I awoke to an email from the Edmonton Al Rashid Mosque heralding good news.The announcement of another march on November 12, 2023 with stunningly wonderful news of the last march which was a topic in my November 2, 2023 blog.
“Last week, ten thousand individuals united in support of the Palestinian community. What’s remarkable is that this support extended across diverse communities: Jewish, Christian, Sikh, Indigenous, Labor, and more. We witnessed a powerful collaboration of organizations and grassroots activists, all coming together to raise awareness and drive change. “
I became deliriously happy at the thought but then reality set in. First of all, this was the first time I heard anything about this massively successful march/event though I correspond with people in Edmonton, and receive the daily AB Today subscription which reports on the comings and goings of the government of Alberta. The Alberta Legislative Assembly is in session, very unusual. During the site months I lived there, they were in session perhaps two of those months. No idea what the MLA’s are doing in their spare time, they have a lot of it. If I would have realized what a cushy job it was, I might have run ((or walked quickly for election.
A cushy job is employment that is very easy and pleasant; needing little or no effort. When researching on the Internet found questions posted: Should You Stay At Your Cushy Job? The revised answer to this question should be a resounding yes, but only if you eventually want to be your own boss. Your cushy job presents a unique opportunity in which you can make a full salary while challenging yourself at the same time. A “cushy” job is an easy one. A job where you don’t have to work very hard, you don’t have difficult deadlines, or close supervision. Then this with an amusing example: A cushy job or situation is pleasant because it does not involve much work or effort. [informal] …a cushy job in the civil service. That I found amazing because I worked for civil service for thirty-five years. Trust me, it was not easy, worked hard, had difficult deadlines. But I am not complaining.
You: Why are you not complaining?
Me: The job provides utterly fantastic retirement income. My monthly retirement check is mightier than it was when I worked AND I have been retired for almost twenty years. It is a defined benefit program, unheard of in the United States except in the public sector.
But enough about me. Instead, I shall provide you with information then you would even want to know, the origins of cushy. “Cushy and Blighty too are from Hindustani roots . Cushy is attested from 1895 derived from khush pleasant. The OED suggests the word ultimately may be Persian in origin:Urdu ḵušī and its etymon (ii) Persian ḵušī pleasure, convenience < ḵuš, ḵwuš good, pleasant (of uncertain origin)”
I am about to turn serious on you. This a concern I have been mulling over for some time. Mull is, of course, a perfect word. It means: think about (a fact, proposal, or request) deeply and at length. As usual I have some great synonyms for you: ponder, consider, think over/about, reflect on, contemplate, deliberate, turn over in one’s mind, chew over, weigh up, consider the pros and cons of, cogitate on, meditate on, muse on, ruminate over/on, brood on, have one’s mind on, give some thought to,,
Instagram and other social media platforms are brimming with protest marches demonstrating against the Gaza genocide. The Edmonton successful march appeared on Tik Tok. Instagram schizophrenically features Gaza killings and then shadows folks who post or respond. Established media rarely features news of protests or, if so, ‘balances’ the reportage by printing lies and misinformation propagated by Israel. The Palestinians have been stripped of all access to media. Despite all of these well attended protests I have not seen any government – USA, Canada, the UK or any European nation call for a ceasefire or do anything. These democratic politicians are not listening, they are totally tuned out.
The politicians are up to their usual shenanigans with no oversight from anyone – not the press, not the media and not the people, who are protesting the horrors in Gaza while totally ignoring what is going on in their own countries, their own cities, their own governments. Places where they might possibly make a difference.
I shall provide Edmonton examples as I know the lay of the land. Its meaning: the nature, arrangement or disposition of something the general state of affairs as in once we know the lay of the land we can plan our reelection campaign.
My statistics reveal that there are blog readers from all over the world. The Edmonton experience is relevant as it serves as a microcosm It is a situation that encapsulates in miniature the characteristic qualities or features of something much larger. Look at it this way, when you think of microcosm, picture your home town inside a snow globe. The teeny tiny city is a microcosm of the one you live in. It is that place in miniature. Microcosm can be used to describe anything that is a miniature representation of something else.
It will now be necessary for you to read the November 8 blog, if you have not already. It speaks of the probable return of the coronavirus to Marin Country and, by extension, to Edmonton. Alberta heath care is in dire straits. These straights are about to become even more perilous. A summary of conditions is described in AB Today.
The quote of the day: “Health ministers don’t know how to treat cancer.” This quote from opposition leader Rachel Notley slamming UCP’s plans to bring more decisions about health-care operations into political offices, as outlined in a leaked memo. Notley said the role of ministers is to ensure front-line workers have the funding, not to make treatment decisions.
