The Other Iraq:


Just happened to see this and wanted to share. This is the kind of thing we don't often hear about here in North America. I don't know what you think about this "illegal" war but it's interesting to hear from the Kurdish people. I don't know what I think of the Iraqi war but I found this commercial thought provoking.

Some time ago I did a post on Chasing the Cancer in response to the new smoking by law hitting the Province of Ontario. The new by law seems to be working here, there have been very few people charged, in fact Sean Penn got off scott free during the Toronto Film Festival for smoking at a press conference. The foreseeable result of course are major layoffs in casinos, closing down of bingo halls and a fair number of restaurants and small bars closing up. Even the Legion halls are in trouble and it is sad to see elderly veterans huddling outside their hall having a smoke. These are the guys who fought the Nazi's on our behalf for Christ sake, can't we just let them end their lives happily. But no, McGuinty has decreed that they shall be healthy.
This column by the Star's Rosi DiMano speaks about Ontario's seniors living in care who live in care makes me very sad. That the government didn't think enough of these poor souls to figure something out for them drives me up the wall. There have been no charges mind you, most seniors don't break the law, but their lives, what's left of them, have been made more difficult by Poppa McGuinty.

There have been numerous ways government has taken over our lives, they banned pop machines in schools, are working at banning trans fats and the latest craze is to maybe ban teens from drinking coffee! Are they nuts? When will it end, when will we finally say, enough is enough? Probably never, we are a wimpy bunch, us Canadians.

Generally I don't believe that these anti war protesters are right, in fact I consider them wimps, you know, the going gets tough and they run with their tail between their legs types, but in this instance I have to agree with them. It is time for Canada and maybe all of NATO to get out and leave them to themselves to sort out their "issues". Why should we care that it is a breeding ground for terrorists or that women who are not wearing burqa's cant go out in public or girl children cant go to school? Should we care that the Taliban is coming back stronger than ever?
In my view, and I have some pretty strong ones, it is a land that is beyond salvage and a peoples who are not willing to fight for themselves against the Taliban. Why, one would wonder, but one would only have to look as far as their poppy fields and opium production to understand. It is the Taliban, who in days past was against drugs, now use the drug money to fuel their resistance and we can't compete with the money they give to poor villagers to hide their activities. The west, in order not to upset the Afghanistan government has pretty well promised to leave the opium fields alone and so it is a lost cause.
Bring them home, give it up, but at the same time, look very very closely at anyone who wishes to immigrate to Canada from those countries and certainly take a real good look at refugees from the region and maybe not allow them into Canada. I'm sure Jack Layton would have something to say about that but remember, he's the guy who wants to negotiate with the guys who want to blow us up, just because were Christian and we have Democracy. Something to think about.

As I sit here waiting for The Man to return from Athens, (the plane has landed) I have the TV on, mostly for noise, on one of those 24 hour news programs that runs the same stream every 15 minutes or so.
The news, almost gushing, about the "cute" cojoined twins born yesterday in British Columbia seems to be huge. According to a Globe and Mail survey 59 percent polled believe that these twins should not have been permitted to come to term considering how badly they are cojoined and entwined. Their chances for survival are roughtly 25 percent and the chances of separating them has not yet been evaluated considering that their brains may also be joined. Call me cruel and heartless but I think the money that this case is draining from the health care dollar could have been better spent.
When you consider that 17 doctors attended this difficult birth how much money is that? What other services could have been bought with that money. How many cancer operations, bypass operations, MRI scans, etc., would this money have bought. Watching these babies on TV and they way they are joined if separation is not possible they will never be able to stand up and walk. What has happened in our society that allows this to be. Is it the ego of doctors involved, always pushing the envelope to see how much more they can do? Why don't they focus on important stuff, like finding cures for disease instead of allowing pregnancies like this to continue.This is not medical breakthough, this is pure ego. Just thinking! What do you think?

Sheila Copps is not one of my favorite scribblers, but I must admit that today's column in the Toronto Sun pretty much sums up how I feel. Not so long ago I was also driving my vehicle when a burqa clad person came awfully close to hitting me. Just like Sheila, I would have had no way of identifying this driver. In fact I couldn't say if it was a male or female person and can only assume it was a woman.
This controversy started in England some time ago but it is still ongoing. Maybe this is a conversation we also need to have in this country before resentment festers. My personal belief that these people really don't want to be in Canada or any western country but are only here for economic benefit. Changing us to suit them shouldn't be on offer.

