Another reader sent this in: Citing a history of weapons offences and violence, a German state banned two Frankfurt-based chapters of the Hells Angels on Friday and confiscated their assets. "A German State." Sounds like it was provincial legislation not federal. Now there's an idea.
"These gangs are not in any way made up only of harmless motorbike riders," Hesse state interior minister Boris Rhein said at a televised news conference. "Many members are known to the police because of violent, drug or weapon-related offences." The interior ministry said it had the authority to ban clubs when their aims or activities break the law.
I'm all for the freedom of association. Yet that charter right does not include the right to belong to a criminal organization. Obviously we have to be careful of how we approach such legislation. As long as there is a long list of documented criminal activity then a ban is clearly in order. Calling a labour activist a terrorist just so the government can spy on him without a warrant is not acceptable. Happens all the time, but it shouldn't. I oppose warranties surveillance.
Yet with the long list of documented criminal activity in Canada there is no reason the Hells Angels can't be deemed a criminal organization in Canada within the criminal code. They had a committee set up to discuss that possibility but it looks like they dropped the ball after the got their coveted majority. Now the only people that will do real time in prison are pot growers. Rapists and cocaine dealers will get a slap on the wrist. Now that is tragic.
I think it's also important to recognize how the Hells angels use a web of puppet clubs to sell their drugs for them to hide their involvement. The Zig Zag crew were caught selling crack for the Hells angels in Winnipeg and paid them dues for protection. Just like the Rockers in Quebec.
After the Zig Zag crew were busted then they started LHS which was disbanded when they shot one of their own guys to let the Ontario Hells Angels take over the drug trade in Thompson. Then they formed the Redline Support Crew to fight the Rock Machine and their puppet club Vendettas for the drug trade in Winnipeg. Then they also created the Freewheelers MC which is being pushed aside by their creation of the Heretics. These guys burn through puppet clubs fasted than an addict goes through crack pipes.
Back East after the Hells Angels were deemed a criminal organization and had their clubhouse seized, all of a sudden the Darksiders found the cash to open their own clubhouse in one "formally" owned by the Hells Angels.
Well, since we'll never use the other German method of getting rid of people they deem to be undesirables ("It's a joke, when you give me that look, it's a joke") this would be a great way to go. Call in Revenue Canada and audit their tax returns, then confiscate everything they can't show the income to have purchased legally. Have the caveat that such measures can only be taken against those believed to be members or associates of criminal organizations. Any colors ("cuts") signs, buildings, etc with HA logo's/references likewise confiscated and destroyed. I'm sure detailed searches of all properties owned by or owned by relatives of members/associates would turn up some interesting collections of weaponry...Rock on...
ReplyDeleteYeah I think whenever we hear the news that Germany has banned any group it does raise an eyebrow of concern. You make a good point about the Revenue Canada thing. I don’t have a copy of the decision off hand but there is an insane court decision where the police actually got in trouble for doing exactly that.
ReplyDeletePeople rightfully complain that if a guy has several expensive vehicles and owns several pieces of property and has no real source of income, then the police should be able to take that guy’s tax return and say to him the math doesn’t work here. Where did all this money come from? Hiding assets in family member’s names is another concern. Randy Jones putting the land title to Tbarz in his mother’s name is but one example.
Apparently the government is only willing to try methods have been proven ineffective over and over again. So, you would think they, like any intelligent person, would change their method, looking to try something that actually solves the problem. "You would think"...problem is, we are talking about the government here. You know, the people who screw up almost everything they touch in some fashion or another?
ReplyDeleteDO SOMETHING THAT WORKS. Red & White sure is. You think you're gonna beat them by being ineffectual? Wow, that's just crazy enough to work. It'll be the last thing they're expecting.... :rolleyes:
Here's something to think about. If they actually solved the problem, what then? Well, you'd think they could get re-elected for a while (which is any politician's dearest desire) on the strength of that, right? Makes sense. Problem once again is, this is the G we're talking about. If you need more proof that the government doesn't give a fuck about you past the fact that they won't allow you to defend yourself effectively and will put YOU in jail if you try, well, here it is.
Whether it's deliberate or not, well, who's to say? I doubt there's a secret committee that sits around planning to never solve the problem of HA control of the drug market, thinking that the longer they can get away with not solving it, the more funds they will "need" for more police, jails, etc.. Diabolically clever, that. Real conspiracy theory stuff there.
What you have to realize is, it doesn't matter that such a conspiracy doesn't exist. What matters is that the results on the street and the effect on the citizenry and society are exactly the same as if it did.
Until EFFECTIVE methods are adopted, NOTHING WILL CHANGE. The motivation, as Agent K has so rightly pointed out, is GREED. When/if the government re-arranges the equation, it will be harder for the big traffickers to make money selling dope. And the government will get what all politicians want, more money.
I think that’s the key. As long as they can make money from selling drugs they will continue to do so and there will continue to be people fighting over the money to be made. So what do we do? Stop letting them sell crack in public. As long as we contain it to an area and let them sell crack in that area, there will be huge amounts of money for them to make. If you stop letting them sell crack in public it will still be sold but you will reduce the obscene profits and help addicts who want to quit by not making it so in your face available.
ReplyDeleteSomething to think about, yeah, but IMHO the only way to do that would be to legalize it as well, THAT is the only thing that's going to change to market dynamic of profit and the greed that goes with it. But no one is ready to do that and I'm not even sure that's a good idea. A lot of the problem with trying to solve this riddle is that whatever action one takes is liable to just shift things around a little to compensate. "The law of unintended consequences".
ReplyDeleteIf you think about it, we already have an area where it's sold so openly it might as well be legal, it's called the Lower East Side. Not working out that well. I say we hit them where it hurts, their money and their freedom. It doesn't help things that BC is free territory compared to down south as far as risk and consequence go. It boggles my mind that HA's caught with multi kilo amounts of coke and meth don't do 20 to 30 years in prison. Maybe there is something Canada can learn from the US. That or just legalize it and let Darwinism take it's course. Bad choices, bad consequences. I figure it's past time to thin the herd anyway....