Wednesday, May 06, 2009

 

B.C. citizen's assessment of what the Campbell government has done to British Columbia so far

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BC Liberal Americanization of Formerly Public Assets and Services

By: SharingIsGood

Since coming to power, Gordon Campbell has allowed BC assets and services to become owned and controlled by exceedingly wealthy and powerful US individuals and corporations. If these corporations thought it prudent to buy assets and provide services for British Columbians, why did the BC government sell them? BC citizen tax dollars, user fees and utility bill payments have been contracted to go to the richest of Americans, and Campbell's government is the one that has signed the contracts giving our money to them. We have been sold out.

BC Rail

Looking through CN Railway's financial statements a couple of months ago, I found that through the purchase of BC Rail, CN has already made huge profits. Within the reports it was stated that a good deal of CN's improved financial position and profits came through the acquisition of BC Rail. It seems to me, even if the people of BC had wanted to sell the railway (which they didn't), Campbell chose the very worst time to sell.

With record use of BC Rail lines and equipment for transporting BC resources, CN has made great sums of money! Further, CN sold off BC Rail equipment, reduced service and reduced BC Rail staff. CN was also given huge tax breaks by Campbell for purchasing the railway. The Liberals stated they wanted to get the BC Rail debt off the books. Astute businessmen, CN found the BC Railway debt-to-assets ratio not to be anywhere near excessive. So here we have it, reduced payroll for a reduced (BC Rail) staff, reduced taxes from that payroll, and a tax break to CN. Campbell's terrible business skills were again at working against BC citizens.

Note: Bill Gates invested heavily in CN with the sale of BC Rail. He became its largest shareholder in 2006. I, for one, don't believe Gates (the richest man in the world) would buy into a losing proposition.

Bill Gates, with his 32% share of CN Railway, now owns 32% of what used to be BC Rail?

Notice that CN had an average annual earnings growth of 37.6% over the five year period: 2004 through 2008.
http://www.teamstersrail.ca/TCRC_News_March_6_2009.htm

CN Financial statements available through this link:
http://www.corporateinformation.com/Company-Snapshot.aspx?cusip=C12437280


BC Hydro

Plutonic Power holds the bulk of the new IPP "Run of River" power generation applications and development. Through a financing agreement, General Electric holds 49% stake in the company and is will receive 60% of the profits from the generation of electricity by Plutonic Power. Warren Buffet, the 2nd richest man in the world owns Berkshire Hathaway which in turn holds gobs of GE; and, while GE has been investing in Plutonic Power, Berkshire Hathaway has been buying more heavily into GE. I don't believe that Warren Buffet would allow his company to invest billions in anything but a sure thing. In the end, billions and billions will come out of BC citizens' pockets and into Warren Buffet's.

Though the environmental degradation is thought by many to be the worst factor in opening these private projects for a pittance of a fee, if one cares neither about the Salmon nor the forests, then one should (at the very least) care about money and maintaining control of our rivers. The Liberals claim that the rivers are only being controlled by the rich Americans for 45 years (at which time their contracts are up). In reality, under NAFTA, it will be next to impossible to take the rivers back. Our great-grandchildren will most likely continue lining the pockets of the Warren Buffet/General Electric empire.


BC Gas

Under Campbell BC Gas was made into Terasen Gas which was then sold to the Texas-based Kinder Morgan which then became part of the Carlysle Group.

The Carlyse Group is the World's LARGEST private equity firm. The Campbell government sold off your gas company to a private corporation owned controlled by some of the world's most rich and powerful people. Though there are many current and past famous people within this group; some are quite notable; some are thought to be notorious.

George H W Bush was senior advisor to the Carlysle group from Apr. 1998 to Oct. 2003. Donald Rumsfeld (Former US Secretary of Defence) was Chairman Emeritus from 1998 - 2005. James Baker III: Carlysle Senior Counselor 1993-2005. Et


BC Medical Insurance Corporation - Maximus

Under the Liberals, Texas-based Maximus [and HERE] took over the record keeping of BC Medical records. The cost of this service is higher than had it been kept in house. The cost has jumped 60% since the company took over our records in 2004. Maximus' profits are up too.

More notable than the loss of jobs and capital to the US corporation, however, is the threat to BC citizen's right to privacy. Under the USA Patriot Act, all records transported (even digitally) across the border to the US are subject to warrantless searches by arms of the US government which includes the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the CIA. Canadian Citizens have no rights in the USA. This includes any psychological, psychiatric or addictions treatment performed by any BC health care professional. Maximus does consulting with government bodies in the US. They provide services for the US government. This puts this US-based consulting company in charge of your BC-based documents. Could this be a conflict of interest? Is Big Brother is watching you?


