Thursday, January 19, 2017

The Griftwood Chronicles...Volume 2.

LaughableThis
Ain'tVille


From David Ball's interview in Metro with Dan Levin, that guy who wrote that New York Times article:


Metro: What made you look into B.C.'s political funding?


Dan Levin: Obviously political financing is a hot topic in the U.S., certainly with conflicts of interest with Donald Trump, it's a bipartisan concern.

I was shocked that this was happening in Canada, I think Americans would be shocked, and frankly I think Canadians would be shocked too. No elected official in the U.S. is allowed to get a stipend; that would be bribery.

I lived in China for seven-and-a-half years; in China or Russia this would just be called 'corruption' or 'nepotism.' But here, it's just ‘legal.’ The idea that a Conflict of Interest Commissioner who's never found anybody in violation of conflict of interest (rules) in all his many years, whose son works in the government he's meant to rule on — it seems like a Kafkaesque dystopian nightmare of shady politics and conflict of interest.



What do you say to people who say this is legal — they're just following the rules?

When you look at other provinces in Canada, much of this is completely unacceptable and prohibited. I find it really confusing, dismaying and horrifying even that so much of this is allowed to happen. If you're just a regular person in this province who doesn't have access to tens of thousands of dollars to get face-time with an elected official, then you're at a disadvantage...


Disadvantage, indeed.



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Previously, on the 'Griftwood Chronicles'.....


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14 comments:

Anonymous said...

IMO-site c-unneeded power flat 10 year demand 10b?
massey bridge built on sand 2000 ft depth 3.5b - tunnel 1/4 that?
ipp premium private power ,cost BCHydro-aka BC taxpayer 5b over open market rates over period of time?

Anonymous said...

SH:

Levin: "I find it really confusing, dismaying and horrifying even that so much of this is allowed to happen."

Let's hope Dan doesn't let go of this bone. Perhaps he has a friend or two, at say 60 Minutes or PBS's Frontline, who can take this to air.

Anonymous said...

This is slightly off topic, but root cause of Christ's starting an international trade war might be because of BC lib grift.

http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story-186347-3-.htm#186347

Anonymous said...

^^^ the link is to a story about the American wine industry going to the WTO over Christy's decision to allow only BC wine to be sold in grocery stores.

Eleanor Gregory said...

Glad to see this story gaining traction.

Chuckstraight said...

Where are our journalists on this issue?

C`mon Palmer and Baldrey= earn your keep.

North Van's Grumps said...

Not sure if Vaughn Palmer reads this blog, or any others, but if you want to ask him directly, he will respond.

Palmer, Vaughn (Vancouver Sun)

North Van's Grumps said...

eliminate the spaces

vpalmer @ vancouversun . com

Anonymous said...

You won't hear any thing from our BC media, they can't use there mouth for two things at the same time. They can't suck, kiss and talk at the same time.

Scotty on Denman said...

What do you say to people who excuse perceived conflicts-of-interst by arguing, "but it's only a perceived conflict-of-interst [not a proved one]"...?

The same thing you say to public servants who waste public dollars on an expensive hydroelectric dam by arguing it's needed to power an LNG industry that doesn't exist---and probably won't for a very long time at the very least; or public servants who stand in the centre of a tailings-pond breach that spilled billions of litres of mining waste into important fish habitat and ask, "What disaster? I don't see any disaster...everything looks just fine..."

What you say is: you're fired. Every ballot for the May election should have the printed header: "you are holding in your hands a powerful smirk remover---it's up to you if you want to use it."

Anonymous said...

Mr. Levin is shocked, dismayed and horrified that this is allowed to occur in BC, as are those of us who have our eyes wide open as to the corruption that is taking place.
He may be asking, why aren't the people of the province screaming loud and clear for resignations, prosecutions, and other punitive measures to be taken against those responsible.
The reason, Mr. Levin, is because the media, especially the bigger players, is not doing its job in informing the population en masse of what is taking place.
I decades gone by in this provinc3 the voices and written words of the Jack Websters, Marjorie Nichols,Gary Bannermans, George Garretts and other top notch ascribes who took professional pride in calling themselves a journalist and did the work to earn it delivered the messages to the people.
Today's voices have been silenced. Reference Ian Jessop and ask why he vanished in an instant from the airwaves in Victoria. He was one of the lone wolves who was presenting the factual proof of the disease permeating the halls of power.

Those who call themselves journalists right this day should go asnd google the final briefing of President Barack Obama to the White House press corps on January 18th, 2017. In it Obama describes very specifically what the job of the journalist, reporter, whatever you want to call it, is.

How many meet the criteria? A handful, plus the bloggers who are right up at the front of the line telling people what really is going on in BC.

The people need to be directed to these sites, read and consume all they can, and then join in demanding the end to the corruption BEFORE the election occurs in May.

Thanks for what you are doing, Mr. Levin. Now we need more of the same in the mainstream media of BC. Where are you?

Anonymous said...

February fortune: A closer look at the day the BC Liberals hit the motherlode

by Bob Mackin

http://thebreaker.news/news/february-fortune-a-closer-look-at-the-day-the-bc-liberals-hit-the-motherlode/

RossK said...

Anon-Above--

Thanks for the link to Mr. Mackin's latest.

The real question is...

What are those really big greasers of the griftiness wheel getting for their 'investment'?

More to come on that front.

(and, perhaps, the time has come to revisit the BC Liberals' original grift, and the bagmen who benefited most)


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John's Aghast said...

Aw c'mon folks. This is one great big sham! If a newsman from away, Dan Levin, can come up with an International news story of this magnitude after visiting this land of corruption in only a week, think what a true resident scribe should be able to accomplish!
I'm getting a little tired of all the caterwauling and lack of action. In my Grandad's day we'd just lynch them.