Briarpatch articles from June 2005

Briarpatch archives from June 2005

Your stamp of approval.
June 1, 2005... It may not seem like a huge donation when you put your stamp on the mail that you send us, but the combined contributions from all of our subscribers make an enormous difference to the Briarpatch bottom line. We have saved thousands of dollars...

Annual art raffle.
June 1, 2005... By now you should have received a book of raffle tickets. Our artistic friends have once again donated beautiful prizes for our annual raffle. This framed photograph entitled Dragon Claws was donated by Grendal Bruin of Regina. We hope...

Incompetence or evil intention?(Syngenta Corp., genetically modified maize)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Syngenta has admitted that they sold hundreds of tonnes of unapproved and untested (for environmental or food safety) genetically modified maize in the United States over the past four years. The discovery happened late in 2004, but instead...

The assault of Victoria.(You Said It!)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2005... DEAR BRIARPATCH, Recently the USA Navy Amphibious Assault and Command Ship "Belleau Wood," which carries a complete Marine battalion, landed at Ogden Point and disgorged 1,900 sailors. Readers should be clear just how Victoria, BC...

Return of the Monarch.(You Said It!)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2005... Dear Briarpatch, The Monarch sits resplendent in an edifice of stone and ego. All the Monarch's chambers are outfitted with the best furniture and finery of the land. The very best the land has to offer is laid out on the Monarch's table....

Mal-Wart "greeters".(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... More than 12,000 people showed up at 43 Canadian Wal-Mart stores on the first week-end in May and helped hand out over 150,000 informational "coupons" to would-be shoppers. The "greeters" were organized by the Canadian Labour Congress to...

Wal-Mart: always low principles! Think about this before you pull into Wal-Mart's parking lot.
June 1, 2005... Wal-Mart is owned by the Walton family who have a personal wealth of over 100 BILLION dollars (USA). Last year the company's CEO was paid a cool $11.5 million. Their average employee working in the USA makes $15,000 a year; $7.22 per hour....

Sun worshiping in Saskatchewan.
June 1, 2005... When Holly Dahl called the Office Conservation from Bengough, SK she had one simple request. "Can you come to our next council meeting? We want to hear about solar heating for our swimming pool." The new natural gas boiler for the main...

Getting there with care: how we travel on our life journey affects not only the quality of our experience, but also the quality of life of people around the globe, now and into the future.(Transit Coalition, helps poor use public transit)
June 1, 2005... The ability to move around is almost as essential to well-being and health as is access to sustenance and shelter. So, appropriate transportation should be recognized as an essential service--as important as fire and police protection. ...

Lines in the sand: the USA's disregard for international law has emboldened smaller nations to do the same, sparking a new conflict in the Horn of Africa.
June 1, 2005... Tensions between the governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia over failure to demarcate their mutual 1000-kilometre border are now approaching a critical point. From 1998 to 2000 war between these two former allies, sparked by disagreements over...

I am Joe's liver: a light-hearted look at a disturbing new ending for a Reader's Digest classic.(rice with human gene)
June 1, 2005... Remember the fuss when folks, including some farmers, realized that mad cow disease might have been spread because the feed manufacturing industry was making rendered cattle parts into feed for cows? For some, it was a big surprise to find out...

Undercover monitors: two Canadians take a sneak peek at the Zimbabwean election process.
June 1, 2005... "Are you a journalist?" asked a very intimidating immigration officer at the Zimbabwe border just a few days before the country's recent "free and fair" election. The border post was remarkably quiet for a crossing that used to be hopping with...

Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World.(Book Review)
June 1, 2005... Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World by Richard Heinberg New Society Publishers, 2004. Powerdown, in a nutshell, identifies running out of fossil fuels as a known and growing problem, explores the consequences of this...

Dubya speak ... (without the speaker in his ear).(George W. Bush)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... "You work three jobs? Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that." --George W. Bush, to a divorced mother of three, Omaha, Nebraska, February 2005 "In this job you've got a lot on your plate on a...

Monarchy? No thanks!(Column)
June 1, 2005... "God save the queen, she ain't no human being." So said the Sex Pistols, and for a lot of people these words are quite profound. Whether you see Elizabeth as quaint, old and wonderful or as an expensive archaic symbol, you will have an opinion....