The Fraser Institute: peddling conclusions that don’t match the evidence and have enough holes to store captured carbon. Actual Fraser Institute “fellows” may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: A piece of Swiss cheese, which may actually resemble the claims in a Fraser Institute press release, metaphorically speaking. If the
Continue readingTag: Texas
Alberta Diary: You could drive one of those tar sands heavy haulers through the gaping holes in the latest Fraser Institute ‘study’ of Alberta’s finances
A worker in Fort McMurray prepares to drive this truck through the holes in the Fraser Institute’s “report,” which claims Alberta’s finances are in worse shape than those of places like Texas, North Dakota and Louisiana. Below: The Norwegian oil port of Stavanger, which, according to the Fraser Institute, doesn’t
Continue readingThings Are Good: High Speed Rail Coming to……Texas?
Texas is an American state best known for its gun-loving, big truck driving, cowboy, remember the Alamo culture. It is the last place I’d expect high speed rail infrastructure to actually get support in the USA. The good news here is that not only are Texans in favour of high
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Ted Cruz: For God (& country’s) sake, talk to Conrad Black before you shred your Canadian passport!
Canada or USA? USA or Canada? Texas Senator Ted Cruz, visible between the signs, ponders what he should do. Actual Tea Party favourites may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Mr. Cruz waves bye-bye to his fellow Canadians … maybe; Lord Black of Crossharbour. It’s said here that Calgary native
Continue readingThings Are Good: SXSW ECO in Austin Texas
I’m in Austin right now attending (and presenting) at the Captivate Conference and this city has come to impress me. While I’m at that conference about digital design there is another conference happening in Austin that readers of this site may enjoy: SXSW Eco. It’s an event focused on making
Continue readingLeDaro: Man produces beer in his guts
It is an interesting story. An unusual illness. Drunk without drinking. Having a beer gut took on a new meaning for a Texas man studied by U.S. researchers, who found that his overgrowth of yeast in his body was making him drunk because he was brewing beer from within. (Rick
Continue readingLeft Over: I’ll See Your Bombs, and Raise You Climate Change….
Harper offers Obama climate plan to win Keystone approval Sources say PM willing to accept emissions reduction targets proposed by the U.S. By Chris Hall, National Editor, CBC News Posted: Sep 6, 2013 2:15 PM ET Last Updated: Sep 6, 2013 10:08 PM ET First he pontificates (through his
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Campaign Diary Volume 5: Praise, political priorities and poetry
Yours Truly visiting the Texas House of Representatives in the State Capitol building in Austin, Texas – and thinking about what to say to Ryan Hastman on EdmontionPolitics.com. Below: The author with LBJ, sort of, and looking particularly fierce for the benefit of our Texan hosts. Last week, just as
Continue readingCuriosityCat: In Texas, do male fetuses masturbate?
Apparently, some think so: And a Texas congressman claimed, incorrectly, that male fetuses of 15 weeks have been observed to masturbate, thus making abortion wrong. Tabatha Southey sums up the absurd spectacel of Texas legislators – in 2013! – trying desperately to shut down a filibuster by a lone senator:
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Duh
Who could have seen this coming? Recommend this Post
Continue readingArt Threat: Friday Film Pick: Blockadia Rising: Voices of the Tar Sands Blockade
This week’s FFP is a new one-hour documentary by Garrett Graham (in collaboration with the Tar Sands Blockade) about the direct action efforts of activists in Texas, who try to stop construction of the planned Alberta tar sands pipeline. There is some seriously heavy-handed narration at the beginning, but if
Continue readingLeDaro: 2012: The ‘Ooops’ moment
My favourite: Poor Rick Perry as his ‘Oops’ended his candidacy.
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Exposed: Pennsylvania Act 13 Overturned by Supreme Court, Originally an ALEC Model Bill
alec-exposed-600×400.jpeg On July 26, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled PA Act 13 unconstitutional. The bill would have stripped away local zoning laws, eliminated the legal concept of a Home Rule Charter, limited private property rights, and in the process, completely disempowered town, city, municipal and county governments, particularly when it comes to shale gas
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Texas Refineries And Chemical Plants Releasing Tens Of Thousands Of Tons Of Pollution
gas-emissions_1.jpg A damning new report from the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) reveals some startling information regarding pollution in the state of Texas. According to the report, oil refineries and chemical plants in the state are releasing tens of thousands of tons of pollution every year, without as much as a
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: EOG Resources: The Gas Corporation That Does It All From Cradle to Grave
EOG Resources.jpg DeSmogBlog, on multiple occasions, has reported that the damage caused by hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" in the unconventional oil and gas industry goes far beyond water contamination, put in the spotlight by the documentary film "Gasland." The multi-pronged harms were tackled in a comprehensive manner in our report, "Fracking the
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: What Republican Texas Said About Harper’s Crime Bill C-10
In this video, the CBC News reported from Texas where even tough-on-crime Republicans told Canada not to follow America’s failed path of mandatory sentences and massive prison expansion, which cost them billions and drove crime rates up. The report warned about the consequences of this un-Canadian and vindictive criminal justice
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Oil and Gas Industry Moves to Silence Critics
shutterstock_49157602.jpg At an industry public relations conference last year, Michael Kehs of Chesapeake Energy described a Wall Street Journal op-ed to gathered oil and gas officials, saying it pointed out the industry's "credibility problem." “And I’m sure some of it relates to defensiveness,” Kehs added. (MP3 Audio) Small wonder. For years,
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Fixin’ to Execute Steve Staley
As though sane people are short of reasons to decry capital punishment. Steve Staley may be the new poster boy for state barbarism. Stanley is on Death Row in Texas for the 1989 murder of a restaurant manager he shot while trying to elude police. Steve has been mentally disturbed
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: ALEC Wasn’t First Industry Trojan Horse Behind Fracking Disclosure Bill – Enter Council of State Governments
shutterstock_95581429.jpg 19th Century German statesman Otto von Bismarck once said, "If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made." The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), put on the map by the Center for Media and Democracy in its "ALEC Exposed" project, is the archetype of von Bismarck's truism. So too are the fracking chemical
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Rendell and Ridge: From "Militant" Labelers to Terrorist Enablers
Ed Rendell MEK.jpg A new chapter has been added to the shale gas industry's eco-terrorism, counterinsurgency and psychological operations saga. In March, NBC News investigative reporter Michael Isikoff revealed that many prominent U.S. public officials are on the payroll of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), a group labeled by the U.S. State Department as a
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