December 2017 January 2018 by Metanoia Magazine

December 2017 | January 2018

Simon Morgan

Royalty Protection and Elite Clientele Security Consulting

METANOIA

METANOIA Politics . Art . Health . Economics . Entertainment December 2017 | January 2018

CONTENTS

42 14

METANOIA MAGAZINE

Executive Summary

Building a Security Company by Simon Morgan

First Annual Run For Delta

On Fabian Perez by Hank Leis

Viva Las Vegas!

Making Success As An Artist by Vie Dunn-Harr

Turkish Provocation and Cyprus by Andreas C ChrysaďŹ s

Deciphering The Taliban by Diego Solis of Stratfor

The Vancouver International Film Festival 2017

Rick Dugdale by Britany Snider

Valev Laube

The Photography of Fabrice Meuwissen

Printed Solar Panels Could Produce Solar Power On Every Roof presented by Robin Williams on ABC

Sir David Tang Memoriam

Rants: Heroes & Villains, and Failure to Communicate, by Hank Leis

The Dan Walker Chronicles by Dan Walker

What A Ride by Len Giles

Facts And Beliefs In Society by Dr. Gordon Hogg

Some Balance by Donald J Boudreaux

On the cover: Simon Morgan, Director of Operations and Training for Trojan Consultancy 2

Executive And Staff PUBLISHERS Salme Johannes Leis & Allison Patton COPY CHIEF Caleb Ng ASSISTANT COPY CHIEF Jillian Currie EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS JR Leis & Heino Leis PHOTO ARCHIVIST Galina Bogatch INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTOR Suzette Laqua INTERVIEWER/PHOTOGRAPHER Britany Snider DISTRIBUTORS AUSTRALIA Peter Storen CANADA GREATER TORONTO and HAMILTON AREAS Henry Maeots

CONTRIBUTORS Beth Allen, Gerald Auger, Maureen Bader, Alex Barberis, Mario Basner, Andy Belanger, John P. Bell, Donald J. Boudreaux, Dr. Tim Brown, Richard Calmes, Andreas C Chrysafis, Anabella Corro, Kamala Coughlan, Brian Croft, Miki Dawson, Vie DunnHarr, Cheryl Gauld, Len Giles, Kulraj Gurm, William Haskell, Greg Hill, Matt Hill, Carly Hilliard, Dr. Gordon Hogg, Marilyn Hurst, Dr. Arthur Janov, Jeanette Jarville, Randolph Jordan, Richard King IV, Peter and Maria Kingsley, Mark Kingwell, Rod Lamirand, Valev Laube, Suzette Laqua, Marilyn Lawrie, Hank Leis, Salme Leis, Chris MacClure, Dunstan Massey, Seth Meltzer, Thomas Mets, Fabrice Meuwissen, Dr Caleb Ng, Paul Nijar, Janice Oleandros, Stefan Pabst, Dr. Allison Patton, Ivan Pili, Luis Reyes, Cara Roth, Dr Bernard Schissel, Pepe Serna, Diego Solis, Lisa Stocks, Peter Storen, Mohamed Taher, Jack Vettriano, Dr. Jack Wadsworth, Chris Walker, Dan Walker, Tom Weniger, Sharon Weiser, Harvey White, Robyn Williams, Helena Wierzbicki

GREATER VANCOUVER AREA Lesley Diana METANOIA MAGAZINE

MONTREAL Gene Vezina

Is a publication of Metanoia Concepts Inc. 3566 King George Blvd Surrey, BC V4P 1B5 Canada 604.538.8837 Metanoiamagazine@gmail.com Metanoiamagazine.com

INDIA Jesse Johl UNITED KINGDOM LONDON Salme Leis UNITED STATES ALBANY NEW YORK Seth Meltzer NEW YORK Valev Laube LAS VEGAS Mario Basner

METANOIA MAGAZINE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In terms of page numbers, this is the largest issue of Metanoia we have published. The cover is a photograph of Simon Morgan, who guards the Royal Family and the rich and famous who need his protection. Fabian Perez, the great artist from Argentina, tells his story about growing up in an environment of passion and lust – but has a different take on it, that is touching and poignant. His art is basically a representation of his life.

Since the founding of Metanoia Magazine by three Naturopathic Doctors and the Leis family in 2008, we have produced over ninety issues. We have had over one thousand articles written, including interviews of over 100 actors, 100 artists, dozens of politicians, philosophers, psychologists, and experts in other fields. A majority of the writers have post-graduate degrees or have expertise or knowledge of a special nature.

Vie Dunn-Harr, who has become allergic to certain paints she has used, provides us with her colourful and detailed paintings of flowers. “Deciphering the Taliban,” is a well researched article written by Diego Solis for the Stratfor Worldview. We think we understand what is going on in Afghanistan, but without such guidance we have by Solis, we really do not. Valev Laube is an Estonian, living in the United States. His is a story of experiencing and transitions. We also have an interview of Rick Dugdale who is the President and CEO of Enderby Entertainment, an independent film finance and production company. And as always, there is much, much more.

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CAREERS

Business & Success:

BUILDING A SECURITY COMPANY

Simon Morgan is the Director of Operations and Training for Trojan Consultancy, a London based Team of highly experienced security professionals, delivering security consultancy and provision to the more discerning client across the globe. Before undertaking this role, he was a Police trained Protection Officer with the Metropolitan Police Service, assigned to the prestigious Royalty Protection SO14(2), the only dedicated department in UK Policing responsible for the personal protection of Her Majesty the Queen and other senior members of the British Royal Family, in the UK and overseas.

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Simon talks about being a Royalty Protection Officer, The selection process to become a Protection Officer at SO14(2) is one of the most difficult within the whole of the Metropolitan Police Service, it involves a comprehensive practical assessment and a gruelling interview, where you are required to prove that you have already obtained the valuable and vast policing experiences, as well as having the correct personality to be able to fulfil this prestigious role. If you are successful within this selection process it does not end there. You are required to undertake further rigorous training and continuous assessment during a foundation course (Protection Officers Course). Some skills and experiences I had previously obtained, such as Advanced Driving, Unarmed Combat Instructor and Firearms classifications from my time on the Force Firearms Unit (SO19) and the Public Order Department (TSG). These skills and experiences are then combined with the core skills of a Protection Officer such as walking formations, arrivals and departures, event planning, recce’s, dilemma’s and protocol. Other courses you are required to complete include anti-hijack driving, and high threat environments deployments and tactics. As an experienced Police Officer you have already been selected to get to this point because of your inter-personal skills, with communication being the main requirement, add to that conflict resolution, environmental awareness, legislation, contingency planning and resourcefulness. You are ready to begin the practical learning to be a Protection Officer. The whole process of layered training by increasing the skill base, broadening the experiences and continually testing the results and evaluating the learning achieved, creates a Protection Officer who has undertaken nearly 6 months of formulised training and has been conditioned to operate at the highest level in unique and challenging circumstances, with the world’s number one family. All the training is then put into practice to gain a genuine and unrivalled operational experience protecting the Royal Family in both their official and private lives at home and abroad. Every aspect of that training and experience is used in every deployment to a varying degree, depending on the nature of the day and the events contained within that

day. The work that goes into one official visit for a senior member of the family will have taken place over many months. Meetings, recce’s, plans drawn up, resources decided on in relation to staffing levels, modes of transport, routes and parking availability. It is an endless list, all with a proactive response using contingency planning. Whilst in the planning phase you need to keep asking yourself “what if this happens? What if that happens?”. As a Protection Officer you are representing The Royal Family, The Metropolitan Police Service, Her Majesty’s Government and when overseas you represent Great Britain. You are required to negotiate with some and be strong with others in order to achieve your operational goals. The plan will be checked and double checked. The route walked countless times, the greeting line up checked and organised. Event management becomes a key attribute within the role as people will look to you to achieve a seamless event as nobody wants it to go wrong. Planning through communication is key to achieving what is required. Liaison with the host force and understanding what resources they have provided, being aware of the local area, hospitals, places of safety, main routes in and out. All this needs to be considered and added to the plan for that one venue, which may be part of a six venue day! With each venue being overlaid with the same blueprint from your experience, but with one or two things added and one or two things removed depending on the specifics. By having a plan, you know what you expect to see and also what you don’t, what is alien to that environment, whether it be an individual, a vehicle or something that just doesn’t fit. Recognising these becomes second nature to an experienced Protection Officer. Within the plan are the contingency’s for such things, giving options should these things arise, in order for you to make the correct decision if required. A good Protection Officer has to be able to walk and talk at the same time and make dynamic decisions if and when necessary. These are important skills required if you are to be of any use to the Principal. The Principals expectations of you are high, as you are charged with making many consequential decisions on their behalf sometimes with METANOIA MAGAZINE

Pictured with Holly Willoughby, UK TV personality while running security at the screening of Kingsmen: The Golden Circle

“Protection is a thinking persons’ game and you must have plan, or two or three”

“Safety first is safety always” -Charles Melville Hayes

consultation, sometimes not. The trust that is placed on your judgement is a foundation of the relationship. Protection is a thinking persons’ game and you must have plan, or two or three. The final check will be undertaken by the Protection Officers in advance, who inevitably will also be dealing with the missing person from the line-up, the door that somebody’s now locked or the plaque that’s due to be unveiled being upside down, it’s all happened and more! Once all is in place, the Principal arrives and months and months of hard planning and preparation unfolds in front of you for the short time that you are there for. A perfect secure event has taken place for all concerned, the Principal, the hosts, the crowds and the worlds media. Security being paramount, yet allowing the Principal and event to be the main focus of the attention.

Top and middle right: Pictured with Simon Cowell and Rachel Weisz while running security at the screening of Kingsmen: The Golden Circle

As the only Team of former Royal Bodyguards operating in the private sector, we have a genuine and unique skill set, combined with an unrivalled level of experience from our time in the Police service. As security/protection in the UK is the prerogative and speciality of the Police Service and not the military as is commonly believed, we are best placed to assist clients either private or corporate with any security requirement. From consultancy all the way through to delivery on a short or long term basis, either here in the UK or globally.

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ART

On Fabian Perez BY HANK LEIS

‘Eugie & Geo’

Your artwork seems to be a reﬂection of your child’s eye view of the imagery that surrounded you. It has all the elements of a highly sexualized life where men and women are constantly preoccupied by seducing each other. Can you amplify on that and talk about transitions and epiphanies you had once you had other worldly experiences? I paint inspired by beauty and I find a lot of beauty when I recreate my view of my parents’ era from my own memory. I METANOIA MAGAZINE

remember a really romantic period full of class, manners and values. Rather than elements of a “highly sexualized life”, what I try to create is a kind of sensual romance, thought and moment in time. When a man would take pride in shaving or simple fixing his tie and a woman would follow a routine of slow and sensual movements able to seduce a man by simply lighting a cigarette.

