Briarpatch articles from December 2003

Briarpatch archives from December 2003

Sliding for bucks.(Openers)(Slide-a-Thon fund raiser in Regina, Canada)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Our first annual Slide-a-Thon will be held on Sunday February 8th at a unionized hotel in Regina. This new water-sport has been added to our Olympic fund-raisers so our non-swimming supporters won't be left out of all the fun. The maximum trips...

Don't want to be a sweatshop santa?(Openers)(guidelines from Canadian Labour Congress)(how to be an "ethical shopper" and avoid products made in sweatshops)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... A new guide prepared by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) can help Canadians shop without selling out their values. A recent Leger Marketing poll found that a strong majority of Canadian shoppers wanted to know more about where the products...

Stop CPP investments in war!(Coalition to Oppose Arms Trade petition)(opposition to Canada Pension Plan investments in businesses that profit from war)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The Coalition to Oppose Arms Trade (COAT) has posted an on-line petition on their website. It reads: I oppose Canada Pension Plan investments in businesses that profit from war. The Government of Canada should stop the Canada Pension...

Bad boss law.(Off the Top )(Westray Bill (C-45) makes change to the Crimal Code of Canada)(corporations accountable for criminal negligence in the workplace)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Legislation that the United Steelworkers has promoted for nearly 12 years became law in November when Bill C-45, the Westray Bill, was given Royal Assent in the Senate. The legislation amends the Criminal Code of Canada to hold corporations,...

Look who pays for their booboos.(breast implant registry)
December 1, 2003... A new Canadian study shows that follow up procedures from breast implant surgery performed in private clinics draws on the public health system. Aleina Tweed and Ann Pederson, researchers with the British Columbia Centre of Excellence for...

Bad NWES for etidros.(Off the Top)(research shows we read words as a whole)(only first and last letters must be correct to read words properly)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it...

USA military on spending spree.(Off the Top)(United States spends as much on war as social programs)(Brief Article)(Excerpt)
December 1, 2003... When you add together the $368 billion for routine spending, the $19 billion assigned to the department of energy for new nuclear weapons, the $79 billion already passed by Congress to fund the war in Iraq and the $87 billion that Bush has just...

What a war can buy.(Off the Top)(list of what the money spent on the Iraq War could buyincluding health care and education)(Excerpt)(Reprint)
December 1, 2003... The cost of a war in Iraq has been estimated by the Bush administration at $75,000,000,000.00. But what does this figure really mean? I've investigated what $75 billion (USA) could buy in 2003. Here is a short list of some of the options: ...

Stop the sellebration! Sustainable holidays are within our reach--and our budgets--.(consumer goods require resources, energy and create pollution)(tips for gift buying in an environmentally and socially conscious way)
December 1, 2003... The holiday season is upon us! The season of "giving" puts a lot of emphasis on "consuming" by taking resources from the environment and giving them back to nature in the form of pollution and waste. Critics claim that asking people not to buy...

Citizens unhappy with uranium go-ahead.(Briarpatch article from the 70s)
December 1, 2003... What the 150 anti-nuclear demonstrators who marched on the opening of the 19th session of the Saskatchewan legislature on February 22 lacked in numbers they compensated for in creativity. Although farm groups have driven tractors, dumped milk,...

Run for the cause: with cancer rates on the rise, it's time to persuade our government to protect us from the causes.(Current concerns in 2003)(more regulations needed for toxic chemicals that are linked to cancer)
December 1, 2003... In the war against cancer, there have only been casualties. The launch of this so-called war occurred in 1971 in the USA under President Richard Nixon. Canada followed suit. Since then we have seen a huge growth in research into possible cures...

What hungry people need is simply food.
December 1, 2003... The battle over genetically modified food continues unabated around the world. In Canada and the USA at this moment, it is focused mainly on Roundup Ready wheat, Monsanto being first out of the blocks with a GM wheat. In these countries, it is...

