Media
Did Pakistan pay WTC attackers?
  Or was last week's report in The Times of India just spin on spin?

Media - the public's early warning system? - Peter Murdoch
  Should the media have been sounding the alarm bells before the terrorist attacks?
 

Support Media Democracy Day - Friday Oct. 19
  A day to push for and promote a mass media system that informs and empowers all members of society and to connect pockets of critical and creative media projects.

US losing media war in Mid-East: Salon
  Foolish decisions, nervous allies and not enough Arabic speakers mean Muslims around the world aren't getting America's side of the story.

Education

B is for Bureaucracy - David Orfald
  An Ottawa parent returns to high school and comes home confused and angry about the province's new marking scheme.
 

The War

Terrorist crimes no excuse to silence debate - Linda McQuaig
  A new political climate makes criticism of the US difficult but vital.
 
 

The War on Dissent
  Barrie Zwicker says journalists face their gravest tests ever.
 

Drought, war, and winter
  UNICEF seeks funds to save lives in Afghanistan.
 

The Straight Goods Cyber Forum with Larry Solway
Running scared?
  Larry says we should get more debate going at Straight Goods. Got thoughts on re-nationalizing Air Canada or America running scared?

Join Larry's cyber-forum and share your views.

Take the Straight Goods Cyber Forum survey and qualify for the Straight Goods draw.

War is no time to stifle dissent - Parker Barss Donham
  To insist on abandoning our core values as a necessary step in defending them is irrational.
 
 

Go Army! BOMBS AWAY! Rockets red glare!
  Michael Moore is glad the networks have finally decided on a name for the new war, and grateful that Fox got the football game back on an hour after the war's start.
 

Fighting Islam's Ku Klux Klan
  The Muslim world cannot forever attribute all its ills to the Great Satan, America, writes the Iraqi dissident, Kanan Makiya.

OSAMAGATE - Michel Chossudovsky
  The US can no longer deny its links to its enemy.
 
 

Making sure the rich stay rich, even in crisis
  A glimpse into the private world of private bankers - link to the NY Times.

West risks culpability for a massive tragedy
  A relief worker back from Afghanistan predicts devastatation as war thwarts frantic efforts to save drought victims. From The Independent.

Girls and their gas masks
  Fears about biological warfare are breaking along gender lines, with women stockpiling emergency medicine and men adopting a macho, "it can't happen here" attitude.

Say what you want, but this war is illegal - Michael Mandel
  The U.S.-U.K. attack on Afghanistan is clearly illegal, violating international law and the express words of the UN Charter.

Consumers
ERROR: Last week's warning about Area Code 809 was a hoax, as pointed out by alert reader Jonathan Murphy
  Straight Goods apologies to readers for any incovenience or apprehension... and for having fallen for it.

Your best bet for coltan-free cell phone - probably Motorola
  A way for ethical consumers to do their bit to stand against the use of Congolese coltan, which finances civil war, slavery and environmental ruin, with thanks to Straight Goods reader Joe Libertelli and contributor Carole Pearon.

War's ironic bonus for consumers - cheap gas for now
  Ministers representing the 11 OPEC member countries decided Oct. 7 not to cut oil production despite the drop in prices since the Sept. 11 attacks on the US. A production cut big enough to restore the cartel's $25-per-barrel target price would bankrupt all of the OPEC states. A link to Stratfor.

Private auto insurance doesn't improve on public
  Study recommends changing plans to privatize BC auto insurance.
 

Health care

Ontario health care gets American treatment - Dr. Gordon Guyatt
  Access to health care providers like physiotherapists depends on the circumstances of the injury.
 

Take Action
All-Canadian peace coalition
  A whole spectrum of groups have gathered to ask for tolerance and voice opposition to military action.

Concerned with the War? Visit September Eleventh Peace Coalition * The Canadian Peace Alliance * Science for Peace * Project Ploughshares * Center for Defense Information

War on a Plant
  Ignoring the beneficial effects of hemp in food and cosmetics, the US DEA has posted a ban on all hemp products. Find out what you can do to get the new law rescinded.

The Future of the Left
Future of the Left...? Back to doorstep organizing
  Senior Winnipeg activist Shirley Lord takes stock of what's Left in Manitoba and Canada. A Straight Goods interview.

Social Justice in Canada - off the agenda? - Paul Weinberg
  Upcoming anti-globalization and anti-poverty protests to go - tentatively - despite changed environment.

NDP tries to shrink the psyche of left politics
  NDP's federal renewal committee looks at the loss of optimism that has contributed to NDP decline and asserts it is not irreversible. Committee makes broad recommendations but says a new new name would be premature.

Protesting in the post-WTC age
  Anti-corporate protesters who once aimed at powerful symbols of capitalism - like the World Trade Center - have found themselves in a transformed landscape, writes Noami Klein in The Nation.

Workplace
Trade unionists targetted for death
  Activists are regular targets, especially in Americas - 209 trade unionists assassinated, "disappeared" in 2000.

Greenhouse School Wobblies refuse to quit
  IWW tales on Sally Ann over Oregon homeless school.

Humour
The ultimate revenge on Osama Bin Laden
It's not just men who fall asleep...
 

Posted: October 15, 2001