After wasting millions and millions of Ontario taxpayer money, McGuinty has decided that it's not our responsibility to deal with the Caledonia Native standoff. Is this because he has hit a brick wall and doesn't know how to handle it any more? I always thought he was McWimpy anyhow, never able to make decisions about anything (other than raise taxes), you know a real Metrosexual type of guy, but really, does he really think Ottawa will give him he money back.
I read this story
on the weekend when it was breaking news but blogger was down and couldn't post it. Now of course, it's not news any more. My other thought was that Fantino is being set up here. It's common knowledge around town that Miller wanted to get rid of him because he was too political so McGuinty took him on and now he wants to get rid of him too so won't be any competition in the 2007 election. My feeling is that if there is any violence between the OPP and the Natives under Fantino's leadership, who will be blamed? Too bad actually, he's a decent sort, a little tough on criminals but what the heck.

In 1996 I was diagnosed with Fybromyalgia , chronic fatigue and chronic pain. Most of the time I choose to ignore it and can get by with minimal pain medicine and reduced activities. The one important aspect to keep me in reasonable shape is my weekly exercise in a hot pool run by the Arthritis Society of Canada and when I miss a week I can really feel it. I have now missed six weeks because Mom's been not well. That's not really true, she is well in a medical sense but her mobility has been so poor that I am basically her main caregiver and have worn myself out. I'm also afraid to leave her alone anymore, hence not going to the pool. At some point I'm going to have to continue with my life and hope for the best. Since three days I have felt incredibly sore and stiff and have decided that tomorrow I'm going back to the pool and hope for the best here at home.
Fybromyalgia is one of those disabilities that is invisible, it doesn't show on most people unless you can read the pain in their eyes and most of my friends, who know I suffer from it, generally forget because it doesn't show, hence invisible disability. But you know what, I have it and I'm in a particularly bad place right now where even touching my skin hurts. There isn't one part of my body that doesn't hurt right this minute. I can hardly wait for my better half to get home Thursday from Greece and give me a few days respite, which I know he will do.
So this is my way of explaining to my friends, I know it's probably my turn to host bridge but you know what guys, I just can't do it right now and I appreciate my friend Z doing it again for me. Thanks guys.

Harry Enfield sketch

I'm trying this for the first time to see if it works. This is one video that everyone needs to see. Can you believe this attitude towards women once existed?

All to myself, to do whatever I want, what a treat. Problem was I couldn't really do any fun stuff, like go to a movie or out to dinner. My time was spent running errands, returning things that had been bought prior to my Mom's illness that were either not working or were wrong, and had been piling up in the back of my car.
Since my Mom is home from the hospital, I no longer leave her alone because she has a bad habit of falling and I'd rather be here if that happens. As a consequence my excursions out have been very brief and only when Homecare is here. That's usually from 8 to 10 in the morning at which time I'm barely conscious myself so that never works. The only other day that I have been able to get out is Friday afternoons for about an hour or so and that is dedicated to grocery shopping.
But this week our wonderful regular homecare lady was on holiday and kindly offered herself to come over and give me 4 wonderful hours to myself. This lady is a gem, completely selfless and adores my mother.
So today off I went to do all these errands and even managed to buy myself some clothes while I was out. It was drizzling most of the time but the air smelled so fresh and clean I kept taking deep breaths and smiling.
Fortunately my better half is back from Greece a week today and then I will have some help and be able to go out more. He was in Athens dealing with his Mom who is also not well so it wasn't a holiday for him either. I'll be glad to see him home. Absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder.

In recent months I have discarded a number of items I no longer need or want by putting them out on our regular garbage day. My recent discards have included a computer monitor in working condition, a small cot also in good shape and a printer. These items generally are gone within half hour of my putting them out and never make it to landfill.
But what happened last night was a first. I put out a knitting machine, very old, very heavy and my $50 mistake from E-Bay. About half hour later I looked out the window and noticed the machine gone and something else in it's place. It was big and leaning against my garbage can. I was intrigued and went to have a look. It was a large candy cane, the type people put on their front lawns at Christmas time. I guess whoever took the machine figured they would give me something in return. This morning when I looked out the window, the candy cane was gone. I guess one man's junk is really someone else's treasure.

