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Good news report from Canada

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23 April 2008

31 March was the 31st day of the ninth month of the 2nd year of Canadian national consciousness rising to invincibility, as indicated by the following press reports:

31 March 2008

The Victoria Times Colonist - Body & Soul (31 March 2008) TM Lowers Blood Pressure Transcendental Meditation is effective in controlling high-blood pressure without the side-effects of anti-hypertension drugs, according to an analysis conducted at the University of Kentucky and reported in the American Journal of Hypertension. The meta-analysis evaluated nine randomized, controlled trials using Transcendental Meditation as a primary intervention for hypertensive patients.

The Canadian Press - Economic GDP advance eases fears of Canadian recession (31 March 2008) The economy is showing remarkable resiliency as Canada's gross domestic product rebounded strongly in January. January's 0.6 per cent growth to start the year was the biggest one-month increase for the economy since April 2005. 'The snap-back in January shows that most of the steep drop in the prior month was temporary and clearly exaggerated the weakness in the economy,' said BMO deputy chief economist Douglas Porter. The rebound was led by a surprising source—manufacturing—which increased 1.7 per cent. Of 21 major manufacturing groups, 16 recorded increases. Durable goods manufacturing rose 2.6 per cent. The auto sector bounced back to growth of 12 per cent in the first month of the year, and Statistics Canada noted that preliminary data for February suggested continued auto-industry recovery.

Meanwhile, sectors such as retail sales and wholesale trade that have supported economic growth over the past year recorded solid advances of 1.2 per cent and 2.8 per cent in January. Given the modest expectation for the economy over the first half of the year, many economists are holding to their views that the Bank of Canada still needs to add stimulus. But Porter said Canadians should nevertheless be encouraged by January's numbers. Also advancing in January were the financial sector, retail trade, accommodation, food services, and agriculture.

From a Bloomberg News report on this: Wholesalers gained 2.8 per cent to a record and manufacturers advanced 1.7 per cent. 'It's a positive surprise, and it should lift the gloominess that was beginning to percolate,' said Carlos Leitao, chief economist with Laurentian Bank Securities in Montreal.

The Globe and Mail on GDP recovery could buoy confidence (31 March 2008) The Canadian stock market has escaped relatively unscathed from the economic slowdown, and today's gross domestic product data should further bolster investor confidence. 'Canada seems to have a certain buoyancy and attitude,' said Michael Smedley, chief portfolio officer for Canadian General Investments Ltd.

The Globe and Mail on optimism persists among Canadian executives (31 March 2008) The most recent C-Suite survey of Canada's top executives indicated most executives believe their own businesses are poised for expansion. The survey was conducted in February and March for Report on Business and Business News Network by Gandalf Group. Respondents were split evenly by company size and represent all parts of the country. Over half of executives surveyed expect Canada's economy to grow. By contrast, executives are remarkably upbeat about their own companies. While the proportion expecting strong growth has fallen below 25 per cent, more than 90 per cent expect their companies to expand to some degree in the next year, a nudge upward from November. David MacDonald, CEO of technology distributor Softchoice Corp., falls into the optimistic camp. 'Consumer spending is holding up. . . . The fundamentals are strong.'

Statistics Canada - Payroll employment, earnings and hours (31 March 2008) The average weekly earnings of payroll employees (seasonally adjusted) stood at C$785.14 in January, up C$4.38 (0.6 %) from December. Compared with a year earlier, average weekly earnings were up 3.0%. Quebec and Manitoba have had the strongest year-over-year earnings growth of all provinces, at 4.7% and 4.6% respectively. Nationally, the number of occupied payroll jobs climbed 65,900 (up 0.5%) in January, to 14,493,400. Newfoundland and Labrador (up 0.9%), Alberta (up 0.8%), Manitoba (up 0.7%), and New Brunswick (up 0.6%) posted the largest increases in January. Overall, payroll employment has grown by 275,800 (up 1.9%) since January 2007.

The Globe and Mail - Advertising may have more influence on prescriptions than science (31 March 2008) Few Canadians are taking a controversial new cholesterol-lowering drug compared with millions in the United States, where the medication has been heavily promoted, according to a new study that suggests advertising may have a greater influence on the use of a medication than scientific evidence. More than 33 million prescriptions for ezetimibe were issued in the US in 2006, compared with just 824,000 in Canada. It accounted for more than 15 per cent of all prescriptions for cholesterol-lowering medication in the US that year, but only 3.4 per cent in Canada. The results were published online by The New England Journal of Medicine. In Canada, drug companies are not allowed to directly advertise a medication and its benefits to the public, but they can promote their products to physicians. The study comes as the Supreme Court of Canada is deciding whether to lift restrictions. 'I think this example serves as a cautionary tale, about the potential downsides of that practice,' should it be legalized in Canada, said Jack Tu, lead author of the study and a senior scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Toronto.

CBC - B.C. set to offer acupuncture under Medical Services Plan (31 March 2008) British Columbia will become on Tuesday the first province to offer acupuncture treatments as a supplementary benefit to low-income recipients of premium assistance under BC's Medical Services Plan (MSP). BC Health Minister George Abbott said the inclusion of acupuncture as a supplementary MSP benefit will ensure that more British Columbians have the ability to explore treatment options that they might otherwise be unable to access. MSP reimburses premium assistance recipients C$23 for each supplementary benefit visit, to a combined maximum of 10 visits in each calendar year.

From a CTV News report on this: British Columbia's Medical Services Plan also provides funding to low-income people who visit other kinds of nontraditional health care practitioners.

The Canadian Press - Organizers tout Canadians' embrace of Earth Hour (30 March 2008) From coast to coast, Canadians in unsurpassed numbers dined by candlelight and counted stars to mark Saturday evening's 60-minute lights-out event. Electricity usage dipped noticeably during Earth Hour. In Ontario, for example, it fell by more than five per cent and by 8.7 per cent in Toronto. Supporters said people realized that in disconnecting the lights, they were connecting with millions of others who share the same concern. 'Turning off your lights for an hour is not going to save the planet, but the whole point was to create an event where we could signal that we have concerns, expectations and a sea change has to happen,' said Julia Langer with World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF). Canada led the way globally on a per-capita basis, event organizers said. More than 100,000 Canadians registered online with WWF out of 300,000 worldwide—another 775,000 Canadians signalled participation on Facebook's website.

From another Canadian Press report on this: Enthusiastic participants turned off lights and appliances in what was possibly the world's largest voluntary power outage since the invention of the incandescent bulb. Dozens of countries around the world rallied to the cause with gusto, and nowhere more so than in Canada.

These are a few of the news reports reflecting Canada's rising invincibility from the growing Yogic Flying groups across Canada and the Invincible America Assembly at Maharishi University of Management and Maharishi Vedic City, USA.

For further information on creating invincibility for your nation, please visit: www.globalgoodnews.com/invincibility.

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