UPDATE APRIL 30 - LINK BYFIELD of the Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy says "Between Harper and Stelmach, We have been Sold Out on Climate Change.
UPDATE APRIL 28 - AL GORE SAYS HARPER GREEN PLAN IS A FRAUD INTENDED TO MISLEAD CANADIANS!
I was going to do a post today on who are we to believe on the environment. The mainline federal political parties all have some serious baggage but we need to think about the current changes we need to make to ensure our future as one of the survive species on this planet. Who in the current political culture is into that frame of mind? The Greens and Elizabeth May are for sure and Dion as a person is into this too obviously. I am not sure about Dion's party position though. Harper is not credible and Layton seems to be into the environment as a lever for policy influence more than an genuine engagement.
Instead of doing a post myself I ran across a really insightful and informative post on this topic. It comes from the blog Democratic Space. It is a worth a read.
The polls are showing we are so volatile as a public that they are useless in accurately predicting anything about our collective political future. In the meantime, without the silly seasons elections create, the conversations on climate change still have to happen. They have to happen in different context and the content has to change too. We have to engage more citizens and become broader and more inclusive and more informed on these issues.
Politics does not seem to be capable of ding this for us at this time. Too bad because all the decisions on these issues are going to be political at the end of the day.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Al Gore Sells Out in Calgary
UPDATE APRIL 28 - AL GORE SAYS HARPER'S NEW ENVIRONMENT POLICY IS A FRAUD! OUCH!!!!
Al Gore’s has just Blogged about his Oscar winning “slide show” presentation in Calgary this past week. Yes that is right Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth" was welcomed in Calgary, right in the darkest heart of “the most carbon intensive sources of energy yet produced.” His presentation sold out in 3 days…hardly a cold shoulder to his core message I would say.
Gore is an admitted sceptic about Alberta and our commitment to CO2 emission issues but he admits “In Alberta they have devoted a lot more attention and resource to developing technologies to capture and sequester carbon….” That observation is true and more good news on CO2 efforts in Alberta is coming.
I agree with Al Gore that the issues are serious and solutions have to be found immediately. I saw him present his "slide show" about a year ago in Quebec. He had a few facts wrong about the oil sands and we had a chance to correct his presentation. I was sceptical about him too at first but for the full 90 minutes he spoke he had me on the edge of my seat.
One thing for sure that comes through loud and clear from Gore's "Inconvenient Truth" is that our values and behaviours have to be revisited and revised but as he says, “…the conversation has been taken to a higher, more productive level.” Nowhere is that more true that amongst thoughtful Albertans. Nowhere else can this oil sands emission challenges and the energy and water use problems and reclamation responsibilities associated with oil sands extraction be solved than right here in Alberta.
Albertan know and accept this. Now we have to get government and politicians in particular, to get it. They have to actually start seeing the parade Albertan and other Canadians citizens have formed around ecological issues so they can start leading from the front and not just be watching from the sidewalk.
Al Gore’s has just Blogged about his Oscar winning “slide show” presentation in Calgary this past week. Yes that is right Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth" was welcomed in Calgary, right in the darkest heart of “the most carbon intensive sources of energy yet produced.” His presentation sold out in 3 days…hardly a cold shoulder to his core message I would say.
Gore is an admitted sceptic about Alberta and our commitment to CO2 emission issues but he admits “In Alberta they have devoted a lot more attention and resource to developing technologies to capture and sequester carbon….” That observation is true and more good news on CO2 efforts in Alberta is coming.
I agree with Al Gore that the issues are serious and solutions have to be found immediately. I saw him present his "slide show" about a year ago in Quebec. He had a few facts wrong about the oil sands and we had a chance to correct his presentation. I was sceptical about him too at first but for the full 90 minutes he spoke he had me on the edge of my seat.
One thing for sure that comes through loud and clear from Gore's "Inconvenient Truth" is that our values and behaviours have to be revisited and revised but as he says, “…the conversation has been taken to a higher, more productive level.” Nowhere is that more true that amongst thoughtful Albertans. Nowhere else can this oil sands emission challenges and the energy and water use problems and reclamation responsibilities associated with oil sands extraction be solved than right here in Alberta.
