Question.
If Ken Dobell had been an NDP party member - let us just pretend for a moment- do you think he would have gotten away with writing an essay? Or do you think the Liberals would have been calling for his head on a platter,complete with apple in mouth? After all, one would think that out of all the people involved with the Liberal government, Ken Dobell himself would know better than anyone what lobbying duties consisted of…But oh no, we get the little old man smile, the honest mistake defence and the premiers pat on the back for one of his good old boys. Kind of makes me want to puke.
It makes me wonder what, and how, all these political preachers teach their children about right and wrong, and about what it means to have integrity. Or are most of them just breeding another generation of bottom-feeders? I can hear it now, ” Oh no son, this isn’t the same as lying, because I’m a politician- that’s what we do ! “
Brings to mind the BC Ferries mess, and why it is that the conversation between the man and woman on the bridge, who in effect, sunk the damn ship with their misplace priorities, is not relevant? The ship sank, two people died, and that crucial ‘conversation’ s not relevant? Excuse me, why the hell not? We know they had had a relationship, we know it was their first shift together since an alleged break-up, so why are they being coddled? I don’t really care if they don’t want to be embarrassed, how much worse can it get ? HE didn’t watch the radar, because he was doing something else, and the victims families, and the public, have a right to know what was going on. And they will eventually know, because both will have to testify in the class action suit underway. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=e877a9d1-dd47-4ed1-bd44-6117f9f0147d&k=12588
Vaughn Palmers article in The Sun touches on the debate that occurred in the legislature, regarding the creation of a crown corporation to handle the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge – that aims to implement a toll charge of $3 each way. To quote Vaughn’s article: ” Yes, a full-blown Crown corporation, with a board of directors, a chief executive officer, and such “officers and staff” as the CEO deems “necessary to carry on the business and operations of the corporation.” http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=cc3fc01b-fb4a-46e8-a83c-648fbec5aa87
Sounds like a lot of bureaucracy to me. Do we really need a Crown corporation to oversee the building of this bridge? And sure , a toll might induce some to take transit, but there has yet to be a transit system put in place from Langley/Abbotsford/Chilliwack to take up the slack – not to mention that a large majority of drivers may just re-route across 108th and take the Patullo or the Alex Fraser. Government at its best.
Macleans magazine has ranked my hometown of Prince George as the 4th most dangerous city, with a crime rate that beats out Vancouver and area. But a local RCMP officer begs to differ, saying that its actually quite a safe city, with no major gang activity since 2004 . http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/03/13/bc-princegeorge.html
Sure…. tell me , did this guy just transfer in to the job? Hmmm, either that, or I would guess he was off duty when the gang shooting at Moxies in PG happened, or during any other of the gang related altercations that happen frequently. Sure, the stats are based per capita, but lets remember that PG is a much smaller city with a population of around 77,000 people. Not good. My entire family still lives there, and I hear the stories, as well as read the Prince George Citizen online. The mayor, Colin Kinsley, should be ashamed of the state of this city, because its location makes it a potential mecca for outdoor recreational tourism. However, the downtown core is a mess, abandoned shops, drunk and homeless everywhere, litter and dirt – imagine the DTES, only not quite that bad yet.
All I have to say is that if the PG RCMP spent more time working on real crime and catching real criminals, rather than hanging out in the parking lot of Pine Centre Mall giving seatbelt tickets to people trying to find another parking spot or backing out of one, you can bet it might impact the crime stats ! And yes, there’s a story there… but this cop is simply trying to take the heat that’s going to be coming, off of his units. Get to work men, some of us know whats really going on in town.
Condolences to the family of Silas O’ Brien, the young man murdered in a road rage incident out in the valley. I say murdered simply because the driver of the vehicle who had first run the young man and his friends off the road into the ditch, then later turned around and drove right at them, killing Silas while the others jumped to safety. Sounds like murder to me, and I sincerely the investigation takes that avenue. An arrest has been made, and a 38 year old man is in custody. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/03/14/bc-road-rage-icbc.html And a lesson here for other drivers – in this day and age, you never know what kind of nut, drunk or psycho is behind the wheel of another vehicle, and what has been going on in their head any given day. Be careful. Be smart. *** read the comments below for more updated information on this case…
Its news weeks like this that make me feel cynical and jaded. When our government is rife with self-serving politicians and alleged corruption that goes unchecked, when murder and crime become the everyday norm of our lives, when making it to the top is valued more than doing the right thing, and those who speak up are laughed at and ignored – what does it say about our society? What does it say about us?
TGIF.
