We went to the movies last night with Elliot and Tracey.  We saw “Eat, Poop, Sleep”…I mean, “Eat, Lay, Poop, Pray”. No, no that wasn’t it…It was called “Eat, Pray, Love”. Yeah, that’s it. :) ( T & E: That joke was a nod to you both:)

What can I say, I loved it. The reviews haven’t been so good, but I still loved it. I read the book years ago when it first came out, and I devoured every page as fast as I could, only stopping to savor the sensual sensory scenes, of which there are quite a few. I happily ate it for days, and felt bittersweet and full when I finished.

It is based on a true life story of Elizabeth Gilbert, a writer, who has a cathartic moment crying on her bathroom floor, realizing that she doesn’t want to have children or be married anymore. It is a moment that so many who have read her book can connect with, relate to, in some aspect of their lives. When we are wanting to drop everything and leave our familiarities and comfort zone behind, risking everything in search for self-discovery, our meaning, our joy, our passion.

Many people just dream about it….Liz Gilbert did it. Gilbert left for a year long trip to Italy, India and Indonesia on a journey of self-discovery. During her trip to Bali she pursued two healers, a medicine man Ketut Liyar, and Wayan, a traditional Balinese healer, to talk of her “relationship”.

I want to honor her today as a “Wonderful Woman Of The World”, because her story, her book has had a huge impact on the people that have read it. Enough to have her as a guest on Oprah’s show three times because her story has resonated with so many. Pretty amazing. Women, and possibly men, who have read her write, have been so inspired, that they too decided that they too had the courage to risk everything, to find their appetite for life again. How cool is that?

The interesting thing about Gilbert’s story is that not only has she inspired others to risk everything for change, but even more interesting is the fact that quite a few not only left their comfort zone but followed Gilbert’s path. Literally. Women too have left on their own journey to Bali in pursuit of these two healers Ketut and Wayan, hoping that they too could be told hints of their life’s purpose…their destiny.

In fact, one of my most fave clients Lise, who after reading “Eat, Pray, Love”, left with her husband on a journey to Bali for a month, and part of her purpose was to find these two healers that she had read about. Two years later after her visit with Ketut who spoke two words to Lise, “Make pretty”, and experiencing Wayan’s “treatment”, and much hard work and research, her beauty company Mubeauty was launched. I have not bought Lise’s daily moisturizing complex (yet!), Muface, but when I was working with her during a style session she put the oil mixture on my face, and I really loved how it made my face feel! Yummy smell and my face felt as smooth as silk. And of course I loved that it was all natural. (Disclamier: No I am not getting any kickbacks from Mubeauty.)

Anyway, rarely when I read a book does the movie hold its own. I thought this movie did. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend it. Here’s the trailer to whet your appetite…for love, for food, for peace of mind, for travel…for HOPE…

Readers: Well… what do you think? Blog me.

*********

Robert: Who are you? And I ask the question with respect and admiration. You seem to be a man in the know…one who is privy to info…one who has lots of time..Nope no…I take that back.  One who dedicates time and is persistent in finding the truth. Thank you for sharing so much good info on my blog. You push me to want to know more. Have you ever thought of starting your own blog? You would certainly have a following. But hey, I don’t want to encourage you too much – I’d hate to lose your input here. :)

I am running late this morning…Big day, big plans. Got to run…but first I must say…

…to all of my Burning Man friends, and new friends that I will miss meeting this time around, and especially Neal, Forrest, Ellen, Justyna, and John: “Sandman” and I couldn’t make it this year…but we’re thinking of you and wishing you a beautiful burn tonight! Neal, I will especially miss riding on the back of your turtle, and dancing to the Space Cowboys. John, love the photos you took of me awhile back, but really miss how much fun we had. I saw some of your photos from this year’s BM set up – awesome! Looking forward to next year in the desert, so I can be your subject again when I am in my most fave and free element! Wish we were there with all of you….be safe and burn on… xoxo~ “Cactus Flower”

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the ‘Donate’ button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my ‘Donate’ page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:

or click here: “A Day in the life of…”

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2010

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Ms. Zen Lill found this in Ms. Magazine, and e-mailed it to me thinking it would be a good write to post here. I thought so too, so here it is – Thanks ZL!

