New immigrants into Canada

Yes, better decisions should be made about immigrants coming into Canada

I get the understanding that some immigrants only get in because they have the money to show the Canadian authorities, and I believe it is still a points system.  

Therefore, they get certain points for the money. Then certain points for education, and certain points for age etc. and total points, say, over 75, gives them the green light to come in. 

However, they should be screened at the last stage better. 

New immigrants bashing Canada, and hearing about this, makes me believe that they still donot see the benefit in living in our beautiful country. Give them time, they will learn to love it.  

Take care,

Ahmet Kaya's Legacy

Ahmet Kaya's Legacy

I'm proud to come from the Anatolian land, however there are many troubles in this old country/area.  Here is an example.  

Ahmet Kaya was at one time the number one seller for fantasy/folk/turko rock music, and he was one of my favourite.  

The problem (for him) was he was Kurdish.   Turkey is a country of close to 70 million, and of that number about 20 million are Kurds.   

In the olden days, Turks and Kurds, and other ethnic groups within this nation fought side by side against the imperial powers.  However, since about the mid 1970s, there is an emphasis on what your back ground is in Turkey. This divide got worse, before slowly getting better now.  

But in 1999 this is what happened to Ahmet Kaya.   

Ahmet Kaya drinking tea

He went on a show, and declared that in his future album, he was going to sing a song in Kurdish, this became a big deal and eventually he was declared that he insulted the Turkish identity and was going to be jailed, therefore he took off to France.   This all happened while he was the number one singer in Turkey.  

In France, until is death only a short year later, he kept telling the Turkish authorities that he had not said anything wrong and he declared that he wanted to come back to his country as he missed his country, friends, family etc.   However, the Turkish government did not forgive him and advised him that his prison sentence would stand.   

Ahmet Kaya died in October of the year 2000 and his wife said that he died of the heartache he had for his country.   This really upset me and many folks back then and even now.   The Turkish government has not apologized for this event yet and there are repeated requests by Kurds, his family and friends.  

My son is named after him.   My side of the family does not have any Kurdish, we have a bit of Syrian from about 7 generations back and my parents can still speak levantine Arabic, I can a bit...

My wife's grandmother was Kurdish, therefore my son is one forth Kurdish now.  My son Ahmet is one forth as following: 

Kurdish, Turkish, Canadian and Arabic, I'm very proud of this.  

My son Ahmet and his Jeep

Ahmet Kaya and his daughter

Back to Ahmet Kaya, because of his stand with  the Turkish government, Kurdish language is recognized now and there is even a Kurdish radio/TV and so on.  He paved the way for many within this country.   

May he rest in peace.    

Ben here

Pepi Longsocks

Pepi Longsocks

Watching old SCTV episodes are a past time of mine.   SCTV is a Canadian show from the mid 1970s to early 1980s.  It is brilliantly funny, and I recommend this show wholeheartedly.  

I wanted to analyze and give a constructive review of one of the episodes of SCTV, titled Pepi Longsocks, here is a short link of a YouTube episode below:

https://youtu.be/epLq_DAeex4

Watching Pepi when I was a kid, I did not get the reference to other cultures.  But watching this and other episodes of SCTV now, I actually think that the references are bang-on and done very good, especially with this one.  

Here are a few points I want to make:

1, in this episode, it is supposedly Bulgaria, and me born around the Balkans, I remember watching old Turkish movies (still watching them now I must add), many of the older films are out of sink with the picture and the sound, and one learns to just accept this while watching, but in this episode/video, it is wickedly funny, done purposely,

2, outfits were nailed bang on; I have actually been to Sofya in 1988 (Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria) and they actually dressed almost like this in the country side of the capital city,

3, the name Pepi; don't know if Bulgarians have this name in use, most of the ones I know are either named Dimitri or Constantin, but only a minor issue here,

3, John Candy was in my opinion the most under-rated actor in Hollywood, watching him here brings to me nice memories of my simple childhood, he does this to me as I like him and admire him greatly.   I have nothing but good to say about him, may he rest in peace.  

Thank you for visiting, 

Ben

🤓

Ahmet

Ahmet Up the Stairs

This is my son Ahmet going up the stairs around 112 street area of downtown Edmonton, on July 3rd, 2017.  

He is on his way up, way up. 

Thank you for visiting,

Ben

Paycheque to Paycheque

Paycheque to Paycheque

Almost 60% of Canadians live paycheque to paycheque; yes you read that correctly.  

I was shocked at this statistic.  

                                      Money

I did a 'quick calculation' of my own finances, and I realized that I am 'almost' one of the 60% mentioned above.  

This is not good. 

Are you as well?

This is 'troubling' for high percentage of Canadians and Americans, and the remainder of the world.  

Also, I should state that this figure is the same as the year before amounts; therefore not much has improved to date for most citizens.  

What is the 'safe' amount to have saved for any unforeseen emergency?

It is recommended that we should have 'three months' salary put aside.  

Therefore, my recommendation to 'myself' and 'you' is that from this date on forward; put 10% of your wages in another bank account, or hide it in your home, to accumulate the three months figure.  

                                                     Save
 

Is this doable?

Check back with me in three months, and I will let you know if I have been able to consistently save a 'small' portion of my wages. 

Thank you for reading.  

Ben here

High Canadian Dollar

High Canadian Dollar

Canadian dollar is set at 93.80 per USA dollar.  

          Currency exchange comparison chart 

The Canadian dollar is at a six-month high against the USA dollar, as the recent rise in inflation has bolstered the the buying of the Canadian dollar. 

This brings the Canadian dollar back to its 2014 highs, last seen in early January.  

This is good news for some industry and not so good news for others. 

One obvious conclusion is that the Canadian dollar has benefited from USA dollars weakness in the past few weeks.  

Should I say, enjoying while this lasts?

Sincerely now,

Ben

$5 Canadian Note

$5 Canadian Note

I wrote about the $20 Canadian Note and included pictures of the new / old currency in circulation today in Canada; please look for this article, in my 'history' list, of this blog, as it is titled '$20 Canadian Currency".  

Today, for the first time, I came by a brand new $5 Canadian Note, and I took pictures of this.  I  would like to write about who and/or what is on the front and back of the currency.  

Front side of the note:

There is a well drawn portrait of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who was the Prime Minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. 

Reverse side of the note:

There is a drawing of Mobile Servicing System (MSS), which is a robotic system and equipment on the International Space Station (ISS).  The 'Arm' moves equipment and supplies around the station, supports astronauts working in space, and services instruments. 

The MSS was designed and manufactured by MDA Space Missions for the Canadian Space Agency, and this is Canada's contribution to the space expeditions. 

Also, remember that the old notes will be taken out of circulation, therefore, put a few away for memory sake. 

Gracia for reading, 

Ben