British Columbia Media, Inoculated!

Written by Grant G 

Directly below is the Webster dictionary meaning of the word INOCULATED...

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Full Definition of INOCULATE

transitive verb

1

a :  to introduce a microorganism into <inoculate mice with anthrax> <beans inoculated with nitrogen-fixing bacteria>

b :  to introduce (as a microorganism) into a suitable situation for growth

c :  to introduce immunologically active material (as an antibody or antigen) into especially in order to treat or prevent a disease <inoculate children against diphtheria>

2

:  to introduce something into the mind of

3

:  to protect as if by inoculation

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Don`t know exactly when it happened, not sure how many of you can see it, almost positive that promised financial gain is the motivation, allbeit those incoming dollars come at a cost, the meager price is one`s own soul....

 Yes, I am talking about Keith Baldrey, Vaughn Palmer and almost all mainstream media and legislative press reporters.....!

It must be very frustrating for educated and clear thinking persons, imagine, a child-mind can figure out that, by nearly doubling British Columbia`s emissions with fracked gas(That is IF any LNG terminals get built)...And not counting upstream emissions, not counting emissions to transport back n forth across the Pacific Ocean this fracked gas, not counting 70% of fracked gas`s emission`s and then taking a massive leap of faith by incorrectly assuming selling gas will compel or mean less coal will be burnt in Asia...
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( Cheap coal threatens LNG's toehold

 http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL3N1343QF20151124?sp=true

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For Christy Clark or Mary Polak to make those empty claims at the upcoming Paris climate summit is stunning in it`s intellectual stupidity!

What is even more pathetic and intellectually sad is that our illustrious BC media repeat, echo and report these Christy Clark utterances as fact, or believable...

Just think about that for a minute, highly educated individuals like Andrew Weaver, David Suzuki and thousands of specialized scientists, climate modellers and brilliant minds have to listen to British Columbia politicians defend their economically foolish push to have 20 LNG terminals in British Columbia.....Canada`s NEB has greenlighted and permitted 16 LNG proposals for B.C....With nary a thought on any of the accumulative affects...No, the NEB hands out LNG permits like breath mints, ..They don`t take in regard the financial ability of the proponents, even bankrupt companies like Quicksilver hold a NEB granted LNG export permit....  The NEB granted Quicksilver an export license after the fact, after Quicksilver went belly-up...

Christy Clark and Mary Polak are planning on telling the Paris summit(COP21) attendees that doubling BC`s emissions with natural gas spew, by drilling tens of thousands of methane leaking fracked drill holes, wasting trillions of gallons water is environmentally friendly and a road to lower greenhouse gas emissions, a way to save the planet...

Maybe Christy Clark and Mary Polak should just tell the COP21 Paris summit attendees that their speeches and confirming data got lost by the airline, or eaten by a security dog, or that alien (Martians) visitors to earth were so impressed with British Columbia`s GHG reducing climate saving plan that they stole the "Plan" and quickly returned to planet Mars to start on saving(restoring) Mars atmosphere......(The above paragraph is not meant to be funny, merely meant to highlight how ridiculous and how morally low western politicians go to sell snake oil....Christy Clark and Mary Polak should be laughed right out of the Paris summit, or arrested for providing false testimony!

 Christy Clark`s blather on LNG reducing coal emissions in other parts of the world is a patently false statement, for Christy, for British Columbia or even Canada to make that claim is folly, ..indeed, make all Canadians look like uneducated idiots!   

Sad and pathetic, oh indeed, we expect, from past experiences that our BC Liberal government lie their face off, make up facts and burn, delete, and remove any and all paper-trails to cover their crimes but how come BC`s media, Keith Baldrey, Vaughn Palmer and company play stupid, pretend gibberish and verbal spittle emanating from Christy Clark`s mouth is legit, or accurate or even believable when a childmind can plainly see it isn`t..

Triple delete delight, a Vaughn Palmer special, oh how Vaughn writes in the Vancouver Sun that triple delete record destruction at the hands of the BC Liberals is just comical, as in nobody really cares and everybody knows that those rascally BC Liberals delete and burn records, ...as in carry on, nothing to see here just more of the same from those rascally BC Liberals...

A dead health researcher, a man murdered by the BC Liberal Government, all pertaining records burned,.......BC Rail records burned before the farce trial, .....Mount Polley records destroyed...

And what does our illustrious BC legislative media report....Those rascally BC Liberals deleted records again, ho hum..

Records, files, emails and papertrails are destroyed only when crimes, corruption and wrongdoing happened, burn records to protect the guilty and why the hell isn`t that being reported, when did Keith Baldrey and Vaughn Palmer get inoculated, injected with cash and serum so blatant corruption, crime and broken government stories bounce off their ears, reflect back from closed eyes and by the time the scandal of the day meets pen and paper....

By the time the stories are aired....Nothing to see here, move along, merely rascally BC Liberals doing what they do best......Controlling a meek, inoculated press corp....

Sad indeed..

Norm Farrell....  The man Norm Farrell is clearly getting frustrated, an investigator, a researcher and a spade caller.....Facts are facts and the truth will set you free and almost everyday Norm Farrell is revealing disturbing facts, the $billions in IPP private power that bleeds BC Hydro..The $billions in drill credits owed to a dead LNG industry, the collapse of gas land leases and auctions... 

No LNG terminals built...No final investment decisions...An LNG industry in tatters, a world glut of natural gas, countries can`t give it away, LNG prices so low you lose money to take it out of the ground..

