The Ostander Point Wind Project has been revoked because: … the roads systems and construction [necessary for the project] would cause serious and irreversible harm to the Blanding’s Turtle and that the proposed mitigation plans were insufficient to protect the endangered species. The full ruling is below. Its worth a
Continue readingThe World Famous Dan Shields: 6312…Dennis Rodman Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Or at least nominee. I nearly choked on my Pop-Tart this morning when I read in The Ottawa Sun that the former Chicago Bull and Detroit Piston has decreed that if he doesn’t at least finish third in the next Nobel Peace Prize contest the fix is in. You may
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Last Progresive Conservative
Stephen Harper is about to shuffle his cabinet. And those who are presently in it — but who will not run in the next election — are taking their leave. Among them is Ted Menzies. Jeffrey Simpson writes: Mr. Menzies was the last former Alberta Progressive Conservative left in the
Continue readingWarren Kinsella: Rehtaeh on the cover of People magazine
They haven’t forgotten her. The Nova Scotia government has, however.
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The DWR Friday Musical Interlude: The CBC Signature Series – E flat minor – The Eccentric
The CBC Signature Series is hosted by Paolo Pietropaolo. The E♭ (E-flat) minor scale consists of the pitches E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭, and D♭. In the harmonic minor, the D♭ is raised to D♮. Its key signature consists of six flats (see below: Scales and keys). Its relative
Continue readingTrashy's World: “Here, take this cheque and for gawd sake, keep quiet.”
… said Nigel to Mike. Well, it now seems obvious that the 90K cheque cut by Nigel was indeed “hush money“. The question is, what comes next? This is looking worse and worse for the Harperites… And I still cannot believe that the PMO was in the dark over this.
Continue readingwmtc: healthy slow-cooker recipe of the week: sausage and three-bean stew
Whether this recipe qualifies as healthy depends on whether you think sausage can be part of a healthy diet. I buy sausage that is made from local, organically raised turkey and free of preservatives. The sausage is slightly higher in saturated fat than skinless chicken breast, but way lower in
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The price of subsidy – MUN Tuition
In early June, a CBC investigation revealed that Memorial University is charging special fees for some international graduates students. That was just one of a series of problems with the international student programs noted in the report. Some of the students were Chinese. As it turns out, 36% of Memorial’s
Continue readingImpolitical: Place your Keystone bets
Joe Romm is betting it’s off: Harder writes: To the surprise of everyone outside the White House, Obama mentioned the pipeline in his speech. It was a politically savvy move for three reasons: 1) He called out the elephant in the room and thus avoided both criticism from groups like
Continue readingImpolitical: Place your Keystone bets
Harder writes:
To the surprise of everyone outside the White House, Obama mentioned the pipeline in his speech. It was a politically savvy move for three reasons: 1) He called out the elephant in the room and thus avoided both criticism from groups like the Sierra Club and the subsequent media coverage of his omission; 2) He took ownership of the issue, showing everyone on every side of the fight he is personally involved; and 3) He shifted the debate over the pipeline from one of economics to one about the effects on climate change.
I agree with #2 and #3 — which is precisely why I think the speech makes it less likely he will approve Keystone. Obama owns KXL and he’s said the deciding factor is climate, not economics. As a new Scientific American article sums things up, “If built, the Keystone XL pipeline will be a spigot that speeds tar sands production, pushing the planet toward its emissions limit.”
And folks who have been around Washington politics a lot longer than I have think it would be very un-savvy to spend so much time laying out a strong moral case for climate action and then bringing up Keystone IF the president is planning on approving it. He would have been far better off not talking about Keystone at all in that case. As it is now, he will rightfully be called an extreme hypocrite if he ultimately opens the spigot to the dirty tar sands.
There’s no question Obama could approve Keystone, but I believe the smart money has shifted from betting he will to betting he won’t.
CTV was reporting that Peter Kent may be moving on and therefore would be out as Environment Minister. Not sure there’s much a new Canadian minister might do to sway the Obama administration but Keystone has got to be figuring into Harper’s thinking. Is Rempel, currently the Parliamentary Secretary to Kent, the one?
Whoever it is, they’re also going to have to deal with this burgeoning – and very warranted – focus on petcoke. This oil sands byproduct gained greater visibility recently given the Koch brothers’ piling of it on the Detroit waterfront to the discomfort of Windsorites looking on from across the river.
We, for the most part, won’t burn it for fuel due to its high emissions levels and the “Environmental Protection Agency will no longer allow any new licenses permitting the burning of petroleum coke in the United States.” So it is largely being shipped overseas to China and Mexico, nations that don’t care much about emissions levels. Shouldn’t we Canadians be concerned about that? Particularly if Keystone were to be approved, with the amounts of petcoke that will be produced.
Over to you, next Harper environment minister.
Continue readingImpolitical: Place your Keystone bets
Joe Romm is betting it’s off: Harder writes: To the surprise of everyone outside the White House, Obama mentioned the pipeline in his speech. It was a politically savvy move for three reasons: 1) He called out the elephant in the room and thus avoided both criticism from groups like
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Stephen Harper and the Rebranding of Canada
Ever since he came to power Stephen Harper has been trying to rebrand Canada.Rewrite its history, recast its traditional values, brainwash us into believing this country was born of war rather than compromise.Replace the red and white of Canada with Con blue.Bend and warp the truth to conform with his deranged
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Paul Fromm’s New Gig: KKK Summer Camp
Sometimes one learns the most interesting things when following Paulie's Facebook account (which, by the way, is conveniently public which means we don't even have to do anything sneaky). For a number of years Paulie has been tight with Thomas Robb, the National Director of the Knights of the Kul
Continue readingThe Political Road Map: Adult Assembly Required: Bottled Water
Like many out there, I consume a fair amount of bottled beverages, whether we are talking about my insane addiction to diet coke or my love of bottled carbonated Italian water, it is a guarantee that money is being spent to supply me something contained in a plastic bottle. Apparently,
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Thoughts on the Coup in Egypt
Tahrir Square in 2011 In the early hours of 12 April 2002, with massive anti-government protests filling the streets, members of the Venezuelan military abducted President Hugo Chávez and, promising new elections, installed an interim leader of their own choosing in his place. Large swaths of respectable international opinion praised
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Rupert Murdoch: And the lawyers just got rich going through millions of e-mails
Rupert Murdoch & Rebekha Brooks Read this secretly taped recording of a private meeting of Rupert Murdoch and about 25 people on the 10th floor of the newspaper’s headquarters in Thomas More Square, on St Katharine’s Dock in Wapping, when Murdoch made several startling statements: Now Mr Murdoch himself appears
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Redford shines in flood aftermath, but political problems not washed away
TweetThe day to day melee of provincial politics in Alberta was thrown out the window two weeks ago as rising rivers flooded communities in southern Alberta and forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 Albertans from low-lying Calgary neighbourhoods and surrounding communities. Caring, compassionate, and pro-active, Premier Alison Redford has been
Continue readingThe World Famous Dan Shields: 6211…CN Tower Blue/Pink For New Heir
As you know Kate Middleton, the wife of the heir to the heir to the Queen of England, is due to give birth any day now. Christina Blizzard of The Toronto Sun reports that “A spokesman for the CN Tower announced Wednesday that the tower will light up pink or
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