"We want the final answer. We want that in religion, in affluence, in
life savings accounts, in relationships, in military power, in our work,
in our identity politics, in the racism that has again reared its ugly
head, and in our endless consumption of things, the manufacturing and
marketing of which becomes the only thing we can think of to put people
to work so that they can be the good consumers such a world needs them
to be. And then we want all that to reach some point of stability that
makes the future safe and secure."
Herein revealed the roots or reactionary thinking.. seeking false security in a world of flux which no longers promises even the illusion of stability..
http://milwaukeereflections.blogspot.ca/2012/09/opening-gates.html
A question of priorities.. what do we value most?
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/price+tags+West+Coast+paradise/7262401/story.html
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Harper flips (? flops ?) on asbestos
In a surprise move, Christian Paradis, Minister of industry, announced that the federal government will no longer oppose asbestos being listed as a hazardous substance under the Rotterdam Convention. Such inclusion would effectively restrict exportation and limit revenues. Minister Paradis explicitly linked his government's decision to September 4, 2012 election of Parti Québécois chief, Pauline Marois. The mercantile / populist logic couldn't have been laid more clearly open!
In effect, Madame Marois has promised to cut a provincial loan required to open the Jefferey Mine. Up until now the Harper government could pretend to "defend Canadian jobs" by opposing the listing of asbestos on the Rotterdam list of hazardous (and controlled) substances. In reality, Harper lacks a base in Québec, so any opportunity to make a populist show of solidarity with Monsieur / Madame Toutlemonde is welcome. So what if third world workers in India, etc get lung cancer from the exported asbestos? The Market is God, after all (a Moloch man has created to enslave himself..)
But now, with the election of the PQ, the plug has been pulled on the asbestos industry. No government start up loan for the Jefferey Mine, no asbestos industry. Simple as that. Time then to switch to Plan B..
Plan B: Marois and her PQ are going to kill the asbestos industry anyway, so why not opportunistically pick up a few freebie votes from disaffected Liberals or left-leaning Tories with social consciousnesses? Otherwise, Harper and his gang wouldn't have given a s--t about Indian workers' lung cancers..
http://www2.macleans.ca/tag/rotterdam-convention/
internal blog link:
http://transparencycanada.blogspot.ca/2011/06/crysotile-asbestos-transparency-or-lack.html
In effect, Madame Marois has promised to cut a provincial loan required to open the Jefferey Mine. Up until now the Harper government could pretend to "defend Canadian jobs" by opposing the listing of asbestos on the Rotterdam list of hazardous (and controlled) substances. In reality, Harper lacks a base in Québec, so any opportunity to make a populist show of solidarity with Monsieur / Madame Toutlemonde is welcome. So what if third world workers in India, etc get lung cancer from the exported asbestos? The Market is God, after all (a Moloch man has created to enslave himself..)
But now, with the election of the PQ, the plug has been pulled on the asbestos industry. No government start up loan for the Jefferey Mine, no asbestos industry. Simple as that. Time then to switch to Plan B..
Plan B: Marois and her PQ are going to kill the asbestos industry anyway, so why not opportunistically pick up a few freebie votes from disaffected Liberals or left-leaning Tories with social consciousnesses? Otherwise, Harper and his gang wouldn't have given a s--t about Indian workers' lung cancers..
http://www2.macleans.ca/tag/rotterdam-convention/
internal blog link:
http://transparencycanada.blogspot.ca/2011/06/crysotile-asbestos-transparency-or-lack.html
Thursday, September 13, 2012
flying pigs and other impossibilities
It is hard to comment on a piece like this. To what literary genre does it belong? Journalism (of a curious sort)? Satire - conscious? unconscious? Fantasy?
Stephen Harper feted as a "champion of democracy" in New York. What are they putting in the water..
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1255830--stephen-harper-s-democracy-award-a-sad-joke-on-canadians#.UFI-2Ng2-so.facebook
Stephen Harper feted as a "champion of democracy" in New York. What are they putting in the water..
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1255830--stephen-harper-s-democracy-award-a-sad-joke-on-canadians#.UFI-2Ng2-so.facebook
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Book review: M Swedish, a spirituality of hope
Margaret Swedish, Living beyond the 'End of the World', a Spirituality of Hope
published by Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York, 2008
This tight, concise, well written essay on the state of the earth and its future can be divided in two sections with varying appeals to different readerships.
