Blame Ontario

for Tar Sands in the tank:

...buried deep in Shell analysts presentation is the fact that Shell’s new jewel in the crown – its carbon intensive tar sands operations – made a loss in the first quarter of 2009, compared to a profit of $249 million in the same quarter last year.

[...]

On a wider note the figures show that Shell is failing to cover its capital spending programme, which is the biggest amongst its peers. In a huge business gamble, Shell is betting on capital-intensive and climate intensive projects such as a gas-to-liquids plant in Qatar and the oil sands in Canada to boost production from 2010.

If however, the oil price stays low, Shell may not have the revenue to develop them quickly enough. Moreover, if the carbon intensity of these projects are deemed to be too high, Shell’s whole business strategy could be in trouble.

Just this week, Shell was facing calls to disclose future carbon liabilities from its tar sands operations. The UK Co-operative Financial Services and environmental charity WWF-UK are launching a campaign for a legal requirement for companies including Shell and BP to include this information in financial reporting.

I predict that talk of building firewalls will slowly go out of fashion, to be replaced by talk of making a nice stew out of dog-food.

He Assed Away

The National Post screws up a correction.

h/t (very cool site)

News Flash! Unenforcable Human Rights Law Enforced! Mark Steyn Conned Again!

As Ezra is still crying into his corn-flakes over the fact that his Speechy revolution crashed and burned in Alberta, and has a snowball's chance in hell of advancing anywhere else in the country, I won't pick on him this morning. Luckily, in the Speechy Wars, Mark Steyn serves as velvet rubber to Ezra's iron dick and, though the whole silly notion that the enforcement of Section 13 has been suspended began with Ezra, Mark picked up the refrain quickly enough:

Indeed. As we've all observed, neo-Nazi website poster Richard Warman is now a busted flush. Justice has not only to be done, but to be seen to be done, and even "human rights" justice can no longer be seen to hang out with such a creepily narcissistic obsessive as Warmfront. But the larger point is, as Ezra says, fascinating. The endgame for Maclean's and me has always been to get this thing to the Supreme Court and have Section 13 and its provincial equivalents struck down. That takes a long time and it's expensive (which is why we encourage you to buy a copy of Shakedown, or take out a subscription to Maclean's).

However, it is a remarkable tribute to the speed with which the law has been "denormalized" (in Ezra's word) that the Tribunal has, in effect, concluded that Section 13 cannot be enforced. Like many laws, it remains on the books, but even the kangaroo courts understand that it can no longer be enforced. It reflects worse on them than on the accused.

Previously, I attempted to debunk this nonsense, but my argument depended on the interpretation given to a number of statements made in the decision to the Warman v. Ouwendyk case . A more direct path to the same conclusion would be a recent example of the CHRT's ordering 13's enforcement.

And, oh look! Here is just such an example--a ruling issued in the Richard Warman v. Canadian Heritage Alliance and Melissa Guille case from April 21, 2009:

...in contrast to the ruling in Warman v. Northern Alliance and Jason Ouwendyk, the ruling in the present case simply suspended the Tribunal's cease and desist order for 30 days pending the motion on the constitutional challenge. After the 30 day period has elapsed (which is presently the case), the cease and desist order comes into effect.

[9] Ms. Guille and the Northern Alliance are therefore, subject to an order of this Tribunal to cease communicating the material that was found to be contrary to s. 13 of the Act and any material that is similar in content.

So there you have it. Section 13 is still in effect. Ezra and Steyn are still bullshitters.

Parental Rights In Alberta: Bill 44 & The Creationists

Alberta Minister of Culture Lindsay's Blackett's new bill overhauling the Alberta Human Rights Code says:

11.1(1) A board as defined in the School Act shall provide notice to a parent or guardian of a student where courses of study, educational programs or instructional materials, or
instruction or exercises, prescribed under that Act include subject-matter that deals explicitly with religion, sexuality or sexual orientation.

(2) Where a teacher or other person providing instruction, teaching a course of study or educational program or using the instructional materials referred to in subsection (1) receives a
written request signed by a parent or guardian of a student that the student be excluded from the instruction, course of study, educational program or use of instructional materials, the
teacher or other person shall in accordance with the request of the parent or guardian and without academic penalty permit the student

a) to leave the classroom or place where the instruction, course of study or educational program is taking place or the instructional materials are being used for the duration of the part of the instruction,

...and etc. Yesterday, one of my readers noted in the comments that:

Actually, after reading the legislation a bit more carefully, it's quite topic specific. Topics like science remain science, and the creationists would have to prove that the science curriculum is in fact a religion that they disagree with.

It's got a lot less wiggle room in it than Morton's bill had in 2006.

...which is to say that if, for example, there was a class devoted to the history of Buddhism, a Catholic parent might have their child pulled from it according to the new act. And, if so, then the legislation merely codifies what is already happening in Alberta schools. As Paula Simons writes in the Edmonton Journal:

Schools already send home permission forms that parents must sign before their children take classes in sex education. Parents can already pull their children from school programs that deal with religion. I pulled my own daughter from the classroom when the Gideons came to hand out New Testaments.

Yet Premier Ed Stelmach stated yesterday, and Blackett confirmed, that "parents would have the right to opt out of evolution classes".

So how does this square with the relatively narrow wording of the bill? Will the portion of biology class devoted to evolutionary theory get defined as a religion that it is possible to disagree with?

Can of worms indeed.

Die Media Die, Part II!

Natty Post Circles The Drain

But what will line the parrot cage Monday mornings?

A Coalition, If You Will...

Harper minority offered lifeline by Bloc, NDP demands.

Member Motion On Black Liquor

From NDP MP John Rafferty:

April 21, 2009 — Mr. Rafferty (Thunder Bay—Rainy River) — That, in the opinion of the House, the government should move immediately to support the struggling forestry sector by: (a) extending and securing loan guarantees to companies in need; (b) countering the United States ‘‘Black Liquor’’ subsidy for the pulp and paper industry through negotiation prior to June 1, 2009 or by introducing similar supports in Canada as soon as possible; and (c) convening a national stakeholder summit to address the severe and ongoing crisis in the sector.

Since "introducing similar supports" means paying the P&P industry to increase their carbon footprint in the name of alternative fuels, that's not on (is crazy, in fact).

Nevertheless, the U.S. government has in effect introduced a protectionist measure worth $100,000,000s under the guise of green tech. It would be nice to see a more significant response from the Canadian government and the other opposition parties (or from Canadian environmentalists, or from U.S. ones, for that matter).

Creationists Score Big In Alberta Human Rights Overhaul

A provincial document says the government needed to assure parents of their rights because "faith-based groups urged government to recognize -- as a right -- parents' role in making choices for their children."

"When asked about evolution, always a question since the monkey-human thing is a talker, the premier says 'parents would have the opportunity to make that choice.' Take that, Darwin."