We talk about human trafficking quite a bit here. Men: Want to get involved? Want to be able to do something? Well here’s your chance to man up…

Drum roll please…

10 Things Men and Boys Can Do to Stop Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is modern day slavery. It is the use of force, fraud, or coercion to compel another person to provide labor or commercial sex against their will, and it is one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises in the world.

The Renaissance Male Project believes that men are complicit in this crime when they purchase sex because they create the demand by allowing others to exploit women and children for profit. Men must play a role in ending this form of modern-day slavery, a vicious industry that exploits and perpetuates the suffering of hundreds of thousands of women and children in the United States and around the world.

The Polaris Project estimates that:
27 million are enslaved globally.
14,500-17,500 individuals are brought into the U.S. as human trafficking victims each year.
1 million children enter the global commercial sex trade every year.

There are specific actions that men and boys can take to end these atrocities:

1. Challenge the glamorization of pimps in our culture
Mainstream culture has popularized the image of a pimp to the point that some men and boys look up to them as if they represent legitimate male role models, and they view “pimping” as a normal expression of masculinity. As Carrie Baker reflects in “Jailing Girls for Men’s Crimes” in the Summer Ms. issue, the glorification of prostitution is often rewarded, not punished, in pop culture:

Reebok awarded a multi-million-dollar contract for two shoe lines to rapper 50 Cent, whose album “Get Rich or Die Tryin” (with the hit single “P.I.M.P.”) went platinum. Rapper Snoop Dogg, who showed up at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards with two women on dog leashes and who was described in the December 2006 cover of Rolling Stone as “America’s Most Lovable Pimp,” has received endorsement deals from Orbit gum and Chrysler.

In reality, pimps play a central role in human trafficking and routinely rape, beat and terrorize women and girls to keep them locked in prostitution. Men can take a stand against pimps and pimping by renouncing the pimp culture and the music that glorifies it.

2. Confront the belief that prostitution is a “victimless crime”
Many men view prostitution as a “victimless crime.” But it is not. For example, American women who are involved in prostitution are at a greater risk to be murdered than women in the general population. Research also shows that women involved in prostitution suffer tremendous physical and mental trauma associated with their work. Viewing prostitution as a victimless crime or something that women “choose” allows men to ignore the fact that the average age of entry into prostitution in the U.S. is 12 to 14 and that the vast majority of women engaged in prostitution would like to get out but feel trapped. Men should stop viewing prostitution as a victimless crime and acknowledge the tremendous harm and suffering their participation in prostitution causes.

3. Stop patronizing strip clubs
When men think of human trafficking, they often think of brothels in countries outside of the U.S. However, strip clubs in this country as well as abroad may be a place where human trafficking victims go unnoticed or unidentified. Strip clubs are also places of manufactured pleasure where strippers are routinely sexually harassed and assaulted by owners, patrons and security personnel. Men rarely consider whether women working in strip clubs are coerced into that line of work, because to do so would conflict with the pleasure of participating in commercialized sex venues. Men can combat human trafficking by no longer patronizing strip clubs and by encouraging their friends and co-workers to do the same.

4. Don’t consume pornography
Pornography has the power to manipulate male sexuality, popularize unhealthy attitudes towards sex and sexuality and eroticize violence against women. Pornography leads men and boys to believe that certain sexual acts are normal, when in fact sexual acts that are non-consensual, offensive and coupled with violent intent result in the pain, suffering and humiliation of women and children. In addition, a disproportionate amount of mainstream pornography sexualizes younger women with such titles as “teens,” “barely 18,” “cheerleaders,” etc. Targeting younger women socializes men to develop appetites for younger and younger women and creates a pedophiliac culture among men. Victims of human trafficking have also been forced into pornography. Men can stop the voyeurism of sex and sex acts that fuel human trafficking by refusing to consume pornography and encourage others to do the same.

5. Tackle male chauvinism and sexism online
Contrary to the myth that men do not gossip, men spend a significant amount of time online discussing their sexual exploits. The Internet provides many men with the ability to mask their identities while indulging in racist, sexist and violent diatribes against women and girls. Choosing to be a critical voice online is an extremely important way to educate and inform men and boys about their choices. Men can change this culture by starting threads in online forums that cause men to talk about their attitudes towards women and how these attitudes and behaviors are linked to human trafficking.

