Much, if not most, of Canada’s mainstream and heavily corporatized news-media are in bed with the fossil fuel industry's interests here. Notably, Postmedia — which, among many other publications, owns both of Canada's two national newspapers, The National Post and The Globe and Mail — is on record allying itself with not only the planet’s second most polluting forms of carbon-based “energy” but also THE MOST polluting/dirtiest crude oil, bitumen.
During a presentation, it was stated: “Postmedia and [Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers] will bring energy to the forefront of our national conversation. Together, we will engage executives, the business community and the Canadian public to underscore the ways in which the energy sector powers Canada.”
Also, Postmedia acquired a lobbying firm in 2019 with close ties to Alberta Premier Jason Kenney in order to participate in his government’s $30 million PR “war room” in promoting the industry's interests. And in May of 2021, the newspaper giant refused to run paid ads by Leadnow, a social and environmental justice organization, that exposed the Royal Bank of Canada as the largest financer of the nation's fossil fuel extraction.
Still, other concerned citizens would word it more intensely than I have.
“I would argue that what little ethical and moral foundation the country has is deeply threatened by the crumbling discipline of a fossil-fuel-based economy and the politics it spawns. Nothing requires government supervision in so many areas (and nothing has anything like the influence on government) as this industry.
"It follows that no other industry remotely requires the amount and kind of honest, wary media surveillance this one does,” Rafe Mair aptly wrote in his book Politically Incorrect: How Canada Lost Its Way and the Simple Path Home [published in October 2017, the same month he died]. Mr. Mair also had been an elected representative, journalist and talk-show host. His book largely forensically dissects democracy’s decline in Canada and suggests how it may be helped:
“What has the media, especially but hardly exclusively the print media, done in response to this immense challenge? It’s joined fortunes with the petroleum industry. And a very large part of it has done so in print and in public. The facts are that the rest of the media have not raised a peep of protest at this unholiest of alliances and that governments contentedly and smugly pretend all that favourable coverage they get proves their efficiency — not that the fix is in and they’re part of that fix. Let me just comment that the difference from 1972 to 2017 in the media’s dealing with governments and politics takes the breath away!”
Postscript: Interestingly, when Postmedia's then-CEO Paul Godfrey ordered its metro-daily newspapers (which was all but one, The Toronto Star) to formally editorially endorse the thinly-veiled-theocrat prime minister -- and Godfrey’s kindred spirit -- Stephen Harper, and his Conservative Party/government, for re-election in the 2015 federal vote, they all did, including The Globe and Mail (albeit, I understand that the latter publication complied grudgingly).
The sole vocal opposition was The National Post’s then-editorial-page-editor Andrew Coyne [a long-time fiscal conservative]: He refused to go with the order and instead resigned when Postmedia headquarters’ chain-of-command denied him publishing his own pre-election editorial, the latter having been a common practice, that would not have endorsed Harper and his Conservatives. Coyne was/is a rare instance, nowadays, of genuine integrity in his field.
This also brings to mind how then-PM Harper, an evangelical Christian, was unrelenting in his pro-fossil-fuel/anti-natural-environment war against science. (There’s a belief held by much of conservative 'Christianity' that to defend the natural environment from the planet’s greatest polluters, notably the fossil fuel industry, is to go against God’s will and is therefore inherently evil.)
And as PM, Harper also felt compelled to take a group of 208 people with him to the Holy City, Jerusalem, in 2014. The entourage included 21 rabbis along with some representatives from Crossroads Christian Communications, Trinity Bible Church, the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada and Canada’s Ambassador for Religious Freedom. ... This act by Harper likely helped endear him to the Jewish Paul Godfrey.
Thanx. ... As Brazil’s then-president, Jair Bolsonaro, a hard-right and thinly-veiled Evangelical Christian theocrat, was a great environmental hazard, both domestically and on a global scale (the latter being due to pollution, ecosystem devastation and greenhouse-gas-induced global warming not respecting national boundaries).
Incredibly, in the midst of yet another unprecedented rampant-wildfires season six summers ago involving the Amazonian rainforest (as usual), Bolsonaro declared that his leadership — and, I presume, all of the formidable environmental damage he inflicts while in power — was/is somehow divine: “It is difficult to be president of Brazil because it is a president that has less authority. I am fulfilling a mission from God.”
