Saying No to the Culture of Death

Whenever a person becomes famous for something like a sporting activity, it does not take long before the MSM starts what is a witch hunt against the person. The excuse for the behaviour of the MSM happens to be that they believe that if a person is in the public eye then they have a right to expose every little dirty secret to the public, even if it ends up in a suicide, or damaging the person's good name, or death by accident.

Lady Diana, the Princess of Wales died as a result of a car accident that might or might not have been caused by those mongrels known as the paparazzi. These mongrels without a doubt do not deserve to be fed with the big dollars for the way in which they breach the privacy of others. From the moment that Lady Diana Spenser agreed to become the wife of the Prince of Wales, she became fair game for the media circus pack. Time and again her privacy was breached and even now that she is dead, the media circus has not let up. The behaviour of the media in this case, and in the case of other high profile stars can only be described as Tall Poppy Syndrome.

There is a case here in Australia where a woman in West Australia committed suicide because of a scandal involving her divorce. She was a woman in the public eye and some very private matters were aired in the parliament for the sole purpose of the material being used against another parliamentarian. That woman committed suicide because she could not handle what had happened in the Parliament. It was a very sad case and the woman most responsible for the events and death that took place now sits in the Federal Parliament. When she was questioned over the matter that was brought before a parliamentary inquiry into the tragedy, Carmen Lawrence suffered a severe case of amnesia, and so she was let off the hook.

This case happened many years ago, and I mention it in a cursory way because it serves to illustrate how even the Tall Poppy Syndrome is a clear part of the Culture of death. People who make a habit of bringing others down are participating in the death of a person's reputation. The MSM continues to be a scourge to the movie, sports and television stars. Every single trivial incident is reported because these people are there, in the public eye and they are rich. The journalists do not like rich people, unless they are also rich, and even then that does not stop them attempting to ruin others. Sometimes they invent stories just to sell their magazines and newspapers, and when they do that they cause a lot of hurt to the person involved.

The Tall Poppy Syndrome is not confined to the MSM and it can be found in the community and in the workplace. It only takes one person to spread lies about another person to see the results of jealousy in the workplace. Talking behind another person's back is definitely bad news. Gathering together and plotting against the person is worse than just the gossip. This kind of behaviour exists in the corporate workplace, and the perpetrator can always come across as the innocent or injured party, leaving the other person exposed, and looking bad in the boss's eyes. People who indulge in such behaviour can be easily described as passive-aggressive, because they are in fact out to harm the reputation of the other person.

Tall Poppy Syndrome is most destructive when the individual who is being targeted is very sensitive. It can also lead to a lack of trust in some individuals and cause division. Take for example the situation of a Parish Priest whose every move is being watched, and reported to the Bishop. If he is a sensitive man, then this will have a very bad effect upon his health. The people responsible seem to think that they have a right to write letters to the Bishop over the slightest of supposed mistakes. The behaviour of the few who are acting very self-righteous can cause the mental breakdown of that priest, or even other health problems. Either way, Tall Poppy Syndrome is very harmful and it hurts the reputations of others.

People who belive in being a part of the culture of life have no business attempting to bring others down, and that includes putting pressure on a parish priest in order to force him to leave the parish, whether for health reasons, or because he was forced to leave by the Bishop. The Press always use the excuse that they print the stories that people want to hear, but I wonder how true that might be, because I personally stopped reading the women's magazines when they stopped having the knitting and crochet, and became more trashy in content. The media circus tries to dictate what we read and they fill their rags with stories about movie and television stars, making revelations that are not true, and attempting to destroy the good will of the star's fans.

This is not a rant against those stars who have made mistakes in their lives, it is a rant against the way in which those mistakes get taken up by the media circus in order to make that person look like a real jerk. For example, Mel Gibson was caught DUI and he said something in his drunken rage at being caught. The press released information about the tirade, and hey presto, Gibson's reputation in Hollywood took a nose dive. The remark was not meant for public consumption, and really we have become too politically correct if we take offence every time someone makes a similar tirade, whether it is against Jews, Christians or Muslims.

There are many diseases that cause people to be in constant pain. People who suffer from a variety of forms of arthritis are very familiar with the pain associated with the disease. Personally, I have been diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis. It has taken 18 years when the symptoms first began to be truly noticeable to get a diagnosis. In that time I had been in a lot of pain. For years I have existed on pain killers as well as the NSAIDs, including Mobic, Celebrex, Orudis and other types. I have also been diagnosed with clinical depression. There is a connection between the pain of these conditions and depression. The question that needs to be honestly answered: which came first? I suspect that the Ankylosing Spondylitis came first, but there are other reasons behind my depression.

People who have a condition that causes severe pain need to have the causes of their pain recognized by their health providers, as well as by family and friends. Perhaps I can illustrate this best by providing more information about my own background and my struggle with ongoing pain. In 1959 my family was involved in a near fatal accident. We know now that we suffered Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome as a result of that accident. In those days this syndrome was not recognized, and to be honest many of our ongoing family problems have their roots in that car accident. I suffered what appeared to be minor injury, having a cut on my forehead just above my left eye that required several stitches. Since I have no memory of the actual car accident, but I do remember climbing from my mother's knee in the front over to the back minutes before the accident, I do not know if I was in fact thrown from the car. The head injury indicated that I had hit my forehead on something. I am also aware that for a short time I was unconscious because I woke up in a room where I was on a bed surrounded by strange men in white coats. I was allowed to go free and then we were transported by ambulance (I do not remember any of that trip) to the Alfred hospital, and from there I was placed in a taxi, the driver picked up my paternal grandmother, and then we were taken to my home. Please keep in mind that I was four years old when this very traumatic event took place. One of my sisters nearly lost her life as a result of that car accident, but the doctors cared for her and she survived. As a result of my minor head injury, I suffered from concussion, and I had very severe headaches. The reason for outlining this story is that my headaches were not acknowledged by my family, the lawyer who took charge of seeking compensation, and my doctors. No one believed a child of four could have headaches. This lack of acknowledgement of my head pain caused me no end of trauma and I believe was a contributing factor to my depression. There are other more personal factors that I do not need to divulge here.

