Last week a news item that was splashed on the pages of the Vancouver Sun and echoed in the local TV news broadcast caught my attention. The headline in the news was:"Canadian seniors to outnumber kids by 2021". Apparently this was something that might be a catastrophe in contrast to kids outnumbering seniors in 2021. However that might be, according to Statistics Canada, "Canada's population is expected to age rapidly until 2031 when the entire generation will be at least 65 years old.
Since seniors will form such a substantial part of our population, and I will be speaking especially about the 65 years old in BC, you would expect that our Provincial government would be making a major effort to prepare for this event. One would expect the government to be budgeting for the construction of more Senior Centres and preparing to meet the requirements for medical attention that such an increase in 65 year olds will bring.
One hears almost daily about the needs of the homeless. Millions must be spent to build homes and shelters for them. Unfortunately, these are either people who have chosen for the most part this way of life, and do not feel comfortable living between four walls, or should be obtaining psychiatric care in an institution. We do not
hear the voices of advocates for Senior care. Yet, seniors have worked all their lives, have paid their income taxes, and built this country to be what it is. Our Provincial government to balance its budget has made seniors targets of their cuts,reducing the subsidies to those living in Seniors Homes so that these seniors are left with very little in their pockets after paying for their care. Senior Centres that provide programs for seniors health saving the public medical services millions of dollars are being told that they will no longer receive the few thousand dollars that were provided to pay the salaries of a few coordinators.
I would like to compare the treatment of senior citizens in BC to what is happening in some countries. In Scotland seniors travel free on the buses and trains. In Sweden seniors pay 40 percent of the fare on all public transport. This BC Liberal government cannot be proud of their social record, topping it all with the HST that will hurt seniors most of all
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
The Islamist Trojan horse
About two weeks ago I received an e-mail from a friend. This e-mail puzzled me because my friend is a Muslim, and the article that he sent me is very anti-Muslim.
This article is the speech of Geert Wilders, Chairman, Party for Freedom, the Netherlands, at the Four Seasons, New York. Its title is America as the last man stnding, and underlines the imminent threat of radical Islamism to our society. He
states that Islam is not a religion but a political ideology comparable to communism or national socialism.
After reading this e-mail, I decided to read The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality by John L. Esposito, reviewed by Daniel Pipes in the Wall Street Journal. Mr. Pipes ends his review by blasting Esposito for his failure to "recognize the hostility and ambition of radical fundamentalists and to consider the implications of growing Muslim populations in the West".
I have called my blog the Islamist Trojan horse, because like the people of ancient Troy we have opened the gates of Western civilization to masses of immigrants from Muslim countries, with fundamental Islamism hidden in their midst. In Europe, Muslim neighbourhoods are to be seen around Paris, Amsterdam, Marseille and Malmo in Sweden. In these quarters very few indigenous residents are to be seen, and Islamic laws rule. A total of fifty-four million Muslims now live in Europe, and considering the birthrate among the Muslim population, 25 percent of the population in Europe will be Muslim in th next 12 years.
The majority of the Muslim population are law-abiding, but the economic recesion has given birth to young discontents ready to listen to the preaching of fundamentalist Imans. We have the recent cases of Shahazad, the failed Pakistani born Time Square bomber, a USA citizen, and Nidal Malik Hasan, a Major and psychiatrist in the American army, who went on a shooting rampage.
Wilders's final words are: "WE have to take the necessary action now to stop this Islamic stupidity from destroying the free world that we know".
This article is the speech of Geert Wilders, Chairman, Party for Freedom, the Netherlands, at the Four Seasons, New York. Its title is America as the last man stnding, and underlines the imminent threat of radical Islamism to our society. He
states that Islam is not a religion but a political ideology comparable to communism or national socialism.
After reading this e-mail, I decided to read The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality by John L. Esposito, reviewed by Daniel Pipes in the Wall Street Journal. Mr. Pipes ends his review by blasting Esposito for his failure to "recognize the hostility and ambition of radical fundamentalists and to consider the implications of growing Muslim populations in the West".
I have called my blog the Islamist Trojan horse, because like the people of ancient Troy we have opened the gates of Western civilization to masses of immigrants from Muslim countries, with fundamental Islamism hidden in their midst. In Europe, Muslim neighbourhoods are to be seen around Paris, Amsterdam, Marseille and Malmo in Sweden. In these quarters very few indigenous residents are to be seen, and Islamic laws rule. A total of fifty-four million Muslims now live in Europe, and considering the birthrate among the Muslim population, 25 percent of the population in Europe will be Muslim in th next 12 years.
