20Nov 2009 by R&O No Comments

Tax Pirates

Olympics, Politics, Rants
In our modern world there are still Pirates that pillage from innocent victims, using their ill-gotten gains for nefarious and questionable deeds. I'm not talking about Somalian warlords plucking hapless victims from boats and demanding huge ransoms. I'm talking about our provincial government and their practice of pirating funds and keeping the lowly taxpayer in the dark when it comes to the 2010 Winter Olympic. These guys are the worst. Last Wednesday the NDP secured a letter from VANOC sent to the provincial government pleading for more cash. Here's what it said: "Re: Ceremony, Torch Relay and other funding. I am writing to request funding for the 2010 Opening Ceremonies and other projects. These are areas where we believe that additional funds would create further mutually beneficial outcomes as outlined…
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10Nov 2009 by R&O No Comments

The Good Ship Pays-A-Lot

Of Interest, Politics, Rants
The B.C.'s comptroller general released a report on Friday which listed the salaries of B.C. Ferries executives and board members. It's a doozy. Last July, ferries boss David Hahn received the astounding salary of $1,034,680! That's over one million dollars for the head of a public/private company that's really just an extension of our highway system. The B.C. Ferries part-time board chair makes $154,000 and part-time directors make up to $91,000 each. They must have answered one of those Make Big Money Part Time ads I guess. So how do a bunch of trough-feeders get to call the shots when it comes to their own salaries? Here's how... The Liberals gave the B.C. Ferries board the authority to approve their own raises then this same board decided to increase their…
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08Nov 2009 by R&O 2 Comments

The Invisible Candidate

Politics
Diana Dilworth, the New West-Coquitlam candidate in the byelection campaign, is being referred to by The Vancouver Sun and NDP candidate Fin Donnelly as The Invisible Candidate. Why? Because she won't participate in all-candidate debates or media interviews which is odd behaviour for someone that's been a public official since 1999. The Conservative Party appears to have told Dilworth and other Tory candidates in the four federal byelections being held Monday to steer clear of reporters and other candidates. Isn't that an odd request for a party looking for votes? Dilworth seems to be running on her party's brand name which has enjoyed a strong performance over the past year. That's fair enough but what does it tell us about the candidate? Little or nothing. Her web site is chock…
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23Oct 2009 by R&O No Comments

Notes On The News

Of Interest, Olympics, People, Politics
A few notes on the news over the last few days: - Liberal Olympic Tickets: These clowns make it too easy for me by presenting another pathetic example of how the Winter Olympics is nothing more than a cash grab by politicians and select business owners. A few of the brightest bulbs within our elected Liberal government decided to allocate approximately one million taxpayer dollars to purchase Olympic event tickets to be used by Liberal MLA's and Cabinet ministers. How galling is it that we're forced to pay for this fiasco ONCE then pay again to purchase tickets for the very idiots that got us into this financial mess. Minister of State for the Olympics, Mary McNeil, responded to media questions regarding the cash payout by assuring "None on these…
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