Wot? A CanWest columnist showing bias?

At least (small 'least') Smythe said Clark was right. Palmer, on CKNW this morning, doing his "Palmer's PUlpit thing, spent two minutes ridiculing Clark. He pretty much blamed Clark for wrecking BC Ferries and leaving them in the state they're in now.

It's bullshit, but that's pretty much what Palmer peddles.

I suppose this is why the

I suppose this is why the NDP is on life support... the denial virus spreads from the NDP to its' supporters.

I read the original article by Michael Smythe in the Province.

I will agree the article was a bit disjointed. However, for Clark to have the audacity to come out of the woodwork and "break his media silence" is absolutely ridiculous.

Here is a person who mismanged what was a Public entity,BC Ferries, to the tune of $500 Million dollars...If it was a Private company it would be bankrupt.

Clark is trying to cover his own ass and deflecting attention from the facts that the ferries were already old when HE and the NDP were in power,the NDP did effectively nothing to upgrade the system, now the chickens are simply coming home to roost.

Old dogs and same old tricks....get lost Glen...go back and maintain your vow of silence. Lord knows it ain't a vow of poverty working for Jimmy. I see nothing but a guilty conscience at play.

Teach a parrot to talk ... and do you get original thinking?

maestro (and how I hate to dishonour that profession by letting you use -- even un-capitalized ha ha -- the term 'Maestro'):

You've popped out of your cage right on cue. In your toneless voice, you repeat the words you've been taught to say ... over and over. It's called parroting.

And there's no exchange of ideas. You're the same old parrot slinging the same old arrows after the target has been pointed out to you by Michael and Vaughn and Gary and all.

Doesn't it get your goat, sometimes?

Once upon a time

Once upon a time, there was a difference between the 'editorial' part of the paper and the 'news' part of the paper.

Once upon a time, the people who reported the news were in the business of reporting.

Once upon a time, television and radio presented news and not personalities.

Once upon a time, the people demanded better.

Try taking a felt marker to Michael Smyth's 'journalism' and blacking out everything but the story.

The story was a report of a former minister in charge of BC Ferries (we don't really even have such a beast anymore because of the Campbell government's mistakes, but I digress) comparing how a serious accident (in which lives were lost) was handled in 'his' time and how a similar serious accident (in which lives and a whole damn ship was lost - and, another couple of accidents of a more minor nature but also serious) is being "handled" today.

That's the story. And it's a good one. One that BC citizens should be thinking about. Seriously.

The rest - the opinion and the mudslinging and the value judgments - has no place in a newspaper except on the editorial page.

And of course in the postings of people who come here to Tyee to provide verisimilitude and atmosphere. Most honest folks call it partisan bs. But you'd never get me to accuse Can West papers of that.

I don't have to. It's so utterly obvious everyone with a pulse already knows it's true.

And, when you’ve finished with the felt marker; just think about the paper and the trees Michael Smyth has wasted – on just this one exercise. This man is not a member of a free and independent press and you don’t need a felt marker to prove it.

Once upon a time he may have been.

But not any more.

More Fake Canwest Polling?

One of the most dishonest and irresponsible traits of Canwest, is its habit of cooking up and publishing misleading opinion polls, often with the help of Ipsos Reid.
Typically, Canwest, owned by the the Asper Bros., ultra-hawks on the middle east, publishes front page articles citing polls
they claim show Canadians support the Asper's hawkish views - even when all other polls find opposite results!

-e.g. Canwest claimed polled Canadians supported Israel's destructive actions against Lebanon in last year's war. Every other poll found Canadians believed Israel had overreacted.
-Canwest polls repeatedly have claimed Canadians support the Afghanistan mission, in much larger numbers than other polls
show.
...which is why I'm skeptical of the latest Canwest poll claiming 58% of Canadians support our military mission in Afstan, and 38% oppose
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=8d38e9ad-248d-48f6-86b5-34f11e8a64c9&k=46299

Notice, they don't reveal the actual questions asked, which is suspicious in itself.

-I'll believe such figures if and when other polls corroborate them.

For dishonest propagandists and abusers of polling like Canwest, to be growing their already pervasive media presence, I find frightening.

Implications of the Alliance Deal

The Globe's Eric Regully describes how the Canwest-Goldman-Alliance shell game would open the door to more and more foreign control of Canadian cos.,while masquerading as local control.

"CanWest is putting up a mere $132-million for 17 per cent of the equity in the Alliance specialty channels, yet CanWest will retain operational control, a requirement under the foreign ownership rules governing media, telecommunications and a few other industries deemed to be in need of protection from foreign barbarians. Goldman is contributing the rest of the $2.3-billion purchase price for 83 per cent of the equity, yet will get no control (the broadcast regulator, the CRTC, may come to a different conclusion after it reviews the fine print). It's probably the first time a Canadian company has controlled a regulated domestic business with such a small sliver of equity. In other words, CanWest and Goldman seem to have found a way to disguise a foreign sale as a domestic sale. The implications could be significant. If foreign investors, notably of the private equity variety, can clone the formula to load up on other Canadian businesses, values could rise and new exit strategies could appear. Historically, regulated or protected Canadian businesses went to Canadian buyers — that was, and is, the law — though minority foreign investors were sometimes recruited to take up the slack. Thanks to CanWest and Goldman, this may no longer be the case..."

Now Now Mary..... How's the

Now Now Mary.....

How's the BC("M"?) version of the Salem witch trials going....with B/V et al....hope you passed on the evidence. (Saddam's noose is still warm, ain't it? )

Sorry, not really a fan of Michael Smythes...he waffles too much.
The Province (and pre " Can West " ) seemed to "sick" a token legislative reporter onto the B.C. Gov't of the day....they would praise Opposition " X " and condemn Party -in -Power "Y" . People can call that "holding- their- feet- to -the- fire"....but Smythe seemed to hold Clark in a bit of awe re: his machismo Errol Flynn-esque moves when in power . Gee, is Smythe , in hindsight, a wee bit embarrased ?

Remember, my dear, YOU brought it up...and I simply responded, though I mentioned I read the article first hand and put forward my take on it.

Will the B/V witch -trial be using environmentally friendly fuel ???

Parrot....??? Here's a cracker BCM, LOL. Apologists and denialists try hard to deflect attention...Glennochio Clark-ski is in legacy mode point of his life......he has NONE...thus time to re-write history, "his- story ". Jimmy P. should send him to Iraq...maybe the NDP can regroup there.

They like it that way

Mary, drones like Maestro (name taken from the dullard Seinfeld character, no doubt, who thought he was a brilliant music-maker but was instead the leader of a bunch of other dullards who played in front of dullards) love CanWest. By intently following the brilliant tomes of Smythe, Palmer, Baldrey, et al, they find out what they are supposed to think. It's so much easier than thinking themselves.

