Canadian Social Research Newsletter
June 1, 2008

Welcome to the weekly Canadian Social Research Newsletter,
a listing of the new links added to the Canadian Social Research Links website in the past week.

The e-mail version of this week's issue of the newsletter is going out to 1887 subscribers.

Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to see some notes and a disclaimer.

IN THIS ISSUE:

Canadian content

1. What's new from the Income Security Advocacy Centre (Toronto):
--- Ending Poverty in Ontario: Building Capacity and Organizing for Change A Workshop for Engaging Low Income People - Spring 2008
--- Make your voice heard on Social Assistance - May 2008
--- Action Alert: Poverty Reduction Consultations - May 2008
--- Action Alert: Back-to-school and Winter Clothing allowances end in 2008 - May 2008
--- OW and ODSP Recipients Should File 2007 Tax Returns - April 2008
2.  Finance Ministers Discuss Progress in Implementing Advantage Canada (Social Research and Demonstration Corporation) - May 30
3. Learning What Works Newsletter - May 2008 issue (Social Research and Demonstration Corporation)
4. What's New from Statistics Canada:
--- Canadian economic accounts, first quarter 2008 and March 2008 - May 30
--- Canada's balance of international payments, first quarter 2008 - May 29
--- Payroll employment, earnings and hours, March 2008 - May 29
--- Health Indicators, 2008 - May 29
--- Participation and Activity Limitation Survey: Education experiences of children with disabilities, 2006 - May 27
--- Employment Insurance, March 2008 - May 27
5. Foundations for a Nation : Towards a Richer, Greener and Fairer Canada (Liberal Party of Canada) - May 28
6. Total government debt exceeds $2.4 trillion (Fraser Institute) - May 20
+ Debt Monster's Gonna Getcha!! (Marc Lee, Progressive Economics Forum Blog) - May 20
7. What's new from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (Toronto) - May 30

International content

8. Poverty Dispatch: U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs (Institute for Research on Poverty - University of Wisconsin-Madison)
9. Australian Policy Online Weekly Briefing - selected recent content
--- Database on immigrants in OECD countries - Posted 26-05-2008
--- Australia's strengths and challenges in responding to homelessness: An international comparison - Posted 23-05-2008
--- Which way home? A new approach to homelessness (Australia) - Posted 23-05-2008
10. CRINMAIL 986 (May 2008) - (Child Rights Information Network - CRIN)

Have a great week!

What's new from the
Income Security Advocacy Centre (Toronto):

Ending Poverty in Ontario:
Building Capacity and Organizing for Change
A Workshop for Engaging Low Income People (PDF - 980K, 116 pages)
Spring 2008
This manual has been developed to assist facilitators to hold community-based workshops with low income people and other community members active in ending poverty. The workshop is designed to encourage discussion about what is needed to end poverty in Ontario, and to identify actions that can be taken within your community. (...) Campaign 2000 and ISAC will be working with community partners to deliver these workshops in Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Owen Sound, Windsor, and Toronto, and will be producing a “Call to Action” report at the end of 2008 for government and the community.
NOTE : On the ISAC Resources page, you'll find links to the Word version of individual sections of the manual, along with over three dozen more Public Education Materials, Policy Papers and Legal Documents
Source:
A joint project of the Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC) and
Campaign 2000 (a cross-Canada public education movement to build Canadian awareness and support for the 1989 all-party House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000.)

Make your voice heard on Social Assistance (PDF - 36K, 2 pages)
- May 2008

Action Alert: Poverty Reduction Consultations (Word file - 60K, 3 pages)
- May 2008

Action Alert:
Back-to-school and Winter Clothing allowances end in 2008 (Word file - 49K, 2 pages)
- May 2008

OW and ODSP Recipients Should File 2007 Tax Returns (PDF - 32K, 1 page)
- April 2008

Source:
The Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC)
ISAC was established in 2001 by Legal Aid Ontario to serve low income Ontarians by conducting test case and Charter litigation relating to provincial and federal income security programs.. (...) ISAC's legal work takes place in the broader context of law reform, public legal education and community development.

