Gary Lunn is currently testifying before the Standing Committee on Natural Resources about why he has taken such a personal interest in crucifying Linda Keen for doing her job.
David McGuinty just finished a blistering attack on Lunn, Harper, and the Conservatives' systematic efforts since coming to power to rid themselves of every senior bureaucrat in Ottawa who wasn't appointed by Harper. Ooh, snap!
And apparently Bradley Trost (CON) has the same speech impediment as Dubya when it comes to pronouncing 'nu-cu-ler'.
Sigh. I know what I'm going to be doing for the rest of the day.
While I monitor the proceedings, here's a bit of light reading for you, starting with my three previous posts on the situation:
Nah... it'll be fine. Really.
Chalk River Timeline
Chalk River: It's All Becoming Clear
Here's the article on Linda Keen's firing last night, and here's Garth Turner's take on it all.
Later!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Monkey See, Flaherty Do
Apparently it isn't just all other countries that need to be on board before the Conservatives will do anything about global warming. The same theory now applies to provinces as well:
Wait, wait… this sounds strangely familiar. Where have I heard this before? Oh, yeah…
Apparently the Bush-appointed head of the EPA reached his decision, which went against the wishes and advise of his staff, soon after Dick Cheney met with auto industry executives who presented him with a letter explaining why it would be wrong to allow individual states to set greenhouse gas emission standards on their cars.
I'm guessing all it took for Flaherty to reach the same conclusion was a quick peek across the border to see what the Americans were doing. And then copy down that whole 'patchwork' thing. 'Cause that sounded pretty good.
And by the way, isn't Jim Flaherty the Finance Minister?!? Shouldn't the Minister of the Environment be dealing with this? Or Industry? Or Intergovernmental Affairs? Or... well, anybody else?
(H/T to 'Pyotr Petrobitch', a fellow commenter over at
Garth Turner's Political Mayhem)
Canada needs common greenhouse gas regulations, not patchwork, Flaherty says
January 14, 2008
VANCOUVER - A patchwork of carbon taxes and greenhouse gas rules across the country isn't a good solution to Canada's environmental woes, the federal finance minister says.
Jim Flaherty said Monday the country needs to work toward a common set of regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
…Quebec became the first jurisdiction in Canada to put in place a green tax on carbon fuels in its last budget, to help finance the province's plan to reduce greenhouse gases, something that Flaherty has criticized.
The plan was created to help Quebec reach its Kyoto protocol targets, which is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2012.
Wait, wait… this sounds strangely familiar. Where have I heard this before? Oh, yeah…
Friday, Dec. 21, 2007
The EPA on Wednesday denied California's attempt to place first-ever U.S. limits on automobile emissions of heat-trapping gases, which account for about 30 percent of the U.S. total.
The EPA said an energy bill signed into law this week by President George W. Bush means no further action is needed to cut carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles.
The EPA, charged with making the decision, said the law to raise automobile fuel standards by 40 percent by 2020 was a "better approach" than a "patchwork" of state rules.
Apparently the Bush-appointed head of the EPA reached his decision, which went against the wishes and advise of his staff, soon after Dick Cheney met with auto industry executives who presented him with a letter explaining why it would be wrong to allow individual states to set greenhouse gas emission standards on their cars.
I'm guessing all it took for Flaherty to reach the same conclusion was a quick peek across the border to see what the Americans were doing. And then copy down that whole 'patchwork' thing. 'Cause that sounded pretty good.
And by the way, isn't Jim Flaherty the Finance Minister?!? Shouldn't the Minister of the Environment be dealing with this? Or Industry? Or Intergovernmental Affairs? Or... well, anybody else?
(H/T to 'Pyotr Petrobitch', a fellow commenter over at
Garth Turner's Political Mayhem)
Thursday, January 10, 2008
2007 Detritus, Part 2
Apparently a number of the major newspapers spent the holidays putting their 2007 articles behind firewalls, so there are a number of items in my file that I just can't get at anymore. Here's what I could salvage:
February 20th - Milton Crosswalks
One item that passed pretty much unnoticed this spring was a decision by Milton Town Council to do away with all but one pedestrian crosswalk in town.
