OAP IS FOR CANADIANS NOT IMMIGRANTS

In all my years living in this country, and watching politicians commit political suicide I have never witnessed political parties try to shoot themselves in the foot as bad as the liberals in B. C. and the Conservatives in Ottawa are presently doing.

It’s like neither party wants to win the next election.

British Columbians wanted to get rid of the Liberal party and their policies re HST. So the party made their leader their scapegoat and then had the audacity to give him an award.

The conservative party then gave the voters of B. C. a second slap in the face by appointing him to an exulted position within the Canadian hierarchy.

The Liberal party continues to ignore the wishes of its electors by  keeping the unwanted taxes.

The Conservative party continues to insult Canadians by offering a pittance of an increase in the OAP but no increase in the GIS, and instead of decreasing the budget by making the OAP available to Canadian born residents only they want to stretch the already over burdened budget by making it available to people who haven’t lived in Canada long enough to learn their postal code.

Its like both parties are trying to commit political suicide.

 Despite the fact that B. C. kicked out the HST the movie industry stays strong. Actually we are as busy as can be expected with, thanks to the meddling of the Liberal party, our shortage of crews, and studios.

I worked on 3 separate productions last week. Alcatraz, Once Upon a Time, and Secret circle.

Serena has booked China for Dec. and Jan. I will stay home this year, though I might grab a week or two in Mexico or I might go North.  It kind of depends on what my doctors have to say. I had two doctor visits this past week and I have five separate specialist to go see over the next four weeks.

Despite the doctor visits, over the past couple of weeks I continue to slog through my website, removing advertising and checking all my links.

As I said last time, Bear’s Page is now `stand alone’. However I am probably only about ¼ of the way through Lee’s Page.

I have had time to go through some pictures and I have added a new page that I hope you will find interesting, even if you are not a fisherman. Read, enjoy.  CHAPMAN CR. FISH HATCHERY.

Donate if you wish, it is a worth while charitable organization.

So is Bear’s Page, Donations welcome .

Speaking of `fishing’, Serena caught 30 salmon yesterday, though she was only allowed to keep four.  For some stupid reason you have to catch them through the mouth. If you snag them in the tail, or their side, you have to throw them back.

If a hunter wounds a deer, or a bear, he will stay on its trail for hours, or even days, until he kills it. Yet if you wound a fish you have to throw it back,  so it can die.

I don’t know what bone head politician, or government employee, made up that stupid rule.

These fish have just left the ocean and some have another thousand miles of; lakes, streams, and waterfalls to negotiate before they get to their spawning grounds. How they are expected to do that with a hole in the guts is beyond my comprehension.

Right now the fish run is so heavy that you could catch the fish with your bear hands. Sat. morning the fisherman lined the shore of the river. It is estimated that there was a fisherman every five feet. And everyone of them was catching and releasing ten wounded fish to one that they could take home.

Literally millions of fish are not going to make it to the spanning grounds because they were wounded and thrown back in the river.

The intelligence of our government continues to amaze my. Though it shouldn’t.

As Mark Twain once wrote, `Never underestimate the expanse of the universe, or the stupidity of mankind.

Talk about conniving two faced politicians. The people of B. C. demanded the removal of an overburdening tax called the HST. The party in power neither removed the Tax nor stepped out of office. Instead they made the leader of their party their scapegoat and asked him to resign. They bribed him to do this, and slapped the citizens of B. C. in the face, by giving him the Order of B. C. To add insult to insult the Federal government then gave Canada’s most unloved politician a post as a high commissioner to the U.K. After such insults no self respecting Canadian could possibly consider supporting; the Liberal party provincially, or the Conservative party federally.

Talk about conniving two faced politicians.

The people of B. C. demanded the removal of an overburdening tax called the HST.

The party in power neither removed the Tax nor stepped out of office.

Instead they made the leader of their party their scapegoat and asked him to resign. They bribed him to do this, and slapped the citizens of B. C. in the face, by giving him the Order of B. C.

To add insult to insult the Federal government then gave Canada’s most unloved politician a post as a high commissioner to the U.K.

After such insults no self respecting Canadian could possibly consider supporting; the Liberal party provincially, or the Conservative party federally.

SHARING - PART OF A WEEKLY COLUMN

The population of the world is continually growing. As each person reaches that magic age they all want to own a vehicle. Nowhere is this more evident than on downtown streets. Each of us can help reduce `Road Rage' by simply being courteous to our fellow users of the streets.

Cars today are partially computerized, newer cars will be even more so. Some vehicles are partially powered by electricity and a couple are completely electric. In the not too distant future; fuel burning, and atmosphere polluting vehicles, and most of the motor vehicle act, will become as obsolete as service stations.

Speed signs will be replaced by transmitters. A sensor in your car will pick up the signal and your car will not be able to move at speeds above the posted (unposted) limit.

If you are travelling too slow and impeding others a computerized voice will tell you to pick up your speed. (Sure wish we had that now.)

If you turn on your signal light the car's computer will pick up a signal from a sensor and the voice will tell you, "You may not turn left at this intersection between three and six PM. Please proceed to the next intersection and turn right."

Sensors will pick up the lines in the road and prevent you from changing lanes or passing when it is dangerous to do so.

