Rich lands, poor people
GDP measures income, but not equality, it measures growth, but not destruction, and it ignores values like social cohesion and the environment. - OECDIf a province allows extraction of natural…
Norman Farrell
Distortions and half-truths but mostly outright lies
February 13, 2013, Premier Christy Clark announced:...the new British Columbia Prosperity Fund to ensure communities, First Nations and all British Columbians benefit from the development of a new liquefied natural…
John’s still aghast
Almost one year ago, this piece was submitted as a comment to another article. It still makes as much sense as it did last December so I feature it at…
What gas industry?
What BC gets from natural gas industry in 2015 does not even pay half the cost of Gas Development Ministry. #bcpoli pic.twitter.com/1wDCkQsbC7— Norm Farrell (@Norm_Farrell) December 11, 2015Note: Numbers from…
Marcellus was correct
The more time I spend reviewing BC Hydro, the more I am reminded of the famous line spoken by a minor character in Shakespeare's Hamlet. BC Hydro released its Second…
No limit, no principle, no shame
Christy Clark accused of interfering in local band election to aid brother’s deal, Mark Hume, Globe and Mail, December 9, 2015Premier Christy Clark has been accused of interfering in a…
Loyalty rewarded
UBC Board of Governors elects Stuart Belkin as new chair, UBC News, December 7, 2015:UBC’s Board of Governors has elected Stuart Belkin as the board’s incoming chair. Belkin is chair…
LNG: a decade of oversupply
Toil ahead for oil, but expect double trouble for LNG, Angela Macdonald-Smith, Energy Reporter, Sydney Morning Herald, December 7, 2014The crude oil market is seen as being in dire straits,…
Our wealth commands us
As a student politician in her untenured days at SFU, Christy Clark operated with an imperfect moral compass. When final history is written, the hallmark of her premiership will be…
When industry buys a government…
Who knew that Christy Clark would make Gordon Campbell look like an effective, if somewhat dishonest, Premier. #bcpoli— Norm Farrell (@Norm_Farrell) December 4, 2015Did gas industry get a good deal…
Corus – CKNW Orphans’ Fund revisited
The Voluntarism Fantasy, Mike Konczal, Democracy: A Journal of Ideas, 2014Conservatives dream of returning to a world where private charity fulfilled all public needs. But that world never existed —…
Thinking of you Christy
Bloomberg Business says, "Spare a thought for anyone who bet on a recovery in liquefied natural gas prices after last year’s 45 percent plunge."Bloomberg also says:LNG to northeast Asia, home…
Recipe for the future
10 things business should do to save the planet, Cecilie Hultmann and Anne Louise Koefoed, Sustainability DNV-GL, December 1, 2015:...while governments are busy haggling over details, business should pick up…
Mr. Prime Minister, start pushing British Columbia
Trudeau says Indigenous people can teach the world how to care for the planet, APTN National News, November 30, 2015:Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a speech in Paris that…
Alternative view of conflict in Syria
An SDS radical, Dr. Lawrence Davidson took voluntary exile in Canada during the early seventies. Returning home after six years, he became an educator and now writes commentary, often about…
Fractured Land, a Rayher/Gillis production
Visit the Fractured Land website for the entire story.November and December Screenings:• Nov. 28 @ 12:30 PM: Vancity Theatre, Vancouver, BC (purchase tickets, get more info)• Dec. 1 @ 6:30…
Stenographic journalism
Writing in Salon, maverick journalist Glenn Greenwald criticized news reporting that follows the stenographic model. It involves repeating what people say without any effort to judge the truthfulness of statements…
Ahem, indeed
A while back, I complained on Twitter that corporate media types were failing to report on the near complete disappearance of revenues from this year's monthly sales of petroleum and…
BC’s climate change hypocrisy
Today, Christy Clark's government provided talking points to favoured media about the province's financial report to September 30, the second fiscal quarter. According to Global's Keith Baldrey, natural gas royalties…
"Cause I don’t feel like having to shoot people…"
The Trudeau government will alter Canada’s harsh tone on international affairs to emphasize conflict resolution and peacekeeping. The Prime Minister said when deploying our men and women in uniform, the…