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Good to see that Twitter has its shit in order… (aka the War on Women Continues)
Watch as a member of the NDP patiently mansplains female genital mutilation to a woman who, like her mother, was subjected to said trauma. This is a bad look NDP, as one would hope we would leave the material science denial (climate-change) to the Conservatives. Entitled males know jack-shit about what it is like growing up and being socialized in today’s patriarchal world. Because they self identify as one does not change an iota. (Well actually it does as the current misogynistic trans-poltic has gathered a fair amount of steam fighting for the rights of males to further define female reality.)
We have too much oil in Alberta.
“The province’s landlocked oil is selling for a massive discount. The world price is hovering around $55 US per barrel. The price Alberta gets is called the Western Canada Select price — and that’s worth about $12 per barrel. The gap is called the price differential.
It’s just one bit of bad news after another for Alberta’s NDP government.
As if inheriting an economy heading into a recession in 2015 wasn’t bad enough, the NDP has watched the world price of oil stabilize while the price our landlocked energy industry receives has dwindled to a record low.”
We just can’t sell enough of the damn stuff to make it profitable, and the current status quo is making other people rich so it appears we’re kinda stuck at the moment.
What an incentive to actually put the dollars into diversifying our economy and weaning the oil industry off of the huge public subsides it receives. I would also like to see our domestic gas prices reflect the current glut of oil in Alberta.
Of course, to even question the primacy of Oil and Gas in our province is akin to heresy, but it doesn’t mean questioning the priorities of our government should not be done.
Source: Edmonton Journal
We will soon be having a provincial election and I for one, do not want to return to the dark conservative backwater Alberta languished in for some 40 odd years. We have a New Democratic Party Government that, when situated on the political spectrum, comes up centrist or slightly left of centre. In Alberta this is pretty heady stuff. The UCP (United Conservative Party) is the cobbled up zombie corpse of the old Progressive Conservative party and the rural wack-a-loon Wild Rose Party (*shudder*). It has been stitched together by a greasy re-baked federal conservative pol named Jason Kenny.
The defining feature of the zombie UCP party platform is that it’s *NOT* the NDP and its debt inflating, male emasculating, poor people centring democratic socialism (not the “s” word…*faints*). In other words, these gormless fucks have sweet FA with regards to policy and what they would actually do if (’til now) they were elected to govern Alberta. Not much other than “not what the NDP is doing”. Sorry folks, the lame restatement of an antithesis is political weaksauce at best – but it might be enough to sway our lemming centric conservative voting populace, considering the rightward political leanings in this province. Apparently many Albertans have been longing for a return to the 40 year the conservative seppuku our province has recently emerged from. Social programs? Protections for workers? Government for the people? Climate responsibility?
Fuck that pinko communist noise.
I digress. The platform of the UCP is oozing out into the public’s knowledge and it isn’t pretty (see Ontario’s false populist doppelganger, Doug Ford for Kenney’s inspiration) . Most of the platform portends a merry jaunt to back to lining the pockets of the rich while proclaiming austerity for the lucky ones and a relentless shitcanning for everyone else.
“Kenney said the UCP will hire people to draft orders in council for cabinet to adopt the week it’s sworn in if the UCP wins. One of the key elements of structural reform, Kenney said, “is to move quickly.”
“Speed creates its own momentum. It also makes it harder for the opponents of reform to obstruct it,” he said.
Kenney said he doesn’t want to get “bogged down” with public consultation, so his party is doing as much as it can now “on the big issues.”
You know all that legislation to protect the working class and benefit the poor. It has to go. Stat. But more importantly we have to fuck the NDP’s social progress up with no debate, no consultation, and none of that fucking filthy democracy we fucking harp on when it comes to protecting business class interests and the rich.
“Kenney said the UCP would freeze minimum wage increases (the NDP recently increased it to $15 per hour). He would also consider restructuring the minimum wage to something that resembles the age-graduated system used in Australia, in which youth get paid less than adults.”
Because why pay young people reasonably? Who thought up that shit? Was it Stalin? Because the young most certainly don’t need money to live or save toward pursing post-secondary education (which will most certainly be gutted during a UCP regime – we need more beer guzzling dullards not egg-heads for christ’s sake). Screw the young people they vote for commies anyways, plus we can ratchet up poor peoples class antagonism so while they scrabble for the shiny pebbles we deem to throw their way, then we can continue the plunder-party for the corporate and business interests, as it rightfully should be. Added benefit: the poor will need to focus on mere survival instead of organizing for a just and equitable society… so much winning for everyone.
“The UCP would appoint a minister tasked solely with decreasing regulations by one-third as part of an “aggressive process of … lightening the regulatory burden on the Alberta economy,” Kenney said. That minister’s work would be guided by a similar setup under former B.C. Liberal premier Gordon Campbell.
“We’ll be constrained in how far we can go in terms of fiscal stimulus because of the $8-billion deficit and pending $60-billion debt, so we will need to over-compensate on the regulatory side,” he said.”
You know that idea about the government representing the best interests of the people of Alberta? That is about as red as Lenin’s underpants. Oversight and regulations are for weak kneed socialist chumps who don’t know the true power of the dark side reckless capitalist exploitation.
Climate change? Unions? Checks on corporate power? That malarkey needs to go, so much so that we’ll set up a supercharged “Fuck You I’ve got Mine” government ministry to expedite the whole fucking process.
Awesome!
“Kenney doubled down on his commitment to a well-resourced government “war room” to defend Alberta’s energy industry here and abroad, setting up satellite offices if need be.
