Stelmach vs. Greenpeace

When it comes to Alberta's controversial tar-sands, it's not really a fair fight when it comes to the public relations problems. Premier Stelmach is not really equipped to deal with this type of conflict. My prediction that he would make it worse it coming true. I've been watching with growing anxiety as Alberta's Government loses a propaganda war with groups like Greenpeace and others. They're losing because they chose to go down a path of misinformation, silo thinking, and spending vast amounts of public money to convince the rest of the world and our energy trading partners that everything is fine when it clearly isn't.

The latest escalation is a series of mischief events in Fort McMurray, and east of Edmonton where Greenpeace troops occupied tar sands production facilities and illegally interfered with their operations. In the latest incident 16 Greenpeace members were arrested and charged with a variety of offenses such as trespassing and mischief.

These sites are pretty hard to secure thoroughly because they are often sprawling operations. Additionally, Albertans are generally trusting people who don't feel they have to put up barbed-wire and moats around their businesses.

I don't support Greenpeace and I don't really care if their members are arrested for legitimate offenses. They have a huge legal defense fund and the arrests are the exact theatre they were looking for. One thing I do feel strongly about is that our legal system is 100% impartial and that people get due process and a fair trial.

However, for a number of reasons it seems unlikely to me that they will get fair trials for these minor offenses. For one thing the Premier may have already comprised the objectivity of the Crown Prosecutor by making silly comments on the charges after the arrest. If you want a soviet style show trial, I guess Ed is your go to guy.

This could go either way. They may get harsh sentences because the judge thinks he/she is being politically directed. Or, the charges could be thrown out.

If the charges are thrown out because of perceived political interference then I hope the frothing-at-the-mouths will correctly blame the Premier instead of so called liberal-biased-activist-judges.

Shutting down tar-sands operations is not really an option considering that it will take decades to transition to other fuels while our consumption exponentially increases every year. Given the nature of Alberta's government there may never be a plan to transition. The bus we're all traveling on may well drive over a cliff.

The answer lies in honesty, respecting science, listening to dissenters, and the most difficult issue of all, separating our Government from the undue influence of industry. I suspect none of this will happen, but our ecology is worth the try.

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Hurtful By Intent

Here is a pdf copy of Rob Anders anti-Muslim pamphlet that I received in my mail box not long ago. Free speech is free speech, but this particular free speech, borderline hate speech, is wholly funded by the Government of Canada.

The key piece that caught my eye:

It is now illegal to hold opinions that offend radical Muslim activists.

A lie, pure and simple.

That, and frequent references to liberal activists, who by the semantics of infantile McCarthyism are equally to blame for whatever ails you.

It was released on or around Ramadan, and designed to fall on the fertile ground of Calgary West, a constituency built by hand by Preston Manning and Stephen Harper.

As a political strategy keeping people dumb, full of hatred, and confused about basic facts seems to have worked quite well.

h/t to Jennifer Pollock, whom I stole the post title from.



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Dr. Yosh Senda 1922-2009

I was sad to hear of the passing today of Dr. Yosh Senda of Lethbridge Alberta. Dr. Senda's accomplishments as a foundational figure in the world of Judo would be too numerous to mention, but here is a short list, in no particular order:

• Highest ranking Judo Sensei in Alberta and Canada at 9^th Degree
  
• Taught Judo from children to elite athletes for over 50 years
  
• Order of Canada
  
• Alberta Sports Hall of Fame
  
• Olympic and National Level Coach
  
• Developed a long list of elite level Judo competitors
  
• Held every conceivable executive committee position in Judo Alberta and Judo Canada, as well as international bodies
  
• Developed exchange programs with Schools and Judo Clubs in Japan
  
• Taught Judo and practiced well into his 80's
  

My first Judo Sensei in Edmonton drilled into the significance of Dr. Senda and the history of Judo in Alberta, particularly southern Alberta. My Sensei was a sharp guy and wanted us to learn about the mix between Alberta and Judo history. From the little I know of Dr. Senda's early life, his family came to Alberta as internees during the early 40's. The young men sometimes had nothing to do so they played a lot of sports. Dr. Senda developed a love for Judo and the rest is history.

