METANOIA March/April 2012 Edition
NEW WAY OF THINKING A
METANOIA EXECUTIVE AND STAFF
A NEW WAY OF THINKING
PUBLISHERS
SALME JOHANNES LEIS & ALLISON PATTON
COPY CHIEF
CALEB NG JR LEIS AND HEINO LEIS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS
DAL FLEISCHER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING
DAN DENIS
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
GALINA BOGATCH
PHOTO ARCHIVIST CONTRIBUTORS
Maureen Bader Alex Barberis Andy Belanger Donald J. Boudreaux Tim Brown Brian Croft Miki Dawson Cheryl Gauld Marilyn Hurst Hank Leis Salme Leis Chris MacClure Seth Meltzer Caleb Ng Janice Oleandros Allison Patton Cara Roth Kaela Scott
On The Cover, Artwork by John Pitre, Entitled “Restrictions” & on the back “Over Population”. Find his artwork at www.johnpitre.com METANOIA MAGAZINE is a publication of METANOIA CONCEPTS INC. For questions, comments, or advertising contact by Phone: 604 538 8837, Email: metanoiamagazine@gmail.com, Mail: 3566 King George Blvd, Surrey, BC, Canada, V4P 1B5 2 METANOIA
METANOIA CONTENTS
A NEW WAY OF THINKING
5 6 11 14 16 20 22 24 30 32 36 37 38
Aromatherapy Our Man In... Allison Patton SNIPP Hemp Seed Freedom and Population Growth Lorna Vanderhaeghe A Leap Forward The Action Investment The Speech
Alison Legge Dal Fleischer, Travels the world and takes us with him Why don’t (more) good people enter politics? The smart phone spawns another new industry A true superseed that stands alone Artwork by John Pitre, Article by Dr Allison Patton Women’s Health The Inaugural Conference of the OncANP Seth Meltzer John Cummins addresses The Surrey Board of Trade
The Rant
Hank Leis
Missives
Donald J Boudreaux
Horoscope
Not for the faint of heart METANOIA 3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Our feature article by Allison Patton is entitled “Freedom and
Population Growth” The article is about how population growth impinges on individual freedoms. Our back and front covers are both photos of John Pitre’s great works of surrealistic art. The piece on the front cover is entitled “Restrictions” and the back cover “Over Population” We want to thank John Pitre and his organization for allowing us to use these fine works of art. For Metanoia they represent the world becoming overpopulated and the restrictions that we will be required to endure as space becomes more and more a limiting factor in the freedom we have taken for granted in our daily lives. Dal Fleischer, our executive director of marketing travels around
Front Cover: John Pitre’s “Restrictions”
the world doing his thing. Of course that means taking lots of pictures and Dal does that with alacrity. John Cummins, leader of the B.C. Conservatives speaks at the Surrey Board of Trade. His topic is about the over expenditures of the current and past governments and the consequences of these actions. Seth Meltzer, our Albany, New York contributor interviews Erik Hällström, CEO of SNIPP at his Washington, D.C. offices. SNIPP has recently become a public company and is currently looking for marketing opportunities worldwide. Rick Taylor talks about OPM which to him is the same as opium. There are other articles- and the fun is finding them. So go have some fun.
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Back Cover: John Pitre’s “Over Population”
Aromatherapy Spring is the time of year when the earth comes back to life. The birds are out chirping again, the flowers are popping up and with all of this is a sense of something magical. The air is fresher, the scents are sweeter, and the colours of the plants seem brighter than during the long winter months. With the return of the sun and the flora, comes the invigorating feeling of fresh beginnings and new life. Living in a temperate coastal rainforest affords opportunity to experience beneficial gifts of Nature merely by stepping into the woods for a walk. Key to this therapeutic experience is the fragrant aromas from the essential oils of bark, leaves, and needles that drift along on air currents. As an aromatherapist, this is an inspiring time of year. It is a time when our souls seem to perk up and come alive... not unlike the plants. Aromatherapy can be defined as an ancient therapeutic treatment that enhances wellbeing, relieves stress, and aids in the rejuvenation and regeneration of the human body. Aromatherapy oils are highly concentrated pure essences extracted or steam distilled from plants. Flowers, leaves, roots, resins, seeds, and fruits of many herbs, shrubs and trees are used to provide aromatic oils, each with their own unique healing properties. Going back throughout history, the first documented uses of the oils were found in Ancient Egypt in 4500BC, in China in 3000BC, and in India in 2500BC. However, these aren’t the only areas of the world to use aromatic essences; many civilizations have used the essence of plants for their healing qualities. Evidence of their use can be found in sacred texts around the globe including: The Christian Bible, the Jewish Torah, and The Book of Mormon, to list a few. From this, as well as other ancient texts, we know that aromatic essences have played a major role in Man’s evolution
and treatment of dis-ease for thousands of years. The modern term of ‘aromatherapy’ was first coined by the French Chemist, R.M. Gattefossé in 1928 and has grown in popularity since, leaving some to categorize this complementary therapy as ‘New Age’; but perhaps a more appropriate classification may be ‘Old Age’, having it been regarded as the oldest medicine known to Man. It is amazing to think that aromatic plant essences have been used throughout the ages for all sorts of ailments and common complaints that have caused distress within the delicate balance of the ever-changing human body. Let us journey now to Ancient Rome where plant essences were utilized in many different aspects of life. The popular Greek physician, Galen, was very adept at using these essences for their healing abilities as Greek soldiers carried into battle an ointment made of Myrrh for the treatment of wounds. Many of these physicians were employed as Roman military surgeons. Galen was one of these surgeons, and due to his skill and expertise became the personal physician to Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Quite the honour! But, well deserved all the same, as he was very aware of the healing effect of plant essences. Although accidents and injuries did occur, it is recorded that no gladiator died of his wounds during Galen’s term of office. Galen used plants frequently and also wrote on the theory of plant medicine. He developed remedies and during the process invented the original ‘Cold Cream’; this recipe was the prototype for all ointments in current use. In today’s culture perhaps the most underutilized sense is that of smell. Beyond the aroma of a well planned meal that whets the appetite, or the scent of a floral
perfume on a lady passing by, the sense of smell is far more beneficial to our overall wellbeing than most of us are aware. We know that scent has a very strong impact upon the human being. Stimuli obtained through scent are delivered more directly and rapidly to the brain than any of the other human senses. The region of the brain referred to as the olfactory system is responsible for the sense of smell. By utilizing essential oils through inhalation, aromatherapy is able to capitalize on the direct connection involving the olfactory system and the subconscious mind for the benefit of health, mood, and appearance. These tiny molecules derived from the essence of plants have the ability to cross the blood-brain-barrier, which then trigger a wide variety of psychological as well as physiological responses. Today, aromatherapy is making a massive return to popularity as people everywhere strive for a sense of wellness and improved health. In an era that includes, for the majority of the population, an increasingly fast-paced lifestyle accompanied by environmental toxins, new strains of disease and overwhelming stresses, the timing couldn’t be better to return to natural complementary therapies for a more longterm approach to healthy living.
Alison Legge, Aromatherapist www.akashicaromatics.com METANOIA 5
OUR MAN IN...
Dal Fleischer is a world traveller, having visited over 60 countries. When Dal is in Paris, we (Metanoia) refer to him as “Our Man in Paris. When in Rome he is “Our Man in Rome”. Dal is an unusual man in many ways – but one major difference is that he takes his unicycle with him wherever he goes. He actually has owned 8 different models – each model reserved for a particular terrain. Dal is also a certified genius. Now that doesn’t necessarily make him a lot smarter that the rest of us (as even he admits), it just means that he is able to make sense of puzzles more quickly. And since the whole world is eventually a huge puzzle, so I guess he really is a lot smarter. Smarter or not, Dal as marketing director of Metanoia is able to take our magazine’s “new way of thinking” whenever he goes. In a series of articles entitled “Dal Fleischer’s World”, Dal will introduce our readers to his impressions of the various parts of the world that he has visited. Because he is also an excellent photographer, he will share with us photos of various places he visits.
Dal Fleischer, BA, MBA, RIBC, FRI, AACI
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Ixtapa Hotel & Pool
Mexican logging trucks
Top of the hill between Zihuatanejo & Ixtapa
Routes I covered by unicycle
Impressions of Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa, Mexico. These side by side cities have plenty to offer expatriates, seasonal migrants and tourists. In the beginning, there was Zihuatanejo, a small fishing village, remote on Mexico’s pacific coast. Then, as the story goes, the government decided to follow the recommendations of a computer model to establish a western equivalent to Cancun. The computer fingered a strip of white sand beach a few kilometres north of Zihuatanejo. Improvements to ZIH airport, construction of a few big resort hotels and Ixtapa was born. Today, high rise hotels, all inclusive resorts and time share developments are Ixtapa. A 75 cent, fifteen minute bus ride south is Zihuatanejo. It has grown into a bustling regional service centre and a tourist town. Many smaller and older hotels offer good accommodation at reasonable rates. Being a fishing village, seafood of all types is
featured at the many restaurants that range from modest to deluxe. Safety is a concern of many who consider visiting Mexico these days. Fortunately, this area seems to be far enough away from any growing or distribution areas for crime generating products. Violent aggressive acts are very uncommon. Many fine beaches and dense dark jungles, complete with huge crocodiles, are among the attractions. Personally, I like to cycle. There is a great network of dedicated cycle trails starting on the northern edge of Zihuatanejo, leading over the hill to Ixtapa, onward to Playa Linda and beyond. Check it out! This ride through varied terrain, including dense jungle, is a world class outing. I recommend you investigate further this area and visit as soon as possible. METANOIA 7
The Artist’s Way
I
love the feeling of painting flowing lines, the emotion brought on by bold colors and the sensation of losing myself to my happy place each time my brush hits the canvas. I am a self-taught acrylic painter living in beautiful White Rock, BC. I am also a Registered Nurse currently working in a community practice. Balancing these 2 very different careers keep my life moving, enjoyable and interesting. After completing Nurses training at the University of Victoria, I lived and worked in China, Australia and New Zealand. During my travels, my appreciation for art and nature grew and I spent a lot of time sketching my surroundings. After returning home, 2 years later, I began painting a lot of the ideas I had sketched during my travels.