The majority of the Muslim population are law-abiding, but the economic recesion has given birth to young discontents ready to listen to the preaching of fundamentalist Imans. We have the recent cases of Shahazad, the failed Pakistani born Time Square bomber, a USA citizen, and Nidal Malik Hasan, a Major and psychiatrist in the American army, who went on a shooting rampage.
Wilders's final words are: "WE have to take the necessary action now to stop this Islamic stupidity from destroying the free world that we know".
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Thoughts born from The Bishop's Man
This is not a review of Linden MacIntyre's book, The Bishop's Man. I read this book recently, and what he relates about the priest, who is the Bishop's agent to get rid of priests who go astray, and get them out of the public's view brought me to think about some of my expeiences with the Catholic clergy.
I went to Catholic schools, and the majority of the priests that I have met were good people. There are, however,some who do not match up to the picture that has been painted of what Christ's chosen should be. Unfortunately, these are people who occupy positions of authority in the Catholic church. As a result of my bad experience with these upper echelon of the clergy, I would say that they are the last persons to whom you should go if you are in need. They are examples of those who are always willing to receive, but never to give.
The priest in the Bishop's Man asks himself why he chose to become a priest. He does not know the answer to this question, but he does know that he suffers from great loneliness. From my own school days, I know how young men are made to believe that they are being called by Christ to follow him, and that resisting this call endangers their immortal soul. If you are a good student and seem to be religious in tendency, you become the target of recruitment to the priesthood.
These are some of the thoughts that came to me on reading this book. On the whole I think that the author struck the nail depicting the priest and the bishop.
I went to Catholic schools, and the majority of the priests that I have met were good people. There are, however,some who do not match up to the picture that has been painted of what Christ's chosen should be. Unfortunately, these are people who occupy positions of authority in the Catholic church. As a result of my bad experience with these upper echelon of the clergy, I would say that they are the last persons to whom you should go if you are in need. They are examples of those who are always willing to receive, but never to give.
The priest in the Bishop's Man asks himself why he chose to become a priest. He does not know the answer to this question, but he does know that he suffers from great loneliness. From my own school days, I know how young men are made to believe that they are being called by Christ to follow him, and that resisting this call endangers their immortal soul. If you are a good student and seem to be religious in tendency, you become the target of recruitment to the priesthood.
These are some of the thoughts that came to me on reading this book. On the whole I think that the author struck the nail depicting the priest and the bishop.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
The Hated HST SEQUEL
Today, Saturday 1st May the hated HST became law in BC. On Thursday, Gordon Campbell and his Liberal caucus cut short the debate on the HST bill, and passed the legislation into law. There was no regard for democratic freedom of speech or the opposition of 85 percent of the BC population to the HST. It is now obvious, something that the Liberals have been hiding from us, that we are boxed in for five years by the agreement that the Liberals signed with th Federal government. Even if the petition we are signing is succesful, we have to grin and bear it for the next five years. Even if the NDP win the next election this Liberal yoke on our necks will continue for this period of time.
During this time the food banks will flourish even more, because the poor will get poorer, and will have to get help for their daily meals. The buying power of our incomes will become smaller, and it is possible that inflation will climb. Economists have told us what the effects of high taxes on the economy are. The underground economy will increase in size, because people will try to avoid paying the HST using cash and making deals to obtain services. This is what happened after Mulroney and his Conservative government introduced the GST.
At the next Provincial elections, will British Columbians forget and forgive the Liberals, just as Canadians hve done for the GST? That is what the Provincial Liberals are hoping for.Will you remember the HST, and still vote Liberal?
During this time the food banks will flourish even more, because the poor will get poorer, and will have to get help for their daily meals. The buying power of our incomes will become smaller, and it is possible that inflation will climb. Economists have told us what the effects of high taxes on the economy are. The underground economy will increase in size, because people will try to avoid paying the HST using cash and making deals to obtain services. This is what happened after Mulroney and his Conservative government introduced the GST.
At the next Provincial elections, will British Columbians forget and forgive the Liberals, just as Canadians hve done for the GST? That is what the Provincial Liberals are hoping for.Will you remember the HST, and still vote Liberal?
Saturday, April 24, 2010
The Hated HST
I remember when Mulroney introduced the GST and how Canadians hated this tax.
Mulroney paid for this at the polls, when the Conservative government suffered a devastating defeat at the polls. Jean Chretien was elected on the promise that he would abolish the GST, a promise that he did not keep. The Liberals have always been self-serving. That is why Ignatief is so silent about the introduction of the HST in New Brunswick and British Columbia.
