Now that the gifts under the Christmas tree/Hanukkah bush have been unwrapped, and the boxes from the questionable quality, lead-tainted Chinese toys have been discarded, and the chocolates, cookies and marzipan coagulate on the bellies and thighs of our nations citizens, it still came as a shock, as I walked down my local block, to see just how many "recyclables" were piled on the sidewalks in the City.
And while I am not intending to put a damper on the festivities of readers out there (or compete with the Grinch), I guess that's why I continue to feel a sense of dread as the holiday season comes. Conversely, I cannot begin to explain the genuine sense of relief as the season moves on.
The consumerism around the holiday was never supposed to BE the holiday. The exchange of gifts was never intended to be a shop-till-you-drop affair, working credit limits and patience to the extreme. Instead, it was always supposed to be about family and friends. It was always about thoughtfulness -- perhaps a bespoke knitted scarf or handy tool, or something special acquired on travels to a far off land -- you know, like gold, frankincense and myrrh.
I had a great Christmas this year. In addition to spending time with my lovely wife, I wrote a message to James Howard Kunstler and got a response, and wrote him back, and heard from him again. Simple pleasures, I suppose.
Let me just take this opportunity to wish you all the very best of the season. A new year will soon be upon us and with it, new challenges and thoughts. I will have something to say about it, no doubt. I hope you will, too.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Brother, can you spare me a Swedish Fish?
I feel the need to apologize for the generous 
column-inches this blog devoted to the Copenhagen climate summit. As I suspected all along, there was never any REAL chance that the feeble-minded governments of the West could ever take the lead in moving its slothful populations -- raised on a steady diet of Swedish Fish, CNN sound bites, chrome-wheeled SUVs and the cheap abundance of Dollar Store shelves -- in the desperately-needed direction of quickly changing our behaviour and consumption patterns. Worse, my defeatist sentiment is hammered home with clear signals from our Conservative government that there was little or no interest in trying to use our middle-power status for positive change.
The most recent excrement to flow from Ottawa, that it won't rule out giving oil and gas companies an emissions break on the oil sands, is proof to me that the double-talk spin machine is lubricated and powered 100 per cent by fossil fuels, to the detriment of Canada's international reputation and respect. If I was ever more embarrassed to declare myself Canadian, I can't really remember.
Sure, there will be those out there who subscribe to the very basic understanding that it would be "bad" for our economic system. Like blackmail, this argument continues to hold sway because, well... I don't really know. Tell me what it is we produce in Canada that is so economically dependent on protecting massive carbon emissions (like the United States and China want to do)? There is mostly light manufacturing in Quebec and Ontario. There is mining in Northern Ontario and Quebec and various other locales, such as the Northwest Territories. There's logging and paper mills in British Columbia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Frankly, all of these need an eco-overhaul as it is... but otherwise, our economy is built on entrepreneurs and commercial and retail operations. And if the stats are true, that 90 per cent of Canada's population lives within 300 kilometres of the US border and that our massive landmass and low population means a population density of about 3 people per square kilometre, why can't we progressively, quickly and urgently transition to wind farms and other energy alternatives (geothermal?) on land most Canadians will never see? I don't get it.
But, cleverly, while all the bickering goes on about tar sands and tax breaks for corporations, the Cons are pulling the wool over the eyes of Canadians on equally pressing issues of national character, international reputation and national security. Take the torture of Afghan detainees, for instance. This is not something Canadians should take lightly -- no matter how many schools or hospitals we say we are building in Afghanistan. Having lived in that part of the world before, family and tribal pride are far greater influences than any bricks and mortar buildings. This is not a criticism of the young Canadians in military uniforms dying needlessly in roadside bombs, but a scathing indictment of the stupidity of those running our government and their lack of understanding, specifically Peter MacKay who has presided over this fiasco. We torture ourselves when we torture others.
But Afghanistan aside, we have news of the sale of CANDU -- made-in-Canada nuclear energy technology developed by Canadians, for Canadians, with Canadian taxpayer money. Even if the 50-year-old technology is dated, it does not warrant a sale of what I call 'national innovation infrastructure'. Neglect of such infrastructure by our government is not an excuse for a fire sale to private interests. Regular readers of this blog know that I have a deep commitment to re-establishing centres of excellence across this country. Candu, the national space agency, our aerospace industry and our arts and sciences are examples of areas that need proper funding to put Canada back in a leadership position. Coincidentally, probably seeing the writing on the wall given what's happening in other critical Canadian industries, the aerospace industry is being proactive with a website and ad campaign -- "Our Aerospace Industry" -- to which I say, bravo! After all, success in Canada makes us all winners. In a very tangible way, it is "ours".
