When the Fraser Institute promotes ideas they’re labeled as wrong neo-cons misleading the public. When The Center for Policy Alternatives promotes theories no one ever questions them and takes their word as gold. These are both think tanks, yet one is always wrong and one is always right in your eyes. This begs the question who is funding the Tyee. I have yet to see multiple sides of any story. Although you may be right on individual cases, the overall bias of a supposed independent fair news source is disturbing. This is starting to remind me of the FOX news channel albeit on the opposite side of the political spectrum. Or even closer to your heart CanWest.

And yet, Rob, you keep coming back here - frequently, if the rate at which you post comments is anything to go by. It seems that either a) you don't feel like you're getting the whole story from the more established media, which shows a healthy skepticism or b) you read these stories just to have something to bitch about in the comments section, which is knd of sad.

Someone brought up the Fraser institute once in support of an argument position and I asked online who they were. It sounds from the name that they are an esteemed 'ïnstitute' connected with Simon Fraser university. The Times Colonist is always Quoting them. Anyways, someone said that they are a "registered Charity". Could it be that that hallowed and revered organization uses a loophole to avoid paying a cent of taxes! Perhaps it is a halfway house for nutty burnt out economists who didnt make the grade. We need a Crane institute to counter balance them.

Rob, are you telling us you can't see the difference between the CCPA's alternative budgets and the Fraser Institute's attempt to discredit peer-reviewed science?

I'm sure most people find it pretty easy. One is trying to broaden the knowledge base and the other is trying to narrow it.

Laughable. The CCPA is completely outrageous in its thinking on economics and such. Their way would lead to economic disaster. The Fraser Institute and other like kind are much more attuned to the broadbased successful policies and organs. The CCPA is just a mouthpiece for the Unions and NDP in the veiled attempt to justify their existence.

You're on the wrong thread. Head over to the other one and let's hear something substantive. I assume you have an economics background or are you just repeating what you've heard?

Would that be such wonderfull policies as George Bush's that have led to the world's largest trade deficit, the greatest indebtness to other countries and the largest debt in the history of america, mr green? I really wish both sdgreen and rob, could have their iqs doubvled. Then they might be able to grasp the fact, they're simply out of their intellectual depth...still. By the way sdgreen, the fraser institute's "thinking," in BC has reduced BC to a federal welfare basket case, eligible for equalization payments for at least 3 out of 4 years, and we lost 22,600 jobs last year...if only you and Rob, could pool your iqs, you mihght qualify as merely stupid, as opposed to nearly imbecilic...toodles....

George W. Bush, Gordon Campbell and Mike Harris are all favourites of the Fraser institute; each one of them are big time deficit spenders. Let's privatise the Fraser Institute and take away their government tax deductions.

Mel, Your comment made we wonder about the funding status of FI. I looked, and they are private and have charitable status. In fact they pride themselves on being completely funded through voluntary contributions; accepting no government money. Second, I think it should be pointed out that while charitable organisations do get a few tax reductions, the reason most orgs try to get charitable status is so the donations to the org are tax deductible. This helps the donors more than the org. Just my $.02

accountant, is it a good thing if you're a charity that takes donations from corporations and then uses that money to defend those same corporations whereas if the corporation had to fight on its own it would have to do it with regular taxed dollars?

I get science news from reputable internationally-recognized peer-reviewed journals and I recommend that everyone read them because the quality is very high. To the best of my knowledge none of the political parties in Canada controls these journals. The January 2004 study in Science that found much higher levels of cancer-causing PCBs in farmed salmon than in wild salmon, is one of many such studies.

Frank, is it a good thing if you're a charity that takes donations from corporations and then uses that money to plant a tree for those same corporations whereas if the corporation had to clean its mess on its own it would have to do it with regular taxed dollars? Should we shut down Suzuki and friends for taking corporate donations? I'm not sure what you're getting at with your question. That's the point of charitable status; to provide voluntarily contributed social services. "We" shoudn't judge the worthiness of private charities. I might not think that discouraging abortions is a good idea, but I'm not going to abolish private charity over it. Groups like Fraser and CCPA usually fall under "education". To do this, they must spend a significant proportion of their revenue on education programs. I don't know the exact proportion off the top of my head, but I'm sure you can find it on the CRA site.

