Dell on Foreign Ownership & Investment

I don't know how things are where you are, but it's raining cats and dogs here: sure to help keep the fire risk low.

I'm looking for feedback on the situation outlined below :

A foreigner buys a lakefront property in Canada: everyone in the area has always traipsed through the hilly forest to get to the lake at the top. It's a deep cold lake, fed by a series of ground springs and its full of Walters. I'm talking big fish, pristine water, Canada's finest resources: stocked since great-great grandpappy's day by hardy men who backpacked fingerlings in to provide for future generations.

The foreigner spends a good number of years and dollars improving his property: an investment in the future, you might say. The road he builds up to the lake is gated from the time of purchase, but left unlocked as contractors come and go. Tresspassing continues in the owner's absences. After the contractors leave, the gate is securely locked. The owner, has done nothing to confront trespassing: indeed, locals always leave his property as they found it, minus a fish or two. Now worth a small fortune, the foreign owner's vision is perfectly fulfilled: generated electricity, water system, fancy heated water line, solar generated back-up, septic system, all those trees and the finest fishing, too!

Another form of access to this jewel of a lake has never been an option. Due to heavy terrain and cliffs, only a couple of hardy souls have managed to scale the cliffside using special gear. It's just not something your ordinary man is willing or able to undertake: daunting task.

Nothing happens until the owner arrives one sunny day to find a group of locals in their boats fishing on the lake. Then, all hell breaks loose. The local constabulatory are called in: the trespassers are warned not to return.

Within a few months of the completion of this magnificent wilderness domicile, the place burns to the ground at the owner's next absence.

The foreigner is paid on his claim for damages. The locals resume their fishing, keeping their backs to the burned wreckage.

Who is to blame that this event got to the point of arson? Should the foreigner have been confronted regarding his intentions? Should the foreigner have spoken up in the beginning? Why do you think the two parties weren't talking to each other? Did separate agendas play a role in all this? Whose resources are we talking about? and to what degree can they be owned, shared or denied? Does the foreigner come out ahead on this situation? or do the locals fare best?

Fires are serious business. I was raised with Smokey: "Remember...only you can prevent forest fires!"

I'm off to my own special spot this evening, for a last cast in the fading light. Dorg is turning circles at my feet knowing the tackle box on the table can only mean one thing: we're going to the lake. Dorg is one smart dog.

Dell on CSIS,Fadden, Harper & Air India

I am enjoying another sunny morning here in N. Ontario: Dorg is keeping me company while Shelley and Kevin are off on holiday with his family, returning in time for my next appointment with the clinic vampires.

Speaking of vampires, the news is rich with those who suck the life's blood out of Canada. This week, Peter Mansbridge's CBC interview with CSIS', Richard Fadden, was particularly thought provoking, as was the news that the federal government's tough on crime policy means more jail cells will be needed.

After watching the news, I found myself thinking about a book someone gave me several years ago: Kevin Trudeau was the author. I remember how I laughed out loud as he prefaced his work by saying he was telling the truth despite threats to his life. If he lived it was only because they didn't dare touch him because he told the truth. If he wound up dead, it was further proof he was telling the truth. A win/win situation. This was a brilliant marketing move: he's right no matter what. Unfortunately, Kevin Trudeau's marketing technique, with a few adjustments, works just as well in politics.

In Canada, according to the CBC news report, 80% of security money is spent on terrorism, despite evidence the greater national threat is foreign influence through long term efforts to control key persons in government and the ongoing theft of billions in trade and technology secrets. If there is a terrorist incident, the millions spent to fight terrorism will appear to have been a good decision. If there is no terrorist incident, it's because the money was spent to prevent one. It's a "win/win" situation, that fails to address the real threats.

Prime Minister Harper has announced he plans to build more jail cells. The Ontario government is rightly balking at a Federal policy intending to dump the cost of those jail cells on the provinces. If Canadians are going to get tough on crime, we need more jails, this despite a projected cost for those jail cells capable of breaking the finanacial backs of Canadians. If crime rates soar, Harper is right. If they go down, Harper is still right. It's "win/win" policies such as these that fail Canadians.

With technology advances, many of those in jail cells for non-violent crimes, could be monitored safely with house arrest in the community. Criminalizing the poor creates a 'them versus us' mentality necessary to motivate the public's fear and continued financial support of a tough approach to a perceived threat. With reports claiming 15% of adult Canadians use cannabis, I cannot help but notice the criminal "them" is "us".