Albertan know and accept this. Now we have to get government and politicians in particular, to get it. They have to actually start seeing the parade Albertan and other Canadians citizens have formed around ecological issues so they can start leading from the front and not just be watching from the sidewalk.
McGovern Eviscerates Cheney
Tip of the hat of Ottawa Watch for the link to George McGovern and his great evisceration of Dick Cheney in the LA Times. A must read for any progressive thinker.
Speaking of progressives - I recommend you go to the link Canada 2020 on this Blog for some examples of quality insights and positive political thought that progressives are invovled in these days.
Speaking of progressives - I recommend you go to the link Canada 2020 on this Blog for some examples of quality insights and positive political thought that progressives are invovled in these days.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Harper and His Keystone Kons: Guaranteed Make You Laugh, Cry or Scream
Ok I can’t resist, given the performance of John Baird, posing as the bright light of the Keystone Conservatives yesterday. First he faxes his speech to the Opposition, then he does a photo op with a bunch of light bulbs and tries to diverts the attention from the insufficiently and uncertainty of his emissions policy. He still tries to compete today with O’Connor for attention, not to mention the ability to make it up on the fly.
The invitation to make changing light bulb jokes about the Keystone Kons performance is too much to resist. So here is one. How many of Harper’s Keystone Kons does it take to change a light bulb? None! They would rather stay in the dark.
I see the Keystone Kons believe outlawing the “old” bulb is apparently the equivalent of a save the world policy pronouncement. Since it will not come into effect until 2012 it breeds a potential and begs for a whole new genre of light bulb jokes. The Bairdisms is what they will be called. They will be based, not on how many it takes to change a light bulb, but how long will it take Baird to change one??? Apparently 5 years given his aggressive implementation plans. Yes sir that is a dramatic and decisive U-turn on enlightened environmental policy if ever there was one.
I can just hear the Jack Layton NDP minority government in 2012 chastising the Kons saying they had 5 years to change the lights (before they went out) and they “didn’t get it done.”
On a more serious note, I expect there is a feud that is now brewing between Stelmach of Alberta and Harper, of no fixed address, over who is going to determine environmental policy on climate change. It is a shared jurisdiction but my bets are on Ed not Steve. Alberta is light years ahead of the Feds on climate change, politically and policy-wise. I fully expect Alberta to take more effective and decisive initiatives, even with the interim intensity targets, as they occupy and dominate the climate change agenda and the emission regulation area.
Harper is sitting on a powder keg and giving of sparks in Alberta these days. He is just lucky we are such creatures of political habit out here. Expect Albertans of progressive beliefs and true conservative values to stay home and maybe even start voting Green in protest in the next election.
The invitation to make changing light bulb jokes about the Keystone Kons performance is too much to resist. So here is one. How many of Harper’s Keystone Kons does it take to change a light bulb? None! They would rather stay in the dark.
I see the Keystone Kons believe outlawing the “old” bulb is apparently the equivalent of a save the world policy pronouncement. Since it will not come into effect until 2012 it breeds a potential and begs for a whole new genre of light bulb jokes. The Bairdisms is what they will be called. They will be based, not on how many it takes to change a light bulb, but how long will it take Baird to change one??? Apparently 5 years given his aggressive implementation plans. Yes sir that is a dramatic and decisive U-turn on enlightened environmental policy if ever there was one.
I can just hear the Jack Layton NDP minority government in 2012 chastising the Kons saying they had 5 years to change the lights (before they went out) and they “didn’t get it done.”
On a more serious note, I expect there is a feud that is now brewing between Stelmach of Alberta and Harper, of no fixed address, over who is going to determine environmental policy on climate change. It is a shared jurisdiction but my bets are on Ed not Steve. Alberta is light years ahead of the Feds on climate change, politically and policy-wise. I fully expect Alberta to take more effective and decisive initiatives, even with the interim intensity targets, as they occupy and dominate the climate change agenda and the emission regulation area.
