Keeping it Real…

51 responses so far ↓

• 1 Leah // Nov 14, 2009 at 1:17 am

  Amen, Harvey!

• 2 sunshine coast girl // Nov 14, 2009 at 1:26 am

  It’s past time for Good, Baldrey and Palmer to retire. They do absolutely nothing for us, the public, and just spout the government line all the time. Why bother with them? We already pay PAB employees to spout the same crap.

• 3 PG // Nov 14, 2009 at 1:29 am

  I totally agree. It would make great radio to hear you on one of the phone lines holding them to account.

• 4 Genuine // Nov 14, 2009 at 2:12 am

  What took you so long to realize ?

• 5 Kam Lee // Nov 14, 2009 at 2:47 am

  Bang on Harv! Gordo can now fire all his PAB gang. He doesn’t need them anymore. NW and the elite of the media are working their fingers to the bone for his highness.
  Absolutely disgusting.

• 6 Grant G // Nov 14, 2009 at 4:46 am

  Welcome to club Harvey, yea,pretty sad performance/hatchet job on the paramedics but over-all Baldrey and Palmer were critical of government(today).

  Haven`t you heard Harv….I have a certain early afternoon female radio personality on cknw in hot water with the CBSC.Canadian Broadcasting Standards council.

  You can read all about it here.
  http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.com/2009/11/david-podmore-man-of-lieseer-half.html

  My proof is overwhelming, 5 confirmed sources, I will settle for nothing less than a full publicly aired retraction. cknw has been oredered to keep the master tape,they have 19 days left to rectify the situation to my satisfaction, or the shit really hits the fan…

  Cheers-Ears Wide Open

  (Response: No, hadn’t heard. Should be interesting! h.o)

• 7 Surely // Nov 14, 2009 at 5:09 am

  Well Harv, I agree with you on this one. It seems all too tidy, doesn’t it?

  I’d like to see what they’d say about the Handydart strike in Vancouver. Oh yeah, nobody cares about that either. Except the people who absolutely rely on it.

• 8 Norman Farrell // Nov 14, 2009 at 6:12 am

  We’ve heard too many examples of these guys repeating talking points prepared by those they should be analyzing. I blogged about it more than three months ago in a piece titled, “Careless or Captured?”

  Well, after following the situation with some care, I’ve made my choice. The correct is “Captured.”

  Palmer is skilled and experienced but he lacks passion. Baldrey and Good are merely reflecting the viewpoints of their employers. If they didn’t do that, they would retired new folks, reading the blogs for stimulation.

  (Response: I don’t think they are necessarily repeating the ideas of their employers. When I was worknig there, I was never told what position to take, and I don’t believe they are either. I believe it’s a case of being too comfortable, too complacent, too much “establishment”, too close to those they cover ..so they just naturally start buying the official line without realizing they are doing that. h.o)

• 9 AJ // Nov 14, 2009 at 7:12 am

  So, as much as I sympathize with the paramedics, does this mean that their negotiating team were a bunch of stars? I don’t see anywhere that the dynamic trio on CKNW had any influence on the outcome. They ahould only report on what is going on, not make the news like some of the visual media folks do.

• 10 Lynn // Nov 14, 2009 at 7:38 am

  Well PAB(lum),
  Me thinks doth protest too much. We the taxpayers know you screwed over OUR EMS men and women. No amount of PR is going to change that.
  El dicktator Gordo best be moving on by the next election. He shant be getting another mandate.
  How shameful. He won’t be remembered as a great premier.

• 11 Crankypants // Nov 14, 2009 at 8:15 am

  Right on, Harvey. I saw on tonight’s late news that the Ambulance Service has announced that they are short staffed tonight and are giving priority to life-threatening calls first because some of the paramedics are no-shows. The also showed a clip of a couple of ambulances with the “on strike” signs changed to “un strike”. Falcon and Campbell may think they have settled the issue with the stroke of a pen, but methinks we are only in round two. If things escalate there will eventually be a tragic outcome for some poor citizen of BC and that tradgedy will be as much on the hands of the BC Liberals as it will be on the paramedics. No doubt the PAB is already preparing responses for such a situation and forwarding rough drafts to the MSM as reference material.

  The odds are against the paramedics with the LRB acting as an enforcer of the government rather than the impartial adjudicators they are supposed to be. They have been identified as an essential service and maybe it’s time they were treated as such by government, the MSM and the general public. No one knows if or when the services of a paramedic will mean the difference between life and death, but you can be assured that the latter is a more likely outcome without them. And emergency situations can occur to anyone, whether you are a millionaire or a pauper.

