April May 2013
METANOIA
JOHN VAN DONGEN ABBOTSFORD’S CANDIDATE
NEW YORK STATE PREDICTIONS FOR 2013
THE RANT- REVOLUTION
METANOIA EXECUTIVE AND STAFF
A NEW WAY OF THINKING
PUBLISHERS
SALME JOHANNES LEIS & ALLISON PATTON
COPY CHIEF
CALEB NG
EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS
JR LEIS AND HEINO LEIS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING
DAL FLEISCHER
PHOTO ARCHIVIST CONTRIBUTORS
GALINA BOGATCH Maureen Bader Alex Barberis Andy Belanger Donald J. Boudreaux Tim Brown Brian Croft Miki Dawson Cheryl Gauld Kulraj Gurm Marilyn Hurst Peter and Maria Kingsley Marilyn Lawrie Hank Leis
METANOIA MAGAZINE is a publication of METANOIA CONCEPTS INC. For questions, comments, or advertising contact by Phone: 604 538 8837, Email: metanoiamagazine@gmail.com, Mail: 3566 King George Blvd, Surrey, BC, Canada, V4P 1B5 2
Salme Leis Chris MacClure Seth Meltzer Caleb Ng Janice Oleandros Allison Patton Cara Roth Kaela Scott Pepe Serna Dan Walker Harvey White
METANOIA CONTENTS
A NEW WAY OF THINKING
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Executive Summary The Journey to Change the World
On Loyalty, Courage and Dissidents New York States Outlook for 2013 The Rant The Gallery Appreciative Inquiry Haiti-Decorating a Voodoo Temple
By Hank Leis By Seth Meltzer The Independent, John Van Dongen By Seth Meltzer Revolution Panache and Parties Interview with Lisa Giruzzi Featured Artist: Kay Bonathan
In The Queen’s Bed
A Stay at the Hotel Vancouver (in 1969)
Kunming to Lijiang
By Dan Walker
An Ode to Teilhard de Chardin Missives The METANOIA Horoscope
By Hank Leis Boudreaux Strikes Again! It’s good for you
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Executive Summary This month’s magazine features John Van Dongen who finds himself after seventeen years in the BC legislature, a man without a home. Hank Leis writes an article on loyalty, courage and dissidents. The question one asks is whether being a dissident is an act of courage or disloyalty. Hank Leis discusses this question that offers insights on the drama enfolding as the BC election process unfolds. Seth Meltzer from Albany, New York interviews Michael Strong on the Journey to Change the World. As well Meltzer interviews and talks about Lisa Giurzzi personal and business coach. Both articles offer insights into the developing new world. Kay Bonathan, artist and lecturer discusses her venture in Haiti. Her article is about her personal journey researching Haitian arti in 1972. And of course there is more for you our reader to discover.
The latest work of artist, Moriyuki Kono, and other pictures in THE GALLERY
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The Sedona, Arizona Experience
METANOIA
By Hank Leis The Greek origins of the word Metanoia [met-uh-noiuh] convey the notion of an experience or a moment that is transformative. In fact the change itself would be so remarkable as to shift paradigms and these shifts actually would cause a change in behavior and ultimately the consequences of those behaviors. The articles in this magazine are intended to introduce a different way of thinking so that ideas and notions we take for granted can be reframed in such a way as to renew our life by making it more interesting, challenging and rewarding. Many of us have abandoned our intelligence, our ability to think, our various gifts for being able to create and instead joined the masses whose only goal is to perpetuate the species and dwell in a complacent and apathetic state amounting to nothing more than mere existence. We at Metanoia believe we are all capable of more than that and more importantly are able to generate epiphanous moments for you. We hope that our plethora of deepthinking writers will be able to transform your life into something meaningful and wondrous. Every one of us, to a varying degree, has experienced these moments and most of us who have been so transformed are driven to rediscovering the process that first allowed us our enlightened clarity of mind. In the last decade, scientific advancements have given insights into human phenomena that were previously thought science fiction, such as the viral theory as a contributing factor in the feeling of “love”. Anthropologists may have noticed nuances in human behavior early in our development, but these scientific discoveries now actually explain the physiology of “metanoic thinking”. Our own behaviors are being re-examined in light of these discoveries about brain function, and in particular that our usual way of thinking leads us to our usual results. Moreover mostly we do not think- but react- not unlike reptiles- and this process does not always serve us well. Humankind is evolving, and more and more the primitive fears that govern our behaviors are being discovered to be limiting rather than opportunistic. What we are discovering about ourselves is what our evolution is all about; the beast within will soon be quelled and what will emerge is anybody’s guess. Individually, the context of one individual within a population of seven billion suggests his/her insignificance – let alone a lifetime in the span of eternity. And yet we still have this narcissistic sense that our existence is of tremendous relevance. And while there may be something to this belief, how do these enormous discrepancies in size and time fit together to explain the relevance of this epic story? Simplified, what is the relevance of a person making a living to pay for food and shelter to the formula E=mc2. Our mission, certainly for Metanoia is to explore all those ideas, and to change ourselves and you in pursuit of this intelligence. To put it another way, we want your brain to be engaged in way it never has been before. Are you ready for the challenge?
METANOIA METANOIA March/April 2012 Edition
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NEW WAY OF THINKING
The New Face of BC Politics President of the BC Conservatives White Rock-Surrey Constituency Association
Dr. Allison Patton, MBA
Naturopathic Medicine Week 2011 May 9-15
METANOIA METANOIA METANOIA March 2011
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METANO Apollonia Vanova
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Thank you for 10 years Present
The Rant
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DECEMBER 2011 SPECIAL EDITION
METANOIA 778-788-0073/604-542-5213 jninkovich@stevenashsportsclub.com
Vancouver Is Burning June 2011
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An Interview with
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TOUR DE WHITE ROCK
“Lullabies”
WILL JOHN CUMMINS BE ABLE TO CHANGE BC’S POLITICAL LANDSCAPE?
THE RANT GEORGE SHULTZ PART 3 Interview with a Statesman
Daughter of Texas
La lumiere d’une Chandelle
METANOIA METANO WeThank You For 10 Years!
