Fracking

We began the film "Gasland" as an introduction to the fracking process.

Today's Globe and Mail headline reads that the natural gas industry could be worth an estimated $1 trillion dollars, rivalling the oilsands.  The article fails to mention how those dollars will be distributed and who they will be distributed to, but does mention how many estimated person years of employment  the gas industry will provide.  This erupting success in the gas industry is largely due to the fracking process.
Article here:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2012/12/17/business-natural-gas.html

You may reference the website or the film, Gasland, as a source but remember to be specific to the details of the film or website (i.e. which page the info is found on).

What is "fracking" ?  Benefits/Downsides?  Explain the connection betweent improvements in technology affect our environment and economy - and lastly the geopolitics (Canada/U.S./Far East).
 

Socially responsible investing...

After the recent shootings an interesting take on what is social "responsible" investing.
Read and comment.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/inside-the-market/sandy-hook-gun-makers-and-the-thorny-ethics-of-investing/article6494087/

Compare the ethics of Smith and Wesson or Ruger (as mentioned in the article) to those of Exxon, or here in Canada; Imperial (Esso), Suncor (PetroCanada).  Are there any differences?  Back up your opinion with facts.

How about infrastructure giants like Enbridge or TransCanada Pipeline?  Any differences here?

What about keeping our money in a savings account in the bank?  What is done with all of our nation's collective savings (Our banks Tier 1 Capital ratio (the cash a bank must have on hand in bill form ready to go) ranges from 11-15%; meaning the other 85% of YOUR own money is tied up at work for them).  Are there any differences in the "ethics" of this investing?

Don't forget to dance!

Different takes on the tragic event.

Morgan Freeman's take on the shooting - went viral on FB:"You want to know why. This may sound cynical, but here's why.

It's because of the way the media reports it. 

Flip on the news and watch how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single *victim* of Columbine Disturbed
people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he'll be remembered as a horrible monster, instead of a sad nobody.

CNN's article says that if the body count "holds up", this will rank as the second deadliest shooting behind Virginia Tech, as if statistics somehow make one shooting worse than another. Then they post a video interview of third-graders for all the details of what they saw and heard while the shootings were happening. Fox News has plastered the killer's face on all their reports for hours. Any articles or news stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the killer's identity? None that I've seen yet. Because they don't sell. So congratulations, sensationalist media, you've just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next.

You can help by forgetting you ever read this man's name, and remembering the name of at least one victim. You can help by donating to mental health research instead of pointing to gun control as the problem. You can help by turning off the news."

UPDATE:  Morgan Freeman's take on shooting is a fraud.  This raises some of the major issues as to the use of social media in reporting "news" - some of which I have been watching evolve over the past few years much to my dismay.
See source below which claims it was a fraud:
http://www.contactmusic.com/news/morgan-freeman-newtown-shooting-comments-a-hoax_3423917

UPDATE 2:  See comment #1 from matt below for the link that suggests the response to this shooting is to have more access to guns - that's right.
An interesting write-up for those of you keen on linking this thread to the socially responsible investing thread: Go through past shootings in the U.S. and tell me how the stock prices of major gun manufacturers reacted initially, and in the six months following.

Our thoughts and prayers

go out to the families of yesterday's victims.  Two events, one in the Connecticut; the other in China.  Be sure to tell your loved ones today that you love them as we know how fragile life can be.

Egypt

The president attempted to pass a bill that would give him absolute power.  Feel free to expand on what happened this week and/or the events leading up to the week.  What was the response of the public?  What are they asking for?  What is the president's plan for that country?

North Korea

Launched a missile this week.  Dig in, find out the details, find out the implications.  What will this mean to the rest of the world going forward?