Jim's Quality of Life OnLine

Being a polio patient many years ago imprisoned in the iron lung has given me a much food for thought about what is happening to Canadian farmer Robert Latimer who has just been denied parole after serving six years in jail for the mercy killing of his terribly crippled child, who was suffering great pain with no cure available and much more pain right ahead.

It's easy to be academic and righteous, but it takes a lot more flexibility and human understanding to deal with long-term suffering - particularly with loving parents who have to make decisions for their children -- in real life. We had three who had to have 16 operations -- and we understand his agony.

We are lucky enough to have the jury system, which provides the badly needed human touch under our laws, and in this case the Saskatchewan jury gave a compassionate recommendation -- which was later overturned and a life sentence imposed by judges in a higher court. Those favouring this as a "deterrent" might see a counter productive result: after this happening, what jury of Canadian men and women will ever in future enter a guilty verdict in such a case?

I was lucky enough to escape from the iron lung. I was an entertainer and had the support and encouragement of thousands of dancers, plus a brilliant wife. My three mates in iron lungs alongside me each had a prognosis which gave them no chance of escaping. They lived in the iron lung for years and years -- can you imagine that?

Your hands and legs are inside and you cannot even scratch your ear or knock a fly off your nose. You are alive, but it's hard to have any quality of life -- for years and years. It made me think about the rights of people to say to their doctor "I have had enough" My three mates died in the iron lung.

Yes, the Latimer case also has overtones of the euthanasia debate -- but is it fair that the weight of this ongoing debate is simply being loaded on to this father's shoulders?

I was one of the 8000 Australian pilots who trained in Canada during the war and I, and many other Aussies, loved Canada and the Canadians whom we found to be thinking people - forthright, flexible and compassionate.

So I am hoping to hear -- no expecting to hear - that they are getting Robert Latimer back to his wife and children and his farm -- quick smart.

JIM VICKERS-WILLIS
Author "The Magic of Life", and "Are You (really) Fun To Live With?"
Visit us at: www.vickers-willis.com

I'm speaking this letter to the Editor onto my computer and the computer is printing it back. If I swear at the computer, it prints it right back at me! Yes, I have just discovered computer voice recognition technology.

One of my friends in Canada is blind and, when he receives e-mails in his computer, the computer "speaks" the messages to him.

He tells me that this voice recognition can be used for other languages such as German, French, Chinese, etc. and, although the technology is still developing, somewhere in the future it may be possible to have a small hand computer into which someone will speak in French and the computer will play the message back in English, etc.

Imagine the benefits -- a boon for tourism, much better communication between different nationalities and maybe a reduction in misunderstanding and even wars.

At present, I'm told the "interpreter" technology can only handle short phrases. However, there is every reason to believe we are going to be blessed with this vital computer facility somewhere in the not too distant future. I hope so and I hope this letter may help more people become aware of this great new technology aid to our quality of life and relationships in the world.

Yours faithfully,

JIM VICKERS-WILLIS, Convenor, Quality of Life Online,
Author "The Magic of Life" and "Are you (really) Fun to Live With".
Visit us at: www.vickers-willis.com

Yes, they are both there in abundance to enrich our lives -- absolutely free!

When are we going to take these great human resources and turn them to our best advantage?

Solar needs immediate Government subsidies on solar panels; big Government subsidies -- to make solar so cheap that everyone will use it. This will not replace coal and oil but will reduce our need of them. It's as simple as that.

And Sex? Interviewing hundreds of people, whilst writing a couple of books, has convinced me that our society needs a new Culture of Sex -- a culture which regards our human sexuality as a valuable resource, worthy of our respect and worthy of our study to learn how to use it constructively to enrich our lives and enrich our relationships.

Jim Vickers-Willis - Convenor, Quality of Life Online,
Author of "Are you (really) fun to live with?" and "The Magic of Life".
You are invited to visit us at www.vickers-willis.com

Will the new Government acknowledge that the Assets Test exemption on lifetime annuities was a great help to retirees and a great incentive for retirees to use their superannuation money to provide an income instead of blowing it in lump sums on overseas travel, etc? When the recent government cancelled the exemption, it removed a great benefit for the lower middle-income "battlers" who, by using this exemption, were able to provide themselves with a reasonable secure retirement income and overcome the worry of living too long and running out of money.

Will the new Government acknowledge that the allowance of negative gearing plus the 50 percent cut in capital gains tax is one important factor pushing up house prices for young people?

Will the Government acknowledge that in the matter of climate change the real problem is world over-population - and that promotion of contraceptives, abortion and sex education is vital? Is there any good in deliberately promoting mass misery for multi-millions of people in the future?

Will the new Government provide much overdue legislation regarding euthanasia? I understand that the state of Oregon in the USA has had clear and well framed euthanasia legislation in place for 9 years with absolutely no abuse of the system and many benefits. Why should we not have compassion for Australians?

Will the Government at last subsidise solar panels making them cheaper to the public than other power sources, so that, where possible, everyone will use them - this then bringing the cost right down?

Will our new Government in this New Year right ahead reconsider some of the above mentioned matters, giving us hope for our quality of life in the future?

Jim Vickers-Willis - Convener "Quality Of Life Online"
Author of "The Magic Of Life" and "Are You (Really) Fun To Live With?"
www.vickers-willis.com