What Broadcast
Standards?

PAB Bots Bill and Pam

Update at bottom : updated @4:30PM

Probably a lot of Canadians didn't even realize there was an organization created to define and encourage standards in broadcasting, which is understandable to anyone who has watched what passes for news/information programming in British Columbia. When ONE person, who obviously doesn't even understand irony and/or satire complained to the CBSC about the lyrics to the Mark Knopfler song "Money for Nothing" and the CBSC in its own obvious opposite of wisdom decided to ban the offending lyric from the airwaves after twenty five years, undoubtably many Canadians first became aware of this body that supposedly protects them from distasteful and dishonest content. Along with many other commentators and radio programmers, my colleague the Powell River Persuader takes up this insanity in his post "I Want My MTV."

It is difficult to comprehend how anyone who might be offended by the term "faggot," wouldn't understand that Mr. Knopfler, one of my absolutely favorite guitarists btw, was condemning the characters in his song who were tossing around that term. Noticeable by their absence from this debate also are those like Ezra Levant who stand up on their chicken legs any time some neo-Nazi is accused of "hate speech" or those who call anyone defending the Palestinians "anti-Semetic," apparently forgetting from the get go that Palestinians themselves are Semites.

But these tempests in teapots that would probably be suited for TeaHadist gatherings are nothing compared to the corporate controlled media's complete disregard for any kind of fairness in political reporting, especially in the "Bestest Place on Earth" - for those who happen to be sleaze bags who thrive on betraying the public trust and stealing the assets once held by the citizens of British Columbia. As the Persuader points out:

The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC)...Red tape run amok, for those that don`t know what the CBSC does, or what their supposed to do....What they are is a so-called independent body where one can take and or file complaints against TV or radio broadcasters regarding something they have broadcast, complaints can range from inaccuracy, to racism, to hate speech even lies can be reported, we here at the Straight Goods are well aware of the range the CBSC gives or doesn`t give, for example, news broadcasts must be accurate, the bar is set higher for formal programs, yet with say radio opinion show hosts, like say Christy Clark or Bill Good, they can lie with almost a blanket immunity, as far as the CBSC you can`t prove a radio host was deliberately lying or just plain old stupid, in the case of Chrity Clark she merely had to retract and the CBSC considered the case resolved, but with music....A 25 year old song with lyrics that could be interpreted any number of ways......There was one person in eastern Canada who complained

A case in point is the news at six last night on CeeTeeVee and GlowBall. I may have to start watching the news in a padded room with nothing, not even shoes, allowed in the room to throw at the TeeVee when I watch these sorry excuses for news shows as I can't really afford to keep replacing TeeVee sets. Both channels tend to ignore as much as possible the ongoing crime spree operating out of Victoria led by Gordon Campbell involving the theft of railroads, ferry systems, public utilities, rivers and general disregard for the environment in favor of profit for friends. When these things can't be ignored entirely they are minimized or attentionn is directed at some minor aspect of the situation like the payoff to Basi and Virk rather than the underlying scandal about the loss of a railroad, or the salary of Admiral Hahn rather than the much more questonable dealings and book keeping around BC Ferries and our forced subsidization of the German health care system to acquire poor quality and poorly performing vessels.

Earlier this week CeeTeeVee broke the story of the latest chapter in the ongoing Kash Heed soap opera and the fact that on top of the six criminal charges recommended by the since dis-credited "oh so" Special Prosecutor that Kash himself is now facing possible charges. By last night though it was all about poor Kash Heed and how he was a martyr being persecuted by those corrupt mounties. This is the former police chief who HAD to leave his post in West Vancouver to avoid facing investigation for allegedly tipping off an accussed child porn suspect to an impending search. Poor little Kash "the stallion who wants to put Wally Oppal out to pasture."

No, CeeTeeVee spent much more time and laid much more disapprobation exposing the qu;estionable bulk membership sign ups by Adrian Dix, running for NDP leader. Maximum attention was paid to what while not desirable, is at worst a technical violation of NDP PARTY RULES, while Mr. Heed gets treated as the victim when he is actually potentially accused of breaking the LAW. Oh right, I forgot, the law doesn't apply to BC LIEberals.