Mr. Farrell doesn`t have to say he is frustrated, you can feel it in his written words and tweets, day after day Norm Farrell tweets his indisputable data to Vaughn Palmer and Keith Baldrey almost pleading with them to report these simple, easy to understand data that points to a bleak oil n gas industry in BC,...Bleaker today and getting darker tomorrow..

Silence, mute, barren newspaper articles devoid of anything relevant....Nothing but tales of those "rascally" BC Liberals and mindless repeated quotes uttered by Christy Clark and Mary Polak....

Keith Baldrey...Vaughn Palmer, I have a question for you, ....When you know that Christy Clark and Mary Polak, along with many other BC Liberals are lying, or are making statements that are false, not true, blatant lies a child could see through why do you quote them..Why do you fill your paragraphs with quotes and political statements that are lies, provable lies?...You Vaughn Palmer have no courage, too long in the tooth....

Keith Baldrey, I have another question for you.......Are you proud of your job, do you feel you are keeping the people informed of facts, are you researching data like Norm Farrell, or are you just a waste of space, an inoculated TV face doing time, adding nothing to British Columbia, adding nothing to journalism...

How come you media aren`t laughing at Christy Clark, I don`t mean in private I mean laughing at Christy Clark on the front pages?  

Remember these statements from Christy Clark... "18 LNG terminals, two LNG terminals up and running by 2015...5 times the North American gas price in Asia...A $trillion dollars...over 100,000 LNG jobs...BC debt paid through LNG...A $100 billion dollar prosperity fund..the removal of BC`s sales tax..LNG monies for First Nations, for northern communities, LNG monies for schools " and and and and and........

Petronas`s profits are down 95% year over year, the Malaysian state owned Petronas has cut the dividend they pay to their own country by 40%..Petronas top man and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak appears to have embezzled nearly $800 million US dollars from his own country and now faces political ousting and soon to be jail, or worse..

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/malaysias-petronas-cuts-state-dividend-110807322.html;_ylt=AwrTcchqVVNWQMAAHEknnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTByNWU4cGh1BGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--

Keith Baldrey and Vaughn Palmer don`t have the guts or courage to admit they dropped the ball on journalism and ethics... and it was bloggers and internet writers that told the truth, reported the facts..

Bloggers had the BC Rail scandal nailed...Not BC`s mainstream media....Bloggers and citizens had the IPP scandal covered from front to back...Bloggers on LNG and bloggers on the Site C boondoggle...To many $billions of dollars wasted, too many lost $billions stolen from the BC public, $billions looted and piled on BC`s debt...

All the major British Columbia multi $billion dollar scandals reported accurately by bloggers, and by bloggers only...

Again, Keith Baldrey...Vaughn Palmer...Are you proud of your journalism, your research, was the public informed?...Were facts told, the true numbers revealed, did you big-time media personalities through your dogged research and hard-hitting written articles save British Columbia taxpayers from any of many multi-$billion dollar scandals/boondoggles?

No, you stopped nothing, you media not only enabled but abetted the crimes!, inoculate disease...

 Well, ....There is some good news in this posting,,,BC won`t have to worry about all those unreported, not counted emissions from a LNG industry, because ...As reported by bloggers for several years...The LNG industry is not only an intellectual fraud, the LNG industry in British Columbia is dead...We are`t getting multiple LNG terminals and $billions of tax dollars...The industry is dead..

Oh, remember all those Christy Clark LNG promises she made during the 2013 election...$trillions of dollars, 100,000 plus LNG jobs... Remember that..

Perhaps you sleuthy British Columbia media should read the latest BC Government labour market study going out to 2024...There is only one mention of LNG, (it comes on page 6)...Here is what the Christy Clark BC Liberal led Government NOW has to say about LNG.....

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WHAT ABOUT LNG?

In 2013, the Province commissioned an independent

analysis of LNG’s job-creation potential in British Columbia. The study, conducted by Grant Thornton, and assuming the construction of 5 LNG plants, concluded that an LNG industry in B.C. could create more than 100,000 jobs in the long term. In 2014, another independent study was ordered to show the demand for various specific occupations as the LNG industry develops. That study, by KPMG, was based on direct input from industry proponents; the results were provided as a stand-alone section in the 2022 Labour Market Outlook.

The Province continues working closely with the industry to maintain and update

occupational workforce projections for the LNG sector. However, these projections will factor into the Labour Market Outlook only once there is a final investment decision on one or more projects.

  

 https://www.workbc.ca/WorkBC/media/WorkBC/Documents/Docs/BC-LM-Outlook-2014-2024.pdf

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There is Keith Baldrey...Have a look Vaughn Palmer.....Do you see it, ..The BC Liberals know LNG is kaput, even if something, some LNG terminal is built there will never be big provincial profits..LNG is now a corporate welfare industry that will only survive if the public subsidizes the industry,,As in welfare..

That BC Government statement above...It says a whole lot more, read between the lines...The BC Liberals have set up their scapegoat...Look, read it, ...The BC Liberals are blaming, or should I say, are preparing to blame those studies for their miscalculations....

Keith Baldrey....Vaughn Palmer....Those studies cited above as blame for the BC Liberal`s pre-election LNG rhetoric...

