There is no other choice

There is no other choice

The Sochi2014 Winter Games are set to sow division in a world already divided. Silent Governments and official Sponsors will be complicit to gross human rights violations and even murder of innocent human beings. 

The "civilized" world should reject these draconian laws and the individual Nations that embrace them. By allowing the Games to continue under this cloud where LGBT citizens and athletes are oppressed will send a clear signal to any future world events, where other horrible measures may be implemented. 

The IOC turning a blind eye and going along with the Games in Russia in this current format, will have blood on their hands and so will the rest of humanity by not speaking up for the right of an athlete to compete freely and fairly.

I abhor the fact that people are not more vocal about this issue. It speaks of intolerance in the extreme. Will we see future Games where the IOC will approve a hosting city and nation with a clear record of human rights violations? 

To even contemplate sending athletes to Sochi in Russia next year, is a slap in the face of everything we learned about our moral obligations as a species. LGBT athletes contemplating attending Sochi must realize that they will be supporting the persecution of their brothers and sisters in Russia and in nations elsewhere.

The persecution is happening right now and will continue after the Games. There is only one outcome and only one moral obligation. Boycott the Sochi 2014 Games - there is no other choice. The IOC must move it to another venue, or cancel it. 

HOW SICK IS THE WORLD?

Sochi shame...

The wanton disregard by the ‪#‎IOC‬, their sponsors and Governments around the world, of the hideous laws enacted by ‪#‎Russia‬ to criminalize humans because of their sexual preference and supposedly wanting to enforce these laws at the ‪#‎Sochi‬ Winter Olympics 2014, bodes exceedingly disastrous for mankind as a species. 

There is absolutely no difference between the 1936 games giving Hitler his world stage, than this one. The only difference is that it is yet more gross human rights abuse in the extreme, forcing the LGBT community and their athletes into the cul-de-sac of the 21st Century. 

The LGBT athletes may as well sew on an upside down pink triangle on their clothing as forced to do in the death camps of Auschwitz and other penal enclosures of the Third Reich. Maybe they may have to do so in defiance and sympathy with the thousands killed by the Hitler regime and the thousands still to be persecuted in Russia.

The really sick thing is, public support of products and services of the sponsors of these hellish Olympic Games, will only reap $-million incomes for Coca Cola, Samsung, McDonalds, General Electric, Omega, Atos, Panasonic, VISA, Yamaha and others. 

So far, no "voice of reason" has emanated from these corporates. They turn a blind eye for financial gain, yet in the end, should they be hard hit by public sanctions, they will sit in their walled boardrooms and ask themselves "how they could have been so stupid and wrong" to back human rights abuse.

There is something intrinsically wrong with this whole picture. Everyone is pu$$yfooting around the issue. The USA and UK governments as example, believe that there is no point in boycotting the Sochi Games - the very people supposedly carrying the torches of freedom of association, the ones who say they fight for liberty and freedom for all humanity? 

The IOC is another sad example of furthering the aims and ideals of the Olympic spirit. Are they so ensconced in their ivory towers not to give a damn? To put it in a nutshell...

"Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles. The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.

The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practising sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play."

Turning a blind eye? Where is the "human" in human dignity or in humanity?

There is only one hope

• "May you find serenity and tranquility in a world you may not always understand. May the pain you have known and the conflict you have experienced give you the strength to walk through life facing each new situation with courage and optimism. Always know that there are those whose love and understanding will always be there, even when you feel most alone. May you discover enough goodness in others to believe in a world of peace. May a kind word, a reassuring touch, and a warm smile be yours every day of your life, and may you give these gifts as well as receive them. Remember the sunshine when the storm seems unending. 
• Teach love to those who hate, and let that love embrace you as you go out into the world. May the teachings of those you admire become part of you, so that you may call upon them. Remember, those whose lives you have touched and whose have touched yours are always a part of you, even if the encounters were less than you would have wished. It is the content of the encounter that is more important than the form. 
• May you not become too concerned with material matters, but instead place immeasurable value on the goodness in your heart. Find time each day to see beauty and love in the world around you. Realize that each person has limitless abilities, but each of us is different in our own way. What you feel you lack in the present may become one of your strengths in the future. May you see your future as one filled with promise and possibility. Learn to view everything as a worthwhile experience. May you find enough inner strength to determine your own worth by yourself, and not be dependent on another's judgment of your accomplishments. May you always feel loved."

