What The Heck Are The Germans Smoking?

I did a survey some time back in one of posts about which world leader do you trust? I only got one comment and tellingly it was someone who lives in Germany.

In today's online edition of Spiegel there is an article on the same subject. Seems that Germans trust Iran more than the United States?

Forty-eight percent of Germans think the United States is more dangerous than Iran, a new survey shows, with only 31 percent believing the opposite. Germans' fundamental hypocrisy about the US suggests that it's high time for a new bout of re-education.

That's just the opening paragraph. I consider this story required reading, it sure is an eye opener. Like I said, I wonder what their smoking over there. I'll have to ask my German relatives about that next time I call them. I find that incredible but then again, reading this story I wonder about where German and Europe is going.

Now most North American readers might wonder why I care about this kind of stuff, I mean, it's an ocean away and can't happen here, right? When the birthrate of Muslims is way higher than the average North American (well, except for my offspring of course), you gotta wonder.

Oh yes, my ONE offspring is about to produce grandchild number four for me any day now...back to the knitting.

Germany's Dirty Little Secret

Even as Angela Merkel was busy rapping Canada's knuckles for not honoring it's commitment under Kyoto, she was busy approving new coal fired plants for her own country! Not just one or two mind you, but dozens of new coal fired plants.

It's a matter of economy and jobs and she's not prepared to sacrifice either. Here's what she says.

"The situation is threatening. There are fewer and fewer glaciers in the mountains. Storms are getting stronger," she lectures one audience. "We have to change course now," is another typical statement.

Now of course the statements are somewhat different.

But it's a different story just a few kilometers away in a decrepit industrial park in the eastern Berlin neighborhood of Lichtenberg. There, energy provider Vattenfall is planning a project that hardly seems compatible with Merkel's grand plans for saving the climate.

The chancellor is caught in the climate trap. She's presenting herself as the world's most active climate protector, both on the international stage and back home. Acting as European Council president at a summit the week before last, she won a commitment from all 27 member countries to implement a 20 percent reduction of greenhouse gases by 2020 compared to 1990 levels. Germany alone will reduce its CO2 emissions by 40 percent, if the government has its way. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has set a record by announcing a 60 percent decrease.

For Merkel, the case is clear-cut: New power plants will secure thousands of jobs in Germany. The projects resemble a giant program for the stimulation of the economy. The power plant operators plan to invest more than €30 billion ($40 billion) in construction and infrastructure.

Read the whole story here at Spiegel and see what you think. As they say, the devil is in the details...back to my knitting.

Spring Has Sprung - See The Robin?

Yup the first signs of spring are finally here and it couldn't have come at a better time. Just stepping outside with my new camera (yup, I finally bought one), lifted my mood. It's going to be 21c this afternoon and I still can't get Mom out of the house for a little walk, but I'm not going to let it bother me today. She will do what she wants to do no matter what I say, and that is sit in her chair and moan.

These pictures are with my brand new Canon Power Shot A550. I obsessed like crazy and went to 5 different stores to price them and finally just did it. I will have fun with it.

Greek Independence Day

Every year without fail, my sweetie bundles up and heads down to "Greektown" for the annual Independence Day parade. Today I sent him off with a camera and instructions on how to use it. This is what he brought back.







This is what he came back with, not bad for a first time photographer!

We sure take our multiculturalism seriously in this country.

Bad Health Day For Mom

Some days are god, other are so so, but today sucks.

I absolutely needed to go to Costco today, I had run out of just about everything important to make our household run efficiently and had been putting it off. Mom insisted that she would come along and I should have known better and talked her out of it.

She has become incredibly weak and can barely walk even with the assistance of a walker. This depresses the hell out of me and I don't know what to do. I feel so dam impotent I could scream or cry, I don't know which. There were no disabled parking spots available, which always adds to my frustration. After circling a couple of times I noticed someone sitting in a car in a disabled spot who were obviously not in need. They were very young. I stared at them and they moved the car. I was right, no permit in sight, sigh...

