Alberta Politics Thread v2

[zamler]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Interesting article on the subsidies that amount to about $5 billion dollars


https://www.latimes.com/business/la-...531-story.html

Dozens of business sectors get government intensives. The oil industry has been given a near incalculable amount of tax breaks and the like.

Article on how the wind down on Federal Tax Credits will effect Tesla


https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatsp.../#733959294459

That doesn't just affect Tesla, also Toyota has been the beneficiary of "green credits" long before Tesla was making cars. And even if Tesla was getting so called special treatment $5 billion seems like money well spent I'd be over the moon if we had a similar company in Canada and they were given $5 billion in handouts. Instead our government spends billions on things that amount to nothing at all.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by monkeyman

Anyone else find it funny that Musk's car company is named after a notoriously impatient nut job who's claims never quite lived up to his own self proclamations, who defrauded investors, didn't pay his bills, and ultimately died broke?

That's an oddly one-sided description of one of the most important and influential scientists in history.

[CaptainCrunch]

I'm not arguing one way or the other, its just information for the debate

[monkeyman]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

That's an oddly one-sided description of one of the most important and influential scientists in history.

Tesla's scientific contributions are well documented and widely known, why is it odd to point out the other side, less known characteristics of the man?

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by monkeyman

Tesla's scientific contributions are well documented and widely known, why is it odd to point out the other side, less known characteristics of the man?

I guess because that information would be an insignificant footnote to Tesla's legacy, so if you were trying to draw a parallel between the man and the company, you'd still be paying them a huge compliment?

"Anyone think it's funny that Tesla was named after a man who pioneered much of the modern technology we know and depend on today, who also was kind of flakey financially?"

Yeah... sick burn.

[monkeyman]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I guess because that information would be an insignificant footnote to Tesla's legacy, so if you were trying to draw a parallel between the man and the company, you'd still be paying them a huge compliment?

"Anyone think it's funny that Tesla was named after a man who pioneered much of the modern technology we know and depend on today, who also was kind of flakey financially?"

Yeah... sick burn.

I have no problem acknowledging Tesla's contribution to science and I have no problem acknowledging what Musk has done, but I do find it funny that both Musk and Tesla misled investors, both love self promotion, both over-state their accomplishments, and both are/were notoriously offended when challenged.
The point of the post was, those similarities are real, the Tesla name is truly appropriate for Musk, and it is funny.

[FireGilbert]

Tesla was a major contributor to the development of AC motors and AC distribution systems. Tesla cars run on AC motors. That is where the Musk and Tesla comparisons end for me.

I was thinking a better comparison to Musk is Edison. He is more of a business man than an engineer and believes the ends justify the means to achieve his vision.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by monkeyman

I have no problem acknowledging Tesla's contribution to science and I have no problem acknowledging what Musk has done, but I do find it funny that both Musk and Tesla misled investors, both love self promotion, both over-state their accomplishments, and both are/were notoriously offended when challenged.
The point of the post was, those similarities are real, the Tesla name is truly appropriate for Musk, and it is funny.

I don’t really think you know much about Tesla the man. Tesla didn’t mislead investors or over-state his accomplishments, nor is there much record of him being “notoriously offended when challenged.”

That’s why it’s not really funny. It’s not an accurate comparison. Tesla also died broke because, among other things, he gave up millions of dollars in royalties In order to help someone’s company not go under, had his parents stolen by Marconi which directly caused him to loose the “radio race,” and ended his life mired in significant mental health issues.

So yeah. You’re reaching quite a bit to make a “funny” comparison between two things that aren’t really related outside of AC.

Comparing Tesla the compary (or Musk, not sure which you were trying to do) to Tesla the man is a ridiculous compliment.

[monkeyman]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I don’t really think you know much about Tesla the man. Tesla didn’t mislead investors or over-state his accomplishments, nor is there much record of him being “notoriously offended when challenged.”

That’s why it’s not really funny. It’s not an accurate comparison. Tesla also died broke because, among other things, he gave up millions of dollars in royalties In order to help someone’s company not go under, had his parents stolen by Marconi which directly caused him to loose the “radio race,” and ended his life mired in significant mental health issues.

So yeah. You’re reaching quite a bit to make a “funny” comparison between two things that aren’t really related outside of AC.

Comparing Tesla the compary (or Musk, not sure which you were trying to do) to Tesla the man is a ridiculous compliment.

