Why Mike de Jong's 'Drop In The Bucket' Has Me Seeing Red.

TheAngriestManIn
KensingtonVille


I got a really nice note from a reader the other day.

Mostly J. just wanted to let me know that she was glad I hadn't packed things in entirely after the May 14th election.

I wrote back to let her know that it was close, mostly because I worry that I could very easily become little more than a raving naybob of negativity like, say, the contagonist of a certain middle-period (and lesser known) Nick Hornby novel.

Anyway, J. set me straight about the usefulness of reason and insight and passion and all of that.

And for that I thank her profusely.

But...

Having said all that, today I really am just angry.

****

Look.

I know there are some really big things coming down around here.

Things like the massive continuing overspend at BC Hydro.

And the billion dollar hole at BC Ferries that is being papered over with 'Hey! Look! Suddenly we're in surplus!' codswallop.

Not to mention the ongoing efforts to turn Pharmacare into an unfettered playpen/moneypit for Big Pharma.

And then there is the matter of the real provincial deficit that is fast approaching $200 billion, much of it due to our being on the hook for future 'taxpayer obligations' owed to the cronies of the current Charlatan running things and the former Leader whose Iron-Fist was wrapped in Think-Tank rags.

But what has me really steamed is a 'small thing'  that the Charlatan's Finance Minister, Mike de Jong, described to the VTC's Rob Shaw yesterday:

...“On a budget of $43 to $44 billion, it is obviously a very small percentage, 0.07 [per cent]. If we were a family earning $60,000, it’d be about $42. If you put it in those terms it sounds easy. It’s not really that easy. But it is achievable.”...

So.

What's this all about?

Well....

Because of some problems with 'shortfalls' in projected revenues (remember the 'fiscal fairness advisor'?) Mr. de Jong has asked provincial government ministries to cut an additional $30 million out of their budgets during the current fiscal year.

Which means that British Columbians who need our help most and, of course, many of the people that work in those ministries on the front lines helping those who need our help most, will suffer these cuts.

Which brings me to that thing that really has me seeing red...

****

In the run-up to the provincial election the Charlatan and her minions, minions like her Finance Minister, spent more than $30 million of our money on their own political crap.

Total crap that included a useless dance show where millions of our dollars that could have been used to help those who need our help most were used to pay for the dancers' (not) appearance fees and all the political PR bafflegab that can be bal(l)anced on the head of a non-existent 400 million Tee-Vee viewer pin.

And then there was the total crap that was the stupid useless 'Jobs Plan' advertorial/political spending spree that even the Charlatan herself admitted was designed, essentially, to increase Facebook hits.

So.

Here's my question....

Why, exactly, isn't the BC Liberal Party being forced reimburse the $30 million they stole from the people of British Columbia so that those who need our help most won't be forced to go without?

OK?


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Wondering about that 'iron fist in think-tank rag' turn of phrase?...Well...It's included in this...


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Mr. Farrell Speaks.

IfChuckYeagerWereABlogger
BestThereIsVille


Norm Farrell has been away from the Lotuslandian Bloggodome for awhile.

And he has just written a post that explains the situation.

It also explains a whole lot more. Here is just a snippet:

"...In youth, I was a Liberal activist but came to believe the party was unworthy of support, from me or anyone else. (Sorry Pat McGeer and Gordon Gibson Jr.) With a career in small enterprise management, I was not inclined toward the other party of big business or the party of trade unions. Therefore, I consciously spoiled ballots in both federal and provincial elections. Yet, I became certain that strong unions enabled a strong middle class and government transparency and accountability was the key to political change. My spoiled ballots were an unnoticed protest that achieved nothing.

People have asked if my blog was intended to promote one party over another. My usual reply was no, I only hoped that better informed citizens would ensure government would improve. However, I concluded that citizens could not and would not be better informed because professional media messengers remain obliged to people other than common folks.

