The Dobranos....

.....The Plotline So Far

(Please Note: Reposted because Haloscream ate all the previous comments - sorry, especially to Mary and l.g.)

Update: Bill Tieleman now has a satire-free post on many of the same developments, with considerably greater factual detail, up at The Tyee

WhatAreTheyReallyDoingInThere?
Courtroom54Ville

Not long ago, somebody, I'm not sure who, although it may have been Mr. T., suggested on a comment thread somewhere that perhaps Courtroom 54 of The Supreme Court of British Columbia, where The BC Railgate Trial is finally sputtering to life, should instead be known as 'Car 54, Where Are You?'

Why?

Because it seems that there are all kinds of people who are, for all intents and purposes, doing their best to send the entire thing hurtling down a deserted, cliff-lined back-road hidden behind the bustling metropolis of Spuzzum, British Columbia.

After all, you have lawyers for absent former cabinet ministers hanging around, not saying, but suggesting, that the public purse is paying them.

Interestingly, one former lawyered-up Minister who used to be a flight instructor of some repute actually left government before the 'Pilot' episode of 'The Dobranos: SPU' was even in the can (or the 'House', as it were) so that he could, allegedly, run a now defunct Airline that might still exist if only the former Minister had had the foresight to hire Leslie Nielsen as a spokesmodel (not to mention the possibility that the jocular personality of Mr. Nielsen may have been able to help the former Airline's owner slip free of a decidedly sticky situation recently).

You also have the investigators that were apparently interested in following the tracks leading towards the former Minister described above but who didn't actually follow those tracks. But not to worry, because this lack of follow-up most certainly/absolutely/couldn't have possibly had anything to do with the fact that this particular investigator was also related to somebody who was high up in the very same political party that the former Minister above belonged to. This is also the same political party that apparently drew up 'contracts' that were designed to win friends, influence uncles, and smear people who had the audacity to suggest that selling off one of the Province's most valuable public assets might, just might, be a bad idea (and/or, at the very least rip them new orifices).

Interestingly, some of the specifics of how those 'contracts' were implemented were apparently detailed in a taped converstion between one of the co-accused currently sitting in the back seat of Car 54 and the former Minister described above. Even more interestingly, one of those taped conversations also contained details of the current Premier's involvement in the alleged stacking of a blue ribbonesqueish commission which, was, apparently, not this one.

And, get this, apparently those contracts were also the subject of investigations by other investigators, most of whom didn't show up in court, but one of whom who did, with notes that nobody had seen before. And apparently those contracts, and who signed them, are deemed important by everybody in the Car, but nobody can actually find them, at least not at right now.

And then there are all those other investigators who were investigating all kinds of other stuff, like the laundering of drug money (no word of lawyers and guns so far however, which would be interesting if it were to happen somewhere down the road, if only because it would complete the trifecta once so aptly chronicled by Warren Zevon when he wasn't singing about werewolves which would, of course, also make a fantastic theme song for 'The Dobranos: SPU').

And, speaking of lawyers, one of them has apparently disappeared from the courtroom that is Car 54. And that lawyer can only be described as the biggest of the Big Cheeses who is, allegedly, working for 'The People' whose assets were forcibly privatized by the former Minister and the current Premier described above, but who also once most definitely did not work for 'The People' when he and one of his current littler cheeses worked instead against us (ie. The People) for Imperial Tobacco (hmmmmmm.....perhaps the producers of this series that is not-quite-good-enough for network Tee-Vee should consider changing that Dobranos:SPU theme song to 'Lawyers, Smokes and Money' instead).

At this point it is probably worth mentioning, if only in passing, that the currently missing Big Cheese is the very same Grand Fromage who apparently made a Deal that wasn't quite a Deal with the so-called 'Star' witness who used to be lobbyist and who is now a not-quite-lawyer that the Big Cheese may have once taught in law school - sort of. This former lobbyist/not-quite-lawyer, who once had, but may not now have, immunity from prosecution also used to, apparently, play tricks for the very same political party that apparently signed the contracts described above that were supposed to help 'sell' the Bigger Deal by the former Minister and the current Premier to liquidate The People's assets.

All which brings us to The Judge, who is doing her best to actually steer Car 54 back to a place where the mainstream media, especially the electronic variety, can actually find it. In doing so, she has asked all the little cheeses currently standing in for the absent Big Cheese to get the latter to come back and tell them where the suitcase is hidden that is holding the above described Deal/No Deal .

And if the Deal for Immunity is, indeed, No Deal, then why aren't the guys who apparently did the actual bribing (ie. the no longer immune former lobbyist/not-quite-lawyer and his side-kicks who have all sorts of connections with the Political Party and the former and current government officials described above) not trapped in Car 54's backseat between the co-accused who allegedly took their apparent bribes?

And finally, in a most elegant display of double-clutching designed to get a little traction under the wheels of Car 54, the Judge has also asked the little cheeses sitting in for the Big Cheese to produce any and all records of any and all involvement of a former Solicitor General, now the current Minister of Forests and Cowboys, in any and all efforts to prevent the above- mentioned investigatory multitudes from actually investigating the former minister described above, who himself apparently liked to have dinner with potential future receivers of that which was to be liquidated who were also, allegedly the very same potential receivers that bankrolled the alleged bribes that were paid to the co-accused by the non-accused former lobbyist/not-quite-lawyer/ party trickster who also goes by the moniker of 'Spiderman'.

You got all that?

Good.

Because every last tidbit came from just the first few weeks of the run of 'The Dobrano's: SPU' which is actually scheduled for at least twenty-four.

Here's hoping it gets a prime-time slot somewhere down the road.

OK?

