The Roman Wall on Mount Baker

On the brighter side, I hiked up to the Roman Wall on Mount Baker yesterday. It was awesome. Ya know I’ve very Canadian and I’m a Vancouverite all the way, but when you drive from Langley to Abbotsford Mount Baker is staring at you saying here I am, come and get me. Baker is one of the nicest hiking trails in the Pacific Northwest.

When I fist started snowshoeing a few years ago I said to myself I want to snowshoe on Baker. I want to see if I can make it to the glacier. I wanted to see what climbing on glaciers was like. So I head up to Baker and snowshoe up the Ptarmigan Ridge trail. You get a pretty awesome view of Baker up close and personal. Yet between that lookout spot and the glacier is a huge inaccessible gully. I said surely there’s a way to access the glacier.

Turns out the ski hill on Mount Baker, as awesome as it is, isn’t actually on Mount Baker it’s on a few peaks right beside Mount Baker. To get to the glacier on Mount Baker you have to turn at the town of Glacier and drive up Glacier Creek Road. It’s an old single lane logging road that has pull outs on the shoulder were you can pull out on if there’s an oncoming car.



You drive up Glacier Creek road then hike the Heliotrope trail and climb up Hogs Back. Hogs Back is pretty unique and easy to identify. It looks very much like a hog’s back and serves as the base camp for those who are serious about climbing the summit. From the base camp at Hog’s Back it’s about an eight hour return hike to the summit. It’s very deceptive. It really doesn’t look that far from there but it is. You’re just out of the tree line and Baker is huge.

Climbing a glacier in the summer can be dangerous. Part of the glacier is crumpled like an accordion, that’s the Coleman glacier. Other parts of the glacier depending on the time of year are breaking up and have huge crevices you can fall in. In the winter they’re full of snow but in the summer the glacier stats to melt and break up. One year I went the glacier was totally screwed. It was receded way beyond normal and the trail was inaccessible because the normally small crevices were these huge monster crevices that there’s no way you wanted to fall in one. There were like 15 feet wide and went down a very long way.

The last couple times I went the glacier was right to the base camp on Hog’s back and the footpath was clear. You had to step over a few crevices yesterday but they weren’t the huge monster crevices that were everywhere a few years ago. Yesterday the danger was if you slipped and lost your footing in the soft afternoon snow melted by the summer sun. If you slipped and start sliding down the mountain, that’s when you can fall into a large crevice. That’s why you’re supposed to travel in pairs and bring full gear including rope and ice anchors to pull your partner out if they fall in a crevice.

That’s a lot of gear for me to carry. I'm just a day tripper. I’m OK with a day pack carrying all your water and lunch with crampons and an ice axe to stop me in case I slip and start to slide into a crevice but all that gear is just too much for me to carry climbing all that way.

One year I climbed up to a rock formation that looked like Hadrian’s Wall in Scotland. When I got back home and looked on the map it was actually called the Roman Wall. It’s a natural rock formation where the wind has eroded the mountain that forms jagged peaks resembling a wall along the top on the way to the summit. The path to the summit goes right beside it. The rocks on Baker are crumbly slate. They’re not the typical large solid rock you see around the Vancouver mountains. I guess that’s because it’s volcanic. You can also see a fair bit of pumice as well.

I climbed up the glacier to the roman wall yesterday and the glacier looked a bit doggy after that so I turned back. It was nice to get your ice and snow fix at the end of summer. Ya gotta love that.













This is one of my favorite pictures I took a few years ago of the sun rising behind Mount Baker. You can see the path on the right along the Roman Wall:



This is as far as I made it that year. The path on the right was totally accessible. I just ran out of steam and had boots that didn’t fit properly:

Harper severs diplomatic ties with Iran

Canada abruptly closed its embassy in Iran and expelled Iranian diplomats in Ottawa. Iran supports Syrian president Bashar Assad. Well so does Russia. Does that mean we’re going to sever diplomatic ties with Russia? I don’t think Iran should have nuclear weapons but I don’t think China, India or any other country we are selling them to should either. Sarkozy said let’s trust Gadaffi with nuclear technology because we want to sell him a reactor. Then when he says he’s gonna buy one from someone else, we invaded and executed him. Stephen Harper is a dick wad. Remember Operation Ajax and Mohammad Mosaddegh? That is what this is about.

I am sick and tired of these ungodly oil wars being disguised as a quest for human rights. What about the Pakistan bombing? Somebody makes a deal to buy arms off Sarkozy. Then when they change their mind some intelligence agency blows them up.

