women & gay and by that time no one was left to speak up. The only way to survive is to respect all people, religions and cultures.
Posted in Coaching, Legal issues
1 Comment
Indicator
Sorry my indicator is broken. I don’t know where to go. I cannot indicate what I want. Turning left is impossible because I drive a car with the drivers seat on the right side. Turning right is not my choice because then I have to cross people with an opposite direction. I do have a separate button of going straight but that will everyone understand as a warning signal for danger. So what can I do? As long as I don’t use any indicator everyone is knowing I am gay of following my chosen lane. In Thailand everyone is aware of other people’s way. Most of the time everyone is taking care of not crash into other’s way. Thailand looks chaos but most of the time it is moving around each other harmoniously. Everyone is allowed to go his own way as long as you respect different ways and as long as everyone shows the respectful behavior towards other interests.
Religion & Respect
When I lived in Amsterdam my new neighbor introduced himself: “I am Ali from Ghana I am Muslin but I am not an extremist”. How terrible it is that this stranger felt the urge to excuse himself. In line with the new Dutch Political philosophy I should be negatively discriminated living in a Islamic society. I don’t understand that in Thailand not Westerners but Burmese are discriminated, people with the same appearance and same religion. Or maybe the Dutch political movement has it all wrong. Discriminating a specific group of people has nothing to do with religion believes. I might as well that in bad economical circumstances politician in power can expand their power to blame all misery on one minority group. Giving it an religion label makes it just easier to identify who to discriminate. Sorry I am Michael I am from Holland but I respect different cultures & religions.
Be happy with what you like
A 18 years old friend wants to go to ballet school. But everyone is scaring him off, saying that ballet is only for gay. There are people out there who label anything that is not their cup of thee as being gay, black or Jewish. Even free fighting is labeled as gay….. I used to do full contact karate KyoKushinKai. So I know that maybe the majority of the participants where not-gay. Or maybe I do not know. Because doing something you like has nothing to do with your sexual orientation. So I am gay doing my full contact sports and not gay acting at the same time. How relaxed it is to do (sports) activities without having to think about your orientation. I prefer a world where common activities and groups are not exclusive for one kind of people. As soon as everyone is free to join there would be more mutual understanding and cultural exchange. That would make the world happier.