Humanist Association of Toronto (HAT)

HAT ForumSat Oct 15th 201611 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.519 Church Street Room tba or 304Topic: Animal Rights and Animal WelfareProposer: Moses Klein

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 Oct 2016 17:14:00 +0000

PLEASE NOTE MEETING IS SHORTENED THIS WEEK TO ALLOW FORUM ATTENDEES TO GET TO OISE FOR THE ANIMAL RIGHTS SPEAKER SERIES EVENT.

What ethical considerations should govern our treatment of animals?
What creatures can be considered to have rights?
Is the use of animals for food and clothing justified if the animals are treated well? What does “treated well” mean?
How do you feel about zoos and aquaria? What standards ought to be applied to animals in them?
What standards should be applied to animals used for research and testing? Does it matter what the purpose of the research is? (Medical, scientific or cosmetic?)
How do humanist principles bear on these questions? Is there a humanist perspective distinct from a religious perspective?

HAT ForumSat Oct 8th 201611 a.m. to 1 p.m.519 Church Street Room tba or 304Topic: IntelligenceProposer: Stephen Armour

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 08 Oct 2016 12:52:00 +0000

HAT ForumSat Oct 1st 201611 a.m. to 1 p.m.519 Church Street Room tba or 304Topic: Sustainability and Humanistic Visions for the FutureProposer: Jon Aldridge

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 12:31:00 +0000

Questions:

-What kinds of sustainability are there and how are they linked?

--Economic, biological, environmental?

-Is sustainability important?

--What kind of world do we want to leave for others?

-Do we live in an unsustainable society?

--If the problem is societal, what can individuals do?

-Which resources are sustainable and which are not?

--Should we place a higher value on commodities that we are using up?

-Can renewable energy be part of the solution?

--Can it replace the massive amounts of energy generated by other means?

--Just because we can produce energy in a sustainable manner, should we use it indiscriminately?

-Do our sustainability issues relate to (over)population?

--Does quality of life depend on how many people are living?

--Is life with so many humans sustainable at all?

HAT ForumSat Sep 24th 201611 a.m. to 1 p.m.519 Church Street Room tba or 304Topic: Moral RelativismProposer: Richard Dowsett

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 11:38:00 +0000

Morals are the personal or societal standards concerning the acceptability of thoughts held and actions taken. Moral Relativism is the idea that these standards are formed in a crucible of experience, history and culture. As such, they vary greatly across individuals, across nations, across time and between societies.

1. Accepting this diversity, do we then go a step further and say that there is no way to judge morals across cultures? Does this then require us to tolerate all morals and their ensuing behaviours on the basis of this diversity?

2. How does a multi-cultural society like Canada determine a course for its laws and a set of values for its governance and institutions with a multiplicity of moral frameworks that are, at once, equally valid and often contradictory?

3. Theistic societies have used the “word of god” as revealed through holy texts, as being the objective basis for many differing sets of morals. Is there any other available objective standard to judge between moral systems?

4. Are there moral universals?

5. Does/should Moral Relativistic tolerance extend back through history?

6. In your own life, how do you wrestle with the question of Moral Relativism?

Bill C-14: What Went Wrong?”by Gary BauslaughSaturday, September 17, 20161:30 - 3:00 pmOISE, 252 Bloor St. westRoom 4-414

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 15:46:00 +0000

The Supreme Court of Canada’s historic ruling in February, 2015 declared the law prohibiting assisted death unconstitutional and provided guidelines for new legislation that would be in tune with our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Then it went to the politicians to pass actual legislation.

The results, however, were tragically inadequate.

A highly flawed law was passed in June - a betrayal of the efforts of many Canadians to protect the right of grievously ill and suffering Canadians to have a dignified and peaceful death.

Gary Bauslaugh discusses how and why this happened and looks at where we go from here.

Gary Bauslaugh is the author of three books related to assisted death in Canada; his most recent (The Right to Die, April 2016) tells the stories of the courageous Canadians whose often heroic actions helped create a climate of acceptance for legalizing assisted death in Canada. He is also the author of:
"Robert Latimer, a Story of Justice and Mercy and The Secret Power of Juries."

