We're Off To See The Wizard....

AlvinLeeByTheSea
ComesToLotusland


I've been going on and on and on (and on again) about how C. the two E's and me are going to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band tonight in Vancouver.

Now, of course, there are all kinds of reasons to like the Boss.

Here, especially if you are a Lotuslander who believes in the right of the public to own its own assets, is just one more.

Now, we're off!

Details on the show (and my two Es' reaction to it) tomorrow.....

.

Chilliwack, Land, Development, and The ALR - 1990's Style

AllTheDealsThatFit
CornVille

Charlie Smith has it.


.

Taxation Without Representation Comes To Lotusland

IsItTimeToDumpSomeTeaInThe...
VictoriaInnerHarbourVille


Didn't have time to note this late last week after 'L'Affaire de Lesser' broke......

BURNABY (NEWS1130) - Translink has now decided just how much more it plans to add to your property tax bill. The transportation authority's Board feels its decision is fair for homeowners.

{snippety-doodle-dandy}

Translink Chair, Dale Parker, says the tax hike is temporary and Translink will look at whether it is still necessary next year........


Sure thing Mr. Parker.

And just who elected you and your appointed board anyway?

Sheesh.


______
And on top of all that, there's also the secrecy, the obstructionism, and the censorship....... Double sheesh! - just might have to stop drinking coffee so that I can save the tea bags to dump in the Inner Harbour the next time C., the two E's and me fork over the $250 bucks to Mr. Hahn that it now takes to get to Victoria to visit the grandparents. Pity.

.

Mr. Willcocks Asks A Very Good Question

AllTheLandDealsThatFit
ChilliwackVille


About "L'Affaire de Lesser" of course:

"If it was appropriate that he (John Les) resign once the investigation was made public, why was it not appropriate that he resign when it began?"

Yup.

I'd sure like to hear ol' StoneWally Oppal answer that one this coming week in the Ledge.



_____
And I offer my apologies to Mr. Willcocks. On Sunday I indicated that the first string was taking the weekend off. Clearly I was wrong about him.


.

Is There More To The John Les Affair......

....Than Just The Land Deals Themselves?

AllTheCornfieldsThatFit
ChilliwackVille

"It's not the crime that kills you, it's the cover-up."

............................................... ............................... ....... . ....Richard Milhouse Nixon

As the first string takes the rest of the weekend off, the scrubs that work for British Columbia's big-time media outlets have continued to nibble at the edges of the 'Solicitor-General John Les Forced To Resign' story.

And they have managed to do little more than confirm the original outlines of the thing that, at the request of the RCMP, a special prosecutor is looking into alleged shady land deals in Chilliwack that took place in the 1990's at a time when Mr. Les was the mayor.

In fact, as the story has been further wurlitzered, the second of two nuggets buried within a short but well-constructed piece written by Paul Henderson in the Chilliwack Times back in February seem to have been lost.

Here's the well known first nugget:

The investigation has been going on since at least March, 2007 when the Chilliwack detachment of the RCMP informed the city they were looking into possible criminal activity of a former employee of the city dating back 10 years......


Which is fair enough, and taken at face value it would suggest that, in the end, everyone else concerned, including Mr. Les, just might be in the clear.

But then there's the second less well known nugget in Mr. Henderson's piece:

....City (of Chilliwack) records indicate that 10 years ago the matter under investigation was looked into by a third-party hired by the city. As a result of that investigation the matter was deemed an "internal staff issue and the employee was subsequently separated from their employment with the city."

So.

Who is this third party that was 'hired' by 'the city'?

And who, specifically, 'hired' him or her at a time when Mr. Les was still mayor.

And who made the decision, at a time when Mr. Les was still the mayor, that this was an 'internal staff issue' rather than calling the RCMP?

Depending on the answers to those three questions everyone, including Mr. Les, may still be in the clear.

Then again, if the answers to those questions indicate that there was, instead, a cover-up....

Well.

That would change things considerably.

Wouldn't it?



_____
Original Link/Question Source: 'Need To Know' a commenting over at Bill Tieleman's place.


.

