Edmonton activist protests climate crisis with demonstration in AB legislature

<br/>Credit: David J. Climenhaga_

The way Michael Kalmanovitch sees it, he had no choice but to raise a ruckus inside the Chamber of the Alberta Legislature moments after Monday’s Throne Speech.

The world is afire with climate change, he said, and governments are doing nothing – or, even worse, like Alberta’s, actually working hard to make things worse in the name of profit.

Kalmanovitch, well known in Edmonton as the founder and owner for 31 years of Earth’s General Store on Whyte Ave. until his retirement last year, said he regrets embarrassing Marlin Schmidt, his NDP MLA, who invited him to sit with other guests inside the Legislative Chamber Monday afternoon.

But he has no regrets about disrupting the ceremonial occasion. Such tactics are peaceful, and they work, he argued.

“If we stand on the outside of the halls of power … and ask them, even demand, that they do something good. You know what? They do not listen. We need to occupy those halls, instead of demanding from the outside,” Kalmanovitch said.

When Kalmanovitch took his own advice and cried out in the Legislature, the reaction to his one-man protest was swift. The Legislature’s Sergeant-at-Arms dragged him off the chair he’d stood upon, and hauled him out of the Chamber. Kalmanovitch could be heard shouting as he was escorted from the room. |Read more https://rabble.ca/politics/canadian-politics/edmonton-activist-protests-climate-crisis-with-demonstration-in-ab-legislature/| rabble.ca/politics/canadian-po…

##abpoli #ableg #Kalmanovitch #DraggedOut #Nomedia #Alberta Legislature

Alberta Pension Plan- conversation with retired professors at UofA

<br/>Nov. 6, 2023, Bob Ascah, AB POL ECON

I was excited to present to retired professors from the University of Alberta last Thursday my views on the marketing campaign by the Alberta government to “engage” the public on the supposed benefits of an Alberta pension plan.

My focus was on the political messaging.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmZOzoGao1E

The political messaging created by the Government of Alberta is an expensive communications effort (close to $10-million of Albertans’ tax dollars). The friendly website “Alberta Pension Plan” begins with “What’s in it for you.” The web page design is classically an appeal to Albertans’ sense of place and community with pictures of the Rockies and foothills and wistful pictures of a handsome seniors’ couple.

The pitch focuses mainly on the benefits that would be supposedly available to Albertans of all ages. The communications program is based on the unrealistic prospects of Alberta claiming 53 per cent of the Canada Pension Plan’s assets. This yields a fictional annual savings of $5-billion a year. This $5-billion a year of “benefits” gives the government the capacity to act beneficently towards seniors, workers and employers. This bait and switch strategy includes “bonus’ payments to seniors and up to $1425 per year per worker and employers in reduced premiums.

Another important political message is “More Alberta, Less Ottawa”- always a good dog whistle in Alberta politics where Justin Trudeau and Trudeau Pere are popular villains.

The question-and-answer period touched on the social, economic, and other issues. One concern was the long-term future stability of the APP given the province’s economic base a volatile fossil fuel economy. |Read more https://abpolecon.ca/2023/11/06/alberta-pension-plan-conversation-with-retired-professors-at-uofa/| abpolecon.ca/2023/11/06/albert…

##abpoli #ableg #BobAscah #pensioners #UofA #APP #smith #misinformation

Take Back Alberta completes take over of UCP board

Well, it looks as if the United Conservative Party’s (UCP) extremist Take Back Alberta (TBA) faction now controls all the seats on the party’s board.

Some guy named Rob Smith who you’ve likely never heard of if you don’t happen to live in Olds or Didsbury is now the party president.

I frankly doubt there’s anyone in the UCP caucus who has the intestinal fortitude to stand up against such thuggery. So some really nightmarish policies may indeed become law, hurting many Albertans as intended, but also weakening the political strength of the UCP-TBA.

No, I mean that it’s not much of an accomplishment because the UCP is already so debased from the days of the Progressive Conservative Party in Alberta that it wasn’t a very steep hill for the conservative movement’s MAGA fringe to climb.

But face it, while it may be taking a while to sink in with rural voters, the UCP had already gone pretty well full MAGA by the time Jason Kenney was done with it.

Kenney couldn’t control the demons he let out of the bottle and they devoured him as well. (There’s plenty of historical precedent for that phenomenon, isn’t there? I give you Maximilien Robespierre! Thump.)

But by the time Parker and his big ego came along and Smith was chosen to replace Kenney, the UCP had already gone down the rabbit hole. Old style conservatives had mostly been run out of the party. The few that remained were having their doubts. |Read more https://rabble.ca/politics/canadian-politics/take-back-alberta-completes-take-over-of-ucp-board/| rabble.ca/politics/canadian-po…

#abpoli #TBA #kenney #smith #parker #MAGA #caucus #ableg