HAT ForumSat Sep 17th 201611 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.519 Church Street Room tba or 304Topic: Humanist Approaches to GrievingProposer: Moses Klein

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 15:29:00 +0000

Think about situations in which you have had to cope with the death (or
impending death) of someone important to you. How did you deal with it?
What worked for you, or did not work? If religious mourning rituals were
involved, how did you feel about them? Are humanist responses to death
different from religious responses in any way?

Note: this week's Forum will be shortened so we can all go to Gary
Bauslaugh's guest talk
<http://humanisttoronto.blogspot.ca/2016/09/bill-c-14-what-went-wrong-by-gary.html>
at
1:30.

HAT ForumSat Sep 10th 201611 a.m. to 1 p.m.519 Church Street Room tba or 304Topic: Loneliness Proposer: Jon Aldridge

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Sep 2016 16:22:00 +0000

-Is loneliness always a negative?

--Contrast being lonely with being alone.

-What kinds of loneliness are there?

-How have you experienced loneliness?

--What does it feel like to be lonely?

--What have you done to avoid loneliness?

-How does age (1) or physical impairment affect loneliness?

-The National Health Service in the UK has begun treating loneliness as a public health issue. To what extent do you agree or disagree with that position?

--Actual and perceived social isolation can increase the risk of mortality by ~30% (2)(3).

-What are some possible opposite states of mind to loneliness?

--Some may be positive, some negative.

-Is there an unspoken stigma of loneliness?

--People tend to be reluctant to say they are lonely(1)(3).

-What kind of support services should/could be/are available for lonely people?

-Are humanists more prone to feeling lonely than individuals with supernatural or religious beliefs(4)?

(1) age-related UK helpline, with emphasis on loneliness

https://www.thesilverline.org.uk/what-we-do/

(2) abstract of research paper on social isolation

http://pps.sagepub.com/content/10/2/227.abstract

(3) Globe and Mail article

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/life-of-solitude-a-loneliness-crisis-is-looming/article15573187/?page=all

(4) brief Sydney Morning Herald (AUS) article

http://www.smh.com.au/national/secular-society-a-recipe-for-loneliness--20100404-rl7x.html

HAT ForumSat Sep 3rd 201611 a.m. to 1 p.m.519 Church Street Room tba or 304Topic: RitualProposer: Moses Klein

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 13:07:00 +0000

What value do rituals serve?

What rituals do you find useful in your life?

Rituals are often associated with religion. Do religious rituals have a
different character from rituals that may make sense in a secular context?

Does HAT need rituals? What sort of rituals would fit our group?

A few of the words listed in a thesaurus as synonyms for ritual: ceremony
custom, habit, routine, convention, sacrament, tradition. How do you
understand ritual differently than those words?

HAT ForumSat Aug 27th 201611 a.m. to 1 p.m.519 Church Street Room tba or 304Topic: Humanism and the HATProposer: Jon Aldridge

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 16:42:00 +0000

Topic: Humanism and the HAT

--How do you understand Humanism?

--In what ways do you regard yourself as a Humanist?

--What beliefs or actions might preclude someone from being a Humanist?

--Is there a specific definition of Humanism as understood by the Humanist Association of Toronto?

--What can long-term members share with others about the HAT past and present?

--Does the HAT have ties to other Humanist organizations?

--What do you think of organizations which are not explicitly Humanist, such as corporations or religious groups? On what terms would you cooperate with them?

--What facets of public life might benefit from a more Humanistic approach?

HAT ForumSat Aug 20th 201611 a.m. to 1 p.m.519 Church Street Room tba or 304Topic: Will Mankind's intelligence and technology be beneficial or disastrous in the long term?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 11:56:00 +0000

Is humanity a danger to itself? Will we survive into the distant future?

What if anything is the greatest existential Threat to humanity? A.I? synthetic biology? Nuclear war? Disease/pandemic? climate change? Something Else? anything?

