Nearly a Third of World's Cacti Face Extinction, Says IUCN

theguardian

Cactus display at the International Peace Garden, 

Manitoba. PinP photo.

Illegal trade is causing shocking decline in plants that are vital to desert ecosystems, most comprehensive global assessment yet reveals. Details here.

'Once-In-A-Millenium' Flooding Creates 'Otherworldly Scenes' in South Carolina

CommonDreams

Officials warned that the historic deluge will likely worsen as climate experts discussed connections between warming planet and extreme weather. Story here.

Colombia In The Shadow Of Human Rights Abuses

Common Frontiers

In 2007, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Canada’s new “Americas Policy,” through which Canada would build trade ties with governments that shared Canada’s values of “democracy, human rights, rule-of-law and good governance.” The Canadian government then announced negotiations for a free trade and investment deal with Colombia, the country with the worst human rights record in the hemisphere. Story here.

When Canada Took Away Captain Paul Watson's Passport on Behalf of Japan

Independent

       Australia

Despite being a Canadian going back fourteen generations to 1587, Sea Shepherd captain and anti-whaling activist Paul Watson can no longer enter Canada because Stephen Harper took away his passport to placate Japanese whalers. Story here.

Murray Rankin v. Canada

bilaterals.org

Rankin, an NDP MP, acted on behalf of an American mining corporation in its successful bid to sue Canada using NAFTA. Story here.

WHO Deplores Bombing of MSF Clinic in Afghanistatn

GENEVA - The World Health Organization (WHO) deplores the bombing of a clinic run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in Kunduz, Afghanistan, and extends its sincere condolences to the families and colleagues of those killed and injured. This represents a major loss for MSF and the affected community - to whom WHO offers its sympathy and support - and a serious challenge to humanitarian work in Afghanistan.

Feds Penny-Pinched on Science Libraries While Lavishing Funds on Religion and Oil

NATIONAL OBSERVER

Beginning in 2008 — at the height of the global financial crisis — the federal government spent over$20 million on Christian religious groups and schools, including $495,600 for the Wycliffe Bible Translators in Langley, B.C. and $3.7 million transferred from federal funds to “Youth for Christ” in Winnipeg. It also set up….STORY HERE.

How John Baird Bungled Mohamed Fahmy's Release

NATIONAL

OBSERVER

Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy wasted no time in blasting the Harper government just 18 days before the federal election for overstating its role in securing his recent release from an Egyptian jail. Details here.
RELATED: "Pick up the Phone, Steve! Demand Justice for Mohamed Fahmy!"

This Country Is Already Carbon Neutral and Now Plans to Go 100% Organic and Zero-Waste

care2

It has been hailed as one of the greenest countries on Earth. Currently, the country’s carbon emissions rate is a negligible 0.8 metric tons per capita, according to the World Bank. Not only is it carbon neutral, it’s also a carbon sink—making it one of the few countries in the world to have negative carbon emissions. Story here.

National Televised Leaders Debate Cancellation is an Affront to Democracy.

News Release - Green Party of Canada.

 GRANDVIEW October 2, 2015 – Despite efforts by the Greens and the major national English language television broadcasters, the NDP have withdrawn from the national leaders' debate and today the debate has been cancelled.

“Cancellation of the National leader’s debate is a huge blow to democracy and to Canadian voters." said Kate Storey, local Green Party candidate for Dauphin Swan River Neepawa (above). 

A Candidate's Forum on Child Poverty Touches a Nerve in Manitoba.

by Larry Powell

Planet In Peril has sorted through some of the confusion surrounding the absence of Robert Sopuck, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa, from a candidates' forum on child poverty in Neepawa on Wednesday. 

About a month ago, his office told forum organizers that he would be attending. But his office manager in Neepawa, Christine Waddell, later announced he could not attend due to "scheduling conflicts." She said the night of the event, he was in Inglis, a small town in the western part of his riding. 

This morning, however, Sopuck himself told PinP he had actually been in Roblin, a larger town just north of Inglis. A newspaper ad indicated it was a "meet and greet" affair. But that was in the morning in Roblin, a town within a 3-hour drive of Neepawa. So it's still not clear what the event in Inglis was which took priority over a candidate's forum.

The MP bristled at my suggestion that his absence from the Neepawa event might leave him open to criticism that his party, his government or even himself, do not care about hungry children. "That's a low blow," he replied.

Sopuck said his party's answer to fighting child poverty is economic development which "the Socialists and the Greens" always oppose.

All of the other four candidates attended the Neepawa event.

Please also read: "Conservative MP Absent From a Child Poverty Forum in Southwestern Manitoba."