Boom!!!

 Another pipeline ruptures in B.C!  They're blowing up like pop-corn in a microwave!

Preston Manning Repeats Himself

...here:

“(Mulcair) waxes quite eloquent on that in relation to the oilsands, but then the question is going to eventually come back, ‘Well why didn’t you apply those principles then to Quebec Hydro when you were in a position to do so?’ You want to talk about a carbon tax for the petroleum guys, fine, well where’s the reservoir tax for Hydro?’” Manning said in an interview with iPolitics this week. “I don’t think that discussion has even started to occur, but when it does occur, I think that any temporary surge of the NDP as environmental champions will be knocked back.”

So I will repeat myself.  Past aside, if such a discussion were to occur today, Mulcair and the people of Quebec would be all smiles.  Because though hydro causes extensive emissions during the construction and early operations phases, these return to background levels after about a decade, after which they are no longer even counted in Canada's National Inventory Report, which outlines the nation's carbon budget.  Most of Quebec's push for hydro took place twenty years ago, so a reservoir tax on those projects would raise bupkis.  And even their most recent projects would only suffer under a tax for a few more years.

In other words, try again please Preston Manning.

The longer version of my argument can be found here.

And Now, In Other Pipeline News...Wait For It!...

...a pipeline catches fire in Fort St. John, B.C.!

Northern Gateway Joint Review Panel Decision...

...between April and December, 2013.  And then, presuming a rubber stamp from the panel, it hits the court system, and becomes a national issue in 2015.

CRASH! Sale Of Company HQ Sends Postmedia Stock Down 36% In One Day!

Yesterday, after Postmedia announced the sale of its HQ building on Don Mills Avenue, its stock plunged in heavy (for Postmedia, anyway) trading.

And here's PNC.B-T's  one year trading chart, which shows the stock's long-term trend:

You know, if you showed that chart to an astrophysicist without telling them what it signified, they'd say it could only be the path of a star plunging into a humongous  black hole, for no other phenomenon in the known universe exhibits such a steep decline.   Then you could explain to him about Conservative newspapers in Canada.


In any case, here's the company's "forward-looking" press release.  Reading between the lines, the author is saying that next time he writes one of these things he will already have boiled his belt for the calories, and will be hungrily considering eating his own gaunch in a desperate attempt to stave off malnutrition.


PS. Here's a Postmedia columnist sounding off on the glories of Capitalism.  Talk to your boss, Peter Foster!

NDP Prepares Counterstrike

If I am interpreting this email I got correctly, they will be airing a few ads of their own.

I wonder if they will link  them to Big Oil in the ads, as is hinted at in the email.

That might work.

Goodbye Jonathon Kay! Goodbye Andrew Coyne!

Postmedia Network has sold, and will be moving from, their Don Mills HQ, which I run past every morning on my way to work.   Word is they're headed for a slightly less palatial facility "closer to town". Taste the austerity, fellas, it will help build your character.

Word is they'll be selling off everything, from PCs to coffee mugs to boxes of documents from Conrad Black's time at the paper.  You just stand outside the building and haggle, and they hand you the stuff you bought out through the smashed windows.  Coyne will keep track of the monies raised, as he is the only guy on staff that's handy with numbers.

CPoC Attack Ad Is Pretty Generic

For what its worth, because I've given up trying to figure out whether my personal take on these things matches that of Joe 6-Pack, but  other than for the specific reference to "Dutch Disease" (which is not in the French version) this could be about any NDP leader of the past 30 years.  This says to me that the CPoC hasn't quite found Mulcair's Achilles Heel yet, the way they were able to successfully tag Iggy with the "elitist" label.  

In Which I Am Mean On Facebook

BITE ME VEGAN SISSIES.

Montreal Mirror Gone?

It seems so, though the comment from the editor-in-chief (through link) makes this a little unclear.  Perhaps they will continue as a web-based publication,  like The Torontoist.  Kind of a pity, because I've always had a soft-spot for the weeklies.  Wonder what this portends for NOW?

Social Media Over-Nerd Abandons Sun Media For Postmedia, Is Still Headed For Unemployment Line

Sun Media's one guy that understands social networking has fled to Postmedia...like abandoning The Titanic for The Lusitania, but whatever.

