The Cold War
I was reminded by an article on Slate that the (to me) iconic film of the Cold War, Fail Safe, was released fifty years ago this week. And as the…
October 2014
Impoverished Nations To Suffer More As Climate Change Worsens
For most Western societies, climate change has largely been an “out of sight, out of mind” issue. Even the disasters that we have seen in America – more extreme droughts,…
Rafe: Tories will win in 2015 on Iraq position; what does that mean for Canada, environment?
Stephen Harper addressing UN Security Council (Sean Kilpatrick/CP) The environmental policy of Ottawa will now depend upon what the Tories desire for the next five years. Why do I say…
How Bolivia is leading the global fight against climate disaster
Photo by Joel Alvarez Bolivia goes to the polls next Sunday, October 12, in the country’s third national election since the victory of Evo Morales and his Movement Toward Socialism…
550 million for 800 jobs means a new budget target for Joe Oliver
Filed under: Cartoons (Single Panel), Making fun of Conservatives
She concludes at the end, there, by reminding me she’s “only asked for money twice”
Welcome to my life.
Rick Mercer Assesses Andrew Scheer’s Job Performance
Unsurprisingly, the House Speaker gets a failing grade. My two favourite lines: “Show me one person who believes he’s done a good job on the decorum front. 308 meth addicts…
Climate Litigation is Here and it Could Cost Canadian Oil Companies Billions
This is a guest post by Andrew Gage, Staff Counsel and head of the Climate Change program at West Coast Environmental Law, and Michael Byers, the Canada Research Chair in…
Every Canadian should benefit from sensible copyright rules, not just political parties
Steve_Anderson.jpg Responding to the government’s proposal to carve our copyright exemptions for political parties, OpenMedia.ca Executive Director Steve Anderson said: “Copyright laws should never be used to stifle free political…
Oct. 9: the news media and manipulation
Most news media don’t tell the news. They create it. For example……. In the Korean war, UN forces easily beat North Korea – China became very worried that they were…
From My Quotes Cupboard: The Feudal Power of Britain’s Justices of the Peace
Justice of the Peace, with folded hands Rural England, which was then three-fourths of England, was governed by the absolute patriarchal sway of the Justices of the Peace. Of county…
What transnational climate litigation might mean for fossil fuel companies and their investors
Thursday, October 9, 2014 I’m pleased to announce the release of a major new report – Payback Time? – What the internationalization of climate litigation could mean for Canadian oil…
After Years of Intensive Lobbying, EU to Drop Oilsands’ Dirty Fuel Label
The European Union will not label fuel from Alberta’s oilsands as highly polluting despite years of efforts to distinguish the crude and other unconventional fuels for their high environmental impacts.…
Infinite Exponential Growth: The religion of modern "economics" and blowing steam up your ass
Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of writing about the obvious limits to growth we’re encountering is trying to clearly describe the difference between infinite exponential growth, and limited…
Imagining the Cities of Tomorrow: A Conversation
What can we do to make our cities more liveable? Here’s a conversation between yours truly, transit expert Taras Gresco and architect and urban ist Avi Friedman. I do a…
Mr. Harper, listen to the Commish
She’s your commissioner, Mr. Harper, appointed under your watch. She is a former mining industry executive, the kind of credentials you respect. So when she speaks, pay attention. And she…
Clean Energy is Actually the $Trillion Sector, Not LNG
According to Analytica Advisors, the global demand for clean energy technology was estimated at $1.1 trillion in 2012 and projected to grow to $2.5 trillion by 2022. It also estimates…
Principled Abstention: Why Liberal MP Irwin Cotler Abstained From Iraq War Vote
Did Liberal MP Irwin Cotler rebel against party leader Justin Trudeau when he abstained from Tuesday’s House of Commons vote on Harper’s decision to drag Canada into an unwinnable military…