  (Response: No law passed by the current BC government would surprise me …but I don’t think there are laws (yet) that would allow the LRB to FORCE people to work overtime or on their days off. Unless maybe in the case of a national emergency? But would they really have the gall to declare the Olympic games and all the partying around it a national emergency?? Say it ain’t so! h.o.)

• 12 rye // Nov 14, 2009 at 8:33 am

  I did not hear the piece in question but it sounds as if it were the same type of coverage that we have recieved from day one. One sided, negative and completly uninformed. It does not surprise me at all. it is the same type of non-reporting as the visual media has portrayed as well.

  A story on tv tonight stated that if you call for an ambulance then expect to wait a long time as paramedics are booking off sick and there are several ambulances not staffed. Just so everyone knows, we are not booking off sick, we are working our regular shifts and no more. This is one of the problems that we have been trying to point out for the past 4 years. But the employer does not want to hire more people to fix this staffing shortage, they would rather blame us for not working on 3 of our 4 days off.

  There are many issues other than just wages that need to be addressed. Although i am becoming more and more bitter that someone picking up garbage makes more than i do. I have seen and been a part of things that they would only see on a horror movie.

  We have never withdrawn our services and we never could knowing that many would suffer from it. We need everyones support to stand up and tell Victoria that this is unacceptable.

  A frustrated paramedic

  (Response: I wonder if Good, Palmer and Baldrey know that someone picking up garbage is paid more than a paramedic? If that is indeed true, maybe they will see the justification of my argument that this dispute may not warrant just the three per cent given all the others. Could it just possibly be the UNION is right? h.o.)

• 13 A. G. Tsakumis // Nov 14, 2009 at 9:25 am

  I repeat what I wrote during the ’1410 is dead’ post:

  Real, provocative, knowledgeable talk radio doesn’t exist in this city. Rafe was it and then it was dramatically down hill from there. I did two weekend stints on 1410 and was told not to hammer the Premier and never invited back because I refused to be censored…Goron is a madman..

  More to the point: I do not even tune into Bill anymore as it’s just too painful to listen to man, clearly out of his depth, reading from a binder prepared by two twenty-something greenhorn producers and call it anything than what it is: pathetic.

  And while Christy has done some very good radio lately, I, too, was stunned by her lack of knowledge on the ferry issue. It might as well have been an infomercial. Her figures were all wrong and the stats were backwards. How do I know? It took me all of an hour to do the research, all readily available from govt and BC Ferries sites, plus Hansard.

  So…I will leave you with a little bomblet, so maybe this will all make sense to you… I was going to save it, but NW have become so shameless and lazy, that it must come out. The local heads of NW have some splainin’ to do…

  During the 2005 municipal election, I was still on the Board of the NPA in Vancouver. (I didn’t become a scribbler until 2005). My youngest daughter was going through life saving heart surgery about the time of the mayoral nomination, fought by Sam and Christy. I resigned from the campaign committee to assist my wife with caring for Giulia (who is fully recovered, thank God), but had an interesting conversation with someone, who stunned me with his revelation…

  He knew that I was supporting Sam (I did so because Christy’s husband would have turned City Hall into a federal Liberal outpost) And this other fellow said to me that while he was supporting Christy, he had some regrets…

  “You know, Alec, I’m working awfully hard on getting her a sealed deal at NW for as long as she wants. She should go do that instead of Mayor. NW will do her career much better, then we can run her for whatever she wants”

  The man’s name?

  Patrick Kinsella.

  (Response: I of course have no idea if Alex Tsakumis’s reporting of any conversation with Patrick K is true or accurate. If Patrick wants to rebut or refute anything Tsakumis has said, I will be most happy to publish his version of events or lack thererof. h.o.)

• 14 Genuine // Nov 14, 2009 at 2:43 pm

  Grant G,I was listening to chtisty that afternoon too,and was asking myself if that was legal, so uninformed, and thought of how many people were buying this crap,just to justify hanns salary,THANKYOU for answering my question and keep up your vigilance it’s much appreciated.

• 15 Willy P // Nov 14, 2009 at 3:36 pm

  I’m trying to decide who needs the chapstick more- that trio or G.C.’ s posterior. The other part that disturbed me was the defense of David Hahn’s booty haul. Or is that a keel haul for the taxpayers?

• 16 crh // Nov 14, 2009 at 4:14 pm

  CKNW is just another arm of Gordo’s PAB. The only people who listen to this are die hard liberals anyway. Everyone else sees through the biased talking points and just get mad at the lack of balance.

