I call BULL SHIT. I'm not a big fan of Suzuki but I've never heard him claim to be a "saint". The man has had two very successful careers, as an academic and a broadcaster. Suzuki didn't make his fortune preaching abstinence to the masses and my impression is that is not the core of his message. What I've heard from him is talk about policy change, not personal guilt trips. This is the kind of character assassination that is all too typical of fascist smear propaganda.
Pay attention to how the smear works. It's not about Suzuki. It's about being critical of the fossil fuel guzzling growth status quo. Secret Suzuki is not the hypocrite in this slimy little fable. It's St. Suzuki who is the hypocrite and by implication anyone who criticizes the status quo. There would be constructive ways of criticizing Suzuki. This is not one of them. This is a Ezra Levant style bizzaro-world inversion of ethical. Oh, and I wrote that last sentence before checking to see that it is indeed Mr. "Ethical Oil" himself doing the pitch. Shame. On Mon, Oct 14, 2013 at 6:20 PM, Arthur Cordell <denar...@sympatico.ca>wrote: > ** ** > The two Suzukis: There’s Saint Suzuki, the one you see on CBC, and Secret > Suzuki, the capitalist millionaire**** > > **· **Oct. 11, 2013 **** > > **· **original > <http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/10/11/the-two-suzukis-theres-saint-suzuki-the-one-you-see-on-cbc-and-secret-suzuki-the-capitalist-millionaire> > **** > > • **** > > There are two David Suzukis.**** > > Most of us know one of the Suzukis. Let’s call him Saint Suzuki. That’s > the Suzuki whose TV show on the CBC constantly lectures us about our > lifestyle. He says we need to consume less, buy less and use less fossil > fuels.**** > > But then there’s another Suzuki. Let’s call him Secret Suzuki, because > he’s far less well-known.**** > > Secret Suzuki is the one who lives on Vancouver’s elite Point Grey Road, > on a double lot, overlooking English Bay, right above the exclusive > Kitsilano Yacht Club. The City of Vancouver assesses the land value alone > at over $8 million. And that’s just one of Secret Suzuki’s properties.**** > > He has another million-dollar home in Vancouver. And then there’s another > home on Quadra Island. That’s three homes right there, if you count the > double lot on Point Grey Road as just one property.**** > > But then there’s his large property holdings on Nelson Island. What’s so > fascinating about that one is that he co-owns the property with an oil > company, Kootenay Oil Distributors Ltd. They don’t plan to drill for oil > together. It’s a beautiful tourist spot — maybe perfect for a nice big > condo development.**** > > Of course, there’s nothing wrong with co-owning any property along with an > oil company. But isn’t Saint Suzuki against fossil fuel companies — > especially oil companies?**** > > Saint Suzuki tells us that the world is desperately overcrowded, that > we’re overpopulated, and that we’re going to run out of things.**** > > But in his own life, Secret Suzuki has five children.**** > > There’s nothing wrong with having five children. It’s a blessing. But then > why does he think other people should have fewer kids?**** > > Saint Suzuki rails against corporations and profits. He even gave a > well-received anti-capitalist speech at the Occupy Vancouver protest.**** > > But Secret Suzuki himself has several corporations. One of them, the David > Suzuki Foundation, took in a whopping $9 million last year and has $12 > million in assets. More than 10 million of that is invested in stocks and > bonds.**** > > Saint Suzuki despises lobbyists, and says they have a disproportionate > control of political power in Ottawa. But Secret Suzuki himself has nine > paid lobbyists registered in Ottawa’s lobbyist registry. Not one. Nine.*** > * > > Saint Suzuki despises politicians, and says they can’t be trusted. Secret > Suzuki starred in a Liberal party TV ad along with former Ontario premier > Dalton McGuinty.**** > > Saint Suzuki says corporations have to be less obsessed by profits, and do > more for the public good. They need to especially think of the interests of > the next generation, our children.**** > > But Secret Suzuki has made a tidy profit off young people. His standard > speaking fee at universities in Canada is $30,000 plus expenses. He billed > Quebec’s John Abbott College a cool $41,000 to visit them.**** > > Saint Suzuki speaks in the language of tolerance and equality and > liberalism — utterly politically correct.**** > > But Secret Suzuki engages in conduct that should cause feminists to raise > an eyebrow. When he visited John Abbott College, his assistant called with > special requests to go along with his speaking fee. Here is an internal > e-mail from the college’s Mary Milburn: “We have learned, via Dr. Suzuki’s > assistant, that although the Dr. does not like to have bodyguards per se, > he does not mind having a couple of ladies (females) that would act as body > guards.” The college’s Jim Anderson got involved in selecting the coeds, > too: “Please be certain that the women are nicely dressed, we don’t want > them in evening gowns, but definitely NOT Police Tech uniforms.” All of > this bizarre selection of girls, dressed just so, was the result of Secret > Suzuki’s special request. If he were a conservative, he’d be called a dirty > old man. But he’s a saint. So the college went along with it.**** > > David Suzuki is not a criminal. But he is not a saint. He’s a real man — a > capitalist millionaire, a politician, a man with a staff of lobbyists, a > prolific father, a wealthy landlord. If only he’d stop scolding the rest of > us for aspiring to do the same.**** > Original URL:**** > > > http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/10/11/the-two-suzukis-theres-saint-suzuki-the-one-you-see-on-cbc-and-secret-suzuki-the-capitalist-millionaire > **** > > Share/export > <http://www.readability.com/articles/yz9td7vn#flyout-share-export>**** > > Did this article display correctly? Yes No **** > > Sending… **** > > Thank you for your feedback. **** > > ** ** > > > > > **** > > __,_._,___**** > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > Futurework@lists.uwaterloo.ca > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > -- Cheers, Tom Walker (Sandwichman)
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