House of Infamy

2012-01-19T10:56:00.004-08:00

I Already Miss....

Michelle and the 7 Dwarves!

The Comedy Channel and the sit-coms on the networks must be suffering a lack of viewers the last little while as Michelle Bachmann and the Seven Mental Midgets commenced the moveable comedy fest otherwise known as the debates among the contenders for the ReThuglican Nominee to run for Preznit of the YewKnighted States of Hysteria. As the weeks go by and the flakes drop out, the whole shebang becomes more boring until it would appear the most boring of them all Mitt the Vulture Capitalist who pretends to be normal will accept his long anticipated chance to be destroyed by Barrack Obama.

I think perhaps the ReThugs have reached their best before date, because with the nation to the south in such bad shape economically all the Party of Lincoln should have to do is put up a sane person to stand at least an even chance of unseating the incumbent Obama. However either the party is fresh out of sane candidates or their base is unwilling to nominate a normal and sane candidate, preferring instead to cater to the tea-party fringe until settling in the end for the Steven Harper of the current Republican contenders old 1/3 Mitt. Just as Steven Harper has managed to divide and conquer Canadians to squeeze a "majority" government in spite of the fact that up to 80% of eligible voters choose to either vote for someone else or not even bother to vote, it would appear that Mitt will carry the RePuke Banner into November even though on any given day 2/3 to 3/4 of Republican primary voters prefer someone (in some cases anyone) else.

The range of someone elses is indeed astounding, too. We have ReThugs who would like to elect Rick Santorum, who is concerned about man on dog sex destroying America. Then there are those, in the party of "Family Values" who would prefer serial adulterer (and architect of Clinton's impeachment for similar behaviour) Newt the Hoot, who the last time he had a hand on power chose to shut down the government and prosecute Bill Clinton for acting just like him.

The only actual person of substance, Jon Huntsman, was pretty well ignored from the git go, though he did fairly well in New Hampshire, a state with quite likely a higher median IQ than most red states. It is a real shame to see candidates with the entertainment value of say the Herminator Cain drop by the wayside. I mean America really needs a Preznit who would make sure China doesn't get nuclear weapons (apparently he didn't notice when they tested bombs a half century ago) and would re-design the tax system into a pizza promotion. Then there was the never ending entertainment every time Rick "Good Hair" and "I execute more poor folks than Dubya" Perry who once elected will eliminate government agencies right and left, IF he could remember which ones he wants to get rid of.

Maybe Mitt, the man who pays a lower tax rate than your server at McDonalds, and still stashes lots of his fortune in the Cayman Islands, cuz paying taxes ain't right for job exporters, isn't a shoo-in yet, as it turns out he didn't win the Iowa Caucuses after all by eight votes, Man on Dog Boy Rick Santorum won by thirty some votes as it turns out. Also Mr. Big Hair and Big Mouth from Texas has dropped out and thrown his support behind Newt, so who knows what will happen in South Carolina on Saturday.

Actually there could be a sense of divine justice in play if Mitt indeed becomes the candidate, which most pundits assure us will be the case. Just watching his fellow ReThug contenders attack his immoral sense of "free enterprise" the last week or two has been illuminating enough - Obama would love to run against the Mitt Romney version of rip off the taxpayers and the workers "capitalism." The guy not only is a member of a religion that many in the evangelical base consider a cult, but he was born with a platinum spoon in his mouth, his father being former CEO of American Motors and perennial potential preznit candidate George Romney, but has also made a fortune mostly by destroying and/or exporting jobs via the larcenous practice of leveraged buyouts disguised as "risk taking."

Personally I would like to see Newt or Man on Dog Boy hand Mitt his ass on Saturday, because then the entertainment is likely to carry on a bit longer into the Spring. Also the bigger battle the other dwarves can give Mitt, the better it will be for the American economy, because Mitt will have to actually bring more of his money back from off shore to fight them!

Let's face it, thanks to Citizens v United, politics is most likely gonna be the economic engine of America in 2012!

2011-12-12T10:09:00.007-08:00

Last Bastion
of Democracy

Reykjavik, Iceland

Maggie Thatcher and her bitch, Ronnie Raygun, were the figureheads that launched the last forty years of kleptocratic economic criminal activity that still has Europe, North America and even the rest of the world on the brink of economic collapse of a degree not seen since the end of the last gilded age of greed that came to a crash in the fall of 1929. Unlike that time, when many of the perpetrators served justice to themselves by jumping out the windows overlooking Wall Street, this time the worldwide reaction has been mostly to assist the criminals and reward their bad behaviour by bailing them out at taxpayer expense, so that they could lose little time at getting back to giving themselves unwarranted mega-bonuses for bad performance of their fiduciary responsibilities. Meanwhile the victims of the "Masters of Wall Street's" just have to suck it up and get used to living in the street, while the perps flip the foreclosed homes to each other for pennies on the dollar, because it would be "morally hazardous" to try and work out a reasonable re-payment plan with the original purchaser.

So today the world watches as the Sarkozys, Merkels, Geitners and Camerons impose "austerity" on the masses of Greece, Italy, Ireland, Spain, the UK and elsewhere, while dispensing bailout funds in the trillions on those who created the problems with their ponzi schemes or casino style "free market" Kapitalism - risking other peoples' money while they win if they profit and everyone else loses if they don't, though they still win - thanks to the taxpayer bailouts. This is little more than a stark example of socializing risk while privatizing profits and then these same "conservative" (they call themselves) assholes claim they deserve extravagant bonuses because of the risks they take and the skill with which they go about it!

Icelanders are a very smart and capable people, they've had to be to survive in the environment in which they live, which though rich in resources presents many challenges in weather and geologic forces. So when the biggest industry in modern Kapitalism became playing with imaginary or other peoples' money, rather than actually producing anything, Icelanders jumped in with both feet and for a number of years were doing very well at it, thank you! Doctors, teachers, lawyers and farmers decided to follow their professions or trades was a mugs game when one could become a millionaire or billionaire by playing computer games with exotic imaginary derivative investment instruments that were often less than betting on the weather in Rangoon at noon on April Fools Day!

Inevitably, in 2008, when the house of cards started to fall down for everyone, Iceland's not only fell first but perhaps hardest and all of a sudden three banks owed more than the combined GDP of the entire nation and Gordon Brown and the bankers all expected the Icelanders to suck it up and pay them for their foolishness. To begin with the conservative government of Iceland at the time, like the Obama, Merkel, Sarkozy etc. administrations figured they should indeed assume the debt, even though the people and taxpayer's hadn't been partners in the profits, except for those in the game personally. But then a funny thing happened - the people of Iceland called bullshit and began demonstrating and protesting in a sustained and increasingly violent manner and over the next couple of years not only tossed their government out of office, but forced various referenda on issues such as bailing out the banks and then even started criminal proceedings against not only shady banksters and fraudsters but politicians including Prime Minister, Geir Haarde, who had already been forced to resign.

The President of Iceland, who respected the will of the people and allowed them to re-write the constitution and hold referenda on bailout proposals figures that Gordon Brown, the former P.M. of the UK, will be remembered longer in Iceland than in Britain, though he wouldn't necessarily want to go there. The UK and Europe did everything but threaten to invade and occupy Iceland when it started to be evident that Iceland might just decide to let the banks who after all had leveraged themselves to the hilt take their own losses and too bad, so sad for those other European banks that had believed the phoney ratings on the sleazy bonds and other trick investments. The US basically said they could do nothing, and the UK and Europe basically said that if Iceland let the banks fail, that Iceland would return to the dark ages as no one would ever invest there in the future and they could live in the dark and eat fish.

Anyway, long story short, the people voted to tell the banks to take a hike and go broke just like anybody else with a gambling disorder dumb enough to bet the farm on goofy rigged games. Lo and behold the world didn't come to an end and even stranger, Iceland is already performing economically better than any other jurisdiction in North America and/or Europe. According to Bloomberg , hardly an anti-Kapitalist outfit:

Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Iceland’s economy grew in the third quarter as the first western nation to succumb to the global financial crisis in 2008 shows signs of a sustained recovery.

Gross domestic product expanded 4.7 percent from the second quarter, after shrinking a revised 3.6 percent in the previous three-month period, the Reykjavik-based statistics office said in a statement on its website today. Output expanded 4.8 percent from a year earlier, the office said.

Iceland is emerging from its 2008 banking meltdown as the euro area sinks deeper into its debt crisis. It costs less to insure against an Icelandic default than it does to guard against a credit event in the common currency bloc, credit default swaps show. Iceland’s government successfully tapped international debt markets in June while Arion Bank hf, formerly Kaupthing Bank hf, said this month it may sell Eurobonds in the next 12 months.

Exports grew 6.8 percent from the previous quarter, while household spending increased 1.1 percent, the office said. Overall national expenditure rose 1.6 percent.

Iceland’s economy will grow 2.6 percent this year, driven by consumer spending and fixed investments, the statistics office said Nov. 24. The island’s output will expand 2.4 percent in 2012, it said.

The Independent UK also has a recent article, Iceland: The broken economy that got out of jail that succinctly covers the crash and recovery.

Iceland was a pioneer in recklessness during the credit boom. And now the small nation in the north Atlantic is a pioneer in political accountability during the credit bust. Geir Haarde, the Icelandic prime minister between 2006 and 2009, appeared in a special constitutional court in Reykjavik yesterday on charges of "failures of ministerial responsibility" during the 2008 financial meltdown. But there is an irony here. For the economy that Mr Haarde helped to wreck has fared surprisingly well since the bust..../snip

Reykjavik was warned that it would never borrow again if it failed to honour the debts of its financial sector. But the country already seems to have been forgiven by the markets. The Icelandic government issued $1bn in sovereign debt in June at an interest rate of around 6 per cent. This was twice oversubscribed by investors. The contrast with Ireland, which assumed responsibility for all the liabilities of its bust banking sector, is stark. Thanks to Dublin's blanket bailout, total government debt is now more than 100 per cent of GDP, four times pre-crisis levels......./snip

Geir Haarde heads a cast of hundreds who could face prosecution for their part in Iceland's financial implosion.

Iceland's special prosecutor, Olaf Hauksson, has named more than 200 suspects in his criminal investigation into the country's financial crisis.

So far, those convicted in connection with the country's big banks – Landsbanki, Kaupthing and Glitnir – include former Kaupthing brokers who got six months in jail for manipulating bond deals and Baldur Gudlaugsson, a former permanent secretary at the finance ministry, who received two years for insider trading of Landsbanki shares. Haukur Thor Haraldsson, a former managing director with Landsbanki, was sentenced to two years in July for embezzlement.

Yesterday I heard an interview, on Sunday Edition on CBC Radio One, with "the man almost solely responsible for this remarkable turnaround....the country's president Olafur Grimmson" which should be available online here soon. (the audio or podcast didn't seem to be available yet this morning, perhaps one could e-mail the CBC and inquire why)

One interesting point that Mr. Grimmson raised was the way the post pretend financial services obsessed Iceland economy made better use of the skills of Icelanders. He explained that when Iceland went on its orgy of play money investment schemes, the financial sector not only utilized the natural born crimnals (MBAs and accountants), but programmers, engineers, mathematicians and so forth. Now with the return to actual productive economic activity, these skilled people are available for jobs that actually produce marketable software or conduct research or heaven forbid even produce infrastructure for transportation, energy or mineral extraction.

It's amusing to notice how little notice is given to Iceland's contrary response to the crime spree of the finanacial sector, especially here in North America, but then here the criminals are still in charge and not only running the show, but the media, the government and basically the agenda.

Though thanks to the boneheadedness of Ben Meisner, I struck my former link to Opinion250:

In August of 2011, Peter Ewart and Dawn Hemingway, columnists for Opinion250, visited Iceland. During their trip, they toured Reykjavik and other parts of this beautiful country, and interviewed a number of political figures and community activists about the financial crisis that recently gripped the nation. The following series of articles, which will be published over the next few days, are their impressions of this experience. The first several articles will provide some background on Iceland and its people, and are aimed at “setting the stage” for the articles that follow on the financial crisis.

The first segment can be found here, and then they each link to the next.

Watching the River Flow
in Iceland

2011-12-10T13:49:00.008-08:00

Yankee
Go Home!

Crusty, the import and Slow Shirley
Our buttlicking local (BC and Canadian from the center)was so happy last week to have the opportunity to pretend that our pretend premier, Princess Christy had finally done something constructive that they jumped on it with both feet while clapping from coast to coast in their effort to reinforce the idea that not only was Christy actually the Premier of British Columbia, but actually doing something. Check out this sample of the first ten hits from a google search for news based on "Christy Clark and Rosenthal."

Being an outsider big advantage for new BC police watchdog
The Province - ‎Dec 8, 2011‎
It makes sense that BC's new watchdog on the cops is from Los http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifAngeles and made his name in Tinseltown — the guy's resumé reads like a movie script. In fact, one of the reasons Richard Rosenthal decided to ...

Ex-U.S. DA appointed to probe cops
The Province - ‎Dec 8, 2011‎
From left, BC Premier Christy Clark, Richard Rosenthal, newly appointed civilian director of BC's independent police investigation office, and BC Attorney-General Shirley Bond attend a news conference ...

Warm welcome from all sides for police overseer
Vancouver Sun - ‎Dec 8, 2011‎
The BC Civil Liberties Association, police brass and union chiefs welcomed Wednesday's appointment of a civilian director to lead the province's police oversight body. Richard Rosenthal, a former US ...

Tough critic hired to lead police oversight body
Vancouver Sun - ‎Dec 8, 2011‎
Rosenthal was in Vancouver Wednesday as Premier Christy Clark and Solicitor General Shirley Bond announced he will be the chief civilian director of the new Independent Investigations Office. ...

Police oversight head looks a good hire
Vancouver Sun - ‎Dec 8, 2011‎
Richard Rosenthal was a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles in 1999 when he was assigned to prosecute a cop charged with stealing cocaine from an evidence locker. To avoid the charge, ...

Independent police monitor coming from Denver to start BC office
Globe and Mail - ‎Dec 7, 2011‎
He was Denver's first independent police monitor. He has prosecuted judges and cops in Los Angeles. Now Richard Rosenthal is coming to police British Columbia police. He is leaving Denver to head BC's new Independent Investigations Office, ...

Hardnosed US attorney heading new police watchdog
CTV.ca - ‎Dec 7, 2011‎
BC's new police watchdog agency tasked with probing serious and fatal uses of force across the province will be led by Richard Rosenthal, a hardnosed US attorney with a reputation for being tough on cops. Rosenthal's appointment to chief civilian ...

American to head BC oversight agency to investigate police incidents
Winnipeg Free Press - ‎Dec 7, 2011‎
British Columbia Premier Christy Clark, right, looks on as Richard Rosenthal, centre, speaks during a news conference in Vancouver Wednesday. Rosenthal is the province's first chief civilian director for independent investigations to provide ...

BC names 1st civilian police watchdog
CBC.ca - ‎Dec 7, 2011‎
BC has named its first civilian watchdog over police conduct. Independent Investigations Office The office was established under BC's Police Act in July. The chief civilian director cannot be a current or former police officer or Mountie. ...

Former US attorney appointed head of new BC police investigation officehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
The Province - ‎Dec 7, 2011‎
By Staff Reporter, The Province December 7, 2011 Premier Christy Clark (left) with newly appointed chief civilian director for independent investigations, Richard Rosenthal, and BC Attorney-General Shirley Bond in Vancouver. Dec. 7, 2011. ...

All 38 related articles »

We could most likely read all 38 and find nothing but praise, but don't forget that all these "so called" different opinions actually come from papers and media outlets owned by a handful of conglomerates that have a policy of singing to the same sheet music which thinks the BC LIEberals are the best thing since sliced bread and they would be lazy or actively lie in order to support their favorite criminal organization and/or Stevie Spiteful's Ottawa and Calgary based Canadian Taliban. These same people consider Gordon the Capo Campbell, who has indebted BC Hydro to Billions and Billions of debt stretching decades into the future the best fiscal manager between St John's and Victoria......debt ain't bad if your friends get to collect it or something.

My first inkling that everything might not be a groovy as the Liar's Choir was trumpeting was when I dropped in for my regular visit to Norm Farrell, who isn't a member of the "club," and tends to be interested in digging up and sharing factual information. His post Investigating BC's new police investigator suggests other ways of looking at the issue and begins:

A decade ago, Richard Rosenthal left the Los Angeles prosecutors' office to lead Portland's new Office of Independent Police Review. L.A. Deputy District Attorney Jim Cosper said it was a good choice. However, attorney Stephen Yagman, remarking also on Portland's selection of police chief Mark Kroeker, had the opposite view,

"Portland's loss is L.A's gain. Portland has become a toxic waste dump for Los Angeles law enforcement."

Rosenthal had been a key prosecutor in the Los Angeles Ramparts police scandal where many officers were accused of unjustified shootings, beatings, lying under oath, stealing, dealing drugs and planting evidence.

According to Willamette Week,

"...the Rampart probe today is widely viewed as a fiasco. None of the convictions has held up on appeal. Attorneys, including prosecutors, have attacked its handling, saying only a fraction of the likely police misconduct has been punished."

Then my inbox received the report from Robin Matthews, the man who attended more court sessions during the BC Rail Scam/Sham Trial than either judge or Wild Bill Berardino, the putative prosecutor who thought his underlings adequate for a prosecution the crown was going to throw anyhow, yet wasn't considered eligible for "accreditation" by the inbred hicks that are for some bizarre reason considered qualified to make such judgements in the third rate banana republic that British Columbia has become. BC (Saint) Mary, the real reason the BC Rail Scam has remained visible all these years, no matter what any other blowhards might claim, has Robin's entire piece published at her place, here, but some highlights from Robin follow, highlighting mine.

The search, Christy Clark says, in the government propaganda video, was “extensive”. It wasn’t. An “extensive” search was made, she says, for an independent police monitor for B.C. He may be called a Chief Civilian Director for Independent Investigations of police misdoings.

Then premier Christy Clark and Attorney General Shirley Bond - in the same propaganda video - modify the statement to say appointee Richard Rosenthal will deal with “some” police misdoings – explicitly, deaths allegedly caused by police, and/or the use of physical violence. Some time later … much later … he might get to other things.

Other things? Well, he might get to police collaboration with Special Prosecutors appointed by the Attorney General to destroy, to bury, or to fabricate evidence on behalf of cabinet members and their corporate friends. He might get to the refusal of the RCMP (as top B.C. RCMP officer Gary Bass refused) to act on formal requests to investigate alleged criminal actions by members of the cabinet (including then premier Gordon Campbell).

But he probably won’t get to those things … at all.

In fact, Richard Rosenthal is instructed, he is ordered, he is PAID – not to look at any police misdoings before December 7, 2011. Richard Rosenthal has agreed to those terms, throwing both his credibility and his integrity into doubt from Day One.

So, seventy years after Pearl Harbor, we have another day of infamy, or a day before which infamy didn't matter or be of concern, Frank Paul, the Polish Immigrant at YVR, Ian Bush, Gustafson Lake and the fishy parts of the BC Rail Sham, of which there are too many to list, are beyond the purview of Mr. Rosenthal.

What are the specific terms of Richard Rosenthal’s appointment? Neither Clark not Bond has attempted to tell the public. How much is Richard Rosenthal being paid? We have not been told. Why not? Will he be paid $1 million a year like the other Yankee appointment, David Hahn, head of B.C. Ferries?

Was Richard Rosenthal hired for the same reasons David Hahn was hired? To go around the people of B.C. and serve a corrupt cabinet by doing special dirty work?

If the search was “extensive”, and a Canadian was sought, why didn’t we know about it? Why didn’t we see ads in the Globe and Mail? Why didn’t we see an announcement of the search on the Attorney General’s website? Why didn’t Christy Clark announce in press conferences that the government was looking for a tough, independent, Canadian of irreproachable integrity to begin work as police monitor and to build for B.C. a tough, truly independent, public oversight body with real teeth?

I suggest we didn’t see those things because Christy Clark did not want that kind of person anywhere near corrupt police activity in B.C. and its intimate link to the Gordon Campbell/Christy Clark cabinets.

Another week, another load of bullshit and sleaze and we're getting so used to it that most people don't even notice anymore as long as they can get a new flat screen made by slave child labor offshore and watch the Canuckleheads play against the Habs or the Leafs, whose own ownership is becoming interbred.....maybe everything in Canada will be owned by three assholes soon and if you are nice to them, you can have some fun and food.

2011-11-23T07:45:00.004-08:00

A Letter
to Lisa

Please Lisa, Basketball is ESSENTIAL (and part of the ECONOMY)!

Ms. Lisa Raitt
MP for Halton, Onterrible
and Minister of (forced) Labour

Dear Lisa,

As a fan of both the economy and NBA Basketball, I am wondering why you haven't involved yourself in the ongoing NBA Lockout. According to you even dudes and duddettes in uniforms serving wine to passengers on an Air Canada flight are performing an essential service, so how you can even consider letting the lights stay out in Air Canada Centre for forty-one Raptor home games (or more if they make the play-offs) is beyond me. Then we have to consider the TeeVee revenue, advertising and jobs, not to mention the merchandising which even costs jobs in China, and we know you and your government are very concerned about jobs in China.

Every other labor disruption that has even been threatened since you and your spiteful bossman got your coveted majority (of almost 25% of eligible voters - some landslide) wasn't even allowed to happen, whether it was a threatened strike or a lockout by management. Yet here we are, when the NBA regular season should be underway, and other than when some rock star deigns to go to Toronto, or that alleged professional NHL team known as the Maple Leafs has a home game, economic activity around the Air Canada Centre grinds to a halt, no tips for the waitresses in the neighborhood, empty parkades, and planes forced to fly around with unsold oversize seats for seven foot men.

I know it would be easier for you to do something if we still had the Vancouver Grizzlies, cuz with only one team based in Canada now, your leverage is limited. However I'm sure there are actions you could take, because the inconceivable has become the expected from you when it comes to dealing with those spoiled working stiffs. Just the fact that Steve Nash isn't drawing his salary is an unacceptable hit to the all important Canadian economy. So let me make some suggestions to help you resolve this unacceptable disruption to the economy of downtown Toronto.

Send your little buddy John Baird to Washington to inform his counterpart, Queen Hillary that if the NBA doesn't resume play, at least Raptors games, that you will have your buddy Jason Kenny revoke all visas for non-Canadian NBA players, which would reduce the league (and the payroll) to about four players, though in this reduced league, Rick Fox could perhaps come out of retirement and the Salmon Arm High girl's team members could maybe become professional. Perhaps the Grizz could be compelled to return from Okie Land to Vancouver and then the Grizz and the Raptors could play an 82 game schedule, which would give both defenses a chance to learn the opposition offense.

Of course even better, you could go to Washington and consult with your counterpart in Barry O's cabinet, and show him/her how it is done. After all, their economy isn't doing that well, not as well as ours as you guys point out countless times daily. Our American cousins might appreciate it if you took the time to explain to them how to avoid letting petty labor disputes disrupt something so important as any economic activity at all. There's been an anti-labour trend happening down there since the ascension of Ronnie Raygun anyway, so they might really be grateful if you showed them how to completely put those whiney workers, whether they be millionaires or minimum wage slaves in their place.

As far as I know all the other worker bees in Canuckistan are happily showing up for work lately, at least those lucky enough to have jobs. Therefore, I would think you would have the time to devote to solving this unacceptable disruption of economic activity.

yers truly,

KootCoot
....Major fan of both the NBA and the Holy Economy

2011-11-15T06:23:00.008-08:00

Criminal Activity
or Business as Usual!

Following the piece by Robin Mathews, there is a short post of mine about an unfortunate individual who falls outside the jurisdiction of "oh so special" entitlement.

In Criminal Breach of Trust:
Stephen Harper, the Conservative Party, 67 candidates in the 2006 election, Senator Irving Gerstein, Senator Doug Finley … and others.

by Robin Mathews

The 2006 federal election is key in the present illegitimate holding of a majority by the Harper Conservatives in the House of Commons. In that election more than 67 Harperite Conservatives and the Conservative Party conspired to defraud the Canadian people of a fair election.

The Prosecution of the violations by the people named above has been palid and ineffective. They should have been charged, one and all, with criminal breach of trust – a charge which the Criminal Code of Canada declares requires, because of its seriousness, less evidence when dealing with public servants. Like prime ministers, senators, and candidates for election, for instance.

The move by the Prosecution to accept a plea bargain in a matter of the greatest importance to all Canadians is an act of major irresponsibility, I insist.

Stephen Harper and at least seventy others colluded to engage in criminal breach of trust in a calculated violation of the Elections Act in 2006.

In standard Harperite practice the wholesale fraud is said to have happened without the knowledge of the man who lets nothing in the Party happen without his knowledge: Stephen Harper. But being leader, he cannot escape accusation.

After pleading guilty to plea bargain charges of breaching campaign spending limits and failing to report expenses, spokespeople for the Harper Party – with Orwellian lie-tactics – claim that guilt is not guilt, that the illegal is legal, that the profoundly unethical is ethical.

Orwell was describing the use of language in a fascist state.

In addition, the 2006 election campaign was marked by the entrance into campaigning – in fact – by the RCMP on behalf of the Harper Conservatives. Military and police interference in democratic elections proclaims a move towards fascism. In a break with honourable tradition, the RCMP announced – in the midst of election campaigning - that it was undertaking a criminal investigation of Liberal minister of finance, Ralph Goodale. The announcement was totally gratuitous, and, of course, Goodale was cleared completely.

But the RCMP helped – along with the wholesale criminal breach of trust of the Conservative candidates and Party – to shape an illegitimate minority victory for Stephen Harper.

Not long after, Guiliano Zaccardelli, RCMP head, was caught in perjury before a Commons Committee and was forced to resign. He was carefully tucked away by the Harper government in an Interpol position in France. We have heard no more about him because the Mainstream Press and Media are branches of the Harper office.

The Mainstream Media is a branch of the Harper office. Stephanie McDowall has written CBC about Evan Soloman’s slippery attack on Bob Rae on The House, November 12. I wrote to CBC after the embarrassing failure of Carol Off to interview the Harperite representative lying about the conviction of the Conservative Party for election fraud on November 10.

Questions that leapt to my mind: Why isn’t the lawyer for the Conservative Party being interviewed? Did or did not the Conservative Party plead guilty? (Ms. Off never asked that.) Did 67 Harperite candidates engage in the violation? Why won’t Stephen Harper be interviewed on the subject? Etcetera.

Ms. Off – to my mind – worked to kill the story.

In addition NO OPPOSITION REPRESENTATIVE was interviewed by As It Happens concerning the admission of guilt by the Conservative Party.

Canadians must publicize the “assistants to Stephen Harper” in the media whenever they show their heads. Perhaps we should have a petition to ask that Carol Off be removed.

Hold the Presses!....koot back here

Every now and then the news is actually surprising, like last week when a "Special Prosecutor" actually (prepare yourself) recommended that charges be laid against someone whose case warranted a special prosecutor.

One can be forgiven for thinking that the raison d'etre of an "oh so" Special Prosecutor was to coddle and basically provide a publicly funded defender of the special folks, too precious to be expected to be held accountable to the law. After all, it would appear that William Berardino's mandate was to protect Gordon Campbell and cohorts from any responsibility for the theft of BC Rail, no matter what the cost (a cool twenty to thirty million, including the carefully guided investigation by the RCMP, the six million dollar bribe to buy the silence of Basi and Virk and AT LEAST twice that to the office of Wild Bill and associates).

Then of course there was the "special handling" of Kash Heed (twice), for election fraud. Then there was the two years long "exoneration" of John Les "(s) than ethical" for shady land dealings and the decision that there wasn't enough evidence to secure a conviction for impaired driving against the Drunk MLA from North Van who not only failed a breathalyzer or two, but had spent the afternoon tweeting about the wine and being drunk with hundreds of witnesses who apparently were never consulted.

Therefore imagine one's surprise when one finds in the North Shore News an item like this:

A B.C. Crown prosecutor has been charged with assault following an incident that allegedly happened in North Vancouver on Aug. 23.

Hedley Christopher Johns, who works for the Criminal Justice Branch, is charged with one count of assault.

The charge against Johns was sworn Nov. 8 after it was approved by Kris Pechet, a special prosecutor appointed by the province. Pechet approved the charge after reviewing an investigative report forwarded by the North Vancouver RCMP in September.

Johns is to make his first court appearance in North Vancouver Jan. 4. He has not entered a plea to the charges.

So far little information has been released about what is alleged to have happened.

Meanwhile, the Law Society of British Columbia is opening its own investigation into the case.

"He's facing a serious charge and we will conduct a thorough investigation," said spokesperson Lesley Pritchard.

Pritchard said Johns is presumed innocent.

He has been practicing law since 1981.

Poor Mr. Johns, that should teach him to keep up to date with his donations to the BC liaRs, though as a Crown Attorney, Mr. Johns most likely couldn't afford to make a large enough donation to matter to the BC LIEberals. I wonder if he was hired to be a crown during the (irony) dark days of NDP rule in the nineties(/irony)! Whatever the reason, the unfortunate Mr. Johns, it would appear is neither too big, nor too special to jail!

2011-11-10T10:27:00.005-08:00

As Sgt. Preston
Gently Weeps

Today's Force Would Drive King to Distemper!

"On King! On, you huskies!"

"I arrest you in the name of the Crown!"

"Well, King, this case is closed."

RC (Northwest)MP Sergeant William Preston

Back when I was a young lad I listened almost every week to Sgt. Preston on the radio, on the very station where it had originated as Challenge of the Yukon in 1938, WXYZ in Detroit, which is of course even north of Canada itself, well Windsor, Ontario anyway. I partly grew up confused looking south across the Detroit River at the skyline and lights of Windsor or headed south over the Ambassador Bridge to Canada. Even I'm not old enough to have heard those first seasons, but by the time it went to TeeVee, to battle for viewers against the Lone Ranger I was convinced that if I committed any crimes, I would stay on the US side of the border, and take my seemingly better chances of getting away from the FBI - because the Mounties, in those days ALWAYS GOT THEIR MAN! Ironically, the first time I actually had any dealings with law enforcement, I was arrested by the FBI, after practically having to orchestrate my own arrest, since they couldn't seem to find me without my help! But that is all a story for another day, and I have always remembered the FBI agents who took me into custody as very polite, with no undue intimidation or abuse, unlike some other law enforcement agencies with whom I have had dealings with since.

When I came to Canada at the end of the sixties, I was impressed with the gentlemanly manner of the Mounties. Compared to County Sheriffs in many counties or the dreaded California Highway Patrol, or an LAPD officer, the Mounties I asked for directions or who would point out I had a burned out tail-light were true "boy scouts" serving and protecting civilians, at least those who weren't assaulting them or trying to elude custody. Something rotten has taken over the heart of the once proud and fabled force.

Sometimes the Mounties themselves are the victims of this deterioration of the once fine force. After all this is (was?) the same RCMP that after a five week manhunt through hundreds of miles of winter wilderness in the NWT and Yukon, on February 17, 1932 finally cornered the mysterious Mad Trapper of Rat River, who became the ONLY fatality in the ensuing shootout. Compare this to the tragedy of four mounties, shot near Mayerthorpe by James Rozko, seemingly like lambs one by one. Even if they didn't know he was in the barn, a mistake in itself - to not assume he could be, the first shot should have been the cue to lock down the area let the stand-off begin, with officers keeping themselves under cover and the barn in sight until he either surrendered, shot himself or starved to death. Unlike the Mad Trapper, Rozko was a known individual, well known, to the local police with a lengthy history of confrontation, threats and offenses involving firearms.

As far as getting their man, nowadays, they seem more likely to make it impossible to get the perp, or if caught, screw the case so bad that a conviction is damn near impossible, like with the Air India Fiasco. Maybe that's an excuse for the "deaths in custody," knowing one may have compromised the evidence, why not just dispense what an officer considers the appropriate sentence. Who needs judges, lawyers and all that, maybe everything can be like the new BC Impaired Driving Laws, save money by letting the officer do it all - make the arrest, determine the charges, decide AND administer the sentence - saves on all those plugged up courts - so they can be used by business and corporations for important lawsuits. Of course as the ongoing Missing Women Inquiry makes more clear almost every day, the Port Coquitlam Detachment may almost as well have issued Robert Pickton a license to hunt women, as they ignored repeated witnesses, and even were too "polite" to search the premises, where so many body parts were eventually found, on more than one occasion when they was plenty of "probable cause." But I guess the murders of almost fifty women require a higher level of probable cause than say - a marijuana grow show! Robert Pickton was/is a retard, compared to say Ted Bundy or the Green River Strangler, either of whom might well have died of old age in their beds in British Columbia.

