Posted: November 04, 2009

HARPER'S EXTREMISM IS SHOWING by Linda McQuaig
  Harperites set tone that encourages attacks on open campus debates about Israel.
 
 

HOW THE RIGHT-WING MANIPULATES MEDIA by Donald Gutstein
  New book analyzes how business propaganda hijacks democracy.
 

TEN (OR SO) HOME REMEDIES FOR COLDS AND FLU by Penney Kome
  If we're really facing a new pandemic, we need all the tools we can round up.
 

WORLD'S BIG ARMS TRADERS TO WORK TOWARDS GLOBAL ARMS TREATY from Amnesty International
  153 nations – including the USA, UK, France and Germany – reach agreement in principle.

THINGS ARE LOOKING BRIGHTER – on many fronts – but there is still plenty of work to be done. And there are plenty of stories yet to cover. So please continue to support independent journalism in Canada. Donate - Subscribe - Renew ... today! (Our ISP is experiencing intermittent problems which, from time to time, can cause delays in the opening of our articles or processing of transactions. Sorry if this causes any inconvenience: we hope, the issue will be resolved soon. Please keep trying...)

Editorial

BRIGHT PROGRESSIVE IDEAS CAN LIGHT MANY FIRES by Ish Theilheimer
  Good news for a change, on four fronts.
 

Science matters

COPENHAGEN CLIMATE SUMMIT IS CRUCIAL by David Suzuki, with Faisal Moola
  We need a global agreement that is legally binding with rules clearly outlined.
 

MeanToons
LOOKING FOR A SHOW
  Modern audiences are harder to please.

www.meantoons.com

Canadian Politics

LIBERALS IN DEEP DOO DOO by Geoffrey Stevens
  Ignatieff, McGuinty both rapidly losing ground in the polls.
 
 

GENDER EQUALITY RECOGNIZED AS SMART ECONOMICS by Elsie Hambrook
  Overseas or at home, inequality keeps women and their communities in poverty.
 

POWER OUTAGE LOOMS IN NEW BRUNSWICK by David Frank
  Province plans to sell NB Power to Hydro Quebec.
 
 

ALBERTA'S NEW HEALTH CZAR by Jeremy Klaszus
  Hired to fix Alberta's ailing health system, Stephen Duckett opts for "shock" treatment.
 
 

TOO MUCH ADO ABOUT OLYMPIC INTERRUPTIONS by Bill Tieleman
  Media focus on torch-bearers and ignore protesters' reasons.
 
 

Workplaces
TRIBUNAL AWARDS $35,000 TO FIRED PREGNANT EMPLOYEE from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario
  "I was so shocked that this would happen to me in the 21st century."

Consumers
CREDIT CARDS BLOCK ACCESS FOR LOW-INCOME CANADIANS by Ish Theilheimer, with files by Anne Cummings and video by Kevin Caners
  New type of payment cards need to to establish credit ratings: PIAC.

Media files

CRTC, ISPS, AND THE RIGHT TO COMMUNICATE by Anita Krajnc
  The free and open internet has served as a crucial medium for gay rights and other progressive movements.
 

Hot headlines

PUTTING CASTE ON NOTICE by Barbara Crossette
  UN Human Rights High Commissioner wants a convention to ban India's caste system.
 

THAILAND AFTER THE KING by Gwynne Dyer
  Death of the ailing Thai monarch would destabalize already-tense political situation.
 
 

PICK OF THE WEEK

EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE "Modern healthcare is undergoing a long-overdue and dramatic evolution," says the Cochrane Collaboration, a virtual institute dedicated to providing unbiased and unfunded reviews of health care interventions.   www.cochrane.org

Take action!
STOP SOOT IN THE ARCTIC from Ecojustice
  Black carbon may be the second-largest cause of Arctic melting – and it's totally preventable.

Feedback from our readers
CYCLISTS AND ROAD FATALITIES by R A N T W I C K
  Reader wants to see the stats.

Humour
THE CAT CAME BACK from the Internet
  The innate feline GPS triumphs again.