The line that made my jaw drop was this one:
I see. So, our Lord High Mayor figures the best way to decrease pollution is to discourage pedestrians.
I actually took the trouble to check the original committee report, and my reading of it is that they recommended looking into replacing the yellow light, push button crosswalks with pedestrian activated red lights. But that would involve spending money. More than the $150,000 they spent ripping out the existing crosswalks, that is.
September 22nd - Tom Flannagan
This was the day that Harper's Brain finally stepped out from the shadows and shared with us all his Ten Commandments of Conservative Campaigning. I especially liked Number 4:
And lo, we were nauseated.
October 5th - The One Cent Solution
Intellectual property gone mad:
October - Random Thoughts on Food
I live in Ontario, and the other day I noticed that the Loblaw's Supercentre had garlic from China, and onions from Peru. Peru! I know it's been a terribly dry summer here, but the local and organic growers at the weekly Milton Farmer's Market didn't seem to have any trouble stocking local garlic and onions.
The fact that it's apparently still cheaper for Loblaw's to ship produce from half way around the world than pay local farmers a decent price just serves to illustrate how exploitive agribusiness is in the developing world.
Unfortunately I don't live in BC, so my options for fresh local produce are about to narrow to nearly zero. I am seriously considering building a greenhouse.
(and on that note, here's a link to the Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry from March talking about big agribusiness and rural poverty in Alberta.)
October 15th - Health Care Myths Debunked
Here's a link to a point by point evisceration of a fake email making the rounds that purported to be from a Canadian complaining about our health care.
Great for those parties where you find yourself in a screaming argument with one of those Americans who still thinks public health care is a Communist plot.
October 26th - Rick Salutin Is My Home Boy
More pearls from the far left office at the Globe & Mail, this time on the rising dollar and the retailization of Canada. A taste:
Seriously, how is it this guy works for the GLOBE?!
November - Random Thoughts on History
I have become convinced that there is no such thing as a definitive history of the world, or even of a particular period or event. Every historian, no matter how objective they may, will always have a particular point of view. No one can simultaneously encompass all the sociological, economic, political, religious and other causes and effects that weave together to represent a single event or sequence of events.
That’s not a bad thing.
December 11th - Why So Many Poor People Are Obese
Admit it - you've wondered.
This article in Newsweek entitled "Living in Junk Food Country" provides an illuminating analysis that brings into focus a whole host of problems including urban sprawl, corporate hegemony, and the psychological effects of 'food insecurity'.
And what was that I was saying about the grocery store situation in Milton?
December 22nd - Food Banks in Crisis
I found this post in DailyKos particularly disturbing. Apparently food banks in the U.S. have experienced a 50% - 100% increase in demand over the past year. The author quotes articles from over a dozen cities from Georgia to Connecticut describing the same situation, then offers this:
I think the theme for this year's blogging might just be... food.
February 20th - Milton Crosswalks
One item that passed pretty much unnoticed this spring was a decision by Milton Town Council to do away with all but one pedestrian crosswalk in town.
The line that made my jaw drop was this one:
Mayor Gord Krantz voiced support for removing the crossovers, noting every time traffic has to stop it creates gridlock and pollution.
I see. So, our Lord High Mayor figures the best way to decrease pollution is to discourage pedestrians.
I actually took the trouble to check the original committee report, and my reading of it is that they recommended looking into replacing the yellow light, push button crosswalks with pedestrian activated red lights. But that would involve spending money. More than the $150,000 they spent ripping out the existing crosswalks, that is.
September 22nd - Tom Flannagan
This was the day that Harper's Brain finally stepped out from the shadows and shared with us all his Ten Commandments of Conservative Campaigning. I especially liked Number 4:
4. Incrementalism
Conservatives must be willing to make progress in small, practical steps. Sweeping visions have a place in intellectual discussion, but they are toxic in practical politics.