Don't even get me started on guys like Montgomery Robinson, who has been on fully paid vacation now for God knows how many years, since leading the assassination squad on the unfortunate Polish would be immigrant. Since then we just count ourselves lucky if a year manages to go by without Monty killing yet another innocent human - yet he is guilty of nothing yet, with almost impossible to ignore perjury, two dead innocent people, not only is he walking free, but collecting a full wage without having to suffer the indignity of having to show up at work -- AND WE PAY HIS SALARY!!!!!!

I'm gonna let a wiser man than I take over this topic now. Robin Mathews is not just wiser than I, but can write circles around me and most anyone else - so here is what Dr. Mathews has been thinking about this travesty that seems to be just life as usual in British Columbia, the best place on earth, for scumbags and crooks posing as politicians, cops or those who labor in the Halls of (in)Justice.

B.C. RCMP Sexual Harassment and the BC Rail Scandal
by guest poster: Robin Mathews.

The BC Rail Scandal is so huge and so intricate that it reaches right into the present sexual harassment claims against RCMP officers made by Catherine Galliford, Krista Carle, and others.

Responding for the RCMP in a news release - under the Orwellian title “RCMP Health and Wellness” - BC RCMP Superintendent Kevin DeBruyckere states that the RCMP “encourages our members to report incidents of harassment….”

Ms. Carle has reported already that when she reported incidents of harassment the RCMP Management tried to cover up the problems. Males in the Force have made similar kinds of statement.

Attorney General Shirley Bond is completely unruffled by the news. Negotiations with the RCMP for a 20 year contract with B.C. will go on as if nothing has happened, she has – in effect – said. Ms. Bond, I suggest, is aware that the RCMP has so much on the Gordon Campbell Liberal Cabinet and its successors that she dare not suggest there will be any hitch in completing the new contract.

I suggest the BC Rail Scandal is governing the conditions under which the cabinet of British Columbia can negotiate with the RCMP. But there is more ….

Let us remember Superintendent Kevin DeBruyckere. He was a major investigator in the BC Rail Scandal leading to the criminal charges against Basi, Virk, and Basi.

Defence counsel claimed that he is the brother-in-law of Kelly Reichert, then executive director of the B.C. Liberal Party. Defence counsel went on to ask in very assertive tones if Kevin DeBruyckere was conveying information about the investigation to Kelly Reichert who was discussing the matters with Gordon Campbell, then premier of the province. Allegations were made in the media that Defence counsel had documents to back their position, documents that were never revealed because of the sudden shutting down of the trial.

Kevin DeBruyckere was – in fact – front and centre in the hasty, messy, odious, shutting down of the trial of Dave Basi, Bob Virk and Aneal Basi.

How?

Here is how I interpret major events. When the accused chose to change from their election of trial by judge alone to trial by judge and jury, they had to deal with the Special Prosecutor (who was illegitimately appointed to the position by the Attorney General’s ministry in which he had been for seven years partner and colleague of Attorney General Geoff Plant, and eleven years partner and colleague of Deputy Attorney General Alan Seckel).

The ‘dealing’ between the accused and prosecution resulted in an ‘Agreement of Facts’ between them - not a rare matter. Often, to facilitate trial, accused and prosecution agree to a number of basic facts.

This agreement of facts, however – as I interpret it – contained an “agreement” by the accused and their counsel that they would abandon certain inalienable rights the accused has to defend against criminal allegations. They, apparently, agreed they would not question things like the investigation process, the involvement of certain high-ranking politicians – things, apparently, of that kind.

When the trial began a complete impasse occurred. Everything stopped dead. It did so because – as I interpret events - the accused refused to believe that the agreement they had signed was one in which they gave away some of their right to defend against charges. But they had signed the agreed ‘Statement of Facts”. Their counsel had also signed the Agreement.

Defence counsel was in a terrible bind. They had signed, and – unlike the Special Crown Prosecutor - they were legitimately in the courtroom. They would stand by their signatures. But the accused refused to accept the interpretation of the agreement of facts made by the Special Prosecutor.

The trial stopped. The accused were advised to seek independent advice. They did so. Some days passed. Then … the accused decided to proceed with their counsel in place. But it appears that something had happened in the minds of Defence counsel.

When the first Crown witness, Martyn Brown, long-time chief of staff for Gordon Campbell, took the stand, something happened – something dramatic.

Kevin McCullough, Defence counsel, asked Martyn Brown what he knew about the relationship of Kevin DeBruyckere and Kelly Reichert. And – if I remember correctly – he asked … or he intimated that through those two men information about the investigation was likely being reviewed by Gordon Campbell. Gordon Campbell, premier, was alleged by Defence counsel to be a principal in the corrupt transfer of BC Rail to the CNR and, therefore, someone who should have known nothing whatever about the investigation.

No sooner was the question to Martyn Brown out of the mouth of Kevin McCullough than Special Crown Prosecutor William Berardino leapt to his feet and objected strenuously to, as he saw it, the breach of the Agreement.

High drama was playing out in the courtroom! The judge on the trial, Associate Chief Justice Anne MacKenzie, had refused to acknowledge that William Berardino was illegitimately in the courtroom. She was permitting – I am convinced – an illegitimate trial to proceed. She was – some suggested – rushing the trial forward from pre-trial and was attempting to keep it packaged in a very small scope that kept away from major politicians and major private corporation wheelers-and-dealers.

The trial stopped again. Associate Chief Justice Anne MacKenzie had to rule on the legitimacy of the questions asked Martyn Brown by Defence counsel.

She, now, was in a bind, as I see it. If she ruled that the questions were not acceptable, she might be seen as denying the rights of the accused to a fair trial – and that judgement might very well be made by a higher court on appeal. She would not look good. I believe no higher court could approve of accused people signing away their right to a fair trial. That would contradict the most fundamental principles of our legal system.

If she ruled that the questions were acceptable, the door would swing open to Crown witness after witness being questioned about the corrupt structure and dealings to transfer BC Rail to the CNR. The trial would turn away from the three accused to their superiors in cabinet and in private corporations, and it might reveal to British Columbians a pattern of criminal behaviour at the highest levels in British Columbia.

Associate Chief Justice Anne MacKenzie ruled that the questions asked by the Defence were acceptable … and it could proceed.

Alarm bells must have rung in cabinet and corner corporate offices all over B.C. The trial had to be stopped right away, I believe. Negotiations with the accused and their lawyers went into full spate. Only one other witness was half-way through being cross-examined by Defence counsel when the trial stopped. Shut down. Ended.

It was all over. The Special Crown Prosecutor who was illegitimately appointed, and his assistants, would collect (from taxpayers) their (something like) $12 million dollars. Defence counsel would be paid by the taxpayers their $6 million dollars. The accused would pay none of their costs of Defence. According to the auditor general of B.C., the approval of payment of the bills of the accused was nowhere minuted in cabinet proceedings – though cabinet approved the extraordinary payment of Defence counsels’ $6 million bill.

What sparked that rush to close up the trial? The questions to Gordon Campbell’s chief of staff Martyn Brown about the relation and dealings between RCMP officer Kevin DeBruyckere, executive director of the B.C. Liberal Party Kelly Reichert, and Gordon Campbell, architect of the corrupt transfer of BC Rail to the CNR.

There was Kevin DeBruyckere smack in the middle of the matter that blew up the Basi, Virk, and Basi trial and caused it to end ignominiously.

And here is Kevin DeBruyckere issuing a press release on the claims by female officers that the RCMP is riddled with sexual intimidation and other misconduct. And here is Kevin DeBruyckere holding hands, you might say, with Shirley Bond – the two of them saying everything is just fine. Relax. The RCMP is the heart and soul of integrity and the B.C. cabinet – stuffed with members from the Great Days Of The BC Rail Sell-Out – is aching for a twenty year renewed contract with the RCMP.

2011-11-03T09:51:00.008-07:00

Happy 100th Birthday
Chrevolet

The first car I drove

On November 3, 1911, race car driver and automotive engineer Louis Chevrolet co-founded the Chevrolet Motor Car Company with William C. Durant (ousted founder of General Motors for 5 years) and investment partners William Little (maker of the Little automobile) and Dr. Edwin R. Campbell (son-in-law of Durant)and in 1912 R. S. McLaughlin of Canada.wikipedia

A grey version of the four door sedan above, a 1939 model, complete with the rear suicide doors but minus the fancy fender covers on the rear wheels was the car I used to learn to drive. It had a three on the tree stick and fuzzy velvety seat covers that collected dust and emitted a smell that I remember to this day. I was twelve when I learned to drive this pre-war larger version of the now discontinued PT Cruiser. Soon I was allowed to drive 4 miles each way on the gravel county road to take my younger sister and I to the nearest neighbor's ranch, where we would get into another Chevy, this one driven by an over sixteen year old with a normal license for an eight mile ride on more county road and highway to the school bus stop where we were then picked up by the bus for the final eight miles to school. I was legally allowed to drive this portion of public road to save an adult from having to make a twice daily round trip from seventh grade though grade nine, after which I moved to town (against my will) to finish high school.

Then there is the Chevy which was one of the most beautiful automobiles ever made by Detroit, and which I never had the pleasure of owning, but rode in many, even recently. This of course the 1955 Bel-Air 2-Door 2-Tone Hardtop, shown below. All I could afford to buy when I got my license after spending the summer working as a ranch hand was a piece of crap 50th Anniversary Model 4-Door 1953 Ford with a flat head V-8. At least my Ford was kind enough to throw a rod thru the oil pan after a day spent putting on so many miles in a futile search for some decent waves to ride that the last time we had to gas up, we were too broke to also buy the necessary crankcase oil that had to accompany each 5 dollars worth of gas. I say kind because it happened at the end of my senior year of high school so I didn't have to suffer the indignity of driving it to university.

When I was a freshman at UCSB, one weekend a dorm mate and I jumped in his blue and white '55 Bel-Air to drive from Santa Barbara about 400 miles north across the desert to take our girl friends skiing at Mammoth Mountain on the east slope of the Sierra Nevada. In the middle of the Mojave Desert we threw a fan belt and almost overheated. We caught it before blowing the head gasket or worse and once it cooled down restarted and continued north as long as we could without overheating. After the second short leg low and behold there in the middle of nowhere was a automobile junkyard, undoubtedly conveniently located for all the cars killed off by the merciless Mojave. There in the second row was another Bel-Air, which still had an intact fan belt, so after a couple minutes of monkey wrenching and the outlay of a whole dollar we were back on the road enroute to powder and romance!

1955 Chevrolet Bel-Air

Democracy Shortlived in Greece!

The fraudsters and bandits have won again, although I'm convinced the current form of free market pirate capitalism is in its death throes already. According to Reuters:

ATHENS/CANNES, France (Reuters) - Greece's teetering government backed away from a proposed referendum on staying in the euro on Thursday, while European leaders talked for the first time of a possible Greek exit to preserve the single currency...../snip

.....Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos broke ranks with Papandreou, saying Greece's euro membership was a historic achievement and "cannot depend on a referendum."

Democracy is rapidly becoming a fond memory the world over and how could anyone expect the 1% that have caused the economic woes besetting the world to be accountable and pay the price for their gambling with other peoples' money and outsourcing jobs to slave labor jurisdictions where the workers can't afford to be consumers of anything other than the barest of necessities.

On a Lighter Note
.......Wisdom of the Divine Ms. M!

'I haven't left my house in days.
I watch the news channels incessantly.
All the news stories are about the election;
All the commercials are for Viagra and Cialis.
Election - erection - election - erection
- - - either way we're getting fucked!' -- Bette Midler.

2011-11-02T16:14:00.006-07:00

The Rotten Core
of the Apple

Many folks are sad because of the passing of Steve Jobs recently and even I feel sad that he has left this plane. However too many folks, act as if his passing was like the crucifixion of Jesus, minus the resurrection. Lets face it MacHeads are nothing if not loyal, of course once you become a Mac user you have to be loyal because MacWorld is an extremely proprietary universe.

No one, even an open source Linux inclined person such as myself could deny that Apple/Mac has produced elegant and highly functional devices over the years and the loyalty of the MacHeads is easy to understand. But the adulation for Mr. Jobs has gone beyond what he deserves, at least to a person who feels the most important technical innovator of recent decades to die recently was actually Les Paul. Unlike what folks like the locked into Mac products, king of BC Bloggers might think, Steve Jobs was not an engineering genius, he was a visionary who could see the opportunity to create a device to fulfill a need people didn't even know they had, but had to then team up with a REAL engineer like his original partner the Woz to implement his vision in hardware.

But I'm not really talking about Mr. Jobs here, my topic is the company he helped found and how they have turned into just another corporate abuser of the planet and especially anyone who has the misfortune of building their products.

Apple/Mac often pretends to be the good guy to the villain of Bill Gates and Microsoft, but it ain't that simple. For example, Apple devices are built in a factories where the slaves might make about $1.00 per hour and get ripped off for their non-optional overtime. And if exploiting cheap labor wasn't enough, they, like so many of their corporate partners in crime, stash as much money as possible offshore in havens inaccessible to the IRS who are mandated to collect taxes to support the infrastructure where most of their customer base resides.

In its fourth quarter earnings report released last week, Apple Computer revealed that 2/3 of its on-hand cash – some $54 billion — is squirreled away outside the boundaries of the United States, presumably to avoid paying its fair share of taxes. In the meantime, reports Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM), a Hong Kong-based group, Apple’s major manufacturing contractors routinely subject employees to forced overtime, wage theft and no breaks — and even unprotected exposure to toxins.

The sleaziest thing that Bill Gates did was buy DOS from a cash strapped programmer in Seattle who didn't know that IBM was looking for an operating system, no matter how inferior, that would work and then turn it into millions or billions of dollars by clever licensing arrangements that set little Billy on the road to being the richest guy on the planet. Of course now, other sleazier guys, like tele-com magnate Mr. Slim, a Mexican, have made Gates' fortune seem like chump change and Mr. Gates has devoted himself to good works.

So I join those who mourn the passing of a true visionary, but I'm not about to give Apple/Mac, a corporation which on some days tops Exxon as the most valuable company on earth, a free pass for being typical greedy corporate pigs.

2011-11-02T08:21:00.005-07:00

Democracy
Comes Home!

Democracy Returns to its Birthplace

Prime Minister George A. Papandreou of Greece has enraged the heads of the Eurozone, members of the One Percent world wide and even the most arrogant Greek in Vancouver with his announcement that he wants to allow the Greek people to express their views regarding just how much crap/austerity they must eat for their "masters of the universe" are bailed out by France and Germany mainly and the majority of Greeks just suck it up and pay higher taxes while losing their jobs and any benefits they would prefer for those taxes to fund.

The Mainstream Media, in thrall to the One Percent, and paid to enable their ongoing larceny, have joined in the attack on Papendreou and the Greek people, trying to blame those lazy Greeks for the crisis caused by the Greek One Percenters and their government's policy of supporting Socialism for the Rich. As the Powell River Persuader pointed out in the comment thread to a recent post here:

The Groningen Growth & Development Centre has published a poll revealing that between 1995 and 2005, Greece was the country whose workers worked the most hours/year among European nations; Greeks worked an average of 1,900 hours per year, followed by Spaniards (average of 1,800 hours/year)..

Isn't it precious that the second hardest working Europeans are the Spaniards, whose economy is also on the verge of collapse, thanks to the slicing and dicing, leveraged short selling and other gambits that should be classified as criminal activity engaged in by Spain's 1%, their helpmates at the IMF and World Bank, Wall Street Con-Men and the rest of the looters who want to return to feudal times, themselves of course playing the part of the feudal overlords and the rest of us as SERFS!

Never fear Europe, Spiteful Steve - financial genius of the planet, since he was lucky enough to not gain a majority government in time to unleash Canadian Banks to engage in the same risky, stoooooopid behaviour as elsewhere - though he certainly wanted to de-regulate Canadian banks prior to the crisis of 2008, that he now wants to take credit for saving Canada from suffering.

Spiteful Steve might be able to advise Mr. Papandreou about another matter while he's on his personal mission to educate Europe. Although the Greek leader, after a seven hour emergency cabinet meeting managed to get the support of his cabinet for the upcoming vote, he still faces a vote of confidence in the legislature on Friday and with a razor thin, and nervous, majority could well lose the vote, causing his government to fall. This of course would add even more uncertainty to an economy worldwide already on tenterhooks. Perhaps Steve needs to explain to Papandreou how to proroque his government and hide out till stuff blows over AND hopefully make the Greek Leader understand just how evil and wrong are co-alitions.

Caving in to the Fraudsters and accepting austerity as necessary to protect the ill gotten riches of the elite is not the only option. Nobel Prize winner (and the only recent winner not a disciple of the University of Chicago School of Fascism) suggests looking at the example of Iceland in the Path not Taken

it’s worth stepping back to look at the larger picture, namely the abject failure of an economic doctrine — a doctrine that has inflicted huge damage both in Europe and in the United States.

The doctrine in question amounts to the assertion that, in the aftermath of a financial crisis, banks must be bailed out but the general public must pay the price. So a crisis brought on by deregulation becomes a reason to move even further to the right; a time of mass unemployment, instead of spurring public efforts to create jobs, becomes an era of austerity, in which government spending and social programs are slashed.

This doctrine was sold both with claims that there was no alternative — that both bailouts and spending cuts were necessary to satisfy financial markets — and with claims that fiscal austerity would actually create jobs. The idea was that spending cuts would make consumers and businesses more confident. And this confidence would supposedly stimulate private spending, more than offsetting the depressing effects of government cutbacks.

Some economists weren’t convinced. One caustic critic referred to claims about the expansionary effects of austerity as amounting to belief in the “confidence fairy.” O.K., that was me.

In case you are thinking that one exception, Iceland, doesn't prove anything, lets look at what the CBC's Joe Schlesinger has to say about how Argentina dealt with an even worse situation than Greece finds itself in today (and after all as Joe points out Greece first defaulted 2400 years ago, and managed to survive).

Dear Greeks,

Instead of trying to peer into a crystal ball to catch a glimpse of your future, you might want look back at what happened in Argentina a decade ago when its economy, like yours today, lay in ruins.

But please, don't cry for Argentina. The Argentine economy is doing well these days. It grew by a blistering 9.2 per cent last year.

Today, it is you who have much to cry about.

Like the Argentines, you have borrowed heavily to stave off the worst. Like them, you may now be running out of time.

Your European Union partners have grudgingly pledged billions of euros more to help keep you afloat. But many believe that will not be enough, and what happens after the "crisis meeting" this weekend on your second bailout package will put all this to the test.

Euro bloc leaders, from mighty Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel to tiny and poor Slovakia's Prime Minister Iveta Radicova, had to put their jobs on the line to get the new bailout package as far along as they have. And they're not likely to want to do all that again.

In fact, having come to your rescue could still cost them their jobs in the next elections.

If this current pile of money should not be enough to put your economy back on its feet again, you may find yourself, as Argentina did in 2000, left out in the cold.

That cold place is called sovereign default. In plain English,http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif going bust, telling your creditors that you are not going to pay them all the billions you owe.

It doesn't quite end there, of course.

The rest of Joe's excellent exposition is HERE!

OCCUPY ATHENS

For more on the situation in Iceland see the excellent multi-part series by Peter Ewart and Dawn Hemingway, part six of which was published today in Opinion250. I'm giving the link for Part Six of Reflections on Iceland and the Financial Crisis, because the easiest way to link to the others is by linking back, and there are more parts (how many?, I don't know)to come. This series is so good, it just might get Opinion250 back on my blogroll, in spite of Ben's idiotic support of Christy Clark as Queen of BC.

Also, the Guardian has a good piece on why going to Grandpappy China for Bucks, might not be the way to go!

Happy Birthday CBC!

Happy 75th to the CBC!

2011-11-01T14:14:00.008-07:00

Rust Bucket
Bubble!

J.D. Byrider, a chain of 135 Buy Here Pay Here dealerships, was acquired in May by the private equity firm Altamont Capital Partners of Palo Alto*

Those masters of the universe, the 1%, the criminals who make obscene amounts of profit, not by producing anything, but by shuffling paper and taking advantage of people have hit on a new scam - and Wall Street is of course sitting up and taking notice and jumping in with both feet. Ken Bensinger of the L.A. Times examines this new form of legalized larceny in a three part series (Wheels of Fortune) in depth, two of which have been published with part three due on Thursday of this week.

Part One is headlined

A vicious cycle in the used-car business

Sign, drive, default, repossess and resell — that's the game at Buy Here Pay Here dealerships.

In this little-known but fast-growing corner of the auto market, dealers command premium prices for road-worn vehicles and finance the sales at interest rates that can top 30%.

In a kind of financial alchemy, they have found a way to turn clunkers into cash cows and make money off the least creditworthy customers: the millions of Americans who are stuck in low-paying jobs, saddled with debt and unable to qualify for conventional auto loans.

For most of those people, having a car is the only way to stay employed, and they'll accept almost any terms to get one.

Buy Here Pay Here lots sold nearly 2.4 million cars nationwide last year, up from 1.3 million a decade ago, according to CNW Marketing Research.

CNW estimates that there are more than 33,000 such lots nationwide, compared with about 20,000 dealerships selling new cars. Buy Here Pay Here dealers make $80 billion in loans every year, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp..../snip

One might wonder how dealers can make money on selling used cars to people who can't pay for them or go bankrupt and force the dealer to repossess the beater. Well by selling the car to desperate customers who NEED the transportation to have any chance of employment at from 50% over to double blue book value with a loan at sometimes almost forty percent and reselling the same automobile four, five, six or even eight times over - it is difficult to lose money.

The type of lot is called Buy Here Pay Here for a reason, because often the buyer is required to come to the dealer every month with his outrageously over sized monthly payment and :

What's more, these hand-me-down wheels hold their value remarkably well. The sale price is sometimes higher the second or third time a car is sold, records show -- a testament to the desperation of buyers and the market power of Buy Here Pay Here lots as lenders of last resort.

Default and repossession are so central to the business that many dealers plan on both. They equip cars with hidden GPS devices and remote-control ignition blockers to make the repo man's work easier..../snip

Many dealers don't worry about buyers' credit scores -- knowing they can't be good -- but they almost always insist on long lists of references so they can pressure friends and family when a payment is missed.
.

Dealers also often continue to harass those whose cars have been repossessed and resold, maybe multiple times since the repossession, to complete their end of the "contract," even though they don't have the car. Also it is almost standard procedure for the contract to actually state the interest is along the lines of 12%, when an examination of the math will show the actual rate is over twenty, sometimes even over thirty percent.

Part II,
or here come the Slice and Dice Guys!

Investors place big bets on Buy Here Pay Here used-car dealers

Private equity firms are investing in chains of used-car lots, and auto loans are being packaged into securities much like subprime mortgages. They're attracted by the industry's average profit of 38% for each car sold....../snip

.....Loans on decade-old clunkers are being bundled into securities, just as subprime mortgages were a few years ago. In the last two years, investors have bought more than $15 billion in subprime auto securities.

Although they're backed mainly by installment contracts signed by people who can't even qualify for a credit card, most of these bonds have been rated investment grade. Many have received the highest rating: AAA.

That's because rating firms believe that with tens of thousands of loans lumped together, the securities are safe even if some of the loans prove worthless.

For the non-productive, but highly compensated, the sub-prime/slice and dice used car business is even better than the fraudulent mortgage scams that almost caused the Really Great Depression in 2008. Overpriced homes sitting empty and impossible to sell for anything near the original price are actually a burden on the banks. They deteriorate, get vandalized and in more and more communities the banks are penalized for not keeping up their ill-gotten real estate, to the point where the banks themselves are beginning to knock down what were formally half million dollar (were they really?) homes rather than maintain them or pay fines. That in itself is almost criminal in a country crowded with people without a roof over their heads. I don't know if it is accurate, but I did hear one statistic the other day which claimed that currently the United Failing States had FOUR foreclosed homes sitting empty and deteriorating for each homeless American. I know that in certain areas of the midwest rustbelt the empty homes in some cities that used to have mills or factories DO outnumber the homeless sleeping on their streets.

Dealing in a commodity, used cars, that can EASILY be repossessed and sold over and over is much more rewarding and lower risk for the slicer dicers than real estate and is just another part of the ongoing demise of America.

Mr. Kensinger has produced an excellent expose of yet another nasty little scheme that you have to go to business school to learn to appreciate. On Thursday he will be publishing Part III, which may give those desperate for a ride to work some alternative and fairer methods to be mobile.

Thursday: Is there a better way for the working poor to find wheels?

Used car dealers and salesmen never held much in the way of a level of respect in society, often in heavy competition with lawyers and politicians for least esteemed, but this is a new low for a business whose reputation seemed impossible to downgrade!

*Altamont Capital, hmmm, maybe they use Bikers to collect or repossess!

2011-10-31T15:05:00.010-07:00

Hyperbole
Rules!

VPD Chief Jim Chu

Politicians, and there is certainly a political aspect to being the Chief Constable of a big city police department, and the lazy corporate lapdogs of the Lamestream Media regularly resort to hyperbole, I guess because it makes anything seem important and is certainly easier than investigation and/or analysis. This afternoon I was momentarily stunned to hear that the recent Stanley Cup Riots in Vancouver are being "....called the largest crime spree in Vancouver history"

At a press conference to announce the recommendation of 163 charges against about thirty perps ranging from 16 to 52 years of age, Chief Chu himself said that:

"It became, by many measures, the largest crime spree in the history of B.C.,"

and

.....the investigation was the largest in the city's history and he expects the massive investigation involving thousands of cellphone and video camera images will result in the most charges of any Canadian investigation.

I kinda consider Robert Pickton's killing spree of unfortunate women of the Downtown Eastside a bit larger and even the investigation, quite likely larger, even if there was little investigation apparently done, even failure to follow up on tips for years, until the massive archeological dig at the Pickton Pig farm was undertaken admittedly outside of Vancouver proper as the victims were only picked up in Vancouver while the real crimes were done in neighboring Port Coquitlam, or was that just Coquitlam?

The recently departed Clifford Olsen, originally from Richmond, was a pretty big and grusome trail of blood also, though he seemed to operate in or on the outskirts of any municipality in the Lower Mainland, until he was captured and stopped.

I didn't attend the recent riots, or the earlier riots after future Canuck Captain Mark Messier led his NY Rangers to victory in Game 7 in Madison Square Garden, in a much more competitive game than the Game 7 lost to the Big Bad Bruins this spring. From my distant perch both riots seemed similar, with the main difference being the earlier riot wasn't conducted with thousands of video cameras and smart phones recording the action for posterity and now, hopefully, evidence in court.

Many have been frustrated with the perceived slowness of this investigation, though it seems like a law enforcement blitzkreig compared to the alacrity with which the mystery of disappearing women from the DTES was pursued. Often Mayor Moonbeam and Chief Chu's lack of haste has been unfavourably compared to the seemingly instant justice dispensed for the recent riots in London, Manchester and other UK cities filled with an underclass, and unemployed youth. Of course with the neo-facist Cameron at the reins, it's a wonder everybody wasn't arrested before committing the crimes at all. Of course in Merry Olde, the upper class can hack royal cell phones and commit other outrages and perhaps be punished with only a job in PR for the Prime Minister himself.

Some Numbers to Chew On!

Analysis by the numbers

49 rioters identified after 125 pictures posted online.
50 forensic analysts from 40 police agencies involved.
Over 100 different formats of video and images submitted.
Over 5,000 hours of video examined and processed.
Over 4,000 hours spent analyzing video and images over 14 days.
Over 15,000 criminal acts and suspected rioters tagged.
Over 30 terabytes of data processed (equivalent to 7,500 DVDs or 45,000 CDs)

Investigators have identified more than 15,000 criminal acts on the videos and between 500 and 700 people may be charged by the time the investigations are concluded.../snip

Charges by the numbers

163 charges recommended.
35 breaking and entering charges.
41 mischief charges.
60 participating in a riot charges.
50 men and 10 women suspects.
One individual facing 10 charges.
Youngest male is 16 years.
Oldest male is 52 years.
Youngest female is 17 years.
Oldest female is 22 years.
Average age is 21 years.

2011-10-31T11:13:00.004-07:00

Another Dip in
the Cesspool

Here it is Halloween, and November starts tomorrow, so it seems that it is time for my annual review of the self proclaimed "King of Bloggers," who is not only perhaps the most arrogant and self promoting man on the internet (Sorry Ezra), but is also often downright rude and insulting to anyone who deigns to disagree with him or his tenuous grasp of, or outright disregard for facts. For a man who claims to have visited the White House to meet Presidents who were in office when he was a child, and implies he chats with Popes (though he isn't Catholic, while being married to a "good" Catholic, which is amusing considering that a friend of mine's father was excommunicated because his wife wouldn't convert to Catholicism or agree to raise their children in the Holy Roman Church)and is on a first name basis with P.M.s, if only some on the rightward side of the spectrum - he certainly seems to have a thin skin, perhaps a result of his hide being stretched over so much acreage! If you missed last November's paean to the Arrogant One it can be found at A Cesspool in Cyberspace.

I took the summer off from blogging and barely even kept up with the news, preferring to enjoy the external joys, like mountains and lakes etc., of the paradise I choose to call home. With the weather deteriorating I'm starting to spend more time online again and it certainly didn't take long to offend the sensitive one and according to him I am now banned from his site. I'm not sure what he means by that, because he tried that before and all that happened was he wound up blocking half of his potential audience in this (SE) part of BC, since I regularly use Dynamic Hypertext Transfer Protocol, meaning to block me, he must block entire large blocks of IP addresses allocated to telus and uniserve. Meanwhile I just use proxy servers in Russia, Romania, China or where ever just to see what crap he is putting out on a given day and leave him little love notes that he won't publish, but will be read by he to whom they are addressed.

Since my return to Cyberspace, I've included visits to his joint and even left the odd comment, which he even published as long as I maintained a sufficiently adoring tone. But then he applied his idiocy to the OWS movement, which frankly freaks him out, just like it does for the crooks of Wall Street and the MSM that just doesn't get it, though they couldn't give enough coverage to the idiotic armed TeaBaggers financed from behind the scenes by the Koch brothers and the rest of the greedbags that helped elect Scott Walker in Wisconsin, Michelle Bachmann and others of that ilk. So now I am the left leaning loonie draft dodger "hiding" in the kootenays again, and maybe he'll start fantasizing me being in a jail cell with an eight foot member of the black persuasion named Bubba who is horny and doing life as he did a couple years ago.

He took offense because I took him to task for taking Harv Oberfeld to task about Harv's fine balanced post about the Occupy Movement. I must admit, I was wrong over there, because I said that the "king," who had been the fifth or sixth commentor and pointed out how flawed Harvey's analysis was, was then promptly put in his place by Harvey's reply. It took a couple days but the "king" had to gall to return to defend the indefensible after all, and attack me, going so far as to chide Harvey for even allowing me to comment over there. He went into the typical bullshit he drags up, which is shameless, as he knows better, or should. For example, I AM NOT A DRAFT DODGER, anymore than Gordon Campbell, who after all attended university at Dartmouth - and deserves an honourary US citizenship to recognize the British Columbian assets he has given to US corporations. I've explained the difference to him privately and publicly, but the "king" was never one to let the facts (or spelling, or logic) interfere with his Grade A Crapola.

Readers can go over to Harv's, if they are interested in the exchange over there between Harv and the "king." Meanwhile back at the cesspool of Rubbish without a Pause, the "king's" sycophants have taken up the call to insult me, and praise their leader to the sky. Frankly, I've ALWAYS suspected that some of the usual suspects that comment there are merely the "king" himself using another alias, either that, or his acolytes love him so much they copy his writing style - too bad it isn't handwritten cursive or identifiable like an old manual typewriter! Anyway, I shall close for today with an annotated example of some drivel from the Rubbish Pile!

George says:
October 28, 2011 at 6:13 PM

Alex I am writing this post/rant with all due respect to you,and your readers, but I can’t seem to let this slide…the one thing I despise in life is a hypocrite. That being said I address this comment to Kootcoot.. (depised, by this crowd is a badge of honour to me - while I would return an Order of BC, choosing to not be in the company of Campbell, Dobell or Seckel, were I to be offered one!)