Jonagold aka "Kramer" "Not

Jonagold aka "Kramer"

"Not that there is anything wrong with it", ....but you are truly a " Master of your own Domain ."

Glen can direct you to the Save- On Foods aisle that carries CRACKERS ( literally and figuratively). You can be a good comrade and pass them out to comrades and comradettes at cost ...aka " NDP brain food ".

PS why didn't you put in a bid for the Fast Ferries (less than 5 cents on the dollar???)...or did you invest in RJ Reynolds/Nabisco instead ala " Cracker Futures " ?

Sorry to hear about that Night Club "slur" incident...hope you career isn't toastitos...

Hey !!! Maybe give Glen a call !!!
However, he might say " NO Soup - 4 - Ewe ".

Right actor, wrong character

It is interesting, isn't it, that the corporate kiss-ups (like Smythe, Palmer and the Maestro) still like to ridicule ol' Glen, eh? Given that he's now working in a significant role for Rich Jimmy P, you'd think the kiss-ups would be in awe of ol' Glen.

But in this case, that would mean accepting that Glen is right, that BC Ferries is a mess because of the Liberals' madlong rush to privatize everything in sight. Of course, he wasn't the one who first said that: it was actually the Liberals' hand-picked auditor general who said that maybe giving out $100 million of taxpayers money to David Hahn without real oversight was not such a good idea.

But, like Mary says, it's easier for dullards like our Maestro to parrot meaningless lines (Glenochhio, HA!) than to actually address the facts brought up by a premier who was vilified more for his style than for his subtance.

Let's all dump on the NDP

Mike writes to sell newspapers. Sometimes he upsets people. So the folks who are getting twisted because Clark went public about the mess at BC Ferries, for exaple brings those folks out of the woodwork quickly. And of course if the NDP keep asking those nasty questions folks like some writers above feel it's their duty to trash the Offical Opposition. Their leader was never convicted of being a drunk driver so there.

more of the same

There was a discussion on the radio this morning about how the BC Socred/Liberals shifted BC Ferries management out from governemtn hands. They were quite concerned that at the same time Gordo's boys set it up so there would be no fiscal acounting by anyone. It was I belive the politcial panel on CBC. But of course to some of the right of center folks, that will lower their comments to to botom . That's our money, we paid for those boats, and of course the freedom of Information fellow has stated often that the accountability issue should be such that the public who still onw the system find out where the money is going. about time for another fuel surchage as the fuel costs keep fallking. Next the folks will be telling us it was a NDP plot that caused the stadium dome to collapse. Or maybe folks will complain that the government that was going to let companies be self regulating is now having to hear from worksafe BC that crane operators will be regulated.

Hey jonagold

Hey jonagold "Kramer"....keep up with the pratfalls.

What indication is there even remotely what you claim...??? Join "M" 's Kool Aid party. Talk about cult- like group-think...whose turn was it to accept the collect - call and repeat the party line.

Quit wasting space with deflective arguments and denial...the cookie cutters edges must be getting dull.

Somehow it is forgotten that BC Ferries does not have management crewing and running the Ferries, its staffed with what one hopes are qualified Union staff.

I seem to vividly recall when driving southbound over the Alex Fraser bridge, in the early 1990's ....and lo and behold, what was that I saw????...the LAST major Ferry " Built -in -BC " being built...prior to the NDP election. I seem to recall approx $100 Million per vessel .

In their "NDP Supporter Friendly" public infrastructure projects built under the " 3-4 NDP premier" regime, we could have easily done a no - brainer and built what was a few "Chevy's"...not a couple Fast Ferry "Cadillacs".

However, not a TOTAL loss..the TYEE does allow the Denial-istas nd apologist-isitas to vent, maybe even therapeutic/ cathartic and reduce the Health Care line-ups.

Darwin's theories apply to your types. The fact that you apologists and denial-ists have ad nauseum propped up an political entity that has failed to create a viable Opposition and any sense of balance (a point that C-O-N-T-I-N-U-A-L-L-Y flies over your collective left - leaning heads) simply digs you a deeper hole.

Otherwise, Rant on...jonagold Kramer.

Now, Kramer, get back to the Kool Aid before the ice -cubes melt.

Speaking of holes, maestro

How is it down there?

Methinks the lady doth protest too much. I'm sure Shakespeare won't be offended it I substitute a one-armed paper hanger named maestro for ‘lady’ in that quotation. Just so you won't be confused.

With all the necessary adjustments, I think you're rather dug in yourself now.

This is, and should have been for the exemplars cited above - members of the Vancouver Press corps - a question of the role of professional, well-trained and responsible journalists. Mary's point was spot on...as were, and are, others.

God knows what you're up to: Perhaps working incognito for the Aspers. I understand they are quite the connoisseurs of the arts.

Maestro's first name is Kevin

Well 'maestro' just keep your fingers stuck in your ears. For the rest of us, look at this report
http://tinyurl.com/uqeom

Because I know you like your meals pre-chewed, here's what the AG's report says, that specifically backs up what Clark said.

"Deputy Auditor General, Errol Price, cautioned “BC Ferries’ increased independence means that it is no longer answerable to government as shareholder.”

Fascinating, eh? That a Liberal appointee would leap out onto a limb and actually criticize his masters. I guess someone didn't get the memo.

speaking of a - holes "Che"

Note to self :

It's "Che" !!!

The bait worked...

They are really crawling out of the Toredo infested cyber - woodwork now...

Doncha just luv the TYEE.....Keeps them out of trouble.

You are slipping "Che"...no mention of IAMC/Ron/ Elliot , neo-con, pee -wee or confusing sez with sex(again).

Now back to the Football game...

Dark waters

And what money-grubbing class do our msm reporters consistently defend and work for? What bloody hypocrites.

Bravo to Glen Clark for speaking up. And why, exactly, should he not do so? It's his right... and he is right....questions about BC Ferries need to be answered immediately following this recent accident in Nanaimo and the sinking of The Queen of the North last March.

Clark, to his credit, actually ordered a judicial inquiry in a similar case when he was premier. It was completed in four weeks and recommendations made...providing both accountability to the public and confidence in the safety of our ferry system.

Campbell, on the other hand, has in effect, crippled acccountability to the BC public through his relentless policies of privatization. The public remains in the dark about the significant details regarding anything surrounding privatization...and it is Campbell's policies as an agent for the corporate interests he represents that has facilitated this.

