http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/Letting our readers know what we want them to know since 2002.ennoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Sat, 21 Feb 2009 07:49:46 PSTBlogger http://www.blogger.com599125http://www.feedburner.comhttp://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/fb_pwrd.gifThis is an XML content feed. It is intended to be viewed in a newsreader or syndicated to another site.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/f6QiI59KJ3E/end-of-line.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Mon, 13 Dec 2004 03:40:38 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-110293803802720428Well, following a long stretch of business, procrastination, and a bunch of other crap not worth explaining, ianking.ca is now up and running. Yes, it's a fancy-pants, standards-compliant, CMS-powered website just like all the cool blogging kids have, with an engine lovingly grown in the south of France. All, or at least almost all, of the stuff on this site has been migrated over to the new 5http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/12/end-of-line.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/0fDcct8iY34/suzuki-on-anti-americanism.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Sat, 13 Nov 2004 15:25:33 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-110038830840812867Renowned fruit-fly breeder David Suzuki, also rumoured to be something of an environmentalist and favourite target of the rootin’-tootin’ pollutin’ crowd, lays down the smack on those self-hating Canadians who equate disagreement with the Bush administration with outright. His view? That of a scientist who got his Ph.D from the University of Chicago and whose work on Drosophila melanogaster (3http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/11/suzuki-on-anti-americanism.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/TeSKEXVtOmo/post-elxn-down-south.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Tue, 02 Nov 2004 23:12:44 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109946596457010886Paul Wells offers a bit of post-election wisdom. I’m not bothering; I’m hacking away on an assignment that I should have filed 12 hours ago. Read his stuff instead. The majestic Howard Dean coalition %u2014 youth, new voters, the “wired,” the “disenfranchised” %u2014 remains the France of electoral coalition-building: genuinely useful, if only it would freaking show up for the freaking fight0http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/11/post-elxn-down-south.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/5myVv2Ol2fs/spank_109902769805045043.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Thu, 28 Oct 2004 23:51:54 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109902769805045043Take that, Gordo: NDP neophyte Jagrup Brar knocked off star BC Liberal candidate Mary Polak in today’s provincial byelection. With unofficial numbers from 80 of the 104 polls, Brar has 4,321 votes while B.C. Liberal Mary Polak is well back in second with 2,963 votes. Canadian Press has declared Brar the winner With a few more polls rolling in, that lead is 2http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/10/spank_109902769805045043.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/n161-IE48LU/gotta-love-ralph-not.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Thu, 28 Oct 2004 23:04:35 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109902739296071741Must be election time in Alberta: Ralph Klein’s attacking disability payment recipients. Odds are, that he wasn’t thinking when he said this… In the same speech where he stressed the need to help the vulnerable, Klein said he was at a recent sod-turning where two women were “yipping about AISH payments.” “They didn’t look severely handicapped to me, I tell you that for sure,6http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/10/gotta-love-ralph-not.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/SRDlFjdNn9w/pundit-peter-principle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Thu, 14 Oct 2004 07:02:31 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109776255188818283Michael Campbell, “business pundit” whose failures at running his own business caused him to retreat to the safe world of rehashing tired old Fraser Institute cliches, in today’s Sun: In looking at the Downtown Eastside, it’s difficult to make the case that in order to give voice to our most disenfranchised neighbourhoods they need their own city councillor. Judging by the political and 1http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/10/pundit-peter-principle.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/q1zP4S71kTQ/black-darkness.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Thu, 02 Sep 2004 15:36:04 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109416456474206758Slate’s Daniel Grossman elaborates on the misaventures of neoconservative icon Richard Perle’s misadventures in business at Conrad Black’s Hollinger Digital unit. It appears that Perle’s judgment is as flawed in business as it is in forign and defence policy. Well, at least he can thank Black for giving him a cushy job while the Republicans were out of the White House.1http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/09/black-darkness.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/422QEAThos0/curious-logic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Wed, 25 Aug 2004 03:16:37 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109342893169088990 This story speaks volumes about the drones proud Americans rushing out to buy the book Unfit for Command, an anti-John Kerry screed recently in the news. NEW YORK – The nation’s two biggest bookstore chains, Barnes & Noble and Borders, say angry customers are accusing them of political bias as the retailers struggle to keep up with demand for a best seller that questions John Kerry’4http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/08/curious-logic.