Christy Clark..Rich Coleman and all BC Liberals were talking the big LNG hype talk before any of those bought studies were done,...Those studies were purchased to downplay the real disturbing LNG facts bloggers brought forward...In other words the BC Liberals purchased those tainted LNG studies to silence the ever growing number of truth-tellers ringing the alarm bell...

And now those same studies that the BC Liberals bought, bought to provide cover for Christy Clark`s whopper LNG lies are now being converted into scapegoats, scapegoats at that ready to deflect  blame from the BC Liberals to industry..

My gut and history tells me that the inoculated ones will be more than happy to sell the new LNG narrative. that being, it wasn`t BC Liberal bullshit selling snake oil it was the fault of those bought studies that LNG was nothing but hot air!

The Straight Goods

Cheers Eyes Wide Open  

Justice In Chains. Jessica Ernst And Slick Water

Justice In Chains.  Jessica Ernst And Slick Water.
                                                    


By Robin Mathews   Nov. 2015

“Slick Water”, of course, is the feel of good water when changed by Fracking poisons.  It is good water invaded by (Corporation-imposed secret) human-and-plant-destroying poisons pumped underground during “Fracking” (hydraulic fracturing of natural underground strata) to “retrieve” oil and/or natural gas.  Those poisons then find their way into the agricultural and drinking water of unsuspecting people who reside (usually) not far from the work of those giant, care less, private Corporations which – all too often – have bought-and-paid-for government regulators and politicians in power.  The poisons … then make ill, maim, and even kill plants, animals, and human beings.

The enormity of the damage to land and water and creatures, the outrageous invasion of the sanctity of innocent people, and the permanent tragedies created could only be possible in a world where Big Corporations have become, in fact, law-makers and enforcers in a world where corporate crime is accepted as normal behaviour.

Slick Water is, too, the name of the latest book (on the above subject) written by excellent writer, Andrew Nikiforuk.  He was one of the first to tear the Angel Wings from the Tar Sands operations in a book of that name in 2008: Tar Sands, Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent.

Readers of this review could do no better as a beginning of their read through winter-books than to read Slick Water, centering on Canada’s Fracking Fighter extraordinaire, Jessica Ernst of Rosebud, Alberta.  The book links her, appropriately, to the long, horrific historical tale of Hydraulic Fracturing which she has been one of the most indomitable in bringing to Canadian (and global) public attention.

The beauty of Nikiforuk’s book is that it brings the marvellous Jessica Ernst to life for readers to come to know … at the same time as it illuminates the slow (150 year) development of a “greed process”, Fracking, begun (of course) in the U.S.A., and spread to … wherever on the globe greed can elbow its way in and gas or oil can be – earth-shatteringly and poisonously - forced to the surface.  Some enlightened countries outlaw Fracking completely.

Readers will find in this book a hundred aspects of the Slick Water story that catch and hold their attention.  A commanding aspect, linking widely disparate events and occasions, is caught in one of the most sparkling (if it may be called that) chapters entitled “The Police Come Calling”.

In the face of allegations of Encana Corporation violations of the law, Alberta regulator violations of the law, Alberta lawyers rejecting their obligation and refusing to represent Jessica Ernst, and shameless misreporting by the Alberta Research Council … and, I add, an Alberta government pretending to know nothing about anything relevant – a strange event occurred.
Calling themselves members of the National Security Enforcement Team (?), RCMP officers first called Jessica Ernst by telephone and were told by her not to visit her property. Days later, they arrived at her home unannounced and without any kind of Warrant.  The visit – one may speculate – had a number of purposes.  To frighten and coerce Jessica Ernst. To urge her into naming sympathizers.  To please the federal government led by Stephen Harper, and to please the (then Eternal) Conservative government of Alberta, and the Encana Corporation, and the cowardly lawyers of Alberta who would have been pleased to see Ernst frightened away from legal action.

Without intending to be controversial or extreme, I would say that the RCMP officers, Dennis De Franceschi and Dave Bibeau, who confronted Jessica Ernst would not be unique as examples of what I suggest may be called lawless uniformed officers supporting crime in Canada.

One only has to raise one’s eyes to see extravagant examples.  When the murder of Robert Dziekanski (2007) by RCMP officers occurred in Vancouver International Airport  (the act was renamed for convenience), it was supported by all levels of the RCMP from the Vancouver offices to the desk in Ottawa of the national Commissioner of the RCMP.  Then, a little later, the fraudulent misuse of RCMP investigations to “manage” the Mike Duffy case in favour of Stephen Harper and his close, wealthy ally Nigel Wright is there for all to see.  By sleight-of-hand too despicable for words, the evidence was jimmied to claim Mike Duffy received a bribe of just over $90,000.00 handed to him as a signed cheque by Nigel Wright.  But Nigel Wright did not pay a bribe, it is claimed.  Before the entire population of Canada the RCMP went along with that complete sham. There is not the slightest doubt that Commissioner of the RCMP, Bob Paulson, signed off on the spectacular (and insulting to all Canadians) boondoggle.

Those are national scandals of gigantic proportion.  But all over Canada the RCMP bends, breaks, and boldly finds ways to violate the law in large and small ways to serve criminal interests.  (Will the new Liberal government examine that file?)

Let’s put it simply.  The whole, cruel torture - through the Fracking process - of Jessica Ernst and hundreds of others in Canada … and thousands around the world – is made possible by the sell-out to giant, largely private Corporations by police, lawyers, the law, the courts, and governments elected to serve and protect the people.