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2011 Media Kit magazine Special Fall 2011 Edition
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Pepe Serna
Actor, Artist & Motivational Speaker The Scarface Anniversary what it was like on set
2011 Media K 5
THE JOURNEY TO CHANGE THE WORLD BEGINS WITH A SINGLE CITY by Seth Meltzer A few months ago I read an article about an investment group working in Honduras to develop a Special Economic Zone (www. foxnews.com/world/2012/09/11/private-city-in-honduras-will-haveminimal-taxes-government/) to stimulate the local economy. Wikipedia defines a Special Economic Zone (SEZ for short) as “a geographical region that has economic and other laws that are more free-market-oriented than a country’s typical or national laws. ‘Nationwide’ laws may be suspended inside a special economic zone.” A SEZ is also known as a “Special Development Zone,” a “start-up city,” as well as “Special Development Regions.” The purpose of the SEZ is to improve the quality of life through economic freedom. I contacted my friend, Jim Tusty, who has been involved in a similar venture for the past few years in a city in eastern Europe to see if he knew about SEZs or Grupo MGK. He replied by asking if I’d like ask that question directly to the CEO of Grupo MGK. Within a week I was having lunch about an hour outside Albany, New York with Michael Strong and his business partner, Jon Peters to learn more about SEZs and their adventures in establishing SEZs around the world. Michael mentioned for instance in 1960, Jamaica and Hong Kong shared a relatively similar and modest GDP per capita. By 2010, the International Monetary Fund rated Jamaica’s GDP per capita as 89th in the world while Hong Kong’s, under special economic incentives, had and conintues to have a GDP per capita in the top 30 countries of the world having similar GDP per capitas as the UK. History has shown that economic freedom has resulted in the fastest growth and more prosperity than any other structure of governance, and specifically British Common Law has the best track record as far as models go. “Most people think of nationality and the legal system as the same, what if instead look at it as an operating system? This operating system works best so let’s incorporate that here” referring to the idea that you can treat British Common Law as a transferrable operating system from one country to another in the same way the Microsoft Windows operating system can be used on multiple computers. Other examples of SEZs around the globe are Singapore, Chenzhen China, Dubai, Cayman Islands, with Hong Kong and Singapore judged the most economically free entities based on The Economic Freedom Index put out by the Heritage Group and the Wall Street Journal. So why do it? I have to be honest before I met these guys I thought that someone working to start a SEZ would be a true capitalist motivated primarily by profit. I mean, it takes a lot of work and is very risky, so why else would someone undertake the cause? I have to tell you after meeting Michael and Jon I have a much different perspective- dare I say a much more enlightened perspective on the subject. These guys describe the SEZ as an idea whose time has come. What better way to eliminate poverty, halt war, and generally improve the quality of people’s lives by enlightening them to a successfully proven way to govern? That’s just what these guys aim to do. In a way this levels the playing field between large, international corporations and the small business owner on the street corner. Global firms often have access to British Common Law through international arbitrators, however the “man on the street” is stuck with whatever laws exist in a particular country. In 2004 the United Arab Emirates established the Dubai International Financial Center, and in the last 8 years those 110
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acres have become one of the top financial centers on the planet, and real estate values are up 20,000%. George Washington was drawn into the American Revolution as much by burdensome regulation and taxes as he was a sense of patriotism, and the street merchant who set himself on fire in Tunisia, which subsequently launched what we now know as the Arab Spring, was protesting government harassment of small business owners. Massive over regulation causes poverty. The first modern economist Adam Smith said it best “little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice: all the rest being brought about by the natural course of things.” So there you have it, that’s where the SEZ comes in. From what I can tell, to be invited into a country to establish a SEZ requires some sense of desperation, enlightenment and inspiration to intersect in order for a country to be willing to do this. Add to that mix the stipulations set forth by Michael and Jon, “We also need the country to be relatively stable, and forward looking - meaning no civil wars or tyrants.” They also point out that in most countries the elites are dependent on special economic privileges, or “rent-seeking,” which prevents reform of the policies of the nations as a whole. But SEZs work because they start out as just a “dot on the map” so people won’t fight it. A related secondary challenge is a lack of credibility with those in the target host country, people have to believe it will happen, if so there is more popular support. To that end Michael and Jon are working to appropriately brand the concept of SEZs so as to make their job easier. Although when I met with them they were not sure if the project would be revived in Honduras, just prior to submitting this article they heard that Honduras had passed new legislation authorizing SEZs with autonomous law and governance. They also have advocates for similar projects in Detroit, on Native American lands, and in Senegal, Jamaica, Guatemala, and elsewhere. Now that I understood SEZs, the purpose, benefits, and risks involved there was one topic that was left unmentioned by these two guys that I could not avoid making one last effort to dig in on- earning potential. I pleaded “come on guys, with such huge risk this has to payoff BIG if successful.” Their response: “Sure there may be some money to be made, but imagine using this as a tool to eliminate war. A democracy has never gone to war with a democracy. Imagine ending world poverty and providing peace and happiness for six billion people. Think about how far we’ve come as a society in the last one hundred years, just imagine what’s possible.” I got the message. It’s not about the money, it’s about being on a mission. It’s about being a part of something much bigger than themselves, it’s about improving the world for all. You can contact Michael Strong and Jon Peters at: michael@elevat.org and jon@elevat.org
Grupo MGK CEO, Michael Strong
Jon Peters
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John at Abbotsford’s 2012 Canada Day parade
John meeting with Hon. Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade and others discussing agriculture issues in Abbotsford
John speaking at the groundbreaking for the Abbotsford Airport runway expansion
On Loyalty, Courage and Dissidents By Hank Leis
Families begot tribes, tribes begot villages, villages begot cities and countries, and now countries seek universality. This is more or less how the human species has developed as the preeminent ruler of the planet. And for those of us who bother to think about such things, the question is always, “And now what?� Loyalty has always been regarded as a prized attribute of any member of an organization whether it is a family, a gang of hoodlums or a country. Those who have failed to adhere to this oath have been ostracized, excommunicated or even killed. Such has been the penalty for this very fundamental sense of committing oneself blindly to the adherence of tribal customs and their chiefs, that to be labelled traitor carries with it an eternal shame. Wanting to belong, to be part of a group and its destiny carries with it certain obligations and commitments. Religion, philosophy and psychology carry with it also a demand for truth. But as Karl Popper would say, scientific truth differs from the other three simply because science is verifiable and irrefutable; the rest are only right. Sir Karl Popper, born July 26, 1902, who died September 17, 1994, is considered to be one of the preeminent scholars of our times. For those of you so inclined, his story and his writings are worth reading, if not for the pure delight of gaining knowledge, then for gaining insight to the future of mankind and in particular how you are manifesting your own dreams, goals and destiny. Suffice it to say, that the scientific method challenges what man believes against what the underlying truth may be. Science challenges beliefs and in so doing changes the rules and laws and conventions that have given us the gift of civil order which we, for so long have relied on. In other words, all that we have taken for granted, can no longer be relied on, is no longer reliable and everything is open to challenge. Loyalty is no longer a virtue, but now condemned as demagoguery. Laws have been created to protect the disloyal, to encourage employees exposing the illegal or unethical practices of those they work for or with. And revolutions are ripe around the world. Why this sudden passion for disorder and dissent? Primarily because in the minds of the masses the kind of fear of the unknown that once held them back has virtually been eradicated. The leaders of the world no longer have any profound effects because of their ideologies or superior thinking. The internet has put us in touch with all forms of thought and information and heads of state no longer rue the day because of their control of military might or governance processes. Within the domain of Facebook and other social networks we are all kings and if knowledge is power then the internet makes us all powerful. And there is no pleasing us by the well-honed democratic phrase that we are all equal. We are not and we like that-and the freedom and pleasures we seek are specific to us-and general applications are unsatisfactorybecause that which does not apply to us, we distain. We are now all rebels and dissidents and leadership is no longer the 8
John celebrating with Abbotsford’s Sikh community and riding on a float in the parade
panacea that followers once sought as a solution to their demands. We want it-we get it. That is the essence of new democracy. Leaders are ordinary; their support groups are supplicant and sycophantic. We have no awe or respect for them nor for those who worship them and keep them in power. Loyalty and courage are at a crossroads. Internecine struggles have become the rigeur. Leaders can no longer demand and expect blind loyalty from their followers. Critical mass causes implosion and explosions and too many demands, scarce resources, instant communication creating opportunities for massive response to any provocation-make any form of leadership vulnerable. But still it takes courage to take on one’s own. The battle is not between David and Goliath-but with David and many Goliaths. And there is no one to intervene or support David until David has demonstrated his courage and ability. No matter that this is the time of the dissident, it is still not easy. In British Columbia, the next provincial election is expected to be on May 14, 2013. There will be at least four political provincial parties
John pictured with former Lieutenant Governor, Stephen Pointe, receiving the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal
vying to form the government. Also there will be the independents-the dissidents who cannot and will not find a place within any of the other parties. There is a case to be made that given the mood of the electorate; the independents may be a force to be reckoned with, because they dissent. The electorate is in no mood for compromise nor will they elect a member who is willing to do so. What has begun as a challenge to the established may turn into a tsunamichanging politics as we know it. In much of the world, the process has already started. The question is, “Will it take hold here?”
