War Crime Recipe

I’ve learned how to be vindicated in initiating an unjustified war that causes mass destruction and death. It involves convincing John Gormley that you’re eloquent when you can’t speak publicly without confusing “universality” with “university”, and getting intimate with a Saskatoon crowd that has paid big money to see you.

So if you need to commit a war crime, just clear it with wealthy conservative Saskatoonians who get their information from Fox News, and John Gormley, and you’re “vindicated” if you can get the RCMP to protect you instead of enforcing the laws of Canada.

Green Home Show – Regina 2009

Hopefully you can head over to this free and valuable event on the coming Monday:

For immediate release September 8, 2009

Cathedral Village showcases green living

“Changing the world starts at home.” That’s the idea behind the Green Home Show, a sustainable living event presented by the Cathedral Area Community Association on Sept. 14.

In its second year, the Green Home Show is an open house where eco-minded home owners and renters will sample options to shrink their ecological footprint.

“Our inaugural event was such a success, we’ve had to grow,” says CACA board member Paul Dechene. “There’ll be more time, more exhibitors, a new venue, but the focus is still the same: clearing away the confusion around how to go green. We want people to go home with concrete solutions, things they can put into action right away.”

This year, the show will be expanding to embrace all aspects of green living. In addition to companies such as Regina Geothermal and Solar, Garbage Delight, the Regina Car Share Co-op and Energuide, the 2009 Green Home Show will feature the Prairie Sky School and sustainable fashions by Verve.

Plus, there will be an eco-café with food and coffee from Body Fuel Organics, Eat Healthy Foods, Evolution Catering, and Nature’s Best Grocery. Returning this year is the Silent Eco-Auction.

The event takes place at the Italian Club of Regina, 2148 Connaught Street from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14. Admission is free.

(-30-)

For information:
Paul Dechene, CACA Community Engagement Committee, 757-9849
www.greenhomeregina.com

Paul is one of my fans, and favourite parts of the Prairie Dog Blog.

Main Stream Competition

Olive is right, there’s no way for a blogger to beat the Main Stream Media’s reach, without first joining it (or being promoted by it). There are even bloggers such as Steyn who have adapted their marketing quite well as to exploit the reach the Web has, to gain new followers who may have been unfamiliar with him prior to seeing his blog promoted by other conservative bloggers.

On amusing comment Olive got was that the commenter figured he’d never heard of Small Dead Animals. Actually, Olive mentioned that some blogs have large readerships, but that its an exception. It’s also worth pointing out that Kate has admitted that her blog is a sort of aggregator, where her readers send her story tips and she’s basically the editor of the online paper. Her blog is also frequently promoted by John Gormley and Charles Adler, both main stream media pundits with provincial and national audiences.

When bloggers do become successful, it’s common for MSM reporters to subscribe to them, and even invite the bloggers onto TV or radio programs as guest experts. It’s nearly impossible for a blogger to remain truly independent, and gain a large following, let alone a following as huge as a national TV audience. And even if blogging is their full time job (and it rarely is, because bloggers had lives before they blogged), then it’s impossible to have as much interesting content as the MSM can provide. That’s why aggregation of content is essential for bloggers to maintain a following. Syndicate, and you’ll have more eyes looking at your work.

I learned to, or instinctively decided to, join blog aggregators in 2004.
Progressive Bloggers and SaskBlogs are two of the ones I’m proudly listed on.

—
Hat tip to 264MHz

==

If a blogger blogs in the forest, and no one reads him, does he have a connection?

If an email box is spammed, and no one checks it, does anyone care? (Yes, an email administrator will have to deal with an email account that is using its quota.)

Sask Party Government Denying Interviews

Local media is having a hard time getting information out of the Saskatchewan government these days. Brad Wall’s apparently directing his ministers to not grant interviews to independent media. This is according to the editor of The Saskquatch, a fact filled, left-wing friendly, but independent magazine/paper in Saskatchewan.

In the June/July issue, Jenn Ruddy, editor, laments that the Leader-Post gave more prominent coverage to the mayor’s hair cut style, than they did of Brad Wall’s broken election promise to address climate change.

This interview block would no doubt include bloggers, one of which has been denied information after making FOIA requests.

Independent and small media have a tough enough time making it in the current system, without supposedly democratic governments making it impossible to get first hand news. The temptation to play ball with the big thugs on the scene (who can’t even pay their bills, I’m looking at you Leader-Post), drives The Sasquatch to flood their ad space with NDP and even Green Party ads. People advertise where the willing eyes are, and it may be hard for the ‘squatch to shake the idea that it’s an NDP paper.

That very idea was discussed in the editorial section by Ivan Olynyk who has been involved with Briarpatch magazine. The editorial was paired with a disclaimer from the editor that the ads don’t necessarily reflect the values of the board or staff. Even so, perception is hard to shake, especially when traditional media will exploit it to keep their foothold on the news market.

That said, even if The Sasquatch was a biased media source, the Sask Party government must grant a reasonable amount of interview requests with them if they want to claim they support local media, and democracy. Wall says he wants local Saskatchewan media, but where’s the beef? Is he full of bull?

—
The CBC and Leader-Post have both talked about the mayor’s hair. WTF? At least the CBC’s point was to cover a charity fundraiser, while the Leader Post was just gossiping for fun.