Gone will be the fun and exhilaration of careening through traffic. Gone will be the danger and mayhem of fools behind the wheel. Gone will be the long hours the police officer has to stand in the rain while the ambulance crews remove human remains from a twisted hunk of metal.

But those cars and those days are not here yet. In the meantime we must all learn to control ourselves, and our vehicles. We must learn the rules of the road so that at the end of each hectic day we can return to our loved ones safely.

And, if it is our day off and we are just goofing about, there are still rules that we should obey to help make our leisure time more enjoyable. In this column I will give you some safety and courtesy tips, courtesy of the many years that I have spent as a driver and a pedestrian.

I hope you enjoy my comments and criticisms over the next year. As I have learned from you I hope you will learn from me. Vancouver is a beautiful city. With a little courtesy and common sense we can all enjoy and share the streets.

Next week I want to talk about backing up at intersections.

Bear has been driving professionally for over thirty years. He has driven police cars, taxis, busses, and trucks. He has driven tractor trailers from coast to coast accumulating over one million accident free miles.

Comments in this column are the opinion of the writer and not necessarily shared by this website.

Re: the HST.
Previously Christy Clark said that if the people didn’t support her on the HST she would call a provincial election after the referendum.
Well, she lost.
But is she going to keep her word?
No!
She is such a poor loser she has reneged on her promise and says she will hold the election in 2013. Not only that, but, like a spoiled child she seeks to punish us by saying it will take 19 months to remove the HST.
It didn’t take anywhere near that long to implement it.
And it doesn’t take anywhere near that long to disassemble it.
A mere 24 hours of announcements in the media is all it will take to tell; purchasers they no longer need to pay HST, and businesses they no longer need to collect it.
At the same time they tell all businesses that any HST collected, and not filed, to date, need to be submitted by Sept. 30.
Also at the same time they notify all employees of the HST that all rebates must be sent out by Oct. 31. And finally the same announcement informs the gov’t employees that they will be laid off by Nov. 30 which gives them time to; clean out their offices, wipe all their hard drives, send all their desks and office equipment to the store room, and apply for transfer to another dept.
All told, a lot less than 19 months.
Then, the people will see that Christy is an honourable person who believes in democracy and maybe, just maybe, she will win the next election, whenever it is held.
Lee A. Wood

Yeah, no HST

Well, thank the lord, that farce is over.
Of course I am talking about the HST referendum.
The wise people of B. C. saw through Christy Clark’s smokescreen and voted against HST.
But don’t relax. The big fight is still ahead of us.
Getting rid of the GST.
If you think the Liberals were scheming and prevaricating to hold on to the HST, you can believe they will fight even harder to keep the GST.
So, fellow British Columbianers, we must dig in and fight even harder to get rid of it.

HST FACTS REBUTTAL

My paycheque, (my sole source of income for the last 15 years) is directly related to the film industry. When the number of productions in this province is up, which it is from 15 years ago, and when it is down, which it is from 6 years ago, my yearly income is, in direct relationship, up or down.

When I say film industry, I speak of what we had built it up to in the early 2000s, from the early 1900s. When I say we have lost the film industry I mean it has reverted to the equivalent of the mid 1900s. as compared to the mid 2000s. Obviously it has not gone away completely. However, because it died so badly, because of the Liberal Gov’t., in the late 2000s, it will take many, many years to recuperate, if ever.

That fact that the streets of downtown were busy with film crews after the installation of HST was only because of the removal of the Olympic ban on downtown filming which happened at the same time and the Liberal Party used this as propaganda to praise the HST.

This is the axe that I have to grind, the Liberal Party, though everyone pointed their finger at Gordon Campbell, as if he was the sole decision maker, used the rebirth of all the visual film making to praise the HST.

Unfortunately many of the public believed the propaganda.

When you sight features such as MI4, you are mistaken. MI4, filmed under the name of `Tank’, never started filming until well after the HST came into effect. That is to say started filming in Vancouver. They had actually started filming in other countries and were late filming in Vancouver because the film studios that they had leased, many months before HST was ever thought of, were being used for the filming of `Little Red Riding Hood’ which ran over budget and way past the end of their shooting schedule. It actually got to the point where MI4 was building sets in the same studio in which LRRH was filming.

We have lost shows to Toronto lately, we always lose shows to Toronto, and we will always do so.

However the reverse happens more frequently, Toronto loses shows to us.

There are many reason for this, none of which have anything to do with the HST. The biggest reason, the biggest reason that any film crew goes anywhere, is location. `LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION’

Just like the Real Estate industry, `LOCATION’, is the key. The one most important key. The second is studio space, the third is trained and efficient crews, and another major attraction that Vancouver had is film editing facilities.

Vancouver still has the locations but because of Gordon Campbell, and here I say Campbell, rather than the liberal Party, because it was his personal hatred of unions, although people blame it on Vince Ready, but he was only acting on Campbell’s orders, we no longer have the; studio space, crews, or editing houses.

We still have most of the supply houses, such as yours, though I have never had the opportunity to deal with you as I have all the major suppliers, because, though most of them have had to downsize, they have managed to survive by laying off staff and sending stock back to their head offices in L.A.

