Al Gore Denounces Baird's Enviro-Sham

Well, Al Gore has (once again) declared that the Conservatives are blowing a lot of hot air when it comes to the environment. At a screening of An Inconvenient Truth, he called Baird's plan a "fraud". You can read about it here. Wonder how Baird will try to misrepresent Gore's comments this time around.


On a related matter, noted environmental expert and climatologist Glenn Beck is promoting his own retort to the whole climate change debate, a piece called "Exposed: The Climate of Fear" to be aired on May 2nd on Headline Prime.

For the uninitiated, Beck is a conservative American radio and television personality - a species related to Nancy Grace, Rush Limbaugh etc.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm all for serious, rational scientific debate on any issue. But Beck has a track record of being neither serious nor rational nor scientific. Want some examples?

Here's Beck's comment on Al Gore and his documentary An Inconvenient Truth, aired on his national radio programme on June 7, 2006:

"See, when you take a little bit of truth and then you mix it with untruth, or your theory, that's where you get people to believe. You know? It's like Hitler. Hitler said a little bit of truth, and then he mixed in "and it's the Jews' fault." "

Want some more? On June 14/06 Beck provided his analysis of Gore's assertion that global warming could cause Shanghai to become submerged:

"This is what would happen to Shanghai. Does anybody really care? I mean, come on. Shanghai is under water. Oh, no! Who's gonna make those little umbrellas for those tropical drinks?"

I suppose this puts Minister Baird in a bit of a pickle. I mean if Al Gore is like Hitler, should Baird be disappointed or pleased that Gore thinks his plan is a "fraud"?

Baird Doubles Personal CO2 Emissions Trying to Defend Enviro-Plan

1. As expected, the Conservative environmental plan has come under heavy attack from virtually all corners. Well, all except for big industry. John Baird found himself at odds with David Suzuki, Dalton McGuinty and others at an event designed to promote the "plan".

Some reactions:

"This plan is a terrible disappointment to me. No, I would say it's more than that. It's a sham..."

-David Suzuki

"It falls short of Canadian expectations."

-Dalton McGuinty

"They should go back and take the pulse of public opinion a little more carefully and come back with a better plan"

-Julia Langer, World Wildlife Fund Canada

After playing the blame game and passing the buck for a few minutes, Minister Baird 'turned the corner' and disappeared.

2. Can anyone in the Conservative government give a straight answer regarding the status of detainees in Afghanistan?? Defense Minister Gordon O'Connor was muzzled yesterday, and didn't even bother to show up to question period today. Just as well...he hasn't been able to string 2 sentences together lately without contradicting himself. Meanwhile, Stockboy Day has been floundering along and accusing opposition MPs of questioning the integrity of our troops and sympathizing with the Taliban. Disgusting behaviour from a group of colossal incompetents.

3. On a lighter note, the Raptors lost badly to the New Jersey Carters tonight. Watching Vince play like he actually cared was a novelty, and a bit tough to take. Anyways, this thing isn't over by a longshot, but the next game is kind of a 'must-win' for the boys, who can't afford to come back home down 3-1. Go Raps Go!

A Brave New Blog

Hello world, and thanks for stopping by. This is my first post to this brand spanking new blog. My first attempt to go boldly where, frankly, many many others have gone before.

But what a day to inaugurate Red Canuck!

A few interesting happenings in recent days:

1. Big John Baird unveiled the Tory "Green Plan". It falls short of Kyoto targets, and as expected focuses on emission intensity rather than hard levels. I guess its a start for a group of people who only recently came to accept the issue in the first place. But details aside, isn't it curious that after all of the hulaballoo about revising the Clean Air Act and months of tripartite negotiations, the Tories have essentially scuttled a plan that was voted on in committee in favour of this watered down option.

2. Did anyone else happen to catch Conservative MP Mark Warawa on Politics today? It was almost physically painful to watch him try to evade saying on national tv that the Cons have no intention of putting their new enviro-plan to a vote in the House of Commons. On a separate note, am I the only one who thinks that Susan Bonner is a better host than Don Newman?

3. Why oh why did the NDP vote against the Liberal motion to end our Afghanistan commitment in 2009? They claim to have done so because they want our troops back sooner than 2009. Nothing short of an NDP majority government <raucous laughter> could make that happen, so the question remains: what was to be gained by propping up the Conservatives in that vote??

4. Finally, south of the border, the senate passed a bill setting a strict timeline for withdrawal of American combat troops from Iraq. Dubbya has promised to veto it, saying that timelines for withdrawal "embolden the enemy". Anyone listening closely may have heard a similar refrain coming from the Conservatives regarding our mission in Afghanistan. This type of talk should make us all nervous, especially our brave troops who continue to give their lives without the full support of our NATO allies.

Well, thats it for today. Feel free to leave comments and suggestions, regardless of your political stripe - after all, dissent is the greatest form of patriotism. Cheers!