Sustainability

A little bit off topic but not entirely. I just heard a commercial for the David Suzuki foundation on the radio. They're doing some pretty intense fund raising at Where will Santa live dot ca. People still talk about climate change and how the polar ice caps are receding. I can't believe Canada still mines and sells asbestos to India. We really should have more self respect than that.

People complain about the oils sands though there is big money to be made. It's still a scam when you think about who killed the electric car. That is what we should be focusing on. There's a lot of talk about sustainability these days. A concern for the environment which is not only good, it's imperative. A big shout out to Adriane Carr, former leader of the BC Green Party who finally got a seat on Vancouver's City council. Well done.

My personal environmental epiphany came when I went to a earth day presentation at my kid's high school. They showed a Youtube clip about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Seemingly plastic takes a really long time to break down and all the plastic that gets dumped in the ocean gets swept away by the swirling currents in the Pacific ocean which dumps it in one spot. As a result huge island of plastic have emerged in what environmentalists refer to as the great pacific garbage dump. I had no idea.

I has cruel effects on wildlife. Birds will eat small pieces of plastic thinking it's a bug. Only the plastic doesn't digest and won't pass through their system. As a result there have been many birds found dead because their stomach was full of undigested plastic and there was not room for real food to get through. The same thing with fish. It's really sad.

Although part of the problem is caused by countries that dump their garbage at sea, 80% of it is litter from land. All the litter on beaches, rivers and from boats contributes to this massive pacific garbage patch. We do need to stop our litter on the beaches and at sea.

Again the word sustainability keeps resurfacing. The old ways of sheer consumption won't cut it any more. Clear cutting the forests is irresponsible. Years ago I remember handing flyers outside the Arts Centre. Some kid starts to heckle me and shouts out how many trees had to get cut down to make you flyer? Without a seconds hesitation I shout back: How many trees had to be cut down the last time you went to the bathroom? The kid froze and had that real puzzled look on his face and turned to his girlfriend. She explained: Toilet paper. Everybody uses toilet paper and that cuts down trees. They didn't know what to say after that.

That's the thing, as much as we complain about it we are all consumers and all use paper products. Logging is essential. Yet clear cutting is not. In fact banning clear cutting is essential and promoting more realistic tree planting is essential. Which brings us to hemp paper. Hemp fibre is very strong.

I can't believe how popular hemp paper was back in the day. We used to have huge farms devoted to growing hemp to make rope and paper. It was totally sustainable. Then the petroleum industry pushed out the hemp farms for making rope and pulp and paper industry pushed out the hemp farms for paper. That was a tragedy. Just like how the oil companies killed the electric car. The free market is all about supply and demand. There's no reason we as consumers can't increase the demand for hemp paper. You don't get high off of hemp but hemp paper will indeed save the rain forests.

Oh and speaking of the oceans, we get most of our oxygen from the ocean surprisingly enough. Only there are these huge dead zones in the ocean where nothing grows like a desert on dry land. These dead zones are growing and we really need to address them. Fish can't survive in them and they are beginning to appear on the West coast. That huge oil spill in the gulf from the uncapped oil well made it much worse. Drift nets that drag along the ocean floor clear cut the ocean just like a forest. We really need to be more aware of the products we buy from drift nets that destroy everything in it's path. That is not sustainable harvesting of the ocean. Consumption based industry leaves nothing for subsequent generations. We need to start thinking about the next generation.

Largest cocaine bust in Grande Prairie history

In what is being called one of the biggest drug busts in Grande Prairie history, four members of the 'Baseball Team' organization are facing drug and weapon charges after two kilograms of cocaine was seized from a vehicle on Saturday, Nov. 19.

Clayton Kelly Buhler, 44, of LaGlace, is facing seven charges, including possession of cocaine for the purposes of trafficking as well as possession of an unregistered restricted firearm. A third suspect from Grande Prairie, is facing three charges including possession of a prohibited weapon. Bradley Joseph Demont, 25, of Grande Prairie, is facing three charges as well.

Police say that these arrests are related to the arrest of Ralph McGuigan last month. McGuigan, who is a known member of the Demon Soldiers motorcycle gang, was arrested while in gang colours in possession of half a kilogram of cocaine. In total, on Nov. 19, police seized two kilograms of cocaine, a handgun, a loaded rifle, a taser and half a pound of marijuana.