And speaking of Real Estate, ask them what they think of the HST. Ask them, or any home buyer, how many sales have been lost because of the HST.

HST hurts every citizen in this country.

How many tax payers’ dollars have been wasted, and will continue to be wasted, in the Liberals fight to retain ST.

This referendum is nothing but an expensive smoke screen and is a perfect example of why the citizens of this fair province are sick and tired of the Liberals and their high handed attitude.

The citizens do not have bottomless pockets and can no longer afford the Liberals or their tax increases.

When the people ousted Gord Campbell it was to get rid of the HST. We never once mentioned reverting to GST. Nor did we want Campbell to leave by himself, We wanted the entire party gone.

With no ST Canadians will stay home to shop rather than spending their weekends shopping South of the border. No ST will attract customers from other countries.

Doing away with ST will mean lower taxes because the Gov’t. can close all the offices that are used to calculate all the STs and their rebates.

The lack of St is a win win situation for all concerned except, for some obscure reason, the liberal party. Why they are trying so hard to hang on to it, in spite of their electorates’ desire to get rid of it is beyond me.

HST FACTS

Here are the facts from the set decorators we speak to everyday:

The film industry never left BC. Even during the Olympics. We saw business all the way through the recession. It may have slowed down but it was always there. Permits were only halted but production studios were operating business as usual in Vancouver and Burnaby. We had trucks here every day during the Olympics picking up or dropping off props.

Once the HST was in place, it brought lots of new shows and movies that have yet to air. Mission impossible being one of them that saw a $7 million dollar benefit from filming in Canada, purely from the HST.

We have lost shows to Toronto in the past month because of the uncertainty of the HST here. Shows that if popular could have multiple seasons and provide years of work for dozens of productions staff and vendors alike.

To say you are mis-informed is an understatement. Vancouver no longer has a film industry? The film business is 10 times as busy in Vancouver as it has ever been. The HST , vendor infrastructure, and the US-CDN dollar exchange all play an important part in the equation.

I’m not sure why you have an axe to grind but you should get your facts straight before you start writing articles in municipal publications in municipalities that benefit from the movie business.

Kevin B. Vancouver, B. C. Canada

DO THE LIBERALS PROFIT FROM HST?

When I see the extent to which the Liberals are conniving to keep the HST in play it makes me wonder how much of that goes in their pockets.
Despite the fact that it is obvious British Columbians do not want the HST, nor do we want it replaced with GST & PST, none of the political parties are promising to get rid of it if we vote other than Liberal in the next election.
What do the NDP, Conservatives, and other parties know that we don’t know. How much of this tax goes directly to their party, or their own pocket, once elected to office?
Campbell made a big issue of how the HST had brought back the film Industry (that he destroyed). I ask you, if the HST brought it back, why isn’t it still here? The HST is still here.
They say it will cost the tax payers a lot of money to switch back to the old ST system. I never heard them saying anything about it costing us to switch from the old to the new.
They say if we switch back we will have to pay back Ottawa. Why? Did we borrow money from Ottawa to pay for the cost of switching from PST to HST? Did Ottawa pay us to switch over? If so where is my share? If the Liberals were paid to switch then the Liberals can refund the money when we switch back.
The Liberals say that if we keep the HST they will reduce it by 2%. That’s a pretty generous offer considering we want them to lower it by 12%.
Altogether there is just too much persuasion, too much pressure, too many promises. Me thinks there is something fishy going on here.
Regardless of this smoke screen they call a referendum, I think the main battle is in the next election and we need a party who will stand up and promise to get rid of the ST if they are elected.
No ST (H, G, or P) would mean fewer British Columbians running across the borders, East and South, to do their shopping. It would mean more shoppers from Alberta and Washington coming to B. C. It would result in; more businesses moving in, and increased tourism.
There is no possible way that losing the ST would harm the province or cost the tax payers anything. It would, on the other hand, create more employment.
Losing the ST (G, H, & P) is a win win situation.
And giving in to the will of the people would only make the Liberals look good in the eyes of the voters. So why are they so adamant to lose public support?

POST ELECTION BLUES AND MORE PICTURES

Well, the election has come and gone. And with it any hopes for a bright future in our poor little Dominion.

Normally when an election results in a majority government it means stability for he next four years and industry digs in. Unfortunately you elected the wrong party and the stock market has done nothing but plummet since the ballots were counted.

Notice I said YOU. I didn’t vote for them and I told you not to vote for them. I also told you to vote and most of you didn’t.

60% of the eligible voters didn’t vote. Had you gone to the polls and voted for someone other than the Conservatives we .. well never mind.

It’s over, we’re stuck with him, for the next four years.

What have I been doing, beside haranguing the politicians for the last five weeks? Not working that’s for sure. Resting. Trying to recover from those three grueling months of 16 hour days.

Am I going back next month? Not sure. There has been no official announcement that there will be a season seven of Supernatural.

I’ve been; changing my meds, changing doctors. I found a little clinic down the street and have been visiting them. I am feeling better.

Found a couple of games for my computer. I don’t usually play games but these have taken up a lot of my time.

And I found some of my lost pictures. A recovery program brought them out of some obscure file but they were not in order. Nor correctly numbered so I have been sorting them out and I have managed to put together three new pages for you.