Having suffered both pain and depression, I am familiar with both mental and physical suffering.  There was a time when I would have wanted to commit suicide because of mental anguish and I am no longer afraid to admit that such thoughts have passed through my mind. There are millions of people all over the world who have endured the same pain and mental anguish that I have experienced. There is that point when in the midst of that suffering we hit rock bottom. What some do not realise is that by hitting rock bottom, we have reached a climax in that mental anguish, and within the future we can look forward rather than staying within the chasm of suffering. If we allow God's grace to work within us, we can at least find peace within. Looking to the Cross and remembering the torture that was suffered by Jesus Christ on our behalf serves as a constant reminder that there is one man who underwent unimaginable pain for the sake of all of humanity, so that we would be saved from the chains that bind us to the slavery of sin. Our own physical and mental suffering pales into insignificance when we ponder the events surrounding the arrest of the man who is known as Jesus Christ, his trial, torture and death upon the Cross. The people who reject Christ and refuse to allow God into their lives tend to be so egocentric that they think that they have the right to kill themselves rather than accept their pain and anguish, and then dealing with the same. What is worse than the egomaniac who is so self-centred that death becomes the only option for mental pain, are the doctors, especially in Belgium and Holland, who are prepared to offer the mentally ill an assisted suicide package so that they can end their lives. These are the doctors who deal exclusively in the Culture of Death. Why did they choose the medical profession if they wanted to become killers?

There are ways of treating the mental anguish of a person who is suffering from mental illness. Since I have received psychological therapy, I am well aware of the alternatives that are available for people like myself who have suffered so much at the hands of others. One of the best alternatives is a therapy that is known as CBT or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. It is possible to treat people who want to commit suicide, and yes it is possible for such people to end up returning to their mainstream activities as well as becoming people who are more self-confident. The offering of assisted suicide does nothing to assist men and women who have been diagnosed with a mental illness or a mental disorder. They can be helped with the use of medication such as lithium, or even Zoloft which is an SSRI.  Some people who have become depressed have developed a chemical imbalance which is due to the lack of serotonin to one's brain. There are also other methods for dealing with pain, and these methods are taught by a pain management team. It is possible to teach people who have genuine pain to learn to focus less on the pain and this can be done through such things as meditation, or even an exercise program such as Tai Chi can assist in shifting that focus away from the pain.

My concern here, is that quite often a person who is suffering from pain is treated as though she or he is a hypochondriac. What is worse, in some cases the person who is indeed quite ill is treated by family members as though she or he is a burden to the remainder of the family. When people are treated as though they are a burden to others the psychological impact of that treatment is to increase the propensity to become depressed. That form of treatment is telling the person that he or she is not loved sufficiently by the other members of the family and for that reason the thoughts that start taking shape is that under these circumstances one would be better off dead. If the family members do not believe in psychological counselling and the way in which it can help the family to see things in a different light, then that person has little confidence in being able to come to terms with the pain of the disabling condition as well as the lack of overall support from family members. When this kind of situation exists those people are the type who are so vulnerable that they become prey to doctors who are dealers in death, such as Philip Nietzche.

One of Nietzche's victims is a woman by the name of Nancy Crick. This woman was not in fact dying, but she was led to believe that she had cancer and that she was going to die a painful death as a result of her non-existant cancer. Nancy also went along with the propaganda of the Australian Euthanasia society. The truth about Nancy, that only came to light after her death was accomplished, was that she did not have cancer and that she was severely depressed. Philip Nietzche took advantage of Nancy Crick's depression to the point that she truly believed that she had cancer. This belief made her a willing pawn of Nietzche who was pushing for assisted euthanasia of those who wanted to kill themselves. Nancy had made a video about why she wanted to die, and this was used for publicity purposes to promote euthanasia on demand. It was only after Nancy followed through with the help of Nietzche, with her own death, that the autopsy revealed that she did not have cancer. If Nancy Crick had received proper psychiatric assessment and counseling, as well as better community support for her depression she might be alive today. 

In Holland, a doctor has admitted that he helped a young woman of less than 25 years to commit suicide because she was depressed or mentally ill. Now there is a new push to allow doctors to put the mentally ill to death if they desire to commit suicide. This is going down the same road that was taken in the days prior to the implementation of the final solution in Germany. It is a dangerous path, and it is sending a message to those who are disabled and mentally ill that they are not valued members of society.  The whole idea of killing people simply because they are mentally ill is truly anathema to me. It is so very wrong both morally and ethically to participate and to support such a move. The mentally ill, the disabled, and the most vulnerable members of society need our support, not a death sentence.

We have now reached a moment of truth with regard to following the Culture of Death. Do we continue to allow these things to happen within our midst or do we make the decision to stand up and fight against these new forms of injustice that are being cleverly disguised as a civil rights issue? Instead of supporting the idea that it is ok to put people to death claiming that they have no quality of life, I think that it is time to evaluate the motivations of these merchants of death. It is also time to evaluate the impact of these situations upon our own moral and spiritual lives. Participation in the Culture of Death is an assured spiritual death sentence. People such as Peter Singer and Dr. Death Cranford, for example do not believe in God, and for that reason they believe that there is nothing wrong in condemning another person to die via euthanasia. Dr. Death Cranford, Dr. Death Kervorkian, and Dr. Death Nietzche have no problem with the idea of killing others because they believe in their own omnipotence. They think that they have the right to play God with the lives of others, and to anticipate what only God can decide. They are the ones who constantly and calmly promote death on demand for the most vulnerable members of society. As a result they have paved the way for the unscrupulous to take advantage of the most vulnerable citizens within society, forcing them into guardianship situations, stripping them of their assets and then neglecting them to the point of their dying via starvation and dehydration. 

This is an unacceptable situation and it is time that the public at large started to have a rethink over these issues. Anybody who thinks that starvation and dehydration is a painless way for someone to die is fooling himself because that form of death is excrutiatingly painful for the victim. A person who is described as neurologically awake feels pain and if that person is forced into dying in such an horrendous way, then that person has been murdered. This is what is happening on a daily basis. If a person is dying from something like cancer, then yes there is a point when the body begins to shut down and food is being rejected. We do not have the right to anticipate that moment of death by taking matters into our own hands. We also do not have the moral right to assist a depressed or mentally ill person to commit suicide. That form of assistance should always be classified as deliberate murder and the offender should be prosecuted. How far will society fall before there  is a final wake up call?

During the discourse at Capernaeum Jesus said "I am the Bread of Life", and "whoever eats this Bread will have Life". Unfortunately few people understand the Life-giving message of Jesus Christ. That is why people who profess themselves as devoted Christians claim that it is ok to kill someone in the name of compassion.

The Schindler vs. Schiavo case has served as a catalyst for understanding what it means to be a member of the culture of life, rather than of the culture of death. When George Felos, Michael Schiavo and all of their co-conspirators pushed to have Terri starve and dehydrate to death, they used a number of techniques that on the surface appear to be successful, in that they have convinced an ignorant mass of people that if someone has brain damage then it is ok to abuse that person in the psychological sense, by deprivation of the presence of family and friends; physically abuse the person by refusing to allow therapy that would bring about an improvement in the quality of life; and indulge in the ultimate form of abuse - the starvation and dehydration of that person until death occurs.