So we remain in the dark concerning our ferry system....and so apparently, almost a year later, do all the details surrounding the sinking of the Queen of the North ...with two people still missing to the tragic dark as well.

That's what privatization does...it conceals vital information... it conceals from public knowledge "the how, when, and where" of the cuts being made in the name of sacred profit.

That is the story here - public accountability...we deserve answers, not another cheap shot at the NDP.

Life Support...

The NDP is on life support. I agree. (Though certainly not for the partisan bullshite reasons you make-, in your saucer depth of water.) But because so is the entire ruling class managed political system-, such as includes them all wot participate in the same self-said ruling class managed parliamentary aspect as "only appears" to dominate it (it's really Daddy Megabucks as does)And this holds true no less for Con, Liebral, NDP parties , and Green all -, indeed the idea of political "parties" themselves, I would suggest is a chucker (into the garbage). (Another entire subject of course, which involves building a parallel "people's power system" to compete with and eventually challenge the ruling class "system of democracy" for supremacy in society. Too much for here. )

First off anyway, nearly 40% of "eligible voters", now including myself, don't even bother to vote. If you are poor or otherwise, in a relentless day to day struggle to live within and with this system, in a word, disenfranchised, why the fux would ya even bother to give it legitimacy with your vote. That's obvious enough by now though, one..., certainly I would think. Already. For starters.

But then I would argue that if you are anywhere within the lower or labouring working class, or the working class, period, this should hold true for you too. Why the fux would ya go out and vote for The Boss, or in most cases, their lawyers and other elite professional/managerial strata of the "working class", such as enjoy a "special relationship" with Big Capital, I would suggest, and at such a level that can and does blur the class lines between them on occassion.

Represent me? Are ya kidding? (Wellll, maybe you, Corky. There's always an exception here and there in any case. Just wasted on the NDP or any political party is all.

And folks have been catching up to this one for awhile now, that they are all in on the scam of this Big Money Managed "democratic system, at least since the beginning of the rise of the Neocon Period, itself in turn rising and spreading like a malignancy from out of the changing "ideological" attitudes of the Upper/Global/Corporate/Old Wealth Ruling Class. Their response to the changing global economic and political situation within globally emerging and evolving Post Post-War Capitalism, as it observed its postwar Prosperity Period's collapse, and the Postwar Prosperity Period's weakening of the old Great Depression Era working class ties, and traditions of solidarity and "common cause", such where it, and the Old Social Contract could be eased out of the new/old period equation without too much fuss, and they's could all really make a killing (on many levels) within the new Global Capitalism, dominated by the US Empire, and get even more obscenely rich, squeezing the last nickel and dime impoverishing everyone else, including now, increasingly their own home working class.

Better one should spend their time, not worrying a great deal about any of them, even The Old Vanguard School Left's commitment to the "Party System" of capitalism, and concentrate on your own individual, collective and community interests. "Create inter-linking communities!" rather than more, or yet more elite dominant "political parties" would be my own "alternative" cry to folks. Build your own independent and parallel power. (I mean, we should certainly still know what the bastards in the parties are about. They are doing it with our coin, or what should be our friggin' share of the coin. (Which is just about every damn penny of it anyway-, depending on how ya chooses to look at it.)

Yes, we're more and more onto them. And the game they all attempt to play with our heads, our lives and our coin.

"Fux 'em everyone!" cried out Tiny Tim.

Hello maestro, like you, the entire Party System is on life support. All that's keeping it going is capitalism.

"Good goddamn "O"!" says I.

Maestro and the rotten boroughs

Yeh, Coyote, right on brother. Very soon Maestro may only have himself to vote for - if he can ever get out of the hole he's dug for himself. I think the others you mentioned are down there too. Each telling the other how inordinately clever and balanced they are.

A looking glass world they live in.

Blessed with thine TYEE presence

Oh well, at least Mssr. "Coyote " Esq. adds some credibility to the contrarian (denial /apologist) side.

Tiny Tim ?...you mean that long -haired Ukelele' player who appeared on Laugh- In(no..not the last several NDP conventions)

Important question: Did you finish of all those bourgeiose PURDY's yet ?

Remember, Sunday is the traditional day of rest for the Leftie denial -apologist side(plus the stat. holidays), try to keep the cussing down...

Sorry comrade, nature abhors a vacuum...what used to fill the void with sharp elbows and promote itself as "Vacuum Balance Ltd." was simply a hollow shell thats run out of duct tape for patches.

That is its' supporters problem, NO ONE elses, so pissing -into -the -wind ad- nauseum can't even come close to being simply "water- off -a -ducks- back"...it's continually off -target and thus continually indicting the irrigator/s on the Lefties' denial and apologists side.

Time for the denialists and apologists to go back to the pulpit with a new sermon.

Other than that...simply more evidence to my Real World premise(cc).

Oops ....another one.

Man, another Toredo out of the woodwork...a Greco one this time....time to drag that Fast Ferry into the fresh water... that should at least reduce the problem.

Changing the subject

Congratulations to Mr. Maestro for getting the phrase "Fast Ferries" into the thread. And congratulations as well for refusing to actually discuss the issue.

See, that's the whole of the Liberal and Liberal-sympathizer playbook. When a subject comes up that they don't want to discuss (such as the mess of a management system at BC Ferries), quickly change the subject.

So it was that, faced with the news of further accidents aboard BC Ferries, Mr. Smythe resurrects the spectre of a man who's essentially been a private citizen for seven years. Easier that than putting some effort into examining the role of the current government as it regards BC Ferries.

The same will no doubt be true of the next disaster to befall the government: they'll change the subject, shift the blame on a group who have not held power for half a dozen years. And they'll be ably assisted by the CanWest gang, and by useful idiots like Mr. Maestro.

Ably assisted...

Well, we could probably go around the table a few times, as to precisely how "...ably assisted", by the likes of these self same idiots. :-)

Nonetheless, your point is well enough ably made.

... doesn't imply intelligently

Parrots have the ability to mimic sounds, but that doesn't suggest they're actually communicating. So it is with useful idiots: they can repeat talking points like nobody's bidness, but that doesn't mean they're actually smart enough to form cogent thoughts.

More on media concentration

As usual, it requires Antonia Zerbisias' skills to get 'behind' the story of the Alliance/Atlantis takeover. Pay particular attention to the last few paras - and the snort.

Antonia Zerbisias
Toronto Star

First the good news about Wednesday's late-breaking announcement that CanWest Global, along with the Wall Street banking behemoth Goldman Sachs & Co., is paying $2.3 billion for Toronto's Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc.

Um ... er ...

Okay.

One: This means that, as long as it's properly managed, CanWest Global won't now be run over by the enormously successful CTVglobemedia Inc., which last summer swallowed CHUM and all its TV, radio and specialty operations – although the deal is still subject to regulatory approval.