Although a big fan of Christ's unmistakable message and miracles, I find seriously problematic the notion generally shared by too many institutional or conventional Christians — that to defend the natural environment from even the greatest polluters, including mass fossil fuel extraction and consumption, is by extension to go against God’s ultimate plan or ‘will’ and therefore is inherently wicked. (One wonders how the Divine actually feels when observing all of the extreme-theism insanity?!)
That plan, most notably, includes eventually destroying then replacing this world with a new and better one. More than just conservatives willing to pollute the planet most liberally, their recklessness also largely has to do with The Bible apparently not mentioning anything about global warming or climate change.
Unfortunately, there are conservative politicians who don’t believe in Biblical accuracy yet will claim to do so and implement governmental policy accordingly in order to secure the conservative/theocratic Christian vote in every election. Not surprising, the greatest potential hazard is a theologically inclined person or theocrat getting into high office with their dangerous disregard — if not contempt — for the natural environment.
As the Canadian-leader example, also-Evangelical Stephen Harper was/is a fossil-fuel-industry enthusiast and unrelenting, yet secretive about it, in his war against environmental science and protections.
The American example is Donald Trump publicly stating (on Nov.6) that, “Many people have told me that God spared my life [from two assassination attempts] for a reason. And that reason was to save our country and to restore America to greatness.”
To be clear, it’s not at all likely the Biblical Jesus Christ would’ve been the type who’d roll his eyes and sigh: ‘Oh, well. I’m against what the politician stands for, but what can you do when you dislike even more his political competition?’
Also, some of the best humanitarians that I, as a big fan of Christ’s unmistakable miracles and fundamental message, have met or heard about were/are atheists or agnostics who, quite ironically, would make better examples of many of Christ’s teachings/practices than too many ‘Christians’. Conversely, some of the worst human(e) beings I’ve met or heard about are the most devout believers/preachers of fundamental Biblical theology.
"Plasticene" in title.
https://kathleenmccroskey.substack.com/p/another-attempt-at-a-plastics-treaty
Much, if not most, of Canada’s mainstream and heavily corporatized news-media are in bed with the fossil fuel industry's interests here. Notably, Postmedia — which, among many other publications, owns both of Canada's two national newspapers, The National Post and The Globe and Mail — is on record allying itself with not only the planet’s second most polluting forms of carbon-based “energy” but also THE MOST polluting/dirtiest crude oil, bitumen.
During a presentation, it was stated: “Postmedia and [Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers] will bring energy to the forefront of our national conversation. Together, we will engage executives, the business community and the Canadian public to underscore the ways in which the energy sector powers Canada.”
Also, Postmedia acquired a lobbying firm in 2019 with close ties to Alberta Premier Jason Kenney in order to participate in his government’s $30 million PR “war room” in promoting the industry's interests. And in May of 2021, the newspaper giant refused to run paid ads by Leadnow, a social and environmental justice organization, that exposed the Royal Bank of Canada as the largest financer of the nation's fossil fuel extraction.
Still, other concerned citizens would word it more intensely than I have.
“I would argue that what little ethical and moral foundation the country has is deeply threatened by the crumbling discipline of a fossil-fuel-based economy and the politics it spawns. Nothing requires government supervision in so many areas (and nothing has anything like the influence on government) as this industry.
"It follows that no other industry remotely requires the amount and kind of honest, wary media surveillance this one does,” Rafe Mair aptly wrote in his book Politically Incorrect: How Canada Lost Its Way and the Simple Path Home [published in October 2017, the same month he died]. Mr. Mair also had been an elected representative, journalist and talk-show host. His book largely forensically dissects democracy’s decline in Canada and suggests how it may be helped:
“What has the media, especially but hardly exclusively the print media, done in response to this immense challenge? It’s joined fortunes with the petroleum industry. And a very large part of it has done so in print and in public. The facts are that the rest of the media have not raised a peep of protest at this unholiest of alliances and that governments contentedly and smugly pretend all that favourable coverage they get proves their efficiency — not that the fix is in and they’re part of that fix. Let me just comment that the difference from 1972 to 2017 in the media’s dealing with governments and politics takes the breath away!”