I see, Mr Accountant, so the "charitable service," the Frase Pimpstitute performs is to help Canwest set social justice and newspaper accountability, back to a period roughly corresponding to the turn of the last century? If this is charity, I think I'd prefer being run over by a truck. Loved your comment about privatizing the Fraser Institute, mel from Calgary.

Some years ago, I read a piece written under Fraser Institue auspices about single mothers' need for public funding. In the piece they misquoted statistics that I was familiar with. In their accurate state, they pretty much proved that the premise they were promoting was just wrong.

I could think of no way they could have made that mistake honestly. The thing was quite clear. They just found it more important that people believe what they were told than that they know the true facts. I lost all respect and trust for the Fraser Intitute that afternoon. Nothing lately has made me regain it.

The thing is, I don't believe Michael Walker is trying to educate. I think he's acting as an umbrella organization to fight corporate causes and uses charity status to do it.

When I donate to the Kidney Foundation I know part of the money will go for overhead and part of it will go towards fighting kidney disease. I don't expect any of it to fight any personal cause of mine. However, this is what Mr Walker seems to do. He fights causes on behalf of his clients/donors under the tax-free mask of charity status.

So, thanks, Accountant. The FI is a private charity, eh? (That produces propagaganda). The neat thing for FI "contributors" is that they do not pay for the propaganda. They get a awsome tax deduction for their charitable contribution. So, who actually pays? Me and you with higher taxes to make up the difference! What a sick perverted scam. If they had to go through the normal channels, they would have to hire the crooked scientists directly, and distort the figures directly and pay for it themselves. And everyone would see! I still do not see why the media gives the FI such a huge amount of coverage. The FI model of corruption is probably where they got the idea for OUTSOURCING. Perhaps one of the political partys would concider the outlawing of charitys that exist soley to produce propaganda? Other charitys help people in some way or another, their product being more than just paper.

At one time the Fraser Institute was a true think tank where they looked at ideas based on merit. Now they produce papers based only on ideology. They keep trying to sell us on policies about education and health care which the Americans are proving as failures. The scary thing is Stephen Harper is a strong believer in the Fraser Institute. Preston Manning is a member of the Fraser Institute.

I clicked on the link in this article to the Donner Foundation, the group that gave the grant to launch CanStats and the one that is "the key organization in the project to change the ideological fabric of Canadian society." Then clicked on Donner Book prize..."previous winners and short-listed books." The books are all there, the ones ready to rip apart the Canada we once knew and were always fond of... books on the myths of global warming, the wonders of Frank McKenna, free trade, privatization, and how Canada is not being influenced by the US...let's just say Linda McQuaig would never even come close to making the short list, to her credit.

i have heard it was that great Canadian quisling, Brian Baloney, who made it possible for the Fraser Porkstitute to gain charitable status...Can anyone verify or refute this?

I love the Fraser Institute. They're responsible for some of my best all-time laughing jags, and you know what they say about laughter, eh--it's the best medicine. Of course, I never actually believe anything they say because I know who they represent, and how they twist everything to fit their agenda. hombre, are you doing an ad hominem attack? Shame on you. I would never do such a thing.

hombre, too bad we don't have an Institute that presents the annual Great Canadian Quisling Awards ceremony . In BC alone, the nominations would be numerous, not to mention infamous. Besides awarding the major players, we could also "honour" those great Canadian quislings in supporting roles...all recipients receiving a "looks like gold, but not really gold" ( aka "golden decade" style) plastic statue of GW waving the American flag.

Never is a very, very long time truman. How are you doing? Ad hominen just means a personal attack according to my little oxford dictionary, and as you know I take a lot of things personally, especially the Campbell "government."

Lynn, A very good idea, sort of like the worst dressed awards only far nastier, with huge fines as third prize, deportation and loss of citizenship as second prize, and first prize, life imprisionment. I nominate the Fraser Institute and its staff, Gordon Campbell and the BC liberal caucus, Rod Love, as well as Canwest along with large number of their editorial writers and columnists...watch out, Canadian Idol...