April Lacheur
In 2007, I was offered the opportunity to display my work in a restaurant in Victoria. Having never attended Art School I was unsure if people would appreciate my work. I was pleasantly surprised at the positive response and sold many paintings in the few months my work was on display. Thus, my art business, “Yapes Paints” came to be. Yapes is my nickname (a metamorphosis from April to Ape to Yapes) and Paints is what I love to do! Since then I have shown and sold my paintings in restaurants, cafes, boutiques and at several artisan fairs such as the Arnold Mikelson Festival of the Arts in White Rock and the Harmony Arts Festival in North Vancouver. I have also
“In many of my paintings I expose the roots of the trees to show their beauty and complexity. I think it is important to recognize our roots and remember to consider the same in the people that surround us.” developed a line of art cards, prints and calendars that are available in retail locations across Canada as well as my online store. My style is unique: bold colors, crisp lines, trees with twisting roots, birds with long legs and florals with dancing petals are common themes in my work. I always finish my paintings with clean lines of acrylic ink which has become one of my signatures. Inspiration for my work often comes from a life experience: something small like a lovely walk outside or something huge like a life lesson learned. I am not much of a planner when it comes to my painting. I have the general concept in mind and let the piece progress organically. One of my favourite parts of painting is that the end result is often a pleasant surprise. I may add other mediums including fabrics and papers to my work giving life to elements such as trunks or bird feathers. I have recently started collaborating with my husband, Renato Horvath, who adds metal accents to my paintings. It is truly wonderful to work on something creative together.
METANOIA 9
The message in my paintings is always positive. I use painting as a positive balancing element in my life and I think my true love and passion for it is reflected in my work. Whimsical trees with twisting trunks and reaching branches are a common theme in my art. In many of my paintings I expose the roots of the trees to show their beauty and complexity. I think it is important to recognize our roots and remember to consider the same in the people that surround us. Roots can tell a lot of stories that are not always evident in our trunks and branches. As I continue to grow as an artist I am excited for the road ahead. Discovering new techniques, new colors and new themes as well as getting out and meeting creative people and art lovers is all part of the fun of being an artist.
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To view my portfolios of work please visit www.yapesPaints.com . If you like to connect like I do, please join me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/yapespaints) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/yapespaints).
Why Don’t
Good People Enter Politics?
(More)
J
By Allison Patton, ND, MBA
campaign director for two national campaigns. My colleague, Salme Leis and I had the pleasure of attending this event; to say the least, it was a two day whirlwind. Thursday evening, we arrived early and were able to pick our seats. We found a good vantage point in the front row. Rt. Hon. Paul Martin’s conversation that evening was to be moderated by Ian Hanomansing, reporter and occasional host with The National. To bide our time, we wandered around the beautiful and elegant Museum of Anthropology gazing at the vivid and colorful artwork and representations of local culture displayed there.
Rt. Hon. Paul Martin with Ian Hanomansing at The Museum of Anthropology This two day event was hosted by the UBC Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions during the winter of 2011. It began Thursday evening in the majestic Great Hall within the Museum of Anthropology and featured a conversation with the Rt. Hon. Paul Martin. This was followed by a full day of panels on Friday at the UBC Robson Square Theatre. Some of the panelists featured were: Carole Taylor, Chancellor of SFU and former BC Finance Minister, Vaughn Palmer, provincial political columnist with the Vancouver Sun, Sam Sullivan, former mayor of Vancouver, Michael Harcourt , former Premier of British Columbia, Hon. A. Anne McLellan, former Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, former mayor of West Vancouver, Dawn Black, MLA of New Westminster, former Interim Leader of the BC NDP and former MP, Jennifer Clarke, former Federal Conservative candidate and member of the advisory board for the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions, and Rick Anderson, political strategist serving as the Reform Party’s
Once we were seated, I was looking around at all of the people flowing in. A man over to the right of the room turned a chair around and tried to sit down to talk to one of the women in attendance. Next thing I knew he lost his balance and fell off the chair onto the ground. He quickly collected himself and regained his composure. Once he stood up, I realized that it was the Rt. Hon. Paul Martin speaking to Hon. A. Anne McLellan. As I watched the scene unfold, I was somehow comforted that even Rt. Honourables have moments of humility! Within a few moments, the room was full and the stage was set. Ian Hanomansing seemed to have an easy rapport with Rt. Hon. Paul Martin who was in great spirits. The Q and A got under way. Little did I know that during the whole event, an occupational therapist sitting beside me was analyzing my handwriting style as I furiously wrote my notes. The next day we sat together again and she let me know that I needed to shift the way I held my notepad to protect the health of my wrist. Anyhow, one of the first questions asked by Ian was: Who should run as a candidate? Paul Martin replied, if there are things that you want to do, if you think the government has a positive role to play, if you have strong convictions, and if you want to offer yourself to the country then you should consider running. You can do more in five minutes in government than five months out of government. This was followed by the question, who shouldn’t run? “Those who are enamoured if their picture is in the paper,” he responded.
METANOIA 11
From left to right: Fazil Mihlar, Hon. Anne McLellan, Kathryn Gretsinger, Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, & Winnie Hwo
Carole Taylor, Vaughn Palmer, Ian Hanomansing, Mike Harcourt, & Sam Sullivan
Rick Anderson, Dawn Black, Doug McArthur, Jennifer Clarke & Gordon Gibson He followed with some advice directed to young people considering politics. Two and a half years before an election, start to work on your nomination and try to learn all that you can. Think about which level you would like to be involved in; municipal, provincial or federal. Municipal politics is the real face of political life. “It takes twenty years to make a difference.” He suggests that most people work in a career first so that they can bring something to the political table. For the next part of the conversation, he focused on economics. He stated that if a country or province has bad economic management, they will pay a penalty. He also noted that in a democracy like Canada, the economy is globally integrated. He remembered back to 1995 when he had to act quickly with respect to the deficit; 36 cents of every tax dollar was going to service the debt so he took charge before the crisis hit. In order to run the country on an economically sound basis, raising taxes is not enough. He says that we need to go to the markets. Regarding the global economy he said that great democracies do not build global institutions to govern this properly; international institutions are required. In terms of interest rates, in 1995 there was a financial crisis and interest rates went through the roof; in 1997 there was an Asian financial crisis and interest rates went way up. “We need global
12 METANOIA
bank regulation in order for global systems to work,” according to the Rt. Hon. Paul Martin. As for foreign affairs, he said that individual government departments need more policy power. Successful governments bring down policies that do not see benefit for more than a decade. As an example, around the mid-nineties, the CPP was in trouble as it was underfunded by more than the national debt. The Ministers of Finance for each of the provinces said let’s deal with the CPP; it was a magic moment when everyone looked ahead ten years and worked out a solution. Rt. Hon. Paul Martin would like to see more incentives for politicians to work together to pass good policy. When asked about senate reform. He replied that he thought good work has been done but felt there are more important questions such as, how are we going to make the world work? How are we going to created meaningful employment for 19-24 year olds? What about our manufacturing base? He predicts four to five years of problems related to the current financial crisis. Another question, How to make democracy work? His reply: Channel the passion well. The young people in a political party are forces of change and forces of dynamism; parties need to galvanize more young people. After a photo with the Rt. Hon. Paul Martin, the evening was complete. We zipped home to catch a bit of sleep before heading to the Robson Centre early the next morning.
We were bleary eyed but early again. We found a seat front and centre. On my way to the washroom, I spotted Carole Taylor. I went and found Salme and then asked Carole if we could have a photo with her. She seemed surprised and pleased at the prospect. I am an admirer of her grace, power and beauty so I was ecstatic. Salme and I spoke to her about the challenges of being a woman, mother, spouse and public figure. The advice she gave to me about finding connection with other women was that the onus was on me to reach out and welcome them into my life whether they were moms at my daughter’s school, local colleagues or people that I work with, as opposed to the other way around. Good advice. In order to bring the flavour of the event, I will try to hit the highlights that spoke to me. One of the things that we both noticed throughout the event were two themes that kept emerging as tangents; the issues facing First Nations people of Canada and the Women’s issue. They became the focus at times as opposed to the topics of the day; almost as if to create an emotional response. Not surprising for a panel full of media personnel and politicians! Tapping at the emotional hot topics can often effectively divert from the real issues at hand. But I digress. Back to the panelists.... Carole Taylor recommended that the best time to enter politics is in a person’s late forties and early fifties because you have the time and energy; it is tough to do it any younger. She also feels it is important that politicians feel free to not vote the party line on very important issues to them personally.
sacrifice of time and family looks like. Go in with a sense of what you want to do, get some of these things done,and get out. The next group spoke about the media. It was stated that newspapers are the note takers for politicians and that media are the watchdogs. The reporters ask the tough questions and want to see the studies to back up the statements. Anne McLellan, early in her political career, felt that the media were her adversary and that they dumbed down complex issues. It was necessary for her to get over the media issue to do her job. Over time she learned to work with the press to achieve her objectives. She describes it as a symbiotic relationship; the media wants to get the story and you as a politician want your story told. In her opinion, vanity is the wrong reason to join politics; you need objective issues and ideas. In politics and government, every department has a spin and talking points for issues. The media’s job is not to accept her spin. As Salme and I debriefed the day, we determined that we were still interested in getting even more involved in politics so I guess we could consider ourselves “Good People?!” It appeared that the next thing we needed to do was get over our vanity, come up with some objective issues and ideas, and then learn how to work with the press. Salme and I have our work cut out for us. All kidding aside, as I look back on this event from a few months ago, I remember much of what was said as I forge ahead on my own journey into politics. I invite you to join me.