______
*Mr. T. is also known as Bill Tieleman, one of the members of the press gang that has been chasing down Car 54 since the beginning. Me, I actually like the moniker 'Studio 54' a little better what with all the Dancin' and Shakin' going down, not to mention all that Snortin' (in disbelief and derision) that is going on the public gallery.
And apologies to kootcoot, who had a Car54 reference way back in ancient times, in an Apr 26 posting over at the very famous and infamous 'House of Infamy'. (kootcoot picked it up due to Mary's kind posting of the plot synopsis at the source here 'The Legistlature Raids' site.

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The Dobranos Season 17, Episode 2

WeAreNotACrook
FollowTheMoneyVille

As we saw in last season's finale of the Dobranos, the writers stretched credibility to the breaking point when they made it clear that the show's top Capo was in fact very busy lobbying himself. Just in case you missed it, here's our synopsis, from the archives:

Let's see if we've got this straight.

Mr. Dobell is fixing/working for the premier, Mr. Campbell.

And Mr. Dobell is also fixing/working for the City of Vancouver in at least two capacities. And in those capacities part of his job is to lobby Mr. Campbell who makes decisions based on his (ie. Mr. Dobell's) recommendations as a consultant.

Additionally, let's not forget that Mr. Dobell is also chair of the finance committee of VANOC that is dealing with the City of Vancouver to build the massive, developer-friendly, Olympics-oriented entertainment and information "venue".

And who is Mr. Dobell and VANOC going to be dealing with at City Hall when he negotiates the terms of the building of the "Venue"?

Why, none other than Mr. Dobell, of course.


But a funny thing a happened on the way to the hiatus because this season of the show opened not with a bang but with a whimper when the Directors leaked a diversionary, loop-back storyline of no real consequence that allowed the TV Guide crowd (see: Global/NewsDivsion) to discount pretty much the entire thing (see: Baldrey, Keith). Luckily, not all the critics were buying it:

The question is not WHEN did Ken Dobell register to be a lobbyist.

Instead, the real question is WHY?

Why can somebody who's working for the Premier of this Province even register as a lobbyist to lobby the Premier of this Province?


Luckily though, just as the ratings were beginning to sag, things really started to heat up in Episode 2, which runs in three acts as summarized by one of our finest theatrical critics, a fellow named Palmer:

Act 1, March 2005: Dobell, in his capacity as deputy minister to the premier, visits Vancouver's civic theatres board. In response to concerns about cultural funding, he advises that money may be available in the coming year from the provincial budget surplus.

Act 2, March 2006: Dobell has moved from the deputy post to serve as special adviser to the premier. And the province does indeed deliver $5 million in funding for Vancouver's "cultural precincts."

Act 3, April 2006: Dobell is hired by Vancouver to lobby the province. The city will later disclose that his contract was funded out of the province's cultural precincts grant.

Of course, this is all just following the usual screenwriters' formula. Because no matter the protaganists' occupational veils, be they Pols, Capos, or operatives that copulate with rodents, it always comes down to money.

Especially when you follow it.

OK?

______
And just so that other TVGuidegeist knife in the Ledge drawer, who may, or may not, be as sharp as Mr.Palmer, knows.... The point of this episode's alternative Watergate storyline had nothing to do with the public's ability to grasp the significance of the parallels between the actions of The Dobranos' foot soldiers and those of original generation rat f*ckers like Donnie Segretti. Instead, it was written to hook people like you. And, clearly, this time at least, it worked.

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Today On The Dobranos......

.....Who (Still?) Loves' Ya Baby?

EverybodyLawyers-Up
LINOVille


This week, a continuing plotline in the BC RailGate 'Trial of the Century' starring The Dobranos has been the increasing focus on the apparent actions, deeds and words of former Finance Minister Gary (no longer Farrell) Collins.

Luckily for him, however, Mr. Collins had the foresight to lawyer-up before the trial began.

As a result, Mr. Collins has had a very fine solicitor by the name of Clark Roberts watching his back, both inside and outside, of Studio......errrrr.....Courtroom 54 in downtown Vancouver.

All of which led us to wonder just who might be paying for Mr. Roberts services.

Well, after an assist from GWest on the comment threads, we found an answer, sort of, by reading Bill Tieleman's latest piece in The Tyee:

Victoria lawyer Clark Roberts has been in B.C. Supreme Court every day since the defence disclosure application began, representing Gary Collins and speaking on his behalf on several occasions to rebut defence allegations.

But Roberts left the court without speaking to the three remaining media -- myself for 24 hours newspaper and The Tyee, Rob Brown for B.C. CTV and Mark Hume for the Globe and Mail newspaper -- after Bolton's statement.

But Roberts himself disclosed some other interesting details earlier in the day, including that his fees for attending court daily from Victoria may be paid by B.C. taxpayers.

"I'm here to protect Mr. Collins' reputation," Roberts told journalists at a break in the proceedings.

When I asked if Collins is personally retaining him at his own expense, Roberts allowed that he may in fact be paid by taxpayers.

"Mr. Collins asked me to act for him but who is paying the bill is not clear at this time. I understand Mr. Collins has an indemnification as a former cabinet minister."

Hmmmm......

Two things:

1) What kind of lawyer takes on a case without knowing who is paying the bill?

2) If Mr. Roberts is being compensated from some sort of Indeminfication for the Dobrano Nation payment plan, who authorized the payout from the public purse*?


______
*Somehow, given the way they've apparently been targetted by The Dobranos media manipulation machine, we don't think it could even remotely possibly be a 'former' Premier.


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The Return Of The Dobranos

TheEarWhisperers
InfluencingWithOutPedalsVille

It was a long hiatus for the Dobranos.

But now they're back!

And the plot lines are more convoluted then ever.

So before we get to the synopsis of today's show there are a couple of things you might have forgotten/need to know (this is the quick flashback part that runs right before the show starts).......

First, Ms Jessica McDonald, became a made woman when she was hired by The Boss, Mr. Kenneth Dobell, to be his assistant when he (ie. The Boss), was still the chief ear whisperer to Premier Gordon Campbell.