The first two thirds provide an admirable synthesis. This part is recommended to young people who want to get their feet wet on environmental / social justice issues and their interactions. Activists who work with the young would be well advised to check it out too.
The last third, the core of the text, moves into territory where academics and most greens fail - or fear? - to tread, the "philosophical" (existential / ethical) dimension of our relation to the earth and Nature. Teckies and geeks might see "emergent complexity" here; the artist and mystic will think in terms of the "metaphysical" or "transcendental"; the religious will recognize the "spiritual" or "religious" dimensions of the text..
Semantics aside, the author is boldly - "prophetically" - claiming a redefinition of the place of wo/man on the earth and in the cosmos, a vision that simultaneously respects emerging scientific cosmology AND the integrity of planet's life support systems. For salvation - if there is salvation for our civilization - will only come through the interaction of the two: science must become the servitor of life, otherwise it too will die with the planet it destroys..
The false, addictive - ultimately suicidal - "values" of the Consumer Society will be layed aside as cheap fossil energy sources deplete: the Consumer Society is founded upon access to cheap energy . The natural resilience, autonomy and conviviality of human communities must be rebuilt, beginning with the one we live in. All this must be done in as equitable, just fashion as possible for never before in history was the solidarity of the human race(s) required as it today!
We must, in effect, simultaneously convert the non-renewable energetic and material resource bases of our economies to renewable bases while raising per capita consumption in the poorest regions of the world. Never before was need for cooperation greater..
This great transformation of society - the "Great Turning" - will be lived in constant crisis, this is simply the nature of the age we live in , it's "karma" if you wish..
"Religion", "spirituality" - in their non-perverted forms - provide the self with a greater context within which its actions are to be evaluated, within which to discover meaning, purpose, value and self-expression. They are, we feel, also capable of providing an expanded frame of reference from which to judge the trajectory the world is now following and the probable consequences of following that path for future generations and for all life.
At the end of my reading, I caught myself wondering, "what is truth?". Fundamentalists of all stripes, religious and secular, often speak of truth in absolute terms, with capital "T's": The Truth or, even - arrogantly - God's Word, God's Truth. Yet these inevitably prove to be either fools and madmen, at best, or vilains, at worst. (There are indeed true sages, wise ones, but such persons are rare and their words and works are soon seized upon by the fools, madmen and vilains, and perverted to their ends.)
The fanatic is caught in a web of delusion: in many / most cases he gives the impression of a man fleeing a reality too painful or fearful to face. Because ecological crises are fearful (they strike at our deepest instincts of self-preservation, individual and collective), the fanatic denies they exist without fairly examining and weighing the evidence. Ecological crises are rapidly converted into "signs of the End Times" ordained by God. They are no longer the product of the all-too-human vices of stupidity, greed, folly and hubris. There are immense false 'truths' spoken today by madmen and vilains and there are many willing dupes to take up arms in their names. Today, September 11, is the 11th anniversity of the terrorist attacks on New York city's Twin Towers and the Pentagon..
At root, author Swedish is correct in demanding that people must "own up" and take responsibility for the state our world is in. WE made the world what it has become, not God! (Do the fools not see the blasphemy of making God responsible for humanity's folly?) Even if we admit that mass media exert corrupting influences on public opinion, values and aspirations (Noam Chomsky et al.), we find ourselves obliged to re-affirm that, in democratic regimes, the people are the rulers. We must take back our democracy! We can't have our cake and eat it too. Either (1) the people assume their rule or (2) they reneg, quit the field, leave the game (democracy).
"Taking back our democracy" will be a very painful process, I suspect. It will require admitting that we let ourselves ourselves be duped by conmen (neoconservatives, conservative "christians", Free Marketeers, hate filled mullahs..) Such admissions, if honest, are always terribly painful. We have, collectively and individually, let madmen, psychopaths and fools call forth all that is venal and animalistic in man. Worse, we supported them in their work.