Salme and I with Rt. Hon. Paul Martin
with Jennifer Clarke
with Dawn Black
Michael Harcourt stated that democracy is war without bullets. He also said that partisanship is about values and ideas. He thinks that there is nothing wrong with partisanship; political thuggery is the issue. It was stated that there are many ways to get involved in politics. The first steps are to articulate what you want to do, get involved and have a real agenda. It is also important to understand and have a realistic sense of what you are getting into and what the
with Carole Taylor
METANOIA 13
THE
From our conversation:
NEW INDUSTRY
It sounds like this is a new industry?
Why did the founders start Snipp?
SMART PHONE S PAW N S ANOTHER
Their goal was to address shortcomings of traditional advertising. The first problem is it’s not interactive, secondly it’s not immediate (unless the consumer is sitting in front of a computer), and thirdly it’s not capable of measuring user behavior around the ad and what, if any, action was taken as a result of the advertisement. We mobilize traditional marketing to make it more interactive, immediate, and measurable.
Increasingly over the last 3-4 years brands have been in an experimental stage seeking to understand what mobile By Seth Meltzer marketing can do for them. Mobile marketing hasn’t had its own budget in the past, but now we’re at an inflection point where some of the more progressive brands at the cutting edge have realized that mobilizing traditional marketing has tremendous value and they are making it more of a mainstream activity in marketing budget, it’s becoming it’s If you’ve seen a QR (Quick Response) code like own line item. Some firms are dedicating resources within the one on the right recently, you’re not alone. It’s the next the organization, even assigning a “head of mobile marketing” generation of scannable codes which are widely supported which we didn’t see years ago, mobile marketing has moved by mobile phones and it’s popping up everywhere. The QR to a point where it’s accepted as part of the core marketing code is read faster and stores more information than the strategy for brands. UPC. Using this new tool and other common features found on our cell phone to open the lines of communication between How does Snipp fit into the marketplace? What’s Snipp’s marketers and consumers is known as mobile marketing. competitive advantage? Mobile marketing is a relatively new industry and it’s already We are the only pure-play mobile marketing firm around specifically focusing on mobilizing traditional advertising, generating US$1 billion and growing at 60-70% annually. I recently sat down with Erik Hällström, the CEO of Snipp meaning our mission and all of our resources are 100% Interactive Inc. (Snipp) based in Washington, D.C. Having committed to capitalizing on the opportunities that exist in this just recently gone public on the Canadian TSX Venture new industry. Our competitive advantage is that although Exchange, Snipp is one of the most exciting players in the we are based in Washington D.C. and have a presence in field of mobile marketing today. Snipp has been offering these Canada, we also have significant contacts and resources in services since 2008 to some of the largest and well known India that allow us to very quickly put together campaigns and brands around including the likes of Nike, GMC, Wendy’s, Dr. scale our abilities with an offshore cost structure. The key is that when we are serving the North American market, we can Pepper, and many more. optimize our costs with a North American cost structure for Mr. Hällström has been working with technology companies market facing activities while having a lower off-shore cost for 15 years, and just officially took the role as CEO for structure for many of our back-end operational activities. Snipp on March 1st. He worked as a media and technical We are more flexible and faster in creating and executing consultant during the first internet era for large companies in campaigns than our competition. We can leverage resources Europe and North America who wanted an internet presence, across many countries and deploy our resources in new and has also worked with startups building their teams and markets quickly as well. We are nimble and well connected. online marketing programs. 14 METANOIA
Scan for more info on Snipp
Will we see Snipp in other countries soon?
How can I invest in Snipp?
We are in contact with entities in new markets that may become partners of ours, for instance we are looking to expand south of the border into Mexico during the early part of this year.
Snipp is currently trading on the Canadian TSX Venture exchange under the symbol SPN.V, anyone who trades on the TSX Venture exchange can buy our shares.
What is “Mobilize Me”? Mobilize Me is a versatile toolbox that is used to design, execute, and track marketing campaigns. We have built the platform so that from a customer point of view it is technology agnostic. We don’t want advertisers to have to exclude a population of customers because that population doesn’t have a particular smart phone operating system or are missing a certain feature on their phone. Mobilize Me accepts different response methods from consumers— email, text message, multi-media message etc— we want it to be as simple as possible, it’s not necessary to download special applications. There are countless uses that benefit consumers, for example using Mobilize Me marketers can use the packaging of a product as a starting point for interaction with the customer. The customer could get points for the purchase, or interact with packaging if installation is required to immediately receive a video sent to the customer’s smart phone with instructions. As consumers we want easy access to anything that interests us and we want and we want it quick, but we’re also concerned about our privacy. Are there any privacy concerns for Snipp? Privacy is very important to us. It’s important to note that we are not pushing anything on anyone, we are merely providing users the option to act on something they see, the option to interact with something they have an interest in. With that having been said the customer has a trust in us, there are ways of doing things right and doing things wrong, we do things the right way by respecting people’s privacy.
What type of communication do you expect to have with investors? I personally will spend a considerable amount of my time talking with investors and making myself available to explain what our company does and how excellent the opportunity is with Snipp. Our CFO Anthony Durkacz is going to be spending an even larger portion of his time focusing on investor relations and activities and you will soon see us announce a number of different ways we’ll be making ourselves available to individual investors. People who are interested in keeping up-to-date with Snipp can sign-up for our investor email broadcasts at the investor page on our web site, we’ll be sending out company updates and press releases. What has been the most fun part of your job so far? This is the most exciting market that I’ve ever seen. I have enjoyed meeting with people that are already in the market and spending time building out our team to capitalize on the opportunity. How do you define success? Delivering value to our customers at a profit. ______________________________________ For more information on Snipp visit www.Snipp.com
Snipp’s business model is 100% business-to-business, what would you like our non-business owner readers to know about Snipp? We are happy to inform people about mobile marketing as an industry and what it can do for them. As a publicly traded mobile marketing company we have many investors that are individuals that have invested as a pure-play because they have a belief and a strong interest in this industry that is growing at 60-70% per year and already is a billion and is going to be a multi-billion dollar market. Snipp is a great investment opportunity for them.
Seth Meltzer and Erik Hällström
METANOIA 15
Hemp Seed a True Superseed That Stands Alone
Charles N. Holmes Hemp Pioneer & Founder of Hempco Canada When you hear the word “hemp,” nutrition might not be the first thing that comes to mind. Many people know about hemp rope, paper and other textiles, but hemp seeds are a valuable resource as well. Hemp seed is a complete whole food, GMO-free, is an excellent source of easily digestible, non-allergenic, non -soy, alkaline forming, and gluten-free protein. Hemp protein is easier to digest than protein from soy, nuts, other seeds, dairy products, meat, fish, or poultry. It is interesting to note that, unlike hemp seed, soybean contains the anti-nutritional factors, trypsin inhibitor, which prevents protein absorption, and oligosaccharides, which causes flatulence. Also, a significant portion of the population is allergic to soy. The Breakdown Hemp seeds are made of 36 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent fat and 31 percent protein. They’re a good source of fiber and contain calcium, thiamine, iron, niacin, riboflavin, phosphorus and amino acids. A half-cup of hemp seeds contains 500 calories; they’re often used in much smaller amounts in recipes. · Contains Important Vitamins, Minerals, & Antioxidants · Most Unsaturated Fat in the Plant Kingdom · Great Source of Amino Acids · Good Source of Chlorophyll · Good source of Vegetarian Oil · 100% Natural
· Rich in GLA · Cholesterol Free · Gluten Free Kosher · Very Economical · Trans Fatty Acid Free · Flavourful Nutty Taste · Excellent Source for Vitamin E · Excellent Source of phyto-sterols · Naturally Rich in Omega 6, 3, & 9 Oils Hemp OIL & Fats Hemp seed oil is considered to be the best nutritional oil for health because its essential fatty acid (EFA) profile is closest to that required by the human body. Essential fatty acids are termed as such because the body cannot manufacture them and therefore must continually be replenished in the diet. These Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are an important part of your diet. These “good” fats help give your body energy. The oil from hemp seeds is 80 percent polyunsaturated fat and 12 percent monounsaturated fat. These fats also help lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk for heart disease. Hemp seed oil can be used like any other vegetable oil and adds a distinct nutty flavor to things like stir-fry and sauces, salads and soups. Hemp Protein, the King of Protein One of the main reasons you might choose hemp is its high protein content. Hemp protein is among the most digestible proteins available, is water-soluble, highly
digestible and contains all 10 essential amino acids. Your body readily uses the protein, utilizing it for tissue, muscle and hormone formation. Many fans of hemp protein notice enhanced muscle recovery and sustained energy when adding hemp protein into their fitness routine. When the outer shell or hull of a hemp seed is removed, the percentage of protein in the seed goes from 22 percent to 31 percent. Protein is important for maintaining healthy cells and is vital for growth and development for children, adolescents and pregnant women. Hemp seeds contain edestin, a protein that contains all the essential amino acids. Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s) Your body doesn’t make essential fatty acids, but it needs them to keep your cells healthy. Hemp seeds provide omega-3 and omega-6 (linoleic and alpha-linoleic) fatty acids in just the right balance for your body. These fatty acids regulate what gets in and out of your cells and help ensure that your body functions properly. Hemp seeds also provide gamma-linolenic acids that, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, might help with conditions such as premenstrual syndrome, eczema, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and osteoporosis. Hemp Seeds the World’s Most Nutritious Seed, Hemp Protein & Hemp Oil • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
improved brain function reduces risk of heart disease contains chlorophyll which is anti-carcinogenic aids in weight loss improved blood sugar health increase in joint comfort reduced inflammation improved skin, hair and nails better cholesterol profile relief of normal PMS symptoms stronger immune system improved mood arthritis chronic pain detoxifies the body burns fat & builds muscle Improves blood circulation lower blood pressure eczema iImproves digestion
One of the easiest ways to add the benefits of hemp seeds to your daily routine is by using it as an ingredient in smoothies. They won’t affect the taste at all, they just increase the thickness. They’ll also give your smoothie more fiber and a boatload of omega 3,6,9s! Making a morning smoothie every day (using superfoods) gives you the antioxidant benefits of at least 6 servings of dark green leafy vegetables. Hemp seeds and the oil from them can be used in many ways to add nutritional value to your diet. They have a distinctive, nutty flavor and can be added to baked goods like breads, pancakes and muffins, dinner staples like stir-fry, soup, stews, pasta sauces, meat loaf, casseroles, and snacks like smoothies, trail mix and granola. The oil can be used for frying foods, or in baked goods and salad dressings to add a different flavor and change up your usual recipes a bit. If you’re not hip to smoothies yet, they’re the easiest and best way to increase the amount of antioxidants you get from your diet. Using superfoods such as hemp seeds can boost the nutritional content of any smoothie recipe to unimaginable levels. Visit our website for more Hemp information & Hemp Recipes at www.hempcanadabulk.com You can find our Hemp products at these local stores Pharmasave Fleetwood, Guildford, Cloverdale – Nutrition House Semiahmoo Mall, Wellness Centre at the Whale Wall, Country Sun Foods White Rock and coming soon Choices Markets METANOIA 17
