I had only praise for my country of origin, Canada, upon my return from Abu Dhabi (via the USA, and London). Edmonton for many reasons is far superior to Vancouver. Most notably and most importantly health care. Edmonton gets a 10, Vancouver minus 10 because there is total lack of primary care physicians in Vancouver (meaning no access whatsoever to new residents). Then to make matters worse, there is no privatization. I meet many older Edmonton women who decry the health care there and live in Alberta for reasons of health care. Another factor in favor of Edmonton is that it has a wonderfully diverse population with folks from all lands, so happy to be here. They have been assimilated and integrated (more about that later). Vancouver is not as diverse at all and the Mainland Chinese that live in Vancouver are rude, a result of being not assimilated and not integrated and having no desire to be so either. A Chinese young man once threw water in my face because I said this to him. That gesture although frightening did prove my point. It is hopeless to change either of those conditions, so I left. It is also incredibly expensive to live in Vancouver, so most people have more than one job and have no time for anything other than work. Therefore, no social fabric or attention to the niceties of social interaction.
What is nicety? In this context it is subtlety, nuance, refinement, detail. For example, in Vancouver one would invite a person for dinner. They would either not show up or show up without warning with four of their uninvited friends. Honest – and it was not just me, it was almost universal.
I was powerless to change the health care system, tame the Mainland Chinese, Much less mend the social fabric so I left Vancouver and went back to California for my medical care. Then along came Covid. San Francisco intolerable, so back to the County of Marin with widespread vaccinations and scarcely any homeless populations. Homeless people do not (by and large) get vaccinated, wear masks, practice social distancing etc, etc, etc. So I was safe from Covid but not from the discrimination I faced as a Muslim woman. It is impossible to deal with that situation – Marin is not a Muslim majority county, that is for sure. So it was off to Abu Dhabi. There was no discrimination against me as a Muslim woman and there control of the virus was (and is) the best in the world. Mandatory and frequent testing of all, masks mandated, vaccinations also mandated. There are no homeless in Abu Dhabi as the government supplies food and lodging for those in need. They do not hand out money and trust that people in need will use the money to supply themselves with necessities. They give them what they need. I guess if they hang out on the streets begging for money they would put them in jail. That is conjecture on my part, all I can say is that I never saw a homeless person in Abu Dhabi. A man born in Abu Dhabi was the person who told me that the government supplies those in need with clothing and food. I have no reason to doubt his veracity.
Two words to identify. Conjecture can be replaced with speculation, surmise, presumption, assumption, hypothesis, postulation, inference.
I surmised, assumed and speculated that jail would be the dwelling place of beggars in Abu Dhabi, did mention it to the man who neither confirmed or denied this hypothesis
Veracity is the other word. It is truth, realism, authenticity, faithfulness, fidelity; honesty, sincerity, trustworthiness, reliability, dependability, ethics, morality, righteousness, virtuousness, decency, goodness.
The Abu Dhabi man seems truthful, authentic, honest, trustworthy, reliable, dependable, decent and good. But time will tell. I am honest and expect others are. When they prove not to be, instead are false, I discover this, always. I just walk away. If one confronts a liar with lies, they just give you more lies. It is an exercise in futility.
I have had the misfortune of being surrounded by liars most of my life. My father is known for his lies. He does not know the truth from a lie. Everyone that knows him (or knows of him) realize this. One has to pity him, I suppose. A person asked me about my parents.
He: Tell me about your parents.
Me: My mother is dead. Her remains are in Edmonton. She was cremated according to her wishes. I visited ‘her’ after coming to Edmonton.
He: What about your father?
Me: I do not know if he is living or dead. There does not seem to be an obituary but perhaps there was no one to write one. I did volunteer at one point in time but his third wife did not respond to my email.
He: Oh.
Me: We will talk about many things when we see each other next in person. Some situations are most complex and must be explained in person as things could be misunderstood.
He: Yes dear.
That is his constant response.
Me: You already have the world’s record for Yes Dears! But what else is there to say to me.
He: Yes dear.
Me: You are so smart!! How can I argue with a Yes Dear, even I cannot do that???
He: Yes dear.
But onto some well deserved humour relying upon none other than Andy Borowitz. It does concern itself with USA politics but could be applicable to the front runner of the Canadian Conservative party. “Hawley Concerned That Being a Coward is Overshadowing His Work as a Fascist.”
“ WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Senator Josh Hawley is “deeply concerned” that his newfound national reputation for cowardice is overshadowing his commitment to end democracy.
“People see one video of me fleeing like a terrified bunny, and they think that’s all there is to me,” Hawley told reporters at a press conference. “They’re totally forgetting that I’m also a guy who tried to overturn a free and fair election.”
I do love that Andy Borowitz does get away with great language: for example, chickensh** and scared sh**less.
Hawley admitted that, although it is tempting to stereotype him as “a guy who was scared shitless of a mob he had egged on earlier in the day, that’s just one side of me. What about the side of me that wantonly subverts democracy? That should count for something.”
“People are focusing on the totally chickenshit Josh Hawley and ignoring the lusting-for-autocracy Josh Hawley,” he complained. Hawley’s press conference was cut short after a reporter asked a question and the senator ran away.”
The Canadian equivalent of Josh Hawley is Pierre Poilievre. He is squished by Andrew Mitrovica, an Al Jazeera reporter based in Toronto, Ontario. Two Opinion articles ridiculed both Stephen Harper, a former Canadian Prime Minister and Pierre Poilievre. These two (shall we say) politicians will be discussed in a subsequent blog but here is an example of Mitrovica’s keen prose.
“The other reason why I have postponed introducing discerning readers to Pierre Poilievre – Canada’s decidedly less flamboyant but equally ambitious and rank facsimile of the I’m-not-going-anywhere-yet British prime minister – is that every moment spent thinking or writing about the presumptive Conservative Party leader is a moment lost to superficiality and mendacity.”
The photograph is a treasured sign posted upon the entrance to the building in which I live. It is sure to offend some. I reply: “I am sorry to offend some of you. I meant to offend all of you.”
