Where the morally obtuse can hide
H/T to CathiefromCanada, a great read: The Brutal Truth About Penn State, Charles P. Pierce, Grantland, November 14, 2011 "There is always something a little nauseating in large spectacles of…
Norman Farrell
Retired cop blogs
Fred Pinnock retired from the RCMP in 2008 and today, with Scot Filer, another former cop, is managing partner in Lions Gate Investigations Group. Pinnock, former commander of BC's illegal…
Appeal Court found judge has right to be stupid
Court upholds Hells Angel's acquittal, despite rude judge, Ian Mulgrew, Vancouver Sun, Apr 30, 2008 The controversial acquittal of an elite Nomad member of the Hells Angels caught with 52…
J. Leask: Questions of perspicacity and impartiality
Two Hells Angels called 'pawns of police' get short sentences for drug trafficking, Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun, March 12, 2010 Vancouver -- Two Hells Angels members received short jail sentences…
Ocean playground
Photos taken near Powell River
Would they lie to us?
Nine Months before Olympics, Province Saw Big 'Shortfall', Bob Mackin, The Tyee, November 14, 2011 "...When VANOC revealed its post-Games financial report on Dec. 17, 2010, it claimed a balanced…
Political action at the grass roots
Inside the Russell Pearce recall, Amy McMullen, Salon.com A good read about citizen-activists organizing to make Russell Pearce, President of the Arizona Senate, the first state legislator in Arizona history…
Some targets are easier to make than others
Forget land costs, management and operating expenses; BC Place still needs $2.5 million a month to break even. That represents amortization of recent renovation costs over 20 years. Of course,…
If we do not act, we bear the guilt
"Its the name on the front of the jersey that matters most, not the one on the back." Joe Paterno (Penn State) Legendary coach Joe Paterno and Penn State are…
George Monbiot explains national bankruptcy
The 1% are the very best destroyers of wealth the world has ever seen, George Monbiot, The Guardian "If wealth was the inevitable result of hard work and enterprise, every…
Old news, aged quickly
Today, media conglomerates are not only influenced by Big Money interests, but they are often themselves Big Money interests. - Cameron Gaut I wrote earlier that the Toope Report helps…
When up is down and down is up
BC Agriculture Minister Don McRae, coordinating with federal agencies, claimed last week there are no confirmed cases of Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA) in British Columbia salmon. Mcrae said, "It is…
Policies are pointless if routinely ignored
BC Liberals paid $6-million in public funds to Dave Basi and Bob Virk as part of enticements that ended the BC Rail political corruption trial. The criminal court action had…
An impassioned gale
In 1908's New Worlds for Old, H.G. Wells examined a nascent movement that he supported avidly. He wrote, "The early Socialist literature teems with rash, suggestive schemes. It has the…
Questions remain unanswered
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Old line parties share corrupt styles
Silence reigns over Port of Montreal hiring controversy, Politicians prefer to keep things quiet, BY STEPHEN MAHER, POSTMEDIA NEWS, October 29, 2011 "...In the Mafia, if you break that code…
Mainstream media no longer sole gatekeepers
In the government's sale disposition of BC Rail, there are compelling indicators that massive fraud was perpetrated. Even worse, senior provincial officials interfered with investigation and prosecution of the duplicity…
The myth of democracy
Oligarchy, American Style, Paul Krugman, New York Times Op-Ed "We have a society in which money is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few people, and in which that…
Mistrusted neighbour
“Salmon farming along the British Columbia coast has expanded with encouragement from both Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the B.C. provincial government. The Canadian federal fisheries department…
Has the game changed or merely the players?
Recently, I was amused by a certain radio news-talk host angrily sputtering in response to callers' claims that he was partial and passive in political coverage. He replied that, in…