Archive for » 2009 «

31
Dec
Heralding 2010!
sybille

I shall be interjecting personal thoughts into this section of Writers-Inkwell since 2010 will be a reality in less than 24 hours.

For me, 2009 was a year of major change.  After working at a job I truly enjoyed for years, I was laid off along with all of my coworkers due to closure of our work place.  It was a total shock.  We found out our life’s change through an interoffice email from the main hospital. After years of loyal service, we were found wondering, after the initial anger, how we would make ends meet in the future.

Unemployment would see me through for a few months and, after a bit of a snag, I decided collecting social security was the best way to go.  Definitely not a monthly income to support myself;  I am now trying to look for part time employment.  A column and a half in the local newspaper offers bleak hope.

Unfortunately, age discrimination is very much alive.  Oh yes…potential employers give all kinds of excuses why they are unable to hire you knowing age discrimination is illegal.  This is the new age of “brown nosing.”  (I do dislike that phrase.)  The most stressful people nowadays are the ones employed.  They are just waiting for that pink slip and it is the waiting that fuels the increasing stress.  And to keep their job, most have no qualms about reinventing their personality to accommodate their employer’s demands.  “Sucking up to them” has become a well accepted phrase and hardly a condemnatory side of any individual.

We are a nation of the unfortunates.  How did we get that way?  Greed, instant gratification and jobs lost due to no fault of our own.  Never mind that.  It took this kind of “slap on the hand” as a wake up call.  That is a good thing.  Time to decide if we really need an item or if it is just an unnecessary “want”.

The ones who try to hang onto their lifestyle at the expense of the millions who are losing their lifestyle, their homes, cars and credit ratings have lost empathy for the plight of the majority.  “I refuse to buy health insurance because I don’t want to have to pay for those who don’t have it, through high premiums.”  Am I included in that list since I no longer can afford health insurance due to no fault of my own?   (Too young for Medicare)

Now we have 2010 to look forward to.  Already the retail sectors seem to be facing gloomy numbers; housing prices are going up; gas prices at the pumps are increasing; foreclosures climbing; college students hitting the food banks (parents unable to support them); increasing terrorism; families imploding (Isn’t  that how the Roman empire fell?).  Family motto…”United we stand; divided we fall”  or…”A family that prays together stays together.”

Pray for what?  The model prayer has the answer – it seems an impending world government.  Maybe, just maybe that is the answer to all our woes.  (At least worth pondering)  In the meantime – reassess all that has been good in your life.   A definite and very positive jumpstart to the year, 2010.

Final thought:  May everyone learn how to cope in a God fearing manner with whatever lies ahead for all of us during the year 2010.

Category: Economic Times  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  One Comment
29
Dec
Swine Flu – Propaganda?
sybille

Was the swine flu hype aimed at people’s uneasy relationship with their own future death?  Were we worried needlessly about the swine flu being pandemic or was it all propaganda?

The Associated Press had listed 10 “need to know” about the swine flu.  The first was, “Don’t panic.”  And then a little further into the list, it read, “Get in line to get your shot for swine flu.”  So…were we to panic or not?  What about telling the public to boost their immunity through natural means, like increasing their vitamin D, getting enough sleep and eating correctly, as well as taking anti-viral medicinal herbs?  The implication made by the Associated Press was that there would be a stampede to get the swine flu shot – “getting in line.”

This should spark an interest as to who will eventually benefit from this story line.  After all, there are big profits to be had and who will reap those profits?  Not surprisingly.  Big Pharma will cash in even more than in the 70’s Swine flu epidemic, reaping an outstanding $2 billion for almost 200 million shots.

Because of very incomplete short term testing, one cannot help but wonder if there will be any adverse side effects, some fatal.  The vaccine makers have been protected from lawsuits, initiated when millions of Americans, who were vaccinated in the 1976 swine flu epidemic, later developed a paralyzing condition.  Big Pharma, a huge corporation, won’t go broke; no one can sue them now.

With the media stories abounding, the public relations campaign for Big Pharma will rake in huge profits for this corporation.  At the taxpayer’s expense for propaganda rights of pandemic proportions. Could it be that swine flu is no more of a concern than the normal seasonal flu?

Category: Uncategorized  Tags: , , , , , ,  2 Comments
26
Dec
Opinionated Opinions
sybille

The news has released numerous stories that have sparked my ire to say the least.  A couple come to mind.

It seems that Prince William, just recently, was willing to spend ONE night with homeless people.  Ahhhh….how noble of him!  He spends one night with individuals who have no place to go every single night of the week.  The prince knows it is only one night for him; the next night he will seek refuge in a warm bed far removed from cold cement sidewalks and frosty benches.  Somehow, “lowering” himself to the level of homeless people seems to make a mockery of these poor, destitute people.  Did he make sure his staff scouted for the clean of cleanest homeless person or was he willing to take his chances? Now… anyone can spend an evening with a bona-fide derelict, but what about spending night after night with no hope of warmth any given night? Now that would be a newsworthy item should anyone “disown” themselves for undetermined nights on the streets, just to get the feel of the “unfortunate”.

Should we “brown nose” employers to keep our job?  A lot of people think so. Have we come to the point of “selling our souls” to the highest bidder, thus losing our identity as we attempt to hang onto our jobs?  If we have an unscrupulous boss, in essence we have given this boss the right to “control” our life, to say “jump” and we ask “how high,”  to “jerk our chains” and expect us to keep our mouth shut.  Is any job worth losing our dignity or worse yet, give our employer permission to mark us as their pet puppet?

No doubt there is more, but for this writer, the above two really “take the cake.”

Category: Economic Times  Tags: , , , , ,  2 Comments
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