A mixed bag then. Section 3 stays in, gays get an explicit mention...and Creationists can pull their kids from biology class when evolution comes up. Maybe also from Astronomy class. Can Muslim parents pull their kids from History class when Israel comes up? And why would anyone send their kid to Algebra? Sounds like a recipe for chaos.

A lot not to like about that.

Ezra Levant: Alberta Culture Minister Lindsay Blackett Is A Token

I know why Stelmach wants to keep Blackett on the job -- because Blackett is black, and thus gives the government a politically correct patina. Stelmach wants Blackett to smile -- but not to think. He's window-dressing. The one thing Blackett has worked on the past year, the one thing he stuck his neck out for, is the one thing that his own premier has sand-bagged him on.

I guess Ezra will not be getting a Xmas card from Ed Stelmach this year.

Also of note is this line from Ezra's post:

Ed Stelmach, Alberta's weak premier, shows he's still strong when it comes to pushing his MLAs around. Today he put that uppity cabinet minister Lindsay Blackett...back in his place.

As the folks at ARC observe:

We wonder if Levant understands the implications of the word, "uppity"? We think he does and is purposely trying to inject racial politics into the discussion. Pretty shameful, but whatcha go'n a do?

I am an in an enormously good mood this morning. Instead of my normal run into work, I think I shall do cart-wheels for the whole 3 miles.

Alberta Human Rights Reform Spiked! I Was Right! I Was Gawddamn Fucking Right! And Ezra Got Stiffed In Alberta!!!

From the mouth Of The Ez Himself. Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach has pulled the plug on Culture Minister Lindsay Blackett's Human Rights reform:

Ed Stelmach, Alberta's weak premier, shows he's still strong when it comes to pushing his MLAs around. Today he put that uppity cabinet minister Lindsay Blackett...back in his place.

...specifically, the repeal of section 3 (the Alberta analogue of Section 13) is OFF THE TABLE!!!

I've been saying that these reforms were stalled for months now and, holy shit!, I didn't even believe it myself at times. But today I can Lord It Over the Alberta MSM and feel totally justified. I got the Alberta zeitgeist pegged better than the Calgary Herald. My glory approaches transfinite levels! Gay rights get added to the act explicitly, and Section 3 doesn't get touched!

And, yo Speechy's, you guys are a bunch of fucking total luzers! All you're doing now is paying Ezra's bills. He can't even advance his Speechy crusade in a conservative province with a conservative majority. Like he couldn't float a Conservative magazine in the same place! When you read his latest post you can taste the flop-sweat in his very choice of fonts. Gawd you Speechy people fucking fail, fail epically, fail utterly, fail fail fail fail!!!!!!

Booyah!! Booyah!!

PS. Thanks go out to the Aryan Guard. Couldn't have done it without you guys!

Iggy's First Policy

It’s not a detail, it’s not housecleaning; it changes the way the party works. It says to everybody who want s to join our party, ‘If you join our party you get to vote for the man or woman who may be the prime minister of your country—so join the party.’

I'm a day late to this story, but Scott is right: having the current party leader endorse OMOV (One Member One Vote) for future leadership races is an important step in the process of dragging the federal Libs into the new millennium. Since OMOV is relatively easy to administer, and can be conducted electronically--presumably each voting member's ballot will have an ID# that tells which riding they are from and, therefore, how their vote should be weighted--hopefully this leads to the elimination of delegated conventions.

I've been telling myself that, if some version of OMOV passed, I would pitch out for a party Membership, so maybe the Libs will be getting a few bucks out of me in the near future.

Mind you, if OMOV goes down to defeat, does this count as Iggy's 1st policy disaster?

What's Up WIth Shaidle's Husband?

Overheard at Blazing Cat Fur (aka Arnie Lemaire, husband of Five Foot) , where they are celebrating FreeD's winning the right to appeal the Warman decision:

Dr.Dawg said...
Heard you have a date in court yourself.
10:18 PM

Blazing Cat Fur said...
Good for you Dawg.
10:35 PM

Kathy said...
Wrong as usual Dawg.
Over 90% of such cases never make it to court.

Is Arnie getting sued? And for what? And by whom?

Your Daily Nazi: Ezra Levant, The CJC, And The Canadian Nazi Party

Ezra and the facts. Oh so far apart.

In Shakedown, Mr. Levant claimed that the Canadian Jewish Congress "bankrolled" the creation of the Canadian Nazi Party. When this claim was challenged--thoroughly rebutted, is more like it--he simply changed "bankrolled" to "helped organize" and, hey presto!, its off the races again.

There have been a number of people who have attempted to correct this 2nd wave of inaccuracies. The best has been Liona Campbell, who responded in BCF's comments section:

A friend in Ottawa showed me this discussion originally in the Ottawa Citizen and some internet searches have sent me here.

I wrote my graduate thesis on John William Beattie at U of T. I have seen the original documents of the day and can confirm the following:

1. Beattie's group known as the "Canadian Nazi Party" and co-led by David Stanley had more than 100 members prior to the Canadian Jewish Congress action of 1965-66.

2. Any microfilm search of newspaper archives (which I undertook for my thesis) of the Toronto Telegram (today the Sun) the Globe and Mail as well as the Toronto Daily Star will demonstrate conclusively that Beattie and Stanley were notorious and had a national profile well before the Canadian Jewish Congress decided to hire a private investigator.

3. The fear and concern about Beattie and Stanley was palpable especially amongst Holocaust survivors in Toronto. It needs to be remembered that the scars of the gas chambers were less than 20 years old when these pseudo Nazis began to make a public appearance.

4. Absolutely no one knew the extent of Beattie's network. In fact it is true that the media shined a light on his antics amplifying his numbers. So the fear had a real basis.

5. Finally and quite contrary to Mr. Levant's assertions, the action undertaken by the Canadian Jewish Congress in the early winter of 65-66 to infiltrate and expose the Canadian Nazi Party did effectively destroy it.

It is important for the sake of history that these times be recorded properly. The Jewish Congress was a reluctant actor in exposing Beattie et al. It hoped they would simply dwindle away. Unfortunately Beattie and Stanley were expert in manipulating the media gaining a notoriety that amongst true historians is legendary. Mr. Levant should not conjure up erroneous details to fit whatever agenda he may have. Truth is essential and any good historian must set the record straight.

For those who want the real story of the Canadian Nazi movement and Jewish response, I urge you to read the penultimate book on the subject, "Delayed Impact: The Holocaust and the Canadian Jewish Community" by Professor Dr. Franklin Bialystok.

I hope this is helpful.

I am at the point where, when I read something by the Ez that I haven't heard before, I automatically conclude that its just more bullshit, via the same principle by which, when you visit a restaurant and see one roach, you conclude the restaurant has roaches. Its nice to see somebody else beavering away to prove the point conclusively.

