John van Dongen leaves BC Liberal caucus to join BC Conservatives

Wow. I knew they must have been a reason I liked that guy. I just wasn't comfortable with him in the Campbell's Collusion. Now he's with the BC Conservatives. There is an alternative to the Christy Crunch. The rising tide is revealed.

Van Dongen, the MLA for Abbotsford South and former solicitor general, rose in the legislature to blast the Liberal government for a lack of integrity, before announcing his defection. John Cummins, Leader of British Columbia's Conservatives, welcomed John van Dongen, MLA for Abbotsford South into the BC Conservative Party. “John van Dongen is a man of principle and integrity, and I am delighted that he has joined B.C.’s fastest-growing party," Cummins said in a news release.

Speaking of dissension within the ranks, provincial auditor-general John Doyle pointed to a lack of transparency about over $80 billion worth of B.C. government contracts in private-public-partnerships or P3s, ranging from independent power producers to construction of the new Port Mann Bridge.

Don't get me started on the Port Mann Bridge. First they were going to twin it. Made perfect sense. The current bridge is new and in great condition not like the Patella bridge which is literally falling apart. But no, Gordon Campbell wanted a King Ramses monument and decided to build one monster bridge at twice the cost. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised at the insider trading that huge over expenditure cost.

So instead of having two cost effective bridges side by side, they decided to build one monster bridge at twice the cost without any consultation with taxpayers whatsoever. Spending money to tear down a perfectly functional bridge is absurd. Now I here they are thinking of turning it into a park. They're going to turn the old bridge into a park. The insanity and fiscal irresponsibility just never ends.

Smart meter blamed for hike in bill

A home owner near the PNE saw a huge spike in his hydro bill after the Smart Meter was installed. Hydro claims it's not just Smart Meters but everyone who's experiencing a huge spike in their bills? That is supposed to make us feel better? These are gangsters committing a crime.

Just because Ontario is doing something doesn't mean we have to follow suit. They aren't happy with their Smart Meters and the TOD billing either.

Stop Smart Meters dot ca

Trevor Jones Indicted, now a US Fugitive

Freddy was right. Three key players in a multinational drug-smuggling operation with ties to B.C.'s Hells Angels were sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Jacob Burdick, 34, of Marysville, Wash., was sentenced to 12 years for directing the distribution of drugs and money from a warehouse in Kent, Wash.

A California couple, Michael Murphy, 62, and Pamela Marie Murphy, 58, of Penn Valley were sentenced to prison terms of 12 years and 18 months, respectively. Michael Murphy served as chief pilot in distributing B.C.-grown marijuana and cash across the U.S. to cities such as Chicago, St. Louis and Atlanta. He would collect money made from pot sales and return it to California to buy cocaine bound for B.C.

"The smuggling organization had ties to members of the Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle gang in British Columbia," the U.S. Department of Justice said. Judge John Coughenor highlighted the connection between the marijuana going south and the cocaine going north. "This [marijuana] is the commodity that is sold to generate cash to buy cocaine, which has done significant damage in Canada," the judge said.

A Canadian man, Trevor Alan Jones, has been indicted on several counts in the drug bust, along with several others. Jones, born in 1970 and now a fugitive in the U.S., is wanted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency for conspiracy to distribute marijuana and cocaine in the western district of Washington state.

Jones, who goes by the alias "Red," is six-foot-one, weighs 220 pounds, has red hair and brown eyes. Rewards for his capture are available at the discretion of the U.S. Marshals Service. Through wiretaps, U.S. investigators determined the drug ring was transporting and distributing 450 to 1,000 kg of marijuana and 100 to 200 kg of cocaine every month for at least five years.

Trevor Jones has been indicted and is now a US fugitive? Wow!!! We remember they were implicated when the bust first happened. Court papers said Tbarz was the hub of the Canadian Operation. That would be owned by Trevor's brother Randy not Trevor. However, it might be in their mother's name now just like the web site. Who would put a strip bar in their mother's name anyways?

Trevor was the registered owner of Dank Energy Drinks a new and improved "Hemp" energy drink. Only "Trevor" used Randy's e-mail address to register that domain. I wonder if Randy will be on the red carpet at the next Juno's? No doubt his pal Russel Peters knows where he is. Good luck to ya Eggman. You are the Walrus now.