Incrementalism is the twin of moderation. Small conservative reforms are less likely to scare voters than grand conservative schemes, particularly in Canada, where conservatism is not yet the dominant public philosophy. In any case, incrementalism is intrinsically the right approach for a conservative party.
And lo, we were nauseated.
October 5th - The One Cent Solution
Intellectual property gone mad:
Mint wants $48,000 for use of penny picThe City of Toronto says the Royal Canadian Mint wants almost $48,000 in compensation after the city used the image of a penny in a prominent ad campaign, without proper authorization.
The ads, seen throughout the city in bus shelters and TTC vehicles as well as on buttons and bumper stickers, feature a blown-up picture of the penny. The ads are part of Mayor David Miller's push for one out of every six cents of GST revenue to be returned to the municipality where it was collected.
October - Random Thoughts on Food
I live in Ontario, and the other day I noticed that the Loblaw's Supercentre had garlic from China, and onions from Peru. Peru! I know it's been a terribly dry summer here, but the local and organic growers at the weekly Milton Farmer's Market didn't seem to have any trouble stocking local garlic and onions.
The fact that it's apparently still cheaper for Loblaw's to ship produce from half way around the world than pay local farmers a decent price just serves to illustrate how exploitive agribusiness is in the developing world.
Unfortunately I don't live in BC, so my options for fresh local produce are about to narrow to nearly zero. I am seriously considering building a greenhouse.
(and on that note, here's a link to the Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry from March talking about big agribusiness and rural poverty in Alberta.)
October 15th - Health Care Myths Debunked
Here's a link to a point by point evisceration of a fake email making the rounds that purported to be from a Canadian complaining about our health care.
Great for those parties where you find yourself in a screaming argument with one of those Americans who still thinks public health care is a Communist plot.
October 26th - Rick Salutin Is My Home Boy
More pearls from the far left office at the Globe & Mail, this time on the rising dollar and the retailization of Canada. A taste:
Peter Mansbridge furrows his brow but doesn't wonder why a country without workers who make anything has to pay higher markups on iPods than America does. We're on the way back to producing only what we always did: unprocessed resources like oil, wheat and wood. But the knowledge purveyors prefer to focus on the cost of Levis, obscuring rather than exploring any connection between making and buying.
What will an all-retail economy look like, when that day arrives? My stretch of College Street in Toronto is pretty much restaurants and cafés, rarely broken by even a futon store or 7-Eleven. Can a society survive by serving each other lattes?
Seriously, how is it this guy works for the GLOBE?!
November - Random Thoughts on History
I have become convinced that there is no such thing as a definitive history of the world, or even of a particular period or event. Every historian, no matter how objective they may, will always have a particular point of view. No one can simultaneously encompass all the sociological, economic, political, religious and other causes and effects that weave together to represent a single event or sequence of events.
That’s not a bad thing.
December 11th - Why So Many Poor People Are Obese
Admit it - you've wondered.
This article in Newsweek entitled "Living in Junk Food Country" provides an illuminating analysis that brings into focus a whole host of problems including urban sprawl, corporate hegemony, and the psychological effects of 'food insecurity'.
And what was that I was saying about the grocery store situation in Milton?
December 22nd - Food Banks in Crisis
I found this post in DailyKos particularly disturbing. Apparently food banks in the U.S. have experienced a 50% - 100% increase in demand over the past year. The author quotes articles from over a dozen cities from Georgia to Connecticut describing the same situation, then offers this:
Hunger relief organizations are reporting that a "perfect storm" of circumstances is keeping them from meeting demand for food ... at the same time demand is surging.
The perfect storm?
Rising food prices.
Rising fuel prices.
Unemployment.
Underemployment.
Stagnant and declining wages.
Funny, that.
Meanwhile ...
Economic reporting on cable news mostly consists of scantily clad damsels screaming from the floor of the New York stock exchange about how "valuations remain strong," followed by news anchors with empty expressions on their faces, asking, "Why don't Americans understand how good this economy is for them?"
