Thanks Dana.
Can you imagine a nation that might elect this bimbo over Obama?
I can.
Category: government
Suddenly the world hates Canada
That’s the title of a great article by Jonathon Gatehouse in Macleans:
How did a country with two per cent of the world’s emissions turn global villain?
As a traveller, I’ve always benefited from the halo effect of being Canadian. Worldwide Canada has been admired, whether we deserve it or not.
Seems the shoe is on the other foot now.
… As scientists, activists, diplomats, and political leaders gather in Copenhagen for the United Nations’ 15th convention on climate change, Dec. 7 to Dec. 18, the northern hemisphere’s “helpful fixer” is undergoing a radical—and unrelentingly negative—image makeover. Canada “is now to climate what Japan is to whaling,” George Monbiot, a columnist for the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper, thundered late last month, citing the Harper government’s go-slow negotiating stance as “the major” obstacle to a new global agreement on curbing greenhouse gas emissions. “Until now I believed that the nation that has done the most to sabotage a new climate change agreement was the United States,” wrote Monbiot, a green campaigner and bestselling author. “I was wrong. The real villain is Canada.” …
read more – Suddenly the world hates canada
Canada was named “Fossil of the Week” by the 450 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Copenhagen for its efforts to “block or stall” climate negotiations. Actually, this was the 3rd year in a row we’ve been given the dubious citation.
Our Prime Minister, from Alberta, is literally the poster bad boy.
… ad campaign in the Copenhagen airport in preparation for the Copenhagen climate negotiations that start on Dec. 7. They’re a series of ads featuring Photoshopped images of sad-looking world leaders, apologizing for not addressing climate change when they had the chance. Canada’s Prime Minister looks like the saddest hockey coach in the land.” …
Certainly this is a Public Relations nightmare for Canada. The Harper Government could fall over this issue.
But are the charges fair?
They are as fair as that poster. Do you really believe that Copenhagen had any chance to prevent “Catastrophic Climate Change” if sad Canada had only supported the proposals of the Maldives?
Should Canada support the Maldive bid for the 2024 Olympics, as well?
The charges against Canada are emotional and overblown.
Alberta should not shut down the oil sands despite the environmental issues. That would be foolish, long-term.
Bangladesh, one of the nations most affected if sea levels rise, will not reduce carbon emissions. It’s more important that Bangladesh bring clean water, education and medical care to their citizens.
What’s the solution, then? Assuming that humanity is capable of altering climate.
I’d put all the money we can get from all sources into research. Let’s try to find a scientific way to reverse the effects of Climate Change. And to find ways we can help nations adapt to the possible changes.
… To be honest, I’d personally spend $0 researching climate change. I’d put it towards things I care about MORE than global warming.
Many more intelligent and researched than I, disagree. Feel free to vent in the comments.
Canada does something RIGHT
The Supreme Court of Canada transformed the country’s libel laws Tuesday with a pair of decisions that proponents say will expand the boundaries of free speech.
The court ruled that libel lawsuits will rarely succeed against journalists who act responsibly in reporting their stories when those stories are in the public interest.
It also updated the laws for the Internet age, extending the same defence to bloggers and other new-media practitioners. …
“Freewheeling debate on matters of public interest is to be encouraged and the vital role of the communications media in providing a vehicle for such debate is explicitly recognized,” Chief Justice McLachlin said in a pair of 9-0 decisions. …
more news stories on this topic
Our politicians ususally blunder when drafting legislation around new media, clinging to flawed, outdated models. But the Supreme Court is to be praised. Click through if you want to see their names.
I’m proud to be a Canadian today … after being so disappointed this week in the lack of transparency, accountability and fiscal responsibility of our Ministry of Indian Affairs,
my next JOB …
The chief of Peguis First Nation in Manitoba.
… Documents provided to CBC News by the advocacy group the Canadian Taxpayers Federation show that the chief and four councillors of the Peguis First Nation were paid between $206,000 and $310,000 each last year.
The community is home to about 7,200 people and is located about 200 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
CBC…
Here’s the guy I’ll be replacing. (He’s caught up in some sort of scandal.)
My new house will have fast internet. The “Band” will pay for it. And by “Band”, I mean the Canadian Taxpayer.
It sucks to be a taxpayer. That’s why we don’t pay taxes on the Peguis First Nation.
What a sweet gig!
I’m so happy the white man invaded North America. Winnipeg’s mayor and Manitoba’s premier will make less than me. And they’ll pay taxes. Ha.
In fact, after he pays taxes (sucker) I’ll make more than Prime Minister Harper.
Of the 600+ recognized First Nations governments or bands in Canada, I want to be the highest paid. That’s my goal. I’ll decide my own salary once I get into power.
Please email Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs, and lobby him on my behalf.
… If anyone else figures out what’s going on in that Manitoba First Nation, I may have competition for the job.
Worst case scenario? I’m screwed if the Feds decide to reveal the pay of Band leaders online.
what do you know about Bangladesh?
I thought I was “worldly”, … yet I knew almost nothing about Bangladesh before going there as a volunteer this Fall.
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The first thing people talk about in the capital Dhaka, is the traffic.
You might average 20km/hr. Walking is sometimes faster.
Actually, if you can get off the road, the countryside is green and lush. It’s one giant flood plain.
Bangladesh is a fast growing economy (growth 6-7%/yr), devoutly Muslim … but with few security problems. The nation is focused on economic growth, looking to bring millions out of poverty. Agriculture and clothing manufacture are the main industries.
