The Desecration of Moammar Gadhafi

I am also saddened by the murder of Moammar Gadhafi. Another scape goat exploited, betrayed, slandered and murdered. We recently heard news that Moammar Gadhafi has been murdered. In fact in today's Vancouver Province we read three completely different versions of how he died.

"Gadhafi was in a jeep when rebels opened fire on it. He got out and tried to flee, taking shelter in a sewage pipe," an NTC field commander, Mohammed Leith, said.

NTC fighters "opened fire again and he came out carrying a Kalashnikov in one hand and a pistol in the other," he said. Gadhafi "looked left and right and asked what was happening. Rebels opened fire again, wounding his leg and shoulder. He died after that," according to Leith.

But according to Jibril, Gadhafi was shot in the head "in crossfire" between his supporters and new regime fighters after his capture. "When he was found, he was in good health, carrying a gun," Jibril told a news conference in Tripoli. Gadhafi was transferred from the pipe to a pickup truck, at which point he was shot in the right hand.

"When the vehicle started moving, it was caught in crossfire between Gadhafi fighters and the revolutionaries, and he was shot in the head," according to Jibril. Those are two completely different versions of events. This is the third in the same article:

French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet revealed that a French Mirage-2000 fired a warning shot at a column of up to 80 vehicles trying to flee Sirte early Thursday. Libyan fighters then intervened, destroying the vehicles, from which "they took out Col. Gadhafi," he added.

Then a fourth version of events emerged: Fresh witness accounts of Gadhafi's capture suggested he tried to reason with the rebels, demanding his legal rights to fair treatment and asked them: "Do you know right from wrong?" Consequently the United Nations human rights office called on Friday for a full investigation into the death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and voiced concerns that he may have been executed.

Moammar Gadhafi was a Socialist. I am not. Yet I do denounce his murder and the murder of his children. Pastor Niemoeller wrote a profound poem about the war in Germany.

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak out for me.

France did business with Libya for years. Gadhafi contributed to Sarkozy's political campaign and Sarkozy completely screwed Gadhafi. Sarkozy is in my opinion, a dirty dog. He is untrustworthy. Incidentally, the article the Province ran today originally came from France.

Gadhafi was captured after taking fire from a French fighter jet. He demanded his right to a lawyer and asked his captors if they knew the difference between right and wrong. Evidently not.

The whole Libyan mission was tainted from day one. Gadhafi wasn't firing on peaceful protesters like they were in Saudi and Syria. The protesters in Libya took up arms against him. As I said before, if I took an angry mob to Ottawa and started firing on Stephen Harper, I guarantee you the police would return fire. The mission in Libya was about oil just like it was in Iraq.

The right to a fair and speedy trial, the need to be charged with an offence to be arrested and the right to legal representation are fundamental rights in a democracy. These are the first inherent rights we violate when we create off shore prison camps like Guantanamo Bay.

What's even more distressing is the murder of Gadhafi's children. Leith, the NTC commander, said one of Gadhafi's sons, Mutassim, was also killed in Sirte. "We found him dead. We put his body and that of [ex-defence minister] Abu Bakr Yunis Jabar in an ambulance to take them to Misrata." It is unlikely we will ever get a truthful record of how his son was murdered.

However, this isn't his only son that was murdered. Gadhafi had another son and three grandchildren that were murdered by allied bombing. He also had an adopted daughter who was killed in a 1986 U.S. airstrike.

Despite denials from Western leaders that the air raid on the Gadhafi compound was an assassination attempt, it has provoked renewed debate on whether the British and French-led strikes are exceeding the United Nations' mandate to protect civilians. Indeed. Remember when I said the mission in Libya was tainted from the beginning? We sent planes in to enforce a cease fire. Instead, we start bombing one side so the rebels could take over an oil town and end up murdering him and his children. That was not enforcing a cease fire.

Let us not forget that we don't know who the rebels are. Other than the fact that they are aligned with the Taliban and that they executed their leader and his first officer. This tainted mission was shameful and the desecration of Moammar Gadhafi has diminished all of us.



There is no need to do an autopsy. Return the body to the family immediately. We all rightfully complain about how outrageous it is when Neo Nazi's desecrate Jewish graves. That is offensively disrespectful. You've already murdered him. Don't you dare desecrate his grave by denying his family their right to a proper Muslim burial. Don't you dare bury him at sea. Doing so because you are afraid his supporters will turn his grave into a shrine is shockingly deranged. Let the family bury their dead according to their own religious traditions. Anything less than that is wrong.