Related links:

25-in-5: Network for Poverty Reduction
25-in-5: Network for Poverty Reduction is a multi-sectoral network comprised of more than 100 provincial and Toronto-based organizations and individuals working on eliminating poverty. We have organized ourselves around the call for a Poverty Reduction Plan with a goal to reduce poverty in Ontario by 25% in 5 years and 50% in 10 years.
Source:
Community Social Planning Council of Toronto

-----------------------

Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy (Government of Ontario)

Help Us Tackle Poverty
"Your answers to these questions will help us move forward with a plan that delivers more opportunities for success for Ontario families."
This link takes you to a six-question survey that you can complete and submit for consideration by the Ontario Government Committee that's working on the province's poverty reduction strategy.
PDF version of the questionnaire (24K, 2 pages) - download and complete the questionnaire, then send it in by mail [ Growing Stronger Together, Whitney Block, Room 4620, 99 Wellesley Street West, Toronto, ON - M7A 1A1 ] - or by fax (416-314-0367)

Email: growingstronger@ontario.ca
Telephone (Toll Free): 1-866-614-5953
TTY: 1-800-387-5559

- Go to the Ontario Municipal and Non-Governmental Sites (D-W) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk3.htm
- Go to the Anti-poverty Strategies and Campaigns page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm

Finance Ministers Discuss Progress in Implementing Advantage Canada
News Release
May 30, 2008
(...) Over the past two years, the Government has acted on Advantage Canada by:
* Reducing the federal debt by over $38 billion;
* Lowering taxes for Canadians in 2007–08 and the following five years by $200 billion;
* Cutting corporate income taxes so that Canada will have the lowest statutory tax rate in the Group of Seven (G7) by 2012 and the lowest overall tax rate on new business investment in the G7 by 2010;
* Restoring fiscal balance between the federal government and the provinces and territories;
* Enhancing infrastructure funding and placing it on a long-term footing with investments of $33 billion;
* Investing in education and training, including long-term support of post-secondary education and a modernized Canada Student Loans Program; and
* Streamlining Canada’s immigration system to better respond to the needs of the Canadian labour market.

Related link:

Advantage Canada
(...) Advantage Canada is a strategic, long-term economic plan designed to improve our country’s economic prosperity both today and in the future.
Executive Summary
Complete report:
HTML version - table of contents and links to each section of the report
PDF version (996K, 82 pages)

Source:
Department of Finance Canada

- Go to the Federal Government Department Links (Agriculture to Finance) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fedbkmrk.htm

New from the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation:

Learning What Works Newsletter - May 2008 issue
IN THIS ISSUE:
* New report shows communities can help improve local development and capacity
* Developing francophone children’s abilities: Child Care Pilot Project family workshops
* Transition to work for people facing multiple barriers
* Does increased contact with participants improve the ability of surveys to gather evidence?
* SRDC mourns the passing of Arthur Kroeger

[ Earlier issue of the newsletter : March 2008 ]

All SRDC Publications by theme

For more information about specific SRDC Projects :

* Child Care Pilot Project
* The Community Employment Innovation Project
* learn$ave
* Access to Post-secondary Education Pilot Projects
* The Self-Sufficiency Project
* The Earnings Supplement Project

Source:
Social Research and Demonstration Corporation
The Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC) is a not-for-profit organization, a registered charity, and a pioneer in the use of social experiments in Canada. SRDC’s two-part mission is to help policy-makers and practitioners identify social policies and programs that improve the well-being of all Canadians, with a special concern for the effects on the disadvantaged, and to raise the standards of evidence that are used in assessing social policies and programs.

- Go to the Social Research Organizations (II) in Canada page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/research2.htm

What's New from The Daily [Statistics Canada]:

May 30, 2008
Canadian economic accounts, first quarter 2008 and March 2008
Real gross domestic product edged down 0.1% in the first quarter of 2008, its first quarterly decline since the second quarter of 2003. The economy, which had started to lose momentum in the second half of 2007 as exports declined, stalled in the first quarter due to widespread cutbacks in manufacturing, most notably in motor vehicles. In addition, weather disruptions hampered economic activity in the quarter. Economic output contracted 0.2% in March. Final domestic demand advanced 0.6% in the quarter on the strength of consumer spending. Inventory accumulation eased considerably in the first quarter, after two quarters of large build-ups.