Like it or lump it, Canadians need CanWest Global and its TV and newspaper properties as a separate corporate entity, if only to minimize news media concentration.

After all, who wants to see the birth of CTVglobalcanwestCHUMmedia?

Two: The deal, when it gets rubber-stamped by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) – and it will, despite the heavy foreign-ownership element – will result in hundreds of millions of dollars getting pumped into so-called "social benefits."

But what that social spending is, is up to the buyers.

That had better involve a lot of decent Canadian programming, including drama, and not millions tossed at CanWest Global's controlling Asper family charities, including their pet project, the Human Rights Museum in Winnipeg, which is already expecting federal support to the tune of $12 million a year.

The bad news would not only fill this column, it would fill this page.

That's because the complex deal contains alarming sounding contingencies such as how much of Alliance Atlantis that CanWest Global will end up owning in 2011.

Simply put, the more profitable the TV operations, the bigger the share of the merged company CanWest Global will own.

Said chief executive officer Leonard Asper: "How much we get is entirely dependent on our own performance."

(Pretty ironic coming from a guy who, along with other private broadcasters, was crying the financial blues to the CRTC just a few weeks ago.)

Bottom line is, over the next four years, CanWest Global has to rake in as much as it can.

If it doesn't succeed, Asper might even lose the company his late father Israel (Izzy) founded.

So you can bet that Global, along with CTV and its specialty channels, will jack up ad rates, with CHUM and Alliance Atlantis gone. Those costs will eventually reach consumers.

You can also be sure that, given its newfound control of such specialty channels as History, Showcase, Life, Food and HGTV, channels that commissioned many hours of homegrown programming, CanWest Global will cut budgets and boost repeats.

That will hurt independent producers who already struggle to make a living.

It will also annoy viewers who will likely see fewer original episodes of some of their favourite shows – and fewer new ones, period.

But the biggest and scariest element of this deal is the involvement of Goldman Sachs.

CanWest Global is putting in just 17 per cent towards the equity of the new merged TV company.

That means – although the details on the deal are still very vague – that an American bank could end up owning Canada's biggest media company.

Which would be against the foreign ownership regulations.

But Asper doesn't seem concerned.

"We certainly think the issue is who controls the venture and I think the CRTC – I hope they will see this as a staged purchase or a partially staged acquisition," he said Wednesday. "We are quite satisfied this will meet the Canadian law ...

"It's a control test."

And so it is.

The test is: who controls public discourse in Canada.

In a country where the concentrated media never scream about media concentration, and where they don't report that a major Senate committee report on the subject was rejected by the Harper government, I wouldn't stay up late waiting for a peep of protest on your nightly news.

SPEAKING OF WHICH: Yesterday, almost under the radar, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, the lobby group representing the private industry, put out a release saying it is seeking to recoup over $790 million in so-called Part II licence fees.

Long story short: last month, the CAB won a federal court ruling that declared those licence fees a tax that the CRTC had no right to impose in 1997.

The money, which went into public coffers, was ostensibly to cover the broadcasters' use of public airwaves.

Now the broadcasters want the money back.

Specifically, they want their licences to print money for nothing.

Think they'll invest the three-quarter-billion-plus in Canadian programming?

Snort.

No accountability? Try P3's

I read a story a couple of weeks ago by Smythe, bemoaning the fact that there is no accountability by BCF since it's "privatization". I found this ironic in the sense that Canwest Goebbels is forever going on about the virtues of P3's. Everything that is built by a P3 will be in the same boat (pun intended) regarding accountability to the taxpayers as BCF.

P3's are going to make the fast ferries look like child's play, but we'll never know because the contracts will be excluded from FIO.

Maybe Mike can do a column comparing the "privatization" of the ferries to all the P3's his bosses espouse. I wont hold my breath.

What happened to the anti

What happened to the anti cartel, anti trust, etc. laws in this country and all over the world, permitting the collectivization of important public assets in the hands of a few politbureau, corporate crooks?

Some of us still can remember when certain companies, even in the USA, were forced to divest and break up their conglomerations and, as far I'm concerned, the public was better served.

What's the bet on Harpo's string of directorships, after he's out of politics ?

Can he beat Mulroney, because he gave more away and even put Canada on the auctioneer's block?

How long before our media is controlled from abroad, as it is happening all over the world?

Ed Deak.

Kramer's latest pratfall

Man... weren't those great football games yesterday?

Well I see old jonagold "Kramer" was at it again....

You just can't keep a professional NDP apologist /denialist down.

Well, I guess while jonagold Kramer pisses into the wind(again!!) and wonder why his dog is looking at him quizzically(ie woof woof heys stupid,growl, at least do it on a hydrant bark bark ) this bring to mind another term " UseLESS Idiots ".

jonagold Kramer just doesn't get it....The topic unfolded with someone discussing an Ex Premier...who himself decided to become Public and not retain their quasi -immunity provided by past anonymity they attained by retiring from politics.

It's not much different than a court case...one is not forced to testify against oneself, but if one chooses to take the stand, all bets aka immunity against self- incrimination are OFF.

Using jonagold Kramer "quasi- Statute of Limitations" war criminals etc would be left alone..ie "time heals all wounds".

jona- Kramer-gold doesn't quite understand that Glennochio has NOW effectively lost his quasi-immunity, and like most idealogues, besides simply being an incompetent idiot , he is trying to cover his ass via foreseeing that the BC Ferries issues go back to his NDP MLA-Premier days when he ACTUALLY had the GOLDEN chance to do something about it.

Now he's trying to deflect attention from the facts as the problems increasingly arise, ...hoping his cling-on supporters will be in concurrent delusion(redundant).The Present is rooted in the Past. Are Y-O-U THAT thick ?

Glennochio wants to protect his "legacy" LOL LOL LOL LOL ahahahahahaha ROTFLMAO LOL LOL LOL ahahahahaha. Jimmy P. only gave him a job to remove the cancerous political threat from the greater body called BC.

Not a total loss jonagold Kramer...we've just found a new term USE-LESS Idiots to describe you and your like -minded wind pissing propogandists.
Of course, there is absolutley no connection to why the NDP is irrelevant if not soon to be extinct ...something called track record and past practice = sheer dread by the majority.

Who C-A-R-E-S if the Provincial Liberals, or the Rhinoceros party, Monster- Loony Party, a Fallen Tree in Stanley Park, Road Kill, or a Birthday Party is in power, ....this is a discussion on the NDP past and present, and foreseeable future ,.....they are ALL better options than the NDP.