How Much Is Pacific Spirit Park's Bleeding Heart....

.....Worth?

BigMoneyInLotusland
LandjackVille


Yesterday, when I was writing about the possible worth of the Pacific Spirit Condo-Lands, I used Miro Cernetig's old numbers of ~$200 million. Then I doubled that again as far as estimate of what the profits for the Developer's Bund might turn out to be.

Well, what with late breaking of 'L'Affaire de Lesser' and all, I didn't actually read Mr. Cernetig's column from yesterday until today.

And it turns out he's revised his numbers.

Considerably.

.....In another massive public land deal, the public discovered the provincial government was handing over a big chunk of Pacific Spirit Park and the University of B.C. Golf Course to the Musqueam First Nation. There was no real public consultation, no details of who might be developing the lands or how much those lands would be worth once they are rezoned. A good bet is the land will soar in value by more than $1 billion and the real-estate development will be worth many times more.


Please read that last, bolded sentence above one more time.....

Done?

Good.

Now, ask yourself if it is even conceivable that the lush, green 'turf outfit that turned the previously unthinkable selling off of the park's heart into a compromise 'lock' was ever for real.

OK?

_____
Actually read Mr. Cernetig's column on his VSun Blog, which is almost, but not quite, as good as Absolutely FABula's.
PacSpiritParkPhotoCredit: Bucky Hermit (by way of Stephen Rees)....Do we really want to lose that beauty and tranquility forever?

.

Did I Just Set A......

.....Public Affairs Bureau Honeytrap?

JustBecauseYou'reParanoidDoesn'tMean
They'reNotOutToGetYouVille


Hmmmmmm.......

What do you think are the chances that 'someone' would punch the following three words into the 'GoogleBox' by accident?


And what do you think the 'someone' who punched in those three words might have been looking for?

Well.

It turns out that here is only one answer:

And just who might this 'someone' be who would be looking for such a thing?

Well.......
Whadd'ya know......
Look what the Sitemeter just dragged in.......


So.

In an effort to keep the clock from ticking while the PAB Brigade spends even more of our hard-earned money Trolling the Toobz, as a public service, here is a straight shot to this morning's not-so infamous 'Baldrey-Les-Newsbuster-Stay-Pufft-Marshmallow-Man' post.

OK?


.

Bruce On The Coast

DoneAtTheRoseGarden
Headin'UpTheCompassVille


And who say's he can't see past the first row any more; from last night's 'Backstreet's' Tour Report....

.....Bruce was in good humor throughout. He joked that the pot smoke wafting up from the pit might cause a shorter show (it ended up clocking in at a respectable 2:20). Later, spotting a group of women in the pit wearing tee shirts that read "Lesbians [heart] Bruce," he changed a line in "American Land" from "the Germans and the Jews" to "lesbians and Jews.".....

And now, with Portland in the mirror behind it, the Big Circus Show has turned North......Seattle tonight......Vancouver for C., the two E's, and me too, Monday......

Come on up for The Rising.



_____
And while I absolutely dig the fact that he changes the set list every time out, sometimes on the fly, all this provin' it all night is drivin' me crazy....After all, I can't keep making new playlists for the VW (notso)Microbus' sound system to ensure that the two E's will be fully prepared. Can I?

.

Shorter Gordon Campbell.....

PostHocPressConferences
ForTheRecordVille

.....The fact that nobody knew that John Les was being investigated by a special prosecutor just goes to show how independent and unfettered from political interference the Criminal Justice Branch in British Columbia really is.......

At least that's the paraphrased story according to British Columbia Premier Mr. Gordon Campbell at his Saturday morning press conference (as reported by CKNW on their 11am newscast).

Thanks very much for saying it Mr. Campbell.

You are now on the record.


_______
Meanwhile, on another front......Mr. Robin Mathews looks to be taking that 'unfettered from political interference' thing apart at a buck a photocopied page.

.

When The News Looks Bad...In The Ledgiehood....Who Ya Gonna Call?

....Keith Baldrey!