Everything I know about being a parent I learned as a kid. By Kasia Rachfall
In fact, it was only after I became a parent that I realized how much our childhood experiences influence our adult lives. When I had my own children I became depressed and suicidal instead of feeling happy like I thought I should be. This just didn’t add up for me. I remember a conversation with my mom about how my in-laws always won lots of money at the casino. And she said to me that happy people are luckier people. I thought to myself: why aren’t I luckier or happier? I have everything I want – a loving husband and two perfect babies – so what’s wrong with me? Why am I, at this point in my life, drowning in despair and actually contemplating ending my own life? It would be years before I would be able to fully answer that question for myself. What I realized during those long years was that my depression was the culmination of what had started years before. It was just now all coming to a head when I was faced with the responsibilities of parenting two human beings and raising them to be responsible, loving, authentic and contributing adults. As a parent I felt stuck in a dichotomy of who I wanted to be and who I actually believed I was. As a parent I wanted my kids to have everything they wanted and to teach them the real value of things and people instead of entitlement. But I felt like a victim and that the world owed me for my unhappiness. I wanted my kids to have a good work ethic without believing that money was actually really hard to make. But money was so tight for us and it was hard to get. I believed that only really smart, extraordinary and well connected people could get it. I wanted my kids to be comfortable being themselves and to be grateful for everything in their lives. But I didn’t like who I was and I found it hard to express gratitude to the people I loved most. I wanted my kids to learn how to blast through obstacles and manage their stress. But I was constantly yelling, stressed out and feeling withdrawn emotionally. I was unable to engage with those two amazing little human beings who hadn’t done anything to deserve such an awful mom. I desperately wanted to be the best role model for my kids but I didn’t know how to shake the baggage I carried from my past: Growing up in Communist Poland where the store shelves were empty and we had to scratch out our living on our little farm. Hearing 18 METANOIA
conversations as a child about how you had to know someone who knew someone to get toilet paper and soap. Being scoffed at by my father after visiting my mom’s Polio-disabled friend and expressing how grateful I was for having a fully functioning 4 year old body. I didn’t understand that he didn’t know how to respond to gratitude because he had never learned to be comfortable with it. So, that conversation I had with my mother about my in-laws being happy and lucky caused the gears of curiosity to begin turning. Both my in-laws had been born and raised in war torn Germany and yet here they were living this abundant and happy life now. My own childhood didn’t seem nearly as traumatic as growing up during World War Two – so why the heck was I so miserable? I had to figure this out because all of a sudden it appeared as though I had a choice in whether or not I felt happy. Hmmm. I began reading the work of Dr Wayne Dyer and other spiritual teachers. Even though his famous quote: “when you change the way you look at things the things you look at change” made no sense to me, my curiosity got the better of my suffering. I began piecing together a puzzle of how successful and happy people think and live. But the more I wanted to change the more stuck I felt – especially when it came to parenting. All my attempts at positive thinking weren’t working like they were supposed to and I felt like I was gaining knowledge but none of it was really helping me. I had moments when I was elated and connected with my kids, and then I had days when I was still so miserable and yelling at my kids. What helped me crack the code of the puzzle was learning Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) and Time Empowerment® Techniques. I finally understood why just thinking positively and wishing for things to change weren’t enough. Conscious will-power required a lot of energy and fought against the current of the most powerful part of me: my unconscious mind. That’s where all my childhood programming lay hidden; neatly tucked away into mental filing cabinets that made it so easy for me to behave and think. I realized that even though my childhood had been full of love from my family and we had always had just enough to live– I was now being driven by the beliefs I came to adopt about money, struggle, and my own self worth as a human being. All the significant emotional events, people, and experiences were like pearls on a string that had shaped how I now behaved, felt, and experienced the world. By studying to become a Trainer and Master Practitioner of NLP I learned how to harness the power of my unconscious mind and to unravel the web of my old beliefs and behaviours. Here was a pragmatic and scientifically proven tool that finally got me results. I finally not only felt the happiness I had wanted to feel for so long – but more importantly – I felt that I deserved to feel that happiness. My biggest learning has been that life will always bring new experiences. Yes, bad things will still happen – but judging them
Kasia Rachfall
as bad causes us to begin playing certain mental movies. When life throws us experiences we may stumble and even fall – but we always have a choice. And it’s that choice that’s the secret key to really living. It’s that choice that is now shaping who I am. By making the choice to be free of my baggage I am now an empowered woman and a great mom. And I am teaching my kids to know that they have this choice too - so that if they find themselves with any of my limitations or even pick up some of their own – which they will – they will know what to do. Everyone can make the choice to either stay down, focus on how bad it is, and how much is lacking, OR to release the past, picking themselves up, be grateful for everything beautiful in life, and take the next best step towards what they want. It’s believing that you can have what you want and it doesn’t have to be what anyone else wants – it can be whatever fills your soul and is good for you, your kids, your community and our planet. And this choice needs to be made as often as it has to be made. Choosing empowerment
has led me to empower my kids and to dedicate my career to empowering other kids by releasing their parents past hurts, limitations, and other baggage. I am so grateful to be on this path and to be making a contribution to families.
is an effervescent speaker, author of Keys For Moms: Enough is Enough! and parenting expert whose grand golden mission is to empower children through releasing their parents from preconceived values, guilt, past hurts, and judgement. Starting at the source, she assists parents to bring conscious responsibility to the future. Kasia has lived and experienced the undercurrents of unhappiness and the in-your-face realities of our frantic lifestyles that often have parents digging deep for empty resources. With intuitive and practical tools, Kasia holds your heart while you move forward and take control of your life. www.freshperspectiveworks.com
VACCINATIONS: How osteopathy can help. Vaccinations use stabilizers which must be processed by the liver and lungs in order for them to be metabolized and excreted. These organs can get overworked if weak or if too many foregin substances are being processed at the same time. This may be why some children have no problems processing the vaccine and some may get temporarily sick. Osteopathy is a gentle, hands-on treatment technique which acts on the tissues surrounding the organs in order to restore mobility and function to a weakened or overworked organ. This process can be used to assess and treat the liver and lungs after vaccination to identify dysfunction and restore health to these tissues. Every child is unique. Every child will respond differently to their environment and to events in their lives. We can only support them to the best of our knowledge. References: - www.endurancephysiotherapy.ca/myofascial - http://www.osteopathie-canada.ca/en/page/definition-osteopathy - Public Health Agency of Canada - Canadian Pediatric Society Sarah Stevens, BScPT, BPHE, CACFI, RCAMT specializes in Pediatrics and Women’s Health. She is a university trained physiotherapist who graduated from Queen’s University in 2001. She has certifications in acupuncture and performing manipulation and is currently studying manual osteopathy. She sees patients out of the Mountainview Wellness Centre. Her website: www.endurancephysiotherapy.ca
METANOIA 19
20 METANOIA
FREEDOM &
POPULATION GROWTH By Allison Patton, MBA Thomas Robert Malthus who lived from 1766 to 1834 popularized the economic theory of rent. However it was his writing “An Essay on the Principle of Population” published from 1798 to 1826 that he is most remembered for. In essence his statement “The power of population growth is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce sustenance for man” said it all. For good measure he added, “The superior power of population is repressed and the actual population kept equal to the means of subsistence by misery and vice”. These controversial statements, at the time and even now, relied on the notion that agricultural techniques would more or less remain stagnant while the population would continue to grow until population growth met resistance from the limited amount of resources available. But the world population has been growing and resources have been found to sustain that growth. In fact western countries are using immigration as a means to increase growth particularly as a way to provide pensions from a youthful working population to sustain a non working aging population. The United States currently is the only developed nation where the fertility rate exceeds the replacement rate, and yet the anticipated problems of maintaining an aged population are as dire as in Japan where no such replacement exists. China and India are looking forward to having to respond to similar problems. Russia is currently in negative population growth while Japan, Germany and Italy have made plans to reduce replacement growth. There is no panacea in resolving the population problem. Decrease the population growth rate and the aged suffer-increase it and the resources are consumed at unsustainable levels which will ultimately lead to major catastrophes for both the young and the old. The feeble dependent old and overworked and underpaid youth do not make a good mix. The responsibilities the young in taking care of the aged is unlikely to create incentives that drive an economy. Even in good times the old are left to their own devices, mostly to stagnate in care facilities. But aside from the notion of creating sustainable growth for an ever increasing population, is there not also an existential problem? Freedom has become a topic of discussion ironically as it pertains
to the law particularly in the context of the relationship of a person to state or as an economic factor in the flow of goods between countries. The sense that freedoms must be checked out with the authorities or determined by the legal system contrasts the notion that freedom has no boundaries and all constraints reduce freedoms. And therefore all systems, rules, regulations and laws impinge on someone’s ability to do freely what they want. That is not to say that we can do without them- but it is to say that what is left over are rights- not freedoms and that as the population grows even the rights become less and less numerous. Even the freedom to choose narrows the possibilities. As free children we do not look at the choices available-we just do what we do with alacrity without fear of criticism or judgement. There is a sense of tyranny in the voices that try to control- and the more control we feel, the more our true nature goes underground and the more likely we are to rebel. With ever increasing population the narrower the spaces, less air to breath, the jungles and forests where we roamed and found solace- now become parks, the food bland and lacking nourishment, the clothing more about status than comfort and warmth and education is about fitting into prescribed systems. We are told that we are all created equal- but still the systems decide whether or not we are and the systems are controlled by those who got there first. Education is more likely to set the limits than create the opportunities, and freedom to choose is about what is being offered- not about that innate ability that is creative and absent of boundaries. While civilization demands a modicum of conformity- it changes dramatically the overt intentions and subverts individual intentions. The drama occurs when there is overkill by the conformists- after all “they” are the ones who decide how the “lesser ones” (by definition) ought to perform. Overpopulation is the cause of the erosion of freedom and one of the consequences is the creation of more criminal minds because of their inability or lack of competence in operating under rules intended for those who enjoy the safety of conformity (in being told how to live and why). Those who conform are part of the system because not only do they benefit by what the system providesbut as well control it by resisting change when others challenge them. But over population overrides everyone’s sense of freedomeven those who have jobs when they think they have it made- and ultimately the meaning we each seek in our life is incapable of being sought because space has become the scarcest commodity of all.
