Once I felt medically secure and able to leave the superb heathcare from my doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the hospital of the Movie Stars and Beverly Hills, I did a lot of reading and thinking about where to live the rest of my life. Don't miss videos PBS Need to Know and Shock of Gray by Fishman below.
Unfortunately one of the most important consideration is that since I am a racial minority, I excluded the South and Mid west and only considered the coastal communities. However, the retirement guides missed what was most important to me. The tolerant nature of the people in a smaller city with cultural amenities, a university, and health amenities of a high caliber.
I also read a lot about weather and looked at about a half dozen climate models which differ slightly in their long range predictions as to where the most drastic effects are going to occur. The Southwest will incur longterm droughts, the Northeast will incur much precipitation, the Southeast will have numerous violent storms and droughts, and the Mid west many violent storms and droughts. That left the West coast from California to Washington and the Mountain States. The Mountain States will have serious water aquifer problems in the future.
That left Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. Seattle and the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington are due for very serious big earthquakes and Tsunamis so I had to look inland.
I next wanted to be away from International airports and more conservative parts of Oregon and Washington and avoid ragweed, a serious allergic agent for me. Eugene, Oregon won hands down. So I spent a week walking around Eugene and ate at restaurants to evaluate the people who live here. I also wanted to be away from many seniors who generally tend to be easily irritated from progressive politics, noise and loud music.
It is nice to be away from East coast and Los Angeles aggressiveness and rudeness. Is it too much to expect strangers to be respectful of others?
I live in an apartment complex with many University of Oregon students. At least my upstairs neighbors study very hard so are quiet most of the time. There is a volleyball and basketball court outside my computer room. The only time I have problems shutting out noise is when I am trying to sleep.
If you are not a skim type of reader of novels, you will enjoy John le Carre' Our Kind of Traitor: A Novel about criminals having corrupt friends in high places and even in the national security agencies. More truth than fiction. Search Carre at www.democracynow.org
Jim Kawakami, Jan 30, 2011, http://jimboguy.blogspot.com
Seniors Survival Getting Difficult Young Leave Suburbs for Cities,
Is USA Hegemony Over?
Wikipedia: Hegemony: political, economic, ideological or cultural power exerted by a dominant group over other groups
www.booktv.org www.pbs.org Need to Know, PBS, Friday 10 PM
How will seniors get around in our car-happy suburbs? Also: the State of the Union and the state of the Congo. Plus: an animated editorial by Steve Brodner. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/
See Ted C. Fishman http://www.booktv.org/search.aspx?For=Fishman and www.tedcfishman.com Shock of Gray on Fishman's visits to Rockford, Ill outside of Chicago and Sarasota, Florida a huge retirement community.
Rockford, a former industrial suburb, has lost jobs and only the retirees are left to fend for themselves. The infrastructure is lacking and public transportation is sparse. Fishman concludes that the best place to live is to live in a city where services are available. Sure assisted living facilities are available but they cost $4,000 a month.
Sarasota, Florida is one of the largest retirement communities where there is a conflict between the young healthcare workers who are immigrants or youth who like loud music.
I won't say much here, but more than a few people are thinking that USA control over the Emerging Growth countries is waning rapidly. It started in Africa in Tunisia and then spread to Algeria and the Middle East (Egypt, Jordan) and Latin America. The chaos in the Congo resulted from our complicity in assassinating Lumumba. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/
The size and strength of protests in Egypt have caught everyone by surprise, but the seeds of discontent were planted on many fronts, writes Robyn Creswell. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/
Who will lead Egypt after Mubarak?
WikiLeaks cables: Protests not in 'Egyptian mentality'
Does America have 'blood on our hands' in Congo?
Alison Stewart talks to author Adam Hochschild on the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of Congo's first democratically elected leader by Belgian and — it is speculated — American operatives.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/
01/27/2011 15:13
MIDDLE EAST
Jordan's king fears riots and announces reforms. More than a thousand arrests in Cairo
The monarch wants to avoid the violence that has hit Egypt and Tunisia. Police arrest one thousand demonstrators in the streets against the Mubarack government. Demonstrations in Yemen.
Amman (AsiaNews) - King Abdullah II of Jordan has announced new programs and economic reforms, after protests against high prices in recent days in Amman. The King urged politicians and officials to be closer to people's needs. According to local media, King Abdullah wants to avoid the climate of popular discontent resulting in riots that have hit Egypt and Tunisia. ... http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Jordan's-king-fears-riots-and-announces-reforms.-More-than-a-thousand-arrests-in-Cairo-20620.html
Live from the Egyptian Revolution
by Democracy Now!'s Sharif Abdel Kouddous
Cairo, Egypt—I grew up in Egypt. I spent half my life here. But Saturday, when my plane from JFK airport touched down in Cairo, I arrived in a different country than the one I had known all my life. This is not Hosni Mubarak’s Egypt anymore and, regardless of what happens, it will never be again.
In Tahrir Square, thousands of Egyptians–men and women, young and old, rich and poor–gathered today to celebrate their victory over the regime’s hated police and state security forces and to call on Mubarak to step down and leave once and for all. They talked about the massive protest on Friday, the culmination of three days of demonstrations that began on January 25th to mark National Police Day. It was an act of popular revolt the likes of which many Egyptians never thought they would see during Mubarak’s reign. "The regime has been convincing us very well that we cannot do it, but Tunisians gave us an idea and it took us only three days and we did it," said Ahmad El Esseily, a 35 year-old author and TV/radio talk show host who took park in the demonstrations. "We are a lot of people and we are strong."
In Cairo, tens of thousands of people--from all walks of life--faced off against riot police armed with shields, batons, and seemingly endless supplies of tear gas. People talked about Friday’s protest like a war; a war they’d won. "Despite the tear gas and the beatings, we just kept coming... Read More
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