The Pig Farm

CTV put out an interesting documentary about Robert Pickton called The Pig Farm. It’s available on DVD and came out in 2010. It was well done in the sense that they tracked down and interviewed people who actually lived on the farm and it really showed how problematic the police investigation was.

There are a lot of wackos out there with criminal records of violence. The police had 40 to 100 suspects. A daunting task at the time with all the budget cuts. The problem was getting a search warrant. Police received a tip that one person who lived on the farm saw Willy in the barn with a dead woman hanging by a rope. When the police called her in to question her she adimatedly denied it so they couldn’t get a warrant.

They finally got a warrant when a former resident of the farm said there was an illegal weapon on the farm. That gave the police the right to enter the farm. That wasn’t until Feb 5 2002. They found women’s’ clothing, ID and an inhaler belonging to one of the missing women. That finally gave the police enough information to get a warrant to search the farm for bodies.

One resident of the farm claimed Willy asked him one night if he wanted to get a hooker. He claimed Willy said do you know what I do with hookers. He then pulled out handcuffs and a belt and told him he handcuffs them and strangles them. Two days later a couple of Willies friends came up to him and asked to speak with him in the trailer. There they confronting him claiming he stole from Willy and beat him up. He took that as a warning not to say anything about what Willy told him to the police. So he didn’t. He left and kept his mouth shut. Other people beating him up would also imply other people were involved in the murders.

Although it was informative, there were a few very crucial points completely left out. The documentary barely said a word about Willy’s brother Dave who also lived on the farm. It didn’t mention a word about the fact that Dave had been convicted of sexual assault on that same farm himself. They didn’t say a word about another accusation of sexual assault involving Dave when the woman claimed Dave tied her to the bed with bungee cords and tried to shove pills down her mouth. The police acknowledged on the stand that when they searched Dave’s room they did find bungee cords and pills just like the woman described but said just because someone is accused of a serious sexual assault doesn’t make them a murder. Rather bizarre not a word about that was mentioned in the documentary.

There wasn’t a word mentions about Dave association with the Hells Angels either. Nor was there a word mentioned about the Hells Angels grow op and illegal booze can on site. Strange how they didn’t mention a word about Piggy’s Palace in the documentary. That was pretty significant.

However, there were a series of very relevant statements made by friends and associates of Willy. “Every human is capable of killing. I just really don’t think that Willy could do it all on his own. To this day I’m still not sure what happened on that farm.”

“Do I think he acted alone? I think he acted alone most of the time but I don’t think he acted alone all of the time.” “I feel there are other people involved. There’s too much evidence point towards other people being involved.”
“Willy needs to go to jail for what Willy did. So if he’s guilty of X number of murders or DISPOSAL OF BODIES, he needs to go to jail for that. But if there’s other people involved, they need to go to jail for that, not Willy Pickton.

Perhaps that is the most relevant observation. The instructions the judge gave to the jury was that Robert Pickton could be convicted even if there were other people involved. Even if he wasn’t the main person involved. He could be convicted if he was simply an active participant. So what if other people were involved with murdering women on the farm and Willy helped dispose of the bodies? That needs to be addressed. We still haven’t heard which off duty police officers attended parties at Piggy’s Palace and why. Wally Oppals refusal to let anything about the Hells Angels involvement be discussed at the inquiry mocks the families and makes the inquiry meaningless.

Hummer parked in Handicapped spot

This is the epitome of greed. Hummers and SUVs have become popular choices among drug dealers because they are so expensive not many people can afford them. I have no idea why because SUVs are butt ugly. They aren’t sporty at all. They look like a soccer mom’s mini van. Hummers are so outrageously expensive they just aren’t worth it.

This photo of a hummer parked outside Costco in Kelowna is creating quite the stir on Castanet. A lot of people are understandably upset about it. People hate it when a disrespectful kid or young man parks in a handicapped stall just because they think they are better than everyone else. It is a prime example of greed. It’s disrespectful.

Some people tried to appease the anger by claiming the store wasn’t open but that wouldn’t make sense. If the store wasn’t open there would be many empty parking spots they could have parked in. The concern is a lack of respect for others. Like a young prick blasting his music with no regard for anyone else on the planet.

