Aerospace 7 - Lockheed F-35 Fighter

I have decided to add my voice to the ever-increasing volume of public noise surrounding Canada’s continuing consideration to replace its excellent CF-18 fighter jets with the Lockheed F-35 aircraft. 

Although, obviously, a political decision, I have placed this post under an ‘Aerospace’ title because it is, or should be, of interest to all purchasers of the aircraft.

Rather than write an extended prose on the subject, I have decided to use a simple itemized format, with some text from Flight Global magazine, hoping that it will even better highlight my points of view ... and enable your discussion to take place.  I had also discussed this subject before (13 October, 2011) which only increases my amazement of the lack of action.

1.  Suddenly, a new Canadian government report suggests that other fighter jets are just as capable as the Lockheed Martin F-35A at fulfilling the nation’s most likely mission needs, potentially opening the door to a competitive acquisition process to replace a fleet of 77 Boeing CF-18s.

2.  But, Canada still intends to buy 65 F-35s beginning in 2020.  Its third annual report on the cost of potentially replacing its fleet of CF-18s with the jet, assumes an average per-unit cost of $ 88.9 million over the period of acquisition.  That tallies up to a total $ 45.8 billion over the life cycle of the fleet, a $ 141 million increase over the estimate in the 2013 report, not to mention reports before that.

3.   I've just read a report elsewhere describing a USAF purchase, that the cost does NOT include the engines, which are part of a separate deal with Pratt & Whitney!

4.  An analysis assumes that Canada will lose eleven F-35As over the fleet’s expected 30-year service life due to normal attrition.  "The cost to replace these lost aircraft could be about $ 1 billion," the report says.

5.  At present, the Canadian government has only $ 76 million set aside for programme contingencies, far short of the $ 1 billion estimate for replacement aircraft.  The report says that the contingency budget is “low for a project of this scope and size”.

6.  That could force Canada to lower the number of F-35s it buys, the report suggests.  That could affect the overall programme cost.  Lockheed has promised to bring the per-aircraft cost for the conventional takeoff and landing variant of the jet below $ 100 million by 2019, but that will require a dramatic ramp-up in production after 2016 that relies heavily on non-US purchases.

7.  Officials have also said (for example) that the essential Electrical Optical Targeting System, which is used to track a target, continues to fail.  Just another example of a project plagued with problems.

8.  The F-35 first flew nine (9) years ago, after many years of flight development with the X-35 research aircraft!  Did I say development?

9.  Each aircraft costs $ 90 million ± $ 20 million, and we could upgrade our CF-18's (all of them) to last until 2025 for $ 100 million!  By which time we'll be flying drones.

10.  If you have a wish for more information, go to Wikipedia, use keywords, 'Lockheed F-35'.  Don't read the article (You just don't have time) scroll down to References, there are nearly 600 references.  A historic number for Wikipedia, I believe.

Words, such as;  immoral, discreditable, and outrageous behaviour, come to mind, you could probably add a few more ... couldn’t you?

Photos in Kunming, Yunnan, China

Returning to Canada from Thailand, it was necessary to transit through China, Kunming in Yunnan Province specifically, to meet old friends ... not especially to be a tourist, but I usually carry a camera, and here are the results.

Firstly, meet very good friends for dinner.

Then, tour the reconstructed old city (Yes, that's Starbucks).

Retaining parts of the ancient architecture will look fantastic as they become restaurants and guesthouses upon completion.

But don't let the police catch you.

Or the Peoples Liberation Army ... as they guard their recruitment post (Really).  I apologize for the tilt as I tried to hide the camera.

While we reflect upon things.

Before returning to look out of our hotel window at 'Cuihu' Green Lake' in the centre.  Note, my favourite restaurant, the 'Bluebird', in the bottom right corner.

Next day, a trip to the countryside. 

Where we stumble upon a rarely-visited new construction.  It is being privately-built by a rich publisher leading to his new library of ancient newspapers (See previous photo).  Note, the construction of a new Kunming city in the background.

We return to the park to enjoy the dances of a rural ethnic group.

In another part of the same park, the local people are doing their daily exercise.

And, on the same day, a semi-professional troupe give another display (These groups can be seen almost every day).

There are always amusing notices to photograph,

... and choirs to sing with.

And things to reflect upon.

And time to pose. 

And time to be a weird foreigner.

And time to say 'Goodbye'.