Probably shouldn't even be stating this,as the more Kool Aid types into denial and apologist - mode, the quicker the inevitable bye -bye . Hey,... it's windy out... go outside when nature calls, it's all you've been doing anyway.

Quote:But the biggest and

CanWest Global is putting in just 17 per cent towards the equity of the new merged TV company.

That means – although the details on the deal are still very vague – that an American bank could end up owning Canada's biggest media company.

Outside of the issue of democracy itself, applied to the economy as a whole, especially large enterprises, it is around this issue that the rubber of Canadian sovereignty decline continues to meet the road of ever greater US Empire domination. For speaking of "life support", the entire country of Canada is on life support as an independent and self-reliant entity.

Already this deal, even if we assume, which I do not, that Goldman Sachs stake here is a programme that operates in the background, and only has a conditional kick-in, still increases way beyond the tipping point, ever growing US interest control over global events analyses and ideas dissemination within this country. Already, listening to CBC, our so-called "public broadcaster", is like mainlining one's news directly from CNN Headquarters in Atlanta. The "influence" of US media is already all pervasive in the "public" and corporate media alike, to speak nothing of "entertainment".

As a viably independent country we were already on the basket-case end of the spectrum scale before this deal, and this has only dramatically increased the degree to which we are effectively "colonially" dependent upon The Empire-, especially in the critical theatre of events news and ideas, from which our populace will much get its interpretations of world events and global politics, strategic to the separate and independent interests of this country.

This is but another measure, as Ed Deake correctly points out, of our bootlick capitalist state's unwillingness and/or inability to even enforce anti-cartel and anti-trust laws anymore in this country.

This too is a measure of our State's advanced colonial dependency upon and fear of the US Empire. Our State is tied to it hand and foot, handcuffed to the bed, bare ass in the air, trussed up and incapable of acting on its own, even in the national interest.

And finally, it is a measure of the degree to which the parties to our State, especially Lieberal and Conservative both, have already betrayed the country over a very long period of time. They have chosen for us a role of colonial vassals, as opposed to the other choice they could have made, of independent national development.

It is my view that they are traitors to the country-, and to which the gathering body of evidence has long pointed. Even going back to the so-called "Cold War", while we were focused on the coming Soviet invasion from over the northern pole, the US Empire and our own Benedict Arnold ruling class were already then engaged in economic policies and military alliance creation which effectively carried out and assisted the conquest across our southern border. (I don't think it is even possible to speak of our even having an "independent" Canadian Military anymore. It too is bound hand and foot to the US Empire interest in the world. Though they continue to attempt to maintain the illusion.)

The conquest is already near complete, while the country is lulled to remain asleep by such global corporatist media as CanWest, AND by even our own "national" public broadcaster so-called.

Unless there is a sudden and dramatic awakening here very soon, it is all over but the signing of the final papers for the North Amerikan Union.

Alone though just about, as a potential monkey wrench in the works, at least at this time , a US Empire defeat across the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, has the potential to change all this, for both the Palestinians and us. For only breaking the US Empire global power in this way, do we have the chance of a snowball in Hell now, I think.

Unless something changes and emerges from out of the Canadian populace pretty goddamn quick here now.

My view.

Drivel

Started off trying to read your piece directly above me there, maestro. Just drivel though. Gave up about a third of the way through. Just senseless, incomprehensible drivel.

Back up, find your centre again, and some modicum of "objectivity". I know you can do it. (Wellll, we hope...)

Once in every blue moon you

Once in every blue moon you actually do manage to say something reasonably lucid and comprehensible... unlike say, Elliot-, who never does.

Well as usual the story has

Well as usual the story has gone way off track and folks are back to talking aboout anything that comes into their heads.

Coyote: Must be lots of Blue Moons

Comrade Coyote:

I know there is a natural pre-disposition for the canine species to howl at the moon.

I guess there are more Blue moons than you realize, maybe get the trifocals fixed.

Other than that Coyote, I'm feeling generous, I'll give you a few more chances. G West used to be up there on my " worth reading list" , but he's starting to slip...He's becoming the prototype for why the ideology fails...deflective/ denial/ apologist avoiding the core issues... hissy fits...

Many other Kool Aid minions aren't worth more than a ROTFLMAO.

I'm sure you've seen the Monty Python skit " Communist Quiz "...it's unfortunately getting to the point that when I read many TYEE commentators and their comments I'm envisioning the Karl Marx character spouting rhetoric and fighting a losing battle.

They'd be a wee bit of a concern if they weren't so bloody a-m-u-s-i-n-g.

Do YOU want to sink to that level , Coyote ?

Dare we!!!

Ehhh, conversations in the exchange of analyses and ideas get to go where they will, and all efforts to control that and circumscribe it with their own particular brand of censorship, certainly by the neocon hordes here, are doomed to failure here. We laugh when you whine that we will not submit to your Rules of Engagement, and we smile tolerantly at your feeble (minded) attempts to frame and control the discussion.

Where the sun never shines, laddies... Where the sun never shines.

" Rules of Engagement " ???

" Rules of Engagement " ??? :

Sorry, happily married.

Coyote QUOTE: " Where the sun never shines, laddies....Where the sun never shines ".

You did mention to being in the Navy once, didn'tcha?

PS almost used up your rationed use of the word " neo-con " for today ... Also, may as well admit and quit waffling that you and the TYEE Kool- Aid party comrades would jump into bed with the NDP at the first chance. Sleep with dogs, same fleas, evolution exempt. At least be THAT honest .

Say hi to comrade Corky...and man the lifeboats "Arrrh Corky...ever been to Sea , can the Kool Aid party members borrow your Ferry pass arrrhhh " ?

BTW : G West moves UP the list.

Zzz hmm?

Was there a point to all that verbiage, Mr. Maestro? Or were you just looking for a way to get the word "comrade" in about 18 more times. Tee hee. You funny dude.

Just for the record, the topic is actually not Glen Clark, but rather CanWest, their record, and the continuing problem of hyper media concentration.

Just to spoon-feed you some more, Mr. Maestro, it's Mr. Smythe's way of not dealing with the actual problems with BC Ferries to bring up a politician who's been out of the Premier's office for seven years. See, that way, they keep the poo off the shoes of the Minister Irresponsible for BC Ferries, the disHonourable Kevin Falcon.

The Liberal playbook then relies on useful idiots to repeat the mantra: Fast Ferries bad! Glen Clark double plus bad! Any useful idiots around?

Who gives a rat's ass about Glen Clark's legacy? Think the guy whose pickup wound up in the icy deep last week was cursing Glen Clark's legacy? And even if he was, how useful is it? Does it actually make BC Ferries a better public corporation? Does it make it more responsive to the needs of ferry users? Does it reduce the amount of money the people of BC pay into BC Ferries?