  This segment of The Three Blind Mice has always bothered me when I listen to it. All they do is have their all boy’s snicker in agreement and pat each other on the back. And repeat, repeat, repeat.

  This government has now managed to make the paramedic service worse, as no one is doing any voluntary shifts. The service is underfunded, and thus understaffed (one of the unions beefs). If Good and his co-horts don’t understand this, then perhaps they will if one day they are in the unfortunate position of needing an ambulance as response time may not be as quick as necessary. Maybe they can call a cab instead.

• 17 RossK // Nov 14, 2009 at 4:17 pm

  Harvey O said:

  “But when trusted media pundits on BC’s most listened to talk-radio station sound like government spokespersons, not probing, questionning advocates for the underdog, I believe neither the interests of justice nor real journalism are well served.”

  Agreed.

  Which is precisely why I will not now, nor ever in the future, be hitting that link to the (nolongerso) Giant 98 audio link.

  (unless someone like, say, Mr. O lets me know there has been a serious change of heart over there, either before, or after, lunch).

  .

• 18 Great Aunty Bertha // Nov 14, 2009 at 4:45 pm

  AJ,

  I don’t think it matters how fabulous your union negotiating team is. When the employer knows that they can get the gov’t to legislate a the employees back to work with a contract that will favour the employer, they just need to sit tight.

  Legislating the paramedics seems to have backfired a little:

  http://www.news1130.com/news/local/more.jsp?content=20091114_001834_10808

  The Ambulance Service says the staffing shortage is due to staff booking off previously scheduled shifts on short notice.

  BJ Chute with the union says the staffing shortage isn’t any kind of job action, just a reflection of the system. “At the end of the day there’s not enough paramedics to staff them and there’s no mechanism in place right now to force people to go in on their days off. That’s what the Ambulance Service has been relying on for seven months.”

• 19 R. Woods // Nov 14, 2009 at 5:41 pm

  Can someone tell me why the paramedics are not part of the fire department like they used to be. I have a friend who was in the Vancouver Fire Dept. his whole career (now retired) who told me the fire dept. is a first responder like the ambulance and that the firemen were on the scene first about 80% of the time. So, being an uninformed outsider, I asked why the ambulance wasn’t stationed with the fire trucks and he said DUH. Its a no-brainer and as a captain in the department he was lobbying that for years to no avail. Put the ambulance department back into the fire department where they belong, give them the proper training and equipment they deserve and trim the fat at the top. Just think of the savings across the province if these two departments shared a roof!

• 20 Genuine // Nov 14, 2009 at 6:07 pm

  WOW!!! ALEX,now that’s quite a BOMBSHELL please publish that letter,more backroom deals, all I can say is “WOW”!!!!!

• 21 parzone // Nov 14, 2009 at 7:14 pm

  Hi Harvey,

  Harvey you said

  Good grief!! Is that what has become of BC’s media pundits??? And the most senior, experienced ones to boot???

  I believe it’s a case of being too comfortable, too complacent, too much “establishment”, too close to those they cover ..so they just naturally start buying the official line without realizing they are doing that.ho

  …………………………………………………………

  I don/t think you can have it both ways Harvey.

  All three of these pundits (including Billy) have many years of experience and know full well what words are coming out of their mouths.

  Yes comfort, complacency and laziness are a part of this disgrace, but I’ve watched/listen to these talking heads for years also and have seen on pretty much every subject that is negative towards Gordon Campbell…… the bad bits are left out completely or smoothed over with comments like the NDP did it before Campbell or all and all it seems to be a good thing according to….. Government or friends of government or like the B.C. Rail case, try not to bring the subject up at all.

  You can’t have seasoned communicators not knowing what they have just said….not knowing that they left out the bad bits…not knowing they were taking one side over the other.

  These people are smart and so are you Harvey.

  If I, a ordinary guy that happens to pay attention can see through the manipulation of these pundits, then surly you Harvey can see that this is more than them merely doing their job in some kind of haze.

  My question again is…

  Can and are the people in the press/media allowed to have a contract or other with the Public Affairs Bureau?

  Because the consistency of this manipulation of the news HAS to be seen as a long and ongoing pattern.

  I’m not saying that Bill, Keith and Vaughn are the only ones doing this one sided story telling as I recognise this same pattern in most of the press/media personalities.

  Thank you Harvey for your time and energy spent on these important issues.

  (Response: I’m sure NO media employer would take kindly to a reporter covering the legislature also having a contract with the P.A.B. and , although I disagree with my colleagues from time to time, I have NEVER seen any evidence or hint that any of them are on contract with the P.A.B. at the same tinme as they are working as journalists. (It just may seem that way sometimes. h.o.