PS. I don't believe  that William Wolfe-Wylie is his real name.  Its probably an Internet invention like "Long Dong Silver" and etc.  But on the other hand I could be wrong.  Hippy parents did a lot of damage to the younger generation by naming their babies while on LSD.    In any case, its telling that Sun Media should be happy to see their brains leave and double-down on the knuckle dragging.

And yes if I am writing about stuff like this than its been a very slow news day in our peaceable kingdom.

Bernie Farber On Richard Warman

Two fellas I am proud to call friends.  And I would just note that this fight is not yet over.  To all you journos that teamed up with the CDN Neo-Nazi movement to effect the repeal of S13,   I can't speak for these two gentleman, but as for me I will pursue you to the gates of Hell itself, and farther if necessary.  If you guys are not unemployed or in jail when I die, then that will mean that I  have fucked up in life.

Word.

Oops

On the front page, too.  Here's the original wording:

Sun TV Wriggles Away From Of CBSC

Lilley and Coren's ""Black Thugs" Caused English Riots" rant  OK by CBSC.  From the press release:

The CBSC’s National Specialty Services Panel examined the complaints under various provisions of the CAB Code of Ethics and Equitable Portrayal Code.  The majority of the Panel concluded that the discussion dealt with political and social issues and did not constitute abusive or unduly discriminatory comments about black people in general, nor did it contain unduly negative portrayals of that group.  There were, therefore, no violations of any Code provisions.  One adjudicator dissented because she felt that Coren had unfairly attributed all the blame for the riots to the black community.

Here is the dissent from Mr. D.-Y.:

 While I agree with the majority with respect to Clause 2 of the CAB Code of Ethics and Clauses 2 and 4 of the CAB Equitable Portrayal Code, I disagree with respect to Clause 3.  Coren’s choice of words and the overall sense of his message was that black people were the sole cause of the riots.  He repeatedly attributed the riots to “black thugs”, “black young men” and then broadened his scope when he said “you have to have a large urban black community; the rioting begins there.”  Coren argued that it was “not about race, it’s about culture”, but, either way, he was labelling an identifiable group as the source of the problem.  Although Coren acknowledged that there were white participants in the riots, he claimed that those white youth were simply trying to “pretend they’re part of black culture”, again linking the problem back to the black community.  These comments were insulting and unfounded generalizations about the black community and clearly constituted an unduly negative portrayal of that group, contrary to Clause 3 of the CAB Equitable Portrayal Code.

So there you have it.

A philosophical question to end with: if a controversy arises on Sun TV  that nobody sees it, was it really controversial?

If They Made A Movie Of My Life

...it would look alot like this.  Minus the ascent to high-office, the vampires, and the axe, axes being sharp and pointy when you drop them on your foot, and therefore something I try to avoid..  Replace the axe with a computer monitor, though, and you're there.

Northern Gateway Pot Pourri

Former chief of the Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation Terrance Nelson announces his run for national chief of the Assembly of First Nations:

So, what is my plan?

1. Support the Yinka Dene! The Northern Gateway project is dead if I am elected national chief. The Kinder Morgan expansion will become the next topic of discussion after Gateway. This will wake up the Asians, the Americans, and the world that First Nations in Canada will not simply stand by the wayside as our resource wealth is sold off by the immigrants. The immigrant “free ride” on our natural resource wealth is over if I am elected national chief.

Yoiks!  On the other hand, at least he didn't refer to us all as "whitey".  

Meanwhile, Pattison Outdoor has told Greenpeace that it has rejected their billboard re oil-spills in the Alberta tar-sands. That'll keep those smelly hippies quiet for damn sure!  

Meanwhile, a third Alberta oil spill!  The  Energy Resources Conservation Board, Alberta's oil and gas "regulator", helpfully explains that they usually get about two spills a day, so this recent run is actually pretty decent. 

W'e've Heard This Story Before

Ottawa Citizen paper boxes in downtown Ottawa are now sporting "permanently out of business" signs in their windows, and are redirecting customers to nearby corner stores.  This is exactly what happened to the National Post in 2008 when CanWest began its death-spiral into bankruptcy.  The Citizen is part of PostMedia, CanWest's successor company.  Right now their stocks are worth pretty close to nothing.

h/t anon Ottawa resident.

Why Is Tom MulCair Protecting Dean Del Mastro?

