guns, kiddie coke, Watson, cosmetics, food, meds, SPP, green burials

Wed Apr 23 13:04:51 EDT 2008

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Happy belated Earth Day!
a
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If you agree that it's absurd to allow Canadians to carry a hand gun, then
sign the petition to ban handguns in Canada:

http://www.toronto.ca/handgunban/index.htm

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'Kiddie coke': Using Ritalin to get high
CBC MARKETPLACE: HEALTH » RITALIN

Parents have long been torn over whether to drug their kids. A lot of them
do, especially for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. But an
important study suggests giving kids ritalin could sensitize their brain
in a way that makes it more likely they will become addicted to stimulants
like tobacco and cocaine when they grow up. <snip>

Read full article here:
http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/health/ritalin/index.html

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I just signed a petition calling to stop the Chinese weapons shipment to
Zimbabwe. At this delicate time, the international community must rally to
bring democracy and stability--not weapons--to Zimbabwe.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/no_arms_for_zimbabwe/98.php/?CLICK_TF_TRACK

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Paul Watson and the Armada of Death
by Silver Donald, published in the Halifax Herald
Sun. April 20, 2008

<snip> Paul Watson is not a cuddly figure. He doesn't mind risks, and he
is not intimidated by the authorities. If they don't give him a permit, he
goes to the ice without one and takes the consequences. If he has to go to
jail, he goes. If the authorities bar him from the ice, he organizes a
shipload of others. If they harass his Canadian ship, he registers it in
the Netherlands. If they tell him he can't enter Canadian waters, he stays
13 miles offshore and lets the hunt come to him.

He is utterly devoted to what he's doing. And his passionate commitment
reduces DFO and its successive ministers to gibbering, frothing
incoherence.

The truth is that two worlds are colliding every spring at the seal hunt.
Loyola Hearn represents the fading world-view which holds that human
beings somehow rank above all other beings, holding dominion over the
living whole and exploiting it without restraint. Watson, a vegan,
represents the leading edge of a new world of people who recognize
themselves as part of nature, responsible for their stewardship of the
natural world, and no more precious than any other species on the planet.
<snip>

Full article here: http://silverdonaldonsunday.blogspot.com/

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Focus on *prevention* in Cancer Awareness month

Prevent Cancer Now highlights need to ban asbestos mining, restrict
cosmetic pesticide use and regulate ingredients in personal products.
http://www.preventcancernow.ca/

SAFE COSMETICS CAMPAIGN

Thinking of giving your Mom some cosmetics for Mother's Day? Think again.
That perfume you buy may contain hormone-disrupting phthalates.

Prevent Cancer Now is partnering with Breast Cancer Action Montreal on a
campaign for safer chemicals in cosmetics sold in Canada.

Because the way in which Health Canada regulates cosmetics is inherently
flawed, the products now on the market often contain known or suspected
carcinogens and reproductive toxins. Rather than following the lead of the
European Union, which prohibits manufacturers from using such risky
chemicals, our government conducts risk assessments, as it does with all
types of chemicals, based on the amount of exposure a consumer is presumed
to have from a given cosmetic. However, this does not take into account
the cumulative effect of the many other ways in which we are exposed to
carcinogens and hormone-disrupting chemicals in our daily lives. Another
disturbing fact is that, even though scientists have yet to obtain
complete data on the environmental and health impacts of many chemicals,
Health Canada still approves them as ingredients in the cosmetics we buy.
For example, some sunscreens and anti-wrinkle creams now contain tiny
particles known as nanoparticles. These are able to pass through the cell
membranes in organisms, and their interactions with biological systems are
relatively unknown. In spite of that, Health Canada requested no
transparent safety data about these nanoparticles before they went on the
market.

To find out more about problems with cosmetics and how Health Canada
regulates them, visit
<http://www.preventcancernow.ca/>http://www.preventcancernow.ca/ and
follow the links for more information or to download the petition to our
Minister of Health, Tony Clement.
<http://preventcancernow.ca/safe_cosmetics_campaign.html>http://preventcancernow.ca/safe_cosmetics_campaign.html

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Fantastic article by Monbiot about biofuels, rising food prices, and
meat-eating.
-a

Credit crunch? The real crisis is global hunger. And if you care, eat less
meat

A food recession is under way. Biofuels are a crime against humanity, but
- take it from a flesh eater - flesh eating is worse

George Monbiot
The Guardian, Apr. 15, '08
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/apr/15/food.biofuels

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Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Is Medicating a Nation
By Onnesha Roychoudhuri, AlterNet. Posted April 17, 2008.

http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/82455/

While we've now become accustomed to the barrage of prescription drug
commercials on prime-time TV, it's jarring to learn that this advertising
is legal only in the United States and New Zealand. The pharmaceutical
industry doesn't just target Americans directly, but also spends roughly
$25,000 per physician per year. With the aid of information from data
mining companies, a pharmaceutical representative knows exactly how many
prescriptions for what medication a doctor has written, allowing the
industry to individually target them.

How Americans came to this fraught relationship with the pharmaceutical
industry and its drugs -- particularly antidepressants -- is the subject
of Charles Barber's new book, Comfortably Numb. A veteran of mental health
programs in homeless shelters and a lecturer in psychiatry at the Yale
University School of Medicine, Barber trains his eye to the confluence of
science and culture that have led to the widespread prescribing of
medications once reserved for the most serious cases. <snip>

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Three Amigos Summit
by Manuel Pérez Rocha and Sarah Anderson
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 by Foreign Policy in Focus

President George W. Bush will soon host what has become an annual „Three
Amigos Summit.‰ The leaders of Mexico, the United States, and Canada will
be gathering in New Orleans on April 21 and 22. What do you suppose is on
the agenda? A rational response to immigration, perhaps? A thoughtful
renegotiation of the unpopular North American Free Trade Agreement?
Lessons from Canada‚s affordable medicines program?

No. No. And no. Rather than putting their heads together around pressing
issues such as these, the three leaders will be advancing a so-called
Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). And while that may sound well
and good, this initiative, begun in 2005, is unlikely to produce either
security or prosperity. That‚s because the partnership is only with big
business.

The chief executives of Wal-Mart, Chevron, and 28 other large corporations
are in on the closed-door negotiations, while members of Congress,
journalists, and ordinary citizens are excluded. And the secrecy is not
just around the presidential summits, but also the meetings of about 20
SPP working groups that carry on negotiations over the course of the year.
<snip>

Read full article here:
http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/5152

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Green burials coming to B.C., possibly Ontario
Apr. 20 2008
The Canadian Press

TORONTO -- A burgeoning industry catering to the desire to be green --
even in death -- will soon offer mourners a new environmentally friendly
option to bury their loved ones in British Columbia and is also working
toward setting up shop in a small southern Ontario community.

Canadians once looked to cremation as a way to address the environmental
concerns associated with death, and its popularity has skyrocketed in
recent years. <snip>

A green funeral typically means the body is not subjected to chemical
embalming, there are no oversized, ornate caskets made of expensive wood
and metal, no grave liners or protective vaults are used, there are no
fancy headstones on the grounds, and no toxic emissions are released _ as
is the case during cremation.

Instead, the body is wrapped in a simple shroud or placed in a
biodegradable box, at most only a simple stone is placed on the ground to
mark a burial spot, and the effect on the environment is minimized. <snip>

Read full article here:
<http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080420/green_burials_080420/20080420?hub=SciTech>http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080420/green_burials_080420/20080420?hub=SciTech

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