Posted: November 18, 2009

FINANCIAL ELITE BACK IN THE SADDLE by Linda McQuaig
  Fraser Institute gala will revel in having dodged the bullet when the economy collapsed.
 
 

AFGHANISTAN: IT'S STILL ABOUT THE OIL by David Model
  The real prize is an unbuilt oil pipeline from the Caspian Sea to the Arabian Sea.
 
 

SOUTHERN RESEARCHERS FILL GAP ON NEGLECTED DISEASES by Stephen Leahy
  Local companies base their business models on affordable innovation to meet local needs.
 

FOOD SECURITY AND THE COPENHAGEN CONFERENCE by Lester R. Brown
  Floods, drought, storms all threaten global food supply.
 
 

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Editorial
GUN REGISTRY AND CAR INSURANCE CHANGED CANADIAN POLITICS by Ish Theilheimer
  Social reform without economic benefits sows seeds for right-wing populism.
 

Science matters

ALL LIFE DEPENDS ON THE OCEANS by David Suzuki, with Faisal Moola
  Oceans absorb excess carbon dioxide, which disrupts the oceans' pH balance.
 

MeanToons
STARTING EARLY
  Good grief, they're playing carols already.

www.meantoons.com

Canadian Politics

IGGY LACKS MAIN STREET APPEAL by Geoffrey Stevens
  In political terms, there is Ottawa, and then there is the rest of Canada.
 

TALKING TO OPPONENTS OF THE GUN REGISTRY by Bill Tieleman
  Since the registry started, homicides by rifles and shotguns have dropped by nearly 50 percent.
 

TAILORING HEALTH CARE TO WOMEN'S NEEDS by Elsie Hambrook
  Replacement knees that don't fit well just one of many oversights.
 

E-POLITICS SURVEY SHOWS HOW MPS USE E-TOOLS by Straight Goods staff
  Fostering personal contact and focusing on local issues win political hearts and minds.

Workplaces
CUPE REPORT SHOWS SENIORS' CARE IN CRISIS from the Canadian Union of Public Employees
  Canada has a two-tiered system for the elderly, with uneven costs, access and quality of care.

NANOPARTICLES BLAMED FOR WORKERS' DEATHS from the Workers Health and Safety Centre
  First human health study raises serious concerns about worker safety.

Media files

INSIDE THE SPINDUSTRY by Jeremy Klaszus
  H1N1 hype and hysteria just one example of PR overwhelming journalists.
 

THE REAL PROBLEM WITH NEWSPAPERS by David Climenhaga
  Ten years after the Calgary Herald strike, a striker says the downward trend was already apparent.
 
 

USA watch

WAR IN THE STREETS by Sherwood Ross
  There are 238 million privately-owned firearms in USA, and 12,000 gunshot fatalities annually.
 

THE COST OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT from the Death Penalty Information Center
  New report shows US states can save hundreds of millions by abolishing the death penalty.

Consumers
ONTARIO REWARDS INSURANCE COMPANIES, PUNISHES DRIVERS by Ish Theilheimer, with files from Anne Cummings and Lori Steuart, and YouTube video by Kevin Caners
  Companies guaranteed 12 percent profit and allowed to keep expenses secret.

BEWARE CHAOTIC DRINKS from Health Canada
  Fizzy drinks pitched to children contain ingredients that may pose a health risk.

Hot headlines
GOOGLE BOOKS DEAL REVISED by Brad Stone and Miguel Helf
  Court date postponed as intervenors restrict terms of settlement to the US, Canada, UK and Australia.

FORT HOOD SHOOTINGS by Gwynne Dyer
  US army, media, strive to ignore obvious impacts of America's wars.
 
 

PICK OF THE WEEK

BULLYING AWARENESS WEEK Okay, you're not a kid any more. But maybe you know a child or youth, or maybe you just care that bullying leads to teen suicide and other kinds of violence. November 15-21 is Bullying Awareness Week, and this website is full of ways to counteract the harm that bullying causes.   www.bullyingawarenessweek.org

Take action!
GIVE EQUAL FUNDING TO NATIVE CHILDREN ON RESERVES by John Baglow
  Federal funding for First Nations children is 22 percent less than provincial funding off-reserve.
 

Feedback from our readers
ALL BOOK PEOPLE ARE WONDERFUL by Jan Carrie Stevens
  That includes small publishers.

Humour
LIVE POLLS GIVE PUNDITS INSTANT PUBLIC FEEDBACK from The Onion
  Pundits, like parties, learn to say what public wants to hear.