Or like an old prick who has loud pipes and intentionally guns it in a quiet neighborhood to piss off everyone else just because he has no regard and no respect for others. They say pride cometh before the fall. We can only hope. Time will tell. It always does.

Trade Unions and Greed

I’m not going to say a lot about trade unions other than there are good and bad unions just like there are good and bad people and politicians. The defining question we need to ask is are trade unions protecting us from corporate greed or are they themselves consumed in greed. Which is worse – a greedy corporation or a greedy union? They are both the same.

Right now there is a lot of polarization surrounding the teachers strike. The government should pay teachers a fair wage and allot money for education because education is important. No doubt. The government using the kids as political pawns in their campaign to slash budgets so they can keep giving themselves a raise is wrong.

Yet, in the real world, how much taxes we spend on education counter balances with how much money we spend on heath care and other government programs like police, fire as well as road and bridge construction. The money has to come from somewhere.

Likewise the union using the kids as pawns to get a bigger raise for their members is wrong too. Is your dispute really about class size or is it really about wages? Why did you choose to become a teacher in the first place? You’re only in grade 12 once. Cutting out extra circular activities in that crucial year will never be replaced. What if that extra curricular program is the only thing keeping a kid in school? Dropping the program and having that kid drop out of school would be a tragedy.

They say the company gets the union it deserves. If a company is ruthless in exploiting it’s employees, they usually get or create a militant union to counter balance that drive. Some of the most productive and profitable companies are ones that actually consider customer service and genuinely care about how they treat their employees.

Canadian Values

I’m going to make two posts that may seem off topic but do relate to the heart of confronting organized crime before I dive in to the Kelowna summer jam. Since blog posts usually get buried after they’re made, I’ve devoted a web page to keep track of the K Town OC. (Organized Crime in Kelowna)

The term Canadian Values is a term politicians often exploit to promote their own political party while trying to tear their opponent’s political party. Often politics is more about tearing something down then building someone up. The new attack adds against Bob Rae are a prime example.

The liberal party was wiped off the map last election. Yet the Harper government is so paranoid about them that they have issued new attack adds targeting their new leader no where near an election. Bob Rae rightly pointed out that the Harper governed just tears things down. They aren’t capable of building anything up.

Unfortunately, the Liberals have vowed to fight fire with fire and the resulting mess reminds me of that pivotal BC leadership debate between Mike Harcourt, Rita Johnston and Gordon Wilson.

Rita Johnston were fighting back and forth like cats and dogs. Rita Johnston was insulting everything possible about Mike Harcourt including his manhood. Mike Harcourt just stood there and smiled holding a BC Care Card in one hand and an American Express card in the other saying which do you really prefer? As the debate got heatred and Harcourt and Johnston were arguing back and forth, Gordon Wilson said “There you have if British Columbia. This is why nothing gets done in Victoria.” He stole the show.

Gordon Wilson, who’s party was previous nonexistent prior to that debate, stole the show. He was calm, intelligent and constructive. He gave voters a hopeful alternative. Unfortunately, his marriage to one of his MPs was scandalized and Gordon Campbell took over the party and sent it straight down the toilet. Gordon Wilson was hopeful. Gordon Campbell was not. One tried to build something up, the other succeeded in tearing it down.

Which brings us back to the term Canadian Values. Most Canadians have an image of what they feel is important and how they want to be viewed in the world’s eyes. When I think of Canadian Values I think of the Canadian General in Rwanda portrayed in the movie shake Hands with the devil. Canadians have been known for their peacekeeping efforts. Most Canadians want Canada to be peace keepers not war mongers or war profiteers

One of the values that most Canadians cherish is compassion. Compassion is not a bad thing. Christ had compassion. The good Samaritan had compassion. Even Meg Ryan who played a Canadian in the movie French Kiss had compassion.

Unfortunately politicians have tried to tarnish and scandalize the value of compassion. Linear thinking politicians try to related it to a left versus right debate. The right scandalizes compassion while calling it socialist. They claim we shouldn’t have compassion because that takes us down the road that leads to Communism. That is probably the most ironic statement in recorded history.

Hijacked Communism like we saw under Lenin, Stalin and East Berlin was known for it’s lack of compassion and lack of tolerance. It really wasn’t that much different from what hitler gave us in Fascism. Two different roads leading to the same place - dictatorship.