Telling the stories of the paintings is like closing chapters of a book for the readers. I prefer that art lovers step in front of the pieces and decipher the paintings’ emotions or fulfill negative spaces on their own and ask themselves: What is in the back and in the dark? Where are they? Is she alone or is somebody coming? Or even adding concepts to the figure, as in, “The way she smokes looks really delicate!” Or, “he can seduce a man just by asking for a light!” This way, a painting will always be alive. Paintings are mirrors, people see in them what they reflect and what they reflect will be constantly changing. At the beginning of my career I painted figurative, then sub-realism, symbolism, abstract and finally I decided to come back to figurative work that I find more challenging. I think is good for an artist to explore and discover new sensations through different medias. I never judged or analyzed my technique, nor my subjects. Meanwhile I work, I interpret what I see, and I fudge my self into the essence of creating. I consider a painting “good” when it is genuine, and shows the feelings of the artist through his skills. The creator and the creation need to match. Art shouldn’t be considered by the meaning, but for what is expressed. Many times we don’t know what an artist wants to say in his work, but we can have a reaction from his expression. That’s why I created the NEOEMOTIONALISM movement with no technical boundaries. It seems that what was normal for you was a life where you inhabited bordellos, with seducers and seductresses provoking each other into creative and passionate sexual encounters. Was the art of the pose and the tempting more the reality of what was going on than the sexual act itself?

“Art shouldn’t be considered by the meaning, but for what is expressed”

‘Eugie on the Couch II’

METANOIA MAGAZINE

‘For a Better Life VI’

‘Blonde and Brunette’

‘The Proposal’

‘Smoking Under the Light in White Suit’

‘For a Better Life VII’

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‘Marina With Red Light’ 18

‘Mr. Clark IV’

My father was the owner of different nightclubs at different times and a wellknown character of the local nightlife; he was a, “Clandestine gambling capitalist,” and owner of three bordellos in Argentina. He hosted dice games and gambling rings in a back room of a huge bar that had a bowling alley, close to the train station that was on the outskirts of downtown Campana, the city I grew up in.

personality. She was the singer and later a Madame at the nightclubs, however, her pride came from being my father’s wife.

It is the imagery from my past that I draw from and place onto my paintings. My father was my first inspiration; he was the ‘cool guy’ outside of the clubs and bordellos. The women in my paintings also come from my memory; they are the women that I remember seeing around the clubs. These women were always elegantly dressed and exuded a kind of sophistication that in today’s society, we long for. Also, the majority of my memories about women come from my mother. She had a strong and charming

Rather than any sexual acts, my art is certainly about poses and more; it is about getting ready for a date, seduction, intimacy and the entire mystery that surrounds romance. Through my paintings I am only trying to give hints about an open-ended story.

I grew up seeing her constantly taking care of our family. She designed and tailored her own dresses, styled her own hair and painted her own nails. She always wore high heels and never left home without makeup.

The men you paint in your artwork have an aura of danger about them. The implication to me is that there are constant threats that surround this ongoing theatre and moreover it is

METANOIA MAGAZINE

part of the heightened state of sexual awareness. Can you talk about that? Although during my childhood I used to hear gunshots, recall my father covering up the windows and him trying to escape the police, this is not what my paintings are about. I paint those characters but not those situatons. I have fond memories of my upbringing and the colorful scenes that took place in the nightclubs and in my home. The men I paint are confident, charming and mysterious. Often times, I recall these were the types of men standing outside the clubs smoking a cigarette away from the crowds. I normally paint individuals by themselves, because I find them closer to their essence that way. A person, when alone, is not worried about acting in a certain way or pretending, they don’t have a “way of being” that they need to protect, they are not worried by other people’s comments. In that moment I can see their essence shine. That’s where beauty resides for me, not in the physical appearance. I

use that physical attractiveness to capture the attention of the viewer, but I always try to go beyond that, with the goal of painting a body to portray the soul.

Above: ‘Tiffany With Tea’ Left: ‘Monika at Nightclub’

Dangerous men and beautiful women have always been the story of life in every culture. It is only the settng that changes from location to location. You have managed to capture it all in a provocative way. Did you at any time rebel against what was your norm? The men I paint are not dangerous but can be considered mysterious. The women are beautiful in many ways. They are sensual, elegantly suggestive and meticulously styled. I have embraced the timeless beauty of that era that both men and women embodied. I was never rebelling against my environment, but the way I paint the men in my art is also a reflection of how I have felt on the inside throughout different periods of my life. It is very difficult for an artist to be positioned METANOIA MAGAZINE

‘The Dark Room II’

‘Untitled II’

in the same dimension as others when expressing himself. This led me to be mostly a lonely and independent individual as you can see in my paintings. The painting that most closely represents this concept and also one of my personal favorites is “Untitled II”. In this painting I have portrayed myself and I used the white hair as a symbol of my experience because although I was a young person I went through many experiences, both good and bad and also too much for an individual at that age. Can you talk about family life and what transformations have taken place in you since you have “settled down”? Family has always taken the center stage in my life.

‘Smoking Under The Light II’

Before I used to live more of nightlife and I painted at dawn when I returned home. Bars really inspire me, and the ones I am a regular at, they will bring me my favorite drink, some napkins and a candle to light what I will write or draw. Now I have changed my habits and I coordinate things around my family’s schedule, because even though I want to keep getting better as an artist, my priority is to be a good father. I get up really early in the morning, and in that deep silence METANOIA MAGAZINE

‘Lucy in LA’

I make my maté like a ceremony, then I start reading and writng. At seven am I prepare breakfast for my small children while my wife gets them ready for school. They leave, and I go to my studio, that is in the back of my house. I return to the house for lunch, and I go back to my studio (as long as there is no important soccer match playing on TV; here they are usually at noon). At three pm the five of us meet again and we spend the rest of the day together. I can spend days without leaving the house, even though I still go out some nights. For more information on Fabian Perez, visit https://fabianperez.com/

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FROM LAS VEGAS

Viva Las Vegas! METANOIA MAGAZINE’S TRIP INCLUDING MARIO BASNER’S RECEPTION OF HIS NEWEST RELEASE, ‘WEALTH”

“To learn more about Mario Basner and his art, visit www. mariobasner.com.”

This August, Metanoia Magazine travelled to beautiful, sunny Las Vegas, Nevada. While in Sin City, they attended various business functions, meeting with Cirrus Aviation CEO Greg Woods and attending the debut of Mario Basner’s latest piece in his World Heritage Collection, titled ‘Wealth.’ On display in Tivoli Village, his award winning photography collection has been featured in numerous magazines such as the Huffington Post, High Rise Life Magazine, Luxury Las Vegas, Review Journal, and our very own Metanoia Magazine. Within this section of the magazine, are the chronicles of their time in Las Vegas.

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ART

Passion & Determination:

MAKING SUCCESS AS AN ARTIST

‘Alluring Waters’

Vie Dunn-Harr, American Painter Born in San Antonio, Texas (USA) 1953. Dunn-Harr found her artistic expression slowly, yet deliberately, and continues to explore the many possibilities in the arts. She derived much of her early experience from the traditional school and continues to embrace formalism. Her works are organic forms rooted in architectural elements. The forms are sensuous and portray the force and fragility of nature. Dunn-Harr considers herself a contemporary painter and exhibits nationally and internationally.

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‘Entangled Beauty’

“My works are a reflection of all that I see and those I know. I have observed that a flower, like a woman, is a delicate creation. Yet they each have strengths that enable them to prevail over adversity”

I grew up in a creatively charged home. My work is the result of exposure to that which I have encountered and experienced in this life. My heart is full and blessed and I believe this is apparent in my paintings. I have always had a passion to explore, create, and work; having been taught to work was a plus. The art world is very competitive and not only does it take creativity and passion, but discipline and determination to find one’s way. The progress and success I have made to this point is awesome, however, I believe the sky is the limit and I have only scratched the surface, although I hold the treasure. I am excited about the rest of the journey and I know God will be in the details. After years of painting architectural, figurative, landscape and still life in many mediums, I found my voice, my strength, and my most natural expression in the creation of paintings of flowers. “My works are a reflection of all that I see and those I know. I have observed METANOIA MAGAZINE

that a flower, like a woman, is a delicate creation. Yet, they each have strengths that enable them to prevail over adversity.” I made this statement as I prepared for an exhibition that was primarily figurative, the women and angels were clothed in flowers. The flowers not only clothed the women, but also evolved from within them…a metaphor as I walked through life. In the months to follow, I became fascinated with the idea of the flowers emerging from and rooted in architectural elements…what a beautiful balance! Now, I would like to explore the organic root, holding the architectural, although, it is almost too comfortable. My works are beautiful… balanced in light and dark, warm and cool, geometrically curvy and linear, rough and polished, organic and architectural. I am presently in the process of exploring

‘A Burst of Silence’

‘The Space of a Breath’

oddness... I believe this will balance the natural beauty. I am fascinated with texture and moved by the nature of it, yet I paint with almost non-existent strokes, I do not try to remove brush strokes, they simply are not there, and I do not feel obligated to create them. The only limit in my art would be my own heart. It is the subtleties and boldness in this life that go beyond the intellect and touch the heart that are the foundation of my works. It is definitely life’s ebb and flow that has caused my work to evolve...