I think that we are all getting the idea that something has gone wrong here. What kind of country can't afford to feed its own citizens? A failed country. And what if that country is one of the richest in the world?
I think the theme for this year's blogging might just be... food.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Runesmith's Top Ten
Everyone has a Top Ten list for the new year, but I thought I'd do something a little different.
I've been working part time at a very cool, charmingly scummy, independent video store for almost a year now. I won't say which one, but it's one of those places that still has an 'Adult' room and still has old VHS copies of 'They Live' and 'Singing In the Rain' for rent. I like it a lot. I make a bit of extra money, I get movies cheap (but not free), and I get to watch and talk about movies all night.
Still, it's not all rosy. So here's my
I've been working part time at a very cool, charmingly scummy, independent video store for almost a year now. I won't say which one, but it's one of those places that still has an 'Adult' room and still has old VHS copies of 'They Live' and 'Singing In the Rain' for rent. I like it a lot. I make a bit of extra money, I get movies cheap (but not free), and I get to watch and talk about movies all night.
Still, it's not all rosy. So here's my
Top Ten Pet Peeves About Working at the Video Store:
10) People who will refuse to watch a movie if they know it’s Canadian.
9) People who think that you can only watch the Wide Screen version on a Wide Screen TV.
8) People who, even after you explain the whole Wide Screen / Full Screen thing to them, still prefer to have large chunks cut off the sides of their movie rather than tolerate two barely noticeable black bars top and bottom.
7) People who complain about late charges. My explanation is always the same - that every night they keep the movie is a night when we are losing money by not renting it to someone else. That, and the fact that our prices are about half of what the major chains charge. But still they complain.
6) The dozen or so people who rented 'Pan’s Labyrinth' and then brought it back asking for a refund because it was in SPANISH.
5) The guy who comes in every week to rent five or six of the cheapest, oldest movies we have, always complaining about something, always trying to get an even better deal than 3 for 6 bucks, refusing to pay his late charges because he doesn’t think he should have to being such a good customer and all - and then drives away in his shiny new BMW.
4) People who have obviously mistaken me for a family counsellor. Seriously, I’m not interested in why your movies are a month overdue because your rat bastard of an ex-husband is still using your account to rent movies for his new wife’s delinquent children who then loan them to their friends and never return them. Not. My. Problem.
3) The fact that we have to hand write the nightly deposit and cash count forms on paper recycled from old DVD covers because the boss is too cheap to spring for paper and printer toner - and yet we have a motion-sensitive garbage can that opens when you wave your hand at it.
2) Thinking I can get a head start on counting the till when some skeezy guy walks in ten minutes before closing and entrenches himself in the Porn Room.
And my number one pet peeve about working at the video store,
1) The 2-10 shift. I hate the 2-10 shift.
How I Discovered Ellen Page
(Edit - I just saw Juno last night. I'll be reviewing it later, but for now let me just say that everything everyone has been saying about this film is true. Go see it immediately. Tonight!)
(Oh, and the red hoodie's back...)
I watched Ellen Page being interviewed on Letterman last night. Despite being obviously nervous and Letterman trying to paint her as a rube from some minor burg in Outer Canuckistan called 'Halifax', she nonetheless KICKED ASS! Funny as hell, and totally held her own.
They didn't spend a lot of time talking about 'Juno' (which I fully intend to see this weekend), but it was immensely entertaining to watch as she educated Dave about the collapse of the Maritime fisheries, the beauty of Newfoundland and the Halifax Explosion of 1917. And all the while her little movie has moved up to number five at the box office, with Oscar buzz galore.
I'm proud as a peacock because I, in fact, discovered Ellen Page.
No, no on X-Men. And not in 'Hard Candy' either, although I remain one of about a dozen people who actually own the DVD of that brilliant little film. No, it was three years ago on 'ReGenesis' where I first spotted our little Ellen, stealing every scene as Lilith Sandstrom. I knew right then that girl was going somewhere.
