films, meds, Bill C-51, GE trees, bottled water, torture

Mon May 5 17:23:53 EDT 2008

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Climate Change: Hot times in the city
Thursday May 8 at 10pm PT on CBC Newsworld
The Nature of Things, with David Suzuki

Over half of the world's population now lives in cities, consuming 75% of
the world's energy and producing 80% of greenhouse gas emissions.
Increasingly, cities are becoming dangerous places to live, as insect-born
diseases, heat stroke, respiratory and cardiac illnesses become
increasingly common. Hot Times in the City takes the pulse of three major
Canadian cities: Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax, as they grapple with one
of the planet's greatest threats to human health: global warming.

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Ciclovía: A Moving Experience in Bogotá, Colombia

Every Sunday in Bogota, Columbia, 70 miles of city streets are closed to
motorized transport and opened to walking, biking, running, skating,
recreating, picnicking, socializing and dancing.

Watch the very inspiring 9 minute video here:
http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/12/03/ciclovia-a-moving-experience-in-bogota

Many other cities are following suit. In Australia the Cyclovia means
"Life to the Street".
http://www.cyclovia.org/

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Drugging Kids
An excellent film. Watch it here:

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/147.html

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On April 8th, 2008, the Canadian Minister of Health introduced Bill C-51
into the House of Commons. This Bill proposes significant changes to the
current Food and Drugs Act that will have wide-ranging negative
implications for Canadians.

In terms of constitutional rights, there are three major problems with
Bill C-51:

1) Citizens have a right to know the scientific evidence on the safety and
effectiveness of the medicines they are considering taking. The producer's
right to maintain commercial confidentiality is enshrined in the proposal;
not the public's right to know.

2) The flexibility introduced in the Act to get pharmaceuticals to market
earlier, with less evidence of effectiveness, is highly problematic.

3) The elimination of barriers to direct-to-consumer advertising in the
act is hugely problematic. Bill C-51 would allow any kind of prescription
drug advertising to be introduced in regulations, without a vote in
parliament.

--
Learn more: http://www.stopC51.com
--
<http://www.healthcanadaexposed.com/c51backups/Canadian%20Rights%20Facts.htm>
Canadian Rights And Freedoms Are At Risk
http://www.healthcanadaexposed.com/c51backups/Canadian%20Rights%20Facts.htm

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Canada's C-51 Law May Outlaw 60% of Natural Health Products; Big Pharma
Pushing to Criminalize Supplements

(NaturalNews) A new law being pushed in Canada by Big Pharma seeks to
outlaw up to 60 percent of natural health products currently sold in
Canada, even while criminalizing parents who give herbs or supplements to
their children. The law, known as C-51, was introduced by the Canadian
Minister of Health on April 8th, 2008, and it proposes sweeping changes to
Canada's Food and Drugs Act that could have devastating consequences on
the health products industry.

Full article here:
http://www.naturalnews.com:80/023121.html

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Take Action before May 14 to Stop Genetically Engineered Trees

The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) is requesting sign-on
from groups and individuals to an open letter to the Canadian Government
asking for an end to approvals of field trials in Canada and asking to
support an international moratorium on GE trees. Individuals are asked to
write to the Minister of the Environment. Read the full Action Alert here.
http://www.cen-rce.org/eng/action_alerts/08_04_getrees.html

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PESTICIDES ON THEIR WAY OUT

Yea! Ontario’s government is joining Quebec in banning the cosmetic use of
pesticides throughout the province, following intensive campaigning by
environmental activists and health professionals, including the Toronto
Environmental Alliance, Canadian Cancer Society, the Ontario Medical
Association, and many others.

Furthermore, Home Depot has said that it will stop selling traditional
pesticides and herbicides throughout Canada by the end of the year,
joining Loblaws, which has not been selling them since 2003. Canadian Tire
is also phasing them out. This is a real breakthrough, since although 140
Canadian communities have local anti-pesticide bylaws, as long as the
products are allowed in the stores the bylaws are very weak.

In 2006, the NDP proposed legislation to ban the cosmetic use throughout
Canada, but it was defeated by the Bloc, even though Quebec had approved
the very same legislation.

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NO MORE BOTTLED WATER

Don’t drink bottled water – and don’t let your children drink it. If
you’re a city councillor or official, don’t waste taxpayers’ money buying
it. If you‘re a restaurant, don’t serve it. If you work at a school or
college, stop using it. Why?

#1: Using bottled water sends the totally false message that municipal tap
water is unsafe. More than a quarter of bottled water comes from municipal
sources, anyway.

#2: It takes oil to make those bottles. According to the California-based
Pacific Institute, the energy required to make one bottle is the
equivalent of filling it Œ full of oil. In Canada, the 2.1 billion litres
we bought in 2006 needed 1.1 million barrels of oil to make them.

#3: Most bottles are not recycled, and end up in the landfill.

#4: It takes more energy to ship and truck them around.

#5. It’s stupid. Why pay 1,000 times more for bottled water when it costs
a penny a gallon from your tap, giving money to the water corporations as
if it was Christmas?

#6. Drinking bottled water is making our children grow up with the habit.

#7. Can we really trust the bottles not to leach their chemicals?

The City of Los Angeles has not allowed the use of city funds to buy
bottled water since 1987.

San Francisco and Seattle have just banned its purchase by city
departments and agencies. Chicago has placed a 5 cent tax on every bottle
to discourage its use. All Illinois state agencies have been banned from
buying it. Berkeley School District has stopped providing it. And now
students on campuses across Canada are creating bottled-water-free zones –
see <http://www.insidethebottle.org>www.insidethebottle.org.

It’s OK for emergencies – but otherwise, let’s junk it.

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Union's War Protest Shuts Down West Coast Ports
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/050208L.shtml

William Yardley, for The New York Times: "West Coast ports were shut down
on Thursday as thousands of longshoremen failed to report for work, part
of what their union leaders said was a one-day, one-shift protest against
the war in Iraq. Cranes and forklifts stood still from Seattle to San
Diego, and ships were stalled at sea as workers held rallies up and down
the coast to blame the war for distracting public attention and money from
domestic needs like health care and education."

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CARAVAN AGAINST TORTURE HEADING TO OTTAWA
Most Canadians do not normally associate the words "Canada" and "torture"
in the same breath, yet living reminders of the
increasingly disturbing connections will be travelling with three dozen
supporters throughout Central and Eastern Ontario
from May 1-8.

by Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture
http://goto.rabble.ca/t?ctl=162C8E9:6A2512C072D42216EA0C2A871139821260A0614370F1CFFE&

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"We Demand an Open Inquiry into the Torture of Canadian Citizens"

I demand that the government hold a full public inquiry into the role of
Canadian officials in the detention, interrogation, and torture of Mssrs.
Almalki, El Maati and Nureddin.

Sign the petition at:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/we-demand-an-open-inquiry-into-the-torture-of-canadian-citizens

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SENTENCED TO SCIENCE: MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS ON PRISONERS
A medical panel in the United States recently recommended that it be made
easier to test pharmaceutical drugs on prisoners.
To those who survived the harsh medical testing in prison back in the 50's
and 60's, this recommendation is a slap in the face.

by Stark Raven
http://goto.rabble.ca/t?ctl=162C8F3:6A2512C072D42216EA0C2A871139821260A0614370F1CFFE&

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