Citigroup pays court settlement

The S.E.C. announced that Citigroup has agreed to pay $285 million to settle a civil complaint that it had defrauded investors in a mortgage securities deal. They would not have paid the settlement if the allegations were false. Citigroup bailed out with tax dollars for committing investment fraud. Go figure.

George Bush in Surrey

Well George Bush came to Surrey today. Many protesters expressed their outrage. The 9/11 truth movement was well represented. I'm glad so many came to protest but seeing civic candidates smiling beside a war criminal makes me ashamed. That is very sad.

I think Dianne Watts has done some good things for Surrey but her absurd claims about venue defending Bush by saying he hasn't been convicted in court yet is really offensive. Really. They were caught torturing prisoners without a fair trial. Congress passed a bill stopping the torture and George Bush vetoed that bill. You can't get any more legally liable than that.

Getting a photo shoot with him and rationalizing it with that smoke and mirrors nonsense really hurts. I hate to say this but she just lost my vote. Really. I guess I should have seen the writing on the wall with her close affinity for Gordon Campbell. Integrity isn't something we sell off depending on the venue.

Come to think of it, Dianne Watts and Donna Cadman both blindly endorsed Stephen Harper after he tried to bribe Chuck Cadman. That was somewhat disappointing to say the least. Then there was all those strange bus shelter adds of Dianne Watts with an Indiana Jones background encouraging people to Read right before a civic election. They even made bookmarks of it and gave them out at the Library. Perhaps she should read that book instead of just posing with it. The Dalai Lama doesn't support war criminals. His path of peace and happiness involves nonviolent opposition to injustice.

Someone is promoting her corporate image like a brand. Everywhere we go we see her face plastered all over everything. Unfortunately every time I see that picture now it makes me think of her smiling beside a war criminal. "They" even had her speak in favor of the carbon tax. Looks like Campbell's crusade has found a new poster girl. Her and Christie Clark smiling in support of George Bush gives me an upset stomach.













Speaking of Texas, let's ban Bush and bring on the Dixie Chicks. We're not ready to make nice with a war criminal.

Jamie Kehoe's Funeral

Jamie Kehoe’s funeral was held on Wednesday. The sign outside the funeral chapel said “For Jamie Always Think Twice Before You act.” A profound and stirring message given the untimely death of such a bright life just when it was ready to begin. Murdered for no reason. A senseless act of violence Tradic yet disturbing.

Nothing can change the fact that this heinous murder was senseless. The guy ran up to Jamie and slit his throat for no reason. Disturbing because it displays a complete lack of respect for human life.

Hells Angels funeral shooting suspect identified

We heard about the recent shooting at a Hells Angels funeral in California. Well the suspect pool just got a bit confusing. San Jose police continued their manhunt for a Hells Angels member who they believe shot to death Steve Tausan, a fellow member of the notorious outlaw motorcycle club, during a funeral crowded with mourning bikers -- and then mysteriously disappeared under the watch of hundreds of police officers.

A Hells Angel suspected of killing another Hells Angel. Like that comes as any big surprise. San Jose police say Steven Ruiz, also a member of the motorcycle gang, shot and killed 52-year-old Steve Tausan on Saturday during a fight at the funeral for Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew. About 3,000 people attended the ceremony at Oak Hill Memorial Park.

On Tuesday, police said Ruiz was fighting with a member of the gang when he was knocked to the ground. Tausan apparently became involved and Ruiz drew a handgun and shot Tausan.

Ruiz is now missing. Investigators say they dug up Pettigrew's grave to see if Ruiz may have been killed and buried there, but didn't find anything.

Tausan was a high-ranking member of the Hells Angels and an enforcer of club rules who sported a tattoo on his wrist that read "Mr. 187," a reference to the California penal code for homicide.

Steve Martin Tausan, 52, also was a bail bondsman who had served in the Marines and been a professional boxer before he became the second prominent Hells Angels member from Northern California to be gunned down in less than a month.

Although police had surrounded the cemetery in anticipation of possible trouble, the shooter somehow vanished. There was also no trace of the handgun.

