Greenspiration News: Raise your Voices!

Sat Jul 31 15:33:59 EDT 2010

Greenspiration News

P.S. Pass this onto a friend! -a

Yet the environmental movement, by and large, has always been the most
existential of social movements, willing to shift tactics on the fly, use
what works and discard what doesn’t. “In our business, you’ve got to be
fast on your feet,” said David Brower, who died in November 2000. “When
industry wins, they win forever. The most we can usually hope for is a
stay of execution. It means we’ve got to stay eternally vigilant, be very
creative and be willing to take risks.”
http://www.counterpunch.org/stclair07092010.html

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Harper's $18-billion fighter jet misadventure

When the government decides to spend billions of dollars on equipment that
is both expensive and useless, the obvious question to ask is: "Who
benefits?"

And if this waste of public resources wasn't bad enough, the Tories plan
to spend about a half trillion dollars on the military in the next two
decades.
Ironically, these foolish handouts to the U.S. and Canadian
military-industrial complex will make Canadians less safe in the years to
come.
That's because the biggest threats that we face are not from invading
armies or fleets of enemy aircraft. We are in danger, above all, from the
destruction of our environment: global warming, loss of farmland, water
shortages, the decline of fisheries, and so on.

http://rabble.ca/news/2010/07/harpers-18-billion-fighter-jet-misadventure

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Raise Your Voices!

Since 2006 the Government of Canada has systematically undermined
democratic institutions and practices, and has eroded the protection of
free speech, and other fundamental human rights.  It has deliberately set
out to silence the voices of organizations or individuals who raise
concerns about government policies or disagree with government positions.
It has weakened Canada’s international standing as a leader in human
rights.  The impact and consequences for the health of democracy, freedom
of expression, and the state of human rights protection in Canada are
unparalleled.

Read and sign the petition here: http://www.voices-voix.ca/en/declaration

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Check out this 8 min. video:

The Story of Cosmetics

Why are the companies that campaign against breast cancer selling beauty
products containing carcinogens?

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/07/annie-leonard-story-of-cosmetics.php

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What Those Who Killed the Tar Sands Report Don't Want You to Know

Why did a parliamentary committee suddenly destroy drafts of a final
report on tar sands pollution? Here's what they knew.

http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2010/07/15/TarSandsReport/

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Chomsky: Is the U.S. Gearing Up for the Destruction of Iran?

Iran sits at the top of US concerns about keeping control of Middle East
oil-producing regions, preparing for serious violence if other means do
not suffice.
http://www.alternet.org/world/147572

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Bad science: Global-warming deniers are a liability to the conservative cause

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/07/15/bad-science-global-warming-deniers-are-a-liability-to-the-conservative-cause/

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Climate News for July

http://www.climateactionnetwork.ca/e/news/latest/2010/07.php#%20Global%20warming%20is%20%27unmistakable%27

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Toronto G20 Exposed
Exposing the illegal, criminal activity of police at the G20 in Toronto

http://torontog20exposed.blogspot.com/

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One Year After Ontario Ban: Over 80 Percent Decline of Pesticides in
Surface Waters
It's not magic. A drop in pesticide use can be directly linked to a
decrease of said pesticides in groundwater.

http://www.alternet.org/water/147482/one_year_after_ontario_ban%3A_over_80_percent_decline_of_pesticides_in_surface_waters

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UK jury: Activists' destruction of weapons factory justified

After Israel launched its deadly attack on Gaza in December 2009, anti-war
activists broke into a British arms factory, smashed up equipment worth
$300,000, and waited for the police to arrest them.  The factory was known
to produce bomb release mechanisms for the Israeli military.  The
activists were brought to trial, and in late June of this year a British
jury acquitted them.

16 min. audio interview

http://rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/redeye/2010/07/uk-jury-activists-destruction-weapons-factory-justified?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rabble-news+%28rabble.ca+-+News+for+the+rest+of+us%29

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Medications and the Heat

Some meds make it harder for your body to control its temperature.