Click each photo to enlarge

Education 10 - A Ticking Time Bomb

I return to Canada as temperatures drop to those of a winter season, the sun shines brightly on a carpet of golden maple leaves, and university students are well-settled into their chosen curricula ... chosen, but I wonder how well chosen.  I notice that certain media is, again, drawing attention to the question of jobless graduates with an emphasis on the responsibilities of government.  But, I should like to balance the argument by shifting it towards the academic faculties and students themselves.

Firstly, an example;  I read of someone stopping an undergraduate and posing this basic question, “What will you do after you graduate?”  The answer, not too surprisingly, was, “I don’t know.”  It is probable that media political pundits, together with college faculty, would blame government because, of course, government seems to be responsible for everything.  Now, let us focus elsewhere.

There was a time when a university degree assured you of a good job, good pay and a comfortable life.  But, today, the unemployment rate for young people in this country is almost 15% – double that of the general population.  But the real crisis is the increasing number of university and college grads who are underemployed.  Some call them "the lost generation".  But, it is not only young people who may be lost.  If the next generation fails to become part of the economy, who will buy the real estate?  Who will pay for social programs?  Youth unemployment and underemployment is a ticking time bomb with serious outcomes for everyone.

So, why are so many young Canadians overeducated and underemployed.  Because the key players in Canada – universities, employers and governments – are not working together to find a solution.  There must be a national body responsible for education when it comes to helping young people make a smooth entry into the workforce.  All levels of government, educators and employers, must work together to ensure that education and training are linked to employment.

It is my belief, based on experience, that the problem is twofold;  Firstly, students are entering university quite unprepared and, secondly, universities, in some ways, have not brought the curricula into the twenty-first century.

Being unable to answer the question, “What will you do after graduation?”  must be looked at seriously by career councillors in high schools.  The student should be informed that there may be a position at a Space Agency for someone with a MSc., but an astronaut will require, probably, two PhD’s. (Even an airline pilot requires good postgraduate degrees).  It may, also, be difficult for someone to become a software programer if, soon, software will be written by robots using artificial intelligence.  Medical doctors are already able to conduct surgery in distant rural communities by remote control.  The possibilities are great, but who is explaining this to the prospective student.

Assuming that the student has been counselled wisely, what about the university curricula?  Has it been brought into the twenty-first century.  I do not imply that reference books have not changed since Albert Einstein, but one could argue that a young Master Einstein could experience the same job prospects, today, as many others.  It is quite true that many businesses, today, complain that graduates are not properly prepared for employment and, that, is the fault of unqualified and unprepared teachers and lecturers.

Please tell us what you think.

Travel 12 - Chiang Mai - 2014

This year, I accepted a position to teach as a volunteer at the North Chiang Mai University in Thailand.  The schedule was open-ended, and I chose to start in July.  Although this was during the semester break, I was assured that there would be many students still present who would value interacting with a foreign language teacher.

North Chiang Mai University Entrance

This was not quite true as most of the students that remained were there for personal reasons and learning a foreign language was not one of them.  In fact, when the new semester commenced, there were few students able to speak English, and even those majoring in the subject were few and far between.  It was also notable that an unusually-large number of the faculty were not bilingual.

One of Many

My overall, and general, opinion was a culture of laid-back students, and an easy-going population as a whole.  I came to the conclusion that history had something to do with it, and there was a distinct difference when compared with other Asian countries.  The subject for a useful thesis, no doubt.  Nevertheless, a very friendly and peaceful community.

Old City Moat

The result, for me, was the unnecessary 2 kilometre, rough gravel, trudge from/to my small apartment, and the opportunity to take time off to visit the interesting city of Chiang Mai.

Director of International Affairs and his wife, with Me

The notable feature of Chiang Mai is the ancient walled old city surrounded by a moat filled with water.  The Buddhist religion (or philosophy) is obvious everywhere because of the numerous golden temples (new and old) and the many monks in their saffron-coloured robes.  One odd sight was the number of 7-11 convenience stores that, at times, seemed to equal the number of temples.  I visited the Buddhist University at Wat Chiang Man which, interestingly, did not confine itself to theological subjects but excelled in modern subjects such as Computer Engineering (Fees not required for monks).  The advent of the digital camera with a 1,000-picture memory was essential, and I felt quite sorry for those visitors with 35mm film cameras.

Monks at Prayer

Entrance to Wat Chiang Man

There are many good hotels and guesthouses within the walls of the city which I recommend, and prices start at approximately $15 per night, rising to $100 per night for sheer luxury (I would suggest booking for the first night and, then, looking around for the best value ... as if $15 isn’t good enough).

