Tuesday, November 04, 2014

The Keef Report...The Commercialization Conflation.




Somewhat bizarre pretzel logic-assisted conflation of hypocrisy and a desire to prevent the commercialization of public schools from the good Mr. Baldrey it would appear.

But even if you are OK with the commercialization thing in general, there is the specific fact that, when things do not go its way on the ground in municipalities it wants to control, Chevron does throw its weight, and its money, around to partisan effect.

To wit, Chevron has gone bonkers in Richmond California, a refinery town where the city council has decided it wants the company to actually play by the state's health and safety rules in the wake of a 2012 refinery fire that generated a toxic plume that sent 15,000 residents to hospital.

Michael Hiltzik of the LA Times has the story:

...A few weeks ago, we described how the giant oil company Chevron was barraging little Richmond, Calif. (pop. 107,000), the site of one of its major refineries, with corporate PR disguised as community "news." Its instrument was an objective-looking website, known as the Richmond Standard, purporting to be a news portal for residents of Richmond.

Now we have more to say about how Chevron (2013 revenue: $220 billion) is trying to influence the upcoming municipal elections in Richmond, which pit a pro-Chevron bloc of city council members against an anti-Chevron bloc.

So far this year, Chevron has poured an astounding $2.9 millioninto three campaign committees in Richmond. Of that, at least $1.4 million has gone to a committee supporting the pro-Chevron candidates and $500,000 to a committee opposing the candidate critical of Chevron, including the current mayor, Gayle McLaughlin. The figures suggest that Chevron is preparing to spend at least $33 for the vote of every resident of the city 18 or older...



And how does this the world know all this?

Well, mostly it's the work of a lowly blogger (you know the folks Mr. Baldrey likes to call idiots without credibility) named Harriet Rowan, a graduate student at nearby UC Berkeley.

Interesting all that, no?


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Previous Keef Reports can be found....here.


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31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Vancouver/Chevron 17 m and 3.5 m dollars

http://former.vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20111129/documents/a6.pdf

http://former.vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20121211/documents/a4.pdf

sd said...

The race for Richmond Mayor will be the first one I'll be looking for tonight. If chevrons guy wins they'll be off the hook for hundreds of millions after the bitumin related explosion and toxic gas release on the people of Richmond.Back in the day the black members of my band who lived in North Richmond told me about and let me "experince" the night time release of gas.No wonder they moved the headquarters 30 miles away a few years ago.Yes, kudos to Harriet Rowan.

Lew said...

So do any of the local MSM stars (you know, the credible ones) ever publish well-researched articles on why the school boards in this province are reduced to seeking charitable handouts from corporations to stay afloat and educate our children?

I’m asking for many friends.

Anonymous said...

I missed Mr. Baldrey's preamble as to whether HE subsidizes Chevron.
It may be germane to his comment.
So please enlighten us.
I'm just querying for a friend.

Anonymous said...

Privatize profits -socialize debts.

BC AG says 1.35 billion (1350 million dollars)plus, corporate welfare subsidy tax write off for hydrocarbon development in BC.Money that could be used for housing,food banks,health care.

export jobs(logs,etc)
import workers (TFW)

James King, Victoria said...

Keef has a 'friend'?

sd said...

I should wait till I have my coffee before commenting, I meant to say experience.

Grant G said...

Balderash strikes again...His tongue must be turning black from all the BC Liberal bootlicking he`s been doing!

http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.ca/2014/11/keith-baldrey-spindoctoring-bc-liberal.html

Anonymous said...

What VP not also?
also

business givaway makes this worse.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/food-bank-canada-report-alarming-number-of-canadians-seek-help-1.2822684

Anonymous said...

Site C useless for LNG?

http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.ca/

RossK said...

Heckuva thread everyone--

Thanks.

.

sd said...

Hey Ross, chevron LOST in Richmond!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

John's Aghast said...

sd, there may be a God after all!!!

Anonymous said...

Shut down H bay .make way for LNG super ships.

Anonymous said...

Hey John's Aghast.. I think this is a real David and Goliath story for all of us . Richmond is a city that has suffered economic degradation since the 60's. This victory is great for all off all East Bay !

Norm Farrell said...

I was reminded of an article at Northern Insight that is 5+ years old. It was about Keef and his pal worrying greatly about the impact on clean air if Burrard Thermal continued to occasionally provide peak demand electricity.

Now they're cheerleading the LNG proponents who plan to burn gas to provide much of the immense power needed for gas liquefaction.

Back in 2009, Keef worried that environmental groups were guilty of a contradictory and hypocritical position.

Now, he speaks of hypocrisy?

http://northerninsights.blogspot.ca/2009/08/careless-or-captured.html

Lew said...

Maybe it’s just my imagination, but whenever Keef appears on Global these days to deliver one of the momentous scoops that make him famous and that only he has been able to unearth, I’m noticing a certain guilty look on his puss. It’s that look all mothers recognize. The one that says when she lifts the lid, the cookie jar will be empty.

Is that why Keef gets testy when people with “no established credibility” lift the lid?

Anonymous said...

http://blogborgcollective.blogspot.ca/2014/11/the-basi-virk-6000000-exemption-rule.html

Lew said...

Anon @ 6:31,

Can you explain what the Crown Proceeding Act would have to do with the Basi/Virk settlement? I'm not aware of any proceeding against the Crown in that case.

Anonymous said...

http://www.straight.com/blogra/baldreydash-my-response-vaughn-palmer-and-keith-baldrey

RossK said...

Aaaahhhh...Yes, I remember that prequel to the first Keef Report...Thanks for the reminder Norm et al.

_____

sd--

Ya!

Pretty darned amazing.

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Grant G said...

You might want to read this story on the state of BC`s corporate controlled muzzled media.

https://www.adbusters.org/magazine/73/The_Death_of_Canadian_Journalism.html

Anonymous said...

What you may not hear on CKNW?

http://player.cfax1070.com/

Anonymous said...



Everyone has a plan until they get hit in the mouth.
– Mike Tyson

North Van's Grumps said...

Kieth Baldrey 1982 Ubyssey Someone, almost famous, once said, "Freedom of the press belongs to those who own one."

Anonymous said...

http://the-mound-of-sound.blogspot.ca/2014/11/good-news-for-change.html


http://www.thelawfareproject.org/what-is-lawfare.html

Grant G said...

No conflict here(insert sarcasm here)

http://desmog.ca/2014/07/24/former-enbridge-lobbyist-john-paul-fraser-named-new-head-b-c-government-communications-branch?utm_content=buffer97dac&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Anonymous said...

Hey one more for the LNG party boat.
Answer not BC but Mosambique.
Party on

Anonymous said...

http://the-mound-of-sound.blogspot.ca

James King, Victoria said...

Thanks for that link to the Ubyssey NVG - wonder if Keef would even recognize that Baldrey today?

RossK said...

JK--

Ha!

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