Supervised injection is an emerging school of urban policy. At Illuminated By Street Lamps, I have posted a paper I wrote on the subject, which focuses on Toronto, and points the finger at the Conservative federal government and police for halting the discussion about this harm reduction technique. What is
Continue readingTag: Health
The Canadian Progressive: Fracking: Council of Canadians’ ‘Frack Corp’ Fracks Parliament Hill
by: Council of Canadians | Press Release | May 1, 2014 ‘Frack Corp’ fracked Parliament Hill this morning using a 14-foot fracking rig spilling fracking wastewater in the process. The Council of Canadians, the organization behind the action, said it was to highlight the grave risks associated with fracking such as well leaks and wastewater spills.
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Will Today Be the Day You Die at Work?
Do you feel lucky, punk? Well… do you? Every day, four Canadians will die as a result of a workplace accident, injury or industrial disease. If you make it home from work today, you are one of the lucky ones. Statistically speaking, 1000 Canadian workers die annually as
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: New study reveals best and worst cities to be a woman in Canada
by: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives | Press Release | April 23, 2014 OTTAWA—A new study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) reveals the best and worst cities to be a woman in Canada. According to the study, Québec City is the best city to be a woman
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: What do we know about Bell’s Palsy?
Bell’s Palsy is one of those rare ailments, and one that annoys more than threatens, but can be difficult and socially awkward for sufferers. It’s also one that still baffles researchers as to its cause. And also for an effective treatment. According to facialpalsy.org, The name ‘Bell’s palsy’ comes from
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Canadian Police and Suicide Hotlines Violating Privacy
It’s mind boggling that Canadian police would think it’s justified in sharing mental health information with Homeland Insecurity in order to help the USA discriminate against people with mental illness. What in the heck made them think it’s okay? Are they crazy? People need to trust that they can reach
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: What Yoko Ono Knows About Fracking
Today we are fresh off the tar soaked heels of Enbridge’s lie and spin machine in Kitimat, leading to a vote AGAINST their toxic future. In Kitimat, in a non-binding plebiscite, the people of Kitimat, but not the first peoples who live outside the town boundary, voted about 60-40 to
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Xenophobics out to get Chinese-language Acupuncturists AKA Idiots volunteering to be discriminatory, racist idiots
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine that Canadians have the PRIVILEGE of using as an alternative medicine. But some idiots who VOLUNTEER to see an acupuncturist wants to enforce […]
Continue readingThings Are Good: Overwhelming Proof You Can’t Eat Enough Fruit and Vegetables
We all know that fruits and vegetables are good for us – but did you know that at any age you can reduce your risk of death by 42%? According to some fresh research eating seven portions of fruit or veggies per day can provide massive health benefits, indeed with
Continue readingThings Are Good: Eat Less Meat and Save More Wildlife
Just reducing the amount of meat one has in their diet can have a positive impact on our food system, the planet, and wildlife. Take Extinction Off Your Plate is a campaign to get people not to be vegetarian, just to get people to reduce their meat intake. Producing meat
Continue readingThings Are Good: Smart People Trust Others
Oxford University researchers have concluded that the more intelligent a person is the more likely they are to trust other people. This is assumed to be the case because smarter people have a better at determining what sort of people they want to be around and self-select to be around
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Don’t Tolerate Ignorance About the Minimum Wage
Now, stop tolerating ignorance! And smile, TGIF. Hello. It’s Friday. For many people it’s TGIF. But for many people who aren’t even teenagers, the work week isn’t ending today. We often THINK minimum wage is for the new entries to the job market. Maybe it was one day. Maybe just
Continue readingThings Are Good: New Research: Brains Do Heal Themselves
After a traumatic brain injury, it sometimes happens that the brain can repair itself, building new brain cells to replace damaged ones. But the repair doesn’t happen quickly enough to allow recovery from degenerative conditions like motor neuron disease (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease or ALS). Siddharthan Chandran walks
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: How the Conservative Government Dishonours the Military
So Canada is leaving its occupation of Afghanistan. I never liked the mission. I never liked the context. I never liked the propaganda. I never liked the transformation of some kind of Canada into this occupying Canada. 162 killed and 2,179 wounded? But here’s the very very hard question. Who
Continue readingThings Are Good: Decrease Blood Pressure By Simply Changing Your Diet
I love knowledge and it’s exciting that a meta-analysis in JAMA Internal Medicine has concluded that a vegetarian diet is perfect for decreasing blood pressure!Meta-analysis of research data is the assessment of a multiple research papers related to the same issue and sometimes the meta-analysis can disprove existing assumptions, in
Continue readingThings Are Good: Play a Game and Help Cure Cancer
This month Cancer Research UK released a game that helped scientists find a cure for cancer. It takes the obscure data that needs to be analyzed and translates that into a fun little game which can be played on Android or Apple devices. The aggregate data of players help scientists
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Why Does Canada Participate in the Olympics Anyway
I took this screenshot (CBC website) of the standings yesterday showing Germany in first place with 8 medals, Canada second with 10 medals and Norway in third place with 12 medals. Yes, that’s right, because only being the very best in the world (well best at that particular place at
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Why Does Canada Participate in the Olympics Anyway
I took this screenshot (CBC website) of the standings yesterday showing Germany in first place with 8 medals, Canada second with 10 medals and Norway in third place with 12 medals.
Yes, that’s right, because only being the very best in the world (we…
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Why Does Canada Participate in the Olympics Anyway
I took this screenshot (CBC website) of the standings yesterday showing Germany in first place with 8 medals, Canada second with 10 medals and Norway in third place with 12 medals. Yes, that’s right, because only being the very best in the world (well best at that particular place at
Continue readingTrashy's World: Ten years and counting…
It’s an important anniversary for me today – on February 4, 2004, I smoked my last cigarette. And that was one of the best decisions of my life. It was very difficult. But I did it. And I haven’t become one of those rabid anti-smokers; even though I now find
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