I can’t help but wonder why you bother to read this blog or better yet why you comment. I’ve noticed for some time now that you seem to vacillate between praising Alex Everything Alex writes doesn't come out of his butt or swearing at him,(swear at him????) if his opinion is different than yours…(everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not even the "king" can have their own facts)
What I take great offense to is your going behind Alex’s back and calling Alex’s posters names, as well as making ignorant comments about the host…Do you really think we don’t read other blogs where your comments about us can be read (it is normal blog discussion to reply to other commentors on the same thread) look at your HERO who regularly gratuitously slags the Persuader, BC Mary, Laila and others when they haven't even been around, I think because he feels his sense of royalty is challenged by them)..you have no idea who we are yet you have the audacity to call us names..you Sir are an absolute hypocrite..(if you haven't noticed, the "king" can hardly refer to anyone, excepting his heroes without calling them names, if you haven't noticed that you can't read)

Dear readers I’d like to share just part of a comment Kootcoot left on Harvey Oberfelds blog. Where Kootcoot shows himself to be an absolute arrogant jerk..

if you feel this way about Alex and his readers why are you here..but then again you just can’t help yourself can you because you know Alex has the documentation and your curiosity is killing you…you’re a hypocrite,(do you mean the "documentation" he has been threatening to publish for half of forever, meanwhile regularly slagging BC Mary, Robin Matthews - who attended almost every session of Basi Virk, and Laila - all of whom have dug into the BC Rail Scam as much or more than the johnny come lately king of rudeness) you have just shown us the disrespect you accuse Alex of.

kootcoot // Oct 26, 2011 at 1:11 am
Good job on the arrogant one, he hasn’t been back – he doesn’t need to apologize, his retreat shows he has nothing and he doesn’t want to go back behind the woodshed with you again on this one which is a loser for him. Besides his fawning sycophants miss him when he isn’t back at BS with Seldom a Pause threatening to blow wide open the BC Rail Scam and disrespecting BC Mary, Laila and pretty much anyone that dares to not adulate him and won’t believe that Fox is actually a news outlet.
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AGT says:
October 28, 2011 at 7:00 PM

Yes, thank you very much. I saw koot’s cowardice on Harv’s blog.ooooh, how macho you are - you had been there, what's cowardly about responding to your drivel? it's cowardly to challenge your imaginary facts?

It’s not surprising. He’s a left wing, draft dodger from the United States, who I thought could be civil, but the insult to my readers is more than I will accept. this canard again, you know my mommy didn't want me to take on the FBI, the US Department of Justice and most of San Diego County and fight an eleven year battle in Federal Court over an illegal war either, but I was a man and stood up for my beliefs, unlike someone who claims he wanted to go to Vietnam or join the US Army (as if you were old enough) but for the fact his mommy wouldn't let him - and then had the gall and illogic to claim I insulted his mother by quoting him on this)

And you’ll see exactly what I mean soon enough.

So will he. more threats, eh? By the way, didja ever get up to the Sunshine Coast to carry out your accepted and welcomed threats to the Powell River Persuader?
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George says:
October 28, 2011 at 7:39 PM

draft dodger…and then slags the Prime Minister of the Country that gave him refuge while he avoided responsibility (no George, I took on my country over the issue AT MY OWN EXPENSE ) it would have been EASY for me to avoid the draft, but I didn't think that would contribute to getting the US out of Southeast Asia - in case you hadn't noticed, this CHICKEN HAWK P.M. who never found a war he didn't want Canada involved in, yet never wore a uniform except inappropriately to play pretend and NEVER gave refuge to anyone, excepting fugitives from justice and felons who work in the PMO) to his Country…got it…all round user and abuser..
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AGT says:
October 28, 2011 at 8:40 PM

The hallmark of the far loonie left… (the epitome of an ASSHOLE)

2011-10-26T08:51:00.006-07:00

Things Go
Better With

US signs Free Trade Agreement with Columbia
Canada's is already in effect!

The flailing/failing nation to our south seems to get more gonzo by the day, not that our own Spiteful Steve doesn't emulate and try to follow their failed policies at every opportunity. Since more and more of the money in Amerika is in the hands of people who don't like to pay taxes, preferring to buy the government outright, the US of Assholes (actually not most Americans, just the corporations and elites running the joint) stays awake at night trying to figure out ways to collect taxes from those who live elsewhere.

Lately there has been the spectre of massive fines on Canadian residents who didn't even know they were also American citizens because maybe their parents were attending university there when they were born and hadn't necessarily been there themselves since they can remember. Then there are those who knew they had US status, but didn't earn any money there or necessarily much money where ever they were. All these people are subject to a minimum $10,000 per year (times six or seven years back) per each bank account they hold in another country like Canada, if they didn't report it on the tax return they didn't know they were required to file, EVEN IF THEY DIDN'T OWE ANY TAXES!!!!!! Of course the masters of the universe who own the US government and actually live in say Florida, Beverly Hills or Santa Barbara, but store their money in Switzerland or the Caribbean, aren't likely be affected by this, after all they are too busy creating jobs......... in China!

Most likely the US will try to tax the sweat shop labor in Asia and elsewhere that makes the gee gaws some Americans and Europeans can still afford to buy. The will do anything rather than tax the corporations, the banks or the 1% who drive the market, for yachts and Beamers, Benzes and guitars once owned by dead rock stars! Subsidies, bail-outs and corporate welfare are the only things the rulers think appropriate for tax dollars to support, they'll take care of their own health care and education, thanks and they don't really need pensions, though they generally have Admiral Hahn Style rich plans anyway. It is government of the one percent, by the one percent and for the one percent. In the meantime they've come up with yet another way to tax people that might actually be able to pay them but can't vote for Congress Critters or the Preznit. According to CTV:

Flying to the U.S.? Get ready to pay $5.50 tax

Canadian travellers heading to the United States will once again have to pay a $5.50 levy when they enter the country by air or sea.

The return of the tax comes as Washington signs a new free trade deal with Colombia, which has a provision that does not allow tariff exemptions for travellers from the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada.

The trade deal was passed last Friday, leaving Canadian officials like International Trade Minister Ed Fast disappointed.

"Raising taxes at the border just raises costs on consumers," Fast said in a statement. "Canadian officials have raised concerns about the removal of this exemption at the highest level. We will continue to raise Canada's concerns with U.S. lawmakers."

It wasn't immediately clear when the charge will go into effect, but the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has been analyzing its 2012 budget shortfalls.

The charge exemption was brought into effect in 1997 under provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

But with the U.S. facing a national debt of $14 trillion, Washington is looking for ways to cut costs and increase revenues.

Still, critics say that the new tax shows that the Conservative government isn't doing enough to represent Canada's interests in Washington.

"When it comes to defending the interests of Canadians, Conservatives have shown they cannot be trusted," said Robert Chisholm, who is the NDP's international trade critic.

Around 7 million Canadians fly to the U.S. annually, with thousands arriving by boat aboard ferries along the coasts and in the Great Lake region.....snip

Columbia of course has a terrible record regarding human rights and labor standards and its main export is cocaine and if I recall correctly Columbia produces its own marijuana, thus not really likely to be a market for BC Bud!

Free Trade..... is mainly for Capital
..................and the interests of the US

It was just last week that our current overseer from DeeCee, U.S. Ambassador David Jacobson - according to the CBC:

.......... told a business crowd in Ottawa that a Buy American clause wouldn't hurt Canadian business as much as continuing trouble in the U.S. economy. Jacobson said U.S. President Barack Obama's failed attempt at a stimulus bill would have improved the U.S. economy, which is the best way to help the Canadian economy.

Think of it as "trickle down economics" on an international scale.

Perhaps it's time the rest of the world, especially America's closest neighbors like Mexico and Canada got up on their hind legs and followed the example of the mythic "founding fathers" and actual tea party participants and said loud and clear....

NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION

2011-10-08T10:04:00.007-07:00

BooB
TALK

Much Ado about Not Much!

Returning on a Lighter Note!

Kootcoot is back! After taking off the summer due to technical issues and a desire to shake up my routine and delve into other aspects of life, I thought I would restart on a light note (and this isn't a pun on "a Tempest in a C cup."

I could have restarted alphabetically, but since I almost always write about a subject under the first letter of the alphabet (A is for Assholes) I thought I would be progressive and move on to the second letter or B is for Boobs.

Last week former NDP MLA David ~~Shriek~~ Shreck embarrassed himself by criticizing Crusty Clark our Pretender to the Premiership and going all twitter about the fact that she may or may not wear a push-up bra to work at the Ledge. As one who never has been offended by seeing breast cleavage or even entire breasts singly or in pairs, I can only wonder if Mr. Shreck is suffering from super prudishness or can't think of anything else to be critical of Ms. Gordo over - difficult to imagine for a sentient being, much less a supposedly politically astute pundit.

As the CBC put it in Premier's cleavage sparks Twitter flurry in B.C..

The political analyst and longtime NDP supporter posted a comment on Twitter suggesting that the premier's clothing was inappropriate and revealed too much cleavage when she appeared in the house.

"Is Premier Clark's cleavage revealing attire appropriate for the legislature?" Schreck posted on Wednesday afternoon, touching off a firestorm on Twitter.

Even the geeks and nerds over at the website Tech Vibes weighed in with:
Twits Tweak on Twitter over Christy Clark's Cleavage.

I'm confident that Crusty herself is quite happy to deal with discussions about the boobs on her body rather than the boobs in her caucus like (to name just a few) Ding Dong DeJong, Ding Dong Jr. Dongen, Ding Dong III Pat Bell, Les than ethical John, Kash and Karry Heed, Birdbrain Falcon, BobbleHead Abbott and Boy Toy Bloy - not to mention the queen of Josef from the Skagit Valley's wet dreams, Contrary Mary Polak.

Hopefully I can take the threat that Crusty Clark and her clowns pose to British Columbians and humanity in general a little more seriously and examine some more serious issues than Queen Bee Cee's bra size soon. So I'm thinking of growing up tomorrow or soon.......

2011-06-16T08:20:00.009-07:00

Unlawful
Assemblies!

The Lord of the Flies on Georgia Street

Let's get Hockey out of the Way First

Thanks to the apparently obligatory riots that a Vancouver Canuck game 7 loss engenders, what should have been a sports story is almost unspoken of this morning. The fact is though that the better team won. Vancouver barely managed to win three games at home, two by extremely lucky/flukey goals and if they had managed to pull off a similar win last night, they might have been the first team to win the Stanley Cup after being outplayed and outscored by a factor of three for the series (total score for seven games was Boston 23 - Vancouver 8). It is pretty difficult to win when your ten million dollar goalie puts up a save percentage that would be good as a batting average in the opponents rink. Frankly if Coach Vignault would have pulled Luongo during game three, or at the least started Cory Schneider in games four and six in Boston there may not have even been a need for game seven. But then, I guess a guy should have to work for his thousands of dollars per minute, even if he is doing a terrible job.

Tim Thomas totally deserved the Con Smythe and no doubt would have won it even if the Canucks had miraculously won last night. He was virtually equivalent to a plexiglass sheet over the goal ending up with a Goals Against barely over a goal a game HOME and AWAY. I would also like to remind folks that those in attendance at Rogers Arena were very respectful to the winning Boston Bruins, and gave especially warm ovations to Tim Thomas, the Canucks nightmare in goal, and BC boys Milan Luccic and Mark Recchi (though calling Recchi a boy might be stretching it).

Last Night's Unlawful Assembly

Apparently with morning coming earlier on the east coast the Boston papers (and the Vancouver Sun) had no mention of the riots, the Boston papers merely having a picture of Zdeno Chara hoisting the Stanley Cup eight or nine feet above the ice, likely the highest it has ever been other than aboard an airplane. The Washington Post apparently has already published a smug article and later editions in Boston will without a doubt chastise the heathens in Vancouver (already they've had endless choruses of the obligatory USA-USA-USA chants, disregarding the fact that each team had an equal number of Canadian players and a minority of Americans). Boston shouldn't feel so smug though, considering the fact that even though they have won EVERY major sport championship (Celtics, Red Sox, Patriots and now the Bruins) some more than once in this new millenium, their idea of partying (or rioting) in recent years has not only resulted in property damage, injuries and arrests, but THREE fatalities.

Assuming courtrooms and sheriffs can be found there will no doubt be people prosecuted, especially since it appeared that everyone not actively engaged in brawling, looting or vandalizing was busy taking photos and making videos of the unfolding ugliness. Then there are the innumerable surveillance cameras that capture anyone downtown countless times a day. Therefore assuming again that courtrooms with sheriffs can be found and the police can take enough time off from covering their own asses for their various homicides, beatings of civilians and drunk driving charges, many or maybe even most of the perpetrators of last night's ugly scene will be held accountable.

Also be prepared to hear every politician in sight or within hearing to commence issuing platitudes about the terrible irresponsible thugs responsible for the carnage - which brings me to the main point of my post, why I wasn't surprised by what happened after the game seven loss.

The Other Unlawful Assembly

BC Legislature - photo by Ryan Busby

Last night's riots weren't an anomaly, but just a vivid illustration of the lawlessness and lack of respect for the law or decency that has become the norm in our province starting at the top and going right through the government, the justice system and the law enforcement establishment. Increasingly over the last decade or two it has become clear that doing the right thing isn't the route to success and honesty is a quality either of no use or totally lacking.

We just said goodbye to a Premier who captured control of his party, and turned it into a virtual criminal organization, by personal attack on the former leader for behaviour that he himself might be guilty of, but doesn't have to answer for thanks to a wholly compliant (and dishonest) media. Then he launched another specious attack on the Premier of the day, Glen Clark, to gain power. Add in a heavy dose of lies, to win elections, whenever your agenda would cost votes if one was honest about it, things like vowing not to sell a railroad, or the HST isn't on the radar, to name but two BIG lies. The only thing one can count on being true with a BC Liberal, including the new Gordon in a Skirt, is that the only time they aren't lying is if their lips aren't moving AND their fingers aren't typing.

But it isn't just the former King Gordo or the current Queen Christy, it goes right through the movers and shakers like lobbyists who lobby both or all three sides of an issue, but mainly working for the goals of the Campbell/Clark Crime Family and when caught out for breaking the LAW, suffer the onerous sentence of writing a god damned essay. Drinking and driving, no problem! If you, say, drive a logging truck (to get raw logs to the dock or border) you might lose your job. But if you are Premier, or an MLA, no problem, after all, the taxpayers will be happy to provide you with a driver, or cab fare, or a free chopper ride to work.

Do you want to steal an election (Kash and Karry Heed), pull off a land scam or two (John Les(s) than honest), rig a bidding process to sell a railroad that isn't for sale? No Problem, that's what the oh so Special Prosecutor system is all about, why don't they call the SP what they seem to be, government paid defense attorneys for members of government and their friends.

Then there is the justice system, which is regularly gamed to cover up the scams that accidentally see the light of day. Conflict of interest, contempt of court, non-responsive testimony - all acceptable if you are on the team, team BC liaR!

If you think I am engaging in hyperbole here, pause and consider the fact that in spite of this government's ability to often play the justice system as if it were its own string quartet, they have been found in violation of the law on some occasions, in spite of fighting to the upper courts to defend the indefensible as in the case of their treatment of the HEU workers and more recently the teachers. Also, we can only be ashamed to elect a government that has the knack for collecting sanctions from various United Nations agencies for its treatment of various segments of their own citizens. Perhaps we can get the OAS and the UN to call in a military intervention to protect us (and our resources) from these grasping, greedy, thieving vermin!

Then of course, we mustn't forget that what little of the BC Rail scam became exposed and forced the powers that be to indulge in the kabuki theatre known as Annie Macks Frontier Justice Star Chamber (or BC Rail aborted Trial), was an unavoidable result of an unrelated drug investigation tapping dozens of calls from Mr. Big in the South Vancouver Island drug trade directly into the office of the BC liaR Minister of Finance - classy to say the least!

Of course all kinds of trickery and thuggery go by the boards, with excuses custom made by the PAB compliant media, such as rewording the Elections Act after the fact by the only in Christy and Gordo's dreams non-partisan Craig James, temporary Chief Electoral Officer now rewarded in a completely NON-bipartisan manner with his new position with the Legislature. I could go on the rest of the week with this kind of skullduggery that this government resorts to as normal practice, and only rarely has to even pretend to answer for. Remember, according to their stooges in the media, Christy Clark has been totally exonerated from any knowledge or dealings with the BC Rail theft, by carefully reading a few pages of otherwise supposedly public court documents, thoughtfully hidden from sight in the name of justice by Madame InJustice herself Annie Mack.

Then there are the police, sterling characters like Monty Robinson, who must be rehabilitated somewhat (perhaps thanks to his years of paid vacation) since as far as I know he hasn't killed anybody lately. Then there is the marvelous Geoff Mantler, who actually may lose a day's pay or something for kicking people in the head and beating up men and women in Kelowna. Apparently if you are a cop it is even not that bad to beat up newspaper deliverymen when you are drunk at four or five in the morning.

Study nursing, education, or train to be an EMT and you will be treated like scum in British Columbia - you will be lucky to get a job, and if you are an EMT, even with a job you might earn the princely sum of two dollars an hour, unless you are in the city (where you aren't as necessary as in the rural areas) and constantly on active duty escorting injured/ill folks to overcrowded ERs. Perhaps those thugs and ruffians last night are frustrated, and have a sense that their home province has been stolen and unless they are in the right circle they have no future here. Or perhaps they are just looking to their betters, the top tier of our wild west society here in BC and have come to the logical conclusion that bad behaviour gets rewarded.

It couldn't have worked out better for the Aquilinis though - four series, seven game final and they LOST. Dem players won't be able to demand the same raises as they could have with the Stanley Cup in hand and Rogers Arena is still probably sold out for next year - the Canucks will have to do some serious losing before that changes, or maybe we've already become like Toronto and it won't matter anymore whether we have a serious team.

Now that the false dream of a Stanley Cup is over, maybe folks can turn their attention to something important, like how they are being lied to and shafted by those who supposedly are serving their interests. Crusty Christy most likely isn't pleased to wake up to a grumpy province this morning, at least there is something I can be happy about there!

2011-05-16T14:39:00.009-07:00

The Women Could Still
Save the World!

....Updated:

Saint Alexa (to any Pacific Wild Salmon)

Tuesday, May 17 - 8:00 AM

Yesterday I was feeling down at the mouth and frustrated thanks to the never ending deluge of disappointments we progressives have to deal with as elections at the least deliver surprising results everywhere or worse are outright stolen through skillful use of lies, voter suppression and sometimes outright (but unproven thanks to a suspect justice system) electoral fraud. Then thanks to a couple of posts, each written by a distaff member of the bloggosphere, I felt so rejuvenated that I hammered out a tribute to the girls/ladies/women/mothers/grandmothers etc. of blogging. In such a rush to express a feeling it was impossible to not give some of these herorines short shrift, but others were unfairly left out entirely. Therefore I'm going to revise this post to correct some of these failings, fully aware that I will still undoubtably neglect to give some the credit due and still leave out entirely some whose efforts I have appreciated so much at time. During this whole exercise I will constantly be so glad that it is the age of computers and not the days, which I remember well, when one had to re-type at least an entire page to insert a single sentence into a paragraph, if not even more.

I'm a guy, and I may have, in my pushing seven decades on this plane, even been confused from time to time about what that meant and what my relationship to my own or the other main gender actually should be. I also had a very difficult relationship with my own mother and paternal grandmother (this conflict was very related to each other, BTW). But the fact remains that I love women, I love how they look, I love how they feel and I ESPECIALLY love how they can make me feel at those moments when I am with the right woman at the right moment, which has been on occasion the same woman for many YEARS, sharing quality time. But as I get older I become more aware of the different perspective on the universe in general that the feminine part of our cohort seems to have - perhaps because of their more tangible link to the next generation which comes out of their body as fully formed little people as opposed to us men whose last connection to a child can and sometimes is a few drops of fluid left behind as the result of a pleasurable moment in time.

As the picture at the head of this post shows, I think Alex Morton is close to a Saint, and I imagine I'm in agreement with damn near every Pacific natural free salmon on that one. But what I want to discuss today is the lady, girl or woman bloggers who contribute so much of value to the bloggersphere, which daily seems to becoming our last hope and resort to our abandonment by the so-called MainStream Media.

BC Mary, the patron Saint of all things BC rail related and I actually more of less started blogging together. I already had a web site elsewhere to share my music and photographs and a bit of attitude. But it was her and my shared outrage at the Campbell Crime Family and the lies buried in the BC Rail scam that turned both of us into actual bloggers. Alex T, who I violently disagree with on many issues, but enjoy as a writer and on other issues we do agree, enrages me the most when he, inexplicably to me, attacks Mary from what I consider ill-considered and bogus premises. I can only conclude he feels she challenges his self proclaimed position as the leading advocate against the BC Rail travesty. AGT has done some magnificent work on the BC Rail file LATELY, but BC Mary has been slogging in the ditches of the railroad we used to own for years and years now and to dismiss her work as petty partisan sniping is foolish at best.

But it seems that many men seem challenged when women speak up and act like men and don't just maintain their "place" and take advantage of the feminine side. I see that magnified with a still younger (though mature) still attractive female blogger like our local Laila Yuile, or the American girls like Jane Hamsher, Empty Wheel (Marci Wheeler) or the ReddHedd that between them started the best progressive Blog in the failing nation to our south - FireDogLake (and I know about Arriana and Huffington Post, but that's a whole 'nuther issue).

Laila is one blogger that I definitely didn't give enough credit yesterday. She, still a young (compared to me, my oldest boy is about her age) mother with many kids and a living to make. She is a GENUINE single mom, compared to our own phony shark smile that passes for a premier and pretends to be a single mom, thus insulting real single mothers who face challenges that she has and never will even begin to understand. Many of these challenges faced by REAL single moms, as Laila so clearly points out, were actually even made worse by our Christy when last she was in government and terrorizing the Education and Children's ministries hand in hand with Gordo the Terrible.

I never fail to be amazed at how she, Laila, can feed, cloth and otherwise take care of her family and still find the time and energy to do the superb investigative work she often brings to her writing, much less then write so clearly and passionately. Laila also tends to foster excellent comment threads. Her most recent post (as of yesterday) was barely a paragraph, simply a silly quote from Christy Clark (not a difficult thing to find) and a sentence or two from Laila about what she thought about it. That wee post had almost forty comments from all over the spectrum right, left, sane and otherwise and she herself hops in when so inspired.

I'm not gonna provide links to any of the women I love and respect so much and mentioned above. This is because they are all linked to over there on the right, and anybody not smart enough to find and follow the links is too dumb to matter. However I will link to the TWO posts that started me thinking this way this morning when I was on the verge of giving up words and keyboards and either moving up to the mountains and trying to ignore society and be happy for whatever years I have, instead of getting my own rocket launcher and putting it to use.

Kim over at Sister Sage's Musings, saved me from total despair with her uplifting post "on being human. And Mary, stepped out from her role behind the scenes as the archivist of all things BC Rail with BC Rail: If privileged people do the stealing, does that make it OK for ordinary people to keep doing the losing out part?

One inspiring bloggeress that I completely forgot yesterday was Alison, of Creekside. Sometimes, like myself, she is apparently busy with off line life and no new posts appear. But when she does decide to post about issues she always manages to really help make up for the fact that we are so poorly served by what passes for a mainstream media, especially here in British Columbia where the biggest newsroom belongs to the Public Affairs Bureau and the rest of the dailies and TV/Radio outlets seem to be little more than outsourced contractors for the PABlum Brigade.

I can't wrap up this post, which will still be incomplete and leave out some that should be here, without mentioning two amazing grandmothers - Betty Krawczyk of Betty's Early Edition and Eloise Charet of WaterWalk. These two were almost left out of this post completely, partly because I don't really think of either of them as bloggers. I think of each of them first as activists, on the ground, on the barricade, in the jail cell for refusing to sign an undertaking, in other words spending more time trying to effect change in "meatspace" than at the keyboard.

However Betty does manage to keep up with her blog as well as her more coporal activities and when I went there this morning (to check on how to spell her name) I was amazed to discover serendipity in action as her last two excellent posts tie in to exactly what I am trying to write about yesterday and today. Please go over to her place and check out both her post from yesterday THE TIME HAS COME FOR A WOMEN'S PARTY and her post for Mother's Day this year MOTHER'S DAY WITH STEPHEN.

Eloise still has a website, but her blog was running on Google Blogger while being hosted at the local co-operative Internet Society in Nelson. Google, for still unexplained reasons to me,(but I suspect the desire to control OTHER PEOPLE'S data) ceased supporting such self hosted blogs using the Blogger software, so nowadays one just goes to http://eloisecharet.ca and the most recent news will be on the front page and her voluminous archives and even the now static WaterWalk blog are all still there as well. Many years ago when Eloise was young, almost in another life time, her and her sister went to Cambodia, during the time of the Killing Fields and at great personal risk rescued and brought to Canada a group of Cambodian orphans who are all adults in Canada today, with their own Canadian famiilies as far as I know. Eloise is currently finishing a book about this time and later this year will be returning to Cambodia to participate in the making of a documentary about those days when she and her sister fought governments on both sides of the planet to save a group of children orphaned by the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge and indirectly the US under Richard, my own personal enemy at one time, Nixon.

Harridans of the Right!

It ain't (and I'm using the venacular on purpose) like the right wing whackos or regressive wing don't have female agents too. But are they women, do they really even think like any kind of woman other than a Stepford Wife at the most "feminine" or seem more like a greedy man pig in drag like say Ann Coulter (with the adam's apple so huge I won't concede her gender without a below the waist examination) or our own Christy Clark the immaculate single mother with nothing behind the shark smile. Then there is the mentally constipated Michelle Malkin, about whom the less said the better. I can't leave this stomach churning subject without mentioning the hysterical Ezra Levant, who I will concede is officially a man, but certainly manages to exhibit many of the more unpleasant mannerisms often fairly or not attributed to women. Actually, most women that I have known are much braver as Ezra the hissy fit throwing one apparently won't publish any comments on his so-called blog that are less than fawning and simpering praise for his "wisdom." Anything less and you may as well type it on newsprint and throw it directly into the circular file sitting on the floor.

A commenter over at FireDogLake challenged us all to come up with better than the following for Sarah Palin.

Bible Spice
Caribou Barbie
The Quitter
The Grifter
Hockey Mom Madness
The Wasilla Whacko
The Real Mayberry Machiavelli

Although two of those, The Quitter and Hockey Mom Madness transfer to our own Crusty Cluck Cluck as if they were made for her, I am sure we could come up with a longer list for our own gal - she who should be an insult to women and "family values" everywhere. The only way to buy into her bullshit about family etc. is to ignore her record, as embarrassing as it may be. Her family values are only about her, screw everybody else and their children and the Supreme Court of Canada even told her that. Her anti-bullying pose is belied by her own record of bullying when she was in power before, and I am really offended by her reference to herself as a poor single mom. Real single moms don't have alimony or some kind of settlement from MILLIONAIRE ex-husbands, or multi-million dollar contracts with bullshit radio propaganda stations. Real single moms, rather than sending their single child to a PRIVATE school in Point Grey, wonder how to put their, perhaps more than one, child(ren) in clean decent clothes and provide a breakfast and a lunch EVERY MORNING. AND what they are gonna do about child care until they can get home from their newly raised to the Canadian, still lowest though recently raised, minimum wage in Canada job.

Women, I love ya, and I ain't trying to hustle anybody or curry any favor with you beautiful souls..........that's just the way I see it from here!

2011-05-10T09:14:00.003-07:00

Voters of Pt. Grey
Our Future is in
Your Hands!

Gordon Campbell in Drag

The voters of Point Grey have an opportunity tomorrow to send the BC liaRs (i.e. the BC PsuedoLiberal Party) and the despicable Christy Clark a message. You can tell her and the rest of the scoundrels around her that you don't like lies, selling off the province, destroying the environment and and the redistibution of wealth to a clique of conscienceless criminals. You can tell Christy Clark that you feel insulted that she would deign to call an election in the middle of a federal election so little more than a week was left after the dust settled from the "election nobody (but Stevie Spiteful) wanted that turned into a gigantic surprise in so many ways.

If you respect your selves you should be offended that she would parachute into your riding and not even have the courtesy to show up there in open public events, other than ONE one hour appearance before a carefully screened SMALL audience of sycophants conveniently pre-supplied with safe questions to lob at here and then avoid giving any real answers even to such pre-arranged drivel.

The Powell River Persuader, in a perhaps unfortunately titled post (though I'm confident he would take the title back, if the voters of Point Grey do the right thing). In other words, vote in their own interests and those the province of BC, rather than rewarding Christy for lying, using her psuedo role as "premier" to pull new policy out of her ass on the fly and essentially govern the province of BC singlehandedly consulting no one, except her inner circle that wants to flood northern BC with oil spilled by the same guys currently making a mess near Edmonton - but oh yeah, the boss of Encana is one of her closest advisors . Just because policy is good for Encana, Accenture, Admiral Hahn and the rest of Gordo's old gang, doesn't mean it is good for Point Grey or the rest of BC. Don't let her insult your intelligience.

Along comes Christy Crunch Campbell to raise our minimum wage to the lowest in Canada, we were promised a BC Hydro review yet before the review even started BC Hydro let out a $400 million dollar smart meter contract...Rich Coleman has lied his face off on the file, BC Ferries ripped off regular riders of service, a blatant illegal rip-off now headed to court, we were told by Christy Clark that the HST referendum would be moved up from September 24 to June, now the referendum has turned into a two month affair running from June through August, Clark lied about moving up the referendum, Christy Clark also told the public that she would honour the voters wishes on the HST referendum but now Christy Clark has sent out Kevin Falcon to lie and scare the public about 2 years to get out out of the HST and adding new taxes to everything else is the HST is defeated.....Another lie from Christy Clark....

All Christy Clark has done is lie to the public everyday she has been premier, she lied about moving up the refendum, she lied about honouring the results of the referendum, she lied about a BC Hydro review, she lied about BC Rail and her involvement, Christy Clark has acknowledged the theft of gaming grants was wrong by partially restoring the shortfalls, she acknowledged the problem the BC Liberals created with our parks by removing the pathetic parking meters, but as for new Government from Clark, for get about it, the severance packages continue, the public affairs department continue, the corrupt courts continue, the assault on students and teachers continue, the same non-answers from Government in the Legislature continue, the same avoidance from Christy Clark continues.....

If you think this is just sour grapes from a radical progressive left wing whack job, and means maybe you should vote for Crusty, perhaps you should consider the view of someone from the other end of the spectrum, if not an entirely different planet who ALMOST NEVER agrees with Grant at PRP about anything. Check out how Alex Tsakumis feels about electing Christy Clark, Premier Christy Clark is a Coward: She’s Hiding from the People of Point Grey, Aided and Abetted by Her Friends in the B.C. Media. SHAME!!!. If you can get past the stuff about the multiple shrines to herself, in her home (elsewhere, not in Point Grey) without vomiting, you get to this excerpt, and of course there's more beyond the quote.

So, for a woman who LOVES the sound of her own voice, and is said to have practiced speech-making for years infront of any mirror that wouldn’t scream right back at her, why would she be afraid to debate the NDP’s David Eby and her other opponents in the Point Grey byelection? This is the same woman who forever and a day talked about democracy and open government. “A more accessible government…” is precisely what she told us she would demand of her current colleagues. No more Gordon Campbell style staged conferences and photo ops, Clark told us. Right? Right?

Wrong.

Christy Clark has no respect for you, particularly those of you who live or work, as I do, in Point Grey. She doesn’t give a sniff what questions you might want to ask. Clark is profoundly disinterested in talking to you, unless you’ve been pre-approved by her advance team. They’ll go down the list of federal Liberal supporters in that constituency, check against her own personal list and then, and only then, can you hand her a flower or have your infant grandson pose with her.

Not a stitch about policy, nothing.

Both Alex and Grant have much more about the Crusty One herself at their blogs, and its easy to find both places. Also, even a couple of the sheep in the flock that passes for a free press can't help but stray from the official Goddess Christy line, though they must feel strange this time of year wearint those kid gloves they use to dare say anything critical about the would be Empress with no clothes. Check out Gary Mason's How quickly Christy Clark has forgotten her radio host roots and Michael Smyth, as he strays off the reservation with No-show Clark has 'become what she once despised

Back in 2005, for example, she took a shot at then-NDP leader Carole James for failing to appear at a few all-candidates debates in her riding.

“Carole James is in the witness-protection program!” Clark chided.