• 22 A. G. Tsakumis // Nov 14, 2009 at 9:43 pm

  I fully stand behind what I wrote and am happy to take 1000 lie detectors. It as a conversation we had that was actually within earshot of quite a few people. I was stunned by his lack of discretion. That conversation was followed up one day later by telephone at his office. He was brought in to assist the campaign committee with strategy, and, to his, credit, provided some good advice (none of which was followed).

  I’ve known Pat a long time and one thing he is not is indiscreet. A very intelligent man as well, but the revelations about some of his contracts over the last few years in relation to whether he is or isn’t a lobbyist, and his involvement in the vetting of the BC Rail contract are extremely significant, regardless of whether he chooses to address them.

  Notwithstanding this, I’ve never heard Christy, or NW really, very much discuss those revelations or the Basi-Virk trial, or the raid, much at all.

  Probably just a coincidence…

• 23 Patrick Bell (Not the MLA) // Nov 14, 2009 at 10:06 pm

  I worked for a terrible employer for too many years….on a much smaller scale this employer did nothing to show it’s employees how valued they were.

  Simple solution. Begin looking for another line of work (in the paramedic’s case)…for me I just found a new place of employment and much healthier environment to work…one that values me as an employee …they show that not just monetarily, but in their actions…

  Once a large number of ambulance employees vacate their positions it’ll be VERY VERY hard to find new folks to replace those that have moved on…..

  with the wage increases that the local politicians gave themselves a while back, they have no feet to stand on when trying to deny the average worked better compensation…

• 24 Genuine // Nov 14, 2009 at 10:48 pm

  Harvey what Alex is suggesting, is that there is some sort of connection with the liberals and cknw,can anyone look into this matter,as I assumed from the beginning,work out a contract for christy?what in blue blazes is that all about ,please tell us more Alex don’t leave it hanging!!!!!

  (Response: I doubt there is any official link at all … if anything, maybe some networking between people who know each other, which of course is not illegal. If listeners dont like what they hear, then can and should just change stations. But frankly, I still think overall, NW is still the leader in Vancouver .. and see no competition on the horizon, now that Talk 1410 is gone. h.o.)

• 25 DMJ // Nov 15, 2009 at 1:17 am

  The mighty NW98 has now sunk lower than the Titanic and Good, Baldrey and Palmer are now mere mouthpieces for the status quo.

  Don’t rock the boat is the modus operandi of BC’s media and except for the Straight and a few local papers (I see Potvin has thrown in the towel) have become disseminators of government propaganda.

  It is so sad, when the province is in dire need of a good Fourth Estate, we are left with has-beens who have grown too long in the tooth and rather curry favour with the elites, than expose the sheer corruption that passes for ‘good government’.

  How sad.

• 26 seth // Nov 15, 2009 at 4:33 am

  Can anybody guess at how at how much money Baldrey, Smyth, Palmer, or even Good (Ok bad me) make doing speaking engagements for business/government organizations. Seems like a pretty good way for the establishment to legally fund their very biased opinion pieces.

  Yes I know they also do union meetings but I bet thats just for show. I doubt the union would come up with more than 50 bucks and MickeyD coupon for them.

  (Response: Does anyone really know if Baldrey/Palmer do or get paid for any speaking engagements? I did a couple when I was working but never charged (just didn’t even feel comfortable asking); now I’m retired I guess I should/would charge …for time, expertise, drawing power (LOL!) but actually truth is I never was paid by Talk 1410 for any of my guest spots; or NW when I was Bill Good’s invited guest (in fact, lost money on that one…paid my own DOWNTOWN parking ; nor, of course, are there even any ads on my blog. Where oh where have I gone wrong?? h.o)

• 27 Genuine // Nov 15, 2009 at 4:49 am

  Harvey you said it best when you asked gordon campbell to his face and I remember that newscast,are you going to be a premier or a dictator,only time will tell,no truer words were ever spoken!

• 28 Norman Farrell // Nov 15, 2009 at 6:34 am

  You can book Vaughn Palmer for a speech here:

  http://nsb.com/speakers/view/vaughn-palmer

  (Response: If he chooses to be a public speaker in his spare time, that is his right ..but have any of his speeches/appearances been PAID for by the BC government or others he comments on? That’s what I would find of interest? h.o)

• 29 Norman Farrell // Nov 15, 2009 at 6:37 am

  If Keith Baldrey received fees or expenses or honoraria from the BC Department of Labour, would that be a conflict?

  http://www.lcs.gov.bc.ca/privacyaccess/Conferences/feb2008/Bios/Keith-Baldrey.htm

  (Response: I would see it as such. h.o.)