Offing Donald

Duck family
vs.

Police cruiser
=
DANGER!

Keep off… the ducks.

Would you off the ducks, or swerve at 100km/h on the only freeway in Regina where cars peel off into the ditch regularly because its the only curve in the road between Calgary and Winnipeg? Yes, no one wants to see ducklings run over at highway speeds, but I don’t want to see a police car jam on the brakes and cause a rear-ending on the Louis Riel Ring Road. I’m honestly surprised this …story?… made it into the Leader Post.

This reminds me of that TV show, I think it was 3rd Rock from the Sun, where they swerved to avoid a bag blowing across the road, in case it contained bunnies inside. (And that reminded me where I saw that genie in Charmed.) It’s good to avoid hitting wildlife, but if it’s smaller than you, and you’re at highway speed, swerving or hard breaking may be the wrong choice. If it’s a deer, by all means, swerve away; I did, and it probably saved my car that time out of Assiniboia a few Christmases ago.

UDP – Saskatchewan’s Solution to Low Power Bills?

“Why isn’t there a public meeting of this size talking about solar and wind?” asked one man.

That was probably me who asked that last night, and if it wasn’t, I would have said it. And the newspaper article mentions it, but it needs to be stressed again that even though there were three sides (3 if you count undecided) to the story, that the overwhelming majority of those in attendance on the public record were against nuclear power. The majority came with facts, figures, peer reviewed studies, and refuted the points in the UDP’s report! Several came as living examples of people who do not require nuclear or coal power for their homes’ base load. There are few technological reasons you or I cannot join their independence, mostly just political reasons.

The parodies in the comments at the Leader-Post article are a hoot, keep them up. The only bigger joke around is that there are people unwilling to accept that we could use our existing coal plants as backup to solar, and wind generation, while using conservation methods to completely invalidate the need for uranium to power our homes and industry.

Remember, progress is only positive if you’re in a better position after you move than you were previously. If we “progress” from coal to uranium, we are still using a non-renewable resource, and we’re left with toxic waste in one space from mining in U in another, instead of mining coal in one space, and putting toxic ash all over our air. If we progress to renewable sources of electricity and heat with batteries and heat storage too, then we’re really going somewhere good.

Brad Wall, take off the uranium industry’s blinders, and let your party get serious again about climate change, pollution, and keeping utility rates affordable for Saskatchewan people. There are a lot of jobs to be made in solar and wind technologies, so lets get started yesterday already!

ADDED:

—
Hat tip to The Jurist

Already Cut the Editor

Bloggers don’t usually have the luxury of editors. Newspapers do/should have that person(s) working for them. CanWest’s editor is missing in action.

“If she can’t manage her briefing books, is anyone surprised we have a medical isotope crisis?” said McGuinty. “We have incompetence writ large over the government.” {What does that even mean, did he actually say “writ”?}
[…]
CTV did not publish the documents left at its studio and only reported on excerpts. Raitt had visited several television studios and newsroom on Parliament Hill last Thursday, including Canwest News Service and Global National, after announcing that she had started a process to private part of AECL.

Raitt is interested in nuclear private parts? Was that what was contained in the secret documents she and a staffer left at CTV by mistake?

I wonder where “26 year old girls” are young? In Harper’s employ, of course! Or maybe just at CTV.

Ignore the Environment, Nuclear Plant Lovers, Seriously

If you’re in love with a nuclear power plant for Saskatchewan, based on the “UDP” recommendations to build two reactors here, I’m going to ask you forget about the environment for a few minutes (more). What do you care about? Not the dangers of radioactive waste, running out of fresh water, or betting on the wrong energy horse, obviously. But that’s cool, let’s pretend that the risks to the environment, and our people, are worth it. Focus on the economy, and your bank balance, please.

Okay, now that you have profit in mind, as the best reason for building a nuclear power plant here in Saskatchewan, let’s think about how much money we’re going to make. Start rubbing your hands together greedily, it’ll add to the delicious effect of expected treasure. What are the experts saying about the money to be made?

I’m a Type-O Wiener

Well, I won; I can add another t-shirt to the prize collection. In the photo is a t-shirt I won the other year while blogging, from a Fuel My Blog contest. I was picking up my “Typo Wiener” prize of $10 (which is almost as much as Jimmy Fallon awards people who lick disgusting things on TV), plus a nifty Typo Wiener t-shirt.

I had a great chat with Prairie Dog Editor Stephen Whitworth about all sorts of things like privatization of liquor stores, to how I could be the next editor of the magazine. See, I even look like a natural at his desk!

Among the first times I noticed that the Prairie Dog doesn’t have a real website, is quite awhile ago. I happened upon Saskatchewan’s most visited blogger complaining about bad words in a free magazine/paper. After I recovered from the ironic-shock, I couldn’t find the ‘Dog when I went looking. Turns out, they gave up a website they’d had since at least 1998. You can see it here in the WayBack Machine. I found out about it through this site about Rex Murphy.

Do You Hog Your Umbrella?

Do you share the shelter, or defend the dryness as your own?

What I’d also like to know is why The Star actually hyperlinked this blog, when usually newspapers just give a text link, at best, to a blogger.