She struggled to get through the store sitting down on the walker every 20 steps or so and by the time we got out of there and home she immediately fell asleep. She'd only been up 3 hours at this point and after sleeping two hours and a quick lunch promptly went back to sleep. She's like a baby who needs two big naps a day. I'm also having trouble regulating blood pressure and trying to adjust the meds, which I'm sure contribute to the fatigue. Getting her to eat is also becoming a huge deal these days and I'm at wits end. She hates Ensure but I'm going to have to cheat and make it like a milkshake.

Sometimes I think she is just waiting for this new grandbaby to be born and for the offspring to come for his visit (end of May). I hope not, I hope there is more for her to live for than that. I keep dangling a cruise to Alaska and it cheers her up, I can only hope it works.

My mind is so preoccupied that no matter which knitting project I worked on the last two weeks, they have all had to be ripped out. My frustrations can be read over at my other blog.
Nevertheless, the knitting will continue, not much else to do...

Jail For Elder Abuse

A Toronto a man, Donald Noseworthy was sent to jail today for 3 1/2 years. Not enough in my opinion, he should have been sent away for at least 15 years for what he did to his elderly mother. She died, he admitted to treating his dog better than his mom. She died from congestive heart failure, had Alzheimer's and died alone on the floor of her filthy room.

I am the first to admit that taking care of an elderly parent is not easy, I do it every day. My mom too has congestive heart failure but fortunately her mind is intact. She does not suffer from Alzheimer's but has a mild form of dementia. It is distressing to me when she fights me over her medicine and has on occasion accused me of making her ill by forcing her to take drugs. It takes all my patience to explain her illness. Then she's good for a few days and the cycle starts again.

But for the life of me I could not imagine leaving her in the deplorable condition that Mr. Noseworthy's mother was found in. If I reach the stage where I cannot take care of Mom any more then I will reach out for help, and hope it is there.

Arthritis - The Invisible Disability

There are 4.5 million people in Canada living with the daily pain of arthritis and I am one of them. That's me in the corner enjoying the warm water.

I don't know what the figures are for the United States, I can only guess that they are many million more just based on population. Those figures are only going to increase as the population ages. There is no cure, only management of this disease and this pool is my salvation.

This is one of the places where the Arthritis Society spends money received through donation. This pool is run by volunteers and costs very little for me to attend. It allows for exercise in warm (96F) water that does not unduly stress the joints. It is soothing and without it I am a basket case as I discovered this winter. I wasn't able to go most of the winter because I was afraid of leaving Mom alone. Now I'm in such bad shape myself I have to risk it.

The Arthritis Society is one of my favourite charities to donate to, they do so much good. I hope a cure is found soon.

Two Sad Stories - One Happy Story

Just like the movie, The Syrian Bride from 2004 where a young woman is forced to choose between a man and her family, there was a real life case in the news on Monday. This young woman was also forced to choose and I did see this on the news. We in North America are so lucky that we don't have to make these choices, aren't we?

The good news story is about a woman and her two children who have been living in Moscow airport, yup you read that right, living in the airport for 9 months. They escaped Iran hoping to get to Canada but somehow ended up in Moscow where they were afraid to leave the airport. They had no status in Russia and were afraid. They survived on the goodwill and generosity of the airport workers and businesses.

Today they arrived in Canada to be reunited with a brother after amnesty international deemed them to be genuine refugees.

Good for us, now if we could only get the young Canadian boy and his Iranian parents out of a Texas jail, we'd be really good.

My Wake-Up Dope

Here we go with dopey headings again, but really, this stuff will wake anyone up. This was my birthday present from the offspring and girl, with more to follow I'm told. He has a habit (good one) of spreading present thruout the year.

So now after taking these photo's I'm going to brew my first pot of Kona. The offspring brought this stuff back from his Hawaii trip over Christmas and I'm going to enjoy it, every last drop.

I also thought his choice of birthday card this year was quite cute, but really, I stopped panicking long ago. The last time I had a birthday anxiety attack was the year I turned 30 and boy that was a doozey. I promptly quit my job and started a new career in real estate that year. Sure got me out of the doldrums pretty darn quick.

Man, I Hate Headings!

I hate coming up with headings, sometimes I think of a good one when I'm in bed and can't sleep but by morning I've forgotten. Then when I need a heading, blank. That's how I've been about posting this week, blank...then I got rescued by the "offspring".