Terri's death was not natural because she was not dying. She needed the feeding tube because Michael refused to allow her to receive therapy so that she could relearn how to feed herself. She was able to communicate with her family, yet the dark forces claimed that there was no communication. Well I say that what they claimed was absolute poppycock. The videos that I saw showed a level of communication, including the communication of pain by Terri. This was a death that was brought about because someone had made a deal to use Terri's case in order to force a situation where euthanasia on demand became more acceptable.

However, euthanasia can never be morally acceptable to those who fear God. The killing of another human being on the grounds that there is no quality of life has nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ. It was Jesus who taught us to love thy neighbour. There is no love attached when someone is forced to dehydrate to death, and not even allowed to be offered an icechip to cool her thirst. Terri's death was extremely cruel. People try to hide from the issues by pretending that she could feel nothing. However, that is not true, because Terri Schindler-Schiavo could feel pain, and she was capable of communicating that she felt pain. She was administered pain killers when she had her monthly menses, and she was able to tell her carers that she had pain.

There is further evidence that Terri Schindler-Schiavo felt pain and that evidence is the very existence of the bone scan. This scan was performed because Terri was reacting to physiotherapy that she was receiving. In other words her reaction was due to pain in her knee because of some inflammation that had been stirred up. Terri felt the pain of that inflammation and she told the staff to stop when she was being hurt. Yet, members of the culture of death continue to deny the visible facts of this case, and they do this because they do not want to admit to their own complicity in the murder of an innocent woman.

This is only one side of the issue relating to following the culture of life instead of the culture of death. Christians who are followers of Jesus Christ must always choose life over death, including in circumstances where abortion is being pushed as the only alternative for a difficult pregnancy. What good are these tests if the ultimate end is to terminate a pregnancy because of the "fear" that the child to be born might not be perfect? It is the acceptance of that less than perfect child that makes one pleasing in God's eyes. The rejection of an imperfect child is not pleasing to God, because all are made in the likeness and image of God. Men and women who claim to be Christian, but at the same time claim to be pro-choice are deceiving themselves. Being pro-choice is not following God's commands, for he said "thou shalt not kill", and that includes the infant in the womb.

Look for a moment at how the culture of death tries desparately to dehumanize the unborn infant. This is surely the clue as to how they have convinced so many that they do indeed have the right to kill that which is within the womb, as if that child simply has no life of its own. The ultimate deception is the description of the unborn child as a zygote, a fetus, and nothing more than a blob of cells. By dehumanizing the child in this way they seem to say that one has an automatic right to flush from one's system the product of the sins of the flesh. Ultimately these women have to stand before God and they have to account for the children that they have killed in this way.

Even if the child is allowed to be born, there are alleged doctors who see it as a mission to destroy the life of an infant that is seen to be imperfect. They base this destruction upon the value judgement known as "quality of life". However, who are these doctors that they think that they can determine whether or not a defective child has a quality of life, even if it lives for a very short time. In that short time that has been granted to the parents the child is still capable of giving off a lot of love, and in such a way that the parents are able to also share the love that they continue to have for the child. Infanticide interferes with this natural process between the imperfect child and its parents. Doctors and nurses do not have the right to administer medication that will in fact take away that preceious little life.

The most difficult aspect of this whole debate is trying to wrestle with some of the advances in medicine. Where do we draw the line? Why should doctors start hanging around like birds of prey when someone is dying as a result of say injuries due to an accident, just because they want to harvest that person's organs? Perhaps organ donation has its place, but at the present time the organs that are implanted inside of another human being have a high percentage of rejection rates. Ultimately it means that the people who undergo these transplants are being treated as guinea pigs. Even if there is consent to be treated in this way, it is certainly not moral to try and force people into agreeing to the donation of the organs of their loved one. If anything the pressure upon the family at such a time is highly immoral. Along with organ transplants there is the issue of IVF and the product of the IVF program, because not every fertilised egg is needed by the parents of the frozen embryos. Is it right therefore to use these embryos for research? What about allowing them to be born by being placed into the womb of a woman who is capable of having children but something has happened to her ovaries so that she cannot conceive naturally? This would give this embryo a chance to live as a normal human being. What is happening is that the scientists want these embryos treated as though they are nothing more than a blob of tissue.

Stem cell research via the use of embryos has not been successful, yet one would think that the opposite of this statement is true. The scientists who want embryonic stem cell research to go ahead have been constantly pushing the issue, without regard for the ethical consequences of their actions. There has been no reported benefits from this type of research. All beneficial discoveries and treatments have come as a result of adult stem cell research, as well as stem cell research from umbilical cord blood. It would seem that there is no reason to believe that the countless millions should be spent upon research that has ended up with tumors, rather than something that is therapeutic.

On the more political side, one has to look at the ultimate rejection of Jesus Christ - murder suicide bombings that are now occurring on a daily basis at a given point in time all around the world. The proponents of murder-suicide have convinced their followers that such actions will be rewarded, but they and their followers are sadly deluded. There is no reward for the wicked, for, as Scripture says: "The wicked will perish" for they are like winnowed chaff that will be thrown to the wind. The act of murder and then the killing of self does not lead to Eternal Life. It can only lead to eternal damnation of the soul.

Spousal abuse is a problem that exists in a large number of families. It is common amongst families where there is a fundamentalist attitude towards religion, especially within Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Within Christianity, for example, a fundamentalist will interpret the writings of St. Paul as meaning that the husband has full control over the wife, and that she must always do what he says. This kind of abuse includes dictating what a woman must wear in public. The imposition of Sharia law upon women who are Muslim has been extremely abusive towards the women who fail to comply with what is required.

I have read of examples of the Sharia Law abuse of women. For example, in Afghanistan the women are no longer allowed to practice their professions. They are not allowed to attend school under the Taliban. Teachers are being killed by the outlawed Taliban because they have female students in their classrooms. Whilst the Taliban was in control of Afghanistan, the women there have testified, that if a woman showed even the tiniest bit of flesh at ankle height, they were taken away and beaten to the point of near death. They have also suffered other indignities at the hands of the Taliban abusers. The story from Afghanistan has been repeated elsewhere, especially where the burqa is expected to be worn.

The reasons for such abuse are of course quite complex. There is that hidden desire to be the stronger member of the relationship and even the most tolerant partner can wind up being abusive towards a spouse. It always happens in little ways, such as constant, nagging criticisms. The problem happens to be that once these criticisms start, they never stop.  Suddenly the spouse becomes the scapegoat for everything else that is going wrong in the world. Lack of understanding of a situation can contibute to this abusive behaviour. What is not clear to me, however, is how much of a factor is spousal abuse when it comes to the statistics on divorce. If people do not recognize the abusiveness of the partner, or simply continues to ignore the comments yet deep inside carries the wounds from the abusive words, then the impact of spousal abuse continues to remain a hidden shame in society.