We did all this to the detriment of the health and stunning natural beauty of our world. We denied future generations the opportunities we enjoyed and we leave them a diminished world. These are painful searing admissions once we let them rise to consciousness. Passing through this painful point is a necessary step in our healing, though..
published by Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York, 2008
This tight, concise, well written essay on the state of the earth and its future can be divided in two sections with varying appeals to different readerships.
The first two thirds provide an admirable synthesis. This part is recommended to young people who want to get their feet wet on environmental / social justice issues and their interactions. Activists who work with the young would be well advised to check it out too.
The last third, the core of the text, moves into territory where academics and most greens fail - or fear? - to tread, the "philosophical" (existential / ethical) dimension of our relation to the earth and Nature. Teckies and geeks might see "emergent complexity" here; the artist and mystic will think in terms of the "metaphysical" or "transcendental"; the religious will recognize the "spiritual" or "religious" dimensions of the text..
Semantics aside, the author is boldly - "prophetically" - claiming a redefinition of the place of wo/man on the earth and in the cosmos, a vision that simultaneously respects emerging scientific cosmology AND the integrity of planet's life support systems. For salvation - if there is salvation for our civilization - will only come through the interaction of the two: science must become the servitor of life, otherwise it too will die with the planet it destroys..
The false, addictive - ultimately suicidal - "values" of the Consumer Society will be layed aside as cheap fossil energy sources deplete: the Consumer Society is founded upon access to cheap energy . The natural resilience, autonomy and conviviality of human communities must be rebuilt, beginning with the one we live in. All this must be done in as equitable, just fashion as possible for never before in history was the solidarity of the human race(s) required as it today!
We must, in effect, simultaneously convert the non-renewable energetic and material resource bases of our economies to renewable bases while raising per capita consumption in the poorest regions of the world. Never before was need for cooperation greater..
This great transformation of society - the "Great Turning" - will be lived in constant crisis, this is simply the nature of the age we live in , it's "karma" if you wish..
"Religion", "spirituality" - in their non-perverted forms - provide the self with a greater context within which its actions are to be evaluated, within which to discover meaning, purpose, value and self-expression. They are, we feel, also capable of providing an expanded frame of reference from which to judge the trajectory the world is now following and the probable consequences of following that path for future generations and for all life.
At the end of my reading, I caught myself wondering, "what is truth?". Fundamentalists of all stripes, religious and secular, often speak of truth in absolute terms, with capital "T's": The Truth or, even - arrogantly - God's Word, God's Truth. Yet these inevitably prove to be either fools and madmen, at best, or vilains, at worst. (There are indeed true sages, wise ones, but such persons are rare and their words and works are soon seized upon by the fools, madmen and vilains, and perverted to their ends.)
The fanatic is caught in a web of delusion: in many / most cases he gives the impression of a man fleeing a reality too painful or fearful to face. Because ecological crises are fearful (they strike at our deepest instincts of self-preservation, individual and collective), the fanatic denies they exist without fairly examining and weighing the evidence. Ecological crises are rapidly converted into "signs of the End Times" ordained by God. They are no longer the product of the all-too-human vices of stupidity, greed, folly and hubris. There are immense false 'truths' spoken today by madmen and vilains and there are many willing dupes to take up arms in their names. Today, September 11, is the 11th anniversity of the terrorist attacks on New York city's Twin Towers and the Pentagon..
At root, author Swedish is correct in demanding that people must "own up" and take responsibility for the state our world is in. WE made the world what it has become, not God! (Do the fools not see the blasphemy of making God responsible for humanity's folly?) Even if we admit that mass media exert corrupting influences on public opinion, values and aspirations (Noam Chomsky et al.), we find ourselves obliged to re-affirm that, in democratic regimes, the people are the rulers. We must take back our democracy! We can't have our cake and eat it too. Either (1) the people assume their rule or (2) they reneg, quit the field, leave the game (democracy).
"Taking back our democracy" will be a very painful process, I suspect. It will require admitting that we let ourselves ourselves be duped by conmen (neoconservatives, conservative "christians", Free Marketeers, hate filled mullahs..) Such admissions, if honest, are always terribly painful. We have, collectively and individually, let madmen, psychopaths and fools call forth all that is venal and animalistic in man. Worse, we supported them in their work.