The Fermi Paradox is the idea that maybe we do not see evidence of other civilizations due to the fact they end up going extinct after a time.
Do you think our Intelligence, technology and Civilization are a hindrance or a help to our long term survival?

Some People have made the claim That it is not resources we lack but knowledge. In the "Character of physical Law" series of lectures Richard Feynman Laments our lack of Knowledge. He mentions the amount of energy in the ocean and points out it is unavailable to us, as we have no idea how to use it.

How many Cities equivalent to New York could we power if we knew how to harness all the energy of the ocean?

Ocean 80000 Twh per year

New York's years energy consumption for 2009: 60,000 Gwh

Is our ignorance a hindrance to our survival?

Mankind has been predicting doom for Millennial. The earliest written record is from Zoroastrianism in 500 BC claiming the world will end after 10 hundred winters.
We have survived much: The Last Glacial Period (Ice Age), Pandemics (The Black Death).
Are the current warnings of danger (A.I., Climate Change) just an ongoing part of human nature and culture?

HAT ForumSat Aug 13th 201610 a.m. to noon519 Church Street Room tba or 304Topic:Epistemology; Proposer: Justin Otto

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 16:49:00 +0000

PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE FOR THE HAT FORUM FOR SATURDAY AUGUST 13th FOR THIS WEEK ONLY

to 10 a.m. - Noon

(Maintenance work at The 519)

Introductory Question
Describe a belief that you used to have, but changed your mind about.

Open-Mindedness
What do you think is a good way to think about open-mindedness?
Certainty
Can we ever know anything with 100% certainty?
Tree in the Forest
A much-repeated question: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"
Occam's Razor
All else held equal, an explanation which makes fewer assumptions is more likely to be true than ones that rely on many assumptions. But suppose someone was to say "The woman down the road is a witch; she did it". This explanation feels simple, but what is wrong with it?
Guess the Rule
I will give a sequence of 3 numbers, which obeys a rule that I have in mind. The goal is to guess what the rule is by giving me sequences of 3 numbers of your own chosing, and I will say whether or not they follow my rule. The sequence is: 2, 4, 8.

Let others take some guesses if you are familiar with the puzzle.
Terrorist-Camera Puzzle
-Suppose that we have a city of 1,000,000 people. Assume that 10 of these people are terrorists, and the other 999,990 people are innocent citizens.-The mayor sets up some special cameras which are able to detect terrorists. Unfortunately, the accuracy rate isn't perfect.-When a terrorist walks in front of the camera, there is a 90% chance that the camera will correctly flag that person as a terrorist, and a 10% chance of marking them as innocent.-When an innocent citizen walks in front of a camera, it has a 99% chance of correctly marking them as innocent, and a 1% chance of mistakenly flagging them as a terrorist.

Suppose that someone walks in front of a camera, and it flags them as a terrorist. What is the probability that they are actually a terrorist? The answer may surprise you.

HAT ForumSat Aug 6th 201611 a.m. To 1 pm519 Church Street Room tba or 304Topic:TippingProposer: Richard Dowsett

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 18:44:00 +0000

“Tipping” - giving someone money following the performance of a service, is a significant part of Canadian modern life. In a Cornell University study, Canada was found to have 27 tip-worthy service professions. This level varies widely worldwide from a high of 31 in the United States to lows of 4 in Japan and 0 in Iceland.

1. What were the designed purposes of tipping? Are they being accomplished in the current system?

2. How does the North American system of tipping benefit servers? Employers? Customers?

3. What problems do you have with tipping? As a server? Customer? Employer?

4. What experience do you have with tipping and service culture outside Canada?

5. One researcher found a positive correlation between tipping prevalence and corruption in a multi-national study. How are tipping and bribery similar? How are they different?

6. Using humanist values, can we formulate guidelines to tipping or is the whole tipping system fundamentally un-humanist?

HAT ForumSat July 30th 201611 a.m. To 1 pm519 Church Street Room tbaTopic: Politics as Conversation

noreply@blogger.com (Erasmus) — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 12:50:00 +0000

What advantages would there be if we thought of politics as conversation? An open discussion.