But look who’s ducking and hiding now, as byelection day approaches in Vancouver-Point Grey?

Christy's performance in this "campaign" has made Stevie Spiteful's bubble campaign seem like 24/7 mainstreeting. To paraphrase a nasty key phrase from the campaign that elected a 39 percent Reformatory Majority in Ottawa. Remember Vancouver-Point Grey, Christy Clark didn't pretend to come to Point Grey for you, or British Columbia. Take advantage of this golden opportunity to send Christy packing, maybe she can work at CKNW for awhile again, before it goes bankrupt for changing from a relevant radio station into an outsourced arm of the Public Affairs Bureau. The whole province will thank you!

2011-05-03T16:09:00.007-07:00

The Evul Coalition
Wins Big (kinda)

~~President~~ ~~King~~ ~~Emperor~~ Prime Minister Harper of Canuckistan

Well an evul coalition won a majority government, but it wasn't the one that Stevie Spiteful spent weeks using to frighten Canadians . Instead it was the coalition of western separatists, Reform, Alliance, CRAP and former Progressive Conservatives who either weren't very progressive or could hold their nose and run under the Canadian Taliban banner to get a sniff of power and privilege.

It's been an interesting week or so. Donald Trump told the world how proud he was of being an idiot and then was the focus of much of the mockery at the annual White House Press Get Together Roast. John Stewart of the Daily Show thought Obama broke into Celebrity Apprentice, just to piss off the Combover King and lay on some insults that had come to him since the roast - but no, it was about Osama been Missing. Barrack Hussein Obama joined a team of SEALs and shot Osama bin Laden in the Eye. And oh yeah, Spiteful Stevie Harper attained his long dreamed of majority government, while hardly increasing his vote totals, but using the Rovian style politics of division and wedge issues tailored to specific ridings with a mastery Atwater or KKKarl Rove would admire. Quebec has apparently decided to be part of Canada while Ontario has decided to be a northern version of Wisconsin or New Jersey with a Governor Christie clone as mayor of Toronto and over seventy MPs from the Reform/Alliance/Crap/PsuedoConservative coalition of fundamentalists and western separatists. From the left coast Ontario looks like a malignant tumor right in the middle of a center/left Canada within which the new king was coronated by perhaps twenty percent of the eligible voters.

The old natural governing party of Canada that has been either the government or the official loyal opposition since Confederation has been reduced to a fringe party that is only slightly less relevant in most of the country than the other party taken out of its misery last night, the Bloc Quebecois. Jack Layton will be changing the drapes in Stornaway to Orange Crushed Velvet and Christy Clark our pretend Premier is already trying to use Harper's fearmongering tactics by never saying the letters NDP without prefacing them with QUEBEC. Even the know it all pundits will take awhile to figure out just what happened. Nobody called it right, beyond the likelihood of another Harper (not Canadian) government be it with a minority or a majority.

So now the years of constant electioneering and suspense will (or should) come to an end until we start approaching 2015, though it is hard to believe that Mr. Spiteful All Politics All the Time will take a break from trying to frame anyone that threatens his hold on power as either a sexual deviant, illegal immigrant or worse. Meanwhile we criminal types who don't like Mr. Steve can look forward to posh new accomadations if he just has to lock us up for our own and society's good. Dope smokers will have to learn how to smuggle pot into the new high security gaols, or grow it inside and felons of all stripes will be locked up for life, unless they happen to work in the PMO.

Do we need to try and outdo the US in building and filling prisons? Who cares, Stevie thinks so, after all, there is all that unreported crime and I'm pretty confident the people committing these crimes will do the right thing and turn themselves in.

Do we really need single engine ATTACK fighter jets, completely unsuited to patrolling Canada's north and slower than the current F-18s but excellent for joining in the next Shock and Awe Campaign and I'm pretty confident that the Empire to the south won't be able to even imagine an invasion of anywhere on earth that Captain Chicken Hawk Harper won't be drooling at the mouth to be a part of. Heck Stevie prolly wished he coulda helped Barry get Osama, but he was busy getting his coronation arranged and hadn't voted in the early polls.

Welcome to the new age of American style politics north of the 49th. The Liberals are on their death bed because there is NO middle left in Canada. At least here we have a clearly defined right wing conservative party and a left leaning progressive party, in America it is polarised between the really hard whacko right and the just sorta but corporate butt kissing right represented by the Democratic Party.

Now the almost two thirds of Canadians who aren't into Stevie's old testament view of the world and slavish obeisance to the corporate agenda will have at least four years to re-organize in hopes of forming a government in 2015, if there is anything left of Canada to govern after four years of totally unchecked Harper. This man who spent a number of years with the NCC, an organization created for the EXPRESS purpose of subverting Canada's public healthcare system will get to re-negotiate the Canada Health Act with the provinces, Dr. Day must be thrilled. Three or four Supreme Court Justices will need to be appointed, maybe the Charter can be thrown on the same trash heap with the Geneva Coventions. He can stack the Senate, ooops, he's already done that.

When will we not have to pre-sign a search warrant if we want to own a 30-30? Insite is doomed! Will we be required to join a church, as long as it isn't a mosque and will Israel become an honourary province? Will the Tar Sands operations become bigger than New England with twice the subsidies?

NewsFlash!

I just heard James Moore, the only heavyweight Reformatory left standing in BC claim that they support the CBC and not only don't plan to not kill it off, but increase its support. Really?

There was some Good News!

The NDP under Jack Layton won over one hundred seats and will be the official opposittion. Though as some wag already said, all that means is Jack gets to ask the first question in Question Period, but of course Stevie or pit bull Baird don't have to answer it.

Elizabeth May guaranteed that she will be allowed participate in the next debate, assuming the stable Harper Government deigns to even participate in such an affair by then. I've been of mixed feelings over her entry into that riding, fearing she would allow Gary less than nothing Lunn to return to Ottawa with his cabinet post in charge of Zambonis or something. However she knocked off Lunn and congrats to her for that. Actually, people who get to live in Saanich or the Gulf Islands are so lucky they probably don't care that much about politics anyway, unless it involves the Islands Trust, the body that actually governs the Gulf Islands.

Great things happened for Canada when last the CCF/NDP and the Liberals were able to work together. Things like Healthcare, the Canada Pension Plan, the Canadian Flag and we had a P.M in Lester Pearson who won a peace prize for dealing with the Suez Crisis instead of a P.M. who is looked at with scorn by most of the non-corporate world and is considered the guy that holds the bully's (the US) coat while the bully runs the world and kills whoever is in the way. I almost forgot, Harper does win international prizes, as dinosaur of the year at conferences attempting to deal with environmental issues. Of course to folks that are giddy today, like Al TsuckmyAss, that is a good thing, because the only thing wrong is we aren't polluting enough and climate change is a myth created to make Al Gore rich.

So with the Bloc hopefully out of the picture, those who have a different vision for Canada than Stevie and his Taliban had better use the next four years to figure out how to play together, or else the ~~Republican~~ Conservative Party of Harper's Canada will become the natural ruling party for longer than I'll be alive.

So welcome to Harperland, we'll all be living there for awhile, unless of course you prefer the highway.

2011-05-01T13:52:00.005-07:00

BENITO
We Hardly Knew Ye!

If you pay attention to the Lamestream Press, you might think this guy would be the best to govern Canada.

The Mop and Flail and PostMedia preferred type of Leader

But unfortunately he is unavailable

Benito Mussolini - Ceding Power

So they have to go with this guy!

It's difficult to imagine that deep down Steven "Spiteful" Harper's political hero isn't Benito Mussolini and even worse is the fact that the so called media that he has effectively shut out of his campaign buys into his dream. All the Spiteful one has going for him is an attempt to scare Canadians into believing that letting anyone other than him have the keys to the kingdom will result in INSTABILITY and, oh my gosh, the trains won't run on time. With the exception of the Toronto Star (my favorite Canadian daily for ages), all the major so-called dailies have come out full court press in support of a Harper majority in the name of stable government in tough times. PostMedia in the Vancouver Sun sez that a Conservative Majority needed to see us through turbulent times, in one of their inane unsigned, unattributed dictats from on high. This in spite of the fact that they use three dense paragraphs at the end to point out that the Harper vision of democracy is seriously lacking in relation to respect for democracy, women, crime policy, education, healthcare, the environment and other things. The uniniated reading this drivel would think anything other than a Harper majority would lead to Canada forming a coalition with North Korea, Iran and Libya and every Canadian would lose his job within a week of any other electoral result.

After eleven or so paragraphs praising Harper to the max for basically holding the course, thanks to not having a majority, the Sun editorial says this means he should now have a majority so that he can really impose his will on all Canadians, including the almost three quarters of Canadians who think his entire world view is FUCKED. Then at the end they (in the interest of balance, I presume) point out that:

That being said, the Conservative record has some serious shortcomings and some remedial work is required. For a start, the government needs to revisit its position on the strategy to improve the health of mothers and young children in poor countries -Canada's signature initiative at last June's G8 summit. The Conservatives ruled out support for a contraceptive proposal, supplies and information for the program, arguing that family planning has no part of any plan to save lives. Wrong. Roughly 600,000 women die every year due to complications of pregnancy, labour, childbirth or unsafe abortions. The exclusion of family planning from this project puts women in danger and is illogical.

The Conservatives also need to rethink their policies on crime, particularly on mandatory sentencing and building more prisons. Policy should be based on evidence, and the evidence shows clearly that such costly measures are ineffective in preventing or reducing crime.

On issues of governance, Harper and the Conservatives must show more respect for open government and parliamentary conventions. They are the bedrock of our democracy. In that vein, we expect greater transparency and accountability in budgeting. Parliament is entitled to full disclosure on the cost of all programs, including the purchase of fighter jets. MPs need to vet these expenditures; that's their job.

Despite the Tories' flaws, however, a Conservative majority is the only path that at this time leads us to a Canada that will remain the prosperous, peaceful and predictable country in which we are fortunate enough to live.

This is basically the same pitch being thrown by all PostMedia excuses for media including the National Post, Vancouver Province, Calgary Herald, the Goober and Maul (the truth) and most dailies in Canada with the exception of that Liberal rag the Toronto Star, which has come out endorsing Jack Layton and the NDP as the best chance to STOP Harper's attempt to sidetrack democracy and turn Canada into a third rate imitation of the failing nation to our south.

Go to the Galloping Beaver - the Assault on Democracy

I'm pretty certain that I'm not alone in being frustrated when I talk to people and they tell me that "they don't care, because they all lie." But the Reverend Paperboy over at the Galloping Beaver does an excellent job of disassembling that view that only works to the advantage of the most evil option (in this case a Harper majority). He lays it out in a succinct list as follows (which may come from Lawrence Martin).

Both sides don't try to suppress the vote.
Both sides don't have crowds that shout down journalists when they ask questions.
Both sides don't throw people out of rallies for what might be on their facebook page.
Both sides don't want to cut corporate taxes while cutting programs for the poor.
Both sides don't fire the nuclear watchdog for doing her job.
Both sides don't pander to the religious right.
Both sides don't prorogue parliament.
Both sides haven't been found in contempt of parliament.
Both sides don't engage in specious personal smears and intimidation.
Both sides don't cancel the court challenges program.
Both sides aren't afraid to speak to the press or answer unscripted questions from voters.
Both sides don't issue manuals to their MPs on how to obstruct the work of parliamentary committees.
Both sides don't question the patriotism of those who disagree with them.
Both sides don't villify immigrants and expatriates as somehow being "less Canadian"

Think about which side you want to be on.

This list doesn't even include the fact that they (he) has tried to neuter StatsCan, because they prefer to operate in a fact free environment as much as possible.

This was the latest post when I was at the Beaver, but scroll down the front page to read about more explanation as to why Stephen the Spiteful Bully is the worst thing to happen to Canada since Clifford Olsen.

If you are fortunate enough to live in (one of) the BEST PLACE('s) on Earth, like I am fortunate enought to do (British Columbis), you also should check out Ross the Scientist's explanation of strategic/tactical voting to ensure that the modern day re-incarnation of Benito Mussolini doesn't get to run rampant over Canada for four or five year at Stopping All Cons: A Comprehensive Guide To Strategic Surge Voting In British Columbia

2011-04-25T13:02:00.006-07:00

Stable
Government

Spiteful Stevie Hard at Work
- - shoveling the SH*T!

Everytime I have the unpleasant experience of seeing and hearing King Stevie Spiteful or the HarperCon Caucus members occasionally allowed to speak in public, such as Beverly "Odious" Oda, Guy Giorno, the closet racist Jason Kenny, or any of the other pre-programmed PsuedoCons spouting the endlessly repeated call to give the fascist HarperCons their long desired majority in the name of "stable" government, I gag in my throat. But, I must admit I can't help but picture in my pea brain the image of Stephen himself doing most likely a poor job of shoveling horseshit out of a stable somewhere on the outskirts of Calgary, his adopted home away from Taranna.

Most of the HarperCon candidates operate in a "stealth" fashion, avoiding all but the most choreographed public appearances in friendly "pre-screened" situations. Those who are allowed off the reservation to "speak" in public seem to only repeat the same tape loop of repetitive and repeated talking points about stable government, evul coalitions and fiscal management - none of which make any sense upon any kind of sane consideration. Surprisingly Glow Ball's new anchor, Dawna Freisen made great efforts to knock Steve off his pre-recorded comments, to little avail, but I did manage to tear myself away from the hockey game long enough to also notice this slip pointed out by ~~Boris~~ West End Bob, over at the Galloping Beaver in Too Bad It's a Holiday and Hockey Playoff Season.

....or more people might have tuned in to Dawna Friesen's "One on One" interview with stevie this evening.

Basically, she ripped him a new one and he didn't look at all comfortable about it. Note how he says "The platform we're not running on is real" at the 4:15 mark.

Since Kevin Newman left "Global National" I had been withholding judgment on Ms. Friesen's creds, but she outdid her MSM colleagues on this one.

Good job . . . .

That accidental and quite possibly truthful statement (the part I bolded) caught my ear too. I decided it wasn't so much a "mistake" as an attempt to actually be truthful, but confusing and confabulating at the same time. Or just an accidental true statement, a rarity in a campaign of the endlessly repeated Big Lie! Generally all one sees or hears from the Canadian Taliban is pre-recorded and re-played drivel in front of pre-screened and politically correct chosen and orchestrated audience.

Those whose mind turns to cheese trying to keep track of the lies would be well advised to refresh their memories with Scandals, Conservative Party of Canada. 2006-2011 (Always under construction) over at the Exile.

It's always under construction but go there for more info and links to background on the subject headings, headings such as: (just SOME of the topics)

Prorogation
the In and Out Scandal
Milliken Contempt Rulings
Withholding Information from Parliament
Bev Oda
Julie Colliard/Maxim Bernier
Raffer and Helena
Afghan Detainee Documents
Bruce Carson
Muzzling of Environment Canada scientists
End of the Mandatory Long-Form Census
General anti-democratic behaviour
Defunding of organizations for ideological reasons
Dimitri Soudas – The

How anyone who checked out the subjects above and gave it all some thought could believe that somehow a Stable Harper Majority would be a good thing for Canadians and vote thusly is beyond my ken. One third of Canadians or slightly more than twenty percent of eligible voters support the HarperCon agenda, but their coalition is working, or has been for five years now.

2011-04-15T13:40:00.004-07:00

We're Still Allowed
to Dream

Preview of 2011 Stanley Cup Final?

Here we are halfway through April and an all Canadian Stanley Cup final is still within the realm of possibility. On Wednesday the Canucks shut out the defending Champs and recent Canuck nemesis the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0. The next night the Habs defeated the higher seeded and long time rival Boston Bruins by the same score. So going into tonights game the score stands at Canada 4 and non Canadian Original Six teams ZERO. What better way to follow a Canadian Men's Hockey Gold than with a Canadian East West Stanley Cup final.

Continuing with a different kind of dream.

The Nightmares of Susan Heyes

Susan Heyes who had her business on Cambie almost completely destroyed by the lying collusion of all levels of government and the builders of the RAV line is going back to court, the big court. After winning an almost pyrrhic victory in BC Supreme Court, a settlement that barely covered some of her losses after paying the ridiculous cost of pursuing justice in British Columbia, Susan was dismayed to have that decision overturned by the Appeal Court and is now faced with having to return the already awarded (and disbursed) settlement. I received, along with many other folks, the following letter this morning.

April 15th, 2011

Susan Heyes files Leave to Appeal to Supreme Court of Canada
as a Self-represented Litigant

Is justice only available to the rich and powerful?

I have just filed for leave to Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada as a self represented litigant.

Contributions can be made to the Susan Heyes Legal Defence fund : Royal Bank – account # 07200 – 5076666

I have no means to pay further huge legal fees to take this case to the Supreme Court of Canada, but as a citizen and a small business owner, I can’t afford not to. This is an issue of national importance with the potential to impact any small business in Canada.

The ruling of the BC Appeals Court, if not overturned, would mean that any small business in Canada in the path of a mega-project could suffer severe financial hardship or bankruptcy, without any legal obligation to tell the truth or to provide restitution, on the part of those responsible.

In this case of the P3 model for the Canada Line, this project has even been provided with the powers and funding of every level of government, to profit at the expense of the small businesses. This is unjust and unfair.

I began this fight for justice and compensation six years ago. I have mortgaged my home twice to keep my business viable. $300,000 of the $600,000 award plus costs, was paid out in legal fees, leaving me with a fraction of my actual losses to invest back into my business.

The Canada Line consortium, with assets over $13 billion, expects Hazel & Co to repay the entire $600,000 award, including the already paid legal fees. However, the lawyers for Canada Line apparently suggested that they might be prepared to waive some or all of the recovery of all moneys paid to Susan Heyes Inc. if no Leave to Appeal Application to the Supreme Court of Canada was filed.

Faced with another massive legal bill, and considering this financial inducement, the incentive for stopping any further legal action is compelling. But so is my determination for justice to prevail, and for this issue of national importance to be fully heard, and rectified.

I welcome financial assistance to continue this challenge.

If the several years of catastrophic business losses caused by the secretive, non-compliant cut and cover construction of the Canada Line is not considered severe, unreasonable, intolerable - and merits compensation - what process, what length of time and what degree of harm is?

The Supreme Court of Canada will be asked to consider the balance of fairness in the shared burden of costs and the shared benefits, as they relate to all participants in this landmark case, and that leave is being brought forward by Susan Heyes as a self-represented litigant, at great expense.

Susan Heyes
HAZEL&CO
4280 Main Street
Vancouver, BC
V5V 3P9

604 687-0721 w
604 551-8852 c

I can't help but reflect on how much the consortium's attempt (in the part I bolded -kc), undoubtably with the implied if not explicit support of government, to buy Susan off with the offer to not pursue remedy if she were to choose to not appeal to the Supreme Court, reeks of business as usual in the banana republic of BC. Obviously Ms. Heyes is cut from different cloth than say, Basi and Virk. Maybe she isn't on the hook for six million, but the principle is exactly the same and Ms. Heyes' silence cannot be purchased by the more sleazy elements of our society who appear to be running the show at the present time.

Like many of my fellow bloggers, all of whom don't necessarily agree on everything, I urge anyone who can to support Susan Heyes in this David and Goliath style affair. Laila Yuile in her post today says in Susan Heyes files Leave to Appeal to Supreme Court of Canada:

Wonderful and stunning news that I wholeheartedly support!! I would very much like to host a fundraiser for residents of Surrey/WhiteRock/Delta/Langley in the near future to assist Susan’s fight for justice, and will post detail as soon as things are in motion!! Please email me directly if you would like to be involved!

I ask you, who will fight for you if your home, your business, was next?

So far already this morning I have found support from besides Laila, Alex Tsakumis at Rebel without a Clause calls out for support for Susan and her efforts to stand up for some actual justice. I'm confident others on my blogroll will be covering this development and urging support for Susan's cause, as one can plainly see the notice was sent out earlier today.

Judicial Findings are not
.....Creative Writing Projects

The Vancouver Sun writes a headline that makes it seem as if a long serving judge were a cheating college student in Judge's plagiarism voids $5-million trial.

A new trial has been ordered and a $5-million judgment thrown out because B.C. Supreme Court Justice Joel Groves plagiarized most of his ruling.

In a staggering decision Thursday, involving an expensive 30-day trial about a baby boy severely injured during delivery, the B.C. Court of Appeal said the judge had substantially reproduced all of the submissions of a participating party in the lawsuit as his reasons for judgment. It is only the fourth reported case of its kind in Canadian history, the judges said in their ruling.

I fail to see why the issue of "plagiarism" is even relevant. The legal team for the plaintiffs were PAID the big bucks to articulate their arguments in their submissions to the court. If they did such a good job as to articulate the merites of the case CORRECTLY in the eyes of the judge, why should the judge waste more time in an already OVER(EFFING)LOADED (in)justice system trying to paraphrase legal mumbo jumbo he felt explain his findings and decision?

As an author of the "plagiarised" prose commented:

Paul McGivern, a lawyer for the family, said the ruling was hard to swallow given the costs and hardships of fighting another trial.

He had not yet had time to speak with his clients and explain the decision to them.

"We did everything we needed to do and the judge agreed with our submissions," he said. "I always write my submissions in a form that allows the ease of transfer to the judgment for the judge. And here I thought I had been brilliant."

McGivern ventured that the copying was not as rare as the appeal court thought: "This is the second time it's happened to me in my career."

"I had one other judgment where the judge adopted my submissions [like this] but it didn't go to appeal."

It would seem to me that the presiding judge, by including as written these passages from submissions, was indicating that in HIS JUDGEMENT the submissions were correct. Again, why waste precious and expensive time in a court system starved for resources trying to rewrite stuff that already cost hundreds of dollars an hour to create, if it is also correct IN THE JUDGEMENT OF THE JUDGE?

Spiteful Stevie's Nightmares for the Weekend!

Helena Guergis (above) and the Afghan Detainee Docs!

Helean "cast aside" Guergis has risen from the mists to haunt Stevie again, at a time when we are almost into shellshock from the daily displays of PsuedoCon sleaziness. If they aren't hiring convicted felons to work in the PMO and later lobby for their friendly former escort/present fiance or trying to claim praise for themselves that was given to the previous government by the Auditor General, perhaps they can't manage to contain the fact that all the lurid accusations against Helena Guergis were unfounded. Then today was originally Gilles Duceppe's deadline for release of the vetted Afghan detainee documents which may or may not be made public before May 2, perhaps to the embarrassment of both the Liberals and the HarpoCons.

How Stephen Harper can even utter the word integrity and not be immediately struck down by lightning is in itself a good argument for atheism or at least agnosticism.

2011-04-12T12:45:00.010-07:00

Professional
Prevarication Ltd.

Bev Oda_Tory - One Stop Sleaze Shop!

Evidence, what evidence?

It should be clear by now that there is NEVER enough evidence in the entire Universe EVER convict a BC Liberal of ANYTHING. Remember Jane Thornthwaite, when she got busted at a road block coming up from partying at the Olympics and blew .30 over? Remember what she said?

(Jane Thornthwaite)...admits she was impaired when caught in an RCMP roadblock last night. North Vancouver-Seymour MLA Jane Thornthwaite says she was returning from some events when she was checked by North Van RCMP.

Thornthwaite claims full responsibility for her actions and expects to be charged with impaired driving.

She must have woke up sometime since then and remembered that she was, after all, a BC liaR and thus there was no reason to admit to anything. She went to court today and according to the CBC Drunk-driving charge dropped against B.C. MLA:

B.C. Crown prosecutors have dropped a drunk driving charge against Liberal MLA Jane Thornthwaite, following her arrest at a roadside stop last year during the Olympic Games...../snip

But on Tuesday in court, that charge was dropped by Crown prosecutors who said they had insufficient evidence to proceed with the charge....../snip

Instead Thornthwaite pleaded guilty to a Motor Vehicle Act infraction of driving without due care and attention.

Immediately upon posting the story was followed by:

"This story is closed to commenting."

I guess the CBC was afraid their servers would go down from the heavy traffic like a DOS attack, just from the rest of the poor souls in British Columbia who have had their car towed, stored for months at their expense and had to pay a fine for blowing about HALF of what the Queen of the North Shore blew. Today our friend Laila pointed out that our unelected premier is busy renaming ministries in her spare time, some of which have been renamed two or three times already in the last year. Custom Stationary providers must be big donators to the Liberal Crime Family too!
While you're at Crusty, perhaps you should think of a new and more appropriate name for the Ministry of Justice!

2011-04-11T09:45:00.006-07:00

Is it Drugs......or
Stunning Stupidity?

Senator Pam Wallin - or how to succeed with
neither brains nor beauty!

Updated below: 7:00 PM

This morning while listening to one of my favorite CBC shows, The Current (luv ya Anna Maria) and cleaning up the kitchen, I became perplexed and was forced to consider the fact that maybe this morning they had some really extra special drugs floating around the studio.

To begin with the "Voice" that usually has a really sharp and amusing comment to introduce the show, and puts a smile on my face even on a grumpy morning, just made me grumpy when I wasn't already. Perhaps the voice was just trying to be funny, and failed. But he reinforced the absurd meme promoted by Harper and the useless media that somehow having an election now and then is some kind of hardship for Canadians. I mean, would it be better if we had to exercise our democratic aspirations in the manner of Syrians, Egyptians, Libyans and the rest of the folks getting shot at? Two thirds of the Canada electorate, that show up, DO NOT want Stephen Harper to be President (sic) of Canada, no matter how much he thinks he deserves it.

Anyway the voice opened by referring to the debate coming up tomorrow night and said that (approximate quote) "Harper and Ignatieff will go mano-a-mano for six minutes, an hour or two less than Canadians expected when Harper issued his challenge/invite to have a one on one debate with the Liberal leader." But then he went on to say that that was FIVE minutes more debate between these two than Canadians were interested in hearing. As I said, maybe he was just trying, unsuccessfully to make a joke - because I know I would love to see two or three hours of meaningful substantive debate between the two, and Harper-Layton, Layton-Iggy etc. Having four or five people talking over each other in short sound bites for an hour or two is hardly a debate, no matter that Gilles Duceppe as irrelevant to BC as he may be makes more sense than any of them and Lizzie May the Harper helper has important issues to raise.

By the way my colleague, the Powell River Persuader, addresses this foolishness about the horrible cost (the cost of an afternoon of the G20 or 1 1/2 of Harper's new toy jets) in Bill Good, Fat Hog Boy!

And to finish up folks, I hear the Federal Cons and the media crying about the cost of an election, $300 million dollars, like I said, there is no better real person stimulus package than holding elections, having worked many elections the people who work them are seniors, students, mothers and fathers and people like me, almost all the money spent on elections goes to regular folks and this story here backs me up and debunks the myth that election spending is money wasted, it`s a great read enjoy

BC Liberals and Conservatives make me sick, out of one side of their mouth they claim spending $900 million on a roof is a stimulus package that creates jobs where as spending money employing little old people during an election is wasting money, Effing hypocrites! And what about Harper spending $30 million dollars in two months advertising how he spent billions of deficit dollars, that my friends is really wasted money, you wanted this election Harper, good luck with all those contempt of Parliament charges, pleasent dreams Bev Oda!

Actually the so-called Broadcaster's commission should maybe form government because in the last couple of weeks they actually made two GOOD decisions. First by barring Lizzie May from the debate, leaving more time for people who will actually elect members and today's decision to move up the French language debate that would have otherwise been entirely ignored if it had run up against the opening game of the Habs-Bruins playoff series. Come to think of it, this is becoming a pattern, calling an election during the playoffs, Capo Campbell held one during the Canucks run last time - anything to suppress the vote - maybe we can get down around Campbell's last popularity ratings for turnout at this rate, single digits.

The first segment was a three person panel discussing the federal election. Pamela "I retired to the Senate" Wallin was the designated talking point recitator for the HarperCons. After the previous spokesman had stated that the diffference between a Iggy and Stevie led government would be minimal, Pamela, either under the influence of the aforementioned drugs, showing absence of intellect or faithfully following Steve's training said she disagreed. She then went on to say that if Michael Ignatieff was to form government we would have, are you ready for this?

(replacement for Harris refugee Flaherty) Minister of Finance, Jack Layton!

(replacement for Airshow McKay) Minister of Defence, Gilles Duceppe!

Gimme a break! Yeah Pammie, maybe you should go back to Moose Jaw where you won't be a hazard to yourself or anyone else. I guess other than the turncoat Emerson, who turned INTO a PsuedoCon, I haven't noticed that many Liberal, NDP or Bloc cabinet ministers in Spiteful Stevie's minority COALITION GOVERNMENT!

The Daily Dose of HarperCon Sleaze(Updated)

Update: While John "Pit Bull" Baird foams at the mouth and quibbles about wording of various drafts of Ms. Fraser's report, that she cannot issue to a non-existent Parliament (good escape Stevie), Sheila Fraser issues a scathing letter that CAN be released. She is irate because the lying Harper crew lied to Parliament and falsely attributed statements to her regarding security measures at the G20. According to the CBC:

Auditor general Sheila Fraser is not pleased the Cons misquoted her about the G8 slush fund the day Parliament dissolved last month.

Their dissenting opinion to the committee report to the House read :

All witnesses brought forwarded testimony demonstrating strong endorsement of the government's unprecedented transparency to summit costs.

The Auditor General, Sheila Fraser commented in this regard the following: "We found that the processes and controls around that were very good, and that the monies were spent as they were intended to be spent."

.....but according to Ms. Fraser the quote had nothing to do with the summits. Instead, the Conservatives falsely recycled an old comment she made on security spending by a previous Liberal government after the 9/11 terrorist attacks a decade ago.

/tip of the touque to Alison at Creekside -- If the Harperites ain't lying they ain't talking and their lips ain't moving!

Original Post:

Spiteful Stevie has made a career out of disrespecting Parliament and Canadians who aren't either Corporate elite or Fundie Xtians who believe man and dinosaurs walked the earth together and Charles Darwin was the Devil's butler. He showed it during his time in opposition and with the NCC by telling Americans how third rate we were at every opportunity. He shows it in government by purposely muzzling his caucus and training them to disrupt committees and other parliatmentary processes. He shows it by after spending years attacking the un-elected Senate, then stacking it more than even Brian Mulroney (with deadwood like Wallin and Duffy) so that anything that offends his ideology will go there to die, even if sixty percent or so of the people's ELECTED representatives have passed it, sometimes even twice!

Then when the tactics above fail he brings out the big guns of either prorogation or calling yet another election. This time I figured he tried to get to call an election on the budget, to avoid the multiple comtempt charges, but this morning yet another thing Steve would prefer to avoid reared its ugly head. According to my NOT favorite paper the National Post:

Tories misled Parliament to get G8 funding: report

The Auditor General says the Conservative government misled Parliament in order to get support for millions in spending on projects for last June’s G8 conference in a Tory-held riding north of Toronto.

According to The Canadian Press, a Jan. 13 draft report from federal watchdog Shelia Fraser on the G8 Legacy Infrastructure Fund found that Industry Minister Tony Clement, along with Huntsville, Ont. mayor Claude Doughty and the management of the upscale Deerhurst Resort ignored the funding conditions set out by the government when they handpicked more than 30 projects that received $50-million in taxpayer funding.

The money was meant to help the region prepare for the summit, enhance local infrastructure, and showcase the natural beauty of the area for foreign dignitaries and media.

The confidential report examining the $1.24-billion G8 conference
in the Ontario resort community and a later G20 meeting in Toronto was to be tabled in Parliament last week, but was shelved due to the election.

As part of her investigation, the auditor general was set to examine “whether the amounts spent were used for the intended purposes — for security, policing, organizing and hosting of the summits.”

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff accused Conservative leader Stephen Harper of sitting on the report, and called for its immediate release.

Mr. Ignatieff described the G8 summit as a “scandalous waste” through a “chain of bad decisions,” and is expected to address the leaked report Monday afternoon.

“This is an allegation by the auditor general about criminal activity. Let’s make sure the criminals are punished,” she said during a Toronto campaign event. “Let’s get to the bottom of it now — not after May 2.”

Sheila Fraser, one of the few people in Ottawa that I feel actually gets up every morning and says to herself - What can I do for Canadians, today?