One of Many Processions for One of Many Holidays

It was certainly an unforgettable experience.

Click each photo to enlarge.

Politics 11 - Dual Citizenship

It’s the weekend and, again, I am left with reading the newspapers to justify my wide knowledge of world affairs.  Stretched wide and, thus, thin on substance.  But there are some subjects that inspire forceful discussion, and one of them is dual citizenship.  Therefore, I searched this Blog and, to my surprise, realized that I had not written on the subject before, apparently.

I have been traveling quite a lot recently and, each time, I think back many decades to my first international journey as a dual citizen (Montreal Mirabel to London Heathrow).  I departed Montreal Immigration with my new Canadian passport and, upon arrival in London, I was confronted by a short Green line for U.K. citizens, and a Red line stretching to the distant horizon for the rest of us.  Quickly, I took out my U.K. passport and, with a smug smile, joined the Green line.  Of course, when the officer studied my passport he asked, without looking up, “Where are you from, sir?”  Not noticing any sign of humanity in his eyes, I carefully answered, “Canada.”  “There’s no Canadian stamp,” he said, looking at me as if I was deliberately concealing something.  “No,” I replied triumphantly, “I decided to use the Green line.”  “That’s illegal,” he said, as he officiously stamped my quickly produced Canadian passport.  “Don’t do it again.”  (In other words, use only one passport for each round trip).

That’s when I discovered that dual citizenship does not provide equality, and I remembered this as I read about someone being wrongly imprisoned in Egypt today.  Human rights activists are pouring out of the woodwork to decry this case, but I must tell them that not all rights are equal.  In China, innocent, peaceful people are prosecuted for their religious beliefs (for example) and end up being forced to donate their organs for transplant.  That is an obvious and horrible example against human rights.  But if an Egyptian-Canadian travels to a country rife with danger, and uses his Egyptian passport, then, he becomes an Egyptian in that country and is, obviously, looking for trouble ... and Canadian Foreign Affairs can do little.  Equally, if a Syrian-Canadian travels to Syria as a self-declared freedom fighter (terrorist) the same danger applies ... and if he returns to Canada, he should be arrested, and jailed, for contravening the rules of immigration.

I do not want my country to become a hideout for religious extremists.  Do you?

Video — Book Design

I have decided to increase the diversity of this Blog by introducing interestingly thoughtful videos.  The purpose of my decision is an attempt to increase readership (Believe me, not to increase my ego) such that others may feel that they have personal comments to make and, by doing so, cause discussion ... the original reason for the creation of the Blog.

Today, I have copied a video from TED Talks that a few of you have seen already but, I feel, should have a wider audience.

Please enjoy.

http://www.ted.com/talks/chip_kidd_designing_books_is_no_laughing_matter_ok_it_is

Quotation — "If ...."

Recently, I listened to a TED Talk about the meaning, or relevance, of poetry in our lives, and while reading some of the Internet commentary that followed, I noticed that someone had included the poem "If ...." by Rudyard Kipling.

Having a personal passing relationship with Rudyard Kipling (Born during World War II, I lived in one of Kipling's houses in Sussex which he permitted to be used by mothers for the safety of their new-born children from bomb-ravaged London), and the belief that he is the equal of all others that I have quoted and included in my posts, I must include this poem, written to his son, here.

Rudyard Kipling (1865  - 1936)

An English short-story writer, poet, and novelist. He was born in Bombay, and was taken by his family to England when he was five years old.  Kipling is best known for his works of fiction, including The Jungle Book.  Henry James once said: "Kipling strikes me personally as the most complete man of genius (as distinct from fine intelligence) that I have ever known."  In 1907, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

If .... 

If you can keep your head when all about you       

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,    

But make allowance for their doubting too;   

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,    

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,    

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;       

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster    

And treat those two impostors just the same;   

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken    

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,    

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings    

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings    

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew    

To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you    

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,       

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,    

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute    

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,       

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

P.S.  Read to all young sons ... and daughters.

Travel 11 — On-line Reviews

From my research, it seems that when people travel, they have no idea of what to expect when they arrive at their chosen hotel, and I would really like you to tell me why you think this is.

Of course, tourists come in a variety of costumes and age groups but, in my opinion, the type of tourist should not be significant to the way they write reviews.  In fact, I wonder if there ought to be a subjective analysis of these people.