6. End sex tourism
Men in the U.S. and other “first world” nations routinely travel overseas and have sex with women in developing countries. When men engage in these practices, they do not acknowledge the fact that many trafficked women and children come from developing countries-even in countries where prostitution is “legal.” Traveling overseas grants men a great deal of anonymity. As men, we have a responsibility to confront the men that go overseas and participate in sex tourism.

7. Talk to men and boys about men’s issues in male spaces
The only way to change men is by engaging spaces where men and boys talk and develop their ideas and attitudes towards sex and sexuality. Males spaces such as barbershops, locker rooms, fraternities and union halls are the real classrooms where boys learn to become men and where men develop most of their ideas about how to interact with women. If men do not feel comfortable talking about these issues in male spaces, they can drop off informational brochures and make themselves available to talk with other men and boys when they have questions or concerns. As men, we need to turn male spaces into circles of accountability where men learn about non-violence, social justice and ending violence against women.

8. Support anti-human-trafficking policies
President Obama declared January 2010 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. However, more substantive legislation is required to end human trafficking. Men can educate themselves about the issues by visiting anti-trafficking organizations and by asking their elected officials what they have done to support or sponsor anti-human trafficking legislation. One of the most important acts men can do to stop human trafficking is to support anti-trafficking legislation at the local, state or federal level.

9. Support creation of “John Schools”
There would be no human trafficking if there were was no demand for it. Strategies aimed at ending human trafficking must focus on eliminating the demand. “John Schools” are education programs designed to educate customers apprehended by law enforcement who attempted to purchase sex. By teaching the legal and health effects of buying sex and the realities of prostitution, such schools impart knowledge that can reduce demand, making men conscious of how their actions can spur on human trafficking. Learn whether or not your local community has a John School. If not, encourage your local prosecutor’s office or city counsel to start one.

10. Raise sons and mentor boys to challenge oppression
No boy is destined to be a “john,” a pimp, or a human trafficker. Raising young men in circles of accountability to be respectful and protective of all women and children is one of the most important things men can do to stop human trafficking. Talk about human trafficking as a modern form of slavery to help convince men and boys to become allies in the fight to end this form of oppression.

Editors’ note: What do you think of these suggestions? Please comment and discuss!

Comments? Thoughts? Show me some lip – Blog this BABE…

…Peacin’ out…

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the ‘Donate’ button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my ‘Donate’ page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:

or click here: “A Day in the life of…”

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2010

John Curley Photography

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

I love my sleep. I have said so here many times.

Our tenant, who is a tad fearful of spiders had a spider problem a few weeks ago. When she started waking up with spiders in her bed, it understandably became more of an issue.  We had the exterior of our house sprayed with an environmentally safe pesticide. Remove their food, they go away – Okay, problem solved.

Many, many years ago while studying fashion design in la-la-land and living in Hollywood, I woke up twice with dead cockroaches underneath me in my bed. Yuch! I’ll take spiders any day. I never kill them.  I always gently scoop them up and put them outside. Okay, spider problem solved.

Cockroaches – that’s a different story. Let me just tell you, I do not scoop them up and take them outside. I complained to my landlord. Like in New York, Los Angeles has its share of roaming cockroaches. However New York has the biggest ones I have ever seen. And in Bangcock, they sell cockroaches, or at least critters that looks very much like cockroaches, on the street: A delicacy. Not my kind of delicacy, but the Thai seemed to covet them.

But I digressed –  my landlord in Hollywood, at that time sprayed the interior of my rental with this pesticide, that to this day if I ever smell it, I know exactly what it is that I am smelling. And if I ever do smell that smell and I can skidoo out of where I’m at ( hopefully it is not some restaurant I am about to dine at), believe me I will as quickly as I can. Reminders of waking up with cockroaches isn’t exactly something I want to remember.

Nor is the memory of being woken up in an old boyfriend’s bed with a potato bug trying to nestle up in a warm spot. ( I thought you’d like a picture just in case you’ve never seen one – this bug is about 2.5″ long. I even found a website for those of you who want to learn more.:) It took me a few seconds to realize it wasn’t my boyfriend trying to subtly fondle me and wake me up with a dose of pleasure.