Notable is a $30.2 million (US) Medicaid Fraud settlement paid by Maximus.

Maximus Settles Fraud Case for $30.5 Million

Suit Alleged False Medicaid Claims

By Alejandro Lazo

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 24, 2007; Page D04

(snip) "In the legal case, Maximus neither admitted nor denied the government's allegations. The government alleged that Maximus had helped the District of Columbia's Child and Family Services Agency submit false claims to the Medicaid program.

The U.S. government had previously recovered $12.15 million from the Child and Family Services Agency, bringing the total collected to $42.65 million." (snip) ...


This is the parent company of the company that handles our medical records.



BC Family Maintenance Enforcement Program – Maximus/Themis:

All Family Maintenance records are controlled by Themis which is a subsidiary of Maximus. Should Themis send any of these records to the parent company (for backup storage etc.) in the USA, these records are also subject to Patriot Act warrantless searches.


BC Public Schools Records

Permanent records and records of individual student programming is conducted utilizing the BCESIS program. This includes the records of behaviour or emotional problems and the prescribed treatments for those problems.

BCESIS is owned by Oracle Canada, a subsidiary of the Oracle Corporation.

Oracle can be found in the data centres of 100 of the Global Fortune 100 companies. Oracle is first answerable to its stockholders, and secondly answerable to any governments with which it does business. Oracle is controlled by Redwood Shores which, in turn, is controlled by USA founder and CEO, Larry Ellison. Larry Ellison is the 3rd richest American and the 4th richest person in the world. Larry Ellison makes money on every student data file stored by the BC Ministry of Education.


I.C.B.C.

The Oracle Corporation now stores and controls ICBC data – including driving infractions and arrest records. Larry Ellison makes money off every record that ICBC has on you.


The author wishes no copyright for any of his writing above; please feel free to distribute his words as you wish. - SharingIsGood.

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Breaking news:

Campbell's Stikine Candidate involved in dirty tricks
NDP Press Release - May 6, 2009:

– Gordon Campbell needs to answer some tough questions about the dirty tricks going on in Stikine, says New Democrat candidate Doug Donaldson.

“First fraudulent phone calls blanketed the riding, telling people that the Liberal candidate was an incumbent,” said Donaldson. “Now Campbell’s candidate is publishing advertisements representing him as the incumbent.”

Stikine Liberal candidate Scott Groves told listeners at the Hazelton all-candidate’s forum that a telemarketing company, Opinion Search, conducted the original fraudulent ‘poll’ telling voters that he was the incumbent.

“Whoever ordered up these phony polls paid a lot of money for them and now Campbell’s candidate is using their tactics to his advantage with his latest ad in the Northern Daily,” said Donaldson. “This is fraudulent, and Gordon Campbell needs to be held accountable for it.”

The advertisement that falsely claims Scott Groves is the incumbent was authorized by the financial agent for the BC Liberal party.

" ... If he is doing this now, how can people trust anything he is saying or promising about the future?"

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Comments:
Excellent work Sharing - that should give the PAB bots something to buzz about.

Well done.
 
Thanks, GWest. Coming from you, that is high praise, indeed.
 
Outstanding work, SharingIsGood.

You clearly and succinctly outline the BC Liberal's gross mis-management and sell-out of our public assets and private information.

Hope everyone passes this exceptional article along to others....preferably before May 12th.
 
Fantastic 'One Stop Shop' treasure trove for those trying to keep track of what The (so-called)Great Manager's 'deals' have cost us in more than just money.

With Sharing's and Mary's permission, I'd like to post this up on the sidebar at my place if that's OK.

Thanks,
RossK

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I'm posting as anonymous, Mary. The site seems not to like my name and password at this time.

Thanks for the compliment, Lynx.

RossK, Please create a sidebar, copy and/or post away. Send it to any and every person you wish. Please encourage others to do the same. I am truly honoured that you believe it is useful.

There is no copyright on this material. Please Share. After all,
SharingIsGood
 
BC Hydro has signed 89 contracts to buy 14,860 GWh of electricity from private IPPs. 7,765 GWh of that is currently online now. The remaining 7,095 GWh will presumably come online in the next few years. There are more proposals in addition to this.

