Headaches and Freezing Rain

Hello listeners! A bit behind so far as blogging the show goes so prepare for a bunch of links -- I'll try to emphasize the ones you really shouldn't miss. I didn't make work today because of the recurrence of insane headaches that I've recently become prone to. I don't know if it's allergies or too much research on the intertubes but either way they're quite debilitating, so sorry for not being there -- although from what I could make out from what took place with this morning's weather I might not have made it anyhow.

Starting with what should be a huge story so far as global warming is concerned but so far has received very little coverage in the media, Antarctic waters are warming and a citadel of ice is melting. It's completely remarkable when you consider that the fringes of the world's coldest continent are warming faster virtually than any place on earth. This represents what is essentially the first breech in an area that holds 90% of the world's ice. Steady warming has the potential to raise ocean sea levels many feet.

Here's a link to the indispensable Climate Progress's pretty thorough wrap on global warming and green energy news that includes stories about how the World Bank has been talking about focusing its support on clean energy projects, the UK is negotiating a central role for business at the Cancun climate summit next week, hybrid tugboats, an organic farming system geared for homeowners, schools, restaurants and commercial growers, optimizing wind farms, China hitting their energy efficiency and pollution targets and at the cost of one Tim Horton's donut per month Ontario's solar PV industry will have created 72,000 person-years of jobs.

The question now, as humanity pours greenhouse gases into the atmosphere at an accelerating rate, is not whether Antarctica will begin to warm in earnest, but how rapidly.

The people at Motor Trend take on the hate-mongering, drug addicted blowhard Limbaugh over his uninformed stance on the new Chevy Volt and remind him that driving and Oxycontin don't mix! Interestingly the Globe and Mail disagrees with Motor Trend's choice for car of the year but for entirely different reasons than Rush.

Norman Spector believes that if the NDP want Canadians to hear what they have to say, they should get the hell out of Ottawa. This would be sage advice for the Liberals as well. None of the opposition parties messaging seems to rise above the din and in some cases goes unreported. What else is wrong with the Liberals? Funny you should ask 'cause Robert Silver has an idea or two and links to three articles that all beg the question  "what is wrong with the Liberals?" I disagree with them all -- I think a modicum of spine would go a long way. I'm also starting to think liberals should stop being willing to compromise until after we've seen real change. Does that make me shrill?

Word is Iggy doesn't mind his junk being touched in airport screenings -- it may be because he's a bit numb there after two steady years of being kicked in the nads by the Conservatives.

The smell of corruption wafts in our general direction from Ottawa but so far we've only one man's word. Mustn't jump to conclusions -- except of course the opposition Liberals did. Good theatre perhaps but lousy politics if there turns out there's no corroborating evidence. There was a run on a B.C. mining stock that has prompted securities investigators to see if there was a leak of confidential information from inside the government that triggered the sell-off.

Corruption does seem to be rife in Quebec where Charest survived a non-confidence vote this week.

A holy crap! moment brought to you by four fascist members of the Ottawa police force who kicked, then forced a woman to the ground and then strip-searched her after she was arrested on Rideau Street for public intoxication — a charge stayed by Justice Richard Lajoie of the Ontario Court of Justice in a verbal ruling issued Oct. 27. Lajoie ruled that while the accused had been drinking when she was arrested, there was "no evidence that Ms. Bonds was a threat to herself or anyone else" and so there was no grounds to detain her.

Jack Layton wants to see wealthy tax cheats pay their fair share. Stephen Harper's friends probably won't be very amenable.

The Conservatives believe what the country needs is a PR campaign to sell Canada on their $16 billion dollar sole-sourced purchase of F-35 jets that Canada doesn't need as much as it needs improvements to health care. But why should Stephen care? He can always turn to the Senate to get his way.

Part II tomorrow! Cheers!