Is The Opposite Of A Push A Pull?

Shillin'ForSammy?
PollVille



From the WikiTubes, here is a pretty good definition of 'push' polling:

A push poll is a political campaign technique in which an individual or organization attempts to influence or alter the view of respondents under the guise of conducting a poll. In a push poll, large numbers of respondents are contacted, and little or no effort is made to collect and analyze response data. Instead, the push poll is a form of telemarketing-based propaganda and rumor mongering, masquerading as a poll. Push polls are usually the "innuendo" manifestation of knowledge gleaned from opposition research on an opponent. generally viewed as a form of negative campaigning.


So, is the opposite of a negative 'push', particularly if it is a brazen attempt at a positive, a 'pull'?

Not sure, exactly, but it sure looks like the following, which was sent to Vancouver Sun columnist and civic politics blogger extraordinare Frances Bula had, was at its core, an attempt to pull respondents towards everybody's favorite throat stomper, Smilin' Sammy Sullivan:

Thought you might be interested in this tidbit: Justason Market Intelligence is out polling for Mayoral candidates. The questions include..... "Are you happy with life in Vancouver?" ....."Do you know who's running for mayor?" .....and my favorite: " Who would you vote for as mayor : Sam Sullivan, COPE or Vision Vancouver"



Then again, perhaps I'm overreacting.

After all, it's not as if they had SaTan and/or Brian Salmi down as choice #4.

OK?


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Really, Really, Really Inconvenient Truths, v1.0

GoringAllOxes
ExceptAl'sVille


Apparently, folks who eschew more technologically advanced contraception methods and practice the shimmy-shimmy-shake may actually be destroying embryos.

The ever vigilant JJ has the story:

"...for those concerned about embryo loss, the rhythm method may be a bad idea. He argues that, because couples are having sex on the fringes of the fertile period, they are more likely to conceive embryos that are incapable of surviving."

Which has us wondering if there are dance instructors whose beliefs keep them from teaching the Rumba to couples of a certain disposition.

Or some such thing.

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Did Vaughn Palmer Just Suggest That Gordon Campbell's Actions To Curtail Third Party Advertising....

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.....Are Profoundly False And Dishonest?

Why yes, I believe he did:

"But Campbell didn't leave any leeway when he took his principled stand against the NDP legislation (when he was Opposition Leader).

He didn't make the case for fair and balanced limits on third-party advertising. He argued that limits -- any limits -- were wrong, inexcusable, unconstitutional and a violation of freedom of speech.

The Liberals have been called hypocrites for their that-was-then, this-is-now stance.

But the complete reversal, unaccompanied by any acknowledgment of the amazing convenience of the switch, invites stronger language.

Extreme, I'm thinking, and treacherous. Or maybe profoundly false and dishonest."

To which I would also add "profoundly anti-democratic" given that the bill in question, Bill 42, will likely be rammed through with little or no serious debate before the Ledge closes for the season on May 29th.

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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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RailGate Revisited.....

.....What If There Was No Bribe?

What the heckfire am I talking about?

Well, awhile ago some folks, folks like Vaughn Palmer, wondered if there might have been a quid pro quo in the RailGate deal.

Essentially, if it did take place, the theory was that perhaps some kind of deal had been struck with OmniTrax that, if it stayed in the bidding for the big mainline deal that was won by CN, it would then win the 'consolation prize' known as the Roberts Bank Spurline.

Why is this significant?

Well, besides the fact that it smacks of back room deals and fake 'competition' that has nothing whatsoever to do with the public good, there's also the fact that if such a 'deal' was in place there would have been no reason for the agents of OmniTrax (ie. their lobbyists) to 'bribe' David Basi and Robert Virk.

Because?

Because the only people that could have made such a deal with OmniTrax in the first place would have been Mess'rs Basi and Virk's bosses at the time.

Got it now?

*****

At this point, unfortunately, many British Columbians likely view this kind of thing as little more than the tinfoil hat-assisted speculation of the RailGate Obsessives Club, of which I am a nominal member.

After all, the piece by Mr. Palmer referred to above was actually published a year-and-a-half-ago.