On John van Dongen John van Dongen has been the MLA for Abbotsford South. In March, 2012, John van Dongen left the BC Liberal Party to move over to the BC Conservative Party. He then left the BC Conservatives to become an independent. There could be many interpretations to this act and van Dongen’s character can be framed in many ways. For those who superficially watch the antics of politicians, his may merely be another series of acts of vanity demonstrated by any and all politicians. The political parties he has left have been
ruthless in their attacks on him, to demonstrate his disloyalty. But for those who are engaged in the political process, van Dongen’s story is much deeper; after all it involves a man who has been in politics serving as and MLA since 1995 and now running for re-election. He has served as Solicitor General and Minister of Public Safety, Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations and Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, in several cabinets. Ultimately his story is about selfsacrifice and courage. Anyone who understands the enormity of his decisions, would know that it would have been easier for him to stay the course, knowing that the organization and funding were available to him had he been willing to compromiseand that instead put his own future at risk, for the electorate of British Columbia and his constituency. Whether or not they comprehend to what extent he put himself out there, will be determined by his ability and the resources made available to him. In the final analysis the electorate will determined his future-and whether or not his decision was correct for them. In terms of his personal integrity-he did the right thing-consequences be damned. 9
What follows is John van Dongen’s speech made in December 2012 •I was always determined to see that internal renewal happened within a party. I have seen the pattern in history, like the Social Credit Party and did not want history to repeat itself. •Leaving the BC Conservative Party was also very difficult because I knew that people would be confused and also knew that it would not be good for me politically. I knew I would be accused of not being a team player. •That’s just not the case. I understand how government works and I know there are no simple answers to the leadership problems we are facing in politics today. •Looks easy from the outside, but the workings of government are complex. •Now, as an Independent I am able to say what is on my mind, not toe the line of the Leader or the Whip. •Being an Independent, I am still the same person:
I still believe in the same things. I still believe in balanced budgets. I still believe in leading by example.
I t’s been a crazy year in BC Politics! And a very eventful year for me personally. •
•Many of you here today have extended your words of support and encouragement to me, and I appreciate and value your friendship because in many ways this is a lonesome path to tread. •I’m sure some of you have questions about some of the decisions I’ve made. •Tonight I would like to give an overview of the eventful year and hopefully provide you with a better understanding of what motivates me and my vision for good government. •I’ve been privileged for the past 17 years to be your MLA, first in opposition, then as a member of government, and now as an Independent member.
Decision to Leave the BC Liberal Party
•Renewal within the BC Liberal Party didn’t happen. There were too many decisions I could not defend to my constituents and my government was making decision that they weren’t willing to explain to MLAs. I raised questions on your behalf but did not receive satisfactory answers. •If something isn’t working, I cannot just sit on my hands and not do anything about it. •I felt I had to act and do something on behalf of people of BC so I joined BCCP in good faith, but unfortunately failures in leadership existed there also. 10
I still believe in working hard to deliver good government. •Three Independents have been working together on many initiatives, in the last session we opposed the Family Day Legislation - $28 million cost to government, $1100 per business. Just not the right timing given today’s fragile economic state. •I’ve been an independent for just under a year now, but in that time I have been able to force those in power to look at important issues like the payout of $6 million to guilty parties in the BC Rail deal, to probe and act on other questionable actions of the government, and to pursue integrity in higher offices, like that of the Conflict of Interest Commissioner, to make sure justice is seen to be done not just for a few, but for everyone.
The Provincial Election
•Next election is very unique. We are in unprecedented times. •This riding will be a battleground and I will need your help like never before. •I look around the room and I see many people here tonight that represent many organizations, non-profits and businesses that I have worked with to find solutions, to secure funding, to cut through red tape, to find solutions by bringing together the right people. •For 17 years I have been here for you. Working on your behalf and I enjoy the work of being an MLA immensely. I am still the same John. I roll up my sleeves and get to work. I return every call and my door is open to represent everyone. •Given the incredibly challenging election fast approaching, I hope I can count on your support.
NEW YORK STATE’S OUTLOOK FOR 2013 by Seth Meltzer
On January 31st, 2013 The Business Review put on a 7:30-9:00am power breakfast called “Outlook 2013: Is New York Working For You and Your Business?” that was well attended by what appeared to be about 150 business leaders from the area. The event was sponsored by The Business Council which lobbies on behalf of business interests in New York, as one representative from the Council put it “we protect you from the politicians you elect.” The panel included • Thomas Marusak, founder and president of Comfortex, an international manufacturer of decorative window covering products, employing over 300 people with headquarters in the Albany, NY area. • President and owner of Cleveland Polymer Technologies Panos Angelopoulous who was originally from Greece but now running his successful business in the Capital Region. • Mike Durant is the state director for the New York National Federation of Independent Business which represents the interests of 10,500 small business owners at the state capital. • George Amedor, Jr. is a former state assemblyman and real estate developer responsible for the construction of over 3,500 homes in the region In general I like the power breakfast idea. The first 30 minutes is bagels, coffee, and networking with the panel presenters from 8-9am. It’s fast paced so it doesn’t get bogged down in details. The Business Review publisher Carolyn Jones did a great job of keeping the conversation high level and giving each member of the panel a fair amount of time to speak. Here’s the summary: Although Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo has been more fiscally responsible and business friendly then one would expect from his party affiliation in recent times there is still a lot of work to do for people to really see that “New York is Open for Business” as he suggests. It may not surprise you that the first main concern in 2013 is taxes which remain among the highest in the country. According to Mr. Durant taxes in the state
are the 2nd highest in the United States, and 66% above the national average. Mr. Marusak adds that New York’s workers compensation costs are 2nd highest in the country behind only California. The panel seemed to agree that the high level of taxes is a concern and needs to be addressed immediately, however Mr. Angelopoulous stressed that every country in the world has taxes, in fact they are higher in Europe than in the US, and his focus is to innovate to overcome the tax burden. The second main concern is Governor Cuomo’s goal to raise the state minimum wage from $7.25* per hour to $8.75 per hour which would make it the 3rd highest in the country. This has the business leaders on the panel concerned because of the “trickle up effect” as Mr. Durant suggested and Mr. Marusak echoed.” I think Mr. Marusak’s explanation of why the rise in the minimum wage would cost 100 jobs at Comfortex sums up the situation nicely. The average gross cost per hour (including compensation, benefits, utilities, rent, etc) for Comfortex in New York State is $25.50 per worker, less than $5.00 per hour in Mexico, and way below $5.00 per hour for his competitors manufacturing in China. Comfortex has 100 manufacturing jobs here in the Capital Region that are paid around $9.50 per hour, these are jobs that require precision calculations, a higher than average level of attention to detail and a fair amount of responsibility. The gross cost to Comfortex for these positions is around $14-15 per hour. If a fresh high school graduate with no skills and no training is earning $8.75 per hour then Mr. Marusak’s $9.50 per hour manufacturing employees will demand a fair hourly income spread which he suggests would be in the $11-12 per hour range, making his new total gross cost $18.00 hour at which point it becomes unreasonable to compete with less than $5.00 per hour in Mexico so he moves the jobs there. No matter how much Mr. Marusak likes upstate New York for its climate, quality of life, and New York’s high level of innovation it doesn’t make business sense to keep those jobs here under those circumstances. Although it appears that Mr. Durant and Mr. Amedore are doing their best to convey these concerns to the Governor’s administration Mr. Cuomo
seems fixed on achieving a raise this year even though the NFIB feels the increase will cost businesses $2 billion. The Governor’s most passionate position in support of the raise is that it’s necessary to help low income New Yorkers keep up with cost of living increases. I expect we’ll be hearing more about this in the very near future. Amid a flurry of many ideas the biggest message I heard regarding solutions from the panel was put forth by Mr. Amedore: “Legislatures think they have the answer for every problem that businesses face. The private sector needs to work very closely with the public sector in order to steer them in the right direction.” I, for one, plan to do that. After I left the meeting I signed my organization Action Investor Network up as a member of the NFIB to support their lobbying efforts on behalf of small business in the state. The Business Review is hosting another power breakfast February 26, 2013 for Real Estate Dealmakers, you can bet I’ll be there! *All dollar amounts are in USD
The Business Review publisher Carolyn Jones leading the panel
Seth Meltzer with The Business Review publisher, Carolyn Jones
With my investor Chuck Tobin (left), former United States Congressmen Michael R. McNulty (center), Seth Meltzer (right)
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The Rant
Revolution Revolution is in the air. Maybe there is something to the predictions attributed to the Mayans that the ninth wave is about to swallow us up and new beginnings are about to cause a break with the past. We at Metanoia Magazine believe that there is a new way of thinking emerging that will take us in directions yet to be determined. Not because of some hocus pocus beliefs or insidious plans developed by the “ruling class” but simply because the old ways are not working because the feeble old men who have had their hands on the reins of power are losing their grip and that technology has created a new elitei.e. those who know how to use it. Revolution is in the air because the returns on our efforts have peaked and what we once wanted and have now attained is nowhere near as satisfying to us as what we once hoped for. Having it all is not all that much different than not. Maintenance of what we have attained is using up all the energy that once was directed at creating a future. We are tired of the same old boring conversations and arguments. We are tired of our friends, relatives, bosses, coworkers and the people we run into at stores, restaurants and shopping malls. We want respite from our children, parents, spouses and colleagues. We are tired of eating healthy food and unhealthy food. We are tired and fed up with those who claim innocence and those who proclaim experience and expertise. None can be counted on. The justice system does not mete out justice and the education system provides no education. We are tired of the debates on global warming – because for all intents and purposes neither side has an argument compelling enough to solve our immediate needs with long term solutions. We are tired of the monotony of our jobs. We are fed up with social media, television and movies. Everything we get involved with at first seems interesting but shortly after becomes drudgery. We are tired of the cost of constant repairs 12
by Hank Leis
to our homes and replacing things that don’t work. We are tired of taxes and surcharges and politicians with good wages and great pension plans. We are tired of red tape, and asking permission to do the most mundane of things. We are tired of being judged on how we should live, what we can or cannot do in our homes, and having to pay for other people’s problems and being told we “should” care. We are tired of causes and we are tired of having to put our own lives aside for the benefit of others so they can do what we can’t afford to do. And we are tired of being reminded by those who are getting paid for their “kindness” that we should donate our hard earned dollars to provide an income for them. And out of all this comes angerbecause it is a natural emotional release and requires no one’s permission or asks for no judgement or approval. Ultimately we want new kinds of leaders who have a sense of our despair, our anger and our desire to live meaningful lives. But no one is listening. The politicians make the usual pronouncements and mock the intelligence of the voters with “rah rah” politics and inane diatribes of how the opposition is always wrong and they are right. In Europe, fear and anger has spread to the streets. It is not only Rome that is burning, but also is Paris, London, New York, Athens and Madrid. And there is more to come - much much more. So Obama will not magically solve the problems of the U.S. and the problems that have been revealed are miniscule in comparison to what lies beneath. Is Canada really the safe harbor that it has made out to be? Not likely if one is to look at the huge liabilities and debts piled up by past provincial governments. The “have not” Provinces are sucking the life out of the “have” Provinces – and what happens when there are no “ have” Provinces?
