Category: politics

BC hydro threatens senior with disconnection after 300% increase in hydro bill after christmas

I have lived in the same,Marpole apartment for over 20 years.In that time,I have seen my hydro bill skyrocket.We began paying around 12.50 a month,always divided into 2 month billing periods.Lately,the bill has been around the 35 dollar a month price level but in December,our bill was over 75 dollars a month.When you are expecting a bill of under 70 dollars for the two months and you receive one for 150+ dollars.When you are a senior living on mincome on Canada pension,this comes as a shock.I assumed,as would any reasonable person,that there was a process to deal with rogue smart meters?It’s not like such such things are rare,by any means.I was given the run around and then my roommate,in who’s name the bill is under was given the same.What they told us had nothing to do with anything relevant.I sent a letter asking that the meter be recalibrated and what I got back was a demand letter for 112 dollars.I had already paid 75 dollars,5 dollars more than the regular bill should have been.That ,it seems wasn’t sufficient.Today i received a demand notice threatening to cut power if they weren’t paid immediately.Not that we could work something out.Not that they were looking into my complaint.Just pay up or you go dark.I won’t go into the run of river and site “C” blunders or the astronomical rate hikes hydro has demanded that the courts have had to intervene in.The current Lieberals in Victoria ran their election on corruption (that they were full of it)and how that corruption was getting big things done?The people of BC decided they’d rather slog through the mire and muck of the BC Lieberals corruption than trust the NDP.Not that the NDP were any worse than any other governments on the world stage at that time.As for scandals,there’s just nothing in the history of the NDP that touches the corruption under “Gordo” or under Crusty the Clown.What is happening to us is nothing in the over all scheme of things in BC and in Vancouver in particular.Living here is horribly expensive.Having a 300% increase in a hydro bill(admittedly it’s closer to 200%,I was factoring in that the bill had been at 56 dollars for over a decade)is something that a person on a fixed income is totally unable to plan for.Being threatened with a discontinuation of service if that wasn’t paid within 10 days is troubling.This is the kind of behaviour I’d expect from the mafia.This is pure thug behaviour.Threatening a senior,with multiple medical conditions and living on a fixed income is beyond the pale.This is the kind of thug behaviour we see in places like Detroit and Flint,Michigan.Vital services being stripped from vulnerable people with no recourse.I have long been active in my opposition to the BC government in all it’s many guises.This bill,however isn’t even in my name.This is just standard,hydro policy.They treat everyone with complete disdain.I tried to call on the phone and was put on an “at least 20 minutes”waiting list and told to hold.The last time I was on hold for over 40 and then they simply refused to deal with me as my name isn’t on the bill.My roommate is on disability and isn’t the person to complain about anything.Her income is even less than mine.This is almost certainly a case of an out of synch smart meter.Stories of them abound.Just don’t try to tell that to Hydro.These meters were backed by a very high up BC Lieberal insider,like everything purchased by this crooked government.They are a disaster and they may even be a health concern?What they certainly are is a flawed piece of machinery that is prone to malfunctions and are being run by a crown corporation who refuses to acknowledge any of this.They were installed under protest by half the Province.When something comes from a Lieberal insider who has already been paid a huge fee.You can bet there will be a battle every time something goes wrong.I am just one of a large number of BC citisens who’s so called smart meter is out of order.Having anything done about it is almost if not totally impossible.I have enough problems without this one.A company that is supposed to be a part of my Province’s legacy is stealing from a senior on mincome.It has been so badly mismanaged by this government that our rates are already hundreds of percentage points over what they could have been had we not bought into that idiotic ROR nonsense.Now they want to build a site “C” and generate even more excess power that they’ll end up selling at a loss,like the ROR forced us to pay for ourselves.It’s hard enough being shook down by your government.Even harder when you just don’t have that kind of money.Knowing that corruption,graft,insider pay offs and back room collusion are causing much of this added cost makes it unbearable.

 

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Changes to medical pot program could double costs, users say- Politics – Canoe.ca

Changes to medical pot program could double costs, users say- Politics – Canoe.ca.This came out last fall when Harper was threatening to give growing rights over to the private sector.When I got my licence I was taking an unhurried approach as I thought I had years.I was never intending to grow more than I need.At even the current prices at the compassion clinics I cannot afford the cannabis I need.I have serious back problems and so far have not found anything that works other than opiates.If this federally instituted monopoly is introduced it will go even more against our charter rights than forcing patients to buy from the feds.What’s the difference between forcing us to buy from someone that they pick and them?Not much.If a name is needed to go forward with a suit,I’m more than willing.