Lorna’s most fulfilling accomplishment is her family. She has four adult children and five grandchildren. Her partner and she have three teenage boys. Their immediate family is seventeen. During her younger days when she was going to university studying premed and working full time, her children never complained. Today, two of her children and a daughter-in-law work in her business. When she received the Canadian Health Food Association Hall of Fame Award in 2009, my youngest daughter remarked that there were years when Lorna was on the road lecturing half the year. At that moment she realized how much the support and love of her family had enabled her to do what she did and does to this day. Lorna feels blessed; she has a wonderful life partner, her kids are all healthy and happy and she gets to do what she loves every single day. What brings Lorna joy? Cooking, entertaining for friends, a big family dinner with lots of healthy, delicious food and, children bring her the greatest joy because they make her feel young and alive.
Lorna Vanderhaeghe
-Author, Women’s Health Expert, Entrepreneur
I have known Lorna Vanderhaeghe for over five years as a colleague in my work as a naturopathic physician. I have always found Lorna to be a person of action with a passion for creating the life story that she has envisioned.
Lorna has been involved in the health promotion and prevention field for over 30 years. When I asked her what drives her to do the things that she does, her answer was threefold. Initially Lorna was determined to tell everyone she could about the wonders of nutritional medicine. Then, after her daughter was cured of her eczema with essential fatty acids, she was driven to tell people that there was so much more to healing than what doctors recommended. Most recently, what drives Lorna is the embedded memory of a conversation she had with a woman in the Okanagan after one of her lectures. This woman beckoned Lorna to the back of the lecture room, unbuttoned her blouse and showed her where her left breast used to be. She then said to Lorna that the message she was delivering was very powerful and that she should not stop but instead remember this moment and remember how important it is to tell women the truth about their hormones. When asked about Lorna demonstrating courage in her life, she replied, “Courage is the woman who has had the breast removed in the Okanagan.”
22 METANOIA
Human strength is an inspiration to Lorna. Every day she receives an email or a letter from someone who has been diagnosed with cancer or a life-threatening condition. Over and over she hears them say that the disease was the best thing that ever happened to them because they learned how to love every minute of their life.
Lorna is angered the most by the medical system. The doctors are overwhelmed; they have too many patients and no time to really practice good medicine so even great doctors end up providing mediocre care. She has story after story of women waiting three months for radiation treatment to treat their breast cancer, or women waking up after ovarian cancer surgery with an estrogen patch on their backside when they were being treated for an estrogen-related cancer or a young 22 yr old who had a complete hysterectomy because her mom had ovarian cancer and she was given to other option, or when a doctor dismisses a treatment only because he/she has not education about that treatment. The lack of education that the doctors have about the science behind natural medicine also frustrates her. When asked what she is most afraid of, she replied, “I was raised by a single mom with a grade 9 education who went back to school to become an accountant. She always said what is the worst thing that can happen in any situation?-someone will say NO. So I grew up without much fear.” But....she is afraid of the dentist, really afraid..... needs valium afraid....due to a bad experience when she was six. Outside of that she is pretty fearless and feels she has to be to go out there and stand out in front of people and tell them her opinions. “There is nothing more raw than being in the public eye.” She has emails after doing TV shows where people tell her that she looked tired or
that she shouldn’t wear certain colours.
In terms of life going as planned, Lorna sees a shift from the shy person she was in school to the person doing hundreds of lectures per year. She believes that opportunities happen in our lives and you can either embrace them or pass them by. She decided at one point in her life to take advantage of every opportunity. Currently her life is very scheduled by her publicist; she doesn’t do anything without looking at that schedule.
would not let her. Eventually Lorna realized that she still had a lot of work to do educating people so she stopped feeling sorry for herself and did it all again. She launched Lorna Vanderhaeghe Health Solutions Inc. with her new improved line of women’s nutritional supplements. Her mentor was Linus Pauling. She was fortunate to have worked at the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine for five years. Lorna spent a lot
In terms of a ten year plan, she thinks about where she wants to be then, she writes it down and then she goes for it.
The only thing that she would have changed in her life was that she wished that she would have gone to medical school. She was accepted but by then her children were in their teens and moving across the country to leave them for 18 hours a day to go to med school would not have worked for them.
Success has changed her Lorna says. It has made her more conscious. Lorna doesn’t take anything for granted. It took her years to hire a house cleaner and then she would clean the house before she came so as not to feel guilty about the mess. It also took years to get used to someone wanting her autograph in her books. She feels that she is just like any other woman though.
The most challenging event in her life was when her best friend of 26 years took away a business that they had built together. For days Lorna cried on the sofa and would not leave the house. She could have given up at that moment but those who love her
Prize. In those days women were not recognized for the work that they did so she would set up the events and he would do the talking but it was really her prize. Lorna feels that these men broke new ground for nutritional medicine. Each of them taught her something that she keeps with her to this day; they changed her life she remarks. As for her being a mentor to others; women out there tell Lorna that she is their mentor. When she retires she would like to help women become business owners. My final question was this: What makes your life relevant? Lorna’s response: “That’s a big question to end with. I am just one person trying to make a difference in this world.” Bio: Lorna Vanderhaeghe is Canada’s leading women’s health expert. With degrees in nutrition and biochemistry, she is the author of eleven books including A Smart Woman’s Guide to Weight Loss. In 2009, Lorna won the Canadian Health Food Association’s most prestigious award, the Hall of Fame Award. In 2011, Lorna Vanderhaeghe was ranked as one of the Top 100 Canadian Female Entrepreneurs of 2011 by PROFIT Magazine. She has a free monthly newsletter and her website:
of time with the “great greats in the nutritional medicine world.” Emanuel Cheraskin, Abram Hoffer, Dr. Lendon Smith and Linus Pauling. She remembers stories about them. One evening after a day with Dr. Pauling, She was dropping him off at his hotel room and he said that he would love to have tea. He told her that he missed his wife deeply and that she was really the true winner of the Nobel Peace
www.hormonehelp.com.
By Dr Allison Patton, MBA METANOIA 23
A LEAP FORWARD The Inaugural Conference of the Oncology Association of Naturopathic Physicians by Dr. Caleb Ng, ND Naturopathic medicine took a giant leap forward as the Oncology Association of Naturopathic Physicians (OncANP) held its first conference just north of Phoenix, Arizona in the scenic town of Carefree in February of this year. The association has been in existence since its inception in 2004 and has offered naturopathic doctors a way to converse and exchange information regarding the expansive and ever-changing landscape that is Naturopathic Oncology, but this conference represents a significant milestone as this is the first time that members of this association have had their own forum to learn and discuss in person.
that reviewed the safety and efficacy of various medicines utilized in naturopathic and integrative medical clinics. IV therapies included the use of low and high dose vitamin C, mistletoe extracts, and alpha lipoic acid (an essential anti-oxidant that allows for aerobic energy production as well as several other protective and restorative processes in the body). The presentation on IV alpha lipoic acid was given by Dr. Burton Berkson, a medical doctor whose career started over 30 years ago by using IV alpha lipoic acid to save the lives of patients that were expected by his superiors to die of liver failure from mushroom poisoning.
The weekend opened with a preconference intravenous therapy workshop
The official first day of lectures was started off with a sincere and humble address from the president of OncANP, Dr. Jacob Schor, ND (Dr. Schor is known in the profession for his medical writing contributions as well as insightful commentary on various topics that patients, practitioners or people in general encounter in everyday life). He said when they started getting the conference organized they were concerned they might have trouble getting 100 attendees and 6 vendors confirmed, but the interest was definitely there and in the end, the conference sold out with 250 attendees and 24 vendors and some vendors had to be turned away due to space limitations.
OncANP also provides: • A referral service for the public who are seeking practitioners of naturopathic oncology • and a credentialing process for qualified naturopathic doctors with its FABNO designation (Fellowship with the American Board of Naturopathic Oncologists)
24 METANOIA
Innovation and novel uses of naturopathic/integrative therapies in oncology was provided by Dr. Gurdev Parmar, ND, FABNO, as he spoke on the use of Hyperthermia in oncology; Dr. Donald Abrams, MD and medical oncologist who presented substantial data on the use and benefits of medical cannibis in integrative medicine; and Dr. Berkson who presented on the use of Low Dose Naltrexone for the treatment of cancer. Updates and experience in the mitigation of adverse effects and collateral damage from chemotherapy and radiation with the use of nutritive and restorative medicines was presented in lectures by Dr. Davis Lamson, ND; Dr. Timothy Birdsall, ND,
Dr. Caleb Ng, ND with Dr. Leesa Kirshner, ND, FABNO, Chief Clinical Medical Officer of the Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre and team members.