In 2008 BC Hydro was a net seller of 1,161 Gwh of electricity. Hydro is also upgrading its own power plants. We don't need more IPP power! Plutonic will make $millions. BC Hydro will go broke.
 
Stikine incumbency fraud scandal:

Well, we can assume CanWest won't cover this, it's unlikely CBC will touch it. Unless some legal action is launched because of it, i.e. if I'm not mistaken, the actions of the agent of the Liberal Party were illegal, if only the misdemeanour of negligence. But especially if it can be shown he knowingly knew what the ad said, then his signature - the responsibility he assumed in his capacity as financial agent for the party - he criminally defaulted on. And I'm pretty certain it's a criminal violation of the Elections Act. Not fraud exactly, but - what exactly? Perhaps one of the lawyers hereabouts may know what the liabilities of a financial agent's position are, and opine on the relative punishment if this were negligence, or wilfull deceit.
 
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Good grief.

So "Anonymous Grumps" is "SharingIsGood"???

I can only repeat: it's fine by me whatever User Name you decide on ... but it helps ME if you'll stick to ONE name.

Why? Because then I know if I'm talking to the same person 10 times ... or if I'm talking to 10 different people.

And SIG, there is NO password required on this site.

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"Excellent work Sharing - that should give the PAB bots something to buzz about.

Well done."
I call G West and raise him 100, on this post SIG. Mary doesn't allow many people to post at her place, on the front page, except for Robin M, but you should be a regular - if you're up to the task and it is okay with the big M from what soon may be "what used to be Beautiful BC"

Obviously, if Gordo is allowed to continue his pillage after May 12 it will be clear that the minions of the Public Affairs Bureau and the lickspittles of ASSper Media have done half of their assigned task very well.

Then they only need to get to work on the second half. That will be to keep the people of BC convinced that it was a good idea to sell off (or give away) the resources of our province to the already rich - because we actually prefer to live in an exploited and devastated jusrisdiction without the having the burden of using our own wealth to provide services for ourselves.

I would like to thank Gordon Campbell, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, the saints at Accenture, Carlyle and all the rest for giving the people of British Columbia the opportunity to live in poverty, and enjoy degraded
medical service, education and all the rest because we all prefer to benefit from the character building that we can hope to gain from living under a regime of oppresive expoloitation and poverty, without the distraction of any hope for a better life for our grandchildren.
 
Kootcoot,

From the writing I have seen you produce in the past, I believe it is you who should consider writing the next article.

SharingIsGood
 
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Hmmmmm ...

Thank you Anonymous Grumps, SharingIsGood, Island Cynic,

[couldja please just pick ONE User name and stick with it?]


You ask a good question. And within minutes, another e.mail arrived with an Open Letter dated 2002 written by Paul Nettleton warning about the stealth legislation for undermining BC Hydro.

It's the underhanded method which gives the game away: it's such a bad decision, it can't stand the light of day.

Same reason we've never been allowed to see the BC Rail agreements either, I think.

Here's the link:
Subject: Paul Nettleton on BC Hydro

http://www.republic-news.org/archive/50-repub/repub_50_nettleton.html


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"stealth legislation"

Great term.....is it current or did you coin that?
 
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By gosh, it is a good term, isn't it?

And [ahem], yes, it did just happen to fit what I was trying to say just now. So I guess that makes it mine.

Thank you.
 
er, nope, but great minds do think alike:

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22stealth%20legislation%22&sourceid=mozilla2&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
 
It's in another thread somewhere, it belongs in this section's list too: the simultaneous expansion of cabinet (giving most of the new and inexperienced caucus much more of a salary than they would have as mere MLAs while also taking away and real power from those positions and centralizing power in the Premier's Office. I remember at the time more than one columnnist observed that it was a change in the constitution, being achieved by convention. "Convention" meaning "if you can get away with it, it becomes standard".

But why have a cabinet, and queen's ministers, if they're only ceremonial. Are they only window-dressing for what has become, in effect, a presidency?
 
Not so much a presidency Skookum1, as a not-so-benevolent dictatorship.
 
It all depends, in which way you look at it. Campbell's, gross mismanagement, is true, concerning the citizens of BC. However, his terrible business deals, has put a vast sum of cash, for, his own personal wallet, and to hell with BC residents. So, his mismanaging was deliberate. His lying is deliberate. His deceit of both the provincial and the Olympic deficits. I, just have to say, Campbell, has the lowest personal character, for a premier, of all time. Citizens, hold the utmost contempt of him. He is a criminal sociopath, and should be in prison, and traitor, Harper with him.
 
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