Over on Glow Ball they didn't even address the Kash Heed affair, but then with one of their reporters actually CHARGED with child molestation and another outed in the search warrant documents in the Kash Heed affair as virtually Kash Heed's communications director, I guess they were too embarrassed to mention the case at all. Yep, Catherine Urquhart, currently living like a disgraced cop, on paid leave, supposedly an unbiased journalist, charged with helping the public understand their democracy was apparently instead working to elect and get into cabinet, Kash and Karry Heed. From the Vancouver Sun:

........a recently unsealed search warrant revealed an email exchange between Urquhart and former solicitor-general Kash Heed's campaign manager Barinder Sall.

“I can honestly say Kash would not be SG [solicitor-general] today if it hadn’t been for some key people behind the scenes,” Sall wrote to Urquhart on June 10, 2009.

“There were only truly 3 people that played a major role: Me, Peter Dhillon and yourself and Kash knows this,” he added.

“Peter was the money guy, I’m the brown tanned James Bond strategy girl-chasing guy and you were like the communications director . . . your stories, coverage and timing gave Kash a lot of profile and built him a following from day 1 at West Van and then leading into the election.”

In response, Urquhart wrote: “Hey . . . that’s really sweet of you. Have to say — there were a number of people along the way (cops and reporters — mostly cops) who seemed to have it out for Kash. But I always believed he was a good guy. I’m truly glad it worked out!

The Mainstream Media continues to whine about their diminishing market, and cast blame on technology and those nasty bloggers with no concern for the truth (as if they even considered truth to be relevant). Don't they realize we all get enough biased crap for free in our mailboxes? Hate mail from Stephen Harper and his minions telling us how Iggy doesn't live in or care about Canada, or other junk mail designed to convince us to buy more crap. Who needs to pay almost two bucks (if you don't live in the lower Vainland) for more of the same?

There's Hope for Vaughn Palmer!

I don't know if Vaughn Palmer put a new filter on his water tap, swore off drinking the kool-aid, had a psychedelic experience that reminded him who he once hoped to be when he grew up or is merely trying to abandon the LIEberal Titanic, but in today's Vancouver Sun he delivers an amazingly searing, yet balanced column on the Kash Heed affair. The title and sub-title alone sum up more than Les(s) Leyne has managed to say in at least a decade .

Opinion: Heed's vanity runs amok and leaves the stallion looking more like a jackass

Conspiratorial storyline that cops are out to get him is nothing short of incredible

It is only fair to give the "Dean of the Legislative Press Corps," credit when credit is due, lord knows I certainly don't hesitate to slag him when I feel it appropriate to do so. He even mentions the infamous deck in East Van and the dreaded 1990's, but not in order to change the subject, but to make a very valid point. The excerpt below shouldn't stop you from reading the entire column here.

But it is one thing for Heed to make himself look ridiculous. It should nevertheless be noted that the person accusing the RCMP of a vendetta is a former chief of police, former solicitor-general and member of the government caucus.

Time was when the B.C. Liberals would never stand for such a thing.

Back in the 1990s, the police, acting under the direction of a special prosecutor, raided the home of the then premier Glen Clark. Some New Democrats branded the raid a "witch hunt," "a home invasion" and the product of a "conspiracy" involving the news media and the then Liberal Opposition.

"Outrageous," replied the Liberals and demanded that the government dissociate itself from such a "disgraceful" attack on the police and the special prosecutor.

To his credit, the then NDP attorney-general, Ujjal Dosanjh, did just that. "Highly inappropriate," said Dosanjh in reference to the comments of his colleagues and party. "It's inappropriate for ministers of the Crown or elected officials to be criticizing the judiciary or law enforcement agencies directly or indirectly."

So what about it? I asked Liberal leadership hopeful George Abbott this week. Heed is supporting him for leader and Abbott professes to be "honoured" by the endorsement. But would Abbott condemn Heed's attack on the integrity of the police?

He would not. "I am not going to condemn anyone," said Abbott, and reminded me that Heed has the right to be "presumed innocent until he is determined to be otherwise by a court of law."

The issue is not the presumption of innocence.

Heed hasn't been charged with anything in any event. But that shouldn't prevent Abbott or any other Liberal from acknowledging that their self-styled stallion turned out to be a jackass.