I threw back the covers, flicked the critter off nestled in my pubic bed, and I screamed a scream that I am sure the neighbors to this day still remember. All I can ever think about is how lucky I am to be a light sleeper and that I didn’t fall into an erotic dream where I might have spread these thighs to invite my little friend in for some hot lovin’ with me. Got the visual? Sex with bugs – Hmm could be someone’s turn on. Not mine – Ugh! The thought!…

Evidently talking about bugs brings me back. And perhaps I’m giving TMI. (Too Much Information)

Ah yes, so here we are at the present moment…the topic at hand…Can you guess what it is?

This Bedbug’s Life

I had been a professor of entomology for 15 years before I saw my first live bedbug. It crawled out of a plastic film canister that had been mailed to me by a distraught student in the Boston area who had no idea what it was. I was so thrilled to see a live bedbug, I showed it off to every graduate student I ran into that day: Cimex lectularius – a small, flat, wingless, brown ectoparasite that hides in cracks and crevices in human dwellings and emerges under cover of darkness to feast on human blood.

That was in 1995, and none of my students had laid eyes on Cimex lectularius either. A century ago, bedbugs were ubiquitous in New York – so much so that their presence in an apartment wasn’t considered sufficient legal cause for withholding rent. Bedbugs, one judge remarked in an early 20th century lawsuit against a landlord, “can be dealt with by the tenant by processes known to all housewives.” But with the midcentury advent of synthetic organic insecticides, these insects all but vanished from urban landscapes (and pretty much every other kind of landscape) in North America.

My Bostonian bug turned out to be one of many on the forefront of an unprecedented resurgence. Global travelers now bring in a steady supply from around the world, inconspicuously undeclared in checked bags and carry-on luggage. Today, bedbugs have been found in all 50 states, as well as Guam, Puerto Rico and American Samoa, and bedbug-related calls to pest control operators are escalating at a fantastic rate. From June 2009 to June 2010, there were more than 31,000 calls in New York City alone.

Now, bedbug-related lawsuits can lead to thousands of dollars in punitive damages for mental anguish, embarrassment or humiliation.

Everywhere New Yorkers go – theaters, stores, offices, schools, trains, ships, hospitals – bedbugs go, too, hidden in folds of clothing, bags, backpacks and purses. Getting rid of them has become more than any housewife could ever be expected to handle. Even professional pest control operators are struggling to keep up, because bedbugs have become, for the most part, resistant to the old pesticides that once were so effective, and relatively few viable chemical alternatives exist.

We reserve a special kind of enmity for bedbugs because, though humans generally do not like being anywhere other than at the pinnacle of a food chain, there is a particular horror associated with being consumed while relatively helpless, asleep in what should be the security of one’s own bed (or chair or couch). With bedbugs, it’s personal – unlike cockroaches, ants, silverfish and other vermin that are attracted to our possessions, bedbugs are after us. And they’re remarkably adept at circumventing our defenses: They not only attack while we sleep, but they also inject anesthetics, so as not to awaken us, and anticoagulants, so that in every 10-minute feeding they can suck in two to three times their weight in clot-free blood.

Bedbugs win neither praise for their sophisticated technique, nor very much respect for the fact that they don’t carry diseases, as most bloodsucking human ectoparasites do. Although their bites can cause unrelieved itchiness, bedbugs take only blood and leave no pathogens behind. In contrast, lice spread typhus; mosquitoes carry the viruses that cause yellow fever, dengue, encephalitis and West Nile disease; ticks transmit the Lyme disease bacterium; and fleas can bring the bacterium that causes plague.

But lack of involvement in spreading disease is hardly an endearing attribute. In fact, precious few aspects of bedbug biology are endearing. They don’t build their own houses or care for their young, and their sexual practices are bizarre even by insect standards: Because the female bedbug has no genital opening, the male inseminates her by using his hardened, sharpened genitalia to punch a hole through her abdomen. With no elaborate courtship ritual, males in a frenzied pursuit of sexual congress often blunder into and puncture the bodies of other males, occasionally inflicting fatal wounds.

To top it off, almost every aspect of bedbug behavior is mediated by airborne odorants, almost all of which are, when detected, repulsive to humans.