The concept of independent, public interest journalism is practised rarely now. It is a relic, not of past times but of past idealism. Journalism in the good old days was less perfect than we like to remember. People aiming to influence public discourse years ago knew then how to handle the media gatekeepers. And, they do now. Rewards were less direct in earlier days: travel and entertainment benefits, usually modest ones. Today, the rewards are obvious and the recipients defiantly oblivious to conflicts..."

If you read one local blogpost in its entirety today it really should be Norm's.

OK?


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All The Joy That Fits!

DoingTheRightThing
StillReallyReallyReallyMattersVille


Awhile ago, we told you about former local journos Jody Paterson's and Paul Willcocks' ongoing efforts to make things better for the kids in an orphanage in a little village in Honduras.

Well....

Big things have been happening there.

And this time, as promised in the GoFundMe pitch, it's the beds:

...I wouldn't have expected little kids to be quite so excited about a bed, but let me tell you, these guys are pumped. I wish you could see their beaming faces when I ask which bed is theirs and they proudly lead me to their bunk.

They've never had that before at Angelitos - a bed of their own. A private place for their clothes and personal items, the few that they have. One spot in this impersonal world that is just for them. It's a huge step forward for child dignity.
So that's how miracles work. It took flesh-and-blood humans to raise the money, build the beds and make this project happen, but there's still something of the divine about how it all came together. 

Whatever you want to call it, it feels like hope...

I highly recommend you go and read Jody's entire account of how it came to be.

Because it will do your heart and soul good.

Even if you are an atheist like me.

Honest.

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They Can Always Read Stars 'N Pravda.

There'sNoFreedomLike
NoFreedomVille


From The Monterey (CA) Herald:

The (United States) Army admitted Thursday to not only restricting access to The Guardian news website at the Presidio of Monterey, as reported in Thursday's Herald, but Armywide.

Presidio employees said the site had been blocked since The Guardian broke several stories on data collection by the National Security Agency.

Gordon Van Vleet, an Arizona-based spokesman for the Army Network Enterprise Technology Command, or NETCOM, said in an email the Army is filtering "some access to press coverage and online content about the NSA leaks."

He wrote it is routine for the Department of Defense to take preventative "network hygiene" measures to mitigate unauthorized disclosures of classified information...

****

As Billmon said on the Twittmachine...

"If there's something in The Guardian the troops need to know, Rush Limbaugh will tell them about it on Armed Forces Radio.

And w.t.f., exactly, is 'Network Hygiene'?

Are the Generals afraid that the troops will catch Greenwald Cooties?


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Are The Natives Really Getting Restless In Westside-Kelowna?

Who'sThatKnockingOnMyDoor
NotChristyVille


From Alistair Waters in yesterday's Kelowna Capital News:

When B.C. Premier Christy Clark announced she planned to run for the Westside-Kelowna seat in the B.C. Legislature, she said she looked forward to being here a great deal during the byelection campaign, getting out, knocking on doors and meeting the voters.

But so far, it seems she has left the door-knocking to others in favour of photo ops and meetings and has treated the byelection campaign as more of a weekend project...

{snippety doo-dah}

...If her personal focus is winning the Westside-Kelowna seat by connecting with voters, it sure doesn’t show. While Westside-Kelowna is considered a “safe” seat for the Liberals given the ease with which the man who stepped aside for Clark, former MLA Ben Stewart, won the riding in the last two B.C. general elections, there may be a sense of complacency in the Clark camp.

A recorded telephone solicitation currently being used to drum up support for Clark features only Stewart’s voice asking voters to support the premier in her byelection bid. Clark’s name is mentioned but she is not heard asking voters to support her...

{snippety doodle-dandy}

...As a provincial premier, Clark has a job to do that obviously stops her from spending the entire 28 days of the campaign here.

But, in the first few weeks of the campaign, it appears that without a camera around, Clark is happy to have others get her elected.

****

Now.