The HST is nothing more or less than a Provincial GST on top of the Federal GST.
One wonders if Gordon Campbell and his Provincial Liberal really did their homework about the effects of the HST on British Columbians. Did they realize that
there would be so much opposition to this tax? Were they mesmerized by the money offered by the Federal government to those who adopted this tax. It was such an easy solution to their difficulties about balancing the budget.
Of course, Gordon Campbell is rich, and paying the new tax will be no sacrifice to him. The rich will have no difficulty in paying this tax that imposes taxes on items that were previously not taxed. It is the middle class and those on small incomes who will feel the pinch. The Liberals say that the HST will be advantageous to the
Province's busineses, and create more jobs. Then, why has this not happened in Brunswick?
Our only recourse at the moment is to sign the petition against the tax. Perhaps,
history will repeat itself, and finally we will just accept the inevitable. Or we can repeat to ourselves: Is it from heaven or is it from hell, this damned intrusive HST?
Mulroney paid for this at the polls, when the Conservative government suffered a devastating defeat at the polls. Jean Chretien was elected on the promise that he would abolish the GST, a promise that he did not keep. The Liberals have always been self-serving. That is why Ignatief is so silent about the introduction of the HST in New Brunswick and British Columbia.
The HST is nothing more or less than a Provincial GST on top of the Federal GST.
One wonders if Gordon Campbell and his Provincial Liberal really did their homework about the effects of the HST on British Columbians. Did they realize that
there would be so much opposition to this tax? Were they mesmerized by the money offered by the Federal government to those who adopted this tax. It was such an easy solution to their difficulties about balancing the budget.
Of course, Gordon Campbell is rich, and paying the new tax will be no sacrifice to him. The rich will have no difficulty in paying this tax that imposes taxes on items that were previously not taxed. It is the middle class and those on small incomes who will feel the pinch. The Liberals say that the HST will be advantageous to the
Province's busineses, and create more jobs. Then, why has this not happened in Brunswick?
Our only recourse at the moment is to sign the petition against the tax. Perhaps,
history will repeat itself, and finally we will just accept the inevitable. Or we can repeat to ourselves: Is it from heaven or is it from hell, this damned intrusive HST?
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Growing up in a Tropical paradise
"Shining waters and golden sands." Isn't that what the tourist from developed countries see when they plan their holiday to the Caribbean islands? Growing up as a young boy in the southernmost island of the West Indies, I was exposed to life as it really is in these small countries. From my earliest days at school I was told by the members of my family that I had to study and work hard to be always at the top of my class. Education, after elementary school, is not free, at least not in my day, in my native land. The only way it would not cost me was to win a scholarship to go to High school. So I studied hard to win one of the twelve or fourteen scholarships offered by the government to all the elementary school children elegible.
It is not only education, but also the availability of medical care, that was not open to those who could not pay. I remember that when I became sick, sometimes with such high fevers that I began to hallucinate, it was not a qualifed doctor but the application of home remedies by my parents that cured me.
Later on in my life, after I obtained my M.A. degree in an English university, I went to work in West Africa. There I saw that life was not far different for the native people to what I had experienced as a boy in my homeland. Life , in many ways, was even tougher for them. As I stayed working there even after the country achieved independence, I was able to see that rule by their own people did not bring about the utopia that was hoped for by the indigenous inhabitants.
A visitor only sees the wonderful warm climate, the beautiful beaches and blue
transparent waters. The song "Jamaica Farewell" ends with the reality of life in these countries. I hear the words: " I see women on bended knees cutting cane for their family." These people toil in the heat of the sun without the benefits that workers enjoy in developed countries.
It is not only education, but also the availability of medical care, that was not open to those who could not pay. I remember that when I became sick, sometimes with such high fevers that I began to hallucinate, it was not a qualifed doctor but the application of home remedies by my parents that cured me.
Later on in my life, after I obtained my M.A. degree in an English university, I went to work in West Africa. There I saw that life was not far different for the native people to what I had experienced as a boy in my homeland. Life , in many ways, was even tougher for them. As I stayed working there even after the country achieved independence, I was able to see that rule by their own people did not bring about the utopia that was hoped for by the indigenous inhabitants.
A visitor only sees the wonderful warm climate, the beautiful beaches and blue
transparent waters. The song "Jamaica Farewell" ends with the reality of life in these countries. I hear the words: " I see women on bended knees cutting cane for their family." These people toil in the heat of the sun without the benefits that workers enjoy in developed countries.
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