I’m writing for tomorrow, day 15. Tomorrow is almost here, and I just woke up. Fortunately I had my research done this morning, but due to unpacking groceries, putting them away, and several other tasks, I just couldn’t get back to it before now.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
The Jig Zone website is currently down. Assuming that this is a temporary situation, I’ll include today’s puzzle with tomorrow’s.
Short Takes:
From Upworthy: Here in the U.S., lots of politicians have pointed to China as the reason the U.S. should not sign climate treaties. What will opponents of climate change action use as an excuse now? Check out this spot-on video from Climate Desk of what the excuses sound like:
This is the 3rd of 8 reasons President Obama and the Democratic Party have made the world a better place by negotiating a greenhouse gasses agreement with China. Click through for the other seven. A must-read article.
From Daily Kos: When Congress voted to approve the Keystone Pipeline they committed an act of war against the Great Sioux Nation. Apparently they completely forgot to check with the Sioux who live on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, who in February adopted tribal resolutions opposing the Keystone XL project. Or maybe Congress didn’t forget but rather chose to ignore them.
Of course the U.S. government has hardly ever taken Native American concerns seriously, so it would be a surprise if that happened now, but Rosebud Sioux (Sicangu Lakota Oyate) Tribal President Scott said his nation has yet to be properly consulted on the project, which would cross through tribal land. Concerns brought to the Department of Interior and to the Department of State have yet to be addressed, he said in a statement.
Kudos and thanks to the Rosebud Sioux. No doubt this will pass the Senate when it reconvenes with a Republican majority. Hopefully, Obama will veto it, but if not, I hope the Sioux sue.
From PRWatch: Leaked documents expose a plan by Edelman for TransCanada to launch an "aggressive" American-style policy/politics PR campaign to persuade Canadians to support a Canada-based alternative to the stalled Keystone XL pipeline to get controversial tar sands oil to refineries in eastern Canada for export.
But, according to the documents, this Canada-centric campaign would actually be run out of an office in Washington, DC. And the digital campaign is being led by a rightwing American political operative employed by the world’s largest public relations firm.
The documents were obtained by Greenpeace.
Ian Austen of The New York Times published some excerpts from the planning documents on November 17 that show how a new PR operation is in the works to persuade skeptical Canadians the "Energy East Pipeline" from Alberta to Quebec and to New Brunswick is a good idea.
Watch out Canada. They should be calling that Pollution East. It will be3 as bad for you as keystone XL would be for us.
Cartoon:
We still need one of these for Bush, Cheney, et al.
19 Responses to “Open Thread–11/20/2014”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
They will make up differnet excuses now that China is on board. There is still no agreement with Russia or India and that alone will be enough to have them posturing for the cameras.
They want to destroy the EPA. What does that tell you?
Big Polluters own them.
I got so incensed over the Upworthy article I forgot to comment on the ret of them. Here goes.
Daily Kos ~ Congress declared War on the Sioux Nation. It's not the first time. I have faith that President Obama will Veto this when it is approved by the Big Oil Senators and Representatives next year and we will not be at War with the Sioux yet again.
PR Watch ~ Is anyone paying attention to the inordinate amount of leaks so far in Canada? Where are the oversight committees? Oh yeah! They're in bed with Big Oil just like here.
Cartoon ~ Yes! When will the trials begin?
I like the agreement with China about climate change/global warming. Perhaps this will lead to a way to get them to stop poaching wild animals and eating dogs and cats.
I am delighted about the pipeline not getting the thumbs up but who knows what Canada is going to do.
Care2 tech is too much. The last day when I comment the next screen says "unable to display this page." Then it has be refreshed. That's nice if you remember because otherwise all is lost and you have to start over.
Welcome Gloria! 🙂
The Care2 Glitch Momster is certainly a pain.
Senator Dimwit is sadly very representative of SC – they wouldn't know good news if it smacked them in the face and how tempting is that?
Keep alll your pipelines in Canada, please, Canadians. If the Sioux do sue, I plan on standing with them.
Me too!
I hear you and I 100% agree thanks Tom
Patty PR watch I see and Big Oil and the republian/tea party all would ratter just sink the earth instead of investing in clean energy for a better environment. (But more Americans may think the want this but will vote for the Keystone Pipeline) (and then cry about go figure)
Ugh ….having to listen to those idiots! I can't believe they are that stupid. Don't they have children, grandchildren to want to make the planet a better place for them if not themselves?
