Tar sands dragline
Zahra Hirji at InsideClimate News writes
Why Is TransCanada Playing Hardball With Environmentalists? Some excerpts:
After TransCanada proposed its Energy East tar sands pipeline, the energy giant tapped the world's largest public relations firm to help blunt opposition—the kind that upended its Keystone XL project.
More than 50 pages of leaked campaign strategy documents from PR firm Edelman show the energy company desperate to confront and overcome organized resistance to tar sands development mounted by environmentalists and other activists. Energy East would open a massive artery for the flow of tar sands oil to Canada's eastern coast and abroad.
This week Greenpeace provided the documents to InsideClimate News and other media. The documents from May to August 2014 identify "new realities" facing companies looking to develop major pipelines in North America. These includes a "permanent, persuasive, nimble and well-funded" opposition that frames all new development projects in the context of climate change, and that is aiming for a world free of fossil-fuel pollution.
Edelman advised TransCanada to build its own grassroots network of pro-pipeline advocates and to set up a team to react rapidly—within 60 minutes—to negative reports, in a war-like response effort. Efforts would involve more than 60 people.[…]
TransCanada is proposing to convert and extend its existing natural gas pipeline into one that carries oil sands, an extra thick grade of crude. It's slated to transport 1.1 million barrels of oil sands daily through 2,858 miles of pipe stretching from Alberta to Nova Scotia.
If completed, this pipeline would be the largest in North America. The pipeline's path would likely cross at least 90 watersheds and 961 waterways, including the St. Lawrence River from Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures to Lévis in Quebec, according to a report by the Council of Canadians. […]
Edelman, based in Chicago, is the world's largest public relations firm, with more than 5,000 employees. […]
Edelman advised a three-pronged approach to TransCanada: promote, respond, pressure. […]
Finally, the PR company advised preparing research profiles on opposition groups, including gathering public records. Those at the top of the opponents list included the Council of Canadians, Equiterre, the David Suzuki Foundation, Avaaz and Ecology Ottowa.
"We cannot allow our opponents to have a free pass," Edelman wrote.
That's also good advice for those opponents.
Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2002—Next SEC chief to be a Democrat?
Fleischer says Bush may consider appointing a Democrat to head the SEC. I must admit this has to be one of Rove's craftier moves, especially if he indeed does pick a Democrat.
In one fell swoop, Bush would look "bipartisan" while negating the corporate malfeasance issue ("he's doing all he can, even appointing a Democrat to help clean things up!")
Of course, the SEC would continue to be woefully underfunded, and the agency would be cast adrift by an administration that has no interest in cleaning up the mess caused by its most loyal backers. Kind of like the EPA. But with a Democrat in charge the administration can share the blame.
And remember, with the Republican trifecta regime, the GOP has no one to blame for ANY of the country's ills.
Hopefully any Democrat approached by the Bushies will summarily dismiss any invitation to serve. The GOP won the election. Great. Now let them run things. If they can dig this country out of the mess it's in, great. They'll deserve reelection. But Democrats can't give them a foil for any more of their failures.
Tweet of the Day
The only thing President Obama could do to gain Republican support is impeach himself, and even then they'd be mad he did it alone
— @baratunde
On
today's Kagro in the Morning show, MI-GOP looks to rig their electoral votes.
Greg Dworkin's news round-up: tonight's immigration announcement, post-election polling & data on ACA Moneyball, plus thoughts on why opposition remains so strong. Also, Jay Leno backs out of a gun lobby trade show. Later: what got Uber so upset? What are they doing with their data? Is that why they're worth so much? Or is it other businesses, like sub prime car loans?
Arliss Bunny circles back on the Gruber story, to make the Modern Monetary Theory argument that he's just fundamentally incorrect about what taxes are, and what they do. Bad gun day: campus shooting & a "home intruder" mistake.
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