Our Glorious Leaders

From the fireside house, President Reagan suddenly said to me [Mikhail Gorbachev], ‘What would you do if the United States were suddenly attacked by someone from outer space? Would you help us?’

“I said, ‘No doubt about it.’”

“He said, ‘We too.’”"

Yeah, but what about if this guy appeared?

Yet Even More Tory On Tory Violence Redux

This is from Calgary West, the riding held by Rob Anders, not infrequently described as Canada's "worst MP". His only talent is winning nomination battles, and then going on to claim one of the safest of Tory safe seats in general elections. Looks like the PMOs office is fixing local riding association rules in order to help keep him in place. Click through the links below for an unabridged version of a letter from long-time Tory activist Clyde Fulton:

The Conservative Party of Canada
1204 - 130 Albert Street,
Ottawa, Ontario KIP 5G4

Mr Don Plett, President

I enclose my Certificate of Appreciation, which I am returning in disgust over the manner in which you and National Council have subverted the democratic nomination process in the EDA of Calgary West, depriving grassroots party members of a long-sought after and well-deserved nomination meeting.

A balloting process requiring two-thirds of all members to request a nomination meeting is a sham with a predetermined outcome. While one could legitimately argue whether a simple majority or some greater percentage of voting members is appropriate, two-thirds of all registered members is an absurd hurdle rate clearly designed to simply acclaim all existing MPs, while wasting party resources in a pathetic attempt to give the appearance of having consulted the membership.

Now here comes the particularly interesting bit. The only feasible method of driving Mr. Anders from his seat is to 1) elect a new, reform-minded riding association BOD for Calgary West, and 2) have the new board nominate a candidate as Mr. Ander's replacement.

The first part of this process HAS INDEED TAKEN PLACE:

As you are acutely aware, Calgary West recently held its AGM in which a new Board was elected with a clear mandate to hold a nomination meeting. This was the culmination of a decade-long struggle to replace the buffoon who has represented this riding for the past 12 years. His offensive response was to simply brand as "closet Liberals" longstanding party members of integrity who questioned, challenged or criticized his outlandish behavior and dismal performance as an MP.

The change instituted by the Tory National Council--requiring two-thirds of all members to request a nomination meeting before one is held--has been deliberately crafted to thwart the thwart the 2nd part of the replacement process.

And now Mr. Fulton has gone on the War Path:

Historically I have taken a very passive role in politics. However this issue has mobilized me like no other. I will make it my personal mission to bring this travesty of democracy to the attention of as many people as possible.

If you believe a nomination process would have been divisive, you can imagine what using such a fraudulent process to deprive the newly mobilized membership of Calgary West of a legitimate voice in selecting who will represent them in the next election will produce.

The Prime Minister and the Party have the actions of you personally and National Council to blame for this deplorable situation.

This will be fun to watch.

Black Liquor Tax Credit To Stay For Now

The American paper lobby gets to keep its alternative tax credit loophole for the time being. At least the federal government is trying to have to loophole closed South of the border, unlike the position of the federal NDP, which seems to want a matching rebate on this side.

As I've written previously, the loophole gives pulp and paper companies a subsidy for adding diesal to a clean/green fuel alternative fuel mixture, thereby actually increasing CO2 emissions. They're being paid to pollute.

And our once green NDP. Well, those were the old days, man.

Update: NDP forestry critic John Rafferty will be introducing a private member's motion "to negotiate an end to the unfair ‘Black Liquor’ subsidy in the US before June, or otherwise implement a similar regime in Canada." Negotiating an end to the subsidy is fine. Giving pulp and paper companies money to make their own processes less environmentally efficient is crazy.

For Those Who Can't Get Enough Of Teh Crazy

FreeD is supposed to be back up and running by Monday, after what must be a record-setting three day outage. Is this related to the state of their legal case re. Warman and etc.?

Wild speculation is welcome in the comments, but I hope everyone has saved their screenshots of the juciy bits.

RedEnsign1986 wrote:

I was able to contact mark on facebook and he said that both their emailers are down too so they have been out of contact.He said FD should be back online on Monday.

I gave him the url for this site so he and connie might be on here later.

And I, apparently, am becoming the Perez Hilton for Canada's Far Right.

Scarborough Loves The WInd

'News reports would have us believe that Scarborough is a hotbed of anti-wind sentiment, but the poll clearly shows that this is manufactured and exaggerated,' said Dr. Rick Smith, Executive Director of Environmental Defence. 'Plans to test the offshore wind potential are supported by a majority of those living in Scarborough who want to see renewable energy in their city.'

Essex county, another proposed wind-farm site, is also highly supportive.

Okay, I don't know much about Pollara, the folks behind the poll, but 79% and 84% on the pro side are very robust numbers, and I think the least we can assume is that the NIMBYS are outnumbered.

What The Polls Mean

...according to B.C. political scientist Kennedy Stewart.

Of course, it is difficult to mathematically model the effects of human stupidity.

Its Time To Go...But Not Just Yet

Buckets points out that the founding convention of the Western Business and Taxpayers Association (WTBA), Canada's latest Western Separatist group, was supposed to have been this weekend. However, if you check out their website, you will see that the convention and indeed the organization have been inactive for the past several months.

I fired off a quick email to Executive Director David Crutcher on Thursday, and he responded that the convention had been delayed for "personal reasons", but that the organization is "getting back on track". Once a new date for the convention has been set, you will of course hear about it here.

Sorry Bloggers, It Isn't You Killing The Newspapers

The main cause of the demise of newspapers, according to Wolff, is the arrival of CraigsList and other sites like it. In a debate with the CraigsList's Craig Newmark, he argued that classified adds are what 'supported newspapers for 100 years' and now with CraigsList, which he says is more efficient and free, newspapers are losing their auto, real estate, job and other service advertisements to the web. This accusation is definitely not new and has been discessed [sic] for years since CraigsList started in 1995.

And I would also agree that bloggers cannot ever replace the news-gathering function of professional reporters.

No, what bloggers can do is battle it out in the ruins after Journageddon with the professional pundit class. After all, quality-wise there is a definite over-lap between the top tier of bloggers and the lower rung of columnists. In fact, I suspect you could create a computer program that replicated the ink emissions from Quebecor's (T.O. Sun) stable of scribblers.

And, remember, we bloggers are already used to working for free.

So, if you earn your meals by cranking out your "views" on this or that issue, there's going to be alot of Kraft dinner in your future.

With Friends Like These...

Maybe hard to read, but all from the FreeD Facebook page: Bill Noble, Paul Fromm, and Craig Chandler. Mr. Noble is probably wondering how he got stuck next to those to putzes.

PAB Apologizes For Picture Mixup

From the comments of my previous post:

David Sands from Public Affairs Bureau, Government of Alberta:

BigCityLib, we dropped the ball. The image wasn't supposed to be used in a representation of Alberta. Its context was in our regard for other people, other places. Then we used it in a very different context, with the word "Alberta" on it.We're sorry.