FABNO, ; Dr. Heidi Kussman, ND, FABNO; and Dr. Keith Block, MD. More introspective presentations were given by Dr. Lise Alschuler, ND, FABNO as she presented not only direct links of the effects that stress has on cancer, but supportive and confirming data as well; Dr. Daniel Rubin, ND, FABNO presented on biological markers that correlate with the progression or remission of cancer; and Dr. Walter Crinnion, ND as he presented on the role of environmental toxins in bloodrelated cancers. The information presented reviewed treatment protocols, treatment strategies, experience and current data confirming that those who employed the use of integrative oncology fared better than those that did not. Presenters showed data indicating results that ranged from improving quality of life to improving survival times many times over conventional treatment alone and occasionally hopeless cases that responded surprisingly well and eventually led to curative outcomes. This information has led to the research question asked by Dr. Leanna Standish, ND, FABNO in her proposed research agenda which she presented at the conference, “Does integrative oncology care influence patient outcomes?” Even the American government has taken notice as the National Institute of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has approved grant money to Bastyr University to work with
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, UW Medicine to work with select integrative oncology clinics to carry out research to answer this question. A quote from Penny Block summed up the take home message of the conference which was, “The conventional approach in the treatment of cancer is necessary, but not enough.” Acupuncturist and epidemiologist, Dr. Michael McCulloch presented information that quantified this sentiment and showed how the use of complementary and alternative medicine in the United States has been consistently climbing while the number of new drug approvals has been declining over the last 15 years. The information presented seemed to offer value to younger doctors as well as elders in the profession as the presentation room had good audience retention from the first lecture to the last. Desert wildflowers and towering cacti decorated the grounds of the Carefree Resort facilities and the location was in the scenic foothills of the Sonoran Desert. There were many compliments on the location and there seemed to be no complaints about the food or facilities. This sets a high bar for future or other conferences presenting information on integrative oncology, but if this year is any indication of OncANP conferences to come we have a lot to look forward to.
Dr. Caleb Ng, ND with Dr. Keith Block, MD and Penny Block of the Block Center for Integrated Cancer Care
Dr. Caleb Ng, ND with medical writer and reviewer of alternative medicine for cancer, Ralph Moss
Dr. Caleb Ng, ND with Dr. Jacob Schor, ND, FABNO, President of the Oncology Association of Naturopathic Physicians
Integrative Oncology The term integrative oncology embodies the vision of OncANP which is to enhance the survival and quality of life of patients affected by cancer by utilizing best practices of complementary and alternative medicine and conventional medicine which often times means chemotherapy, radiation and/or surgery. Integrative oncology is an approach that all naturopathic oncologists, more holistically minded medical doctors, and other health professionals adhere to. Oftentimes this apporach will be tailored to the individual to optimize outcomes regardless of the therapies that the pracitioner was formally trained in.
METANOIA 25
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Other People’s Money (OPM - Pronounced OPiuM)
Government’s use and pace of increased use of OPM has become a raging addiction at all levels of government in many countries around the world. OPM, like its chemical counterpart, can be defined as “The continued use of a mood altering addictive substance or behaviour despite adverse consequences (Wikipedia).” An indicator of government OPM addiction is the increasingly frequent increases to taxes and levies on citizens whose interests it purports to represent. The addict is dependent upon access to ever greater quantities of OPM.
unpleasant. Then take more money from some to buy interest group votes to get re-elected. For a time, the illusion of financial well-being continues. Eventually the system collapses. Deluding others is a self-destructive behaviour of OPM addicts.
The United States provides a severely addicted OPM example. The US Federal Government annual deficit is $1.3 trillion, or $108.3 billion/month of expenditures exceeding revenues. The Democrats’ solution is to raise taxes on the rich to solve the problem; no need to stop spending. The 10 richest AmeriSounds a lot like the financial misman- cans (Gates, Buffet, Walton family, etc.) agement behaviours in places like: have a combined net worth of $270 bilGreece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Italy, lion (counting the money committed to and the United States of America. British community development) accumulated Columbia is going in a similar direction over a combined 400-450 years of work. with it’s out of control debt. Repeated If every cent of that money was applied avoidance of basic principles of appro- to the US deficit, the $270 billion would priate fiscal management has continued be spent in 2 1/2 months. Who is next for years, now with serious debilitating for more OPM after that is gone? consequences. Prudent financial management is simple. Do not spend more British Columbia’s Liberal Government than you take in. What is spent should has a serious OPM addiction. The Libadd value to the citizens served, not ex- erals have spent massive amounts of cessive debt servicing. Ignoring these money, eclipsing the NDP who were principles, results in governments’ re- voted out of office, in part, for leaving a lentless search for more OPM. $32 billion debt. The Liberals increased that debt to $60 billion that we know of. Use of OPM begins simply enough, BCs Auditor General John Doyle (Naa little tax increase here, a new or in- tional Post 2/21/2012) “reprimanded creased levy there. Spend lots when the the province in a report last year for albusiness cycle is hot. Keep spending lowing one of its largest Crown corpowhen the business cycle cools. Spend- rations, BC Hydro, to improperly defer ing is fun; fiscal restraint is politically expenses to future years…making BC
Hydro’s bottom line look better than it really is.” There is little confidence that the real debt is being reported. The Liberals need ever more OPM to service this debt. A 1% increase in interest rate translates into an additional $600,000,000/year for debt servicing. Interest must be paid from the budget; basic service delivery is the casualty unless there is more OPM. BC Government OPM addicts are innovative. A small sample list: skim money from ICBC insurance premiums, skim money from BC Hydro rates and then increase rates to pay for Hydro debt, the HST debacle, and several carbon tax increases. Not to be forgotten is Translink, that insatiable addict that comes back for more OPM no matter how much OPM it gets.
Author: Rick Taylor Surrey, BC rmtaylor@telus.net METANOIA 27
Vaccines and your Child Vaccines and your Child Seminar and Open House Vaccines and your Child Seminar and Open House with Dr Allison Patton, N.D. with Drand Allison Patton,House N.D. Seminar Open with Dr Allison Patton, N.D.
Thursday April 12, 2012 at 7pm Thursday April 12, 2012 at 7pm
Tickets areApril $ 10; space is limited Thursday 12, 2012 at 7pm Tickets are $ 10; space is limited call Mountainview Wellness Centre call Mountainview Wellness Centre to reserve tickets (604) or visit Tickets are $ (604) 10; space is538-8837 limited to reserve tickets 538-8837 or visit mountainviewwellnesscentre.ca call Mountainview Wellness Centre mountainviewwellnesscentre.ca to reserve tickets (604) 538-8837 or visit mountainviewwellnesscentre.ca Open House Partners you will be meeting at the event:
Open House Partners you will be meeting at the event:
Open House Partners you will be meeting at the event:
Miki Dawson Kaela Scott Sarah Stevens Alison Legge Kasia Rachfall April Lacheur Author and Artist Registered Clinical Physiotherapist/ Aromatherapist Author, Speaker, Artist Miki Dawson Kaela Scott Sarah Stevens Alison Legge Kasia Rachfall April Lacheur Counsellor Osteopath Parenting Expert Author and Artist Registered Clinical Physiotherapist/ Aromatherapist Author, Speaker, Artist Counsellor Osteopath Parenting Expert Miki Dawson Author and Artist
Sarah Stevens Physiotherapist/ Osteopath
Kasia Rachfall Author, Speaker, Parenting Expert
Kaela Scott Registered Clinical Counsellor
April Lacheur Artist
Alison Legge Aromatherapist
www.freshperspectiveworks.com www.freshperspectiveworks.com
3566 King George Blvd.,Surrey, British Columbia, Canada www.mountainviewwellnesscentre.ca www.freshperspectiveworks.com 3566 King George Blvd.,Surrey, British Columbia, Canada www.mountainviewwellnesscentre.ca 3566 King George Blvd.,Surrey, British Columbia, Canada www.mountainviewwellnesscentre.ca 28 METANOIA
Mistaking Detours for Dead-Ends by Seth Meltzer
Back in 2002 while living in Warwick, Rhode Island I discovered an inspirational lighthouse where the Narragansett Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. I visited often because I felt that the serenity of this beautiful spot grounded me, it helped me clear my head and re-focus on my plans to achieve my dreams. At the time I was working in the sales profession, and although I was quite successful it wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to be an entrepreneur…correction: a wealthy entrepreneur and I was particularly drawn to real estate. I wanted to build skyscrapers. Years passed and I wasn’t making any progress, I was living paycheck to paycheck. Although I made a decent living I was so frustrated with what I thought to a dead-end job that I actually quit twice, only to change my mind at the last moment… “A rut is a coffin with the ends kicked out” I once heard, and boy did I feel I was in a rut. I was a “nine to fiver,” I had a J.O.B. (just over broke). From time to time I would flex my entrepreneurial muscles, I started lots of businesses that didn’t go anywhere. I joined a tech start-up, and started another one myself, I invented a device to help people with cold hands stay warm, I had a business plan prepared to start a retirement recordkeeping service until a $400/ hour attorney shot my dreams down. My wife listened to me complain for years that I should have done things differently, that I should have taken a different path and that someday I would have to figure out a way to get out of sales and into being a business owner like I dreamed of.
much about my dead-end job because now I was actually doing something, I felt I was finally making progress. I continued to purchase additional properties, and although I was making my fair share of mistakes and learning along the way I was invigorated by the experience. Naturally I enjoyed the many small successes I had, but ironically I was so excited to be “making progress” that I even enjoyed my many small failures, I viewed them as learning opportunities and if I was going to own skyscrapers someday I needed those lessons. As time went on I realized that in order to move up to the larger units that I needed a team, I needed partners with complementary skills to lend credibility, experience, and seed money to take the leap up to the next level. I had become friends with the real estate attorney as well as property manager that I met on my first deal, and through trial and error of additional partners we ended up with a fourth partner who was a business consultant, film-maker, and professional fundraiser. Building the right team we all solidified our unique roles, and to my great surprise- and believe it or not my satisfaction- I was the sales and marketing guy! I was able to transfer all of my skills over to help the new venture. In hindsight I realize that the highly developed skills I had cultivated over the prior ten years had positioned me perfectly to take the lead role as CEO of our new venture! As they say the CEO needs to be the lead sales person. My partners and I form Penta Development Group, and we just closed on our second real estate development project. We raised US$400,000 and borrowed US$1.1million to convert a 5 story office building to 14 upscale residential apartments with a commercial storefront.