If Fadden is correct in saying Canada's biggest threat is the billions of dollars lost to the theft of technology and trade information, we have not only misplaced our funds, but our fear as well. The government is willing to spend millions on airport security and install X-ray equipment for passengers, while the real threat, according to the findings of the Air India bombing report, is loose security then and now, along with crime protection agencies unwilling to share information.

The Canadian taxpayer, duped into the fearful belief that crime and terrorism are rising threats, is asked to  dig into his pocket yet again and fork over more cash. As long as this government formulates policies using the "win/win" method, unwarranted rising taxes will continue to flourish. What is needed is social reform. Unfortunately, no one gets to rich with a scenario that promotes understanding instead of fear.

I'll post more on this subject after lunch and power nap. Would you believe that it is now pouring buckets of rain here? If we have rain, it's good for the garden. If we have no rain, it means I can spend time outside. Another "win/win" situation.

Dell on Ender's Game

Rainy day here in northern Ontario: spent it reading. Went online to check a fellow blogger's site for the latest news on the making of the movie, Ender's Game.
http://endersgamemovie.blogspot.com/
Even if you had never read any science fiction before, Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card, would have you hooked. Based on a short story by Card, an American author, this 1985 book is classic hero tale on the level of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings or the Harry Potter movies; all big money makers. So why isn't Ender's Game making it to film?

We're not talking box office risk on the level of Kevin Costner's Waterworld, purported to cost $175 million dollars. Ender's Game is a work with a solid following, including myself. Other than Stephen King's The Stand, I cannot remember a movie, based on a book, I  have so eagerly awaited. Not even Lord of the Rings, which was a terrific movie with a sound track I listen to over and over again, was able to inspire my movie release mania at this level. So why is the film  industry reluctant to bring Ender's Game to film?

The only reason, I believe, for delaying this film's production and release is this: the current social climate is wrong. A movie story that deals with manipulation, control and misrepresentation by those in charge during a war, is bound to get people thinking...parallels between Ender's Game and current social reality will be inescapable.

If you wanted people to keep funding a war and sending their young people to die, would you show them the film Ender's Game? The cost of a population catching on to the games being played on their backs is apparently too dear, no matter how great the possible pay-off at the box office.

Dell on Being a Shit Heap

How do I reconcile to you the dear old gentleman, Dell, today, with the Dell who was a shit heap. No one uses that phrase much anymore, but you get the general meaning, I'm sure.

When I spend my time speaking to my grand-daughter's friends, or make a post online, I feel I have in some way put back the love in the world that I spent the better part of my life taking out, with little or no regard for those around me.

It wasn't that I was selfish in the sense that I kept material things to myself. Rather it was the motivation behind almost every decision: do what's good for Dell.

I believed I was the person I had been told I was as a child: Dell always followed the rules [religious, social and the like, at least outwardly] while making sure that as many of Dell's wants were served as possible. A delicate balance that required an enormous amount of energy: nice face: self serving.

It wasn't until fourteen-year-old Shelley arrived to live with me,when I was newly retired and turning sixty, that I accidentally saw who I really was and just what the price had been in maintaining this fictitious nonsense. Many of my contemporaries say, "He thinks too hard on life." It is some comfort to realize these are generally the ones who are sure there is a heavenly reward. They have their own sort of bliss, I guess, but miss the opportunity to be fully alive and truly know themselves in the one lifetime they are given.

This is why Eckhart Tolle's spiritual writing is hugely popular: it provides a new context, formerly generally acquired within institutionalized religion, by which one is able to experience his unique spiritual identity: his own mythology, if you will. Tolle's books and website provide enough materials to guide anybody through the bewildering rethinking of their lives. Many of you will have heard of  The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment and A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose

For as long as man has endured, some men have experienced life in this manner, as reflected in the words of wisdom from numerous spiritual cultures. Eckhart Tolle has taken the breadth of that spiritual wisdom, laid it at the feet of the this and the next generation, proferring a framework whereby a man may reveal to himself his unique spiritual identity. An inspiring vision: A New Earth !

I almost missed life entirely until eleven years ago. My now is given to living in truth and loving those put in my path. Whatever time I have left will be directed toward love. There is nothing else.