Here's an apology.

These things happen. As you know, we Easterners like to make fun of our wealthy Western cousins, so thanks for the material.

Alberta, Albion Of The Frozen Tundra

In which the Stelmach government uses photos of England in its Alberta re-branding campaign.

Apparently, they were trying to show off Alberta's beaches, and used a shot of Northumberland.

Culture Minister Lindsay Blackett says he can think of a multitude of vistas that could have been used in the campaign, but he adds that it's not his problem to fix.

For example, here's one of Alberta's most famous beaches:

Plenty of sand anyway.

PS. If you're planning a vacation, I think its called "Scab Lake".

PPS. Here's a picture of the beach in Northumberland. Apparently, it was used for its symbolic value rather than location.

A spokesman for Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister, said: "The picture used just fitted the mood and tone of what we were trying to do.

Meet Tristan Emmanuel

"While Hillier undoubtedly has a solid base in rural Ontario, particularly rural Eastern Ontario, Tristan Emmanuel, the man running Hillier's campaign has a solid base of a different kind. As the founder and past president of The ECP Centre (Equipping Christians for the Public Square), Emmanuel has his own following of socially conservative, politically active Christians. Like Hillier, Emmanuel comes into this race with his own massive mailing list which he's already tapping into."

Here's Tristan on Canada:

Take Canada, for example. I'm a Canadian, and we don't have an "illegal alien" problem. However, we suffer from something just as bad – a form of Anglo-Saxon self-hatred. We call it multiculturalism. This is the politically correct way of saying white, English-speaking culture is bad.

Here's Tristan on homosexuals and Svend Robinson's private member's bill C-415

In fact, Bill C-415 is another example of how sexual deviants are seeking to reorder Canada's criminal law to suit their own objectives. The bill exposes to criminal prosecution anyone who makes statements that could he construed as 'promoting hatred' against homosexuals: a nebulous and ill-defined crime if ever there were. Mrs. Landholt predicts it will 'close down public debate on the homosexual issue.

And, one thing I didn't know (from Tristan's website): apparently Mr. Hillier was one of the brave 300 hundred to attend Speechypalooza in London on April 13th (along with Shaidle, Levant and Co.).


Lets be clear: the Randy Hillier/Tristan Emmanuel team will not win the OPCP leadership nomination. It does tell you something about the party, though, that they're considered a part of the OPCP family.



On the upside, Neil Young can demand his side-burns back.

H/T Mr. Smith.

And They Said We Was Mad!

Look! A non-denial from Layton's national campaign director!

Adam Radwanski: In the blogosphere, at least, there's been some speculation on the prospect of the NDP pushing for the Conservatives to look seriously at electoral reform. Is that grounded in anything?

Brian Topp: Democratic reform is a real issue, no doubt about that. An electoral system that awards an MP for every 22,000 Bloc voters and not a single MP to 900,000-plus Green voters is not serving the country well.

See? See? What McClelland and I were saying! Most bloggers report on the world. McClelland and I craft its metaphysical parameters! Booyah! Booyah!

Quebec Moves To Protect Free Speech

...from its most egregious abusers:

The bill is particularly aimed at combating what are known as SLAPPs, or strategic law suits against public participation.

Such suits - typically involving large claims of money for defamation or damage to reputation - are common in cases where citizens or non-governmental organizations speak out against the environmental impact of company operations or development plans.

H/T

Lots of back and forth in the article on how or whether the legislation will work, but you would figure that if 25 states can implement something along these lines, it is at least possible.

Incidentally, Connie/Ed are in court today for the hearing on their application for leave to appeal the order against them requiring that reveal the anonymous posters in the Warman case (they need leave from the court before they can appeal the order). Note: Sorry about the previous sentence.

In any case, this post from earlier this morning:

RedDog wrote:

Semi-related: but where is the legal funding issue? There had been talk of X number of people pitching in to carry a line of credit. Where and when to be so directed?

Ed Kennedy responded:

You will get a PM [private message] on that now.


...suggests that FreeD's method of funding their case is still a work in progress.

Carole James: Your Riding Gets The One-Legged Gay Guy

From the South Asian Post:

In a dubious Canadian first that is being played out in the on-going B.C. election campaign, the NDP has reserved about 30 per cent of its ridings for female candidates and another 10 per cent has been designated for "youth, gay/lesbian/bi/transgendered, persons of colour, aboriginal people and persons with disabilities."

A little background on Ray Lam:

Lam’s credentials for being selected as a NDP candidate came from his involvement in gay rights groups and the Vancouver Gay Pride Parade, among other distinctions.

And more on the NDP's "no men allowed" ridings.

I am not entirely against the principle here, but this seems as heavy handed as Bob Rae's infamous Jobmart Ad.

On How Carole James Could Look Less Stupid

After a disastrous 1st week of campaigning, the B.C. NDP must surely be thinking of a way out of the hole they've dug themselves into on the environment. Luckily, DeSmog Blog has found a possible route:

Metro Vancouver mayors have let it be known that they would like the revenue from the carbon tax to pay for regional transit. That's a perfect solution for the NDP. Rather than maintaining their opposition to the tax - and continuing to sow outrage among erstwhile environmental supporters -NDP leader Carole James could acknowledge the merit of the mayors' request and agree to leave the tax in place, redirecting its proceeds to transit options.

One perfectly legitimate criticism of the B.C. carbon tax is that sending the monies into general revenues doesn't do the environment a helluva lotta good. Seconding the mayor's proposal would suggest that the NDP is actually out to improve the province's green policy, not just score cheap political points.

Oh wait, its an election. Scoring cheap political points is the order of the day.

This Makes Me Feel A Bit Less Sorry For Ray Lam

Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union, Local 378 (COPE 378) lays into Gordon Campbell for his 6 year old DUI. Cope calls the featured clip "provocative" and "humorous". I find it rather ugly. I suspect it will also be ineffective. For better or worse, the people of B.C. reelected this guy (Campbell) after the conviction. In fact, if it is tied too closely to the NDP (note the union label) it might backfire.

PS. Ray Lam is.

The Ez Makes An Exception

Within Levant’s (ideological) framework, then, only public bodies (specifically, publicly-funded human rights bodies) are understood as a threat to freedom of expression. Private businesses and property owners that use their money and power to restrict speech somehow exist outside of Levant’s analysis and beyond his commitment to free speech. (As does the public system of laws and courts that enforces private property rights at the expense of free expression.)

He's definitely pro-frivolous lawsuit.

Tories Crack Down On Facebook Gun-Play!