Despite all the babble from a number of quarters, to the best of my knowledge there have been no hard, on-the-ground, in-the-riding numbers published anywhere.

Thus, at best, all the babble at this point is just that.

Unless, of course....Uhhhhhh.... Somebody, somewhere was to make some real hay on this 'Mr. Stewart was pushed, hard' meme.

We'll see.

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Mr. Maron's 400 Blows.

IfTruffautMade
PodcastsVille


Marc Maron's 400th podcast is up.

This time Iggy Pop comes to the garage and, as has happened so often before, Maron manages to get his guest to willingly travel deep into the heart of all that matters.

****

Maron seems to group these things by the hundred.

And there have been a lot of really, really great ones in the last century, including Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Dick Van Dyke, John Darnielle and John Fogerty.

But my favourite of the last pack, by far, was the session with Pamela Adlon. You may know her from Louis CK's show, if not that debauched thing with that Duchovny guy (you know the fine fellow who hated the rain when he was forced to get rich and famous while living in Lotusland awhile back) and/or as the barely still pre-pubescent Bobby from King of the Hill.

Anyway...

The thing that really got me about the interview with Adlon was the part, right near the end, where she really gives it to Maron for not realizing that the woman he's living with is the best thing that ever has and ever will happen to him.

It's amazing really, including all the stuff about being a single Mom who has teenage girls.

Really.

And, while it is most definitely not for the faint of heart (or those who dislike bad language) you can find it all in #390.


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Apparently, Mr. Maron is being welcomed back into the mainstream precisely because of all that which has been going down in his garage...So much so that he's scheduled to be on Letterman tomorrow night.
Hey!...Speaking of podcast...Just in case you didn't know...Frosty Forst just did one with Jim Goddard wherein he talks about the current state of the local 'lectronic media.


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Big Brother Only Smears That Which He Fears Most.

IsThatAllYou've
Got?Ville


And they're doing their best to smear  Glenn Greenwald who is suddenly receiving calls from reporters about an old lawsuit involving a company with an interest in adult videos, back taxes he is negotiations to pay-off and a student loan that he is taking care of on a payment plan.

Here's the upshot, according to Mr. Greenwald:

"...So that's the big discovery: a corporate interest in adult videos (something the LLC shared with almost every hotel chain), fabricated emails, and some back taxes and other debt..."

Serious, serious bad guy stuff there.

Sure is.

****

I suggest that you go read Mr. Greenwald's entire piece for both context and his side of the story to see how it compares with what will soon cascade down, pretty much non-stop from the American proMedia maw, for the next 48 hours or so.

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Is The PMO Running A Junior Segretti Training School?

SmearGateThree
TheJusting(ctd)Ville


Because.....

Apparently, dirty tricking isn't just for paid staffers anymore.

Althia Raj, writing in the HuffPo, has the story (with pictorial evidence and everything).

Here's her lede:

OTTAWA — The Prime Minister’s Office orchestrated a protest earlier this month at which Conservative party interns mocked Liberal leader Justin Trudeau during an open-air news conference.

It is the latest revelation about the lengths to which Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office — the nerve centre of the federal government — will go to meddle in partisan politics. Staff in the PMO, who help the party plot election strategy and who designed the first round of attack ads against Trudeau, have also been behind recent negative stories about his speaking fees....

Hmmmm...

Maybe the 'training school' thing is the wrong analogy.

Instead, I guess it is possible that this type of thing is actually meant to be an 'initiation' right for all those young wannabes.

After all, it's not like the folks running this operation aren't 'organized'.

Right?


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Segretti?.....A guy named Donald.
Alison actually sees it as a gang of organized 'Fakers'...


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Why Is Christy Clark Sending Jobs Plan Propaganda To Her...

...Minister of Children And Family Development?

From the 'mandate' letter that kinda/sorta/almost Premier Christy Clark sent to Stephanie Cadieux on June 10, 2013:

...Congratulations on your new appointment as Minister of Children and Family Development.