Alberta Highway 16

Saskatchewan Highway 16

Saskatchewan Highway 40

As well, I have completed page 12 of jokes that viewers have sent me.

As each page contains a `bakers dozen’ I have decided there will be a `bakers dozen’ pages.
So make page 13 really funny. Send me some jokes that are side splitting laughable.
And all the best to you, and yours, in the forth coming …….

PS: If you are in the Vancouver (the Northern one) area this weekend; Juhli, Redsky, and others, will have their artistic endeavours on display at ~ `Art in the City’ ~ in the West End community Centre - 870 Denman St. Vancouver.

LIBERALS GIVE UP THE GHOST

Well I suppose all the Conservative followers are happy today. A Conservative, majority, Government.

And of course the Conservatives are gong to go around boasting of how much the people love them and want them. When the truth is that they were the lesser of 2 evils. Look how many seats the Liberals lost.

The conservatives didn’t win, the only other, viable, parity lost worse than they did the last election.

It’s like I said before the election, if either of the lesser parties had picked a new leader, and some new policies, they probably would have won.

But isn’t that true of all elections in Canada. People don’t vote for who they want, because there is never anyone running who the people want. Its always a question of voting for the one they dislike the least.

THE POLLS ARE OPEN

I put on my rain gear and went to the polls.

No, I didn’t vote for one of the big 3.

If you stay home one of the big three will get in.

They will get in with a small margin and claim that the people would have voted for them but because of the bad weather no one went to the polls.

However if you go to the polls and vote for an unknown, it will be a vote against the big three.
The person you vote for won’t get in but it will keep the vote count high so the big three can’t claim the people would have voted for them.

Look at the ballot and avoid; the Conservatives, the Liberals, the NDP.

Vote for anyone else.

Every vote is your voice being heard by Ottawa.

Make them listen.

Vote against them.

Then, maybe, next election they will come out with a new leader and new policies, and actually giving us a reason to vote for them.

So, put on your parka, pick up your bumbershoot, and walk to the polls.

FINDING A JOB

Over the past 50 years I have worked for over 180; companies, or individuals. Most of my jobs have been in the driving field but I have done many other things as well, things that I was not qualified for but I took my training on the job.

To my recollection I never got one single job by; delivering, mailing, or faxing a résumé.

I did take one to an interview one time but the boss never got past my cover letter. That like most of my interviews was without an appointment. I just dropped in.

Other than one or two jobs that were found through friends, most of my jobs were acquired by drop in, unannounced. A few of the interviews were arranged over the phone. And one or two of the interviews were done over the phone.

Finding a job is just that simple.

Pick a place you would like to work, and phone them or drop in. If they ask you to leave a resume, ask them if they have an immediate opening. If they are not currently hiring, why leave a resume, you want a job today.

90% of the time when I apply for a job I am asked, `when can you start’?

My answer is always, `Now’!

And that is usually when I start, now, or the next morning.

Arriving at a potential job site, early in the morning, dressed for the type of work you wish to do, and having the attitude of `ready to work’ will usually get you the job, if there is an opening.

Obviously if there is no opening you won’t get hired, in which case you move on to the next business, along the street, or on your list.

One of the things I have always hated is commuting. So I try to find a job near where I live.

Shortly after my fourth wife came to Canada, she wanted to find a job. As she was unable to speak English, she would have found commuting rather difficult, I took her job hunting close to where we lived.

Monday morning, I took her to the first business across the street. I had no idea who they were, or what they did. We simply walked into the reception area and I explained to the girl at the desk that my wife couldn’t speak English, and had no work experience, but she was looking for employment.

We were told that they were not hiring so we went to the next office in the same building, with the same result. From office to office and building to building we spent about 2 hours. We did the same thing the next morning, and working farther afield, the next morning.

Wednesday afternoon, we received a phone call from a place we had called on that morning and my wife started work Thursday morning.

Finding a job is just a matter of knocking on doors, or dialing the phone. `Let your fingers do the walking’.

I was visiting friends in Coquitlam, sleeping on their couch. They wanted me to go to the pub with them one morning and I said, "No, I’m going to get a job". They didn’t believe me but left me behind with the phone and yellow pages.

After less than an hour of phone calls, I went to an interview, and started work that evening.

END

PS: One of the hardest things about finding a job is getting past the receptionist. They have been trained to ask for résumés and usually have no idea if the company is actually hiring.

By phone or in person I try to talk to; a dispatcher, a foreman, or someone who actually knows what the employee situation is and preferably someone who has the power to hire or can lead you directly to that person.

I was once hired by the bookkeeper of a company as the boss was absent. After two weeks of work I was asked to fill out an application form because they didn’t know who to make the cheque out to.

Never be afraid to ask for a job. The worst that can happen is they will say `No’.

COURTESY ON THE STREETS OF NORTH AMERICA

COMMON TO PEDESTRIANS, CYCLISTS, SKATEBOARDERS, CARS, AND TRUCKS:

Do not wear hoodies, or other head gear, which will block your vision to the side.
Do not use celphones, or earphones, which will distract you, or block your hearing.
Keep to the right so others can pass. (Regardless of your speed)
Do not make sudden turns, or stops. Check behind you first.
Don’t try to squeeze into the line up. Join the back of the line or wait until you get to the merge point.
Do not enter an intersection if the light is orange, or red, or if the white man has turned to a red hand.
Do not speed up to try to get into an intersection before the light turns, orange, or red.
Once in an intersection, go through, don’t slow down.
And ABSOLUTELY NO cel phones in an intersection.