There was always rivalry between the Judo clubs of Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge. Whenever I went to tournaments in Lethbridge I would obsess way too much about whether I could beat Dr. Senda's students. I rarely did. They were very good, well taught and well coached.

The last time I appeared before a Judo Alberta grading committee I was beyond nervous. I felt privileged that Dr. Senda was present that day. It made us all try harder.

Dr. Senda was very soft spoken, and his message to Judo people was always the same: keep trying and never give up.

I know that he will be missed by a lot of people.

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Why Harper’s Speech Doesn’t Matter

If you were shocked and saddened by Stephen Harper's leaked private speech delivered last night, you're probably not alone. I felt very demoralized last night and still do. However if you learned anything new about Harper from that mean spirited hate-filled speech then I would suggest you probably haven't been paying attention. That was vintage Stephen Harper, consistent with every partisan speech he's made going back to the early nineties and the birth of the Reform Party. As an Albertan this type of McCarthyist BS is nothing new.

It won't have much of an impact on people who already support Harper, in fact it will probably energize them. Those moderate conservatives, leftovers from the PC days maybe, have no influence and are tied and gagged in the basement.

I doubt very much whether the opposition parties will pick up any new energy or supporters from this speech because we've seen time and time again where these type of things don't really register with the average voter who are worried about feeding their dogs. Or kids. If we look at it honestly, voters can be irrational about a lot of things. The entire Bush era and the current American Health care debate are cases in point.

Unless polling suggests otherwise, I'm willing to bet that this speech will be quickly forgotten in a swirl of garbage noise from the CPC.

Here's Milewski's take on the speech.

Update: September 10, 2009 09:40 MST

I'm starting to believe that the leak was deliberate. At the very least I doubt that Harper would be angry at the leak since it sends all the right messages to the people they're trying to keep on board. Sad.







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Harper's Election Law was a gimmick

As we speak lawyers for Elections Canada and Democracy Watch are arguing in Federal Court whether the last election was illegal. I support Democracy watch, in general, and can't wait for Harper to be retired to a think tank somewhere. Yet, I have doubts and I think the lawsuit is misdirected effort.

Its true that Stephen Harper broke his own law, and its true that this shows his lack of character and professionalism. However the law was a gimmick. It was a brain fart from the original Reform platform. None of the Reformers had much regard for the Constitution Act of 1982 and it continues to show.

A sitting Prime Minister making a law about election dates in a minority government is bizarre beyond belief, and I doubt the Supreme Court would be able to uphold such a law if it was ever challenged. It was a gimmick and nothing more, best remedied by the voters not the courts.

Harper knew ahead of time that ignoring such a bullshit law would be perfectly legal.

Democracy watch should focus on more important issues for now, given our growing democracy deficit. And yes, for the record, I believe we should have fixed election dates as part of overall electoral reform. I can only get behind that if its based on broad consultation. Stephen Harper isn't the one to do that, he can barely collaborate within his own tribe. Also, he doesn't understand what rule of law means.

Update September 8, 2009 14:15. Fix minor typos.

Update September 8, 2009 21:00 Links to other bloggers on same topic:

Pogge.ca
Impolitical
Kirby Cairo
Impolitical (strikes again)




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Where is Ed Stelmach? (Yawn)

Too good a graphic to waste, and so full of unintentional accuracy.

Since the beginning of the Bill 44 debate in Alberta, starting with Lindsay Blackett floating the idea to Tory fan boy Rick Bell, until the current argument about when the bill will be implemented, the Premier has been completely absent. During the historic Bill 44 debates in the Alberta Legislature the Premier didn't participate. I don't think he was even there for most of the debates. His absence was unprofessional and unparliamentary. In the meantime Blackett and Hancock spar through the media, like children, over the time frame to implement Bill 44. Hancock, after being in the party since he was 12 years old, apparently has no influence left, and bill 44 will go into effect this fall.