British Columbians have asked us to build a strong economy, a secure tomorrow and a lasting legacy for generations to come. Now it's time to deliver...

{snippety doo-dah}

...To grow our economy and create high-paying jobs for British Columbians, I am asking you to keep your ministry focused on the 'BC Jobs Plan'. Our province is blessed with both abundant natural resources, and the resourcefulness and diversity of our people and businesses. We have a generational opportunity to develop Liquified Natural Gas. This will demand determination and purposeful work...

Hmmmm....

What, exactly, does any of that codswallop have to do with Ms. Cadieux' actual job, which is taking care of those who need our help most?

Like, say, the adult disabled or those kids in our care that don't have foster families.


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Tip O' The Toque to Sharon Gregson who wondered why there was no mention of child care in the letter (which I recommend you only read in its entirety if you have a barf bag at the ready).


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Why Bigger E. Is Not Busking At Granville Island This Summer.

SometimesEvenTheKidsWithTheirCasesOut
HaveToTakeAStandVille


Because she pretty much agrees with all that is included in a solid piece by Denise Ryan on the matter that was recently published in the VSun.

The following chunk gets to the crux of the matter, I think:

Buskers on Granville Island are upset with new regulations and a strict new audition process that stripped a popular autistic musician of his permit to perform at the bustling tourist site.

They say the new rules are out of harmony with local culture and the values that, until now, made Granville Island, in the words of busker Eden Cheung, “one of the best places in the world to busk.”...

{snippety doo-dah}

...Dawn Monette, who has performed as a juggling golden statue on Granville Island for four years, is boycotting the federally owned property in protest and trying to organize a buskers association to advocate on behalf of street performers.

Monette said buskers were stunned this year when the Granville Island Cultural Society doubled the permit fees (to $110 from $55) and announced the new rules that she believes will limit the performers’ artistic freedom and exclude performers such as (longterm busker Keegan) Chen (who suffers from Asperger syndrome).

Buskers were not consulted about the new rules, which also include a ban on fire performances, a tougher, two-tier audition process, cutbacks in available areas and a ban on deviating from scripts approved by the GICS.

Monette says the new rules also stipulate that performers can’t improvise, engage with audience members or deviate from the script they auditioned with — a restriction on free speech that particularly upsets her....

****

Now.

This further shift to increased 'professionalism' (and control?) down on the Island that really and truly does seem to be stomping the spontaneity and, dare I suggest it, artistry, out of the thing does not mean that you won't see E. around town doing her thing if you keep an eye and/or ear out.

Best bet, most days is Gastown.

But she moves around a lot.

As a preview, just in case you missed it at the time, the following is from a lazy, hazy GranIsle afternoon at the tale end of last summer....

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Thanks to reader C. for the heads-up about Ms. Ryan's VSun piece.


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The Cavin' Of The Craven?

Droppin'OurGees
WithAPurposeVille


Well, well, well...

****

Seems like somebody must be starin' some internal numbers in the face that has somebody else worryin'.

At least a little.


______
We know of at least one reader that will enjoy our use of the Gee Droppin' in the context of somethin' that actually means somethin' slightly more than nothin' (maybe)...
Oh, and as for the spin to come?....Well, please note that the Wizards are calling it an 'event', not a 'debate'....Therefore, we're pretty sure that some sycophant or other will soon pop-up somewhere (on the SS Goodship Watercarrier tomorrow morning perhaps?) to let us know that this isn't really a caving but rather a readjusting of the format....Or some such thing...

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Did Mr. Obama Just Call All That Is Allegedly 'Ethical'...

...The 'Tar Sands'?

Why yes, according to Postmedia at least, I believe he did:

WASHINGTON – U.S. President Barack Obama declared Tuesday – in a lengthy outdoor speech on the hottest, most humid day of a scorching Washington summer – that he will approve the construction of the Keystone oil pipeline from Alberta to Texas only if the project will not generate more greenhouse gases than would be emitted if he vetoed it.