Hi, hombre. Didn't recognize you for a minute. I'm doing pretty good. Hope you are, too. I was just kidding about "never" doing ad hominems. Sometimes they're indispensable. Heaven knows, I've had a few "in-comings" too.

It's truly amazing how corporate-apologist flakes try to defend their ethically bankrupt and parasitic tyrannies, like the Fraser Institute. To even mention its name in the same sentence as the CCPA is insult to the latter. The FI questioning anyone's integrity smacks of the worst hypocrisy. This is an institution that cranks out nothing but lies, twisted half-truths and worn-out corporate capitalist rhetoric with no basis in fact. A few examples: in 1990 the FI produced a video claiming that New Zealand, after enduring the brutal austerity measures for which FI is so famous for supporting, had paid off its public debt. In fact, according to that government's own figures, its debt was 12 per cent higher than before the austerity period five years earlier. In the 1990s, the FI deemed Indonesia under the brutal Suharto dictatorship--famous for mass murder, invasion of surrounding states, brutal suppression of labour unions and human rights activists, etc--as a model "free" society, because of the near absolute power over the economy held by major corporations. In the 1980s, it adopted a similar view of South Africa under the brutal Apartheid regime. The only complaint the FI seems to have about China is it thinks there is too much direct state ownership in the economy there. The lack of democracy and suppression of human rights, unions, etc. doesn't matter to it. Here at home, the FI is, along with the Global Canwest media monopoly (Sun, Province, BSTV, etc.) and the various corporate elite clubs, an apologist for the BC Liar regime, held manufacture and economic "boom," when it fact we are overall bordering on recession. In short, the FI is nothing more than a flack bureaucracy for the same old oppressive, destructive and fundamentally stupid trickle-down, knuckle-under kiss-ass policies of corporate Canada. That’s what it was set up to be. It's not a serious economic think tank or monitor and it never will be.

I was doing a budget story about the school board for a community weekly and the FI had just released a ranking of schools in BC. It was suggested I call them and it was a complete waste of time. The survey looked harmless enough so I thought I should keep an open mind, but all the guy wanted to talk about was how the government should get out of elementary education. What can any sane person do with that? Who's trying to get the government out of education besides that guy and maybe some think-tank from the Victorian era that used to get Charles Dicken's goat. How do they get so much ink in the big papers when I can't even quote them in a weekly?

Shella - One could argue that the Liberals' continuing attempts to demonize the teaching profession — or more specifically the BCTF —along with the chronic underfunding of public education is part of a campaign to undermine public confidence in public education. Which of course would create the kind of "market opportunities" the FI holds so dear. Several months ago the FI released a report arguing the benefits of "for-profit" schools. Scary stuff.

This is a great article. Someone should publish a response to CanStats' propaganda every time they send it out.

CanStats is a reverse of the real Statscan, and the unsophisticated will interpret CanStats nonsense as real, much as the so-called Canadian Taxpayer Confederation's nonsense of the "tax-free" day, and the Fraser Instapuke's assertion that "the ozone layer was increasing". I haven't heard them say it lately, though:)) Yeah they would be good for a laugh if the brainwashed public didn't believe them so much!

I'd vote for anyone that removed the charitable status of the Fraser boys and the Cdn Taxpayer's Fed.

Besides their tax-free disinformation campaigns they serve as employers of either greying or upcoming right-wing politicians.

I'm curious if there's any practical action that as citizens we could take. I mean, here we are, aware of their hoax but not really doing much about it. These kinds of writing helps to get the word out yes but how do you take a more direct action?

shantomo asks a salient question which i too ponder. my own experience: donate to the most active organization(s) you know (strength grows with numbers); volunteer your time in an active organization. if we don't take these minimal steps, we are forfeiting a society that so needs protection.

Not one mention in all these comments on the great Michael Walker's appearance in the film "The Corporation". I can't believe that some of you didn't see it and hear his brilliant statement that "there is nothing in the world that should not be privately owned", or words to that effect. Doesn't that tell you what this nut-case is all about?

