We have seen the Future - and it is SCARRRYYYY

John McCain, who could be the next American president, was in Israel yesterday.

He referred to the Jewish holiday, Purim, as "their version of Halloween here.”

And why is that relentless light hog, Joe Lieberman trailing along behind him?

Lieberman, a longtime Democrat and failed presidential and vice-presidential candidate, is now the Connecticut senator listed as an "independant Democrat."

What does shadowing McCain make him?

A whore.

Crime is Nice. We're Canadjun, eh?

Metro Vancouver has moved in one swell foop - or is that, one fell swoop? - from being The Wild West Show to being Crime Central West.

11 mob hits in less than 3 months.

Lovely.

But, as that great American philosopher, Alfred E. Newman, would have it, "What me, worry?"

Heck no.

We've got Wally Opaque to keep us calm.

Gosh and golly, I just feel like I've had a cup of warm milk and a cookie.

Thanks Wally, and how's The Beav?

Paul Scofield 1922-2008

Considered one of the greatest actors of his time, Scofield is justifiably remembered for his indelible performance as Sir Thomas Moore in "A Man for All Seasons." He won the Best Actor Oscar for that role.

Read the NY Times obit here.

Carmen & Only Carmen

Robert's Tale of Two Cities

Fellow blogger, Robert Werner, has written a terrific piece about the difference between Vancouver and Honolulu.

It's an eye-opener and I urge you to give it a read:

http://pelalusa.blogspot.com/2008/03/tale-of-two-cities.html

Water

Think you're not rich or fortunate or blessed today?

Try this on for size.

One in five human beings does not have access to fresh drinking water.

Think again.

Give thanks.

And think about the future.

For all of us.

Not all things are Equal

Question:

When Raymond Louie announced his mayoralty chase on Sunday, the Sun printed a very small article on a back page with a tiny black and white picture of the Vision councillor.

Today, Alan de Genova gets half a page, huge headlines and a quarter page full color foto.

Vas geipt?

ICBC - Chop Shop

It's a little more than disconcerting to learn that the government agency responsible for cars and what we do with them is selling rebuilt wrecks without disclosing the car's history.

What's the difference between ICBC and you average garden variety crook?

Answer: it's a government agency and apparently immune from the law and prosecution.

That's reassuring, isn't it?

Non, Je ne Regrette Rien

Non, Je ne Regrette Rien

THE GORDFATHER...OFFERS WE CAN'T REFUSE

To The Editor

Racketeering? Conflict of interest? Secretive government meetings? Episode
of the Soprano's?
Nope - it's a new series called "The Gordfather".

TransLink decides where the transit routes and stations go, and the zoning
is changed to maximize their density/profit, regardless of the consequences
to the community. They decide on the method of construction with impunity.
They decide when to purchase the property with this secret knowledge,
without any pesky competition. They even choose who will win their favour to
build on this land and share the spoils.

And the public that is impacted and pays for all this - that's us - does not
have a say in anything. As a matter of fact, Kevin Falcon has made it clear
even to the Municipal Mayors that if you don't honour the TransLink family,
you and your communities will be dead to him.

Small businesses that get in the way don't stand a chance of survival.
You just couldn't make this stuff up.

Good thing they have a Vice President of SNC Lavalin on the Board to advise
them, and a director of Canada Line to assist with how to get away with
offering no compensation! And what a bonus that Shato Holdings has very
close ties every whichway to the Gordfather. Makes it so much easier to have
White Spots in every station, and residential towers over all their
restaurants. Sweet.

I think the people of BC have just been kissed off.

Susan Heyes
Standing up for Democracy (against all odds)
604 687-0721

Liza & Joel on MOney, Money, Money

Translink- The new Condo King

The story about Translink becoming a Billion dollar landowner, covered by the front page and by Pete McMartin in today's Sun, is an interesting and important issue.

But it seems to me that a few good questions have not been asked.

Yes, it's a good thing that the system can generate money and stop bleeding homeowners who drive and never get on a bus or train.

Yes, it's a good thing that someone will develop communities and hubs of activity - commercial, residential and recreational - around skytrain stations.

But the Big Question of who, who, who gets to do all this has not been sufficiently explored.

The very last paragraph on the front page story is found on page 2. It tells us that the first 3P deal is imminent, maybe as close as a few months away.

OK.

So to whom has Translink's new government appointed, arms-length board been talking?

Peter Wall? David Podmore? The Hell's Angels?

As always, the key to such stories is FOLLOW THE MONEY.

But the public cannot follow what is being obscured.

The Musqueam deal was back-room brokered between two Campbells - Ernie, the aboriginal chief and Gordon, the Premier.

How much of these million-dollar development deals will be back-room brokered between the Great Control Freak Premier and favored developers?

Will new and growing developers have opportunities? Will small companies stand a chance?

Will we ever know, or, much as usual, will we sit back like compliant Canadian sheep and watch the city grow around our 50 inch plasma escape machines?

George Bush - Accountant Extraordinaire

Bush, the president who has no interest in health insurance for American citizens, estimated the cost of the Iraq war at a mere $50 Billion.

Turns out he missed the mark by a tad.

How about $4 TRILLION?

Of course, there's no oil or infrastructure or arms profit to be made by friends in health care.

Read the bloody mess here.

Welcome to Sleepy Hollow

My neighbours are idiots.

Showing no progress, no understanding and huge short term memory loss, they elected another Liberal yesterday in Quadra.

Can anybody in Point Grey say, "Sponsorship scandal?"

Does nobody recall the outrageous corruption of the Chretien years and the fumbling ineptitude of the Martin Moment?

Apparently not.

Just hang onto the old status quo, you sleepy fools.

May your taxes rise and your services decline.

BCTF - One of the Great Rogue Orgs in Town

Oh, look. The BCTF is fighting the government again. What a surprise.

And, look. It's about performing tests that are a part of their job as teachers.

And, imagine, they are so dedicated to their work with children that they will stop teaching just to bare their snarly teeth.

No doubt they are all cheering on the Olympics, where people compete ferociously with one another.

But go forbid their students should face the dreadful stress of competition.

Or even more to the point, forbid that anyone outside of themselves should judge the teachers' performances, as the rest of us are judged by a thousand methods in our work every day.

It's no wonders many teachers are embarrassed by their own union.

Call it The Dobell Act

Applause to the provincial NDP for proposing a bill to limit the lobbyists.

This may have no chance of being passed, but it is a good piece of legislation nevertheless.

The NDP's private member's bill proposes:

- That former ministers, senior political aides and deputy ministers like Dobell be banned from lobbying government for two years after they leave government.
- That anyone convicted of violating the lobbyist law face a lobbying ban of up to two years.
- That public officials disclose all contacts with lobbyists.
- That the lobbyist registrar be given expanded powers to conduct investigations.
- That deputy ministers, like cabinet ministers, be prohibited from accepting a contract or benefit from government for two years after departing.

No doubt Premier Transparency will make sure this doesn't see the light of day.

This is so great I can't stand it.....

Joan Baez

Holocaust Ban Correction

Snopes. com reports that the "UK schools ban Holocaust studies" is a story that has been going around in various forms for several years now, and that the truth is that one school made such a ban, not the entire system.

Read this update, sent from a friend, here.