That's why, sources said, investigators Saturday night got a judge's permission to exhume Pettigrew's coffin to see if Ruiz's body or any other evidence was hurriedly buried in the soil next to his former club president. They reportedly found nothing connected to Tausan's killing.

The coffin itself was not opened. Investigators suspect Hells Angels members or other bikers somehow managed to smuggle Ruiz, dead or alive, from the cemetery. They believe he may have been killed soon after he shot the 52-year-old Tausan, according to sources.

Drugs tossed to inmates over prison's fence

Management at a Manitoba prison has opened an exercise yard for inmates that invites passersby to toss drugs over the fence. Gee I wonder if that's Stony Mountain prison where Deli and Sean Wolfe are staying? Yup sure is.

CTV even caught a drug toss on camera. The drug trade is alive and well in prison. Still. Ya think Mr. Harper would spend some coin on fixing that problem before he builds more prisons and fills them with pot growers. I guess Stony Mounted institution has been renamed to Stoned Mountain.

"I think they're afraid of what the inmate response will be if they close it. You cut off the drug supply and of course they're going to be pissed off." Grabowsky said. You have got to be kidding. The powers that be are afraid of upsetting the inmates if it cuts off their drug supply. Who's in charge here any ways?

Last August an employee was charged with bringing drugs into Stony Mountain. Let's not forget that fatal drug over dose in the Maple Ridge prison. Oh yeah that was from drugs the government brought in. Go figure. Personally I don't like the idea of regular strip searches but there is no reason they can't use drug sniffing dogs. They should have drug sniffing dogs regularly at the border.

Rented Cadillac leads to Vernon drug bust

Here's another brain surgeon who was nine days over due on his rented cadi. He didn't think they'd come looking for the car. When they did he was caught with crack, cocaine, heroin and oxycodone.

The car was rented to a person with a Salmon Arm address and was was located near 35th Street and Centennial Drive in Vernon. Which group sells drugs in Vernon and is connected to Salmon Arm?

Peter Leask keeps screwing up

This is getting to be absurd. Peter Leask is an idiot. It doesn't take a brain surgeon, a committee or a public inquiry to determine what's wrong with our judicial system. With idiots like Peter Leask throwing out good evidence over and over we are beginning to see who the real criminal is. He's sitting on the wrong side of the bench.

That freak represented Frank Biller, a key player in the Eron Mortgage Corp. fraud when he was a lawyer.

Let's Occupy Smithe Street.

Texas reject Harper's crime plan

On a recent trip to Texas, an array of conservative voices told CBC News that Texas tried what Canada plans to do - and it failed. As recently as 2004, Texas had the highest incarceration rate in the world, with fully one in 20 of its adult residents behind bars or on parole or probation.

The Lone Star state still has the death penalty, with more than 300 prisoners on death row today. But for three decades, as crime rates fell all over the U.S., the rate in Texas fell at only half the national average. That didn't change the policy - but its cost did.

I'm all for mandatory minimum sentences for violent crime like murder, swarming or for selling crack or meth but not for pot. A mandatory minimum sentence of three months for a prolific offender who commits a huge amount of crime to pay for his drug addiction is not excessive. Harper preventing those important steps from happening by taking us to the other extreme is in itself criminal. It prevents us from doing what really needs to be done and takes money away from other important programs.

Democratic Socialism

I know this post doesn't have anything to do with the Hells Angels or the gang war but since there has been so much talk about the Vancouver Occupation as well as the New York occupation and what's happening around the globe, I do think in all fairness it needs to be said. For those who just want to hear about the gangs, scroll past. The gang problem is continuing.

I used to work with a good friend who thought I was a Communist for the same reason I thought he wasn't. We both believed in democracy and free speech. I found that somewhat ironic. I used to be a member of a large trade Union. Many members of which were self professed Communists. I was somewhat shocked. I remember having one discussion with a very intelligent National officer who said to me "The Chinese Red Square call themselves Communist but they aren't really Communist. The old Iron curtain and Eastern Europe (Before the fall of the USSR) call themselves Communists but they aren't really Communists." My response was what on earth are you talking about? That's what Communism is.

I've had many debates and heartfelt discussions with many who profess to be Communists. After hearing them out I wouldn't classify them as Communists, I'd classify them as Democratic Socialists which in my opinion is a far cry from hard line Communism. Yet they don't define it as such. They claim true Communism is democratic. It's just so sad every time we see a Communist regime take over, democracy and free speech are the first to go.