People around the world are looking for answers and these answers are no longer found through strategies. There are too many loopholes in big ideas and big solutions. Slowly the idea of independent politicians is grabbing hold. They are not indebted to parties who manipulate, control and dictate to those who must face the voters in their own communities. The independent politician answers to no one but those he represents. And that we believe is the future of politics. Of course, many including myself would point out the inherent problems with a political system that lacks a central cohesive strategy – but that too will be worked out over time. In the meantime, we remain tired and fed up – but our anger at the status quo – will create change – and ultimately for the better, because that is how and why change comes about. In British Columbia, the internecine battles, within the political parties are legendary, but many regard the recent infighting among party members as having established a new high (or low) depending on your perspective. Both the provincial NDP and Liberals performed a very public execution of their respective party leaders. The BC Conservative Party began their fighting before the party even got started. Leaders no longer get respect and deservedly so. It is their handlers who make the critical decisions and everyone knows that the party leader is merely a paid celebrity. And the handlers jump from party to party – depending on where they get paid most. Political parties represent no ideals or beliefs. They are merely vehicles for those who can gain cheque writing authority to membership monies or ultimately to the huge bottomless public purse. All political parties believe in socialism which means spending public money on themselves or their supporters. Good governance is a mythology and only the evolution of politicians independent of the party line and no loyalty to empty leaders will allow true democracy to flourish. M
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Salme Leis, Ariane Eckardt, Brian Lilley from Sun Media, Allison Patton, and JR Leis at the Conservative Party of Canada BC Regional Conference Banquet
Ian Pyper, president of the Oak Bay-Gordon Head CA, prepares notes for the press conference
Ian Pyper, Dr. Allison Patton, Surrey-White Rock CA and Ariane Eckardt, President of the Burnaby North CA Dr. Caleb Ng, ND with JR Leis at the wedding
Dr. Allison Patton, ND with Prime Minister, Harper and his Dr. AllisonStephen Patton addresses prospective students wife at theLaureen Royal Roads University Information Night at the Hotel Vancouver
Allison Patton,Salme Leis and Alice Wong, MP for Richmond and host for Conservative Party of Canada BC Regional Conference
THE GALLERY Panache&Parties
The Press Conference, Pacifi c HotelMedalist in Drago Adam with 2010Pan Olypic Bronze 4 Man Bobsleigh, Chris Le Bihan at John Furlong’s book launch party.
Ian Pyper, President of the Oak Bay-Gordon Head CA and Dr. Allison Patton
JR Leis, Alexa Posch, Salme Leis, Colin Shields and Allison Patton on the way to press conference on October 10, 2012 at the Pan Pacific Hotel
Dr. Allison Patton, ND trying her hand at archery at the Semiahmoo Fish and Game Club.
Dr. Allison Patton handles a few tough questions from the press
Dr. Allison Patton preparing for the press conference on October 10, 2012 at the Pan Pacific Hotel
Ariane Eckardt addressing the press
Allison Patton and Salme Leis, the two presidents, holding (Allison’s) framed revocation letter from the BC Conservatives.
Our man, Dal, on Safari in South Africa
Pepe Serna with Holton Buggs, Number One Earner in Network Marketing history, at ORGANO GOLD COFFEE, event in Dana Point, California
Dr. Allison Patton, Jas Cheema Manager of Diversity Services at Surrey Memorial Hospital Pritpal Marwaha Author, Linda Stromberg Surrey Library Board, Ursula Kernig Organizer International Women’s Day at QE Theatre Fabrice Taylor, Financial Journalist, Salme Leis, Allison Patton, and Anthony Durkacz, CFO and president of SNIPP Canada at Coffee, Tea and Me event on mobile marketing
African penguins at Cape Town, South Africa
Senator Gerry St. Germain, Margaret St. Germain, Murray Phillips, Red Robinson, and Brian Croft at The West Fine Art Show at Indian Springs Ranch.
Photo submitted by Gary Osborne: Sea Feather and Whaler in Panama
Estonians present for the screening with filmmaker, Jim Tusty Mountainview Wellness Centre, sponsor at the Peace Arch Hospital Foundation’s Great Pumpkin Run/Walk to raise funds for the PAH ER
Dr Caleb Ng of Mountainview Wellness Centre and Mike Evans of Choices Markets, South Surrey present a cheque for $2,100 to Leno Zecchel, Dr. Robert Yong and Prostate Cancer Canada NetworkSurrey Support Group executive.