HAT ForumSat July 23rd 201611 a.m. To 1 pm519 Church Street Room tba or 304Topic:Humanist perspectives on modern TurkeyProposer: Jon Aldridge

noreply@blogger.com (Erasmus) — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 12:45:00 +0000

--How does the failed coup d'état in Turkey on 15-16 July 2016 affect the prospects for secular institutions and citizens in the country?

--To what extent does Turkey's human-rights record, for instance imprisonment of journalists and judges, functionally undermine the country's official status as a democracy?

--What motives could have pushed the coup plotters in to action?

--How might instability in Turkey impact upon military actions in Syria and Iraq and the on-going refugee crisis?

--In what ways could other countries, including Canada, conduct foreign relations with Turkey in order to support constitutional democracy?

HAT ForumSat July 16th 201611 a.m. To 1 pm519 Church Street Room tba or 304Topic:"Black Lives Matter"Proposer: Gary Higgins

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 23:32:00 +0000

Background:

* At this year's Gay Pride parade in Toronto, Black Lives Matter was invited, but held a sit-in protesting the participation of police contingents. After 30 minutes, the Pride organizers signed an agreement accepting BLM's demands, and the parade continued. This has been controversial. The organizer who signed the agreement subsequently resigned and disclaims the authority to speak for the organization.

* In Dallas last week, at a Black Lives Matter protest, a black ex-reservist shot and killed 5 police officers and injured many others, both white and black.

Questions:

1. If you were black, would you be involved in confrontational behaviour? Would you pull back from these situations?

2. What role do cameras (cellphones, dashcams, bodycams) have in these events?

3. The (black) police chief in Dallas has appealed to African-Americans to apply to join the police force. Would hiring more African-Americans help the situation?

4. In Toronto "carding" has been controversial. Overall, has it been beneficial?

5. In your own life have you experienced racism or reverse racism? What strategies do you have for dealing with it?

6. Does the promotion of our ‘ chosen-ness ‘,, our individualism, our ‘ group identity ‘; e.g., nationalism, skin color, religion, sex, wealth & class; sometimes go beyond pride, and bordering on the exclusion of others?

7. What do you think about driving around with a gun?

8. Discuss these statements/slogans: "Black Lives Matter!" "Blue Lives Matter!"

Some quotes to consider:

“ Tolerance is never sufficient,
Humanity must learn to love our differences “
- Justin Trudeau, signing the guest book, Auschwitz-birkenau state museum

“ So if you want to deal with this on the black side, you’ve got to teach your children to be respectful to the police, & you’ve got to teach your children that the real danger to them, 99 out of 100 times is other black kids who are going to kill them; that’s the way they’re gonna die”
- Former new York city mayor Rudy Giulliani on the increasing violence between white cops and black citizens

"Never forget our common humanity “

- Bertrand Russell

HAT ForumSat July 9th 201611 a.m. To 1 pm519 Church Street Room tba or 304Topic:"BREXIT: SOME SPECULATIONS (Bring your own)"Proposer: Cornelia Laven

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 22:27:00 +0000

1. Why did the vote in the U.K. favour an exit out of the European union?

2. What is a worst-case scenario of the U.K. going it alone?

3. What is the best-case scenario of the U.K. going it alone?

4. What are the possible impacts on Canada?

HAT ForumSat June 25th 201611 a.m. To 1 pmOISE, 256 Bloor Street West Rm 8-201Topic:"The Hounding of Vladimir Putin"Proposer: Isobel Foot

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 16:35:00 +0000

Sometimes it seems the military class has to be constantly pushing for war with Russia. Constantly threatening. One thing, it probably makes some people a lot of money!

In the Middle East, Russia is seen as the enemy when it supports the beleaguered Assad. We want him out - I’m not sure why it’s our business. In my opinion Putin has been sincere in trying to help that bleeding region. We have a hard time to accept anything he does as good (e.g. dismantling Syria’s chemical weapons.