• 30 Norman Farrell // Nov 15, 2009 at 6:41 am

  This was a question I posed to Tzeporah Berman of the Power Up Conference 2009:
  —-
  Did PowerUp pay appearance fees to media commentators Bill Good, Vaughn Palmer, Keith Baldrey or others?”

  “Do you have a position about whether media members should accept remuneration of any sort from subject they do or might cover?”
  —–
  All three were advertised as conference speakers and Bill Good hosted the Power Up people for a long interview of puffball questions on NW.

  (Response: Good questions. But what were her answers? h.o)

• 31 Lynn2 // Nov 15, 2009 at 3:36 pm

  A pox on both their houses.
  Both the government and the paramedics are showing a total disregard and lack of professionalism for public health and safety.
  Time to privatize and fix the ” broken” ambulance sevice.

• 32 RS // Nov 15, 2009 at 4:26 pm

  Only time will tell??? Time’s up! The jig’s up! Campbell’s despotic and illegal tearing up of a public contract in 2001 cost us more than $85 million — way more if you factor in the lawyers’ booty, court costs etc. over the six years it took to let Campbell know he wasn’t above the law. But I fear the man just doesn’t get it! Who knows how many other nefarious, underhanded or dictatorial dealings he and his cronies have been embroiled in since.

  How about a list? Feel free to contribute.
  OK. I’ll start:

  BC Rail
  DUI
  Dubious deals for IPPs, PPPs
  Haisla/Alcan/BC Hydro fiasco
  Bill 30 handcuffed local governments
  Pilloried Paramedics
  Campbell’s 53% wage increase
  HST and budget election lies
  Convention centre cost overruns
  Pirates within BC Ferries (Hahn and the board should be made to walk the plank)
  How much to run the PAB???

• 33 DMJ // Nov 15, 2009 at 4:59 pm

  Harvey, Charlie Smith has done several items about reporteers and speaking engagments and by the sneering response by the ‘big three’ on NW, they were not happy.

  I used to be a semi regular guest on NW and did the rounds on all talk shows hosts & tlak shows(even got interviewed by you once or twice), but today to be sneered at by the mainstream media is seen to be a badge of honour.

  I’m afraid the blog is fast becoming the news medium of many and that is both good and worrisome, as with the blog, there is no standard code of conduct or veracity of stories or postings.

• 34 Ruraidh // Nov 15, 2009 at 6:46 pm

  From my point of view, the provincial liberals have gone beyond the point where they have lost public trust (that would mean they might regain it) but are the point where the rupture in public trust is irrepairable.

  The callous ideological treatment of the paramedics (regardless of the merit of their case) is proof positive of the total atrophy of the political skills of Campbell and his group.

• 35 SharingIsGood // Nov 15, 2009 at 8:13 pm

  Further to my last post:

  (Edited by h.o. .. I would ask all to please refrain from personal/family questions/accusations in commenting on topics.)

  I can never remember seeing Baldry do anything but sneer when “NDP” leaves his lips. The same is mostly true for Bill Good. Of CTV, Global, CanWest: none of them seems to have the interest of their viewers/readers at their core. All three organizations seem to report from a very biased (pro BC Liberal, Pro federal Conservative) perspective, from my perspective.

  Please note that neither I nor my wife belong to any political party.

  (Response: I HAVE seen/heard all three of them being highly critical of Libs (HST, Budget deficits, Campbell’s handling of other issues) so I think you are quite incorrrect. But on the paramedics I believe they have slipped … badly. h..o)

• 36 Norman Farrell // Nov 15, 2009 at 8:53 pm

  Answers from Power Up 2009 about whether they paid speakers: ” “

• 37 SharingIsGood // Nov 15, 2009 at 10:35 pm

  Harvey,

  RE post #35 (and the one previous):

  I am at a loss to understand why you redacted my publishing an exerpt of the Minutes of a committee of the BC Legislative Assembly where it showed that one of the wives of the three reporters being spoken about was contracted by the BC Liberal government as a consultant. Being married to a government contractor while reporting on the actions of that government seems like a conflict of interest to me. Those minutes are part of the public record. I am not making any unfounded accusations; I am just using the general rule that says that if something in government has merit, it must have the appearance of having merit. Being a pundant who reports on the actions of one’s spouse’s boss doesn’t pass the smell test to me. Perhaps my restrained editorializing was a bit more than you wanted to publish, but that could have been edited out by you without redacting the entire posting.

