Real Dangerous Drugs

In order of danger to life based on statistics:

alcohol
tobacco
pharmaceuticals

stimulants (meth, etc)
opioids (heroin, morphine, methadone, fentanyl)
entheogens (LSD. MDMA)

caffeine
marijuana


Yep, the three legal drugs cause more deaths than the three illegal ones (stimulants, opioids, and entheogens (originally known as hallucinogens).

Alcohol is known to cause health and social problems, and much of its overuse leads to psychiatric symptoms similar to mental illness (violence, psychosis).

Only tobacco's method of ingestion is unhealthy. Nicotine is useful when taking the third most dangerous drug, pharmaceuticals, mainly the psychotropic ones such as seroquel, Prozac, or benadryl. However, even NSAIDs are dangerous.

Indeed, the drugs for mental illness may also cause and/or worsen behavior which is objectionable to everyone who thinks they aren't mentally ill. Most psychopharmaceuticals are prescribed not so much to make people mentally healthy, but to relieve the anxiety and/or fear experienced by people who think they are mentally healthy, especially professionals.

This makes me wonder, if people are so anxious around the so-called mentally ill, why don't they pop an Ativan and/or make use of coping skills instead of getting a person exhibiting annoying behavior to go on Seroquel? Unless a psychosis is harmful to the person, then let's not medicate her. However if a healthy person is anxious around a psychotic person living in dreamtime, then I would urge the anxious to go take a pill and/or choose an alternative coping skill.

"Hey, doc, let's you and I drop prozac together, mmkay?"

Sadly though, some people on psychopharmaceuticals tend to get worse. So overall, psychopharmaceuticals are used to manufacture mental illness in some people whose behavior other people (in control) object to. Thus, this makes such drugs the most dangerous drugs of all.

Caffeine is only dangerous in large amounts. Drinking 10 cups of coffee will supply a person with about 1 gram of caffeine. 50 cups will kill a person, usually in the bathroom peeing it out.

Marijuana has never killed a person. Doing dumb things while high on THC does not count.

My New Herbal Supplementation Update

Today, I went shopping for new herbal supplements because the insomnia formula was not working.

Natures Harmony Herbal Insomnia Formula DIN 02245156 90 tablets, 1-2 tablet daily at bedtime; maybe taken prior to stressful event for relaxation for mild GAD. ***Chamomile contained in this supplement may cause allergic reaction (shortness of breath, mucus build-up, anaphylactic syndrome etc.)

Here's a complete description of the new supplements:

Nutravite Valerian Root DIN 02231166 400 mg/capsule 60 capsules, 1-2 capsules at bedtime. http://www.nutravite.com/

Jamieson Vitamin B1 NPN 00407011 100 mg/tablets 100 tablets, 1 tablet daily with a meal - *** 50 mg results in mental acuity; overdose can result in anaphylactic reaction, but only when injected; no overose has been known in oral doses, except in rare cases. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiamin

Herbal Select SAM-e 0-6527904110-9 100mg/tablet 30 tablets, osteoarthritis: 2 tablets 3 times daily; fibromyalgia: 3 tablets 3 times daily; depression: 6 tablets 3 times daily (maximum). *** At the rate for depression, a bottle at this dose will last only two days, and thus is too expensive for anti-depressant use. However, at lower dose with therapy, it may be helpful. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAM-e. Herbal Select: Nutritional Supplement: SAMe

Out of all of these supplements, both Natures Harmony Herbal Insomnia Formula and Nutravite Valerian Root has a DIN, which indicates that either product may be prescribed by a doctor as a safe replacement for benzodiazepine-based sleep aids and/or tranquilizers.

Sometimes Drugs Cause Aggression

A final issue related to confounding is the effect of psychiatric medications on aggression. In a review of clinical aspects of dangerous behaviour, Menuck (1983) describes a number of iatrogenic or paradoxical drug reactions including:

Tranquilizer-sedatives (e.g. benzodiazepine and barbiturates) may have a disinhibiting effect on affect and behaviour. Paradoxical drug reactions involving violent behaviour have been reported among incarcerated offenders, psychiatric patients, and control group volunteers receiving these drugs.
Drugs that are capable of producing hypomania may elicit aggressive behaviour by arousal of the central nervous system. Aggressive behaviour has been reported among persons treated with imipramine and amitriptyline, phenylzine, prednisone, and bromocriptine.
Neuroleptic drugs sometimes increase aggressivity. This phenomenon has been observed during both low and high dose pharmacotherapy.

Thus any aggression found in psychiatrically disabled people on medication is due to their medication, regardless of any denial by any one person on medication.

What actually has been found is that opioid disorder (addiction to painkillers) reduces aggression, and most people with such disorders are less likely to exhibit aggressive behavior leading to violence. Indeed, IMHO they are the most compliant of substance users.

However, IMHO hypomania caused by medication is no different from substance abuse with regard to increased aggression.

Therefore, non-violent methods of confrontation and intervention are required to reduce aggression, regardless of whether one's substance use is illicit or approved by their doctor.

With regard to behavior, there is no difference between medication and substance abuse.

Masturbation as Protest Against Rejection

I was reading the sexuality issue of Visions, put out by the Canadian Mental Health Assn BC members.

(See page 22 of http://www.cmha.bc.ca/files/08.pdf)

They said a person should seek help if their means of sexual gratification leads to social isolation.

Specifically, one should seek help if one's behavior "has become a substitute for, rather than part of, a meaningful relationship with another person; that is, the solitary behaviour allows you to avoid intimacy."

Masturbation alone appears to fit this criteria since a typical chronic masturbator usually is socially isolated from potential partner of relational sex.

Consequently, the solitary behavior involved around masturbation allows one to "avoid intimacy."

So, intimacy involves a willing partner? Only in a culture where individualism honored and paraded around is this so.

Methinks Western society stil has hang-ups about masturbation.

I think the fact that it is mainly associated with gay male sexual behavior on the Internet is part of this Western cultural hang-up about masturbation.

Well, I am gonna be anal and in denial about masturbation.

I am not avoiding intimacy; I am trying to be *my type*.

To me masturbation is a protest against hundreds of women suffering "not my type" reaction to me.

Pigsblood and Cowshit Soaking the BC Forests

Amongst all the myriads of industrial horrors that treeplanters are exposed to in BC, nothing is more disgusting than the use of the Swedish-invented pigs blood product called "Plantskyyd." Thanks to Gordo, the American pig-slaughtering industry has now found an eager destination to spew their offal by-product: into BC forests.


This product is designed to induce fear in the herbivores (deers, rabbits, marmots etc.) that normally occupy the ranges which were once forests.

As well, the new tree plantations are sometimes overbrowsed by hungry cows.

In Haida Gwaii, the new plantations are overbrowsed by deer, which were imported by deer-deprived Christian missionaries a hundred years ago.

Thus, in one fell swoop, Gordon Campbell has desecrated the forests, all for profit.

In 20 years' time, let it beknown that pigs were sacrificed to nourish the trees that make up BC lumber especially within Weyerhauser plantations.

Seven Deadly Sins As Madness

"If the greedy person thinks only of money and possessions, the ambitious one only of fame, one does not think of them as being insane, but only as annoying; generally one has contempt for them. But factually, greediness, ambition, and so forth are forms of insanity, although usually one does not think of them as 'illness.' " -- Spinoza

Help Me! I am Threatened by the Ministry of Transportation in BC

Due to a lot of greed, the BC Ministry of Transportation was slipped a lot of green to threaten three sensitive areas of Eagleridge Bluffs, contrary to recommendations from other Ministries.

When the overland route is completed for the Olympics in 2010, $300 million dollars will have been spent.

There's a good chance that environmentally much more will be lost due to the route travelling through two sensitive wetlands.

More cars and trucks will continue to use the route, resulting in increase of accidents and environmental impact from that.

However, at least two generations will be affected economically by this ill-advised route.

And the province's response to protest against this route? Get the court to order an injunction and prosecute without any valid charges being filed.

At the same time, the construction company is supporting this prosecution.

So, in short, the BC Ministry of Transportation is violating provincial conservation acts by building this route.

They are also violating international law, but the court considers that to be out of their hands.

Thus the courts are making a mockey of justice by legitimizing an illegitimate act!