Five stories high isn’t exactly a skyscraper, but it’s a good start. And from now on I’ll try not to mistake necessary and valuable detours for dead-ends.
About five years ago things started to change. Fed up, I bought a 12 unit multi-family property that would be a launching pad for my real estate development career. I stopped complaining so
30 METANOIA
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THE SPEECH John Cummins addresses The Surrey Board of Trade.
more in taxes than in any province west of Quebec. That means more than Ontario and more than NDP-run Manitoba. On top of this is the cost of living in this province. I don’t need to remind you of the various international surveys that have come out in the past few months that show the greater Vancouver area to be one of the most expensive places in the world to live. When you combine higher taxes, higher unemployment and higher cost of living than the provinces we compete with the most, you would expect people to leave. And that is exactly what happened in 2011. Last year, more people moved out of BC to other provinces than moved here. For me this is an extremely telling measure – people have a choice about where they can afford to live, where they keep more of their money and where they can find a job. And they are not choosing BC. The statistics on interprovincial migration only go back to the late 1960’s, and since then, this is only the third time that BC has seen more people choosing to leave for other parts of Canada than come here. The other two times were in the mid-1970’s and again in the late 1990’s. Both times coincided with the NDP running the province. Imagine that Christy Clark and the Liberals have accomplished something no free-enterprise government has done before – drive people out of BC. I want BC to be the best place to live and find a job, a place where people from across Canada choose to come and live, not only because it is beautiful, but because they can afford to live here and get good jobs. That’s why I moved to BC. When I came here as a young man, this was the place to be. Across Canada the word was that if you wanted to find good work, build a life and raise a family, British Columbia was the best place to do it. And I want BC to become that place once again. So going into this budget I was looking for policies to address these problems – high taxes, high unemployment and a high cost of living. There are no easy fixes, and I didn’t expect Minister Falcon to wave a magic wand and solve all British Columbia’s problems. But I did hope for progress.
Good afternoon. Thank you for inviting me to speak at the Surrey Board of Trade. I’m here to speak with you about the budget that the Liberal government tabled on Tuesday. In order to understand the budget and what it means for the future of BC, we have to understand some facts about BC’s economy and the state of the economies we are competing against. British Columbia has the worst unemployment rate in the west. It isn’t a surprise that unemployment is worse than Alberta, or even newly booming Saskatchewan. But we trail NDP-run Manitoba as well, and by a significant amount. When comes to income taxes BC is very competitive, but families pay far more than just income taxes. When you include the highest gas taxes in Canada, taxes are going up another 3 cents a litre this spring in the lower mainland, MSP premiums and other fees and surcharges that are also going up – the average family in BC pays
Instead we got the reverse. We got a budget that takes us backwards. Just last Monday, only 24 hours before he delivered the budget Kevin Falcon said this about the NDP, and I quote “They’ve already committed to raising business taxes, small business taxes... exactly the road map that was in place in the 1990s” But on Tuesday Falcon did exactly those things himself. Corporate taxes are going up. Small business taxes are going up. Medical Service Plan premiums are going up. Gas taxes are going up. All of which will make businesses in BC less competitive, less able to expand and hire more people. To make matters worse the cost of living will increase as well Hydro rates are going up. Insurance rates are going up. BC will be a more expensive place to live taxes are going up for everyone for families and for seniors. And we have to consider Hydro and ICBC rate increase as taxes, because both of these profitable crown corporations have been raided to pay for spending in Victoria. This fiscal year the transfer comes to $712 million and next year, when the budget is supposed to be balanced it depends on $829 million coming from the pockets of ratepayers.
These transfers are so large that we see both BC Hydro and ICBC raising their rates. And who pays? Anyone who uses electricity or operates a vehicle in BC. But it’s worse than that because since electricity and transportation costs are priced into the cost of running a business – this means that the price of almost everything in BC will go up as well, or businesses will be forced to absorb the cost meaning less growth, and fewer jobs.
businesses in BC $281 million this year alone. I’ve run a small business and I know how thin margins are, I understand how difficult it is to make ends meet in this economy, and I know how easy it is to put off a major investment or hire a new employee. I know small business people who were counting on this tax cut, and are now having to redo their plans for 2012 because they will have to pay more taxes than they expected.
Their approach to the corporate tax rate says a lot about the mindset of Premier Clark’s Liberal government. What the Minister of Finance said in his budget speech is that if economic growth isn’t enough he’ll be forced to raise corporate taxes in April of 2013. Think about that – the so-called free-enterprise Finance Minister thinks the solution to low economic growth is higher taxes on corporations. I believe just the opposite. If we want to create jobs we should be lowering tax rates, not jacking them up.
What really adds insult to injury is the fact that this small business tax hike was one of the items the government promised in its package to fix HST. Remember last spring when they promised to reduce the HST to 10%, well one of the ways they were to pay for it was by cancelling the small business tax cut. The people of BC voted in the summer, and rejected the Premier’s HST package, including the small business tax hike. Well the people said no, but small business gets punished anyway.
But when you actually look at the budget document the truth is even more concerning. This tax hike is included in the budget, no matter what the economy does. Corporate taxes are going up in just over a year and when this budget passes it will be the law. This will hurt the economy, and kill jobs. It will drive more people looking for work to Alberta and Saskatchewan. What makes this tax hike even harder to swallow is that corporate taxes were being reduced from 12% to 10% in order to offset the carbon tax. Well corporate taxes are going back up to 11%, and every business in the province will still have to pay the full carbon tax. In fact, the carbon tax is going up another 1 cent per litre on July 1st. The approach to small businesses is even worse. Small businesses are the most productive part of our economy. They create the most jobs, and they are the places where creative and intelligent British Columbians transform ideas into wealth and jobs. Small businesses were supposed to see their taxes cut to 0% on April 1st. This was a bold policy that I supported – what a great message to send to the world – that BC doesn’t charge small businesses any income tax. But the Liberals cancelled that tax cut. In effect they have raised taxes on small business. This hike will cost small
The increase in MSP premiums is just as bad. Everyone will have to pay more – about 4% more. Making it more expensive to live and work in BC. And since many businesses pay the MSP premiums for their employees, they have effectively raised payroll taxes on top of the corporate and small business tax hikes. These are not the actions of a government committed to economic growth, these are the actions of a government committed to the fig leaf of balanced budgets by nickel and diming British Columbians to cover their spending problem. And that’s what BC has – a spending problem. This budget is trying to claim that spending will drop this year by about half a billion dollars. Nothing could be further from the truth. The government has booked the entire cost of the $1.6 billion HST repayment to Ottawa in the 2011/12 fiscal year. So while they claim that spending in the year just ending was about $44.4 billion and will drop to $43.9 billion in 2012/13, in fact real spending was $42.8 billion in 2011/12. Which means that spending is projected to go up by about $1.1 billion over the next year. And of course that assumes that the government can actually stick to their spending targets. Just in this past fiscal year, the first full year of Christy Clark’s Premiership, spending ballooned to $881
million over budget. Now everyone knows there will be some variance around budget targets, but with the Liberals in charge the variance is always in the direction of spending more than was planned. Next year spending is projected to go up by 2.5%, but real growth in the economy is projected to increase by only 1.8%. The economy is the tax base, and if spending keeps growing faster than the economy the province will end up going down the path of Ontario. Just like when the NDP was in power spending is out of control. And with spending out of control comes debt. And debt is simply deferred taxation. The dramatic rise in BC’s debt is the untold story of the Liberal government. In 2006/07 the province’s total debt sat at $33.4 billion. This year it will hit $57.5 billion, and will grow to $66.4 billion in 2014/15. That means in eight years of Liberal government the debt will have grown by 98.8% That means $7,500 more debt for every man, woman and child in BC. This growth in debt is even worse than NDP- led Manitoba. Increasing debt at this rate is not the definition of conservative financial management. Speaking of accounting smoke and mirrors, Consider This: Although the government is claiming there will be a surplus of $154 million in the 2013/14 fiscal year, the provincial debt will be increasing by nearly $5.1 billion. Let me repeat: a surplus budget of $154 million, but debt increasing $5.1 billion? Even if the government is calling it a surplus, the government is spending more than it is taking in. The only surplus the government is going to achieve is a surplus of debt. The projected surplus of $154 million just in time for the election is a mirage. We know the Liberals cannot contain spending and hit their budget targets, and their tax hikes on job creators will reduce revenue and possibly increase social assistance costs. But on top of this a large part of the projected surplus depends on a gamble on natural gas prices. BC’s natural gas royalty revenues are dependent on natural gas prices, and I’m
METANOIA 33