‘Promise of Good Fortune’

The love and encouragement of my mother, Virginia Visage Dunn, inspired me to be true to myself and God, empowering me to be the artist I was meant to be. She taught me to walk outside the boundaries or should I say, “Dance outside the boundaries”; then, to be the best I can possibly be, a way to honor the God who created me. Warren Hunter, a teacher and precious friend, who taught me the fundamentals of painting, drawing and design, inspired me to be a professional painter. The loss of many whom I have loved, and a failed marriage and divorce, revealed the importance of emotional METANOIA MAGAZINE

content in a painting and the honesty therein. The desire and need to support myself as a single woman, produced a work ethic that would allow me to be committed to painting, independent, and to become a professional painter. I studied in Italy at the Lorenzo de Medici Instituto de Arte and at the Toblach-Dobbiaco Academia Italia. In my desire to explore and grow as a painter, I have taken workshops with various artists. Two painters in particular were Barbara Nechis and Arne Westerman. Barbara Nechis inspired me to step outside the world of formalism and explore the possibilities. This was the major

“I believe perseverance is the foundation of innovation. To sustain myself as a painter has been demanding... ” turning point in my creative process. Arne Westerman taught me to interpret and not to reproduce which opened my expressiveness. He also inspired me to find the pulse within each painting, the strength begins there. An encounter with a sculpture of Richard McDonald’s in Aspen inspired me to create movement in my work. As I worked in a studio in Pietrasanta, Italy, an avalanche turned the village into a disaster zone. This experience revealed the first canvases with emotion and movement intertwined…the storm was in my painting. When I returned to my studio in the States, everything was the same except me. My dear, dear friend, also a painter, Anneliese Jessen Cosniac, exposed me to the arts and the controversy within. She introduced me to a world of bounty…. then showed me the room with a view and the stairway to enter. A visit to galleries in Santa Fe enlightened me on the danger of commercialism in one’s work, and I was inspired to paint with sincerity and passion, not to become a slave to production (although at times I must still remind myself). Many times I would turn for counsel and BJ Thornton, a client, then student, and then friend (a complex relationship), always took time to go there with me in the Arts. In moments of confusion, challenge, success and “what ifs”, she helped me prepare for important opportunities, renewed my confidence, and inspired me to move forward. Many other painters and friends in the arts, who shared their struggles and triumph, taught me vicariously. A Vernissage at the Kurhaus in Wiesbaden, Germany, a massive antique building with poor lighting for art purposes, inspired me to paint the light and luminous color into my work and not to be dependent on a source of light. I received the most compliments Right: ‘Legacy Of Camarena’

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on the light and color in my paintings. Although, I believe the compositions are my strength. Standing beside my father, Patrick A. Dunn Sr., as he battled cancer and passed on, caused me to work primarily in abstraction due to my state of mind, limited time, and the need to release what I could not process. I produced my first collection of abstract works, which would become an important element in the architectural foundations of my works today. Some of my strongest paintings came during difficult and painful times. However, most of the pieces portrayed the journey with the final destination being love, peace and hope. The spirit from God! The awesome spiritual experiences and the elements they give to my creative process touch others emotionally and have helped me to understand the gift a painter gives to the world through art. Others tell me regularly that they encounter God in my works and that they find solace there. I believe the sincerity of my emotions will pass on to others. The many travels and museum visits on my journey have and continue to unleash new visions and excitement. My endless source of inspiration and ideas are amazing, keeping me excited and eager to enter my studio.

‘Enamored With Ginger’

Then there is my husband, Steve Caroll, who believes I am the best painter in the entire universe. He loves me in the true sense of unconditional, he believes in my dreams as I do. His presence inspires and empowers me to be all that he already believes I am. Everyone can use a cheerleader! The love I feel for my family and friends is an inspiration that flows from me. Our daughter Roxanne modeled for me in her younger years and is the subject and inspiration of some of my strongest paintings. She is now my confidant and a true soul-mate who is always interested in sharing the artistic path and process. I believe perseverance is the foundation of innovation. To sustain myself as a painter has been demanding and I have spent many years working outrageous hours, trying to fulfill the requests and opportunities given to me. This choice has brought me much satisfaction for many reasons and I look forward to the future and all it will hold. My works have been exhibited nationally and internationally. I will not list my exhibitions and awards, as they are nothing more than stepping-stones on

‘Nature’s Offering’

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‘Pendulant Beauties’

the path I take. My goal is for you to see the work at hand and I invite you to enter in: “ENTER THE SENSUOUS WORLD OF VIE DUNN-HARR” As a creative soul, I must paint. I LOVE MY JOB!!!!!!!!!!!! -Vie Dunn-Harr For more information on Vie Dunn-Harr, visit http://www.viedunn-harr.com Vie Dunn-Harr METANOIA MAGAZINE

‘Strands of Paradise’

WORLD POLITICS

Turkish Provocation and Cyprus REVOLUTION OF THE MIND SERIES

Andreas C Chrysafis Was born at Ayios Ambrosios, Kerynia, Cyprus. He studied and lived in the UK and Vancouver, Canada for most of his life where he practiced his profession as an architectural designer. He is a prolific writer of books, press articles including The Vanishing Cyprus Series and the Revolution of the Mind Series both published worldwide. Today, he lives between London and Cyprus devoting most of his time writing and painting works of art. Info@ evandia.com

The Turkish Cypriot administration has decided to play a new oppressive political game with total disregard of human rights – this time they directed their attention on the non-Muslim enclaved Cypriot minorities in the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus! They are now behaving in a similar manner and ways to Turkey’s appalling record on human rights – cruel and inexcusable! For the first time ever – after 43 years – they have refused to allow the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICIP) to deliver food aid to enclaved Greek Cypriots and Maronites refugees – not even milk for school children! The TC regime chose to breach all international humanitarian laws as adopted in Article 61 of the Forth Geneva Convention of 1947. It decided to disregard that law without a hint of humanity whatsoever. Why such a heartless and callous decision? It’s simple - this is Turkey’s way to consolidate its absolute control over Cyprus. They have been systematically and timely executing Plan B and C for years in an attempt to erase all remaining remnants of Hellenic and Christian influence there for the ultimate Islamization of the island!

www.facebook.com/ACChrysafisAuthor www.facebook.com/ ACChrysafisArtGallery

Ankara’s latest racist ethnic cleansing instructions to the TC regime, is not something new but is part of its genetic and historical make-up. They have done it on numerous times before! One can never forget the genocide and slaughter of the Armenian and Asian Greeks where millions perished under Ottoman brutality. One cannot forget Ankara’s recent viciousness committed against thousands of its own Turkish citizens, innocent METANOIA MAGAZINE

journalists, academics and many others that are locked up in dungeons because they spoke against Erdogan’s dictatorship. Erdogan’s ethnic cleansing and the abolition of secularism is one way for Ankara to impose its dictatorial and theocratic Sunni Islamic rule on the island. Cyprus has now become a target and a victim to Erdogan’s distorted views of democracy and humanity. Only tyrants can come up with such policies using food deprivation as a weapon and punishment against the elderly population and a fragile sector of an ethnic community. From now on Ankara demands that the Government of Cyprus pays a weekly tribute at the crossings before allowing the UN to deliver provisions to the refugees. The Cyprus government on the other hand refuses to be blackmailed and reward Turkey’s occupation. Meanwhile, the refugees remain trapped victims of this new political charade. Mr. Akinci and his regime should be ashamed for resorting to such low and disgraceful practices at a time when they are supposedly “seeking a reunification solution” to the Cyprus problem. This unwelcome development should serve as a bitter warning to the Cyprus government, which has failed to anticipate Turkey’s real intentions and done nothing about it. Instead, it chose a pacifying concessional and compromising policy, which the result of such a policy has now become apparent. This bad strategy has allowed Turkey’s poisonous fangs to grow bigger instead of yanking them out! It would not be surprising to hear soon another declaration annexing the occupied area of Cyprus as a new province of Turkey - just like the declaration of the TRNC, which also caught the Greeks napping at the time! Ankara has already

installed water pipelines and electrical cables form the mainland to service its new conquest. When that materializes, it would be impossible to avert and protect the Republic from Ankara’s annexation plans. Remember Constantinople? Greek politicians and the Cyprus government should all be ashamed for allowing this new development to take root under their very noses!

and seriously reconsider their options: either be a part of an oppressive Islamic theocratic and illegal state in isolation, or choose to be a part of the European Union and EU-Cyprus, which both offer freedom of movement and opportunities protected by Rule of Law. Meanwhile dark clouds are looming over the land of Aphrodite of love, now in tears for what mindless people have done to her beautiful island…

As things stand, this charade has to come to an end because it cannot be allowed to continue and devour the Republic bit by bit. Cyprus should shut all the crossings throughout the Dead Zone; revoke all EU passports to Turkish Cypriots living in the occupied area; take radical steps and stop all EU structural Funds going to the occupied area; apply strong sanctions against Ankara and its TC puppet regime, but most importantly, make it abundantly clear to Turkey and Turkish Cypriots that under their current mentality, none would ever be able join the European Union unless Cyprus says so – it should certainly veto Turkey’s entry! Once the TCs recognize they can no longer have free movement to enjoy what the Republic and the EU has to offer they may well come to their senses METANOIA MAGAZINE

AS FEATURED IN STRATFOR

Deciphering the Taliban BY DIEGO SOLIS STRATFOR FIELD RESEARCHER

“Deciphering the Taliban” was originally published by Stratfor Worldview and is preprinted here with the permission of Stratfor, the world’s leading geopolitical intelligence platform. Stratfor Editor’s Note: Diego Solis recently returned from a two-week assignment to Afghanistan. In an effort to interact with as broad a demographic as possible, his extensive travel took him from the more populous urban cores to the hinterlands of the war-torn country. During his time there, he spoke with local leaders, foreign diplomats, former mujahideen and Afghans of every persuasion. Contained in the following column are some of his anecdotal experiences, excerpts from personal interviews and photographs from the field.

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Left: An Afghan village overlooks a trail running through a mountain pass. (Diego Solis/Stratfor)

Afghanistan embodies geopolitics in a way that few nations can. Its breathtaking mountains, vast steppes and harsh deserts have obstructed the influence of would-be rulers since ancient times. Yet these topographical impediments have protected and sheltered so much of what defines Afghanistan today, forming zones of refuge that harbor ethnic patchworks living in defiance of easy categorization or governance. Interpreting the complexities of the human and physical terrain from the lines and colors on a map is almost impossible. It is only when gazing over the deserts and mountains from 35,000 feet that the intricacies of the country become clearer. And only by walking in the shoes of everyday Afghans can you begin to comprehend their mindset. Very quickly you learn that Afghanistan is a country that rejects easy solutions. Flying in over this arresting land, it’s impossible to forget that the mountains drifting by are the same ones that constrained the armies of Alexander the Great, challenged Genghis Khan and blunted numerous empires from the Moguls to the British. The Soviets rolled the dice (unsuccessfully) in the 1980s, and now the United States and some of its allies are returning to America’s longest war, supposedly for the end game. But Afghanistan accepts outside influence like granite accepts water. And deeper than the nation’s impermeability, perhaps, is a common missive that revealed itself to me through the people I spoke with: The country is not simply a space to be inhabited, or presided over. Rather, it is a forge.