I get LPoC talking points delivered into my mail-box every day.  I usually ignore them, but sometimes they raise legitimate questions:

NDP Must Stop Protecting Dean Del MastroOTTAWA— Liberal Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics critic Scott Andrews made the following statement today on the Liberal motion to call Dean Del Mastro to appear before the Ethics committee:“The Prime Minister’s Parliamentary Secretary and chief apologist for Conservative election fraud, Dean Del Mastro, is under investigation by Elections Canada for allegedly violating campaign spending limits and serious questions have been raised about the conduct of his campaign.Liberals have tabled a motion to call Mr. Del Mastro before the Ethics committee to shed light on these claims in an open and transparent manner, a motion the NDP, inexplicably, seems reluctant to support. Canadians deserve answers. It is difficult to comprehend why the NDP would be helping the Harper Conservatives protect Dean Del Mastro. If they take their job as the Official Opposition seriously, they will support our motion and hold this government to account.”


So, I have a lot of NDP-inclined readers: why are you guys supporting this scum-sucker?  

Frank Graves Strikes Back

He responds below to remarks I made here:


My comments were that Trudeau scored the best with the public of the current range of talked about candidates (since Mr Rae dropped out and none of the erstwhile heavyweights from the LPC show much interests). Of those who are actively discussed Justin Trudeau has a major recognintion and approval advantage . As for Mr Carney , I doubt he is interested but the empirical evidence shows that he has remarkable, albeit loosely formed approval ratings . You may resort to ad hominems but the polling data show that Mr. Carney has a reasonably high profile with the public , somewhat above the four people who can place him in a line up as you put it . BTW I did not intend to "annoint" Mr. Trudeau, merely note that of the main talked about current potential candidates he had the best polling numbers. ( I did not write the headline for the story) . I agree that this is very early in a race which hasn't even officially begun and there are a range of different potential otucomes. If my quotes were too unmeaured on this point that was a mistake on my part. As for the propsects of Mr. Trudeau or any other future Liberal leader in the next federal election I continue to believe that it is unlikely that any leader-saviour will quickly restore the LPC to power and I also do not think that even the effective Mr. Mulcair will likely win . Barring a major scandal I would argue that the political arithmetic of four parties on the center left and one tightly committed party on the right would continue to favour the CPC .

Frank Graves.

So there you have it.
---
PS. Thanks very much for your response. Obviously, I disagree with your analysis. I think a very plausible scenario for 2015 is that the LPoC vote collapses to the NDP's benefit and they get a minority government, whoever is LPoC  leader.  Because this is often the way parties "merge". One just craps out as its members decide they must vote their second choice to avoid their greatest fear.  That may be what I personally have to do, although I have given nearly $50 to the LPoC over the last several years.

But I would be interested in who you think Harper and Co. could recruit  back to their cause to get the eight or nine percent they need to remain in power in 2015.  To me, B.C. is the key: Northern Gateway is poison there.  And without B.C. their committed base doesn't amount to a great percentage of the CDN population.

Under Conditions X,Y, or Z, Teenage Jesus Would Save

Frank Graves is going senile, or desperately poll whoring to get his name in the papers--from anointing Justin, to suggesting that BOC Presdient Mark Carney would woo 'em as an LPoC leadership candidate because of his "magic reviews" with the public, which presumably means that the four people who could pick him out of a police line-up really, really like him.  Rob Silver, in addition to being (in my wife's words) "devilishly handsome" is clearly correct here.  Committing to an LPoC leadership candidate right now would be ridiculous.  Not that I have anything against Justin Trudeau.  His enthusiasm is contagious, and  he's put himself on the right side of a number of fights over the years (including his somewhat tentative embrace of NDP/LPoC merger talks).  And he is definitely the MP I would want  covering my back during a bar fight.  He's also stuck his foot in his mouth way more than once.  His burden, should he choose to run, will be to prove to folks that he has judgement and discretion.  That the foot will go in the mouth less often.  That he can, as Paul Newman put it, be himself...but on purpose.  If he does run...and remember he is still saying he won't...and he CAN do that, he may indeed be THE ONE. But maybe not right away--which is why the party needs someone to who is willing commit  a full decade of their lives to the project.  I suspect that, in 2015, if the Canadian people are tired of the Tories, and they might well be,  they will  more likely  turn to the Mulcair NDP (what the hell, they'll say...if Conservatives can learn to eat with a fork than why NOT try out the long-haired commies?) than back to the LPoC.