So what's the way forward? Good question. I found the recent article in The Walrus -- The Stranger Within -- provided an excellent overview of how the Liberal Party got to where it is today. And despite the modestly optimistic note the author, Ron Graham, closes the article with, it is by and large clear that Iggy and the Liberals are unlikely to pose any threat to our current status quo. We have no clear direction forward but are too fearful of the possibility of change; we know we don't like where we are, but aren't happy with the alternative. I guess you might say that makes all of us strangers within. Pass the Swedish Fish, please!
-----
Copenhagen cartoon copyright Graham MacKay.
column-inches this blog devoted to the Copenhagen climate summit. As I suspected all along, there was never any REAL chance that the feeble-minded governments of the West could ever take the lead in moving its slothful populations -- raised on a steady diet of Swedish Fish, CNN sound bites, chrome-wheeled SUVs and the cheap abundance of Dollar Store shelves -- in the desperately-needed direction of quickly changing our behaviour and consumption patterns. Worse, my defeatist sentiment is hammered home with clear signals from our Conservative government that there was little or no interest in trying to use our middle-power status for positive change.The most recent excrement to flow from Ottawa, that it won't rule out giving oil and gas companies an emissions break on the oil sands, is proof to me that the double-talk spin machine is lubricated and powered 100 per cent by fossil fuels, to the detriment of Canada's international reputation and respect. If I was ever more embarrassed to declare myself Canadian, I can't really remember.
Sure, there will be those out there who subscribe to the very basic understanding that it would be "bad" for our economic system. Like blackmail, this argument continues to hold sway because, well... I don't really know. Tell me what it is we produce in Canada that is so economically dependent on protecting massive carbon emissions (like the United States and China want to do)? There is mostly light manufacturing in Quebec and Ontario. There is mining in Northern Ontario and Quebec and various other locales, such as the Northwest Territories. There's logging and paper mills in British Columbia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Frankly, all of these need an eco-overhaul as it is... but otherwise, our economy is built on entrepreneurs and commercial and retail operations. And if the stats are true, that 90 per cent of Canada's population lives within 300 kilometres of the US border and that our massive landmass and low population means a population density of about 3 people per square kilometre, why can't we progressively, quickly and urgently transition to wind farms and other energy alternatives (geothermal?) on land most Canadians will never see? I don't get it.
But, cleverly, while all the bickering goes on about tar sands and tax breaks for corporations, the Cons are pulling the wool over the eyes of Canadians on equally pressing issues of national character, international reputation and national security. Take the torture of Afghan detainees, for instance. This is not something Canadians should take lightly -- no matter how many schools or hospitals we say we are building in Afghanistan. Having lived in that part of the world before, family and tribal pride are far greater influences than any bricks and mortar buildings. This is not a criticism of the young Canadians in military uniforms dying needlessly in roadside bombs, but a scathing indictment of the stupidity of those running our government and their lack of understanding, specifically Peter MacKay who has presided over this fiasco. We torture ourselves when we torture others.
But Afghanistan aside, we have news of the sale of CANDU -- made-in-Canada nuclear energy technology developed by Canadians, for Canadians, with Canadian taxpayer money. Even if the 50-year-old technology is dated, it does not warrant a sale of what I call 'national innovation infrastructure'. Neglect of such infrastructure by our government is not an excuse for a fire sale to private interests. Regular readers of this blog know that I have a deep commitment to re-establishing centres of excellence across this country. Candu, the national space agency, our aerospace industry and our arts and sciences are examples of areas that need proper funding to put Canada back in a leadership position. Coincidentally, probably seeing the writing on the wall given what's happening in other critical Canadian industries, the aerospace industry is being proactive with a website and ad campaign -- "Our Aerospace Industry" -- to which I say, bravo! After all, success in Canada makes us all winners. In a very tangible way, it is "ours".
So what's the way forward? Good question. I found the recent article in The Walrus -- The Stranger Within -- provided an excellent overview of how the Liberal Party got to where it is today. And despite the modestly optimistic note the author, Ron Graham, closes the article with, it is by and large clear that Iggy and the Liberals are unlikely to pose any threat to our current status quo. We have no clear direction forward but are too fearful of the possibility of change; we know we don't like where we are, but aren't happy with the alternative. I guess you might say that makes all of us strangers within. Pass the Swedish Fish, please!