In the meantime, the economy has gone south. The Finance Minister managed to get though an economic update, high on rhetoric, low on facts, without insulting single mothers or double earners. (We must see the positive.) There is some reason to believe that the low price of natural gas will pin the Alberta economy in deficit for some time to come.

All of it reminds me of that scene in Rosemary's Baby where Mia Farrow finally gets what's actually happening. This is no dream! This is really happening!

So where is Ed? I don't know and I don't think it really matters much.

Update: September 7,2009

An op-ed at the Sheldon Chumir foundation by Janet Keeping, worth reading in and of itself, claims that Bill 44 will not be implemented until September 2010. Closed door top door Government - keep them guessing.

(On my fifth try now, hopefully I got the right link this time. )



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Jacques Demers: Just Visiting

Can you imagine if Jacques Demers had been appointed to the Senate as a Liberal by a Liberal Prime Minister. I was just thinking of the creepy voice over of a creepy Conservative attack ad:

Jacques Demers hates Canada. Jacques Demers coached in the United States for almost two decades. He only came back for the Senate appointment... etc.

All the way from Montenegro...

I was a Habs fan growing up. I only became an Oilers fan when they came to Edmonton in 1977. (<-fact check) I became a Habs fan briefly again when they won the Stanley Cup under Demers in 1992-93. When Shayne Corson and Vincent Damphouse did their reluctant tour of duty as Edmonton Oilers I hoped they would bring some Demers magic with them. Hope is a funny emotion.

I admire Demers very much. I think he is a great communicator and motivator and obviously overcame the huge handicap of illiteracy in the Hockey world, where any kind of weakness is not easily accepted and maleness is distorted.

(Run on sentence. Check.)

Demers said in an interview today that running for election wasn't really him, or words to that effect. As a result I hope he doesn't say anything at all about Senate Reform. If he did it would be an obvious broken argument.

He probably will get an orientation and realize very quickly that he is just there to vote the party line. Not to think. Not to talk. It would be nice if he could talk to people about literacy, but big daddy doesn't like that kind of thing. Too bad, because he is an animated and lively speaker.

Jacques Demers is too good a person to be wasted on Stephen Harper. He's in the wrong party. Its a shame. Please recommend this post

BikeCam - Part 1

Experimenting with a new blogging genre called BikeCam (R). Need to work on a better narrative and some audio. First one is on one of my favorites spots, the bike path in Eau Claire.

This one is of crossing the 10th street pedestrian bridge which runs under the C-Train bridge and crosses over into Kensington. Always fun getting across here on a bike. Watch for the dudes with $10,000 worth of pop bottles.

Finally made it back to Edworthy Park Parking lot in the Park where I had parked. Trying to find where I parked and not get run over be people trying to park. For some reason people were grumpy, probably because there was no parking. Some asshat yelled at me because I wasn't clearing out fast enough for his purposes. Its a sunday, not a board meeting, GFY.

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Quick thoughts on Tiny Perfect Blog

I should say right from the outset that I disagree with anonymous blogging, just as I am opposed to anonymous commenting on blogs. However, people have reasons to conceal their identity that we ought to at least consider. Sometimes anonymous muckracking from someone being subversive to their employer or organization is a very health antidote to mainstream print journalism and the culture of secrecy in Alberta. In case you haven't noticed Alberta's newspapers have not hosted a Bob Woodward, a Carl Bernstein or Daniel Elsberg. Not a single one. They don't bring governments down, they prop them up. Hence, anonymous bloggers are inevitable. All voices are welcome if they shine a light where there is no light.

The Alberta Government might think they can control the message by having David Sands travel the internet telling people to shut up, but that won`t work. Not anymore.