What, if anything, is there to like about a bedbug? They certainly like us; we probably have no greater admirers in the insect world. They like the way we live, unlike most vertebrates, in permanent homes. (Bats and birds, which also build homes, are hosts to several of the bedbug’s close relatives.) Bedbugs do not discriminate among humans on the basis of race, creed or socioeconomic status, and they’re happy with almost any interior decorating style; they are as happy in a French provincial nook as they are in a contemporary cranny. The bugs’ climate preferences are essentially an exact match to our own, and a small wingless creature couldn’t ask for a better traveling companion – airlines have opened a world of possibilities for a species that can’t get very far on its own six legs.

Perhaps the one good thing about bedbugs is that they provide a rare point of agreement that transcends race, religion, culture, nationality, tax bracket and party. It may be one of the few remaining universal truths – urban or rural, red state or blue, everyone agrees it would be great if bedbugs would disappear once more.

May Berenbaum, the head of the entomology department at the University of Illinois, is the author of “The Earwig’s Tail: A Modern Bestiary of Multi-Legged Legends.”

By MAY BERENBAUM,

Published: August 7, 2010 – New York Times

Readers: I found this story fascinating.  Obviously I’ve had some intimate moments with bugs. Bedbugs are not on my list and I don’t plan on having any type of relationship with them intimate or otherwise. – How about you? Bothered by bugs in your bed (or just your mate?:) And spider stories you want to share? Have you been intimate with insects? Blog me.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the ‘Donate’ button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my ‘Donate’ page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:

or click here: “A Day in the life of…”

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2010

John Curley Photography

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

I first heard about “Monkey Moms” and “Monkids” the other day while watching the Discovery Channel. I couldn’t pull myself away from the TV, because what I saw was so disturbing to me. People, mostly women who have a strong love for “babies”, shell out big bucks to buy a baby monkey so that they can care for the “baby” for the next 30 years.

Capuchin baby Monkey are taken from their mothers, sometimes when they are only 3 days old. This is obviously not natural. Baby monkeys hang onto their mothers backs for months, bonding and growing. When they are taken away from their natural mothers and given to their human mothers, they innately want to bond, so they rock back and forth on a blanket. Depriving them of their natural mothers and this bonding process is cruel and inhumane.

Yet these soon-to-be “monkey moms” don’t seem to think of the feelings of these little creatures, they call “monkids”; they are only thinking of themselves and their need to have a “forever baby”. They dress their “forever babies” in human clothes and feed them human food. This is sick and cruel and obviously not healthy for the monkey.

Oh…but what happens when their “forever baby” naturally gets aggressive? Well then we’ll just remove the little ones teeth. Problem solved. Well what happens after years of this unnatural and abusive treatment of these “monkids”, and the “forever baby” gets older and just doesn’t feel like playing human baby anymore? Well, naturally they attack. Oops…time to get rid of the “forever baby”.

Monkeys as surrogate children

by Sandy Maple Jul 3rd 2008 10:03AM

Readers: Ya know, I don’t believe these “monkey moms” truly love their “monkids”. If they had any feelings and respect for these primates they would never even consider taking them away from their natural parents, siblings, and environment. Period. They are destroying these beautiful little creatures lives, all for their own happiness – Their desire to have a “forever baby”. This is not love – this is pure selfishness.

The Captive Primate Safety Act HR – 80 needs to pass. This practice of being able to sell primates to humans for their own selfish pleasure is just disgusting, cruel, inhumane, and it needs to be stopped. Websites such as Wild Animal World, sell exotic animals. Their tag line: “Captive Primate, Safety Act HR – 80 – We will fight for our rights and our primates.” “Our” primates. Since when is it okay to rip primates from the loving arms of its natural mother so that one can claim it as its “own”?

All I can say is I wish that all of these “monkey moms” could experience having their own human child ripped from their arms at 3 days old and sold. Maybe then they would understand what it feels like, and have a little compassion and respect for the creatures that we are blessed to share this planet with.

Comments?

Zen Lill: Perhaps having “Monkeys” in the back of my brain was the reasoning for my “visual” the other day. Ugh…gotta lose that visual!

ZL and Doug: I’m into pushing this “aXe” too. Here’s the official site. I’m not sure if they are for sale yet though.

Ruth: This article is just horrific. Just when I think that we are getting ahold of our food sources, and heading in the right direction, there are articles like this that remind me that big money would rather fleece the people than feed us healthy foods. I have more to say on this but I will add it to my write tomorrow.