TheGoToGuy
WhichMediaMattersVille


At least that's the story according to Vaughn Palmer in 'L'Affaire de Lesser':

A slow week at the legislature, but at 5:30 on Friday afternoon the electronic mailbox kicked to life with a reminder of why one should never leave early on the political beat.

{snippety-doo-dah}

But this one was different. For there it was in the first paragraph, a reference to one of the targets of a police investigation being "Mr. John Les, the solicitor-general for the province of British Columbia."

Not over anything he'd done in his current post as a provincial cabinet minister.

Rather regarding "commercial transactions involving land developers when he held the position of mayor of Chilliwack," before he entered provincial politics.

{snippety-doodle-dowdy}

"The timing was interesting: "Robin McFee, a senior Vancouver lawyer was appointed (as special prosecutor in the investigation of Mr Les and others) on June 28, 2007 . . . ."

Nine months ago. The top cop has been under investigation for almost a year? Why didn't he step down?

That question was still hanging in mid-air an hour after the release came out, when John Les himself surfaced to provide an answer, via a call to my colleague Keith Baldrey of Global TV.

Les was resigning, he told Baldrey. He denied wrongdoing and expects to be exonerated.

Did you catch that?

Essentially, you have an entire Provincial Punditocracy running around like crazy way, way, way late on a Friday looking for answers but unable to get them (see this piece by the Globe's Rob Mickleburgh, for example) and Mr. Les calls Mr. Baldrey out of the blue to give him the 'straight' goods as well as the 'scoop'.

Now why would Mr. Les do a thing like that?

Well, maybe it has something to do with how well Mr. Baldrey handled an unsolicited call that came even more unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, almost two years ago now.

All of which just goes to show that those personal calls to reporters you can trust can be oh, so valuable when you've got information to deliver straight down the stovepipe, unfettered by critical questioning.

Which isn't spin, exactly.

Instead, we have another name for it.....

'Newsbusting!'

OK?


_____
And you've gotta love a line from Mr. Baldrey about positive reviews on the 'radio call-in shows' in the post linked to above now that we know what we now about media manipulation 'contracts'. Sheesh.

.

Remember When All We Had To Worry About In This Province....

..

...... Were Used Car Salesman?

_____

Updates at bottom of post....
_____

AllTheLandDealsThatFit
Developers'BundVille


Ahhhhh, this little bit of late, late, late breaking* news is most interesting......

VANCOUVER — B.C. Solicitor General John Les has resigned over allegations he improperly benefited from a land deal while he was mayor of Chilliwack, a source confirms.

His resignation comes after the criminal justice branch of the Attorney General's ministry announced a special prosecutor had been looking into the allegations since June 2007. Les could not be reached for comment, nor could anyone with the premier's office.

Neil MacKenzie, spokesman for the branch, said the information was released in response to an inquiry from the media.**

MacKenzie said the appointment of a special prosecutor is not necessarily in the public realm.

"(It) may be announced or may not be announced, it just depends on the point of the investigation or the nature of the investigation," he said.

So there you have it, as we've been discussing for the last few days, it really is all about the land, baby.

The land.

Think back through the history of British Columbia's current 'Liberal-In-Name-Only' LINO-type government of Mr. Gordon Campbell and it's pretty much all you can smell.

From Timberlands... to Farmlands.... to Little Mountain Lands..... to Parklands - the stink is high, indeed.

Oh, for those good ol' Socred days.

When men were men and sugar was sugar.

And at least we got to keep our Province while our pockets were being fleeced by the the likes of the Wild Kelowna Boys and their juniors.

Sheesh.

______
*In fact the announcement was made in a classical uber-Rovian late, late, late Friday document dump AFTER business hours. All those OIC drones really do count the newsycles don't they
**Sure will be interesting to find out where that 'media enquiry' came from, don'cha think?
Update: Mistah T!, Bill Tieleman has a good post up where, aided by a report from the Chilliwack Times, he gives us a little info about the matter under investigation....looks like this specific odour is older than which emanates from even the most stinkiest of very well-aged cheeses.
Double Secret Probation Update: 11:00pm Friday....CKNW reported that the 'media inquiry' came from a CBC reporter. Hmmmmm....there's really only one that covers the Ledge with any regularity, right? Anyway, perhaps Mr. Gordon Campbell will use this to go on the attack against a biased, state-sponsored media during his scheduled press conference tomorrow morning at 10am.....Regardless, I sure would like to know when that inquiry was actually made, because if it wasn't today, well, I smell deflector spin......

