David Suzuki wonders why Canadian politicians are still contemplating spending billions on new tar sands pipelines after the recent Paris climate summit confirmed that “75 to 80 per cent of known fossil fuel deposits must be left in the ground.”
The po…
Month: January 2016
Susan on the Soapbox: Down for the count
Ms Soapbox went on a blitz trip to Vancouver Island. She got home late this afternoon and discovered that her brain is capable of nothing more taxing that deciding whether to watch Sherlock: The Abominable Bride or Miss Fisher’s Murder … Continue reading →
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: They did what?! Reaction to the NDP Royalty Review from across the political spectrum
Here is what energy industry executives, progressive advocates and opposition politicians had to say about the Royalty Review panel report released on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016: “Our new royalty framework recognizes the economic context of Alberta’s e…
Continue readingwmtc: dispatches from ola 2016, part 1: choosing to walk a path
I attended OLA* for only one day this year, partly because I’m already missing so much work for bargaining and other union business, and partly because one day is often enough. There’s a huge lineup of presentations, poster sessions, book signings, ven…
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Members of Canadian Anti-Muslim Groups Seem Immune to Irony
Incoherent, irrational, misdirected, anger.Back in November we wrote an article comparing the rhetoric found in contemporary anti-Muslim Facebook groups (focusing specifically on PEGIDA Canada) with that of the Nazi propaganda:Not long after the German…
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the invention of air by steven johnson
How do we know that the oxygen exists, and that oxygen is different from carbon dioxide? Well, we know it because we’ve been taught those facts. But how did that knowledge enter the scientific record? Air is invisible to our eyes. How did humans first …
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: This Does Not Sound Good
Given that the government of Justin Trudeau is in favour of trade deals such as the TPP, its approval seems a foregone conclusion, despite its many grave potential drawbacks:For a fuller discussion of the above graphic, please click here for both text …
Continue readingKersplebedeb | Kersplebedeb: The Maoist Enemy: China’s Challenge in 1960s East Germany
This article examines the challenge of Chinese communism in East Germany in the1960s. It shows how the Sino–Soviet Split and the Chinese Cultural Revolution endangered the public transcripts of East German state socialism by undermining its organizing metaphors and principles. Chinese cadres used their East Berlin embassy as a stage, showcase and megaphone for their dissenting vision of communism throughout the decade, winning some support from elderly communists, young anti-authoritarians and students from the Global South. Studying the East German campaign against what was known as ‘Mao Zedong Thought’ sheds light on the transnational traffic of actors and ideas within ………..READ MORE
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan assails Notley Government’s royalty ‘mistake’
PHOTOS: Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan. Below: Mr. McGowan with federal NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair; Calgary Sun columnist Rick Bell. Many progressive Albertans who were shocked and troubled by the Notley Government’s dramatic rever…
Continue readingThe Decarie Report: Jan. 30: It really doesn’t matter….
……who wins the U.S. party leaderships. It really doesn’t matter who wins the presidency. We should have learned that with Obama. I remember the enthusiasm for Obama at the time of his first run at the presidency. I remember the cheers when he sai…
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: CERCA Bridge and Log Removal Project
Video produced by Boon Collins and Thomas Shandel for the Cowichan Estuary Restoration and Conservation Association Thomas Shandel Moderator
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Energy East flap shows Quebec is still viewed with contempt by many in the rest of Canada
Image by Council of Canadians
I sometimes forget the degree to which a large part of English Canada despises Quebec. This week, the reminder was brutal.
Ever since the mayors of the Montreal region announced th…
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Environment Canada officers failed to uphold the law: report
Photo by Mazzali
The federal department that enforces Canada’s environmental laws is in such disarray that some officers say they have been ignoring infractions in order to keep in line with Ottawa’s “prio…
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: The Davos Blind Eye: How the Rich Eat the Poor and the World
Photo by Marcin Gabruk
The just-released Oxfam Davos report An Economy For the 1% which the mass media have ignored arrestingly shows that 62 individuals (388 in 2010) now own more wealth than 50 per cent of the…
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: As the World Burns
When you’re roaring toward the cliff edge does it really matter if it’s a jackboot or a Gucci loafer smashing the gas pedal into the floorboards? That’s kind of how I feel about the body politic in my country these days.Maybe the Gucci loafer isn’t the…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading.- The Guardian’s editorial board comments on the role public entrepreneurship should play in fostering economic development and avoiding bust cycles:The state’s only legitimate economic role is often seen as patc…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On delayed rectification
I’ll largely echo David Climenhaga’s take on Alberta’s oil and gas royalty review (PDF). But it’s well worth highlighting the difference between the two main interpretations of the review’s recommendations – and what they mean for future resource polic…
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The DWR Sunday Religious Disservice – Arguing With Ghosts
When arguing with religious, one runs into many interesting aspects of the human character. Close to the top of the list is Confirmation Bias – or the idea that we tend to cultivate and seek out views and standpoints that we agree, often at the expense of the truth of the matter. Qualia Soup illustrates […]
Continue readingMorton's Musings: Demeanour Evidence
R. v. Hemsworth, 2016 ONCA 85:Legal Principles [44] This court has repeatedly cautioned against giving undue weight to demeanour evidence because of its fallibility as a predictor of the accuracy of a witne…
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