If you are taking any of the medications listed below, you are at higher
risk for heat-related illness, especially if you are doing lots of
exercise or heavy work and are not drinking enough water. This is even
more true if you are taking two or more medications.

http://www.toronto.ca/health/heatalerts/beatheat_medic.htm

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Chantix - smoking cessation drug and anti-depressant - may be most
dangerous drug ever

The FDA has approved numerous clinically insignificant drugs whose severe
adverse effects--include heart attacks, liver damage, acute weight gain,
diabetes, suicide, and more--far outweighing any clinical benefits.
http://www.ahrp.org/cms/images/stories/articles/evidencepropagandawcsj2009.pdf

However, Pfizer's smoking cessation drug, Chantix (varenicline), may be
the most dangerous drug ever to carry the government seal of approval--it
poses a danger, not just to those who ingest the drug, but to people in
the community in which they live.

A report in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy, by Thomas J Moore, Joseph
Glenmullen, MD, and Curt D Furberg MD, documents startling evidence
showing that Chantix triggers sudden, unprovoked homicidal behavior in
people who were not previously violent.  See:
http://www.theannals.com/cgi/reprint/aph.1P172v1

Read more...
http://www.ahrp.org/cms/images/stories/articles/evidencepropagandawcsj2009.pdf

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Serotonin cell discoveries mean rethink of depression

IF YOU thought depression was caused by low serotonin levels, think again.
It looks as if the brain chemistry of a depressed person is much more
complex, with mounting evidence suggesting that too much serotonin in some
brain regions is to blame.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727703.300-serotonin-cell-discoveries-mean-rethink-of-depression.html

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Afghanistan war logs: Massive leak of secret files exposes truth of
occupation
• Hundreds of civilians killed by coalition troops
• Covert unit hunts leaders for 'kill or capture'
• Steep rise in Taliban bomb attacks on Nato
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/25/afghanistan-war-logs-military-leaks

 The New Pentagon Papers: WikiLeaks Releases 90,000+ Secret Military
Documents Painting Devastating Picture of Afghanistan War

It's one of the biggest leaks in US military history. More than 90,000
internal records of US military actions in Afghanistan over the past six
years have been published by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks. The
documents provide a devastating portrait of the war in Afghanistan,
revealing how coalition forces have killed hundreds of civilians in
unreported incidents, how a secret black ops special forces unit hunts
down targets for assassination or detention without trial, how Taliban
attacks have soared, and how Pakistan is fueling the insurgency. We host a
roundtable discussion with independent British journalist Stephen Grey;
Pentagon Papers whistleblower, Daniel Ellsberg; former State Department
official in Afghanistan, Matthew Hoh; independent journalist Rick Rowley;
and investigative historian Gareth Porter.

Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/26/the_new_pentagon_papers_wikileaks_releases

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65 Years
 It’s Time to Retire the Bomb!

Around the world, August 6th and 9th mark the days of the 1945 atomic
bombings of Hiroshima and Nagaski. Every year, people around the world
come together to remember. We say never again.

For more info and events: http://www.hiroshimadaycoalition.ca/index.html

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Making it easier to ignore the poor

The long-form census is one of the few lifelines the poor have to let us
know they're out there. Removing it will make it all the easier for Harper
to ignore the muffled cries of those who can't even buy their kids toys or
school supplies.

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/840510--mcquaig-making-it-easier-to-ignore-the-poor

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Cycling Infrastructure Lags in Toronto while Edmonton still car-capital of
Canada

A recent Pembina Institute Foundation report of transportation case
studies in 6 Canadian cities found that Toronto has the fewest bike lanes
and bike paths per capita (on-street 250 km, off-street 168km) of all
comparison cities. Edmonton can still boast Car-Capital of Canada with the
fewest percentage of commuters walking, biking to taking transit.

http://www.pembina.org/media-release/2027

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Cholesterol drugs don't help the healthy

Canadians spend $2 billion a year on them, but recent studies show many of
us are wasting our money
http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Cholesterol+drugs+help+healthy/3323071/story.html

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