A more detailed analysis is available in Canadian Economic Accounts Quarterly Review.

May 29, 2008
Canada's balance of international payments, first quarter 2008
The current account surplus with the rest of the world (on a seasonally adjusted basis) increased sharply to $5.6 billion in the first quarter of 2008, led by higher prices for several exported commodities combined with a lower travel deficit. In the financial account, foreign direct investment flows into Canada slowed significantly from the acquisitions-driven pace of the previous quarter, while Canadian direct investment abroad continued to strengthen.

May 29, 2008
Payroll employment, earnings and hours, March 2008
The average weekly earnings of employees stood at $788.71 in March, up 0.3% from February. Compared with a year earlier, average weekly earnings were up 3.2%. In Canada's largest industrial sectors, earnings rose 4.3% in health and social assistance, 2.7% in retail trade, 2.6% in educational services, and 2.3% in manufacturing compared with a year earlier.

May 29, 2008
Health Indicators, 2008
The publication Health Indicators is a joint project between Statistics Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) that provides the latest information about the health system and the health of the population in Canada's health regions, provinces and territories. The Health Indicators 2008 print publication is available today and includes a selection of indicator data and presents analysis on hospitalization rates for ambulatory care sensitive conditions.

Complete report:

Health Indicators 2008
PDF version (2MB, 96 pages)
HTML version - table of contents and related products + link to full PDF version
[ News Release and Highlights - May 29 ]

Source:
Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)

May 27, 2008
Participation and Activity Limitation Survey: Education experiences of children with disabilities, 2006
More than 40% of Canadian children with disabilities aged 5 to 14 received some form of special education during the 2005/2006 school year, roughly the same proportion as reported in 2000/2001, according to a new report.

May 27, 2008
Employment Insurance, March 2008
An estimated 462,760 Canadians received regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits in March, up 9,870 from the previous month. The number of persons receiving regular EI benefits increased in eight provinces, with the largest advances in Saskatchewan (+6.7%) and Ontario (+3.8%). Regular benefit payments in March totalled $783.2 million.

- Go to the Federal Government Department Links (Fisheries and Oceans to Veterans Affairs) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fedbkmrk2.htm
- Go to the Health Links (Canada/International) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/health.htm

Liberals Hear of Conservative Neglect of Cities
Media Releases
May 28, 2008
OTTAWA - A discussion paper released by the Urban Communities Caucus calls on the federal government to sit down with Canada's mayors and provincial politicians to solve the complex issues facing Canadian cities, said Liberal Urban Communities Caucus Chair Senator Larry Campbell.

Complete report:

Foundations for a Nation : Towards a Richer,
Greener and Fairer Canada (PDF - 828K, 30 pages)
A Discussion Paper of the Liberal Urban Communities Caucus
May 2008

Source:
Liberal Urban Communities Caucus
[ Liberal Party of Canada ]

Related links:

Then and now - Liberal shout out on housing
May 28th, 2008
By Michael Shapcott
The Liberal caucus is once again thundering and shaking its collective fist at the Conservative government, as opposition parties are wont to do in our Parliamentary system of government. The release of the Liberal urban report, with a section on housing, earlier today raises two questions: What’s the difference between the Liberal outrage of 1990 and their outrage in 2008, and; what about the Conservatives – are the Harper Conservatives as bad for housing as the Mulroney Conservatives 18 years ago? (...) The New Democratic Party and the Parti Quebecois have been long-time and consistent advocates for increased investment and a new national housing strategy. Now, the Liberal Party has added its voice. Three of the four political parties in the Commons – a strong majority – are calling for housing action. All eyes are on the government of Stephen Harper.

National Housing Report Card 2008 (204K, 18 pages)
Feds, most provinces fail to meet their commitment
to increase affordable housing funding by $2 billion
February 2008
[Related links]
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ The Wellesley Institute ]

- Go to the Homelessness and Housing Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/homeless.htm

Total government debt exceeds $2.4 trillion; $150,211 for each Canadian taxpayer
News Release
May 20, 2008
VANCOUVER, BC— Each Canadian taxpayer owes $150,211 in federal, provincial, and local liabilities, according to a new study released today by independent research organization the Fraser Institute.