Stanley B. Goldenberg Sticks With Heartland

A bit of a tome from AOML/NOAA meteorologist Stanley B. Goldenberg, but I figure its only fair to post in full the responses of anyone on the Heartland Institute expert list who answered my query.  I've bolded the most relevant parts; the rest is mostly your standard denialist bullshit.

M.J.Murphy,

Thanks for writing to express your concerns.

I apologize for taking so long to respond. Your letter caught me at a very busy time.  And you would have permission to publish my response if it is done in its entirety.

1) Have I met you somewhere or did you just dig my name up from a list?

2) I do not work for Heartland Institute. They simply list me as an Expert since I have attended and spoken at some of their conferences and am in contact with some of their people --- just as I have attended and also spoken at numerous conferences, both scientific, insurance, preparedness, etc.  I do not agree with everything everyone says and does who are involved with these other meetings.  Just because for the U.S. Govt. does not mean agree with everything the gvt. does.

3) However, I do agree with most of the statements and information at the conferences and from Heartland regarding AGW (anthropogenic global warming), and ACC (anthropogenic climate change).  Realize that the debate is about MAN-MADE global warming or climate change.  That is a VERY DIFFERENT issue than simply global warming or climate change.  I hope that you understand this key point. Drastic climate change can happen just fine without man-made causes.  That has been happening for thousands of years.

4) It's possible that you do not know what Heartland's point was with the posters -- that was that the people they showed had essentially the same belief about AGW that Al Gore has. Keep in mind Heartland had the posters up for (to my understanding) all of 24 hours. It was very unusual for Heartland to do something like that, and I would have preferred that they would have just relied on their fine work of bringing out the facts in this debate (see my pt. #5).  But using an emotive method (the posters) is something the other side does frequently (such as in An Inconvenient Truth). I suggest contacting Heartland directly and asking what their purpose was in doing the posters.  I certainly was not involved with it in any way.

5) The REAL issue here is not what Heartland put on their posters.  They are being attacked because they are promoting climate realism rather than climate alarmism.  There are people that like to attack and censor anyone who dares to disagree with catastrophic man-made global warming.  AS A SCIENTIST I approach this primarily as a scientific issue.  Please note that Heartland just had its 7th International Conference on Climate Change, with distinguished scientists (most of them world-recognized in their fields), politicians, policy makers, economists, energy experts, etc.    Most of these talks are now archived online so you can listen to them, for yourself. I gave a talk which is also included. (What I presented was based on numerous research papers, from my work and that of others.) My session had three world-recognized research meteorologists, ALL of whom disagree with the climate alarmism put forth by many of those in the media  I encourage you to listen to as many of the talks as possible from this conference and from the previosu ones.  Go to: http://climateconferences.heartland.org/

Click on the speaker's name to see their Bio as well.  You can access talks from all 7 conferences.

6) As for actions I am upset about, the fact that the climate change alarmists frequently use the term "deniers" to describe those of us who would disagree (I don't mind "skeptics" since all good scientists are skeptics) is very offensive to me.  (In a letter someone else sent about this, it used the phrase (when describing Heartland) --  "a main climate-denial front group ".  CLIMATE -DENIAL group!  Really!  We are denying the climate.  We are not even denying that climate change exists.  We are challenging the notion that a sizable amount of climate change is man-made.  It is as simple as that.   And that term (deniers) has been used in numerous letters and articles.  The term DENIERS is specifically designed to compare us with those who would stare into the face of recent history and DENY that the Holocaust happened -- i.e. "Holocaust deniers".  As a Jew I find that extremely distasteful and distorted.  We are not "deniers" -- we are scientists (and other thinking individuals) who have a different interpretation of the data and we have justifiable reasons for doing such.

Well, my response is probably more than you expected.  I do hope you watch some of the excellent talks from the 7th ICCC.  Some are very technical and some are at lay level.

Let me know if you have further questions.


So there you have it.

Baby Boomers Get Set To Hide The Loot

Regular readers know that I hate the youth of today: the green hair, the piercings, the stupid beards,and the fact they listen to disco music again after my generation did them all the favour of killing disco so that everything you heard on the radio  for awhile had to have at least ONE electric guitar in it.