Thus, just as many British Columbians would probably agree with the anti-obsessives.

Interestingly, however, it appears that the judge in the case, Elizabeth Bennett, may not be one of them.

Bill Tieleman, both in 24 hrs and on his blog has that story:

A review of potential evidence by Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Bennett indicates two government aides facing corruption charges in the B.C. legislature raid case will use cabinet documents to mount a defence that they were only following orders.

Documents released yesterday by the New Democratic Party opposition include a review by Bennett of two boxes of cabinet documents related to the $1-billion sale of BC Rail that shows she deems many of them as relevant to the defence of David Basi and Bob Virk.

And Bennett described one briefing document as not only relevant but wrote "consolation prize" in her notes - referring to defence arguments that Basi and Virk were ordered to deliver a consolation prize to a failed BC Rail bidder for staying in the process.


OK?

When Bikers Meet Google.....

EvenSearchEnginesCanBeDumb
AreBooleansBlondesTooVille


Look.

Despite what the Googleplex might be telling you, I know nothing whatsoever about Maxime Bernier's girlfriend.

Nor do I care to.

Nor is it any of my business (or yours?) whatsoever.

Regardless, next time try searching off the news string instead.

OK?

Sheesh.

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OK, HarperCons We Agree.....

.....Insite 'Is' A Policy Issue

WatchWhatTheyDo
AndWhatTheirLawyersSayVille


From the CP:

VANCOUVER — The Charter of Rights and Freedoms doesn't protect the right of drug addicts to shoot up, federal lawyers told a B.C. court Tuesday, arguing that the future of Vancouver's supervised-injection site is a matter of policy, not law.

"The primary activity at this site, which is drug injection for drug users, is not medical treatment, which the charter could protect," John Hunter told B.C. Supreme Court.

"At the end of the day, there is no constitutional right to use heroin or cocaine, even if you are already addicted to them."

Ottawa has until June 30 to decide whether the supervised-injection site in the city's troubled Downtown Eastside, known as Insite, will be allowed to remain open under an exemption from Canada's drug laws.

Now, of course the nattering neighbobs of negativism from the NaPo are going with the prurient angle, 'pushing' (pun intended) the angle that the 'right to shoot upperists ' represent the end of the 1950's as we know it and thus must be stopped at all costs, even if that cost is paid with the lives of the junkies and the sick.

The NaPo is also pushing the 'more data are needed' meme.

Which, as we have pointed out before, is pure, unadulterated codswallop financed, in part, by the pushers at the US Department of Justice.

But forget all that for a moment and instead think about what the HarperCons lawyers are really arguing for.

Which is that Insite does not have a constitutional/legal leg to stand on.

Which, in my books is fair enough.

Why?

Because it means that any decision that they make will be one of policy.

And, the time has come for them to let us know what their policy is, unvarnished and unmasked.

In other words, the time for weasling is over.

Do what you're going to do and let Canadians decide if they want to support a government that chooses prisons over peoples lives.

Or not.

OK?

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Nevermind Hillary....The Real Loser Last Night Was....

...The French Fry Guy

Here are the stone cold numbers, and they are not good for Mr. McCain:

Indiana
Obama - 600K +
McCain - 312K +

North Carolina
Obama - 890K+
McCain - 402K+


In fact, Mr. Obama banged the gong of the entire Republican field by more than half a million votes.

So, forget all about that 'Operation Chaos' crap from Mr. Limbaugh that you are going to hear a whole bunch about in the next few days because it is nothing but deflector spin.

After all, the numbers quoted above tell the real story.

And that story is that Obama is a vote and (an individual donor-contributed) money magnet who got through this thing intact, without pandering or guttersniping.

Which means a lot.

A whole heckfire of a lot.

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All The Fear Mongering That Fits: Bill-O Strikes Again

Paranoia's'RUs
Hypin'TheStereotypin'Ville

For all kinds of reasons, including the fact that he sometimes pays attention to what goes on up here in Lotusland, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Joel Connelly has long been one of our favorite columnists.

And today he proved his mettle once more by taking Mr. Bill O'Reilly to task, head on, for being the fear mongering bully that he is:

Fox New host Bill O'Reilly assumed full dimensions of self-importance last summer and condemned the Seattle P-I for choosing not to publish pictures circulated by the FBI of two "suspicious" ferry passengers.