David B., hope you're reading this thread...when's the big FI: Uncovered story coming? The tax-charity angle's enough for a start, I should think.

Jeff J., I have long argued for a citizen's political party based on activist class action lawsuits. All it would take is the political will, the backing from prestigious and honest politicians on the left and ACTION. Imagine, one website soliciting $10 dollar memberships, which could also bring in groups like the HEU, the BC hydro class action lawsuit etc under one umbrella. Get seed money and sell 50,000 memberships, get charitable status like the the fraser pimpstitute, and sue the bastards! Have online votes as to what lawsuit's next, with some groups like the HEU and Hydro lawsuits being able to reserve separate moneys. Then challenge very right wing neo-con law right up to the WTO. Impractical? How much has marching in the streets for twenty years changed anything much? Absolute transparency and honesty, and a limitation of the powers of the foundations managers would be absolutely essential. This idea could also be implemented with cooperativist ideas and support, or perhaps run as a large cooperative. Individually the average person who gets stiffed by neo-cons has little power. Collectively it could be a different story. All this idea needs is a little funding from the plitical left to start it up. It could be potentially a huge counter balance to rightwing power and media concentration.

This is classic fraser institute crap. Toss out that whiff of quasi-canadian scent like 'fraser'or 'canstat' and see who bites. Sprinkle every few paragraphs with other vague generalities, all the while kicking constantly at anything left of gordon campbell. My suggestion is to respond every time you see those names quoted and call them what they are, liars.

I don't relaly want to get back into this as I don't really know enough about the Fraser work to take a side. But, I just wanted to suggest to Tim to download their Annual Report. There's nothing hidden about their charitable status, they've always have it. There's lots of information in there as well; looks like a lot more than just the few articles that have been discussed on here. On that note, I'm surprised that Suzuki has been able to maintain charitable status since it prohibits actual lobbying and he seems to be in Martin's office every month :) I think he does it by seperating himself from the foundation (of his name). To me that's shifty. I'm not implying he's evil or anything, just subverting the rules. The rules are there for everyone, whether we think what they're doing has merit or not.

hombre, such a strategy would likely be very effective. the key to challanging the wide ranging power of corporate monopolies is by passing laws. which is why who gets elected remains critical to the corporate elites. people vote based on their 'knowledge' of the isses. which is why who owns the media is even more crtitical. which is why there is such concentration of ownerhip in the media. and the media format requires 'quotes' of recent 'studies' and 'statistics'. which explains the ongoing existence of right wing lobby groups like the Fraser Institute. what amazes me is that, after spending millions and millions of carefully producd propaganda in the US and Canada, 50% of people still vote against them. thank god for that, or we'd be in far worse trouble...

And what would you call free editorial space in the Vancouver Scum, week after week to vomit up lies so tired and old a six year old would turn away in boredom, Mr Accountant? Most peolpe call that corruption of the duties of a free press to tell both sides of the story. Name me one single way in which the fraser pimpstitute has helped anyone but the wealthy?

That's right Jeff J., most of the true democratic refom in this country has come through the courts, not parliament. That's exactly why harper and company are so eager to limit the power of the judiciary. Please pass my other ideas along to your friends and aquaintences...

Hombre, I simply can't think of a single politician on the Left (or the Right or Centre, for that matter) who is both honest and prestiguous! (Svend, why did you do it?) The Fraser Institute's charitable status was never revoked when the N.D.Pukes were in power. But maybe it is up to the Feds to do that. In any case, I no longer believe that a politician can achieve both prestige and honesty in today's climate.

I don't know Anne, I think Ed Broadbent, David Orchard, perhaps even Joe Clark make the honesty grade but I agree they are few in number.

MJK writes: "...those wide-eyed free market bozos." Actually, the Fraser Institute detests free marketeering, if you read it closely enough. It doesn't, for instance, advocate tearing down the greatest threats to the free market, which are the trans-national corporations.

Rob writes: "When The Center for Policy Alternatives promotes theories no one ever questions them and takes their word as gold". It's only because the CCPA writes from the underdog position. The Fraser Institute has the collective ear of the press, the government, and business (with apologies at using the socialist word "collective") It is essentially a 'yesman' for corporate monopoly. The CCPA doesn't, except in the alternative media.