Dell on Poverty

This past weekend was just about as perfect an introduction to summer as one could ask for. Kevin and Shelley arrived Friday night along with Corey and his girlfriend Amy [first time in the bush]. Wade and Jake were here for Saturday and spent a good deal of time on the lake, fishing and out in the canoe.

After twenty-four hours of sunshine and revelry, Saturday evening's bon fire chat led to a discussion on poverty. The subject probably wouldn't have come up, but Corey's friend, Amy, mentioned she had received a call that there was an opening in a geared-to-income building in town and it turned out that's where Jack is living. Amy was so excited to finally have decent housing after years of sharing a less than desirable apartment. Jake pays full rent based on his income and there was some joking about how Jake would be paying Amy's rent, yet everyone agreed finding affordable rental housing is a real problem.

I asked them if they had seen the National Film Board documentary, The Things I Cannot Change, (1967) by Tanya Ballantyne: the story of a large family dealing with unemployment with only meager social supports . No one knew the film, so I explained that the title was a line spoken by the father in the film, quoting part of the Serenity Prayer.

The kicker, I pointed out, is that acceptance is exactly the problem behind poverty. Despite over forty years of incredible wealth, many here in Ontario, and throughout Canada, still live in poverty: women, children, the elderly and the sick. This is accepted by the vast majority of taxpayers. They pay taxes to provide the supports that were lacking in 1967, only to find the poor are still suffering.

Frankly, whenever I read a statistic about how generously Canadians give to the poor, my reaction is, "That's nice, but when are they going to use their vote to reform social welfare policies?"

Here's the reality: if you are unable to work, you are eligible for general welfare [a temporary payment never meant to assist in the long term], while you apply for a Disability Support pension [glorified welfare]. In many provinces, either monthly cheque is insufficient to cover rent, adequate groceries, clothing and life's necessities, for singles or families. While prescriptions are usually covered, as well as eye care, only emergency dental care is covered for adults; this despite evidence a mouth full of teeth is essential to one's health. Welfare payments continue while the applicant waits for approval of the provincial disability pension. For many this means they will be sick and struggle along on welfare, sometimes for several years, before their pension is approved.

Retroactive pension payments are made once the pension is granted. Sounds good? It isn't. There is a pattern policy of denying disabilty pension claims: the retroactive difference is only paid from the date of the most recently approved application. Under the Harris government, Ontario had huge changes and cuts to social programs. Cuts included discretionary retroactive payments: some got it and others did not. Those who were short-changed have never been granted these retroactive payments.
The death of Kimberly Rogers in 2001 was a wake-up call for social assistance reform that has yet to be heeded, despite the hard work of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. Adequate housing, sufficient income to eat properly and society's indifference, were the focus of Ballantyne's film; forty years later they remain matters of grave concern. Recent cuts to fund building upgrades have added to a housing crisis of epidemic proportions. This year's bank changes requiring larger down payments for investment housing will surely only aggravate matters.

Did you know that in Ontario, the Disability Support program allows recipients to receive up to $200.00 a month in assistance from friends or family without penalty? There is no tax benefit in doing so and I've only met one person whose family assisted in this way. Why?

Canadians simply accept that having paid taxes for social programs, the needs of the poor are being met. That they still have to give generously to feed those same poor should be a good indicator present social supports are not working. The housing crisis could be addressed almost immediately if disability pensioners could qualify for a home ownership loan. Why doesn't it happen? The biggest, quick investment money is made in slum landlording, which depends on the poor not being able to own a home. Essentially, social welfare programs provide just enough money for a lousy apartment when that same amount could easily cover a mortgage; but the poor don't qualify. Over twenty years, a disabled pensioner will pay roughly $450.00 for each month's rent. You do the math:  it's clear the situation will continue as long as someone is making money on the backs of the poor. Who makes up the difference financially in this situation? the taxpayer: first in taxes and then giving generously.

It is difficult to motivate those who have life's necessities to make poverty a voting issue, but I suspect that this may change as a larger aging population feels the bite of poverty. Certainly, while legislation allows business creditors to get ahead of pensions in cases of bankruptcy or collapse, there is a good chance that those who didn't think poverty a voting issue, will some day live in the very poverty they ignored while affluent. Acceptance is not the answer: reform is.