tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post6309351860802875847..comments2024-03-22T05:20:44.167-07:00Comments on The Disaffected Lib: An Affliction of the Mind or Why We Can't Handle Climate ChangeThe Mound of Soundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-81376705107512297022016-10-23T09:46:24.880-07:002016-10-23T09:46:24.880-07:00That's a lot to unpack, Sal. Why is Christie C...That's a lot to unpack, Sal. Why is Christie Clark governing by fiat. Because she can. The public seems either indifferent or hopelessly dispirited and, for that, much of the responsibility rests on the shoulders of the provincial NDP for their failure to engage the electorate. Adrian Dix caused lasting damage to the NDP brand in handing the last election to Clark literally without a fight. The new fellow, Horgan, is likeable enough but isn't making much of an impression. All of which leaves us in a one-party state.<br /><br />Western (coastal) BC remains a powderkeg for the Dauphin. After spewing all the fanciful crap about "social licence" it's plain he hasn't got it. And he hasn't got the support of area First Nations either. Alberta will give him social licence for BC pipeline/supertanker initiatives and, for that matter, so will most of the rest of Canada but not where it matters. <br /><br />What little faith I had in Trudeau & Co. went out the window when Dame Cathy's enviromin authorized Corexit as an oil spill dispersant. That stuff is the Thalidomide of the Sea. It doesn't disperse spills. It sinks the oil to the bottom. So here we have dilbit, which we know goes through a process of separation once spilled with the really toxic sludge sinking to the bottom and our national government in Ottawa approves an equally toxic "out of sight/out of mind" chemical to help it on its way.<br /><br />http://the-mound-of-sound.blogspot.ca/2016/07/ah-jesus-not-corexit.htmlThe Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-42944206717091821842016-10-23T07:44:06.235-07:002016-10-23T07:44:06.235-07:00.. a couple of points, which I hope are useful &am..... a couple of points, which I hope are useful & timely to buttress your timely article..<br /><br />- the recent comments by Trudeau's man Carr re 'we can't leave the wealth in the ground' and some related blather of using the profits from the fossil fuels today - to finance the future energy developments (presumably solar, wind etc) are bullshit. Aside from echoing Joe Oliver perfectly I wondered why he didn't just spit it out.. that 'we're going to despoil the environment now so we can afford to save it all later' - Also, presumably, they intend to pull off the Great Resurrection of Habitat Species Ecosystems Fresh Water & The Food Chain.. <br /><br />My other point is the recent Trudeau interview where upon being questioned re a complete West Coast Supertanker ban, he clung to a feeble deflection response about re-opening the Kitsilano Coast Guard station. I notice that Jess Housty from Bella Bella pointed out that approx 625 k of coastline seperates that Kits station from where #nathanEstewart currently rests upon a reef, barely showing its twin stacks & the skippers cockpit doors are open lets the surging waves through. If, as many have claimed 'why dilbit floats!' in regard to 'world class' spill response & cleanup whether in the Saskachewan River or the complexities of the BC marine coast.. then what the hell is happening that a leaking tug's diesel fuel which also floats, is now dispersing (what a term) at the whim of nature, tides, currents and the wind. Oh, the 'response' containment booms are being wiped out by relatively mild swells 1-3 meters.. but don't worry, there's some 'more seaworthy' booms coming soon.. <br /><br />And by the way.. as I have pointed out to many.. why in hell is the BC Legislature 'cancelled' until next year ? And has a single soul received an explanation for this from the brilliant Christy Clark? Or one of her spokeswankers? <br /><br />This is the reality of the political and environmental posing & fairy tales being spewed by the most senior public servants in the land.. its stunning.. and truly dangerous.. and mainstream media should either get off their ass and report this (its called journalism) or just admit they are as vacant & MIA as the current political wastrels who must have connived their way to power & responsibility .. the salamanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06853337802990122289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-3083727657374818312016-10-22T17:44:08.597-07:002016-10-22T17:44:08.597-07:00TrailBlazer, I fear you're right. As a society...<br />TrailBlazer, I fear you're right. As a society we've become too distracted and, through that, powerfully conditioned. I wish I didn't imagine that our government's (and other governments') inaction wasn't some sign of a tacit capitulation to an overwhelming challenge. How else to explain this apparent throwing in of the towel?The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-47199312439424724742016-10-22T16:27:04.343-07:002016-10-22T16:27:04.343-07:00RE,
Those who now exert undue influence bordering...RE,<br /><br />Those who now exert undue influence bordering on control of our political apparatus have a clear, vested interest in keeping this giant Ponzi scheme alive. <br /><br />Somehow we have to make this unpleasant statement appealing to the masses!<br /><br />FWIW; Ponzi does not show up on spell check!<br /><br />A Western world in debt with 40 year mortgages and 7 year car loans, no payments for two years is too distracted to pay attention!!<br /><br />TBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-29025653613895035962016-10-22T15:28:26.099-07:002016-10-22T15:28:26.099-07:00What I don't understand, Troy, is how governme...<br />What I don't understand, Troy, is how government got such feet of clay. The failure of neoliberalism, in its political and economic dynamics, has been evident for more than a decade. It was an experiment. It was tried. It failed. Instead of moving away from market fundamentalism, our leadership doubled down and, by that, allowed globalization to abandon its promise of more jobs and better wages and morph into a vehicle of ever poorer jobs, stagnant wages and the "trickle up" diversion of wealth to the richest of the rich, the oligarchs. Gradually in some countries (such as our own), faster in others (the U.S.), liberal democracy has atrophied giving way to illiberal democracy and oligarchy.<br /><br />People still get to vote but increasingly their votes cannot overcome the political and regulatory capture of their institutions.<br /><br />Those who now exert undue influence bordering on control of our political apparatus have a clear, vested interest in keeping this giant Ponzi scheme alive. Inequality serves their interests and they would see it grow. Actions, of the kind necessary to respond to the gravest challenges of the day such as climate change, are anathema to them because they would, of necessity, demand fundamental, even radical, change.<br /><br />Talk of carbon pricing and limited tax increases on the rich are sops. There'll be no redress of our problems in such tepid measures.<br /><br />Eventually more people will grow fearful, distrustful, and angry and, in their weakened and confused state, will be easy prey for the first charismatic to come around. That should be the lesson we take from the Trump fiasco. Somehow I doubt we will.The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-50621616992202667762016-10-22T12:13:14.472-07:002016-10-22T12:13:14.472-07:00Honestly, I can't see a clear path forward. We...Honestly, I can't see a clear path forward. We'll continue to muddle along as we are for the foreseeable future.<br /><br />The actions needed to mitigate the worst is simply revolutionary in scale. I haven't heard any mainstream leader speaking of what's needed, at all.<br /><br />By the time we're ready to act on what's needed to be done, we'll probably need to prepare for worst case scenarios. If we're ever prepared at all.Troynoreply@blogger.com