As an aside, watching one anonymous AB Conservative after another post comments at TLP criticizing him for his anonymity gave me a much needed daily dose of humor and irony. Oh the outrage, she screamed, barely audible due to the sack over her head.

It was not that long ago that I wrote about an anonymous Calgary Herald editorial that ripped a Mount Royal student for expressing an opinion anonymously. The anonymous Herald editorialist was genuinely anonymously outraged that someone would dare to opine anonymously. That kind of unnecessary malice from a daily paper made me sick back then as it does now. Presumably they wanted the student`s identity so they could subject them to a thorough beating from their readers.

TPB's daily criticism of the Albert Liberal Party was served fairly thick, was gratuitous, and often made me think I had accidentally dialed into Rick Bell or a Journal Blog. Not along ago a Journal columnist wrote a pointless blog post because she was upset that Dr. David Swann had merely called a press conference. Same attitude as TPL I say.

TPL was at his best when he/she was ripping into the Alberta Government for the severely under-reported scandal(s) at the Ministry of Children and Youth Services.

TPL's claim that Union was after him, is of course, completely unverifiable. As a reason to quit blogging it seemed rather unlikely to me. If it were me and an organization came after me I would step up my defense, not close the doors.

Anyway, look me up. I'm in the phone book. We'll do coffee. Tata. Please recommend this post

Mysterious Mercedes Benz Killing Me

I've been seeing this mysterious Mercedes Benz around my neighborhood for a few weeks now. I can't figure out who owns it. Possibly an invisible man. It reminds me of Richard Dreyfuss in American Graffiti, (two effes one tee) trying to figure out who the woman was in the 56 White T-Bird. Turns out it was Suzanne Somers, before Three's Company and Thigh-Master. American Grafitti would have been a lot more enjoyable if a) they hadn't made the sequel, and b) Richard Dreyfuss had to deal with an unusually large shark instead of a bunch of dick head gang members.

See I'm off topic as usual. I want to know who owns this Mercedes and its keeping me up at night. I could die. I think its from the early to mid 60's, and it has a manual transmission shifter on the steering column. I really picture it being owned by a wealthy political mover with his own driver named Chauncey. This cries out for a dramatization.

In Act 1 of our three part drama, Sir jumps in the back of the Benz and heads off to the Tory party bunker.

Chauncey: To the Bunker sir?
Sir: Yes Chauncey.
Chauncey: Another problem with the boss sir?
Sir: Yes yes.
Chauncey: Big boss is a cool one ain't he sir. A real iceberg. A Cyborg.
Sir: Chauncey, what did I tell you this morning.
Chauncey: This morning sir...em...you said Sir, don't run over any children or else the Calgary Sun will photograph their bloody little booties and it will be bad for us..
Sir: No Chauncey, before that.
Chauncey: Oh sir, about not talking about the boss before you've had drinks sir?
Sir: Yes. And do look out, you nearly hit that child.
Chauncey: Well if you ask me he's a pretty dimly lit bulb.
Sir: Chauncey!
Chauncey: Yes sir.

(I can see the need for developing a strong female character in this story.) Please recommend this post

Mayhem at Big Valley

Big Valley Jamboree is an annual Country Music Festival in Camrose Alberta. Just before the last set of the day a huge storm blew through the area and flipped the stage over. There are unconfirmed reports of a few deaths, people trapped under the rubble, and people missing or injured. The details are still emerging. (8:30 MST).

The news rolled out fairly quickly on Twitter with Musicians and fans Twittering live accounts. The main stream media, radio and newspaper web sites took a while to get into the story.

Simon Ostler, an Edmonton radio journalist, posted this picture on Twitpic:

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More on the Carrington Fire

(Please see additional update at bottom of post)

I haven't heard anything about how the Edmonton Police are progressing with their investigation into the fire at the Carrington Seniors Residence, apparently considered an arson.