The chief commentator at the "fair and balanced" network followed up by making the P-I chief villain of a November commentatary entitled: "Why is the far left putting the military and all Americans in danger?"

O'Reilly sent out an aspiring slayer of straw men, his producer Jesse Walters, to conduct an ambush interview with P-I publisher Roger Oglesby, outside the latter's Seattle home.

"Are you proud of that decision, sir? I mean, they still haven't found those guys," Walters sneered at Oglesby. A few moments later, Walters said the two men were "still on the loose."

Now, even if Mr. Connelly's post were to end right there it would be enough.

As in enough clearly demonstrate truly wretched modus operandi of Mr. O'Reilly and the people who work for him.

But, of course, Joel Connelly's post does not end there:

The two men were identified and photographed by a fellow passenger for a simple reason: They looked Middle Eastern.

Should a newspaper --in a free country, proud of its history as a melting pot - be stereotyping people as "suspicious" by the pigment of their skin?

Well, the story has a predictable end. The FBI disclosed Monday that the two men came in from the cold, as it were, by visiting a U.S. embassy recently. They were European business consultants on a Seattle trip.

"It appears they were in the area for legitimate reasons," reported the FBI.

We are an international city. At least a quarter of Washington's jobs depend on exporting goods to other countries. We naturally need to entertain buyers, even - and especially, say, in the case of Saudi Arabians buying jets - people whose skin looks like the two guys on the ferry.

O'Reilly ought to apologize, like right now.

He condemned the paper for refusing to stereotype and contribute to an atmosphere of suspicion.

It really is shameful.

But what is even more shameful, and a demonstration of all that is egregious about what O'Reilly's 'hard work' has wrought, are many of the comments that have been attached to Mr. Connelly's post.

Here is just one example amongst many:

No Joel, they were not photographed simply because they looked "Middle Eastern"; these characters were taking pictures and videotaping various parts of the ferry - their behavior was suspicious, plain and simple. They were photograhed by an employee of the ferry boat, doing their part to provide security and safety for all onboard. Get your facts straight; or, as Mr. O'Reilly would say, "NO SPIN PLEASE". Those with clear minds can see right through your anti-American rhetoric.

Anti-American?

The rhetoric?

Indeed.

_____
The PI news story on the denoument is here. Original link source is from David Neiwert's very fine post at Firedoglake.
My favorite comment at attached to Mr. Neiwert's post points how much courage it must have taken for those men to show up at a US Embassy to profess their innocence. This is not as first blush ridiculous as it seems. Have you visited a US Embassy recently? I mean, even the one in Ottawa is uber:Kremlinesque on steriods. In the extreme. OK.

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If A Bill Falls In The Empty B.C. Legislature....

....Will Anybody Hear?

Debate?
WeDon'tNeedNoStinkin'DebtateVille

Actually, it's 23 bills that may fall on deaf and/or non-existent hears before the big cars race at Indianapolis at the end of the month.

David Schreck, not Shrek, has the story:

Until (Premier Gordon) Campbell came to power in 2001, the rules that governed the BC Legislature saw the government call the session to order and the Opposition adjourn it. In other words, debate would continue for as long as the {snip}
(Mr.) Campbell changed the rules and implemented a fixed legislative calendar....

{snip}

A major feature of the fixed legislative calendar, is that according to the amended rules of the Legislature all designated government business must pass by the pre-set date for adjournment in late May (or be voted on, which is the same thing, with a majority government). If the government and the opposition can't agree on how that will happen, the government introduces closure (time-allocation) to limit debate and force budgets and legislation through the Legislature with little or no debate.

{snip}
The (current) pending legislation (10 of the 23 Bills were just introduced last week) includes substantial changes in how British Columbians live. The carbon tax, the cap and trade system for carbon emissions, limits on third party advertising before and during election campaigns, and a change to health legislation that puts a definition of "sustainability" on the same grounds as the concepts of universality, accessibility and comprehensiveness are but a few of the fundamental changes that the Campbell government appears willing to ram through without much debate by May 29th.