Now we’re being asked to build up NATO forces around Russia. The US and all are continually fomenting color revolutions and making war to challenge Russian influence. They impose economic sanctions, rag about human rights. Why?

HAT ForumSat June 18th 201611 a.m. To 1 pm519 Church Street Room tba or 304Topic:"What, if anything, is the Self" Proposer:Moses Klein

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 12:28:00 +0000

We'll examine several philosophical conceptions about the Self.
Do they make sense to us?
How do we understand the Self?
Is it a useful concept?
What implications does it have for our ethics?
Has anything that you have learned changed your idea of the Self?

Some summary statements of philosophical positions for this Forum will be prepared.

Please Note that:
* The June 25th Forum is moved to OISE.
* The July 2nd Forum is cancelled.
* On July 9th we will return to 519.

HAT ForumSat June 11th 201611 a.m. To 1 pm519 Church Street Room 303 or 304Topic:"Deep listening…. Reconciliation with inner self" Proposer:Jody Perrin

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 13:57:00 +0000

There are some responsibilities as a human being in circle of life in front of other people, nature, animals to have a better planet in communication with each other, yet the first step of achieving to these goals is deep listening to our inner self and it is a process of detachment of our being from any title outside that introduce us in our communications

1) Listening begins with taking notice or becoming aware of our own needs, feelings, thoughts, sensations and stories.

What are some of the ways we can listen to or become aware of ourselves?

2) Conversation involves us in listening to others.

Share some of your ways of listening to an other?

How can you show the other that you have listened and heard them?

HAT ForumSat June 4th 201611 a.m. To 1 pm519 Church Street Room 303 or 304Topic: “The State Apology" Facilitator: Moses Klein

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 31 May 2016 16:55:00 +0000

Thinking about examples of political leaders who have, on behalf of their country, apologized for past actions.

1. What functions do or should such apologies serve?
2. When is a public apology appropriate? When is it not appropriate?
3. When are apologies enough? When are apologies not enough? What more needs to be done?
4. On May 18th, Justin Trudeau made two widely reported apologies in the House of Commons. At 3 PM he apologized for Canada turning away the Komagata Maru in 1914; at 6 PM he apologized for his role in the now-infamous altercation on the House floor. How are these two apologies different?

A few examples of public apologies to consider:
(a) Justin Trudeau’s apology for the Komagata Maru on May 18th.
(b) Stephen Harper’s 2008 apology for the residential schools.
(c) The 1988 apologies of Ronald Reagan and Brian Mulroney for the internment of Japanese-Americans and Japanese-Canadians respectively during WWII.
(d) Bill Clinton’s 1998 apology, during a visit to Africa, for the slave trade.
(e) Barack Obama’s 2009 apology for Jim Crow.
(f) David Cameron’s 2010 recognition of Bloody Sunday as “unjustified and unjustifiable”.
(g) Gordon Brown’s 2009 apology for the treatment of Alan Turing.
(h) Nestor Kirchner’s 2004 apology for Argentina’s Dirty War.
(i) F.W. de Klerk’s apology in 1996 to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for apartheid.
(j) Konrad Adenauer’s apology for the Holocaust.
(k) Shinzo Abe’s 2007 apology to comfort women.
(l) Kevin Rudd’s 2008 apology for the treatment of aboriginal people.
(m) John Paul II’s 1992 apology for the persecution of Galileo.

HAT ForumSat May 28th 201611 a.m. To 1 pm519 Church Street Room 303 or 304Topic: “Do we need another Enlightenment?" Proposer: Cecilia Rayo

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 25 May 2016 12:12:00 +0000

Our political system is unable to respond to looming economic and environmental crises that present a clear and present danger to our way of life, and instead of thoughtful planning and responsible leadership we get demagoguery, posturing, and theatre.
Rational thought cannot prevail in the current social and media environment, where elections are won by appealing to voters’ hearts rather than their minds. The rapid-fire pace of modern politics, the hypnotic repetition of daily news items and even the multitude of visual sources of information all make it difficult for the voice of reason to be heard.