A view across the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan. The space in the distance was once occupied by one of the famed Bamiyan Buddhas. The relics were destroyed by the Taliban in March 2001. (Diego Solis/Stratfor)

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Afghans tell you in no uncertain terms that the jarring environment, complicated history and conservative religious beliefs — regardless of ethnicity — will make you a warrior. And as a warrior, you are compelled to resist any perceived foreign encroachment against your land and beliefs. It is this Afghan warrior culture that will ultimately delimit any proposed longterm resolution. Many people I sat with felt that a negotiated solution to the country’s problems is the only plausible outcome. Time and again it was emphasized to me that the existing tribal order will continue to trump any foreigner-backed government that operates under perceived Western values. Any system of governance associated with outsiders is immediately suspect in the eyes of Afghans, regardless of intent or investment. This is in part why the Taliban’s message continues to resonate and why the militant organization is so hard to eradicate. The group represents a distinct tribal order that emerged from the rural countryside and the ungoverned expanses that typify the region. The Taliban will not give up, not until they have achieved at least a stalemate in their favor. They have already endured better than anyone expected, thanks to their fluidity and comparative military resilience, their deft use of mountain hideaways and the support they receive from local communities — willingly or unwillingly given. Exploring the Ethnic Divide To understand the Taliban insurgency, it is important to first acquire a picture of the country’s diverse ethnic groups. As a result of five decades of war, relying on

A group of Afghan Pashtuns explain their culture and heritage. (Diego Solis/Stratfor)

official numbers can be as difficult as navigating the streets of Kabul. Therefore, in Afghanistan, you quickly learn that there are only “approximates” — whether it is the total population of a city or a village or even the age of someone you interview, things are rarely definitive. To further complicate matters, Afghanistan has more than 10 different ethnic groups. In isolation, these groups can coexist, but when having to agree on countrywide matters or forced to make difficult compromises, ethnic divisions inevitably impede progress. The most powerful groups are by far the Pashtuns and Tajiks, though the Hazaras and Uzbeks hold some sway to a lesser extent. Living in the mountains and deserts of the south and east, and occasionally the west, the Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group, accounting for around 40 percent to 45 percent of the Afghan population. The Tajiks account for a further 35 percent, and inhabit the narrow valleys and mountains in the country’s north. Then you have the Hazaras, a Shiite minority, living in the mountains of the central region known as Hazarajat. They make up around 10 percent of the population while the Uzbeks, who mainly inhabit the steppes of the north and west, are only slightly less. The other minor ethnic groups — including the Aimaq, Turkmen, Balochi and Nuristani — make up the difference. In an ethnically complex, highly conservative Muslim rural tribal society, where climate, altitude and geological barriers have separated and influenced human interaction over millennia, it is the Pashtuns who have thrived. They are the main tribal composition of the Taliban and make up the majority of the Pakistan-managed Federally Administrated Tribal Areas. As I learned, Pashtuns self-identify by naming their ethnicity first, followed by their tribe, sub-tribe and then clan. A person’s kin, village and religion embodies what it is to be a Pashtun, and explains why they fight to maintain their legacy. Besides the holy Koran, the Pashtunwali — a series of unwritten laws that have normalized justice and warfare for hundreds of years — is an important driver and regulator of behavior among rural Pashtuns. Because the Afghan battlespace encapsulates the country’s rural outreaches, especially the predominantly Pashtun areas, understanding the Pashtunwali is as important as grasping the teachings and lessons of the Prophet Muhammad when it comes to understanding Afghans. During my two weeks in Afghanistan I had the opportunity to interview rural and urban Afghans from a variety of

©Stratfor

Disconnected Diplomats and War Fatigue

One of the biggest complaints echoed by my Afghan colleagues in Kabul concerned the naivete of diplomats and consular figures — the supposed representatives of their home country’s interests. Isolated behind their compound walls and insulated from the actual dynamics of Afghanistan, it was a common criticism that these diplomats, particularly the American ones, simply didn’t understand the country, the situation or the people. There was a feeling that the outsiders were happy to remain squirreled away, oblivious to the concerns of the country they had a stake in. I argued that, given the unstable security environment, it was dangerous to venture out in the field as an American representative. Many I spoke to — especially those from rural areas — thought otherwise. One individual from the Pashtun-dominated province of Paktika relayed this to me:

An Afghan baker sells traditional ﬂat bread. (Diego Solis/Stratfor)

Americans have been here for 16 years. Now that bin Laden is dead why are they still in Afghanistan? What do they want from us? They have never made a legitimate effort to understand Afghanistan and Afghans. They only have their interests. In their embassy and Bagram they have everything — hotels, restaurants, convenience stores, underground tunnels, everything you can think of. So, with all of this comfort and lack of interaction, they still think they can win the war against the Talib.

ethnic backgrounds. Many people I spoke with were pro-Taliban. A few supported Washington’s efforts to stabilize Afghanistan, but the majority didn’t. Certain themes resurfaced time and again, however, chief among them a common distrust of government, reinforced by accusations of flagrant corruption and a general frustration at the lack of an efficient justice system. When it comes to dealings with the United States, there is a perceived cultural disconnection when it comes to American soldiers and diplomats. Conversely, the Taliban’s respect for tribal laws and gradual religious moderation were broadly respected. What follows are excerpts from conversations accompanied by observations.

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The city of Kabul stretches to the horizon. Local residents, known as “Kabulis,” have a different perspective on Afghanistan’s future than those living in the country’s rural areas. (Diego Solis/Stratfor)

Similarly, a former Turkmen mujahideen commander told me how the problem doesn’t simply rest with Americans. All Western diplomats are, in his opinion, culturally disconnected.

It is not just Americans. There are the Europeans as well. They all live in their bubbles in Kabul, in the best areas you can think of, where venturing out to Kabul’s market to them is as good as visiting a foreign planet. And these are the people that are telling our government what to do. Many Afghans expressed concern over the concept and implementation of central governance, distrusting those in positions of power and influence. Widespread corruption affects both rural and urban populations alike, and much of it stems from the authorities set in place in accordance with Western values. There is a feeling that individuals holding power at the national or provincial level can act with impunity and are not held accountable for their actions. As one Kabuli explained to me:

The West has made an effort to establish a constitution and a Western-like system of justice. But that is the problem. In the West, if you can afford a better lawyer, it is certain that you will win a case even if you are at fault. With the Taliban, Sharia justice is for everyone: rich, middle and poor. And everyone gets quick justice. In the warlord government in Kabul, if you are rich and have connections, you can get away with anything. This is what the West has brought here: A slow and corrupt system of justice.

More complicated still, in the countryside, the concept of “state” is nonexistent. I spoke with a person living in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas — the indeterminate space that falls between Afghanistan and Pakistan — who told me:

Where I’m from, there are only two things that matter: Pashtunwali and Islam, which are very intertwined and which are the only rules of law that we need. We do not view ourselves as Afghans or Pakistanis. That is a creation of the states. We are tribal and Pashtun. The socalled state and those that support it want to take away our customary laws and give us in exchange their Western laws, while encroach on our lands and levy taxes on us. That is why we will always resist. Support for the Taliban

A man tends his fields using technology typical for many outlying Afghan provinces. (Diego Solis/Stratfor) METANOIA MAGAZINE

What struck me the most, though, was the level of support for the Taliban — not just among Pashtuns, but among Tajik, Uzbek and Turkmen minorities as well. They were mostly from the countryside. I found myself in the famous and militarily unconquerable Panjshir Valley,

speaking with a combat-hardened former mujahideen who had served under the famed Ahmad Shah Massoud, bygone leader of the Northern Alliance. The fighter had this to say:

Commander Massoud would have never supported the American-led intervention if he’d knew they would stay this long. In fact, before his death, he explained to American intelligence that this was an Afghan internal problem that Afghans have to resolve, militarily or politically. [He explained] that it was one thing to topple the Taliban but another to rule and govern Afghanistan under a Western worldview. For reasons likes this, the Taliban have been able to recruit all of the country’s non-Pashtun minorities, while even respecting minorities like Hazaras; they are not committing the same mistakes they made before: they want to unite all Afghan ethnicities under the banner of Islam and Sharia, leaving aside tribalism for once. Everyone is tired of war. In Bamiyan, talking to another mujahideen commander who had served under Hazara leader Abdul Ali Mazari, I got this angry explanation:

While we have fought the Russians and the Taliban in the past, the government in Kabul has disrespected and ignored our due rights as former mujahideen. The leaders in Kabul are where they are because of the blood the Hazaras spilled, too. At this point, regardless of religious reasons, if we have to eventually join the Taliban in their cause — if only to make a living — we will if we have to. Having spoken with members of rural communities and the weary survivors of Afghanistan’s numerous conflicts, I sought the opinion of a different demographic: young city-dwellers that have a different perspective from their forebears. In the opinion of one young Uzbek I spoke to in Kabul, it is the duty of all Afghans to be united under a single country and state. For a Hazara in her mid-20’s, the goal was to get a college degree and eventually run her own business. Such a dream could only become a reality under the current government in Kabul. And for a young male Pashtun who ran a local enterprise in the city, the Pashtunwali and the strict interpretation of Islam belonged to the countryside, not in places like Kabul.