If one of Israel’s enemies acquires nuclear weapons then that is a huge concern. The problem is that Mossad is so busy selling drugs and committing investment fraud along with the CIA, it’s hard to believe a word that comes out of their mouth either.

Nuclear power is problematic. Letting an enemy have nuclear power lets them have nuclear weapons. That’s why we shouldn’t be selling Candu reactors to China and India. Everyone rightfully freaks out when North Korea defiantly launches a missile test. Yet no one bats an eye when India conducts a nuclear test. Oh that’s OK because they’re an ally. It’s not OK. Just like it wasn’t OK for Iraq to use chemical weapons we sold them to use on Iran. That wasn’t OK either.

Look at the pattern. If a country has a nationalized oil program they all of a sudden become terrorists. That’s why Operation Fast and Furious existed. Other than making money off the arms and the cocaine, they wanted to sabotage the Mexican president’s war on drugs so they would elect a president that would follow through with the privatization of their oil.

Another Targeted Shooting in Surrey

Another targeted shooting in Surrey this afternoon in broad daylight. When you look at the number of bullet holes in the front windshield I’d sure say it was targeted. The Vancouver Sun is reporting that the man gunned down in today’s shooting is the brother of a recently-convicted cocaine smuggler.

Sources identified the victim as Jag Johal, brother to Shminder Johal, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison in July for smuggling cocaine and guns into B.C. after a 2007 arrest. Johal was shot multiple times in broad daylight while sitting in the passenger side of a car in a parking lot at 68 Avenue and King George Boulevard.

A blog reader who was on scene after the shooting and took these pictures, claims they saw someone show up after the shooting that looked just like Rob Yews. Last we heard he was selling “shirts” in Yellowknife. If wonder if he’s in town and why.

GObama

When I saw this picture in the Vancouver Province today it reminded me of a scene from mortal combat right when the opponents bow before squaring off. The media billed Clinton and Obama as former rivals because Obama ran against Hillary, yet it’s clear that Clinton supports Obama’s dream.

I had read a blogger quote Mitt Romney’s speech and I was shocked. Then when I checked the transcript of his speech it turns out he didn’t actually say a lot of those things and the blogger was being sarcastic. I did catch the end of Obama’s speech tonight. Ya gotta admit the guy is a very good speaker. George Bush was painful and irritating. He was like nails on the chalkboard. I couldn’t listen to him and had to change the channel whenever he spoke. Obama I can listen to. He says many heartfelt things that I support.

Between the two I have to admit the choice is clear. We the people or I the elite who will exploit and rip you off. Mitt Romney is a much better speaker than George Bush. Yet his unfailing support of Bush is suspect. He says avoid debt yet made millions loading companies with debt then forcing them to pay huge consulting fees as well as massive interest. He fed himself and the banks well.

Romney said it doesn’t matter what race you are but every time he raised the point I got the feeling to him it did. He talked about the United States because he wanted Democrats to vote for him but he kept repeating what was so horribly wrong with the past four years of Obama’s presidency. Not a word about the Tsunami of disaster that George Bush created. When you look at the last four years of Obama’s presidency, nothing went terribly wrong like it consistently did during Bush’s tenure. The banks or Wall street didn’t crash again. It’s just taking longer than anticipated to recover from all that bad debt George Bush left the country with.

In the past four years, no new country has been invaded for their oil. Well, except for Libya. There was no mortgae or stock scandals that crashed the banks or Wall Street. The fact that nothing terrible happened in the past four years like it consistently did under George Bush is a good thing.

I do have a concern with Bill Clinton. I’m told he gave a very inspiring speech. He is a very likeable person. Yet his documented ties to the drug smuggling and money laundering out of Mena, Arkansas when he was governor is very concerning. Tied of course to his pal George Bush Senior who started it all with the heroin smuggling during Vietnam.

When you Google Clinton body count you find a long list of people the Clintons know who died premature deaths of suspicious circumstances. I saw an episode of the TV series the Mathematician where he was calculating the odds of four people who new each other all dying of mysterious circumstances within a short period of time. He found the odds to be astronomical. In that episode the murders were tied to a cover up of voter fraud. All I’m saying is the number of people who have died of suspicious circumstances around the Clintons is shocking.

Obama’s ties to Clinton are understandable but concerning. Obama’s senior aid that’s taking the fall for Operation Fast and Furious worked closely with Bill Clinton. I keep stressing that Operation Fast and Furious isn’t just an Obama thing because Bush did the exact same thing in Operation Wide Receiver. Nevertheless, Operation Fast and Furious is an Obama thing because it’s tied to the same secret service that paid for his university education.