Men and women get jealous of their partners. This jealousy can be a cover up for that person's own imperfections and behaviour. The imperfections are then projected onto the spouse, until the other partner cannot take any more of what is being dished out. If the family unit is one where the husband believes that he has absolute power over his wife and his children then the potential for an abusive situation is extremely high. Some religious cults are based upon allowing this form of abuse to happen. I name the Jehovah's Witnesses as one cult where the father is literally allowed to abuse both wife and children. This is a part of the hold that the cult has over the whole family because the abuse also happens on that next level that involves the officials at Kingdom Hall.  The level of abuse is also obvious to the observer amongst other cult members, such as the Brethren, for the wives actually go around with scarves on their heads. This leads me back to the Muslims for in that cult, the men also have full control over the wife and family. If a Muslim girl went out with a Christian boy against her family's wishes then her life could be placed in peril. Yes, it has happened. At least one girl, here in Australia, has been stabbed to death by family members becaue the girl went on a date with an unapproved boy. The notion that brings shame on the family is a sign of the dysfunctional family within the world of Islam. There are other signs:

1. the woman who wears a veil or burqa despite the lack of Sharia law;

2. the women must walk 10 paces behind the man

These things are abusive, yet the women seem to allow it and even want it to happen. Again this is a sign that these are people who are dysfunctional at the family level.

In my last few posts I have been concentrating upon the issue of bullying, in the workplace, school and home. It is my belief that what is experienced on the micro level (the home front for instance) is often translated to the macro level in a variety ways. One of the most obvious ways in which this is translated is that of the spread of terrorism throughout the world. This is not just about the spread of terror via the Al Qaeda network because terror is spread in a variety of ways. Before Al Qaeda there was the Mafia, and prior to the Mafia, or at least coinciding with the Mafia was Nazism as well as Facism and Communism.

Each of these systems have encouraged brutality and abuse of others. All of these systems have one thing in common: they have been responsible for the spread of evil and the culture of death. With regard to Al Qaeda, there is a subsystem - Islam - that needs some consideration because it is permitted to abuse and beat one's wife. On the other hand there are fundamentalist Christian sects that also advocate the beating of one's children and spouse. I can see no difference between a Muslim being permitted to beat his wife, and a fundamentalist Christian believing that Scripture gives him the right to abuse his wife and children. I will deal with this issue in a separate posting.

The original purpose of this site was to blog on the issues surrounding the life and death of Terri Schiavo. It has always been my belief that this case was not a matter between two families, because of the likelihood that Terri ended up in that condition as a result of some form of spousal abuse. There is some evidence to support my belief in this matter, because one of her work colleagues actually testified that there were times when Terri turned up to work with unexplained bruises on her body. It is very difficult for a woman to walk away from a situation when she is being abused in such a manner. What is uppermost is the sense of betrayal of one's wedding vows, that she has become the object of abuse because the husband is not able to control his temper, and seems to think that he has possession of his wife.

The idea of possessing one's spouse is one that is not even accepted within the Scripture, for when St. Paul admonishes the wives to obey their husbands, he also admonishes the husbands about how they should behave towards their wives. It would seem that there are many Christian men, especially the fundamentalist kind, who ignore the balance of St. Paul's writings as they seek to take full control over the lives of their families. I think what is more pertinent is that from a psychological point of view, the men who think in this way are very immature and they have deep psychological issues that need to be dealt with so that their families can live in harmony. This is, I believe the problem that is confronting many of us with regard to the behaviours exhibited by Michael Schiavo, especially during the final month leading up to Terri's state approved murder. The real issue was about control.

In keeping with the aim of this site, I will attempt to examine the issues that I have already raised, and with new emphasis upon the psychological factors involved in this very complex case. Even though I am not a psychologist, I can see that Michael Schiavo has sociopathic tendencies that need to be treated by either a psychiatrist or by a psychologist. The behaviour of Michael in the month prior to Terri's death, and since then, has shown Michael Schiavo to be a man who is extremely self-centred. Everything he utters is about self. He does not convey the reality of what Terri would have wanted, rather he conveys the reality of his own mind, and his own beliefs that he was projecting upon Terri. Whilst it is true that Schiavo produced witnesses who claimed that Terri made certain statements, there is in fact no real proof that the statements were ever uttered. The witnesses gave what should have been rejected as hearsay evidence, and the witnesses should have been rejected as lacking credibility because of their own relationship to Michael. What is so very odd, and in my opinion, suspicious, is that these two witnesses came forward after it was realised that Michael's own testimony was of such a poor quality that he was not believed and there was a real possibility that his wishes would not be granted.  At the same time, Michael Schiavo and his brother made public utterances that were actually quite ludicrous because of the discrepancies of their testimony to what Terri was allegedly supposed to have wanted. The mere fact that she had survived for 15 years despite what can only be described as serial abuse is a testimony to what Terri really wanted. George Greer got it very wrong.

It is this aspect of the Schindler-Schiavo case that has been so very neglected. There were few feminists who were prepared to make a statement to protect Terri's rights as a battered and abused wife. The big names within feminism were in fact conspicuous by their silence over the matter.

Whilst we cannot prove the physical abuse that occurred before Terri collapsed, I do believe that there is a strong case that can be built against Michael Schiavo as a wife abuser, through the gathering of evidence from the people who cared for Terri as she was forced to remain a prisoner of the nursing homes and then the hospice where she was forced to die through dehydration. A record of the abuse of Terri's body as a result of that dehydration should have been sufficient to have Michael Schiavo charged with the murder of his wife. Terri was not dying and she was not terminal. She did not belong in a hospice environment. Terri was not allowed to receive what should have been necessary care and treatment for her situation. Instead she was left to lie on a hospital bed and to sit in her chair, never being allowed to even go in the open, in case a photographer managed to take a picture that would have shown up how Michael Schiavo was manipulating everyone in order to bring about the death of his wife.

There are many issues that need to be examined and in the coming weeks and months I hope to be able to spend more time examining those issues that surround the notion that a man has the right to treat his wife as a chattel, even when he is living with another woman with whom he has children.

The workplace can be a very unfriendly place. Even if one is employed on a permanent basis, if the workmates have decided to isolate a fellow worker, then that worker has nothing to look forward to as each working day passes. All it takes for an employee to feel isolated is for a group of co-workers to gang up together and make a conscious decision to isolate that person. This isolation means that a deliberate policy is put in place to totally ignore that person, and to act as if the person is not even present.