These friends would always hold up Cuba and say Cuba is the best model for Socialism we have. I was like what are you taking about? They hold political prisoners. Sure it's a watered down form of Communism because they haven't outright banned religion, but they do discriminate against religion. You can't be a member of the Communist party if you have a religious affiliation and you can't run for office unless you belong to the communist party. I don't see that as a democracy. Yet doing business with China and boycotting Cuba is somewhat absurd.

Personally, I think the best model of Socialism we have is the Kibbutz movement in Israel. That's where volunteers can come and go as they please while those who wish to stay are free to do so. That is the defining difference. They are free to join and they are free to leave. No one earns a wage per say, the profits from the Kibbutz go toward making the standard of living for everyone better. I loved it. I recognize it's not for everyone. Some people don't like to work. At all. They take advantage of the system. Others are greedy. They want more than others and consume all the rations before everyone has had a chance to share. Yet all in all I found it to be a wonderful experience.

Here's my conundrum. True democratic socialism that's governed by the people for the people can only exit in a constitutional republic. For example in Canada or the U.S. people are free to form a collective community where they share things in common. The Amish do. They are free to come and they are free to leave. Their human rights are protected by a Constitution or a charter of rights.

As soon as you throw away that Constitution or that charter, you are throwing away any and all legal protection you have that preserves your democracy. I don't care how wonderful or opiate like the ideals of Marx sound, talking the talk is very different than walking the walk. Lenin taking over the Russian revolution from Shiplov and then sending in the machine guns on the same unionized workers he exploited to get power is a prime example. Like any politician they can promise you the moon but when they assume power they do what they want. A Constitution, charter, proclamation or a declaration needs to bind the politicians to protecting human rights.

Some on the right are deathly afraid of socialism and any element there off. I personally don't share that same paranoia. I consider myself half capitalist and half socialist. I have no problem with someone starting a business and making a buck. Selling those Hope in the Shadows calenders in East Van is capitalism. More power to them. Yet I'm not afraid of sharing things in a collective. I like socialized medicine. A civilized society does not exist if a homeless person can't receive emergency medical aid.

People can argue about ICBC all they want. You want it private or you want it public, I don't care both have their pros and cons. I oppose excessive privatization because of the reason they are doing it. They are doing it to circumvent public accountability and they are doing it to make money off some things they shouldn't be making money off of. Prisons, police and the military should not be for profit Corporations.

Trailrunner claims that all forms of Socialism lead to the Gulag. Many on the right share that opinion. I don't. It's pretty simple to draw lines in that sand as set foundries. I'll never forget hearing Joan Smallwood from the NDP speak many years ago at a large Union convention. She spoke out against the human rights violations of Communist China. I was surprised. Yet the New Democratic party is defined by democracy. She drew a line and she did not cross it.

She also spoke out about how trade agreements like NAFTA or TILMA are bad not only because they ship jobs off shore. They also erode our democratic rights and our sovereignty by removing government's power to create a law that would inhibit a corporation's ability to make a profit. Public health care inhibits a private corporation's ability to make a profit so if you chose public health care, that trade agreement just made it illegal. Dumping or transporting toxic waste damages the environment? Too bad because laws that protect the environment inhibit a corporation's ability to make a profit. These new trade agreements aren't about free trade. They're about removing our sovereignty as we speak. That is the road to
the Gulag right there.

We talked a little but about Cuba and Poland. Remember how Cuba got screwed up in the first place that necessitated a revolution of sorts? The Americans were supporting organized crime in Cuba. The Batista government were a corrupt right wing dictatorship. They didn't care as long as they weren't socialist. They even enlisted the support of the mafia to fight Castro. What the Americans did was wrong. Just like what England did in Iran under operation Ajax when they finally recruited the Americans to help them with that political meddling to exploit for oil. Not much has changed.

I just think we should shun extremism. It is important to confront the corruption in Wall Street. The former Vancouver stock Exchange is a legacy to that urgency. Yet I don't think we should throw out the baby with the bath water and start chanting Castro or Mao. A left wing dictator is no better than a right wing dictator and visa versa. Let's confront corruption and not get swept away in any extreme so we can also preserve democracy and free speech.