Rocky Road

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_alienation "In Canadian politics, Western alienation is a concept that the Western provinces - British Columbia (B.C.), Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba - have been alienated, and in extreme cases excluded, from mainstream Canadian political affairs in favour of the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Western alienation claims that these latter two are politically represented, and economically favoured, more significantly than the former, which has given rise to the sentiment of alienation among many western Canadians. This feeling is most pronounced in B.C. and Alberta."

The West is well aware of how the East has treated them, that is why they are so unlikely to be forgiving to the dissenting views. Saskatchewan is doing just fine, slow steady growth, lots of oil. Alberta is doing fine also, lots of jobs, high growth. And another thing, Alberta has some good social programs too, the kind of thing people value. Calgary just opened a new hospital, and it is staffed by a 1000 people. http://www.fransaskois.sk.ca/

The constant negativity in our media has a toxic effect on society.So it's wonderful to see Martyn Lewis, formerly of BBC news, leadinga call for change. We need balanced news, covering good as well asbad stories.http://cts.vresp.com/c/?ActionforHappiness/3dcd2add34/1da8388921/9a9378d0dfWE CAN ALL MAKE A DIFFERENCEJoin us for an inspiring evening as Nipun Mehta tells the story ofhumble experiments in generosity that have created significantripples of positive change around the world. Find out more and booktickets:http://cts.vresp.com/c/?ActionforHappiness/3dcd2add34/1da8388921/d6b58094a1EMPATHY AND COMPASSION IN SOCIETYWe're excited to be supporting a special conference on Empathy andCompassion in Society this November. The organisers have generouslyoffered ten free tickets for our members. Find out how you can apply:http://cts.vresp.com/c/?ActionforHappiness/3dcd2add34/1da8388921/28b9cd74f0THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR HEALTHWe're bombarded with information about what's good or bad for ourhealth. But what makes the biggest difference? This lovely animatedvideo explains what matters most - you may be surprised by theanswer!http://cts.vresp.com/c/?ActionforHappiness/3dcd2add34/1da8388921/5bd088e947INTERROGATE! HAPPINESS FESTIVALJust two weeks to go until the Interrogate! Happiness Festival. Joinus for two days of discussion, music, comedy, film and more forpeople who want to make the world a happier place. Check out theincredible line-up:http://cts.vresp.com/c/?ActionforHappiness/3dcd2add34/1da8388921/696e9a04c5STUDENTS FOR HAPPINESSWe're excited to announce the launch of Students for Happiness, a newstudent-led initiative in support of our movement. Their inauguralevent is on 10th October and includes Richard Layard and Jean-PaulFlintoff.http://cts.vresp.com/c/?ActionforHappiness/3dcd2add34/1da8388921/d2db3faa71HAPPINESS IN THE NEWS* Can you learn how to be happier in one weekendhttp://cts.vresp.com/c/?ActionforHappiness/3dcd2add34/1da8388921/68ac25f225* Children succeed with character, not test scoreshttp://cts.vresp.com/c/?ActionforHappiness/3dcd2add34/1da8388921/fb1e6ad1e0* Olympics 2012: the optimism legacyhttp://cts.vresp.com/c/?ActionforHappiness/3dcd2add34/1da8388921/09ca2df02a * Do wellbeing and caring for the environment go hand in handhttp://cts.vresp.com/c/?ActionforHappiness/3dcd2add34/1da8388921/d54ac1396a* A history of happinesshttp://cts.vresp.com/c/?ActionforHappiness/3dcd2add34/1da8388921/3b1f5513d9* Mental health for all by involving all (video)http://cts.vresp.com/c/?ActionforHappiness/3dcd2add34/1da8388921/a01db2ee45BE THE CHANGEYou can help us grow the movement by setting up a local Action forHappiness group, joining the conversation on Facebook, Twitter andMeetup or simply helping to spread the word by telling your friends.Thanks so much for all your support and inspiration. As always, we'dlove to hear from you at: [email protected] WilliamsonDirector"The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer somebody else up"~ Mark Twain

Hmmm. I do think its crazy that Bain got on the radio.

http://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/en/ Madness is a serious issue.

http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/newspapers/LFC/ Franco Albertain

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/photo-deemed-offensive-to-islam-sparks-riots-temple-burning-in-bangladesh/article4578273/?service=mobile more violence.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Big-Flatline-No-Growth-Economy/dp/0230342183 "The author (Jeff Rubin), was on Bloomberg this morning. He was pretty much taughting what CM has been for years. Cheap Oil is gone, and the economy CANNOT grow without it! It was a good interview, and surprising to hear on MSM. The interviewers were very reluctant to agree with his premis though...shocker. The predicament is going main stream. Slowely, but still getting there. Basic premis of the book: In an urgent follow-up to his best-selling Why Your World Is About To Get A Whole Lot Smaller, Jeff Rubin argues that the end of cheap oil means the end of growth. What it will be like to live in a world where growth is over? Economist and resource analyst Jeff Rubin is certain that the world's governments are getting it wrong. Instead of moving us toward economic recovery, the measures being taken around the globe right now are digging us into a deeper hole. Both politicians and economists are missing the fact that the real engine of economic growth has always been cheap, abundant fuel and resources. But that era is over. The end of cheap oil, Rubin argues, signals the end of growth--and the end of easy answers to renewing prosperity. With China and India sucking up the lion's share of the world's ever more limited resources, the rest of us will have to make do with less. But is this all bad? Rubin points out that there is no research to show that people living in countries with hard-charging economies are happier, and plenty of research to show that some of the most contented people on the planet live in places with no growth or slow growth. But bad or good, it's the new reality, and Rubin reveals how our day-to-day lives will be drastically changed. "

Mental health surely relates to the Mad Scramble, because people who lose their ability to cope with the highly competitive, fierce, dog-eat-dog global village fall prey to depression, schizophrenia, substance abuse, bipolar disorder, etc... In fact, I would add that sane policy is a bit of a fossil, because we are having to make more decisions that affect millions of lives all the time, like Harper telling Netanyahu that Canada won't "demand a red line" with Iran.

http://nitawriter.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/suicide-rates-of-the-world/ "According to WHO statistics, one person commits suicide every 40 seconds. Suicide rates all over the world have increased by 5- 62% in the last two decades. Hardly any country is immune to this disease. Whats disturbing is that more young people are killing themselves than ever before"

Well, here is the plan http://pq.org/souverainete/plan I personally like Jean Marc Fournier, he seems just what is needed to rekindle Federalist sentiment au Quebec. Viva Canada and Viva Quebec!