However, I did receive an email from a man who claimed to be a first responder at the fire and he made some interesting observations backed up with pictures. It seems that the sidewalk immediately outside one of the fire exits was being replaced and there was an excavated trench about 8 inches deep. For seniors with various levels of capabilities, to exit down 3 or 4 flights of stairs, then to try to cross this trench at 3am seems a bit scary. Many of them just couldn't get across the trench without help. It raises an obvious question about the fire code which I'm not qualified to answer. The rule of thumb is you do not block an escape route in any way. The details were forwarded to the Fire Inspector for consideration.

Immediately after the fire, the entire complex was sealed off and fenced. The author of this email claims that he went back the next day and the trench had been filled in. Its a strange allegation. If true, what would be the reason for filling in a hole on a condemned building?

Please keep in mind that the photos are somewhat inconclusive and there are no photos at 3am, at the time of the evacuation. I have no way of knowing if this story is true, but it does concern me.

I would definitely like to see these buildings made easier to get out of. I'm very grateful to these people who responded at the time and prevented loss of life. But some things about the evacuation plan still don't seem right to me.

Update (July 30,2009)

I misconstrued some of the details Jim had sent in previous emails, so here is his latest email point out a couple of my errors:

I read your latest blog and have to point out some errors...

"the sidewalk immediately outside one of the fire exits was being replaced and there was an excavated trench"

not true, there was no work being done, the sidewalk/trough was built to funnel water to the sewer, now the system wont work because the sidewalk is above the sewer feeder trough. It was built that way and had been there for approx 10 years.

"The author of this email claims that he went back the next day"

not true, I went back 3 days later (Wed June 3rd/8:30pm) to find the sidewalk/trough had been back filled and the courtyard had been soden,by 11am Friday there was a sidewalk installed and the staircase had been changed from a wooden one to a concrete staircase.

I just have to keep the facts straight.

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Brief Moon Landing Thought

Once my Mom gave me a present. It was a copy of the Edmonton Journal of July 21 or 22, 1969 with the breathtaking picture of Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon. It seemed an odd juxtaposition with the Journal's banner in old style Gothic font.

I took it out to show it to someone one day only to find out that my nephew had found it and had used it to color and scribble on. I wasn't really mad. My nephew was quite young and didn't understand the importance of the paper.

The irony of the moon missions is that it forced humans to look inward and ask those big questions about our purpose and place in the universe. To think about those kind of questions while also looking at the scribblings of a child is not a bad thing.

PS Could have been my niece. Still doing the chronology with my slide rule. Please recommend this post

Boutilier Should Resign

I wasn't planning on blogging about Guy Boutilier getting punted by Big Daddy. To be honest I find the internecine feuds of Alberta conservatives to be as about interesting as potatoes with no gravy.

There is a tangential issue relating to populism and the basics of what elected official are supposed to be doing for us. However, we've known for over two decades or more that the Alberta Progressive Conservatives are not a populist party. There are far more glaring examples of Alberta's need for democratic reform than a feud between these two C students.

If I were Guy Boutilier, I would resign my seat immediately and force the Premier to call a by-election in Ft. McMurray. Also, I would tender my resignation over the phone. Maybe even by text or Twitter.

Think about it. The Party would have to go into Ft. McMurray and would have to confront an angry riding association. They would no doubt have to disband Boutilier's riding association and create another one loyal to Big Daddy. Good luck with that. That town is pissed off. The entertainment value is unlimited.

In the lead up to the by-election the Health Minister could go to Ft. McMurray, hold a Town Hall and explain why they don't need a long term health care facility, and he could make amusing segues in the Q&A about how he didn't go to Harvard and didn't graduate with Barack Obama. *Sneer*. Assuming there was no riot or heckling by seniors.

I always hate to be the one that shrugs my shoulders and say, Hate to say it but I told you so. We need some change here.... Please recommend this post

Irregardless

I just heard a man on the radio use the word irregardless, an evil word used more and more these days. Worse, the man was an instructor from Mount Royal College. He may be a full Professor by now given the recent regulatory changes and the College's elevation. Nonetheless I regard the use of this word as careless and perhaps even illiterate.