Looks like I got it wrong the other day when I wrote that Chris Reid, Gerry Nichols, and other Tory rebs had successfully faced down the party's attempt to ban the representation of fire-arms from Facebook profile pics. The Jackboot came down in the form of an email to Chris:

Chris ,

I regret that it has come to this but after speaking with the other admins we have decided that you need a " cooling off period " from the conservative facebook groups . you are not being banned but removed for at least a period of 1 month . for your failure to listen to my warnings about your recent profile picture , you have to remember that you are a former candidate and somewhat of a high profile one after what happened last election. you have a duty to learn from your mistakes and to shape a positive image of the party one that was not coming together on your posts to the facebook group. you clearly have not learned from your past mistakes and continue to make the same mistakes that got you into trouble before, i as a moderator i cannot sit back and watch this happen again . over time i hope you realise that this is necessary and in the best interests of those involved .

Ryan Rantz

Meanwhile, we pathetic progressive types debate such ephemera as the B.C. Carbon Tax and the Braidwood Inquiry.

PS. Chris Reid has literally moved to Australia (not figuratively, which you might say about someone who has recently died). Yet still roils the movement.

Layton Denies Proportional Representation Referendum Deal

I called up Karl Belanger, Layton's press secretary, and asked him if there was any truth to it He gave me a flat out: NO. It's all speculation, rumour, bloggers dumping falsehoods and rubbish into the electronic ether.

Denies a deal, or that the deal is a referendum on PR?

Is The NDP's Price For Propping Up Harper A Vote On Proportional Representation?

From yesterday's comments:

I told you the other day that the NDP were likely going to crush Iggy's pipe dream of an election this year in exchange for something from the Cons. I'm hearing that a referendum on PR may even be on the table.

When it comes to all things NDP, McClelland knows.

Galactus, Teabagger Of Worlds: A Guest Post

My experience was appalling. I was dancing and singing and waving my "Obama Sucks" placard, and suddenly this cigar-stinky fat man pushed me to my knees and attempted to stick his balls down..

...well, I shall go no further into it. Needless to say, I disintegrated everything within 150 yards, thus bringing that pathetic human protest to its untimely doom.

As for me, I still feel traumatized, and may seek counselling.

Am I interested in organizing? Yes, in the sense that I would hunt down every pathetic human behind these grotesque spectacles and feed them to Zzzinthian blood worms. I hear that prick Gingrich had something to do with it. Him, I shall disintegrate slowly.

Galactus, over and out.

Bourque Pulls RetCon

What Bourque said 1st:BOURQUE EXCLUSIVE: Bourque has learned that former US Presidents William Jefferson Clinton and George W Bush will meet to debate for the very firsttime ever.

What the Globe said would happen.

What Bourque now says that he had said 1st:

SUNDAY BOURQUE EXCLUSIVE: Bourque has learned that former US PresidentsWilliam Jefferson Clinton and George W Bush will meet for the very first time ever in an intimate conversation in front of a live audience.

C'mon, Bourque, it isn't an exclusive when you change your headline based on a G&M story. You new media-types can't start decaying before the MSM is even dead!

Bend Over NDP Supporters, Its Going To Be A Hard Summer

OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jack Layton says the House of Commons should spend the next couple of months focusing on employment insurance reforms and other matters - not electioneering.

They'll call it Jack Layton's Summer of sweeeeet surrender. It is so like listening to Stephane Dion about the same time in '08.

Oh Gawd this shall be fun. I can barely control my smirking. Might as well kill yourself now, McClelland, for you shall never get your dignity back.

A Faint Hope

Should the book go into a second edition, I am hopeful that Levant will address the concerns raised by Citizen writer Andrew Potter in his generally positive review. Potter states that 'Of more concern is that clarity, fairness and perhaps even accuracy are often sacrificed in the greater service of the author's polemical objectives.'

Mr. Potter cites Levant's claim, based on an article printed in Maclean's magazine at that time, that in 1966 the Canadian Jewish Congress helped fund the fledgling Canadian Nazi Party. Potter correctly points out that the only 'bankrolling' expended by a private detective hired by the Congress to expose the Nazi group was money put out to purchase a bottle of rum. Between 'rum' and 'bankrolling' is more than a nuanced difference. It is the difference between accuracy and fiction.

Hopefully Mr. Levant will see fit to correct this for future editions.

From Rabbi Reuven Bulka, of the CJC.

Unfortunately, if Ezra excised all the unclear, unfair, and inaccurate bits from Shakedown there wouldn't be enough left for 1/2 dozen limericks. And were I to pick the single worst omission in the book, it would probably be the fact that Ezra doesn't bother to tell his readers how the RCMP and Privacy Commission investigation of the CHRC turned out.

Tories Will Let You Pack As Much Heat As You Want On Facebook

Chris Reid and Gerry Nicholls have been leading a small group of Tory dissidents in an online revolt designed to force the party functionaries to let members display guns in their profile pictures on the CPoC and PCPO FaceBook groups. As you can see, they have been arming up and daring the party to "defriend" them.

Yesterday I asked Gerry how went the rebellion. Had they been turfed from either forum?

Hi BigCity Lib: Nope so far Chris and I are still in the group.

Here's to the struggle for freedom on social networking sites.

On Facebook, You Have No Friends

You know, it could have been me that published first on this, and maybe got credit for "the kill", but by the time I spent a night pondering the ethics of spilling a guy's Facebook pictures, they were already MSM fodder and British Columbia New Democratic candidate Ray Lam had already stepped down.

Clearly one of Mr. Lam's Facebook friends was a political opponent, or alternatively Mr. Lam had a falling out with one of his real friends, and hey presto "private" pictures became public.

It is quite common, by the way, to sign up as a Facebook friend of some politician/potential candidate and hope they 1) post pictures of themselves in their underwear or 2) become associated with radical types. Facebook encourages shoddy screening processes, because your cred there is a function of the number of friends you have. I, for example, have so few friends that I will accept pretty much anyone. Mind you, I don't intend to run for public office.

Gary Wise has done a fine series of posts on your Facebook privacy rights and other topics re the Facebook social networking phenomenon. David Canton covers similar ground in today's LFP (and, as a free bonus, talks a little about the FreeD case). In short, however, your privacy rights on a social networking site are probably less than you thought.

NDP Drinks The Black Liquor

A bizarre alternative fuel tax credit that actually subsidizes increased CO2 emissions at U.S. pulp mills could be "the final nail in the coffin for many struggling Canadian pulp mills."

This is a weird one, which I have written about here. Basically, pulp-and-paper mills can fuel many of their processes by making use of the by-products of these very processes, in particular a carbon rich sludge containing lignin (the structural glue that binds plant cells together) called black liquor. They've been doing things for years this way, and it keeps the production of pulp and paper relatively "green"(at least "greener" than it would otherwise be). However, in the 2005 U.S. highway bill law-makers introduced a provision that gave a 50 cent per gallon tax credit to industries using a taxable fuel/alternative fuel mix, and in 2007 this was extended to the pulp and paper industry. So clever heads thought "Hey, that money can be ours if we just add diesel to our black liquor!" even though this results in greater emissions and is entirely contrary to the purpose of the legislation.

