ICBC - the monopoly of monkeys

in the latest scandal involving BC's only govt supported monopolistic insurance provider ICBC, it has come to light that ICBC staff have been selling vehicles that were written off, and rebuilt without the correct records being maintained on that vehicles history. hundreds of unsuspecting drivers are driving around in vehicles which should have rebuilt titles. its not only enough that we pay the highest insurance premiums in north america, and have to go to court to get money, but now we find out that this organization is criminally defrauding the people of BC, seriously canadians, how many times do you need to get punched in the face before you getup and do something. Shut down ICBC's monopoly and open the market up to competition!!!

Who built this city?

Walking around Vancouver, one thing is for certain - we have some fucking ugly buildings and architecture. and i mean REALLY ugly... and all over, not just the bigger disasters downtown, but also many of the old original homes that are scattered east of main.

what happened here in the past that there was such a vacuum in terms of architectural talent? many of the concrete prisons that line the downtown area look like the people who poured it originally, designed the buildings as they built them.

then those fugly apartment buildings along oak as it winds down near the intersection with broadway. or the sears building at the pacific center, downtown - WHAT THE FUCK were they thinking?

my vote for ugliest goes to the United Way building, that red/brown brick monstrosity across the burrard st bridge. second vote goes to that appartment building nearby, which is right opposite the brewery on burrard.. i dont know the name of it, but fuck its like a 1960's communist shelter...come to think of it, alot of building here have that vibe...

The 2 steps forward, 3 steps backward routine of politics in BC

why do we have the traffic problems of a city with 4million people, when we only have 2 million? why does it take 12 years for a govt study to determine that the answer to the problems on the lions gate bridge is to widen the lanes? why do we face water shortages when we live in the FUCKING wettest place in NORTH AMERICA????

what the fuck is going on?

well the answer lies in nature of politics and government in this province.. and the problem is no one looks at what is good for the entire community, vs the selfish wants of a a couple hundred protesters, who can in affect shut down multi million dollar projects, because this govt and its people are so hell bent on a consensus model whereby every single last idiot has to agree to every single rock pebble and grain of sand turned in order to build any decent level of infrastructure.

as a most recent example of this idiotic situation, look at the hydro electric project that was cancelled, when 1000 protesters showed up at a community meeting. WHAT THE FUCK??? a multimillion $$ renewable energy source - just what everyone around the world is trying to do, lessen our dependence on fossil fuels for electricity, and a bunch of fucking vagabonds shut the project down.

good govt have the balls to make the right decisions, and drive them through obstacles in the face of sheer stupidity. and our govt doesn't have the balls to do that point blank.

thats why in 20 years time, when the population has doubled again, and we are a city of 4million people we are going to have the traffic problems of a city with 8 million people, we are going to be dependant on fossil fuels for energy, we are still going to face water shortages despite having the highest amount of annual rainfall in fucking north america, and we are still going to have a homeless/drug/crime problem, because our govt, doesn't have the teeth to deal with issues. and frankly, we all subsidize the lives of all these sandbagers who dont work or pay taxes, but have all the time in the world to go out and protest, shout and make alot of noise about any important development that this city desperately needs.

Little clip thing on the gas pump - why dont Canadians get them?

Hey, one thing that really iritates the crap out of me is the fact that when I am in the US, their gas pumps have this brilliant little latch, so i can clip it in place, and let go and the gas pump turns itself off once the car is full...

so why the fuck dont we have them here!!!! at some gas stations here, it looks like they have actually been removed. i bet its some fuckwad at transport canada, who has decided to appoint a safety inspector in charge of gas pumps and to justify his existence this is his initiative, well to that guy and to transport canada - fuck you very much.

US and Europe reach new era in open skies

CNN Story
As the US and Europe reach groundbreaking agreements on derregulation in the air, where is Canada to be seen? Is there any good explanation Air Canada can offer to tell me why its cheaper to fly from Seattle to Toronto, than it is from Vancouver to Toroto??

How much longer are we going to protect Air Canadas inefficient monopoly on the market?