I experienced this treatment, (known as being sent into Coventry) when I was on an assignment with the company Tyco Healthcare. My co-workers were female and they were all younger than myself. At least three of them were under the age of 30 when this treatment took place. I took on the assignment in the May and by the end of June I had learned that my father was dangerously ill after suffering another stroke. At first my co-workers were very supportive. I had to rush from Sydney to Melbourne to see my father for what proved to be the last time. My employer was extremely good about the fact that I made some interstate phone calls as I was trying to keep in touch with my family because of the situation. In the meantime I was working hard cleaning up the portion of the ledger that was assigned to me, and helping in the task of reducing the debtor days. We succeeded in reducing the long term debtor days over the period that I continued in my assignment at Tyco Healthcare. It was in this assignment that I first met up with Duncan, another temporary worker. He was brought on board to help clear up the mess in one of the major clients of the company. He is a very nice young man and it was a pleasure to cross his path again in my last assignment. Yet meeting him again served as a reminder of the horrible things that occurred after he left Tyco.

In nearly every workplace there are multiple personality types. One of the most horrible types to deal with would have to be the women who are passive-aggressive by nature. They cannot help themselves when it comes to hitting out at their co-workers, and usually it is for no coherent reason. This was also the case at Tyco Healthcare. There was one woman who happened to be quite aggressive towards her co-workers. I was not the first person in that workplace to complain about her behaviour. She used to take pot shots at the woman who was my supervisor, the reason was almost always something to do with our eating habits. I avoided her catty little remarks as much as possible, and I made sure that I stayed out of her way so that I did not have to put up with her cattiness. However, she managed to get her digs in at every opportunity that presented itself to her. I cannot remember all of the occasions where she had goes at me about one thing or another, and even when I was not guilty of doing something the wrong way she would insinuate that it was my fault. This happened on a regular basis over the use of the printer. I would hear her making comments in which she was blaming me for whatever reason, and I had not even sent anything to the printer! I have no doubt that her jealousy was aroused when my husband chose to send me flowers at work for my birthday. She had a failed relationship and I often find that when other women have failed marital relationships they tend to take out their frustrations upon the women who have stable long term marital relationships. To cut the narrative short, there is one particular incident that led to the beginning of the end of her permanent employment with Tyco Healthcare and I was involved in that incident. I believe that it was this incident that led to what happened after I returned from attending my father's funeral in Melbourne.

As I have stated this woman took every opportunity to have a go at me, and on this particular occasion, I had gotten up from my work station, moved a few feet and then stopped so that I could let my supervisor know that I was heading for the next floor to see the claims clerk. I had no idea that this woman was behind me until I felt her fingers in my back, followed by her accusing voice, as she then roughly pushed me aside. As she went past, I called her a "bitch" underneath my breath. The woman had very sensitive hearing because she heard my comment, even though the others did not hear what I had said. The next thing I know she was making threats against me. I ignored her and then went on my way. However, I also put in a complaint over what had taken place because I was getting fed up with her behaviour, and I went to see the human resource manager about what had taken place. She accused me of deliberately blocking her path. This was not true. That was her imagination at work. On the other hand, a second and even nastier incident then took place, because she in fact stalked me. It was a terrible feeling and again it revived memories of fear that I had experienced at a much younger age. Needless to say I was very spooked over the incident and so I complained about the stalking. The fear that had arisen within me over being stalked was very real, even though I knew that I was not going to be in a physically risky situation.

There were other co-workers who had either seen what had taken place with the stalking or had witnessed the first incident. Amongst these workers there were the ones who had experienced first hand this woman's nastiness. They were completely sympathetic to my predicament. However, my closest co-workers took a different attitude over the events that had taken place. Within this group there is one young woman who stands out because of her greediness. When she joined the team she seemed to have only one thing on her mind - a bonus for making her personal targets. This particular woman seemed to think that she could call the customers on my ledger and take over the work that I had been doing in building up good relationships and getting their co-operation. There were times when I found that the customers had been unco-operative with the supervisor but had responded positively towards myself - perhaps this was yet another reason to excite jealousy towards myself. Anyway, the permanent employees began to gang up together, and they started to behave in a surreptious manner. I was left out of the discussions, and I was left out of the work activities because I was the temporary employee and the temps were not allowed to share in certain social benefits in that company. The bosses had been looking for an opportunity to give the nasty woman the flick. They found a way of being able to make her redundant. My complaint had only added more fuel to the fire, yet what happened next is that after she was made redundant I found that I was being completely isolated by my own team.

As I remember the situation, the woman had been particularly friendly with the one who was supposed to be doing the allocations of the payments. I had a sneaking suspicion that allocations relating to my ledger were being left to last. I was informed that this person did not have a nasty bone in her body, yet I could see for myself that she was easily led. I also knew, from talking with one of the other personnel, that this woman had received warnings about her tardiness and her work in general. She was no doubt upset with me because her ledger had been handed over to others because of rules relating to what people were allowed to do in certain roles. Her friendship with the nasty one meant that she and the nasty one were always talking. After the incident that I have described above the nasty woman began to gather with the women in my own team and they would often talk. She was given notice of her redundancy about the same time that my father passed away and I had to take time off to travel to Melbourne. Instead of finding empathy over the death of my father I found myself being isolated.

Was I imagining this situation? I could almost say yes except for an incident that occurred one morning before I got into the physical workplace. The Irish girl in the group used to always greet me before work when we saw each other at the local garage where I used to stop and have my cappucinno. Then one morning, as I looked up from my seat near the window and saw her approaching, she turned her head away so as to avoid the contact. That really hurt because I had no idea why I was being treated in that way.

From then on the hurt and isolation continued up until the day I was finally able to walk out of the door for one last time. There were other co-workers who were so really nice towards me, and I have a fondness for the young Asian girls who very shyly gave me a Christmas card. My team workers gave me nothing. They made sure that they took a holiday break over Christmas whilst I did not have such a luxury. These women were incredibly selfish when it came to the crunch. Their behaviour was pathetic to say the least. I do know that their behaviour had an impact upon me, and I was left in a rather emotional state. Towards the end I did not care about the work that I was doing and I took liberties that I would not normally take, for my frustration was such that I just did not care. For the first time I actually made sure that I destroyed some of my records. My feelings towards them were so heightened that I just did not care at all.

I am telling this story the way that I remembered the events. I have no reason to be proud of my behaviour. However, I was under a lot of stress because I was being treated like shit. I was at the point of being an emotional wreck at the point when I finally walked out the door for the last time. I cared about my customers. I cared about making sure that the money came in, but that was not enough for the company, and it only seemed to excite the jealousy of these younger women who really have a lot to learn about life.  This was the first workplace where I found myself being purposefully excluded from any form of Christmas activity. I was not invited to the Christmas luncheon, and in fact I was told at the very last moment that I was to stay and answer the phones. On another occasion I was expected to remain at work whilst the others were allowed to go home since they were attending a Christmas function that was being held in Sydney harbour. I had a migraine headache and could not stay until the end of the day because of the pain. As a temp I lose pay every time I have to go home early or have time off. There is a very heavy cost involved.