Ok, so maybe there a few die hards in the Maritimes who saw her in 'Marion Bridge', but hey - they get everything first. Even the sunrise. Still, in a few months when she steps up to accept her Oscar for Best Actress and all of Canada cheers for Our Girl from Halifax, I can confidently say, "She's mine. I found her."
(just so you know, I also discovered Robin Williams)
I mentioned 'Juno' to a customer at the video store recently, and I got what has become an annoyingly familiar response:
"Oh, that's that CANADIAN movie, isn't it? EW! I can't STAND Canadian movies!"
I'm pretty sure this is what got me into my arrangement with Murray.
I pointed out that Juno's status as a 'Canadian' movie is technically dodgy (Canadian everything but U.S. money = ?), then asked him if he had seen 'Eastern Promises'. He said he had and he liked it, but insisted that it could not possibly be a Canadian movie - presumably because he liked it. I actually got into an argument with him over which movie was more technically 'Canadian' (on paper, 'Eastern Promises' wins because it's a co-pro).
I really must stop arguing with the customers at work.
All of which leads me to ask, what the fuck is with this visceral reaction people seem to have against Canadian movies? Honestly, I don't get it. I could understand maybe 20 or 30 years ago when most Canadian movies were obviously low budget and of questionable entertainment value unless you were a horror fan or spoke French. But now? When "indie films" are the big thing and all Canadian films are about as "indie" as you can get?
If all you like are big blockbusters with explosions and gunfire and Will Smith or Matt Damon, then fine. Go for it. But if you like smaller, quirky, and (Gods forgive me) character-driven films, then Canadian movies are made for you. This year alone, 'Away From Her', 'Fido', 'Eastern Promises', and yes, 'Juno' (despite the American backing) are all movies we can be proud of, and the latter two have actually been making serious money at the box office despite pathetic promotion and distribution.
I've gotten to the point where I don't dare mention that a movie is Canadian until the customer brings it back and says that they liked it. Then I get smug.
(Oh, and the red hoodie's back...)
I watched Ellen Page being interviewed on Letterman last night. Despite being obviously nervous and Letterman trying to paint her as a rube from some minor burg in Outer Canuckistan called 'Halifax', she nonetheless KICKED ASS! Funny as hell, and totally held her own.
They didn't spend a lot of time talking about 'Juno' (which I fully intend to see this weekend), but it was immensely entertaining to watch as she educated Dave about the collapse of the Maritime fisheries, the beauty of Newfoundland and the Halifax Explosion of 1917. And all the while her little movie has moved up to number five at the box office, with Oscar buzz galore.
I'm proud as a peacock because I, in fact, discovered Ellen Page.
No, no on X-Men. And not in 'Hard Candy' either, although I remain one of about a dozen people who actually own the DVD of that brilliant little film. No, it was three years ago on 'ReGenesis' where I first spotted our little Ellen, stealing every scene as Lilith Sandstrom. I knew right then that girl was going somewhere.
Ok, so maybe there a few die hards in the Maritimes who saw her in 'Marion Bridge', but hey - they get everything first. Even the sunrise. Still, in a few months when she steps up to accept her Oscar for Best Actress and all of Canada cheers for Our Girl from Halifax, I can confidently say, "She's mine. I found her."
(just so you know, I also discovered Robin Williams)
I mentioned 'Juno' to a customer at the video store recently, and I got what has become an annoyingly familiar response:
"Oh, that's that CANADIAN movie, isn't it? EW! I can't STAND Canadian movies!"
I'm pretty sure this is what got me into my arrangement with Murray.
I pointed out that Juno's status as a 'Canadian' movie is technically dodgy (Canadian everything but U.S. money = ?), then asked him if he had seen 'Eastern Promises'. He said he had and he liked it, but insisted that it could not possibly be a Canadian movie - presumably because he liked it. I actually got into an argument with him over which movie was more technically 'Canadian' (on paper, 'Eastern Promises' wins because it's a co-pro).