CYCLISTS:
Stay as close to the curb as possible.
Do not turn left from the middle of a street, go through the intersection then change direction.
Single file only.
Use your mirrors so you don’t have to turn your head.
Use your bell to warn others when on a path.

PEDESTRIANS:
No spitting where others have to walk.
Keep you garbage, butts, gum, etc. in your pocket until you reach a trash bin.
When you reach an intersection; stop, look, listen, control your children, and pets.

MOTORISTS:
Don’t open your door and empty your ashtray, or coffee cup.
Don’t throw your pee bottles out the window.
Save all your garbage until the next time you stop for fuel and use the trash bin.
Never throw a hot; match, cigar, butt, etc, out, regardless of the weather. Use your ashtray.
Don’t honk your horn. Newer vehicles are too well insulated, the driver that irritated you won’t be able to hear you and you, in turn, are irritating those around you. Remember, the horn is an emergency warning device and is only to be used to warn someone of imminent danger.
Pedestrians on, or entering onto, a crosswalk, have the right of way.
Every intersection has at least three crosswalks, even though they may not be marked.
THE ABOVE are only a few of the more common courtesies. I am sure that with a little common sense you can think of many more.
Also note, that many of the above courtesies are also laws under the motor vehicle act of virtually every; municipality, province, and state.

NOTE: UNDER THE MOTOR VEHICLE ACT:
A crosswalk is part of an intersection, an extension of the sidewalk.
A bicycle is a vehicle.

Excerpt from the Novel – FERO by Lee A. Wood

The wooden door was as weathered, and as old, as the building it was in. It afforded a certain amount of privacy and rejected most of the weather. The door frame was twisted, from the settling of the building. Thus the door allowed for a certain amount of air and temperature exchange because it no longer fit the frame as well as it had originally. Both the door and the building had stood for many years and would probably stand for many more.
The door rattled against its leather hinges, as it was knocked on, from the outside.
Her reddish hair, though once shiny and smooth, was dull and dishevelled. Her face, haggard by a rough, though short, life, looked querulously at the door. When the knocking came a second time, she drew a shawl over her shoulders, covering the naked baby and the naked breast it was feeding at.
In complete difference to the majority of males in the village, the man at the door was short, chubby, and immaculately dressed, "Good Morning to you, Mrs. Monaghan. I see you're up and about."
"Ye've come for the rent Mr. McTavish." It wasn't a question, just a statement of fact, said in an abrupt way.
"That's not a very kindly tone in your voice Mary Ellen Monaghan. You must admit I didn't bother you for the rent two months ago when the babe was born, nor did I trouble you last month when your husband was lost. It is three months rent that you owe."
"Yes. And you'll be wanting interest on that, I suppose."
"Well, I am a business man." He said in explanation. "I do have expenses to pay."
"And I have a boy to feed and no job."
"And how is the boy?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Devastated, to say the least. The sun rose and fell on his da. He spends all day sittin' on the dock, waitin' for his da to come home. When the fish boats come in at night he asks all the fishermen if they have seen his da."
"He isn't able to accept the fact that the ocean has taken his da away forever. Like it did my brother last year and my da the year before. I suppose soon it will take Trevor."
"Now, now, Mary Ellen. The boy is still in school."
"But for how long? I'm but a woman. How can I put bread on the table? He is terribly young but he is the man in the family now. And where else is there for a man to find work in this village? There is not but fishing for the men, and weeping for the women, when the men don't return. I wish the sea would rise up and swallow the whole damn town. Then it would all be over." Mary Ellen sank down onto an old chair wedged between the doorway and a rickety wooden table.
Mr. McTavish looked furtively over his shoulder. Seeing that he was not observed he stepped inside. Quietly closing the door behind him he went down on one knee in front of Mary Ellen, "Mary, Mary, don't despair. You are young. You will find another husband. I know that is something you are not thinking about with your man only gone a month. But time will heal all things."
"Time, Mr. McTavish. Where will I get time? Look at my face. Look at what time has done to it. I was never beautiful but look at me now. And what will I look like in time. What man would want me even if I didn't have two sons that weren't his. Would you marry me carrying a new born and dragging a youngster behind?"
"Yes, I would, Mary Ellen. Have I not known you since you were your son's age? I have seen you grow from a wisp of a girl in pigtails to a mature woman. Had I not been a married man I would have asked for your hand myself." Mary Ellen was smoothing her faded skirt over her knees, Mr. McTavish took her roughened hand and held it.

Excerpt from Chpt. 2.

A circumstance-shaped character reveal, woven across continents and events - Journalist and Author: Dodie King

Fero - Published By Kindle - Available on Amazon

FREEDOM -IT'S IN OUR CONSTITUTION

According to an E I have received, more than once, Australia’s Prime Minister Gillard angered Australian Muslims by saying she supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques.

Apparently she said “Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law should get out of Australia.

