By Montreal Simon It’s an amazing sight, thousands of young pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, defying the old guard in Beijing. Daring to lecture them on the limits of power, in their own backyard. In the shadow of Tiananmen. The young members of the Umbrella Revolution, lighting up the darkness with their cell phones… And […]
The Vogons assess FIPA
By Alison@Creekside Prior to the enactment of the Canada-China FIPA, the Canadian government pushed two omnibus bills through the HoC which included provisions designed to substantially weaken environment policies and regulations, some of them at the behest of a pipeline lobby group: G&M : Pipeline industry pushed environmental changes made in omnibus bill The Canadian Energy Pipeline […]
Harper and FIPA: Sell-out on a Friday afternoon
By Montreal Simon He waited until late Friday afternoon to announce that the Cons had ratified their controversial trade deal with China. Hoping that most people wouldn’t notice. Ottawa confirms it has ratified a foreign investment treaty with China, more than two years after the controversial agreement was signed, as CBC News first reported Friday. […]
The birds of Spring
By Montreal Simon The birds have been flocking back to the island as they do every spring. Flying in from south of the lake, on their way north. But this year I’m not as glad to see them, as I usually am. Because this year they can’t help reminding me of what’s going on in China. The outbreak […]
Chief Spence and the hypocrisy of The Globe
By David@Sixthestate.net I was disappointed, but not entirely surprised to read this weekend that The Globe & Mail has officially joined Postmedia’s Christie Blatchford in denouncing the ongoing hunger strike in Ottawa by Attawapiskat chief Theresa Spence as an act not just of protest but of violence against the lawful order of the country: “Spence […]
Nexen: China nationalizes Canada’s oil sands
By David@Sixthestate.net Well, try that on for size. Let me be clear, says Stephen Harper: “Canadians have not spent years reducing the ownership of sectors of the economy by our own governments, only to see them bought and controlled by foreign governments instead. It is not an outcome any responsible government of Canada could ever […]
End of the incandescent: When Green is Mean
By Eric Pettifor Way back in February of 2007, I wrote of an announcement by General Electric that they were developing an energy efficient incandescent light bulb. I speculated that they were motivated by a proposed California law to outlaw the incandescent. Later on, in March, I noted that it wasn’t just California, but that […]