The Challenges Ahead When I left Afghanistan, there were 8,400 U.S. soldiers and roughly 13,400 NATO personnel stationed in country. Under the plan recently announced by U.S. President Donald Trump — who seems to have heeded the advice of National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, Defense Secretary James Mattis and Gen. John Nicholson — it would seem that America’s engagement with Afghanistan is far from over. Though specific troop numbers weren’t released, well-placed individuals I spoke with suggested that an immediate uplift of between 3,000 and 8,000 personnel wasn’t unrealistic. It is good that the president appears to be listening to his advisers, because the ground truth in Afghanistan is very different from some of the prevailing opinions outside of the country. The fact that the Taliban control or contest large portions of the country — the numbers vary from 10 percent to 60 percent, but most likely it’s around 40 percent — is not necessarily because the United States has failed militarily. Rather, it has to do with the counterinsurgency strategy planned and executed by the Pentagon in Washington. When

A former mujahideen commander shares his thoughts on the future of Afghanistan. (Diego Solis/Stratfor) METANOIA MAGAZINE

The legacy of a bygone era, a British fort overlooks a rural Afghan settlement. (Diego Solis/Stratfor)

juxtaposed with the difficulties faced by tactical commanders in their attempts to manage and understand the tribal order that characterizes rural Afghanistan, the deficiencies become clear. The ruralurban divide in Afghanistan is much more distinct than I expected. Whereas city people have a more nuanced view, the common perception among rural Afghans is that coalition forces have overstayed. Most people I spoke with longed for a quick justice system where all are treated equally regardless of their place in society. They also foster the notion that the Taliban are relatively free from corruption, as opposed to the elites in Kabul. For rural Afghans, the hierarchy and structure of the cities — infused with Western influence — are not in line with the robust beliefs of those occupying the steppes and mountains. It is this divide between the more progressive population centers and the comparatively modest outlying villages that will define the struggle going forward, much as it has throughout the country’s history. This, unfortunately, plays into the hands of the Taliban, who represent the simple life and values that many jaded Afghans long for. It is worth noting that according to the World Bank,

about 75 percent of Afghans live in rural, dispersed areas. A final dynamic that I thankfully wasn’t exposed to was the revenge cycle that mainly occurs in Taliban-controlled areas. If a civilian is mistakenly killed by a military operation or armed drone strike, the family of the deceased are obliged to take revenge. Pashtuns hold dear the concept of badal, which is one of the primary unwritten laws that stretch beyond mere revenge. According to the Pashtuns I spoke with, badal loosely means “proportionality.” As such, if an American-associated strike killed an entire family, to not lose their honor, the relatives of those killed would be obliged by the Pashtunwali to inflict badal on foreign troops. In other words, the male relatives will either conduct a solo, lone-wolf attack or will join the Taliban. Either way, it is bad news for coalition personnel. It is a cycle that is almost impossible to break. And the more U.S. and NATO troops participate in combat operations against the Taliban, the more grievances among the rural populations will continue to accumulate. It was very clear to me upon leaving the country that Afghanistan’s bloodiest days are not yet fully counted. METANOIA MAGAZINE

A busy street market in Kabul. (Diego Solis/Stratfor)

A view of the rural hinterlands that define much of Afghanistan’s territory. (Diego Solis/Stratfor)

Rebecca Talbot, Dr. Allison Patton and Todd Talbot

EVENTS

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Chad McMillan

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Nicole Oliver

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Genevieve Buechner

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Dan Payne

Gabe Khouth

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Fiona Vroom

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Ashley Diana Morris

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Colin House

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ENTERTAINMENT

Rick Dugdale INTERVIEW BY BRITANY SNIDER

Rick Dugdale is the President and CEO of Enderby Entertainment, an independent film finance and production company, founded in 2006 by Dugdale and his filmmaking partner, writer-director-producer Daniel Petrie, Jr. Dugdale oversees all aspects of Enderby Entertainment’s business, finance and production and spearheads the company’s relationships with its worldwide community of financial partners. Currently, Dugdale is in production on Enderby’s most ambitious project to date, three films shot back to back, based on a series of European best-sellers by the immensely popular Swedish author Håkan Nesser. The three stand-alone thrillers, adapted by Daniel Alfredson & Ditta Bongenhielm, are stories interconnected by the Café Intrigo, which gives the three films their overall title. The first film, Intrigo: Death of an Author, starring Ben Kingsley, has completed principal photography on location in Belgium and the Balkans. The second film, Intrigo: Dear Agnes, is shooting now; the third, Intrigo: Samaria, will begin shooting immediately, without a break. All three films are directed by Sweden’s Daniel Alfredson, the director of Enderby Entertainment’s Blackway. Dugdale, on behalf of Enderby, financed and greenlit the trilogy, which will be distributed in various territories worldwide by Fox International and Miramax. METANOIA MAGAZINE

Growing up in a small town like Enderby, what was your childhood like? My childhood was fairly typical of a Canadian boy, playing hockey in the winters and baseball in the summers, surrounded by wonderful family and a large extended family. Early in my hockey days, I suffered a car accident that ended up putting my hockey aspirations on the back burner. It was that fork in the road that put me into the arts. I started down the path to be an actor before getting more interested in being an actual filmmaker early in highschool. What peaked your interest in the entertainment industry? I always had this passion to entertain people and make people laugh. I realized very early that the platform you have as a filmmaker is not just a small town theater but the world. You have the ability to make an impact on the most amount of people through the lens. Why was it so important to get Indie films, presented to a larger audience? For the most part, indie films tend to focus on something we’re passionate about – great stories. Not that blockbusters aren’t, but when dealing with smaller budgets you rely on the story and the performances to entertain your audience. Indie films have a place in the larger market, but exhibitors have always been nervous about taking an indie film to a wide release because they can’t guarantee the popcorn sales, which ultimately Spider Man will give them that. I think with the shift of the viewing platforms like Netflix and Hulu, the audience for indie movies is growing, they just may not be in cinemas per se. This isn’t a bad thing either. It means there are more areas for great content which leads to a wider audience.

who we teamed up with on the BC shot film Blackway is both the director and co-writer of the screenplay adaptations. Similar to the Millennium series (which Daniel directed), this is more of a Scandinavian crime noir, however all in English with a British cast. We have a 75 day schedule, spread over 4 countries, with over 300 crew. Shooting back to back to back. Not sure it’s ever been done like this before, but it’s been incredibly effective. I think the complexities of the production and financing make it very interesting for me.

What would you define as success? Success for me starts with Legacy. Can you create something that you will be remembered for? Creating high quality films that your peers look to. Box Office and financial success comes more organically if you focus on the right moves in the beginning. Can you tell me what you are working on now? We are currently in production on a very ambitious project called “Intrigo”. This is a trilogy, or probably more accurately named an anthology. Based on a series of books by the famous Swedish author Håkan Nesser. Daniel Alfredson, METANOIA MAGAZINE

What is next for you and Enderby Entertainment? We go directly into pre-production on a WWII film, written and directed by Academy Award Winning director Robert Port, based on a book by Richard Bausch. Following that we hope to be in production in early 2018 with our first fully developed TV series. Beyond those, from a company perspective, we’ll be launching an international film fund base and will look to expand operations globally in 2018.

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DESIGN

Valev Laube Originally growing up in post-Soviet era Estonia, Valev Laube is an Estonianborn brand manager, artist, and designer currently based in New York. He has worked with world renown brands such as Kenneth Cole, Steve Madden, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. His creative genius in digital designs have been the cornerstone of many New York-based festivals, events, and company brands. When Valev Laube, Estonian-born brand manager and designer, started his first large scale design project in 2008, he had very little design knowledge, no marketing background and only had access to a single computer and the Internet for advice. Born to a single parent family, Mr. Laube was the youngest of three children, living at home while his elder siblings had begun their lives on their own. Despite living off his mother’s minimum wage salary in a small Soviet era apartment (in a Khrushchyovkatype apartment complex), Laube remembers his childhood with fondness, as caring and nurturing. “The seventh day of each month felt like Christmas day, it was the day when my mother would be paid. An exciting morning, she would come home with two Lemon cakes, a special treat since payday was the only time when we could afford them. Looking back at my childhood I remember mostly happiness, I wasn’t afraid or ashamed of being poor, nor do I think that anyone thought that life was bad. It was a time that focused more around finding happiness from people beside you, than from things or products. Growing up, I never starved, but I was also not spoiled,” says Laube. Design wasn’t something taught or highly prioritized in the small village where he grew up, an Estonian community populated by 330 people, whom were surrounded by endless forests and farm lands. While post-Soviet Estonia experienced rapid changes after the end of the Soviet Union (showcasing one of the fastest growing economies in the European Union), his home was still Left: Valev Laube at the reception with former Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves (2015, New York City, NY) METANOIA MAGAZINE

Valev Laube performing Estonian folk tunes and contemporary folk music to government officials at the Estonian Embassy

a strong representation of the darker times. Many of the economic benefits gained by the dissolution of the USSR had not yet trickled down to rural areas. Access to digital communication as quickly becoming a gateway to the outer world, completely redefined the meaning of ‘opportunity’ in a country with little resources and small population. With access to internet, Valev Laube’s love of design was formed at the age of twelve when his sister approached him for some computer related advice. Estonia’s internet modernization through the introduction of electronic governance, innovative ID cards, and free public Wifi hotspots approximately every 5km, established new opportunities in pace with the current time and age. The digital opportunities extending from improved communication extended and democratizing the ability to apply for access to various kinds of government and EU funds. With the ability to compete for investments, Valev saw the internet as his opportunity to make his dreams come true. Many European cultural programs, found online, soon became the bases for this Estonian creative expert’s take off into the wide world. After his first experimentations with design, Valev started participating in various youth exchange projects in Sweden, Finland, Greece, and Poland comparing the different world-views of people

from these cultures and living a life that previously, no one could have imagined for himself. “We’ve all heard of EasternEuropean computer enthusiasts that hack their way through the most secured western servers and get a job offer soon after,” says Laube. “However, that does not necessarily translate to giving Eastern-European designers respect for their designs.” After a few years spent participating in youth exchange programs, he assisted organizing youth exchange projects himself in Sweden and Estonia, while deepening his talent for visual communication. Already by the age of sixteen he had marketed many cultural festivals, events and even political youth initiatives, proving himself to be a reliable designer. Soon after, in 2012 he began his independent life as an international student and freelance artist in Italy, before moving to the United States in 2014 to pursue studies in Digital Media. A creative mind whose work has now expanded beyond design to brand management, creative entrepreneurship, and independent artistry, Valev Laube sees his multifaceted past as a strength allowing him to build better connections with clients and investors. As a dreamer who rushed into exploring the world himself, he loves examining dreams of others and finding ways to bring these

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A Digital Art pattern from his most recent collection “Urban Luxury” (2016)

Valev Laube opening the Estonian Cultural Days in New York 2017 for a second year in a row. (New York City, NY)

Photograph by Terttu Uibopuu (Tallinn, Estonia)

Valev Laube together with an HBO Senior Manager Fred Memri at the opening of Estonian Cultural Days (New York City, NY, photo by Chris Nigul)

Laube and his multidisciplinary concert “Tonailty of Culture” at the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.)