The rest of the E is, supposedly, a quote of a statement she said to the local press.
I have rewritten that statement to fit the constitutions of Canada and the USA.
+++++++++++++++
IMMIGRANTS MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It.
We are tired of our nations worrying about whether we are offending some individual, or their culture.

Our culture has been developed over centuries of; struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom'

'We speak mainly ENGLISH, but also Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, and every other language.
If you wish to become part of our society it is not nesasary that you learn Ehglish. (But it would make life a lot simpler if you did.)

Most North Americans believe in God, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded these nations.
It is appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools.
If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.'

We will accept your beliefs provided they don’t violate our laws.
All we ask is that you accept our laws, and live in harmony with us.

This is North America, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy it.
But once you are done; complaining, whining, and griping about; Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you to take advantage of another of our great freedoms, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'.

If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here.
You asked to be here.
So accept the country YOU accepted.

++++++++

On the other hand, we the descendants of the Great White Fathers who drafted the constitutions, have to understand that it is these very constitutions that give immigrants the right to not conform to our customs.

The have the right; to talk to each other in their native tongue, to attend churches of their own believe, to listen to radio and TV, or read periodicals produced in languages we don’t understand.

We must also understand that when they come to this continent they don’t understand what our customs are. No one takes the time to educate them, just berate them for not doing things our way.

If we want them to conform to our customs then when they arrive they should be given a short indoctrination explaining to them, in their native tongue, how we live.

A brief introduction to our traffic laws, such as; we drive on the right side of the road, we stop for pedestrians, we wait at red lights, etc.

And a few common courtesies, such as; we wait in line, we don’t cut in front, we hold doors open for people with their arms full, women and children first, etc.

How does our government waste our money?

They are convening a panel on whether or not to extinguish the HST and return to
the PST and GST.
Why are they wasting our money?
At no time did the people of B.C. ever suggest that we return to GST and PST. It goes without saying that if you lose the HST you lose, both, the GST and the PST.
It doesn’t take a panel, at our expense, to understand this.
But I guess if the Liberals can’t understand a simple concept like that they have failed to understand why we wanted Campbell to step down.
We understand fully that Campbell wasn’t the only one in the Liberal Party that was behind HST, but they, obviously, are using him as a scapegoat so that they don’t have to change their party policy of taxing British Columbians to death.
Which makes it obvious how the other parties can win the election, simply promise to kick out the (total) HST after they are elected, and they are in like Flynn.
Its time that we the people make these parties realize that a democratic government is based on what the people want, not what the political parties want.

HST Disguised

Christy Clark is trying to appease the peasants by offering an early referendum. By doing this her and her liberal party hope to keep the GST by simply changing its name.

We kicked Campbell out of office because we didn’t want GST, no matter what it’s name.
What the Liberal Party fails to realize is that Canada is a democratic country. It is not for political leaders to placate the public it is their duty to obey their employers.

Particularly now with the Yankee dollar shrinking in value and B. C. losing shoppers to the South it is important to kill the HST, totally. That is GST and PST.

That will make shopping cheaper in B. C. and we will not only get British Columbians to spend their bucks at home we will attract customers from Alberta as well as the South.

DON'T VOTE FOR A MAJOR PARTY

If you vote for one of the big parties you will end up with a Prime Minister that you don’t want.

Inevitably people vote for a party they don’t want because they want to vote against the party they don’t like. But that only gives a vote to a different party they don’t like.
Either that or they don’t vote at all which means they still end up with a PM they don’t want.
Either way the big parties don’t get the message - NO BODY WANTS YOU.

They all write off the lack of votes for them as, `it was a poor day at the polls’.

The only way they are going to get the message is if you go to the polls and vote, but not for them.

On every ballot there is an independent or a throw away party, Ie: Elephant, Rhino, Clown, Blue, etc. Vote for one of them. It doesn’t matter which one. That way there will be a good showing at the polls, and the big parties will realize they are not offering what the people want. In the following election they will run; candidates, and party policies, that the people actually want and we will get a real government with a real Prime Minister.

You have the power. Use it.

HOLLYWOOD NORTH AND THE HST

In the middle of 2010 the HST and the film crews hit the streets of B. C.
Coincidence? Purely.
Did the Film Industry come back to B. C. because of the HST?
Highly unlikely, though Gordon Campbell would surely love you to think so, to hide the fact that it was he and his Liberal party that killed the Film Industry three years previously.
Is the Film Industry back?
Not really. In 2005 the Film Industry brought TWO BILLION DOLLARS into the province. More than tourism, more than forestry.
Though the Film Industry was busy over the past year it was nowhere near as busy as it was five years ago.
So, if the HST brought the Film Industry back to B. C. why isn’t it as busy as it was in 2005?
A lot of people say it is because the American dollar is lower than the Canadian dollar.
Let me ask you this?
Does Seattle have a similar climate to that of Vancouver? Yes.
Does Seattle have similar topography to that of Vancouver? Yes.
Does Seattle have HST or PST? No.
Does Seattle have the same dollar value as Vancouver? NO. But it is the same as Hollywood.
Does Seattle have Hollywood North? – NO.
Hollywood North is in Vancouver and Hollywood producers film here despite the stronger dollar and not because of the HST.
As an example, the series `Eureka’ was originally planned to be filmed in Nelson, B. C. but it was deemed to be too far from Vancouver. They liked the town for the back drop but they changed their plans and filmed the pilot in Victoria. However when it came to be filming month after month, year after year, they moved to Vancouver.
Hollywood North is where the film companies want to be because we have branches of the Las Angles rental companies where they can get cameras, film, lights, etc. quickly,
We had trained, and experienced; crews, carpenters, welders, hairstylists, model makers, scuba divers, etc. We had the transportation equipment and the experienced drivers to get them from location to location, quickly, and efficiently.
Notice I said HAD! During the lull in production over the past few years, because of the Liberals meddling in the Film Industry, we lost several major studio facilities and, literally. hundreds of skilled employees.
The HST did not bring the Film Industry back. Only time will rebuild what the Liberals destroyed. Time to build new studios, Time to train new employees. And time for the film producers to learn that we can supply them with what they need, when they need it.