-----
Copenhagen cartoon copyright Graham MacKay.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Copenhagen Schmopenhagen
It's no surprise what's happening in Copenhagen right now... dubbed by some, ironically, as "Hopenhagen." The forces of obfuscation, moral corruption and economic globalization are working overtime with their leaky email systems, scandalous memos and supposed "draft documents." You see it here at the United Nations all the time - the alliances, the politics, the backroom deals. I have to say I saw it coming a mile back.
The question is: how can we take the United Nations or the United States (or any other Western nation) seriously anymore? The West has lost the high road. It's obvious that our petro-party is slowly coming to a close and yet we continue to deny its impending demise, choosing instead to tighten the blindfold and pour more champagne. There are some real gems in James Howard Kunstler's blog post from last week, a snippet of which I share with you here:
Granted,
I suspect the Guardian reporter, Georges Monbiot, is being purposely scandalous to bring attention to our recent, deplorable record on the environmental disaster that is the Alberta tar sands. Still, if ever there was a crisis of image, of reputation, of confidence in Canada, now would be it.
It's clear we have lost the plot but perhaps what is more disappointing is the apathy of a majority of Canadians. We must all demand better from our elected officials rather than accept what can only be described as a pathetic effort at proper government.
Let's see what comes of Copenhagen. I, for one, think not much, even if there is some fanfare about a deal at the close of the conference. Hey, at least we can always take pride in the spitting accuracy of our diplomats, can't we?
The question is: how can we take the United Nations or the United States (or any other Western nation) seriously anymore? The West has lost the high road. It's obvious that our petro-party is slowly coming to a close and yet we continue to deny its impending demise, choosing instead to tighten the blindfold and pour more champagne. There are some real gems in James Howard Kunstler's blog post from last week, a snippet of which I share with you here:
Reality doesn't care if we are on-board with its mandates or not. The human race has to get with whatever program reality is serving up at a particular time. Are we shocked to learn that scientists fight among themselves and cheat as much as congressmen? Does that really change the relationships we understand about parts-per-million of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere and the weather?Absolutely. So where is Canada on all this? Right where you would expect, given the Prime Minister and his party: with the climate change deniers, debunkers and discreditors. Want to know just how bad it has gotten? Check out this headline beauty from the Guardian:
What the people of the world can do or will do about a change in climate is something else. My guess is that the undertow of entropy is now too great to provoke any meaningful unified change in behavior... In the meantime, it is unlikely that any of the major players will burn less coal and oil, or not cheat on each other even if they pledge to burn less.
Canada's image lies in tatters. It is now to climate what Japan is to whaling; The tar barons have held the nation to ransom. This thuggish petro-state is today the greatest obstacle to a deal in Copenhagen
Granted,
I suspect the Guardian reporter, Georges Monbiot, is being purposely scandalous to bring attention to our recent, deplorable record on the environmental disaster that is the Alberta tar sands. Still, if ever there was a crisis of image, of reputation, of confidence in Canada, now would be it.It's clear we have lost the plot but perhaps what is more disappointing is the apathy of a majority of Canadians. We must all demand better from our elected officials rather than accept what can only be described as a pathetic effort at proper government.
Let's see what comes of Copenhagen. I, for one, think not much, even if there is some fanfare about a deal at the close of the conference. Hey, at least we can always take pride in the spitting accuracy of our diplomats, can't we?
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Failure of Imagination
Forgive me for missing my self-imposed posting deadline this week. I have just returned from travel with a pile of work and other email to catch up on -- a consequence of opting not to touch my computer over the last 7 days. Not that I haven't been thinking about blogging but, choosing instead, a much-needed disconnect. Apologies to my loyal readers out there. My fingers are itching to share thoughts with you stemming from what I saw last week ... more to follow.
*******
It's clear this government is in a complete shambles.
Just two days ago, the tap-dancing, double-talking, unaccountable Prime Minister emerged from his fortified lair after weeks of galavanting around the world to tell the media that he would indeed be going to the Copenhagen Climate summit after all.
Perhaps he was hoping that we Canadians didn't notice the timing of his announcement -- just a day after US president Obama announced he would be attending (which was also a flip-flop. He had said he would not attend). Maybe he was hoping that we'd forget that Canada has not articulated a Canadian position on climate change. It's likely he was thinking that, after his long hiatus from the picture tubes, websites and radio waves of the Canadian media, people around our country would be mesmerized by his salt-and-pepper hair and blue eyes and not see past that to his complete and outright ineptitude.