Loved the cartoon and yes Bush and Cheney more than deserve to be tried. They lied and got us into Iraq which I think has led to ISIS and a too many deaths of innocents.
Thank you!
Welcome Nancy 🙂
They think Republican Supply-side Jesus (the exact opposite of the REAL Jesus) will poof them into Republican Heaven, where all are as white as the clouds.
Wow. When both Care2 and JigZone are non-functioning – well, might that not be what it will look like if we lose Net Neutrality?
Upworthy – yes, amazing and wonderful news, even though in another way it's a baby step. This whole argument of "We shouldn't do anything because nobody else is" – on the one hand it's nuts, like saying a person shouldn't quit smoking because other people still smoke. On the other hand, I wonder how much the argument pushed the administration to quietly but forcefully deal with China toward this end. And then on another point, I'm not the first one to point this out just within a couple of days, but Republicans are really bad at treatiee (don't play well with others).
Daily Kos – I love the Rosebud Sioux. One thing, if they have to sue, they will be supported by many co-plaintiffs and amici curiae. I hope they don't have to.
PRWatch – Despite Canadians having elected Harper, I think they are smarter than that. If TransCanada builds another pipeline that can't get approved, dumps a lot of money into publicity, and then goes broke, I will find a way to dance in the street. Come on, TransCanada, you tried to sneak it past us and look what we built to oppose it, initially without warning. With that public record, do you think you can sneak it past Canadians?
Cartoon – Don't we, though.
Good point!
Copies did eventually appear on C2–just as all kinds of other malfunctions began interfering with navigation–took a long time for being able to find things (and then move on to find something working) and eventually found my way back to this post on C2. Joanne makes a good point.
Glad the China argument has lost its steam–I also read that XL is no longer cost-effective from TransCanada with the drop in market prices. Can the added soverignty lawsuit be just enough to tip the balance? Sounds like Greenpeace has a decent handle on their Plan B (and remember the Kochs are the major US investors). Can we bring the environmental criminals to justice ala Nuremberg?
JL that wasn't Care2; that was me going back and uploading them.
Cartoon: Would love to see bush, cheney, rumsfeld and others taken to the Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Upworthy: Since China and the US are two of the biggest pollutors, this is a win win for all of us, no matter what the corporate owned Republicans say.
Daily Kos: Congress has always ignored the Great Sioux Nation. They will again, since their incomes are from the people who want Keystone passed. Hopefully, the Prez will veto this bill. I heard Jesse Ventura on MSNBC yesterday making a very sensible statement. His point was that we will get no benefit from the oil from tar sands, only the risks. Temporary jobs will only be there until the pipeline is finished, and them the US will be responsible to guard the pipeline. How can this possible benefit the US? It cannot!
PR Watch: I hope the Canadians are smarter than we are.
Cartoon: We should have one for that group, but probably never will. It amazes me how many of my fellow citizens were and continue to be so duped by those thugs.
Upworthy — "According to Secretary of State John Kerry, since Obama took office, wind energy production in the U.S. has tripled and solar energy has INCREASED by a factor of 10. But others point out that's not enough." — Quite clearly those saying that that's not enough are NOT Republicanus/Teabaggers!
Daily Kos — Sovereign Sioux nation or not, the Republicanus/Teabaggers have no problem with using Manifest Destiny to take what is not theirs. Any doubts? Just go back to Rmoney during the last presidential election when he publicly said that as an American, he could go anywhere, do anything and take anything that he wanted. I hope the Sioux stand strong!
PR Watch — I sure hope that we can see the lies as the PR spin doctors try to shove their plan down our throats. The pipeline would go, as I understand, through the most densely populated areas of Ontario and Québec so any spill etc would be devastating. Additionally, it would go through some prime agricultural land like the shrinking Holland Marsh. Once the pipeline hits Québec, there is the danger of spills around the St Lawrence Seaway etc. Canada, stand strong against this bitumen BS.
Cartoon — Nuremberg tried to hold members of Germany's 3rd Reich accountable for war atrocities. So when is the US 4th Reich and its drum majors, Bush, Cheney et al, going to be held accountable for their crimes against humanity?
Amen Lynn!
Thanks all!