Briarpatch articles from April 2002

Briarpatch archives from April 2002

Have a drink on Earth Day... but go easy! (Off the Top).(Brief Article)(Editorial)
April 1, 2002... Peter Gzowski, sometime in the '80s, had Stuart McLean join him on Morningside to demonstrate how much stuff could be bought for a dollar. Stuart was repeating an exercise done 10 years earlier by Danny Finkleman on This Country in the Morning....

Earth Mother and the people: The true meaning of aboriginal rights.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... There has been considerable discussion over the years about aboriginal rights and human rights. Now, with the conflict over the rights to cut wood on crown lands, we hear these expressions tossed around more than ever, often by individuals on...

Our water... our responsibility. The living by water project is drawing attention to the fact that everything that we carelessly dump into water ends up coming out of our kitchen tap.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Development, pollution and a lack of knowledge are all threats to the health of our shorelines and water sources, and to the health of humans and wildlife. Unknowingly, many of our individual actions in our homes and on the water deplete ground...

Welcome to the tar ponds where life is a political and scientific experiment: Sierra Club exposes the government's complete lack of compassion for those forced to live in Canada's most heavily contaminated community.
April 1, 2002... It is hard to believe that things can have gotten worse since I wrote the article "Welcome to Atlantic Canada where life is cheap." But it has. To recap, it was a year ago that Sierra Club of Canada and our local Sydney, Nova Scotia...

Anthrax, GMOs and AIDS... all are bioterrorism.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The reports of anthrax cases in Florida and New York have put a renewed focus on bioterror - the risks and hazards posed by biological agents. Governments everywhere are on high alert. Even the World Health Organization has issued warnings....

The great deception: What really happened on Sept. 11th?
April 1, 2002... September 11th has brought mostly unpleasant changes, including curtailment of civil liberties and threatened perpetual war. All rooted in the official story of what happened on September 11th. Namely that one evil man and his network are...

The short life camp Campbell.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... On February 6, the day of massive student demonstrations against tuition fee hikes, student activists set up a camp on the grounds of the BC Legislature in Victoria. They were joined by other activists and the homeless until finally there were...

The New Era: Counting the Costs.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Hardly had the dust settled from the first big rally against Gordon Campbell's BC Liberals "New Era" - not yet even 9 months old - and the debate was going on about how many people actually attended. Police estimates were that 20,000 marched in...

Good-bye TINA! "There Is No Alternative" - This neo-liberal expression is getting put to rest in Brazil as viable alternatives are being put in place.
April 1, 2002... At the tail-end of the World Economic Forum in New York City in early February, the New York Times' sparse coverage of the demonstrations outside included a discussion with Josh Lanier, hip young business executive and delegate, who stated "the...

International youth camp.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Last year, in Porto Alegre, when the first World Social Forum was held, the city was blown away when over 20,000 people came to Brazil to participate. A year later, in a world that is being increasingly exploited by the neo-liberal policies of...

Private Planet: Corporate Plunder and the Fight Back. (Book Reviews).
April 1, 2002... Private Planet: Corporate Plunder and the Fight Back by David Cromwell Jon Carpenter Publishing, 256 pages, 2001 Some days, the future of our planet appears to be bleak. Many issues seem out of the control of everyday people....

Direct Action: Memoirs of an Urban Guerilla. (Book Reviews).
April 1, 2002... Direct Action: Memoirs of an Urban Guerilla by Ann Hansen Between The Lines, 2002. www.btlbooks.ca Reading this book was an inspiring journey that challenged my own conceptions of militancy and effective action in fighting for...

Stay Human: Michael Franti & Spearhead. (Music Review).
April 1, 2002... Six Degrees Records P.O. Box 411347 San Fransisco, CA 94141-1347 There are very few things in the world that are as uplifting and inspiring as seeing a live Spearhead show. I have seen the band numerous times since getting...

I'm not going to stray where the deer and the antelope play. (My Opinion).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Since the Canadian government first announced their intentions to host the G8 Summit in a wilderness area Kananaskis, Alberta - my position has been to stay far away. I envisioned clashes between the police and protesters in the woods, isolated...