NewsTrust - Canada - Most Recent Stories: Opinion (Mainstream)

Game Over for the Climate

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By James Hansen - May. 11 (Opinion) - 'Global warming isn't a prediction. It is happening. That is why I was so troubled to read...that Canada would exploit the oil in its vast tar sands reserves 'regardless of what we do.''

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American dream: 10million Indians want to settle in US

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 01:04:00 -0700

Times of India - Apr. 26 - WASHINGTON: Around 13% of the world's adults - over 640 million people - would like to emigrate with roughly 150 million, including 10 million Indians wishing to settle in America. So suggests a new Gallup survey giving the US an undisputed title as the

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Rising Temperatures, Rising Health Problems

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:21:00 -0700

Voice of America - Apr. 04 - Scientists say the effects of climate change could actually make breathing more difficult for many people. They expect rising temperatures to bring an increase in cases of asthma and allergies, as well as infectious and cardiovascular diseases. De Capua

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Fair Game: W.T.O. and Barriers to Financial Change

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Gretchen Morgenson - Mar. 17 (Opinion) - The battle to remake the financial markets faces new obstacles in — of all places — the World Trade Organization. Even now, after all we’ve been through, something is still wrong with Wall Street. That’s the takeaway from the extraordinary — and extraordinarily public — resignation of Greg Smith from Goldman Sachs last week. His criticism of Goldman, made in an Op-Ed article in The New York Times, suggested that some of the business practices and inherent conflicts in the financial industry are as troubling today as they were before all of those taxpayer bailouts.

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Climate Talks Consensus: All Countries Should Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions--In Future

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Scientific American - Dec. 11 - DURBAN, South Africa--For the first time, all major nations--developed and developing--have agreed to a roadmap that would combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions via an "outcome with legal force" that would not come into effect before 2020. The 194 countries negotiating here also agreed that such a universal plan must be completed by 2015 at the latest. ...

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Attacks on climate scientists are the real 'climategate' | Stephan Lewandowsky

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - Nov. 23 () - Climate scientists' emails are not a scandal but the attacks on those scientists and a growing anti-science movement are, argues Stephan Lewandowsky Emails from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit have once again been released on the internet. The timing is similar to the "climategate" scandal of 2009, with emails published just before an important UN climate conference. Does this mean the science is in doubt? Quite the opposite, says Stephan Lewandowsky. An ambulance pulls up behind you. You know it's an ambulance because you can read AMBULANCE in your rear view mirror. But you can also read it when you look at the vehicle directly; because the human visual system has the ability to quickly correct complete inversions or left-right reversals of letters. In fact, a complete inversion is easier to read than letters that are rotated only partially. This human ability to process complete inversions more quickly than just partial distortions, alas, lends itself to ...

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Parkinson's 'linked with solvent'

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 04:57:00 -0800

BBC News - Nov. 14 - 13 November 2011 Last updated at 23:57 ET By Neil Bowdler Health reporter, BBC News A doctor examines the hands of a man with Parkinson's disease An international study has linked an industrial solvent to Parkinson's disease. Researchers found a six-fold

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Hurricane Maria could strike Newfoundland, warning issued

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Christian Science Monitor - Sep. 16 (Opinion) - Hurricane Maria: The warning covers the area from Arnolds Cove to Brigus South. Also a tropical storm warning is in effect early Friday for Newfoundland from Stones Cove to Arnolds Cove and from Brigus South to Charlottetown. ...

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To Fix Health Care, First Try Rewarding Failure

Thu, 26 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Bloomberg - By Ezra Klein - May. 26 (Opinion) - Few policy problems are more confounding than the inexorable rise in health-care spending. It threatens the economy even as the health-care system fails at its basic task of making us healthier. But the only way to fix it runs counter to both our instincts and our political system: we need to allow ourselves to fail -- often, enthusiastically and, above all, constructively.

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Are humans definitely causing global warming?

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - Dec. 30 - This question and answer is part of the Guardian's ultimate climate change FAQ • See all questions and answers • Read about the project Just as the world's most respected scientific bodies have confirmed that world is getting hotter, they have also stated that there is strong evidence that humans are driving the warming. The 2005 joint statement from the national academies of Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK and the US said: "It is likely that most of the warming in recent decades can be attributed to human activities." Countless more recent statements and reports from the world's leading scientific bodies have said the same thing. For example, a 2010 summary of climate science by the Royal Society stated that: "There is strong evidence that the warming of the Earth over the last half-century has been caused largely by human activity, such as the burning of fossil fuels and changes in land use, including agriculture and deforestation." ...