Second, last year, when The Boss got his toes splashed with a wee bit of hot water it was Ms. McDonald , who by then had been elevated to chief ear whisperer for the Premier , wrote a letter exonnerating him (ie. The Boss) of any and all wrongdoing after he (ie. The Boss) became the Uber Ear Whisperer for all kinds of people that were doing business with each other in this province (eg. the City of Vancouver, VANOC, The Convention Center, The Province of B.C.). The Premier and his Capos then used that letter as cover from the flack-hackery (ie. the punditry in this province).


OK.......Now it's time to start the show!

Premier Gordon Campbell says it is the tactic of a desperate opposition. This after the NDP called for his top Deputy's head, "Will the Government do the right thing, remove Jessica McDonald from her position as Deputy Minister to the Premier?"

That call from NDP Leader Carole James stems from this week's charge against Ken Dobell, a former top advisor to the Premier who was cleared of conflict of interest allegations by Campbell's Deputy Minister McDonald last year.

But Campbell is not amused, "The NDP's relentless attack on the public service is not just inappropriate, I think it is reprehensible."

As for whether McDonald was wrong to clear Dobell, the Premier said, "I'm glad to comment on this when Mr. Dobell's had his day in Court."

So, tune in later today after The Boss has had his day in court........

Mr. Dobell is set to appear in a Vancouver courtroom this morning to enter his guilty plea for failing to register as a lobbyist to the provincial government. He was charged under the Lobbyists Registration Act, legislation brought in by the Liberal government while he served as the deputy minister to the Premier.

......because then the Premier is sure to speak right after the 'bleating'.....errrrrr.....'pleaing' is done, right?

In the meantime, we'll all just have to wait and see what else the scriptwriters come up with.

So far, there is no truth to the rumour that the Dobranos will get themselves out of this one by 'hiring' the current ear whisperer's husband to run a secret poll so that the results can be selectively leaked to the media in their favour.

After all, even they would never stoop to doing a thing like that.

Would they*?

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*Please see the bonus features in the comments.
This just in......one of the scriptwriters just called from their reinforced bunker buried deep within the constantly shifting sand cliffs of Mount Tolmie......She said that they are getting ideas by the bushelfull from this interesting little document (pdf file from the special prosecutor). Apparently, this is one of those times when truth really might be stranger than fiction.

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Today's Episode Of The Dobranos.....

.......The Big Chill

(please note: updated at bottom of post)

AttackTheMessengers
SmearFactorVille

Late yesterday, Sean Holman at Public Eye raised the specter of a wee bit of a 'Big Chillian' style-pushback against anyone who may wish to continue considering, based on the circumstances and facts rather then the self-generated assurances of non-impropriety by longtime associates, that Mr. Ken Dobell may perhaps be in a conflict and/or conflicts of interest.

While Mr. Dobell himself is, so far at least, playing the chill factor game rather cagily, that does not appear to be the case for some of The Dobranos' most trusted Lieutenants.

Specifically, members of the Campbell government have suddenly started to go after Carole James for asking questions during Question Period in the Legislature* about the appropriateness of Mr. Dobell's myriad contracts, board memberships, and reciprocally crafted creative consultantships that are, according to the registered lobbyist himself, not lobbying.

By way of example, here is the Liberal House Leader, Mike de Jong, laying the lumber on Ms. James, as quoted by Mr. Holman:

"These are not questions. These are assertions that people are making. And it's easy to make those kinds of very harmful assertions when you don't have to answer for them," responded Minister de Jong, adding that "it seems to me somewhat cowardly to make those assertions in a place where you don't have to be held accountable for them."

Which, of course, is disingenuous at best and outright buffoonery of the non-union busting kind at not-quite-best.

Especially given the fact that all sorts of issues, questions, and, yes, assertions, have already been raised by all sorts of people outside the Ledge.

People like Les Leyne of the Victoria Times-Colonist:

You can't help thinking that if Dobell and the government had recognized the minefield he would be walking through early on and fully disclosed all the steps they were taking to avoid problems, he wouldn't be in the news.

By disclosing contracts only in response to freedom of information demands and belatedly releasing memos and letters only when it suits them, they just seem to heighten suspicions.

And Michael Smyth** of the Vancouver Province:

How can he (Dobell) "advise" and "lobby" (Liberal Premier) Campbell at the same time?

How can a professional lobbyist have a desk right inside the premier's office?

Isn't it all a conflict of nterest?

But as the NDP screams "cover-up!" at the legislature, Dobell came to Victoria yesterday and offered a surprising explanation: He's not really a "lobbyist" at all, you see.

"I'd regard myself as a content consultant," he (Dobell) told a news conference.

And, Vaughn Palmer of the Vancouver Sun:

He (Dobell) kept up the defence of his conduct for the better part of an hour (during the press conference yesterday), until reporters had exhausted their questions.

In the end, I don't know as though he (Mr. Dobell) managed to do much more than explain his own state of mind.

He's not a lobbyist because he doesn't think he's one.

He's not in a perceived conflict because he doesn't perceive one.

He's entitled to do what he does because -- can't you see it? -- he's working on the side of the angels.

And that, of course, just may be the real reason why The Dobranos are suddenly trying their darnedest*** to put this entire thing in the deep freeze.

Because, given the faith that this bunch puts in media message massaging that, despite its mendaciousness, should, of course, never be confused with manipulation, it is clear that if the biggest media mavens in Lotusland continue to write stories like the ones quoted from above it will take way more than a huge vat of super-cooled liquid nitrogen (obtained only after intensive consultations with non-lobbyists representing the compressed gases industry, of course) to keep this one from exploding into a massive fireball of falling poll numbers.

Not to mention public confidence in all those projects, many of which are of the megalicious variety (see: Boondoggle/Convention Center), that Mr. Dobell is so 'creatively' involved in.