For example, let us start with a hotel search.  I believe that today most people search on the Internet, either on their own or with help from a travel agency.  There are many Websites available, for example, hotels.com, expedia.com, and booking.com, and each site permits a selection of search choices, for example, star rating, review score, etc.  Therefore, why do so many tourists, upon their arrival, become dissatisfied.

Let us look at my personal experience:  We recently stayed at the 3-star Himalayan Deurali Resort in Pokhara, Nepal.  It was chosen because we simply wished to ‘stop the world and get off’.  The Website described a resort situated remotely in the mountains and a long way from the nearest town.  The photos showed unbelievable views of the snow-capped Himalayan mountains;  the accommodation looked very comfortable, and there was a restaurant ... what more did we need?  Nothing.

Everything on the Website was accurate, but there was no mention of the national power cuts that took place more than once each day, and the resulting effects.  But the effects were understandable and, in a sense, beyond the control of the hotel.  Nevertheless, should it not affect the star rating and the review score.

For example, someone wrote, “ It is the most excellent hotel in Napal, including the view, service, food, room, and cost-effective (sic) ... (Edited) ... Even I cannot show the fact put into words. You need to know to your cost (sic).”  A rating of 10/10 was awarded, and this person was not alone.

I doubt if this Chinese person was related to the owner, therefore, what was on his mind?  There are numerous 5-star hotels in Nepal, and many better hotels in Pokhara.  The view was excellent, but only on rare cloudless days;  the service was very friendly but the effort just average, during our long stay, the carpets were never cleaned, in fact, the hotel did not own a vacuum cleaner;  the food was acceptable, considering the location;  and the room, notwithstanding the power cuts, was very good.

I awarded 7.1, but the average was 9.3.  And I guarantee disappointment if you expect perfection when you go there ... I am not saying that one should expect perfection at a 3-star hotel, but .... 

This was not the only hotel that we stayed at, and the same comments apply there too.

This leaves me wondering if people search for reviews with only a 10 score and, thus, are obviously disappointed (unless it is a 5-star hotel), or do we have a group of people who get joyful satisfaction in causing travellers to suffer during their well-earned vacation.

I have no idea.  Should I return to my place in the world?

Travel 10 - Nepal

Jet Airways B-777, Flight No. 9W229 lifts off from Pearson International Airport and my journey to Nepal begins.  A very long, tiring, journey comprising approximately 20 hours of flight time and 10 hours of stopovers.

The only flight memories are the chicken curry for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Other than that, I could be tempted to fly Jet Airways again.

An overnight stop in Kathmandu introduced me to the continual, nationwide, electricity cuts, and the concurrent loss of hot water, TV, and WiFi.

Buddha Air ATR-32 at Pokhara, Nepal

The next day, Buddha Air’s ATR-32 took me, after a couple of low cloud weather delays, to the town of Pokhara.  The flight ended with the following announcement, “Please keep seat-belts fastened until we are in the terminal”.  I imagined a fast drive-through and pondered a hamburger order with cheese.  Then, there was a 45-minute taxi-ride, via a rough dirt road, to the mountaintop hotel that was to become my home for a few weeks.

Annapurna and Machhapuhhre mountains, etc. of the Himalayas, Nepal

My first impression was fantastic.  The view from my room, of the snow capped Himalayas, was worth five stars.  But, by the next day, star value began to erode.  Although, water was heated by a solar panel, together with battery backup, only a cold shower was available.  The floor was carpeted, but during my whole stay, a vacuum cleaner was neither seen or heard.

View from our balcony

The arrival of my partner from Dhaka was delayed for the first week, and this resulted in putting many kilometres under my shoes.  But it seemed that finding a remote place to stay in which sleeping was easy was, initially, difficult because of the total silence, also meant there wasn’t even another cafe within walking distance.  Nevertheless, foreign trekkers and a few Tibetan refugees made things interesting and less boring.

Island Hindu Temple in Pokhara, Nepal

Mindy arrived in the second week, and life took a turn for the better.  We took a few expensive (US$50 return) taxi rides into town, and discovered a great restaurant with rainbow trout on the menu (Cooked three different ways).

Downtown Pokhara, Nepal

Additionally, the hotel arranged some horses for us, which were the ideal way to trek in the area and, especially, an excitement for Mindy to sit on a horse for the first time of her life.

