It was about 24ºC this afternoon, a positively splendid summer day until the edge of a huge thunder cloud rumbled overhead and the temperature plummeted to 12ºC in minutes. Nothing seems to take the smile off a person's face quite like the tremendous power of nature. Each of us when confronted with this power determines instantaneously how fragile and just plain insignificant we the grand species of this planet truly are.

Each day and night we are seeing the sad but definite flickers of something cooking in Iran. Though the tensions in the Middle East did not begin with September 9, 2001 they certainly were brought to our attention and since then there has been the steady worsening of relations between the so-called "western world" and the extremists associated with the more fundamentalist versions of Islam. While at the same time we have experienced the consequences of the reactionary fundamentalist so-call "Christians" who dominated the politics of the United States for the past eight years.

What seems to be happening in Iran is perhaps a lesson in progress. Just as the 1968 demonstrations across Eastern Europe identified the discontent that existed with the Soviet Union, these events in Iran suggest that the jihadist may have to deal with their own who are less than impressed with their performance.

Most importantly we are witnessing people acting on their own to try to make a difference in their lives and it is important to note the large number of women who are leading the way in Iran and confronting the power of their government which claims to have won the recent election. An election in which in many parts of the country more than 100% of the population is suppose to have cast ballots.

For us in our somewhat confusing world of the summer of 2009 we seem to be witnesses in a confusing economic situation which we really played no part in creating yet the consequence of economic chaos are always distributed to everyone. Most unfortunately the brunt of such a calamity is always borne by those least able to do anything about it. Nationally, the real terror is unemployment as companies shut down production and markets dry up, people are thrown out of work and though we in Canada once had a sturdy system of Unemployment Insurance, it has been crumbling from governments stealing its resources and cutting back on the eligibility and benefits.

The minority government was more than willing to pour money we Canadians will have pay back far into the future, into failed automotive companies when only a fraction of that amount of money would have done the economy so much more good were it routed directly to the unemployed who in turn would spend it and move our economy toward recovery.

However, the Liberal Party decided to back the government and must accept the blame for the government's faults in an election that will most surely come sooner or later.

The litany of things that clamour for attention and demand that we as a people do something about these issues seems to be growing. The whole Canadian lumber industry is being abused by the United States. The beef industry is in dire straights with cold weather wrecking the pastures, poor feed grain prospects will force the high prices higher and at the same time US regulation are strangling the Canadian market. There is almost no need to mention the Canadian pork industry as it appears to be all but gone or that which remains is doomed.

Since its summer we should may be just take a holiday driving with vastly overpriced gasoline to places that will do little to life our spirits. I have a better idea. I came across this article yesterday that has some outstanding advice about what we should do as we see ourselves faced with the overwhelming nature of helplessness. Read over what Michelle LaBrosse has to say in her list of suggestions Think, Dream and Do.