Actually. Anne, the fraser porkstitute's charitable staus is a FEDERAL matter, enabled by Brian Mulroney. Do your research. What's the matter didn't "those NDP pukes" assault enough disabled children and little old ladies for you? My condolences on your "heart"break. Try and develop some compassion; it may not be too late for yourself and those unfortunate enough to be around you...

Actually. Anne, the fraser porkstitute's charitable staus is a FEDERAL matter, enabled by Brian Mulroney. Do your research. What's the matter didn't "those NDP pukes" assault enough disabled children and little old ladies for you? My condolences on your "heart"break. Try and develop some compassion; it may not be too late for yourself and those unfortunate enough to be around you...

By the way, if the Annne above is anne cameron, I retract what I said, and apologize, that annne has earned the right to make such a comment about the NDP, otherwise please be more respectfull...

Dear Hombre,

Please, I corrected myself about the FEds. already if you'll re-read my post. No, I am not Anne Cameron. I am however, a former single mother on Welfare who worked as a volunteer welfare advocate during the N.D.P. regime. so, yes, I feel I have earned the right to call the No Damn Principles Party anything I choose. I am also a compassionate person who is saying the N.D.P. is not left enough. I am from an N.D.P. family and it broke my heart to see the way they sold out after they got in. I have been following all YOUR postings and agreeing with every one, so don't sneer at me for a lack of compassion until you know where I'm coming from. The N.D.P. sold out the poor worse than the Socreds had (though not worse than the Liberals have). They punished people for working part-time by eliminating the flat rate earnings exemption and eliminating ANY earnings exemption after 2 years (though they restored it just before the last election and acted as if they were the ones who invented it, when there had been a flat rate earnings exemption since Socred days). My favourite story about this is of the single mother who had her earnings exemption cancelled. Since the $5 in gas she was paying to get to work meant she went in the hole, (the N.D.P. did not provide an exemption even for work-related expenses and threatened to cut people off welfare if they quit jobs they could no longer afford to attend) she and her daughter were going to the food bank BECAUSE she was working. As I'm sure you know, most part-time workers don't chose to be only part=time, but the gov't was punishing them for it. They refused Welfare to an Alberta guy who'd come to a confirmed job in B.C. then was struck with a catastrophic illness. The B.C. N.D.P. put him out on the street with his colostomy bag because they weren't giving welfare to anyone who was recently from out of province. They said and did so many cruel, callous and dishonest things that, yes, it makes me want to puke (why did you think I was a right-winger when I clearly stated that Svend Robinson had disappointed me with his dishonesty--he was the only one I found "honest and prestigious" both until he stole that ring!).When I tried to tell N.D.P. supporters about all this betrayal of principles, they didn't want to believe me. They acted like little kids who'd just been told there was no Santa Claus. But me, and my friends, and the people whose rights I was trying to defend, knew what was going on.

I consider you an on-line friend, Hombre, but not if you insist that I "respect" the party who stabbed me in the back. I will vote for them next time round but only to get the Liberals out. Legitimate criticism of social democrats comes from the further left, not from the right!

Also, Hombre, try reading my rebuttal of David on the Suicide Seeds comments if you think I'm so right wing. Calling a party like the N.D.P. names after I've seen how they hurt people and pandered to right wing sentiments when they were in power does not make me a right-wing sympathizer as you implied! Your own comments are so out-spoken that I would never have thought YOU'D be the one to attack me for this! I thought, rather, that you'd know the N.D.P. sell-outs for what they are!

Sorry, Hombre, and anyone else who may be reading this--the comment I meant to refer you to was under the budget surplus article not Suicide Seeds (wherein, Hombre, I was lol over your telling Philster off!). It is no good answering when one's mind is clouded by emotion, but, hey, my feelings were/are hurt at being so totally and completely misread by you!

