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Politics Today April 7, 2013

 

On this edition of "Politics Today" RCI's Wojtek Gwiazda focussed on the visit of Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird to the Middle East, including the opening of a new diplomatic mission in Iraq.

He reports on the new official handbook for immigrants 'Welcome to Canada' unveiled by Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

And he has a look-ahead at next weekend's convention to elect the leader of the opposition Liberal Party of Canada.

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Arts-Culture #41 (Sun Apr 07, 2013) Alberta illustrator Karon Argue

(CBC)
Karon Argue in her studio

Karon Argue lives in High River, in the western prairie province of Alberta.

She says she’s been drawing ever since she can remember, and as a graphic artist and illustrator,  always has a pencil in hand and images in her mind. 

She is known primarily now as an illustrator of children’s books, but unlike many artists who draw simple images for childrens books, her work although light and whimsical, is also highly detailed. Karon says that’s become a bit of a trademark.

www.karonargue.com
oneeyedart.blogspot.ca

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Many Canadians risk high blood pressure

(Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)
An estimated 7.3 million Canadians suffer from hypertension, an 26% increase over five years.

Calling it a coming tsunami, Hypertension Canada says up to half of Canadian baby boomers have high blood pressure or will develop it within the next few years. The boomers are that very large group of people born during and after World War II who are reaching an age where hypertension increases.

Beyond their age, their lifestyle increases their risk for hypertension. They tend to not get enough exercise, gain weight and, in the view of Dr. Ross Feldman, past president of Hypertension Canada, they are “being held hostage” to the food industry which adds too much salt to its products.

High blood pressure can damage the blood vessels and is a leading contributor to heart and kidney disease as well as stroke. Particularly at risk for high blood pressure are aboriginal people and Canadians of South East Asian or Black ancestry.

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Building design influences recycling behaviour, UBC study

(CBC)
A UBC study shows that people recycle better in a green building.

A recent study conducted in two very different cafeterias at the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus shows that people are more likely to be environmentally responsible in a "green building".

A group of UBC psychology researchers examined the recycling behaviour of a broad range of students in the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS), a so-called "living laboratory" for sustainability research, and the Student Union Building (SUB), a bunker-like structure from the late 1960s.

In the SUB, 58% of patrons correctly disposed of their trash. At CIRS, the rate was significantly higher, 86%.

“We concluded that being in an environmentally sustainable building can lead to more environmentally sustainable behaviour”, says David Wu, research assistant at the UBC Brain and Attention Research Lab and the study co-author.