.

Is Metro Vancouver Helpless.....

.

.
.....To Save Pacific Spirit Park?

Lotusland's civic politicians met today to discuss the Provincial government's legislation that will soon result in the heart being cut out of Pacific Spirit Regional Park without any compensation given whatsoever.

Here's the story, hot off the presses, from Glenn Bohn in the Vancouver Sun:

A provincial law that gives Victoria the power to expropriate chunks of Pacific Spirit regional park without any financial compensation to Metro Vancouver is unprecedented in B.C., a lawyer for the regional government says. And regional politicians say it's a question of the province "abusing" its legal authority.

Clearly, the haranguing of said civic Pols by their constituents, including constituents like us, did some good because they appeared to be hopping mad when they came out of their "in camera/in secret" session:

"We're asked to just lie down and play down," declared Gary Gibson, a director for the electoral area land includes the UBC area. "Is that what I'm going to tell my constituents?"

Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan said he is appalled by an expropriation law that doesn't offer compensation and doesn't allow a property owner to sue.

"That's a product of a guilty mind -- knowing that, if they were sued, they would lose," said Corrigan, who is a lawyer. he said. "It means any government, from now on, will feel justified in expropriating without compensation. It's a government abusing -- not exercising -- it's authority."

Vancouver Councillor Suzanne Anton agreed: "Any land that's owned by cities is vulnerable. We're capable of losing anything, anytime."

OK.

Good.

They're mad as heckfire and theyre' not gonna take it anymore.

Right?

Wrong.

....clauses in the (Provincial) legislation declare that "no compensation is payable to the Greater Vancouver Regional District," which now calls itself Metro Vancouver, and that "no legal proceedings for damages or compensation" can be filed against the B.C. government.

According to a Metro Vancouver report, the 22 hectares of land the regional government is losing are worth as much as $219 million*.

(Metro Vancouver's lawyer Sandra) Carter said the B.C. government probably has the constitutional power to enact the law.

So that's it?

We're losing parkland because our civic politicians, don't have the spine to stand up to the Provincial government's bullying?

Looks to me like only two things can possibly make a difference here:

#1 - The civic Pols have to hear from their constituents long and hard that they will pay, and pay dearly, at the ballot box if they just roll over and play dead on this one.**

#2 - The well-heeled folks of Vancouver Point Grey have to make it clear that if this goes through their current sitting MLA, who also just happens to the current Premier of the Province, Gordon Campbell, will pay dearly, not just at the ballot box, but also at the fundraising trough.


OK?

_____
*Those numbers for the value of the chainsaw ravaged land itself are pretty much what Miro Cernetig of the VSun came up with a few months ago. Me, I did my own calculations to come up with a number that is at least that much again that I'm guessing approximates how much 'The Developers' Bund' stands to make on top of all this.
**Remember, this not a fight against First Nations land claims because there are alternatives that were fully in play before former Vancouver Point Grey MLA fundraiser Marty Zlotnick and his band of Merry Pranksters started a deflector spin campaign last summer that made the previously unthinkable (ie. the loss of urban parkland to even more condos) a fait accompli. And what is the best alternative? Well in my opinion, they would include limited development along the edges of the golf course (ie. reshaping it without destroying it) right here, right now. The result?........ The Musqueam would get their money, UBC would get it's money, and the Public would get to keep it's Park. As for the Developers? Well, they'd likely make oodles of money too - just not quite as much. And why, given that they have absolutely no stake in this whatsoever, should the Developers be the big winners here? Huh?



.

The Heart Of Pacific Spirit Park Is On Life Support

ParksForPeopleInPerpetuity
RealP3Ville

______

Triple O' Sauce Update ......Friday am......Board meets at 9:00am......Keep firing off Emails (link below).....I've been in those meetings and watched these fine folks constantly checking their Blackberries throughout....

