Glenn Greenwald: A key purpose of journalism is to provide an adversarial check on those who wield the greatest power by shining a light on what they do in the dark, and […]
Shining a light
Norm Farrell
Gwen and I raised three adult children in North Vancouver. Each lives in this community, as do our seven grandchildren. Before retirement, I worked in accounting and small business management. Since 2009, I have published commentary about public issues at IN-SIGHTS.CA.
Murphy’s Law applies, universally
The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: The EAST OHIO GAS CO. EXPLOSION AND FIRE took place on Friday, 20 Oct. 1944, when a tank containing liquid natural gas equivalent to 90 million cubic […]
Racism taints Kwikwetlem reporting
This week we learned that Ron Giesbrect has been re-elected as Chief of the Kiwkwetlem band. The following was first published here October 8, 2014——————–My initial reaction to reports of compensation paid […]
No one said fares are fair
Tickets for once a week travel on the 57-year-old 49-car ferry North Island Princess, between Powell River and Texada Island, for a car, driver and passenger, cost $1,634.49 a year, including frequent […]
Pipeline to Beijing
Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver made certain intemperate remarks about radical foreign “billionaire socialists,” by which he did not mean the unelected billionaires who run the Chinese People’s Congress in Beijing, but rather American matinee idols who enjoy heli-skiing vacations in the Kootenay Mountains. The servility of Canada’s political leaders (municipal, provincial and federal) to the obvious manipulations of Chinese strategists who flaunt world trade and financial market principles and jail democracy-promoting authors for 10-year terms is a national disgrace.”
The BC Liberal way: some pay, some don’t
//storify.com/Norm_Farrell/takin-care-of-business/embed//storify.com/Norm_Farrell/takin-care-of-business.js[View the story “Takin’ Care of Business” on Storify]
Getting what you pay for
Isn’t it true that almost none of the fraud that’s swallowed Wall Street in the past decade could have taken place without companies like Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s rubber-stamping it? Aren’t they guilty, too? Man, are they ever. And a lot more than even the least generous of us suspected.
Changes inevitable for Teck Resources
Teck Resources and its associates invested more than $2.25 million in contributions to political friends in British Columbia. That was a good deal for BC Liberals but, whether or not it benefited […]
Chomsky on media
What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream, Noam Chomsky, Z Magazine, October, 1997 Part of the reason why I write about the media is because I am interested in the whole intellectual culture, and […]
Response to inhumanity: resilience
. Photos of Kobani, Syria, a former city described by The Guardian: …it’s an extraordinary, nightmarish place they find, barely recognisable as a city. Piles of rubble where buildings once stood, burnt-out […]
The moderating effects of moderation
RossK writes about the Pro-Media Club and its implicit rulebook, which includes a requirement that no one reprove a colleague, even if overstatements and misrepresentations morph into purposeful lies. The blog world […]
Enough said…
This comic conveys my disgust at people who diss teachers and try to shortchange education. What is wrong with you? pic.twitter.com/P5lQDTuCgP — Doug Coupland (@DougCoupland) June 18, 2014 Please, take time to […]
From outside the Liberal spin machine – RERUN
The following first published July 21, 2014: Does it surprise you to learn that British Columbia earned a net of only $61 million in gas royalties in the last two fiscal years? […]
NF with Ian Jessop, CFAX1070, March 24, 2015
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Don’t miss…
BC Legislative Press Gallery searches for news The account of a one small Alaskan newspaper holding a BC Minister to account for his misstatements of fact: The Bleatings Of Bill Bennett…Not Just […]
Pavco pain
What happens when you’ve got a stadium that cost taxpayers more per seat than almost any sports arena in the world has cost the public and it’s only needed a few days […]
"Very, very irresponsible…"
Dr. Norman Spector, is a highly educated individual with experience at the highest levels of government service. After serving as Deputy Minister for BC Premier Bill Bennett, he was Secretary to the […]
LNG in Howe Sound – Dr. Eoin Finn
Eoin (Owen) Finn B.Sc.,Ph.D., MBA, a 30 year resident of Bowyer Island, Howe Sound, retired KPMG consultant. From Vancouver Observer From the Spring 2014 edition of Rising Tide, a newsletter of Living […]
Would 7¢ fines deter improper acts by citizens?
A fine of $100,000 to Enbridge is equivalent to a fine of 7¢ to a Canadian earning median income. Looking at net assets, a fine of $100,000 to Enbridge is equivalent to a fine of 45¢ to a person at the Canadian median. Finland is a nation that believes in both progressive taxation and progressive punishment. A millionaire businessman was fined €54,000 ($73,000 CAN) for speeding. It is part of a tradition of “progressive punishment” that considers ability to pay.
Liberal astroturfing
Damien Gillis of The Common Sense Canadian talked with Ian Jessop on CFAX1070 about a group that is funded by government and industry. The audio segment is available below. We should pay […]
in-sights.ca 
The Gordon Campbell/ChristyClarke years did not bode well for BC. The same Developer real estate views are still widely adhered…