So guess who the Baseball team and the Demon Soldiers work for? The Hells Angels. Surprise surprise. In the north, CISA says Hells Angels from B.C. "subsidize" a criminal group in Grande Prairie, while their Alberta counterparts back drug traffickers in Fort McMurray.

Hells Angels drug bust in Montreal and New Brunswick

More than two-dozen people were arrested Wednesday during large-scale drug-trafficking raids in Quebec and New Brunswick that authorities say could neutralize an organized crime ring linked to the Hells Angels.

"Our investigation tends to demonstrate that this ring included Hells Angels associates who took over drug trafficking territories after the 2001 Spring Raids and SharQC in 2009," Pelletier said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon, alluding to two major crackdowns last decade that targeted biker gangs.

Investigators with the latest sting operation believe they have identified four distinct drug trafficking cells working primarily in Montreal, the South Shore and New Brunswick, Pelletier said. Officers seized large amounts of cocaine, marijuana, hashish, methamphetamine pills, weapons and cash.

Investigators allege the three Quebec cells regained control of lucrative drug-trafficking territory in the greater Montreal region in the aftermath of massive police raids in 2009. The fourth cell, based in New Brunswick, is alleged to have travelled regularly to Montreal to pick up drugs for trafficking.

QMI Agency has learned the main target of the Quebec raids was Marc-Andre Lachance, 28, one of two people arrested in October for allegedly threatening a Montreal police investigator. The cop was savagely beaten in the Mexican resort town of Playa Del Carmen last January. Lachance was arrested in his home in Montreal's north end. I wonder if they arrested Leo and the Dweeb.

Sounds like there were some arrests in Ontario as well.

Explosive testimony to come at Pickton Inquiry

Cpl. Catherine Galliford claims that she will be testifying at the missing Women Inquiry not for the RCMP but for the victims. She claims her evidence will be explosive. Let's hope she doesn't suffer and unfortunate accident before then.

Catherine Galliford is the one that has come forward outlining years of sexual harassment while working with the RCMP. One media outlet claimed Deputy Police Chief Jennifer Evans’ report blamed the delay in arresting Pickton in infighting between the RCMP and the VPD. Yet that really doesn't make sense. Infighting is what crushed Operation Phoenix. The RCMP were upset they lost the gang task force jurisdiction for BC and sabotaged that mission to get it back which they did.

However, infighting can't explain the delay in arresting Pickton. If either group were zealously wanting to promote themselves, it would have been a race to get the warrant and make the arrest. Yet that's not what happened. The reason for the delay seems to be the crucial question. Catherine Galliford testified that the police had enough evidence to get a search warrant of the Pickton farm two years prior to them doing so. The reason for that delay is significant. It wasn't just a matter of being lazy or not taking the murder of sex trade workers seriously. It was more than that.

I don't know what Catherine Galliford's explosive evidence will be but we do know that the Globe and Mail has reported that the Inquiry will hear testimony that off duty police officers attended parties at Piggy's Palace. We don't know what witnesses will testify to that fact. That could explain the delay in getting the warrant.

The front page of the Vancouver Province today was about Catherine Galliford's new claims about testifying at the inquiry. The headline claims
Cops watched porn, skipped work instead of investigating missing women. Which once again would imply laziness not a hidden agenda in suppressing the case.

When very junior RCMP Const. Nathan Wells finally obtained a firearms search warrant on Feb. 5, 2002, for the Pickton farm, Galliford said, she confronted a top RCMP officer, telling him, “You’ve known this since 1999.”

I don't want in any way to minimize the sexual harassment she endured working with a bunch of pigs, please excuse the pun. I just want to clarify there is a difference between being rude and politically incorrect and attending parties at Piggy Palace. We know a lot of people attended parties there. We have the recorded testimony of one witness who claimed people were doing the wild thing all over the place. That would imply that sex trade workers were present at the Piggy's Palace parties run by the Hells Angels. Everyone seems to be silent about that part. The court did hear the Hells angels had a grow op on site and we did hear testimony that Hells Angels attended those parties in colours all the time.