Naturally, Canadian players in the industry are mad as hell, but the political response to has been most interesting, particularly from the NDP:

"The new U.S. administration is ensuring they are protecting American jobs," [NDP Trade critic Peter Julian] said. "Canada has to take similar tack and work with the U.S. administration to get a reciprocal arrangement that...[is] win-win for both countries."

...which sounds very much as though he is pushing for the tax credit to be extended to the Canadian side of the border, which means that, once again, the NDP is willing to sacrifice environmental interests for those of a dirty brown, heavily unionized industry. Ditching the green for the brown, as it were.

More sensibly, both the Liberals and the government are intent on having the credit killed in the U.S. rather than instituting something just as perverse up here.

The long, slow decline of the NDP as the party of the environment continues.

Garry Breitkreuz Goes Rogue

In which Garry Brietkreuz, a Tory MP most closely associated with the move to kill the gun registry:

1) attends the AGM of the Canadian Shooting Sports AGM in Mississauga, and speaks to them, over the orders of the PMO.

I am attending the Canadian Shooting Sports AGM in Mississauga this weekend where Yorkton-Melville Conservative MP Garry Breitkreuz was the featured speaker at the Saturday evening banquet.

2) but only after TO Star reporters have been hustled out of the room.

The Toronto Star, having been removed from the room, was unable to cover this secret presentation.

As of today, the T.O. Star says Breitkruz didn't speak.

So: who lied to the T.O.Star?

The EPA Moves To Regulate CO2

I have heard various assessments re the effect of this move. This one, from Crooked Timber, is one of the more optimistic:

As Brad Plumer explains here, the regulations will transform the Congressional debate over bills to introduce a national cap-and-trade system. In the absence of EPA regulations, and assuming continuation of current practices regarding the filibuster, the Republicans in the Senate could block any action as long as they could muster 41 votes (and of course, ratification of a treaty like Kyoto requires 66 out of 100 votes). But now the effect of a filibuster will be to leave the EPA to deal with the issue by regulation, which might include establishment of emissions trading schemes, as well as technological mandates to adopt best practice technology. Almost certainly, some Senate Republicans will prefer a deal where they get to protect some favored interests to a system of regulation over which they have no say.

Obama Meets Harper At The Summit Of The Americas

The two chatted in a hotel service corridor as they moved between meetings.

"It's down the stairs, 2nd door on your right. And its more ancient than my African Grammy, so you might have to flush twice. Okay Steve?"

"How clean is it?"

"I'm from Chicago, man, I've seen worse."

Teabagging Def.

Buckets, of all people, has the answer.

Weird how its always the quiet, smart-type guys.

Think About It...Liberal!

What have we done?

Conservative Party Vs. Gun Nutz: Who Will Emerge Victorious?

Chris Reid, who became briefly famous during the last federal election when the CPoC forced him to step down as candidate for Toronto Center, and who made me briefly famous as well, is back and raising heck again.

Above is his profile picture on the CPoC Facebook site, and some people are not too happy with it. In fact, a party functionary has threatened to lower the boom on him:

ok chris i'm going to be as polite as possible but your profile picture has to go if you want to continue participating in the conservative facebook groups and think common sence (sic) should indicate my reasons . its simply not approiate (sic) and some users may find it threatening or offensive . i'm giving you 1 warning and 1 day to replace it with something else .

But Chris isn't backing down because, I suppose, that would be against Liberty or something. Instead he's organizing a counter-protest of sorts. According to Gary Nichols:

Anyway, Chris is asking people on Facebook who wish to protest this ban replace their profile picture for a day with a gun, and posting on the Ontario PC Party group page.

Looks like Chris has a few supporters too.

You know, suddenly I feel terribly unmanly argue about the details of the B.C. carbon tax, especially when Tory ranks are filled with hot chicks like this one.

But in any case, who will win this showdown between Party Central and the CPoC rebs? And will they be packing heat on Facebook?

More Susan Boyle

From 1999, singing "Cry Me A River" and sounding rather sensuous doing it.

An early recording of Britain's Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle singing Cry Me a River for charity has emerged on the internet.

Her version of ballad Cry Me A River was included on the Music for a Millennium Celebration disc in 1999.

Just 1,000 copies of the CD were funded by Whitburn Community Council.

NDP And Reform: Together At Last

"Joining the B.C. New Democratic Party in vowing to axe the tax is the Reform Party of B.C., who have adopted the slogan, “We ♥ CO2.”"

Also lining up behind the NDP in railing against the carbon tax are the B.C. Conservatives, who have made the issue one of the six main planks of their platform.

And another 1st: NDP policy gets a prominent write-up on IceCap, the premier Climate Change Denialist site. They must be so proud.

Tom Flanagan In Less Than Five Minutes

This line of attack won't play:

There is, however, a big obstacle in the way: Mr. Ignatieff can't force an election by himself. He needs the votes of the New Democrats and the Bloc Québécois to defeat the Conservatives on a vote of no-confidence. In other words, he has to reactivate the coalition with the socialists and separatists against which Canadians reacted so strongly last fall.

It's of a piece with the Tories "roll to the right" strategy lately, and we see where that's getting them. I doubt it would work anyway, but if your political opponent wants to tar you as a rebel and traitor, it probably helps that your latest book is an old fashion call to Canadian Patriotism. Most excellent timing there.

Flanagan gets one point right, though. Iggy needs both the NDP and Bloc to bring Harper down, and:

...why would [the NDP] rush into an election if the polls suggest the Liberals are going to do well? The NDP had its best results in 1988, when the Liberals were at a low point. In the six elections starting in 1993, the result has always been the same: When the Liberals go up, the NDP goes down, and vice versa. Jack Layton has worked hard in three campaigns to build up his party's caucus from 13 members when he became leader to 37 after the 2008 election. Will he risk those gains trying to put in power a Liberal leader who mirrors the Conservative leader on so many major issues?

What enflamed environmentalists about the NDP in the last Federal election has been vented upon their provincial counterparts at the beginning of this B.C. election in a particularly nasty fashion. And if anyone was paying attention, they would see a party/movement tearing itself quite loudly into its ideological parts, its green and brown wings. Jack Layton is going to want to lay low for the time being, and figure out how to stitch back what he has torn asunder. I see ways by which he could be convinced to keep the Harper government alive, the result being that we have a Federal government too weak to do much harm because it is simply too weak to act in any significant fashion. The nation staggers on for another year or so.

On the up-side, the NDP will become the party of Abstention. I am preparing rhetorical stink-bombs to lob their way, satisfied that they will make big stinky splat marks on the party's reputation.

More Pork

Jay Hill shovels Eastern $$$s out of the back of his pickup truck with a pitchfork! Chetwynd, Tumbler Ridge, and The Village of Pouce Coupe win big!

