Harper's Lies & Deceit regarding the Canadian Economy

Stephen Harper is continuously deceiving and lying to Canadians about the state of our economy. Yesterday, Stephen Harper claimed:

There are more people working in Canada today than before the recession, the ONLY advanced country where that is the case.

This sounds all very positive, but, unfortunately, it's far from the truth.

Let's analyse.

Canada's unemployment is up (NOT down).

1) "There are more people working in Canada today than before the recession." That might well be the case, but there are also more Canadians without a job than before the recession. 

You don't believe me? 

Check out this report from our own Stats Canada (9 September 2011), and see the unemployment figure, which I have copied below:

You see? 7.4% of Canadians are unemployed now, while that number was close to 6% before the 2008 recession hit.Harper's "there are more people at work now than before the recession" implies unemployment is down, when in reality  unemployment is up.

But then it get's worse, and Harper moves from implicit deceit to explicitly lying, all in a single sentence (what a craftsman):


2) "Canada is the ONLY advanced country where that is the case" - Really? How about one of Europe's strongest economies, Germany?

Canadas economy performs far worse than Germany's (yes, Germany is an advanced country...) 

Apparently Germany has been doing really well throughout this recession. A simple Google News search shows how Harper is lying through his teeth. On August 31 Bloomberg's BusinessWeek.com reported:

[Germany's] jobless rate held at 7 percent, the lowest since records for a reunified Germany began in 1991.

Yesterday, the same website explains:

German unemployment at a two-decade low of 7 percent may boost household spending and help offset slowing exports.

This information is being backed up by a recent (and highly reliable) report by Germany's own Bundesagentur fur Arbeit (Germany's Federal Employment Agency.) On page 12, figure 6, the "Deutchland" line represents the falling unemployment (Arbeitslose) of all of Germany (copied below):


Germany's current unemployment numbers are far below those right before the recession, so, Harper, isn't it time for an apology to the Canadian people. Apparently not. Today Harper makes the same false claim again. Both times journalists (Gloria Galloway from the G&M, and Mark Kennedy from Post Media News) do not refute the false claims made by our country's Prime Minister. 

MSM journalists are failing us
Personally I don't really blame Stephen Harper for his lies and deceit.Apart from being a heartless asshole, he's just doing his work by playing politics with the facts. What bothers me most is the complacency of the Canadian newspapers, who simply copy and paste whatever comes out of Harper's ass. Journalist are supposed to keep our politicians honest by refuting lies and deceit, so why is it that they aren't doing their homework?

I get the impression that The Globe and Mail, a corporate entity, believes that painting rosy picture of the economy is good for business (and investment), and therefore G&M sides with their corporate advertisers (who, BTW, believe the same thing).NOT refuting Harper's lies is a "cheap" (or sophisticated, depending on one's own bias) way to feed the rosy picture of the economy and keep corporate advertisers happy, without doing the actual lying (Harper lied, G&M just spreads the lies); a win-win for the corporate elite, if you will.


Lame MSM has become mouthpiece for Conservatives and Corporate power
G&M (and Canada's MSM) clearly have become a mouthpiece of the Harper government, and one starts wondering how different such a media/government relationship really is from the one the Russia had some 30 years ago. They equally produce propaganda, journalistic garbage.

William Berardino, or how biased and corrupt can a British Columbia Special Prosecutor be?

Anyone else outraged about the Basi & Virk BC Rail corruption scandal?

In the latest twist Bill Berardino, the Special Prosecutor of the case (who is in many ways `special`), brokered a deal that would have the accused Dave Basi and Bob Virk plead guilty to charges of corruption, and then foot the bill ($18 million and counting) to us, the taxpayer.

Does that pass the smell test to you?

Not to Getting It Right!

This Bill whose idea it was to send us the $18 million dollar bill, Mr. William Berardino, why doesn't he have these two criminals pay for it, or at least a big part of it?