Nice Horses (as far as Mountain ponies go)

But even meditation and contemplation must end, and my return to Canada became necessary.  Unfortunately, I have nothing good to say about the return journey.  My companions were two Nepali locals having their first flight (it seemed) displaying their enjoyment by loudly mouth-slapping their chicken curry (Yes, three more chicken curry meals) and being quite unaware that they were shouting at each other due to wearing headphones.  Finally, I really wish that an airlines pre-boarding requirement would be the education of underdeveloped parents.

Nevertheless, all was worthwhile.

Click each photo to enlarge.

Quotation - A strong friendship ....

Tenzin Gyatso (Dalai Lama)

"A strong friendship doesn't need daily conversation, doesn't always need togetherness, as long as the relationship lives in the heart, true friends will never part ...."

Travel 9 - International Retirement

Recently, a close friend told me of her wish to retire to a country other than her own, with only one requirement;  the English language.  Now, that requirement needs a definition which, from my understanding, means any country where knowledge of the English language by the local population would be sufficient to permit reasonable communication.

A source of information ① provided one list of more than 90 countries using the language formally.  Of course, many of these countries use a form of English greatly modified by localization (other languages, dialect, and accent) that affect one’s ability to communicate.  In fact, there are only eight countries where English is the majority language, as a proportion of the native English population;  U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, Nigeria, Ireland, South Africa, and New Zealand.

Of those countries, the Canadian government ② cautions against any non-essential travel to Nigeria.  Thus, from the few remaining countries, a Chinese citizen faces a difficult immigration hurdle to jump over.

Therefore, I looked elsewhere, and discovered 'International Living' ③, that appears to offer a treasure trove of information.  Unfortunately, some of the information appears to be out of date or in conflict with other destination information found elsewhere.  Nevertheless, it is a useful initial source.  For example, they provided me with a list of “Top Ten Retirement Havens” comprising the following;  Ecuador, Mexico, Brazil, France, Panama, Nicaragua, Italy, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Belize.  Unfortunately, only three of these countries (France, Italy, and Uruguay) avoid the Canadian caution advisory against all forms of travel.  Therefore, to avoid strict European immigration rules, I concluded that Uruguay should be investigated.

Montevideo, Uruguay, has been named as the "second least expensive city in the world" ④ and, certainly, seems to show good value against the dollar.  It has a low poverty level, the second lowest level of corruption, and is the most developed and prosperous country in Latin America.  Between the years 2007 and 2009, Uruguay was the only country in the Americas that did not technically experience a recession.  Aesthetically, it is a very old-world European city, mainly as a result of the Spanish history, with minor British and Italian influences, and 85% of the population are of European origin.

Located within a temperate zone, Uruguay has a climate that is relatively mild and fairly constant nationwide.  Seasonal variations are pronounced, but extremes in temperature are rare.  Therefore, one may assume a closer investigation into our search for a haven is required.

To be continued, perhaps.

① wikipedia.com
② voyage.gc.ca
③ internationalliving.com
④ mercer.com

Environment 2 - Waste Management

Initially, I had titled this post, ‘Garbage’, but then I decided that the word meant worthless.  The question must be, ‘Is the material that we discard really worthless or, just, waste that we seem unable to convert into something useful?’

I doubt if there is anyone who does not believe that we must manage our waste more diligently, but are we?

Recently, a local NGO distributed blue, intelligently illustrated, collection bags to every household to encourage people to set aside recyclable items, i.e., paper, plastic, glass, and metal.  This was a good idea, but I do not belief that it is sufficient to change bad habits.  Perhaps, people creep stealthily to the communal garbage containers in the middle of the night ... I don’t know, because I never see them (Then, I guess that they never see me, either).  I did notice one person at the local supermarket the other day who considered it a useful shopping bag.

What else can we do?  A recent TV programme about poorly packaged goods, discussed waste disposal, and mentioned something that I must convey to you (The idea for this post).  An interview with the supervisor of a waste-sorting facility stated, with examples, that although they are quite capable of sorting glass from metal, etc.,  if any of these individual materials are stuck together, e.g., paper to glass, or plastic to metal, they can not separate and, therefore (and here’s the revelation), all these items are sent to the main waste-disposal dump.  During the TV interview, cameras showed that the majority of the items appeared not to be destined for recycling.

Good intentions, badly managed ... at what cost?

