IMPORTANT ISSUES

[ZELLEY]

One point raised on the "Food for Thought" thread was the need for the "meat".
In the laughter thread there was a comment "summer reruns"

So if we want a discussion of "meatier issue" that are not a rehash of stale old topics that are guaranteed to stir positive and negative responses without offering effective action and solutions where do we start.

A possible summary of important categories include:
1. Human Geography
2. Environmental Issues
3. Economical Issues

Each category can then be segregated into subsections
In many cases as we get to specific topics such as
employment and unemployment various aspects of the three categories will come into play:
e.g. the effect of work and work shortages in the movement of humans
and the economical issues concerning unemployment

Take any category and it is possible to review an issue or topic
through a microscope or a telescope without the need for
"rose tinted glasses" and "blinders"

[diogenes]

When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead,
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's "off with her head"
Remember what the dormouse said:
"Feed your head,
Feed your head"
Thank The Stars, or sumpin

How aboutwe start with th foundation of all foundations-

The ability to reason and think.
We all claim we do it.
Ourminds are occupied with thoughts, well occupied least least , all day long .
Is ir really thinking that me do?
Have we, through our public school system, been trained to 'think'?

When I typed define 'thinking' into the seack engine i mostly use , returned to me was the following.

Results 1 - 10 of about 8,850,000 for define 'thinking'. (0.26 seconds) one must assume by the number (8,850,000) of entries that the idea of 'thinking has some importance, wouldn't you say?

The fist entry states-Barnet, Sylvan and Hugo Bedau. Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing: A Brief Guide to Argument. "In short, when we add the adjective critical to the noun thinking, we pretty much eliminate reveries, just as we also eliminate snap judgments. We are talking about searching for hidden assumptions, noticing various facets, unraveling different strands, and evaluating what is most significant. (The word critical comes from a Greek word, krinein, meaning 'to separate,' 'to choose'; it implies conscious, deliberate inquiry.)" p.3

What stikes me as interesting is firstly, the adjective 'critical' has been added to the noun thinking automaticaly and so must play an imortant role in this endevour. I also notice in the first entry 'reveries' and snap judgement are noterd to be eliminated once we apply, what in my opinion is a serious lack; conscious and deiberate enquiry.

Without this basic foundation for our thought we fall prey to accepting what is placed before us as 'the way it is'.

Those we choose up in our frequent popularity contests, laughly referred to as elections by this writer,
are wellaware of our ignorance in the feilds of 'thinking'
which, again to me, points out how abominations like the oxymoron
free trade' gain support.
To tell anyone to "think about it" when they lak to the tools to do so is to further [pander to the untrained mind.
Diogenes

[diogenes]

For the visual amoungst us ;D
I offer this ~
chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/edpsyppt/Theory/271,16,Slide 16

[diogenes]

Witout critical thinking beening supplied issues as described below more child druggin WILL result.
Pehepaps that is the wish of our vociferous Zelly.


The Chill Pill Kids
By Liam McDougall
The Sunday Herald - UK
11-22-4

It took just 25 minutes for Dr Patrick Cosgrove to diagnose 10-year-old Anthony with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Without speaking to or examining the boy, Cosgrove, a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, took his pen and issued a prescription for the stimulant Ritalin and with it, Liz Thompson, Anthony's mother, thought he had handed over the answer to her prayers.

Although her child had displayed behavioural problems since the age of four, a succession of doctors in Scotland had failed to find him either a final diagnosis or an effective treatment. In desperation, she travelled hundreds of miles from her Glasgow home to Cosgrove's private Priory Clinic in Bristol.

The diagnosis of ADHD, a disorder that includes symptoms such as impulsiveness, hyperactivity and sometimes violence, meant that Anthony Thompson could no longer be labelled a 'bad child'. There was, in fact, something medically wrong with him.

Soon after his diagnosis, Anthony stopped sleeping and eating properly. His mother contacted Cosgrove again and a second drug, Risperidone ñ normally used to treat schizophrenia ñ was prescribed. For three years he took both drugs and, although he was initially less disruptive, Thompson says he appeared to be "doped up". With her son now on a constant organtail of drugs, his behaviour again began to deteriorate so badly that she turned to another psychiatrist for help.

This time she saw a specialist in Glasgow who was so concerned about Anthony's health and the combination of the drugs he was taking, he immediately began steps to wean him off both. Of greatest concern was Risperidone.

"When I first went to see Dr Cosgrove I though he was a godsend ," says Thompson. "I asked if Anthony still needed help along with the drugs and he said he would not need any whatsoever, that these drugs would take away any of the problems he had been experiencing. Nothing could be further from the truth."

She adds: "I went to see another adolescent psychiatrist who was immediately unhappy that [Anthony] was on Risperidone and did a blood test which showed the levels of one of his blood cell types were down."

Thompson claims that Cosgrove never recommended that Anthony had tests to check out how his body was dealing with the medication. Now 18, her son still has psychological problems, which she believes were masked but not treated by the drugs.