As far as  ”aXe” “size”: I have no idea but that is a good question. Happy to hear that you are going to be purchasing them.

PS. I too hope that you hear from Anonz soon.

Mike: Nothing new there. The Repugs will do anything to win. Readers, Listen to Mike and listen to me. Get out and vote. I can’t express enough how we must go out to the polls when the time comes and vote. They are expecting many people to stay on the couch for these midterms. We can’t let that happen. Make sure you and everyone you know makes it to the polls.

Dana: Again, here is the official site.  Good luck.

Got to run. Peace out…

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

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Scene: A man attacks a woman from behind and throws her face down on the ground. He’s on top of her, one hand cupping her mouth, the other lifting her skirt, ripping her panties off. The victim, a young woman is scared and enraged as she tries to violently kick and scream, pulling and scratching at the perpetrator’s hands, trying to fend him off. He holds her forcefully down, while unzipping his pants. She continues to kick and fight as best as she can, but his hand is suffocating her and she is running out of breath. He smiles an evil smile, and shouts in her ear, “Bite me bitch. I’m taking this, and there’s nothing you can do about it!” He begins to rape her.

Oh yeah? Take this! The rape doesn’t last long…seconds later, to his surprise, “bite” him she does.

Readers: No one ever wants the above scene to happen. And if the scene sounds horrible, and it does, one can not imagine how awful it is for the woman who is the victim, unless you have been raped yourself. And even then most rapes are probably a lot worse than I care to describe it. But you’ll soon get my point…read on.

This is an interesting little discovery that I made, that may provide assistance to women, if they choose. The article was written back in June of this year. This is one solution that I feel will make men think with the big head, before they decide to force their little head into women.

(CNN) — South African Dr. Sonnet Ehlers was on call one night four decades ago when a devastated rape victim walked in. Her eyes were lifeless; she was like a breathing corpse.

“She looked at me and said, ‘If only I had teeth down there,’” recalled Ehlers, who was a 20-year-old medical researcher at the time. “I promised her I’d do something to help people like her one day.”

Forty years later, Rape-aXe was born.

Ehlers is distributing the female condoms in the various South African cities where the World Cup soccer games are taking place.

The woman inserts the latex condom like a tampon. Jagged rows of teeth-like hooks line its inside and attach on a man’s penis during penetration, Ehlers said.

Once it lodges, only a doctor can remove it — a procedure Ehlers hopes will be done with authorities on standby to make an arrest.

“It hurts, he cannot pee and walk when it’s on,” she said. “If he tries to remove it, it will clasp even tighter… however, it doesn’t break the skin, and there’s no danger of fluid exposure.”

Ehlers said she sold her house and car to launch the project, and she planned to distribute 30,000 free devices under supervision during the World Cup period.

“I consulted engineers, gynecologists and psychologists to help in the design and make sure it was safe,” she said.

After the trial period, they’ll be available for about $2 a piece. She hopes the women will report back to her.

“The ideal situation would be for a woman to wear this when she’s going out on some kind of blind date … or to an area she’s not comfortable with,” she said.

The mother of two daughters said she visited prisons and talked to convicted rapists to find out whether such a device would have made them rethink their actions.
Some said it would have, Ehlers said.

Critics say the female condom is not a long-term solution and makes women vulnerable to more violence from men trapped by the device.

It’s also a form of “enslavement,” said Victoria Kajja, a fellow for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the east African country of Uganda. “The fears surrounding the victim, the act of wearing the condom in anticipation of being assaulted all represent enslavement that no woman should be subjected to.”
Kajja said the device constantly reminds women of their vulnerability.

“It not only presents the victim with a false sense of security, but psychological trauma,” she added. “It also does not help with the psychological problems that manifest after assaults.”

However, its one advantage is it allows justice to be served, she said.
Various rights organizations that work in South Africa declined to comment, including Human Rights Watch and Care International.

South Africa has one of the highest rape rates in the world, Human Rights Watch says on its website. A 2009 report by the nation’s Medical Research Council found that 28 percent of men surveyed had raped a woman or girl, with one in 20 saying they had raped in the past year, according to Human Rights Watch.

In most African countries, rape convictions are not common. Affected women don’t get immediate access to medical care, and DNA tests to provide evidence are unaffordable.