See, a decent media, one that doesn't donate wads of cash to the Liberal Party, would be asking those questions before running stories. And people who aren't idiots would be expecting more from their news media.

So with all the "comrade"

So with all the "comrade" rhetoric, how do these government subsidized mega corporations get away with collectivizing and controlling everything, through the "investment" of imaginary money, and in the name of " competitive free enterprise", of course, including, and especially the public information services. turned into ideological propaganda machines?

What's the difference between the controlled nazi, communist and other fundamentalist media, controlled and censored by the same comrades, under different coloured, ideological flags ?

How about it Maestro ? What do the faithful say for excuses ?

Ed Deak.

As Mary so aptly noted,

As Mary so aptly noted, Michael Smyth did not first report on the evidence (the facts of the story) he distorted them by prefacing his report by repeatedly insulting Glen Clark...and he thus "set up" the story to slant it in favour of the BC Liberals while at the same time having the audacity to admit that Clark was absolutely right.

And it's a great liitle window into what is now accepted as journalism and flourishes in this country since media monopolies were allowed to bloom under Mulroney's deceptively named "Competition Act".

Stories aren't reported they are set up and manipulated, intentionally obfuscating any measure of accountability to the public, in order to serve and prop up those whose corporate interests they serve.

Talk about deniers and apologists.

Lets get our Ferry Corporation back.

All the right wing Liberal supporters are coming out to bash Glen Clark once again, seems they never get enough? Glen Clark and the NDP party attempted to accomplish 2 things; add 3 new ships to the BC Ferry fleet and revitalize a nearly dead shipbuilding industry. Sure the fast-cats were a bad choice, in hindsight the government should of leased a ferry for a trial period before building the ships. But at least their intentions were good.

Now enter the Liberal government, the first thing they do is privatize the ferries and give the job of running it to an American for reasons that don't make any sense. I guess no Canadian could do the job? But why question that decision as long as the BC Liberals have washed their hands of the ferry headache.

Since privatization we have had a ferry sink where 2 people lost their lives and an accident in Nanaimo that could of been fatal. Where's the media? Why is Gordon Campbell not being held accountable? Our elected officials can not discuss the matter in the legislature because they are a "private company". How convenient is that for the Liberals? All they have to do is point their finger at David Hahn. It's as if they could see it coming several years ago.

As with every privatization, the main driving force is profits which translates into a reduction in services and an increase in rates. We have definitely seen that since David Hahn took over.

David Hahn Inc. is in the process of having 3 Ferries built in Germany for $500 million...to hell with the shipbuilders in this province. If those Ferries are a failure then once again the Liberals can simply say "BC Ferries is a private company and that they have no say in the matter". Glen Clark should of thought up this scam!

Incidently, the BC Liberals were offered $60 million for the fast-cats, yet they only got $19.4 million in an auction. Good work Gordie...thank god your not my realtor!

We need to take back our ferry service so that it is accountable to the people of this province.

I think, we need a movement

I think, we need a movement to take back, not only the ferries, nationalized, together with BC Electric, by capitalist Wacky Bennett, who had some brains, but the whole province and county from these exploiting crooks and ideological pimps.

Ed Deak.

I agree with Ed

Nevertheless, we're not going to get a movement from Stephane Dion. At least I don't think so. This is what the opening statement on Dion's website says:

"I'm supporting Stéphane because he gets it. Stéphane thinks ahead, always looking to the future, rooted in his experience and his principles. Stéphane has a track record of unimpeachable integrity, whether it be fighting for the unity of our country, or bringing the world together to fight against the ravages of climate change. Stéphane has spent 10 years around the cabinet table, working with Canadians from coast to coast to coast, and he is proud of our Liberal legacy of fiscal discipline and economic strength. Stéphane understands our complex and vast country better than anyone. I think that's why he relates so well to British Columbians. Stéphane has earned the respect of grassroots Liberals in every corner of this country. He is simply the best choice to unite our party and take on Stephen Harper in the next election."

-- Mark Marissen, BC Campaign Co-Chair, Liberal Party of Canada, 2004 and 2006 Elections. Mark is now Stéphane's National Campaign Director.

I'm not impressed by that message. And I'm even less impressed by the man who wrote it.

The first thing Stephane Dion has to do to get my attention about anything is to fire Marissen.

By the looks of things in Ontario and Quebec the Liberals are quietly self-destructing there while they rot from the core here in BC.

The people who don't 'get it' are the media - most of whom appear to have replaced their commitment to the truth and to reporting facts with:
1. Making money; and
2. Getting the most they can out of their political friends.

Michael Smyth and Vaughn Palmer are just two fine examples of this scam and the purchase of Alliance/Atlantis by CanWest, financed by artificial money from the US, is just the way business is done.

It has nothing whatever to do with the real and desperate need for a free and independent press in a free and democratic society. We'd be better off circulating samizdat pamphlets in the dead of night.

Woe is us, if we don't start to do something about it. Soon.

My view.

jonagold aka Kramer: I

jonagold aka Kramer:

I think BodyWorlds 3 is about to pack up and leave Science World soon.

Question: Which exhibit were you ?

Comment : If not an exhibit yet, please fill out the DUHnation form.

========================================

Otherwise, this TYEE topic on " The great media ownership concentration" ( conspiracy ? ) is under the " BEAT THE DEAD HORSE ....AGAIN " category.

Hey, if it makes you lathered -up types feel any better, I caught a Can West( Vancouver Sun) reporter on a bit of what was then misinformation, which I knew for a fact was an error. It was VERY relevant to the story, I e-mailed the SUN Publisher to simply point it out..., NOTHING was acknowledged.

The Media in general always has been .....and always should be, taken with a grain of salt...if one knows that going in. Most media are " stories -du -jour " , and anything deeper, such as investigative stories,even then can only spend so much time on the given focus as well.

The Media serves a useful purpose regardless. At times I read stories I myself think cross a line which will get the reporters fired soon...other times I feel the story is Info-Porn BS. Who hasn't felt the same?

Again, best taken with a grain of salt.

Quote:What's the difference

How about it Maestro ? What do the faithful say for excuses ?

Ed Deak.

Anxiously awaiting to hear the little maestro's answer to this one. (Almost said Little Corporal.)

Glen Clark's legacy problem?

More wingnut hyperbole and revisionist history.

I had and have lots of criticism of Glen Clark, or at least the NDP ideology he spoke for. but that said, at least his efforts were directed to update and rebuild this coasts ship building industry and ferry fleet, not undermine and sell it off. Which, in my view, had the objective been to actually contribute to the independent development of this province and country, it was well worth the investment. It was simply a bold start-up enterprise, which typically has lots of major bugs and issues in the early going.