Wadena's dubious claim to fame.(school support staff and Wadena School Division dispute)(Saskatchewan, Canada)
December 1, 2003... Wadena, Saskatchewan used to be known as the home of Pamela Wallen. But in recent months, it has become better known as the "home" of a bitter contract dispute between the Wadena School Division and its 80 CUPE support staff. The school...

On the rise: two Ontario women take a close look at the often well-hidden face of rural poverty.
December 1, 2003... In rural Ontario, where geography makes it impossible for people to have equal access to services, poverty exhibits itself in different ways. There is no public transportation, no homeless shelters, no soup kitchens. Small food banks can't keep...

Breaking the cycle ... but not the circle.(campaign for "harm reduction" among aboriginal community)(need to control HIV and Hepatitis C)(Excerpt)
December 1, 2003... It's been 15 years now, that I've invested in a cause that, little did I know, would change my life. I'm a male Cree, recovering addict, living with residential school and foster care syndrome--and now I'm HIV positive. Facing challenges in my...

First socialist government in North America: Pam Hanna interviews Bill Harding in November 1978.(Briarpatch article from the 70s)(member of the CCF - Cooperative Commonwealth Party)(Interview)(Reprint)
December 1, 2003... From organizing a rodeo in Swift Current in the 1930s to struggling toward the foundation of a world community within the framework of the United Nations, Bill Harding has spent his life working to help people. It's a legacy from his...

NDP victory "buys" Saskatchewan some time.(Current situation in 2003:)(New Democratic Party and Premier Lorne Calvert defeat the Saskatchewan Party)
December 1, 2003... In the 1999 Saskatchewan election the NDP won 29 seats, the Saskatchewan Party (SKP) won 26, and the Liberals won three. Voting was polarized on an urban-rural basis. The NDP minority government ruled for four years through a coalition with the...

Guilt-free leather.(Artist's Voices)(Regina, Canada artists recycles leather and other materials)
December 1, 2003... It's leather with a conscience. That's because the fine pieces of leather found in Regina artist Patricia Grover's house are not off the back of an animal killed just for its fur or skin. They're your grandpa's old gloves, your aunt's high...

Unions and democracy.(drop in Canadian labor union membership related to less democracy in the workplace)(report of Canadian Labor Congress)
December 1, 2003... In mid October we heard about another hit to Canadian democracy. This time, however, it wasn't a political party receiving drastically fewer seats than votes, or politicians raising huge amounts of cash. Instead it was the confirmation of a...

The Autoworkers' $100,000 rubber cheque.(A Labour Minute)(financially insolvent labor union supports auto General Motors workers in 1937)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... In early 1937, General Motors assembly line workers in Oshawa, Ontario had had enough of wage cuts, production speed-ups and the routine firing of older workers. They contacted the United Auto Workers who sent in organizer Hugh Thompson. He...

Saskatchewan Federation of Labour: union are people working together to make our society a better more decent place to live.(unions democractize the workplace)
December 1, 2003... Workers have a strong sense of freedom and democracy, which they want to realize at work. For labour organisers, this contradiction between people's work reality and the ideal they hold is an essential organizing tool. Most people believe that...

George W. Bush's resume.(record of policies of President of the United States)(Reprint)
December 1, 2003... Past work experience: --Ran for congress and lost. --Produced a Hollywood slasher B movie. --Bought an oil company, but couldn't find any oil in Texas, company went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock. --Bought the...

The problem with Holocaust Talk.(My Opinion )(problem with politicians who compare problems to the Holocaust)
December 1, 2003... Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert had the good grace to apologize recently after one of his aides penned a cartoon depicting opposition leader Elwin Hermanson as a Nazi. Unfortunately, such crude invocations of the Nazi era and the Holocaust...

Red to green.(My Opinion)(Saskatchewan provincial election analysis)
December 1, 2003... When I agreed to do a post-mortem on the Saskatchewan provincial election, I initially thought I would just do a "report." But since the regular media have done that to death, I decided it would be more useful to stimulate discussion (and...