_____
*Questions during question period? What the heckfire is that crazy leader of the opposition thinking of? Geez Loueegie, perhaps Mr. de Jong is correct. After all, if this continues the next thing you know parliamentary democracy-based oversight will start breaking out all over the place. And if that were to happen, well, it might get a little harder for the folks running the Premier's office from handing out $5 million-type grants to things like, say, 'Culture Precinct' projects whenever they feel like it.
**Who, as he likes to point out early and often on his (notso)Giant98 radio show everytime that the issue of the Goodfellas from Pilothouse comes up, got his job when Brian Kieran left the PNG's august(us gloopish?) tabloid.
***Interesting, don'cha think, that it is the elected legislative branchplant workers who are doing the real pushback work for a big fish member from the apparatchik division. Kind of makes you wonder just who is really running things doesn't it?
Finally.....If the icebreaking work of folks like Messrs. Holman, Leyne, Smyth and Palmer was to continue apace they may soon be out ahead of that new melting curve from Julienne Stroeve (who's work we've written about before), which is one problem that most certainly won't be fixed by well placed deflector spin, media pit-bulls, non-incandescent lights or meaningless reductions in carbon emission intensities. OK?



_____
Update: Whew. This one is becoming a double episode.

I was remiss in not excerpting from the earlier work of Paul Willcocks as well. The interesting thing about Mr. Willcocks piece is that he gets to the heart of the matter about why this insular, circular awarding of contracts and grants is problematic in the real world:

I can't imagine how the government didn't see this as a problem. One meeting, Dobell is offering his guidance to the premier on some of the most important issues facing the province.

And then an hour later, Dobell is sitting in the same chair in the bright Vancouver premier's office, lobbying for a multi-million-dollar contribution to Vancouver's plan for an arts district.

Perhaps Campbell and Dobell could keep the roles straight.

But if you were a representative from another community trying to get money for a cultural precinct, would you think the playing field was level? Would you have the same chance to talk to the premier about the issue?

The answer to both questions (as so many communities who were shut out of small grant MCFD funding when everything went all-inside-to-insiders-all-the-time awhile back will tell you) is, of course, no.


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The Best Of The Dobranos.....

.....In Which The Capos Cover Their Tracks

(please see updates at bottom)

NeverWroteItDown
NothingEverHappenedVille


Here's a great bit of spade work by the The Tyee's Stanley Tromp, who is fast making FOI's (or the lack thereof in B.C.) his life's obsession:

Meanwhile, the insidious shift towards "oral government" is growing. E-mails must be preserved and accessible under FOI laws. A debate is looming over Blackberry records. Yet the premier's multi-tasking assistant Ken Dobell startled an FOI conference in 2003 by announcing frankly that "I delete my email all the time as fast as I can." (Privacy commissioner David) Loukidelis later reprimanded Dobell for publicly admitting he avoids taking notes so they aren't uncovered by reporters under FOI.

Except that...... when the Capos went to meetings sometimes real ink-on-paper minutes were taken.

And sometimes unearthing those minutes can help one follow the money.

Or, in one important case at least, the suggestion of money to come sometime in the not-too-distant future.

Which turned out to be a future in which one of the biggest of the Capos would become a contented consultant using that very same suggested money that ultimately became the real thing.

Stay tuned......


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And fortunately, despite their best efforts in sophisticated track covering, most actual contracts, even those of the deep-cover Dobrano kind, are still made in writing. Can't wait to see who signed this one.
Update #1: Mr. Tromp has the latest in his series of B.C. government secrecy pieces up in the Tyee today in which he deals with the dreaded 'Section 13' of our increasingly toothless FOI tiger de papier. The whole series, which you can access via links on his latest, is latest truly is a 'Must Read Anti-TeeVee for all of B.C.'
Update #2: Unlike most of his straight/journo print work, Sean Holman rarely takes his tongue out of his cheek when he writes his posts online at PublicEye. Interestingly, that appendage is most definitely nowhere to be found in today's post from Mr. Holman regarding The Dobranos' continuing claims of transparency and openness. It's another piece of worth calling a 'must read', and it is most definitely NOT gossip.

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Did Somebody Just Cancel The Dobranos' Final Syndication Run?

TheEndOfThe
TroughVille


Just.

This.

NVG is keeping track of all this over at his place.



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The Dobranos?....'Twas a really, really big Golden Era Shew.
Hang on a second!....Thanks (once again) to the FOI digging of Bob Mackin, we have learned that there is a two-hatted a spin-off series running that is set to jump the Paragon shark any day now...Sheesh.


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This Week On 'The Dobranos'.....

.....Everybody Falsely Ex(x)onerates Himself

WeAreNotCrooks
FollowTheMoneyVille

First it was reported by Mark Hume in the Globe that the absent, but apparently arachnophillic, fellow by the name of Bornmann put his stay-out-of-jail-and-become-a-lawyer-instead card in jeopardy when he........

".....told news media that he had been exonerated in the police investigation, which involved an unprecedented raid, in December, 2003, on the legislature offices of Mr. Basi and Mr. Virk, who were both ministerial aides at the time."


Then, today, it was the chief Capo himself who said that he wasn't actually a lobbyist who lobbies himself while receiving double compensation from two pots of money that came from one source that he created himself from a pool of money that belongs to him....errrrrr.....us:

Mr. Dobell, who also works for (the City of ) Vancouver on homelessness issues (as well as in the Premier's office), said yesterday that he doesn’t consider himself a lobbyist and that he only registered as one “out of an abundance of caution.” “I regard myself as a content consultant,” he said.

Of his work on homelessness, he said: “I don’t call that lobbying. I call that working on the problem.”

And even better, the person that the chief Capo hired to replace himself in the Premier's office before he moved back into that office as an uber-not-lobbyist, backs him up 110%:

The press conference (of Mr. Dobell) coincided with the release of a letter to (Premier Gordon) Campbell from his current deputy minister, Jessica McDonald, clearing Dobell of any wrongdoing. “Mr. Dobell has always conducted himself with the utmost integrity,” she stated.