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/Xsfpk64euMc/link-pruning.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Sat, 14 Aug 2004 16:18:39 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109252550690663811Yes, I realise that fiddling with the blogroll is probably not a high proprity given that I really should be working on this thing so that you can read my drivel there rather than here. Nonetheless, I draw your attention to three new adds in the "Canucks" section -- the excellent Tilting at Windmills, and two with Bell Globemedia conections: CTV web journo and info-scout extraordinaire Bill 2http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/08/link-pruning.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/vwnNK2zPOVQ/hack-turns-flack.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Thu, 12 Aug 2004 18:18:06 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109235988661656918Let the sniping begin: CBC Radio senior parliamentary reporter Susan Murray has crossed over to the Dark Side to become communications director for public works minister – and fellow Bluenoser – Scott Brison. Murray, a pit-bull questioner on air and in the scrums, was positively gushing over the new boss. “I think the only person who could have enticed me away from the CBC is Scott,” she 0http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/08/hack-turns-flack.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/wQDOOFAwsTQ/exit-strategy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Thu, 12 Aug 2004 17:16:35 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109235619551333923One way-out story from New Jersey today, where state governor James McGreevey has resigned after admitting to having had an extra-marital affair with another man. The previously well-in-the-closet guv’nah, now on his second wife, was elected in 2001, replacing Christine Todd Whitman, who joined the Bush administration as its normally-ignored EPA administrator. McGreevey, 47, 0http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/08/exit-strategy.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/gK8BklEjAZc/terminal-city-tune-out-way-out.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Wed, 11 Aug 2004 23:37:25 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109227184376152620From last week’s Terminal City, a column on the network TV tune-out from the Democratic National Convention, and a big yawn-out to the blogs. Unlike some other critics, I happen to think that the nets were right to skip over the conventions now that no actualy news comes from ‘em. Coming up in tomorrow’s paper, a snarky look at the shake-ups at both the Province and the Georgia Straight. Both of2http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/08/terminal-city-tune-out-way-out.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/APOH4xNtEFY/keep-diggin-that-hole-randy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Wed, 11 Aug 2004 23:52:24 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109225952128813538Q: What do you call a guy who consents to be interviewed for a documentary, knowing that what he says will be controversial; signs a release, and then tries to backtrack with the help of lawyers after the shit hits the fan? A: Randy White. The Abbotsford MP’s strongly worded comments against same-sex marriage, recorded for the upcoming documentary Let No One Put Asunder, caused trouble for 0http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/08/keep-diggin-that-hole-randy.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/dAGmxqLfIac/messy-greasy-necessary_09.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Mon, 09 Aug 2004 20:02:35 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109210695572894553Terminal City colleague Heather Watson is developing Poutina, a site devoted to serving up “unhealthy gossip for Canadian tastes.” That alone should be enough to send you there. Not yet officially launched, but complete enough to point to.0http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/08/messy-greasy-necessary_09.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/whhgsCz3Ppk/that-aint-news-bub.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Mon, 09 Aug 2004 19:01:02 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109210294912791211The Vancouver Sun never ceases to amaze. Once again, the city’s purported paper of record decides to make its own news and give it some serious play rather than actually go and and find it. Apparently, a website poll on people’s reaction to Svend Robinson’s conviction and sentencing for theft over $5,000 is worthy of page three. (Of course, it’s hidden behind the subscriber firewall.) The Sun’s 1http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/08/that-aint-news-bub.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/1pWtwIIWCco/testingdumping.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Sun, 08 Aug 2004 00:06:28 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109194059978469126Get ready for the new move! UPDATE, 12:00 AM: An explanation is in order, I suppose. Just as Blogger has become sufficiently rich in features to make me almost wanna stick with it, I've decided to go with a real content management system, lovingly crafted in the south of France by a Vancouver expat. As such, I've been dumping content out of this site and attempting to import it to the new site, 0http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/08/testingdumping.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/xU1HU3jnDF8/oh-barbarella.