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By David Climenhaga, on May 19, 2013, at 1:29 am Toronto Mayor Rob Ford as he might have appeared in ancient Rome, whence comes the idea that in politics public figures and their associates must be above suspicion. Below: The real Rob Ford; Caesar’s wife.
Schadenfreude is all very well, but this whole Rob Ford video scandal has me feeling just the tiniest bit hinky.
It’s a due-process thing, and I recognize that there can be no due process in politics, as unjust as that may seem.
No, realpolitik demands that the operative rule in politics be summed up in the notion we abbreviate with the phrase “Caesar’s wife (Read more…)
By David Climenhaga, on April 20, 2013, at 2:43 pm Your blogger with Preston Manning, both exactly as illustrated, although, in fairness, Mr. Manning may not have known just who your blogger was. Then again, maybe he did. He did say something like, “Oh, you…” Below: Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Is somebody going around trying to pull a Mitt Romney on Preston Manning and the boys?
Mr. Romney, alert readers will recall, was the U.S. Republican presidential candidate who not so long ago was captured in a digital recording telling a bunch of well-wishers that, oh, about 47 per cent of the American population is made (Read more…) of lazy bums so dependent on government handouts they’re willing to do anything – even vote for Barack Obama – to stay that way!
If you enjoy playing Clue, you’ll appreciate the irony that it was the Bartender, in the Dining Room, with a Cellphone, who did in . . . → Read More: Alberta Diary: The Annals of Digital Recording: ‘Preston is out of the country and cannot comment’
By Daniel, on April 16, 2013, at 12:30 pm My god this may be the finest paragraph Paul Rosenberg has ever written: In truth, the Republican party only has three problems: its policies are unpopular, its policies do not work, and they hate everybody who does not agree with them. In contrast, the Democratic party has only one problem: it wants to be more like the Republicans.
Don’t look to me for the bog standard two party “duopoly” rant because I think adding more parties to a corrupted system is like asking the staff for a new set of dice at a crooked casino – the new
. . . → Read More: Autonomy For All: America’s Political Nightmare in One Paragraph
By daveberta, on April 10, 2013, at 12:01 am TweetRemember the “Bitumen Bubble?” The “bitumen bubble” spin was unleashed by Premier Alison Redford during her January 24, 2013 televised address that claimed our province was in the midst of a fiscal crisis caused by the so-called “bitumen bubble” — the difference between the price Alberta can get for its heavy oil (Western Canadian Select) [...]
By daveberta, on March 21, 2013, at 10:25 pm TweetThe rhetoric is running high this week with President Barack Obama expected to soon decide the fate of the controversial TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline. In Washington D.C. last week, federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair criticized the pipeline that would ship bitumen from Alberta’s oilsands to refineries in Texas. Mr. Mulcair also took the opportunity to criticize [...]
By LeDaro, on March 21, 2013, at 1:50 pm Obama is reporting to his boss Benjamin Netanyahu.
It is baffling how a small country like Israel has so much influence over Obama, Harper and many European leaders.
These very leaders complain and criticize Syria, and before that Libya, and provide help to overthrow their leaders. Yet no complaint about Israel’s atrocities against Palestine and other neighbouring countries.
By Greg Fingas, on March 12, 2013, at 9:12 am This and that for your Tuesday reading.
- The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has unveiled its alternative federal budget – which highlights the choice between the Cons’ needless austerity, and the 200,000-300,000 extra jobs which could be created alongside important social improvements which could be brought about through well-placed public action.
- Meanwhile, Murray Dobbin worries that the use of interest rates alone as an economic growth strategy is feeding an unsustainable housing bubble – offering anpther indication as to why we should work on expanding socially productive activities rather than hoping that unfettered (and indeed exacerbated) market forces
. . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
By Greg Fingas, on March 7, 2013, at 10:34 pm Shorter Brad Wall:
Of course neither Stephen Harper nor any of his provincial mini-petro-states has any interest in actually dealing with climate change. But as long as we rev up our PR machine to claim otherwise, surely Barack Obama will be none the wiser.