2011-04-10T13:15:00.007-07:00

the Catch 22
w/ Voting Green

The Fruits of Voting Green

Yesterday I was catching up with some of my more favorite blogs and over at Sister Sage's Musings came across an interesting post, About How Smart Voting “Can Keep Harper Humble". SSM had reposted a piece by John Deverell outlining how by targeting strategic ridings and avoiding splitting the (majority) non-Harper vote, Spiteful Steve could perhaps be denied his wet dream of a mamority dictatorship, which would be even more suffocating than his current fascist minority. This inspired me to get in touch with the organization known as Catch 22 Canada, which was founded during Harper's first cowardly use of prorogation, which sent many disturbed Canadians to their dictionary to learn a new word. I'll let Mr. Deverell introduce the group and its purpose and tactics (bolding mine, as usual).

Stephen Harper, the benign dictator (his phrase), is openly campaigning for a majority – and he might get it. Voter turnout in Canada has been dropping toward U.S. levels. The right is united in a Conservative Party engorged with funds raised by tax credit. The Harper permanent campaign machine is organized and motivated to pursue its large advantages within Canada ’s wonky voting system.
If voter turnout is low, the usual response to a flood of televised attack ads, and if there is no new issue which shakes up people’s voting tendencies, then the May 3 headline is: HARPER WINS MAJORITY. If that happens, it won’t be long until we read: LIBERALS AND NDP SEEK NEW LEADERS.

What can still change this picture is informed tactical voting. A year ago, a small group of people bothered by the Prime Minister’s suspension of Parliament for 22 days set up a volunteer group, Catch 22 Harper Conservatives (http://catch22campaign.ca/). They wanted to short-circuit Harper’s maneuvering toward unchecked majority control of government.

The Catch 22 founders realized that, given the usual vote-splitting among squabbling opposition parties, only a smart, targeted campaign run independently of the parties could deny Stephen Harper his goal. This Catch 22 upstart is starting to inspire discouraged voters in 52 of Canada ’s 308 electoral districts to vote together against Harper and astonish Canada .

The strategy is pretty straightforward, and reminiscent of a plan during the election of 2008 to trade votes between ridings so that voters in say Edmonton, who normally would waste their vote on the almost extinct Liberals, would vote NDP in exchange for an NDP leaning voter giving a vote to the Liberals in a suburban Toronto riding where the Libs had a better chance of knocking off the PsuedoCon put up by the piano mangling robot in a sweater. After all, two thirds or more of Canadians DO NOT want Stephen Harper to represent anything more than some part of Calgary (and not even that, really), yet here we are, five years into a Harper Reign of Terror and a War on Science and Facts being waged in the name of ideology.

Since I am fortunate to live in a island of progressive sanity, where we send representatives of neither of the neo-liberal corporate butt-kissing parties to neither Victoria nor Ottawa, I can't really participate. In my riding the Federal Libs are an endangered species, rarely spotted in the wild and the last election featured a HarperCon candidate that was too busy fighting various criminal charges over smuggling and hit and run charges to even matter. We sent a Campbellite to Victoria in 2001, and after four years of almost daily school closures, hospital closures and reduced ferry service to our communities, that MLA had to go back to his law practice. Even gerrymandering couldn't win the most recent provincial election for his replacement.

The Catch-22 with Catch-22

So since this campaign, which strikes me as a good idea, is not applicable to my area I thought I would check out a riding that Catch-22 considers "in play" and see what they had to say about it. My attention was immediately drawn to the riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands, because I think Gary Lunn is just too brain dead to be in government, much less hold any portfolio and of course this is the riding being challenged by the putative giant killer Elizabeth May in her on going coast to coast odessey seeking out impossible dragons to slay. I must say, though I haven't researched other ridings, that I am disappointed by the strategy, or lack of same I have seen so far in this riding. Of course that is to a great extent the fault of Ms. May, who may have already ceded a seat to Stevie by even choosing this riding to contest, with over 300 from coast to coast to choose from. I couldn't really find any advice that voting for a particular candidate would be the best move, but it did seem to indicate they thought a vote for Ms. May would be the way to go here. I think with this development Mr. Lunn is probably sleeping much better than he would be without Ms. May having entered the race.

First here is a visual breakdown of the results from 2008.

Note the sea of polls that are Liberal red on Saltspring, Galiano and the rest of the Gulf Islands aided and abetted with more as one approaches downtown Victoria. A persusal of the numbers even more clearly shows how in play this riding could be, especially when one takes into consideration the allegations of electoral hanky-panky that Mr. Lunn may have benefitted from.

Saanich-Gulf Islands election tactics under microscope

Some odd -- even worrying -- things happened in the Saanich-Gulf Island's riding successfully held by Conservative cabinet minister Gary Lunn.

By Times Colonist (Victoria) October 30, 2008

Some odd -- even worrying -- things happened in the Saanich-Gulf Island's riding successfully held by Conservative cabinet minister Gary Lunn.

One election dirty trick involved phone fraud and seemed both unethical and illegal. The RCMP response, which suggested election fraud allegations just aren't a priority, was disturbing.

And while there is no evidence of wrongdoing, it appears third-party advertisers played a disproportionate role in the riding.

If nothing else, the events raise questions about the effectiveness of current laws and enforcement efforts...../snip

In spite of these questionable campaign tactics the results were:

LUNN, Gary Vincent Conservative 27,991 43.4%
PENN, Briony Liberal 25,366 39.4%
LEWIS, Andrew Green 6,742 10.5%
WEST, Julian NDP 3,667 5.7%

So it is clear that this is far from an NDP stronghold, with the "socialist" party coming in a distant fourth with half the vote of the third place Greens who only had a quarter of the votes of the top two established parties. Add to that the fact that the Liberals themselves appear to have nominated a candidate with at least as "green" a set of credentials as Ms. May herself, it would appear Ms. May has not only cost herself a chance to sit in Parliament elsewhere than the gallery, but perhaps guaranteed Gary Lunn another term and an even more vested pension plan when he finally loses or retires. Renee Hetherington,Business Woman. Author. Scientist. Community Leader, the Liberal candidate this time has the following C.V.

Renée is Co-Author of Cambridge Press’ “The Climate Connection” with evolutionary biologist Robert G. B. Reid. Renée’s academic credential include a B.A. in Business and Economics from Simon Fraser, M.B.A. from the University of Western Ontario and an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Anthropology, Biology, Geography and Geology. Renée was also awarded a National Science and Engineering Research Doctoral Fellowship for her work on the Queen Charlotte Islands/Haida Gwaii.
Renée was a co-owner of a family security business and 450-head cattle ranch in the BC Interior as well as being elected BC’s Cattlemen’s Association Council Director and Executive Director.
Renée and husband Bob live in North Saanich and have two sons who are both in University.

According to the Times-Colonist, Green Party’s May gaining ground on Lunn in Saanich-Gulf Islands, poll suggests.

Of the voters who have decided and say they are definitely voting, 34 per cent said they’ll support Lunn and 32 per cent will back May. Liberal candidate Renee Hetherington and NDP candidate Edith Loring-Kuhanga each received 17 per cent.

So in a riding where the environment IS an issue of importance to voters and every party but the PsuedoCons considers the environment an important issue three parties are splitting 66% of the vote, and if these results occur on May 2, Gary Lunn would return to Ottawa with a mere 34%, representing a minority of the constituents of his riding. Way to go Lizzie!

It isn't difficult to wonder if the Green Party is little more than an astro-turf organization, created and backed behind the scenes by the Campbell Liberals and the HarperCons (ala the Billionaire Koch Brothers whose "small business" funds the "grass roots tea-baggers to our south). After all, outside of "green" dogma, many of their policy positions, when not totally incoherent, range from far from progressive to downright Ayn Randian. As if it wasn't bad enough that the Liberals and NDP (and the Bloc in Quebec) drain votes from each other allowing the Theocrats and Dinosaurs of the so-called Conservative Party to rule for the few, along comes the Green Party just to make sure Spiteful Stevie can continue to play President in spite of the fact that MOST Canadians can barely tolerate the man.

Focusing on ridings that are actually in play, and then voting strategically makes a lot of sense. However, in Saanich-Gulf Islands I see no sign of effective strategy from either Elizabeth May or the Catch 22 organization and I'm pretty sure Stephen Harper is a lot happier about that than I am!@#@$%##$%^^&

2011-04-09T17:23:00.006-07:00

Wasted
Public Spaces!

Sometimes I think I should change the name of this blog to Houses (making it plural) of Infamy. Though this started as an attempt to generate discussion and find information about the "Raid on the Ledge," over the years that other fancy building on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, both Houses of Congress and even the California State House of Representatives and Senate have come into the discussion here. Heckfire, even the Glendale, Arizona City Council has been the subject of a post here (What's Wrong with Arizona?). Perhaps it would be appropriate to try to come up with a more perjorative term than "infamy" as well, or maybe just add some additional terms and qualifiers. Maybe this would be appropriate.

Houses of Infamy, Shame, Absurdity
Downright Silliness and Criminality!

Here is a picture of the British Columbia Legislature at work, or at least in its normal state - EMPTY!

Rattenbury's Shrine to Otiosity!*

* otiose adj. serving no practical purpose, functionless [L otium leisure]

This august chamber has been actually used for only FOUR days in the past three quarters of a year - and very sparingly in the last two years. Of course, perhaps this is for the best. After all we currently have a premier who would have to sit in the gallery like a tourist since she was chosen by a few thousand members of the Campbell Crime Family and represents no British Columbians except for the Public Affairs Bureau and the Gang that Stole Our Railroad.

Then there are some members who shouldn't be in any building without bars over the windows and razor wire on the perimeter, members like John Les and Kash Heed (and the retiring Capo Gordo) who would be in more maximum security facilities were it not for British Columbia's "Oh So" Special Prosecutor system, designed to free politicians from having to hire their own criminal defence lawyers. Besides even when they do have a day of pomp and ceremony and open a sitting of the Legislature very little happens, no real debate, just a bunch of adolescent name-calling and thumping on desks until the last day or night when the BC liaRs ram through a year's worth of legislation, some of which isn't even eventually struck down by the courts or the cause of legal settlements to be borne by the taxpayers (like the HEU contract tearing up fiasco).

Of course, the BC Ledge is not unique in being an insult to the people who it is supposed to serve. In Ottawa we have the House presided over by Spiteful Stevie, that is at least open for business when he doesn't have to prorogue or force an election in order to avoid having to answer incriminating or embarrassing questions. Then there is the House of Representatives in Washington D.C. Here in a nation involved in at least three wars (counting just those that they admit to), in the midst of an economic disaster and budgetary crisis, at least the elected representatives of they the people show up fairly often to, I guess, justify their six figure salaries and platinum plated benefit package. The photo below was taken in the House of Representatives during debate about the budget that threatened to SHUT DOWN the government, leaving families with daddy overseas engaged in combat having to get in touch with loan sharks to buy groceries and not become homeless, among other minor incoveniences.

American Tax Dollars at Work!

Don't these idjits realize that with a simple deck of cards they could play solitaire without the waste of electricity involved in running all those laptops? Heckfire, they could even play some two or more handed games WITH each other, if they could get along at all.........

2011-04-04T10:11:00.008-07:00

Contempt is a
Two-Way Street

As Spiteful Stevie Harper roams Canada in his bubble, limiting questions from the media and demanding proof of PsuedoCon Loyalty to even attend an election rally, everyone, especially the muzzled and thoroughly tamed excuse for a media, seems to forget to even mention that the actual reason we are going to the polls on May 2 is CONTEMPT. The contempt of Stephen Harper for Parliament and the people of Canada, not families, not fiscal management or mismanagement or evil (WARNING: some may find the following word offensive) coalitions.

The last time our hero almost had to face a vote of contempt in the House of Parliament, he prorogued Parliament, for the second time in his assumed presidency. The last time, before Christmas of 2009, on the verge of being found in contempt for refusing to produce documents related to Afghan detainees and the possibility that they were being (knowingly) turned over to torture (a war crime - currently creating problems in the UK, Australia and the US as well as Stevie's Canada). Here we are over a year later, and STILL, the Harper Government (you know the one that used to be the Government of Canada) hasn't produced a SINGLE document.

Of course with the assistance of his handmaidens in the print and broadcast media he has successfully fostered the meme that this is merely partisan opportunistic use of procedural minutae. That is really rich coming from the most controlling P.M. in the history of Canada, if not the commonwealth, whose PMO distributed frickin' manuals to its MP's and staff with instructions about how to disrupt committees and in general cripple Parliament from accomplishing anything that isn't part of his neanderthal agenda.

Well now this unseemly delay just might come back to bite him (and maybe the Liberals as well) in the butt as it is possible that a major document dump of the aforesaid Afghan detainee docs could occur right in the middle of the election. Perhaps our man Steve already has staff researching how to prorogue, declare and emergency or otherwise call a halt to an election that according to our man at 24 Sussex no one (especially him - who had been running attack ads all year) wanted or felt was necessary.

According to the Goober and Maul(the truth):

The first batch of papers related to the handling of Afghan detainees is expected to be released within two weeks – a mid-election document dump that could damage both Liberals and Conservatives, or absolve them of wrongdoing in a matter that once dominated parliamentary debate.

Bloc Québecois Leader Gilles Duceppe insists the documents must be made public by April 15 and says his MPs will withdraw from the closed-door Commons committee that has been vetting them if his demands are not met..../snip

Federal politicians are not certain, however, of a mechanism that could be used to make the documents public when Parliament is not sitting and all of the parties are engaged in election campaigns. Some have suggested the material would be given to party leaders for release. Others say the panel could make the documents public.

The three-party committee was struck last May after months of testy debate in the Commons that ended only when the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper was threatened with being declared in contempt of Parliament.

The New Democrats did not agree to take part in the committee which was struck as a compromise last May after Peter Milliken ruled that MPs had an unfettered right to see all government documents, regardless of potential security implications.

It isn't clear as intimated above whether the committee even exists now with Parliament dissolved or if anything can be released, or if so how it would be accomplished with Parliament dissolved (another reason Stevie wanted to dissolve Parliament perhaps?) but the Toronto Star also has some views on this issue.

Tortured Pretzel Logic!

Since Stevie avoided being found in contempt over a year ago by proroguing the House and then not really releasing anything for over a year, and avoided it again by calling an election now, with yet another contempt charge (the famous Oda "not") in the hopper my readers may wonder why I'm on this today, after-all Stevie's contempt for Parliament and Canadians and Canada is pretty much normal everyday stuff. However the news this morning made me double-check my calendar to make sure it wasn't still April Fool's Day. Stevie Spiteful has once again gone to court, in the midst of the campaign, to attempt in yet another, extremely convoluted reasoning(?) based, attempt to hide information from members of Parliament and Canadians. Now our excuse for a P.M. is concerned for the frickin' PRIVACY of torture victims. I heard this on the CBC before daylight this morning - but the following is from the CTV website (bolding mine):

Date: Sunday Apr. 3, 2011 8:53 PM ET

OTTAWA — The Conservative government quietly went to Federal Court last week hoping to impose limits on what a military watchdog can say in its final report into torture allegations involving Afghan prisoners.

The Military Police Complaints Commission is currently reviewing evidence and writing its report after hearings into allegations that army cops turned a blind eye to suspected abuse in Afghan jails.

Federal lawyers successfully argued in 2009 that the commission's investigation of complaints should be limited to what military police knew -- or should have known -- about possible torture of prisoners by Afghan jailers.

The Harper government went even further last week in two days of hearings and challenged the definition of what military cops could have known.

Justice Department lawyers also accused the commission of stepping "out of its narrow jurisdiction" and investigating Ottawa's policy of handing over prisoners to Afghan authorities -- something it was strictly forbidden from doing.

The government wants to exclude the testimony of diplomats and civilians who did not work for the Defence Department. It lawyers also want any documents belonging to those officials, including reports that warned of torture or documented the abuse, excluded from the commissions findings.

"They're asking the Federal Court to put a muzzle on the commission," said Paul Champ, the lawyer for both human rights groups....../snip

Court records show federal lawyers built their case to strike civilian testimony around the argument diplomats violated the privacy of potential torture victims by passing along the information.

"So that means the information couldn't be shared with military police who might investigate their torture," Champ said. "So how could they have investigated if they were prohibited from knowing anything? It's absurd."

New Democrat foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar said the Defence Department has for years claimed that it was relying on diplomats to warn them about possible torture cases.

""What is the point of these reports in foreign affairs if they were not passed on to the Defence Department?," Dewar said Sunday.

He said it speaks to the reason opposition parties defeated the government in a contempt of Parliament motion on March 25.

"Conservatives can't run from accountability by going to court," he said.

"The buck stops with the ministers."....../snip

The government's refusal to hand over documents to both the commission and a House of Commons committee sparked a crisis in December 2009 where the Liberals brought in a contempt motion that threatened to topple the Conservatives. The prime minister avoided it by shutting down Parliament during the Christmas Holidays that year.

The government eventually agreed to let an independent experts and a committee of MPs -- excluding the NDP -- to review what documents could be released. A year after the agreement, the committee has yet to release a single scrap of paper, although Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe has given them until April 15.

Now I know whose privacy (or a more appropriate word would be SECRECY) Stephen Harper is worried about and it isn't that of any unfortunate victims of torture. I'm certain that is at the top of any torture victim's concerns. I can hardly believe that anyone, even Stephen Harper and his gang of goons could torture the very idea of logic to that extent and even then find EVEN lawyers who could go along with such nonsense.

Best case scenario, the docs get dumped and prove that both P.M. Martin and P.M. Harper implicitly or even complicitly looked the other way from Canadian involvement, while not direct, in war crimes. Then I can only hope that Canadians actually care, and haven't been thoroughly schooled in the politics of hate and division quite yet and we wake up on May 3 to a majority New Democrat government in Ottawa.

2011-03-19T13:51:00.005-07:00

Christy Clark
TeeVee

Politics in the media age is rapidly descending into an issue free, image driven bunch of irrelevancy. Well, except for the fact that the results aren't irrelevant, because once the media annointed ONE assumes power, the same old behind the scenes elites continue to exert their control to get the results they desire - mainly profit for themselves, their associates, and they are of course clever enough to dispense enough crumbs to make it worthwhile for the media friendly face to play the role of governing, theoretically in the public interest.

Christy Clark is the most recent example of this tendency that was first exibited by the success of third rate actor, with the homey style, Ronnie Raygun who catapaulted a B movie and TeeVee host background into the oval office and was so successful that he is still considered by right wing whackos and the GOP faithful to be among the elite of presidents, to hell with Abraham Lincoln (the greatest and perhaps only decent RePuke excepting Ike and Teddy Roosevelt), Thomas Jefferson and the rest of the thirty five or more better and more effective presidents of the United States.

Once the political class realized how successful a famous name could be in fronting their agenda we've been innundated with "star candidates" like Peter Kent and successes (well successful campaigns, if not administrations) like Arnie the Guvernator and what we are faced with in British Columbia today - CKNW big mouth Christy Clark. I guess since so many folks pay so little attention to politics and actual issues, name recognition out of the gate is enough, and in Christy's case if you happen to be a young not un-attractive female - so much the better. Maybe this is why Sarah "Tundra Trailer Trash" Palin has been concentrating on her media presence since destroying John McShame's presidential hopes rather than actually studying the issues and/or trying to present a coherent policy package.

In the case of our un-elected premier, Crusty Cluck Cluck Clark, it is disturbing the degree to which it appears she seems to be continuing to conduct herself as a media personaltiy, even now that she is the highest elected official in poor abused AC (After Campbell) British Columbia. It apparently isn't enough that Christy inherits the largest news room and largest team of journalists(?), PR flacks and media monitors in North America*, the Public Affairs Bureau from her mentor and predecessor, but she is filling her administration with even more representatives of the lapdog inbred pack of liars that passes for media in our once fair province.

Blogger Alex Tsakumis, the Anti-Christy of the Bloggosphere, with whom I sometimes disagree on some issues does have a great knowledge of the media wasteland in BC and really lays out this outrageous state of affairs in a recent post - Premier Christy Clark’s Oath Omen; Her ‘Revenge First’ Agenda; and CTV Vancouver’s Credibility in Freefall. (Alex has the ability to compose titles longer than some blogger's posts at times - but the real meat comes below the extended title).

I recommend anyone interested in our Smile of the Day un-elected Families First Gal to check out Alex's piece at the link above. Here's a sample.......

Guess who Premier Clark’s new Deputy Communications Director is?

Rebecca Scott.

Don’t know her? Let me help. She is the immediate past producer of ‘The Bill Good Show’ (she just left). I know, I know, queue the maniacal laughter. But here’s where it gets interesting, and a CONFLICT! She is engaged to be married to Stephen Smart, formerly of CTV Vancouver and now the CBC Vancouver-Victoria Bureau Chief..../snip

Then CTV Vancouver’s Chris Olsen, who was clearly NOT ever ‘On Your Side’ but rather on Christy’s side, is her Communications Chief–Scott will report to him, you can bet on it; how cozy.

Add this to CTV Vancouver’s head bloviator Jim Beatty, who cherry-picked a narrow sliver of ‘Basi-Virk’ documents–that he erroneously claimed “exonerated” Clark, to release ONE WEEK prior to the BC Liberal leadership vote–and CTV alum Pamela Martin joining the Clark campaign, AND (!!!!) CTV alum Bill Good, Martin’s former co-talking-head playing the role of head cheerleader at CKNW through the campaign, and you get the idea…...../snip

There's lots more over at Alex's blog, so hie thee on over and see just how incestous and disingenous a web it is that passes for print and broadcast media in British Columbia, the jurisdiction that journalism forgot!

* The Public Affairs Bureau, created to monitor and manipulate BC public opinion on our own dime, following the example of Texas North (Alberta) just to our east who built one under King Ralph Klein is larger than the similar organization that serves the White House in the United States. In other words Barrack Obama has less than half the staff to manipulate the opinion of 350,000,000 Americans that the BC liaRs find necessary to keep about 4 million British Columbians dazed and confused. Mind you he inherited his information agency from the Bu$h/Cheney administration, who didn't really need one at all, thanks to Faux Snooze and Rusty Limpballs.

2011-02-26T09:37:00.004-08:00

Concern Trolling
with the CBC!

Cariboo Marijuana Grow Show - NOT!

It's bad enough that we, the mushrooms of BC (we're kept in the dark and fed you know what) are so poorly served by Global, the likes of CKNW, Globe Media and whatever Canned Waste is called now - but even the CBC, so often accused of being a "leftist" organ, is caving in to the corporate agenda of hiding the truth, changing the subject and basically diverting the public interest and scrutiny from the crimes being perpetrated in our names. Of course after years of attacks on its buddget by governments of all stripes, but especially the fact hating Harper government, it shouldn't be surprising if the investigative resources of the Mother Corp can barely fire up a computer to get the latest information from the Canadian Weather Office.

Therefore it shouldn't be surprising if everytiime the RCMP take time out from killing people or kicking them in the face and sends out self serving press releases - if the CBC runs with it as news for a few days. The latest attack on sanity was last week's manufactured crisis of the heinous pollution left behind by rural marijuana grow operations. Yep these major criminals litter the countryside with relatively small amounts of the same nitrate ferilizer, pesticides and herbiides as the agriculture business as usual spreads far and wide through air, land and water. Of course this is just agriculture - let's not even consider outrageous assaults of economic and enviromental rationality as the Tar Sands of Alberta, or Teck Cominco's 100 years or more of using the Columbia River as an industrial sewer. Speaking of sewers, how's flushing yer terlets into the Juan de Fuca going for all you Victorians?

Where the Colorado River used to empty into the Gulf of California, today if any liquid at all reaches salt water it is a toxic stew of residue from fields that produce alfafa and other crops 365 days per year in the Imperial Valley and drain all their waste into the riverbed that has itself been drained to supply water to taps in Los Angeles and elsewhere. The Chesapeake Bay is rapidly becoming a dead zone, along with its once famous shellfish industry due to large scale chicken and pig factories dumping what could be valuble animal waste into the waterways, but the valuable material becomes worthless, and harmful, garbage in such concentrations, with no nearby crops to feed.

I don't know if other media jumped on this non-story or not, I've been on a bit of a media holiday, but unless the CBC is so freaked out by Harper and his cohorts threats, they should reconsider joining the no brainers in the surrounding media wasteland. I did notice that most calls regarding the pieces about this were highly critical of the stated position, or the value of even covering the non-story.

2011-02-23T08:53:00.007-08:00

da House
is BACK!

But, Where/Why did it Go?

Last week, at almost precisely (in Jack Webster terms) 12:30PM, Tuesday, February 15, the House of Infamy went away - the last visitor being someone from Port Coquitlam. The first visitor when it returned was someone from Kelowna, who had clicked over from Gary E's How Bad the Record. Where it went and why remains a mystery, but as a result I learned and re-learned quite a bit.

First I would like to thank all those who sent emails or posted on their blogs about the abrupt disappearance and this post is an attempt to answer some of the questions those folks had about the situation. In the end perhaps this whole experience was a necessary kick in my ass to remind me of stuff I already knew, but was forgetting/ignoring in practice.

Back in the last decade of the last century, the nineties, before Bush the Lesser, before the Global War on Terrorism, before the first dip of the current depression and the Initial Public Offering of Google Inc. the internet was a smaller place. The biggest and busiest search engines were Alta Vista, Yahoo and Dogpile. Then a new kid on the block appeared. This new kid had a really clean interface and great algorithms that made searching the ever growing internet fast and efficient even in the days of mostly dial-up connections and 486's and Pentium 1 machines. As time went by Google pretty well took over the search business and as time went by they've come to be as major a player in computer technology and especially cyberspace as (shudder) the evil empire of Bill Gates - Microsoft. They've spread over e-mail, with GMail, purchased youTube, and made it possible for entire populations to live in a Google controlled and provided cyber universe - but there can be a downside.

Unfortunately it would seem that beneath all the billions of dollars and groovy mottos like "First, Do No Evil," at base the folks at Google are typical geeks lacking in basic "people skills." If you have your cyber identity all tied up with Google Services and something happens to sever your connection you are basically f**ked. I'll let another user who had problems with Google inexplicably blocking their entire online life explain. This is from the same place as the graphic accompanying this post, perhaps not surprisingly published via Wordpress.

NO SUPPORT from Google

Their customer service and support for their online services is terrible (actually non-existent -kc). Google does not offer any support, for issues that they create, such as blocking a Profile Page and Gmail, without cause. As they have you post comments on their support forum page, that actual support staff might not even look at. There is no one to talk to on their support staff, or directly send a comment to, to even ask why your account was disabled. The only thing you know from when you got your account disabled is “unusual activity”, which is an unspecific term, probably to protect them from legal issues.

In my case, when I discovered I was blocked from access to my google account and the blog was gone due to "unusual activity" was especially strange as I hadn't even posted in almost three weeks, and as is usual when I don't post, there had been no comments there either, though there was some traffic. I use third party software for my visitor logs, so those were still accessible and not google dependent. Amazingly I still had traffic during the shut down as people were still visiting "cached" pages thanks to, yeah you guessed, Google. All one had to do during the closure was use House of Infamy in your search term and then take your pick of cached pages to view - even the very first post from April 2006 was available with the right combination of search terms.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the experience was when I tried to log in to my Google account (necessary even to complain on one of the "help" forums, much less check my gmail, which thankfully I use hardly at all) I was confronted by this:

For starters, I don't have a mobile phone, and unless I go into the dope dealing business or something, doubt that I will ever get one. Here in the boonies, the cell service is the first thing to go down when the power is out, while my land line POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) system still works. Also I don't even necessarily answer my phone when I'm next to it, that is what voice mail is for, and I'll be damned if I want to be in touch with the world when I'm off in the Valhallas or somewhere. But there is a creepier possibility with this request from Google for your cell number, once again I'll let Flynn explain:

The issue here, is that this is a phishing attempt to get your mobile phone number. They want your mobile phone number to your cell phone. Why do they want that kind of personal information. Most of the current mobile devices, cell phones, iPhones, Blackberry phones, etc have a GPS device inside. A tracking device. So if you verify your account, then they will always know where and when you are. You might even become predictable as to where you’ll be at what time. As people are creatures of habit. So Google servers will have your Modis Operandi. This sounds like a Big Brother thing to me. Perhaps they are doing this in cooperation with the NSA, FBI or CIA for the Department of Homeland Security.

After all, they have Google Maps and Google Earth, which they can use the GPS technology with.

I also have read, that people who complied and sent their SMS information, now have ads being send to their sell phone, and that these persons who complied can’t stop these text ads Google is sending to their cell phones. Google is costing these people money, as they have to pay to receive these unwanted ads.

Now Google can know where and when you are (modus operandi), send you unwanted SMS ads, and cost you money by sending these unwanted SMS ads to your cell phone, all at the same time. Don’t give them your credit card number, just to verify yourself to them.

I'm not one to worry overly much about the modern surveillance world we live in, because I don't think those who would watch are smart enough, or capable of utilizing the surfeit of data that can be collected about everybody - but then maybe I'm just whistling past the graveyard.

By and large I still like Google and just think maybe they should give some thought to the way they do business. After all, I know they serve millions, probably billions of people and can't really hold everybody's hand. However, it must have taken a human to first render my blog and account inaccessible and then to re-activate it. I don't think it would be too much to ask for someone from Google to fire off a brief email explaining WHY?

Last year Google, for no reason I can understand, other than perhaps a desire to control data, information and content, quit supporting Google Blogger Blogspot blogs that were hosted on the blog owners own non-blogger servers - I was involved with two blogs implemented that way. I neither got nor asked for any special support and had to implement my own work around/hacks to resolve various issues, but still they basically shut down these blogs that merely used the Blogspot templates (in one case I had to upload outside the Blogger interface already) and thus as far as I can see had very little impact on Google resources. So when the House went missing, my feeling was that this was strike two for Google. At least now I realized again how important backing up one's work really is and am ready to move the House of Infamy if necessary. But for now I will stay where I am and assume that last week was an inexplicable glitch.

Once again I would like to thank all those who offered their support during last week's lights out period at the House. I hope to be back with other issues real soon. After all it isn't like there isn't a lot of silly and sad stuff to write about these days, indeed the problem is where to start.

Update: Noon

I thought I would just check to see if Google had tried to notify me of anything via my gmail account - though with my account disabled it was inaccessible meaning I would be unlikely to look there for news, with the account disabled no explanation there would get to me. However now I still can't access my Google GMail as when I try to do so, I get a page telling me how great it would be to hook up with yet another great Google product - BUZZ! The only problem is when I try to use the link that says " Just go to my inbox, I'll try Buzz later," it leads to another copy of the BUZZ enticement page and even if I give in and agree to go with "Sweet! Check out Buzz," it still just stays on the same page - so my gmail is still not accessible - good thing I don't use it! I'm pretty certain already that I want nothing to do with BUZZ and Wordpress is looking more attractive all the time!

2011-01-24T12:09:00.005-08:00

The Reich Wing
& Property Rights

Shills for Sarah Palin......NOT!

"The modern conservative is engaged,in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness."
_________________________________John Kenneth Galbraith

Private property, which includes real estate, money and other material possessions is right up there with, or maybe even above, individual freedom in the conservative/right wing dogma. Well, at least as long as it is private property that is already owned by the aforementioned right wing/con - if it belongs to somebody else, not so much

This post won't be about the can of worms that is "eminent domain" and the power of the state to confiscate someone's home or business (or otherwise degrade its value ala Susan Heyes and the Cambie Street Merchants, the Delta residents and BC Transmission) or the Kelo v. City of New London (Connecticut)decision that transferred private property to another "private" interest supposedly in the public interest (that resulted in a big vacant area when the private project in the public interest had its voodoo financing fall through after going to the Supreme Court to win the right to tear down the homes of the residents). A brief summary of this case from Wikipedia follows:

Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005)was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States involving the use of eminent domain to transfer land from one private owner to another to further economic development. The case arose from the condemnation by New London, Connecticut, of privately owned real property so that it could be used as part of a comprehensive redevelopment plan which promised 3,169 new jobs and $1.2 million a year in tax revenues. The Court held in a 5–4 decision that the general benefits a community enjoyed from economic growth qualified such redevelopment plans as a permissible "public use" under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

The City eventually agreed to move Kelo's house to a new location and to pay substantial additional compensation to other homeowners. The redeveloper was unable to obtain financing and had to abandon the redevelopment project, leaving the land as an empty lot.

Today I want to discuss the right wing inability to either understand or respect property rights as they apply to intellectual property beyond the idea that major corporations should control the rights to characters and stories hundreds of years old like Snow White or Pocahontas.