But when I read columns like Robert Fulford's most recent, on the narcissism of the latest generation of college kids, or hear David McCullough's commencement address, I don't see a benevolent adult applying some much-needed tough love.  I see a smug prick from the baby boom getting set to pull up the ladder before  his own grand-kids get a grip on it.   Here are people who will get to retire on time with full benefits and a gold-plated walker who are willing to pass a polluted junk-ball with no decent employment opportunities on it to their kids.  Naturally, if you want to do something that crass you want to convince yourself and others in your age cohort that its the kids' own damn fault.  They deserve a life of penury, and you deserve those inlaid emeralds on the ivory straining bar bolted into the wall next to your commode that you clutch during your morning voiding.

But, unfortunately, this is how things will go until the youth wise up, rise up, slaughter their elders en masse and turn them  into Soylent Green.

Mind you, I personally am pretty cool.  Be sure to spare the old guy with the glasses and the Public Enemy t-shirt.

A Bit Of Good News

The Literary Press Group of Canada has been given verbal notification that James Moore, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, has overturned the decision to end funding for its sales force, which serves 47 Canadian owned and controlled literary book publishers from seven provinces. 

Sounds like just a one year reprieve, but whatever.

Off To Ottawa

...so blogging will probably be light.  Will be meeting up with a few like-minded folk on Sunday afternoon for beers.  And, since majority rule in Canada is boring, we'll be discussing another government that we might all work to overthrow.  Preferably in a small country where they mostly speak English.  But not New Zealand, as I hear that is even more boring than Canada.  Anyone interested in coming, let me know.

Also, there are  dark rumors out there that NP columnist Andrew Coyne, Canada's mortician in chief, intends to run for the position of Leader of the LPoC.  This would be a disaster for the party and, therefore, for the nation itself.  The guy's only claim to fame is that he allegedly knows math, which makes him a rarity among journalists.  And when I say allegedly that just means that I certainly can't confirm or deny his claims.

Free Dominion Vs. Dr Dawg: Dawg Wins This Round

Some people might know that Dr. Dawg took the Fourniers to court for allegedly defamatory comments made some time back by FreeD member Roger Smith (aka Peter O'Donnell).  In the first go-round, Dawg lost a summary judgement when the judge decided that pretty much anything goes in the political blogosphere and the appellant (Dawg), when confronted with the alleged defamation, should have, according to the Internet's implicit rules of engagement, shot back with a snappy rejoinder.  Sort of like:


A: You are a pedophile.
B:  And you are another.

In today's decision, the court of appeal decided that the original judge accepted a certain account of blogospheric etiquette too soon, given the nascent state of the law surrounding defamation on-line:

[36] No expert evidence was tendered concerning the expectations and understanding of participants in blogosphere political discourse. There was simply no evidence as to what the right-thinking person in this context would consider would lower the appellant’s reputation in the estimation of a reasonable reader;


So the appeal has been granted, and the issues raised will be hashed out at a full trial.  Connie and Mark are out $14,000.  All of which sounds about right to me.

Dawg's off golfing, so this will have to do until he can write up something for himself.  Naturally, over at FreeD they are confused and disappointed.

Elizabeth May Among Frontrunners In Unscientific LPoC Leadership Poll

You can still vote for her here.  Presumably Andrew Coyne supporters are playing some kind of elaborate prank, or think funeral home directors are sexy.

Get Bob Rae A Sinecure!

BOOYAH!  Bob Rae has chosen NOT to run for LPoC leadership, which is the best thing for the party and therefore, by definition, for the nation.  If Stephen Harper won't give him a Senate seat or an ambassadorship, I suggest that CBC offer him a spot.  In particular, stick him on Hockey Night in Canada as Don Cherry's replacement in a revamped Coaches (Statesman's??) Corner.  I've watched Bob's political career, and  he's won more fights than Don ever did.  And the guy's got couth, which Don never had.

Meanwhile, Justin's got the hair but Marc makes me hot with his intelligence.  Although if Lizzie May steps in then all bets are off.  You can vote for her on Bourque.

Ezra Goes Bananas!

Ezra Levant was completely entitled to cast doubt on the sincerity of the Chiquita company and to call for a boycott of its products because the latter does not share his views on the relatively “green” nature of the Alberta oil sands. However, Levant did not stop there. He began by accusing the Chiquita company of being anti-Canadian bigots, which is, all in all, acceptable in treating a controversial issue.