Please boycott the 2010 Olympics at Whistler, BC.

Make Premier Campbell Keep His Promise for a Sustainable Olympics

The Nicene Creed / Hanganak Nikiakan

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, the
maker of heaven and earth, of things visible and
invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the
begotten of God the Father, the Only-begotten, that
is of the essence of the Father.
God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God,
begotten and not made; of the very same nature of the
Father, by Whom all things came into being, in
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.
Who for us humanity and for our salvation came
down from heaven, was incarnate, was made human,
was born perfectly of the holy virgin Mary by the
Holy Spirit.
By whom He took body, soul, and mind, and
everything that is in man, truly and not in semblance.
He suffered, was crucified, was buried, rose again on
the third day, ascended into heaven with the same
body, [and] sat at the right hand of the Father.
He is to come with the same body and with the glory
of the Father, to judge the living and the dead; of His
kingdom there is no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, in the uncreated and
the perfect; Who spoke through the Law, prophets,
and Gospels; Who came down upon the Jordan,
preached through the apostles, and lived in the saints.
We believe also in only One, Universal, Apostolic,
and [Holy] Church; in one baptism in repentance, for
the remission, and forgiveness of sins; and in the
resurrection of the dead, in the everlasting judgement
of souls and bodies, and the Kingdom of Heaven and
in the everlasting life.

Armenian:

Havadamk i mi Asdvadz, i Hayrn Amenagal,
hararichn yergni yev yergri, yerevelyats yev
anerevootits.
Yev i mi Der Hisoos Krisdos, hOrtin Asdoodzo,
dznyaln hAsdoodzo Hore, miadzin: aysinkn heootene
Hor.
Asdvadz hAsdoodzo, Looys i Looso, Asdvadz
jshmarid hAsdoodzo jshmarde, dznoont yev voch
araradz. Nooyn inkn i pnootene Hor, vorov amenayn
inch yeghev hergins yev i vera yergri, yerevelik yev
anerevooytk.
Vor haghaks mer martgan, yev vasn mero prgootyan
ichyal i hergnits: marmnatsav, martatsav, dznav
gadarelabes i Mariama srpo goosen Hokvovn Srpov.
Vorov ear marmin, hoki yev mid, yev zamenayn vor
inch e i mart, jshmardabes yev voch gardzyok.
Charcharyal, khachyal, taghyal, yerrort avoor
harootsyal, yelyal i hergins novin marmnovn, nsdav
unt achme Hor.
Kalots e novin marmnovn yev parok Hor i tadel
zgentanis yev zmeryals, voro takavorootyann voch ko
vakhjan.
Havadamk yev i Soorp Hokin, haneghn yev i
gadaryaln; Vor khosetsav horens yev i markares yev
hAvedarans; Vor echn i Hortanan, karozyats
harakyalsn, yev pnagetsav i soorpsn.
Havadamk yev i mi Miayn, Untanragan, yev
Arakelagan, [Soorp] Yegeghezi; i mi mgrdootyoon,
habashkharootyoon, i kavootyoon, yev i toghootyoon
meghats; i harootyoon merelots; i tadasdann
havidenits hokvots yev marmnots; harkayootyoonn
yergnits, yev i gyansn havidenagansn.

The untold Way

The untold Way is the eternal Way.
The unsaid Name is the eternal Way.
The nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
Ever desireless of the Way,
one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring of the Way,
one can see the manifestations.
These two spring from the same source but differ in name;
this appears as darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery.
- Tao Teh Ching, Lao Tzu

The Armenian Genocide Revisited (quote)

No person of Turkish heritage would accept what the Turkish Government has to say about this issue, as the final word. Just like no person of Armenian heritage should care about what the Armenian side has to say. What every person needs to do is look at the facts. If there were REAL proof of government-sponsored evil planned against the Armenians, a people who peacefully lived with and prospered beside the Turks for over five centuries, it would be Turks crying out against such horrors before most everyone else... one's humanity and integrity should ideally supersede loyalty to one's ethnic tribe.

It turns out that the Russians trained Armenians to fight for national identity in Anatolia (Turkey).

Much of what is Armenian Genocide happened to the Armenians who were guerrillas terrorizing the Turks.

And the Turks had to kick out the Armenians out of Turkey to prevent a civil war.

Certainly, Armenians got killed as a result of massacres... often by their Muslim neighbors, in reprisal for the murderous acts committed by the Armenians (when they sided with the Russian enemy in hopes of carving out their own independence); but anybody who calls acts of massacres a "genocide" doesn't know the meaning of the word. (At least the way most of us perceive the meaning, as with what Hitler did to the Jews; the legal definition of genocide is essentially meaningless, and can be applied to almost any conflict.) If a genocide is how you like to describe what happened to the Armenians, then you need to refer to what American soldiers committed in My Lai as a "genocide."

Ironically, if anyone acted genocidally, with the intention of systematically wiping out people because of their ethnic or religious identity, it was the people who are traditionally accepted as the victims of this conflict. Another irony is that while Armenians have been doing their utmost to portray Turks as Nazis (in an effort to equate themselves with Holocaust victims, the one group best known to have fallen prey to genocide), Turks did their best to save Jews during World War II... while Armenians actively supported the Nazi cause.


For prior to the "Genocides" of 1914-1915, many Armenians were well established in the Ottoman Empire.

The only reason for this "genocide" was to prevent Turkish people from being slaughtered by Armenian militants in their villages.

It appears obvious that the Turkish authorities, anxious for the safety of their lines of communication, had no other alternative than to order the removal of their rebellious subjects to some place distant from the seat of hostilities, and their internment there.

The enforcement of this absolutely necessary precaution led to further risings on the part of the Armenians. The remaining Muslims were almost defenceless, because the regular garrisons were at the front as well as the greater part of the police and able-bodied men. Already infuriated at the reports of the atrocities committed at Van by the insurgents, in fear for their lives and those of their relatives, they were at last driven by the cumulative effect of these events into panic and retaliation and, as invariably happens in such cases, the innocent suffered with the guilty.

C.F. Dixon-Johnson, British author of the 1916 book, "The Armenians."

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Constitution Act, 1982
Enacted as Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (U.K.) 1982, c. 11, which came into force on April 17, 1982


PART I

Canadian charter of rights and freedoms

Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law:

Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms


Rights and freedoms in Canada 1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.

Fundamental Freedoms

Fundamental freedoms 2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
a) freedom of conscience and religion;
b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
d) freedom of association.
Democratic Rights

Democratic rights of citizens
3. Every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election of members of the House of Commons or of a legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein.

Maximum duration of legislative bodies
4. (1) No House of Commons and no legislative assembly shall continue for longer than five years from the date fixed for the return of the writs of a general election of its members.

Continuation in special circumstances
(2) In time of real or apprehended war, invasion or insurrection, a House of Commons may be continued by Parliament and a legislative assembly may be continued by the legislature beyond five years if such continuation is not opposed by the votes of more than one-third of the members of the House of Commons or the legislative assembly, as the case may be.

Annual sitting of legislative bodies
5. There shall be a sitting of Parliament and of each legislature at least once every twelve months

Mobility Rights

Mobility of citizens 6. (1) Every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in and leave Canada.
Rights to move and gain livelihood (2) Every citizen of Canada and every person who has the status of a permanent resident of Canada has the right

a) to move to and take up residence in any province; and
b) to pursue the gaining of a livelihood in any province.
Limitation (3) The rights specified in subsection (2) are subject to

a) any laws or practices of general application in force in a province other than those that discriminate among persons primarily on the basis of province of present or previous residence; and
b) any laws providing for reasonable residency requirements as a qualification for the receipt of publicly provided social services.
Affirmative action programs (4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not preclude any law, program or activity that has as its object the amelioration in a province of conditions of individuals in that province who are socially or economically disadvantaged if the rate of employment in that province is below the rate of employment in Canada.

