Welcome to the Asylum

Chris Hedges - Truthdig - May 5'12
When civilizations start to die they go insane. Details here.

"Black Out Speak Out" Campaign Launched by Environmental Groups

OTTAWA – According to a national campaign being launched…Full story here.

#BlackOutSpeakOut - A Response to Harper's War on Nature & Democracy

Submitted by John Bennett on Sun, 2012-05-06
The federal government’s war on nature and democracy means “Silence is no longer an option” for Canadians. So I’m urging you to join with…Details here.

Freedom Train Against the Northern Gateway Pipeline in Winnipeg on CBC news:

Watch the video here:
http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Canada/Manitoba/1304130959/ID=2231287381

Gutting the Fisheries Act in Canada

By: Gus Van Harten  05/3/2012 Wpg Free Press
Among the Harper government's latest environmental reforms -- packed like sardines into the budget -- Canada's Fisheries Act will soon protect fish habitat only in designated waterways. Details here.

 Fishing boats at Gimli, Lk. Winnipeg.

Envoironmentalism Has Failed.

by David Suzuki. 

"Over the past 50 years, environmentalists have succeeded in raising awareness, changing logging practices, stopping..." Complete story here.

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PLT: A chilling admission from a great Canadian. I'm sure your message was as hard for you to deliver as it was for us to hear, David. That you have kept fighting in the face of incredible odds over the years is what needs to be remembered here. And, just as I will not give up the battle in my own small corner, despite those odds, I just know that you will not, either! Thanks for the courage and wisdom you have already shown and for that which so many of us will be counting on in the time ahead.

Did the CCPA Get it Right?

PLT; I'm no fan of the big banks, God knows. But, listening to "The Current" on CBC Radio this morning, I began wondering whether the CCPA got it quite right in its recent report, "The Big Banks' Big Secret." Did Canada "bail out" the banks with massive aid, or was it something subtly but significantly different? Listen to the CBC podcast here as it asks the question, "Was there a secret Canadian banking bailout?," then decide for yourself. 

Budget Implementation Act is Gutting of Environmental Laws in Disguise

Elizabeth May - Leader, Green Party of Canada.

Columbia Icefield - Jasper/Banff Nat'l. Parks. 
Larry Powell. P in P photo.

“Most of Bill C-38 has nothing to do with fiscal matters or what a budget is supposed to do.  Instead, it attacks environmental legislation, amending the Environmental Assessment Act, the Fisheries Act, the Species at Risk Act, and repealing the Kyoto Implementation Act, along with cancelling the National Round Table on Environment and Economy,” said May. Read more here.

Life in a Toxic Town (Letter)

Wpg Free Press May 2 '12
(Fort McMurray, Alberta)....this former small northern town is perhaps the most polluted and....Details here.

Exposures to the Pesticide Dursban, in Utero, Linked to Brain Abnormalities

Apr 30'12 San Francisco Chronicle

April 30 (Bloomberg) -- Babies exposed in the womb to a commonly used insecticide have brain abnormalities after birth, according to a study that looked at children born before the U.S. limited the chemical's use. Details here.

A "crop-duster" sprays Lorsban, (Dursban's "sister" chemical, sharing the same active ingredient, chlorpyrfos) on a canola crop in western Manitoba PLT photo.

Please also read: "Are Pesticide Regulators on the Take?" (See chlorpyrfos reference in section headed "So Who or What is to Blame?)

The Big Secrets of Canada's Big Banks

                                   Cdn Centre for Policy Alternatives - Apr 30 '12 David MacDonald

 Estimating government support for Canadian banks during the financial crisis. Read full story here.

PLT: Please also read: "How Ethical are Canada's Ethical Funds? Conscientious Investments and the Tar Sands Connection."