Anyone remember the Socred fiasco that was the Coquihalla Hwy? But no one today would think of questioning its value, even at the expense of the huge cost over-runs into contractors pockets.

And it could have been the same with the fast ferries, had not the primary objective of that Lieberal day been Glenn Clark's and the NDPs political assassination. Which was the corporate medias real object of the day-, and to pave the way for their Lieberal choice. Now some other country (US?) has the ferries at a minor fraction of their real value, the technology and our investment in that marine technology, while we have nothing but languishing shipyards and declining decent paid jobs, and red ink. And now, a privatized ferry fleet buying the cast off ferries of other fleets. Even all that was given away as well in the interests of capitalist privatization "theft". Which continues as Neocon Lieberal State policy even now-, looting the public ownership asset interests.

So, while I have and had no particular sympathy for Glenn Clark, he was not and is not the villain in this piece. Not by a long shot.

Yes, now we need a movement of the citizenry to recover all this which we have lost to corporate greed, and are continuing to lose in the course of the Great Betrayal of The Nation to global, read US Empire and our own corporate greed, and the Empire's Manifest Destiny ambition to secure hegemony over our Canada portion of the continent. They don't have enough you see. They need more.

Maestro and his cabal but walk around here, as well with their heads where the sun never shines in the bright light of day and understanding, parroting the mantras of the Corporate Media, The Lieberals and Conservatives, cast from the same mold the two of them, as they are.

The Flying Fibreglass Fiasco

If CanWest tried, in this ridiculous game they play, to be as "fair" in their reporting about the Socred/Liberals as they are "fair" haha with the New Democrats, then they'd talk about the BC Place roof as The Flipping Fibreglass Fiasco, wouldn't they?

How can the CanWest newsrooms keep their faces straight, while the wind howls through holes in the worn-out, 25-year-old fabric (guaranteed lifespan: 25 years), while they write down: "Don't worry, be happy, the landscape show will go on as usual on January 25" with more chunks falling off, more rips and tears opening up?

How do they do that ... fair is fair, eh? Why not jump all over the Socred/Liberals too?

And about Glen Clark. Remember when he tried to salvage the Pacific Salmon Treaty, telling the U.S. that they weren't going to get their own way at Nanoose unless they straightened up on the Pacific Salmon fishery. Remember ... Prime Minister Chretien launched a court action ... not against the U.S.A. but against B.C. If the Feds had backed B.C. that time ... would the U.S. have got away with 1 billion of our softwood lumber dollars?

I think B.C. could use a little more Glen Clark these days. And a little less CanWest.

I say it's good to have One Big Union....

...of the news media (certainly not of labour unions though -- that would be undemocratic) But now everyone will have the same news. No contradictions! Everyone will be happy!

And I say it's good to have the NDP around! After all, when the Libs lose a few billions over the Olympics (making 500 million look like chump change), it will be the NDP's fault in some form or fashion. (Problem with the NDP and the fast ferries is that they didn't throw the "blame" over onto the Socreds quick enough. They actually tried remedying the ailing economy they were saddled with) The Libs' first breath as government in BC was however: "It's the NDP's fault!" (The Libs didn't know what the fault was - they were just trying it out for size - but they liked it so much, they've been using it with increasing frequency these long years).

Tyee sideboard

Nice to see the editors have caught up - only a little more than 24 hours late - by posting a link to Antonia Zerbisias's story on the sideboard. You can read it one day up this thread without bothering to click on the link.

maestro - since you're still down that hole

Just a little something for you:

These people just get more foolish and arrogant with every passing day. Do you think Freddy ran that by the boss before he started talking about it?

Editor: I know this isn't the right place to post this, but you've closed the only BC schools thread available.

political contributions? - major media?

I wonder if anyone here knows how much Canwest Global has contributed to the Conservatives and/or Liberals?

Also, is BC Ferries "Corporation" allowed to make contributions to political parties, and have they? I think I may be smelling a second modern version of the Pacific Scandal. (The first modern version being, of course, the sale of BC Rail).

Further, the current government used taxpayer money to "privatize" (spelt the American way for emphasis) our BC Ferries. Our imported Ferries Czar, David Hahn, was in charge a month or two ago when all documents regarding the operations of all Ferries were destroyed so that the shareholders (though they be fiscally responsible) can not know what has been going on - on any of the fleet. This is a huge cover-up. Where is CanWest Global, CTV and the CBC on this? Why are they not bringing this to the front of our news on a daily basis? Who wants to give any of the major media more monopoly power when they don't report loudly on the many issues relating to our loss of self-governance?

Where else do we hear about these things but the Tyee and a few scattered websites/blogspots? Should not the major media be publishing this information? Should they not be having open editorials on our loss of our province, our country? These issues are what good reporting and public service announcements should be about, aren't they?!

The BC Ferry csar has been paid a whopping bundle for running our "corporation". I wonder, how much has he donated to the Liberal Party?

yours truly,
bewildered in BC

Canwest Global contributions - Asper

Below a CTV article (2.6 years old) that tells of Asper's (Canwest Global executive) anger over campaign financing legislation that would limit him while public monies were being spent on the campaigns of political parties that he opposes. (It's my guess that he was angry that the public has any say at all.)

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/mini/CTVNews/1087050706703_26?s_name=election2004&no_ads=

Let's not forget the court

Let's not forget the court actions of Harper's previous employer, as the head and chief PR hack of the National Citizens Coalition, against any curbs on the funding of political parties by corporations, against union dues and the miniumim wage, and for "right to work" legislation, so that "employees can negotiate their own wages"

I remember seeing his predecessor, David Somerville, gloating on TV after a federal election that they've spent half million to defeat one single NDP candidate in Manitoba, but "it was worth it".

Mr.Harper is a disaster waiting to happen, promoted by the captive media conglomerate.

Ed Deak.

G West: aka Future Liberal supporter

G West:

Well, Edu-points are still posted, but yeah , I've already complained , you will duly note , about the " topic closure " problem, at least re: forewarning.
Its' all locked up and soon to be archived .

Hey, what are the odds something similar on the TYEE will come up in the future...gee...pretty remote eh?

PS: Maybe Coyote can lend you his crowbar covered in Purdy's and you can "B and E" the lock and we can RE-Hash that one too.

Are you apologizing to the Editor ??? , that's beneath you, isn't it...even when you're wrong you're right, and vice- versa.

Still down that hole I see

For once, instead of blow-by, could you actually deal with an issue fairly and substantively?

Apparently not.