StoptheDrugWar.org | raising awareness of the consequences of prohibition

StoptheDrugWar.org | raising awareness of the consequences of prohibition.While we have continued to fight the good fight,People continue to go to jail for what are,essentially,health problems.Others,like myself are left in chronic pain because our former drug use has made us pariahs to the BC College of Physicians & Surgeons and we cannot receive proper pain medication while in other jurisdictions people complain about being drugged into unconsciousness.It’s a small wonder that a society in which even the so called experts have no idea what they are dealing with or how to use the tools they have at their control.That the people we elect to office,most with no medical knowledge at all are getting it all so very wrong.Even in countries where a method of decriminalization or legal treatment options have been successful ,our political leaders scoff and say it wouldn’t work here.They never say why but one can only assume that they think their population is inferior in every way to those from Europe,where most of the gains have been made.One group of local politicians toured Europe and ignored every country with progressive policies and stuck to Italy,a country famous for it’s hard line approach to addiction and drugs in general.There are none so blind as he who will not see.Evidently,it is saner to propose a base on the moon than to take a new look at a problem that was created by politicians in an era where every vice was seen as the devils work and bad laws were enacted that it has taken years to rid ourselves of.This prohibition of substances with thousands of years of little harm has created a problem that didn’t exist until the twentieth century.Drug laws are historically the result of a religious fervour and no small amount of racism.They are aimed at controlling certain segments of society even though their use is often much more prevalent in others.This is only going to end in one way.Like alcohol,drugs are a personal choice and have been around for almost as long as man.Their use has a long history and has been tolerated or enjoyed by all segments of society since their discovery.People have made their choice clear with the use of their hard earned dollars.The harsher the law is made in an effort to deal with the problem the harder the criminal that enters the ring.Alcohol was controlled by the most vicious and deadly and so now are drugs.Our money and human resources can be better spent on education,treatment and where those don’t work,maintenance.The cost in dollars and cents is a no brainer.It costs 45,000 dollars to keep a man in prison for one year.This is money wasted in the worst possible way.People are picked up for minor drug charges and wind up facing murder charges just trying to protect themselves.Who’s fault is it that that person’s life is forfeit?When I was dealing in the 70’s,80,s and 90,s there were very few killings.What there were were over rip offs or personal beefs.Now people are shot for wearing the wrong color or being on the wrong block.This is not progress.I have watched for 43 years and things are much worse every decade.To do the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome is insanity.We need to drop this failed prohibition before things get any worse.Every year there are newer and more dangerous drugs.Without the market created by prohibition we would still be dealing with opiates and cannabis with a few psychedelics thrown in.Meth had already run it’s path and faded out.New pharmaceuticals created a whole new plague there.People used to take bennies.The harsher the law enforcement the worse the problem gets.Take it from one who’s seen it all before.As a species we are terrible at learning from history.I am seeing old fights that we thought were over being dredged up by a new generation of prohibitionists who are just as ill informed and are using the same debunked arguments as those from generations past.Even those trying to bring about change are insisting on doing the same work as in the past.This stuff is all out there.Someone just has to collect it all together and even then the politicians will put themselves and their careers ahead of the common good.That is our biggest problem.Willful ignorance with a personal motive.

http://yfrog.com/page/addthis?server=576&filename=r3lms.jpg&yfrog_url=http://yfrog.com/g0r3lmsj&is_photo=true&screen_name=rodmickleburgh

http://yfrog.com/page/addthis?server=576&filename=r3lms.jpg&yfrog_url=http://yfrog.com/g0r3lmsj&is_photo=true&screen_name=rodmickleburgh.This woman dared to protest against Stephen Harper.She was,luckily,off the bike at the time.Not just content to muzzle climate scientists and environmentalists,use closure on all debate and legislate an end to all strikes since gaining his majority.Harper will not contenance any protest of any kind in his presence.He has changed the letterhead on government documents from the Canadian to the Harper government and has returned the Royal designation to our armed forces.The man is a megalomaniac and a racist as are many of his cabinet.He is an evangelical christian and a zionist.His utter disdain for political protocol verges on the dictatorial.He managed to go from a minority to a majority government with a .001% increase in the popular vote.He has been changing the rules with reckless abandon ever since.He can probably now hold his majority without gaining a single vote.He represents 39% of 55% of eligible voters.About 21% of Canadian voters.He stands alone in opposing any harm reduction measures,let alone drug reform.His opposition to cannabis legalization flies in the face of both the evidence and the general public.There is something fundamentally wrong with our system when such a small minority of public opinion can rule like a dictator with nothing that can oppose him.The gap between rich and poor will widen to new and terrible heights under this government.The environment will be degraded and the grip of corporations is guaranteed to be solidified.Like the Mulroney years before,Harper will leave a legacy of wanton corruption that will take decades to repair.