Politics 10 - Thin Edge of the Wedge

The U.K., the place of my birth but, now, a place that is almost unrecognizable in certain areas.  The County of Kent, where I grew up, known as The Garden of England, feels different, as if there is a pulsing undercurrent of unrest.  My loved Thomas Hardy County of Dorset, pictured on Christmas cards (Remember those?), breathes the fresh air with innocence of an uncertain future.  London, of course, has always been a multicultural city, since being established by the Romans, and where it was usually difficult to distinguish one culture from another but, now, there is an obvious ‘frontal attack’ by an increasingly dominant, and vociferous, Islamic community ... and the government appears to lack any authority for which to display the necessary control.

My Peaceful English Country House

Most English villages developed around small farming groups.  Produce marketing established the eventual village shop;  A religious need built a church;  eventually, a sense of community introduced the Public House (Pub).  Over the years, there were more shops, churches and, certainly, more pubs, as towns and cities were born (Please excuse the simplification).

Today, Christian churches are closing, and Islamic domes are constructed above their roofs.  Many shops are boarded up because of changing customer needs and, in their place, some are reopening with signs written solely in Islamic script (The Quebec language police would have a heyday with that).  The need for social community takes place in the mosque (although the ‘need’ for some Muslims is doubtful), and, thus, the once-popular pub has closed, and dereliction has taken over ... a probable breeding ground for extremists.

No, this is not Dhaka, Bangladesh, but London, U.K., 2013

A good friend of mine who made a more extensive tour of the U.K. recently, wrote to say that he was forced to double-check his air tickets because he felt sure that he had landed in Pakistan by mistake.  He wasn’t exaggerating. 

One is bound to ask, why do Muslims emigrate to a country that sells world-famous pork sausages, tasteful ale, and listens to glorious choirs singing in cathedrals every Sunday.?  If I had wished to become an Australian, I would have gone to Australia, but I admired the Canadian way of life and came to Canada.  Is this new wave of immigration the result of Muslims wishing to become British because they admire the British way of life?  It seems such an alarmingly sad question when they carry banners saying, “Kill the Queen” and “Sharia law for everyone”.

I think this to be a very important question for a country like Canada which believes, wrongly, in a policy of multiculturalism.  In 2012, 257,515 immigrants and 23,056 refugees came to Canada, and the Minister for Immigration states that these numbers are planned to continue in the future.  It may be too late for the U.K. (and France), but it could be a warning for us. 

The U.K. and Canada (and other similar countries) occasionally make changes to their respective list of “safe” countries, (Countries from which refugees are no longer accepted).  It occurs to me that refugees from these countries who have enjoyed the safety, and benefits from our welfare systems, could be deported back ... certainly, if they have not proven to be productive members of our society (I have written elsewhere about the huge number of criminal immigrants in our over-crowded goals).

I see it as the thin edge of the wedge, that requires a sensible strengthening of immigration and deportation laws.

As a Postscript, my attention is focussed on our indigenous communities.  They are Canadians too, yet we segregate them to wilderness reserves.  I am tempted to suggest that we set up reserves for refugees too, after all, Australia does it.  Remember, qualified immigrants come here after a long intensive scrutiny to integrate and become tax-paying, employed Canadians, whilst refugees come to simply escape politically and culturally unsafe countries.  I imagine that when the word travels globally that refugees in Canada no longer live in highly subsidized, high-rise apartments, etc. (usually, better than low-income Canadians) there would be an remarkable reduction in refugee numbers ... simply because some of them are not refugees, but ‘queue-jumpers’.

Now, we shall discover if controversy creates discussion, anonymously or otherwise.   

Your comment is welcome by clicking below

Light Bulbs

Whoah!  Throw away those warm incandescent light bulbs?  Could this be the first conspiracy theory for 2014?  After all, only 10% of our electrical energy supplies is used for domestic lighting, which makes the energy saving claim a little exaggerated, don’t you think?

But they say that 90% of the warm incandescent energy is give up as heat.  Well, where does all that heat go, other than warming up your accommodation ... unless you open the windows, of course.  Oh, I know, I must have flunked neuroscience PhD.

No longer sold at a store near you?  Probably because I bought the last wholesale box of 500 bulbs.  Just kidding ... someone else did.

Will the cold mercury-filled fluorescent lights be replaced later by LEDs?  People will realize soon enough that paying 500% more for a 10% saving could border on the brown envelopes theory.  So, throw away those fluorescent lights.  Wait a moment, didn’t we just do that?

Anyway, how many MPs does it take to change a light bulb.

Have you ever tried to read the newspaper by those twinkling LED lights.  I know, I know, what’s a newspaper?  I’ll get to that later.

Happy New Year