“Our national interest will be served only if this pipeline does not significantly exacerbate the climate problem,” Obama said, three months after his own State Department issued a draft environmental review that predicted Keystone would not significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions.

“The net effects of climate impact will be absolutely critical to determining whether this project will go forward,” the president said, pointedly employing the T-word – “tar sands” – to describe the area whose products would be pumped south...

Gosh.

Maybe a few folks above not measurable will actually tune in to see what the good Mr. Levant has to say later today.


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Of course, if one has been paying attention, one might see this as nothing more than a cynical, and ultimate meaningless, 'It will only happen if all our conditions are met!' PR-type ploy like we here in Lotusland have heard before from our recently elected almost/kinda/sorta Premier...

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What Happens When Ideology Trumps Science?

Evidence?WeDon'tNeedNoStinkingEvidence
'CauseWeKnowBestNoMatterWhatVille


Well, according to Thomas Kerr, as quoted by Dene Moore of the Canadian Press, you get this:

..."We have a federal government that ignores science in favour of ideology, and people are sick and dying as a result," Kerr said.

"When we're dealing with matters such as life and death, I think we're obligated to base our decisions on the best available scientific evidence. I think it's unethical to do otherwise."...

Now.

Why would Dr. Kerr say something like this?

Well, because the group that he is a part of, the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, has just published a report that strongly suggests that the harm reduction approach to drug abuse has, at least in part, contributed to the following in Vancouver since it began in earnest in 2003:

...There were fewer people sharing needles in 2011, and there were fewer new infections of HIV and Hepatitis C related to sharing needles, the study found.

In 1996, almost 40 per cent of drug users reported sharing needles, but by 2011, that had dropped to 1.7 per cent. About 25 per cent of Vancouver's drug users are HIV positive, and about 90 per cent suffer from Hepatitis C.

The overall health of drug users had improved and more people were accessing addictions treatment, jumping from 12 per cent on methadone treatment in 1996 to 54.5 per cent since 2008, statistics showed...

Can somebody remind me, again, how that 'War on Drugs', not to mention the work of the 'Harm Reduction Haters' Club' going again?


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How Tough Would It Be For The Dippers To Flip Westside-Kelowna?

AllCandidates?SheDon'tNeedNoStinkin'AllCandidates
MeetingsVille



Real tough.

Sacha Peter, making like Chad Skelton, explains how...

With maps and poll-by-poll breakdowns and everything.

As for the Cons?

Ha!



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And do not forget, as we explained on the weekend, Ms. Van Ryswyk was not a factor in Kelowna-Mission in the General.

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Goodbye And Good Luck To...

....Mr. Baines.

From his farewell to his VSun readers published last Friday:

...Upon my return to The Sun in 1988 (after a sojourn in banking), this time as a stock reporter, I came to another realization: There is no such thing as “free” speech. Whenever I wrote a column that cut close to the bone, the lawsuits would start flying.

I learned that it takes money, not just to publish stories, but also to defend them. I am fortunate to have worked for a newspaper that has the means and mindset to do both, and to have had great libel lawyers — notably Rob Anderson, Scott Dawson, and the late Barry Gibson — to guide me through this jungle.

It also takes guts to supervise this sort of reportage. Any editor who approves a contentious story has to be a strong and confident person. Lawsuits, if they do not go well, can break careers. I am fortunate to have had fearless editors over the years, most notably our erstwhile editor-in-chief, Patricia Graham.

Over the past quarter century, The Sun has published 3,887 stories under my byline. Most of those stories are about people who, one way or another, tried to take unfair advantage of others. Having the voice to run interference with those people has been a great privilege and satisfaction for me.

That all comes to an end today. When the Pacific Newspaper Group indicated it was willing to buy out employees, I put my hand up. I am 64 years old. It comes at a good time...

