Posted: February 17, 2010

HARPER GIVES AWAY THE STORE by James Laxer
  PM amends NAFTA, undermines local governments, to get in at the end of "Buy America" gold rush.
 
 

OTTAWA STALLS ON REPATRIATING GITMO PRISONER by Paul Weinberg
  Khadr case raises broad questions on child combatants.
 
 

FEDS LEAVE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OUT OF FIVE-NATION ARCTIC MEET by Ish Theilheimer
  Exclusion undermines spirit and requirements of 14-year old Arctic Council.
 

HARPER'S MATERNAL HEALTH INITIATIVE by Joyce Arthur
  Ignatieff accepts what Harper ignores: pregnancy care has to include abortion.
 
 

Straight Goods News is organizing a new symposium – Persuading to Win 3 – June 4 and 5 in Ottawa, featuring George Lakoff, Elaine Bernard, Rob Cottingham, Sean Moffitt, Marc Zwelling, Steven Staples, Anne McGrath, and about 50 of Canada's top progressive communicators and strategists. Hope you can join us... ... More Details

Editorial
TIME TO DISOWN CANADIAN THUGGISHNESS by Ish Theilheimer
  Olympics should be a chance to display higher values.

Science matters

GOING FOR THE OLYMPIC GREEN MEDALS by David Suzuki with Faisal Moola
  Global gathering has large environmental footprint.
 

Gordon's corner


SAVE O CANADA! by Charles Gordon
  Take away the microphones and stop stylizing already.
 
 

MeanToons
SEIZE THE DAY!
  There's ownership, and then there's design.

www.meantoons.com

Canadian Politics

IN PRAISE OF THE PROROGATION MOGULS by Geoffrey Stevens
  And other essential crib notes on Canada and the Olympics.
 

DRAINING THE ATHABASCA RIVER by Ricardo Acuña
  Alberta's "water management strategy" leaning to even more de-regulation and market-based objectives.
 
 

ALBERTA BETS ON ANOTHER OIL BOOM by Gillian Steward
  Stelmach's budget boosts health care, infrastructure spending.
 
 

BILL TIELEMAN IS ON HOLIDAYS by Bill Tieleman
(He'll be back next week...)
 
 

World beat

PASHTUNS ARE THE WILD CARD by Madhav Nalapat
  Don't let Pakistan repeat past mistakes in Afghanistan.
 
 

PRESERVING NATURE'S "GREEN JEWELS" by Stephen Leahy
  World Wetlands Week highlights the importance of keeping wetlands from becoming wastelands.
 
 

Workplaces
RSI AWARENESS DAY by Serge Champoux
  Sit up straight, take frequent breaks, and protect yourself from serious injury.

Consumers
BEWARE OLYMPICS SCAMS from the Better Business Bureau
  Here are some ways to check tickets, sportswear, accommodation, travel packages.

Media files
ABOUT THOSE JAILED IRANIAN JOURNALISTS from PEN and other groups
  Authors, journalists and publishers launch "Our Society Will Be a Free Society" campaign.

Hot headlines
THE DARK SIDE OF NITROGEN by Stephanie Ogburn
  Ammonia used in fertilizer can cause problems in waterways and atmosphere.

IMAGINE SADDAM HUSSEIN IN 2010 by Gwynne Dyer
  Tony Blair's vision of that future is his rationale for attack on Iraq.
 
 

THE LOBBYING-MEDIA COMPLEX by Sebastian Jones
  Popular US commentators are sometimes on the payrolls of industries they analyze.

FILL YOUR OPENING CEREMONY WITH ARTS, THEN CUT THEM by Mark Leiren-Young
  Thanks for the show, artists — now get lost. BC to slash 90 percent of culture funding.

PICK OF THE WEEK

FIGHTING CORRUPTION AROUND THE WORLD Some of the world's most baffling social problems, says Transparency International, can be traced to systematic, pervasive government corruption, often hand-in-glove with global companies. For almost 20 years, TI has been analyzing corruption and setting out guidelines to prevent it. This month, they released a manual for preventing corruption in humanitarian missions, such as Haiti.   www.transparency.org

Take action!
UGANDA: RIGHTS NOT REPRESSION from Avaaz.org
  Gay Ugandans may be sentenced to death if legislation being debated right now passes.

Feedback from our readers
ANOTHER SERVER CRASH? by Tony King
  Here is one possible reason.

Humour
AUTOMATIC AIRPLANE from the Internet
  Sit back and let the robot handle everything.