However, while it became apparent when viewing the segment in question that Levant was reading from a prepared text, he indulged in language excesses that widely overstep the limits of what is acceptable in dealing with a controversial issue, even from a biased point of view. He named the Chiquita executive who is a man with a Spanish name and said in a distinctly aggressive tone, several times, that the latter was a liar. He then concluded his tirade by hurling the following offensive insult, particularly to Hispanics, at the Chiquita representative: “Hey you. Yeah you, [name of Chiquita executive]. Chinga tu madre.”

Some more background here.  Amazing how Ezra manages to scare up so much controversy and still nobody watches his show.

Meanwhile, 61 per cent of the people who voted in Bourque's bogus poll want Ezra to contest the Conservative nomination in downtown Calgary.  Prime Minister Levant.  Has a nice ring to it, if you ask me. C'mon, Ez, you can't win if you don't play.

If Corrections Were Nickels

...MediaCulpa would be a very rich lady.  The Globe and Mail's Neil Reynolds is the latest to get his facts severely checked.

Richard Epstein Off The Heartland Expert List

As regular readers may know, I spent a good part of May 2012 trying to convince that subset of the Heartland Institute expert list  who were also legitimate scientists to distances themselves from HI for their disastrous billboard campaign, with some modest success.  Well, one of the people I emailed was Richard Epstein, a  Professor of Law at NYU School of Law.  I can't claim causality, but it is worth noting that he is no longer on the HI list about a month after I made contact with him.  So 1/2 a BOOYAH! for me.  Here's the googlecache of his entry, and a screen-cap below:

I would also point out that, a week after I contacted Jan Veizer, and he claimed he didn't even know he was on the HI list, claimed in fact  that he did not "appreciate" being on the list...he's still on the list.  I have no idea why; I've suggested to Marc Morano and Joe Bast and some of the other HI lads  that they pull Mr. Veizer's entry, but apparently they have not.  I shall try and clarify what is going on today.

In Ottawa This Weekend

My wife and I will be taking our annual mini-vacation to the nation's capital this coming weekend.  Usually I try and put aside one afternoon (usually Sunday) to meet-up with any local bloggers and other folks who might be interested and hoist a few glasses of ale.  Anyone interested leave a remark in comments or send an email to bigcitylib@hotmail.com, and we shall figure out a time/place combo that works.

Hydroelectric Vs. Tar Sands

We get the following from Preston Manning over the weekend:

Preston Manning is calling out "hypocritical" federal NDP Leader Tom Mulcair for "preaching" to Alberta while turning a blind eye to energy problems in Quebec.

[...]

The problem with Mulcair's position, Manning said, is that the former Quebec minister of sustainable development and the environment has never been heard "crusading to internalize the impact of Quebec's hydro operation."

Manning told Solomon hydro companies have flooded forest areas "the size of lake Ontario," so "where is the reservoir tax that's the hydro equivalent of the carbon levy?" Manning asked.

Fair enough.  But lets follow the logic of this thinking.

That hydro projects can have fairly large scale emissions of GHGs associated with them is fairly well known.  In fact, in the run-up to its 2006 discussions the IPCC considered having countries add emissions from lands flooded by new hydroelectric projects (meaning 10 years old or less) to their National Inventory Reports, which reports show each country's carbon budget.  And indeed if you look at Canada's report (submitted in April of 2011), you will see (in Part 2) that:

Total CO2 emissions from the surface of reservoirs were estimated as the sum of all emissions from reservoirs flooded for 10 years or less.


It is important to understand the "10 years or less" stipulation.  The graph below shows what happens to GHG emissions from hydro projects (at least in the Canadian context; dams in tropical locations are a somewhat different story):

That is to say, peak emissions (from drowned vegetable matter) occur in the very first couple of years after flooding.  Furthermore, if you look at the total amount of Lands Converted to Wetlands (Flooded Lands) in Canada over the period of the report (1990 to 2010) you get this:

...mostly because the building of Hydro-Quebec's large projects came to an end in the 1980s and 1990s.

So the rule is to stop counting emissions after the first decade.  And therefore, at present, the majority of hydroelectric projects in Quebec, assuming your reservoir tax is connected in some reasonable fashion to emissions as counted in the national inventory, would evade the tax or pay very little.  Furthermore, even newer projects like Eastmain-1 would only be subject to a tax for the next couple of years, its reservoir having been completed in 2006.

So you might defend Mulcair here by saying he isn't promoting a reservoir tax because its usefulness  in "internalizing the impact" of Que.'s hydro would be minimal, because that impact has itself become minimal as time has passed.