I really liked Carol James. She tried to restore dignity to British Columbia with the motto “Because everyone matters.” She cared about seniors getting exploited and shut out. It was a heart warming campaign that made you feel proud. It restored our dignity in ourselves and in our country. So do Jack Layton.

Jack Layton had been around as a politician for many years. No one really took him seriously because he was labeled as a left wing union loving socialist. They kept saying the NDP would tax and spend us dry when they were the ones that did exactly that with Mulroney style pork barrel politics. Brian Mulroney was not a good man. That is why the Reform party separated themselves from him. Stephen Harpers brought the party full circle into enduring the very insanity they originally sought to correct.

As people because disenfranchised with the corruption within the Liberals and the heartless intolerance and extremism within the Harper Government people started to take Jack Layton seriously and heard him out instead of listening to the silly stereotypes that not longer were believable.

Jack Layton came across as a friendly politician who really cared. Not just someone who kissed a baby on camera while holding a knife in his hand to stab voters in the back. Jack Layton personified his motto of love, compassion, hope and optimism. Those are all good values that most of us cherish.

Another politician who historically inspired us was Lester Pearson. He was a man who built things up. Her accomplished many great things as a result. I have heard it said by a Reformer of old that Old Age Pension was welfare for the aged. In one sense I can understand what he meant. OAP is separate from CPP. CPP is a pension that we all pay into. OAP is not. It’s just a top up that everyone gets when they reach 65.

Should someone who ism independently wealthy get OAP? That is a valid question. The problem is that many companies payed a better wage 20 years ago then they do now. Compare that to the skyrocketing cost of housing in the last 20 years and you see a huge discrepancy. That’s not even including the fact that most large corporations keep many employees as part time to reduce their wage increases and benefits.

Most seniors now are in the poverty range. Most retirement pension plans take the OAP and the CPP into consideration when they calculate their pay outs. Cutting the OAP from most seniors would have tragic results. However, to question whether or not the extreme rich should receive the OAP at all is a valid question.

The problem is that the heartless right gets it’s campaign donations form the extremely rich. If the Harper government was to submit legislation stopping the OAP for people with a certain amount of assets then those campaign contributors would complain.

I’m just trying to say that we should indeed remember the spirit of Jack Layton. Love, compassion, hope and optimism are good things. Rolling up are sleeves and working together to build a better country with a vision of Canadian values is a good thing. Attack adds that tear each other down is not.

Kelowna Summer Jam 2012

Word is there's going to be a lot of media attention on organized crime in Kelowna this summer. What with Brtiney Irving and Dain Phillips murder trial and all. Word is there's going to be a lot of heat in Kelowna this summer and I'm not talking about the sunshine. I'm talking about the Kelowna Summer Jam 2012. "If ya get jammed up don't mention my name." Much. Stay tuned, more to come. Much more. If you would like to participate in shedding the light on organized crime in Kelowna this summer, drop me a line. Cheers.

Woman killed at the Cobalt Hotel

Vancouver’s latest homicide at a rundown Downtown Eastside hotel has renewed calls for the city to clean the building up. A woman in her 30s was killed in the Cobalt Hotel in the 900-block of Main street early Monday. The woman reportedly was stabbed.

The victim was among three stabbed in a violent spree in the upper floor of the hotel at around 6 a.m. Police say the woman was found in critical condition inside the Cobalt, but are not releasing any further details. The Cobalt is known for its hard-to-house tenants, many of whom have serious drug and alcohol problems.

The Cobalt is owned by slum lords Pal and Gurdyal Sahota. Gurdyal Sahota was recently fined $115,000 under the Residential Tenancy Act for repeatedly allowing a Surrey property to fall into disrepair and dodging his responsibility to make the property livable. It was the first time an administrative penalty had been imposed under the act.

Tony Terezakis was a Hells Angels associate in East Vancouver who video taped himself beating drug addicts who owed money as he shouted Praise the Lord and spit in their face at the Cobalt and the American Hotel in East Vancouver. Gee, I wonder what organization is running the drug scene there now?

Greeks Trial: Witness describes how three gang members gunned down ‘informant’

The Vernon Greeks trial continues. They are the ones that had Hells Angels support gear. The Vancouver Province is reporting that the court heard the leader of the Greeks ordered the murder of a police informant.