Posted: December 23, 2009

HARPER IS BETTING ON THE OIL SANDS by Gillian Steward
  Ontario, Quebec and other provinces also benefit from tarsands revenue.
 
 

STABILIZING THE CLIMATE by Lester R. Brown
  We must look beyond international agreements.
 
 

WAFFLE'S 40TH ANNIVERSARY by Tracy Morey
  Toronto hosts a party for the party within a party.

CARBON TRADES MIGHT LEAD TO WATER TRADES by Stephen Leahy
  If clean air can become a commodity, water could too.
 
 

CANADA'S REPUTATION IN TATTERS by Derek Leahy
  Copenhagen conference threatens Canada's "good guy" image abroad.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Straight Goods will be back on January 6 ... and our sister site, HarperIndex, will retool as the HillReport.ca, offering inside reports from Parliament Hill. Look for our bulletin in the New Year. And thanks for supporting independent journalism in Canada! Please 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

OLD YEAR LIKE A COLD HIP BATH FOR PROGRESSIVES by Ish Theilheimer
  But Copenhagen raised some hope in recognizing the need for collective action.
 

Gordon's corner

AND NOW, THE CHRISTMAS NEWS by Charles Gordon
  Newsrooms spinning out yarns to pad out space between ads.
 
 

Science matters
WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS? by David Suzuki, with Faisal Moola
  A simple holiday celebration that emphasizes family and friends, saves personal stress as well as the environment.
 

MeanToons
THE GRINCH GIVES UP
  The recession hits everyone.

www.meantoons.com

Canadian Politics

PREDICTIONS FOR 2010 by Geoffrey Stevens
  Harper rules, Ignatieff rues, Michaëlle Jean moves on.
 
 

NEW BRUNSWICK POWER SALE STILL PENDING by David Frank
  Hugely controversial in province, precedent-setting deal lacks national attention.
 
 

DEBUNKING AN URBAN LEGEND by Elsie Hambrook
  More women are enrolled in higher education, and so are more men.
 
 

JESUS WAS A RADICAL by Bill Tieleman
  And other lessons from A Charlie Brown Christmas.
 
 

FIRST NATION BEATS BACK MINING COMPANY from the Kltchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug Council
  Platinex gives up exploration at Big Trout Lake, ON.

ALBERTA DUNS TINY TIM by Jeremy Klaszus
  Province tells disability groups to return millions from grants.
 
 

"FLAT TAX" COSTING ALBERTA MORE THAN $5 BILLION from the Parkland Institute
  Think tank says returning to 1999 tax structure would put Alberta in a surplus position.

Workplaces
ONTARIO TOXICS REDUCTION REGULATION FINALIZED from the Workers Health and Safety Centre
  New Act applies to about 2000 facilities in the manufacturing and mineral processing sectors.

EPIC FIGHT FOR FARM WORKERS REACHES SUPREME COURT from NUPGE
  Entire labour movement expects case to advance constitutional right to collective bargaining.
 

VICTORY AT CAMECO FUEL MANUFACTURING from USWA Canada
  United Steelworkers beat back concession demands, win contract gains.
 

Consumers
BEWARE ANTI-VIRUS POP-UP SCAMS from the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
  Persistent pop-up scareware won't close with the X or "Close" button.

PICK OF THE WEEK

GET YOUR MOVIE REVIEWS HERE Holiday season brings tons of new movies, all heavily advertised on TV and in newspapers. Choosing a movie that is worth your time (not to mention your money) can be tricky. Rotten Tomatoes offers numerous reviews and background info to make your choices easier.   www.rottentomatoes.com

Hot headlines
STUNNING STATISTICS ABOUT THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN by Jeremy Scahill
  The US actually has 189,000 personnel in war zone — 68,000 US troops and 121,000 contractors.
 

FOUR DEGREES TO STARVATION by Gwynne Dyer
  Canada is far from immune to the effects of climate change.
 
 

Feedback from our readers
ANXIOUS IDIOTS by Wayne Lawton
  Canada emits 1 percent... of the world's emissions.

Humour
TECH HOUSE CALL YouTube video – from the Internet
  This is an open-and-shut case. Honest...