Perhaps there's a better explanation of why Bill's ruling has sent Basi and Virk home smiling:

Rumour has it (it`s actually all over the internet) that Mr William Berardino isn't exactly that "free from any political interference whatsoever," as some would have us believe. William Berardino is exceptionally well connected with the BC Liberals government, especially for someone who is supposed to be impartial:

• For many years Mr. Berardino was buddy-buddy with Geoff Plant, yes, indeed, the Attorney General and BC Liberal Geoff Plant.
• Allan Seckel was buddy-buddy with Geoff Plant too (working at the same law firm Fasken Martineau), before he was hired by Gordon Campbell (no further details available on Mr. Campbell at this point) to become head of BC Public Service.
• Mr. Berardino was appointed by the Ministry of the Attorney General, of which Geoff Plant was the  Attorney General (in 2005, bc rail corruption case dates back to 2004), and Allan Seckel, Deputy Attorney General (since 2003).

Weird, eh? Sorry for repeating myself here, but the main reason for hiring an independent Special Prosecutor is his independence. Now this guy is clearly not independent, far from it. Mr. William Berardino has been buddies with the BC Liberals political elite for years. And those BC Liberals are exactly the same club of people that Basi and Virk were working for!

You would think that a not-so-independent Special Prosecutor would at least try to act as carefully as possible to not (cough) appear biased, right?

Not this joker.

In May 2005, about 1.5 years after being asked for the case, William Berardino's own firm Berardino's & Harris donated $500 to BC Liberal candidate and future Attorney General Wally Opal.

Berardino [said] he was asked to attend a fundraising breakfast for [Oppal]. He said the donation has no impact on his handling of the case.

That might well be true, but spending meals with and giving donations to a BC Liberal and future Attorney General while being a prosecutor on such a massive corruption scandal involving BC Liberal aids, let's just say such blatant mingling with BC Liberals doesn't look good for any prosecutor, and definitely not for a Special Prosecutor.

An investigation by the BC Law Society (not particularly independent themselves, and known for whitewashing the misconduct of their own members) concluded (surprise, surprise) no (legal) misconduct had taken place. But on the real issue here, conflict of interest, the BC Law Society was silent and never commented.

Let me repeat it again: obviously, donating moneys to one of the parties (yes, the BC Liberal Party had hired Basi and Virk) under investigation is a serious conflict of interest (apparent or otherwise).

Wait, there's more:

The latest blunder happened only days ago. William Berardino was caught informing the BC Liberal government about a possible plea deal:

Read the Times Colonist (before they covered up this detail):

"But when special prosecutor Bill Berardino made the B.C. government aware on Oct. 5 that he had proposed to let the two men plead guilty, it fell to the deputy minister of finance, Graham Whitmarsh, and Loukidelis to figure out whether they would actually have to come up with the money, Loukidelis's statement read."

Paul Willcocks has excellent comment on the above (emphases mine):

Why would the special prosecutor "make the government aware" of his plea offer?

[If] the special prosecutor is briefing the government of his plans, he is no longer independent. 

Telling the government of plans to seek a plea bargain, for example, invites interference. Either by proposing a different strategy or, as in this case, offering financial inducements to encourage a guilty plea.

Well said, Paul.

So how biased and corrupt is William Berardino, this Special Prosecutor of the BC Rail corruption case? Hard to say, but let's just say William Berardino did very little to avoid the (cough) appearance of bias, which is supposed to be the main reason for hiring a Special Prosecutor.

No doubt in my mind that some other, more sinister reasons have played its part in hiring William Berardino as a Special Prosecutor.

What idiot did make the decision to hire Berardino, someone that is so well connected to the BC Liberals? What? Geoff Plant, the former Attorney General and BC Liberal? Oh, now I see why this is called the BC Rail corruption trial.

I rest my case.

Recall in the fall? You bet ya!

