This is a guest post by Shiri Pasternak.
Recent revelations that the RCMP spied on Indigenous environmental rights activist Clayton Thomas-Muller should not be...
Ethical Oil
Ethical Oil is a pro-Alberta tar sands organization founded by Sun Media personality and conservative political activist Ezra Levant.
Here is a summary of our news and analysis of Ethical Oil:
Ethical Oil Doublespeak Is Polluting Canada's Public Square
Retired American linguist Dr. William Lutz spent much of his career at Rutgers University studying how language is abused in public conversations. He pointed to government and industry as the worst offenders in a practice known as Doublespeak, which Lutz described as “language designed to evade responsibility, to make the unpleasant appear pleasant … language that pretends to communicate but really doesn’t. Language designed to mislead while pretending it doesn’t.”
Hugo Chávez: Ethical Oil's Accidental Salesman, Part 1
In death as in life, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez has provoked more than his fair share of criticism and commentary in Canada. When the elected socialist leader died on March 5th after a two-year struggle with cancer, Canadians were quick to offer their condolences—with varying degrees of tact.
Hugo Chávez: Ethical Oil's Accidental Salesman, Part 2
Hugo Chávez first stormed the spotlight in Venezuela as the leader of an unsuccessful coup attempt against the government of President Carlos Andrés Pérez in 1992. Realizing that the coup had failed, Chávez admitted defeat on national television, famously vowing to try again before being shipped off to prison.
Canada Closed for Debate 1: How the Ethical Oil Campaign Launders Dirty Arguments
There are certain things that tolerant people should not tolerate. There is a very peculiar kind of dishonesty in the Canadian political sphere that we see through but seem to tolerate all the same. These are bad arguments made by our public leaders.
Why Ethical Oil's Deceptive 'Women's Rights' Defense of Tar Sands is Insulting and Wrong
EthicalOil.org’s new spokesperson, Kathryn Marshall, authored an insulting piece this week on the Huffington Post titled “Care About Women's Rights? Support Ethical Oil”. Marshall’s piece is a response to the October 11 article by Maryam Adrangi at It’s Getting Hot In Here. Adrangi argues that the underlying motive of the “ethical oil” campaign is to deflect negative attention from the tar sands, not to actually engage in a conversation about women’s liberation.
Open Letter to Oprah Winfrey on 'Ethical Oil' Ads
Dear Oprah, I just don't know where to begin. I can't find my words because I respect you so much. You're a woman pioneer who has done much to advance the status of women globally.
Cozy Ties: Astroturf 'Ethical Oil' and Conservative Alliance to Promote Tar Sands Expansion
As the Northern Gateway Pipeline Project Joint Review Panel begins hearing over 4,000 comments submitted by community members, First Nations, governments, and environmental groups, the tar sands front group EthicalOil.org has launched its latest PR offensive in support of the pipeline. OurDecision.ca, the new astroturf ad campaign, is another dirty PR attempt to undermine the real and growing grassroots opposition to Big Oil’s plans to ram through this destructive pipeline.