“Women and girls who experience these violations are denied justice, factors that contribute to the normalization of rape and violence in South African society,” Human Rights Watch says.

Women take drastic measures to prevent rape in South Africa, Ehlers said, with some wearing extra tight biker shorts and others inserting razor blades wrapped in sponges in their private parts.

Critics have accused her of developing a medieval device to fight rape.
“Yes, my device may be a medieval, but it’s for a medieval deed that has been around for decades,” she said. “I believe something’s got to be done … and this will make some men rethink before they assault a woman.”

Readers: Sure, so it may not be a long term solution but it is one solution, and I have to say, except for exterminating the evil, I haven’t heard of too many solutions that I could run with. If I were in a place where rape was prevalent I would certainly consider wearing one. Yes, no doubt the perpetrator is going to be quite upset being “bitten” by one of these, but I think he’ll be so shocked and focused on his pain, that the victim will hopefully be able to get away and get help.

As far as the rest of what the critics are saying, I think it is a bunch of BS, but you tell me. The critics claim that it is a form of “enslavement”. Please spare me…or at least spare these women – they are already being enslaved by men. How does wearing one of these make them more vulnerable. Women in Uganda, and many other places are already in fear of being raped; they already feel vulnerable.

I think wearing one of these would give a woman “confidence”, and not false sense of security. Confidence that should something happen, she will have recourse. Of course it doesn’t help with the psychological problems that manifests after assaults – that goes without saying. And no, Rape aXe won’t protect a woman from being raped, but it does give the woman justice (not to mention the satisfaction of inflicting pain on her perpetrator – how’s that for a dose? You can give it, but can you take it?), and that lone fact itself, is enough I would think, for a woman to want to wear one.

Plus once the “word” gets out that women have access to these condoms, and once men hear through experience just how painful the “bite” can be, not to mention the fear of being convicted of rape, perhaps men just might curb their sick minds.

I say go for it. Love it. I know that’s a strange statement to say in regards to rape. But I support getting medieval on the evil. If men are going to continue to rape women, there has to be some immediate consequences, and pain and suffering sounds good to me. Men see no problem inflicting pain and suffering on the women they are raping. But more importantly, women will feel empowered because they have caught their perpetrator, and they can do something about it.

Yes, I can hear some of you men screaming now, and not from being “bitten”. I know some of you men will say that some women will use it to get back at men, take revenge on men, and not for the intended purpose of achieving justice from being raped. Yes, that may be true.

But I say that if it weren’t for men raping women in the first place…if it weren’t for men who enslave women and rape them at their pleasure…if it weren’t for men using rape as a weapon of war, well than a woman wouldn’t need to come up with this type of device in the first place to protect her sisters now would she?

I say get theses devises out there, make them accessible and distribute them to the women. Let the women make their own choice if they want to wear one or not. Give the women the power.

I would love to hear your thoughts. Would you wear one? I want to Especially hear from my women readers who live in countries where rape is a daily experience in their immediate lives. Blog me.

Ruth: I feel many times that I am the voice of bad news too – so you are not alone. I look at where everything is made these days, and if it is made in China, I don’t buy it. Unfortunately finding things made in the U.S. is getting difficult, but really…how much does one need? “Be choosy”, is what I say. Thanks for the important post. Keep ‘em coming. We all need to be as informed as we can be.

Qal’eh-Ye Now, Gardez, Kheyrabad, Herat: Perhaps today’s write is a solution for you too. I know it is not a long term solution. Long term is our country refusing to do business with your country(pl) unless women are treated as equals. I hear you and I agree with you. Oil is the problem. Thank you for reminding me and my readers. I wish all of you well.

Doug: We are a planet who treat each other so unkindly, and I am being kind here. People fear the aliens, and what they may do to us.  But look at what we do to our own kind.

Zen Lill: Ahahha! I have to laugh at your comment. Please don’t be offended; I am no way a prude when it comes to sex, and I certainly like bringing out the beast, but “Hot monkey lovin’” just doesn’t give me a good visual…Kind of a funny visual – not what you intended I’m sure. But hey, who cares about me, as long as it turns you on. :)

Peace out…

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the ‘Donate’ button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my ‘Donate’ page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:

or click here: “A Day in the life of…”

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2010

John Curley Photography

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"