I really must stop arguing with the customers at work.
All of which leads me to ask, what the fuck is with this visceral reaction people seem to have against Canadian movies? Honestly, I don't get it. I could understand maybe 20 or 30 years ago when most Canadian movies were obviously low budget and of questionable entertainment value unless you were a horror fan or spoke French. But now? When "indie films" are the big thing and all Canadian films are about as "indie" as you can get?
If all you like are big blockbusters with explosions and gunfire and Will Smith or Matt Damon, then fine. Go for it. But if you like smaller, quirky, and (Gods forgive me) character-driven films, then Canadian movies are made for you. This year alone, 'Away From Her', 'Fido', 'Eastern Promises', and yes, 'Juno' (despite the American backing) are all movies we can be proud of, and the latter two have actually been making serious money at the box office despite pathetic promotion and distribution.
I've gotten to the point where I don't dare mention that a movie is Canadian until the customer brings it back and says that they liked it. Then I get smug.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Jack Bauer for President!
Ok, I'm bad. I watched 'Rescue Dawn' tonight instead of the New Hampshire Debates. Not that I don't care about what they're up to down there - I just couldn't take any more of the 24/7 sports desk-like election coverage.
To make up for my deficiencies as a political blogger, I thought I'd go through the transcript of the Democratic debate (I tried the video clips at ABC but the links are all broken). I didn't get very far before I ran across this, the second question of the evening:
And I'm thinking... what, are we writing an episode of '24' here?! Seriously, WTF kind of question is that?!?
My husband said that they should have asked, "What if aliens attacked and the Martians blew up the Empire State Building?"
I suggested that that was more of a Giuliani question.
Interestingly, the first question of the evening had to do with how they might go about REALLY pissing off the one Muslim country that actually has nuclear weapons, so maybe it's not such a bad question after all.
To make up for my deficiencies as a political blogger, I thought I'd go through the transcript of the Democratic debate (I tried the video clips at ABC but the links are all broken). I didn't get very far before I ran across this, the second question of the evening:
MR. GIBSON: I want to get to another question, and it really is the central one in my mind in nuclear terrorism. The next president of the United States may have to deal with a nuclear attack on an American city. I've read a lot about this in recent days. The best nuclear experts in the world say there's a 30 percent chance in the next 10 years. Some estimates are higher: Graham Allison at Harvard says it's over 50 percent.
Senator Sam Nunn, in 2005, who knows a lot about this, posed two questions that stick in my mind, and I want to put them to you here. On the day after a nuclear weapon goes off in an American city, what would we wish we had done to prevent it? And what will we actually do on the day after?
Senator?
SEN. OBAMA: Well --
MR. EDWARDS: Well --
SEN. CLINTON: Well --
MR. EDWARDS: You're asking me?
MR. GIBSON: Yes.
And I'm thinking... what, are we writing an episode of '24' here?! Seriously, WTF kind of question is that?!?
My husband said that they should have asked, "What if aliens attacked and the Martians blew up the Empire State Building?"
I suggested that that was more of a Giuliani question.
Interestingly, the first question of the evening had to do with how they might go about REALLY pissing off the one Muslim country that actually has nuclear weapons, so maybe it's not such a bad question after all.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
2007 Detritus, Part 1
I have an open file on my computer called 'blogpost.doc'. It's like a notebook into which I paste links to articles and posts that catch my eye, sometimes adding a title or a few of my own thoughts as a preliminary step towards writing a blog post. Some of these evolve into actual posts, but sometimes they simply languish as the news marches on and other bloggers say whatever it was I wanted to say first, and better.
Or I just get lazy and forget about them.
I thought it might be interesting to browse through these abandoned links and share some of them with y'all. Sort of a combination year-end retrospective and writer's housecleaning. Enjoy!