sure as everyone here knows the price of natural gas is at the lowest levels since the late 1990’s. Prices are not projected to rise quickly, but the government is depending on big increases. Using the futures market, which is basically the considered opinion of people who are willing to put their money where their mouths are we have calculated significantly lower revenues for the government of BC. This year the shortfall is projected to be $74 million, and next year it rises to $116 million. That would only leave a surplus of $38 million – and this is a government that overspent by $881 million last year. The only way BC can get back into surplus is by restraining spending, and lowering spending and pursuing policies that will encourage job creation and economic growth. I have spent a lot of time speaking about what is wrong with this Liberal budget which has taken a page from the NDP and put BC on a path of high spending, higher taxes, out of control debt and fewer jobs. But I want to take a few minutes to discuss what we would do differently. Two of the core principles of British Columbia’s Conservative party are that we must live within our means and get government out of the way of economic growth. Everything we do is seen through the lens of what can we do to make BC the place where young people stay, and other Canadians choose to move. A place where starting a small business is easy, where it is easy to hire new employees and where average families can afford to live in the communities they grew up in. The approach a new BC Conservative government would take has two essential components – tax relief and spending restraint. We will get spending under control, and that includes health care spending. A BC Conservative government would undertake a comprehensive spending review and cut and eliminate programs based on the following criteria: -Does this program help economic growth? -Does this program help people who, through no fault of their own, cannot help themselves? -Does this program make BC a better place to live, work and raise a family? The simple truth is that if a program does not do one of those three things, the government has no business providing it. If a program does not meet one of those three criteria it will be phased out or eliminated outright. We will restructure the civil service to ensure that more money flows to front line workers, not middle managers. Through attrition we will reduce the ratio of managers to workers within each department. We will deliver a balanced budget every year we are in office. Tax relief is vital to get our economy going again and to create more jobs. The first tax the BC Conservatives will eliminate is the Carbon Tax. There are three reasons for this:
34 METANOIA
1. Everyone pays the carbon tax. To heat your home, every time you fill up at the pump, large corporations and small businesses pay, everyone pays. Eliminating this tax wholesale will give instant relief to people all over the province and in every sector of the economy. 2. Because the Carbon Tax is a tax on transportation it is a tax on everything. Every good you purchase has transportation costs embedded in it. Eliminating the carbon tax will put downward pressure on the price of many goods that we all buy everyday. This will help BC become a more affordable place to live. 3. The Pacific Carbon Trust is a carbon bureaucracy that forces public institutions to pay carbon offsets. Last year that amounted to $18.2 million taken from schools and hospitals and sent to purchase carbon credits from large energy companies. Just two examples from Surrey – they charged the Surrey School District $497,000 and took $62,000 from Kwantlen Polytechnic. That’s over half a million dollars out of education in Surrey alone. Tuesday’s budget was not a conservative budget. It was not a restraint budget. It was a budget devoted to out of control spending, a doubling of the debt in only eight years, raising taxes on job creators and raising the cost of living of everyday British Columbians. It did nothing to address the problems that BC faces. This budget is proof of why we need the new BC Conservatives. When it comes to spending and taxes the Liberals have more in common with the NDP than with the Conservatives. We are the only party pledged to getting spending under control. We are the only party pledged to reduce taxes on job creators and make BC more affordable for everyone. We are the only party concerned about BC’s ballooning debt-levels. We are the only party who will scrap the carbon tax. We are doing this because we know that the people of British Columbia deserve better than two tax and spend parties. BC can lead Canada again, we can make BC the most attractive province to live, work, invest and raise a family. Thank you having me here today.
What are the qualities that you look for in your Naturopathic Doctor? COMPETENCE INTELLIGENCE INTEGRITY COMPASSION
METANOIA 35
Horoscope Pisces Some people change their opinion like they change their underwear. Before having one, study the issues, understand the potential conflicts, ask questions and be circumspect in all you say.
Aries Learning has its limits. Experience is ultimately what gives you the confidence to move forward. You will never be a pilot by just reading books-although it doesn’t hurt as place to start. Just don’t assume that’s all there is.
Taurus When you express your thoughts to someone, what you say may end up defining who you are for them. Remember that everything you think you know now, sooner or later will be replaced by newer and better information, but your listener may never let you forget what you said.
Gemini You don’t have to hit the wall to learn how to be prudent in what you do. We all have some sense of the future or the multitude of consequences that may occur as a result of our unfounded optimism. Making fear work for you is different from making fear stifle you. Knowing where that difference lies is a measure of your effectiveness in dealing with life issues.
Cancer A joyful life is one that is challenging enough to make you think and work but not overwhelm you or be boring. Remember that joy is not frivolous. It too requires effort.
Leo Getting a group to coordinate their efforts is like trying to coral cats. It can be done, but it will take a long time, and one should only contemplate it if the benefits should outweigh the difficulty it takes.
By Oneih Siel
Virgo Starting a new project before you’ve completed an old one will leave you with a lot of unfinished projects. The time spent will never be recovered and moreover there will never be a payoff.
Libra Reacquaint yourself with long lost old friends. Find out how much you’ve changed during the intervening years and determine what more needs to be done.
Scorpio The best information you get about anything is always the first information. Listen carefully to what is said as people are leaving and you will learn more truths about them and their proposals than you did during the entire prior exchange.
Sagittarius Love is in the stars, which means you’re preparing yourself for another miserable relationship. Notice how everything that was going so well for you disintegrates when you find love. Love may have been the answer for the beetles, but for you it’s a disaster. Read a book instead
Capricorn For once in your life take on too much and don’t worry about it. The concern you have for wasting your time on doing something is out proportion to how much time you waste doing nothing and not being concerned about it. Get busy.
Aquarius New relationship, old relationships. What’s the difference? They’re all exhausting if you can’t get what you what out of the time you invest in them. Try changing your venue and then see what relationship can bring you.
Mountainview WELLNESS CENTRE
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THE RANT Entitlements BY HANK LEIS
The term “entitlement” has been incorporated, not only into the common day vernacular, but into the framework of law. It is not only that the term is being used in the sense that it is up to the state to provide certain (sometimes not as basic) needs, but as a deliverable that should be assumed with without any thought as to who, or if anyone pays for it. Health care, government pensions, employment insurance are among the few deliverables that we all expect and provide as a measure of our total responsibility as part of our membership as citizens of this country. But what happens when we continue to elect officials who represent us because of the promises they make to us in spending out tax monies, in such a way as to put into risk our future and moreover that of our children? Will we blame ourselves for having our politicians indulge us and themselves or blame those later elect to correct past sins for being to strict? This is the dilemma that much of the world is now experiencing. The current tragedy that faces the citizens of Greece is a result of promises made by inept past governments (democratically elected) and there seems almost no way out, for even those who are trying to correct the situation. The people want what they want irrespective of whether or not it is available-And they want it now-or else! The tough parent is always the bad guy and the negligent enabler the good one. We know this because most of our social media tells us this is so. The freedom to speak out does not necessary require the speaker to think about consequences. But when the truth or consequences land in front of us our options become reduced to zero. Those responsible say nothing. Few people born in Canada or the U.S after the fifties realize what life was like, virtually on the entire planet before this. The kind of prosperity which we have had since the fifties is an anomaly. Taking the kind of life we have had for granted is a result of not really understanding the history of the world and present economic circumstances are only a reminder how easily things can go back to what they once were. Are we so special or so different that what has happened in Greece cannot happen to us? Are we so protected that what is happening in Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain is not going to affect us? Think and think again! 38 METANOIA
“Health care, government pensions,
employment
insurance are among the few deliverables that we all expect and provide as a measure of our total responsibility
as
part
of our membership as citizens to the country.”
MISSIVES FROM DONALD J BOUDREAUX Krugman should be embarrassed. Prof. Krugman:
On your blog you attempt to resurrect the notion that the burden of the public debt is not shifted onto future generations. Specifically, you argue (as did earlier Keynesian economists, such as Abba Lerner) that whatever dollars future citizens as taxpayers must pay to service the debt are dollars that future citizens as beneficiaries of government programs receive. In your words, “talking about leaving a burden to our children is especially nonsensical; what we are leaving behind is promises that some of our children will pay money to other children.” Receipts equal payments, so collectively it’s a wash. I searched your posts in vain for a reference to James Buchanan’s 1958 book “Public Principles of Public Debt” - a source of work cited by the Nobel Committee in awarding Buchanan the 1986 Nobel Prize in Economic Science.
column petitioning Congress to grant me such largesse: it would, after all, bring me great joy while burdening no one.) Sincerely, Donald J. Boudreaux Professor of Economics George Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030
The rabid horse still gallops. Editor, The Nation Dear Editor:
Were you to read Buchanan’s book you would discover why it’s mistaken to argue that, because ‘we owe the debt to ourselves,’ repayment of the debt imposes no burden on future taxpayers. That the creditors (the payees) are citizens of the same country as the debtors who repay the debt (taxpayers) does not mean that those repayments are no net burden to the country as a whole. Consider the following example:
Thomas Geoghegan writes that “Of course no country should run a trade deficit. That’s common sense” (“What Would Keynes Do?” Sept. 27).
Suppose Uncle Sam were to supplement my annual income to the tune of $1 billion, to be funded exclusively out of present taxation. The result is that Americans as a group today pay $1 billion more in taxes and Americans as a group today (I’m an American) receive this $1 billion in the form of an income supplement. Receipts equal payments, so collectively it’s a wash.
Appending “That’s common sense” to this translation of Mr. Geoghegan’s sentence seems, well, to contradict common sense.
But surely you agree that it’s mistaken to conclude that, because “we” pay this $1 billion to “ourselves,” government granting me this income supplement imposes no burden on current Americans. Therefore, you should agree also that it’s mistaken to conclude that, because “we” owe the public debt to “ourselves,” the responsibility for repaying that debt is no burden on future taxpayers. (If, however, you disagree with me about the burden of my hypothetical income supplement, I invite you to write a
Let’s translate the first sentence into terms more revealing: “Of course no country should ever have a net inflow of capital.”
Thundering against trade deficits is a shoddy and easy means of rousing the economically illiterate to support destructive protectionist policies. But such histrionics is very bad economics. Sincerely, Donald J. Boudreaux Professor of Economics George Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030
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METANOIA FREEDOM
&O VER POP ULATION