https://politicalehconomy.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/podcast-141128-oil-and-climate.mp3 Today’s episode is focused on the economics and politics of climate change, both more globally and locally. To get a global perspective on the state of climate negotiations and the recent US-China climate deal, I speak with Leigh Phillips, a science writer and journalist who has written for Nature,
Continue readingTag: China
The Disaffected Lib: How to Militarize the South China Sea
China is seeking to bolster its military presence in the South China Sea and where better but in the vicinity of the hotly contested Spratley Islands. The prestigious British military journal, Janes, believes China is upping the ante in the region by constructing an island to accommodate a joint air
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Bloomberg: Russia-China gas deals spell big trouble for Canadian LNG
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger Damien Gillis- Common Sense Canadian sent this along and it tells the story of how badly the Christy Clark BC Government has handled this from the get-go. The good news is that the potential profitability of fracking is negated by market forces, geography and sheer
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Apples and Mandarins
The logic of Fox commentators is, to say the least, difficult for an old fella like me to follow: Recommend this Post
Continue readingThings Are Good: China and US Agree to Cut Emissions
The world’s largest polluters have agreed that they have a problem and they need to stop it. The USA and China have come to terms with the fact that they are the worst polluters and have both decided to take action using various policy tools and joint cooperation. This is
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Alberta’s big problem is the same as Russia’s – so what’s Stephen Harper doing about it?
Keep those wells a-pumpin! Keep those oil prices low! Squeeze those Russkies! Uh … just a minute. … isn’t that bad for Alberta’s many varieties of Conservative? Below: Russian President Vladimir Putin, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Mr. Harper’s hero, Margaret Thatcher. The Globe and Mail, tireless cheerleader for
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Stephen Harper’s Great Shabby Trip to China
Well it wasn't much of a trip, not the grand photo-op he was expecting.He never got his pandas.And as for those two caged Canadians they're still in a Chinese jail. China’s second-most powerful leader emerged from a meeting with Stephen Harper to say his country’s courts alone will decide what happens
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Stephen Harper’s Bizarre Missionary Mission to China
Well I see that Stephen Harper's visit to China has got off to a heavenly start. With our new Chinese overlords wanting to talk about business, now that Harper has signed the sellout FIPA deal, and they have us over a barrel for the next thirty years.While Lord Harp seems more
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: Political Eh-conomy Radio: Focus on China
https://politicalehconomy.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/podcast-141102-china.mp3 The focus of today’s podcast is China: its development over the past several years, the situation of workers and unions as well as future directions. To get some perspective second largest economy in the world and one still expanding at breakneck, albeit slower, pace, I spoke with two guests:
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Stephen Harper and the Great War Election
Well at least now we know what will be Stephen Harper's main weapon in the next election campaign.Until about a week ago it was going to be all about the economy.But now he will mount his armoured closet.And it will be all about WAR. Read more »
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: A Glimmer of Hope
It’s not much and it’s not nearly enough but there’s a rare glimmer of hope in the report that China’s coal consumption has fallen for the first time this century. It’s not much, somewhere between 1-2% is all, but it sure beats the 5-10% annual increases that preceded it. “The
Continue readingdrive-by planet: The Oliver Stone Rossiyskaya Gazeta interview: Ukraine, US media bias, Putin, MH-17 and more
American film director, Oliver Stone, recently gave a lengthy interview to the Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta. He is in the region helping to produce a documentary with the title Ukraine on Fire. Excerpts from the interview showed up in various online publications but I just recently came across an English
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Big Question Now is When?
Several years ago a non-governmental organization, the Global Footprint Network, came to my attention. GFN’s purpose was to monitor the state of the biomass around the world on a global, regional and national basis. GFN published this annual report marking what they called “World Overshoot Day.” This was the date
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Umbrella Revolution and the Hypocrisy of the Harper Cons
It's an amazing sight, thousands of young pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, defying the old guard in Beijing. Daring to lecture them on the limits of power, in their own backyard.In the shadow of Tiananmen.The young members of the Umbrella Revolution, lighting up the darkness with their cell phones…Read more »
Continue readingHong Kong—a people who actually care about democracy
North Americans don’t seem to care much about democracy. Canadians don’t, and our good neighbours the Americans don’t. We enjoy considerable freedoms along with our electoral systems of government, but our systems are hardly democratic, and it doesn’t seem to bother us. If it did, we would never tolerate them.
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Climate Change Deal We Cannot Live Without
Just what does all this squabbling about greenhouse gas emissions really mean? What has to go into an effective climate change agreement? What factors are in play? Here, courtesy of Vox.com, are a few charts that reveal a climate deal is both urgently needed and extremely difficult to craft. First
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
This and that for your weekend reading. – James Meek observes that decades of privatization in the UK have eliminated public control over housing and other essential services – and that privatization takes far more forms than we’re accustomed to taking into consideration. And Rick Salutin offers his take on
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: It’s Called "Virtual Water"
Water-stressed Israel realized this year ago when it recognized that its exports of Jaffa oranges were really exporting “virtual water.” It took scarce water to grow the orange and when it left the country for overseas markets it was full of water. Fast forward to 2014 and drought-stricken California. The
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Could America Break Its Own Bank on a Russian Anvil?
The sanctions being plastered on Russia by the US and her allies are already having a rebound effect, especially in Europe. Russia is not only the major supplier of the natural gas the Europeans will need to get through this winter, it’s also a key market for their exports. In
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: India – Superbug Time Bomb
India is the worst but it’s not alone. All of the emerging economic superpowers share the same problem – the abuse of antibiotics. For India, it’s the result of a population coming into new wealth that still has just one doctor for every 1,700 people. You get sick, you get
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