Hilary on the other hand looks just plain evil. She was implicated in that suspicious treasury note scandal when she was seen at a Swiss Bank account trying to recover it. Her law firm was tied to the same things her husband was involved with out of Mena. None of it was good. Obama was wise in not making her VP. That would have seen him assassinated faster than you can say President Johnston recall the wings.

I do think there is hope for America. I don’t think that hope rests with a politician. Just like Obama said that hopes rests with individuals who rise up to the challenges that face them and press forward with a consistent determination. Through small consistent acts, great things are accomplished. Politicians can’t be trusted. They need to be watched and restrained.

Romney’s slash and burn cannibalism doesn’t create jobs and build the economy. It cuts jobs and feeds the banks while his friends evade taxes in off shore accounts. That doesn’t build the country, it clear cuts it for the next generation. Honorable mention goes to the illustrious Ron Paul Revolution. Now that is hope.

Three Cheers for the Po Po

Yo bro, I aint talking about no Teletubby. I’m talking about the POlice. With all these arrests of Hells Angels in Kelowna, we need to pause and salute the boys in blue or in our case, the men in red. A lot of people have been writing in and saying wow, with all these Hells Angels busts lately my faith in the police has sure been improved. I think that says it all.

When people see crime go unpunished and minimized, people lose faith in the system. Look at how far we’ve come in such a short period of time. Last summer after the Jonathon Bacon and Larry Amero shooting in Kelowna, Pat Fogarty told the media "The Hells Angels chapter has almost dismantled now. They don‘t even have club status any more. Our biggest fear here in our province is actually the ones that aren‘t named."

That ridiculous statement forced us to question which side he was on. Either he was deliberately trying to misinform the public or someone in IHIT was deliberately trying to misinform him. One year later a completely different picture of the Hells Angels involvement in the drug trade and stolen property trade has been revealed and our faith in the police has been restored.

What we need to do now, is make sure some bureaucrat from upstairs doesn’t find who ever it is in the CFSEU that is doing such a great job and transfer them behind a desk as a result. I saw that happen in Seattle back in the /80’s. Twice. There was a cop on the beat named Chuck Pillon that was putting pressure on the crack dealers. He was so effective, they transferred him and put him behind a desk. In comes another cop on the beat in South Seattle who started doing a great job putting pressure on the crack dealers. In no time he too was transferred. It was very suspect. Just like how Richard Barszczewski pulled the plug on the Western Wind drug seizure. That guy should have been sent to jail not get a promotion. The fact that he is still lingering around is suspect.

Obviously there still are concerns within the police force that need to be addressed. Tasering someone repeatedly in the chest when they are on the ground is a misuse of the weapon. Tasering someone when they are hogtied is a crime. No doubt Jim Brown and Don Ray need to be fired. Yet that only means the struggle between good and evil continues not that we should abandon the struggle.

In the mean time we need to stop and applaud those involved in these latest busts and say well done. We also need to watch their back so they don’t get quietly transferred behind a desk so the streets can return to the status quo.

Blog format

OK The blog format is totally screwed. I have no idea what happened. I’m working on fixing it. We are currently experiencing technical difficulties. The web site is fine. It’s on a different server.

OK I think I have it just about fixed. Some people said they liked it, some people said they didn’t. I thought it was painful like Facebook Timeline. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. I just like it functional and easy to read.

Hells Angels face more Criminal organization charges

The Vancouver Province is reporting that Criminal organization charges have been tacked on to trafficking and conspiracy allegations against eight Hells Angels members accused of being involved in an international drug ring.

Last week police announced that they had raided a number of properties in the Okanagan and arrested Shawn Womacks, Murray Trekofski, Orhan Saydam, Bryan Oldham, Kevin Van Kalkeren, James Howard, Michael Read and David Giles. Giles is vice-president and Oldham is the sergeant at arms of the Kelowna chapter of the Hells Angels.

Womacks, Trekofski, Saydam and Oldham are charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking a controlled substance in association with a criminal organization. Oldham also faces a charge of conspiracy to traffic a controlled substance in association with a criminal organization.

Van Kalkeren, Howard, Read and Giles are charged with conspiracy to import a controlled substance and conspiracy to traffic a controlled substance in association with a criminal organization. The cases of all eight accused appeared in B.C. Provincial Court and B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver Wednesday.

Johnny Newcome BUSTED!

Another Kelowna Hells Angel bites the dust. Police are announcing that they have discovered a stolen car ring tied to the Hells Angels in Kelowna and have arrested Johnny Newcome from Cycle Logic as the ringleader. Wow. The Kelowna Hells Angels are sure getting their ass kicked by law and order. Pride cometh before the fall.

