Vancouver Secrets

Is The Media Really That Biased?

photo credit: ♥♥peppersmom♥♥

Welcome To The Harper Derangement Syndrome.

Search Google news for Stephen Harper and you’ll see exactly how biased the media is against him.

The top of the Goggle results start with this quote:

“Last night, Stephane, you panicked,” … “Your platform says we will spend billions of dollars we don’t have and go into deficit. (You) will raise taxes that will kill jobs”

Keep in  mind that most people don’t read the story - just the headlines…

The media is actively campaigning against the Conservatives and Harper - giving the equivalent of millions of dollars of advertising to the other parties.

I expect this in Vancouver where we have two newspapers owned by the same company… but you’d think that there would be one newspaper in Canada that isn’t far left.

Which leads me to question:

What are the papers in Canada so afraid of that they would compromise their integrity this way?

Isn’t the media supposed to balance coverage of the parties?

The papers are partisan hacks, and lack the balls to objectively look at what’s best for the country.

The NDP will crush the economy, the Liberals would return Canada to cronyism while holding us back through socialism, and the Green Party would take us back a century.

The Conservatives will move Canada forward globally, get government out of legislating behavior, and open Canada for business… I don’t see that as a bad thing.

Or, is it because Harper is from the west?

Cool Way To Spend NDP Money

photo credit: brooklyn tyger

I’ve read the NDP needs campaign funds fast.

If I wanted to be mischievous, I’d tell you how to play a game to see how much they have remaining…

1. Search Jack Layton (Google or Yahoo)

2. Click on the Sponsored Links on the right.

3. Spend a few moments on the site. Enjoy.

3. You’ve just cost the NDP campaign budget 50-80 cents.

Once the ad below is gone, you know they spent their daily budget.

Sample ads:

Layton takes on Big Oil

Finally, a prime minister who’ll
put your family first. Donate now.
NDP.ca

or

Join Jack Layton’s Team

Finally, a PM who’ll put you and your family first. Donate now.
JackLayton.ca

The Liberal party doesn’t seem to be buying Google ads - hmmm.

Don’t Buy A Strata In Vancouver

photo credit: penmachine

If you decide to buy (?) think twice of the property is a strata. A strata is basically a political board - and we all know how politics work in BC.

Some of the fun things you’ll get if you do buy a strata include:

* There’s no source of legislation interpretation to let you in on the operation of strata corporations according to law (search Google and let me know if you find anything),
* They do not need to inform owners and purchasers of the financial implications of the condition of common property,
* No need for an audit of strata finances even where the strata corporation has hundreds of thousands of dollars in a reserve fund, and
* The lack of prosecution of developers operating contrary to strata legislation.

In other words, the strata typically becomes a group of self-serving busy bodies, with the ability to harass, ignoring problems with common areas, and getting away with it.

The lack of audited financial leaves the system wide open for misappropriation of funds.

A neighbor of mine has been fighting with his strata for over a year, as they will not fix the exterior of his condo. They won’t let him do it himself and have made his life hell. His property has taken a hit and he has nowhere to turn.

His only option is to sue, and the cost is very high. And the strata board knows it.

Look out for buildings where there are foreign investors also. They won’t vote or participate in the strata’s decisions. This can create a lot of problems.

The “leaky condos” mess should have brought radical changes to stratas, but I guess legislators were too busy passing lifestyle laws and finding new sneaky ways to tax us, to really care about condo owners financial security.