Whew......Sure glad the Dobrano's managed to circle the wagons before firing inward to clear that up.

Although we are surprised that they haven't hired a media contract consultant to lay a few large on Pavel Bure to call-up Danny Russell's Sportstalk (ie. the only show that anybody actually listens to anymore on the not-soGiant98) and say:

"I didn't do anything wrong"

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And in a secondary plotline...... Rumour has it that the lawyer for one of the former Dobranos that was thrown under the bus in the run-up to the 'Trial of The Century' may ask that anyone associated with the case who has seen the Spiderman3 trailer that has played non-stop on the TeeVee this week be forced to recuse themselves due the conflict of interest involving the first self-exonerator identified above.

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B.C. RailGate, Day One

Where's Gordo?
LINOVille


Mr. T. (a.k.a. Bill Tieleman) has an excellent and comprehensive summary 0f Day One of the RailGate trial over at The Tyee.

It is the kind of thing that you won't find at any mainstream media organ in all of Lotusland.

Again, in addition to the defense allegation that then Finance Minister Gary Collins was under investigation in 2003 before the raids on the Legislature, one of the things that I find most interesting about Day One is this, according to Mr. T.:

Among the serious charges levelled Wednesday by Kevin McCullough, defence lawyer for Bob Virk, in B.C. Supreme Court:

• That B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell was allegedly tipped off about part of the police investigation into David Basi by B.C. Liberal party executive director Kelly Reichert in June 2005
• That the investigation Campbell allegedly heard about was a Crown counsel report into "media monitoring" contracts the BC Liberals had with Basi and whether there was any wrongdoing
• That Basi's "media monitoring" contracts allegedly were "a highly political effort to sway public opinion through the use of radio shows and other events"

Now those are some allegations.

And given their potential political impact, wouldn't it be interesting to hear from either Mr. Reichert or Mr. Campbell about their veracity?

Or lack thereof?

Unfortunately, however, that has not been possible because, apparently, Messrs Reichert and Campbell have not been available for questions.

Again, from Mr. T. (with an assist, 'allegatedly', from Sean Holman):

The BC Liberals' Reichert did not respond to e-mail and telephone inquires by deadline.

Premier Campbell was not in the legislature for question period or at the B.C. Liberal caucus meeting, and therefore not available to media for questions about the day's allegations.

OK.

So, given all that, maybe some other people might be able to answer a couple of questions for us, the public.

First, could somebody please ask Mr. McCullough if he is, indeed, in possession of a 'Crown Counsel Report' that outlines Mr. Basi's involvement in a 'media monitoring' operation?

Because, if such a report does actually exist, on real paper, with real signatures, well, that would add considerable weight to the allegations.

Second, given that the alleged 'media monitoring' contracts were allegedly "a highly political effort to sway public opinion through the use of radio shows and other events" and given the evidence that the BC Liberals have been shown to be fond of pushing 'wedge issues on a silver platter' in the media to sway public opinion in the past, could someone not start asking questions of local producers, hosts, editors, columnists, and reporters who work for the mainstream media organs in this province if they have ever been approached to carry out such highly political efforts to sway public opinion?

Oh, and while they're at it, they might want to ask the same question of some pollsters too.

But certainly not lobbyists*.

No siree.


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*Unless, of course, they are Pilots who don't fly planes and/or cast members of 'The Dobranos'.
Speaking of the Dobranos, it looks like the clan's chief capo might be feeling a little heat himself today.


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On The Latest The Dobranos.....

.....Lets Make No Deal

(please see Update at bottom of Post)

WhenNoIsYes
EveryWhichWayButStraightVille

Yesterday, we broke into our daily silence period (ie. workday) to comment on Neal Hall's report in the Sun in which he concluded that the Crown's major witness, the alleged bribemaster in the BC RailGate Fiasco, was no longer being offered immunity.

Now Bill Tieleman is reporting that the Special Prosecutor* is saying that there never was a deal, sort of:

Justice Elizabeth Bennett got the surprise answer from Special Prosecutor Janet Winteringham, who has handled most Crown duties during Berardino’s unexplained absence from the proceedings.

“The only question I had – was there an immunity agreement as outlined in Crown policy and the answer is there was not. But there’s no written agreement signed by Mr. Bornmann?” Bennett asked.

“No, there’s not, “Winteringham replied.


Now, why are we suggesting that this apparently straight answer to a very direct question that did not involve choosing between Door #1, #2 or #3 actually indicates that there may have only 'sort of' been no deal?

Because if you parse the language, which seems to be increasingly necessary in this case, and indeed in the case of everything that the Dobranos are involved in, you will notice that there is a little qualifier there in the question from the Judge that could be implied in the answer from the Special Prosecutor.

And that is the word 'written'.

The action in the Studio 54 courtroom is now adjourned until Tuesday.

Stay tuned for more on following the money trail......

_____
*Of course, the 'senior' Special Prosecutor, Bill Berardino, was not in Court to answer the Judge. Instead, he was nowhere to be found and his 'juniors' were left to twist in the wind.
Will be interesting to see if the folks on the GoodShip Watercarrier still think that none of this is such a big deal on this morning's edition of the Ledgie Boys (notsoGiant98 @ ~ 9:00am).

________________

Update......

It looks like we may have used the wrong Canadian Game Show host's image at the top of the post, because today Neal Hall reports that:

Earlier this week, ('junior' prosecutor Janet)Winteringham told the judge that the (currently absent 'senior) special prosecutor, Bill Berardino, could make a statement in court as to why the deal with Bornmann was cancelled in 2004.

The prosecutor has said there was no signed deal with Bornmann, so there was no document disclosed to the defence, so the terms of deal haven't been disclosed.

So, does that mean that the terms of the 'Deal/No Deal' are actually hidden away in a suitcase somewhere?

And is Howie Mandel holding said piece of luggage?