But, of course.

After all, why would we, the people of British Columbia, want to have our representatives discuss/debate a new tax system that some have suggested is about as revenue neutral, at least in terms of who will actually be the recipient of that neutrality, as a Howe Street-inspired ponzi scheme on steroids.

And as for the universality of our health care?

Well, why should we worry our pretty little heads about a thing like that?

Especially given that Mr. Campbell recently added that fine, sturdy word called 'sustainability' to the health care mix.

And if it soon takes something like, say, a few extra thousand dollars a year to see a doctor, wouldn't that be both universal and sustainable?

Sheesh.

_____
Looks like Mike Smyth and the Times Colonist also have some concerns with legislatively-mandated debate-o-cide too.
And whadd'ya know, now that the privateers have conquered Mr. Campbell's British Columbia (after all, we can't call it 'our' British Columbia given that we have no say in how decisions are made, how things are run, how we are governed our how our laws are enforced), it looks like they, just like the insatiable mountain pine beetle, are getting set to march eastward across the Rockies.

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Is Something Strange Happening In Pacific Spirit Park?

AllTheLittlePeopleThatFit
MagicallyRealVille


This just in.......

Our reporter covering the Pacific Spirit Park beat, 'littler e.', has just filed a story about how she and her friend 'm.' discovered something more exciting than a million Jonas brothers living in the salal just off the Swordfern trail.

And we're not sure exactly how to put this but, well, littler e. and m. both insist that what they saw were.......

Faeries!

*****

The exact location of these magical wonders is not clear given that, apparently, the beat frequencies of faerie wings generate multi-focal post-dynamic Doppler deflector shields that block all signals of a GPS-type nature.

But that didn't stop littler e. and m. from snapping the photo above during a stakeout early this morning.

Forensic image experts at the last remaining laboratory in the soon to be dismantled NCE complex on nearby South Campus have refused to confirm the authenticity of the image. However, when we managed to reach head pixellation expert extraordinare Dr. Phillipa Derriere she seemed to have a scientifically rigorous and plausible explanation for the bizarre brightness of the object in question's brightness.

"Apparently, it was caused by the excitements of two nine year old girls seeing Les Faeries, up close and personal, for the first time ever," exclaimed a visibly moved Dr. Derriere.


Unfortunately, neither the MLA for West Point Grey, Mr. Gordon Campbell, or local Parks Board Commissioner and golfer, Mr. Marty Zlotnick, could be reached for comment.

Pity.


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Springsteen Before Hammond

Ain'tNoBloodOnTheseTracks
SteelMillVille

The following is an amazing artifact, for all kinds of reasons.

Here are just two......

First, lyrically and thematically it could almost be an outake from the 'Magic' sessions (if there had actually been such a thing).

Second, and much more interesting to me, is the fact that this is from 1970 which is before the big audition for John Hammond when Mr. Springsteen did a pretty good job of shopping himself as the next Dylan.



But still, regardless, sure is a whole lotta post-Hawks Helm/Robertson/Danko/Manuel in there don't ya think?

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For those who doubt the self-promoting aspect of the Dylanesque-turn, check this out, which much later, in what can only guess is a bit of nod and wink, became this.
Which is not to say that kids who were paying attention didn't get it, some of whom themselves turned into the real deal.
And just wanted to add this one, well, just because, especially because of the words on the side bar (hit 'more info').

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If A Railway Falls In The Forest.....

.....Does Anybody Hear?

All kinds of bizarre goings on in the B.C. Railgate thing, what with secretive hearings involving secretive time changes and even more secretive letters that have something to do super secret special prosecutor requests involving one hand clapping and/or the ultra-secret Zen of a gigantic, yet somehow invisible, stone wall running all the way from Squamish to Prince George.......

Or some such thing.

Pied Piper to the Anon-O-Mice, and our good friend, Mary and the indefatigable Gary E. have the story with, get this(!), an assist from Keith Baldrey(!!!).

How do they say in h'English: I 'ave it on the 'ighest authority that ...

it was indeed the special prosecutor who requested the change in date. At the hearing (which was essentially an update on disclosure progress for the judge) the special prosecutor said there was still more disclosure to come.