Read more:

• The ever-ethical William Berardino does all kind of lovely jobs; defending Big Tabacco was one of them. At least we know what side Berardino is on; on the other side of the interests of healthy British Columbians. 
• How Gary Collins (BC Liberal, minister of finance) and Judith Reid (BC Liberal, minister of transportation) got out of their irky situation;
• Even the (BC Liberal supporter first, journalist second) Les Leyne wants answers...quite amazing, isn't it?
• Lots more here to: BC Rail Corruption case. 
• Fight HST and give yourself a break from Liberals lies.

Doug Lacombe is Getting it Right's very first Demagogue of the Week!

We love Doug Lacombe!

What two little words can do. Could be is what's at issue here. It's exactly those two words (and their variations, such as may be) that have been fundamental when deciding upon GIR's first "Demagogue! of the Week".

We have a nominee: it is Doug Lacombe for his article "Wikileaks lacks checks and balances"

About the nomination
Doug Lacombe uses a copy and paste trick (wonderful, no pain) for his amazing deed:

" . . . those who are tempted to publish classified information in the name of press freedoms should be aware that their naivete and their blind devotion to 'the public's right to know' could be rightly termed aiding and abetting the enemy by endangering the safety of Canadian soldiers abroad. A little forethought and a large dose of loyalty to our side of the war can literally mean the difference between life and death for our soldiers, and also Afghan civilians."

You see? Could be. Totally and absolutely useful. Suddenly Wikileaks is not only exposing war abuses, oh no, THEY ARE KILLING CANADIANS! Well, could be, anyways. No explanation of course HOW this information would "endanger the safety" of Canadian troops (that's too much detail to ask, I suppose), no, a simple "could kill Canadian troops" is all that is needed.

Congratulations!
Doug Lacombe, you've done a great job! It's perfect. With a simple sentence (that you didn't have to even write yourself) you have been nominated for demagogue of the week: you've effectively turned Wikileaks from a idealistic whistleblower organization into an Canadian troops killing war propaganda machine, and therefore you have been nominated "Demagogue! of the Week".

Well done!

Footnotes:
1) Some more craftsmanship from his article below:
- "Sadly Assange, a convicted Australian computer hacker according to the Los Angeles Times
                 (not bad, Doug, and again no pain to produce it, or was there?)
- The self-righteous "we know what's best" attitude that seems to characterize Assange's various public responses concerns me. Isn't that the very definition of a despot?
                (could well be the very definition, touche!)
2) Great title too! Of course Wikileaks has checks and balances, but there's no harm in adding a little lie here and there if you want to be nominated!

Related Article:
- Doug Lacombe: "Wikileaks lacks checks and balances"

Why Doug Lacombe may be a demagogue

In response to Doug Laccombe:
"Wikileaks lacks checks and balances"

http://communicatto.com/2010/07/31/wikileaks-lacks-checks-and-balances/

Original post below this response

Did you know that Wikileaks HAS a proper process in place to vet the incoming materials and an error free trackrecord of vetting out bogus submissions?

Just because you're not aware of the checks and balances Wikileaks uses to vet their sources doesn't mean they don't have policies to deal with vetting.

But whistleblowers need to be protected, and wikileaks does so in two ways:
1) By not revealing their sources (secretive by nature)
2) By assisting with legal funds to those that are accused of being the source

What's troublesome in your post is that you accuse Wikileaks of being too secretive about their own sources, a moral judgement, while not making the same kind of judgement about the use of informants (talk about secretive, and possible abuse) by the coalition forces.

Your hypocritic stand is further amplified by:
1) Calling Assange a despot; to what purpose may I ask?
2) The amount of articles you've written on the secretive nature of coalition forces warfare intelligence vetting as presented by the media, in particular now abuses have become apparent after the wikileaks;

In short, your article is nothing short of a "shoot the messenger" bias, and why, just because the vetting process isn't public?

Lest we forget, we all know who is responsible for the killings of tens of thousands of innocent civilians in Afghanistan, and it wasn't wikileaks.

Wikileaks' record on harm done to innocent people is zero. If the US Army acts responsibly with their own sources (just like wikileaks does with theirs) then they would now do everything possible to protect their informants. But if we can learn anything from the Afghan War Leaks, then it is that US forces have no trouble killing innocent Afghans and then cover up the evidence.