As a musician and occasional software developer/hacker of the white hat variety, I often think about the ongoing debate about copyright law in the modern age and how it can interface with new technology AND actual content creators and not just kow tow to the interests of the corporate media conglomerates. The issue was brought to the fore in Canada last week by the latest round of US style pre-election attack ads flooding the airwaves courtesy of the ever campaigning Harper Cons. The CBC took exception to the cavalier use of copyrighted CBC footage of Michael Ignatieff without even the semblence of asking permission. In a nutshell, according to the Globe and Mail:

Stephen Harper’s Conservatives are not known for their love of the public broadcaster. So it should come as no surprise they will not comply with demands by the CBC to remove its footage from new Tory attack ads.

“We have received the CBC’s request and disagree with their interpretation,” Tory strategists say in a toughly-worded memo to supporters.

The response from the PMO shouldn't surprise anyone who has been paying attention for the last five years of rule by the Canadian Taliban. It should by now be obvious that Steven Harper will do whatever he wants to do, unless and until someone with big ones puts the cuffs on him and perp walks him out of the Pariliament Buildings. And this, if I do it, it is legal, attitude is with a minority government for which two thirds of Canadians have repeatedly expressed their distaste! If Harper should ever achieve his coveted majority (which the attack ads are designed to promote) he wouldn't even talk to the current CBC management as he would probably give the peoples broadcaster to Lenny Asper to make up for the broadcasting empire he drove into bankruptcy and had to give up.

But our triple A Canadian reich wingers are amateurs at appropriating intellectual property compared to their ideological heroes to the south, otherwise known as Republicans. It seems as if it is completely impossible for a serious Republican to even enter a primary race without stealing some musician's work without permission and often without even paying royalties due, for the use to which they have put it.

The idea of politicians appropriating popular songs as campaign themes isn't new and goes back about as far as both American politics and popular music. Frank Sinatra performed "High Hopes" in 1960 in SUPPORT of John F. Kennedy. Hillary Clinton used Canadian songbird Celine Dion's "You and I" in her primary run, BECAUSE Celine supported Ms. Clinton and wanted to support her effort to garner the nomination. Hillary had to scrounge for musical support though compared to Barrack Obama for whom musicians put together a political equivalent of "We Are the World" based on the hook - "Yes We Can," including musicians the calibre of Herbie Hancock. Milt Romney uses "A Little Less Conversation" by Elvis, and at least Elvis hasn't complained, not even when I ran into him at CostCo!

Republicans aren't so lucky, since the gene pool of successful musicians with recognizable tunes that willingly shill for RePuke candidates is limited to the likes of Ted "Michigan's Militia Man" Nugent, Kid Rock, Gene "KISS" Simmons, Donny Osmond and Wayne Newton.

The trend of "good" musicians getting shafted (and pissed off at) by ReThug politicos really got underway when Ronnie Raygun (perhaps absentmindedly) appropriated "Born in the USA" by Bruce Springsteen. At the time the Album and its title song were the biggest thing in American rock music. As the blog Jurisprude explains:

Back in 1984, Ronald Reagan famously interpreted Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” as being a “message of hope,” even though the song was more an attack against the treatment and prospects of Vietnam veterans upon their return to the USA. Reagan stated, “America’s future rests in a thousand dreams inside our hearts. It rests in the message of hope so many young people admire: New Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen.’”

At the time, “Born in the USA” was the number one song in America, and Springsteen was clearly not in favor of his song being connected or interpreted in this manner:

“I think people have a need to feel good about the country they live in,” he later told Rolling Stone. “But what’s happening, I think, is that that need — which is a good thing — is getting manipulated and exploited. You see in the Reagan election ads on TV, you know, ‘It’s morning in America,’ and you say, ‘Well, it’s not morning in Pittsburgh.’ “

Ironically and, perhaps, shrewdly, this year the Democratic Party used “Born in the USA” as one of the main songs before Barack Obama’s keynote speech at the Democratic Convention (Springsteen supports Obama), although analysts say this time the song was used to promote its original message:

The fact that Republicans often demonstrate that they don't even understand the songs they inappropriately appropriate just goes to the old saw that "All conservatives aren't stupid, but most stupid people are conservative."

Years ago my respect for Merle Haggard, which was already immense, took a leap upward when he was invited to the White House by then President Nixon and refused to sing "Okie from Muskogee" when Mr. "I am not a crook" requested it, because Merle felt that he didn't get what Merle was saying in the lyrics - at all! Merle never intended to write an anthem to divisiveness or "wedge" politics, no matter how stupid conservatives who want to intepret it that way want to think so!

Other examples of the Right's tone deafness!

Sarah Palin and the Wilson Sisters: During the 2008 campaign Sarah Palin started using the Heart tune "Barracuda," apparently that being too difficult to resist as that was Caribou Barbie's nickname when she was an elbow wielding guard on her high school basketball team - which prompted a statement from Ann and Nancy Wilson:
“Sarah Palin’s views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song ‘Barracuda’ no longer be used to promote her image. The song ‘Barracuda’ was written in the late 70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The ‘barracuda’ represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there’s irony in Republican strategists’ choice to make use of it there.”
Daddy McShame and Jackson Browne: In August of 2008, Jackson Browne, took exception to John McCain's use of his song "Running on Empty" (to attack Obama) and issued a law suit against
......the McCain campaign, the Republican Party, and the Ohio Republican Party alleging copyright infringement and a violation of Browne’s right of publicity:

Copyright infringement aside, Browne’s lawsuit also alleges that the song’s usage falsely suggests that he is a McCain supporter. Browne is seeking a permanent injunction prohibiting the use of the song, as well as undisclosed damages.

Other examples include:

Tom Scholz of Boston blasting Mike Huckabee for using his song "More than a Feeling." Scholz said that he supported Obama and resented his song being used by a candidate who was "the polar opposite of most everything Boston stands for."

John "Cougar" Mellencamp who being from Indiana suffers the indignity of all kinds of whack jobs using "Pink Houses,"Our Country" and other songs from his ouvre.

Tom Petty took exception in 2000 to George Bush the Lesser using his "I Won't Back Down," and the lesser Bu$h actually quit using it, but still won (through questinable means) Petty's home state of Florida and thus stole the election of 2000!

Bush the Lesser also used Foo Fighter Dave Grohl's "Times Like These" in 2004, inspiring Mr. Grohl to campaign for John Kerry.

In the recent mid-terms, a California Senate Republican candidate poked perhaps the wrong songwriter by stealing and re-writing a couple songs by the any thing but mild mannered Don Henley, of Eagles fame. As Variety describes the sh*tstorm that candidate DeVore stepped into:

It seems that a right-wing candidate for the California Senate seat, Republican Chuck DeVore, borrowed two classic Don Henley songs, “Boys of Summer” and “All She Wants To Do Is Dance”, altered some of the lyrics himself and had his campaign strategist re-record some of the vocals to make attack spots on his opposing candidates– he then put the ads up on the internet. I’m not sure which part of this is actually the most egregious: the fact that a politician is now thinking he can write song lyrics, that he thinks he is a comedian, or that he considers his campaign strategist qualified to replace vocals by Don Henley. First there’s an action hero that wants to be governor, now there’s a politician who thinks he’s a co-writer with the guy who wrote “Hotel California”.

Of course, none of those concerns are the primary ones for Don Henley, who has a reputation for a healthy temper, an unwillingness to suffer fools, and a staunchly liberal political point of view. Henley and his co-writers, Mike Campbell (“Boys of Summer”) and Danny Kortchmar (“All She Wants To Do Is Dance”) reacted quickly and have already sued DeVore for copyright infringement in the US District Court, on the basis that the new versions implied that they were supporting DeVore’s candidacy, a prospect that Henley probably found more upsetting than a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac.

So all you need to remember is - the Right Wing (by that I mean the BC LIEberals, the HarperCons, the US RePukelicans and whoever is currently running Alberta) worship at the altar of "PRIVATE PROPERTY" and really truly respect property rights - well as long as it is their property, or even yours, if they are done with it or just don't need it for anything.

2011-01-21T08:03:00.008-08:00

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.

2011-01-14T14:58:00.004-08:00

A Waste of Trees
& Bandwidth!

ProMedia's Pressroom Equipment

The mainstream media of British Columbia has a shameful almost (at least) twenty year disgraceful record of not serving the public, choosing instead to serve their corporate masters and their masters' puppets the BC Liberal Liars. It has gotten so bad, that Canned Waste and Global were on the verge of bankruptcy and have lost so much respect and market share amongst the public, that should be their market, that they now can only depend on the government itself and the corporate elite (and new ownership) to save them from complete failure.

Back in the day when Glen Clark built a small deck on his modest East Vancouver home, we were treated nightly to rehashed coverage of Glen nervously pacing by his kitchen window and two guys who looked like extras from a Sopranos episode exiting a North Burnaby card club. Meanwhile the NDP today can't get covered at all, unless they can be made to appear foolish, in disarray or somehow inadequate to actually run government.

Meanwhile, the cast of Gordon Campbell wannabe clones are treated as if they were actually bringing issues and real policy options to the table in the contest to replace the completely disgraced Mr. 9% Gordon Campbell, who keeps threatening to someday actually quit abusing the people of British Columbia. The other night CeeTeeVee and Glow Ball gave overwhelming coverage to a bunch of yuppie youth who gathered to hear Ding Dong, Bird Brain and Crusty the Campbell Clone spout nonsense, while almost ignoring the entrance of John Horgan to the leadership contest for the NDP.

Carole James, who couldn't get mentioned for seven years, unless she could be slagged, all of a sudden became all the usual suspects', Vaughn the Pawn, Keith Balderdash, slimey Les Leyne and the rest, favorite choice for leader of the party and her stepping down was surely the death of the party. Of course when you are an ass kisser to the LIEberals, what's not to like about a woman who alienates half of her own party's natural support and can lose two elections to a thieving, womanizing, lying drunk, that is running for your guys. Now that John Horgan is in the race, the knock on him is that he can't appeal to most of the province, because he comes from the Victoria area. Do these fools even remember what they were saying last month about Carole the Greatest (for the BC liaRs) who also represents a Victoria area riding?

Of course now that Mike Farnsworth is in the race, the media is falling all over themselves to say nice things about him - only Crusty herself actually lets the cat out of the bag as she (the biggest baggage handler of all herself) points out that he has a lot of baggage, having been involved with BC's own versionn of Satan - Glen Clark and the dark dark days of the nineties when NDP tyranny was choking the province to death - well that's the "official" story. Of course now that they don't have Carole James to kick around, it is obvious they would rather have whichever idiot wins their leadership go against Farnsworth or Dix, or Lali, than John Horgan.

Today in the Stun Vaughn the Pawn out does himself as he goes after those who dare criticize the weasel Craig James, the improperly appointed and illegally acting Chief Electoral Officer. It seems poor Craig has recieved some death threats. Now it is unimportant that recall canvassers in Ida Chongs riding are being intimidated and blogger Laila Yuile is even assaulted by a Liberal supporter while out with her children, but poor, poor Craig - another victim, just like Sarah Palin.

It isn't right to threaten anyones life. As a matter of fact, it is AGAINST THE LAW to utter threats. So why haven't the sterling RCMP investigated these threats, that came in November and WHY are they an issue now? Could it be that the recall campaign is going better than Ida "Chomp Chomp" Chong would like?

For starters, Craig James is improperly serving as chief electoral officer, the job description requires that he have no other employment, which he obviously does as Norm Farrell has pointed out. At every step of the way Craig James has acted inappropriately from refusing to pass on the original anti-HST petition (until forced to by the court) to firing the 28 year veteran second in command at Elections BC from his "temporary" posting. Then there is the matter of trying to scare 80+ year old women who signed the petition twice, most likely by accident, with JAIL time. And now in the light of the events in Tucson last Saturday, Craigie's death threats come to the fore. It doesn't matter if that was the fault of the media or Craigie himself, they both are on the LIEberal team. Gordon Campbell's personal PR Hack, Vaughn Palmer tried in todays garbage of a column to denounce Chris Delany for the following accurate statement:

"We have a chief electoral officer who makes up the rules when he goes along....whenever you do that you're going to have people get upset because his role, his job, is to actually be the impartial arbiter of the elections process. But what he's doing right now is conducting a surrogate role for the B.C. Liberal government and its interests....He's a cheater, a blatant cheater."

Vaughn, not surprisingly considers that an "unproven, personalized attack on the official and his integrity." I say if it walks like a duck and quacks.....you all know the rest of that.

I sense desperation in the Liberal camp and in the fawning media that has supported them and thrown away all semblance of journalistic integrity and I like it!

Vaughn or Keith spreading the B.S.

2011-01-10T09:18:00.004-08:00

BC Supreme Court
HIJINKS

Our bereft of ethics criminal organization posing as the BC Liberal Government, still acting on the orders of the supposedly resigned Capo Gordon Campbell has a busy week of abuse of both judicial process and the people of British Columbia.

The Non-existent Plaintiff

First up is a hearing/trial start or whatever occurring in BC Supreme Court today regarding the Sinixt Nation and their assertion that they exist, have valid land claims in the Kootenays and are entitled to consultation on logging and other resource extraction projects on land they consider their original territory. Late last year in an almost unheard of action from a court in BC, a hearing about an injunction to stop a blockade of a logging show on Perry Ridge was denied to Sunshine Logging pending the findings of the action beginning today regarding the status of the Sinixt and their claims.

Though I knew this hearing/trial was to happen today, it seems to be like the Basi-Virk trial, being kept almost secret as much as possible. I did hear mention of it on the CBC Daybreak Show local news out of Kelowna, yet could find no mention of it on the CBC website or anywhere else on the web through Google or Google news. Even though I know it is based on a Writ of Summons filed July 28, 2008 under BC Supreme Court File No. 14324, initiating an aboriginal title action against the Crown, I was unable to find it on any court schedule published online. On CBC this morning Marilyn James, often spokeswoman for the Sinixt said essentially that:

"Everytime they make us go this route we get stronger and their denials look even more ridiculous"

For more background on this case go to waterwalk and scroll down the front page to Dispatch from Perry Ridge, posted on November 7, 2010.

For background on the history of the Sinixt and/or Arrow Lakes Band and the questionable declaration of their extinction see Legal Action at sinixtnation.org.

I Thought Aneal Got Off!

While searching the online docket for the BCSC (I almost typed BSBS, which somehow doesn't seem all that far from the truth), I came across this:

I'm not clear what this is about, I had thought Aneal was charged with only laundering money for his cousin Big Dave, and those charges had been dismissed as part of the Six Million Dollar Bribe for Silence. Are these new charges, is he bribing people again. Anyway if you click on the image, it will get big enough so can can see that Aneal, Bobby Virk and Mr. "Limited Access" are all facing charges today of "accepting a bribe from a person dealing with government" and "breach of trust by a public official."

The Old Destruction of Evidence Gambit

Tomorrow, January 11, according to the dean of observers of the BC Rail Corruption Trial, Robin Mathews:

Through the pre-trial hearings of nearly three years, documentation was piled up in tens of thousands of pages. In that documentation I believe (as a regular observer of the court processes) that a solid basis for the commencement of criminal investigation of others, superiors to the three accused, is present. I wrote formally to then top BC RCMP officer Gary Bass and asked him to open that investigation. He refused.

And now on January 11, 2011, the (improperly appointed) Crown Prosecutor will appear before Associate Chief Justice Anne MacKenzie and ask her to order Defence counsel to return all documentation.

The conventional wisdom would suggest that this is so the real crooks in this case can then destroy the evidence and get clean away with their crimes and successful frame job on sleazy individuals, but not the real bad guys. If I wasn't over 500 miles away, with other things to do, I would be in front of that courthouse tomorrow with a sign, maybe a pitchfork or maybe even more serious implements, all of which I would surrender to enter the courtroom to see if I could decipher the mumbling of the fakers who have spent the last seven or eight years subverting justice and trying to make the truth go away.

TeaHadists, take note!

The Teabaggers don't seem to realize that you are only supposed to steep tea (well Mu tea for the flu is best boiled into paste), but through their ill concieved, irresponsible rhetoric they have allowed the pot to boil over starting in Tucson on Saturday afternoon. My hopes go out to Congresswoman Giffords for her recovery and my condolences to the six folks who so unnecessarily died as a result of an army reject/college dropout fueled by the idiotic screechings of Sharron "second amendment solutions" Angle, Sarah "crosshairs on dem districts" Palin and the barking chorus of Faux News and talk radio like Rush Limpballs, Glenn Beck and the rest of their ilk.

I have been giving this tragedy much thought and hope maybe it will lead to a turning point in the approach to the issues, the current approach accomplishing nothing but failure and in the case of Saturday, death and injury. I will probably take it up here later or tomorrow - after all, the House of representatives is just another House of Infamy and thus completely within the mandate here!

2011-01-06T08:00:00.004-08:00

The Holidays are Over
Back to
ABNORMALITY!

Ms. Tundra Trailer Trash
Creeping out Sane Folks Everywhere!

2011 promises to be a fascinating year for political observers at every level municipal, provincial/state, national and international.

In British Columbia we have a virtual clown show of leadership contests and ongoing corruption being covered by a media full of idiots or tools who consistently refuse to actually address a relevant issue almost ever.

BC liaR's Club<

It's a wonder I have a TeeVee in my home that still works, it is a sign of self discipline that I haven't thrown shoes, mugs or anything at hand through them all when I watch the fawning coverage of the leadership races in the only parties that have a chance of forming the government in British Columbia. On the one hand there is the fawning attempt to treat those vying to take over the Campbell Crime Family as if they offered any real change and weren't all accessories to a ten year crime spree as is the (as RossK refers to it) the proMedia itself - both on paper and through the air or cable.

First, and currently considered the favorite is Christy Clark, who on the one hand is portrayed as an outsider, but in reality is the most soiled by the depredations of BC Rail and the assault on public education AND the most involved with the very players who participated most intimately in the theft of BC Rail. After all, it wasn't Kevin Falcon's wife or Mike DeJong's brother whose homes were also searched contemporaneously with the Raid on the Legislature. Except for the genitalia, Christy is the closest to a Gordon Campbell clone in the race, so if you liked Gordo, you'll love Cluck Cluck.

Then there is Mike DeJong, who allegedly graduated from law school. Then again, when I hear the following exchange (when an NW softball pitcher went rogue and actually tried to get an answer or two - Michael Smythe the other day), I wonder who actually sat for his bar exam:

Smythe: "I'm suggesting that there is an appearance that the trial was shut down because you guys were going to pay $6 million to these guys' lawyers."

De Jong: "OK, well then let's not talk about appearances, Mike, let's talk about what happened. And let's talk about a role played by an independent prosecutor, who by the way, I've never met, never spoken with, so you know I get why people were angry. An eight-year criminal investigation and trial that led to the criminal conviction of two people for the worst possible breeches of the public trust. No one should be happy about any of that."

Smythe: "Yeah, the worst possible breeches of the public trust and we give their lawyers six million bucks. They're set for life."

De Jong: "Pursuant to a policy Mike that was established in the 1990s."

Smythe: "Well hang on a minute, because the policy as far as I know said that you are indemnified for your lawyer unless you're guilty. I remember when Glen Clark had his house searched, and the government of the day said 'Hey we'll pay for Glen Clark's lawyer unless he's guilty, then we want the money back', right?

De Jong: "Right."

Smythe: "That's the policy. Here we have a situation where these guys plead guilty to these very serious crimes - corruption crimes - and their lawyers are set for life. They're laughing all the way to the bank."

De Jong: "Yes, and your point, Mike?"

The POINT is Mike, that in spite of your attempt to blame it on the policy and the policy on the NDP (jeepers, there's that deck in East Van), the POINT is AS Mr. Smythe already pointed out, THEY WERE FOUND GUILTY - I would think a person who could get into and through law school would be able to see that.

Then we have Kevvie "birdbrain" Falcon, BC's own latent brownshirt. Merit pay for teachers - wow! Merit pay for guys like Falcon would make more sense, we could have had government for free (as far as politician's salaries) for the last ten years with that kind of policy. It would make more sense to have contracts with your buddies with Rape of the River deals that obligated BC Hydro (us - for now) to pay them for their power a price related to what it is worth. Let's be clear here, at least electical power is something that CAN be measured - unlike education "results."

Actually George Abbott is the least offensive candidate from the liaR Mob. However, you know that thing with his head? I think it is a sign of his own discomfort with having to lie regularly to stay in cabinet and caucus. Or for those familiar with poker, it is Abbott's "tell." He truly seems like a person who means well, but obviously doesn't understand that if you run with crooks, you are one as well.

The Comic Relief Party

While the proMedia prefers as much a possible to ignore the (perhaps) Loyal (maybe) Opposition NDP, when they can't ignore them they never miss a chance to either make them look foolish, silly or hopeless. During the last election when Carole James attempted to go inspect Rape of the River project on the central coast, all we heard about was how windy it was (as if she controlled the weather) and the effect it had on her hair. Somehow the massive rip-off and environmental destruction that the project represented wasn't a relevant part of the story.

Harry Lali is apparently going to announce his candidacy later today and already he is being portrayed as kinda out there on the CBC Radio because he suggested that the whole deal with Glen Clark's deck smelled of a conspiracy. Well let's compare that small deck in East Van to say the BC Rail Trial. For one thing anyone with a TeeVee watched Glen Clark pace by his kitchen window and the two extras from a Sopranos shoot leaving a North Burnaby card club EVERY effing night, FOR MONTHS. Then when it got to court there actually was a trial that lasted 136 days, resulting in an aquittal - meanwhile Glen Clark was destroyed politically and combined with the showboating over the Fast Cats, so was the party. Meanwhile the proMedia has been trying as hard as possible to ignore the BC Rail Scam and when that doesn't work, convince everyone it doesn't matter anymore, if it ever did.

Even more disturbing is the destructive attitude and behaviour of those one would think share the professed values of the NDP and would prefer to have a government that wasn't a criminal organization in disguise, folks like the articulate but often stunned Norman Farrell, or the petulant former Carole Jame's Chief of Staff, Ian Reid or the shrieking David Shreck. Hell with guys like them on the other side, the BC liaRs don't have to even air their own attack ads.

Yesterday Norm Farrell continued his sniping campaign against all the sane folks who accepted the fact that Carole James HAD to go (as does MOE) by publishing a letter from an old school mate from Powell River attacking the first actual MLA to throw his hat in the ring for the leadership. An excerpt:

I find it disturbing that a Judas who has being an ineffectual MLA and considered a lightweight by the Party would now to think he can lead a Party that he tried to tear apart as a member of a pack of dissidents who disregarded all Party protocol and tradition.

Well, well, the Judas part refers to the fact that Mr. Simons was conspicous by his lack of fashion sense, ie. he doesn't wear yellow(belly) scarves. The part about being "an ineffectual MLA and considered a lightweight" is laughable. Ever since the days when Joy and Jenny were the opposition the NDP has been an entire caucus of ineffectual MLAs, tasked with passively watching an ongoing crime spree against the people of British Columbia with hardly an occassional peep, while being busy trying to court the same corporate elite that already own the BC Liberal Party and whomever winds up being their servant/so called leader. For the last seven years this has been a party where the "heavyweights" act like lightweights without even the speed of a good lightweight. Give me a break!

Elsewhere

As bizzare and fascinating as BC Politics is, even more so now than usual, things are just as bizzare seemingly everywhere.

To the south we have the new Weeper of the House, John Boehner ("Boner" to Dubya) taking the big gavel, which he will undoubtably need to beat down the TeaHadists whose election made it possible for him to take the gavel away from Fidel Castro's twin sister, separated at birth, little Nancy Pelosi. For an excellent discussion of Mr. Tears see Matt Taibbi's fine piece from the Rolling Stone - The Crying Shame of John Boehner - a sample paragraph:

When he wasn't busy protecting sex offenders, Boehner was gracing the hallowed grounds of the Capitol building with all the dignity and class of a boxing promoter, calling one legislative deal a "crap sandwich" and blasting an Obama tax compromise as "chicken crap" (an unfortunate choice of words, given that massive amounts of poultry waste have created an ecological disaster in his own district). Boehner is also an innovator in the loathsome new political phenomenon of men crying in public, co-owning mastery of the habit with screeching media dillweed Glenn Beck.

Then there's the intriguing game of trying to guess which European country will go broke next, when the combined immprisoned, unemployed and homeless (due partly to an upcoming foreclosure Tsunami) of the US will outnumber those with jobs and/or homes.

Of course Parliament fires itself up again at the end of the month and we can start a pool about when either prorogation or an election will occur. Of course we can set odds on whether the next war will be in the Korean penninsula, Pakistan or Iran or ?

So much to comment on and so little time!

2010-12-13T14:55:00.002-08:00

The Really Real
REAL STORY

Wannabe Bullies Wearing Yellow Scarves!

Here we are into another week and the Chicken Little Brigade continues its - at best useless and at worst destructive - assault on reason and the New Democratic Party. The Ultimatum Man, Ian Reid, each day has me more convinced that he is working for the success of the BC LIEberal Party. Why else would he day after day try to find new twists to convince the world that due to the mean Jenny Kwan and the “baked dozen” the NDP has doomed itself to another decade or two in the wilderness.

Yesterday he continued his ongoing campaign to aid and abet the LIEberal Party with yet another post accusing everyone who disagrees with his doomsday attitude of “spinning” while assuring his shrinking base of sycophants that his negative nattering is nothing less than the gospel truth. His desperation to convince the pathetic bunch of pessimists that infest his comment threads has extended to deleting comments by those with the temerity to disagree for whatever lame reason he can make up.

Commenter Kevin who patiently tried to explain his position gets deleted for using too many words. Grant G, the Powell River Persuader gets deleted and/or demeaned for being insulting. Yet those who adhere to the Ian Reid, the NDP is dead and Jenny Kwan is the female incarnation of the devil can spew insults in all directions, using how ever many words they need. I’m done commenting there as yesterday I responded directly to questions from both “get it together” and Ian himself, in a succinct manner, and it has since been deleted. I can only assume this is because it was too logical was thus too difficult for the Chicken Little Brigade to discredit. I’ve been deleted or banned from classier blogs than The Real (sic) Story.

Perhaps the most over the top in Ian’s choir is Linda. Might this be the same Linda (who regularly attacks that other enemy of mankind Bill T at his place) with so much time on her hands she can go to THREE different MLA open houses in one day? Even though I’m in the middle of three NDP ridings, I couldn’t even drive to all three of their homes in one day, even if I didn’t stop at any of them – of course I live in the HURTLAND, the region most victimized by the Campbelloid scorched earth policies.

Perhaps I should point out that two of my local MLAs did the honourable thing and resigned their elevated positions - Norm MacDonald to my north and my MLA, who NOW has more local support than before – Katrine Conroy. The third, Michelle Mungall (who had to submit to a gender test to replace Corky - shades of the South African runner) donned a yellowbelly scarf, but I don’t hold that against her, she's a young rooke with less than two years in caucus. In the Kootenays we had issues with many Carole James policies or lack of coherent policies – including the exclusion of potential candidates with the wrong genitalia, preferring the right to choose the best candidate in the eyes of the local members to represent our interests):

Adrian is right about one thing — it is extremely hypocritical for those who viciously attacked and publicly humiliated Carole James to now tell us who are James supporters that we can’t comment or criticize what they’ve done…../snip

This “coup d’etat” has made us the laughing stock of the media and the Liberals.

I would hardly call questioning Carole’s leadership or mildly criticizing a dull substance free speech “vicious attacks.” It appeared to me that Carole and her gang were the folks into trying to “publicly humiliate” people with the childish yellow scarf gambit. And now if anyone is saying you guys (Ian, Kevin, Linda, et. al.) can’t comment or criticize those Carole called “bullies and selfish,” it is pretty clear you ARE NOT paying any attention and certainly not thinking about the work that has to be done to move ahead. Carole realized that rules be damned, she didn’t have (and going so long without any real review didn’t deserve) the support of almost forty percent of the people in her caucus - people CHOSEN by the voters themselves – the same voters who will be helping to decide the next election. There was no “coup d’etat,” Ms. James wasn’t assassinated and it is time start discussing who should lead the party into an election that could come as soon as next spring – and get off of this foolishness that a genuine OMOV selection wouldn’t be honoured by even the “dissidents.” However, winning the leadership isn’t like getting appointed to the Supreme Court – it isn’t a LIFE TIME position.

Because of the deliberate actions of a minority of MLAs, the party is deeply divided and I wonder if the wounds will ever heal. Not only is the caucus divided but the membership is also fractured

The dissidents didn’t divide the party, they were a sign that the party had become divided and didn’t have leadership capable of holding it together through either vision or discipline. When a hockey team is losing, even though the coach and GM neither score goals, nor play defence, they are ones who generally pay the price in the hope that the new “leadership” can get better results from the same players.

Enough with Ian Reid - as he is easy to understand and impossible to reason with. If I had been Carole’s Chief of Staff for part of the last seven years, I would be unhappy as well. I would feel like I had been giving bad, ineffective advice and was a major part of the reason that Carole personally and the NDP as a party had been providing ineffective lacklustre opposition and failing to connect with the voters beyond the diehard committed party faithful who would vote NDP if Robert Pickton was the leader. Then again, if Mr. Reid was a mole for the BC LIEberals, as it would appear, the unhappiness may be only a faux display and the real cause the loss of Carole James, the LIEberal’s not so secret weapon.

Norman Farrell, Attorney at Law (not!)

I'll begin by apologizing to Norm for calling him a nasty name, just above. But, after reading this morning's piece over at Northern Insights, one of my VERY favorite blogs, I am puzzled by his apparent committment to parsing the rules of the New Democratic Party to prove that Jenny Kwan and company are snakes and the NDP is doomed - or the Ian Reid canard without the petulance.

This flight of fancy from Norm caught me by surprise because I consider Norm, along with BC Mary, perhaps the most rational, non-partisan blogger on the local scene. I also consider him one of the most articulate with an uncanny ability to express complex ideas with an amazing degree of clarity.

But it seems to me that Norm must be going to law school in his retirement as he is really getting picayune with his detailed critiques of why the Jenny Kwan wing is wrong based on a detailed analysis of the “Official Rules” of the New Democratic Party. As it is my impression that while he may be a supporter, at least at times of the NDP, he isn’t an actual member of any party. If I remember correctly he even apologized at Northern Insights for voting Liberal in 2001.

To begin with he spouts a lot of nonsense from the recent Mustel Poll showing the Liberals on the way to the promised land and and the poor dippers freefalling into the depths of hell, where they will likely be sent on to an even worse place by Satan himself for their bad, bad, behaviour. I won't even discuss these polls as I consider H.P. Lovecraft, Grimm's Fairy Tales and Mother Goose herself to be more reality based than any so-called poll from Evi Mustel.

But then Norm goes into almost brain liquefying detail, parsing in grand Clintonian style, the NDP Party constitution and about rule number such and such sub-section such and such and why the dissidents should stand in the corner and the party itself take a ten year time out for flaunting this sacred rules.

In a province that has been run into the ground by the Campbell Crime Family for the last decade, this concern with rules seems almost quaint. The government itself breaks the LAW almost daily, if not indeed 24/7, as many of their questionable actions effect British Columbians every waking (and for the homeless, elderly and ill, even while trying to sleep). Cabinet ministers are under investigation for various potentially criminal activity almost constantly and the RCMP refuses to even consider investigating many legitimate complaints from sober well meaning citizens. They have been found guilty of breaking the law in the very courts they so successfully manipulate most of the time and left the tax payers on the hook for not only their defence, but the penalties imposed when they are found guilty of such transactions as illegally tearing up binding legally signed contracts. It is positively embarrassing to have one’s own province sanctioned by UN agencies for trampling on worker’s or human rights in various slimy ways. When it comes to “rules” the only rule for the BC liaRs seems to be – “We will only cheat if we need to, to win - and we only LIE when we Speak.”

Meanwhile, if Carole James had spent as much energy and focus on holding the Campbell forces to account for their routine transgressions as she expended on her critics within her own party questioning the party direction and her leadership, we might not be having this discussion.

Keeping in mind that every single thing from invading Poland to gassing six million Jews was completely LEGAL under the law as it was enshrined in the Third Reich, methinks this harping from many about the "Rules" is a bit disingenuous. As I said above in the section devoted to the Surreal Story of Ian Reid, the dissidents didn't create the rift in the party - they were merely a visible sign that it was there and needed to be addressed. Addressing it next fall when we're buckling down for at least four more years of Liberal abuse under Emperor Falcon or Empress Clark just wasn't going to cut it.