Legal Rights
Life, liberty and security of person 7. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.
Search or seizure 8. Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure.
Detention or imprisonment 9. Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned.
Arrest or detention 10. Everyone has the right on arrest or detention

a) to be informed promptly of the reasons therefor;
b) to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be informed of that right; and
c) to have the validity of the detention determined by way of habeas corpus and to be released if the detention is not lawful.
Proceedings in criminal and penal matters 11. Any person charged with an offence has the right

a) to be informed without unreasonable delay of the specific offence;
b) to be tried within a reasonable time;
c) not to be compelled to be a witness in proceedings against that person in respect of the offence;
d) to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal;
e) not to be denied reasonable bail without just cause;
f) except in the case of an offence under military law tried before a military tribunal, to the benefit of trial by jury where the maximum punishment for the offence is imprisonment for five years or a more severe punishment;
g) not to be found guilty on account of any act or omission unless, at the time of the act or omission, it constituted an offence under Canadian or international law or was criminal according to the general principles of law recognized by the community of nations;
h) if finally acquitted of the offence, not to be tried for it again and, if finally found guilty and punished for the offence, not to be tried or punished for it again; and
i) if found guilty of the offence and if the punishment for the offence has been varied between the time of commission and the time of sentencing, to the benefit of the lesser punishment.
Treatment or punishment 12. Everyone has the right not to be subjected to any cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.
Self-crimination 13. A witness who testifies in any proceedings has the right not to have any incriminating evidence so given used to incriminate that witness in any other proceedings, except in a prosecution for perjury or for the giving of contradictory evidence.
Interpreter 14. A party or witness in any proceedings who does not understand or speak the language in which the proceedings are conducted or who is deaf has the right to the assistance of an interpreter.

Equality Rights
Equality before and under law and equal protection and benefit of law 15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.
Affirmative action programs (2) Subsection (1) does not preclude any law, program or activity that has as its object the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups including those that are disadvantaged because of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

Official Languages of Canada
Official languages of Canada 16. (1) English and French are the official languages of Canada and have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and government of Canada.
Official languages of New Brunswick (2) English and French are the official languages of New Brunswick and have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the legislature and government of New Brunswick.
Advancement of status and use (3) Nothing in this Charter limits the authority of Parliament or a legislature to advance the equality of status or use of English and French.
English and French linguistic communities in New Brunswick 16.1. (1) The English linguistic community and the French linguistic community in New Brunswick have equality of status and equal rights and privileges, including the right to distinct educational institutions and such distinct cultural institutions as are necessary for the preservation and promotion of those communities.
Role of the legislature and government of New Brunswick (2) The role of the legislature and government of New Brunswick to preserve and promote the status, rights and privileges referred to in subsection (1) is affirmed.
Proceedings of Parliament 17. (1) Everyone has the right to use English or French in any debates and other proceedings of Parliament.
Proceedings of New Brunswick legislature (2) Everyone has the right to use English or French in any debates and other proceedings of the legislature of New Brunswick.
Parliamentary statutes and records 18. (1) The statutes, records and journals of Parliament shall be printed and published in English and French and both language versions are equally authoritative.
New Brunswick statutes and records (2) The statutes, records and journals of the legislature of New Brunswick shall be printed and published in English and French and both language versions are equally authoritative.
Proceedings in courts established by Parliament 19. (1) Either English or French may be used by any person in, or in any pleading in or process issuing from, any court established by Parliament.
Proceedings in New Brunswick courts (2) Either English or French may be used by any person in, or in any pleading in or process issuing from, any court of New Brunswick.
Communications by public with federal institutions 20. (1) Any member of the public in Canada has the right to communicate with, and to receive available services from, any head or central office of an institution of the Parliament or government of Canada in English or French, and has the same right with respect to any other office of any such institution where

a) there is a significant demand for communications with and services from that office in such language; or
b) due to the nature of the office, it is reasonable that communications with and services from that office be available in both English and French.
Communications by public with New Brunswick institutions (2) Any member of the public in New Brunswick has the right to communicate with, and to receive available services from, any office of an institution of the legislature or government of New Brunswick in English or French.
Continuation of existing constitutional provisions 21. Nothing in sections 16 to 20 abrogates or derogates from any right, privilege or obligation with respect to the English and French languages, or either of them, that exists or is continued by virtue of any other provision of the Constitution of Canada.
Rights and privileges preserved 22. Nothing in sections 16 to 20 abrogates or derogates from any legal or customary right or privilege acquired or enjoyed either before or after the coming into force of this Charter with respect to any language that is not English or French.

Minority Language Educational Rights
Language of instruction 23. (1) Citizens of Canada

a) whose first language learned and still understood is that of the English or French linguistic minority population of the province in which they reside, or
b) who have received their primary school instruction in Canada in English or French and reside in a province where the language in which they received that instruction is the language of the English or French linguistic minority population of the province,
have the right to have their children receive primary and secondary school instruction in that language in that province.
Continuity of language instruction (2) Citizens of Canada of whom any child has received or is receiving primary or secondary school instruction in English or French in Canada, have the right to have all their children receive primary and secondary school instruction in the same language.
Application where numbers warrant (3) The right of citizens of Canada under subsections (1) and (2) to have their children receive primary and secondary school instruction in the language of the English or French linguistic minority population of a province

a) applies wherever in the province the number of children of citizens who have such a right is sufficient to warrant the provision to them out of public funds of minority language instruction; and
b) includes, where the number of those children so warrants, the right to have them receive that instruction in minority language educational facilities provided out of public funds.

Enforcement
Enforcement of guaranteed rights and freedoms 24. (1) Anyone whose rights or freedoms, as guaranteed by this Charter, have been infringed or denied may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain such remedy as the court considers appropriate and just in the circumstances.
Exclusion of evidence bringing administration of justice into disrepute (2) Where, in proceedings under subsection (1), a court concludes that evidence was obtained in a manner that infringed or denied any rights or freedoms guaranteed by this Charter, the evidence shall be excluded if it is established that, having regard to all the circumstances, the admission of it in the proceedings would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

General
Aboriginal rights and freedoms not affected by Charter 25. The guarantee in this Charter of certain rights and freedoms shall not be construed so as to abrogate or derogate from any aboriginal, treaty or other rights or freedoms that pertain to the aboriginal peoples of Canada including

a) any rights or freedoms that have been recognized by the Royal Proclamation of October 7, 1763; and
b) any rights or freedoms that now exist by way of land claims agreements or may be so acquired.
Other rights and freedoms not affected by Charter 26. The guarantee in this Charter of certain rights and freedoms shall not be construed as denying the existence of any other rights or freedoms that exist in Canada.
Multicultural heritage 27. This Charter shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the preservation and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians.
Rights guaranteed equally to both sexes 28. Notwithstanding anything in this Charter, the rights and freedoms referred to in it are guaranteed equally to male and female persons.
Rights respecting certain schools preserved 29. Nothing in this Charter abrogates or derogates from any rights or privileges guaranteed by or under the Constitution of Canada in respect of denominational, separate or dissentient schools.(93)
Application to territories and territorial authorities 30. A reference in this Charter to a Province or to the legislative assembly or legislature of a province shall be deemed to include a reference to the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories, or to the appropriate legislative authority thereof, as the case may be.
Legislative powers not extended 31. Nothing in this Charter extends the legislative powers of any body or authority.

Application of Charter
Application of Charter 32. (1)This Charter applies

a) to the Parliament and government of Canada in respect of all matters within the authority of Parliament including all matters relating to the Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories; and
b) to the legislature and government of each province in respect of all matters within the authority of the legislature of each province.
Exception (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), section 15 shall not have effect until three years after this section comes into force.
Exception where express declaration 33. (1) Parliament or the legislature of a province may expressly declare in an Act of Parliament or of the legislature, as the case may be, that the Act or a provision thereof shall operate notwithstanding a provision included in section 2 or sections 7 to 15 of this Charter.
Operation of exception (2) An Act or a provision of an Act in respect of which a declaration made under this section is in effect shall have such operation as it would have but for the provision of this Charter referred to in the declaration.
Five year limitation (3) A declaration made under subsection (1) shall cease to have effect five years after it comes into force or on such earlier date as may be specified in the declaration.
Re-enactment (4) Parliament or the legislature of a province may re-enact a declaration made under subsection (1).
Five year limitation (5) Subsection (3) applies in respect of a re-enactment made under subsection (4).

Citation
Citation 34. This Part may be cited as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Universal Declararation of Human Rights

Universal Declaration of Human Rights - English (English)

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Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Preamble
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts hich have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want as been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest mportance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, therefore,

The General Assembly,

Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and ffective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States hemselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 1

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11
Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.

