Oligarchy, American Style, Paul Krugman, New York Times Op-Ed “We have a society in which money is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few people, and in which that concentration of […]
The myth of democracy
Mistrusted neighbour
“Salmon farming along the British Columbia coast has expanded with encouragement from both Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the B.C. provincial government. The Canadian federal fisheries department is in […]
Has the game changed or merely the players?
Recently, I was amused by a certain radio news-talk host angrily sputtering in response to callers’ claims that he was partial and passive in political coverage. He replied that, in a very […]
So they arrested the reporter, not the bankers
Chris Hedges arrested, Truthdig, November 3, 2011: “Goldman Sachs, which received more subsidies and bailout-related funds than any other investment bank because the Federal Reserve permitted it to become a bank holding […]
The end of news as we know it
The following article was first published May 24, 2010. Since then, Sean Holman suspended the Public Eye website, Postmedia has focused on serving business not public interests, the destruction of CBC News […]
Good tax, bad tax
News item, The Guardian, November 3, 2011: Bill Gates will tell the G20 group of developed and developing countries on Thursday that they could raise an extra $48bn (£30bn) a year to […]
Autumn colours
Go, sit upon the lofty hill, And turn your eyes around, Where waving woods and waters wild Do hymn an autumn sound. The summer sun is faint on them — The summer […]
Charity, redefined
CHARITY (Oxford Dictionaries):generous actions or donations to aid the poor, ill, or helpless. The Fraser Institute styles itself the most influential market research organization in Canada. It is certainly the best funded […]
Just a pay-to-play way of life
Tomgram: Lawrence Weschler, The Great American Shakedown, November 1, 2011: “In the U.S., corruption is seldom “corruption.” … 15 of [Obama’s] top “bundlers,” who give their own money and solicit that of […]
A billionaire’s views on lost democracy
There is little wonder uber-wealthy invest in politicians because the yields can be high. Two decades ago, California developer Charles Keating gained infamy by looting Lincoln S&L of $1-billion, an amount that […]
Stadium skeptics proved wrong
News Item: “Former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters will be building an even bigger Wall at BC Place on May 26 next year. “In an announcement made Tuesday morning, BC Place and […]
More Campbell associates break lobbying rules
In March 2008, Gordon Campbell intimate Ken Dobell plead guilty to violating British Columbia’s lobbying legislation. Dobell had retired as deputy minister to the premier in 2005 and then busied himself as […]
Does Postmedia need paywalls or headstones
One might argue the four traditional estates of the realm — clergy, nobility, commoners and news media — may now be joined by a fifth: think tanks. In most cases though, these policy institutes are agents of the second estate, the nobility. If one examines the most influential of the thousands of think tanks spread throughout the western world, they are mostly financed by and serving one-percenters.
One person’s voice echoes widely
Alexandra Morton has been nominated at The Tyee for The People’s Order of BC and you are eligible to vote. These words—familiar ones to readers of In-Sights—explain the nomination: Alexandra Morton has […]
Liberals reward immorality
Without ethical foundations, leadership in government is merely random wandering among near infinite possibilities. A whim of yesterday had value then but none today. No one knows what will be expedient tomorrow. […]
Shocking RCMP performance
Documents on tortured Canadian Almalki say he posed no terrorist threat, Andrew Duffy, Postmedia News, October 25, 2011 OTTAWA — Ottawa engineer Abdullah Almalki says new documents show the RCMP’s assessment of […]
The smoking gun is visible
If the linked article had been written by almost any other journalist in the province, one might wonder if it involved exaggerated criticism of a disrespected government. But, since the author is […]
Isolation in the midst of a crowd
Campbell and David McLean The bubble of power mentioned in the preceding story suffocated Gordon Campbell. Gradually, he became isolated, surrounded chiefly by people desperate to please. Track his administration from 2001; […]
We don’t see what we most need to notice
Take note America: the public is angry, Moisés Naím, Financial Times, October 26, 2011 “Over a century ago Alexis De Tocqueville wrote that Americans’ higher tolerance for inequality relative to Europe’s was […]
Patience saves a life
We are critical when violent situations involving police end badly so its appropriate to applaud an opposite outcome, when the public is protected and the threat is taken down without serious injury. […]
in-sights.ca 
The Wall Street takeover of Canada shouldn't come as a surprise. Ex Goldman Sachs executive, Mark Carney, is demonstrating once…