<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi Greners,<div><br></div><div>I did suggest some time before Kevin left that he was too important a person to the environmental cause to so risk his life. On the other hand, there he will experience the extraordinary heights of reality and have temporary respite from the entrenched confines of a mean-spirited ideology (that he swims in by choice). Then when he safely comes down from the mountain -- as he likely will -- he may be in a better position to influence a federal Conservative Party to see and appreciate the greatness of Nature. </div><div><br></div><div>But I have my doubts. Even if Kevin returned with an 11th commandment from God that requires Humanity to both live in harmony with Nature and learn from Nature, would he -- even so "armed" with God's authority -- be able to penetrate the defense system of a hardened almost-extremist ideology? </div><div><br></div><div>I'm afraid Canada's 4 year journey to environmental and societal -- even economic -- hell is pretty much guaranteed as Bad King Stephen (once looked out on the toxic tar sands, there he saw Alberta and Conservative wealth & power, but better the destruction of Ontario & democracy, ... ) gradually turns up the devolutionary heat on the Canadian pot.</div><div><br></div><div>Wouldn't it be wonderful if citizen-frogs would jump out of this pot becoming "princes" of transformational action, and Kevin became an effective Trojan Horse of persuasive righteousness within the CPC to an even greater degree?</div><div><br></div><div>Time to wake from my wishful-dream and be a little more serious. To wit, I just discovered this momentous new book in a Stratford bookstore on Sunday, <b>"Design in Nature"</b>, <a href="http://www.openlettersmonthly.com/book-review-the-design-in-nature/">http://www.openlettersmonthly.com/book-review-the-design-in-nature/</a>.</div><div><br></div><div>From the above review: "Reading his work, pondering it long after you’ve shut the book (or shut the book off, if you’re part of the e-reading world), sometimes yields the feeling that <b>an elemental paradigm-shift is being born</b>, that underlying assumptions about the physical world that have been held since Aristotle are on the verge of giving way to entirely new understandings."</div><div><br></div><div>Maybe Kevin could persuade Harper's evangelical minister to present this book to him as "proof" of Intelligent Design? As he wishes "no reply" to his below Facebook report, I'll send him a copy of this "great advice" email when he returns.</div><div><br></div><div>In the spirit of serious play,</div><div>Robert M</div><div><div><br><div>Begin forwarded message:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" color="#000000" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>From: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">"Facebook" <<a href="mailto:notification+kjdmuup5m37m@facebookmail.com">notification+kjdmuup5m37m@facebookmail.com</a>></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" color="#000000" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>Date: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">April 10, 2012 4:41:38 AM GMT-04:00</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" color="#000000" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>To: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Robert Milligan <<a href="mailto:mill@continuum.org">mill@continuum.org</a>></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" color="#000000" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>Subject: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><b>Kevin Thomason updated his status: "After a gruelling climb up through rain, wind, snow, stomach ill...</b></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" color="#000000" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>Reply-To: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">noreply <<a href="mailto:noreply@facebookmail.com">noreply@facebookmail.com</a>></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; 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Will keep you posted...."</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="font-size:11px;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;padding:0px;width:620px;"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;width:100%;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:10px 10px 10px 80px;background-color:#f2f2f2;border-left:none;border-right:none;border-top:1px solid #ccc;border-bottom:1px solid #ccc;"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-size:11px;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;padding-right:10px;"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;"><tbody><tr><td style="border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: #29447E #29447E #1a356e; background-color: #5b74a8;"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-size:11px;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;padding:2px 6px 4px;border-top:1px solid #8a9cc2;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/n/?kevinthomason%2Fposts%2F10151487266800433&mid=5edef6fG5af31b9a226bG1ba5bdaG109&bcode=ebz9Jmq4&n_m=mill%40continuum.org" style="color:#3b5998;text-decoration:none;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: #fff; font-size: 11px;">View Post</span></a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="width:620px;"><img src="http://www.facebook.com/email_open_log_pic.php?mid=5edef6fG5af31b9a226bG1ba5bdaG109" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px;"><bgsound src="http://www.facebook.com/email_open_log_pic.php?mid=5edef6fG5af31b9a226bG1ba5bdaG109&s=a" volume="-10000"></bgsound></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div> </blockquote></div><br></div></body></html>