I don't think you know much about Tesla. He famously took money under false pretences from investors for projects he never delivered and perhaps under false pretences, only to use the money to work on his own pet project of trying to deliver free power to the world.
I'm comparing Tesla the man, to Musk and his company Tesla, of which there really is no real distinction.
Couldn't you have just said you didn't find it funny?

[GGG]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

i.e. is it about the environment or is it about climate change?

Today it’s likely about climate change provided that you do reasonable effluent control in your mining operations.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by monkeyman

I don't think you know much about Tesla. He famously took money under false pretences from investors for projects he never delivered and perhaps under false pretences, only to use the money to work on his own pet project of trying to deliver free power to the world.
I'm comparing Tesla the man, to Musk and his company Tesla, of which there really is no real distinction.
Couldn't you have just said you didn't find it funny?

That much was implied. It was unfunny and worst of all on the internet: factually incorrect.

If you’re talking about Colorado, there was one prominent investor that he convinced to invest in his company. He thought the money would go to the light project instead of the transmission project.

Side note, you should read Wizard, and Tesla: Inventor of the Electric Age by Carlson. Both great if you’re into this stuff (before someone comes in talking about Alberta politics).

[Robbob]

Looks like a convey is being planned and headed to Ottawa in February. Apparently 200 so far registered. I think 200+ trucks rolling through Ottawa might garner a lot of attention (good and bad).

https://calgarysun.com/news/local-ne...b-87cc9e3e6524

[GGG]

He also said the convoy will press home opposition to a carbon tax and what he calls the erosion of Canada’s sovereignty through the UN’s Global Compact on Migration.

Do they have to muddy the waters with this kind of stuff. Just stick to the pipeline.

[DiracSpike]

Originally Posted by Robbob

Looks like a convey is being planned and headed to Ottawa in February. Apparently 200 so far registered. I think 200+ trucks rolling through Ottawa might garner a lot of attention (good and bad).

https://calgarysun.com/news/local-ne...b-87cc9e3e6524

The article I read today in the Herald suggested that they were combining this with the yellowvest people which I don't like for the following reasons:

1) That protest is French and we are not, we don't have to copy them
2) Apparently part of the yellowvest agenda is opposing the new UN migration pact. I haven't read what that entails but all I know is when you incorporate people who are super upset about immigration you get some less than desirable people in your cohort
3) Idiots in the media, social or mainstream, will jump on the fact that there could be one memeber of the Aryan brotherhood in the convoy and use that as a club to attack it which is unfair and disenegnous but virtually guaranteed to work with a large amount of people.

But most importantly this issue is so important and effects so many good ordinary people that it doesn't have to be combined with a niche protest about carbon taxes and migration. The struggle we have had to build benign but critically important infrastructure is a disgrace. The amount of value lost to our workers and government coffers for no reason is a disgrace.

[chemgear]

Surprised the MLA won't finish the term.

https://calgaryherald.com/news/polit...n-has-resigned

Former Alberta cabinet minister Stephanie McLean has resigned months after announcing she wouldn’t seek re-election this spring.

McLean made headlines in February 2016 when she gave birth to son Patrick. It forced the legislature to revise rules to accommodate new working mothers.

The Speaker’s office confirmed McLean resigned as of Wednesday, and that she had submitted notice of her absence in advance of the fall sitting.

The reason for McLean’s leave was not disclosed. Postmedia requests for comment were not returned Thursday.

Four Calgary NDP MLAs have announced they won’t be seeking re-election this year. In addition to McLean, Calgary-Acadia MLA Brandy Payne, Calgary-Northern Hills MLA Jamie Kleinsteuber and Calgary-Hawkwood MLA Michael Connolly have said they won’t run in the election this spring.

[CaptainCrunch]

They don't want to spend money or commit to a lost cause.

[Mr.Coffee]

This country is ruining itself.

About a year and a half ago I was offered employment in the United States that I declined since I don’t want my kids getting shot at school or while going to a movie, don’t want to live in a culture so entirely obsessed with money and materialism and work.

Then Canada went full idiot. It really is amazing. Why can’t we have a society that still lives in the middle where you can have a nice blend of capitalism and socialism- you know- those societies that have proven to be the best ideological blend and what made Canada as great as it is today. Now? It’s crumbling.