I want to pause for a moment and emphasize how significant this latest bust really is. We all know that crack dealers and crystal meth dealers are low life scumbags. When I started advertizing the Kelowna Summer Jam before summer started, I really wanted to clarify the misconception of what a rat really is. I took it back a notch and tried to find some common ground. Something everyone could agree on.

The first thing that came to mind was the old notion of a Surrey rat. Some punk ass kid who steals cars and breaks into comes. You can’t get any lower than that. Someone who steals stuff is a low life. Everyone can agree with that. Reporting a car thief to the police isn’t being a rat. Stealing cars is being a rat. That was something everyone could agree on. I took that argument one step further and said people who sell crack are just as bad as car thieves. Ratting out a crack dealer isn’t being a rat, failing to do so is. Likewise with murder. Reporting Geoff Meisner or Britney Irving’s murder to the police isn’t being a rat. Betraying them and murdering them is being the rat.

Low and behold, the CFSEU break up a stolen property trafficking ring for the first time in BC’s history. Tied to the Hells angels. Wow. There’s no L & R there. Just low life greed. The police are alleging that this organized crime ring would bring stolen cars and boats to Cycle Logic where Johnny be good would revin it and send them on their way.

In once case, the police are alleging the President of the Kelowna Hells Angels reported two vehicles as stolen, and the vehicles were later processed at the garage. Police also recovered three stolen vehicles that were allegedly in the possession of the Calgary Hells Angels chapter. Wow, that is lower than I thought they could possibly go. They have no right to EVER use the word rat again unless they are referring to themselves.

This bust seals the deal. The Kelowna Hells angels are a criminal organization. Their clubhouse should be seized. Carpe Diem.

A member of the Nanaimo Hells Angels worked at that chop shop as well.

Paul Lir Alexander‏ convicted drug trafficker for Mossad

I’ve got one post to make before I write about the breaking news in Kelowna everyone is talking about. Yesterday someone sent me a link to a Langley Advance story about another international drug ring busted tied to Langley, Abbotsford and you guessed it, Surrey. The thing that I found bizarre was the Star of David stamped on one of the bricks of cocaine seized by the CFSEU. I was speechless.

We know the UN has been known to stamp their logo on a brick of cocaine they ship. We even saw the Edmonton Hells Angels do the same thing with the 51 (E-A) stamped on it. This Star of David stamp has me baffled. It is either very arrogant, very stupid or someone is trying to set someone else up. We know Mossad has been deeply involved in cocaine trafficking with the CIA back in Nicaragua and the extended version of Iran Contra.

We were told that Mossad agents received the cocaine shipments in Operation Watchtower along with Noriega and CIA agents. Yet all of that sounds so much like a James Bond movie it’s hard to grasp. Yet we have two pieces of evidence starring us in the face that we must address. We have a brick of cocaine with a Star of David stamped on it and we have the historical account of Paul Lir Alexander‏.

Paul Lir Alexander‏ is known as the Baron of Cocaine in Brazil. He was born in Brazil but left to join the Israeli Army. In 1982 he worked for Mossad with Oliver North out of Nicaragua part of Iran contra. He worked alongside CIA agents who were getting cocaine from Pablo Escobar through General Manuel Noriega and smuggling it into the USA for sale to street gangs on the East and West Coast

After that Mossad sent him back to Brazil where he continued a very profitable drug smuggling career. We was finally arrested and convicted of drug trafficking and after serving 12 years in prison escaped last year. Which leads me to ask, what on earth is a Star of David doing stamped on a brick of cocaine seized in Canada? Please advise.

Combined Forces bust another international drug ring

A Langley man is one of six accused of being part of a cocaine and ecstasy importing ring that led police from Princeton to South America.

The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. (CFSEU) has announced charges against Jeremy Albert Stark, 38, of Langley, along with Khamla Wong, a 42-year-old formerly of Abbotsford. Both are charged with one count of conspiracy to import 97 kilograms of cocaine and possession of a firearm. Wong remains at large.



The investigation began in 2008, when Canadian police were alerted by American authorities about a cross-border drug trafficking operation between B.C., California, Mexico and Peru.

There were several seizures during the investigation. In August 2008, 23 kilograms of ecstasy were seized in Princeton, B.C., police said. Two months later, in December, 121 kilograms of cocaine were seized at a border crossing south of Vancouver. And in May 2009, 10 kilograms of cocaine were seized in Burnaby.

Bhayani said the delay between the drug seizures and the arrests was due to other ongoing investigations, as well as the time needed to present evidence to prosecutors.