~ Unknown

You can always retain your individuality within a sea of others, but remember to see yourself as part of the ALL on Earth and the whole of the Universe, and that ONLY as ONE would we direct the overall being of this Universe - the choice is yours to make for the GOOD of yourself and everything around you.

I know I should write more on my blog, but like all writers I suffer from writer's block. I will however return very soon and blow your little minds away. That is a promise!

Learn by Google, Live by Gandhi: In the beginning...

Learn by Google, Live by Gandhi: In the beginning...: "So recently I've been asked to start 'blogging' - The infamous way to become famous, I guess. 'Blog about what' - was my first reaction, and..."

Foreign nationals settling in urban South Africa - Are we at risk?

It has become more and more apparent that something strange is afoot.

In the normalcy of suburbia, almost invisible, foreign nationals are moving in and forming a core of foreign ideas and businesses, whilst we are oblivious to the change that is coming... that of a rather radically new society im the aftermath of upheavals in Africa and other parts of the world.

Also See: The International Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund report of 8 November 2010 confirming the influx.

Since the advent of its democratic dispensation in 1994, South Africa has become a primary destination and point of transit for people from across the African continent and beyond. In addition, there is a mix of people who come to South Africa seeking protection, prosperity, or passage, whilst a small but important number of this population are migrants who have been forced to flee their respective countries for various reasons and seek safety in South Africa.

TO BE COMPLETED

My Fervent Wish

I desire peace for all the people of the world!

Deseo la paz para toda la gente del mundo

Je désire la paix pour toutes personnes du monde

Voglio la pace per tutta la gente del mondo

私は世界のすべての人々のための平和を望む

Eu desejo a paz para todos os povos do mundo

Я желание мира для всех народов мира

Ich wünsche Frieden für alle Leute der Welt

我渴望和平，为全体人民的世界

لي رغبة في السلام لجميع شعوب العالم

I am one of the relatively new kids on the block, having joined Facebook only on August 14, 2007, but it has now become part of my daily routine, maybe too much so, but I am amazed at the FB phenomena. I have made some very dear new friends, young and old, male and female, and from different cultures through this incredible medium and do so on a daily basis.

It is truly amazing how close we all are and how much we are "ONE FAMILY" on this beautiful planet of ours. I believe that we all have a part to play, being facilitators to bring a vastly different and new experience to human interaction - in love, in camaraderie and in the knowledge that together we can make a difference in this world.

This beautiful planet we live on is going through vast changes, caused by mankind's desire to use and abuse its resources, its wildlife and the very air that we need to sustain life ~ coal power stations, large fires and deforestation, pumping billions of particles of the so-called green-house gases into our fragile atmosphere. But apart from the desire to live on a cleaner planet, one thing everyone living here must desire, is Peace... Not only the peace of mind that you will have a meal and a warm bed at night, but the inherent desire to live and let live.

Yet, we are reminded on a daily basis of the unnecessary conflicts between individuals, between groups, between factions, between countries and between religions. We are now in a fast learning curve, in that our fragile earth is being systematically destroyed by man, and man destroying man.

This has to STOP. We need to take a stand - take hands and together change the way we think. The age of Aquarius is upon us and we should live up to its expectations. In a small way we can all help. Do you really need to print a lot of paperwork? Do you really need a plastic bag for those few items on your daily shopping stop? Could you not take a brisk walk down the block to the café in stead of driving. Do you really need to kill your body with those drugs? There are so many little ways in which we all can share.

Say YES to Tolerance, Say YES to Friendship, Say YES to Love, Say YES to Peace...

Our life rests upon a single breath...
Let us all breathe each other's breaths...
Thank you for reading this, and if you feel the same, please comment...

Love
Michael

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If this were my last day I'm almost sure

I'd spend it working in my garden. I

Would dig about my little plants, and try

To make them happy, so they would endure

Long after me. Then I would hide secure

Where my green arbor shades me from the sky,

And watch how bird and bee and butterfly

Came hovering to every flowery lure.

Then, as I rested, perhaps a friend or two,

Lovers of flowers would come, and we would walk

About my little garden paths and talk

Of peaceful times when all the world seemed true.

This may be my last day, for all I know;

What a temptation just to spend it so!

~ Anne Higginson Spicer