Allison Patton & Sten Tamkivi, CEO of Skype
Bear table for cake shop: WxHxD: 70cm x 80cm x 70cm / Western red cedar by MK Carving and Sculpting
Dr. Allison Patton, ND with Dr. Ruth Heidrich, PhD, featured in Forks Over Knives documentary as a metastatic breast cancer survivor
Dr. Allison Patton, ND addresses the attendees of the movie screening of Forks Over Knives at Mountainview Wellness Centre
Appreciative Inquiry An Interview with Lisa Giruzzi by Seth Meltzer Best-selling author Lisa Giruzzi has a very interesting story. She was a social worker who was tasked with protecting children from abusive and unhealthy environments for many years until she had an opportunity to work at a for-profit business in New York City leading transformational courses and coaching individuals on their personal development. Her mission was to help people who wanted to explore their limitations and stretch themselves beyond what they thought possible. After three years at the firm she moved three hours north to Albany, New York for a state job training social workers but that exposure to private business had planted the bug and shortly thereafter she began moonlighting as a personal and business coach. Her focus was on how to help people get past their own limiting beliefs and their own thinking that was getting in the way. She began speaking on the subject to many groups throughout the region and noticed a growing trend- business owners wanted her to come speak to their employees. It wasn’t long before Lisa was consulting full-time. Through collaboration with her husband (who happens to work in a related field) she discovered that most often what people wanted from their employment was not to merely make money but to be able to make a contribution, to make a positive impact. Through her experiences Lisa felt that too often employees are told what to do instead of being allowed to bring out their best to make a difference in the bigger picture. She realized that if people were happier, more fulfilled, more engaged, and more enlightened at work that would impact how they would be as parents, as community members, as citizens of the world. “I thought it was a really good opportunity to change the world,” she told me. “Imagine if employers were centers for human development as opposed to just somewhere you got paid.” How inspiring! After sitting with Lisa for over an hour my mind was racing through all of the different ways I could shape her story into an article for our readers to enjoy. For example, her story of how she went from making heart-wrenching decisions like whether or not a mother or father was fit to keep custody of their own children to years later becoming a best-selling author on effective communication and transformational conversations would be a great read! However, there was one technique that I heard come up again and again during our conversation that really caught my attention, it was a methodology that Lisa mentioned she uses in her consulting business called Appreciative Inquiry. I decided to focus the article on Appreciative Inquiry because anyone can use it to dramatically improve their life. Lisa teaches communication but not the way most people teach it, Lisa teaches it from a transformational perspective, and one of the tools she uses to accomplish this is Appreciative Inquiry (AI). Here is more on AI in her own words: 1. What does appreciative inquiry mean to you? Appreciative Inquiry or AI as it is commonly referred to, is an exploration into what works in a human system when the system 16
is operating at its best. In other words, it is intentionally focusing on the elements that lead to the success of the organization or human system when it’s the way you want it to be. Instead of asking the question of the more traditional problem solving/deficit based approach, “What’s wrong?” AI seeks to answer the question, “What do you want more of?” Problem solving or fixing is about taking action to make something you don’t want go away. Creating is taking action to bring something you want into existence. Appreciative Inquiry is discovering what works, distinguishing what you want, then designing structures to make what you want come into existence. The premise of AI is that you do not know the answer. The answer needs to be discovered through inquiry. The path to getting what you want (the future you want to create) is built on what was discovered and that opens up whole new possibilities 2. How have you found it beneficial in helping people to more effectively communicate? To reach goals? When people or organizations focus on what works, the strengths or positive core gets revealed. People become enlivened, inspired, enthusiastic, and their natural creativity and innovation come to life. When this happens people are communicating on a whole new level. Rather than spending time talking about what’s wrong and complaining about how it should be, which are draining, people spend time talking and thinking about what they want to create and this is energizing. Productivity and performance naturally increases. Results are produced more quickly and without the sidetracking that problem solving can cause. Whatever you focus on you get more of. When an organization or individual is only focused on the weaknesses it tends to demoralize them; people become disengaged and take on a “why bother?” attitude. This negatively impacts productivity and performance. On the other hand, when you focus on “what’s working” and the individual contribution to the whole, it causes a shift in perspective that changes how people approach the issues. What’s important to understand is that this is not positive thinking. This is about focusing on what works, answering the question, “What do I/we want more of?” and then creating the world consistent with that. So rather than study the causes of low morale, you begin looking into what creates an enthusiastic or motivated work force; rather than trying to discover how to stop high turnover, you find out what leads to a magnetic work environment. Example: I was working with a restaurant owner that wanted his staff to operate more as a team. He had tried several different methods including telling them to “be a team.” The results were inconsistent and the owner was very frustrated.
I asked the owner what he wanted more of. He said, “more teamwork”. I then asked if he got more teamwork, was that sufficient, i.e. if he had more teamwork he would be satisfied and happy? He said no, what he really wanted was for his restaurant to be highly successful, where customers felt well cared for and known. We held an Appreciative Inquiry with the entire staff where we inquired into times when the restaurant was successful, where customers felt well cared for and known. We inquired into what were the core elements that lead to that kind of success. Staff shared numerous stories and the core factors were revealed. Based on that information, we then asked, “What structures need to be put in place so that theses glimpses of brilliance become the norm?” It was amazing. The staff came up with several ideas that were agreed upon unanimously and implemented that day. The results were outstanding. Staff became a team naturally because they were all working towards the same thing. The very nature of what they talked about changed because they were clear of their role in creating the desired future. The restaurant experienced a growth in revenue, reduction in turnover and an increase in repeat customers. These results occurred because rather than assuming that teamwork was going to get the owner the results he wanted, we engaged in an inquiry to discover what were the root causes of the results the owner wanted by looking at actual examples in his own restaurant (not some “how-to” book about restaurant success). Because these root causes were based in the staff’s reality (from their own experiences) they made perfect sense to them (they did not need convincing) so they could easily execute the strategies they came up with. 3. How prevalent is its use in business today? AI has been around since the mid eighties but it has become much more prevalent over the last 5 years or so. Companies such as Roadway Express, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, British Airways, John Deere, Hunter Douglas, Avon Mexico, Nutrimental, and British Pro Care have all used it with amazing results. Additionally, other organizations such as the United Nations, The American Red Cross, The US Navy, The Environmental Protection Agency, and the United Way have also benefited from AI. Numerous business schools and MBA programs have begun teaching Appreciative Inquiry as part of their Organizational Development programs. 4. Do you run into objections when trying to implement it with your clients? If so, why? Once people experience AI they rarely object to it. Often the objections occur when they first hear about it. There is a belief that problem solving is more “realistic” and AI is more “idealistic.” However, when people begin the AI process they see it is very practical and people become highly engaged throughout the process. I was working in one organization made up almost entirely of engineers. Several members of the leadership team felt the engineers would never go for this “foo foo” stuff. I sent them off to conduct Appreciative Interviews of a few of their staff. The interview was made up of questions asking the staff for a “high point” experience at work, what they valued most about the organization and their work and about their best hope for the future of the organization. The leadership team came back completely sold on utilizing AI because they couldn’t believe the positive energy and enthusiasm that was generated just from the Appreciative Interviews. They were eager to see what excitement and breakthrough results would be obtained from
doing the whole AI process. 5. Can you tell me about a success story using this technique that you experienced with one of your clients? There are many, many stories but one that sticks out is a Health Care Company I worked with. This company provides in home health care through home health aides, nurses, personal care aids, etc. At the time I started they had a 43% staff retention rate for the home health aides. The high turnover of staff was causing numerous issues including inconsistent care to clients, an inability to grow the company and low morale in the office staff who had to deal with both the clients and home health aides. The most challenging aspect of this engagement was that the office staff initially felt so hopeless and were certain that there was nothing that could be done to rectify the situation. We began the Four D process of Appreciative Inquiry (Discover, Dream, Design, Destiny/Delivery) and a shift occurred immediately. The inquiry into what was working gave them a new perspective. They began to realize since there were already times when things were working the way they wanted that it was possible to change the results they were currently experiencing. The company created a “Dream Statement,” a statement of the desired future written in the present tense, grounded in the positive core of the organization. The Dream Statement became the guiding principle for the entire organization. From there, new procedures were put into place to make the dream a reality. For example the entire hiring process was examined, from how the company recruited potential employees, to how they interviewed and “on boarded” folks. Many of the standard practices were abandoned for new innovative strategies. The retention rate went from 43% to the mid sixties. That is a substantial increase and allowed the company to go from two offices to five offices. A number of other benefits came out of the work we did including a dramatic increase in morale and productivity as well as an enhanced ability to provide needed services to more clients. This is one example of how focusing on what works enables people to move beyond the places they feel stuck and actually create the results they want. I was so impressed with Lisa that after my initial interview with Lisa I asked her to speak at the next meeting I was holding for my real estate investors association Action Investor Network here in Albany, NY. She wowed a crowd of over 120 people, sold lots of her books and videos, and even had one person tell her after the presentation that Lisa had changed his life. More information on Lisa and her work can be found at http:// www.yourcommunicationauthority.com/
Seth Meltzer with Lisa Giruzzi 17
Haiti DECORATING A VOODOO TEMPLE By Kaye Bonathan Candles flickered while a bright pink Dambala snake glowed from the center pole. As I watched from the shadows, I couldn’t believe I was seeing a pregnant woman being dragged screaming around the floor of a Voodoo temple. I had to remind myself this was not a torture scene but the climax of a ceremony where the war god had just arrived to possess the wife of the houngan, or chief priest. The young woman whooped in ecstasy as the hunsi, assisting women, pulled her round faster and faster, impelled by the frenetic drumming. I felt sure the baby would be born right there on the dirt floor. But all was fine when she came out of the trance and, a week later, delivered a healthy baby girl.