Harper is sitting on a powder keg and giving of sparks in Alberta these days. He is just lucky we are such creatures of political habit out here. Expect Albertans of progressive beliefs and true conservative values to stay home and maybe even start voting Green in protest in the next election.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Harper the Deceiver
Harper the Deceiver! - The “report on human rights performance (meaning abuses) in other countries does not exist”...and then all of a sudden - voila here it is with the truth blackened out. Doesn't that make you want to reminisce about the "good old days" of the Bush administration in justifying Guantanamo prisoners without charges and no access to counsel and the final admission about other secret CIA prisons around the globe? Yup, and we western democracies are supposed to be the good guys.
We need to thank someone somewhere in or around the government for leaking to the Globe and Mail the complete unedited and unabridged version of the officially non-existent human rights performance report. Actually that is too euphemistic a way to describe what the Harper Cons have done here. We should call the Harper Cons "released" version of the newly discovered report for what it really is THE OFFICIAL CENSORED VERSION OF THE FACTS."
Harper and Co. can bring shame on themselves and their party (think Anders' "unanimous nomination" in Calgary West that was recently overturned by the courts twice, as a place to start) and I really don't care too much. Bring my country in disrepute and expose our military to war crimes accusations and the consequences and I care. Do it with such reckless abandon and with such and irresponsible attitude and I care. I really care.
The most generous explanation for this breach of trust and inexcusable dishonesty is wilful blindness and that is not governing, never mind good governing. Shame on the Prime Minister and his "brain trust" of Day and O'Connor. Foreign Affairs Minister MacKay is just lucky he was in China for much of this...and out of the loop, as usual!
We citizens are now being seriously played for fools by our federal government on this and so many other issues right now. I am including the Liberal and Bloc phony motion yesterday to force a pullout of Afghanistan on a deadline that ignores the reality of that situation too. The situational ethics of the NDP in this issue that was used to justify them supporting the Cons on this motion was also astonishingly cute by a half. We are not fools. We can see what is going on with our governance. It has to stop.
Get off the artificial sort-game election path and start governing for the future with a longer term sense of the difficult and serious situations we face in this country. Where is the honest leadership that will be straight with us and who will rise to the occasion with intelligence and wisdom?
Recommend this Post to Progressive Bloggers
We need to thank someone somewhere in or around the government for leaking to the Globe and Mail the complete unedited and unabridged version of the officially non-existent human rights performance report. Actually that is too euphemistic a way to describe what the Harper Cons have done here. We should call the Harper Cons "released" version of the newly discovered report for what it really is THE OFFICIAL CENSORED VERSION OF THE FACTS."
Harper and Co. can bring shame on themselves and their party (think Anders' "unanimous nomination" in Calgary West that was recently overturned by the courts twice, as a place to start) and I really don't care too much. Bring my country in disrepute and expose our military to war crimes accusations and the consequences and I care. Do it with such reckless abandon and with such and irresponsible attitude and I care. I really care.
The most generous explanation for this breach of trust and inexcusable dishonesty is wilful blindness and that is not governing, never mind good governing. Shame on the Prime Minister and his "brain trust" of Day and O'Connor. Foreign Affairs Minister MacKay is just lucky he was in China for much of this...and out of the loop, as usual!
We citizens are now being seriously played for fools by our federal government on this and so many other issues right now. I am including the Liberal and Bloc phony motion yesterday to force a pullout of Afghanistan on a deadline that ignores the reality of that situation too. The situational ethics of the NDP in this issue that was used to justify them supporting the Cons on this motion was also astonishingly cute by a half. We are not fools. We can see what is going on with our governance. It has to stop.
Get off the artificial sort-game election path and start governing for the future with a longer term sense of the difficult and serious situations we face in this country. Where is the honest leadership that will be straight with us and who will rise to the occasion with intelligence and wisdom?
Recommend this Post to Progressive Bloggers
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