Sunday, January 31, 2016

Rex Murphy: Who Needs An Environmental Review?



In my last post I argued that the CBC should fire the Con clown Rex Murphy, for promoting the Energy East pipeline.

While being paid by Big Oil to give speeches glorifying their dubious achievements.

And for attacking Justin Trudeau, and acting like Rona Ambrose's spokesman, on the CBC's flagship news show The National.

Well now in the National Post, Murphy has taken his deranged campaign one step further.

By claiming that we don't need environmental reviews. 

Does it occur to anyone that something that sounds so clinical and neutral as an “environmental review process” is actually neither clinical nor neutral? Do people realize that behind the cogs and cogitations, it is just a political stage show, an act during which politicians can temporize and equivocate?

And that all they are designed to do is waste time, and make his Big Oil friends weep...



Environmental review processes are meant to cloud the memory, eviscerate patience, stall every decision and make the industry weep. They are the security blanket of every temporizing politician, the activists’ armory, the green warrior’s shield and lance, and the economy’s ultimate wet blanket.

Rather than protect and save our burning planet for the future generations who will inherit it.

Because Murphy was, is, and always will be a deranged climate change denier.



A "great racket" is what Murphy calls "this global-warming/climate-change stuff." He once raised doubts about climate science on the basis that he saw it snow in Vancouver one winter and actually used his soapbox on the CBC to declare climate science had been "debunked" (a conspiracy theory that has itself been debunked).

And he is making The National look like a comedy show.

So now what I would ask the CBC's useless managers is this:

At a time when this trial which begins on Monday is sure to embarrass them.

After an external review by lawyer Janice Rubin harshly criticized CBC management last spring for its handling of Ghomeshi’s workplace behaviour, the broadcaster’s president and CEO, Hubert Lacroix, offered a “sincere and unqualified apology” to employees and Canadians at large.

When will they realize that by protecting bullies, and by treating their "stars" like demigods...



They are guilty of making the same mistake?

And who exactly do they intend to make the anchor of The National when Peter Mansbridge finally retires?



Because let's be clear, the reputation of the CBC's flagship news program is now perilously close to that of Ezra Levant's greasy hate mongering freak show. 

Levant and Murphy are indeed singing from the same song book...



And enough is enough.

It's time to take back the Conservative Broadcasting Corporation.

It's time to give Harper's appointees and their hapless management stooges the boot.

And in the name of the The National's journalistic credibility, and before Rex Murphy destroys what's left of the CBC's reputation

And of course in the name of the future.

It's time to fire that Con climate change denier...

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11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, well when you have once-credible guys like mercer starting to pimp for big oil, you know that the fix is in, pal. He hides it behind the "mean, greedy Quebecers" screed but he's just gone over to the dark side as far as I'm concerned. murphy and mercer are just showing us where the real money to buy almost anything is at. Nobody but a witless mutant would give a flying fuck for levant now so he doesn't even count.

Anonymous said...

Simon I love your blogs and sometimes I like to comment on the topic of the day.....but...... It seems only certain type of comment gets through......... Mine are obviously condemmed to hell never to be read...... And my comment are never as insulting as some that are posted!!!!!! Why you be hurting my feelings and things like that Simon.......???? I read your blog, and look forward to it, each and every day!!!!!!!!!!

jrkrideau said...

Rex was ranting about the Keystone XL environmental review which seems to be the major basis of his rant. Perhaps someone should give Rex a political map of North America with the national boundaries marked on it.

He seems to have missed a small point. It was a US circus and really had little to do with Canada. Well Harper went around making a fool of himself but otherwise it was not really our fight. I don't mean "little to do" in terms of effects but the battles and issues were internal US ones not Canadian.

Given the general dysfunction of the US Federal Government, eight years probably was not all that bad.


On the other hand, given the latest report on the NEB, it looks like a good old-fashioned purge of senior people might be a good idea. How the devil does one lose an environmental assessment file? This smacks of monumental incompetence or of Con shredders in action or both.

Anonymous said...