No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13
Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.

Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14
Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15
Everyone has the right to a nationality.

No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16
Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.

The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17
Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.

No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20
Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21
Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.

Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country.

The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23
Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.

Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.

Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.

Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26
Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory.

Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27
Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.

Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29
Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.

In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.


Article 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

---

Originally published: March 22, 2013 1353H
Update edited as of: February 26, 2013 2044H

As of March 22, 2007, this UNHR declaration is posted here as reference only. I retain no rights for this copy of the original. All income due to monetization will be taxed through income tax, a portion of which is added to Canada's funding of its office at the UN.



© The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

+41 22 917-9000
udhr@ohchr.org

Six Months the Harper Government Imprisons My Mind

Well, Mr. Harper, people with mental health disabilities are waiting...

Ottawa

March 20, 2007

Dear Mr. [name redacted to protect my privacy],

Thank you for writing me with your concerns over the lack of action that the Conservative government has taken since the release of the Kirby Report.

Since the release of the Kirby Report on Mental Health, Out of the Shadows at Last, I have been calling on the Conservatives to implement its recommendations. The report's recommendations would establish a comprehensive mental health strategy for Canada, a step vital to the healing of the many Canadians afflicted with mental illness. The report also called on the Conservative government to establish a Canadian Mental Health Commission by September 1, 2006, something they have still not done.

The Minister of Health's silence on the Kirby Report is unacceptable. This report exposes the plight of those Canadians living with mental illness and their families. For too long the mentally ill have been ignored and shunned. The NDP believes that it is time for a comprehensive strategy to deal with mental illness in Canada. The Conservative government has abandoned the everyday Canadians whose lives would benefit from the implementation of the Kirby Report's recommendations.

I am working with my NDP colleagues to deny the Conservative government the ability to continue to sit on this report and do nothing.


Sincerely,

Penny Priddy, MP
Surrey North
NDP Health Critic
PP/ns
CEP 232

-----Original Message-----
From: [name redacted to protect my privacy] at [yahoo dot com]
Sent: January 25, 2007 4:46 PM
To: Priddy, Penny - M.P.
Subject: Canadian Mental Health Commission

Dear Ms Priddy,

I am writing as one of your constituents to express my concerns as someone affected by mental illness, and to ask for your help.

Personally I suffer from borderline personality disorder due to post-concussive syndrome. From what I recall, I suffered a concussion at age 2, age 4, age 5, age 6, age 42, and age 46. In addition, before age 1 I suffered anoxia as an infant. As well, I have dysthymia with hypomania. Instead of pharmaceutical medication I have decided to use herbal remedies such as damiana and valerian. Sometimes for insomnia, I use gravol to sleep at night.

On May 9, 2006 the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology released its final report on mental illness and mental health entitled Out of the Shadows at Last. The document provides a blueprint to build an innovative and leading edge mental health system that will enhance services and outcomes for all Canadians living with psychiatric illness.

The report, prepared by Senator Michael Kirby and his colleagues, contains recommendations related to services, service delivery, research, accessibility, support and other aspects of treatment and care for people living with mental illnesses. Many organizations in Canada support the intent of the report and have been encouraging the federal government to move forward on implementation.

I am writing to you as my elected representative because I want Ottawa to move quickly on a key recommendation previously tabled by the Committee: the establishment of a Canadian Mental Health Commission. Such a body would mobilize federal, provincial, and territorial governments, as well as non-governmental organizations, to gather information on the state of mental illness and address service needs in a coordinated and comprehensive fashion. This would provide an accurate picture of the mental health system in Canada and ensure that services are equitable and accessible across the country.

Unfortunately, no action has been taken to date, despite the call in the report for the Commission to be up and running by September 1, 2006.

During the last federal election campaign, the Conservative Party of Canada expressed its support for a national commission on mental health in a letter to the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, stating, the Conservative Party of Canada and Member of Parliament (and then Health Critic) Steven Fletcher "have long called for a Mental Health Commission of Canada and a Conservative government will ensure that such a commission is established."

Now is the time to put these words into action. That is why I am asking you to write to the Minister of Health to request that he immediately establish and fund the Canadian Mental Health Commission.

Your willingness to take action now will demonstrate your support for a Canadian Mental Health Commission and the vital first step towards a national strategy on mental illness. The sooner it is operational, the sooner we will begin to see improvements for individuals and families affected by mental illness.

Thank you for your commitment. I look forward to receiving a response from you.

Sincerely,
[name redacted to protect my privacy]
[address excised for privacy]

Thiamine at 50 mg good for "mental acuity"

The RDA [for thiamine] ... is set at ... 1.4 mg. However, tests on volunteers at daily doses of about 50 mg have shown an increase in mental acuity.

Not only does thiamine keep the pests like fleas and mosquitoes at bay, it also makes the mind more acute.

"Thiamine is used in the biosynthesis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)." — Wikipedia entry for thiamine

"One well-supported function of acetylcholine (ACh) in cortex is increased responsiveness to sensory stimuli, a form of attention." It helps improve hearing, sight and body-sense.

Learning and neuroplasticity is dependent on acetylcholine. It also help improves response to behavior cues.

GABA helps in the formation of synapses, thus improving neuroplasticity.

As for toxicity, high doses of thiamine are safe and harmless.

---

Reference

Thiamine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiamine
Acetylcholine's role in decision making: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetylcholine#Role_in_Decision_Making
GABA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-Aminobutyric_acid

Portugal in 2001: Decriminalizes Drugs

In 2001 Portugal made drug abuse a medical and social problem rather than a legal one.

Portugal has forced back the frontiers of drug liberalization in Europe with a law which, at a stroke, decriminalizes the use of all previously banned narcotics, from cannabis to crack cocaine.

The new law, which came into effect on 1 July, takes a socially conservative country with traditional Catholic values far ahead of much of northern Europe, including Britain, in treating drug abuse as a social and health problem rather than a criminal one.

Vitalino Canas, the drug tsar appointed by the Socialist prime minister, Antonio Guterres, to steer the law into place, said yesterday that it made more sense to change the law than ignore it, as police forces do in Holland, parts of Swizerland, and now experimentally in the Brixton area of London.

"Why not be clear about this, and change the law to recognize that consuming drugs can be an illness or the route to illness?" he said. "America has spent billions on enforcement but it has got nowhere. We view drug users as people who need help and care."

He admitted that Mr Guterres was taking a risk, but said Portugal had no real choice. The police had stopped arresting suspects and the courts were throwing out cases against users rather than apply legislation which sent them to prison for up to three years.

Margarida Costa, 35, a skeletal addict who has found a home at a drug treatment hostel, said prison had never helped her. "In fact, I started taking drugs in jail," she said. "You could get everything you wanted in there, every day."

Still emaciated from 10 years of heroin abuse and living rough, she is on methadone and preparing to return to living with her mother. -- http://opioids.com/legal/index.html

Stop the Drug War reports:

In the latest sign of European rejection of US and UN-sponsored repressive anti-drug strategies, Portugal's new drug laws went into effect on July 1. Under the laws, debated last summer and finalized in November, possession of personal amounts of any drug is no longer a crime. Instead, possession of up to a ten-day supply of any drug will be treated as an administrative matter rather than a criminal offence. Persons caught possessing drugs will have their stashes confiscated and be referred to a commission of doctors, lawyers, and social workers who will decide if they need counselling or treatment. Previously, persons caught with drugs faced up to a year in jail.

Drug trafficking remains a crime, although dealing to pay for a drug habit will be considered a mitigating factor.

United Nations International Drug Control Board (INCB) officials immediately lashed out at the new law. INCB Deputy Head Akira Fujino told the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet: "There is a clear trend in Western Europe to decriminalize use and possession of narcotics and to view addicts as patients. But that seldom solves the addict's personal problems nor reduces the demand for narcotics," complained the prohibition bureaucrat. "Other countries that have chosen a liberal approach such as special injection rooms, are Switzerland, Germany, Spain and Holland, and we are deeply concerned over this trend."

Citing the possibility of a spill-over effect for the rest of the European Union, Fujino warned that: "The Portugese law can trap more 'at risk' into dependency as well as increase the misery of those already addicted. The law, in effect, says that it's OK to consume narcotics."