Harper shows us what’s important to him

The CTV network managed to lose the oppositions tape but somehow managed to find not only a tape but time to play it for Mr.Harper.Harper spent his time doing what he does best.Being divisive and trying to widen already existing splits in the country.He seized on the separatist issue almost exclusively which was no surprise because he already showed his total lack of any stimulus plan or any ability to work with the opposition parties.He,in fact,tried to remove their funding and destroy their ability to perform.By harping on the separatist issue Harper once again showed a total lack of any understanding of how to get people to work together.He completely misses the fact that he represents 38% of 52% of the population.He tried to use that tiny minority as if he had a full mandate and the power to run roughshod over parliament.The fact is the opposition coallition represents almost double the population that Harper managed to fool at the polls.I,for one,am anxious to see if the opposition/government coallition can last and put the country back on a path of humane and people driven policy.Perhaps we can actually become a leader in environmental policy and get back to a science based approach to government policy.Maybe there can be a re enstatement of the Kelowna accord and begin treating our native peoples with some dignity.Harper has been a disaster for all but the very top rung of our society.He places his own moralistic view ahead of reason and research and in fact has muzzled government scientists on everything from the climate to Insite.Now with the economy in need of some real stimulus he wants to porogue parliament and delay further any action on that very critical front.This proves that when it comes to all this concern for the country,Harper is just blowing smoke in an attempt to hold onto what really matters to him.Beating the other guy.Harper has bullied his way out of office by doing the impossible.Harper has united the progressive elements of government by being the stubborn bully he just can’t help being.Goodbye Mr.Harper.It’s been a nightmare watching you destroy our country.Get together with your friend Brian Mulroney.He’ll show you how to con the country out of millions.He has the experience.

The cause is unknown

That’s what the feds would have us believe after six inmates were transported in ambulances and an air ambulance after five were stabbed and one was shot.This occurred in the Edmonton federal lockup on Canada day which was,coincidentally,the first day of the federal prisons ban on smoking and tobacco.The link below is from you tube and posted well on scribefire but all that came over here was the  three words.The riot was kept quiet because the feds know this smoking ban is going to explode.They just want to try to minimise the damage.Remember,you heard it here first.

Goofy: No Smoking

The Brenda Martin dichotomy

There is little doubt that the Harper conservative government has just spent an inordinate amount of tax money achieving the release of this self loathing drunk from a Mexican prison.What I would like to ask them is why?While Marc Emery,a man that always paid his taxes and declared his income and job description,awaits extradition to the United States,a country whose prisons are probably as bad as Mexico’s.Our government intercedes in a case of a woman who was probably far more culpable than Emery ever was.Martin is an admitted drunk with what she claims are zero memories of her crimes.That her co-accused interjected his testimony into her proceedings is probably proof that she was involved in some way or he would have said nothing.This government has abandoned long standing tradition and ignored it’s responsibility to intercede in capital cases.Yet it involves itself,to the financial detriment of all Canadian taxpayers,in the case of a drama queen with friends with enough media savvy to make it appear that she has some support.I find it inconceivable that Canadians would consistently ignore the plight of non-violent drug offenders.Yet would spend money and influence in the case of an over dramatic,self involved drunk that lived like a queen off of the criminal proceeds of internet crime.All you out in the world’s prisons doing time for possession of drugs for personal use,threaten to kill yourself and whine to the Canadian consul at every opportunity.Find a friend with a computer and the knowledge of how to send multiple e-mails under different names and have at it.And to the Canadian news services,please,no more of this woman’s face crying tearlessley into your lens.A person can only take so much really bad acting.Mr. Harper.If Brenda Martin,a drunk that’s done nothing for her country but give the impression that we’re whining sniveling wretches,deserves your intercession,we expect you to send the DEA packing without Marc Emery.It would be nice if you told them to leave their guns at the border.We would like our sovereignty back.

B.C. Government uses the homeless to hide favors to their friends

In a move that can only be described as brilliant as it is evil.The Liberals have once again announced they’ve bought hotels in the DTES in order to “preserve” SRO’s in the area.This time they did it through a single developer that managed to acquire all six buildings for very low prices and then sell them to our government for in one case, three times it’s estimated value.All of the hotels that the government has purchased have been bought with tax dollars for well above their evaluation of worth.Most are in disrepair and the money to fix them up would have been covered if there hadn’t been these speculation buying sprees just before their purchase.Even if a reasonable profit had been asked the costsphoto-4-copy.jpg would have been covered.Paying value x3 makes one wonder just who thought this was a good deal for the taxpayers?Hiding this kind of boiler room deal behind the homeless issue is disgusting.Rewarding the “friends of Gordon” is SOP for this government and has been from day 1.