Valev Laube with and Estonian model Hanna Paat and an Estonian entrepreneur Keith Siilats

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ideas into the masses. “Often times people with big dreams don’t always find supporters due to the complexity of their presentation, their audience simply can’t grasp it, this is an even more prevalent issue at the time of digital communication,” Valev says. “I love surprising people and seeing how they get passionate about things that previously got little to no attention from them. There are times when we think we know what we want from entertainment, products, or services, and it’s always great to see when their expectations were exceeded.” As part of being the creative director of the Estonian Cultural Days in New York, Valev has brought various famous Estonian celebrities to New York City and presented Estonian culture to a wide array of audiences in New York City as well as in Washington, D.C. His design and marketing related work has made him the up-and-coming Estonian designer and design manager, whose work touches people’s hearts and builds empathy. His list of clients include brands such as Marquee Brand Builders, Grapple Media, and Sacatelle. As well, as part of his work, he has also had the opportunity to make promotional designs for clients including Kenneth Cole, Steve Madden, and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, to name a few. Valev cites his love of visual communication as the thing that has made him successful, specifically the way aesthetic value can change recepients’ perceptions, causing intimate connections to be formed with the target audience. Memories of an postSoviet Estonian village, progressive and rapid changing Estonian cities, various European countries, and New York City’s creative energy has made him realize how little it takes to reach understanding, and that compromises exist in all situations. “Building empathy and connectivity in visual communication is all about finding compromises between what people know and can relate to, and the story I’m trying to tell. One doesn’t exist in a vacuum from the other, they overlap and resonate.” Said Valev while explaining how his life has affected his understanding of design. Valev is currently working on an independent art piece which examines the changes that take place in poverty neighborhoods due to gentrification and how community interaction with historic landmarks changes due to the changing social and economic structures. He is

Digital Art piece from his collection “Utopian Reality” (2014)

Valev Laube has collaborated on multiple occasions with an Estonian-born currently New Yorkbased dancer and choreographer Diina Tamm, who’s worked with an impressive list of artists such as Icona Pop, and Micterwives, while his works have been featured in New York Fashion Week, ABC live broadcasts, and Good Morning America (Photo: Valev Laube)

also in charge of the marketing and web presence of an upcoming Estonian choral event “Esto-Atlantis Concert: A Centennial Celebration of Independence in a Singing Nation” taking place at the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts on April 1, 2018. METANOIA MAGAZINE

For more information on Valev Laube, visit https://www.valevlaube.com/

PHOTOGRAPHY

Fabrice Meuwissen, Photographer PHOTOGRAPHE PORTRAIT TOULOUSE

My name is Fabrice Meuwissen and I am a photographer based in Toulouse, France. I have had a passion for photography for years, finished the Harcourt AcadĂŠmie in Paris, but got truly into the fine art of photography after a long inspiration travel to Australia and New Zealand. Since then, I have been collaborating and developing my personal signature in photography to the next level. I am based in Souther France in the Pyrenees, but travel a lot within France as well as internationally and welcome all collaborations.

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LightInTheEye.com METANOIA MAGAZINE

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SCIENCE

The Future of Renewable Energy:

PRINTED SOLAR PANELS

COULD

PRODUCE SOLAR

POWER

EVERY

ROOF

Paul Dastoor With A Rooftop Installation Of Printed Solar Panels (University of Newcastle)

AS FEATURED ON ABC

PRESENTED BY ROBYN WILLIAMS The key element of silicon solar cells is the semiconductor, which is usually a semi-rigid or glass-like material. Researchers at the University of Newcastle have developed a liquid which behaves like a semiconductor. Being a liquid, it can be applied by printing, coating or painting. One substrate being used is very thin PET plastic. The semiconductor is printed straight on the plastic in a series of layers. The result is then laminated. Interestingly this new cell works better in low light conditions than full light and continues to work in cloudy conditions. While the efficiency is low, so too is the cost, making it a contender for cheap mass production. Developer Paul Dastoor says his vision is for every roof of every building of every city in the world covered in a coating which generates power.

Printed Solar Panels Showing Velcro Fixing (University of Newcastle)

Printed Solar Closeup Side Showing Thinness And Mount (University of Newcastle)

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Robyn Williams: And now two projects that our energy ministers should watch. The first is solar tech you can print and paint. Peter Hadfield: Peter Hadfield: So we’re going up the stairs onto the roof. There we go. Thank you. A huge array of solar panels here. Paul Dastoor: And it keeps going around here, Peter, it doesn’t stop there. Peter Hadfield: Oh my goodness! Paul Dastoor: This is what 100 square metres of printed solar looks like. These devices, these are the first ones that we’ve printed. They are around about 1% efficient. So over this, we are around about a kilowatt over the 100 square metres. But again, the point is that we are now able to cover vast areas, and it doesn’t matter whether we are facing the right way or the wrong way, the real question is not so much the efficiency. If I have the space, what’s the cost of the energy? And the energy cost is very low. Peter Hadfield: What’s on the roof of that building at the University of Newcastle represents a huge step forward in solar technology, and it’s 100% Australian made. The solar sheets laid out there may be less efficient than conventional solar panels but they have several advantages. The solar sheets can be cut up and made to fit odd shapes and surfaces where rigid panels can’t go. And they work much better than rigid solar panels in incidental light and on cloudy days. But let’s start over there in the physics building where the research began. My guide is developer and head researcher Professor Paul Dastoor. Paul Dastoor: We are now in the prototyping laboratory of the Centre for Organic Electronics, and here we develop small-scale devices based around materials that are organic semiconductors. Here’s a small vial of the semiconducting polymer. Peter Hadfield: It’s kind of a purple colour, it looks like iodine. Paul Dastoor: It’s a liquid and it flows and it coats the inside of this little vial here. And what I’ve got, effectively, is a liquid semiconductor. Now, normally semiconductors like silicon and gallium arsenide and so on are hard, rigid glasslike materials. That limits ways in which I can fabricate them. But with a liquid I can fabricate it in a variety of ways on a variety of substrates. For example, via printing, coating or painting.

In this area we are spin-coating small devices. So we’ve got a small piece of glass on a rapidly rotating turntable, put a droplet of liquid on and we get a thin film formed. The films we form are around about 100 nanometres. So here we are in the printing laboratory, and what you’re looking at is a pretty standard label printer, nothing special. This machine usually makes wine labels. But here what we are doing is we take our substrate which is a PET film, that’s just the same thing as you make PET bottles from… Peter Hadfield: And that’s very flexible. What sort of thickness is that? Paul Dastoor: This is 75 microns. Peter Hadfield: Okay. Paul Dastoor: That then goes through this system and we print a series of layers to build up the device. In the next machine that we have designed it will print everything all in one go, so that will be a much more integrated process. And that’s the same process that makes crisp packets, chip packets, you know, the metallisation on chip packets. The same process does our top contact. Peter Hadfield: You could scale this up. At the moment this is about 40 or 50 centimetres wide? Paul Dastoor: It’s 300 millimetres wide, so about A4 width. Peter Hadfield: And you could scale that up to something much, much bigger. Paul Dastoor: Yes, so the next machine will be wider rolls. Industry standard are printing on the four-metre rolls, eightmetre rolls. Once I can do it at this scale, I can do it at any scale. These materials produce more energy across the day. It turns out that they work better at low illuminations than conventional devices, but they have lower efficiency. What about their lifetime? They are made from plastic, they won’t last as long, will they? That’s true. A conventional solar cell is rated for 20 years. These will last about 2 to 3. The point is that efficiency and lifetime are factors but they are not the most important thing. The most important thing is what the cost of the energy? And it turns out that at only around about 2% to 3% efficient and 2 to 3 year lifetime, this is now as cheap as conventional silicon

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solar cells. But excitingly for us, we only have to get to 5% to 6% efficient and 5 to 6 year lifetime and we are cheaper than the energy you produce from coal. Peter Hadfield: And presumably you are incrementally improving the efficiency of these things as you continue experimenting? Paul Dastoor: Absolutely, we are now developing the next generation of lowcost inks that will get us to somewhere around about 4 % to 5% efficient, and that’s exciting. What we do in the solar paint technology is we take those polymer materials I showed you and we turn them into an emulsion in water. So they are now tiny particles suspended in water. And that then means I really do have a paint. That’s a paint that I can coat on surfaces, and indeed we are looking at using that as ink for our printed solar cells. So I have another project where we are making excellent progress, because that would allow us to have the solvent medium as being out of water. Can we directly apply it to a roof? Well, we have directly painted surfaces with a paintbrush to do that, and so we have projects looking at that now. Where do I think that is? I think that’s about five years away, but direct coating is certainly possible. I’ll give you an example of some of the projects that we are working on. I have one student who is doing a thesis on can we use these as mobile charging stations for developing countries? Our vision is that we will see every roof of every building in every city in the world covered in a coating that generates power, and it’s not just the roof, it can be the walls, it can be the fences. We will just extract power from the sun at low cost from every location that we can. We are now in a position where not only do we have the solutions, we can see how those solutions are going to arrive in the next 2 to 3 years and we had better develop them quickly, especially here in Australia or someone else will do it for us. Robyn Williams: Professor Paul Dastoor at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, with Peter Hadfield.

IN MEMORIAM

Sir David Tang

Sixty-three year old Sir David Tang, beloved columnist, businessman, and scholar, passed away from cancer on August 29, 2017. Described as a “Hong Kong's first internationally recognized socialite and an unofficial ambassador” by TIME, the famous entrepreneur had been well known for his close friendships notably including the late Princess Diana, Supermodel Kate Moss, and Actor Russell Crowe. Appointed as Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Sir Tang received recognition for his charitable works across the United Kingdom. Originally an immigrant to the United Kingdom from Hong Kong, he was incredibly motivated towards education, studying Philosophy before later achieving his Doctorate of Law from Cambridge. Later, in 1983, he started teaching at Peking University. A man of many talents, he grew his career to new heights through the opening of several businesses, establishing the fashion boutique Shanghai Tang, and various restaurants including the China Club, China Tang, and the Island Tang, located in Hong Kong, London, Peking and Singapore. A columnist for the prestigious Financial Times, he balanced his political opinions along with his flair for entrepreneurship. As described by the Financial Times, “Tang was an eloquent ambassador for Hong Kong, deftly balancing a degree of deference to mainland China with a strident defence of the former British colony’s liberal traditions.” We at Metanoia magazine send our deepest sympathies to his wife Lucy, daughter Victoria, and son Edward. From left to right: Sir David Tang and Richard Proksa METANOIA MAGAZINE

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EDITORIAL

Heroes & Villains

RANT RANT BY HANK LEIS

My Rants usually originate from some innocuous casual statement uttered in my presence, that when given further reflection by me, initiate a of diatribe of discussions in response. Most recently such was the case when I received a phone from my daughter in London, regarding a movie she had watched called “The Stanford Prison Experiment.” She insisted I watched it, I sluffed it off, claiming to know all about Zimbardo’s “classic” experiment. Instead I contacted him, and as a result of some effort persuaded him to respond to one question. Neither my question nor his response are the subject of this rant – however that my good wife persuaded me to watch the movie is. In a sense the movie, is a “must see” for those who are interested in the sharp edges of human behaviour or leadership as perceived through the eye of the storm, rather than the platitudinous “good” leadership models currently in vogue in most Universities. The movie is a hard watch. It is difficult to get through it without demonizing the “actors” or those conducting the experiment. Every emotion within me screamed for the experiment to stop – while my analytical side wanted to see what extremes “good” human beings were capable of doing, given a chance. The Stanford Prison Experiment is really a movie for people of “good” character who are in constant judgement of others, in order to see themselves as they really are, and then of course deny it. Society has a tendency to put the makeup on the daily blemishes of verbal sarcasms, unkind acts, and rudeness by describing them as just jokes or retaliation for some perceived fault in another. The movie unmasks everyone – even the victims and the compromisers. No one is left untouched.