By Song of the Watermelon, on February 26, 2013, at 10:44 pm Dear President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry:
As a concerned Canadian, I am writing to urge you to reject TransCanada’s application to build the Keystone XL pipeline for purposes of transporting dirty oil from Alberta’s tar sands to refineries in the United States.
I assure you that not all Canadians are quite as eager to export climate-busting bitumen as our federal government seems to be. Many of us recognize that the high energy demands required to exploit this unconventional resource give it a dangerously large carbon footprint. For this reason, we consistently oppose similar projects, such as (Read more…)
By daveberta, on February 25, 2013, at 12:32 am TweetOne month ago, Premier Alison Redford took to the airwaves to warn Albertans about the revenue problem, or ‘bitumen bubble‘, the government will face in the 2013 provincial budget. The Premier cited the lack of pipelines pumping bitumen from our oilsands to external markets as a reason for the low price of Alberta oil and her government’s [...]
By jtoddring, on February 22, 2013, at 3:44 pm (Gallup: Staggering 99 Percent of Americans See Iran’s Nuclear Program as ‘Threat’ Americans See Civilian Program as a Bigger Threat Than North Korea’s Actual Nukes by Jason Ditz, February 20, 2013) ”A grim new poll from Gallup shows an overwhelming majority of Americans, indeed 99 percent of them, believe that Iran’s civilian nuclear program [...]
By Greg Fingas, on February 21, 2013, at 10:14 am Here, on Brad Wall’s off-key lobbying against action on climate change – and why we should see the bright side of having the Obama administration push us toward more sound environmental policy when far too many Canadian leaders have failed in their responsibilities.
For further reading…- Wall’s simultaneous lobbying for automatic pipeline approval and against any further Canadian action on climate change can be found here (see in particular the video clip to the right) and here.- Jeffrey Simpson and Tzeporah Berman have made similar points about the value of the U.S.’ message linking Canadian
. . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: New column day
By LeDaro, on February 18, 2013, at 1:12 pm Wow! These two are great buddies!
By Obert Madondo, on February 16, 2013, at 10:32 pm By Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive, Feb. 15, 2013: Grammy-award winning rapper Eve to perform at Forward On Climate rally in Washington D.C., Sunday, Feb 17, according the Sierra Club, one of the organizations leading and supporting the event. The details: What: Grammy-award winning rapper Eve and popular NY turntablist DJ Kalkutta will perform at the Forward on READ MORE
By Nancy Leblanc, on February 13, 2013, at 6:00 am President Obama’s State of the Union remarks on climate change last night: But for the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change. Yes, it’s true that no single event makes a trend. But the fact is, the 12 hottest years on record have all come in the last 15. Heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and floods – all are now more frequent and intense. We can choose to believe that Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in decades, and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were all just a
. . . → Read More: Impolitical: Obama on climate change
By Guest Blog, on February 12, 2013, at 8:20 pm via Sierra Club: Crippling drought. Devastating wildfires. Superstorm Sandy. Climate has come home — and the American people get it. What: The largest climate rally in U.S. history. When: February 17, 2013, Noon – 4:00 p.m. (please arrive by 11:30 a.m.) Where: The National Mall in Washington, D.C. Gather at the northeast corner of the Washington Monument (Closest Metro subway READ MORE
By Greg Fingas, on February 11, 2013, at 10:14 am Miscellaneous material to start your week.
- Shawn McCarthy discusses the Cons’ latest plan to sell Keystone XL to the U.S. – which involves hoping that the best-resourced government on the planet will be suckered into accepting a transparently false pretense that the Cons have the slightest interest in addressing climate change. And Harper cabinet appointee Monte Solberg offers a window into the Cons’ environmental mindset, trying to make a case against “thinking globally” on the basis that there are easier votes to be won by focusing on small vacation areas while shredding the rest of the planet.