I have tried to do my best to represent the events in a fair manner for I am prepared to accept that my own behaviour was not always that of miss goody two shoes. I do know that my story is not unique, and I do know that when people are being placed in such an odious situation that the end result can be a lot worse. I wonder how many who have been in my situation have thought about permanently ending the heartache that is endured when one is being isolated by co-workers. That form of isolation can be soul destroying for someone who is very sensitive. I came through the ordeal because I was consulting with a psychologist. Without his help I doubt that I could even write about what happened when I was working at Tyco Healthcare.

At this point I shall reveal the previous stalking situations for they are what had really spooked me during the stalking episode at Tyco Healthcare. The first time I was probably about 13 years old, and I had been delivery pamphlets for my father. A man from a European background stopped to ask for directions. I gave him the directions and then he wanted me to get into his car. I said no and walked away. However, he began to follow me until I ran into the front yard of a friend's house. That incident was very scarey. The incident was repeated one evening on the way home from the football - but it was a slightly different scenario and nowhere near as scarey since I was in with a large crowd of people. Then at the age of 21 I as working at a factory within walking distance from home. Again a man from a European background began to take an unhealthy interest. He was a married man yet that did not stop him from stalking me. That is why I was so spooked when that very nasty woman chose to stalk me at work. I reacted because of those awakened feelings.

This post is not meant to be about the right to life, but it is about my life and the changes that have been continuing ad nauseum. Yes, I am out of work again. My assignment lasted for 6-8 weeks and once again I find myself without employment. I must admit that I felt relief about leaving the workplace because I continue to find that I less than tolerant when it comes to how others behave. Their behaviour affects my own behaviour, and this time I found myself feeling disappointed over the way in which I was treated as something that resembled something like a squashed insect during the period of the assignment.

I am a graduate with a Bachelor of Economics and Commerce from Melbourne University, and with a major in accounting. Since I joined the workforce I have done some really boring tasks. Some of these clerical tasks have in fact caused me to have permanent problems with my shoulders and body in general. My work career did not begin until I was over the age of thirty. By that time I had already suffered a dislocated and fractured coccyx (a fall down some stairs), as well as a severe form of whiplash due to a car accident where we were hit from behind. My first job involved doing heavier work than anticipated. I worked for the Australian Government at the Australian Archives. My work involved fetching and putting away files for people who came to the archives in order to study those records and to use them for research purposes. The compactuses at Mitchell were quite heavy, and in one area some of the handles were broken. At the time that I injured my shoulders, I had been working very hard, I was not completely happy, and I had come down with influenza. I had to put files away in the compactuses that were broken, and the effort was just too much for the muscles and ligaments surrounding my neck. I ended up with a severe problem and my muscles were so seized up that the doctor who examined me could see exactly what was wrong without doing too much in the way of testing. This is only the beginning of my work story.

The injury that I sustained at Australian Archives occurred in 1987 and to this day I have never fully recovered. It is obvious that something else was brewing below the surface and it has taken a long time to find out exactly what that something else might be. It was a rheumatologist in Townsville who correctly diagnosed that I had clinical arthritis. In other words he could not identify the form of arthritis that I appeared to have as a young woman under the age of 40. The rheumatologists in Canberra diagnosed the problem as fibromyalgia, and they packed me off with a warning to go and exercise, even though I found exercise at a gym to be too much for me. Yes, I did attend an exercise class - one that was given by a physiotherapist for a group of her patients and at a very reasonable cost. Yes, I did benefit from attending those classes. Yes, I do feel the difference because I often feel too exhausted to do the exercises that I used to do when I was in my 20s.

I am adding this background because it ties in with how I view people in the workplace. Always I have found that there is bound to be someone who is obnoxious when it comes to working with older people or with someone who is a committed Christian. What irks me the most about the workplace happens to be the way that so many take the name of the Lord in vain. I find myself going quite tense when I hear them saying "Jesus", not out of reverence, but as though the name was a swear word. It is something that has spoiled nearly every workplace where I have been. Something else that is quite irksome happens to be the way in which young women, when they are given management roles, tend to be extremely obnoxious in their manner towards those who are so much older than themselves.

To put this into context regarding the workplace and psychology matters, my beef happens to be the way in which temporary staff are often treated with contempt by the permanent staff. It seems to be a matter of seeing the temporary person as someone who is beneath contempt simply because that person does not have a permanent job. Perhaps it is a sign of the insecurity of the permanent worker, that this temporary person might in fact know more and be more professional. This is the issue that I faced with my last assignment. Most of the staff were fine, yet I had that feeling of unease every time I had to do work for one particular individual. These are little things yet they are an indication of the insecurity of the other person. In this case I found that the woman in question was quite hopeless when it came to organizing her work. It was pointless trying to help her with some organization because she did not appreciate the effort. This lack of appreciation was expressed through some very loud comments about how she did not understand my methodology in attempting to reorganize her filing. What I had tried to do was to take the claims paperwork of her largest customers and put that paperwork in some form of order and keep it together. She did not understand what I was doing and told the whole world that what I was doing was illogical. She also seemed to resent the idea that I could allocate claims and credits, or that I was doing any allocation at all. Yet, she was not bothering to check what was sitting unallocated to see if it matched. When I first started to do the work, I had in fact gone in and matched up quite a bit of it. The point that I am making here is that although the woman was good, and she had been working through a difficult mess left by someone else, her own deficiencies meant that she is creating a rod for her own back because of the inefficient way in which she was handling the credit claims. When one is not valued then there is nothing that one can say or do that will make a difference. The opinion of a temporary in such a situation is totally worthless.

As I have already indicated what had in fact happened during this assignment was the opening of some old wounds. I faced situations that had that familiar ring about them, and I tended to react in a similar way to my past experience. In my next post I will elaborate in more detail about some of those other experiences. I am a very emotional person, and especially this year after the death of my sister I have tended to break down into tears very easily. The situation that I have just left contained some elements that left me feeling quite lost and alone. I found that at lunch time for example the others did not even bother to come near me. Even if I did not want to be disturbed, I found this to be somewhat upsetting. My brain was in fact remembering another occasion where my co-workers had deliberately embarked upon the silent treatment. There were other little things that were constant reminders of the past. I will continue with these past experiences in other postings.

My work contract was even shorter than I anticipated, such that last Wednesday evening, I was informed that I was no longer required half an hour before knock off time. Oh that hurt me a whole lot and yes it has set off the depression once again. There is a lot to deal with in a situation like this one, for I have been made redundant in the past and I have had pressure being placed upon me to take a redundancy. This time I was just the temp worker. My colleagues lose their jobs as of 2nd September. There is an unseemly haste in the way in which the takeover of the function has taken place. It seems that not only is the word "temp" a part of the word "contempt", but that this particular company seems to see all women as expendable in the workplace. This whole episode has been very stressful, and when one adds in the impact of a death in the family to the equation I should not be so surprised that my upper and lower back has been aching.

