Nov 1, 2012

by Joseph Roberts • First they came for the Butcher Broom and I did not speak out – because I did not use Butcher Broom. Then they came for the Horse Chestnut and I did not speak out – because I did not use Horse Chestnut. Then they came for the Nattokinase and I did not speak out – because I did not use Nattokinase. Then they came for the Gotu Kola...

Nov 1, 2012

fire as fable and fortune by Geoff Olson • Fire has a way of getting people’s attention. Some years back, during a period of change in my life, I made arrangements to stay at a friend’s cabin in the interior. Driving up the Coquihalla Highway, we were surprised to see columns of ash in the distance, rising into the sky. We hadn’t intentionally planned...

Nov 1, 2012

by Jeff Rubin • How many once-in-a-century accidents have to happen before we recognize they’ve become the norm and not the exception? And if we accept them as the norm, what does that say about our relentless quest for more energy? We can’t continue to increase our energy consumption exponentially without expecting to pay ever-greater costs. Even as...

Nov 1, 2012

by Wendy Holm • Walking to the barn in the chill morning air, you make a mental note to check the woodpile. Are there enough logs to get you through the winter? It takes two to keep a fire going, more to set the hearth ablaze. Even a fire is built on co-operation. Neo-conservative gurus would have you believe that co-operation is a soft, woolly concept. That...

Nov 1, 2012

DRUG BUST by Alan Cassels • The people’s briefing note on prescription drugs What is “Eminence-based Medicine”? It means relying on the opinion of a medical specialist or other prominent health official when it comes to health matters, rather than relying on a careful assessment of relevant research evidence. You might be asking, “Who am I to...

Nov 1, 2012

by Helen E. Day At about this same time, I also decided to specialize my physiotherapy practice to focus on persistent or chronic pain. Most physiotherapists deal with acute problems such as broken wrists, low back strain, tendonitis, etc., which tend to heal in a set time frame. I could see that with aging baby boomers, pain that did not go away in a set time...

by Tsiporah Grignon We never know what we are here to do until we are called to do it. I see this as describing my partner Paul Grignon, the world-renowned, self-directed monetary theorist and my journey with him. When we got together as hippies, I loved his artwork and his natural exuberance for living. I also knew he had resolved to never be...

Nov 1, 2012

by Alastair Gregor Photo by Bill Pope • Ken Capon, humanitarian, musician, captain and friend to all, passed away Sunday, October 14th, 2012 at the age of 70. I met Ken Capon and his life partner Cherryl Reed in the summer of 1981. I was a skinny teenager painting his parents’ house in Kerrisdale, Vancouver. Ken quickly sized me up and when the time came he...

Nov 1, 2012

SCIENCE MATTERS by David Suzuki • Most North Americans know that human-caused global warming is real, even if political leaders don’t always reflect or act on that knowledge. According to a recent poll, only two percent of Canadians reject the overwhelming scientific evidence that Earth is warming at alarming rates – a figure that may seem surprising...

Nov 1, 2012

FILMS WORTH WATCHING by Robert Alstead • There’s a school of thought that says authors should never be allowed to adapt their own books for the big screen. They are just too close to the source material to make the necessary cuts and re-mixing to make a book come alive on the big screen. In Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children (opening November 2), Salman...