But you knew all that right? That's why your post is so repulsive. Isn't such writing the work of a demagogue?


-------------------------------

Social media is increasingly becoming implicated in moments of crisis and significant world events. The 2009 Iranian election is a great example.


Thanks to a variety of technical manoeuvres, the Iranian government could not throttle the protesters' use of Twitter to report on those events. Where traditional media could not tread, the citizenry and Twitter stepped in.


This year's catastrophic earthquake in Haiti was another example where Twitter reporting reigned supreme.


Depth of reporting was improved at this year's G20 protests in Toronto by tweets from many, including TV Ontario's Steve Paikin (@spaikin on Twitter).


The common thread is people voluntarily reporting what they see. In other words, they choose to share the information or events unfolding in front of them, even as others attempt to deny them a voice. This is good.


A whole new genre of social reporting, if it can be called that, came to the fore this week. Website WikiLeaks.org dumped classified documents about the war in Afghanistan onto the web and into the hands of three newspapers.


From Wikipedia: "WikiLeaks released to The Guardian, The New York Times, and Der Spiegel over 92,000 documents related to the war in Afghanistan between 2004 and the end of 2009. The logs detail individual incidents including friendly fire and civilian casualties. The scale of leak was described by (WikiLeaks spokesperson) Julian Assange as comparable to that of the Pentagon Papers in the 1970s. On July 25, 2010, the logs were released to the public."


The Pentagon Papers, you may recall, were brought to the attention of the American public in 1971 via the New York Times, essentially demonstrating that the Johnson administration had lied to the public about Vietnam.


Trained, professional journalists and their editors reviewed the leaked materials and, with utmost care and due diligence, weighed issues of national security and the public's right to know.


WikiLeaks has no such filter, no checks and balances, or none we can see. It's just a raw data dump with spotty redaction for everyone to pore over and draw our own conclusions. Oh yes, and for the Taliban/al-Qaida gang to pore over and target informants for retribution. This is not good.


Roy Greenslade, professor of journalism at City University in London, writes on CNN.com "The posting of 92,000 documents on WikiLeaks about the war in Afghanistan represents a triumph for what I like to call 'data journalism.' . . . However, the posting of the material on the Internet is not in itself an act of journalism. It is merely the beginning of a journalistic process, requiring analysis, context and, in this particular instance, a form of necessary censorship in order to protect individuals identified in the documents."


Necessary censorship. WikiLeaks didn't quite get the hang of redacting names or identifying circumstances in their haste to let the public know.


A recent editorial in the Calgary Herald put it succinctly: " . . . those who are tempted to publish classified information in the name of press freedoms should be aware that their naivete and their blind devotion to 'the public's right to know' could be rightly termed aiding and abetting the enemy by endangering the safety of Canadian soldiers abroad. A little forethought and a large dose of loyalty to our side of the war can literally mean the difference between life and death for our soldiers, and also Afghan civilians."


If WikiLeaks truly believed in the public's right to know, they would become transparent themselves. Doing so earns our trust in their intentions. Sadly Assange, a convicted Australian computer hacker according to the Los Angeles Times, and his horde of info-dumpers seem to feel they are exempt from such inconveniences.


The self-righteous "we know what's best" attitude that seems to characterize Assange's various public responses concerns me. Isn't that the very definition of a despot?


As usual, send me your feedback on Twitter at:


@dblacombe or via e-mail doug@communicatto.com.


Doug Lacombe is president of Calgary


social media agency communicatto.
© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix

Is Nick Clegg going to make Proportional Representation a priority?

Who knows?

--
Sent from my mobile device

Stephen Harper comments on death of 134 Canadian soldier in Afghanistan

SH: It's really unfortunate for his family, and we would like to send our sincere condolences.

GIR: Prime minister Harper, do you feel at all responsible for soldiers returning home dead?