There are quite a few conspiracy theories abounding on the case. We need to remember that Robert Pickton was convicted even if he wasn't the primary suspect in the murders. The judge told the jury that he could be convicted if he was an active participant. The one who disposed of the bodies so to speak.

It mall makes me think about Hunter Thompson's untimely death. Hunter Thompson was a journalist who spent time with the Hells Angels in the US to write a book about them which he did. At the time he was criticised for his casual attitude abut the Hells Angels' involvement in gang rape. Yet the thing that gets me is the last story he was working on. About snuff films and the sexual abuse of boys tied to US politicians.

In fact there have even been allegations that he wasn't just writing a story about it but that he was actually involved with it. Involved with the child sex abuse and snuff films at the Bohemian Grove Alex Jones talks about. That would be taking gonzo journalism a step too far. We know that the news of the Franklin Cover up hit the Washington Times:

"A homosexual prostitution ring is under investigation by federal and District authorities and includes among its clients key officials of the Reagan and Bush administrations, military officers, congressional aides and US and foreign businessmen with close social ties to Washington's political elite. Reporters for this newspaper examined hundreds of credit-card vouchers, drawn on both corporate and personal cards and made payable to the escort service operated by the homosexual ring." -- Washington Times, 6/29/1989

In fact, one Youtuber claims that one of the victims, Paul Bonacci, who reported about the child abuse ring at the Bohemian Grove, identified Hunter S Thompson as the videographer. Photographer Russell E. "Rusty" Nelson was arrested two days after journalist Hunter Thompson reportedly committed suicide.

Hunter Thompson's involvement isn't the subject of my query. The fact is, a child prostitution ring involving US politicians did exist. My question is, was Piggy Palace Canada's Bohemian Grove? (Less the homosexual child part)

Pot activist dies on hunger strike

Istvan "Steve" Marton, 69, the local marijuana dealer in Sointula, off the north-east coast of Vancouver Island, died in Port MacNeill Hospital Sunday after more than a month on a hunger strike to protest Canada's marijuana laws. I'm sorry to hear he passed away.

Freddy just posted a link to a Vancouver Sun article about Stop the Violence B.C. which is a coalition lobbying for the legalization and regulation of marijuana. I'm glad this group has drawn the line at pot. I think they will get more support. I cannot accept legalizing all drugs like crack, crystal meth or date rape drug.

There is a large percentage of the population that supports the legalization of marijuana. About 50%. More if you make it the decriminalization of Marijuana. That's where I stand on the issue. I'm not comfortable with pot being sold at the 7/11 or smoked in public. People have a hard enough time dealing with cigarette smoke in public. If I chose not to smoke pot, I don't want it forced upon me by having to hot box it on the bus or in public.

Yet I will completely agree that building more prisons for nonviolent crime is absurd. Especially when our courts and prison systems are clogged up at present and can't effectively deal with violent crime. Harper's extreme of implementing mandatory minimum sentences for growing pot is disproportionate and undemocratic. Since we don't have a two party system in Canada, Harper did not get 50% of the vote. Yet more than 50% of the population support the decriminalization of marijuana. Somewhat ironic.

The Vancouver Sun has published a copy of a letter from four former Vancouver mayors calling for the decriminalization and regulation of marijuana. In it they state: "A recent Angus Reid poll demonstrated that 69% of British Columbians believe that chasing and arresting marijuana producers and sellers is ineffective and that British Columbians would be better off taxing and regulating the adult use of marijuana. We fully agree. Clearly, elected officials are out of step with their public on marijuana prohibition."

Hells Angels clubhouse turned into community space

Thunder Bay City council unanimously voted Monday night to approve Evergreen a United Neighbourhood’s plan to convert the former Hells Angels clubhouse on Heron Street into a community space. Evergreen coordinator Linda Bruins told council that the group currently holds its meetings on a street corner near Minnesota Park. The space on Heron Street, given to the group by the Ministry of the Attorney General, would allow Evergreen to have indoor meetings and have a space to hold events.

Clem Hamel said the area has enough community centres and churches. Council heard from supporters of the idea before making the unanimous decision. Coun. Paul Pugh said this was the best opportunity to see a former negative space turned into a positive one. “It’s got to be about a positive move as I can imagine,” Pugh said. Former police officer mayor Keith Hobbs said he supported the change.

