CBC Legislative Bureau Chief Stephen Smart reports fully and fairly when his wife’s employer is in the news. Well, at least that is what CBC says. As intelligent skeptics, we should ignore their words and judge their actions. Consider a current example. The employer of Mr. Smart’s wife, known here
Continue readingAuthor: Norman Farrell
Northern Insights / Perceptivity: Rivers: "Run of" or "Ruin of" – a choice
Message from Gwen Barlee, one of this province’s most honourable preservationists: “The Kokish is a wild river on Vancouver Island that is home to Dolly Varden, cutthroat trout, 5 species of wild salmon, and 2 endangered runs of steelhead. “DFO will be making a decision about whether to allow a
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: CPC: Deceivers, deluders, dissimulators
“Losers lose, winners win, cheaters cheat, and sinners sin; Dreamers dream, cryers cry, fools believe, and Liars Lie.” Conservative MPs used U.S.-based telemarketers, Greg Weston, CBC News The prime minister and his parliamentary secretary, Peterborough MP Dean Del Mastro, claimed in the Commons that the Liberals were the only party
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Time away is temporary
Posting of new items will be light for the next short while as I focus my time on others things. Typical of one person blogs, output occasionally suffers because life interferes. One thing I’ve been doing is spending time with grandkids and, oh my, have I had my fill of
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Implicit promises from Canada’s leaders:
Robert Borosage wrote about Mitch Romney’s objectives at Campaign for America’s Future. The words were for Romney but, with a few changes, they are relevent to the tiny portion of Canada’s population who sets public policy. I believe that the rich have too little money. And so, extend tax cuts,
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Harper is now in a hurry
“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.” ~ Winston Churchill Harper denies Conservative link to fraudulent election ‘robocalls‘, By Glen McGregor and Stephen Maher, Ottawa Citizen and Postmedia News …In response to a Postmedia News-Ottawa Citizen
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Neighbours should help neighbors
MSNBC reported on U.S. gas prices Sunday morning, discussing, “a growing fear among Americans that gas could soon reach $5 per gallon.” My first thought was perhaps we can help our friends suffering from high oil prices. Increase tar sands production. Ship more Canadian crude; build those Keystone XL and Northern
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: BC Liberals reward friends
When Kevin Falcon presented his budget, corporate media cheerleaders turned immediately to the reliables for comment — people like John Winter (BC Chamber of Commerce), Jock Finlayson (BC Business Council) and Phil Hockstein (Independent Contractors and Businesses Association). Vancouver Sun writer Jonathan Fowlie quoted John Winter as saying the budget
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: What will Canada be?
I wonder if evangelical christian Stephen Harper would agree with views of American fundamentalist Franklin Graham. That million dollar a year American preacher is the son of Billy who began in the Christian and Missionary Alliance church favoured by Canada’s Prime Minster. Stephen Harper seems at least to share the
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: The days grow short
From the brim to the dregs, and it poured sweet and clear, It was a very good year. It was a mess of good years. (Ervin Drake) Important contributions from independent journalists illustrate the diseased state of British Columbia’s political environment. Polling under 30% support, the powers behind Premier Photo-Op
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Our government exposes itself
“We will purchase the F-35. We’re on record. We’re part of the crusade. We’re not backing down.” — Julian Fantino, associate minister of national defence, Fort Worth, Texas, Nov. 8, 2011. Read more by Michael Byers Critics of a bill that would give law enforcement new powers to access Canadians’
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Liberals dig giant hole in NDP budget
According to Finance Minister Kevin Falcon, B.C. will scrap the HST, return to the PST on April 1 2013 and repay $320 million per year to the federal government in each of the next five years to return the $1.6 billion transition funding provided by Ottawa. According to Elections BC,
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Global TV featured infamous hate monger speaking for a phantom group
REPLAY, from August 2010, worth reading again to consider if the situation has improved or degraded in the last 18 months. The most effective critic of news media in British Columbia’s today is Harvey Oberfeld. He has particular qualifications since he spent his career in print and broadcast journalism. Indeed,
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Canada too!
Will American Anti-Labor Policies Infect Europe?, Dave Johnson, Campaign for America’s Future The threat is in the air: “Shut up and take the wage cuts or we will move your job to China.” “…Workers in countries like China where people have no say have low wages, terrible working conditions, long
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Pulses from the twitterverse
Lindsay Kines (Feb 9): Glad to see the jury delivered its Vander Zalm verdict in court instead of on the Bill Good show. Christy Clark appoints NW crime reporters to probe justice system and report back after the 1 o’clock weather. Christy Clark opts for senior bureaucrat, instead of CKNW
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Now Rebecca Scott is the only Press Secretary
I’ve made a fair issue of the conflict of interest CBC Legislative Bureau Chief Stephen Smart faces when reporting on Premier Photo-Op and her government while he shares pillows each night with Rebecca Scott, Premier Clark’s Deputy Press Secretary. Wayne Williams, News Director, CBC News British Columbia, said this in correspondence
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Radical policies for which no one voted
Rowan Williams is the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, an office that dates back 1,400 years. Often outspoken, occasionally radical, Williams served for one issue last summer as guest editor of the New Statesmen, a British publication with a long record of presenting alternative opinions. In the magazine, Williams posed questions
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: "Calle a spade by any other name then a spade"
FYI, Erasmus did the title translation long, long ago. Bribery is defined by Black’s Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or other person in charge of a public or legal duty. Enbridge offered B.C. first
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Another Good award
I think Alex Tsakumis’s open message to CKNW’s Bill Good deserves repeating. So, I repeat it: “HUGE JEERS to Bill Good, the complete idiot that he is, who last night demeaned, through TWITter, a former NW reporter that was laid off recently from a Victoria station. The reporter, who brought
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Mad about the girl
I discovered Adele in 2011, way behind most of the world. If you watched last night’s Emmy Awards, you’ll know her too. Sylvia Patterson, writing in The Observer in 2008, saw the light before most others. Patterson’s profile seems perceptive, even three years later. “Adele Adkins is a gobby, funny
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