You've done nothing but preen and puff up your feathers every time you posted on this thread.

correction: political contributions - media

About 8-9 hours ago I said, "Our imported Ferries Czar, David Hahn, was in charge a month or two ago when all documents regarding the operations of all Ferries were destroyed so that the shareholders (though they be fiscally responsible) can not know what has been going on - on any of the fleet." I made a mistake, I was wrong. It was a month or two ago when I was first heard of the document destruction. The document destruction actually occurred just 5 days after the Queen of the North went down. The Times Colonist (a Canwest paper) states that BC Ferries maintains that it has retained 3 copies of the old Queen of th North's ship manual and that the Times Colonist was invited to read the manual at the time that the following article was written.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=9afd65ab-905c-479d-922a-40d8d72427cc&k=39049

Please note: the article did not say that anyone from the Times Colonist actually read the manual.

Bill Moyers

Fight for your mind, the assault is relentless.

Check out this speech by Bill Moyers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLK-rK3rfW8

G West: Look Up...Waaay Up....

G West:

Zoom Zoom Zoom...da-da-da-da.

Over thine head again.

Someone ( Fred Langford ) wants to talk about increasing funding for independent schools...so ...like that's news ???

Actually, I wasn't aware they actually had schools on Vancouver Island, at least " Non -inDePendent " ones that weren't owned by the BCTF ( hey, did you catch that I hi-lited letters that spell NDP ?).

Does Fred need a free-speech license/permit over there???,...what's the sentence if he's caught without one ??? That bad ,eh?

Maybe there will be a real live NDP -er sitting on the Ventriloquist's lap debating Fred. Chant " Neo-con neo-con, global warming sunk the Titanic, climate change climate change, Comrade Coyote your cheque to the Corky party bounced again....the Weather report is Bush's propoganda...etc. etc."

Actually,G West, I am going to save up some change to put in the meter when we can continue our CONDO discussion....that one I would sincerely like to "objectively" continue.

This topic is getting a bit overly Re- hashed...blame BCM for starting it.

good post BC Mary

excellent post BC Mary, demonstrates the problem of Canwest media concentration beautifully.

Maestro: whazzup? insults and name calling?! how are your posts contributing to dialogue?

Yes, Glen Clark's half/billion dollar ferry decision was stupid and costly.

Unfortunately, the provincial Liberals are worse as already analyzed in a number of posts (see Coyote's).

TYEE EDITORS: this is why a comments section as per Alternet's format would be good; then flame wars could be more self contained and not distract from discussion of the article.

As I've started doing just

As I've started doing just ignore these no brainer kids.
I don't bother wasting my time reading them as they never differ maestro, elliot, lil rich cappy etc.
Soon they will get the msg as I think they have no real friends in life.

Foreign control

Bob999's post raises a very significant issue. 2006 saw the takeover of many Canadian business icons: Inco, Falconbridge, Dofasco and others. The last major stand of Canadian control is the media, because of government regulations on Canadian ownership.

The Canwest Global - Alliance Atlantis deal seems to be a testing of the waters of how to allow phantom foreign control. Since when did a business get full control of an acquisition when they only put up 17% of the money? US investment house Goldman Sachs is putting up the remainder. Read Bob999's post again and the quote from Eric Reguly of the Globe and Mail.

If this deal is allowed to stand it will be the wedge that holds open the door for the silent takeover of the Canadian media.

Write your MP and the detested Stephen Harper and complain long and loud and bitterly. 2007 could be a last stand for what's left of Canadian sovereignty.

And how about the 'usual suspects' stop their sniping posts and reply posts as they endlessly debate their firmly entrenched left/right -- Liberal/NDP views. It frankly wastes space and detracts from the real issue.

In my view, the Michael Smyth story in The Province was a revolting little screed, with a real news story buried in it.

Write letters or email to

Write letters or email to our CRTC (about CanWest and their latest criminal activities the internet) as they are supposed to be the Public Watchdog for the Canadian people.

USA http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20061228/181255.shtml

contact CRTC to complain

Here is the link to the CRTC:
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/welcome.htm

Here is the link to MPs:
http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?TimePeriod=Current&Language=E

As BC Dude and Dave49 said above, contact them. We need to stop these people. If you do nothing, you can only blame yourself when you find your neighbour in his bomb shelter, pistols at the ready, watching Fox News all the hours of the day and night.

Hey BC Dude: How's jury

Hey BC Dude:

How's jury duty going ....

What msg .... most Asian restaurants cut that out.

(Then again you've stated you won't read this anyway)

Otherwise Happy New Year to you too....

==========================================

Off-the -radar:

Insults? ....what? G West obviously has a hole fetish, simply tit for tat...kitchen/heat
otherwise Fuggedaboutit, we'll chat on another topic.

Enough already, you ijit.

maestro, ferchrissakes, give it a rest.

CanWest as far as I'm

CanWest as far as I'm concerned are a Teasonous corporation against the people of BC and Canada!
CanWest distorts the little bit of news that they may put out, they've successfully conspired with the BC liberals to try to cover up the 2003 BC Legislature Raids and all the dirty backroom deals that the BC Campbell liberals are doing, this is not a government for the people it is a dictatorship against the people of British Columbia!
Gordon Campbell should've been thrown out with his impaired charges as that should give him a criminal record how he got around that is anyone's guess?
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8MIMVF80.htm

Come on CanWestwhere you on

Come on CanWestwhere you on this very treacherous story?
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/12/05/americas-breadbasket-moves-to-canada/
Harper closed the Wheat Board for this reason and should be brought up on charges of treason against the citizens of Canada!

Canwest and gotcha journalism

I actually watched more than a few seconds of a Canwest news broadcast today - the one with that Newman fellow on it. Okay, I was sick and just too bushed to reach out for the clicker and switch channels so I just lay back on the couch and watched.

God Awful. And it made me think of the kind of thing Ron Erwin seems to love from Fox News...

If that's the kind of thing the Aspers have in mind for Canada, and, God help us I think it may be, then we should get ready for more of this:

http://www.benningtonbanner.com/columnists/ci_5028977

Is there any chance the CRTC will nix this deal?

repeat: write to CRTC and your MP

Hi G West,
I believe that if we can educate the public enough - like the teachers did during their job action (despite the all-out political/media attack), then we have a chance. Tell everyone you know to write to their MP and to the CRTC saying that how they choose to deal with this issue is tied to your vote and the votes of those around you. Talk it up, get it out in the mainstream press. Remember "Rosebud".
SIG

Thanks S.I.G.

Always glad to read you and your suggestions. I think you're exactly right as well - they seldom answer my letters, but that doesn't stop me sending them...
cheers.