Briarpatch articles from February 2008

Briarpatch archives from February 2008

Environmentalists as anti-imperialists: or, why the world needs less Canada.(LETTER FROM THE EDITOR)
February 1, 2008... "Everybody likes Canada. Everybody respects Canada.... You've avoided a stigma that's attached to the rest of the West... that the other parts of the world regard with such suspicion." BONO, EXPLAINING IN 2003 WHY "THE WORLD NEEDS MORE...

Letters to the editor.(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2008... Last issue we shared the news that Briarpatch's founding editor, Maria Fisher, had died peacefully in her home at the age of 87. We invited readers to share their recollections of Maria, and are pleased to sample those responses here. I...

Retracing our steps: south Sudanese refugees prepare to return home while land mine activists mark the 10th anniversary of the Ottawa Treaty.
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In the wake of the lOth anniversary of one of Canada's greatest foreign-policy successes, the ripple effects of the Ottawa Treaty, also known as the Mine Ban Treaty, are still being felt among the sea of 65,000 south...

A dove with two right wings: power struggles in the 2007 Guatemalan elections.
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WITH THE DUST OF THE FALL 2007 elections settling, many Guatemalans are breathing a sigh of relief. Another violent campaign eriod has come and gone and, although more than 50 candidates and activists were...

Da's toch dope, man! The Dutch drug decriminalization debate moves to the "back door".
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Here, we have Dutch cannabis, Moroccan hash, and Lebanese red hash." Hendrik Jan van Katwijk gestures to the neatly packaged, labelled, rolled and ready-to-smoke cannabis products that are his stock-in-trade. He...

Liquid assets: rights vs. needs and the trickle-down economics of water privatization.
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DESPITE MUCH ADO over the world's dwindling oil supplies, the real lifeblood of the planet is water--and we are quickly draining the well dry. Drinkable fresh water accounts for less than one-half of one per...

Remembering Maria Fischer.(Obituary)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Briarpatch's founding editor, Maria Fischer, died peacefully in her home in Ladysmith, B.C. on October 3, 2007, at the age of 87. At her memorial service on October 13, Heidi Rose and Ulrich Fischer described their...

Blackwater: The rise of the world's most powerful mercenary army.(along with "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism")(Book review)
February 1, 2008... Blackwater The rise of the world's most powerful mercenary army Jeremy Scahill Nation Books 2007 The Shock Doctrine The rise of disaster capitalism Naomi Klein Knopf Canada 2007 THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR did not give birth to...

Unbroken Agony Haiti, from revolution to the kidnapping of a president.(Book review)
February 1, 2008... Unbroken Agony Haiti, from revolution to the kidnapping of a president By Randall Robinson Basic Civitas Books, 2007 Randall Robinson has written the story of one of the great political tragedies of recent times--the violent overthrow...

The CLC stands poised to take a stand against asbestos: now will the NDP follow suit?(Parting Shots)
February 1, 2008... ON OCTOBER 23, 2007, the Canadian Labour Congress' executive council met and discussed the issue of Canada's asbestos policy. Larry Stoffman, a member of the CLC Occupational Health and Safety committee, urged the Congress to break its 30-year...

The cocoa conundrum.(LUZ: Girl of The Knowing)(Cartoon)
February 1, 2008... Ay, nina! You'll spoil your appetite ... And in world oil prices today... ... crude has jumped to a record-breaking high of $98 barrel... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Demonios, it's a good thing we don't have. a car. ... will...