Photography – Cambodia – up the Mekong – fishing, flooding, waves and smiles.

Posted on by Opher

The Mekong was an incredible place. The whole industry is fishing. All the banks are lined with nets. The people are out in small boats casting nets. There are big fishing rigs.

The river we went on is a tributary to the big lake. The silty water is very fecund and abounds with small fish. The people catch the tiny fish and grind them to fish paste to ell in the market. The women cover up with masks to protect their faces from the sun. The kids are often naked. Tiny kids swim and dive in the water. There is no health and safety here.

The people are transient fishers. The houses are ramshackle on stilts or floating rafts because the water rises over twenty feet and floods the land. There was a lot of wild-life – big black and white herons, kingfishers and snakes.

I fear that the over-fishing is going to kill the golden goose – the overpopulation is causing immense pressure on the ecosystem. Killing the tiny fish will deplenish the stock.

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Culture – Stuck in the past – Frivolous and shallow – Confused – Methodical and stylised – Or Opher’s Vibrant new Zeitgeist? The choice is yours!

Posted on by Opher

Changing the culture culture-cartoon

It seems to me that culture is in need of a remake! We are in dire need of standing back, taking a really good hard look at how we humans are living our life and creating a new universal culture for the 21st Century.

Let me sum up culture as I see it in a nutshell:

We have Middle Eastern Culture stuck in a time-warp in the dark ages with medieval costume, misogyny, intolerance and stultification.

We have Western Culture – frivolous, hedonistic, indulgent, superficial, celebrity and fashion crazy, shallow and status orientated.

We have Far Eastern Culture – superstitious, methodical, serious and lacking in emotion

We have South American Culture – full of Roman Catholic guilt laid over fiery fun and traditional ethnic culture, held down by poverty

We have Jamaican culture – laid back and naïve.

I could go on but I wouldn’t want to get accused of being stereotypical. I think I may have upset enough people already.

What we need is a new culture for the 21st century – Fun, Caring, Tolerant, Aesthetic, Serious, Creative, Environmentally Aware, Outward Looking, Varied, Peaceful, Energetic, Sporty, Artistic, Exploratory, Open, All Encompassing, Problem Solving, Vibrant, Accepting, Respectful, Empathetic, Responsible and Loving.

Join the new Positive Zeitgeist, take the best from the past and make something better!!

Photography – A few visions from Bali – land of incredible richness of beauty

Posted on by Opher

The food, the people, the colours and the atmosphere were all superb. We loved it.

The whole island was adorned with Balinese Hindu worship. It seemed that the greatest industrial output was the manufacture of statues and offerings to the gods. It made for a colourful and often spectacular surrounds though one sometimes thought that some of that energy might be better directed to improving the roads and infrastructure. The gods were not coming through with the goods. The prayers were not answered.

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Like most places the population explosion made for crowded roads, shanty housing and encroachment into the countryside. There was a lot of poverty and squalor in between the beauty.

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We were fortunate to be invited to a Balinese wedding. It was beautiful. The colours were amazing. The people so friendly.

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The whole island is volcanic. There are many offerings to the volcanic gods. That seems to be the basis for a lot of their superstitions. Eruptions caused death and destruction. The gods needed appeasing. Skinnerian psychology at play.

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The temples were opulent and lavish – truly spectacular. The culture was rich.

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The Paddy Fields with their terracing and luxuriant green were idyllic.  IMG_1399 IMG_1437

Anthropocene Apocalypse – The plight of the polar bear.

Posted on by Opher

OVER

As the numbers of human beings soar the strains on the ecosystem become immense. The melting ice-caps, warming seas and changing weather patterns create problems for all living creatures. They have to migrate, adapt or die.

The polar bear has nowhere to migrate to. It cannot adapt.

The major threats to polar bears are hunting and starvation.

Incredibly they are still being hunted for food and pelts even as their numbers decline. They are also being shot for daring to go near human habitation. As humans encroach more and more the deaths increase.

The thinning of the ice affects their ability to hunt seals. Their cubs do not survive and they die of starvation.

Add to that the oil spills and pollution and you have a polar bear catastrophe.

The polar bear is a majestic creature. If we do not control our numbers and give it the habitat it requires their days are numbered. As with the elephant, rhino, leopard, tiger and lion it will go into history as a mythical beast. Our grandchildren will be deprived of access to a natural world.