The revolt against James was strictly a powerplay by party operatives and the caucus, an undemocratic coup that disregarded the party's constitution, a condition so fundamental to an egalitarian organization that full recovery will be difficult. How can the next leader or the membership feel comfortable when consent to a common set of rules is lacking

The idea that after a real leadership contest with an honest exchange of ideas the party can't unite behind a freshly chosen leader is pure hogwash worthy of Les(s) Leyne or Bill "not so" Good. Carole James' for all the good she had done was running on a mandate that had frankly run out in the view of too many REAL NDPers and potential NDP voters. Why not say that if Christy Cluck Cluck wins the leadership of the liaR Party, Kevvie Birdbrain and all his supporters will flee to the BC First Party or start calling themselve HarpoCons - or actually call themselves what they really are?

Opinion 250 - More Gloom and Doom

While I was working on this post the Powell River Persuader sent me a link to more nonsense this time from Ben Meisner. The often sensible Meisner picks up the sky is falling ball with so much bafflegab and nonsense I can't even understand him - for example:

It wasn’t her (James-kc), you may remember, who took the approach that the attack on the government record would be the way to grab power from the Liberals in the last election. That advice came from the supposed,”well informed “ who said this was the best tactic to win the approval of the voting public.

She fully understood that she shouldn’t have listened to them following the election, in which her showing was pretty admirable in any event.

The above statement makes me wonder if he was watching the same, May 2009 election, that the rest of us witnessed. The way I remember it Carole and her Krogs were so busy trying to be "nice" and kiss the butt of business that the Liberals were able to carry on their lies about their fiscal prudence, the dismal dark age of the nineties, how they were bringing in a new era (in a good way) in education and health care and they rarely even had to resort to Wally's favorite tape loop - "It's before the courts." Instead the lies were permitted to stand,unchallenged and too many voters were convinced they were lucky to be alive if they had lived in BC during the dreaded nineties under ~~Josef~~ Glen~~Stalin~~ Clark.

It's astounding that Ben Meisner seems to think the NDP don't deserve to form a government because they are (hopefully) sorting out some leadership issues for the election bound to come long before next fall's purported leadership convention, much less in May of 2013.

Maybe Ben doesn't remember the Prince George that was the industrial powerhouse and transportation hub of the northern heartland before a decade of BC Liberal policies reduced it to the unemployment and crime capital of Canada. If we have to suffer four or six more years of Liberal abuse perhaps Prince George could become the Juarez of North America, replacing the real Juarez. Seems like a heavy price to pay for a bit of internal dissension amongst the only party with a prayer of replacing the Campbell Crime Family with nothing more than a new capo.

Of course after four to six years of Liberal pillaging and abandonment of the hurtland, the Prince George resident with the means (a functioning vehicle, gas money and some change) might well want to move to Juarez because at least there it won't ever hit -40C with hydro or fuel too expensive to buy, and there could be jobs at a maquiladora, Prince George being too far from the border of anywhere where people might be able to buy stuff - meaning no maquiladoras for PG.

What I've been trying to avoid saying:

The ranters of doom have finally driven me to the point of expressing something I've been thinking for awhile now, but really didn't want to say, because it it too much like saying something nice about the silver haired prevaricating one. But understandable as it is that neither he nor Ms. James really wanted to step down from their lofty perch as leaders of their parties - I can't escape the fact that Gordo actually was more gracious and less petulant in biting the bullet. While James blamed everybody but herself, calling them selfish bullies and such, Gordo didn't even refer to Wild Bill Bennett, or Blair Leckstrom or the other restive caucus members who forced his hand. Nope, the man more people detest than anyone else in BeeCee mainly said he was stepping down for the good of his party because it was becoming "all about him." That compared to Carole's threats to hold people accountable like schoolchildren right up to the hastily cancelled Sunday afternoon meeting and then still blaming the bullies seemed like Gordo was the one actually accepting some personal responsibility for his position (or the loss of his position).

I know Ian Reid and his ilk don't want to hear that, just as he seems oblivious to his own role as a chief adviser in Carole's ultimate failure to capture the premiership and rescue the province from the LIEberal clutches.

And I'm NOT Ben Meisner, but that is my opinion!

2010-12-11T11:17:00.007-08:00

Yellow Scarves
& Sour Grapes!

"The report of my death is an exaggeration"
Mark Twain 1897

In the ongoing clown show that BC Politics appears to be, especially to those unfortunate enough to live on the wrong side of the Rockies, in recent weeks two developments stand out as truly weird. Well, on the surface at least, until one gives some thought to the motives of the people involved in each case.

The first was how Vaughn the Pawn, Keith the Smug Cynic, Les(s) "than gifted" Leyne, Bill "not so" Good and the rest of the BC LIEberal cheering section posing as journalists reversed their position on Carole James, erstwhile leader of the dreaded Socialists at the Gate, otherwise known as the New Democratic Party. This crew of sycophants who a few months ago could only either ignore or mock Ms. James had a communal revelation that she was the best leader that the NDP ever had, bar none! This was fairly easy to understand, as at the same time her leadership was becoming under threat and Gord's boys and girls in the media knew that the BC liaRs would hate to lose their secret weapon and best hope of winning yet another four years to abuse the province.

More difficult to understand though has been the wailing and gnashing of gums by so-called dippers who have formed their own Chicken Little Brigade and have been screaming from the rooftops that the NDP has blown its "opportunity" to form the next government or maybe to EVER form a government again. Somehow the fact that the Libs themselves are barely governing at the moment, most ministries being without a minister as most heavy hitters have announced their intention to occupy the Big Chair occupied for the last 17 years by the victim of their own recent coup. Of course this doesn't even take into account the ministers or members currently undergoing investigation or prosecution for one thing or another.

Ian Reid, formerly Chief of Staff to Carole James, has led the choir of doom with help from the likes of David Shreck and former cabinet minister Paul Ramsey. Though it seems that Mr. Shreck may be coming to his senses if one is to believe a recent post at his Blog Strategic Thoughts , Parties Tied 36-36 - bolding by kootcoot.

As expected there was a big jump in those who would vote for the BC Liberals following Gordon Campbell's November 3rd announcement. The Angus Reid online poll of 804 randomly selected BC adults conducted from December 7th to December 8th also revealed that the tie was reduced from 36 to 36 to 14 to 14 when those surveyed were asked which party they would support regardless of who wins the respective leadership contests. At 36% the BC Liberals are down 10 points from their 2009 actual election results, and the NDP is down 6 points. Both parties have to work to regain public confidence.

It may be disappointing for some New Democrats to see the disappearance of the 21 point advantage (47 to 26) the NDP enjoyed in the November Angus Reid poll. That poll was concluded hours before Campbell's announcement, while the December poll was conducted immediately after Carole James resigned following a month of bitter public infighting. For the NDP to tie the BC Liberals in the aftermath of its civil war is a better outcome than I expected. It offers hope that with the right leader, and a leadership campaign that isn't further damaging, the NDP may be competitive in the next election.

I don't know where Mr. Ramsey stands today, but as far as I can tell, Mr. Reid, in spite of promising to leave, if the "baked dozen" "won,"

My ultimatum to Kwan and the others is this: if you win I’m out. And I’m not alone.

has decided to stay and lead the chorus of doomsday naysayers over at his place, therealstory.ca. I don't know why his followers are so hysterical about the unlikely notion that going in to yet another election with Ms. James at the helm would lead to victory, but Ian Reid himself should look in the mirror. Instead of being like his former boss and blaming Jenny Kwan, bullies, and everyone else in sight or hearing, perhaps he should take some blame for the last seven years of Liberal raping and pillaging of the province. After all, as Chief of Staff he must have something to do with the lack of coherent policy positions, tendency to trail significantly her own party in the polls that plagued Carole James and losing two elections to a lying drunken crook, the last one a gimmee!

Over at his place I compared Mr. Reid to Rahm Emanuel, Israeli/Corporate Mole who helped Bill Clinton turn into Republican Lite and has helped President Obama lose almost all of his natural support through his advocacy for Zionists and financial institutions - with no visible hope of winning over the "blue dogs," Rethugs and TeaBaggers. Rahm also helped George Bush the Lesser - "he was an important player in the recent passage of President Bush's $700 billion financial bailout plan, helping to mobilize Democratic votes to pass the measure."

Of course when Emanuel Rahm isn't busy advising or helping elect Republican presidents posing as Democrats, or being a member of Congress he might take time off to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces as he did during Gulf War One. Then again he might roll up his sleeves and earn a quick sixteen million as a managing director of a global Chicago based investment bank as he did after leaving the Clinton administration.

I might not agree with Rahm Emanuel's motives or policies, indeed I would think most Americans would rather have the President's top advisor serve in the US Military, after all, the US was in (well actually running it) that war, too! Then his finacial background may explain why he apparently advised Obama that bailing out the fraudsters that put the world on the brink of economic collapse was more important than helping out the people losing their jobs and homes to these same crooks. But one has to admit he can help ELECT people and get policy enacted, and even get elected to Congress himself.

If Carole James couldn't convince a substantial number of (Provincial Council 84% is meaningless outside the backroom to most BCers) NDP members, much less enough voters in general that Carole James was the one with the Royal Jelly to lead her party to the promised land - Ian Reid should be asking himself why? So I take back my comparison of Ian Reid to Rahm Emanuel - Ian Reid IS NO Rahm Emanuel, because Rahm Emanuel is a winner. I may feel that he and Rahm both led their bosses in a direction I wasn't comfortable with, though in Rahm's case, he and his guys have won - though Obama could pay the price in 2012. I would rather see a US Democratic candidate or BC NDPer lose while at least representing the values of the party, than to turn into the other guys just to win - whether they win or lose.

For some balanced insight into the state of the two main parties today, I would recommend reading Making Sense of a Brutal Political Season in BC by the man that can actually do math, Will McMartin:

New Democrats wring hands and squabble

Unlike their BC Liberal opponents, members of the New Democratic Party seem unable to move past the internal fight that James supposedly ended with her resignation announcement.
David Schreck and Paul Ramsey, two prominent former NDP MLAs, have separately predicted (see here and here) that James' departure assures the BC Liberals of a fourth consecutive electoral victory.
That view is echoed by Kennedy Stewart, a professor at Simon Fraser University and one-time federal NDP candidate (see here.)
Why they -- and many other New Democrats -- believe this to be so is puzzling. How can it be that the party that has been competitive in nine of British Columbia's last 10 general elections (the exception being 2001), and formed the government on three occasions, is so badly fractured or paralyzed by James' departure that it won't be able to compete -- even with a shiny new leader?..../snip

Revolt erupts

The floodgates of dissent opened in Oct. 2010, after NDP MLA Bob Simpson offered mild criticism of his leader's speech at a convention of the Union of B.C. Municipalities. James responded by kicking Simpson out of her caucus.
Norm Macdonald then quit as NDP caucus chair, and shortly thereafter, Katrine Conroy resigned as caucus whip. Former NDP cabinet ministers (Bob Williams, Corky Evans, Dale Lovick) began to openly call for James' departure.
Matters came to a head at a NDP provincial council meeting in Victoria on Nov. 20. The good news for James was that she received a massive vote of support, 84 per cent, from the assembled delegates; the bad news was that 13 NDP MLAs refused to wear yellow scarves handed out to the leader’s supporters. Dissent now was out in the open for all to see.
The situation deteriorated for James on Dec. 1 when Jenny Kwan, a 14-year caucus veteran, released a lengthy public statement that called for a leadership convention as soon as possible. Public-opinion polls, wrote the Vancouver-Mt. Pleasant MLA, illustrated "Carole James' inability to capture the interest and support of British Columbians. At a time when the BC Liberal Party and the premier's personal approval rating have fallen to all time lows, the NDP under her leadership has not been able to capitalize on the BC Liberals' downfall."
James blustered and her supporters desperately ("she'll refuse to sign the dissidents' nomination papers!") tried to spin press-gallery reporters (the Province's Michael Smyth most notably wasn't biting) -- but her position clearly was untenable.

When I was last over at Will's post, there were over 160 comments from all sides of the raging debate - from those who figure that the NDP is dead as the dodo to those who think we can finally move on and get ready to take the wheel of the province away from the gangsters who've been running the show!

The only sure thing from where I stand, is that we are into and in for interesting times.

2010-12-09T10:22:00.007-08:00

Misrepresenting
Your Constituents

Recall Ida Chong

The Republican Party in the failing state to our south has, at least since the reign of Ronnie Raygun, been highly successful at getting large portions of the electorate to vote against their own interests by a combination of outright lies and cunning exploitation of wedge issues. While being faithful to their real constituency (and owner operators) the rich and the corporate elite, they manage to also gain the support of the same coal miners whose lives are put at risk by the de-regulation policies dear to their real constituency. They sweep elections among the rednecks of southern states who if lucky - work for minimal wages - and if not so lucky are unemployed because of the wholesale shipment of their jobs overseas where children and other unfortunates will do the work even cheaper. They even get away with cutting off unemployment benefits to those whom their policies have thrown out of work and making assistance either inaccessible or too meagre because well - it's Un-American after all. Besides, a gay couple MIGHT live next door!

Here in BeeCee the BC LIEberals, and for today's discussion Ida Chong and Phil Hochstein, successfully sing from the same Karl Rove copyrighted playbook to the devastation of most of the people in the province, including their own supporters and/or members.

Ida Chong lies almost as easily as she breathes when she tells the folks of Oak Bay -Gordon Head that the recall campaign launched against her is an NDP plot or that it has nothing to do with removing the HST. For starters, the current NDP couldn't run a successful plot to take over a cub scout troop and besides, nobody can or will even say where the party (at least under the James Gang) stands on the HST or what they would do about it if they had the power to do anything. Ida does speak the truth (it must be an accident) when she says that all a successful recall in her riding will do is vacate her seat and force a bye election. However this is Bill VanderZalm and the anti-HST forces strategic next step in trying to eliminate the hated tax. With the government having ignored the wishes of the people, Mr. Fantastic is now moving to pick off LIEberal MLAs one by one until they smarten up and actually act on the wishes of the 700,000 who signed the petition or until the government falls by attrition. Personally I think there are better reasons to take down (and arrest and prosecute) the Campbell government, but hey, I'll go along with whatever works.

Phil "I wish I could make piles of money in construction without having to pay any construction workers at all" Hochstein is an even more nasty piece of work, making Ida seem almost seem like some sweet girl guide. He has picked up the mantle from his predecessor Kerkoff and spends every waking hour trying to destroy unions and degrade the quality of life for working people everywhere. But the following press release from the anti-HST group clearly describes the despicable depths of duplicity and outright betrayal of his own dues paying members that he will go to in his effort to have British Columbia be the first jurisdiction in the western/developed world to return to a feudal society. As I often can't seem to refrain from doing I will highlight parts that I find particularly illuminating.

FIGHT HST LAUNCHES BOYCOTT OF INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS AND BUSINESS ASSOCIATION MEMBERS

Vander Zalm: Business lobby group is targeting canvassers and voters in smear campaign in a bid to try to stop Recall and save the HST

VICTORIA (December 9, 2010) – Fight HST Leader Bill Vander Zalm is calling for a province wide boycott of the businesses and members of the Independent Contractors and Business Association of BC (ICBA) for their attack campaign directed at the canvassers working to Recall Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA Ida Chong.

Vander Zalm says the ICBA, led by their president Phil Hochstein, are trying to smear canvassers in the riding and intimidate voters from signing the Recall petition with deliberately misleading comments in an advertising campaign funded by their members from across BC. He says a series of ads, together with a web site called “stoprecall.ca” encourages voters not to sign the petition because doing so “means giving your name, your signature, and your phone number to people you don’t know”.

“That is a ludicrous statement given that Elections BC requires this information and given that canvassers are required by law not to use the voters’ information for any other purpose but Recall,” said Vander Zalm. “It’s just pure intimidation.”

Since I posted this piece, a commentor pointed out just to what degree these venal excuses for humans, especially Hochstein, will distort, twist and downright turn the truth on its head to suit their venal agenda.

Anonymous said...
Conveniently forgotten in the Phil Hochstein claim that peoples' privacy is "at risk" with recall petitioners is the fact that Elections BC gives a voters list to recall proponents after they file.

They already have the information.

And are bound by the law to keep it confidential.

Back to the press release:

Vander Zalm says the ICBA goes further by smearing the citizens conducting the Recall, describing them as an “army”, “disgraced”, “fringe”, “defeated”, and “opportunists”, and then saying “Do these sound like the types of people you want to hand your personal information over to?”

“It is unbelievable that the members of the ICBA would see fit to attack the citizens of BC by funding a massive advertising campaign to stop Recall and to try to save the HST,” said Vander Zalm. “Especially when many of their contractors, roofers, new home builders, renovators and trades people who sell directly to the public have been hurt by the HST and our efforts are actually helping them.”

“You’d think they would be cheering us on, but instead they are spending mega dollars to attack the democratic process with misleading ads and deliberate smears designed to scare people.”

Vander Zalm says his group has published a list of the members of the ICBA on the Fight HST web site and will be sending it out to the Fight HST supporters list of over 7,000 members with instructions to create a viral campaign across BC using the internet. He is encouraging all British Columbians to cancel any jobs or contracts they have lined up with ICBA businesses and to seek alternative companies to work with.

“Companies like Able Roofing Contractors; Gabe’s Painting and Decorating; and Howell Electric in Kamloops, Canpro Construction; Four Flower Enterprises; PBS Contracting and Soare Contracting in Victoria, as well as hundreds of others around the province are supporting this attack campaign,” said Vander Zalm.

“We don’t have the big money of these groups, so we can only counter their efforts by suggesting a boycott. Hopefully, the ICBA members will come to their senses and let Mr. Hochstein know they don’t agree with the use of their membership dues for such a purpose.”
Vander Zalm says the ICBA has donated over $325,000 to the BC Liberals since 1996. “We challenge Mr. Hochstein to tell British Columbians just how much of his members’ money he is planning to spend to defeat the Recall.”

Vander Zalm notes that Hochstein has gone on record saying there are no limits on his groups’ spending against Recall.

“They’ve found another loop hole in the Recall legislation and are using it to act as a conduit for the BC Government to attack the Recalls. The big business lobby went to bat for the BC Liberals during the petition by trying to strike it down in court and lost. Now they’re trying again with a mega bucks ad campaign designed to subvert the ‘equal spending’ rules for proponents and opponents.”

Vander Zalm is calling on all of the BC Liberal leadership candidates to say where they stand on what he describes as an “abuse of the Recall process.”

“It is totally unfair and undemocratic. The ICBA must be held to account by the people, and refusing to do business with ICBA member companies is the most effective way to do that,” concluded Vander Zalm.

To see the almost sixty page list in .pdf format, click on the live link or paste in the actual link below.

ICBA Members List: http://fighthst.ca/media/ICBAMembersList.pdf

Except for the really big construction companies who build bridges, highways, dams and other big money infrastructure, more and more of which come from outside of BC if not Canada and profit more the less they can pay the workers (temporary virtually indentured foreign workers being the most desirable when possible of course)- the HST hurts most smaller contractors and will force even more residential construction and reno work underground. I always felt there was a real correlation between the beginning of the major attack on union, especially construction/trades unions, in the Bennett the Lesser years and the leaky condo crimes that too many people are still having to deal with and of course today we've gotten to the point where new bridges need to be shut down and repaired with in months of opening (Hi Kelowna!).

There are only a handful of companies on the ICBA list in the Kootenays and most of them are in the far eastern part that may as well be part of "right to work" Alberta. The only two I could find to boycott in the Central/West Kootenay region are:

E. Verigin Consultants
Castlegar, BC
Services: consulting

Esteem Administrative Services
Montrose, BC
Services: employment services — specialty services

But then around here we almost never send treasonous BC liaRs to Victoria to represent our interests, because we learned in 2001, with Air Blair Suffredine that they only represent the interests of Gordon Campbell and his Howe Street constituency!

2010-12-08T11:19:00.007-08:00

British Columbia's
Leadership Follies

A Real Dragon's Den,
but they invest in their friends,
with OUR MONEY!

There is no question that the political landscape in British Columbia is pretty polarized generally, or at least the rhetoric can be counted on to be so. Like politics elsewhere though the rhetoric often bears no relation to reality. Premier for Life (or so it seemed at the time) W.A.C. Bennett was in charge when I first lived in the province. Actually, the quality of opposition and government was so superior then when the two leaders were Bennett the Greater and Little Davey Barrett. I wasn't a fan of Wacky in those days, as he seemed so Republican, or almost a MacCarthyite, screaming about the "socialist hordes at the gates" as if the Alberta border was the Berlin Wall.

But now that Gordon Campbell has almost finished DESTROYING everything that W.A.C. built, I look back at him with fondness. In actuality he was more like a fifties and sixties version of Hugo Chavez of the north as he nationalized railways, hydroelectric companies, ferries and built infrastructure to access the vast resources of the province as agressively as the Imperial Romans on crack. Actually, looking back, W.A.C. wasn't so far to the right, he was a man of the people and the center, who realized that the things that private enterprise could accomplish should be left to private enterprise, but that some things in a jurisdiction bigger than Washington, Oregon and California combined with challenging terrain and even storm tossed waters separating the regions could prosper only if the state stepped up to do what it could do best or at all.

The (sales)paper of the center of the universe, which actually usually covers B.C. politics better than the local stenographers for the PAB, not a difficult task, have weighed in on the current NDP leadership excitement with BC is back to being an alternative political universe.

After a relatively long hiatus of rare normalcy, politics on the way-out West Coast have drifted back into their familiar roost in the twilight zone.

It’s not every province – none, in fact – that can boast two major political parties shedding their leaders at the same time.

Anarchists of the world, unite and come to beautiful British Columbia. This leadership-free province is yours for the taking.

I would suggest that is is Rod Mickleburgh and others making equally silly statements that are living in the "twilight zone" or smoking curious substances.

It isn't a surprise that the BC LIEberals themselves, the PABlum Brigade of PostMedia, Glow Ball, and CeeTeeVee should be jumping on this current state of flux for the NDP and declare them dead in the water for the next decade, century or forever. After all, they are in mourning, since on Monday they lost their secret weapon - Carole James as leader to beat up yet again, most likely LONG BEFORE May of 2013. Also in the unlikely event the Libs win yet another undeserved mandate with enough lies repeated frequently enough, they would at the least MAYBE actually face some actual, you know, opposition from a rejuvenated NDP with a new leader who is more interested in holding the government accountable, than her own members accountable to her sense of entitlement to be Queen.

What I find puzzling and frankly disgusting is David Shreck and Ian Reid and his flock of Chicken Littles bemoaning the death of democracy as we know it and calling for the heads of Jenny Kwan and the "baked dozen" (already an tiresome term, BTW). After promising to go away and shut up if Jenny and the dissidents won and forced his mommy Carole to step down, now he's acting more like Gordo "GOD" Campbell (the Brett Farve of BC Politics) and continues to bleat "the sky is falling, the sky is falling" and Jenny must resign and the rest of the anti-James Gang shouldn't be re-nominated or re-elected.

Of course Ian wouldn't agree, but the reality is more like Bill Tileman puts it in She Had to Go. I couldn't put it more succinctly, maybe that's why Bill is successful in the communications business.

The B.C. NDP leader's second consecutive loss to B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell was fatal to her political future. But she refused to acknowledge that fact until Monday, more than 18 months later.

Unfortunately, James decided not to consult with her caucus or the party before announcing just weeks after her defeat that she would be leader going into the 2013 election.

That set in motion a series of events leading to crisis after crisis until James could no simply longer continue...../snip

But when Campbell was forced to resign by his own caucus revolt, the reality that an election would likely be held in 2011 under a new BC Liberal premier jolted the NDP awake.

The planned yes/no review of James' leadership at the Nov. 2011 NDP convention was no longer soon enough to deal with lingering doubts that she could win a third election try.

Meanwhile over at Chicken Little's Coop Ian shares wisdom(?) like:

A minority of caucus led by Jenny Kwan took the leader of the party down in a coup for unspecified and undocumented charges. Their coup overrode the party constitution and the overwhelming wishes of its governing body. Their coup overrode the wishes and support of the majority in caucus.

The 13 loudly aired their dirty laundry in public. They followed a thought out plan with the pressure ratched up in public and fed by strategic leaks and prepared statements.

The coup has likely cost the party the next election. The media is already full of comment saying the NDP aren’t up to opposition let alone government. And I’m told the party started hemorrhaging money and members at precisely 11:15 yesterday.

The highlighted parts are important because:

1."the party constitution and the overwhelming wishes of its governing body" represent nothing more than a bunch of lovers of the status quo, which in the new environment with no Gordon Campbell to kick around anymore and an impending election SOON, JUST WEREN'T LIKELY TO CUT IT!

2. As far as the "dirty laundry in public" accusation, it was Carole herself with her over top ejection of Bob Simpson (even though he probably IS really an INDEPENDENT) for mild criticism of a vacuous speech, and the childish attempt at intimidation with the silly yellow scarves that created a public spectacle out of an internal debate.

3. "The coup has likely cost the party the next election." Well with people like Ian, Shreck and Paul Ramsey helping the pro-LIEberal media to reinforce the meme, he may be right - they are certainly trying to make it so.

The other thing is this constant refrain that Jenny Kwan (and for some folks the whole baker's dozen) must resign. Well, I don't recall Jenny or anybody else asking for anything more than either a leadership review (before the next election, which makes fall 2011 TOO LATE) or for Carole to step down AS LEADER! But apparently Jenny and perhaps others, in order to be fair and HEAL the party, need to RESIGN. Well all Jenny has now is her seat in the mostly deserted legislature and in caucus - as far as I know she had no assigned "shadow cabinet" role. Norm MacDonald and Katrine Conroy both resigned their elevated party "mucky-muck" positions - it seems self defeating to ask them all to now to join the growing legion of independents - though for the voters it just might be for the best.

The thing that the pro-LIEberal media ignores and the flock of Chicken Littles forgets is that the so-called governing party, the BC Liberals are also in disarray. Gordon Campbell didn't just wake up one morning and say, "jeez, I'm tired of being premier, I've stolen enough, I wanna just go lie on the beach on Maui and drink my face off and hustle chicks."

No the greedy micromanaging one was facing his own internal dissension, because his minions knew he would cost them their cushy jobs for sure, and although this impending caucus revolt was no secret, it was going to become more and more obvious to the public in spite of the shoveling of the PABlum Brigade. So how come we don't hear "How can whomever is elected the new LIEberal leader TRUST those (some in cabinet even) who brought down the most hated man in BeeCee? Don't forget also that less than two years ago, Gordo the not so Great had not only renewed the support of his caucus, but had won an effing election (though he and his minions did have to lie their faces off to do it - but that is just business as usual for this crew).

So now we are looking at the BC Libs as interchangeable Campbell clones of both sexes prepare to do battle for the soiled chair in which Gordo has sat for 17 years. We have Christy, the female Campbell with enough baggage to fill 18 ~~BC Rail~~ CN boxcars. Then there is Ding Dong "if you keep your mouth shut here's six million dollars" DeJong and Mr. BrownShirt hisself (oh wait, it's the Chinese dictators that he would like to emulate) Kevie "BirdBrain" Falcon. George Abbott seems to be the only one amongst them with the slightest chance to be re-habilitated into a non-sociopathic human being with a sense of ethics and/or compassion.

I was gonna add a section about the "outsider" (what a joke!), Christy Clark, who announced today, but I'll leave her and her 18 (and multiplying) boxcars of stuff that writes itself for another day. Within minutes of her actual announcement this morning - that she was officially running to be Premier (not MLA, just premier or nuthin' for this excuse for a gal)- some goofy pundit on the radio, maybe a member of Chicken Little's flock, declared the election run and won by Christy (exact words "It's all over now) now that she was in. I guess I won't bother to vote then, since its already over - by the way, she is mayor of Vancouver right now, isn't she? I never get down that way these days! Oh wait a minute, that's right, she never even won the NOMINATION!

2010-12-07T15:44:00.007-08:00

Things that don't
Concern Us
and go bump in the night!

Living in British Columbia would be a lot like being a mushroom, being in the dark and feeding on horse manure, if it wasn't for the internet. If it was up to PostMedia, Global, CeeTeeVee and increasingly even the CBC, we would never know anything that doesn't suit the corporate owners of our media and our government or promote their greed greased agenda. Just next door in Idaho and Montana there is a major kefluffle going on that directly relates to us and our neighbor Texas North, otherwise known as Alberta, you know the province whose interests the Prime Minister of Canada represents in Ottawa, Cancun and where ever else he goes embarrassing Canadians globally.

This story has it all, globalization and the loss of manufacturing jobs in North America, environmental devastation writ large in the blot on the planet the goo pits of Northern Alberta.

I'll let the Portland Oregonian take it from here:

Giant Alberta-bound oil-sands shipments stall in Idaho as opposition mounts

Imperial Oil managers thought they'd discovered a new Northwest Passage when they decided to send more than 200 giant factory building blocks from South Korea to Canada via Idaho.

The largest of the massive modules, built as pieces of an $8 billion project in Alberta's oil sands, are wide as two-lane highways, taller than freeway overpasses and two-thirds the length of football fields. Imperial planned to ship the behemoths to Vancouver, barge them upriver and unload them in Lewiston, Idaho.

For $100 million or so, Imperial intended to relocate overhead wires in Idaho and Montana, build dozens of highway pullouts and haul each load in the dead of night to Canada. The route, on winding highways free of overpasses, would avoid a much longer journey through the Panama Canal, the Great Lakes and Minnesota.

But Imperial finds its initial 34 shipments stranded in Lewiston, lacking state highway permits to complete the U.S. portion of the trip and facing activist groups with names like Fighting Goliath and All Against the Haul. Environmentalists are seizing the chance to rally U.S. opposition to Alberta's oil sands, where miners wrest tarry deposits from sand and send about 780,000 barrels of petroleum a day to the United States....../snip

Environmentalists oppose Imperial's mega loads on two main grounds, one being what they call permanent industrialization of Idaho and Montana scenic corridors, and the other being oil-sands impacts on Alberta and climate change. Bob McEnaney, a Natural Resources Defense Council public-lands expert, dug up Korean-language documents showing, he says, that over the next 10 years ExxonMobil expects another 1,000 massive factory modules made by South Korean company Sung Jin Geotec.

"You're basically industrializing what is one of the nation's first wild and scenic rivers," said, McEnaney, referring to Idaho's Lochsa River. "We're opposed to the tar sands to begin with because of the climate impacts."

Opponents are well organized with legal backing...../snip

A huge truck, a pusher truck, three pilot cars and two police cruisers would take nine nights to bring each load on the 510-mile route through Idaho and Montana...../snip
Imperial's permit applications are mired in a thicket of state court decisions and bureaucracy.

The controversy has snagged separate shipments of giant coker-drum equipment that Clackamas heavy hauler Emmert International plans to truck from Lewiston to a ConocoPhillips refinery in Billings, Mont. The four loads would travel partway on the same U.S. 12 route as the Imperial modules.

The ConocoPhillips debate went to the Idaho Supreme Court, which returned it to the state transportation department. A hearing is planned in Boise Wednesday and Thursday.

"We're still sitting and waiting," said Mark Hefty, project development manager for Emmert, which specializes in large loads. "It's the first time we've ever run into anything like that."

Oil-sands critics are not generally trying to shut down operations. Instead The Pembina Institute, a Canadian research organization, calls for a pause on new approvals to give time to plan new projects responsibly and to reduce cumulative effects.

A commenter on the article going by the handle dinoslayer in the Portland newspaper makes perhaps too much sense when he suggests:

This, my friends, is just how stupid a species we truly are.

Why don't you....duhhhhh.... build the things where they're going to be used???

It's not as if Canada is lacking in skilled engineers, welders and just about any other specialist you'd want.

The expression, "penny wise but pound foolish" comes to mind.

Breaking News

A Message from Nathan Cullen - MP Skeena-Bulkley Valley:

DAY 5: We did it!
Thanks to your outstanding support we made our message clear.
We just won 143 – 138!
The House of Commons has now added its collective voice to our movement and given the Government clear direction to ban oil supertankers.
This is an important step towards protecting our ecosystem and marine economy – but work remains to be done.
Stay tuned for an update tomorrow morning
Thanks again!

