Paused Gravity The silent accord Between the tidal bore and the falling backward Off the cliff The fire red maple leaf Giving up clinging to the twig Which itself is about to be blown off by the frigid gusting November wind Trying to stand perfectly still On the moss On
Continue readingAuthor: Stephen Elliott-Buckley
Politics, Re-Spun: Tens of Billions Wasted
How much will we keep spending to develop more fossil fuels when we know we have to stop to avert climate breakdown? $88b/year? More? How about zero. It’s time to redirect that money to wind, solar, geothermal, and hydro so we can stop exacerbating our climate crisis. Redirect NOW! Let
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Con MP Supports Action on Climate Change? What?
What? What? What? What? Could this be the end of the denial of science? Chong for prime minister? What? “This most recent report concludes that the warming of the planet due to emissions is ‘clear’ and ‘unequivocal,’” Chong said. “The report also concludes that without urgent action to reduce emissions,
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Carbon Energy Is Dead, Wake Up?
The math is so easy. So why is BC ramping up coal and LNG production? STOP THEM! It really doesn’t get any simpler than this. Climate realities mean not ignoring science. Here’s some math. Let’s get off the coal, oil and gas. Click on the image for more enlightenment!
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Fire Your Boss?!
If you are interested in: social and economic justice equality and less income inequality workplace democracy and autonomy work-life balance improving the world because you are young and you have the most to lose with a rapidly decaying planet, Then, read this paragraph. It comes from a document you should
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Are Your White Male Entitlements Maiming Your Vote this Month?
I’m not going to argue that using an Intersectionality lens in the municipal election in 2 weeks will make your voting choices perfectly easy. But I will say that your white male entitlements have likely contributed to worse choices in the past. Including not voting. When you read this entire
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Work, Dignity and Living Wages?
A strong union. Corporations that understand the social contract. Corporations that know a tad smaller profit here contributes to more dignity throughout society. Corporations that recognize the value of unions. The living wage in Vancouver this year is $20.10, almost double the minimum wage. The “precariat” are precarious proletariats. We
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: How the Corporate Media Misleads Us, Intentionally
So, here’s Forbes magazine telling us that the majority of scientists are skeptical about global warming. Hmmm. Well that’s news, for sure. Except it’s a lie. As a phrase, I’d be somewhat more interested in “climate change” or “climate breakdown,” but that’s not all that significant compared to the MASSIVE
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Welcome, Dropping Oil Prices!
So, expensive oil made the tarsands and LNG more financially attractive if not climate-destroying. We know this because…science! Unless you are a science-denier. But even with and prices AND demand dropping, we are seeing the makings of a real flattening of long-term stability in demand that can fundamentally undermine the
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Who Just Lost 63 Trillion Gallons of Water?
A few weeks ago, we saw that the California drought is going to increase BC’s food prices through the rest of the decade. Scientists know things. This isn’t news to them. They know we have burned too many fossil fuels so that the climate is changing. The pine beetle has
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Russell Brand Re-Spins Stephen Harper, Expertly
Politics, Re-Spun hereby bestows honourary Canadian and Politics, Re-Spun citizenship upon Russell Brand for his precise and effective re-spinning of Steve Harper and his soft fascist, neo-conservative manipulation of most of last week. And we all need to think more carefully about “convenient murders.” His new passport is in the
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The Election-Eve Racist, Sexist Attack on Olivia Chow
If this cartoon were published, say, 2 weeks before the election, it would have been debated as a tool of racist, sexist propaganda and yet another blemish on corporate media. Her support would likely have grown after such a brutally immature attack. But because politics is a dirty, disgusting, sociopathic
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Zombie Journalists
If you’re wondering what’s contributing to less accountability and more soft fascist, totalitarian government behaviour… Leaked memo confirms that Globe and Mail wants journalists to write advertorials http://canadalandshow.com/article/leaked-memo-confirms-globe-and-mail-wants-journalists-write-advertorials August 28, 2011 Agreeing with Ezra Levant? (6) June 26, 2010 More Despinning the Spin and Chill Around Israel (0) May 7,
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The CBC Respects Dignity Better than Corporate Media
Corporate media, being owned by corporations, needs to maximize shareholder wealth. That means news is a loss leader. News is about generating sensationalism, excitement or hysteria. News is about generating ratings to charge more for advertising to maximize shareholder wealth. Thus, when the CBC characteristically doesn’t sensationalize something, it’s noted
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Climate Change Science Deniers, Ignorance and Media’s False Balance
Climate change deniers are science deniers. That makes them either stupid, or so incredibly biased/conflicted that they are willing to ignore science and dodge accusations of their own stupidity to accomplish some other goal. In BC we are producing oil, gas and coal and stunningly stupid rates, only to go
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: The Big LNG Tax Regime Vomit Bucket
Cue sweet new day[tm] political campaign music, invoking images of a unicorn flying over our quaint village, then Robert Redford in voiceover: “LNG will be a $ trillion sector, reaping billions in revenue for the province [due to some kind of gruelling tax regime] so we can become debt-free, and
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Harper, the Dog of War
For Harper, 6 CF-18s in Kuwait, all war all the time, phoning up the Pentagon asking where we can become more militarily engaged…all these things lead to a war posture, including a soldier being killed at home. A war posture is good for Harper’s base and makes Canadians more scared
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Join Ricochet: A new take on independent media.
Have you joined yet? No? So, you’re good with corporate media spinning things for you, against your personal, community, national and ecological interests? Oh. Ok. 🙂 Ricochet is an audacious response to a difficult context. Independent and in the public interest, Ricochet will provide a space dedicated to investigative journalism
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: If You Read But One Thing About Universal Childcare This Week
Line them up here. In this one section of universal childcare analysis by one of the smartest people in the country, Michal Rozworski, we see a number of significant policy issues addressed: affordable childcare. universality. feminism. including mothers in the workforce more effectively. a better shot a living wage for
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Transportation After Fossil Fuels: A Decade Away?
Once upon a time, I rode the maglev at the Japan pavilion at Expo 86. Since then, I’ve come to see that that was the Commodore Vic 20 of high speed travel. What’s the new standard? ET3. So if you’ve been having a hard time imagining a post-carbon transportation system
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