Sheesh.

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Today On The Dobranos.......

......Will A Content Consultant Be Fitted For Goat Horns?

Last time on 'The Dobranos' the documents waving frantically behind the 'Teh Google Wailing Wall' suggested strongly to us that the 'New Boss' of the Vancouver Convention Center Expansion Project wants everybody concerned to know that things are no longer being run the way they once were by the 'Old Boss'.

Which is fair enough, especially when viewed through the 'We are doing our best to get things under control' lens.

But now it appears that the 'Old Boss' is being fitted for bigger and better things in the scapegoat department.

Michael Smythe has the story in today's Province.

Ken Dobell, Campbell's $250-an-hour "special adviser," had been the premier's choice as chairman of the convention-centre project board.

But Dobell was dumped last April while the project's finances were sliding off the rails. Originally priced at $495 million just four years ago, the budget for the half-built convention centre now stands at $883 million and could soar even higher.

Tourism Minister Stan Hagen, the cabinet point-man on the convention centre, said yesterday he wasn't happy with the non-answers he was getting from Dobell on the megaproject's ballooning budget.

Hagen said he was preparing to go to the Treasury Board earlier this year to beg for more money for the project and he wanted to know exactly how much the facility was going to cost.

"I was looking for answers and I wasn't getting them," Hagen said.

"I said, 'I'm only going to Treasury Board once, so I want the final number.' And I didn't get it."

It was at that point, Hagen said, that he decided to replace Dobell with respected private-sector real-estate developer David Podmore.

All of which has us wondering if this means that creative consulting is now a contact sport?

And if so, will the Old Boss come back swinging?

Only time and/or newscycles will tell.


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The Dobranos......

......All Your Medias Are Ours

Lobbyists!WhatAreTheyGoodFor?
AbsolutelyNothin',SayItAgainVille


Hmmmmm.....

Looks like it's not just the absent, and apparently arachnophillic, member of the former LINO-lovin' Lobbshop known as Pilothouse that has suddenly found themselves front and center in the 'Trial of The Century'.

And this time it's because of something a witness actually said under oath:

(Defense lawyer Mr. (Kevin) McCullough said another gap in disclosure (of materials gathered by the Crown Counsel) was revealed to him on Sunday (Apr 29/07) when John Preissell, former president of the United Auto and Collision Association, called to advise him about a 2003 phone call concerning (former Finance Minister and BC Rail deal maker) Mr. (Gary) Collins.

Mr. Preissell, who became the first witness in the corruption trial when Mr. McCullough suddenly called him to the stand, testified that in 2003, his association was in conflict with ICBC, the Crown-owned Insurance Corporation of B.C.

He said his association had been using the services of Pilothouse Public Affairs Group, a lobbying firm in Victoria that also worked for OmniTRAX at that time.

Mr. Preissell said Brian Kieran, a Pilothouse director, called to warn him not to launch a media campaign against Mr. Collins.

"The bottom line was he threatened me repeatedly for me not to go to the media and embarrass the Finance Minister," Mr. Preissell said. "I was actually afraid."

Mr. Preissell said he subsequently complained to the police about the call.

Wow!

Who knew that by 2003 the Lobbyists and the LINOs had already managed to turn Lotusland into a replica of the swamps of New Jersey.

_____
And one can only wonder, if there is an actual on-the-record record of Mr. Preissell's call to police that could be offered up as, you know, real evidence?
Oh, and don't forget, while all this was allegedly going on, back in 2003, those same fun-lovin' goodfellas from Pilothouse were also crowing about inside info on car dealer association lobby-jobs obtained from then Finance Minister apparatchuck Mr. Paul Taylor who is now the patronage appointed head of, guess what - ICBC.

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The Garbage Strike Conspiracy - Our Garage Stinks!

Blackout?What Blackout?
StallVille

The always well informed and extremely reasonable Picketboy offers a round-up on the apparent breakdown in talks between the City of Vancouver and the various Unions involved in the long running municipal strike.

One thing I find curious is why the City keeps trying to set the agenda with facilitators/mediators whose recommendations will not be binding.

Could it be that they just want more PR fodder for their now wheezing whirlitzer?

****

In other news, which on the face of it would appear to have nothing whatsoever to do with the G.S. Conspiracy, it looks like the City is losing planners, hand-over-fist, to developers with even more money than the ones here in Lotusland:


Francis Bula, Vancouver Sun, Sept 15, 2007

VANCOUVER - Vancouver has lost five planners to the Arab emirate of Abu Dhabi in recent weeks, including the senior planner who was in charge of the city's ambitious EcoDensity project.

That loss, prompted by Abu Dhabi's desire to become a city styled on Vancouver and because of the involvement of former Vancouver planning director Larry Beasley as a special adviser, is bad enough.

{snip}

NPA Coun. Suzanne Anton said the departure of planner Michael White, who headed the city's large inter-departmental EcoDensity team, is a "great loss."

"The work being done involved many departments and it was almost a piece of academic work on how to create a much greener city. Michael was the chief planner in charge."

But wait!

It turns out that, despite the involvement of Larry Beasley and really, really, big money from the Sultans of Swing, the real problem is actually the Unions here at home:

What is more worrying, said Anton -- echoing what others are saying* -- is the impact of the strike on council's wide-ranging agenda.

Shortly after Mayor Sam Sullivan and his Non-Partisan Association were elected, council introduced a raft of new initiatives along with EcoDensity, including Project Civil City, aimed at reducing homelessness and public disorder by half within three years.

Before the strike, those projects had staff working in overdrive to try to come up with plans and policies to make them a reality.

Anton said that staff resignations are one issue, but "what is far more significant is the loss of time from our extremely valuable and extremely professional staff."

Which has me wondering if this thing might have a silver lining that is worth having rotting chicken bones from our summer barbeques sitting in my garage.