Meanwhile, Andrew Coyne contemplates ending it all: "It wasn't supposed to be like this! We're supposed to be Conservatives, goddamn it!"

The UpSide And DownSide Of The Tories Moving Right

...and going all SoCon, and etc.

The Upside:

"Harper's approval rating is in the 90s for Conservative supporters,' Graves said. 'There's a vivid gap between the Conservative base, who are very happy with the general direction of the country, and everyone else.'"

The Downside:

Asked which party they would support if an election were held tomorrow, 36.7 opted for the Liberals while 30.2 per cent chose the Conservatives. About 15.5 per cent supported the NDP, while the Green party was the choice of 8.1 per cent and the Bloc Québécois was backed by 9.4 per cent.

Tory supporters sound like they are eager to become the Official Opposition, again. Unless they've figured out how to vote twice.

PS. 36%/30% seems a very important ratio the last couple of elections, being more or less what the range of what Libs/Tories have earned over the last decade or so (since Martin's first Gov.). Makes me wonder if most of the changeable minds in Canada change from Lib. to Tory and vice-versa. Have I, as a Lefty Lib arguing for an outreach to NDP/Green voters, been barking up the wrong tree all my adult life?

Could Ezra and Five Foot Be Exaggerating?

From Ezra's blog, a number repeated again and again throughout the blogosphere:

I'm still thinking about that amazing 600-person town hall meeting in London, Ontario on Monday night.

Paul Berton, explaining why the London Free Press didn't bother to cover the event:

"The event was discussed and considered. It was never actually rejected, but simply didn't make the cut, for reasons, as you have so astutely observed, mostly related to staffing.

"That is not unique. You should know there are dozens of other events each year attended by 300 or more people that we also do not cover, mostly for similar reasons, although space and timing are also factors."

So, how about this as a standard rule-of-thumb: take everything the Ez says and divide by two.

h/t

Note: this is Berton's response to an email complaint. Read the whole thing and you can see that the "300" figure is originally raised by the complainer.

The Effect Of Galactic Cosmic Rays On Earth's Climate = Sweet FA

From Realclimate:

Galactic cosmic rays (GCR) are energetic particles originating from space entering Earth’s atmosphere. They are an important source of ionization in the atmosphere, besides terrestrial radioactivity from e.g. radon (naturally emitted by the Earth’s surface). Over the oceans and above 5 km altitude, GCR are the dominant source. Their intensity varies over the 11 year solar cycle, with a maximum near solar minimum. Carslaw et al. give a nice overview of potential relations between cosmic rays, clouds and climate. Over the first half of the 20th century solar irradiance has slightly increased, and cosmic rays have subsequently decreased. RC has had many previous posts on the purported links between GCR and climate, e.g. here, here and here.

[...]

The authors concluded that this was “far too small to make noticeable changes in cloud properties based on either the decadal (solar cycle) or climatic time-scale changes in cosmic rays.” .... More studies of this kind will undoubtedly come up with different numbers, but it’s perhaps less likely that the qualitative conclusion, as quoted above, will change dramatically. Time will tell, of course.

I've written a couple of times on this topic, although admittedly the technical nature of the subject matter gets to (and beyond) the limits of my comprehension. For example, one theory linking GCRs to climate change argues that increases in solar activity (measured by sunspot numbers) drives an increase in the force/velocity of the solar wind, which in turn sweeps away Cosmic Ray particles that might otherwise reach Earth's atmosphere. Cosmic radiation in Earth's atmosphere drives ionization, which drives low cloud cover (LCC). Thus, high levels of solar activity mean low levels of sunlight-reflective LCC, from which follows an increase in global mean surface air temperatures (Global Warming).

Last year, some research was done last year by U.K. physicists T. Sloan and A.W. Wolfendale; they located short term increases/decreases in CR intensity in existing data sets (Forbush decreases, for example), and looked around for corresponding changes in LCC (low cloud cover) indexes.

They found no such increase. Israeli astrophysicist N.J. Shaviv criticized their work here, and Mr. Sloan was kind enough to respond on this very blog, here.

The Ballad Of Steve And Brian

Grit-Girlesque, with an historical account of the long, somewhat complicated relationship between the two men.

Lets just say that if there had been same-sex-marriage 15 years ago, it wouldn't have worked out for them.

Texas Governer Talks Treason

Send in the Tanks, Obama! Give the crazies a whiff of grapeshot.

Because Its All Fun And Games Until A Bomb Goes Off

Of course the American Homeland Security agency is keeping an eye on the U.S. right-wing fringe.

Remember, before Bin Laden and Al Qaeda the most successful terrorist group in the U.S. was Timothy McVeigh and the Militia movement.

B.C. NDP Enviro-Perfidy Pays No Polling Dividends!

"I am fricken' doomed," said B.C. NDP Leader Carole James, "So...totally...fricken...doomed!"

Bourque Finds One!

Headline on Bourque:

ANALYST STILL SEES VALUE IN CANWEST

He's, like, a stealth analyst.

From The GaltList

GaltsList Classifieds is a place for like-minded individuals to exchange goods and services on the terms they choose. There’s been a lot of discussion recently about the phenomenon of “Going Galt.” GaltsList recognizes that each individual may understand this differently and we encourage you to use this service based on your own interpretation.

What GaltsList provides that other services do not is the upfront answer to the question: Can we make a non-standard deal? GaltsList encourages creative self-sufficiency. What this means to you is up to you.

Placing a classified ad is currently free of charge. That might change.

So, what are they selling on The GaltList? Well, so far, some desert land outside of Yuma, for a trailer, and another FSBO in the same place. (Some Libertarian must have gone bust in Yuma; my folks ditched their modular in late '07 and its been downhill ever since in that town).

And there's a couple of unemployed Libertarian IT Guys plugging their services, one of them ready to work for $75.00 ( I hope thats per hour, but the ad isn't exactly clear).


Libertarians: like hippies without the hippy chicks.

H/T CC.

What Remains Of The NDP When They Abandon The Environment?

A sepia tinged photo of elderly unionistas, strumming "We Shall Overcome" on an old guitar and wearing their red berets.

In B.C., the rot is particularly advanced.

Your Daily Nazi: Nazis Claim Credit For Research In Levant's Shakedown

Levant relied heavily on research and work done by Fromm, Lemire, me and other Stormfront posters, but at the same time took a shot at us by calling people like Lemire "hate-mongers". His friend Steyn is saying how Levant is sticking up for us all, yet Steyn refuses to lend support to Lemire's constitutional challenge. Steyn and Levant are in it for the money and self preservation, not for the greater good.

Of course, it doesn't mean what Levant and Steyn are doing is not a positive for us in general. Maybe with their help, Lemire can take down Warman and the CHRC in his constitutional challenge. After all, levant mentions Stormfront in his book, and I'm sure a few people will investigate on their own and check our site out.