Portuguese officials have more concrete concerns. The number of hard drug addicts has escalated over the past decade, and Portugal has Europe's highest HIV infection rate. According to the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (http://www.emcdda.europe.eu), Portugal, with a population of ten million, has between 50,000 and 200,000 drug addicts. By contrast, the Netherlands, with 16 million inhabitants and a liberal drug policy, has an estimated 25,000 addicts.

The new law reflects Portugal's turn to harm reduction and away from repression in an effort to blunt the damage from drug prohibition. "The idea is to get away from punishment and move toward care," Portuguese government spokesman Carlos Borges told Reuters.

That Portugal has decriminalized the possession of drugs is apparently not newsworthy in the US. DRCNet has been unable to find any mention of this story in mainstream media outlets in this country.


-- http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/193/portugalpossession.shtml

Peace of Mind / Paz da Mente

Let nothing of Ego
pervert the mind.
Let only the mind
rein in the Ego,
calming this mind,
creating only peace.

In this calm void
the ego is vanquished.
In this peace of mind,
the ego sleeps.
Take care those
who wakes this snake!


Deixado nada do Ego
pervertido a mente.
Deixou somente a mente
rédea no Ego
em acalmar esta mente,
em criar somente a paz.

Neste vago calmo
Ego é vencido.
Nesta paz da mente,
dos sonos do ego.
Ciao aqueles que
acorda esta serpente!

Dieses Leben / This Life

Deutsche lyrics:

mir ist kalt mein weg ist leer
diese nacht ist grau und kalt und schwer
sie hält mich fest
und gibt mich nicht mehrher
ich bin gefangen
ich wach nicht auf
und die letzten lichter gehen bald aus
ich sehe mich fallen
doch ich gebe nicht auf

Chorus

Denn ich liebe dieses Leben
ich liebe den Moment in dem man fällt
ich liebe dieses Leben
und ich liebe diesen Tag
und ich liebe diese Welt
Denn ich liebe dieses Leben
ich liebe den Moment in dem man fällt
ich liebe dieses Leben
und ich liebe diesen Tag
und ich liebe diese Welt


Nimm mir die Kraft
nimm mir das Herz
nimm mir alle Hoffnung
und all den Schmerz
aus meiner Hand
und gib sie nicht mehrher
was soll das sein
wo soll ich hin
wo sind meine großen Helden hin
auch wenn wir gehen
weiß ich nicht wohin

Chorus

Denn ich liebe dieses Leben
ich liebe den Moment in dem man fällt
ich liebe dieses Leben
und ich liebe diesen Tag
und ich liebe diese Welt
Denn ich liebe dieses Leben
ich liebe den Moment in dem man fällt
ich liebe dieses Leben
und ich liebe diesen Tag
und ich liebe diese Welt


Weiß ich nicht wohin
auch wenn es geht
wenn es geht

Denn ich liebe dieses Leben
ich liebe den Moment in dem man fällt
ich liebe dieses Leben
und ich liebe diesen Tag
und ich liebe diese Welt
Denn ich liebe dieses Leben
ich liebe den Moment in dem man fällt
ich liebe dieses Leben
und ich liebe diesen Tag
und ich liebe diese Welt


English lyrics:

I am cold - my ways are empty
this night is grey and cold and heavily
it holds me firm
and gives me no more
I am imprisoned
I do not awake
and the last light soon goes out
I see myself falling
but I do not give up

Chorus

Because I love this life
I love the moment into which one falls
I love this life
and I love this day
and I love this world
I love this life
I love the moment into which one falls
I love this life
and I love this day
and I love this world

Take to me the strength
take to me the heart
take to me all hope
and all the pain
from my hand
and it gives no more
which is to be
where am I
where are my large heroes
even if we do not go
I know not where

Chorus

Because I love this life
I love the moment into which one falls
I love this life
and I love this day
and I love this world
I love this life
I love the moment into which one falls
I love this life
and I love this day
and I love this world

I do not know where
even if it goes
if it goes to

Because I love this life
I love the moment into which one falls
I love this life
and I love this day
and I love this world
I love this life
I love the moment into which one falls
I love this life
and I love this day
and I love this world

Meu compassion razoável /My reasonable compassion

Se eu tocasse no coração
do um, uniforme da pessoa
e fêz com que rissem, e sorrir
eu tenho sucedido então
em trazer a felicidade
se mas para este momento.

Mim fazem isto para nós tudo,
para ajudar vivo valor vida;
para aquele que sofre,
para ajudar-nos todos apreciar
valor da abilidade de rir.

E, embora esta lingüeta que eu falo
não é de minha mãe,
mim escreva nela fora do respeito
para todo o, de Portugal da mãe
e todas suas crianças.

Translation:

If I touched the heart
of even one person,
and caused them to laugh, and to smile
then I have succeeded
in bringing happiness
if but for this moment.

I do this for us all,
to help the living value life;
for those who suffer,
to help us all appreciate
the value of the ability to laugh.

And, though this tongue I speak
is not of my mother,
I write in it out of respect
for all of Mother Portugal,
and all of Her children.

Drug Decriminalization Reduces Drug usage and Crime Rates

Statistics don't lie.

Cannabis use
1.NZ 22.23%
2.Aus 17.93%
3.US 12.30%

Portugal where all drugs have been decriminalized for six years...3.86%

Crime Rate.. Drug Offences
1.Norway 987.1 per 100,000 people
2.Switizerland 648.4
3.NZ 641.6
4.USA 560.1
no stats on Australia

and Portugal where all drugs are decriminalized... 59.6 per 100,000 people

Decriminalization reduces drug usage and crime rates.

Mind Blowing Pot Leads to Reduced Use

According to research published in the journal Addiction, "First, the use of cannabis and rates of psychotic symptoms were related to each other, independently of observed/non-observed fixed covariates and observed time dynamic factors (Table 2). Secondly, the results of structural equation modelling suggest that the direction of causation is that the use of cannabis leads to increases in levels of psychotic symptoms rather than psychotic symptoms increasing the use of cannabis. Indeed, there is a suggestion from the model results that increases in psychotic symptoms may inhibit the use of cannabis."

Source: Fergusson, David M., John Horwood & Elizabeth M. Ridder, "Tests of Causal Linkages Between Cannabis Use and Psychotic Symptoms," Addiction, Vol. 100, No. 3, March 2005, p. 363.

What this means is, people who blow their minds on high quality pot stop using.

In short, their psychosis leads to them quitting pot.

Compare this to crack and meth addicts who get obsessed about getting high, and whose psychosis leads them to commit crimes to support their habits.

Pot users tend to learn to moderate their consumption.

This is why there are only 2.5% pot users worldwide.

Mental Health Consumer Rights

I am a consumer of mental health services. I have the same rights as any other consumer. That includes the right to make my own informed decisions about treatment.

Forced treatment is force, not treatment. More damage is done by forced treatment than by no treatment.

If a friend or family member has a disorder that is causing difficulty in their lives, they are aware that something is wrong. If they are using denial, it is because they are afraid, because they don't know what's wrong or they don't believe there is help. If you can find printed information and make it available to them without pushing it on them, that would be best. The least awkward method is usually the most direct: "Pam, I saw this information and it seemed to be describing you, so I'm passing it on in case you can use it. If you don't think it fits, ignore it." If you can't say that comfortably, perhaps you can find a mutual friend who can?

If their disorder is not causing a problem to them, then is there anything you really should do? If society can tolerate only a narrow set of thought and behavior, maybe society needs shaking up.


Unless a person is at risk for potential harm towards themselves or others through action, then their rights cannot be violated.

If people object to another person's opinion merely for exercise of his or her free speech, provide that he or she does not promote the use of violence against others, then the laws of society require that they do not use violence or violent language to object to his or her freedom of speech.

It is not a democracy when the majority of the people still violate the rights of a minority. This is still mob rule.

Turning in Big Brother

It is by a very rare happening that I would find myself in a place such as this. A United States government mental institution after all is not what I call a preferred place of dwelling. Yet one day, my home became disabled and so our government locked me away in a mental institution for asking the social service system for some assistance.

I witnessed some unacceptable activities while imprisoned as an innocent person. Human rights violations, abuse and neglect. I feel obligated ethically to speak out but I am as well outraged by being treated as I was. Just prior to my then previously announced KGO radio campaign I was harassed in person and was accused of the possibilities of terrorism by Fresno County government after speaking out.