Occupy Vancouver Relocates

I am somewhat amused that the Occupy Vancouver protesters chose Robson Square for their next location after the court ordered them to move from the Art Gallery. I had walked under there a couple of weeks ago and noticed it was basically abandoned and that there was no ice in the rink there. Too bad. Bringing the ice back for the Olympics was a great idea. Maintaining that ice rink is a positive thing for the city. Yet they've been ordered to move again.

When I first heard there was going to be an Occupy Wall Street protest in Vancouver I asked where are they going to occupy? Vancouver doesn't have a stock exchange any more. The Art Galley? They could occupy that until Christmas and no one will notice or care. Unfortunately, protest bashing has become the popular political twist of late. You would think they let Conrad Black out of prison and he was the owner of the local papers again.

I am somewhat outraged by Christy Clark's comments in today's Vancouver Province. The headline read "Enough is Enough" and the article quoted Christy airhead as saying "I don't know what these folks stand for now." Why is that not surprising? Has she ever asked? She doesn't listen. She doesn't care. Yet trampling on lawful assembly is a horrific precedent for the nation.

No wonder Christy Clark wants to seize the opportunity to distract voters for the new disclosure about her own personal involvement in the BC Rail scandal along with Gordon Campbell. It wasn't just her brother, it was her too. How can she call a public inquiry into herself? This is way worse than Fantasy Gardens and way worse than fast ferries. She should be hanging her head in shame but no, she seizes the opportunity to kick the cat. She doesn't know what the protest is about? Maybe it's about her involvement in corrupt politics. We have seen that corruption in Wall street has infiltrated politics.

Someone wrote in to the Province slamming the mayor and Jim Chu for the Vancouver Riot. It wasn't their fault! They asked Christy Clark for more funding for police during the Stanley cup final and she giggled and said no. Then she had to audacity to rub it in their face and say but your concerns have been taken into consideration when we made our decision.

That is the inherent problem of our current political climate. Our pork barrel politicians only care about taking care of their lobbyists who contribute to their campaign. Big Unions or Big Corporations, it's all special interest. Only there are no big Unions any more. Only snakes in the grass like Buzz Hargrove trying to sell out their members so they can continue to exist and stay on the payroll.

In Canada, people have a protest and no one cares. The concerns aren't listened to. They just give them a little parade to express themselves then go on their merry way and do the exact opposite. At least in Egypt the government listens to the people. They protested demanding the government resign. Not necessarily the brightest thing when you don't have a plan as to who is going to be elected to replace him. Now they are protesting because after the government stepped down the military took over. Only the military promised to hand over the power in six months and that's not happening. Big surprise. Political opportunists exist everywhere.

Yet Egypt's military ruler says he is prepared to hold a referendum on transferring power to a civilian government immediately, following a massive demonstration in Cairo's Tahrir Square that saw tens of thousands turn out. That's a lot better than Stephen Harper or Christy Clark would do. Hold a referendum. Imagine that. Harper would rather spend millions of tax dollars on bogus advertising telling us how to vote rather than listen to the democratic will of the people. Our democracy is in peril.

There are two issues on the table: Tents and protests. I separate the two because although the Occupy Vancouver protest is clearly a political protest, the right to assemble in public places and petition the government for a redress of grievance is a God given unalienable right. No court has the authority to take that away from us. Period. Any court order that bans protesters instead of tents would violate the charter or rights and be an illegal order.

These are serious issues. A couple weeks ago I was standing outside the Vancouver courthouse with a sign that said Lawful Assembly is a Charter Right. The sheriff at the front desk comes out all agitated, reads my sign and says lawful assembly is a charter right but you can't stand there. I crinkle my brow and my nose and in disbelief say What? He said you can't picket here. You have to leave. Picket? I said. I'm not a member of a union. I'm not blocking any one's access to the courthouse. Then I look at his shoulder and notice he's a sheriff. I said if you get a police officer to arrest me for holding a sign that would be an illegal arrest and I will counter sue for lost wages. He gets even more agitated and said you can do what you want but I'm going to make a phone call. Fine I said as I held my position.