SH: Not really. You know, that's part of waging a war against terrorists. There's lots of bad guys out there, and, unfortunately, the family of this last soldier has to deal with the consequences of him volunteering. Besides, this happened thousands of miles away, and, as far as I can tell, no Canadians were involved in the killing itself.

GIR: But the soldier is Canadian...

SH: yes, yes, but we feel very sorry but it's really not my problem.

GIR: Isn't that a bit insensitive?

SH: ...

GIR: Prime minister...?

SH: Sorry, I got distracted by some emails from Peter...

GIR: Peter?

SH: You know, Peter MacKay. He's asking how to mark emails as "unread", any ideas?

GIR: No, I don't. Prime Minister, don't you think that when you say that the death of a Canadian soldier is "not my problem", that such a statement can be regarded as a tad insensitive?

SH: Oh yes, of course, don't write this stuff down! This is not for publication, is it?

NOAM CHOMSKY: “The Unipolar Moment and the Culture of Imperialism” (video)

Noam Chomsky delivers the 5th Annual Edward Said Memorial Lecture: The Unipolar Moment and the Culture of Imperialism at Columbia University School for International Affairs.

Why didn't Stephen Harper fire Richard Colvin back in 2006 when Colvin made his ludicrous allegations?

Because Steve LLOOOOVVEEEESS torture! He always did and always will! Torture is cool, as long as nobody knows about it.

Better keep Colvin quiet and don't get your hands dirty.

More preferential treatment for Vancouver RCMP officer charged with drunk driving - yes, that's a criminal offence!

Remember this post? Well, even today RCMP officers continue to receive preferential treatment.

Here's another example:

Vancouver Mountie faces second impaired driving charge in two months

VANCOUVER, B.C. — A Mountie in Vancouver is facing his second impaired driving charge in two months.

Vancouver police say they pulled the off-duty officer over Saturday morning and breath samples showed he was over the legal limit for blood alcohol.

The 55-year-old officer, whose name has not been released, already had a court date from a previous impaired driving charge and was prohibited from driving for 90 days.

He's now been charged with driving while prohibited, impaired driving and driving with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit.

Name not released, huh? In case of drunk driving it pays off to be with the RCMP. And they're good at it too:

[The un-named RCMP officer] is the latest in a number of Metro Vancouver police officers who have faced impaired driving charges in the last two years, including a Mountie charged in a Delta, B.C., crash that killed a 21-year-old motorcyclist in October 2008. [...]

LINKS

CP: At the RMCP we love to demonize criminal behaviour, except for when we do it ourselves.

TN! of the week: Officer Todd Lappegaard of the Minneapolis Police Department (video)

Have a look at the following video. It's self-explanatory, and a lot of "fun" :)

http://wcco.com/video/?id=69634@wcco.dayport.com

Todd Lappegaard, you are the Taser Nazi of the Week.

Congratulations!

H/T Excited Delirium

LINK
- Star Tribune, Minneapolis: Todd Lappegaard exposed

Tasers OK in theory, BAD IN PRACTICE

By Kris Kotarski, Calgary Herald October 19, 2009 9:18 AM

Earlier this month, just days before the second anniversary of Robert Dziekanski's death at Vancouver International Airport, Taser International posted a bulletin for law enforcement organizations instructing officers to avoid shooting people in the chest, and encouraging them to target the abdomen, legs or back.

"When possible, avoiding chest shots with electronic control devices avoids the controversy about whether ECDs do or do not affect the human heart."

Aim lower. Avoid controversy. Words to live by.

Considering the ongoing public-relations disaster that is the Braidwood Inquiry into the Oct. 14, 2007 death of Dziekanski after he was repeatedly stunned by RCMP officers with Taser International's weapons, it is not surprising that "the controversy" is a matter of grave concern for the company.

Controversy is not conducive to a healthy bottom line, and even fundraisers featuring Playboy bunnies cannot make people forget the stunning video of Dziekanski screaming on the floor before he died, with four RCMP officers standing over him with Tasers drawn.