Canadians are going to find out in a few years that you can’t have a resource based economy that turns its back on resources and exclusively leverages reliance on foreign money laundering in real estate, or the artificially propped up oligopolies in banks, telecoms, rail. You need small businesses and a middle class.

[DiracSpike]

Especially when it's crumbling for no reason other than an extremely misplaced desire to "do our part". The amount of comments I've read that essential boil down to people saying "Alberta should come join us in the 21st Century and divest from oil" is insane and just an anti-vaxxer level of cognitive dissonance. I care about carbon emissions and climate change too but I'm not about to close my eyes, plug my ears, chant about shutting down the Oil Sands, and then expect a GLOBAL problem to be solved by local shuttering of industry. It seems to me that building export terminals to the coast and displacing coal and animal dung in poorer countries with Canadian oil and natural gas would be beneficial, along with building a pipeline to the East and eliminating the need for their very busy refineries to charter tankers from halfway across the world. With the added windfall in the tens of billions that other countries like Qatar and the USA are enjoying we could invest more in clean tech and further subsidize solar and wind here to reduce or emissions. It's a two birds with one stone solution that is practical, and it reduces global emissions while allowing industry to actually compete and generate value for Canadians.

Our local companies have made tremendous strides in reducing emissions, as well as investing in Carbon capture and storage to take carbon out of the air. CNRL, one company, has the 3rd largest Carbon sequestration capacity in the O&G sector in the world, and removes the equivalent of 576,000 cars off the road. Do you think the other countries we're competing with give two craps about removing carbon? Most of them can't even be bothered to not fully vent the natural gas they produce. Murray Edwards is also working with Bill Gates on further carbon sequestration technology. I'd rather have CNRL and other companies producing oil and gas and generating value for Canadians than allowing them to be strangled off by obstructionists and ceding market share to all the bad actors out there, call me crazy. Displacing coal, sequestering carbon, reducing shipping needs to our east coast; these are called actually doing something about climate change. The people who want our O&G to shut down are ironically not doing anything at all to stop climate change, instead they take the position of what they believe to be a moral high ground without expending thought on what they're fighting for. They're wrong, not helping a serious problem, and also have the bonus of destroying 10's of Billions of value to our economy.

[CaptainCrunch]

Trans-mountain unlikely to resume by the provincial election.


https://www.jwnenergy.com/article/20...cial-election/

The NEB must submit its reconsideration report to the governor-in-council by February 22, 2019. But Jonathan Wilkinson, B.C.’s senior federal Liberal cabinet minister, confirmed there is no firm timeline on concluding First Nations consultations.

Dan McTeague, who spent nearly two decades as a Liberal MP and is now a gas and oil analyst for GasBuddy.com, thinks Notley’s defeat in Alberta is “a foregone conclusion.”


“I think the political environment is going to change radically,” he said.
The cooperation seen between Alberta and Ottawa on climate change policies could unravel if Notley is defeated. And Kenney would inherit a new law, passed by Notley, that may give him the legal levers to play with exports of oil and refined petroleum products that currently flow through the existing Trans Mountain pipeline.


McTeague thinks Kenney will not hesitate to use oil and gas exports to punish both B.C. and Quebec for their opposition to new pipelines.


“Rather than having batched one day diesel, next day gas, next day light crude, next day heavy crude, that could be amended to send only crude and as a result force gasoline to be sent down by different means,” McTeague said. “That would have the effect of, obviously, creating some discomfort for Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.”


In other words, more refined gasoline and diesel, currently supplied by the Trans Mountain pipeline, could be forced to move by rail. Birn noted that there are already growing capacity issues with rail.


“I think we’re not done talking about trains,” Birn said. “The railroads, they’re busy. They’re flat out. So you could see discussions about the importance of rail and port infrastructure.”

McTeague is skeptical that the impasse over the Trans Mountain expansion project will be resolved in 2019.


“Those who oppose this have found creative ways, and have found friendly ears on the benches of this country and in other corners as well,” he said. “I’m of the strong belief it won’t be anywhere near resolved in 2019, and I’m not entirely confident that it will ever get resolved.”

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Why can’t we have a society that still lives in the middle where you can have a nice blend of capitalism and socialism- you know- those societies that have proven to be the best ideological blend and what made Canada as great as it is today.

The short answer for why we can’t have that is a combination of not being able to reach a consensus as a nation on what a “nice blend” actually looks like and having unrealistic expectations for how much that blend should cost us.