In my question to Dr. Zimbardo, I explained that his experiment, I believed formed a part of a group of studies that included John Calhoun’s, “Mouse Paradise Experiment,” studies and writings by Professor Eugene Burdick (American Voting Behavior, The Ninth Wave, and The Ugly American) as well as Howard Bloom’s The Lucifer Principle and E.O. Willson’s Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. He stated, “My current life is focused on everyday heroes as part of my heroic imagination project – [heroicimagination. org].” Liking or not liking the experiment is not the issue, as you watch it. Understanding it – for those who dare set aside their prejudices and virtues - can accomplish profound metanoic changes from within. The challenge in watching this movie, is to suspend your own judgements to clear the path to understanding human behaviour and most importantly your own, especially if you are into believing that any orthodoxy takes you on the path of righteousness.

Watching The Stanford Prison Experiment helped us accomplish profound metanoic changes as we soon discovered.

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Failure to Communicate

RANT RANT BY HANK LEIS

We have unprecedented access to those we wish to contact because of the various devices and modes of communication made available to, well, everyone; yet we just don’t seem to get each other’s points of view. In communications theory we are taught that there are two categories of disputes. The first is about facts, which are ‘easily’ resolved by researching for evidence. The other is emotional, which can also be resolved once the facts prove that the emotions are ill founded. Every MBA graduate and communications student knows that, yet ‘knowing’ hardly compensates for the ill will between combatants trying to make their point of view prevail. Even how a fact is established often becomes contentious. We are in an era where nothing can be taken for granted, and points of view that prevail are determined by ‘likes’ and ‘dislikes’. Modern democracy, has in a sense made it so. It has been said that democracy is a terrible approach to politics, but no better system has been found. The notion that the present and the future of mankind can be determined by an X in a single act of voting, and then that decides the legitimacy of the ‘winning’ party to, with impunity, make all decisions on behalf that cast of X’s that, as absurd as it may seem, (‘yes/no or like/dislike’),are to be rewarded for their now lawful entitlements.

mental development of the average voter being that of an eighth grader. It is spoken, not only by political hacks and back room boys, but repeated, usually accompanied by a laugh, by the voting public. What the backroom boys say about the people’s representatives is even more disconcerting.

who unjustifiably exploit the system and the ‘poor, the forsaken, and virtuous.’ This must be made good by the wealthy exploiters by forsaking their earnings and ill gotten wealth, to those without. Democracy is not only about equality at the voting booth but as well the economic benefits.

But things, “They are a changin’!” We are all chatting, opining, and making exhausting demands, so every absurd comment becomes a numbers game, to ascertain the delivery by politicians (if they want to retain their positions). There is no longer a ‘plus one.’ We are all that plus one. And democracy is about delivering to the people what they want, especially that plus one that takes the politician past the magic 50%.

It has become the aspiration of every good human being to help the less fortunate (while of course in so doing help themselves). How can anyone argue with such a grand gesture and virtuous proposition. But all opinions are relevant in a world where entitlement is a constant refrain. The democratic process says it is so and the compelling force that drives the system is defining oneself the victim. Certainly we can all find a situation where we feel exploited and victimized.

But from whence? That is not a question any wants to ask or delve into. It is an awkward question, for one who seeks power. No system delivers every conceivable whim. The transfer, most obviously take place from those who have, to who have not. So political power be attained by convincing the nots’ that the system has enriched

must those must ‘have those

Reframing oneself from bully to victim is so easy. Just by saying, “Sorry,” before the dislikes exceed the likes one can reframe one’s victim quotient and somehow gain the status assigned to victims. I apologize to all those I have offended with my rant.

Hank Leis is author of The Leadership Phenomenon: A Multidimensional Model

In a democratic system such as in the U.S. the 50/50 split of likes and dislikes is almost automatic. And of course this makes tremendous sense because the system ordains it. 50% always has greater benefits in any system than the other 50%. To get to 50 plus one requires tremendous persuasion, true and false news and an understanding of who the elusive ‘they’ are, as in who votes and who does not (thus the need for constant polling and pollsters). Hence, the reliance on emotional persuasion. There is a commonly used aphorism about the METANOIA MAGAZINE

TRAVEL

THE DAN WALKER CHRONICLES TO CAMAGUEY

Dan Walker

Is an adventurer, a businessman, and raconteur. He has visited every country in the world. His trusty Rolls Royce has taken him across many continents. He includes his grandchildren in some of his travels allowing them to select the destination. Originally, he hails from Victoria, British Columbia, but now resides in Costa Rica. We are pleased to present the Dan Walker Chronicles.

The planning for this trip was fairly simple - rent a car for two weeks and wing it - no plans, no reservations. The flights were booked through our in house travel agency, and the visa process a pleasure. I went to the Cuban Embassy where I pressed the buzzer and was let in - no guards of any kind, just a room with seating and a secretary. I presented the online forms plus $15 each, chatted to a pleasant fellow for 15 minutes about driving times and things to do and the visas were done. Well before we left I was pawing the ground - it has been 7 months since I've travelled and after the long hours of work we were both more than ready to get away. The two hour flight was smooth and arrived on time. The immigration lines were slow, but there were several officers. We had been told that we must purchase compulsory medical care for $3 each per day, but there was no one to ask where to buy it until we were through immigration, and then we were told it was before immigration and we couldn't go back, so decided not to bother. The prepaid rental car was ready, road maps purchased at information, a SIM card purchased for the cell phone and money changed. It turns out we paid 11 Euros per day more to book online than if we rented at the airport. We needed to put a $500 US deposit on the car, but found our Costa Rican International credit cards were rejected. We left the airport on the wrong road, but through dead reckoning ended up close to where we were supposed to be. The idea was to stay at a airport hotel or a hotel on our route east. It turned out there are no airport hotels, nor are there any hotels within hundreds of kilometres of the airport on the National Highway east. METANOIA MAGAZINE

We had been told there were homes where we could rent a room along our route, so after asking we were directed to a small dirt road where there was one of these houses. There were two rooms adjoining with private bathrooms, matrimonial beds and full sized fridges with beer in them. They also had a lock up garage for the car, so we took it for $20. We were advised these rooms were for Cubans -- the cleaning standards fell well short, and my sheets had interesting red rust coloured spots and yellow spots. We found a small (1 table, 2 chairs) restaurant where Marilynn had a pork chop and I had a pizza accompanied by beer purchased across the street. We met a number of the locals who dropped by, and everyone was very friendly, but the poverty is certainly evident. We did get a very important lesson in economics from the honest lady who was looking after the restaurant. Each CUC peso (tourist currency) is worth 25 local pesos - we would have over payed 25 times! The lady told us things were improving in Cuba, that they could now get food on a regular basis where before it was scarce, and that some private enterprise was permitted. Lack of care and maintenance that goes with collectivist economies was evident everywhere in rundown or abandoned buildings and apartment blocks. Back at our rooms we tucked the car away in the garage and retired to our separate rooms, Marilynn to read, and me to write. When it came time to sleep, I put the somewhat clean top sheet over the bottom sheet, left on my pants, socks and T-shirt, put a table cloth on top of me and my travel vest over that. It was a very on and off night sleep wise, not improved by the owners dog that barked regularly until about 1 AM then the 3:46 AM rooster went off and took over from there.

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CONTINUING FROM THE LAST METANOIA

A BOOK BY A CANADIAN RCMP AND A CSIS OFFICER

WHAT A RIDE Apart from chasing some of the many attractive elevator operators in the Space Needle after we were finished our evening performances we had the added excitement of a rapidly-rising star in our midst. Elvis Presley was also performing that week and his trailer was parked adjacent to our stables. I went past the trailer many times. However, I did not have the opportunity to see him or to meet him. Others did, as they caught him relaxing before or after his show. According to those who did chat with Elvis, they said he was extremely friendly and easy to talk to. It would have been nice to have met him and compare profiles as, in my late teens, with my long hair and “duck tail” I was hassled about looking like Elvis. From Seattle we moved on to appear at the Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona, California, a suburb community, 35 miles east of Los Angeles city. Our first impression of Los Angeles had us in tears. The pollution was so intense that we could look directly at the sun, which appeared as a large grey light in the sky. For many of us the pollution created the feeling of being in a cloud of tear gas, akin to what we had experienced in basic training. Our eyes stung and watered until we had been in the bus to Pomona long enough for us to be removed from the dense pollution in the centre of the city. As we moved further South into the United States, it quickly became clear Canada and Canadians were an oddity for many. We were the focus of their curiosity and were faced with questions and remarks that made us ponder where some of these people came from. Two women asked Eldon Davies––one of our team––“What form of monetary system do you use in Canada?” Eldon was extremely quick-witted and perhaps was the very person they should not have posed that question too. He responded, “Beaver pelts and salt.” To his amazement, they replied in a deep Southern drawl, “Oh, really?” They believed him.

Eldon, in disbelief, walked away and let it ride. One man was a little more tactless in his attempt to be humorous. He pointed to our lances and asked, “Are those Canada’s answer to the Atlas missile?” He got no response, although one member commented under his breath that he was lucky not to find himself at the end of one. Pomona was a great stop. We had motel accommodations with an exceptional outdoor pool that got a lot of use in our downtime. It was hot and we were all appreciative of the pool after sweating through our performances. Our uniforms, with their high tight collars, in that environment, had to be dry cleaned every second day. We would be soaked after each ride and often we would find salt powder on the outside of our high boots as the saline content in our body perspiration percolated through our leather boots. Over time, this caused me to be forever burdened with what seemed to be incurable psoriasis on my right leg. Finally, after 45 years a doctor provided an ointment which finally cured this annoying condition.

