Aug 1, 2013

Behind the Dream & beyond words The making of a speechby Bruce Mason • On August 28, 1963, 34-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. passionately and eloquently shared his ‘Dream’ – in 17 minutes and 1,700 words – and the world awakened. As King stood at the foot of the towering memorial to Abraham Lincoln – he had signed the Emancipation Proclamation...

Aug 1, 2013

delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Aug. 28, 1963 • I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of the Nation. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon...

Aug 1, 2013

From Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) • Action appeals Farmers are working hard to make hay while the sun shines. Write your letter in solidarity now to stop GM alfalfa from contaminating our hay. www.cban.ca/alfalfampletter Sign the petition set up by the BC Girl Guide who wants GMO-Free Girl Guide cookies. The business manager for the Girl Guide...

Aug 1, 2013

Rogers Prize keynote speaker shows antidepressants no better than placebos by Kate MacDonald • The 2013 Dr. Rogers Prize for Excellence in Complementary and Alternative Medicine will be celebrated with a gala award dinner and free afternoon colloquium in Vancouver on September 26. While organizers are mum on the list of short listed nominees for the biennial...

Aug 1, 2013

DRUG BUST by Alan Cassels • The people’s briefing note on prescription drugs There’s no such thing as a bad drug. Drugs – in this case, I mean pharmaceuticals – are neutral. They are neither good nor bad. They can do tremendous good if used properly and terrible harm if not. There are no bad drugs – only bad decisions around how drugs get used. ...

Aug 1, 2013

by Nathalie Chambers and Robin Alys Roberts • Picture Earth as four slices of an apple. Can we share it thoughtfully? After three slices for oceans, lakes and rivers, we’re left with one slice for land. But most of that slice is too hot, dry, cold or rocky to support us or too covered with inadequate soil or smothered with cities and highways. That leaves us...

Aug 1, 2013

A vision for eco-communities Shayna Grimwood, Teresa Butler, Chloe Elgar • Access to clean water in Africa is limited. About 60% of people have access to clean water, but many cannot afford it and are forced to collect water from contaminated sources. In addition, corn, the staple food for most of Eastern Africa, is now primarily grown from Monsanto’s GMO...

Aug 1, 2013

by Alexandra Morton • On July 11, Virology Journal published a scientific paper co-authored by Dr. Fred Kibenge, myself and others reporting that a highly contagious European salmon virus is in BC. It appears piscine reovirus (PRV) arrived in BC waters around 2007. Virology is the first publication to note the occurrence of the virus outside of Norway. The...

Aug 1, 2013

SCIENCE MATTERS by David Suzuki • The severe floods in Alberta used to be referred to as “once in a generation” or “once in a century.” As recent floods in Europe and India are added to the list, that’s scaled up to “once in a decade.” Scientists and insurance executives alike predict extreme weather events will increase in intensity and...

Aug 1, 2013

FILMS WORTH WATCHING by Robert Alstead • Political reporter Sean Holman’s 43-minute documentary, Whipped: The Secret World of Party Discipline, is now free online at www.cpac.ca (Search for Whipped.) Holman’s self-narrated piece looks at how BC’s political party culture stifles public debate and democracy. It’s the kind of insightful and...

Aug 1, 2013

UNIVERSE WITHIN by Gwen Randall-Young • It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness. – Charles Spurgeon My loose translation of the Garden of Eden story is that Adam and Eve were perfectly happy and all life was a paradise until they wanted more. It seems it is still true even in our modern world. ...

Aug 1, 2013

A NEW EARTH by Eckhart Tolle • To read Eckhart Tolle’s latest column, please see the current print edition of Common Ground. For copyright reasons, we are authorized to publish this column in our print version only. More than 1/4 million people read Common Ground every month! Pick up your copy today. This article appeared in the AUGUST 2013 print...

Aug 1, 2013

ON THE GARDEN PATH by Carolyn Herriot • A “zero-mile diet” involves meal planning around crops in season as well as preserving the harvest for year-round eating. Preserving food from the garden ranges from basic cool storage for winter squash and root crops (i.e. onions and potatoes) to freezing, canning, dehydrating and fermenting. It may sound time...