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"One of the things that I am concerned about is the degree to which we've seen a lot of commentary lately where there were, there are Republicans or pundits or cable commentators who seemed to have more confidence in Vladimir Putin than fellow Americans because those fellow Americans were Democrats. That cannot be." ~ Barack Obama "In Russia an authoritarian leader is running the country. You can't fight Putin with elections because he controls them. That's why demonstrations are the most effective approach. Unfortunately Russia has sunk to this primitive level." ~ Alexei Navalny "The…

"Since narcissism is fueled by a greater need to be admired than to be liked, psychologists might use that fact as a therapeutic lever - stressing to patients that being known as a narcissist will actually cause them to lose the respect and social status they crave." ~ Jeffrey Kluger "Exploitation and manipulation produce boredom and triviality; they cripple man, and all factors that make man into a psychic cripple turn him also into a sadist or a destroyer." ~ Erich Fromm "Psychopaths are social predators, and like all predators, they are looking for feeding grounds. Wherever you get…

I learned early on that war forms its own culture. The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug, one I ingested for many years. It is peddled by mythmakers- historians, war correspondents, filmmakers, novelists, and the state- all of whom endow it with qualities it often does possess: excitement, exoticism, power, chances to rise above our small stations in life, and a bizarre and fantastic universe that has a grotesque and dark beauty. ~ Chris Hedges The enduring attraction of war is this: Even with its destruction and carnage it can give us what we long for…

If you think well of others, you will also speak well of others and to others. From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. If your heart is full of love, you will speak of love. ~ St. Mother Teresa "We are all one family in the world. Building a community that empowers everyone to attain their full potential through each of us respecting each other's dignity, rights and responsibilities makes the world a better place to live." ~ Pope John Paul II Speaking well of others and not speaking ill of them is a sign of humility, emotional maturity, and self-discipline. The decision to…

The practice of pushing Indigenous students out of schools due to poor attendance or academic struggles is a subtle but powerful reflection of the systemic discrimination woven into the fabric of Canadian society. This approach does not merely harm individual students; it reinforces a cycle of marginalization, stripping them of dignity and opportunity while allowing the institution to absolve itself of indigenous student responsibility. Indigenous students carry the weight of historical trauma, shaped by centuries of cultural erasure and systemic neglect. When schools demand indigenous…

"If the church does not identify with the marginalized, it will itself be marginalized. This is God's poetic justice." ~ Timothy Keller "Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape." ~ Pope Francis Narratives or stories that misrepresent someone's life or actions can perpetuate harm, especially if they are driven by scapegoating or bias or racism. These false…

"I believe life is a series of near misses. A lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all. It's seizing the day and accepting responsibility for your future. It's seeing what other people don't see And pursuing that vision." ~ Howard Schultz "It's real easy to sit on your couch and point fingers and say, 'So-and-so did something wrong...'. But until you are out there in these cars at these speeds and seeing all the near-misses and what is really going on, it is not worth forming an opinion." ~ Jimmie Johnson Understanding the nature of a "near miss" on a job site is essential for…

"Backstabbers specialize in saying the wrong thing at the wrong time to the wrong person." ~ Les Parrott "You know that you have been stabbed when you feel the deep pain of betrayal." ~ Les Parrott Dealing with backstabbers, there was one thing I learned. They're only powerful when you got your back turned. ~ Eminem Backstabbing in the workplace is often subtle and difficult to detect. People are not always as they present themselves, and it's important that you don’t naively accept the image they show you. Colleagues may seem friendly or professional on the surface, but they could be…

"Nanotechnology in medicine is going to have a major impact on the survival of the human race." ~ Bernard Marcus "If we can reduce the cost and improve the quality of medical technology through advances in nanotechnology, we can more widely address the medical conditions that are prevalent and reduce the level of human suffering." ~ Ralph Merkle "Today, a group of 20 individuals empowered by the exponential growing technologies of AI and robotics and computers and networks and eventually nanotechnology can do what only nation states could have done before." ~ Peter Diamandis Imagine you…

"Everyone everywhere now understands how bad things have gotten — and they’re talking about it. They have the power to decide for themselves whether they are willing to sacrifice their privacy to the surveillance state." ~ Edward Snowden "Total surveillance is increasingly the general condition of society as a whole." ~ Michel Foucault "Today we are at a crossroads. The technology is available for two great options: The massive surveillance state, or the renewed freedom of a deeply-involved citizenry thinking independently and holding the government to the highest standards." ~ Oliver…

Education will lead to understanding; understanding will lead to action. Education and understanding are going to be key to moving us forward. That's why I take every opportunity I can to try to educate Canadian people on the impact of intergenerational trauma. To tell them how, until 1951, indigenous people weren't allowed to leave the reserve without a permit. That it was illegal for a lawyer to give us advice. It was illegal for us to sell our wood, our cattle, without a permit. I want the next generation to understand we have endured, we have persevered and we are getting stronger. ~…

"The successful are those who have been given opportunities." ~ Malcolm Gladwell "True genius, in strategy or anywhere, lies in self-control, self-mastery, presence of mind, fluidity of thought." ~ Robert Greene "Outlier are those who have been given opportunities-- -and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them." ~ Malcolm Gladwell Whether it be the battlefield of sport or the chessboard of management, presence of mind is a weapon sharper than any blade. The power of presence is the ability to see with clarity when others are blinded by panic. For the athlete,…

"What is to be expected of them is not treachery, or physcial cowardice, but stupidity, unconscious sabotage, an infallible instinct for doing the wrong thing." ~ George Orwell "don't sabotage your own greatness by succumbing to failure!" ~ Terry McMillan "The Israelis wanted to sabotage the Palestinian - Palestinian reconciliation." ~ Benjamin Netanyahu Be wary of individuals who scheme in the shadows, for the trap they set for individuals may become their own downfall. The desire to see someone fail is a powerful motivator for the envious and the spiteful. They plot, they plan,…

When I was 5 years old, I played soccer in Little Italy, Edmonton, with Italian coaches who pushed me to work hard as if there were no tomorrow. My Indigenous mother and father would say, "This is good for you; it will make you tougher." They saw something in me — a desire for a better life — and they believed in me, they saw something that I didn't see. I’m deeply grateful for my Italian Canadian Community and their support and for pushing me to strive for success.

"Tariffs that save jobs in the steel industry mean higher steel prices, which in turn means fewer sales of American steel products around the world and losses of far more jobs than are saved." ~ Thomas Sowell "What protectionism teaches us, is to do to ourselves in time of peace what enemies seek to do to us in time of war." ~ Henry George "Protectionism is a misnomer. The only people protected by tariffs, quotas and trade restrictions are those engaged in uneconomic and wasteful activity. Free trade is the only philosophy compatible with international peace and prosperity." ~ Walter…