Labatt Breweries is in negotiations to purchase Hamilton’s very own brewery Lakeport. There has been speculation that Labatt will close the Lakeport brewery, which has some people upset.

Enter hamiltonbeer.com, a website that was clearly created as a protest against this move by Labatt.

If this move by Labatt will have a negative impact in Hamilton – which is certainly possible – then I support the intent behind this website.

The problem is that the website reeks of marketing. This is not too surprising, since it is the brainchild of Michael Manzoni, Executive Partner of FloodGate Marketing Inc., according to the About Us page.

For example, the home page says, “There are two prominent truths about beer drinkers: They are loyal to their brand and they cling tightly to principles.”

As an office colleague said when I read this to him, “Beer drinkers only cling to their principles until they’ve had their first two beers.”

I get the sense that the person who wrote that line was expressing it in the spirit of faint hope, rather than any practical experience with the average beer-drinking Hamiltonian.

The site claims it only exists to solicit opinions and there is certainly no shortage of opinions posted on the message board, including this one posted by “Been There…..” from London:

The Labatt Brazilian folks are going to rape and pillage. Move brewing to London. Fire all employees. Blow up Hamilton plant so that it can never again be used by a competitor. Expansion? They just spent millions in London, closing Toronto and New Westminster. Letting Ontario staff go by the truckload. Clawing back pensioner benefits – big time!! Lakeport is history…

The footer text of the website is also amusing in a oddly self-referential way. It says “You must be legal drinking age to view this website.”

This website is a great example of the perils of marketing, particularly when it comes to grassroots causes.

By the time the designers of the site were finished with it the grassroots opposition to this move by Labatt was unrecognizable. Slicked-up and packaged, it’s now just as fake and just as silly as the beer commercials where hockey-loving alcoholics get all the girls.

Few photos say as much as this one does.

Since I have not been taking the time to update the Ade Just Read feature on the sidebar, I have removed it for the time being.

There are a few things I’d like to point out as worth taking a look at today however.

First up, Luc’s new blog style is up and looking good, and he’s got a great podcast on the right-hand side that is well worth listening to. Very nice way to kick off a Monday morning.

Next, some pictures that range from stunning photography to amusing social commentary:

• The sky itself is the best show in town (pan right for full photo).
• Intelligent Warming
• Ben Folds responds to mandatory FBI anti-piracy logo

Lastly, a quotation from Gore Vidal:

The great unmentionable evil at the center of our culture is monotheism. From a barbaric Bronze Age text known as the Old Testament, three anti-human religions have evolved – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These are sky-god religions. They are, literally, patriarchal – God is the Omnipotent Father – hence the loathing of women for 2,000 years in those countries afflicted by the sky-god and his earthly male delegates.

Have a great week!

The recent television ads produced by the Conservative Party of Canada have received mixed reviews. But for all debate over whether these ads are a positive or negative contribution to Canadian politics, I have heard little opinion about parallels between these ads and their American counterparts.

It’s not that political attack ads are anything new in Canada, but this time the ads are running outside an election.

Of all the ways that the Conservative government could have ushered in the political tenor for 2007, they chose to speak first with campaign-style attack ads. This says a lot about the kind of political dialog preferred by the Harper administration. Or, at the very least, it suggests where they perceive the winter session of parliament is headed.

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This post was written by alevo.

“Let’s talk about the weather or, how the weather used to be.” – The Weakerthans

Ontario skiers are dumb founded. Victoria might need to invest in a snowplow or two. There’s frost in Florida and it’s raining in Restigouche. It’s January 2007.

A Strategic Council poll in the Globe and Mail asked Canadians if they felt that global warming could potentially harm future generations. 83% said yes. It’s hard to imagine otherwise given what’s on the weather channel these days. Environmental issues are getting a boost from, well, the environment.

The debate will rage. Is recent weather symptomatic of a larger trend in climate change? Do cyclical weather patterns preclude the need to be alarmed about global warming? Apparently not. The same G&M poll shows that environmental issues are currently Canadians’ number one concern, but we didn’t need a poll to tell us that. Take a look at Canada’s political elite and it is clear – it’s the environment stupid.

With this in mind, the federal Liberal party caucus has been testing campaign slogans. The dominant theme for a new Liberal mantra is a green economy, environmental technology and a clean environment. It’s the new Liberal Party: squeaky-clean party, squeaky-clean policies. And while Stephane Dion is trying to dust out the old Liberal rugs, the other Steve is doing cleaning of his own.

The Prime Minster has realigned his cabinet in light of political realities. Ostensibly, he shuffled a half dozen minister’s around, but the only move that mattered was John Baird’s. As the new environment minister, Baird will have to convince Canadians that the Conservative government has a green conscience. The rhetoric will reach gale force. Expect to see lots of pictures like this:

It’s hard to know whether to laugh or cry. Either way, the next election has unofficially started and the environment is the baby that every politician wants to kiss.

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This post was written by alevo.

[tags]environment, global warming, climate change[/tags]