Ministry of Transportation - representing Car makers - not the public

If ever canadians have something to be pissed about its the ongoing hi prices we have to pay for everything, compared to our friends south across the border. The topic of todays beef - cars. I have bought my last 2 cars up from the US, and have jumped through the hoops put in place by the federal ministry of transport - Transport Canada and the RIV (registrar of imported vehicles).

now transport canada is conspiring with the automakers in canada to ensure that it is as difficult as ever to save money by buying your car in the US. for years transport canada have come up with their own idiotic regulations (which only slightly differ from US regulations) on the standards that automakers must meet to sell vehicles in canada. alot of automakers build to both standards so you can pretty much bring the US vehicle in without modification, but some - like BMW and Mercedes Benz, modify the canadian vehicle, to help protect as much as 40% premium price they charge (OVER THE US MODEL WHICH IS OTHERWISE IDENITICAL).

BMW and Mercedes are 2 examples of vehicle manufacturers trying to prevent canadians from getting access to the US market prices, by doing 2 things, which under any consumer protection laws should be illegal: 1. They charge thousands of $$$ to bring US vehicles up to "Canadian Standards" 2. They often will not let buyers know what is required to bring vehicles up to standard.

This is entirely the fault of TRANSPORT CANADA, for a number of reasons:

1. We should have harmonized vehicle standards with the US period. There is NOT ONE study anyone can produce to prove that canadians are any safer than americans behind the wheels of our cars. Therefore an aligned set of standards would make the most sense for consumers.

2. if you are going to put standards in place, DO NOT leave it to the manufacturers to develop the standards, implement them and then qualify the vehicles themselves...OF COURSE THEY DONT HAVE AN INTEREST IN LETTING PEOPLE IMPORT CHEAPER VEHICLES.

My advice is pick a vehicle brand that is import friendly, there is plenty of available information online...checkout importcartocanada.com for a start.

Here's a big FUCK YOU to the Canadian vehicle manufacturers who believe we deserve to pay a premium on our cars!

The overdue, RCMP Taser Immigrant Death Squad post

So we all saw the disgusting video footage that emerged in the aftermath of the international incident that saw 4 RCMP officers from Vancouver, taser a Polish immigrant to death. The immigrant was lost in the madness that is the Immigration process for new landed immigrants arriving at Vancouver Airport. For weeks we heard from RCMP (before the video circulated) about the events that lead up to the death of the immigrant. THEN we found out a witness had pulled his camera phone and taped the entire thing... and low and behold the RCMP had 'confiscated' the video. After a lengthy court procedure, the witness got his video back...and we all got to see the truth about what happened, and it was a very different story to what the lying corrupt cover up artists at the RCMP told us all...

The 2 points i want to make on this issue are:

#1. I blame 2 organizations, the RCMP for their blatent abuse of power, and the four officers responsible for the murder of that poor man. And I also blame CANADA BORDER services, for their ass ended immigration process, which is unclear, and involves waiting in lines for hours only to spend 5 minutes with some moron who stamps your papers (I HAVE PERSONALLY BEEN THRU THE PROCESS) and obviously, the level of communication and information sharing is fcked up as well.

#2 What the fuck is up with the lies and BS the RCMP spun us. If it weren't for this video, no one would know the truth about this incident, how many other stories of police abuse have gone untold because no one happened to be standing around with a camera phone, bottom line - we can no longer trust the police.

Useless Canadian retailers...nothing in stock!

Man o man, have i got a gripe with Canadian retailers, namely Sears, HBC and fucking Zellers. First of all let me preface this rant with a note, i dont buy anything except fresh fruit, milk and bread in Canada if possible. This week I was stuck, needing one last gift, no problem, they have stores here right? I knew exactly what I wanted, I knew the brand, I knew the model number...i thought, cool, I'll just ring around and find out where they have one and pick it up.

2.5 hours later, after ringing sears in 3 locations, HBC in 4 locations, and zellers, (the crappiest department store IN THE WORLD) not one of these morons has any available stock!!!! And no this item was not the latest greatest everyone wants one, it was an items that has been around for more than 2 years.

The problem with Canadian retail goes well beyond price... it goes to quality of serivce, range of goods and AVAILABILITY of goods.