After all, if Smilin' Sammy's 'wide ranging agenda' was to be stalled for just a wee while longer, it just might be possible that the travesty of massive reduction of affordable housing initiatives in the Southeast False Creek Development and the Little Mountain Redevelopment may whither on the vine before the next election.

Which just might be a very, very good thing indeed.

OK?

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*Wouldn't it have been nice if Ms. Bula had told us just who those 'others' who Ms. Anton was 'echoing' actually were? I mean, were they other city councillors - NPA? Vision? CUPE bosses? CUPE members? City Planners? Academics? People in the Street? Members of the Dobranos Cast and Crew? The good folks over on the Group W bench?
And are they all being held in a Chamber somewhere, or what?

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The Dobranos: Season 17

WeDon'tNeedNoStinkin'Rules
'CauseWeMade'EmOurselfVille

Listen.

The question is not when did Ken Dobell register to be a lobbyist.

Instead, the real question is why?

Why can somebody who's working for the Premier of this Province even register as a lobbyist to lobby the Premier of this Province?

I mean all these screamin' headlines from the good folks at CanWest about 'When' rather than 'Why' is kinda like the New York Post suddenly running faux-front-page stories about when Tony Soprano first got his permit to commit extortion.

OK?

______
For a non-cinematic, but nonetheless still-less-than -7 minute version of the entire Dobrano's run, go here.
For a capsule synopsis of the season so far, go here.

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This Day In (Not) Clarkland...Re-Establishing GordCo Inc.

RehabilitatingTheMadeMan'sMen
AndWomenVille


Mr. Campbell may be out as Canada's High Commissioner and Johnny Baird Playhouse provider.

But that doesn't mean that his people are all on the outs too.

Including, it would appear, in Lotusland.

Bob Mackin, as he so often does on such matters, has the story:

Jane Bird, a protege of Ken Dobell (remember him?), is expected to take a senior management or advisory role on some major infrastructure projects around Southwestern British Columbia. My sources tell me that her initial assignments could include the controversial demolition of the Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaducts in Vancouver and the on-again, off-again Victoria sewage treatment plant. 

Bird’s resume includes stints under ex-Premier Gordon Campbell at Canada’s high commission in London, as CEO of the Columbia Power Corporation and CEO of the Canada Line, the SNC-Lavalin built-and-operated airport-to-downtown SkyTrain...


The Dobranos....

Will the re-runs, replete with replicants, never end?


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Mr. King Weighs In.....

...On Smilin' Sammy's Worst Nightmare

The(Re?)RisingOf
CivicTEAMVille


We have enjoyed Ian King's reportage on Vancouver civic politics for a long, long time (ie. since the halcyon days of the dead tree-only editions of the waylong gone 'Terminal City').

Now, after much cajoling, we've managed to get Mr. King to offer an opinion on what kind of mayor Carole Taylor might be.

He did so in the comments to an earlier post, and we thank him (and Paul Willcocks too):

Darn, and here I was hoping for Paul to fill us in on Taylor's vision for Vancouver (haw, haw). I get the sense that she's a deal-broker and aware of the need to deal with Vancouver's social ills -- but what motivates her? What approach would she take with council, City Hall, provincial agencies, senior governments? You can divine a little bit from her performance as finance minister and her recruiters. (Political columns are the modern-day answer to haruspexy.)

This council has been terrible for partisanship. Far worse than 2002-05. It's practically become the Parliament of Vancouver; positions are made in caucus and almost noone breaks the party line on any issue where there is a clear NPA/opposition split.

What really grates is that I know that most of the councillors are far, far more intelligent and open-minded than they come across when they're pissing away in chambers. Some of the blame has to go to Sullivan and how tightly he controls his caucus to keep that 6-5 majority on almost every substantial vote.

That's where Taylor would be a big shift, party or no party. Everyone else has noted her knack for defusing tense situations -- and I've seen the same in my more limited encouters. She might even be willing to let council go back to a looser, less party-line affair in the way most councils work. Well, a guy can dream.

I'm not sure that it would be practical to get parties out of Vancouver politics. The city is large and complex enough that citywide campaigns need a lot of resources, and that was true before the spending explosion of 2002. Very few independents can muster that on their own; they have to be either very wealthy or very good organisers. With parties, people like Raymond Louie can compete fully.

Interesting, n'est-ce pas?

____
For the record, Michael Smyth, filling in for the Watercarrier on the (nolonger)Giant '98 this morning, said that he too thinks that Ms. Taylor will make a run at the Mayor's chair. And like Rafe Mair, Mr. Smythe says that he saw this coming a few weeks back when Ms. Taylor broke with Mr. Campbell and The Dobranos because of their cruel and unusual punishment of the Cambie St. merchants (including our favorite, Black Dog Video).
Musing about that 'TEAM' resurrection thing.......Can't help but wonder if Ms. Taylor has had Nancy Chiavario over for tea lately.
And for what it's worth: If Ms. Taylor does take a run at the Smilin' One, Miro Cernetig adds considerable weight to our origninal speculation when he says that 'The Vancouver Sun has learned' that she will do it only as an Independent (ie. NPA Bagman-Free).


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The Return Of The Dobranos!

TheSeriesThatNeverEnds
SyndicationVille


The title of this week's episode is:

'Sometimes A Secretary Is Just A Secretary'

A CABINET secretary that is.

And Les Leyne, drama critic for the Victoria Times Colonist, apparently, loves the plot line:

(After the issue of the handling of RailGate documents was raised in the Legislature) "an official later told reporters that (Mr. Kenneth) Dobell was involved only because the deputy cabinet secretary was on holiday. She was listed on the formal protocol as one of the people allowed to make decisions. But she was out of the country when the specific question arose, so Dobell stepped in.

Lost in the argument is the fact that Dobell released the document. For people worried about transparency, he made the right call.

Also overlooked is the fact that he was secretary to cabinet.

Who else is going to decide on cabinet documents?"

Indeed.