It’s surprisingly progressive, the first Muslim-majority country to establish an all-women United Nations peacekeeping force. They have a woman Prime Minister.
Instead of blaming problems on the U.S.A. as a distraction, leaders in Bangladesh are “seeking five billion dollars of foreign investment for power and gas projects to end a chronic energy crisis”.
I think they’ll get 5-10 billion. Bangladesh is a good long term investment.
Happy Victory Day, Bangladesh!
Bangladesh celebrated Victory Day Wednesday, heralded by a 21 cannon salute that rang through the capital at dawn, while the president laid a wreath at the National Memorial in Savar to commemorate those who gave their lives for independence.
On this day in 1971, the Pakistan army surrendered to the allied forces of Bangladesh and India at Ramna Racecourse Maidan in Dhaka, ending the painful nine-month war that saw a new nation emerge.
more Bangladesh photos
Geoffrey Canada is my hero
Geoffrey Canada’s Harlem Children’s Zone is one of the few success stories I’ve heard in American education.
The USA made the mistake of not offering children an equal chance of success by inventing a system where some schools are good. Some are bad.
No wonder the USA has the world’s highest percentage of prison inmates. China ranks second with only about 18% of the US incarceration rate.
… Is that too big a leap? … Bad schools mean more kids will fall into crime?
Geoffrey Canada it trying a radical approach. He has 1200 inner city students and guarantees ALL of them they will go to College. Though it costs $5000/yr/student, his school is free to the kids.
Is that expensive?
Prison costs $60,000/yr. Reform school $100,000/yr.
Watch The Harlem Children’s Zone from the December 6, 2009 edition of 60 Minutes. Canada is a man who simply will not be denied.
60 Minutes also posts a text version online. It’s titled Harlem’s Education Experiment Gone Right.
Nepal cabinet meeting on Mt Everest
November 11th.
How are they going to get up there?
FLY.
Dumb, dumb idea. This will never work.
The meeting will be held later this month, just ahead of December’s Copenhagen climate change summit, at a base camp on the world’s highest mountain.
The Himalayan glaciers – known as the world’s third ice-cap – feed some of the region’s greatest rivers, including the Ganges, the Yamuna and the Brahmaputra. They also irrigate farmland in Tibet, Nepal, Bangladesh and India. …
Nepal’s ministers will now follow the lead of ministers in the Maldives who staged a cabinet meeting under water to highlight the risk of the tropical islands being submerged by rising sea levels. They will meet later this month at a base camp at 5,300 metres where mountaineers begin their final ascent of Everest. …
Update: Nepali cabinet meeting at base camp of Mt. Qomolangma uncertain
Canadian government wants to read your email
I can’t understand why Canadian politicians are so easily influenced by the big American lobbyists.
Lobbyists must think Canada is a back door in the battle to win American legislation. Unhappily for them, Obama is no friend to those clinging to outdated copyright law.
This time it’s the Liberals adding even more intrusive provisions into legislation.
From Boing Boing:
… C-27 is the Canadian anti-spam bill that comes out of committee on Monday. The opposition Liberals have proposed amendments which appear to have been drafted by copyright and telecom lobbyists. They would allow for surreptitious installation of computer programs and – even more outrageously – would allow copyright owners to secretly access information on users’ computers. …
Read the full details on the blog of Canada’s best watchdog, Michael Geist:
The Copyright Lobby’s Secret Pressure On the Anti-Spam Bill
From that link you can contact Industry Minister Tony Clement. Or other Canadian politicians to weigh in with your opinion.
I did.
$50-billion lawsuit against Big Tobacco
Love it.
In launching a $50-billion lawsuit against tobacco companies, Ontario is joining what many expect will eventually become a national battle to recover health costs linked to smoking.
The governments of British Columbia and New Brunswick have already filed claims against cigarette manufacturers and most of the other provinces have passed legislation enabling them to make similar cases.
“Let’s be clear: This is important for the people of Ontario who have paid a lot of money for health-care costs directly related to tobacco use over the decades,” Ontario Attorney-General Chris Bentley told reporters yesterday. “We believe the taxpayers should be compensated for the costs that they have paid. That’s what this lawsuit is all about.”
After years of legal wrangling in the United States, tobacco manufacturers agreed in 1998 to pay state governments $246-billion (U.S.) over 25 years to help pay for the costs of treating people with smoking-related illnesses. …
That $246-billion settlement is not correct. It turned out to be well over $300 billion.
… And why is it that smokers do not consider this littering? Most don’t toss anything else on the ground.
privacy, ha … get over it
In the U.K. we can see what’s yet to come in the other large cities of the world.
They have cameras everywhere.
One London bus has 16 CCTV cameras inside.
So far they’ve spent £500m on the Closed Circuit TV program.
Does it work?
Only one crime was solved by each 1,000 CCTV cameras in London last year, a report into the city’s surveillance network has claimed.
The internal police report found the million-plus cameras in London rarely help catch criminals. …
(article recommended by Stuart Green)
details on the brilliant social commentary
At my hostel in Edinburgh there’s a sign in the kitchen saying:
Food has been stolen from this kitchen. If it continues, we’re actually going to take the time to review the video camera monitoring it!
I think these cameras are inevitable. They don’t work now. But our robot overlords will improve them over time.
Rick McCharles 