Gabrielle Clifford Shooting

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American is no longer the America I know - when I grew up the Constitution and Bill of Rights meant something.  Compassion for those less fortunate was a calling.  The rich carried their load instead of getting out of paying their fair share.  There was no Fox News and no Tea Party - who were driven to hatred and avoiding universal health care by rich Black-hearted special interests.  Sarah Palin would have been a kook, but that is all that has changed.  


I'm an atheist but also a compassionate citizen, a “helper” and fundamentalist when it comes to American values, our founding fathers, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  Instead of supporting right-wing interests, let's review our basic values, and return to an America of compassion, not self-interest.  

I’ve never met a Tea Party or Sarah Palin supporter, or an opponent of health care, who is literate with the Bill of Rights.  Let’s start each day by reciting a passage from Congress to the grammar school Pledge of Allegiance.  Maybe when people know our founding comments, we can learn to live together. 


See you on the water, Ling Yai (Thai for 'Big Monkey') AKA John Caveman Gray

             

Our Oceans are in dire straits - what's next?

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Greenpeace Fish

There is one more reason why I have never had children; here are some, whaling, shark fin soup, drift netting, long lines and oil spills... 


In 2001 I paddled over a reef so remote giant lobsters never moved when I snorkeled over their coral beds. Two months later that reef died from Global Warming.

my Costal Management Class

Just this morning though I was lecturing my Coastal Tourism Management class on the folly of concrete hotels and all others because they require immense air conditioning, I wonder about the energy consumption for rooms which are unnecessarily too cold?

We must take drastic steps - immediately. 

No more air con, increased public transportation instead of traffic jams, etc. and much more. 

Read and weep!

See you on the water, Ling Yai (Thai for 'Big Monkey') AKA John Caveman Gray

             

The barbaric trade in dog meat in Asia

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photo from wikipedia

Great to see the Thailand SPCA finally taking up the cause of dogs exported to Vietnam to eat. Not only is this cruel, barbaric and disgusting, but its also bad Karma! Vietnam's history is 2,000 years of war! 

Vietnam's karma for eating dogs and wildlife!



I took some Hawai'i friends to Halong Bay. In Hanoi we heard some dogs crying on a rainy night. We all ran to help, only to find a dozen dogs packed tightly over and around each other stuffed into a wire cage so tight they could not move. The restaurant owner left these helpless dogs out in the rain so they would cry more. He called this brutality "Advertising". He should have been in jail - or worse.



I'm vegetarian and cannot kill any animal, but dogs are special - "Human's Best Friends"!

See you on the water, Ling Yai (Thai for 'Big Monkey') AKA John Caveman Gray

             

Phuket Heritage Trails - give them a call

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John is a very busy man with his numerous projects BUT he always has time for other people.

An organisation he champions is Phuket Heritage Trails.

who offer;

...cultural, historical and natural tours of Phuket, conducted by Phuket natives who showcase local beliefs, architecture, cuisines and lifestyle within the historical backdrop made up of the community's ethnic and religious diversity.

Tim (of timinphuket) took a trip with them in Phuket for the Por Tor Ceremony and would also agree with John

If you visit Phuket send them a message and then you can learn what Phuket is really about.

See you on the water, Ling Yai (Thai for 'Big Monkey') AKA John Caveman Gray

             

Dolphins, whales, beaches and plastic bags (Part 2)

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How do these petrochemicals impact a cetacean? 



First off, between Phuket's lack of awareness regarding marine rubbish;


Stop at your neighborhood gas station, put a few drops of petrol in your palm, and clear your sinus cavities with a healthy snort of high octane, leaded of course. (Kids - don't really do this.) As you go catatonic, imagine how marine mammals must feel once they swim into a petrol or diesel slick - and are lost


Tourist brochures won't tell you, but our oceans are polluted with both solid and petrochemical scum and it's getting worse.


Today, there are at least three mid-ocean slicks hundreds of miles long, and as deep as 300 meters - the World's biggest garbage dumps, all human created. 
 
As we can see above (and in a previous post on this blog) - a main villain in all of this is the plastic bag (eg petrochemicals).  So the next time the staff behind the counter hands you a plastic bag please think about the photographs and whether you NEED that bag.


See you on the water, Ling Yai (Thai for 'Big Monkey') AKA John Caveman Gray.

             

Dolphins, whales, beaches and plastic bags (Part I)

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photo from Telegraph - permission requested

A whale beaches themselves because their sonar system has been disrupted by an increase in chemicals – I would say by the amount of rubbish that we throw / pump into the sea.


According to Dr. Sontaya Manawatthaha of the Phuket Marine Biological Center, every year in Phuket an average of 20 whales and dolphins beach in Phuket and die because they cannot survive in our polluted seas.



These are the cetaceans that survive long enough to make it to our shores. For every whale or dolphin that makes land, an untold amount die at sea. 


Ironically, non-biodegradable petroleum products are the major culprits. 


Instead of using less plastic bags or recycling in an era of soaring petroleum costs, we throw them into the sea, where they end up in the guts of whales, turtles and seabirds, dooming them to a long, painful and frustrating death.


See you on the water, Ling Yai (Thai for 'Big Monkey') AKA John Caveman Gray