What's the difference between Ezra irreLevant and TRex Murphy? We're paying TRex's salary. I've never had the stomach to watch either of these idiots but what little I did proved their both a cancer to our airwaves. I will be writing to our heritage, environment and Prime Minister to demand that this bullshit babbling, fossil fool is fired or retired as soon as possible. We deserve fact based news and or opinions from the CBC, not the agenda driven rhetoric TRex has been spewing all these years. A major housecleaning at the CBC is long overdue.
JD

David said...

A transition to green energy/green economy is not going to be easy. Until all cars produced are electric cars, we will always need a lot of oil and gasoline. Until all houses run on thermal energy, we will still need natural gas, etc.

Having said that, has Rick Mercer now become an oil pimp?

http://www.nationalobserver.com/2016/01/28/news/comedian-scott-vrooman-responds-rick-mercers-energy-east-rant

David said...

On Friday I received a slick, full colour ad (12 inches X 6 inches) in my mailbox from "Canada's Energy Citizens" : Stand Up For Canada's Energy Industry.

http://www.EnergyCitizens.ca Facebook.com/CanadasEnergyCitizens

Twitter.com/Energy_Citizens

Did you receive one as well? If this ad goes to all/most mailing addresses in Canada, just think how many thousands of dollars the energy industry is spending on this one promo tool alone.

David said...

The brochure from "Canada's Energy Citizens" is an initiative by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP). No surprise.

Go to the reader comments section of:

http://ipolitics.ca/2016/01/28/three-months-after-the-election-those-chickens-keep-coming-home-to-roost/

R2D3
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) were big time supporters of the defunct Sun News Network--CAPP TV commercials ran daily, or almost daily. I wonder how much money (if any) from the CAPP or individual members of the CAPP executive, is flowing into Rebel Media as donations?

Also, I'd like to know how many of the "boys in short pants" in Harper's PMO are now employed by the Con Party, spinning talking points for Rona, Tony, et. al.

[snip]

Anonymous said...

Further to my previous post the question is; if Canadian engineering and technology is smart enough to develop the oil sands and build pipelines to export the oil why are we not smart enough to build refineries to add value and process the oil for our own use? The official answer is there is too much financial risk as refining profitability is dependent on the cost difference between the crude feed stock and price of the distilled products. Better to expand extraction and pipeline capacity to export the crude and let someone else worry about refinery profitability.
Wow, if refining might not be profitable why would they be confident enough to invest huge amount of capital in oil sands extraction and pipelines? I believe the answer is that they are confident the difference between extraction costs and selling price will be positive however not necessarily large enough to pay back capital loans and cover legacy issues.For big oil this is not a problem thanks to the miracles of financial engineering as all they have to do is extract the profits from cash flow as well as at downstream refineries; roll over/ hedge the loans at token interest rates and eventually walk away leaving the government and public on the hook for the capital and environmental mess. As long as the refineries are not in Canada they can switch crude suppliers to their advantage whenever its opportunistic.The risk is there its just not where we think it is!
RT

e.a.f. said...

Whether we like it or not, Rex Murphy does represent a considerable number of people in this country and they don't all work in the oil industry. CBC is our 'national' broadcaster, so his opinions, whether we like them or not, ought to be broadcast. The CBC is not only for the politically correct. Rex Murphy isn't spewing 'hate' so as much as I don't like what he says, I'm fine with him saying it on the CBC.

its better to not stifle and have it out in the open.

Anonymous said...

I agree, but I'd like to see a counter-point to Murphy on the same show, as discussed here:

http://montrealsimon.blogspot.ca/2016/01/the-con-clown-rex-murphys-ghastly-anti.html

Andrew Gregg said...

What's missing here is that the NEB's oversight effectiveness was gutted by the Conservative Government. The Liberals are trying to resurrect the NEB's ability to properly judge whether a pipeline project -- or any other energy project -- is safe to go ahead. I was disappointed by Rex's rant because it presupposed that reviews and regulations are a new thing. They're not. The Trudeau Government is merely restoring federal powers designed to make sure boneheads don't run free.