I'm making a stand. I'm making a stand to empower my freedoms and to empower a united resolve for the quality of care and essential liberties of disabled Americans forced under the care of the government. I believe that what I witnessed and how I was treated by the government is not entirely uncommon. — Nathan Young

And thus begins the story of a man who was forcibly placed in a mental institution when his home became disabled.

This story will show the risk involved in having a mental disability.

How not to take Salvia

So, there you have it. Everything became a joke for this lady.

For most guys, they get so stoned and sometimes go catatonic.



For the record, the tea extraction of salvia divinorum has no hallucinogenic effect, and is not dangerous.

It really goes great with chinese green tea.

One in Four War Vets Suffer Mental Health Issues

Perhaps our anti-war sentiments are also part of the problem.

It's hard to tell what praise would do in the situation of a vet suffering PTSD.

Yet the problem is there.

And it doesn't just go away. Therefore we should listen to their stories.

Fighting the Stigma of Mental Illness

One of the best ways to fight stigma and develop an open mind towards people with mental illness is to get to know someone with mental health problems and discover that the illness is only one aspect of his or her life.

Another way is to speak up when friends, family or the media use language that discriminates against people on the basis of mental health problems.

Here are some common signs of prejudice:

• stereotyping people with mental illness (treating them as a group rather than as individuals)
• trivializing or belittling people with mental illness and/or the illness itself
• offending people with mental illness through insults
• patronizing people with mental illness by treating them as less worthy than other people
• reinforcing common myths about people with mental illness: for example, saying they are dangerous, weak, beyond hope, etc.
• labelling people by their diagnosis; the concept of the person as an individual is lost, and the illness is the only relevant characteristic when terms such as paranoid schizophrenic, manic depressive and bulimic are used
• using slang words such as "insane," "schizo" and "psycho," which are often used in news headlines to grab readers' attention
• sensationalizing or accentuating myths about mental illness: for example, a headline such as "Psychotic Bear Kills Camper" links wild animal behaviour with mental illness

---

Reference:

Stigma and discrimination around mental health and substance abuse problems: http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/factsheet/stigma-and-discrimination-around-mental-health-and-substance-use-problems

70% of Parents Accept Kids With Mental Illness

It looks like American parents are more likely to accept kids with asthma than kids with mental illness.


"Many respondents did not want their children to become friends with other kids identified as having mental illnesses or have them come over to spend an evening socializing," said Jack Martin, Ph.D., lead study author.

The Indiana University research team looked at data from a national face-to-face interview of adults who were given descriptions of children of various ages with symptoms that were similar to asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression or "normal troubles." The interviewer never mentioned a specific diagnosis.

"We used asthma as a baseline condition because it represents a physical problem with a known and standard treatment," said Martin, who is executive director of the university's Karl Schuessler Institute for Social Research, in Bloomington. "We wanted to see if Americans felt differently about a child with a mental health problem."

Almost 30 percent of the 1,134 participants said they would not like their child to become friends of a child with depression, and almost one in four said the same thing about ADHD. Roughly 20 percent said they did not want a child with either ADHD or depression living next door. But when asked about friendship with children with "normal troubles" and asthma symptoms, negative responses dropped to 10 percent or less in all categories.

"[People] aren't as concerned, however, if a child with mental illness is in the same class as their child or if a child with mental illness moved into their neighborhood," Martin said. "This study suggests that a large number of Americans just don't want their kids to be spending time with other kids suffering from ADHD or depression."

The study appears in the latest issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.


It must be really hard for parents of a child with mental health problems to help their child make friends and be accepted by peers.

Definitely though, the good news is 70% of parents will accept a kid who is mentally ill while three in four parents will accept a kid who suffers from ADHD.

Let's just hope the 20% of parents who don't want to live next door to either kid aren't influential members of society.

Jaggi Singh on The Police State

Jaggi Singh has been targeted by the RCMP since 1997 when he was detained by police at APEC Vancouver. At APEC Quebec City, he was detained in 2005.

His crime? Exercising free speech without violence. Let's listen to Jaggi explain his situation, and how the State may work in limiting free speech.

"It looks like I'll be here for the next few months. I'm surprised by the situation in general. But the judgment, no. You can get a sense of a judge and the Crown and how serious they want to be about things. I was getting ready to expect this.

"We had two solid witnesses. The catapult (the weapon Singh is charged with possessing) was taken out of my hands. Judy Rebick testified to that. After I saw you on Rene Levesque Blvd. (in Quebec City last Friday), it seems everything that happened there is being put on my shoulders, but I'm not being charged with any of it. They're saying I gave orders. Well, if I gave orders, then charge me with incitement (to riot). They're not. They're saying Molotovs and rocks were thrown. If there were, I didn't throw them. And I didn't give anybody orders to throw any of them.

"So the charges against me are very clear, and on the merit of each of them, it's arguable whether I would be found guilty. I'm sure I'll be found innocent. There's no reason I should be kept in custody now.

"It's a ratcheting up, a step up of the levels of intimidation. There are different levels to this. One is using 5,000 canisters of tear gas, building a fence and mounting a huge security operation. Another level is legal intimidation, to use legal means to try to silence voices.

"Each time, whenever a handful of major world leaders are due to arrive in a Canadian city, I get abducted. They justify refusing bail by saying it would undermine confidence in the Canadian justice system. I feel the reverse: my continued detention undermines confidence because I was exercising free-expression rights. I mean, people saw me. Judy saw me. You saw me. Other people saw me. They saw my role. I wasn't some street general. I was trying to be a helpful presence, and then I left after talking to you. How can you deny liberty on these grounds?

"The people I know are upset, and this will inspire them to be more active. Obviously, instead of trying to get someone out of jail, we'd rather spend our time raising awareness and organizing more actions. We've actually managed to build up a pretty impressive movement against capitalist globalization. The next 10 years might be interesting. Various social forces might have a certain amount of power.

"There are different ways of policing this. One is this counter-insurgency model, which has three stages. The third stage is all-out civil war. The second stage is when movements become a potential threat. The first stage is when it's not a threat, when everything is open, like it is now. At that stage you get as much information as possible on everybody. You target who the leaders are because you target them in Stage 2. And you eliminate them in Stage 3.

"It's the model that's been applied in Latin America, almost word-for-word. In Quebec, an example of Stage 2 is when the October Crisis happened. Where did all these names come from? The names of the 3,000 or so people they arrested?

"The police forces were keeping track. And if you have to eliminate these 3,000 people or put them in jail, you can potentially nip in the bud any progressive politics for that time of so-called crisis.

"Other things in that model is to make lessons of people. To say that if you fight back you will have to suffer punishment. The idea being that people won't fight back, they'll simply abide by the status quo. And if they do you get to Stage 2.

"Another model that is perhaps more applicable here is this whole idea of four categories of people: the radicals, idealists, realists and opportunists. Everybody is an idealist. Everybody has this idea that things should be better and that's really a non-ideological thing. The fear is that those idealists will become radicals and start questioning the roots of the system, start questioning the power structure. People in power don't like that. You have to turn these idealists into realists, because once they're realists, they can accept the compromises that opportunists make; those being the politicians.

"And how do you turn an idealist into a realist instead of a radical? Well, a baton blow to the head is one way. Getting wafts of tear gas is another. Yet another is making the radicals seem crazy and criminal. Give the distinct impression through the media that you will be jailed. You will be treated differently and it's not worth the trouble. As long as idealists stay that way, or even better become realists or opportunists, that's great.

"It's really important to remain engaged. To avoid that dynamic of marginalization and sectarianism. To present a human face, through the community and the media. (The repression) is going to backfire because it's not like this is happening out of the blue. People understand this movement. And on a personal level they know who I am. They can't marginalize me in this way because of that track record. And it's laughable the day when a teddy-bear-launching catapult becomes a threat to national security. Apparently, it has."

Raise This Fist (poem)

Raise this fist for rights
and self determination!
Open this fist for peace,
and offer a helping hand
with deep love for another.

Inspiration of my Political Activism

Japanese-Canadian men were detained in the Immigration Building at Vancouver Harbour from April 25, 1942 to May 20, 1942.