****

I know some folks who stop by here occassionally probably think I don't like newspapers.

But, in fact...

It's actually the exact opposite.

Just ask my long suffering, newsprint throwing-out wife.

It's just that I want the people that work hard for newspapers to write just as hard, if not harder, with the backing of all those supervisors, editors, publishers and libel lawyers that Mr. Baines mentioned above.

So that they can produce stuff like this, which is from just one of those 3,887 pieces that appeared under Mr. Baines' byline over the years:

...(Vancouver -based) Veridigm was purportedly developing an online gambling business. In March 2007, Jeffrey Eng, who was president in name, if not in fact, announced the company had "successfully completed a letter of agreement" to license online gambling software from a private company called Dimensions Inc.....

{snippety doo-dah}

...About this time, Alise Mills, a Vancouver public relations specialist and occasional radio and television political commentator, became a director and vice-president of corporate communications.

Her arrival was the first hint that (Howe Street promoter Louis) Dion was working behind the scenes. Two years earlier, Mills had held a similar position with the World Bingo League Co. Inc. (a.k.a. World Entertainment Corp. and World Mobile Network Corp.), which featured Dion as president and controlling shareholder.

World Bingo was a disaster for investors. As detailed in my column last Saturday, Dion told prospective investors that, within three years, the company's online bingo games would generate $54 million in revenues and $17 million in net profits. In fact, the company didn't generate a cent of revenues.

In June 2007, Mills announced "the upcoming launch" of Veridigm's newly developed game, Megaz Bucks, which she described as "the largest progressive jackpot game ever to be offered on the Internet."

Not mentioned was the fact that the domain name, MegazBucks.com, had been registered the previous month by Kerrie Naples, who is Dion's daughter.

On July 12, 2007, Mills announced the official launch of the Megaz Bucks game, with a "progressive jackpot that would begin at $5 million and grow from there."

About that time, Eng quit as president and was replaced by Rowland Mosser, a businessman from Lucerne, Calif., who was said to be "currently working with some investors to build a 100-unit resort hotel and restaurant on Clear Lake in Lake County in Northern California."

Not mentioned was the fact that his joint venture partner was the Boardwalk Group of Companies, a Vancouver company whose president is Louis Dion.

In September 2007, Veridigm announced a master licensing agreement with Cannes Games. According to Mills, the agreement would enable Veridigm "to further position itself as a leading international provider of progressive online gaming software." No further details were provided

Mills also announced the company would move its head office from Vancouver to Dublin, which she described as "a leading city in the online gaming software and entertainment industry."

Mills said about 35 Veridigm staff would relocate to Dublin from Vancouver. "Our plan is take on an additional 25 to 30 people with software skills and see us eventually employing over 100 people," she said. (There is no indication in any of Veridigm's public filings that the company had anywhere near 35 employees.)

All these boosterish announcements were difficult to reconcile with the company's financial statements, which showed the company failed to generate a single cent of revenue during the year ending Dec. 31, 2007.

Furthermore, the company had no capacity to generate any revenue. As of Dec. 31, 2007, it had zero cash and its total assets consisted of office equipment valued at $3,471.

So what happened to the $4.5-million financing that the company had announced in March 2007? Mills confessed in a news release in December 2007 -some nine months after the fact -that the financing never happened.

She also admitted the company never consummated the deal with Dimensions Inc., which was supposed to provide access to a gaming platform that generated $125 million annually in betting revenue. Ditto for the deal with Cannes Games. In February 2008, the company announced it had removed Mills as a senior officer and director. By that time, the stock -which traded as high as 22 cents in June 2007 -had sunk to two cents....


OK?


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Apologies for linking back to a post of my own for the passage above, it's just that the owners of the VSun, in their wisdom, have, apparently, chosen to remove Mr. Baines' original piece from full-on public view...

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