ELECTION PROMISES

We hear a lot of rhetoric from the federal political candidates regarding health care. And what the other parties are not willing to do about it.

One must realize that it is a big smoke screen to cover up their inadequacy to actually make promises that we want to hear.

The truth of the matter is they are not going to do anything about Health Care. Health care doesn’t come under the jurisdiction of the federal government, you an I get our health care plans form the provincial government.

WALK NAKED DAY

DON’T FORGET

MAY 1st!

WALK NAKED DAY

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

It is a sin for a Muslim male to see any woman other than his wife naked and if he does, he must commit suicide.

So, May 1st at 1 p.m. Eastern Time, all women are asked to walk out of their house completely naked to help weed out any neighborhood terrorists.

Circling your block for one hour is recommended for this anti-terrorist effort.

All patriotic men are to position themselves in lawn chairs in front of their houses

to demonstrate their support for the women and to prove that they are not Muslim terrorist sympathizers.

Since Islam also does not approve of alcohol, a cold 6-pack at your side is further proof of your patriotism.

The government appreciates your efforts to root out terrorists and applauds your participation in this anti-terrorist activity.

Vote Liberal

If we vote Liberal in the next election they will give us a raise of $600 on our old age pension.

Wow, I can hardly wait.

Let's see, That's $600 = $50 a month! Gosh a mighty.

With my CPP and `guaranteed supplement’ that’s $1250/ mth.

Now just a minute, `guaranteed supplement’ is only 1$200

So the new 50 will come off my `guaranteed supplement’ and I still only get $1200.

But wait. They said they will raise income tax.

So then I will get less than $1200.

Wow an increase of $600 will result in a decrease.

I can't wait for the election so I can vote for the liberals.

CANADIAN POLITICIANS SUCK

Ignatieff is offering old age pensioners an increase of $600 on their old age pension. However it will reduce the amount of their Supplement. They will still end up with the same max allowable per month.
In B. C. we kicked out the premier because he brought in HST. However the party, though it has changed its leader, has not changed its policy. If the Liberals are reelected we will still be stuck with HST.
Federally if we reelect the present PM we will still be stuck with HST.
Why is it that political leaders never do what the people want? Is this not a democracy?
We are supposed to be a democratic country yet all leaders, of political parties, have not been invited to a debate. Granted the other parties have no possibility of wining an election but they could probably, during a debate, reveal the falsehoods of the two bigger parties.
So who do we vote for?
None of them. Then the party we want least will get in, again. That is what has happened in every election in the past century.
Election after election we go to the polls and vote for the one we dislike the least. None of the parties have the guts to stand up and promise anything. All they are capable of is running down the opposition and telling us what the other parties won’t do.
What we need in this country is a pay scale that will attract people who know something.
Our present pay scale for political offices is set at attracting people who have little knowledge but much greed. If we offered the Prime Minister a sufficient wage we could get someone that knows what they are doing. People who are knowledgeable are too busy making money to waste their time with politics.

bearlee2's photostream

bearlee2's photostream on Flickr.

I just joined Flickr and I posted a SUPERNATURAL picture.

bearlee2's photostream

bearlee2's photostream on Flickr.

SUPERNATURAL - SEASON 7?

1 week of filming left. Hope I can stay awake.
The wrap party was held last night but I didn't go. Just too tired.
Rumour had it that they were going to announce, last night, at the party, if there would be a season 7, or not.
Can't imagine, for the life of me, why there wouldn't be, but one never knows what passes through the minds of bean counters and they always have the final decision.
I, for one, am looking forward to the end of this season. I’ll bet the boys are too.
It's been a long winter; rain, snow, sleet, wind. The cast and crew are all in need of a long break; time to unlax, time with the family, time to travel, etc.
Though some of the cast, and many of the crew will move onto other productions.
One mega production just wrapped in the studio next to us and another mega is already moving in before the last one is out. Course that’s what they did to the previous tenants.
One coming in and one leaving and both using our driveway to park their trucks while we are trying to get in and out to go to different locations.
And let me tell you we have really had some different locations over the past while. From downtown city to a pleasant little lake surrounded by forest, still within city limits, and don’t think I don’t envy the person that lives in that fantastic log cabin on the water’s edge.

REPLY TO - REPLY TO PROMISES

The level of; health car, education, etc. is not high, and has not increased since we gained HST. These items were always overfunded before we had HST and are still below par despite being over funded.

