PLANET IN PERIL

Dear Editor, Well, it didn't take long for the new Harper government to start showing its true colours. And, if you care about the rights of ordinary workers, it doesn't look good. With the help of his new "Sarah Palin wanna-be" Labour Minister, Harper has, predictably, legislated an end to the postal lockout. In his infinite "wisdom and mercy," he has imposed a wage settlement on the workers which is even lower than Canada Post had been offering. Canada Post's decision to lock out its workers (if indeed that decision was its own) played conveniently into Harper's hands. It allowed him to impose back-to-work legislation, which fit right in, not only with his own mean-spirited, hidebound ideology, but that of Republicans and Tea-Partiers everywhere. Up until the lockout, at least the mail had been getting through. Sadly, it now seems our descent into American-style austerity, which treats working people as the enemy and the rich as our saviours,

This old world of ours is becoming a very crowded place, very quickly. (Watch video here.) Courtesy, NASA

Democracy Now - Jul 7 Oil giant ExxonMobil faces mounting criticism of its clean-up efforts after one of its oil pipelines ruptured on Friday and leaked 42,000 gallons of crude oil into Montana’s Yellowstone River. Exxon workers scan a section of the river.  Courtesy of the NY Times.   Details here. Please also read - Receding Yellowstone Waters Reveal Extent Of ExxonMobil Oil Spill

05/06/11 Consumers International   Consumers International (CI) and its member organisations celebrated victory today as regulators from more than 100 countries agreed on long overdue guidance on the labelling of genetically modified (GM) food . Details here.

This blogger is on a summer break. I'll return on or about Monday, the 11th! CU then! Larry

28 June 2011 – UN The head of the United Nations-backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) today urged governments to work towards limiting emissions of greenhouse gases, Details here.

Laura Wright Treadway - June 28, 2011 OnEarth In May of 1999, a 52-year-old cardiologist and his 22-year-old daughter sat down for lunch in upstate New York. Details here.

PLT: Please overlook the technical glitches of this video and listen to what James says. He makes a lot of sense! (Bipole 111 is a planned, major transmission line which would carry hydro power from northern Manitoba, mostly for export into the States.) The old-line parties are debating WHERE it should run. Mr. Beddome asks, does it need to run anywhere?

The Current - CBC Radio - June 28th'11    Thousands of icebergs are "calving" from  Greeenland's glaciers each year. (Courtesy BBC) A giant iceberg has lodged itself off the south coast of Labrador. It's believed to be part of an even larger iceberg which broke away from the Petermann Glacier in Greenland last summer and it's creating big problems for local fishers. Some experts fear it could be a sign that the Greenland ice cap is melting faster than previously thought. Just click this link to listen.

Apr 13, 2011 Manitoba Co-Operator Canada's lentil industry wants to see the European Union afford the same tolerances for glyphosate residue on lentils as it does on other pulse crops. Details here. PLT: With evidence mounting around the world about health risks associated with Roundup, the clamor for it just increases. I fear Monsanto will win this race to the bottom! 

Richard Gray - The Telegraph - 26 Jun 2011 Swarms of venomous jelly fish and poisonous algae are migrating into British waters due to changes in the ocean temperatures, a major new study has revealed. Details here.