Nathan Cullen, MP
Skeena-Bulkley Valley

And speaking of those upstanding individuals from Big Oil:

BREAKING: Nigeria Files Charges Against Cheney in Halliburton Bribery Scheme

Jason Leopold, Truthout: "The former vice president was charged by Nigerian officials Tuesday along with eight other individuals in a bribery scheme involving the construction of a liquefied natural gas facility that took place while Cheney was chief executive of Halliburton. Halliburton and its one-time subsidiary, Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR), were also charged, according to Nigerian prosecutor Godwin Obla. 'It includes Dick Cheney,' Obla said about the 16-count charge filed in Abuja, Nigeria's capital. 'There are conspiracy charges and giving gratification to public officers. There is also a charge for obstruction of justice.'"

2010-12-04T08:42:00.004-08:00

Robin Mathews on
a Confused BCNDP

Two Pretenders - the one on the left is a professional! *photo credit

I'm fully expecting to turn on my TeeVee anyday now and see Carole James, fists balled up, stomping her feet and fully engaged in throwing a temper tantrum unless she can be leader of the British Columbia NDP. I can't believe the rhetoric I'm hearing from the BC Lamestream Media as they praise Carole to the skies because their LIEberal/Corporate bosses fear nothing more than a new leader and an NDP fully able to take advantage of the palpable hatred of Gordon Campbell, the BC Liberals and their province destroying policies.

Therefore this morning I was thrilled to receive the following article to be (or maybe already) published in vivelecanada from Robin Mathews. Now I can relax and not worry about trying to explain why I think that the selfish and childish ones in the ongoing inter-necine strife within the NDP aren't the home-wrecking baker's dozen dissidents, but the leader herself and those calling the shots that have allowed the Campbell Crime Family to rape and pillage this province and its people for a decade now.

I can't resist bolding certain parts, though it is difficult to not just bold it ALL!

The NDP Crisis
In British Columbia Politics

by - Robin Mathews

for vive le canada

The corporate owners of the Gordon Campbell Liberals in B.C. are at this moment assembling their politicians, the Mainstream Press and Media (which they own), and the “faithful foot soldiers” to disguise their massive sell-out of B.C. wealth and the deep corruption of democratic processes in the province.

Political king-pin of that sell-out and corruption, Gordon Campbell, premier, is so completely exposed he has been told to go … but not until he has hammered a few more anti-democratic structures into place.

The goal? To lunge one more time for power in the province.

The NDP – which should be topping the polls by a huge margin … is not. The reasons are simple. Leadership. Policy. Support. Sell-out. In fact, the NDP is divided all the way from the grass-roots to the shadow-cabinet. If ever in the history of the province government by the NDP has been possible, now is the time it should move most easily to a solid majority in the B.C. legislature. But ….

If the value of property – as realtors say – is based on “location, location, location”, the hope of any political party is based on “leadership, leadership, leadership”. That is why Gordon Campbell has been told to go, and has announced his resignation … sometime….

A political leader – besides being someone who can speak to the population convincingly, with sincerity, excitement, empathy, and originality – is much, much more than that. He or she sets the boundaries for trust, for openness, for collegiality within the group that makes up, and forms around, the elected.

The NDP leader cannot speak effectively to the population, and she has plainly lost the trust of (at least) 40% of the caucus. They no longer trust her or believe in her collegiality. They do not have her support. And a former NDP MLA insists she has violated the trust of all the party by rash, preemptive, attacks on colleagues.

A political leader has, also, to respect the boundaries of the philosophy of the party he or she speaks for. Through lying, secrecy, intimidation, and anti-democratic methods, Gordon Campbell respects the philosophical boundaries of a Rightest party. He steals from the poor to give to the rich. He serves the corporations at the cost of the population and democracy in the province. His error is carelessness. He has been ‘found out’ by the population. He has to go.

The NDP leader has violated the philosophy of both (a) an Opposition, and (b) the NDP. First, she has never made clear she represents a philosophy different from the Gordon Campbell group. She does not seriously “oppose”. She tinkers at the edges of Liberal policy, repeatedly saying it is necessary for her Party to show more friendliness to the corporations which own the Liberal Party in B.C.

As B.C. Ferries, BC Rail, and B.C. Hydro – owned by the people of British Columbia and symbols of what the NDP means – were being destroyed before our eyes, she refused to engage in serious Opposition and NDP frontline resistance – and she prevented caucus members from doing so. In fact, she must be seen as collaborating with the Gordon Campbell Liberals in keeping the truth about those huge thefts from the people of British Columbia. A large number of British Columbians still don’t know what has gone on because the NDP refuses both its Opposition and NDP role in making the thefts widely known and excoriated. That can only be called sell-out by the NDP.

The darling issue of the NDP leader is the issue of children and families - the treatment of the vulnerable. Even on that, she is a sell-out. The hero of the battle for the weak and the vulnerable in the province is Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, B.C. Representative for Children and Families.

Ms. Turpel-Lafond has fought the Campbell regime toe to toe for five years – and has had to do so for obvious reasons. The first purpose of the Liberal regime is to rob from the poor to give to the rich. For that reason it can’t – and be consistent – care for the poor and vulnerable. It has to try to put its boot in their faces. It has to act to show it believes the people Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond serves are undeserving trash.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond has had to take public platform again and again to fight for the people the NDP leader claims to care about. But the NDP leader has never – in my memory – stood shoulder to shoulder with Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, in public, fighting for NDP values and the values the NDP leader says are dearest to her heart. She does not do so and has not done so, I believe, because she doesn’t want to offend the people who own the Liberal Party of B.C.

When Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond needs the presence and the ringing endorsement of the NDP leader … she doesn’t get it.

Policy is needed on all the matters named above – clear, understandable, forceful policy. The NDP leader has never produced it.

Policy is needed, as well, on government collusion with private corporations, on the absolute necessity of full disclosure of government contracting, on the sanctity of Crown Corporations, on the duties of cabinet members, on the admissibility of Public Private Partnerships, on the use of out-of-province financing, management, administration, advice … and on foreign takeovers. All legislation on those matters must have criminal penalties attached if corruption of the kind engaged in for the last nine years is to be ended.

Policy on the breach of trust of public officers within the province must be written by the NDP. It must be clearly expressed, and it must demand heavy penalties. What can be done within the province must be done soon – and pressure must be put on the federal government to re-write the Criminal Code on the matter so that breaches of trust of the kind engaged in by the present Liberal regime in B.C. can be easily nailed and the perpetrators imprisoned.

Policy – preceding legislation – on the environment needs to be loud and clear from the NDP – on fish farms, on tar sands and other pipelines, on coastal waters use, on the wholesale sell-out of river energy, on forestry and offshore sale of raw logs.

Policy is needed to outline the complete restructuring of investigation of complaints against the police, lawyers, and judges. Self-government of those bodies must be ended.

Constituency committees should be engaged and given the task of formulating policies and legislation. Democracy depends on the wisdom of the people. Use it. The NDP doesn’t use it.

I believe individual members of the legislature in the NDP could have fashioned policy and outlined legislation on those matters (and others) and made their work public in spite of the leader … but perhaps not. If not, blame for the absence of action on all those matters rests, finally, with the leader … like it or not.

The NDP leader doesn’t seem to have even the simplest understanding of what all that means. As a start on the renewal of the NDP in British Columbia, then, it follows the leader must go.

A view from the Kootenays

Corky Evans, who many people think should have won that leadership contest oh so long ago that crowned Carole James has published an open letter here to add his much more than two cents worth to the current debate. Perhaps Corky couldn't be king back in 2003, being cursed with the wrong genetalia or ethnic background. But, he was involved in backroom NDP politics and sat at the cabinet table, and his take on how things should be done, used to be done, and what is happening now is illuminating and honest and straightforward - a typical Corky quality. Some selected excerpts from Corky's letter follow:

Leadership, in any Party, is not a right..../snip

As we walked into the hotel the morning of the Provincial Council meeting, staff members stood in the hallway outside the meeting room and gave yellow scarves to everyone EXCEPT the folks they knew had signed or delivered the letter, and a few of the rest of us they figured might support the 13 signatories. The result was surreal. It was also the most divisive thing I have ever witnessed in our Party. The MLA’s who had NOT signed the letter asking Carol to resign were identified, in front of their peers and the Press, as Loyal and Good. Thus, the folks WITHOUT yellow scarves were immediately and publically identified as Disloyal and Bad.

It was awful. It was so unprecedented and unexpected (deriving, as it did, from a respectful and private meeting that everyone involved, except Carole, had intended to remain Private regardless of how she decided to respond) that none of us knew how to react, or feel, or think..../snip

Carole James has done something I never heard of before, which is to publicize and castigate MLA’s who, rightly or wrongly, thought they were acting in confidence and in the best interests of their Party. She could have told them they were wrong and stayed in her job. That has been done before in parliamentary democracies, probably hundreds of times. She could have accepted their advice and stepped down as Leader, perhaps while remaining as an MLA. That, too, has happened before, probably hundreds of times. Instead, she chose to do something that I have never heard of before (no doubt there is some historical precedent somewhere, although I don’t know about it and I can’t imagine that it turned out well) and publicly attacked those who came to her in confidence.

I don’t care if Carole wants to keep her job or not. Neither do I think this trouble is “about” Carole personally. I have, as probably every citizen does, thoughts about her leadership skill and style and believe they are irrelevant to the discourse. This is now about the democratization, or not, of how we do politics. It does not appear to be an issue that is limited to the NDP or even to B.C. I have heard similar thoughts about the erosion of democratic process and about the centralized control of political parties of late from members of the B.C. Liberal Party, the Federal Liberal Party, and the Alberta Conservative Party. It could be that this is a moment in our history when the political process is broken and reform and renewal are on the horizon.

As a New Democrat, I am heartsick at the troubles and I fervently wish Carol James had not orchestrated the public division of her Caucus. As a citizen, I am hopeful that the democratic process in Canada is being reborn. As her friend and supporter, I will go where Jenny Kwan goes, come what may.

Corky Evans

*The woman on the left is tribute artist Luisa Marshall, a very entertaining tribute artist who also does Lady Gaga and other artists in her high energy shows. More about Luisa, including her performance schedule and booking infromation can be found at luisamarshall.com

2010-11-30T17:33:00.004-08:00

"Paroxysms of
Moral Outrage!"

The Electorate (according to the Elite!)

Even though Wikileaks has been releasing info about things like the Iraq war and the Afghanistan situation for awhile now, the governing elite is especially cheesed this week as heretofore assumed "secret' diplomatic cables are being released daily this week. Today is Tuesday and the apparently one quarter million embarrassing communications are only beginning to become public knowledge but already folks like Hillary Clinton and the Canadian government are beginning to respond like it was the end of civilization. Also even though Canada's involvement hasn't been a focus yet, already stuff has surfaced that shows us that those who claim to be working for us, the people of Canada, have a whole 'nuther agenda. The most shameful exposure to date is Jim Judd, former head of CIS, the useless organization that teamed up with that other useless organization the RCMP to ensure that no one important would ever be convicted of having anything to do with the Air India Tragedy. No matter how often Mounties/CIS agents with unlimited overtime can convince stoooopid young middle eastern men to buy fertilizer from them, rather than actually doing a terrorist attack, these people deserve no respect. As the Montreal Gazette succinctly put it:

Wikileaks: Canada’s spy chief spent his days mocking Canada

The torrent of gossipy revelations from Wikileaks’ latest outpouring—this time, classified diplomatic cables from U.S. embassies all over the world—has mostly left Canada untouched (so far). The big exception to this is the one and only cable to have been leaked from the Ottawa embassy, in which Canada’s then-CSIS chief Jim Judd had some choice words about, well, us.

From Wikileaks:

Director Judd ascribed an “Alice in Wonderland” worldview to Canadians and their courts, whose judges have tied CSIS “in knots,” making it ever more difficult to detect and prevent terror attacks in Canada and abroad.

And:

He observed that the images [of interrogations] would no doubt trigger “knee-jerk anti-Americanism” and “paroxysms of moral outrage, a Canadian specialty,” as well as lead to a new round of heightened pressure on the government to press for [Omar] Khadr’s return to Canada.

It’s always nice to know that federal employees are putting down their fellow citizens to foreign governments. There’s something so Canadian about the fact that so far, the Canadian bombshell from Wikileaks has been that a high-placed government official was trying to ingratiate himself to Washington by making fun of us.

For his excellent service in mocking to the Canadian people, Judd was given the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service. Try not to think of this when reading that .

But the thing is there are many reasons to go into "paroxysms of moral outrage" presented to us daily in British Columbia. To start with there is Craig James, the improperly appointed "acting" head of Elections BC. He has only, in his few months of sitting in his LIEberal appointed position done a few things against the interests of the people of BC, the people for who he is supposed to work, such as:

1. Refused to challenge the LIEberal Party on their website and other anti-HST promotional material, improper since the LIEberals hadn't bothered to register as a proponent, in spite of a recommendation by the RCMP (usually the LIEberal's handmaidens themselves).

2. Refused to forward the signed and completed anti-HST petition, forcing the proponents to take him to court, where they won.

3. As a "temp" head fired the second in command at Elections BC (with 28 years seniority) almost assuredly because she had approved the refusal to allow the LIEberal Party to act as an opposing proponent, since they hadn't bothered to comply with the regulations in order to comply. This resulted in the LIEerals having to destroy 3/4 million dollars worth of tax-payer funded glossy brochures!

4. Threaten a miniscule number of signees of the anti-HST petition with jail time and fines for possible duplicate signings of the petition and trying to lay charges against seven canvassers who had accidentally or otherwise accepted same.

5. Is now playing semantic games about word count to force everyone to resubmitt recall petitions even if it is necessary to CHANGE the rules after the application was submitted. But then when you realize how petty he wants to be about this you find out that he apparently hasn't paid much attention to definition of his OWN JOB or Section 5(3) of the British Columbia Elections Act which says:

The chief electoral officer must not
(a) hold another office or engage in other employment,

Thanks to that alert and sane commentator Norman Farrell we find out that:

Craig James, Acting Chief Electoral Officer, in a letter dated October 7, 2010 to MLA John Horgan, boasts:

* "[I perform work] for the World Bank and Canadian Comprehensive Auditing Foundation (CCAF, Inc.)
* "I have been engaged with the Bank in a variety of tasks. . . It has taken me to places such as Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India and El Salvador, to name a few. . .
* "The Turkish Government has asked me to assist them with a strategic plan . . .
* "The World Bank continues to rely upon me for assistance. . .
* "As for the CCAF, the Advisory Board meets regularly in Ottawa to discuss matters of financial import . . . and corporate structures generally. Again, this is very rewarding work.
* "The World Bank has asked me to lead a seminar in Bangladesh in December, while the CCAF has asked me to attend a planning session in Ottawa in November.
* "I am also the Executive Director of the Canadian Council of Public Accounts Committees and have been since 1985.
* "I occupy a number of other positions, such as the Deputy Chair of the Editorial Board of the Canadian Parliamentary Review."

Being as busy as he is, doing "very rewarding work" outside his role as Acting Chief Electoral Officer, Mr. James apparently has not had time to read the Act of the BC Legislature that defines his job.

Repugnantly outrageous also is the 200-300 well-paid "communication" experts (SPIN DOCTORS and propagandists) we are forced to pay to lie to us AND monitor our own communications and any media mention of God Gordo and his Apostles of Greed.

Then there is the reorganization of the so-called "dirt ministries" or the resource oriented ministries, like mining, forestry, gas and oil and such that Gordon Campbell, without even having the Legislature sit is trying to turn into a ONE STOP STRIP MALL with no or minimal environmental evaluations required, so that he can EVEN MORE RAPIDLY dispose of the assets of British Columbians to his mostly offshore corporate friends. See BC Mary here for more on this.

There are lots of reasons to have "paroxysms of moral outrage," but for a resident of British Columbia there is no reason to look beyond our own borders to find more than we can even deal with in our own minds thanks to the ongoing crime spree of the so called government of Gordo "Capo" Campbell."

2010-11-25T15:53:00.004-08:00

BobbleHead
in his own pathetic words

As Good as it Gets
Finally a serious contender for the booby prize of leader of the BC LIEberal Party (or replacement capo of the Campbell Crime Family) has stepped forward. Moira Stillwell, MLA for little more than a year, has announced her intentions, for whatever bizzare reason, but she would be well advised to go back to her medical career where she might actually contribute to society in a positive manner. Gordon Campbell's personal flack (former tone deaf music critic) Vaughn Palmer has today invited us to Meet George Abbott, would-be B.C. premier, in his own words. The unfortunate thing about this is that old bobblehead is probably as good as it gets for the party of corruption and insider dealing, he just looks stupid, rather than outright evil and greedy.

After some opening comments that highlight George's strong points, like the fact that he comes from the hurtland (that he has contributed to the hurt of) and used to deal with fertilizer and strawberries, rather than just fertilizer from the mouth, George addresses some serious issues, such as:

On relations across the floor: "As legislators we need to find some ways that we can bridge the partisan gap that I think too often characterizes our discussions."

On opposition members who get carried away in question period: "Cue the spontaneous outrage ... time to get off the grassy knoll."

This is rich coming from a member of a party that set new levels in disrespect in opposition and acted like Genghis Khan once in government. And the grassy knoll comment got me attacked when I mentioned on someone else's blog comment thread that we might not really ever get rid of Gordo until he passed a grassy knoll.

This one will serve him well if he is the leader in the next election, and it would be excerpted in a campaign video by any opposition other than the wet noodle NDP.

From a speech not likely to be excerpted in the campaign video: "I strongly support the harmonization of sales taxes because it is good public policy, and I will continue to support it for that reason."

I can't even imagine what bobblehead is thinking, with the following, I mean does Abbott carry Mao's Little Red Book in his vest pocket? Very unusual for a right wing free enterpriser!

On the government's conversation on health: "We are going to welcome a range of views ... To paraphrase Chairman Mao: Let a thousand flowers blossom."

Then Campbell's goto guy can't resist a little self promotion (maybe he should run for the leadership). According to George:

"When I want to find out what the government is doing, I read Vaughn Palmer. Now, it is not every morning I want to know what the government is doing, and on those occasions, I don't read him."

That from a front bench cabinet minister is simply stunning! But now we get into territory where one has to ask if Mr. Abbott is on drugs, with:

What he hoped people would say about the Liberals at the end of their first term: "We may not have liked everything they did, but by God, they kept their word."

As I recall their WORD included things like WE WON' SELL BC RAIL, WE WON"T TEAR UP CONTRACTS and that they would be the most open and transparent government in the history of the universe.

On the future as he saw it, circa 2003: "I know that I'm much closer to the end of my political career than I am to the beginning of it. There is a life beyond politics, and someday I hope to explore some of the opportunities in the private sector and elsewhere -- perhaps not too soon."

Maybe Vaughn hasn't had a chance to talk with George for the last seven years, as perhaps George hasn't shown up under Gordo's desk where Vaughn is curled up crowded up against Lara. But I would think that Mr. Abbott's days as a member of government are numbered, and they may end before 2013. The really unfortunate thing is compared to the rest of the bunch he seems like a nice and reasonable guy - the options are Rich "the Shank" Coleman, Birdbrain Falcon and the second most habitual liar in BC Colonoscopy Hansen.

2010-11-22T11:19:00.008-08:00

What's with the
CBC?

Canadian Beirut Coverage?
As I awakened this morning to the Mother Corp Radio, as is my normal practice, the big news was all about the great and gigantic investigation that the CBC has been devoting to solving the assassination of Lebanon's Rafik Hariri almost six years ago with the SPECIAL REPORT Neil Macdonald CBC Investigation: Who killed Lebanon's Rafik Hariri?

A months-long CBC investigation, relying on interviews with multiple sources from inside the UN inquiry and some of the commission's own records, found examples of timidity, bureaucratic inertia and incompetence bordering on gross negligence.

I find it convenient how well their findings play into the pro-Israel policies of our great Leder Stevie Harper and the pro-Israel/anti-Iran (anti everybody in the ME that isn't Israel or other client states like Saudi Arabia, the source of the alleged 9/11 hi-jackers) stance of the United States of looking after the interests of Israel. Perhaps now the CBC could devote it's resources to solving the JFK assassination - heaven forbid that they devote any resources to investigating troubling events transpiring in CANADA.

This is the same network of the Canadian people that has studiously almost entirely IGNORED the ongoing assault on Parliament and democracy emanating from the PMO in Ottawa through disruption of committees, prorogation when necessary and general avoidance of Parliament as much as possible.

Then there is the can of nasty worms that is British Columbia and the ongoing crime spree emanating from Victoria as Gordon Campbell and his henchmen have systematically raped the assets of the people of B.C. to benefit a select group. If the CBC was my only news source I would hardly be aware of the Raid on the Legislature and the ensuing legal farce that ended a few weeks ago. I still haven't even heard the issue of the possible destruction of evidence that was to be used in that trial MENTIONED on the CBC, though I don't listen/watch 24/7/365. The CBC also has had little to say about the Rape of the River IPP scams, the LIEberal promotion of fish farms at the expense of native salmon, the Kemano giveaway, the shenanigans going on at supposedly non-partisan Elections BC and the tricky way the LIEberals have seen to it that we in the hurtland pay the tolls for the Beamers blasting up to Whistler while paying our own freight to get over the bridge into the Big Smoke, or Vancouver the Pit down by the coast where all our money goes.

With right wing privatizers running the agenda in both Ottawa and Victoria, perhaps the CBC is afraid to offend folks like Gordo the Greedy and not so slim Stevie Harper. But as time goes by, the radio station I miss when I leave the country becomes more and more like the rest of the right wing media like Faux, CKNW and the rest of them with only the lack of irritating DeeJays and toxic commercials. The CeeB still on occasion is a breath of fresh air among a forest of media clones, but I would like the old CBC back, which was while cognizant of the world at large, really focused on Canadian issues that affected Canadians daily.

~~Almost~~ I'm Persuaded, by Grant

I've been pondering how to express my disappointment with what is going on with the NDP lately. This is important, as they appear to be the only option for governance in this province ever since W.A.C. Bennett managed to corral everyone to the right of FDR into a co-alition of free enterprise (though he himself aside from his rhetoric was virtually a Hugo Chavez of the North). The whole issue of leadership of basically ineffectual parties on both sides at the moment that has galvanized the media and allowed them to ignore more important issues has really bothered me of late. Carole James' behaviour and tenacity and dedication to keeping her big chair and lack of exercise of her junior bully pulpit as leader of what is supposed to be an OPPOSITION, has been perplexing, but my colleague from the (liquid) Sunshine Coast nailed it in Carole James puts up a Fight, a Fight for her Position, Too bad she never fought for the Province! The Powell River Persuader begins with:

So Carole James lashes out in anger, lashes out at party dissidents,.....I have never seen or heard that kind of anger expressed by Carole James once in the last decade......

So what spawned this anger, was it the ministry of children and family development erring and causing the death of an innocent child, was the anger over a $600 million and growing tax indemnity we owe to BC Rail over the illegal theft of our railway...

Was this extraordinary anger over Campbell not raising the minimum wage in a decade, did she express this rage over Jane Thornthwaite`s drunk driving during the Olympics, did she become infuriated over once again B.C. leading Canada with child poverty, was the outburst over a massive spike in food bank use, did Carole scream to the rafters about 5000 additional long term care beds promised by Campbell in 2001 that have yet to be delivered on, did she rage about the treatment of seniors and hospital closures, the dismantling of public education, has she demanded the Premier resign over habitual lies, over lying about our fiscal books, gag laws, the slashing of legal aid, the closure of 10 prisons and 25 courthouses since Campbell`s reign of terror began........

No friends, Carole`s new found anger and scathing critiques, her bravado, her drawing a line in the sand, her putting her foot down and saying...Saying she`s furious and won`t take it anymore, the new Carole James only learned to fight for herself.

Grant, I feel violated, you've been reading my mail, or my mind! I can't really say it much better than that. Democracy isn't something exercised once every few years, but it should happen at the local level, in the riding associations, during the convocations like occurred this past weekend. A healthy airing of ideas and the occasional vote to define policy and choose or illustrate support for a leader is how democracy SHOULD work. No body elected Carole James to tell the rest of the party that it is her way or the highway, that's Gordo's way and it works for awhile, but eventually dictators wear out their welcome. All I heard from Carole is "I'm the Leader and like it or lump it," what I haven't heard is where she wants to lead and on the issues mentioned above all I've heard is DEAFENING SILENCE!!!!!

2010-11-19T07:30:00.001-08:00

A Cesspool in
Cyberspace!

Would you like to learn what results when ignorance and arrogance simultaneously intersect at the click of a mouse? Then Rubbish without a Pause is the blog for you. Established and run by the self-proclaimed "King of the Bloggers," this place demonstrates that private schools don't necessrily guarantee much in the way of an education and tailors can't really make a pig look good. But if you like name dropping, self-promotion and really worship complete assholes then you too should become a regular at Rubbish without a Pause and become another fawning and simpering sycophant of A(wful) G(oddamnawful) TsuckmyAss.

When I first became aware of this excuse for a human I was mildly dazzled by his writing - well, entertained or somewhat amused. His invective was colourful and his vocabulary apparently one of the few things he managed to acquire as a result of his expensive "private" school education. Once you get familiar with his schtick it becomes clear that he didn't learn much about spelling or grammar. His avoidance of knowledge of the tools of writing go well with his apparent total absenteeism from any classes dealing with subjects like history, science and/or logic!

When I inquired of some colleagues as to what rock this trogladyte may have crawled out from under among the replies I received was this, which has proven to be very accurate then and now.

Alex 'TsukmyAss' is an annoying little prat from St George's the private school who got his start penning screeds to the editors of various Vancouver papers, and got invited as a guest columnist somehow - not because of originailty or writing ability I assure you. Very much in the mould (sp?) of Lord Conrad of Crossdressing. Controversy sells papers, and Alex was pretty controversial, as low-forehead ranters generally are. I think he's independent of means through property investment though only a bit player. Hews to the BC Fiberal party line pretty closely though.

Generally (and even now), I have more relevant things to do with my time and merely read his drivel on occasion for laughs and to see what the stooopid and maudlin reich-wing elitists think today. However lately he seems to be taking time and energy away from his attacks on Gregor Robertson, his unrequited lust for Penny Ballem and his idol worship of such as Laura Bush, Glenn Beck and Brian Mulroney/Steve Harper to do drive by attacks on myself, Laila Yuile, BC Mary and Grant the Powell River Persuader. I guess we represent everything that puts lie to his claim to be the King of Bloggers. This is all I have to say about the Cesspool of Cyberspace for today - but with provocation I could be inspired to start a regular feature, featuring the idiocy, ignorance and arrogance of the ugliest man (inside and out) in the Lower Mainland!

Even if this excuse for man didn't regularly insult any commentators that not only don't praise him for being alive but have the temerity to differ from his stated lies he should apologize for referring to Laila Yuile and BC Mary (who saner commentators think deserves an Order of Canada) as DOUCHEBAGS!

The Intersection of Ignorance and Arrogance

Perhaps this blast from the past from the man who always knows everything, and who makes it clear that only idiots ever disagree with his pronouncements would be entertaining:

The Basi-Virk Trial: A 2010 Update

Contrary to some other reporters and bloggers, let me help in dispelling the persistent rumours about the most important trial in this province’s history.

There will be NO plea bargain. I do not know why this continues to circulate. It started with some speculation by a Globe and Mail reporter some weeks back. Then it spread to other equally legitimate sources.

But there is NOTHING to it.

2010-11-15T12:18:00.004-08:00

Victoria's Colonial
WaterCarrier
DROPS THE BUCKET!

Perhaps things are changing in the post media, PostMedia universe or maybe one of Lucinda Chodan's charges has just strayed from the reservation. But the home of the less than honest Les Leyne, and infamous paper that could avoid mentioning the trial and conviction of the South Island's biggest drug load for MONTHS, apparently because he was related to Gordon Campbell's personal choice for top aide to the Finance Ministry yesterday published a piece very critical of the ways of the Campbell Crime Family and the omerta deal with Basi and Virk.

In Without answers, B.C. Rail smell lingers, Iain Hunter departs from the normal nothing to see here position and points out that something is very rotten in James Bay! After listing some of the "shiney objects" that have been dangled in the public's face, like Gordo's resignation, HST anger, Diane Watts and the race of lame horses to take over Gordo's soiled throne Mr. Hunter gets right to the point:

But we're in danger of being distracted from something of far more significance -- the suspected, almost accepted, moral rot in government. We are told that a couple of minions in ministerial offices breached our trust and accepted benefits for leaking confidential information.

We're expected to accept the word of these disgraced individuals that they didn't obtain "the consent of their superiors" for what they did. We're expected to accept the word of the premier that they acted alone.

But we don't really know who in the upper echelons of the government or the Liberal party knew what, because the court proceedings that were supposed to reveal these things, and perhaps settle our suspicions, were cut short by a deal.

This is the link between something that really matters, morality in our public life, and where the courts fail. A case put into the hands of a special prosecutor was not so special after all......./snip

But when cases arise that touch on the conduct of government, tangled court proceedings that end in a tawdry deal are not enough.

If this government doesn't see a public inquiry is necessary because the B.C. Rail "case" collapsed, someone else must seek the truth.

Reporters embedded with politicians can't have become inured to slime in the corridors of power. They could at least watch out for the constabulary returning those boxes of documents and keep an ear out for the shredders whirring and the slap of asses being covered.

The honesty of governments can't be assumed, or vigilance casually distracted.

Unfortunately in the PABlum infested media universe of BC, where the largest newsroom is paid by the taxpayers to LIE to the taxpayers, an article like Iain's above is refreshing to say the least. In a world not dominated by greed, corruption and complete and regular betrayal of the public trust by both media and the politicians, an article like Mr. Hunters would be the NORM!

A Battle Maybe Won in the Kootenays

It appears that either BC Hydro has decided that the AXOR (of Montreal) Glacier/Howser Pirate Power Project is flawed or AXOR has despaired of meeting the laughable (usually) Evironmental Assessment Process, but the news in in the Kootenays is that the extremely unpopular project is dead. According to Nelson-Creston MLA Michelle Mungall:

“I can only speculate what it means, but for AXOR to lose its energy purchase agreement is a significant development in terms of whether they’ll go forward and whether the project continues to be viable for them.”

“To me this is showing that AXOR might be pulling away from the Glacier-Howser project,” says Mungall. “Or that BC Hydro is recognizing that this is not a viable project for the people of British Columbia and the people of the Kootenay region.”

More can be found about this at thenelsonpost.ca. For more on today's news or the background and history of this project and the resistance to it (and why it is a bad idea) go to WaterWalk and/or eloisecharet.ca

2010-11-11T08:39:00.004-08:00

Lest We Forget

In Flanders Field

Today at the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month we commemorate the end of the Great War to End All Wars. Of course as it turned out it didn't end all wars, and still today we have wars all over, some of which are difficult to even explain, understand or justify.

But we take this moment to think of those who have served and in too many cases sacrificed so much - even life itself, in the hope that their heirs could enjoy freedom and peace.

To help put this day in perspective I would recommend reading The state of things Remembrance Day at the Galloping Beaver.

We lost our last Great War veteran this past year. We are losing veterans of the Second World War at an exponential rate. Very soon there will be none. There are peacetime veterans scattered about and even though Afghanistan is a major conflict, it is dwarfed by the scale of those conflicts before it. It is, if I might say this, our first peacetime war..../snip

....On 11 November 2008, a former fighter pilot turned Conservative member of parliament recited not a line from the McCrae's wrenching call for peace or some careful words about the danger of war, but a tasteless barrack ballad by a USMC padre glorifying the military and chastising those who did not bow at its altar. This man publicly fantasized that the Russian air force posed a threat the Olympics. This man was from a party whose leader so recently declared in the House of Commons that his was the only party for the troops. There was sulphur in the air that day and it weren't from the gun salute.

Over the past several years too, we've seen members of the governing party don military uniform and rank as habit.

Nevermind that they hide OUR wounded from us and pass bills that slash their benefits. Nevermind that the prime minister suspended parliament rather than answer hard and justified questions about the conduct of the war.

Nevermind that his government put Air Canada's whinge ahead of the logistical needs of the Canadian Forces at war.

Nevermind that this government maintains our - optional - committment to this - optional - war that produces this current generation of veterans. The prime minister's word and we stop making new combat veterans. It is that simple.

We've watched this government deploy the armed services against the Canadian public whilst we were exercising the very freedom that the fading generation bled and died to defend. We've seen those Canadians questioned for their actions there by a member of this government also seen in unearned rank and uniform.

But today is the day to remember those who have sacrificed. Tommorrow we can again think of dealing with those who would exploit people's love of country for their own phoney objectives or greed or power.