We did all this to the detriment of the health and stunning natural beauty of our world. We denied future generations the opportunities we enjoyed and we leave them a diminished world. These are painful searing admissions once we let them rise to consciousness. Passing through this painful point is a necessary step in our healing, though..
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Ship Alberta crude to China - safe bet or suicide?
Former federal environment minister Anderson slams Enbridge's safety record and challenges the wisdom of west coast oil shipments:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/news-video/video-former-environment-minister-slams-enbridge-pipeline-plan/article4450302/?from=4449911
Greed is good? British Columbia premier Christy Clark seems to think so. In a surprise move, she wants a more generous share of the proceeds from the proposed Enbridge pipeline which would deliver Alberta crude to BC ports for shipment to China.
Aside from environmental concerns (greenhouse gas emissions, oil spills) and the question of sharing the spoils, there is also the question of shipping jobs to China. China wants crude, not refined oil. Thus, in bowing to Chinese wishes, Canada is effectively shipping thousands of jobs out of the country. The Chinese benefit from the oil and avoid the environmental damage of extraction while gaining thousands of jobs. A sweet deal.
Meanwhile, the oil companies make money from the sales to China while avoiding having to pay highly paid Canadian refinery workers. Another sweet deal.
Canada's land is scrapped, jobs are shipped to China with the crude. And, of course, money that could have been invested in building a New - post cheap fossil energy - Economy is flushed down the toilet of the dying Old, fossil fuel based, Economy. Everyone gains, it seems, but the land and people of Canada. Defintely not a sweet deal on this front!
When does this silliness stop? Why do we let ourselves be run over by the steam roller of big business serviced by a servile and co-opted State? Why are we such damn patsies..
Meanwhile, Harper's followers are mesmerized by the mantra: economy - economy - economy.. and either do not see, or do not want to see, the long term damage that is being done to our land, our way of life and our planet. Wake up Earth!
For a more nuanced, in depth analysis, consult the four part investigative series which appeared in the Vancouver Sun:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/news-video/video-former-environment-minister-slams-enbridge-pipeline-plan/article4450302/?from=4449911
Greed is good? British Columbia premier Christy Clark seems to think so. In a surprise move, she wants a more generous share of the proceeds from the proposed Enbridge pipeline which would deliver Alberta crude to BC ports for shipment to China.
Aside from environmental concerns (greenhouse gas emissions, oil spills) and the question of sharing the spoils, there is also the question of shipping jobs to China. China wants crude, not refined oil. Thus, in bowing to Chinese wishes, Canada is effectively shipping thousands of jobs out of the country. The Chinese benefit from the oil and avoid the environmental damage of extraction while gaining thousands of jobs. A sweet deal.
Meanwhile, the oil companies make money from the sales to China while avoiding having to pay highly paid Canadian refinery workers. Another sweet deal.
Canada's land is scrapped, jobs are shipped to China with the crude. And, of course, money that could have been invested in building a New - post cheap fossil energy - Economy is flushed down the toilet of the dying Old, fossil fuel based, Economy. Everyone gains, it seems, but the land and people of Canada. Defintely not a sweet deal on this front!
When does this silliness stop? Why do we let ourselves be run over by the steam roller of big business serviced by a servile and co-opted State? Why are we such damn patsies..
Meanwhile, Harper's followers are mesmerized by the mantra: economy - economy - economy.. and either do not see, or do not want to see, the long term damage that is being done to our land, our way of life and our planet. Wake up Earth!
For a more nuanced, in depth analysis, consult the four part investigative series which appeared in the Vancouver Sun:
http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Canada+fish+face+upstream+battle/6737525/story.html
Talk about "Orwellian" bullshit: even the Chinese under Mao couldn't beat this one - unbelievable!
"An Environment Canada website states: "A society that lives and develops as a part of nature, values the diversity of life, takes no more than can be replenished and leaves to future generations a nurturing and dynamic world, rich in its biodiversity.""
Talk about "Orwellian" bullshit: even the Chinese under Mao couldn't beat this one - unbelievable!
"An Environment Canada website states: "A society that lives and develops as a part of nature, values the diversity of life, takes no more than can be replenished and leaves to future generations a nurturing and dynamic world, rich in its biodiversity.""
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