After all, who else but the secretary to the CABINET of Mr. Gordon Campbell, and Mr. Campbell's DEPUTY MINISTER at the time*, was going to decide on whether or not documents involving the 'sale' of B.C. Rail would be released to the courts.

Which, of course, begs the following question.

Doesn't this actually prove that the CABINET of Mr. Gordon Campbell was, indeed, involved in making such decisions?


_____
For those interested in previous Dobrano episode plotlines they can be found here.
*Mr. Dobell was appointed as both Cabinet Secretary AND Deputy Minister to the Premier by Order-In-Council #559 on June 05, 2001.
Mr T, Bill Tieleman, provides us with the official link for OICs #557-566 (check out who was appointed just before Mr. Dobell by OIC #558 - hint they were Ministerial Assistants in Finance and Transportation).

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Late Breaking, On The Dobranos.....

....In Which Things Get Curiouser And Curiouser.

Apparently, the 'immunity' for the Crown's star witness in the BC Railgate Trial, the man sometimes known as Spiderman, Eric Bornmann, who once worked for the LINO Lovin' Lobbshop called Pilothouse which allegedly acted as the middlemen for bribes paid to two of the accused, former Dobrano's Deputy Ministers David Basi and Robert Virk, has been 'breached'.

This just in from Neal Hall (one of the 'Scribes in Studio' according to Mr. T.) in today's Vancouver Sun:

The lawyer said Bornmann attended the University of B.C. law school class in April 2004, which included a lecture by (Special Prosecutor Bill)Berardino, but Bornmann was not in the breakout session taught by Berardino.

(Assistant Special Prosecutor Janet) Winteringham also told the judge (Elizabeth Bennett) the prosecution has disclosed all the documents related to Bornmann's immunity from prosecution agreement, which was later cancelled after Bornmann breached the conditions.

It remains unclear what conditions were breached by Bornmann.

Hmmmmm........

Could it have something to do with a little thing some have called a 'false self-exoneration' that arose when Bornman...

".....told news media that he had been exonerated in the police investigation, which involved an unprecedented raid, in December, 2003, on the legislature offices of Mr. Basi and Mr. Virk, who were both ministerial aides at the time."


We'll have to wait and see on that.

Regardless, we're pretty sure somebody's Spidey-Sense must be glowing radioactive today.

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Is Erin Airton Working For Smilin' Sammy?

PunditsOnPuffballs
FlackHackeryVille

Unfortunately, the Cluffmaster Flash was back in the host's chair this morning on CBC Radio's Early Edition.

Thus, Stephen Quinn was not there to give Erin Airton the gears when she floated the preposterous idea that Carole Taylor might not run for Mayor of Vancouver because she was scared she would split the Westside and the, ahem, 'ethnic' vote with Sam Sullivan.

Laughable.

In the extreme.


_____
Luckily, Rafe Mair was able to set Ms. Airton straight regarding Ms. Taylor's interest in helping the businesses along Cambie that have fallen destitute due to the dastardly doings of the Dobranos.


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Live Blogging The Ledgie Boys....

AllTheBlatherThatFits
WatercarrierVille

9:58am: This week, the Goodship brings us the show from another of Gordon Campbell's billion dollar boondoggles, the Vancouver Convention Center, whose cost overruns were long 'supervised' by the man of many hats, Ken Dobell.

10:02am: What, no news about how the (nolonger)Giant98 is doomed?

10:05am: His Gordness reports that the ConCenter overruns were due to the need to put in extra pilings.... (me: $500 million worth?....sheesh, why didn't they just sink a couple of fast ferries under the thing)

News over.....

10:10am: Discussion of how the ConCtr was kinda like the FastFerries from get go ....

Darn....I'm a bit stuck with work multi-tasking at work at the moment....

***

10:50am....OK I'm back....where'd everybody go?

10:55am: Here comes more election talk....Ooooohhhh.... the Watercarrier says they don't quite have the technology in place to make a remote hook-up all the way from the Convention Ctr back to CKNW headquarters (with phonecalls all the way to Victoria too!) work, all together, without echoes and delays....me: Funny, don't remember Jack Cullen having any trouble hookin' up when he took off for The Cave to interview, say, Mitzi Gaynor, and have a belt between tunes 40 yrs ago....Again ....is this just more evidence that the notsoGiant98 really is going down the drain?

10:56am: 'Judy' from the North goes all media monitoring.....Vaughn has doubts about a caller from Prince Rupert having seen the Ctr itself....Watercarrier jumps in to defend....Interested 'support' coming from the North....

10:57am: Watercarrier says Palmer sounds like 'Brian in Garden Bay' (CampbellWearsABalletSuit....on the Tyee CommThreads?)...me: sure, you bet, Mr. Good....It's all nothing but a big partisan joke.... Think I can, if I try really hard, hear the steam coming out of Mr. Palmer's ears....

10:58am: Another call from the North slams Palmer for making the link between the ConCtr and Fast Ferries.....NDP sucks/Liberal great 'cause they no how to take care of business...me: oooooohhhhhh..... are the 'PAB'st Blue/Red Ribbon Boys really that worried about Mr. P's column published earlier today (see below).

10:59am Six reasons how the Con Ctr is like the Fast Ferries from Palmer, rapid fire (and exasperated?).... I like the cost overrun suppression thing best (=Dobranos?)....Baldrey the apologist, agrees with Palmer, but not like ships rotting across the harbour (me: who put 'em/wants 'em to say there?)....

Palmer's Letterman countdown schtick was very good....hope he publishes 'em.

That's it....done....sorry to have missed the middle....had to put some food on the table.

_____
Note added in (sloppy) proof: Here's a link to Vaughn Palmer's full column on Mr. Campbell's Fast Ferry that will remain forever docked.....After you read it, you may have a notion of why Mr. Palmer appeared to become a little exasperated with Mr. Good and some of the more cheerleadier-type callers.....


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