I was only going to stay there ten minutes but ended up staying 2 and a half hours just to see who would have the audacity to come and arrest me in violation of my Charter Right. No one showed up and I was furious. How dare he steal my Charter right? How dare he lie and claim that it is not my charter right to stand in a public place with a sign in a political protest. How dare he? People from the Occupy site just laughed and said you really think people won't try and convince you you don't have rights? I had no idea.

In the latest court application, Christy BC Rail Clark was asking for a permanent injunction and the Judge said such a move would be an inappropriate use of the law. No kidding. Speaking of the law, let's talk about generations of British Common law that refer to squatters rights. I was amazed in England many years ago that when squatters gathered they couldn't just move them without finding them a new location to move to. That was during the stone henge festival I visited back in the day. Before the Charter of Rights and before the British North America Act was introduced, our law was British common law. Generations of court decisions formed jurisprudence and became known as common law. Like it or not squatter's rights were part of that common law.

Yet tents and signs are separate. They can get a court order to remove tents but they cannot get a court order to ban a protest on public land. Such an order would be illegal and an act of war.

Harper muzzles the Mounties

From now on, just about every bit of RCMP information shared with the public will have to be sent to Public Safety Canada for approval. The new protocol will also mean more photo ops for government ministers.

This is absolutely outrageous. Stephen Harper in NOT an Conservative. Firing whistle blowers is bad enough, now he even wants to censor the RCMP. Holy propaganda Batman when will it ever end?

Let's take the BC Rail scandal. The RCMP got a wiretap warrant for an MLA because his cousin was a cocaine dealer. Turns out that they found out about another scandal involving the sale of BC Rail in the process tied to Christy Clark and her brother. Why on earth would the RCMP have to clear anything through the BC Provincial government before it released the news that they were under investigation?

What powers of censorship does this new "protocol" have? If the RCMP had to clear the news of the legislature raids with Gordon Campbell before it happened, that would be a conflict of interest. Would Harper's pal, Gordon Campbell have power to censor that information and instruct the RCMP to withhold some information on the State Secret cop out?

The same thing federally. We know Alfonso Gagliano was named by an FBI informant as a made member of the Mafia in Montreal according to the New York Times. We know that Brian Mulroney was up to his eyeballs in criminal activity. What if a federal political party is being investigated? Would this new protocol mean the party in power has the right to censor the RCMP? That is not Canada. That is not a democracy. That my friend is treason. As the frog boils in warmer water.

Kingpin Crew's new Clubhouse

I thought the Pinhead Crew were laying low after Mike and Sam's Oxycontin fraud bust. They've sure gone under cover. They went and painted a fruit stand black and grey but they can't fool us. We know it's still full of fruit loops. It's on Highway 97 on the way to the Kelowna Airport. It has MC on the front door now.



So tell me, is Donwntown Cycle still open? Someone said they were hanging low after the Oxy bust. I guess we're still waiting to see what happens in Dale's pal Joey's murder trial. Dale says if Joey killed Britney then their friendship is over. What a crock of shit that is. Who do ya think got him to do the job? If he was ripping Britney off he would have left town. If he murdered a rat to repay a debt he wouldn't of had to leave town. Only she wasn't a rat you piece of garbage. And Geoff didn't rip anyone off you dirty liar.

I understand that Brittney was quite the photographer. All the landscape photos in the tribute video I made for her and Geoff Meisner were from her facebook. Except for a couple ones of the snow on Big White. I just threw those in to show how awesome Kelowna is in the Winter as well as in the Summer. Awesome if they get rid of the Liquid Zoo good and the Habibs trying to bring it back.

Deputy Police Chief Jennifer Evans’ Pickton Report

The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry has promised for weeks the release of Peel, Ont. Deputy Police Chief Jennifer Evans’ 800 page report. On Monday morning, Inquiry Commissioner Wally Oppal called the leak of Evans’ report to CTV “appalling.” But Oppal upheld the objections of lawyer Cameron Ward, acting for 20 missing women’s families not to mark Evans report as exhibit, which would have made it available to all media. Ward continues to call the inquiry a “whitewash,” saying Oppal needs to hear from frontline police investigators. Of course it's a whitewash. The Hells Angels have not been mentioned in it at all. Why oppose making the Peel Report and exhibit? After all, it is a public inquiry.