We can address this if there is the will. We can give 50% of the planet to wilderness. We can limit our numbers. We can stop polluting, chopping trees and changing the global temperature.

We need a new positive zeitgeist!

1200 desperate human beings drowned trying to escape to Europe! The tip of a huge catastrophe that is about to hit us all!

Posted on by Opher

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In the last few days over 1200 desperate people, including women and children, have drowned trying to escape Africa and seek sanctuary in Europe.

They are fleeing war, poverty, starvation, disease, unemployment and despair.

Who can blame them? If we were in their plight we would do the same.

It is better to risk your life in a rickety, overcrowded boat, for days at sea rather than stay in the country of their birth.

Unfortunately this is the direct result of political decisions, greed, foreign policy, selfishness and deliberate exploitation and is driven by ignorance.

Western wars in Libya, Despotic madness in Eritrea, the insane barbarity of ISIS, the lawless nightmare of Somalia, endless conflict in Palestine and the civil war in Syria have conspired to create desperation.

How much of this is due to direct Western policies? To overthrow Gadafi? Invade Afghanistan and Iraq? Allow the Palestinian situation to fester? Exploit Africa for cheap labour, oil and resources?

War, conflict and poverty create good business. You can sell lots of arms to all sides, exploit starving people for cheap labour, use the corruption in countries to gain land, resources and markets.

The wealthy like inequality. It creates better profits.

The powerful like conflict. They can set one side against another and sit back to watch them tear each other apart.

This world is being run for power and profit by people with vested interests. They are creating a powder keg of frustration, anger and resentment that is likely to explode in all our faces.

This is the tip of the ice-berg. The rampant population explosion in Africa is going to cause destruction and mayhem unless we deal with it quickly.

There are populations accelerating out of control; families of twelve or more children. There is starvation, war, disease and no jobs. What are they going to do?

It is obvious. They are going to try to get to somewhere that is safe, secure and with hope for the future. They will do anything to escape the butchery, disease and hopelessness.

As intelligent apes it is time we looked globally and took steps to sort this mess out. Opher has the answer:

  • Reduce world population substantially (birth control programmes, sickness benefit, old age pensions)
  • Stamp out corruption
  • Create a fair equal world where there s a fair distribution of wealth
  • Stop all wars through the United Nations intervention
  • Make health, clean water and sufficient food a right for everyone
  • Counter the religious madness that is causing war and 3encouraging people to breed like rabbits
  • Stop the greed and selfishness that is making many billionaires at the expense of millions
  • Bring in global standards to protect the environment, stop pollution and prevent people and multinational exploiting the weak

If we solve the problems on a global basis we will not have war, starvation, disease, overpopulation and unemployment that leads to mass migration.

If we do not tackle the overpopulation crisis and environmental disaster we will have a terrible future for everyone and every other living thing on this planet!

We need a fairer world!  Vote Opher for World Governor!

800th Post celebration!! Thank you for the support! Things can only get better.

Posted on by Opher

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Yes folks – I started out last May and this is my 800th post!

I’m not sure what I make of that. I’ve been blogging for eleven months.

If I am to believe the stats (which I do not – there have been times when I’ve had more likes than views) I’ve had 29,822 views. 10,102 visits, 2261 likes and 813 comments.

So what does this mean?

Firstly it means that I should thank all my loyal followers for your support and kind words. I appreciate them all.

Secondly I shall reassess where this is all going and think a lot.

I blog so that some things do not happen and other things do – to make the world a better place! – To communicate and share! Simple really.

Cheers everyone – Happy 800.

Anthropocene Apocalypse – 56% die off of invertebrates – a man-made catastrophe.

Posted on by Opher

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Insects are the most numerous species on the planet. Yet in the last thirty years have suffered an unprecedented decline. 56% of all invertebrates had been eradicated.

They form the base of the food chain for a range of birds and mammals. Without them the birds and mammals collapse too. And that is what is happening. 50% of all mammals have gone in the last thirty years!

This is a catastrophe not only for them but ultimately for us. We are all part of that rich food web.

What is killing them off?

  • Deforestation – loss of habitat (mining, logging)
  • Pesticides (monoculture crops requiring spraying)
  • Pollution
  • Overpopulation (there are too many of us)

We need to do something before we end up destroying everything.