Anne, I do apologize most sincerely. I am constantly taking on right wing thugs both here and Canwest, and sometimes I just get a little punchdrunk. I will always apologize, if someone brings this to my attention. Sometimes I get extremely frustated because I have to post three or more times at Canwest to get through once. I returned to apologize, if you were Anne Cameron, partly because I felt I might have been off base anyway. I did not read your suicide seed thread post, because I just cannot read all threads. I repeat, I was wrong, unjustifiably rude, and I sincerely regret hurting your feelings. Sometimes I get a little punch drunk from posting so much, and really do plan to taper off after the May election regardless of the outcome.

Anne, I also agree with you entirely about the NDP's treatment of the poor, while not the all-out assault by the BC liars, it was still deplorable, and MCPhail, Harcourt, and Clark, all poor bashed in their way. Ironically, it was one poor neighbourhood, and one working class neighbourhood, that gave the NDP their two seats. Depend on the BC Liars to attack James on poverty issues in the next few months. James best response would be to campaign on REAL training programs for the poor, and I don't mean the resume writing classes the NDP were so fond off that started job wave off on their treacherous assaults on he poor. Once again, I was in the wrong, Anne, and I am truly sorry I hurt your feelings. I am over zealous in defending the NDP sometiomes, because I want so much to see the BC liars defaeted...I hope you will forgive me...I will try to make it up to you in supporting your posts...

Anne and hombre. I think you're both pretty great posters! I can sure see where Anne is coming from regarding the ndp. I voted ndp in every single election, municipal, provincial, federal since l960 something, but that bunch didn't impress me much last time. In fact I was having a hell of a time trying to figure out who they were. Of course, I'm with you hombre on voting ndp to get rid of the liberals.

Thank you Hombre, for your sincere apology and thank you, Truman, for your supportive comments. I, too, will be voting N.D.P. this time to (hopefully) get rid of the Liars. I could not bring myself to vote N.D.P. last time, I voted Green, but will not do so again since Adriane Carr is now, evidently, boasting that they are a "right of centre party", as if we need another of those!

Thanks, guys, and I do know I am a little trigger happy sometimes...and I agree with you both about the NDP's previous failings, especially in their treatment of the poor, where they allowed the media to play them like violins, thereby convincincing a lot of the poor there was no difference between the two parties, as my comments at least as far back as the Mike harcourt thread a few months ago indicate...as a disabled and poor person in BC I put up with lots of abuse under the NDP, just not nearly as much as under campbell...

Once again, Truman, I thought that was a great piece you submitted to the Tyee archived all too soon in the "life" archives on the Tyee's home page. You really brought your friends to life again (would that that were truly so!) and your handling of dialogue was excellent. I've written three novels myself, so I consider myself a reasonably good judge of such matters.

My best wishes to you both, Truman, and Anne.

hombre, thanks so very much--and also for defending my piece against that mean-spirited Expat person, who, for some reason, not only hated it, but wanted to punish me for writing it. I always look forward to reading your comments. All the best!

You guys need to get together for tea :)-

I didn't really have a comment and I have to always say something...

It all makes sense when looked at from the perspective of the document, Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars,at
http://illuminati-news.com/silent-weapons.htm
This will clear up any questions about'education'. Social science, the study of how to best control the human mindset, is economics, ie, money, which is controlled through the banks, who all countries and credt card users are indebted to. The sources of control are the same, no matter which political party gets in. The media gives FI whatever coverage they want because they're controlled from the same sources.
I've been pondering the "What can we do about it?" question for some time now. I got a lot of clarity and a fresh perspective on what can I do to make the world better by reading David Icke. The real truth is that the propaganda is to keep us from knowing how powerful we really are. The "five sense world" that we see and are led to believe is the 'real world', is actually a reflection of our inner being, consciousness having a physical experience. Just as when you're looking in the mirror and the mirror image has no power to change its course of action, so it is in the 'real world' image. Our imagination, our belief, is what creates what shows up in the world. If we will 'just' love ourselves and others, the world will change completely! The propagand is intense and relentless because it is a house of cards, it is only real if we believe it is real. It is pointless to try to win in court because the elite have set the game with the odds highly in their favor. Everything that comes through education, media, government channels or private corporations are all from the same hidden agenda, which is definitely not in our best interest.