_____

Double Secret Probation Update ....Welcome to the friends of my bigger kid, E. (pictured above, with littler e.).

We are writing local politicians.....Just click on the link, find the folks from Vancouver and send them a message that says 'Please Save Pacific Spirit Park!' with your name and your address (or just plain old 'Vancouver Resident' if you like). Thanks!

______

______

Update: ....To all those arriving from Mary's, Stephen Rees' , West End Bob's, JJ's , Alison's and The Galloping Beaver...Welcome!
And Thanks! This will only take a moment of your time....
______

I have ranted and ranted (and ranted some more) on the subject of the coming sell off of a chunk of Lotusland's jewel of a regional park called 'Pacific Spirit' to the Condo Kings.

Well, with everything accepted in principle at the Provincial level, it would appear that the only people now standing between the Condo Kings' chainsaws and the Trees are our local, civic politicians.

Specifically, the 'Metro Vancouver Board of Directors' who meet on Friday to discuss the issue 'in camera' (a.k.a. 'hidden from public view').

I've been to public events where a number of these folks have been very receptive to the idea of blocking the Park's soon to be scheduled cardiac arrest.

So.

If you have a moment and you live in the Lower Mainland and you think that parks should not be for sale, please find your local politician at the link immediately below and write them a very short Email saying something as simple as......

________

Dear xxxxxx,

Please save all of Pacific Spirit Park for all the residents of Metro Vancouver.

Thank you very much,
Your name and address.

_______

Why is this NOT a waste of time?

Well, 1000 people protesting the 'Run of River' raping of Pinecone Burke Park in Pitt Meadows seems to have helped tremendously.

******

Again......

All you have to do is go to the MetroVancouver Director's site where all the contact info is located, including clickable links for their Email addresses.

Again, it's right here.

Please, please, do it.

It's really really easy - 34.5 seconds, tops, I promise.

OK?

_____
Oh, and if you live in Vancouver proper and you write to NPA mayoralty candidate Peter Ladner (who is running as a break away NPA candidate against Sir Spam-A-Lot) you might want to mention that taking such a stand could help him differentiate himself from the current proCondo King regime at 12th and Cambie.
Image at the top of the post is of my two daughters, littler e. and Bigger E., at a recent rally to try and save the Park.


.

What Happens When The Shill-O-Phant Goes Straight?

TheOnlyThingTheFaithfullCan'tHandle
TruthVille


I have a bit of a confession to make.

Which is that I've long been fascinated by shills who go straight.

Sometimes it starts out purely as a matter of self-preservation that, especially if the former shill is able to come face-to-face with himself out in the rain, can become something more.

A pretty famous example of that is former Watergate shill John Dean.

Then there is the shill who just can't live with him or herself any longer and then, like a reformed smoker, becomes an anti-shill crusader.

A very good example of the latter is David Brock, a former shock-troop of the Republican smear machine who now fronts a truth-serum group that Bill O'Reilly hates with every fibre in his being , Media Matters.Org.

Sometimes, though, a shill just snaps for no good reason at all.

Which is what apparently happened to Vancouver Canucks colourman and well known pom-pom waiver Tommy Larscheid last night when he suddenly started believing his own eyes and began heaping mountains of scorn on a feeble Vancouver team that was getting hammered by Jerome Iginla and the Calgary Flames.

****

So, what's the reason I find these folks and their actions interesting?

Well, mostly it's the fact that they are the ones who can really shed light on how the Shill does their O' Phanting.

But I also find the responses of the O'Phanatics strangely fascinating as well.

Responses like this.....


“John Dean help (sic) plan Watergate and then blamed everyone else. John is a piece of crap”.... "John Dean is a whore and a coward!"

Phanatical comment on the ultra-right 'FreeRepbulic' Website during a
'discussion' of Mr. Dean's latest book

_______

"David Brock: I am not gay.....What’s Brock holding in his left hand,out of view of the camera. Barney does have that Shite eating grin on his face....I think he’s holding Barney’s Frank......it looks like the Witch (Hillary Clinton) flipped Brock by pimping her press secretary to him....."