Mural Painting of Erzulie Frida the Love Goddess in Voodoo Temple
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While teaching in Haiti and researching Haitian art in 1972, I was invited to help the artist, Frido Austin, paint murals at a new Voodoo temple in central Port-au-Prince. We would begin by decorating the main room with life-sized icons of the principal Voodoo gods or loas as they are called. Voodooists use images of Catholic saints to represent their gods. For example: the Virgin Dolorosa stands for Erzulie Freda, the Love Goddess; St James the Crusader represents Augoun Ferrai, the war god. We filled the spaces around the images with painted linear designs derived from veves, the insignia of the gods drawn on the floor in cornmeal before each ceremony. Of course the serpent, Dambala, god of the rainbow, had to be painted coiling up the center pole or poto mitan. The four sanctuaries containing the altars and artifacts of each main god were decorated with the same combination
After attending several ceremonies I observed that certain people exhibited specific characteristics. The same woman, although not a hunsi, was always the first to be possessed. The choir leader for the hunsi, an attractive, energetic young man, enjoyed getting his group worked up to hysteria. He delighted in building the chanting to the point where one hunsi after another surrendered to possession. I noticed he always pulled back from losing control himself. Often he would leave the ceremony for a few moments to go outside, cool off and calm down. Kay Bargaining for a Goat Skin Rug
of realism and abstraction. Before work began, there needed to be a ceremony to clear the building of any evil spirits from past events. This was called “brule zen” and was symbolized by the burning of paper and the sacrifice of a strangled rooster whose blood was dripped at the entrance way. Frido and I attended as honored guests and were introduced to the assembled community. The temple complex was also home to the houngan’s family and a sort of Voodoo community centre. We had a constant audience as we painted. Everyone took delight in recognizing the gods as they appeared from our brush strokes. Friends were brought to admire our work. After two months the main room was complete. The hougan called for an elaborate ceremony dedicated to all the gods and hired three popular drummers to keep the energy flowing. The scene opened with a prayer to the one great god and a slow procession of priests and hunsi all dressed in red to honor Augoun Ferrai. Some carried sequin-decorated flags in brilliant colors. As they circled the poto mitan the drumming speeded up, the hunsi chanted louder and the priests took swigs of spiced liquor from decorated bottles and sprayed it over the assembly. Suddenly a woman in the corner began to scream and flop about. She was brought to the center and given space to allow the loa possessing her to speak. Soon other loas mounted several of the hunsi. It appeared that the gods approved of the new temple and would make frequent visits. Working every day in the temple gave us the chance to get to know the local members.
Frido and I attended many ceremonies but always avoided active participation. However one time, the houngan, Ti Pierre, a mischievous character who often slipped into his alter-ego, Papa Guede, god of the underworld, decided to get me involved. He had entered the Guede sanctuary, painted black with white skeletons. When the other priest motioned me over to the darkened entrance, I faced Papa Guede in top hat, black funeral jacket and sunglasses gyrating and making lascivious gestures. I guessed it was more of a joke than a possession so I danced along with him until he drifted off to another partner. The assembly beamed and I knew I had passed the acceptance test. Throughout the winter months we decorated the three upper sanctuaries. We were painting pink and baby blue decorations around Erzulie’s altar when we heard familiar sounds from below. We rushed to see who was being possessed. The love goddess herself had taken over Frido’s big, burly friend, George. The priests led him upstairs to her sanctuary and dressed him in her crown and robe. Tenderly holding a baby doll in his arms, George circled the poto mitan with mincing steps, the gross parody of a flirting coquette. I couldn’t help giggling when he sidled up to Frido and the other attractive men and showered them with kisses. We talked to George later and found that he had no idea at all of what had happened to him. He had just dropped by the temple as a casual observer. I always believed that Voodoo possession was a form of self hypnosis, but George’s experience suggested something more powerful and less voluntary at work.
Painting of congregation member becoming possessed at a Hunsi Voodoo ceremony, the entry level of initiation
Kay Helping with Rural Immunization Project
Ceiling of Voodoo Temple with Veve decorations
Painting of Voodoo Ceremony
Downtown Port-au Prince 1972
19
In The Queen's Bed by Ed Wood
My most memorable times working on Vancouver Island was in July, 1969. I was exploring the north end of the Island around Brooks Peninsula for a small Vancouver mining company and it was a very wet season. My partner was a BA graduate from UBC and we were an exploration party of two. We had to move our little camp several times as creeks overflowed and the incoming tidal waters were rising higher and higher.
One night while moving our tent camp I had a pair of green eyes staring at me in the dark from a small sandy knoll above me. It was a cougar and after a few moments he just turned and left. I closed the program down and we took the helicopter out to Port Hardy where we would catch Pacific Western Airlines, (PWA), (otherwise known as Please Wait Awhile) to Vancouver. We had bags and bags of rock samples and many hundred packets of dripping soil sediment samples to be analyzed at a Geochemical laboratory for copper and molybdenum in Vancouver. I changed clothes in the airport toilet area at Port Hardy to my brown slacks; green tweed sports jacket and desert boots. We departed Port Hardy on a slick wet near sea level runway and flew into Vancouver (YVR). At YVR, I phoned rather unsuccessfully for a hotel room for Nick and me. Then I finally phoned Hotel Vancouver, the biggest darn hotel in Vancouver where the clerk mentioned there was a Jehovah Witness (JW’s) Convention in town and everything was fully booked in the city. He said I have one large room left and you and your friend can have it for $ 25.00 a night. I said I would be right down.
stays when she comes to Vancouver”. Immediately Nick started bouncing on the second bed as if he was Tom Cruise on the Oprah show! He said “Do you always stay in places like this?” That day we watched the NASA Moon landing with Neil Armstrong on the suite’s big TV. I could hardly believe my mind that the Americans had put people on the moon! For awhile I thought it was all Walt Disney type animation and it was not real. Next day I had to go inspect a mining property and I allowed Nick to have a party there in Quo Vadis with his UBC friends. When I returned the suite was fine but I noticed a few cigarillo holes in the sheers and I started to sweat a little. Were these holes in the drapes before or after we arrived? The hotel was gracious about it on check out but overall that was a fine four days we spent kicking up in Vancouver. It was gracious of Hotel Vancouver to allow us to check in with our grubby clothes because I remembered Bing Crosby, the American crooner and his fishing party were denied entry to Hotel Vancouver because of their casual fishing trip dress. It did come to mind. Secondly I was thankful that the JWs filled the city’s hotels or I would never have gotten the deal I did which was 4 nights stay for $ 25.00 per night for two.
C A N A D I A N H E A LT H C A R E NEWS
The check in valet came to the taxi and I asked him to bring a cart. He filled the cart and then stood behind me while I checked in. I was passed a brass key for Room 1404. The clerk that showed me to the room asked “what room Sir” and I said 1404. He quizzed me again and double checked my key in surprise. As I got out of the elevator I saw brass and shiny dark wood panelling everywhere, multiple green plants and white marble statues of Roman figures. He opened the door and I could see a powder room on the left and a full bathroom on the right. In the distance were two canopy type large beds with sheers. Large windows were all around and they had at least 15 feet lengths of sheer white drapes! I read the entrance plaque to the room and it read “QUO VADIS SUITE”. I had studied Latin for seven years so I knew what that meant. The check in clerk said “Sir, this is where the Queen 20
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The Dan Walker Chronicles
Kunming to Lijiang 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. At our request he has honoured us by writing a journal of his most recent trip to China. We are pleased to present the Dan Walker Chronicles.