To this day, the new People’s Government of Alberta [NDP] has not lifted a finger to lessen the injustice under which Jessica Ernst staggers. 

Indeed, the Alberta NDP government has approved the continuing role of Gerard Protti, former vp of Encana Corporation and former president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers as top man at the Alberta Energy Regulator. Both Encana and the AER are named as delinquent in Jessica Ernst’s case.

If the new government in Ottawa sees fit to take a harrower through the RCMP – a long overdue undertaking – it should do the same through the process of appointments to higher courts in all the provinces.  Indeed, it needs to sit with provincial governments and work slowly and certainly to reconstruct higher court processes – which are opaque, needlessly bureaucratic, elitist, high-handed, grossly expensive, purposefully procrastinating, and systemically punitive to ordinary members of the population seeking remedy for injustices done to them.

Andrew Nikiforuk’s presentation in Slick Water of the negotiation between Jessica Ernst and the law firm conducting her case – Klippensteins – is deeply disturbing.  Sincerity unforced on both sides leads to the information that the case might well take twelve years…or more. (That, I say, is because of the ability of rich corporations to bring legal proceedings almost to a standstill with – clearly – the assent of the courts.) The firm’s spokesperson tells Ernst the “case could cost her more than a million dollars even with the firm’s discounted rates” (p.199) And lawyer Murray Klippenstein informs her that even if she wins legally, because she won’t “settle” (agree to a secret award) “you may have to pay the legal fees and costs of the defendants.” (p. 201)

Ernst replies to him completely in character.  Three things matter. One is groundwater. The second is the integrity of the democracy she lives in, and the third is breaking the cycle of abuse. What she does not say (and perhaps doesn’t know at that early date) is that the cycle of abuse by the poisoners of water, land, and health is only possible because of the corporation/lawyer/police/court/media participation in the cycle of abuse quietly smiled upon by corrupt governments. How to end that cycle and to restore the integrity of the democracy she lives in is … for all the rest of us to take on.

Andrew Nikiforuk is – to my mind – very gentle in his treatment of the Alberta higher court in the case being fought by Jessica Ernst.  Nevertheless, he hints at what I believe is a shameless intention in the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench to delay the trial, to increase Jessica Ernst’s costs alarmingly, and to force her into bankruptcy.  I will leave it to the reader to decide for herself or himself the role of the Alberta court in Jessica Ernst’s trial … and Andrew Nikiforuk’s assessment of it.

Rejuvenation of the Canadian legal system might start at the top.  What to my mind is the most useless and the most irresponsible higher court instrument in Canada is the Canadian Judicial Council – the top regulator of higher court behaviour in Canada.  Presently, to my mind, it is a sham and a protector of wrong-doing in the higher courts.  When an egregious action of sexual misconduct by a judge is revealed, the CJC might move to careful action. But in all other cases of serious misconduct (in my experience with it) the CJC will even cover for (what in other structures would be called) the frankly criminal activity of judges. (When three higher court judges, one after the other, are publicly removed from the bench by the CJC for misconduct in their trust positions, judges across Canada will suddenly become visibly more upright and … just.)

Justice is in chains in the Jessica Ernst case against Encana Corporation for fouling her farm, her water, her life, her hopes for the future.  Justice is in chains in Ernst’s attempts to have the “regulator” of Oil Patch behaviour judged for failing to do its job of “regulating” (throughout the province).  Justice is in chains in the Jessica Ernst case before the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench (Alberta’s Supreme Court) because – among other (hugely important) things - the court is not insisting upon prompt responses from those complained against, not insisting upon prompt and clean submissions of evidentiary materials requested by the plaintiff. etc.,etc.

The spotlight is upon Chief Justice Neil Wittmann who “volunteered” to take over the case when (surprise!) the judge on the case was suddenly promoted off it to the Appeals Court. (Her promotion had to involve Stephen Harper’s cabinet and the senior operatives of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench… and who else?)  The case is momentous – calling into question the activities of a huge private Oil Patch operator and the government of Alberta’s regulator.  The action of Chief Justice Neil Wittmann to force a Supreme Court of Canada appeal about his ruling that the Alberta regulator is “beyond” the reach of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the Canadian Constitution is seen by some as a vexatious and obnoxious action to delay the trial – and cause Jessica Ernst enormously increased costs.

If the Honourable Neil Wittmann’s action has been, in fact, a move to show sympathy for the bodies Jessica Ernst is acting against … then justice in Alberta is truly in chains.  But Jessica Ernst has been a major person in forcing the unshackling of truth about “Fracking”. She has been major in forcing the unshackling of truth about the abuse of land and people by Big Oil and Gas in Alberta – and its “buy-off” techniques. She has been major in exposing the Alberta Regulator as a friend of the violators. She may well prove to be instrumental in unshackling a truth about large-scale corruption in the Court of Queen’s Bench, Alberta. Then the chains ......

Written by Robin Mathews


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The Straight Goods

Cheers Eyes Wide Open

"The Best and the Brightest" and "Honourable"

Written by Grant G 

The best and the brightest and Honourable...

Gibberish, foreign tongue or words and phrases without meaning, if one substitutes the word(s) ....scoundrel, liar, felon, perjurer, and or thief for the word "honourable" would you be wrong? 