  And, yes, I have read and heard the afore-mentioned newscasters as being critical of the BC Liberals, but they also spend a good deal of time excusing/minimizing BC Liberal shenanigans and generally can’t seem to comment upon them without digging up some ancient history about their opposition. I can’t remember those same reporters treating the opposition with the same kid gloves. If they ever did, I would assert that it is the exception rather than the rule.

  (Response: One reason: I am really enjoying retirement and don’t want to have to go back to work after spending my life savings fighting .. even winning …a lawsuit for libel/slander (would YOU pay my legal costs?); and second, I know people in the news business where the spouses work for opposing stations and I have NEVER noticed or would I ever suggest their home life could be compromised unless one caved in to the other’s differing employers’ interests. Nonsense! Also… I really believe when criticizing people in the public eye, we have plenty enough fair game to go after regarding their actions without questionning whether a spouse, brother, sister, uncle, aunt etc is behind it or influencing them at all. I just think that is quite improper and won’t let people use my blog to do that. Unless you have some written signed legal document that acknowledges such infleuence peddling or impact ACTUALLY DID take place?? Not just a question, or suggestion, or hint, or speculation, especially when the ones raising it originally are partisan politicians. h..o)

• 38 Ron // Nov 15, 2009 at 10:39 pm

  Just like Christy Clarke, barking about the pensions of politicians nowadays last week on one of her shows. I tried to get on and ask her what pension she is receiving after her pit stop in the ledge and they wouldn’t put me on. What a hippocrite !!!! Just shows what low life scum are getting into politics and, how many nowadays, that are jumping from civic, to provincial, to federal politics to double and triple dip on pensions. Makes me sick. Even Fin Donnelly, who I thought was on the up and up, is now a double-dipper. I’ve lost all respect for him and politics completely. We have to change this badly.

• 39 SharingIsGood // Nov 15, 2009 at 11:14 pm

  ” …especially when the ones raising it originally are partisan politicians. h..o”

  I had no idea that it was originally raised by a partisan politician – though I understand that it could and probably should certainly be the case. I found the link to the spouse in the public record after performing a search on the reporter in question. It sent me to a comment made on another blog and i went to the source to find the record. I think that the reporter in question, if he hasn’t done so already, needs to make a public statement so that everyone is aware that he might have the appearance of a conflict of interest. I certainly know that if my wife were a government contractor that was listed in the public record, I would feel obligated to make it very public so that the public could make up its own mind.

• 40 Henri Paul // Nov 16, 2009 at 12:30 am

  DMJ // Nov 15, 2009 at 4:59 pm
  I’m afraid the blog is fast becoming the news medium of many and that is both good and worrisome, as with the blog, there is no standard code of conduct or veracity of stories or postings.
  ——————————————————–
  DMJ Im a little curious maybe you could elaborate, if Harv doesn’t mind as it is his blog.
  There is a cute little cliche you alluded to “standard code of conduct or veracity, are you implying that the MSM is following some type of standard? Whose standard ? Does veracity apply to the MSM?W

  If not for the Blog, how would we know how badly our Paramedics are being treated by this govt? Are you stateing that MSM are not biased in thier reporting of their poor treatment?

• 41 lynn // Nov 16, 2009 at 12:41 am

  Quote:

  “Their unanimous message (which makes for frustrating, boring radio, by the way), repeated over and over, was that: the paramedic’s union had rejected the government’s offer of a 3% increase accepted by other public unions last Spring; and, the paramedic’s union had therefore missed the $4,000 signing bonus deadline, accepted by other public unions.”

  This was a sign of integrity and strength of principle on the part of the paramedics.

  That the inept BC Liberal government and their fawning media pundits are unable…. or refuse to recognize and respect those fine and noble qualities merely points to their own weakness of character…..and their own arrogant disregard for human rights.

  I only wish our hard-working paramedics well.

  We are lucky to have them.

  The ambulance service is not broken….

  But democracy in BC is.

• 42 Dan. R // Nov 16, 2009 at 7:53 am

  I can never remember seeing Baldry do anything but sneer when “NDP” leaves his lips. The same is mostly true for Bill Good. Of CTV, Global, CanWest: none of them seems to have the interest of their viewers/readers at their core. All three organizations seem to report from a very biased (pro BC Liberal, Pro federal Conservative) perspective, from my perspective.
  ======

  I agree and that is the problem in BC. If the NDP had gone 500 million over on the convention centre we would still be hearing all about it. They rarely if ever criticise Gordo. The main stream media is a utter joke in this province and is not worth the time or effort to read or listen to.