Any publicity is good publicity.

I've been saying for ages now that most of what's in ShakeDown and in Ezra's legal defense has been stuff regurgitated from Neo-Nazi websites. If you want to know why he's likely to lose his defamation case, and why his crusade has been shunned by lawmakers (even if embraced in the MSM) then that's why.

You can read the origonal post here, on Stormfront itself, if you are so inclined.

Which Side Of The Wedge?

I am torn over the whole Jason Kenney/CAF showdown. Undoubtedly, Kenney is playing a crude form of wedge politics and his unilateral withholding of funds sets an unhealthy precedent.

On the other hand, CAFs leadership as currently constituted are a bunch of dicks and have used their public funds (and the public profile that dispensing these funds has given them) for unsavory extracurricular politicking.

This story from The Embassy is about as sympathetic account as CAF and Co. are likely to get.

Talk About Unintended Consequences

MONTREAL _ Canadian forestry giants Domtar (TSX:UFS) and AbitibiBowater (TSX:ABH) are seeking millions of dollars in U.S. tax credits by transforming an alternative fuel called black liquor derived from pulpmaking into much needed cash.

Tax credits for technological innovation, eh? A good thing, eh? Except that isn't what's happening here. The forestry companies are moving to take advantage of a loop-hole in an alternative fuels tax credit from the 2005 U.S. highway bill.

You see, one by-product of the wood pulping process is this stuff called "black liquor":

Here's how it works. Wood chips are cooked in a chemical solution to separate the cellulose fibers, which are used to make paper, from the other organic material in wood. The remaining liquid, a sludge containing lignin (the structural glue that binds plant cells together), is called black liquor. Because it's so rich in carbon, black liquor is a good fuel; the kraft process uses the black liquor to produce the heat and energy necessary to transform pulp into paper. It's a neat, efficient process that's cost-effective without any government subsidy.

In other words, the paper industry produces much of the fuel it uses to make its products in the very process of making those products. It is, in that limited sense, a green industry. But the 2005 tax bill

...included a fifty-cent-a-gallon credit for the use of fuel mixtures that combined "alternative fuel" with a "taxable fuel" such as diesel or gasoline.

So clever heads within the paper industry figured: why not mix "black liquor" (an alternative fuel) with diesal (a "taxable fuel") and claim some of those government millions, even though the end result is to increase CO2 emissions (from burning the added diesel).

Domtar, though a Canadian company, is retrofitting its U.S. plants to get a piece of the action. But what about Canadian companies that only have plants in Canada? Suddenly, they are put at a competitive disadvantage, making the same pulp with higher production costs. So what do they do? Lobby for a similar tax credit on this side of the border. Pulp industry reps have already met with Stockwell Day over the issue.

(On the slightly more sane side, there is also an effort being made to convince the Obama administration that this was not what the original credit was intended for, and to have the wording changed to stop the fuel mixing practice.)

My Sentiments Exactly

How did you even get associated with the death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus anyway? Pretty sure there is minimal bunny presence in the Bible.

The Prime Minister Shall Be Otherwise Engaged

One of the surprises in arrangements for the summit is the absence of Canada's prime minister, Stephen Harper, from those expected to address the ceremonial opening session.

One day this joke will stop being funny. Until then...

PS. Penlan notes in the comments that Harper will be the warm-up act for Hugo Chavez at the plenary session beginning on Saturday morning (April 18).

Pork

Conservative Andrew Coyne bitching about it:

Conservatives now go about the country boasting about the pork that they’re bringing to the ridings.

Conservative MP Brad Trost dishing it out.

See Brad? You're gonna make Andrew cry.

Chasing Kinsella

Remember the "cat's meat" mini- scandal and the CCCA (Chinese-Canadian Conservative Association), that did so much to keep it in the news:

The unidentified CCCA member, however, said the group actually had been contacted by the PMO with suggested "talking points" and asked to hold the press conference.

The PMO did that? Don't they have an economic collapse to manage or something?

(PS. Overall, a good piece on the news behind the news, as it were. I always like reading about the various community groups and how they interact/connect-up with the larger political parties. This one is run by Alex Yuan, P.C. candidate for Richmond Hill).

Two Environmental Proposals Up For A Vote At Liberal Convention

One resolution, proposed by the Quebec wing of the party, calls on a Liberal government to unconditionally commit to meeting the Kyoto Protocol targets, enacting legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that would include 'establishing a carbon tax, a cap and trade system or a combination of both.

This one's not so good. Committing to Kyoto at this point is purely symbolic, and I'm not sure how effective the symbolism can be anymore. Copenhagen 2009 is the new game in town and things are looking a bit rocky. While I doubt that a pure collapse in talks is possible, you could wind up with something so watered down that the goals become purely aspirational, on a world-wide basis.

Why not commit to an aggressive Green approach in Copenhagen? Look forward, not backward.

As for the carbon tax, well you could change the phrasing to something like "and/or" and keep the tax as one possible policy tool. Or you could excise it entirely. As written, this sounds like its an inevitable part of the policy mix.

Another, proposed by the British Columbia wing of the party, calls on a Liberal government to consider 'all mechanisms of investment, incentive and taxation' to combat global warming and stimulate sustainable economic growth.

Love the "investment, incentive" part. The Federal Libs should be looking to Dalton McGuinty on this one. He has made a decision that our laid off auto workers are going to manufacture the machines that power tomorrow's green economy. Again, the reference to a carbon tax is optional, IMHO. Has it, in any form, been made toxic on account of The Green Shift?

I dunno. But I am glad to see that the party hasn't entirely given up on the issue. And I hope these resolutions send a signal to Mr. Ignatieff that he can't just blow it off. You wanna be Liberal leader, got gotta occasionally do something Liberal.

Note: Actually, Taylor has the entire Quebec resolution here. It is not as bad as I thought, although most of the points made above still apply.

A Moral Compass, Pointing To HELL

Not sure which is more appalling, the fact that Stephen Harper is the guy ultimately behind last week's "Mulroney Not A Tory" stories, or the fact that the CPoC is demanding Mulroney pay them for the privilege of rejoining:

"The Conservative Party of Canada has no lifetime members," [Conservative party president Don] Plett told the news service.

He said the party would "absolutely" accept Mulroney back as a member, provided he ponies up the $35 for a five-year membership.

You know, if Mulroney is having trouble with this, I hear Iggy's been raking in the cash. Could the Liberal Party of Canada spare a few bucks to make Mulroney a CPoC member again?

Didn't I Just Say That?

...if Harper's recent references to faith and morals are part of a new strategy to play the social conservative card -- then one conclusion comes into focus. The Conservatives are more rattled by recent events than they've let on, to the point where they're contemplating abandoning eastern Canada and any hopes of a majority and retreating to their western stronghold.

I did, but I was funnier.