April 21st: The Wall, Redux
From The Guardian:
May 3rd: It’s not easy being green
John Baird seems to be having a tough time finding anyone to support his new, ‘aggressive’ environmental plan. David Suzuki hates it, and finally caught up with Baird to tell him so in person, despite concerted efforts by the PMO to avoid that particular confrontation. Al Gore, obviously wary of having his words misconstrued again, called the plan "a complete and total fraud". Even economists who had once supported the Tories are now backing away from Baird’s plan, saying it’s too full of loopholes to actually have much of an effect and that his claim that Kyoto will cost billions and spark a recession is "an extremely simplistic calculation".
(Boris at The Galloping Beaver says it beautifully.)
And now they’re mocking the Environment Canada website.
April 26th: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad NEP?
A bit of perspective on that great western bugaboo: the National Energy Plan. An article by Gordon Laxer, and another on the Council of Canadians website.
May 14th: The Kyoto Implementation Bill Passes 3rd Reading
From the Ottawa Citizen:
(It passed, of course, and the Conservatives did... nothing. Let's see if it actually ends up in the courts this year.)
May 19th: Tony Rosato
As a long time SCTV fan, this story made me very, very sad:
More background on Rosato's story here.
June 5th: Big Brother Really Is Watching
A chilling little tale from south of the border.
June 28th: Harper Allows Armed U.S. Service Agents Into Canada
A nice op-ed by Thomas Walcom in The Star:
Ah, yes. More of those unimportant "regulatory changes" meant to harmonize our security with that of the U.S. Nothing to see here.
July 10th: China executes ex-food safety chief
Ahh... I got nuthin.
August 11th: What's a 'Blue Dog', Anyway?
An interesting analysis of the two wings of the Democratic Party, why some Democrats are trying to win by becoming more like Republicans, and why that is a monumentally BAD IDEA. Courtesy of the Daily Kos.
August 11th: Support Our Troops. Unless They're Gay.
Charming.
August 31st: About Those SPP Petitions...
It seems the raison d'être for the big March on Montebello wasn't quite as important to some of the organizers as one might have thought:
And so on. OOPS!
More miscellany later. Promise.
Or I just get lazy and forget about them.
I thought it might be interesting to browse through these abandoned links and share some of them with y'all. Sort of a combination year-end retrospective and writer's housecleaning. Enjoy!
April 21st: The Wall, Redux
From The Guardian:
Latest US solution to Iraq's civil war: a three-mile wall
The US military is building a three-mile concrete wall in the centre of Baghdad along the most murderous faultline between Sunni and Shia Muslims.
The wall, which recognizes the reality of the hardening sectarian divide in Baghdad, is a central part of George Bush's final push to pacify the capital. Work began on April 10 under cover of darkness and is due for completion by the end of the month.
The highly symbolic wall has evoked comparisons to the barriers dividing Protestants and Catholics in Belfast and Israelis and Palestinians along the length of the West Bank.
May 3rd: It’s not easy being green
John Baird seems to be having a tough time finding anyone to support his new, ‘aggressive’ environmental plan. David Suzuki hates it, and finally caught up with Baird to tell him so in person, despite concerted efforts by the PMO to avoid that particular confrontation. Al Gore, obviously wary of having his words misconstrued again, called the plan "a complete and total fraud". Even economists who had once supported the Tories are now backing away from Baird’s plan, saying it’s too full of loopholes to actually have much of an effect and that his claim that Kyoto will cost billions and spark a recession is "an extremely simplistic calculation".
(Boris at The Galloping Beaver says it beautifully.)
And now they’re mocking the Environment Canada website.
April 26th: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad NEP?
A bit of perspective on that great western bugaboo: the National Energy Plan. An article by Gordon Laxer, and another on the Council of Canadians website.
May 14th: The Kyoto Implementation Bill Passes 3rd Reading
From the Ottawa Citizen:
Forcing Ottawa's hand on Kyoto
...Bill C-288 could force the federal government to take action to meet its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.
The bill has had little media attention, but legal experts say it actually has the power to force the Conservative government to meet Kyoto targets, something the Harper government has repeatedly said it cannot and will not do.
