Posted: September 24, 2008

HARPER PUSHES "ALBERTA AGENDA" by Linda McQuaig
  His economic toolbox has only one tool: tax cuts.
 
 

OZONE HOLE, AGAIN by Stephen Leahy
  Chemical lobby weakening ozone treaty.
 
 

WORLD BANK CONTRADICTS ITSELF by Larry Brown
  Recent vow to try to eliminate poverty undercut by continued harsh prescriptions for poor countries.
 
 

PASHTUNS SAY THEY ARE CAUGHT IN SOMEONE ELSE'S WAR by Abubakar Siddique
  Afghan ethnic group straddles border with Pakistan, where US troops are hunting al-Qaeda.

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Editorial
GERRY RITZ CONTROVERSY CONFIRMS THE ELECTION IS ABOUT PUBLIC VALUES by Ish Theilheimer
  Obsession with polls and image politics obscures real issues, such as Harper turning public safety over to the private sector.
 

Faith speaks
HOW TO WIN THE MUSLIM VOTE from the Islamic Supreme Congress
  Islamic Congress lists top Muslim issues for Election 2008.

Science matters

NATURAL CAPITAL by David Suzuki, with Faisal Moola
  We can't see the forest's worth for the value of the logs.
 
 

Health scope
PRIVATE HEALTH CARE DRIVING UP COSTS from the Canadian Labour Congress
  The 70 percent of health care covered by public insurance stays steady at 5 percent of national income.

MeanToons
TEA FOR TWO by John Meaney
  No more smoky political backroom deals.

www.meantoons.com

Canadian Politics
PUBLIC PROTECTION SHOULD BE AN ELECTION ISSUE by Geoffrey Stevens
  Listeriosis, financial meltdown just two examples of the havoc de-regulation can wreak.
 

DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING THAT YOU THINK by Ginette Petitpas-Taylor
  Top item on women's groups' lists at election time is to elect a government that will deliver on equality.
 

TIME TO REPAIR ALBERTA'S VOTING SYSTEM by Scott Harris
  Chief Electoral Officer's report cites "dire need" for change in how elections are conducted.

NOTHING BUT FLUFF IN THIS CAMPAIGN by Bill Tieleman
  Time for news media to raise some real issues.
 
 

Workplaces
OCTOBER 7 IS WORLD DAY FOR DECENT WORK from ITUC
  International Trade Union Confederation launches own Youtube video channel.

Consumers
CONSUMERS GROUPS LOBBY CONGRESS FOR HOMEOWNERS from the Coalition of consumer, labour and civil rights groups
  Any bailout must include relief for mortgage holders, not just Wall Street.

Media files
MEDIA BLOGGERS OFFERS BLOGGING INSURANCE from the Media Bloggers Association
  Bloggers to get access to same sorts of training, legal support and insurance long available to traditional media organizations.

PICK OF THE WEEK

IT'S THE ZOOMERS! Remember Harper's $300 million fib. Moses Znaimer, the new Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Retired People (CARP) is making over the organization, the magazine (the new issue is thick, glossy and full of ads), the website and the organization's spirit. Consider this factoid from a recent CARP news release: "In the 2004 election, Zoomers cast approximately 8.9 million votes. All other age groups combined cast approximately 5.3 million votes. So Zoomers represented OVER 62 percent of all votes cast." This is a group staking out vast territory. Keep an eye on them at   www.fifty-plus.net and the new www.zoomers.ca

Hot headlines

BUSH'S LAST HURRAH by Gwynne Dyer
  Since the world won't back an attack on Iran, he attacked Pakistan instead.
 

SHOCK DOCTRINE IN ACTION by Naomi Klein
  Wall Street bailout is vivid example of neo-cons seizing on disaster in order to grab still more.
 
 

US MELTDOWN PUTS HEAT ON CANADA by Marc Lee
  Decades of fusing the two economies have exposed us to grave risk.

ONE TRILLION DOLLARS COULD HAVE ELIMINATED WORLD POVERTY by Devinder Sharma
  Money spent on financial bailout could have provided food, shelter, health care, water around the world.

Take action!
SIGN THE DECENT WORK PETITION from the Decent Work campaign
  In boom or bust, workers must rally together to demand decent work at decent wages, in decent conditions.

Feedback from our readers
NDP DESERVES MORE CREDIT by Barry Wilkinson
  Minority delivers more than a coalition does.

Humour
THIRD PARTY CANDIDATE WORRIES JOHN MCCAIN'S CAMP from Onion News Network
  Joad Cressbeckler a true Beltway outsider.