• 43 Crankypants // Nov 16, 2009 at 8:15 am

  Lynn, I have to disagree with one of your points. The BC Ambulance Service is indeed broken. Any essential service that is structured in such a fashion that it depends on scheduled overtime to meet its minimum requirements on an ongoing basis is an enterprise that is on life support.

  A question I have regarding this whole situation is the ultimate endgame of the BC Liberals by forcing a contract on the paramedics. They had to know that things were likely to escalate once the essential services rulings imposed by the LRB at the start of the strike would cease to be valid once the new contract was imposed. Is this Kevin Falcon’s way of reducing the number of patients seeking emergency service at the various hospitals and thus making it easier for these hospitals to reduce their staffing requirements? After all, less patients means less demands on hospital services and could therefore justify less staff.

  Another thing that gets my goat is how the MSM has been handling this whole issue. The last three nights they have had Lee Doney of the BC Ambulance Service doing an interview about the number of paramedics that have “phoned in sick”. Not one of the reporters asked the key question. Were the paramedics that phoned in “sick” scheduled on their normal shift or on a scheduled overtime shift. If they did indeed ask this question and did not receive a response, then they should make it known to the public.

  We, the public, assume that many of the services run by government, either directly or indirectly, are run in such a manner that they will be there when we need them. How will we ever know if the MSM fails to ask the pertinent questions? We have been fed so much misinformation by the provincial government and their hired lackeys that it is next to impossible to separate fact from fiction. The days of the public being treated like mushrooms and always in the dark must end. We deserve no less!!!

  (Response: I also wondered why no one seemed to be questionning WHY paramedics (or anyone) should be considered slacking off for simply refusing to work overtime. Working people do have families and lives away from work … and there is no requirement to work extra uif people don’t want to …esp when you feel you have an awful, uncaring, unresponsive employer that hides behind a sympathetic government willing to override workers’ rights. h.o.)

• 44 DMJ // Nov 16, 2009 at 5:10 pm

  H.P. – I only meant that anyone can have a blog and say almost anything, truthful or not. Want to see some truly nasty blogs, try the many US sites! The Mainstream media does “sorta” have a code of conduct, but it is somewhat in tatters these days.

  Blogs are only constrained by the law of libel as H.O. knows well and any hint of a lawsuit would pauper the bloggist. With the MSM, they can afford lawyers to deal with libel, but the thought of losing the house in a court case send chills down my spine.

  I have been involved in two libel S.L.A.P. suits, for comments made on the radio and newspaper.

  Now the defense against libel is truth and happily there was no case, but wealthy people, with oodles of money to spend on lawyers, can make peons like myself very uncomfortable.

  Just ask Susan Heyes, how three years in front of the courts have done!

  (Response: Actually you may be surprised that even truth is not a complete defence against libel! I once wrote about a judge, sitting on a public commission, who was so old …he couldn’t hear what was going on, asked a lawyer if he was going to make an opening statement just after he did ..and then dribbled down his tie. It never made the paper. My editor, with much more legal experience than I, said it was a libelous piece .. apparently because I was not criticising the judge’s actual decisions or rulings, but he himself..thereby possibly exposing him to ridicule and ruining his personal reputation. I try to allow the greatest liberty possible in discussions on my blog, but I try to protect the blogoshere …and myself .. by not publishing name-calling, personal or family attacks or wild unproven allegations meant more to smear someone than legitimately criticize/discuss their work or ideas. h.o)

• 45 Leah // Nov 16, 2009 at 5:29 pm

  Lynn2 – respectfully I couldn’t possibly disagree with you more!

  Two days ago I had to call the ambulance for a terminally ill family member who had fallen, with not-so-happy results. The paramedics were here almost before I hung up the phone from speaking with dispatch…and 2 more professional people couldn’t be found anywhere else in government, I can assure you of that!

  They were not only professional, they were kind and very caring…and handled a bone-cancer riddled body with the gentlest hands I’ve ever seen. All the while, they were talking with Mom…making her laugh, helping her to relax while they assessed exactly what needed to be done. They were the epitome of what first responders should be…how would privatizing this service help, how would it change things for the better? I’ve never seen a private company change a public service for the better.

  You can be assured of one thing though…the Campbell Cult is going to try to do just what you’re suggesting – if they’re not working on it already. Our loss – again. It is NOT the BCAS that’s being unprofessional here by any stretch of the imagination – this one I lay 100% at the feet of the government, Kevin Falcon in particular.

