tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post7091621322395955493..comments2024-03-28T10:10:38.940-04:00Comments on Politics and its Discontents: A Scientist Speaks OutLornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15741324981120408977noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-67163590897328467902013-09-20T15:27:59.695-04:002013-09-20T15:27:59.695-04:00Well-said, John. Truly, his contempt for real demo...Well-said, John. Truly, his contempt for real democracy and accountability is egregious.Lornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15741324981120408977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-19491130046051081432013-09-20T15:16:35.892-04:002013-09-20T15:16:35.892-04:00I remember that the old COR Party used to refer to...I remember that the old COR Party used to refer to our variant of the Westminster system as a “constitutional dictatorship”. Unlike most of our previous dictators Mr. Harper recognizes no necessity to explain the reasons for his decisions or to offer any attempt to account for his party’s involvement in questionable activities. He has calculated that, by ignoring questions or by hiding from the press and the public when necessary, he can outlast any demands that he do so. These calculations seem to have served him well politically.<br /><br />The scientific method would not be compatible with his chosen model of governance.John B.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-7285426866442822762013-09-20T14:44:05.808-04:002013-09-20T14:44:05.808-04:00This is truly a regime that knows the cost of ever...This is truly a regime that knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing, Neil. Like its disdain for truth, the Harperites see no value in basic scientific research; if it doesn't produced tangible results (i.e., can't be commercialized,) it has no value to this gang of barbarians.Lornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15741324981120408977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-45159330415440379522013-09-20T13:07:51.290-04:002013-09-20T13:07:51.290-04:00A few years ago during the Bush regime, NASA's...A few years ago during the Bush regime, NASA's then-chief environmental scientist, James Hansen, was interviewed on 60 Minutes by Lesley Stahl and they showed that Hansen had been issued a government minder by Dubya's Big Oil junta to try to keep him on the straight and ideological narrow, which Hansen by and large ignored as well as openly complained about. Hansen retired earlier this year so I don't think Bush's cronies did too much to stifle him, maybe because most Americans saw what a lie the Bush term was in its final years. Or maybe, with mandatory end coming, they just didn't care..<br /><br />What burns me most about science policy in Canada is not just the blatant and brazen muzzling of our best, most committed and concerned minds in Canada so that only the corrupt, Harpercon "fuck 'em all" corporatist line is toed, but also the virtual abandonment of core, basic scientific research. It was bad enough when Harper put a creationist in charge of Canada's science efforts in the form of an anti-intellectual know-nothing named Gary Goodyear, but now, under another unqualified Con stooge, Greg Rickford, the mantra is now "If it don't make Big Business money, then we ain't funding it". Canada used to be a world leader in astronomy, physics, geology, chemistry, biology, genetics, climate and environment studies, but now, if it pisses off the Suits in Calgary or on Bay Street or if they can't see the value in it and you are persona non grata...<br /><br />As a lifelong amateur astronomer and science enthusiast it makes me weep and gnash my teeth in frustration.<br /><br />N.ThinkingManNeilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233707013338083180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-67063240715009835192013-09-20T11:09:45.426-04:002013-09-20T11:09:45.426-04:00It is a very sad commentary on our democracy, LeDa...It is a very sad commentary on our democracy, LeDaro, that conscience and politics have such an uneasy relationship. The only thing that I think we can realistically do is remind as many people as possible of the dangerous drift that has occurred under the current regime. Democracy, and Canadians, deserve much, much better than the Harperites.Lornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15741324981120408977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-80918951423410822852013-09-20T11:06:23.479-04:002013-09-20T11:06:23.479-04:00Indeed, the Harperites do seem well-instructed in ...Indeed, the Harperites do seem well-instructed in repression techniques, Owen.Lornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15741324981120408977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-78449916787140394022013-09-20T10:53:02.592-04:002013-09-20T10:53:02.592-04:00Al Gore: We can't sell our cars in China today...<i>Al Gore: We can't sell our cars in China today because we don't meet the Chinese environmental standards.</i><br /><br />Truth and politics don't mix. I was once asked to run for a political office (MP) and I turned it down. I knew my conscience will kill me. Not for me. It is sad, Lorne. <br /><br />In U.S you can speak against your own party and against president from the same political party. In Canada you're kicked out of the caucus. Latest example is a P.Q MLA speaking against 'Charter of Values'. She was kicked on the butts and out she went from the P.Q caucus.<br /><br />Even in Britain, which is also parliamentary system, MPs can criticise their own party and Prime Minister. LeDarohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12526776746689708239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-89567501155600731742013-09-20T10:12:29.865-04:002013-09-20T10:12:29.865-04:00Straight out of the annals of the Soviet Union, Lo...Straight out of the annals of the Soviet Union, Lorne.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.com