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Sat, 07 Aug 2004 13:09:09 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109190934981576154She may need to pick up a few new gigs to satisfy that extravagance that knows no bounds…0http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/08/oh-barbarella.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/4ao0VrbvsG4/we-dont-need-no-chinese-wall.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Wed, 04 Aug 2004 19:15:23 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109164524092941948Former federal environment minister David Anderson blamed his firing, in part, on a camapign by the oil lobby and its allies in the editorial boards of the Calgary Herald and National Post. Herald editorialist Charles Frank disputes that, claiming that his efforts at getting bums tossed out of high positions is pretty poor. He then drops this gem about the paper's anti-Anderson campaign. Yes, we 0http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/08/we-dont-need-no-chinese-wall.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/gtrlw95v9NE/bloggers-prove-useful.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Thu, 29 Jul 2004 20:37:59 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109115867977717194I've studiously avoided the DNC bloggers, the much-hyped web diarists who have willingly subjected themselves to days on end of convetioneering, apparently for PayPal donations, recognition, and bragging rights. Globe Technology editor Jack Kapica has been paying attention, and clues into the bloggers' use: the local angle on the convention, something abandoned by most smaller newspapers and 0http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/07/bloggers-prove-useful.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/9MSkWlqbZf8/canadas-murder-capital.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Fri, 30 Jul 2004 00:23:02 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109115749503998594Not gang-riddled Vancouver or the decadent metropolis of Toronto, but God-fearing Abbotsford. Yes, the buckle of British Columbia's bible belt, represented in Ottawa by a vulture who made his career out of others' sufferinganti-crime crusader Randy White, had the highest murder rate of any metropolitan area in Canada, tied with rough-ass Regina. ADDENDUM, 12:10 AM: Abby mayor Mary Reeves is 0http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/07/canadas-murder-capital.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/eVPh-mPPdXA/hand-it-to-cnn.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Thu, 29 Jul 2004 20:11:50 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109115711062092805Just watching the Democratic national convention on the boob tube -- well, I suppose that John Kerry's speech was, well, okay -- but CNN's audio feed beat all. While the other nets flipped over to the taking heads as the mass of balloons and confetti rained down on the Fleet Center (enema, shurely?!) and Kerry get the requisite hugs 'n kisses from the wife and stepkids, CNN went with the voice 0http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/07/hand-it-to-cnn.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/AToqCySr-qA/like-others-im-told.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Tue, 27 Jul 2004 15:50:56 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-109096865606257392That I should update this site once in a while. Okay, fine. I've been taking it easy the last four weeks, having worked myself silly through the federal election campaign. Trust me, it's good for you, and it probably beats the hell out of the month-long temper tantrum that some folks have been throwing simply because Canadian voters didn't agree with them. (Odd, though, how it shook out -- the 2http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/07/like-others-im-told.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/VLO6RoK6FUc/reckoning-vancouver-and-environs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Wed, 30 Jun 2004 01:52:33 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-108858555343342463Ted White's loss in North Vancouver was the night's big shocker. North Vancouver is widely seen as good, solid, conservative territory: the riding's been Progressive Conservative, then Reform, then Alliance since 1979. Liberals have run high-profile candidates -- Gordon Gibson Jr., Iona Campagnolo, Mobina Jaffer and Warren Kinsella -- at the riding only to lose to PC loony Chuck Cook, then White,7http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/06/reckoning-vancouver-and-environs.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/OUUuli3wSEs/no-live-blogging-here_28.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Mon, 28 Jun 2004 16:28:22 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-108846530281912671Busy as I am with reporting commitments, you probably won't see much updating here tonight. For live-as-it happens reax, check the blogroll to your left or turn on your TV. CTV, the Star, the CBC, and canada.com all have realtime results; analyse them for yourself. See you later today, or sometime tomorrow.1http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/06/no-live-blogging-here_28.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVancouverScrum/~3/m-_L1xK9eBo/required-reading.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian King)Sun, 27 Jun 2004 23:37:14 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3648568.post-108840350678474712If you really want to know what drives Conservative leader Stephen Harper, forget the minibiographies, features on his chilhood and family, and all that other crap. Globe and Mail political columnist John Ibbitson's feature on the so-called Calgary Mafia -- an agglomeration of neoconservative academics from the University of Calgary -- reveals the men (and they're all men) whose teachings were 0http://vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2004/06/required-reading.html