Near the end of their detainment there, they rioted.

As a result they were sent to Petawawa and later Angler.

Soon the camp became divided between young men who missed their families and hardliners who wanted to return to Japan.

It is this injustice that drives my political activism. Yet, in BC political protest is illegal unless you notify the authorities in advance.

A Blast from the Past: The Britannia Nine Incident, Vancouver

In this entry, the comment will show both sides of the notorious Britannia Nine incident which shows the BC Liberals as a bunch of thugs using police to incite a riot consistently.

The only people willing to keep the peace were brutalized by the cops.

Welcome to the New World Order in BC brought to you by Premier Gordon Campbell.

It's amazing what greed does to people in power.

Essentially the SLAPP legislation and the Britannia incident criminalizes public protest.

And this violates the Canadian Rights and Freedoms act.

Police Claim Madam was "Making Too Much Money"

Apart from employing illegal immigrants, the only reason why a Vancouver madam was raided was she was making too much money, according to police.

My guess is, local businesses were jealous she could make so much money, while they lost business.

However, it cost anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 to make the raid, because VPD were involved.

What a waste of taxpayers' money!

I would rather police work to reduce such crime non-violently. That's what immigration is for. This was more of an Immigration Canada issue.

The cops botched this raid from the get-go.

International Women's Day

International Women's Day (8 March) is an occasion marked by women's groups around the world. This date is also commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday. When women on all continents, often divided by national boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, come together to celebrate their Day, they can look back to a tradition that represents at least nine decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development.

International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men. In ancient Greece, Lysistrata initiated a sexual strike against men in order to end war; during the French Revolution, Parisian women calling for "liberty, equality, fraternity" marched on Versailles to demand women's suffrage.

The idea of an International Women's Day first arose at the turn of the century, which in the industrialized world was a period of expansion and turbulence, booming population growth and radical ideologies.

May no one forget Harriet Nahanee.

Just So You Know...

Hi again!

Juat so you know, despite my recent promotional writing in favor of marijuana, the last time I got high on pot was prior to March 2005.

How can someone who's quit pot promote it? Doesn't that violate a Canadian law?

Let me answer the second question: with respect to marijuana, not promoting marijuana would violate human rights. I am not promoting getting high on marijuana.

I support the educated use of marijuana, and would consider anyone who tries to smoke a whole doob in one sitting to be no different from an alcoholic or a drug addict.

Now, let's get to the first question: I quit marijuana because:

1. It's illegal in Canada


2. I don't have a medical illness to be registered as a Medical Marijuana user


3. Too many people who use marijuana are stuck in a "let's get high" rut and are boring

So instead, for my insomnia, I have to use diphenhydramine or Gravol to sleep sometimes. There's an cumulative risk of developing heart disease from diphenhydramine use as well as building tolerance to the stuff. Though currently (Dec. 24, 2012) I use gabapentin and flexeril.

Also, I refuse to take more than 50 mg of the stuff due to the risk of psychosis from large doses. That is what causes those weird visions and other side effects.

Even though diphenhydramine does sedate me and keeps me from freaking out, I just don't want to talk to my subconscious and inner daemons.

While I know two puffs of a doob would chill me out and get me ready for sleep, I will not knowingly break a law or risk psychosis from ingesting too much THC.

However, I still feel it is my duty to educate people about marijuana to the best of my ability.

10 Things You Need to Know about Marijuana

Reprinted in the public interest without permission from a flyer by the Family Council on Drug Awareness. This flyer is being distributed at public functions such as concerts, school gatherings, trade shows, and craft shows. Any typographic errors, unless noted, are mine. The author of this post has no affiliation with any agency or persons related to this document, and refrains from editorial comment.

"Prohibition... goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." -- Abraham Lincoln December, 1840

This pamphlet was researched and produced as a public service by the Family Council on Drug Awareness P.O. Box 71093, LA, CA 90071-0093

Additional copies available from:

BACH, PO Box 71093, L.A., CA 90071-0093 35 cents apiece, Ten for $2.00, 100 for $10

1 Q. What is Marijuana?

A. "Marijuana" refers to the dried leaves and flowers of the cannabis plant [1], which contain the non-narcotic chemical THC at various potencies. It is smoked or eaten to produce the feeling of being "high." The different strains of this herb produce different sensual effects, ranging from sedative to stimulant.

2 Q. Who Uses Marijuana?

A. There is no simple profile of a typical marijuana user. It has been used for 1000s of years for medical, social, and religious reasons and for relaxation [2]. Several of our Presidents [3] are believed to have smoked it. One out of every five Americans say they have tried it. And it is still popular among artists, writers, musicians, activists, lawyers, inventors, working people, etc.

3 Q. How Long Have People Been Using Marijuana?

A. Marijuana has been used since ancient times [4]. While field hands and working people have often smoked the raw plant, aristocrats historically prefer hashish [5] made from the cured flowers of the plant. It was not seen as a problem until a calculated disinformation [sic] campaign was launched in the 1930s [6], and the first American laws against using it were passed [7].

4 Q. Is Marijuana Addictive?

A. No, it is not [8]. Most users are moderate consumers who smoke it socially to relax. We now know that 10% of our population have "addictive personalities" and they are neither more nor less likely to overindulge in cannabis than in anything else. On a relative scale, marijuana is less habit forming than either sugar or chocolate but more so than anchovies. Sociologists report a general pattern of marijuana use that peaks in the early adult years, followed by a period of levelling off and then a gradual reduction in use [9].

5 Q. Has Anyone Ever Died From Smoking Marijuana?

A. No; not one single case, not ever. THC is one of the few chemicals for which there is no known toxic amount [10]. The federal agency NIDA says that autopsies reveal that 75 people per year are high on marijuana when they die: this does not mean that marijuana caused or was even a factor in their deaths. The chart below compares the number of deaths attributable to selected substances in a typical year:

Tobacco...............................340,000 - 395,000

Alcohol (excluding crime/accidents).............125,000+

Drug Overdose (prescription)............24,000 - 27,000

Drug Overdose (illegal)...................3,800 - 5,200

Marijuana.............................................0

*Source: U.S. Government Bureau of Mortality Statistics, 1987

6 Q. Does Marijuana Lead to Crime and/or Hard Drugs?

A. No [11]. The only crime most marijuana users commit is that they use marijuana. And, while many people who abuse dangerous drugs also smoke marijuana, the old "stepping stone" theory is now discredited, since virtually all of them started out "using" legal drugs like sugar, coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, etc.

7 Q. Does Marijuana Make People Violent?

A. No. In fact, Federal Bureau of Narcotics director Harry Anslinger once told Congress just the opposite - that it leads to non-violence and pacifism [12]. If he was telling the truth (which he and key federal agencies have not often done regarding marijuana), then re-legalizing marijuana should be considered as one way to curb violence in our cities. The simple fact is that marijuana does not change your basic personality. The government says that over 20 million Americans still smoke it, probably including some of the nicest people you know.

8 Q. How Does Marijuana Affect Your Health?

A. Smoking anything is not healthy, but marijuana is less dangerous than tobacco and people smoke less of it at a time. This health risk can be avoided by eating the plant instead of smoking it [13], or can be reduced by smoking smaller amounts of stronger marijuana. There is no proof that marijuana causes serious health or sexual problems [14] but, like alcohol, its use by children or adolescents is discouraged. Cannabis is a medicinal herb that has hundreds of proven, valuable theraputic uses - from stress reduction to glaucoma to asthma to cancer therapy, etc. [15].

9 Q. What About All Those Scary Statistics and Studies?

A. Most were prepared as scare tactics for the government by Dr. Gabriel Nahas, and were so biased and unscientific that Nahas was fired by the National Institute of Health [16] and finally renounced his own studies as meaningless [17]. For one experiment, he suffocated monkeys for five minutes at a time, using proportionately more smoke than the average user inhales in an entire lifetime [18]. The other studies that claim sensational health risks are also suspect, since they lack controls and produce results which cannot be replicated or independently verified [19].

10 Q. What Can I Do About Marijuana?

A. No independent government panel that has studied marijuana has ever recommended jail for users [20]. Concerned persons should therefore ask their legislators to re-legalize and tax this plant, subject to age limits and regulations similar to those on alcohol and tobacco.