He also pledged to “stop the statutory shutdown of coal.” Federal regulations passed under Kenney’s former government in 2012 would shutter most of Alberta’s 18 coal-fired plants. The remaining six have to close by 2030 under a deadline set by Alberta’s NDP government.”
You know that economic diversification program the NDP has been going on about? Trying to (after 40 years of conservative dithering) wean Alberta off fossil fuel extraction dependence? Let’s tear that initiative down. No.. let’s burn it to the ground with…*thinking*… COAL! Because no UCP government policy says ‘we understand the implications of climate science‘ more than’ lets ROLL COAL ALL DAY EVERY FUCKING DAY.
Awesome!
“Kenney said he would consider appointing a fiscal commission to make recommendations on how to get back to balance without raising taxes. A UCP platform would include a “positive vision” for artists and the cultural industries, he said, but “there will have to be a period of fiscal restraint.”
Arts? Culture? If its not drinking buck-a-beer while watching the idiot box then you’ve come to the wrong place effete liberal beatniks. Your highfalutin cultural activities have no place in at UCP province. We have no need to talk critically about our culture and converse about our place in the world, that kind of thinking promotes democratic ideals and free thought and that shit is bad for business.
Seriously folks, the UCP is ahead in fundraising and in the polls. It feels like Alberta is about to head back into the insipid MAGA zone. I don’t want that to happen. We’ve had a taste of what governing for the people is like, and should continue to support a government that isn’t solely on exploiting everything for the sake of the rich and business classes.
So how about it Alberta, can we not head back into the political dark ages, just this once?
British Columbia is currently in a province-wide state of emergency due to the over 560 wildfires throughout the province. Over 3,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and BC currently has the worst air quality in North America.
Taken on Highway 1, in British Columbia.
Yes, how dare our Federal Government enact a Carbon Tax, as clearly, there is no need to deal with the effects of climate change…
*sigh* – Well I hope this proud anti-Trudeau-ite is enjoying his hickory-flavoured air.
Given how the world works, I find it hard to believe that Canada is taking a principled stand on human rights in Saudi Arabia. Western democracies certainly try to own the rhetoric when it comes to democracy, peace, and freedom – but their realpolitik is quite similar to the nations they routinely criticize for being autocratic dictatorships that are terrible to their people.
My skepticism aside, this is the tweet that started the diplomatic furor between Saudi Arabia and Canada:
Well, the powers that be in Saudi Arabia didn’t like that one bit:
“We consider the Canadian ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia persona non grata and order him to leave within the next 24 hours,” Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said on Twitter.
“Any other attempt to interfere with our internal affairs from Canada, means that we are allowed to interfere in Canada’s internal affairs,” it said.
“Saudi state television later reported that the Education Ministry was coming up with an “urgent plan” to move thousands of Saudi scholarship students out of Canadian schools to take classes in other countries.”
“Saudi Arabia said it is also freezing all new trade and investment transactions with Canada and “reserves its right to take further action.” Saudi Arabia is one of Canada’s largest export markets in the region, and some 10 per cent of Canadian crude oil imports come from Saudi Arabia.”
“Of course the major worry for Canada will now be the fate of a $15-billion contract for almost 1,000 light armoured vehicles between the Saudi government and London, Ont.’s General Dynamics. The controversial deal, struck in 2014 and approved in 2016, called for the vehicles to be delivered starting in 2017, but it’s not clear how many have already been sent as Ottawa refuses to release the “commercially confidential” information.”
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is reportedly selling off its assets in Canada and will stop buying Canadian wheat and barley, in the latest escalation in the sudden diplomatic dispute between the two countries.”
“The national Saudi Arabian airline, Saudia, said this week that it would suspend all flights between the country and Canada, starting next week.”
I think I speak for many Canadian when I say. “WTF just happened here?”. The Saudi record on human rights isn’t a particularly deep dark secret and to call for a what seems to be a bit of leniency in one specific case doesn’t seem as beyond the pale as the Saudi’s seem to think it is.
Would Canada recall its ambassadors and impose sanctions if Norway made light of our decidedly horrible treatment of our First Nations people? I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t. Most likely some diplomatic hand-waves and some impassioned statements about how we’re working hard (we’re not) to improve the lives of all Canadians and then the issues would pass.
What is more intriguing is that despite the Saudi backlash, Canada’s government isn’t backing down:
“Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says Canada isn’t backing down from its position that led to diplomatic sanction from Saudi Arabia.
Freeland made the comments Monday afternoon in Vancouver a day after Saudi Arabia announced it would cease new trade deals with Canada and expel the Canadian ambassador.
“I will say Canada is very comfortable with our position. We are always going to speak up for human rights; we’re always going to speak up for women’s rights; and that is not going to change,” she told a news conference.
“Canadians expect our foreign policy to be driven by and to embody Canadian values, and that is how we intend to continue our foreign policy.”
On Friday, Global Affairs Canada had tweeted, “Canada is gravely concerned about additional arrests of civil society and women’s rights activists in Saudi Arabia, including Samar Badawi. We urge the Saudi authorities to immediately release them and all other peaceful human rights activists.”
This is post is just full of WTF’s. Freeland seems to be articulating a values based position on a foreign policy issue. It makes little sense has Saudi Arabia is clearly demonstrating their willingness to go full-trump and punish Canada economically for having the ‘bombast’ to ask them to release a blogger they have detained and are torturing (sorry folks, flogging is torture any way you want to slice it.)
It’s sad that I’m feeling so cynical about this particular story, and continue to look for the angle that the Canadian government is not sharing with the press. Like, since when do nations actually take ethical stands on any issue these days? It just isn’t good for business.
I’m going to continue to follow this story folks, because something just isn’t adding up.
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