Gas royalties in decine
A royalty is the price paid by a non-owner to use or consume the owner’s asset. In Canada, at least in theory, provincial governments own and manage resources for the…
Norm Farrell
Model T and Big Mac parallels
A once convenient version of history stated that a century ago, Henry Ford paid daily wages of $5, double the usual, so workers could afford the vehicles they made. According…
Flimflam sham
When conducting hearings on Northern Gateway, the National Energy Board Joint Review Panel denied participation to many and held sessions behind closed doors to limit opposition voices. Its decision favoured…
Democracy myth exposed
Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens, Prof. Martin Gilens, Princeton University and Prof. Benjamin I. Page, Northwestern University. “Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and…
Effective management… of bonuses
The marvellous managers of British Columbia’s public service demonstrate an indisputable skill. Come hell or high water, they always manage to hit pre-determined objectives and thereby manage to trigger payments…
Short term gain for long term pain
250news.com, December 2013 “While one Canfor mill shuts down, another opens up, in China.” Business in Vancouver, January, 2014: “The constant flow of B.C. logs to overseas sawmills is hurting…
Guts and glory
Title of the final article on Ian Reid‘s website, The Real Story, began with the words: Guts and glory. Of course, he was not writing about himself but those word…
"Cardboard box? You’re lucky…"
Vancouver firm promises to build home in Third World for every local condo sold, The Province, Feb 2014 “Two Vancouver businessmen have started a real-estate gifting program with the lofty…
Don’t read this, it’s none of your business
In comments on the preceding article, a subject emerged that was apart from the beginning one but is worthy of separate examination. This is another iceberg type situation: much does…
Not a puffball comparison
A Vancouver Sun article recently offered a few outdated items about salaries paid to executives of the British Columbia Investment Management Corportion (BCimc). It was a public relations piece devoid…
Failing upward
In the five years 2009-2013, B.C. Pavilion Corporation, the provincial operator of BC Place and the Vancouver Convention Centre, accumulated deficits totaling $234,178,000 before public contributions (Source: Pavco audited financial…
BC’s crony capitalism in action
Flipping channels Sunday, I paused to watch as Vancouver Whitecaps FC played an MSL game at the StubHub Center in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, CA. In a facility…
An updated update
I had surgery on my left eye last December and on my right eye a week ago. The procedures went well but I must wait a while yet before new…
Neither wealth nor splendor…
I was fascinated by Ian Jessop’s interview Friday with Dr. John Helliwell, Professor Emeritus of Economics, UBC. Dr. Helliwell is an editor of the World Happiness Report 2013, released by…
Jan 6 with Ian Jessop, CFAX 1070
Gadget Google – Lecteur multimédia de Google – http://www.liens-du-vin.ch/google-audio_player-script.htm
Dis·in·gen·u·ous — [dis-in-jen-yoo-uhs]
Vancouver Sun Editorial Board Considers the Issues Earlier this month, the Vancouver Sun published an editorial titled, BC Jobs Plan figures don’t signal success or failure yet. In case you…
Propaganda presented as credible news
Were I a new arrival in Canada who relied on major media, I would believe, as Canadian Press reported, Northern Gateway is a project that, “…will put billions of dollars…
The decline of journalism…
“…It’s a fundamental existential problem for every society on earth today.” That’s in the opening comments of Dr. Robert McChesney when he was interviewed by Ian Jessop of CFAX 1070…
Eyes still on the issues
Thanks for the good wishes these past few days. Surgery on my left eye went well and the doctor’s follow-up exam indicated a good result. In fact, within 24 hours…
Treemendous
“Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall.” – Larry Wilde For a handful of years, three generations…