A favourite blog site for many is RossK’s The Gazetteer. RossK is a busy medical research scientist who also enriches his life performing music. Perhaps above all, he is a humanist. Scotty on Denman, an informed and articulate regular on social media sites, left a comment at The Gazetteer that I repeat here for emphasis.
The prospect of lost power and influence has financial elites gathering money to conduct unprecedented misinformation campaigns. They will be assisted by a dependent corporate media that has grown too close and comfortable with the few people making political policy in our province. For example, as I’ve pointed out repeatedly, resource industries gained billions through subsidies and tax reductions and they are willing to spend heavily to maintain those benefits. In the transition period, it will be important for citizens to ensure that all points of view are heard and evaluated, not just the views of special interests.
While BC Liberals and ardent supporters such as the Fraser Institute claim to favour free markets, private power contracts show how false the commitment is. We can’t know the price paid for AltaGas power in BC because contracts are secret but the amount is certainly more than three times the $33 per MWh market price paid in Alberta. This demonstrates why big businesses in this province are putting up big dollars to ensure Liberals continue controlling government. British Columbia is rich in natural resources but Christy Clark and friends are determined that profits should accrue to very wealthy friends and are not to be wasted on ordinary citizens.
On April 8, Vancouver Sun published an opinion piece by BC Hydro Chair Brad Bennett titled B.C. Hydro, vision, planning and fortitude — getting the job done. The Vancouver Sun does not identify Bennett as a partisan campaigner in BC’s current general election. In the article, Bennett applauds Liberal power policies and repeats an outrageous lie that has been part of BC Hydro’s misinformation strategy for more than 12 years.
<p><a href=”https://vimeo.com/212828728″>CHRISTY CONFESSES</a> from <a href=”https://vimeo.com/jorjor”>George Orr</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>
Video asks, “Do you want a better BC government elected in the May 9, 2017 provincial election?”
David Eby’s video:
“Too many people are struggling. Together we can take action to end BC’s housing crisis. “
There are charities for many purposes with widely different levels of quality in the work they do. Each of us decides the sectors we’ll support for reasons that are very personal. For […]
Many readers enjoyed the Christy Clark video in Hypocrite! and found it revealing, particularly as Clark’s Government was spending millions of tax dollars to flood social, print and broadcast media with campaign promises and Liberal promotions. Here is another taste of Ms. Clark.
Feeling heat from the Opposition and worried about angry voters, BC Liberals dissolved the Legislature two weeks earlier than planned. They didn’t even pass the budget, so the MSP cut is only a campaign promise.
If you are a new reader, stay awhile or come back again. You’ll find more than 2,000 commentaries published over the last eight years at this no-advertising, readers supported site. Many touch on subjects traditional media choose to ignore.
By slanting news or withholding information, media affect what a large segment of the public knows or does not know about public affairs. If groups profit improperly through actions of government, rewards can be immense but, if the looters control media, they can act in the shadows. The checks and balances within a democracy are distorted if media becomes a subsidiary of vested interests. Accurate public discourse is discouraged or impossible.
Former broadcaster George Orr created TALK!, an excellent documentary that will appeal to every person who valued radio for being unique in each community it served. TALK! explores broadcasting and how the functions of commercial operations are driven by self-interest, not by communities needs. While fishing for the story of radio, George lands by-catch. It’s a politician we all know.
A listing of BC’s 2013 election results. PDF and MS Excel formats.
Annual reports of the parties filed with Elections BC reveal that BC Liberals have consistently taken in substantially more political contributions than BC NDP. This is a seven year summary to 2015 (2016 reports are not yet posted).
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