This is what I found on his blog today. It's a quiz, wouldn't you know, but it's really good one, education too.

Seems there are 192 countries that are part of the United Nations (which I believe has become impotent but that's another post). The quiz asks you to name them all within 10 minutes to see how many you know. The offspring got 98 and I got 45, go see how you do.

Tomorrow is my birthday so I'm taking another day off but I got my first presents already. The parcel from the offspring remains unopened thus far, although I've shaken it a couple of times and my friend and part time housekeeper brought flowers today. Tomorrow I'll hang out by the phone to take birthday wishes from my relatives in Germany and at night we'll go out for dinner. A good time will be had.

Last Quiz - I Promise

If you read my profile it tells you that I am an incredible cynical individual so when I saw this little quiz I thought, why not, let's see just how cynical I am. Well surprise, surprise, not as much as I thought.

I'm still recovering from my experience with the cut and chop home care providers and poor mom is totally depressed today. Hopefully she will settle down. Tomorrow I have the first of my many b-day celebrations, I do a few of them...makes me happy.

Without further ado, here is my quiz.

You Are 48% Cynical

Yes, you are cynical, but more than anything, you're a realist. You see what's screwed up in the world, but you also take time to remember what's right.

How Cynical Are You?

Another Quiz To Brighten My Mood

Whenever I have a crappy day I go visit other bloggers, this little quiz comes compliments of Rambling Hal who lives in Jordan. I get around.

Your Name Is Sexy! :) Your name scored 95 in the "How Sexy Is Your Name Test"

How Sexy Is Your Name?

Try your name, I dare you...

Meltdown Thursday

I had a meltdown this morning and it was a doozy.

I am the primary caregiver for my mom with the help of a local agency that provides 7.5 hours of personal care support a week split over 4 days. That is their mandate and it is paid for through our health care taxes. My mom and dad worked all their lives in this country and are deserving of these services. It is because of these services that we live in Canada and why our Ontario Premier added a special health care tax 4 years ago.

When my mom was still living alone and more mobile she was receiving 10 hours weekly which was reduced when she moved in with us. The theory being of course that I would do the heavy lifting, so to speak. The various social workers and managerial staff who make occasional home visits to us are always trying to cut us back the hours. I had a huge issue with the agency in the fall after my mom came home from hospital and I needed some physio for her. One nasty woman, who wouldn't give me her name, had the temerity to yell at me for having the nerve to "demand more" as she put it. My relationship with the agency has deteriorated badly.

Today they sent a lovely lady who used to be my moms case worker to visit. After the usual casual bullshit she insisted she had to cut 1.5 hours. That's when I lost it and I almost turfed her out. At issue is showers, if you can believe it, she felt 4 showers a week was too much and could easily be reduced.

Pardon me, said I..."how many showers a week do you take?" She was flustered of course and I proceeded to explain that "you my dear lady, will be there soon too where you will need help, are two showers a week enough for you". I had to leave the room, I was so angry. When I came back I told her that I object, will advocate strongly on my mother's behalf and suggested that maybe if they got rid of some of the managers they would have more money to pay support staff. I threatened to put mom in a home (which was a bluff) at a greater expense to the government if she cut the hours.

Here in Ontario they are closing institutions for developmentally challenged persons and putting them into the communities against the wishes of the families. In some instances they are moving people who have lived in the same place for 20 plus years into unknown places and these people need huge personal support. That's why they are cutting support for seniors, robbing Peter to pay Paul so to speak.

The worst part of my meltdown? It really upset my mom, I could see the confusion on her face when I threatened to put her in a home. I spent the better part of today reassuring her that it was a bluff and it wouldn't happen. I think I finally convinced her and the end result. For the next six months were good, the hours stay.

Another Little Personality Quiz!

Oh go ahead and try it, see what kind of cake you are... this is borrowed from Rambling Hal over here.

You Are a Marble Cake

Eclectic, inventive, and peaceful. You are never willing to accept what's "normal." You live to push the envelope. You find it hard to make up your mind. You prefer to have everything you want, right away!

What Kind of Cake Are You?

How much life have I lived, I think more than the survey says...