• 46 Lynn2 // Nov 16, 2009 at 6:38 pm

  Leah
  I agree with you to an extent
  Once bargaining rights are removed then binding arbitration must occur.
  Unfortunately when people are treated unfairly the result is seldom positive.
  I have worked in both public and private health care and found the service in both satisfactory.
  The majority of my 36 years in health care was in the public system and am only too aware how governments can make the delivery of care difficult.

• 47 Henri Paul // Nov 16, 2009 at 10:07 pm

  DMJ hope you realize, I was not attempting to tear a strip from you.
  You state “The Mainstream media does “sorta” have a code of conduct, but it is somewhat in tatters these days.”
  Wouldn’t you agree that,”Sorta” is in the same category as being only a little bit pregnant, and “tatters” is simply being polite for useless.

  This Libel suit threat chill that the rich and government always threaten with, is starting to sound a lot like the She cried wolf to many times story. Why would anyone pursue a Peon with a suit, sorta like a dog chasing a car , what does he do when he catches it?I would think.
  Being a union activist and doing what I thought was correct cost me about 26 thousand in wages about 10 years ago.
  Some times in life one must make sacrifices in what one believes. Some times, you can end up in jail.
  The paramedics have to stand up to Dork n Dicktater. The Govt cannot and will not win this fight.
  I know nothing of the US sites you mention, as I prefer to stay with local issue’s, these are my immediate concerns.

  Harv, regarding the drool-er judge, I would venture to say that it was more to do with the editor and the judge being of the same old boys club rather than a legal call.
  Probably this is one of the reasons why the Canadian Judges fear cameras in the court room, their fearful of their image and manners showing through, not to mention the many asinine judgements they have made of late.

  (Response: No, no, no… He was a great editor; gave me lots of leeway to usually write things as I saw it, but smart enough to cover my rear when my enthusiasm for a “story” could have cost me ..and the paper …loads! And possibly end my journalistic career far too early! h.o)

• 48 Henri Paul // Nov 16, 2009 at 10:45 pm

  Let me ask this from you Harv.
  Have you, or do you ,know of such an instance when a sitting Judge did carry foreword such a suit, against a reporter or news paper.

  (Response: Yes, there have been a number of libel/slander stories against reporters in Canada … and some dramatically altered careers. h.o)

• 49 JLo // Nov 17, 2009 at 12:50 am

  Leah writes : “The paramedics were here almost before I hung up the phone from speaking with dispatch…and 2 more professional people couldn’t be found anywhere else in government, I can assure you of that!

  They were not only professional, they were kind and very caring…and handled a bone-cancer riddled body with the gentlest hands I’ve ever seen. All the while, they were talking with Mom…making her laugh, helping her to relax while they assessed exactly what needed to be done. They were the epitome of what first responders should be…how would privatizing this service help, how would it change things for the better? I’ve never seen a private company change a public service for the better.

  You can be assured of one thing though…the Campbell Cult is going to try to do just what you’re suggesting – if they’re not working on it already. Our loss – again. It is NOT the BCAS that’s being unprofessional here by any stretch of the imagination – this one I lay 100% at the feet of the government, Kevin Falcon in particular.”

  Leah, When you say “It is NOT the BCAS that’s being unprofessional here by any stretch of the imagination “, I am not sure you mean the Paramedics or BCAS. I will agree the Paramedics that assisted you in this instance were professional and caring as the majority are on a daily basis, but they are not BCAS, they are the Paramedics. BCAS the employer has been very unprofessional and hides behind an even more unprofessional liberal government.

  Thankfully the Paramedics continue to treat their actual bosses (the public) with nothing but care and concern.

• 50 lynn // Nov 17, 2009 at 2:01 am

  You make a good point, Crankypants.

  My comment was in reply to Lynn2′s assumption that a broken ambulance service should be privatized.

  No, address the issues that need addressing and fix things so that they work effectively.

  The modus operandi of the BC Liberal government has been to intentionally dismantle good public systems, largely through underfunding and mis-management., waiting there like vultures until all is broken – and then ever-so-quickly swooping down ” to rescue” their intentional kill with a call for privatization.

  It is relentless pattern of theirs that is decimating this province….that is decimating our ability to control our own assets and resources.

  The paramedics on the other hand, through their valiant refusal to settle for a slapdash and ineffective result, have made clear they want vital issues addressed.

  It was a courageous stand whose recognition as such was a long time coming.

  It’s certainly not too late to stand by them in their deep concern that these vital issues be meaningfully addressed.

  Their critical issues are our critical issues when it comes to emergency care.

• 51 Leah // Nov 17, 2009 at 5:43 am

  JLo – Thank You for the correction!!

  And roses with apologies to our BC Paramedics! Thorns to the BCAS and government.

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