THIRTY SOMETHING by Ishi Dinim This time last year I was in mourning and now I’m celebrating. I feel so thankful for the life I have and for the people with whom I have been blessed to share it with. Am I naïve to be so positive? Six months ago, everything was about going green, electing Obama and a bright future. Now I’m told that the next...

Jan 26, 2009

INDEPENDENT MEDIA by Steve Anderson Perhaps more than anything else, the open Internet allows us to envision and actually produce a more democratic media system. But the open Internet is under threat by the very companies that bring it into our homes and workplaces: the Internet Service Providers (ISPs). These big telecommunication companies want to become the...

Jan 26, 2009

THE POWER OF NOW by Eckhart Tolle Your relationships will be changed profoundly by surrender. If you can never accept what is, by implication, you will not be able to accept anybody the way they are. You will judge, criticize, label, reject or attempt to change people. Furthermore, if you continuously make the Now into a means to an end in the future, you...

Jan 26, 2009

FILMS WORTH WATCHING by Robert Alstead Israeli director Ari Folman, a draftee during Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982, wanted to tell a story about his wartime experiences, but he realized that “no one would want to watch a middle-aged man telling stories that happened 25 years ago without any archival footage to support them.” So he took...

Jan 26, 2009

EARTHFUTURE by Guy Dauncey We keep chickens – five mature females and two youngsters – who we think are roosters. That spells possible trouble ahead, since the roosters may fight once they mature, but right now they are total buddies, scouting the garden for bugs, seeds, worms and anything else that pleases a young chicken’s palate. These are...

Jan 26, 2009

SCIENCE MATTERS by David Suzuki with Faisal Moola Many of you are working to recycle, reduce energy consumption and improve the world for your families and neighbours. The collective impact of these many small efforts is making a big difference. Just think what you could do with $4.1 trillion. That’s how much the US and 17 European countries are spending...

  Dear Dhammanusari: (those who love Truth) Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” When an individual first starts to walk a spiritual path, they find that, in contrast to the loving kindness they are trying to develop, they see more negativity in the world and in the people around them. Perhaps negativity that they...

Jan 26, 2009

by Lorna Hancock Thelma MacAdam, a well-loved and respected environmentalist, passed away in her sleep on December 19. She was bright and active right up until her last day. I am one of thousands of people who are honoured to have known her, and will miss her greatly. Thelma MacAdam As Chair of the Environmental Committee for Burnaby-based Health Action...

Jan 26, 2009

by Shakti Mhi Dedicated to Daniel, who was there for me with his whole being. My body was in motion, falling 30 feet down. As I fell, time didn’t slow down; it simply stopped. Maybe because I fell at the speed of light, or when you take off from your usual orbit, the laws of nature cease to exist. As I was in the air, I was very clear and relaxed. I...

Jan 26, 2009

WRITING ON THE WALL by Representative Dennis Kucinich   Once they were as gods, but the deities of the American banking system are now in ruins, plunged from their  Rep. Dennis Kucinich pedestals into the maw of taxpayer largesse. Congress voted to give the banks $700 billion, lifting them temporarily out of their sepulcher of debt, while...

Jan 26, 2009

  "We believe that we don’t succeed unless the people around us succeed and the health of the planet not only doesn’t suffer, but is improved by our work." – Ben Banky On December 12, Ben Banky’s life came to a sudden and tragic end when he was killed at his company’s Christmas party. Forty-year-old...

DRUG BUST Alan Cassels If you listen closely to the pleas of health advocates and patient groups, those who push for better treatments for specific diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, arthritis or heart disease, there is a common refrain. That refrain, summed up in a word, is “More.” We need more drugs. We need more CT or MRI machines. We...

Jan 26, 2009

by Geoff Olson Although it’s a relatively obscure book, The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property is considered something of an underground classic in literary and artistic circles. Canadian writer Margaret Atwood reportedly keeps half a dozen copies of Lewis Hyde’s book on hand for friends and acquaintances. Other fans...