This Government is a government of failure. And on so many fronts: leadership; principle; fairness; intelligence; originality; strategy... (I can go on). Little, if anything, substantive has comes out of Ottawa. As a Canadian in the UN, working just two hours flight from several major Canadian cities and our capital, there is nothing that I can point to to say: "We're doing it a bit differently" or "We've got a different take on it in my country" or even "We're pioneering new ___________ (technology, policy, approaches) to __________ (fossil fuels, rising sea levels, poverty alleviation, illiteracy)." Nothing.
Instead, as we wind our way to the end of 2009, we continue to have gaping holes in income distribution across Canada and in levels of poverty and child poverty from coast to coast. We continue to lose fine, intelligent young men and women in a battle half-way across the world that our leaders know is doomed to fail -- not a comment I say with glibness or disrespect for the efforts of our soldiers, but a comment informed by history. And yet, no opposition seems to be able to raise a strong enough voice to bring attention to the incompetence of the Harper Government.
What other smouldering fires can we add to the list? How about $50 billion of debt (and growing)? How about Arctic sovereignty? How about a strong Canadian dollar; not in itself a bad thing, but when combined with the fact that our economy is almost inextricably linked to selling our commodities and wares to Americans, it's a problem. Either we diversify, or we start to die.
Canada has never faced a more crucial time in its history -- so many national infernos ready to break out with so imprudent and incompetent a party at its helm. And for the foreseeable future, it would appear that its position is secure, with the opposition essentially unorganized and ineffective, and Canadians caught in a paralysis of sticking with a known devil. Who can blame them.
**********
On a different note, I just saw a rather dark, BBC movie/comedy called "In the Loop". If you want to get a humourous and expletive-filled sense of the cutthroat nature of politics and international diplomacy, I recommend a watch (though not with the kids!). Here's the trailer... Enjoy.
*******
It's clear this government is in a complete shambles.
Just two days ago, the tap-dancing, double-talking, unaccountable Prime Minister emerged from his fortified lair after weeks of galavanting around the world to tell the media that he would indeed be going to the Copenhagen Climate summit after all.
Perhaps he was hoping that we Canadians didn't notice the timing of his announcement -- just a day after US president Obama announced he would be attending (which was also a flip-flop. He had said he would not attend). Maybe he was hoping that we'd forget that Canada has not articulated a Canadian position on climate change. It's likely he was thinking that, after his long hiatus from the picture tubes, websites and radio waves of the Canadian media, people around our country would be mesmerized by his salt-and-pepper hair and blue eyes and not see past that to his complete and outright ineptitude.
This Government is a government of failure. And on so many fronts: leadership; principle; fairness; intelligence; originality; strategy... (I can go on). Little, if anything, substantive has comes out of Ottawa. As a Canadian in the UN, working just two hours flight from several major Canadian cities and our capital, there is nothing that I can point to to say: "We're doing it a bit differently" or "We've got a different take on it in my country" or even "We're pioneering new ___________ (technology, policy, approaches) to __________ (fossil fuels, rising sea levels, poverty alleviation, illiteracy)." Nothing.
Instead, as we wind our way to the end of 2009, we continue to have gaping holes in income distribution across Canada and in levels of poverty and child poverty from coast to coast. We continue to lose fine, intelligent young men and women in a battle half-way across the world that our leaders know is doomed to fail -- not a comment I say with glibness or disrespect for the efforts of our soldiers, but a comment informed by history. And yet, no opposition seems to be able to raise a strong enough voice to bring attention to the incompetence of the Harper Government.
What other smouldering fires can we add to the list? How about $50 billion of debt (and growing)? How about Arctic sovereignty? How about a strong Canadian dollar; not in itself a bad thing, but when combined with the fact that our economy is almost inextricably linked to selling our commodities and wares to Americans, it's a problem. Either we diversify, or we start to die.
Canada has never faced a more crucial time in its history -- so many national infernos ready to break out with so imprudent and incompetent a party at its helm. And for the foreseeable future, it would appear that its position is secure, with the opposition essentially unorganized and ineffective, and Canadians caught in a paralysis of sticking with a known devil. Who can blame them.
**********
On a different note, I just saw a rather dark, BBC movie/comedy called "In the Loop". If you want to get a humourous and expletive-filled sense of the cutthroat nature of politics and international diplomacy, I recommend a watch (though not with the kids!). Here's the trailer... Enjoy.
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