Saturday, September 01, 2012

VSun Goin' Down: Who Needs Fact-Backed Headers...


...When You've Got Phil Hochstein.


That's the header.

So....

What is the evidence to back it up?

A statement from Mr. Dix?

A statement from the BCNDP?

A statement from a labour leader who has spoken to Mr. Dix and/or the BCNDP?

A thorough, critical unbiased analysis from a person or persons who are not Koch-Brothers-funded shills?

Well.....

Not exactly.

From the piece itself that just lies there, under both the header and JFowlie's byline:

...Looking ahead to a potential NDP government, critics are lining up with projections that Dix would hand significant power to big labour.


"I think there is no doubt in the business community's mind that Adrian Dix will try to stop the erosion of union density in British Columbia," said Philip Hochstein, president of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association and an outspoken supporter of the B.C. Liberals.


"His goal is to grow the public sector," he added.


"I think the expectations in the public sector are huge. And I think he's got to deliver because his supporters are going to help him win."...



Jeebuz!

This type of bogus wedge-issue wurlitzering by the coalition of the willing (ie. the Lotuslandian CorpMedia) is precisely how the ClarkCampbellHochsteinFalconAbbottKinsellaOppalCollinsColemanJellyRollAccentureMaximusFortressMcLeanWalls government managed to get re-elected in 2005 AND 2009.

And it has to stop.

Given that, I will take no apologies from proPress-type folks who may say that this type of thing is just another example of how cutbacks are exacerbating the disconnect between reporters and header writers, especially not in the wake of all the swill that has been prop-washed through the VSun's editorial pages recently...

Look.

The pushback has begun folks.

And it is concerted, and it is orchestrated, and it is NOT fact-based.

OK?

_____
Kudos to Rod Mickleburgh who toils for another media empire for noticing and getting this up on the Twit machine (and Brendon Walters for the re-tweet).
And yes, I did screen shoot the header on purpose, just in case....

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12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yup, Phil Hochstein is the designated attack dog and fear merchant. He's not elected and is only beholden to the big boys behind the scenes. What does Hochstein get out of all this? Who is pulling his strings?

Anonymous said...

" Philip Hochstein, president of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association"
What is so "Independent" about this group ? You MUST pay a membership (much like union dues ) OR you are NOT a member. Who decides on your political platform ? Not the members but Phil & his executive that's who. If you are a member of ICBCA and just so happen to support the Green Party, Conservatives, NDP or even the marijuana party you have NO say because your leader wants to spend all those membership/union dues on slamming the political party IT chooses. Why is this group calling itself "Independent" ? There is nothing "Independent" about it..... because if you don't pay.. you don't get in.

Guy in Victoria

Anonymous said...

Why are you so troubled by this comment?

Lew said...

A labor union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals such as protecting the integrity of its trade, achieving higher pay, increasing the number of employees an employer hires, and better working conditions.

The Independent Contactor’s Association is a group of employers who have banded together to achieve common goals such as protecting its non-union status, achieving lower employee pay, increasing the number of non-union employees hired, and ensuring working conditions are the minimum required by law.

The Independent Contractor’s Association is, simply put, a union of employers rather than a union of employees. A tad hypocritical to form a union designed to deny others the right to form a union, no? And how can you be an independent contractor and belong to an association? Hypocritical and oxymoronic, methinks.

off-the-radar said...

I am so glad you posted on this Ross!

Every 5 years I actually buy the Vancouver Sun. So I was sucked into buying the Vancouver Sun yesterday to read the labour coverage.

Stephen Hume wrote a lovely piece but everything else in the Vancouver Sun about the labour movement and the NDP was horsefeathers@#$%@!! Quoting the Fraser Institute and Phil Hochstein? It was so bad I laughed out loud.

And I am so tired of Vaughn Palmer's columnns slyly poking at the NDP.

Dave Barrett was three times the premier WAC or Bill was. (I don't even know how Bill Jr could be called a good Premier. What legacy did he ever leave the province?).

And Mike Harcourt was a good Premier too.

Anonymous said...

Campbell did get rid of, the union housekeeping hospital staff. This is the reason our hospitals are so filthy. This is why patients die from, hospital super bugs.

We don't forget Hochstein, and his threats and dirty tactics, in the fight BC HST. Hochstein is your typical BC Liberal, no ethics or morals, what-so-ever. Hopefully Hochstein doesn't land in a hospital, or need a hospital procedure. He may regret it.

For Canada, the other monster Harper, only wants the very wealthy and the very poor. No middle class will be permitted. Harper needs to be rid of Unions, so he can drop the minimum wage way, way down. Harper wants, a very cheap labor pool. Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Harper, have the same typo personalities. All dictators do.

Harper favors Communist China's stance on Human Rights. That's because, there aren't any. I find a lot of humor, when Harper insists on democracy in other country's. Harper is the laughing stock, all around the globe.

The media are merely propaganda rags, for the government. I canceled my newspapers, long, long ago. You can't even read through one line, before the biased b.s. begins, laced with, crap, lies and deceit.

I am fed up with the TV media. They dance like puppets on strings, being pulled by the governments. It's actually funny flipping channels. The identical puppets, dance on identical strings, on every station.

The media are a disgusting disgrace, to their professions.

RossK said...

Anon asked:

"Why are you troubled by this comment."

Assuming you asked this straight-up, I'll respond.

First, Mr. Hochstein can say anything he wants.

And Mr. Fowlie can steno-up his comments whenever he wants.

But.

There were no actual facts or evidence offered to back up this particular comment.

Thus, when a non-fact based comment from Mr Hochstein is referred to as a blanket predictive statement in a headline about what a political party will do if elected....

Well, that is misleading and egregious in the extreme.

And it is also how bogus wedge issues become 'conventional wisdom' that get repeated over and over again by the most herdish, not to mention 'clubbish', of Lotuslandian corpMedia types.

OK?

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RossK said...

otr--

Regarding the VSun's willing stenoing of the Fraser Institute's statements scribbled on golf balls found bouncing down Burrard, you may find this blog-post from Mr. Don Cayo most interesting.

And, just in case you don't want to hit the link, here is Mr. Cayo's money/steno shot, "To link to the study by the Fraser institute that triggered my column, click here"

Sheesh.

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Anonymous said...

Just in case you need a reason to see why we have labour unions, check this article.

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/history+deadly+fight+labour+rights/7178830/story.html

RossK said...

Thanks for the link Anon.

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e.a.f. said...

I always get a laugh out of hockstein & his ilk. when workers band together its bad, its not right & they expect the NDP to pander to them.

when big business bands together with their chamber of commerce, their fraser institutes, their boards of trade, well those are representatives of business & they expect the right wing lieberals to pander to them.

so phil, whats the differance. we each have organizations to promote our agendas. so far the agendas of the unions appear to be much more in tune with the needs of working women & men.

The agendas of the other groups appear to be all about making bigger profits at the expense of the workers.

Phil needs a dose of reality & to get a real job.

lenin's ghost said...

same old stuff...........the harpercons shitting throwing machinery is ramping up.......gotta spend all that big oil money somehow