Complete report:

Canadian Government Debt 2008: A Guide
to the Indebtedness of Canada and the Provinces (PDF - 536K, 43 pages)
May 2008

Source:
The Fraser Institute

Counterpoint from a voice of reason*:

Tales from the Mouth of the Fraser: Unfounded Liabilities
Debt Monster's Gonna Getcha!!
By Marc Lee*, Progressive Economics Forum Blog
"(...) Total liabilities are estimated over 100 years. (...) What’s missing from their scary picture? The uncounted income we will have in the future. Even if one accepts that their calculations are useful on the expenditure side, they are meaningless without the context of projected future income. And we should expect income to grow – in absolute dollars, and in per capita real terms."
Source:
Progressive Economics Forum
The Progressive Economics Forum aims to promote the development of a progressive economics community in Canada. The PEF brings together over 125 progressive economists, working in universities, the labour movement, and activist research organizations.

* Blogger Marc Lee's is one of several "voices of reason" from the Progressive Economics Forum (PEF). I heartily recommend a visit to the PEF website and blog for a strictly non-corporate interpretation of Canada's economic and social policies. I particularly enjoy it when PEF economists offer reality checks as common-sense counterpoints to the slanted studies of the Fraser Institute...
Good on you, Marc and PEF!!

- Go to the Social Research Organizations (II) in Canada page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/research2.htm

What's new from the
Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) :

May 30, 2008

Investing in childhood education and care: Questions for Martha Friendly 30 May 08 - Article from the Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy covering an interview with Martha Friendly on early learning and child care in Saskatchewan.

Outcomes of early childhood education: Literature review 30 May 08 - Literature review commissioned by the New Zealand Ministry of Education examining the impact of early childhood education (ECE) for children and families.

The contribution of early childhood education to a sustainable society 30 May 08 - Publication from UNESCO explaining how to educate young children about preserving our planet and contributing to a society where values of human rights, peace and justice are upheld.

Statutory routes to workplace flexibility in cross-national perspective 30 May 08 - Report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research reviewing statutory employment laws aimed at workers’ flexibility in 21 high income countries.

It’s about ability 30 May 08 - Book from UNICEF and the Victor Pineda Foundation explaining the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for children.

more WHAT'S NEW ONLINE »

child care in the news

· Childcare plan ‘failing to attract parents’ [UK]
30 May 08

· 500 new daycare spaces not enough, Saskatchewan minister admits [ON-SK]
29 May 08

· Full day junior kindergarten programming studied [CA-ON]
28 May 08

· Lack of staff plagues city preschools [VN]
27 May 08

· Rural preschools create a supportive environment for children in Niger [NE] 27 May 08

more CC IN THE NEWS »

Related Links:

Subscribe to the CRRU email announcements list
Sign up to receive email notices of updates and new postings on the CRRU website which will inform you of policy developments in early childhood care and education, new research and resources for policy, newly released CRRU publications, and upcoming events of interest to the child care and broader community.

Links to child care sites in Canada and elsewhere
CRRU Publications - briefing notes, factsheets, occasional papers and other publications
ISSUE files - theme pages, each filled with contextual information and links to further info

Source:
Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU)

- Go to the Non-Governmental Early Learning and Child Care Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ecd2.htm

Poverty Dispatch (U.S). ===> the content of this link changes twice a week
IRP compiles and distributes Poverty Dispatches twice a week. Each issue of the dispatch provides links to U.S. web-based news items dealing with topics such as poverty, welfare reform, child welfare, education, health, hunger, Medicare and Medicaid, etc.
Each Dispatch lists links to current news in popular print media.