Think about it, in British Columbia`s 2001 provincial election, during the writ period Gordon Campbell made very specific promises, ah, first, let me remind that in BC`s 1996 provincial election campaign, ( Gordon Campbell`s 1996 campaign manager was David Maclean,  the head man at CN Rail) ..Gordon Campbell had selling off BC Rail in his 1996 election campaign, he lost, Glen Clark and his NDP team won Government..

In 2001, during the campaign Gordon Campbell made specific promises...."I won`t sell BC Rail"......."I will honour all signed labour contracts"...

Yes, indeed, Gordon Campbell after winning the election immediately set the wheels in motion to sell(?) BC Rail to his friend and campaign manager David Maclean who just happened to be the CEO of CN Rail...

HEU contracts and teacher`s contracts were immediately shredded...

The Honourable Gordon Campbell upon gaining power broke his election promises, his contract breaking has been found illegal over and over again in our Supreme courts, the BC Rail corruption trial was a display of unfettered power, of corruption, of in your face unbelievable dog ate my homework utterances from the "best and the brightest" , Wally Oppal comes to mind, what was it that Attorney General Wally Oppal said over and over again?  "No comment on BC Rail as it is before the court" for 6 years before the court silence, for 6 years legal motions, delays, improper appointments, trial delays, missing emails, destroyed records, payoffs, bribery....

We lost our railway, in one fell swoop we lost our railway and our judicial safety-net, no longer could a BC supreme court of law prosecute or criminally charge a sitting government, when documents, when facts, when testimony is bought and sold like a commodity under the noses of judges, when criminals wielding power not only walk free they have their portraits hung in hallowed hallways, and under those portraits is the word "honourable" ...Cast in bronze, honourable, for all eternity the word hounorable is intrisically linked with the name Gordon Campbell...

Funny when you think about it, Gordon Campbell, an adulterer, a liar, a con man, a breaker of laws and serial abuser of power..

Gordon Campbell, a man who should be jailed, or worse, he cost the province $billions, he stole our democracy, he removed the law from Government, not only did Gordon Campbell circumvent the law he showed Christy Clark the way, what law, law for who, for Governments, is to laugh, ....Even our esteemed opposition, John Horgan, even Carole James, they speak glowingly on the public record of the "Honourable" Gordon Campbell.

Revisionist history hoedown,  

Christy Clark, ethnicgate, bollywoodgate, health firings missing data, files frozen along with transitory email abuse, year after year fake investigations are prodded by the stench only to end up being conducted by appointed political staffers and yes people, as in yes to whitewashing and a hell-no to the public`s right to know, silence and memory loss afflicts all branches, Government, the judiciary and most importantly, the press.. 

and as for the phrase "The best and the brightest" .....What does that mean, David Hahn?..Margaret McDiaramid?..Terry Lake...Wally Oppal..David Loukedelis...Bill Bennett...Rich Coleman..Stephanie Cadieux....Colin Hansen...John Dyble...

Portraits of George W Bush...Gordon Muir Campbell, portraits of Stephen Harper and in time portraits of Christy Clark will hang prominently in the hallowed hallways of our Democratic Houses .

Canada, the Canadian public after too many Federal Liberal scandals granted Stephen Harper a minority government and federal training wheels, for 5 years he was trusted with a mere minority government and finally, Canadians felt Stephen Harper deserved a majority chance,......It was 4 years of lies, 4 years of omnibus bills, 4 years of gutting of hard fought environmental laws, 4 long years Canadians watched in horror as a madman, as a corporate controlled madman attempted to change Canada into his personal oily doormat. freedom, democracy and plain old dignity was being torn asunder..

The horror ended officially on October 19th/2015

Stephen Harper, the largest war chest, the longest campaign in Canadian history, handing out cheques, inciting fear, bribing, ad nauseum on radio, on TV, using every dirty trick in the book and thud, mattered not, Canada threw Harper out with a thud because he was as described above, he did nothing noble or brave, Harper wasn`t before his time he was too late, 80 years too late..


Stephen Harper, revisionist history writing media attempted pre-election and even more so post election to colour Stephen Harper gold, a pedestal placing media painted Harper as one of Canada`s great prime ministers, puzzling don`t you think, I and other inquiring minds want to know why, or what, exactly what did Stephen Harper do in power to deserve such accolades?


Could it be how he raised retirement age by two years to 67...Or perhaps Harper is lauded for his too many to count defeats in Canada`s supreme court....Maybe the National Post liked Stephen Harper the book burner, perhaps a lacklustre media believed in time Stephen Harper would burn all reading materials leaving only Globe and Mail and National Post editorials to read..

Maybe our national media is a huge fan of RUST, as in our rust-bucket navy, 5 years ago Harper announced Seaspan and Irving shipyard contracts, 5 years later and still not one piece of steel cut, how many years wasted on a fifth generation fighter jet, perhaps in 5 or 6 generations of time a jet might have been delivered and maybe, just maybe paid for...

I muse to myself, was Harper a friend of the military man, a friend of science, was Harper an environmental steward, a friend of those less fortunate, was Stephen Joseph Harper even a good economist, the answer is ..Hell No...

The Best and the Brightest....Joe Oliver?...Dean Del Maestro, Bruce Carson, Patrick Brazeau, Pamela Wallin, Mike Duffy, Vic Toews, the list of lawbreakers, scofflaws and bootlicking trained seals is so long..