The Braidwood Inquiry has heard a number of compelling arguments to ban the weapons completely, and Amnesty International's running tally of American fatalities that occurred shortly after a Taser discharge (presently at 351 since 2001) is enough to give anyone pause.

Yet, as Taser International and police spokespeople are quick to point out, there are also compelling reasons to continue to arm officers with the weapons, especially in light of the very real dangers faced by the police.

The second anniversary of Dziekanski's death is a good moment to reflect on this ongoing argument, and to consider what electroshock weapons have done to our society. Do Tasers make us safer? And, more importantly, do they make us a better people?

Writing at Salon.com,American blogger Digby has argued that "Tasers were sold to the public as a tool for law enforcement to be used in lieu of deadly force." "Nobody wants to see more death and if police have a weapon they can employ instead of a gun, in self-defence or to stop someone from hurting others, I think we all can agree that's a good thing. But that's not what's happening."

A quick YouTube search shows a number of incidents in the United States and in Canada where officers use the weapons against people who, as Digby puts it, "have not broken any law and whose only crime is being disrespectful toward their authority or failing to understand their 'orders.' "

Here's but one example. After getting into an argument about a parking ticket with a Kelowna RCMP officer in 2007, 68-year-old John Peters was punched in the head and Tasered twice while sitting in his car next to his horrified wife. It is not difficult to imagine how the argument between Peters and the officer may have progressed, but it does require a major stretch of the imagination to see how a 68-year-old stroke survivor who is partially blind in one eye could have possibly threatened the officer in a manner that justified his treatment.

In that case, the RCMP has since admitted its mistake and the officer was disciplined by the force, but that hardly makes up for the terror of the initial situation. And that is the problem with Tasers. Anyone who has read about cases like Dziekanski's or Peters' is entitled to feel disgusted by the practical-- if not the theoretical --use of the weapons.

The basic premise underlining community support for police work is fairness. Without fairness, there is no chance for trust, and without trust, the dangers faced by police officers and ordinary citizens increase exponentially.

Weapons like Tasers continue to shock the conscience not because of how they are used in theory, but because of how they are used in practice. And, despite assurances by Taser International, aiming lower will not solve the underlying issue of fairness, or stop the very credible accusations of cruelty, negligence and abuse.

Kris Kotarski's Column Runs Every Second Monday.

LINKS
- Calgary Herald: Tasers BAD in theory, BAD in practice

TED Talks; the power of images and context

or see it here:
http://www.ted.com/talks/taryn_simon_photographs_secret_sites.html

Victoria's Times Colonist Sucks! (1) - The Arts section, September 26th, 2009

I read this very interesting arts-story in the Arts section of today's Times Colonist;

Martha Stewart issued an apology to Jessica Simpson on her daytime talk show Thursday after [she] made some insensitive remarks about Simpson's lost-and-presumed-dead dog, Daisy.

"(Simpson) should have been more careful," Stewart, 68, had told Us Weekly at the 25 Most Stylish New Yorkers gala on Sept. 15, adding that Simpson should "get another dog."

Simpson has reportedly been inconsolable since Daisy was abducted by a coyote less than two weeks ago. [...]

The owner of multiple dogs herself, Stewart admitted that she regretted her comments about Simpson's beloved Maltipoo.

"I said that she should have been watching her dog more closely, but I feel very, very sorry for anybody that loses a pet," Stewart said yesterday on The Martha Stewart Show. "Jessica, I hope you find your pet, but if you don't, I'm really sorry that you lost one."

That's the Arts section for you, brought to you by "the Vitoria Times Colonist Sucks!" Very interesting Art news indeed!

Braidwood Inquiry Resumes - How to actualy hear something???

They seem to have some trouble with the sound; the audio is way too soft!!

Here's how to solve it;

1. download and install VLC player
2. Open program.
3. Select "Media >> Open Network Stream" (from the top menu bar)
4.* Use "protocol http" and copy/paste the following media stream below
mfile.akamai.com/8752/live/reflector:59819.asx
5. Once it opens, you can turn up the volume up to 400% by using your mouse wheel. That's right, 4 times as loud!

