Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Friday, February 10, 2012

Vander Zalm Guilty Of Defamation

Former B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm has been found liable of defaming the province's one-time conflict of interest commissioner Ted Hughes.

A B.C. Supreme Court civil trial jury delivered the verdict Thursday afternoon in Vancouver, with a recommendation that Vander Zalm pay Hughes $60,000 damages. The final damages amount will be up to the judge hearing the case, who will announce a decision at a later date.

Hughes had sued Vander Zalm for statements he made in a self-published autobiography.

Hughes headed an inquiry in 1991 that found then-premier Vander Zalm had violated the province's conflict-of-interest regulations during the sale of a theme park he owned.

The finding prompted Vander Zalm's resignation as premier.

In his 2008 autobiography, Vander Zalm suggested that Hughes was self-interested and politically biased in his conduct of the inquiry.

Hughes, 84, said he was shocked and depressed at reading the passages that referred to him.

Vander Zalm's lawyer told the court that the way his client portrayed key players like Hughes were fair comment.

Original Article
Source: Huff 
Author: cbc 

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