But there's a broader point to be made.  Quebec's investment in hydro-electric, though immensely controversial at the time, has led it to be well positioned in any discussion re cutting emissions.  There is no variant of a national cap-and-trade scheme in which Quebec would not come out a winner, for it has chosen an energy source that becomes greener (emits less) as time goes by.  On the other hand, nobody seriously expects the Tar Sands to be spewing fewer GHGs in 15 years.

They are not environmentally progressive in Quebec because they like trees and flowers, although I am sure they do.  They've chosen to run their province with an energy technology that allows them to be.

What Would Happen If...

A GP/LPoC merger actually makes sense and is doable, relatively speaking.  And if E. May ran for leader of either a merged entity or the LPoC itself I would be willing to use all my skills and abilities to crush...CRUSH...anyone in her path.  Seriously. This is the  best bit of empty political speculation all week.

From here.

The Yes Men Strike Back

Clever lads.  Hope they don't get sued.  Here are some of the people they faked into thinking the vid was real.  Here's the "making of" story

Ethical Oil

,,,pollutes just like the other stuff.  Folks at Red Deer, Snakes Head,  and Butcher Creek should toughen up and strain it through their teeth when they drink.  Remember, putting up with this shit is in the National Interest.

A "Gaffe", Eh? Part Nope

The whole Nanos poll is here.  I think I like it better when Alberta is polled separately and not as part of "The Prairies".  Split it off and I bet the NDP looks far more competitive in Saskitoba, as they do in the recent Forum survey.  Either way, its pretty obvious that Mulcair has a strategy and, for the moment at least, its paying off.  Apparently, get reamed out by both Conrad Black  and Brian Mulroney isn't a career breaker these days.

May Another Man Win

The Libs have decided to let  Bob Rae run for the LPoC leadership.  Which is OK by me because I basically think he's served the party well, is not some kind of 5th columnist and etc., and really ought to be treated fairly and with respect.

I also don't think he's our  guy anymore.  Not so much because of his one rough term as premier in Ontario 20 years ago.  I think folks would forgive him for that.  Mostly because he's getting old and the kind of statesman-like but windy rhetoric he specializes in doesn't seem to work anymore in the HOC.  Canadians, on both Left and Right, want brawlers these days.  In a perfect world, he would be made ambassador to France or some other European country where he could end his career eating fried snails and sipping wine in cafes on the banks of winding rivers.

I'm also not entirely sold on Teenage Jesus, though if he were made Leader  I have no doubt he could shed some of his youthful clumsiness and compete an election or two down the road.  Which might be what the LPoC needs going forward--someone to reclaim the country after a disastrous Mulcair minority.  What I really wish is that Marc Garneau, or someone of equivalent substance, could grow himself a head of rock-star hair, which unfortunately is not likely in the cards at this late date.

 In any case, hair + gravitas = VICTORY. May we find all three.

Section 13 (Hate Speech Provision) Of Canadian Human Rights Act Is Repealed

That's not surprising.  Interesting, though, in how Storseth chose to frame the repeal (in part at least) as a "tough on crime" measure:

Acts of hate speech are serious crimes that should be investigated by police officers, not civil servants, he said, and the cases should be handled by “real judges and real lawyers,” instead of a quasi-judicial body like the human rights commission.


We'll see how the usual suspects react to the new, post S.13 regime. It is probably far more unpleasant to have the police on your case than some bureaucrat from the CHRC. I suspect that Arthur Topham, for example, doesn't much like the new way of things.  Although perhaps he is glorying in his new-found martyrdom.

Gleick Unchained!!!

Peter Gleick, who instigated the series of events that has seen  the Heartland Institute--a far right U.S.  "think" tank which that has shilled for both big-tobacco and big-oil--brought to its knees (with my help, mind you) has been given back his post at The Pacific Institute.  BOOYA!  The PI sank into intellectual pansydom by worrying about means and ends at an inappropriate moment; good to see that they're repenting of their foolishness.  All Gleick did wrong, in my opinion, was get caught conning con-men.

And when Peter Gleick goes to Heaven he will get to lounge about for all Infinity next to Jesus and Mother Gaia.  When his critics wind up in the same location, they'll be lucky if they get the seat nearest the men's washroom.

RIP Ray Bradbury

I have no words. Fortunately, this enterprising young lady does.