As a result, a tentatively scheduled May hearing has been or will be rescheduled to June (I would bet it would be after the June 9th-11th court of appeal hearing on the special prosecutor’s attempt to have a secret witness testify without defence lawyers being present).

So it looks like everything is on hold until after that appeal hearing (indeed, either side may appeal THAT ruling all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. If so, that could delay the trial many more months, as I speculated in December). As for a Basi name not being on the registry or docket, I wouldn’t read too much into that. Those public postings are routinely full of errors for all kinds of proceedings.

Hope this helps. Baldrey, Keith (Global BC)


Will the wonders of 'feet-to-the-fire' Citizen J. never cease?

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Gordon Campbell's Double-Secret Probation Secretariat

IfAClimateChangeProgramFallsInTheForest
DoesAnybodyHearVille

When the story of the most secretive provincial government of the new millenium is finally written we're pretty sure it will be authored, at least in part, by Sean Michael Holman:

Later this month, the Canadian Association of Journalists will announce the winner of its annual Code of Silence Award -- recognizing the most secretive government department in Canada. And, this year, 24 Hours, The Tyee and Public Eye are proud to nominate British Columbia's climate action secretariat for that award.....

And what are the reasons behind the nomination?

Well, for starters, how about this:

The government has refused to say whether the secretariat's head -- Graham Whitmarsh -- has any environmental credentials. But Internet and newspaper database searches show no reference to Mr. Whitmarsh being involved in any carbon trading or climate action work.....

Next up, the number 177:

Cabinet's climate action committee boasts it has had at least 177 presentations from scientists, public servants, environmental organizations, academics and industry sectors. The government has refused to reveal the contents of those presentations.

And, in case you missed it, the pounding of doors has fallen on deaf ears:

Meetings of the provincial government's climate action team -- which will be making recommendations on how the Liberals can meet their greenhouse gas reduction targets -- are happening behind closed doors.

And what would a secret club be without an official, dyed-in-the-spit-of-jaundiced-eye, 'cone of silence':

In April 2007, The Vancouver Sun's Miro Cernetig reported Premier Campbell "signed-off on a little-noticed changed to the Freedom of Information Act," putting everything members of cabinet's climate action committee "discuss under an official cone of silence."

Which, of course, smells like one big Dick-around-and-round.

And that's just for starters. SMH (not the Sydney Morning Herald) has another entire coal bed methane-based bushel full of reasons for the nomination, many of which will knock your socks off.

****

So.

Never mind the Environmentalists.

Because this is THE biggest issue next to, maybe, health care and the Public of British Columbia is completely and absolutely shut out of the discussion.

What does that tell you, exactly?

Huh?

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Coolin' Up Everybody...

AllTheYoungDudes
HereIsSomeNewsVille

In the past, we've called this feature 'Coolin' Up The Old Guy', in which we try to impart some of the musical hippness factor gleaned from the recommendations of the young kids in the lab and elsewhere.

All of which has resulted in finds like 'Sons and Daughters', 'Magnetic Fields' and even 'Julia Nunes'.

But here's 'the thing'.

Which is that, no matter what, and no matter how good the goods, if you are of a certain age of middleness you will almost invariably receive raised quizzical/ironical/condescending eyebrows from those very same kids when you try to take stuff back to them that you think they just might actually, you know, well, hopefully, like.

So, in the spirit of all things timeless, we bring you the antidote for all of that from one of our old, and Bigger E's current, favorites - Jill Sobule (the second verse is the best one to soothe a soul in crisis, real or imagined):





Now there are all kinds of great things about Ms. Sobule, and tons of it can be found at her website.

Here are just two of those things that we really, really like....

First, a recent live show from Joe's Pub that can be downloaded for free (if you want) in any format you like (the song in question, 'Nothin' To Prove', is track 3).

Second, the fact that Jill and her friends have said F.U., bigtime, to the record industry and raised enough money so that she can both record AND promote her next record all on her own.

Now that is cool, no matter how you slice, dice, or age it.

OK?


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Coming soon.....Fairies?....... In Pacific Spirit Park?!.......

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