Posted: December 17, 2008

GOOD LOOKS, NOBEL LINEAGE, SPINELESS by Linda McQuaig
  New Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff seems to lack convictions.
 
 

THE MOUNTIES WHO GOT THEIR MAN by John Baglow
  Crown's office can describe Robert Dziekanski's death but explanations are weak.
 
 

THE REAL PRICE OF FARMED SALMON by Stephen Leahy
  Sharp declines in BC wild salmon have been linked to disease and parasites originating in salmon farms.
 
 

NEW FINANCIAL CONSUMER WATCHDOG GROUPS NEEDED from the Canadian Community Reinvestment Coalition
  Big banks will look to consumers to make up their $16 billion in losses.
 

MeanToons
HOLIDAY BARGAINS by John Meaney
  Simplicity is the key to keeping costs down.

www.meantoons.com

Editorial

AVOIDING MISTAKES OF GREAT DEPRESSION REQUIRES NEW THINKING by Ish Theilheimer
  Modern-day Bretton Woods-style international agreement needed for common good, not greed.
 

Science matters
THE TROUBLE WITH TAR SANDS by David Suzuki, with Faisal Moola
  Environmental costs far surpass economic value of world's biggest industrial project.
 

Happy Holidays! StraightGoods.ca is taking a short break from publishing. Look for our next issue on January 7, 2009. Many thanks to our supporters, and best wishes for a joyous season to all our readers.

Canadian Politics

PACKING THE SENATE by Geoffrey Stevens
  Harper's bid is an invitation to climb the Mount Everest of patronage.
 

ALBERTA LAND-USE PLAN WINS CAUTIOUS APPROVAL by Jeremy Klaszus
  The government will divide Alberta into seven geographic zones and each will have its own regional plan.
 

CAMPBELL KEEPS CLOSE EYE ON BASI-VIRK CASE by Bill Tieleman
  Freedom of Information documents indicate Premier's office was worried.
 

IF THERE WERE LEGAL AID IN NEW BRUNSWICK... by Elsie Hambrook
  Now that even middle-income people find legal representation out of reach, we have ourselves a crisis.
 

Last chance! Last chance to subscribe to StraightGoods.ca for only $35 a year. Our rates will be going up in the New Year! SG paid subscribers have access to nearly 8,000 articles in our archives and will be able to participate in our new Readers' Forum. Donate, subscribe or renew... today! And, don't forget, a subscription makes a great gift for the person who has everything!

Workplaces
UNDERMINING PAY EQUITY from the Canadian Labour Congress
  CLC deconstructs the Fiscal Statement and the Conservative plan to "modernize" pay equity.

Consumers
CANADIAN CHEESE SHOULD BE MADE WITH CANADIAN MILK by Wendy Holm
  Multinational firms challenge new regulations that require domestic milk for four kinds of cheese.
 

Media files


AMAZON VS GOOGLE by Penney Kome
  Giants battling for control of the (digital) printed word.
 
 

PICK OF THE WEEK

FREE BOOKS! Internet's venerable collaborative project more valuable than ever. One of the oldest collaborative projects on the internet is Project Gutenberg, named after the man who invented moveable type and made books available to everyone. With its international partners, Project Gutenberg offers more than 127,000 digital works in the public domain, free to download and read on your computer, mobile or e-book reader. This time of year, Charles Dickens' works are very popular. A Christmas Carol, anyone?   www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

Hot headlines
SMALL ISPS TO OFFER SAME INTERNET SPEEDS AS BELL, TELUS by Peter Nowak
  CRTC rejects big telecos' claim that they need the advantage in order to reinvest in infrastructure.

"TOP-LEVEL" PANEL TO PICK NEW TRUTH COMMISSION HEAD: LAWYER by Sue Bailey
  TRC to be back on track by early January.

PRESS PANIC SWEEPS THE NATION by Donald Gutstein
  How to turn a legal, logical, "leftish" coalition into a hysterical "crisis".

GLOBAL ZERO by Gwynne Dyer
  World leaders meet to find ways to abolish nuclear weapons.
 
 

Take action!
YES, WE CAN! from Avaaz.org
  World to Obama: let's do it together.

Feedback from our readers
NOT ALL WESTERNERS WERE OUTRAGED BY THE COALITON by Dave Thompson

Humour
FINDING LOVE IN THE PERSONALS from the Internet
  Here's an outstanding case of Buyer Beware.