Suspicious death at the Pemberton Music Festival

CBC and the Vancouver Sun are reporting that IHIT has been called in late Friday to investigate a suspicious death at the Pemberton Music Festival. Pretty tragic since a music festival is supposed to be fun not the place you'd expect to find a homicide. The organizers have poured a lot of money into infrastructure in hopes to make the event go off in a positive and safe manner.

The concert appears to be going on despite the police investigation. It's gotta suck to be in the middle of a police scene during the festival not to mention the tragic nature of a homicide on site. No doubt there will be more information forthcoming.



Now that the next of kin have been notified, the Toronto Sun is reporting that the name of the deceased is Nick Phongsavath, a 21 year old engineering student from the University of Regina.

THC vs CBD - Fact vs Fiction

Last week the Vancouver Province ran a front page article about the new legal pot stores opening up in Washington. The first thought that came to mind was disappointment. I agree no one should go to jail for pot but I am very concerned about the change in social perception of pot use and abuse. BC bud is much more powerful than homegrown was 30 years ago. On top of that people are smoking it much more often - every day and often several times a day. That is excessive.

Part of the obsession is the twisted claims of the medicinal uses of pot. Anything that gets you baked, stoned or wasted, isn't good for you. This huge misconception that "pot cures cancer" is perpetuating the false belief that pot smoke isn't bad for you when in reality it's worse than cigarette smoke. All smoke is bad for you. That's why the leading cause of death in house fires is smoke inhalation.

So my first thought that comes to mind when I see all the pot heads lining up for miles to buy legal pot is disappointment. The pot obsessiveness is in my opinion no different than soma in Brave New World. The drug that tranquilized the masses to appease them into letting the state remove their civil liberty. Smoking pot every day is excessive. Smoking pot while driving or when you're pregnant is irresponsible.

California was the first state to legalize prescriptions for medicinal marijuana. Yet they voted no in the referendum to outright legalize pot. Clearly just because Washington and Colorado said yes doesn't mean we have to. California said no for good reason.

The second thought was a breakthrough in understanding the medicinal value of pot. One of the pictures in the Vancouver Province article was of the labeling on the new legal pot packages. It listed the percent content of THC but also listed the percent content of CBD. That caused me to look up to see just what CBD is.

CBD is something that's in pot that actually does have medicinal properties. It supposedly helps with seizures. Cannabidiol is a non-psychoactive oil made from marijuana plants. Oil that is high in CBD but low in THC does appear to help treat epilepsy. However, this type of pot, just like hemp, won't get you stoned because it's low in THC.

The package in the top picture states the THC content is 10.8% while it only has a trace amount if CBD. That means it's recreational pot not medicinal. The purpose of smoking that pot is to get you stoned. "Cannabidiol (CBD) is a compound in cannabis that has medical effects but does not make people feel 'stoned' and can actually counter the psychoactive effects of THC. After decades in which only high-THC Cannabis was available, CBD-rich strains are now being grown by and for medical users." Projecy CBD

This is where we separate fact from fiction in the get stoned vs get healthy medical debate.

Calgary police believe Nathan O'Brien and his grandparents were murdered

CBC is reporting that the Calgary police believe Nathan O'Brien and his grandparents Alvin and Kathy Liknes were murdered. Police Chief Rick Hanson indicated that police believe the trio of family members are dead even though their bodies have not been found. He said first-degree murder charges will be laid in the deaths of the grandparents, and a second-degree murder charge will be laid in the death of five-year-old Nathan.

CBC is reporting that Douglas Garland - who had previously been named as a person of interest in the disappearance of the three family members - is back in police custody. Previously CBC reported that Alvin Liknes's son is in a common-law relationship with Garland’s sister and that there was some bizarre concerns about a business deal gone bad.

The family is still holding onto hope until the bodies are recovered.

RCMP Spokesman faces second sexual harassment lawsuit

CBC is reporting that Tim Shields is now facing a second sexual harassment lawsuit in the courts. CBC refers to Shields as "formerly" the top media spokesperson in B.C. However, we know that even after the first lawsuit the RCMP kept him as a public spokesperson showing they have absolutely no desire whatsoever to repair their tarnished reputation.