Since the early 1900's the word was flagged by dictionaries as incorrect. Over time this has eased a bit to now where many dictionaries describe it as merely non-standard.

Language, like Lutefisk, is dynamic and organic, not static. So I won't be surprised if eventually irregardless becomes a first class word. Even if that does happen, I would hope that teachers will mark down use of the word on the grounds of poor style.

Wikipedia claims that irregardless is a portmanteau of irrespective and regardless. This might be true, but I hope not because generally I find portmanteaus very clever and they've often been very good to me.

Irregardless is a double negative and the prefix adds no value to the word at all. Its main appeal is that when spoken it sounds more sophisticated than regardless.

I demand that this word be put under house arrest. Please recommend this post

Cronkite: Dignified and Professional

Everyone is reflecting on their memories of Walter Cronkite. I'm not surprised by the massive outpouring of respectful grief. My main impression is that he was an incredibly poised man who dealt with massive social upheaval in the 1960's, assassination, Watergate, a violent and unacceptable war in Vietnam - in a calm and dignified way.

My own vivid memory is being home from school sick when JFK was killed. I remember sitting in the dark living room on a typical Edmonton November day. I remember Cronkite reading the death announcement and he was barely able to hold it together.

I don't have much of an appetite for nostalgia - the 1960's and 1970's were horrible in so many ways - however, I do think journalism has really gotten smaller, more reactionary, and in some cases more hysterical. Please recommend this post

American Health Care Debate

I'm not an American yet I'm getting fatigued by the ongoing debate over the American health care system. So much stupidity and prejudice on parade. I hope Americans get a better system under President Obama so the average person doesn't have to choose between a simple procedure or owning a home. Or suffering silently then dying.

Here's a video of NY State Senator Tom Duane giving an impassioned and angry speech about people dying needlessly. Via Blabbeando.


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Shocked But Not Surprised

When you have a radio station that caters to middle age guys who are predominately conservative, what could go wrong when you start a drive home show conversation about aboriginal issues?

On the way home I tuned in briefly to hear the tail end of a conversation about aboriginal property rights and the Indian Act. The two hosts made a segue to the story about the makeshift border crossing re-opening on Cornwall Island. One of the hosts made the comment, and I'm paraphrasing, that the Mohawks obviously don't want armed guards because they're afraid they'll be shot trying to smuggle cigarettes.

Even for talk radio, I found this unusually inflammatory. I guess this is why these people want to end the Human Rights Commissions, so they can make this kind of talk normal and mainstream.

The background to this, I think, is the fact that the Tsuu Tina nation recently rejected a half billion dollar offer from the City of Calgary and the Province to build the south-west ring road through the Nation's land. This rejection has certainly led to a lot of negative commentary about Tsuu Tina, and aboriginals in general. Please recommend this post

This Just in...Woman's Tennis Sexist

This article about woman's tennis was making the rounds on Twitter today, and to be honest it didn't surprise me much. It seems the centre court matches at Wimbledon are not decided on seeding or talent so much as the looks of the players. I was looking at this picture of Serena Williams and I couldn't help but think what a wicked athlete she is. Those biceps...

If you remember, Anna Kournikova was never ranked higher than 8th in the WTA, and never won a Grand Slam, a Major, or an Olympic Medal. Yet she was always on centre stage courts, got huge endorsements and transitioned into a successful modeling career.

I want to see the best players in the marquee matches. I want to be challenged and to think about what athletic excellence means.


PS. ESPN still holds a hottest female athlete online constest every year. Seems a little outdated to me. Frat boys, what can you do. Please recommend this post

Download This

Download the MP3 and share it. Pass the link around to all your friends. Maybe even your ex-friends. Not to mention future friends, casual acquaintances, parole officers, one night stands, and so on.

Update: Forgot to mention the MP3 has no DRM. It is intened to be shared freely. Please recommend this post