Today as news of the 40th Canadian Soldier to loose his life in Afghanistan, take a moment to give thanks for the freedoms we enjoy.


THE SOLDIER

It is the soldier,
not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier,
not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier,
not the campus organizer,
who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier,
not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the soldier,
who salutes the flag,
who serves under the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protesters to burn the flag.

By: Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USMC


Food for thought.

On Friday I spent just about the entire day bursting into tears at various intervals. I was feeling incredibly sorry for myself and just could not stop crying. I am also in incredibly pain, with back spasms and am unable to reach my chiropractor because of course being a long weekend he's boogied off to his cottage. Also my better half is in Greece dealing with his ill mom, who weirdly enough is suffering from the same illness as my mom (congestive heart failure) and has had some falls as well. With the offspring in Alberta and unable to assist that pretty much makes me it.
Now the reality is that mom should be in hospital waiting for that elusive rehab bed, but being the stubborn German that she is, she told them she wanted to go home and, hospitals being what they are, obliged her. I didn't realize until it was too late that she was not in any condition to come home and promptly took her to her GP, who gently berated her. I must say that we lucked out with this particular doctor because he will actually make a house call to check up on her next week and made all sorts of request to the local Community Care office. Now East York Community Care is another problem, in my opinion, a huge problem.
On Friday morning I received a call from a woman at the Community Access Centre who was in a complete tizzy. My mother's regular worker was away and there were all sorts of faxes on her desk asking for outrageous things for my mother. What the doctor had requested by fax on my mother's behalf was some extra homecare, a blood technician every two days, and the hospital had requested in home physiotherapy. This all seemed to be to much for this nameless woman who berated me and told me that we were already getting the maximum homecare allowed. Now, I didn't get her name but be assured that Tuesday morning I will file an official complaint with the agency because truly, no one yells at me and certainly not when I first wake up and am in pain.
Now for friends, when I finally decided I need to ask for help, and I don't do that too well, my friends and neighbor's came through. One of them brought soup, my neighbor offered to bring groceries on her way home from work, my other friends came over yesterday and D took me shopping for food while P, her better half took Mom for a walk, cut the grass and pulled weeds. When we came home from shopping he graciously unloaded the car and put the groceries away. And my cousin, from whom I expect the least and never ask for anything, is coming over this week with some cooked meals. All this stuff makes taking care of my Mom a lot easier for me and I'm grateful. It was just tough asking for help and the truth was, I didn't have to ask, I just told them my problem and everyone just offered. That is friendship, worth more than anything in the world.

There has been a lot in the news recently about emergency rooms closing and doctors quitting and private companies taking over. Even McGuinty was heard to say that if the choice between no doctor and a private doctor he'd take the private one. What a switch from our liberal government.
What I would like to know is this; with the $900 health tax that he has been taking from all of us and collecting over 3.9 billion, why is this happening.
I haven't written for a while, mostly because I have spent 5 hours every day at St. Mike's taking care of Mom. That's not my job but the nurses make it so. When they see me there they expect me to take over the basic care, like taking Mom to the bathroom or taking her for walks. That's why today after 7 days my back has given out and I am unable to move. Now I have a pretty bad back to begin with in fact from all the discs in my spine only one of them has a little padding left, the rest are bone on bone so it's no surprise that I am unable to stand on my feet today. In fact to brush my teeth this morning I was on my knees at the sink because I couldn't bend over.
But really that's not my rant today, mostly I'm upset (again) that there might be a two week wait to get Mom into a rehab hospital. Now while she is waiting for a bed she will be moved to a "transitional bed", which is a holding cell of sorts for people who have nowhere to go. Some of the people there are waiting for beds in long term care and others are there because their children have abandoned them and social services is trying to figure it out. It's pretty depressing on that floor of the hospital, I checked it out, but my choices are limited. Do I just bring her home once her medical condition is stable (which it almost is), or do I leave her there over this Thanksgiving weekend while she waits for a bed and feel guilty as all get out?
Tough choice. I think I have until Thursday to figure this out and make that choice.