Source: https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2017/11/14/mair-media-unholiest-alliances
Postscript: Interestingly, when Postmedia's then-CEO Paul Godfrey ordered its metro-daily newspapers (which was all but one, The Toronto Star) to formally editorially endorse the thinly-veiled-theocrat prime minister -- and Godfrey’s kindred spirit -- Stephen Harper, and his Conservative Party/government, for re-election in the 2015 federal vote, they all did, including The Globe and Mail (albeit, I understand that the latter publication complied grudgingly).
The sole vocal opposition was The National Post’s then-editorial-page-editor Andrew Coyne [a long-time fiscal conservative]: He refused to go with the order and instead resigned when Postmedia headquarters’ chain-of-command denied him publishing his own pre-election editorial, the latter having been a common practice, that would not have endorsed Harper and his Conservatives. Coyne was/is a rare instance, nowadays, of genuine integrity in his field.
This also brings to mind how then-PM Harper, an evangelical Christian, was unrelenting in his pro-fossil-fuel/anti-natural-environment war against science. (There’s a belief held by much of conservative 'Christianity' that to defend the natural environment from the planet’s greatest polluters, notably the fossil fuel industry, is to go against God’s will and is therefore inherently evil.)
And as PM, Harper also felt compelled to take a group of 208 people with him to the Holy City, Jerusalem, in 2014. The entourage included 21 rabbis along with some representatives from Crossroads Christian Communications, Trinity Bible Church, the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada and Canada’s Ambassador for Religious Freedom. ... This act by Harper likely helped endear him to the Jewish Paul Godfrey.
How the hell do they explain God's will if they actually believe this?
"defend the natural environment from the planet’s greatest polluters... is to go against God’s will and is therefore inherently evil."
Greetings to White Rock from Surrey. Read Donald Gutstein's book "Harperism" for the influence of stink-tanks such as Fraser Institute on EVERYTHING. re plastics, see https://kathleenmccroskey.substack.com/p/our-legacy-a-poisoned-planet
Thanx. ... As Brazil’s then-president, Jair Bolsonaro, a hard-right and thinly-veiled Evangelical Christian theocrat, was a great environmental hazard, both domestically and on a global scale (the latter being due to pollution, ecosystem devastation and greenhouse-gas-induced global warming not respecting national boundaries).
Incredibly, in the midst of yet another unprecedented rampant-wildfires season six summers ago involving the Amazonian rainforest (as usual), Bolsonaro declared that his leadership — and, I presume, all of the formidable environmental damage he inflicts while in power — was/is somehow divine: “It is difficult to be president of Brazil because it is a president that has less authority. I am fulfilling a mission from God.”
Although a big fan of Christ's unmistakable message and miracles, I find seriously problematic the notion generally shared by too many institutional or conventional Christians — that to defend the natural environment from even the greatest polluters, including mass fossil fuel extraction and consumption, is by extension to go against God’s ultimate plan or ‘will’ and therefore is inherently wicked. (One wonders how the Divine actually feels when observing all of the extreme-theism insanity?!)
That plan, most notably, includes eventually destroying then replacing this world with a new and better one. More than just conservatives willing to pollute the planet most liberally, their recklessness also largely has to do with The Bible apparently not mentioning anything about global warming or climate change.
Unfortunately, there are conservative politicians who don’t believe in Biblical accuracy yet will claim to do so and implement governmental policy accordingly in order to secure the conservative/theocratic Christian vote in every election. Not surprising, the greatest potential hazard is a theologically inclined person or theocrat getting into high office with their dangerous disregard — if not contempt — for the natural environment.
As the Canadian-leader example, also-Evangelical Stephen Harper was/is a fossil-fuel-industry enthusiast and unrelenting, yet secretive about it, in his war against environmental science and protections.
The American example is Donald Trump publicly stating (on Nov.6) that, “Many people have told me that God spared my life [from two assassination attempts] for a reason. And that reason was to save our country and to restore America to greatness.”
To be clear, it’s not at all likely the Biblical Jesus Christ would’ve been the type who’d roll his eyes and sigh: ‘Oh, well. I’m against what the politician stands for, but what can you do when you dislike even more his political competition?’
Also, some of the best humanitarians that I, as a big fan of Christ’s unmistakable miracles and fundamental message, have met or heard about were/are atheists or agnostics who, quite ironically, would make better examples of many of Christ’s teachings/practices than too many ‘Christians’. Conversely, some of the worst human(e) beings I’ve met or heard about are the most devout believers/preachers of fundamental Biblical theology.
Yes, we must eliminate ideology from governance.