HST has not increased the budget to any government departments but has done a great deal to decrease the spending of the average citizen, and tourist, which is harming our economy.

By doing away with HST the average person would be in a better position to buy consumer goods such as homes and groceries which would stimulate the economy.
Lee

REPLY TO PROMISES

Lee Wood,

I have read over your demands of an elected official to promise the 9 items below to gain your future support. I challenge you to present your suggestions to replace the revenue lost from the HST to pay for the items we use. Items like Health Care, Education etc that are important and that we need to make sure that the level of service remains high. Just interested in your input.

Bernie Hiller
Constituency Assistant
Douglas Horne
MLA Coquitlam - Burke Mountain

POLITICAL PROMISES

This is an expansion of an E that I sent to Harry Bloy, MLA for burnaby-lougheed.
If a politician, or a political party wants my vote in the forth coming election, they must:
A: PROMISE to do away with the HST.
B : PROMISE not to replace the HST with; GST, PST, or any other tax.
C: PROMISE to allow stores to sell incandescent light bulbs.
D: PROMISE to prevent off shore drilling?
E: PROMISE to allow ICBC to license electric cars?
F: PROMISE to roll back Vince Ready’s decision regarding the film industry’s union contracts.
G: PROMISE to enforce the `No Cel phone while driving’ law.
H: PROMISE to change the law to include non electronic items such as; lipstick, notebooks, pocketbooks, flutes, etc.
I: PROMISE to tell us what their position is on all things that matter and not waste our time listening to them running down their opponent(s).
If they are not prepared to entertain any of the above legislative changes then they won’t see me at the polls and we will have another non-popular govt.
Yours
Lee A. Wood

INCANDESCENT BULBS

The lack of common sense, amongst government employees, whether elected, or hired, never ceases to amaze me.
Although when I see how blindly the general population follows the edicts of the decision makers, I sometimes wonder if there is any difference.
I used to enjoy driving, or walking, around and viewing the beautiful displays of lights put up by; private citizens, corporations, and/or municipalities.
However, after viewing the; weak, tiny, dull, lights that the environmentalists have thrust upon us, I certainly will save my energy and stay home, next Xmas.
Now I am told that we are to forsake the ROUND GLOBES that light our daily lives, the ones that we could buy for less than a dollar, to save the environment by purchasing, at much greater expense, some atrocious looking, twisted, glass, snake that is non-disposable because it is not environmentally friendly.
And before you jump down my throat and start calling me an aniti-enviromentalist, stop and think of how much waste is going to be produced when you have to start throwing out all the old fixtures that won’t be compatible with the new light bulbs.
How many table lamps do you have in your house that have shades that slip over a round bulb. Will the shades fit on the new bulbs? Are you prepared to buy new table lamps? For bulbs that cost you 20 to 50 times more than a regular bulb.
Are you prepared to pay more taxes to buy fixtures in the school gym, exit signs, etc. because the new bulbs aren’t compatible with the old housings.
And are you prepared to pay the gas to run down to the disposal centre every time one of these things burns out – because you can’t throw them in the garbage. Wanna bet?

MERRY XMAS

`10/12/26
Why is it that every time I go on a holiday, upon my return, I have to visit my favourite dentist?
This time I broke the porcelain off the front of my bridge. Don’t think that isn’t going to cost more then my short trip to Prince George.
My thanks to, Sheila, the cook, for a scrumpdillicous meal. It’s not her fault I bit the fork tine instead of the pork.
And our thanks to Paul for putting us up, and putting up with us.
It was a short hectic holiday, even more hectic when the windshield wipers quit on the way back, during heavy sleet in the Fraser Canyon.
As I said in my last E, my novel - FERO - is finally published. However no one had bought it yet, at least no one has sent me a critique, My Goddaughter read it, half way, through the first chapter and then quit. She said there is too much sex in it and I am a dirty old man. “Thank you“, I replied.
You can find it on AMAZON. If you read it, I would appreciate a critique. You can put it in Amazon as a review, or send it to me and I will add it to my webpage.
In my last E I told you I have some of my photos hanging in a gallery (Smart Frames) in Metrotown, and have posted some on `Zazzle’. - https://www.zazzle.ca/bear23* Also you will now find them at `Frameworks Gallery’ in Prince George.
I have added another baker’s dozen, jokes that is.
Wishing you and yours the best of the season

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I have finally sold my `Big Blue Lemon’. I wrote an article of why you should never buy a Volvo.

Though my pre-Xmas trip to P. G. (Prince George) was short, and hectic, I did find one morning of sunshine, and the time to take some pictures of the old bridge.

I also took some pictures, though most of them turned out blurry, of a lady training her dog, well, actually a horse, but she trains it to do dog type tricks.

When your windshield wipers quit on you, find a store and get some Rainex. At speeds over 20 Km/h it is better than wipers.

As I said in my last E, my novel - FERO - is finally published. However it is still available for free at the bottom of my `NOVEL PAGE’.

Post Xmas was hectic here. Three new computers came into the house. This is coming to you from my, newer, Mac Pro. So, if you are looking for a good G5

Wishing you and yours all the best in the NEW YEAR
Barely (Bear / Lee)