More From Freeper Phanatics ignoring the irony of Prop-A-Gammon
while going ad hominem on Mr. Brock for starting Media Matters

_______

"I think Tommy drinks on the job......Canucks fans listen to canucks radio to hear pro canucks, even when the team is losing...... Larchied (sic) takes it to a nauseating level....Tommy Larcheid is a parasite on the Canucks broadcasting roster....."

Phanatic comments on the VCanucks.com message board after loss in Calgary

I know that stuff is vile.

And I realize that sometimes it is even downright scary .

But it also demonstrates how the true O'Phanatics are so far removed from reality due to the constant reinforcement of their irrational rabidity that when the truth is finally revealed to them they are no longer equiqqed handle it.

All of which just goes to prove that:

"Heckfire Hath No Fury Like A Phanatic Scorned".

Which, in all seriousness, is something we have to remember up here in Canuckistan when as we work to take our country back from a whole generation of homegrown Phanatatics that are now being weaned on crap like this.

OK?

______
For the record: I thought Mr. Larscheid's turn for the better might be short-lived, but he seems to be following through with comments like the following during tonight's drubbing in Denver: "....maybe this team just isn't good enough."


.

Calling All Cons!

CartMen54
WhereAreYouVille


OK.

Let's play a game called 'Big Con Hunting', where the object of the game is to 'Game' everything in a really, really big way.

****

First, strip down to your skivvies.....

Next, pull on your elasticized, relax-bellied Shill-O-P(h)ants....

Then, get out the Cheetos and start by smearing orange warpaint all over the keyboard.....

Finally, let's go Huntin'!

*****

First stop is the 'Site Of The BigDog Con' where you need to surf through to 'My Campaign', and then look for the 'Call Talk Radio' link.

Beside that link you will find the following extremely important question and follow-up exclamatory exhortation of sweet retribution.....

Tired of hearing the vested interests of the Liberals and the special interests of the NDP get their messages out via the media? Call in to a show yourself and fight back with the facts!

Once you have replied 'Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! 54 times and/or the precise length of time it takes you to watch your favorite 'Stephane Dion Loves To Bite The Head of Environmental Chickens' attack ad you have open in another window on your desktop, then hit that Talk Radio Link.

Upon reaching your destination, next select something like the StealthCon from VanQuadra's favorite 'topic' and type in her postal code, which will look something like this......



Then hit 'Next', which will bring you to a page where you will be told exactly what to do and what to say because, when you are 'Big Con Hunting' the really fun part is that you get to check every single one of your critical faculties at the door.

In fact, you lose points if dare to think for yourself or take responsibility for your statements and/or actions.

First action is to pick a local talk show to call, preferably with a duplicitous host (ie. avoid Dale Goldhawk of CPAC at all costs). If you live in the VanQuadra listening area we would suggest the always lovable and, of course, connable, Cluff Master Flash of the beastly CBC ,whose contact info will look like this.....

Once your call is picked up by a producer/call screener, follow the following instructions to the letter.....



Then, start spouting our 'Big Con Hunting' main game messages which we are proud to call 'Talking Points'....


Finally, make sure you get some shots in at the Liberals, the NDP, and the Bloc with great stuff like this....

But never, ever, ever trash The Greens because we love them and the votes they take away from the NDP and, especially low, hanging, Liberal fruit like this.

So, after all that, how will you know if you have won the 'BigConHunting' blue-and-white...'Shotgun Shell Of The Day'?

Well, it happens whenever the host gives you a free pass and you are able to post up 5 or more talking points per minute.

In the case of the CluffMaster Flash, you will win with considerable regularity because, just like you, he will very likely be reading directly from a cheat sheet also!

But most of all, never forget our favorite motto while gaming everything, which is:

'Just Play Dumb And You Will Have Fun!'

Because, chances are, if you love this game, you won't even have to 'Play'.

'Dumb', that is.

OK?




_____
Original Link Source: Accidental Deliberations for Alexander Panetta's most excellent CPress piece in the Globe.

.