Summer on Cypress

On the brighter side, summer is in full effect. I hiked up the Sky Chair on Cypress yesterday and the trail was bare and dusty. No snow cap left at all. Even the Lions are pretty much bare. The only place near by with snow now is the glacier on Baker. Time to hit the water.









The picture below is the view of Vancouver from the look out point on Cypress you can drive up to. You can see Ambleside and Stanley park. There are a whole bunch of plaques here talking about global warming and the effects of climate change. It states that burning coal, gas and oil raises CO2 levels and increases global warming. That's why selling China coal from the Surrey docks is not progressive it is regressive. Wheat is progressive.



Remember the Alberta Wheat Pool by second Narrows bridge? Selling China wheat instead of coal is good business. Wheat doesn't damage the environment. That is progressive.



I forgot to mention that a hiker died descending a snow chute on Sky Pilot mountain earlier this month. Seemingly you access it from the new gondola on the Chief in Squamish. I've hiked up the back of the chief but i haven't done the new gondola or Sky Pilot yet. It'll be worth checking out when all the snow pack has melted. Tragic accidental loss of life.

Chilliwack Homicide

Speaking of drug dealing in Chilliwack, the Vancouver Province is reporting that there was a homicide in Chilliwack last Thursday. "Stefan (Harjit) Singh Kondolay, 31, was found dead in his home in the 46700-block of First Avenue by Chilliwack RCMP officers just after 4 a.m. on Thursday. His death was deemed suspicious and the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team took over the case. Police have stated Kondolay wasn’t known to police." He was a drag racer.



Being a bit of a local celebrity, Harjit has a lot of friends on his facebook. One of them is Clayton Eheler who was named as an associate of James Riach and Barry Espadill in court documents. Kim Bolan reported that Chilliwack resident Clayton Eheler, identified in court documents as a Bacon associate at the time, was shot near his house and survived back in 2007.

Two cars shooting at each other in Surrey and Delta

Global is reporting that there was another shooting in Surrey this afternoon. Two cars weaving in and out of traffic shooting at each other. The Global article states: "Two vehicles were seen in the area of 139 St. and 88 Ave., with the occupants possibly firing shots back and forth. A white Nissan and black Mercedes were speeding and cutting in and out of traffic, when witnesses report someone inside the Nissan shot at the Mercedes."

"There were no reports of any injuries, but one other vehicle was struck by a bullet. The RCMP does not know whether the two cars involved were hit. Twenty-five minutes after the initial calls were received, there were reports of similar cars speeding and cutting in and out of traffic on Fraser Highway at 155 St." Just like the June shooting at the 6900-block of 128 Street and the May shooting at 152nd street and 64th Avenue.

CBC is reporting that this shooting took place at 1:00 PM Saturday afternoon. CBC is also reporting that there was another shooting 2:00 AM Sunday morning at Scott Road and Wade street in Delta. A number of cars were hit by bullets. Police found shell casings littering the roadway, but not much else — and no victims.

Stop the violence in Gaza

The escalation of violence in Gaza is a colossal concern for anyone with a conscience. Israel has every right to defend itself. That does not include the right to brutalize civilians. In 2009 the extreme violence was equally absurd. Israel pulled out of Gaza to let them have autonomy and then Gaza starts firing rockets indiscriminately into Israel. Equally bizarre was Israel's over reacting by using American shells of white phosphorous on Gaza.

This time, someone kidnapped and murdered 3 Jewish teenagers from the West Bank. That was a horrific act. Yet West Bank is a Palestinian area. Zionism does not mean evicting Palestinians from their homes and moving in on their rubble. Zionism means living in peace with Palestinians like in the Oasis of Peace. Israel's Iron Dome defense system against rocket attacks is totally appropriate. Canada should invest in similar technology.

Back in the day, when Syria kept firing rockets into Israel from the Golan Heights, Israel simply took the Golan heights. Problem solved. That was a natural consequence to unacceptable behavior. The problem is that the Palestinians from Gaza aren't from Syria, Lebanon, Jordon or Egypt. However, they aren't from Gaza either. The original inhabitants of Gaza weren't Palestinians or Jews it was the Philistines. They were conquered and carried away by Egypt. So this whole erroneous claim to original land title is a farce.