1. Do you agree with this view of modern politics? If you do so, why?

2. Do you think that the first Enlightenment was successful in its predicted outcome that the reasonable individuals could construct a new rational society predicated on liberty, equality and brotherhood? Explain your answer.

3. The public opinion battlefield is the hert not the head. Do you agree with this statement? Explain….

4. How do you think that we could restore sanity to the politics of this world?

HAT ForumSat May 21st 201611 a.m. To 1 pm519 Church Street Room 303Topic: “Building Bridges? Humanism and Religion" Proposer: Richard Dowsett

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 19 May 2016 17:39:00 +0000

- Do you engage personally with religious people about faith issues, and if so how?

- How engaged do think the Humanist movement should be with organized religions?

- When, if ever, is it appropriate to ridicule religious beliefs?

- What religious practices or emotions should Humanism seek to replicate in a non-theistic context?

- One of Humanism's objectives is to foster human flourishing. Would it pose a dilemma for Humanists if it could be scientifically proven that people are happier and healthier if they have religious beliefs?

HAT ForumSat May 7th 201611 a.m. To 1 pm519 Church Street Room 304Topic: “Ideas from other countries that you would like to see in Canada"Proposer: Debora Jenkins

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 04 May 2016 11:03:00 +0000

*The idea for this topic came from Michael Moore's recent film, Where to Invade Next, in which Moore goes to other countries in search of good ideas to bring back to the United States. The movie is not playing in Toronto anymore but you can watch Michael Moore discuss many of the ideas of the film on YouTube on the Stephen Colbert show and on Talks at Google.

1. What do you think of the following ideas mentioned in the film?

Portugal: legalized possession of any and all drugs 15 years ago
Norway: all prison sentences capped at 21 years
Italy: mandatory 7 to 8 week paid vacations
France: superior quality, healthy student lunches
Slovenia: free university
Rwanda: quotas for women in government
Iceland: quotas for women (and men) on boards in companies (40% for both genders)
Germany: a thriving middle class of well-paid workers
Finland: no homework

2. What ideas, be they cultural, political, social, edible, aesthetic, or economic, would you like to bring to Canada? From what countries? Why?

Off the top of my head, here are a few of mine:

Sweden: the Nordic Model for prostitution (already here but under threat)
Pittsburgh: beautiful, creative bike racks as public art
New Orleans: Beignets!
Washington DC: free museum admission
Paris: a strong sense of style and design
London: plentiful wrought iron fences and railings
Most countries in the world: better social skills/closer family and community ties
Etc.

Yours?

4. What are the drawbacks to some of these ideas?

5. Why do we sometimes seem to be reluctant to adopt ideas from other places?

6. What Canadian ideas do you think other countries would benefit from?

7. Any ideas we don't want? Like the American political system :)

HAT ForumSat April 30th 201611 a.m. To 1 pm519 Church Street Room 304Topic: “Trump and the Media"Proposer: Andrew Smith

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 00:09:00 +0000

Trump and the Media

(1) Trump has received what some people would say is a disproportionate amount of media coverage in relation to the other candidates.[i] Given this fact, what could be causing the media to give him so much coverage?
–He brings in the ratings (experience with reality TV)?

–The media wants to promote his campaign?

–The media wants to discredit his campaign?

(2) Survey data of the party affiliations of most reporters in the Unites States shows a preponderance of Democrats to Republicans (28% vs. 7%).[ii] Why is this? The parent companies of major media outlets also donate millions of dollars to both Democratic and Republican candidates.[iii] Given this ideological slant and potential conflict of interest, is it reasonable to worry about systemic bias?

Immigration and Multiculturalism

(3) Data indicates that there are between 7 and 22 million illegal immigrants presently in the United States, with the overwhelming majority coming from Mexico and other parts of Latin America.[iv] 73 percent of households headed by immigrants (both legal and illegal) from Mexico and Central America use at least one welfare program[v]and overwhelmingly identify as Democrat (by margins of 5:1 over identifying as Republican).[vi] In contrast, 30 percent of native households use at least one welfare program.[vii]

In Europe, mass immigration from North Africa, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa is a topic of growing concern for many people. For example, Sweden now has the highest rate of rapes in the West[viii] and has at least 55 “no-go zones” in the country,[ix]regions where the police are reluctant to venture into.
Is mass immigration from non-Western cultures compatible with a democratic welfare state, given the facts above? What has driven Western governments to adopt policies of mass immigration from non-Western cultures since about the 1960s?[x]

(4) What is multiculturalism? What assumptions underlie support or opposition to it?

