toxins
![Murray Dobbin](http://rabble.ca/sites/rabble/files/imagecache/thumbnail/category_pictures/murray dobbin.jpg "Murray Dobbin is a guest senior contributing editor for rabble.ca. Murray has been a journalist, broadcaster, author and social activist for 40 years. A board member and researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, he has written five studies for the centre including examinations of charter schools, and "Ten Tax Myths." Murray has been a columnist for the Financial Post and Winnipeg Free Press and contributes guest editorials to the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and other Canadian dailies. He writes a regular "State of the Nation" column for the on-line journal theTyee.ca which is published simultaneously on rabble.ca.
Murray has written five books, including critical profiles of Preston Manning, Kim Campbell and Paul Martin. His "The Myth of the Good Corporate Citizen" has been described as a citizens' guide to globalization. He has also prepared radio documentaries for the CBC Radio's Ideas series on subjects including taxes, human rights and the right-wing regime in New
Zealand.
A long time social activist Murray has been involved in many movements from the anti-nuclear movement, to the fights against so-called free trade and public private partnerships. He is the founder of Word Warriors, a project which co-ordinates letter-writing to the editorial pages of newspapers across Canada. He is a Senior Advisor to the Rideau Institute on International Affairs.")
Falling in love with a prostitute and safe sex toys
Dear Sasha,
I think I'm in love with an escort.
Yes, I am prone to blind, romantic flights of fancy, but she isn't the first escort I've seen, and I didn't feel like this the other times. I am depressed and heartbroken, wrestling with the fact that I met such an incredible person under such impossible circumstances.
Is there any hope of getting a "normal" date with an escort?
Frank
Seven killer chemicals
Slow Death By Rubber Duck
(Knopf Canada,
2009;
$32.00)
I have to admit: when I picked up Slow Death By Rubber Duck, the new offering by Canadian environmental activists, Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie, I was at once hopeful and sceptical that this book would stand out from the growing list of titles issuing dire warnings about the state of our health and planet Earth.
I love a good industry-bashing as much as the next person, but something I can't abide is holier-than-thou, statistically-saturated, fear-mongering warnings about the end of the world from earnest environmentalists. So, in cracking the spine to inhale that fresh-off-the-presses ink smell (should I worry about phthalates, lead or bromine?) I knew I was going to be a tough audience.
Ignatieff and asbestos
With the federal Liberals now semi-officially supporting the banning of Canadian asbestos exports, a political debate that has been suppressed for over 20 years is truly beginning.
So long as the Bloc, the Conservatives and the Liberals supported this lethal industry, it was as if there was no issue.
The Liberals have broken the silence. Good on them and on Michael Ignatieff.
Canada should call for a complete ban on asbestos right now
There is an intense battle going on in Canada and internationally over the continuing export of Canadian asbestos to developing countries. But most Canadians remain largely unaware of the battle and the high stakes involved. Included amongst those Canadians, apparently, was Michael Ignatieff. Speaking in Victoria, Mr. Ignatieff was asked whether he supported ending the export of asbestos. Admitting that he might be getting into trouble for his answer, the Liberal leader was nonetheless unequivocal in his common sense answer: "Our export of this dangerous product overseas has got to stop."