CHINA 2012: 6 - Kunming to Lijiang Friday, June 8, 2012 This morning we were transferred to the airport for the 35 minute flight to Dali, where we were met by guide Sally, a friend of our last guide. They both got their tourist names from the same English teacher. Dali is at an altitude of 2,000 meters (6.560 ft), up from 1,880 meters (6,166 ft) in Kunming. We are working our way up the ancient tea route where traders transported Chinese tea into the mountains to cross Tibet and on to India and other countries. Dali is famous for marble, tobacco and is a major cement producer. Our accommodation is at the Landscape Hotel, a historic complex of buildings built around 6 courtyards inside the old city walls. Old cities in this part of China have been well preserved, with no modern buildings permitted. Sally took us on a walking tour of the area - it is about the size of the French Quarter in New Orleans, with buildings dating back to the Ming Dynasty 600 years ago. There are lots of tourists, mainly Chinese & Korean, but after tour buses leave in late afternoon the crowds become even greater when locals get off work and come here for shopping, bars, restaurants and entertainment. It is a lively place. Marilynn and I got a foot massage to ease feet unaccustomed to the miles of walking we’ve been doing, and a Chinese cupping treatment (the latter was a mistake, it kept me awake all night) before walking to Chinese Street, about 8 blocks from the hotel. Like many streets in the area it is pedestrian 22
only, paved with stone up each side of a clear, landscaped stream. There were a dozen bars with bands and singers. We had beer and snacks in various locations while watching the locals. Marilynn says she isn’t letting me come here alone, as a number of pretty girls came over to take my photo - very flattering! Many girls are absolutely beautiful and dress to show it, with short shorts, panty hose or bare legs and high heeled shoes. Not the impression of China that immediately comes to mind. This is a Bai minority area, where about 80% of the population, including our guide, are Bai people. One must take care with the beautiful girls, as some families still maintain the tradition of three years working for the parents to prove a suitor is not stupid or lazy! Saturday, June 9, 2012 We were driven to Xizhou Village, a Bai town with beautiful, distinctive architecture where the specialty is Batik patterned cloth. Along the way we passed ethnic villages, including a Muslim one with mosques clearly visible. In another village we walked around a large, active local market, and then went out in a boat to watch cormorant fishing. This used to be how fishing was done in the area, but modern net fishing has made it largely a tourist attraction. A fisherman’s boat will have a dozen cormorants sitting along the sides. The birds wear a string around their necks that permit them to eat small fish, but not big ones. They respond to voice commands of their owner, and when told to get fish they dive into the water. We saw them catch a couple of good sized fish. As they are rewarded with a feed of small fish when they deliver a large one there is serious competition to be the one that gets the fish back to the boat - there were
usually two hanging onto the fish when the fisherman scooped them up in the net. When he is ready to leave he calls the birds and they come over so he can pick them up by the neck and stand them on the side of the boat. He came into our boat with couple of birds for photos of them standing on our hands or sitting on our hats. It has been hot & sunny - good for us, but they are having a serious drought in the area which is causing farmers considerable grief. On the way back to the hotel we stopped to visit the Three Pagodas park. There are two small pagodas about 450 years old that are 43 meters (141 feet) high and one larger about 650 years old. It is 70 meters (230 ft) high. There were a lot of steps to climb, and we could feel the altitude. Back at the hotel I caught up on some writing, and then we got a painful Chinese full body massage before walking to Foreigner Street for beers & dinner. After dinner we strolled through streets and alleys we hadn’t explored. We are walking an unbelievable number of miles each day! Sunday, June 10, 2012 After packing up for an early start we were driven to Shaxi old town, an ancient caravan stop about four hours further up the tea route. The drive was largely on narrow, winding local roads that pass though the center of villages. It was slow going, but interesting. A new super highway is under construction to be open in 2015, but we are glad we saw the old route. The twists and switchbacks in the mountains had Marilynn and Sally feeling a bit queasy, though. The town is still pretty unspoiled, with only a couple of small inns and restaurants. There is a large Buddhist monastery being restored. Lunch was at a very traditional restaurant
where the menu was chosen from a display of raw meat and vegetables. Wood carving is famous in the area, and mud brick is the predominant construction material for buildings. Many people speak only the Bai language, so our limited vocabulary of Mandarin was of little use. Sally was dropped off at the nearest town on a bus route to return to Dali, after we assured her we would be fine with just the driver for the trip of several more hours to good sized city of Lijiang. The driver will be with us for several more days. Along the route it became common to drive over areas of road covered with hay. This is a method used by local farmers to separate wheat vehicles drive over it for awhile, the straw is removed and the kernels of wheat left lying on the road are swept up. In the City of Lijiang we picked up our next guide, Li Yi. She escorted us to the ultra deluxe Crowne Plaza Hotel where we will spend the next couple of nights - the tea traders never had it this good! She left after a little speech about what we could expect in the next days. The hotel is a large area of separate villas with electric carts for transportation. Once settled in we walked out the guarded back gate of the hotel which opens onto the streets of the old city. Like Dali it is a vibrant, living area with narrow twisting streets and about 5 streams running through in beautifully landscaped riverbeds. It is larger than the old city of Dali, and we got totally lost after winding through, sampling food at stands and bars along the way. We walked miles before eventually finding our way home with directions from various locals. We were amazed with the range of prices - for example beer varied from $1.50 to $6.35 for the quart size. We learned to check price before ordering and to leave if it was high. The altitude is now up to 2,400 meters (7,872 feet).
An Ode to Teilhard de Chardin By Hank Leis
Teilhard de Chardin is a virtual unknown and yet his studies and writings form some of the deepest insights ever contemplated to explain – the relevance of man.
Teilhard, born May 1, 1881, studied philosophy and mathematics, later became a Jesuit novice where he completed his studies as a theologist. His continued studies in paleontology became the impetus for his theories on Creative Evolution. He was a member of the team that discovered “Piltdown Man” and later “Peking Man”. He travelled around the world discussing with the great minds of the times, the reason for our existence, and developing ideas and writing his thesis on the subject, incurring the wrath of the Catholic Church forcing him to renounce those ideas which challenged Church doctrine. He is perhaps best known for his alpha to omega concept, intended to explain everything from the beginning to the end. Today we look upon “the big bang theory” as the fundamental event that scientifically describes the “alpha” event which set into motion all that ever was and everything that ever will be. This computer age may very well be, his prediction come true, the inevitability of all minds linking up to ultimately produce the “omega” phenomenon - which will complete our final understanding of the universe – explaining how and why evolution, beginning with a discreet replicating molecule – now called a virus – evolved into the witness of the past, present and future as man. Mankind has been created to reflect its own existence by understanding its place in the universe.
A human understanding of numbers has evolved from 0 and 1, into complicated equations that have lead to understanding the phenomenon of infinite possibilities, so our response to the feeling of fear design a pathway through the challenges of finding infinite wisdom through our creative and destructive insights. We are no more an extended reptile that responds to basic primitive instructions in our DNA. We now override our intents with introspective analysis of both immediate and long range consequences having even an ability to detach ourselves from acting in response to fears of personal harm and thinking in the long range survival of our species. And even beyond species survival we contemplate the mysticism of a mind that functions beyond the rudimentary demands of biological survival. The brain itself is an encasement of thought, but thought itself is an ethereal phenomenon apart and separate from the encasement. It is like the universe itself, absent of bounds or limitations and can function without the physical burden of having to be maintained. The mind, when allowed to ebb and flow without constraint, explores the limits of what one can think about and then expands its spherical possibilities until it indeed is one with the universe. Tielhand de Chardin let his mind go back and forth, between the history of creative evolution and the present - forcing it to explore the future because the past connected to the present creating a new direction – and once the mind was capable of expanding itself beyond the present – time molded into a unified proposition that explained everything – from alpha to omega. Teilhand de Chardin died in New York City March 15, 1955. 23
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A LIVELY CRITIQUE OF THE SLOPPY POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC THINKING THAT PERMEATES AMERICA— DELIVERED ONE LETTER AT A TIME
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ach day, Donald Boudreaux, professor of economics at George Mason University, writes a letter to the editor of a major American publication. Often, he writes in response to an absurdity offered up by a columnist or politician, or an eye-catching factoid misleadingly taken out of context. These are his best letters, each one offering a well-reasoned counterpoint to an exaggeration, misunderstanding, or outright deception printed in a newspaper.