Gaza has a history of not only disrespecting all human life from all religious backgrounds but of being absolutely insane. In the last conflict, Israel would give a warning before they hit a Hamas target where they were firing rockets into Israel from. As soon as they did that, crazed women would scream like lunatics and run to the place to die as martyrs to increase civilian casualties. What kind of people would use civilians as human shields to gain public support for their cause?

Years ago I loved visiting Egypt. All the ancient archeological sites to me seemed holy. Personally I'd love to visit Jordon or Saudi Arabia. Not Gaza. I don't like to visit people who don't have respect of human life or for archeological holy sites. The old city of Jerusalem is divided into four quarters and is shared by the Muslims, the Jews, the Christians and the Armenians. Jerusalem is filled with holy sites sacred to each religion. When Gaza fires rockets indiscriminately at Jerusalem, they are disrespecting the human life from each religion as well as all their respective holy sites.

Update: Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza mosque as UN urges ceasefire.

Hitting a Mosque is not good. Ground troops move in.

Calgary Pimp beats prostitute

The Calgary Sun is reporting that Jeremy Wayne Broecker, also known as Dominic, faces nine charges, including living off the avails of prostitution. The witness claims Broecker slapped her and then tossed her into the hallway of his apartment complex, naked for having consensual sex without getting paid. The woman told the court she was drawn into the escort business by Broecker in 2009, after moving to Calgary from Halifax. She said much of the money she was paid by clients went straight to Broecker.

Broecker was also charged with forcing two women into prostitution in 2012. Victims identified in that case indicated they were “coerced with financial constraints” and in one case threats were intimated towards a woman’s family. The Calgary Sun is reporting that Broecker is an American wanted on warrants in Michigan related to violence and fraud.

Doug McCallum enters race to save us from Surrey's Worst

Well it's official. Kevin Diakiw from the Surrey Leader already announced it but the Vancouver Province and CBC are confirming that Doug McCallum is officially running for the Mayor of Surrey. This is good news. Someone has to save us from Surrey's Worst. Linda Hepner is the last rat left in the Surrey First sinking ship. She has never been mayor before. She has been a counselor in the worst political party in Surrey's history. Worst for Crime reduction, worst for fiscal responsibility, worst for reduction of taxes and worst for listening to the people who live in the city.

Doug McCallum served three successful terms as Mayor of Surrey. He was defeated by Dianne Watts' Neo Con promising the world and delivering nothing. She promised a coalition on crime reduction. Yet last year was the most number of murders in the city's history. Ever. One of those murders was at an illegal booze can the neighbors had been complaining about but the city refused to do anything.

The murder of the Newton hockey mom was the result of endless complaints from the residents and business owners of Newton that complained about drug dealing in Newton. The city did nothing and crime in that area has escalated off the chart. The drug related violence outside the Front Room in Surrey is unprecedented. One of the Surrey fist counselors came clean and said you're right. We haven't been doing enough to confront crime in Newton. That's when Dianne Watts and the rest of the party bullied her and kicked her out.

Surrey First has been the worst in the city's history for physical responsibility. That outrageous Ivory Tower of self indulgence was a colossal waste of tax dollars that has created the biggest debt in the city's history. The Surrey Leader is reporting that the cost to run Surrey soars in 2013. Doug McCallum wants to end all these lavish trips for counselors and Judy Villeneuve objects.

Back in the day, Judy Villeneuve was a member of Bob Bose's SCE. He was considered left wing. Doug McCallum was part of SET and was considered right wing. These two political parties would fight back and forth like kids. However, left and right politics don't really apply to civic governments. There was a lot of good things that Doug McCallum did when he was in charge. Primarily his crime reduction and his confronting crack houses in Surrey. He cleaned it up completely. Now we have to follow through with that campaign and confront the crack dealers on the street. Doug McCallum is the man for that job.

Thor was cocky in his youth and received a lesson in humility. He became a better person and a more powerful super hero as a result. Let's put the mayor's gavel back in Doug McCallum's hand so he can turn the tide on Surrey Worst's fiscal irresponsibility and criminal apathy.

CBC highlighted Doug McCallum's new web site. Let's pin him down on how he intends on fixing Surrey's fiscal irresponsibility. He already said he thought the new ivory tower was a waste of tax dollars. Let's get him to commit to sell it so he can afford to hire the police he has pledged to hire. Once he commits we need to put together a card of counselors that will support him.