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Embassy Row

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 20:47:12 -0700

Washington Times - Oct. 05 - Even with Congress on recess and his ambassadorial appointment in limbo, Matthew Bryza remains a political football in one of the most protracted and controversial diplomatic disputes ever in Washington. Mr. Bryza, a career diplomat highly regarded at

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Putting Our Brains on Hold

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Bob Herbert - Aug. 07 (Opinion) - The United States, once the world’s leader in the percentage of young people with college degrees, has fallen to 12th among 36 developed nations.

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U.S. G20 Message: Stimulus Money Is Vital To Economic Recovery, Don't Pull Back Yet

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - By AP / Huffington Post - Jun. 27 - TORONTO ? World leaders must work together to make sure the global recovery stays on track, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Saturday. Geithner made his...

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Terrorism detainee Maher Arar: Supreme Court should have intervened

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - Jun. 21 (Editorial) - The Supreme Court has in some cases been willing to temper the excesses of the war on terror, most notably in ruling that inmates at Guantanamo have the right to challenge their confinement in U.S. courts. But last week, it fell down on the job when it refused to consider the case of Maher Arar, the victim of an egregious and shocking violation of rights by the U.S. government

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No Price to Pay for Torture

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - Jun. 16 (Editorial) - The conduct of the Supreme Court and the Obama administration in the case of an innocent Canadian man who was sent to Syria to be tortured in 2002 is disgraceful.

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Beyond the baby factory for women in the developing world | Marie Staunton

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Marie Staunton - Jun. 13 (Opinion) - The burning issue on maternal health in the world?s poorest countries is for women to take control of their own bodies Giving birth in the UK is complicated. Antenatal checks, ultrasounds, blood tests, BMI indices, dating scans and more – and that?s before delivery. Giving birth in sub-Saharan Africa is simple by comparison. You can walk five hours for a basic check-up, if able. Then again, you are far less likely to survive. Across the developing world there are none of the integrated healthcare services for expectant mothers that are universally available in the west. That means mothers-to-be have to visit up to five different healthcare providers for services that could be provided by one clinic. And that is after conception. The ...

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Absolute power?

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Maclean's - By Chris Sorensen - Jun. 07 (Opinion) - The province has so far approved thousands of green energy contracts, ranging in size from a few solar panels on the roof of a family home to industrial-scale projects, in which they agree to pay several times the going electricity rate for periods of up to 40 years. It has also signed a controversial $7-billion deal with a consortium led by South Korean giant Samsung that includes a massive investment in wind and solar electricity. The hope is that all the spending will seed a new green energy industry in Ontario (all projects must source a percentage of materials locally), creating some 50,000 new jobs in the process. But so far, the rush to a so-called green economy seems fraught with risk. While the thought of powering homes and businesses with power harnessed from the sun and wind is appealing, it’s currently far more expensive and less reliable than conventional sources, which means consumers and taxpayers will be the ones left on the hook—for decades—if the experiment doesn’t work out.

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Letters: Anger Rises as the Oil Keeps Spewing

Wed, 26 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - May. 26 (Opinion) - Readers respond to articles about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Scuttle ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

Fri, 21 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - May. 21 (Editorial) - A prime opportunity is at hand for Congress to repeal the repressive “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that has drummed out more than 13,000 capable members of the military simply because they are gay men and lesbians.

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Medium isn’t the message

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Boston Globe - By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist - Apr. 28 (Opinion) - Medium isn’t the message

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Children of university-educated parents more likely to excel at school

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 16:55:20 -0700

The Guardian - Apr. 25 - Being born to a parent with a university degree is more likely to guarantee a child top grades at school in England than in the US, Australia and Germany, a new study finds. Photograph: Phil Noble/PA Being born to a parent with a university degree is

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iPad Thief Rips Off Victim's Pinky, Too

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:37:07 -0700

CBS News - Apr. 20 - (CBS) A brazen theft in the Cherry Creek Mall left the victim with a permanent injury to his hand. He had just bought an iPad as a favor for a friend. Bill Jordan told CBS station KCNC he moved his family to Colorado from New Jersey 15 years ago

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Canada's seal hunt sends a different message about the Olympic nation

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Seattle Times - Apr. 03 (Opinion) - Dramatically raising the Canadian seal-hunt quota — the very day that organized protests were being staged around the world — makes questionable scientific or economic sense, writes Northwest writer Stephan Michaels.

