Poll

Cleanup of Teck waste begins at Black Sand Beach: access closed during construction

Pending approval of a final permit, contractors will begin work between Sept. 13 and Sept. 20, 2010 to remove granulated slag at Black Sand Beach on the upper Columbia River. The work is being conducted to clean up polluted material on the beach from the Teck Metals Ltd. (formerly Teck Cominco) smelter in Trail. The […]

Paid propaganda? PART 2: Sun/Province’s disturbing “message”

[Editor's note: Part one of Mr. Oberfeld's column should be right below this one. I decided to print the two simultaneously as this is an important issue and one that will only become more and more urgent as corporate newspapers struggle to survive in an age of declining revenues]It’s no secret that, to any branch of the news...

Sun/Province: real stories or paid-for propaganda?

How do you tell the difference between journalism today and prostitution?  Hmmm...  Sorry: it’s not a joke; there is no punchline; it’s only a question I’ve been asking myself since reading the ”major”  Vancouver  newspapers last weekend.Saturday Aug. 28 on page A-16 in The Vancouver Sun there were two captivating stories: ...

HST: Where political tragedy and comedy come together

It’s actually hard not to laugh! But really, we should be crying. Finance Minister Colin Hansen stood before the cameras this week and told British Columbians he had no idea his own Finance Ministry officials were holding extensive discussions with federal counterparts in Ottawa on the HST in March, 2009 … a few months before...

Register now for 'Currents'--CBT's youth water forum

Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) invites Basin youth ages 15-29 to sign up now for CURRENTS: Columbia Basin Trust Youth Water Forum 2010, being held at Halcyon Hot Springs in Nakusp, September 24-26, 2010.  “CBT is looking forward to engaging youth in water issues in the Columbia Basin for a second year at CURRENTS,” said Heather Mitchell, CBT Program Manager, Water […]

DOBBIN: Canadian politics needs a game-changer

 As we head into a new political season it looks depressingly like the old: a stand-off between the malignant minority government of Stephen Harper and the seriously diminished Liberal Party and its hapless leader Michael Ignatieff. Both these parties and their leaders are so off the mark in terms of what Canadians want and...

ATAMANENKO: Living with autism

Autism is the most common neurological disorder that affects children in our nation. Currently, one in every 200 people in Canada has been diagnosed with some form of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). If we look specifically at children, this number jumps up to one in 165, or .6 per cent of all children. Diagnoses are […]

Alex Neve to speak in West Kootenay: A call for renewal of Canada's fading human rights leadership

Selkirk College and Amnesty International will be launching the fall Mir Centre for Peace Lecture Series with a passionate and important talk by Alex Neve, Secretary-General of Amnesty International Canada. His lecture, Protecting Human Rights: What’s Happening to Canada’s Voice, will focus on the concerns surrounding Canada’s fading human rights leadership and will put a […]

HST lawsuit: Business message is disturbing

I must admit: I have certain rules in handling responses from readers to postings on this blog.  No libel, no swearing, no racist remarks, no name-calling. But I do NOT try to kill off comments from people who disagree with me (although I wonder how could they!).  I don’t disqualify them because their submissions  have spelling ...

Electoral Officer’s Ruling MUST Be Challenged

The decision by B.C.’s “Acting” Chief Electoral Officer Craig James to stall the anti-HST petition until court cases are dealt with MUST be challenged in court. I believe he’s wrong; he made a mistake; he went far beyond his proper role in validating a petition. He has in effect destroyed B.C.’s democratic  petition legislation,...