The ‘plan’ is to take health care management away from the Alberta Health Services and place it with 13 “siloed’ boards and agencies..Th government is also considering bring hospitals under new private management but has no plan to boost regional planning decisions.
AB Today also reported:
Alberta Medical Association president Dr. Paul Parks continued to sound the alarm about capping in hospitals – where doctors cut off the number of patients admitted because the overwork would present dangers for patients He said the Grey Nuns hospital in Edmonton has been capped for weeks and the Royal Alexandra Hospital has joined in, meaning two of the four of the capital city’s major hospitals are at 150 per cent capacity.“This means any new sick diagnosed patients needing hospital admission remain in the overcrowded emergency department with little to no consultant care and new undiagnosed patients remain in the waiting room with potentially life-threatening conditions,” he said on social media.
Did you get that? Said on social media – not the ‘tried and true’ conventional media controlled by ‘conservative’ Post Media.
Look to this about all massive numbers of underlying concerns, not and never addressed, from this AB Today entry. The Premier is hosting an event with ‘debunked conspiracy theorist’ Tucker Carlson, wondering if Premer Smith will be discussing CPP disability benefits under an Alberta Pension Plan, affordable housing, domestic violence shelter space, delays in wildfire fighter hiring, how many police officers have been hired.
As well children were ‘poisoned’ in a day care facility. There were inadequate inspections done. No investigation took place.
AB Today beings more alarming news. The November 3 blog spoke of a Heritage Saving Trust Fund, enormous fund emanating from Alberta oil and gas revenues. Listen to this news: “For the third time since the fund was created in 1976, Alberta’s Heritage Savings Trust Fund lost investment income in 2022-23, and its $2.5-billion growth from the previous year was due to government action, not an increase in market value.”
The problem is this: everyone with humanity is out marching anonymously for Palestine. They need to be paying attention. Keeping the home fires burning ass the expression goes which is an idiomatic, colloquial expression meaning: To maintain daily routine and provide the necessities of life in a home or community. Its origins are instructive. It was a song; an appeal for those at home during World War I to keep their heads up and keep their home fires burning while their hearts are yearning for their lads that are far away. Chappell and Co., Ltd.
In other words, pay attention to what is around you, Keep it safe, make sure the necessities of life are being provided in your own community. Stop fussing about a far off place where you have no say. Your government is paying no attention to your efforts, you message is to getting nowhere.
I am about to practice a little humility right now.. There is an expression – practice what your preach. : The phrase ‘Practice What You Preach’ means to behave the way you tell other people to behave. Example of Use: “Other countries need to see that we practice what we preach when it comes to human rights.”
Well – Keep the home fires burning. Canada is no longer my home. I have two homes. The Islamic Faith and Saudi Arabia. I need to be paying attention, in this blog and in my everyday life to the Islamic Faith and to Saudi Arabia.
As I say to the people who ask me the interminable question;
They: Where are you from?
Me: I hate that question. Here is the answer thought. I was born in Canada. But it is Bye Bye Canada. Hello Saudi Arabia. Alhamdullah!!!
I say this using hand gestures. A reel made in the Kyoto Japanese Restaurant in the Oberio Hotel will illustrate the hand gestures and the attitude. It is full of great enthusiasm for my new country. It is posted on Instagram and will also be on this blog.
I am practicing what I am preaching. I am involved in the issues that involve Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia does both preach and practice human rights. The Quran is their Constitution after all. The Quran speaks volumes about human rights. It is the template for human rights. Living in Saudi Arabia allows me the freedom to practice human rights – to take and then to give back. The Quran directs Believers to follow the Straight Path – if one is following the Straight Path A Believer trusts. Does not let those who have strayed from the path to lead them, does not let those who have earned the Wrath of the Creator lead them nor those with whom the Creator is displeased lead them.
You know when it happens, when you are on the wrong path. It is uncomfortable, there is no peace of mind. You feel lost and directionless.
I am not lost I am in Medinah. I have direction, facing toward the Kaaba when I pray. Mohammed (PBUH) while in Medinah, informed all Believers that they should not pray to Jerusalem as was done in the past but pray toward Mecca. So I do it and so do millions and millions and millions of Muslims.
Goodbye Canada – not facing in that direction any more. There is also a reel, music is Life is So Good These Days. Photos are all recent days in Saudi Arabia. I look happy, everyone looks happy. Art from Paths to the Soul, the exhibit at the Medinah Art Museum. Tea with my Saudi friends. Life is SO, SO Good These Days.