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A LIVELY CRITIQUE OF THE SLOPPY DONALD BOUDREAUX served as POLITICALJ.AND ECONOMIC THINKING chairman of the department of economTHAT PERMEATES AMERICA— ics at George Mason University in Fairfax, DELIVERED ONE LETTER AT A TIME Virginia, from 2001 to 2009. He runs a Without swearing allegiance to any party or ideology, Boudreaux takes aim at pundits and politicos on the left, right, and everywhere in between. He tackles issues ranging from “lookism” in the office and the futility of border walls to naïve faith in alternative energy and the all-too-common tendency to trust a fallible and ever-expanding government.
DONALD J. BOUDREAUX
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This collection, comprised of one hundred of economist Donald Boudreaux’s best letters, provides intelligent, witty rejoinders to questions like these:
• Are taxes “really just prices”? (New York Times)
• Does the Tea Party suffer from a “fatuous infatuation” with the Constitution? (Washington Post)
• Is it “obvious” that “if there are fewer guns, there are fewer shootings and fewer funerals” (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
• Has “slowing population growth” proven to be “critical to long-term economic growth”? (Wall Street Journal) Whatever your political affiliation, you’ll be entertained and enlightened by Boudreaux’s incisive responses.
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COVER DESIGN BY GREENLEAF BOOK GROUP Hypocrites and Half-Wits won’t change your LLC AUHTOR PHOTO BY CARRIE CONKO deeply held convictions. But it will sharpen your PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA eye for shaky facts, faulty reasoning, and intel- Hypocrites and deeply held co A D D S lectual dishonesty—all of which are threats to a eye for shaky C H lectual dishon free, prosperous country. free, prospero
DONALD J. BOUDREAUX
MISSIVES FROM DONALD J BOUDREAUX 16 April 2013 Editor, The Wall Street Journal
21 April 2013 Editor, Washington Times
Dear Editor:
Dear Editor:
Ralph Nader suggests that the only argument that minimumwage opponents muster against that policy is that it harms small businesses ("America's Miserly Minimum Wage Needs an Upgrade," April 16). He's wrong. Overwhelmingly, the chief argument against the minimum wage is that it reduces low-skilled workers' employment opportunities. Mr. Nader's ignorance of the contours of this policy debate alone disqualifies him to comment on the matter.
Prominent Republicans, including Sen. John McCain and Rep. Peter King, want to deny Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev his Miranda rights by holding him as an enemy combatant (“Republicans want Boston bombing suspect treated as enemy combatant, sparking Miranda debate,” April 21).
But to support his case for raising the minimum wage by 47 percent Mr. Nader also serves up several doozies of economic illiteracy. None is doozier than his assertion that when government forces employers to pay higher wages, worker spending will rise by enough to make profitable the employment at the higher minimum wage of all low-skilled workers seeking jobs. From where comes the money to pay the higher wages that low-skilled workers will then spend? Mr. Nader apparently assumes that it materializes out of thin air, for he doesn't even mention the possibility that firms that are obliged to spend more on wages will spend less on inventory, factory expansion, and other activities. If creating economic growth were as easy as Ralph Nader assumes it to be, then he should also support a "minimum clothing price." Suppose government forced Wal-Mart, Target, and other retailers to raise the prices of all clothing items by 47 percent. On Mr. Nader's reasoning, these firms would then have more money to spend. That spending would raise the demand for clothing sufficiently to make it profitable for firms to sell as much clothing as they like at those higher prices. That Mr. Nader would likely - and rightly - oppose a "minimum clothing price" shows that he's not thought seriously about his argument in support of a minimum wage. Sincerely, 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
Beware. As dangerous and evil as Mr. Tsarnaev might be, he could never pose as great a threat to the republic as that which is posed by government officials impulsively circumventing wellestablished Constitutional procedures in the name of public safety. The late Robert Bork – a conservative icon – was frequently likened to Sir Thomas More as depicted in Robert Bolt’s 1960 play, “A Man for All Seasons.” Conservatives, therefore, should pay special heed to More’s insistence on the importance of the rule of law – an insistence famously portrayed in a scene in which More explains to his son-in-law (Will Roper) why he, More, as Chancellor of England, will not use arbitrary measures to subdue the traitorous Richard Rich: “ROPER: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law! “MORE: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil? “ROPER: Yes, I’d cut down every law in England to do that! “MORE: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned ’round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man’s laws, not God’s! And if you cut them down (and you’re just the man to do it!), do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? “Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake!”* Sincerely, 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
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Vaccines and your Child Seminar and Open House
with Dr Allison Patton, N.D.
Mountainview Thursday April 12, 2012 at 7pm
W E L L Tickets N E areS $S10; space C Eis limited NTRE Providing Excellence in Naturopathic Medicine sinceCentre 2001 call Mountainview Wellness
to reserve tickets (604) 538-8837 or visit mountainviewwellnesscentre.ca
Open House Partners you will be meeting at the event:
Miki Dawson Author and Artist
Sarah Stevens Physiotherapist/ Osteopath
Kasia Rachfall Author, Speaker, Parenting Expert
Kaela Scott Registered Clinical Counsellor
April Lacheur Artist
Alison Legge Aromatherapist
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HOROSCOPE
Your
Taurus
APRIL 21-MAY21
Detach yourself from those urges to react and respond to every little thing. Take your time, let yourself breathe and understand the message and only then respond, giving consideration to how the other person might hear it. If you seek a life that is not based on antagonism, stop being antagonistic.
Gemini MAY 22-JUNE 21
There’s no business like show business, so remember that even if the show must go on – it’s the business part of it that allows you to keep going. If you buy into the show – then the show won’t go on.
Cancer JUNE 22-JULY 22
Having people motivate you is a blessing. Being self motivated makes you unique. Self discovery is an ongoing process that explores all the interesting knowledge you have within you, which can be the source for everything that you can undertake. Taking time to be introspective will facilitate achieving the objectives you naturally want.
Leo JULY 23-AUGUST 22
Disagreements are learning opportunities but only if you give yourself permission to understand the other person’s point of view and are willing to enhance their understanding by contributing to it. You will surprise yourself as to how much you learn when you end up disagreeing with yourself.
By Onieh Siel
Virgo AUGUST 23-SEPTEMBER 23
Capricorn
JANUARY 21- FEBRUARY 19
The lightness of being is not achieved by being right. Lightness is a contrast to heaviness and darkness, and being detached gives you permission just to be you. The heaviness is in the pretense that you must be all things to all people, and letting go of your own need to impress frees others who live to impress you.
One can never understand the complexities of one’s own life, let alone someone else’s. Being an advisor on matters of the heart is a fools concern. People lie and they are all heroes in their own stories. And when they ask for advice what they mean is tell me the lies I want to hear to validate the lies I tell myself and to you. Don’t do it!
Libra
Aquarius
SEPTEMBER 24-OCTOBER 23
Tranquility is often times achieved through travel – and then you have to come back to the same old, same old. While away – make notes of what gives you that special feeling that you only get while away. Use these notes to make incremental changes – when you get back – that will make your life a forever holiday.
Scorpio
OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 22
Sometimes people from your past come back into your life. With some, even a thought of them makes you nauseous. Take note of the discrepancy between who you are now – and who you were back then – and use this as a guide to understand why your world is the way it is.
Sagittarius
NOVEMBER 23-DECEMBER 21
Some think the world is made of fun and laughter – and so do you. But when there is no fun and laughter – does that mean the end of the world for you? Perhaps when life is about waiting for the next party – it is time to be thoughtful and to learn how to like yourself and discover a new definition for fun.
JANUARY 21-FEBRUARY 19
Friends and relatives maintain your poor attitudes and your selfish ways because the kind of people you seek for advice to justify your behaviours will do that. They have heard all your arguments and explanations over and over again and have given up or just like you to be messed up so they can gossip about you.
Pisces
FEBRUARY 20-MARCH 20
Look at your past. Ask yourself if there is an ongoing theme to your life. Are there things going on that just keep on repeating themselves? If you are bored and would like a little variety then change your routines.
Aries
MARCH 21-APRIL 20
Stop bullying people around you with threats of leaving or resignations. Your inability to listen and consider what others have to say is not only a threat to them, but you as well. Getting your own way is not the panacea you think it is. Being kind to others ends up with being kind to yourself. Selfishness is when you claim virtue by claiming your actions are taken for the benefit of others.
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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