So incensed was she about her son's treatment that Thompson and Edinburgh-based charity Overload Network complained to the General Medical Council (GMC) about Cosgrove's conduct. In June, the GMC found the doctor guilty of serious professional misconduct and criticised him for failing to properly monitor Anthony and another patient to whom he had prescribed powerful drugs, such as Ritalin and Risperidone.

In a statement, Professor Norman Mackay, the GMC committee chairman, says: "Dr Cosgrove prescribed drugs to these patients but did not take appropriate steps to monitor the patients while they were taking the drugs prescribed and as such acted irresponsibly." The GMC ruled that although he had retired from medical practice, Cosgrove should be suspended for 12 months.

Although the two-week inquiry in Manchester into Cosgrove's conduct received little press coverage, campaigners say it is indicative of a major problem that is spiralling out of control. Last week, two major studies pub lished by researchers from London University found that soaring numbers of children in the UK were being prescribed antidepressants and other mind-altering drugs. The first, published in Archives Of Disease In Childhood, found that the rate doctors were putting young people on antidepressants had jumped by 68% in recent years, rising more quickly than in eight other major countries: France, Germany, Spain, Canada, US, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.

A second, in the same publication, focused on the rise in antidepressant prescriptions for children in the UK from 1992 to 2001. During this time, researchers found that almost 25,000 children and adolescents up to the age of 18 were given a total of 93,000 prescriptions. Children as young as five appeared to be among those receiving the drugs. Overall, it found the rate of prescriptions for anti depressants for children rose by 70% in a decade. But while the rate for tricyclics, the older generation of antidepressants, fell by 30%, prescriptions for SSRIs (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors), including Prozac and Seroxat, increased tenfold.

The findings have fuelled fears among Scottish health experts at the increasing "medicalisation" of children's problems. In September, research by the Scottish Executive revealed that hundreds of Scottish children, some as young as two, had been diagnosed by GPs as suffering from depression last year. Meanwhile, the bill for antidepressants is also soaring, quadrupling to £55 million over the past decade.

Child psychiatrists and GPs are being blamed in large part for the increase of antidepressant use. Although no anti depressants are licensed for use among under-16s, doctors can prescribe them where they feel it is clinically appropriate.

Dr Des Spence, a GP in Glasgow, accuses medical colleagues of having a mindset in which children's unhappiness is addressed by drugs rather than alternative therapies such as counselling. "There is this idea that life can be broken down into a collection of chemical interactions, but in reality it's nothing like that," he says. "It's very convenient to give someone a tablet and try to cure them. The more their problems are medicalised, the more people will try to treat them with medication. Surely there are better ways to treat children."

[diogenes]

totally weird! I can open it

[watershed]

It is interesting how we can combine the broad categories into
specific topics - e.g. emigration

Although there are many reasons for emigration, one such
cause is unemployment in one area and hot job prospects in a new location. Thus, this is a combination of economic issues followed by the human geography.

New Zealand & Australia appear to be two choice locations.

[diogenes]

Is this to be the topic of discusion then?

[Ghostbuster]

First Nations history is rich in culture, often told through the story, carvings and drawings. If we look at the early days before the Vikings
came across the great sea, we could hear the stories of the "earth People" WHO WERE NOMADIC HUNTERS AND GATHERERS, but
also mighty warriors.

Take: Human geography, environmental and the economical areas, and we have an epic saga.

Human geography: Some tribes, like their sacred friends the eagle, raven and the hawk, migrated from place to place due to the ENVIRONMENTAL causes and the changes in the Seasons.
but some early ECONOMICAL laws and theories were in place such as
the "law of supply and demand". Years passed, we would also see the effect of the Law of diminishing returns (e,g, the buffalo herds)
or in other parts of the vast Continent, we stand by
and follow a mighty tribe along that sad lonely road known
as the "Trail of Tears".

[ZELLEY]

There is an interesting thread in the SUGGESTIONS section
called Job List. So what are the facts of life concerning securing a job.?

For young persons, the great barrier is 'lack of experience'.
But for those trying to secure a job in their local village, hamlet or town the living isn't so easy.

One option is to move to a big city like Vancouver. This could be your "passport to paradise" or a one-way ticket to "Never Never Land".

So, what are important qualities that the potential employer is looking for. Without understanding the nature of the enterprise, then any interview will be a hit-or miss venture. Therefore, before stepping into the dark dark interview room, don't forget to turn on the light
and study the lay of the land. (Be Prepared!)

Aside from the insiders that have a red carpet trip to the job winning trophy room, the rest need to compete for some hopeful plum position. Before entering this Zoo or rat race be armed with the right tools. Some handy dandy quality tools include:
Communication skills, teamwork ability, attitude and appearance.

Remember, the job is won or lost in the first two minutes of the interview. If its a panel interview - don't be trapped or fall prey
to game playing or feigned disinterest.

Now, are there any tips from our senior members?

[Ghostbuster]

Following the long history of Europe and the short formal recorded history of North America, there is something special about the Celts,
Gypsies and our First Nations.

The Gypsy like the American Indian have enriched our culture with art and song. Likewise both groups have been Nomads and experts with Horses. Likewise, both groups have been misunderstood and persecuted.

[watershed]

AS THIS SITE CLOSE - the First Nations message was very important
for understanding.