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The officials of the Los Angeles County Fair treated us like royalty. They arranged for Gisèle Mackenzie, a popular Canadian singer in Hollywood at the time, to present a plaque to each of us. They also arranged a tour of Disneyland. Can you imagine 36 members of the RCMP Musical Ride touring Disneyland in full dress uniform? We became part of the Disneyland scene, like all of the other characters. The tourists must have thought we were from a new production of the old movie Rose Marie. For us, it was a matter of pondering: “Which one was Goofy?” When we left Pomona and arrived at the Los Angeles train station, we found our train hearing north had been delayed several hours. We were advised the delay was due to troop trains headed south. While we waited several troop trains, loaded with men and equipment passed through. We learned they were headed for the southern United States in the event of a confrontation with the Soviet Union over Cuba. It was in its early stages of the dispute over Soviet missiles detected in Cuba and things were heating up. We were glad to be moving north, even though our next stop was only as far as Fresno. Fresno, from our point of view, was just another town with an annual fair. There we met three men who were somehow involved with the fair and the local police. They were gun advocates and over a beer we talked a lot about firearms and hunting. Two of the three told stories about getting “blind shots” off during their hunting expeditions. One said he just heard “something” and the other said he saw bushes moving. They told their stories proudly while we looked at each other in amazement and dismay. These guys were serious. Neither said that they had seen any game. To us, stories like that were frightening. In view of the gun lobby and the attitude towards guns in the United States, we wondered if this kind of mentality was common. From our perspective, we hoped they never came to Canada to

hunt. If there was anything memorable about Fresno, it was those stories. From Fresno we went to Portland, Oregon before heading back to San Francisco for our final tour stop. In Portland, we ran headlong into Hurricane Frieda on October 12th which did considerable damage in the area. It was a rare and highly unusual storm which formed in the Pacific Ocean near Wake Island and at that point could have been considered as a typhoon. However, Frieda reversed course and headed straight for the North American coast making landfall in northern California and moving up the coast through Oregon and Washington States before hitting Vancouver, B.C. as well. Reports indicated winds of 145 mph were recorded along the Oregon coast with gusts of close to 180 mph. Fortunately, the horses were all okay through the ordeal, even though the stables were old, small and not in good of condition. As for us, we were either hidden away in the hotel or in local bars which had designated themselves as “hurricane shelters.” In the morning, there was extensive damage to be seen in the downtown area and en route to the fair grounds. Large store windows were blown out and glass was everywhere. All sorts of debris littered the streets and the drivers had to thread the needle to get the cars around safely. San Francisco was our last stop. Finally, we had reached the end of the tour. One week in the famous Cow Palace and we would be on our way home. San Francisco was probably the best stop of the 1962 Musical Ride tour. We stayed right downtown in the luxury of the St. Francis Hotel where a dinner and dance was arranged in our honour. Gerry Colborne and I were pictured in the local press dancing with our “dates.” According to the press article, “Some of San Francisco’s most attractive young unattached girls were recruited as dates for the young men.” They were right about that. In 1962, the hippy generation was just beginning to take hold. Haight and Ashbury were street names that were on their way to becoming famous. From just about every radio in town, Tony Bennett was crooning “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”. At the same time, the Cuban missile crisis was entering a most critical stage and directions posted to access fallout shelters were displayed throughout downtown San Francisco. For one of the evening performances, I was selected by Staff Hill to carry the Canadian flag into the riding ring for the opening ceremony. I rode into the arena with the Rodeo Queen, who carried the U.S. flag. That was an honour for me. Two nights later, I was to experience a

low point in that same arena. One of our moves was called the “gates” which was two groups of eight horses moving in line abreast in opposite directions. As the two groups approached each other they would turn, in effect acting like spokes on opposite sides of the hub of a wheel. As the outside horse, circling to my left, I had to ensure Nugget broke into a canter in order for the line to remain straight, when the line began to circle. This is akin to kids playing “snapping the whip” on ice. The outside skater really has to move to keep up. In this case, to achieve this manoeuvre on horseback, I had to ensure Nugget was leading with his near fore, in other words, his left front hoof. However, I did not have my legs on strong enough to encourage him to make the adjustment. He was leading with his off fore, or right front leg. This was a recipe for disaster and at the canter, Nuggets front legs crossed. Nugget went down like a bulldozer ploughing his head into the dirt. I came over his head and followed to make my imprint in the dirt as well. There we were, both scrambling to regain our footing. Once on our feet, I scurried to remount and regain my position in file only to find all four reins were on the near or left side. Fortunately, the lance drill followed shortly after the gates. Therefore, with the horses stopped, the only movement was the lance drill. This gave me the opportunity to quickly remount, regain my composure, and get the curb and cheek reigns back in their proper positions. Once that was done I completed the remainder of the show without incident, albeit both Nugget and I looked a little tattered. After the show Staff Hill was––again–– furious with me for allowing Nugget to go into the gates on the wrong lead. This time, he was right; it was my fault. Even though that moment was serious for me, from his vantage point, Nugget and I must have looked comical covered with dirt. Nugget’s head was covered in dirt, and as I had rolled in it, my uniform was covered as well. So, there it was. In the 1962 tour, I was the first to go down in a performance ride in Winnipeg––our first stop––and again in San Francisco, our last. One evening we were all invited to a dinner in our honour. It was, in essence, a command performance where two or three of us, in our red serge uniforms, were placed at each table of ten. Of course, we were the guests of honour and every individual had to deal with a barrage of questions from the other guests at their respective tables. Nevertheless, it was a very enjoyable evening. After several speeches were made, Inspector Downey METANOIA MAGAZINE

concluded his remarks by offering to answer questions. After fielding a number of questions, a woman raised a question about the Canadian National Anthem, which she understood to be “The Maple Leaf Forever.” Downey explained that “O Canada” was the National Anthem and went on to comment on The Maple Leaf Forever being a song close to the hearts of Canadians. Then, for some unknown reason, he offered to have all the members of the Ride rise and sing The Maple Leaf Forever. We were in shock and disbelief. I didn’t know all of the words, nor did anyone else. While we started off with a rousing first and second line, everything rapidly deteriorated from there as we tailed off into a weak and embarrassing hum. Downey’s quick retort, “There will be singing lessons in the morning.” The laughter quickly dissolved all concerns about our pride. By the time we left San Francisco, the news was full of the Cuban Missile Crisis and on the train we passed around a Time magazine with photos of the missile silos taken from a U-2 aircraft. We were glad to be leaving the fear of war that hung over the United States from October 16th to 28th, 1962. It was disturbing. From San Francisco we meandered our way back to Canada through Vancouver. From there we crossed the mountains en route back to Regina where we were to arrive on November 8, 1962. That trip was one long party. The tour was over. It was now a collection of memories, both good and bad, and foremost, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. At the end of the tour, I had a long discussion with Inspector J.G.C. Downey, who tried to convince me to stay for the 1963 tour. However, he agreed— reluctantly––to my return to police duties. I had the highest regard for him and I very much appreciated his consideration of my request. For a change, my opinions were taken into account; that was a first. He released me and I was to return to British Columbia. I was very happy.

Leonard N. Giles joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in 1960. When the Canadian Security Intelligence Service was proclaimed in 1984, he crossed over after twenty years in counterespionage. In his career, Giles had assignments in the United States, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, India, Macau and the Philippines, retiring in 1991.

CANADIAN POLITICS

Facts and Beliefs In Society BY DR. GORDON HOGG, MLA, PHD

Former Minister of State for ActNow BC, was a Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for the Liberal Party. A psychologist, he was a Regional Director in the province’s Corrections Service prior to his election in 1997. ActNow BC is a government initiative that crosses departmental lines to promote healthy living.

“Facts schmacts,” said Homer Simpson. “Facts are meaningless. You can use facts to prove anything that is even remotely true.” Why does the same information get interpreted in so many different ways and thus lead us to different conclusions? Well, famous New York Yankee catcher Yogi Berra, the master of the pithy quote, had an answer. He said that: “There are some people who, if they don’t know, you just can’t tell them.” I assume that he meant that because they already know something different, they won’t or can’t change. I suspect that each one of us has met someone like that In fact, we may even be like that: someone who does not already know something so won’t or can’t change. This is not like John Maynard Keynes, who said: “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?” He said that, but’could he do that? For it seems that the answer for most of us is as Yogi Berra meant it. We interpret the facts in a way that affmns what we already know. This, however, makes agreement somewhat difficult. For just as we seek to affmn what we already know, everyone else is doing the same thing, thus keeping.our beliefs and, thus, our agreement separate.

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That may be why Winston Churchill said: “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” He was, of course, referring to his beliefs, not those of the voter. Again, the same information leading to different conclusions because of what we already believe. Thanks, Yogi. You should have stuck to baseball - a game with rules and an umpire. Or as Homer Simpson said: “People can come up with statistics to prove anything. Fourteen percent of all people know that.” It seems that we hold on to our beliefs like we hold on to our most treasured possessions, and it seems that it makes it so difficult for us to change our mind or to find agreement when we disagree on matters of substance.

ECONOMICS

“Nothing, however, can be more absurd than this whole doctrine of the balance of trade.” - Adam Smith (1776) Missives SOME BALANCE DONALD J BOUDREAUX Professor of Economics and Martha and Nelson Getchell Chair for the Study of Free Market Capitalism at the Mercatus Center George Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030

In “This Time, Trump Is Right About Trade” (May 31), Greg Ip is wrong to worry about Germany’s trade surplus with America. If Germans find investment opportunities in America to be especially attractive, they invest much of their savings in America. And if we Americans do not find investment opportunities in Germany to be attractive, we invest little or nothing in Germany. The result is a net inflow of investment to America from Germany. In turn, this net German investment in America causes the growth of the capital stock here to exceed Americans’ savings this period. The conventional conclusion drawn from this pattern of international investment flows is that Americans save too little - or, at least, that Americans save less than Germans. This conclusion is mistaken. If Germans invest more of their savings in America than we Americans invest in Germany, this fact implies only that some of the savings invested in America are contributed by Germans. While it’s therefore necessarily true that the resulting amount of investment in America exceeds Americans’ savings, this fact does not mean that Americans save too little. It means only that Germans invest more in America than Americans invest in Germany. How this net inflow of investment into America harms our economy is mysterious. Would we Americans be better off without the additional factories here that are funded with German savings? Do my fortunes, as an American, necessarily dim if Herr Mueller from Munich joins his savings with those of Mr. Miller from Miami in investing in Silicon Valley R&D? Would our economy be more vibrant and grow more quickly if Germans and other foreigners reduce the amount of savings that they add to whatever investments we Americans make in our economy? I fail to see how.

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Mountainview

WELLNESS CENTRE 3566 King George Boulevard, South Surrey For more information call 604.538.8837 or visit www.mountainviewwellnesscentre.ca METANOIA MAGAZINE 80