Latest issue of the Poverty Dispatch:

May 29, 2008
* Rising Prices and Increased Use of Assistance Programs
* Anti-poverty Task Force - Ohio
* Poverty Rates Among American Indians - Minnesota
* State Cuts to Social Services - California, New Jersey
* Medicaid and Prenatal Care - Indiana
* Healthy Indiana Plan
* Medicaid and Emergency Room Visits - Oklahoma
* Unemployment Benefits - Mississippi
* Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative - Indianapolis, IN
* Child Support Enforcement and Employment - Kentucky
* Minority Foster Children and Adoption
* Report: States and Children's Health Care
* Child Care Subsidies - Philadelphia, PA
* Homelessness and Housing First
* Survey of the Homeless in New Orleans, LA
* Opinions: Welfare Reform and Self-Sufficiency
* Public Boarding Schools - Chicago, Baltimore
* Charities and Tax Exemptions
* Payday Lending - Illinois

Past Poverty Dispatches
- links to two dispatches a week back to June 2006

Search Poverty Dispatches

If you wish to receive Poverty Dispatches by e-mail,
please send a request to rsnell@ssc.wisc.edu

Source:
Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP)
[ University of Wisconsin-Madison ]

- Go to the Links to American Government Social Research page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (A-J) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us2.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (M-Z) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us3.htm

APO Weekly Briefing ===> the content of this link changes each week
The content of this page changes each week, and it includes links to a few book/report reviews, about two dozen new reports, a few job ads and 60 events (mostly conferences) of interest to social researchers...
Source:
Australian Policy Online (APO) - home page
With nearly 120 member centres and institutes, Australian Policy Online offers easy access to much of the best Australian social, economic, cultural and political research available online.
NOTE: the APO home page includes links to the five most popular reports on the APO website, and this list is updated each week.
TOP FIVE for the week of 22 - 28 May 2008:
1. The Coalition's expensive Christmas Island legacy
2. Treasury is a good starting point for a tax overhaul
3. Youth participation and social inclusion: a new policy agenda?
4. Budget 2008: No miracle yet, but mood starts to change in health
5. Canada sets a "radical" example on campaign funding
[Click the home page link above to access any of the top five file downloads.]

Recent APO content:

Database on immigrants in OECD countries
Posted 26-05-2008
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
This new database provides comprehensive and comparative information on a broad range of demographic and labour market characteristics of immigrants living in OECD countries.

Australia's strengths and challenges in responding to homelessness: An international comparison
Posted 23-05-2008
David Wright-Howie
Council to Homeless Persons
This paper argues that whilst homelessness in Australia is substantial and needs attention, we are well placed, compared to other Western countries, to develop a comprehensive national plan to prevent and reduce homelessness.

Which way home? A new approach to homelessness (Australia)
Posted 23-05-2008
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
This green paper is the first step in developing a new national approach to homelessness. It seeks to promote public discussion of homelessness, highlight the challenges faced by people who are homeless, and suggest ways forward.

APO Archive
The APO archive is grouped into 23 subject areas, with entries appearing in reverse chronological order.
* Ageing *Asia and the pacific * Citizenship and the law * Disability * Economics and trade * Education * Employment and workplace relations * The environment * Foreign policy and defence * Gender and sexuality * Health * Housing * Families and households * Immigration and refugees * Income, poverty and wealth * Indigenous * Media, communications and cultural policy * Politics and government * Population, multiculturalism and ethnicity * Religion and faith * Rural and regional * Science and technology * Social policy * Urban and regional planning * Youth

- Go to the Social Research Links in Other Countries (Non-Government) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/internatngo.htm

From the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN):

29 May 2008 - CRINMAIL 986
* GLOBAL: No One to Turn To: The under-reporting of child sexual exploitation and abuse by aid workers and peacekeepers [publication]
* HIV and AIDS: Tell Me More! Children's rights and sexuality in the context of HIV and AIDS in Africa [publication]
* GLOBAL: Amnesty International Report 2008: State of the World's Human Rights [publication]
* ARMED CONFLICT: Cluster bomb ban treaty approved [news]
* NIGERIA: Media Literacy: A Tool for Youth Empowerment, National Development and Democratic Engagement [event]
* EMPLOYMENT: War Child - Child-to-Child Trust
* **FROM THE FRONTLINE** Bhuwan Ribhu [interview]

Earlier issues of CRINMAIL
- links to 300+ earlier weekly issues, many of which are special editions focusing on special themes, such as the 45th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Source:
CRINMAIL(incl. subscription info)
[ Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) ]

- Go to the Children's Rights Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chnrights.htm

Disclaimer/Privacy Statement

Both Canadian Social Research Links (the site) and this Canadian Social Research Newsletter belong solely to me, Gilles Séguin.