Good luck.

* PS; in case the media stream address changes (it might as well with each session), then open the Braidwood Inquiry stream (get it at the CBC.ca/bc web page; click the image under "live video"; it will open in Windows Media player embedded in the page), right-click the streaming image and select properties. In the menu that opens you can find the address needed for the VLC player (as described above om step 4).

Tar Sands = Climate Crime (video) - STOP THEM!

Greenpeace video.

Wanna know what Royal Dutch Shell has been doing in the Albian Tar Sands? Have a look for yourself:

Watch today's Fair Voting BC meeting video stream online, right now! (video)

Live stream of Fair Voting BC below:

Fox News; distorting, not reporting (video)

As HuffPost's Jason Linkins reported earlier today, Fox News took out a full-page ad in the Friday addition of the Washington Post to boast about its coverage of the Tea Party protests last weekend in D.C. and also to goad its rivals by asking "How Did ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, and CNN Miss This Story?"

A number of these networks didn't take the Fox News ad lying down, and fired back, saying the ad was "just false." CNN's Rick Sanchez gave an even more colorful response (watch here) in which he said, "Let me address the Fox News Network now perhaps the most current way that I can, by quoting somebody who recently used a very pithy phrase, two words. It's all I need: You lie," the AP reports.

Now, Media Matters reports, Sanchez's network aired an ad this evening that strikes back at Fox News' claim. The ad's slogan: "Fox News: Distorting, Not Reporting."

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/19/cnn-ad-hits-back-at-fox-n_n_292158.html

Best comment of the day: Ipsos-Reid lavishes marginal error onto Cons, CanWest spreads the news

It's always good to read the comments section; surprisingly enough many people get-it-right, even after (or should I say thanks to?) years of mis-information spread by ConWest. Which brings me automatically to... Norman Spector.....

Exactly, who cares about such an asshole? I don't. Norman thinks he can win souls by using rigged polling results to prop up an argument....yawn.

Yes, it's always the Conservative Party of Canada who miraculously get better results in Ispos-Reid polls, and it's always Ipsos-Reid push-polls that get lot's of front page attention in ConWest media.

Fortunately the comment section of this propaganda article was quite informing, and it's where I found the "Best Comment of the Day":

David Gay:

"This seems like a monthly ritual. Ipsos-Reid publishes a poll that lavishes the statistical margin of error on the Conservative party: plus five points. The proprietors of Canwest newspapers order the good news to be spread across the front page. More temperate, responsible polls will follow in a few days showing what the real lead is. Darrell Bricker should look for a real job."

Thanks David, you have been nominated for "Best Comment of the Day"!

LINKS
- Norman Spector uses rigged polling numbers to prop up his ridiculous propositions
- I believe that Norman Spector is an overpaid bigot; or is he just one of many hired by CanWest to spread the ConWest propaganda?

No-deficit 'Gordon Campbell is a sociopath', oh, and a liar too.

Best comment of the day, regarding Gordon Campbell's sudden arts funding cuts :

Jay1237:

"The Campbell liberals lied their way into power. they have consistently lied and mislead about things. there is money for bridges and olympics, tax cuts for the rich and corporations but the regular guy is screwed.
Buddies of Campbell keep getting deals under the table: BC rail, rivers, whatever they like in droves.

Still he smiles for the camera.

[Gordon Campbell] is a sociopathic person.

He is destroying the very inner fabric of society.

He has to go. He is a liar and thief living in luxury. [Colin Hansen] is no better and a mere yes man.

When is health care, education going to be cut. you have lied about everything so far....with a nice smile!"

Well said, Jay! Let's see how the idea of Gordon Campbell being a sociopath holds water when compared to Wikipedia's definition of Sociopath:

Three or more of the following are required:

1. Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest;
   => THINK GORDON CAMPBELL INSIDER CORRUPTION CASES (INCLUDING BC RAIL), AND GORDONS DRUNK DRIVING CASE
   
2. Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeatedly lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure;
   => THINK ALL THE FALSE ELECTION PROMISES HE MADE, SUCH AS THE "NO DEFICIT" LIE.
   