All the same I am in a position where I do have greater control over depression because this time around I understand all of the variables and how those variables are interacting with me. The only positions that I have heard about during the week are either too far away or the rate is so low that to take the position is an insult to my experience. I remain uncertain that I want to continue on this particular path. I cannot get another permanent job, and temporary work is drying up as well. I am no longer prepared to travel long distances and there is no way that I will consider the alternative of public transport. I have arthritis in my low back. My x-ray report indicates that it is some form of spondylarthropathy. I have had the worst possible time over the past 4 or more months because of the pain in my low back makes it hard for me to sit down without getting stiff. Now my upper back is playing up and I am in agony with the stiffness and the inability to move forwards.

Awareness of the causes of the pain is the first step in being able to move forward once again. Those of us who have been in mourning this year know that there comes a point where we have to move on because we cannot wallow in the past. It is the ability to acknowledge that there are times where there is absolutely nothing that can be done to ease the pain and suffering for someone who is dying. The big point here is that the person is "dying" and not someone who is in fact brain injured and in need of therapy, as was the case of Theresa Schindler. She did not have to die, for her death was ordered by George Greer, and the insistence of her faithless, adulterous husband. My sister did not want to die, but she was already in the process of dying when her cancer was discovered. I have been told that she fought like one thing to stop herself from dying. My sister would never agree with euthanasia on demand and she definitely would never willingly undergo starvation and dehydration. Unfortunately, she had lost a lot of weight because she could neither eat nor drink as a result of the cancer that was claiming her life.

What happens to the people who are left behind in such situations? In the case of my sister's daughters, I do feel concern over the welfare of my youngest niece (Paris turns 15 on 9 August). Her whole life has been turned upside down because of the death of her mother. On top of that she had to leave her school and go to another one that is closer to her sister's place, for Paris has been placed into the care of her sister. As far as the girls are concerned, they do not have a father because of the crimes that he committed against them. They are on their own, and yet they are tough girls who will pull through the latest of their struggles.

In my last blog I wrote about the one month anniversary of my sister's death and the up and down emotions that I have had to deal with because of other upheaval in my work life. Now that the job has disappeared, it is time for me to assess where it is that I want to go. Do I really want to continue in a hostile work environment? Well, until that credit debt is paid off I do need to work, so yes I need to find further work in the near future. However, maybe it is time to look more seriously at a change in my career path. I am not content doing just accounts. Some of the work is so boring that I am almost asleep at my desk. I hate the very idea of doing collection calls. It is boring and rarely satisfuing. Plus I hate having to work to something called a KPI - key performance indicator. These indicators never point in the direction of the money actually coming in, or for that matter do they point to the degree of difficulty that can be involved with reconciling an account. KPIs are about someone else's standard of performance. If you do not measure up to that person's standard then you are seen as useless. This in turn can bring on the stressful conditions associated with low self-esteem.

In the same way that I need to move on in the more personal side of my life, it is also time to move forward for the sake of remembering Theresa Schindler. There is work to be done with regard to making sure that the Culture of Death does not manage to get a stronger foot hold in society with the pushing of their notions about death. It is time to point out the errors in their arguments and to point to the falseness that they create around people who are not dying but have suffered from brain injury.

The brain injured must be protected from the clutches of the people who would love to see them killed, in the same way that they murdered Theresa Schindler.

It is now time to begin examining the language of the Culture of death and see how they use language in a crafty manner as they create an illusion around the subject of their ghoulish plans. When someone describes a woman who is dying from dehydration as "beautiful" then it is time that person went and got his head examined. Yes, I think I can be very plain in what I state here - George Felos is suffering from some form of mental disorder that means he likes to look at women who in the throes of death via dehydration. He needs to have a psychiatric evaluation. He needs it because he has already confessed to have thoughts involving "suicide ideation". What he has done is to project his thoughts on to others and voila these people just happen to want to die - or in Terri's case, he primed the alleged witnesses on what they were to say, and how they were to say it in order to remain credible. Unfortunately scum are never credible.

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There is another possible reason that I have suffered so much pain during the winter months this year. Only recently I had another blood test, and it showed up the rheumatoid factor for the first time. My doctor wants to make sure that it is not a false positive and so he wants to do the test again in about 3 months time. The test should be repeated at the end of October or early November.

How do I feel about this information? Well, I have a sense of relief for one thing. This has been the worst season ever as far as pain in the legs, low back and buttocks is concerned. The signs are a definite indication of rheumatoid arthritis now that I understand a little more about the gelling effect. It explains why, after watching the Star Wars movie I needed help to get out of the seat ;-). It explains why I found it so hard to walk up the stairs at home and elsewhere. It explains why, the area surrounding my coccyx has been more sensitive than usual (this is what happens when you have a fall and end up having an allergy to wooden seats.) It explains my fatigue. It explains the fact that I have symmetic arthritis in my wrists, hands, knees and feet.

However, I must wait to find out whether or not this result was a false positive. You see the test result was not so good where the bad cholesterol is concerned in my blood, although my overall result was good.

So for now, I will continue to concentrate upon exercising and losing weight. I need to pace myself because I do get fatigued, but I just feel so relieved that at last I might end up with the correct diagnosis after all.

This is a continuation of my observations about animal communication. Yes it is true that it is difficult to understand what my animals want most of the time. However, I am learning to distinguish the noises, cries, vocalizations that they make to be more confident with my responses to their "demands".

Skittles, who is still a kitten, is an interesting cat. She does not have a very loud meow, and most of the time her vocalizations are very soft. Yet, she manages to communicate most of her needs very well. One thing is certain about Skittles, and that is she has a very good sense of smell. She can smell my food anywhere, and come running. Since she is part Siamese, she really does expect to be presented with some of the food off my plate. Skittles is proving to be very adaptable to her environment. She is also proving to be adaptable to routine actions. For example, if I want to put her in the laundry for the night, there are times when she will willingly run to the area - but then again there are times when she hides out so that she will not end up in the laundry or outside. The adaptability means that Skittles is on the whole very obedient, and this is a strange trait for a Moggie.

The communication between Ruby and Skittles is also very interesting. The same is true of the communication that had existed between Munchkin and Ruby. It would seem that Ruby was far more tolerant of Munchkin when it comes to things like the sharing of food. From the beginning, Ruby would indicate to Munchkin that she was willing to share her food, and over time Munchkin used to look after Ruby's interests. If I fed Munchkin first, and Ruby had to wait for her food, I would find that Munchie would simply stop eating and she would come and see what I was doing before continuing with her feeding routine. In other words, she was waiting just in case she needed to share some of her food with Ruby. I am not feeding Skittles in the same area as Ruby because the dog had a bad habit of helping herself to the cat's food. She loves dry cat food because it is so much better than the dry dog food. This might explain why Ruby is less tolerant when Skittles tries to have a go at trying to get a sampling of the dog's dinner. Ruby lets Skittles know that she is not welcome to have a feed.

