Carole James: Say it ain't so!
NDP leader Carole James was so quiet for so long, many of her own supporters wondered where she was all summer. With the HST and the Liberals imploding, it would have been a great time for the wanna-be Premier to show her stuff, to take the lead, to convince British Columbians she’s no wasteful socialist extremist. Then she...
EDITORIAL: Plans,plans,plans. Who's driving this city?
Plans, plans, plans. Rossland has been producing plans, planning documents and planning committees at a rapid and productive pace over the past half decade or more. Indeed, through the Visions to Actions process, the Official Community Plan, the Strategic Sustainability planning process, and the Climate Change action committee...
DOBBIN: The beginning of a new era in politics
I confess that I did not, as promised, spend the summer thinking about the new paradigm of local, national and global politics. It was the perfect summer at my log cabin in Saskatchewan and I spent most of it swimming to the end of the lake and back, picking blueberries and swinging in my Mexican hammock. But I did spend...
Gordon Campbell: The new Rocky Balboa?
I love BC politics. It’s often more dramatic than some of the prime time offerings offered up for our entertainment on the big screen or the tube. And, whether you see him as the hero or the villain, Premier Gordon Campbell deserves an Oscar and an Emmy.He was on the canvas, bruised and beaten down; his enemies could smell his...
Paid propaganda? PART 2: Sun/Province’s disturbing “message”
[Editor's note: Part one of Mr. Oberfeld's column should be right below this one. I decided to print the two simultaneously as this is an important issue and one that will only become more and more urgent as corporate newspapers struggle to survive in an age of declining revenues]It’s no secret that, to any branch of the news...
Sun/Province: real stories or paid-for propaganda?
How do you tell the difference between journalism today and prostitution? Hmmm... Sorry: it’s not a joke; there is no punchline; it’s only a question I’ve been asking myself since reading the ”major” Vancouver newspapers last weekend.Saturday Aug. 28 on page A-16 in The Vancouver Sun there were two captivating stories: ...
HST: Where political tragedy and comedy come together
It’s actually hard not to laugh! But really, we should be crying. Finance Minister Colin Hansen stood before the cameras this week and told British Columbians he had no idea his own Finance Ministry officials were holding extensive discussions with federal counterparts in Ottawa on the HST in March, 2009 … a few months before...
COMMENT: Gagging on Golden City graffiti
Ah, the plight of rural youth. It is a tale rife with intrigue, admonition, and teenage angs-- inextricably coupled with a deep-seated need for attention. Cries for help, guidance, parental intervention fan their way over back-alleys, side streets and decrepit abandoned edifices in need of a coat of whitewash; country-fried...
HST lawsuit: Business message is disturbing
I must admit: I have certain rules in handling responses from readers to postings on this blog. No libel, no swearing, no racist remarks, no name-calling. But I do NOT try to kill off comments from people who disagree with me (although I wonder how could they!). I don’t disqualify them because their submissions have spelling ...
BC HST Hits 20%--at selected stores
Well, that didn’t take long! Remember all those promises BC retailers wouldn’t use the HST to rip off consumers? And the Premier, the Finance Minister and the business community wouldn’t lie to us, would they?Been to Zellers lately?I was there today and the cashier asked, before ringing up the total for my single item, if ...