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. . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
By LeDaro, on February 9, 2013, at 1:17 pm
By Obert Madondo, on February 6, 2013, at 12:26 pm Earlier today, a confidential Justice Department memo was released revealing the legal justification for the US government to conduct drone strikes on American citizens abroad. The most controversial part of the memo, which has caused a group of bipartisan senators to immediately demand answers from the Obama administration, is where it states that the government READ MORE
By matttbastard, on February 6, 2013, at 10:45 am
Rosa Brooks unpacks the Obama JD’s targeted killing memo: “Like many legal documents, this one does fine on its own terms, but looks a lot less satisfying when taken out of its hermetically sealed legal universe.”
Related: John Fugelsang talks with Harper’s Scott Horton and Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK about the kill memo and a possible slippery slope into domestic assassination:
Update: Via Jack Goldsmith, two different takes on the white paper — first, Jeffrey Rosen is outraged:
The Justice Department white paper released on Monday by NBC News is the public’s first direct glimpse
. . . → Read More: bastard.logic: Unpacking the Ramifications of Obama’s Targeted Killing Memo
By matttbastard, on February 5, 2013, at 2:42 pm Words fail (h/t):
A friendly reminder from TAFKAdnA:
The Obama administration claims that the secret judgment of a single ”well-informed high level administration official” meets the demands of due process and is sufficient justification to kill an American citizen suspected of working with terrorists. That procedure is entirely secret. Thus it’s impossible to know which rules the administration has established to protect due process and to determine how closely those rules are followed. The government needs the approval of a judge to detain a suspected terrorist. To kill one, it need only give itself permission.
“Trust me” != due process, Mr. POTUS.
Related: Thomas P.M. Barnett:
For
. . . → Read More: bastard.logic: White House Press Secretary Jay Carney On Targeted Killing: Lethal Strikes On U.S. Citizens ‘Legal,’ ‘Ethical,’ And ‘Wise’
By Ron Brown, on February 1, 2013, at 3:12 am A month ago I asked readers What is the most misunderstood idea of all time?
My next big (slightly morbid) question is Whose death would stun the Western World?
A few years ago when Michael Jackson unexpectedly died, it felt like the world sort of skipped a few beats. I was in South Korea at the time. I tended to go to foreigner bars that catered to Canadians, Americans, Brits, Aussies and New Zealanders. My main bar was essentially running a several day long Michael Jackson marathon. He may well have been the most famous person in the world.
On (Read more…)
By Greg Fingas, on January 31, 2013, at 9:49 am Here, updating the respective effects of smart investment and needless austerity in the economic laboratory provided by the 2008 financial meltdown – and noting we have all the more reason to be suspicious of our own austerity buffs at home.
For further background, see…- Jason Kirby’s 2011 proposal to compare the U.S. and U.K. as test cases. – Philip Aldrick on the disastrous effects of austerity in the U.K.- The U.S. Treasury’s comparison (PDF) of growth among different countries up to early 2012.- Reuters on Japan’s sudden surge since its stimulus program
. . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: New column day
By Obert Madondo, on January 23, 2013, at 11:43 pm Photo credit: asriran.com A new billboard in downtown Tehran has U.S. President Barack Obama side by side with Shmer, a seventh-century villain in Shia Islam. Obama is sort of leaning on the scary-looking Shmer, who is handing the viewer a scroll or something. Phot credit: asriran.com Iran is certainly sending the White House another reminder that Obama faces even READ MORE
By Obert Madondo, on January 23, 2013, at 11:13 pm Dr. Cornel West, America’s most provocative public intellectual, progressive and champion for racial justice, explains why he’s upset that President Barack Obama was sworn in on Martin Luther King’s bible. He questions the first black president’s commitment to the values the slain anti-war civil rights leader stood for, including: peace, truth and justice. “You don’t play with READ MORE
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