38 degrees is running a campaign to highlight the plight of bees. Bees are an essential pollinator and yet they are being wiped out due to pesticide use. These same pesticides are wiping out swathes of other insects indiscriminately.

Remember the toxic pesticides that wipe out bees? This week, an influential group of scientists concluded that they don’t just kill bees – they wreak “havoc” with other insects and plants in the countryside too.

Our lives are pebbles in a still pond – we make waves.

Posted on by Opher

Ripples

I believe a person’s life is like a stone thrown into a pond. It generates ripples.

Those ripples can be a force for good

Or they can be a force for evil.

We swim in the ripples we all create.

Some people’s lives barely brush the surface

While others generate huge tidal waves that sweep history along

If there are enough of us our waves build together in harmony.

I aim to make as many ripples as I can with my short life

My waves may be small but they lap out against everyone and spark other ripples

They can become as big as tsunamis and carry all before them

Our ripples build the zeitgeist in which we all are formed

All of us are moulded

Some help form the mould

Together we can change the world for the better

Here – I throw another pebble in

See the ripples spread.

Here – share my pebbles.

 

Modern technology and education – the hope for the future!

Posted on by Opher

happy world

Ignorance, superstition, indoctrination, fear and isolation are the tools that tyrants use to control people.

Religion and politics are the excuses.

Psychology shows us that sociopaths and psychopaths are very good at making their way to the top of institutions. They like power and they have no compunctions about how they deal with people. They actually enjoy upsetting others and abusing them.

The past has been locked into a cycle where religions and political systems rise up and try to gain supremacy over others. When you throw ethnicity and social factors into the mix it becomes a rotten stew of genocide, war and subjugation.

We are in a new age. There is optimism about the future!

Now we have the means of educating people we can reveal the flaws in religion and political systems. We can counter indoctrination.

Now we have media in the hands of the people nothing can be hidden away. Every atrocity can be revealed so people understand what is going on and can judge it for themselves. They do not have to rely on what they are being told by the ‘establishment’.

Now we have a global perspective.

Now we have science.

Science tells us that all human beings are one species. There is no basis for racism

Science has blown away the myths of superstition. The earth is not flat. There is no heaven above the clouds, no hell below. Religion may wriggle but it is doomed to die away in the blast of science as psychologists explain its human beginnings. We do not need it any more. We can make better morality through rational thought and law. We do not need a deity to enforce it.

I am optimistic about the future. If we can survive the next few decades without destroying each other, over-running the place with too many people, killing all the wild-life, ravaging the environment and creating catastrophic climate change then we can really set about creating a great future. We can create a global society with good moral values, laws and freedoms, equality and wealth for all. We can conserve our wildernesses and live happily ever after.

Education and technology can kick our religious and political tyrants into touch. We can have an age without senseless war and cruelty.

Wouldn’t that be nice!happy world

Anthropocene Apocalypse – Aldous Huxley quotes on environmental catastrophe in 1944 – very prophetic.

Posted on by Opher

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in 1944, in his book ‘Time Must Have a Stop’, Aldous Huxley clearly stated his philosophy on how we were acting like madmen in the short-sighted destruction of the environment for greed and wealth.

It starts with a statement about religious fanatics and politicians who are prepared to embark on war to create their version of a perfect political or religious state. Both of which are equally diabolic and repugnant. These enterprises all run on idealistic basis with uncertain results. Yet they sacrifice millions for an unpredictable outcome.

The bigotry, ignorance and fanaticism that rules our world is exemplified in the Islamic State and US Foreign policy, in the Israeli’s and Palestinians, the factions in Syria, Iran and Yemen, Nigeria and Afghanistan.

Yet with the environment the results of are actions are utterly predictable.

Seventy years ago Aldous was explaining all this:

‘In politics we have so firm a faith in the manifestly unknowable future that we are prepared to sacrifice millions of lives in an opium smokers dream of utopia or world domination or perpetual security. But where natural resources are concerned, we sacrifice a pretty accurate predictable future to present greed. We know for example, that if we massacre the forests, our children will lack timber and see their uplands eroded, their valleys swept by floods. Nevertheless, we continue to abuse the soil and massacre the forests.’

‘Where we know quite well what is likely to happen.’

‘Those who the Gods would destroy they first make mad.’