For More Information, Write:

Family Coucil on Drug Awareness P.O. Box 71093, LA CA 90071-0093

FOOTNOTES TO THE TEXT:

1. The same plant, known as hemp, has an estimated 50,000 non-drug commercial uses including paper, textiles, fuels, food and sealants, but these uses are also banned by existing laws. Sources: Encyclopedia Britannica, federal documents and historical records.

2. Coptic Christians, Rhastafarnians [sic], Shintos, Hinus, Buddhists, Sufis, Essenes, Zoroastrians, Bantus, and many other sects have traditions that consider the plant to have religious value.

3. Their personal correspondence and records reveal that U.S. Presidents Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and others smoked hashish, as did Benjamin Franklin and Mary Todd Lincoln. President John F. Kennedy is also reported to have smoked marijuana to relieve his back pain. Many of America's greatest leaders and Founding Fathers (including George Washington) were hemp farmers. Sources: National Archives, published reports.

4. Archeologists report that cannabis was possibly the first plant cultivated by humans - about 8000 B.C. - and was used for linen, paper, and garments. Source: Columbia University, _History of the World_. It was being smoked in China and India as early as 2700 B.C.

5. Turkish smoking parlors were popular in both Europe and America. as well as the Middle and Far East, as recently as the turn of the Century.

6. The exhaustive Indian Hemp "Raj" Commission report (1986) by British authorities found no reason to restrict its use. But the notorious yellow journalist William Randolph Hearst fabricated and published horror stories about marijuana that were eventually investigated and shown to be lies, but not until long after the marijuana prohibition was enacted in 1938. Source: Larry Sloman, _Reefer Madness_.

7. Laws against marijuana were passed a year after the invention of a machine to harvest and process hemp so it could compete commercially against businesses owned by Hearst, the DuPonts and other powerful families. Source: Jack Herer, _The Emporor Wears No Clothes_.

8. Marijuana does not lead to physical dependency. Costa Rican Study, 1980; Jamaican Study, 1975; Nixon Blue Ribbon Report, 1972, et. al.

9. Source: Psychology Today, Newsweek, et.al.

10. Source: All univerity medical studies: UCLA, Harvard, Temple, etc.

11. Costa Rican Study, 1980; Jamaican Study, 1975; "The legal drugs for adults, such as alcohol and tobacco...precede the use of all illicit drugs." Source: National Academy of Sciences.

12. The FBI reports that 65-75% of criminal violence is alcohol related. "Pacifist syndrome" testimony was given by Federal Bureau of Narcotics Director Harry Anslinger before Congress (1948). However, the "Siler" Study conducted by the U.S in Panama (1931) reported "no impairment" in military personnel who smoked marijuana while off duty.

13. "The only clinically significant medical problem is that scientifically linked to marijuana is bronchitis. Like smoking tobacco, the treatment is the same: stop smoking." Source: Dr. Fred Oerther, M.D.

14. Coptic study (UCLA), 1981; "There is not yet any conclusive evidence as to whether prolonged use of marijuana causes permanent changes in the nervous system or sustained impairment of brain function and behavior in human beings." Source: National Academy of Sciences.

15. Source: Dr. Tod Mikuriya, _Marijuana Medical Papers_. Marijuana could replace at least 10-20% of prescribed drugs now in use. Source: Dr. Raphael Mechoulam. Marijuana was a major active ingredient in 40-50% of patent medicines before its ban.

16. 1976

17. 1983

18. The U.S. Government reports that the oral dose of cannabis required to kill a mouse is about 40,000 times the dose required to produce symptoms of intoxication in man. Source: Lowe, _Journal of Pharmacological and Experimental Therapeutics_, Oct. 1946.

19. In another famous study, Heath/Tulane (1974), wild monkeys were brutally captured, then virtually suffocated in marijuana smoke over a period of 90 days. Source: National Institute of Health.

20. Examples: the "LaGuardia" Committee Report (New York, 1944) and President Richard Nixon's Blue Ribbon "Shafer" Commission (1972).

Marijuana effectively reduces pain

For the first time in nearly 20 years, a U.S. researcher has been able to publish the findings of a clinical study of therapeutic cannabis. The study, conducted by Dr. Donald Abrams of the University of California San Francisco medical school, found that HIV/AIDS patients suffering from neuropathic pain got twice as much relief from cannabis as compared to a control group.

The randomized placebo-controlled trial involved 50 patients who were randomly assigned to smoke either cannabis (3.56% tetrahydrocannabinol) or identical placebo cigarettes with the cannabinoids extracted three times daily for 5 days. Smoked cannabis reduced daily pain by 34% (median reduction; IQR = -71, -16). Greater than 30% reduction in pain was reported by 52% in the cannabis group and the first cannabis cigarette reduced chronic pain by a median of 72% vs. 15% with placebo.

Researchers concluded that smoked cannabis was well tolerated and effectively relieved chronic neuropathic pain from HIV-associated sensory neuropathy.

See http://neurology.org/cgi/content/abstract/68/7/515

This study suggests strongly that marijuana reduces chronic pain.

Potential of Flood On Fraser River May Reach 1948 Level

Before I get to the nitty-gritty of this entry, I am going to quote Betty Krawczyk from her statement to the court recently, since it echoes what might happen perhps this spring on the Fraser River.

In those days all of southern Louisiana was bound by wetlands, wetlands literally teeming with life. Sometimes the sky would be black with migrating birds and the fish so numerous there were times when you would almost have to knock the fish out of the way with the poles used to push the little boats that were called peroes through the shallow waterways of the bayous.

But after the Cypress groves were logged and the oak forests cut down and the marshes and bayous were drained and filled in and eventually when only oil rigs and gambling casinos dotted the shoreline of Louisiana instead of marshes and shell fish and pelicans and wild rice and alligators further back in the bayous’ and only then when all of the natural eco systems had been destroyed that served as brakes on storm patterns could something like the New Orleans floods occur after a hurricane. The flooding that brought death and destruction to a famous historical city that will never recover.


First, let's look at the historical record for floods on the Fraser River:

1894 May - Flooding occurs due to freshet flood and spring high tide conditions.

1948 June - Dikes breached. More than 22 000 hectares flooded and $146.9 million in 1998 dollars of damage.

According to a report by the Fraser Basin Council, "diking systems from Chilliwack and Kent to Surrey and Coquitlam would be overtopped at one or more locations; the Delta dike at Fraser Shore would be overtopped at one location; and freeboard for a winter storm surge flood would be inadequate in Delta and Richmond."

If a flood does happen, and based on the 1972 flood, Prince George, Kamloops and Surrey are immediately sensitive to flooding.

Should a flood in May happen with a high spring tide, the lower Fraser would be greatly affected.

Will BC be prepared? Or, will this disaster rival New Orleans considering the loss of land to commercial and residential development? Only time will tell.

Krawczyk Perpetutes Myth of Male Violence

In the previous entry, I posted verbatim human and environmental rights protestor Betty Krawczyk's charge against the BC government and its justice system for the death of Eagleridge Bluffs and Harriet Nahanee.

So I thought I'd Google Betty to find out who has an opinion on this lady, who started her early days of protest with Rev. King during the US's Civil Rights movement in the 1960s.

Then I happened on her response to that nasty bit of injustice and domestic abuse when a Vietnamese lady sliced off her spouse's peni and flushed it down the toilet at the Victoria Men's Center website at fathers.ca.

Being click-happy, I found this tidbit on the incidents of violence between the sexes.

Consistently, women use violence on men to engage them in expressing their emotions, oblivious to the reason why there are differences in the way men and women communicate.

Yet media refused to report truthfully about this criminal case, possibly to avoid being inundated by calls from feminists running rape centres that the truth is out.

To add to this, I will confess that I'd almost been a victim to domestic abuse.

Once, my inappropriate behavior (laughter) to an important issue brought up by my ex-girlfriend led to her saying:

"I am so angry that I want to assault you."

OK, she didn't say that exactly but I had pissed her off by not responding with the appropriate emotion to the situation, which I forget what it was about.

Then four years later, over dish washing chores, my ex (now in another relationship and both of them my roommates) smacks me on the head!

Finally she realized I am too lazy to wash ALL the dishes and expects me to only wash my dishes.

So I have total sympathy for Victoria Men's Centre.