3. Reckless disregard for safety of self or others;
   => THINK GORDON CAMPBELL'S DRUNK DRIVING CASE
   
4. Consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations;
   => THINK BUDGET DEFICIT
   
5. Lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another.
   => THINK THE 4 BILLION HST TAX HIKE STEALING FROM THE POOR WHILE INCREASING HIS OWN PAY AND THAT OF HIS POLITICAL AND BIG BUSINESS CRONIES

Wow, that's a significant match.

Congratulations, jay 1237, I couldn't agree more.

---

Premier Gordon Campbell has been creating room over the past few days for the possibility of a provincial deficit.

While Campbell continues to say he wants to avoid deficits at all costs, the certainty of just a few weeks is clearly gone.

I've written a little about this already, but here are two exchanges that shed some light on the shifting position.

January 27, 2009
Phone interview

Vancouver Sun: Can you clarify your position on the provincial deficit? It seems like for a while you've said there will absolutely be no deficit and I'm not hearing that as strongly from you now.

Premier Gordon Campbell: I think that's fair to say. We've got twin commitments: one is to a balanced budget, which is critical, but a balanced budget where we protect healthcare and education spending the things that are critical for British Columbians.

So when you have economies that are effectively falling off, when you have revenues that are in free fall it's very difficult to see how you make that equation work... 

VS: So it is possible we will run a deficit?

GC: I'm not saying that. We're trying to do our best to see how we can handle all of this, with all of the information. Every piece is moving right now and it's a big challenge to find a way to make this work to protect healthcare and education.


October 22, 2008
Meeting with a group of reporters after the economic update

Lindsay Kines, Victoria Times Colonist: If things get even worse globally, are you willing to ever run a deficit?

Premier Gordon Campbell: Let me be very clear, we are not going to run a deficit in the province of British Columbia.

LK: Ever?

GC: Let's just be clear, Lindsay, when we talk about, when you talk about a deficit, or anyone talks about a deficit, they're talking about turning their back on the next generation and sending our problems forward to them.

I think one of the things that British Columbians are very clear on is they expect us to think about the generations that will follow us. We've just spent seven years digging ourselves out of an enormous debt hole that was created by deficit after deficit after deficit. I do not accept that we should have deficits. We don't need to run deficits, we actually need to run a strong healthy economy and government should always live within its means.

iPods and iPhones explode; Enjoy!

Apple is getting worried about exploding iPhones and iPods. Read this:

Apple attempted to silence a father and daughter with a gagging order after the child’s iPod exploded and the family sought a refund from the company.

The Times has learnt that the company would offer the family a full refund only if they were willing to sign a settlement form. The proposed agreement left them open to legal action if they ever disclosed the terms of the settlement.

Nice one, Apple!

And this one about an iPhone:

A 15-year old Belgian by the name of Salvatore is the latest victim in a series of mysterious iPhone explosions that have captured the attention of France’s and the European Commissions’ consumer affair watchdogs.

[The] teenager was holding his iPhone in his hand, about to make a call, when the iPhone suddenly ‘imploded’. The incident didn’t cause any serious injuries but reportedly gave Salvatore a headache for a couple of days.

UPDATE

Apple is more concerned than ever. Look who was visiting this blog:

IP Address		17.246.49.# (APPLE COMPUTER)
ISP		APPLE COMPUTER
Location		Continent : North America Country : United States (Facts) State : California City : Cupertino Lat/Long : 37.3042, -122.0946 (Map)
Language		English (U.S.) en-us
Operating System		Macintosh MacOSX
Browser		Safari 1.3 Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; Intel Mac OS X 10_5_8; en-us) AppleWebKit/531.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.3 Safari/531.9
Javascript		version 1.5
Monitor		Resolution : 1440 x 900

LINKS

- TechCrunch: iPhone explodes; fun!
- TimesOnline: iPod explodes; fun!