Interesting article, but pessimistic, anglo point of view. http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/09/28/barbara-kay-in-marois-montreal-the-sound-of-english-becomes-an-offence/#

http://articles.businessinsider.com/2009-07-25/wall_street/29989939_1_china-telecom-china-s-cnooc-chinese-companies "China has been in a bind for a while. Thanks to its smart strategy of lending us money to buy its products and services, China owns $2.2 trillion in Treasuries and other foreign paper. This makes China rich, but it has also left it exposed to getting clobbered if inflation destroys the value of the dollar. If China starts dumping Treasuries to protect itself from inflation, meanwhile, it will destroy the value of the rest of the paper it holds. So now China has a new plan. Use those dollars to buy stuff. Companies, land, natural resources, you name it. " http://www.mekarn.org/workshops/environ/proenv/lengnew.htm "The world appears to be at a most critical period in recent history, a financial crisis precipitated by simultaneous and interrelated/ interactive events including Peak Oil (the end of inexpensive energy),other global resource depletion and climate change all of which are undermining food security particularly in developing countries. There is an urgent need to respond to these challenges in order to produce and deliver food to maintain the present world population, let alone the increased population predicted by 2030 of 8-10 billion people."

One point I would like to make in this agrument is: Scale and Complexity make this very difficult to be specific about.

I think fanatics of religious extremism should be frowned upon, we have much bigger problems to worry about than "blasphemy".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/9523903/Saudis-may-run-out-of-oil-to-export-by-2030.html Saudi to run out of oil by 2030

Do you think the failing project called the Euro is a model for Canada? Its a house of cards.

Good point. They might move the flag but that is largely symbolic, we are still the nation that everybody loves: Canada, the True North, Strong and Free.

Ok thanks.

Search al kasim

http://www.andrewnikiforuk.com/ Read this book, be entertained, be ashamed, and then do something to stop the insanity." Thomas-Homer Dixon, author of The Upside of Down "Passionate and forcefully argued, Tar Sands is a wake-up call not just to Canadians but to the wider world to take a serious look at what is happening in northern Alberta. To call this book a polemic is a compliment." Margaret MacMillan, author of Paris 1919 "Andrew Nikiforuk is one of the most astute, relentless and original writers of his generation. This book, which reveals the true cost of the Alberta tar sands, shows why he's so admired in some quarters and so feared in others." Gary Stephen Ross, Editor-in-chief, Vancouver Magazine

The welfare dependency and economic stagnation created among First Nations by decades of government policy won't disappear overnight, but a growing number of bands are taking big steps forward, officials say. "It's not that we didn't want to be a part of the economy - it's that we couldn't," said Whitecap Dakota First Nation Chief Darcy Bear. Chief Clarence Louie, who is chair of the National Aboriginal Economic Development Board, agreed. "Most Canadians don't understand the colonial history," said Louie, whose 500-member Osoyoos Indian Band in British Columbia now owns several thriving businesses employing more than 1,000 people. "After everything that was done to us, we still have a pulse. Our reserves are starting to get back that economic spirit." The latest Saskatchewan job figures show an overall decrease in aboriginal employment - the direct result of federal and provincial cuts to First Nations education, job training, housing and other areas, say critics. Some First Nations, however, are bucking that trend. The Lac La Ronge Indian Band's businesses employ 1,000 people in trucking, gravel crushing, insurance and other sectors. The Meadow Lake Tribal Council's business arm is about to break ground on a $150 Bioenergy Centre to complement its existing forestry interests. Onion Lake Cree Nation companies gross $80 million per year. http://www.leaderpost.com/business/Thriving+First+Nations+Part+Overcoming+economic+barriers/7237324/story.html Read more: http://www.leaderpost.com/test466/7236248/story.html#ixzz26Nj7WgZQ

http://www.netnewsledger.com/2012/09/07/severe-cuts-to-first-nation-organizations-are-the-wrong-move-afn-national-chief/ THUNDER BAY – “Severe cuts to First Nation organizations are the wrong move, particularly in light of key commitments across the country and specifically by this federal government to work toward reconciliation,” said AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo. Atleo adds “That AFN will be coordinating a full analysis of the impact of these cuts together with all First Nation organizations. These funding reductions have the potential to create very serious negative impacts for First Nation families and in turn the broader community and all Canadians. First Nation organizations and Tribal Councils are major employers and provide key support and capacity to First Nations for the whole range of socio-economic services, planning and development”.

Well said. Many blessings.

Terrorism is ugly. And I agree respect is key. Bonne nuit. Another day has come and gone. We all retire to our little piece of peace, called home. The birds hide away, the stars shimmer with the zeal of unknowable mystery. Men scramble in distant cities, while sleep hushes the breath until morning. Dreams of impossible worlds, forgotten friends, and honest ambitions. In this day and age, we have come so far, Yet we are cemented to the basic premise of good and evil. So where are we really? In a universe of seemingly infinite hostile worlds, all unrelated to this microcosm Called life on Earth.