Provocations

The erosion of Canadian democracy continues

Whether you agree with the issues represented or not, this is the kind of interface where our Canadian democracy is eroding: unprecedented restrictions on freedom of expression.

From the Notebooks of Elias Canetti - 1

With thanks to Luca and This Recording.

It is a great pleasure to listen to people who have nothing to say. They ought to be what they are and not be judged for it; still less should one try to influence them. Keep your eyes wide open and let it all flow in, in all its senselessness, disorder, and futility. You can make sense of it only later, in your own imagination.

- The Notebooks of Elias Canetti

Soils and Souls: The Promise of the Land - The Texas Observer

Soils and Souls: The Promise of the Land - The Texas Observer.

I was on organic market gardener for three years and, for the past ten, have been managing an organic farming web site for the Certified Organic associations of British Columbia.

These days virtually all our systems are in crisis. This article is about a conference on agriculture - a system that "people in the street" can relate to: organic and, perhaps more so, local food has caught the public imagination and certainly gone beyond the fad phase. As my martial arts instructor loved to say: "Everything is connected to everything else" so I would say, choose your system, keep exploring and you will understand the state of our planet and its people. I think that, for many of us, farming / food / growing things is good place to start. For starters, it's relatively jargon-free and literally down to earth.

This article is a simple example - and the conference itself no doubt went further.

The Tyee: Mark Vonnegut's Sane Response to Psychosis

The Tyee:  Mark Vonnegut's Sane Response to Psychosis.

Informative and balancing review of mental illness, based on the book and the reviewer's experience.

Quote:

Canada is currently experiencing a crisis in mental health care. If Mark were again wandering the streets of Vancouver in a delusional state, he would barely be noticed. The devastating impact of untreated mental illness has had its way with many homeless people who are constantly visible. Since one of the most common characteristics of psychosis is that people don’t understand that they are ill, people often refuse treatment. Particular points of view about what constitutes human rights have begun to prevail and it's becoming more difficult for ill people to receive the treatment that their illnesses make them want to refuse. I know many consumers and even more families who understand the deadly consequences of protecting people's "rights" to be mentally ill. Many families, including mine, have endured the painful struggles of helping an ill family member receive treatment against their will; we are rewarded when the person, well again, thanks us for fighting on their behalf.