 When will the mainstream media stop rewriting history, when....How many crimes must a sitting government commit before the media demands blood, demands justice and demands to set the record straight and why is it in-coming Governments ultimately lose the will to prosecute the crimes of the outgoing regimes, such tough talk until once in power then the fire goes out, urgency and repairing the damage done are sidelined and then, on cue new governments become afflicted with memory loss and finally the defeated felons, the leaders of past regimes gone bad get their portraits hung in the hallowed hallways of our Democratic institutions....

Here in British Columbia we have a school drop-out named Christy Clark running around playing yoga games while bribery, corruption and tainted trained seals run amok throughout Government, these deleted email threads and missing files, ...Every contentious issue, every scandal for years comes up non-responsive....Sure must be a lot of incriminating data to hide, it`s the only explanation..

The Best and the brightest and The honourable...


Gordon Campbell stole $billions from British Columbia and he destroyed our provincial judiciary, no longer can the law be trusted to hold government to account..

Stephen Harper was a corporate menace and soon, not in decades but in a matter of a year no one will ever mention the name Harper, he wasn`t great, wasn`t good, Harper wasn`t even bad, Stephen Harper was nothing, Stephen Harper was a corporate puppet covered with strings..

Christy Clark, she is the same, she is nothing but a face and a voice without brain matter, Christy Clark is not what Michael Smyth call hers, Christy Clark is not a brilliant politician she is a bold-faced liar who won the 2013 election on whopper lies..

On LNG and a Trillion dollars.....Isn`t that right Pamela Martin..

The Best and the Brightest and Honourable also goes out to our domestic British Columbia media..

How goes that LNG cheer-leading Michael Smyth?...

No big LNG projects will ever be built in British Columbia, there may be an exception in Woodfibre LNG, and the only reason that tiny little project might get built is because we the taxpayer are paying for the pipeline, providing the gas through Fortis and our domestic gas rates..

In other words BCers are going to pay for the Woodfibre project and Sukanto Tanoto, the mass murdering environmental criminal will operate and profit from the facility..

Is to laugh, the only one in the province to accurately predict the LNG future, the only one to tell the straight goods on a sunset LNG industry was ....The Straight Goods.

 http://www.lngworldnews.com/pnw-lng-project-opposition-rising/

The best and the brightest and honourable Christy Clark will be known for wasting $15 billion dollars on expensive Site C power, not-needed hydroelectric energy to power up an LNG industry that will never exist in British Columbia...

And when BCers finally toss out Christy Clark and elect a new, and hopefully improved Government Christy Clark`s picture too will hang in our hallowed hallways along with Gordon Campbell and Stephen Harper..

 Justice is blind and memories are short, hmm, that sounds like a great, new and accurate name for PostMedia..


PostMedia, Where Justice is blindfolded and memories are short

That sounds about right

The Straight Goods

Cheers Eyes Wide Open

Enemies of Democracy in Canada

 The Enemies of Democracy in Canada

Written by Robin Mathews

Many, many Canadians weren’t wrong  - on October 19, 2015 – to feel they were part of an important historical event happening before their eyes.  They knew, too, that they, themselves, were actively making the historical event happen. That experience doesn’t happen frequently in most people’s lives and it might have a permanently empowering effect on the many who were involved.  Especially since the concerted action of millions of Canadians was taken to head off catastrophe.

The Gathering Storm

Millions of Canadians acted to cut off an ugly, intensifying program intended to end Canadian democracy as all living Canadians know it.  The odious Conservative Party and government were working a multi-facetted plan of action: (a) to erase open and examinable actions by government (b) to engage in criminal destruction of democratic processes (c) to introduce racist bases for public decision-making (e) to undermine bases for national protections - medicare/pensions, etc. (f) to shield members of the ruling group from public contact (g) to defame and destroy voluntary public organizations working for the public good (h) to destroy the rule of law in the country (i) to cripple fair electoral processes (j) to make a mockery of the democratic traditions of parliament (k) to make secrecy a natural basis for international treaty-making … on the way to creating government by (largely foreign) corporate profit-seeking organizations, and (l) finally, to ridicule and erase any moves taken to assure the prevention of global environmental tragedy.

Neoliberalism/Neo-fascism

An almost unnoticed part of that program was support of the Conservative Party and government by a large part of the major press and media in Canada. Canadians need to focus on that fact.  Despite the dozen kinds of attack on Canadian democracy listed just above (and there are more), The Globe and Mail, The National Post (and most Post Media publications), in fact, supported the Harper Conservatives to form government in the election of October 2015.

Canadians, a polite people generally, don’t like strong words about political matters.  But in this case they have to look very squarely at the 12-point list written above.  It reveals – using terms that are essentially misleading – a strong neo-liberal program.  More correctly, it reveals a neo-fascist program intended to erase democratic rights and freedoms in Canada, a program endorsed by much leading media power in Canada.  The forces supporting the odious Conservative Party and government were huge … and so the action of Canadians in the election is even more admirable.

Neo-fascist Solidarity

By going around their normal Political Party loyalties a considerable majority of Canadians were able – decisively - to reject the odious Conservative Party and government program to debase Canadian democracy beyond hope of repair.  (At its best, Canadian democracy is flawed and needs deep reform.  But that fact opens a whole other important area of discussion and action.)

What Canadians may not have noticed is that while free and fair elections were being undermined, and Conservative lying was becoming the rule at all levels, and national records were being destroyed, and more and more Canadians were being vilified by power in office (and criminal acts of Conservatives were being exposed), ONLY ONE Conservative politician in the country publicly resigned the Party for reasons of conscience:  Brent Rathgeber, MP for Edmonton/St. Albert.

