Canadian Politics

Hey guys just thought I would throw this out there since there has been some discussion about the Alberta election. I have a very good friend running in the Alberta provincial election for the ANDP in the riding of Lethbridge-West. Polling shows she's in a very tight race (virtual tie) with the PC incumbent. If she won it would be huge victory for the progressives here in Alberta. Here is her website if you would like to check it out http://albertandp.ca/shannon (she has some pretty big endorsements) and if you see fit like her facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SPhillpsNDP , every little bit of momentum will help. Thanks.

like is said ... friggin' right wingers ... :evil:


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http://ca.news.yahoo.com/scientist-muse ... 21821.html

EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA, - One of Alberta's top researchers says remarks by Alberta Wildrose party Leader Danielle Smith on climate change suggest the province's political leaders need to brush up on their scientific literacy.

"I wonder if she thinks the flat Earth debate is settled?" asked University of Alberta ecologist David Schindler. "It's very discouraging in an era when sound policy requires scientific literacy in its leaders."

Smith said Monday in an online election forum that the science around climate change is not settled and the appropriate response from the Alberta government would be to monitor the debate. Her position has long been Wildrose policy.

Smith stood by those comments Tuesday.

"I have said for years the same things I said yesterday," she said in Calgary.

But scientists say while debate remains about how fast global warming will take place and what its consequences will be, there is no longer any real doubt that greenhouse gas emissions are the main cause of climate change.

"I get very frustrated," Schindler said.

"I spend a lot of time reading that stuff and there's a 97 per cent consensus. You do not get higher levels of consensus, ever. You'd probably get 98 per on the flat Earth."

Andrew Weaver, a University of Victoria climatologist and one of the globe's top climate modellers, backed the view that climate change is no longer questioned.

"It's overwhelming. It's as overwhelming as gravity," Weaver said from Morocco, where he is helping draft the latest UN report on climate change.

"There are thousands of scientists working on this problem and if there was an Achilles heel to it they would find it."

A 2010 study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences surveyed 1,372 papers on climate and found at least 97 per cent of the most active climate researchers supported the standard model.

Schindler said the Wildrose — among other Alberta parties — has to start getting serious scientific advice.

"You've got to have people to rely on for advice who are not hacks. It's true of some of the other parties as well, most notably the PCs.

"For a party leader to say, 'Oh, we've got to procrastinate more until the science is settled is just disgusting. We have to expect more command of science in our leader than this, for crying out loud."

Progressive Conservative Leader and Premier Alison Redford said Tuesday she does believe the debate is over and it's time Alberta recognized its reputation is at stake.

"I believe the science has been settled. What the premier of Alberta needs to be talking about is that we understand what's going on on the international stage," she said.

Calgary political scientist Duane Bratt suggested Smith has little choice on the issue.

"Her statement reflects the views of Wildrose supporters — the people within the party, the people funding the party, not necessarily the people voting for the party. I'm talking about the candidates, the people closely associated with the campaign, their highest donors."

Wildrose has inherited from the old Ralph Klein Conservatives the sort of right-wingers most likely to question climate change, Bratt suggested.

"There were an awful lot of skeptics in that government. I think those people are the people who left for Wildrose."

Klein himself appeared to dismiss climate change in a 2002 speech when he said it was just as likely that "dinosaur farts'' caused the Ice Age.

Smith repeated Tuesday that a Wildrose government would fight climate change by encouraging energy-efficient housing and research and development.

"We are monitoring the science and will continue to monitor the science — and in the meantime, we're going to actually do something about the issue."

NDP Leader Brian Mason said Albertans can forget about reining in greenhouse gas emissions if the Wildrose form government after Monday's election.

If Smith and her Wildrose party don't believe that human activity is causing global warming, she would be unlikely to impose sanctions on polluters, Mason said.

polaris_x wrote:

If Smith and her Wildrose party don't believe that human activity is causing global warming, she would be unlikely to impose sanctions on polluters, Mason said.

And there is the crux of the whole climate change 'debate' with these fuckin redneck, inbred, religious nut-job hillbillies. They KNOW they're full of shit; they deny climate change solely to support their political/business agenda.

If their stance on climate change wasn't bad enough, check out some of these quotes:
http://www.toryorwildrose.ca/
These parties are essentially the two choices in my electoral district :(

No matter how 'progressive' the PC's choose to portray themselves; as the centrist option in this election, they're still the PC party, and still employ people with beliefs like those in the link and article above.
So fuck it, I'm voting my conscience....I've always preached that to americans when they start their 'lesser of two evils' arguments. Just can't bring myself to vote PC, regardless of consequence. So frustrating.

polaris_x wrote:

lukin2006 wrote:

At first I didn't like the idea...mostly because I like more than 2 parties...but I think the Green Party would benefit from this and fill the 3rd party vacancy.

I doubt we'll see a merger until after the next election. If the NDP continue to make gains then I don't see them merging.

well ... this is where i think we will see the ndp's true colours ... the Progressive Conservatives basically go sold out by Peter McKay ... he promised he wouldn't merge and he did it anyways for power ... will Muclair sell his party out for power?

As it stands now....wouldn't it be Rae selling out for power? The Liberals are in complete tatters....
And the benefit to the Green party is what makes a merger even more troublesome than I would find it normally....I agree with lukin06....I think people who voted NDP prior to the last election (the real NDP base, not the people who voted against the Cons), would be turned off by a merged party becoming more centrist...and would shift their vote to the Green party...which does nothing to solve the vote-splitting. Ideally, they need to find a way to fracture the Cons solidarity...we need a multi-party system.

polaris_x wrote:

Drowned Out wrote:

As it stands now....wouldn't it be Rae selling out for power? The Liberals are in complete tatters....
And the benefit to the Green party is what makes a merger even more troublesome than I would find it normally....I agree with lukin06....I think people who voted NDP prior to the last election (the real NDP base, not the people who voted against the Cons), would be turned off by a merged party becoming more centrist...and would shift their vote to the Green party...which does nothing to solve the vote-splitting. Ideally, they need to find a way to fracture the Cons solidarity...we need a multi-party system.

the way i look at it is which party is going to abandon their roots ... obviously, with the PC/Reform alliance they moved to the right so the PC's basically got sold out ... in the case of an ndp/liberal merger ... the party will move to the centre so it really would be the ndp faithful that would have been sold out ...

True. I guess we'd have to see their platform to know for sure which way the party was headed...but you're right....politics, esp if we're moving towards a two-party system, is all about pandering and compromise.... The Liberals would win that tug of war to acquire votes for the merged party, rather than idealists maintaining their beliefs to retain votes. Which still nudges left ideologues toward the Green party.

lukin2006 wrote:

Ontario budget 2012: McGuinty should meet Horwath half way or we’ll all pay: Cohn

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/poli ... -cohn?bn=1

She'll screw her base by voting for this pathetic budget...

it's brutal here in ontario cuz she is not ready to govern nor do i like her as a leader ... i think she is very weak ... but then we have the fucking conservatives waiting in the wings to get the default vote again ... brutal ...

wow ... haven't these guys figured out that all you have to do is shut up to win!?? ... :?

PC's in alberta dodged a bullet ... but that party's time will come simply because that province is moving further and further to the right ... it's unquestionable support of harper and the rise of this right wing party is proof of this ...