You've Experienced 52% of Life

You have a good deal of life experience, about as much as someone in their late 20s. You've seen and done enough to be quite wise, but you still have a lot of life to look forward to.

How Much Life Experience Do You Have?

And here's the biggie, am I borderline, well maybe, sometimes, mostly when I can't find my wool...

You Are 38% Borderline

You're a little moody, but you probably don't have a borderline personality. Everyone has their ups and downs. Just don't make too much of them.

Do You Have a Borderline Personality?

Back to my knitting...

Canadians Are Nuts!

If you need proof that this is so, I present two photo's to make my point. I just snapped these of a tree company looking for tree stumps under that snow. The purpose of that task is of course to "stump" them, which means grinding them to a pulp. Why now you ask? Beats the heck out of me, those trees were cut down by the city 3 months ago!

That's just how things work in T-Dot, one speed, slow. But really, we are in the midst of snow squalls (lake effect snow) and it's really cold and windy out. They had to do some digging to find the two stumps and it seems to me that city contractors could be put to better use right now, like picking up some of those big tree branches that are down all over town.

We're a pretty hardy bunch I admit, but this is just kind of nuts.

Common Sense - Out The Door

Regular readers of my blog will know by now that I am against multi-culturalism to a certain degree. There are times when I consider it ridiculous to appease as I wrote in this post in the name of multi-culturalism. There are times however when things get a little out of hand.

Last weekend, in Laval, Quebec a soccer referee asked a young 11 year old Muslim girl to leave the field because she was wearing a headscarf. It should be noted that the referee himself is a Muslim. In any case the entire team left the tournament in support of this young girl.

The Quebec Soccer Association said that there is a "no head-gear rule" set down by FIFA for safety reasons. Personally I think that's nuts and we went through this type of thing a number of years ago when our first Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman fought and won the right to wear his turban instead of the normal stetson.

Today the International Football Federation (FIFA) ruled against her and the ban stands.

This is not on the same level and most other issues and I think they need to take another look at it. The young player should be allowed to wear her headscarf. I have never had an issue with headscarves, what I object to is the full burqa in this western society.

The Cruelty of March

The sun did rise this morning although had some doubts during the night.

Now I'm really not a wimp about weather, after all I'm Canadian and have lived through some pretty bad storms in my life, but this one will go down in my memory as one of the worst.


One in particular, also in March, was on a drive to North Carolina. From the time we hit Erie, Pennsylvania I knew we were in trouble. Since my sweetie had absolutely no winter driving experience at that time (he'd lived in California) so it was up to me to get us through that white knuckle drive to safety. I drove us through a whiteout until we could safely get off the thruway and to a hotel. Wouldn't want to do that now, my nerves aren't that good anymore.

I spent most of the night in a state of half awake half asleep while my sweetie snored blissfully away. Boy, he can sleep through anything that guy!

This morning we are assessing the damages which are really minimal considering the strength of this storm. My sweetie had to go out this morning and has reported in that there are a lot of trees and large branches down around town and some people are without power.

As I write this the winds are still blowing and every once in a while a piece of ice will blow off the big tree into the windows making me jump. My sweetie had to go to the job site this morning and has reported in that there are a lot of big tree branches down around town, and his job site has lost power, a branch took the power line out. I'm guessing not a lot of work will get done today.

And Mom's doctor called, what a sweetie he is, and said If I really needed him to come today, he would. Imagine, making house calls in this weather!

In Like A Lion!

March arrived like a lion this afternoon and he hasn't quit yet. Within about an hour the sky turned dark and the snow started falling. By the time I took this photo, 3 inches had fallen and it's still snowing.

So far there are two deaths in Ontario and 16 in the United States, where this weather came from. They always complain that they get their cold fronts from Canada, but we get the snow from them.

The highways are chaotic, flights have been cancelled and those people who listened and took the Go train to work from the east part of the city are out of luck... there was a train derailment and the are not running.

The worst is yet to come apparently, the snow is going to turn into freezing rain which can bring down power lines and we have been warned to prepare for power failures. I'm ready, all flashlights work and are strategically placed around the house and the battery on this baby is full.

I guess this means March will go out like a Lamb!