Thumbs Up To Dalton McGuinty

...for bill-13, the provincial gov's anti-bullying legislation, has passed 3rd reading.

Thumbs down to the Hudak Tories for once again seeming  in thrall to the same wingnuts, goobers, and mouth-breathing cretins that kept 'em out of office last election.  Or maybe, since that's where I'd like them to stay, thumbs-up.  Go, Tim Hudak, lock arms with Rondo "the facts don't count"Thomas. You embrace teh crazy, and teh crazy embraces you.

Sun TV Pot Pourri

 David Moretta, husband of Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith, has stepped down from his position as a senior executive at Sun TV because there was...wait for it...a risk that reporters working in the Sun newsrooms would self-censor, knowing that a key executive [was] married to the Wildrose leader.  An explanation that would be far more convincing had this decision been made before the recent Alberta election.  Nah.  Rumour has it  that Moretta saw the writing on the wall when he was asked to take a pay-cut to help buy Ezra a new toop (definitely not visible in this picture),

Also,  senior government say that Sun News Network was actively involved in the decision to have bureaucrats take the place of actual new Canadians during a televised citizenship ceremony last fall.  So they lied.  Again.  Not really news, that.

A Typo Or Par For The Course?

Of course, if it wasn't Sun Media you wouldn't need to ask.  In any case, I would suggest it detracts from the serious of the editorial message.

Arthur Topham Update

From Doug Christie's newsletter. Updated from here.  319(2) is, of course, one of the Criminal Code hate speech provisions.

Fool Me Once, Shame On You; Fool Me Twice, And I Must be Lorne Gunter

The latest tranche  of census information, like the material released back in February, is from the still mandatory short form.  It is the long form that was compromised by the government's decision.  Lorne Gunter, who also covers the global warming controversy and would, you would think, possess at least a single smidgen of  statistical knowledge, still cannot tell the difference between long and short forms.  Naturally, he writes for the Toronto Sun.

Is Ezra Levant Getting Fat?

Compare that with this.  He's definitely getting puffy about the cheeks.  Weird, too, in that this is the least make-up I've ever seen him wear.  Cuts to the lipstick budget?

Jan Veizer Didn't Even Know He Was On Heartland List--Also, He Deplores My Actions

This morning I recieved an email from Jan Veizer, a geologist at the University of Ottawa.  He too is on the Heartland Institute expert list:


From: REDACTED
To: bigcitylib@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Jan Veizer And The Heartland Institute
Date: Sat, 2 Jun 2012 14:48:04 +0000


I was not aware of this and and do not appreciate of being listed without asking my permission. However, I equally deplore your snooping and imposition by your "friendliy advice".


I would challenge the notion that I was snooping, however.  Mr. Veizer got the same email as everyone else (see here), and I did not in his case do any kind of follow-up.  But whatever.  I have emailed Joe, Marc, and the gang at HI and suggested they delete Mr. Veizer's entry.  That is, frankly, my favorite part of the exercise.  

St. Catherine's Standard Sacks A Dozen

So say the rumors.  Die Sun Media Die.

Your Daily Nazi: Kanuck Kannibal Killer Also Hung With KKK?

You can settle for the MSM version , or you can go straight to the horses mouth: Luka Rocco Magnotta was posting to North America's premier Neo-Nazi forum StormFront a year ago, using a false identity to attention-whore himself out as a politically incorrect free speech champion/martyr.

Might be an interesting project to see if he has ever commented on  the websites of other speechy warriors.  Hmm.

Heartland Expert List Roundup

If you've been following along lately, you'll know that my project for May was to--in wake of the Heartland Institute's disastrous billboard campaign--contact scientists on the their expert list and ask them politely whether they wished to remain on that list.  A copy of the form letter I used can be found here, and the results here.  But the short version is: 84 experts (about 30% of the list) were contacted, and 12 responded.  Of the 12, seven had their names removed from the Heartland list, prompting this open letter from HI CEO Joe Bast.

I've posted an excel file here with a further breakdown of who replied, who didn't, and what the ones who did reply said to me.

More Layoffs, Dropped Editions Coming To Sun Media?

 News of the latest at Postmedia has prompted speculation among the folks at the Toronto Sun Family Blog.  Dropping weekend editions has already been discussed among Sun Media management, though not yet implemented.  Furthermore, some staffers have been asked to use up their vacation time before the end of 2012....to make buyout packages a little less expensive, perhaps?   Hmmm.