I am solely accountable for the choice of links presented therein and for the occasional editorial comment - it's my time, my home computer, my experience, my biases, my Rogers Internet account and my web hosting service.

I administer the mailing list and distribute the weekly newsletter using software on the web server of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
Thanks, CUPE!

If you wish to subscribe to the e-mail version of newsletter, go to the Canadian Social Research Newsletter Online Subscription page:
http://lists.cupe.ca/mailman/listinfo/csrl-news

You can unsubscribe by going to the same page or by sending me an e-mail message [ gilseg@rogers.com ]

------------------------

The e-mail version of this newsletter is available only in plain text (no graphics, no hyperlinks, no fancy bolding or italics, etc.) to avoid security problems with government departments, universities and other networks with firewalls. The text-only version is also friendlier for people using older or lower-end technology.

Privacy Policy:
The Canadian Social Research Newsletter mailing list is not used for any purpose except to distribute each weekly issue.
I promise not share any information on this list, nor to send you any junk mail.

Links presented in the Canadian Social Research Newsletter point to different views about social policy and social programs.
There are some that I don't agree with, so don't get on my case, eh...

To access earlier online HTML issues of the Canadian Social Research Newsletter, go to the Newsletter page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/news.htm

Please feel free to distribute this newsletter as widely as you wish, but please remember to mention Canadian Social Research Links when you do.

Cheers!
Gilles

E-MAIL:
gilseg@rogers.com

LET'S HAVE A GAS BOYCOTT, EH!

Price of gas gettin' to ya?
Wanna get back at the big gas companies?
Have you already received (along with a suggestion to forward to everyone in your Address book...) an email urging everyone to stop buying gas at one or two of the big stations (Esso and Shell are the usual targets), or - a plan that's even more brilliant in its naiveté - to NOT buy gas on a particular date. (Like your six-year-old child wouldn't say "But won't you need to buy gas tomorrow if you don't buy it today, Dad?")

FUGGEDABOUTIT.

According to Snopes Urban Legends, participating in a boycott of selected oil companies will NOT lower gasoline prices. That's because this type of scheme is "based on the misconception that an oil company's only outlet for gasoline is its own branded service stations. That isn't the case: gasoline is a fungible (transferable) commodity, so if one oil company's product isn't being bought up in one particular market or outlet, it will simply sell its output to (or through) other outlets."
Source:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/gasout.asp

And, just to cover all our bases and our hare-brained ideas, Snopes also debunks the notion of a GENERAL boycott of all gas stations on a specific day. Snopes says that this tactic simply makes for one slow day at the pumps followed by a busy day, as all the folks who waited an extra day will be forced to buy their gas anyway the day after the boycott.
Source:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/nogas.asp

Special note to anyone who occasionally forwards email
to people on their personal mailing lists:
If you receive anything by email that sounds a tad far-fetched, such as a plan to bring the gas industry to its knees, DO check Snopes before forwarding the thing to everyone on your mailing list.
Here's a link to the Snopes page showing the 25 most popular urban legends and cockamamie schemes that are making the rounds.

Go to the Snopes home page for a comprehensive list of what should be called "The Other Spam" - the urban legends, common fallacies, old wives' tales and strange news stories that naive (see how I avoid the term "gullible"?) people forward to everyone on their list without questioning the legitimacy of what they receive and pass on to their relatives and friends...

---------------------------------------------

Fuel-Sipping Myths Debunked: Mechanic's Diary
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/how_to/4264939.html?series=19

Final note: if you really don't like getting hosed at the pump, try public transit or a bicycle or  even walking,  wherever and whenever possible ...

***************************
And, in closing...
***************************

Stewardess Uniform Collection
http://www.uniformfreak.com/
Good - I was getting bored with my bicycle seat collection...