"This is the one thing that the Conservatives can't circumvent," said Lalonde, a translator from Notre Dame de Grace who launched the petition campaign last week on his EcoContribution website. "Once it's law, it's law."
Bill C-288 would do two important things if it became law: It would force the government to publish a plan to meet its Kyoto targets within 60 days of its enactment, and to enact legislation within six months that would enable Canada to meet those targets.
(It passed, of course, and the Conservatives did... nothing. Let's see if it actually ends up in the courts this year.)
May 19th: Tony Rosato
As a long time SCTV fan, this story made me very, very sad:
Rosato a step closer to release
KINGSTON–Former television star Tony Rosato moved a step closer yesterday to getting out of the jail cell where he has been held without trial for the last two years.
Rosato, a one-time star of SCTV and Saturday Night Live, appeared in Superior Court – less than a week after his plight was reported in the Sunday Star – to make a bid for a bail review. His trial on charges of criminal harassment is set for November.
News of the comedian's plight shocked civil libertarians and his show business friends who say he should be held in a hospital until his trial.
More background on Rosato's story here.
June 5th: Big Brother Really Is Watching
A chilling little tale from south of the border.
June 28th: Harper Allows Armed U.S. Service Agents Into Canada
A nice op-ed by Thomas Walcom in The Star:
The federal government plans to give an unspecified number of American police agents carte blanche to carry guns in Canada. It insists that in the post-9/11 world it is just being sensible. It is not.
Few things are more crucial to a nation's sovereignty than its control over legalized violence. It is quite often lawful for the police to shoot you. It is almost never lawful for you to shoot the police. We accept that arrangement only because those who have been given this remarkable life and death authority are in some sense "ours" – they are responsible to governments that we elect.
Ottawa's plan would dramatically change this relationship. It would introduce a whole new array of armed peace officers into this country that are answerable to a foreign power.
Stephen Harper's government, which quietly published these proposed regulatory changes in its Canada Gazette last weekend, suggests the move is designed primarily to accommodate armed air marshals who routinely fly back and forth across the border. But it also says the arrangement would apply to other situations, including "various cross-border enforcement initiatives between Canada and the United States."
Ah, yes. More of those unimportant "regulatory changes" meant to harmonize our security with that of the U.S. Nothing to see here.
July 10th: China executes ex-food safety chief
China executed the former head of its food and drug watchdog on Tuesday for approving untested medicine in exchange for cash, the strongest signal yet from Beijing that it is serious about tackling its product safety crisis.
Ahh... I got nuthin.
August 11th: What's a 'Blue Dog', Anyway?
An interesting analysis of the two wings of the Democratic Party, why some Democrats are trying to win by becoming more like Republicans, and why that is a monumentally BAD IDEA. Courtesy of the Daily Kos.
August 11th: Support Our Troops. Unless They're Gay.
Church learns vet was gay, cancels memorial
ARLINGTON, Texas - A megachurch canceled a memorial service for a Navy veteran 24 hours before it was to start because the deceased was gay.
Officials at the nondenominational High Point Church knew that Cecil Howard Sinclair was gay when they offered to host his service, said his sister, Kathleen Wright. But after his obituary listed his life partner as one of his survivors, she said, it was called off.
Charming.
August 31st: About Those SPP Petitions...
It seems the raison d'être for the big March on Montebello wasn't quite as important to some of the organizers as one might have thought:
Letter to Council of Canadians
[Andrea from People's Global Action picked up the CoC's petitions at the anti-SPP demonstration and decided to make a few points while offering to deliver them.]
Dear Maude and Staff at the Council of Canadians,
I just wanted to write to let you know that the 10,000 petitions you delivered with great fanfare to the gates of the Chateau Montebello last week are safe. You know, the ones in the three clear plastic bins with the blue lids. The ones featured in that photo on your website (www.canadians.org).
You are probably frantic right now. You've likely been searching for them since you put them down in front of the line of riot police and retreated back to the family friendly zone when you finished your media scrum and speeches...
And so on. OOPS!
More miscellany later. Promise.
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