Briarpatch articles from December 2004

Briarpatch archives from December 2004

Slide-a-Thon.(Intro)
December 1, 2004... Back by popular demand is our second annual Briarpatch Slide-a-Thon fundraiser. It will be held on Sunday February 20 at a unionized hotel in Regina. Last year it attracted a whole school of wanna-be swimmers who were too nervous around water...

You said it!(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... Dear Briarpatch, It seems to me that the most evil force in this world is the control of so many big corporations by a relatively few elite individuals. These huge businesses buy the support of governments which sign away most of their...

Alms for the rich.(You Said It!)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... Dear Briarpatch, Property taxes are in the news. The Regina Leader Post has been carrying articles on the possibility of Regina City Council introducing a base tax. The articles admit that under a base tax plus mill rate formula, taxes on...

Food fight!(You Said It!)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... Dear Briarpatch, For some 15,000 years farmers and citizens have been freely selecting and growing, exchanging and breeding the seeds that have fundamentally changed our world from a hunter-gatherer society to a more specialized,...

Fighting the perfect soldier: youth activists take on landmines.
December 1, 2004... Landmines have been called "the perfect soldier" because of their low cost and eternal vigilance. They have been responsible for more deaths and injuries than nuclear, biological and chemical weapons put together, earning them the title of...

Social assistance rates in Saskatchewan.
December 1, 2004... That it has been almost a quarter of a century since there has been a significant increase in social assistance rates, white the cost of tiring has gone up by over 80 percent during the same period. That the basic allowance (food, clothing,...

Wedlaw for wedlock: a growing number of Canadians, currently 85 percent, have the option of marrying their partner regardless of sexual orientation.
December 1, 2004... On November 5, 2004, Saskatchewan became the seventh jurisdiction in Canada to recognize same-sex marriage. In a five-page written decision, Justice Donna Wilson of the Court of Queen's Bench declared that the right to equality of persons in...

The struggle continues.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... While one church in Saskatoon was happily making preparations to marry lesbian and gay couples following the November court decision regarding same-sex couples, just down the road another church was canceling a booking to rent their space for a...

Money to burn.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The Saskatchewan and Federal Governments have to share the $10,000 court costs that could have been avoided if they had simply decided to recognize full marriage equality of all Canadians. They didn't oppose the marriage of same-sex couples,...

Canadian values.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... "Our friends and family are here in Calgary," said Keith Purdy, who wants to marry Rick Kennedy, his partner of 14 years. "We want to get married here in Alberta, not far from home in another province." "Civil marriage is a public...

The mechanics of degradation: a local bar takes advantage of our society's failure to meet the economic needs of young women.
December 1, 2004... Everybody knows it's difficult to get a university education. Every year tuition fees increase, books are increasingly more costly and the cost of living continues to go up. Student loan schemes abound but come with years of post-graduation...

Safer jobs: workers are finding proof of the cause of their occupational diseases.
December 1, 2004... Construction and building trade's workers recently poured into Toronto's National Trade Centre but not for a trade show or exhibition. They came to report hazardous workplace exposures and for some the occupational diseases they've developed as...

Buried alive: a look at Canada's "correctional facilities" from the inside.
December 1, 2004... The Canadian public has recently seen several shocking crimes perpetrated by prisoners out on parole. It is of cold comfort to know that these types of shocking offences are rare. Agenda driven individuals, media groups, police and lobbyists...

Len Wallace: he set standards and modeled principles.(Biography)
December 1, 2004... Saskatchewan was blessed with a tireless worker who proudly represented working people. Len Wallace respected all opinions--even while disagreeing--and he was always honest, focused and principled. He believed the balance of power was clearly...

Ahtahkakoop the Epic Account of a Plains Cree Head Chief, His People and Their Struggles for Survival 1816-1896.(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... Ahtahkakoop The Epic Account of a Plains Cree Head Chief, His People and Their Struggles for Survival 1816-1896 by Deanna Christensen Ahtahkakoop Publishing Box 190 Shell Lake SK, S0J 2G0 844 pages Ahtahkakoop is a mighty big book...

East Timor: Testimony.(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... East Timor: Testimony Photographs by Elaine Briere Between the Lines, 2004. www.btlbooks.com As the wool was pulled over the world's eyes for nearly a quarter of century during the Indonesian occupation, the saying "a picture says a...

Baking the Bluffs--In the Buff.
December 1, 2004... Baking the Bluffs--In the Buff 2005 Calendar $20 www.cagleridgebluffs.ca In an attempt to stop the BC government from expanding a highway through a pristine, unique and ecologically sensitive forest and wetlands area near Horseshoe Bay in...

Hope's Edge.(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... Hope's Edge by Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe published by Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam New York, 2003. 449 pages The corporations and their opinion leaders tell us everyday that there is no alternative to their vision of a world in...

Firedance: Songs for Winter Solstice.
December 1, 2004... Firedance: Songs for Winter Solstice by Jaiya www.jaiya.ca Looking for some music that will help pull you and the Earth mother out of the deep slumber of winter? This CD might be just what the doctor ordered. It has an interesting...

Saskatchewan: the Roots of Discontent and Protest.(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... Saskatchewan: The Roots of Discontent and Protest by John W. Warnock Black Rose, 2004. $29.99 review by Patricia Elliot Jack Warnock's latest is two books in one. First, it's an easy-to-read primer on Saskatchewan history, politics, society...

So sorry ...
December 1, 2004... Non-supporters of Bush have headed to the internet in droves to send messages to the rest of the world. Check the website at www.sorryeverybody.com. You can also send them photo-messages of encouragement.

Dubya speak ... (without the speaker in his ear).(Comic)
December 1, 2004... "The senator has got to understand if he's going to have--he can't have it both ways. He can't take the high horse and then claim the low road." "Actually, I--his may sound a little West Texan to you, but I like it. When I'm talking...

Don't slash up!(My Opinion)(Editorial)
December 1, 2004... Dear Friends, Ok, it sucks. Really sucks. But before you go and cash it all in, let's, in the words of Monty Python, "always look on the bright side of life!" There is some good news from the USA presidential election. Here are 10 reasons...