Conventional definition: “the preservation of different cultures or cultural identities within a unified society, as a state or nation.”[xi]

The Nature of Modern American Politics

(5) What are the fundamental differences underlying left-wing and right-wing worldviews? Are Trump’s policies right wing, left wing, or a mixture?

Some of Trump’s Major Policies:[xii]

–Compel the Mexican government to pay for the construction of a wall along the border, in exchange for the continuation of remittance payments, visas, and favorable trade terms (tariffs, etc.).

–Defunding of sanctuary cities, enhanced enforcement of immigration law, ending of birthright citizenship, pause in green card issuance until native unemployment levels improve.

–Full repeal of Obamacare, decrease barriers to insurance companies operating across state lines, decrease barriers to sale of foreign prescription drugs, require price transparency for all healthcare providers, individual tax deductions for health insurance premium payments.

[i]. http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-media-coverage-chart-2016-3

[ii]. The American Journalist in the Digital Age: Key Findings, by Lars Willnat & David H. Weaver.

[iii]. http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2010/08/news-corps-million-dollar-donation/

[iv]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigrant_population_of_the_United_States

[v]. http://cis.org/Welfare-Use-Immigrant-Native-Households

[vi]. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/07/22/are-unauthorized-immigrants-overwhelmingly-democrats/

[vii]. http://cis.org/Welfare-Use-Immigrant-Native-Households

[viii]. http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/5195/sweden-rape

[ix]. https://swedenreport.org/2014/10/29/swedish-police-55-official-no-go-zones/, https://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2014/11/07/at-least-55-islamic-no-go-zones-in-sweden/

[x]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1965

[xi]. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/multiculturalism

[xii]. https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions

HAT ForumSat April 23rd 201611 a.m. To 1 pm519 Church Street Room 304Topic: “Medically Assisted Dying from a Humanist Perspective"Proposer: Richard Dowsett

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 00:38:00 +0000

“Human Ethics: Ethical decisions should be made in the context of real people, real situations, real human needs and aspirations and the consideration of real consequences. Humanism combines personal liberty with social responsibility. It affirms the dignity of every person, the right of the individual to the greatest possible freedom compatible with the rights of others, and the need for community. Without this context we risk the worst excesses of ideology.”

The above is Principle (vii) from the HAT Constitution: Section 3 - Declaration of Principles. It seems to be the one most pertinent to the discussion of Medically Assisted Dying (MAD).

Below is a link to the Government’s proposed Bill C-14 “to amend the criminal code in respect of Medical assistance in Dying” and another link to the Special Parliamentary Committee’s report. Let’s discuss the differences between them, whether they are reasonable and how Humanist principles can help guide our thoughts and feelings:

1. “Advanced directives” were recommended by Committee but are not part of C-14.

2. MAD for “matures minors” was recommended by Committee but is not part of C-14.

3. MAD for mental health conditions was recommended by Committee but is not part of C-14.

4. A 15 day Period of Reflection is part of C-14, against the recommendations of the Committee.

5. To gain the exemption for MAD, the applicant must “have a grievous and irremediable medical condition” that includes death being “reasonably foreseeable” according to the opinion of the doctor of nurse practitioner. Is this a reasonable condition?

6. Is it fair to expect medical practitioners to risk a trial, up to 5 years in jail and loss of their medical license every time they conduct a medical procedure because the law is so subjective?

http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2803276/C-14-Medical-assistance-in-dying.pdf BILL C-14

http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/sen/yc3-421-1/YC3-421-1-0-1-eng.pdf MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IN DYING: A PATIENT-CENTRED APPROACH