Yet there are other things that both cats have shared with the dog. If the dog drinks from the swimming pool, the cat will do the same. I have observed both kittens taking direction from Ruby on the drinking of water. Ruby has a bucket and Munchkin used to reach up and into the bucket for a drink of water, then she began to copy the dog. It was such a sight to see the dog at one end of the swimming pool with her head and paws over the side reaching in to have a drink, and then at the deeper end, there is a kitten, head down, paws touching the water as she copied off her companion. Yes, both kittens have copied this behaviour. Munchkin used to copy the dog for an after dinner "break" in the back yard. The dog would always lead the way as they both went to do a "dump" after eating dinner.

When Ruby first arrived in the household, we had a different cat by the name of Tigger. He was a ginger tom and he did not like the dog. He did a lot of spitting and snarling at Ruby. However, the dog just wanted to play, and given the opportunity she used to chase Tigger, causing disruption as she lumbered around the house after the cat. Yet, their relationship developed until Tigger used to make sure that Ruby would see that he was inside the house whilst she remained outside. He used to do things like walking up to the ledge of the window sill, and sit there, making sure that Ruby saw him. Or, he would run to the back glass sliding door and just sit there, again making sure that Ruby saw him. The female cats have behaved differently towards Ruby. They have been more playful and they enjoy the opportunity to swipe at the dog at every opportunity. Yes, both cats would run to the same glass sliding door, but with a different motivation. Munchkin and Skittles sit there at the door, looking back at me, and indicating that they want the door open so that Ruby can come inside.

There are so many little ways in which both dog and cat communicate with each other, if not by word, then certainly by deed. There is a lesson here on how people who cannot speak can learn to communicate in a similar way, through a look, or by some other means. For example, someone who has a brain injury can still communicate by intentionally blinking the eyes, or squeezing a hand. It does not take much to communicate.

However, what about a person who is allegedly in a persistent vegetative state, but who is able to communicate in a way that is not perceptive to those who do not want to acknowledge the true state of the brain function of that person. In the case of Theresa Schindler, she tried to communicate that she was cognizant by the way in which she opened her eyes. She did as she was asked and then she made a greater effort so that her eyes widened further. This attempt to communicate was denied by the quack doctor death, by the name of Cranford. He pretended that her actions were just reflex, yet a person who is allegedly non-responsive does not normally laugh at other people's jokes. Theresa was observed laughing at jokes and funny stories, and she was observed bowing her head in prayer. All of these things were a means of communication.

If animals can effectively communicate some of their wants and desires, then there is no reason to believe that someone who has suffered brain trauma cannot do the same thing if that person is described as "awake". This is what Theresa was attempting when she opened her eyes that much wider. She was trying to let people know that she was able to understand what was being asked of her.

I have a story that is a little different and light-hearted. It is about how I communicate with my animals, or rather what we can learn from commicating with our domestic pets.

Ever since I was a baby, there has been an animal in or around the house. I grew up with Peter the dog, a tan boxer dog. Everyone was afraid of Peter because he looked like a bully. He was rough and boisterous but he never caused me harm. When it was time for Peter to leave this world my parents had to call in a vet to give him an injection. After that we had Peter II and Peter III. At the same time we had cats, and there was Tiny, Pussy, Kitty, Tweenie, Sammy and I cannot remember all of the names. To this day I have fond memories of Pussy. She used to follow us when we went shopping. I can remember calling her and whistling for her to come home with me, and she always responded to that wolf whistle. My current cat, Skittles, reminds me of Pussy, mostly because Pussie was a black and white cat, and Skittles is nearly all white with a few darker patches. They have that same playful nature, especially where knitting yarn is concerned. There are lots of memories from this period of my life, and perhaps I will do more stories about Pussy and the animals that were a part of my existence as I was developing from childhood and into womanhood.

However, this story is about the two animals that I have at present, a kitten named Skittles and a dog named Ruby. My previous kitten, Munchkin was catnapped at the end of August last year. I really missed having Munchie around but it was Ruby who was absolutely devastated with Munchkin disappeared. Ruby is an Irish wolfhound cross. She has many hound dog characteristics, and she can be very expressive with her responses. Hence, when Munchie disappeared Ruby began moping because she no longer had a companion to run her ragged.

My animals are sensitive to mood. When my father passed away, and I was feeling sad and depressed both Munchkin and Ruby used to try and give me comfort. Ruby used to lie down on the floor beside me (managed to biff me in the mouth and cause a slight problem from her head hitting me in the chin) and Munchkin used to plonk herself on top of me, or snuggle up under my chin. If I moved her, she moved back. There are plenty of tales to tell about the habits of Munchkin. These two taught me a lesson on sharing, animal style. I really do miss Munchkin.

My cats respond when I use my mother like "meow". I rely upon their curiousity to get that response and it worked like a charm. Where Munchkin had her own way of communicating, Skittles manages to get my attention even with her squeak that is allegedly a "meow". She does it with a look in her eye. She also does it my tapping me on the knee, and then darting off and she tries to get my attention to do what she wants, whether it is to go outside or to be fed. Probably the funniest effort to get my attention happened when she managed to turn on the TV with the remote control. Just to ensure that I knew that she really did turn on the TV she repeated the antic. The first time seemed to be an error, something that made her jump, but the second time, I am sure was deliberate. She was trying to get my attention, the dog was trying to get my attention. They wanted to be fed! I was not paying attention to them. Then the TV went on, and the cat had that "who me?" look on her face.

Over time there is one thing that I have taught Ruby. That is, she must say "Wruff" before she gets her morning treat. Yes, she really does respond the way that I want her to respond ;-). It is funny because she recognizes that she needs to say it, and there are times when she is trying to get my attention that she comes out with that "Wruff" because she wants food. Now that daylight saving has ended, Ruby seems to think that dinner should be at the same time. The nagging begins at 4.30 p.m. and when i say nagging I mean doggy style nagging. She whinges, or if she is outside with the door closed she sits there knocking on the door. If she is inside she will make her way to where I am sitting. She will look at me with that hound dog look. If that does not work then she will push her nose against my hands, and if that does not work she attempts to use her paw to get my attention.

These are supposedly "dumb" animals, yet they manage to communicate their wants and needs very well. There is a lesson here, in how we communicate with others, especially when incapacity has taken away the power of speech. A system of blinking eyes, and yes even gutteral noises are a form of communication. To claim that these things are nothing more than reflex action is the practising of deception upon a gullible public. If I can communicate with my animals to such a high degree, then there is no reason why we should deny our fellow human beings the opportunity to communicate via some alternative method.