As a reward for his admirable, principled action, Conservatives in his (newly shaped) constituency overwhelmingly turfed him out on October 19, 2015, revealing, perhaps, that neo-fascism remains the ruling mood in the defeated Conservative Party of Canada. We other Canadians should create a medal especially for Brent Rathgeber, to honour his courage and to celebrate his book, Irresponsible Government: The Decline of Parliamentary Democracy in Canada (2014).

The fact of only one public defection from the Conservative ranks – despite growing sleaze, dishonesty, criminal activity, lying, and open attacks on democracy in Canada - speaks volumes about the Canadians who voted for Conservative candidates in the 2015 federal election. It reminds other Canadians of the need for constant vigilance….

The Neo-Fascist Press And Media Post-Election

After the election … the game of the Harper-supporting press and media is to blank out the recent neo-fascist history, to use a White-Wash Crew on the defeated Conservative government, to present it as principled and positive, to ignore completely its negative acts, and to praise its (non-existent) positive actions.

That press and media make wholly meaningless claims of “achievement” by the Conservative Party and government.  The only criticism they let escape into public view is of the “tone” of statements and actions by cabinet and prime minister. The “tone” of anti-democratic statements and actions was wrong: otherwise all was fine and dandy.

We might as well take the National Post “Comment” (Mon. Nov.2, 2015, p. A6) by Michael Den Tandt as an example (there are many).  To begin, he follows RULE ONE for the White-Washing Crew. “Do not admit, do not mention, do not hint at any one of the twelve neo-fascist activities listed above (or any other ones). Act as if they didn’t ever exist.  Instead … create fog.”

To avoid concrete discussion of neo-fascist activity, talk about the Conservative “achievement” in the election. Michael Den Tandt does that.  They weren’t wiped out … that’s the achievement he points to!  In fact, truly stated, almost ALL the “achievements” of the Conservative government from 2006 to 2015 were non-existent, or negative, or plainly destructive.  One thinks of what was said of the deposed Italian Fascist dictator nearly 70 years ago.  “Benito Mussolini wasn’t all bad.  He drained the swamps and made the trains run on time.” That is two-up on Stephen Harper.

After that Michael Den Tandt moves to RULE TWO.  Commentators must talk about the incredible, positive  fiscal management” of the defeated Conservative government.  That is the biggest ‘red herring’ dragged across the eyesight of Canadians.  The neo-fascist press in general tells us that the Conservative government did amazing things to prevent disaster in the 2008 banking meltdown. In fact, it bailed out corrupt and mismanaged private banks with public money instead of moving to national banking and to the original, positive use of The Bank of Canada as a basis of national credit.  AND it increased the National Debt by tens of billions of dollars!

To continue … the Conservative government rejected all environmental planning.  It allowed and aided the hollowing out of Ontario industry.  It destroyed specialist scientific libraries. It negotiated international treaties that permit private, foreign corporations to sue government for gigantic sums payable by every Canadian.  That - Michael Den Tandt and his fellows call “responsible fiscal management”.

As to the charges – inside and outside Canada – of Stephen Harper’s war-mongering … well … Den Tandt simply denies it happened.  RULE THREE.

To show the paucity of positive claims that can be made even by Stephen Harper’s fervent apparently neo-fascist media friends, Den Tandt lists as one of Harper’s achievements … his leaving office. (I don’t think that one is in the Rule Book.) It’s an achievement, apparently, because there is a galaxy of wonderful fill-ins and candidates for Leader.  Den Tandt’s list of Stars Brightly Shining and waiting to become Leader will give most Canadians, I believe, a serious case of indigestion: Jason Kenney, Lisa Raitt, Tony Clement, James Moore …. One of them may, he opines, change “the tone” that has, apparently been negative and harmful in the face of “responsible fiscal management” and other powerfully positive things achieved (?). [At the gates of many of the inhumane Nazi concentration camps was posted the very positive sign “Arbeit macht frei” – ‘work makes (you) free’.  A positive tone is always best.]

In the meantime Conservative Interim Leader is Rona Ambrose, apparently a fan of Ayn Rand’s politically far-Right novels.  Ambrose interfered with a book launching of a public employee’s novel – preventing him from appearing, under the pretense that he was engaging in work-related speaking … after the Harper Conservatives repressively silenced scientists in public service.  “Outraged” that the Supreme Court of Canada widened the possible use of marijuana for medical reasons, ‘Little Miss Harper’ could not be better qualified to take the place of the former leader. Indeed, we do not (yet) know what back-room role Stephen Harper played in her election. The Harper-supporting press and media pretend he has lost all power, has gone, and skulks on the outer-edges of the Party….

What Stephen Harper Has Wrought

The behaviour governed by RULE FOUR for the White Washers requires Conservative commentators to praise the making of an organized Party by the Harper forces.  Michael Den Tandt doesn’t report that undertaking quite as clearly as some Canadians would like, in my opinion.  Stated clearly, I would say, the achievement is the takeover of the Conservative Party of Canada by neo-fascist forces.