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Financial Reform 101

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Paul Krugman - Apr. 02 (Opinion) - Today, a brief guide to the debate over financial reform, which is a lot harder to follow than health reform was.

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Australia attacked over internet plans

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - By Charles Arthur - Mar. 30 - US is also 'concerned' at plans to block flow of information and experts say state-controlled check will slow browsersAustralia came under fire today from the United States for its proposed internet filtering system, which, if implemented, would be the strictest of any democracy.A US state department official said that it had raised concerns with Australia over the plans, which are to be voted on by its parliament."We remain committed to advancing the free flow of information, which we view as vital to economic prosperity and preserving open societies globally," Michael Tran, a state department spokesman told the Associated Press."We don't discuss the details of specific diplomatic exchanges, but I can say that we have raised our concerns on this matter with Australian officials."Internet companies Google and Yahoo have already condemned the proposal as a heavy-handed measure that could restrict access to legal information.Australia's communications minister, Stephen Conroy, said the filter would block access to sites that include child pornography, sexual violence and detailed instructions in crime or drug use. The list of banned sites could be updated based on public complaints. But he declined to say what the US had told Australia.National censorship of overseas sites is becoming a trade issue. Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, told the Guardian last week :"Since services and information are our most successful exports, if regulations in China effectively prevent us from being competitive, then they are a trade barrier."Many countries – including the UK – use filtering systems to limit access to outlawed material: in the UK the independent Internet Watch Foundation lists sites internet service providers (ISPs) are asked to block. The list is secret, and frequently updated. In Germany and Canada ISPs use similar blocking systems; in Italy gambling sites are blocked.But critics say that the Australian plan, which has been proposed repeatedly over the past five years, exceeds what is necessary and strays into matters of free speech."Our primary concern is that the scope of content to be filtered is too wide," Google wrote in its submission to the Australian government, suggesting that the filter – which would be mandatory and state-controlled – would slow browsing speeds.The company said it already had its own filter to block child pornography."Some limits, like child pornography, are obvious. No Australian wants that to be available and we agree," Google said. "But moving to a mandatory ISP-level filtering regime with a scope that goes well beyond such material is heavy-handed and can raise genuine questions about restrictions on access to information."Lucinda Barlow of Google Australia told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation the proposal raised the possibility of banning politically and socially controversial material and went beyond filters used in Germany, Canada and Italy. Other critics say the filtering would put Australia in the same censorship league as China.Yahoo said the filter would block many sites with controversial content such as euthanasia discussion forums and gay and lesbian forums that discuss sexual experiences. Yet it would not block peer-to-peer file-sharing, nor prevent predators approaching children in chat programs or social networking sites.Conroy said his department would take the comments from Google and Yahoo into consideration before sending a proposal to parliament later this year.The US State Department sided with Google in its row with China over censorship when in January the search engine company complained that its systems had been hacked into in what it implied was an attack all but government-sanctioned by China. Last week Google moved its search systems to the Chinese island dependency of Hong Kong. The communist government responded by blocking searches from the mainland for forbidden topics such as the pro-democracy movement.David Vaile of the Cyberspace Law and Policy Center at the University of New South Wales said China and Australia had markedly different approaches to restricting the Internet."China's filter is explicitly about discouraging access to and discussion of certain clearly political topics," he said, while Australia's filter would focus on specifically restricted material.While some critics of Australia's filter have said it puts the nation in the same censorship league as China, Vaile pointed out that the freedom-of-speech argument used by American companies follows a legal tradition that other countries do not necessarily share.Yahoo and Google are accustomed to the protections of the First Amendment of the US constitution,which guarantees freedom of speech and elevates it to a very high legal status, Vaile said."In Australia there is no equivalent," he said. "There is no law that says you've got free speech. Having a lack of any legal protection for free speech for any effective restraint on [filters] is something that's worrying."AustraliaCensorshipInternetUnited StatesYahooGoogleUS economyTelecommunications industryPornographyCharles Arthurguardian.co.uk ? Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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