But Den Tandt puts it slightly differently.  He tells us that the old Progressive Conservatives are almost not visible anymore and that the “grand coalition” formed by Stephen Harper “stands”.  He calls it a “centre-right” organization.  Others might be forgiven for calling it neo-fascist, neo-liberal, Far Right … and other names.  Because Den Tandt never touches any of the twelve points listed at the beginning of this piece – or any failing whatever of the Conservatives - he is able to say, confidently, that the Conservative Party of Canada - because it has no “deep systemic problems” - can change “relatively quickly”.  All an in-coming leader has to do is adopt a more pleasing tone … and then it will be “full steam ahead” for the neo-fascism that was more and more visible in the Harper years. 

The enemies of democracy in Canada are no longer violent, designing, and militant forces outside Canada.  They have a Canadian home and legitimacy now.  And they call themselves The Conservative Party of Canada. They are confident in the support they receive from major elements of Canada’s (‘free and democratic’) Mainstream Press and Media.

Written by Robin Mathews 




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The Straight Goods

Cheers Eyes Wide Open

Stephen Harper, Defeated, But Not Gone

Written by Robin Mathews
 

Having led the odious Conservative Party and government to resounding defeat, Stephen Harper has (as might have been predicted) walked away from the mess, leaving it to someone else … anyone else … to clean up, if possible. But (also as might have been predicted) he retains his Calgary seat in the House of Commons – a necessary place to launch a comeback….

If Stephen Harper was aware (even just aware) of the 2006 election in-and-out scandal and attempted robbery of electors’ votes (four faced criminal charges – the Party made a plea-bargain, admitting guilt); if he was aware (even just aware) of the intricate, set-up Robocall Scandal of the 2011 election which brought a criminal conviction to one (only) Conservative worker; and if he was aware (even just aware) of the cheque for $90,172 paid by (bribing?) Nigel Wright to Mike Duffy … then Stephen Harper is a criminal.  I have chosen only three counts upon which he may be a criminal.  Readers will, doubtless, want to supply more (many, many more).

We who think Stephen Harper was aware of – and probably even active in the planning and execution – of the activities mentioned … we believe he is a criminal who has not been fully investigated and charged for his participation in those crimes (and perhaps others not named here).

That being the case, we may all presume Stephen Harper will keep out of sight, will avoid the limelight, will want to “lie low” for a considerable period of time – licking his wounds and waiting for memories to fade. (But he will maintain a seat in the House of Commons for comeback purposes. And doubtless will try to quash any investigations into Conservative government wrongdoing.)

Be Ready To Be Surprised

Or Stephen Harper may disappear, in a short time, into an appointment in the caverns of Barrick Gold to rub shoulders with its black luminaries - like Brian Mulroney, John Manley, John Baird, Andrew Coyne, Peter Munk, Janice Stein and other neo-liberals who participate in one or other in its activities.  Or he may disappear into a neo-liberal Think Tank that pretends to be balanced, fair, and concerned for all Canadians as he, himself, pretended to be through his democracy-wrecking period as prime minister.

Don’t count on it.

Having set up the first anniversary “remembrance” of the deaths of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo (in Ottawa) and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent (in St. Jean sur Richelieu), Stephen Harper likely intended the event as a post-election-win occasion upon which he could make more racist attacks on minorities and push for more powers to add to Bill C51, the legislation many consider repressive, neo-fascist, and a painful attack on human rights in Canada.

None of the Conventional (Harper-supporting) Media mentioned that the Cirillo anniversary event was well-planned in Harperdom to serve Harper’s ideology before election day.  Nor do they point out that about-to-be prime minister Justin Trudeau had almost no choice about being there – to be used for Stephen Harper’s purposes.  Like it or not, the Harper forces used (if they didn’t create) the Cenotaph/Parliament event in order to attempt to validate the growing list of their repressive measures.  The anniversary day was, doubtless, to be used to reinforce those measures.

That first, post-election, public manipulation by Stephen Harper may be harbinger of things to come.  Already offering himself as a shy, smiling, thoughtful, well-wishing, down-to-earth ordinary Canadian, he may be on his way to carefully working to win a new, thunderously approved, over-whelmingly supported run at the (a) leadership of the Conservative Party and (b) the prime ministership of Canada.  His lust for power has not dimmed by a simple defeat at the polls, nor – we may assume – has his desire to erase democracy in Canada and replace it with a neo-liberal, neo-fascist dictatorship.
The Harperites Are Still There

Let dummies take over the Party.  Let dummies mess up in the House of Commons.  All the better. Those who have tasted (illegitimate) power and profit from the Harper years will be ready to throw their support, once again, his way, made confident by his cool certainty. He is not likely to change the makeover he was undertaking to Pierre Trudeau’s motto “reason over passion”. With cold calculation he appeared to be making “treason over passion” his own guiding principle.

All the Canadians who formed or were part of organizations concerned in one way or another with ‘Harper watch’ should remain vigilante.  In fact, they should form quiet groups (lawful of course) to track his every move – and to make his every move public. Stephen Harper cannot claim the privacy of ordinary Canadians.  A major public figure (whose honesty is in serious doubt) he is, in a sense, the possession of the Canadian public which can demand to know where he travels, who he meets, who he works for and with, and who pays him for services rendered (especially outside the country).

Stephen Harper is 56.  He has another fifteen years, at least, to work on the destruction of Canadian democracy.  He has strong and wealthy allies (many outside Canada). With his defeat at the polls on October 19, 2015, Canadians may have witnessed what turns out to be merely the first phase of Stephen Harper’s long-term plan to create a despotism in Canada that can neither be voted away nor overthrown.

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The Straight Goods

Cheers Eyes Wide Open